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AMC Reinstates 'Talking Dead' Host Chris Hardwick
The network says returning Hardwick to work is the "appropriate step" after a review
Published Jul 25, 2018 at 5:55 PM | Updated at 11:33 PM EDT on Jul 25, 2018
Powers Imagery/Invision/AP, File
In this July 21, 2017 file photo, Chris Hardwick moderates the "Fear The Walking Dead" panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
AMC host Chris Hardwick is returning to work after a review of sexual assault allegations against him by a former girlfriend.
The network says returning Hardwick to work at "Talking Dead" and "Talking with Chris Hardwick" is the "appropriate step" after a review that included interviews with numerous people.
It says Hardwick will return to "Talking Dead" Aug. 12. Substitute host Yvette Nicole Brown will be interim guest host of "The Walking Dead Season 9 Preview Special" on Aug. 5, and a guest on "Talking Dead" on Aug. 12.
Hardwick has acknowledged that an online post by his ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra alleging she had been sexually assaulted and emotionally abused referred to him. He has denied the allegations but has said the couple's three-year relationship was imperfect and included arguments.
Fallon: Hardwick Talks About Bribing Hanks
Host of Comedy Central's "@midnight" Chris Hardwick explains how he bribed Tom Hanks to appear on his podcast with a typewriter.
(Published Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014)
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Posted by John Fernandes on April 22, 2016 at 2:00 PM
Bernie Sanders's attack on New York's primary might be smart politics, but it's dangerous for Democrats
This article was written by Ezra Klein for Vox.com.
Earlier today, I wrote about the ways Bernie Sanders's campaign has begun to paint the primary results as fundamentally illegitimate. It began with his comments about how states in the Deep South "distort" the who’s ahead and who's behind in the vote. But it's ratcheted up tonight as Sanders faces a possible loss in New York that's partly driven by the fact that the Empire State, like many others, doesn't allow independents to vote in the Democratic primary.
"Today, 3 million people in the state of New York who are independents have lost their right to vote in the Democratic or Republican primary," Bernie Sanders said. "That’s wrong."
This is, arguably, a smart move for Sanders. He's about to run through a slew of contests — New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania — that limit the Democratic primary to registered Democrats. He's likely to lose those contests, and this helps him explain those losses away: he didn't lose so much as he was robbed by a Democratic Party establishment trying to protect its own.
It is, however, a cynical and perhaps dangerous move by Sanders. Convincing his supporters that these rules — rules which predate this primary — are illegitimate is going to make the campaign much more bitter, and reconciliation between the two camps much less likely. It's one thing, after all, to see your candidate lose. It's another to see the election stolen, and that's increasingly how Sanders supporters are understanding the race.
Sanders may have long held this view — Vermont has open primaries, after all — but he's not, to my knowledge, emphasized it in the past. He hasn't campaigned against closed primaries during his career in Congress, and neither he nor his supporters complained about disenfranchisement of independents when he won the closed primaries and caucuses in Alaska, Colorado, Kansas, Maine, Nebraska, or Wyoming.
Which isn't to say Sanders doesn't have a point. I prefer open primaries as well. But the rules of this election were set well in advance, and delegitimizing the outcome as a way to fire up supporters is a dangerous game to play.
Of course, Sanders is far from the only politician to opportunistically discover a deep opposition to the structure of the Democratic primary. In 2008, Hillary Clinton fought for Michigan and Florida's delegations to be seated after the two states, which favored her candidacy, violated Democratic Party rules and held early primaries.
New York turns up for a lot. Just not to the ballot box.
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Harang flying under the radar
Phil Rogers, Chicago TribuneORLANDO SENTINEL
Quick now. Who led the National League in complete games last year?
We'll give you a hint. He was the same guy who led the National League in strikeouts. He had six complete games out of 35 starts during a season in which he went 16-11 with a 3.76 ERA.
Want another hint? This guy, who struck out 216 in 2341/3 innings, pitches for Cincinnati. This would be a giveaway except that the guy we're talking about isn't the Reds pitcher who got the most attention during last season -- and might not be the one who gets the most next season.
He didn't get one Cy Young Award vote and didn't even win the Johnny Vander Meer Award, which the Cincinnati chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America gives to the Reds' "most outstanding" pitcher.
The guy who led the NL in strikeouts and complete games, tying for the league lead in victories, was Aaron Harang, not the guy acquired from Boston during spring training, Bronson Arroyo. Arroyo got off to a fast start but wound up 14-11, going 10 consecutive starts in one stretch without a victory.
It doesn't sound as if Harang is upset about the lack of recognition.
"Maybe I should grow my hair long and play the guitar," he said.
Harang, a 28-year-old right-hander who was drafted by Texas and passed through Oakland before coming to the Reds in a 2003 trade for Jose Guillen, might be a little mystified with Cincinnati's management, however. When General Manager Wayne Krivsky set the club's arbitration figures, he somehow offered Harang the same $4.2 million that Kyle Lohse had signed for a day before the figures were exchanged.
Lohse, whom Minnesota discarded last season, is a candidate for the fourth starter's job, not the Opening Day start, after going 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 11 starts with the Reds. But like Arroyo, he has had a higher-profile career to this point than the unsung Harang, who quietly goes about his business in an admirable way.
With the start of spring training around the corner, here are a few players worth watching closer:
Raul Ibanez, Mariners: Well-paid but underappreciated, Ibanez has had the misfortune of doing his best work in Kansas City and post-2002 Seattle. He hit .289 with 33 homers and 123 RBIs a year ago -- the fourth time in the past five years he has driven in at least 89 runs. He also has scored 92-plus three of the past four years. He would be an icon if he put up those numbers with the Cubs or Red Sox.
Michael Cuddyer, Twins: A first-round pick as a shortstop, it took Cuddyer a while to make his niche, but he has arrived as an athletic right fielder and cleanup hitter. He hit .284 with 70 extra-base hits, 109 RBIs and 102 runs scored last year. One of those runs was scored from first base on a ground ball that went through the legs of Detroit second baseman Omar Infante, and as much as anything might have been the difference in the Twins being able to pass the Tigers for a division title on the last day of the year.
Carlos Guillen, Tigers: The Detroit shortstop has been a part of two amazing seasons: Seattle's 116 victories in 2001, that time as Alex Rodriguez's replacement, and the Tigers' 2006 pennant. He has had an OPS (on-base plus slugging) percentage above .900 in two of the past three years. He hit .320 and stole 20 bases last year. He's not exactly a secret but ought to be regarded alongside Miguel Tejada, Michael Young and Derek Jeter.
Bill Hall, Brewers: Long before the 2006 breakout season, when Hall pounded 35 homers while filling in for injured shortstop J.J. Hardy, Commissioner Bud Selig was touting this guy as one of baseball's best-kept secrets. The cat escaped the bag when he scored 101 runs and collected 78 extra-base hits. Manager Ned Yost is moving Hall to the outfield this year with Hardy returning, but how long until a team needing a shortstop puts together a big bid to get him?
Nate Robertson, Tigers: Yes, the goggles are goofy. But in a rotation that includes powerful guys such as Jeremy Bonderman and Justin Verlander, it's easy to overlook the reliable Robertson. He has made at least 32 starts three years in a row and steadily has reduced his ERA every season -- going from 4.90 in 2004 to 3.84 in '06.
John Lackey, Angels: Since winning Game 7 of the 2002 World Series as a rookie, Lackey quietly has evolved into one of the top five starters in the American League. He has gone 27-16 the past two years, deserving more victories, given his 3.56 ERA in 2006 and 3.44 ERA in '05. He has started at least 32 games each of the past four years but is overshadowed by Bartolo Colon, the 2005 Cy Young winner, and Jered Weaver in his own rotation.
J.J. Putz, Mariners: Anyone who knows he's one of the top relievers in the majors gets extra credit. Working for a last-place team, he delivered a masterful performance in 2006 -- converting 36 of 43 save opportunities while holding batters to a .245 on-base percentage. He piled up 104 strikeouts against only 13 walks in 781/3innings.
Around the Bases
Bernie Williams is out of the Yankees' plans but looking for a job with someone. He hit .281 with 12 homers last year, convincing himself he's not ready for retirement.
It's a credit to GM Doug Melvin that the Brewers enter spring training with a set starting rotation. Ben Sheets is the only home-grown member in the group, as Melvin traded for Chris Capuano, Dave Bush and Claudio Vargas, and signed Jeff Suppan as a free agent.
Give new Pirates 1B Adam LaRoche credit for accepting his trade from Atlanta to Pittsburgh with the right attitude. "I'm flattered," LaRoche said. The Pirates, who traded Mike Gonzalez to get LaRoche, are counting on Salomon Torres to move into the closer's role.
Chase Utley got a seven-year, $85 million contract extension from the Phillies but did not get a full no-trade clause. Yet the Cubs gave one to Jeff Samardzija.
The Brewers figure to get a major lift next season from SS J.J. Hardy and 2B Rickie Weeks (Lake Brantley), both of whom appear recovered from the injuries that ruined their 2006 seasons. "I'm feeling good," Weeks said. "I'm ready to go."
Many have wondered why Philadelphia GM Pat Gillick is so attached to manager Charlie Manuel. Perhaps this has something to do with it -- the Phillies' 173 victories under Manuel the past two seasons are the most at the start of anyone's tenure with the franchise since Pat Moran guided his teams to 181 triumphs in 1915-16.
A Final Thought: J.D. Drew's contract is officially done. Boy, what a relief.
Apollo 11 blasted off 50 years ago today. Here’s how it happened, minute by minute
Joel Strack, Orlando LGBTQ pioneer, dies
Bronson Arroyo
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Antonio Blakeney, Joel Berry II sign NBA deals
By Buddy Collings
Antonio Blakeney has signed a contract with the Chicago Bulls. (Andrew A. Nelles / Asscociated Press)
After lighting up the G-League last season, former Oak Ridge standout Antonio Blakeney has earned an NBA contract with the Chicago Bulls.
And the Los Angeles Lakers signed Lake Highland Prep alum Joel Berry II to a deal this week.
Blakeney, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who went undrafted out of LSU in 2017, played in 19 games for the Bulls last season, averaging 7.9 points. But he was limited to 45 days in the big leagues with a two-way contract that kept him mostly on the Windy City Bulls roster in the NBA G-League. He averaged 32 points per game and was the G-League Rookie of the Year.
Blakeney led Chicago with a 21.0 point-per-game average in the recent NBA Summer League. His shooting percentage (40.0) was low but he has proven he can create offense at the highest level.
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The Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson reported that: “The deal brings the Bulls roster to 14 guaranteed contracts and likely ends their significant business for the offseason. Terms were not disclosed, but Blakeney’s deal is expected to be for two years.”
Berry, a four-year starter and the 2017 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player for North Carolina, did not see any action in the NBA Summer League due to an ankle injury.
Terms of Berry’s contract, including how much money was guaranteed as an undrafted free agent, were not announced.
bcollings@orlandosentinel.com
Joel Berry signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
Most Read • Varsity Sports
West Orange picks Jay Welsh as new baseball head coach
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Morocco Applies For ECOWAS Membership
NAN: Morocco, a north African country, has officially requested to join the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a full member.
According to APA, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation issued a statement on the plan to join the 15-member West African bloc.
The kingdom of Morocco has informed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia who is the current chair of ECOWAS of “its interest to join the regional grouping as a full member” a statement from the ministry said.
This request is in line with provisions of ECOWAS founding treaty and in full satisfaction of its membership criteria, it asserted.
According to Morocco, its move comes “to crown the strong political, human, historical, religious and economic ties at all levels with ECOWAS member countries”.
It said these links were reinforced over the last few years, through the king’s 23 visits to 11 countries in the region.
The statement said these visits were crowned by the signing of several hundred agreements, which gave a “strong” impetus to bilateral cooperation with the 15 member countries of the regional bloc.
Morocco also maintains institutional relations with ECOWAS, through an observer status, which has been in place for several years.
Morocco has participated in several meetings of the organization and has contributed to its activities, particularly in areas relating to peace and stability, the statement added.
The desire to join ECOWAS is also part of the royal vision for regional integration, as a key to Africa’s economic take-off, and is in line with the African policy of King Mohammed VI, reflected by the return of the kingdom to the African Union (AU), the statement concluded.
The country was recently re-admitted into the African Union (AU) after decades of voluntary withdrawal from the continental body.
The country embarked on diplomatic shuttles to many African countries, including Nigeria and Senegal to mend sour relations and to seek support of the countries for its admittance into AU.
Posted by Arowobusoye Samuel
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
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Home music EMILY ESTEFAN - Hits the music scene with a Unique Style
EMILY ESTEFAN - Hits the music scene with a Unique Style
Nuestro Magazine 11:08 PM ,music
EMILY ESTEFAN
DEBUT LP, TAKE WHATEVER YOU WANT, SET FOR FEBRUARY 3rd RELEASE VIA RED DISTRIBUTION
Last week, Emily Estefan has released her new song "Ask Me To," along with the Spanish Version "Si Lo Pides Tu".
The song is the third released off her upcoming debut LP, Take Whatever You Want, following "F#CK To Be" and "Reigns (every night)". Take Whatever You Want (Alien Shrimp Records/RED Distribution) is set to be released on February 3rd and available for preorder now with an instant download of all previously released tracks. "Ask Me To" and "Si Lo Pides Tu" are now available on Spotify and iTunes.
About her new song, Estefan says, "'Ask Me To' marks a moment in my life when I opened the door to a new path. A path that leads to the person I want to be. It is an exchange of love and a transition into adulthood that could only be granted from my former self to my new self. "Ask Me To" is a sonic representation of me bleeding an emotion and a moment that took me 18 years to overcome."
Emily's most recent single, "Reigns (every night)," - premiered with SPIN - mixes smooth vocals with deep bass lines in an atmospheric jazzy soundscape. In 2015, her first original track and video "F#ck To Be," celebrating her individuality and the importance of not conforming to society's expectations, premiered on Entertainment Tonight followed by another original song, "I Just Want It To Be Over," which she performed at Miami Beach's 100th Birthday Celebration and was featured on the Today show.
Emily Estefan Reigns (every night) Official Music Video
Growing up surrounded by music, Emily naturally developed a deep passion for the craft at a very young age. That passion grew as she did. Through hard work and dedication, she graduated from Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music in May 2016, earning a degree in contemporary writing and production. Her musical journey to date is one paved with love and respect.
Emily will be playing her first-ever solo concert on February 2nd in Miami at the Gusman Theatre as part of the University of Miami's FESTIVALMIAMI, and will be debuting her live show in NYC and LA with upcoming showcases at The Cutting Room and Hotel Café, respectively.
"Emily has an incredible voice with a unique style of smooth jazz, rock, and latin vibe. She plays the drums, guitar, bass, and piano plus Emily produced her debut record" #nuestromagazine
Emily Estefan Purple Money Live
@Emily_Estefan #emily_estefan #nuestromagzine
Tags music#
Posted by Nuestro Magazine at 11:08 PM
Location: Miami, FL, USA
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U.S.|The Kushners Saw Redemption in the White House. It Was a Mirage.
The Kushners Saw Redemption in the White House. It Was a Mirage.
Donald J. Trump’s ascension to the White House has drawn scrutiny from investigative agencies into the family real estate business of his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who is married to Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka.CreditCreditDoug Mills/The New York Times
By Sharon LaFraniere and Katie Benner
It was sweet redemption for Charles Kushner last year when his son Jared was named senior White House adviser. A dozen years earlier, a sordid scandal stemming partly from a family falling-out had reduced the senior Mr. Kushner from real estate baron to felon making wallets at a prison camp in Alabama.
Now, with his son newly installed as a top aide to the president, Mr. Kushner even expressed hope, one close family friend said, that he might receive a pardon.
Absolution, however, is not what the White House has conferred on the Kushners. For the patriarch and his family, the pinnacle of American political power has turned out to be a wellspring of trouble.
Jared Kushner is embroiled in the special counsel inquiry, including questions about whether he discussed the family’s business with foreign officials — a suggestion he has denied. His younger brother, Josh, has opposed the Trump presidency, driving a wedge between the men in a family that prizes close ties.
The elder Mr. Kushner, his company and his family are assailed by criminal and regulatory inquiries largely rooted in their newfound access to presidential power. The family’s East Coast-based real estate empire is under a fiscal and ethical cloud, shunned by some investors who fear being dragged into the spotlight trained on the Kushner nexus with President Trump. Two major Manhattan properties are on creditors’ watch lists, one after foreign investors backed out of a financing deal.
In a recent interview in his 15th-floor office at 666 Fifth Avenue — an aluminum-clad Manhattan skyscraper that has become a symbol of the family’s troubles — Charles Kushner brushed it all aside as false insinuations whipped into a publicity frenzy partly by political opponents.
Slender, silver-haired and impeccably dressed, Mr. Kushner, 63, was by turns charming, blunt and philosophical, an engaging contrast to Jared Kushner’s more stilted persona. He made little effort to hide his contempt for the investigations of his business and family, saying that the stacks of records he has voluntarily given investigators rebut any suggestion of impropriety.
“Go knock yourselves out for the next 10 years,” he said. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”
A long list of investigators are testing that claim. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are studying whether one of Mr. Kushner’s daughters dangled White House influence before prospective Chinese investors. So is the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Brooklyn federal prosecutors also are investigating the terms on which Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest lender, refinanced a Kushner-owned property in Times Square.
State regulators in New York are examining Kushner loans from that bank and two others, including lines of credit to Jared Kushner. Jared Kushner’s White House meetings with lenders and partners of Kushner Companies have raised repeated questions about conflicts between his official and personal interests.
Most recently, the head of the federal Office of Government Ethics informed a House member in a letter that he had asked the White House counsel to examine meetings in the White House last year between Jared Kushner and officials from two financial companies. The companies later lent Kushner Companies more than a half-billion dollars.
The meetings were reported earlier by The New York Times; the letter was reported by CNN. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said on Tuesday that the counsel’s office was not investigating whether Mr. Kushner broke the law. Charles Kushner described the loans as arm’s-length transactions that did not involve his son.
Charles Kushner is adamant that his family remains united in the face of their difficulties.CreditIlir Bajraktari/PatrickMcMullan.com, via Getty Images
On top of all of this, the political prize at the root of those travails — Jared Kushner’s White House post — appears to be losing its luster. Although he remains Mr. Trump’s senior adviser, Jared Kushner, 37, was stripped of his top-secret security clearance in February for reasons that remain undisclosed. Mr. Kushner, who friends say was taken aback by the decision, has avoided questions about how he will fulfill his once-sweeping White House duties without that privilege.
He has also lost some of his closest allies: two aides, Reed Cordish and Josh Raffel, recently announced their departures, as did Gary D. Cohn, the president’s economic adviser. Still hoping to make an impact on global affairs, Mr. Kushner has turned his attention from the Middle East stalemate to American relations with Mexico.
Charles Kushner is adamant that his family remains united in the face of their difficulties. But friends say Jared Kushner’s sister is distressed by investigators’ focus on her, and there are tensions between Jared and Josh over Mr. Trump. That Josh Kushner, 32, has made no secret of the fact that he did not vote for Mr. Trump upset his brother, several friends said. Voting records show Josh Kushner did not vote in the 2016 presidential election. Josh’s spokesman, Jesse Derris, said the brothers “are just as close as ever.”
Tales of his distaste for the Trump administration continue to surface, most recently at a January party at Oscar, a health insurance firm that he helped found. According to one attendee, Josh Kushner listed the year’s challenges, concluding with a laugh: “We survived Donald Trump. Don’t tweet that. Really, don’t tweet that. I’ll get in so much trouble.”
The Kushners have weathered ordeals before and emerged stronger and more prosperous. In 2004, Charles Kushner pleaded guilty to 18 counts of witness retaliation, tax violations and false statements to the Federal Election Commission after he hired a prostitute in a scheme to entrap and retaliate against his brother-in-law, who he suspected was cooperating with a federal inquiry into his business.
Charles Kushner still does not speak to his brother, whom he publicly blamed for instigating the investigation that led to his two-year prison sentence. Asked whether he hoped for presidential absolution, Mr. Kushner said, “I would prefer not to have a pardon” because it would trigger only further publicity.
His real estate empire is now under a national microscope, its every deal scrutinized for hints of federal influence. And while Charles Kushner insists his bankers are loyal, investors are eager and deals are plentiful, some business associates say the drumbeat of unflattering headlines is putting tremendous pressure on the family business. Banks must assess the risk of any continuing regulatory or criminal inquiries before making loans; potential investors are worried that they could come under scrutiny or that projects will be delayed or fall apart.
Mr. Kushner scoffs at such fears. “We are actively involved in more than $3 billion of projects and banks are providing $1.5 billion of financing in the first six months of this year,” he said. “Does that seem like we are lacking in funds?”
That said, the company has been forced to rule out two major sources of financing — foreign nations’ sovereign wealth funds and a federal program that offers foreign investors a path to citizenship — after questions about the propriety of tapping them given Jared Kushner’s foreign policy influence. While Mr. Kushner transferred some holdings in Kushner Companies to a trust run by his mother, he retains the vast majority — holdings estimated to be worth at least $761 million.
Avoiding such entanglements has proved harder, company officials said, than they expected. Bloomberg recently reported that two months after Mr. Kushner joined the White House, the firm sold a stake in a Brooklyn building to an entity whose largest shareholder is the Japanese government. A spokesman said Kushner company officials were unaware of the Japanese government’s involvement until the news report.
The finance minister of the tiny, oil-rich Gulf nation of Qatar also met separately early last year with both Josh and Charles Kushner at a time when the Qataris were seeking White House support against their powerful regional rivals. Josh Kushner, who runs the investment firm Thrive Capital, which recently raised a $700 million fund, cleared the meeting with outside counsel beforehand, his spokesman said.
“Josh met with the minister for less than 30 minutes,” Mr. Derris said. “There has been no contact since that time.”
The Kushner family’s costliest and most ambitious real estate project, a $7.5 billion plan to raze its 666 Fifth Avenue office tower and replace it, was a casualty of the family’s White House connection.CreditDrew Angerer/Getty Images
The elder Mr. Kushner said he made clear to the minister that he had no interest in government-sponsored investment, and like his son, has had no further contact with him.
The family’s costliest and most ambitious real estate project — a $7.5 billion plan to raze their 41-story Fifth Avenue office tower and replace it with a new architecturally dazzling one, twice as high — was an early casualty of the family’s White House connection. A financing pact with a Chinese firm connected to some of the Communist Party’s leading families collapsed in the face of public scrutiny.
Now the Kushners are scrambling. They have only 10 months before a $1.2 billion mortgage comes due to find a profitable use for a 61-year-old office tower with dark corridors, low ceilings and too few tenants to cover the interest on the purchase loan.
By some estimates, the skyscraper is now worth about one-quarter less than the then-record price of $1.8 billion they paid for it in 2007. Vornado Realty Trust, which also took a 49.5 percent share in the office space, wants out. The shortfall this year between the income it generates and the interest on the loan exceeds $30 million, split evenly with the Kushners. Charles Kushner says that he is willing to buy out his partner, but some business associates say that would only double an already money-losing real estate bet.
Company officials have sought to minimize the effect of the tower’s financial troubles, saying it is one property among many and they marked down its value so it is less than 4 percent of Mr. Kushner’s net worth, estimated at $2.5 billion.
Debt for the Kushners’ portion of the Times Square property at 229 West 43rd Street is also on a watch list, according to Trepp, a firm that analyzes mortgage-backed securities. But both Mr. Kushner and Laurent Morali, the firm’s president, call that building, the former headquarters of The New York Times, an excellent investment. They insisted that the 2016 loan from Deutsche Bank, which is now under scrutiny by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, was an arm’s-length business transaction.
But financing for a third $800 million project, two towers across the Hudson River in suburban New Jersey, has been delayed by yet more questions arising from the family’s White House connections. The company had hoped to attract $150 million from foreign investors via a federal visa program, EB-5, that offers green cards and eligibility for permanent residence to those who invest at least $500,000 in an American business.
In a marketing event last May in Beijing, Charles Kushner’s daughter Nicole Kushner Meyer, 34, a comparative neophyte in the family business, told potential investors that the project meant a lot to “my entire family.” She added that her brother had left the firm to work in the Trump administration.
The Kushners apologized and abandoned the program — purely to avoid unwanted attention, Mr. Kushner said. “My daughter, our company, did nothing wrong,” he said.
But prosecutors and S.E.C. regulators have sought documents from the Kushners and their business partner, KABR Group, apparently in part to determine whether potential investors were misled about their visa prospects. Mr. Kushner has hired a criminal defense lawyer for Nicole, adding to his family’s roster of legal defenders.
Some in the Kushner camp are hopeful that particular inquiry is fading. But yet another one began two weeks ago after The Associated Press reported that the Kushner Companies had secured more than 80 construction permits after falsely declaring it had no rent-regulated tenants.
The company said it had outsourced the applications to a third party, and added that it had corrected the errors. But the New York City Buildings Department said it was investigating whether city laws were broken.
Ben Protess and Nicholas Confessore contributed reporting.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Political Power Has Backfired For Kushners. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
Kushner’s Family Business Received Loans After White House Meetings
Jared Kushner’s Security Clearance Downgraded
The Other Kushner Brother’s Big Bet
Jared Kushner’s Sister Highlights Family Ties in Pitch to Chinese Investors
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By Spooky onJuly 10th, 2019 Category: Foods
It may be cute and tiny, but Lil’ Nitro is no joke. Sporting a Scoville rating reashing well into the millions of units, this chewy treat is 900 times hotter than a Jalapeno, making it the world’s hottest gummy bear.
After the world’s hottest lollipop and world’s hottest candy, the devious minds at Flamethrower Candy have created the world’s hottest gummy bear. Don’t be deceived by its cute and appealing appearance, as this little guy is holding a dynamite stick for a reason. It’s made with a special chili pepper extract that’s 900 times hotter than a Jalapeno pepper, and several times hotter than the Carolina Reaper, Dragon’s Breath and Pepper X, which are generally regarded as the hottest peppers on the planet.
Minnesota Meat Shop Makes Gummy-Bear Bratwursts
By Sumitra onJuly 18th, 2014 Category: Foods
Contrary to its name, Grundhofer’s Old Fashioned Meats carries a rather interesting and unique range of sausage meats. Their website boasts of 50 different flavors of fresh brats, including a few regulars – Turkey, Chicken and Three Cheese – and a few strange ones – Bloody Mary, Cherry Kool-aid and Blueberry. But the world-famous Gummy Bear brat has got to be their funkiest one yet.
Spencer Grundhofer, who founded the business in 1983 in his hometown of Hugo, Minnesota, says his love for meat developed quite early. “I started when I was 11, working at a local grocery store down the road.” Spencer quickly gained a reputation in the region as an expert in high-quality cuts of meat.
And his passion for meat took a weird turn a few years ago, when his friend decided to play a prank on him. Joe Berglund, a mechanic who works at the shop across from Grundhofer’s, gave Spencer a few friendly suggestions of what flavor brats to try. “So I gave him a list,” said Joe. “One of them happened to be Gummy brats. And he told me, ‘I’m not making those.’”
Sweet Art – The Gummy Bear Artworks of Johannes Cortes
By Spooky onDecember 20th, 2012 Category: Art, Pics
Gummy bears are a favorite treat for millions of people, young and old, but for German artist Johannes Cordes they are a muse, an art medium and his trademark. Cordes uses thousands of delicious gummy bears to create colorful works of art.
Johannes Cordes, from Meppen, Germany, somehow resists the temptation to stuff his face with the thousands of gummy bears in his studio and instead uses them to create unique works of art, including portraits and recreations of famous paintings. The idea of using the gelatinous medium came to Cordes by accident. A few years back, he was building a custom painting for a friend in his Nuremberg studio, but when he was done, it turned out the frame was too big for the artwork. He was disappointed, but when he spotted an open bag of gummy bears next to the now-seemingly useless frame he realized all the colorful treats would make a nice composition. So he started piecing together an image from the differently-colored sweets on a canvas, and put in on display in the window of his workshop. It was supposed to be a gag to amuse passers-by, but after a few days that “joke” was sold, and JohannesCordes had found a unique art medium…
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DMX indicted on felony charges
NME Jul 23, 2008 8:55 pm BST
Rapper reportedly assumed false identity to pay hospital bill
DMX has been indicted on felony charges in Arizona for allegedly trying to get out of paying a hospital bill by assuming a false identity.
The 37-year-old rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons. has been charged with one count of theft and one count of taking someone else’s identity, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas told the Associated Press.
He was arrested Saturday (July 19) at a mall in Phoenix.
This is the latest in a long string of arrests for DMX on charges ranging from animal cruelty to traffic and drugs charges, and failing to appear in court.
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Online Financial Aid
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Dr. Steve VandenAvond
Vice President for Extended Learning and Community Engagement
svanden@nmu.edu
Dr. Steve VandenAvond became NMU’s Vice President for Extended Learning and Community Engagement in April 2015.
Dr. VandenAvond came to NMU from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he had been serving as the Associate Provost and Dean for Outreach and Adult Access. He had been at UWGB since 2010. From 2000-2010 he was a faculty member and administrator at Silver Lake College (Manitowoc, Wis.). He was the director of the psychology program at Michigan Technological University from 1997-2000 where he also co-founded and was the director of the Center for Educational Technology Research and Assessment.
He has a doctorate in developmental psychology from Loyola University (Chicago), a master’s in the same area from Illinois State University. His bachelor’s degree in psychology was earned at Marquette University.
Brad Hamel
Director of Global Campus Operations
bhamel@nmu.edu
Brad Hamel is currently leading the effort to establish NMU’s Global Campus environment and a quality online student experience. The establishment of a “Concierge Services” including, recruitment, admissions counseling, enrollment specialist, and continual academic advising makes NMU’s Global Campus an ideal choice. Addressing the needs of the online learner is a priority.
Brad Hamel has been with NMU since 1999. He began his career in the NMU Athletics Department and most recently resided in Alumni Relations as the Director of Alumni Engagement and External Relations Technology.
Brad is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. He holds a master's in public administration and bachelor’s degree in justice studies, both from NMU.
Dan Freeborn
Assistant Director, Marketing and Enrollment
dfreebor@nmu.edu
Dan joined the Global Campus staff in May 2018. He manages digital, print and paid marketing strategy and recruitment efforts for undergraduate online degrees. He is the primary point of contact for new student inquiries and a guide through the enrollment process.
Previously, Dan was Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at NMU and managed recruitment efforts in Northern Wisconsin and the Northern Lower and Easter Upper Peninsulas of Michigan. He holds a bachelor's degree in Graphic Communication from NMU.
He enjoys spending time with his family, mountain biking, traveling, camping and fishing.
Carly Harrington
Assistant Director, Academic Support Services
cabenson@nmu.edu
Carly is the newest addition to the Global Campus staff, joining NMU in February 2019. She will be the primary academic advisor for the Applied Workplace Leadership degree program as well as undeclared and non-degree seeking students. Additionally, Carly will serve as a secondary academic advisor for all Global Campus students. She is responsible for guiding Global Campus students through the the university system while providing guidance on course selection, degree requirements, and exploring career options.
Prior to joining the Global Campus, Carly was an advisor at Michigan Technological University and the Corporate Communications Manager at Upper Peninsula Health Plan. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's of public administration from NMU.
Dr. Stacy Boyer-Davis
Extended Learning and Community Engagement Scholar
sboyerda@nmu.edu
Dr. Stacy Boyer-Davis is the Extended Learning and Community Engagement (ELCE) Scholar for the 2019-2021 academic years, a half-time appointment. Dr. Boyer-Davis is also an Assistant Professor of Accounting and the Assistant Department Head for Accounting, Computer Information Systems, Cyber Defense, Finance, and Risk Management for the College of Business. In the ELCE role, Stacy works with the staff of the Division of Extended Learning and Community Engagement to design and implement systems that support student engagement and learning among distance education students and she collaborates with the Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) office to provide leadership and services to support faculty with their online and other distance education teaching. Dr. Boyer-Davis helps maintain existing programs, disseminates information about distance teaching and learning-related resources on campus, and promotes collaboration and partnership among faculty interested in distance teaching excellence.
Stacy has a doctorate in Business from Capella University, three master’s degrees (Accounting and Financial Management, Human Resource Management, and Business Administration) from Keller Graduate School of Management, and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.
ELCE Scholar summer office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm and Fridays, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
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Mindy Nannestad
mnannest@nmu.edu
Mindy Nannestad joined Extended Learning and Community Engagement in April 2016 as the division's administrative assistant. She has worked at NMU since 2002 and was the executive secretary for the Dean of Students Office. She is a graduate of Northern Michigan University with a bachelor's degree in business management.
about_us
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General Election 2017: An A to Z guide
Matt Smart
matthew.smart@archant.co.uk
Read more from Matt Smart
Updated: Wednesday, June 7, 2017 (12:01)
Left to right: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Conservative leader Theresa May, Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron, Green party co-leader Caroline Lucas and UKIP leader Paul Nuttall. Which one gets your vote? Photos: PA
With less than a week to go before the nation goes to the polls, we’ve summarised some of the key points since the snap election was announced by Theresa May on April 18.
A is for...Apathy. Following an EU referendum, the 2015 General Election and a Scottish independence referendum, Westminster ground to a halt this spring for a fourth year in a row, leaving many of the electorate with distinct sense of 'not again'. This feeling was typified by...
B is for...Brenda. With her cries of 'Not another one' and 'there's too much politics going on', Brenda from Bristol struck a cord with the nation when she was informed of the snap election by the BBC back in April.
C is for...Conservatives. With a relatively slender majority of 17 seats in the House of Commons, the Conservatives are hoping to extend their power as the leading party ahead of upcoming Brexit negotiations. When she called the election on April 19, Theresa May said: "At this moment of enormous national significance there should be unity here in Westminster, but instead there is division."
Theresa May makes a statement in Downing Street, London, announcing a snap general election on June 8. Picture John Stillwell/PA Wire
D is for...Debates. Who was and wasn't isn't debating live on TV became a big focus of the election campaign, with Theresa May refusing to go head-to-head on policy, much to the chagrin of the other leaders.
E is for...Europe. One year after the EU Referendum and with less than two weeks until Brexit negotiations begin, Europe has been a key debating point across all parties. The Conservatives say no deal is better than a bad one, while Labour are looking to find a plan based on 'mutual interests'. The Liberal Democrats would like to see a second referendum once negotiations have finished, and whatever happens, the Scottish National Party may look for a second independence referendum once negotiations have concluded.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson makes a speech on the General Election campaign trail. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
F is for...Farron, Tim. The Liberal Democrat leader is looking to claw back seats for his party after a huge loss in 2015 and is leading the charge for a second referendum on Brexit once negotiations have finished. Impressed in the leader's debate with his personal take on key issues such as the NHS, and for referencing the Great British Bake Off.
Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron and his 5-year-old Springer Spaniel Jasper during a walkabout with the media in Scout Scar, in the Lake District, Cumbria. Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire
G is for....Green Party. The Green Party, co-lead by Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley, are pledging to reverse privatisation to the NHS, dental services and transport links; bring education back under local authority control, abolish SATs and reduce class sizes and phase in a four-day working week while abolishing zero hours contracts.
Green co-leader Caroline Lucas (front) with supporters during a Green Party poster launch outside Downing Street, London. Picture: John Stillwell/PA Wire
H is for...Healthcare. The NHS and mental health and social care provision has been another big debating point over the course of the campaign. Labour have committed to reversing privatisation of the NHS, and the Lib Dems want to ring fence an extra 1p on the rate of income tax especially for the NHS. The Conservatives have pledged an £8bn increase in funding but have come under fire for their stance on social care.
I is for...Immigration. Another key policy point for respective parties. The Conservatives want to reduce net migration to tens of thousands, while UKIP aim to reduce migration to zero over a five-year period. Labour will introduce funding in areas where immigration has put a strain on public services, while the Lib Dems remain supportive of freedom of movement between the UK and EU.
J is for...Jeremy Corbyn. The Labour party leader has come under scrutiny on his leadership, as well as his stance on defence, but his 'for the many, not the few' campaign has gone far better than many would have initially predicted.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn makes a speech in Carlisle, addressing the terror attack in London and setting out Labour's values ahead of the General Election. Picture: Scott Heppell/PA Wire
K is for...Key Battlegrounds. As with every election, there are a number of key seats that could swing this week's result. The Conservatives will be targeting seats where Labour won with a small majority 2015, as well as those the party won ahead of a strong UKIP vote. Labour meanwhile, will be looking to win back the seats where they suffered shock losses in 2015 such as Gower and Ed Balls' former constituency of Morley and Outwood.
L is for...Labour. With a promise to serve for the many and not the few, the party's pledges include more funding for the NHS, education and a bid to win back public services. The plans have been scotched by the Conservatives, who say the party think there is a...
M is for...Magic Money Tree. A very much mythical object, which became a Conservative sound-bite in response to the pledges made by Labour in their manifesto.
N is for....Nicola Sturgeon. Sturgeon's SNP party virtually wiped out Labour in Scotland in 2015, and if the Conservatives do end up falling short of an overall majority, the party will have a key say in whether or not there's a coalition government. However, if they lose too many of their 54 seats, their call for independence could take a backward step.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in her helicopter in Fife, as she tours Scotland ahead of the general election. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
O is for...Opinion Polls. Depending on which poll you look at, the nation is either heading for a hung parliament or a Conservative landslide. However, as the last election and the EU referendum showed us, all of these could be wrong.
P is for...Polling Day. Weeks of campaigning will come to a close on Thursday, when Britain goes to the polls. Polling Stations are open from 7am to 10pm.
Polling stations are open from 7am-10pm.
Q is for...Quizzed. The election campaign has seen high-profile MPs grilled on their policies. Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott was grilled over the cost of extra police officers, while the backlash from Theresa May's 'dementia tax' forced the party into a U-turn.
R is for...Referendum. Last year's EU referendum vote very much paved the way for this year's General Election, with David Cameron stepping down and Theresa May taking the reigns as the PM. Depending on the results in Scotland, another Scottish referendum on independence could be in the not-too-distant future.
S is for...Strong and Stable. The Conservative mantra over the course of the election campaign. The words 'strong and stable', together with 'leadership' have been thrown around plenty of times since the campaign was launched.
T is for...Tactical Voting. Britain's First Past the Post (FPTP) election system tends to encourage tactical voting, with people not wanting to waste their vote. Tactical voting could be a big factor now the conservative lead has subsided slightly, with more liberal voters plumping for the strongest opposition to the Tories.
U is for...UKIP. The UK Independence Party were without a seat in the House of Commons when parliament was dissolved. After a disappointing showing in May's county council elections, could a bad General Election spell the end for the party?
UKIP leader Paul Nuttall. Picture: Victoria Jones/PA Wire
V is for...Victory. An obvious one, but what each party will be hoping to achieve by Friday morning, so they can take their place on the benches to the right of the speaker in...
Election staff deliver signage and ballot boxes to a polling station Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
W is for...Westminster. The winning party, all being well, will take control of Westminster until 2022 if they secure a majority victory.
X is for...well...X. The most important letter of all in many respects. Each candidate with the most X's next to their name will be representing you in parliament, regardless of which party they represent.
Y is for...Youth Vote. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has a strong following among young people, even gracing the cover of magazines such as NME in recent weeks. If Labour are to make enough gains to prevent the Conservatives from gaining an overall majority, they will need a strong turnout from young voters.
Z is for...'zzz'. With results announced gradually from around midnight until 10am, spare a thought for all those involved in each constituency's respective results count for working throughout the night to ensure the overall outcome can be reached as soon as possible while you're tucked up in bed.
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Imaginary friends are brought to life for Instow woman’s first children’s book
Bronte Farenden
newsdesk@northdevongazette.co.uk
Read more from Bronte Farenden
Updated: Friday, August 4, 2017 (16:19)
Sandra Everitt with her book My Imaginary Friends. Picture: Bronte Farenden
Sandra Everitt’s children provided the inspiration for Mr Bomp, Hardigadeez and Dookandat, the title characters in My Imaginary Friends
A former primary school teacher from Instow has published her first children's book.
Sandra Everitt has released My Imaginary Friends, the story of a young child whose loneliness is alleviated by three imaginary friends - Mr Bomp, Hardigadeez and Dookandat.
The 67-year-old said the names of the characters originated from her son who had three imaginary friends as a child.
She said: "I always loved writing and the names were just too good to leave.
"I developed the characters and plots but my son did the names."
As well as the story, the book also includes a variation of poems written by Sandra.
She told the Gazette: "I actually wrote some of the poems about 25 years ago, poems that were relevant to what children thought about.
"Sometimes children can be insular and I was quite sensitive as a child so I wanted to write a book to let children know that was OK."
Although the story is written from a child's perspective, it can also be enjoyed by adults.
"I think it makes an ideal story for a bedtime story, for parents to do funny voices if they want to, or for older children who can read it themselves" said Sandra.
"The characters are loyal, mischievous and naughty at times but have a good sense of humour" she added.
My Imaginary Friends was published earlier this year by Austin Macauley Publishers, who also illustrated the book.
"I sketched some of the characters to give them an idea of what I wanted" said Sandra.
"That was exciting - seeing what they were coming back with for every chapter and how they were interpreting the book through illustrations."
Depending on the success of My Imaginary Friends, Sandra is hoping to publish a sequel to the book.
She said: "I've got a sequel in my head and some ideas down on paper but it all depends on how well this one does really."
Sandra was born in London but now lives in North Devon with her two golden retrievers.
She has a son and a daughter and although she no longer teaches, provides private tuition for primary-aged children.
My Imaginary Friends is available to purchase from Amazon, Waterstones and Walter Henry's Bookshop in Bideford.
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Oxford Dictionary of A...
The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (5 ed.)
Ian Chilvers
Previous Edition (4 ed.)
Over 2,500 entries
Covering Western art from the ancient Greeks to the present day, this best-selling and authoritative dictionary is more wide-ranging than any comparable reference work. It contains clear and concise entries on styles and movements, materials and techniques, and museums and galleries. It also includes biographical entries for artists, critics, collectors, dealers, and patrons, with places and full dates of birth and death (in many instances correcting misinformation that has found its way into other sources). For this new edition, entries have been thoroughly revised and updated, and almost fifty new entries have been added, for example Ai Weiwei and Anne Vallayer-Coster. Written in an engaging manner with many entries enlivened by quotations from artists and critics, this dictionary is a pleasure to browse, and it is ideal for artists, visitors to art exhibitions and galleries, and anyone with an interest in art.
10.1093/acref/9780191782763.001.0001
Ian Chilvers, author
Ian Chilvers is a freelance writer and editor. He is the author of A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art, editor of The Oxford Dictionary of Art, and co-editor of The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. His books have been translated into ten languages. He has contributed to many other publications, including Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects and Oxford Art Online.
Subject(s) in Oxford Reference
Page1234567891011 ... 135136
Aaltonen, Wäinö
Abate, Niccolò dell'
Abbey, Edwin Austin
Abildgaard, Nicolai Abraham
Abstraction-Création
academy figure
Acconci, Vito
Ackermann, Rudolph
Aelst, Willem van
Introduction to Classified List of Entries
Classified List of Entries
A-Z (to view, select the "Entries" tab)
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Crazy Video Shows Suspect Smash Bowling Ball On Man's Head During Bowling Alley Assault
A group of bowlers became violent after an employee asked them to leave for being too rowdy, police in Roseville, Michigan said.
By Gina Tron
Two men violently assaulted a bowling alley employee - including one who struck the victim in the head with a bowling ball - in Roseville, Michigan last week, police say as they search for the assailants.
The incident happened just 15 minutes to midnight after a group of bowlers became unruly and were asked to leave by an employee, according to the Roseville Police Department. Then, several members of that group surrounded the bowling counter where the employee was standing.
“While there, Suspect #1 reached over the bowling counter and punched the employee in the face,” police said. “Suspect #2, who had stepped behind the counter, began violently assaulting the employee with punches and kicks to the face and body.”
The first suspect then walked behind the counter and picked up a bar stool and struck the employee over the head. Then, they picked up a heavier weapon: a bowling ball which they smashed the ball on the back of the employee's head.
Video of the assault has been posted to YouTube by the police department.
After the brutal assault, “the employee fell to the ground and both subjects continued to kick the employee in the head prior to fleeing the location,” police said.
The victim, a 28-year-old resident of Roseville, was transported to the hospital for treatment.
Police are describing the first suspect as a man in his early 20s who weighs approximately 200 pounds. He was wearing a black baseball cap, white T-shirt with a black short sleeve button-up on over the T-shirt and black pants. He had a close-shaved beard and tattoos on his arms.
Police said they have identified the second suspect but his name has not been released. It’s unclear if he has been arrested.
If you have information, call police at 586 447-4510 or 586 447-4484. The incident number is 18-29003.
[Photo: Roseville Police Department]
GSK Suspect Could Be Linked To Other Cold Cases
3 Men Accused Of Brutally Slaying Texas Couple Execution-Style Held Without Bond
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Social Contract Theory By Hobbes
To that end, the social contract theory of John Locke (1689) is often. among whom John Locke (1689), John Stuart Mill (1860), Thomas Hobbes (1651), and.
Thomas Hobbes was a seventeenth century philosopher and political thinker. Hobbes has been best remembered for his work on developing social contract theory. This theory states that individuals living.
Protection of society against outside threats. An army might be needed. Other important stuff – These are things that, arguably, should be part of the social contract (i.e. it would in everyone’s.
Locke and Hobbes compared and contrasted. Locke and Hobbes were both social contract theorists, and both natural law theorists (Natural law in. Hobbes's theory has far more in common with fascism, than it does with Locke's theory.
Obviously Leviathan was a pessimistic view of human nature and social arrangements, but Hobbes’ “Social Contract” theory had a profound influence on the political philosophers who followed him. This.
In other words, there can be no social goods. According to Hobbes, in order to avoid this fate. should be part of the social contract (i.e. it would in everyone’s interest to have them included).
Sep 25, 2018. What is social contract theory? Social contract theory started with the work of Thomas Hobbes and was revived in the 1970s by John Rawls.
But why? In speaking of how a nation is like a person a picture is worth a thousand words: This is the illustration from Thomas Hobbes book "Leviathan", one of the earliest examples of "social.
Thomas Hobbes (1651), John Locke (1689), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762 ) are the most famous philosophers of the social contract theory, which formed.
Aug 31, 2016. Social contract theories see the relationship of power between state and. Crucially – and unlike Hobbes – Locke thought the focus on consent.
The social contract theory, especially as defended by British philosopher Thomas Hobbes, is one of the most dominant theories within moral and political theory throughout the history of the modern.
This criticism, however, misunderstands the basic idea behind social contract theory: to model how a genuinely voluntary. “before Smith’s invisible hand can do its beneficent work, Hobbes’s war of.
The idea of the social contract theory is best linked to modern moral and political theory, defended by philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and John Rawls. The premise asks us to consider.
The Social Contract found its most eloquent and trenchant expression in Thomas Hobbes’ 1651 masterwork Leviathan. My purpose here is not to discuss Hobbes, but interested readers are referred to that.
This theory was developed in the 17th and 18th centuries by philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau. The U.S. political system is based on the social contract theory.
Classical Social Contract Theory – The Classical Social Contract Theories of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau Compared – Sebastian Erckel – Essay – Politics.
The aim of this article is to place the social contract theory on law and government in modern society. in exchange for protection of their remaining rights. Thomas Hobbes famously said that in a.
Jan 1, 1999. 1 Social contract theories seek to legitimate civil authority by. "state of nature," or Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau and Rawls in a published.
Hobbes wrote Leviathan which looked at man in the state of nature and the need for government. He wrote of the natural rights of man and the social contract theory whereby men are government by.
Natural Law and Thomas Hobbes – According Thomas Hobbes, what is the only way. From Hobbes' Leviathan, we get the Social Contract Theory of Law.
The social contract is the political theory behind all of today’s societies. something they have largely ignored for almost a decade now. This is why the social contract is broken and why it will.
Thomas Hobbes – The Book of Life is the 'brain' of The School of Life, a gathering of the best. This was known as the Social Contract theory of government.
Cambridge Core – Political Theory – Hobbes and the Social Contract Tradition – by Jean Hampton.
Higher Education Teaching Jobs Near Me Chanting “You left me no choice, I have to use my teacher voice!” hundreds of Colorado teachers converged on the state Capitol on Monday to demand changes in school funding and to lobby for higher. One thing I heard a lot — once I decided to stop looking for a tenure-track job — was that
In this way, it is argued that "the principal reason for studying Hobbes's work is that doing so will improve our understanding of social contract theories generally".
Theory #4 – Social Contract. Theory was developed by John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean Jacque Rousseau. John Locke (1632-1704). How Did States.
Social contract theory is a philosophy which views person moral and political obligations that are dependent apon a contract agreed to form a society which they live in. This approach states that law.
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke have a lot in common. They are both English philosophers and writers who lived in the 1600’s and wrote on similar topics such as the legitimacy of government and the.
Locke’s political thinking was based on social contract theory. Locke believed that human nature is characterized. of Israel’s neighbors is in line with that of Thomas Hobbes, another 17th century.
Social contract theory is a philosophical view — most frequently linked to Enlightenment thinkers Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke — in which individuals enter into a “social.
The Routledge Handbook Of Forensic Linguistics 20 Peters 20 argued that disability culture is a composite of history, linguistics, politics, and personal aesthetic. She described the common social experiences of identifying oneself as disabled as. Higher Education Teaching Jobs Near Me Chanting “You left me no choice, I have to use my teacher voice!” hundreds of Colorado teachers converged on the
Apr 11, 2013. The mention of the term “social contract” in the panel description. rooting through some musty old tomes from my graduate courses in political theory, For the primary social contract theorists, namely Thomas Hobbes and.
Philosophers like Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that a central authority is needed to ensure law and order. To the effect, Rousseau coined the social contract theory, arguing that.
Social Contract Theory of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau by Manzoor Elahi What is Social Contract Theory? The concept of social contract theory is that in the.
This was less true when Hobbes wrote. it has been argued that social contract theory is.
Privacy: The Use of Social Contract Theory to Support the. Government's. The social contract theories of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau all stress that the.
Nhd Thesis Examples 2019 Feb 4, 2019. Students develop a thesis statement – their main argument. Schedule: The 2019 National Contest will take place June 9-13, 2019 at. This was, therefore, not an example of a made up university that awards pseudo-degrees to anyone willing to pay them. With more than 20,000 downloads of the thesis, and anti-vaccination campaigners.
Oct 9, 2012. The social contract was introduced by early modern thinkers—Hugo Grotius, Thomas Hobbes, Samuel Pufendorf, and John Locke the most.
The only interactions allowed into the theory were. on the history of "social contract" at the end of all this, that’s cool. But it would be much better if I could–in some deep way–tell you.
The ancient Greeks not only gave us Social Contract Theory, which would later be built upon by philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Lock, we also received the Socratic Method which is used in every.
Dec 6, 2016. Print the seventeenth century, Leviathan Hobbes, vintage engravi The Social Contract theory has evolved over the centuries, but its origins can.
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Project Case Study
Zaragoza Tram Installation, Spain
TRAZA Consortium (Transportes Urbanos de Zaragoza, CAF, IberCaja, Concessia, Acciona and FCC Construcción)
Customer Challenge
Zaragoza tram system serves the city of Zaragoza, the fifth largest city in Spain. The tram service connects the historic and modern areas of the city. Zaragoza is a province in the autonomous region of Aragon in Spain and is the 35th most populous municipality in European Union.
The city’s original tram system started in the late 1800s, reaching its peak in the 1950s before falling into decline and being converted to bus lines. The last Zaragoza tram line disappeared in 1976.
In 2009, construction began to equip the city with a new tram system – a complete transportation network that could accommodate both Zaragoza’s demographic growth and geographic expansion. The new system was 12.8 km and included over 25 stations – 15 new stops and 10 where single tracks run on parallel streets.
The customer, the TRAZA consortium, required fastenings that could provide flexibility for the project.
Pandrol Solution
Thanks to its versatility, Pandrol QTrack® – a continuously supported embedded ballastless track system – was chosen for the tramway.
The system allowed the rail to be encapsulated by elastic resin bonded rubber profiles, providing a broad range of benefits such as vibration and electrical isolation among others. Pandrol QTrack® system is a cost effective and long-lasting performance solution offering an easy and straight forward installation process.
Pandrol QTrack®, when installed in concrete, provides support to all sides of the rail and allows stringent vertical and lateral support criteria to be met, and at the same time offers vibratory and electrical decoupling from its surroundings.
The features of the Pandrol QTrack® made the product a perfect fit for the specification required for the project.
"Pandrol QTrack® system is a cost effective and long-lasting performance solution offering an easy and straight forward installation process."
Stage one of the project opened in April 2011. Since then extensions have been added. The first extension was from Gran Vía to Plaza de España in October 2012. In December of the same year, the line was extended by a further 844 m to César Augusto and Plaza del Pilar.
Zaragoza Tram has brought about a new urban concept which has revitalised the city centre by eliminating vehicular traffic and promoting pedestrianised areas.
Zaragoza’s tram line was awarded the prize of ‘Best Worldwide Urban Integration Project of the Year’ by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) during the 2012 Global Light Rail Awards.
QTrack®
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President Donald Trump’s plan includes Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' school choice proposal. But it also proposes slashing the Education Department’s budget by 12 percent in fiscal 2020. | Alex Wong/Getty Images
Trump's budget: Winners and losers
Members of the military, HIV testing and border security fare well; not so favored are health programs, farmers and food stamp recipients.
By JENNIFER SCHOLTES
The Trump administration's fiscal 2020 budget proposal won't become law, but the "Budget for a Better America" does make clear which programs the president backs and which ones are on the outs. Members of the military, HIV testing and border security fare well; not so favored are health programs, farmers and food stamp recipients.
Here are some nuggets from the budget:
E-cig clampdown: The electronic nicotine industry would pay up to $100 million in user fees under President Donald Trump’s plan to help the Food and Drug Administration regulate e-cigarettes, which aren’t currently subject to FDA approval.
Soldiers and sailors: U.S. troops would get a hefty 3.1 percent pay raise next year, up from 2.6 percent this year, if Congress agrees to the president’s request. That would be the largest boost in a decade and would be paid for under the umbrella of a 5 percent overall increase in defense spending, made possible by a budget workaround even Republican lawmakers are calling a “gimmick.” A total of $174 billion of Trump’s $750 billion request for the Defense Department would be stashed in an account that doesn’t count toward the budget caps meant to keep the government from running ever-higher debt and deficit tabs.
Family leave: The president is calling in his budget for providing six weeks of paid family leave to new mothers and fathers, including adoptive parents. But the proposal does not elaborate on how the federal government would fund such a program. "My Administration has also pledged to provide paid parental leave to help working parents, and we are committed to partnering with the Congress to enact this important policy," the document says.
Trump’s budget sets up another shutdown battle
By CAITLIN EMMA and JENNIFER SCHOLTES
Anti-HIV efforts: Under the president’s plan, about $140 million in new funding would be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to improve diagnosis and testing for HIV. Another $50 million would expand community health center services and $70 million would be provided to support a program that works with state and local groups to help more than half a million people fight HIV and AIDS each year.
Trade: The White House says it wants more money for its core trade functions in the coming fiscal year to advance the president’s trade agenda, although the administration has yet to spell out how much it is actually seeking for some trade-focused offices.
School choice: The president’s plan includes Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' school choice proposal, which would create a new federal tax credit of up to $50 billion over 10 years to give money back to individuals and businesses that donate to scholarships that help students pay private school tuition and other education expenses.
Immigration enforcement: The White House is asking Congress to boost funding by 16 percent for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, bringing funding for the agency to $8.8 billion and allowing the agency to hold an average of 54,000 immigrants in detention facilities at any one time.
Golf buddies: The White House's proposed budget includes funding for a small children's health program sought by one of Trump's golfing buddies: Jack Nicklaus. Under the administration's fiscal 2020 funding plan, HHS would steer $20 million toward a mobile children's hospital project at Miami's Nicklaus Children's Hospital, named for the legendary golfer.
Trump to seek $8.6B to finish border wall before 2020 election
Food stamps: The White House wants to trim $17 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the upcoming fiscal year and almost $220 billion over a decade. The plan also calls for trading out some SNAP benefits for “Harvest Boxes” that would deliver bundles of nonperishable foods to low-income families. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says that switch could save the government more than $129 billion over 10 years.
Farmers: Trump is calling again this year for slashing crop insurance and other farm subsidies by upward of $28 billion over a decade.
Medicare and Medicaid: The Trump administration is calling once again for a broad overhaul of Medicaid as part of its budget request — seeking to block grant funding and tighten eligibility standards through a series of changes that would cut hundreds of billions of dollars from the health program for the poor. The White House touts a series of initiatives aimed at lowering drug prices that it says will cut about $19 billion alone in Medicare spending through 2029.
Cancer research: Under the plan, the White House is proposing an $897 million cut to the National Cancer Institute’s budget, plus more than $1 billion in cuts to institutes that do other medical research. Trump’s budget calls for slashing funding by 12 percent for the Department of Health and Human Services, to $87.1 billion.
Trump's budget would steer $20M to Jack Nicklaus-backed hospital project
By DAN DIAMOND
NASA: While the president’s request calls for the creation of a new Space Force within the Air Force, it also seeks to cut funding for NASA by about 2 percent, to $21 billion.
Education: If Trump had his druthers, the Education Department’s budget would get cut by 12 percent in fiscal 2020, to $62 billion. That slashing would include cuts to a range of student aid programs but would still expand Pell Grants for short-term training.
Sanctuary cities: The White House is calling in its budget plan for a further crackdown against so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that don’t fully cooperate with federal law enforcement in efforts to deport undocumented immigrants. The administration wants to amend a federal statute to make it harder for state and local authorities to resist Trump’s immigration agenda.
Sabrina Rodríguez, Ryan McCrimmon, Dan Diamond, Benjamin Wermund, Adam Cancryn, Sarah Owermohle, Adam Cancryn, Ted Hesson, Connor O'Brien, Adam Behsudi, Catherine Boudreau, Jacqueline Klimas and Michael Stratford contributed to this report.
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Digital Cameras/
Jim Fisher Sony Alpha 7R II The Sony Alpha 7R II is a full-frame mirrorless camera that delivers absolutely incredible image and video quality, but it will cost you.
Sony Alpha 7R II
By Jim Fisher
October 9, 2015 9:16AM EST
Excellent 42-megapixel image sensor. Superb high ISO imaging. In-body image stabilization. 5fps continuous shooting. Hybrid autofocus system. Hinged rear display. Excellent EVF. Dust- and moisture-resistant design. 4K video capture.
Expensive. Omits PC sync socket. Overly sensitive eye sensor. No built-in flash.
The Sony Alpha 7R II is a full-frame mirrorless camera that delivers absolutely incredible image and video quality, but it will cost you.
Sony doesn't pull any punches with its second-generation Alpha 7R. The 7R II ($3,199.99, body only) ups its full-frame sensor resolution to 42 megapixels, and it uses a back side-illuminated (BSI) design to keep the low-light performance of its high-res sensor strong. Add internal 4K video recording capability, in-body image stabilization, and a lens system that's getting better and better in terms of selection, and you have a very appealing camera. We're not naming it Editors' Choice—the 24-megapixel Alpha 7 II is a better option for most photographers. But if you want more resolution than the 24-megapixel Alpha 7 II offers, or if 4K recording is a priority, the Alpha 7R II is worth a look—just get ready to open your wallet.
Sony Alpha 7 II
Sony Alpha 7R
Sony Alpha 7S
Sony Alpha 7
Leica M-P (Typ 240)
Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246)
Leica M-E (Typ 220)
The Alpha 7R II is physically identical to the other current models in the series, the Alpha 7 II and Alpha 7S II ($2,999.99). It's on the bulky side when compared with other mirrorless cameras, but is certainly a more compact option than a full-frame SLR. The 7R II measures 3.8 by 5 by 2.4 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.4 pounds. The handgrip is deeper than first-generation Alpha 7 models, and the metal body feels very solid. The front grip is covered with textured rubber that wraps around the side and to the area where your right hand rests on the back of the camera.
Sony has covered a good portion of the A7R II's surface with controls. The top plate features a locking mode dial, programmable C1 and C2 function buttons, an EV compensation dial that can be set from -3 to +3 EV in third-stop increments, and an integrated shutter release and power switch. All of these are located to the right of the hot shoe, with the shutter release and power switch positioned on the top of the handgrip itself. The locking mode dial is the style that is always locked—you need to hold the center button down in order to turn it.
There are both front and rear control dials—they're slightly off axis, with one at the front of the handgrip and the other positioned slightly to its left, at the top of the rear plate. The Menu button (to the left of the EVF) and the programmable C3 button (on the right, between the eyecup and rear control dial) also run across the top of the rear plate; each is situated at a slight angle.
Running from top to bottom just to the right of the LCD, you'll find a button that can override autofocus or lock exposure when pressed—its function is controlled via a toggle switch. Next up is the Fn button, which launches an on-screen overlay menu of shooting controls. Then comes a rear control wheel, with a center button and four directional presses (by default the left sets the drive mode, the top changes the amount of information shown on the rear LCD or in the EVF, and the right sets the ISO. Finally the Play and Delete buttons sit at the bottom of the rear plate. There's also a dedicated button for recording movies, but it's placed on the right side of the camera—it's easy enough to press when you're holding the A7R II, but you're not likely to do so by accident.
Most of the A7R II's control buttons can be remapped in the menu. You can assign a function to the bottom direction of the control wheel or to the Delete (C4) button, neither of which have a function out of the box. The flat rear dial can also perform a function; past models had this set to direct ISO control out of the box, but it's disabled by default with the A7R II. The functions are displayed in the on-screen Fn menu, which includes space for 12 settings, all of which can be customized.
While I'm generally happy with the A7R II's control layout, there's one capability that is sorely missing. If you use any of the three Flexible Spot AF settings (small, medium, or large), there's no way to move the spot around directly. You need to first press the button at the center of the rear dial in order to use its directional presses to reposition the focus area. This won't bother you if you opt for one of the other focus modes, but for fans of Flexible Spot AF, it's a pain to deal with.
The A7R II has an OLED electronic viewfinder and a hinged rear LCD. The EVF is one of the largest you'll find in a mirrorless camera—its magnification is rated at 0.78x when a standard-angle (50mm) lens is attached. That makes it slightly bigger to your eye than one of the best optical viewfinders out there, the 0.76x finder found in the Canon EOS-1D X. The EVF is also quite sharp, thanks to a 2,359k-dot resolution. Its size and crispness work together to make it easy on your eyes, and when coupled with focus aids like magnification and peaking, it offers a more precise manual focus experience than modern optical viewfinders.
Another advantage to the electronic viewfinder is a real-time exposure preview. The A7R II shows you just how bright your exposure will be in real time by default. This can be disabled for those times when that's not desirable—like when you're working with off-camera studio lights. The A7R II doesn't include an internal flash or a PC Sync socket, but you can use an external trigger like a PocketWizard to fire external flashes at a minimum 1/250-second sync speed.
But, like any EVF, the A7R II's finder can get a little choppy in low light. I found it to be quite smooth in most situations, even a dimly-lit home—but if you're working in a very dark environment, expect some choppiness. The same is true for the rear LCD, which shows the same feed. It's a 3-inch panel with a 1,228k-dot resolution. It's mounted on a hinge, which allows you to view it from above or below, but it doesn't face forward—this isn't exactly a selfie camera. The LCD also lacks touch input support, a feature that is available in more and more mirrorless cameras.
The tilting design is a plus when working at a low angle on a tripod, and also allows you to hold the A7R II at waist-level like you would a medium format camera with a top-down viewfinder. But there's one problem with using the camera at waist level. The eye sensor, which automatically switches the video feed between the EVF and rear LCD, is very sensitive. It turns off the LCD quite liberally, even when the sensor is a good six inches from your body. You can disable the eye sensor and switch to the LCD only via the menu, but that's a pain. Other cameras with EVFs, including the Olympus OM-D E-M1, include a button that can toggle LCD only, EVF, or eye sensor control, eliminating the need to dive into a menu to do so. The A7R II lacks this function. You can set one of its programmable buttons to act as a Finder/Monitor select to toggle between the two, but in order to do that you'll need to disable the eye sensor entirely. It's odd that there's no way to use a single button to toggle between the EVF, LCD, and automatic switching via the eye sensor.
Wi-Fi and Apps
As with the first-generation Alpha 7, Wi-Fi is built into the A7R II. Its basic function, copying images and videos over to your phone, works as expected. Even if you're shooting in Raw only, you can copy images in JPG format over (the camera extracts the JPG that's embedded in a Raw image for transmission), as well as videos recorded in MP4 format. But footage shot in XAVC S or AVCHD cannot be transmitted wirelessly.
Remote control is also available. By default, the included remote software is very basic—it can only be used to adjust exposure compensation and fire the shutter. But you can upgrade it to a more robust version that allows for manual shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, focus mode control, and adds the ability to tap an area of the frame to set the focus point. It is still limited to capturing JPG images, however, so Raw shooters are going to feel a bit limited. In order to download apps you have to create an account with Sony, or log in with an existing one, and connect the A7R II to a Wi-Fi network. This involves quite a bit of typing using an on-screen keyboard; a touch screen would have come in handy for that.
See How We Test Digital Cameras
There are additional apps available beyond the updated remote control. Some are free, like a Direct Upload app to post pictures from the camera to popular sharing apps, and Touchless Shutter, which lets you fire the shutter by waving your hand in front of the eye sensor. But others are priced anywhere from $4.99 to $9.99. I'm glad that Sony is expanding the functionality of the camera via apps, but it's a shame that it has decided to charge a premium for apps when the body is already priced above $3,000.
Performance and Focus System
The Alpha 7R II starts, focuses, and fires in 1.6 seconds, just a beat slower than the 1.5 seconds notched by the Alpha 7 II. When set to continuous drive mode it shoots at 5 frames per second, regardless of file format or focus mode. It can keep its 5fps pace for 22 Raw+JPG, 23 Raw, 25 Xtra Fine JPGs, or 36 Fine JPGs before slowing down considerably. It requires about 30 seconds to fully commit a Raw+JPG burst to a SanDisk 280MBps memory card, but can clear a Raw or JPG burst in about 20 seconds. The Alpha 7 II also shoots at 5fps, but can go for a longer duration (25 Raw+JPG, 27 Raw, or 65 JPG); that's not surprising when you consider that it's shooting at 24 megapixels rather than 42.
The Alpha 7R II is a little slow to focus, requiring 0.2-second to lock and fire on our bright light target when paired with the FE 55mm f/1.8. The Alpha 7 II locks in 0.05-second, which explains why it takes the Alpha 7 R II just a little longer to power on, focus, and fire. In very dim light the A7R II locks in 0.7-second, about the same speed as the A7 II. With continuous autofocus enabled our tracking tests, the camera maintains its 5fps shooting rate, with a good, but not quite perfect, hit rate for in-focus shots.
Autofocus is handled by a hybrid on-sensor system. The A7R II uses both contrast and phase detect points to acquire focus. Sony has used on-sensor phase detection before, including in the Alpha 7 II and the APS-C Alpha 6000, but the A7R II is the first model that promises to focus SLR lenses just as quickly as it would with a native mirrorless FE-mount lens.
This allows owners of Sony and Minolta A-mount lenses to use the comparatively inexpensive LE-EA3 ($199.99) adapter and take advantage of the A7R II's focus system, rather than opting for the pricier LA-EA4, which includes its own dedicated autofocus sensor. Focusing off the image sensor itself has another advantage that has nothing to do with cost—there's no need to make autofocus microadjustments to a lens and body pair as is sometimes necessary when using a dedicated autofocus sensor.
But the technology is not limited to Sony lenses. With the right adapter, Canon EF lenses can also be focused at full speed—and it's likely just a matter of time before a similar device for Nikon lenses is available. Sony supplied a Fotodiox Pro Lens Mount Auto Adapter ($109.95) along with the Alpha 7R II for testing. I tried it with several EF lenses, including the EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM ($1,249), the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM, the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x ($10,999), and the Sigma 150-600mm DG OS HSM Sports.
The results were mixed. I found that, with all but the Fisheye (which focused consistently in the field), the camera would either lock on immediately and easily track moving targets, or it would hunt back and forth, never locking on. The focus mode had a lot to do with it—when I used a wide field with AF-S I had the best luck in acquiring focus quickly. Switching to AF-C made that hit or miss, and using any area smaller than the Wide option made the lens hunt back and forth. Now, your results may vary based on the specific lens you use and the adapter you choose—I didn't have a Metabones adapter on hand to see if its performance was better. But if you're considering the Alpha 7R II specifically as a back to use with Canon EF lenses, it's worth the time and cost of a rental to see how it performs with the specific lenses which you wish to adapt.
Of course, that leads to the question of why you need to adapt lenses at all. One reason may be if you already have a hefty investment in Canon glass and are intrigued by the image quality that Alpha 7R II delivers. Or you could simply be looking to fill gaps in Sony's lens lineup. Despite having a wide range of solid full-frame lenses ranging from 16-240mm, longer telephoto lenses are, to this point, absent.
And, for manual focus, you can use Leica M lenses with the A7R II via a mechanical adapter. Given the high cost of digital Leica cameras like the M Monochrom (Typ 246), it's no surprise that some owners of M lenses look to Sony cameras as a digital platform. We looked at the performance of adapted lenses in detail with the first generation of Alpha 7 cameras. The Alpha 7R II adds stabilization to adapted lenses via an internal 5-axis system, and does a very good job of controlling color shift at the edges of the frame. Certain wide angle lenses, including the original version of the Voigtlander 15mm, are very prone to color shift when paired with digital bodies. When paired with the Alpha 7R II there is no color shift evident, although the corners are still a bit muddy in tems of sharpness. The Voigtlander 15mm is a torture test when it comes to digital sensors, so the lack of color shift is a very good sign for owners of M lenses looking at the A7R II as a digital platform. The shot of the headstones directly above was shot with the Voigtlander 15mm lens.
Image and Video Quality
We're reviewing the Alpha 7R II as a body only—Sony doesn't offer it as a kit—but we did benchmark a few different lenses using the camera. They include the Sony 90mm Macro, the Zeiss Batis 25mm, and the Zeiss Batis 85mm. As with other high-resolution camera bodies, it takes care to take full advantage of the sensor's resolution. You'll want to keep your shutter speed shorter than you'd think you need—even with the aid of in-body image stabilization and an electronic first-curtain shutter—and make sure that you're using top-end glass.
I used Imatest to see just how well the A7R II's 42-megapixel image sensor performs across its ISO range. When shooting JPGs at default settings it keeps noise under 1.5 percent through ISO 12800, which is a fine result. There is certainly some in-camera noise reduction going on here, as there is with any JPG engine. I took a close look at images from our test scene on a calibrated NEC MultiSync PA271W display. Detail holds up quite well through ISO 6400, with a slight drop in clarity at ISO 12800. There's another drop at ISO 25600, but it's not until ISO 51200 and the top ISO 102400 setting that I'd consider JPGs to be overly blurred.
Of course, you'll likely want to shoot in Raw format when working with a camera like the A7R II. I converted Raw images using Lightroom CC with default develop settings enabled. Image detail is strong through ISO 25600, and while there's some noise when you push the sensor that far, it's not overly distracting, nor does it detract from detail. Noise is stronger at ISO 51200, and very fine detail is blurred, but it's still a setting that I wouldn't hesitate to use if the shot called for it. Noise is more of an an issue at ISO 102400. I've included pixel-level crops taken from both JPG and Raw images in the slideshow that accompanies this review so you can judge performance for yourself.
At launch time, the Sony Raw format is compressed. A firmware update is coming to add uncompressed 14-bit Raw capture as an option. The effects of the compressed format are most evident in transition between bright light and shadow. Our studio and field tests were shot before the firmware update was available.
The A7R II is a formidable video camera. It supports recording at up to 4K resolution using the XAVC S codec at a 100Mbps rate at either 30 or 24fps. The camera can shoot 4K footage using the full width of the sensor, or you can set it to crop to a Super 35 (roughly APS-C field of view). The cropped footage is of higher quality, as it avoids the pixel binning that is performed when recording in full-frame, but don't feel as if you need to shoot in the cropped mode. If you're looking to capture a very wide field of view, there's no reason not to shoot full-frame.
Standard HD capture at 1080p is also supported. When working with the XAVC S coded at 50Mbps you can shoot at 24, 30 60, or 120fps. When recording in either XAVC format you'll need a fast UHS-3 SDXC memory card. AVCHD and MP4 are also supported at 1080p, and don't require the latest memory cards to work.
The 4K footage is superb. The footage is quite sharp and thanks to the 5-axis in-body stabilization system, handheld video is steadied, even when you're working with a lens that doesn't include its own stabilization system. The footage is saved to a memory card at a 4:2:0 sampling rate, but if you have an external recorder you can take advantage of 4:2:2 output via its micro HDMI port. There's an internal microphone, which is fine for casual clips, but for more serious video projects you can add an external microphone, either via the standard 3.5mm input jack, or by adding an XLR accessory via the hot shoe. There's also a 3.5mm headphone jack for monitoring, and a micro USB port for in-camera battery charging.
Sony also includes an external battery charger, and the camera ships with two batteries. Battery life is a concern with this and other cameras in the series. CIPA rates the Alpha 7R II for 340 shots when using the LCD, and 290 shots with the EVF. Results can vary based on how you use the camera—I managed to get 435 shots and a few minutes of 4K video on a single charge, but I was careful to turn the camera off when not in use. When working on lab tests, which use a self-timer and leave the rear LCD on for long periods of time, I burned through 30 percent of a full charge in about 120 shots, which is more in line with the CIPA rating.
Standard SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards are supported. But you'll want a fast UHS-3 SDXC card to get the most out of the camera in terms of shot-to-shot speed and video quality.
The Sony Alpha 7R II is a worthy update to its predecessor. It improves upon image quality, adds in-body image stabilization, offers improved EVF magnification, adds 4K video, and is more comfortable in the hand. But it comes at a pretty steep uptick in price—the A7R II's MSRP is a full $900 higher than the original Alpha 7R. When we reviewed the first generation Alpha 7 cameras, we awarded Editors' Choice honors to the Alpha 7R, with the Alpha 7 as a strong second-place finisher.
With this generation, however, the results have flipped. Even though its video capture capabilities are limited to 1080p and its image sensor is "only" 24 megapixels, the Alpha 7 II is our Editors' Choice for full-frame mirrorless cameras. The fact that the Alpha 7 II is $1,500 less expensive than the 7R II plays a big part in that, but the simple fact of the matter is that the standard 7 II is plenty of camera for most photographers. The 7R II is more specialized, meeting the needs of shutterbugs after the most in resolution. Sony has another model in the updated family, the Alpha 7S II, which is aimed squarely at videographers—but it's not yet shipping.
Bottom Line: The Sony Alpha 7R II is a full-frame mirrorless camera that delivers absolutely incredible image and video quality, but it will cost you.
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Jim Fisher Lead Analyst, Cameras
Lead camera analyst for the PCMag consumer electronics reviews team, Jim Fisher is a graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he concentrated on documentary video production. Jim's interest in photography really took off when he borrowed his father's Hasselblad 500C and light meter in 2007. He honed his writing skills at retailer B&H... See Full Bio
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The Best Digital Cameras for 2019
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New Zealand man gets 21 months for sharing Christchurch massacre video
Mekhi Alfaro
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – Philip Arps, a man from New Zealand, has been jailed for 21 months after sending the Christchurch shooting video to a friend and at least 30 other people.
Stephen O'Driscoll, Christchurch District Judge mentioned that Arps has unrepentant views regarding the Muslim community.
On Tuesday, Arps pleaded guilty as he faced two charges involving the distribution of objectionable material, particularly for sharing footage of the live-streamed attack.
Arps intended to share a modified video with crosshairs and kill-count. The New Zealand Herald also reported that he described the modified footage as "awesome".
Judge O'Driscoll condemned Arps for his actions, calling it a hate crime that's particularly cruel.
Despite this, O'Driscoll said he doesn't want to publicize Arp's case as he might see this as a "badge of honour".
The 44-year old businessman was convicted of offensive behaviour in 2016, after leaving a pig's head outside the Al Noor mosque, one of the targeted sites of the mass shooting in Christchurch.
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Board member quits over SAD 6 superintendent search
Phil Pomerleau quits after criticizing a search process that generated just one applicant.
A board member for School Administrative District 6 in Buxton has resigned, claiming the hiring process for a new superintendent was not sufficiently transparent or thorough.
At its meeting Monday night, the SAD 6 Board of Directors approved interim Superintendent Paul Penna for the vacant post. His predecessor, Frank Sherburne, resigned last year under pressure for violating the district’s nepotism policy by hiring his son.
Also on Monday, the board accepted a resignation letter from Phil Pomerleau of Standish. Pomerleau won his seat on the school board last summer, but he stopped attending meetings in the fall. In his resignation letter dated Feb. 27, Pomerleau suggested the board members who worked with Sherburne had long ago decided who would be hired as superintendent.
“I wish the best for Superintendent Paul Penna,” Pomerleau wrote. “My main reason for resigning is due to the fact that the Sherburne veterans continue to deceive the public and the new school board members, because we all know that ‘the train left the station’ in November for the new superintendent search.”
ONLY INTERNAL CANDIDATES
Sherburne resigned in May. Lester Harmon, the board’s chairman, said the search committee for his replacement included a parent, two students, six board members, a representative from each of the three collective bargaining units, a business owner and a municipal officer. Assistant Superintendent Michael Roy then served as the interim superintendent until Penna took over the job in August.
In November, the board hired the Maine School Management Association to begin a formal search. Harmon estimated the district would pay the organization between $3,000 and $3,500 by the time the final invoices are received. During workshops, Harmon said the board decided to seek only internal candidates to “maintain continuity.”
“The board determined that we had multiple outstanding educators that were currently qualified and certified within our district,” he wrote in an email.
One person – Penna – applied for the job. He was unanimously approved by both the search committee and the board of directors.
“We are pleased to have Paul Penna continuing in the position of superintendent of MSAD 6 schools. He has brought positive energy to the role of interim superintendent and we look forward to working with him in his permanent role,” Harmon said in a press release after the vote.
Penna previously worked as the principal of Bonny Eagle High School. He has also worked as a police officer in South Portland, as a guidance counselor at Oxford Hills Junior High School and Portland High School, and as an assistant principal at Portland High School.
SEARCH A WASTE OF MONEY?
“At the end of the day, I’ve lived my professional career working to change the climate and culture of schools to make it better for students,” Penna said Tuesday. “Now I find myself part of a team to influence that.”
In his new role, Penna said he hopes to keep communication open and to continue implementing proficiency-based learning standards. He praised the staff for its response to last year’s controversy.
“We felt that it was a difficult situation, but you can’t just give up on what’s happening,” Penna said. “If you want something to be better, you have to jump in and contribute. As a group, the administrators got together and said we’ve got to pull together. We had to move forward for the future.”
Pomerleau, who previously served as a town councilor, said he respects Penna and doesn’t begrudge him the job. Rather, he said the board made the public believe the search was broader than it was.
“Paul Penna is a nice guy,” Pomerleau said in an interview. “In a field of candidates, he might have got it anyway. But there was never a field of candidates. The search committee and the survey and all this dancing they’ve been doing, they had a candidate the whole time. They wasted a ton of money and a ton of time.”
PENNA PRAISED IN POLL
As part of its search, the board circulated a survey to determine what the community wanted from its next superintendent. A majority of the 458 anonymous responses came from parents and employees.
Several people asked for a candidate with history in the district, and even mentioned Penna by name.
“I feel like the ability to rebuild trust among staff, administration and community is the primary role,” one commenter wrote. “I have been very happy with Mr. Penna’s work in this line. He values staff, understands how schools work, prioritizes what is best for students and is positive in his communications.” A smaller number suggested the district hire someone with outside experience.
“The board did the students of SAD 6 an injustice by not going outside the district to look for a superintendent,” one said.
SAD 6 includes the towns of Buxton, Hollis, Limington, Standish and Frye Island. With about 4,000 students and more than 600 employees, the district is the fourth largest in Maine.
Penna earned $106,196 as the head of Bonny Eagle High School. As interim superintendent, his salary was $128,000. At the time of Sherburne’s resignation, the superintendent’s salary was $122,000.
Penna’s pay as the permanent superintendent will be negotiated and approved by the board March 20, and his official tenure as superintendent will start the next day.
Megan Doyle can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:
Twitter: megan_e_doyle
standish maine
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GIONCARLO VALENTINE
Rana Young January 12, 2018
Gioncarlo is a writer and photographer from Baltimore, living and working in NYC.
He attended Towson University in Maryland before tiring of the white, languid, phallocentric ideas of his institution, and dropping out to move to New York. He is currently freelancing and has written and photographed for The New York Times, The Fader, Philadelphia Print Works, and Apogee Journal among many others.
My work is often about longing for community. So much of my life has been a desire to belong, to feel enveloped in a space and included. I find myself in many intersections: gay, Black, fat, femme, etc. However, even in these intersectional spaces I often find myself on the outside looking in. Much of the work that I make is a dissection of this desire to belong and the convoluted relationships between my intersections, and how this conflict resonates throughout so many Black and LGBTQ+ experiences.
I use photography as a tool of reconciliation. It allows me to connect with people in a tangible and authentic way, and oftentimes to lift people up and create space for vulnerability. My approach to language and photography is often anthropological and political, dissecting rituals, exploring notions of identity, and agitating cultural norms.
How does poverty affect the strength of community? What does a portrait mean to a group of isolated persons? How can we do less harm to people more vulnerable than we are through reckoning with our own role in their vulnerability? How do you accurately tell a story without erasure, domination, or gaze? Which has more value for disadvantaged communities, inclusivity, representation, or positionality? Questions like these drive my work and form my photographic sensibilities. The aim is to confront these ideas in a way that illuminates Blackness in its simplest forms, irrespective to whiteness or the politics of domination.
© Gioncarlo Valentine
Congratulations on winning Juror’s Choice in our recent exhibition, HATCH! Can you tell us what first drew you to photography?
Thank you so much, I was extremely excited when I found out my work was chosen. I felt incredibly affirmed.
My iPhone 3GS and my desire to make pictures of my best friend at the time drew me to photography. In 2010 I purchased a Sony NEX5N and a Pentax K-X (in Ruby Red), because we had literally depleted my phone’s memory with the pictures we took in the bathroom mirror. The photos we took were less about vanity, and more about autonomy and ownership. We wanted to be seen, to be valued and adorned. But I think I was always very close to the medium. The older that I get the more I understand my constant proximity to my family’s archive. We were very transient and I was the keeper of record. I kept, and still keep, all of the family photos. I bought (read stole) so many disposable cameras from the Rite Aid as a kid, it was important for me to document the good times, because although my family’s experience was incredibly jarring, there were so many laughs and entirely too much love. This too needed to be documented.
I am driven by nothing more than photography and writing, these are more than the areas that I’ve excelled in the most, they are the areas that have made me most human. My ultimate goal is to find a version of mastery in these mediums, to have a career like Hilton Als or Dawoud Bey. To have a legacy that shows Black folks who are underfunded, under-educated, but overly ambitious and incredibly devoted, that they can topple these structures and create a space for their excellence to speak. I want to demystify the exhausted notions that in order to achieve photographically, you have to have an MFA, go to Yale, or regurgitate work that is completely interchangeable.
I always envision having a career that is sectioned off in eras. I want to have an era where I’m shooting documentary and photojournalism. I want to have an era where I’m shooting musicians and writing profiles. I want to be a photo editor at The New York Times. I want to teach at some point. I want to start a non-profit organization for transgender women and men of color, in Baltimore.
Achieving these dreams/goals is the driving force of my life and I have very few days when I’m not working toward it.
I write constantly. I submit pitches, essays, and photographs non-stop. I’m always jotting down ideas and applying for residencies, fellowships, and grants. I’m always building community with the people who inspire me most. Cultivating those spaces and working from that kind of atmosphere keeps me inspired.
2018 is going to be a lot of hard work, more than I’m used to. I’ve signed up to do way too much stuff already and the year is just beginning. I’m still working on my Trans Quality of Life photo project which centers the stories of seven Black, transgender men and women, in an attempt to show the nuances of the Black trans experience. The project has been incredibly informative and challenging. I don’t imagine it will be complete this year, but we’ll see.
I’m working on a few other photo essays/stories for some of my favorite publications as well. I’m applying for everything under the sun, because there’s nothing cute about a broke ass artist. And I’m working on a manuscript for my debut book. She’s very busy. Lol
Stephen Obisanya is such a brilliant photographer. His photographic eye is concise and audacious. He is incredibly devoted.
I’m obsessed with Zora Murff’s work. I usually find it hard to be interested in the MFA approach to photography. I find that it’s always lacking something. It tends to center coldness, emptiness, isolation, and antiquated notions of imagery. Black people are incredibly warm, colorful, soulful, and lively so this approach to telling our stories rarely makes an impact on me. But Zora is masterful. His work manages to blend a studious approach to creating images and offering context, while keeping the soul of Black folks intact. I am so impressed by him.
I love Ethan James Green’s work, he is absolutely brilliant. I’m crazy about Meron Menghistab’s work; it’s playful, intricate, and expertly rendered. I’m an enormous fan of Brad Ogbonna’s as well. His images are overflowing with personality and life, just like him. He’s amazing! I’m obsessed with Haruka Sakaguchi. She is a phenom. That woman is dedicated to telling stories with grace and care in a way that enamors me. I LOVE Elliot Jerome’s work! He’s like an alien in his approach to beauty. He sees so many things that most people ignore. His work is so fascinating. I also love Emir Fils-Aime, Dana Scruggs, Retina Stewart, and Ryan JenQ. All brilliant artists who make beautiful, evocative work, and do so exceptionally well!
KEEP UP WITH GIONCARLO
@gioncarlovalentine
In Spotlight Tags Gioncarlo Valentine
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Text | An Act Abolishing the Pork Barrel System
by Pinoy Weekly
Delegates of the People’s Congress link arms to show unity against pork barrel. Ilang-Ilang Quijano
Editor’s Note: We are publishing in full the proposed bill to abolish the pork barrel system through the people’s initiative, ratified in a People’s Congress held last August 23. Carol Araullo, convenor of Abolish Pork Movement, described the bill as a product of a “long, painstaking, and democratic discussion by experts and non-experts alike.” The People’s Initiative to Abolish Pork Barrel said that around six million signatures from registered voters are needed to pass the said bill.
ABOLISHING THE PRESIDENTIAL AND CONGRESSIONAL PORK BARREL SYSTEM, STRENGTHENING THE SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES OVER PUBLIC FUNDS, PROHIBITING CERTAIN ACTS, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR
SECTION 1. Short Title—This Act shall be known as “An Act Abolishing the Pork Barrel System.”
SECTION 2. Declaration of State Policies and Principles. – This act is a direct exercise of sovereign power by the people of their authority to enact legislation reserved by the Philippine Constitution.
The sovereign people affirm the need to establish a system of strict accountability over the use of public funds to ensure that they are spent solely for functions, programs, projects and activities that redound to the interest of the people, especially the poor and marginalized sectors of Philippine society.
Recognizing that the pork barrel system is one of the main sources of graft and corruption and of patronage politics, the State shall ensure that measures designed to eliminate the rules and practices of the pork barrel system are in place and that the mechanisms of checks and balances are strengthened.
SECTION 3. Definitions. For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall mean:
(a) Pork Barrelis a lump sum public fund assigned by law, regulation or practice with sole discretion given to the President, legislator or group of legislators, or any public officer. The exercise of discretion by public officers relates to the allocation, release or use of these public funds, the identification or selection of projects, implementors or beneficiaries, or any or a combination of or all of these.
(b) A lump sum appropriation is a single but divisible sum of money which serves as a funding source for unspecified or multiple purposes and leaves the purposes of the appropriation and their actual amounts for further determination after the enactment of the appropriation law. Said appropriationis not itemized or does not specify the program, activity or project or implementing government agency for which it is appropriated, including the allotment class, beneficiaries, and other matters required to be disclosed by government agencies in their budget estimates under existing law.
(c) Impoundment is the act of not spending money appropriated by law. Impoundment may be through rescission or cancellation of the appropriation, or deferral or suspension of the release of the appropriated funds.
(d) National Official under this Act refers to the President, head of department or national agency or his/her respective subordinate, agent, or authorized representative, and any member of Congress.
(e) Savings refers to any available portion or balance in an appropriation item under the law, which has become free from any obligation or encumbrance as a result of (i) the completion or final discontinuance as certified by the President or abandonment, due to fortuitous events, of the work, activity or purpose for which the appropriation is authorized; or (ii) the non-payment of compensation and related costs as a result of vacancies in positions and leaves of absence without pay; or (iii) the implementation of measures resulting in improved systems and efficiencies that enabled government agencies to meet and deliver the required or planned targets, programs and services approved in an appropriation law at a lesser cost.
SECTION 4. General mandatory rules governing appropriations and disbursement of public funds.
(a) All proposed budgets submitted to the Philippines Congress shall contain only itemized or line-item appropriations, except appropriations for the purpose of disaster response, contingency fund of not more than 5% of the budget for a specific item, and for the intelligence/confidential funds of the National Security Council (NSC), the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
(b) The expenditures from allowable lump sums shall be reported immediately to Congress by the government agency to which the sum has been appropriated and shall always be subject to a special audit by the Commission on Audit.
(c) All unspent, unreleased, and unobligated funds of any government agency by the end of the fiscal year shall remain in or revert to the General Fund and shall not thereafter be available for expenditure except by a subsequent appropriation law; Provided, however, that the President, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the heads of Constitutional Commissions may authorize their respective government agency or office to use the savings realized by the agency or office from its regular budget during the fiscal year to augment any existing appropriation item for the same agency or office under the general appropriations act; Provided, further, that the augmentation may only be done during the same fiscal year when the savings were realized; Provided, finally, that the power to realign or use savings may not be delegated to other public officers.
SECTION 5. Appropriation of special funds. Within the fiscal year following the approval of this Act, a report on the financial status of every account including but not limited to the Malampaya fund, the Motor Vehicles Users Charges and other off-budget items covered by a special law authorizing the continuous disbursement of funds for a special purpose shall be submitted to Congress. Every fiscal year thereafter, the President shall submit to Congress a proposed budget for the disbursement of the special funds in accordance with their purpose as part of the National Expenditure Program.
SECTION 6. Abolition of the Presidential Social Fund. The share of the Government in the aggregate gross earnings of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation provided under Section 12 of Presidential Decree No. 1869 as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1993 shall henceforth be remitted regularly to the National Treasury and may be used only pursuant to a valid appropriation made by law. The discretionary authority of the President granted under the aforesaid Section 12 to use the fund “to finance” the restoration of damaged or destroyed facilities due to calamities” is hereby revoked.
SECTION 7. Special Offenses. The penalty of imprisonment of six (6) years and one day to ten (10) years and perpetual disqualification from public office shall be imposed on the following persons for committing any of the following acts:
(a) Any national official who authorizes the spending of public money that is not covered by or is in violation of any appropriation law;
(b) Any national official who, in violation of Section 4 (a), includes a lump sum amount in any budget proposal submitted to Congress, or any member of Congress who approves the inclusion of any lump sum amount in the general or supplemental appropriations acts; Provided, that the appropriation of lump sums for the purpose of disaster response, a contingency fund of not more than 5% of the budget for a specific item, and for the intelligence fund of the NSC, DND and DILG shall not be covered by this prohibition;
(c) Any national official who inserts in an appropriation bill provisions allowing post-enactment intervention by a member or members of Congress in the implementation of the appropriation measure;
(d) Any member of Congress, or his agent or representative, who directly or indirectly intervenes or participates in the implementation of any appropriation law through any post-enactment act or practice, including but not limited to identification or endorsement of projects, beneficiaries or contractors, or assuming authority or exercising influence in the release, allocation or realignment of appropriated funds;
(e) Any national official who declares and utilizes savings outside of the cases provided in Section 3(e) hereof, or realigns the improperly declared savings;
(f) Any national official who impounds any appropriation or portion thereof by retention, reduction, rescission or deferral or suspension of release of funds, or any other means, for whatever reason or purpose, unless there is an official declaration by the President of an unmanageable National Government budget deficit.
(g) Any person including a private individual who persuades, induces, influences or cooperates with any national official in violating any of the provisions of this Act shall suffer the same penalty.
The above penalties shall be in addition to the criminal, civil and administrative liabilities that the national official or private individual may incur under existing laws.
SECTION 8. Diligence required; presumption. All public officers involved in the approval, release and disbursement of funds shall exercise extraordinary diligence in the performance of their functions. When an anomalous transaction is duly proved, the public officer responsible for the approval, release or disbursement of funds shall be presumed to have knowledge of the anomalous transaction.
SECTION 9. Repealing clause. Any law, presidential decree, executive order, rule or regulation, or any issuance contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, including Section 12 of PD 1869 as amended by PD 1993, is hereby repealed, modified or amended accordingly.
SEC. 10. Amendment or repeal of this Act. This Act may only be repealed, modified or amended by a law that has been approved by the people under the system of initiative and referendum enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.
Effectivity Clause. This law shall become effective after fifteen (15) days following the completion of its publication in two newspapers of general circulation by the Commission on Elections.
Enacted this ____ day of ___________________________, through the system of People’s Initiative.
Pinoy Weekly
This is a product of collaboration between writers, photographers and/or artists of Pinoy Weekly.
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Quote Coyote
your daily source for inspiration...
“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”
— John Wooden
“Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who'll argue with you.”
“If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.”
“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
“The first step in forgiveness is the willingness to forgive.”
— Marianne Williamson
“Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.”
“The top of one mountain is always the bottom of another.”
“Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we learned here.”
“Luck is believing you're lucky.”
— Tennessee Williams
“You can't fix stupid.”
— Ron White
“The only sense that is common in the long run, is the sense of change and we all instinctively avoid it.”
— Elwyn Brooks White
“Genius is more often found in a cracked pot than in a whole one.”
“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”
“Love isn't an emotion or an instinct - it's an art.”
— Mae West
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
“Nobody gets justice. People only get good luck or bad luck.”
— Orson Welles
“A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet.”
“If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.”
“Character is power.”
— Booker Washington
“Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.”
“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.”
— Alice Walker
“I have learned not to worry about love; but to honor its coming with all my heart.”
“It is important to remember yourself.”
“Propaganda is amazing. People can be led to believe anything.”
“My father taught me that the easiest thing to do was to quit. He'd say, 'It doesn't take any talent to do that.'”
— Ken Venturi
“There are two great rules of life: never tell everything at once.”
“The greatest gift in life is to be remembered.”
“That man has reached immortality who is disturbed by nothing material.”
— Swami Vivekananda
About Quote Coyote
We are a group of enthusiasts and free-fall fans who enjoy a good book as well as a good laugh.
Wisdom we find in the words of others and quotes are our lives. Keep checking us out as we dig out just the right words for that right time.
Top Coyote Quotes
"Dogs never bite me. Just humans."
"Showing off is the fool's idea of glory."
— Bruce Lee
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2019© Copyright www.quote-coyote.com
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DC Metro Boston Chicago DC Metro Lehigh Valley New York Philadelphia
RCN Donates $15,000 to Girls Inc.
RCN Newsroom
RCN partners with Girls Inc. of NYC in support of educational programs offered to girls living in the five boroughs
February 13, 2014 – RCN, an industry-leading provider of High-Speed Internet, Digital TV & Phone, teamed up with Girls Inc. of NYC this past December to help raise money for the New York City-based non-profit organization which delivers life-changing programs that inspire girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Fees collected from new RCN customer installations were donated directly to Girls Inc. of NYC for the entire month.
The mission of Girls Inc. of NYC is to advocate for and improve the lives of girls aged 6-18 living in the five boroughs. Through educational programs, they empower girls to build self-esteem, take pride in success, and aspire to their fullest potential. Research-based curricula delivered by trained, mentoring professionals equip girls to succeed academically, lead healthy and physically-active lives, manage money, navigate media messages and discover an interest in science, technology, engineering and math.
“We are honored to partner with Girls Inc. of NYC,” said Bruce Abbott, General Manager of RCN New York. “As a company, we strive to help support the community and city in which we both work and live, and Girls Inc. of NYC is the epitome of those same values. It’s an amazing organization – one that is changing the lives of young girls in our city every day, and we are delighted to be a part of that.”
Pamela Maraldo, Executive Director of Girls Inc. of NYC, shared her thoughts on the cooperation of the two organizations. "RCN’s commitment to helping girls living in New York City's most economically depressed communities is extraordinary. They are a model of a compassionate brand of corporate leadership; their community impact is felt at the most fundamental level in the lives of girls we serve. We are fortunate to have partnered with them this winter and are thrilled with the outcome of the campaign, and that we can now bring more of our life-changing programs to even more girls in need.”
The donation total of $15,682 is viewed as just the first step, as both companies are looking forward to a continued partnership and other ways they can work together to support girls in New York City. Those looking to donate on their own, are encouraged to visit http://www.girlsincnyc.org.
About RCN Telecom Services, LLC RCN Telecom Services, LLC (http://www.rcn.com and rcnbusiness.com) provides industry-leading High-Speed Internet, all-Digital TV and Phone services for residential, small/medium and Enterprise business customers. PC Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Award named RCN one of the winners for best cable broadband ISPs in 2013 – RCN was rated highest in satisfaction for reliability. RCN's affordably priced advanced digital services are delivered through their proprietary, state-of-the-art fiber-rich network and supported by 100% U.S.-based customer service. RCN's primary service areas include Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley (PA), New York City, Boston, and Chicago.
About Girls Incorporated of New York City Girls Inc. of New York City inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through life-changing programs and experiences that help girls navigate gender, economic, and social barriers. Research-based curricula, delivered by trained, mentoring professionals in a positive all-girl environment equip girls to achieve academically, lead healthy and physically active lives; manage money; navigate media messages; and discover an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math. For more information visit http://www.girlsincnyc.org/index.html. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.
I'm a loyal customer and tell others about RCN.
Muhab, Washington, DC
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Partner Bios
NANCY KEYSTONE
Artistic Consultant
Nancy Keystone is a director, multi-disciplinary artist, and the artistic director of Critical Mass Performance Group. She is the company's chief investigator, writer, director, and scenic designer. As a freelance artist she has directed and designed dozens of award-winning theatre productions and opera around the country including at Portland Center Stage, Center Theatre Group, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Long Beach Opera, Actors Express, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.
Among many honors, Keystone is the recipient of a 2014 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a United States Artists Hoi Fellowship (2011), a Theatre Communications Group Alan Schneider Director Award (2003), and she has been named one of LA Times' "Faces To Watch." She holds a BA in theatre from U.C.L.A., and an MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon. She is on visiting faculty at UCLA, and is a frequent university guest lecturer around the country.
DAN KWONG
Dan Kwong is a veteran performance artist, writer, teacher and visual artist who has been presenting his solo performances since 1989. Hailed by critics as “a master storyteller”, Kwong draws upon his own life experiences to explore the personal, the historical, the social and the unspeakable. With keen insight and a generous sense of humor, he intertwines storytelling, multimedia, dynamic physical movement, poetry, martial arts and music.
NIKKEI FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND REDRESS (NCRR)
Partner Organization, Artistic Consultant
NCRR was founded in 1980 by Nikkei (Japanese Americans) from across the country. They held the firm belief that our community had to come together to fight for proper redress for what our government did to Nikkei during World War II.
We worked with the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the National Council for Japanese American Redress (NCJAR), and the Nikkei members of Congress to win passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (CLA).
Foremost has been our drive to empower the grassroots community, to help give voice to Japanese Americans who felt that they had nothing to say or that what they did have to say was not important.
NCRR helped many of them to speak out at the 1981 hearings of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC). We held countless forums to educate and activate the community to participate in the Redress Movement.
Circus Consultant
Eric's performing career began more than 20 years ago. He has been a principle performer with Cirque du Soleil Believe and Quidam; Cirque Eloize (Cirque Orchestre); Teatro ZinZanni; as well as innumerable performances of his original acts. He has coached at the SF Circus Center, throughout Los Angeles and Seattle, in London, Israel and Las Vegas. In 2002, he founded Eye of Newt Circus and created solo, duo and group aerials, ground acrobatics and character driven comic acts and innovative theatre productions.
He is recognized as a master coach/teacher and act choreographer. Eric recently added Pilates instruction to his bag of tricks, developing a synthesis of classical Pilates with aerial technique. He has been profiled in the LA Weekly, on news shows on KNBC in Los Angeles and KOMO in Seattle.
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Lundin Mining (TSE:LUN) said that mining and milling operations at its Candelaria and Ojos del Salado mines in Chile have been temporarily suspended due to heavy rainfall, which has affected power and access to the site.
The Toronto-based base metals miner said there have been abnormal rains in central and northern Chile over the last 24 hours, with the region where its mines are located especially impacted.
"The Copiapo River and lower lying communities down the valley from the mine have experienced heavy flooding in numerous locations," Lundin said in a statement.
"This flooding has closed provincial roads, disrupting access to the Candelaria Mine. No significant damage or injuries have been reported at the Candelaria mine site," it added.
Lundin is a diversified base metals company with operations in Chile, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and the US, producing copper, zinc, lead and nickel. It also holds a 24 percent stake in the Tenke Fungurume mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in the Freeport Cobalt business, which owns a cobalt refinery in Finland.
The company said it will provide another update once the impact of the Chilean flooding on regional infrastructure is better known.
Shares fell 0.6 percent early Thursday, to trade at C$5.15 as of 10:05 am ET. The stock has declined almost 10 percent so far in 2015.
]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2015 10:25:00 +0000 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/106093/lundin-minings-candelaria-operations-shut-for-the-moment-due-to-flooding-60674.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/105594/lundin-mining-gets-lift-from-dundee-capital-markets-company-deserves-a-premium-59992.html
Lundin Mining (TSE:LUN) got an encouraging boost from analysts at Dundee Capital Markets today, after the firm lifted its price target on the base metals miner to C$7.50 per share from C$7.00 per share previously.
"We believe Lundin deserves a premium given its strong financial condition and goal to eventually introduce a dividend," analyst David Charles wrote.
Adjusted earnings in the company's latest quarter came in at 10 cents per share, just above Dundee's estimate of 9 cents, and in line with consensus views.
The most recent quarter included operating earnings from the Candelaria copper mine in Chile, in which it acquired an 80 percent stake last November from Freeport-McMoRan for $1.85 billion. Although it only contributed for two months in 2014, Candelaria generated $215 million in revenues and $68 million in operating earnings, representing 23 percent and 22 percent of Lundin's entire revenues and operating earnings in 2014.
The mine is expected to more than double its 2014 copper production levels this year, with a five-year optimization plan underway.
Lundin also benefited from bringing its Eagle nickel mine into full scale production, ahead of schedule and under budget. "The mine generates good margins given the unit costs of $2.79/lb of nickel in Q4 with guidance of $2.00/lb in 2015.
"We estimate Eagle could be Lundin's biggest free cash flow generator in 2015 and higher nickel prices should have significant impact on free cash flow generation," wrote Charles in a research note released to clients earlier today.
"There were lots of moving parts Q/Q and Y/Y due to the addition of Candelaria (a game changer) and the ramp-up at Eagle, but overall we were pleased with the results," he added.
As expected, Dundee said Lundin proactively reduced its exploration budget by 20 percent and capex by 15 percent for 2015, to $460 million versus $545 million previously. Updated operating costs guidance is expected with first quarter results.
The increased price target from Dundee is based on a rise in the broker's EBITDA estimate for Lundin this year, mainly on the back of better-than-expected performance at the Eagle mine and Candelaria.
It also noted, however, that its 2015 earnings per share forecast was impacted by higher depreciation at Candelaria than originally forecasted.
Dundee highlighted the company's "solid balance sheet", even with net debt of $829 million at the end of the fourth quarter, which Charles said has already come down by $119 million, now sitting at $710 million. The company also has $350 million available on its revolving debt facility. It ended 2014 with $175 million in cash, around $1 billion in debt and a debt-to-capital ratio of 20 percent, which is "well below its peers", said Dundee.
Lundin has operations in Chile, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and the U.S. It holds a 24 percent stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Shares were up 1.7 percent at C$5.39 on Friday afternoon.
]]> Fri, 20 Feb 2015 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/105594/lundin-mining-gets-lift-from-dundee-capital-markets-company-deserves-a-premium-59992.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/105566/lundin-posts-q4-profit-drop-but-cash-flow-jumps-on-candelaria-contribution-59961.html
Lundin Mining (TSE:LUN)(OMX:LUMI) said fourth quarter net earnings fell from a year earlier, hit by a $32.3 million impairment charge tied to some Portuguese exploration assets.
For the three months to the end of December, the Toronto-based base metals miner, which reports in U.S. currency, posted net earnings of $25.8 million, or 4 cents per share, compared to $42.1 million, or 7 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.
The latest quarter included a non-cash charge of $32.3 million, reflecting the stoppage of greenfield exploration programs in Portugal, and the relinquishment of certain concessions.
The most recent fourth quarter also included operating earnings from the Candelaria copper mine in Chile, in which it acquired an 80 percent stake last November from Freeport-McMoRan for $1.85 billion. The mine is expected to contribute significantly to Lundin's earnings and cash flows going forward, it said.
Adjusted earnings came in at 10 cents per share, in line with consensus estimates.
Sales jumped to $443 million from $186.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Cash flow from operations, a key industry metric, jumped to $68.4 million from $55.2 million.
Shares rose 2.5 percent to C$5.39 on Thursday, paring year-to-date losses to 5.7 percent.
"2014 was a very important year for Lundin Mining, as the company successfully executed on its strategy to rejuvenate its asset base," said president and chief executive officer Paul Conibear in a statement late Wednesday.
"Many milestones were achieved throughout the year including: bringing the Eagle nickel mine into full scale production ahead of schedule and under budget; successfully acquiring the high quality Candelaria copper operations in Chile; and recording zinc production records at our European operations."
The CEO said the company's focus for this year will be to improve its existing operations with the advancement of brownfield exploration programs at each of its mines.
Lundin said all of its operations in 2014 "substantially met or performed better" than what was forecast in terms of production, while total capital spending was below initial guidance.
For 2015, the company is guiding for total production of between 31,000 to 35,000 contained tonnes, which includes copper, zinc, nickel and lead output. Lundin said that since its guidance was announced in December, metal prices have declined significantly, and as such, is assessing the impact on its forecasts, with updated unit cost guidance to be announced with its first quarter results.
So far, it has identified $70 million of savings, cutting its capital expenditure budget for the year to $400 million from $470 million previously. The company is also planning to cancel or defer about $15 million in exploration expenses.
Lundin, which had net debt of $829.2 million as at December 31, has operations in Chile, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and the U.S. It holds a 24 percent stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
]]> Thu, 19 Feb 2015 10:21:00 +0000 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/105566/lundin-posts-q4-profit-drop-but-cash-flow-jumps-on-candelaria-contribution-59961.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/105181/lundin-mining-still-a-top-pick-says-dundee-capital-as-fourth-quarter-delivers-59435.html
Lundin Mining (TSE:LUN) remains a top pick at Dundee Capital Markets, after announcing fourth quarter and full year production results that were "excellent", according to the analysts.
The base metals producer topped the higher end of its production guidance for zinc and nickel, and met the midpoint of guidance for both copper and lead, Dundee said.
"Whether Lundin ends up beating our Q4 EPS forecast will depend on how much of Candelaria’s production and Eagle pre-commercial production will be included in earnings rather than counted against capex," wrote analyst David Charles.
He said the bottom line is that Lundin had an operationally excellent fourth quarter and full year in 2014, as its new Eagle mine performed ahead of schedule, with Candelaria already contributing as expected.
The company produced a total of 66,128 contained tonnes of copper at its wholly owned mines in 2014, compared to guidance of 61,000 to 69,000 tonnes. For 2015, the company is expecting copper output of 78,000 to 87,000 tonnes at its wholly owned operations, unchanged from its December guidance.
The company's entire 2015 outlook for both costs and production remained unchanged, but Lundin said it could announce some capex cut to the $470 million budgeted for this year when it releases its full financial results on February 18, citing the current metal price declines.
Dundee said that in 2014, "the Eagle mine had an excellent ramp-up year with commercial production declared in November and production of nickel and copper exceeding guidance as throughput, grades and recoveries were all higher than expected."
In addition, since the closing of the Candelaria acquisition in November, the mine produced some 28,600 tonnes of copper, 318,000 ounces of silver and 16,200 ounces of gold in concentrate, in line with estimates.
The company's zinc production also reached a record due to an increased proportion of zinc ore being derived from the Lombador deposit at Neves-Corvo.
Dundee has a buy rating and a target price of $7.00 per share on Lundin, which has operations in Chile, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and the US. It holds a 24 percent stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Freeport Cobalt Oy business, which includes a cobalt refinery in Finland.
It ended the year with a net debt balance of $830 million, better than Dundee's estimate of $1 billion, and still has the entire $350 million available on its revolving credit facility.
Shares increased more than 3 percent to C$4.72 as of 3:00pm ET in Toronto, paring year to date losses to 17.5 percent.
]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2015 15:22:00 +0000 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/105181/lundin-mining-still-a-top-pick-says-dundee-capital-as-fourth-quarter-delivers-59435.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/103561/lundin-mining-buys-controlling-stake-of-chiles-candelaria-mine-from-freeport-mcmoran-57263.html
Base metals miner Lundin Mining (TSE:LUN)(OMX:LUMI) has agreed to buy up Freeport-McMoRan's (NYSE:FCX) controlling 80 percent stake in Chile's Candelaria copper mine for US$1.8 billion in cash, a move that will more than double Lundin's copper output.
Up to another US$200 million could also be paid out, calculated as 5 percent of net copper revenues in any annual period over the next five years if the average realized copper price exceeds US$4.00 per pound, according to Lundin's statement released late Monday night.
The remainding 20 percent of the copper mine will continue to be held by Sumitomo Metal Mining and Sumitomo Corp.
Lundin said the acquisition delivers long-term copper output at attractive cash costs, while diversifying its operations into Chile, one of the world's largest copper producing regions. The project is expected to immediately add to earnings and operating cash flow, as well as the company's free cash flow per share.
"The acquisition of Candelaria is a unique opportunity to acquire a large scale, high quality copper operation with strong cash flows in an excellent mining jurisdiction," affirmed president and chief executive officer of Lundin, Paul Conibear.
"This transaction further enhances our company by providing increased operational and geographic diversification, using a balanced financing structure which allows us to maintain a strong balance sheet going forward."
The deal is to be financed with US$1.0 billion in new senior secured debt, Lundin said, as well as about US$600 million in equity financing. Lundin has also executed the sale of a stream on 68 percent of Candelaria's gold and silver production to Franco-Nevada Corp (TSE:FNV), for an upfront payment of US$648 million.
The gold and silver by-product credits from the project has allowed Lundin to get about 36 percent of the initial purchase price in exchange for less than 10 percent of revenues, it said.
Candelaria, located in Chile's Atacama province near the coastal port of Caldera, is expected to produce 156,000 tonnes of copper this year, as well as 97,000 ounces of gold and 1.9 million ounces of silver. Since the mine started open pit production in the mid 1990s, it has produced some 3.6 million tonnes of copper.
The operations include one large open-pit mine as well as three underground mine and fully-owned infrastructure, including a large deep water port, a desalination plant and a grid-supplied power contract in place until 2022.
Cash costs at the operations are anticipated at US$1.80 per pound in 2014, with average cash operating costs of US$1.69 per pound over the 14-year life of the mine, excluding the gold and silver stream adjustment.
The mine has current proven and probable mineral reserves of 380.4 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.54% copper, with additional exploration potential, said Lundin.
The Franco-Nevada stream will come into effect on closing of Lundin's purchase from Freeport, with the deal expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.
Shares of Lundin fell 1.5 percent in Toronto to C$5.25, while Franco-Nevada shares rose almost 1 percent to C$53.88. In New York, Freeport's shares declined 0.8 percent to US$32.24.
]]> Tue, 07 Oct 2014 11:21:00 +0100 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/103561/lundin-mining-buys-controlling-stake-of-chiles-candelaria-mine-from-freeport-mcmoran-57263.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/103402/lundin-mining-starts-production-at-eagle-mine-shares-rise-57033.html
Shares of Lundin Mining (TSE:LUN) (OMX:LUMI) rose on Wednesday after the company announced the start of concentrate production from its Eagle nickel-copper mine in Michigan.
Construction at the Eagle mine is now mostly complete, the company said, with the project delivered on budget and ahead of its initial schedule.
The mine is planned to ship the first saleable copper and nickel concentrates during the first half of next month, and is expected to reach full design rates in the second quarter of 2015.
Shares climbed 2.5 percent to C$5.69 on Wednesday, stretching year-to-date gains to almost 24 percent.
"The Eagle Mine is a significant new, high-quality, low-cost mine, that has been constructed to the highest of safety, environmental and social responsibility standards," said president and chief executive officer, Paul Conibear.
"Our team has done an exemplary job in bringing the mine into production, and we look forward to the operation becoming a significant cash flow generator for the company and a significant contributor to the local and regional economy."
The company said total capital costs from acquisition of the mine to full completion are estimated at just below $400 million.
Mill commissioning at the Eagle mine was completed earlier this month, with continuous production beginning at the end of last week. Production over the first three full years is expected to average about 23,000 tonnes of nickel and 20,000 tonnes of copper contained metal in concentrate, Lundin said.
The Toronto, Ontario-based base metals miner has operations and projects in Portugal, Sweden, Spain and the US. It produces copper, zinc, lead and nickel.
The company also holds a 24 percent stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
]]> Wed, 24 Sep 2014 11:40:00 +0100 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/103402/lundin-mining-starts-production-at-eagle-mine-shares-rise-57033.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/102283/lundin-mining-responds-to-media-report-says-progress-made-on-potential-acquisition-55407.html
Lundin Mining (TSE:LUN), in response to media reports last week, says it has been "actively pursuing" the potential acquisition of advanced-stage projects or an operating mine, and that progress has been made on this front.
The statement was made earlier today following an article in the Globe and Mail on Friday, which reported Canada's Lundin as the front-runner to buy a major Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX) copper mine in Chile.
The article, which cited sources familiar with the matter, said Toronto-based Lundin would pay more than $2 billion for the Candelaria mine, and is reportedly to partner with Franco-Nevada (TSE:FNV) on the deal. Franco-Nevada would pay up to $1 billion for a stream of the mine's future gold production, according to the sources cited.
An article in the Chilean newspaper, El Mercurio (Spanish), today reported Lundin already acquired the mine, with the $2 billion deal coming helping Freeport sort out its current debt load of $20.9 billion.
Lundin said Monday that the pursuit of potential acquisitions is part of a "long-standing growth initiative", but made no assurances that the company will proceed with a transaction, despite the progress made. The base metals miner offered no information on the terms or conditions of any agreement relating to a possible transaction, other than to say that as a general policy, it does not publicly comment on acquisition negotiations.
It released a statement today at the request of Market Surveillance on behalf of the Nasdaq OMX Exchange, it said.
Lundin has been on the hunt for a copper acquisition for more than two years, with CEO Paul Conibear telling the Globe and Mail last year that ideal assets would have at least a 10-year mine life, and would be capable of producing some 50,000 tonnes of copper per year.
The potential purchase of the Freeport Chilean mine would boost Lundin's copper output significantly.
Lundin produces copper, zinc, nickel and lead from its properties in Europe, Africa and the United States. It already has partnerships with Arizona-based Freeport on the Tenke Fungurume copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as a refinery in Finland.
Shares of Lundin were up almost 1 percent on Monday in early afternoon trading, at C$6.33 in Toronto, stretching year-to-date gains to more than 37 percent.
]]> Mon, 14 Jul 2014 13:01:00 +0100 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/102283/lundin-mining-responds-to-media-report-says-progress-made-on-potential-acquisition-55407.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/95603/lundin-mining-bulks-up-on-low-risk-advanced-assets-with-eagle-mine-purchase-44989.html
Shares of Lundin Mining (TSE:LUN) were running 5 per cent higher on Thursday, a day after the company announced it agreed to buy the Eagle nickel-copper mine in Michigan from Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) for US$325 million in cash, bolstering its portfolio of advanced stage, low-risk assets.
The consideration includes a US$250 million purchase price, along with roughly $75 million in project expenditures from January 1, 2013 until the close of the transaction.
The project, located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, is at an advanced stage of development, with slightly more than 50 per cent of construction complete, according to a company statement. Initial output is projected to start in the fourth quarter of next year.
Annual production over the first three full years is pegged to average approximately 23,000 tonnes of nickel and 20,000 tonnes of copper, with additional by-product credits of precious metals and cobalt. Lundin said that C1 cash costs for the first three years are expected to average $2.00 per pound of nickel - putting the asset in the lowest quartile of the nickel producer cost curve.
"The acquisition of the Eagle Mine fits ideally within Lundin Mining's asset base and is the result of the disciplined approach we have been focused on for some time to acquire high quality, advanced stage assets in low risk, mining oriented jurisdictions," said president and CEO of Lundin, Paul Conibear, in the release Thursday.
Shares of Lundin advanced to as high as $4.24 in the session, lately standing at $4.15 - up by more than 4 per cent. Year-to-date, the company's stock has lost over 18 per cent.
"The Eagle Mine represents a very unique opportunity to acquire a high-grade project which is under construction and expected to begin generating significant levels of metal production and cash flow prior to the end of next year," Conibear said.
"Northern Michigan has an outstanding iron ore, gold and base metals mining history and consequently excellent regional power, road and rail infrastructure, with extensive mining expertise within local communities to support and staff Eagle Mine."
Along with the quick timeline to production and the ideal location, the company said the 8-year mine is projected to have a short payback period and strong cash flows, as well as exploration upside, with a potential for an increase in resources.
Currently, the Eagle mine has probable ore reserves estimated at 5.18 million tonnes at 2.93% nickel and 2.49% copper.The planned mine production rate is 2,000 tonnes per day.
The deposit was discovered back in 2002 by Rio Tinto, with the miner deciding to build the project in 2010 after completing economic studies. Total project capex is estimated at $770 million, of which around $355 million has already been spent as of the end of May.
Lundin said that it will spend another $400 million for the remainder of this year and next to bring the project into production, adding to the acquisition price of $325 million.
The funds for the acquisition will be taken from the company's current cash balance, as well as from a portion of its existing revolving credit facility. The deal, which is anticipated to wrap up by July, is not conditional on financing, the company said, but still needs regulatory approvals.
]]> Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:36:00 +0100 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/95603/lundin-mining-bulks-up-on-low-risk-advanced-assets-with-eagle-mine-purchase-44989.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/93220/lundin-mining-swings-to-q4-loss-on-impairment-charge-40912.html
Shares of Lundin Mining Corp (TSE:LUN)(OMX:LUMI) rose over 3% Friday, a day after reporting it swung to a net loss in its fourth quarter on an impairment charge.
For the three months that ended December 31, the base metals miner reported a net loss of $17.1 million, or 3 cents per basic share, compared to a net profit of $36.1 million, or 6 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
The company, with operations in Portugal, Sweden, Spain and Ireland, said the latest period reflected a non-cash impairment charge of $67.3 million tied to a write down of mineral properties, plant and equipment and goodwill at the Aguablanca mine.
Excluding the charge, earnings were $45.0 million or 8 cents per share.
Cash flow from operations was $49.4 million, down from $113.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Sales also slumped to $176.4 million from $242.1 million a year ago.
The company said its Neves-Corvo mine met its production goals for both zinc and copper. A significant amount of incremental lower grade, but profitable, copper ore was mined, compared to the reserve models, as additional volumes of mineralization on the periphery of stopes was encountered.
Cash costs per pound of copper sold were $2.17 for the quarter as a result of the processing of more tonnes of ore at lower grades, it said.
Its Zinkgruvan mine finished the year with "record production" of zinc, lead and copper in concentrate, the company said, with cash costs per pound of zinc sold of $0.12 for the quarter.
Aguablanca's processing operations were restarted in August, with full production achieved earlier than planned, resulting in higher than expected nickel and copper metal output.
Cash costs per pound of nickel sold were $6.19 for the quarter, which was the first quarter of full production since mining was suspended in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Lundin also said that Galmoy's mining production from remnant ores exceeded expectations for the year. Although mining stopped in the fourth quarter, processing of stockpiled ore by a third party processing facility will continue into 2013.
"Our operations continue to consistently perform. Especially pleasing this last quarter was the performance of Zinkgruvan, with record production of zinc, lead and copper in concentrate and maintaining a cash cost of 12 cents per pound of zinc for the quarter and 13 cents per pound for the year," said president and CEO, Paul Conibear.
"With the staged commissioning and substantial completion of Tenke's Phase II expansion achieved by year end 2012, we also saw record copper production at Tenke and continue to be very pleased with how this operation is running and the cash flow being generated."
Lundin holds a 24% equity stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper/cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Looking forward, the company said it expects its total 2013 production and operating costs to be "substantially in line" with 2012, with hopes of "surplus cash flows" from Tenke contributing materially to its balance sheet.
Lundin expects to spend $285 million in capital expenditures for 2013, an increase of $15 million from its previous guidance in December due to increased costs at Tenke.
It ended the period with $275.1 million of cash.
Shares of the miner were up 3.8% this morning to $4.78 in Toronto.
]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:22:00 +0000 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/93220/lundin-mining-swings-to-q4-loss-on-impairment-charge-40912.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/82113/lundin-mining-sees-higher-zinc-copper-production-in-2013-2014-22362.html
Lundin Mining (TSE:LUN) said Monday that higher grades of ore and a ramp up of production is expected to boost zinc and copper production in 2013 and 2014.
The base metals miner has operations in Portugal, Sweden, Spain and Ireland, producing copper, zinc, lead and Nickel. It also has an equity stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper/cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Lundin expects to ramp up production at its zinc plant in Neves-Corvo, Portugal, which will result in zinc production rising to 125,000-135,000 tonnes in 2013 and 145,000-155,000 tonnes in 2014 from the 109,000-125,500 tonnes expected in 2012, the company said.
Meanwhile, the miner sees copper production rising about 25 percent to 107,000-117,000 tonnes in 2013 from 2012 levels.
Nickel production will also increase in 2013, Lundin said, as Spain's Aguablanca Nickel-copper mine resumes full-scale production in late 2012, the company added.
For next year, Nickel production is seen at between 500-1,000 tonnes, rising to 5,000-7000 tonnes in 2013 and then 6,000-7,000 tonnes in 2014.
For lead, however, the company forecasts total 2012 output of 34,500-40,000 tonnes and 32,000-35,000 tonnes in 2013 and 2014 as production at its Galmoy mine ends.
Lundin Mining president and CEO, Paul Conibear, said: "We are very focused on improving our performance and meeting and improving on current production and cost targets. We have added depth both corporately and at the operations to facilitate better reliability from our mines.
"Lundin Mining is in a unique position as we offer meaningful near-term production growth to copper, zinc and Nickel, all of which is expected to be fully-funded from operational cash flow going forward."
The company earlier trimmed its 2011 copper output forecast by 5.2 percent to 71,500 tonnes. It had also marginally lowered its zinc and lead output guidance for the year.
Guidance for 2011 now remains unchanged.
Capital expenditures for 2012 are expected to be $410 million, while exploration expenditures are anticipated to increase from around $43 million in 2011 to $50 million in 2012.
The company said it was evaluating several optimization projects and expansions of current operations that could further increase production over the next few years.
Cash costs at Neves-Corvo in Portugal are estimated at $1.80 per pound after zinc by-product credits in 2012, while at the Zinkgruvan mine in Sweden, estimated cash costs are expected to approximate $0.25 per pound after copper and lead by-product credits.
Zinkgruvan is expected to remain as one of the lower cost zinc producers for the foreseeable future, Lundin said.
"As we enter 2012, we are very well positioned to continue to increase output with a good balance sheet, several internal optimization opportunities and a strong exploration focus," Conibear concluded.
]]> Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:07:00 +0000 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/82113/lundin-mining-sees-higher-zinc-copper-production-in-2013-2014-22362.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/77779/lundin-mining-shares-plummet-after-no-suitable-takeover-offers-in-the-cards-14939.html
Lundin Mining's (TSE:LUN) shares plunged 17% on Thursday after it said none of the takeover offers it has received were in the company’s best interest.
The copper explorer said its board of directors concluded that none of the potential takeover bids it received were adequate, and did not appropriately value the company or its assets, which include a 24% interest in the Tenke Fungurume copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and mines in Portugal, Sweden, Spain and Ireland that produce copper, zinc, lead and nickel.
The company also stated that the best way to create shareholder value would be to continue to manage and develop the company’s assets and to actively seek growth opportunities. Although, the Toronto-based company said it is still open to higher bids.
Lundin did not mention who the potential bidders were, or the value of their offers in its statement.
The company did say, however, that it has no plans to re-visit an earlier proposed merger with Inmet Mining this year. That deal collapsed after a hostile bid for Lundin came from Equinox Minerals in February.
Last month, after agreeing to a friendly takeover of $7.3 billion by Barrick Gold, Equinox dropped its Lundin bid.
Separately, Lundin also said that Phil Wright will retire at the end of June, having served as CEO since January 2008. Paul Conibear, Senior Vice President, will serve as Interim CEO until a permanent replacement has been found.
The board has appointed a search committee to recruit a permanent CEO and an executive recruiting firm has been retained, it added.
Shares for the company were down 17% on the day trading at $7.07 as of Thursday 3:45 p.m. EST.
]]> Thu, 26 May 2011 16:24:00 +0100 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/77779/lundin-mining-shares-plummet-after-no-suitable-takeover-offers-in-the-cards-14939.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/76749/-lundin-rejects-equinoxs-48bn-bid-proposed-debt-considered-too-risky-13085.html
Copper-focused Lundin Mining Corp (TSE:LUN)(OMX:LUMI) has recommended that its shareholders reject the hostile takeover bid from Equinox Minerals (TSE:EQN) (ASX:EQN), citing "extensive conditions" and an "inadequate price" as reasons for concern.
Last month, Equinox offered to buy Vancouver-based Lundin in a deal valued at C$4.8 billion, or C$8.10 per share, threatening the previously announced merger between Lundin and Inmet Mining (TSE:IMN) in January.
Lundin said the deal price is too low, as it offers just a 6% premium to the 20-day volume weighted average share price of the company ending the day before the bid was announced, a premium that is "substantially below premiums paid in other unsolicited metals and mining transactions".
Equinox also proposed to finance its bid with a US$3.2 billion bridge facility, led by Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, which Lundin believes to be risky.
"The offer has such extensive conditions that even if the amount of the offer was not so financially inadequate, the Board would not recommend that shareholders accept the offer because we have no confidence that it would ever close," said Lundin chairman, Lukas Lundin.
Under the terms of the Equinox offer, Lundin shareholders would receive either $8.10 in cash or 1.2903 Equinox shares plus one cent for each Lundin share. Equinox would shell out a maximum of C$2.4 billion in cash, and issue as much as 380 million shares.
Lundin CEO Phil Wright said that taking on US$3.2 billion in debt on "partially undisclosed" terms is of particular concern, as Equinox plans on repaying the loan over four years based on copper price forecasts for that period - a strategy that could go terribly wrong if the economic climate warrants, and could lead to distressed asset sales.
Lundin, based in Vancouver, produces copper, nickel, lead and zinc and holds expansion projects at its Zinkgruvan mine in Sweden and Neves Corvo project in Portugal, along with its stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper/cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Equinox, with offices in Toronto and Perth, Australia, is said to be particularly interested in Lundin's 24% holding in the DRC property. Aside from Equinox's Saudi Arabia project currently under construction, the combination of Equinox and Lundin would consist of five producing operations by mid 2012, including Equinox’s Lumwana mine in Zambia.
But Lundin said in its statement that the offer would result in a company with "increased exposure to geopolitical risks due to the location of Equinox assets in Zambia and Saudi Arabia."
"The acquisition results in a company with high Africa and Middle East concentration and few, if any synergies with Lundin Mining's business."
Lundin also cited reservations regarding the experience of Equinox's management, which the company does not believe is sufficient to operate a multi-mine entity with projects spread across seven countries.
"Equinox is essentially asking shareholders to grant them an option to acquire Lundin Mining, at their discretion, and their lenders discretion, at a price that is inadequate and containing substantial risks if implemented," said Wright.
According to reports, Lundin has decided to pursue the friendly merger with Inmet, which promises to create a new force in the copper industry, to be known as Symterra Corporation, in which each Inmet shareholder will receive 3.4918 shares and each Lundin shareholder will receive 0.3333 shares. In a statement released today, both companies announced that their special meeting of shareholders to vote on the merger has been postponed from March 28th to April 4th.
As mineral prices reach all-time highs, especially copper, consolidation has become an ever-increasing trend in the industry as companies scramble to attain new mineral properties and more importantly, added resources. The Equinox bid, which could still thwart the merger between Inmet and Lundin, could put all three companies into play as potential targets.
Lundin's rejection of Equinox's offer was based on opinions received from advisors Haywood Securities and Scotia Capital.
]]> Mon, 21 Mar 2011 08:56:00 +0000 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/76749/-lundin-rejects-equinoxs-48bn-bid-proposed-debt-considered-too-risky-13085.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/75700/inmet-mining-and-lundin-to-merge-in-9-billion-deal-11408.html
As copper prices hit record highs, Canadian miners Inmet Mining (TSX:IMN) and Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN)(OMX:LUMI) announced today that the two companies will merge to create a new copper force in the industry.
The C$9 billion deal promises to create Symterra Corporation, a new company that will have the potential to produce over 500,000 tonnes of copper annually by 2017. The merged entity will have five low-cost, long-life mines in Europe under its belt and two copper development properties, as well as a cash balance of $1.3 billion and no debt.
Consolidation has become a popular trend in the mining industry, as commodity prices have surged recently and companies scramble to attain new mineral properties.
Toronto-based Inmet produces copper, zinc and gold and has interests in four mining operations: Çayeli in Turkey, Las Cruces in Spain, Pyhäsalmi in Finland and Ok Tedi in Papua New Guinea. It also has a 100% stake in Cobre Panama, a copper development property in Panama.
Under the terms of the deal that has already been approved by both companies' boards, each Inmet shareholder will receive 3.4918 shares of Symterra, and each Lundin shareholder will receive 0.3333 shares of the new company, for each share held.
The exchange ratio represents no premium to either party based on the 30-day volume-weighted average price of both Inmet and Lundin to January 11, 2011, the companies said.
Symterra will be listed on both the TSX and OMX Nordic exchange, with chairman of Lundin Lukas Lundin as the new non-exec chairman, and head of Inmet Jochen Tilk as the new president and CEO.
"The long-term fundamentals for copper are compelling. With solid operating assets and the ability to fund its world class growth projects, Symterra provides one of the best growth profiles for copper amongst major mining companies, combined with attractive exposure to zinc and other metals," said Lundin.
The merger transaction has a break fee of C$120 million, should the deal not complete under certain circumstances. The transaction is conditional on the approval of Inmet and Lundin shareholders, as well as regulatory and other approvals, with the shareholder meeting due to take place in mid-March.
The largest shareholder of both companies have already agreed to vote in favour of the merger, including Leucadia, which represents 17.94% of Inmet shares, and Lundin, representing 12.32% of Lundin shares.
]]> Thu, 13 Jan 2011 15:34:00 +0000 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/75700/inmet-mining-and-lundin-to-merge-in-9-billion-deal-11408.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/68999/lundin-mining-ups-copper-reserves-by-23-8056.html
By Dorothy Kosich, Mineweb.com
Lundin Mining Tuesday published updated reserve and resource estimates of copper, zinc, lead, nickel cobalt and silver.
The Toronto-based miner said continued investment in exploration "has resulted in the replacement of depletion at both Neves-Corvo and Zinkgruvan and a further increase in the copper mineral resources and reserves at Neves-Corvo."
Copper reserves were up 1.35% for a total 2.14 million tonnes, while total copper resource was up 2.3% totaling 5.6 million tonnes of copper.
Zinc reserves were reported at 4.24 million tonnes, a decline of 13.1% due to a decision by Lundin to include zinc tonnages within a 20-year mining timeframe. Total attributable resource was 8.8 million tonnes of zinc.
Nickel reserves were down 13.1% to 4.26 million tonnes, while total attributable nickel resource was reported at 78,000 tonnes of nickel.
Cobalt reserves were reported at 110,000 tonnes, while total attributable resource was reported at 344,000 tonnes of cobalt.
Total attributable silver resource was up 3.8% at 351 million ounces of silver.
All reserves and resources were estimated as of June 30, 2010.
]]> Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:29:00 +0100 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/68999/lundin-mining-ups-copper-reserves-by-23-8056.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/69316/lundin-mining-increases-copper-resources-by-44-4425.html
Toronto and London-based Lundin Mining Monday reported a 44% increase in measured and indicated copper resources at the end of 2009 that will yield 160,000 tonnes of contained copper or the equivalent of two years of production.
The company also reported that three new deposits have been added to the mineral reserves of the Tenke Fungurume joint venture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in an increase in Lundin's share of proven and probable reserves of 1.1 million tonnes of contained copper for a total of 4.2 million tonnes.
Lundin owns 24.75% of Tenke, which is operated by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. Lundin's share of Tenke cobalt reserves were reported to be 444,000 tonnes.
Phil Wright, CEO of Lundin said, "Our goal this past year was to increase copper resources at Neves-Corvo and the increases we have seen continue to justify this on-going investment, and our belief that Neves-Corvo remains under-explored."
Neves-Corvo is an operating underground copper and zinc mine in Portugal. At the end of 2008, the mine produced 89,206 tonnes of copper, 22,567 tonnes of zinc, and 926,740 ounces of silver.
Proven and probable reserves at Neves-Corvo were reported to be 753,000 tonnes of copper, 190,000 tonnes of zinc, 68,000 tonnes of lead and 29 million ounces of silver
"Equally pleasing is the growth of the mineral reserves at Tenke and the significant increase in the contained copper and cobalt in reserves," Wright said.
Company-wide Lundin reported proven and probable reserves of 2.1 million tonnes of copper, 4.9 million tonnes of zinc, 1.4 million tonnes of lead, 169 million ounces of silver, 48,000 tonnes of nickel and 110 tonnes of cobalt.
Total Lundin measured and indicated mineral resources were reported at 3.9 million tonnes of copper, 6.9 million tonnes of zinc, 2 million tonnes of lead, 261 million ounces of silver, 75 tonnes of nickel, and 231 million tonnes of cobalt.
The company is scheduled to release its quarterly results Thursday.
]]> Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:20:00 +0000 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/69316/lundin-mining-increases-copper-resources-by-44-4425.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/71060/lundin-mining-sells-stake-in-ozernoe-zinc-project-to-mbc-for-us35-million-2454.html
Lundin Mining Corp (TSX: LUN) said completed the sale of its 49 percent stake in the Ozernoe zinc project in Russia to its former partner, MBC Resources Ltd, for US$35 million, terminating all of Lundin Mining's rights and obligations related to the project.
The company has received US$3.5 million, and the remainder is payable over 10 months. It expects a write-down of approximately US$17 million on the disposal.
]]> Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:41:00 +0100 https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/71060/lundin-mining-sells-stake-in-ozernoe-zinc-project-to-mbc-for-us35-million-2454.html https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/69964/lundin-mining-results-hit-badly-by-drop-in-base-metal-prices-1022.html
Lundin Mining Corp reported net loss for the fourth quarter widening to US$728.5 million from US$ 436.6 million a year earlier, saying the magnitude and speed of the fall in base metal prices since September resulted in a very difficult fourth quarter to the end of December 2008.
In the fourth quarter, sales plummeted to US$43.5 million from US$253.1 million a year earlier. For the full year, net loss widened to US$957.1 million from a US$154.2 million loss in 2007.
However, it has taken the necessary measures to re-align its operations and it is focusing on its three core assets: Neves-Corvo, Zinkgruvan and Tenke, Lundin said in a statement.
"Neves-Corvo and Zinkgruvan continue to deliver good operational results with steady, low-cost production. We have reduced capital and operating costs, taking care not to impair future production capacity, and expect Neves-Corvo, Zinkgruvan and Aguablanca to be free cash flow positive at today's prices. Tenke is ramping up and will begin producing in the second quarter of 2009, generating cash from operations and only requiring limited capital contributions in 2009,” Lundin said in a statement.
The company is in discussions with its banks to establish a suitable restructured credit facility and believes that once this is established, the company will be well placed to weather the current conditions and respond when the inevitable upturn matwerialises.
Production for 2009 is expected to be lower than 2008 taking into account the Storliden and Galmoy mine closures in May 2009, increased throughput at Zinkgruvan and slightly lower copper head-grade at Neves-Corvo. As a result of deferral of capital expenditure, the forecast for first copper ore production from the Zinkgruvan copper deposit of 2010 is under review and may be delayed.
The market outlook remains uncertain with an estimated 80 percent of zinc and over 40 percent of copper producers losing money after taking into account sustaining capital expenditures.
Metal prices are expected to stabilize during 2009 with some potential for minor increases. The longer-term outlook for metal prices remains strong and supply difficulties are expected once world growth resumes, Lundin said.
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R.I. groups debate costs, value of Constitutional Convention
Randal Edgar RandyEdgar1
PROVIDENCE � It�s voters who will ultimately decide whether Rhode Island holds a Constitutional Convention, but in the run up to Election Day, people and groups on both sides of the issue are doing their...
PROVIDENCE � It�s voters who will ultimately decide whether Rhode Island holds a Constitutional Convention, but in the run up to Election Day, people and groups on both sides of the issue are doing their best to win people to their side.
The latest dustup occurred Thursday when RenewRI, a group that supports a convention, objected to the new voter information handbook published by the secretary of state, saying the explanation it provides for ballot Question 3 is �flawed and biased.�
Among the flaws, said Gary Sasse, one of the group�s leaders: It doesn�t list the issues a convention might address. And while it refers readers to a longer report issued by a commission that was charged with providing guidance to voters, he said it merely directs people to the General Assembly�s website, without pointing them to the report.
Sasse also objected to the commission report itself, which uses the $891,000 cost of Rhode Island�s last convention, in 1986, as the basis for an estimate that a new, �similarly conducted� convention in 2016 could cost $2.5 million. The report goes on to say that the cost �could be considerably higher.�
�It�s biased,� said Sasse, who headed the Department of Administration under former Gov. Donald L. Carcieri and now leads the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University.
He said the 1973 convention cost about $20,000, and he noted that the $891,000 figure equates to about $1.9 million in today�s dollars, not $2.5 million.
�It almost makes you think those people are biased against having a Constitutional Convention,� he said.
Rep. Cale Keable, D-Burrillville, who cochaired the Bi-Partisan Preparatory Commission that prepared the report, said �it�s impossible to know exactly what a convention might cost.� But he defended the $2.5-million estimate, saying he thinks it is �a very conservative number.�
The commission report also notes the 1973 convention cost. But Keable said it is his understanding that the 1973 convention was narrower in scope than the 1986 convention. And, he added, �the 1970s number is 40 years removed. Obviously, the 1980s number is a little closer to where we are today.�
Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis� office defended its Question 3 explanation in the voter handbook, which will be mailed to homes throughout the state. The explanation is worded �exactly the same way it was worded the last time it appeared on the ballot 10 years ago,� said spokeswoman Raina Smith.
On Wednesday, the two sides went back and forth over an Internet video released by Citizens for Responsible Government, which opposes a convention. The video depicts a high-priced auction where the �next item up for bid� is the �Rhode Island State Constitution.� While men in business suits prepare to bid on women�s reproductive rights to minority rights, a narrator says money �shouldn�t be able to buy our Constitution.�
Sasse said it is �ironic that some entrenched interests seek to scare voters�by conjuring up an imagined risk to existing civil rights.�
There are checks and balances on what a convention can do, he said. A convention, he said, also provides an opportunity to address the �civil rights issue of our time,� which he described as �providing all children access to a quality education.�
�Repeated efforts to ask the General Assembly to consider this matter have fallen on deaf ears,� he said. �It is outrageous that these opponents of a convention�would deny our children the civil right of education.�
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Local students get Hollywood treatment with 14th annual Savannah Arts Film Festival
Zach Dennis @zachdennisSMN
May 8, 2019 at 3:49 PM May 9, 2019 at 8:34 AM
Limos, paparazzi and a red carpet lining Washington Street in Savannah may turn heads and make others assume a big Hollywood premiere is coming to town. Even better, on May 10, it will be highlighting some of the best work from Savannah Arts Academy’s young filmmakers.
The 14th annual Savannah Arts Academy Film and Media Festival offers students of any concentration at the high school to premiere their work to a large audience. From trailers to short films and commercials, to the more esoteric mood piece or a brief public service announcement, the festival gives the students the opportunity to display their hard work for an audience.
“(Students) have film assignments as part of their film class and often their assignments fit nicely within the categories of the film festival, but they don’t have to submit their film for entry into the festival,” said John Cook, film studies department chair and internship coordinator at Savannah Arts Academy.
“The festival is actually open to film submissions from students all over the school, so if we’ve got kids in the theater department that want to shoot a film, they can shoot one.”
Cost vs benefit
The film studies program, which Cook says is the largest of its kind in the state, contains top-of-the-line equipment and class assignments that ready students for the next step in their career paths. While Savannah Arts has some of the best equipment, their funding is more in line with other schools with similar programs. This is why Cook says the festival is one of the biggest events of the year for them.
“We’ve always got lights burning out on the lighting rigs; cameras that are getting old and that need to be replaced. We try to get the best equipment that we can and put it together for the kids, and the film festival is responsible for that in a major way,” he said.
The festival transcends the monetary gains for students — blossoming passion and creativity while hanging out with your buddies. Fulton Collins, a senior at Savannah Arts, said the biggest takeaways for him while making a movie is the ability to create something while enjoying time with friends.
“I’ll spend whole weekends just working with my friends and appreciating every day. One of the best parts of it is editing and seeing how (the movie) all comes together,” he said. Collins said he is submitting two short comedy films that he and his group created, and while that process may be fun — the nerves kick in once the lights go down at the festival.
“I remember (my) first film festival. I never really had to show (my work) to much less like 100 people, and now its here in front of hundreds and so it was kind of nerve-wracking,” he said. “I wanted to get out of the theater and just walk away because everyone's eyes are on your film and so it can be a very nerve-wracking experience.”
But those nerves lead to the lesson of learning from the criticisms, which is something junior Eric Paquette said the audience at the film festival is good at. “They are very like-minded,” he said.
Paquette is submitting two short films he made during his film studies courses at Savannah Arts, and like Collins, said the act of working with your friends makes the experience even more enriching. “I like having these outlets to express my creativity, the DIY mentality of it — going out with your friends and making a film. It’s the independence; doing what you want to do and being able to showcase that,” he said.
Both Collins and Paquette have the ability to work with industry-level equipment at school (and on loan when they head home). It's the easy accessibility to editing and production technology through iPhones and other devices that make the filmmaking process as available to all as ever before.
“That is the best thing about the access that children have to technology now is because you can make a whole movie on your iPhone,” Collins said. “It’s kind of inspiring to know that what is in your pocket can make a whole film.”
As the lights hit the red carpet, and Collins and Paquette join their classmates in the celebration of their work, the nerves will hit but the fun with their friends should allow the results to not matter in the end.
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Steinbrenner, Wooden, Thomson among year's losses in sports world
FRED LIEF -- The Associated Press
He was The Boss, and George Steinbrenner came to revel in all it would suggest.
He filled a room with loud talk and big money, making promises of players to come, games to be won and the titles that must follow. He was the principal owner of the New York Yankees, but commander was really more like it.
John Wooden was the Wizard of Westwood, a nickname he never much cared for, although the poet in him might have enjoyed the alliteration.
Teacher - not something with a whiff of alchemy and mysterious doings - would have been closer to the mark. For that's how generations of basketball players at UCLA came to regard him. He won plenty of championships, but what mattered most was the lifetime of lessons imparted.
Wooden and Steinbrenner - two towering figures in sports - died in 2010, each having transformed his game in a distinct but enduring way.
Wooden, the only member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and coach, had roots that practically went back to peach baskets and the genesis of the game itself. He died at 99, just a couple months short of a century.
Gripping a rolled-up program like a baton, Wooden was the consummate maestro. The Bruins won 10 NCAA titles and seven in a row from 1967 to 1973.
Steinbrenner's reign had the subtlety of a bullhorn. His teams also produced titles - seven World Series crowns and 11 pennants - but if UCLA thrived under the quiet, scholarly tutelage of Wooden, Steinbrenner's Yankees cranked up the volume and brought a showmanship and self-promotion that has come to define much of professional sports.
"George was The Boss, make no mistake," said Yogi Berra, who for years cut himself off from the Yankees because of Steinbrenner. "He built the Yankees into champions, and that's something nobody can ever deny."
Steinbrenner died of a heart attack at 80. He was a shadow of himself in his final years as his health weakened, the bluster and mighty pronouncements fading as his sons took control of the team. By the end, the man who was twice suspended from baseball on the way to building a sports empire was something of a beloved figure.
But no matter how much noise the Yankees created, none of it matched the din from the "Shot Heard 'Round the World." Bobby Thomson, whose home run decided the 1951 pennant for the New York Giants, died this year at 86 at his home in Savannah.
The blow came off Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 3 of a National League playoff and soared into baseball lore as the game's greatest home run. For many fans of a certain age it was a marker in their lives.
"I never thought it was going to be that big. Hell, no," Branca recalled. "When we went into the next season, I thought it'd be forgotten."
If Steinbrenner and Thomson were about sound, Bob Feller was about speed. The Iowa farm boy made it to the majors with the Cleveland Indians at just 17 and eventually to the Hall of Fame. He died at 92, his last days spent in a hospice, and was one of baseball's greatest pitchers.
Feller was blindingly fast. He struck out 15 in his major league debut and threw three-no-hitters (the only one on opening day) and 12-one-hitters. He won 266 games in 18 seasons and would have won a lot more if not for his military service. He enlisted the day after Pearl Harbor, the first major leaguer to do so.
He and Thomson died in a year in which baseball could have filled a lineup with obituaries. If Steinbrenner were looking to put someone in this dugout he could turn to Sparky Anderson. The white-haired Hall of Famer, who managed Cincinnati's Big Red Machine to championships in 1975 and 1976 and won another with Detroit in 1984, died at 76.
Football was thrown for two big losses with the deaths of George Blanda and Don Meredith. Long before Brett Favre was the measure of true grit, there was Blanda. He died at 83 after a career in which the quarterback-kicker played 26 seasons, longer than anyone in pro football. He retired a month shy of 49 before the 1976 season, spending most of his time with the Bears and Raiders.
Meredith, for a generation of fans, was the aw-shucks foil to Howard Cosell in the "Monday Night Football" booth who broke into song when a game was over. But he also quarterbacked the Cowboys from 1960-68, nearly taking the winless expansion team to an NFL title. He was 31 when he retired and 72 when he died.
Maurice Lucas, the fierce power forward who helped lead Portland to the 1977 NBA title, died of bladder cancer at 58.
Manute Bol, a lithe 7-foot-7 shot-blocker who dedicated himself to humanitarian work in Sudan, died at 47.
Larry Siegfried, who won five NBA titles in seven years with the Celtics and helped Ohio State in 1960 to its only championship, was 71.
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9 acres conserved in Westport another step in protection of Angeline Brook
With the protection of another 9 acres of forests, meadows, and streambanks along Angeline Brook in Westport, the Coalition continues to move forward with saving one of the most important remaining native sea-run brook trout habitats in southern New England.
Angeline Brook’s clear, cool waters are one of the last remaining habitats in southern New England for rare sea-run brook trout. That’s why we’re working to protect this treasure for future generations to enjoy.
This is a piece of a larger effort to protect more than 100 acres of land around Angeline Brook. Last winter, the Coalition worked with the Westport Land Conservation Trust to conserve 50 acres and expand Herb Hadfield Conservation Area, a popular network of public walking trails along Angeline Brook.
This newly preserved land is along the stream on the north side of Adamsville Road near where three separate acquisitions totaling 39 acres were completed earlier this year. An abutting land owner has committed to donate still four more acres along the stream in the coming months.
Angeline Brook is one of only a handful of coastal coldwater streams left in southern New England where sea-run brook trout live. The presence of these rare fish speaks to the pristine, undeveloped condition of the land around Angeline Brook. Protecting natural forests and wetlands around the stream helps keep water temperatures cool and provides places for fish to spawn. These natural areas also protect clean water in the Westport River estuary and Buzzards Bay.
Category: On the Land
More land conserved along Angeline Brook in Westport
These four acres of wooded field leading to Angeline Brook will help shade this important trout habitat and filter out pollution.
The Coalition continues to move forward with saving one of the most important remaining native sea-run brook trout habitats in southern New England.
Coalition and Westport Land Conservation Trust partner to protect 50 acres along Angeline Brook
This conservation partnership has led to the protection of 50 acres on Angeline Brook, forever preserving some of Westport's unique and threatened habitat for rare native sea-run brook trout.
Working to Save Buzzards Bay
The Buzzards Bay Coalition is a membership-supported organization dedicated to improving the health of the Buzzards Bay ecosystem for all through education, conservation, research, and advocacy.
We work to protect clean water on the Bay and on the land:
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Scholarship Reconsidered: A Synopsis
Equal Opportunity Grievance Procedure
Donald Dowell
The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education administer several scholarships and grants that can help you pay for college. To help you get started we’ve provided information on some of the most common types of state aid. More information available at OKcollegestart.org.
Oklahoma’s Promise
Award: Covers resident tuition only. Student is responsible for payment of fees, books, room and board or any other charges.
Eligibility: Student must be an Oklahoma resident and enroll in the program in eighth-, ninth- or 10th-grade (home-schooled students age 13, 14 or 15). The federal adjusted gross income (AGI) of the student’s parents may not exceed $55,000 at the time of enrollment. Student must be an Oklahoma resident at the time of high school graduation and must file a FAFSA to confirm that the federal adjusted gross income (AGI) of the student’s parents may not exceed $100,000 prior to receiving any program benefit. The family income will be checked each year the student is enrolled in college. See other requirements.
Application: Apply Now
Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant
Award: $1,000
Eligibility: Must be an Oklahoma resident. Must have financial need, as measured by the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) located on the Student Aid Report sent by the Department of Education upon completion of the FAFSA.
Application: Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA should be completed as soon as possible after October 1 as the date of receipt may determine eligibility.
OSRHE Academic Scholars (Automatic Qualifier)
Award: $4,000 per year from the Oklahoma State Board of Regents and a tuition waiver from RSU up to $3,000 per year (up to $1,500 per semester). This award is available for eight semesters.
Eligibility: Must score in the 99.5 percentile or above on the national ACT or achieve status as a National Merit Scholar, National Merit Finalist or U.S. Presidents Scholar. For Fall 2019, the required ACT score is a total sum score of the ACT skill areas of 135. Must enter the program the fall semester immediately after the graduation of their high school class.
Requirements: Must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher and complete at least 24 college credit hours per year.
Oklahoma residents who automatically qualify by scoring at or above the 99.5 percentile on the ACT can Apply Online Now. (Application may also be obtained from high school counselor or by contacting the State Regents student information hotline at 800-858-1840.)
Students who qualify by achieving designation as a National Merit Scholar, National Merit Finalist or U.S. Presidential Scholar can Apply Online as soon as the application is available.
Transferable: This award may be transferred from any four-year institution in Oklahoma to another four-year institution in Oklahoma after one year; from a two-year institution in Oklahoma to a four-year institution in Oklahoma after completion of an associate degree or at least 48 credit hours within their first two academic years.
OSRHE Academic Scholars (Institutional Nominee)
Eligibility: Must have a national ACT score of 30 or higher or have a 3.8 GPA and a class rank in the top 4%. Must enter the program the fall semester immediately after the graduation of their high school class.
Application: Application will be available soon.
Transferable: Students receiving the scholarship as an Institutional Nominee of a four-year university are eligible for transfer to another Oklahoma institution after one year of attendance at the nominating institution. Students receiving the scholarship as an Institutional Nominee of a two-year college are eligible for transfer to a four-year public or private Oklahoma institution after completion of an associate’s degree or at least 48 credit hours within their first two academic years at any combination of two-year colleges in the State System. In addition, the Institutional Nominee of a two-year college must attend the nominating institution for the first year.
Regional University Baccalaureate Scholarship
Award: $3,000 from the Oklahoma State Board of Regents and a tuition waiver from Rogers State University of up to $3,000 per year (up to $1,500 per semester.) This award is available for eight semesters.
Eligibility: Must be an Oklahoma resident and have either a national ACT score of 30 or above or be a National Merit Semifinalist or Commended Student.
Requirements: Must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher and complete at least 24 college credit hours per year. The scholarship is non-transferable and may only be used at the college making the award.
Foster Care Tuition Waiver
Award: Resident tuition only waiver for all courses for which resident tuition is charged. Student is responsible for all other fees and charges.
Eligibility: Must be an Oklahoma resident. Must have graduated within the previous three years from an approved high school or completed the GED requirements. Must have been in DHS custody for at least nine months between the ages of 16 and 18. Tuition waivers are available to eligible students up to 26 years of age or upon completion of a baccalaureate degree, whichever comes first.
Application: Contact the State Regents Office at 800-858-1840 or [email protected].
William P. Willis Scholarship
Award: This scholarship covers the average cost of tuition, fees, books, room and board.
Eligibility: Must be an Oklahoma resident. Must be enrolled full time and meet low income criteria as established by OSRHE. Must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).
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Tour de France Stage 19 Time Trial Photos
We have been fascinated by this year's Tour de France coverage by NBC Universal as presented on iPhone and iPad via custom mobile app. The live race video has been impressive, with many outstanding photo opportunities. Having shot photos at endurance events for many years, with many images published in national magazines and on broadcast networks, we know the kind of photos we'd take, if we had the access at Tour de France, in person, to do so. Short of that, we've tried something different: take screen captures of live action images, as they happen, on our iPhone with retina display. So, while crediting NBC Universal for providing the footage, these are the images we captured of the 19th Stage of this year's Tour de France. (also see our photos from Stage 20)
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Israel’s Secretive Nuclear Facility Leaking as Watchdog Finds Israel Has Nearly 100 Nukes
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) — an international watchdog organization focusing on conflicts, the arms trade and nuclear proliferation — released a new report on Monday that claimed that Israel has nearly a hundred nuclear warheads, more than previously thought.
The SIPRI report described Israel’s nuclear arsenal as follows: 30 gravity bombs capable of delivering nuclear weapons by fighter jets; an additional 50 warheads that can be delivered by land-based ballistic missiles; and an unknown number of nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missiles that would grant Israel a sea-based second-strike capability.
In total, the SIPRI report estimated that Israel possesses between 80 and 90 nuclear weapons, an increase over previous years. SIPRI was unable, however, to confirm those estimates with Israel’s government, which has a long-standing policy of refusing to comment on its nuclear weapons program — a policy it describes as “nuclear ambiguity.”
As a result of this “nuclear ambiguity” policy, the actual number of Israeli nuclear weapons is unknown. Some other organizations, such as the U.S.-based Nuclear Threat Initiative, have estimated that Israel has produced enough weapons-grade plutonium to arm between 100 and 200 nuclear warheads. Israel is one of only five nations in the world that refuse to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, an international treaty aimed at ending the proliferation of nuclear weapons and achieving global nuclear disarmament.
During a speech last August in front of the Dimona nuclear reactor in the Negev Desert, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to use nuclear weapons to “wipe out” Israel’s enemies. More recently, Netanyahu and his allies in the U.S. accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, despite the fact that intelligence agencies of both the U.S. and Israel have long recognized that Iran has no such program.
Unsafe, but only for those whose lives don’t matter
Just as the new SIPRI report has again brought scrutiny to Israel’s nuclear program, new information about Israel’s nuclear facility — the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, which houses the Dimona reactor — has also raised concerns about the facility’s safety.
Late last week, an Israeli court heard arguments that the site had leaked radioactive waste on more than one occasion and that information about those leaks had been hidden from some of the facility’s employees. One of those employees, Faridi Taweel, is suing the facility after learning he had cancer, which he suspects was the result of exposure to leaked radioactive material at the site.
The exposure of the numerous leaks at the Dimona facility is greatly concerning, especially in light of the revelation just a few years ago that the Dimona reactor is believed, according to a group of Israeli scientists, to have an estimated 1,537 defects. Israel has reportedly refused to consider replacing or fixing the aging nuclear core.
The fact that the site has leaked and is rife with defects should be a major issue for Israelis, as the facility is just 30 miles south of Israel’s capital Tel Aviv. Yet it is the city of Dimona itself that is in the greatest danger, as it is located just eight miles from the highly defective reactor.
But Dimona is largely populated by Jews from Northern Africa. This minority, referred to as “Black Hebrews” in Israel, is routinely discriminated against by Israel’s government, a recent example of which was the revelation of a covert Israeli government program of forcibly sterilizing African Jewish immigrants.
In addition to its large population of African Jews, Dimona and the surrounding Negev Desert are home to several Palestinian Bedouin villages, villages that are frequently labeled as “illegal” and demolished by Israel’s government. The fact that there is no political will or effort to clean up the site or prevent future leaks, coupled with the fact that the most at-risk populations are minorities frequently discriminated against by Israel’s government, reveals yet another troubling and overlooked aspect of Israel’s secretive nuclear program.
By Whitney Webb
(Whitney Webb is a MintPress News journalist based in Chile. She has contributed to several independent media outlets including Global Research, EcoWatch, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has made several radio and television appearances and is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism. Republish our stories! MintPress News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License).
Posted by SATHYA at Thursday, June 20, 2019
Labels: CONSPIRACIES, FACTS, ISRAEL, KHAZARIAN MAFIA, MONEY MONOPOLY, MOSSAD, NATIONAL SECURITY, POLITICAL PONEROLOGY, WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, WORLD SHADOW GOVERNMENT, ZIONISM
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Kyanna Simone Simpson, a student at UGA, poses for a photo in Athens, Georgia, on Tuesday, March 21, 2017. Simpson officially became part of the Netflix family with the upcoming show “Chambers.”
(Photo/Jenn Finch, www.jennfinch.wordpress.com) Shirt design by "Elevate the Grind"
Actresses Kyanna Simone Simpson and Sivan Alyra Rose star in the Netflix series “Chambers,” to be released April 26, 2019.
Courtesy Ursula Coyote/Netflix
UGA student Kyanna Simone Simpson appears in upcoming Netflix show ‘Chambers’
Katie Kim | Staff Writer
On April 26, Netflix will add a new horror series to its list called “Chambers,” and in this show, one cast member also happens to be a University of Georgia student named Kyanna Simone Simpson, a senior entertainment and media studies major from Decatur.
The show, which started filming in June 2018, will finally take its life on the screen, a moment Simpson has been waiting for.
A series of firsts
“Chambers” is a horror-thriller series about a teenager named Sasha Yazzie, played by Sivan Alyra Rose, who gets a heart transplant and is “haunted by eerie visions and sinister impulses” connected to the heart donor, according to Netflix.
Simpson said she’ll be playing the role of Yvonne, Sasha’s 16-year-old best friend and described the character as a tech-smart black girl.
Simpson is particularly excited to play the role of Yvonne because the character embodies a black girl who is smart and passionate about math and science, which isn’t portrayed as often in media. Yvonne’s passion for computing also resonates with Simpson, who’s personally always been interested in similar subjects.
“Us black girls, we needed this,” Simpson said. “I love that we’re showing these young girls, let alone black girls, being smart on TV.”
The show is not only a series of “firsts” for Simpson and her acting career, but it’s also making history on Netflix as well.
This marks Simpson’s first time starring in a show on Netflix, which now allows her to say she’s officially a part of the “Netflix family,” and it’s also her first time portraying a character who isn’t from her region.
Her character, Yvonne, is from Arizona, which prompted Simpson to learn about the life of a typical teenager in the Southwestern state to accurately represent her character.
“It was really nice to learn the backstory of kids that grow up in the Southwest,” Simpson. “The environment is something that you really have to take into account when you’re taking on a new role.”
“Us black girls, we needed this. I love that we’re showing these young girls, let alone black girls, being smart on TV.”
— Kyanna Simone Simpson, actress in “Chambers”
“Chambers” will also be the first show on Netflix to have a Native American lead.
“Netflix is really making this stage for brown and black people to tell their stories authentically,” Simpson said.
Living in a ‘pretend world’
Ironically, Simpson discovered her passion for acting out of her love for other occupations. When she was younger, her biggest dream was to become an astronaut. However, growing up, her interests only grew bigger until she wanted to do everything.
“I started thinking, ‘How can I do all of these things?’ and that manifested itself into me pretending to be different people with different occupations I admired so much,” Simpson said. “I fell in love with the pretend world.”
While working with other celebrities Simpson grew to idolize, through her own career, she’s gained a fan base herself. She gets noticed more often on campus than she does off campus.
“I’ll be talking to my classmates and someone will say, ‘Congratulations’ and give me a pat on my back,” Simpson said. “To get that from affirmation from my classmates and colleagues means the most to me.”
A promise to education and acting
While her career has brought her many successes, the process hasn’t always been smooth for Simpson, who’s fully committed to pursuing an education at the same.
Last summer, Simpson had to juggle both filming and online summer classes. In order to refresh for the spring semester, she also took a brief break from school during the fall semester. Simpson initially thought she would solely put her focus into acting after high school, but when she got accepted into UGA, she knew she wanted to continue her education.
“Six semesters later and I somehow have been able to balance work and school at the same time,” Simpson said.
Education is crucial to Simpson, and she’s always lived by her own motto — “you can do both.”
Once she flew out and went to the callback that got her the role in “Chambers” and she celebrated with friends and family. The next day, Simpson flew back home and went back to school.
“That’s the dope thing about Kyanna — her career’s been taking off but she’s been in school the whole time,” Tian Richards, one of Simpson’s best friends and former co-star on “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” said. “That’s rare and I don’t know how she does it.”
While taking classes at UGA, Simpson encountered several professors who didn’t understand her career or believe in it. However, instead of letting them negatively impact her, she used their words as “fuel” to her “dream fire.”
Even without the support of everyone, support from Simpson’s family and close friends remains unchanged.
“Anything that supports Kyanna, I’ll wake up at five or six in the morning — it doesn’t matter,” Richards said. “It’s one of the most beautiful things to witness her coming into her own not only as an artist but as a woman.”
Since her first film, “A Christmas Blessing,” which she filmed when she was 16, Simpson has been in “a handful” of TV shows and movies and has had the opportunity to work alongside actors such as Oprah Winfrey, Matthew McConaughey, Oscar Isaac and LaTanya Richardson Jackson.
“I’ve never thought that I would be able to say that I can’t count the number [of films and TV shows] right now,” Simpson said. “It’s a blessing for me to be able to say that.”
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University Union to host Guest Speakers Event with 'The Daily Show' and 'Crazy Rich Asians' star Ronny Chieng
Tomorrow at 7 p.m., actor and comedian Ronny Chieng will be performing a comedy sketch at Tate Grand Hall.
Top 5 things to do in Athens this weekend: Music festivals, pop-up galleries and 'Toil & Trouble' performance
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Georgia Museum of Art Student Association's third annual pop-up art gallery and market draws in local artists
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7 films and TV shows to binge this July
While classics like “Silence of the Lambs,” “Wedding Crashers” and “The Matrix” have left Netflix as of July 1, the media giant has plenty of series and films arriving within the month. Although you might’ve already marathoned “Stranger Things 3” or 1980’s “Caddyshack,” here are seven TV series and films to binge watch this July.
Kyanna Simone Simpson
Netflix Family
"chambers"
Sasha Yazzie
What's coming up in Athens?
Fall Cornhole League Registration - Southern Brewing Company
Maxine Pinson Easom & Patsy Hawkins Arnold: Across the River
Athens Farmers Market
Rock & Roll Bingo!
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2008 Market Crash Should be Investigated
DIARY / Jeff Lukens // Posted at 10:59 am on April 7, 2010 by Jeff Lukens
Almost two years after the mortgage crisis and stock market crash, no one seems to wonder about the “September surprise” that shifted the 2008 presidential election to an unknown leftist politician who had been elected to the Senate only two years before. A pulp-fiction writer could hardly have created a more contrived and bizarre story. But this was not make-believe. No, it is now our own gritty reality show that we only wish we could turn off.
The week of Sept. 15, 2008, was a debacle of huge proportions. On Monday, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy while other lending institutions lined up like dominoes teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. But the week was hardly over. On Thursday, an electronic run on the banks occurred. In an unprecedented move, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve had to act together to stop what had become a full-fledged panic. On Saturday, Sept. 20, The Wall Street Journal recounted events of that previous Thursday:
“Instead of lining up at bank windows, investors were unloading financial assets on their PCs. Credit markets had seized up, to the point that even routine daily settlements had stopped until banks had the actual securities or cash in hand.”
“Investors were rushing out of these [Treasury and Federal Reserve] funds — $105 billion out of $1.8 trillion on Thursday alone — which in turn caused the funds to redeem their commercial paper investments.”
“Issuers of that paper then had to find new funders, which in a pinch are banks. But jittery banks were refusing to accept paper from even worthy companies amid the panic, creating a larger credit breakdown. In response, Treasury will now insure nonbank money-market fund deposits for the next year, to slow money-fund redemptions.”
For such a large and coordinated exodus of funds to occur in U.S. markets, something more than individual “investors” at their PCs had to be in play. Large and well-managed hedge and mutual funds were undoubtedly behind much of the move.
A few months later on a C-Span interview, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, House Capital Markets Subcommittee Chair, described that day:
Troll Level: EPIC
“On Thursday at about 11 o’clock in the morning the Federal Reserve noticed a tremendous drawdown of money market accounts in the United States, to the tune of $550 billion was being drawn out in a matter of an hour or two. The Treasury opened up its window to help. It pumped $105 billion in the system and quickly realized that they could not stem the tide; we were having an electronic run on the banks. They decided to close the operation, close down the money accounts and announce a guarantee of $250,000 per account so there wouldn’t be further panic out there.”
The $550 Billion withdrawn in an hour or two that Rep. Kanjorski refers to in his statement has never been independently confirmed or refuted.
In mid-September, John McCain was ahead of Barack Obama in some polls by about 3 percent. By Oct. 10, the S&P 500 Index had lost 25% of its value from what it had been a month before. The crash was a major calamity for the McCain Campaign. And now, with Obama in the White House, it has become a calamity for us all.
The fact remains that the identities of those who withdrew their money that week were never disclosed. And, knowingly or not, they created a panic that altered the course of the election. One can only wonder whether something more than normal market forces was at work.
Courtesy of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, the crisis came about by the uncertain value of subprime securities held by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, banks, saving and loans, and other lending institutions. A declining market in itself is not noteworthy, but to induce a panic in the midst of a presidential campaign, if ever proven, would be reprehensible and an outrage to the American electorate.
While the stock market collapse was a disaster for your average IRA or 401(k) account, some investors benefited handsomely. It is widely agreed that hedge funds profited by selling short the collapsing market in 2008, and chief among them was Soros’ fund. Soros may have personally had the motivation, method, and opportunity to trigger the crash.
Soros’ overseas-based hedge fund evades much scrutiny, and its activities that week left almost no trail. Could Soros and his hedge fund be behind many of the withdrawals of that week, and particularly on that Thursday? We need to know. The massive outflow of U.S. funds to offshore accounts that critical week during the campaign could be a coincidence, but it is doubtful.
Soros is a multi-billionaire answerable to no one. Hastening a market meltdown to give the election to Barack Obama would fit his pattern of profiting while destroying the social order of his target country. Triggering a crash in 2008 would also serve his political investments.
Soros is obsessed with power. He wants a One World Government, redistribution of wealth, open borders, and universal health care. He is determined to change America forever by deconstructing its sovereignty and ability to defend itself. Soros was a huge backer of Barack Obama, and now his anointed president is determined to change America to their mutual view.
Soros made his fortune by short selling currencies and then pouring substantial amounts of his private wealth into organizations to subvert various nations. He nearly bankrupted the Bank of England by shorting the pound in 1992. He wrecked the Malaysian economy in 1998, and subsequently that of Indonesia as well. He is responsible for stirring-up instability in Africa, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet republics.
Over the years, Soros has positioned himself to take control of the Democrat Party through the hundreds of 527 organizations he has helped financed. These organizations have become a “Shadow Party” unto themselves, and manipulate public opinion for their own end.
Among them: the National Education Association, ACORN, AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, The Media Fund, the Open Society Institute, Planned Parenthood League, the Sierra Club, America Coming Together, the Huffington Post, Moveon.org. If a left-wing organization is in the news, it has probably received money from George Soros.
Why have the identities never been reported of those who withdrew funds that week? Shouldn’t there be even some curiosity about an event that wiped out the jobs and life savings of so many people? And why has there been no follow-up inquiry by into Rep. Kanjorski’s statement? There needs to be a public investigation concerning the amounts and offshore destinations of the funds withdrawn from U.S. markets that precipitated the crash.
Did an unwritten partnership exist between George Soros and Barack Obama? Could Soros, through Obama, be seeking a “velvet revolution” in the dismantling of our nation as he has done elsewhere? These questions need further investigation. With the Alinskyite tactics employed by Team Obama, none of this is beyond the realm of possibility.
Americans recoil at the thought of having their elections manipulated by outsiders. As long as Democrats control Congress, there surely will never be an effective inquiry into this affair. Perhaps a GOP victory this November will allow a thorough examination finally to begin. Add this to the many investigations the GOP will need to make when they finally take back Congress.
Finance Cartoons by Dilbert
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'Nail in the coffin': New Republic owner apologizes for 'homophobic' piece on 'Mary Pete' Buttigieg
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NASA May Be About To Reveal The Discovery Of A New 'Earth'
Related: The secret speech that would have been read if the moon landings failed
Yes, we know it sounds like a lavish PR stunt for the next major Hollywood sci-fi epic, but we've checked the speaker list and Tom Cruise isn't appearing.
At 17:00 GMT on 23 July, NASA will hold a press conference to announce the latest findings of its planet-hunting Kepler mission. There's a change they could make an announcement that could chance the course of... well, everything human kind is doing with space. Here's why.
Related: 10 Most Terrifying Space Films Ever Made
Launched in March 2009, NASA's Kepler spacecraft has been using one of the world's most powerful photometers (basically a telescope that looks for light) to probe the deepest, darkest corners of space. It's mission? To look for far off planets (or exoplanets, to be exact) - particularly those that hold the potential for the formation of liquid water and sit within a "habitable zone" of the star it orbits. They're looking for another Earth.
The "habitable zone" is hugely important for finding an Earth-like planet: too close to a star, and the surface will likely be a molten vat of horribleness, too far and it could be a frozen desert.
The Kepler spots these planetary bodies by looking for a "transit event", which has nothing to do with white vans, but rather a tiny dip in the light levels given off by a distant star.
This indicates that something has passed in front of the star in its orbit, allowing NASA to determine a bunch of properties, from its size to whether it sits in a habitable zone.
So far, the Kepler mission has spotted 1,000 planets, and a further 3,000 possible planets. At their press briefing today, NASA will announce the Kepler's latest findings - which could well include an Earth-sized planet, sitting in a habitable zone.
Should that be the case, NASA could point a whole heap of equipment, researchers and tech, at the spot of sky that this Earth candidate sits in, allowing us to find out (or have a good guess) if it really could be awash with oceans, mountains and - just possibly - life.
It could be the first of many, or just a one-off - but it's the sort of discovery that means future trips into the big black could be pointed at this discovery. Sure, we won't visit it for a very, very long time, but it's something to aim at, right?
We'll find out for sure when NASA reveals all at 17:00. You'll be able to watch the press conference stream right here.
If you need us, we'll be watching Star Trek episodes on repeat until then.
(Images: NASA)
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Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva plans retirement if barred from Rio
Alexander Shcherbak\TASS via Getty Images
Olympic gold medalist Yelena Isinbayeva may retire if she is not allowed to compete in Rio due to the Russian doping ban.
Yelena Isinbayeva, the 2004 and 2008 Olympic pole vault champion and world record holder, plans to retire if she is not allowed to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she wrote on her VKontakte social media page according to the Russian news agency TASS.
“Had the International Olympic Committee (IOC) rejected Russian athletes’ participation in the Games, I can see no sense in continuing my training further,” Isinbayeva wrote. “We were planning to clear the height not lower than 5.1 meters. My coach and I expected that I would win with a world record at the Olympics.”
A clearance of 5.10 meters would surpass her world record of 5.06, which was set in Zurich in 2009. Isinbayeva owns the 11 best pole vault clearances in history. Without her in Rio, American Jenn Suhr may be favored to win another gold medal after winning at the 2012 Olympics in London.
• Banning Russians from Rio Games not in Olympic spirit
The Court of Arbitration for Sport denied the appeal from the Russian Olympic Committee, barring the 68 athletes that appealed the ban by the International Association of Athletics Federation from competing at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The International Olympic Committee is still reviewing its evidence and findings before determining whether the entire Russian country should be banned.
The 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are set to begin on Aug. 5.
yelena isinbayeva
yelena isinbayeva retirement
yelena isinbayeva russia
yelena isinbayeva doping
yelena isinbayeva doping ban
yelena isinbayeva rio 2016
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Author Richard Dresser Says “Last Days Of Mickey and Jean” is Fictional
By dskriloff on July 5, 2012 Comments
Playright is now working on a musical about “the curse of the Boston Red Sox”
Richard Dresser
Speaking to the Rockland County Times from his office home in Hastings-on-Hudson, overlooking the Hudson River, Dresser says he started writing about the real “Mickey,” James “Whitey” Bulger, before the alleged Boston mobster and his girlfriend Katherine Grieg were taken into custody, after being on the lam for almost 20 years.
“I visualized what a mobster and his girlfriend in such a situation might be like” and he admitted he has had no contact with “Whitey” or his girlfriend. Bulger and Katherine remain in custody in Boston and Dresser reports that Katherine may testify against Bulger, who has been charged with 19 murders in his long mobster career.
Dresser, who says he writes mostly comedy, said his next project is the story of the Boston Red Sox being the last major leaugue baseball team to sign a black player, Pumpsy Green, in 1959. “It will be a musical” and too large a cast to do at Penguin Rep in Stony Point, where his current play started last week. Dresser added that he wants to do more with Penguin after the success of his play last season”Rounding Third” and now “Last Days.”
Dresser, born in Massachusettes near the Town of Worchester, says that the current play at Penguin Rep is the result of collaboration and rewrite with Penguin’s artistic director Joe Brancato. “The rewrite was terrific and the staging and production just magnificient,” says Dresser.
“We were able to bring out that Mickey showed kindness to Jean and that they had a very important relationship,” he said. He noted that ironically the real Mickey, Whitey Bulger, was a larger than life character in Boston and publicly spoke out against drugs, but was actually one of the largest drug dealers in the city.
author, dresser, entertainment, fictional, interview, last days of mickey and jean, musical, play, playwright, richard dresser, the curse of the boston red sox, writer
Author Richard Dresser Says “Last Days Of Mickey and Jean” is Fictional added by dskriloff on July 5, 2012
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Ray Mickshaw/FX
How Many People Did Andrew Cunanan Kill? Gianni Versace Was His Final Victim
By Megan Walsh
The Assassination of Gianni Versace doesn't just tell the story of one shocking murder. Andrew Cunanan's crime spree unfolded over the course of several months and the show explores his story, as well as the stories of each of his victims. But how many people did Andrew Cunanan kill? He had five reported victims in total, and Gianni Versace was his final one.
Cunanan's first two victims were Jeffrey Trail and David Madson, a friend and ex-boyfriend respectively. Their deaths occurred within a week of each other after Cunanan traveled to Minnesota from San Diego to visit with both. Before leaving San Diego, The New York Times reported that he mentioned having to "settle some business" with Trail, but it seems he did not specify exactly what his intentions were. There doesn't appear to be any indication that the crime was planned ahead of time, but it does seem that Cunanan's relationships with both men had become tense.
Trail's sister, Lisa Stravinskas, told The New York Times that Cunanan idolized her brother to the point of copying his clothes and hairstyles, but when Trail told her about Cunanan's visit, he said he "did not want Andrew to come." According to her, Trail was worried that Cunanan would "make trouble" for him and his new partner.
FX Networks on YouTube
Meanwhile, Cunanan was reportedly very in love with Madson, but their breakup had not be amicable. In 1997, Cunanan's former roommate Erik Greenman told ABC News, "[Cunanan] loved David Madson very, very much... [But after the breakup,] David didn't want anything to do with him. I mean, David was Andrew's life. He said many, many times that he would give up everything to move out to Minneapolis for David."
In April 1997, Trail agreed to meet with Cunanan at Madson's apartment. It was there that Cunanan beat him to death with a hammer and rolled his body up in a rug, where it was later discovered. ABC News stated that police believed Cunanan held Madson hostage there for two days before driving out with him to East Rush Lake, where Cunanan then proceeded to shoot and kill Madson. He took Madson's car and drove to Chicago, where he killed his third victim, Lee Miglin.
Pari Dukovic/FX
In Cunanan's final three murders, there was seemingly no personal connection between him and his victims, which made understanding his motives all the more difficult. Miglin's death was especially brutal: Cunanan bound him with tape and plastic, almost entirely covering his face with it aside from two air holes at his nose, and then tortured him. In a piece for Vanity Fair, Maureen Orth wrote that Miglin's ribs were broken, he was stabbed with garden shears, and his throat was slit using a garden bow saw. (Orth also wrote the book Vulgar Favors on which The Assassination of Gianni Versace is based.)
Former FBI criminal profiler Candice DeLong told ABC News, "I think when Andrew killed Lee Miglin he was acting out a sexual fantasy. He didn't have to do what he did — tie him up the way he did, render him helpless. When a sadist renders their victim helpless, it enhance the experience for them. It's arousing for them. Domination and control is what it's all about."
Orth also reported that Cunanan's former roommate Greenman said Cunanan had an interest in S&M, describing him as "the tying-up-and-whips type — just the degradation, not the asphyxiation." She also spoke to a former friend of Cunanan's named John Semerau, who said Cunanan had choked him once. However, despite speculation, it's unclear exactly what Cunanan's motives were in killing Miglin. He did take Miglin's car (leaving Madson's behind), as well as a leather jacket, watch, and $2,000 in cash, as reported by the Chicago Tribune shortly after Miglin's body was discovered.
Afterward, Cunanan traveled to New Jersey, where he shot his fourth victim William Reese, a cemetery caretaker. It was assumed that he did so to switch cars yet again, because Miglin's car was abandoned and Cunanan took Reese's red pickup truck to Miami, according to The New York Daily News. Cunanan lived in Miami for two months before he shot Versace, early in the morning on July 15, 1997. Eight days later, Cunanan shot himself (using the gun he had also used to kill Madson, Reese, and Versace) and made it impossible for anyone to ever understand why he did what he did.
When it came to figuring out why he killed Versace, the Chicago Tribune reported that Police Chief Richard Baretto said, "We can speculate about the motive being robbery, or Andrew Cunanan going out in a big way, or revenge for some perceived act by Versace. But, unfortunately, the real answer went down with the ship, so to speak, when Andrew Cunanan committed suicide."
Jeff Daly/FX
The promos for The Assassination of Gianni Versace indicate that the show will try to delve into Cunanan's mind, but without Cunanan around to provide answers, it can only be considered speculation. The Versace family released a statement, reported by E! News, that said they wanted the show to be viewed as fiction; in response, FX and 20th Century Fox stood by the research done by Orth in her series-inspiring book.
Cunanan's death meant that no one would ever get an explanation for his actions, and it also meant that there could never be true justice because he could not be convicted or serve jail time for the five murders. The FX series might offer some insight, but Cunanan's true motives will never be known.
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School Substitutes Needed
By DIANE TURNER-HURNS
Journal & Topics Reporter
Substitute teachers are in high demand at Rosemont Elementary School.
“We are always looking for substitute teachers,” Rosemont District 78 Supt. Kevin Anderson told the Journal & Topics Monday, a day before the start of the new school year. “We usually have a strong pool of certified substitutes to help us out should someone be ill or on vacation, but our pool has dwindled.”
When asked how many he had in the substitute pool today, Anderson replied, “Two. And one of them is already subbing for another teacher out on pregnancy leave. We could use more definitely.”
Anderson said in the last two years there has been a lack of substitute teachers available. “We used to have a strong pool,” he said. “But that’s not the case today. It’s not only a problem here, but everywhere in Illinois.”
He said when they have problems securing a substitute, other staff steps in. “They’ve really been great,” he said. “But that takes away from their preparation time and work.”
The pay ranges from $95 to $100 per hour for a substitute teacher at Rosemont. It depends on how many days one substitutes for, and can go up to $150 an hour.
Substitutes must have a valid Illinois teacher certificate, Anderson said. There are resources that can help one, such as the West 40 company, get a certificate, he said.
The materials needed to apply are found on the Rosemont School website. Once the school reviews an applicant's materials, such as resume and transcripts, they will be asked to be fingerprinted at Rosemont Village Hall.
“It’s an easy process and if anyone has any questions they can just call us at the school,” Anderson said. The school’s main number is 847-825-0144.
There are about 22 teachers at Rosemont and eight education support staff. Nearly 275 students are enrolled at the school on Ruby Street.
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On Sky
Nick Wright
Comment and Analysis @nicholaspwright
Dani Alves exclusive interview: No regrets for football's serial winner
Alves tells Sky Sports about rejecting Manchester City, and how Jose Mourinho, not Pep Guardiola, almost became his mentor
Dani Alves tells Sky Sports about playing under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and how close he came to joining Chelsea
Dani Alves is a serial winner who has lifted more trophies than any other active player. For the release of a new film documenting Pep Guardiola's Barcelona tenure, he tells Sky Sports why he turned down a reunion with his old mentor - and how he almost ended up playing for Jose Mourinho.
"I was this close."
Dani Alves holds the thumb and index finger of his tattooed right hand no more than a centimetre apart. We are seated in a glitzy Paris hotel just off the Champs-Élysées, and the Brazilian, the most decorated active player in the game with a total of 39 trophies won, is recalling one of the biggest sliding-doors moments of his extraordinary career.
"I didn't go to Chelsea because of the club, not because of me," he says.
It was the summer of 2007, before Alves had joined Barcelona or even met Pep Guardiola. At the time, he had just finished his fifth season at Sevilla. He had won a UEFA Cup, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup treble, the beginnings of the staggering success story to come, and Jose Mourinho's Chelsea beckoned.
Or at least, that's what he thought.
Manchester derby mismatch?
A changing of the guard at Man City?
"I thought it was done, that I was going there to work with him," he continues. "I don't know if he got different information, that I didn't want to go or whatever, because since then our relationship hasn't been so good, but it wasn't my fault. I was convinced that I was going to work with him and form part of his team."
Dani Alves was a key figure for Pep Guardiola's Barcelona
Chelsea and Mourinho would come to regret it, their acrimonious split coming just a few months later, but for Alves it was a blessing. Within a year, he had signed for Guardiola's Barcelona, where he would take his career to historic heights, collecting silverware at a remarkable rate and becoming a thorn in the side of Mourinho and Real Madrid in the process.
"I remember the first chat we had," Alves says of Guardiola. "From the first moment, he made it very, very, very, very, very clear what he wanted and why had had taken the job. He had a tremendous desire to do something different as a manager of that club. Obviously it was going to be a challenge, but I remember he said, 'I can only do it if you follow me.'
"It didn't turn out too badly for him, eh?"
With that, Alves laughs, a huge, cartoon-like grin spreading across his face. The right-back, now 35, is at Paris Saint-Germain these days, recovering from the knee ligament injury he suffered last season, but for now the focus is back on those heady times at Barcelona. This month, he will appear in Take the Ball, Pass the Ball, a documentary about Guardiola's reign.
Dani Alves has enjoyed huge success throughout his career
Barcelona, of course, were historically good under Guardiola, perhaps the greatest club side of all time. In total, they won 14 trophies in four whirlwind years between 2008 and 2012, with the 2011 Champions League final, that mesmerising 3-1 win over Manchester United at Wembley described by Sir Alex Ferguson as "a hiding", the undoubted peak.
Few players were more important to their success than Alves, who made more than half of his 391 appearances for the club in that period, but the architect of it all was the man in the dugout. The man for whom, in Take the Ball, Pass the Ball, Alves says he would have jumped off the top of the third tier of the Nou Camp.
"Guardiola improved me a lot as a footballer, he taught me a lot of things and that's why in every interview I'm asked I always say the same thing: He is the best manager that I have worked with," he says. "He is a genius at key moments. He knows how to let his players know exactly what they should be doing. On many occasions, he was a manager who won us matches. We just had to follow his instructions."
Dani Alves lifts the Champions League trophy in 2011
Guardiola was not the only genius at Barcelona, of course. When asked how much he enjoyed having the freedom of the right flank in Guardiola's team, Alves, never one to miss an opportunity, spots a chance to steer our interview towards one of his very favourite topics of conversation.
"I had a pretty good team-mate there," he says as his mischievous grin and bellowing laughter return, "a good team-mate who still looks promising."
Alves' telepathic understanding with Lionel Messi was one of Barcelona's greatest weapons under Guardiola. He joined the club four years after the Argentine's debut and left it in 2016, but two-and-a-half years on he remains the player to have provided more assists for Messi than anyone else. It's an impressive feat - not least for a right-back.
I felt as if I was playing in the street in front of my house in Brazil in a pair of flip flops.
Dani Alves on his connection with Lionel Messi
"I did all I could to serve him, to make sure he was happy and to make sure he had the ball all the time, which is what he loves most," explains Alves. "It's like a child when you give him his first present. You give him a football and he plays with it all day. I was in charge of making sure the ball was always at his feet."
Alves is known for his eccentric character. Take a look at his Instagram page and you will find videos of him trying on his wife's stilettos, singing into a toothbrush and placing his pet cat on his head. But he did not achieve everything he has achieved by clowning around. There is also a steely intensity to him, a seriousness, and an obsession with the game which is never more apparent than when he talks about Messi.
"It was very strange because from the time I arrived at Barcelona, from the first day, we had this very, very, very, very weird connection - I mean that in a positive way. I remember the first game we played together as if it was today. We were doing one-twos all the time, we understood each other with no more than a little look. We knew exactly where the other one was.
Dani Alves celebrates with his old Barcelona team-mates
"I started to think, 'Wow, I don't know if we're going to win something but at the very least we are going to enjoy ourselves'. That was how I understood football. Football is a sport to go and enjoy, to go and have a good time with your friends. I felt as if I was playing in the street in front of my house in Brazil in a pair of flip flops.
"It was surprising for me because I came from Sevilla, from a totally different style of football to Barcelona. In that moment, that connection with Leo, it was like setting off fireworks. I said to myself, 'Wow, I'm going to play here for a club which defends what the word football really means'."
Alves loved his time under Guardiola at Barcelona, which begs the question, why did he reject the chance to be reunited with the 47-year-old at Manchester City when he left Juventus in 2017? How did he end up here, in Paris, instead?
It was a shame not to work with Guardiola again because he knows I adore him, but at the same time it was a new challenge which is what changed my mind.
Dani Alves on rejecting Man City
"It was all done to go to Manchester City but it didn't happen because of a family decision," he says. "Pep knew my intentions. I spoke with him, he knew my intention to work with him and his staff again. He knows the gigantic respect I have for them, which is why I wanted to work with him again until something else came up.
"In life you have to weigh everything up, even when they are just decisions about your career. I like my decisions to be taken carefully, so they don't harm anyone close to me, so that the people close to me are happy.
"I know that if the people close to me are happy, I am happy, and I can do my job better. For me, it was a shame not to work with Guardiola again because he knows I adore him, but at the same time it was a new challenge which is what changed my mind."
In Take the Ball, Pass the Ball, Dani Alves explains why the 2011 Champions League final was Barcelona's ‘crowning moment’ (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
Alves has enjoyed yet more success at PSG, adding another five trophies to his haul, but does he regret not having played in England? There is a twinkle in his eye as he considers his answer.
"No, no I don't regret it… and anyway my career is not over yet," he grins. "English football is a type of football which excites me a lot."
Alves will be preoccupied by PSG's game against Monaco when Guardiola and Mourinho lock horns again in the Manchester derby on Sunday, but the fixture is a reminder, nonetheless, of all that went on back in Spain. On Wednesday night in Turin, Mourinho even warmed up for the occasion with an antagonistic celebration which harked back to the old days.
So can Guardiola and his Manchester City players shut out the noise just as Alves and his old Barcelona team-mates managed at Barcelona?
"We didn't think much about Mourinho," he says. "We thought about how we were going to do things, how we were going to execute what Pep wanted, how we were going to play against the top rivals we faced along the way, and what we were going to do to overcome them.
"That was one of the most unusual things about Barcelona. Barcelona focus a lot on what Barcelona does, and not on what others are going to do. It creates a different way of working. Of course we studied our opponents to see their weak points and their strong points, but 70 per cent of the time it was about us.
Dani Alves almost joined Jose Mourinho's Chelsea in 2007
"I think it worked to perfection. When you focus on what you are going to do, it's difficult for you to fail because it's a lot of execution, a lot of training, a lot of practising, practising, practising. So when it comes to the games, it is just about replicating what you have done through the week or the month. It makes things very, very easy."
The truth, of course, is that nothing about Alves' success should be written off as easy. It is a story of enjoyment but it has been driven by relentless hard work and determination. In another life, he might be lining up for Manchester City on Sunday. He might even have ended up with Mourinho as his mentor. But why would the world's most decorated footballer hold any regrets? And besides, Dani Alves is not done yet.
Take The Ball, Pass The Ball is out now in OurScreen Cinemas, and on DVD & Digital Download from 12 November
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Home | Our People | Illinois | Anthony Curtis
Anthony Curtis
Office: 612-371-2176 Email: acurtis@slwip.com LinkedIn Vcard: Anthony-P-Curtis.vcf
Tony Curtis is a registered patent attorney at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner. His practice includes patent procurement, portfolio management and strategic counseling in a wide range of electrical, software, and mechanical technologies. Tony previously worked as senior counsel in patent operations and portfolio management in the communications field at Verizon and Motorola Solutions. He has worked on diverse technology, including various forms of short and long-range telecommunication devices, systems, and software (e.g., apps, internal and external network communications both network and IT), healthcare related software and devices, big data analysis and usage, internetrelated software including advertising, and business methods.
Tony received dual B.S. degrees in EE and Physics from MIT, MS’s in EE and Physics from Princeton and U of Illinois, respectively, a Ph.D. in EE from U of Illinois and a J.D. from Loyola Chicago. His Ph.D. focused on the determination of characteristics at native oxide-semiconductor interfaces for compound semiconductors using time resolved spectroscopy. In addition, Tony was honored as a recipient of the First Chair best in-house patent counsel and co-presented the ABA roundtable on patent exhaustion and strategies.
Chicago, IL, J.D.
Champaign, IL, Ph.D. Electrical Engineering
Princeton, NJ, M.S. Electrical Engineering
Champaign, IL, M.S. Physics
Cambridge, MA, B.S. Electrical Engineering and Physics
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World War II Aircrew
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Sgt Aharon Remez: Part 2 (Holland)
Photo Credit: Steve Brew
Return to Part 1
10 April 1945, from England to Holland
We took off at 1000 hours and headed east. There are three other pilots with me: one, Pierre, for my squadron and two others, Canadians, for theirs. I do not know Pierre properly yet. We met several times, but apparently he is not of the kind who rush to introduce themselves, even though he is sometimes talkative. Our Anson transport is well loaded: four passengers with all their kit. But it is a fine day for flying: clear skies with a light easterly wind. We crossed the Channel and sighted the coast of France – at the very place where the first of our soldiers landed on that day of action. This beach, which saw one of the mightiest battles in this war, is once more serene and silent. But the traces of that battle have not yet been effaced. It is bomb-cratered throughout like a sieve, and strewn with remnants of the Western Wall. France is a chequerboard of sunny fields, farmhouses and outbuildings, villages and towns. Only here and there, along the railways and canals and at factory sites, bomb scars still catch the eye with lighter colours than their surroundings… and so over Belgium to Holland.
We landed at midday at the field where we were supposed to find our squadron, but instead we found the Canadian wing. I inquired after my mates who are in this wing's squadrons – and there they were in the mess hall. It was pleasant to meet again, especially with B and H, with whom I had trained for so long in Canada and England, and who are two of the best friends I made in the RAF. We dined together and had a proper beer to mark our reunion. We talked – they told me that M, the Bostonian, had been hit a few days before and had bailed out. They still didn't know whether or not he survived and was taken prisoner.
Meanwhile we found out that our squadron has moved north, across the Rhine, to a field not far from the German border and only a few miles from the front line.
As we approach the Rhine, the traces of battle and warfare steadily increase. The ground is strewn with craters, the towns are in ruins, the roads smashed, the bridges destroyed, and the tank tracks churn all over the fields in curves and circles that draw imaginary figures. Every strategic point is enmeshed with trenches, and the cannon emplacements loom dark and shadowy in the bright sunlight… on both banks of the Rhine, all is ruin and destruction.
We flew low over Weisel (?). Not a stone is left standing in this town… Only a few days ago, the war thundered here. Now – only our long convoys, endless convoys, hauling supplies and reinforcements to the front, which has advanced far north and east of here, while these horrifying ruins lie basking in the spring sunshine…
At 1340 hours we landed at Twente. The field was captured only a few days ago. This is where the first German jet squadrons took off. The field was cruelly bombed and almost none of it remains undamaged. Gangs upon gangs of Dutch labourers at work filling up the craters and repairing the runways; for the time being, we use a grass strip to one side of the field. The Germans appear to have left the place in haste: most of the buildings were left as is, containing various objects. Judging by the example we checked, all the buildings – which are, as usual, covered with camouflage nets – are of stone or reinforced concrete. The Germans set up an eternal abode for themselves here, and now we occupy it… The only trace of the Germans is the derelict signboards and the abundance of equipment, from planes to books…
My encounter with the squadron was very pleasant. Our group commander met us, shook our hands and introduced us to the squadron's other pilots who were in the pilots' room. Afterwards, after seeing to our lodgings, he took us to meet the squadron CO, who impressed me mightily. He shook our hands unceremoniously and welcomed us to the squadron. Overall, officers and Sergeants are on very friendly and colloquial terms – formalities and pomposity are nowhere to be seen: "We have a job to do. Playing at soldiers and boy-scout games are a matter for training camps…"
We spent the rest of the day settling in.
11 April 1945, Holland
Today repairs were completed on one of the runways and it was put back in use, but the dust that swirls behind every plane makes it hard for us to take off in formation. The runway itself, though repaired, is still anything but smooth. This morning I completed all the formalities that I had left over from yesterday, and spent the remaining hours till midday talking with the fellows in the pilots' room. HK (or C) was asked by the CO to speak with us and to give us the signals for our flights here. HK is a fine lad, good-looking, very young and personable. We had a most interesting talk with him. I found out, incidentally, that he is a Socialist, or at least tends in that direction – a well-schooled and thoughtful lad.
P was supposed to take off for his first flight in the squadron with the 1300 patrol of four planes. But his plane got stuck among the various obstacles, and by the time he managed to get out the others had taken off; he returned right away as he could not make contact with them. He came back to the pilots' room shamefaced and angry. Our section (?) told me: "You take off with the 1800 patrol, and I hope you have better luck!" [But] fate mucked me up – my Spit wouldn't start, and the others left without me – my rage was endless! What a disgrace…
Our section leader went on the afternoon patrol with HK, and they managed to detect a Messerschmitt in the air, but couldn't overtake it. The CO, who returned first, told us the story. The boys' faces lit up, but when they heard the end – how the German got away – a stormy debate began about what should have been done and how. German planes in the air are very rare now, and when we manage to encounter them there is much rejoicing. For the most part, they don't dare take off except in the evening, which is why everyone wants to do the twilight patrol. The squadron veterans, of course, get to take their turn first.
This evening I met Z, who had been in our squadron but after his first flight was ousted by the previous CO for a "heavy landing." Everyone, by the way, attests to the meanness of that CO, who was replaced a few days ago, while praising the new one as a jolly good fellow. For the time being, Z is knocking about the camp in a surly mood. He tells me that he did his training in Egypt and that he visited Palestine -- a wonderful country, with a climate even better than Canada's – and that in Tel Aviv he saw prettier girls than anywhere else in the world. He is contemplating emigration. Could someone like him find his economic footing in our country? I'm afraid that my reply did not lift his spirits. He promised at least to come for a visit.
P went off somewhere to sell some cigarettes and chocolate. The market for cigarettes and chocolate is booming, as the Dutch have money but there is nothing to buy
12 April 1945, Holland.
Today is the first anniversary of my wedding… Today I flew for the first time over the front line… Today is the first day that we have light in the camp – electric light… Today the dusk patrol managed to find and "kill" a German plane.
A day for reflection.
At night the Germans tried to bomb the field: a lone plane dropped one flare and then another, but our cannon scared them off in short order.
The radio is announcing Roosevelt's death
13 April 1945, Holland.
Today we went out on patrol in the same area. We saw the tank formations advancing south from Bremen. The front line, which for the most part is but imaginary, is marked out here and there by columns of smoke, bomb blasts etc. The patrol which was to relieve us came late, and we had no petrol left to sally out for action beyond the bombing line. German planes we saw none, and we returned the way we came.
I went for a walk in the camp and found, in one of the half-ruined buildings, the remains of a library that were left behind by the Germans. Rooting among the torn and scattered books, I found only three kinds: First, Nazi literature (Mein Kampf, the Nazi party platform, the race doctrine, politics and so on); second – science: a lot of books in various areas of war-related science (electricity, radio, navigation, mathematics, weapons, aircraft etc.) But most of the books were actually "belles lettres", recreational reading material – and judging by their [library] cards, it seems that these had the most readers. Among these books, tales of heroism and biographies of heroes take pride of place, and second is detective and mystery literature. Then come pornographic novels – which had the most readers of all. I could not find a single volume of the German classics. Most of the books were printed, and apparently were written, in recent years.
The dusk patrol commanded by G encountered a German plane and "killed" it – joy!
It is a cloudy and foggy day, and combat flying is impossible. P and I were due to fly out in an Anson and fly back with to new Spits, but the Anson arrived only at 5 p.m., when the fog and low clouds let up slightly It took us an hour and ten minutes to get there in the transport plane, and only fifteen minutes, from takeoff to landing, to get back -- how the Spits make it faster! I crossed the Rhine again and saw the scars of war – “all wounds and bruises and putrefying sores” [quoting Isaiah 1:6].
The camp is settling down and life is slowly entering a routine – but a rumour is going around camp that before the week is out we will be on our way to a new field, closer to the front line.
Not all the guesses are the same, but Celle, which is very close to the front line at the moment, gets the majority vote. The advance party leaves tomorrow after reveille, the rest in another day or two.
The weather worsened today, and a light rain kept coming down from the clouds, which lay almost at treetop level. Any flight was out of the question.
We took the opportunity to go down to Enschede for a hot shower (installation of the water system at camp has not yet been completed, and we wash at a tanker lorry that brings water from the lake).
I talked briefly with a Dutchman on the street -- I in my broken German, which is really not German at all, and he in his paltry English, but we did achieve some understanding. The town itself, unlike the other towns in the vicinity, did not suffer much physical destruction, but it was completely exploited and despoiled by the retreating Germans. "They took everything, those scoundrels, and left us only bedbugs and diseases." I asked him whether there were any Jews in town, and he answered that there had been, but they vanished when the Germans came. Where to? He could not say. He pointed to a shop at the end of the street: "That one belonged to a Jew… he was a good and honest man…" I asked him whether Jews had returned since the liberation. "All those that are returning," he said, "pass through this town, where they are given medical care, washed with Lysol to cleanse them of bedbugs and lice, given identity papers, and then they scatter…no doubt there were Jews among them, but who knows were they have gone."
In the afternoon, the weather was still bad. We were kept in a state of "30 minute alert."
T. – the commander of our squadron's section [?] A – is overall a somewhat odd fellow. The boys say of him that he lives only for flying. Although he has already completed four tours, he is still only a flight lieutenant, because he cares for nothing except flying. On the other hand, he is a great lover of all kinds of pranks, especially any that have to do with flares and blasts. In the attic of his quarters, he has hoarded a lot of bombs, rockets, smokepots, star shells etc. that were left here by the Germans. Under his energetic and active guidance, we sallied out to a field near our quarters, armed with this arsenal of booty, and started shooting or igniting everything at hand. The merriment was great and the air was soon filled with pillars of multicoloured smoke; lights, starbursts and rockets filled the space, to the boys' delight. But we didn't settle for that alone. We entered the houses and set off smokepots in all the fireplaces – so that the chimneys quickly began to spew smoke columns of all colours: blue, green, yellow, red, crimson and so on, to the gang's shouts of pleasure… Suddenly a car came speeding up from the ammunition department to find out what the blasts were about, what was causing them and what was the meaning of all the smoke that began to cover the field. T walked up to the car and asked [the driver] to tell the department officer that he was unable to determine the cause of the blasts and smoke, but that he had established that it was all over. As the car drove off, T lit a yellow smokepot and stuck it into the car's rear, so that it sped off with a yellow smoke trail following behind it… "I'm not sure whether the department officer is going to believe him that he couldn't find out the cause of the blasts and smoke," T joked in great fun as the fellows cheered.
S, the Scot, has returned from his leave in England. He is a fine fellow, and we soon became friends. This morning we were ordered to pack up and get ready to move.
I took off with the afternoon patrol. Nothing happened beyond the routine. The bombing line has continued to advance. Celle is already well to this side, and we are apparently going to move there. Indeed, toward evening we were ordered to move. The Scot and I were tasked with transporting the baggage. Whoever was in charge did not show enough dispatch, and as a result there was a delay in making out the paperwork for moving it. In the meanwhile, the transport planes, which were sent for us, were loaded with the other squadrons' baggage and left, and we got no others. This ticked us off, as the boys would have to sleep tonight without cots or blankets.
In the evening, R suggested that we all go to the officers' quarters, since only he was left there. As I walked there, carrying my camp cot, the custodian [?] met me with a rebuking question: "Aren't the Sergeants' quarters good enough for you any more?" I answered that R had invited me, and that anyway I saw no reason why four members of the squadron, who all had to rise early the next morning, should have to sleep scattered among the empty houses.
"Relax, I was only joking."
By now R had come out and intervened: "What business is it of yours, if I invited him to my room?"
"Can't you see that I was only joking?"
"I didn't know you were capable of it."
Overall, members of the squadron do not take kindly to outsiders' meddling in their mutual relationships – which are very collegial regardless of rank or seniority.
17 April 1945, Holland
This morning one Anson reached us and we used it to send the first load. We managed to send in this craft at least most of the cots and the blankets, and the pilot promised to come back for the rest. All the other baggage will have to be loaded tomorrow onto the lorry, as there will be no other opportunity to send it by air.
Meanwhile the driver has developed a bad infection on his arm, and he suffered great pain while dashing about on the lorry all day. I decided to stay till tomorrow and to go with him, so as to replace him at the wheel if necessary, and the officer in charge agreed. The drive should actually be quite interesting: 180 miles through newly occupied Germany. The other fellows went on the transport planes.
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Tennis: Maestro rolls back the years
Roger Federer of Switzerland (above) serves against Jack Sock of United States during their semi finals match at the 2017 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, USA on March 18, 2017. PHOTO: EPA
http://str.sg/47hm
Federer wins his fifth Indian Wells in a vintage display that left fans purring
INDIAN WELLS (California) • A rejuvenated Roger Federer beat fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5 in the BNP Paribas Open final on Sunday to earn a record-tying fifth Indian Wells title and the distinction of being the tournament's oldest winner.
The 35-year-old great, who made a stunning return from a six-month injury layoff to win the Australian Open in January, capped an impressive run in the California desert in which he did not lose a set.
"I have totally exceeded my expectations. My goal was to be top eight by Wimbledon. This is just a dream start," Federer, who has climbed four spots to world No. 6 yesterday, told Sky Sports courtside.
"I understand the talk about (me getting back to) world No. 1 with Andy (Murray) and Novak (Djokovic) not playing well and I'll try to back it up. But this is my 90th (tour-level) title so I'll try to enjoy this first."
Wawrinka, making his first appearance in an Indian Wells final, came out firing in the second set as he became the first player to break Federer this fortnight and then saved a pair of break points in the next game to move ahead 2-0.
At 35 years, seven months, Roger Federer is the oldest Indian Wells champion – taking Jimmy Connors’ record at 31 years, five months
At 35, papa Federer has earned his fairy tale
But Federer never wavered as he coolly won the next three games and then broke Wawrinka in the 12th game to close out the match in 80 minutes.
While the defeat left Wawrinka an emotional wreck, with the 2016 US Open winner calling himself Federer's "biggest fan", the popular champion was left to soak up a standing ovation.
Federer now joins Djokovic as a five-time winner at the event and becomes the oldest champion in the tournament's history, surpassing Jimmy Connors who was 31 when he triumphed in 1984.
The Swiss is also the oldest ATP player to win one of the elite Masters titles, supplanting Andre Agassi who was 34 when he won in Cincinnati in 2004.
"I was very sad when I couldn't come here last year (due to injury) so just being here is a beautiful feeling," Federer said.
"It's been just a fairy-tale week. I'm still on the comeback. I hope my body is going to allow me to keep on playing.
"I came here for the first time 17 years ago so to be here again as the champion is an amazing feeling. And I can't tell you enough what it means to me."
A tearful Wawrinka looked over to see Federer laughing at him and jokingly said: "I would like to congratulate Roger. He's laughing, he's an a*****e but it's okay.
"It's a tough loss. In a way, I'm really happy to make the final. It's a great result on that, but you always want more."
The 31-year-old world No. 3 was pleased to play at a high level, having experienced knee trouble after the Australian Open.
"I was really, really struggling with my knee. I wasn't sure to be back here in that level that quick," he said.
REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 21, 2017, with the headline 'Maestro rolls back the years'. Print Edition | Subscribe
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ADENAH BAYOH
CEO, Adenah Bayoh & Companies
IHOP Franchisee
Speaker's Fee Range
—Adenah Bayoh embodies the American dream. At age 13, she escaped the civil war in her native country of Liberia, immigrated to the United States and is now one of the most successful entrepreneurs in her home state of New Jersey.—
Adenah is the founder and CEO of Adenah Bayoh and Companies, which is the parent corporation that owns IHOP franchises in Paterson and Irvington, New Jersey and a real estate development portfolio with over $225 million dollars in urban redevelopment projects. Because of the success of her flagship IHOP in Irvington, she is the second largest employer in the Township.Recently Adenah will launch Cornbread, her signature line of fast casual, farm-to-table, soul food restaurants.
Adenah began her career as an entrepreneur at an early age. After attending a public high school in Newark, New Jersey and putting herself through college, she secured a job in banking and began purchasing multifamily homes as investments. Following the financial success of these investments, she left her banking position to concentrate on building her own businesses focused on transforming and empowering disadvantaged communities.
Inspired by her grandmother, who owned a restaurant in Liberia, Adenah decided to use the profits generated from her real estate investments to open an IHOP in Irvington, New Jersey. After overcoming financial challenges and a learning curve, she cut the ribbon on her first location at age 27, making her one of the youngest IHOP franchisees in the country. In 2010, her location was the fastest-growing in the Northeast, and it remains one of the top grossing in the region. Adenah continues to build on her success; in January 2015, she was appointed to the prestigious Federal Reserve Bank of New York Advisory Council on Small Business and Agriculture. In December 2015, she was named to Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 list alongside such luminaries as U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch; Robin Washington, the CFO of pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences; and Oscar winning actress Viola Davis.
After expanding her real estate holdings with the acquisition of larger sites, she decided to take the bold step of transitioning from buying, selling, and renting properties to full-scale real estate development. In 2012, she partnered with 2 other developers to purchase the former Irvington General Hospital site, which had been vacant for nearly a decade, and transform it into an unprecedented $200 million dollar residential and retail community.
Adenah is also philanthropically involved in the communities where she does business. At IHOP Irvington, she runs a free breakfast program for children under 12, and she hosts dinners for needy families during the holidays. In addition, she allows local nonprofit organizations to hold charitable events at both IHOP locations.
Adenah’s accomplishments have not gone unrecognized. She is a sought-after speaker by business, professional, and community organizations; universities; and women’s associations. Moreover, in March 2014, she was honored as one of the Top 50 Women in Business by the publication NJBIZ and was the cover story in its March 24th issue.
Adenah is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University where she earned a degree in Business Management. Despite her numerous successes, her proudest achievement is being a mother to her 2 young children.
BOOK THIS SPEAKER
info@taradowdellgroup.com
Tara Dowdell Group copyright © 2015 all rights reserved.
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Iain Reeve and his wife, Cassandra Sclauzero are seen in this undated handout photo. Iain Reeve and his wife moved from rental home to rental home in Vancouver but their final solution for secure housing was to move to Ottawa and buy two houses, one for them and another for his parents. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Iain Reeve)
Young professionals leaving Vancouver over high cost of housing
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver pegged the average price of a detached home at a little more than $1 million
Jan. 13, 2019 10:55 a.m.
Iain Reeve and his wife moved from rental home to rental home in Vancouver but their final solution for secure housing was to move to Ottawa and buy two houses — one for them and another for his parents.
He and his wife, Cassandra Sclauzero, are professionals in their mid-30s who wanted to start a family but they couldn’t afford to buy in the city.
“We wanted to own a home to have stability, and peace of mind and flexibility,” Reeve said.
“The rental market didn’t have stability. We both had settled into pretty good first jobs. But as much as we loved the city and had these connections it wasn’t worth it.”
They were “kicked out” of a few places in three years through no fault of their own, he said, adding that it was because people were selling or flipping properties.
READ MORE: Move over millennials: Generation Z is coming for your real estate
Reeve grew up and went to university in Vancouver.
“I also have parents who live in the Vancouver area who don’t own a home and are working class and not a ton of money saved for retirement, and I’m an only child,” he said. We just couldn’t even get our foot in the door in terms of stable housing.”
Reeve said he knows a number of people who are thinking of moving out of the city simply because of the housing market.
“Life is challenging enough, it’s so hard when you have (housing) insecurity all the time.”
Statistics show that Vancouver, and B.C. generally, is losing skilled workers to other parts of the country.
CMHC spokesman Leonard Catling said one of the main reasons people between the ages of 21 and 25 come to Metro Vancouver is for university but they move out as they get older.
A December news release from Statistics Canada shows that B.C.’s population crossed the five million mark for the first time because of international migration.
However, it lost about 1,200 people to other provinces in the third quarter of 2018 after 21 quarters of gains. Ontario, Alberta and Nova Scotia had the largest gains in population from other provinces.
Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, said Vancouver is mostly able to attract people early in their careers, whether they come for education or a job, but it has a problem retaining talent.
Even if they earn a relatively high wage, he said they can’t afford anything except condominiums.
“In a world like that, the labour pool has options,” he said, noting that other provinces offer much more housing for their salaries.
Finance Minister Carole James said in an interview ”there’s no question that Vancouver is facing a brain drain.”
“Crisis is not too strong a word to describe the challenges we are facing, not just in Vancouver, but other urban settings around our province,” she said.
In her budget speech last year, she said young professionals are moving out of the province because they can’t find housing.
Yan said Vancouver is losing people in certain age groups. Those between 35 and 45 are usually at the apex of their careers and thinking about their first or second child. But they might find themselves still having to share housing if they stay in Vancouver, he said.
“It doesn’t become cool when you’re 37 and have a roommate.”
In its December report on the housing market, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver pegged the average price of a detached home at a little more than $1 million. An apartment was about $664,100 and an attached home stood at about $809,700.
Figures from BC Assessment, the Crown agency that develops and maintains property assessments in the province, show the housing market is moderating with estimated value of some homes in Metro Vancouver dropping about 10 per cent.
Nationally, experts have said higher interest rates and a new mortgage stress test have also had an impact on property prices across the country.
Yan said despite those changes housing in the Vancouver area remains unaffordable.
Kevin Olenick, who is in his mid-40s, moved back to Vancouver earlier this year. He grew up in Calgary and spent about six months in Kamloops.
“I’m one of the minority who would say moving back here makes sense,” he said, adding that the creative field he works in provides for more opportunities in Vancouver than in other places.
But he said he understands the challenges of living in Vancouver.
“You wouldn’t want to move here if you have a family. It’s especially tough to find a home and buy a home,” he said. “I’m renting … but if you’re looking to start a family I can certainly understand why you’re moving out of Vancouver.”
READ MORE: B.C.’s skyrocketing real estate market will ‘correct’ in 2019, says analyst
B.C. Ministry of Housing spokeswoman Melanie Kilpatrick said the government has announced measures that are helping to cool the real estate market and moderate prices with a 30-point housing plan.
Yan said that a study he did in 2018 shows that while home prices in Metro Vancouver were still the highest in Canada, median household income was the lowest. The study also showed that Vancouver remained the least affordable city in the country.
Since both ownership and rental is becoming more and more difficult, other problems with the labour force are becoming clearer, he said.
James said the government is aware of the problem and working on it.
Jas Johal, the jobs critic for the B.C. Liberal party, said the NDP government needs to focus on increasing the supply of housing, not taxes.
The NDP government has limited rent increases to 2.5 per cent per year, starting this month. A speculation and vacancy tax was also introduced, aimed at moderating the housing market and creating more homes for renters.
But Yan said neither the speculation tax nor the vacancy tax will make much of a difference and if the city continues to lose workers it will lose its competitive edge.
“And I think that one of the biggest challenges is that how do you build an economy — one that’s knowledge based — when that population seems to be leaving the city?”
Canada, First Nations express concern over U.S. Arctic drilling plans
UPDATE: Vancouver man killed in train, garbage truck collision in Delta
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Williams: We were nervous
LUKE Williams spoke to the media after Town's 1-0 defeat to Bury.
On the defeat...
We played a bit nervous today and didn’t come alive until we conceded. I felt we left it a bit too late and it looked like we were getting closer and closer but there are fine margins in football. We weren’t able to get that equaliser. Sometimes that is the difference in football. Small margins between scoring and not scoring and winning and losing. It was unfortunate that neither of those attempts (that his the crossbar) crept in.
On the atmopshere in the dressing room...
The players are feeling plenty of pressure at the moment. It's difficult for me to convince the players not to feel pressure and see the moment where they can drive forward and people can overload areas when they're aware they don’t want to leave an opening for the opposition.
On the return of Nicky Ajose and Jon Obika...
Both players are not as match fit as they would like to be. They returned to action where ordinarily they'd come on and give us energy coming off the bench. We needed them to start the game and you could see the energy wasn’t quite where we wanted it to be.
On the goal...
It’s a far post cross and probably a bit of a mismatch with Bradley (Barry) and the player. I don’t think it’s a foul but it's something Bradley will learn from as he develops.
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Over the last month, I've started writing a number of posts, but they all ended up going nowhere. And I came to realise it was because I was feeling weary. In many ways, I felt that I had said all I could and it seemed to make no difference. Was I just shouting into the wind? What more could I add to the conversations and causes I was so passionate about.
And just this morning, I thought, if I thought that - Imagine how freakin' bone weary the people that live with discrimination day in and day out are feeling. The people who have had their voices silenced, their worth devalued, their very existence politicised to the nth degree.
I started actively campaigning for marriage equality over ten years ago. And by actively I mean I wrote blogs and news articles, I marched, I talked about the issue, argued and debated with people, rang the politicians, emailed the politicians, tweeted, marched, wrote, marched, tweeted, raged.
And now, now it is done.
Gay and queer Australians have finally had their human rights recognised. That's not to say that it's all instantly better. The kind of abuse and prejudice gay and queer Australians have been subjected to over the decades and especially over the last few months is pretty awful. And when I say pretty awful - it's because I haven't yet found a word that truly encompasses the magnitude and cost of the bigotry.
And I'm not gay or queer. If I cried, if I felt overwhelming relief that justice had finally been served, if the visceral sense of a wrong being righted was felt so strongly by me, a straight female - imagine how huge the feelings of those who it affected must have been.
While the whole vox pop debacle about marriage equality was being played out, Australia stepped up it's oppression of refugees on Manus Island. And I wonder what it will take for Australians to recognise the catastrophic violation of human rights occurring in our name and stand up to the politicians on this issue? How many more lives do we have to ruin? How many more have to die?
When will now be for them? When will it be 'done'? We don't know, so weary or otherwise, we need to stay loud, stay angry.
I realise that we've been played beautifully on this issue. We can't see the refugees, the policies and processes that refugees in our communities have to live by are so draconian, that they are silenced by the threat of being sent offshore, being locked up again. They are not allowed to work, to travel, to access medical nationwide. Their visas are chopped and changed. We finally get people prepared to be vocal about it and they come back into politics and are silenced.
Yes we have our own homeless, our own poor, our own elderly, our own abused and our own sick. But you can't care about one, if you don't care about all. Empathy, compassion and a truly equitable and inclusive society doesn't come about by only caring for people you see.
So tis the season know to make choices and resolutions for 2018. And I ask, that if you can choose to be anything in 2018, you choose to be kind.
For it in choosing kindness each and every time, that we truly change the world.
In the current environment, kindness is the fundamental, most controversial form of activism that exists in our world.
Let's stick it to the man, let's be kind together.
Australia - You Suck
Refugees flee sunny days in their own countries because sunny days look like this
and like this
They do everything they can to stay alive. They sacrifice everything. Everything.
Everything except hope.
And then rather than look after them, we locked them up in concentration camps and refuse to help them. During the time they are in the 'care' of Australia - they lose the will to live.
What war has not taken from them, Australia has.
We have destroyed hope.
This twenty seconds of footage is extremely distressing. Having fought to stay alive for so long, they would rather die than face further imprisonment, abandonment and uncertainty.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/11/23/afp-confirm-officer-manus-png-gives-refugees-hour-vacate
Australia did this. We destroyed these men.
In the week that has passed since we indicated that we would sincerely like parliament to get on with it and sort out marriage equality, a bunch of politicians are bullshitting on about their religious freedoms and how we are being really mean by not letting bakers choose who they bake cakes for.
In the meantime - we are systematically, intentionally, deliberately destroying the freedom of hundreds of men. And not only that, this is barely news.
Australians appear to care more about the Ashes, Black Friday sales, who is replacing Lisa Wilkinson on the Today Show and sports. So much fucking sports.
WHILE PEOPLE ARE BEING BRUTALISED BECAUSE OF AUSTRALIA.
I have literally been crying as I write this, and as I ring the offices of our politicians to indicate how appalled I am about what is going on and that, like many others, I want it to stop.
Don't look away. Look at what we have done to people who already had nothing.
Australia. You suck.
The lost art of faking feng shui
I am not a 'woo' person.
I have a lot of friends with faith - in religion, in the supernatural, in the universe, in signs, in superstitions, in pseudoscience, in science, astrology, in alternative therapies, in the power of 'woo' generally.... the list goes on.
The only thing I believe in is Rumpology. Who doesn't want to believe in something that states that although everyone’s bum is unique, a round bottom suggests a person is open, happy, and optimistic, whereas a flat bottom can mean someone is vain, negative, and sad.
Better still - you can get ROCKY'S MUM TO READ YOUR BUTT! This is a true story. Check the link out if you want definitive proof that fat bottom girls make the rocking world go round.
I don't really believe in Rumpology. Though I really want to do so because I have a round rump.
I am however, an expert in the ancient (1990's) art of faking Feng Shui.
The following are 5 untruths I attributed to Feng Shui in the time before the internet to help some friends, that ended up actually being REAL Feng Shui.
It's a gift.
1. Throw out the mattress you slept on when you were with your ex-partner
I said it was something about the mattress holding all the negative energy of past relationships where you needed something clean and untainted. They got a new mattress, got a new partner and lived happily ever after.
2. Don't have your front and back doors aligned
I said it was something about needing the good luck coming in the front door not being able to go straight out the back, and you could fix it by putting a table or plant in the way to divert it into the house. They gave it a crack, got a promotion and six months later spent a lot of money on an interior designer to Feng Shui their entire house so they could live happily ever after.
3. Put up pictures of you with your friends having a good time
I said that I understood it was something to do with surrounding yourself with visual statements of positivity was good Feng Shui. They whacked up a bunch of photos, had a ball finding the perfect ones, reminded themselves of some great times, actually called some of the friends and voila! - no longer feeling friendless and lived happily ever after.
Even I, queen of the untidy, recognises that tidying up makes you feel more in control of everything. You tell somebody you are pretty sure it's a basic Feng Shui principle rather than just some basic common sense, THEY WILL DO IT and live happily ever after.
5. Get some red cushions and 'stuff'
I honestly even said and 'stuff' proving once and for all I clearly knew nothing. They were saying that it didn't seem to matter how hard they worked or what job that they tried, they weren't feeling successful. Working on the assumption that the Chinese like red, Feng Shui was probably Chinese based, I said that I had seen somewhere that having strong blocks of red around the house attracted wealth, success and happiness. They got red cushions, red vases and I think a red dinner set, actually stuck out a job for longer than three minutes and put it all down to the red cushions as the reason they lived happily ever after.
Thing is - at it's heart Feng Shui seems to me more about the ancient Chinese art of common sense than anything else - surround yourself with colour, have a positive mindset and clean your shit up occasionally*.
And that's definitely something I can believe in!
* Disclaimer: This is not the dictionary definition of Feng Shui.
5 things which may one day end my marriage
I've seen a lot of relationships break down. And I'm not so smug as to think that my relationship - which has passed through the stage of loved up housemates, to living in different countries, to living across the road, to moving countries, to living together, to engaged, to married, to married with children - is perfect.
There are many, many reasons a marriage breaks down and to make sure I'm giving mine it's best shot, I have narrowed down the five areas which trigger the most discord in our happily ever after.
He doesn't peg clothes on the line the way I do Worse, his inability to peg clothes on the line in a way that is sensible, efficient and CORRECT, appears to be genetics (based on my scientific observations of his parent's clothesline over the years) which makes me fear for my daughters. He doesn't align seams so that clothes hang straight, he'll hang jeans up by their waistband, he doesn't match socks as he goes and worst of all, when he takes clothes off the line, he LEAVES THE PEGS ON THE LINE, rather than returning them to the peg bag. In short, he's a monster.
He gets amnesia when taking things out of the pantry
Every. Single. Day. For. 13. Years. He has forgotten where the coffee and sugar go in the pantry, so once he has taken them out, he just leaves them on the bench. He also forgets how to seal the bread, put away the milk and or indeed any of the things EVER. I know he wouldn't continue to do things that annoy me so I have to assume some kind of regular, intermittent, amnesia.
We have different approaches to time. His approach is to see time as an abstract concept with no real meaning. Unless it's for a gig. In which case, his approach to time is as exacting as an Olympic official. It will come as no surprise that his approach is inconsistent with mine.
Relaxing weekends
My man knows how to relax. A weekend that involves seeing nobody but his family is his idea of bliss. If we can avoid leaving the house altogether he considers himself a man utterly content with his lot. I can do this kind of relaxing for approximately 37 seconds. I like to do things. Lots of the things. All of the things. With all of the people. All of the days. All of the time. We have a shared calendar so there are no surprises. Me forgetting to put things in the calendar means sometimes HE gets a surprise. I'm never at fault here - he should have learned to read
my mind years ago.
We have different 'conflict resolution' stylesThis means when we get cross with each other he becomes mute and I become absolute, and it only ends when we sit down and take turns to express our points of view calmly and rationally until we are back to being cosmically aligned.
This is of course - 100% untrue.
It generally ends when one or both of us is fed.
And for all of those sitting there smugly thinking - my relationship is much more solid than that Al - We share values, love our families, are kind and respectful to each other and love each other more than life itself. We are totally awesome.
I say.... Call me after your next argument.
If it's about your opposing view on Australia's approach to the North Korean nuclear threat, or how best to demonstrate empathy to your children, I'll be more surprised than Nick's going to be when he sees what we have on NEXT weekend.
Beyonce is not right. YET! #dayofthegirl
If only Beyonce was right.
Who run the world? Girls! Girls!
Who run the world? Girls!
Who run this motha? Girls!
But she's not.
I mean nobody's perfect but I think we can all agree that the people currently running the world are doing a pretty crap job at it.
That's the problem with adults. They get a little bit of power and they start wanting to have all the things - all the oil, all the money, all the love - and they forget the first rule of childhood - share!
They make up stupid rules, fire guns at people, declare war, get their knickers in a knot about who said what and who believes what and before you know it, there are a whole bunch of children whose lives are suddenly a lot crappier than they were before.
And because of thousands of years of ingrained patriarchy and sexism and all those things we're not allowed to mention in case we hurt a white man on the radio's feelings or somehow impinge upon his ingrained privilege, it's generally the girl children that get the rougher deal.
Seriously - what is it about girl children that scare powerful men so much? From Joan of Arc to Malala I think we can all agree that teenage girls can be totally kickarse if given the opportunity. I've seen first hand how World Vision (to name but one organisation) empowers entire communities by focussing on the empowerment of women and children. And it works. It really does.
I wrote last year about the impact of the F-word, toilets, education, and rehab on the lives of children in India. And that was just what I saw in a week.
Now if you imagine what this world could look like if all girls had the same opportunities as my daughters... clean water, a minimum of 12 years of education, access to doctors and all going well, a career when they get old enough to realise that those damn Shopkins don't buy themselves.
Think of what this world could like if we stopped publishing 'news' stories about whether or not Margot Robbie is wearing a bra. Imagine what this world could look like if every single girl child felt in control of their bodies, their minds and their lives. Imagine what we could do if we raised a whole world of girls that trusted themselves, believed in themselves and didn't have to 'prove' themselves capable.
It might not be a perfect world, because YES MR WHITE MAN ON THE RADIO, nobody is perfect, not even girl children, but I think we can all agree, that given the opportunity, GIRLS CAN RUN THE WORLD, a whole lot better than the adults in charge at the moment.
Things I know about depression: World Mental Health Day 2018
There are some things I know about living with depression.
And so I should. We've been living together for a long time.
I didn't know I lived with depression of course when I was younger - I just thought I sucked at life. I dabbled in self harm, gave a decent shot at self destructive behaviours, and I wholeheartedly believed all the things my brain was telling me about my self-worth - things I'd absorbed growing up that had become my internal truths despite external contradictions.
I have lived with the incessant babble of my brain, and the overwhelming cacophony of a mind constantly at war with it self, for most of my life. These are some of the things I now know.
I know that people don't think I'm depressed because I'm not lying in bed, crying all the time. Don't get me wrong, there's an element of that sometimes. But trust me, I can be sitting at a table with you, chatting about life and laughing at your jokes, and still be thinking that me dying would make the world a better place. I live with depression 24/7, 365 days a year. My medication and my clinical psych keep me in check. Without those - I'm in free-fall. I learned that the hard way.
I know that there is no logic in depression. If I could stop being depressed and feeling the way I do, don't you think I would? Of course I know that I am much luckier than a lot of people. Of course I know that people go through far worse without becoming depressed. I KNOW that. And I can assure you I feel guilt and shame about living with depression for those reasons without you pointing it out to me.
I know that there are no words to explain the hopelessness and dread which consume you living with depression. It's a constant, throb in your chest, it's an ache in your bones, it's a gauzy bandage over your brain keeping everything fuzzy. It's an effort. And trying to explain it when you are overwhelmed by those feelings makes them seem trivial, minor, and insignificant. Which makes you feel worse because you can see that the people you are speaking to don't get it, unless they've lived it. There is nothing more soul destroying than trying to explain something people don't get. Ask any maths teacher.
I know that depression doesn't just affect me. It affects my partner, my children, my relationships, my friendships, my parenting style, my business, and my physical health. This means that you try really hard sometimes to pretend you're okay even when you're not, because 'normal' seems a nice world to live in.
I know that people think that you're 'fine' because that bit where you wanted to die so badly a year or so ago has passed and the fact you're still not 'sorted' is incredibly frustrating to them. It's frustrating to me too, trust me, I'm trying.
I know that people think they know what my triggers are. And I appreciate those that don't try to fix me, and I appreciate the ones that do. The thing is, if there was something tangible to fix, I'd do it myself - trust me on this. Different things impact at different times. I recognise this. I really do.
I know that people find the fact that I can be so frank about my depression disconcerting. The thing is, I don't lack self awareness or resilience. But never acknowledging it means that I internalise all of the 'stuff'. And then the line between what is my truth and what is my depression fades away and the world just seems unbearable. Plus, if she who 'apparently' talks too much can't talk about it, who is going to? If sharing my diagnoses makes it easier for even ONE other person to articulate their own struggles than that is the silver lining in this shitty storm.
I know when my lifestyle choices are not the best for my illness, and I know when my lifestyle choices are very good for me. Sometimes making the right choices doesn't change anything despite me wanting them to be the 'fix', and then on the flip side, sometimes I just don't give a fuck. I just want to switch off.
I know that some people don't "believe" in depression or mental health as a bona-fide illness. Like climate change deniers, anti-vaxers and racists - you can just fuck off. Your belief systems don't change the science.
I know that my depression is not all of me. It's a very real part of me, like anybody that lives with an illness either short term or long term can attest. But it's part of what makes me, me. Living with depression is frequently the lens through which I view the world and sometimes, it acts as CCTV for every arsehole I encounter in a day. BUT more frequently it shines a spotlight on the kindness of others and the really great things that are going on in the world, despite all the tomfuckery.
And last, but not least, I know that no amount of David Wolfe memes make any impact on my mental health. So please stop sharing his quackery and bullshit.
Vegetables and War Zones
If you asked me last month about soil salinity in Afghanistan I would have been able to tell you nothing. I probably would have thought to myself, I kind of think that soil salinity in Afghanistan is the least of their troubles.
And you are sitting there thinking - "SOIL SALINITY? WHAT THE ACTUAL F&&K FRANK? YOU CAN NOT SERIOUSLY BE ABOUT TO BLOG ABOUT SOIL SALINITY?"
To which I would primly point out to you that I talk about everything from housework to human rights and SURELY THAT COVERS SOIL SCIENCE?
That aside, it turns out that soil salinity is a fairly critical issue for Afghanistan and other 'critical states'. 'Critical states' refers to the places we here generally think of as 'countries which have had the bejeezus bombed out of them and the infrastructure destroyed for reasons we're not very sure about but seem to result in lots of people killed, injured or misplaced'.
After the largest non-nuclear bombing ever happens, not much is left
For a country that has around 75% of the population dependent on agriculture, where it snows in winter and bakes in summer, where the woodlands/trees/forests have been depleted due to conflict, construction and the need for fuel, the salinity of the soil is a massive deal. It affects the ability to grow anything, like you know - food, which affects both the health of individuals and the economy. It affects the quality of the water, which of course affects hygiene. And of course hygiene, affects health, which affects.... oh you get me. Being able to grow stuff is pretty important so if the soil is all wrong (a genuine scientific evaluation) everybody is screwed.
Add into that mix Afghanistan still suffering more than it's fair share of conflict and internal instability, it almost seems like it's all too hard. I'm a bleeding heart lefty remember and even just listening to it I felt overwhelmed by the impossibility of the task. I mean - gardening and guns - I am not great with either if I'm honest.
But it turns out that people like Brian Hilton from World Vision, the government and a bunch of other NFPs are more comfortable with gardening and guns than I am, and have wandered about Afghanistan chatting to the locals and worked out that overall they'd rather NOT be growing poppies even though the buggers grow everywhere, because poppies mean opium and opium means addiction, fighting and the average Afghani is pretty much over fighting about anything. So, they've worked out they can grow winter wheat, saffron and pistachios and get it all moving again.
Khatai cookies - Afghan cookies with cardamom and pistachio (vegan)
You're very welcome for the #foodinspo
Now obviously I've massively oversimplified lots of really involved science, politicking, negotiating and so on, but if you had ever told me that getting Afghanistan back on its feet might be as simple as nuts, I would have told you you were, ummmmm, nuts.
Oh c'mon. You would have made the same joke.
But it goes to show how much we know over here in our little corner of the planet. And this is what is fascinating to me about the work World Vision does - they don't just say "I think they need", or "I believe they need", or "They bloody well need", they go and ASK THE PEOPLE WOT LIVE THERE LIKE.
Or to be fair, they send people like Dr Brian into the field with his American accent, his crutches, more than a touch of knowledge about 'stuff' and a couple of translators/bodyguards to help with the asking and then they all sort it out. But then, you get the opportunity to listen to him talk and you find that you are actually massively intrigued by what is involved in the reforestation of Afghanistan and what that means for the people. I mean this is the same man that got me fascinated in the biodiversification of sweet potatoes in Burundi last year and what that means in regards to the elimination of blindness. I mean sweet motherless child of Colin, I'm not even sure I could have placed Burundi on a map before he spoke but all of a sudden I was loving Burundi innovation as if I'd discovered it myself! (Could I be any more of a white cliche?)
Anyway, as you know a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous things and before you knew it I had fallen down the 3am rabbit hole on more than one sleepless night, reading about the role of vegetables in getting countries back on their feet after years of extensive conflict. In short, people are feckin' amazing and vegetables are so much more than your ability to see in the dark.
I've been thinking a lot about what Australians' don't know about 'critical zones'. And I know that when people say 'go back to where you come from' they're being more than a little bit racist, but it also shows how much we don't know collectively. I mean it would be great to send all the refugees in our detention centres back home wouldn't it? I mean most of the fighting is finished, so like just get back to it. Start living your lives again.
Except that there are no trees in public parks for kids to fall out of so they can sue the government so there are no jobs for lawyers, there are not hospitals for doctors to doctor in, no food for grocers to sell, the schools are bombed out so teachers have no resources, the power is still disconnected so there is no need for electricians to link up to Foxtel. These countries literally have to start at the very beginning, and that's sorting out the soil, and the drinking water and growing nuts.
source: World Vision Images
And what can we do? We can dust off our compassion, be kind to each other and share our pistachios. We can't solve all the problems of the world at once, but we can do a lot by doing a little to make our little corner of the world a much less hateful place.
I am. You should.
The first friends to hold our second child were Brad and James. They popped in after work in their checked shirts to congratulate us and deny that they could see any resemblance between her and 'Flacco', which was kind but clearly untrue.
Flacco and Cass
Brad and James have always been the kind of couple that we should all view as an excellent example of 'synergy'. One of them loves to cook, the other one can't cook. One drives, the other doesn't. One talks, the other doesn't. One's got your typical go-to country family, the other has a family that has nothing typical about it. One is pragmatic, the other dramatic. One buys a checked shirt, the other wears it. And vice versa.
In fact, the only odd thing about this couple is their commitment to checked shirts. I'm not sure it's natural in people so young. Who don't live in the country and milk cows for a living. But I digress.
We went to Hobart in 2015 with the girls to take part in Brad and James' four day wedding love fest. It basically ruined the girls for life because now whenever we attend a wedding that doesn't have a bagpiper and band to walk us from the ceremony to the reception they feel a little bit ripped off. They know what love looks like.... it kind of looks like Brad and James BUT WITH LOTS OF DRUMS. I get it, I feel a little disappointed I didn't have drums at my own wedding in hindsight.
We've celebrated a number of New Years with Brad and James, had them to our place for dinner, gone to their place for dinner (a much better option if you've ever get the choice), had them mind our children while we've gone on date nights, called them for advice, offered advice, given support, received support, made bad jokes, chatted on the phone, hung out. You know, like friends do.
Today we received a letter from them that made my heart hurt and my eyes cry.
The letter said -
"Dear Nick and Alison,
Last week the High Court of Australia took the decision that the marriage equality postal survey will go ahead. As two people involved in politics in this country we were disappointed with the outcome because in Australia our laws are made in Parliament and if offends our sense of social justice that the rights of any minority are subject to a different process before they can even be considered in that place. This is nothing but a costly and harmful delaying tactic engineered by the opponents of equality. Rights delayed are rights denied.
Since the announcement of the survey our first priority has been to help our friends, family and colleagues support each other through this tough time, particularly our younger friends for whom the struggle for equality and dignity is just beginning.
We are now focussed on 'winning' the survey and so have chosen to ask for your help by the same means that the survey will take place - by way of the post.
Here is how you can help us to achieve equality for all LGBTI Australians:
1. Complete your survey
This survey is optional and based on similar postal ballots we understand that only about 65% of survey forms will be returned. This makes every survey important.
We are heartened that a majority of Australians support equality but if those people support us do not return their form, than the ballot may be lost. As soon as your survey comes in you should fill it in and post it straight back.
2. Tell your family and friends that you have voted Yes
Take a photo or video of you completing your survey (or putting it in the post box) and post it to social media. Ask your friends to do the same.
3. Talk to people about what marriage means to you
We've been in a loving relationship for nearly a decade. We have built a house, grow herbs on the balcony (with mixed results), share dinner with friends over at the weekend and sometimes disagree about what we are going to watch on Netflix.
On 22 August 2015, we hosted a four day celebration of our love in Tasmania, but it was not a legal wedding. Our relationship doesn't have the same standing in society as others in our family and a patchwork of legislation means our legal status as a couple is not guaranteed.
If you feel you can't share your own store of love or a story of how this will affect your family we would be honoured if you shared ours. We believe that the only way we can win this fight is with love and we have plenty to spare.
All committed love between two consenting adults is equal. All families are equal. We should all be recognised under the law with equality. If a Yes vote is returned than nobody is going to be any less married and nobody is going to be any more gay. Love will win the day.
Yours in equality
Brad and James"
Now the question you might be asking me is why such a beautifully articulated letter made me cry?
To recap:Our friends just wrote to us to ask us for our support
in helping them to achieve the same human rights as we have.
My friends felt the need to write to us, and all their other friends and family, to ask for our support in having their own country recognise their shared humanity.
They were asking for help, to have themselves recognised as equal, as worthy, as relevant as us.
What a fucking disaster Australia has created.
We have put faith before humanity. We have put politics before humanity. We have put our family and friends on the firing line and asked them to play Russian roulette with the rights that we WROTE AND ENSHRINED in the United Nations' Declaration of Human Rights on10 December 1948.
In fact -
The first two articles state:
Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
AND AUSTRALIA NOT ONLY HELPED WRITE IT, AN AUSTRALIAN WAS THE BLOODY PRESIDENT OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY AT THE TIME
Australia’s Involvement in the United Nations Charter
Australia was one of the 51 founding members of the United Nations (UN) and our involvement in the development of the international human rights system dates from this time. We played a central role in the negotiations on the UN’s charter in 1945 to ensure that respect for human rights was placed alongside peace, security and development as the primary objectives of the United Nations.
Australia’s Involvement in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Australia was also a founding member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which is the main international forum for the promotion and protection of human rights. The Commission, with Australia as one of its 8 members, drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration was presented to the UN General Assembly and adopted on the 10th of December 1948. In the chair as President of the UN General Assembly was an Australian, Dr. H V Evatt, one of the architects of the Declaration and the chief Australian delegate to the UN.
So yes, I do find it heartbreaking that my friends are being put through this absolute farce of a vote. And yet the only thing I can do about it now that it is in play is to make sure that I vote, and that you vote, and that you understand it's not about you and what you believe.
HUMAN RIGHTS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR BELIEFS, YOUR VIEWS, YOUR OPINIONS AND YOUR RELIGION. AND IF WE DON'T TREAT ALL PEOPLE AS EQUAL IT ALL GOES REALLY BADLY FOR EVERYBODY INVOLVED.
History has proven that time and time again - Cambodia, Rwanda, Ukraine, Zunghar, Armenia, Libya, Burundi, Iraq, Croatia, Bosnia, the Holocaust.... and um.... our First Australians.
I get that Australia has a track record of voting on people's human rights. Hello 1967's referendum. But that was fifty years ago. Surely we've learned something in that time, even if our our politicians haven't.
I don't want any of my friends EVER to have to ask me again for my help in having them recognised as being equal to me. I NEVER want to be in a situation where people can be so hurtful and unkind to people they haven't met. I NEVER want to have to look at any of my gay or queer friends or their children and say "I AM SORRY WE FUCKED THAT UP."
All I want is human rights for all humans. The humans I know and love. And the humans I don't know and never will. Even the humans I know and don't like.
HUMANITY BEFORE FAITH
HUMANITY BEFORE OPINION
HUMANITY BEFORE POLITICS
HUMANITY BEFORE RELIGION
HUMANITY BEFORE ALL ELSE.
So please, for Brad and James and their families, friends and future checked-shirted offspring, and at least forty other people I know personally and their children, and for all the people whose sexuality makes no difference whatsoever to you - vote YES.
Aristotle, Google and Me
It was Aristotle that said "Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man" and he also said lots of other fairly clever things which is why people still talk about him 2,500 years or so later.
Now, like most things that were written 2,000 or so years ago, it's fair to say that it wasn't meant to be taken literally. And I think we can all agree that he was talking generally about the first seven years of life being critical in terms of the development of a child in relation to the adult they would become.
Or maybe he was offering to raise the entire Greek population for the first seven years of their lives and his great plan to found the greatest childcare centre of all time was wildly misinterpreted. Bummer that - 2,500 years of childcare fees would have easily made him richer than... well anybody.
But I digress. Modern thinking about raising children would indicate that he was correct about the early years of a person's life being hugely influential. But I think we also dismiss the human experience to say that who you are at seven is who you are for the rest of your life. And since most of us don't remember much until we are about four it would be disappointing to know that the adult you become is entirely shaped by the poo, fart and bum jokes you spend the following 900 odd days telling.
That said - it would explain a lot about humankind.
Our eldest daughter Tully turned seven a few days ago. She's a great kid. Clever, inquisitive, stubborn, loving and kind. She worries a lot for a small person and she is fierce with her affections. She's very loyal and sometimes, like all humans, she's a massive pain in the derriere. She's completely adorkable to me and her father, and the centre of her sister's universe.
If the adult Tully is anything like seven year old Tully, she's starting strong. But I would like to think that in the next seven years, the seven after that, the seven after that, and so on, she is experiencing the world in a way that helps her evolve into the individual she is meant to be.
That will mean being proactive about getting out in the world, going outside her comfort zone, being open to education and different kinds of people. It will mean knowing that the world is shades of grey and not the black and white we see it as when we are younger. It's about knowing the difference between right and righteous, between kind and nice, and of course - between their, they're and there.
I would hope that the adult version of my seven year old had the opportunity to be exposed to many ideas and thinking that is outside her parents' experience. I would hope that she challenges the things we present to her, not only to challenge her own thinking, but ours. I hope that she learns that she can lose sight of us, because we will never lose sight of her.
I have lived six sets of seven years so far and I can comprehensively say that the person I am now is a much more rounded version than me at 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35. And what I have learned about myself in the last seven years has been heavily influenced, firstly by her arrival and then her sister's arrival which just goes to show you that it's not just people older than you can teach you things about yourself.
I would like to think that my seven year old realises how much power she has in her own life much sooner than I did. I want her to know that no matter what we've imprinted on her in the first seven years, she is the only person that steers her boat. She doesn't need to be the person I want her to be, or her father wants her to be, she needs only to be the person she wants to be.
And at seven, she doesn't really know what that is unless she looks at it in the context of a career. In which case she wants to be a doctor/rock star/actor/scientist/ethics teacher/spy. But being seven years old is far too young to realise that what you are is never going to be as important as who you are.
I know right? Who needs Aristotle when they've got me. And Google. How did parents answer the questions of seven year olds without Google?
One for each year
I got asked last week why I feel so passionately about marriage equality when I'm not gay.
I'd like to say first of all that I don't think wanting all the humans in the world to have the same human rights as other human rights is the weird thing.
I think the weird thing is that not everybody cares about equality.... not just marriage equality. Why aren't we all passionate about a world that is free of hate and bigotry of all kinds. Why does one human think they are better or more worthy than another human being EVER?
I mean we can think we're funnier, or more interesting, or cleverer, or even better looking - but to think we are more human than another human on the basis of skin colour, religion, sexuality or anything at all really is just daft.
And I think people know that. They do. But we can convince ourselves of almost anything in an effort to belong and some people choose hate as their act of belonging. That's the whole thing about free choice.
But sexuality isn't a choice. It's the same as skin colour. Fuck all to do with you and all to do with biology. That' doesn't mean sometimes you don't wish it was different - I'd love to have skin the colour of Lupita Nyong'o - but I was cursed with the kind of pinky white skin that burns in the sun and makes you look weird and blotchy for a month after you cry.
I think the only reason people would wish their sexuality was different though is because as a society we have spent a lot of time being homo/queer-hateful and that kind of negativity can be hard to ignore.
And some people argue that marriage equality is not THE issue of the day. That it doesn't affect everybody. But it does. When inequality is enshrined in law against any of our fellow humans, we're essentially condoning inequality as a reasonable option. And history shows that ignoring inequality and hate allows it to flourish. It's a well documented way to hell.
But we're on the cusp of setting the world to rights by ensuring all Australians have the same human rights as each other. Sure, I get that we can go to war with North Korea without voting for it but deleting a sentence in our legislation requires 122 million dollars worth of paperwork - but hey, mine is not to point out the hypocrisy again of the LNP. They're doing a mighty fine job of it themselves.
But I am 42 years old. And I have at least 42 reasons of my own, one for each year I've been alive, for wanting marriage equality. They have names, partners, children, homes. I have worked with them, travelled with them, drank wine with them, cried with them, laughed with them, celebrated with them. They are my friends, my confidants, my tribe. They are better humans than me on the whole, and mostly better looking and kinder. None of them are funnier obviously but then who is?
So in short, I have at least 42 reasons for being passionate about marriage equality.
Even though I'm not gay.
Things I know about depression: World Mental Healt...
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National Grid faulted for Worcester development delays
Nick Kotsopoulos Telegram & Gazette Staff @NCKotsopoulos
WORCESTER — The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce is raising concerns about "persistent challenges" it says developers and property owners in the city are having with National Grid.
The chamber contends those ongoing challenges could put the economic development momentum taking place in the city at risk.
It said staffing issues for National Grid and an inability to deliver services in a timely manner are at the crux of the problem.
The chamber expressed its concerns in a letter sent to the state Department of Public Utilities, which is currently reviewing National Grid's rate case application to update its electric distribution rates and make significant investments in emerging clean energy technologies.
In its proposal, the company has outlined investments in reliability and storm response, energy storage projects that contribute to grid flexibility, and infrastructure to facilitate greater access to electric vehicle charging, as well as an increase in the low-income discount and a new rate structure that introduces predictability in what National Grid will charge for distribution service.
The company’s proposal requests approval to set new distribution rates that would add approximately 2.6 percent, or $4.07, to the monthly bill of a typical residential customer using 600 kilowatt-hours of electricity.
Timothy P. Murray, president and chief executive officer of the WRCC, said the chamber wanted to make the DPU aware of the challenges in Worcester.
"We've been working to try to address these problems and it continues to be a problem," Mr. Murray said in an interview Monday. "We have an obligation to our members to make the DPU aware of these problems as it considers a rate case for National Grid. It's been frustrating but we will continue to try to address these problems."
One of the issues cited in the chamber's letter to the DPU is the length of time it takes to accommodate service upgrades, replacements or inter-connections.
That process involves engineering design and construction and National Grid states that 40 weeks (10 months) is a "best-case scenario timeline" to accommodate those services, according to Alex Guardiola, director of government affairs and public policy for the chamber of commerce.
In the letter to the DPU, Mr. Guardiola cited the Main Street resurfacing project, which includes new decorative ADA compliant sidewalks, bike lanes, decorative lighting, public art and green spaces.
He said the project, which is underway, requires 14 electrical vault upgrades, of which National Grid was reportedly notified about in 2014.
"National Grid has stated that they can upgrade one vault per year," Mr. Guardiola wrote. "To date, no vaults have been reconstructed and the Main Street project cannot be completed until all 14 vaults are updated. This adversely impacts a number of Main Street businesses and unfairly causes people to blame city officials."
Mr. Guardiola said there also has been significant delays regarding the change and upgrade in service in the redevelopment of the old Worcester Regional Transit Authority yard on Grove Street into a retail plaza.
He said those delays have prevented the developer and a number of tenants from opening on time at considerable financial expense.
"Several key manufacturers, which are major employers, have voiced similar concerns about timeliness and National Grid's ability to complete projects in a timely manner," Mr. Guardiola wrote. "This impacts manufacturers and their ability to meet the needs of their customers and plan production work accordingly."
Mr. Guardiola said another problem is that many National Grid customers are not aware that they are responsible for vault upgrades or inter-connections. In addition to construction updates, the customer is also responsible for the design.
In many instances, he said it can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of an overall project.
In another matter, Mr. Guardiola contends that National Grid is making it difficult for the city and businesses in Worcester to pursue a "green future."
In his letter, he specifically cited the $22 million Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center, which includes two sheets of ice and 40,000 square feet of retail. As part of the development the owner had hoped to incorporate rooftop solar.
At the request of National Grid, he said, the developer paid nearly $30,000 for a study to look at the feasibility of placing solar panels on the roof, only to have the utility inform him at the end of the study that based on its policy it would not accept that particular solar energy generation project.
"Much progress has been made in the areas of energy efficiency and the expansion of renewables, such as solar," he wrote. "Again, this pursuit is being stymied in the city of Worcester because of National Grid’s unwillingness to implement policy and system changes that would allow private generators of solar energy to tie into their system."
In a statement issued Monday evening, National Grid said it appreciates the input and feedback its municipal stakeholders provide it.
"We fully support the wonderful work being done by the city of Worcester, Worcester Business Development Corporation and the Regional Chamber of Commerce to lead Worcester’s renaissance and are committed to continuing to meet regularly in order to listen and respond to customers and communities while meeting the guidelines set forth within our current regulatory framework," the company’s statement said.
Meanwhile, City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. said he has met with the regional president of National Grid to discuss the issues raised by the chamber, especially as they relate to certain key development projects in the city.
"The city, National Grid, the business community and our residents will continue working together to resolve these complaints and establish proactive measures to prevent them from happening in the future," Mr. Augustus said.
Mr. Guardiola said the chamber, the Worcester Business Development corp. and city officials have met with National Grid officials to look at a vault upgrade/infrastructure grant program to assist property owners and developers in Gateway cities such as Worcester.
He said such a program would only be effective if National Grid has proper staffing to administer it and dramatically improves its current level of service and communication.
"The chamber stands ready to work with the Department of Utilities and other interested parties to see that this standard is met so our regional and business community can continue to grow," Mr. Guardiola said.
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Personal View
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Philip Johnston
The NHS, and the rest of the public sector, must not be immune to criticism
Why is helpful criticism of public services routinely given short shrift, wonders Philip Johnston.
Grey area: the organisation of institutions such as the NHS should indeed be questioned Photo: Getty
By Philip Johnston
6:28AM BST 17 Aug 2009
What is it about politics in this country that anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxies is howled down? They are traduced and dismissed as barmy, never to be taken seriously, even if there is some good sense to what they say. The latest to be banished to this nether world of eccentrics is MEP Daniel Hannan, who writes for the Telegraph. He dared to question the consensus on the funding and structure of the NHS.
After all, what could possibly be wrong with an institution established more than 60 years ago in the aftermath of war and whose delivery has hardly been reformed in the meantime? Well, quite a lot, actually – and that is a view held by those who work in it, of whom more later.
There are many people who have something important to say about the way we deliver public services, often from a position of experience and knowledge, who are just ignored. We have a huge self-serving nexus of officials, inspectors and auditors who merely perpetuate a system that is both profligate and inefficient.
We learned recently that despite little evidence of improved standards in schools, the salary of the chief inspector at Ofsted has risen by 70 per cent since 2002 and overall staffing costs at the school inspectorate have increased by more than a third. At the weekend, Alan Gilbert, vice-chancellor of Manchester University, said students were not benefiting from the extra money brought in by tuition fees. Yet the Government insisted that record investment "has left the university sector stronger than ever".
This is the characteristic response from officialdom to anyone who criticises the way things are done: they are simply dismissed, even if it is obvious that they are both right and better qualified than anyone in Whitehall to know what is happening.
There has recently been an illuminating spat involving another demolisher of totems, John Seddon, a systems management expert and academic. He has been banging on for years that the public sector is incapable of delivering what everyone wants because it is inherently flawed. It does not matter how much money is chucked around, the results will never improve because the whole system is wrong.
Seddon long ago recognised that the fundamental problem with public services in Britain is precisely what the Government, and specifically Gordon Brown, have always considered to be the solution: the obsessive control of delivery by a central command structure that is largely ignorant of how to do the job properly, but whose mechanisms – targets, inspections and the rest – have become an orthodoxy that few dare challenge.
Yet far from being the opinion of a maverick, this view is widely shared within the public sector, though no one working in it can say so openly. The balloon went up when Seddon wrote an article for the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) proposing the abolition of the Audit Commission, a quango that is supposed to ensure the delivery of value-for-money services by local councils. Seddon believes bodies like this exacerbate the faults rather than rectify them. He argued that targets make performance worse because they distort the way services are run – people are focused upwards to the regime, not outwards to their customers.
This prompted a response from the Audit Commission which denounced Seddon as "a prophet of lean" (as though there was something wrong with a slimmer public sector), "incontinent", "nonsensical" and "bland", though without directly addressing the points he made. He was told that he did not understand the "political context" in which the Audit Commission worked. The reply carried the headline: "By all means criticise us – but get your facts right." So that put Seddon back in his box.
Then a funny thing happened. The LGC website was inundated with responses from workers in the public sector who said well, actually, he has his facts right. Here are a few of them: "I am a manager at a local authority that was inspected last year. My organisation spent over £100,000 on preparation for inspection, not including staff time. When the Audit Commission came they gave us a reasonably good score. My colleagues and I know that we manipulated the targets and that service is pretty poor, although using the centrally imposed targets and measures, you wouldn't be able to tell."
Another wrote: "I used to work for the Audit Commission. I have worked with NHS and other service and workforce regulators… I endorse Seddon's analysis of the Kafkaesque madness of contemporary UK public service."
And another: "I have worked in the public service all my working life. I have seen the deeply flawed target culture take hold which has led to a mind-boggling increase in bureaucrats monitoring the statistics in order to comply with some government diktat bearing no relation to the real world."
And this: "Many people in the public sector believe that John Seddon is right. Setting arbitrary targets and measuring against those does not help improve performance. In fact, it causes it to deteriorate. Millions of taxpayers are suffering as a result. We deserve better."
Indeed we do. But is anyone listening?
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Where are the world's major military bases?
As the British government examines whether it could maintain Trident's base in an independent Scotland, here is a look at some of the major military bases on foreign soil - excluding Afghanistan - around the world.
Map showing military bases around the world.
The Royal Navy's Astute submarine sailing into Faslane, Scotland Photo: PA
By Harriet Alexander
1) Scotland
The Faslane base, on Gare Loch, is home to the UK's Trident nuclear submarine base.
2) Cyprus
Two bases, at Akrotiri and Dhekelia, were retained as British sovereign territory with independence in 1960. The bases are home to army, navy and RAF personnel.
Scottish trident base claims a 'preposterous threat', says SNP deputy
3) Germany
British forces will have all left Germany by 2020. However, there remains a significant presence, with the Rhine Garrison as the head quarters.
The US also has 48,000 soldiers in Germany.
4) Gibraltar
The army has had a presence on the Rock for over 300 years, although the last UK-based infantry battalion left in 1991. It is now home to the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, and acts as a Joint Operating Base for UK operations in the region.
5) Kenya
An army training unit in Nanyuki, 200km north of Nairobi, has 56 permanent staff and 110 rotating staff members, who work with the troops coming in to train.
Britain also has a peace support team in Kenya, working on security sector reform and mine removal.
6) Sierra Leone
Established in 2002 at the end of the civil war, Britain has a military advisory and training centre on the outskirts of Freetown.
7) Falklands
A combined force of army, navy and RAF is based on the islands.
An infantry battalion and a Bell 212 helicopter flight are based in Brunei, which is used as a centre for jungle warfare training.
The training area in Alberta is equivalent in size to all the main training areas used by the British forces in the UK and Europe. Around 1000 tanks and armoured vehicles are kept there to train 7000 troops each year.
There are 28,500 American troops based in Seoul, at the Yongsan Garrison. They will move to Camp Humphreys, 40 miles south of the capital, later this year.
Okinawa is home to about half of America's 50,000 troops stationed in Japan.
12) Guam
Andersen Air Force base is home to bomber crews, while nuclear submarines are also housed here.
13) UK
America operates out of six RAF bases in the UK. RAF Croughton is one of the largest military communications centres in Europe, and handles 30pc of all US military traffic within Europe.
14) Diego Garcia
A British overseas territory, the island was home to the Chagossians – who were expelled by the British between 1968 and 1973 to make way for the American base. It is now uninhabited, except for military personnel.
15) Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
Cuba granted America complete jurisdiction and control over this remote part of the island in 1903, although Cuba retains sovereignty. It is home to the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, opened in 2002 to hold prisoners from the "War on Terror".
16) Qatar
Approximately 5,000 troops are stationed between three bases and the US Combined Air Operations Centre. Most American troops left Saudi Arabia in 2003, at the end of the Gulf War, and Qatar is now one of their main centres. They also have troops stationed in Bahrain (home to the Fifth Fleet), Kuwait, Oman, UAE and Yemen. Overall in the Arabian Gulf region there are reportedly 40,000 American servicemen.
Sevastopol is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet – the largest subunit of the navy.
18) Syria
Russia maintains a navy logistics centre in Tartus, with 16 ships. It is the only base outside of the former USSR. In January Russia was forced to deny that it was withdrawing its personnel from the base, and emphasise that the centre was staffed by civilians, not military staff.
19) Tajikistan
Over 7,000 Russian troops are based in Tajikistan, making it their largest base in Central Asia. The present contract between Russia and Tajikistan ends in 2014, but a new agreement has been signed which remains in force until 2042.
20) Abu Dhabi
France opened its first military base in the Gulf in 2009 – the first foreign military installation built by the French for 50 years, and its first centre in a country which was not a colony. It is home to 500 troops.
21) Djibouti
Home to France's largest base in Africa, plus a major US base.
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Kate Mabilia
kmabilia@tglaw.com.au
Kate has been a Partner of the firm since 2010, and has more than 16 years’ experience practising in the Victorian accident compensation jurisdiction.
Kate’s areas of expertise include accident compensation, employer’s liability, statutory benefits, risk and claims management, workplace health and safety, and common law damages litigation.
Kate has acted for the Victorian WorkCover Authority, its authorised insurers and employers in defending matters under the Accident Compensation Act before the Court of Appeal, Supreme, County, and Magistrates Courts.
She has also provided extensive advice in all aspects of compensation law and is known for her thorough preparation and approach to matters. Her knowledge and experience were recognized when she was selected by the Victorian WorkCover Authority’s Dispute Management Division for its first ever external secondment from its legal panel. During this secondment, Kate assisted in the management of the legal panel in relation to its conduct of both statutory benefits and common law damages litigation on behalf of the Victorian WorkCover Authority.
Kate has also developed a significant self insurer practice comprising major corporations across a variety of industries. In addition to providing her self insurer clients with legal advice and representation in both pre-litigated and litigated matters, Kate also provides ongoing education, and training to these clients in relation to changes to the law within the accident compensation jurisdiction, and major developments which impact upon their businesses.
Kate is a successful litigator with strong forensic skills and is a highly regarded practitioner within the Victorian accident compensation jurisdiction. Her longstanding relationship with WorkSafe has seen Kate actively involved in strategic working groups and development programs. She has attracted praise from WorkSafe for her ability to develop strong working relationships with key stakeholders and opponents, enabling her to achieve consistently high results in a timely fashion.
Kate has been recognised in Doyle’s Guide as “recommended” lawyer in the Victorian market for WorkSafe & Workers Compensation (2016), and as a “leading” lawyer in Workers Compensation (Defendant) (2017 & 2018).
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Rory Leaman
WOOSTER -- Rory S. "Roe" Leaman, 47, of Wooster, went home to be with the Lord, Saturday evening, Jan. 27, 2007, at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, following an extended illness.Services will take place Wednesday, at 7 p.m. at Custer-Glenn Funeral Home, 2284 Benden Drive, Wooster, with Pastor Nathan Ward officiating.Visitation will be one hour prior to services from 6-7 p.m. It was his wishes for cremation to follow. Words of comfort may be shared with the family at www.MEM.com.Memorial contributions may be made, in lieu of flowers, to either Wayne County Kidney Center, 387 W. Milltown Road, Wooster, Ohio 44691 or American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 1132, Fairfax, Va. 22038-1132.He was born on July 29, 1959, in Wooster to Larry and Billie (Mills) Leaman and has been a Wooster resident for all of his life.He previously worked as a leadman finisher with First Choice for five years and as an oil driller for numerous oil fields throughout the area. He previously was a member of Eagles Club in Wooster, Moose Lodge and Lamplighters of Wooster.He is survived by a son, R.J. Leaman of Wooster; a daughter, Kayreen Mahon of Mansfield, Ohio; a brother, Stacey Leaman of Parkersburg, W.Va.; two sisters, Kandy Ungerer of Wooster, and Vickie Leaman, Wayne, W.Va.; his lifelong friends, Diane Lowe and Eddie Hill, both of Wooster and many nieces and nephews.In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by a daughter, Alicia.Paid
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Franken Amendment Would Bring Real Rating Agency Reform
Daniel Indiviglio
Senator Al Franken (D-MN) has no sense of humor when it comes to the rating agencies. He has proposed the toughest new reform to date to eliminate the conflicts-of-interest that many blame for their bad ratings of mortgage securities. The Senate's bill is otherwise very weak on rating agency reform and does not offer a fix for this problem. While it's unclear if the amendment (.pdf) is the best way to fix the rating agency problem, it would improve the current system.
The Rating Agency Problem
The rating agency problem is a structural one. Right now the agencies are paid for their ratings by the very parties that will make money from selling the bonds -- the issuers and investment banks. Clearly, those creating the bonds have a distinct bias to want those ratings to be as high as possible: then they'll be more attractive to investors and more lucrative to sell. And the rating agencies want to keep getting the issuers and banks' business. As a result, they feel pressured to provide high ratings instead of solid analysis. Rating agencies are plagued by a conflict-of-interest.
Additionally, some have complained that there isn't enough competition in the ratings market. Right now, three companies -- Moodys, S&P, and Fitch -- account for virtually all ratings. With so little competition, there's not much diversity in the assumptions they have about the market.
The Franken Amendment
Franken's proposal specifically targets the conflict-of-interest. He proposes to create a board that would assign one rating agency to evaluate each new issue asset-backed security. The board would be made up of a majority of investors (at least four), at least one issuer representative, at least one rating agency representative, and at least one independent member. The issuer can hire additional agencies for more ratings if it desires to do so.
All Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs), i.e. rating agencies, could apply to become "qualified" organizations to rate various types of asset-backed securities. Once they are approved, they would be pseudo-randomly assigned deals. The bill says that the selection should take into account track records. So the better the rating agency's past performance, the more deals it will get in the future.
How It Fixes the Problem
By putting a board in place to assign a rating agency, you no longer have an environment where an issuer has full discretion to choose rating agencies. As a result, even if an issuer doesn't like an initial rating, it can't drop the analyst and choose a different company to provide a final rating for a new bond. The conflict-of-interest then disappears, because the rating agencies derive their business based on the new board's discretion, which will take into account their past performance.
The amendment also indirectly helps the competition problem. There are actually 10 NRSROs, though you would never know it by looking at the market share of the big-three. Up to now, it's been hard for the little guys to break into the industry, since the big-three had strong relationships with the issuers and were more trusted by investors, since the smaller agencies had so little exposure. The new system would help the markets to better gauge how the smaller rating firms do, while allowing issuers to still utilize the big-three on their own to comfort wary investors.
Some Concerns
"The market -- not government mandates -- should decide the value of our work," says S&P spokesman Edward Sweeney. But that's sort of exactly what the amendment would do. The board wouldn't consist of bureaucrats; it would be mostly investors, with a few other financial industry players thrown in. And past performance -- the value of an agency's work -- would be a specific criteria used to determine how much business it gets.
The possibility that rating agencies lose the incentive to invest in and hone their businesses also concerns S&P, since a board would choose the agencies instead of the market. Again, if the bill mandated that every agency gets a certain amount of business no matter what, then this would be a problem. But the process will remain competitive, so continuing to develop expertise still matters. If one agency performs poorly enough, it could be taken out of the mix entirely.
Some in the industry also worry about a provision in the larger Dodd bill which hold the agencies liable if it's determined that they did not perform reasonably well. The term "reasonable," is quite vague, however. So another complaint might be that agencies would now be assigned to perform ratings through the Franken amendment, but they would be held to a seemingly vague standard of liability if paired with the Dodd bill. This isn't quite right. An agency can choose not to rate a type of security or even a specific transaction. There would be no coercion to rate anything.
Finally, the amendment does appear to improve the current framework for rating agencies, but it could be argued that the entire framework should be thrown out: why not eliminate the agencies altogether? Investors should be less reliant on rating agencies and perform their own analysis. That's clearly a more drastic alternative. Rather than reform the ratings system, you would be eliminating it. But if you want to reform the current environment, rather than get rid of it altogether, then this amendment appears to be a very good start.
Daniel Indiviglio was an associate editor at The Atlantic from 2009 through 2011. He is now the Washington, D.C.-based columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. He is also a 2011 Robert Novak Journalism Fellow through the Phillips Foundation.
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A Veteran's View
My Army Service Made Me Believe in Universal Health Care
A veteran argues that civilians deserve the same access to coverage and treatment as those who wear the uniform.
Dominick Tao
Jacob Myrick
This is the seventh installment in our series of essays written by veterans. We asked service members to share how their time in uniform shaped their perspectives on American life.
In July, I experienced a flash of panic that only one of America’s 28 million uninsured citizens can truly understand. Life—and my right ankle—took a tough turn. I had broken my leg running in a charity mud race in St. Petersburg, Florida, and for the first time since I’d left the Army the summer before, I didn’t know what to do when I needed to see a doctor. As a soldier, I had health-care providers available at all times to treat my every medical need, at no direct cost to me. As a civilian, I felt suddenly out in the cold.
As the pop of my fibula snapping was still fresh in my ears, my body still caked in mud, I sat in the grass under the event’s medical tent. Leg swollen, with an ice pack melting in the 92-degree heat, I furiously used my phone to consult Google about what to do next—and how much it would cost.
Query: “cost of ER visit”
Google: “$1,233”
Query: “cost of broken leg”
Google: “… typically costs up to $2,500 or more …”
And as my military training had conditioned me to do, I investigated the worst-case scenario.
Query: “cost of ankle surgery”
Google: “… between $9,719 and $17,634 …”
But one final search changed my prospects that day—and my perspective on the health-care debate in the United States.
Query: “cost of VA hospital visit”
I was taken aback: The results suggested I’d pay little to nothing. For me—an honorably discharged veteran of the war in Afghanistan with no disabilities—the total out-of-pocket cost for multiple X-rays, visits to orthopedic specialists, medications, and a knee scooter was just $8 through the Veterans Health Administration medical system.
Prior to that day, I had no idea how deeply my own government, and by extension my fellow Americans, cared for my well-being—that by virtue of my five years of military service, I was given the benefit of affordable health care even after I had stopped wearing a uniform. The vague, hour-long health-benefits briefing I sat through when I left the Army did little to explain how the system actually worked. My service had introduced me, unwittingly, to a lifetime of socialized medicine: care that is paid for with public money and provided by the government. According to the latest available data, 9.4 million people are covered by TRICARE, the membership-restricted, public health-care program for uniformed service members and their families. A further 6 million veterans use Veterans Health Administration services each year, with up to 15 million more eligible.
After my July revelation, I felt a deeper connection to my country. But I also felt very guilty. Before I learned the extent of the services available for most veterans at low or no cost, I was just another uninsured American anxious about a broken bone and the financial disaster that can come with it. While U.S. troops deserve compensation for their unique national service—for the long separations they endure; the long hours they work; and, sometimes, imminent threats to their lives—a thought has stayed with me: Do service members’ sacrifices mean they should be some of the only Americans to have guaranteed care?
There are teachers who work in dangerous neighborhoods to make sure disadvantaged children get an education. There are small-business owners who risk everything—including going without health insurance—to pursue the kind of entrepreneurial dreams that make the country an economic powerhouse. There are wage earners, artists, and single parents who may never get a job with health benefits, but who nonetheless work hard and contribute to the fabric of America.
It makes little sense to me, then, that my service should entitle me to any more or less medical care from my government than any other citizen receives.
In fact, as congressional Republicans have tried, and failed, to repeal and replace Obamacare, I’ve considered whether the alternative floated by Democrats like Bernie Sanders may be better for Americans—and America.
That plan—a single-payer, “Medicare for all” option in which taxpayers contribute to a national health-insurance program—remains something of a third rail in Washington, and it’s opposed by more than a third of the U.S. population. The opposition is, in part, rooted in the economy: It’d necessitate raising taxes or adding significantly to the deficit. And there’s philosophical opposition, too. Some Americans simply don’t think they should have to pay more to ensure coverage for their fellow citizens, while others are wary of how foreign the system would be. Before I enlisted, it never occurred to me that universal health care, let alone socialized medicine in any form, was a desirable option in the United States. Government health care in any form seemed oppressive to me, a limit on my freedom. But I found that, in many ways, the opposite was true. While any type of universal health-care system would have economic consequences, the associated gains—no longer worrying about coverage loss after a job change, for example, or feeling stressed about finding in-network doctors—for me outweigh that burden.
As a 2016 RAND Corporation study suggested, the U.S. government is capable of providing medical care that’s on par or better than many private alternatives. While it is something of a sport both within the military and among veterans to complain about the care they receive—and the system has seen its fair share of problems and failures—surveys show that in recent years, they are happier with their care than civilians with private providers.
Some critics argue that government-run health care is inefficient, pointing to long wait times at veterans’ hospitals. But, again, compared with the private sector, the waits may not be all that bad. If Anthem, Cigna, or another large U.S. health-insurance company were subject to the same level of congressional scrutiny as the military’s systems, I’m not sure they’d fare much better.
The VA is maligned for its failures because, in the eyes of many Americans, it should be held to a high standard as the care provider for men and women who have put their bodies on the line for their country. But the medical needs for which I’ve sought aid through the VA and military systems haven’t been extraordinary—only the cost and access to care have been.
During my Army service, I did my job, lived my life, and didn’t think twice about premiums, deductibles, or annual limits. Treatment was seamless, automatic, and focused on helping me perform my duties as a soldier.
When I broke my thumb while playing in my unit’s annual turkey bowl in South Korea—a decidedly non-mission-essential endeavor—X-rays, physical therapy, and an on-base orthopedic specialist were provided. So was my time off from work to make my appointments: To the Army, soldiers’ return to duty as quickly as possible is so important that they are often reprimanded by superiors if they miss scheduled appointments. A year later, after I’d changed stations to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, I sliced open my leg in a hiking accident. After driving myself to the emergency room of Madigan Army Medical Center on base, I limped through the doors, got some stitches, and received easily accessible follow-up treatment. My unit’s embedded physician’s assistant worked out of an on-base clinic three blocks from my motor pool.
The rationale behind this type of care is clear: The Army understands that healthy soldiers are more effective soldiers. A national health-care system that treats all citizens this way may offer similar benefits. Chief among them is what I discovered earlier this year with the help of a Google search, when I realized I could get care when I needed it: a better quality of life.
Dominick Tao served as a U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery officer from 2011 to 2016. He is a graduate student at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
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Delhi pollution: How air pollutants like CO, NO2 and SO2 affect your body
Updated Dec 04, 2017 | 17:48 IST | Times Now Digital
The System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) has predicted that the air quality in Delhi is set to deteriorate over the next three days.
Representational image | Photo Credit: Indiatimes
New Delhi: The air quality in the national capital has deteriorated further on Monday with the thick layer of toxic smog engulfing the city, affecting visibility and all forms of traffic. On Sunday (December 3), at least seven out of 22 monitoring stations registered a 'severe plus or emergency' level of air quality, posing a huge health risk and forcing residents of Delhi-NCR to inhale toxins as news agency IANS reported. Read: Here are five ways to detoxify your lungs naturally
The Air Quality Index (AQI) measured in Delhi at 4 p.m. was 351 (on a scale of 0 to 500), and by 6 p.m. it reached 361. On Saturday, the AQI of Delhi was 331. Meanwhile, the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) has predicted that the air quality in the national capital is set to deteriorate over the next three days. Weather analysts say a sudden increase in the moisture in the air is a reason behind the dip in air quality. Read: Delhi air pollution - Seven effective home remedies to counter effects of smog
As Delhi's air quality hovered between 'poor' and 'severe-plus' since last 57 days, health experts have warned people against early morning walks and outdoor activities like cycling, jogging, etc. They also suggested wearing good quality anti-pollution face masks such as N-95 or P-100 respirators when going out.
The health effects of air pollution are well-known and severe. Common air pollutants include carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), ground-level ozone (O3), lead (Pb), particulate matter (PM). Read: Seven ways to improve indoor air quality in your home
As per reports, the concentration of poisonous gases in the air such as NO2 and CO rose up to seven times their safe limit in November in Delhi, putting residents at risk of serious health problems such as stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic and acute respiratory diseases.
The problem is that pollutants like SO2 and CO can linger in the air ranging from 10 days to a month. Moreover, SO2, NO2 and volatile organic carbon can also lead to the formation of secondary pollutants like PM2.5 - ultra fine particles that can go deep into the lungs.
So, how do air pollutants affect the body?
Carbon monoxide - CO reduces the amount of oxygen carried by haemoglobin around the body, specifically to vital organs like the brain, nervous tissues. Carbon monoxide affects healthy and unhealthy people alike. However, children and unborn babies, the elderly, and people with heart, circulatory, or lung disease are at a greater risk of CO poisoning. High levels of CO in the body can severely affect the central nervous system and cause symptoms like headaches, nausea, fatigue, memory loss and disorientation. It can also lead to heart problems, cerebral edemas, comas, convulsions and even death.
Nitrogen dioxide - The health effects of NO2 include wheezing, coughing, asthma, bronchitis, colds and flu. Since nitrogen dioxide inflames the lining of the airways, it can reduce immunity to lung infection. People with asthma and heart disease are most at risk. Read: Delhi smog - These 5 purifiers will help you beat indoor pollution
Sulphur dioxide - People with asthma or other respiratory conditions are at greater risk from exposure to SO2. The health impacts of sulphur dioxide are felt very quickly, in fact, most people would notice the symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, breathing difficulty, or a tight feeling around the chest, in 10 or 15 minutes after breathing it in. It can also cause heart failure, psychic alterations, eye irritation, etc.
Ozone - Breathing air containing ozone can irritate the lining of the respiratory tract, causing a variety of health problems including asthma, chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion. People with asthma, children, and older adults are the most vulnerable groups.
Lead - Lead is a health hazard and when it' inhaled, it affects multiple body systems including the nervous system, immune system, kidney function, reproductive and developmental systems and the cardiovascular system. Lead is particularly harmful to infants and young children, which may contribute to behavioural problems, learning deficits and lowered IQ, even at low levels. Read: Lead exposure and your health - What you need to know
Particulate matter - PM, also refers to microscopic particles in the atmosphere, has been linked to a number of problems, including asthma, bronchitis, lung irritation, cardiovascular disease, premature death in people with heart or lung disease, etc. Particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter pose the greatest risks as they can get deep into your lungs, perhaps, some may even get into your bloodstream. Children, older adults, and people with heart or lung conditions are worst affected by particulate matter exposure.
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Delhi pollution: How air pollutants like CO, NO2 and SO2 affect your body Description: The System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) has predicted that the air quality in Delhi is set to deteriorate over the next three days. Times Now
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A confusing 'Night at the Rock Opera'
Cassie Norton
If you happen to be in Boston’s Theater District on Friday or Saturday night in the near future, don’t be startled by the sounds of electric guitar, hoots and hollers spilled from the Wilbur Theatre. It’s just the assembled cast of the Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra paying tribute to a few rock and roll greats.
Belmont’s own Cristina Freda appears in a limited engagement run of “A Night at the Rock Opera” at the theater. Freda and the rest of the band are very good; the premise of the performance is pretty bad.
The Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra, fronted and produced by Sal Clemente with partner Alan Ware, was created to perform their version of “Jesus Christ Superstar — A 21st Century Tribute to the Brown Album.”
The two intended to rerecord the music of “Jesus Christ Superstar” based not on the popular musical of the same name, but on “The Brown Album,” from which the play is derived. Somewhere along the way Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, musical theater god, decided he wasn’t pleased with their idea.
So the two wrote the mini rock opera “Will We Rock You?” based on their troubles. It casts Webber as the villain and mocks the whole fiasco. Rock ballad “Andrew Lloyd Webber Said No” pretty much says it all.
Ok, Webber said no. So why did URO perform two songs from “Jesus Christ Superstar?” Why did they perform tracks seven through 17 of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road?” Why did they perform only song by The Who, but performed six Queen songs scattered throughout? No answers were forthcoming at Friday night’s show, though Clemente did speak to the audience on a variety of other topics.
The performance came off as a grandiose scheme from a failed rock star to create a way to live his dream. It seems the men established a seven-member band with approximately 20 vocalists, then hastily threw together something for them to perform.
The only cohesive theme is “rock and roll,” and that’s not enough to hang a performance on. The musicians are clad in garments that remind one uncomfortably of high school years spent imitating rock stars. There’s no choreography to speak of. And most of the choice parts were handed over to Clemente.
To be fair, Clemente doesn’t always front the band. It just feels like it. It’s just that it’s so difficult to figure out what they’re doing. And the band is very, very good at what they do, Freda included. She took the lead on a rendition of Queen's “Fat Bottomed Girls,” a rollicking song with a message that is still important to today's youth. “Fat bottomed girls, you make the rocking world go 'round …” she (and Freddie before her) sang. URO's version stayed fairly close to the original, given the obvious fact that Freddie Mercury was not a woman and Freda definitely is.
The people on stage don’t look like they’re having fun; they look like they’re acting like they’re having fun. That would be fine for musical theater, but this isn’t musical theater. There’s no plot to tie the set together; it’s just a bunch of talented people performing classic 1970s songs in one of Boston’s venerable old theaters.
There’s something very disconcerting about listening to an audience hoot and holler while the gold gilded ceiling glistens through the lingering mist from the fog machine. The Wilbur isn’t the right venue for this performance. The avant-garde Zero Arrow in Cambridge might be a better choice. Then the audience can pretend they are in a nightclub. Or better yet, do it in a nightclub.
If you want to see a band, go see a band. Don’t go see these people pretending to be a band.
Tickets are available for Friday and Saturday performances through Nov. 17, with two Sunday performances on Nov. 11 and 18. Tickets are $35 for all sections and are available at the Wilbur Theatre’s box office (617-931-2787) or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
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Editorial: LaHood leaving on his own terms
Jul 31, 2007 at 12:01 AM Jul 31, 2007 at 2:38 AM
Editorial on Ray LaHood's departure.
It was a close call for this newspaper's editorial board in the 1994 race for the 18th Congressional District seat being vacated by 38-year fixture Bob Michel. Indeed, on most issues, it was difficult to tell the difference between the House minority leader's longtime aide, Republican Ray LaHood, and Peoria attorney Doug Stephens, the Democrat.
What ultimately tipped the balance in LaHood's favor, then and ever since, was his record of local community service. We endorsed Ray LaHood less to be the congressman in the 18th, tackling the globe's big issues, than to effectively be its mayor, a trait he acknowledged himself while winning his seventh -- and now it seems his final -- term last November.
While some of his issue positions evolved, his mayoral approach to the job never changed.
A relaxed LaHood announced last week that 14 years on Capitol Hill and 30 years of public service in total are plenty, and that he will not be seeking re-election in 2008. The family who flanked LaHood at his Friday morning press conference will get his undivided time and attention now, which he -- and they -- have earned following too many parades and chicken dinners and flights back and forth to count.
We can't say this was a great surprise, as LaHood sent multiple signals the last couple of years that he was tiring of the grind. Among them were his flirtation with a run for governor and his recent expression of interest in the presidency at Bradley University. At 61, he is of retirement age. Democrats now control Congress. As he said, "Now is the right time."
LaHood is certainly leaving on his own terms, as he had a virtual lock on a Republican-leaning district where Democrats have failed to mount a serious challenge in what seems like forever. Even in a bad year for the GOP, he got 67 percent of the vote this last time around. Twice -- 1998 and 2002 -- he had no competition at all. Never an ideologue, mostly moderate in practice, LaHood fit his district, where he preferred to be.
Certainly he'll be remembered for that, even if he sometimes took the parochialism to excess by involving himself in local matters most members of Congress would have steered clear of. He was a reliable vote for central Illinois farmers, for trade issues of interest to Caterpillar, for the Illinois River. He said Friday that among the accomplishments he's justifiably proud of were the establishment of Peoria's federal health clinic, a soon-to-be-launched Downstate Cancer Center and the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield.
While it has not yet borne fruit, his leadership on Peoria's museum also has been laudable.
Enduring images certainly would include his chairing the initial debate on the 1998 impeachment of Bill Clinton, as well as his arrival with George W. Bush on Air Force One after persuading the president to visit central Illinois last January.
Over the years this page had its share of differences with LaHood -- on the path he chose for a Peoria-to-Chicago highway, on some political allegiances we found compromising, on his unwavering and, it sometimes seemed, unquestioning support for the administration's war in Iraq. The latter in particular soured some constituents, as evidenced by their commentary on this page.
But ultimately we choose to recall and respect the Ray LaHood who was an independent voice for central Illinois -- refusing to sign Newt Gingrich's Contract With America in 1994, declining to go along when there was considerable pressure to do so on some deficit-exploding tax cuts, voting against the civil-rights-eroding provisions of the Patriot Act in 2005.
And we'll remember the common-sense, campaign-is-over calls for get-it-done bipartisanship when most were silent. Anybody who could operate with opposites like House Minority Leader John Boehner and Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel must be doing something special.
'"If people would work together in Washington the way we work together in central Illinois, think what great things could be done," LaHood said Friday.
All in all, it has been quite a run for an East Bluff guy whose Lebanese grandparents came through Ellis Island as immigrants, whose career began in the classroom and ended up in Congress.
Expect a virtual free-for-all in the upcoming effort to succeed LaHood in a congressional seat that, from Abraham Lincoln to Everett Dirksen and beyond, has taken a back seat to none in terms of influence. For the great majority of the past century, it has been warmed by someone from the Peoria-Pekin area, which has brought us no small amount of clout on Capitol Hill. We'll keep our fingers crossed that that doesn't change.
"I truly believe that public service is a noble profession," Peoria's congressman said Friday. To our knowledge, Ray LaHood never did anything to make it less so. For that, he can go with "head held high," as can the central Illinoisans who repeatedly elected him. May we be able to say the same of the office's future occupants.
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"It was a war, really," Randall said.
Unfazed by bullets flying across campus, Randall talked to rioters, many of whom he said didn't appear to be students. Some listened, others shrugged him off or got belligerent, but Randall stood his ground. A national sports magazine wrote a story about Randall's actions, which prompted nasty letters to the athlete from his hometown. But 46 years later, he says he has no regrets.
"I didn't want anybody to get killed," Randall said. "It was a bad situation back then."
Although a monument in the heart of the campus now celebrates him as a hero, Air Force veteran Meredeth had much to fear in the 1960s. In 1966, after he had graduated from Ole Miss, Meredith was shot on the side of U.S. 51 near Hernando during a civil rights march. He recovered.
In a speech at an Ole Miss football game in Jackson on the night before the riots, then Gov. Ross Barnett, the 10th son of a Confederate veteran, whipped thousands of Rebel flag-waving spectators into a frenzy. Just a few days before, Barnett, acting as registrar, had blocked Meredith's attempt to enroll, even though the federal courts had ruled that the university must admit him. Meredith arrived again with U.S. Marshals and federal officials at his side on Sunday, Sept. 30, 1962.
Through the turbulence, which prompted President Kennedy to send 30,000 troops to the area, Meredith was mellow, said John Doar, who worked on civil rights matters for the U.S. Department of Justice and shadowed Meredith during his enrollment.
"He was very calm, very determined, very cool," Doar said. "He had no emotion and no indication of any fear, but he had stubborn determination. He just was going to go through this. I was impressed by him."
Word quickly spread that Meredith was on campus. The mood was jovial at first, but as time progressed, the mob, which gradually filled with non-students from other parts of the state and the South, grew more raucous. Things got ugly after dark as thousands of rioters focused on the Lyceum, the large, white-columned building that is the symbol of the university. It was full of Marshals and federal officials there for the integration. Many wrongfully believed Meredith was inside.
Ed Guthman, U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy's press aide at the time, was inside the Lyceum and as things got chaotic outside, he likened the situation to the battle at the Alamo, according to newspaper reports. When Guthman drew the parallel, Kennedy wryly reminded Guthman that the men at the Alamo were killed.
Some rioters broke into chemistry labs looking for bomb ingredients and picked up bricks from construction sites on campus. They flipped and burned cars, threw bricks and bottles and commandeered a bulldozer, which they pointed toward the Lyceum. But armed marshals surrounded it and the bulldozer never damaged the structure.
The marshals never returned fire, but used tear gas as their chief defense.
Many estimates simply say two died and hundreds were injured. The nephew of local literary giant William Faulkner, Murry "Chooky" Falkner, who spelled his name different than the author, was head of an Oxford National Guard unit that responded to the riot. Falkner suffered a broken arm when he was hit with a brick, and he received many decorations for his service during the event.
Observers noted the outsiders had guns, but didn't appear to be aiming at anyone in particular. Associated Press Reporter Bill Crider, who was hit in the back with a shotgun blast, was able to get medical treatment while he filed his reports, according to the book "The Race Beat." Although he carried a pellet near his spine for the rest of his life, Crider had a long and successful AP career before his 2003 death.
The nation was captivated by the riot. The event, which left a black eye on the university and the state, was the inspiration for Bob Dylan when he wrote the song "Oxford Town" for his 1963 album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan."
Hours after soldiers moved in to help marshals, violence subsided and rioters were removed from campus by mid-morning on Monday, Oct. 1.
Gerald Walton, who was hired as an English professor at Ole Miss the same semester as the riots, was part of a group of more than 30 faculty members supporting integration that fall and he'd worried he would lose his job. But while the odor of tear gas lingered and Oxford awoke to an uncertain future, Walton then had deeper fears.
"I actually wrote in my diary the morning of Oct. 1 that I didn't think we would ever recover," said Walton, who later served as provost.
Sidna Brower, who was editor of the Ole Miss student newspaper in 1962, penned a column calling for peace in the Monday paper. Although some large national newspapers praised her as a voice of reason, for that and other works, the university's Associated Student Body Senate censured her. Forty years later, the Ole Miss student government overturned the censure.
"As a student, I beg you to return to your home," Brower editorialized. "This is a battle between the State of Mississippi and the United States government; the university is caught in the middle. The Civil War was fought 100 years ago over almost the same issues and the United States of America prevailed. The federal government is once again showing its strength and power to uphold the laws of our country."
Ole Miss and the Civil War
Most University of Mississippi students joined the war effort, many serving in Company A of the 11th Mississippi Infantry, which was known as the "University Greys."
A group of about 100 that was mostly students and also likely included some alumni joined in the 11th Mississippi, which included the Greys and several other companies. The Greys marched off in the late spring of 1861 and the following fall, only four students showed up for class. The university closed and many students who didn't join the 11th Mississippi joined other units or simply drifted away.
After the campus closed to higher education, a primary school for boys operated there, but the Confederacy established a hospital on campus grounds following the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862 and teaching stopped at Ole Miss.
The university reopened in the fall of 1865 and 86 students enrolled. But after fighting at Manassas, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, and Appomattox, among other notable battles, the surviving Greys never graduated. At least 16 Ole Miss students with Company A died and many others were wounded. Complete data about the deaths of Ole Miss soldiers is not easily available, and some researchers note that many Civil War era military records aren't nearly as accurate and complete as today's.
Just before the war, the university ordered what was the world's largest telescope at the time, but the war interrupted the delivery and the Chicago Astronomical Society eventually got the telescope and it ended up at Northwestern University.
The school is located in Oxford, which was heavily damaged when Union troops set fire to it.
Related stories from Biloxi Sun Herald
Mississippi's road to reconciliation
TINER: Debate is recognition of progress in state
MINISTER MEETS THE MOB: A man against the tide
SUNHERALD TV: Rev. Duncan Gray remembers his confrontation with Gen. Edwin Walker
SUNHERALD TV: John Doar talks about James Meredith's admission
SUNHERALD TV: George 'Buck' Randall on the scene of the riots
What you need to know about the 2020 Census
Former Mississippi senator Thad Cochran’s farewell address to Senate
MORE POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
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Sports Ottawa Wolves to host international gay rugby tournament in 2020
Ottawa Wolves to host international gay rugby tournament in 2020
Published October 4, 2018 Updated October 4, 2018
The Ottawa Wolves will play host to the 2020 Bingham Cup.
The international gay rugby-union tournament, which promotes inclusivity, equality and competition, is expected to draw 70 teams from five continents.
“The international gay rugby community is excited that the Bingham Cup will be held in Canada for the first time, a country with a growing rugby community and a proud reputation of openness towards the LGBT+ community,” International Gay Rugby chair Ben Owen said in a statement.
First held in 2002, the tournament is named after Mark Kendall Bingham, a former University of California, Berkeley rugby star and co-founder of the Gotham Knights RFC.
Bingham died in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks onboard United Airlines Flight 93.
The 2018 tournament, hosted by Amsterdam Lowlanders RFC, had more than 2,300 registered participants from 63 countries.
The Wolves describe themselves as one of only three “gay-inclusive rugby clubs” in Canada, along with the Montreal Armada RFC and Toronto Muddy York RFC.
“This is a truly historic moment for both rugby and the inclusive sports movement in Canada,” said Jean-François Laberge, past captain of the Wolves and president of the Bingham Cup Ottawa 2020 bid committee. “Hosting the Bingham Cup reinforces that Canada is an open, inclusive and welcoming country.”
The tournament was first held in 2002.
“Bringing the Bingham Cup to Canada is a major boost for the sport of rugby in this country,” Rugby Canada chairman Tim Powers said. “Rugby is truly an international game with the values of inclusiveness and respect at its core. It’s a sport that transcends issues of sexuality and gender and celebrates diversity.”
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Charm offensive: The Book of Mormon comes to London
Mark Lawson
Taboo-busting musical The Book of Mormon isn't anti-Mormon: it also has Jews, Starbucks, gay people and Africans in its sights. As the show debuts in London, Mark Lawson asks its American stars – is Britain ready for it?
Tue 12 Mar 2013 15.30 EDT First published on Tue 12 Mar 2013 15.30 EDT
Classic double act … The Book of Mormon's London stars Gavin Creel (centre) and Jared Gertner (right). Photograph: Joan Marcus
Two years ago, the cast of a new Broadway musical was given the sort of security briefing more common for politicians during a terrorist red alert. "We were prepped for intensity," remembers Jared Gertner, who was an understudy in the company at the time. "We were told there was going to be a whole format for how we received mail. You had to pre-register packages at the theatre, always sign in your guests and never open suspicious mail. All sorts of precautions. We were worried that people were going to revolt."
As it turned out, the only violent protests against The Book of Mormon, when it opened in spring 2011, were from customers who couldn't get in. At the Eugene O'Neill theatre in New York the house has been full, and with hopeful queues outside, for two years; the introduction of a sliding scale based on demand (a model borrowed from the aviation industry) means that some tickets are selling for almost $500. All six weeks of a recently announced Toronto run sold out within 30 minutes. Such is the demand in London, that some resale sites are offering tickets for up to £350.
After graduating from understudy to co-star on Broadway, Gertner now stars in the British premiere with Gavin Creel; the two play Elder Price and Elder Cunningham, two young missionaries sent to evangelise Uganda. Gertner plays the stocky, sweaty, nerdy one and Creel the tall, smooth, cool one – a double-act of classical physical contrast. "Yes," agrees Gertner. "They had to hire a mess like Gavin to counteract my beauty."
The reason for those Secret Service-like briefings was the fear of angry reaction from Mormons. In fact, as Gertner says, the faith, founded in Utah in the early 19th century, was "really cool about it" and has placed ads aimed at potential converts in both the American and British theatre programmes. Perhaps Mormons have been relaxed because the musical, written by Robert Lopez with Trey Parker and Matt Stone (makers of the spectacularly transgressive South Park), is pan-offensive: there are jokes about Christians, Jews, homosexuals, Starbucks and, frequently, Africans, including references to the prevalence of Aids and of female genital mutilation on the continent.
At the London preview I saw, this latter aspect led to a leading media liberal asking loudly in the foyer afterwards: "Why has nobody said that this is racist?" Talking to the two leads in Gertner's dressing room, I suggested that such reactions might be a problem in London because Britain is less racially evolved than America.
"Less racially evolved?" gasps Gertner.
"Well, you have a black president. We're a long way off a black prime minister."
"Oh, sure," says Creel. "But look at how half the country treats that president."
Have Americans shared that London liberal's worry about the show? "I've heard people say it is racist," acknowledges Gertner. "But if you take any bit out of context, you might find racism, you might find blasphemy, you might find shock. But please watch the whole show until the end, when it is all tied together. The African community actually end up being the wisest and smartest people. I think the show is partly a comment on American blindness about what Africa is actually like. They think it's like The Lion King."
Creel agrees. "I don't think the overall message is offensive. And I think that reaction is partly because it's a musical. If we were doing an entire play about race – even if it contained terrible, offensive words – you would accept that. But because it's a musical, people aren't always ready for it."
The actors admit that even they were startled by some of the material. Before auditioning for the first Broadway cast, Gertner read the script in a production office, because no scripts were allowed out. "And I just thought, 'They can't do this, they can't say this, it can't happen!' My chin was on the floor."
Creel, in a preview audience for that show, was astonished to find a Broadway chorus singing the words "Fuck you, God!" to the sky, and to see an African character who insists he can be cured of Aids by raping a baby. "And I was, like, 'Woah! That's too much!' But it's like the South Park movie [Longer, Bigger and Uncut], where they set out to offend everyone – nobody was safe. And it is like they are saying: let's have an end to all these taboos. Ask yourself why you're offended. If you just say 'I'm offended!', you are not engaging with the material. Ask yourself what it is about the material that gets you."
Despite these risks, The Book of Mormon has attracted warm reviews (one American critic called it the "greatest musical of the century"), largely because of its improbable combination of the savage and the sweet. In the US, politicians and celebrities have been happy to be seen in the theatre. "There was a list where you could find out who was coming," Gertner recalls. "And we generally preferred not to know. But there were some we had to be told – like Hillary Clinton or Oprah Winfrey, the most powerful woman in the world – because the building had to be readied. Hillary left during the curtain calls, for security reasons, but Oprah came and was photographed with the cast."
All understudies dream of the knock on the dressing-room door shortly before the performance; very few manage the transition from stand-in to star. Unusually, Gertner performed 70 times on Broadway as a replacement, initally because a cast member had fallen ill. "The first time I went on was earlier than expected, with Tony award voters in the audience and so on," he says. "I was under-rehearsed but not underprepared, because I'd been doing the show in my living room every night."
Is the understudy's dilemma that you want to get on, but you don't want it to depend on someone getting ill? "Yeah. It's a really tricky thing, karmically, because you don't want your success to be at the expense of someone else. I'd have friends going, 'I'm coming to the show next week – should I push him down the stairs so we see you?' And I'd say, 'No!' You want the other guy to be off because he's booked a vacation or he's shooting a movie."
The offer to take over came via Gartner's agent: to perform on Broadway and then lead a national tour, which is where he teamed up with Creel. (They had met back-stage at an Aids fund-raiser in New York.) It's common in theatre that the replacement casts never come closer to the original creative team than seeing their names on the posters. So have they mainly been drilled by assistants?
"It's not that way in Book of Mormon at all," says Gartner. "Everyone has been very involved with Broadway, the touring company, Chicago and now the West End. Trey [Parker] has been up on stage here, re-working it."
The expectation of success can be as great a psychological pressure as the fear of failure. Does the cast of a smash hit suffer a special kind of nerves, an anxiety about justifying the hype? Creel nods. "You just have to forgive yourself that it isn't going to live up to everyone's expectations. There's no way you can deliver 'the greatest musical of the century'. Some people are going to hate it just because they came in wanting to prove the reviews wrong. But it's harder to be in a commercial hit that's no good, where you're saying to your friends, 'I know it's a piece of crap but it makes money.' I was in Hair, which didn't work in London, but it was a show we all believed in."
Gertner adds that he once worked with the writer-director James Lapine, a frequent collaborator with Stephen Sondheim. "He gave us a piece of advice: if you base your success on the reactions of audiences, you are fucked as actors for the rest of your career. That has always stuck with me. My only barometer for the show can be what happens on stage."
Between rehearsals and previews, the actors have been adjusting to London living. (They are so enthusiastic about Marks & Spencer food that the company should perhaps consider taking out ads alongside the Mormons.) Gertner has also warmed to British TV: "I was watching Alan Carr the other night, and there was an athlete talking about ejaculation for 10 minutes! And I thought: in America, that show would have been taken off air."
They have also been seeing London theatre, including the revival of A Chorus Line. Set at a Broadway audition, that musical has a moment in which the wannabes are divided into two groups, but cruelly tricked about which are the stayers and which the leavers. Is that stunt, I wondered, ever pulled in New York auditions?
"No!" says Gertner. "Only in reality TV shows. Isn't it funny? People like Simon Cowell say horrible things to contestants and add, 'You'd better get used to this because that is what it's like out there!' It's not what it's like out there. No one ever, when you finish singing, says, 'You're terrible. That stinks.' They say, 'Thank you!' and send you home."
Unless there is a mass outbreak of puritanism in the West End, or a desire to prove America wrong, Creel and Gertner seem unlikely to be sent home for many months.
Musicals we love: The Book of Mormon
It's not the kind of show you take home to meet your parents, but the sheer joyfulness of this musical makes it special, writes Matthew Caines
The Book of Mormon – reviews roundup
From 'toothless' to 'Mormonumental' – the much-hyped musical by South Park's creators meets a mixed response among UK critics
The Book of Mormon breaks West End box-office record
Trey Parker and Matt Stone's musical takes £2.1m the day after opening, despite mixed reviews
The Book of Mormon: Trey Parker and Matt Stone on the limits of comedy - video
South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone discuss how far they are willing to go to get a laugh
The Book of Mormon – review
The Book of Mormon: have you seen it?
The Book Of Mormon: not for the easily offended
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Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's 'Two Days, One Night' and Matthew Warchus's 'Pride', reviewed
“The only way to stop crying is to fight for your job,” says Manu (Fabrizio Rongione) to his wife Sandra (Marion Cottilard) in the Belgian film Two Days, One Night. Sandra has been on sick leave from her job at a solar panel factory, suffering from clinical depression. She’s on the verge of returning to work when she gets a call – the film begins with a ringing phone – letting her know there’s no job to return to. Her sixteen workmates have voted to take a bonus, instead of taking her back. As she hangs up the phone Sandra says to herself, “you mustn’t cry”. But she does cry, and copiously, her self-worth shattering like glass.
Two Days, One Night is directed by the brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Europe’s foremost purveyors of naturalistic cinema. They are what Ken Loach might still be if Ken Loach worked with better scripts and showed more than a passing interest in his female characters. Marion Cottilard is, by far, the highest-profile actor they have ever cast. It was their job, they have remarked, “to bring her to a level where she could be banal”. They have nearly succeeded, and if banality is not quite what’s on offer, then Cottilard as Sandra has at least been made – has made herself – insubstantial. Sandra thinks she doesn’t matter, and, loving husband aside, there is little in the world to counter her belief.
The camera follows Sandra in small, anxious circuits around the town of Seraing – the Dardennes have filmed almost exclusively in this French-speaking region, where they were raised – as she spends a weekend trying to persuade her workmates into changing their minds. There will be a new vote on Monday morning. A majority of workers at the factory have to vote for Sandra, rather than their bonus, for her to hang onto her job. The dialogue is repetitive, as Sandra pleads with each of them in turn, but never boring. There is too much at stake. Each conversation is a brief, one-act drama, with little said but a lot on show. We see newborn babies, failing marriages and cash-in-hand second jobs; there is hope and fear and rudeness and defensiveness. Sandra’s humiliation, and her workmates’ discomfort, is always right on the surface.
Two Days, One Night is a film about the world that we currently inhabit, and how lonely it has made each of us – especially at work, which we increasingly regard, or are required to regard, as the whole of life’s purpose. Sandra says that she wants to be at work, not “alone on the dole”, but the prospect of returning to work appears unbearable to her, too. She depends on bottled water and Xanax to get her through each worried hour. She has no union to defend her rights. If all this sounds like an exercise in relentless misery, it isn’t. What the film and its characters convey to us, cumulatively, is a struggle for and towards dignity.
It’s an emotional tenor, and a political position, shared by the British film Pride – though in style the two films couldn’t be farther apart. The Dardenne brothers work with natural light, long takes and diagetic sound only. Pride, on the other hand, opens with archival footage of the 1984 British miners’ strike soundtracked to the union anthem ‘Solidarity Forever’. It’s a film of glitter and frosted perms and British character actors: Imelda Staunton, Bill Nighy, Paddy Considine. It is a film about the bitterest, most prolonged industrial dispute in contemporary British history which manages to be deeply, genuinely joyful.
Pride is based on the real-life alliance between a group of London-based gay and lesbian activists and a mining village in the coalfields of South Wales. Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners began rattling their buckets on the London streets during the early days of the strike. A year later, with strikers being starved back to work, they were still fundraising. The film mines – to embrace the obvious pun – the situational comedy arising from a community of flamboyant, radical queers meeting a community of provincial, though equally radical, unionists. Disco arrives on the dance floor of the working man’s club, and, inevitably, Welsh grandmothers discover gay porn.
The film hits some obvious notes, and some sentimental ones, but it also surprises. It does not present the meeting of these two groups as a grudging coalition of irreconcilable interests, because it wasn’t. What the miners and the gay community had in common, above all, was a sense of being treated as “the enemy within”, to use Thatcher’s own characterisation of the unionists who refused to concede to her. They swap tips on how to deal with police harassment and media misrepresentation. Their solidarity is real, the result of courage and work on both sides. Pits and perverts, as one of Murdoch’s tabloids phrased it at the time – a phrase that the alliance took on as their own.
The miners’ strike was lost, and these former mining villages, outside of the cinema screen, are still living with the consequences. But something, Pride suggests, and not entirely fancifully, was salvaged: a sense of having fought on the right side of history, even if the right side was the losing side. There is more to life than work, and more to dignity than being granted permission merely to survive. “Yes, it is bread we fight for,” go the words of another old union song performed here, which brought me to tears, “but we fight for roses too”.
Anwen Crawford
Anwen Crawford is The Monthly’s music critic.
Two Days, One Night is directed by the brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Europe’s foremost purveyors of naturalistic cinema. They are what Ken Loach might still be if Ken Loach worked with better scripts and showed more than a...
By Anwen Crawford
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2016 LeEco LeSee Concept
Cars Reviews Sedan Auto shows Concept cars Electric cars Beijing Auto Show 2016
LeEco debuts a new concept with some interesting features
by Robert Moore, on April 20, 2016, 17:00
LeEco, the brand formerly known as LeTV, has had a pretty busy day today. Not only did it announce a new set of phones for the Chinese market, but it also unveiled its first all-electric concept that it is calling the LeSee. The brand does have a partnership with Faraday Future, but apparently the LeSee was built completely in-house by LeEco.
Of course, this is just a part of the pie. Aside from its partnership with Faraday Future, the brand also has other electric vehicle projects going. It has an investment in Atieva and even has a partnership with Aston Martin. LeEco isn’t exactly a big name in the automotive world yet, but now that it has unveiled the LeSee concept – not to mention that partnership with Aston Martin – the company might be making some kind of splash in the automotive world sooner than later.
Before we get too far off topic, let’s quit focusing on the future and other investments, and stay here in the present. We don’t know a whole lot about the LeSee concept yet, and it looks like it isn’t exactly a finished project. So, let’s take a better look at this interesting concept, what we know about it now, and a little about what might be coming in the near future.
Continue reading to learn more about the LeEco LeSee Concept.
car fuel:
Most of the information we have about the LeSee, at this point, involves what the car actually looks like. As you can see from the images, the car has this massive LED light stripe integrated into the front fascia. More interesting than that, however, is that LeEco claims the front fascia is a smart screen that can will display important information when the vehicle is running. As part of a “private fleet,” the screen will display information regarding availability, and I would assume destination – similar to the way public transportation displays information. The car doesn’t have a hood, so the upper half is pretty much one piece.
Interestingly enough, there is also a cutout in the side skirts that further reinforces this look.
To the sides, the car has an interesting body structure. Looking at the side of the car from the rear, it almost looks like it has a sleeve over it that stretches up and over the doors and below them. It gives the appearance of a vent just in front of the doors. Interestingly enough, there is also a cutout in the side skirts that further reinforces this look.
To the rear, things are smoother than on the sides. It looks like the windshield, roof, and rear window are all one large, curved piece of glass. It appears as if there is a small decklid that opens to give way to a rear storage compartment. Down below, the taillights are made up of another large LED strip – just like that used up front. Considering the car is all-electric, it’s shocking to see that there is a rear diffuser of sorts in the rear. This hints to me that, while it is all electric, it may also be a performance based model.
We can’t make out a whole lot of the inside, as we only have one image, but it certainly looks futuristic. There appears to be a large display screen mounted in the center of the dash that may extend across to the passenger side of the vehicle. It looks to have an odd steering wheel, and if there is an instrument cluster, it’s short and long, and likely all digital. The wraparound effect of the dash does make the inside look spacious, but I’m not sure about what is going on in the rear.
Where the rear seats would be, looks like an oddly stacked continuation of the center console that covers the width of the interior.
Where the rear seats would be, looks like an oddly stacked continuation of the center console that covers the width of the interior. It does look like there is some kind of controller sticking out of the center console, which is probably used to control those two large screens on the back of the front seats. The only thing LeEco has said about the interior, aside from the fact that the steering wheel can fold down for automated driving, is that the car provides an “isolated area for each passenger.” The idea is that one passenger won’t be bothered by whatever the other is watching or listening to. It sounds a little farfetched to me, but I’m keeping an open mind about it for now.
The drivetrain department is probably the most mysterious of all at this point. LeEco has remained completely quiet about what will power the car, and chances are it’s probably not a functional concept at this time. It did say that it has a “theoretical” top speed of 130 mph but failed to mention exactly how it would get there. Until more about the concept is known, we can only speculate, but if I had to guess, I would expect it to have two electric motors – one up front and one in the rear. That would make it all-wheel drive. With a top speed of only 130 mph, however, I suspect it will have a rather large battery pack which will hopefully lend a helping hand to the vehicle having a decent driving range.
Something else that was mentioned by LeEco was that automated driving technology is something that it “eventually wants to incorporate” into the LeSee. This has obviously been the plan all along, considering the steering wheel is already capable of folding down. Plus, with the side of the cabin and the way it is configured, it wouldn’t be that hard to allow the front seats to pivot around to face the rear.
Any time a new all-electric concept comes out, I’m excited to check it out. My biggest problem with this concept is that I think LeEco has revealed it a little too early. While we’ve seen what it looks like, we still know very little about it, which leads me to believe that the concept isn’t functional, and there is still plenty of work left to do on it. Secondly, maybe it’s just me, but this thing looks to me like it’s just a modified Tesla Model S.
Take a look at the side and rear glass, the shape of the rear end, and even the stance. Look at them side by side and the resemblance is uncanny. It actually looks like the LeSee is a Model S with a modified rear end, shortened doors, and a big metal sleeve placed over the front and lower sides to give it a different appearance. If the LeSee moves past the concept phase, I can already see the criticism it will receive for having a similar appearance.
Interesting take on futuristic cars
Smart screen on front fascia
rear end styling
Looks too much like a Model S
Doesn’t seem complete
What’s going on in the rear passenger area?
Source: electrek
Cars / 2016 / Concept cars / Beijing Auto Show / Auto shows / Electric cars / Sedan
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PRESENTED by WorldPride 2019 | Stonewall 50
Next summer, WorldPride comes to the United States for the first time to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. The sixth edition of the culturally-diverse WorldPride will attract millions of LGBTQI+ revelers for the largest celebration of Pride in history. In honor of this incredible event Towleroad is celebrating 50 years of LGBTQI+ history with a series examining queer life from the 1960s through today.
Many consider the 1960s as the beginning of modern LGBTQI+ Rights Movement, but to understand why it was such a watershed moment, one needs to look a little earlier.
While queer people have been an integral part of human history, from Socrates to Oscar Wilde, the 1930s saw a massive cultural backlash during the Great Depression. Homosexuals were branded deviants, pedophiles and mentally ill. Local laws prohibited homosexuals from gathering in public places, and bars were threatened with losing their liquor license for hiring or serving queer people. Anti-gay policing in the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s and ’60s forced venues to close and led to more than 50,000 men arrested in New York alone.
In Washington D.C., Senator Joseph McCarthy turned his attention to homosexuals in the State Department during the infamous 1950s “Lavender Scare.” Thousands of Federal employees lost their jobs, were forced out of the closet and some even committed suicide.
It wasn’t all darkness, however. Alfred Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953) helped normalize homosexual attraction. The ’50s also saw the founding of homosexual political groups like the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis.
Despite the galvanizing gay community and increased scientific study, the prevailing mainstream attitudes toward homosexuality can best be described by the 1961 short “educational” film, Boys Beware.
(And, in case you were wondering, yes, there was a Girls Beware as well.)
The fear and stigma associated with homosexuality is why Hollywood heartthrob Tab Hunter stayed in the closet until the release of his biography in 2005. He spent the earlier part of the ’60s starring in films like The Pleasure of His Company opposite Debbie Reynolds and Ride the Wild Surf. He settled in the south of France for the latter years of the 1960s while butching it up in Spaghetti Westerns like The Last Chance and Bridge Over the Elbe.
While Tab was playing straight on screen, bisexual writer Susan Sontag published her first major essay, “Notes on Camp,” codifying a core queer sensibility (and Sontag’s “notes” are still being honored today: see next year’s Met Gala). As if her essay conjured it into existence, one of the pioneering so-bad-it’s-good films, Valley of the Dolls, was released in 1967, and it’s been a fixture in the camp oeuvre every year since.
Of course, every decade has its divas, and the ’60s were no different. A young Barbra Streisand was finding her footing at the Lion, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. It was her then boyfriend (and later out homosexual) Barry Dennen that had first encouraged her to start singing at the Lion, and gay director/playwright Arthur Laurents cast her in her star-making role in I Can Get It For You Wholesale. She would close out the decade with her first Academy Award for Funny Girl, and, truly, a star was born.
As one of the all-time legendary divas ascended, the greatest gay icon of all time Judy Garland reached the end of her career. She performed what many consider to be the greatest night in show business when she took the stage at Carnegie Hall April 23, 1961. She hosted three television specials and one season of the Emmy-nominated variety show, The Judy Garland Show.
After spending the decade on a breakneck touring schedule (thanks to years of financial mismanagement), Garland died of an accidental overdose on June 22, 1969.
Perhaps the most influential work of art to impact the burgeoning LGBTQI+ liberation movement was Mart Crowley’s play The Boys in the Band. The ground-breaking, off-Broadway play offered an unapologetic glimpse of homosexual life. TIME Magazine lauded the play, while still expressing some unease about its themes in its 1968 review:
“For better or worse, homosexuality and the gay-life subculture are becoming acceptable as dramatic themes, to be treated with the same frankness as heterosexual relations. Probably the most overt example of this trend is The Boys in the Band, which opened off-Broadway last week. Neither patronizing nor proselytizing, it coolly takes the milieu of the homosexual for granted. It is also a funny, sad and honest play about a set of mixed-up human beings who happen to be deviates.”
Politically, the ’60s were defined by the Civil Rights Movement. The fight for economic and social justice for the African-American community not only informed the coming LGBTQI+ and Women’s Rights movements, but at least one gay person was instrumental in its design.
Bayard Rustin, World Telegram & Sun photo by Stanley Wolfson. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)
Bayard Rustin was instrumental in crafting the Civil Rights Movement’s non-violent protests and demonstrations. After studying Gandhi’s methods in India, he worked closely advising Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Senator Strom Thurmond attempted to use Rustin’s sexuality to delegitimize his work, making public Rustin’s arrest for sex in a car years earlier. (He also attempted to insinuate Rustin and King were in a homosexual relationship.) Despite being an integral part of the March on Washington, Rustin did not receive adequate credit due to his sexuality.
Mounting tensions with police, increased visibility from works like The Boys in the Band and the trail blazed by the Civil Rights Movement coalesced into the spark that would ignite what would become known as Pride. Hours after Judy Garland’s funeral, in the early hours of June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village was raided by police.
Fed up with police mistreatment, the patrons fought back. Riots lasted days. Among those at the forefront of the movement were trans women Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. The two friends would go on to co-found the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries to support trans, queer and homeless youth.
Out of the conflict, groups like the Gay Liberation Front and Gay Activists Alliance took a more aggressive tact toward fighting for social justice. Even embracing the word “gay” was seen as a more direct approach than previous organization like the Mattachine Society.
One year after the Stonewall uprising, Christopher Street Liberation Day and subsequent Gay Pride marches honored the bravery of the Stonewall patrons and set the stage for half a century of LGBTQI+ Pride to come.
This is just a taste of the rich queer history of the 1960s. What were some key moments and important memories we missed? Leave your impressions of the LGBTQ ’60s in the comments below…
Get all the info on WorldPride at the official website, or by following @NYCPride on Twitter and Instagram.
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Why non-partisan N.W.T. premier has joined Conservatives in a fight against Trudeau
While much ink has been spilled about western alienation, and neglect by governments in Ottawa, Bob McLeod said the north is also suffering
Tyler Dawson
More from Tyler Dawson
Published on: July 11, 2019 | Last Updated: July 11, 2019 7:00 AM EDT
Northwest Territories premier Bob McLeod: "People don’t know our situation." Ian Kucerak/Postmedia/File
SASKATOON — Premier Bob McLeod is non-partisan, like all members of the legislative assembly in the Northwest Territories, but that hasn’t stopped him from striking an alliance with Conservative premiers who are fighting the federal government over resource development. McLeod’s government estimates that it holds more than one-third of Canada’s light crude and natural gas, and the territory’s economy depends on its ability to get that oil and gas to market.
“We’re just like Alberta, if we develop it we can’t get it out,” McLeod told the National Post on Wednesday. The territory faces similar hurdles in getting access to foreign markets, with scrapped pipelines and difficult project approvals.
While much ink has been spilled about western alienation, and neglect by governments in Ottawa, McLeod said the north is also suffering, and Canada’s economy needs its resource sector.
“People don’t know our situation. They think we’re isolated up there by ourselves. People don’t realize that energy is very important to Canada and we have a lot of oil and gas,” McLeod said.
Conservative premiers gather at Stampede on eve for ‘informal’ session before Council of the Federation
A year after ‘red alert,’ N.W.T. premier warns territory still struggling to develop natural resources
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Last month, McLeod was one of six premiers who signed a scathing letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that warned the Liberal government was threatening national unity with bills C-69 and C-48. The former overhauls the approvals process for pipeline projects, while the latter restricts oil tanker traffic off the northwestern B.C. coast. Both bills have now passed, but concerns among premiers remain, particularly in Alberta, where Premier Jason Kenney has repeatedly savaged the legislation, but also in the N.W.T., which has struggled over the years to get its oil and gas industry booming.
According to Natural Resources Canada, the N.W.T. has about 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 1.2 million barrels of oil that hasn’t been exploited to its full potential. In 2016, the federal government imposed a moratorium on offshore drilling in the Beaufort Sea. In 2017, Imperial Oil abandoned a $16-billion project to build a natural gas pipeline from the Beaufort to northern Alberta.
“We depend a lot on oil and gas, mining, and to move away from that, it’s very hard to figure out, what do you move into?” McLeod said. “Do you get the federal government to move a bunch of factories from Ontario to the Northwest Territories?”
Still, there’s one fight McLeod hasn’t joined. Unlike his conservative counterparts, McLeod has a plan to implement carbon pricing in the territory, and has steered clear of the legal battle between provinces and the federal government.
Do you get the federal government to move a bunch of factories from Ontario to the Northwest Territories?
McLeod said the N.W.T. is affected the most by climate change, so it’s an issue that needs tackling. Although a federal carbon scheme is flawed (modelling his territory did showed that the tax would reduce emissions by a negligible amount, about three per cent), by coming up with its own plan, the government was able to take into account the simple reality of living in the North — there’s no way to get off using diesel fuel.
“First and foremost, the concern was we don’t have any alternatives right now, or right away. So, essentially, it would just be another tax, increased tax, and the cost of living is already very high,” McLeod said of the federal government’s carbon tax. “We’re affected the most by climate change, yet our emissions are minimal, it doesn’t have any effect.”
His government’s “made-in-the-north” system, which exempts aviation fuel and rebates heating fuel, will come into effect on Sept. 1.
The N.W.T., McLeod said, is still struggling to recover from the 2007 recession, and that’s in large part due to the sluggish recovery of the resources sector in the most populous territory. With reduced investor confidence, he said, it’s hard to find the capital for ambitious projects.
“It’s a small economy. It’s hard to recover, replace those jobs,” he said.”I think we need to do a better job of educating the south about how their actions are affecting us.”
• Email: tdawson@postmedia.com | Twitter: tylerrdawson
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The Effect Of Inequality On Child Nutrition: Part 2
Section IV: Food Deserts and Produce Accessibility
Food deserts are another factor that contributes to the issue of limited healthy and cost efficient food access, specifically in low-income neighborhoods, communities of color and rural parts of the country. Food access inequality has been a systemic issue for decades in the U.S., which accounts for many of the health disparities between race and class lines. In 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that 23.5 million people lack access to a supermarket within a mile of their home. “A multistate study found that low-income census tracts had half as many supermarkets as wealthy tracts” (Treuhaft et al 2010).
It was also found that low-income zip codes tend to have 30 percent more convenience/corner and liquor stores than traditional food stores, which makes less healthy options an easier and predominant option (Treuhaft et al 2016). The issue of the food desert is also prevalent in rural areas such as Mississippi. In Mississippi, more than 70 percent of food stamp eligible households travel more than 30 miles to reach a supermarket. It is also one of the states with the highest obesity level in the country. Lack of transportation to markets with healthy food options can be another factor that deters or prevents people living in food deserts from making the trip to the supermarket.
Quality of produce also tends to be poor in cities like Detroit and New Haven in low-income communities of color when compared to more affluent or racially mixed neighborhoods. By using statistical modeling techniques that control for a variety of factors, researchers estimate that for each fast food restaurant that is removed from a neighborhood with a high density of such establishments, there would be an average of a one pound weight decrease among residents (Treuhaft et al 2016). These researchers also found that by adding a grocery store to high poverty neighborhoods, there would be an average of a three pound weight decrease (Treuhaft et al 2010).
In a study following residents in Detroit and Chicago, it was found that those who lived farther from a grocery store, but closer to a convenience stores and fast food chains, had significantly higher levels of premature death as a result of diabetes.
In an assessment of 685 urban and rural census tracts in three states, it was found that low-income neighborhoods have half as many supermarkets as the wealthiest neighborhoods. Also, it was found that there are four times as many supermarkets in predominantly white neighborhoods compared to predominantly black ones. In a collection of 28 studies regarding the specifics of food availability around the country, 21 found that “food stores in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color are less likely to stock healthy foods, offer lower quality items and have higher prices compared to stores in higher-income or predominantly white communities while only 7 found mixed results (for example, lower quality but similar prices and selection) or no difference” (Treuhaft et al 2010).
There is evidence from countless studies that supports the connection between lack of chain or comprehensive supermarkets and serious diet-related health issues that could eventually be the cause of premature death. A child can be directly affected if their parent or caregiver suffers from health complications related to diet, as expenses for healthcare will become a greater financial burden, mobility and freedom can be restricted for those adults or premature death may leave children in a tragic situation.
Moreover, parents might prioritize their child’s health needs over their own or find it too difficult to reach stores that sell products that fulfill their health needs, unintentionally putting their entire household at greater risk. In a survey in East Harlem, New York, 40 percent of diabetic adults said that they did not follow their recommended dietary guidelines because the foods required were scarce and expensive in their neighborhood markets and shops. In a recent national study that looked at 70,000 teens, it was discovered that increased availability to chain supermarkets was associated with lower rates of teens that were obese or overweight (Treuhaft et al 2010).
In a 2009 study of Chicago’s food deserts, it was brought to light that as the distance to the closest supermarket increases relative to the distance to the nearest fringe food outlet, the Years of Potential Life Loss due to diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver disease increases significantly in African American communities.
Section V: Routes to a Better, Hungerless America
From government funded programs, social marketing campaigns and more local initiatives, there are several routes that are and were explored to help reduce the amount of food insecure folks in the United States. There are government funded programs such as the supplemental nutrition assistance program and the previously mentioned WIC, which help the most vulnerable populations access food.
Besides these programs, there was tremendous work done under former first lady Michelle Obama to combat child obesity, but also to address general health, wellness and fitness in U.S. children. Finally, there was a rise in the popularity of community gardens around the country and more conversations surrounding the wide array of benefits that can be derived from such initiatives.
In 2009, over 50 million people in the United States reported to be living in households that were food insecure and over 1/3 of these households experienced “very low food security.” These statistics soared from their past levels in 2007 and has policy-makers concerned about the current state of hunger in America. There are programs in place around the country, such as the School Breakfast and Lunch Programs and local outreach groups that are working to combat that issue.
While 94 percent of Feeding America client households with school-age children utilize the National School Lunch Program, only 46 percent use the National School Breakfast Program. However, studies and reports from Universities of Minnesota, Harvard, Boston and Tufts claim that participation in School Breakfast Programs is shown to have a positive effect on students’ attendance, behavior and academic achievement (Kennedy et al 2001). Many of the families these programs serve are living in small spaces with large families, as there was an association found between greater food insecurity and larger low-income families.
Additionally, a large percentage of client households are unstably housed and have one or more children that are five-years-old or younger. SNAP, which is the supplemental nutrition assistance program formerly regarded as the food stamp program, is taking on the challenge of remedying the food crisis in the U.S. Paradoxically, the United States is a food-rich country, yet it struggles with high levels of food waste and hunger (Gunders 2012).
In 2016, it was reported that 50 percent of all produce in the United States is thrown away, which is equivalent to 60 million tons or $160 billion worth of produce annually being wasted (Gunders 2012). According to the Feeding America website, SNAP serves two types of clientele: “Those who can’t protect themselves and those who need a helping hand to pull themselves up.” The majority of these recipients are either children, the elderly or disabled adults. SNAP is available only to those who qualify and are at the low-income level. The recipients are given Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, which can be used temporarily for food purchases only at a rate of about $1.40 benefit per meal or $126 per person per month.
Another attempt to solve the crisis revolves around educating youth about the importance of their eating patterns and how they can take control over what they decide to consume (CDC 2017). Through making children aware of the effect food can have on their development and health, it is hoped that as they grow older, they will be more conscious individuals when it comes to diet. During former president Barack Obama's administration, Michelle Obama made it her mission to work to remedy the obesity and hunger issues facing the children of the United States.
The “Let’s Move” initiative began with a simple gesture in 2009; Michelle Obama planting the White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn. The action prompted a nationwide discussion regarding the current state of childhood health and nutrition, which eventually led to the conception of the “Let’s Move” campaign to promote health-conscious lifestyles for children and families all around the country. While the primary focus of “Let’s Move” was to fight childhood obesity, many of its programs also worked to improve access to healthy and nutritious foods to the children at the most risk of either going hungry or being fed processed foods with higher levels of sugar and saturated fats.
One of the achievements of Michelle Obama’s work was the first update after 15 years to the national school meal nutrition standards through the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act,” which also increased funding for the first time in 30 years (White House Archives 2017). These changes allowed more children to receive free or inexpensive meals that had become centered around whole grains and a more diverse array of fruits and vegetables. Another successful project was the “Let’s Move! Salad Bars to Schools,” which provided 3 million students with access to salad bars (White House Archives 2017).
Furthermore, the “Let’s Move! Child Care” action had child care providers around the country make a commitment to improving the quality of meals for greater nutrition, increasing opportunities for physical activity and limiting screen time in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Nemours (White House Archives 2017). In order to bolster support on local levels around the country, “Let’s Move” also created their towns and cities partnership in which 520 elected officials made a commitment to the program, thus positively affecting 1 in 4 Americans or 81 million people (White House Archives 2017).
Other initiatives that look to solve the food desert crisis include community gardens and farmers markets. There is no single solution to the complex issue of childhood hunger. However, there are feasible opportunities to make positive change for the sake of the next generation and reduce the amount of children with low to extremely low food security. Community gardens are becoming increasingly popular in urban areas of the United States.
The benefits go beyond just the access to fresh produce, as gardens can foster a sense of unity between community members and provide them with a sense of pride when they see the affect their organizing has within the community at large.
For young children, the community garden can become a safe space for play and creating connections with mentors. Gardens also can instill in children and adults a greater appreciation for their health and the choices that they have to make regarding their own diet and future. The establishment and upkeep of community gardens can help to perpetuate a mindful and health-conscious neighborhood where diabetes, hunger and obesity are less prominent. Additionally, health education and the experience of working in a garden are mutually beneficial.
It is proven that a child will learn material better through having hands-on experience to contextualize and personalize the content.
Through incorporating urban gardens into the public education system and even in day care institutions, children can form meaningful connections between what they are learning about the importance of whole foods and their own actions in the garden. Parent engagement in community gardens can also prompt a deeper level of commitment to discussions at home regarding nutrition and exercise. Furthermore, for busy working parents, the garden can become a source of friendship and aid in times of need as the garden should serve to increase feelings of mutual goals between families.
One of the most comprehensive solutions to eradicating hunger is eradicating poverty. Thus, community gardens can link both entrepreneurship and sustainable food opportunities. Urban gardens initiatives around the country have worked to provide students with leadership experience and empowerment through organized production and commerce.
An instance of such integration is Rochester Roots, which has three schoolyard gardens in the Rochester community. The teachers use the gardens in their lessons and all of the high-grade produce (90 percent at heirloom status) go back to the students and community members. Parent and child seasonal cooking classes are taught from November to May. Additionally, in July and August there are paid internships offered to low-income teenagers. “Community food projects funded by the USDA provided an estimated 2,300 jobs and incubated over 3,600 micro-businesses” (Golden 2014).
Once many of these gardeners have gained some experience planting and organizing the logistics of running the garden, they pass the operation on and have the skills and confidence to start their own business. The creation of new jobs through community gardens is just one example of how these gardens can foster positive change and growth on not just physical and social, but also economic levels.
An estimate from the United Nations Development Program claims that 15 percent of food worldwide is grown in cities. More countries, such as Cuba, are beginning to utilize urban agriculture to help resolve food shortages and are reaping the benefits. According to a report from the American Planning Association, in large cities across the U.S. such as Atlanta, Portland, Chicago and Boston, more and more land is being allocated to urban agriculture.
The rise in urban agriculture popularity benefits those involved on multiple levels. Research found that gardens and farms beautified the neighborhoods, which increases home value while also employing residents and bolstering more local pride and attachment to their community, which results in a decrease in crime and vandalization. While community gardens cannot provide people with all of the nutrients they might need, it is a proven successful strategy to increasing food security and sovereignty.
Additionally, community gardens cut household grocery costs so that those participating are not paying high prices to eat well. Research shows that people who participate or have family members that participate in community gardens “were 3.5 times more likely to consume fruits and vegetables at least 5 times per day than people without a gardening household member” (Alaimo, Packnett, Miles, & Kruger, 2008).
It was also found that youth involved in programs through community gardens that discussed choosing healthy whole foods over processed and fast food ate less of these unhealthy foods as a result of their participation (Golden 2013). Clearly, the presence of a well-run community garden program can benefit all community members in becoming healthier people and developing skills that can continue to better the community as a whole.
As long as there are programs in place that support low-income communities access quality and inexpensive produce, there is hope for the current status of child nutrition in the United States. It is critical for not only the government to aid its most vulnerable populations to receive healthy and nutritious foods, but also for the communities to work from the inside to create spaces where conscious food choices are fostered and encouraged.
The prevalence of fast food chains and highly processed foods is a challenge facing primarily low-income communities and neighborhoods of color. There is injustice in who receives quality produce and who has to travel long distances to provide their family with a healthy meal. All people deserve access to foods that will keep their body able and in good shape.
All expecting mothers and children of all communities deserve access to foods that will help their development, which will affect their functioning later in life.
The right to be able to make informed choices about diet is one that should be granted to each and every child in the country. In such a food abundant country, our food deserts are much too prominent and our children are the victims of a nutritional crisis that has feasible solutions. The work of political leaders such as Michelle Obama have made positive changes and raised awareness surrounding the current condition of food inequality in the country.
However, there is still work to be done.
Through new and reformed policy that address food deserts and nutritional standards at schools and daycares, through community garden efforts that teach and provide meaningful connections to diet, and through changing the way we think about our daily food choices, great change can be made to work to eradicate hidden hunger.
Cover Image Credit: Misawa
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North West River gets upgrades to water system
Published: Jun 18 at 2:04 p.m.
The Town of North West River Municipal Building - Evan Careen
New pumphouse project cost $1.2 million
Water woes are nothing new to North West River, but hopefully those concerns will lessen.
The town just got itself a new pump house and upgraded water system and Mayor Dave Kieser feels it’s a big step forward.
“I was glad to see this finished,” he told the Voice. “The old pump house needed to be replaced. Some of the electrical was corroding and we couldn’t replace the parts, they just weren’t being made anymore.”
He said the project cost $1.2 million and was mostly funded through the province's capital works program. The structure was built last year, he said, and they had to wait to hook up the lines, which they did June 12.
It’s all state-of-the-art equipment, Kieser said, and will require far less maintenance than before.
The town has been looking at upgrading the sewer system for a few years and Kieser said they are currently weighing options.
“We have been measuring outfall and sending samples to the federal government,” he said. “We have been monitoring our outfall and we are consistently over the 100 cubic metres per day threshold. We have to continue monitoring that.”
He said treatment of the sewage has to be done, because of the volume produced by the town. They have applied for provincial funding to find out the costs associated with four different options they’re looking at.
One option is working with the neighbouring community of Sheshatshiu, but Keiser said until they find out the cost of all the options, nothing is set in stone.
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Teenager Gauff stuns idol Venus Williams at Wimbledon
TENNIS: Cori Gauff, at 15 the youngest ever qualifier for the Wimbledon singles, pulled off a major shock on Monday (July 1), beating one of her idols – five-time champion Venus Williams – 6-4, 6-4 in their first round clash.
Tuesday 2 July 2019, 09:54AM
Cori Gauff the youngest ever qualifier for the Wimbledon women’s singles shocked five-champion Venus Williams in the first round. Photo: AFP
The teenage American – who was not even born when Williams had won her first two Wimbledon singles titles – showed not an ounce of fear on Court One, making light of the 24 years age difference.
“I don’t really know how to feel,” said 313-ranked Gauff, who sunk into her chair and cried in the aftermath of her victory.
“This was definitely the first time I ever cried after a match, winning!”
Gauff, who said she took up tennis due to the exploits of Venus and her younger sister Serena, was watched by her family and paid tribute to them.
“I don’t even know what my parents will be saying,” she said.
“I’m just so happy and blessed that they spent all their time on me and my brothers in making sure that we’re successful.
“I never thought this would happen. I’m literally living my dream right now. Not many people get to say that.”
Williams had looked increasingly lost during the encounter, although she did break back in the second set and saved several match points, but sank to her knees by her racquet bag before walking off without waiting for the youngster.
“She (Williams) just told me congratulations and to keep going and good luck,” said Gauff, who won the French Open junior girls title last year.
“I told her thank-you for everything she did.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her.
“I was telling her that she was so inspiring. I always wanted to tell her that.”
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Fringe venue Theatre N16 forced to leave south London home
Posted By Giverny Masso On Sep 27, 2017 @ 11:48 am In News | No Comments
London’s Theatre N16 is desperately searching for a new home after discovering it will have to leave its current premises at the end of this year.
The Bedford Arms pub in Balham, south London, where the fringe venue has been based for more than two years, has been taken over by new owners who have decided to redevelop the theatre space.
Now Theatre N16 has until the end of December to find a new space. At the Bedford, the theatre has 75 seats, as well as access to a 220-seat space which is the pub’s music and comedy stage.
Executive director of Theatre N16 Jamie Eastlake [1] said he hopes to find a space in south London with a capacity between the current spaces at the Bedford Arms.
He said: “I was pretty devastated to find out we were moving – it’s been a really good home for us.
“I am open to any suggestions, but somewhere in south London would be perfect because of the lack of theatre spaces around here.
“We have to move somewhere to keep the business running – that’s the terrifying situation. It has to happen.”
Theatre N16 has hosted more than 178 productions and 28,000 audience members since opening in 2015 [2]. The venue has offered new theatre companies affordable deals on rehearsal and performance space, and has offered companies a risk-free deal when performing at the venue to ensure they do not leave owing money. The deal means that theatre companies do not have to pay a hire fee, but instead pay for the venue costs through box-office earnings, although if they do not make enough to cover this at the box office they will not be asked to pay anything extra.
Eastlake added: “I was sick to death of watching theatre companies get ripped off under business models that relied on funding the theatre first. Instead, we kept finding new innovative ideas to keep a space open.
“The fringe is the lifeblood of theatre. Having good solid fringe theatre models is what creates new work and new artists and feeds the West End.“
Eastlake added: “This is a call to arms. We have to find somewhere – and we need help.”
URL to article: https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2017/fringe-venue-theatre-n16-forced-leave-south-london-home/
[1] Jamie Eastlake: https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2016/jamie-eastlake-too-many-of-londons-fringe-theatres-are-broken/
[2] since opening in 2015: https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2015/london-fringe-venue-moves-theatre-starved-borough/
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Province to fund over 1,000 affordable homes in Indigenous communities
By Cherise SeucharanStarMetro Vancouver
Sat., Nov. 24, 2018timer2 min. read
VANCOUVER—Indigenous communities across the province will soon see over 1,100 affordable homes built as the province becomes the first in Canada to invest in building housing on reserves.
On Saturday, minister of municipal affairs and housing Selina Robinson announced that the first round of projects has been chosen through the Building BC: Indigenous Housing Fund, a $550-million investment to build 1,750 new units of housing over the next 10 years. Projects were chosen from proposals submitted by Indigenous non-profit housing providers and First Nations, for a total of 776 units of housing off-reserve, and 367 units of housing on-reserve.
“A home is more than a roof and four walls,” said Robinson in an interview. “It’s about a future and it’s about possibility.”
The 30 projects chosen in this first round of funding are located on- and off-reserve, in the Interior, North, Fraser, Vancouver Coastal and Vancouver Island regions of the province.
While funding for housing for First Nations on-reserve usually comes from the federal government, Robinson said that it was important that the province also invested in housing to address the urgent need.
“We need all levels of government to step up,” she said. “Housing is so desperately needed, and we want to invite our federal partners to work with us.”
Robinson said that she was currently in talks with the federal government, which has expressed that First Nations housing was a priority as part of reconciliation efforts.
Reflecting on her travels to First Nations across the province, Robinson also said that she saw first-hand the need for housing for Indigenous communities, where the lack of available housing has forced people to “couch surf” or resulted in overcrowding — leading to stress and instability, which can negatively impact health over time.
“Housing is a social determinant of health, and if you don’t have housing, your health is going to suffer, your social supports are going to suffer,” she said.
Robinson also said that housing was especially important for elders, who often have to move out of their communities to access housing that is suited to their needs.
“For elders, they have to leave their families and leave their support system because there’s no housing … they are disconnected, and it’s not good for them or for B.C.”
Chief Grace Leon Cunningham of the Katzie First Nation, which will receive 39 units of on-reserve housing, said that the homes will go toward supporting youth and families.
“The needs identified by our community members both off- and on-reserve are significant, and the vision of the supportive living model that was created is a stepping stone to not just housing, but toward healing,” she said in a statement.
Cherise Seucharan is a Vancouver-based reporter covering health and safety/youth. Follow her on Twitter: @CSeucharan
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German chancellor who helped to end the Cold War and bring about the reunification of his country
Helmut Kohl with the British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in London in 1983NILS JORGENSEN/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
Helmut Kohl was nine when the Second World War broke out. The conflict “abruptly and mercilessly ended an almost ideal childhood”, he recalled. His father, Johann, a civil servant who loathed the Nazis, was forced to join the Wehrmacht and sent to Poland. Eighty per cent of his home town of Ludwigshafen, an industrial centre near the French border, was destroyed by seemingly endless waves of allied bombing raids. His brother, Walter, was crushed to death when an allied bomber crashed into a pylon.
As a young teenager Kohl helped firemen to retrieve charred bodies from wrecked buildings. In late 1944 he was sent to a pre-military training camp as part of Hitler’s desperate effort to save the Third Reich by enlisting boys and old…
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Top Ten Cities with the Best Rock Bands
1 London (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Who, Clash)
+Queen, Motörhead, Sex Pistols, The Kinks, Yardbirds, Cream, Angel Witch, The Damned. - ryanrimmel
2 Los Angeles (Doors, Metallica, Byrds, Eagles, Guns n Roses)
+Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tool, Bad Religion, Megadeth, Rage Against The Machine, Jane's Addiction, NOFX, Suicidal Tendencies - ryanrimmel
3 Birmingham (Black Sabbath, Electric Light Orchestra, Judas Priest, Spencer Davis Group, Moody Blues)
+ Benediction, Quartz, Doom, Charged GBH - ryanrimmel
4 New York City (Kiss, Velvet Underground, Ramones, Blondie, Anthrax) The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States.
+Strokes, Type O Negative, Nuclear Assault, Helmet, Prong, Swans, Living Colour, Manowar, Agnostic Front - ryanrimmel
5 Seattle (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains) Seattle is a seaport city on the west coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington.
+Mother Love Bone, Green River, Heart, Tad, Nevermore - ryanrimmel
6 San Francisco (Jefferson Airplane, Steve Miller Band, Blue Cheer, Big Brother and Holding Company, Santana) San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California.
Steve miller band is a Chicago band who moved out in the sixties to San Francisco. This is not a " San Francisco " band in the pure sense.
+Dead Kennedys, Metal Church, Faith No More, Third Eye Blind, Heathen, Leviathan, Deafheaven - ryanrimmel
7 Boston (Aerosmith, Boston, Cars, Pixies, Mighty Mighty Bosstones)
+Isis - ryanrimmel
8 Jacksonville (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers Band, Limp Bizkit, Shinedown, Molly Hatchet)
9 Liverpool (Beatles, LA's, Searchers, Echo & Bunnymen, A Flock of Seagulls)
10 Detroit (MC5, White Stripes, Romantics, Rare Earth, Gories)
Top Ten American Cities to Perform a Rock or Metal Concert Cities With the Best Punk Rock Scenes American Cities and Areas with the Best Punk Rock Scenes Top 10 Cover Songs by Rock and Metal Bands that Were Better Than the Original Greatest Classic Rock Songs by Great Bands
1. London (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Who, Clash)
2. Los Angeles (Doors, Metallica, Byrds, Eagles, Guns n Roses)
3. Seattle (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains)
htoutlaws2012
3. New York City (Kiss, Velvet Underground, Ramones, Blondie, Anthrax)
All Top Ten Lists9Music9Rock
More Rock Lists
Best Rock Bands of All Time Best Rock Drummers Top 10 Best Modern Rock Bands Best Japanese Rock Bandssirea Best Alternative Bands of All Time Top Ten Best Male Rock Vocalistswalter34 Greatest Rock Voices Greatest Hard Rock Artists Best Japanese Rock SingerTD17 Greatest Classic Rock Songsbiscuits Best Christian Rock BandsSL205 Best Progressive Rock Bandsfortnight Greatest Classic Rock BandsVanHalen88
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The Great War: July 1, 1916: The First Day of the Battle of the Somme (Hardcover)
By Joe Sacco, Adam Hochschild (Other)
Out of stock, usually available in 1-5 days
Launched on July 1, 1916, the Battle of the Somme has come to epitomize the madness of the First World War. Almost 20,000 British soldiers were killed and another 40,000 were wounded that first day, and there were more than one million casualties by the time the offensive halted. In The Great War, acclaimed cartoon journalist Joe Sacco depicts the events of that day in an extraordinary, 24-foot- long panorama: from General Douglas Haig and the massive artillery positions behind the trench lines to the legions of soldiers going "over the top" and getting cut down in no-man's-land, to the tens of thousands of wounded soldiers retreating and the dead being buried en masse. Printed on fine accordion-fold paper and packaged in a deluxe slipcase with a 16-page booklet, The Great War is a landmark in Sacco's illustrious career and allows us to see the War to End All Wars as we've never seen it before.
Publication Date: November 4th, 2013
Military - World War I
Nonfiction - General
Military - Pictorial
Hardcover (November 2013): $33.00
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Caffè Nero is now selling coffee-infused bacon rolls
Column: New faces doing well at helping others
Doncaster as a place is on the up, so it's always pleasing to hear about local people who are doing well in their chosen fields.
Monday, 09 April, 2018, 14:51
As a Bentley GP and Chair of the Clinical Commissioning Group, I’m particularly interested in local health care, as you would expect. The NHS and other health and social care related organisations employ thousands of people in Doncaster, so there are great career opportunities for local young people who want to get on, both in clinical roles and back office functions.
Apprentice Abbie Brierley is a case in point. After overcoming her fear of blood, she now carries out potentially life-prolonging health checks on Doncaster people and has just been rewarded for her determination.
It takes around 20 minutes to complete each person’s review and Abbie is one of a team of healthcare assistants who regularly carry out the checks at community setting like B&Q stores and Doncaster Council’s Civic Centre.
Initially she was nervous about taking this particular apprenticeship as she was worried that she wouldn’t like to see people’s blood, but she quickly found that it involves nothing more than taking a pin prick amount for testing. She now enjoys all aspects of her job, from meeting patients and doing their health checks to all the administrative work back in the office.
In addition to the community-based checks, HMSL also works with Doncaster’s GP practices to carry out checks at their surgeries. Abbie organises the materials they need and records the data they capture.
More than 10,000 individual health checks are carried out in Doncaster each year, providing a vital early-warning system to help local people look after themselves better by making lifestyle changes where necessary. People aged 40 to 74 are entitled to one every five years.
Since this national service was introduced, rates of heart disease have dropped by 40 per cent across the country. Here in Doncaster, Abbie has quickly grown into an important role, giving residents the information they need to live longer and enjoy better quality lives.
To find out more about the free health checks speak to your surgery or visit: Hallcross Medical
If you’re eligible, you can have a health check on Monday 16 April at Adwick Sports Centre or Armthorpe Leisure Centre - from 10am to 4pm at both venues.
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Search for: "Lionel Atwill"
Results: Showing 1-10 of 21
The Devil Is a Woman
The glamorous Marlene Dietrich stars in The Devil is a Woman , an alluring romance set in the port town of Seville at the turn of the century. During carnival week, the blood of enemies and the passion of lovers run hot when a new woman (Dietrich) comes between a young revolutionary (Cesar Romero) and his old friend (Lionel Atwill). Directed by two-time Academy Award nominee Josef Von Sternberg, this is the film that Marlene Dietrich was most proud of, as she said, “I was the most beautiful.”
The Song of Songs
Starring one of Hollywood’s most glamorous screen legends, Marlene Dietrich, The Song of Songs is the shocking story of Lily, a beautiful but naive peasant girl who is lured into posing as a nude model for aspiring sculptor Richard (Brian Aherne). Their working relationship quickly develops into a passionate love affair but, unable to commit himself to marriage, Richard abandons Lily and she is forced to marry a lecherous baron (Lionel Atwill) who has bribed her aunt.
Night Monster
Night Monster is horrific tale filled with strange characters, secret passages, dark storms and a murderer who has mastered the art of “mind over matter”. Kurt Ingston (Ralph Morgan) is a helpless cripple due to the incompetence of three doctors (Lionel Atwill, Frank Reicher, Francis Pierlot). He invites them to visit him at his estate on the pretext of donating money to medicine. One by one, the doctors are mysteriously murdered. The spooky mansion is filled with strange characters, any one of...
Secret of the Blue Room
A deadly secret from the past returns to haunt a young woman and her loved ones in Secret of the Blue Room . Irene von Helldorf’s twenty-first birthday celebration is eclipsed when her father shares the dark details of his estate’s guest room: twenty years earlier, three people were killed there and their murders remain unsolved. Hoping to prove their own bravery and win Irene’s love, each of her three suitors agrees to spend a night in the room… and a new string of deadly mysteries is set into...
Man Made Monster
Man Made Monster stars Lon Chaney Jr. as a carnival performer who transforms into a murderous monster after a terrible accident. On a dark and stormy night, a bus skids into a high-tension wire electrocuting all passengers but one: "Dynamo" Dan McCormick (Chaney Jr.), who survives because he has built up immunity to electricity through his carnival performances. Dan is now the perfect specimen for the evil experiments of mad scientist Dr. Rigas (Lionel Atwill), who is working to create a race...
Murders in the Zoo
Millionaire Eric Gorman is a zoologist/hunter who has created his own private menagerie of wild beasts from his safaris. He is also insanely jealous and uses his dangerous pets to dispose of any potential romantic rival for his wife or anyone that displeases him. Made before the Production Code was enforced, Murders in the Zoo (1933) is a grisly and perverse Pre-Code horror thriller that was quite shocking for its time. The movie is dominated by Lionel Atwill's superb performance as the...
The Strange Case of Doctor Rx
A mysterious vigilante known as "Dr. Rx" strikes again, leaving his calling card behind as evidence. All of his victims have been crooks who have escaped prosecution through legal loopholes and his hit list keeps growing. Assigned to the case is private detective Jerry Church (Patric Knowles) but the crimes are baffling and involve death by strangulation and a possible attempt to implant a gorilla's brain into a human body. The Strange Case of Doctor Rx (1942) is an offbeat horror-comedy film...
Son of Frankenstein
Boris Karloff stars in the role that made him a screen legend in this, the second sequel to the famous horror classic. The son of Dr. Frankenstein returns to the ancestral family castle 25 years after the explosive death of the monster. There he meets Ygor (Bela Lugosi), a mad shepherd who is hiding the comatose body of the creature. Hoping to clear the family name, the young Dr. Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone) revives the creature and attempts to rehabilitate him. But his noble goals are...
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
Hollywood’s best-known monsters collide in one of the great classic horror films of the 1940’s. This terror-packed story features Bela Lugosi as the Frankenstein monster and Lon Chaney, Jr. as the cursed Wolf Man. Beginning as a moody chiller, director Roy William Neill sets the stage for an unforgettable clash. The resurrected Wolf Man, seeking a cure for his malady, enlists the aid of mad scientist Patric Knowles, who claims he will not only rid the Wolf Man of his nocturnal metamorphosis but...
The Mad Doctor of Market Street
When Dr. Benson's experiments in suspended animation result in a man's death, he is forced to flee San Francisco with the police in hot pursuit. He boards a luxury liner to Australia but a shipwreck lands him and a handful of survivors on a remote tropical island. The island natives are NOT very welcoming until Dr. Benson demonstrates his godlike powers by reviving the comatose wife of the island chief. Now worshipped as a deity, the doctor's ego rages out of control as he begins to focus on...
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India Receives First P&W-powered C-17 Aircraft
India recently received its first C-17 Globemaster III, powered exclusively by four Pratt & Whitney F117 engines. India is slated to receive a total of 10 C-17s by 2014 and plans to use the planes to quickly move material and troops. The Indian Air Force received the C-17 during a ceremony at Boeing's final assembly site in Long Beach, Calif., on June 11.
Pratt & Whitney has delivered 24 F117 engines so far to Boeing to power the fleet of C-17 aircraft for India. "We are proud to power the C-17s being purchased by India," said Bev Deachin, vice president, Military Programs and Customer Support at Pratt & Whitney. "We are confident the Indian Air Force will benefit from our world-class F117 engines supporting the C-17's outstanding airlift capabilities. I congratulate and thank our employees for producing and delivering these engines."
Each of four F117 engines on the C-17 is rated at 40,440 pounds of thrust which enables the aircraft to carry a payload of 164,900 pounds and fly 2,400 nautical miles without refueling. The F117 first entered service in 1993 and is a derivative of Pratt & Whitney's PW2040 commercial engine. With more than 10 million hours of proven military service and 50 million hours in commercial use, the F117/PW2040 has consistently proven itself as a world-class dependable engine. Through Pratt & Whitney's ongoing investment in product improvements, the engine continuously surpasses established goals of time on wing and support turnaround time.
Pratt & Whitney has delivered more than 1,200 F117 engines worldwide. There have been 254 C-17 deliveries made by Boeing, with 222 going to the US Air Force and 32 to international customers. In addition to the Indian Air Force, other international customers include the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, the Qatar Emiri Air Force, the Canadian Forces Air Command, the Royal Australian Air Force, United Arab Emirates and the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations.
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FDA approves lower-cost alternative to biotech drug Humira
David J. Phillip / AP
AbbVie's signature drug Humira is shown in this illustration Friday, July 18, 2014, in Houston. The FDA has approved an alternative called Amjevita, developed by Amgen Inc.
(David J. Phillip / AP)
Federal regulators on Friday approved the first alternative version of the second-best selling drug in the world, Humira, the blockbuster injection used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.
The Food and Drug Administration cleared a near-copy of the drug, dubbed Amjevita, developed by Amgen. Regulators approved the drug for more than a half-dozen conditions listed on the original drug's label, including severe psoriasis and Crohn's diseases.
North Chicago-based AbbVie holds the patent on Humira.
Humira posted sales of nearly $15 billion in 2015 and was for many years the top-selling prescription drug in the world, according to data from IMS Health.
It's the fourth time that the FDA has formally approved a so-called biosimilar, the industry term for a lower-cost version of a biotech drug. Biosimilar drugs, long available in Europe, are thought to have the potential to generate billions in savings for the U.S. health system.
But currently only one biosimilar cleared by the FDA approval pathway is actually on the market in the U.S., Novartis' Zarxio, an alternative to Amgen's Neupogen that sells for about 15 percent less than the original product. The drug helps boost red blood cells in cancer patients.
Amgen did not discuss plans for the drug's launch or price in a release issued Friday evening.
But Wall Street analysts have noted that AbbVie claims it holds patents protecting Humira until at least 2022. They have previously estimated that Amgen's version could launch sometime between 2018 and 2022, depending on the outcome of court litigation.
First approved in 2002, Humira accounted for 60 percent of AbbVie's total revenue last year. The injectable drug, which blocks chemicals linked to inflammation, is part of a family of biotech drugs including Enbrel and Remicade, which are also facing pending biosimilar competition.
Development of lower-cost anti-inflammatory drugs is considered pivotal in reducing U.S. spending on specialty drugs, which has doubled to $150 billion since 2010, according to IMS Health.
Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen is itself a biotech powerhouse, and it too has medications facing competition from cheaper versions. The company is working to hedge those loses by developing lower-cost versions of competitors' drugs.
AbbVie buys cancer drug firm for $5.8 billion
Horizon Pharma to buy Lake Forest company for $510 million
EpiPen maker gave CEO more than $5 million to cover personal U.S. tax bill
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Orpheum - VRS - Yo-Yo Ma/Kathryn Stott
The Orpheum (map)
601 Smithe St
FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND TICKETS, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
As one of the most treasured artists of our time, Yo-Yo Ma’s name is synonymous with musical excellence and profound passion. Ma’s multifaceted career and enduring popularity testify to his continual search for new ways to connect with audiences, and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal.
He returns to the Orpheum stage with his collaborator of 25 years, pianist Kathryn Stott. An extraordinarily interesting and incisive interpreter in her own right, Ms. Stott is widely recognized as one of Britain’s most versatile and imaginative musicians.
Ma and Stott share a natural rapport for making masterful musical connections that stimulate the imagination and stir the soul.
“Stott’s and Ma’s joint presence on stage offered the thousand some listeners an unaccustomed opportunity to set aside oft times distracting star parameters and simply witness shared music-making. Exemplary concert energy like this is as seductive as it is uncommon.” –Boston Musical Intelligencer
Igor Stravinsky
Suite Italienne Introduzione Serenata
Aria
Tarantella Minuetto e finale
Three Pieces
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Alma Brasileira arr. Jorge Calandrelli
Ástor Piazzolla
Oblivion arr. Kyoko Yamamoto
Camargo Guarnieri
Dansa Negra arr. Jorge Calandrelli
7 Canciones Populares Españolas, G. 40
El Paño Moruno
Seguidilla muricana
Olivier Messiaen
Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus from Quatour pour la fin du temps
Cesar Franck
Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano
Allegretto; Moderato
Recitativo – Fantasia
Allegretto poco mosso
Learn more about Yo-Yo Ma.
Learn more about Kathryn Stott.
Yo-Yo Ma Biography
The many-faceted career of cellist Yo-Yo Ma is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. Mr. Ma maintains a balance between his engagements as soloist with orchestras worldwide and his recital and chamber music activities. His discography includes over 75 albums, including more than 15 Grammy award winners.
Mr. Ma serves as the Artistic Director of the Silk Road Project, an organization he founded to promote the study of cultural, artistic and intellectual traditions along the ancient Silk Road trade routes. Since the Project’s inception, more than 60 works have been commissioned specifically for the Silk Road Ensemble, which tours annually. Mr. Ma also serves as the Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Institute for Learning, Access and Training. His work focuses on the transformative power music can have in individuals’ lives, and on increasing the number and variety of opportunities audiences have to experience music in their communities.
Mr. Ma was born in Paris to Chinese parents who later moved the family to New York. He began to study cello at the age of four, attended the Juilliard School and in 1976 graduated from Harvard University. He has received numerous awards, among them the 2001 National Medal of Arts, the 2006 Sonning Prize, the 2008 World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award, the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors, and the 2012 Polar Music Prize. Mr. Ma serves as a UN Messenger of Peace and as a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts & the Humanities. He has performed for eight American presidents, most recently at the invitation of President Obama on the occasion of the 56th Inaugural Ceremony.
Posted in VRS
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City Hall chime silent during clock repairs
Victoria City Hall clock not working
Jun. 22, 2011 12:00 p.m.
The clock on the tower at Victoria City Hall is undergoing repairs.
Those who noticed the time on the City Hall clock tower stuck at 5:10 this week aren’t crazy. The hands of the clock and the bells have been still since Monday as the clock undergoes repairs.
Components of the 120-year-old pulley system that controls the clock were sent away Monday to be worked on by a specialized engineer. The clock is expected to be working again by Saturday.
City of Victoria spokesperson Katie Josephson said she doesn’t think many people still rely on the clock tower to tell time, but it’s important to draw attention to the maintenance.
“The objective is to let people know not to rely on the clock this week as a watch,” she said.
In 2006, the city restored the tower, built in 1891, to its original appearance. The tower and City Hall are a national historic site.
intern@vicnews.com
Auditor wants BC Rail trial costs
Art unveiled around town for National Aboriginal Day
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Home | Insights | Drug Pricing Reform Includes a Focus on Patents: ...
Drug Pricing Reform Includes a Focus on Patents: Here’s How Pharma Can Prepare
Industry: Healthcare & Life Sciences
This article is part of a series about drug pricing reform. In this article, we dive deeper into patent exploitation, pharmacy benefit managers, and unfair trade
By: Nicole Saleme
President Donald Trump's speech on drug pricing on May 11 specifically called for the elimination of patent exploitation as a key tenet in his fight to reduce drug pricing. Although his remarks that day were light on details, they raised the question of how much power and influence the executive office has on drug pricing.
This piece explores the four main avenues pharmaceutical companies take to extend the exclusivity or protections of patents. We examine whether these advancements are actually helping patients, and whether a presidential administration has the power to make these desired patent changes to help drive down drug costs.
Background: A Quick Primer on Drug Patenting
As pharmaceutical companies conduct research, develop new formularies and, hopefully, advance a new drug, they apply for patents. These typically last for 20 years, to protect their intellectual property and their significant investments from competition, ensuring the company reaps the profits of the innovation. The timeline can be a tough pill to swallow, as it typically takes eight or more years for drugs to get approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and come to market. A 2014 study estimated that the cost of bringing a new drug to market was $2.6 billion (in 2013 dollars), making cost recovery challenging in the 12 years between FDA approval and a patent’s expiration.
Once a patent expires and generics or biosimilars enter the market, the sales of a drug plummet. For example, Claritin used to gross its developer, Schering-Plough Corp., more $3 billion in U.S. sales every year by charging $2.80 per tablet. Once the patent expired in 2002, U.S. sales dropped to $370 million per year as the price dropped to 45 cents per tablet. Another example: In 2003, worldwide sales of Lipitor, a drug used to treat cholesterol, totaled $9.5 billion. Lipitor’s patent expired in November 2011, and in 2012, worldwide sales fell to $3.9 billion – a 60 percent decrease from its revenue before the patent’s expiration. By 2017, worldwide sales had slumped 80% to $1.9 billion.
How Pharmaceutical Companies Stretch the Exclusivity of Patents to Increase Sales
It is important to note the difference between patents and exclusivity. Patents are granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office during the development of a drug and can include a wide range of claims. Exclusivity refers to delaying and/or prohibiting the approval of competing drugs to enter the market. Patents cannot be extended past the 20-year mark. Pharmaceutical companies work on extending the exclusivity of a drug (e.g., AbbVie extended the manufacturing exclusivity of Humira, prohibiting generics from manufacturing the drug until 2023). Depending on the type, exclusivities can be extended anywhere between 180 days to 7 years.
An overwhelming number of drugs that enter clinical trials never receive FDA approval, so drug makers count on their successful products to recover the costs of failed drugs by maximizing patent terms and setting prices high.
A pharmaceutical company can increase sales and extend the exclusivity of a patent in several ways:
Combination of Drugs: This method consists of taking two existing drugs on the market, combining them and selling them as a new medication. Pharmaceutical companies can market such drugs as a newly patented product, boosting sales. An example is the drug Symbyax, a combination of the drugs Zyprexa and Prozac which helps with the treatment of bipolar disorder. Symbyax has added more than $100 million in sales to Eli Lilly and Co.
Alternate Delivery: The alternate delivery method involves developing a new way to deliver an existing drug, such as creating a micro-encapsulated form or a pill with layers that dissolve at different rates, allowing for a more controlled release. The patent for Advair, a drug manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline Plc that helps with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, was extended when GSK developed a formulation that could be delivered in a meter-dose inhaler device.
Compound Structure: Pharmaceutical companies are looking into versions of drugs that tweak the structure of a drug’s molecule of patented drugs that are already on the market. Such variants, known as single-enantiomer drugs, can offer increased efficacy and reduced side effects, which can provoke the FDA to extend a patent. An example is AstraZeneca Plc.’s Prilosec, which was developed to reduce acid reflux. The product’s patent was expiring in 2002, so years ahead of that, AstraZeneca began research into a single-enantiomer version, creating the drug Nexium. Nexium accounted for nearly $3 billion in sales in 2003.
New Uses: Pharmaceutical companies can obtain new patents on drugs already in the marketplace, increasing their commercial life, when they discover new uses and treatment indications for the same molecule. Multiple pharmaceutical companies have successfully obtained new patents for new uses of a product. As an example, Merck & Co. Inc. developed, patented, and marketed Proscar, a drug used to treat benign prostate enlargement. The company then discovered the drug could also treat male pattern baldness, which led to the FDA providing additional patent protection and approval.
Do Patent Extensions Improve Patient Lives?
It’s not always clear which of the methods stated above consist of patent exploitation. Discovering a new use for a molecule can lead to market innovations and bring researchers closer to curing diseases. Releasing a drug with a different structure, such as a single enantiomer, can boost efficiency and cut side effects, improving patients’ quality of life.
While patients can reap benefits and the pharmaceutical industry can make progress through such maneuvers, the alternate delivery method and combination of drugs method can be seen as exploiting drug patents. It’s rare for an alternate delivery method to meaningfully improve a patient’s quality of life. And getting the exclusivities of a patent extended by combining two drugs can appear deceptive – as though patients are being coerced into paying a higher price for a drug, when a similar effect can be had with two cheaper drugs. Meanwhile, gag rules (discussed in more detail below) prevent pharmacists from informing patients of the cheaper two-drug alternative.
Extending the exclusivity of protection of drug patents can negatively affect patients by creating a barrier to generics entering the market. Lack of competition keeps prices high, preventing patients from getting access to cheaper generic drugs, which could deter patients from purchasing drugs altogether, creating obstacles, rather than a path, to desired wellness goals.
Trump's Efforts to Rein In Drug Companies
Trump said in his drug pricing speech on May 11: “We are getting tough on the drug makers that exploit our patent laws to choke out competition. Our patent system will reward innovation, but it will not be used as a shield to protect unfair monopolies."
The rising cost of drug pricing is a major concern as 1 in 5 Americans are unable to afford medication. Pres. Trump recently laid out his blueprint to combat these issues to the U.S. Congress, however how much power does the executive branch really have to deliver on these promises? Can the president work collaboratively with lawmakers to contain the pharmaceutical giants?
The gag rule restricts pharmacists from telling patients of cheaper drug options. The CMS already sent a notice to Medicare Part D enrollees indicating the gag rule is not tolerable. Additionally, the president has the authority, through existing FDA regulations, to enforce full transparency from drugmakers by requiring they include drug prices in their commercials.
While rebates lower the out-of-pocket cost for medication, the process can confuse patients and muddy the waters on price transparency. Yet, rebates generate profit for pharmaceutical companies and the pharmacy benefit managers which pocket part of the rebate. Eliminating incentivized rebates could damp medication price increases and offer cost transparency with the proposed fixed-pricing model Trump has highlighted. Trump has eliminated rebates in five states and seeks to expand these regulations nationwide.
The inability to track rebate distribution obscures who benefits from rebates. The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar has held that the administration has the regulatory authority to eliminate rebates within governmental programs, citing its status as an exception in the statute within Medicare Part D negotiations. He is seeking support from Congress, anticipating resistance from drug makers, but this authority isn't as influential in the commercial space.
The Trump administration intends to work with Congress to introduce competition and negotiation into Medicare Part B with beneficiaries at the center to allow for choice. Leveraging private-sector expertise through pharmacy benefit managers should increase competition, giving patients better contracts with lower drug pricing and more options. Deploying modern techniques of formulary management will help drive down costs by solving complex pricing problems.
The Trump administration intends to leverage trade agreements to distribute the financial burden of drug creation more evenly throughout the world. It is uncertain if the Trump administration can accomplish the desired outcome or has the authority to do so.
Lowering drug prices is an initiative that is on the agenda of both the Republican and Democratic parties. The Trump administration is exploring ways to do so by addressing things such as patent exploitation. The Democratic party has indicated it wants Medicare to be able to negotiate prices, and for Americans to be able to buy cheaper prescription drugs from abroad. In either scenario, pharmaceutical companies will most likely face new regulations or laws that will reduce drug prices.
What are the top three strategies that pharmaceutical companies can take to be best prepared for the future of drug pricing?
Marketing Campaigns: Pharmaceutical companies can invest in marketing campaigns and public relations campaigns to promote the clinical value and attributes of their drugs as soon as possible. Companies can work on providing patients with knowledge about the disease prior to having the drug hit the market. (For example, AbbVie's strategy with Orlissa to fight Endometriosis.) Pharma companies can also invest in arming doctors with the clinical knowledge of the drug prior to market entry.
Be sure data is in order: Pharmaceutical companies need to ensure they are well on their way to becoming an organization that makes decisions based on data. To do so, companies should be building toward clean, efficient, and organized data operations – with a focus on providing better insights on costs, to ensure that the company is making the best and most efficient choices possible. This will also help companies adapt to change in a quicker and more efficient way.
Become leaner across the supply chain: Pharmaceutical companies should work on determining areas across the corporation where they can decrease costs and improve efficiencies. For example, they can perform an audit on their supply chain and see where their operations can become more digital or nimble. This will not only help decrease costs but will also allow the company to respond to change faster.
National Healthcare Payer: Remote Workforce Resource Capacity Modeling Enables 20% Productivity Improvement
Operations Excellence, Healthcare & Life Sciences
West Monroe created activity-based resource capacity planning models for the six work groups that support the client’s nationwide network of care providers. The models allow the client to maintain best-in-class support while reallocating resource capacity to meet other business needs.
Lowering Drug Pricing: Is Cutting the “Middlemen” the Right Strategy?
The high cost of prescription drugs has increasingly become a contentious topic in Washington and across the nation. Drug prices, much like the cost of healthcare, keep rising, and patients are feeling much of the burden as out-of-pocket-expenses continue to increase, unabated.
The Transformative Power of Connected Care Management for Payers
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From the District
The people of Wakefield can be assured that we are making the district a safer place to live and work.
We have set out plans to prioritise our services in the community over the coming year and we would encourage you to take a look at these plans in detail.
Wakefield District Action Plan 2018-2019
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Action Plan 2018-2019
Our priorities are:
Deliver a proactive community safety programme.
Deliver a professional and resilient emergency response service.
Provide a safe skilled workforce that serves the needs of a diverse community.
Provide effective and ethical governance and achieve value for money.
What’s happening in Wakefield district…
To give you an insight to how we work within your area:
A District Command team led by the District Commander are responsible for the delivery of an efficient and effective service for the Wakefield community. We have just completed our performance report for the Fire Authority detailing the amazing successes we have achieved for 2017/18. We have seen a reduction in the number of serious fires and injuries within our community and have delivered road safety training to over 2000 people throughout 2017/18.
Your district team have produced a new action plan for the next fiscal year which details the ambitious objectives we aim to deliver over the next 12 months. We will be working closely with key partners and teams within the district.
These teams include:
WYFRS Community Fire Safety
WYFRS Fire Protection
West Yorkshire Police
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
The Mental Health Rapid Access Scheme
Wakefield District Community Healthcare
Wakefield Society for Deaf People
Health & Wellbeing Board
Wakefield CCG
About this district
The district covers some 219 square miles and is home to 315,000 people in a diverse range of city, urban and rural communities.
Since the demise of the coal mining industry, the district has become the base for a number of distribution and manufacturing companies.
The fire and rescue service is a key partner on a number of groups in the district, with focus on arson reduction, youth inclusion (such as the Young Firefighters scheme, which started in Wakefield) fire safety enforcement, and road traffic collision reduction.
Population 315,000+
Size of Area 219 miles2
Fire stations in this district
Castleford Fire Station, built in 1972, is located centrally in the community which it serves. The population of the area is 36,570 incorporating a total of 15,742 dwellings. Castleford and…
The small town of Featherstone is situated to the east of Wakefield and is in a predominantly rural area with a population of 16,198 incorporating 6,815 dwellings. Featherstone Fire Station,…
Normanton Fire Station, has recently been upgraded from a retained duty system to wholetime and is the first station in West Yorkshire to operate a new close call duty system….
Ossett station is the new home of the Wakefield District Support Team who were previously based at Wakefield. The Team incorporates Ops training, Prevention and HR personnel. The Ops team…
The station, covers the eastern section of the Wakefield district and includes the villages of Wentbridge, Ackworth, Darrington and East Hardwick and also the residential areas of Carleton, Chequerfield,…
South Kirkby Fire Station opened on 16 January 2015. The station covers a population of around 11,000 and is close to the southern border of West Yorkshire. The siting of…
Wakefield Fire Station area covers 35 square miles incorporating a diverse community of over 91,951 people. The area consists of a variety of industrial, commercial, residential and rural locations together…
Committed staff recognised at our Long Service Awards
Operational firefighters and fire and rescue service staff have been honoured for their dedication to West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) at our Long Service Awards. A ceremony took…
Work starts on new Wakefield Fire Station
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) is pleased to announce that construction has begun on the new Wakefield Fire Station, located on Brunswick Street. The £2.9 million project will…
Six on-call firefighters among the latest new recruits to graduate!
The latest group of new recruits have celebrated passing their training with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) with a special graduation ceremony today. The event at West Yorkshire…
Fire Authority invests half a million pounds in flood response equipment
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority (WYFRA) has invested over £500,000 in new power boats, flood response vehicles and protective kit to enhance West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s…
Former Navy man from Wakefield tragically died after dropping cigarette which ignited clothing
A former Royal Navy officer died after dropping a cigarette at his Wakefield home which ignited his clothes and left him with severe burns. Neighbours battled to save 86-year-old Eric…
Open Day promotes healthy ageing in Wakefield!
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) has joined forces with partners to promote fire safety and good health in the over 60s. We are hosting a ‘Sloppy Slippers’ Open…
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is now accepting applications for on-call firefighters to serve rural areas of the county. Firefighters are needed to work on a standby basis to…
Firefighters join forces with Father Christmas for gift appeal!
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is backing Radio Aire’s Cash for Kids ‘Mission Christmas’ campaign, which aims to ensure no child goes without a gift this Christmas. In West…
Work begins on new Ossett Fire Station
A sod-cutting ceremony took place today to mark the beginning of construction work on a new fire station in Ossett. Councillor Tracey Austin, Vice Chair of the Fire Authority, sank…
Wakefield Fire Stations Support Safer Places Scheme
Fire stations in Wakefield district have signed up to the Safer Places Scheme. The voluntary scheme, managed by Wakefield District Council, supports vulnerable people with dementia, autism and learning disabilities….
Public Invited To Watch Water Rescue Exercise At Pontefract Park
The Wakefield district is supporting the national Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Week which starts on Monday (April 13). West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) hope to raise awareness…
Dignitaries impressed after first glimpse of new South Kirkby Fire Station
Dignitaries and community members were thoroughly impressed with the new South Kirkby Fire Station after a ‘first glimpse’ during its official opening today. Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, David Dinmore…
Making a dramatic difference to fire safety!
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) has teamed up with award winning theatre company, Performance in Education, to deliver a hard-hitting fire safety production. “Flashpoint” addresses issues surrounding youth…
Increase in domestic fires in Pontefract leads to advice
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) has issued some fire safety advice following an increase in house fires in the Pontefract and Knottingley areas during March and April this…
contact.wakefield@westyorksfire.gov.uk
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Fest drops Peter Yarrow over ‘indecent liberties’ sentence
Posted: Jul 3, 2019 / 09:55 AM EDT / Updated: Jul 3, 2019 / 02:04 PM EDT
FILE – In this July 20, 2014, file photo, singer-songwriter Peter Yarrow, of the 1960’s era musical trio “Peter Paul and Mary,” claps and encourages the audience to sing along during a memorial tribute concert for folk icon and civil rights activist Pete Seeger at Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park in New York. An upstate New York music festival has disinvited folk singer Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary over his 1970 jail sentence for indecent liberties with a 14-year-old girl. The Press and Sun Bulletin of Binghamton reports that board members of the Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival in upstate New York cited negative reaction to Yarrow on social media in their decision to remove Yarrow from the festival’s lineup. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — A music festival has disinvited folk singer Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary over his 1970 jail sentence for indecent liberties with a 14-year-old girl.
The Press and Sun Bulletin of Binghamton reports that board members of the Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival in upstate New York cited negative reaction to Yarrow on social media in their decision to remove Yarrow from the festival’s lineup.
The 81-year-old Yarrow was to appear Sept. 8 with a performance painter. A replacement has not been announced.
Yarrow was sentenced to three months in jail over a 1969 episode in which the 14-year-old and her 17-year-old sister went to his hotel seeking an autograph and he answered the door naked. Former President Jimmy Carter pardoned Yarrow in 1981.
A representative for Yarrow says the singer accepts the decision.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jennifer Lopez kept her word to fans who were disappointed when a power outage in New York City forced her to postpone her concert over the weekend.
Lopez returned to the stage Monday at Madison Square Garden, saying she was going to celebrate "no matter what." She called it an "amazing night."
by MICHAEL CORDER, Associated Press / Jul 16, 2019
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An appeals court in Amsterdam said Tuesday it needs more time to rule on the ownership of a valuable trove of historical artefacts loaned to a Dutch museum by four museums in Crimea shortly before the region's annexation by Russia in 2014.
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal said in an interim ruling that it needs "greater clarity" on the competing claims by Ukraine and the museums in Crimea. The court says it expects to deliver a final judgment in six to nine months.
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Man dies after vehicle falls on him
by: WFXR Staff
Posted: May 23, 2019 / 06:12 PM EDT / Updated: May 23, 2019 / 06:13 PM EDT
A Smyth County man died Wednesday after a vehicle fell on him.
On May 22, at approximately 3:47 p.m., the Pulaski Police Department was dispatched to 1250 East Main Street to assist a subject that was severely injured due to a vehicle falling on him. According to a press release, upon arriving on scene, officers located the subject, who was being treated by members of REMSI and the Pulaski Fire Department.
The victim was identified as Steve Allen Taylor, 52. Taylor was pronounced dead on the scene. The deceased was transported to the Medical Examiner’s office in Roanoke.
The cause of death is still under investigation.
No further information will be released at this time.
SALEM, Va. (WFXR) -- Salem City officials say America's largest free gate fair welcomed nearly 300,000 visitors between July 3 and July 14.
This year was different than most recent years. Organizers returned to the traditional closing time of 11 p.m., something officials say helped tremendously.
WFXR -- Clean Virginia says it plans to invest $1 million in the 2019 state legislative election.
Clean Virginia is a non-profit organization that promotes clean energy and a healthy economy and community.
School Board approves gender neutral dress code
ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) -- In a unanimous vote, Roanoke County schools approved a gender neutral dress code for students.
The new verbiage of the dress code does not specify what girls or boys should wear, but what students should wear as a general student body.
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Whereis > VIC > Torrita
Map of Torrita, VIC 3490
Torrita is a locality situated on the section of the Mallee Highway and Pinnaroo railway line between Ouyen and the South Australian border in the Sunraysia region. The place by road, is situated about 13 kilometres east from Underbool and 8 kilometres west from Walpeup.
A Post Office opened on 15 July 1912 when a regular mail service was provided by the opening of the railway from Ouyen to Murrayville a month earlier, but was known as Nyang until 1921 and closed in 1984. The name Nyang is preserved in the Nyang Flora Reserve to the south of the highway.
Nyang State School (No. 3871) opened in the public hall on 31 September 1914, and received a purpose-built one-room school in 1920. It was renamed Torritata State School on 20 October 1921. The school closed in 1969, and the building was later moved to Walpeup to be used as an artroom.The area of the locality contains the smaller area of Kattyong, and to the south the smaller area of Gunner.
Kattyong State School (No. 3962) opened on 4 October 1917 and closed on 19 February 1967. Kattyong West State School (No. 4321) opened in May 1928 and closed in 1942, with the school building moved to Mittyack.
Wikipedia, CC-BY-SA license
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The Who2 Blog
Michael Phelps Has Been Swimming in the Olympics for More Than Half His Life
August 9, 2016 | By Fritz Holznagel
Photo courtesy of USA Swimming
It’s true: Michael Phelps is now swimming in his fifth Olympic games, and he’s still only 31 years old.
Michael Phelps was born in 1985 and his first Summer Games were in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. He was only 15 and finished 5th in the 200-meter butterfly.
He hasn’t finished fifth much in the 16 years since. Michael Phelps appeared in the Summer Olympics in 2004 (Athens, winning 8 medals, 6 of them gold), in 2008 (Beijing, 8 medals, all gold), in 2012 (London, 6 medals, 4 gold), and now he’s in Rio for 2016. He won gold in his first race here, the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay.
Michael Phelps is by far the most-medaled Olympian of all time, with 23 medals total. And that’s all after retiring in 2012 and then making a comeback in 2014. He’s not even the first person to be in five different Olympic games; that honor goes to Dara Torres, who was 41 when she pulled the trick in Beijing in 2008. Does that mean Michael Phelps will go for six… or seven? It be a surprise if he turns up in Tokyo in 2020?
Although Scientific American has pooh-poohed the idea that Michael Phelps has “freakish” lung capacity or other anatomical attributes, one has to wonder if one day we’ll discover that he, like American Pharoah, has a super-large heart.
See our biography of Michael Phelps »
Dara Torres
American Pharoah
Tags: American Pharoah Anatomy Dara Torres Gold Medals Heart Michael Phelps Old-Timers Swimming The Olympics World Records
New Lucille Ball Statue Is Even Scarier Because It Actually Looks Like Lucy
Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer of ‘That’ Jazz Sound, Is Dead
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WisconsinWatch.org (https://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2019/06/hard-road-ahead-for-gov-tony-evers-promise-to-slash-wisconsin-prison-population/)
Hard road ahead for Gov. Tony Evers’ promise to slash Wisconsin prison population
The Democrat’s goal to reduce incarceration by 50 percent faces numerous hurdles; his own 2019-21 budget proposal calls for increasing prison beds
By Izabela Zaluska (Wisconsin Watch) | June 30, 2019
Gov. Tony Evers remains committed to cutting Wisconsin’s prison population by 50 percent, but he says the process will be a long one. He is seen at his first State of the State address in Madison, Wis., at the State Capitol on Jan. 22.
Our “Cruel and Unusual?” series examines Wisconsin’s prison system, including legislation affecting prisoners and their families.
Managing Editor Dee Hall discusses this story on Wisconsin Public Radio’s Central Time and on Wisconsin Public Television’s show Here and Now.
Wisconsin’s high supervision rate can cause — rather than prevent — longer incarceration, studies show
Gov. Tony Evers is considering enacting an obscure 30-year-old early release program and halting reincarceration of offenders for rule violations to reduce Wisconsin’s growing prison population.
In an interview with Wisconsin Watch, Evers expressed optimism about his ability to accomplish a major campaign promise: to reduce by 50 percent the state’s prison population, which is on course to hit an all-time high of 25,000 inmates by 2021.
While 31 states saw decreases in their prison populations from 2017 to 2018, Wisconsin is not one of them. Currently, Wisconsin’s prison system is 33 percent above capacity, with 18 of the state’s 20 adult prisons listed as overcrowded. The prisons are also understaffed, with 7,650 full-time equivalent employees working the equivalent of nearly 900 additional FTEs.
In a July 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate debate, Evers was asked whether he supported a proposal by activists to cut the state’s prison population in half: “Absolutely — and that’s a goal worth accomplishing,” he said. Unlike his predecessor, Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who drew sustained criticism for failing to fulfill a campaign pledge to create 250,000 jobs in his first term, Evers has avoided setting a deadline for halving the inmate numbers.
Evers signaled in the interview that he would favor increasing paroles, saying he believes in “second chances” and “redemption” for offenders. In addition, Evers said he wants to take a “holistic” approach to releasing inmates by helping them line up family-supporting jobs, housing and transportation for a smoother reintegration into society. And he vowed to keep pushing for more money for alternative and treatment programs to divert offenders from prison.
The Democratic governor also defended his first budget, which calls for more prison beds, not fewer. He said he is focused on longer-term solutions.
“It’s really a multifaceted project, and we’re working very hard to make sure issues around housing, substance abuse, education and so on are part of that answer,” Evers said. “If we just look at what happens just before someone’s incarcerated or potentially incarcerated or just entering or re-entering the workforce and regular life, that’s just not enough. We have to take this on in a more holistic way.”
He said he remains concerned about the racial disparities in the state’s criminal justice system — black people in Wisconsin were incarcerated at almost 12 times the rate of whites in 2017. This disparity was the second-highest in the country as of 2016.
There are some things the Democratic governor’s administration can do on its own: increase paroles, reduce or eliminate so-called crimeless revocations that send offenders in the community back to prison for rule violations and invoke a little-used state law that allows early releases in periods of overcrowding.
But other measures, such as cutting maximum sentences, reducing already-imposed sentences and diverting more offenders to treatment, would require cooperation of judges and the Republican-run Legislature, which has taken few steps in the past eight years to curb incarceration.
In a separate interview, Kevin Carr, Evers’ pick for Department of Corrections secretary, avoided endorsing a specific number. Carr said his goal is to “lower the population as low as reasonably possible and still keep the public safe.” That number could be 50 percent, he said, or it could be more or less than that.
“The governor didn’t appoint me to this position and say, ‘Here’s the keys to all the jails. Let 50 percent of the people out tomorrow,’ ” Carr said. “It has to be done in a very thoughtful, deliberate way, and we hope to achieve reductions of our current populations in our facilities by having bipartisan support.”
Mixed messages in budget
Wisconsin spends around $6 million for treatment and diversion programs each year. In his budget, Evers proposed an additional $2 million for these programs over the next two years. In May, he requested the Joint Finance Committee amend his budget to redirect $6 million for treatment and diversion, for an increase of $4 million per year. But Republicans who run the Joint Finance Committee kept it at $2 million.
Under his capital budget, Evers is proposing adding a 144-bed barracks at Taycheedah Correctional Institution, the women’s prison in Fond du Lac. He is also recommending Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls add two, 144-bed barracks.
Wisdom, a statewide faith-based organization, released a statement saying Evers’ budget “is extremely disappointing in its treatment of criminal justice issues,” and “funds a growth in the prison system” rather than a reduction.
Evers defended that move.
“Doing some temporary expansion is doing nothing more than making it safe for the people that are incarcerated,” Evers said. “But I will say, just kind of pushing back a little bit, we did put a fair amount of money in the budget, and we continue to fight for that, making sure that we have mental health treatment and other alternatives and diversion programs across the state of Wisconsin.”
He added that people are being incarcerated for too long, and in certain situations, offenders could be treated in a “better, more humane way.”
Problems of overcrowded prisons
As of June 21, Wisconsin had 23,755 men and women in state prisons, one-third over the design capacity of 17,830. The population is expected to increase by about 6 percent in the next two years, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, which researches and advocates for efficiencies in state and local government.
Carr said in his visits to the prisons, the impact of overcrowding is “obvious,” including double-celled inmates and facilities that do not have enough resources to provide activities and programming.
Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch
Former Wisconsin inmate Mark Rice is a founder of a campaign seeking to close the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility, which primarily houses offenders accused of violating rules while on community supervision. Rice spent six months at the prison in 2007, where he says he shared a cell made for one person with two other men. He is seen outside the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on March, 14.
In some cases, inmates have been triple-celled, which is what Mark Rice experienced at Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility after being incarcerated for six months in 2007 for violating a rule of his supervision. With three people in a cell, there was little room to move. He said he was forced to sleep on the floor next to the toilet. The crowded conditions exacerbated his mental health problems, including paranoid schizophrenia, Rice said.
Former Waupun Correctional Institution psychologist Bradley Boivin, when asked about his experience working in overcrowded conditions, said around two-thirds of the inmates were double-celled during the two years he worked at Waupun before leaving in 2016.
As of June 21, the Waupun prison had a population of 1,254 — about 370 more than its design capacity. Boivin described the cells as “closet sized.” Cells are so narrow, he said, inmates can touch both walls, and the depth is barely longer than a bunk bed.
State officials declined requests from Wisconsin Watch to view and photograph prison conditions.
Former Waupun Correctional Institution psychologist Bradley Boivin says double-celling inmates can create or exacerbate mental health problems. “If these individuals were in single cells, I would say half the psych service requests wouldn’t have even existed,” Boivin says.
Putting individuals with trauma in a small space with people they might see as a threat can trigger emotions and symptoms associated with the trauma, Boivin said.
“One of the things psych services had the authority to do at Waupun, and in the DOC in general, was to put in a single-cell request for mental health reasons,” Boivin said. “Typically, security staff is required to accommodate that … but the reality is it wasn’t always honored. I had a captain tell me he wasn’t going to give an inmate the single cell, and the inmate was just trying to take advantage of me.
“If these individuals were in single cells, I would say half the psych service requests wouldn’t have even existed.”
Invoking a little-used law
One option the DOC and Evers are considering is the Special Action Release Program, a 1989 law which would authorize Carr to release parole-eligible inmates, which would primarily be those convicted before truth-in-sentencing. Evers said any releases would not happen immediately. Carr added that public safety would be the top priority.
Among the dozen requirements for special action release are that individuals are not serving a life sentence, are within 18 months of mandatory release and do not have a conviction for an assaultive crime or have a known history of assaultive behavior in or outside of prison.
While it is unclear exactly how many parole-eligible inmates would meet the criteria for the program, as of Dec. 31, there were 1,900 inmates serving time only on parole-eligible offenses, DOC spokeswoman Clare Hendricks said. Another 1,000 or so inmates could be paroled only after completing sentences for non-parole eligible offenses, she said.
Paroles set to increase?
Only about 5 percent of so-called old-law inmates have been granted parole in recent years, said David Liners, executive director of Wisdom. He said releasing half to two-thirds of the people who are parole-eligible could potentially reduce the prison population by 1,500 to 2,000 inmates.
David Liners, executive director for the faith-based group Wisdom, says boosting the number of paroles, eliminating reincarceration of offenders on community supervision for rule violations and increasing investment in alternatives to prisons will be cheaper and safer for the public. Photo taken July 14, 2016, in Dodge County Circuit Court in Juneau, Wis.
Prior to Wisconsin’s truth-in-sentencing law in 1999, offenders were eligible for release after serving 25 percent of their time and received a mandatory release after serving two-thirds of their time, after which they were paroled.
“That whole (parole) system is just broken down, and it’s a nightmare,” Liners said. “Common reasons people are given for having their parole denied, are ‘insufficient time served’ or somehow releasing them would be an ‘unacceptable risk to society’ — there’s no definition for either of those things.”
In late April, the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin filed a class-action lawsuit alleging the reasons for refusing parole for eligible inmates who committed crimes as juveniles are unconstitutional. The current parole system, according to the ACLU of Wisconsin, “gives parole commissioners unchecked discretion to deny release.”
Paroles are handled by the Wisconsin Parole Commission, which is separate from the DOC. The governor appoints the commission’s chairperson for a two-year term with the consent of the state Senate.
Under Walker, paroles decreased significantly. In 2017, Walker proposed eliminating the Parole Commission and turning the responsibilities over to a gubernatorial appointee.
In May, Evers appointed Racine alderman John Tate II to serve as chairman of the commission. When asked if he would favor Tate granting more paroles, Evers said he does not want to direct Tate one way or the other and trusts his judgment. Tate has told Wisconsin Public Radio that he would like to increase the number of paroles.
Said Evers: “I’m sure he (Tate) will be not only fair, but he’ll also believe, as I do, that we have to believe in redemption, and we have to believe in making sure people get a second chance.”
Can sentences be cut?
University of Wisconsin-Madison professor emeritus of law Walter Dickey believes truth-in-sentencing legislation has been a major driver of the rising prison population. Dickey was the DOC secretary from 1983 to 1987.
University of Wisconsin Law School
With Wisconsin’s current truth-in-sentencing system, cutting the prison population in half would be extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, says Walter Dickey, professor emeritus of law at the University of Wisconsin and former secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Under the law — implemented Dec. 31, 1999 and considered one of the most punitive in the country — traditional parole was virtually eliminated for newly convicted offenders. They now receive a bifurcated sentence, which includes the time they will spend in prison and time on extended supervision following their release.
Without changes to Wisconsin’s current sentencing system, Dickey believes cutting the prison population in half would be extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible. Sentences, for the most part, cannot be shortened.
Judges can adjust sentences, but this is not a realistic method for reducing the prison population because it would take willing judges and a return to court for each case, Dickey said. In a May 2017 report, the Badger Institute found that sentence adjustment petitions are rarely approved. Out of the 2,288 petitions filed in 2016, 295 were granted, according to the institute, which advocates for free markets and limited government.
Assembly Corrections Committee chairman Rep. Michael Schraa, R-Oshkosh, does not see truth-in-sentencing going away any time soon, but he does believe changes can be made when dealing with certain offenses, such as first-time drug offenses or nonviolent crimes.
“We are not going to revamp and get rid of truth-in-sentencing in a matter of a session or two,” Schraa said. “The appetite just isn’t there, especially in the Senate. … That’s the tough thing we’re up against, but I think we can take a scalpel and come up with very effective, proven areas that we could work on.”
An April Marquette Law School poll found 55 percent of voters support early release if offenders have served two-thirds of their sentence and demonstrate they are not a threat to society. The poll also found that 71 percent favor getting rid of mandatory minimums and instead letting the judge decide sentences on a case-by-case basis.
Rep. Evan Goyke, D-Milwaukee, a member of the Assembly Corrections Committee, sees truth-in-sentencing potentially being addressed in the long term. But his focus is on more immediate fixes — revocation, release and supervision — to ease overcrowding.
“We have over 500 people sleeping in county jails because our prisons are so overcrowded that the DOC has to rent rooms in county jails,” Goyke said. “If we take a long-term view of where the system needs to go, we do need to address how we sentence the penalties associated with certain crimes and the policy of truth-in-sentencing, but where I’m really focused on the short term is handling that immediate crisis of overcrowding.”
Increasing alternatives to incarceration
An area that is more likely to receive bipartisan support from the state Legislature is expanding treatment alternatives and diversion programs, such as drug courts. The April Marquette Law School poll found 78 percent of respondents favor such programs.
Instead of “warehousing someone away,” treatment and diversion programs treat the problem and reduce recidivism, Schraa said.
Wisconsin Department of Corrections
Inmate Robert Tatum is seen in this video screengrab being extracted from his solitary confinement cell at the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility in Boscobel, Wis., on April 28, 2015. The Boscobel prison is among the two of Wisconsin’s 20 adult prisons that are not currently over capacity. Overall, the system has 33 percent more prisoners than it is designed to hold.
Said Dickey: “Prison is for the people we’re afraid of — not the people we’re mad at. We ought to be using prison as a means to achieve public safety, and if we have people who don’t ‘need’ prison because they’re not a public safety threat, then we shouldn’t be using prison for them. We should be using some other kind of correctional resource.”
Liners said such programs are “fiscally really responsible, and the recidivism rate is much lower for people who get into TAD programs than it is for the equivalent people who go to jail. Whichever thing we’re trying to do — save money or reduce crime — they both have the same answer.”
On the national level, there are conversations about how states can reduce their prison populations. Sens. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, introduced the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act in May, which would provide a financial incentive to states that reduce their prison population by 7 percent over three years without seeing an increase in crime rate of more than 3 percent.
Both Schraa and Goyke believe Wisconsin could cut the state prison population by thousands of inmates. Liners believes the prison population could be reduced by at least 8,000 in two years by ending crimeless revocations, boosting paroles and expanding diversion programs. That would bring the prison population to around 15,700 — the same level it was in 1997.
ACLU’s Campaign for Smart Justice said Evers could reach his goal in six years by ending crimeless revocations, expanding mental health and substance abuse treatment and broadening a judge’s discretion to impose community supervision instead of prison. Its blueprint would lead to 12,170 fewer people in prison by 2025 — saving the state $886 million.
The report also recommended reducing incarceration time by speeding up parole decisions, expanding earned release and reducing sentencing ranges by 40 to 60 percent.
The report noted, however, that racial disparities likely will persist unless explicit racial justice strategies are implemented.
Evers said bipartisan efforts to cut prison populations are underway across the country, and Wisconsin should follow their lead.
“When we have people whose lives are being turned around in a negative way because they’re incarcerated for either too long or for crimes that don’t need incarceration, that’s a moral issue for me,” Evers said. “That’s why I think it’s important, and that’s why I think we’re going to be successful in the end.”
Wisconsin Watch’s collaborations with journalism students are funded in part by the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment at UW-Madison. The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by Wisconsin Watch do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
About Izabela Zaluska
Izabela Zaluska joined the Center as an investigative reporting intern in May 2019. She has formerly worked at The Badger Herald and UW-Madison’s Global Health Institute. She will receive her undergraduate degree from UW-Madison in August in journalism and a certificate in criminal justice.
More by Izabela
40 allegations of guards abusing inmates at Waupun Correctional Institution
Allegations of incidents involving 33 inmates, compiled from records and interviews.
More on Cruel and Unusual?
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Former Franklin Co. constable answers to prostitution charges
By Kristen Kennedy |
Posted: Fri 6:38 AM, May 06, 2016 |
Updated: Fri 6:23 PM, May 06, 2016
FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) - A former Franklin County constable appeared in court Friday morning.
Thomas Banta is accused of running a prostitution ring out of his business and home.
His attorney, Guthrie True, entered a not guilty plea for him.
"I think there's a lot of politics that appears to me to be going on here," noted True. "Tom's son was a candidate for sheriff against the sitting sheriff in a very aggressive primary. He lost a very narrow primary and shortly after the election is over, this investigation began."
The investigation into Banta began in February of last year with complaints that men were paying for sex at his security business on Louisville Road. The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office was also contacted by a woman in jail who claimed to have information on Banta.
A grand jury indicted Banta for promoting prostitution, kidnapping, and impersonating a peace officer. Banta was arraigned in Franklin Circuit Court at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
A second man charged in the case, Hendra Valentine, was also in court. He pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping and impersonating a police officer.
Gran, Hinshaw take over Wildcats' offense
Former Franklin Co. Constable accused in prostitution ring
Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.
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ESD announces 16 businesses chose to grow in Western New York, commits to creating more than 200 new jobs
Fri, Jan 26th 2018 10:25 pm
Empire State Development on Friday announced 16 businesses will startup, expand or locate in Western New York, partnering with local public colleges and universities to spur economic growth across the state. These companies have committed to create more than 200 new jobs and invest approximately $5.5 million over the next five years.
"From life sciences to advanced manufacturing, software development and green-tech, more and more companies are finding New York state is a great place to start or grow their business," ESD President, CEO and Commissioner Howard Zemsky said. "These businesses have the potential to create hundreds of jobs in Western New York in dynamic, innovative industries while generating millions in revenue for the local economy."
"As I shared in my inaugural State of the University System address this week, two themes of my vision for the system include innovation and entrepreneurship, and increase and expand partnerships. This is an example of these themes at work," SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson said. "The partnerships between our campuses and these businesses are producing academic benefits for faculty and students, while simultaneously driving innovation-based economic development in New York state."
The 16 businesses, which are sponsored by the University at Buffalo, Fredonia and Buffalo State College, will create jobs in key industries, including: biotechnology; computer/information technology; film post-production; green technologies; life sciences; research and development; software development; and value-added processing, agribusiness and food processing.
The following businesses have joined START-UP NY in Western New York:
•Utilant LLC is an existing, expanding software development company. Utilant helps insurance carriers and vendors leverage efficiencies and manage loss control through its modern software. The company will be releasing a new version of its product, expanding and creating an integration engine to allow interoperability with other insurance systems. Utilant will also begin offering a new service of a leased development team, which will include project managers, business analysts, developers and quality assurance resources. The company will create 55 new jobs and invest $460,000.
•Original Crunch Roll Factory is a food manufacturing company that produces frozen foods by combining raw materials to create a finished product that is then frozen, packaged and sold to restaurants or food service operations, both directly and through a network of distributors. Original Crunch Roll factory will create 20 new jobs and invest $2,500,000.
•Airis Pharmaceutical Solutions Inc. (APS) is a software development company that helps clients to meet federal compliance standards for controlled substances and develops products such as a single-user based software system. APS will create 15 new jobs and invest $45,000.
•ALIGN ResultsPRO LLC is building a cloud-based health care data analytics software tool. The new tool will track performance outcomes in the skilled nursing facility industry (SNF) to improve quality of care outcomes and overall operational performance. The company will create six new jobs and invest $20,000.
•Buffalo Health Inc. is an R&D subsidiary startup company related to a large pharmacy chain in South Korea. Buffalo Health's U.S. R&D operations will develop new high-quality active ingredients for over-the-counter and nutrition supplements, to be manufactured in the U.S. for sale primarily in the Asia-Pacific market. The company will create 16 new jobs and invest $76,000.
•Digital Surveillance Solutions Inc. (DSS) is a security systems integration business that designs, builds, deploys and supports sophisticated IP video and access control systems. DSS will create five new jobs and invest $130,000.
•Global Security IQ LLC is an IT startup company that will develop, implement and manage information security solutions for small to medium businesses, providing compliance assistance and improved overall security. Global Security IQ will mitigate cyber risk by building "Cyber Threat Intelligence," offer monitoring services, and creating educational programs. The company will create four new jobs and invest
•Guidepost Web LLC is developing software tools to automate required processes for those engaged in supporting the developmentally disabled. These tools will elevate the service quality of new inexperienced staffers so that they provide more comprehensive guidance. The company will create 15 new jobs and invest $30,000.
•Horvatis Corp. (HC) is an R&D startup that will build geospatial information systems to serve the agriculture sector. HC will provide 3-D data collection, data storage and location data processing services to the agriculture industry for the purposes of targeted and automated systems used in agriculture in New York state. HC will create three new jobs and invest $30,000.
•INANO VISION Inc. is a new biotechnology company expanding to the U.S. from Canada. The company will develop, manufacture and sell a handheld medical device in ophthalmology, which can remotely measure and monitor fluid pressure inside the eye. INANO VISION will create five new jobs and invest $45,000.
•Memory Fox LLC is a new subscription-based web service for capturing, curating and sharing family history, including stories and photos, via a mobile application. Memory Fox is the first to offer a fully integrated web and mobile platform for collecting family stories. Memory Fox will create three new jobs and invest $10,000.
•Peeva is an early-stage R&D technology company developing a universal radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader and a cloud-based data access system to read and store important identification and medical information for pets. Peeva's universal scanner is able to record, analyze and catalog a pet's tracking implant (microchip) regardless of brand, frequency or encryption. Peeva is also building a scalable level of secure cloud-based access to a pet's medical history information, based on the classification of user. The company will create 10 new jobs and invest $37,000.
•Platinum Engineers LLC is expanding to the U.S. from Canada and will focus on wireless and web-based monitoring sensors and controllers that will integrate existing independent, low-tech sensing and control devices to communicate collectively in an enterprise mesh network connected to the cloud. Platinum Engineers will create 10 new jobs and invest $30,000.
•RepHike LLC is developing a marketing software monthly subscription "platform as a service" for companies to create and manage referral marketing programs. RepHike's platform will link customers with college marketing clubs and other social groups, driving customer sales and raising brand awareness through highly curated networks of students. The company will create 10 new jobs and invest $30,000.
•Syte Logix Inc. is a new life science software and service company expanding to New York from California. Syte Logix Inc. provides a cutting-edge visual technology that allows customers to understand new insights into their clinical data, ultimately enabling them to make more accurate and effective clinical decisions and transform their business. Syte Logix Inc. will create ten new jobs and invest $63,000.
•TROVE Predictive Data Science LLC produces advanced predictive analytics software solutions for the electric utility industry. TROVE's new platform helps their clients put their own data to productive use in predicting customer behaviors and solving specific business problems. Trove will be expanding its operations to enter new industry verticals as well as staff to support a growing utility business practice. The company will create 19 new jobs and invest $45,000.
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Super Bowl Sunday: a boost or bust for local restaurants & bars?
As Super Bowl LII approaches, we wanted to know how the big game impacts sales in towns with NFL teams. So, our data science team at Womply analyzed transactions at small, local businesses—especially restaurants and bars—in every city with an NFL team for every Sunday of the NFL regular and postseason last year. Here’s what we found:
Nationally, revenue at small restaurants, bars, and similar businesses is the same on Super Bowl Sunday as it is every other Sunday during the NFL season.
Surprisingly, the only real bump in revenue for small businesses across the board is during the divisional playoffs.
The good news: cities with NFL teams typically see moderately higher revenues than non-NFL cities during the entire NFL season.
It’s the biggest day money-making day for the NFL. It’s one of the biggest days for advertisers. But for most small businesses, it’s no different than any given Sunday.
One big exception: Boston
Last year, local businesses in Boston, home to Patriots, who won last year’s Super Bowl, got a 58% boost in revenue on Super Bowl Sunday. Sales in Atlanta, home of the Patriots’ opponent, the Falcons, were below average. Seems like everything tips the Patriots’ way, right?
A slightly smaller exception: Houston
It appears hosting the Super Bowl can give local restaurants and bars a bump, too. Sales at Houston businesses rose 48% on the day of the big game in ‘17. We’re keeping a close on Minneapolis, this year’s host city, to see if businesses there see a similar trend.
It is not the best, but it is far from the worst
Just because revenues don’t increase during the game doesn’t mean game night won’t be busy. It just means it’s not more profitable than your average Sunday game night. Our analysis focused on total sales, but the timing of those sales is another matter entirely. For example, it could be that a lot of folks watched the game at home and then went out for drinks afterward, which would cause a spike in traffic to bars in a small window of time.
As for the sales numbers, at first blush, we were a bit surprised ourselves. The Super Bowl is considered a huge day for consumerism, so we expected to see a big lift. But if you think about it, the Super Bowl is just one four-hour game. Factor in the capacity constraints and the fact that most Super Bowl watchers won’t be leaving before the game is over, turn-over rates for most tables will be low, and there won’t be much you can do to increase sales during the game.
Fun Fact: in 2017 the average cost per 30-second commercial cost $5.05 million. Last year, they made $534 million in ad sales. More interesting still, only 58% of Americans say they watch the Superbowl for the game. Coming in at 46%, the second highest reason people watch is for the commercials [source].
All in all, this is not bad news for small, local businesses. It’s a regular day and a great day to connect with your friends, family, and customers to cheer on your team. You may even consider using the opportunity to connect with some of your loyal customers. Just because it’s not a killer sales day, doesn’t mean it can’t be a good day for business.
One last insight: The best revenue opportunities, from virtually every angle, are actually on divisional playoff weekend. During divisional playoffs, more teams play, which means more people have a vested interest in at least one game. With the playoffs being earlier in the season, most people have not yet reached the point where they are planning at-home social engagements.
The overall lesson is pretty clear—if you want to cash in on post-season football, look beyond the Super Bowl and focus on earlier rounds of playoffs, especially if you’re a bar or restaurant.
How do the biggest cities compare?
Below we’ve listed you’ll find the top cities and how their sales compared to their average revenue on Super Bowl Sunday.
A quick note on how to read this list: The number listed next to the city is the percentage of the average day’s sales. When we see 158% next to Boston, that tells us they saw a 58% rise in their average NFL-season Sunday sales. Dallas came in with a perfect 100%, meaning they neither saw an increase or decrease in sales. And coming in 19% below average, we see that Nashville and Pittsburgh only saw 81% of their average sales on the day of the Super Bowl.
Boston, MA – 158% [The Patriots have had five Super Bowl wins]
Baltimore, MD – 156% [The Ravens have had two Super Bowl wins]
Houston, TX – 148%
Cincinnati, OH – 136%
Jacksonville, FL – 120%
Buffalo, NY – 120%
Charlotte, NC – 118%
Oakland, CA – 113% [The Raiders have had three Super Bowl wins]
Phoenix, AZ – 110%
Tampa, FL – 109%
Indianapolis, IN – 109%
Los Angeles, CA – 109%
Miami, FL – 107% [The Dolphins have had two Super Bowl wins]
Seattle, WA – 105%
New Orleans, LA – 103%
Denver, CO – 101% [The Broncos have had three Super Bowl wins]
Cleveland, OH – 101%
Dallas, TX – 100% [The Cowboys have had five Super Bowl wins]
Kansas City, MO – 99%
Green Bay, WI – 98% [The Packers have had four Super Bowl wins]
New York, NY – 97% [The Giants have had four Super Bowl wins]
Minneapolis, MN – 97%
Chicago, IL – 96%
Washington, DC – 91%
Detroit, MI – 91%
Atlanta, GA – 91%
Philadelphia, PA – 85%
San Francisco, CA – 84% [The 49ers have had five Super Bowl wins]
Nashville, TN – 81%
Pittsburgh, PA – 81% [The Steelers have had six Super Bowl wins]
Did you enjoy “Super Bowl Sunday: a boost or bust for local restaurants & bars?”? Get your free 15-minute demo and see why Womply is the #1 marketing and CRM software solution.
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The Famous ‘Mary Tyler Moore Show’ House Is Up for Sale
Raechal Shewfelt
Editor, Yahoo Entertainment
Yahoo Celebrity January 27, 2017
Mary Tyler Moore visited her TV home in 1996. (Photo: Cheryl A. Meyer/Star Tribune via AP)
The iconic Mary Richards hung the hat that she threw in the air at the beginning of every episode at an apartment in Minneapolis. The Mary Tyler Moore Show filmed the exteriors of that location at a house that happens to be on the market, just as fans mourn Wednesday’s death of the show’s star, Mary Tyler Moore.
Related: Mary Tyler Moore Didn’t Set Out to Be a Role Model for Women, but She Was
The third story of the Victorian-style mansion played the role of Mary’s apartment. However, the entire home — all 9,500 square feet of it — is available for $1.7 million, according to Zillow. Mary’s home base is actually office space in a house with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms.
Mary Tyler Moore’s TV residence is located in Minneapolis. (Photo: Landmark Photography/Zillow)
Another feature of the home — notability. Moore herself recalled to the New York Times in January 1995 that the woman who owned the house while the show aired “was overwhelmed by the people showing up and asking if Mary was around.”
The star explained that when producers went back to the house later during the show’s run, the owner “had by way of retribution draped huge ‘Impeach Nixon’ signs all over the house.”
Related: Full House Creator Purchases Original Tanner House in San Francisco
But Moore understood the appeal.
“The outside of the house was so warm, cozy and soothing,” she told the newspaper. “As the nest of all these characters who invaded people’s hearts, the house was going to receive similar affection.”
Evan Maurer, who owned the home in the ’90s, had never seen The Mary Tyler Moore Show before moving in, but 30 tour buses a day passed by with people who had.
Related: Mary Tyler Moore’s Most Empowering Quotes
“In some ways, it‘s like we’re caretakers living inside a monument,” Maurer explained to the Times. “Mary is a myth, but myths have great power. They answer questions, and they set up value systems. There’s something in the Mary ethos that’s very important to very many people. She’s the greatest mythic hero from this region since Paul Bunyan.”
Doug Rosenquist leads a tour of locations from the show, including the famous house, in Minneapolis.
“It’s almost challenging, because people will want to walk up and knock on the door, and of course, there’s regular people who live there now, so I have to keep ’em on the bus,” he told Minnesota Public Radio.
Our suggested solution: Turn the house into a Mary Tyler Moore museum. Who else is in?
'Southern Charm' Star Thomas Ravenel Says Phone Records Prove Kathryn Dennis In Cahoots with His Ex-Nanny
Amber Heard's 'Friend' Goes on the Record: 'I Never Saw Amber Injured in Any Way' at the Hands of Johnny Depp
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California bill would update existing state law
On behalf of Yoosefian Law Firm, P.C. posted in Discrimination on Wednesday, May 1, 2019.
In California, an anti-discrimination law already on the books protects people from harassment based on their race. However, if SB188 passes, the law could be updated to include hairstyles or other traits associated with a race. The bill is known as the Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act. It is meant to create an inclusive and diverse environment in schools and businesses. Rules against braids, locks and twists have typically been a greater burden for black students and employees.
These rules have the potential to discourage African-Americans from applying for jobs or subject them to punishment from their current employers. In some cases, workers have been denied advancement opportunities or event terminated from their jobs. Children have been sent home from school because their hair was deemed inappropriate. According to the lawmaker who created the bill, there are already state and federal protections for those who wear their hair a certain way for religious reasons.
There are also protections for those who wear head coverings for religious reasons. If it passes, the law would be similar to one that was passed in New York City. It says that people in the city are allowed to wear their hair in a manner that reflects their ethnic or cultural values.
Individuals who are faced with discrimination on the job may be victims of an employment law violation. This may be true whether an individual is discriminated against based on that person's race, gender or other protected attribute. Individuals may wish to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Doing so may be the first step toward filing a lawsuit or negotiating a settlement. These and other steps may be taken with the help of an attorney.
Related Posts: Bill aims to prohibit discrimination against LGBT people, Amazon accused of engaging in religious discrimination, Gender discrimination in today's workplace, Former employee describes pattern of race discrimination
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Historic Ellicott City faces long recovery after flooding
The picturesque Main Street of Ellicott City, Maryland, faces a months-long recovery after devastating flooding.
Historic Ellicott City faces long recovery after flooding The picturesque Main Street of Ellicott City, Maryland, faces a months-long recovery after devastating flooding. Check out this story on yorkdispatch.com: https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/2016/08/01/historic-ellicott-city-faces-long-recovery-flooding/87904926/
BEN NUCKOLS, Associated Press Published 7:42 a.m. ET Aug. 1, 2016 | Updated 9:39 a.m. ET Aug. 1, 2016
Workers gather by street damage after Saturday night's flooding in Ellicott City, Md., Sunday, July 31, 2016. Historic, low-lying Ellicott City, Maryland, was ravaged by floodwaters Saturday night, killing a few people and causing devastating damage to homes and businesses, officials said. Kevin Rector/The Baltimore Sun via AP(Photo: Kevin Rector / AP)
WASHINGTON — The picturesque Main Street of Ellicott City, Maryland, faces a months-long recovery that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars after devastating flooding that damaged nearly every home and business along the road, officials said.
Two people were killed when the town about 14 miles west of Baltimore took on 6.5 inches of water Saturday night, most of it between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., sweeping away hundreds of cars, tearing away sidewalks and wrecking storefronts and building foundations.
A Pennsylvania woman visiting the town with her family was one of those killed after their car was caught in the raging floodwaters and carried toward the Patapsco River, police said.
A worker carries lumber to shore up one of the stores on Main Street after the sidewalk caved in due to overnight flooding in Ellicott City, Md., Sunday, July 31, 2016. Historic, low-lying Ellicott City, Maryland, was ravaged by floodwaters Saturday night, killing a few people and causing devastating damage to homes and businesses, officials said. Amy Davis/The Baltimore Sun via AP (Photo: AP)
Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman told The Associated Press by telephone that the devastation was the worst he’d seen in 50 years living in the county, including Hurricane Agnes in 1972, which caused the river to overflow its banks.
“It looks like the set of a disaster movie,” Kittleman said. “Cars everywhere, cars on top of cars, parts of the road are gone, many parts of the sidewalk are gone, storefronts are completely gone.”
Videos posted on social media showed floodwaters rushing down Main Street, which slopes dramatically toward the river, and sweeping away cars. Some vehicles came to rest on top of each other. In one video posted to the Facebook page of an art gallery, several people can be seen forming a human chain to rescue a woman from a car that was being carried down the street by waist-high water.
Baltimore County police, who recovered the victims’ bodies on the opposite side of the Patapsco, identified the victims as Jessica Watsula, 35, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Joseph Blevins, 38, of Windsor Mill, Maryland. Both were inside vehicles that were overcome by floodwaters. Watsula’s relatives were able to escape, and Blevins’ girlfriend was rescued, police said.
A submerged car is visible in the Patapsco River, seen from the Howard County side of Patapsco Valley State Park after the sidewalk caved in due to Saturday nights flooding in Ellicott City, Md., Sunday, July 31, 2016. Historic, low-lying Ellicott City, Maryland, was ravaged by floodwaters Saturday night, killing a few people and causing devastating damage to homes and businesses, officials said. Amy Davis/The Baltimore Sun via AP (Photo: AP)
County officials said at a news conference that up to five buildings had been destroyed and up to 30 more had significant damage. More than 170 inoperable vehicles were stranded in the Main Street area and along the river.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan toured the damaged area Sunday along with Kittleman and U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, who has an office in the town. Hogan declared a state of emergency, which will allow greater aid coordination and assistance.
“No one has ever seen devastation like this in Ellicott City or anywhere in Howard County,” Kittleman said. “There are a lot of businesses that are going to be hurting for a long time. There are a lot of people that lost their apartments and their homes.”
Johnny Breidenbach, the owner and chef of Johnny’s Bistro on Main, said he closed his restaurant around 7:30 Saturday night, before the worst of the flooding, and he hadn’t been able to get back there to assess the damage.
Vehicles collide each other on Main Street after Saturday nights flooding in Ellicott City, Md., Sunday, July 31, 2016. Historic, low-lying Ellicott City, Maryland, was ravaged by floodwaters Saturday night, killing a few people and causing devastating damage to homes and businesses, officials said. Amy Davis/The Baltimore Sun via AP (Photo: AP)
“They told me that the door was totally ripped away from the hinges, and I don’t know how much water I have inside,” Breidenbach told The AP by phone Sunday.
He said Ellicott City would recover eventually, but some business owners may not be able to wait long enough to reopen.
“I could be one of those people,” he said.
Jason Elliott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia, said the town was hit by a series of strong thunderstorms that dumped heavy rain over a 2-hour period. Other areas nearby received heavy rainfall for only about 30 to 45 minutes, he said.
“It’s just a matter of the heavy rain being that long in duration. It just happened to set up over that area,” Elliott said.
With so much rainfall, there was nowhere for it to go other than the street.
“Everything funneled toward that Main Street area. There’s hills on both sides, the river’s on the third side,” Elliott said. “In this case the Patapsco River was coming up, too. We believe there’s some contributions to the flood from both directions.”
Ellicott City was established in 1772 as a mill town along the Patapsco, and many 18th and 19th-Century buildings were still intact before Saturday’s floods. Once a home to mill workers, in recent decades it has become known for restaurants, art galleries, antique shops and nightlife. Main Street slopes dramatically toward the river and has long been susceptible to flooding.
The county courthouse and government headquarters are located in Ellicott City but are on higher ground.
Read or Share this story: https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/2016/08/01/historic-ellicott-city-faces-long-recovery-flooding/87904926/
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Here's how the super-rich are investing their assets this year
High net-worth individuals have significantly shifted their asset allocation, with cash becoming the largest asset class in the first quarter of 2019, according to the Capgemini World Wealth Report 2019.
The survey found that HNWIs have an increased focus on alternative investments in response to declining markets.
"Declining markets drove a significant shift in overall asset allocations to conservative assets such as cash.
"Globally, cash and cash equivalents replaced equities to become the most significant asset class in Q1 2019 at 28% of HNWI financial wealth, while equities slipped to the second position at 26%," Anirban Bose, financial services strategic business unit CEO at Capgemini, states in the report.
For the purposes of the report, HNWIs is defined as those having investable assets of US$1 (about R14.17m) or more - therefore, excluding their primary residence, collectibles, consumables and consumer durables. HNWIs is further broken down into the categories of "millionaires next door" (US$1m to US$5m in investable wealth); mid-tier millionaires (US$5m to US$30m); and ultra-HNWIs (US$30m or more).
After seven consecutive years of growth, global HNWI wealth declined in 2018, primarily driven by a slump in equity-market performance and slowing economies in key regions, according to Bose.
The wealth of ultra-HNWIs (1% of HNWIs) declined 6% but accounted for three-quarters of total global wealth decline and was the hardest hit by global economic and political turbulence.
Amid geopolitical and trade concerns, the report expects near-term global economic recovery to remain uncertain.
SA's super rich taking their wealth overseas ASAP - immigration expert
In Africa the size of the HNWI population decreased by 0.7% in 2018, while wealth on the continent decreased by 7.1% to US$1.6trn. The HNWI population on the continent is estimated at 166 790.
As for South Africa, the report estimates that the country had about 90 100 HNWIs by the end of 2018 compared to 92 200 a year earlier.
Globally, Asia-Pacific, a global powerhouse for the last seven years, was negatively impacted the most, with China accounting for almost 25% of global wealth decline, while Europe also experienced a noticeable dip in HNWI wealth, according to the report.
The Middle East recorded the only increase in both HNWI wealth and population. North America's performance remained almost flat, while Latin Americas performance is described as mixed.
Among wealth bands, economic turbulence hit ultra-HNWIs hardest. Ultra-HNWI population and wealth declined by around 4% and 6% respectively, compared with almost fat overall HNWI population growth and a 3% decline in HNWI wealth.
Meanwhile, the millionaire-next-door segment (which makes up almost 90% of the HNWI population) was affected the least in 2018.
HNWI population in South Africa:
(Source: Capgemini World Wealth Report 2019)
New Delhi [India], Jul 16 (ANI): Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa on Tuesday said that the Indian Air Force ...
Pakistani Journalists Protest Censorship
Journalists in Pakistan have staged demonstrations across the country to denounce censorship by the country's powerful military and security services, ...
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Oh George Tab (ver 2) - Foo Fighters
Oh George Tab
Song: Oh George
Artist: Foo Fighters
Album: Foo Fighters
Chorded by Hai Malichi.
Am B7 F C Em
The train that I got onto up and left that town
Am F#7 G
Threw it up as it went down
Am B7 F C Em
Strange enough it left me rude and turned around
Am F#7 G
Watched as they all took their vows
F E F Am
Fools were drawing trying to save that day
F E D
I don't doubt that anyway
Am B7 F C Em
Phase it out until the older ones return
Am F#m G
Have a seat and watch it burn
Am B7 F C Em
Trace around the corner this is what I've learned
Am F#m G
Always waited for my turn
Am F Am C
Am F C G
F E x2 F G D
e|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
b|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
g|14 12-------------------------------------------14-14-14-14-14-14-12-|
d|------13 12 10-12-10-------------------------------------------------|
a|---------------------12-10-12-12-12-12-12-12-10----------------------|
e|-------------------------------------------------|
b|13-13-13-13-13-13-12-----------------------------|
g|---------------------14-12>>>12-12-12>>14--------|
d|-------------------------------------------------|
a|-------------------------------------------------|
e|--13--13--13--13---12--12--12--12---13--13--13--13---12--12--12--12-|
b|13--13--13--13---12--12--12--12---13--13--13--13---12--12--12--12---|
g|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
d|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
a|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
e|--13--13--13--13-15-15-15-15-14-14-14-14-14-|
b|13--13--13--13------------------------------|
g|--------------------------------------------|
d|--------------------------------------------|
a|--------------------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------------|
Foo Fighters - Oh George Tab :: indexed at Ultimate Guitar.
Oh George tabs @ 911Tabs
People who played Foo Fighters - Oh George Tab also played these songs by Foo Fighters:
Best Of You Acoustic Chords, Walk Chords, My Hero Acoustic Chords, Learn To Fly Chords, Wheels Chords, Walking After You Chords, Everlong Acoustic Tab, Home Chords, Stranger Things Have Happened Tab, Everlong Chords
About the artist behind Oh George Tab:
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band formed by singer/guitarist Dave Grohl in 1995.[1] Grohl formed the group as a one-man project after the dissolution of his previous band Nirvana in 1994. Prior to the release of Foo Fighters in 1995, Grohl drafted Nate Mendel (bass), William Goldsmith (drums), and Pat Smear (guitar) to complete the group. Goldsmith and Smear left after the recording of the group's second album The Colour and the Shape (1997). They were replaced by Taylor Hawkins and Franz Stahl, respectively, although Stahl left prior to the recording of the group's third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999).
Chris Shiflett joined as the band's second guitarist after the completion of There is Nothing Left to Lose. The band released its fourth album One by One in 2002. The group followed that release with the two-disc In Your Honor (2005), which was split between acoustic songs and harder-rocking material. Foo Fighters released its sixth album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace in 2007. Over the course of the band's career, three of its albums have won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album, and all six have been nominated for Grammys.
Show us your talent, perform Oh George Tab!
Here you can post a video of you playing the Oh George Tab, so your fellow guitarists will be able to see you and rate you.
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Elissa Nadworny
Ariel Zambelich / NPR
Elissa Nadworny covers higher education and college access for NPR. She's led the NPR Ed team's multiplatform storytelling – incorporating radio, print, comics, photojournalism, and video into the coverage of education. In 2017, that work won an Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in innovation. As an education reporter for NPR, she's covered many education topics, including new education research, chronic absenteeism, and some fun deep-dives into the most popular high school plays and musicals and the history behind a classroom skeleton.
After the 2016 election, she traveled with Melissa Block across the U.S. for series "Our Land." They reported from communities large and small, capturing how people's identities are shaped by where they live.
Prior to coming to NPR, Nadworny worked at Bloomberg News, reporting from the White House. A recipient of the McCormick National Security Journalism Scholarship, she spent four months reporting on U.S. international food aid for USA Today, traveling to Jordan to talk with Syrian refugees about food programs there. In addition to USA Today, she's written stories for Dow Jones' MarketWatch, the Chicago Tribune, the Miami Herald and McClatchy DC.
A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, Nadworny has a bachelor's degree in documentary film from Skidmore College and a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
Did You Take Out Student Loans For A Degree You Never Finished?
By Elissa Nadworny & Clare Lombardo • Jun 28, 2019
If you have student debt, but never finished your degree, you're not the only one. Millions of people take out loans to start college, but never finish.
These people often struggle to pay back their loans. Does this sound like you? If so, we want to hear your story.
Fill out the form below or by clicking on this link. A producer at NPR may follow up for a story.
We will not publish your name or responses without your permission.
For These Young, Nontraditional College Students, Adulting Is A Requirement
By Elissa Nadworny , Tennessee Jane Watson, Laura Isensee & Camille Phillips • Jun 25, 2019
They are early risers and hard workers. They have a "talent for struggling through" and the determination that follows. Some are the first in their family to go to college — or even graduate from high school — and many are financially independent from their parents. They're often struggling to pay for rent, groceries and transportation while taking classes. And that means working while in school — in retail, on campus or even with a lawn care business.
Periods! Why These 8th-Graders Aren't Afraid To Talk About Them
By Elissa Nadworny & Clare Lombardo • May 15, 2019
In the second-floor girls' restroom at Bronx Prep Middle School in New York, there's a sign taped to the back of the toilet stall doors. It's a guide on how to "properly dispose feminine products." On the list? "Make sure that no one views or handles product."
"It's not even saying the word pad. It just says product!" explains Kathaleen Restitullo, 13. "Just, like, don't let anyone see that you are on your period."
Changing How You Think Helps The Transition From Prisoner Back To Citizen
By Elissa Nadworny • May 6, 2019
Raymond Tillman spent most of his adolescence and early adulthood behind bars. His last release — after three stints inside — was in 2011. When he got out, he had a lot to catch up on — like, the digital age.
"When I first came home I was illiterate to technology," he explains. "Didn't know how to turn on a computer, let alone what an email was." But he needed a job, and to get one, he'd need to be able to apply online.
'Do They Kick Out Pregnant People?' Navigating College With Kids
When Akiya Parks first got to campus at the University of Florida, everything was new and exciting. Her mom and brother had driven her to campus and moved her into the dorms, she'd agreed to try a long-distance relationship with her high school boyfriend, she was ready to start a new chapter in Gainesville.
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Burkina Faso, All Areas
Burkina Faso is in Western Africa, north of Ghana. The climate is tropical with warm, dry winters and hot, wet summers.
The official language is French. Many business people will also know some English. Although most of the population also speak local languages such as Mossi and Mandinka. The main religions are Indigenous beliefs, Islam and Christianity.
The economy of Burkina Faso is one of the poorest in the world. More than 80 percent of the population relies on subsistence agriculture, with only a small fraction directly involved in industry and services.
Burkina Faso is influenced by French customs. Expatriates must be aware of and respect local customs, especially outside major cities. Age is important and more senior personnel should be addressed with respect. Expatriate business dress comprises suits for official meetings, otherwise a shirt and tie is appropriate for men. For women modest dress to avoid offending the significant Muslim population is advisable. Government officials wear national dress. Most business is conducted in French. Women can be find at the highest levels of public and business organisations. The working week is Sunday to Thursday. Businesses are closed on Fridays.
The security risk for expatriates in Burkina Faso is medium, but high in the Oudalan, Soum and Loroum provinces where there is risk of kidnapping and attacks by Mali-based Islamist militants. Risks include opportunistic street crime and armed robbery with expatriates often the target. Other risks include corruption amongst the police and government officials.
The currency of Burkina Faso is the CFA Franc BCEAO (XOF). Burkina Faso is largely a cash based economy. Cards are accepted at a few of the larger hotels and restaurants in Ouagadougou. ATMs are very limited.
Medical facilities in Burkina Faso are extremely limited. In cases requiring urgent serious medical treatment, medical evacuation is usually required. Malaria and other tropical and water-borne diseases are common.
The population of Burkina Faso is 20.1 Million (2019 est.), while the inflation rate (CPI) is -2.4% for Burkina Faso as at May 2019.
Xpatulator Hypothetical Tax for Burkina Faso is based on the current personal income tax rates which are progressive up to 30%.
The cost of living for expatriates / professional migrants in Burkina Faso as at 1 July 2019 is low in comparison to other places in the world.
In Burkina Faso, the cost of each basket, based on local prices, compared to the international average, is categorized follows (Exact cost of living percentages only available in personalised reports):
4) Education: Low
6) Groceries: High
9) Miscellaneous: Very Low
Burkina Faso is for example 12.5% more expensive than USA for groceries, -42% cheaper for household costs than UK, and 90.4% more expensive for transport costs than India.
Burkina Faso is ranked as a extreme hardship location.
The hardship premium for Burkina Faso for an expat from Australia, is for example 30%, i.e. host location (Burkina Faso) premium of 40% minus home (Australia) location premium of 10%.
Want to know more about cost of living, hardship (quality of living) or expat salary in Burkina Faso? Register subscribe to your home location and Burkina Faso and run your personalised reports.
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UN Officials Let Child Sex Abuse Claims Linger
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of ABC News/Associated Press
ABC News/Associated Press, May 26, 2015
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/officials-follow-sex-abus...
For months, the U.N.'s top human rights officials knew about allegations of child sexual abuse by French soldiers in Central African Republic. But they didn't follow up because they assumed French authorities were handling it ... even as France pressed the U.N. for more information about the case. The deputy high commissioner for human rights also says that her colleague who first informed French authorities last July did it because he didn't think the recently created U.N. peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic would act on the allegations. A year after the U.N. first heard allegations from children as young as 9 that French soldiers had sexually abused them, sometimes in exchange for food, it seems that the only person who has been punished is the U.N. staffer who told French authorities. The Paris prosecutor's office this month, however, blamed the U.N. "hierarchy" for taking more than six months to supply answers to its questions. The U.N. finally handed over written answers on April 29, the Paris prosecutor's office said — the same day that the Guardian newspaper first made the French and U.N. inquiries public. French soldiers had been tasked with protecting civilians in Central African Republic from vicious violence between Christians and Muslims. Thousands of scared people had crammed into a camp for displaced people. Residents have told the AP that soldiers offered cookies, other food or bottles of water in exchange for sodomy or oral sex. It is still not clear where the accused soldiers are now.
Note: Explore powerful evidence from a suppressed Discovery Channel documentary showing that child sexual abuse scandals reach to the highest levels of government. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles about sexual abuse scandals and government corruption from reliable major media sources.
Explore our index to revealing excerpts of key news articles on several dozen topics.
Don't miss amazing excerpts from the 20 most revealing news articles ever published.
Below is a sample of just three of those 20 articles.
U.S. Military Wanted to Provoke War With Cuba
2001-05-01, ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=92662
In the early 1960s, America's top military leaders reportedly drafted plans to kill innocent people and commit acts of terrorism in U.S. cities to create public support for a war against Cuba. Code named Operation Northwoods, the plans reportedly included the possible assassination of Cuban émigrés, sinking boats of Cuban refugees on the high seas, hijacking planes, blowing up a U.S. ship, and even orchestrating violent terrorism in U.S. cities. The plans were developed as ways to trick the American public and the international community into supporting a war to oust Cuba's ... Fidel Castro. America's top military brass even contemplated causing U.S. military casualties, writing: "We could blow up a U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba," and, "casualty lists in U.S. newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation." The plans had the written approval of all of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and were presented to President Kennedy's defense secretary, Robert McNamara, in March 1962. But they apparently were rejected by the civilian leadership and have gone undisclosed for nearly 40 years. The Joint Chiefs even proposed using the potential death of astronaut John Glenn during the first attempt to put an American into orbit as a false pretext for war with Cuba. Should the rocket explode and kill Glenn, they wrote, "the objective is to provide irrevocable proof … that the fault lies with the Communists." The scary thing is none of this stuff comes out until 40 years after.
Note: Why was ABC the only major news source to report on this highly revealing story? Read the shocking declassified documents on Operation Northwoods. Many military and political leaders look at the world as a grand chessboard. Sacrificing pawns (innocent civilians) is sometimes necessary to capture the queen. Explore revealing news articles on military corruption. Then check out eye-opening 9/11 news articles.
Inside the secretive Bilderberg Group
How much influence do private networks of the rich and powerful have on government policies and international relations? One group, the Bilderberg, has often attracted speculation that it forms a shadowy global government. Every year since 1954 [they have brought] together about 120 leading business people and politicians. At this year's meeting in Germany, the audience included the heads of the World Bank and European Central Bank, Chairmen or Chief Executives from Nokia, BP, Unilever, DaimlerChrysler and Pepsi ... editors from five major newspapers, members of parliament, ministers, European commissioners ... and the queen of the Netherlands. The chairman ... is 73-year-old Viscount Etienne Davignon. In an extremely rare interview, he played down the importance of Bilderberg. "I don't think (we are) a global ruling class because I don't think a global ruling class exists." Will Hutton ... who attended a Bilderberg meeting in 1997, says people take part in these networks in order to influence the way the world works, to create what he calls "the international common sense". And that "common sense" is one which supports the interests of Bilderberg's main participants. For Bilderberg's critics the fact that there is almost no publicity about the annual meetings is proof that they are up to no good. Bilderberg meetings often feature future political leaders shortly before they become household names. Bill Clinton went in 1991 while still governor of Arkansas, Tony Blair was there two years later while still an opposition MP. All the recent presidents of the European Commission attended Bilderberg meetings before they were appointed. Informal and private networks like Bilderberg have helped to oil the wheels of global politics and globalisation for the past half a century.
Note: Why is this meeting of top world leaders kept so secret? Why, until a few years ago, was there virtually no reporting on this influential group in the major media? Thankfully, the alternative media has had some good articles. And a Google search can be highly informative. Explore many other revealing major media news articles on powerful secret societies. And for those interested, check out reliable, eye-opening information covering the big picture of how and why these secret societies are using government-sponsored mind control programs to achieve their agenda.
[9/11] Hijack 'suspects' alive and well
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1559151.stm
Another of the men named by the FBI as a hijacker in the [9/11] suicide attacks on Washington and New York has turned up alive and well. The identities of four of the 19 suspects accused of having carried out the attacks are now in doubt. Saudi Arabian pilot Waleed Al Shehri was one of five men that the FBI said had deliberately crashed American Airlines flight 11 into the World Trade Centre on 11 September. His photograph was released, and has since appeared in newspapers and on television around the world. He told journalists there that he had nothing to do with the attacks. He has contacted both the Saudi and American authorities. He acknowledges that he attended flight training school at Daytona Beach in the United States, and is indeed the same Waleed Al Shehri to whom the FBI has been referring. But, he says, he left the United States in September last year [and] became a pilot with Saudi Arabian airlines. Abdulaziz Al Omari, another of the Flight 11 hijack suspects ... says he is an engineer with Saudi Telecoms, and that he lost his passport while studying in Denver. Meanwhile ... a London-based Arabic daily says it has interviewed Saeed Alghamdi. He was listed by the FBI as a hijacker in the United flight that crashed in Pennsylvania. And there are suggestions that another suspect, Khalid Al Midhar, may also be alive. FBI Director Robert Mueller acknowledged on Thursday that the identity of several of the suicide hijackers is in doubt.
Note: The deceptions in the 9/11 official story are clearly shown in this key story. The FBI never revised its list of alleged hijackers. These four are all listed in the official 9/11 Commission report as the hijackers. Click here and scroll down a little over half way to see their photos in the official report. For more, see this webpage. Explore also concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles with evidence of a 9/11 cover-up from reliable major media sources. Then examine an abundance of reliable information suggesting a major 9/11 cover-up.
The above three are excerpts from the 20 most revealing news articles ever published.
Below is a sample of the three articles most recently posted to this website.
Vaccine no match against flu bug that popped up near end
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/vaccine-match-flu-bug-popped-end-6398...
The flu vaccine turned out to be a big disappointment again. The vaccine didn’t work against a flu bug that popped up halfway through the past flu season, dragging down overall effectiveness to 29%, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The flu shot was working well early in the season with effectiveness put at 47% in February. But it was virtually worthless during a second wave driven by a tougher strain, at just 9%. There was “no significant protection” against that strain, said the CDC’s Brendan Flannery. Flu vaccines are made each year to protect against three or four different kinds of flu virus. The ingredients are based on predictions of what strains will make people sick the following winter. This season’s shot turned out to be a mismatch against the bug that showed up late. That pushed down the overall effectiveness to one of the lowest in recent years. Since 2011, the only season with a lower estimate was the winter of 2014-2015, when effectiveness was 19%. A mismatch was also blamed then. Vaccines against some other infectious diseases are not considered successful unless they are at least 90% effective. But flu is particularly challenging, partly because the virus can so quickly change. Overall, flu vaccine has averaged around 40%. Flu shots are recommended for virtually all Americans age 6 months or older.
Note: This article was strangely removed from the website of ABC News. It is still available here. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles on vaccines from reliable major media sources.
Who is Jeffrey Epstein, and why has he been arrested again?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/who-jeffrey-epstein-why-has-he-been...
Jeffrey Epstein, the millionaire financier, registered sex offender and acquaintance of presidents of both parties, was expected to appear in federal court in New York on Monday in connection with federal sex trafficking allegations, multiple law enforcement officials said. Epstein, 66, of Palm Beach, Florida, was being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan after he was arrested Saturday in Teterboro, New Jersey, in a joint investigation by the FBI and New York police. The arrest stems from incidents spanning from 2002 to 2005. Epstein has been in the news for more than a decade since he pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and felony solicitation of prostitution, according to his plea agreement on charges brought in Florida. Epstein is registered as a sex offender in Florida under a non-prosecution agreement he signed with the office of the U.S. attorney for Miami. Epstein's non-prosecution agreement ... limits the scope of the agreement to only the Miami area. If Epstein is alleged to have committed illegal acts in other parts of the country, the agreement would no longer protect him. Federal prosecutors in New York allege that from at least 2002 through 2005, Epstein paid girls as young as 14 hundreds of dollars in cash for sex at either his Manhattan townhouse or his estate in Palm Beach. Epstein is being charged with one count of sex trafficking conspiracy and one count of sex trafficking, and faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty.
Note: For lots more, see this Miami Herald article and this one. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles on Jeffrey Epstein from reliable major media sources.
Jeffrey Epstein's arrest shows the power of one newspaper's investigation
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/08/media/jeffrey-epstein-julie-brown-miami-herald...
In the past year the Jeffrey Epstein case was catapulted onto the national news radar by one newspaper, the Miami Herald, and by one reporter in particular, Julie K. Brown. The paper's "Perversion of Justice" series came out last November, and Brown has stayed on the story ever since. As soon as The Daily Beast broke the news that Epstein had been arrested on Saturday evening, fellow journalists and other observers credited Brown and thanked her for the tenacious investigation. Law enforcement officials are also giving credit to the reporting. "We were assisted" by "some excellent investigative journalism," Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said at a Monday morning press conference. William Sweeney, the assistant director-in-charge of the FBI's New York office, added, "We work with facts. When the facts presented themselves, as Mr. Berman hinted at, through investigative journalists' work, we moved on it." While they didn't cite Brown or the newspaper by name, Berman said in response to a question about the Herald, "we are certainly aware of that reporting." Brown was ... actually scheduled to interview another one of Epstein's accusers on Monday. But after he was arrested, she cancelled that flight and booked a ticket to New York. True to form, she sought to shift the spotlight, away from her own work and toward her subjects. "The REAL HEROES HERE were the courageous victims that faced their fears and told their stories," she tweeted Sunday.
Note: Explore an in-depth article from New York Magazine giving a thorough and balanced view of the Epstein case. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles on Jeffrey Epstein from reliable major media sources.
The above three are excerpts from the news stories most recently posted to this website.
Explore our index to revealing excerpts of news articles on several dozen topics.
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Md Politics
Maryland has no women in Congress. But four are running for lieutenant governor.
By Ovetta Wiggins
Ovetta Wiggins
Local reporter covering Maryland state politics
Four out of the five Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Maryland who have announced their running mates have chosen women to join their ticket, a sign of the importance of female voters in a state that has no women in Congress or in top statewide positions.
State Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery) on Monday tapped Luwanda Jenkins, a Baltimore native who worked in the administrations of the last three Democratic governors, as his running mate. Tech entrepreneur Alec Ross named Julie Verratti, a co-owner of a craft brewery in Montgomery County.
Luwanda Jenkins is the running mate of Maryland gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery). ( Madaleno campaign / Madaleno campaign )
And Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III was scheduled to announce Tuesday his selection of Elizabeth Embry, a high-ranking attorney in the state attorney general’s office who ran for mayor of Baltimore in 2016.
“Lieutenant governors are often selected to counterbalance the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate, so I’m not surprised that these male candidates are going for women lieutenant governors,” said Melissa Deckman, a political science professor at Washington College. “With the MeToo movement and lack of female representation statewide, they are trying to reach out to women voters who are important to the Democratic Party.”
The 2016 retirement of then-Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D), and the resignation that year of then-Rep. Donna F. Edwards (D) to seek Mikulski’s seat, left Maryland without a woman in its congressional delegation for the first time in 77 years.
In addition, no woman holds any of the top four statewide elected executive positions: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller.
In November, another gubernatorial candidate, former NAACP president Ben Jealous, chose Susan W. Turnbull, a former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and former chair of the state Democratic Party, as his running mate.
Susan W. Turbull of Montgomery County has joined the gubernatorial ticket of Ben Jealous. (N/A/Ben Jealous for Governor)
Turnbull co-founded Emerge Maryland, which recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office and is part of a national network that has seen record numbers of women candidates since Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump in 2016.
Former Michelle Obama aide Krishanti Vignarajah is the only woman in Maryland’s crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary. The winner of the June 26 contest will face popular Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and his deputy, Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford, in November’s general election.
Neither Vignarajah, who is making her first run for public office, nor Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz have announced their running mates, which they must do by the Feb. 27 filing deadline. Attorney Jim Shea, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination, last week announced Baltimore City Council member Brandon Scott as his pick for lieutenant governor.
Del. Marice I. Morales (D-Montgomery), who organized a rally in Annapolis on Monday night to highlight women’s issues, said she thought it was “phenomenal” to see gubernatorial candidates choosing women to join their tickets.
“It sends a strong message nationwide that the cries of the movement are being heard by people in positions of power,” she said.
Julie Verratti, co-founder of Denizens Brewing Co., is Alec Ross’s choice to be lieutenant governor. (Ross campaign/Ross campaign)
She noted that the choices also represent other historically underrepresented communities, with Jenkins an African American woman who has long advocated for minorities, and Verratti a lesbian who is active in LGBT issues.
Jenkins, 55, directed the Office of Minority Affairs for three years when Parris Glendening (D) was governor and was special secretary of minority affairs for five years for Gov. Martin O’Malley (D). She played a similar role in the administration of Gov. William Donald Schaefer (D).
Jenkins also has 17 years in the private sector, including executive positions at the Baltimore Sun, CareFirst BlueCross and the Cordish Cos., a real estate development concern.
“Now is the time for more women in leadership roles,” said Jenkins, who is chief operating officer for the LEADERship, a program of the Greater Baltimore Committee. “We need to be at the table.”
She described herself in an interview as a wife, a mother and a daughter, caring for aging parents, “typical of so many women who play a pivotal role.”
Ross, who calls himself “unabashedly a feminist,” said he believes his choice of Verratti, 38, a small-business owner who has actively campaigned for social justice issues, will resonate with younger voters.
“We need to make sure we don’t take one step forward and one step back,” Ross said. “It’s time to have women in elected office.”
Verratti co-founded Denizens Brewing in Silver Spring four years ago and previously served as a senior policy adviser at the U.S. Small Business Administration. A graduate of George Washington University Law School, she has testified before Congress and state and local lawmakers on issues that affect small businesses, the beer industry, and gays and lesbians.
Elizabeth Embry is the running mate of Rushern L. Baker III, the county executive in Prince George’s County. (Baker campaign/Baker campaign)
Last year, she served on Maryland’s “Reform on Tap” task force, which was created by Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) to highlight the craft beer industry’s growth and to push an overhaul of the state’s laws to encourage more expansion.
Embry, Baker’s running mate, described herself as a “daughter of Baltimore” during her unsuccessful 2016 mayoral bid. Her father, Robert C. Embry Jr., was a city council member, school board president and housing commissioner. He now runs the Abell Foundation.
She is chief of the criminal division of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. Attorney General Brian E. Frosh has endorsed Baker.
Before joining the attorney general’s office, Embry, 40, served as deputy for policy and planning in the Baltimore state’s attorney office. She has also been assistant solicitor in the Baltimore office of law and a felony prosecutor in the Baltimore state’s attorney office.
Read more Maryland politics:
Pr. Geo. council candidate, Baker aide acted inappropriately toward a female colleague years ago
‘I was touched without permission’: Former Annapolis staffer details harassment
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Yes Not now
How James Inhofe is upending the nation’s energy and environmental policies
(C-SPAN)
By Juliet Eilperin and
Juliet Eilperin
Reporter covering domestic policy and national affairs
Brady Dennis
Reporter focusing on environmental policy and public health issues
For more than a decade, Sen. James M. Inhofe has raged against the scientific consensus that humans are fueling climate change, calling it “the greatest hoax” ever perpetrated on Americans. The Oklahoma Republican has blasted the Environmental Protection Agency as an “activist organization” that has unfairly burdened everyone from farmers to fossil-fuel companies.
Now the man critics once dismissed as a political outlier has an unprecedented opportunity to shape the nation’s energy and environmental policies. And he has helped populate the upper ranks of the agency he has derided with several of his closest confidants.
At least half a dozen former aides to Inhofe — and counting — have been hired into top positions at the EPA and the White House. The chief of staff and deputy chief of staff to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, a fellow Oklahoman and longtime friend of Inhofe, spent years working for the senator. Pruitt’s senior advisers on air, climate and legal issues are Inhofe alumni. In addition, two former Inhofe aides have become top domestic and international energy and environmental advisers to President Trump.
“It gives me a level of comfort to know that we have a bureaucracy that’s actually going to be serving instead of ruling,” Inhofe said in an interview this week, describing his former staffers as qualified professionals who will protect the environment. “They are going to be very realistic. They’re going to do it in a way that will not be punitive. The previous administration was almost looking for ways to punish people.”
Comforting is not how many of Inhofe’s longtime opponents would describe the changes.
(Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
“Inhofe was like the original climate-denier in chief. He was one of the first people spouting this gibberish — fact-free but dangerous gibberish,” said Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters. “Now he and his cronies have far more reach and are far more dangerous than they’ve ever been. . . . That’s good news for the polluters but horrible news for public health.”
Inhofe, 82, has been in the Senate since 1994 and has served as the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for 12 out of the past 14 years. For much of that time, he has been one of the nation’s most powerful climate-change skeptics, even writing a book in 2012 attacking the science around global warming, which most of the world has accepted as a serious and urgent threat.
His most high-profile assault on climate science — one President Barack Obama mocked multiple times — came on a cold day in February 2015, when he stood on the Senate floor, fresh snowball in hand, to suggest that Earth could not be warming in any dangerous way, given the winter weather outside.
Ryan Jackson, Inhofe’s former chief of staff, helps account for part of why so many of the senator’s aides are now helping guide the administration’s policymaking. Jackson, who helped shepherd Pruitt’s nomination, then became the administrator’s chief of staff and started tapping his former colleagues for top agency posts.
While nearly every federal department has been undergoing major changes since Trump took office in January, few have seen as rapid and dramatic a shift as the EPA. It has already scrapped a request for data about methane emissions that could have paved the way for tighter restrictions on more than 15,000 U.S. oil and gas firms, and Trump has directed the agency to roll back a rule designed to protect 60 percent of the nation’s water bodies.
On Wednesday, Pruitt is set to announce plans to revisit fuel standards the Obama administration set for cars and light trucks that will be built five years from now. And his staff is preparing to unwind the centerpiece of Obama’s effort to combat climate change — the “Clean Power Plan,” which limits carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
‘The Inhofe brigade’
To carry out the changes Trump has promised, namely setting the EPA on a more minimalist course that will constrain federal authority over the environment, the new administration has recruited a group of conservative stalwarts who have spent years working to advance Inhofe’s objectives. At times, some of them have worked directly for the mining, oil and utility companies that they are now charged with regulating.
“The Inhofe brigade has landed, secured the beach and is moving inland with precision as well as speed,” said Stephen Brown, vice president for government affairs at Tesoro, a major oil refiner.
What exactly will that invasion look like?
Those behind it are, for the most part, not nearly as colorful or outspoken as their former boss, even as they share many of his views and objectives.
Congressional aides of both parties described Jackson as one of the most soft-spoken managers on Capitol Hill. Amanda Gunasekara, who will advise the EPA administrator on air and climate issues, had been working for Inhofe less than a month when he asked her to hand him a snowball on the Senate floor two years ago to prove that global warming had not snuffed out winter altogether. Andrew Wheeler, a front-runner to serve as Pruitt’s No. 2, served the senator for 14 years before going on to lobby for the coal giant Murray Energy, Xcel Energy and the Nuclear Energy Institute. A few former Inhofe aides — Wheeler, as well as George Sugiyama and Michael Catanzaro, who is now in the White House — have worked at the EPA before.
Inhofe and his aides have shown legislative savvy. Even as the senator decried the Obama administration’s work on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, mercury pollution and smog as burdensome for business and possibly illegal, Inhofe and his staff struck major deals on bipartisan issues including chemical safety, transportation and water infrastructure.
Joseph Stanko, who heads government relations at the law firm Hunton & Williams, said the combination of Republicans’ electoral success last year and the Obama administration’s aggressive use of executive authority has given conservatives a rare opening.
“It’s a real confluence of there being a philosophical alignment between Senator Inhofe and the administration, the Republicans holding both branches of government and there being, for lack of a better word, opportunity created by the prior overreach,” said Stanko, whose clients include Koch Industries, Southern Co. and the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council.
‘War’ on environmentalism?
Opponents see the Trump administration and the influx of Inhofe staffers to the EPA as the early steps in the dismantling of crucial regulations Obama put in place to combat climate change.
“The EPA was a staunch defender of the environment and supporter of climate action under the Obama administration,” said Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University. “It is now instead being wielded by the fossil-fuel interests who are running the Trump administration as just another weapon in their war on environmental protection and climate action.”
Trump wasn’t Inhofe’s first, or even second, choice for president last year. Initially, Inhofe endorsed his Senate colleague Marco Rubio (Fla.) in the GOP primaries, then, after he dropped out, Ohio Gov. John Kasich. But Inhofe then pivoted to Trump and began forging ties with the campaign through his friend and fellow senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), advising Trump on defense and regulatory issues.
The dominance of Inhofe’s staffers reflects not just an ideological shift but the fact that even an administration of outsiders needs some insiders to help run the place. Inhofe remains extremely close with his former aides, whom he teasingly calls “has-beens.”
[Which Washington Post reporters are covering the agencies you care about? ]
Pruitt, like Inhofe, is determined to transfer some of the power his agency has amassed to the states. Earlier this month, a Wall Street Journal columnist described Pruitt, in a nod to the constitutional bent of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, as “an EPA originalist.” Privately, according to aides, the administrator relished the moniker. As Oklahoma attorney general, Pruitt sued the agency he now heads numerous times, often making the argument that the Obama administration had overstepped its legal authority.
Pruitt, who caused an uproar last week in a CNBC interview when he questioned whether carbon dioxide emissions are the primary driver of climate change, has made it clear he plans to focus the agency on more-traditional pollutants. His goals include minimizing lead exposure from drinking water — an issue on which Inhofe joined forces last year with then-Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), despite opposition from House Republicans — and cleaning up contamination in Superfund and contaminated industrial sites.
“Finally, we have someone in there that’s not going to be harassing the public with punitive regulations,” Inhofe said of Pruitt and his former staffers. “What I want them to do is to do what they are supposed to be doing — be concerned about the environment, the water, the air. . . . I’d like to see an EPA there to actually serve people and make life better for them.”
While it will take months to finalize the EPA’s budget for the coming fiscal year, the White House is contemplating significant reductions that could complicate Pruitt’s task and gut the agency. Two people briefed on the matter said the EPA budget proposal could be as low as $5.6 billion, down from the most recently enacted budget of $8.1 billion, a roughly 30 percent cut. Deep cuts could prompt unrest among employees, many of whom remain skeptical of the new administration and its motives, and eliminate staffers Pruitt and his senior advisers would need to accomplish their priorities.
Those include not just redoing Obama-era rules but possibly reexamining the way the EPA conducts its scientific assessment of health risks and other factors that underpin the regulations it issues.
“When I talk to people on the left, they are both happy that all these Inhofe people are there but also simultaneously scared,” said Dimitri Karakitsos, who left his post as Inhofe’s senior committee counsel in October to join the firm Holland & Knight as a partner.
They are relieved, he said, because the new appointees have shown a willingness to broker compromises on thorny issues. But, Karakitsos added, “the reason why I think they are scared is because it’s a really smart, thoughtful group that’s over there,” one that is not going to put out rules “on a whim that are easily undone.”
A Senate Democratic aide who has worked with many of the former Inhofe staffers agreed. “These are folks who are very capable. They know the agency and its programs,” said the staffer, who asked for anonymity to speak frankly. “They’re smart and hard-working, and they certainly could dismantle the programs if they were asked to do that. But the question is how they will react if they’re asked to do that.”
Juliet Eilperin Juliet Eilperin is The Washington Post's senior national affairs correspondent, covering the transformation of federal environmental policy. She's authored two books, "Demon Fish: Travels Through The Hidden World of Sharks" and "Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship is Poisoning the House of Representatives." and has worked for The Post since 1998. Follow
Brady Dennis Brady Dennis is a national reporter for The Washington Post, focusing on the environment and public health issues. He previously spent years covering the nation’s economy. Dennis was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for a series of explanatory stories about the global financial crisis. Follow
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