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British Music Collection
John Wiseman
John Wiseman is a composer and electro rock producer from Cumbria, currently based in Northampton.
Having recently graduated with first class honours in music composition and technology from the University of Hertfordshire, he has been composing and producing music for five years.
In 2013, John's music was played at the Royal Opera House, London. On this project, John worked alongside conductor Antonio Pappano and composer Duncan Chapman to record a 30 second fanfare that was played throughout the year at the Royal Opera House.
Having being featured on BBC Introducing, John has independently released out two albums; one an electronic instrumental album "An Odd Collection" and a concept album titled "NOT ONE STEP BACK".
In 2015, John collaborated with an acting group from Cumbria "The Moonlighters" producing the soundtrack for their well received production of Macbeth.
Roisian Burnell
No scores listed.
Composer Website
https://www.wisethemusic.com/
newmusic
Peter Wiseman, Hertfordshire Students' Union
Northampton , Northamptonshire
52° 14' 25.7172" N, 0° 54' 9.5616" W
Northamptonshire GB
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Start Over You searched for: Authors National Library of Medicine (U.S.) ✖Remove constraint Authors: National Library of Medicine (U.S.) Languages English ✖Remove constraint Languages: English
31. The National Library of Medicine, 1963-1968
[Bethesda, Md. : National Library of Medicine, 1968]
[Washington, D.C. : U.S. G.P.O., 1960]
33. The National Library of Medicine
Bethesda, Md. : National Library of Medicine, [1967]
34. Guide to collections
[Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, 1965?]
35. National Library of Medicine classification: a scheme for the shelf arrangement of books in the field of medicine and its related sciences
Bethesda, Md. : U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine ; Washington, D.C. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1969
Book Classification
36. Dentistry: MEDLARS glossary and indexing instructions
[Bethesda, Md.] : U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, [1969]
Abstracting and Indexing as Topic
38. The principles of MEDLARS
Bethesda, Md. : U.S. Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine ; Washington, D.C. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., [1970]
39. A catalogue of sixteenth century printed books in the National Library of Medicine
Bethesda, Md. : U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, National Library of Medicine, 1967
40. Cumulated list of new medical subject headings, 1963-1973
[Bethesda, MD] : U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, [1973]
NLM Publications and Productions71
National Library of Medicine (U.S.)31
Book Classification8
National Library of Medicine (U.S.)✖[remove]71
National Library of Medicine classification: a scheme for the shelf arrangement of books in the field of medicine and its related sciences4
National Library of Medicine: services4
The National Library of Medicine3
National Library of Medicine classification: a scheme for the shelf arrangement of library materials in the field of medicine and its related sciences2
A catalogue of incunabula and sixteenth century printed books in the National Library of Medicine. First supplement1
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How do I become a ccNSO member?
Does membership cost anything?
What are the benefits of a ccNSO membership for my ccTLD?
Why is it important to participate in the ccNSO?
How can I influence ICANN policies through the ccNSO?
How can I be appointed or elected to be part of the ccNSO Council?
Do I have to pay to attend ICANN-ccNSO meetings?
Do I have to attend ccNSO meetings? Is there remote participation in the ccNSO? E-mail lists to follow?
Are ccNSO discussions translated into different languages?
Are there any implications of the membership of the ccNSO for my ccTLD?
What happens if everyone agrees to a policy, but I don’t?
What are the implications if I withdraw membership?
If I sign an ICANN Accountability Framework or Exchange of Letters, am I automatically a member of the ccNSO?
I want to register a domain directly under .xy, but my ccTLD doesn’t let me. Can you help?
I would like to create a new top-level domain, such as “.newtopleveldomain” – what do I do?
You need to fill in and submit this web application form.
The application will then be reviewed and voted upon by the ccNSO Council.
The ccNSO Secretariat will keep you informed on the process once the form has been submitted.
While the ICANN bylaws (Article IX, section 7.3) allow for a mechanism to recover ccNSO operating costs, members have currently decided that there shall be no membership fee.
The ccNSO offers a unique platform for worldwide exchange of information and best practices between ccTLDs.
It also cooperates closely with all regional organisations as well as other relevant internet bodies and actors and offers excellent networking opportunities for the participants.
Being a member of the ccNSO allows you to make your voice heard in the ICANN community. Your ccTLD can actively take part in policy development processes for ccTLDs and will always have a vote on the policies developed by the ccNSO.
You can also participate in various topical ccNSO working groups, which influence the work and direction of ccTLDs in general. The ccNSO is also a platform to share experiences and information with other entities in the ICANN context such as the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), Generic Names Supporting Organisation (GNSO) and Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC).
You will also have a vote in the elections of the two ICANN board seats as well as a vote to elect members of the ccNSO Council. You may also candidate to both positions.
The ccNSO provides you with a unique platform where you can share information and experiences with ccTLDs from other countries. The ccNSO not only makes your voice heard on a global level, but also allows you to propose and participate in activities which you and your peers consider being important.
Furthermore, the ccNSO gives you the opportunity to show your commitment to and participate in the bottom-up, multi-stakeholder model of the ICANN structure.
The ccNSO develops recommendations to the ICANN board on policies concerning ccTLD operators. By actively taking part in the work of the ccNSO, your opinion will be heard, and as a member of the ccNSO you participate in the final vote on any recommendation of the ccNSO to the ICANN Board.
There are nominations to the ccNSO Council once a year. One candidate per geographic region needs to be appointed by the members of the ccNSO in that region.
If you are working for a ccTLD and wish to be part of the ccNSO Council, you need to be nominated and seconded by another ccTLD registry in your region. You can also nominate yourself; however, you then need to be seconded by another registry from your region.
Only ccNSO members can be nominated and seconded.
Three seats of the ccNSO are also filled by the NomCom, one seat per year needs to be renewed. The NomCom is striving for filling these seats with people from other business-perspectives than ccTLDs. Should you wish to be considered as a candidate by the NomCom, please visit this page.
The meetings themselves are free of charge. However, travel and hotel costs need to be covered by participants themselves.
There are possibilities to receive travel funding through ICANN’s fellowship programme and the ccNSO is also providing some travel support for a small set of ccNSO participants who are actively participating in the work of the ccNSO.
Please, contact the ccNSO Secretariat at ccnsosecretariat@icann.org for more information.
There is one ccNSO members email list where important material is posted. The members are also free to discuss on the list.
It then depends on how involved you would like to be in the ccNSO’s day-to-day work. The ccNSO has several working groups. Each WG has its own email lists and sometimes work through telephone conferences. The ccNSO Council also has their own email list and meets once a month on a telephone conference.
The physical meetings are usually broadcasted both by audio- and webcasts. Remote participants can also post questions by an online chat forum.
Information about the broadcasting is sent out prior to the meeting on the available ccTLD email lists and is posted at ccnso.icann.org/calendar.
Not at the moment. Only major papers are translated into the official UN languages.
Through your membership of the ccNSO you agree to abide to the policies developed and recommended to the ICANN Board by the ccNSO.
If a policy would force the ccTLD manager to breach national law, national law always remains paramount.
If a policy would force the ccTLD to impinge local custom, religion or public policy, that ccTLD may provide a statement that it cannot implement the policy and that non-implementation will not impair DNS operations or interoperability.
Any ccNSO member may withdraw its membership at any time in writing (see also next question).
None. The ICANN bylaws clearly state that membership or none membership of the ccNSO has no impact on the aspects of the relationship with ICANN membership.
No. The ICANN bylaws clearly state that ccNSO membership is neither linked to Accountability Frameworks/Exchange of Letters, nor the other way around. Accountability Frameworks or Exchange of Letters deal with other aspects of the relationship between a ccTLD manager and ICANN than membership of the ccNSO.
The way, in which you can register domains under a country code, is decided on a local level. The ccNSO does not deal with local issues, nor with issues related to an individual ccTLD.
Please contact your top-level domain registry directly for further information. A list of all top-level domain operators and their contact details is available here.
According to the current policy, only two letter codes on the ISO 3166-1 list are eligible to be assigned as a country code Top Level Domain. This implies that new country code Top Level Domains cannot be created at will.
If you are interested in creating a new generic top-level domain (gTLD), please click here for further information.
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Gregg Steinhafel
Daniel Ives
Data breaches: A new source of worry for CEOs
Humphrey believes that while a company's CEO is responsible for data security, the issue — much like worker security or environmental contamination — can sometimes get put on the backburner, because it isn't always recognized as a core part of operations.AP | Updated: May 07, 2014, 16:12 IST
The data breach at Target was far bigger than initially thought, as state prosecutors announced a probe into the cyberattack.
NEW YORK: Add hackers to the long list of things that give chief executive officers insomnia.
Target's chief executive, Gregg Steinhafel, is the first boss of a major corporation to lose his job over a theft of customer data. His exit from the helm of America's third-largest retailer on Monday shows that — in addition to guiding company strategy and keeping Wall Street happy with ever-growing profits — today's chief executives are being held responsible for lapses in computer security.
Daniel Ives, an analyst for FBR Capital Markets, believes many CEOs will be placing calls to their chief information officers today, just to make sure their operations are as fortified as possible.
"Ultimately, it's the CIO and the IT managers that are really more in the weeds," Ives says. "But just like the head coach of a football or basketball team that doesn't make the playoffs, the CEO is ultimately responsible."
Steinhafel was in charge when hackers stole millions of consumer data records, including credit card number, names and addresses, from Target's computer system last holiday season.
To be sure, Target had been struggling with weak sales for several years and had run into problems with its Canadian expansion. But there's no denying the breach and its fallout were big factors in Steinhafel's departure, says Ronald Humphrey, a professor who studies leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Humphrey believes that while a company's CEO is responsible for data security, the issue — much like worker security or environmental contamination — can sometimes get put on the backburner, because it isn't always recognized as a core part of operations.
"This is a wakeup call to CEOs that data security is something that affects their customers," Humphrey says. "If you've had your identity stolen you know it's a huge headache. I think they have to take this very seriously."
And if a breach does occur, a CEO needs to be able to show his board of directors that it didn't result from a lack of resources devoted to data security, he says.
Minneapolis-based Target's computer systems were infiltrated by hackers who took 40 million debit and credit card numbers, along with the personal information of as many as 70 million people.
Target revealed in its fourth-quarter earnings release in February that it incurred $61 million in breach-related expenses. After the company received insurance payments, its net expenses for the hacking incident were $17 million. The company is expected to report additional charges when it releases its first-quarter results later this month.
Meanwhile, total costs related to the company, banks, consumers and others are expected to reach into the billions.
Investigations by both Target and the Secret Service are ongoing. Neither has released details about their probes and the Secret Service has said it could take years to bring the responsible parties to justice.
Target's revenue, earnings and stock price have all suffered since the breach's disclosure in December. Steinhafel's departure after a 35-year career with Target suggests the company is looking to make a fresh start in the aftermath of the breach. Chief financial officer John Mulligan will take over as interim president and CEO. Roxanne Austin, a member of Target's board, will be interim nonexecutive chair of the board. Both will serve in those roles until the company finds permanent replacements.
Data security is becoming a top priority for the savviest of company leaders, especially those in data-driven industries like finance and retail, because it can do so much damage. Analysts expect businesses around the world to spend a combined $30 billion this year on cybersecurity.
Robert Hurley, a professor of management at Fordham University, says recent weak store traffic and the company's problems in Canada were probably equally big factors in the Target board's weighing of Steinhafel's fate. He says he doubts the board would have pushed for a change if the breach was the only problem involved.
But Hurley adds that the breach was a major event that damaged Target's reputation and credibility with customers. That damage likely prompted the board to act. Hurley credits the board with taking its time and not making a knee-jerk decision.
"It's a good example of board governance," Hurley says. "I think they realized that there are too many strategic barriers and that a new CEO would help solve their problems."
Tags : Security, Gregg Steinhafel, Daniel Ives, Target, Hackers, cyber crime
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Register of Environmental Organisations
House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment
Submitted via environment.reps@aph.gov.au
Submission re Register of Environmental Organisations
Dear Sir/ Madam,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide a submission regarding the misuse of taxpayer funds by charitable organisations enjoying the benefit of ‘deductible gift recipient’ (DGR) status.
The fundamental duty of care a legitimate government is to protect its citizens from foreseeable threats and to protect and preserve common assets for the sake of current and future generations. A healthy environment — a safe climate (atmospheric carbon below 350ppm), clean air, easy access to clean water, fertile soils and so on) — is the foundation on which all we know and value depends. It follows that Australia’s unique and irreplaceable environment is arguably its most precious common asset.
An environment group is defined as an organization that seeks to protect, analyse or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation from human activities. Given that Australia’s environment is invaluable, why is the Federal government attacking the independent (that is, people with no vested interests) community groups working to protect it?
Australian tax-payer funded attacks on Australia’s greatest common asset: our unique, irreplaceable environment
The Institute for Public Affairs (IPA) is an independent so-called ‘think tank’ that through influential members and donations has long-held strong ties with the Liberal Party (itself a beneficiary of tax-deductible campaign donations) to whom it makes policy recommendations. Although the group has always been notoriously secretive about its funding base, support is known to have come from major mining (ie BHP-Billiton and Western Mining), chemical (ie Monsanto), tobacco (ie Phillip Morris), forestry (ie the former Gunns) and oil and gas companies (ie Shell, Esso, Caltex and Woodside Petroleum). The IPA enjoys DGR status as an ‘Approved Research Institute’ on the grounds that it engages in “scientific research which is, or may prove to be, of value to Australia”.
Producing legitimate, reliable science involves a thorough process of critical scrutiny by other experts (colleagues or peers) and is called ‘peer review’. Any mistakes that may have been found during the peer-review process can then be corrected. To ensure independence from any vested or conflict of interest, peer reviewing is done for free by scientists who have no relationship with the author(s) of the work being judged. This is why it is peer-reviewed research science is independent, building on data and conclusions that have been checked and re-checked and corrected by top experts.
A condition of an ‘Approved Research Institute’ is that it has a ‘suitably qualified research committee’. However, the IPA’s experts only appear to have expertise in social research experiments (aka lobbying) with the apparent intent being to mislead and deceive the public into thinking that private corporations should have unlimited access to common assets in order to make profits for their private shareholders.
The IPA’s role in killing the ‘Super Profits’ mining tax is an example of how it seriously undermines the Australian public’s current and long-term interests in order to benefit private corporations. To prevent Australia’s non-renewable mineral resources from being exploited by transnational corporations while raising billions of dollars to help fund pensions, health care, education, tax cuts for small businesses among other public programs, in 2010 the Rudd ALP government proposed a mining tax of 40 per cent on ‘Super Profits’ above $50 million (aka a ‘resources rent’ tax). In response, with the IPA as its cheerleader, vested interests funded an aggressive and highly misleading and deceptive public relations campaign suggesting that Australia’s economy would collapse if they were made to pay a tax on their excessive profits. The campaign gave the impression that the mining sector was a huge employer when in fact less then two per cent of Australians work in mining. As for collapsing the economy, as a direct result of a ‘resources rent’ tax (introduced in 1990), Norway (with a population of around 5 million) now has the world’s richest sovereign wealth fund currently worth about $850 billion.
In a pre-election 2013 keynote speech at the IPA’s 70th anniversary (a black tie gala event held at Victoria’s National Gallery of Victoria — including special guests media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, whose father helped found the IPA, mining magnate Gina Rinehart and Cardinal George Pell, all of whom support climate denialism), Tony Abbott said: ”So ladies and gentlemen that is a big ‘yes’ to many of the 75 specific policies you [the IPA’s Executive Director, John Roskam] urged upon me.” At the top of the IPA’s wish list was scrapping all climate protection laws (including the carbon price and Renewable Energy Target) and dismantling all independent agencies established to promote zero emission energy alternatives to dirty and dangerous fossil fuels (ie Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Climate Change Authority and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency). To make the job of stripping Australians of their natural assets easier, by silencing dissent, the IPA has long been lobbying for a fire-sale of Australia’s independent news broadcasters, the ABC and SBS to friendly corporate media interests.
Transnational corporations have benefited enormously from the IPA’s public policy offering. For instance, in 2014 it came to light that Australia’s largest coalminer, Glencore Coal International Australia Pty Ltd paid almost zero tax on income of $15 billion made over the previous three years. During this period, Glencore’s Australian born, Swiss based Chairman saw his personal wealth rise nearly 20 per cent to $6.6 billion on the back of his Glencore shares. Both BHP and Rio Tinto are known to be squireling profits to tax havens offshore in order to avoid paying taxes on the profits they are making through the exploitation of Australia’s non-renewable natural resources. It’s worth noting here that, after talking tough re cracking down on corporate tax avoidance, Joe Hockey and the then Assistant Treasurer, Arthur Sinodinos, announced they would not legislate Gillard’s tax reform package to abolish deductions (under section 25-90 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997) that would help combat tax minimisation by global corporations, at a projected benefit to the taxpayer of $600 million. The justification was that it would impose ‘unreasonable compliance costs on Australian companies’ with subsidiaries offshore.
Ignoring that donors to the IPA are largely corporations with vested interests, and there appears to be no legitimate scientific research programs taking place, it’s not lawful for the IPA to use tax-deductible donations to fund conferences and/or public relations campaigns, as it regularly appears to do.
Tax payer funded environment groups campaigning against the environment
The Australian Environment Foundation (AEF, launched on World Environment Day, 2005) and its subsidiary, the Australian Climate Science Coalition (ACSC), were established as IPA front groups. They aggressively campaign to allow industry greater access to exploit Australia’s environment. For instance, between them they campaign against wind power, water flows essential to avoid the collapse of the Murray Darling Basin but for transnational corporate controlled genetically modified crops, the logging industry and pulp mills.
Another group with close ties to the IPA is the Waubra Foundation, a front group established to fight the sustainable wind energy industry. Until late last year, the Waubra Foundation drove its ‘wind turbine sickness’ with funds raised through its DGR status as a so-called health promotion charity. This was the case even though its ‘expert’ acknowledged to having no training or experience in conducting medical or scientific research or experience in research methodology and design, (at least not since her undergraduate studies) or experience or training in acoustics that would a basic requirement for the so-called ‘research’ being undertaken. In fact, records show that the Waubra Foundation was set up and run by the same people that established the anti-wind energy group Landscape Guardians. Further to this, the founder of Australia’s Landscape Guardians has major vested interests in mining, having had a lifelong career in the coal industry. Like the Waubra Foundation, the Landscape Guardians have been spreading ‘wind turbine syndrome’ with the aim of derailing the renewable wind energy industry in order to delay, for as long as possible, the transition away from dirty and dangerous fossil fuels to clean and safe renewables.
In terms of ‘wind turbine syndrome’s’ validity, no research from anywhere in the world has emerged to directly link adverse health effects to wind farms. However, findings conclusively show that ‘wind turbine syndrome’ is far more prevalent in communities where anti-wind energy lobbyists have been active, and appears to be a psychological phenomenon caused by the suggestion that turbines make people sick. According to the findings of leading Professor of Public Health, Simon Champam, ‘wind turbine syndrome’ is a ‘communicated disease’ — that is a sickness spread by the claim that something is likely to make a person sick. So, in fact the symptoms are caused by the ‘nocebo effect’ — that is the opposite of the placebo effect. In Professor Chapman’s words, ‘anxiety and fear about wind turbines being spread about by anti-wind farm groups will cause some people hearing this scary stuff to feel that they are suffering symptoms’. In other words it’s the astroturfers that are making people sick. And since a lot of time and energy (including more than 20 reviews) has been taken up with tests and reviews of ‘wind turbine syndrome’ — at the expense of other public health research such as the grave affects of fossil fuel mining and burning — one could argue that the Landscape Guardians have driven a highly successful astroturfing campaign at great cost to Australian taxpayers.
Industry-backed astroturfing campaigns
To counter the growing awareness of the need for greater sustainability and social justice, industry-backed astroturfers are well known to be posing as grassroots community members with the aim of confusing ordinary people about environment issues and undermining confidence in scientists. The easiest and hence most common form is ‘cyber-astroturfing’ that relies on specialised software programs trawling the internet for online conversations in order to manipulate and derail them. It’s as simple as keying in a few key words (such as ‘climate’, or ‘solar energy’). Using carefully constructed scripts, astroturfers seek out and join online conversations about climate science in order to spread doubt and denialist myths. A single astroturfer can construct as many personas as he or she desires, thus creating the impression that a much greater proportion of the population denies climate science than is actually the case. Naturally, this has a big impact on politicians and decision-makers worried about voters’ opinions. It is not difficult to identify astroturfers. If challenged with a direct question or asked to verify their identity, astroturfers will always avoid a direct answer.
Is astrotrufing illegal? It’s certainly unethical and a gross misuse of DGR status.
Could the fact that donations to the Liberal Party are tax deductible and largely undisclosed explain the Abbott government’s hostile attacks on legitimate community-based environment groups?
Does Australia’s environment need defending?
In 2009, after more than ten years with little rain, the Murray-Darling Basin — our main fresh water system — was showing the most serious signs of wholesale ecosystem collapse as a result of irrigation practices that have extracted far more water than nature could replace combined with extreme drought, now categorically linked to climate change. As the Basin was literally being squeezed dry its once magnificent world-class wetlands — which normally would have been brimming with water birds — were dying. As if it was not plain for all to see, dire scientific reports were leaked showing that without the release of substantial amounts of fresh water key wetlands and lakes of the Basin and the wildlife they support would be gone within months. Scientists had found the wetlands to be so depleted that further and further upstream acid sulphate soils (acid mud) were appearing and releasing toxic heavy metals. In some parts the muddy soils were comparable to battery acid. Even though heavy rains and flooding falling on the Basin region between 2010 and 2011 eased pressures, signs are clear that the environmental health and long term resilience of the area has been seriously adversely affected. According to scientists we are heading for another El Niño weather phenomenon, which is accompanied by severe drought conditions. So, why would the Abbott Federal government abolish the National Water Commission that informed reforms to protect Australia’s lifeblood, the Murray Darling Basin?
In terms of global warming (aka climate change), the key findings of the Fifth Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (aka the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report) are that:
Human influence on the climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are the highest in history. Recent climate changes have had widespread impacts on human and natural systems. {1}
Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, and sea level has risen. {1.1}
In fact, emerging evidence is showing that we are losing much more polar ice much faster than previously suspected. For example, according to researchers, the Totten Glacier in the Antarctic is losing an amount of ice “equivalent to 100 times the volume of Sydney Harbour every year.”
Some years ago now one the world’s most respected climate scientist, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies’ Director, Dr James Hansen warned that continued coal use will result in “catastrophic climate change and a ‘transformed planet”. Yet, old and inefficient coal-fired electricity plants still largely generate Australia’s electricity needs and the Abbott Federal government has been dismantling all environment protection laws we now have to phase them out. With its so-called ‘developed nation’ status and enviable renewable energy resources (aka solar radiation and strong ‘Roaring Forties’ winds), it’s a disgrace that Australia remains one of the world’s largest per capita polluters.
The Green Economy is the Future Economy
Old era polluting industries will die as the world transitions to zero pollution, sustainable systems. Given that independent environment groups are disseminating the evidence that this unstoppable transition is already well under way and that the pace of change is quickening, it should come as no surprise that the industry backed Abbott Federal government is attempting to silence them.
Internationally, with only a fraction of our renewable energy resources, countries such as Denmark, Germany, Spain, USA, Austria and Sweden, to name a few, are enjoying the social and economic benefits of a burgeoning, multi-billion dollar renewable energy industry, largely driven by determined climate protection policies. In many places around the world, prices on pollution, strong emission reduction targets combined with ambitious renewable energy targets are already generating new investment and new jobs in rural and regional areas while stabilising local pollution levels and increasing energy security.
In terms of wind energy, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, after adding 20.7GW of capacity during 2014, China now has more wind power than the entire UK energy system. Meanwhile, the US added 4.7GW of new onshore wind capacity last year, a sixfold increase on the 764MW installed the previous year. As for solar energy — including household solar photovoltaic (PV) as well as utility-scale PV power plants — with costs falling and efficiencies soaring, the global industry continues its meteoric rise, creating millions of jobs in local economies.
It’s ridiculous. Australia’s the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy. There’s so much sun, there’s so much wind off the coast, and so it makes absolutely no sense when you have an abundance of renewable energy, [to] rely on a depleting supply of fossil fuels with all of the attendant consequences to society and the planet.
Jeremy Rifkin, The Third Industrial Revolution
In places with climate friendly policies, renewable energy industries are exceeding people’s expectations. Germany has more than 380 000 people employed in its clean-energy industry, and this figure could rise above 500 000 by 2020. Meanwhile, more than 50 per cent of Germany’s renewable energy is community-owned, which makes the business of generating and distributing the energy and the profits far more transparent and democratic. Globally, there are now more than 6.5 million people employed in renewable energy.
In terms of renewable energy storage and distribution, Tesla is already rolling out affordable battery solutions that will enable consumers to be fully independent from electricity grids.
So, why would a Federal government attempt to kill a new industry that had created tens of thousands of new jobs and generated tens of billions of dollars in local economies? Why would a government go to enormous trouble to undo laws (the Clean Energy Future legislation) that were proving highly effective at reducing pollution and stimulating jobs and growth in the clean-energy sector? Australia has promised to reduce pollution emissions by a pathetic and embarrassing five per cent by 2020. However, the Abbott government’s ‘Direct Action’ plan to achieve this has failed to win the support of any credible economists or policy analysts.
With each new approval of another destructive coal mining or gas drilling project, more people are becoming aware of the depth and degree to which our governments are captured by polluting industries.
Increasingly, the broader community is understanding that to secure our natural assets (and major tourist attractions such as the Great Barrier Reef) and prepare Australia for the future zero carbon global economy, the Federal government should be 1) redirecting the billions of dollars in subsidies that currently support fossil fuels to renewable energy and the storage and distribution technologies that support it, with the aim of transitioning the national electricity grid to deliver only zero pollution energy as fast as humanly possible, 2) NOT approving any new coal or gas projects, 3) returning the price on pollution (aka carbon tax) and ensuring it’s high enough to reflect its true long term damage, 4) committing to major mandatory improvements in energy efficiency across the whole economy, 5) halting land clearing and undertake major re-afforestation projects, and 6) directing a rapid transition to a transport system that can run on electricity sourced from renewable energy.
Environment Groups communicate 21st Century Challenges and Solutions
If Australia is to maintain living standards and quality of life for current and future generations, we must drastically reduce our emissions by immediately commencing a rapid transition away from ‘old’ centralised and highly polluting fossil fuel based infrastructure and energy sources towards ‘new’ decentralised and more sustainable alternatives, such as wind and solar power. In addition to drastically reducing pollution levels, the adoption of renewable energy sources located close to end power users will ensure a more robust and secure power supply than the current one. This is because centralised power supplies are more vulnerable to major disruptions caused by accidents, fires and storms (which are predicted by scientists to become even more frequent and ferocious), accidents and/or deliberate attacks.
We know the big test for Australia, and indeed all countries, will be how to manage the twin challenges of climate change and peak oil. Dangerous climate change is already here and our environment is already showing the predicted signs due to excessive greenhouse gas emissions in our atmosphere, as evidenced by the ongoing reports of extreme weather presenting all around the world. Further, the era of cheap crude oil for transportation is gone. Given the tyranny of distance and our increased vulnerability to draught and flooding, it is even more critical for Australia to prepare itself for the changed economic and ecological circumstances that will be part of life in the 21st Century.
Corruption, treason or both?
Not only are Australia’s unique natural assets vital in their own right, they entirely support our way of life on this driest inhabited continent, as well as our tourism industry. For instance, if the Murray Darling Basin dries up, how will we feed ourselves let alone support industries? If the Great Barrier Reef dies as a result of industry abuse, what affect will this have on Queensland’s multi-billion dollar tourist industry?
Why are campaigns alerting Australians to the basic facts that a safe climate and healthy environment are the foundations on which all else we know and value depends so threatening to the Abbott government? Given that environment groups campaign to protect precious common natural assets for the enjoyment of all current and future generations, why would governments responsible for this very task not embrace and support them? Why would a democratically elected government go to extraordinary lengths to silence and intimidate community based environment groups that are working tirelessly to protect Australia’s greatest common asset — its environment — from irreparable damage at the hands of profiteering private corporations? Is it appropriate for the Abbott Federal government to have such close ties with polluting industries and the front groups and so-called ‘think tanks’ that do their bidding? Are Australia’s democratically elected leaders knowlingly stealing from current and future Australians? Why would the government attempt to silence groups presenting evidence that the adoption of renewable energy will help mitigate catastrophic global warming and significantly boost our local economies by generating new, more secure and sustainable ‘green collar’ jobs? These are the questions that this inquiry should be asking.
In concluding we wish to emphasize that this submission has been prepared to voice the deep climate concerns of private citizens associated with ClimActs (an independent, non profit climate change action group). In other words, we have no vested interests, nobody is paying or compensating us in any way and there is nothing covert about ClimAct’s access to our democratically elected representatives.
Thank you for your attention to this submission. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss any part of this submission with you.
Deborah Hart Dr Liz Conor
Co-convenor Co-convenor
ClimActs ClimActs
22 Young Street 208 Park Street
Albert Park VIC 3206 North Fitzroy VIC 3068
M: 0439 447 777 M: 0424 132 605
Website: http://climacts.org.au
http://ipa.org.au/publications/2080/be-like-gough-75-radical-ideas-to-transform-australia ‘Be like Gough: 75 radical ideas to transform Australia’ by John Roskam, Chris Berg and James Paterson, IPA Review Article, August 2012
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Institute_of_Public_Affairs ‘SourceWatch’ a project by the Centre for Media and Democracy
Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming by Naomi Oreskes & Erik M. Conway. Bloomsbury Press, New York, 2010
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/free-radicals-20130824-2sik1.html#ixzz2dzvmuq12 ‘Free radicals’ by Royce Millar and Ben Schneiders, The Age, 25 August 2013
http://ipa.org.au/publications/2080/be-like-gough-75-radical-ideas-to-transform-australia ‘Be like Gough: 75 radical ideas to transform Australia’ by John Roskam, James Paterson, and Chris Berg
‘Glencore tax bill on $15b income: zip, zilch, zero’ by Michael West, Sydney Morning Herald Business Day, 27 June 2014
http://www.afr.com/news/policy/tax/bhp-billiton-rio-tinto-under-fire-at-tax-inquiry-20150415-1mifyq ‘BHP Biliton, Rio Tinto under fire at tax inquiry’ by Neil Chenoweth, AFR Weekend, 10 April 2015
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/hockey-backflips-on-tax-laws-to-target-multinational-profit-shifters-20141216-128ebg.html ‘Hockey backflips on tax laws to target multinational profit shifters’ by Heath Aston, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 December 2014
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s3458728.htm ‘Media Watch: What’s in a name?’ Episode 7, ABC, 19 March 2012
https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/the-landscape-guardians-and-the-waubra-foundation,3995 ‘The Landscape Guardians and The Waubra Foundation’ by Sandi Keane, Independent Australia, 6 March 2012
‘New Study: wind turbine syndrome is spread by scaremongers’ by Simon Chapman, The Conversation, 15 March 2013
http://www.ncifap.org/_images/PCIFAPFin.pdf ‘Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America’, a 2008 Report of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production.
‘Study links drought with rising emissions’ by Melissa Fyfe, op. cit.
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2007/s2278901.htm ‘Murray River on the brink of collapse’ reported by Rachel Carbonell, ABC Lateline, 18 June 2008
‘Behind Curtain of Fire, A Land Disfigured by Man and Drought by Keith Schneider, op. cit.
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/SYR_AR5_SPMcorr2.pdf ‘Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report: Summary for Policy Makers’
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/16/the-melting-of-antarctica-was-already-really-bad-it-just-got-worse/ ‘The melting of Antarctica was already really bad. It just got worse.’ By Chris Mooney, The Washington Post, 16 March 2015
David Spratt and Phillip Sutton, Climate Code Red (Scribe Publications, 2008)
https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/australia-s-electricity-sector-ageing-inefficient-and-unprepared ‘Australia’s Electricity Sector: Ageing, Inefficient and Unprepared’ by Andrew Stock, A Report by the Climate Council, released 16 June 2014
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2391764/chinas-wind-power-capacity-now-bigger-than-uks-total-energy-supply ‘China’s wind power capacity now bigger than UK’s total electricity supply’ by Will Nichols, businessGreen Sustainable thinking, 23 January 2015
http://www.unendlich-viel-energie.de/en/economy/current-facts-and-figures.html German Renewable Energies Agency Information Platform, Current facts and figures webpage
http://www.dw.de/denmark-leads-the-charge-in-renewable-energy/a-17603695 ‘Denmark leads the charge in renewable energy’ by Helle Jeppesen, Deutsche Welle, 2 May 2014
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/graph-of-the-day-global-green-jobs-surge-to-6-5-mln-99651 ‘Graph of the Day: Global green jobs surge to 6.5 mln’ by Silvio Maracci, ReNew Economy, 14 May 2014
http://theconversation.com/abbotts-environment-agenda-is-even-harsher-than-he-promised-30796 ‘Abbott’s environment agenda is even harsher than he promised’ by Ian Lowe, The Conversation, 29 August 2014
CLIMATE PETITIONS
Small online petitions can effect change. See the latest petitions climate change groups want you to sign.
ClimActs Facebook
CLIMATE GUARDIANS ON INSTAGRAM
Flat Earth Institute on Twitter
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Falcons’ Julio Jones ‘unlikely’ to show for Atlanta’s first workouts
Matthew Schmidt
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is unlikely to be present at the Falcons’ first voluntary offseason workouts on Monday, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.
But fret not Falcons fans: McClure adds that Jones would show up for the mandatory workouts. He also missed the voluntary workouts last offseason, so this doesn’t seem like a big deal.
Of course, this comes smack dab in the middle of contract negotiations between the two sides, so Jones’ decision to skip Atlanta’s first round of workouts is likely going to raise some hairs even if there is no intent behind it.
Jones is under contract through 2020, but he is looking for a new deal. He is scheduled to make $9.6 million in 2019.
The 30-year-old is coming off of a terrific 2018 campaign in which he hauled in 113 receptions for a league-best 1,677 yards and eight touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.
Jones, who played his collegiate football at the University of Alabama, was originally selected by the Falcons with the sixth overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft.
He had a very impressive rookie season, catching 54 passes for 959 yards and eight scores. He then went on to make his first Pro Bowl the following season, snaring 79 balls for 1,198 yards while reaching the end zone 10 times.
Overall, Jones has made six Pro Bowls and has earned a pair of First-Team All-Pro selections throughout his eight-year NFL tenure, with his best season coming in 2015 when he led the league in both receptions (136) and receiving yards (1,871). He added eight touchdown catches on top of that.
JUST IN: Packers coach Matt LaFleur doesn’t care about anything that happened before he was hired
Related TopicsFalconsJulio Jones
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In The Wake of Lewis and Clark
FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA
Thomas Jefferson, president of the young United States of America, was an optimist who also had a shrewd understanding of geopolitics. His young country was blocked from expanding to the north by Great Britain, to the south and west by Spain, and, after 1800, by France. The immense Louisiana Territory effectively blocked his vision of an America that would someday extend from sea to shining sea. Even before he learned, in 1803, that he would be able to buy Louisiana from France, be began his plans to explore what he knew must someday become American territory.
The daring enterprise was so important that he assigned its leadership to Meriwether Lewis, his own personal secretary. Lewis, in turn, recruited his former commanding officer, William Clark, to co-captain the expedition.
Leaving St. Louis on May 14, 1804, with thirty-four soldiers, hired voyagers, and Clark’s slave, York, they traveled through the unexplored territory and beyond it, to the Pacific Ocean. Their exploits come alive today as cruise ships travel their route up and down the Snake and Columbia Rivers.
This book is designed to help passengers better understand what the Lewis and Clark expedition experienced during those momentous years of 1804–1806, but also to be able to see through vintage photographs and other images what the members of the Corps of Discovery saw before the rivers were changed forever by hydroelectric dams. It affords an opportunity to travel “in the wake of Lewis and Clark.”
Title IN THE WAKE OF LEWIS & CLARK: From the Mountains to the Sea
Author C. Mark Smith
Publication Date March, 2015
Marketing Plan Onboard Sales, Online Sales, Internet, Libraries
Audiences/Markets Lewis & Clark Expedition (1804-1806), Biography; (to be expanded)
Binding 6 x 9 Perfect Bound
Features 10 Chapters, 22 Pictures, Biography
ISBN: 978-1-4834-2839-0 (sc)978-1-4834-2838-3 (e)
Publisher: LuLu Publishing Services
Copyright: 2015 © Shore Excursions of America
Website: www.cms-author.com
Author Contact: smithcmark@gmail.com
The Seven Years’ War—known as the French and Indian War to Americans—was the first truly global conflict. It was fought between 1756–1763 on the battlefields of Europe, in the backwoods of North America, on islands in the Caribbean, in Central America, along the West African coast, in India, and in the Philippines.
The war was just the latest in a series of wars between the European empires during the eighteenth century that was driven by the struggle for power and influence in Europe and the growing competition for trade and new colonies in the rest of the world. Prussia and her allies were in competition with Austria for control of what remained of the Holy Roman Empire. Great Britain competed with France and Spain for new overseas territories, untapped resources, and strategic control of key choke points around the world’s oceans.
Power and influence ebbed and flowed as Europe’s great monarchies sought a new balance of power. Newly emerging Prussia formed an alliance with Great Britain. They were joined by several smaller German states and later, Portugal. In North America, the great Iroquois Confederacy fought on behalf of the British, while the Huron and other tribes allied with the French. Traditional enemies France and Austria countered with their own alliance, which was joined by Sweden, Saxony, and later, Spain. Russia started out as Austria’s ally but later signed a separate peace with Prussia. In India, the Mughal Empire allied with the French.
North America after the Treaty of Paris, 1763
The results of the Seven Years’ War generally favored the British, who gained most of New France in Canada as a result of General James Wolfe’s 1759 defeat of the French army under Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham above Quebec City. Britain also gained Spanish Florida, several islands in the Caribbean, and the colony of Senegal on the West African coast, and forced the French out of India. Spain lost Florida but gained the vast French holdings in Louisiana while regaining Cuba and the Philippines, which had been captured by the British during the war. The cost of undertaking a war on such a vast scale nearly bankrupted the different antagonists.
In North America, none of the great powers had any real knowledge of the vast Louisiana Territory. For centuries, great powers’ sea captains had searched both coasts of the continent looking for a “Northwest Passage” to the Orient. Over time the search had extended to North America. The seventeenth-century French explorers Marquette, Hennepin, and LaSalle suggested that there was a single mountain chain somewhere in the western interior beyond which a great river flowed into the Pacific Ocean.
Britain’s North American colonies fought alongside the mother country, particularly against the French-backed Indian tribes in the north and west. However, after the expense of protecting their colonies, the British government felt that their increasingly prosperous colonies should pay for their own defense. They made the decision to recover some of their costs by imposing a series of taxes, including one that taxed every document or newspaper used or printed in America. The colonists were outraged that they were being taxed without representation in Parliament, a violation, they felt, of their rights and liberties. The taxes were met by acts of civil disobedience and growing calls for independence. By 1767, events had escalated to the point where Britain imposed a tax on all goods imported into their American colonies, and the colonists responded by boycotting British imports and halving their trade with England. Not surprisingly, King George III and his government regarded the colonists’ actions as insurrection and sent troops to Boston to restore the status quo.
The British government seriously underestimated the power of the American independence movement, particularly among the colonies’ leading political and intellectual leaders. The charged atmosphere could not last, and by 1774, England and her American colonies were at war. The Americans formally declared their independence two years later. In spite of hired German mercenaries and the largest overseas deployment by their naval and land forces in history, the British were never able to apply enough military force or political willpower to win the war. They could defeat the Americans in battle, but they couldn’t control the countryside that sustained and nurtured their foe.
By 1778, the French saw an opportunity to strike back at the British for their losses during the Seven Years’ War and signed an alliance with the new government of the United States. The arrival of French land and naval forces added a new dimension to the war, making it more difficult for the British to reinforce their forces and providing the pivotal margin of victory in the decisive Battle of Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. Within six months, the British prime minister resigned, and a peace treaty was signed in Paris in September 1783.
Financial crises at home and the success of the Americans in creating their republic only increased the ambitions of those who wanted to reform the government of France. The state of the country’s finances and Louis XVI’s inconclusive and high-handed attempts to deal with the radical reformers led to the overthrow of the French monarchy in 1789. The events in France led Europe’s other conservative monarchies—primarily Austria and Prussia—to form a coalition aimed at restoring the French monarchy. Revolutionary France then declared war on Austria and Prussia in 1792, and on England in 1793. France and England would be at war continuously until 1802.
The young United States of America tried to stay out of the European conflict while profiting by trading with both sides. Both France and England tried to prohibit America from trading with the other side. With no real navy to protect them, American merchant ships were routinely stopped and searched, particularly by England, and their seamen—many of whom had been born in Great Britain—were removed and impressed to fill the ranks of the Royal Navy.
Spain had claimed the Pacific Coast of California as early as 1542, but other priorities in the New World meant that California would remain an imperial backwater until 1765 when Spain learned that Russians were settling in northern California. By then, Spain was fully engaged in the Seven Years’ War but decided to colonize the province of Alta California with Franciscan monks protected by troops stationed at their missions.
Spanish claims to Alaska and the west coast of North America dated back to the papal bull of 1493, which created the demarcation line between Spain and Portugal in the New World. Spain’s claim was reinforced in 1513 when Vasco Núñez de Balboa claimed all lands adjoining the Pacific Ocean for Spain.
In 1579, the British adventurer Francis Drake sailed up the west coast of North America, perhaps as far as British Columbia, before returning south to repair his ship in what is now San Francisco Bay. There, he claimed the region for England, naming it New Albion. Around 1592, a Greek explorer employed by Spain, Juan de Fuca, was supposed to have discovered the strait of water, now named for him, separating Vancouver Island from the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. In the 1740s, the Danish explorer Vitus Bering—then in the employ of Elizabeth, Empress of Russia and daughter of Peter the Great—explored Alaska and the Pacific Coast, leading to Russia’s claim to that region and the eventual settlements in northern California that would so alarm the Spanish.
Beginning at about the same time as the American Revolution, Spain actively explored the coastline of what is now Canada and Alaska in order to counter the Russian and British threats there and strengthen their own claim. They discovered the vast quantities of fine fur pelts that were available for trade from the local Indian tribes. On August 17, 1775, a Spanish sea captain named Bruno de Heceta sighted the mouth of the Columbia River but could not tell if it was a river or a strait between several bodies of land. Unable to enter because of the strong currents, he named it Bahia de la Asunción.
Over the next ten years the Spanish accelerated their exploration of the region and established a trading post at Nootka Sound. They soon controlled the fur trade between Asia and North America. In 1778, Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy visited Nootka Sound, and it was not long before the British and Americans were intent on competing with the Spanish for the increasingly profitable trade.
In 1788, an American trader, Captain Robert Gray of Boston, discovered a large river at approximately 46° latitude but was unable to enter it because of the adverse tides and currents. He proceeded north to Nootka Sound, where he was joined by a second American as well as several British trading ships. The Spanish Navy had dispatched a warship to Nootka to enforce Spanish sovereignty and impounded the three British ships it found there. The two American ships were left alone because Spain had been allied with France and the United States during the recent American Revolution. When news of the capture of the British ships arrived back in England, it almost led to war between Britain and Spain. The Nootka Convention of 1790 allowed both countries the right to settle along the Pacific Coast, interrupting Spain’s expansion in the New World for the first time in more than two centuries.
In May 1792, Robert Gray was finally successful in sailing into the Columbia River in his ship, the Columbia Rediviva, becoming the first recorded non-Native-American to do so. That voyage became the basis for the United States’ claim on the Pacific Northwest, and the river was afterwards named for Gray’s ship. Later that same year, Royal Navy Lieutenant William Broughton, in the service of Captain George Vancouver, entered the Columbia in his ship, Chatham, and rowed up the river in the ship’s boats as far as the current-day town of Washougal on the Washington side. His charts eventually found their way into an American map prepared for the Lewis and Clark expedition. It is quite possible—even probable—that Jefferson did not believe that Gray’s discovery of the Columbia established a clear claim to the region on behalf of the United States and that the Lewis and Clark expedition was expressly designed to strengthen that claim.
While England, Spain, and the United States competed for the Pacific Northwest and the fur trade with China, momentous events were taking place back in the heartland of the North American continent. France had controlled this vast area—which included the entire drainage system of the Mississippi River, from the Appalachian to the Rocky Mountains—from 1699 until 1762. As negotiations to end the Seven Years’ War began, Louis XV of France secretly proposed to his cousin, Charles III of Spain, that France give Louisiana to Spain. The agreement was kept secret even during the negotiation and signing of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Seven Years’ War in 1763. The Treaty of Paris divided La Louisiane—as the vast territory was known in French—in half, with the Mississippi River as the dividing line. As a result of England’s victory in the Seven Years’ War, the half east of the Mississippi was given to England, while the western half, including New Orleans, was nominally retained by France, which had already secretly promised it to Spain.
Spain would only control its remote and unruly territory for thirty-six years. By 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte had become First Consul of France. He dreamt of establishing a new French empire in the Caribbean and Louisiana. In another secret treaty, in which he gave the King of Spain’s son-in-law control over the province of Tuscany in Italy, Spain agreed to return Louisiana to France.
Thomas Jefferson, who had once served as Minister to France and Secretary of State before being elected as the third President of the United States, was a renaissance man who spoke five languages, understood geopolitics, and had a strategic vision of the future of the United States. In the spring of 1801, Jefferson learned of the secret treaty between Spain and France. Alarmed, he let the French know that the United States would consider any stationing of French troops in Louisiana to be an act of war.
Left: Jacque-Lewis David, the Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries (1812) – National Gallery of Art. Right: Rembrandt Peale, Thomas Jefferson (1805) – New York Historical Society.
In Jefferson’s mind, so long as Louisiana remained a part of the dying Spanish empire, the United States could bide her time. The control of Louisiana by the active and aggressive Napoleon was another matter entirely. Control of the territory by the British represented the greatest threat of all.
In May 1793, a Scottish fur trader named Alexander Mackenzie, working for the British North West Company, set out from Montreal for the Pacific Ocean with a small party. He crossed the Continental Divide and reached the headwaters of the Frazier River, but when told that it was unnavigable and occupied by hostile Indians, he selected another route to the coast. Mackenzie’s exploration was of immense importance to the Americans. He believed that he had discovered the northern fork of what would come to be called the Columbia River, and the publication of his journal established the British claim to the region.
Jefferson had long been interested in the west. He knew the approximate location of the mouth of the Columbia River from Gray’s discovery. When Mackenzie’s journal was published in London in 1801, Jefferson quickly acquired a copy of it. Mackenzie wrote that “the way to the Pacific lay open and easy,” and it prompted Jefferson to take action.
He sent Robert R. Livingston to Paris to inquire about purchasing New Orleans and its immediate environs from France. Negotiations languished while Napoleon’s armies were forced from Egypt and tried unsuccessfully to put down a slave revolt in Haiti. Desperate to avoid a possible war with France, Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris in 1802 to help Livingston negotiate a settlement, with instructions to negotiate an alliance with England if the talks in Paris failed.
Louisiana Purchase, 1803
Jefferson had authorized Livingston to purchase New Orleans and its immediate environs at a cost not to exceed $10 million. At first Napoleon was uninterested, but his recent losses and the need to rearm in order to continue the war with England forced him to reconsider. The American negotiators were shocked when the French offered them New Orleans and all of the Louisiana Territory for only $15 million. The American negotiators accepted the French offer—hoping that Jefferson and the American congress would concur—on April 30, 1803. The treaty was quickly signed by Jefferson and ratified by Congress in October 1803.
France officially turned over the Louisiana Territory to the United States at a formal ceremony conducted in St. Louis on March 10, 1804. The Louisiana Purchase roughly doubled the physical size of the United States, adding 828,000 square miles at a cost of $11,250,000 in cash plus the assumption of an additional $3,750,000 of private American debt—approximately four cents per acre.
Four Stars. Well written with current info overlaid with Lewis and Clark expedition.
dchris
Four stars! I really liked it.
Margaret M. Myer
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21st Century Health Care Options for the States
A version of this post is available on the Galen Institute website.
Across the country, state legislatures are considering whether or not to expand their existing Medicaid programs. Last year’s Supreme Court ruling struck down the mandatory nature of Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid to all families with incomes up to approximately $30,000 a year. Chief Justice Roberts’ June 2012 opinion stated that the health law as originally written engaged in “economic dragooning that leaves the states with no real option but to acquiesce in the Medicaid expansion.”[1] The Court’s opinion gave states a choice whether or not to expand their Medicaid programs to approximately 20 million new individuals,[2] a decision which states are weighing during their current legislative sessions.
The reasons why states should NOT participate in Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion are well-documented[3]: Medicaid patients have worse health outcomes than patients with other forms of insurance, and in many cases worse health outcomes than the uninsured;[4] Medicaid beneficiaries often face difficulty finding doctors who will treat them;[5] and by increasing federal spending funded by massive tax increases, a Medicaid expansion will destroy jobs rather than create them.[6]
Less well known, however, are the innovative programs states have utilized over the past several years to modernize and enhance their health sectors, expanding coverage and improving quality of care while lowering costs. Rather than utilizing Obamacare’s top-down, government-centric approach of putting more people into a broken Medicaid program, these policy solutions seek to transform Medicaid using market incentives to create a health system that works for patients.
Recently the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a bulletin providing clear evidence that the Obama administration views Medicaid expansion as an all-or-nothing proposition.[7] The Administration apparently hopes that pressure from hospitals and special interests will force state legislators to approve Obamacare’s massive Medicaid expansion. However, as Chief Justice Roberts indicated in his opinion last June, states now have a real choice. Based on the examples presented below, states should choose innovative, market-driven solutions, rather than Obamacare’s bureaucratic approach.
States seeking to improve their health care system should closely examine Rhode Island’s successful global compact waiver for its Medicaid program. The waiver, negotiated by then-Gov. Don Carcieri and approved by CMS in January 2009, attempts to reduce expenses by giving the state the flexibility to improve the quality of care. The Rhode Island waiver focuses on promoting home-and-community-based services as a more affordable (and more desirable) alternative to nursing homes, on improving access to primary care through managed care enrollment, and on other similar methods to provide quality care at better cost. In December 2011, the non-partisan Lewin Group released an analysis of the Rhode Island global compact waiver.[8] The Lewin report provides demonstrable examples of the waiver’s policy success, saving money while simultaneously improving care:
Shifting nursing home services into the community saved $35.7 million during the three-year study period
More accurate rate setting in nursing homes saved an additional $15 million in Fiscal Year 2010 alone
Better care management for adults with disabilities and special needs children saved between $4.5 and $11.9 million, and
Enrollment in managed care significantly increased the access of adults with disabilities to physician services.
Lewin’s conclusion:
The GW [Global Waiver] initiatives and budget actions taken by Rhode Island had a positive impact on controlling Medicaid expenditures. The actions taken to re-balance the [Long Term Care] system appear to have generated significant savings according to our estimates. The mandatory enrollment of disabled members in care management program reduced expenditures for this population while at the same time generally resulting in improved access to physician services. Continuing the GW initiatives already undertaken by the state and implementing the additional initiatives included in the [Global Waiver] will result in significant savings for the Rhode Island Medicaid program in future years.[9]
All this progress comes despite the Obama administration’s efforts, not because of them. Pages 14-15 of the Lewin report note that maintenance of effort mandates imposed in Obamacare and the “stimulus” prevented Rhode Island from imposing modest premiums on some beneficiaries, even though the approved waiver was supposed to give the state that flexibility.[10]
Despite the ways in which the Obama administration’s bureaucratic requirements interfered with Rhode Island’s ability to implement its global waiver fully, the state achieved measurable progress in reducing costs while improving care – providing a clear example that other states can emulate.
The Hoosier State’s Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP), created in 2008, applied the principles of personal responsibility, consumer-driven health plans, and Health Savings Accounts in its expansion of coverage to low-income populations. Initiated as part of a Medicaid demonstration waiver, the program requires individuals to make contributions to a Personal Wellness and Responsibility (POWER) account. No beneficiary pays more than 5% of their income, and the state supplements individual contributions so that all participants will have $1,100 in their accounts to pay for routine expenses.
Healthy Indiana promotes personal responsibility in several ways. First, the required beneficiary contributions to the POWER account ensure that all participants have an incentive to take greater responsibility for their own health and health spending. Second, the program promotes preventive care by providing an additional $500 to fund important preventive screenings. Moreover, only those beneficiaries who participate in a series of annual screenings may roll over unused POWER account funds from year to year. Third, Healthy Indiana assesses co-payments for non-urgent visits to the emergency room, attempting to reverse a trend of high ER usage by Medicaid beneficiaries prevalent nationwide.[11]
Overall, Healthy Indiana has achieved many of its policy goals. Despite the modest incomes of beneficiaries enrolled in the program – all of whom must have incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level, or about $31,000 for a couple in 2013 – nearly four in five contributed to their POWER account.[12] Nine in ten participants have at least one physician visit in their first year of enrollment, demonstrating that the HIP deductible does not hinder patients from obtaining needed care.[13] And an analysis by the consulting firm Milliman found that parents in Healthy Indiana “seek preventive care more frequently than comparable commercial populations.”[14]
Healthy Indiana has not only proved successful – it’s been popular as well. Only about one-quarter of participants ever enrolled in the program during its first two years left the program, “a retention rate much higher than the rate for adults in Indiana’s regular Medicaid managed care program.”[15] Approximately 70% of beneficiaries considered the required POWER account contributions just the right amount, and 94% of members report being satisfied or highly satisfied with their coverage.[16]
A 2011 policy brief by Mathematica Policy Research commented on the program’s successes:
HIP has successfully expanded coverage for the uninsured, while giving enrolled members an important financial stake in the cost of their health care and incentives for value-based decision making. Early implementation suggests that members value HIP benefits and that at least some low-income, uninsured adults are willing and able to contribute toward the cost of their care.[17]
Just as important, the program’s increase in preventive care, and decrease in emergency room usage, have achieved measurable savings. Milliman reports that HIP exceeded its targets for budget neutrality, spending nearly $1 billion less than its original spending cap in its first five years.[18]
In the past five years, the market-based incentives of the Healthy Indiana Plan have yielded two-fold success in improving the population while containing overall spending. It remains to be seen whether CMS will approve an extension of HIP or will instead claim that Obamacare’s bureaucratic mandates preclude the program’s continuation. The week the law passed, then-Gov. Mitch Daniels publicly worried that Obamacare would force him to plan for HIP’s termination.[19] State legislators seeking to avoid Obamacare’s requirements and restrictions who are looking instead to market incentives as a way to control costs would be wise to examine the Healthy Indiana Plan approach.
Earlier this year, CMS granted approval to the state of Florida’s two waivers to alter its Medicaid program. These waivers, which follow on the heels of a five-county pilot reform program begun in 2006, will roll out over the coming 18 months; both waivers should be fully implemented by October 2014.[20]
One of the two waivers would transform the Medicaid program for low-income beneficiaries. The waiver will allow all Medicaid recipients to enroll in managed care plans; each will have at least two, and as many as 10, Medicaid plans from which to choose.[21] The waiver allows managed care plans – which are based in one of 11 regions – to create customized benefit packages that meet the unique needs of their local populations. In applying for its waiver, Florida rightly noted that “each plan will face the competitive pressure of offering the most innovative package,” which will allow beneficiaries “to use their premium [dollars] to select benefit plans that best meet their needs.”[22]
Other features of the waiver likewise seek to reduce costs while improving the quality of beneficiary care. Managed care plans will be required to “establish a program to encourage and reward healthy behaviors,” similar to the Healthy Indiana Plan incentives discussed above.[23] Florida also is seeking waiver flexibility from CMS to encourage beneficiaries to enroll in health coverage through their employer when available and require modest cost-sharing for certain populations.[24]
Coupled with another waiver for the state’s long-term care program – one which seeks to place individuals in home and community-based services instead of nursing home facilities – the two waivers collectively will transform the Medicaid program in Florida. The waivers’ focus on participant choice, competition among plans to enroll beneficiaries, and incentives to promote wellness and preventive care all hold the potential to provide a more personalized experience for Medicaid beneficiaries – and, just as important, a more effective and efficient one as well.
Even as Florida moves ahead on implementing its waivers, state legislators are offering state-based alternatives to Obamacare’s costly Medicaid expansion. House Speaker Will Weatherford introduced legislation – the Florida Health Choices Plus bill – with Rep. Richard Corcoran, chairman of the House Health and Human Services Committee, to provide incentives for low-income individuals to obtain health insurance.[25] Under the proposal, individuals with incomes below the federal poverty line would receive $2,000, deposited into a CARE (Contribution Amount for Reasonable Expenses) account.[26] Beneficiaries would be required to deposit $25 per month, or $300 per year, into the account, and employers could contribute additional amounts as well. The money could be used to purchase affordable health coverage in the Florida Health Choices insurance clearinghouse, or used directly for health expenses.
Because more than two in three uninsured Americans lack coverage for periods of less than a year, Florida Health Choices Plus would provide bridge funding to the majority of citizens who suffer only short spells without health insurance.[27] It does so without providing incentives for individuals to drop private health insurance and enroll in a government program – a problem that has plagued past state coverage initiatives.[28] The proposal includes a personal responsibility component, coupled with incentives for beneficiaries to serve as wise consumers of health care. And it accomplishes these objectives without relying on Obamacare’s massive new gusher of federal spending.
Although it has not yet come to fruition, state thought leaders have begun to consider how additional flexibility from Washington could result in better care for patients and a more predictable and stable Medicaid budget for states. The Texas Public Policy Foundation recently released a paper outlining its vision for a Medicaid block grant, and how Texas could use the flexibility under a block grant to revamp its existing Medicaid program.[29] The paper describes how the amount of a block grant might be set, along with the terms and conditions establishing a new compact between the federal government and states – giving states more flexibility, but also requiring accountability for outcomes in the process.
Texas envisions a block grant as providing a way to revamp its Medicaid program for both low-income and elderly beneficiaries. For lower-income applicants, the state could choose to subsidize private health insurance, with incentives linked to Health Savings Account (HSA) plans. Beneficiaries would fund the difference between the amount of the state-provided subsidy and the cost of the insurance plan, “provid[ing] strong incentives to the enrolled population to purchase low premium, high value plans. Beneficiaries selecting coverage that costs less than their premium support entitlement would be allowed to deposit the difference in an HSA.”[30]
With respect to long-term care for the elderly, the Texas paper envisions a series of reforms under a Medicaid block grant. Incremental reforms – including partial benefits for those who seek to remain in community settings, a competitive bidding process for nursing home care, and greater restrictions on asset transfers, to ensure benefits are targeted toward truly needy individuals – would eventually lead to a fundamental transformation of the long-term care benefit into a defined contribution model. Under this reform, “the state will provide a pre-determined level of financial support directly to those eligible by establishing and funding an account on each beneficiary’s behalf” to be used for eligible care expenses – maximizing beneficiary choice and flexibility and encouraging the use of community-based service over institutional nursing homes.
Unfortunately, a block grant requires approval from Congress – and neither the Democrat Senate nor President Obama currently appear inclined to grant states the degree of flexibility the Texas paper envisions. But Rhode Island’s Global Waiver, approved in the final days of the George W. Bush administration, shows that the administration does have the authority to grant global waivers to other states seeking the same control over their Medicaid programs.
Nevertheless, the ideas offered in the paper present a vision where both flexibility and market incentives can provide better quality coverage to residents while providing budgetary stability to federal and state governments alike.
Learning from other states
Other examples of states taking action on their Medicaid programs:
North Carolina: States first need to be armed with solid information about how the Medicaid program is working. They need to know who is being helped or harmed and how much is being lost to waste and inefficiency in this ossified, rule-driven program. In North Carolina, state auditor Beth Wood recently found that the state’s Medicaid program endured $1.4 billion in cost overruns each year, including $375 million in state dollars. As a result, North Carolina has decided not to expand its Medicaid program. Before considering any action, others states should commission objective, independent audits of their Medicaid programs to understand the program and the problems that need fixing.
New York also was able to gain more control over how Medicaid subsidy money is spent in exchange for a global cap on a substantial fraction of its Medicaid expenditures.
West Virginia offers alternative benefit packages that create incentives for beneficiaries to take responsibility for their own health and health care. Kentucky and Idaho are among other states with similar programs. Patients receive additional benefits if they select a medical home, adhere to health improvement programs, keep and arrive on time for appointments, use the hospital emergency room for emergencies only, and comply with prescribed medications.
Utah fought for and received a waiver that allowed the states to scale back Medicaid’s excessively large benefit package to stretch the money to cover more citizens.
These are a few examples of the creative programs that states could develop if they weren’t forced to jump through Washington’s Mother-May-I Medicaid hoops to get approval to make even minor changes to their Medicaid programs.
Lessons and Themes
While each state’s Medicaid program is unique, the examples discussed above each contain common themes that should guide policy-makers seeking to transform their state health systems – and avoid the pitfalls of Obamacare’s massive, bureaucratic expansion:
Customized Beneficiary Services: Providing beneficiaries with a choice of coverage options can provide plans an incentive to tailor their benefit packages to best meet individuals’ needs. Similar incentives promoting competition in the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit helped keep that program’s cost more than 40% below original estimates.[31]
Coordinated and Preventive Care: Several of the reform programs focus on providing individualized, coordinated services to beneficiaries – an improvement to the top-down, uncoordinated care model of old. In many cases, preventive care interventions for Medicaid recipients suffering from chronic conditions can ultimately save money.
Personal Responsibility: Cost-sharing can be an appropriate incentive, to encourage beneficiaries to take ownership of their health, and discourage costly practices, such as emergency room trips for routine care. The fact that more than two-thirds of Healthy Indiana Plan participants consider their cost-sharing levels appropriate proves that even families of modest means are both willing and able to provide some financial contribution to their cost of care.
Home and Community-Based Services: Several of the reform programs attempt to continue and accelerate the trend of providing long-term care in patients’ homes, rather than in more cumbersome and costly nursing home settings.
No New Federal Funds: Most importantly, each of the reform projects discussed above neither seek nor require the massive new spending levels contemplated by an Obamacare expansion. In many cases, the programs above were implemented successfully despite Washington’s interference, not because of it.
Functioning in their traditional role as laboratories of democracy, states have provided better solutions for policy-makers seeking to reform their Medicaid programs. These solutions have expanded coverage, and improved the quality of care, even while reducing costs to taxpayers. As the Obama administration denies states true flexibility when it comes to Obamacare’s costly Medicaid expansion, states have demonstrated that they can convert a modicum of leeway from Washington into maximum improvements for their citizens – and savings for taxpayers.
The analysis above shows that Chief Justice Roberts was right: states do have a choice when it comes to their Medicaid programs. They can – and should – choose the options that will reform and revitalize their programs, rather than the massive and costly expansion of the Medicaid monolith included in Obamacare.
States must take the lead in insisting that Washington provide more flexibility over Medicaid spending so they can expand access to care without burdening taxpayers with significant new costs or burdening their citizens with a program that can be worse than being uninsured.
States can show that Medicaid can have a more efficient and effective service delivery system that enhances quality of care and outcomes. Expanding Medicaid without a guarantee of flexibility would be a major missed opportunity for the states. If states join together, they have more leverage to demand true flexibility than if they try to gain leverage one by one.
[1] NFIB v. Sebelius, June 28, 2012, http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-393c3a2.pdf, p. 52.
[2] Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that Obamacare would expand coverage to 17 million individuals through Medicaid by 2022, while the Office of the Actuary at CMS estimated the Medicaid expansion would cover 25.9 million individuals by 2020. See CBO, “Estimates for Insurance Coverage Provisions of the Affordable Care Act Updated for the Recent Supreme Court Decision,” July 24, 2012, http://cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43472-07-24-2012-CoverageEstimates.pdf, Table 1, p. 19, and Office of the Actuary, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, “2011 Actuarial Report on the Financial Outlook for Medicaid,” March 16, 2012, http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Research/ActuarialStudies/Downloads/MedicaidReport2011.pdf, p. 30.
[3] Grace-Marie Turner and Avik Roy, “Twelve Reasons States Should Not Expand Medicaid,” Galen Institute, March 15, 2013, http://www.galen.org/topics/tennessee-should-block-medicaid-expansion/.
[4] Scott Gottlieb, “Medicaid Is Worse than No Coverage at All,” The Wall Street Journal March 10, 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704758904576188280858303612.html.
[5] See, for instance, Joanna Bisgaier and Karin Rhodes, “Auditing Access to Specialty Care for Children with Public Insurance,” New England Journal of Medicine June 16, 2011, http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1013285.
[6] Chris Conover, “Will Medicaid Expansion Create Jobs?,” Forbes, February 25, 2013, http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisconover/2013/02/25/will-medicaid-expansion-create-jobs/.
[7] CMS Bulletin, “Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act: Premium Assistance,” March 29, 2013, http://medicaid.gov/Federal-Policy-Guidance/Downloads/FAQ-03-29-13-Premium-Assistance.pdf.
[8] Lewin Group, “An Independent Evaluation of Rhode Island’s Global Waiver,” December 6, 2011, http://www.ohhs.ri.gov/documents/documents11/Lewin_report_12_6_11.pdf.
[10] Specifically, the report notes that the maintenance of effort requirements included in the “stimulus” (P.L. 111-5) and Obamacare (P.L. 111-148) “had a profound impact on the flexibility Rhode Island anticipated…The Special Terms and Conditions for the global waiver authorized Rhode Island to charge premiums of up to 5 percent…however, CMS prohibited Rhode Island from using this authority,” citing the maintenance of effort requirements. Ibid., pp. 11-12.
[11] See, for instance, a 2010 Centers for Disease Control research brief finding Medicaid beneficiaries were nearly twice three times as likely as those with private insurance to visit the ER multiple times in one year. Tamrya Caroll Garcia, Amy Bernstein, and Mary Ann Bush, “Emergency Department Visitors and Visits: Who Used the Emergency Room in 2007?” National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief No. 38, May 2010, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db38.pdf.
[12] Timothy Lake, Vivian Byrd, and Seema Verma, “Healthy Indiana Plan: Lessons for Reform,” Mathematica Policy Research Issue Brief, January 2011, http://mathematica-mpr.com/publications/pdfs/health/healthyindianaplan_ib1.pdf.
[13] Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Healthy Indiana Plan 1115 Waiver Extension Application, February 13, 2013, http://www.in.gov/fssa/hip/files/HIP_WaiverforPosting.pdf, p. 18.
[14] Cited in Ibid.
[15] “Healthy Indiana Plan: Lessons for Reform.”
[16] Healthy Indiana Plan 1115 Waiver Extension Application, pp. 19, 6.
[18] Milliman letter to Indiana Family and Social Services Administration regarding budget neutrality of Medicaid Section 1115 waiver, January 30, 2013, http://www.in.gov/fssa/hip/files/041115_Budget_Neutrality_Waiver_Renewal.pdf.
[19] Mitch Daniels, “We Good Europeans,” The Wall Street Journal March 26, 2010, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094104575144362968408640.html.
[20] Frequently Asked Questions on Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Program, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, http://ahca.myflorida.com/medicaid/statewide_mc/pdf/FAQ_MC-SMMC_general.pdf.
[22] Florida Agency for Health care Administration, Section 1115 waiver submission to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Waivers/1115/downloads/fl/fl-medicaid-reform-pa.pdf.
[23] Ibid., p. 16.
[24] A summary of the specific federal authorities Florida seeks to waive can be found on the state Agency for Health Care Administration website, http://ahca.myflorida.com/medicaid/statewide_mc/pdf/Summary_of_Federal_Authorities_01232013.pdf.
[25] “Florida Health Choices PLUS+: Creating a Stronger Marketplace for Better Health, More Choices, and Expanded Coverage,” Floriday House Majority Office, April 2013, http://myfloridahouse.gov/Handlers/LeagisDocumentRetriever.ashx?Leaf=housecontent/HouseMajorityOffice/Lists/Other%20Items/Attachments/6/Florida_Heath_Choices_Plus.pdf&Area=House.
[26] Available online at http://myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?PublicationType=Committees&CommitteeId=2738&Session=2013&DocumentType=Proposed%20Committee%20Bills%20%28PCBs%29&FileName=PCB%20SPPACA%2013-03.pdf.
[27] Congressional Budget Office, “How Many People Lack Health Insurance and for How Long?” May 2003, http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/42xx/doc4210/05-12-uninsured.pdf, Table 4, p. 11. For a further discussion of the cohorts comprising the uninsured, see Chris Jacobs, “Deconstructing the Uninsured,” Republican Study Committee Policy Brief, August 26, 2008, http://rsc.scalise.house.gov/uploadedfiles/pb_082608_uninsured%20analysis.pdf.
[28] See for instance Jonathan Gruber and Kosali Simon, “Crowd-Out Ten Years Later: Have Recent Public Insurance Expansions Crowded Out Private Insurance?” Journal of Health Economics, February 2008, http://economics.mit.edu/files/6422. The study found that about three in five individuals enrolled in government health programs dropped their private coverage to do so.
[29] James Capretta, Michael Delly, Arlene Wohlgemuth, and John Davidson, “Save Texas Medicaid: A Proposal for Fundamental Reform,” Texas Public Policy Foundation, March 2013, http://www.texaspolicy.com/sites/default/files/documents/2013-03-RR05-MedicaidBlockGrants-Final.pdf.
[31] Robert Moffit, “Medicare Drugs: Why Congress Should Reject Government Price Fixing,” The Heritage Foundation Issue Brief 3880, March 18, 2013, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/03/medicare-drugs-why-congress-should-reject-government-price-fixing.
Author chrisjacobsPosted on April 25, 2013 March 11, 2019 Categories Coverage, Medicaid and SCHIP, RegulationsTags Block grant, Bureaucrats, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Consumer-directed health plan, Delivery system reform, Don Carcieri, Florida, Galen Institute, Global compact, Government spending, Health Savings Accounts, Healthy Indiana, Home and community-based services, Idaho, Indiana, John Roberts, Kentucky, Lewin Group, Maintenance of effort, Managed care, Mathematica Policy Research, Medicaid expansion, Milliman, Mitch Daniels, New York, North Carolina, Preventive care, Regulations, Rhode Island, Richard Corcoran, State flexibility, Supreme Court ruling, Tax increases, Uninsured, Utah, Waivers, Wellness incentives, West Virginia, Will Weatherford
Do’s and Don’ts of Improving State Medicaid Programs
A version of this document is available on the Galen Institute website.
Across the country, state legislatures are considering whether and how to implement Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion. Ten simple reasons illustrate why states should reject Obamacare’s government-centric expansion and instead develop their own innovative solutions.
Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion harms states
Medicaid is “Not a Jobs Program:” Former Obama administration official Zeke Emanuel wrote in a New York Times op-ed that hospitals and other health providers should not view health programs as a never-ending government jobs program. Research suggests tax increases needed to fund Medicaid expansion will destroy jobs, not create them.
Medicaid “Not Real Insurance:” Medicaid’s problems with poor beneficiary access to physicians have been well documented. One Michigan beneficiary said it best: “You feel so helpless thinking, something’s wrong with this child and I can’t even get her into a doctor….When we had real insurance, we would call and come in at the drop of a hat.”
Not True Flexibility: Guidance recently issued by the Obama administration shows continued unwillingness to contemplate flexibility in Medicaid. Washington continues to place limits on even modest cost-sharing for recipients to incentivize healthy behaviors.
“Bait and Switch” from Washington, Part I: Given the significant Medicaid spending cuts President Obama himself previously proposed to rein in massive federal deficits, the high federal Medicaid matching rates included in Obamacare are unlikely to remain.
“Bait and Switch” from Washington, Part II: States with premium assistance demonstrations now must ask permission from Washington to extend them beyond 2016. HHS has shown little flexibility for states, and it could show even less after millions more Americans are enrolled in taxpayer-funded benefits.
True Reform: What states should do instead
Customized Beneficiary Services: Providing beneficiaries with a choice of coverage options can provide plans an incentive to tailor their benefit packages to best meet individual needs. Similar incentives promoting competition in the Medicare Part D drug benefit helped keep program cost more than 40% below estimates.
Coordinated and Preventive Care: Reform programs in states as varied as Indiana, Rhode Island, and Florida focus on individualized, coordinated services to beneficiaries – an improvement on the top-down, uncoordinated care model of old. In many cases, preventive care interventions for Medicaid recipients suffering from chronic conditions can ultimately save money.
Personal responsibility: Cost-sharing can be an appropriate incentive to encourage recipients to take ownership of their health and discourage costly practices, such as ER visits for routine care. More than two-thirds of participants in the Hoosier State’s Healthy Indiana Plan consider their cost-sharing levels appropriate, proving that families of modest means are willing and able to provide some financial contribution to their cost of care.
Home and Community-Based Services: Providing long-term care in home settings, rather than in more costly nursing homes can improve quality and save taxpayers money.
No New Federal Funds: Most importantly, innovative programs in Rhode Island, Indiana, Florida, and elsewhere neither seek nor require the massive new spending levels contemplated by an Obamacare expansion.
Author chrisjacobsPosted on April 8, 2013 March 11, 2019 Categories Coverage, Jobs, Medicaid and SCHIP, RegulationsTags Cost-sharing, Delivery system reform, Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, Florida, Galen Institute, Home and community-based services, Indiana, Jobs, Medicaid expansion, Michigan, New York Times, Physician access, Premium assistance, Preventive care, Rhode Island, State flexibility, Tax increases, Zeke Emanuel
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Hospital Monopolies Are What’s Wrong with American Health Care
Call it a sign of the times. If Rich Uncle Pennybags (a.k.a. “Mr. Monopoly”) appeared today, he would have little interest in holding properties like the Short Line Railroad. In the 21st century, acquiring railroads, or even utilities, is so Baltic Avenue. The real money—and the real monopolies—lie in health care, specifically in hospitals.
Despite the constant focus on prescription drug prices, pharmaceuticals represent a comparatively small slice of the American health care pie. In 2016, national spending on prescription drugs totaled $328.6 billion. That’s a large sum on its own, but only 9.8 percent of total health care spending. By contrast, spending on hospital care totaled nearly $1.1 trillion, or more than three times spending on prescriptions.
Add in a portion of the $881.2 billion spent on professional and physician services—a growing portion, given that hospitals continue to snap up physician practices left, right, and center—and one can easily call hospitals a $1.5 trillion industry. As an analysis in the Wall Street Journal last week demonstrated, that industry is majorly affecting the health-care sector—and raising your insurance premiums to boot.
Hospitals’ Monopolistic Tactics
The Journal profiled several under-the-radar tactics that some large hospitals use to deter competition and pad their bottom lines. For instance, some contracts “prevent patients from seeing a hospital’s prices by allowing a hospital operator to block the information from online shopping tools that insurers offer.”
Hospitals use these tactics to oppose transparency, because they fear, correctly, that if patients know what they will pay for a service before they receive it, they may take their business elsewhere. It’s an arrogant and high-handed attitude straight out of Marxism.
Also in hospitals’ toolkits: So-called “must-carry” clauses, which require insurers to keep their hospitals in-network, regardless of the high prices they charge, or poor quality outcomes they achieve. The Journal reported that one of the nation’s largest retailers wanted to kick out the lowest-quality providers, but had no ability to do so.
Officials at Walmart a few years ago asked the insurers that administered its coverage…if the nation’s largest private employer could remove from its health-care networks the 5% of providers with the worst quality performance. The insurers told the giant retailer their contracts with certain health-care providers didn’t allow them to filter out specific doctors or hospitals, even based solely on quality measures.
Think about that for a moment: The business that promises “Always Low Prices”—and has drawn attacks driving down prices in a way that critics claim freezes out other firms—legally cannot obtain lower prices, or better quality, from its hospitals, under any circumstances.
Surprise! Obamacare Made It Worse
Many of these trends preceded President Obama’s health care law, of course. But it doesn’t take a PhD in mathematics to see how hospital mergers accelerated after 2010, the year of Obamacare’s passage:
Hospitals responded to the law by buying up other hospitals, increasing market share in an attempt to gain more negotiating “clout” against health insurers. That leverage allows them to demand clauses such as those preventing price transparency, or preventing insurers from developing smaller networks that only include efficient or better-quality providers.
In addition to merging and consolidating amongst themselves, hospitals have also gone on a buying spree for physician practices, acting again to obtain larger market share, and have a “one-stop-shop” for health care services. The Journal cites University of California data showing that, since Obamacare’s passage, the percentage of doctors employed by hospitals rose from 27.7 percent in 2010 to 43.5 percent in 2016. As a result, a plurality of American physicians now work for hospitals, rather than in medical groups or independent practice.
Here again, industry consolidation begets higher prices. In many cases, hospitals can charge more for services provided by an “outpatient facility” as opposed to one provided by a “doctor’s office.” In some circumstances, the patient will receive the same service, provided by the same doctor, in the same office, but will end up getting charged a higher price—merely because, by buying the physician practice, the hospital can reclassify the office and procedure as taking place in an “outpatient facility.”
Remember: Hospitals Endorsed Obamacare
In 2010, the American Hospital Association, along with other hospital associations, endorsed Obamacare. At the time the hospital lobbies claimed that the measure would increase the number of Americans with health insurance coverage. For some reason, they neglected to mention how the law would also encourage the consolidation that presents ever-upward pressure on insurance premiums.
But remember too that Obama repeatedly promised his health-care law would lower premiums by $2,500 for the average family. Unfortunately for Americans, however, Obamacare’s crony capitalism—allowing hospitals to grow their operations, and thus their bottom line, in exchange for political endorsements—continues to contribute to higher premiums, putting Obama’s promise further and further away from reality.
Author chrisjacobsPosted on September 28, 2018 January 4, 2019 Categories Costs, Premiums, RegulationsTags American Hospital Association, Big Hospitals, Cronyism, Drug prices, Health care costs, Industry consolidation, Physician reimbursement, The Federalist, Transparency, University of California, Wal-Mart
Politico Reporter’s “Fact Check” of Trump Riddled with Omissions
Who will fact check the fact checkers? That question reared its head again late last week, as a reporter from Politico attempted to add “context” to health-care-related comments the president made at a political rally in Las Vegas. As with Trump himself, what Politico reporter Dan Diamond omitted said just as much as what he included.
During his speech, the president talked about pre-existing conditions, saying Republicans want to “protect patients with pre-existing conditions:”
I’ve previously written about the Obamacare lawsuit in question—why I oppose both the lawsuit, and the Justice Department’s intervention in the case, as unwise judicial activism—and Republicans’ poor response on the issue. But note what neither Diamond nor Trump mentioned: That the pre-existing condition “protections” are incredibly costly—the biggest driver of premium increases—and that, when voters are asked whether they would like these provisions “if it caused the cost of your health insurance to go up,” support plummets by roughly 40 percentage points.
If you need any more persuading that the media are carrying liberals’ water on pre-existing conditions, consider that the Kaiser Family Foundation released their health care tracking survey earlier this month. In it, Kaiser asked whether people are worried that “if the Supreme Court overturns the health care law’s protections for people with pre-existing health conditions you will have to pay more for health insurance coverage.”
The survey didn’t mention that all individuals are already paying higher premiums for those “protections” since Obamacare took effect—whether they want to or not, and whether they have a pre-existing condition or not. In fact, the survey implied the opposite. By only citing a scenario that associates premium rises with a Supreme Court ruling striking down the provisions, Kaiser misled respondents into its “preferred” response.
So the propagandists at Kaiser put out an inherently flawed and misleading survey, and what does Politico do? Serve as dutiful stenographers for the liberal cause. First, their newsletter reported the “results” of the survey without peering under the hood at its methodology. (Funny how no one had time to “fact check” the polling questions—as opposed to Trump’s comments.)
Then last week, Politico ran another story on the Republican strategy to “duck and cover” regarding the states’ lawsuit, which might of course have something to do with the tenor of Politico’s “reporting” on pre-existing conditions in the first place.
Next, to Single-Payer Proposals
Following the comments about pre-existing conditions, the president then went on the attack, and Diamond felt the need to respond.
Diamond accurately notes that “there is no consensus ‘Democrat plan.’” As the saying goes, the left hand doesn’t always know what the far-left hand is doing. But Trump also made crystal clear what specific Democratic plan he was describing—the single-payer plan written by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). He even quoted the $32 trillion estimated cost of the plan, as per a Mercatus Center study that became the topic of great dispute earlier this summer.
Here’s what Section 102(a) of Sanders’ bill (S. 1804) says about coverage under the single-payer plan: “SEC. 102. UNIVERSAL ENTITLEMENT. (a) IN GENERAL.—Every individual who is a resident of the United States is entitled to benefits for health care services under this Act. The Secretary shall promulgate a rule that provides criteria for determining residency for eligibility purposes under this Act.”
And here’s what Section 107(a) of the bill says about individuals trying to keep their own health coverage, or purchasing other coverage, to “get out” of the single-payer system:
SEC. 107. PROHIBITION AGAINST DUPLICATING COVERAGE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the effective date described in section 106(a), it shall be unlawful for—
(1) a private health insurer to sell health insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits provided under this Act; or
(2) an employer to provide benefits for an employee, former employee, or the dependents of an employee or former employee that duplicate the benefits provided under this Act.
In other words, the Sanders bill “would force every American on to government-run health care, and virtually eliminate all private and employer-based health care plans”—exactly as the president claimed.
Rather than give the president credit for making an accurate claim, Diamond’s “fact check” relied on the semantic argument that “most” Democratic health plans “don’t force Americans on to government care.” (I could argue otherwise—that forcing people to buy coverage, as several other liberal plans would do, actually is “government care”—but I digress.)
His “most” wording cleverly attempted to elide the fact that the most prominent Democratic plan—the one endorsed by everyone from Sanders to Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and vigorously pursued by the activist left—does exactly what Trump claimed.
I have little doubt that, had the president inflated the Mercatus study’s estimated cost of Sanders’ single-payer plan—for instance, had Trump said it would cost $42 trillion, or $52 trillion, instead of using the $32 trillion number—Diamond (and others) would have instantly “fact checked” the incorrect number. Given that Diamond, and just about everyone else, knew Trump was talking about the single-payer bill, this so-called “fact check”—which discussed everything but the bill Trump referenced—looks both smarmy and pedantic, specifically designed to divert attention from the most prominent Democratic plan put forward, and Trump’s (accurate) claims about it.
Medicare Benefits Not Guaranteed
Ironically, if Diamond really wanted to fact check the president, as opposed to playing political games, he had a wide open opportunity to do so, on at least two levels. In both cases, he whiffed completely.
In the middle of his riff on single-payer health care, President Trump said this: “Robbing from our senior citizens—you know that? It’s going to be one of the great catastrophes ever. The benefits—they paid, for their entire lives—are going to be taken away.” Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Politicians can claim all they want that people “paid into” Medicare to get back their benefits, but it isn’t true. The average senior receives far more in benefits than what he or she paid into the system, and the gap is growing. Medicare’s existing cash crunch makes a compelling case against expanding government-run health care, but it still doesn’t mean that seniors “paid for” all (as opposed merely to some) of the benefits they receive.
Second, as I have previously noted, Sanders’ bill is not “Medicare-for-all.” It’s “Medicare-for-none.” Section 901(a)(1)(A) of the bill would end benefits under the current Medicare program, and Section 701(d) of the bill would liquidate the existing Medicare trust fund. If seniors like the Medicare coverage, including the privately run Medicare Advantage plans, they have now, they would lose it. Period.
To sum up, in this case Politico ignored:
The cost of the pre-existing condition “protections”—how they raise premiums, and how Obamacare advocates don’t want to mention that fact when talking about them;
The way that the most prominent Democratic health care bill—the one that President Trump very clearly referred to in his remarks—would abolish private coverage and force hundreds of millions of individuals on to government-run health care;
Inaccurate claims President Trump made about seniors having “earned” all their Medicare benefits; and
The fact that Sanders’ bill would actually abolish Medicare for seniors.
And people say the media have an ideological bias in favor of greater government control of health care. Why on earth would they think that?
Author chrisjacobsPosted on September 24, 2018 January 4, 2019 Categories Coverage, Medicare, Premiums, RegulationsTags Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Dan Diamond, Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren, Entitlement reform, Fact check, Healthy America, Kaiser Family Foundation, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Medicare, Medicare Extra, Medicare trust fund, Mercatus Center, Plan cancellations, Politico, Pre-existing conditions, Premium increases, Single payer, Texas v. Azar, The Federalist
Republicans’ Mixed Messages on Federalism
Care to take a guess how many Republican senators are willing to take a stand over federalism? Would you believe just two?
On Monday night, when the Senate considered legislation sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) about “gag clauses” in pharmaceutical contracts, only Utah’s Mike Lee and Kentucky’s Rand Paul voted no. Lee and Paul do not believe the federal government has any business providing for blanket regulation of the health-care sector.
That so many Republicans who claim to support federalism turned a blind eye toward this important principle in this instance says much about why they have thus far failed to reverse the federal government’s power grab in Obamacare.
Gag Clauses, Explained
I have experienced the distorted ways the drug pricing system currently operates. When looking to refill a prescription for one of my antihistamines, my insurance benefit quoted me a charge of $170 for a 90- to 100-day supply. But when I went online to GoodRX.com, I found online coupons that could provide me the same product, in the same quantities, for a mere $70-80, depending on the pharmacy I chose.
I found even greater discounts by purchasing in bulk. I ended up buying a nearly one year’s supply of my maintenance medication for $210—little more than the price for a 90-100 day supply originally quoted to me by my insurer. Had I used my insurance card, and refilled the prescription repeatedly, I would have paid approximately $300 more over the course of a year. Because my Obamacare insurance is junk, I have little chance of reaching my deductible this year, short of getting hit by a bus, so it made perfect sense for me to pay with cash instead.
In theory, anyone can go to GoodRX.com (with which I have no relationship except as a satisfied consumer), or other similar websites, to find the cash price of prescription drugs and compare them to the prices quoted by their insurers. But in practice, few try to shop around for prescription drugs.
“Gag clauses,” inserted by pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs), prohibit pharmacies from telling people that they might benefit from paying in cash rather than using their insurance card. While the trade association for PBMs opposes such provisions, and claims that “gag clauses” do not widely exist, a 2016 survey of community pharmacists found that many encountered them regularly.
Why Federalism Matters
In general, conservatives would support efforts to increase transparency within the health-care marketplace, and prohibiting “gag clauses” would do just that. However, some conservatives would also note that the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1947 devolves the business of regulating insurance, including health insurance, to the states, and that the states could take the lead on whether or not to eliminate “gag clauses” in insurance contracts. Indeed, a majority of states—26 in total—have already done so, including no fewer than 15 state laws passed just this year.
Lee’s office reached out to me several weeks ago for technical assistance in drafting an amendment designed to limit the scope of federal legislation on “gag clauses” to those types of insurance where the federal government already has a regulatory nexus. Lee ultimately offered such an amendment, which prohibited “gag clauses” only for self-insured employer plans—regulated by the federal government under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
Unfortunately, only 11 senators—all Republicans—voted for this amendment, which would have prevented yet another intrusion by the federal government on states’ affairs. Of those 11, only Lee and Paul voted against final passage of the bill, due to the federalism concerns.
More Federalism Violations Ahead?
To follow up on Monday’s bad developments, Tuesday saw the release of another proposal that would further entrench the federal government in the health-care system. Specifically, a group of lawmakers released a discussion draft of legislation that would federally regulate the issue of “surprise medical bills,” which occur when a patient ends up at an out-of-network hospital in an emergency situation, or gets treated by an out-of-network physician at an in-network hospital.
One of the prime sponsors of the discussion draft? None other than Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the author of legislation introduced last year that he claimed would “give states significant latitude over how [health care] dollars are used to best take care of the unique…needs of the patients in each state.”
The contradiction between Cassidy’s rhetoric then and his actions now raise obvious questions: How can states get “significant latitude over” their health care systems if Washington-based politicians like Cassidy are constantly butting in with new requirements, like the “surprise medical bill” regulation? Or, to put it another way, why does Cassidy think states are smart enough to manage nearly $1.2 trillion in Obamacare funding, but too stupid to figure out how to solve problems like drug price “gag clauses” and “surprise bills?”
Politics Versus Principle
The widely inconsistent behavior of people like Cassidy raises the possibility that, to some, federalism represents less of a political principle to follow than a political toy to manipulate. When Washington lawmakers want to punt a difficult decision—like how to “repeal” Obamacare while “replacing” it with an alternative that covers just as many people—they can hide behind federalism to defer action to the states.
Conversely, when an issue attracts a popular outcry—like drug prices or “surprise bills”—federal politicians can abandon talk of federalism, and swoop in to tell states how to run their health insurance markets. After all, as Ronald Reagan said, they’re from the government and they’re here to help.
Reagan had another axiom that applies in this case: That there is no limit to what a person can do if that person does not mind who gets the credit. Lawmakers in literally dozens of states have acted on “gag clauses,” but that matters little to Collins, who wants the federal government to swoop in and take the credit—and erode state autonomy in the process.
It may seem novel to most of official Washington, but if lawmakers claim to believe in federalism, they should stick to that belief, even when it proves inconvenient.
Author chrisjacobsPosted on September 20, 2018 January 4, 2019 Categories Costs, Coverage, RegulationsTags Bill Cassidy, ERISA, Gag clauses, Graham-Cassidy, Hypocrisy, McCarran-Ferguson Act, Mike Lee, Pharmaceutical Benefit Managers, Rand Paul, Regulations, Ronald Reagan, State flexibility, Surprise medical bills, Susan Collins, The Federalist
Of Course Russian Trolls Used Obamacare Repeal to Divide Americans
Full disclosure: I am not a Russian troll.
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal published an analysis of nearly 10,000 tweets published by accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a Russian-backed organization that Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted for its attempts to interfere with the American electoral process.
The analysis, undertaken by researchers at Clemson University, found that just under two-thirds (63 percent) of the health care-related tweets trolled for Republican causes—that is, opposing Obamacare or supporting its repeal—while one-sixth (16 percent) trolled for Democratic ones, by supporting the law and opposing “repeal-and-replace” efforts last year.
It should go without saying, but no one should support efforts to interfere with, or otherwise corrupt, the American democratic process. Particularly given the way in which Russia’s authoritarian regime has stifled dissent and dismantled the country’s free and independent media, the IRA and Russian President Vladimir Putin have little business trying to lecture the United States on how to run a government.
That said, it seems unsurprising that the Russian government would attempt to use health care as a “wedge” issue to divide groups of Americans. The Journal article notes that “health policy [was a] natural target for the [Russian] provocateurs.”
In 2010, Democrats passed their health-care law through Congress on strict party lines, with not a single Republican vote. Health care in general, and Obamacare in particular, have remained polarizing issues ever since. The Journal also noted that the trolls’ Obamacare-related activity spiked last spring and summer, during the heat of the debate over “repeal-and-replace” legislation in Congress.
However, the IRA did not confine its involvement in health care to debates surrounding Obamacare. A study published in the American Journal of Public Health last month, and entitled “Weaponized Health Communication,” found that Russian bots also disproportionately referenced vaccines as a subject of controversy. Many of the trolls also attempted to link vaccines to other hot-button issues, such as race or class.
Health care, unlike most other issues, remains intensely personal to each American. Whereas many Americans might not care much about energy policy, or see how the North Atlantic Treaty Organization affects their daily lives, people have frequent and personal interactions with the health care system, whether for themselves or someone close to them. Everyone has a story and an opinion about health care.
Health care also has become a flashpoint for long-simmering political debates over the size and scope of government. Conservatives and libertarians oppose Obamacare because they view it as “big government” overreach. They would repeal the law, and scale back the involvement of government in general, and the federal government in particular, over the health care system.
By contrast, liberals want to go even further to expand government’s scope and reach—hence the renewed push for a single-payer health system. The Left views health care as a right, the number of uninsured and underinsured people as a scandal, and health concerns as a moral imperative that only government can address. Likewise, the vaccine debate plays to similar questions about the extent to which government can and should involve itself in health choices.
For all their efforts, it’s difficult to determine whether the IRA trolls had any measurable effects. I don’t know whether Russian trolls retweeted my content or not, and it wouldn’t affect my views if I did. (The Journal claimed that the trolls “retweeted respected analysts,” so I probably don’t have much to worry about on that count.) I certainly wouldn’t take much notice of tweets claiming, as the Journal article cites, that “the health care law was a weapon of mass destruction or more dangerous than the Islamic State.”
Almost one year ago, I wrote that “wisdom does not always lie with the loudest and the strongest. It requires us to listen to discern its voice.” A medium that attempts to digest “news” into a 280-character format seems tailor-made for the type of instant, emotional reactions that the IRA desires as a means to foment discord and dissent.
Combating Russian trolls requires actions by law enforcement and social media companies, yes, but it also requires some level of introspection by each one of us. Instead of simply “Amusing Ourselves to Death,” a phenomenon Neil Postman first described more than three decades ago, we should spend less time passively consuming media and more time thinking about what we consume. As I wrote last October:
At times, the cacophony of voices on Twitter, cable news, and in myriad other cultural venues might prompt us to wonder if anyone can make sense of it all, and maintain that inner peace. The story of Elijah on Horeb reminds us that wisdom and understanding remain always present in our lives—if only we search hard enough to find them.
Author chrisjacobsPosted on September 17, 2018 January 4, 2019 Categories CoverageTags "Repeal and Replace", Clemson University, Internet Research Agency, Neil Postman, Repeal Obamacare, Robert Mueller, Single payer, The Federalist, Vaccines, Wall Street Journal
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When it comes to trade pact, Himes is the man in the middle
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes
Washington – Rep. Jim Himes has emerged as a key, swing vote as President Obama struggles to win congressional support for a new trade pact with 11 other nations that ring the Pacific Ocean.
Himes, D-4th District, is among a handful of Democrats who say they are undecided on how they will vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership or on giving the president “fast-track” or trade promotion authority to negotiate an agreement that Congress can approve or reject but not change.
Himes is the only member of Connecticut’s all-Democratic congressional delegation who is on the fence on the issue. All the other members have said they oppose giving Obama fast-track authority.
Himes is “our main target since he’s still undecided,” said David Dal Zin, spokesman for the Connecticut AFL-CIO.
For organized labor, the Trans-Pacific Partnership would speed the loss of American jobs overseas and weaken U.S. environmental and safety laws. To the American business community, including key Connecticut employers like General Electric and United Technologies Corp., the TPP would facilitate access to a lucrative and growing market.
Himes, who often breaks with the delegation on financial issues, said he’s taking a deliberative approach to the trade agreement because a lot is at stake.
“If the Trans-Pacific Partnership is really bad, that’s one story, and if it isn’t, that’s another story,” he said. “There are very few issues as complex as a trade agreement.”
He said he’s concerned about some provisions the final trade pact may contain, including limiting the availability of low-cost generic drugs in some Pacific Rim nations if the trade pact adopts longer U.S. protections for pharmaceutical companies.
On the other hand, he said, he’s also “debunked” some myths opponents of the trade pact have spread, including one that maintains members of Congress won’t be able to read the final agreement before they are required to vote on it.
“It will have months and months of scrutiny,” he said.
Himes’ vote on the issue has become increasingly important because, although most House Republicans support the proposed trade pact, not all do. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, needs some Democratic support to win approval of the fast-track bill. TPP supporters say the fast-track restrictions barring amendments and allowing a vote only on the final agreement are needed to be able to negotiate a deal.
Obama is also facing trouble in the Senate.
This week, with the support of Connecticut Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, Senate Democrats blocked a vote on the fast-track bill.
Blumenthal said he voted to filibuster the fast-track bill “because it would short-circuit congressional consideration of the largest trade deal ever negotiated.”
To try to break the logjam, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced a plan Wednesday that would allow votes on legislation Democrats have been demanding. One bill would address China’s alleged manipulation of its currency to make its exports cheaper.
China, however, is not a party to the TPP negotiations.
The other bill offered in the deal would help American workers who lose their jobs when the plants they work in move overseas.
In the House, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, has emerged as a leading opponent of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the fast-track bill.
She can count on support from Reps. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District; John Larson, D-1st District; and Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District.
Political malpractice
At a press conference Wednesday of Democrats opposed to the trade pact, Courtney said a big concern is currency manipulation, and the threat TPP trading partners will cheapen their currency to gain an unfair trade advantage.
“It’s almost political malpractice for a member of Congress to look the other way on this issue,” Courtney said.
DeLauro said the president and his advisers “underestimated the depth of feeling” among House Democrats who want to be engaged to ensure the trade deal protects workers and the environment.
“Now there is a frenetic attempt to court those who are undecided,” she said.
But DeLauro hasn’ t been able to nudge Himes. Nor has Obama.
A co-chairman of the moderate, business-friendly “New Democrat Coalition,” Himes was invited with other centrists Democrats to the White House so Obama could lobby them face-to-face to support the trade pact.
Himes said the president “made a good case” for the TPP, “but also talked politics.”
“A vote for the TPP can cause trouble with some Democratic constituencies,” Himes said. “The president made it clear the he would stand by Democrats who voted for it.”
Lori Pelletier, head of the Connecticut AFL-CIO , has lobbied Himes both in Washington and in his Fairfield County-based congressional district to oppose the TPP.
She says she takes him at his word that he’s conflicted.
“I really think he is struggling,” she said.
To Pelletier, Himes shares the AFL-CIO’s “common core values” and concerns about the trade pact’s impact on workers and the environment.
“But he’s feeling a lot of pressure from the administration,” she said.
To ratchet up the pressure, the White House released state-by-state statistics this week touting the benefits of free trade. It said Connecticut had $4.6 billion in trade with prospective TPP partners last year, and that 29 percent of goods exported from Connecticut went to TPP countries. Trade overall supported more than 75,000 jobs in the state, the White House said.
Himes is also feeling pressure from major employers in his district pressing for approval of the TPP. Himes said he met last week with executives of a mineral company in his district who told hin they could increase their business by $40 million “immediately” if the TPP is approved.
But Himes said he’s also met recently with representatives of the United Auto Workers and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers who are trying to prod him in the opposite direction.
He did not rule out voting for the fast-track bill to allow a final agreement to be negotiated and sent to Congress for an up-or-down vote.
“The president can’t sign a completed TPP until it’s made public for at least 60 days, and there will be plenty of hearings and time for Congress to consider it,” Himes said.
Ana Radelat Ana is a longtime Washington correspondent who has won numerous awards, including from The Associated Press and Gannett, has written for more than a dozen newspapers, including USAToday; The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger; the Shreveport (La.) Times; and the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser. She’s also been a regular contributor to other publications, including the Miami Herald and Advertising Age. Some of the stories Ana has broken focused on the strategies of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, former Sen. Trent Lott’s fall from power and questionable Hurricane Katrina contracts. A regular contributor to WNPR, Connecticut Public Radio, a partner of The Mirror, Ana is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Journalism.
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Dems aim to turn legal attack on the ACA into a political weapon
A federal appeals court heard oral arguments in a GOP lawsuit that could abolish the Affordable Care Act.
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DaCabrio – Cabrio & Roadster Magazin
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Das perfekte Cabrio-Wochenende in Split
DaCabrio Magazin 14. April 2019 27. April 2019 Cabrio, Reise
Eine historische Altstadt, mediterrane Adriaküste und Yachthäfen, aber auch schroffe Bergkulissen: die kroatischen Metropole Split ist eine atemberaubende Kulisse für Genießer.
Und das ideale Reiseziel, wenn Sie Kroatien als jüngstes Mitglied der EU und Split als zweitgrößte Stadt des Landes und UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe entdecken wollen. Wir waren unterwegs im Opel Cascada Cabrio mit dem bärenstarken 2-Liter BiTurbo Diesel mit 195 PS.
Uferpromenade Riva von Split
We invite you to take a drive in the opel cascada biturbo and re-discover the adventurer in you. Leave civilization, embrace the elements and head into the windy dark fall night of Split. In open-air elegance uncover the region’s age-old secrets. Allow us to whet your appetite for Split and for the dalmatian road. Join us in uncovering the secrets about Croatia, Split and its surroundings.
Croatia – Now Independent & European
As the latest member of the european union, Croatia has also become the latest tourist attraction and the ‘gem’ of the mediterranean over the past few years. Split unbelievably isn’t the most famous of croatian destinations but an incredible city within a palace that has myriad treasures to reveal.
Lovely Dalamatian town Primosten
But this wasn’t always the case: Croatia severed all ties with Yugoslavia 22 years ago and became truly independent for the first time in its history. It gave itself a Constitution on December 22, 1990. On July 1st, 2013, after 6 years of negotiation and the favorable vote of its population, Croatia has become the 28th member of the European Union.
The Arrival of the Croats
To tell the story in short: In the 7th century, the tribe of Croats came to these areas and thought to themselves: Here are fruitful plains (Slavonija), majestic mountains (Velebit, Biokovo and Dinara), beautiful rivers (Danube, Sava and Drava) and a gorgeous clear blue sea (the Adriatic). This could be a place to settle down! Why don’t we stick around for a while and see what happens? And so they did.
According to the most recent enquiries, 86.3% of the Croatian population are Catholics, 4.4% Orthodox and 1.4% Muslims.
Say it in Croatian
Croatian is a Slavic language. That’s why you may think it sounds like Russian (except if you’re Russian yourself, of course). Due to long term influences, it has also been penetrated by the Italian, German and Turkish languages. In the 2011 census, languages spoken as a mother tongue other than Croatian were mostly Serbian, Italian, Hungarian and Bosnian.
When in Croatia, do as the Croatians do: Say hello: dobar dan. Goodbye: dovidenja. Please: molim vas. Thank you: hvala. I don’t understand: ne razumijem.
But for all those still confused by these greetings, you’ll be pleased to know Croatians often have a good command of English, German and many other languages!
The local dialect in Split is a variation on the Dalmatian dialect. I won’t bore you with details, I’ll just say that Dalmatinac = Dalmatian man; Dalmatinka = Dalmatian woman; Spliçanin = a man from Split; Spliçanka = a woman from Split; Spliçani= inhabitants of Split. Don’t bother pronouncing these ter ms, just keep them in mind while you’re reading this magazine, you’ll meet many of them.
Where to meet Croatian People?
In their natural habitat, of course! According to the 2011 census, there are 4,284,889 Croats living somewhere on the 56,594 km² of Croatian territory, averaging 75.8 people per km². In addition, it is estimated that 2.3 million Croatian people live on the remainder of the 150,000,000 km² surface of the earth’s dry land – meaning one per 65 km². So the best bet to meet a Croatian definitely is to go straight to their homeland.
Tourists, the regular Kind
In 2011, 10 million foreign tourists visited Croatia. More than 12 special sailors one in five (22.8%) came from Germany. Closer neighbors had shorter travels, coming from Slovenia (11.7%), Italy (9.1%), Austria (8.8%) as well as the Czech (8.0%) and the Slovak (4.2%) Republics. Among those who covered longer distances, most were from Poland (5.7%), the Netherlands (4.1%, some even without mobile home), Russia (2.7%) and the United Kingdom (2.3%).
Tourists with questionable Intentions
Given it loction, Croatia has been invaded many times over the centuries. Invaders have left traces of their cultures and influence including on the food, so do not be surprised if one or the other ‘traditional’ g astronomic specialty seems familiar. Illyrians, Celts, Greeks, Romans, Venetians, Italians, Ottomans, Hungarians, French, Austrians: all these people left a legacy of sorts. Nutella obviously was introduced as the result of a pacific invasion.
Kuna – the beastly Currency
Since 1994, Croatian currency is the kuna (abbreviated ‘kn’). ‘Mini kunas’ are called lipa (abbreviated ‘lp’, 100 lp equals 1 kn). The name kuna is due to the important role of the animal’s fur in Croatia’s monetary and economic history. A kuna is a marten in English, a member of the weasel family. Currently, one Euro equals about 7 Kuna and 30 Lipa: conversion rates that require a minimum level of mathematic competency!
Bikinis in November?
If you are so inclined, why not? Croatia has 3 climate types, and you should consider yourself lucky to be heading towards the mildest one: the Mediterranean climate. In November in Split, you may expect 4 hours of sun per day.
It might rain every second or third day, but temperatures are higher than in most other places in Europe, with a minimum avera g e of 10°C and maximum of 15°C during the day. Enough to drive a Cascada convertible with the top down! The sea temperature in Split is usually some 18°C in November, and courageous people continue swimming up until the end of the month.
Special Sailors
Like Greece, Croatia benefits from an impressive coastline (5,835 km), and from 1,185 islands with diverse geographic structures – a fact that is of special interest for sailors, who have a lot to discover here.
Note that even the 78 reefs have been counted as ‘islands’, which may be more difficult to visit …but which sailors should carefully keep in mind! There are also 389 islets and 698 islands, of which some 47 are inhabited. The third largest of them, Brac, is facing your room at the Meridien hotel.
Thousands of kilometers of coast and clear turquoise waters invite millions to dive into the Adriatic Sea. Before doing so, make sure sea urchins have not clambered onto the reefs you thought of using to get out of the water.
Stepping on them is to be avoided! Or keep your boots on while swimming. A little known fact and quite possibly an old wives’ tale: if you see an urchin with glittering gems on it, it’s a female – girls will be girls!
Croatia has 7 entries in the Unesco list of World Heritage Sites, 6 of which are located in Dalmatia: Split is one of them – more precisely the antique Palace of Diocletian that has been remodeled through the centuries into the medieval city of Split.
Just a few kilometers from Split airport is the city of Trogir, further to the North, the cathedral St Jacob in Sibenik and, at the extreme North of Dalmatia, one of Croatia’s eight natural parks, the Plitvice Lakes.
Facing the city of Split, the plain (in Croatian: Ager) of Stari Grad is located on the Island of Hvar. And on the far south of Dalmatia, you can visit the jewel that is the old city of Dubrovnik. The only UNESCO entry outside of Dalmatia is the Basilica of Euphrasius in Porec.
Like most self- respecting European countries, Croatia is crazy about sports, football in particular. The Croatian National Football team saw its glory days in 1998’s FIFA World Championship in France, where it won 3rd place. We have been waiting for a long time to shine again, and we take another shot next year at the World Championship in Brazil.
The name Tesla is nowadays connected to Tesla motors, but it refers to Nikola Tesla, a genius inventor born in Croatia in 1856. Did you know that this moustache-donning heartthrob born in Lika invented radio, radar, remote control, neon lighting and the modern electric motor? No, really!
OK, if you don’t believe me, let’s move on to the stuff you might already know: in the late 19th century he invented alternating current that still powers our modern world, built the first hydroelectric plant on the Niagara Falls and the Tesla coil. Oh yeah, and he also spoke 8 languages and could memorize whole books and recite them at will. Like most geniuses, he died alone and forgotten, in a New York hotel room in 1943, and the least the world could do to honor him was to name nifty electric cars after him.
The Croatians love cars, but the current crisis does not allow them show this as much as they like to. The crisis actually hit the Croatian car market pretty late: still in 2009, the Croatian car market hit its historical record, with 92,000 passenger cars sold!
Since then it has gone down substantially, 31,360 new cars only were registered in 2012! So far, this year shows a small, encouraging improvement. Between 2004 and 2010, Opel was the most popular brand in Croatia. It finished third in 2012 with a 8.5% market share and, since the beginning of 2013, it is back in second place with a 10.5% share.
Mr. Penkala
Next on our list of „you’ll never believe this is really a Croatian invention“ are the mechanical pencil and the first fountain pen with solid ink. Yep: both invented by Stavoljub Penkala, born in 1871 in Croatia.
His pencil and pen made him so much money that he could relax, sit back and invent some more things we couldn’t imagine our life today without: the thermos flask, laundry detergent, insecticide and listening devices.
Born in Sibenik in 1551, Faust Vrancic, also known as Faustus Verantius, was nothing less than a humanist, a bishop, a historian, a linguist, a diplomat, an engineer and an inventor. In the early 17th century, he had the idea of what a parachute could look like.
Inspired by the works of Leonardo da Vinci, he published a book Machinae novae (New machines), a collection of 49 engraved cooper plates that describe, in 5 languages no less, 56 different machines, inventions, devices, the most famous of which are Homo volans (the flying man) and the suspension bridge. On the island of Prvic close to Sibenik, an amazing museum recently opened its doors, in which his works are exhibited.
Yes, Messieurs, the core apparel of the male business dress code comes from Croatia. During the 30 years’ war (1618–1648), Croatian hussars used to fight alongside French soldiers. Before they left home, their wives or girlfriends used to offer them a scarf they then tied around their neck to remember them.
This gallant fashion item, the hrvat, naturally influenced the French officers, who pronounced it cravate a-la-Francaise, and the tie soon became the must-have accessory at Louis XIV’s court some centuries before adorning the shirts of Wall Street bankers.
When the Disney movie came out in 1996, the world fell in love with this breed and went out to buy them. Very soon they found out what your average Dalmatinka (Dalmatian woman) has known all her life: men and dogs are alike.
This breed’s characteristics are: friendly and loyal, family-oriented and highly energetic. Which is exactly how a typical Dalmatinac (‘Dalmatian man’) is. So, if you don’t mind cleaning up after him, pick yourself up a Dalmatian and you won’t be sorry – even if you do go for the guy, not the dog.
Today’s Split
Split is the second largest city in Croatia with 178,192 inhabitants, a little over 4% of the total population of the country. It is both an administrative and cultural regional center, and also a university center. Built in and on the antique Palace of Roman Emperor Diocletian, it is a city steeped in its past, but looking towards the future.
The Retired Emperor
Diocletian (245 – 316) was a smart and cool guy. In 285, aged 40, he was elected by the Roman soldiers to be Emperor, and went on to do some pretty important things. But then, after several years of reign, he thought to himself: “I’m not gonna wait around to get assassinated by some power-hungry young general or die of old age! I’m gonna build myself a castle by the sea and retire with my head still on my shoulders”.
So, after having spent 10 years building a 38,500 m2 palace, he really did retire in 305. He loved living in his palace by the sea which was completely self-sustainable, and when he was asked to return to the throne he gave a brisk but firm: “No, thank you!” Basically, he was the only Emperor in the whole entire history of the Roman Empire to retire, and the only one who declined a perfectly good offer to take his job back. He was a cool and smart guy.
The Secret of the Basement
So, when the folks decided to inhabit the palace, they built their own houses on top of its basements and right along its original walls. Since they didn’t have sewer systems back then, they drilled holes in their floors. Now, since their floors were actually the ceiling of the basement of the palace, all their garbage ended up down there. It sounds a bit yucky, but 13 centuries of garbage accumulation are one of the reasons why the basements are so remarkably well preserved.
Now, don’ worry, starting in 1956, people cleaned this basement up. And today, it holds a permanent and very clean souvenir market, which you can enjoy during the day.
The basement of the palace is one of the best preserved Roman buildings that still has its original roof, and one of the reasons is that it’s basically earthquake proof. This was just a side note, if you want details, you might stop a Japanese tourist to hear how these Roman architects managed it.
Peristyle
Entering the old city through the basement, you will emerge in the Peristyle. It is the intersection of the palace’s two main streets, Via Cardo and Via Decumanus. In ancient times, it was the town square where the inhabitants of the palace, soldiers, servants and so on, met, and gathered to listen to the Emperor speak from the Protiron, the entrance of his imperial quarters at the south end.
In modern times, it is still the favorite meeting point for the locals and often a perfect backdrop for local events. During the summer, it hosts performances of Split Summer festival and other cultural events.
World’s Oldest Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Domnius is the oldest cathedral in the world. It actually started out as Emperor Diocletian’s mausoleum. When those who fled Salona returned to the palace in the 7th century, they turned the mausoleum into a church.
They removed the Emperor’s sarcophagus and instead, brought in bones of Christian martyrs from Salona. The cathedral is famous for its wooden doors carved with 28 scenes from Christ’s life by Andrija Buvina in 1214.
The construction of the bell tower started in the 13th century. The cathedral, which is the seat of the Archdiocese of Split- Makarska, is still in use and masses take place regularly.
Ironic Revenge
Diocletian not only stood out as the first retired emperor, he also distinguished himself as a zealous persecutor of Christians, so he wasn’t that cool and smart after all.
In 303 – 304, just before retiring, he organized one of the most cruel persecution campaigns ever. So it’s quite ironic that, three centuries after his death, when Salona’s ex-inhabitants settled down in the abandoned palace, they precisely chose to kick out his mausoleum and replace it with a church.
It accommodated the relics of St Domnius (Dujam) and St Anastasius, two Christian martyrs the Emperor himself had diligently tortured. And if Diocleatian’s palace remains a highlight in Split, it’s St Domnius who has become the patron saint of the city.
Gregory of Nin
Back in his days as a Bishop (900 – 929), this equal rights fighter wanted to make the Croatian language an official language of church liturgy instead of Latin. Given that he now has a large statue by Mestrovic just near the north gate of the palace, you can bet he succeeded! For a thousand years, Croatian has been used alongside Latin and Greek, earning Gregory of Nin a significant place in the history of the Catholic Church.
Shiny Toe
The fact that Gregory of Nin’s statue has such a shiny big toe is not due to a physical particularity of his. People in Split believe that rubbing the toe of his statue while secretly expressing a wish will make the wish come true. The foot certainly looks well polished and shiny. As for the wish, you’ll have to try yourself.
The entrance hall into Diocletian’s private quarters, the Vestibul is a large circular space with a rounded ceiling and an aperture through which you may see the very top of the cathedral’s bell tower. Its size and height reminded the Emperor’s visitors that the one they were visiting was way above them, a ruler.
Cafe Lvxor
Located on the flanks of Peristyle, Lvxor cafe and restaurant was named after the Egyptian city of Luxor, where the sphinxes originate from. Twelve of them have been found in the ruins of the palace. They were brought by the Emperor Diocletian.
The best preserved sphinx, which is over 3,500 years old, hasn’t moved and still is the guardian of the imperial square, the Cathedral, and Lvxor Café. The palace that holds the cafe was remodeled throughout the history in different styles, and the Lvxor cafe preserves all these historical layers while offering you free wi-fi inter net access and live music.
Let me Pass!
This street, opposite to the cathedral on the Peristyle, leads to the St John church. Its official name is Kraj Sv. Ivana, but no one in Split knows and just refers to it as “Let me pass”.
It came to be when someone decided to build a residential building as close as humanly possible to the ancient temple of Jupiter, a really fun god, by the way. Diocletian believed Jupiter gave him the power to rule over most of the known world and built him a little temple to thank him for everything.
Jupiter wasn’t all that thrilled since every village in the Empire had one. As a result, there is now a street in which it is absolutely and literally not possible for two people to walk past each other. But hey, if you think I’m exaggerating, feel free to give it a try.
Prokurative
A Mediterranean style square built by the visionary mayor of Split, Antonio Bajamonti, Prokurative consists of three separate buildings constructed in a U-shape. The theatrical building, the one facing the sea, was finished in 1859, and was later renovated after having been destroyed in a fire.
The west flank building was finished by 1867, and the east flank building by 1928, yep, 61 years later. The square hosts many musical events and is a favorite place for a lazy coffee during the day.
Another excellent place for a coffee is Riva, Split’s famous water front. However, this one is not the laid-back lazy coffee you had at Prokurative. No, no, this is put-on-your-best-dress-and-make-up coffee.
The people of Split are known to always dress to impress, so if you need inspiration, something to look at, or to just feel bad about yourself, join them on Riva and experience another dimension of coffee drinking.
Tall People
Now if you really want to feel bad about the way you look, here’s another fun fact: don’t let the Mediterranean surroundings fool you, Croats are of Slavic origins. So you should expect tall, muscular men and tall, lean women. Croats tend to look down on most people, and I do mean that literally.
Always Welcome !
Croatians have the annoying habit of always trying to make their guests feel welcome, even if somewhat forcibly. When arriving somewhere, you will be offered something to drink, usually homemade rakija, a liqueur made from grapes with locally grown herbs, and to nibble on, a family size platter of cheese and pršut. Beware: the longer you resist, the longer they’ll keep offering.
Our advice: say no to the first offer and yes to the second, always compliment the host on his rakija and the hostess on her dessert, and you’ll be the perfect guest.
Really Funny?
If there’s one thing people of Split love to do even more than drinking coffee in the sun, it’s making fun of people. They know it’s not very nice but it’s difficult to resist. They now have an entire Facebook group devoted to ‘gems’ from less-than-informed tourists, and the joke goes so far as to invent Diocletian’s footprint in the basement of the palace.
Here’s one of these authentic tourist gems: “Who is that wizard with the pointy hat?” – referring to the sculpture of bishop Gregory of Nin. Of course, your own culture goes far beyond this Harry Potter-style question.
Air-drying Laundry
Before the electric laundry dryers, there was bura, the powerful, cold, northern wind that visits Split from time to time. Air-drying your laundry is not only economically efficient; it’s also a good way to keep up with what’s going on in the neighborhood, the favorite pastime of grandmas everywhere.
Unfinished Houses
The typical Dalmatian male refuses to leave the comfort of his mother’s home. Well, the situation has taken a dramatic turn, and for the worse. The contemporary Dalmatian male isn’t satisfied with having just one woman jump at his every request, he needs two.
A lot of family homes you see unfinished by the road remain so, so that the boy, once married, could build himself an entire floor above his mum’s, and enjoy the perks of adulthood, without ever actually having to become one.
5-Star Accommodation
Given the very high touristic potential of Croatia, there still aren’t that many 4 and 5 stars hotels in the country, especially in Dalmatia. The fact that Croatia is now part of the European Union guarantees a certain stability to investors who will develop high level infrastructure in the coming years.
Difficult to say if it’s good or bad, many praise how the coastline is still well preserved. There are a few, very small 5-star boutique hotels in Split and three bigger places; the Meridien is one of them.
The Hotel Le Meridien Lav
Still known under its old name, the Lav, this hotel was initially built in Tito’s times, in the 1970s. The premises were bought by the Accord group in the mid-2000s and entirely refurbished to become the Meridien that opened in December 2006.
It’s a large complex with 381 rooms, a conference center and a spa, 8 tennis courts, 2 beaches and a permanent marina. Best room faces the spacious yachts hibernating in the marina and the island of Brac.
Le Meridien Lav, grljevacka ulica 2, 21312 split, +385 21 500 500, www.lemeridienlavsplit.com
Intimate Hotel Vestibul Palace
Sometimes you just want to hide out in a romantic space with the one you love. There is just the place you’re looking for in Split. Concealed in the heart of the ancient palace, probably next door to Diocletian’s master bedroom, this little oasis of peace and refinement is called Hotel Vestibul Palace.
Impress your lovers with the architecture, spoil them with luxurious design incorporating antique walls and modern materials. But most importantly, show them you mean business by selecting a hotel that has only 5 rooms and 2 suites. You’ll feel the intimacy as soon as you step into the lobby, and the romance will start flowing on its own. So, if you really messed up, or just what to remind someone why they fell in love with you, this is the perfect place to start, and then for the rest let Split do its magic.
Hotel Vestibul Palace, iza vestibula 4, +385 21 329 329, www.vestibulpalace.com
Cafes vs. Restaurants
When you take our need for good quality, Italian-style coffee and our need to butt into other people’s lives, you get Riva full of people sitting and drinking one cup of coffee for several hours. But when the clock strikes 2 p.m., Riva is a barren wasteland, because in Split, al fresco is for drinking coffee and dining is for al-not-so-fresco.
Being so very family-oriented, for Croatian a home cooked meal is the norm, while going out to restaurants is for special occasions only. That’s why here they have one restaurant for every oh-let’s-say one billion cafés.
Restaurant Nostromo
This restaurant is part and parcel of the food scene in Split. Its owner and head chef, Zlatko Marinovic, is the most famous, critically-acclaimed and award-winning chef in Croatia. His specialties are fish and sea food, and the restaurant itself is situated just of f the fish market.
The restaurant also doubles up as a gallery for paintings of Croatian artists, these days fuller than usual since Mr. Marinovic’s other gallery space is currently under renovation. Prepare yourself for an exquisite dinner and our very surprising tip for you: taste the fish!
Restaurant Nostromo, Kraj sv. marije 10, +385 91 405 66 66, www.restauran-nostromo.hr
Figa Food Bar
This is a family-owned and -run restaurant. And so has it been for the last 50 years. It has gone through several transformations and come full circle: from restaurant to pizzeria, to the cult bar called Puls.
Now the new generation of the family slowly transformed Puls into Figa food bar, a delightful meeting place for all the old patrons from Puls’ days, and for youngsters wanting to get the feeling of a quirky and funky side to Split. The space invites you to take a look, the design to come in, and the menu to stay and enjoy, which you can do during lunch.
Figa Food Bar, buvivina 1, +385 21 27 44 91
Zinfandel Food & Wine bar
This is another newcomer to Split’s gastro scene, and another one with a fascinating story. It’s located in the heart of the city, in the space that used to be a store for the now nearly bankrupt Split textile company ‘Uzor’.
The design signature pieces are the chandelier made of 650 bottles in the shape of a wave and the graphic design made by Dalmatian designer BooBoo Tannenbaum. It tells the story of kaštelanski crljenak, a wine that is now famous for its American name: Zinfandel.
Zinfandel Food & Wine Bar, ulica marka marulica 2, +385 21 355 135
You call this medium-rare?
In Dalmatia, like in most Mediterranean cultures, Mother is the boss. Mother knows best. And Mother always said to have your steak well done. Chefs must have mothers too, as, even in restaurants, we get our meat well-done.
Actually, the Croatian language doesn’t have a special word for medium-rare. So, feel free to blame Mother for it, and don’t even bother explaining to your waiter what ‘rare’ or ‘medium-rare’ is. Order fish.
Skarpina? Gof? Grdobina? Tuna!
Bet you only understood the last one, didn’t you? Just so you know, Croatia’s Adriatic sea breeds some of the finest Atlantic bluefin tuna in the world. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Adriatic fish and sea food.
Never hesitate asking a native for advice, definitely try some and don’t forget to combine it with some local wine and lots of olive oil.
Elixir of Life
Dalmatia is famous for its two elixirs of life: wine and olive oil. Primosten, in northern Dalmatia is renowned for both. Look for small producers of olive oil and Babic red wine as you walk through its charming alleys.
The Dalmatian Zagora (inland) offers its signature kujundzusa, light white wine, and the area of Kastela and Trogir are famous for the kastelanski crljenak grape variety. The most important grape variety of middle and south Dalmatia is plavac mali crni, and its vineyards on Peljesac peninsula produce the famous fine wines Dingac and Postup. White grape varieties are not as wide-spread, but still produce fine wines: Vugava, Posip and Grk.
Prsut
A typical Dalmatian delicacy, similar to prosciutto, but a million times better, of course. They take pig’s ham, cover it with salt, let it dry-smoke for at least a year and then enjoy it whenever they can.
It is physically impossible to stop at just one slice of this divine cured meat treat. Its combination of sweet and salty flavors will make you beg for more and more and more. Just be careful: many visitors have been known to quench their thirst with Dalmatian wine and end up sleeping under neath the table.
Banana Split Ice-Cream
Many years ago, a tourist came to Split and was taken aback by its beauty. He found himself the only free table on Riva, and ordered a glass of water and a banana. The waiter was slightly confused and, since the place was famous for its ice-cream, asked: “Mister, you mean banana cream?” in his impeccable Cronglish.
The tourist simply nodded his head, and seconds later was served two halves of a banana split lengthwise, separated by a row of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream scoops and topped with whipped cream. The guest got furious and screamed: “You cretin! I ordered a banana! A simple banana, not a banana with ice cream! What is this?!?” The waiter simply shrugged his shoulders and said: “You want banana, I get you banana Split!” And so the legend was born.
We must confess this story about the banana Split is made up. The banana split is not at all a local specialty.
A peka in Croatian refers to a large cast iron dome but also to the technique of food preparation. You place the food in a circular baking tray, put the dome on top and then cover the dome completely with burning coals.
This way the moisture stays inside the peka, resulting in succulent and tasty food, completely infused with all the flavors you put inside the tray. Bread, meat with lots of vegetables and octopus with potatoes are mostly cooked this way.
Mushroom-headed Bread
No worry, we only refer to the shape of the peka-baked bread. It takes the shape of the dome and actually looks like the head of a large mushroom. Cut wide slices of this fresh bread, pour olive oil on your plate, yummy can be so simple. Whatever you do, don´t miss this treat for the palate.
Spit Roast Lamb
When a baby is born in late spring, people prepare and eat spit-roast lamb. When someone gets married in late spring, they prepare and eat spit-roast lamb. When someone graduates in late spring, they prepare and eat spit-roast lamb. You get the picture, people often prepare and eat spit-roast lamb in late spring, it’s a beloved Dalmatian custom and a tasty one to boot!
Pipi: The Stuff legends are made of
Pipi is an orange – flavored soda, similar to Fanta, but a million times better. It had an iconic TV commercial in the 80’s featuring barely dressed women drinking Pipi on Bacvice beach.
It now has its own hit song and it has been endorsed by the struggling basketball club Split. Dalmacijavino, the beverage factory producing it, escaped bankruptcy partly because of the Split inhabitants’ devotion to this drink. Don’t hesitate and order yourself a Pipi.
Beaches and Picigin
Split has a number of knock-out beaches, the most popular of which is Bacvice, a 10 minute walk along the sea shore from Riva. Aside from its sand and a multitude of cafes, it is also famous for picigin, a sport consisting of people in their bathing suits, shin-deep in water, passing an old tennis ball in a circle by bouncing it with the palm of their hands.
Most people are quite fanatical about it, and you’ll see some of these weirdos playing picigin on New Year’s Day. This sport is a version of water polo and has been played on Bacvice since WW I!
We already mentioned that Croats are crazy about sports, but in Split it’s not the ordinary “Honey I can’t go out with you tonight because the Champions League is on” kind of crazy. No, they elevated it to the “Honey, I can’t go visit your sick mother in hospital because I gotta go meet a buddy of mine to plan how we’re gonna celebrate if Hajduk scores in three days” level.
Hajduk Split Football Club
The most beloved sports club in Split and the symbol of the city, football club Hajduk was founded in the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague in 1911, by a group of students in the centuries-old pub U Fleku. They decided to use the word ‘hajduks’ – ‘rebels’ – a Split professor had used to qualify them after they had run into his office.
The club is a hotbed for talents, many of which will be familiar to you: Stipe Pletikosa (goalkeeper), Slaven Bilic (stopper and former manager of the national football team), Aljoša Asanovic , Milan Rapaic and Darijo Srna (midfielders) and Alen Bokšic (forward). Hajduk players are called ‘Bili’ by their supporters, meaning ‘the whites’ in the local Dalmatian dialect, due to the color of their jerseys.
Torcida and their Street Art
Hajduk’s supporters are called Torcida. This group was founded in 1950, and they took the name from a Brazilian fan group they idolized. They are the oldest organized supporters’ group in Europe, and proud of it. ‘Hajduk lives forever’ is the fans’ slogan.
They have also taken up this particular ‘beautification’ project, where they paint the walls in the city with the colors and the crest of Hajduk. Torcida sometimes also add the years in which Hajduk won the Croatian Championship or Cup.
Another iconic sports club in Split is the Basketball Club Split, more famous for its old name: Basketball club Jugoplastika. It was heavily sponsored by Jugoplastika, a successful factory from Split. Alongside ASK Riga, it is the only team that managed to win the most prestigious Euroleague trophy three times in a row – in the years 1989, 1990 and 1991, with players like Dino Rad-a, Toni Kukoc?, Žan Tabak and Velimir Perasovi?c.
Today, it’s struggling with financial issues but is still making its signature yellow jersey-wearing fans proud by helping another struggling Split institution: Dalmacijavino and their famous Pipi.
Where were You on July 10th, 2001?
Every person in Split can tell you where they were on that day, because this is the day when 150,000 people, basically, some 85% of the Split population, descended onto Riva to welcome tennis player Goran Ivaniševic after his triumphant victory at Wimbledon on June 25th 2001. To this day he remains the only player to ever win this competition with a wildcard and the most successful Croatian tennis player.
The tennis court where Goran Ivanisevic started playing, following his father’s advice, is located in the elite seashore- neighborhood Firule. They nurtured another talented tennis player, Mario Ancic, who was ranked the World’s no. 7. He also helped Croatia win the Davis Cup in 2005 and won Olympic Bronze in doubles with Ivan Ljubicic.
As part of recent reconstruction of the West banks or Riva (Zapadna obala), the city of Split decided to honor its Olympic medal winners by putting their names on plates scattered among the bank’s stone slabs. So basically, train hard your whole life, win titles, become world famous and Split will show its pride by allowing people to walk all over you. Splendid!
For those of you who decide to come back by boat or yacht, here are some useful infos: there are three marinas directly in Split; another one is in Kastela, one is incorporated into Le Meridien Lav hotel, and the Marina Zenta is mostly for members of the club and smaller boats, but feel free to try your luck there also.
However, if you want a marina with more berths, for longer boats and with more facilities, Marina Spinut is your pick. If that’s not enough for you, go to ACI Marina, on the west end of Zapadna obala. It is open all year round, and its long pier provides excellent protection from the sea and the southern winds. And, it is also worth mentioning, that it’s just a 10 min walk from Riva!
Snorkeling and Diving
If you’re not the leisurely type, and want to come to Split for a more active vacation, you might want to try scuba diving. OK, it’s not the Maldives, but the turquoise water and the submarine landscapes are wonderful and two good things: it is much less than a 10 hour flight to reach them and there are no hidden sharks.
There is a professional scuba diving center conveniently located in the marina of Le Meridien Lav hotel. It offers courses at different levels. Your significant other may take the opportunity to take a swim, do a little snorkeling and get to know the fascinating world of the Adriatic.
For a number of Dalmatians, fishing is just a job, but for you it can be an exciting hobby. we recommend sport fishing for those of you in need of relaxation and spearfishing for those of you in need of compensation. This sport is not about how large your spear is, it’s about how well you use it, as any Dalmatinka.
Rafting or Canoeing
Oh, so you still haven’t found the sports activity to get your juices flowing? If you don’t fear getting wet and tired, try rafting on Cetina River! The three- to four- hour long trip takes you down a 12 kilometer stretch of the Cetina course. The route passes through unforgettable scenery of impressive cliffs, playful waterfalls and numerous rapids.
Unlike rafting, canoeing requires participants to paddle independently in 2 – 3 person boats. Actually, it’s more work, and somewhat more intimate. Cetina is also the place to go to: the journey takes you through a magnificent canyon with an average depth of 40 – 100 meters, and it lasts approximately three hours.
Split has its own golf club and course, located in Stobrec?, by Žrnovnica river, about 5 km South from the city center in the direction of Omis. Golf courses are somewhat of a hot-button issue in Dalmatia, especially for the people of Dubrovnik, since they vigorously opposed the building of one on Srd, a hill above the city. Maybe you shouldn’t mention it at all here and rather go for water sports.
Split Arts
People in Split say that Split is “najlipši grad na svitu” (the most beautiful city in the world). Rightly so. And the reason it truly is, lies in the fact, that it is home to artwork of many Croatian finest artists. Well, who wouldn’t get inspired here?
Ivan Mestrovic
A sculptor, painter, writer and political activist, Ivan Mestrovic was born in 1883 in the village of Otavice, 62 km North from Split and 35 km from Šibenik. He came to Split when he was 16 to be an apprentice in Harald Bilinic’s stonemason workshop, and soon went to Vienna for further education.
This was the beginning of a life full of travels, both for exhibitions and for education. But Mestrovic always came back to Split and Zagreb, where he had settled down with his family, his second wife Olga (he was a kind of ladies man) and their four children.
He moved away to the USA after the Second World War, when he refused to go back to Yugoslavia because of his fundamental disagreement with Josip Broz Tito’s politics. One of his most internationally recognized work is there: the Bowman and The Spearman, also known as Indians, two bronze equestrian sculptures standing as gatekeepers in Congress Plaza, Grant Park, Chicago.
Galerija Mestrovic
Today, this glorious palace holds the name of Gallery Mestrovic, but it was conceived as a summer home for the sculptor’s family. It was built from 1931 to 1939 in several stages from east to west. It incorporates living facilities, a working space and an exhibition area.
It was the wish of the sculptor to leave the palace and all of his work to the people of Croatia, and so the palace was transformed into a gallery and opened its doors in 1952, 10 years before Mestrovic’s death.
If you are in Split, this is an excellent place to bear in mind: to visit or to maybe organize a wedding reception. And while you’re in Split, make sure to see the sculptor’s two monumental pieces: the sculpture of Marko Marulic, the father of Croatian literature on Vocni trg, or to rub the shiny toe of Gregory of Nin for good luck.
Gallery Mestrovic, setaliste ivana mestrovica 46, 21000 Split, +385 21 340 800, mim@mestrovic.hr
Vasko Lipovac
He was born in Kotor, Montenegro in 1931, and came to live in Split in 1967. The Mediterranean climate of the Dalmatian city inspired his poetic vision, and he created numerous works,cycles of paintings, graphics, watercolor paintings, sculptures and painted sculptures.
His recently-opened gallery showcases his famous cyclist sculptures and his Erotika work,basically stylized, chubby, likable people going about their business, cycling, making love or staring into the blue sea.
Vukovarska 8a, 21000 Split, +385 91 200 0872, info@vaskolipovac.com
Red Peristyle and Black Peristyle
Art as a form of political activism is not unknown to Split, and the proof lies in two performances now called ‘Red Peristyle’ and ‘Black Peristyle’. In 1968, eight young men decided to paint the Peristyle with 30 liters of red paint, as a rebellion against communism and Split’s sleepiness…
In 1998, as a sort of a homage to them, artist Igor Grubic painted a large black circle on the Peristyle, attacking politics of the CDC (Croatian Democratic Community) then ‘in charge’ of Croatia. He remarked that the “Peristyle is like a magical mirror reflecting the social consciousness”. The actions we now talk about with pride were once thought of as acts of destruction, so you better keep that in mind if you decide to do a little light art-as-activism of your own.
Unlock Art Keys
Le Meridien hotels always try to find a way to connect with the local artistic community, and to connect you, as a guest, with it. You’ ll soon find yourself with a work of art in your hands, as the key card of your hotel room is a part of this project: the Unlock Art project.
The cards were created by Hisham Bharoocha, Sam Samore and Yan 19 Lei, and the staff of the hotel will be more than happy to connect you to their local artistic partner – Gallery Meštrovic.
You Call this Music?
If you’ re wondering how people manage to make music with such an unfortunately sounding language, you may get yourself CD’s and additional tips at Dallas Records or at the Dancing Bear stores, probably the best places for music addicts in Split.
Dallas Records, Narodni trg 14 (pjaca), dallasmusica.com ; Dancing Bear, Dioklecijanova 6 http://www.dancingbear.hr
Songwriter Gibonni – now in English!
One of the most popular musicians in Croatia, but also in most of ex-Yugoslavia, this singer-songwriter has re-invented himself several times now, each time with great success: Zlatan Stipišic Gibonni started out in a heavy-metal band, moved onto a solo career in the 90’s with songs that combined elements of rock, modern pop and Dalmatian folk songs, and is currently promoting his latest album, ‘20th Century Man’, the first one completely in English.
The album has been recorded in London and is produced by Andy Wright, a Grammy award-winning British producer who worked with artists such as Simple Minds, Eurythmics and Tom Jones. A stunning band plays with Gibonni, featuring artists such as Tony Levin and Manu Katche, Peter Gabriel’s bass player and drummer.
Music Group Daleka Obala
You simply cannot talk about music in Split without mentioning these guys. The group Daleka Obala split up in 2000, after giving a big outdoor concert on Split Kašuni beach. This concert is a memorable date in our local pop culture.
Since it took place, young Split people split into two groups: those who were there, and those who weren’t. Daleka Obala’s music is a mix of rock melodies and funny, intelligent lyrics, a detail that will be lost on you, but shouldn’t stop you from giving it a chance.
Dino Dvornik
Dino Dvornik is another central character of the Croatian music scene. The son of the legendary Split actor Boris Dvornik died in 2008, leaving behind an important mark on our music history.
He invented his own, unique sound, is refered to as the ‘king of funk’ and produced Split’s unofficial anthem: „Ništa kontra Splita“ (Nothing against Split). He is beloved by most of the generation who grew up during the war for his commitment to Croatia’s independence, as his music was a ray of light in those times.
If you want to test if someone is a true Splicanin (inhabitant of Split), ask him to recite or sing the first couple of lines from Dino Dvorik’s biggest hit, Afrika, and watch as they enthusiastically dance and sing for you.
Band The Beat Fleet
This band is very much alive and productive! The Beat Fleet started out as a self-taught hip-hop band who spoke out about the social and political problems Split was facing in the late 90s, and have since collected a massive gathering of followers.
Another good test for detecting the average Splicanin: ask him to sing you the chorus of Mater, an eerie song about a mother’s (slightly extreme) love, and watch his reaction.
Magazine Feral Tribune
Another group of people to have spoken out about the social and political problems Split was facing in the 90s is Viktor Ivancic, Boris Dežulovic and Predrag Lucic . They founded Feral Tribune, a magazine that stemmed from Split’s daily newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija. When they turned Feral into an independent magazine, it quickly grew into a solitary voice warning about the negative effect of then President Franjo Tudman’s politics on Split’s economy and wellbeing.
Although they were heavily criticized, penalized and sued, the trio and their collaborators resisted for years, until they were forced to shut down due to a lot of advertisers backing out. The founders are still very active in the media and remain strong critics of the negative effect of centralization of Croatia on Dalmatia, in particular on Split.
Fashion and Elegance
Being the elegant dressers, people of Split are very interested in fashion. Split hosts a yearly fashion show in the basements of the Diocletian palace, the ‘Montura fashion show’, and a number of concept stores showcasing authentic Croatian design.
If you’re a fashion addict, visit ID concept store near St. Francis’ church, GET GET GET store in the heart of the palace, or Think Pink stores for clothes and accessories. But if you’re more of a shoes gal, brothers Ivan and Alen Ledenko create shoes by hand, combining impeccable technique and superior material, so order yourself a custom-made pair.
ID concept store, bana Josipa Jelacica 3; Get Get Get, dominisova 16, http://www.getgetget.com.hr; Think Pink, Zadarska 8, Kružiceva 6, http://www.thinkpink.com.hr ; Alen Ledenko, obrov 8, http://www.alenledenko.com ; Ivan Ledenko, Kaciceva 7, http://www.ledenko.hr
Opel Brand Ambassador Alex
What a pity she has no boutique in Split! Aleksandra Dojcinovic, known as Alex, is a young super-talented fashion designer focusing on dreams and needs of women. There is almost no Croatian celebrity who has not yet worn a dress from Alex Dojcinovic and, her fame growing, more and more international stars are attracted by her romantic signature that emphasizes shapes and body curves.
With her clothes as well as accessories, she caters for strong, independent working women who follow fashion, but at the same time demand practical, wearable and timeless pieces with a resolute awareness of the female body.
If you think that’s you, a stop at Alex’s newly-opened boutique in Zagreb is a must. By the way: Alex herself is 1.92 m tall and can be her own model at fashion shootings! She was selected to open the latest fashion show in Zagreb in October and, as Opel’s brand ambassador, featured the Opel Adam in it!
Alex Dojcinovic fashion for women, Frankopanska ulica 6, 10000 Zagreb, +385 1 48 46 080, facebook.com/leiloubyAlex
There are three major shopping centers in Croatia, two in Zagreb and one in Split: the City Center One, which opened in 2009. Now, the name is misleading, so do not look for it in the city center but close to the route leading from Split to the Meridien hotel.
If you’re in the mood to find everything in one place, this is the place. Clothes, shoes, furniture, dinnerware and books, you can find them all here, you can get your hair done and have a lovely piece of cake in between stores. You can even send your bored ‘significant other’ to the movies!
City Center One, vukovarska ulica 207, 21000 split
What to Bring Home?
So, if you read this in the ‘right’ order, you now know where to get clothes by Croatian designers and the more generic stuff. But what about those family members with slightly more peculiar tastes?
How about these stores: KOZA offers handmade purses and flip-flops from real leather in a variety of bright colors. At CROATA, you can get the most important male in your life a tie with golden threads! Or an original PENKALA PEN SET, remember. it was invented here! – it can be found in book stores around town.
Also nice, UJE, the first Croatian oleoteca, offers a range of top quality Croatian olive oils and delicacies; it is located just across Zinfandel food and wine bar and a few meters from the Figa food bar.
Koza, Zadarska street; Croata, Peristyle vocni trg, near the statue of Marko Marulic, http://www.croata.hr; Uje, Maruliceva 1, Šubiceva 6, http://www.uje.hr
Aqua Shops
A range of specialized stores seems to pop up everywhere along the Croatian coast: the AQUA shops. They immediately got the attention of both the locals and the tourists. AQUA’s signature colors, aquamarine blue and white, are instantly recognizable and their stylized key chains instantly lovable.
If you need a souvenir, a beach towel or maybe some stationary, jump right into the AQUA world. There’s even a boutique within the Meridien hotel. Cool!
Pay in Deutsch Mark
As we are talking about shopping, you must know this: back in the day when the Deutsch Mark currency was still around, it was the stick we measured everything against. We knew if something was expensive or affordable by quickly converting whatever our currency was at the time into DM.
Everyone was a wiz at conversion, some kids learned how to convert into DM before they knew how to read and write! With so many of Croatian people (still) going to Germany to build a better life for themselves, it’s no wonder they have a sentimental connection to the Deutsch Mark. And let me tell you, most of those who remember it will sigh with nostalgia and tears in their eyes at the very mention of it.
Don’t Miss Omis!
On your way to the Cetina Valley on day 1, you will drive through the little town of Omis. In the middle ages it was run by pirates who attacked merchant ships from Venice and Dubrovnik. Actually, they got money to behave themselves (money for ‘protection’ – and you thought it was a mafia thing…).
Walls surround Omis on three sides, and the mountain on the fourth. The walls have mainly been destroyed, but guess what, the mountain is still there, and it is a perfect place for free climbing. Over 40 marked climbing routes on 7 different climbing locations in the heart of town are bound to satisfy the most demanding and experienced climbers.
Enter Cetina Valley
The Cetina river peacefully flows through canyons and near villages in the valley that carries its name. Take the opportunity of entering it with your Opel Cascada convertible. This region south-east of Split is very important, both historically and archaeologically.
Along Cetina’s tall canyon walls, real archaeological fortune can be found: bottle-axes from the stone-age, shields from roman soldiers, personal items from middle-age peasants and many other interesting artefacts. The part of Cetina Valley near Omiš is the perfect setting for river sports like rafting and canoeing, but also for those of us who are more partial to resting, enjoying the scenery and a nice meal.
Stop at Kastil Slanica
The tower of Kastil Slanica served as a safe refuge for the famous Omis pirates in the 12th to 14th century, and later became a market place. The most sold product was salt, so the trade station was named Slanica (as a version of the word ‘slano’ – ‘salty’ in Croatian).
Today, the restaurant Kastil Slanica benefits from the riverside ambience and its gastronomy from the closeness to both the river and the sea. You can enjoy dishes from the Cetina River (frogs, eels and trout), the sea (seafood) and the inland plains such as bread and meat baked under the peka, prsut and cheese and homemade dalmatian frittes, just like the famous pirates of Omiš used to.
Kastil Slanica, Omis, +385 21 861 783 97
Discover Svinisce
In the mountain above the Centina Valley the little village of Svinisce is most famous for the Restaurant Kremenko. Kremenko means ‘Flinstone’, exactly like the cartoon, and the place has been chiseled in the rock by its owner himself.
When you get there, they will offer you Kremenjaca, a rakija with herbs and honey, which you will surely need after having walked up the serpentine path or driven the last kilometers of the beautiful, extra-narrow route.
Unfortunately, the Konoba Kremenko is only open at weekends in the low season, but it’s worth remembering and visiting. If you want to explore already, you will discover a modest Croatian mountain village with its small gardens and vineyards.
Explore The 7 Kastela
Kastela is a group name for 7 smaller towns located between Split airport and the city of Split along the coast; Stafilic, Novi, Stari, Luksic, Kambelovac, Gomilica and Sucurac. Each town has one or more Kastels (defensive strongholds) and were given their respective names mostly by noblemen who lived in them. No special romance there, but a pretty amazing, authentic atmosphere of small towns and villages by the sea.
Trogir, a Gem on Your Way
Close to Split airport, the city of Trogir was founded by Greek colonists in the 3rd century B.C. It is considered the most preserved Romanic-Gothic town, and was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
It is situated on an island between the mainland and the island of Ciovo. Due to a large concentration of monuments and historical buildings on a relatively small area, it is best to visit it in the off-season.
Places to visit: the historical city core, with about 10 churches and numerous buildings from the 13th century; the Fortress Kamerlengo (15th century); the Cathedral (13th century) with the Portal of Master Radovan; the big and small palaces Cipiko from the 15th century; the city gate (17th century) and city walls (15th century).
Dalmatian Town Primosten
On day 2 of your stay, we advise you to drive to Primosten. This lovely Dalmatian town near Sibenik has a rich history. It is located on an island that was connected to the mainland by a drawbridge. The legend says that this is where the name Primošten comes from: in Croatian the verb ‘premostiti’ (i.e. ‘primostiti’ in Dalmatian dialect) means ‘to bridge over’.
Its fortified walls protected the inhabitants from the Turks in the 16th century and, after the attacks were over, the bridge was replaced with a rampart which turned the island into a peninsula. Primosten is famous for its vineyards, producing fine quality red wine Babic.
These vineyards have been officially declared as a world monument to human labor and there is a picture of them in the lobby of the United Nations building in New York. Don’t miss the wonderful stroll along the promenade around the peninsula, a visit to the churches of St. Roko and St. George, and, of course, the obligatory coffee on a café terrace.
101 Dalmatians … not only for Cruella
Just like Cruella de Vil was once obsessed with the beauty of Dalmatians, I guarantee that you’ll be begging for more once you get a taste of Dalmatia. This part of Croatia has so much more to offer, excitement and enjoyment, solitude and company, amazing food and wine. So, enjoy your stay in Split. And satisfy your curiosity by coming back for more.
Traffic Rules Croatia
Mandatory daytime vehicle lights, they have a right of way rule for traffic coming from your right, passing on the right is strictly prohibited, the maximum alcohol level is 0.05% (0.5 milligrams of alcohol per millilitre of blood). in other words,one has to be totally sober. if you drink at all, don’t drive. within urban areas 50km/h, outside urban areas 90 km/h, motorway 130 km/h.
Things to Know about the Opel Cascada Biturbo
With a total length of 4.69 meters, the Opel Cascada is a generous 4-seater convertible with a soft-top. Offered at an attractive price, it has no direct competitor: Its closest contenders are made by premium manufacturers and cost 25 to 30% more for similar performance and equipment.
The Opel Cascada is equipped as standard with a first-class soft top system with premium and luxury technologies, materials and features. It opens electrically in 17 seconds at speeds of up to 50 km/h, much faster than any hard top cabriolet! And, it can be operated remotely by pressing the designated button on its key fob.
The Opel Cascada benefits from top-level technologies. It stands out not only for its soft top system, but also its body structure offers the best balance between torsional and bending stiffness, a decisive criteria for a cabriolet!
As for the standard premium front suspension layout with High Performance Struts, this stems directly from motorsports. In addition, the Cascada features a FlexRide adaptive damping system, many driver assistance systems and front seats engineered to offer maximum ergonomics, safety and comfort.
A 4-season convertible, the Opel Cascada can easily be the first and only car in a household thanks to its excellent functionality. It accommodates four adults and has a trunk volume of 280 liters (roof open) to 380 liters (roof closed).
Its standard FlexFold system effortlessly tilts the backs of the rear seats 50:50 to further enhance its load volume to 750 liters, this is not possible in cabriolets with a hard-top.
The Cascada BiTurbo is powered by a sophisticated 2.0 liter diesel engine with sequential twin turbo technology and a twin-intercooler system. Two turbochargers of different sizes, a small one with very low inertia for the low revs, and a bigger one for the high revs, allow the delivery of smooth strength and exceptional responsiveness: 80% of the 400 Nm of maximum torque is already available at an engine speed as low as 1,250 rpm.
High performance is combined with exceptional fuel efficiency, just 5.2 liters per 100 km. Another diesel engine with 121 kW/165 hp is available, as well as four turbo-charged gasoline engines delivering 88 kW/120 hp to 147 kW/200 hp.
Tips for Cascada Drivers
Be a Moon Chaser
All cabriolet experts know it: open-air driving is pure hedonism that does not require sunshine. Traveling is simply more intense! Smoothly cruising by night with the top open is one of the most magical automotive experiences one can have. And, to show you the way, the Cascada is fitted with a first class adaptive AFL+ bixenon lighting system with variable light distribution. So don’t hesitate: experience top down driving along the sea coast at night.
Too Cold? Never!
Driving top down in winter is also possible. Firstly, the front occupants of the Cascada are remarkably isolated from the wind. Further protection is afforded through the wind shutter that, when not in use, is neatly packed in a bag located behind the rear seats.
In addition, diverse equipment is fitted to keep you warm: switch on the heating, the heated seats and the heated steering wheel. And, if necessary, wear a scarf and a cap.
In Reverse, Look Ahead
A traditional downside of cabriolets is to offer a limited vision through the rear window. No panic! The Opel Cascada can be equipped with a rear view camera. When engaging your rear speed, just watch the display on the center console: the image of the rear camera will help you discover potential obstacles and will safely help you on your way.
Technical Data Opel Cascada 2.0 Biturbo cdti
Vehicle type: 4 seater convertible with electric soft top
Length: 4,696 mm
Engine type: 4 cylinder, 16 valves, common rail, direct injection system, sequential twin turbo, start/stop system
Engine displacement: 1,956 cm3
Power: 143 kW/195 hp @ 4,000 rpm
Maximum torque: 400 nm @ 1,750 – 2,500 rpm
Transmission: manual, 6 speed
Maximum speed: 230 km/h
Acceleration 0 –100 km/h: 9.4 sec.
Elasticity 80 – 120 km/h in 5th gear: 8.5 sec.
Combined fuel consumption: 5.2 liter/100 km
Efficiency class: A
Autotouren
Vorheriger Easygoing in Südtirol: Ein neuer Ort maximaler Freiheit
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Auswahl „München“
Star-Designer Rampazzi eröffnet Garten des Hotel Alpenhof Murnau
Mazda-Museum in Augsburg zeigt 13 MX-5 aus drei Jahrzehnten
Auswahl „Lovely Escapes“
Wie im Süden: Mediterran genießen inmitten der Südtiroler Berge!
Traumtouren, Südalpen & Porsche fahren
Auswahl „Genuss“
Hine - Der feinste Cognac der Welt
Auswahl „Reiseinspirationen“
Traumküste & Sonne pur: Beni Beniusu en Sardignao
Auswahl „Lifestyle“
Cabrio & Mode Werbemotive
Auswahl „Classic Cars“
Steuer-Paradies auf Malta: Classic Cars Museum
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‘Modern Family’ EP Steve Levitan On Season 9: “In About A Month Or So, The Writers Will Regather”
By Antonia Blyth
Antonia Blyth
Deputy Editor, AwardsLine
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Phoebe Waller-Bridge On Bringing Bond Into The Present, Why Femaleness Can’t Be Categorized & The New Project That Came To Her In A Dream
No official announcement has been made and contract negotiations are still reportedly in play, but according to EP and co-creator Steve Levitan, it looks like Modern Family will live to see its ninth season.
“In about a month or so, the writers will re-gather and we will sit down and we will start the season with a big, ‘What now?’” Levitan said during an Academy of Television Arts & Sciences panel discussion Wednesday night.
Following a special advance screening of the Season 8 finale episode ‘The Graduates’ in which the characters of Manny (Rico Rodriguez) and Luke (Nolan Gould) get their diplomas, Levitan–who also directed the episode–speculated as to how a new season might handle the kids being all grown up. “That’s a reality, we can’t escape that,” he said. “We’re not The Simpsons, where everybody can stay young forever and nobody ages, so it forces our show to change.”
We’re not The Simpsons, where everybody can stay young forever and nobody ages,” Levitan said of kids on the show like Jeremy Maguire, pictured with Sofia Vergara.
Jessica Chou
Others though, seemed less sure of the show’s future.
“Are they going to cancel us?” Sofia Vergara joked, as the rest of the cast and audience broke out laughing. Vergara, who plays Colombian character Gloria, was light-heartedly referencing the Trump administration’s apparent disinterest in the inclusivity the show has historically championed. But joking aside, Levitan admitted the political influence had been on his mind, leaving him wondering how it might affect the show’s trajectory.
“I’ve been thinking about that lately,” he said. “How is our political movement going to affect our taste in comedy? It’s so much a part of our life now in a really big way that I wonder if it will seep in more in next season with what we’re all going through.”
Beginning in 2009, Modern Family has always come from a place of political freedom. Back then, it was still exploring relatively new territory when it put gay couple Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cam (Eric Stonestreet) front and center.
“People think it’s old hat to have a gay couple, and they’re complaining, ‘Well they’re both white!’ and you’re like, ‘Yes, but eight years ago they were gay,'” Bowen said of Tyler Ferguson and Stonestreet’s characters, pictured.
“I grew up very closeted, “Tyler Ferguson said. “And I always thought how great it would be if I could turn on my television and find someone who’s not just gay, but in a gay relationship. That would have made my coming out a lot easier.”
More recently, the show introduced guest star Jackson Millarker, an eight year-old trans actor playing Tom, the trans friend of Mitch and Cam’s daughter Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons).
“It was very exciting,” Tyler Ferguson said. “I think it was very important for all of us to have a kid who’s actually identifies as transgender.”
While Modern Family has been something of a trailblazer when it comes to inclusivity, Levitan is quick to pay homage to an earlier show that paved the way. “We owe a lot to shows like Will & Grace,” he said. “That really broke huge barriers at that time.”
Julie Bowen, who plays Claire, pointed out that despite the political situation, television seems to be making some headway when it comes to inclusivity and diversity.
“People say we were cutting edge eight years ago,” she said. “And the fact that we’re no longer cutting edge I consider a testament to how well the show has been accepted by a broad audience. The fact that people think it’s old hat to have a gay couple, and they’re complaining, ‘Well they’re both white!’ and you’re like, ‘Yes, but eight years ago they were gay and that was the first thing that people noticed.’ The fact that they aren’t noticing their gayness, that’s great, that’s a stride, that’s steps forward, that’s wonderful.”
Perhaps Levitan will rise to the political challenge and we’ll see the show sharpen that ‘cutting edge’ next season.
The panel at the Television Academy’s Saban Media Center also included Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould and Aubrey Anderson-Emmons.
This article was printed from https://deadline.com/2017/05/modern-family-steve-levitan-season-9-1202083710/
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Persian Gulf States - Oman Society
The majority of Omanis are Ibadi Muslims, followers of Abd Allah ibn Ibad. Approximately 25 percent are Sunni Muslims and live primarily in Sur and the surrounding area and in Dhofar. They form the largest nonIbadi minority. The Shia minority live along the Al Batinah coast in the Muscat-Matrah region. This minority includes the Khojas, the Baharina of Iraqi or Iranian descent, and the Ajam, of vague origin but generally considered to originate in Iran.
Ibadism is an outgrowth of the Kharijite movement, a variant form of Islam practiced by descendants of a sect that seceded from the principal Muslim body after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in A.D. 632. Kharijites reject primogeniture succession of the Quraysh, the tribe of Muhammad, and assert that leadership of Islam, the caliphate, should be designated by an imam elected by the community from candidates who possess spiritual and personal qualities. Ibadi leadership is vested in an imam, who is regarded as the sole legitimate leader and combines religious and political authority. The imam is elected by a council of prominent laymen or shaykhs. Adherence to Ibadism accounts in part for Oman's historical isolation. Considered a heretical form of Islam by the majority Sunni Muslims, Ibadis were not inclined to integrate with their neighbors.
As in other sectors of Omani society, the education system was radically altered after the accession of Sultan Qabus ibn Said. Prior to 1970, there were only three primary schools in the sultanate--in Muscat, Matrah, and Salalah. These were reserved for approximately 900 boys personally selected by the sultan from among many applicants. Additionally, in Muscat there was a religious institute with an enrollment of fifty boys, three private schools for Hyderabadis (Indians), and one United States missionary school serving fifty foreign girls. Sultan Qabus ibn Said initiated a shift in the government's policies and priorities from neglect to expansion of the school system, increasing the public's access to general education.
The education system is guided by the policy-making body of the Council for Education chaired by the sultan and operated by the Ministry of Education and Youth. General education is divided into three levels: primary (grades 1-6); lower secondary (grades 7-9); and upper secondary (grades 10-12). Teacher-training colleges provide training programs for primary and lower secondary school teachers.
Education accounted for a modest 11.2 percent of the government's current expenditures in 1990, up from only 2.4 percent in 1975 but still considerably less than the 28 percent planned and less than the proportion recorded by other countries in the process of expanding their school systems. By the 1989-90 academic year, the percentage of students enrolled in primary schools was almost 100 percent in the respective age-group, compared with 53 percent in 1977-78. The percentage of girls attending primary schools also rose rapidly during this period, from 37 percent in 1977-78 to 97 percent in 1989-90. The student-teacher ratio at the primary level was twenty-seven to one in 1988-89. Secondary school enrollment lagged behind primary school attendance and rose from 8 percent of secondary-school-age youth in 1977-78 to 48 percent in 1989- 90. In 1986 Sultan Qabus University opened at Al Khawd, west of Muscat, with faculties of agriculture, education, engineering, Islamic studies, medicine, and science. Faculties for commerce, economics and the arts are planned.
Rapid expansion and enrollment have exceeded the capacity of the ministry to plan and administer the system. This has produced problems in planning, budgeting, curriculum development, and teacher training. Often, inappropriate sites for facilities are selected, and programs are of poor quality or unavailable. Lower secondary education remains underdeveloped, contributing to the low enrollment rates in upper secondary school, particularly for females.
The government emphasizes teacher training for Omanis, in order to create an indigenous teaching force. The dependency on foreign staff, and hence the high turnover rate and lack of continuity, further compromises the quality of education. In the 1980-81 academic year, 618 of a total 5,663, or 11 percent of the teaching staff, were Omanis. By the 1985-86 academic year, the number had increased to 18 percent. The majority of ministry employees (55 percent in 1990) are non-Omanis, of whom more than 70 percent are Egyptians; the balance consists of Jordanians, Pakistanis, Sudanese, Indians, Filipinos, and others. As of 1990, there were six teacher-training colleges providing a two-year program and enrolling a total of about 700 students. Secondary school teachers receive training at the Faculty of Education at Sultan Qabus University.
The government's medium-term objectives are to ensure that all six-year-olds are enrolled in primary school and to expand access to primary and secondary education in rural areas. The government also seeks to expand teacher-training facilities; to increase the number of trained nationals staffing schools by increasing the number of teacher-training colleges; to improve teacher-class ratios and school-building operations; and to introduce student testing and new programs.
Developments in the health and medical sector paralleled those in education. In 1970 there was one twelve-bed hospital operated by United States missionaries and nine government health centers. In 1990 there was a total of forty-seven hospitals, compared with fourteen in 1980. The number of doctors increased from 294 to 994 in the same ten-year period, and the number of nurses more than quadrupled from 857 to 3,512.
The government's health policy is directed at achieving a level of health care that approaches its goal of Health for All by the Year 2000. Included among the health priorities of the Ministry of Health are strengthening curative services, particularly in urban areas, and improving preventive services, with the emphasis on communicable diseases and immunization. The Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health is responsible for mass immunizations for smallpox and other infectious diseases. The government stresses delivering maternal and child health care at the village level to decrease the infant mortality rate, estimated in mid-1992 at forty-four per 1,000. Life expectancy in mid-1992 was sixty-four years for males and sixtyeight years for females. The government is also expanding its education program, especially with regard to maternal and child health care. In July 1987, the country held its first workshop on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) to increase awareness of the problem in the medical community. Contraceptives are available at private hospitals and dispensaries and through commercial outlets. Abortion is illegal except when the mother's life is endangered.
Although adequate health facilities exist in urban centers, coverage in rural areas remains insufficient. As a result, the government is continuing to develop health services as an integral part of national development. The Fourth Five-Year Development Plan (1991-95) allocated RO48 million, which is equivalent to US$124.7 million, for this purpose. Ministry of Health plans include a 100-bed hospital in Al Buraymi and a 200-bed hospital at Ar Rustaq, southeast of Qurayyat, to replace the existing medical facility in Ar Rustaq and to serve as a central, referral hospital for the region. Other projects include replacing all outpatient clinics at the Royal Hospital polyclinic in the capital and building a new 200-bed hospital at Ibri and a 200-bed hospital at Tanam, in the interior north of Ibri.
Society in the Persian Gulf: Before and After Oil
The security complex of Persian Gulf - Tehran Times
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After growing up gay in Russia, a Seattle filmmaker wins big
Brangien Davis
Filmmaker Wes Hurley photographed in Seattle, Jan. 17, 2019. Hurley was recently awarded a Creative Capital grant to turn his award-winning short film, Little Potato, into a feature-length film. The story is a personal narrative about growing up gay in Russia and fleeing the country for the U.S. (Photo by Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut)
Wes Hurley was having a very bad day. It was during the recent holiday crush when the Seattle filmmaker had been asked on short notice to make a video for a Christmas-themed drag show (To Jesus, Thanks for Everything). Adding to the stress of the deadline, he thought he was going to need surgery for a kidney stone — a physical discomfort exacerbated by the fact that he didn’t have health insurance. Working at a frenzied pace and in pain, Hurley received a phone call. It was Creative Capital, the national arts organization, informing him he’d been awarded one of its coveted $100,000 grants.
“It was really amazing news,” he recalls, “but at that moment I was so disoriented.” He asked if he could call them back later.
When they finally reconnected, Creative Capital asked him to keep the news under his hat until the official notice went out. “Which was no problem,” Hurley says, “because I wasn’t going to believe it until I saw the press release anyway.”
The announcement landed this week, and Hurley is just starting to believe it. On Facebook, he posted, “No words for how happy I am to receive this life-changing award from Creative Capital!!!”
Sitting in a Madrona coffee shop with a cup of tea and a Danish pastry, he now laughs remembering the hectic day he got the news with a possible $20,000 surgery looming. “I was literally like, can I spend the grant on the surgery?” (He can’t. And he ended up not needing the surgery after all.)
Hurley, 37, is easygoing and funny, his Russian accent noticeable but not thick. He remembers early in his career thinking “someday” he’d apply for Creative Capital, “but it seemed like you had to be at a certain level.” The grant is regarded as one of the most prestigious available for individual artists. Past Seattle recipients include Ahamefule J. Oluo, Deborah Lawrence, Lead Pencil Studio, Paul Rucker, Susan Robb and Sutton Beres Culler.
About a year ago, his friends convinced him it was time. He’d had notable success with Little Potato (2017), his 13-minute autobiographical film about growing up gay in Russia and escaping to the U.S. as a teenager, thanks to his mother’s decision become a “mail-order bride.” The film (co-directed by Hurley and Nathan Miller) won a South by Southwest Jury Award, the Outfest Audience Award and was selected for The Atlantic magazine’s online showcase of short docs (where you can watch it in its entirety). His mother Elena, who tells her side of the story in the film, is particularly endearing. “People are really inspired by her,” Hurley says. The two currently share an apartment in Central District.
Wes Hurley and his mother on the set of “Little Potato.” The title refers to his mother’s term of endearment for her son. (Photo by Bronwen Houck)
He had also gained acclaim for his web series Capitol Hill, a campy soap opera spoof starring Seattle drag and boylesque personalities Waxie Moon, BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon. The show recently received funding for a third season and will make the leap from web series to television streaming series (the network remains under wraps).
Along with his filmmaking cred, Hurley suspects his distinct background probably helped him win the grant. “My perspective as a Russian, gay immigrant is pretty unique — and it gives me a certain sensibility and style.”
Hurley and his mother landed in Seattle in the late 1990s. “Coming from Russia, we would’ve been happy to live anywhere in America,” he says. “But to come from Vladivostok, one of the worst cities in Russia, and land in one of the most progressive cities in the U.S.…” They arrived in the summer when the weather was perfect. “There was a huge parade in my neighborhood!” he recalls. (They lived in Fremont, and were wowed by the Solstice Parade.) His American dream was coming true.
In Little Potato, Hurley talks about the dubbed American movies he and his mother used to watch in Russia on a renegade TV channel. Ghost, Labyrinth, Robocop — all served as a respite from their cramped, dismal life and inspiration for Hurley’s career.
He made the short on an extremely low budget: $2,000, plus $2,500 for a version augmented with virtual reality, both funded by a 4Culture grant. The Creative Capital money will help Hurley turn the short into a full-length movie. He wants to expand the sections about his mother’s job in a Russian prison and his volatile American stepfather, and add some moments of magical realism. (“I’d like to have some portraits of Lenin that interact with people,” he says.) His total fundraising goal is $500,000 — a bargain-basement budget by Hollywood standards, but still a long way to go.
Creative Capital awardees receive $50,000 of the grant in direct project funding; the rest comes in the form of career development resources, networking opportunities and advisory services. It’s the latter that often proves the most valuable in the long term.
“It’s a huge boost in terms of not just cash, but the promise to mentor you and help you bring in more money,” says Hurley, noting that the award is a stamp of approval for potential investors. “It’s definitely the biggest thing that’s happened to the project.”
Joshua Kohl, of Seattle performance art group Degenerate Art Ensemble (a prior recipient of the grant) served as Hurley’s mentor during the application process. “He tells me it’s a lifelong relationship [with Creative Capital],” Hurley says. “After getting the award you can always go to them for support. That’s life-changing.”
But this newfound affirmation hasn’t caused Hurley to set his filmmaking sights on Los Angeles or New York City. “Film is so often filtered through an LA or New York lens. We love those stories, but it’s a narrow lens,” he says. “I'm really committed to making work in Seattle — the landscape here is so different and striking, it affects people and how we operate.”
For now, he needs to plan a celebration. He doesn’t drink, but says he wants to commemorate the achievement somehow. “Maybe I’ll go to Cafe Flora with my mom,” he considers, warming to the idea. “It’s one of our traditions,” he says. “It's such a Seattle place.”
Crosscut arts coverage is made possible with support from Shari D. Behnke.
Brangien Davis is a reporter at Crosscut focused on arts and culture.
During his 12 years as mayor of Renton, Denis Law helped build a politically inclusive city.
Glenn Nelson
/ July 8 July 8, 2019 /
Updated July 8, 2019 at 11:35 AM
SAM’s new boss talks diversity, techies and blockbuster shows
Amada Cruz previously helmed the Phoenix Art Museum.
Income inequity in the arts is a national problem. How does Seattle stack up?
A viral spreadsheet revealing salaries of arts workers from across the nation is making a splash. We scoured the list to see how pay in Seattle's art scene compares with the rest of the country.
Agueda Pacheco Flores
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Brought to you by Central Rappahannock Regional Library
Sequential Films
Stripped brings together the world's best cartoonists to talk about the art form they love, and what happens to it as newspapers die. Over 70 interviews were conducted, including the first-ever audio interview with Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes), as well as Jim Davis (Garfield), Cathy Guisewite(Cathy), Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey), Mike & Jerry (Penny Arcade), Matt Inman (The Oatmeal), Jeff Keane (The Family Circus), Ryan North (Dinosaur Comics), Lynn Johnston (FBOFW), Zach Weiner (SMBC), Scott Kurtz (PvP), Scott McCloud(Understanding Comics), Richard Thompson (Cul de Sac), Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content), Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), Bill Amend (Foxtrot), Kate Beaton (Hark! A Vagrant) and more.
Set to a gorgeous original score by Stefan Lessard of Dave Matthews Band, Stripped explores comic strips in depth, why they're so loved, and how they're navigating this dicey period between print and pixels.
Dave Kellett, Frederick Schroeder
Media & Communications > Journalism
Documentaries > Media & Popular Culture
Documentaries > Art & Artists
The Arts > Literature
The Arts > Visual Art
Comix: Beyond the Comic Book Pages - Inside the Comic Book Industry 86 mins An exciting new feature film documentary about the world of comic books told through the thoughts and images of the creators, artists, writers, collectors, store…
Comix: Beyond the Comic Book Pages - Inside the Comic Book Industry
Comic Book Confidential 86 mins Comic Book Confidential is a feature-length documentary that profiles twenty-two of the most significant artists and writers working in comic books, graphic novels and strip-art…
Comic Book Confidential
Funny Ladies: A Portrait of Women Cartoonists 47 mins WHY are so few women in the comics pages? That question becomes even more provocative as we watch four smart and witty role models --…
Funny Ladies: A Portrait of Women Cartoonists
A Hero Can Be Anyone 56 mins This episode captures the enthusiasm for superheroes as they are embraced in all forms of media and by all demographics, beginning with the historic "Superman"…
A Hero Can Be Anyone
Dear Mr. Watterson - The Era of Calvin & Hobbes 91 mins Calvin & Hobbes dominated the Sunday comics in thousands of newspapers for over 10 years, having a profound effect on millions of readers across the…
Dear Mr. Watterson - The Era of Calvin & Hobbes
Great Power, Great Responsibility 56 mins In the 1960s, a new breed of superhero emerges in the pages of Marvel Comics, inspired by the age of atomic energy and space travel…
Great Power, Great Responsibility
Truth, Justice, and the American Way 56 mins During the Depression, the popularity of dozens of superhero characters opens the door for a new generation of artists and writers. World War II creates…
Truth, Justice, and the American Way
Shellharbour City Libraries•1 year ago
It was interesting to hear the perspectives of quite a few comics artists. Of course the biggest billing of the documentary was an exclusive interview with Bill Waterson. However, some of the interviews lacked much substance. Bill Waterson had some good things to say, but his bits were ...Read more
It was interesting to hear the perspectives of quite a few comics artists. Of course the biggest billing of the documentary was an exclusive interview with Bill Waterson. However, some of the interviews lacked much substance. Bill Waterson had some good things to say, but his bits were chopped up into sound bites. And the majority of the documentary is comprised of just the interviews, so it's all just their opinions about the industry, especially towards the end as they talk about the future of comics. At times the style choices of the documentary were a bit distracting as well. But still, interesting to watch.
Fingerprint Films
$100 & A T-Shirt - A Documentary About Zines In The Northwest
MVD Entertainment Group
Manga Mad - Comics and Anime in Japan
Ray Castle Films
Part of the Series: Superheroes
Sex In The Comix - The History of Erotic Content in Sequential Art.
Music Box Films
Films We Like
Hot Type - 150 Years Of The Nation Magazine
Guilty Pleasures - Romance Novels as an Escape from Reality
Love Between The Covers - A Look at the Billion Dollar Romance Fiction Industry
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Care and Feeding
by Tim Pratt
Tim Pratt's fiction has won a Hugo Award, and he's been a finalist for Sturgeon, Stoker, World Fantasy, Mythopoeic, and Nebula Awards, among others. His books include three short story collections, most recently Antiquities and Tangibles and Other Stories; a volume of poems called If There Were Wolves; contemporary fantasy novels The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl, Briarpatch, and Heirs of Grace; science fantasy The Nex; steampunk novel The Constantine Affliction (as T. Aaron Payton); various roleplaying game tie-in fantasy novels; and, as T.A. Pratt, seven books (and counting) in an urban fantasy series about sorcerer Marla Mason. He edited anthology Sympathy for the Devil and co-edited Rags and Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales with Melissa Marr. Novella "The Deep Woods" is forthcoming from PS Publishing this fall. He works as a senior editor for Locus magazine, and lives in Berkeley CA with his wife Heather Shaw and their son River. Find him online at timpratt.org.
"Most people can't even see this place." The alley librarian leaned against a five-foot-high stack of wooden pallets like a makeshift counter. He wore a lumpy no-color knit cap pulled low on his forehead, and he had the sallow skin of a meth addict and bloodshot eyes the color of weak tea, but when he grinned, he showed off a headful of shiny white teeth. "They just walk right by."
I stood dazzled, gazing at the books filling the trash bins and piled on the ground all around us, stacked sideways on makeshift shelves constructed from crushed beer cans and empty milk cartons. The volumes were all different sizes, but otherwise had much in common: greasy-looking black covers and titles written in lines of fire that writhed. "So... why can I see it, then?"
The librarian shrugged and spat something black and wriggling onto the pavement. For some reason that didn't bother me at all. Neither did the fact that the sky had changed from midday lunch-break blue to deep black with cold blue stars, or the way the piss reek of the alley I liked to shortcut through on the way back to work had transformed into a deeper stench, like burning hair and tires.
"I'm not sure," the librarian said. "Some people see me, most don't. There are lots of reasons. Maybe you're really stupid."
I crouched and looked at a row of books crowding a busted plastic milk crate. None of the titles on the spines were comprehensible, though some, at least, looked a bit like actual letters. "Uh. No, I don't think I'm especially stupid."
"Hmm. Have you had any recent head trauma? Do you have a history of psychotic breaks, or hallucinations without obvious cause? Were you born with a caul over your face?"
"No... I work part-time in an occult and New Age bookstore, so maybe I've just developed a special--"
"Nah, that's not it. Any recent emotional trauma? What? I'm curious. It's good to know what I'm dealing with."
I stood, shoved my hands deep in the pockets of my jacket, and frowned. "Not trauma exactly... I mean... I think I might be falling in love--"
"That would do it," the librarian said, nodding. "We're talking the stay-up-all-night sort of love, yeah? The cold sweats kind of love. The kind of love where, if the person doesn't love you back, you start to look like a stalker. Restraining order type love."
"It's not like that. We're friends, I mean, I want us to be more, but--"
He waved a hand clad in a filthy fingerless glove. "Whatever, I don't care, I know what I'm dealing with now. So you're here. What do you want?"
"Can I.... borrow a book? You said it's a library, right?"
"I never said that. You just knew it. It is a library, but we're not as trusting as some places are. You can borrow a book, but only one at a time, and we require collateral."
"What kind? Like a credit card?"
"More like a finger. Maybe a foot. Sometimes an eye. Don't worry. I'll give it back when you return the book."
That weirdness, at least, penetrated the strange numb veil that seemed to cover me, and I took a step back. "I don't... I'm not gonna get disfigured--"
"We can take things that don't leave a mark."
I shivered. "You mean... my soul?"
"What's a soul? Show me where the soul is on an anatomical diagram. Point to the part of the brain that controls the soul. No, I mean something real. Your sense of smell, that's popular--a lot of people hardly even miss it."
"I guess, if it was only temporary..."
"What kind of book do you want?"
I almost ran my finger along the row of books heaped on the pallet in front of him, then thought better of it. "Something to impress a girl."
"You want a love spell?"
"No! No, I want her to like me for me. We're almost there, I think. She just doesn't take me seriously. But if I could do something to really impress her..."
"Tell me more about this girl. I have to help you find the right book--it's part of the job--but I need more information than 'a girl.' What would impress her? Do you want to take her flying through the air? Go back in time with her to see Elvis live in concert? Give her a unicorn ride? Some of them aren't too particular about whether the girl's a virgin or not, though the forgiving ones are more like goats than horses. Or--"
"Is there a book," I said, "that will let me summon the Devil?"
The librarian cocked his head, and after a moment, gave me another smile. "That kind of girl, huh? Let's see. The Devil? I wouldn't say the Devil. Call it a devil." He stopped smiling. "Actually, I wouldn't even say devil. But it should get the job done."
He pushed a book the size and shape of a brick toward me, and as soon as my fingers touched the cover, I stopped smelling the burning tires-and-hair alleyway--I stopped smelling anything--and the sky turned blue, and I was back in front of Golden Tomorrow Books.
I shoved the greasy black volume into one of my jacket pockets, happy to have it out of my hands--its surface was oily, fleshy, too warm. When I went into the shop, I wasn't surprised to see I'd gotten back from my lunch break right on time, as if the minutes spent in the alley hadn't passed at all.
In one of the long lulls when there were no customers in the store I called up Tyana and told her I had something to show her, something really amazing, and after some bored sighs she said I could come over to her place after work; she'd probably be around.
Tyana had come into the store once and drifted through the occult section, and I'd been drawn to her like a fish to a baited hook. A tiny pale beauty, bleached hair, dressed in layered blacks, something ferocious and impatient inside her that couldn't be contained in her slight form. "Can I help you find anything?" I'd asked, and she'd given me this look of up-and-down contempt and snorted.
"There's nothing here but bullshit and stuff everyone has." She flicked a black-painted fingernail against a facsimile edition of Crowley's Liber AL vel Legis. "Don't you have anything rare?"
"Sorry. Most people come here looking for books about how to contact their guardian angels or summon fairies to their garden."
"I figured, but sometimes, even in places with crystals and dreamcatchers hanging in the windows, you find something interesting. Oh well." She started to move off toward the door, and I cleared my throat.
"Let me know what you're interested in, and maybe I can keep my eyes open. We get weird used stuff sometimes."
Now she gave me another look, like she was considering what my body parts might be worth if she sold them. "Come next door and buy me a coffee and a scone and I'll tell you what I'm into."
"Ah, I'm the only one working here, and my boss..."
She shrugged and started for the door.
I hung a sign in the window that said "Back in 15 minutes" and went with her.
Tyana was into evil. She wanted to be a witch, but not a Wiccan. She wanted to consort with the devil. She believed firmly in the existence of a higher power--not necessary Yahweh, or Allah, or Ahura Mazda, or anything yet accurately described by humankind, but some creative, omnipotent, universe-creating force.
"And screw that guy." She rolled her cup of coffee between her hands, as if sucking in warmth through her palms. "He--or it, but it's probably a he, let's be serious--created a world of pain and misery and loss and horror for his own amusement, full of traps and tricks and double-binds, full of tests to see if we measure up to some arbitrary celestial standard. Screw that. Our duty as sentient beings with free will is to oppose that creator. I believe there must be an equal and opposite force, an enemy of that creator, and I devote myself to that force. Call it the Devil, or the Adversary, or whatever you want--I'm on its side. Dedicated to tearing down and destroying the world that creator made. What do you think about that?"
I'd been a pagan in my early twenties, mostly because I liked drum circles and the frequency with which pagan girls took off their clothes and danced around bonfires. Now I was getting closer to thirty, and I didn't spend much time in nature, and I had the contempt for all things New Age that can only come from working in a bookshop frequented regularly by New Agers, and Tyana was gorgeous and the fire in her warmed me, even if I thought she was a little bit nuts.
"I think you make a lot of good points," I said.
I stood in the hallway outside Tyana's door, waiting to see if she'd answer my knock. We were friends, sort of--in the past six weeks since meeting we'd had coffee a couple of times, gone out for drinks once (she left with a bunch of her friends without saying goodbye), and she occasionally wandered into the store if she didn't have anything better to do. I still wasn't sure if she had a job, or went to college, or what. She looked maybe nineteen, tops, but had her own tiny apartment with no roommates, seemingly limitless free time, and the money to pay for her own drinks. The mystery of her was half the appeal, of course. But now I had a mystery for her.
The door finally opened. She was dressed in a short robe that might have been made of cobwebs and shadows, just lace piled on lace. I tried not to stare. At least I couldn't smell her--she always smelled amazing, like dark sweet spices, cinnamon and cloves. Seeing her in that robe, I wanted to believe she was trying to seduce me... but I knew the truth. She didn't think of me sexually. Not remotely. Not even enough to bother changing into something more modest when I came to the door. I was just the old harmless guy who worked at the bookstore. Maybe tonight I could change that perception. "So what did you want to show me?" She didn't invite me in, or even step out of the doorway.
"This." I pulled the book from the alley library out of my coat pocket and held it out to her.
She looked at it, frowning, then back up at my face. "I don't get the joke. Why do I want a Des Moines telephone book from twenty years ago?"
I stared at the thing in my hands. It was an old, stained, torn set of white pages from a town almost two thousand miles away. "This... this isn't what I meant to..."
"I'll see you later, Leonard." She closed the door.
I slammed the book down on the alley librarian's broken-pallet counter.
"Returning it already?" The librarian looked even more unshaven and dirty than he had before.
"I tried to show it to Tyana, and it turned into a telephone book!"
"Sure," he said. "When the book's dormant, it protects itself around strangers and tries to blend in, sort of like psychic camouflage. So?"
"I wanted to show it to her, I wanted to let her use it--"
The librarian rolled his bloodshot eyes. "Oh yeah? Look, it's not my fault if you don't know how to read." He flipped the book open. The pages inside were the color of old bone, the letters brown and clotted-looking. "You didn't even feed the thing. Of course it went to sleep--it had to conserve its energy."
"What do you mean, feed it?"
"Basic care and feeding of books. This one, let me see..." He scrabbled through a pile of papers on the pallet, then squinted down at one sheet. "Right here. It likes to eat crickets and mealworms." He scratched at a scab on his chin. "Also blood. Honestly, mostly blood. The crickets and mealworms are mostly garnish."
"Blood?" I said.
"It doesn't have to be your blood."
I had to promise to bring a very good bottle of wine and a bag of weed before Tyana would agree to see me again after the telephone book debacle, but she let me in. Her apartment was tiny, just one room and a bathroom and a miniature kitchen. The walls were hung with red velvet and there were black candles and silver skulls and blackbird feathers and ornamental knives and books everywhere. I unpacked the booze and drugs from my bag, and followed with a little plastic tub of crickets and mealworms I'd gotten from the East Bay Vivarium, a reptile pet shop in west Berkeley.
"Did you get a pet snake or something?" Tyana sounded halfway interested. She was dressed in lots of layered thrift-shop blacks today, so being next to her was a little less distracting than it had been last time.
"Or something." I took out the book again. It was still pretending to be a Des Moines telephone directory.
"Not this again."
I put the book on the counter, opened the container of crickets and worms--making Tyana shout, "Hey, don't let those bugs out in here!"--and tipped the whole thing onto the splayed-open pages of the book.
For a terrible moment I thought the crickets were just going to hop down and away onto the dark carpet, and that Tyana would throw me out and never answer my calls again... but then the book snapped shut on its own, crushing all the bugs, and the cover shimmered and became greasy black, and words slithered onto the front cover and the spine like water serpents crawling onto the shore.
"Oh, fuck me sideways," Tyana said, and I thought, I wish, as automatically and irresistibly as a muscle spasm.
The book gaped open again, and there was no sign of the bugs we'd fed it, not even smears. "Now it needs blood," I said. "Do you have a sharp knife?"
Tyana took one of the many elaborate knives that decorated her apartment, this one curved almost like a crescent moon, and put the blade into the flame of one of the stove's gas burners. "To sterilize it," she said.
We waited a few moments for the metal to cool, Tyana gazing at the book hungrily, her body trembling with anticipation. I took the knife's filigreed hilt in my right hand and pressed the blade against my other palm, opening a line of blood and burning pain. I made a fist and squeezed it over the open pages, and blood pattered down onto the book.
The drops struck, and were absorbed, like rain falling on the desert.
"What happens now?" Tyana whispered.
"I'm not..." I began, but then the book began to bubble, the surface of the pages like the waters of a boiling cauldron, and we stepped away as waves of heat rose up. I snatched up a dishtowel and wrapped it around my bloody hand.
"Gah, that smell." She pressed her hands together over her nose.
"Yeah, terrible," I said, though of course I couldn't smell anything at all.
Light flashed, purplish and blinding, like a transformer exploding, but in the middle of the counter. We shouted and fell back--I crashed into the refrigerator.
The light vanished, and something coiled on the counter. I couldn't really describe it--I could barely see it, or maybe my eyes couldn't make sense of it--but there was the suggestion of many wings, and a central form like a heap of entrails. The thing rose up to stand on the counter, as tall as man, narrow head brushing the ceiling, many tongues flickering and dripping biles and acids in green and red and yellow. "Your command?" it said, only it didn't speak, any more than a crackling fire or an avalanche speaks: there were just sounds, and we somehow made them into language.
"Leonard?" Tyana whispered.
I stood upright, trying to look straight at the thing. "I... I give my power over you to this woman."
The thing turned its attention to Tyana. "Your command?"
I expected... I don't know what. For her to ask for revelation. Or a sword of fire. Or plagues, or the power to become a shadow, or a personal audience with the Adversary.
Instead she said, "Can you do... anything?"
"Many things," it said, but in a tone that seemed like agreement.
"Can you make someone love me?"
I gaped at her, but the thing on the counter just writhed. "The human heart is clay to be shaped."
"His name is Thomas Ellison Rift. He plays guitar in--"
"It is done." The thing coiled down again, curling up, and I saw something like jaws open--or less like jaws and more like a door, or a sinkhole--and the creature devoured itself in one great bite after another until nothing remained on the counter but a reddish-brown smear that might have been a cricket squashed in a drop of blood.
Tyana grabbed me, hugged me, pressed her face against my chest. "Len, that was amazing, I had no idea you had that kind of power, you have to teach me--"
"Tommy Rift?" I knew the name. He was the guitarist in a halfway famous local band, Murmurus, that had recently gone on tour and opened for a couple of acts the average person might have actually heard of. Murmurus played a sort of watered-down, more palatable derivative of black metal, and Rift in particular had the kind of sleepy-eyed charisma and stage presence you saw in real rock stars.
She tilted her head back and looked up at me, beaming. "I have worshipped him forever, since he started playing with International Hemorrhage, I saw him first when I was fifteen, when I snuck into this club--"
Tyana went on in that vein, and I wanted to step out of her embrace, but then again, I didn't ever want to stop holding her, so I didn't move. I did interrupt, though. "I thought... you know, what you said about opposing the creator..."
"Oh, that's still my plan." Now she did pull away, peering at the smear on the counter with eyes wide and shining. "But Tommy's going to help me. Have you ever listened to his lyrics, I mean really listened? He feels the same way I do, the world's a mansion that needs to be burned up, a rotten tree that needs to be chopped down. I wonder how it's going to happen? Will he come find me, or should I try to find him, or...."
While she was speculating, I slipped quietly out of the apartment, and she didn't even notice me go.
"Did you bring the book back?" the librarian asked. He was sitting on the pallet this time, swinging his legs. He didn't wear shoes; his feet were wrapped in filth-blackened crusty rags.
"No, I didn't bring it back. It turned into a monster, and then the book just disappeared--"
"Well, yeah, if you used it up, it's gone."
"So... my sense of smell..."
"That's ours, now, of course. You'll never get it back. That's what collateral means."
"What do you even want with my sense of smell? What good is it?"
He shrugged. "It's complicated. You're not all that stupid, but you're too stupid to understand. Do you want another book?"
"The last one didn't help me. I gave it to the girl I like--"
"That you love," he interrupted.
I ignored him. "And she used it to make another guy fall in love with her."
"You should have gone for a love spell. It's not too late, though if she put a love compulsion on someone else, he's not going to go away. I hope you like guy-guy-girl threesomes--"
"I want a book that I can kill someone with," I said.
"What, you mean like a really heavy book, that you could hit a guy over the head with?" He grinned. "Nah, I'm just fucking with you. I've got just the thing. It eats tears--and blood, but the tears are actually essential. I bet you can come up with a few of those."
"What's it going to cost me?"
"Nothing, if you come to your senses--the ones you have left, ha--and bring the book back unused. But just in case, for collateral... I'll take your color vision."
Tyana wore nothing but black, and her skin was pale, and her hair was so blonde it was white, practically, so what did I care if I never saw colors again? "Fine."
He gave me a book, slender as a poetry chapbook by an adjunct professor of English lit, and the color drained from the world, turning everything into blacks and whites and oh so many shadows.
In my bedroom, while my housemates played video games and pounded beers and hooted and howled in the living room, I let myself feel--really feel--and wept onto the book open in my lap.
It drank my tears with its dry bone-white pages. I put the book down on my rug, then cut my unwounded hand with a paring knife, and my blood--the color of chocolate syrup to me now--dribbled on the pages.
The book slammed shut, rippled and bulged, and became a hideous sort of oblong spheroid, bulging like an egg sac. The sac split open with a hiss, and something crawled out: a mouse-sized almost-human form, naked and gray (of course gray, for all I knew it was bright purple or neon pink), its limbs and face rudimentary, eyeless, with a gaping black mouth. "Name," it said, voice dull and toneless.
I almost said my own name. I almost said Tyana's.
"Thomas Ellison Rift," I said, and the thing sprinted away to my cracked-open window, slithering through the gap at the bottom, and vanished. The egg sac shrank into itself and became something like a dried-up ancient banana peel. It didn't seem inclined to vanish any more thoroughly. I thought about taking the husk back to the alley library, trying to get my color sight back, but that thing wasn't a book anymore--it was all used-up, and I suspected it stank. I wrapped it up in a plastic bag and sent it down the trash chute in the hallway. Then I sat down on the couch with my housemates and started drinking my mind away.
I dreamed of Tyana falling into my arms, weeping, and of me comforting her, and then we were in a garden of roses, hand-in-hand--but I couldn't smell the roses, and everything in the dream, even the flowers, was in black-and-white.
I slept in, and went blearily into the kitchen. It was my day off from Golden Tomorrow. My housemate Danny, the least objectionable of the three, was in his boxers looking at his tablet and eating a bowl of cereal. "Dude," he said. "Don't you know this girl?"
He pushed the tablet across the counter, and I read the top story on a local news website.
I hurried to the bathroom, and puked, and dressed, and went to the alley library.
"She's dead." I kicked the stack of pallets, making it shake. The librarian raised his eyebrow at me. "Tyana. She killed Tommy Rift, the police say she 'lured him' to her apartment, and she tried to do some kind of Satanic ritual, there were chalk marks on the floor and weird symbols and all that. He screamed when she started cutting on him, and her neighbors called the cops. They burst in, and she went at them with a knife, the same knife she used to cut off Rift's fingers and take out his heart, so they fired on her, shot her down, she's dead--"
"So you didn't bring the book back, then," the librarian said. "Guess next time somebody asks your favorite color you'll really have to rack your brain over the answer."
I clenched my fists, but that hurt, because they were both slashed and bandaged. "Did you know this would happen?"
He chuckled. "Did I know? Of course not. I'm not all-knowing and all-seeing--that's not really my thing. But I knew something would happen, sure. Something always does."
I closed my eyes. I couldn't look at him when I asked my next question. "Are you the Devil?"
"I wouldn't say that. I might say... 'The loyal opposition.'"
I opened my eyes again, and all the fight drained out of me, like I was a boil that had been lanced. "Why? She wanted to help you, or something like you, Tyana wanted to do evil, she would have worked for you--"
"Idiot," the librarian said. "She did."
I have never been a very creative person, or a quick thinker. I know that. I know my limitations. But inspiration struck me then--maybe a gift from somewhere above, from the opposition of the opposition, or so I thought at the time. "You said you have to help me find the right book, yeah? You said that's your job?"
"One of my jobs, sure. You're ready to try again? I've got a book here that will let you raise the dead. You've never read a story called 'The Monkey's Paw,' have you?"
"Is there a book," I said, "that will let me kill you?"
That surprised him. He leaned back, whistled, shook his head, and took off his cap. I half-expected there to be horns on his head, but there weren't--horns would have been too easy. I could have prepared myself for horns. He ran his fingers through what he had instead of hair, then, thankfully, put the cap back on. "You don't want to go that way, friend. What's the point in killing me? Besides, the collateral is a bitch."
"I want it. I don't care what it costs. You're done."
He reached down on his side of the pallets and lifted up a book, thick as the Complete Works of some obsessively prolific author, and thumped it down on the counter. "Bad plan. You could still move on. You've got four senses left--okay, three-and-a-half, since your vision isn't great anymore--and you've got your sanity, and your whole life ahead of you, and--"
"You made me miserable," I said. "Took away the only thing I had to live for. You used me. I'm going to oppose you. Give me the book."
"Don't you want to know what it costs?"
"I don't care. I don't even care if I live or die."
He rolled his eyes. "The price is your free will. Do you hear what I'm saying to you? That's the collateral."
I'd been making all my own decisions since I'd moved out of my parents' house at eighteen, and all I had to show for it was fuckups and heartbreak. "My free will hasn't done me much good so far. As long as I get to kill you first--"
"This one just eats blood." He shoved the book at me. "But it takes a lot of blood, buddy, a lot--"
I opened the book right there on the pallet. I felt oddly estranged from myself, as if watching my actions from afar, but I approved of everything I was doing. I tore the bandages off my hands, and bit into the tender flesh, and let blood stream from both hands onto the book, staring into the librarian's eyes the whole time.
The book turned into a hole. Not a hole in the pallets, or the ground. A hole in the air. The librarian tried to back away, real fear in his face, but tendrils of darkness from the hole reached out and wrapped around him
And then he just unraveled, his skin stripped away like he was an apple being peeled in a single continuous spiral. After his flesh was spun away, his muscles followed, and his nerves, and his guts, and after what might have been seconds or minutes or hours the last shreds of him disappeared into the darkness, and the hole swallowed itself.
I stood swaying in the dim alley under those cold blue stars--white to my eyes, now, just like any stars in any sky. I wanted to leave, to run, to scream in triumph or despair or both, but my body no longer recognized my authority. The lines of volition had been severed, and I was unstrung.
After a time--a long time, or no time, it was all the same big empty to me--someone stepped into the alley, an older woman in a fine dark coat, wide-eyed, her expression caught halfway between wonder- and horror-struck.
My mouth and tongue moved without bothering to ask my brain for permission. "Most people can't even see this place," I heard myself say. "They just walk right by."
This story was first published on Friday, August 22nd, 2014
I mostly prefer to let my fiction speak for itself, but I will say this one was inspired by many encounters with those little free library boxes people put up outside their houses (a la "Little Free Library": http://littlefreelibrary.org/). I thought, "Wouldn't it be interesting if each of those came with its own highly specialized librarian..." and my imaginings became rather darker from there.
- Tim Pratt
We hope you're enjoying Care and Feeding by Tim Pratt.
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Dark Energy Detectives A project of the Dark Energy Survey collaboration
CSI: Early Universe
For this installment of Cosmic Scene Investigation, we travel to one of the earliest collisions of large-scale structures in the known universe.
A splatter of red (denoting galaxies) lies at the center of this image, and extends toward the lower left. These are the remnants of a cosmic collision. Aeons ago, one group plunged through another at millions of miles per hour, leaving in its wake a wreckage. The galaxy cluster ‘El Gordo‘ is all that remains of this raucous event, which took place less than a billion years after the universe started.
From the deserts of Chile, the Atacama Cosmology Telescope was the first to detect this prodigious system. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, and NASA’s Spitzer Telescope have also collected forensic evidence across the energy spectrum, from the infrared to the X-ray. All put together, we see a system similar to the infamous Bullet Cluster: a pair of clumps converted to a churning, violent amalgam of hot gas, dust and light.
An extremophile in the truest sense, El Gordo is the earliest-occurring cluster of its caliber. Its hot gas is burning at 360 million degrees Fahrenheit (200 million degrees Celsius), and it weighs in at a million billion times the mass of Earth’s sun. Compare this to the Virgo cluster of galaxies, the celestial city that holds our Milky Way and its neighbors. El Gordo’s mass is about the same, but it is over a hundred times hotter.
Dark energy is the name given to that substance, that energy, that is making spacetime spread out faster and faster. In the early universe, the small chunks that make up El Gordo were able to overcome dark energy (if it even existed then) and move toward each other to produce this cosmic crash scene. How many more like it are out there? The case remains open.
To read more about the curious case of the big old cluster, see the peer-reviewed paper and the press release from Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Written by: Det. B. Nord [FNAL]
Image by: Det.’s Nikolay Kuropatkin and Martin Murphy [FNAL]
This entry was posted on December 3, 2013 by darkenergydetectives. It was filed under Dark Energy Photographs, DECam Images, English, Galaxy Cluster, Ingles .
Gary Gregory
Expansion to me means that something is multiplying and pushing everything apart. If so what does this process feed off of? How close is this to what you are studying?
richardmitnick
The VLT is not of the European Space Agency; but rather of the European Southern Observatory.
Pingback: A Rare Post from The Dark Energy Survey: “CSI: Early Universe” | Science Springs
Pingback: Early Universe | theonlynewsman
space makes me want to cry tears of joy and simultaneously kill myself. its so incomprehensible and yet so interesting. the inability to comprehend it is probably the reason why we are so fascinated by it.
“Dark energy is the name given to that substance …”
I now have 2 empirical tests of my quantum theory of gravity.
http://vixra.org/abs/1312.0193 “Is the space roar an empirical proof that the inflaton field exists?”
On 12/20/13 5:17 AM, David Brown wrote:
Prof. Witten: Do you have an opinion concerning the comments posted for?
http://quantumfrontiers.com/2013/11/05/fundamental-physics-prize-prediction-green-and-schwarz/
— D. Brown
On Fri, Dec 20, 2013 at 3:54 AM, Edward Witten wrote:
I am generally sympathetic with these observations
Edward Witten
Pingback: El Gordo - News
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US Generics Market: What Can Be Expected for 2019?
Pricing pressure and underperformance in the US generics market led several of the major generic-drug companies in 2018 to re-evaluate their businesses and put forth new strategies. Some companies say they are seeing signs of stabilization, but have market fundamentals changed?
Teva’s restructuring on track; says generics business is stabilizing
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, which holds the number one position in the US generics market on a volume basis, says it is seeing signs of stabilization in its US and European generics business, in announcing its first-quarter 2019 results. The company initiated a major restructuring plan in late 2017 to address declining revenue from its generics business, large debt caused by its $40.5-billion acquisition of Allergan’s generic business in 2016 and subsequent weak performance in its generics business, and declining revenue from its number one specialty product, Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) for treating multiple sclerosis, which faced its own generic-drug competition.
In its first-quarter 2019 earnings release and investor call, Kåre Schultz, Teva's President and Chief Executive Officer, announced that the company’s second year of its two-year restructuring program “got off to a promising start.” The company has a goal of reducing its annual spend by $3 billion to reach $13.3 billion in 2019 from its total spend of $16.3 billion in 2017. “We are on track to reduce our total cost base by $3 billion by the end of 2019, and we have achieved a reduction of $2.5 billion to date while continuing to lower our debt,” said Shultz in the company’s first-quarter 2019 earnings release on May 2, 2019. Since the announcement of the company’s restructuring in 2017, the company has reduced its global headcount by approximately 10,400 full-time-equivalent employees through re-organization and site consolidation of manufacturing facilities and administrative offices and Schultz said that further reductions of several thousand employees are expected during this year. The company’s net debt, still large, decreased by $500 million to $26.7 billion with $1.6 billion scheduled for repayment in 2019.
The company reported first-quarter 2019 revenues of $4.295 billion, a decrease of 15%, or 12% in local currency terms, compared to the first quarter of 2018, mainly due to generic competition to Copaxone and a decline in revenues from its respiratory products and US generics business. Overall, the company reported a net loss of $105 million in the first quarter of 2019 compared to income of $1.120 billion in the year-ago period.
On the generics side, Teva saw a 11% drop in its North American generics business in the first quarter of 2019 to $966 million from $1.088 billion in the year-ago period mainly due to market dynamics, price erosion in its generics business, and portfolio optimization, partially offset by new generic product launches. In the first quarter of 2019, Teva said it led the US generics market in total prescriptions and new prescriptions, with approximately 436 million total prescriptions (based on trailing twelve months), representing 12% of total US generic prescriptions according to IQVIA data. In Europe (the European Union and certain other European countries), Teva’s generics sales declined 8% to $919 million in the first-quarter of 2019 compared to $997 million in the first quarter of 2018. In other international markets (all countries other than those in its North American and Europe segments, principally including Israel, Japan and Russia), revenues from generics were down 10% to $441 million from $488 million.
Despite the continued revenue fall in its generics business, Schultz said in a call with investors in commenting on the company’s first-quarter 2019 results that “we have seen a stabilization of US generics and European generics, so that means we are seeing a stabilization of our globalized generics business.” With a restructuring plan aimed at taking action to stop the declining value of its US generics business, the company decided to streamline its portfolio of generics and not sell products at a loss. He added that the company started to see “signs of stabilization” in its first-half 2018 results and later in its full-year 2018 results and now its first-quarter 2019 results. “We now have five quarters in a row where the North American generics business is around $1 billion in revenues per quarter, and where the European revenue is around $900 million, and of course with some exchange rate swings. So that's important that it has worked. We are now having a stable business in our generics…,” said Shultz. For the full-year 2018, Teva reported revenues in its North American generics business of $4.056 billion, down from $5.203 billion in 2017 and $4.654 billion in 2016. Revenues from its European generics business in 2018 were $3.593 billion compared to $3.471 billion in 2017.
In terms of its generics pipeline in the US, the company has 284 product applications awaiting approval by the US Food and Drug Administration, including 93 tentative approvals. Excluding overlaps, the branded products underlying these pending applications had US sales for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 exceeding $117 billion, according to IQVIA, and as reported by Teva.
Mylan still exploring strategic alternatives for its US generics business
For Mylan, the company reported a decline in first-quarter revenues in 2019 as it continues to explore alternatives for its North American generics business. In August 2018, Mylan formed a strategic review committee to evaluate alternatives for its businesses following weak performance in its North American segment. The company said at the time the profile of the company had changed over the last several years by shifting from a core US-centric operation to an international presence. In the first quarter of 2019, Mylan reported total revenues of $2.50 billion, down 7% compared to the prior-year period. In the first quarter of 2019, the company reported North America segment net sales of $922.9 million, down 6% on an actual and constant currency basis, primarily driven by changes in the competitive environment and the impact of plant-remediation activities at is site in Morgantown, West Virginia. During the second quarter of 2018, the company began comprehensive restructuring and remediation activities, which included reducing the complexity at its Morgantown plant and discontinuing and transferring a number of products to other manufacturing sites. European segment net sales were $895.3 million, down 14% (6% on a constant currency basis) in comparing first-quarter results in 2019 and 2018. Rest-of-world segment net sales were $642.4 million in the first quarter, up 3% (11% on a constant currency basis).
On an investor call on May 7, 2019, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said that the company continues its plan of diversification in its product portfolio, pipeline, and geographies. Overall, she said the company has met two-thirds of its goal of $1.1 billion in new product launches in 2019, which includes securing almost all of the necessary regulatory approvals for such products. The company notes that this target consists of products approved and launched in 2018 and to be further rolled out in 2019, approval of Wixela Inhub (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder), a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s Advair Diskus inhaler, which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in January 2019, and other product launches in 2019. She added that the company has confidence in its North American segment, in which she says the market has weathered "unprecedented volatility.” She noted that the US generics market is composed of three main segments: commodity, complex, and specialty, and each segment faces unique challenges and has required adaption by the company to address those challenges. In commodity generics, she pointed to increased pricing pressure and accelerating competition. For complex generics, she pointed to challenges in generics uptake due to formulary design and preferred coverage status for branded drugs, and for specialty generics, which includes biosimilars, she points to limited incentives for generics uptake and the need for public policy reform to create a generic tier for specialty drugs. Anthony Mauro, Mylan’s Chief Commercial Officer, further commented that on a market level, he has seen some stabilization in the US generics market that began in the latter part of 2018, which has carried over into 2019.
Bresch noted that the company has formalized a business transformation office to evaluate the economic contributions from its business in an effort to achieve cost efficiencies and optimal capital allocation. She added that the review is being undertaken at a product and/or product family level and that the conclusions from that evaluation will be presented later this year at the company’s Investors’ Day with more specific measures expected to be implemented in 2020. This evaluation is distinct from the company’s strategic review, initiated last August (2018), by a separate strategic review committee, with Bresch saying that review would be expected in “the near term.”
Novartis continues with divestment of generic US oral solids portfolio
For its part, Novartis continues to move forward with plans for its generics business, Sandoz, which includes its previously announced divestiture of Sandoz’ US dermatology business and generic US oral solids portfolio to Aurobindo Pharma USA for $1 billion. Novartis announced the deal last September (2018) as part of its strategy to focus on complex generics, value-added medicines, and biosimilars in order to achieve sustainable and profitable growth in the US over the long term. In its first-quarter earnings release on April 24, 2019, Novartis said it expects the deal to be completed during 2019, pending closing conditions including regulatory approvals.
The move comes as the company continues to face pricing pressure in the US generics market and seeks to put into place a new head for the business. In the first-quarter of 2019, Novartis reported a 2% decline (in constant currency) in its Sandoz business due to continued US price pressure to $2.326 billion from $2.517 billion in the year-ago period. As part of its transformation of its Sandoz business, the company appointed Richard Saynor as CEO of Sandoz, effective no later than August 1, 2019. He will be a member of the Executive Committee of Novartis and report to Vas Narasimhan, CEO, Novartis. Saynor is currently Senior Vice President, Classic & Established Products, Commercial & Digital Platforms at GlaxoSmithKline. He has more than 20 years of global leadership experience spanning both generics and established pharmaceutical brands. He currently manages a $10-billion established products portfolio that comprises over 350 brands commercialized in over 120 countries.
Other companies move ahead with plans for generics businesses
Perrigo is also moving ahead with plans for its generics business. In August 2018, Perrigo announced plans to separate the company's prescription pharmaceuticals business, which consists primarily of generics, following a strategic portfolio review due to weak performance. A separation of its Rx business would leave the company’s primary focus on consumer healthcare or over-the-counter (OTC) products. Perrigo’s prescription pharmaceutical business develops, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of generic prescription drugs primarily in the US. The company said at the time of the announcement that it was considering all value-enhancing options, including a possible tax-efficient separation to shareholders, a sale or merger.
Perrigo reported Rx drug fourth-quarter net sales of $222 million, down 15% year-over-year; a sequential improvement versus third quarter 2018 results due to new products and decelerating pricing pressure. Perrigo President and CEO Murray S. Kessler will provide an update on the company’s plans for portfolio reconfiguration, capacity and technology investments, innovation initiatives, cost-savings plans, capital-allocation plans, organizational-effectiveness initiatives and financial guidance at the company’s investor conference later this week (May 9, 2019).
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Teva, Amgen Resolve Patent-Infringement Dispute
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries reports that it has resolved its ongoing dispute with Amgen over Teva’s generic cinacalcet HCl product. Teva and Amgen have been involved in patent-infringement litigation, and Teva recently received approval for, and launched its generic product in the US. Cinacalcet is the active ingredient in Amgen’s blockbuster drug, Sensipar, a calcium-reducer with 2017 global sales of $1.71 billion.
By virtue of the settlement, the litigation between the parties will be ended, and Teva has agreed to stop selling its generic product until its license date in mid-year 2021, or earlier under certain circumstances. Teva will pay Amgen an undisclosed amount as part of the settlement. That amount and other terms of the settlement remain confidential.
Cinacalcet is a calcium-sensing receptor agonist indicated for secondary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) in adult patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. It is also used for the treatment of hypercalcemia in adult patients with parathyroid carcinoma and severe hypercalcemia in adult patients with primary HPT who are unable to undergo parathyroidectomy.
Source: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
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A new Amnesty International report details a two-year-long attack on human rights defenders, attorneys, and journalists working along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Jimmy Carter: Donald Trump Is An Illegitimate President, Put In To Office By The Russians
Former President Jimmy Carter said during an event Friday morning at the Carter Center with historian John Meacham that he believes Donald Trump's presidency is illegitimate and "he didn't actually win the election in 2016." USA Today's Susan Page first reported Carter's comments with a tweet...
www.realclearpolitics.com
Reactions: Fireman
Fireman said:
He should. He just might find some who were convicted were innocent.
Maybe the chief prosecutor was a perp at one time.
Reactions: Symbol of America
Australian Aboriginals to get billions in compensation for land & spiritual loss in landmark case
Aboriginals in Australia have won a ground-breaking case that paves the way for billions of dollars in compensation claims for colonial land loss, as well as loss of spiritual connection.
www.rt.com
FBI’s Leniency Toward Border Vigilante Contrasts With Harsh Treatment of “Black Identity Extremist”
While militia leader Larry Hopkins remained free to terrorize immigrants, Christopher Daniels was jailed for months, losing his home and his job.
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STAN CHARNOFSKY is a professor of psychology at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), where he has taught there for more than fifty years. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to his work at CSUN, Stan also writes books, and it could be said that his life reads like one.
Before teaching, in the 1950s Stan signed with the New York Yankees where he played in their farm system for six years. He later managed teams in Edmonton and St. Petersburg. Later still, Stan worked as the assistant coach at USC under the famous Rod Dedeaux, who was voted College Baseball Coach of the Century. Stan also served as head coach at CSUN from 1962-1966, with one championship team.
He was the founding director of the Educational Opportunities Program at CSUN (then known as Valley State College). Stan was inducted into the CSUN Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016. This was followed, in 2018, by his induction into the USC Baseball Alumni Hall of Fame. Stan is the former President (and a current board member) of the National Association for Humanistic Psychology. In 2016, Stan received the Distinguished Teaching Award at CSUN.
And of course Stan writes books. His numerous publications include When Women Leave Men: How Men Feel, How Men Heal (New World Library) and The Deceived Society (Trafford). Stan resides in Northridge, California. CHARLOTTE is his first novel with Devil’s Party Press.
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Russ Barron named to succeed Director Armstrong at Idaho Health and Welfare
Posted on May 31, 2017 by idhwmedia
(Boise) — Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter announced the appointment today of Russ Barron, deputy director and a longtime administrator at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, to become director of the State’s largest agency with the previously announced June 30 retirement of Director Richard Armstrong.
Russ Barron
Barron, who lives in Emmett, has been deputy director since April 2014, overseeing Health and Welfare’s regional directors and the divisions of Welfare and Family and Community Services. He previously was Division of Welfare administrator, statewide program manager for the Child Support Program, Child Support policy manager, financial institution data match coordinator for the Child Support Program, and a self-reliance specialist for the Child Support Program.
Before coming to Idaho, Barron worked for the Missouri Department of Labor’s Division of Employment Security and the Texas Department of Human Resources. He has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Abilene Christian University in Texas, and a master’s degree in business administration from Boise State University.
“Russ has a stellar record of achievement and progress throughout his career in state government. Most importantly, he has never lost sight of the properly limited role of government in the lives of all our citizens, including human services recipients,” Governor Otter said. “He has played a central role in helping Health and Welfare run better, leaner and more responsively for the people it serves – as well as taxpayers. I expect him to continue that kind of service to the people of Idaho in this new and expanded role.”
Barron and his wife Michelle have two sons and two daughters.
“It is an honor to be appointed to serve Governor Otter and the State of Idaho as the next director of the Department of Health and Welfare, whose mission is to promote and protect the health and safety of Idahoans,” Barron said. “The department has made great strides in delivering meaningful services efficiently and effectively under the direction of Dick Armstrong, and I’m looking forward to working with the department’s employees, partners, and stakeholders to continue that success.”
CONTACT: Jon Hanian
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Director by idhwmedia. Bookmark the permalink.
2 thoughts on “Russ Barron named to succeed Director Armstrong at Idaho Health and Welfare”
Angelina on August 8, 2017 at 6:53 PM said:
Congratulations Russ on your new position. I am sure you will do an outstanding job. Can you please guide me as to who I would talk to when an employee of the department does not follow code of conduct or misrepresents the departments credibility .
idhwmedia on August 9, 2017 at 10:08 AM said:
Please call 208-334-5500 during normal business hours, and the person who answers that line will get some information from you (like which office this employee works in) and then direct your call appropriately. Thank you.
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Home / Products / Bethune-Cookman University
Established in 1904, Bethune-Cookman University is an HBCU affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It’s hyphenated name comes from its founder, Mary McLeod Bethune and the Cookman Institute with which it merged in 1923. The Wildcats compete in NCAA Division I athletics.
Our historic rendering features White Hall which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Reminiscent of the French églomisé style, our Traditional scenes offer a most distinctive and professional gift of luxury. Well suited for display in either home or office, they are a source of pride for both sender and receiver. The paperweight, most glass products and “mini” products feature red trim. Mirrors and pictures are ready to hang. Boxes include quality brass fittings. Proudly made in America.
Collections: Colleges and Universities, Florida
Academy of the Holy Names ~ Antique
The Academy of the Holy Names in Tampa, Florida is an independent, Catholic, coeducational elementary school and a college preparatory high school for young women, sponsored by the Sisters of...
Admiral Farragut Academy
Admiral Farragut Academy, established in 1933, is a private, college prep school serving students in grades PreK 3-12 for Preschool, Elementary School, Middle School, and High School. Farragut is located...
The Ave Maria School of Law, founded in 1999, is an ABA-accredited Roman Catholic law school, located in Naples, Florida. In the 2014-2015 academic year, there were over 270 students enrolled...
Berkeley Preparatory School ~ Antique
Berkeley Preparatory School is a Pre-K to Grade 12 independent, college preparatory day school. Founded in 1960, it is located in Tampa, Florida, United States. Reminiscent of a fine old...
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The Opening of Misty Beethoven- CD Soundtrack
By distribpix on December 10, 2012 • ( Leave a comment )
After many, many months of research, planning, producing, manufacturing and delays, the Official Motion Picture Soundtrack to The Opening of Misty Beethoven has arrived. It is amazing, to say the least. It is so impressive and quite the jewel of a collectible. The Soundtrack is available at DISTRIBPIX ONLINE STORE or AMAZON.COM.
THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN- OFFICIAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK
One of the most sought-after “lost” soundtracks of all time, the music of “The Opening of Misty Beethoven” is now available to collectors for the first time in three and a half decades! Sourced directly from the original stereophonic masters, the music of Misty Beethoven shines like never before. From the hard-rock beats of 1970s London to the work of the Italian masters, Misty Beethoven’s soundtrack features some of the most incredible music ever to accompany an adult film. Each soundtrack comes with 48-pages of behind-the-scenes photographs, musician profiles, and song lyrics, PLUS the incredible story of the years-long battle to finally get the soundtrack a release! But that’s not all! The soundtrack features bonus tracks from each of Radley Metzger’s other adult films: The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann, Naked Came the Stranger, Barbara Broadcast and Maraschino Cherry. With beautiful die-cut packaging and original cover art by Anthony Palumbo, the soundtrack to “The Opening of Misty Beethoven” will be a sought-after collector’s item for years to come. Top it off with a rare interview with the film’s music director, George Craig, and this is the 2012 soundtrack release you cannot afford to miss!
Enjoy the product pics.
Tagged as: alan tew, composers, DISTRIBPIX, jean bouchety, misty beethoven, motion picture soundtrack, porn music
Misty Beethoven- (2012)Official Blu Ray/DVD Trailer
Metzger’s, The Opening of Misty Beethoven on DVD/Blu-Ray ‘The Perfect Christmas Gift’
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Dinner with a friend contest rules
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Eligibility: Sweepstakes (the “Sweepstakes”) is open only to those who sign up at the online sweepstakes page and who are 21 years of age as of the date of entry. The sweepstakes is only open to legal residents of the United States and is void where prohibited by law. Employees of DinnerDork, LLC (the “Sponsor”) their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, suppliers and their immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each are not eligible to participate in the Sweepstakes. The Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.
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The Super Lawyers Blog / Publisher's Note / January Editorial Review
Publisher's Note | 3 min read
January Editorial Review
Posted by Patrick Dunn | January 31, 2017
As January comes to a close we wanted to recap some of the editorial features for the four magazines released this past month: 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers Magazine, 2017 Louisiana Super Lawyers Magazine, 2017 Illinois Super Lawyers Magazine and the 2017 Southern California Super Lawyers Magazine.
2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers Magazine
Be sure to check out our front cover piece on catastrophic personal injury and class action litigation attorney Edward G. (Woody) Connette from Esex Richards. In addition to representing plaintiffs in challenging lawsuits, the longtime Super Lawyers list selectee has taken active leadership roles with nonprofits ranging from The Light Factory, a small photographic arts group in Charlotte, to two-year stints as president of both the state and national United Cerebral Palsy organizations. “He feels we are only as great as we treat our most disadvantaged citizens,” says Phelps Sprinkle, former executive vice president of the state group, who worked closely with Connette for years.
His staff once even ordered a collection of WWWD (“What Would Woody Do?”) mugs as a surprise.
But helping the disadvantaged through the law wasn’t the plan. In fact, there wasn’t much of an original plan.
2017 Louisiana Super Lawyers Magazine
In this issue, James Boren of Jones Walker talks about his criminal defense practice and dedicating his life to tough cases in which clients’ lives are often on the line. In 2015, he represented La’el Collins, an LSU standout who now plays for the Dallas Cowboys, when local police wanted to question him after his ex-girlfriend was murdered in Baton Rouge. At the time, Collins was in Chicago for the NFL draft, and the investigation threatened to hurt his status with distraction-averse teams.
“The office was surrounded by cameras and people who wanted to take statements, so we set up an alternate spot to meet with the client,” Boren says. “We limited the amount of contact we had with the media until the last day, after we met with the police department and they said he was no longer a suspect. In the meantime, I spent a lot of time talking to football teams and investigators who wanted to know what his story was. The media makes things more complicated, and I don’t like it.”
2017 Illinois Super Lawyers Magazine
Our front cover features Patrick Salvi, the founder and managing partner of Salvi Schostok & Pritchard P.C., with offices in Chicago and Waukegan, Illinois. Salvi describes his style as “formal and old school,” but says he opens up a bit on cross: “I am tough in the cross-examination of witnesses, wherein it’s okay to be tough, and in terms of showing my passion to the jury.”
In 2015’s Neuhengen v. Global Experience Specialists Inc., Salvi’s client was an Iraq War veteran whose foot was run over by a forklift while he was setting up for a show at the McCormick Place convention center in downtown Chicago. The man’s foot was badly injured and he had to give up his post in the National Guard.
One of the defense lawyers in the case, Adrian Mendoza of Lillig & Thorsness in Oak Brook, says, “Pat is always extremely well prepared. He builds his case well. He’s tenacious, but I always thought of him as a gentleman.”
While the jury deliberated, Salvi finalized a $14 million settlement; the jury’s net verdict was $12.5 million.
2017 Southern California Super Lawyers Magazine
In this issue, Brian Sinn of Jones Day talks about his criminal defense practice and his work promoting Chinese-American advancement in the U.S. One of the biggest cases of his career landed on his desk later, in private practice.
In 1999, Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwanese scientist then working for the University of California’s Los Alamos National Library, was accused by the federal government of stealing U.S. nuclear secrets and handing them to China. Lee was locked up in solitary confinement for nine months at Los Alamos. The case gained national attention when The New York Times ran a cover story that was heavily weighted against Lee. A colleague of Sun’s, Mark Holscher (then with O’Melveny & Myers), first received the Lee case. He called Sun to ask whether he should take it.
“I said, ‘Mark, I can’t speak for you, but cases like this come along only once or twice in a career,'” remembers Sun. “He had the courage to take it on. I always will remember him stepping up when others stepped back.”
Holscher and John Cline, a former partner in Williams & Connolly, led the criminal case, while Sun handled the civil side. He also repped Lee’s family, who was being subpoenaed, and dealt with the media, cautioning news organizations to stop printing false stories. At the same time, he took a leap into the journalistic tiger cage: He let Lee be interviewed by Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes.
We hope you enjoyed this review of our latest Super Lawyers Magazines. Be sure to visit http://www.superlawyers.com/about/digital_magazine.html to see all our digital editions.
Tags: Editorial, selection, Super Lawyers Editorial, Super Lawyers Magazine
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The home of the Nobel: who will blow the whistle on academia?
Posted October 18, 2016 by Andreas Vilhelmsson in Academia, Early Career Research Community, PLoS Blogs
Sweden has been in the limelight for the past few weeks as the Nobel Prizes were announced and a new cohort of laureates revealed. This year, however, was a bit different than previous years because of the Macchiarini Affair, which involved both the Nobel Assembly and the internationally renowned Swedish University Karolinska Institute (KI). The Italian “star surgeon” Paolo Macchiarini developed a new method for organ transplants using stem cells, and described his method as a success in articles and interviews. He then performed operations based on his research which turned out to be fatal. He has since been dismissed from his post at the KI following allegations of scientific and clinical misconduct, and now even faces criminal charges. As a result, two former KI vice-chancellors were removed from the institute’s Nobel Assembly, which is responsible for awarding the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, due to their roles in the controversy around Macchiarini. The Affair has been labeled the “biggest scandal” in Swedish medicine and is accused of tarnishing the reputation of the Nobel Prize. The 2000 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Arvid Carlsson, even argued that the 2016 Nobel Prize Awards should be cancelled because of the scandal.
The Whistleblowers
While news of Macchiarini’s misconduct shook the broader scientific community, the warning signs were apparent for many years to his colleagues; at least four medical doctors that work with Macchiarini at KI tried to blow the whistle on his misconduct. But instead of action on the part of KI, they were threatened with police reporting and dismissal from their positions. In 2015, Macchiarini was investigated and even cleared of charges of scientific misconduct by KI. In the end, it took a documentary holding Macchiarini accountable to spark some action.
In April 2016 the four medical doctors were vindicated when they received the Whistleblower of the Year Award from Transparency Sweden International for speaking up against the gross ethical misconduct perpetrated by Macchiarini. The sad part is that their experience of being ignored and not taken seriously is common in academia. Research shows many healthcare personnel are unwilling to speak up about workplace misconduct for fear it will sabotage their careers.
A culture of silence
The Macchiarini case shows what can happen when the workplace operates around “group thinking” and a culture of silence. The damages of this workplace culture have been shown to extend beyond the academic healthcare sector and into other prestigious projects, like the United States Space Program. For instance, many scientists recognized faulty engineering in the making of the 1986 Challenger and the 2003 Columbia but did not speak up or could not get their superiors to act. In the case of the Challenger explosion, an O-ring seal failed on a rocket booster, causing a breach that let loose a stream of hot gas, which ignited an external fuel tank. Scientists believe the Columbia disintegrated after re-entering Earth’s atmosphere because of a piece of insulating foam that broke off from an external tank during the launch. Clearly, in every facet of the scientific endeavor, authorities who ignore the concerns of their employees are met with catastrophic results.
The vulnerable position as an ECR
While the consequences of a toxic chain of command within academia are not as visible as within NASA, they similarly have a negative impact on workplace culture. In my experience, as a grad student or ECR you are supposed to know your place in the hierarchy, even if this can differ between departments, universities and countries. Young researchers can find it particularly hard to voice their concerns because of power relations within the hierarchy. In these kinds of environments, it is not easy to have a conflicting view, and as an ECR you are extremely vulnerable, as you need the approval of faculty to advance in academia.
Increasing inequality within science also contributes to an environment where ECRs may not be comfortable sounding an alarm for misconduct. Wages for the top scientists are increasing while others are left behind. Just recently, findings from Nature’s annual salary survey revealed that many scientists think they have made an economic sacrifice for their career. This also reveals the tight spot many ECRs can find themselves in, and explains how easy it is to become too dependent on their research group and PI in order to get further funding and to get their research career started. This can have especially serious consequences when young female scientists are being sexually harassed by their supervisor, and because of their vulnerable status, do not file a complaint because of fear of not just the harassing supervisor but that their career will be in jeopardy.
When this happens, an ECR must be assured that “blowing the whistle” means being taken seriously, and that appropriate steps will be taken to investigate their concerns. We need to be assured that a future career in science is still there to pursue. Otherwise, these uncertainties regarding an academic career can lead scientists to stay silent out of fear, or choose other career paths entirely.
Featured Image: A bird’s eye photo of the 2013 Nobel Prize Award Ceremony. Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2013. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud.
Andreas Vilhelmsson
Andreas Vilhelmsson is an ECR Community Editor and a post-doctoral researcher at the Division of Social Medicine and Global Health at Lund University in Sweden. His research focuses mostly on patient reporting of adverse drug reactions and pharmaceutical regulation with respect to health policy and public health, but he is also interested in broader global health issues like climate change and welfare systems.
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Serologic indices of hepatitis B virus infection in military recruits in Greece (2004–2005)
Vasilios German1,
Georgios Giannakos1,
Petros Kopterides2,
Konstantinos Liaskonis3 and
Matthew E Falagas2, 4Email author
BMC Infectious Diseases20066:163
© German et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2006
Received: 14 July 2006
The prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in Greece has been decreasing over the last decades. However, recent epidemiological data are lacking.
We studied 1,840 Army recruits from 05/2004 until 10/2005, and performed serological testing for HBsAg, anti-HBsAg, and anti-HBcAg. We also examined their association with several factors, including age, residential area, socioeconomic class, and educational level.
Mean age (± SD) of the recruits was 20.5 (± 2.1) years. Antibodies to HBV core antigen [anti-HBcAg (+)] were found in 31 (1.68%) of 1,840 participants. Only 6 (0.32%) were HBsAg (+)/anti-HBsAg (-)/anti-HBcAg (+), while 21 (1.14%) were HBsAg (-)/anti-HBsAg (+)/anti-HBcAg (+), and 4 (0.22%) were HBsAg (-)/anti-HBsAg (-)/anti-HBcAg (+). Overall, 1,144 recruits (62.17%) had antibodies against HBsAg [HBsAg (-)/anti-HBsAg (+)/anti-HBcAg (-)]; 665 recruits (36.14%) had undetectable anti-HBsAg levels. Multivariable analysis showed that younger age (OR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.82–0.92) and advanced educational level (OR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.32–1.93) were independently associated with serologic evidence suggestive of previous HBV vaccination.
We document a further decline of the prevalence of chronic HBV infection among Greek military recruits, a fact that may support the effectiveness of the ongoing immunization programme.
Military Recruit
HBsAg Seroprevalence
Navy Recruit
Advanced Educational Level
Hepatitis B is a well-recognized global public health problem. It is estimated that nearly 2 billion people around the world have serologic evidence of past or present hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, while 350 million people are chronically infected [1]. Ongoing efforts towards the decrease of the prevalence of HBV infection have led to implementation of vaccination in childhood. Given the fact that HBV is the main etiologic factor for hepatocellular carcinoma, epidemiological studies are needed to document the compliance to and effectiveness of HBV vaccination programs in various populations and settings in order to establish a cost-effective health policy.
Approximately thirty years ago, Greece had an intermediate prevalence of chronic HBV infection, as seropositivity for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) was in the range of 2% to 7% [2–5]. However, epidemiological studies in the previous decade showed a decline of this prevalence to the levels of low endemicity – about 0.9% – partially attributed to changes of the socioeconomic conditions [3, 6]. In addition, HBV vaccination programs were gradually implemented. Most private paediatricians, who administer more than 60% of all childhood vaccinations in Greece, began vaccinating children against HBV in their practices in 1993. Therefore, HBV vaccination had already been administered to 36% and 56% of children (aged 5–6 years' old) entering primary school in 1995 and 1997, respectively [7]. The government decided to launch a national HBV immunization programme and raise the financial burden of its implementation in 1998 [7]. At the same time, efforts were made to offer HBV vaccination to high-school students that apparently had not been immunized against HBV earlier in their life. Nowadays, vaccination has been considered as mandatory for all newborns and children entering puberty that were not immunized earlier in their life (about 12 years' old) [7].
In order to provide further information on current HBV epidemiology in Greece, we conducted a prospective study of young military recruits joining the Hellenic Army from May 2004 to October 2005. We performed serological testing for HBV infection markers and searched for their possible association with several epidemiological characteristics.
The study took place in Sparta, the historic capital city of ancient Spartans, where the Supply and Transportation Corps Training Centre of the Hellenic Army is currently based. The study population consisted of 1,840 men, aged 17–34 years, who were transferred to Sparta in order to receive training in food handling and meal preparation. The study protocol was approved by the Medical Directorate of the Hellenic Army General Staff.
Laboratory testing
A blood sample was taken from all recruits, as part of their standard evaluation procedure in order to obtain a health certificate. Blood sampling was performed from May 2004 to October 2005, on the occasion of recruit enlistment and just for the purpose of this study. Ten milliliters of venous blood were collected in a dry test tube from each soldier. Blood samples were transported to the Microbiology Laboratory of 401 Army General Hospital of Athens, within 3 hours, for processing.
Sera were separated by centrifugation and kept frozen at -20°C, until tested. All sera were tested for hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBsAg) by a Microparticle Enzyme Immunoassay (MEIA) (AxSym AUSAB, Abbott Laboratories Diagnosis Division, Abbott Park, IL, USA), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBcAg) by MEIA (AxSym HBsAg (V2) and AxSym CORE, Abbott Laboratories Diagnosis Division, Abbott Park, IL, USA, respectively), according to the manufacturer's instructions. All positive samples for HBsAg were analyzed twice with the same test. A positive test for antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen was considered to be merely suggestive of a history of HBV infection, while chronic HBV infection was defined by the simultaneous presence of both HBsAg and antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen. An anti-HBsAg titer of greater than 10 mIU/ml was considered protective [8, 9]. All study participants were informed on test results by means of personal interviews, while infected patients were examined and appropriately counseled by the staff of the Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases Department of 401 Army General Hospital of Athens.
Epidemiological data regarding age, geographic area of residence, educational level and prior occupation were collected by means of personal interviews. For the purposes of this analysis the residential areas were divided in urban (including the seven major cities of Greece, namely Athens, Thessaloniki, Patra, Iraklion, Larisa, Ioannina and Alexandroupolis) and rural (including all other smaller cities, towns and villages). The educational level stratifications we used were: elementary school, high school, vocational education institute, technical educational institute, and university.
The socioeconomic level was determined on the basis of the occupation prior to recruitment to the Army using the Erikson-Goldthorpe Portocarero (EGP) social class scheme [10]. According to this scheme, occupations are grouped in seven classes, with class I including higher-grade professionals, class II lower-grade professionals administrators, class III routine non-manual employees, class IV small proprietors, artisans, farmers and smallholders, class V lower-grade technicians, class VI manual workers, and class VII including unskilled manual workers and agricultural workers. We performed a slight modification of the EGP social class scheme, by adding one more class in order to include persons unemployed at the time of military recruitment. The recruits' vaccination history was unknown, as no medical records were available for review. Finally, demographical data were available for a subset of the participants.
Chi-square test was used in the bivariable analysis for the comparison of the prevalence of HBV serologic markers in various subgroups based on discrete characteristics. Normality was assessed and t-test or a non-parametric test was used for normally and non-normally distributed continuous variables. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. A backward multivariable logistic regression model was used in order to estimate relationships between recruits' epidemiological factors and HBV infection markers. Data were analyzed using SPSS for Windows version 12.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA).
All recruits were male, and their mean age (± SD) was 20.5 (± 2.1) years. Of the 1,840 study participants, 1,144 (62.17%) had antibodies against HBsAg [HBsAg (-)/anti-HBsAg (+)/anti-HBcAg (-)], while 665 recruits (36.14%) had undetectable anti-HBsAg levels. It should be noted that testing of the HBV serologic status is recommended in selected Greek army training centers and, notwithstanding the limitations of anti-HBsAg as a marker for vaccination status, the recruits found to have undetectable titers of anti-HbsAg are advised to receive HBV vaccination on a personal basis after consultation with a primary physician.
Antibodies to HBV core antigen were found in 31 recruits, or 1.68% of the total population under study (1,840 participants). Twenty-one of them (1.14% of the total population) were HBsAg (-)/anti-HBsAg (+)/anti-HBcAg (+), and 4 (0.22%) were HBsAg (-)/anti-HBsAg (-)/anti-HBcAg (+). Only 4 recruits were anti-HBs (-)/HBsAg (-). The overall prevalence of HbsAg carriage was 0.32%, or, 6 out of 1,840 participants. The results of the above-mentioned serologic analysis are shown in Table 1.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection serologic markers in 1,840 Greek army recruits (2004–2005).
HBV markers
% of the study population
anti-HBcAg (+)
HBsAg (+)/anti-HBsAg (-)
anti-HBsAg (+)/HBsAg (-)
anti-HBsAg (-)/HbsAg (-)
anti-HBsAg (+)/anti-HBcAg (-)/HBsAg (-)
anti-HBsAg (-)/anti-HBcAg (-)/HBsAg (-)
Analysis of data from 6 recruits who tested positive for HBsAg showed that 3 of them were 19 years old, 1 was 21 years old and 2 were 22 years old. Interestingly, 5 out of 6 were from rural Greece, and 2 were unemployed, while the other 4 belonged to classes VI and VII of the EGP social class scheme. No formal statistical analysis of these data was performed due to the small number of persons with HbsAg seropositivity.
The bivariable analysis we performed to investigate possible relationship of the available epidemiological characteristics with the presence of anti-HBcAg seropositivity yielded no statistically significant associations (p = 0.60 for socioeconomic class, p = 0.24 for residential area, p = 0.77 for educational level, and p = 0.29 for age).
A backward multivariable logistic regression model showed that younger age (OR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.82–0.92) and advanced educational level (OR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.32–1.93) were independently associated with anti-HbsAg seropositivity [anti-HBs (+)/anti-HBcAg (-)/HBsAg (-)]. We display this inverse correlation of anti-HBsAg seropositivity with age in Figure 1. No association was found with the area of residence and the socioeconomic class.
Prevalence of anti-HbsAg (+) in correlation with recruits' age.
The main finding of our study is that compared with previous epidemiological data regarding HBV infection in Army recruits in Greece, we documented a further reduction of the prevalence of seropositivity for HBsAg during the last decade. In 1971, the HBsAg seroprevalence among 6,708 Hellenic Air Force recruits, tested consecutively and without any selection, was 4.9% [5]. In 1998, the overall prevalence of HBsAg positivity in 1,050 male navy recruits was 0.95% [3]. Our findings demonstrate a continuing trend in seroepidemiology of HBV in Greece, about 10 years after the establishment of mandatory vaccination for infants and adolescents not previously immunized. The results of our study are in accordance with a very recently published study in 13,581 Greek women at reproductive age (16–45 years old) in which HBsAg seroprevalence of 0.29% was reported [6].
It is noteworthy that the frequency of anti-HBsAg seropositivity was more common (62.2%) among our study subjects compared to the ones reported from previous studies in Greece. Serologic indices denoting previous vaccination were found in 32.6% of navy recruits in a study performed in 1998 [3], while only 12.2% of a general population (over 18 years old) studied in south-western Greece had such indices in 2002 [4]. The higher degree of anti-HBsAg seropositivity observed in our study may be a reflection of the success of the ongoing vaccination program in young people in Greece. However, measures should be taken in order to achieve universal vaccination.
Another interesting finding of our study is that younger age and higher educational level were independently associated with anti-HBsAg seropositivity. Even though the unavailability of the vaccination records does not allow us to refute the possibility that younger and more educated subjects were vaccinated at a time closer to their recruitment into the military, we believe that another explanation of this finding may be that the integration of HBV vaccination into routine vaccination schedules rendered results mainly in younger adolescents. Even though it is likely that the higher probability of vaccination is not actually related to the level of education of the recruits but rather to the higher educational level of their parents (i.e. more educated parents are more likely to vaccinate their children), the association between a higher educational level and vaccination rates observed in our study seems to be strong and it has also been noted in studies of other populations and for other types of vaccines. Our data suggest that stronger efforts should be made for implementing vaccination policies in unvaccinated adults, especially those with a low educational level.
Our study has several limitations. First, it should be noted that each study has its own "target" population, setting and methodology. For example, our analysis is focused at a population with specific characteristics, namely young male military recruits. Thus, are findings cannot be directly comparable with previous studies nor extrapolated to women or to special populations at high risk for HBV infection, such as intravenous drug users, sex workers, as well as hemodialysis patients and multiply transfused patients. In addition, our analysis did not include immigrants who do not have military obligations; some of them come from countries with a high prevalence of HBV. A high prevalence of HBV infection in refugees has been reported in previous studies [11, 12]. There is a concern that, unless targeted vaccination programs for these communities are implemented, there will be an increase in the HBV incidence in the general population in the future. Also, we did not determine the viral load of the six HBsAg (+) recruits and we did not perform S-region sequencing in order to identify possible escape mutants. Another limitation of our findings is that the recruits' vaccination records were not available for further analysis, due to the special circumstances under which this study was conducted (limited time-frame in a military unit). This makes difficult the interpretation of the HBV serologic profile in some of the recruits. For example, it is known that the levels of anti-HbsAg decrease over time in vaccinated persons without this decline being associated with a loss of protection against HBV [13]. It is possible that some recruits with undetectable levels of anti-HBsAg were in fact vaccinated and, therefore, protected against HBV infection. Finally, we considered the presence of antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen in 31 recruits as an indication of previous HBV infection. This seems to be true for the 27 out of the 31 recruits that had other markers of HBV infection as well [6 with HBsAg (+) and 21 with anti-HBsAg (+)]. However, the 4 recruits with the "anti-HbcAg (+) alone" profile may fall under one of the following possibilities: (i) false positive cases, (ii) the "window phase" of an acute HBV infection, (iii) an HBV infection that resolved years or decades earlier, (iv) an unresolved chronic HBV infection with low grade, possibly intermittent virus production and detectable serum or liver HBV-DNA, and (v) suppression of HBV replication by a simultaneous HCV co-infection [14].
Despite the above limitations, the results of this study may reflect the continuing progress towards the eradication of HBV transmission in Greece through universal immunization. In recent years, the implementation of a vaccination program against HBV, medical precautions, screening of blood donors, and modifications in socioeconomic conditions, resulted in significant decline in HBV infection in Greece. Nevertheless, demographic changes resulting from the entrance in Greece of immigrants and repatriated people, mainly from countries of the Eastern Europe, as well as refugees from various countries with high endemicity for HBV infection, in the last decade, may lead to alterations of the epidemiology of HBV infection in our country. Therefore, the continuing surveillance of trends in the epidemiology of this inflection is of paramount importance for the design of effective vaccination policies in the future.
Our data suggest that that the National Immunization Program for hepatitis B has been largely successful in reducing the prevalence of hepatitis B infection and increasing immunity levels in the population. However, hepatitis B virus infection still remains a serious public health problem. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen the hepatitis B immunization program to reach universal vaccination. The goal of eliminating HBV transmission is attainable and efforts towards this direction should be a top public health priority.
No funding was received for this study.
VG, PK, and MEF had the idea for the study. VG and GG collected the relevant data. KL did the microbiological studies. MEF did the statistical analysis. VG, PK, and MEF wrote different parts of the first version of the manuscript. All authors made revisions of the manuscript and approved its final version.
Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, 401 Army General Hospital of Athens, Greece
Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences (AIBS), Athens, Greece
Department of Microbiology, 401 Army General Hospital of Athens, Greece
Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Alter MJ: Epidemiology of hepatitis B in Europe and worldwide. J Hepatol. 2003, 39: S64-S69. 10.1016/S0168-8278(03)00141-7.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
Kyriakis KP, Foudoulaki LE, Papoulia EI, Sofroniadou KE: Seroprevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among first-time and sporadic blood donors in Greece: 1991–1996. Transfus Med. 2000, 10: 175-180. 10.1046/j.1365-3148.2000.00257.x.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
Stamouli M, Gizaris V, Totos G, Papaevangelou G: Decline of hepatitis B infection in Greece. Eur J Epidemiol. 1999, 15: 447-449. 10.1023/A:1007539517341.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
Gogos CA, Fouka KP, Nikiforidis G, Avgeridis K, Sakellaropoulos G, Bassaris H, Maniatis A, Skoutelis A: Prevalence of hepatitis B and C virus infection in the general population and selected groups in South-Western Greece. Eur J Epidemiol. 2003, 18: 551-557. 10.1023/A:1024698715741.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
Vissoulis H, Hadziyannis S, Papaevangelou G, Afroudakis A, Giannopoulos C, Gioustosi A, Merikas GL: Geographical distribution of hepatitis-associated antigen carriers in Greece. Nosokomiaka Chronika. 1972, 34: 5-10. (in Greek)Google Scholar
Elefsiniotis IS, Glynou I, Pantazis KD, Fotos NV, Magaziotou I, Kada H: Prevalence of chronic HBV infection among 13,581 women at reproductive age in Greece. A prospective single center study. J Clin Virol. 2005, 32: 179-180. 10.1016/j.jcv.2004.10.010.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
Papaevangelou G: Hepatitis B immunization program: lessons learnt in Greece. Vaccine. 1998, 16 (Suppl): S45-47. 10.1016/S0264-410X(98)00293-X.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: A comprehensive immunization strategy to eliminate transmission of hepatitis B virus infection in the United States: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP); Part 1: Immunization of Infants, Children, and Adolescents. MMWR. 2005, 54 (No RR-16): 1-32.Google Scholar
Poland GA, Jacobson RM: Prevention of Hepatitis B with the Hepatitis B Vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2004, 351: 2832-2838. 10.1056/NEJMcp041507.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
Mackenbach JP, Kunst AE, Cavelaars AE, Groenhof F, Geurts JJ: Socioeconomic inequalities in morbidity and mortality in Western Europe. Lancet. 1997, 349: 1655-1659. 10.1016/S0140-6736(96)07226-1.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
Sypsa V, Hadjipaschali E, Hatzakis A: Prevalence, risk factors and evaluation of a screening strategy for chronic hepatitis C and B virus infections in healthy company employees. Eur J Epidemiol. 2001, 17: 721-728. 10.1023/A:1015671627577.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
Dalekos GN, Zervou E, Karabini F, Tsianos EV: Prevalence of viral markers among refugees from Southern Albania: increased incidence of infection with hepatitis A, B and D viruses. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 1995, 7: 553-558.PubMedGoogle Scholar
Dentinger CM, McMahon BJ, Butler JC, Dunaway CE, Zanis CL, Bulkow LR, Bruden DL, Nainan OV, Khristova ML, Hennessy TW, Parkinson AJ: Persistence of antibody to hepatitis B and protection from disease among Alaska natives immunized at birth. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2005, 24: 786-792. 10.1097/01.inf.0000176617.63457.9f.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
Knoll A, Hartmann A, Hamoshi H, Weislmaier K, Jilg W: Serological pattern "anti-HBc alone": characterization of 552 individuals and clinical significance. World JGastroenterol. 2006, 12: 1255-1260.View ArticleGoogle Scholar
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FM Career Updates
[FM18] Worldwide Journeyman - Season 8: O'Higgins Futbol Club (Chile) - Midseason Departures and Start of Copa Chile!
By yatesiboi37, February 2, 2018 in FM Career Updates
yatesiboi37
Update 49: March 2023
Club: Mount Rich
Division: GFA Premier Division
Having unfortunately been knocked out of the CONCACAF Champions League in the very first round, I decided to stick with Mount Rich and have another crack at the other early-season continental competition, the CFU Club Championship.
We have participated in this tournament for the past five seasons, reaching the final once and the semi-finals on a further two occasions. This update will look through the initial group games that we played through in the hope that we could make it through to the next round.
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CFU Club Championship DETAILS:
The Caribbean Football Union Club Championship is a continental competition that sees the best sides of the region compete in a group/knockout tournament. The first thing to remember about this competition is that it is absolutely huge. The first group stage sees 64 teams enter (in groups of four) where everyone plays each other once, with the side finishing top progressing to a final group stage.
As you may recall, the group draw for the Initial Group Stage had already been made.
We were drawn in Group E alongside Helenites, Attackers and Don Bosco.
The weakest side in this group is probably Helenites Sports Club, a side who we have actually played against in this stage of the competition for the past two seasons. They are based in the US Virgin Islands and are still the current domestic champions. They are an amateur team, yet they have won the top domestic title in their country on five different occasions and are listed as the nations second most reputable side.
The second side we will face is Orleans Attackers. They are another amateur side, based in Saint-Martin, and one who were part of this tournament last season. They have two top-tier domestic league titles to their name but have not had much luck in the CFU Club Championship, failing to ever make it out of the initial group stage. They have an entirely domestic-based squad but are not one of the countries most reputable sides.
The final side we face, and probably the toughest looking on paper, is Don Bosco Football Club. The semi-professional side are from Haiti and have dominated the domestic league there in recent times, winning the top division title for the past three years. Their most recent appearance in the CFU Club Championship saw them lose in the 2021 Third Placed Playoff game so it is clear that this side, the most recognised in Haiti, will be a tough challenge.
Friendly RESULTS:
W = 6, D = 0, L = 0
I was able to squeeze in a number of friendly games prior to the start of this competitions and it is safe to say that we enter this competition in fine form.
We won six games in a row, scoring a very impressive 21 goals whilst conceding just four and keeping two clean sheets. It is also worth noting that we played some decent sides doing this run. Paradise Sports Club, who pushed us very close in the GFA Premier Division last season, were our second game and we recorded a 1-0 home win. We also hosted Barbadian league champions, UWI Blackbirds, who we ere able to defeat by a scoreline of 3-1.
CFU Club Championship RESULTS:
The first round would see us face off against all of our group opponents in single-legged fixtures at neutral grounds.
Game 1. CFU Club Championship Group E: vs Helenites Sports Club (US Virgin Islands)
Our opening fixture saw us travel to the Stade Rene Serge Nabajoth in Guadeloupe to take on US Virgin Island champions Helenites.
Having played this side twice in our past two CFU Club Championship appearances, I knew that we entered the game as favourites and fortunately for ourselves, there was no upset to be had although there were some nervy moments. We dominated proceedings from start to finish and a professional, attack-minded performance saw us create a number of chances.
We took the lead just before the half-time interval when ball-winner Jason Louison scored a rare goal. The young midfielder slid home a net, placed finish from inside the area to give us deserved lead a the break.
The second period continued with more of the same attacking play from ourselves but it was actually our opponents who scored the first goal, as they scored just after the hour mark with a finish that rattled in off the post. Determined not to be the sufferers of an upset we bounced back immediately when Englishman Liam Griffiths slammed home a header from a fine left-footed cross from fullback Joel Alexander.
At 2-1 there was always the fear that Helenites could grab another goal but, in all honesty, they never created a mere half chance in the closing half hour and we rounded off the game when youth forward Bradley Mark scored his first professional goal in injury time.
Louison had a fine game, adding a goal to an excellent defensive job in the centre of midfield, and helped us record an opening day victory - albeit an expected one.
Game 2. CFU Club Championship Group E: vs Orleans Attackers (Saint-Martin)
The second game saw us travel to St. Kitts & Nevis to take on a decent Attackers side who worked us very hard.
We started the game very strongly, picking up from where we left off in the previous game, and created a number of good chances early on. Our finishing was not at its best though and we squandered a few very good opportunities. Fortunately, Kyle Thomas took his first chance when he smashed home a right footed strike from outside the area in the 20th minute. It was a classy finish from a player who has become a real force playing just behind the front two over the past couple of seasons.
We failed to take any further chances and as the half progressed our opponents grew into the game. They turned their pressure into a goal and were back on level terms midway through the second period when we conceded another close range effort.
Although a draw would not have been the worst result we pushed for a winner that would greatly improve our chances of qualification and eventually it came. Karim Juma, an unlikely source for the winner, jumped highest following a Joel Francois-Ravalier freekick and the Ugandan central defender thumped a header past the Attackers goalkeeper.
Two wins from two and well on course to a place in the next round.
Game 3. CFU Club Championship Group E: vs Don Bosco Football Club (Haiti)
The third round of matches saw us take on a very impressive Don Bosco side, as we remained in St. Kitts & Nevis for a second consecutive tie.
This was by far and away our best performance of the competition, as we played some outstanding attacking football enroute to an impressive 3-0 victory. We controlled possession easily throughout the opening exchanges and looked a constant threat going forward. That being said we just could not seem to find a way past the Don Bosco goalkeeper and I was worried all of our first half dominance would count for nothing if we did not grab the goal we deserved.
Fortunately for us, just prior to the break, club captain Shaddai Sampson glanced home a near post header following a right wing cross from Cassim Millette. The forwards flick flew past the hapless keeper and meant we took a deserved lead into the break.
We then grabbed an early goal in the second period to ensure that the game was safe. Sampson swivelled neatly just inside the penalty area and ripped a right footed finish into the bottom corner. As the game progressed our opponents never looked like getting a goal back. Instead we finished off the tie when Alister Rennie collected another rare goal as he headed home a Joel Francois-Ravalier freekick.
An excellent attacking performance from Sampson saw us collect our best result of the competition thus far against, arguably, the best side in a group. Another win though meant we had recording three straight victories to kickstart the tournament.
STANDINGS:
As you probably guessed, we were able to top our group following three wins from three.
Don Bosco finished second following a pair of 2-0 victories over the other two sides in our group. Unsurprisingly, US Virgin Island champions, Helenites lost all three of their fixtures - having done exactly the same the previous two seasons in this competition.
The next stage of the tournament sees the 16 group winners pooled into four final groups before that stage takes on an exact format of this stage. Speaking of the draw for the next round, that has just been completed...
CFU Club Championship Final Stage Draw:
This stage always seems to be hit and miss in terms of the group draw; with this season proving fairly tough on paper.
I will look at these sides in more detail during my next update but we will be facing Arnett Gardens (Jamaica), Cunupia (Trinidad & Tobago) and Golden Lion (Martinique). We will again need to top this group if we want to make it into the semifinals for the fourth time in our history.
Grenadian Football:
We were not the only Grenadian representative in the Club Championship, as last seasons league runner-up Paradise Sports Club were also involved.
Amazingly, they were able to top their group as well!
They overcome a fairly average looking group, finishing top on goal difference, above US Matoury of French Guiana. This result makes this a very historic season as, for the first time ever, we will have two Grenadian sides in the Final Group Stage of the CFU Club Championship!
So that concludes the initial group stages of the CFU Club Championship. Once again we manage to get out of the first round but face a tough challenge in the next group stage as we are matched up with two of the big sides from Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago respectively.
I will be back soon with another update, looking at our progress in the next round, and I will eventually have to decide what I want to do in terms of my managerial career.
kidthekid
Managing: Bath F.C (Jamaica), AC Omonia (Cyprus)
good progress for Grenadian football
Update number 50! I am surprised I have got this far but I hope you guys are all still enjoying this Grenadian-based save.
This update will see us head into the Final Group Stage of the CFU Club Championship where we will have to top a rather tricky looking group if we want to once again appear in the semifinals. This competition has eluded us for a number of seasons; we have reached the semifinals on two previous occasions but we also lost in the final last season.
The Final Group Stage of the CFU Club Championship sees the 16 group winners from the previous round entered into four new groups. Here everyone plays everyone once, at neutral venues again, with the four group winners progressing onto the semifinals.
As you may recall, the group draw for this stage had already been completed and we were matched up with Golden Lion, Cunupia and Arnett Gardens.
All three of these sides are very solid but the least threatening are probably Golden Lion Football. The semi-professional side from Martinique are the countries most reputable side and have endured some very recent success, winning the top division league title on five different occasions. They have reached this stage of this competition in three of the past five seasons and have a squad led by experienced international midfielder Jean-Emmanuel Nedra.
One of the first professional sides that we face in this competition will be Cunupia Predators FC, of Trinidad & Tobago. Founded in 2001, they only gained promotion to the top domestic division in 2019 but finished in third place in the league during the past two seasons. They made their first appearance in this competition last year but failed to make it out of the Initial Group Stage, meaning this is the furthest they have ever been in the CFU Club Championship. They are led by St. Kitts & Nevis international regen midfielder Thrizen Gumbs, who is one of the best players to ever represent his nation.
The final side we face is Arnett Gardens FC. This professional side play in the top division of Jamaica and they are the countries most reputable side, making them one of the Caribbean's well renowned teams. They are the most successful side in Jamaican history, having won the top division on eight previous occasions. They have endured some continental success in recent times, finishing second in this competition back in 2018 and then losing in the final of the North American League the season after. Former Watford forward Jerome Sinclair is currently apart of their squad!
Not the easiest three games but we knew we would need a positive result against Arnett Gardens to have any chance at reaching the semifinal stage of this competition.
CFU Club Championship RESULTS:
The second round would see us again travel to neutral stadiums. We would need to finish atop a tough group if we were going to be able to progress through to the next round once again.
Game 1. CFU Club Championship Final Stage Group D: vs Arnett Gardens FC (Jamaica)
We kicked off this round with a thrilling victory, in Barbados, over a very strong Arnett Gardens side. Whilst we did play a very good game, we were on the back-foot for long periods in this one and only came away with a victory thanks to some excellent finishing.
We fell behind midway through the first half when former Watford forward Jerome Sinclair grabbed his first goal of the game. We thought we pulled a goal back about ten minutes later but Karim Juma saw his thumping header ruled out for an apparent push in a decision that seemed a little harsh. We made amends almost immediately though as Marcus Mark levelled things up right on the stroke of halftime. The young left fullback collected his first professional goal with a neatly struck angled finish into the bottom corner.
We probably did not deserve to be level at the break but I was happy to settle for it. We definitely did not deserve to lead the tie but we did as Shaddai Sampson smashed a cutback from Kyle Thomas into the top corner, giving the opposing goalkeeper no chance whatsoever at making the save. Arnett Gardens were back on level terms just moments later though and the game was tied at 2-2 with 30 minutes left to play.
Both teams created chances through the closing stages but we eventually took one of ours. Sampson again was in the right place at the right time and was able to tap home a close range finish following a good save by the goalkeeper. There were some nervy final moments but we were able to hold on for a very impressive victory, one in which we scored with three of our five shots on target.
Game 2. CFU Club Championship Final Stage Group D: vs Golden Lion Football (Martinique)
The second game saw us take on Martinique champions Golden Lion and we absolutely dominated them from start to finish.
This was an extremely surprising display given that Golden Lion are a very strong side on paper but we payed brilliantly, keeping the ball very well and ensuring our opponents did not have a single shot on target.
We opened the scoring in the first half when midfielder Fortunato Nguema smashed home a first time finish from the edge of the area. It was a strike that left the opponents goalkeeper rooted to the spot and one that not many keepers would have been able to stop. We then grabbed a second goal moments later when a Shaddai Sampson cross was tuned into his own net by a defender.
Kyle John-Brown ensured the game was over just two minutes into the second half when he placed a neat finish into the bottom corner following some god interplay between himself and Sampson.
Our opponents never looked like scoring and the fact that we can dominate an opponent such as this, with such an ease, shows just how far we have come in seven years. Everyone had a good game but it was no surprise to see goalscorer Nguema handed the Player of the Match award as he completed a team-high 129 passes as well.
Game 3. CFU Club Championship Final Stage Group D: vs Cunupia Predators FC (Trinidad & Tobago)
The final game saw us travel back to St. Kitts & Nevis for a matchup with Trinidad & Tobago side Cunupia. Having displayed a dominant attacking performance in the previous game, we again looked extremely efficient as we raced to a 3-0 lead before the game entered its final half hour.
Kyle Thomas opened the scoring when he sidestepped a defender on the edge of the area and struck a nice left-footed shot past the goalkeeper. We actually restricted our opponents to zero shots on target in the first half but I was well aware that we needed a second goal to ensure a comfortable cushion existed.
That is exactly what I got, just five minutes after the interval, as forward Emeca capped a wonderfully crafted fast break with a tidy half volley following a right wing cross from Cassim Millette. The tie was over just nine minutes later when central defender Charlison Smeekes scored his first Mount Rich goal, slotting home at the far post following a corner kick.
There was still time for a late Cunupia consolation but it was not enough to stop us recording a third consecutive win in this stage of the competition. Smeekes capped an excellent defensive display with a goal and was rightly awarded Player of the Match. Alongside the other two goal scorers there was an excellent performance from Alistair Rennie who was an absolute rock in front of the back four.
Three further wins meant that we would likely be progressing to the next stage...
Another three wins from our three fixtures sees us top the group stage once again.
In reality, we finished five points clear at the top as there was not much to choose between the other three sides who between them played out a number of drawn games. As expected, Arnett Gardens finished in second place after collecting one victory but Golden Lion and Cunupia both struggled, failing to win a game at all.
Our +6 goal difference meant we finished well clear but also could have gotten away with a draw against Arnett an still been able to make it through.
OTHER NEWS:
Succes at this stage meant that we would once again be representing in the semifinal stage of the competition. The draw for that round has already been completed.
CFU Club Championship Semifinal Draw:
We are matched up against Harbour View FC. The Jamaican side pose a similar threat to Arnett Gardens who we faced in the final group stages and definitely will not be an easy route to the final.
They currently top the Jamaican domestic division and are actually one of the few big-name Caribbean sides that we have not yet played against during this save.
As you may remember, Paradise Sports Club also made it through to the final group stage, marking the first time in history that two Grenadian sides had done so!
They actually gave a very good account of themselves in this round, recording an excellent victory over Dublanc of Dominica whilst also holding reigning champions Puerto Rico FC to a 1-1. It is always positive to see other sides in the division doing well and hopefully this will help develop a better domestic competition as well as improve the stature of football on our Caribbean island.
So that concludes the Final Group Stage of this years CFU Club Championship. I will be back shortly with a last update covering the semifinal clash against Harbour View and the final (should we make it...).
I have been very impressed with our performances so far. We were excellent during the round despite having to face off against a number of very talented sides. I again hope everyone is still enjoying this save and thanks again for all the views, likes and comments!
Update 51: May 2023
This update sees us take on the final stages of the CFU Club Championship. This is a continental competition that I have failed to win on six previous occasions but I have been to this stage, the semifinals, on three different times.
With no injuries or squad absences, I was hoping to finish off my reign at Mount Rich with a victory in a competition that has eluded me for so long. Can Mount Rich finally find success in the Caribbean?
The semifinal stage saw us handed a fairly difficult draw as we were matched up with Harbour View FC. The Jamaican club are the third most reputable in the nation and currently top the domestic division going into the final month. They have won the Jamaican league on four previous occasions but have never before made it this far in the CFU Club Championship, with a previous best of reaching the Final Group Stage back in 2019 and 2021.
As expected they have a very strong squad and are led by right fullback Reece Clayton, a regen who is currently being pursued by a host of MLS sides. English goalkeeper Lee Nicholls, formerly of MK Dons and Wigan, is their first choice between the sticks whilst their main attacking threat comes from Kevaughn Frater who scored 14 goals in last years domestic campaign.
The other semifinal sees perennial all-stars Puerto Rico FC take on a minnow side in the form of Conaree United from St. Kitts & Nevis. Both semis are single-leg games played at neutral venues with the winners going through to the final and the losers then competing in a Third Placed Playoff.
Game 1. CFU Club Championship Semi Final: vs Harbour View FC (Jamaica)
This is easily one of my best continental results to date!
We travelled to Costa Rica for this matchup and some unbelievably efficient finishing led to an emphatic 4-0 scoreline. Shaddai Sampson grabbed two goals in the first half to give us the perfect start. Firstly he struck an excellent effort across the keeper from the edge of the box following a good pass from Emeca and then he benefited from some very unselfish play from Kyle Thomas, who squared an excellent pass to his captain who was then able to roll the ball into the empty net.
The second half continued much in the same vain, with both sides creating chances but us showing an ability to take ours whilst our opponents struggled to test Marc Walcott in the Mount Rich goal. Admittedly, it did take us a while to grab the third goal but it came as Harbour View pushed more players up the pitch. Sampson launched a long ball forward to substitute Kimron Phillip and the youngster was able to beat his man before sliding a pass into the path of Joel Francois-Ravalier, with the midfielder then placing his first time effort beyond the outstretched goalkeeper. Another substitute, Cassim Redhead, rounded off the scoring in injury time when he beat the goalkeeper to an Alistair Rennie through ball and knocked a smart finish underneath the shot stoppers attempted dive.
This was easily one of my best continental moments thus far and was one that meant we would be competing in a CFU Club Championship final for the second consecutive season.
The only thing left now to discover was who we would be playing against in said final...
Conaree United came so close to causing an upset in the other semifinal but unfortunately Puerto Rico FC came through in extra time.
You may recall we played these guys in the final of this competition last year, where we ultimately lost and those this has definitely become a revenge match of sorts. Given that I also hate the fact that they are even allowed to play in this competition (whilst they are based in Puerto Rico they play in the American league system) and this had become one of the biggest matches of my Mount Rich career.
They have dominated this competition for a while now, winning it in 2020 and 2022 whilst finishing third the season in between that. They are a professional club who have an extremely multicultural squad with a number of Brazilian and Argentinian players. They also have a couple of Englishmen, with the most recognisable being former Nottingham Forest defender Jack Hobbs.
Most of the star players who we faced last season are not there anymore though so who knows, could this finally be the moment we complete this competition?
Game 2. CFU Club Championship Final: vs Puerto Rico FC (Puerto Rico)
Unbelievable! We totally FM'd them but I really do not care!
In front of over 10,000 supporters in the Ferdi Neita Complex in Jamaica we were crowned champions of the CFU Club Championship at the sixth attempt.
Do not get me wrong, we definitely did not deserve to win this game of football as we spent the majority of the game defending desperately trying to keep our opponents menagerie of attacking talent at bay. We made it into half time, having only had one shot at goal, but with the scoreline still reading 0-0.
The second half saw us have an inspired five minutes which ultimately gifted us the trophy. From a set piece on the right wing Joel Francois-Ravalier sent a fine cross into the penalty area and on-hand to head home was club captain Shaddai Sampson. The young forward rose highest and sent a powerful header past the static Puerto Rico goalkeeper to give us a very unlikely lead.
Then, just five minutes after that euphoria, we were scoring again. Another freekick on the right wing, from a similar position to the last, but this time, rather than floating in another cross, Francois-Ravalier squared a pass to an unmarked Kyle Thomas who let rip with a stunning first time finish into he bottom right-hand corner. It was a thunderous finish and one of the best I have seen at Mount Rich for a while!
Puerto Rico threw everything at us in the final half hour but we stood firm and some excellent work from Alec Leo and goalkeeper Marc Walcott ensured that we managed to record another clean sheet in this competition. Unsurprisingly Kyle Thomas was awarded the Player of the Match following is wonder strike but I also have to give a big shout out to Francois-Ravalier and Fortunato Nguema, the midfield duo who did a tremendous job at snuffing out opposition attackers before they got started.
PLAYER STATISTICS:
With the tournament now over I thought it would be worth having a look at a few of the standout players. We ended the competition with a total of 17 players holding an average rating of over 7.0.
The key man was definitely Shaddai Sampson (7.94). The club captain had his best ever CFU Club Championship and led the way for the squad with seven goals scored in his seven appearances. He also added a further two assists and showed a real flair for taking the game to the defenders, averaging 3.37 dribbles/game.
In defence, the standout performer was Ugandan centreback Karim Juma (7.36). He actually had to go off injured in the final but he was a big reason for our solid defensive play throughout the two months. Marcus Mark (7.24) showed that he has a future on the left flank, completed nine crosses, whilst new signing Charlison Smeekes (7.21) led the team with 37 defensive interceptions. Cassim Millette (7.11) also played well but was a bit shy of his outstanding best. He still recorded the highest number of key passes, with 17, whilst competing 15 crosses.
Our midfielder, often one of the weaker areas of the side, was truly excellent. Ball-Winning roamer Alistair Rennie (7.55) was on top form and averaged 3.83 tackles/game whilst it was great to see Joel Francois-Ravalier (7.49) back playing well following a number of injuries. The former youth product played 16 key passes and collected a team-high 5 assists in his nine games played. Fortunato Nguema (7.24) started the final and had a fine tournament of his own, covering 14.0km per game.
In attack I was very impressed with the play of Kyle Thomas (7.33). The young shadow striker provided an excellent compliment to the scoring of Sampson, grabbing five individual goals of his own in just eight appearances. Englishman Liam Griffiths (7.12) played reasonably well and there was a first professional goal for latest academy forward Bradley Mark (6.90).
STANDINGS:
This is a fine achievement for the club and one that has been a long time coming consider our past failings in this competition.
Conaree United FC, the minnows from St. Kitts & Nevis were named the biggest overachievers as they reached the semifinals in a very unexpected turn of events. The biggest underachievers were Arnett Gardens, one of the pre-competition favourites who we knocked out in the Final Group Stage. Their forward Jerome Sinclair, who scored twice against us, finished the competition with a whopping 15 goals.
CONCACAF Champions League Qualification:
Success in the CFU Club Championship means we once again qualify for the Champions League but this time because we are named the top side in the Caribbean. The last time we appeared in this competition we crashed out in the first round, losing to Houston Dynamo, so hopefully we might have one better luck (and an easier draw) this time around.
Trophy Cabinet:
The CFU Club Championship trophy becomes the second continental success I have achieved with Mount Rich, following our North American League title last season. This championship also means that I am once again adding to my Managerial Hall of Fame points, collecting a further 27 points for the CFU Club Championship, taking my overall personal total to 191 points.
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With the early season continental competitions now over and done with, I need to decide what comes next with Mount Rich. I have won both of the smaller continental competitions that we can take part in, with the elusive CONCACAF Champions League looking like something that I would require years and years to have a chance at succeeding in.
With the domestic side of things becoming all too easy I think it might be time to try and find a new challenge. I have developed Mount Rich into the best side in Grenada, and one of the top teams in the Caribbean, which I think is a very respectable achievement.
What do you guys think? Is there a particular way that you would like this save to go?
rodesire
Team: FK Kretingos Grudai
Managing: Carmarthen Town
Excellent stuff all round! Really glad, Paradise is doing well. Might be a bit more of a challenge domestically having dominated so hard
Team: Leicester City
Managing: AS Monaco
A really enjoyable save. Have you had any job offers from other club or International teams?
great result indeed
Mbasnett6
Team: Everton
Managing: SK Sturm Graz
Definitely time to move on - have done superbly to get to where you are, but taken them as far as you can.
dllu
Team: SønderjyskE, Arsenal, HSV
Managing: Thisted (DEN), Senegal
I say mix things up and go for a different continent.
You should try to go to a bigger league (maybe in the US or Europe) and see if you can develop top Grenadian talent there in an effort to possibly make Grenada qualify for a tournament such as the Gold Cup or World Cup and try to do well in them.
On 11 July 2018 at 17:47, rodesire said:
It was really good to see another Grenadian team doing well in a continental competition. Granted, they did have a fairly easy group in the first round but they put in a very good showing in the final group stage. It might mean that we have a bit more of a domestic challenge but we are still far superior to them in terms of squad strength!
On 11 July 2018 at 18:16, decapitated said:
Thanks! I have not received any offers at all... I thought I might have done after some continental success and after my work with Kenya but apparently that was not enough for other teams to take a look.
On 11 July 2018 at 21:58, kidthekid said:
Thanks kidthekid!
I was very happy that I finally managed to achieve success in the CFU Club Championship!
On 12 July 2018 at 17:15, Mbasnett6 said:
I think I agree.
Any place you would like to see me end up in particular?
On 12 July 2018 at 17:22, dllu said:
I had a look at the MLS as a possible destination but that league looks crazy confusing! I think a different continent might be a good shout. Any one in particular that you would like to see me play in?
9 hours ago, Gum said:
I think bigger league is definitely a must. I would like to end up somewhere with a professional club (semi-pro is not the most fun) but bringing some of the Grenadian players with me might be a very good idea and a fun twist to this journey.
10 minutes ago, yatesiboi37 said:
England would be the obvious choice then, but also about as un-exotic as you can get...
Having mulled it over for a while I have decided that the time is right for the following decision.
I managed to secure a first ever CFU Club Championship last month and that success felt like a good end point for my time at Mount Rich. I am going to use this update as a way of looking back on my six and a half years in Grenada; and as a way for us all to say goodbye (for now at least) to Mount Rich.
Team Background:
Mount Rich were formed back in 1986 and the small, semi-professional club are based in the town of Morne Fendue, in the northeastern corner of the Caribbean island of Grenada. Prior to my arrival at the club in 2017, the club had not developed much in the way of a history having only won a couple of lower league trophies. Since I took over though Mount Rich have developed into the most recognisable clubs in Grenada and a perennial powerhouse within the Caribbean.
I have grown the club into the most reputable within the nation and they currently hold a 1.5 star rating in terms of reputation, the highest in all of Grenada. The average price of a season ticket has increased to £40 and I leave the team as an official club legend. They play their home games at the 700 capacity Plains Playing Field, a ground that we managed to sellout on a couple of occasions despite our lowly standing in world football.
Managerial Record:
I joined Mount Rich back in 2017, almost six and a half years ago, and in that time I have presided over 191 matches. During that span I have been extremely successful and leave with an incredible club win percentage of 79%. I only lost 20 games in total, winning more than 150 across both domestic and continental competitions.
We were a very exciting side to watch and our attacking minded tactic led to us scoring 484 goals at an average of 2.53/game. Defensively we proved to be very solid, averaging less than one goal conceded per match; with 0.82/game.
One of the most exciting aspects of managing in Grenada and the Caribbean were the multiple competitions that we took part in, all of which I have never experienced before. Although the domestic side of things with Mount Rich was fairly short lived in terms of number of games, we got to play lots of continental football throughout the seasons which kept this process interesting and exciting.
GFA Premier Division
Number of Seasons: 6 (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
Best Finish: Winners x 5
The GFA Premier Division was the main focus of mine during my six seasons with Mount Rich. It was the top domestic division of Grenada and was a league that the club had never previously won prior to my arrival.
As you can see, we totally dominated league proceedings from the moment I joined the club. We managed to secure five league titles, missing out in 2018 by just a single point. We also managed to record a pair of unbeaten seasons (2019 and 2021) but the biggest thing to note here is that we only actually lost six leagues games across six whole years of domestic football in Grenada.
We were an unstoppable attacking force, scoring over 40 goals in ever season, with a yearly high coming in 2022 where we netted 59 times in just 18 league games.
Waggy-T Super Knockout Football Tournament
The excellently named, Waggy-T Super Knockout Football Tournament, was the yearly domestic cup competition of Grenada. It followed a simple format, starting with 16 teams and single-leg knockout games leading to an eventual final held at the countries national team stadium.
Whilst we might have dominated in the league, we absolutely dominated in this cup competition. I won this tournament in my first ever season and then continued my love affair with the Waggy-T, not losing a single cup fixture during my six year run and winning a record six consecutive domestic cup titles! I leave Mount Rich in the knowledge that we are now the most successful side in the history of the Waggy-T having surpassed the four trophies won my Paradise Sports Club.
Caribbean Football Union Club Championship
Best Finish: Winner
The first continental competition that we got to play in was the CFU Club Championship. We were granted entry to this tournament for finishing top or second place in the GFA Premier Division. This knockout tournament is essentially the Caribbean version of the Champions League but on a massive scale. The Initial Group Stage starts with 64 different club sides, from all around the Caribbean, separated into 16 groups. Everyone plays everyone in their group just once, with only the top placed side progressing to the next round, another group stage, before a knockout semifinal and a single-legged final.
We had a bit of a mixed run in the CFU Club Championship through my six seasons. It did seem to depend on the group in which we were drawn in as to how well we did but we had some stellar seasons. We finished 3rd back in 2019 following a penalty victory but we then went on a bit of a poor run, finishing 4th in 2020 and then failing to get out of the Final Group Stage in 2021.
We reached our first final in 2022 but lost 2-1 to Puerto Rico FC. We again reached the final in 2023, having to face off against Puerto Rico FC once more... This time we managed to lift the trophy and break a long wait to secure this piece of continental silverware.
North American League
Number of Seasons: 3 (2019, 2020, 2022)
We spent time in the CFU Club Championship every season and in those years where we reached the semifinals we were then granted a space in another continental competition, the North American League. This competition is essentially a qualification tournament for teams based in North America as a secondary way to reach the CONCACAF Champions League. It follows a fairly simple format, with all knockout match-ups being played across two legs.
We showed steady progress in this competition throughout my time. Our first appearance, back in 2019, resulted in a first round knockout but we managed to reach a further game a year later as we progressed to the quarter finals. Our most spectacular run came more recently, in 2022, when we went on a spectacular run and ended up as champions of the entire tournament thanks to a 3-2 aggregate victory over Real Espana of Honduras.
This victory was not only our first ever continental football title but it also meant that we qualified for one final competition...
Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League
Number of Seasons: 1 (2023)
Best Finish: First Round
This was probably the ultimate achievement during my career at Mount Rich, qualifying and playing in the CONCACAF Champions League. In doing so we became the first ever side from Grenada to play a Champions League fixture. The tournament itself is fairly straightforward and sees the 16 best North American sides compete in a knockout format with matches being played over two legs.
We played one season in this competition, having qualified in 2023 thanks to our North American League victory the prior year. As you may recall we ended up facing off against MLS side Houston Dynamo, a far superior side to ourselves but we gave them a reasonable tie and actually managed to score two goals in the away leg!
We have actually qualified for the 2024 version of this competition as well, having recently just won the CFU Champions Cup, and it will be interesting to see how Mount Rich get on without me leading the way.
Prior to my arrival, Mount Rich had won no notable silverware but I leave the club in the knowledge that their trophy room is now fully stocked. We dominated the domestic competitions and recorded five league titles to go alongside six consecutive domestic cup victories. Continental competitions saw us face a much more difficult challenge but we managed to collect a pair of trophies in the form of one CFU Club Championship and one North American League crown.
I am going to use this section to take a look back at some of the key players that proved vital in driving Mount Rich forward. I try to include lots of player detail when I am writing updates so I am hoping that you will recognise a few of the names that crop up here.
I am hoping that there is still plenty of success to come for Mount Rich. I leave the club with the squad looking very young and still with plenty of years to develop should the new management be able to stave off foreign transfer interest in the same way that I was able to.
A number of these players have the potential to have very long careers but some of the most memorable ones are:
Kyle Thomas: The shadow striker was part of the 2019 youth intake and slowly developed into one of the best players at the club. A physical specimen, Thomas dominated defensive lines in the GFA Premier Division but also proved his worth on the continental stage where he scored 14 goals in his final three seasons. He has made 84 senior appearances for the club across all competitions with his highest average rating of 7.56 coming last season. He quickly became a regular in the Grenada national side and has already accumulated 26 appearances for his country, scoring his first international goal against Guadeloupe in 2022.
Joel Francois-Ravalier: The attacking playmaker was signed during the 2018 season as part of the annual youth intake and he quickly became one of my favourite Mount Rich players. At just 5'5" tall, Francois-Ravalier was not a dominating presence in the midfield but this man could play a pass. Across his six seasons he collected 30 assists whilst also adding an extra 20 goals. His best individual season was in 2020 when he record 10 goals scored, 10 assists and an average rating of 7.68! He suffered a couple of fairly severe injuries during my final two seasons at Mount Rich which limited his availability but he is another who plays regularly for the national side, collecting 24 senior caps for Grenada.
Kyle John-Brown: Not so much a huge name in regular seasons but Kyle John-Brown was one of the star performers through my early years at the club. He was part of the first ever youth intake at Mount Rich and went on to become a superb player, being able to perform as an shadow striker or as a central midfielder. Over his seven seasons with the club, John-Brown made 104 appearances whilst also collecting seven senior Grenada caps.
Christ Kisangala: One of the few remaining non-regen players in the squad, Kisangala joined the club on a free transfer back in 2018 and in doing so became the first foreign player to ever appear in the GFA Premier Division. The central defender, from DR Congo, instantly became a starter and was a regular throughout the years, making 135 appearances in total. He was not particularly brilliant in the air but he had the physical traits needed to keep up with the pacy strikers that thrive in the Grenadian league and, in his covering central defender role, he consistently led the squad in terms of number of defensive interceptions.
Shaddai Sampson: Sampson was one of my first ever signings at Mount Rich and I leave the club with him holding a legend status alongside myself.
Sampson joined the club on a free transfer back in 2018 and instantly became a revelations scoring 23 goals in just 19 appearances in his first year. He is now the clubs all-time leading scorer, having netted 97 times in his six years with Mount Rich and managed to record double digit tallies for goals in every year that he has been here. He scored his first international goal against Canada back in 2019 and has since managed to total 8 goal in 24 Grenada appearances.
Cassim Millette: Last, but by no means least, we have Cassim Millette. If you do not know who this guy is then you have not been reading this save at all...
Cassim Millette was part of a stellar youth intake that also included Joel Francois-Ravalier. Originally a right winger I retrained him as a wingback and he developed into one of the best players that the GFA Premier Division has ever seen. He was a constant attacking threat during his six seasons here, collecting 42 total assists, showing a real ability to beat a defender and to cross a football. He was literally the first name on the team sheet every week and this saw him rack up 108 appearances over his final five seasons. He also was quickly called up tot the Grenada national team where he has so far collected 28 caps, scoring one goal against Haiti in 2022. I leave the club with him holding an icon status and there is no reason, should he choose to stick around, that he cannot become a legend for the club one day soon.
Best XI
The statistics on this are not quite up to date with when I left but it does give a good indication of some of the former players who performed a vital role for the club in earlier seasons.
Nicko Williams and Quinton Rennie were two stellar defenders who have now retired but provided a great service during my first couple of years at the club. It is worth mentioning midfielder Chad Mark, who was recently released by the club, but he was a fantastic servant in the centre of midfield for a number of years. Uriah Enoe, who also recently departed, was one of the leagues most proficient goalscorers during the earlier years, netting 46 goals during his first three years at the club.
It has been a long eventful journey with Mount Rich and whilst I would have loved to have stuck around, seen the club turn professional and potentially won the Champions League, those were all aims that were going to take me huge numbers of years to achieve. What I have managed to succeed in doing though is ensuring that I leave the club in the knowledge that they are easily the best, most reputable side in Grenada but also developed them into a side that can compete with the Caribbean powerhouses from Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.
I have overseen an influx of silverware to the Mount Rich trophy room and developed a number of young players who have then gone on to represent the national side, increasing Grenada's standing within the world of international football.
I am sure I will check back in every now and then to see how my old club are getting on but for now it s time to say goodbye and start the next chapter of James Yates' managerial career. I have no real aim of where I would like to manage next so I am open to suggestions but also happy to see what jobs are available before making any hasty decision.
Mount Rich: 2017-2023
Domestic Trophies: 11
Continental Trophies: 2
theBlackPrince
Just caught up on the last bit of this, what a journey it has been so far! Always great to see someone in a not well known or played area, but how far you took them, thats been a cracking read! Onwards and upwards to the next challenge!
This has been quite a run, amazing achievements all round
On 14 July 2018 at 08:50, theBlackPrince said:
Thanks very much! I always like waiting for the updates and then getting a save started in a previous unplayable country. Grenada has been very enjoyable but I definitely think that I have achieved all that is possible in the small Caribbean island. Hope you stick around for the next leg of the journey!
Thanks rodesire for your continued support. I hope you enjoy the next chapter just as much!
Right, time for a new challenge.
Having resigned from Kenya duty at the end of 2022, I recently found myself completely unemployed as I chose to leave Mount Rich following an excellent six and a half years in charge. Having not had any job offers during my time in Grenada, I decided the best bet here to find more work would to be to apply for all available jobs. I was not expecting much in the way of interviews but I ended up receiving responses from an array of club sides in Jamaica, America, Georgia, Qatar, Bahrain, England, Netherlands and France to name a few.
Ultimately though I decided neither of these were the right situation for James Yates and opted to say in the Americas, making the journey down south, and so I would like to introduce you all to James Yates' new domestic job with O'Higgins Fútbol Club.
Club Background:
O'Higgins Fútbol Club are a profesional club based in the South American country of Chile. Situated in the central city of Rancagua, O'Higgins were founded back in 1955 and, unlike my last domestic job, they already have a fairly extensive footballing history. They have won the Chilean second division on two previous occasions but, most impressively, they won the top league of Chile back in 2013 with a Chilean Cup victory then following in 2014.
Since then however the club have experienced a dramatic fall from grace. In 2017 they were playing in the top division of Chile, where they recorded a 3rd place finish. This was followed in 2018 with a 4th placing but then they experienced a disastrous year next and actually ended up finding themselves relegated down to the countries second tier. There they have remained for the past three seasons, working their way through a trio of managers, before calling upon the services of James Yates.
They currently hold a 2 star, national level, rating in terms of reputation, making them one of the more well known sides in the countries second division.
Having plied my trade in the 700 capacity Plains Playing Field stadium in Grenada for the past six and a bit seasons I will now be upgrading to the 15,533 all-seater El Teniente stadium. This ground played host to World Cup fixtures back in 1962 and recently was rebuilt in 2014 in time for the group stages of the 2015 Copa America. This has left the council owned stadium in very good condition, where the price of an average ticket will set you back just £5.
In terms of our teams' facilities, everything is pretty solid. The senior teams training facilities are classed as good which, coupled with our professional status, should mean we see some improved development in players as a result of training then what we witnessed in Grenada. The youth facilities are not as impressive, currently sitting at adequate, and will be something that I will look to improve as soon as possible.
Our academy set-up is fairly basic and I am not expecting much in terms of our youth intakes with our junior coaching currently sitting at adequate and our youth recruitment at average.
As I have mentioned before the reason I like playing through these types of save, and using previously unplayable leagues, is that I get to experience competitions that I have never before participated in. That fact is not going to change with my move to South America as I now have two new domestic competitions to play in during this season.
The first is the aforementioned second division of Chile, the Campeonato Loto. The second domestic tier of Chile is currently ranked as the 21st best division in South America and consists of 16 teams who all play each other twice across the course of the season, for a total of 30 league games. Only the side finishing top receives automatic promotion to the top division of Chile, with the side placing second entering into a one-off playoff game. The side finishing bottom are relegated with the 15th placed team entering into a relegation playoff. The league campaign runs from February to November, so there will not be as much downtime as there was in Grenada, but there is also a midseason break, between June and July.
In terms of league rules there are a few that will limit my squad selection. Firstly only four foreign players are allowed to be registered in the squad at any one point and so it looks like I will be relying heavily on Chilean players. In addition, the match day squad must have at least two Under-20 players included who are then subsequently required to play 50% of the time played across the 30 league games, effectively forcing them to be used for 45 minutes each match.
The past few years have seen us come quite close to securing promotion with a third placing in 2020 and a 2nd place finish last year that ultimately ended in defeat in a playoff game. Amazingly, the past five sides who have won promotion to the top division have managed to remain there ever since, suggesting that if we can get ourselves back amongst the top division we could quickly develop some club stability.
I join the club midway through the 2023 season and things have not been going too well for O'Higgins. They currently find themselves in 9th place, having been predicted to finish second, and are way off the pace in terms of the promotion spots.
At the midway stage, Huachipato are looking favourites to return to the top tier as they have secured a nine point lead atop the division. Three sides are then locked in a battle for the second placed playoff spot but then the league becomes a bit congested, with just eight points separating the teams in 5th and 15th position.
The other competition that we will be participating in is the Copa Chile. This is the main domestic cup competition of Chile and runs from July until December. The tournament follows a very simple knockout format, with 32 teams entering the first round, and all games being played over two legs (home and away). The foreign and Under-20 player restrictions that apply in the domestic division are also applied in this cup competition.
The past few seasons have seen top division side Everton de Vina crowned cup champions. Prior to that, four different sides won the cup competition highlighting a theme that cup tournaments seem to be very open in FM games. It is worth noting that currently Campeonato Loto league leaders Huachipato finished as runners-up back in 2021, highlighting that they are a pretty big club.
Chilean Football:
The standard of domestic football in Chile is actually fairly good. The top domestic division is ranked the third best in South America, only behind the top leagues of Brazil and Argentina.
International football in Chile has endured some very recent success since I started this save. As you may recall, the national side actually managed to secure a first ever World Cup finals victory back in 2018 before then reaching the semifinals of the 2022 competition. In the most recent Copa America, held in 2019, the national team finished as runners-up after losing to Brazil on penalties in the final.
The senior squad is currently managed by Brazilian Emerson Avila, who recently took over for the retired world-cup winning boss Ricardo Gareca. They are currently ranked 9th in the world, having slipped a little following their ascent to number 2 in the rankings following their World Cup. The latest edition of the Copa America has just begun, and that will be the squads main focus for the remainder of this calendar year, but the next round of World Cup qualifying also begins at the end of this year.
Alexis Sanchez is still going strong at 34 years of age. The attacker now plays for Monaco and currently has 154 senior international caps. Fellow veteran and holding midfielder Charles Aranguiz, currently of Leverkusen, is still one of the countries best players. Of the younger generation coming through, the main man to watch is 23 year old regen attacking midfielder Franco Valenzuela who still plays in Chile but looks set for a big money move around anytime soon.
So that concludes my introduction to my brand new managerial position. I hope you are all excited to see something different in this save, as my primary aim for the coming seasons will be to gain promotion back to the top division of Chile. O'Higgins were a club who once held a grand stature in the country and I will be looking to restore some of that pride over the coming years.
My next update will introduce the current squad and take place during the midseason transfer window, meaning I will have some control over player adjustments and additions going into the final 15 games of the year.
Thanks again for all the likes and comments; I hope you will still be interested to read what happens as James Yates begins his life in South America!
Timetxu
Team: Roda JC
Managing: The University of Texas at El Paso
Love to see another manager in South America! Original choice of club!
7 hours ago, Timetxu said:
Thanks Timetxu!
I have managed in Uruguay before on a previous save but never experienced Chile so I am looking forward to it!
Update 52: June 2023 (Midseason Break)
Club: O'Higgins Fútbol Club
Division: Campeonato Loto
So, as I previously mentioned, I have joined my new club during the midseason break. This has worked out pretty well as it means I will have a month to get to terms with the squad, make a few additions and sort out a tactical system that fits with my liking. It also means I am able to write an update introducing you all to my new squad of players.
As you may remember, we are currently languishing in the lower half of the league following a disappointing first 15 games. It will be my aim to steer us away from any potential relegation fight and ensure that we are all set for a hopeful promotion challenge next season.
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BOARD ROOM:
Despite a fairly recent relegation from the top division of Chile, it would appear that O'Higgins are pretty well set from a financial standpoint. Our overall balance is currently £3.2 million which is pretty solid for a side in the second tier. This healthy financial situation means the board have handed me a very solid looking budget:
Having spent my first few years with Mount Rich focusing entirely on free agents I now have the financial power available to go out and sign some players. The transfer budget of £2.4 million is more than enough for a club at our level and, should it remain at a similar figure next year, I will be looking to splash the cash in an attempt to get back into the Chilean top division. We are also currently spending way under our wage budget meaning I have plenty of flexibility in terms of contracts that I will be dishing out to any new additions.
Board Objectives (2023)
Campeonato Loto - Top Half
Copa Chile - Reach the Second Round
Despite our poor start to the league campaign this year, there is still a possibility that I can turn things around and secure a top half finish for the club. The Copa Chile has not actually started just yet but our progress will likely depend on who we draw in the first round. If it is one of the bigger top division teams I do not expect us to make it through the opening stage but if we get a favourable draw, this objective should easily be achieved.
CLUB STAFF:
Despite being a professional club, I am actually going to have a smaller backroom staff than I did at Mount Rich in Grenada. Unfortunately, none of my staff members from my previous job wanted to follow me to Chile so I actually ended up keeping the majority of personnel in place from the previous regime.
Under-19 manager Luis Medina has been with the club, in the same role, since 2006 so there was no way he was leaving. Luis Flores Manzor has been the clubs assistant manager since 2019 and I decided to keep him around as he had a good knowledge of the clubs players already. I brought in a new Head of Youth Development in the form of Brazilian Valmir Kila, with this being the first professional job for the 44 year old.
We have a dedicated goalkeeping coach and one for fitness alongside general coat Fabiano who joins having most recently been the U20s manager of Fluminense de Feira in Brazil. Marcelo Sepulveda remains as the clubs physio having served in that role since 2017 and I hired a couple of Brazilian scouts to work alongside Chilean Jose Luis Munoz.
TRANSFERS:
The midseason break sees the transfer window open in Chile but teams are limited to just four signings so I could not really do much business. Some players did depart but I will refrain from mentioning them as we had not talked about them prior to this update. I did however decided to use my full allocation of signings and brought in four new faces for the final half of the year.
Despite my large transfer budget I refrained from spending big as my lack of knowledge of players coupled with the short amount of time available for scouting meant I took a more cautious approach.
All four of this players should be in or around the first eleven for the remainder of the season. The one who might be more on the fringes in Florindo. The 21 Brazilian regen was known by my new scouts and was available on a free transfer having spent the first few years of his professional career bouncing around the lower leagues of Brazil. The ballwinning midfielder has already played for three clubs but is fairly experienced, having racked up 153 senior appearances over six seasons. He has some room to grow but his low self-belief personality is unlikely to aid his development.
The second free signing we made was that of Gaston Varela. The 25 year old Argentinian is tackling-minded midfielder who looks set to play as an anchor man within our formation. He was, until very recently, contracted to Racing Club in the Argentinian top division but he failed to make a first team appearance, instead spending the past three seasons out on loan in the countries second tier. Since signing his player value has increased to £115k, suggesting that this addition could have been a very shrewd piece of business.
We signed another player on a free, albeit this one was currently at a club. Gustavo Mbombaj is another Argentinian who plays as a left winger/fullback and this move marks his first club outside of his home nation, having previously played for eight different sides in Argentina. The veteran has made 275 career league appearances and was most recently on the books of Ferro where he failed to make an appearance for the first team.
The final signing was that of Bryan Figueroa.
This guy I actually paid some money for, not a lot admittedly, but he looks like he could be a star for us. The 24 year old was transfer listed at Audax Italiano, a club he has been at for his entire career, in the Chilean top division and I was quick to snap him up for a very reasonable fee of £35.5k. He has shown he can play in the countries top league, highlighted by a 2022 season where he made 17 league appearances at an average rating of 6.93. He can operate in midfield or behind the forwards and has some very good attacking attributes including great finishing, dribbling, heading, passing and technique. He also has a driven personality, meaning he likely will get a bit better as training begins to kick in.
THE SQUAD:
Those were the new faces but it is now time to take a look at some of the players who were already here when I arrived and get a better look at the squad I will be using going forward.
So this is the squad that I will be utilising for the final 15 league games of the season and it is a bit of a mixed bag. The first thing to note is that the starting eleven is a bit on the elderly side. There are a number of 30+ year old veterans and a number of players just hitting their prime years but the lack of young, up and coming talent is a bit worrisome.
It is also worth noting that so many of these players are capable of playing in multiple positions and my assistant manager seems to have a differing opinion to myself with regards to the best place for each player to fit within the tactical scheme.
Goalkeepers: Just two goalkeepers in the main squad and both are 21 year old regens. They are very similar in terms of ability but I think I will start with Bernardo Orrego as the clubs first choice. The youngster has been with the club since 2018 but only made his professional debut this season having had three loan spells away prior to that. The other shot-stopper is Julio Sepulveda, a former O'Higgins youth academy product who has also spent time away on loan during his short career.
Bernardo Orrego attributes
Central Defenders: This is probably one of the weaker areas of our squad and one where we seemingly lack depth and rotational options. The star man amongst this group however is definitely 22 year old Juan Magana, one of our few solid youth academy players who have stuck around. The youngster has been a key man in the starting eleven over the past two seasons but is probably now playing below his level and that has attracted interest from elsewhere. If I can keep hold of him he will provide some quality to an otherwise uninspiring group of centre backs.
Behind him we have 30 year old veteran Diego Oyarzun, who actually spent four years in Estonia before heading back to Chile in 2022. He is a decent player but not really someone who I would like to be starting games. After that we have Tomas Alarcon, another who has spent his entire career at the club, but he had an awful season last time out finishing with a 6.55 average rating from 15 appearances. 18 year old Marco Medina looks a decent future prospect but he is yet to make his full debut.
Juan Magana attributes
Fullbacks: Our fullbacks also do not look overly brilliantly and already I am having worries about the strength of our defensive line. We have already mentioned new signing Gustavo Mbombaj, who is set to start on the left but opposite him is probably our best fullback, Gaston Zuniga. The 23 year old has been an O'Higgins player for his entire career but did spend a lot of time out on loan. He was the starting right fullback last year and averaged a decent raring of 6.97 across 23 league games, which suggests he is more than good enough for this level.
Oscar Tunessi is his likely back-up. The 20 year old Argentine was signed last season to a fairly hefty contract but has so far failed to settle, making just 11 first team appearances. We have another youngster in the form of youth academy product, 19 year old Lucas Osorio, who will be the primary back-up on the left flank.
Gaston Zuniga attributes
Central Midfielders: I will be again using a tactic that employs a number of central-based midfield players but until I settle on something I will group all these players here. We have already looked at the newly signed attacking threat Bryan Figueroa as well as anchor man Gaston Varela, both of whom look to be key fixtures in the starting eleven. Alongside them I will be using Claudio Sepulveda as a central player even though my assistant views him more as a right fullback. The 31 year old has been at the club for four seasons now and has been one of the most consistent performers over that period. Also likely to start is 26 year old Sebastian Galani, a ball-winning midfielder who joined back in 2018 and one who played in all 30 league games last year.
The primary rotation man will be the aforementioned new signing Florindo. Sebastian Silva is a veteran who looks set to be the primary defensive midfielder back-up whilst Bastian Araneda looks like a pretty good attacking option should we need some more offensive firepower in the middle.
Claudio Sepulveda attributes
Forwards: I think I will be rolling with two forward players this season and, whilst we do have some good options, we are lacking an out and out quality forward, with most of our frontmen being suited to multiple positions. The key man will likely be Ruben Farfan once he has returned to full fitness. The 31 year old Chilean has collected six Player of the Match awards this season in just 14 games and looks like one of the divisions top talents. Playing alongside him will likely be Carlos Villanueva, a new signing at the start of this year who previously played for Colo Colo in the top division. The 24 year old managed just three first team starts for his old club but seems to be doing well as a first choicer for ourselves.
Their primary backups will be a pair of youngsters in the form of poacher Manuel Cornejo and 6'6" targetman Claudio Ibarra. Ibarra was actually out on loan when I arrived but I recalled him after realising that he could be a real handful for defenders at this level.
Ruben Farfan attributes
Under 19s:
This is what the Under-19s squad currently looks like and there are not too many exciting prospects unfortunately.
Two players who do look like they could develop into useful assets are midfielders Gonzalo Fuentes and Marcos Nunez. Juan Jose Nunez is a slightly older forward but one that could grab some first team appearances this season whilst right fullback Dominik Brecht shares dual Chilean and German nationality.
I am not sure when the youth intake for Chile occurs but I will look to strengthen the youth side of the squad as soon as possible because right now we have not set ourselves up for a productive future.
This is the tactic that I will be using going into the new season. It is a slight variation on the one I used in Grenada with Mount Rich in that it adds a little more defensive solidity with the addition of an anchor man but the primary aim in attack is to still get midfielders running through the middle, looking for overlapping fullbacks on the wings. I felt the need for a change given that I was not going to be able to field three competent central defenders at this time and at least this allows me to get all my midfield talent on the park at one time.
Yet again, all players have been given individual player instructions that mainly allude to their shooting and dribbling likeliness as well as the risk taking associated with their passing. We will start of playing with an attacking mentality, since that has worked very well for me previously. I am using very similar team instructions to what I have used before and all are designed to get the fullbacks involved in the attacking play as much as possible.
I managed to fit in a trio of friendly fixtures during the short break and we actually played pretty well.
The first match saw us take on Colo Colo, from the division above us, and we played magnificently, romping to a 3-0 victory, thanks to two goals for new signing Bryan Figueroa. The last two fixtures saw us comfortably beat two lower division sides but the most pleasing aspect of these friendly performances was our solidity at the back. Considering I had highlighted the defensive line as our weakest area, we kept three clean sheets and are yet to concede a gaol since I took charge!
Copa Chile Draw
The Copa Chile starts in mid-July and the opening round of fixtures were drawn during the midseason break. I was hoping for a favourable tie that would allow us to reach the second round, and meet the board objective, but instead we received a tough match-up.
Colo Colo are currently in the top division of Chile, where they sit in 4th position. Despite beating them in a friendly game earlier on, I will be expecting a much tougher match-up in the cup and my hopes of making it into the second round are now a little bit lower than before.
It is unlikely that we will be receiving much in the way of international news for our players in this leg of the save but one exciting thing of note was that Juan Magana and goalkeeper Bernado Orrego will be representing Chile at the upcoming Pan American Games - which is a sort of mini-Olympics for the Americas. Orrego has one international Under-21 cap but Magana has not been involved with Chile at all so it will be a nice feeling for the both of them to represent their country.
That concludes a fairly lengthy update but, alongside my previous introduction to the club, you hopefully now have a grander idea of the job that I have taken on at O'Higgins. The cup and league games start very soon and I am very exciting to get going.
I hope you are all enjoying this next leg of my journey and lets hope it proves to be as successful as my time in Grenada!
Good luck in Chile, few players go there and, hopefully, you can achieve great things there
Best career on the forum
Thanks rodesire for your continued support. It is not somewhere that I have managed before so I am looking forward to the unknown. It will also be fun to play somewhere that I can win promotion!
On 17 July 2018 at 12:24, Pablo Sanchez said:
Thanks very much Pablo!
That is a very bold statement though! There are some absolutely incredible careers on here that have much better stories and are much further into the future than mine!
shizzo
Managing: Newcastle
how did you get the pan-am games? really enjoy the international aspect of this save
ClemB
My favorite thread on FM18, keep it up!
4 hours ago, shizzo said:
I used @claassen amazing Megapack Update. Not only does it add a number of unplayable leagues but it also introduces a whole host of competitions that would have previously not existed in the sandbox game. I would highly recommend download it if you have not done already.
I am pleased you have enjoyed the international side. I think I will stick with just a domestic side for a while but will look for a new international job at some point in the future - any continent that you would like to see me take on?
3 hours ago, ClemB said:
Thanks so much ClemB! I really appreciate it!
Hopefully I'll be able to keep this save going far into the future and I hope that you enjoy this South American portion.
Update 53: August & September 2023
Having recently taken up a new managerial position in South America it was time to get on with some meaningful fixtures. Although I joined O'Higgins midway through the season I was afforded a couple of months to organise the squad and signs few players given that I arrived during the countries midseason break.
This update will see us tackle the first few months of life in Chile; where we will be continuing our league campaign but also starting out on our Copa Chile journey. The quality of football in this league, despite it being a second tier, looks set to be much more competitive and of a higher level then what we experienced in Grenada so it will be interesting to see how we get on...
Campeonato Loto RESULTS:
Considering the club were languishing in mid-table obscurity when I joined, I was not expecting these kind of instant positive results.
We kicked off my O'Higgins career with a pair of exciting victories, defeating CD Naval in my first ever game before then thrashing Rangers de Talca at home in my next match in charge. We then maintained an unbeaten start with a 1-1 draw away to a strong Deportes Vallenar side before thumping second placed Palestino by a scoreline of 4-0.
We then defeated Coquimbo Unido thanks to a late winner followed by a boring scoreless drawn game. The next two fixtures saw us record a pair of very impressive victories, including a brilliant 1-0 home win against league leaders Huachipato. This euphoric high was unfortunately then squashed as we limped to a first defeat in the final game of September.
The most pleasing aspect of this run was our defensive performances, especially given that this was the weakest area of the squad when I joined. We conceded four goals in our first two fixtures but then went on an unbelievable defensive run, conceding just three times in the next seven games and keeping four clean sheets. In contrast we started out excellently in attack, scoring 14 goals in our first five games but then struggled a bit over the final few matches as teams became used to our tactual system.
Copa Chile RESULTS:
Alongside league fixtures, August also saw the start of the Copa Chile. This is the countries main domestic cup competition and one that sees all the top division and second tier sides take part in a standard knockout tournament, with all games played over two legs.
As you might recall, the first round would see us face off against top division side Colo Colo.
First Round: vs Colo Colo (Campeonato Nacional Scotiabank)
Colo Colo were sitting 4th in the nations top division when we played this fixture and are currently ranked as the second most reputable club in the nation.
The first leg saw us play at home in front of a 9,437 capacity crowd and I have no idea how we came away with a victory. Our superior opponents dominated throughout and had 13 shots in total but a solid defensive effort mean we were away to keep a clean sheet. Left fullback Gustavo Mbombaj played excellently at the back with central defender Diego Oyarzun also having a solid game. We scored the winner just before the halftime break, with forward Carlos Villanueva turning home a loose ball following a corner. This goal was actually our only shot on target that we had in the entire game but we managed to secure an amazing first leg victory!
The second leg saw us travel to Colo Colo where we played in front of a humungous 22,338 strong crowd. We set up a bit more defensively but yet again the home side dominated proceedings, having 19 total shots with 13 on target. Julio Sepulveda had an excellent game in between the sticks for us and we somehow managed to secure another clean sheet against this top Chilean side. Yet again, we only had one shot on target but it did not matter as we managed to get through to the second round despite being matched against one of the top sides in Chile.
Second Round: vs Universidad Catolica (Campeonato Nacional Scotiabank)
The second round saw us once again match up with another top division side in the form of Universidad Catolica. In comparison to Colo Colo our next opponents were not quite as strong, currently sitting in 12th in the top tier following some poor recent form.
The first leg saw us battle to a 2-1 victory at home. Carlos Villanueva smashed home from the penalty spot in the 19th minute following a push in the box. We then conceded just before halftime but managed to restore our lead almost instantly when Ruben Farfan smashed home a Gaston Zuniga cross with a powerful half volley. We held the majority of possession, at 54%, and had seven shots on target in comparison to our opponents one.
The second leg saw us romp to one of my most impressive victories to date as we scored a trio of away goals. Farfan added his second of the tie when he rifled home a knockdown header from Villanueva following some impressive team passing. We reached halftime leading the tie by a scoreline of 3-1 and ended the game with a couple of goals around the 70 minute mark. Farfan grabbed his second when he latched onto a superb through ball from Zuniga before sliding a finish under the onrushing keeper. Villanueva then ended the tie when he collected a cross field pass from Lucas Osorio before rounding the keeper and ensuring an impressive victory.
This excellent run of cup performances means we are now in the hat for the quarter finals!
Obviously these statistics are a reflection of the entire season, not just from my time at the club but thing are going pretty well recently. We currently have seven players who currently have an average rating of at least 7.0.
The star man since I joined has been new signing Bryan Figueroa (7.44). The attacking-minded midfielder has made nine appearances since I arrived and has been excellent, scoring three goals, collecting two assists, two Player of the Match Awards and playing 17 key passes.
In defence, the two starting fullbacks Gaston Zuniga (7.08) and Gustavo Mbombaj (7.07) has both been excellent with the former collecting five assists and both averaging at least 3.50 tackles/game. Young shot stopper Julio Sepulveda (7.03) has emerged as the most promising of our young goalkeepers, having played excellently during our cup run.
In midfield, Argentinian anchor man Gaston Varela (6.92) has made a solid start to his O'Higgins career whilst Claudio Sepulveda (6.90) and Sebastian Galani (6.88) have both been solid in the centre of the park.
Considering I thought our attackers were the weakest area of our side, both Reuben Farfan (7.25) and Carlos Villanueva (7.14) have been excellent. The later is the clubs leading scorer this season, having netted 14 times in his 28 appearances. Farfan started out as a winger this year but I have been playing him exclusively as a striker since I arrived and he now has six goals for the season to go alongside seven Player of the Match Awards.
When I joined, O'Higgins were languishing down in 9th position but our good run of form since I arrived has seen us climb to 6th position. With just six games left to play the league is still very closely contested and we are now just eight points off the top spot and five off second place; including a potential promotion playoff game. League leaders Huachipato are still favourites to go up but they have endured a poor run of form as of late and have seen their large lead atop the division cut down massively.
We are definitely safe from relegation but now we have a genuine chance to chase a promotion spot, something that I never thought would be achievable when I joined midway through this season.
In terms of other news there were some important tidbits from my first few months in charge.
Injuries have not been a major setback through my career thus far but we suffered a couple of important ones through the last month of this run. Brian Figueroa was injured in the first leg of our second round cup tie and then we also lost Ruben Farfan in the league game straight after. It is unsurprising that these two injuries coincided with our slip in attacking performances but hopefully, when these two return, we can get back to our goalscoring ways.
Youth Intake
September saw us receive our first youth intake for O'Higgins and we received a bit of a mixed bag.
There were a couple of decent prospects at the top but not a lot of depth at all. Felipe Hormazabal looks like he could develop into a solid midfielder whilst Carlos Lobos has the potential to be a decent central defender with some training improvements.
The main man that I am interested in though is Luis Soriano.
The 16 year old looks very decent and probably could get into the first team squad right away. He has a solid set of physical attributes with good pace and acceleration. His mental traits are actually pretty well developed for a youngster but it is his defensive technical attributes that are the most pleasing. The 6'1" central defender has excellent ratings for tackling and marking, with solid heading and looks to be a good defensive prospect for the future.
The final thing of note was the quarter final stage of the Copa Chile was recently drawn.
We received the toughest possible assignment as we got matched up with Universidad de Chile, the most reputable side in the whole of Chile and the currently league leaders of the countries top division. We played very well against Colo Colo in the first round but, admittedly, we did get very lucky and we will need a whole host of extra luck if we are to reach the semi finals of this tournament.
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Things have started really well in Chile thus far, with some very impressive league performances and an unbelievable cup run so far. Our new signings, especially Bryan Figueroa, have settled in well but we struggled with scoring through the final few games of the month and hopefully we can turn that around when Figueroa and Ruben Farfan return from injury.
I will be back soon with a final league update, where we have the chance to push for an unlikely promotion race that seemed unlikely when I joined back in June. We will also check out how I get on in the quarter finals of the Copa Chile, where we will have to face off against the top side in the entire country.
Thanks again for all your likes, comments and follows! I hope you guys are still enjoying the new leg of this save in Chile!
This is great stuff early on. I def like the best youngster of the intake, his technicals are class GL in the cup, looks like you'll need it
16 hours ago, rodesire said:
Thanks rodesire!
The youth intake was fairly decent, although I would have preferred some extra depth as we do not have much talent in the U19s at this point in time.
Update 54: October & November 2023
The last update saw James Yates kickstart his life in Chile with O'Higgins and we actually recorded some impressive results. Being able to have a month and a half (midseason break) to mould the squad slightly and determine a viable tactic definitely helped as we only lost the one league game whilst simultaneously going on a brilliant cup run that saw us defeat two top division sides in the opening two rounds.
This update will be the final one of this league season as we play through the final six league games of the Campeonato Loto whilst also taking part in the Copa Chile quarterfinals.
This run of games seemingly summed up the season for O'Higgins where they have drawn far too many games over the course of the year.
We kicked things off with a solid 1-1 draw away to a strong Santiago Morning side before record our second consecutive drawn game against San Marcos de Arica, where we let our opponents come back from a 3-1 advantage which was very disappointing. We made it a trio of drawn contests when we played out a boring scoreless fixture with Universidad de Concepcion. The final three games saw us turn things around as we ended the year with consecutive victories, including an impressive win against top half side Nublense.
With a few players returning from injury, on the whole, we found our goalscoring form once again as we netted 12 goals in these six fixtures. Defensively we were pretty solid but proved to be a bit of a mixed bag as we conceded seven times whilst only hanging two clean sheets.
The first and second rounds of the Copa Chile proved to be very successful for us as we defeated two top division sides (Colo Colo and Universidad Catolica) to ensure that we would progress to the quarterfinal stage. You may recall but here we drew the most reputable side in the whole of Chile, and currently top division leaders, Universidad de Chile and would need a whole lot of luck to make it through to the semi-finals.
Quarterfinal: vs Universidad de Chile (Campeonato Nacional Scotiabank)
This was by no means an embarrassment as we gave the countries top side a real run for their money across both legs but ultimately they proved too strong and we exit the competition.
The first leg saw us totally dominated. I tried to play on the counter but their players were far too physical and technically skilled for us and we struggled to create chances. They had 16 total shots throughout the contest but we did a good job of limited these to long range efforts or half chances as our organised defence and another fine performance by goalkeeper Julio Sepulveda limited our opponents to just one goal. The most notable O'Higgins moment came in injury time when Sebastian Galani became the first man to get sent off during my reign as he was awarded a second yellow for a cynical foul.
The second leg actually saw us play really well. We went for an all-out attacking approach in the first half and it paid off. Our opponents sat really deep and we created a whole host of chances but just could not find a way through. The best chance fell to Ruben Farfan who skewed a close range, half-volley onto the crossbar following an excellent right wing cross. Juan Magana also saw his header from a corner aromatically saved by the Universidad de Chile keeper as we grew frustrated with our lack of reward. The second half saw us handed another lifeline when our opponents had a man sent off but Magana was then penalised for a push in the area and the hosts took the lead from the spot.
This penalty seemed to knock the wind out of us and we struggled to create much in the closing stages despite the man advantage. Overall, a very pleasing performance against the top side in the country and another reflection that if we can get into the top domestic tier we should be able to compete.
We end the season with just seven players holding an average rating of at least 7.0, which is probably the lowest total I have had in my managerial career thus far. In fairness, most of these statistics were accumulated prior to my arrival and it will be interesting to see how we get on when I am in charge for the entire season.
Ruben Farfan (7.26) ends the year as the clubs best player. The raging forward finished with nine goals, four assists and helped create an astonishing 46 chances throughout the year. His nine Player of the Match Awards, in just 29 appearances, is incredibly impressive.
In defence, our fullbacks again proved very effective as both Gustavo Mbombaj (7.16) and Gaston Zuniga (7.02) ended the year with decent average ratings. Between them, the pair totalled 10 assists and Mbombaj in particular was effective in defence, averaging 4.41 tackles/game. Goalkeeper Julio Sepulveda (7.02) ended the year excellent and was the starter for all of our six cup games. Diego Oyarzun (6.83) was the best of the central defenders as he led the team with 95 defensive interceptions.
Our midfielders were a bit hit and miss but the star of the show was new signing Bryan Figueroa (7.20). The Chilean bounced back from his injury at the end of the last update and ended the season three goals, two Player of the Match Awards and 21 key passes played in just 15 appearances. All of our other midfielders were pretty solid but none played excellently and this could be an area of the squad I will look to improve next season.
In attack, Carlos Villanueva (7.19) responded excellently to me moving him to a deep-lying forward role as he ended as the clubs top scorer. The striker finished with 21 goals in his 36 games but also added seven assists and a team high 42 key passes, demonstrating his all-round importance to the side. Unsurprisingly, his performances have drawn interest from bigger clubs and it will be a priority for me to keep ahold of him going into next year.
Despite a lot of drawn fixtures to end the year we climbed one place in the league standings and finish the season in a respectable 5th position.
Huachipato bounced back from their poor form in the past update and finished atop the division, albeit only nine points ahead of ourselves. Deportes Vallenar will get to compete in a promotion playoff game having ended the season with a six game unbeaten run to overtake Palestino and end in second position. Deportes Valdivia finished rock bottom and will were automatically relegated whilst Coquimbo Unido will have to face a playoff game in order to avoid the drop.
Our 11 drawn games was the second most in the division, whilst a tie seemed to be a common result in the Campeonato Loto with four sides drawing at least 10 games throughout the year. Our +14 goal difference was actually the third best in the division, which gives me a bit of hope going into next season that are actually one of the better sides in this league and maybe just got a bit unlucky this year.
Not too much in terms of other news from these few months as we staved off any severe injuries.
The one bit of news worth reporting is that fact that Carlos Villanueva entered the O'Higgins record books. The Chilean forward scored all four of the goals in our final league game and, as it turned out, that was the most ever scored by an individual player in a league game for O'Higgins. Whilst not an overly impressive feat, it is something else for our top scorer to be proud of in a very good individual season.
So that concludes my final update of the season with O'Higgins. I will be back soon with another post reviewing this season just gone and then hopefully I can get stuck into a full preseason. The aim has to be promotion, we are clearly a good side and with the right additions we could be competing for one of those two spots this time next year!
I hope you are all still enjoying this save! I am obviously focusing solely on club management at the moment but would anyone want James Yates to get back into the international side of things?
Update 55: End of Season Review 2023
As you would have hopefully known from my last update I have successfully finished my first season in Chile. It was in fact just half a season, as I joined during the midyear break, but I am going to write a review anyway because it will hopefully give some insight into things moving forward.
I am going to cover our performances within the domestic league and cup competitions whilst also taking a deeper, more detailed, look at some of the players who starred this year.
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Campeonato Loto. Final League Position: 5th
Played: 30 (W = 13, D = 11, L = 6)
Goals Scored: 43, Goals Conceded: 29, Goal Difference: +14
Points Total: 50
When I joined the club back in June they were languishing in 9th position in the league and were in need of a serious revival. The midseason transfer window meant I was able to bring in some of my own players and also allowed me to install a tactical system of my choosing. All this led to some fine league performances and, after just 15 games in charge, I was able to lift the club to a respectable 5th placed finish.
Over the course of the year we actually only lost six games, one fewer than the league champions, but the main story throughout was too many drawn fixtures. Our 11 draws were the second most in the division and, considering we only finished nine points adrift of first place, if we had turned a few of these into victories this season might have been even better still.
Huachipato will be joined in the top division by Deportes Vallenar as they won their playoff fixture whilst at the other end Coquimbo Unido also won their playoff game meaning they remain in our league, with Deportes Valdivia are the only side relegated this year.
Copa Chile. Final Position: Quarterfinals
The final domestic competition that we partook in was the Copa Chile. This fairly straightforward knockout tournament sees each round played over two legs, a home game and an away game, with the aggregate winners advancing onto the next stage.
Amazingly, despite this cup containing some of the top teams in Chile, we were able to reach the quarterfinals after some very impressive performances. The first round saw us drawn against an impressive Colo Colo outfit from the countries top division and we somehow battled to a 1-0 aggregate victory. The second round saw us face off against Campeonato Nacional opposition again but we played some excellent attacking football and cruised through to the quarters.
Here we were drawn against Universidad de Chile, the most reputable side in the entire nation, and unfortunately our journey was ended as we failed to score a goal in either of the two legs.
This was a very magical cup run though and proved to be a great start to life in Chile. I am not expecting to compete for the title in this competition any time soon but a run such as the one we had this year would be very much appreciated next season.
We ended the year with a lowly seven players holding an average rating of 7.0 or higher, although some of these stats were acquired during the first half of the season when I was not present. Below are some key stats from my first year in Chile:
Carlos Villanueva emerged as a dangerous threat in the domestic competitions and finished as the clubs top scorer, with 21 goals throughout the course of the season. The next highest total was the 9 scored by Ruben Farfan but after that we struggled for goals from other sources.
The leading assist provider this season was also Carlos Villanueva, as the deep-lying forward tallied 7 assists in total. Fullbacks Gustavo Mbombaj and Gaston Zuniga were tied for second with 5 assists apiece.
Veteran forward Ruben Farfan ended the season with the most Player of the Match Awards, picking up a very impressive 9, whilst Carlos Villanueva ended the year with 4 of his own.
Back-up fullback Oscar Tunessi led the team with an impressive average of 4.63 tackles/game in his 16 appearances whilst central defender Diego Oyarzun collected a team-high 95 defensive interceptions.
All-time Best XI:
I obviously was not around prior to this season but this year saw central defender Juan Magana inducted into the O'Higgins all-time best XI. The central defender, who is a former youth product, has now made 72 appearances for the club and looks set to become one of the best players current at the club.
He joins a number of veterans who are still playing here including anchor man Sebastian Silva, attacker Ruben Farfan and midfielder Sebastian Galani. Club captain Claudio Sepulveda is named amongst the substitutes.
It is also interesting to see some of the other players utilised by the club during the earlier parts of this save. Gustavo Gotti is an Argentinian who played for six years with the club and one who netted 50 career goals whilst holding midfielder Alejandro Marquez, who totalled over 100 appearances, is now playing in the top division with Colo Colo.
PLAYER AWARDS:
1) Player of the Year: Ruben Farfan (ST) - 29 matches, 9 goals, 4 assists, 46 chances created, 2.62 dribbles/game, 9 PoM Awards, Ave Rating: 7.26
This veteran forward was identified a one of the clubs best players when I arrived and he had a stellar season. He made the move from winger to forward upon my arrival, which explains why his goal tally is not quite as high as one might expect. That being said he contributed enormously and ended up receiving a total of 9 Player of the Match Awards.
As you can see his attributes are a bit on the declining side but that was always going to happen given his advancing years. You might also notice that there is a fair amount of interest in him so it will be interesting to see if I choose to keep him around for next year, or cash in now before he regresses too much.
2) Defensive Player of the Year: Gustavo Mbombaj (LB) - 17 matches, 5 assists, 22 key passes, 4.41 tackles/game, 26 defensive interceptions, Ave Rating: 7.16
A free transfer during the midseason break, Gustavo Mbombaj proved to be a superb acquisition at the left fullback spot. He had five assists and 22 key passes whilst also being very solid on the defensive front, averaging the most tackles per game of all defenders in the starting eleven.
He is even older than Farfan but, as of yet, has not experienced any rapid decline in attributes. He fits the mould of fullbacks that I like to use; primarily attacking with good levels of crossing and dribbling. His physical stats are still up to the standard of this division and it is likely that we will see him return next year manning the left flank of our formation.
3) Midfield Player of the Year: Bryan Figueroa (CM) - 15 matches, 3 goals, 2 assists, 21 key passes, 72% pass completion, Ave Rating: 7.20
Another player who I managed to sign during the midseason break was Bryan Figueroa. The £35k fee paid was actually the highest of my managerial career thus far but it proved worth it as the young Chilean was excellent in his attacking playmaker role. He demonstrated an all-round solid gameplay and became integral to our attacking movements, playing 21 key passes and chipping in with a trio of goals.
He has some outstanding traits for this level, with solid physicals and some of the best technicals in the squad. His his ratings for dribbling, finishing, passing and technique make him an attacking threat that is probably a bit too strong for the standard of football that we currently play. He is under contract for next year and, withstanding any changes, he will definitely be returning next season.
4) Attacking Player of the Year: Carlos Villanueva (ST) - 36 matches, 21 goals, 7 assists, 42 key passes, 29 chances created, 4 PoM Awards, Ave Rating: 7.19
The attacking player of year is easily Carlos Villanueva. I pushed him further up the field from his attacking midfielder position and utilised him as a deep-lying forward in our tactic and it worked excellently. The 24 year old Chilean netted an impressive 21 goals throughout the course of the year but also provided seven assists to go alongside a team-high 42 key passes, highlighting his dual asking and scoring threat.
He is another who has a very well-rounded set of attributes. His physicals are very solid with his pace, acceleration and agility making him a handful for opposition defences. I love that he has the 'attempts overhead kicks' trait - not that I have seen him score one just yet, but it makes him even cooler still. Although he is not an out and out striker, I will definitely be giving him second season leading the line following his breakout year with me this time around.
5) U21 Player of the Year: Julio Sepulveda (GK) - 12 matches, 11 goals conceded, 4 clean sheets, 42 saves, Ave Rating: 7.02
It was not easy to pick a winner for this award as not many of my youngsters played well. Then again, we do not seem to have many younger guys in the first team squad at all so just finding someone who would qualify for this award was a bit of a stretch. In the end I decided to give the prize to young goalkeeper Julio Sepulveda. He was not actually my first choice when I joined but some excellent performances in the domestic cup saw him inherit the first team gloves and he ended the season excellently, conceding less than one goal per game.
My assistant manager reckons he has some room to grow in terms of development but he also needs more game-time to get those mental up, which at this point are not amazing. Everything else is pretty solid and he has impressive ratings for agility and handling which are important. At this point in time, Sepulveda is probably the main candidate to be the clubs number one next year but I will definitely be having a shop around for a shot stopper so he may well end up getting replaced.
Nothing much else to report on from this season I'm afraid. We adapted to my playing style much quicker than I had anticipated and we actually put together a decent run of results during the second half of the league season. The cup run was a very unexpected surprise but one that meant we eventually reached the quarterfinals and brought in some extra monetary funds thanks to tv rights.
I am looking forward to having a full offseason to work with but the squad registration limit of four foreign players might prove a bit tricky with regards to bringing in new signings. The aim for next year has got to be one of the top two promotion places and I think that is achievable, especially given that we were not too far off this year!
Thanks again for all your support. I will be back again soon with an update covering all my preseason transactions and dealings, of which there will hopefully be many! In the meantime I was looking at international vacancies but there were none that interested me to be honest, save maybe Kazakhstan?
So I am currently playing through my first full preseason with O'Higgins and I thought it would be a good time to remind everyone exactly who my new club side are as we prepare for the upcoming season.
I took over this role midway through last year, following my resignation with the Kenya national team and then with Mount Rich in Grenada, where I had been for almost seven years. Last year saw me take charge for the final half of the domestic season and we played pretty well, a fact that has already started rumours suggesting we should be pushing for a promotion spot this time around.
Before we get stuck into my preseason actions, I would like to re-introduce you all to O'Higgins Fútbol Club.
Club Background:
O'Higgins Fútbol Club are a profesional club based in the South American country of Chile. Situated in the central city of Rancagua, O'Higgins were founded back in 1955 and they have spent their time developing an extensive footballing history. They have won the Chilean second division on two previous occasions but, most impressively, they won the top league of Chile back in 2013 with a single Chilean Cup victory then following in 2014.
As you may recall, the club have endured some tough times since then. In 2017 the club were still playing in the top division of Chile and actually managed to secure a 3rd place finish. This was followed in 2018 with a 4th placing but then they experienced a disastrous year next and time around which ultimately ended in relegation to the countries second tier. Unfortunately, the club have found it very difficult to get themselves back into the top division, having now remained in the second tier for the past four seasons.
Despite their recent struggles, O'Higgins are still one of the most recognisable clubs in the second division and hold a 2 star, national level rating in terms of reputation.
O'Higgins play their home matches in the 15,533 all-seater El Teniente stadium. The ground has a bit of footballing history behind it as it was actually used as a venue for World Cup fixtures back in 1962 and a recent rebuild saw it used once again as part of the 2015 Copa America. The council owned stadium remains in a very good condition but the pitch could probably do with re-laying, as it currently sits at OK.
In terms of other facilities, I have been busy requesting improvements and fortunately the board were more than happy to accept! The youth training facilities will remain at adequate but I was able to secure funding to improve our senior training facilities, which means they will increase from their current good level. Most pleasing was the improvements to both the youth recruitment, which is now at an above average level, and to the junior coaching, which is now at good.
Squad registration rules mean that we have to rely heavily on Chilean players and hopefully, with a few upgrades, our youth intakes will start to improve and provide us with an easy way to recruit talented domestic players.
Having moved from the Caribbean to South America last season, I now have a whole host of different domestic competitions to contend with.
The first that we will be taking part in is the Campeonato Loto. Hopefully you will all remember this competition from earlier as it is our main league tournament. It is essentially the second tier of football in Chile and is currently ranked as the 21st best division in South America. It consists of 16 teams who all play each other twice across the course of the season, for a total of 30 league games. Only the side finishing 1st receives automatic promotion to the top division of Chile, with the side placing second entering into a one-off playoff game. The side finishing bottom are relegated with the 15th placed team entering into a relegation playoff. The league campaign runs from February to November but there is also a midseason break, between June and July.
In terms of league rules there are a few that will limit my squad selection. Firstly only four foreign players are allowed to be registered in the squad at any one point and so it looks like I will be relying heavily on Chilean players once again. In addition, the match day squad must have at least two Under-20 players included who are then subsequently required to play 50% of the time played across the 30 league games, effectively forcing them to be used for 45 minutes each match.
Our 5th place finish last season was actually a step backwards with regards to what we achieved in 2022, when we finished in second place. Both the sides who won the league the past two years managed to remain in the top division the year following, demonstrating that there is not a huge gap between the sides in the league above and ourselves. The hard part is gaining promotion given that only one team is granted an automatic spot.
We actually managed to reach the quarterfinals of this competition last year and, given that six different teams have won the Copa Chile in the past seven years, it looks as though these tournament is a bit of a free-for-all. Some of the top teams seem to play weaker sides and therefore this competition becomes far more open and I would love a repeat of our impressive cup run, from last year, this time around.
The standard of domestic football in Chile is actually fairly good. The top domestic division is ranked the third best in South America, only behind the top leagues of Brazil and Argentina. The best side in the country are Universidad de Chile, the team who knocked us out in the quarterfinals of the cup last year. They have won the top league an astonishing 16 times, including three title victories in a row over the past three seasons. Their closest rivals are probably Colo Colo but they finished 5th last year and have not won a full league crown since 1998.
As you may recall, international football in Chile has endured some excellent results since I started this save as the nation won the 2018 World Cup before then reaching the semifinals of the 2022 competition. The 2023 Copa America saw the national side defeat Brazil in the Third Place Playoff to record another impressive tournament performance. At this point they had climbed back up to 7th in the world rankings but since then things have unravelled.
They have recently begun the CONMEBOL qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup and things have gone appallingly.
Defeats against Brazil, Colombia and Argentina as well as a draw with Ecuador have seen the nation get off to a terrible start in attempting to qualify for the next World Cup. I am not really sure what is going wrong but hopefully it is just down to a tough opening schedule and they should be able to get back on track when they face some of the 'easier' teams.
That being said the squad is now definitely on the elderly side, with nine members being at least 30 years old. Alexis Sanchez is still going but he is on the decline at the age of 35 and with no real superstars coming through, it looks like the golden age of Chilean football could well be done and dusted...
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So that concludes my reintroduction to life in Chile with O'Higgins. It looks as though this year could be the one where we make a real push for a long awaited promotion but with just one automatic spot available we are going to have to be at our very best throughout!
I will be back soon with a preseason update where I will cover any new additions to the squad and have a look at the slight change of tactic that I will be implementing this coming season. I hope you are all still enjoying this side of the story and hopefully I will get to experience a promotion for the first time in this save sometime soon!
Update 56: Preseason 2024
Having joined my new club side back in June 2023, I never really had time to organise things the way I wanted them. Granted I did get to play through a midseason break, which allowed me to install a new tactic and make a few additions to the squad but this full preseason would allow me to really start moulding things in my image.
This update will take a look at the staff members, transfer activity, squad overview and friendly results as I take O'Higgins into the 2024 season. The aim for this year is to make a solid promotion push and we definitely have the tools to do so!
Despite being stuck in the second division of Chile for quite a while now, the financial side of things at O'Higgins is all fairly positive. I was able to request facility upgrades (see previous update) and over overall club balance is still good, with £2.2 million in the bank. This healthy financial outlook means the board have, once again, handed me a very solid looking budget:
Both of these figures are similar to what I inherited last year and both are far more than I am probably likely to need. I have not had such a large transfer budget at my disposal for a while but I am always reluctant to spend money without scouting a player properly. I view myself as more of a low-risk taker, signing free agents and negating the financial risk associated with signing players from other clubs. That being said, maybe I should look to use the financial backing I am being given to develop a squad that should totally blow away the competition in this league.
Campeonato Loto - Reach the Playoff
Having spent just half a season in charge the board are already pilling on the pressure and expect us to finish in the top two for this upcoming season. Whilst that is also an aim that I would like to achieve, it is likely going to be easier said than done given the small gap in quality between many sides in the Campeonato Loto. In terms of the Copa Chile, the board would like us to at least win our first round matchup, a feat we did manage to achieve last year.
I spent a bit of time in the offseason attempting to upgrade the clubs backroom staff. Whilst most of the personnel here were of higher quality than those I had utilised in Grenada with Mount Rich, I felt like there were a number of positions that could be upgraded further and this led to a number of new hirings.
Assistant manager Luis Flores Manzor kept his job, having been with the club since 2019 but I hired a new Head of Youth Development in the form of Chilean national Claudio Munoz. The new man has a determined personality which I hope will rub off on the new young players that he manages to bring through in September.
I also hired a trio of new coaches, all Argentinians, in the form of Walter De Lemos (goalkeeping), Gaston Biain (fitness) and Norberto Batista (general). All three have exceptional attributes and should bolster the training effects of our squad with Batista, the former assistant manager at Boca Juniors, especially looking like an excellent addition.
The physio and scouting departments remain the same from last season.
Now we can get on tot he exciting stuff, the transfers.
(Out)
We will start my looking at the players who left the club and a quick glance over these lists reveals that some prominent first teasers from last year departed.
In terms of those released on a free, the only two of note are Sebastian Silva and Tomas Alarcon, with the others all being failed youth players. Silva operated as our back-up anchorman last year but his advancing years, 33 years old, meant that he was allowed to leave. He has since retired and is currently looking for work as a Head of Youth Development. Alarcon was a back-up central defender who appeared in just five league games last season. He has, weirdly, since joined Deportes Vallenar in the top division but I cannot envision him getting much playing time.
In addition to releasing players we also sold a few. First off was Argentinian fullback Gustavo Mbombaj, who was one of the better players from last year and one I signed during the midseason break. The 32 year old became a victim of my foreign player limit and unfortunately I had to let him go, which I am hoping is not a massive mistake. We also allowed back-up right fullback Oscar Tunessi to depart. The Argentine was never going to be registered as one of our four foreign players and was getting paid way too much so he was also allowed to leave on a free.
The final two departures could turn out to be massive losses. Firstly we allowed Bryan Figueroa to leave for Everton de Vina in the countries top tier. I had signed the advanced midfielder midway through last season and he had an excellent few moths with the club but unfortunately his form attracted a lot of interest from higher ranked sides. As soon as offers started coming in he became very adamant that a move away was what he wanted and eventually I settled for selling him for double what we paid six months ago.
The final player out was last years Player of the Season, Ruben Farfan. The ageing forward drew lots of interest and when Oriente Petrolero, from Bolivia, came in with a £140k bid I could not turn it down. Granted, this might have been a huge mistake but I decided to cash in on a player who's attributes were already starting to decline. The veteran ended the league campaign with an average rating of 7.30 last year and he will definitely prove difficult to replace.
It is not all doom and gloom though as I ended up signing nine new replacements who I am very excited about.
Lets start with the bad first. I signed 30 year old Brazilian fullback Raphinha right at the start of the window and he looked to be a solid addition. Unfortunately, my temptation for foreign players took over and he became the odd man out in terms of squad registration meaning he currently cannot play in league fixtures and I am looking to source him loan move, otherwise he might be released straight away!
I signed a pair of 18 year old Brazilians in the form of central midfielders Anderson and Albano Colachequi. Both have substantial potential and will play in the U19 squad this season where they can hopefully develop and then potentially contribute to the first team in the future. I also signed Gonzalo Candia, a 29 year old attacking midfielder who played in the league below ours last year. He should operate as a fairy reliable back-up option in the midfield. I also grabbed Gerson Godoy from Barnchea in the league below us. The 18 year old Chilean defensive midfielder looks like an excellent prospect for the future and he will likely be heavily involved in first team affairs this coming season.
Then came the more exciting additions. Late in the window I picked up Ivan Sandoval on a free transfer.
The 28 year old signed a cheap contract and, whilst not as talented, he should provide a solid replacement in the starting eleven for the departed Bryan Figueroa. Sandoval has played his entire career with Cobresal in the Campeonato Loto where he made 208 appearances and averaging a solid rating of 6.98 last year.
We also brought in a new fullback in the form of 27 year old Dilan Zuniga.
The versatile defender, who can operate on either the left or right flank joined from top division side Addax Italiano where he had made just two first team appearances the previous season. He will likely compete for the starting job on the right flank but has a set of attributes that look really adept to the tactical approach that we want to play.
We then ended up spending some money, albeit not very much, as we signed Brazilian forward Rhuan.
The young poacher had spent the past three seasons on loan in Armenia, of all places, where he managed to score 22 goals in the countries top division. He hopefully now has found a permanent home, leading the attacking line for us in Chile, and he looks set to operate as a prototypical poacher. He lacks height, and any ability in the air to be honest, but he has the pace, dribbling and finishing required to be a threat in this league.
Finally, I spent my largest feee of this save yet to bring in 18 year old fullback Luis Schoonewolff.
The Venezuelan has played a few times for his U21 national side and joins us from his native country. He played 32 times in the Venezuelan second division last year and looks set to take over from the departed Gaston Mbombaj on the left flank for us this year. He has some insane physical traits for a youngster and now just needs to up the technical aspects of his game and he could become a real threat on the wing.
So those are the new faces but there are plenty of the old guard still around so it is time to take a look at the squad going forward into this new season.
So, after one full offseason in charge, this is the squad that I will be utilising this year. I am pretty happy with how things have turned out and we seem to have a capable starter at all positions, along with some solid depth options. The starting eleven is a lot younger than it was at the end of last year as we now have just one player over the age of 30.
We also have a number of U20 players who will be in and around the first eleven which means I should have no probably hitting my league quota for minutes played regarding these individuals.
Goalkeepers:
Just two goalkeepers in the main squad and both are 22 year old regens. They are very similar in terms of ability and I think I will start with Bernardo Orrego as the clubs first choice. He was actually outplayed by the other shot stopper, Julio Sepulveda, at the end of last season but the later was injured for much of preseason and Orrego impressed in his place. I would not be surprised if these guys are swapped out for one another a lot as the season progresses though.
Central Defenders:
Having been unable to find many 'traditional' central defenders during this transfer window, I have gone with a slightly different approach this year and will be utilising some of my defensive-minded midfielders as defenders instead. The best out-and-out centreback is definitely 23 year old Juan Magana, a former youth academy product. I was able to retain him following some strong transfer interest and he will be a key cornerstone in defence this season.
Alongside him I will be playing Claudio Sepulveda and Gaston Varela. Both these guys operated in midfield last year but they look equally capable of playing as central defenders. New youth product Luis Soriano already looks good enough for the first team and he will definitely get some gametime this season. We also retained veteran backup Diego Oyarzun and 19 year old Marco Medina, a decent future prospect who made his professional debut last season.
Fullbacks:
Our fullbacks are probably the most improved group from last season as we brought in two new starters in the form of Luis Schoonewolff and Dilan Zuniga. Our other right fullback is the talented Gaston Zuniga, the 24 year old who has been an O'Higgins player for his entire career. He was the starter last year and averaged a decent raring of 7.02 across 22 league games, which suggests he is more than good enough for this level. Former youth academy product, 19 year old Lucas Osorio, will be the primary back-up on the left flank.
Midfielders:
With some slight changes to the position that players will be operating in, we have a bit of a new look for the central midfield this season. Florindo, our young Brazilian ball-winner who joined midway through last year will likely be promoted to permanent starter alongside Chilean veteran Sebastian Galani, who had a very solid year last time out. New signing Ivan Sandoval will likely operate in the more advanced attacking role with his primary back-up being fellow signee Gonzalo Candia.
We also have new signing Gerson Godoy who will play in the centre and looks to be a very decent youth prospect whilst Bastian Araneda returns from last year as the attacking-minded rotation man in midfield. Given that some of our defenders can also operate in midfield and we look set to have a number of different options for the centre of the park this time around.
I likely will be rolling with two forward players again this season and I am quite excited to see how the partnership between new signing Rhuan and last seasons top scorer Carlos Villanueva pans out. Both these guys are just 24 years of age and look set to become a devastating attacking pairing for years to come.
Their primary backups will be a pair of youngsters in the form of poacher Manuel Cornejo and 6'6" targetman Claudio Ibarra. Ibarra in particular looks like an intriguing prospect and I am hoping I can mould him into a similar role to how I used Michael Olunga during my time with the Kenyan national side.
This is what the U19 squad currently looks like and, it is safe to say, we do not have too many exciting prospects.
One position that we do seem to have some talent in actually is in central midfield. The two newly signed Brazilian prospects, Anderson and Albano Colachequi, team up with some decent looking Chilean nationals to form a solid midfield unit. 16 year old Felipe Hormazabal and 18 year old Marcos Nunez look to be very decent prospects whilst 17 year old Gonzalo Fuentes seems to fit into a more attacking role. The two forward, Orlando Rodriguez and Francisco Morales both look fairly handy but the rest of the squad is lacing any real talent.
I did try and sign some youth players from other teams but clubs were asking ridiculous prices for very average youngsters. Instead I am going to hold out for a strong youth intake this season, which I am hopeful of since we secured some facility improvements and added a new HoYD this offseason.
With the introduction of some extra players to play in central defence, I am going to be switching tactic slightly and utilising the one that I had so much success with during my time at both Mount Rich and Kenya.
The my focus of this tactic is for the midfield three to work the ball into the box but when this fails, or the opposition sets up too narrow, we look for the overlapping fullbacks who are then instructed to hit early crosses into the area. This formation worked wonders during my previous job managerial roles and resulted in a lot of goals scored. We will again be playing with an attacking mentality and a fluid team shape whilst utilising similar team instructions to those I have used in the past.
The majority of players are once again given individual instructions, mainly influencing their willingness to dribble, shoot and play risky passes. I am hoping that I can continue the success of this set-up here in Chile following some very successful results elsewhere on my managerial career. The main concern is in the centre of midfield, where we can sometimes get overrun, and it seems looks of club sides here like to play with three players in the middle (or at the minimum a midfield pairing and a defensive midfielder) which could cause us some problems.
That being said, the tactic seemed to work wonders in the preseason as we romped to six straight victories.
We actually played some decent sides during this run including San Luis de Quillota from the division above us and San Antonio Unido from our current league. We also faced off against a solid Argentinian side in the form of Independiente Rivadavia but we proved too strong for all three of these and cruised to victories.
As expected, the tactic was devastating in terms of attacking success and we scored a remarkable 20 goals in this short run. Also as probably expected, it led to some massive defensive frailties and we managed just one clean sheet, which might mean that I need to make some subtle changes prior to the league season starting.
Not too much to report on in terms of other news from this offseason but we did get hit by a bit of an injury bug!
Injuries:
We kicked things off by losing Rhuan, Julio Sepulveda and Gaston Zuniga to small knocks, meaning the trio failed to complete a full offseason programme and whilst they will be available come the start of the league fixtures, they may be lacking a bit of match sharpness.
We then lost the above three players to slightly bigger injuries and all of these guys will definitely miss the first league games. Bastian Araneda suffered a concussion in a friendly fixture and the rotational man looks set to miss the first few games. He was quickly joined on the sidelines by Ivan Sandoval, as the newly signed attacker twisted his ankle in training.
The biggest blow though was to top scorer Carlos Villanueva. The forward twisted an ankle in the penultimate friendly fixture and now looks set to miss the first month of league action, which is a huge blow to our title credentials.
So that concludes a long offseason programme for me at O'Higgins and it is time to start playing through my first full season in Chile. The board expect a promotion challenging campaign and, whilst I would too love that, I have to be realistic and acknowledge that that is likely to be tough, especially if our new tactic fails and we continue to get hit by injuries.
I will be back soon with a first league update of 2024 where I will be going to get off to a good start and continue our fine preseason form. Thanks again for all the support, hope you guys are still enjoying this read!
Love new signings, love the write-up. You look set for a promotion tilt at least.
5 hours ago, rodesire said:
Thanks again for your continued support rodesire!
We are definitely set for a promotion push but this league looks very competitive and could cause us some issues!
Update 57: February & March 2024
Division: Campeonato Loto
After a short, fairly productive offseason we get started with the new league campaign. The Chilean league season begins in February and runs all the way through to the start of November, so things are pretty busy here all the time.
This update will cover how we get on in the early stages of the Campeonato Loto and, with the Copa Chile not starting till after the midseason break, this competition will be my sole focus for the time being. The media are predicting us to easily top the division and the board are expecting a playoff spot as a minimum, so the pressure is on to see if James Yates can manage a club outside of the Caribbean.
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Although the Chilean transfer window had closed we were still able to sell players to clubs from abroad.
One name who I had been trying to ship since the start of this season was fullback Raphinha. The 30 year old Brazilian had joined the club in January but missed out on the final squad registration due to my foreign player limitations. Despite only being with us for three months, and never playing a competitive game, we were able to sell the veteran for a fee of £38k, potentially rising to £47k. Not a bad bit of business I think!
Enough of other news, lets crack on with some league results!
Not a terrible start to the league season, as we ended March on a seven game unbeaten run.
We had a shocking opening day as we fell to a crushing defeat at home to Deportes La Serena, a rather unremarkable side but one that made us look pretty average. We followed up this humiliating loss with a 2-2 away draw against a Union Espanola side who had come down from the top division, throwing away a two goal advantage and meaning we collecting just one point from our first two games.
We responded very well though, going on a run of three straight victories, including a very impressive 3-0 away win against a talented Palestino side. We did record a poor 0-0 draw midway through March but then ended the run with a pair of victories, including a 3-2 away win against another relegated side in the form of Curico Unido.
Our attacking tactic, the one I had used previously in Grenada and with the Kenyan national team, worked a treat in terms of going forward and we record an impressive tally of 18 goals scored. Defensively we were a bit of a mixed bag, recording three clean sheets but then conceding 10 goals in the other five contests.
This is the first time that the O'Higgins statistics reflect solely my influence at the club, having joined midway through the league year last time out. Some good performances to start the year have seen eight of our players hold a rating of at least 7.0.
One man has stood out amongst the rest so far this year. Newly signed Brazilian forward Rhuan (8.08) has been an absolute revelation up top and has scored 11 goals in just eight league appearances. His four Player of the Match Awards are easily the most in the squad and the youngster has quickly become one of the most efficient forwards in the division.
Defensively, another new signing has been impressing. Right fullback Dilan Zuniga (7.26) has had a great start to his O'Higgins career, providing a pair of assists alongside 15 key passes played and 22 crosses connected. The other most impressive defensive player thus far has been Luis Soriano (7.23). The youth academy product from last season has been inserted into the starting line-up and has played brilliantly, leading the way with 24 defensive interceptions. Argentinian defender Gaston Varela (7.03), who played in midfield last year, has been solid in his new role whilst young Venezuelan fullback Luis Schoonewolff (6.95) has had a good start to his career. Goalkeeper Bernardo Orrego (7.00) has retaken the first eleven goalkeeper spot after some impressive performances to start the year.
Our midfielders have not been overly impressive although Sebastian Galani (7.05) has been the top player, playing 15 key passes thus far. Brazilian ball-winner Florindo (6.95) has also been fairly solid and is averaging an impressive 4.39 tackles/game.
Rhuan has obviously been the superstar in attack but he has been effectively supported by youngster Claudio Ibarra (7.57). The 6'6" targetman has proved to be a real handful for opposition defenders and leads the team in chances created, with 12. The 20 year old has scored two goals, and provided another two, whilst playing the supporting role alongside the Brazilian. Carlos Villanueva (7.18) has been a bit limited in terms of first team performances having recently returned from injury but he has already collected four assists from his four league appearances.
Our solid start to the new league season sees us end March atop the Campeonato Loto!
We are one of five sides in the league who have lost just one game but, unlike last year, we have managed to avoid the huge number of drawn games that seem to plague the division. Our five victories are the most in the division and we currently hold a two point lead ahead of Santiago Morning, whilst we are then four points ahead of third placed Deportes La Serena.
In the whole division there have already been 18 drawn fixtures, with newly relegated side Union Espanola proving the biggest affected having drawn six of their opening eight games. We also have the best goal difference, +8, at this early stage and if we can sort out our defensive inconsistencies then we could potentially remain atop the division for a while longer!
Not too much in terms of other news following the early transfer outgoings.
Squad Dynamics
We did have a bit of squad unrest early on in the league campaign as Claudio Sepulveda demanded a transfer. The midfielder turned central defender caused a lot of problems with regards to squad dynamics as he got a lot of the other players to support his campaign for a move away. At first I was reluctant but when other players started to get involved I decided to give him what he wanted. We finalised a deal with Nublense in our division but Sepulveda then rejected personal terms, meaning he is now still in our squad, constantly moaning about not being able to move away.
I then decided to relegate him to training with the U19 squad and he has not made a first team appearance since opening day. Luckily, everyone else in the squad seems to have forgotten about him and our recent fine form has restored morale.
Following a flurry of injuries during the preseason we were once again unable to stave off the injury bug.
Firstly we lost two fullbacks, with back-up right back Gaston Zuniga suffering a severe twisted ankle and then Venezuelan Luis Schoonewolff dislocating his jaw during a league fixture. This massively dented our wide play and at one point we had just one fully fit fullback but luckily they are back to full fitness.
We then suffered another huge blow late in March when Carlos Villanueva, who had just returned from a preseason knock he picked up, went own with a double hernia. Our key man from last year will again miss another run of league fixtures and, even this early on, it is looking like this might be a troublesome season for the attacking star.
Mount Rich
I have not reported much on Mount Rich since I moved to Chile but I noticed one very exciting piece of news from my former Grenadian club.
As you might recall, I won the CFU Club Championship during my last action with Mount Rich and that title victory meant the club qualified for the next edition of the CONCACAF Champions League. That tournament has only just begun and, in the opening round, my former club recorded one of the best results in their history. In the first leg they managed a 1-1 draw against MLS side New York City thanks to a goal from Kyle Thomas.
Granted they did lose the second leg 3-0 but this was an excellent performance and it is pleasing to see my old side still doing well.
So that concludes my first two months of the new league season with O'Higgins. Our attacking play has been impressive and led to a league-high goal difference which has aided us in reaching the top of league at this early stage.
There is still a very long way to go but things are looking positive early on as we push for a possible promotion chance. I could do with avoiding the injury curse as the season progresses. We do have some depth but if we keep suffering big injuries to major players then ur league form will unlikely be able to be maintained.
Update 58: April & May 2024
A fine start to the league season in Chile saw us top the division following five victories in our first eight games. We managed to put together some very impressive attacking displays but a number of injuries had dented our form slightly and led to growing inconsistencies in terms of performances.
With the midseason break fast approaching, we had two months until the halfway stage of this new league season, my first full year in charge of O'Higgins. This update will cover the league results from those two months and look at the player performances for this season as a whole.
We were successful in maintaining our unbeaten run but the curse of the Chilean draw struck us hard as we tied four of our seven league games. I have mentioned previously that this league seems to produce a high proportion of drawn games in comparison to other leagues I have played in and in fact, drawing too many games was our downfall last year. Up until this point we had successfully avoided too many ties contests but at one point we drew four consecutive fixtures resulting in a lot of lost points.
We kicked the month of April off with a superb 4-0 drubbing against a struggling Coquimbo Unido side before our run of drawn contests took over. Firstly we failed to score against mediocre Independiente team despite dominating the contest before we then drew 1-1 against a Santiago Morning team who were battling at the top of the division. Our next two fixtures saw us record another two score draws against a pair of top-half teams. We ended May back on track with a 4-1 home victory over CD Naval before only just managing to overcome a Rangers de Talca side who were right at the foot of the league table.
Our attacking form from the previous months failed to continue and although we did score 13 goals, eight of them came over the course of just two matches. Defensively we were actually pretty good, conceding just five goals over this run of seven fixtures, but we were unable to keep clean sheets when it mattered the most!
At the midway stage of the season we have an impressive nine players who hold an average rating of at least 7.0.
The best performer again is newly signed forward Rhuan (7.47). The young Brazilian was unable to maintain the blistering scoring pace that he started out the league season with but he has still been superb and currently has 14 goals in just 15 appearances to go alongside a team-high four Player of the Match Awards.
Defensively our fullbacks have been very impressive. Injuries have meant that both right fullbacks, Gaston Zuniga (7.13) and Dilan Zuniga (7.13) have got plenty of playing time opposite left-sided Venezuelan Luis Schoonewolff (7.12). The trio between them have contributed nine assists whilst Schoonewolff leads the team with 24 crosses connected. In the middle of the defence, last seasons youth academy product Luis Soriano (7.11) has been excellent in his debut season, collecting 40 defensive interceptions and scoring his first professional goal. Goalkeeper Bernardo Orrego (7.03) has had a solid season between the sticks whilst Gaston Varela (7.01) has proved he is very capable playing as a central defender.
The standout in the centre of midfield has definitely been Sebastian Galani (7.14). The versatile player has scored two goals, played 16 key passes whilst also averaging 5.12 tackles/game. Brazilian Florindo (6.90) as had a solid, if not spectacular, season thus far but he has also proved a reliable ball-winner as he averages 4.17 tackles/game.
In attack, Rhuan has been supported well my young targetman Claudio Ibarra (7.47). The 6'6" giant might not score many goals, four in 13 appearances, but he provides for his teammates and he currently leads the squad in assists and key passes played. Ivan Sandoval (6.97) finally seems to be settling into his role following some early season injuries and the attacking midfielder has notched three goals and played 25 key passes in his 14 appearances.
Despite drawing four games we still manage to retain top spot in the Campeonato Loto, albeit only via goal difference. Santiago Morning have slipped away and Deportes La Serena have emerged as our new title rivals having the same win, draw, loss record as us. Universidad de Concepcion are just two further points back with another three sides then all within five points of our top position, meaning this league really is anyones for the taking at this point. Rangers de Talca are already looking in a spot of trouble at the halfway stage, having collected just six points, and they will need a miracle second portion of the season to stave off relegation.
Our six draws are crazily high but it still is not the most in the division as Union Espanola, who are down from the top division this year, have draw eight of their opening 15 games. Our +16 goal difference is the best in the league however and we just need to make sure that we can turn some of these potential draws into victories and we should once again be able to build a lead atop the division.
Not too much other news to report on. The midseason break does see the opening of the transfer window and a number of our players are tracking interest from teams in the top division of Chile, meaning it is looking like we may have to do some selling.
The injury bug seems to not want to leave us as we firstly lost starting right fullback Dilan Zuniga to a broken lower arm. Luckily for us, Gaston Zuniga is a superbly capable backup at the right back spot and so this was not a huge loss but it was another injury to another fullback.
We then lost another defender when Diego Oyarzun, one of our back-up central defenders, went down with a damaged foot.
I thought I had done a good job during the offseason of building up depth but injuries seem to have hammered us hard this year and a couple of the youth players have had to step up and lay first team games unfortunately.
My previous club job saw my players receive constant international news as almost everyone at Mount Rich became involved in the Grenada national side. At O'Higgins the opposite is true, mainly due to the strength of the Chilean national team but also because we are currently a second tier side.
That being said we did receive some exciting news in that Luis Soriano, our youth product from last season, was called up to the Chile U20s team whilst newly signed Luis Schoonewolff was once again included in the Venezuelan U21 set-up. It is always fun to see my players competing on the international stage and the experience can only benefit the youngsters in the long-term.
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So that concludes the final two months of this league season prior to the midway break. I am permitted to make some new signings, maximum of three, and I may well have to do so if we lose some of our better players to more lucrative offers from teams in the top division.
The league itself is going well but, despite only losing one game, we only top the table on goal difference whilst there are a whole host of teams poised and motivated to knock us off the top spot. We will have to make sure this habit of drawing games does not continue when we get back to league action in late July, otherwise we could quickly see ourselves slide down the table; something I do not plan on doing given that the aim for this year is a promotion push!
Great first half of the season, but the Chilean second tier is surprisingly competitive!
On 18/07/2018 at 22:51, yatesiboi37 said:
I am pleased you have enjoyed the international side. I think I will stick with just a domestic side for a while but will look for a new international job at some point in the future - any continent that you would like to see me take on?
Ah cheers. As for internationals I think it would interesting to see you manage a small footballing country such as DR Congo, Jamaica and other caribbean countries convincing players to switch to playing for their lesser known nationility.
Thanks! It is a weird division, with loads of teams being of similar strengths. Even stranger is that the top tier has a number of sides who, on paper, look far weaker than some of the clubs in our league. The difficulty is getting promoted, with only one side being granted an automatic route into the first division.
On 30 July 2018 at 22:41, shizzo said:
I think I will stick to club management only for now but I would love to return to the Caribbean for some international management one day. I have been keeping tabs on the Grenada position for ages but the manager has been in charge since the start of this save (and does not look like leaving any time soon).
Update 59: July & August 2024
The previous update, which was written quite a while ago, saw us enter the midseason break atop the league albeit courtesy of a better goal difference. We had been playing well but a few too many drawn games had seen a number of other sides drag themselves into contention for a league title and a possible promotion to the top division of Chile.
This update will contain all the news from our midseason exploits as well as covering our return to league action and the start of the Chilean domestic cup competition.
As previously mentioned, the Campeonato Loto has a one month midseason break and during that time teams are permitted to sell and buy players. There are a few limitations, with the main one being that teams are only permitted to sign three players maximum.
A number of our top players had been attracting interest from teams in the Chilean top division and this had led to quite a bit of unrest amongst the squad. In the end I made the decision to jettison some of our key men, those who the majority of squad felt should be allowed to leave, and this meant three names were out of the club.
All three of these guys should be recognisable.
The first, Claudio Sepulveda, had been spending a lot of time training with the Under-19s after his desire to leave the club sparked some rathe large protests from his teammates. The midfielder come central defender had made just one league appearance for us this season and was allowed to leave, eventually joining Deportes Puerto Montt in the top division for a bargain fee.
We then also allowed Argentinian defender Gaston Varela to depart. The 26 year old was a valuable player for us this year but he wanted to leave and, given the foreign player restrictions that we are under, I thought it best to sell him as well. He joins Mineros in the Mexican second tier for a fee of £85k.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, we allowed forward Carlos Villanueva to depart. The 25 year old scored 18 goals last season but had struggled to hit the same heights this time around, netting just twice in eight appearances as injuries had derailed the start of his year. The talented striker joined Union San Felipe in the Chilean top tier for a £200k feee, the highest that I have received for a single player on this save thus far!
In response to selling a trio of players we signed three new bodies as replacements.
The first was Jorge Carrasco, a 19 year old Chilean fullback who is equally comfortable playing on the right and left flank. He is yet to make a professional appearance, having come through the youth system of Universidad Catolica in the top division. It is likely that he will spend the majority of this season in the Under 19s squad with he view to becoming a rotational option in the future.
The other two signings were both pretty significant!
The first man we picked up was Argentinian attacking midfielder Joaquin Pereyra. The 25 year old was available on a free transfer after his contract with Union Huaral, of the Peruvian top division, expired. He made 40 league appearances last year for his old club side and looks to be an excellent fit within our system, possessing the ability to play as a central midfielder, as an advanced playmaker or even as a forward.
He is already valued at an impressive £525k and looks to be an absolute steal for a side such as ours. He will replace the recently departed Gaston Varela as our fourth registered foreign player.
The final player we signed was done so for a fee of £175k, the most I have ever paid for a player on this save so far. Diego Rojas is a player very much in the same mould as Carlos Villanueva and I am expecting him to play a similar role within our tactic. The 29 year old signs from Universidad Catolica, where he scored four goals in 21 league appearances in the top division of Chile last year.
I will look to play him just behind our two forwards and take advantage of his exceptionally well-rounded attribute set, which includes strong ratings for passing, dribbling, crossing and technique.
Just the six league games through the end of July and all of August. During this run we came very close to putting together a nice unbeaten run but a final defeat saw us undo some strong work straight after the midseason break.
We kicked off July with an absolutely remarkable result, and one of the best of my managerial career this far, as we absolutely demolished Deportes La Serena in a game that saw the top two sides in the division clash. As you may recall, we were only ahead of our rivals on goal difference going into this one and so I was expecting a tougher contest. We won our next game, a home victory against a talented Union Espanola side, before dropping a couple of points in a 2-2 draw with Palestino. We were quickly back to winning ways with a pair of impressive victories over Universidad de Concepcion and San Marcos de Arica respectively before a disappointing defeat against lowly Deportes Santa Cruz ruined what was otherwise a very good run.
Despite failing to score in our final fixture, our attacking ability was a joy to behold during this run as we managed to score an impressive 16 goals. We only managed a pair of clean sheets though, showing that our defensive play definitely needs some improvement if we want to prevent anymore costly drawn games as the final games of the season get started.
Alongside league fixtures, August also saw the start of the only domestic cup competition of Chile. The Copa Chile is a very simple knockout tournament, with each round consisting of two legged fixtures and the aggregate winner progressing onto the next stage.
In the opening round of the Copa Chile we were drawn against a side from the top division, Union La Calera. Although being in the league above us, this was not the worst draw ever as our opponents were struggling in their league campaign, currently sitting in 13th position.
First Round: vs Union La Calera (Campeonato Nacional Scotiabank)
A fine home performance set us up brilliantly and we easily progressed to the next round.
The first game saw us take an early lead when new signing Diego Rojas netted his first goal for the club. Ivan Sandoval grabbed a second goal midway through the first period and rangy targetman Claudio Ibarra headed home in the second half to help secure an excellent 3-0 victory whereby we had 57% possession and had 23 total shots in comparison to our opponents 8.
The second leg saw us once again produce a solid attacking display and record another deserved victory. We took the lead after 20 minutes when Felipe Hormazabal, a youngster from last seasons academy intake, rattled home an excellent 25 yard screamer which was also his first ever professional goal. Juan Magana slammed home a header from a corner shortly after to put the game beyond doubt and, despite a late consolation, we easily won the tie with a 5-1 aggregate scoreline.
We actually reached the quarterfinals of this competition last season and we are now just one more aggregate victory away from repeating that feat this year. Check out who we were drawn against in the second round further down in this update.
We are now over halfway through the league season and our excellent attacking performances have seen 14 of our players now hold an average match rating of at least 7.0.
The key man is definitely young Brazilian forward Rhuan (7.55) who looks far too talented for this level of football. The striker has scored 23 goals in just 23 club appearances and has collected a very impressive seven Player of the Match Awards.
In defence, our trio of talented fullbacks have been excellent. Dilan Zuniga (7.24), young Venezuelan Luis Schoonewolff (7.20) and Gaston Zuniga (7.17) have all had excellent seasons. Our tactical system relies on our fullbacks to contribute to the attacking phases of play and all three of the aforementioned players have done so, contributing 16 total assists between them this year. Juan Magana (7.06) leads all central defenders with 84 defensive interceptions whilst youngster Luis Soriano (7.09) has become a regular in the starting eleven despite only joining the club from the youth academy late last season. In addition, goalkeeper Bernardo Orrego (7.06) has cemented his place as the clubs number one shot stopper.
Our midfielders have not been outstanding, although the emergence of youngster Felipe Hormazabal (7.55) has been a bright spot and the youth product has impressed in his eight first team appearances. Florindo (6.97) has had a fairy solid season without ever being overly spectacular whilst Ivan Sandoval (6.95) has scored four goals and collected 32 key passes, the most of any non-forward player. New signing Joaquin Pereyra (6.55) has been limited since joining the club and has not quite settled yet.
In attack we have developed a formidable duo in the shape of Rhuan and targetman Claudio Ibarra (7.32). Ibarra, who does an excellent job of holding the ball up and bringing other players into play, has collected 8 goals of his own whilst also leading the squad with 37 key passes played. New signing Diego Rojas (7.49) has made an excellent start to his O'Higgins career, scoring three goals and collecting three assists in just eight appearances.
Our victory over Deportes La Serena at the start of this update means we have managed to open up a small advantage atop the division but it is only just two points. We have managed to open up a bit of a gap over 3rd placed Nublense, currently eight points, and the prospect of finishing in the top two is becoming more of a possibility.
Union Española have shown remarkable improvements since the midseason break and they have flown up the table to a 6th placing thus far. San Antonio Unido, who gained promotion into this league last year, have had a decent year and currently find themselves in 7th despite losing 10 games. Things are not looking good for Rangers de Talca, who currently sit bottom, and for Independiente who are now five points adrift of 14th placed Deportes Santa Cruz.
Our excellent attacking play is clearly highlighted by our dominant goal difference, a league leading +27, and our 47 goals scored. We are definitely in the hunt for a promotion chance and a possible league crown with just nine fixtures left to play.
After a fairly hectic midseason break and some excellent league performances I also have some extra news to fill everyone in on.
We kick things off with some bad news, namely a few more injury worries.
We lost a pair of midfielders midway through August with back-up man Bastian Araneda damaging his neck before new signing Joaquin Pereyra picked up a thigh strain which has limited his impact at the start of his O'Higgins career.
You may remember that we opened this update with a rather impressive 6-1 demolition of title rivals Deportes La Serena and what I failed to mention was that that fixture contained an unbelievable individual performance.
Rhuan, who has been a scoring machine for us this season, smashed the club and league records for number of goals in a game as he managed to find the back of the net an astonishing five times! He scored his first in stoppage time at the end of the opening half before netting four goals in just 23 second half minutes.
Having made it through the opening round of the Copa Chile we found ourselves in the hat for the second round and we received a fairly favourable tie as we were matched up with Deportes Santa Cruz.
These are the guys who managed to beat us in the final league game of August but they are having a pretty poor league season on a whole, currently sitting in 14th position just above the drop zone. This fixture will not only give us a chance at redemption following our recent league defeat but it should give us a solid chance at reaching a second successive quarterfinals in this competition.
So that concludes a fairly lengthy update and one that has seen a number of our top players depart whilst we have still managed to hold on to our top position in the league, albeit only just.
With just nine league games left to play, the prospect of a first domestic trophy in Chile is becoming ever increasingly more realistic and James Yates is on the verge of winning promotion for the first time in his managerial career.
I will be back soon with a final season update detailing our league progress and Copa Chile performances hopefully very soon!
Doing real good and love love love the detailed write-up.
35 minutes ago, rodesire said:
I'm pleased you like the detail. It does mean it takes me a little longer to get through things in comparison to other saves on here but good to know you appreciate it!
I'll second that - the detail is fantastic. Enjoying this immensely, great work.
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Month: August, 2014
TREE, GODDESS AND SERPENT
Time was, according to Anne Baring and Jules Cashford (1) when “the Tree of Life was one of the primary images of the goddess herself, in whose immanent presence all pairs of opposites are reconciled. Growing on the surface of the earth, with roots below and branches above, the tree was the great pillar that united earth with heaven and the underworld, through which the energies of the cosmos poured continuously into earthly creation. The animating spirit that moved within it was the serpent, guardian also of the fruit or treasure of the tree, which was the epiphany of the goddess, therefore the experience of unity”.
Without necessarily romanticizing the lived experience of the Bronze Age, we can honour the power and beauty of this imagery. Indeed, in our own time, kundalini yoga, based on a serpent metaphor (2), and Qabalah, based on a tree metaphor (3), have become popular working models. They are inscribed on the body and its subtle energy systems, allowing for an embodied contemplation; they connect earth to heaven and back again; they affirm the possibilities of both immanence and transcendence, energy and consciousness. They have a view of wholeness, realization, and integration.
But much of Western (and Middle Eastern) spiritual history has repudiated this frame of reference and followed a divergent path. Orthodox forms of Abrahamic religion are heirs to a radical reframe of the older goddess iconography, namely the Eden myth in Genesis, and hold to a doctrine of the two trees. Joseph Campbell (4) calls this a “mythic dissociation by which God and his world, immortality and mortality, are set apart in a separation of the Tree of Knowledge from the Tree of Immortal Life. The latter has become inaccessible to man through a deliberate act of God, whereas in other mythologies, both in Europe and in the Orient, the Tree of Knowledge is itself the Tree of Immortal Life and, moreover, still accessible to man”.
In the specific case of Western Christianity, the sense of dissociation increased with the victory of St. Augustine’s doctrines of original sin (intensifying the consequences of the fall) and predestination (the fall was always in the mind of God, its consequences already decided). These emphasize the moral impotence of human will and provide for an absolute alienation from the divine for anyone not of the faith, with a doubtful prospect of grace for those in it. To Augustine’s supporters this confirmed the need for external control (a Christian state and an imperially supported Church) in matters of religion (5).
This meant that contemplative mysticism was subject to forms of doctrinal surveillance that could be suspicious and unsympathetic even towards respected insiders. The contemplative could not legitimately aim for, or claim, unity or oneness as an experience, since God and the world were divided. Even in a period of doctrinally softened Christianity and increasing secularism, we are still living out the ill-effects of this inheritance. This is why, with a natural pre-disposition to a contemplative spirituality, I chose to locate it within Druidry, as an emerging tradition that keeps its feet on the ground.
1: Baring, Anne & Cashford, J. (1993) The myth of the Goddess: evolution of an image Harmondsworth: Penguin Arkana Books
2: Swami Satyananda Saraswati (1984) Kundalini Tantra Munger, Bihar, India: Yoga Publications Trust
3: Stewart, R. J. (2003) The miracle tree: demystifying the Qabalah Franklin Lakes, NY: New Page Books
4: Campbell, Joseph (1964) Occidental mythology: the masks of God Harmondsworth, England: Penguin
5: Pagels, Elaine (1989) Adam, Eve and the Serpent New York: Vintage
BOOK REVIEW: WHEN A PAGAN PRAYS
Highly recommended When a Pagan Prays by Nimue Brown is an ambitious book, and a courageous one. On my reading it blends two voices. The first offers a cool appraisal of prayer by a Pagan Druid strongly influenced by existentialist philosophy. It tells us that value and meaning are not written in the stars: we have to provide them for ourselves, and it’s our responsibility as self-aware humans to do so. The second voice describes a personal journey, essentially a recovery story centred on re-connection with the “numinous”. This leads to a re-frame of scepticism about prayer and a hard-won willingness to say: “I like prayer. I’m not angry with it any more. I’ll keep doing it, keep asking and searching, doubting and wondering”.
I will start with the second voice, for me the predominant voice of the book, though it takes a while to be heard. This is at least in part because of the author’s decision not to make retrospective changes to early chapters in which this “somewhat agnostic Druid took an academic interest in prayer” and had not yet found that this “wasn’t going to work”. The shift came when she began an experimental practice and stayed with it long enough for it to bear fruit. She was helped by Thich Nhat Hanh’s view of how prayer affects us: “when love and compassion are present in us, and we send those outwards, then that is truly prayer”. This allowed a move away from an originally limited framing of prayer as petitionary prayer to named Deity/Deities) into something more spacious and allowing. As a Druid, she was also partly influenced by the idea of kami – the spirits or phenomena revered in Japanese Shinto. As spirits of the elements in nature, or ancestors, or animals, creationary forces in the universe, part of nature and not separate from it, such beings seemed on a scale approachable through attunement, potentially available for conversation.
At night and on the edge of sleep, the author decided to see what happened when she opened her heart and sought peace with herself. She wasn’t seeking “grace or purity”, but “wholeness, wellness, connection”. Prayer became “an act of opening awareness”, of being open to the numinous, open to the divine. She stood before the unknown, holding her mind in a state of readiness, not expecting coherence, in a place that is perhaps beyond both doubt and belief. And she was thus willing, both to say “my prayer has had real and discernable effects for me” and that “this proves nothing”. In the end she says: “there are aspects of being that cannot be usefully discussed in terms of ‘realness’. That may be where the gods live”. A voice that at first has been buried, and then emerged in a hesitant way, can now celebrate re-connecting with the felt numinosity of early life, able to let go of the “defensive rationalism” that for a time played a necessary role.
The rational voice, the first voice, still has its place. This book isn’t all personal story. It considers the nature of prayer, the ethics of prayer, the social functions of prayer, and practicalities of prayer. It looks at the relationships between prayer and ritual, prayer and magic, and the idea of life itself as prayer if lived prayerfully. The author thinks through prayer as a concept (or set of related concepts), and its context, and how most effectively and ethically to pray. This voice too is an honest voice. It does not make assumptions, or hypnotise the reader into agreement. We are asked to think and reflect. In the end, the first voice becomes the servant of the second. It’s questioning both demands and enables the integrity of the author’s personal experiment in prayer. The resulting fruits of practice, and the conclusions of the book, are owed to the presence of both voices, and the author’s willingness to be loyal to them both through a time when they were as yet unreconciled.
ACTIVE IMAGINATION
For some while most of my meditation has been about cultivating awareness in the here-and-now, somewhat in the manner now widely packaged as ‘mindfulness’. But it wasn’t always so. Over my life as a whole, I’ve had more investment in meditations that explore inner world imagery. These include the contemplation of still images (like Tarot trumps), OBOD’s sacred grove practice, visualisations involving journeys and encounters, and active imagination – Jung’s name for spontaneous and meaningful ‘daydreams’.
A little while ago I had such a daydream, and it got me wondering whether this kind of experience will again find a place in my life. It was during the day, in high summer. But I had a powerful and compelling image of a late twilight, lit by a near full moon, well into the autumn. I was standing in an altered, or stylised, version of a real place. I was at the edge of a park in Bristol (although it was wilder in the vision) overlooking the Bristol Avon. My eyes turned left, and I could see a more primitive version of the Clifton suspension bridge, a small city of lights in what is now Clifton on the far bank of the river, and the vague shape of the gorge. I was standing by a willow tree (a real one, with which I have had a connection for many years). I was approached by an androgynous young person, clearly a messenger from the city of lights visible above me on the Clifton side. And I was invited to remember that in this scene I am everything that I can imagine, or I would not be imagining it.
So over time I have become the wild park, the tree, deep twilight, the moon, the river, the bridge, the gorge, the city of lights, the messenger and the message. I can make a story about them all and interpret it. The symbolism is archetypal and so in a sense obvious enough. But I’ve held off doing too much of that. I’m more concerned with the power and suggestiveness of the individual images. Overall, I take it as a declaration that my active imagination channel is open, with a strong sense that I should allow the images their spontaneity and not turn this into a formal practice. I already have a formal practice, and it is fine as it is. This is something different.
CONTEMPLATION AND SHAMANISM
The early Taoist classic Inward Training (1) says:
By concentrating your vital breath as if numinous, the myriad things will all be contained within you.
The word translated as ‘numinous’ is ‘shen’. And it shows the contemplative Taoist’s debt to China’s long tradition of shamanism. For shen can also refer to the external spirits or numina of mountains, rivers or ancestors, “the powers that descended into early Chinese shamans and shamanesses during their ritualized trances”.
Harold Roth (the translator of Inward Training into English) also points out that this text does not use a word for ‘emptiness’. Instead, it uses a metaphor – ‘cleaning out the lodging place of the numinous’. This is suggestive of either an external temple being cleansed in preparation for the descent of a divinity or the purification of a shaman in preparation for serving as a medium. Roth quotes A. C. Graham (2) as suggesting “that the meditation practised privately and recommended to rulers as an Arcanum of government descends directly from the trance of the professional shaman”.
The Indian story is somewhat similar, according to Mircea Eliade (3): most Indian spiritual practice inherits the structure of early shamanistic culture. He reminds us that the shamanic tree has seven, nine or sixteen steps, each symbolising a heaven, and climbing it is the equivalent of ascending the cosmic tree or pillar. Then he goes on to say, “The Brahmanic sacrificer mounts to heaven by ritually climbing a ladder; the Buddha ascends the cosmos by symbolically traversing the seven heavens; the Buddhist yogin, through meditation, realizes an ascent whose nature is completely spiritual. Typologically, all these acts share the same structure: each on its own plane indicates a particular way of transcending the profane world and attaining to the world of the gods, or Being or the Absolute. The one great difference between them and the shamanic experience of ascent to heaven lies in the intensity of the latter: … the shamanic experience includes ecstasy and trance”.
It seems to me that early images of an antlered sitter – on a seal from Mohenjodaro, the ancient city state of India, and on the Gundestrop cauldron (4) – are equally appropriate to vatic trance, walking-between-the-worlds and contemplative meditation. Indeed is perhaps anachronistic to make such distinctions, for we know little about actual practices in their cultures of origin. What we can say is that contemplative and shamanistic traditions share the same roots and that modern practitioners – like Druids! – may stand to gain from exploring both at the same time. The Tibetan Bon tradition has adopted this approach for many centuries, as Tenzin Wangal Rinpoche shows when looking as the five elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra and Dzogchen (the contemplative aspect), brought together as a unified developmental system within the Bon path.
1: Roth, Harold D. (1999) Original Tao: ‘Inward Training’ and the foundations of Taoist mysticism New York, NY: Columbia University Press
‘SELVING’
For me, ‘self’ is a vulnerable, unstable, temporary construct – yet one we are still programmed to develop, and as real as anything in the apparent world. Speaking for ‘myself’ I might put it like this: arising from a chaos of confused and contradictory perceptions, needs and desires; easily stressed and distressed, prone to distorted assessments of the world and my place in it, the process of ‘selving’ is nonetheless a necessary personal and social skill. For better and for worse, it makes me human.
So I’m not a fully paid up subscriber to the view of ‘self’ as simply a misguided idea (though I do go along with ‘no separate self’). But I can value the pure version of the no-self approach as an occasional lens to use. A good look can yield valuable insights. The radical non-dualist writer J. Jennifer Matthews shows how:
“‘Selving’ is a misunderstanding which causes us to problematize our experience. As soon as we postulate an independent and closed self, we start to bother ourselves.
“Allow me to speak for myself. I have been possessed by a kind of madness. This madness takes shape as a definite tendency to fixate on a person or way of life as my salvation. I abandon the ordinary; the day-to-day. I go for the highest, the most intense experiences, which allow me the most special and rarefied self-images. I reject what is right in front of me, and situate passionate dedication into the receding future.
“Oh alienating desire, that poison of the mind, which makes my friends’ faces foreign; the blue sky dull, food tasteless, and my passions mere shades, however fervently I pursue them! When I am in this particular, er, frame of mind, I keep trying to get to the part of the story where the heartache stops, as Gordon Lightfoot would say. And when I finally manage to stop this, or to use my favourite phrase, when I finally ‘start stopping’ here is the mystery. Right here.
“These crows cawing outside my window, have they always been here? And what about this rain, making soft riplets in the puddles on the walk?”
J. Jennifer Matthews (2010) Radically condensed instructions for being just as you are
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The Golden Child
1986 PG-13 1h 33m DVD
L.A. social worker Chandler Jarrell (Eddie Murphy) has a knack for finding lost children. That's why the beautiful priestess Kee Nang (Charlotte Lewis) turns to Jarrell when a child with mystical powers (J.L. Reate) is kidnapped from Tibet and brought to Los Angeles. Now, Jarrell's mission is to find the boy and bring peace to the world. Along the way, he fights his way through a series of traps and terrors in this comic adventure.
J.L. Reate, Eddie Murphy, Charles Dance, Charlotte Lewis, Randall Tex Cobb, Victor Wong, James Hong, Shakti Chen, Tau Logo, Tiger Chung Lee, Pons Maar, Peter Kwong, Wally Taylor, Eric Douglas, Charles Levin, Frank Welker
Comedy, Action Comedies, Adventures, Blockbusters
Widescreen 1.85:1
French: Dolby Digital Mono, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
PG-13 - Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. Parents are urged to be cautious. Some material may be inappropriate for pre-teenagers.
Parents need to know that this movie has satanic imagery, mystical theories about the world, and some violence, including martial arts-style fighting with weapons and deaths, and attempted violence against a child. There's also plenty of sexual innuendo between two of the main characters who eventually sleep together, but nothing is shown.
Lots of innuendo with romance between two of the main characters. A woman appears in a man's dreams wearing a sexy outfit and tied up with toilet paper. A couple gets dressed in the morning making it clear that they spent the night together. A woman is described as being raped by a dragon.
Martial arts-style fighting with weapons and injuries; a demon wants to kill a child; a girl is murdered and we see police taking pictures of her body, but her body isn't shown. The bad guys try to feed a child oatmeal with blood in it. Monks are killed trying to protect a child from demons, and a woman is shot in the back with an arrow.
Quite a bit of swearing. No f-bombs, but just about everything else, at least once.
A classic good-vs.-evil story with the good guy not being a perfect angel, but learning from his failings. The "golden child" represents compassion in the world.
Quarker Oats and Pepsi.
Alcohol and tobacco use by adults.
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On the OA "mandate" for books in the Third REF and the worry over trade books
In the past few days, well over a year since HEFCE signalled its “inten[tion] to move towards an open-access requirement for monographs in the exercise that follows the next REF (expected in the mid-2020s)”, humanities academics have been getting themselves stirred up on the basis of a document issued by the Royal Historical Society. It is curious that it is only now that people are paying any attention to this. The original document (see Annex C of the consultation on the Second REF) was issued in December 2016 “to give due notice to the sector”, yet many have been caught off guard.
Apt timing or not, though, there are many reasons why academics should not be so alarmed:
1) HEFCE (now RE) consulted heavily during the implementation of the mandate for journal articles and changed the policy many times in response to this approach. They will do so again for any future monograph mandate. The challenges of OA monographs and their economics on a global scale are well understood and noted (not least by me in a recent article on the difficult costs of such a proposal).
On this note, Steven Hill of HEFCE (now RE) said: “there is lots of work to do, and there are many conversations to be had” and that “engagement and collaboration with a range of stakeholders will be crucial to support these activities”. Consultation is the watchword here, but from the RHS document, you’d think it was all a done deal with the details set in stone.
2) Nobody is stopping you writing the book that you want to write. I have seen several tweets this morning saying that this will “kill the trade book” and that knowledge transfer activities are being disregarded in such a policy. There has been a worry from, say, Art Historians that their use of third-party material will cause significant problems if all books had to be OA (this concern is real: it could). The RHS wrote, with underlined and bolded emphasis in the original, that it would apply to “_all_ book-length publications”. But this is patently untrue. If you actually read the Annex proposing a future move towards such a policy, it says:
There will be legitimate reasons why some monographs cannot be open access, and we will be flexible about the proportion of monographs submitted to a future exercise that will be expected to meet open-access requirements. Such reasons might include, but are not limited to: the lack of viable electronic or open-access publishing options for some monographs; problems created by significant dependence on the inclusion of copyrighted third-party material in the monograph; or a substantial dependence on royalty payments for sustaining an author’s research endeavours.
So, there are liberal exemptions even built in as a precept before any consultation has formally begun. (It is worth saying, though, that an OA book, alongside a trade print publication, could increase the reach of the work to those who cannot afford or would not usually read a trade non-fiction book.)
As far as I am concerned, if you read the actual published policy material, the RHS document is wrong in this respect (“will affect the REF-eligibility of *all* book-length publications published after 2020” and “HEFCE has recently confirmed that all long-form research published in book form will have to be made available in Open Access (OA) formats in order to be submitted for the Research Excellence Framework exercise due in 2027”). This is, then, highly misleading and inflammatory. I mean, the actual post by Steven Hill at HEFCE, which the RHS cites, let alone the policy document, says: “I would expect any requirement around monographs, like the journals policy, to include a wide range of possible exceptions”.
3) Some people seem to be outraged, in general, at the concept of their books being freely available for anyone to read. (The same people, sometimes, who have been urging greater solidarity between all peoples during the recent HE strike.) I would remind everyone that if you believe in free education and were outraged by tuition fees and the restriction of HE etc., as I was, then it is no great stretch to believe that some good in the world might be achieved by making research work freely available to read, within practical constraints. However, if you want a balanced view on this, see Geoff Crossick’s report from a few years ago. This is a well-reasoned but pragmatic take on OA for books, its upsides and downsides.
4) A UUK working group (yes, I know: UUK not in our good books at the moment) has been considering the practical challenges of the mandate and working out what is actually possible given the economic and social constraints of the academy in the UK. The types of question asked by the RHS document (e.g. “What funding arrangements will guarantee that current standards of peer review and long-form text curation (including series-editing and copy-editing) are maintained?”) are precisely the sorts of issues that we are discussing. A mandate that caused widespread catastrophic destruction with no consultation is simply not on the cards.
5) One of the largest concerns that comes from the RHS document is the ability of academics to publish with overseas (read: US university) presses. For instance: “Will UK researchers, for example, lose the ability to publish their works in prestigious North American monograph series in their subspecialisms, and/or to publish research in languages other than English with European imprints?” As above, see exemptions for cases where it is not possible to procure an OA option. However, if the economics are done correctly, there is no reason why these presses should turn down UK authors anyway. Many US Presses, such as Michigan, have embraced OA for books.
As an aside, I also have a few other thoughts on this, some gentler than others. First, it is interesting that prestige should play such a role here. Is there this focus on “prestige” because overseas colleagues won’t value good work published in non-prestigious venues (in which case, they are not very good evaluators) or because of the benefit of prestige in terms of a career for UK researchers within our current system (the self-interest approach)? Second, though: throughout debates on OA, the RHS has insisted that peer review should be the sole criterion for admissibility to be published. It is the “gold standard”. It is a vital part of academia that we must maintain. Yet, in this instance, the RHS appears to acknowledge that Presses will turn down UK authors because of a (future, currently imagined) OA mandate. That is, the RHS defends the right of academic presses to turn down authors on bases other than academic merit. Third, the remark about overseas publishing may rankle for those in overseas locations who could never afford these books anyway. Academic publishing from the Global North is very badly distributed for access on a global scale. Finally, this all appears under a claim of “international reach”. It’s not really reach that is being spoken of, though. The broadest international reach would be achieved by such works being OA: that is, not charging people, not having barriers to sharing the work etc. What’s actually at stake under the umbrella of “reach” is the limited economy of attention and the implicit sub-claim here that people only read books published in the prestigious series that they recognise. This has far more profound implications for academia, its evaluative cultures, and what it says about the ways that we filter, read, and value.
The takeaway message (tl;dr) for me, here, though is: the sky is not falling. If you read the actual text of Annex C in the REF consultation, it’s both very speculative (it’s a signal of an intention to move towards some form of mandate) and very liberal with its wording on exemptions. I would expect that there would be a formal consultation from RE to which anyone would be welcome to respond once more is solidly known about the economics and what might be possible, as Steven Hill indicated. A working group is meeting regularly and commissioning feasibility studies.
It is simply not the case that a heavy-handed “regime” (the RHS’s term) is being imposed from above without any thought or consultation and that it applies to all books from 2020 onwards. There’s actually no policy at all yet. And, in truth, the RHS knows this (certainly, Richard Fisher, ex-MD of CUP and co-signatory of the document has been on many of the policy advisory panels around the issue of OA monographs and knows the environments and the consultative approach that is taken). It feels to me as though the RHS are playing a negotiating game in which they will argue hard against the OA mandate, painting it as the devil to stir up fear in academics, so that when the consultation comes, the mandate will be as soft as possible. On the basis of the RHS document, though, you might be forgiven for thinking that this was just going to appear as a bolt from the blue one day and to overturn everything that we hold dear.
Perhaps that’s how these things have to go. I find all the cloak-and-dagger a bit irksome, though, when what many of us who argue for OA books really want is a way for the economically disempowered to be able to stumble across and to read academic work in the humanities. (And no: having walk-in library access is a poor way of delivering this goal; some academic books only appear in a few academic libraries around the country.)
That said, I particularly find the inaccuracies in the RHS document, undoubtedly put in for rhetorical purposes, galling. The least I would like is an accurate summary of the policies they cite (indeed, the preservation of accuracy is one of the reasons that they’ve argued against open licensing so strongly in the past). There was no need to say “all” in bolded, underlined typeface, when every document so far has spoken of broad and far-ranging exceptions but also of wide consultation.
But to close: I want to go back to the reasons why OA could be good for our work and why we should engage constructively with proposals for an OA mandate. For why are we really publishing, if the majority of humans in the world do not and/or cannot read work in the humanities?
On the OA "mandate" for books in the Third REF and the worry over trade books was published on April 02, 2018 . You can annotate or comment upon this post.
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10 Simple Ways White People Can Step Up to Fight Everyday Racism
September 27, 2014 by Derrick Clifton
Two people laughing on a bench outside. Source: The Miss Information
Originally published on Mic and cross-posted here with their permission.
Let’s face it: Most white people don’t like being accused of racism or hearing that they have white privilege.
For many whites, these types of accusations have nasty connotations, hearkening back to slavery, colonialism, rape, genocide, segregation, and disenfranchisement. But although it may be uncomfortable, these connotations can’t be swept under the rug.
Learning about the history of racial oppression in America is an important step toward understanding why many people of color have a hard time trusting white people.
For multiple generations, people of color have had negative experiences encountering institutional racism and microaggressions, so it is no surprise that they may prefer not to deal with whites altogether.
This isn’t to say that all white people are racists, or even that all white people have direct culpability in creating or sustaining racism in America. Indeed, being pushed away by people of color or being called-out on racism — directly or indirectly — may instead inspire feelings of resignation or hurt. And some whites truly wish to help as best as they can while cultivating strong relationships with people of color.
Unfortunately, there isn’t extensive education in American classrooms that examines racism throughout history. As a result, there are not nearly enough opportunities for whites to learn how they can bridge gaps of misunderstanding, distrust, and guilt towards achieving true equity and inclusion for people of color.
For too long, whites have only heard about racism in the context of what not to do, but rarely, if ever, do white people hear about how they can be proactive about the issue.
By taking the leadership of people of color in the broader conversation about eradicating racism, whites can take steady, even simple steps towards becoming allies in the fight against racial inequality, not merely bystanders — or worse, perpetrators:
1. Listen when people of color talk about everyday racism and white privilege.
When a white person speaks up about racism, other whites tend to listen carefully and respectfully, even if they disagree.
But more often than not, when blacks and people of color speak about racism, the instinct is to jump to conclusions, to interrupt, call them liars, question their intelligence, or walk away from the conversation altogether.
Ending such a dialogue because one might feel uncomfortable does little to push the conversation forward and reinforces white privilege.
People of color live with the burden of institutional racism, but there are little-to-no consequences for whites who choose to ignore a historically violent and oppressive system from which they benefit every day.
Instead, a more productive solution comes through listening carefully and reserving judgment when people of color openly discuss the pain they have endured.
2. Honor the feelings of people of color in the discussion. It is not about your white guilt.
If white people are tired of hearing people of color “whine” or “rant” about white privilege, then imagine how exhausting and burdensome it is to directly contend with racism every day for years.
The last thing people of color need to hear from white people is how they should deal with or talk about encountering racism.
Even with the most well-intentioned effort, white people must acknowledge they will never have the same understanding or range of experiences that people of color bring to the conversation. This is not to say that white people can’t join the discussion, but that they must focus on a solution.
Too often, white people overreact to criticism, become defensive, and turn their feeling of discomfort back on their peers. People of color have long been policed for their “tone” or “overemotional attitude,” feelings that are human and valid after dealing with something as infuriating as racism.
3. Ask plenty of questions. Earnestly seek to understand people of color before trying to have your viewpoint understood.
During a heart-to-heart about racism, don’t assume that everything being said immediately makes sense.
The best way to seek clarity and bridge any gaps of knowledge is simply to ask for more information, just as you would for any other topic that isn’t your area of expertise.
It’s okay to admit that you don’t know how it feels to be racially profiled by cops, surrounded by advertisements that reinforce Eurocentric beauty standards, or be presumed unintelligent or inferior until proven otherwise — all because of the color of your skin.
By being inquisitive, you’re more likely to reach a place of understanding and empathy.
Once this connection is established, you have a stronger foundation to share your own personal experiences.
4. Educate yourself about racism as much as possible before asking people of color for help.
It’s important to listen and defer to people of color during discussions about racism, but remember that they, too, are humans with limits on their time, resources, attention spans, and emotional reserves.
Sometimes, they may not have the energy to educate white people about racism because they’ve talked about it so much already. It may also trigger pain, resentment, and sadness from dealing with oppression.
So if a person of color backs away from the conversation and asks for space, respect that. There is no lack of information on the topic.
Take responsibility and educate yourself, using the many books, recorded speeches, poems, news articles, research studies, and other sources of information publicly available.
5. Challenge other white people in your life to think critically about racism — family, friends, coworkers, teachers, and even public officials.
If you see or hear something, say something.
Don’t ignore discussions of racism when they emerge in the news cycle or sit by idly while someone perpetuates racial stereotypes or blatant disrespect — even if that disrespect is coming from a close friend, family member, or superior.
Encourage white people in your life to engage in the same kind of critical thinking that you yourself are engaging in.
6. Direct peers towards the perspectives of people of color. Becoming a ‘savior’ is not cool.
It’s crucial not to hog all of the air in the conversation, or act as the spokesperson for people of color — because white people can’t truly present the perspectives of people of color.
In addition, white perspectives and voices have historically been given priority over the lived experiences and knowledge produced by people of color.
Instead, actively affirm the leadership of people of color in the conversation.
Consider limiting the amount of personal perspective you offer and refer other white people to the same sources of enlightenment and insight that helped you best understand how to put anti-racism into practice.
7. Avoid conflating other oppressions with racism unless it’s directly relevant to the conversation.
In an often well-intentioned, yet half-hearted way of empathizing or identifying with someone else’s struggle with racism, it’s easy to say “I know what that’s like” because I’m gay, or a woman, or poor, or disabled, or a religious minority. These other identities may intersect with racial inequality, but are not about race.
Yes, experiencing another form of oppression should help you empathize, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll ever really know what racism feels like.
Instead, it can come off as insulting, or make it seem like you’d rather shift the discussion toward a subject you feel more comfortable talking about. Even worse, this type of conversational pivot can imply that your differing oppression takes priority, something that strains the potential bond that could be formed in the conversation.
8. If you make a mistake, ask people of color how you can fix it.
It’s good to admit you’ve done wrong and own up to your mistakes — it’s a much more positive and effective reaction to backlash than dismissing racism critiques or denying there’s a problem.
As with any other situation that reveals a personal fault line, ask how you can behave better in the future and show that you genuinely care about ensuring that people of color are truly welcomed, affirmed, and respected.
Keep in mind that as a person who has power and privilege in the situation, you have a responsibility to ensure others aren’t being continually impacted by oppression, especially if it comes from you.
9. Adopt intersectionality as an approach to all aspects of everyday life and start taking it seriously.
Intersectionality is much more than just an abstract academic theory developed by feminist scholars like Kimberlé Crenshaw and writers and advocates of color. Indeed, it’s a liberating way of living, working, and even connecting with other people.
Intersectionality matters because it acknowledges that there are multiple perspectives that need to be honored and understood on any given issue — big or small — because each individual experiences a variety of privileges and limitations based on their identities.
For example, a person can experience prejudice because they aren’t heterosexual and because they aren’t wealthy, but still can exercise their racial privilege as a white person. All of those identities coexist.
For the individual above, the experience of being white, gay, and poor will differ from someone who shares the same set of identities, but is instead a person of color.
Intersectionality teaches us that race impacts the amount of difficulty or relative ease two individuals of different racial backgrounds will experience, while navigating an otherwise similar set of institutional challenges.
10. Openly call out and reject any and all white privilege you witness or experience.
Yes, this means giving up your privilege in order to level the playing field.
This could mean speaking up when a cab zooms past a black woman and picks up you and your white friends instead, a phenomenon known as destination discrimination. Or it could mean objecting when asked to speak about racism in lieu of a person of color who is more qualified, or after witnessing a person of color receive harsher punishment for something that earned you a mere slap on the wrist.
Reject and name that privilege — because you didn’t earn it and it’s not one you chose. Recognize it for what it truly is: a perpetuation of some of the worst, lingering elements of racism and white supremacy.
Like this article? Then you won’t want to miss our new free workshop on “Healing from Toxic Whiteness to Better Fight for Racial Justice.” Join the other 5,000+ participants by signing up here!
Derrick Clifton is a Staff Writer at Mic covering identity, culture and politics. A news commentator and reporter on issues of race, gender and sexuality, Derrick is also a master’s candidate at the Medill School of Journalism. Derrick identifies as a Black, queer, gender non-conforming, urban-raised person of faith with a disability. He’s also the author of the forthcoming book HEART WERK, a autobiographical series of essays about navigating life and love within multiple marginalized identities. Follow him on Twitter @DerrickClifton.
Filed Under: Articles, Posts Tagged With: Race & Ethnicity
About Derrick Clifton
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Walt Disney's Disneyland (Hardcover)
From: Disney
Universe: Disney
Author: Chris Nichols
Published by: TASCHEN GmbH
Walt Disney dreamed for decades about opening the ultimate entertainment venue, but it wasn’t until the early 1950s that his handpicked team began to bring his vision to life.
Together, artists, architects, and engineers transformed a dusty tract of orange groves about an hour south of Los Angeles into one of the world’s most beloved destinations.
Today, there are Disney resorts from Paris to Shanghai, but the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which has been visited by more than 800 million people to-date, remains one of America’s most popular attractions.
From the day it opened on July 17, 1955, Disneyland brought history and fairy tales to life, the future into the present, and exciting cultures and galaxies unknown to our imaginations. This bountiful visual history draws on Disney’s vast historical collections, private archives, and the golden age of photojournalism to provide unique access to the concept, development, launch, and enjoyment of this sun-drenched oasis of fun and fantasy.
Disneyland documents Walt’s earliest inspirations and ideas; the park’s extraordinary feats of design and engineering; its grand opening; each of its immersive “lands” from Main Street, U.S.A., to Tomorrowland; and the park’s evolution through the six decades since it opened.
It is a treasure trove of Disney original documentation and expertise, with award-winning writer Chris Nichols drawing on his extensive knowledge of both Disneyland and Southern California history to reveal the fascinating tale of “the happiest place on Earth.”
Chris Nichols
TASCHEN GmbH
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Profile: The Face of Greek Resistance The Face of Greek Resistance...
The Face of Greek Resistance
Meet the 92-year-old communist who explains why Athens can't capitulate to its creditors.
By James Angelos
| June 21, 2015, 8:17 PM
In the spring of 1941, German troops occupied Athens and raised a large Swastika-emblazoned flag over the Acropolis. Crete, the last Greek holdout, was succumbing to German paratroopers, and the Nazis were declaring victory in Greece. Manolis Glezos was 18 and getting ready to go to college to study economics. “So that’s how you are?” Glezos thought at the time, he told me more than seven decades later. “We’ll show you that today, the fight begins.”
On the night of May 30, 1941, Glezos and a high school classmate climbed a steep slope of the Acropolis. Reaching the top, they snuck past the ruins to where the Nazi flag fluttered, and tore it down. The pair escaped undetected. German authorities condemned the culprits to death in absentia, and while Glezos ended up being arrested and imprisoned three times for other resistance activities during the World War II occupation, he was never caught for taking down the flag. After the war, Glezos was active in Greece’s communist opposition, and the flag exploit won him a great deal of notoriety; Charles de Gaulle called Glezos Europe’s first partisan. In 1963, New York Times journalist C. L. Sulzberger, in an article about the threat posed by Greek communism, called Glezos “heroic but dangerous.”
Today, Glezos is 92 and a Syriza member of the European Parliament. Still revered in Greece for the spectacular feat he pulled off on May 30, 1941, he now urges opposition to what he considers a new foreign tyranny. On June 3, as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras prepared to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels to try to reach a breakthrough in deadlocked negotiations over the terms of further financial aid for Greece, Glezos offered the 40-year-old Tsipras some advice.
“He should tell him that Greece has an ideology, the ideology of resistance,” Glezos said on a Greek radio station. Greece, in other words, must not retreat in its confrontation with its European and International Monetary Fund creditors.
The notion of resistance to foreign domination holds strong emotional sway in Greece, and it’s a theme often emphasized by Syriza, the leftist party leading the Greek government. Syriza traces its ideological heritage to the communist-led resistance force that fought occupying Axis troops during the war, and the party now depicts itself as once again leading the resistance against the austerity policies mandated by the country’s creditors.
Now, in advance of a critical summit of European leaders on Monday that could represent Greece’s last chance to reach an accord with its creditors, Syriza leaders face a stark choice. While the vast majority of Greeks want to guarantee their country’s place in the European monetary union, many of Syriza’s core supporters and leading members urge continued opposition to the creditors’ demands despite the profound economic and political turmoil a Greek euro exit would bring. In order for Tsipras to avoid a break with the eurozone, he will have to break with the hardliners in his own party.
I spoke to Glezos on a Sunday morning in May 2014 in his modest home in a leafy suburb of Athens. He was sitting on his living room couch in his pajamas, nearly buried in the several newspapers he was reading. His eyes had an intensity that seemed at odds with his age. His long, gray hair was combed back to his shoulders, and his broad mustache reached the creases of his cheeks. Before I could ask him any questions, he gave me a signed copy of a book he had recently written: a registry of massacres and executions that took place in Greece during the war called The Black Book of the Occupation. He then reminded me that Greece, in addition to its tenacious guerrilla resistance during the occupation, had also repelled Mussolini’s invasion in 1940, a morale-boosting, early victory for the Allies. “What’s happening in Greece right now isn’t by chance,” Glezos told me. Just as Greece had destroyed the “myth of invincibility of the Axis” back then, he said, it was once again leading a righteous fight against Greece’s creditors. “We’re asking for another Europe.”
Many Greeks see the current conflict with the country’s creditors in terms that are suggestive of World War II. For the last five years — a time of economic collapse, record high unemployment, and rising poverty — Greece has been under the sway of its foreign creditors, and because Germany is the most powerful among them, allusions to last century’s period of German domination have become numbingly commonplace. During my travels in Greece, I’ve often heard people claim Germany is once again occupying the country, only this time through economic means. This sentiment is often expressed in crass terms, which have the effect of trivializing the immense suffering Greeks endured under the occupation, a time of famine and violence that was the most destructive period in the nation’s modern history.
One day in 2013, I walked by the German embassy in Athens and noticed two large banners hung from an apartment across the street, one depicting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the other Hitler. The writing on them was intended to inspire Greeks to resist the current occupation as they had the previous one. On an Athens radio station one morning, a populist right-wing commentator bellowed: “We don’t have a democracy. The will of our people applies nowhere. We don’t have our own laws. We are slaves. Vassals. A colony.” His voice rose to a scream. “From Thrace to Laconia, the foreigners are trampling our country. The Germans are torching again! They are burning Greece again!”
Syriza leaders have not shied from allusions to German domination. When he was still in the opposition, Tsipras often accused the Greek politicians who signed the bailout agreement of a kind of collaborationist stance — referring to them as Merkelistes, acolytes of Merkel. He warned that austerity policies would lead to a “social holocaust” and vowed not only to cancel the bailout agreement, but to vigorously lobby for German war reparations — a cause supported by the vast majority of Greeks. On Jan. 26, right after Tsipras was sworn in as prime minister, he visited a memorial in an Athens suburb, the site where the Nazis executed hundreds of Greek communists and partisans, among them Glezos’s younger brother, Nikos. As Tsipras lay red roses on the memorial, a crowd of supporters gathered behind him and chanted slogans of praise for the communist war resistance.
After Tsipras’s visit to the memorial, Glezos issued a statement praising the act, calling it confirmation that Tsipras would “fight with all his might” to realize the ambitions of generations of Greeks. For Glezos, Syriza’s rise to power meant the realization of a lifelong ambition to see a leftist government established in Greece. Like many Greek leftists, he saw the communists’ failure to take power in the aftermath of World War II — a time when Greece fell into a civil war between communist rebels and a right-wing government backed by the United States — as a bitter defeat. He has spent a total of 16 years in prison or exile as a result of his political activities, most of those at the hands of post-war Greek governments, which persecuted communist dissidents — and may have been executed had the flag episode not won him international attention and support from figures like Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus.
“We had it once before,” Glezos told me one evening in Athens prior to Syriza’s election victory in January, referring to the communist-led war resistance, which by the end of the occupation controlled much of Greece’s mountainous interior. “Unfortunately, we gave it up.” Now, it seemed to him, the left was on the verge of taking Greece back.
At the time, Glezos was clearly energized by the party’s rising popularity. In the spring of 2014, he announced what would turn out to be a successful bid for a seat in the European Parliament. His main reason for seeking the post, he said, was to bring to Europe the “escalating struggle for the claiming of Germany’s debts to Greece” — his way of referring to reparations claims for wartime damage. At the time, he spoke at a series of political rallies around Athens. At one of them in a working class Athens suburb, I met a retired teacher who told me she grew up thinking of Glezos as an almost mythical figure. “This person has never stopped fighting for one moment. He wasn’t afraid of disease. He wasn’t afraid of senescence. He wasn’t afraid of the Germans,” she said. “When you see a person in his 92nd year standing up in this manner, toiling and getting out front, whether you want to or not, you fight too.”
The event that evening was a particularly emotional one for Glezos. It fell on the 70th anniversary of the wartime execution of his brother. Glezos still keeps the lining of the hat his brother wore before his death. On it is a hastily written goodbye note: “Dear Mother. I kiss you. Greetings. Today, I’m going to be executed. Falling for the Greek people.” During the rally that night, Glezos bellowed into the microphone, telling the crowd that his fallen comrades visited him in his dreams, and would not let him rest from trying to realize their hopes: the establishment of the people’s rule. “Companions, fellow fighters who I lost in the battles. They come to me and say, ‘Manoli, what’s going on? Our dreams. Where are they?’ And my brother is in front, who speaks to me with a hard tongue: ‘You, Manoli, are living, but I didn’t even manage to live out the years of my youth. I want back the years that you live and I don’t live.’ How do I answer him?” By this point, people in the crowd were in tears, and Glezos sounded like he was pleading to them for mercy. “How do I answer him? How?” Glezos paused for a breath and answered. “I say: ‘Niko, believe. We are trying. We are fighting.”
Glezos seems to have tried to make good on this promise — even when it has put him at odds with his own party. In February, when the Syriza-led government struck a deal with the creditors to extend the current bailout agreement, Glezos released a dejected statement from Brussels in which he denounced the agreement and apologized to the Greek people for having participated in an illusion. “First of all, between the oppressor and oppressed, there can be no compromise, just as between the slave and the conqueror, the only solution is freedom,” he wrote. Glezos, who will be leaving his European Parliament post next month — from the outset, he said he would not serve the entire term — has little effective political power, yet his stature among Greek leftists gives him outsize influence. His statement in February was widely seen within Greece as a sign that the party was fracturing just weeks after its election.
Glezos has since moderated his criticism and expressed continued support for Syriza’s leaders while urging them not to capitulate to the creditors. Still, wider fault lines within Syriza remain. The party, also known as the Coalition of the Radical Left, formed in 2004 as an alliance of leftist parties, including Trotskyists, Maoists, euro-communists, and ecological leftists. Today, many of its more strident members advocate exiting the eurozone rather than agreeing to the creditors’ strict fiscal targets.
Glezos, in line with Syriza’s official position, has said Greece ought to remain in the euro. Yet he promotes a path that is clearly unpalatable to its creditors. He proposes Greece be granted a one-year moratorium on debt payments, and in that time, a Greek parliamentary committee will examine Greece’s “supposed” debts and determine what should be paid. Glezos is far from the only Syriza member to question Greece’s debt obligations. On June 18, the president of the Greek parliament, Zoe Konstantopoulou, in announcing the preliminary findings of the parliament’s “Debt Truth Committee,” called Greece’s debt “illegal” and “illegitimate.”
Tsipras and his inner circle have long argued that Greece’s creditors would eventually concede to Greek demands for more lenient bailout terms out of fear that a Greek exit from the eurozone would destroy the entire currency union. The threat of mutually assured destruction, they have argued, gives Greece a strong negotiating weapon. Yet, ahead of a June 30 deadline to begin repaying debts to the IMF, Greek leaders will almost certainly have to make concessions on pension cuts, privatizations, and consumption tax increases — measures particularly abhorrent to Syriza hardliners — if they want a deal that will stave off default. In the event of an eleventh-hour agreement, defections within Syriza are likely, say analysts.
Some Syriza factions would rather “press the self-destruct button” than go along with such a deal, says Dimitris Papadimitriou, a professor of politics at the University of Manchester. Since Greece’s civil war, he says, the Greek left has been steeped in a mythology of victimization by foreign powers — those that prevented communism from taking hold in the country. This fuels a sense of “just struggle” in which many Greek leftists would prefer to go down as “the victim of history again” rather than retreat.
If enough Syriza parliamentarians leave the party, it may necessitate new elections in Greece. Still, any bailout agreement brought to the Greek parliament is certain to pass with the support of more centrist parties, which have urged a quick resolution to the impasse with the country’s creditors. This outcome, however, would likely come as a bitter defeat for many of the party’s most zealous members — those, like Glezos, who in Syriza’s rise have seen the fulfillment of the hopes of generations of Greek leftists.
Even before Syriza’s election victory, Glezos often reminded Tsipras of his moral obligation to Greece’s past communist fighters. “We are on the road to vindication,” Glezos told an audience of Syriza supporters one night in Athens as Tsipras looked on. “Very many fellow fighters, fighters never subdued, inconspicuous fighters you don’t know, they call me, and they cry from joy. We cry from joy. Why?” He then glanced at Tsipras. “Because the road has opened, Alexi.”
Photo credit: LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images
Tags: Europe, European Union, Germany, Greece, History, International Monetary Fund, Politics, sovereign debt
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Posted by ginalazenby in feminine leadership, transformational leadership
#LindaCrompton #TheLeadersClub
watch Linda’s talk recorded on Facebook Live
The Leaders Club co-hosted a special event on transformational leadership with the University of Kent Business School in Canterbury in May. The second speaker was Linda Crompton from Dallas, Texas, an alumni of the Business School’s first MBA program. Linda was the first woman to head a bank in North America and also to lead a bank that pioneered responsible investment principles. Now she is a leader in gender equality as the CEO and President of Leadership Women, the largest of its kind in the USA.
The Decisions you make have Consequences that Ripple Out
Key achievements for Linda were her initiatives in banking. She started working for Van City Credit Union in Canada, the largest credit union in the world, an extremely progressive organisation. Van City’s particular focus was to help employees to connect their decision making to the community who would be impacted. This was highly novel at the time. They key was to fully realise the impact of your decision.
Once you Connect the Dots .. Your Eyes are Opened and there is no Going Back
The bank encouraged her to return to the UK and study her MBA in Kent. This is where she came across the notion that business and finance and sustainability were all connected. It is arrogant to think that humans are the organising force when in reality, nature is the organising force. The MBA at Kent helped her to realise that it is an illusion to separate your banking decisions from the downstream impact. You cannot pretend those downstream impacts will not happen. This became a watershed moment in her career … she connected the dots to see the bigger picture and was instrumental in directing the rest of her career. She never took up a mainstream job after that … once you know what you know and see how things are put together .. you cannot not know again!
Asking Different Questions leads to Better Outcomes
When she returned to Van City she started to ask different questions, like why were the approval rates for women much lower than they were for men? The answer .. the women don’t just meet the criteria. Then you find out on looking that the criteria are all based on male criteria, which include higher levels of pay for longer periods of time, which of course do not include the interruptions of maternity leave. She could also see what it was costing the organisation when they let go of trained women who left to start a family. There was no provision for that. She set up a new program, copied from Europe, called Return to Work, to provide flexible support for women. The rate of loss was cut down from 70% down to 20%. It was life-changing for so many women.
In 1996, within two years of taking her MBA at Kent she was inspired to create the first electronic bank, and the first one with a social mandate in Canada. There were many obstacles and much resistance but she could see the ways the future would happen. She was on the first Board of Directors for Ethical Investing, where mutual funds were ethically screened. She could see this was the future. They started training people about money itself. When they surveyed their customers they found that people had no idea what happened to their money once it was in the bank …. these were the early days of impact investing. Founding the bank became a vehicle to put into practice the new ideas she learned in her Kent MBA.
Strong Ethics Emerging in Banking and Investing
Linda was headhunted to run the Investor Responsibility Research Centre in Washington, DC. This had been a leader and influential in the anti-apartheid movement, and they continued to do ground-breaking research in climate change and human trafficking.
Linda’s next move was to the oldest and most successful leadership organisation for women in the USA. Latest World Economic Forum report says it will take another 118 years to achieve full gender parity around the world. She is preparing more women to take on leadership roles.
Massive Push for Change now happening in the USA
The hidden blessing of President Trump is that his election has been a catalyst for so many women running for public office. Perhaps Hillary Clinton may have been less of a catalyst in getting women forward! She Should Run, a partner organisation in Washington DC reports a 150% increase in the number of women putting themselves forward for political office. This is a real moment for women in the USA. There is a renewed push for change.
In Canada, so very different to the USA, President Justin Trudeau appointed a 50/50 gender balanced cabinet and brushed off media questions about this with .. this is the way it should be in 2016.
Women Still Lagging Behind
With regard to wage parity, the Financial Times recently reported that in the UK there is a median wage gap of 19.4%, two thirds of of the highest paid staff are men.. the trends are the same in the USA where for every dollar earned by a man, a caucasian woman earns 78 cents, an African American woman makes 64 cents and a Latina earns just 54 cents.
The Workforce in Leading Edge Fields is Unbalanced
The USA Bureau of Labour Statistics latest report shows that women now make up 51.4% of management and professional roles yet only 5% of CEOs are female and hold 16.9% of Board seats across the country. In Silicon Valley 86% of the engineers and 74% of the computer professionals who work there are men. Facebook, Google and Apple workforces are 70% male with no female board members. Wall Street is similarly unbalanced. Women of colour are statistically invisible.
A Crisis Point: Has Progress Stalled?
The World Economic Forum says the world is going backwards, the parity gap in wealth, politics, education and the workplace has widened for the first time since records began in 2006. At this rate of progress the gender gap will not close for another 217 years. Aside from human rights, continuing to omit women from the top ranks is the single most important factor in determining a country’s competitiveness in the market. Women must be integrated, as an important force into their talent pool. In the UK, it is suggested that gender parity could add £250 billion to GDP. And closing the gender gap of economic participation by 25% by 2025 would increase global GDP by $5.3 trillion. Social change is glacially slow.
A fourth wave is coming … progress will happen over the next decade.
Countries that have previously excluded women, like Saudi Arabia are starting to make major changes. Generation X and Millennials are visibly energised around this issue. New generations will drive faster change.
The biggest transfer of wealth in history is happening over the next decade
Change will also be driven by women acquiring significant financial muscle. 45% of USA millionaires are women, 48% of estates worth more than $5 million are controlled by women and in 2013 60% of high net worth women made their own fortunes, rather than inherited. Projections show that by 2030 as much as two thirds of all wealth in the USA will be controlled by women. How will this shift in gender wealth influence philanthropy? Significant changes could take place …women’s funds are already working to address inequality with more women seeking to drive change by working at the legislative level and public policy as well as impact investing.
Massive growth in Impact investing
The field of impact investing has the power to bring about a lot of change including making faster progress on gender and race equality. Investment instruments that employ ESG (environment, social and governance factors) have grown 135% in assets under management since 2012, and it has now surpassed $9 trillion in the USA. It continues to grow exponentially, with rapid growth attracting more attention.
Meeting Social Needs Ahead of Profits
She was on the Board of the World Business Academy based in Southern California, which had as its mission to help business to assume responsibility for the whole … recognising that business is the most important force on earth. Nothing else works like business does and the drive for profit. Willis Harman, founder of Institute of Noetic Sciences, was convinced that business needed to return to its roots and provide a public service or to meet a public need. Business charters used to be granted on the basis that you would improve society or individual’s lives. Subsequently profit became the organising principle and that is where things really changed. Profit is good but profit maximisation can do real harm.
New Alliances are Emerging
Hybrid organisations where you not only make profit but achieve social impact goals are on the rise and are exciting. It is in the interest of business to take on societal change because if nothing else, they need to protect their markets.
The way that all these factors are converging .. the rise and power of women, the changing nature of investment, the interest of younger generations in addressing global issues like refugees, extreme polarisation of wealth, the proliferation of drugs … all of which contribute to societal instability, which make the business environment more difficult.
Different values will inform a new kind of leadership
All of these things call for new era leadership meaning more human value systems than the current GDP which are meaningless. In a system that looks more profitable as more people get ill is crazy. There are real limitations to this measurement.
New Era Leadership: Women have an Opportunity to Drive Change
Just simply moving more women into leadership roles to continue to perpetuate all the problematic systems we have now, will not be the answer. Unless women move in there with a better sense of what change needs to be made, it is a huge missed opportunity.
We can’t blame the men .. it is the system we have created. There are many men who are supportive and involved in redressing the gender balance.
The financial system is flawed and nobody has been held accountable for the crash of 2008. Many people are unhappy about this.
There is an opportunity when women move into these positions of power to bring about some change. Women have an obligation to help other women when they have the power and the means.
Linda’s Pearl of Wisdom: remind yourself of any blindspot you have. It is not what you don’t know, it is what you absolutely know with certainty that trips you up. What are the blindspots in your worldview.
Ask a different question
Rather than asking “How much money can I make when I have an MBA?” a better question “What kind of world do I want and what role can I play in making that world happen?”
watch the recording of Linda on Facebook Live
https://www.theleadersclub.org
https://www.kent.ac.uk/kbs/
https://leadership-women.org
People Want Companies to do Good – that requires Transformational Leadership
#LindaMinnis #TheLeadersClub
Speaking at the Leaders Club event at Kent Business School, Linda Minnis, seen here (right) with Gina Lazenby, talked about how business is shifting with more organisations taking on responsibility for social change and using their global reach for good. Drawing on the long legacy of the chocolate barons’ foundations, todays’ younger generations are pushing their employers to take on and do more to close the global wealth gap.
Linda’s talk was captured on Facebook Live. Click here to watch
The Leaders Club co-hosted a special event on transformational leadership with the University of Kent Business School in Canterbury in May. The first of two speakers was Linda Minnis, Chief Executive of the Charities Trust, and a founder member of The Leaders Club.
The event was recorded on Facebook Live and is available to view at this link.
The World Needs Responsible Business
Linda started by highlighting the need for responsible business and said that this was not something that could simply be bolted on to an organisation, almost like an extra department but it had to be at the very heart of the operation for it to have any real meaning and impact. She gave examples of the inspiration and vision that many companies were bringing to their giving programs by leveraging their resources and creating alliances that were having real impact in the world. Big business has a big capacity to make big change in the world.
Global Goals Provide a Ready Template for Visionary Businesses
Linda talked about the Sustainable Development Goals otherwise known as the Global Goals, which are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. These 17 goals were launched by the United Nations in January 2016. Adopted by 170 countries, they contain 169 individual goals inside the 17 categories and represent one of the most ambitious programs in human history to create massive change. For companies and organisations seeking to make a difference in the world, there are plenty of opportunities for them to align their resources and vision.
People Want Companies to do Good
Linda said there is a definite business case for doing this. A Nielsen study in 60 countries showed that 55% of online customers would pay more for goods and services supplied by organisations who demonstrated a commitment to positive social change and environmental impact.
71% of the world’s population live on less than $10 per day and the only way to make a significant increase in people’s prosperity, globally, would be for civil society, government and corporations to make alliances and use their combined powers to create change. One such initiative, the Global Vaccine Alliance has managed to prevent 9 million deaths though immunisation. Acting with other agencies, the private sector has enormous power that can be harnessed with the right vision.
Good Business has a Long History in the UK
The question is how to engage fully and provide the necessary leadership for projects of real transformation? Linda pointed out that in the UK we have a long history of business leaders doing good things. Joseph Rowntree established a foundation over 100 years to provide housing for employees, and this continues today to seek to understand the root cause of social problems. The Cadbury Foundation also supported their employees and communities with housing. Today, Comic Relief is an example of successfully influencing the face of fundraising by making things fun to do while the organisation focusses on how to spend the money.
UK private giving is an incredible £20 billion per annum, £12 billion of which still comes from individual giving and Trusts like the Wellcome Foundation, with money continuing to come in from foundation investments set up decades ago.
How do we engage the business community of today?
Linda was involved in research five years ago that showed 4 key predictions about companies and giving. We can see now much of this starting to happen:
1 Commercialisation – Giving and Doing Good will be Woven into Business Planning
Companies will seek long term profits from their corporate giving. Community programs will be set up to deliver commercial value as well as meeting social needs. Their activities will be aligned with something meaningful. Corporate giving will continue but perhaps within the framework of for-profit ventures. The future is more Win-Win-Win-Win. HSBC is an example of a company investing tens of millions into social investment because they see it pays a greater return.
The social investment market is quite new but it is now worth about £2 billion across 4000 investments. Doing good is not just right it is profitable too.
2 Innovation Unleashed – Make it Easy, Fast and Painless for People to Give
New technology, innovative channels and interactive media, will cause an explosion in ground-breaking new practices. Digital technology will allow for real time tracking of impact and will allow giving to fit around busy lives. online volunteering by employees supporting digital causes will become more prominent. Look at JustGiving who raise half a billion a year. Make it easy for people to swipe their card at an event and give quickly.
3 Collaborative Coalitions – Rise Above Competition for the Greater Good
Large scale multi stakeholder coalitions will harness collective skills and drive transformational change. Corporate giving will build loyal and effective working relationships between customers, suppliers, not-for-profit and government agencies. Collaborations including those with competitors will amplify impact and a philosophy of social action will emerge. Bigger businesses are going to be bigger stakeholders in fixing the world. The setting aside of competitive differences will benefit all organisations in terms of enhanced reputation. An example is a £25 million alliance of Tesco and the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK to tackle major health issues.
4 Cause Related Movements – Campaigns become Exciting and Energised into Movements
Billions of customers will be mobilised to give up their time, second hand items and their fresh ideas for social campaigning. Companies will facilitate large scale donations through movement fund-raising, and will create a truly engaging consumer experience around causes.
Take on Causes that Excite the Employees
The Charities Trust, started from Littlewoods, is now 30 years old and administers £100 million of giving for 1000 clients, an amount that has trebled in the last eight years, a big achievement for the charitable sector. Many of her clients lead the way in employee engagement to support communities that are dear to the staff, and not just the organisation itself. Previously it was all about what the company was going to do … now, it is about the employees deciding and the company supporting that. It helps employee retainment and turns staff into good leaders.
The Charities Trust works with the Costa Foundation which has supported 72 schools in nine countries, and not all in places where they trade. The Trust has also worked with Big Issue Invest who raised £50 million in the last five years to support the homeless agenda, attracting institutional investors and philanthropists. Clients like Nandos might just sell chicken but they also really care about people dying where they source their chicken, particularly of malaria.
A New Philanthropy is Emerging
The next generation of philanthropists will emerge from these young companies and their younger demographic.
For more details of other events hosted by the Leaders Club visit the site here.
See the next post for …… the second speaker was Linda Crompton, an alumni of the Business School’s first MBA program. Linda was the first woman to head a bank in North America and also to lead a bank that pioneered responsible investment principles. Now she is a leader in gender equality as the CEO and President of Leadership Women, the largest of its kind in the USA………
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Sex Trafficker Sentenced to 122 Years for Using Facebook to Recruit Underage Students
By KC June 19, 2019 No Comments
Cover photo of Eliberto Cruz Jacobo, credit to Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. 5 minute read.
When it comes to porn and sex trafficking, secrecy and lies fuel these huge, toxic multi-billion dollar global industries. We’re all about breaking up taboos and changing the conversation from secrets and shame to openness and honesty, and that starts in every one of our communities. And one conversation may not seem like a big deal, but it can start a ripple effect of change and action that can make a visible dent on these issues and change the world in the process.
That’s exactly what happened at one high school in California recently, after what was supposed to be a normal school presentation on human trafficking. When the talk was over, a couple of female students opened up, detailing their experiences of being messaged on Facebook by a woman attempting to recruit them into doing sex acts for money—sex trafficking, in other words.
Their tip proved to be a bigger deal for them and a bigger win for the anti-trafficking cause than anyone could have expected.
One tip, one big catch
When these two high school students spoke up, their tip sparked a full-on investigation by authorities that revealed about 70 potential victims within the course of just one year in Riverside County, California. As it turns out, the “woman” named “Marlissa Garcia” who reached out to these potential victims, a lot of them minors, wasn’t exactly who she portrayed herself to be.
“Marlissa” was actually 46-year-old Eliberto Cruz Jacobo from Hemet, in just one of his fake online identities used to recruit young women and young girls for commercial sex acts. And if that wasn’t disturbing enough, the commercial sex acts he was recruiting for were often with himself. Unfortunately, he was successful in exploiting some of the girls he reached out to. Not cool, and not okay.
Related: The Inseparable Link Between Porn and Human Trafficking
According to the news report by local reporter Katie Widner, Jacobo went on trial, facing “62 felony counts, including human trafficking of a minor, inducing or persuading a minor to engage in a commercial sex act, statutory rape and possession of child pornography.” He was convicted on all counts, and sentenced to more than 122 years in prison for his crimes.
Unfortunately, cases like this happen way more often than many people believe.
A rare victory
While it’s a relief that this investigation has been so effective, it’s not always the case. As Kristen Dolan, an anti-human trafficking director of SafeHouse of the Desert, said in a report, “It’s hard to get them and prosecute them in the way that we need to because there’s so much investigation that’s involved and it’s happening so often.”
This shines a light on how absolutely helpful and important it is to speak up and speak out, especially if you have any suspicious interaction with someone you don’t know, in person or online. And as social media continues to be our generation and the next’s main form of communication, it’s essential that we’re continuously on the lookout for anyone or anything that doesn’t seem right.
Related: Uber Driver Rescues Underage Sex Trafficking Victim
The truth is, sex trafficking is everywhere, including the porn industry. Obviously, human trafficking is an underground business, making firm statistics hard to come by, but the facts in cases that do come to light are chilling. For example, in 2011, two Miami men were found guilty of spending five years luring women into a human trafficking trap. They would advertise modeling roles, then when women came to try out, they would drug them, kidnap them, rape them, videotape the violence, and sell it to pornography stores and businesses across the country. [1]
Those cases are only the tip of the iceberg; many more like them exist, and for each victim discovered, countless others suffer in silence. [3]
Still, others are victimized by being forced into the commercial sex world—AKA sex trafficking—like what could have happened to the high school two girls in Riverside, California.
If there’s one thing that always hits home with every human trafficking story we hear, it’s that no community is immune. This is a widespread problem that happens not just in big cities, but in neighborhoods and towns all across the world. Sex trafficking is a global issue in local communities, and it’s up to us to speak out when we see something that isn’t okay.
Related: How Sex Traffickers Use Social Media To Contact, Recruit, And Sell Children For Sex
As porn is becoming more normalized, and as sex traffickers are finding new ways to lure victims into exploitation, these issues should be openly talked about in middle schools, junior highs, and high schools. We need to expose not only the dangerous world of human trafficking, but also the link of how porn fuels trafficking and how the two are inseparably connected.
School presentations can be empowering and powerful for individuals wanting to learn about the harmful effects of porn for themselves, their relationships and in their communities. As these discussions and presentations help de-stigmatize the conversation on the harmful effects of porn, and the local crisis of human trafficking, you never know what can happen to help combat sex slavery. Except, in this case, we do know—conversation starts here, with each one of us opening up and taking a stand. We CAN do something about it. And that is extremely empowering.
Bring us to you!
Bring Fight The New Drug to your school assembly or event to shed light on how porn can hurt, harm and victimize yourself and others.
Get FTND To Your School
Survey Finds More Than 1 in 3 Women Watch Porn at Least Once a Week
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3 Terrible Reasons to Buy Procter & Gamble
Jeremy Bowman, The Motley Fool
Motley Fool May 25, 2018
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) has long been an investor favorite. According to the conventional wisdom, the company has a lot going for it. P&G is nearly 200 years old. It's an S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat, having raised its dividend every year for 62 years in a row, and the company has 22 billion-dollar brands, household names including Tide, Bounty, and Crest.
While Procter & Gamble has historically been a winner on the stock market as it has steadily grown over the years and paid a reliable dividend, it's struggled more recently. In fact, the household-products giant has significantly underperformed the S&P 500 during any meaningful time interval in the last 10 years. Over the last decade, for instance, the stock has gained just 12% while the broad market has nearly doubled.
PG Chart
PG data by YCharts.
As the chart shows, that disparity has become more pronounced over the last few years as P&G is one of the few megacap stocks that is down over the last five years.
Nonetheless, the stock still has its supporters: Out of the 22 analysts covering it, only two rate it below a hold, and 10 of those analysts consider it a buy or even a strong buy, with the average one giving it a price target of $81.74, 10% above its current trading price.
You may already be familiar with some of the popular bull arguments for Procter & Gamble. Below, I'll review them and explore why they are bad reasons to invest in the stock.
Procter & Gamble's 20 most popular brands
P&G's top brands. Image source: Procter & Gamble.
1. The brand portfolio
P&G corporate and investors love to tout the company's portfolio of brands, which is unmatched by any consumer packaged goods (CPG) company except for Coca-Cola. However, growth is king in investing, and even brands that generate billions of dollars in revenue annually can become albatrosses if they can't deliver sales growth. For example, Gillette, the razor brand that P&G acquired in 2005 for $57 billion, has been a leader in razors for more than a century, but the brand has now become threatened by online upstarts like Dollar Shave Club, which was acquired by rival Unilever, and Harry's. As a result, Gillette has been forced to lower prices and has lost market share in recent years. In P&G's grooming division, which is led by Gillette, net sales have fallen 1% through the first three quarters of the current fiscal year, and operating profits are down 13%.
The rise of e-commerce is also shaking up the company's traditional strength in supermarkets and drugstores where it commands valuable shelf space. Smaller brands have become more popular with consumers, who are searching for unique and authentic brands, and online retailers like Amazon can push their own private-label products, rather than branded ones, if they choose.
2. The dividend
Procter & Gamble's dividend is often cited as a reason to invest in the company, and indeed, few of its peers can claim to have paid rising dividends for 62 years. The Pampers maker also offers a strong dividend yield at 3.9%. However, its growth has been lacking in recent years. Since 2015, its highest dividend increase was 4%, and in 2016 it was as low as 1%. Dividend growth has been slow as earnings growth has essentially stalled during that time, and considering its payout ratio, or the percentage of its profits that go to dividends, is at 72%, the company only has so much room to raise its dividend without growing its profits in line.
Furthermore, the 3.9% yield may be appealing to income investors, but with the Federal Reserve expected to continue raising interest rates, even 10-year treasuries will likely offer a better yield soon. Even for income investors, there are simply better options out there.
As a consumer-staples company and a Dividend Aristocrat, Procter & Gamble is a classic defensive stock, or a stock that should outperform the market in a recessionary climate. After all, consumers still need products like detergent even in tough times, and the company's dividend makes it an appealing investment when stocks are falling. However, that perceived safety has come at a steep price as the chart at the top of the article shows, as investors have missed out on nearly all of the market's growth over the last 10 years.
While it's true that P&G is less risky than many other stocks, again there are simply better options for investors concerned about wealth preservation or income. Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B), for example, is a classic example of a well-diversified company that has successfully weathered many economic downturns. Elsewhere, utility stock Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) has risen alongside the market over the last 10 years and has offered a better yield than P&G most of that time.
CPG companies like General Mills and Campbell Soup have struggled broadly in recent years as consumer tastes and shopping habits have changed, and Procter & Gamble, though not a food company, isn't much different. The stock is likely to continue to underperform as consumer trends favoring e-commerce and smaller brands are unlikely to change -- and they undermine the company's historical strengths.
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Estimating The Intrinsic Value Of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE:RBA)
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Erich Heller (1911-1990) Papers
Identifier: 11/3/15/3
The Erich Heller Papers fill thirteen boxes and span the period 1932 to 1990. The major portion (seven boxes) consists of correspondence, most of which is comprised of letters to Heller and much is in German. The other major section, publications (almost five boxes), contains primarily drafts and reprints of articles, and book reviews by Heller and reviews of books authored by Heller. Manuscripts for some of Heller's books, and some other papers, are in the Schiller Archives in Marbach, Germany.
The Heller Papers are organized in three categories: biographical materials, correspondence, and publications. There are also small amounts of teaching files and materials relating to papers Heller presented at professional organizations.
The biographical materials include curricula vitae, clippings about Heller's activities and his writings, several interviews, and programs of meetings at which Heller presented papers.
The correspondence is of considerable value. While much of it pertains to Heller's publications, literary criticism, speaking engagements, and travels, there is also a large amount of personal correspondence. Several of his correspondents also included with their letters handwritten or typed copies of their poems (e.g., Moriz Seeler and Robert McNeer).
Of special note is correspondence with:
1. Conrad Aiken. Four letters of 1953 commenting on Heller's recent book, The Disinherited Mind, and Healer's views on poetry. Aiken sent Heller a copy of his book, Ushant, and wrote about where he pictured himself as a poet and what he thought of T. S. Eliot's views on poetry. Aiken and Heller became friends and visited many times. Early in 1976 Aiken's widow, Mary, wrote Heller about her decision to give Conrad's papers and memorabilia to the Huntington Library. She also urged Heller to attend a gathering in memory of Conrad at the Huntington.
2. Lord and Lady Annan. Lord Annan, Provost of King's College, Cambridge, twice tried to bring his old friend, Heller, to that College: first, as College Lecturer in German (1959), and second, as Head of the Department and as Professor (1971). Eleven letters (three from Heller) discuss these offers. Lady Annan and Heller exchanged nine letters (two from Heller), about her translations from German of two works by Fontane. Nine additional letters from or to individuals associated with these translations are in this folder.
3. Hannah Arendt. Three letters and three postcards (all in German) to Heller, 1960-1973, deal with literary and personal matters.
4. T. S. Eliot. Twelve letters (1947-1958) to Heller and one from Heller (1955). Eliot wrote in his connection with the publisher, Faber and Faber, asking to see Heller's manuscript on Thomas Mann (Heller had earlier suggested this), although he felt that another publisher would be better suited for the work. Other literary matters are discussed in these letters. Eliot offered to help Heller arrange lectures at the University of Chicago. Later Eliot wrote that he had enjoyed Heller's essays on Goethe but disagreed on several points. Other letters deal with poetry, thought, and beliefs. Heller's letter to Eliot takes up these points at some length, especially in relation to the work of Hans Egon Holthusen. The final letter contains substantial praise for Heller's The Ironic German.
5. E. M. Forster. Eight brief notes and cards (1947-1969), all to Heller, touching on literary and personal matters.
6. Werner Heisenberg. Seven letters and one card (all in German) to Heller (1948-1966). These deal with possible arrangements for a translation of one of Heisenberg's books, with various philosophical and literary matters, and thanks to Heller for sending one of his books and for Heller's invitation to give some lectures at the University College in Swansea.
7. Hans Egon Holthusen. Eleven letters totaling 25 pp.; (all in German) to Heller, 1979-1984, which deal with literary and personal matters.
8. Thomas Mann and Family. This folder includes three letters (12 pp.) in German from Thomas Mann to Heller (1948-1954); a leaf from a manuscript of Felix Krull; three letters and a telegram from Katia Mann; a few items from the Mann's children; and some related material.
9. Oskar Seidlin. Ten letters (all in German) to Heller, 1974-1984, on literary and philosophical matters. This folder also includes letters and other material relevant to the Seidlin Festschrift.
10. Stephen Spender. Six letters (1961-1972), all to Heller, take up a request from Heller to arrange a lecture at Northwestern and arrangements for visits, a request to judge a manuscript for Spender's magazine, Encounter, and a request for Heller's help on Spender's translation of a poem by Hoelderlin.
11. Dolf Sternberger. Thirty letters (all in German) to Heller, 1966-1988. This folder also contains letters pertinent to some of Sternberger s literary work and its publication (some in English) and a handwritten introduction Sternberger gave to welcome guests at a meeting in Heidelberg, July 27-28, 1972.
12. Friedrich Torberg. A substantial number of letters (all in German) to Heller (1953-1981) about literary and personal matters.
Also of interest are substantial numbers of letters between Heller and four young friends and colleagues:
1. Joachim Beug, 1962-1989. Most of these are in German and are to Heller.
2. Graham Story, 1940-1943. All of these are in English and practically all are from Heller.
3. Anthony Thorlby, 1953-1990. Most are in English and most are to Heller.
4. Barton Walgomot, 1967-1989. Most are in English and most are to Heller.
The publications category consists mostly of drafts of articles and introductions to books, some in English and some in German. There is a draft of one book, Die Bedeutung Friedrich Nietzsches. The folder titled Willy Schenk (Box 11, Folder 22) contains many of his poems, some in manuscript. There are many reviews (in German and English) of books by Heller.
Heller, Erich, 1911-1990 (Person)
This collection is stored off-site and requires 48 hours advance notice for retrieval. Please contact us at archives@northwestern.edu or 847-491-3136 to schedule an appointment to view the collection.
The Erich Heller Papers fill thirteen boxes and span the period 1932 to 1990. The major portion (seven boxes) consists of correspondence, most of which is comprised of letters to Heller and much is in German. The other major section, publications (almost five boxes), contains primarily drafts and reprints of articles, and book reviews by Heller and reviews of books authored by Heller. There are also small amounts of teaching files and materials relating to papers Heller presented at professional organizations.
The Erich Heller Papers were donated to the University Archives by the Estate of Erich Heller through Wayne H. Gobel, Jr., on November 5, 1990 (Accession # 90-184).
A few photographs were transferred to the University Archives Photograph Collection. Thirteen large posters, an engraving (gift on Heller's seventieth birthday), and a box-framed certificate for the Merck Prize (1969) were transferred to the University Archives artifact collection and oversize files
William K. Beatty; December 1990-March 1991.
German literature--Study and teaching
Heller, Erich, 1911-1990
Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.). Department of German
Philosophy, German
Guide to the Erich Heller (1911-1990) Papers
William K. Beatty
Erich Heller (1911-1990) Papers. Northwestern University Archives. https://findingaids.library.northwestern.edu/repositories/6/resources/861 Accessed July 16, 2019.
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Recent FARA Development: Skadden Pays $4.6 Million in Settlement
Home / Blog / Recent FARA Development: Skadden Pays $4.6 Million in Settlement
The Department of Justice recently announced a landmark settlement agreement with the prominent law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Skadden acknowledges in the agreement that it should have registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) for its work on behalf of the Government of Ukraine. The agreement also, among other things, requires Skadden to file a late FARA registration, disgorge $4.6 million to the U.S. Treasury, and implement “formal, robust procedures” to ensure FARA compliance.
This Skadden settlement is the first of its kind in at least several decades and could have far-reaching consequences particularly for lobbying, public relations, and law firms that represent foreign governments and foreign entities.
Skadden’s Representation of the Ukrainian Government
According to a U.S. Department of Justice appendix attached to the settlement agreement, the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice hired Skadden in 2012 to write a Report on the “evidence and procedures used during the 2011 prosecution and trial of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko” and advise the Ministry “about rule of law issues in connection with a second criminal case against Tymoshenko.” The engagement was led by a Skadden attorney referred to in the appendix as “Partner-1,” who is reportedly former White House Counsel and then-Skadden partner Greg Craig.
Under the engagement, a $4 million advance retainer was paid to Skadden by a third party “business person.” The retention agreement, which was never countersigned by the Ministry, included a provision that Skadden was “not being retained to engage – and will not engage – in political activities as defined by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).” Notably, the retention agreement also incorporated by reference a separate contract between the Ministry of Justice and Skadden that set the maximum amount to be paid by the Ukrainian Government at just $12,000.
Skadden is described in the appendix as exercising independence in preparing the Report, taking such measures as disregarding the Ministry’s comments and repeatedly engaging Ms. Tymoshenko’s attorney to obtain her opposing viewpoint. The Report did not include, however, certain pro-Tymoshenko observations about the 2011 criminal trial that were separately memorialized by Mr. Craig in a personal memo. Skadden delivered the Report officially on November 30, 2012 and the Ukrainian Government released the Report to the public on December 13, 2012.
The U.S. Department of Justice appendix indicates that Skadden’s in-house FARA experts provided advice about the statute’s application to the Ukraine representation “on multiple occasions” to the Skadden attorneys writing the Report, including Mr. Craig. This advice apparently included a note saying that “if we were to perform public relations work aimed at the US …. then we would be obligated to register under FARA.” The appendix also indicates that Mr. Craig sent an email to an executive at a public relations firm stating that “we cannot run close to the FARA line and if we were seen as hiring and directing [PR Firm] we would be doing much more than just lawyering.”
Later, though, the appendix indicates that Mr. Craig was enlisted in the public-relations efforts by offering input into the proposed media plans and by interacting with a specific journalist with whom Mr. Craig had a prior relationship, which apparently included delivery of the Report to that journalist. (Attorneys for Mr. Craig have said previously that he did not disseminate the Report.) Mr. Craig was ultimately interviewed by the journalist and quoted in a news story about the Report.
Skadden’s Interactions with the Department of Justice
After reading Mr. Craig’s quotes in the media about the Report, the Department of Justice’s FARA Unit sent to Skadden a Letter of Inquiry in December 2012 asking the law firm for additional information and documents about the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice representation. Skadden responded that its work “was conditioned on the understanding with the client that the Firm would not provide any services that would be covered by” FARA. The response did not indicate how much Skadden had been paid in total or identify the source of its compensation.
The FARA Unit followed up in April 2013 with a subsequent request for “additional information to determine whether your firm is obligated to register,” including whether any Skadden personnel released or distributed the Report to any journalists, whether any Skadden personnel gave any media interviews, and the amount and source of Skadden’s compensation for the engagement. Skadden responded to this request in June 2013, but the appendix indicates that some facts “were not fully reflected” in Skadden’s response.
In September 2013, the FARA Unit sent a letter indicating it had determined that Skadden must register under FARA as an agent of the Ukrainian Government, “as a result of the dissemination of the Report to the media and communications with the media regarding the Report.” Skadden requested and held an in-person meeting in October 2013 with the FARA Unit to address the government’s conclusions. The firm subsequently sent a letter to the FARA Unit signed by Mr. Craig indicating, among other things, that the Report was provided to U.S. media outlets only “in response to requests from the media.”
The FARA Unit then changed its position and concluded in a January 2014 letter to Skadden that the firm had “no present obligation to register under FARA.”
Resolution for Skadden
The Department of Justice has since received information that now leads it to conclude that the FARA Unit’s 2014 conclusion about Skadden’s registration status was incorrect:
The FARA Unit made a determination that Skadden did not have a registration obligation in connection with its work for Ukraine, and it based that conclusion on the false and misleading information Skadden had provided. Before making its representations to the FARA Unit, Skadden had conducted no investigation to confirm the information the lead partner was providing to the FARA Unit and to other partners at the firm.
Skadden agrees with this conclusion, pursuant to a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice. This settlement agreement also requires Skadden to
Make payment to the U.S. Treasury of $4,657,568, representing all monies from all sources that the Law Firm was paid for its work and incurred expenses;
Register within 10 days of the settlement as required by FARA in connection with work for the Government of Ukraine;
Undertake continuing cooperation with all inquiries relating to the law firm’s work for the Ukrainian Government; and
Submit a report to the Department of Justice within 180 days certifying the implementation of processes related to “responding to inquiries concerning the Law Firm’s conduct from any federal government entity” and “ensuring FARA compliance as to the Law Firm’s engagements,” which is a measure that calls specifically for “intake procedures to identify the direct or indirect involvement of a foreign principal and/or activities that may trigger potential FARA registration obligations” and “firm-wide awareness of FARA compliance, including FARA-compliance training and messaging to appropriate personnel.”
The settlement agreement did not subject Skadden to any ongoing government monitoring or reporting regime.
Skadden did, in fact, register under FARA for its prior Ukraine work on January 18, 2019. The firm disclosed that 12 individuals associated with Skadden assisted in the representation and declared that it “understood that its work was to be largely funded by Victor Pinchuk.”
Important “Takeaways” from the Skadden Settlement
Skadden’s situation and settlement agreement offer important insights into FARA compliance to the regulated community, including:
Make sure that representations to the FARA Unit are accurate and the result of independent due diligence. The Department of Justice concluded that the FARA Unit was misled by initial statements from Skadden, which it criticized for failing to conduct an “investigation to confirm the information the lead partner was providing to the FARA Unit.” The Department also noted that it “expects that any organization, including a law firm or other professional service organization, that provides information in response to a government inquiry shall utilize formal policies and procedures to assess when independent diligence should be undertaken in responding to such inquiries to ensure that the information provided is reliable, accurate, and complete.” Before a law firm, lobbying firm, public relations consultancy, or other entity responds to an inquiry from the FARA Unit, then, independent and robust due diligence should be conducted to verify that all representations made to the government are correct and comprehensive.
Lawyers are not categorically exempt from FARA registration. FARA contains an exemption at 22 U.S.C. § 613(g) that is specific to lawyers engaged in a “legal representation of a disclosed foreign principal before any court of law or any agency of the Government of the United States.” This has led to a misconception that lawyers are categorically exempt from FARA. But as the Skadden settlement shows, that is not the case. Lawyers providing legal advice to a foreign client must exercise due care that their advice does not wander into the provision of public-relations services or other FARA-registrable activities, since even a single contact with a journalist or simple involvement in media strategy planning can potentially trigger FARA registration.
Even a single act can trigger FARA registration. While the Department of Justice did not articulate when exactly Skadden “crossed the line” into triggering FARA registration, it is possible that Mr. Craig’s alleged outreach to a journalist was sufficient to make the firm an “agent” under FARA. Unlike many other disclosure regimes, FARA does not contain any registration thresholds that permit a de minimis amount of activity to occur without giving rise to a legal obligation to register. The first registrable act triggers FARA registration, as evidenced here.
Cooperation with the FARA Unit can be beneficial. The Department of Justice heavily criticized Skadden’s initial responses to its inquiries, but later expressed appreciation for “Skadden’s more recent extensive cooperation in the investigation of this matter, which facilitated its resolution.” Skadden’s cooperation, in this circumstance, seems to have resulted in an expedited end to the investigation under terms that are relatively favorable, given the current enforcement environment. Full cooperation with the FARA Unit can be beneficial to those under investigation or in receipt of a Letter of Inquiry.
Contractual language, while helpful, is not always dispositive. Skadden folded into its engagement agreement with the Ukrainian Government language that it would not engage in FARA-registrable activities as part of the representation. Contractual language to this effect can be helpful, as it establishes the intent of the parties with regard to a representation. However, a lobbying firm, law firm, or public relations consultancy should make an effort to continually monitor its compliance with FARA and other applicable laws even after a contract including this type of language is executed.
The Skadden settlement could be a framework for settling future FARA issues. Although the Department of Justice tried twice unsuccessfully in the 1990s to impose involuntary civil fines, it has focused in more recent year on a “two-track” enforcement approach: (1) criminal prosecutions for a limited number of cases involving especially large sums of money, serious misconduct, espionage, or other “bad facts”; and (2) penalty-free voluntary late filings for less serious or self-reported violations. The Skadden settlement may open up a “third track” in the enforcement process, where the FARA Unit could resolve potential violations by securing an agreement that includes a payment to the U.S. Treasury and the implementation of a robust internal compliance program, among other things.
The Foreign Agents Registration Act: A Brief Plain-Language Guide
Updates on Congressional Action on FARA Reform
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ICAR-Central Avian Research Institute, Izatnagar
Izzatnagar -243122 Bareilly U.P. (INDIA)
Way back in 1930s, the role of poultry in uplifting rural economy and alleviation of malnutrition was recognized and on the recommendations of Royal Commission on Agriculture (1927), a separate Poultry Research Section at the Imperial (now Indian) Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar (UP), Bareilly was created on March 11, 1939, which was later on upgraded to Poultry Research Division (PRD) in the mid 50s and continued to play a significant role in growth and development of the Indian Poultry sector under the valiants like Mr. MacDonald (1939-1947), Dr. S.C. Iyer (1949-1955), Dr. S. Bose (1958-1968), Dr. B. Panda (1969-1979) and others thereafter. The PRD made remarkable progress during 70’s and became the biggest poultry research unit in India. During 1971, an All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Poultry Breeding was initiated in this Division with its 14 centres in different parts of the country. Later, it drew the attention of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and a Center of Excellence in Poultry Science was established in the Division to train people needed for research and development in poultry sector in the country. Realizing the significance of avian research in the country and in order to provide all round support to the progress of poultry production in India, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) merged the PRD and the AICRP on poultry breeding and established the Central Avian Research Institute (CARI) at Izatnagar on the 2nd November 1979 which over the years has emerged as the premier Institute of poultry research in the Country. Presently, its main campus is located in the heart of the North Indo-Gangetic Plains between latitude 28 degree and longitude 78-79 degrees in the Campus of IVRI, Izatnagar, Bareilly (U.P.), which is about 250 km South-East of New Delhi. Spread over an area of 54 acres, the institute has an administrative building, conference hall, museum, library, four blocks accommodating the laboratories of various disciplines, eight experimental farms, a hatchery, a feed processing unit, a semi-automatic poultry processing-cum-rendering unit, and trainees’ hostel-cum guest house, etc. A Regional Centre of the institute at Cuttack (Odisha) was established on 26th July, 1992 and was subsequently shifted to Bhubaneswar during October, 1998.
The institute envisions enhancing the productivity and profitability of diversified poultry species for sustainable poultry farming for household income and nutritional security, and employment generation in the country. Towards its attainment, the institute is implementing its R&D agenda with a mission to develop and popularize appropriate poultry production and processing technologies in respect of diversified avian species for additional employment generation oppurtunities, enhanced profitability and to provide the necessary research, education, training and technology transfer support in all areas of Poultry Science. The institute has been reorienting and updating its research and development (R&D) agenda to address the present problems and future demands / expectations of the poultry sector. Besides undertaking research in different disciplines of Poultry Science, the institute offers Post-Graduate education leading to National Diploma in Poultry Husbandry (NDPH), Master’s (M.V.Sc.) and Doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees in collaboration with the IVRI Deemed University, Izatnagar.
www.facebook.com/CARI1979
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David Icke's Official Forums > Main Forums > War on Terror
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
lightgiver
Location: Inactive
Entered Apprentice Degree
Quelques jours en septembre..
1843 - Corporal Mark Wright GC..
He completed 3 tours in Northern Ireland within 3 years, and was Number One in a mortar detachment by 2003..He was deployed to Iraq with his battalion in May 2003..Back in the UK, he was promoted to corporal..He became a Mortar Fire Controller, and was deployed to Helmand Province with his battalion in May 2006..On 6 September 2006, Wright was on routine patrol in the region of Kajaki in Helmand Province..He is then handed an old pair of drawers which he puts on; the left leg is rolled up above the knee..
The noise of explosion had echoed all around..
In October 2008 an inquest into the deaths of Wright (Born 22 April 1979) and other personnel involved in the incident heard further details of the circumstances..A platoon commander had heard from American private security contractors that there were mines in the area, and passed that information on; however, the map used by the troops still showed it as being clear of hazards..The first soldier to trigger a mine was Corporal Stuart Hale..This was reported to (then) Lieutenant Colonel Stuart TooTal, commanding officer of 3 PARA at the time..He requested a Blackhawk helicopter from the joint helicopter base in Kandahar, officers there were reluctant to send a helicopter because of the risk of further mines being present..When bomb-disposal officers told Tootal that it could take 12 hours to clear the mines, he decided to send a British Chinook to attempt a Rescue..
Apocalypse Now Trailer - France 26 September 1979..
France - 6 September 2006 - A Few Days in September imagines a scenario in which an American C.I.A. agent, Elliot, with advance intelligence about the attacks on New York's World Trade Center - This helicopter was not equipped with a winch, so would have to touch down at least its two back wheels to pick the men up..Sergeant Stuart Pearson attempted to clear sufficient area for the helicopter to touchdown, but as he rejoined the rest of the platoon, he triggered a further mine, causing further casualties..The helicopter then arrived and touched down successfully, but the soldiers were now unwilling to risk further detonations, and refused to move toward it..As the helicopter took off again, Wright triggered a further mine, possibly because he, or some equipment, was moved by the downdraft or other effect of the helicopter..3 soldiers had lost legs, and 4 had other serious injuries..Wright, himself wounded in the arm, neck and chest crawled across the minefield to administer morphine and other first aid measures to his comrades..Two Blackhawk helicopters finally arrived to extract the men, and Wright died in one of these en route to Camp Bastion..I've seen horrors..horrors that you've seen..Tootal believes that the additional casualties could have been avoided if a Blackhawk had been despatched in the first instance..In this buil,ding it's either kill or be killed..You make no friends in the pits and you take no prisoners..It is written...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_W..._Army_soldier)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ig-screen.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...treatment.html
https://forum.davidicke.com/showthre...=290407&page=3Where am I?..In the village..What do you want?..Information..Do you remember that missing boot Watson?..Whose side are you on?..That would be telling...We want information... information... information!..I remember when I was with Special Forces..seems a thousand centuries ago..Special delivery..Sign your number here, Number 6...https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...9&postcount=86
Last edited by lightgiver; 27-11-2018 at 07:30 PM.
Find More Posts by lightgiver
The Treasury of Loyal Retainers..
47 Ronin..
Prosthetics have been mentioned throughout history..The earliest recorded mention is the warrior queen Vishpala in the Rigveda..The Egyptians were early pioneers of the idea, as shown by the wooden toe found on a body from the New Kingdom...Roman bronze crowns have also been found, but their use could have been more aesthetic than medical..An early mention of a prosthetic comes from the Greek historian Herodotus, who tells the story of Hegesistratus, a Greek diviner who cut off his own foot to escape his Spartan captors and replaced it with a wooden one..
Amputees Learn To Use Artificial Limbs (1916)..
A hook does not match a normal human hand for appearance or overall versatility, but its material tolerances can exceed and surpass the normal human hand for mechanical stress..The Grrreat Big British Quiz mascot was a dog called Jack who barked each time a caller was selected and put through to the studio..My hand is falling apart..I can't shake hands..I had arthuritis, and I had an operation for it..Hosmer and Otto Bock in Duderstadt are major commercial hook providers..
Born on the Fourth of July (1989) Treated Like a Human Being HD..
Lower-extremity prosthetics describes artificially replaced limbs located at the hip level or lower..In the prosthetic industry, a trans-tibial prosthetic leg is often referred to as a BK or below the knee prosthesis while the trans-femoral prosthetic leg is often referred to as an AK or above the knee prosthesis..The tibia, aka the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger and stronger of the 2 bones in the leg below the knee..After 47 years - 22 synodic periods of 780 days each - Mars returns to the same position among the stars and is in the same relationship to the Earth and Sun..The ancient Mesopotamians discovered this cycle..The AK-47 was designed to be a simple, reliable fully automatic rifle that could be manufactured quickly and cheaply, using mass production methods that were state of the art in the Soviet Union during the late 40s..The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engined, tandem rotor, heavy-lift helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol..The member stars of M47 have been measured down to about red dwarfs at apparent magnitude 19..Mersenne primes are also noteworthy due to their connection to perfect numbers..Stanley, see this?..I'm thinking about the dear.. Going to 'Nam..There are 47 Prefectures of Japan..The revenge of the forty-se7en ronin or Ako vendetta, is an 18th-century historical event in Japan in which a band of ronin avenged the death of their master...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosthesis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/47_Ronin_(1994_film)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/...World-War.html
https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...&postcount=181I am with them..I just want to talk with you..We already took some of your friends downtown in a paddy wagon..Your sister's all right..I had to find some way to get you here..And I thought..Oh dear..https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...&postcount=569
The United Nations' Day in Support of Victims of Torture..
First Light Productions..
In 2004, Sergeant First Class William James arrives as the new team leader of a U.S..Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit in the Iraq War..He replaces Staff Sergeant Matthew Thompson, who was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Baghdad..His team includes Sergeant J. T. Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge..James is often approached by an Iraqi youth nicknamed "Beckham" attempting to sell DVDs.. James challenges him to a Game of soccer and takes a liking to Aaron & Adam.. Returning to Camp Victory in their Humvee, the team encounters five armed men in traditional Arab garb and casual attire standing near a Ford Excursion, which has a flat tire..James' team has a tense encounter with their leader, who reveals that they are private military contractors and British Mercenaries..Release date 4 September 2008..
26 June 2009 (US) - Katie tries to get through to Andy and explains that Paddy..
A fougasse is an improvised mortar constructed by making a hollow in the ground or rock and filling it with explosives (originally, black powder) and projectiles..An (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action..It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechanism. IEDs are commonly used as roadside bombs..The normal method of firing was to use a burning torch or slow match to ignite a saucisson (French for "sausage", a cloth or leather tube waterproofed with pitch and filled with black powder) leading to the main charge..Starting 6 months before the invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR on 27 December 1979, the Afghan Mujahideen were supplied by the CIA, among others, with large quantities of military supplies..Among those supplies were many types of anti-tank mines..Simple plans are always the best.. Well, here I... am...
The Hurt Locker Hindi..
Durvasa muni wants to meet Ram, however Lakshman is on his way..Muni is threatening to burn Ayodhya - The pop star Michael Jackson has died aged 50..Tonight, on Newsnight and a specially scheduled Newsnight Review we'll be looking back at the man, the music and the madness and examining the global reaction to the news of his death - Amnon Kapeliouk (22 December 1930) was an Israeli journalist and author and was a co-founder of B'Tselem and was known for his close ties to Yasser Arafat -Yesha Nichole Therese Camile, is a Filipino child actress in the Philippines - Joseph (Jo) Amar began his singing career in the late 1940s in Morocco - A candle-light vigil was held at Santa Monica pier in solidarity with the people of Iran - My in-law's cat, Maxine - Little Boots..The scheduled Glastonbury coverage will now begin at 11.20pm..Christian News.. - William Bernard Ganley (born in Leigh, Lancashire 27 January 1927), also known by the nickname of "The Maestro", was an English professional rugby league footballer of the 50s and 60s...He played at representative level for Great Britain, and Lancashire, and at club level for Oldham, as a fullback, i.e. number 1 - On the Edge with Max - A bombing at a Baghdad market kills at least 13 people, and leaves dozens more wounded - Would you like to leave me your home phone number?...
https://takemeback.to/04-September-2008
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hurt_Locker
https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...2&postcount=66Hello?..Uh..I'm coming through fine, too, eh?...Good, then...well, then, as you say, we're both coming through fine...Good...Well, it's good that you're fine and...and I'm fine..It's like a finger pointing away to the moon..I agree with you, it's great to be fine..A-ha-Now then, Dmitri..Do not concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the heavenly glory!...https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...&postcount=122
Last edited by lightgiver; 28-11-2018 at 01:36 AM.
The Blood is the Life
I suggest you use your big Bowie knife..
Misery (1990) I'm Your Number One Fan..
At her is the concentration being, a red letter BAM..
Gulf War (045 of 374) - Desert Shield Broadcast (New Zealand) 30th November 1990..
Saint Andrew was born, according to the Christian tradition, in 6 BC in Galilee - Branch Manager David Tel 01942 Keyline civils & Drainage Bolton road Atherton Manchester..Customer Services..A forklift is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances - The New Testament states that Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter, and likewise a son of John, or Jonah - Murder is only killing without a license - Drainage! Drainage, Eli, you boy.. Drained dry...The Magen David Adom organization was formed by nurse Karen Tenenbaum in 1930 as a volunteer association with a single branch in Tel Aviv..After opening branches in Jerusalem and Haifa, it was extended nationwide 5 years later, providing medical support to the public including not only Jews, but Arabs (Muslim, Druze, and Christian) - It takes a special kind of person to do that- Académie de Sol Beni - In the late 1960s the organization refocused its rapid trauma treatment and transport protocols due to the efforts of Dr. Nancy Caroline - The original version of The Price Is WRight was first broadcast on NBC, and later ABC, from 1956 to 1965, shows Were Given up to an initial 13 weeks to succeed or fail, it aired anyway- Her work at Magen David Adom was based upon studies she conducted with Dr. Peter Safar and the Freedom House Paramedics of Pittsburgh..Visitors to Israel are also welcome to donate blood through the Sharing for Life program..Since its inception in 2001, increasing numbers of people have donated blood, usually through groups such as Christian solidarity missions, or family Bar-Bat Mitzvas, especially during seasonal traditional pilgrimage times, such as Passover and Easter - One Bid, where 4 players attempt to bid on an initial prize - Güler is a Turkish name..Aktenzeichen XY - Guler State was famous as the cradle of the Kangra paintings..I am the Third Revelation!.I am who the Lord has chosen!..Die Schülke & Mayer Produktionsstätten in Winterhude blieben im Zweiten Weltkrieg unversehrt, während die Chemischen Farben Fabriken Beit & Co., welche unmittelbar an das Grundstück am Goldbekkanal grenzten, durch die Operation Gomorrha zu 80 Prozent zerstört wurden..1952 wurde Schülke & Mayr in eine GmbH gewandelt und bezog – nach Grundsteinlegung am 15 - Debra Winger on Late Night - Juni 1961 von dem damaligen Geschäftsführer Albert Obladen – im Jahr 1963 mit seinerzeits 320 Mitarbeitern seinen neuen Hauptsitz in Norderstedt Glashütte bei Hamburg..1966, the company was swallowed by the US pharmaceutical company Sterling Drug in 1988 - and thus Schülke & Mayer - was taken over by the Eastman Kodak Company...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magen_David_Adom
https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl6p/1990/11/30
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%BClke_%26_Mayr
https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...4&postcount=72Our ways are not your ways..I'd like to stay and talk, but I've got to be in church in ten minutes..I, who served the Cross..I, who commanded nations, hundreds of years before you were born...https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...&postcount=823
One Minute to Zero
Once again, what is your name?..
Jewel Pro Limited ..
Philippe Douvier, a major businessman and secretly the head of the French Connection, is suspected by his New York Mafia drug trading partners of weak leadership and improperly conducting his criminal affairs..To demonstrate otherwise, Douvier's aide Guy Algo suggests a show of force with the murder of the famous Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau..
Mr. Chong..
Legs & Co Release date 20 July 1978..
1974 – Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a coup d'état, organised by the dictator of Greece, against president Makarios - 77 – The CIA releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments - 82 – The Provisional IRA detonates two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park in central London, killing 8 soldiers, wounding 47 people, and leading to the deaths of se7en horses..I was 20 when they said a Woman couldn't swim the Channel..Friends had given me several addresses in Ramsdale where lodgings were available for the summer..
Oh, Father, you should see him..
Revenge of the Pink Panther 78 - Salty Swedish Sea Dog HD..
Nicola Benedetti MBE is a Scottish classical violinist and was born in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, to an Italian father and a Scottish mother - Pavel Valerievich Datsyuk, also known as The Magick Man,is a Russian professional ice ice Baby hockey player and captain for SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League - Just think of it as a large condom with legs - Johhny Interviews Bruce - Charlie Korsmo was born in Fargo, North Dakota, the son of a educational psychologist - Tamsyn Manou was born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria and attended Methodist Ladies' College and Caulfield Grammar School - Cedric Heymans (born in Brive-la-Gaillarde, Corrèze) is a former French rugby union footballer..He is currently a coach with Toulouse - Only Make Believe - Niall McGinn is a Northern Irish professional footballer, who plays for Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen, having rejoined the club for a second spell - Born and raised in San Francisco, California, Richard Egan graduated from St. Ignatius College Preparatory like Dinger only better looking - He was supported by his brother who was a priest, after a series of unsuccessful screen tests..He eventually got a bit role in the Hollywood film The Story of Molly X - Keaton Simons is an American recording and performing artist..He is signed to Best Revenge Records..Crying Cockles and Mussels From Brussels alive alive O-...
https://takemeback.to/20-July-1978
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reveng...e_Pink_Panther
https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...1&postcount=13We gotta play with more bullets..What?..More bullets..Jesus Christ!..Jesus Christ?..Stop me if you heard this one..Jesus Christ walks into a hotel..Ow!.He hands the innkeeper three nails, and he asks..I gotta get more bullets in the gun..We gotta play with more bullets..More bullets in the gun?..How many more bullets?..Victims; aren't we all?...https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...6&postcount=83
Absolute Zero is -273.15 Degrees Celsius..
Miramax Films..
In the final days of the Italian Campaign of World War II, Hana, a French -Canadian nurse of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, obtains permission from her unit to move into a bombed-out Italian monastery, to look after a dying, critically burned man who speaks English but cannot remember his name..The patient's only possession is a copy of Herodotus' Histories with notes, pictures and mementos contained inside..They are soon joined by Kip, a Sikh sapper in the British Army posted with his sergeant to clear mines and unexploded bombs in the local area, including one in the monastery where Hana and the English Patient are residing 15 November 1996..
Coronation Street..
Cierra Healey is from St. George, Ontario, Canada - Alger Hiss (11 November 1904)was an American government official who was accused of being a Soviet spy in 1948 and convicted of perjury in connection with this charge in 1950..Before he was tried and convicted, he was involved in the establishment of the United Nations both as a U.S. State Department official and as a U.N. official..In later life he worked as a lecturer and author..Alger was 1 of 5 children born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Mary "Minnie" Lavinia (née Hughes) and Charles Alger Hiss..
The English Patient - In Love with Ghosts HD..
Book I - (Clio) The Rapes of Io, Europa, and Medea, which motivated Paris to abduct Helen - Book II (Euterpe) The proof of the antiquity of the Phrygians by the use of children unexposed to language - Book III (Thalia) Cambyses II of Persia's (son of Cyrus II and king of Persia) attack on Egypt, and the defeat of the Egyptian king Psammetichus III - Book IV (Melpomene) The history of the Scythians (from the land north of the Black Sea) - Book V (Terpsichore) The freeing of Athens by Sparta, and its subsequent attacks on Athens - Book VI (Erato) The suicide of Cleomenes in a fit of madness, possibly caused by his war with Argos, drinking unmixed wine, or his involvement in dethroning Demaratus - Book VII (Polyhymnia) The destruction of 400 Persian ships due to a storm and the small Greek force (approx. 7,000) led by Leonidas I, sent to Thermopylae to delay the Persian army Book VIII (Urania) The supernatural rescue of Delphi from a Persian attack - Book IX (Calliope) Tactically, the Persian fleet should have held the advantage at sea, since the Athenian part of the Greek fleet was, despite their efforts at Artemisium and Salamis, still raw in seamanship...
https://takemeback.to/15-November-1996
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_En...Patient_(film)
https://forum.davidicke.com/showthre...=216650&page=3In a word, Brian, what is this job all about?..Gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen..As 17's official toastmaster..Fire..It's a living thing, Brian, just to keep us warm..Did the fire look at you?...https://forum.davidicke.com/showthre...=35025&page=14
Lets Submerge
Fur Game..
Eddie Cocran - 20 Flight Rock..
In December, 1887, Theodore Roosevelt proposed the formation of the Boone and Crockett Club at a dinner at his residence in New York City..In January, 1888, the Club was organized.. The club is North America's oldest wildlife and habitat conservation organization..The history of the teddy bear has a close connection to fair chase.. During his presidency in 1902, Roosevelt was in Mississippi to settle a border dispute..It's just...you say only 3 more have to be killed..
British Medical Reserves..
Gulf War (056 of 374) - Desert Shield..
Archie Hamilton is the 2nd son of the 3rd Baron Hamilton of Dalzell, a Lord-in-waiting to the Queen..The title was originally granted to Hamilton's great-grandfather, John Hamilton, 1st Baron Hamilton of Dalzell, who was a Liberal politician, and had been inherited by his second son, Gavin Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Dalzell, also a Liberal politician, before passing to his nephew, Hamilton's father..His mother, mary Coke, was a daughter of Major Sir John Spencer Coke, son of Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester; her maternal grandfather was Harry Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham.. Archi Hamilton is the younger brother of the 4th Baron Hamilton of Dalzell..He was born at Beckington Castle, Beckington, Somerset, which was then his parents' country house...He was educated at Eton College, said Arch Hamilton, the Clark County coroner..
Broadcast (New Zealand) 29th December, 1990..
Operation Desert Shield - US deploys 2 more carrier battle Groups..
Teddy Boyz is a mainly British subculture typified by young men wearing clothes that were partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after the Second World War - Doncaster Rovers v Hereford United -Taken from All Creatures Great And Small - Indiana vs. Auburn - Vicks Formula 44 -So, how many cars do Mercedes-Benz have to crash each year - Oh I'd say about a 100 - Subaru Legacy Purina One Nippon - Lily was here - Allen Kim Ki-bum, is a South Korean idol singer, actor, dancer and TV host, known for being a former member of boy band U-KISS - The Undertaker - Newcastle v Notts County - Fc de Kampioenen S01E13 I'm just a simple chap, sir..I'm not a great man like you..I just don't know where I am anymore...
https://takemeback.to/29-December-1990
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/71.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Th...evelt_(CVN-71)
https://jordanmaxwellshow.com/blog/2...ws-of-the-sea/
https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...51&postcount=9From back in the Roman Empire, there are two things on earth, Land and water..All ships are female, and she delivers a product..Females produce products..Labour, Delivery Room, Birth, Ship, “she” delivers products..When products are delivered, they need a certificate of Manifest..What is on the ship is on its manifest..Maritime Admiralty products...https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...&postcount=287
Equus..
Once upon a time, in a village..
in ancient India, there was a little goat and a priest..
Prime Location Sefton Avenue in Atherton is in the North West region of England - Gerald has to be taken to hospital when he cuts his hand with a knife, Pamela comes up with a plan to get her sister's relationship back on track..Deadly Knightmares Offspring..After this, the horse, a hornless he-goat, a wild ox are bound to sacrificial stakes near the fire, and se7enteen other animals are attached to the horse..A great number of animals, both tame and wild, are tied to other stakes, according to a commentator, 609 in total..The chief queen ritually calls on the king's fellow wives for pity..The queens walk around the dead horse reciting mantras..The chief queen then has to spend a night with the dead horse..In Hindu mythology the horse is a symbol of the sun, and the primal waters are considered its stable and birthplace..The sight was distressing..The sacrifice is made by the first and second division of the clan Ashekhabat..Its teeth were bared in a ghastly grin; the eyes became green and blue, much like the color of certain beetles..
The priest wanted to sacrifice the goat to the gods..
Then the little goat began to cry - Krishna Advising on the Horse Sacrifice..
Sefton was born in July 1963 in County Waterford, Ireland, as a cross between an Irish Draught mare and a local Thoroughbred stallion (thought to have been called Honour's Choice)..He was purchased as a two-year-old by local Michael Conners, who then tookhim as a four-year-old to the nearby Pallas Stud to be inspected by the Army Purchasing Commission on 1 June 1967, who chose him immediately, paying the then standard £275..He was then shipped via ferry from Dublin along with 25 other three- and four-year-old horses destined for the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery and other parts of the Household Cavalry..Here, he was named Sefton after Lord Sefton, a former Household Cavalry officer, but was nicknamed 'Sharky' in the stable, due to his predilection for biting, by the summer of 1969, Sefton had gained a reputation for being difficult, and for breaking ranks, fidgeting and napping..This made him a very popular horse, and made the army team competing for the British Army of the Rhine..In 1975, there was an outbreak of strangles at Knightsbridge Barracks, leaving a shortage of large black horses for ceremonial duties in London..Strangles is enzootic in domesticated horses worldwide..The average course of bastard strangles is 23 days - The Yajurveda ( from yaj meaning worship,and veda meaning knowledge) is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals, broadly grouped into 2 , the black or dark (Krishna) and the white or bright (Shukla) Yajurveda..The bones were then placed on the 15 stone altars where fires were not merely burning, but roaring..
America - A Horse With No Name..
The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry Mars Bar..
On 20 July 1982 at 10.40am Sefton was en route to the traditional Changing of the Guard, with 15 other horses from his regiment..A car-mounted nail bomb planted by the IRA detonated on South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park, hitting the formation of horses and riders from the Blues and Royals..Two soldiers were killed on the scene, with two further soldiers dying of their wounds later..The blast injured all the horses, se7en of them so badly that they were shot on the scene to relieve their suffering..Those that died were called Cedric, Epaulette, Falcon, Rochester, Waterford, Yeastvite and Zara.. Sefton and 8 of his stablemates also sustained injuries, although Sefton's were the most serious of the surviving horses..Echo, a Grey metropolitan police horse who was escorting the troop was hit by shrapnel and Yeti a "Cav Black" although not physically wounded suffered nerve damage and was traumatised by the attack..Sefton's injuries were serious: they included a severed jugular vein, wounded left eye, and 34 wounds over his body..His rider Trooper Michael Pedersen noted that Sefton responded so competently that when the bomb exploded there was no chance of his being thrown..After dismounting, Pedersen, who was still in full state kit and in severe shock, could do little to help Sefton...Carding, the civilian vets, farriers and troopers managed to save all of the horses who were brought back to barracks from the explosion scene - A similar ritual is found in Celtic tradition in which the King in Ireland conducted a rite of symbolic marriage with a sacrificed horse - The epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) is a species of longtailed carpet shark, family Hemiscylliidae, found in shallow, tropical waters off Australia and New Guinea - Roman horse sacrifice tradition also coincide with Ashvamedha - Isolation of new horses for 4 to 6 weeks, immediate isolation of infected horses, and disinfection of stalls, water buckets, feed troughs, and other equipment will help prevent the spread of strangles..As with any contagious disease, handwashing is a simple and effective tool - Detectives were alerted to the deaths after a passer-by found the three bodies by the family care near a bridleway in Andover, Hants, at around 6.15pm on Sunday knight...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashvamedha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sefton_(horse)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/asia/jss/jss08.htm
https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...&postcount=386This horse has got a good master, and he deserves it, and I can trust his work..We shall all have to be judged according to our works, whether they be towards man or towards beast..Yes, it is very fine then; but when thousands of good brave men and horses are killed, or crippled for life, it has a very different look..Oh! if people knew what a comfort to a horse a light hand is...https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...postcount=1863
Help the Aged..
Pulp..
The Goat of Mendes was released on 11 September 2001, through Peaceville Records - Suffering comes in many forms..Three obvious kinds of suffering correspond to the first 3 sights the Buddha saw on his first journey outside his palace: old age, sickness and death..Animals have always been regarded in Buddhist thought as sentient beings...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goat_of_Mendes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help_the_Aged_(song)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religi...truths_1.shtml
https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...7&postcount=42The priest wanted to sacrifice the goat to the gods...https://forum.davidicke.com/showpost...&postcount=387
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Juilliard School
"Juilliard" redirects here. For other uses, see Juilliard (disambiguation).
Find sources: "Juilliard School" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
The Juilliard School (/ˈdʒuːliɑːrd/)[1] is a performing arts conservatory located in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leading drama, music and dance schools, with some of the most prestigious arts programs.[2][3][4]
Damian Woetzel
Approximately 850 college, approximately 290 pre-college
Campus type
www.juilliard.edu
Alice Tully Hall in the Juilliard School building
The Juilliard School
In 1905, the Institute of Musical Art, Juilliard's predecessor institution, was founded on the premise that the United States did not have a premier music school and too many students were going to Europe to study music.[5] The Institute opened in the former Lenox Mansion, Fifth Avenue and 12th Street, on October 11. It moved in 1910 to 120 Claremont Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, onto a property purchased from Bloomingdale Insane Asylum.[6] In 1920, the Juilliard Foundation was created, named after textile merchant Augustus D. Juilliard, who bequeathed a substantial amount of money for the advancement of music in the United States. In 1924, the foundation purchased the Vanderbilt family guesthouse at 49 E. 52nd Street, and established the Juilliard Graduate School.[7] In 1926, the Juilliard School of Music was created through a merger of the Institute of Musical Art and the Juilliard Graduate School. The two schools shared a common Board of Directors and President (Columbia University professor John Erskine) but retained their distinct identities. The conductor and music-educator Frank Damrosch continued as the Institute's dean, and the Australian pianist and composer Ernest Hutcheson was appointed dean of the Graduate School. In 1937, Hutcheson succeeded Erskine as president of the two institutions, a job he held until 1945. In 1946, the Institute of Musical Art and the Juilliard Graduate School completely merged to form a single institution. The president of the school at that time was William Schuman, the first winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Schuman established the Juilliard String Quartet in 1946 and the Dance Division in 1951, under the direction of Martha Hill.
William Schuman graduated from Columbia's Teachers College (BS 1935, MA 1937) and attended the Juilliard Summer School in 1932, 1933 and 1936. While attending Juilliard Summer School, he developed a personal dislike for traditional music theory and ear training curricula, finding little value in counterpoint and dictation. Soon after being appointed as president of the Juilliard School of Music in 1945, William Schuman created a new curriculum called the Literature and Materials of Music (L&M), designed for composers to teach. L&M was Schuman's reaction against more formal theory and ear training, and as a result did not have a formal structure. The general mandate was "to give the student an awareness of the dynamic nature of the materials of music." The quality and degree of each student's education in harmony, music history, or ear training was dependent on how each composer-teacher decided to interpret this mandate.
William Schuman resigned as president of Juilliard after being elected president of Lincoln Center in 1962. Peter Mennin, another composer with directorial experience at the Peabody Conservatory, was elected as his successor. Mennin made significant changes to the L&M program—ending ear training and music history and hiring the well known pedagogue Renée Longy to teach solfège. In 1968, Mennin hired John Houseman to manage a new Drama Division, and in 1969 oversaw Juilliard's relocation from Claremont Avenue to Lincoln Center. The School's name was changed to The Juilliard School to reflect its broadened mission to educate musicians, directors, and actors.[8][9]
Dr. Joseph W. Polisi became president of Juilliard in 1984, after Peter Mennin died. Polisi's many accomplishments include philanthropic successes, broadening of the curriculum and establishment of dormitories for Juilliard's students. In 2001, the school established a jazz performance training program. In September 2005, Colin Davis conducted an orchestra that combined students from the Juilliard and London's Royal Academy of Music at the BBC Proms, and during 2008 the Juilliard Orchestra embarked on a successful tour of China, performing concerts as part of the Cultural Olympiad in Beijing, Suzhou, and Shanghai under the expert leadership of Maestro Xian Zhang.
In 1999, the Juilliard School was awarded the National Medal of Arts.[10]
In 2006, Juilliard received a trove of precious music manuscripts from board chair and philanthropist Bruce Kovner. The collection includes autograph scores, sketches, composer-emended proofs and first editions of major works by Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Chopin, Schubert, Liszt, Ravel, Stravinsky, Copland, and other masters of the classical music canon. Many of the manuscripts had been unavailable for generations. Among the items are the printer's manuscript of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, complete with Beethoven's handwritten amendments, that was used for the first performance in Vienna in 1824; Mozart's autograph of the wind parts of the final scene of The Marriage of Figaro; Beethoven's arrangement of his monumental Große Fuge for piano four hands; Schumann's working draft of his Symphony No. 2; and manuscripts of Brahms's Symphony No. 2 and Piano Concerto No. 2. The entire collection has since been digitized and can be viewed online.[11] In 2010, philanthropist James S. Marcus donated $10 million to the school to establish the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at the school.[12]
On September 28, 2015, The Juilliard School announced a major expansion into Tianjin during a visit by China's first lady, Peng Liyuan, the institution's first such full-scale foray outside the United States, with plans to offer a master's degree program.[13]
In May 2017, retired New York City Ballet principal dancer Damian Woetzel was named President, replacing Joseph W. Polisi.[14]
AdmissionEdit
Admittance into The Juilliard School is highly competitive. In 2007, the school received 2,138 applications for admission, of which 162 were admitted for a 7.6% acceptance rate.[15] For the fall semester of 2009, the school had an 8.0% acceptance rate.[16] In 2011, the school accepted 5.5% of applicants.[17] For Fall 2012, 2,657 undergraduate applicants were received by the college division and 7.2% were accepted. Juilliard admits both degree program seekers and pre-college division students, the latter being a conservatory program for younger students to develop their skills.[18] All applicants who wish to enroll in the Music Advancement Program, for the Pre-College Division, must perform an audition in person before members of the faculty and administration and must be between ages 8 and 18. Before being scheduled for an audition, each applicant must submit a complete application for admission. After auditions, the school invites select applicants to meet with a program administrator. The 75th percentile accepted into Juilliard in 2012 had a GPA of 3.96 and an SAT score of 1350.[19]
ProgramsEdit
The school offers courses in dance, drama and music.
The Dance Division was established in 1951 by William Schuman with Martha Hill as its director. It offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts or a Diploma.[20]
The Drama Division was established in 1968 by the actor John Houseman and Michel Saint-Denis. Its acting programs offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts, a Diploma and, beginning in Fall 2012, a Master of Fine Arts.[21] Until 2006, when James Houghton became Director of the Drama Division, there was a "cut system" that would remove up to one-third of the second-year class. The Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program, begun in 1993, offers one-year, tuition-free, graduate fellowships; selected students may be offered a second-year extension and receive an Artist Diploma. The Andrew W. Mellon Artist Diploma Program for Theatre Directors was a two-year graduate fellowship that began in 1995 (expanded to three years in 1997) this was discontinued from autumn 2006.
The Music Division is the largest of the school's divisions. Available degrees are Bachelor of Music or Diploma, Master of Music or Graduate Diploma, Artist Diploma and Doctor of Musical Arts. Academic majors are brass, collaborative piano, composition, guitar, harp, historical performance, jazz studies, orchestral conducting, organ, percussion, piano, strings, voice, and woodwinds. The collaborative piano, historical performance, and orchestral conducting programs are solely at the graduate level; the opera studies and music performance subprograms only offer Artist Diplomas. The Juilliard Vocal Arts department now incorporates the former Juilliard Opera Center.
All Bachelor and Master courses require credits from the Liberal Arts course; Joseph W. Polisi is a member of the Liberal Arts faculty.[22]
Pre-College DivisionEdit
The Pre-College Division teaches students enrolled in elementary, junior high, and high school. The Pre-College Division is conducted every Saturday from September to May in the Juilliard Building at Lincoln Center.[23]
All students study solfège and music theory in addition to their primary instrument. Vocal majors must also study diction and performance. Similarly, pianists must study piano performance. String, brass and woodwind players as well as percussionists also participate in orchestra. The pre-college has two orchestras, the Pre-College Symphony (PCS) and the Pre-College Orchestra (PCO). Placement is by age and students may elect to study conducting, chorus and chamber music.
The Pre-College Division began as the Preparatory Centers (later the Preparatory Division), part of the Institute of Musical Art since 1916. The Pre-College Division was established in 1969 with Katherine McC. Ellis as its first director. Olegna Fuschi served as director from 1975 to 1988. The Fuschi/Mennin partnership allowed the Pre-College Division to thrive, affording its graduates training at the highest artistic level (with many of the same teachers as the college division), as well as their own commencement ceremony and diplomas. In addition to Fuschi, directors of Juilliard's Pre-College Division have included composer Dr. Andrew Thomas. The current director of the Pre-College Division is Yoheved Kaplinsky.
Music Technology CenterEdit
The Music Technology Center at the Juilliard School was created in 1993 to provide students with the opportunity to use digital technology in the creation and performance of new music. Since then, the program has expanded to include a wide offering of classes such as, Introduction to Music Technology, Music Production, Film Scoring, Computers In Performance and an Independent Study In Composition.[24]
In 2009, the Music Technology Center moved to a new, state of the art facility that includes a mix and record suite and a digital "playroom" for composing and rehearsing with technology. Together with the Willson Theater, the Music Technology Center is the home of interdisciplinary and electro-acoustic projects and performances at the Juilliard School.
Juilliard Electric EnsembleEdit
The Juilliard Electric Ensemble was created in 2003 to provide students from all three of Juilliard's divisions (dance, drama, and music) with an opportunity to use new technology in the creation and performance of interactive and multi-disciplinary work.
In past performances, the Juilliard Electric Ensemble has used interactive technology to expand the range of their instruments, control audio and visual elements with electronic tools, shape video and projection design in real-time by moving through a virtual field, and interact with artists and computers around the world via the web.
Since its debut, the Electric Ensemble has performed works by over 50 composers including Joan La Barbara, Kenji Bunch, Eric Chasalow, Sebastian Currier, Avner Dorman, Jonathan Harvey, Jocelyn Pook, Steve Reich, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Morton Subotnick, Alejandro Viñao, Jacob ter Veldhuis, David Wallace, Mark Wood, and Peter Wyer.
Performing ensemblesEdit
Morse Hall, one of the performing spaces inside the Juilliard School
The Juilliard School has a variety of ensembles, including chamber music, jazz, orchestras, and vocal/choral groups. Juilliard's orchestras include the Juilliard Orchestra, the New Juilliard Ensemble, the Juilliard Theatre Orchestra, and the Conductors' Orchestra. The Axiom Ensemble is a student directed and managed group dedicated to well-known 20th century works.
In addition, several ensembles of Juilliard Faculty, called Resident Ensembles, perform frequently at the school. These groups include the Juilliard String Quartet, the American Brass Quintet, the New York Woodwind Quintet, and Juilliard Baroque.
FundraisingEdit
The Juilliard Second Century Fund aims to raise $300 million to enable the Juilliard School to sustain its eminence in performing arts education well into the school's next century.[25] The tuition expected for 2011 is about $48,670 for the school year. Expanded and renamed on Juilliard's 100th anniversary, the fund supports six components that help Juilliard continue to recruit the world's best young artists and faculty, offer educational programs that maintain the quality of a Juilliard education, and increase the size and functionality of Juilliard's physical plant.
Fundraising specifically targeted to the Pre-College Division began during 2004 with a benefit concert given by the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony. The event raised $90,000 to establish a Pre-College Parents' Association Scholarship Fund. During 2005, Juilliard produced its own benefit concert for the Pre-College Division featuring its own students directed by faculty member Itzhak Perlman and hosted by entertainer Bill Cosby to add to this fund.
In April 2009, it was announced that the Music Advancement Program (MAP) would be curtailed due to budget reductions. After strong opposition to the reductions, the program, which helps inner-city children get music lessons, was then reinstated after several donors pledged money to support it.
Notable peopleEdit
Main article: List of Juilliard School people
For a list of notable faculty, see List of Juilliard School people § Notable teachers.
For a list of notable alumni, see List of Juilliard School people § Notable alumni.
^ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
^ "Still 'best reputation' for Juilliard at 100". The Washington Times. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
^ Frank Rich (2003). Juilliard. Harry N. Abrams. p. 10. ISBN 0810935368. Juilliard grew up with both the country and its burgeoning cultural capital of New York to become an internationally recognized synonym for the pinnacle of artistic achievement.
^ "The Top 25 Drama Schools in the World". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
^ "About Juilliard: A Brief History". The Juilliard School. January 4, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
^ "Historical Significance". morningsideheights.org. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
^ Jeni Dahmus (March 2010). "Time Capsule". The Juilliard Journal Online. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
^ A Brief History, The Juilliard School. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
^ Juilliard School, The, The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. 2007, Columbia University Press, found in Infoplease. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
^ "Lifetime Honors: National Medal of Arts". National Endowment for the Arts. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
^ "Juilliard Manuscript Collection".
^ Fred Plotkin (July 7, 2015). "Remembering James S. Marcus". WQXR Online.
^ Michael Cooper (September 28, 2015). "Juilliard's China Plans Move Forward". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
^ "Juilliard Names Damian Woetzel as Its New President". The New York Times. May 10, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
^ "The Juilliard School, New York". Citytowninfo.com. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
^ "Juilliard School". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
^ Finnegan, Leah (March 30, 2011). "College Admissions Rates Drop For The Class Of 2015". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
^ "Juilliard Pre-College at The Juilliard School". www.juilliard.edu. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
^ "Juilliard school". Parchment.com. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
^ "Dance". The Juilliard School. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
^ "Drama". The Juilliard School. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
^ "Liberal Arts". The Juilliard School. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
^ "Juilliard Pre-College". The Juilliard School. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
^ "Center for Innovation in the Arts". The Juilliard School. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
^ Lisa Robinson (February 2008). "New Gifts—and New Venue Names—for Juilliard". The Juilliard Journal Online. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
Ten Years of American Opera Design at the Juilliard School of Music, published by New York Public Library, 1941.
The Juilliard Report on Teaching the Literature and Materials of Music, by Juilliard School of Music. Published by Norton, 1953.
The Juilliard Review, by Richard Franko Goldman, published by Juilliard School of Music, 1954.
The Juilliard Journal, published by the Juilliard School, 1985.
Nothing But the Best: The Struggle for Perfection at the Juilliard School, by Judith Kogan. Published by Random House, 1987. ISBN 0-394-55514-7.
Guide to the Juilliard School Archives, by Juilliard School Archives, Jane Gottlieb, Stephen E. Novak, Taras Pavlovsky. Published by The School, 1992.
Juilliard: A History, by Andrea Olmstead. Published by University of Illinois Press, 2002, ISBN 0-252-07106-9.
A Living Legacy: Historic Stringed Instruments at the Juilliard School, by Lisa Brooks Robinson, Itzhak Perlman. Amadeus Press, 2006. ISBN 1-57467-146-4.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Juilliard School.
The Juilliard School – its history at 100
Andrea Olmstead papers, 1970-2013 Music Division, The New York Public Library. Olmstead's papers hold the research she carried out for her book on Juilliard, and include recorded interviews with various faculty, former students, and staff.
Coordinates: 40°46′26″N 73°59′00″W / 40.77389°N 73.98333°W / 40.77389; -73.98333
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Panagis Kalkos
Panagis Kalkos (Greek: Παναγής Κάλκος, 1818–1875) was one of the first Greek architects of the modern Greek state. Educated in Munich, he is a representative of a strict neoclassic style in architecture. He built some of the most characteristic neoclassic buildings, both public and private, of Athens, many of which still survive today.
Biographical informationEdit
Panagis Kalkos (or Kalkos-Vretos[1]) was born in 1818 into an old Athenian family. His father, Michael, was killed during the siege of the Acropolis during the Greek War of Independence and he, himself, was taken prisoner.[2]
After the creation of the independent Greek state, he worked as an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. From 1837 he started studies in architecture with a scholarship provided by King Otto. Upon his return to Greece, he was employed as an architect at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It has been reported that with this capacity he worked as an assistant of the Bavarian architects Riedel and Hoch, who built the Royal Palace upon the plans of Friedrich von Gaertner.
From 1851 onwards he collaborates with the Greek Archaeological Service for the survey of the monuments on the Acropolis of Athens. His plans of the Erechtheion were published in 1853.[3]
He was a member of the commission constituted in 1860 upon the initiative of the Municipal Council of Athens for the drawing of a topographical plan of the capital.[4] He died in Athens on 18 November 1875.[1]
Main worksEdit
Several well known buildings are included among Kalkos's works:
The mansion of publisher Andreas Koromilas on Syntagma Square, situated on the south side of the square at the corner of Ermou Street. Built in 1853, it was initially two-storey, with a third floor added after King Otto's expulsion.[5]
The Varvakeion Lyceum (boys’ high school), built with a donation of Ioannis Varvakis, a wealthy member of the Greek diaspora in the years 1857–1859 on the square bearing the same name, delimited between the streets Athinas, Sokratous, Armodiou and Aristogeitonos.[6][7]
The Parliament House (today Old Parliament Building, housing the National Historical Museum), which was to house the assemblies of Parliament and of the Senate. It was founded in 1858 and construction started upon the plans of the French architect François/Florimond Boulanger. After the expulsion of King Otto (1862) and the implementation of the Constitution of 1864, the Senate was abolished. After an interruption of the building works, the plans were modified by Panagis Kalkos. The main change in these plans was the abolishment of the Senate assembly hall. The building was thus completed in 1871.[8]
The block of flats belonging to I. Koutsogiannis, member of the Municipal Council. The building was built on Deligiorgis 8 and Agisilaou streets at the Metaxourgeio neighbourhood. It is a typical three-storey urban Athenian house, containing five independent flats, built around 1870.[9][10]
The initial building of the old Acropolis Museum,[11] founded in 1865 at the southeast corner of the Acropolis of Athens and completed in 1874. In 1875 Kalkos, acting as a collaborator of the Archaeological Service, coordinated the transfer of the antiquities within its halls.[12] The museum was later extended and several internal changes were brought to its internal disposition.
The Athens Town Hall on Athinas street in Kotzia Square. It was built with two storeys between 1872 and 1874.[13]
The Municipal Nursery (today Municipal Art Gallery of Athens)[14] on Koumoundourou square on Pireos Street. Built between 1872 and 1875.
The Municipal School (today 74th Primary School of Athens), the first public peer education school in Athens. It is a one storey building on Adrianou Street (at the corner of Flessa Street) in Plaka, built between 1875 and 1876.[15]
Kalkos also contributed in the completion of the following buildings.
Amalieion Orphanage: construction began by architect Dimitrios Zezos in the plot between today’s streets Herodou Attikou, Lykeiou, Stisihorou and Georgiou II΄. After Zezos’s death in 1857, Kalkos was entrusted with the completion of the building.[16][17]
Athens Metropolitan Cathedral (Orthodox Cathedral): founded in 1842 upon plans by Theophil Hansen. The initial plans were revised by Dimitrios Zezos, who continued the construction in a "Hellenic Byzantine" style. After Zezos's death in 1857 the works were taken over, with further modifications of the plans, by François/Florimond Boulanger, while Kalkos was entrusted with the supervision of the building site till its completion in 1860.[18]
Church of Panagia Chrysospiliotissa on Aiolou street: built on the site of a previous church, ruined during the 1821 Greek War of Independence. Kalkos worked for the new church since 1863 (when the permit was issued) implementing the plans of Dimitrios Zezos, but he died before its completion.[19]
National Archaeological Museum on Patission Street:[20] founded in 1866, construction was begun upon plans and supervision of Kalkos, who had revised an older building proposal by Lange. Kalkos worked on the museum building till the very day of his death.[1]
^ a b c Kokkou, 235.
^ Eleftheroudakis Encyclopedia, p. 109.
^ Kokkou, 80–81.
^ Biris Κ. Η., 108–109.
^ Vogiatzi, Ι. Markassioti Ν., Chorianopoulou, Μ., 22.
^ Kokkou, 185.
^ Vogiatzi, Ι. Markassioti Ν., Chorianopoulou, Μ., 537.
^ Biris Κ. Η., 150.
^ Biris, Μ. G., 74–76.
^ Biris Μ., Kardamitsi-Adami, 152, 156.
^ Kokkou, 195–201.
^ Mallouchou-Tufano, 142, subnote 195.
^ 14. Biris Κ. Η., 206.
^ Biris, Μ., Kardamitsi-Adami, 168.
^ Biris Κ. Η., 133
BibliographyEdit
Vogiatzi, Ι. Markassioti Ν., Chorianopoulou, Μ., Athens: The City, the People, the Events, Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece, Athens 2014.
Εγκυκλοπαιδικόν Λεξικόν Ελευθερουδάκη [Eleftheroudakis Encyclopedia Lexicon], vol. 7, p. 109, Athens 1929.
Kokkou, A., Η Μέριμνα για τις Αρχαιότητες στην Ελλάδα και τα Πρώτα Μουσεία [The Care for Antiquities in Greece and the First Museums], Athens 1977.
Mallouchou-Tufano, F., Η Αναστήλωση των Αρχαίων Μνημείων στη Νεώτερη Ελλάδα (1834–1939) [The Anastylosis of Ancient Monuments in Modern Greece (1834–1939)], Βιβλιοθήκη της εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας [Library of the Archaeological Society of Athens] no. 176, Athens 1998.
Biris, Κ. Η., Αι Αθήναι από του 19ου εις τον 20όν Αιώνα [Athens from the 19th to the 20th Century], Athens 1995 2.
Biris, M., Kardamitsi-Adami, M., Νεοκλασική αρχιτεκτονική στην Ελλάδα [Neoclassical Architecture in Greece], Athens 2001.
Biris M.G., Νεοελληνική Αρχιτεκτονική 1875–1925 [Neohellenic Architecture 1875–1925], Athens 2003 2.
Παγκόσμιο Βιογραφικό Λεξικό (λήμμα Μάνου Μπίρη) [Universal Biographical Lexicon (entry on Manos Biris), vol. 4, p. 218, Ekdotike Athinon, Athens 1985.
Papyros – Larousse – Britannica, Athens 2007, vol. 26, p. 656.
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Home / Research / Interdisciplinary Institute
- The Institute for Advanced Studies of Wuhan University
The Institute for Advanced Studies of Wuhan University (IAS), is founded in April, 2014, is an independent institute directly affiliated to Wuhan University. The first president of IAS is Prof. Zhu Yuxian, a member of Chinese Academy of Sciences. IAS gives priority to develop Life Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Material Sciences and relative research fields. It places emphasis on fundamental research, focuses on frontier disciplines, encourages discussions and collaborative research on important interdisciplinary problems.
- Medical Research Institute, Wuhan University
Medical Research Institute (MRI), founded in April 2014，is located in the Shuanghu comprehensive experimental building in School of Medicine of Wuhan University, covering an area of 15000m2. Dr. Shu Hongbing, vice president of Wuhan University and a member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, serves as the first dean. MRI is a special and innovative scientific research zone for high calibre talents from Wuhan University. The goal is to gather these talents, integrate the advantages of discipline resources, promote the combination and transformation of basic and clinical medicine, improve the academic level of medical sciences of our university and build an influential and high-profile biomedical research Centre internationally.
- The Institute of Technological Sciences of Wuhan University
The Institute of Technological Sciences of Wuhan University (ITS) was established in April, 2017. It is located in the Yage Building of Wuhan University and is a relatively independent research institution directly affiliated to WHU. Liu Sheng, Dean of the School of Power and Mechanical Engineering, served as the Executive Dean. Based on the engineering discipline, ITS brings together multi-disciplinary high-end talents, with advanced manufacturing, new energy, advanced materials and aerospace as the main development directions. And also, on the basis of the multidisciplinary development and the advantages of interdisciplinary research in the WHU ITS explores leading research projects, helps solve common industrial problems and create revolutionarily new industries that further enhances the academic strength of the engineering discipline of Wuhan University and builds a high-level engineering research base with international influence.
- China Institute for Main Function Area Strategy of Wuhan University
China Institute for Main Function Area Strategy of Wuhan University (CIMFAS) is an independent research institution of Wuhan University. It was jointly established by the National Development and Reform Commission and Wuhan University in April 2017. Li Jiancheng, the vice president of Wuhan University, is the dean. With the theme of promoting the implementation of the main function area strategy, CIMFAS fully exerts the advantages of policy coordination role of the National Development and Reform Commission and the multidisciplinary in Wuhan University. It focuses on deepening and improving the main function area strategy and system, works as the spatial planning reform pilot, takes hold of assessment, monitoring, early warning and control on the resources and environment capacity and construction of national key ecological functional areas and marine main function areas, etc. CIMFAS carries out forward-looking, applied, political research, training and teaching work, and strives to build a compound talent training base for main function area strategy and institutional research, that adapts to the strategic development needs of the main function area and a third-party authoritative institutions for resource and environmental carrying capacity and land and space development assessment. It provides theoretical, technical, policy and talent support for the construction of China's main functional areas.
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Bega Begum
Padshah Begum
Empress consort of the Mughal Empire
Maham Begum
Ruqaiya Sultan Begum
First Tenure
Second Tenure
Khurasan, Persia
17 January 1582(1582-01-17) (aged 70–71)
Humayun's Tomb, Delhi
Humayun
Al-aman Mirza
Aqiqa Sultan Begum
Timurid (by marriage)
Yadgar Beg
Bega Begum (c. 1511 – 17 January 1582) was Empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 26 December 1530 to 17 May 1540 and 22 February 1555 to 27 January 1556 as the first wife and chief consort of the second Mughal emperor Humayun[1][2][3][4] Bega was also known as Haji Begum after she performed the Hajj pilgrimage.[5]
Bega Begum began the tradition of commissioning monuments in the Mughal Empire, when she had her husband's mausoleum commissioned in the late 16th century, Humayun's Tomb at Delhi. This first colossal monumental mausoleum in Islamic India can be considered an early masterpiece that was to decisively influence the design of the later Taj Mahal, the high point of Mughal architecture.[1][6][7][8][9][10][11]
1 Early years and marriage
2 Empress
2.1 Dowager empress
Early years and marriage[edit]
Bega Begum was a Persian from Khurasan[12] and was the daughter of Humayun's maternal uncle (taghai), Yadgar Beg,[2] who was the brother of Sultan Ali Mirza, father of Kamran Mirza's wife Gulrukh Begum. She was a wise, well educated woman and had profound knowledge of medicine and treatment also.
Bega married her first cousin,[13] Prince Nasir ud-din (later known as 'Humayun' upon his accession) in 1527. The marriage took place while Humayun was in Badakshan during his second term as Viceroy of the province (1527-1529). In November of 1528, she gave birth to Humayun's first child and son, Shahzada Al-aman Mirza. The imperial couple were tremendously congratulated by the Emperor Babur on the birth of an heir, although the connotation of his name, 'Al-aman', he thought ominous. The prince died in his infancy.[14]
Empress[edit]
Upon Emperor Babur's death in December 1530, Humayun ascended the throne at twenty three-years of age, while Bega was just nineteen when she became empress. She subsequently came to India for the first time, while accompanying her husband. Bega was held in high regard by Humayun throughout his life and remained his favourite as well as his chief consort until his death.[15][16]
In 1531, Bega announced her second pregnancy to the imperial family after arriving in Agra from Kabul. Here, she gave birth to her last known child, a daughter, Aqiqa Sultan Begum.[17] In 1539, Bega accompanied her husband to Chausa, Bengal, where she was taken as a prisoner by Sher Shah Suri, after a well developed surprise attack on the Mughal territory by Sher Shah's forces.[14] According to Niccolao Manucci, she was the only Mughal empress to have ever been held captive.[18]
On the morning of 26 June 1539, Humayun learned about her captivity, he immediately sprang on a horse and collected a small guard consisting of four nobles, Tardi Beg, Baba Beg, Koch Beg, and MrBachka Bahadur. Endeavouring to save the empress, they attempted to fight their way through the Afghan crowd and in doing so all except Tardi Beg were cut down. He alone returned to Humayun. The Tazkirat-ul-umard mentions the death of one Mir Pehlwan Badakshi. Initially, two faithful officers - Baba Julair and Que Beg - while zealously attempting to execute the emperor's orders, courted "martyrdom at the door of Her Majesty's enclosure" and were slain at the entrance of the private tents.[14]
While in captivity, the empress was treated by Sher Shah with the utmost courtesy and respect and he had her returned to Humayun escorted by his most trusted general, Khwas Khan.[7][19] Unfortunately, the ordeal at Chausa led to death of her eight-year-old daughter, Aqiqa Sultan Begum, on 27 June.[20] Humayun became extremely devastated and regretted ever bringing his daughter to Chausa in the first place. He blamed himself, confessing to his younger brother Hindal Mirza, 'In the earlier disturbance, Aqiqa Bibi [his daughter] had disappeared and I suffered from everlasting regret why I had not killed her myself' [lest she fall into the enemy's hands], a sentiment that his brother entirely endorsed.[21][22]
Bega was also with Humayun throughout his long exile in Persia at the court of the Safavid dynasty.[23] She also took an active interest in the affairs of the state. Bega Begum's brother-in-law, Zahid Beg, was favoured when he was appointed Governor of Bengal which the latter declined. Humayun wanted to punish him but she interceded, though in vain, to seek the Emperor's pardon for him.[24]
Dowager empress[edit]
When Humayun died in 1556, Bega Begum grieved so deeply over her husband's death that she dedicated her life thenceforth to a sole purpose: the construction of the most magnificent mausoleum in the empire, at a site near the Yamuna River in Delhi for the memorial of the late emperor.[6] Bega Begum undertook a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina for Hajj in 1564, accompanied by her sister-in-law, Gulbadan Begum, but before starting on her absence from the Court for three years, she made arrangements for the construction of the mausoleum at her own cost.[25] She returned from Hajj in 1567,[26] then led a retired life at Delhi and supervised the project.[3]
The empress' choice of architect for the construction of the mausoleum was the Persian architect, Mirak Mirza Ghiyas.[27] Bega Begum was interested in patronizing education and so she established a madrasa near the mausoleum. She was also responsible for the construction of the Arab Sarai near the tomb.[28]
Death[edit]
Humayun's Tomb, commissioned by Bega Begum, where she was later buried.
Bega Begum died in 1582 in Delhi, after a brief illness, and was mourned by her step-son, the Emperor Akbar; whom she shared an extremely close relationship with. Akbar was, in fact, so attached to her that many people, as Akbar himself confirmed, mistook her to be his real mother and confused her with his biological mother, Hamida Banu Begum. `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni (Badauni) called Bega Begum 'second mother to the Emperor [Akbar]'.[29] Akbar escorted her body to Humayun's Tomb for her burial.[11]
Legacy[edit]
During the Mughal era (sixteenth to nineteenth century) the practice of commissioning monuments received a fillip through the efforts of Bega Begum with the construction of Humayun's Tomb. This first colossal monumental mausoleum in Islamic India can be considered an early masterpiece that was to decisively influence the design of the later Taj Mahal, the high point of Mughal architecture. The mausoleum was principally based on Persian architectural vocabularies, but was cleverly Indianized. The surrounding garden was also the first prodigious materialization of the form of the Persian 'Chahar Bagh' (Quartered Garden) in India. The mausoleum is the best representative monument in the Indian capital (Delhi) of the past authority of the Mughal Empire.[27]
^ a b Annemarie Schimmel; Burzine K. Waghmar (2004). The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture. Reaktion Books. p. 149.
^ a b Banerji, S.K. (1938). Humayun Badshah. Oxford University Press. pp. 97, 232.
^ a b Neeru Misra; Tanay Misra (2003). The garden tomb of Humayun: an abode in paradise. Aryan Books International. p. 1.
^ Nath, R. (1982). History of Mughal architecture (1. publ. ed.). Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press. ISBN 9780391026506.
^ "Humayun's Tomb". Retrieved 31 January 2013.
^ a b Kamiya, Takeo. "HUMAYUN'S TOMB in DELHI". UNESCO. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
^ a b Burke, S. M. (1989). Akbar, the Greatest Mogul. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. p. 191.
^ Eraly, Abraham (2007). The Mughal world : Life in India's Last Golden Age. Penguin Books. p. 369. ISBN 9780143102625.
^ Smith, Vincent Arthur (1919). Akbar: The Great Mogul 1542-1605. Clarendon Press. p. 125.
^ Henderson, Carol E. (2002). Culture and Customs of India. Greenwood Press. p. 90. ISBN 9780313305139.
^ a b "Mausoleum that Humayun never built". The Hindu. April 28, 2003. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
^ Bhalla, A. S. (2015). Monuments, Power and Poverty in India: From Ashoka to the Raj. I.B.Tauris. p. 74. ISBN 1784530875.
^ Lal, K.S. (1988). The Mughal harem. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan. p. 19. ISBN 9788185179032.
^ a b c Lal, Muni (1978). Humayun. Vikas Publ. House. pp. 81, 212. ISBN 9780706906455.
^ B. P. Saha (1997). Begams, Concubines, and Memsahibs. Vikas Pub. House. p. 7.
^ Fazl, Abul (1907). Akbar Nama, Volume 1. The Asiatic Society. p. 340.
^ Gulbadan Begam; Beveridge, Annette S (1902). The History of Humayun (Humayun-Nama). Billing and Sons. pp. 14, 112.
^ Agrawal, edited by C.M. (2001). Indian woman. Delhi: Indian Publishers Distributors. p. 247. ISBN 9788173412127. CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)
^ Erskine, William. A History of India Under the Two First Sovereigns of the House of Taimur, Báber and Humáyun, Volume 2. 1854: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 445.
^ Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1917). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. Cambridge University Press for the Royal Asiatic Society. p. 552.
^ Mukhia, Harbans (2007). The Mughals of India. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. p. 69. ISBN 9780470758151.
^ Gulbadan Begum (1902). The History of Humāyūn. Royal Asiatic Society. p. 143.
^ Edward James Rap;son, Sir Wolseley Haig, Sir Richard Burn (1968). The Cambridge History of India, Volume 5. Cambridge University Press Archive. The tomb was built by Humayun's widow, Haji Begum, who shared his long exile at the court of the Safavids. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Sharma, Sudha (2016). The Status of Muslim Women in Medieval India. SAGE Publications India. p. 184. ISBN 9789351505679.
^ Smith, Vincent Arthur (1919). Akbar: The Great Mogul 1542-1605. Clarendon Press. p. 75.
^ Lal, Ruby (2005). Domesticity and power in the early Mughal world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 212. ISBN 9780521850223.
^ a b Cherry, edited by Deborah; Helland, Janice (2005). Local/global : Women Artists in the Nineteenth Century. Ashgate. p. 70. ISBN 9780754631972. CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)
^ Capper, John (1997). Delhi, the capital of India (AES reprint. ed.). New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. p. 81. ISBN 9788120612822.
^ Sharma, Sudha (2016). The Status of Muslim Women in Medieval India. SAGE Publications India. p. 65. ISBN 9789351505679.
Three Memoirs of Homayun. Volume One: Humáyunnáma and Tadhkiratu'l-wáqíát; Volume Two: Táríkh-i Humáyún, translated from the Persian by Wheeler Thackston. Bilingual Edition, Bibliotheca Iranica: Intellectual Traditions, No. 11 (March 15, 2009). ISBN 1-56859-178-0
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bega_Begum&oldid=904607797"
Wives of Humayun
Timurid dynasty
16th-century Indian women
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San Blas Islands
Guna Yala
Nickname: Archipiélago de San Blas
Islands entirely covered with dwellings
Location of the San Blas Islands in Panama
9.57°N, 78.82° W Coordinates: 9°34′N 78°49′W / 9.57°N 78.82°W / 9.57; -78.82
Total islands
Major islands
sanblas-islands.com
The San Blas Islands of Panama is an archipelago comprising approximately 365 islands and cays, of which 49 are inhabited.[1] They lie off the north coast of the Isthmus of Panama, east of the Panama Canal.[2] A part of the comarca (district) Guna Yala along the Caribbean coast of Panama is home to the Guna people.
San Blas and its surrounding area is a haven for ecotourism because of its pristine environs. The area is also popular for sailing, as it is known for its beauty and lack of hurricanes.[3] Notable locations in the Archipelago are the main capital El Porvenir, the densely crowded island village of Carti Sugtupu, and the two keys, Cayos Limones, and Cayos Holandeses, both renowned for their clear waters.
The islands could be rendered uninhabitable by sea level rise in the late 21st century.[4]
1 Tradition and legacy
Tradition and legacy[edit]
Cayuko "dug-out canoe"
Before the arrival of Europeans, the Guna wore few clothes and decorated their bodies with colorful designs. When encouraged to wear clothes by the missionaries, they copied these designs in their molas, which they wore as clothing.
The Guna worship a god named Erragon, whom they believe came and died just for the Guna people. Driven off Panama during the Spanish invasion, the Guna fled to the surrounding 378 islands. Today their chief lives on an island called Acuadup, which means "rock island". Many Guna are hunters and fishermen. On some of the islands, children can attend school. Most of the men now speak Spanish, although the women carry on older traditions.[5][6]
From 1679 to 1681, William Dampier started and ended his first journey with privateers and pirates in these islands which he called "The Samballoes," a rendezvous-place for pirates, convenient for hiding and privacy.
Provinces of Panama
^ Mersmann, Andrew (2009), Frommer's 500 Places Where You Can Make a Difference, Frommers, p. 306, ISBN 0-470-16061-6
^ "San Blas Islands". Google Maps. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
^ "Sailing in San Blas Islands". Velero Amande. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
^ Rising Sea Levels Threaten Tiny Islands Home To Indigenous Panamanians
^ "San Blas Islands: Kuna Cultures". TripAdvisor. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
^ "History in San blas islands". World66. 28 October 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
Lecumberry, Michel. San Blas: Molas and Kuna traditions. (2nd ed., rev) [Panama]: Txango Publications, 2006.
Humphreys, Sara and Calvo, Raffa. The Rough Guide to Panama. London: Rough Guides, 2010.
Baker, Christopher P. and Mingasson, Gilles. National Geographic Traveler: Panama. (2nd ed.) Washington, DC: National Geographic, 2011.
San Blas Islands travel guide from Wikivoyage
San Blas Travel
Frommer's Travel Guide: Comarca Kuna Yala
San Blas, videos and photos
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Blas_Islands&oldid=897362281"
Caribbean islands of Panama
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For the Chilean lawmaker, see Vicente Quesada.
This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Fox and the second or maternal family name is Quesada.
55th President of Mexico
1 December 2000 (2000-12-01) – 30 November 2006 (2006-11-30)
Ernesto Zedillo
Governor of Guanajuato
25 September 1995 – 25 September 1999
Carlos Medina Plascencia
Ramón Martín Huerta
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
for Guanajuato's 3rd district
1 September 1988 – 31 August 1991
Héctor Hugo Varela Flores
Luis Arturo Torres del Valle
Co–President of Centrist Democrat International
alongside Pier Ferdinando Casini
Vicente Fox Quesada
(1942-07-02) 2 July 1942 (age 77)
Independent (since 2013)
National Action (before 2013)
Lilian de la Concha
(m. 1969; div. 1990)
Marta Sahagún (m. 2001)
Universidad Iberoamericana
Vicente Fox Quesada (American Spanish: [viˈsente ˈfoks keˈsaða]; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 55th President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006.
Campaigning as a right-wing populist,[1][2][3][4] Fox ran for and was elected President on the National Action Party (PAN) ticket, which was an opposition party at the time of his election as president. He is currently the Co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of center-right political parties.[5]
Fox was elected President of Mexico in the 2000 presidential election, a historically significant election since it made him the first president elected from an opposition party since the election of Francisco I. Madero in 1910. Fox finished in first place with 42 percent of the vote, thus becoming the first presidential candidate in 71 years to defeat the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).[6]
As president, he mostly followed the neoliberal economic policies that his predecessors from the PRI had adopted since the late 1980s.[7] The first half of his administration saw a further shift of the Federal government to the right,[1][2] strong relations with the United States and George W. Bush,[8] unsuccessful attempts to apply a value-added tax to medicines,[9] build an airport in Texcoco,[10] and a major diplomatic conflict with Cuban leader Fidel Castro.[11]
The second half of his administration was marked by his conflict with Andrés Manuel López Obrador, then Mexico City's Mayor. The PAN and the Fox administration unsuccessfully attempted to remove López Obrador from office and to prevent him from participating in the 2006 presidential elections.[12][13] The Fox administration also got into diplomatic conflicts with Venezuela and Bolivia after supporting the creation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, which was opposed by those two countries.[14][15] His last year in office oversaw the controversial 2006 elections, where the PAN candidate Felipe Calderón was declared winner by a very narrow margin over his opponent López Obrador,[16] who claimed that the elections were rigged and refused to recognize the results, calling for protests across the country.[17] In the same year, the southern state of Oaxaca was the scene of a teacher's strike which culminated into protests and violent clashes asking for the resignation of governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz.[18]
On the other hand, Fox was credited with maintaining economic growth during his administration, and reducing the poverty rate from 43.7% in 2000 to 35.6% in 2006.[19]
After serving as president of Mexico for six years, Fox returned to his home state of Guanajuato, where he now resides with his wife and family. Since leaving the presidency, Fox has been involved in public speaking and the development of the Vicente Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum.[20]
In 2013, Fox eventually decided to leave the National Action Party, after endorsing the PRI presidential candidate, Enrique Peña Nieto, the previous year.[21] He again endorsed the PRI's candidate, José Antonio Meade, in 2018.[22]
In 2018, Fox joined the High Times board of directors.[23]
1 Early years
1.1 Business career
1.2 Family life
2 Early political career
2.1 Governor of Guanajuato
2.2 Campaign for President
2.2.1 Election results
3 Presidency
3.1 Public image
3.1.1 Controversial comments
3.2 Legacy and assessment
4 Post-presidential life
4.1 Public speaking and advocacy
4.2 Criticism of Donald Trump
4.3 Autobiography
4.4 Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum
4.5 Centrist Democratic International
4.6 Statue controversy
5 Honors
Vicente Fox was born on 2 July 1942 in Mexico City, the second of nine children. His father, José Luis Fox Pont, was a Mexican native.[24] His mother, Mercedes Quesada Etxaide, was a Basque immigrant from San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, in Spain.
Previously, many had speculated that Fox was of Irish descent, but it was discovered that Vicente's grandfather was born Joseph Louis Fuchs in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was the son of German Catholic immigrants, Louis Fuchs and Catherina Elisabetha Flach, of Strasbourg, now in France.[25] In the 1870s, the "Fuchs" surname was changed from German to its English equivalent, "Fox".[26] The family was unaware of its German origins and they believed the Fox family had their origins in Ireland.
Fox spent his childhood and adolescence at the family ranch in San Francisco del Rincón in Guanajuato. He spent a year at Campion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin where he learned English.[27] Upon reaching college age, Fox moved to Mexico City to attend the Universidad Iberoamericana and received a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1964. Then in 1974, Fox received a certificate in management skills from Harvard Business School.[28][29][30]
Business career[edit]
In 1964, Fox was hired by the Coca-Cola Company as a route supervisor and drove a delivery truck. After nine years, he had risen to the top, serving as the President and Chief Executive of Coca-Cola Mexico; after six years in this role, he was invited to lead all of Coca-Cola's operations in Latin America, but Fox declined and later resigned from Coca-Cola in 1979.[31] It was during the Fox's leadership of Coca-Cola Mexico that Coke became Mexico's top-selling soft drink, increasing Coca-Cola's sales by almost 50%.[32]
After retiring from Coca-Cola, Fox began to participate in various public activities in Guanajuato, where he created the "Patronato de la Casa Cuna Amigo Daniel", an orphanage. He was also the president of the Patronato Loyola, a sponsor of the León campus of the Universidad Iberoamericana and of the Lux Institute.[33]
In 1969, Fox married Lilian de la Concha, a receptionist at Coca-Cola.[34] They had four children, Ana Cristina, Vicente, Paulina and Rodrigo.[35] In 1990, after 20 years of marriage, Lilian filed for and was granted a divorce.
Fox remarried on 2 July 2001, while serving as President of Mexico, to Marta María Sahagún Jiménez (until then his spokesperson). The wedding date was the first anniversary of his presidential election and his 59th birthday. For both Fox and Sahagún Jiménez, it was their second marriage.
Early political career[edit]
With the support of Manuel Clouthier, Vicente Fox joined the Partido Acción Nacional on 1 March 1988. That same year, he was elected to the federal Chamber of Deputies, representing the Third Federal District in León, Guanajuato.[33]
Governor of Guanajuato[edit]
In 1991, after serving in the Chamber of Deputies, Fox sought the governorship in Guanajuato, but lost the election to Ramón Aguirre Velázquez of the PRI. Following the election, local discontent was so great that the state congress appointed Carlos Medina Plascencia of the PAN as interim governor.[36] Four years later, Fox ran again, this time winning by a vote of 2 to 1.[33] As governor, Fox promoted government efficiency and transparency. He was one of the first state governors of Mexico to give a clear, public and timely account of the finances of his state.[37]
Fox also pushed for the consolidation of small firms, promoted the overseas sales of goods manufactured in Guanajuato, and created an extensive system of small loans to allow the poor to open a changaro (a small shop) and buy a car and a television.[38] Under Fox, Guanajuato became the fifth most important Mexican state economy.[37]
Campaign for President[edit]
Main article: 2000 Mexican general election
Items from Fox's presidential campaign on display at the Museo del Objeto del Objeto.
On 7 July 1997, after the opposition parties first won a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, Vicente Fox decided to run for President of Mexico. In spite of opposition within his political party, Fox secured his candidacy representing the Alliance for Change, a political coalition formed by the National Action Party and the Green Ecological Party of Mexico on 14 November 1999.[citation needed]
During the course of his campaign, a presidential debate was organized, but the three main contenders (Fox, Francisco Labastida of the PRI, and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas of the PRD) disagreed on the details. One notable disagreement, which was broadcast on national television, was whether the presidential debate should be held that same day or on the following Friday.[39]
During the nationally televised presidential debate, Fox's main opponent, Francisco Labastida, claimed that Fox had repeatedly called him a "sissy" and a "cross-dresser" ("La vestida", a pun on his last name).[40] Fox's campaign slogans were "¡Ya!" ("Right now!"), "Ya ganamos" ("We've already won"), and "Vota Alianza por el Cambio" ("Vote for Alliance for Change").[citation needed]
In addition to some debate controversies, Fox also faced some controversy due to Amigos de Fox (Friends of Fox), a non-profit fundraising group established by Denise Montaño. The group was instrumental in getting Vicente Fox elected President of Mexico, and the phrase "Amigos de Fox" was also used as a campaign slogan referring to the millions of people supporting Fox in the 2000 presidential election.[41]
In 2003, money-laundering charges were lodged against Amigos de Fox, but were dropped shortly before the July 2003 mid-term elections.[42]
Election results[edit]
Gerhard Schröder in Los Pinos with President Fox.
On 2 July 2000, his 58th birthday, Fox won the presidential election with 43% (15,989,636 votes) of the popular vote, followed by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Francisco Labastida with 36% (13,579,718 votes), and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) with 17% (6,256,780 votes). Fox declared victory that same night, a victory which was ratified by then-President Zedillo. After the final results were announced, President-elect Fox addressed thousands of supporters and celebrated his victory with them at the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City. His opponents conceded the election later that night.[citation needed]
After securing the election, Fox received a substantial amount of media coverage, as well as numerous congratulatory messages and phone calls from world leaders, including then-President of the United States Bill Clinton. He took office as president on 1 December 2000, marking the first time since 1917 that an opposition candidate had taken power from the long reigning Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)[43]
Presidency[edit]
See article Fox administration
Public image[edit]
Vicente Fox speaking
During his campaign for president, Vicente Fox became well known for his cowboy style and quirkiness. As a speaker, Fox usually attracted big crowds in the early years of his presidency.[44] At 193 cm (6 ft 4 in), Fox easily stood out in most crowds, and is believed to be one of the tallest presidents in Mexico's history.[45] After his inauguration, President Fox usually wore suits for formal occasions, but opted to wear his signature boots and jeans during his many visits around Mexico.[46]
Fox spread his image as one of peace and welcomed many to his own ranch in Guanajuato, Mexico. When Fox welcomed U.S. President George W. Bush to the ranch, both presidents were wearing Fox's signature black cowboy boots, prompting The Wall Street Journal to call it "The Boot Summit".[47]
Controversial comments[edit]
President Vicente Fox (left) with López Obrador (center) and former México State governor Arturo Montiel (right).
Fox with Laura Bush, U.S. President George W. Bush, and Marta Sahagún in Crawford, Texas, 5 March 2004.
In March 2002, two days prior to the International Conference on Financing for Development held in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Fox called Cuban President Fidel Castro and instructed him to limit his comments about the United States and suggested that Castro leave Mexico after he delivered his speech and ate his meal.[citation needed] Castro later called this a "despicable betrayal."[48]
In May 2005, a controversy arose over comments Fox made during a meeting with Texas business people in which he said, "There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work, are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States." This angered African-Americans in the United States, prompting many black leaders to demand an apology from Fox. Reverend Al Sharpton requested a formal apology from Fox to the African-American community and called for an economic boycott of Mexican products until an apology was received. Sharpton, along with many African-Americans felt that Fox's comments were insensitive and racist. Reverend Jesse Jackson, during a news conference concerning Fox's statement about African-Americans, said that he felt that the comments were, "unwitting, unnecessary and inappropriate," and added that "[Fox's] statement had the impact of being inciting and divisive."[49]
Fox was also known to have mispronounced the name of Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges as "José Luis Borgues" in the Royal Congress of the Spanish Language. This error sparked accusations of an "uncultured" President.[50]
On 30 May 2005, President Fox told reporters that the majority of the female homicides in Ciudad Juárez had been resolved and the perpetrators placed behind bars. He went on to criticize the media for "rehashing" the same 300 or 400 murders, and said matters needed to be seen in their "proper dimension."
In 2006, after Bolivian President Evo Morales refused to sell natural gas, Fox said, "Well, they'll either have to consume it all themselves or they're going to have to eat it."[51]
On 8 March 2006, in the wake of the murder of Canadians Domenico and Nancy Ianiero at a resort in Cancún, Fox said there was evidence that pointed to Canadian suspects from Thunder Bay, in an apparent attempt to portray Cancún as a safe vacation resort. Fox's comments were criticized by the Ianieros' lawyer Edward Greenspan for compromising the investigation, which the Canadian press characterized as mishandled by Mexican authorities.[52] Thereafter, attorney general Bello Melchor Rodríguez later stated that Canadians were never considered as suspects.[53][54]
In November 2006, the TV network Telemundo released a video of a previously recorded interview with President Fox in which he stated: "Ya hoy hablo libre, ya digo cualquier tontería, ya no importa, ya total, yo ya me voy" which means "Now, I speak freely. Now, I say whatever nonsense. It doesn't matter anymore. Anyway, I'm already leaving." Then, during the interview he talked about the violent situation in Oaxaca. The President's office complained about the release of this footage and said he was not aware of the camera and microphones being turned on. News agency EFE accused Telemundo of acting unethically, because the video was EFE's intellectual property.[55]
In 2006, Fox decided to cancel the parade commemorating the 96th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution which was scheduled to take place on 20 November, arguing it was an obsolete celebration that nobody wanted to participate in any more. Some commentators considered that this was a response to Andrés Manuel López Obrador's assumption of an alternative presidency to take place the same day. Others considered Fox's move a smart decision, while others viewed it as a sign of political weakness.[56]
In a lecture in the United States, in which he was a keynote speaker, he identified Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa as a Colombian Nobel laureate (Spanish by naturalization). At the time, however, Vargas Llosa was not a Nobel Laureate.[50] Later, in October 2010, Fox congratulated Vargas Llosa on Twitter for winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, but he incorrectly attributed the Nobel Prize to Jorge Luis Borges.[57]
Legacy and assessment[edit]
Although Fox's victory in the 2000 election and the end of seven decades of PRI rule raised great expectations of change among the Mexican people, his administration was criticized for failing to fulfill those expectations, as little progress was made in fighting corruption, crime, poverty, unemployment and inequality. Few key reforms were implemented during the Fox administration, which became characterised by a growing sense of power vacuum as Fox was increasingly perceived by Mexican society and political actors as a "lame duck" incapable of pushing the ambitious reform agenda that swept him into power in 2000.[58][59][60]
Having assumed office with an approval rating of 80%,[58] by the time he left office in 2006 his public image had become exhausted by the controversial Presidential elections of that year and the few reforms implemented.
In terms of the significance of Fox's presidency, historian Philip Russell asserts that, "Marketed on television, Fox made a far better candidate than he did president.[61] He failed to take charge and provide cabinet leadership, failed to set priorities, and turned a blind eye to alliance building." Russell also pointed to 2006 comments by political scientist Soledad Loaeza, who noted, "The eager candidate became a reluctant president who avoided tough choices and appeared hesitant and unable to hide the weariness caused by the responsibilities and constraints of the office." Russell also asserted that Fox "had little success in fighting crime. Even though he maintained the macroeconomic stability inherited from his predecessor, economic growth barely exceeded the rate of population increase. Similarly, the lack of fiscal reform left tax collection at a rate similar to that of Haiti . . . ." Finally, Russell noted that "during Fox's administration, only 1.4 million formal-sector jobs were created, leading to massive immigration to the United States and an explosive increase in informal employment." Ultimately, however, Russell concluded that Fox will be viewed by history as a transitional figure who was able to defeat one of Mexico's long-entrenched political parties.[61]
Post-presidential life[edit]
Public speaking and advocacy[edit]
President Fox speaking
After leaving office in December 2006, Fox has maintained himself in the public eye by speaking in countries such as Nigeria, Ireland,[62] Canada, and the United States about topics such as the controversial 2006 election and the Iraq War. In Mexico, Fox has been criticized by some for his busy post-presidency since former Mexican presidents are traditionally expected to stay out of the political spotlight. In response, Fox has stated, "There is no reason to hold to the anti-democratic rules of those who still live in the authoritarian past . . . now that Mexico is a democracy, every citizen has the right to express himself, even a former president."[63]
Vicente Fox joined four other Latin American presidents at the One Young World Summit 2014 in Dublin, Ireland,[64] to discuss the Telefónica Millennial Survey. He told those in the audience that eradicating corruption "has to start with education" and that his focus is now on promoting leadership.[65]
Vicente Fox is a member of the Global Leadership Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that offers, discreetly and confidentially, a range of experienced advisors to political leaders facing difficult situations.
Fox with Felipe Calderón Hinojosa
In 2013, Fox discussed why the West has pursued a moral crusade against drugs at HowTheLightGetsIn festival in Hay-on-Wye.[66] with Chris Bryant and John Ralston Saul. The three debated whether it is hypocritical to ban certain drugs while continuing to export others such as alcohol and tobacco, and whether to follow the lead of Washington and Colorado states in the U.S. and allow the free trading of drugs.
Vicente Fox gave a video interview in July 2013 to High Times, in which he discussed the failure of drug prohibition, and cited Portugal's decriminalization policies as "working splendid(ly)." He said he supports drug legalization despite not being a user himself, just as he said he also "fully respects" same-sex marriage although he does not personally agree with it.[67]
In February 2014, Fox wrote an opinion piece that was published in Toronto's The Globe and Mail in which he stated that, "Legalization of not just marijuana, but all drugs, is the right thing to do."[68] He also said that "we must be given the very freedom to decide our own behaviour and to act responsibly, as long as we do not detrimentally affect the rights of others".[68]
In 2016, Fox co-signed a letter to Ban Ki-moon calling for a more humane drug policy.
In July 2017, Fox was an international observer to the unofficial Venezuelan referendum held by the opposition.[69] During the trip, Fox gave a speech that compared the referendum to the 2000 Mexican elections.[70] He said that "this battle has been won" and "step by step, vote by vote, the dictator will leave."[71] He was subsequently declared a persona non grata by the Venezuelan government.[69] Venezuelan Foreign Minister Samuel Moncada said that Fox had taken advantage of the country's hospitality and "was paid to come to Venezuela to promote violence and the intervention of foreign powers."[70] Moncado said the ban came from Maduro and criticized Fox and the other former Latin American leaders invited as observers (Andrés Pastrana, Jorge Quiroga, Laura Chinchilla and Miguel Ángel Rodríguez) as "political sicarios," "clowns" and "mercenaries" that "sell themselves to the highest bidder to go to various destinations and repeat what they are told."[71] Fox said he was not surprised by the ban and that the vote would weaken Maduro.[72]
Criticism of Donald Trump[edit]
Fox speaking in Washington, D.C. in 2015.
During the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, Fox emerged as an outspoken critic of Republican candidate and later nominee and president Donald Trump.
In an interview with Univision's Jorge Ramos in February 2016, Fox responded to Trump's proposal to build a wall at the border between the United States and Mexico at Mexico's expense,[73] declaring in English, "I am not going to pay for that fucking wall. He should pay for it. He's got the money."[74] Fox went on to call Trump a "crazy guy" and a "false prophet," and questioned the claim that Trump received 44% of the Hispanic vote in the Republican caucus in Nevada.[75] Trump took to Twitter in response, demanding that Fox apologize for using "the F word while discussing the wall."[76] Fox eventually apologized for the remark,[77] while also asking for Trump to apologize for his remarks about Mexicans and inviting Trump to visit Mexico.[77]
Despite his apology, Fox continued to criticize Trump to the international media and troll Trump on Twitter, stating, "I'm committed to be Donald Trump's shadow until he is done with politics."[78] When Trump visited Mexico on 31 August 2016 upon President Enrique Peña Nieto's invitation, Fox slammed the visit, calling it a "desperate move" on the part of Peña Nieto and stating, "He is not welcome in Mexico. We don't like him. We don't want him. We reject his visit."[79] Trump responded by pointing out Fox's previous invitation, to which Fox clarified that he invited Trump to Mexico on the condition that he used the visit to apologize to the Mexican people.[79] He directly addressed the American people the next day on CNN, where he described Trump as a "false prophet" who is "absolutely crazy" and warned that they need to "wake up" and realize the harm that Trump's immigration and economic policies would inflict on the United States.[80]
Later in September 2016, The Washington Post reported that Fox had received multiple emails from Trump's campaign soliciting donations throughout the month.[81] Fox received the first email on 9 September, which he posted on Twitter and responded, "Donald Trump, I won't pay for that fucking wall! Also, campaigning in Mexico? Running out of money and friends?"[82] Fox received two additional emails on 24 and 27 September, both of which he also posted on Twitter and mocked as being "desperate" and "begging."[83][84] The revelation of the emails has raised concern, as accepting campaign donations from foreign nationals is illegal in the United States.[81]
Vicente Fox in 2016
During a September 2016 appearance on the radio show El Show de Piolín, Fox smashed a Trump piñata hanging on the streets of Los Angeles while loudly singing the traditional Piñata song. Upon breaking it open, Fox noted its lack of contents and remarked, "Empty. Totally Empty. He doesn't have any brains."[85] Discussing the event during a subsequent interview with GQ, Fox expanded, "I had such a joy in my heart by doing that, because in Mexico, piñatas are very meaningful. Piñatas are a celebration. Piñatas let you send messages. And the message is: Trump is empty inside. He's empty in his head. That's why I put my hand into his head. There was no brain there. That's what he is, an empty person."[85]
The day after Trump won the election, Fox wrote an editorial on the International Business Times website where he lamented Trump's victory and explored what Mexico could do in response. "Even though Trump is not the prettiest person in the room, we still have to dance with him. Now, we ought to look out for ourselves and find a way to work with the most powerful economy in the world, which is now led by an authoritarian racist[...]Donald Trump's promises have an expiration date. When the time comes to truly deliver to the American people, his "billion dollar show" will finally crumble beneath his feet," Fox wrote, concluding his editorial with, "I find quite sad that America, formerly the most open and cutting edge nation, has chosen to lock itself down inside concrete walls. It's tragic that fear, anger and wrath took over and pierced the hearts of their people. It will be hard to recover from this wound; but we better start working to heal as quickly as possible – and bring down the walls that blinded us in the beginning."[86]
Fox at an event in Phoenix, Arizona in October 2017 to meet with Hispanic Americans.
Fox has continued criticizing Trump on Twitter after the election. In a series of tweets in January 2017, Fox again criticized Trump's proposed Mexican border wall, calling it a "racist monument" and insisted that Mexico will never fund it, calling on Trump to "be honest with US taxpayers" about that fact.[87] Following the release of a U.S. government intelligence report that accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 election to ensure Trump's victory, Fox tweeted, "Sr Trump, the intelligence report is devastating. Losing election by more than 3M votes and in addition this. Are you a legitimate president?"[88] Fox further criticized Trump's response to the intelligence report, calling him a "bully" and a "bluff" and stating that Trump is "bringing in a new era of dictatorship."[89] Though on 12 January, Fox broke with his criticism of Trump and simply tweeted, "America Will Survive."[90]
In an interview with Anderson Cooper on 25 January 2017, and during an appearance on Conan O'Brien's late night talk show on 1 March 2017, Fox again asserted that Mexico should not have to pay for the wall.[91]
In September 2017, Fox was once again in the news after President Trump announced he would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in six months if the U.S. congress failed to pass legislation to address the issue. In response, Fox tweeted to President Trump's Twitter account, "Ending DACA is on the top of the vilest acts you’ve pulled off. You’re destroying the legacy of greater men before you." In another tweet, Fox suggested that President Trump's DACA decision was a result of him compensating for earlier failures to pass healthcare legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act. Fox then went on to post a video in which he claimed that President Trump had "failed America" and stated that "[t]his measure is cruel and heartless, worse than any machine. You’re cancelling the future of 800,000 children and young people."[92]
As Fox frequently use Twitter to response tweets by President Trump (with English tweets), he has attracted more than 1 million followers on his Twitter account.[93]
Since May 2017, Fox has appeared in a series of humorous videos seriously denouncing Donald Trump, including "Vicente Fox is Running for President of the United States" (fake announcement for the candidacy) which was released in September.[94]
Autobiography[edit]
Vicente Fox with President of the United States George W. Bush and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper stand in front of "El Castillo" in Chichén Itzá, 30 March 2006.
Fox's autobiography, entitled Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith and Dreams of a Mexican President, was released in September 2007.[95] To promote its release, Fox toured many U.S. cities to do book-signings and interviews with U.S. media. During his tour, however, he faced protests from Mexican immigrants who accused him of actions that forced them to emigrate and find jobs in the United States.[96] He faced the subject several times during interviews, such as one held with Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, who questioned him about the massive illegal immigration problem of Mexicans into the United States.[97] Finally, during an interview with Telemundo's Rubén Luengas, the interviewer asked Fox about allegations concerning some properties of Vicente Fox's wife, Marta Sahagún. After Fox explained the situation, he asked the interviewer not to make false accusations and to prove what he was saying. Luengas said, "I'm telling you in your face, I'm not a liar." After this, Fox walked out of the studio, calling the interviewer a "liar," "vulgar," and "stupid."[98]
Upon the book's release, some readers viewed several excerpts as being highly critical of U.S. President George W. Bush, considered by many to be a close friend. For example, Fox wrote that Bush was "the cockiest guy I have ever met in my life," and claimed that he was surprised that Bush had ever made it to the White House. Later, in an interview with Larry King, Fox explained that this was a misunderstanding and that what he meant by calling George W. Bush "cocky" was to say he was "confident."[99] Fox also referred to Bush in his autobiography as a "windshield cowboy," due to Bush's apparent fear of a horse Fox offered him to ride.[100]
Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum[edit]
This article needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2017)
See: Vicente Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum
On 12 January 2007,[101] over a month after he left office, Fox announced the construction of a center of studies, library and museum that was labeled by the U.S. press as Mexico's first presidential library.[102][103][104] The project will be a library, museum, a center for the advancement of democracy, a study center and a hotel, and it will be completely privately funded.[105][106] It is expected to be a genuine U.S.-style presidential library. It will be built in Fox's home state of Guanajuato, in his home town of San Francisco del Rincón.
While museums are abundant throughout the country, there is nothing comparable to a presidential library where personal documents, records, and gifts amassed by the country's leader are open to the public. Fox's library will be modeled after the Bill Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas,[107] which, according to the former president, will allow Mexicans to enjoy, for the first time in Mexico's history, a liberty in which to review the documents, images and records that made up his six years as president.[108]
According to the official website, the construction of the Center is in progress and advancing.[109] Final completion of the library was expected by late 2007.
In 2015, Fox was interviewed by Peter High for Forbes at the library, which is called "Centro Fox" (the Fox Center). During the interview, Fox remarked that the guiding principle behind the library is that "[w]e are a Latin American center that is geared around ideas, leadership, and strategies. We do it through, number one, young kids. The middle-upper class and the rest have access to the best universities. But the broader constituency does not receive any messages or aspirations of happiness in life at home."[110]
In addition to the library's completion, there has been some indications that Centro Fox was joining hands with UST Global to transform Mexico into a world-class technological economy.[111] Fox stated in a press release that "UST Global is partnering Centro Fox in order to help accomplish nothing less than the transformation of my country into a world-class technology economy . . . . Together, we will establish Mexico at the forefront of the information technology revolution in the region." These efforts appear to be ongoing.
Centrist Democratic International[edit]
On 20 September 2007, Fox was elected Co-President of the Centrist Democratic International (along with the re-elected Pier Ferdinando Casini) at its leaders' meeting in Rome. The CDI is the international organization of political parties that counts Fox's party, the National Action Party, as a member.[112]
Statue controversy[edit]
Statue of Vicente Fox in Boca del Río, Veracruz.
In October 2007, an announcement was made in the municipality of Boca del Río, Veracruz, that a 3-meter (10 ft) statue of Vicente Fox was to be erected to honor the former president. This aroused criticism from the opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution towards Boca del Río's mayor, who was affiliated with the same political party (PAN) as Fox.
The statue was put in place amidst protests on the dawn of 13 October 2007. The inauguration was to have been held on 14 October. Some hours after the statue was erected, a crowd of about 100 people (many of whom were members of the PRI, the political party opposed to Fox and which Fox had defeated in the 2000 election) brought the statue down by putting a rope around the statue's neck and pulling it down, damaging it.[113] The statue was put back in place for the inauguration, then taken away for repairs.[114]
PAN members accused Veracruz's governor, Fidel Herrera Beltrán, of "ordering the attack on the statue," and Fox called the governor intolerant. Others in the media argued that the installation of the statue was inappropriate, since former President Fox was facing allegations relating to an illicit enrichment scandal at the time.[citation needed]
Honors[edit]
Collar of the Order of the Liberator General San Martín (Argentina)
Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (Austria, 2005)[115]
Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great (Lithuania, 14 January 2002)[116]
Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (United Kingdom)
Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (Spain, 8 November 2002)[117]
Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim (Sweden, 22 October 2002)[118]
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8 Girls Explain the Moment They Knew They Were Chasing a F*ckboy
Jan 11, 2016 @ 3:54 pm By Ashley Uzer
We’ve all been there. You’ve been talking to a guy for a couple weeks, and things are going well.
But suddenly, you start noticing “signs.” No, not the signs that he might be “the one.” The signs that he might not be the 10 you thought he was — signs that maybe, just maybe, he could be a fuckboy.
The definition of a “fuckboy” isn’t set in stone. There are plenty of grey areas, but it’s fair to say most fuckboys are willfully allergic to commitment, condoms, and cuddling. Still, they can be really hard to identify — and sometimes, it’s too late and you’ve already hooked up with them.
So we got eight girls to tell us about when they realized their relationship (or lack of one) was going to shit, so you don’t have to make the same mistakes they did. Some of the stories are hilarious, and some are just plain sad. But either way, take notes so that you can spot a fuckboy from a mile away.
Too Cool for Feelings:
“I knew I was falling for a fuckboy when he told me that ‘he didn’t have feelings’ and said ‘I won’t fall in love with you, sorry.'” – Mandy
Oedipal Complex:
“When he tried to call himself Daddy during sex.”- Sara
Making Assumptions:
“It was my freshman year of college and I decided to go a sketchy club with a guy who I was talking to. The guy decided that it was perfectly okay that he followed me into the women’s bathroom so that he could receive a bathroom blow job, but then the bouncer came in and dragged him out and banned him from the club. The sad part is that I still hung out with him afterwards…” – Pia
The Male Gloria Steinem:
“When he said he doesn’t like paying for dates because he’s a feminist.” – Elyssa
The Over-Indulger:
“When he showed up drunk to our first date“- Roma
Not That Dope:
“We went in this kid’s room to ‘smoke weed’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll smoke,’ but when I went inside they were doing heroin. I sat on the bed and my fuck buddy started doing it next to me and offered it to me. I declined and said I wanted to leave, but I couldn’t because they were afraid of a RA seeing or walking by. I had to be tested for AIDS because he was also having unprotected sex with another girl who did heroin and he laughed as he told me I may have AIDS.” – Jamie
Nip it In the Bud:
“When he saw my nipple piercings and said, ‘Hey, look, I have those too!'”- Emma
Just a Touch Too Soon:
“When he started sending me dick pics the day after we met.” – Casey
Sharing Is Not Caring:
“I told the guy I was hooking up with to stop telling me that he liked me so it wouldn’t fuck with my head. His response was, “but I’m not lying when I say I like you, I do like you. Just like I like the other girls I’m talking to.” – Angela
Condom Deficient:
“One time I was having sex with a guy and he came on my back, which was weird because he was wearing a condom. I then asked him what the fuck he was doing and basically he told me he realized that it broke but it felt too good so instead of stopping/putting on another condom he decided that a jizz shower was the answer, even though he knew I wasn’t on birth control because of my kidney issues.” – Colette
About The Author: Ashley Uzer
Ashley Uzer is an LA-based writer who covers dating, fashion, beauty, culture, + more. Follow Ashley on Instagram and Twitter.
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Trinity aka William Newby IV: The Real Thing
By George Douglas Lee
William Newby IV is a genuine blues man. Most people in the Galveston area know him as Trinity. He’s been playing his distinctive brand of blues for nearly twenty years and has been a fixture in the Galveston music scene since he moved here from Houston in the late nineties and began attending open mics at various venues on the Island.
“Í was a Pennsylvania boy from Sharon,” says Trinity. “All my family – my father, his brother, my uncles – used to have a music band. They practiced all the time; sometimes at our house, sometimes at the others. Sharon, Pennsylvania, my hometown, is about ninety miles north of Pittsburg, and twenty miles from Youngstown, Ohio. When I was about seven or eight, I became interested in music and started playing with my relatives. I would practice in the closet, where they kept a bass fiddle. Nobody knew I was in there learning the songs until one day at practice I asked to join in with them. So my first instrument I learned was bass. I would pull on my uncle’s coat, and ask him ‘when you gonna teach me to play?’
A few years later, the family was watching television and Trinity’s uncle asked all the kids what they were going to do with themselves once they finished high school. It was snowing outside as they watched the tube and all the other kids said they would stay in Pennsylvania and follow in their family’s footsteps.
That is except Trinity as he pointed at the TV and said, “I’m going there when I graduate.” His uncle asked why he was pointing to Texas and choosing it as his destination. “Because it don’t snow and it’s warm,” said the boy. “It’s the same temperature there as here, but we have snow and they don’t. That’s where I’m going!”
Trinity did move to Texas and settled in Houston, where he became a bouncer at one of the clubs, and worked for Pace Concerts, setting up and tearing down shows. He got to see a lot of famous, prominent artists. And, he continued to play music, sitting in at various clubs.
After a few years, he decided to go even further south to Galveston. “The way things were going in Houston,” he said, “I didn’t want to become a statistic. Based on his experience here on the Island and in the Houston area, playing with so many different musicians, I asked Trinity his opinion about the local music scene.
“I was always trying to get back to the music. There are so many people up there,” observes Trinity. “That was during the span when bands and clubs were everywhere. That was when Moby and 97 Rock and K101, clubs were everywhere, like Damians, and the Plantation. But when they lost control of the city, I had to go, so when I got to Galveston, I went down to the Strand Street Saloon. I was trying to switch from bass to guitar.”
“The music scene has diminished quite a bit since I moved here 20 years ago,” he says wistfully. “In the seventies and eighties, it was booming. Now, they don’t want to pay anybody. They want to smile at you, but the open mic is the catch. Stop going to open mics if you want to get paid. Why should they pay when they can get you at the jams to do it for free?”
How does Trinity describe what he does? His music? It’s an extremely unique sound, genuine stream-of-consciousness blues from a man who has lived it. Soul. He closes his eyes and starts wailing, sitting atop his vintage amp and playing his Les Paul with his thumb, chords few might recognize. Like his lyrics, the chords he plays come from within rather than music books or theory.
“When I stop trying to be proper, to do the ‘correct’ chords, progressions, arpeggios, scales and so forth,” says Trinity, “and just let it flow out of me, that’s when I do my best music!”
He cites Jeff Beck, John Mayall, Alvin Lee – the legendary British blues players – as his primary influences. He also praises Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, and Willie Dixon, the source of the blues.
He quotes his English blues heroes, “‘It’s your music. All we did was add distortion. We come back and play it, now you like it. Those are old blues cats.’ That’s what my music is!” adds Trinity.
Trinity has definite ideas and a historical perspective on his brand of music.
“Blues is the foundation,” he continues. “If you’re a blues musician, a country man can play with you. Same with rock and roll, jazz, and gospel. A blues man, in his time and his day, wasn’t allowed to go to school, to congregate, and get together unless it was at church. They couldn’t read or write, so this is the way a black man told his history. They’re speaking to you about things that were going on in their lives.”
“I was the last person to play at the Balinese Room before it blew away. Everything I had, all my musical equipment, was in the back room of that bar, and I lost it all. When the storm hit, I didn’t have a way to move my stuff. It took me a long time to get things back together.”
Unlike all the attention New Orleans musicians received after Katrina, Galveston musicians had to get things back together on their own – often on limited resources. Trinity, against the odds, did get things back together.
During this time, Trinity suffered through a series of knee operations that failed. The knee joint was replaced. It failed. It was replaced again. Failure. At one point, the doctors simply filled the damaged joint with cement without a replacement while waiting to do it again.
Meanwhile, Trinity continued to play at open mics, pick up gigs with musician friends wherever he could, pursuing his elusive goal of fronting a blues band performing his trademark songs. He could be seen on foot, with his bad knee, walking up 21st Street to the former Bobbie’s House of Spirits, or Rosie’s, carrying his guitar and amplifier, trudging along till he could set up and play.
Determination has never been a problem for this man. Finding venues and willing musicians has been the challenge.
But he has persevered. Trinity’s stream of consciousness blues works, won second in Austin’s 2015 International Blues competition. Proud of that achievement, he plans to continue the momentum appearing as a featured act in Austin’s Blues competition and recording a CD.
He’s often talked about opening his own place, serving up blues and barbecue – in downtown Galveston. Let’s make that dream a reality.
Related Items:Concerts, Galveston, Galveston Bay, galveston tx, Live Music, Music, To Do
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Gambler's House
Chaco Canyon, Its World, and Ours
« Speaking of Arizona
Navajo Culture Is Not 10,000 Years Old »
What about Mesa Verde?
August 30, 2009 by teofilo
Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde
Although Chaco Canyon is one of the most important places in the United States where the remains of the impressive achievements of the prehistoric Anasazi people are preserved and open to the public, it is by no means the best-known or most popular. Indeed, outside of the southwest Chaco is actually quite obscure. I found this surprising when I first began to work there; having grown up in the southwest, I had sort of always known about Chaco. Not in much detail, but it was always part of my understanding of the world. It turns out, however, that people in other parts of the country, unless they’re particularly interested for some reason in southwestern archaeology, generally just haven’t ever heard of Chaco.
Oak Tree House, Mesa Verde
Not that they’re unaware of the Anasazi, of course. But it’s not the Chaco Anasazi of the San Juan Basin that get the most public attention and tourist visitation. Much better known are the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde. Indeed, for a lot of people “Anasazi” and “cliff dweller” seem to be basically synonymous. We would get a lot of people at Chaco asking if there were any cliff dwellings there. (The answer is no.)
Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde
Cliff dwellings are, indeed, quite spectacular, and it’s no surprise that they would attract much more attention than other settings. They are not very practical places to live, however, and very few people even among the Anasazi ever lived in them. The vast majority of cliff dwellings known in the southwest date to a very short period of time, roughly the last half of the thirteenth century AD, after which much of the Colorado Plateau, including Mesa Verde, seems to have been totally abandoned. Throughout this period, even when the cliff dwellings were occupied, the vast majority of people in the region lived in other types of sites, generally large, aggregated villages.
Square Tower House, Mesa Verde
So why do cliff dwellings get so much attention? One reason is that they’re much better-preserved than open sites. The shelter of the cliff alcoves in which they are located protects cliff dwellings remarkably well, so that when they are excavated they tend to yield an astonishing variety of well-preserved material, including perishable materials like wood, cloth, and feathers. As a result, excavations of cliff dwellings have provided a huge amount of information about the daily life of their inhabitants. Chacoan great houses, due to their large size and fine construction, tend to preserve material better than most open sites as well, but nowhere near as well as cliff dwellings do.
Far View Visitor Center, Mesa Verde
In addition, many of the cliff dwellings, especially at Mesa Verde, were very actively promoted as tourist destinations by local entrepreneurs and guides, especially the Wetherill family of Mancos, Colorado (which also played a key role in early excavations there and elsewhere, including at Chaco). Their spectacular settings and amazing preservation make cliff dwellings interesting even to those who have little interest in archaeology in general, so it was easy to make Mesa Verde and other areas with cliff dwellings into major tourist attractions, especially if they were in relatively close proximity to towns. Since Chaco had none of these advantages, it has languished in relative obscurity.
Mesa Verde from Durango, Colorado
The fact that Mesa Verde gets so much attention now, however, shouldn’t obscure the fact that, except perhaps for a brief period in the thirteenth century, it was never a very important place in the region. During the heyday of Chaco in the eleventh and early twelfth centuries Mesa Verde, while occupied at a fairly high level of population, was decidedly marginal compared to Chaco. After the fall of Chaco it appears to have gained in prestige, and it may have been something of a local center for a while, but even at that time it’s likely that Aztec and other sites in the Totah region between Chaco and Mesa Verde were more important overall.
Far View Communities Sign, Mesa Verde
Considering this context, one obvious question arises: What, exactly, was the nature of the relationship between Chaco and Mesa Verde? Visitors at Chaco, especially those who have just visited Mesa Verde (which is a lot of them), often ask this and related questions. It’s rather confusing, because the information presented at Mesa Verde is very centered on Mesa Verde itself and doesn’t discuss much about the regional context, so people often get the sense that Mesa Verde was a lot more important than it actually seems to have been. When they come to Chaco and see all this talk about how important Chaco was, they start to wonder how to reconcile the rather different stories they are getting at the two places.
Upper-Story Doorway at Far View House, Mesa Verde
So what was the relationship between the two? The short answer is that no one knows. This has been a very difficult topic to deal with in southwestern archaeology, especially since research on Chaco and research on Mesa Verde have generally been conducted by different people and institutions, with the resulting differences in focus and interpretation making it hard to combine the (voluminous) data on the two areas into a coherent whole. Even recent attempts to synthesize data on the relationship have not been able to accomplish much.
Back Wall of Far View House, Mesa Verde
One of the odder aspects of the situation is that there is remarkably little evidence of Chacoan influence at Mesa Verde itself. While there are Chacoan outliers all over southwestern Colorado, and some of them show considerable evidence of quite direct and substantial influence from Chaco itself, the only site at Mesa Verde that has been suggested as a possible outlier, Far View House, shows only a rather vague resemblance to Chacoan architectural styles. While its layout is rather similar to a McElmo-style Chacoan site, and its masonry is sort of McElmo-like as well, it’s much cruder than at many other likely outliers in Colorado that are even further from Chaco, such as Escalante and Lowry to the north. It certainly looks like Far View House was inspired by Chacoan ideas in some fashion, but it really doesn’t look like Chaco itself had much to do with it. It looks more like a local imitation of Chacoan style, made by people who were aware of Chaco and its style but didn’t know much about the details of it.
Masonry at Far View House, Mesa Verde
One of the really weird things about this is that, while Mesa Verde is rather distant from Chaco and correspondingly shows little Chacoan influence or evidence of having been incorporated into a Chacoan system of any kind, other sites further away, and in the same direction, show much more evidence of having been part of such a system. While many of the furthest outliers, such as Edge of the Cedars, look like local imitations similar to Far View House, others, such as Lowry and Chimney Rock, are among the most clearly Chacoan-influenced outliers around, despite being among the most distant.
Masonry at Escalante Pueblo
This suggests that if the Chacoan system was a reasonably well-integrated network with social or political aspects, its boundaries were quite complicated. It apparently included the whole southern San Juan Basin as far north as the San Juan River, the whole middle and upper San Juan valley and the valleys of the major northern tributaries of the San Juan, and the Dolores River valley and Great Sage Plain further north, but not Mesa Verde, which lies right between the San Juan and the Great Sage Plain.
Masonry at Lowry Great House
The implications of this are hard to understand, but one possibility is that the system was not, in fact, as well-integrated as it might seem at first glance, and that it may have been more a network of independent small polities loosely affiliated through adherence to a common social system or religious cult centered on Chaco. This type of explanation has been pretty popular in Chacoan research over the past few years. Another explanation, less popular these days, is that Chaco was a single integrated polity with far-flung and complicated boundaries, and that the people of Mesa Verde resisted its expansion and were never fully incorporated into it, so it expanded around them instead. At this point it’s hard to say which of these is more plausible, and it’s quite possible that the real answer is something totally different from either.
McElmo-Style Masonry at Casa Chiquita
One interesting sidenote is the odd and somewhat ambiguous evidence for continued Chacoan influence in Colorado even after the fall of Chaco itself. Great houses, or structures that sort of resemble great houses, at least, continued to be built well into the 1200s in the Mesa Verde area, and it’s possible (though highly speculative) that part of the rise of Mesa Verde in the thirteenth century, to the extent that it did rise to regional prominence, was tied to a revival of Chacoan ideology symbolized by the construction of D-shaped structures with apparent ritual purposes.
Masonry at Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde
The best known of these structures is probably the Sun Temple at Mesa Verde itself, which seems to be associated with Cliff Palace and which also seems to have some astronomical alignments. Interestingly, the masonry at the Sun Temple looks a lot more Chacoan than anything at Far View House, despite the fact that the Sun Temple was built long after Chaco had faded into obscurity and the fact that other sites built at Mesa Verde at the same time, such as Cliff Palace and Spruce Tree House, have much cruder masonry.
Masonry at the Sun Temple, Mesa Verde
There are a lot of questions remaining about this issue, and much more research remains to be done, but there are some tantalizing hints that untangling the connections between Chaco and Mesa Verde may shed light on a whole slew of continuing mysteries about the prehistory of the southwest. There’s enough there to keep archaeologists busy for a long, long time.
Pipe Shrine House with Far View House in Background, Mesa Verde
Posted in Architecture, Chaco Canyon, Chimney Rock, Edge of the Cedars, Elsewhere, Escalante, FAQ, Far View House, Lowry, Near, Northern San Juan, Outliers, Research | 6 Comments
on October 5, 2009 at 12:11 am Dawn
You have a very nice site here. Interesting. Went to Chaco and Mesa Verde this summer as well as Bandelier. All were very interesting.
on October 5, 2009 at 12:16 am teofilo
on February 12, 2010 at 10:07 pm Ed
I thought this was a good, informative, and accurate site, until I found a picture labeled “Mesa Verde from Durango, Colorado.” Then I realized that all you are doing is parroting information that you’ve taken from other sites, and that you yourself have never been to any of these places, most likely. Certainly you’ve NEVER been to Mesa Verde or Durango – you are a fraud and a huskster.
Anyone could look at a map and realize that you cannot see Mesa Verde from Durango, especially not the street on which this picture was taken: that mountain is a bluff right on the edge of Durango, and at least 30 miles from Mesa Verde.
If you are going to fake something, at least do a half-decent job of it.
FRAUD!!!!
on February 13, 2010 at 1:19 pm teofilo
Heh. Whoa, there. You’re jumping to a few more conclusions about that caption than are really necessary, I think.
You are of course right about the picture. That’s not Mesa Verde. It’s Perins Peak. This was explained to me by a helpful commenter on my Flickr page, where I initially posted the picture, identifying it as Mesa Verde. As you can see, I changed the caption there, but I didn’t go back and change it here. I’ve actually been worried that someone was going to come across it here and point out the mistake, and it turns out that worry was justified. So, I apologize, and I should probably change the caption to clarify this.
Obviously, if you’re going to conclude from that mistake that I’m a total fraud I’m not going to be able to convince you otherwise just by writing something here, but just for the record I will say that I did take that picture and that I thought at the time that it was of Mesa Verde. I’ve been to Durango several times, and on one of those occasions my father, who was born in Durango and had been there many more times than I have, told me that was Mesa Verde. He must have just been mistaken; although he was born there and his family went there often, he never actually lived in Durango, and his knowledge of it was probably not that deep. He is no longer living, so I have no way of asking him about it now.
I’d also just like reiterate that I only post picture on this site that I have personally taken, and that I stick to that rule quite strictly to avoid giving mistaken impressions of where I have and haven’t been. I do not, however, confine the subjects I write about to places I have been personally. Although I have traveled widely in the Southwest, most of my knowledge does come from books, and I make no apologies for that.
on March 23, 2011 at 9:15 pm Reshlen
Eds a jerk, everyone is intitled to a mistake once in a while
on September 27, 2012 at 11:55 am Scott Payne
I too saw the mistake in the photo, however, I have read enough on this site to know that you are not a fraud. I too was born in Farmington and have a great love for Chaco and the pueblos of the San Juan Basin. Keep up the good work. Be cool Ed, we all make mistakes now and then.
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transfer title or deed of trust regarding CGT reduction
AndrewDod
But it seems a single name in the property title + DOT is not enough to satisfy HMRC under " their rules ".
HMRC want to see both spouses names registered on the property title before they accept a DOT to vary the distribution of rental profit. .
There is no such law or rule in general (for example with a DoT giving beneficial ownership to my child).
Indeed such a rule would make no sense since one can have only four trustees, but many more owners than that. The ruling relates to ownership (which the DoT is). What is the case is that if both spouses are names on the trust deed (as legal owners) and this is as joint tenants (not tenants in common) then there can be no variation in distribution because this is 100% shared ownership by definition and has to be declared as 50:50.
Beneficial interest **is** ownership. Being on the title is not. A trustee is not an owner (necessarily).
There are a number of different types of trust.
One that owns property usually has to be formally recorded with HMRC as a separate entity and has to submit its own tax return annually.
A simple trust to change the beneficial ownership is a different type of trust, which simply requires a one-off formal notification to HMRC.
I don't know enough about trusts to pretend to know much more than that, but the rules and procedures are obviously different in different cases.
I have to say that I was always of the belief that joint ownership was necessary for a change of beneficial ownership split, but that could be one of those self-perpetuating bits of "knowledge", which is only "true" until someone points out its wrong.
Certainly it's how most people who have asked the question seem to have been told by their solicitors.
So is it possible to use a dot to transfer beneficial ownership to ones spouse who is not named on the legal title? I was under the impression that this couldn't be done. Would the mortgage company not block such a thing?
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S02.E06 The Domino Effect 2018.07.10
Cassandre replied to Lady Calypso's topic in The Bold Type [V]
Exactly. I went back to that episode (1.06) and Sutton tells him "you know my hair's not red, right ?". Oliver "Yes, but it should be. It would be fabulous with your coloring".
S02.E05 Stride of Pride 2018.07.03
I thought that was one of their best episode (can't top 1x10 though). I wasn't expecting Jane and Kat to have that conversation but I'm glad they did. Jane left Scarlet and now she's complaining about having a hard time finding a new job. I know she didn't plan to get fired by Victoria but why did she leave a good job in the first place... Kat used to say she was just Adenasexual, well that dream proved her wrong... I'm glad that guy's wife believed Sutton's side of the story.
S02.E04: OMG 2018.06.26
I knew that Jane's issues with Ben being a religious person had something to do with her mom. So I didn't find her annoying. I liked Kat and Adena storyline and that they brought Coco in it. Too bad Adena got away with this just by talking about her mom. I still don't see the connection between what she said and what Kat was asking earlier, not the 'how many people have you slept with' but her concerns about the way Adena moves from a relationship to another. I wasn't into Sutton's storyline but the end got me worried for her. She's the only one who is working very hard for the magazine and yet she has to face things like this that can get her lose her job.
S02.E01: Feminist Army / S02.E02 Rose Colored Glasses
And I hope they will stay heavily featured. I'm not on tumblr but I'm glad to know they love them. The medias love them too. We can't forget why. A lesbian muslim and a queer black woman together in a world where LGBT people aren't represented enough.... I can't really expect tumblr not to like them.... I can understand why you wouldn't like their storyline just like most of us don't appreciate the Richard and Sutton story but it's just not the same. There's no "pointless" angst that doesn't get solved after one episode in The Bold Type. So I can deal with it even if I don't see it as "pointless". They are just portraying Kat and Adena's journey as a couple. Knowing that Kat has never been in a serious relationship before and now she has to deal with a woman. They do it in a positive way. When something is wrong we see it and they end up talking about it. They are honest and supportive with each other. I must be the only one here to think that but the writers are doing an amazing job with them. This relationship seems good for Kat. I just hope they find something for Adena to do in this season. A permanent job. I don't want her to be just Kat's girlfriend. I don't read spoilers but I heard some stuffs are coming. The sooner the better.
The Bold Type in the Media
Cassandre replied to SilverStormm's topic in The Bold Type [V]
it's speculation. We will know when the show comes back or even when they start producing it. I wonder if Sarah Watson is going to say something about it. She hasn't said anything since the show got renewed. Which is understandable. TBT was her show after all.
Saraw Watson had said when TBT ended weeks ago that in season two she would want to focus more on the male cast if they got renewed. And Freeform is now talking about how they want "to continue to champion these incredible women" and they're all about how they want "to deliver shows that celebrate female voice" . Whatever happened I hope they don't ruin the show.
For the Love of God and Louboutin, Give The Bold TypeAnother Season
S01.E10: Carry the Weight
I think this was their most powerful episode. I did cry. I seriously hope they get a season two. They know how to handle very well and in an emotional way a difficult subject. Like @funkopop I also think that that interview made sense.
Richard ! I almost forgot about him ! Can't wait to see the girls together. This may be the last time unfortunately.
Why 'The Bold Type' is the Most Relevant Show on Television Right Now Another nice article. I like the part when they say that TBT is a digital native : Most people might not like that part because they think the opposite (like it's truly witchcraft lol) but even if I'm not a fan of some social media, that's not a reason to think it's bad for people or something. Everything is always bad or good, it only depends on how you use it. So I don't mind seeing them tweeting or texting all the time during an episode. Besides it's kind of Kat's job. Of course I also like the part about TBT embracing a positive LGBT representation.
S01.E09: Before Tequila Sunrise
So last week Jane got almost fired and today she feels like Scarlet is too safe for her.... and that she has to go for the thing that scares her the most. But a week ago she was afraid of the layoffs.
I think it's wrong that Kat had sex with Adena and then just let her go the next day. It sounds awful. I wish she hadn't told her she would go with her. If Kat was a guy people would say that she had what she wanted and then just decided to let her go alone. I know it's not like that but I hate this timing. I wish their first time would have happened later. I didn't know Pintsripe's name was Ryan too. I mean I heard it before, but that was really funny to actually realise that.
S05.E07: Chasing Waterfalls
Cassandre replied to AmandaPanda's topic in The Fosters [V]
I'm glad Stef was finally honest about Tess. That woman can be such a snob. How do you tell someone who tells you she had feelings for you that you didn't so no worries. She's so insensitive. that was a nice episode. Life is better without Jesus Adams Foster. So that's what it takes to have Stef and Lena included in the episodes ? And Jude too ? I'm so glad he had that scene with his grandma. Everything that has something to do with family interacting with other family members is fantastic. That's what I want from The Fosters. That Lena and Stuart story was sad, but I loved learning stuffs about Lena and her coming out. I didn't fully enjoy the episode though cause I'm still annoyed with how the show has turned. There used to be a time like the camping episode when everyone was included in the story. And it was nice. Even when Jude was missing they have always explained why he wasn't there, saying he had a trip or something. And Callie was the one always asking about where he was. Now her life is about Aaron I don't know why that guy is so important. I'm waiting for a Callie and Jude scene before the end of the series... maybe next week....
S05.E06: Welcome to the Jungler
Cassandre replied to ShortyMac's topic in The Fosters [V]
I don't think so. It's not really the same thing. We can agree that they don't care about Hayden... (I don't know why) and they don't care about Stef and Lena anymore. When I say that they write for Noah, David and Maia it's because these 3 feels like the center of the show in this season. Not the same for Teri who did have a boring storyline of her own in this episode but there was nothing for Sherri. She existed through Jesus or Mariana. I wonder why she even bothered to come on set. David, Noah and Maia have their storyline followed through in every single episode. Cierra too but you can't say the same for the other ones. Sherri and Teri have that Tess thing but the writers remember it every two episodes (Tess is nothing compared to Grace or Courtney, that's how you have to look what I mean when I say they write the show for D, M and N). Just like they sometimes remember that Hayden/Jude is alive and is part of the family. David, Noah and Maia have a veto power.... I don't watch Brandon's scenes.... so I can tell it's a lot to pass. I would donate Gabe and Courtney scenes together to Stef and Lena... So no, it's not really "more like... " I feel like even her acting changed. It doesn't feel real anymore.
Well, I disagree with both of you. I think that your love for the character is blinding you from how dumb Jesus trully is. Or is acting right now. You say that the guy is normal and they don't need to treat him differently because of his TBI but then you get mad everytime someone yells at him like he is some victim. They are just treating him like they always did. Remember Stef telling him "life is a bitch" in season four ? He was fine back then. You have to wonder why they act like that with him. To me it's because he is acting stupid. Stef and Lena have to say "no". I don't understand how they just count on him to fail the test instead of just telling him no. Jesus is not above them. And they did say no to Mariana at first. Mariana has no boundaries but Jesus is acting like a despot. He is like "if you don't let me drop out of school I'm going to... " No one loves threats. I'm sick of Jesus and his behaviour towards everyone and I don't care about his TBI since we have to treat him like a normal human being. I'm glad Stef and Lena are hard on him. The problem really is not his TBI but it's just him being dumb. It's not about Mariana or someone else.
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Penn21
Government document21
United States. Congress 1873-1875)7
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations4
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Post Office and Post Roads4
United States Congress 1957-1959)2
Postage stamps[remove]21
United States--Politics and government[remove]21
United States. Congress21
United States. Congress--History21
United States. Congress--(43rd : 1873-1875)7
You searched for: Subject United States--Politics and government Remove constraint Subject: United States--Politics and government Subject Postage stamps Remove constraint Subject: Postage stamps
Author (a-z)
Author (z-a)
Pub date (new-old)
Pub date (old-new)
Date added (new-old)
1. Providing airmail and special delivery postage stamps for members of the House of Representatives on the basis of regular sessions of Congress.
United States. Congress. House. Committee on House Administration.
LexisNexis U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection.
Washington : [s.n.], 1958.
Government document
Online resource:
Connect to full text
2. Migratory bird hunting stamps.
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries.
3. Letter from the Postmaster General, transmitting letters from the Third Assistant Postmaster-General, with inclosures, and recommending a provision in the post-office appropriation bill relative to submitting bids for stamps, stamped envelopes, and postal cards.
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations.
4. Letter from the Postmaster General, transmitting information in response to Senate resolution of the 27th of February, 1880, relative to a suit against the postmaster at New York for damages arising from the use of a patented instrument for canceling postage-stamps.
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads.
5. Requesting the Postmaster-General to discontinue the use of the green two-cent postage stamp and to return to the use of the two-cent stamp of terra-cotta color.
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Post Office and Post Roads.
6. Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting supplemental estimate of an appropriation for postage-stamps and foreign postal-cards for the use of the National Museum, fiscal year 1890.
7. Letter from the Secretary of State, communicating, in obedience to the resolution of the Senate, the number of officers and employes in or connected with the Department of State who have been furnished with official postage-stamps.
8. Letter from the Secretary of War, communicating, in compliance with a Senate resolution of January 5, 1874, information in relation to officers or employes furnished with official postage-stamps.
United States. War Dept.
9. Letter from the Secretary of the Navy, communicating, in compliance with a Senate resolution of January 5, 1874, information in relation to officers or employes furnished with official postage-stamps.
United States. Navy Department.
10. Letter from the Secretary of the Interior, communicating, in compliance with a Senate resolution of January 5, 1874, information in relation to officers and employes furnished with official postage-stamps.
United States. Dept. of the Interior.
11. [Officers in Treasury Department furnished with official postage-stamps.]
United States. Dept. of the Treasury.
12. Letter of the Attorney-General, submitted in compliance with a Senate resolution of January 5, 1874, communicating information in relation to officers and employes furnished with postage-stamps for official correspondence.
United States. Department of Justice.
13. Letter from the Postmaster General, communicating, in obedience to the resolution of the Senate, the number of officers and employes in or connected with the Post-Office Department, and who have been furnished with official postage-stamps.
United States. Post Office Dept.
14. Letter from the Postmaster General, transmitting to the House of Representatives the documents and correspondence relating to postal cards, and the contract for, and changes in, postage-stamps, as called for by the resolution of December 13, 1872.
15. Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting a copy of a communication from the Postmaster-General submitting a deficiency estimate of appropriation for Post-Office Department.
16. Lincoln postage stamp.
United States. Congress. House.
17. Letter from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting, for the consideration of Congress, estimates of appropriations for the rental of the office now occupied by the agent of the Post-Office Department to supervise the distribution of stamps.
18. Postage stamps. Letter from the Postmaster General, transmitting, pursuant to House resolution dated March 7, 1894, information relating to furnishing postage stamps to the Post-Office Department during the contract term of four years, beginning on the 1st of July, 1894.
19. Periodical publications mailed as second-class matter letters from the Postmaster General to Hon. Boies Penrose relative to the section of the postal appropriation bill that provides for an increase in the postage rate on the advertising portions of periodical publications mailed as second-class matter.
20. Special return cards on stamped envelopes letter from the National Joint Committee to Hon. Knute Nelson replying to the Postmaster General's Letter of February 6, 1911, relative to special return cards on stamped envelopes.
21. Memorial of the National Editorial Association of Hutchinson, Kans.; The American Envelope Manufacturers' Association of St. Louis, Mo.; The International Association of Photo-Engravers of Washington, D. C.; The National Association of Stationers and Manufacturers of New York City, N. Y.; The National Paper Trade Association of Washington, D. C.; The Printers' League of America of New York City, N. Y.; and of the United Typothetae of America of Washington, D. C., favoring the enactment of legislation to prohibit the printing of special return cards on stamped envelopes free of charge.
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Mom Who Almost Killed 11-Year-Old Daughter During an “Exorcism” Found Not Guilty June 22, 2018 David Gee
Mom Who Almost Killed 11-Year-Old Daughter During an “Exorcism” Found Not Guilty
The California woman who stripped her 11-year-old daughter naked before choking and nearly killing her as part of what she said as an “exorcism” was just found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Kimberly Felder, who was stopped short of killing her daughter by a local bystander who said “God sent” him to save the little girl, had a long trial that was at one point put on hold because her lawyer doubted whether she was competent to stand trial. Ultimately, the judge sided with experts who found she couldn’t have known what she was doing.
This morning Judge Christopher Wilson issued the verdict after reading reports from two doctors who evaluated Kimberly Ann Felder on her state of mind when she brutally attacked her 11-year-old daughter on June 16, 2017.
Both doctors “stated unequivocally that Ms. Felder was incapable of understanding the nature and quality of her acts, and of distinguishing right from wrong,” Wilson said.
Minutes before Wilson made his finding, the 46-year-old Felder pleaded no contest to attempted murder with the special allegation of causing great bodily injury. Deputy District Attorney Stacey Eads, stating a factual basis for the plea, said Felder had stripped off the child’s clothing and was striking her repeatedly while shoving sand into her mouth and eyes. She also bit off part of the girl’s ear, Eads said. Even after a witness intervened, Felder kept trying to strike the child with a piece of driftwood.
“Ms. Felder said she was doing an exorcism on her daughter,” Eads said. “She said that she was trying to remove the demons from her daughter.”
John Marciel, the man who stopped Felder from committing murder, always said that what the woman was doing was not “in any way or form an exorcism.” He told me at the time, “Plain and simple, she was trying to kill that little girl.”
This afternoon, after learning about the ruling, Marciel was shocked: “I’m at a loss of words over this verdict. I just hope and pray the child is ok and safe.”
It turns out Felder’s claim wasn’t that she was always insane. Her argument was that she was insane at the time of the incident, but her mental state improved during the trial.
After her arrest, Felder’s mental state improved enough for her to be found competent to stand trial. She then entered the plea saying she was insane at the time of the assault.
Felder’s case has been referred to Conrep, a state agency that determines where she will be placed for treatment. The Conrep report is expected by July 10.
Her attorney, Public Defender Marek Reavis, said previously that Felder will be sent to a mental hospital for a minimum of six months. After state doctors determine her sanity is fully restored, Felder will be returned to Humboldt County to undergo one year of outpatient treatment.
A no-contest plea is treated as a guilty plea in felony court, but it can’t be used against the defendant in a civil case.
I’ll admit I was disappointed to hear the not guilty verdict at first, but if the experts say she wasn’t sane, then so be it. We have to accept that. The important thing is that the girl is no longer under the care of a woman who might snap and murder her at any time.
Evangelical Pastors Need To Condemn Trump's Immigration Atrocities This Weekend
June 22, 2018 Fans Revolt After Christian Singer Uses Bible Verse to Condemn Border Separation
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10.15 : See Regional
18.00 : See West
18.40 : See Northern Ireland
21.30 : 6BM and 5PY
A Farewell Programme
Arranged by Felix Felton and W. Farquharson Small
This is the last day of service of the Plymouth and Bournemouth local transmitters, though their studios will continue to be used in conjunction with the new transmitters at Start Point and Clevedon which open tomorrow. Bournemouth was opened on October 17, 1923, Plymouth on March 28, 1924; and tonight a gathering of artists, listeners, and members of the staff in each studio will give their reminiscences of the early days, and will recall some of the old programmes radiated from 6BM and 5PY.
The programme will open at Plymouth and go over to Bournemouth at approximately 21.45.
5PY Plymouth is a radio service which began broadcasting on 28 March 1924 and ended on 13 June 1939. It was replaced by Regional Programme London.
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(Quick links: whipple.org/81595 | db.whipple.org/81595)
Andrew Boulware Whipple
BIRTH: ABT 1823, , , Virginia
DEATH: AFT 1850, , Rockbridge, Virginia
Father: Boulware "John" Whipple (____ - prob bef 1840)
Mother: Lucinda Rutledge Johnson (ABT 1801 - 31 May 1870)
Family 1: Mary M. Kerr (ABT 1825 - AFT 18 Jul 1853)
MARRIAGE: 6 May 1845, , Rockbridge, Virginia
Annie Atella Whipple (5 Jun 1845 - 4 Dec 1913)
Jonathan B. Whipple (Nov 1847 - AFT 8 Jun 1900)
+James W. Whipple (Jul 1849 - AFT 18 Apr 1910)
Eliza Louisa Whipple (18 Jul 1853 - ____)
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_Boulware "John" Whipple __|
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|--Andrew Boulware Whipple
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|_Lucinda Rutledge Johnson _|
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!SOURCE: "Descendants of John Whipple," email from N. Combs to Weldon Whipple, 4 Sep 2003. Cites 1850 Census, Rockbridge Co., VA (birth).
!SOURCE: Email from N. Combs to Weldon Whipple, 15 Jun 2004. Cites the 1850 Census, Rockbridge Co., VA (1850, Age 27, tailor, living 51st Dist., Rockbridge Co., VA w/wife Mary & 3 children, and David Robertson, 18, tailor).
!SOURCE: Email from B. Huckins to Weldon Whipple, 2 May 2008. Cites DAR Lineage Book, Vol. 14, pg 314 # 13841 (parents' names, full middle name), Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (marriage place).
RIN 81595. Quick link to this page: https://whipple.org/81595
View this person at db.whipple.org: https://db.whipple.org/81595
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Here's What Might Cause a Recession
by The Journal.
The U.S. just hit the 10-year mark of nonstop economic growth. In July, the economy will have grown for longer than any stretch in its history. But who or what might kill this expansion? Reporter Jon Hilsenrath explains.
What It Takes to Be Made in America
The Journal.
One company set out to make a new shoe entirely in the United States and learned it is much more complex than making a grilled cheese sandwich. Ruth Simon talks about her recent trip to a boot manufacturer in Red Wing, Minnesota.
A Boom Beyond the 'Burbs
The exurbs, the regions far beyond a city center, are back. Home building and sales are rising. But the housing rebound in these areas comes as the rest of the housing market has slowed. WSJ's Laura Kusisto explains what it could mean.
The Company That Sparked a California Wildfire a Day
One company was responsible for some of the biggest wildfires that have swept through California in the past few years, killing more than 100 people. That company? PG&E Corp., California's largest electric utility. As the state enters wildfire season, WSJ U.S. Energy Editor Miguel Bustillo talks about the company and what's in store.
More from The Journal.
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Biotech Firm Halts 'Revolutionary' Cancer Treatment After Patient Deaths
Filed to: MedicineFiled to: Medicine
car-t therapy
Image: Wellcome Images
Following the deaths of five patients, Juno Therapeutics has decided to pull the plug on an experimental cancer treatment that boosts the power of a patient’s immune cells. The news comes just days after the company’s rival, Kite Pharma, announced its success with a similar method, showing there’s still hope for this potentially revolutionary gene therapy.
Called JCAR015, the therapy was being used to treat adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the immune system. Back in July 2016, three patients died while participating in Juno’s Phase II clinical trial, known as ROCKET, prompting the FDA to suspend the therapy. The trial was eventually allowed to continue, but it was suspended yet again in November following two more deaths. These setbacks, in conjunction with a rash of criticisms accusing the company of hiding the deaths from the public and “going way too fast” with the trials, has finally led Juno to put the brakes on the program entirely.
Yet Another Cancer Drug Trial Is on Hold Following Patient Deaths
As 2016 draws to a close, two of what started out as this year’s most promising new cancer…
“We have decided not to move forward with the ROCKET trial or JCAR015 at this time, even though it generated important learnings for us and the immunotherapy field,” noted Juno President and CEO Hans Bishop in a statement. The CEO restated the company’s “commitment to developing better treatments for patients battling ALL,” adding that “an approach using our defined cell technology is the best platform to pursue.”
This platform, known as CAR-T, produces genetically juiced-up immune cells that are reintroduced into a patient’s bloodstream, preventing cancer from spreading and taking hold. Considerable buzz has emerged in light of this (potentially) revolutionary gene therapy, particularly after early results came in from a clinical trial showing that 94 percent of approximately 35 terminally ill patients who were treated with CAR-T went into remission.
Unfortunately, however, this new immunotherapy has also directly resulted in patient deaths, likely due to a reaction between chemotherapy drugs and the CAR-T treatment. Juno blamed the deaths on a change to the trial’s original protocol—specifically, the addition of the chemo drug fludarabine alongside the chemo drug cyclophosphamide. Troublingly, one of the patients who died was not receiving chemotherapy at all, throwing Juno’s claim into doubt.
As noted, Juno may be giving up on JCAR015, but it’s not giving up on CAR-T as a concept. To that end, the Seattle company is focusing on its second CAR-T treatment. Called JCAR017, it has shown early promise in treating diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), which is the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. As reported in STAT, an early Juno trial on 19 patients had a positive effect on 42 of participants over three months, and the company plans to launch a larger study later this year.
But at this stage, Juno has fallen a bit behind. There are two other major players currently working on their own CAR-T treatment for DLBCL, namely Kite Pharma and Novartis. On February 28, Kite announced some exceptionally promising results from its clinical trials, showing that 82 percent of some 100 patients saw their cancer shrink by half at some point. The Santa Monica-based company now plans to file for FDA approval. Novartis plans to do the same by the end of the year.
The race for this treatment—estimated to be worth $1.5 billion in annual sales—is moving ahead a swift pace, while Juno Pharmaceuticals is now forced to play catch up.
[STAT, GEN]
An Innovative New Cancer Therapy Hijacks Bacteria to Fight Tumors
A Groundbreaking Gene-Editing Therapy Eliminated Cancer in Two Infants
George is a senior staff reporter at Gizmodo.
Recent from George Dvorsky
Radiation Levels at the Marshall Islands Remain Disturbingly High
A Sunken Cold War Nuclear Sub Is Leaking Radiation at Levels 800,000 Times Normal
‘Superhuman’ AI Crushes Poker Pros at Six-Player Texas Hold'em
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It’s just the beginning’ Europe must act NOW to avoid WAR, warns top German politician
EUROPE is failing as a team player and is on the brink of war as rising nationalism sweeps the continent, a former chancellor advisor has warned.
Horst Teltschik said the bureaucratic European Union (EU) is struggling in the face of a catastrophic euro crisis that continues to “gain tract” and a sensational Brexit vote, which prompted an “erosion” of its powers.
Hinting that a break-up of the Union is more than likely, Mr Telthschik said the bloc’s main players France and Germany were “stuttering”.
The German politician said: “European integration was the peacemaking response of the Europeans to the catastrophe of two world wars.”
“No generation in Europe has ever been able to live in peace, freedom and prosperity for seventy years. ”
“We are witnessing an erosion of the EU with the euro crisis, with Brexit and the emergence of populist movements in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria or Italy and the authoritarian Eastern neighbours, especially in Poland, Hungary, Romania.”
Speaking of the embattled Brussels club, Mr Teltschik added: “The European Commission is overwhelmed with criticism almost every day, often enough by those who make the decisions, or rather don’t make them, for the EU at the European Council.”
“The German-French engine has been stuttering for years.”
Mr Teltschik also issued a chilling warning, telling Europeans to brace for an ongoing migrant crisis, which he says has only just begun, along with more Islamist-inspired terror attacks.
He said: “The refugee wave is only the beginning. Millions of Arabs, Africans, Pakistani, Afghans, and others, tormented by war, terror and poverty, are looking for new life perspectives.”
“The communist ideology is dead. Today, we are witnessing a totalitarian and murderous Islamism with its terrorist acts, that are spreading across borders. No upper limits or video surveillance will help with this.”
“Great powers such as China, India, Russia and the USA have begun to redistribute their points of interest all over the world, politically, economically, but also in terms of security policy. Europe threatens to fail as a team player. ”
“Should a core Europe go ahead? Suddenly, a defensive union is being discussed again, without a common foreign and security policy within sight. And this in a world that is re-forming itself.”
Full article: It’s just the beginning’ Europe must act NOW to avoid WAR, warns top German politician (Express)
This entry was posted in China, Europe, European Army, European Union, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Italy, Military, Poland, Politics, Soviet Union, USA, War and tagged Austria, Belgium, Brexit, brink of war, Brussels, China, defensive union, EU, europe, European Army, European Commission, European Council, European integration, European Union, France, Germany, Great Britain, Horst Teltschik, Hungary, India, It's just the beginning' Europe must act NOW to avoid WAR warns top German politician, Italy, Poland, Romania, russia, The Netherlands, War. Bookmark the permalink.
Greece Unleashes ‘Soft’ Cash Ban
Gertz: ‘America Is Extremely Vulnerable’ to Cyber Threats
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Home Trustee Donates $2.5 Million to SEAS
Trustee Donates $2.5 Million to SEAS
Gift from Terry and Alisann Collins will support undergraduate students, create endowed professorship.
Terry and Alisann Collins are donating $1.5 million to GW to establish the Alisann and Terry Collins Endowed Scholarship and $1 million to create an endowed professorship in biomedical engineering or a related discipline.
A $2.5 million donation from a member of the George Washington University Board of Trustees will create scholarships for students and support for faculty in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Trustee Terry Collins, D.Sc. ’76, and his wife, Alisann, are donating $1.5 million to GW to establish the Alisann and Terry Collins Endowed Scholarship (with preference to first-generation college students) and $1 million to create an endowed professorship in biomedical engineering or a related discipline.
"This extraordinary act of generosity by Terry and Alisann Collins will open our doors to excellent students who otherwise might not have imagined that a George Washington education was in their future," GW President Steven Knapp said. “It will also increase our ability to ensure that those students are taught by the world’s finest professors.”
The scholarship will support eight undergraduate students in SEAS. Mr. Collins, a member of the SEAS National Advisory Council, earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before completing a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin and his doctorate at GW.
“Talented faculty and students reinforce each other’s thinking and innovation, so by designating their gift to support both scholarships and a professorship, Terry and Alisann are creating a multiplier effect for learning and research,” said David Dolling, dean of SEAS. “By designing the scholarships with a preference for students who are the first in their families to attend college, they also are creating opportunities for them.”
Mr. Collins was the first person in his family to attend college. He enrolled at MIT, he said, “by happenstance” when, as a high school student in Kansas City, he attended a college fair but found the lines to speak to recruiters from various local colleges were too long.
“There was a guy at a table sitting by himself with a Massachusetts Institute of Technology sign, so I just walked up to him so he had someone to talk to,” he told the SEAS alumni magazine Synergy. “Lo and behold, I ended up getting a scholarship to go there. Without that scholarship I would not have been able to attend such an outstanding university. I want to make sure that good students can get quality education independent of family income.”
Mr. Collins taught part-time in SEAS from 1976 to 1979 while working at the Naval Research Lab. He joined Engineering Research Associates in 1979 and ERA was acquired by E-Systems in 1989. When E-Systems was acquired by Raytheon in 1995 he continued at Raytheon until 1997 when he and colleagues Vic Sellier and Tom Murdock formed Argon Engineering Associates (later Argon ST). Argon ST was purchased by Boeing in 2010 and Terry continued with Boeing into 2013.
Mr. Collins was elected to the Board of Trustees last year. He said GW’s recent investments in SEAS, which include the construction of Science and Engineering Hall and an emphasis on research and development, played a role in the decision to make the gift.
“Alisann and I were motivated by the current momentum in SEAS and the need for science and engineering leadership in the nation’s capital,” Mr. Collins said. “We all know that science and engineering are critical to solving many current and future problems and we want our students to be able to lead in solving these problems.
Home, Student Life, James Irwin
School of Engineering and Applied Science
SEAS National Advisory Council
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Cartoon Network LP, LLLP v. CSC Holdings, Inc. - Fixation | 536 F3d 121 | August 04, 2008 | mrisch
Cartoon Network LP, LLLP v. CSC Holdings, Inc. - Fixation
536 F.3d 121
The CARTOON NETWORK LP, LLLP and Cable News Network L.P., L.L.L.P., Plaintiffs-Counter-Claimants-Defendants-Appellees,
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Universal City Studios Productions LLLP, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Disney Enterprises Inc., CBS Broadcasting Inc., American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., NBC Studios, Inc., Plaintiffs-Counter-Defendants-Appellees,
CSC HOLDINGS, INC. and Cablevision Systems Corporation, Defendants-Counterclaim-Plaintiffs-Third-Party Plaintiffs-Appellants,
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., Cable News Network LP, LLP, Turner Network Sales, Inc., Turner Classic Movies, L.P., LLLP, Turner Network Television LP, LLLP, Third-Party-Defendants-Appellees.
Docket No. 07-1480-cv(L).
Docket No. 07-1511-cv(CON).
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.
Argued: October 24, 2007.
Decided: August 4, 2008.
[536 F.3d 122] Jeffrey A. Lamken (Robert K. Kry and Joshua A. Klein, on the brief), Baker Botts L.L.P., Washington, D.C., and Timothy A. Macht (on the brief), New York, N.Y., for Defendants-Appellants.
Katherine B. Forrest (Antony L. Ryan, on the brief), Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, New York, N.Y., for Plaintiffs-Appellees The Cartoon Network LP, LLLP, et al.
Robert Alan Garrett (Hadrian R. Katz, Jon Michaels, Peter L. Zimroth, and Eleanor Lackman, on the brief), Arnold & Porter LLP, Washington, D.C., for Plaintiffs-Appellees Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, et al.
Marc E. Isserles, Cohen & Gresser LLP, New York, N.Y., for Amici Curiae Law Professors.
Henry A. Lanman, Trachtenberg Rodes & Friedberg LLP, New York, N.Y., for Amicus Curiae Professor Timothy Wu.
Solveig Singleton, The Progress & Freedom Foundation, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae Progress & Freedom Foundation.
Carol A. Witschel, White & Case LLP, and Richard H. Reimer, New York, N.Y., for Amicus Curiae The American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers.
Michael E. Salzman, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, and Marvin Berenson, Broadcast Music Inc., New York, N.Y., for Amicus Curiae Broadcast Music, Inc.
David Sohn, Center for Democracy & Technology, Washington, D.C., Fred von Lohman, Electronic Freedom Foundation, San Francisco, Cal., Sherwin Siy, Public Knowledge, Washington D.C., William P. Heaston, Broadband Service Providers Association Regulatory Committee, Jonathan Band PLLC, Washington, D.C., Julie [536 F.3d 123] Kearney, Consumer Electronics Association, Arlington, Va., Michael F. Altschul et al., CTIA-The Wireless Association®, Washington, D.C., Jonathan Banks, USTelecom, Washington, D.C., Michael K. Kellogg et al., Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, P.L.L.C., Washington D.C., for Amici Curiae Center for Democracy & Technology et al.
Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., et al., Jenner & Block LLP, Washington, D.C., Kenneth L. Doroshow & Scott A. Zebrak, Recording Industry Association of America, Washington, D.C., Jacqueline C. Charlesworth, National Music Publishers' Association, Washington, D.C., Victor S. Perlman, American Society of Media Photographers, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., Allan Robert Adler, Association of American Publishers, Washington, D.C., Linda Steinman, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, New York, N.Y., David Korduner, Directors Guild of America, Inc., Los Angeles, Cal., Frederic Hirsch & Chun T. Wright, Entertainment Software Association, Washington, D.C., Susan Cleary, Independent Film & Television Alliance, Los Angeles, Cal., Gary Gertzog, National Football League, New York, N.Y., Thomas Ostertag, Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, New York, N.Y., Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, Screen Actors Guild, Inc., Los Angeles, Cal., John C. Beiter, Loeb & Loeb, LLP, Nashville, Tenn., Anthony R. Segall, Writers Guild of America, West, Inc., Los Angeles, Cal., for Amici Curiae American Society of Media Photographers, Inc. et al.
Steven J. Metalitz & J. Matthew Williams, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae Americans for Tax Reform.
Before: WALKER, SACK, and LIVINGSTON, Circuit Judges.
JOHN M. WALKER, JR., Circuit Judge:
Defendant-Appellant Cablevision Systems Corporation ("Cablevision") wants to market a new "Remote Storage" Digital Video Recorder system ("RS-DVR"), using a technology akin to both traditional, set-top digital video recorders, like TiVo ("DVRs"), and the video-on-demand ("VOD") services provided by many cable companies. Plaintiffs-Appellees produce copyrighted movies and television programs that they provide to Cablevision pursuant to numerous licensing agreements. They contend that Cablevision, through the operation of its RS-DVR system as proposed, would directly infringe their copyrights both by making unauthorized reproductions, and by engaging in public performances, of their copyrighted works. The material facts are not in dispute. Because we conclude that Cablevision would not directly infringe plaintiffs' rights under the Copyright Act by offering its RS-DVR system to consumers, we reverse the district court's award of summary judgment to plaintiffs, and we vacate its injunction against Cablevision.
Today's television viewers increasingly use digital video recorders ("DVRs") instead of video cassette recorders ("VCRs") to record television programs and play them back later at their convenience. DVRs generally store recorded programming on an internal hard drive rather than a cassette. But, as this case demonstrates, the generic term "DVR" actually refers to a growing number of different devices and systems. Companies like TiVo sell a stand-alone DVR device that is typically connected to a user's cable box and television much like a VCR. Many cable companies also lease to their subscribers "set-top storage DVRs," which combine many of the functions of a standard cable box and a stand-alone DVR in a single device.
[536 F.3d 124] In March 2006, Cablevision, an operator of cable television systems, announced the advent of its new "Remote Storage DVR System." As designed, the RS-DVR allows Cablevision customers who do not have a stand-alone DVR to record cable programming on central hard drives housed and maintained by Cablevision at a "remote" location. RS-DVR customers may then receive playback of those programs through their home television sets, using only a remote control and a standard cable box equipped with the RS-DVR software. Cablevision notified its content providers, including plaintiffs, of its plans to offer RS-DVR, but it did not seek any license from them to operate or sell the RS-DVR.
Plaintiffs, which hold the copyrights to numerous movies and television programs, sued Cablevision for declaratory and injunctive relief. They alleged that Cablevision's proposed operation of the RS-DVR would directly infringe their exclusive rights to both reproduce and publicly perform their copyrighted works. Critically for our analysis here, plaintiffs alleged theories only of direct infringement, not contributory infringement, and defendants waived any defense based on fair use.
Ultimately, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Denny Chin, Judge), awarded summary judgment to the plaintiffs and enjoined Cablevision from operating the RS-DVR system without licenses from its content providers. See Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. Cablevision Sys. Corp. (Cablevision I), 478 F.Supp.2d 607 (S.D.N.Y.2007). At the outset, we think it helpful to an understanding of our decision to describe, in greater detail, both the RS-DVR and the district court's opinion.
I. Operation of the RS-DVR System
Cable companies like Cablevision aggregate television programming from a wide variety of "content providers"—the various broadcast and cable channels that produce or provide individual programs—and transmit those programs into the homes of their subscribers via coaxial cable. At the outset of the transmission process, Cablevision gathers the content of the various television channels into a single stream of data. Generally, this stream is processed and transmitted to Cablevision's customers in real time. Thus, if a Cartoon Network program is scheduled to air Monday night at 8pm, Cartoon Network transmits that program's data to Cablevision and other cable companies nationwide at that time, and the cable companies immediately re-transmit the data to customers who subscribe to that channel.
Under the new RS-DVR, this single stream of data is split into two streams. The first is routed immediately to customers as before. The second stream flows into a device called the Broadband Media Router ("BMR"), id. at 613, which buffers the data stream, reformats it, and sends it to the "Arroyo Server," which consists, in relevant part, of two data buffers and a number of high-capacity hard disks. The entire stream of data moves to the first buffer (the "primary ingest buffer"), at which point the server automatically inquires as to whether any customers want to record any of that programming. If a customer has requested a particular program, the data for that program move from the primary buffer into a secondary buffer, and then onto a portion of one of the hard disks allocated to that customer. As new data flow into the primary buffer, they overwrite a corresponding quantity of data already on the buffer. The primary ingest buffer holds no more than 0.1 seconds of each channel's programming at any moment. Thus, every tenth of a second, the data residing on this buffer are automatically erased and replaced. The [536 F.3d 125] data buffer in the BMR holds no more than 1.2 seconds of programming at any time. While buffering occurs at other points in the operation of the RS-DVR, only the BMR buffer and the primary ingest buffer are utilized absent any request from an individual subscriber.
As the district court observed, "the RS-DVR is not a single piece of equipment," but rather "a complex system requiring numerous computers, processes, networks of cables, and facilities staffed by personnel twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week." Id. at 612. To the customer, however, the processes of recording and playback on the RS-DVR are similar to that of a standard set-top DVR. Using a remote control, the customer can record programming by selecting a program in advance from an on-screen guide, or by pressing the record button while viewing a given program. A customer cannot, however, record the earlier portion of a program once it has begun. To begin playback, the customer selects the show from an on-screen list of previously recorded programs. See id. at 614-16. The principal difference in operation is that, instead of sending signals from the remote to an on-set box, the viewer sends signals from the remote, through the cable, to the Arroyo Server at Cablevision's central facility. See id. In this respect, RS-DVR more closely resembles a VOD service, whereby a cable subscriber uses his remote and cable box to request transmission of content, such as a movie, stored on computers at the cable company's facility. Id. at 612. But unlike a VOD service, RS-DVR users can only play content that they previously requested to be recorded.
Cablevision has some control over the content available for recording: a customer can only record programs on the channels offered by Cablevision (assuming he subscribes to them). Cablevision can also modify the system to limit the number of channels available and considered doing so during development of the RS-DVR. Id. at 613.
II. The District Court's Decision
In the district court, plaintiffs successfully argued that Cablevision's proposed system would directly infringe their copyrights in three ways. First, by briefly storing data in the primary ingest buffer and other data buffers integral to the function of the RS-DVR, Cablevision would make copies of protected works and thereby directly infringe plaintiffs' exclusive right of reproduction under the Copyright Act. Second, by copying programs onto the Arroyo Server hard disks (the "playback copies"), Cablevision would again directly infringe the reproduction right. And third, by transmitting the data from the Arroyo Server hard disks to its RS-DVR customers in response to a "playback" request, Cablevision would directly infringe plaintiffs' exclusive right of public performance. See id. at 617. Agreeing with all three arguments, the district court awarded summary declaratory judgment to plaintiffs and enjoined Cablevision from operating the RS-DVR system without obtaining licenses from the plaintiff copyright holders.
As to the buffer data, the district court rejected defendants' arguments 1) that the data were not "fixed" and therefore were not "copies" as defined in the Copyright Act, and 2) that any buffer copying was de minimis because the buffers stored only small amounts of data for very short periods of time. In rejecting the latter argument, the district court noted that the "aggregate effect of the buffering" was to reproduce the entirety of Cablevision's programming, and such copying "can hardly be called de minimis." Id. at 621.
[536 F.3d 126] On the issue of whether creation of the playback copies made Cablevision liable for direct infringement, the parties and the district court agreed that the dispositive question was "who makes the copies"? Id. at 617. Emphasizing Cablevision's "unfettered discretion" over the content available for recording, its ownership and maintenance of the RS-DVR components, and its "continuing relationship" with its RS-DVR customers, the district court concluded that "the copying of programming to the RS-DVR's Arroyo servers ... would be done not by the customer but by Cablevision, albeit at the customer's request." Id. at 618, 620, 621.
Finally, as to the public performance right, Cablevision conceded that, during the playback, "the streaming of recorded programming in response to a customer's request is a performance." Id. at 622. Cablevision contended, however, that the work was performed not by Cablevision, but by the customer, an argument the district court rejected "for the same reasons that [it] reject[ed] the argument that the customer is `doing' the copying involved in the RS-DVR." Id. Cablevision also argued that such a playback transmission was not "to the public," and therefore not a public performance as defined in the Copyright Act, because it "emanates from a distinct copy of a program uniquely associated with one customer's set-top box and intended for that customer's exclusive viewing in his or her home." Id. The district court disagreed, noting that "Cablevision would transmit the same program to members of the public, who may receive the performance at different times, depending on whether they view the program in real time or at a later time as an RS-DVR playback." Id. at 623 (emphasis added). The district court also relied on a case from the Northern District of California, On Command Video Corp. v. Columbia Pictures Industries, 777 F.Supp. 787 (N.D.Cal.1991), which held that when the relationship between the transmitter and the audience of a performance is commercial, the transmission is "to the public," see Cablevision I, 478 F.Supp.2d at 623 (citing On Command, 777 F.Supp. at 790).
Finding that the operation of the RS-DVR would infringe plaintiffs' copyrights, the district court awarded summary judgment to plaintiffs and enjoined Cablevision from copying or publicly performing plaintiffs' copyrighted works "in connection with its proposed RS-DVR system," unless it obtained the necessary licenses. Cablevision I, 478 F.Supp.2d at 624. Cablevision appealed.
We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Bill Graham Archives v. Dorling Kindersley Ltd., 448 F.3d 605, 607 (2d Cir.2006).
"Section 106 of the Copyright Act grants copyright holders a bundle of exclusive rights...." Id. at 607-08. This case implicates two of those rights: the right "to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies," and the right "to perform the copyrighted work publicly." 17 U.S.C. § 106(1), (4). As discussed above, the district court found that Cablevision infringed the first right by 1) buffering the data from its programming stream and 2) copying content onto the Arroyo Server hard disks to enable playback of a program requested by an RS-DVR customer. In addition, the district court found that Cablevision would infringe the public performance right by transmitting a program to an RS-DVR customer in response to that customer's playback request. We address each of these three allegedly infringing acts in turn.
[536 F.3d 127] I. The Buffer Data
It is undisputed that Cablevision, not any customer or other entity, takes the content from one stream of programming, after the split, and stores it, one small piece at a time, in the BMR buffer and the primary ingest buffer. As a result, the information is buffered before any customer requests a recording, and would be buffered even if no such request were made. The question is whether, by buffering the data that make up a given work, Cablevision "reproduce[s]" that work "in copies," 17 U.S.C. § 106(1), and thereby infringes the copyright holder's reproduction right.
"Copies," as defined in the Copyright Act, "are material objects ... in which a work is fixed by any method ... and from which the work can be ... reproduced." Id. § 101. The Act also provides that a work is "`fixed' in a tangible medium of expression when its embodiment ... is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be ... reproduced ... for a period of more than transitory duration." Id. (emphasis added). We believe that this language plainly imposes two distinct but related requirements: the work must be embodied in a medium, i.e., placed in a medium such that it can be perceived, reproduced, etc., from that medium (the "embodiment requirement"), and it must remain thus embodied "for a period of more than transitory duration" (the "duration requirement"). See 2 Melville B. Nimmer & David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright § 8.02[B][3], at 8-32 (2007). Unless both requirements are met, the work is not "fixed" in the buffer, and, as a result, the buffer data is not a "copy" of the original work whose data is buffered.
The district court mistakenly limited its analysis primarily to the embodiment requirement. As a result of this error, once it determined that the buffer data was "[c]learly ... capable of being reproduced," i.e., that the work was embodied in the buffer, the district court concluded that the work was therefore "fixed" in the buffer, and that a copy had thus been made. Cablevision I, 478 F.Supp.2d at 621-22. In doing so, it relied on a line of cases beginning with MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer Inc., 991 F.2d 511 (9th Cir.1993). It also relied on the United States Copyright Office's 2001 report on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which states, in essence, that an embodiment is fixed "[u]nless a reproduction manifests itself so fleetingly that it cannot be copied." U.S. Copyright Office, DMCA Section 104 Report 111 (Aug.2001) ("DMCA Report") (emphasis added), available at http://www.copyright.gov/reports/studies/dmca/sec-104-report-vol-1.pdf.
The district court's reliance on cases like MAI Systems is misplaced. In general, those cases conclude that an alleged copy is fixed without addressing the duration requirement; it does not follow, however, that those cases assume, much less establish, that such a requirement does not exist. Indeed, the duration requirement, by itself, was not at issue in MAI Systems and its progeny. As a result, they do not speak to the issues squarely before us here: If a work is only "embodied" in a medium for a period of transitory duration, can it be "fixed" in that medium, and thus a copy? And what constitutes a period "of more than transitory duration"?
In MAI Systems, defendant Peak Computer, Inc., performed maintenance and repairs on computers made and sold by MAI Systems. In order to service a customer's computer, a Peak employee had to operate the computer and run the computer's copyrighted operating system software. See MAI Sys., 991 F.2d at 513. The issue in MAI Systems was whether, [536 F.3d 128] by loading the software into the computer's RAM,[1] the repairman created a "copy" as defined in § 101. See id. at 517. The resolution of this issue turned on whether the software's embodiment in the computer's RAM was "fixed," within the meaning of the same section. The Ninth Circuit concluded that
by showing that Peak loads the software into the RAM and is then able to view the system error log and diagnose the problem with the computer, MAI has adequately shown that the representation created in the RAM is "sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration."
Id. at 518 (quoting 17 U.S.C. § 101).
The MAI Systems court referenced the "transitory duration" language but did not discuss or analyze it. The opinion notes that the defendants "vigorously" argued that the program's embodiment in the RAM was not a copy, but it does not specify the arguments defendants made. Id. at 517. This omission suggests that the parties did not litigate the significance of the "transitory duration" language, and the court therefore had no occasion to address it. This is unsurprising, because it seems fair to assume that in these cases the program was embodied in the RAM for at least several minutes.
Accordingly, we construe MAI Systems and its progeny as holding that loading a program into a computer's RAM can result in copying that program. We do not read MAI Systems as holding that, as a matter of law, loading a program into a form of RAM always results in copying. Such a holding would read the "transitory duration" language out of the definition, and we do not believe our sister circuit would dismiss this statutory language without even discussing it. It appears the parties in MAI Systems simply did not dispute that the duration requirement was satisfied; this line of cases simply concludes that when a program is loaded into RAM, the embodiment requirement is satisfied—an important holding in itself, and one we see no reason to quibble with here.[2]
At least one court, relying on MAI Systems in a highly similar factual setting, has made this point explicitly. In Advanced Computer Services of Michigan, Inc. v. MAI Systems Corp., the district court expressly noted that the unlicensed user in that case ran copyrighted diagnostic software "for minutes or longer," but that the program's embodiment in the computer's RAM might be too ephemeral to be fixed if the computer had been shut down "within [536 F.3d 129] seconds or fractions of a second" after loading the copyrighted program. 845 F.Supp. 356, 363 (E.D.Va.1994). We have no quarrel with this reasoning; it merely makes explicit the reasoning that is implicit in the other MAI Systems cases. Accordingly, those cases provide no support for the conclusion that the definition of "fixed" does not include a duration requirement. See Webster v. Fall, 266 U.S. 507, 511, 45 S.Ct. 148, 69 L.Ed. 411 (1924) ("Questions which merely lurk in the record, neither brought to the attention of the court nor ruled upon, are not to be considered as having been so decided as to constitute precedents.").
Nor does the Copyright Office's 2001 DMCA Report, also relied on by the district court in this case, explicitly suggest that the definition of "fixed" does not contain a duration requirement. However, as noted above, it does suggest that an embodiment is fixed "[u]nless a reproduction manifests itself so fleetingly that it cannot be copied, perceived or communicated." DMCA Report, supra, at 111. As we have stated, to determine whether a work is "fixed" in a given medium, the statutory language directs us to ask not only 1) whether a work is "embodied" in that medium, but also 2) whether it is embodied in the medium "for a period of more than transitory duration." According to the Copyright Office, if the work is capable of being copied from that medium for any amount of time, the answer to both questions is "yes." The problem with this interpretation is that it reads the "transitory duration" language out of the statute.
We assume, as the parties do, that the Copyright Office's pronouncement deserves only Skidmore deference, deference based on its "power to persuade." Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S. 134, 140, 65 S.Ct. 161, 89 L.Ed. 124 (1944). And because the Office's interpretation does not explain why Congress would include language in a definition if it intended courts to ignore that language, we are not persuaded.
In sum, no case law or other authority dissuades us from concluding that the definition of "fixed" imposes both an embodiment requirement and a duration requirement. Accord CoStar Group Inc. v. LoopNet, Inc., 373 F.3d 544, 551 (4th Cir. 2004) (while temporary reproductions "may be made in this transmission process, they would appear not to be `fixed' in the sense that they are `of more than transitory duration'"). We now turn to whether, in this case, those requirements are met by the buffer data.
Cablevision does not seriously dispute that copyrighted works are "embodied" in the buffer. Data in the BMR buffer can be reformatted and transmitted to the other components of the RS-DVR system. Data in the primary ingest buffer can be copied onto the Arroyo hard disks if a user has requested a recording of that data. Thus, a work's "embodiment" in either buffer "is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced," (as in the case of the ingest buffer) "or otherwise communicated" (as in the BMR buffer). 17 U.S.C. § 101. The result might be different if only a single second of a much longer work was placed in the buffer in isolation. In such a situation, it might be reasonable to conclude that only a minuscule portion of a work, rather than "a work" was embodied in the buffer. Here, however, where every second of an entire work is placed, one second at a time, in the buffer, we conclude that the work is embodied in the buffer.
Does any such embodiment last "for a period of more than transitory duration"? Id. No bit of data remains in any buffer for more than a fleeting 1.2 seconds. And unlike the data in cases like MAI [536 F.3d 130] Systems, which remained embodied in the computer's RAM memory until the user turned the computer off, each bit of data here is rapidly and automatically overwritten as soon as it is processed. While our inquiry is necessarily fact-specific, and other factors not present here may alter the duration analysis significantly, these facts strongly suggest that the works in this case are embodied in the buffer for only a "transitory" period, thus failing the duration requirement.
Against this evidence, plaintiffs argue only that the duration is not transitory because the data persist "long enough for Cablevision to make reproductions from them." Br. of Pls.-Appellees the Cartoon Network et al. at 51. As we have explained above, however, this reasoning impermissibly reads the duration language out of the statute, and we reject it. Given that the data reside in no buffer for more than 1.2 seconds before being automatically overwritten, and in the absence of compelling arguments to the contrary, we believe that the copyrighted works here are not "embodied" in the buffers for a period of more than transitory duration, and are therefore not "fixed" in the buffers. Accordingly, the acts of buffering in the operation of the RS-DVR do not create copies, as the Copyright Act defines that term. Our resolution of this issue renders it unnecessary for us to determine whether any copies produced by buffering data would be de minimis, and we express no opinion on that question.
II. Direct Liability for Creating the Playback Copies
In most copyright disputes, the allegedly infringing act and the identity of the infringer are never in doubt. These cases turn on whether the conduct in question does, in fact, infringe the plaintiff's copyright. In this case, however, the core of the dispute is over the authorship of the infringing conduct. After an RS-DVR subscriber selects a program to record, and that program airs, a copy of the program—a copyrighted work—resides on the hard disks of Cablevision's Arroyo Server, its creation unauthorized by the copyright holder. The question is who made this copy. If it is Cablevision, plaintiffs' theory of direct infringement succeeds; if it is the customer, plaintiffs' theory fails because Cablevision would then face, at most, secondary liability, a theory of liability expressly disavowed by plaintiffs.
Few cases examine the line between direct and contributory liability. Both parties cite a line of cases beginning with Religious Technology Center v. Netcom On-Line Communication Services, 907 F.Supp. 1361 (N.D.Cal.1995). In Netcom, a third-party customer of the defendant Internet service provider ("ISP") posted a copyrighted work that was automatically reproduced by the defendant's computer. The district court refused to impose direct liability on the ISP, reasoning that "[a]lthough copyright is a strict liability statute, there should still be some element of volition or causation which is lacking where a defendant's system is merely used to create a copy by a third party." Id. at 1370. Recently, the Fourth Circuit endorsed the Netcom decision, noting that
to establish direct liability under ... the Act, something more must be shown than mere ownership of a machine used by others to make illegal copies. There must be actual infringing conduct with a nexus sufficiently close and causal to the illegal copying that one could conclude that the machine owner himself trespassed on the exclusive domain of the copyright owner."
CoStar Group, Inc. v. LoopNet, Inc., 373 F.3d 544, 550 (4th Cir.2004).
[536 F.3d 131] Here, the district court pigeon-holed the conclusions reached in Netcom and its progeny as "premised on the unique attributes of the Internet." Cablevision I, 478 F.Supp.2d at 620. While the Netcom court was plainly concerned with a theory of direct liability that would effectively "hold the entire Internet liable" for the conduct of a single user, 907 F.Supp. at 1372, its reasoning and conclusions, consistent with precedents of this court and the Supreme Court, and with the text of the Copyright Act, transcend the Internet. Like the Fourth Circuit, we reject the contention that "the Netcom decision was driven by expedience and that its holding is inconsistent with the established law of copyright," CoStar, 373 F.3d at 549, and we find it "a particularly rational interpretation of § 106," id. at 551, rather than a special-purpose rule applicable only to ISPs.
When there is a dispute as to the author of an allegedly infringing instance of reproduction, Netcom and its progeny direct our attention to the volitional conduct that causes the copy to be made. There are only two instances of volitional conduct in this case: Cablevision's conduct in designing, housing, and maintaining a system that exists only to produce a copy, and a customer's conduct in ordering that system to produce a copy of a specific program. In the case of a VCR, it seems clear — and we know of no case holding otherwise — that the operator of the VCR, the person who actually presses the button to make the recording, supplies the necessary element of volition, not the person who manufactures, maintains, or, if distinct from the operator, owns the machine. We do not believe that an RS-DVR customer is sufficiently distinguishable from a VCR user to impose liability as a direct infringer on a different party for copies that are made automatically upon that customer's command.
The district court emphasized the fact that copying is "instrumental" rather than "incidental" to the function of the RS-DVR system. Cablevision I, 478 F.Supp.2d at 620. While that may distinguish the RS-DVR from the ISPs in Netcom and CoStar, it does not distinguish the RS-DVR from a VCR, a photocopier, or even a typical copy shop. And the parties do not seem to contest that a company that merely makes photocopiers available to the public on its premises, without more, is not subject to liability for direct infringement for reproductions made by customers using those copiers. They only dispute whether Cablevision is similarly situated to such a proprietor.
The district court found Cablevision analogous to a copy shop that makes course packs for college professors. In the leading case involving such a shop, for example, "[t]he professor [gave] the copyshop the materials of which the coursepack [was] to be made up, and the copyshop [did] the rest." Princeton Univ. Press v. Mich. Document Servs., 99 F.3d 1381, 1384 (6th Cir.1996) (en banc). There did not appear to be any serious dispute in that case that the shop itself was directly liable for reproducing copyrighted works. The district court here found that Cablevision, like this copy shop, would be "doing" the copying, albeit "at the customer's behest." Cablevision I, 478 F.Supp.2d at 620.
But because volitional conduct is an important element of direct liability, the district court's analogy is flawed. In determining who actually "makes" a copy, a significant difference exists between making a request to a human employee, who then volitionally operates the copying system to make the copy, and issuing a command directly to a system, which automatically obeys commands and engages in no volitional conduct. In cases like Princeton [536 F.3d 132] University Press, the defendants operated a copying device and sold the product they made using that device. See 99 F.3d at 1383 ("The corporate defendant ... is a commercial copyshop that reproduced substantial segments of copyrighted works of scholarship, bound the copies into `coursepacks,' and sold the coursepacks to students. ..."). Here, by selling access to a system that automatically produces copies on command, Cablevision more closely resembles a store proprietor who charges customers to use a photocopier on his premises, and it seems incorrect to say, without more, that such a proprietor "makes" any copies when his machines are actually operated by his customers. See Netcom, 907 F.Supp. at 1369. Some courts have held to the contrary, but they do not explicitly explain why, and we find them unpersuasive. See, e.g., Elektra Records Co. v. Gem Elec. Distribs., Inc., 360 F.Supp. 821, 823 (E.D.N.Y.1973) (concluding that, "regardless" of whether customers or defendants' employees operated the tape-copying machines at defendants' stores, defendant had actively infringed copyrights).
The district court also emphasized Cablevision's "unfettered discretion in selecting the programming that it would make available for recording." Cablevision I, 478 F.Supp.2d at 620. This conduct is indeed more proximate to the creation of illegal copying than, say, operating an ISP or opening a copy shop, where all copied content was supplied by the customers themselves or other third parties. Nonetheless, we do not think it sufficiently proximate to the copying to displace the customer as the person who "makes" the copies when determining liability under the Copyright Act. Cablevision, we note, also has subscribers who use home VCRs or DVRs (like TiVo), and has significant control over the content recorded by these customers. But this control is limited to the channels of programming available to a customer and not to the programs themselves. Cablevision has no control over what programs are made available on individual channels or when those programs will air, if at all. In this respect, Cablevision possesses far less control over recordable content than it does in the VOD context, where it actively selects and makes available beforehand the individual programs available for viewing. For these reasons, we are not inclined to say that Cablevision, rather than the user, "does" the copying produced by the RS-DVR system. As a result, we find that the district court erred in concluding that Cablevision, rather than its RS-DVR customers, makes the copies carried out by the RS-DVR system.
Our refusal to find Cablevision directly liable on these facts is buttressed by the existence and contours of the Supreme Court's doctrine of contributory liability in the copyright context. After all, the purpose of any causation-based liability doctrine is to identify the actor (or actors) whose "conduct has been so significant and important a cause that [he or she] should be legally responsible." W. Page Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on Torts § 42, at 273 (5th ed.1984). But here, to the extent that we may construe the boundaries of direct liability more narrowly, the doctrine of contributory liability stands ready to provide adequate protection to copyrighted works.
Most of the facts found dispositive by the district court—e.g., Cablevision's "continuing relationship" with its RS-DVR customers, its control over recordable content, and the "instrumental[ity]" of copying to the RS-DVR system, Cablevision I, 478 F.Supp.2d at 618-20—seem to us more relevant to the question of contributory liability. In Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., the lack of an [536 F.3d 133] "ongoing relationship" between Sony and its VCR customers supported the Court's conclusion that it should not impose contributory liability on Sony for any infringing copying done by Sony VCR owners. 464 U.S. 417, 437-38, 104 S.Ct. 774, 78 L.Ed.2d 574 (1984). The Sony Court did deem it "just" to impose liability on a party in a "position to control" the infringing uses of another, but as a contributory, not direct, infringer. Id. at 437, 104 S.Ct. 774. And asking whether copying copyrighted material is only "incidental" to a given technology is akin to asking whether that technology has "commercially significant noninfringing uses," another inquiry the Sony Court found relevant to whether imposing contributory liability was just. Id. at 442, 104 S.Ct. 774.
The Supreme Court's desire to maintain a meaningful distinction between direct and contributory copyright infringement is consistent with congressional intent. The Patent Act, unlike the Copyright Act, expressly provides that someone who "actively induces infringement of a patent" is "liable as an infringer," 35 U.S.C. § 271(b), just like someone who commits the underlying infringing act by "us[ing]" a patented invention without authorization, id. § 271(a). In contrast, someone who merely "sells ... a material or apparatus for use in practicing a patented process" faces only liability as a "contributory infringer." Id. § 271(c). If Congress had meant to assign direct liability to both the person who actually commits a copyright-infringing act and any person who actively induces that infringement, the Patent Act tells us that it knew how to draft a statute that would have this effect. Because Congress did not do so, the Sony Court concluded that "[t]he Copyright Act does not expressly render anyone liable for infringement committed by another." 464 U.S. at 434, 104 S.Ct. 774. Furthermore, in cases like Sony, the Supreme Court has strongly signaled its intent to use the doctrine of contributory infringement, not direct infringement, to "identify[] the circumstances in which it is just to hold one individual accountable for the actions of another." Id. at 435, 104 S.Ct. 774. Thus, although Sony warns us that "the lines between direct infringement, contributory infringement, and vicarious liability are not clearly drawn," id. at 435 n. 17, 104 S.Ct. 774 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted), that decision does not absolve us of our duty to discern where that line falls in cases, like this one, that require us to decide the question.
The district court apparently concluded that Cablevision's operation of the RS-DVR system would contribute in such a major way to the copying done by another that it made sense to say that Cablevision was a direct infringer, and thus, in effect, was "doing" the relevant copying. There are certainly other cases, not binding on us, that follow this approach. See, e.g., Playboy Enters. v. Russ Hardenburgh, Inc., 982 F.Supp. 503, 513 (N.D.Ohio 1997) (noting that defendant ISP's encouragement of its users to copy protected files was "crucial" to finding that it was a direct infringer). We need not decide today whether one's contribution to the creation of an infringing copy may be so great that it warrants holding that party directly liable for the infringement, even though another party has actually made the copy. We conclude only that on the facts of this case, copies produced by the RS-DVR system are "made" by the RS-DVR customer, and Cablevision's contribution to this reproduction by providing the system does not warrant the imposition of direct liability. Therefore, Cablevision is entitled to summary judgment on this point, and the district court erred in awarding summary judgment to plaintiffs.
[536 F.3d 134] III. Transmission of RS-DVR Playback
Plaintiffs' final theory is that Cablevision will violate the Copyright Act by engaging in unauthorized public performances of their works through the playback of the RS-DVR copies. The Act grants a copyright owner the exclusive right, "in the case of ... motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly." 17 U.S.C. § 106(4). Section 101, the definitional section of the Act, explains that
[t]o perform or display a work "publicly" means (1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; or (2) to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to the public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times.
Id. § 101.
The parties agree that this case does not implicate clause (1). Accordingly, we ask whether these facts satisfy the second, "transmit clause" of the public performance definition: Does Cablevision "transmit ... a performance ... of the work ... to the public"? Id. No one disputes that the RS-DVR playback results in the transmission of a performance of a work—the transmission from the Arroyo Server to the customer's television set. Cablevision contends that (1) the RS-DVR customer, rather than Cablevision, does the transmitting and thus the performing and (2) the transmission is not "to the public" under the transmit clause.
As to Cablevision's first argument, we note that our conclusion in Part II that the customer, not Cablevision, "does" the copying does not dictate a parallel conclusion that the customer, and not Cablevision, "performs" the copyrighted work. The definitions that delineate the contours of the reproduction and public performance rights vary in significant ways. For example, the statute defines the verb "perform" and the noun "copies," but not the verbs "reproduce" or "copy." Id. We need not address Cablevision's first argument further because, even if we assume that Cablevision makes the transmission when an RS-DVR playback occurs, we find that the RS-DVR playback, as described here, does not involve the transmission of a performance "to the public."
The statute itself does not expressly define the term "performance" or the phrase "to the public." It does explain that a transmission may be "to the public ... whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance ... receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times." Id. This plain language instructs us that, in determining whether a transmission is "to the public," it is of no moment that the potential recipients of the transmission are in different places, or that they may receive the transmission at different times. The implication from this same language, however, is that it is relevant, in determining whether a transmission is made to the public, to discern who is "capable of receiving" the performance being transmitted. The fact that the statute says "capable of receiving the performance," instead of "capable of receiving the transmission," underscores the fact that a transmission of a performance is itself a performance. Cf. Buck v. Jewell-La Salle Realty Co., 283 U.S. 191, 197-98, 51 S.Ct. 410, 75 L.Ed. 971 (1931).
[536 F.3d 135] The legislative history of the transmit clause supports this interpretation. The House Report on the 1976 Copyright Act states that
[u]nder the bill, as under the present law, a performance made available by transmission to the public at large is "public" even though the recipients are not gathered in a single place, and even if there is no proof that any of the potential recipients was operating his receiving apparatus at the time of the transmission. The same principles apply whenever the potential recipients of the transmission represent a limited segment of the public, such as the occupants of hotel rooms or the subscribers of a cable television service.
H.R.Rep. No. 94-1476, at 64-65 (1976), reprinted in 1976 U.S.C.C.A.N. 5659, 5678 (emphases added).
Plaintiffs also reference a 1967 House Report, issued nearly a decade before the Act we are interpreting, stating that the same principles apply where the transmission is "capable of reaching different recipients at different times, as in the case of sounds or images stored in an information system and capable of being performed or displayed at the initiative of individual members of the public." H.R.Rep. No. 90-83, at 29 (1967) (emphases added). We question how much deference this report deserves. But we need not belabor the point here, as the 1967 report is consistent with both legislative history contemporaneous with the Act's passage and our own interpretation of the statute's plain meaning.
From the foregoing, it is evident that the transmit clause directs us to examine who precisely is "capable of receiving" a particular transmission of a performance. Cablevision argues that, because each RS-DVR transmission is made using a single unique copy of a work, made by an individual subscriber, one that can be decoded exclusively by that subscriber's cable box, only one subscriber is capable of receiving any given RS-DVR transmission. This argument accords with the language of the transmit clause, which, as described above, directs us to consider the potential audience of a given transmission. We are unpersuaded by the district court's reasoning and the plaintiffs' arguments that we should consider a larger potential audience in determining whether a transmission is "to the public."
The district court, in deciding whether the RS-DVR playback of a program to a particular customer is "to the public," apparently considered all of Cablevision's customers who subscribe to the channel airing that program and all of Cablevision's RS-DVR subscribers who request a copy of that program. Thus, it concluded that the RS-DVR playbacks constituted public performances because "Cablevision would transmit the same program to members of the public, who may receive the performance at different times, depending on whether they view the program in real time or at a later time as an RS-DVR playback." Cablevision I, 478 F.Supp.2d at 623 (emphasis added). In essence, the district court suggested that, in considering whether a transmission is "to the public," we consider not the potential audience of a particular transmission, but the potential audience of the underlying work (i.e., "the program") whose content is being transmitted.
We cannot reconcile the district court's approach with the language of the transmit clause. That clause speaks of people capable of receiving a particular "transmission" or "performance," and not of the potential audience of a particular "work." Indeed, such an approach would render the "to the public" language surplusage. Doubtless the potential audience for every [536 F.3d 136] copyrighted audiovisual work is the general public. As a result, any transmission of the content of a copyrighted work would constitute a public performance under the district court's interpretation. But the transmit clause obviously contemplates the existence of non-public transmissions; if it did not, Congress would have stopped drafting that clause after "performance."
On appeal, plaintiffs offer a slight variation of this interpretation. They argue that both in its real-time cablecast and via the RS-DVR playback, Cablevision is in fact transmitting the "same performance" of a given work: the performance of the work that occurs when the programming service supplying Cablevision's content transmits that content to Cablevision and the service's other licensees. See Br. of Pls.-Appellees Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. et al. at 27 ("Fox Br.") ("The critical factor ... is that the same performance is transmitted to different subscribers at different times .... more specifically, the performance of that program by HBO or another programming service." (third emphasis added)).
Thus, according to plaintiffs, when Congress says that to perform a work publicly means to transmit ... a performance ... to the public, they really meant "transmit ... the `original performance' ... to the public." The implication of this theory is that to determine whether a given transmission of a performance is "to the public," we would consider not only the potential audience of that transmission, but also the potential audience of any transmission of the same underlying "original" performance.
Like the district court's interpretation, this view obviates any possibility of a purely private transmission. Furthermore, it makes Cablevision's liability depend, in part, on the actions of legal strangers. Assume that HBO transmits a copyrighted work to both Cablevision and Comcast. Cablevision merely retransmits the work from one Cablevision facility to another, while Comcast retransmits the program to its subscribers. Under plaintiffs' interpretation, Cablevision would still be transmitting the performance to the public, solely because Comcast has transmitted the same underlying performance to the public. Similarly, a hapless customer who records a program in his den and later transmits the recording to a television in his bedroom would be liable for publicly performing the work simply because some other party had once transmitted the same underlying performance to the public.
We do not believe Congress intended such odd results. Although the transmit clause is not a model of clarity, we believe that when Congress speaks of transmitting a performance to the public, it refers to the performance created by the act of transmission. Thus, HBO transmits its own performance of a work when it transmits to Cablevision, and Cablevision transmits its own performance of the same work when it retransmits the feed from HBO.
Furthermore, we believe it would be inconsistent with our own transmit clause jurisprudence to consider the potential audience of an upstream transmission by a third party when determining whether a defendant's own subsequent transmission of a performance is "to the public." In National Football League v. PrimeTime 24 Joint Venture (NFL), 211 F.3d 10 (2000), we examined the transmit clause in the context of satellite television provider PrimeTime, which captured protected content in the United States from the NFL, transmitted it from the United States to a satellite ("the uplink"), and then transmitted it from the satellite to subscribers in both the United States and Canada ("the downlink"). PrimeTime had a license to [536 F.3d 137] transmit to its U.S. customers, but not its Canadian customers. It argued that although the downlink transmission to its Canadian subscribers was a public performance, it could not be held liable for that act because it occurred entirely outside of the United States and therefore was not subject to the strictures of the Copyright Act. It also argued that the uplink transmission was not a public performance because it was a transmission to a single satellite. See id. at 12.
The NFL court did not question the first assumption, but it flatly rejected the second on a specific and germane ground:
We believe the most logical interpretation of the Copyright Act is to hold that a public performance or display includes each step in the process by which a protected work wends its way to its audience. Under that analysis, it is clear that PrimeTime's uplink transmission of signals captured in the United States is a step in the process by which NFL's protected work wends its way to a public audience.
Id. at 13 (emphasis added) (internal quotation and citation omitted). Thus, while the uplink transmission that took place in the United States was not, in itself, "to the public," the NFL court deemed it so because it ultimately resulted in an undisputed public performance. Notably, the NFL court did not base its decision on the fact that an upstream transmission by another party (the NFL) might have been to the public. Nor did the court base its decision on the fact that Primetime simultaneously transmitted a performance of the work to the public in the United States. Because NFL directs us to look downstream, rather than upstream or laterally, to determine whether any link in a chain of transmissions made by a party constitutes a public performance, we reject plaintiffs' contention that we examine the potential recipients of the content provider's initial transmission to determine who is capable of receiving the RS-DVR playback transmission.
Plaintiffs also rely on NFL for the proposition that Cablevision publicly performs a work when it splits its programming stream and transmits the second stream to the RS-DVR system. Because NFL only supports that conclusion if we determine that the final transmission in the chain (i.e., the RS-DVR playback transmission) is "to the public," plaintiffs' reliance on NFL is misplaced. NFL dealt with a chain of transmissions whose final link was undisputedly a public performance. It therefore does not guide our current inquiry.
In sum, none of the arguments advanced by plaintiffs or the district court alters our conclusion that, under the transmit clause, we must examine the potential audience of a given transmission by an alleged infringer to determine whether that transmission is "to the public." And because the RS-DVR system, as designed, only makes transmissions to one subscriber using a copy made by that subscriber, we believe that the universe of people capable of receiving an RS-DVR transmission is the single subscriber whose self-made copy is used to create that transmission.
Plaintiffs contend that it is "wholly irrelevant, in determining the existence of a public performance, whether `unique' copies of the same work are used to make the transmissions." Fox Br. at 27. But plaintiffs cite no authority for this contention. And our analysis of the transmit clause suggests that, in general, any factor that limits the potential audience of a transmission is relevant.
Furthermore, no transmission of an audiovisual work can be made, we assume, without using a copy of that work: to transmit a performance of a movie, for [536 F.3d 138] example, the transmitter generally must obtain a copy of that movie. As a result, in the context of movies, television programs, and other audiovisual works, the right of reproduction can reinforce and protect the right of public performance. If the owner of a copyright believes he is injured by a particular transmission of a performance of his work, he may be able to seek redress not only for the infringing transmission, but also for the underlying copying that facilitated the transmission. Given this interplay between the various rights in this context, it seems quite consistent with the Act to treat a transmission made using Copy A as distinct from one made using Copy B, just as we would treat a transmission made by Cablevision as distinct from an otherwise identical transmission made by Comcast. Both factors—the identity of the transmitter and the source material of the transmission—limit the potential audience of a transmission in this case and are therefore germane in determining whether that transmission is made "to the public."
Indeed, we believe that Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. v. Redd Horne, Inc., 749 F.2d 154 (3d Cir.1984), relied on by both plaintiffs and the district court, supports our decision to accord significance to the existence and use of distinct copies in our transmit clause analysis. In that case, defendant operated a video rental store, Maxwell's, which also housed a number of small private booths containing seats and a television. Patrons would select a film, enter the booth, and close the door. An employee would then load a copy of the requested movie into a bank of VCRs at the front of the store and push play, thereby transmitting the content of the tape to the television in the viewing booth. See id. at 156-57.
The Third Circuit found that defendants' conduct constituted a public performance under both clauses of the statutory definition. In concluding that Maxwell's violated the transmit clause, that court explicitly relied on the fact that defendants showed the same copy of a work seriatim to its clientele, and it quoted a treatise emphasizing the same fact:
Professor Nimmer's examination of this definition is particularly pertinent: "if the same copy ... of a given work is repeatedly played (i.e., `performed') by different members of the public, albeit at different times, this constitutes a 'public' performance." 2 M. Nimmer, § 8.14[C][3], at 8-142 (emphasis in original). ... Although Maxwell's has only one copy of each film, it shows each copy repeatedly to different members of the public. This constitutes a public performance.
Id. at 159 (first omission in original).
Unfortunately, neither the Redd Horne court nor Prof. Nimmer explicitly explains why the use of a distinct copy affects the transmit clause inquiry. But our independent analysis confirms the soundness of their intuition: the use of a unique copy may limit the potential audience of a transmission and is therefore relevant to whether that transmission is made "to the public." Plaintiffs' unsupported arguments to the contrary are unavailing.
Given that each RS-DVR transmission is made to a given subscriber using a copy made by that subscriber, we conclude that such a transmission is not "to the public," without analyzing the contours of that phrase in great detail. No authority cited by the parties or the district court persuades us to the contrary.
In addition to Redd Horne, the district court also cited and analyzed On Command Video Corp. v. Columbia Pictures Industries, 777 F.Supp. 787 (N.D.Cal. 1991), in its transmit clause analysis. In that case, defendant On Command developed [536 F.3d 139] and sold "a system for the electronic delivery of movie video tapes," which it sold to hotels. Id. at 788. The hub of the system was a bank of video cassette players, each containing a copy of a particular movie. From his room, a hotel guest could select a movie via remote control from a list on his television. The corresponding cassette player would start, and its output would be transmitted to that guest's room. During this playback, the movie selected was unavailable to other guests. See id. The court concluded that the transmissions made by this system were made to the public "because the relationship between the transmitter of the performance, On Command, and the audience, hotel guests, is a commercial, `public' one regardless of where the viewing takes place." Id. at 790.
Thus, according to the On Command court, any commercial transmission is a transmission "to the public." We find this interpretation untenable, as it completely rewrites the language of the statutory definition. If Congress had wished to make all commercial transmissions public performances, the transmit clause would read: "to perform a work publicly means ... to transmit a performance for commercial purposes." In addition, this interpretation overlooks, as Congress did not, the possibility that even non-commercial transmissions to the public may diminish the value of a copyright. Finally, like Redd Horne, On Command is factually distinguishable, as successive transmissions to different viewers in that case could be made using a single copy of a given work. Thus, at the moment of transmission, any of the hotel's guests was capable of receiving a transmission made using a single copy of a given movie. As a result, the district court in this case erred in relying on On Command.
Plaintiffs also rely on Ford Motor Co. v. Summit Motor Products, Inc., 930 F.2d 277 (3d Cir.1991), in which the Third Circuit interpreted § 106(3) of the Copyright Act, which gives the copyright holder the exclusive right "to distribute copies ... of the copyrighted work to the public," 17 U.S.C. § 106(3) (emphasis added). The court concluded that "even one person can be the public for the purposes of section 106(3)." Ford, 930 F.2d at 299 (emphasis added). Commentators have criticized the Ford court for divesting the phrase "to the public" of "all meaning whatsoever," 2 Nimmer & Nimmer, supra, § 8.11[A], at 8-149, and the decision does appear to have that result. Whether this result was justified in the context of the distribution right is not for us to decide in this case. We merely note that we find no compelling reason, in the context of the transmit clause and the public performance right, to interpret the phrase "to the public" out of existence.
In sum, we find that the transmit clause directs us to identify the potential audience of a given transmission, i.e., the persons "capable of receiving" it, to determine whether that transmission is made "to the public." Because each RS-DVR playback transmission is made to a single subscriber using a single unique copy produced by that subscriber, we conclude that such transmissions are not performances "to the public," and therefore do not infringe any exclusive right of public performance. We base this decision on the application of undisputed facts; thus, Cablevision is entitled to summary judgment on this point.
This holding, we must emphasize, does not generally permit content delivery networks to avoid all copyright liability by making copies of each item of content and associating one unique copy with each subscriber to the network, or by giving their subscribers the capacity to make their own individual copies. We do not address whether such a network operator would be [536 F.3d 140] able to escape any other form of copyright liability, such as liability for unauthorized reproductions or liability for contributory infringement.
In sum, because we find, on undisputed facts, that Cablevision's proposed RS-DVR system would not directly infringe plaintiffs' exclusive rights to reproduce and publicly perform their copyrighted works, we grant summary judgment in favor of Cablevision with respect to both rights.
For the foregoing reasons, the district court's award of summary judgment to the plaintiffs is REVERSED and the district court's injunction against Cablevision is VACATED. The case is REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
[1] To run a computer program, the data representing that program must be transferred from a data storage medium (such as a floppy disk or a hard drive) to a form of Random Access Memory ("RAM") where the data can be processed. The data buffers at issue here are also a form of RAM.
[2] The same reasoning also distinguishes this court's opinion in Matthew Bender & Co. v. West Publishing Co., 158 F.3d 693 (2d Cir. 1998). Language in that opinion, taken out of context, suggests that the definition of "fixed" imposes only an embodiment requirement: "Under § 101's definition of `copies,' a work satisfies the fixation requirement when it is fixed in a material object from which it can be perceived or communicated directly or with the aid of a machine." Id. at 702. Like the MAI Systems cases, Matthew Bender only addresses the embodiment requirement: specifically, whether West's copyrighted arrangement of judicial opinions was "embedded" in a CD-ROM compilation of opinions when the cases were normally arranged differently but could be manipulated by the user to replicate West's copyrighted arrangement. Id. at 703. The opinion merely quotes the duration language without discussing it, see id. at 702; that case therefore does not compel us to conclude that the definition of "fixed" does not impose a duration requirement.
Original Item: "Cartoon Network LP v. CSC Holdings, Inc."
Lineage of: Cartoon Network LP, LLLP v. CSC Holdings, Inc. - Fixation
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Amazon Alexa is said to help with the flu and migraine
The British health services NHS is allied with the giant of the Internet Amazon, Her linguistic assistant, Alexa, will advise in the future on widespread diseases such as migraine and influenza propose to reduce costs and help more patients at home. In particular, elderly and blind patients should have access to information verified by the NHS.
This explained that government Wednesday. Already, millions of people are turning to Alexa and other language assistants on health issues, said Minister of Health Matt HancockHe wanted to make sure that they would receive the best advice possible. The offer must be subject to strict confidentiality rules for the protection of patients.
funding issues
For many Britons, the NHS is a valuable institution offering services ranging from routine medical check-ups to rescue operations. the health services for years, the country has been facing massive funding challenges and staff shortages. The family doctor – the general practitioner – is also Britain usually the first port of call for people who feel sick.
The President of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Helen Stokes-Lampard, explained that the use of language assistants would allow more appointments to the patients who needed it the most. "This could help some patients determine the type of treatment they need before seeking personal medical care, especially for minor ailments that rarely require a doctor's appointment."
"Alexa, do I have chicken pox?"
The voice assistant Alexa uses information from the NHS website via an algorithm to answer questions such as "Alexa, how to treat a migraine? "or" Alexa, what are the symptoms of chicken pox? "Artificial Intelligence and Big Data are increasingly used in health care. Babylon Health, based in London, recently said that its technology has surpassed that of most doctors in assessing the symptoms of the disease during tests.
Amazon enters the health care after the group last year, the Internet PillPack pharmacy and acquired in the USA a partnership with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan agreed to reduce health costs for employees of the three companies.
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Profits and pitfalls: Buying an off-campus property
Sep 6, 2012 | Articles, Latest News | 0 comments
I thought this article has some good points. This is a great strategy for those with students attending out of town post secondary to pay for a good chunk of the costs involved.
MARJO JOHNE Special to The Globe and Mail Published Tuesday, Sep. 04 2012, 5:00 PM EDT
The spring before their oldest daughter started her second year of studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, Joe and Ileen Capone decided to buy a four-bedroom townhouse in Waterloo, the southwestern Ontario town where the university is located.
Their plan? Instead of paying for off-campus residence, the Capones intended to have their daughter live in the townhouse and rent the remaining bedrooms to other students. They’d save on their daughter’s rent, make enough rental income to cover the mortgage and other house-related costs, and turn a profit when they sold the property after their daughter graduated.
The plan worked beautifully.
“Over all, it was a very profitable experience,” says Mr. Capone, who lives in Kleinburg, just north of Toronto. “We had enough rental income coming in to offset the monthly costs of the house, and at the same time we were building equity.
“We took a nice profit and used part of it to buy my daughter a car.”
The Capones aren’t the only ones to put such a strategy in play. Real estate and finance experts say many parents of children attending school away from home invest in student housing as a way of covering part of their kids’ education costs while building equity.
Student accommodation takes up a significant chunk of postsecondary costs. According to a 2011 report by TD Economics, part of TD Canada Trust, the total cost of pursuing a degree today in an out-of-town university is about $84,000 – $29,000 more than the cost for students living at home.
Mike Milovick, the Waterloo real estate agent who helped the Capones buy their townhouse, says student housing investments account for about 20 per cent of his company’s sales each year.
“The parents I’m dealing with know that, over the next four years, they’re going to pay in the neighbourhood of $20,000 to $25,000 for some form of student accommodation,” he says. “So if they can save that money and in turn make a profit, then it’s a win-win.”
In many cases, parents and their kids approach this strategy as a joint venture; mom and dad raise the downpayment and sign the mortgage while the student assumes the role of landlord, responsible for finding tenants, collecting rent and maintaining the property.
But like most money strategies, this one isn’t necessarily a sure thing, Mr. Milovick says. That’s why it’s important for potential buyers to consider all the factors before entering the student housing market.
The first thing parents should look at? As with any real estate deal, the most important factor is location, location, location, Mr. Milovick says.
“How far is the house from the university? What’s the health of the rental market in that city, and is the university a strong institution with a growing student population?” he asks. “Before you buy, look at CMHC [Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation] rental market statistics for that area and check the university’s off-campus rental office to get a sense of the market.”
Bev Moir, a senior wealth adviser with Scotia McLeod, says would-be buyers should be prepared, financially and mentally, to deal with the risks of becoming a student landlord.
“I have colleagues who have done this and they’ve told me stories about the house ending up being so damaged and poorly maintained,” she says.
Finding and keeping tenants can sometimes be difficult, says Dale Kerr, a writer in Sutton West, Ont., with a daughter studying at Lakehead University in Orillia, just 90 minutes north of Toronto.
Two years ago, when Ms. Kerr and her husband bought a four-bedroom house near Lakehead, they found three tenants and made a profit from the rental income. Their daughter, who lives in the house, used this extra cash to help pay for school costs.
Last year, the Kerrs had only two tenants, and this school year only one tenant has signed on.
“However, the way I look at it, we are still ahead, as we would otherwise have been paying at least $500 for a room and probably $200 per month for food,” Ms. Kerr says. “Up until this year, we haven’t had to pay for anything other than her tuition.”
Brian Burlacoff, a Toronto-based financial adviser with Sun Life Financial Inc., says parents thinking of buying a house to shelter their out-of-town student should apply the same criteria they would use to decide on any type of real estate investment.
“Would you purchase this home or building if you were renting it solely to third-party individuals other than your child?” he says. “It’s important to ask these questions because individuals applying this strategy typically hope to use it as a short-term strategy, where they sell in five to seven years hoping to make a profit.”
Understanding the tax implications with a rental property is critical, Mr. Burlacoff says.
“The tax rules get extremely complex when you’re dealing with a rental property,” he says. “Make sure you talk to an accountant.”
According to the country’s laws, Canadians who sell their principal residence don’t need to pay taxes on any profit, or capital gain, from the sale. But this exemption does not apply to rental properties, says Gary Booth, a Toronto chartered accountant.
“If you make a profit, you would be taxed on 50 per cent of the capital gain,” he says. “If you have a loss, you can use that to reduce your tax liability and you can carry losses forward into future tax years.”
Rental property owners can also claim a capital cost allowance, essentially a depreciation write-off.
“But the danger with taking the capital cost allowance is that, when you sell the property and make a profit, that depreciation claim will be recaptured,” says Mark Stebbing, a certified management accountant and owner of Numbers Plus Ltd., an accounting firm in west Toronto.
And of course, there’s also no guarantee that the house will have built a healthy level of equity come graduation, Ms. Moir says.
“The real estate market has had such a good run in Canada, but it’s still a risk,” she says. “Anybody contemplating this should go in with their eyes wide open, and be prepared for the good and the bad.”
For the Capones, the experience has been good all the way. Mr. Capone says he intends to buy another student rental property, this time for his younger daughter, who is starting her studies at Waterloo University.
One point not mentioned in this article is that most lenders will not allow use of the other students rents to qualify for the mortgage. Rents can only be used when a tenant has their own unit, with separate entrance.
If you would like more information,
email me at info@propertyprohets.ca.
#canadianrealestate.
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Pot Matters: Supreme Court Declines to Review Colorado’s Legalization of Marijuana
Jon Gettman
Colorado legalized marijuana, and neighboring states Nebraska and Oklahoma filed a motion with the Supreme Court to complain that this was a violation of federal law. On Monday, the Supreme Court, which has original jurisdiction over disputes between states, declined to accept the case without comment.
Well, almost without comment.
Justice Thomas had some comments, which he expressed in a dissent to the court’s decision not to accept the case of Nebraska and Oklahoma v. Colorado. The court’s refusal applies to a legal matter “On Motion For Leave to File a Bill of Complaint." Justice Thomas was joined by Justice Alito in his dissent but clearly no one else on the court.
Justice Thomas acknowledged that the court has discretion to hear or not to hear cases for which it has original jurisdiction (cases that the Constitution requires go directly to the Supreme Court for adjudication) but conceded that “whatever the merit of the plaintiff States’ claims, we should let this complaint proceed further rather than denying leave without so much as a word of explanation.”
But that indeed is what the Supreme Court did. Their silence, though, speaks volumes.
In his dissent, Thomas laid out the basic argument made by Nebraska and Colorado.
The federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) prohibits the manufacture, distribution, dispensing and sale of marijuana in a “comprehensive regime to combat . . . traffic in illicit drugs.” Despite this, the State of Colorado passed Amendment 64 in 2012 to legalize the “recreational use of marijuana.” The amendment exempts certain uses of marijuana from state criminal prohibitions and provides for “licensing procedures for marijuana establishments.” The legislature is also required to “enact a tax for sales of marijuana from cultivation facilities to manufacturing facilities and retail stores.”
In December 2014, Nebraska and Oklahoma filed their motion with the Supreme Court. They allege that Amendment 64 violates federal law and increased drug trafficking in their territories, requiring them to spend more money to “combat the increased trafficking and transportation of marijuana.” These two states sought a judgment from the Supreme Court that the CSA “pre-empts certain of Amendment 64’s licensing, regulation, and taxation provisions and an injunction barring their implementation.”
In other words, Nebraska and Oklahoma wanted the Supreme Court to shut down the marijuana industry in Colorado as a violation of the Controlled Substances Act—and shut it down in a way that would shut down legalized marijuana commerce in any other state and prevent any other state from legalizing marijuana.
And the Supreme Court refused to accept the case.
As Thomas explained, “The plaintiff States have alleged significant harms to their sovereign interests caused by another State.”
The Constitution gives the Supreme Court authority to adjudicate “a controversy between two or more states.” But it is up to the court to decide if such controversy should be adjudicated. In this case, they decided that the alleged harms were not significant, or credible enough, for them to hear more about them in formal proceedings.
A month ago, Oklahoma’s Attorney General Doug Peterson wrote in the National Review that “Colorado’s Marijuana Regime is an Affront to Federalism and the Rule of Law."
Peterson argues that “Colorado’s regulatory scheme, coupled with federal inaction, effectively renders the CSA a nullity when it comes to marijuana.” Oklahoma and Nebraska argue that federal law is the supreme law of the land, a concept based on a provision of the supremacy clause of the Constitution. Consequently, Peterson argues that “Should the Court decline to hear our case, Big Marijuana and the states with which it cooperates will take it as a sign that federal drug laws do not matter and that the supremacy clause can be selectively applied.”
Interesting theory.
However, Big Marijuana isn’t behind Amendment 64 in Colorado or other legalization initiatives. Voters are, including many marijuana consumers, as well as non-users. However, Peterson and his colleagues interpret state-level marijuana legalization initiatives, the Supreme Court, so far, appears to believe otherwise. That’s good news for democracy, and a green light for marijuana legalization at the state level to continue.
(Photo Courtesy of WIBW)
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Toledo Decriminalization Law Gives “No Fines, No Jail Time” for Felony Pot Offenses
While Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine attempts to sabotage a measure completely decriminalizing marijuana possession in the city of Toledo, local prosecutors appear to be doing their best to maintain the integrity of the ordinance.
A recent report from the Toledo Blade suggests that ever since voters approved a measure last September that eliminates the criminal penalties associated with misdemeanor and felony pot possession, only one person has been convicted of the offense—an 18-year-old woman by the name of Mariah Smith, who received a sentence of “no fines and no jail time.”
A total of 21 defendants have been arrested for marijuana possession since the ordinance went into effect last year. All, with the exception of Smith, are currently awaiting trial, or for their charges to be reduced to disorderly conduct, according to the report.
Toledo’s decriminalization measure, which was approved by 70 percent of the voters in 2015, is perhaps one of the best ordinances of its kind in the entire nation. Not only does the law decriminalize the possession of marijuana in small amounts, but it also eliminates all of the criminal penalties and fines associated with felony possession and trafficking.
To sweeten the deal, the law also comes with a “gag rule” that prohibits Toledo police from referring marijuana violations to the state, which still considers these types of actions a criminal offense.
Basically, in Toledo, marijuana possession in any amount is considered a minor misdemeanor, whereby those convicted “shall not be fined and no incarceration, probation, not any other punitive or rehabilitative measure shall be imposed.”
After the ordinance was approved, Attorney General DeWine filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the portion of the ordinance that allows felony pot possession (over 200 grams) and trafficking to go unpunished. However, the lawsuit did not offer any arguments into the city’s desire to abolish fines and jail sentences for those caught in possession of marijuana in amounts less than 200 grams.
DeWine’s lawsuit claims the City of Toledo has no authority to reduce the penalties for marijuana offenses that are still considered felonies in the eyes of the state. He is also contesting the “gag rule,” because he wants Toledo police to have the option of feeding state law enforcement information regarding potential violations to the state’s drug laws.
In December, a Lucas County Common Pleas Judge was left shaking his head at the debate surrounding the city’s decriminalization ordinance. Citing a ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court, which finds “a statute is not a criminal statute unless penalty is provided for its violation,” the judge argued that a law could not be considered a law without some sort of penance for breaking it.
However, a city briefing suggests there are still penalties covering felony marijuana possession in Toledo, including the seizure of contraband and a smear on a defendant’s record. The defense went on to say that the people of Toledo have decided that the state’s definition of penalties, specifically fines and jail time, are no longer necessary for offenses pertaining to marijuana.
A judge must now decide the outcome of this debacle. As for now, Toledo police have been instructed to use their discretion when charging people with marijuana.
Mike Adams is a contributing writer for HIGH TIMES. You can follow him on Twitter @adamssoup and on Facebook.com/mikeadams73.
(Photo Courtesy of gosmokeweedaboutit.tumblr.com)
Culture9 hours ago
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About HomeVestors
The National Real Estate Investing Franchise
Sell Us Your Ugly House SM.
The HomeVestors idea began in Dallas, Texas in 1989, with a real estate broker named Ken D’Angelo. Ken bought so many homes, he decided to transform his brokerage into a home-buying business. By 1996, Ken was ready to take his business even further. He named this new venture HomeVestors and sold his first five franchises in the Dallas area. He figured out how the franchises could advertise together, share vendors, and route calls to each other through their phone system, and he eventually expanded to Kansas City. When he had 20 offices up and running, he moved into Atlanta. HomeVestors of America® is now comprised of more than 1,000 franchises spanning 46 states and D.C., and is growing every day.
The HomeVestors business model is built on a foundation of responsible business practices and high ethical standards, which our franchisees embody. Rather than competing, our franchisees act as mentors to one another, sharing vendors and advice. All of our independently owned and operated franchisees are supported centrally with mass advertising from our nationally-recognized “We Buy Ugly Houses®” brand, proprietary home evaluation and lead management software, deep knowledge of the industry, and financial resources.
We Buy Houses, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly SM.
HomeVestors franchisees find people in ugly real estate situations and help them lay down their burdensome property by paying cash and closing quickly on houses.
We then rehab the homes either for sale to other investors or homebuyers, or to hold onto themselves as rental properties.
In doing so, we help the owners get out of their “ugly” housing situation, enabling them to move on with their lives.
At the same time, we provide opportunities for new renters and first-time homebuyers in the area, while dramatically improving the neighborhoods we invest in.
And it’s worked. We’ve bought over 95,000 houses, and we’ve been the leading cash buyer of houses in the United States since 1996—back when we were just five Texas offices sharing a phone line.
How HomeVestors Can Help You
We’ve helped hundreds of corporate professionals, experienced home investors, and investors new to the game start and run successful real estate businesses as HomeVestors franchisees. This is what we offer.
With over 1,000 franchise locations, our network of knowledgeable professionals is second to none. Each new franchisee is directly paired with a mentor, an experienced franchisee in the same area who is already succeeding in the industry.
We train franchisees on the nuts and bolts of real estate transactions, our proprietary value assessment software, and our content management system.
Franchisees can use our proven marketing materials taking advantage of our “We Buy Ugly Houses®” brand, a household name from Boston to San Diego.
Our advertising campaigns consistently generate direct leads, which we pass on to our franchisees. These leads are not necessarily listed anywhere else.
Franchisees who have been approved to join HomeVestors are qualified to access HomeVestors’ financing resources to help them make a good deal on a house.
To learn more about our franchise program for investors, check out our franchise consideration page.
With over 1,000 franchise locations, our network of knowledgeable professionals is second to none. Each new franchisee is directly paired with a mentor, an experienced franchisee in the same area who is already succeeding in the industry. Nobody has a better idea how to get the job done on a daily basis than these mentors, who have been doing exactly that for years.
We train franchisees on the nuts and bolts of real estate transactions, our proprietary value assessment software, and our content management system. But the bulk of our training focuses on understanding the situations of the people we buy from, approaching them with empathy, and working to help them as best we’re able.
We’ve been in the business for decades, and over that time our unique and responsible franchise business model has earned us much attention and many awards. These are a few of our favorites.
Four consecutive years on the fastest growing private companies “Dallas 100” list put out by SMU Cox School of Business
Six consecutive years on the “Franchise 500” list put out by Entrepreneur Magazine
Eight consecutive “Top 50 Franchise Satisfaction Award” by Franchise Business Review
Hottest 125 Franchises as published in Opportunity World
Best Real Estate Franchises in 2013 as published in franchisehelp.com
Four consecutive years on the “Fastest Growing Franchises” list put out by Entrepreneur Magazine
Let’s Begin
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Husam (Sam) Asi
Film Reporter, Broadcaster and Writer
12 Years A Slave leads at the SAGs nominations
December 11, 2013 Husam "Sam" Asi
Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong’o and Chiwetel Ejiofor gained nods at the SAGs.
After failing to secure a win in recent critics awards, 12 Years a Slave gained a boost from The Screen Actors Guild (SAG), which honoured it with 4 nominations, for best ensemble cast, male actor in a leading role for Chiwetel Ejiofor, and supporting for Michael Fassbender and newcomer Lupita Nyong’o. Directed by Steve McQueen, the film is an unflinching portrayal of slavery in early America.
Another film dealing with African American history, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, which had been overlooked by other award competitions, received a new injection of life with 3 SAG nods: best ensemble cast, male actor in a leading role for Forest Whitaker and female actor in a supporting role for Oprah Winfrey.
These recognitions are a major triumph for black cinema, which has surged this year, critically and commercially, because the SAGs are the first major nominations in the award season and a leading Oscar bellwether, hence more accolades will most likely follow.
Other pictures with 3 nominations, including the best ensemble cast, were August: Osage County, which had been under the radar, and Dallas Buyers Club. American Hustle, which attained 2 nods, rounded out the best ensemble cast nominees.
Competing against Ejiofor and Whitaker in the male actor in a leading role category were Bruce Dern for Nebraska, Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips and Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club.
The female actor in a leading role category was packed with veteran Oscar-winning thespians: Judi Dench for Philomena, Meryl Streep for August: Osage County, Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine, Sandra Bullock for Gravity and Emma Thompson for Saving Mr. Banks.
Vying with Michael Fassbender for male actor in a supporting role were James Gandolfini for Enough Said, newcomer Barkhad Abdi for Captain Phillips, Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club and Daniel Bruhl for Rush. Meanwhile 3 more ladies will be competing with Oprah Winfrey and Nyong’o in the female actor in a supporting role category: Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle, June Squibb for Nebraska and Julia Roberts for August: Osage County.
Glaringly missing in these nominations were Robert Redford for All is Lost, who won a critic prize last week; Leonardo Di Caprio and Jonah Hill for The Wolf of Wall Street; Joaquin Phoenix for Her; and Ben Stiller for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Last year’s SAG winners -lead actor Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln, lead actress Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook and supporting actress Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables- all went on to claim the Oscar.
The SAG awards will be handed out at the Shrine Exposition Hall in Los Angeles on 18th January 2014.
News12 years a slave, American Hustle, August: Osage County, Dallas Buyers Club, SAG, The Butler
← Mike Tyson is tired of being in pain – Interview
12 Years a Slave and American Hustle dominate Golden Globes nominations →
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School Choice and the North Carolina Constitution
David Roland
Home » Report » Legal and Policy Studies » School Choice and the North Carolina Constitution
Education has always been an issue of central concern for the people of North Carolina. Even before statehood, the area’s colonists made concerted efforts to secure the blessings of education for their children. In 1776, the authors of North Carolina’s first Constitution required the Legislature to provide publicly funded schools to encourage education in the state. i Throughout the state’s history its people have adopted all sorts of innovative educational plans, all designed to promote learning among North Carolina’s young citizens. Education’s special place of concern in the minds of North Carolinians is further revealed by reading the state’s current Constitution, which dedicates both a section of its Declaration of Rights ii and an entire article iii to the subject. Education is, unquestionably, a subject to which the people of this state have shown a deep and abiding commitment.
In spite of this commitment, there continues to be a significant debate as to the most effective means of providing North Carolina’s children with the best possible education. The one point upon which a great majority agree is that, despite substantial increases in funding, public education is not meeting the needs of a large proportion of the state’s students. This paper will present parental school choice as a promising alternative to the educational status quo. At the same time, it will explain why school choice is not only consistent with both the Constitution of North Carolina and the Constitution of the United States, but would assume a comfortable place among North Carolina’s long history of innovative efforts to secure for its citizens the very best that education has to offer.
Maine School Choice III
Washington Work Study
Puerto Rico School Choice
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Greetings from Clay City Jr./Sr. High School! We are looking forward to the 2018-2019 school year and are confident it will be another great one! Our students are attaining and enjoying success in the classroom and in a vast array of extracurricular activities.
Clay City Jr./Sr. High School has earned an “A” Letter Grade from the Indiana Department of Education in past years, and we are extremely proud of our graduation rate of nearly 95% for the past several years! Our curriculum represents a vast array of educational opportunities for our students, including both A.P. and Dual Credit Courses. Our “APEX Program” helped students earn over 200 credits last year, and our students earned well over 200 Dual (College) Credits. Our “E.E.L. Corps” (Educational Excellence in Learning) is an Academic Booster Club that has provided additional ways for parents, community members, and stakeholders to assist in the educational opportunities for ALL students. We are very proud of our students’ achievements in the classroom, testing, and in their preparation to become successful in their chosen fields beyond high school.
Several students and organizations have earned distinction as part extracurricular activities at our school. Our J.E.T.S./T.E.A.M.S. have advanced to Nationals, S.T.E.M. students has won the Ivy Tech “Spartan Match” and “Autonomous Vehicle Challenge” Competition at Rose Hulman, and students representing our F.C.C.L.A., B.P.A., and F.F.A. Chapters earned state and national honors. Our Imperial Regiment reached the State Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2014 and is consistently ranked very high in the state. Clay City Jr./Sr. High School has earned the honor of being named a “School of Character” by the I.H.S.A.A. during the past four years, one of only a handful in the state!
Clay City Jr./Sr. High School – a great place to be – part of a wonderful community!
Clay City Eels – Respectful, Responsible, Honest, and Successful!!!
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My last year as a TED Senior Fellow: Notes from TED 2019
parmesh shahani
Blog » My last year as a TED Senior Fellow: Notes from TED 2019
Parmesh with writer and activist Brittany Packnett
I became a TED fellow in 2009, and it felt very poignant that as the programme was celebrating its 10th anniversary, I was also completing the last year of the TED senior Fellowship. It was an interesting time back then – I had just written my book Gay Bombay and I had become a Fellow in recognition of my work on the book – which, at the time, was a very unique ethnography. I then disengaged with the Programme because I got caught up in work, but I’m glad I reconnected with it some years ago. It has been a remarkable 10 years - the TED Fellows programme has provided transformational support and has truly played a pivotal role in my life. Helping host the TED India Fellows Summit here at the Culture Lab and reconnecting with the Programme through that has been very special to me.
As always with every TED I've attended - I may be biased - but the best part for me has always been the TED Fellows. There have been 472 Fellows so far, and it has nurtured 90 new businesses and 46 non profits. Fellows have collectively published about 40 books and have done 600 performances. It is amazing how this community has grown both in size and impact over the last decade and it truly fills my heart with joy that I am a part of the TED Fellows programme. As a Senior Fellow, it is always delightful to see new Fellows come in every year and to learn about the amazing work that they’re doing.
I remain impressed by all the new Fellows, but the most significant part of the programme to me was how people have contributed to art and culture, keeping it richer than ever.
This drew me to Samuel Bazawule, who spends his time between New York and Ghana and tells us stories about the polyphonic African Diaspora through film.
His movie, The Burial Of Kojo dives into illegal mining in Ghana and taut family relations. It is told through the eyes of Esi, a young girl, and it is a visually stunning experience. Kiana Hayeri’s photography, especially her work in Afghanistan, takes an intimate and rare look at the lives of war stricken families – her photographs tell you so much about loss, family and love.
Amma Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin, a scholar and artist from the US, showcased an excerpt from her brilliant new musical theatre piece called At Buffalo which looked at different ways in which race was manifested in the 1901 World Fair in Buffalo, New York. It dealt with the different lenses through which we’ve viewed race over the years – through exoticisation, through labour, and even through scholarly work on race. The piece explored how ‘blackness’ has been talked about – through exhibitions on plantation workers to Du Bois’ academic work, and everything that has happened since then. She mixes anthropology and music to create a masterpiece – I can’t wait to see the finale of it.
Space environmentalist Moriba Jah strives to make a cleaner space – he is working towards getting rid of the astro-junk which has accumulated throughout space such as old satellites, rockets and other man-made junk. His ultimate goal is to create a safer and more sustainable space as he maps all of the junk in orbit right now and creates a crowdsourced citizen platform that helps us make space cleaner.
Arnav Kapoor, our own desi, is from MIT Media Lab and is essentially working on a device that can read your mind – his demonstration of this device was so exciting for all of us present. Gangadhar Patil, who is from 101Reporters in Bangalore, is working towards providing grassroots reporters with national as well as international platforms.
From the main-stage, what really floored me was how powerful it was when people of colour spoke. TED has often been criticised for being an elite, Silicon Valley boys club. I’m so glad to see how TED has really doubled down on curation over the past few years and focussed on diversity. I felt such desi pride when my two dear friends, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Rahul Mehrotra spoke about how they are changing their worlds, brick by brick, in two back-to-back sessions.
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is an Oscar award winning filmmaker, but she spoke about how we need to do more with film to make true social change. Right now she is working on a very ambitious project, which is to take films from village to village across rural Pakistan in the spirit of ‘mobile cinema’, engaging with the local audience and starting a conversation in places where these films may not reach. Bit by bit, she is creating a different world.
Rahul Mehrotra, who is an architect and a professor (I’ve been a fan of his for years!), spoke about the Kumbh Mela as a transient space and described its architecture as a porous and temporary city which emerges and eventually submerges. Using this framework, he shed light on the type of architecture that we need – one that requires impermanence, softness and hacking. The type of architecture which is environmentally friendly and does little damage to this earth. It was breathtaking to see how he distilled his whole lifetime of work on the TED stage – I was so proud.
Julius Maada Bio, the President of Sierra Leone, spoke about the marvellous work he is doing to further innovation in his country - he was first brought to power as a military leader and now as a democratically elected leader. Carole Cadwalladr, who broke the Cambridge Analytica scam, spoke about the need for making technology companies more accountable. If it wasn't for investigative journalists like Carole, then we wouldn't be knowing the extent of the damage wrought by groups like Cambridge Analytica that mine data and help influence elections all over the world.
John Gray, who started the Ghetto Gastro in Brooklyn, New York, brings race and food together to start a culinary collective and cultural movement. John works with disadvantaged communities to make food a matter of pride for them - it’s race meets food meets entrepreneurship.
Britney Packnett was amazing – she spoke about how a lack of confidence is structural – how certain groups are told that they should feel less than. Her talk was a clarion call for reclaiming confidence – it is a political, revolutionary act.
I also loved what both America Ferrera and Daniel Lismore had to say about identity – just seeing people of colour and queer people made a difference this year at TED. The reason why a conference like TED works is that it is an incredible opportunity to really connect and discover your own kind of people.
The Fellows Programme helped all of us find each other and and I'm sure these bonds will survive after that. We should now focus on how we could work together, create change and amplify each others work. TED has done an astounding job at creating these ties – how we further them in our lives is something I’m going to be reflecting upon.
From The Oldest Museum To Modern Alternative Art Spaces In The City: What Feeds Them?
Conservation and restoration with Preeti Goel Sanghi
Pallavi's Back At The Lab!
What we are looking at
Confessions of an Aca - Fan : The official weblog of Henry Jenkins
Point of View build and amplify the voices of women and other marginalized genders. Their work focuses on sexuality, disability and technology.
AGENTS OF ISHQ
Agents of Ishq is a multi-media project about sex, love and desire by Parodevi Pictures, an independent media and arts company based in Mumbai.
People’s Archive of Rural India
The People's Archive of Rural India is an online repository of the stories of 833 million rural Indians. Founded by P Sainath, PARI documents the everyday lives of everyday people.
Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS)
The Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) is a national education institution committed to the equitable, sustainable and efficient transformation of Indian settlements.
Video Volunteers
Video Volunteers train citizen journalists to tell stories from marginalized citizens that do not get a chance to be seen and heard
Junoon has come out of a belief that the arts are integral to a healthy society.
Teach for India
Teach For India is a nationwide movement towards the pursuit of equity in education.
Bhau Daji Lad Museum
Bhau Daji Lad is Mumbai's oldest museum which houses collections of industrial arts from late 18th to early 20th century. It also hosts world class contemporary exhibitions.
Tweets by @IndiaCultureLab
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Home / A&E / All Around Kansas City: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
All Around Kansas City: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
By Riley Mortensen on October 1, 2012
Nelson-Atkins offers aesthetic fall exhibits
Patrons are drawn to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art with the thrill of finding new exhibits, including its current featured exhibitions: “Faces of China’s Past,” “Bonjour Picasso,” “Cabinet of Curiosities” and “Ives Maes: The Future of Yesterday.” The upcoming exhibit “Photographs of Terry Evans” opens Oct. 20.
“Terry shoots many aerials and lush visions of the prairie,” said Kathleen Leighton, the Nelson’s communications and media relations officer. “She also photographs urban settings such as Chicago.”
The first exhibition to catch would be “Ives Maes: The Future of Yesterday,” on display until late October. Maes’ exhibition is not part of the World’s Fair exhibition, but it offers a different perspective with its concentration on the architectural remains of the World’s Fair through photography. Following Maes, Leighton said there will be a huge sculptural piece by the artist El Anatsui.
“Bonjour Picasso” can be best explained by the Picasso quote on the wall near the exhibit: “For those of you who know how to read, I have painted my biography.” This exhibition allows patrons to step in to the life of Picasso during his time at his villa, La Californie, in southern France, where he lived from 1955 to 1961. The exhibition’s display of prints, photographs and drawings depict his life. Leighton said “Bonjour Picasso” has been extremely popular.
“Cabinet of Curiosities” is an exhibition featuring photography and specimens of what the brochure calls, “The unusual, unexpected, exotic, the extraordinary or rare.” From present day dating back to the 1850s, “Cabinet of Curiosities” gives relevance and meaning to scientific specimens of all kinds, from snowflakes to the first steam-powered mechanical man.
Leighton said “Cabinets of Curiosities” was the exhibition with the most potential to attract college-aged students.
“There’s a photo of a soldier showing off his gunshot wound, one of a man standing at a table with a pile of skulls and a microscopic blow-up of a crab louse,” Leighton said. “Very unusual subjects, and college students would find it both fascinating and creepy.”
The Nelson also features a number of exhibitions which are collaborative efforts, like “Faces of China’s Past.” In collaboration with the History of Art Department for the University of Kansas and the Spencer Museum of Art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum proudly welcomed this presentation. Although some of the exhibition’s paintings feature imagined or real subjects, not much is known about the whereabouts or names of the artists. However, with every face, there’s a story.
Leighton revealed that future exhibitions at the Nelson-Atkins will feature modern work by Frida Kahlo and Diega Rivera, as well as other modern art from Mexico. The Nelson-Atkins team is also planning an exhibition of French landscape paintings.
rmortensen@unews.com
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by David Edwards-May | Nov 4, 2018 | Cultural & industrial heritage, Cultural & industrial heritage, New waterways, Policy, Waterfront regeneration, Waterway funding, Waterway restoration, Waterways & transport policy
Report by member Tim Coghlan (first published in Towpath Talk, No. 96)
Irish eyes were justifiably smiling following the 31st World Canals Conference (WCC) – the second to be hosted by Ireland. The first was held jointly in Dublin and Belfast in 2001 and this year’s conference moved to central Ireland, to the town of Athlone, appropriately lying astride the River Shannon, which is the largest and longest river in the British Isles. The venue was the new conference centre at the riverside Radisson Blu Hotel. Assessing the conference results, assistant chief organiser Katrina McGirr, of Waterways Ireland, excitedly said: “We have 316 delegates from 12 countries, including Australia, China, Canada and the United States, and 48 speakers representing most of them!”
President Michael D. Higgins formally closes the WCC on September 12 with a memorable speech
The three-day conference comprised formal sessions in the conference halls on the first and last days, with the middle day billed as a choice of ‘technical and scenic tours’. There were also pre- and post-conference tours, each of a few days, visiting a number of waterway sites across Ireland, including Northern Ireland. Here the delegates were able to inspect the work-in-progress restoration of the Lagan Canal by the Lagan Navigation Trust. On hand to show them round was Lady Daphne Trimble, its vice-chair, who is married to Lord David Trimble, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 for his defining role in the Northern Ireland peace process. As Dawn Livingstone, head of Waterways Ireland, emphasised in her opening address: “Waterways Ireland is a now a truly cross-border organisation, managing all the waterways of the island of Ireland.” This, she hoped, would survive post-Brexit, in whatever form it took.
The theme of the conference was ‘Restoring, Regenerating, Re-imagining’ – each of which was dealt with by the three keynote opening speakers. They included Mike Palmer, for some years chairman of the IWA Waterways Recovery Group (WRG) who, under the theme of ‘restoring’, took the conference through a review of what WRG had achieved since its foundation in 1970 by Graham Palmer to its activities today, which still attract some 500 volunteers annually to work camps across England and Wales. Popular tour The theme of ‘re-imagining’ focused on how the waterways could attract greater numbers of users to justify the heavy costs to governments for their role in maintaining them – against the growing demands of healthcare, education, pensions and the like. The word ‘well-being’– now high in the vocabulary of the CRT, and used to justify the cost of its new, controversial and little-loved logo – was repeated by many delegates. As one American delegate pointed out: “Keeping people healthy on the waterways costs a fraction of having them in hospital!”
But all agreed that it was boaters boating that made the waterways special in the first place. For most of the formal sessions delegates had to make painful choices as to what to attend, as there were three ‘breakout sessions’ running simultaneously – all well worth attending. They included two addressed by representatives of the CRT, one from Scottish Waterways, and again for the IWA, the perennial Roger Squires, a vice-president and a member since the early 1970s. Roger has addressed at least 20 WCC conferences over the years.
The most popular trip was one which included a visit to a World Heritage Site, the ancient ruined monastery of Clonmacnoise.
The most popular tour was a boat trip starting across the river from the hotel, from the quay at the foot of the medieval Athlone Castle, going down the Shannon for about 10 miles to the World Heritage Site of the ancient ruined monastery of Clonmacnoise. It was then on to the grand canal town of Tullamore and a visit to its world-famous Tullamore Whiskey distillery. This was followed by a visit to the old canal harbour and adjacent to it the canal maintenance workshop, where lock gates are made for the Irish waterways. The tour concluded with a visit to Bolands Lock – just east of Tullamore – to see the recently rescued and restored lock house, which had originally been built to resemble a miniature version of a tower-chateau on the French River Loire.
The project had been lovingly carried out by a Dublin accountant and he had completed the task by furnishing it as it might have been when it was completed around 1800. He showed the delegates round with a passion and enthusiasm that only the Irish possess. Powerful speech As a huge compliment to the WCC, the final address was by the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, who delivered a powerful and moving speech. The President knew the Irish waterways well, as they had been his responsibility between 1993 and 1997 when he was Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht in Dick Spring’s Labour government.
Heritage boats assembled for the World Canals Conference on the Shannon quay in Athlone.
In those years Higgins had made huge improvements to the waterways, seeing them as a catalyst for tourism and rural regeneration. This included twinning the Irish Grand Canal with the English Grand Union Canal in 1995. The conference concluded with a handover presentation to the head of the large Chinese delegation, Minyang Zhu, by Dawn Livingstone of Waterways Ireland and John Dolan, chair of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland. The Chinese will host the 2019 World Canal Conference at two cities on their Grand Canal – the oldest canal in the world – at Yangzhou and Wuxi. Plans are already well under way for the 2020 conference to be held in Leipzig, Germany, and for the 2021 conference at Hagerstown, Maryland, on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal near Washington.
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Jason Moran – The Harlem Hellfighters
James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin
James Reese Europe
Jason Moran
Oct 16, 2018 Oct 17, 2018 cameronnr
The Hellfighters…and Tomorrow’s Warriors
With Jason Moran’s long-standing trio – the Bandwagon – at its heart, the performing band is a reflection of Jason’s continuing awareness of a UK scene that is currently making international waves through a generation of exceptionally talented players. And his idea to pull together a horn section that would reflect the age of the musicians who went to war with James Reese Europe’s original band, our first call was to draw on the experience of Gary Crosby, the Artistic Director of Tomorrow’s Warriors, to steer us towards musicians who represent the next wave.
With a history stretching back 27 years, the Warriors have encouraged successive waves of some of the most exciting, most diverse new, emerging and established jazz artists in the UK. They have a special focus on musicians from the African diaspora and girls, and have leveraged partnerships across an extensive network of local, national and international arts organisations, commercial producers, venues, promoters and festivals to produce activity ranging from workshops and showcases for young musicians to concerts and tours for established professional bands/orchestras such as Jazz Jamaica and the Nu Civilisation Orchestra.
A series of key figures in the recent evolution of jazz in the UK have worked their way through the ranks of the Warriors – Jason Yarde, Soweto Kinch, Denys Baptiste for instance. And more recently, some of the leading lights of the current scene – Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia and bands like Ezra Collective, Nerija – to namecheck just a few. The Hellfighter/Warriors may not be as well-known, but it won’t be long before they are – trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi; trombonist Joe Bristow; Hanna Mubya (bass trombone, tuba); and multi-reed players Mebrakh Johnson, Kaidi Akinnibi, Alam Nathoo.
Completing the line-up is tuba player Andy Grappy, whose own work as an inspirational teacher has played a significant role in encouraging young musicians, and who is a seasoned player himself with ensembles ranging from Jazz Jamaica and big bands led by Hermeto Pascal, Sam Rivers and Andrew Hill to the London Symphony Orchestra. He also played in Jason’s earlier exploration of the music of Thelonious Monk, “In My Mind”. As well as being part of the ensemble, we also asked Andy to create arrangements of James Reese Europe’s original music to be played by groups of locally recruited young musicians in each of the tour venues – you’ll hear them each night before the main concert.
In Gary Crosby’s words – “I know there are kids from a similar background to me who, if given the opportunities, can create great art. I try to encourage self-development. It’s a mixture of deliberation and improvisation, which requires trust in other people. It’s not curriculum style, because what we’re dealing with is art. The individuals are artists, and I want to hear what they have to say about the world”. This is a vision shared by all the partners in this adventure. Creating the link between the insights into the music’s creative past that is embedded in Jason’s approach to the legacy of the Harlem Hellfighters, and the energy and enthusiasm of today’s creative talents lies at its heart.
About the musicians
Ife Ogunjobi (trumpet)
The unique playing style of trumpeter and arranger Ife Ogunjobi is an amalgamation of past masters Freddie Hubbard andClifford Brown with modern influences from today – Marquis Hill, Nicholas Payton and Keyon Harrold. He has performed and recorded with a plethora of artists across many genres, include Moses Boyd, Solange Knowles, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dele Sosimi and Ray Davies. As Ife continues his studies at the Royal Academy of Music he is rapidly establishing himself as a key player within the London jazz scene.
Alam Nathoo (saxophones)
Described as ‘snortingly evocative of Evan Parker’ (John Fordham – The Guardian), and possessing ‘a palette that could turn effortlessly from blissy to deep and dense.’ (LondonJazzNews.Com), Alam is not an artist that is easily typecast, evident in a truly eclectic body of work as both a leader and in-demand sideman. He has released a series of recordings under his own name, and his most recent project, ‘Cerberus Distracted’, is a dark and adventurous 3-sax led quintet that has featured Tom Challenger,Mark Lockheart and Jeff Williams. As a sideman, he has worked in jazz ensembles led by Huw V Williams, Tom White and Anthony Strong, with Jazz Jamaica and the Nu Civilisation Orchestra, and with Mica Paris, McFly, Heritage Orchestra and Jose James, Red Snapper, and even Irish hip-hop trio Hare Squead.
Joe Bristow (trombone)
Having spent his formative years playing with Tomorrow’s Warriors, and currently studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Joe is now very much involved in London’s thriving music scene, performing alongside the likes of Slide Hampton, Marcus Printup, and Stan Sulzmann, with ensembles including the London Jazz Orchestra, National Youth Jazz Orchestra and SEED. He has had the opportunity to work in the USA, with New Jersey’s Jazz House Kids, performing at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola and Montclair Jazz Festival.
Published by cameronnr
View all posts by cameronnr
Categories Creative Team, Uncategorized
Previous Hellfighters in pictures
Next 14-18 NOW and the Harlem Hellfighters
Jason Moran Project Diary
1418 NOW
Harlem Hellfighters in the UK press
James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin is co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, Berliner Festspiele / Jazzfest Berlin, Serious and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, with support from the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and from the Federal Agency for Civic Education, Germany.
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Benitez Leaves Newcastle After Failing To Agree New Contract
knowxup 3 weeks ago 0
Magpies fans had been hopeful that the club could keep hold of the Spaniard, but the former Liverpool boss is leaving St James’ Park
Rafa Benitez will leave Newcastle on June 30 after the club announced that they have failed to agree a new contract with their current manager.
The former Liverpool boss has been in talks with the St James’ Park outfit for months regarding a fresh deal but no breakthrough has been forthcoming.
He leaves having spent three full seasons with the club in which he oversaw their promotion back to the Premier League and re-established them as a top-flight club.
A statement on the club’s website read:
“It is with disappointment that we announce manager Rafael Benítez will leave Newcastle United upon the expiry of his contract on 30th June 2019.
“We have worked hard to extend Rafa’s contract over a significant period of time, however it has not been – and will not be – possible to reach an agreement with Rafa and his representatives.
“Rafa’s coaching staff, Paco de Míguel Moreno, Antonio Gómez Pérez and Mikel Antia, will also leave the club on 30th June.
“We would like to thank Rafa and his coaching team for their efforts over the last three years and their significant contribution to what has been collectively achieved.
“We would also like to thank our supporters, players and staff for their patience during a period of uncertainty.
“The process to appoint a successor will now begin.”
The Magpies had hoped to come to an agreement with their manager before his contract had expired, but it is believed Benitez failed to agree fresh terms with owner Mike Ashley.
The 59-year-old has been linked with a move to manage Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang, while Newcastle have been linked with a host of names for their new boss, with the favourite believed to be Garry Monk, who was sacked by Birmingham earlier this month.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche has also been named as a potential replacement for Benitez, with former Newcastle man Chris Hughton also reportedly in the running.
Newcastle are currently subject of takeover interest from Sheikh Khaled and the Bin Zayed Group, but fans had been hopeful of keeping Benitez at the club regardless of the current situation with the owners.
Both Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger had been mooted as replacements for the vacant job should the takeover transpire.
The post Benitez Leaves Newcastle After Failing To Agree New Contract appeared first on Naijaloaded | Nigeria’s Most Visited Music & Entertainment Website.
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Beyonce Got A Standing Ovation At 'The Lion King' Premiere — Find Out Why
posted by Hayden Brooks - Jul 11, 2019
Beyoncé's star power is unparalleled and it was for all to experience at the Los Angeles premiere of The Lion King on Tuesday night (July 9).
Seth Rogan, who plays the role of Pumbaa in the film, took to Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday and spoke to the late-night host about the big premiere, which included appearances from the rest of the cast, including the pop superstar. Prior to the film, the director, Jon Favreau, invited each cast member to the stage at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood and Bey's appearance brought the venue to new heights, as per the actor. "Everyone was losing their mind...I've never seen this happen before," he recalled. "Beyoncé was called out and the audience stood up and went crazy. And I was like, 'she's getting a standing ovation for just existing.' Her mere presence was a reason to stand and go crazy, and I totally got it. I was like, 'yeah, like we should be celebrating. We made it. We're all in a room with Beyoncé.'"
Rogan went on to explain that he took the singer's praise and tried to envision what it would be like if he was universally loved. "For a brief moment, I felt what it must feel like to get that adulation. All I was thinking was, 'People do not like me that much. I don't get one iota of this.' I got a smattering at best. They saw her and people lost their God damn sh*t."
Expect more from Bey by checking out the curated and produced accompanying album, The Lion King: The Gift, which is due on July 19, alongside the live-action film, which also stars Donald Glover, Chiwetel Eijiofor and James Earle Jones. On the night of the film's L.A. premiere, the singer dropped a new song from the compilation called "Spirit."
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Neil Patrick Harris & Newsies Cast to Perform New Holiday Song at Disney Parks Christmas Parade
December 19th, 2013 | By Kathy Henderson
After you’ve emptied your stocking on Christmas morning, tune in to hear Neil Patrick Harris and the cast of Newsies introduce an original holiday song on the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade. Harris and the guys will kick off the parade by performing “Are You Ready for Christmas?” by Cry-Baby collaborators David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger, in a production number staged by Newsies' Tony-winning choreographer Christopher Gattelli.
Harris is set to return to Broadway on March 29 as the title star in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The Emmy-winning star of How I Met Your Mother has appeared on Broadway in Cabaret, Proof and Assassins and in concert versions of Sweeney Todd and Company.
Shot on location in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, the 2013 Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade airs on ABC beginning 10AM EST.
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Tag: Mary Morrison
#TwoForTuesday: Two of my Unsung Female Heroes
Many unsung female heroes have crossed my path. I haven’t known any famous people, so all the heroes in my life – male and female – are unsung.
I’m going to break the “Two-For” rule today and write about just one of my unsung female heroes, my great-great-great-great-grandmother, Mary Morrison. I know her only through names and dates on the written page and a plain rock that marks her grave in Spears Graveyard, but she is my hero.
Mary Morrison (17??-1781)
I know few details of this Mary Morrison’s life. I don’t know if she had a bubbly personality or was a negative person. I only know her from the circumstances of her life.
She was born in Scotland, probably on the Kintyre Peninsula in 1732. She married John Morrison from the same place. They came to America, lived in Pennsylvania for a while, then moved to North Carolina in the 1760s.
Mary and John had nine children. John died in 1777. Tradition tells us that he was ambushed by Tories not far from his and Mary’s home. Knowing that he would soon die, he wrote his will in August of 1777 and died less than a week later. From John’s will, we know that Mary was expecting their last child at the time because he made provisions for the unborn child.
Sadly, Mary died early in 1781, leaving her minor children in the care of relatives. We also know that when Mary was sick and writing her will that one of her daughters was very ill and it was uncertain if the daughter would survive that illness.
What a hard life Mary must have had! I hope she had joy in her life.
I marvel at how she left Scotland for the great unknown American frontier. She left a place on the sea for a new life 200 miles inland in the backcountry of North Carolina where the woods and meadows were filled with all sorts of wild animals about which she knew little or nothing. She must have feared every day for disease or injury to herself and her family.
I live on land today that has been passed down from generation to generation from John and Mary. I came to feel a real kinship with Mary a few years ago as I worked in our vegetable and flower garden.
Dragonfly in our garden
I practiced organic gardening, much as Mary would have in the 1770s. I imagined Mary growing some of the same vegetables and varieties of flowers on this same land. I enjoyed the butterflies, writing spiders, hoppy toads, dragonflies, birds, and box turtles that visited the garden, and I liked to think that Mary did, too.
As I was always on the lookout for copperhead snakes while in my garden, I can’t help but think Mary kept an eye open for them, too. One of the earliest things my parents taught me was how to distinguish between a copperhead and a non-poisonous snake. I feel sure that was an early lesson Mary and John taught their children. Also, how to identify and avoid poison oak.
I can imagine Mary showing her children how to pluck a honeysuckle blossom, bite the end of the stem off, and suck in the sweetness of the flower.
When wild passion flowers sprouted in her garden, I hope she left them to grow, bloom, and produce lollypops.
When the wild orange butterfly weed bloomed in sunny spots in the yard, I hope Mary showed her children the black, yellow, and white-striped caterpillars munching on the green leaves, and I hope she knew to tell them that those caterpillars would one day be transformed into brilliant Monarch butterflies.
Wild Butterfly Weed and Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars
Mary did not have benefit of a tractor to till her garden, comfortable 21st century clothing to wear in the summer sun, or an air-conditioned house to retreat to when the heat and humidity got the best of her or when her back ached or blisters rose on the palms of her hands.
Raccoon in our yard on April 28, 2014.
I gardened because I wanted to. Mary gardened because she had to. If deer trampled her corn or raccoons raided her apple trees, it could be a matter of life or death for her family. When it happened to me, I just got mad and bought corn and apples at the supermarket.
When the deer and raccoons decided to eat all the plants in my garden, I raised the white flag of surrender and stopped gardening. Mary didn’t have the luxury of stopping. In fact, she probably didn’t have the luxury of stopping for a single day of her life. She could never stop working hard or worrying about her family.
My heart breaks to think of her on her death bed in March of 1781, writing her will, and wondering what would become of her orphaned children.
When I get to Heaven, I will sit down with Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandmother Mary Morrison and hear all about her life and her garden.
Grandmother, you’re my hero!
Thank you, Rae, of “Rae’s Reads and Reviews Blog” for this month’s #TwoForTuesday blog post prompts. I learned about her prompts in her January 8, 2019 blog post: https://educatednegra.blog/2019/01/08/two-for-tuesday-prompts/comment-page-1/#comment-1646.
I look forward to seeing what Rae has in store for us in April. If you’d like to participate, visit her blog and tell her you’re interested.
In the comments section below, tell me about one or two of your unsung female heroes.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today.
By janetsmin #TwoForTuesday March 26, 2019 March 25, 2019 955 Words4 Comments
An October 29, 1777 Estate Sale
Did you know that the State Archives in Raleigh is the repository of the original copies of some estate sale records dating back to the 1700s when Cabarrus County was part of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina? These fascinating records for persons known to have lived in the area that later became Cabarrus County are also accessible on microfilm in the local history room at the main branch of the Cabarrus County Public Library in Concord, NC.
John Morrison’s Estate Sale
My great-great-great-great-grandfather, John Morrison, died in 1777 in old Mecklenburg County. A native of Campbeltown, Scotland, he lived his last thirteen years in the vicinity of the present-day Cabarrus-Mecklenburg County line. His estate papers provide a record not only of his possessions but also the names of many local people. I’m very proud to say that he was a farmer.
Robert Harris, Jr. served as clerk at John’s estate sale on October 29, 1777 – exactly 240 years ago today. Mr. Harris made note of every item sold, who bought it, and how many pounds, pence, or shillings they paid.
The buyers were James Moore, Joseph Robb, Evan Shelby, Isaac Sellers, John Robinet, John Murphy, Francis Miller, William Driskill, James Alexander, James McCall, John and James McGinty, Joseph Bigger, Hugh Kimmons, Archibald McCurdy, John Springs, John Carothers, Joseph Calbreath, Alexander Allen, Benjamin and Robert Cochran, Steven Pritchet, Peter Borris, Robert Harris, James Stafford, John Ross, Alexander Finley, James Finney, Hector McClain, Samuel Montgomery, William Wylie, and John Finley.
Most of the surnames listed above are no longer found in our community because many families moved west in the 1790s and early 1800s. Some of the buyers lived in the area that remained in Mecklenburg County after the formation of Cabarrus in 1792, so some of the names are probably from the Mint Hill area.
Summary of Items Sold at Estate Sale
Items sold at the estate sale included eight horses; 19 sheep; 25 head of cattle; 17 hogs and a parcel of pigs; three hives of bees; 17 geese and ganders; 25 pounds of wool; a parcel of books; a great coat; two straight coats and jackets; one pair of blue britches; a pair of old buckskin britches; and a fur hat.
Also, four saddles; five bells and collars; five other collars; six bridles; two sets of horse gears; an “M” branding iron; three augurs; a drawing knife; nailing and stone hammers; a broadax; three weeding hoes; two maulrings; a wedge; a clivish; a sprouting hoe; a mattock; two falling axes; three spinning wheels; two horse trees and hangings; a cutting knife and stone; a sythe and cradle; four sickles; a flax brake; a pair of wool cards; and a pair of cotton cards.
Also, barrels for flour, rice, beef, and salt; a tapper vessel; two cedar churns; oak and walnut chests; two smoothing irons; a looking glass; one whiskey keg; and various other tools, household items, and pieces of furniture.
Other items included 6.5 pounds of iron and 14.5 pounds of steel. Steel as we know it today had not yet been developed. In 1777, steel was the name for sharpening rods used to sharpen knives and other cutting edges.
Half a wagon?
The most puzzling record in John Morrison’s estate papers is that John Springs bought half a wagon and half the wagon implements. Since no one bought the other half, it has been speculated that Mr. Springs knew that John’s wife, Mary, needed the use of the wagon but also needed the proceeds from the sale of the wagon and implements. After all, Mary was a widow with seven children still at home and a baby on the way. Perhaps Mr. Springs made a verbal agreement to let Mary Morrison keep the wagon even though he paid half the value of the wagon at the estate sale.
Another possibility is that John Morrison had bought the wagon and implements from John Springs but had only paid half the bill at the time of his death. Mr. Springs, instead of saddling Mary Morrison with the additional debt of the unpaid balance chose to simply buy back that half of the wagon and implements. When Mary Morrison died in 1781, there is no mention of a wagon in her will or her estate sale.
Lots of ammunition!
Other intriguing items sold at John Morrison’s estate sale were the 17 pounds of gun powder and 55.5 pounds of lead. That’s more gun powder and lead than a farmer needed. So why did John Morrison have so much of both?
John wrote his will on August 30, 1777. By September 3, he was dead. It is speculated that he was stockpiling munitions for the patriots’ cause in the American Revolution and that he was shot by Tories, but we will never know the real story.
My sources
The sources I relied on for writing this blog post are as follows: John Morrison’s Mecklenburg County estate papers on file at the State Archives of North Carolina in Raleigh, NC; What Did They Mean By That? – A Dictionary of Historical Terms for Genealogists, by Paul Drake, 1994; and Descendants of John & Mary Morrison of Rocky River, by Alice Marie Morrison and Janet Sue Morrison, 1996.
The Descendants of John & Mary Morrison of Rocky River, by Alice Marie Morrison and Janet Sue Morrison
I regret that Marie and I did not know about the existence of John and Mary Morrison’s estate papers when we compiled and published Descendants of John & Mary Morrison of Rocky River in 1996.
I hope you have a good book to read. If you’re a writer, I hope you have productive writing time.
By janetsmin Local History, Uncategorized October 29, 2017 October 29, 2017 945 Words6 Comments
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Transfer to Tilbury
Our company provides transfers to the Port of Tilbury, and this service is available not only from the airports of London. Our customers can order a transfer to the Tilbury port from any place of England.
It’s guaranteed, that the price will not include extra charges and additional taxes. We are doing our best to provide the highest level of service for all our customers. Rely on us and you will get the best taxi transfer service in Tilbury!
How to book the transfer to Tilbury
It’s rather simple to make an order. All you need to do is to go to the transfer order page, enter the name of the airport in the “Departure address” field, copy this address and paste it into the second field “Tilbury Port”.
With the help of our website can be booked a transfer from any airport to the port of Tilbury. Our company offers a transfer to the Port of Tilbury at a very competitive price and only on the new cars.
Order a taxi transfer to Tilbury Port
Coruss Ltd is one of the leading organizations that handles passengers from London airports to the port city of Tilbury . We provide a service at the highest level and reliable quality of service.
Fixed prices for transfer from the airport to Tilbury Port:
Heathrow Airport to Tilbury Port from £165
Gatwick Airport to Tilbury Port from £160
Luton Airport to Tilbury Port from £135
Stansted Airport to Tilbury Port from £95
London City Airport to Tilbury Port from £60
City of London to Tilbury Port from £80
We will be happy to advise you and offer you the best time for your transfer to Tilbury Port, please contact at the time of booking.
What you need to know when ordering a transfer from the airport to Tilbury Port:
The driver will meet you at the airport with a sign;
You will receive an SMS notification;
1 hour of waiting is included in the price;
No additional fees for delayed flight;
Assistance with luggage;
The driver will wait as long as necessary.
The main information about the Port of Tilbury
The port of Tilbury is located in the town of Tilbury in the estuary of the River Thames. Nowadays this port is the closest to London.
The port of Tilbury was opened in 1886. The port is comparatively small, and the total length of its berths is about 8 km long. It’s suitable for the dock of small and medium-sized ships.
The port terminal is located in an old one-story building, where is proceeded the baggage claim and is situated small resting area. Here is impossible to find the pomposity and scope of the large modern ports, because the port is not operated by a large number of cruise companies, and, according to the different sources of the information, it is visited by 40 – 110 liners per year.
Some time ago, the Port of Tilbury was considered a “home port” of the P&O company. From this place a huge number of people immigrated from England to Australia.
Transfers from other airports to the Harwich Port:
From Gatwick to Tilbury Port
From Luton to Tilbury Port
From Stansted to Tilbury Port
From the city’s airport to Tilbury port
Order transfer online
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Television Reboots: Anything Could Happen!
February 17, 2014 by Kelly
Get ready Marshmallows, March 14th is almost here!! If you’re sitting there scratching your head wondering what the heck white, puffy confections that top hot chocolate have to do with anything, then you probably aren’t a fan of the UPN/CW show Veronica Mars. Even though the smartly written show about teenage detective Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) had a cult-like following, ratings weren’t great and the network axed the show back in 2007. Fans tried to save it and Rob Thomas (not to be confused with the Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty fame) the show’s creator wrote a screenplay continuing the story, but the studio passed. It seemed that Veronica Mars was destined to stay in high school forever.
Then in March of 2013, Bell and Thomas launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise 2 million to fund the movie. Marshmallows responded in a big way – the campaign reached its goal within TEN HOURS of launching and fans went on to give over 5 million to fund the project. The Veronica Mars movie will arrive in theaters one year and one day after the start of the Kickstarter campaign.
So what does this mean for other TV shows that have long been dead? Firefly fans have been clamoring for a reunion for years, Fox is resurrecting 24 this summer for a mini-series and Chuck creator Josh Schwartz hasn’t ruled out revising the series in a movie or Netflix type reboot similar to Arrested Development‘s comeback last year.
Obviously there are some shows that need to stay dead ( 15 seasons was plenty for ER) but there are many, many others that didn’t receive the kind of closure fans wanted and needed. Here are just a few that I personally would love to see make a comeback to either the big or small screen.
Gilmore Girls: Season seven (the show’s final season) was a letdown. Creator/writer Amy Sherman Palladino exited the series at the end of season 6 and all kinds of infuriating things went wrong . A movie idea has been thrown around in the seven years since the show went off the air and it would be great to see a return to Stars Hollow to tie up some loose ends.
Heroes: Season 1 was incredibly good. Season 2, not so much. Although the remaining two seasons never quite recaptured the magic of season 1, it did start to get good again. The show was canceled at the end of season 4 and fans were left with a cliffhanger of a final episode. Netflix would be a good place to revive the show and at least give it a 13 episode series finale so fans could see how things were going to play out.
The X-Files: 2008’s “I Want to Believe” was a poorly done movie. But Mulder and Scully remain favorites of mine and any return to the big screen would be exciting for long time fans. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson have expressed interest and it’s pretty safe to assume Fox would be on board. Creator Chris Carter even has ideas in mind for a plot. Let’s get the ball rolling, guys!
Firefly: BTVS will always be my favorite Whedon show, but Firefly is a very close second. Who couldn’t love a space/western where the characters curse in Chinese? Serenity was a great action movie that wrapped some things up, but it’s always felt like there were more stories to tell about Captain Malcom Reyolds and the crew. It’s highly unlikely that any sort of reunion will happen, especially since Nathan Fillion is occupied with Castle and Joss Whedon with the Avengers, but one should never say never.
So there you have it – 4 shows I’d love to see make a comeback, even if only for a limited series run. Like my choices? Think I’m incredibly off base? Tell me what you think and what shows you’d like to see resurrected!
24 Chuck Firefly Gilmore Girls Heroes movies The X-Files TV tv comebacks Veronica Mars
Grammy Predictions: 2014
Once Upon a Time we were LOST
One thought on “Television Reboots: Anything Could Happen!”
she says says:
Reading those materials also allows EAL student to help expand expand their English vocabulary. The mirror behind Henry revealed the opposite drinkers who sat on the tables Jake knew so well.
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Buffalo Sabres Re-Sign Forward Johan Larsson
The Buffalo Sabres have re-signed restricted free agent center Johan Larsson to a one-year contract worth $1.55 million. This contract carries him through the 2019-20 season.
The Buffalo Sabres today announced the team has signed forward Johan Larsson to a one-year contract with an AAV of $1.55 million. https://t.co/itqBSlBG9n
— Sabres PR (@SabresPR) July 12, 2019
Johan Larsson Signs With the Buffalo Sabres
Over his 7-year NHL career, Larsson has played for the Minnesota Wild and the Sabres. He has put up 32 goals and 47 assists for 79 career points in 331 career games. He was originally drafted in the 2nd round, 56th overall of the 2010 NHL draft by the Wild.
Last season he scored 6 goals and 8 assists for 14 points. He also added 37 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 49.5 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of -0.9.
What This Means for the Future
With the Sabres signing Larsson to a one year deal allows them to keep their depth forward for another season for very little money. Larsson has never been a huge offensive contributor only having a career-high of 10 goals and 17 points in 2015-16, but he can still provide value in a 3rd or 4th line role with sheltered usage. Johan Larsson also played for the 2018 Swedish IIHF World Championship team that took home the gold medal.
Larsson is coming off a two-year, 1.475 AAV contract. By accepting the 1.55 million, Larsson is accepting his qualifying offer. Larsson came to Buffalo from Minnesota as a piece in the trade that sent Jason Pominville to the Wild. He has been with the Sabres since and just finished playing his sixth NHL season with the team.
The question for the Sabres moves to their top-end now, looking for a potential 2nd line center to fill in for the team. It has been something the organization has needed ever since the Sabres sent eventual Conn Smythe winner Ryan O’Reilly to the St. Louis Blues.
Main photo:
The post Buffalo Sabres Re-Sign Forward Johan Larsson appeared first on Last Word on Hockey.
Source:: Last Word on Hockey
Detroit Red Wings Ink Moritz Seider to Deal The Detroit Red Wings have signed 2019 first-round NHL Draft pick Moritz Seider to a three-year, entry-level contract worth $925,000 per season. This contract carries him through the 2021-22 season. https://twitter.com/DetroitRedWings/status/1150487734412357632 Moritz Seider Signs With Detroit The 18-year-old played last season with Adler Mannheim of the Deutsch Eishockey Liga, which is Germany's top league. He had two goals and four assists for six points to win Rookie of the Year honors in the DEL. The 6-foot-4, 207-pound defenceman also appeared in 14 post-season games for Adler Mannheim. He added five assists in the German playoffs. His club went on to…
Why the Timberwolves got a huge steal by signing Jordan Bell When the Minnesota Timberwolves signed unrestricted free agent center Jordan Bell to a one-year contract worth the league minimum $1.6 million, the move was relatively low on the radar for those following the NBA's frantic offseason. Despite not being a flashy name, Bell definitely helps improve a team needing assistance on defense while not financially crippling the organization in the future, though. The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan Bell with the eighth pick in the second round (38th overall) of the 2017 NBA Draft. The Golden State Warriors quickly swooped in and purchased Bell's draft rights from the Bulls for $3.5…
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Former NFL Draft mega-bust Ryan Leaf has a new job on television This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. ESPN hired Ryan Leaf to call college football games on ESPN2 and ESPNU. I have to imagine Leaf has a pretty interesting perspective on… a lot of things, really. If you can't place the name, Leaf is a 43-year-old former quarterback, taken No. 2 overall behind Peyton Manning in the 1998 NFL Draft and widely regarded as one of the biggest busts in the sport's history. Despite the endorsement of Hunter S. Thompson, Leaf…
Ryan McMahon’s 3 hits help Rockies top Reds, notch first home series win in a month Balls caromed off walls, skidded under diving leather. Nobody could hang on to a ball in the outfield. Relay men were missed left and right. But the way things are going for the Rockies at Coors Field at the moment, Bud Black will take it. The Rockies took the rubber match of a three-game series with Cincinnati on Sunday in a wild 10-9 victory that saw the host send 10 men to the plate in one inning and nine to the plate in another. Ryan McMahon collected three hits, including a double and a triple, to power the hosts to…
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Baltimore City Veterans Treatment Court celebrates graduates, three-year anniversary
BALTIMORE - Baltimore City District Court recognized at least five participants for their successful completion of the Baltimore City Veterans Treatment Court (VTC). Baltimore City District Judge Halee Weinstein presided over the docket, which also included a ceremony recognizing the program’s three-year anniversary and Veteran’s Day.
Judge Weinstein, a veteran herself, founded VTC in 2015 as a court supervised, comprehensive, and voluntary treatment based program for veterans charged with misdemeanor and concurrent jurisdiction felonies in the District Court.
“When someone gets out of the military, they don’t have a common mission anymore,” said Judge Weinstein. “They go back into civilian life and it’s a very difficult transition. We’ve spent the past three years building this program from the ground up and it’s been life-changing for these justice-involved veterans.”
VTC’s mission is to serve the community and increase public safety by integrating and incorporating a coordinated treatment response for veterans with substance use disorders and mental health issues.
District Court of Maryland Chief Judge John P. Morrissey and Baltimore City District Administrative Judge Barbara Baer Waxman attended the program, along with United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie Jr. and U.S. Army veteran and Co-Founder/CEO of Badges United Foundation Kim DeFiori. Wilkie and DeFiori served as keynote speakers and congratulated the graduates on their many successes.
"Judge Weinstein has taken her experience as a veteran and added a unique element to her judgeship,” said Chief Judge Morrissey. “She is changing lives by connecting veterans with local resources they desperately need. The program is succeeding in reducing recidivism, lowering criminal justice costs and, most importantly, giving veterans a well-deserved chance to return to civilian life as productive citizens.”
“Judge Weinstein saw a clear need for a program like this in Baltimore City and she acted on it,” said Judge Waxman. “VTC brings together an array of service providers that will connect veterans to the programs and benefits they have earned.”
Some of those community partners and organizations include the Warrior Canine Connection and United Way of Central Maryland.
“Our veterans have fought for and served our country with valor,” said United Way of Central Maryland President and CEO Franklyn Baker. “Through the Veterans Treatment Court, we fight for them with the same passion with which they defended our nation’s values. We’re proud to partner with the Baltimore City District Court and others supporting this critical initiative to help bring treatment-based justice to our veterans.”
VTC also receives support from the American Red Cross, Back on My Feet, Baltimore City Community College, Baltimore Station, Department of Labor, Licensing and Regular (DLLR), Health Care for the Homeless, Gaudenzia, Homeless Persons Representation Project, MCVET, Project PLASE, The Bob Parsons Veterans Advocacy Clinic - University of Baltimore, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and VA Maryland Health Care System.
"We are thrilled to partner with Judge Weinstein's Veterans Treatment Court to serve justice-involved veterans,” said VA Maryland Health Care System Director Dr. Adam M. Robinson. “It is one of the many ways we at the VA Maryland Health Card System work to assist veterans with visible and invisible wounds and support their effort to reintegrate into civilian life."
Service providers help veterans get the support, skills, and services needed to re-enter civilian life, so they can live lawfully and independently. Each veteran is matched with a veteran mentor, who supports the veteran as he/she progresses throughout the program. Veterans also have the option of working with dogs through the Warrior Canine Connection. The partnership allows veterans to train therapy and services dogs that will eventually be matched with a wounded warrior. The dogs also stay in the courtroom during each court docket to comfort the veterans.
VTC is held the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at the Eastside District Courthouse, located at 1400 E. North Avenue in Baltimore. Since 2015, more than 55 participants have completed the program.
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A brief history of Uniqlo, the clothing company that's changing everything
11 months ago by Amy Lamare in Features
If you ever visit Japan, be prepared to see a Uniqlo ($TYO:9983) clothing store at any given corner in any given city. Owned by an umbrella company called Fast Retailing, Uniqlo is a fashion retailer on the rise. 46% of Fast Retailing is owned by one man: Tadashi Yanai. An additional 40% is co-owned by Tadashi's wife and two sons. Yanai got his start 34 years ago with one dilapidated men’s clothing store that he begrudgingly inherited from his father.
To give you some idea of how ubiquitous Uniqlo is in Japan, consider this: There are nearly 900 Uniqlos in Japan, compared to about 2,400 Gaps in America. That means there are more than 1/3 the number of Uniqlos in a country that is roughly 3% the size The United States. In order for The Gap to have the same reach per capita, it would need to open 21,000 new stores in the United States.
Young Yanai
Tadashi Yanai was born in 1949 in the Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan. The years immediately following World War II were extremely difficult for every Japanese citizen. When Yanai was handed his family's menswear shop, he had designs to put his own spin on the store. One store wasn't enough: he wanted to build an empire. Tadashi admired the work of American management expert Peter Drucker, business philosophy said that money and morality need not be mutually exclusive. Yanai realized he could build his empire and become a very wealthy man without corrupting his soul. From Drucker's teachings, Yanai learned that it was best to think first about what customers want, rather than what the company (or owner) wants to sell. He added women's clothing to his menswear store and rebranded the entire operation in 1984 as Unique Clothing Warehouse (which he later shortened to Uniqlo). He also soon began expanding into the suburbs.
In the late 1980s, Tadashi Yanai sought out Mickey Drexler, then president of The Gap, during a time when Uniqlo was experiencing tremendous growth and market saturation. Tadashi invited Mickey to breakfast and set out to study his every move in order to perfectly replicate everything The Gap did. Yanai was unabashed in his desire to imitate The Gap. Immediately after meeting with Drexler, Uniqlo began copying The Gap's business model of producing and exclusively selling all of its own clothing. Yanai even had Gap-like commercials made for Uniqlo with celebrities dancing around in khakis.
Imitating The Gap would prove to be a massively successful strategy for Uniqlo and its parent company Fast Retailing.
Tadashi Yanai in 2014
Expansion in tough times
In the early 1990s, a recession in Japan helped put Uniqlo on the map. People wanted cheaper goods and Uniqlo delivered. In 1993, Tadashi made a move that was absolutely unprecedented for a Japanese company: He shifted all production to China. This allowed him to cut the cost of the clothing he sold and further increase profits. By 1994, 10 years after Tadashi took over his father’s clothing retailer and rebranded it as Uniqlo, there were 100 stores in Japan.
But there were some big stumbles along the way. By 2002, Yanai was ready to expand globally. He opened 21 stores in and around London. A few years later, Uniqlo opened in three malls in New Jersey. This global expansion would prove to be a complete and utter failure that personally cost Yanai tens of millions of dollars. One major mistake involved Uniqlo's sizing metrics. Uniqlo's standard sizing metrics were met with derision as the average Japanese man and women is usually much smaller than the average American adult. This led the company to sloppily upsize its clothing for the American market. In New Jersey, Uniqlo was bested by Abercrombie, The Gap, Express, and other American retailers that offered cheap clothes that fit American bodies. Within 18 months, Uniqlo closed 16 of its London stores and all three New Jersey locations.
This initial failure of Uniqlo's overseas expansion taught Tadashi a very important lesson: Uniqlo had succeeded in Japan much like the Gap (and Starbucks) succeeded in the U.S. – by being ubiquitous. However, for Uniqlo to succeed in Europe and the U.S., it also had to have style. It had to be cool.
Making Uniqlo cool
Yanai once again studied the success of other businesses and set out with a new plan for Uniqlo's overseas expansion. He cold-called a famous Japanese designer named Kashiwa Sato and asked him to lead a creative team that would set up flagship stores in cities across the world, starting with New York. Sato told Yanai that the Uniqlo brand was the very epitome of uncool, and that if he wanted to succeed in New York, London, and other cosmopolitan Western cities he'd have to redo everything.
Yanai gave him the green light.
Soto and his team brought in hip lines like Charlotte Ronson and Vena Cava. Yanai's wife suggested approaching Jil Sander with enough money to lure her out of retirement. This approach worked. Since the flagship Uniqlo store opened New York's SoHo district, it has become one of the highest grossing locations in the world. The company's collaboration with Jil Sander, branded +J, had customers lined up for blocks. And Uniqlo was prepared: there was more than enough inventory to go around.
During the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009, Yanai went on an acquisition spree. He bought Theory and Helmut Lang, both higher-end designers of basic wardrobe components. All of the acquisitions now fall under the Fast Retailing umbrella corporation, of which Uniqlo is still the biggest asset.
The Yanai philosophy
Yanai has proven time and again that he learns from the company's missteps and always emerges stronger. He is determined to continue to produce good products at the good prices that his customers want.
Uniqlo in general is not about style. It specializes in basics. It sells clothing, not fashion. Unlike competitors Zara and H&M, which produce hundreds of different trendy products each season, Uniqlo's staples are jeans, sweaters, jackets, etc. Uniqlo does not pay attention to trends. It sells pieces that fit seamlessly into the customer's wardrobe. All ornament and design are stripped away. In many ways, nothing about a Uniqlo piece stands out.
Meanwhile, huge production orders help keep the prices very low. Several years ago, the company sold a pair of jeans for $9.90 worldwide, in every currency.
Uniqlo’s slogan is “Made for all” and the company means that. Uniqlo’s clothing is made for all people irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity, disability and so on. It is also reflected in other parts of the company including the models in its advertisements and the selection of the global brand ambassadors.
Fast Retailing currently operates more than 1900 stores worldwide. In 2016, Uniqlo had a value of $7 billion, and ranked 91st on the Forbes list of the world’s most valuable brands. It is the third largest fashion brand in the world behind H&M and Zara. In Japan, Tadashi Yanai is a household name.
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Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection, Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection, VHS,
Mulan (1999-2000 VHS/DVD)
Mulan (1999 VHS/DVD)
February 2, 1999 (VHS)
November 9, 1999 (DVD)
$26.99 (VHS)
$39.99 (DVD)
1.85:1 (Letterbox)
Single Side, Dual Layer
Dolby Digital 5.1
English, French (DVD only), Spanish (DVD only)
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (VHS)
Pinocchio (DVD)
Mulan, Disney's 36th animated feature, was released in theaters on June 19, 1998. After that, on February 2, 1999, the VHS was released, then the DVD on November 9, 1999.
A few months after its Limited Issue release, Mulan was re-released on DVD as a Gold Classic Collection title on February 1, 2000. It was discontinued on January 31, 2002, and online sales lasted until 2003.
1999 VHS
1 Green warning screens November 11, 1997
2 Video preview for A Bug's Life February 2, 1999
3 Trailer for Winnie the Pooh: Sing a Song with Pooh Bear January 5, 1999
4 Video preview for 101 Dalmatians February 2, 1999
5 Promo for www.DisneyVideos.go.com (Mulan variation) (Version 1 Only) February 2, 1999
6 Sneak peak at Tarzan February 2, 1999
7 Feature Presentation (custom screen) February 2, 1999
8 Full Screen Format Disclaimer January 22, 1994
9 Mulan
Later Copies it does not have for Promo for www.DisneyVideos.go.com (Mulan variation) and a preview for A Bug's Life says Coming Soon to Video is different.
1 Green warning screens October 21, 1997
2 Walt Disney Home Video logo November 22, 1991
3 Trailer for The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea February 1, 2000
4 Promo for the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection February 1, 2000
5 Trailer for An Extremely Goofy Movie November 9, 1999
6 Trailer for Sing a Song with Tigger January 11, 2000
7 Video preview for Pinocchio November 9, 1999
8 Promo for the Disney.com website January 11, 2000
9 Feature Presentation December 14, 1999
10 Full Screen Format Disclaimer January 22, 1994
11 Mulan June 19, 1998
"Reflection" music video
"True to Your Heart" music video
Film Recommendations
THX-Certified
Advertised on:
Hercules (1998 VHS/1999 DVD)
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (VHS)
Belle's Magical World (VHS) (extremely rare later copies)
Peter Pan (1998 VHS/1999 DVD)
The Little Mermaid (1998 VHS/1999 DVD)
Flubber (VHS/DVD) (later copies)
VHS release
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998 VHS)
The Parent Trap (VHS/DVD)
Rocketman (VHS/DVD)
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (VHS/DVD)
Mr. Magoo (VHS/DVD)
Summer of the Monkeys (VHS/DVD)
Air Bud: Golden Receiver (VHS/DVD)
The Rescuers (1999 VHS) (original copies)
South Korea VHS February 12, 1999
Japan VHS June 18, 1999
UK VHS November 1999
Japan DVD December 22, 1999
UK DVD March 24, 2000
South Korea DVD June 9, 2000
Trivia and Notice
During 1999, Mulan was available on VHS in different countries per continent such as the United Kingdom and France in Europe. The Australian video release date for the film was March 1999.
http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/masterpiece/shelves/Mulan (1999-2000)
http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/disneygold/mulan.html (2000-2002)
http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/mulan (2001-2004)
VHS cover
VHS cover (UK version)
DVD cover (UK version)
2000 re-release DVD cover
2000 re-release VHS cover
Disney: Mary Poppins (1964) • Beauty and the Beast (1991) • Aladdin (1992) • The Lion King (1994) • Pocahontas (1995) • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) • Hercules (1997) • Mulan (1998) • The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) • The Lion King 1½ (2004) • Wreck-It Ralph (2012) • Frozen (2013) • Big Hero 6 (2014) • Zootopia (2016) • Moana (2016) • Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
Pixar: Toy Story (1995) • A Bug's Life (1998) • Toy Story 2 (1999) • Monsters, Inc. (2001) • Finding Nemo (2003) • The Incredibles (2004) • Cars (2006) • Ratatouille (2007) • WALL-E (2008) • Up (2009) • Toy Story 3 (2010) • Cars 2 (2011) • Brave (2012) • Monsters University (2013) • Inside Out (2015) • The Good Dinosaur (2015) • Finding Dory (2016) • Cars 3 (2017) • Coco (2017) • Incredibles 2 (2018) • Toy Story 4 (2019)
Generation I
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1981) • Pete's Dragon (1981) • Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1981/1989) • Mary Poppins (1981/1985) • Dumbo (1982/1985) • Alice in Wonderland (1982/1986) • The Three Caballeros (1982/1987) • Fun and Fancy Free (1982) • Robin Hood (1984) • Pinocchio (1985) • The Sword in the Stone (1986) • So Dear to My Heart (1986) • Sleeping Beauty (1986) • Lady and the Tramp (1987) • Cinderella (1988) • Bambi (1989) • The Little Mermaid (1990) • Peter Pan (1990)
Generation II
The Jungle Book (1991/1997) • Pete's Dragon (1991) • Robin Hood (1991) • The Rescuers Down Under (1991) • Fantasia (1991) • 101 Dalmatians (1992/1999) • The Great Mouse Detective (1992/1999) • The Rescuers (1992/1999) • Beauty and the Beast (1992) • Pinocchio (1993) • Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) • Aladdin (1993) • The Fox and the Hound (1994) • The Return of Jafar (1994) • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1994) • The Lion King (1995) • A Goofy Movie (1995) • Cinderella (1995) • Pocahontas (1996) • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1996) • The Aristocats (1996) • Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco (1996) • Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996) • Oliver & Company (1996) • James and the Giant Peach (1996) • Toy Story (1996) • Bambi (1997) • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1997) • 101 Dalmatians (1997) • Fun and Fancy Free (1997) • Mary Poppins (1997) • Sleeping Beauty (1997) • Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997) • George of the Jungle (1997) • Hercules (1998) • Peter Pan (1998) • The Little Mermaid (1998) • Flubber (1998) • Melody Time (1998) • The Black Cauldron (1998) • Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998) • Lady and the Tramp (1998) • The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) • Mulan (1999) • A Bug's Life/Collector's Edition (1999) • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1999)
Generation 2.5/Gold Classic Collection
Pinocchio (1999) • Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999) • Toy Story (2000) • Tarzan (2000) • An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000) • The Aristocats (2000) • The Fox and the Hound (2000) • The Three Caballeros (2000) • Saludos Amigos (2000) • Make Mine Music (2000) • Melody Time (2000) • Pocahontas (2000) • Fun and Fancy Free (2000) • A Goofy Movie (2000) • Alice in Wonderland (2000) • Mary Poppins (2000) • Robin Hood (2000) • The Rescuers Down Under (2000) • A Bug's Life (2000) • Hercules (2000) • Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (2000) • The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000) • The Black Cauldron (2000) • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (2000) • James and the Giant Peach (2000) • Toy Story 2 (2000) • Fantasia 2000 (2000) • Pete's Dragon (2001) • Dinosaur (2001) • Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure (2001) • The Sword in the Stone (2001) • Bedknobs and Broomsticks (2001) • 102 Dalmatians (2001) • The Emperor's New Groove (2001)
Generation III
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (2001) • Dumbo (2001) • Peter Pan (2002) • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (2002) • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (2002) • Oliver & Company (2002) • The Great Mouse Detective (2002) • Beauty and the Beast (2002) • Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (2002) • Pinocchio (2003) • The Rescuers (2003) • Sleeping Beauty (2003) • The Lion King (2003) • Alice in Wonderland (2004) • The Lion King 1½ (2004) • The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (2004) • Aladdin (2004) • Mulan (2004) • Mary Poppins (2004) • Aladdin II & III Collection (2005) • Bambi (2005) • Pocahontas (2005) • Toy Story (2005) • Cinderella (2005) • Toy Story 2 (2005) • Lady and the Tramp (2006) • The Little Mermaid (2006) • Peter Pan (2007) • The Jungle Book (2007) • 101 Dalmatians (2008) • Sleeping Beauty (2008) • Pinocchio (2009)
Generation IV
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (2009) • Beauty and the Beast (2010) • Bambi (2011) • The Lion King (2011) • Lady and the Tramp (2012) • Cinderella (2012) • Peter Pan (2013) • The Little Mermaid (2013) • The Jungle Book (2014) • Sleeping Beauty (2014) • 101 Dalmatians (2015) • Aladdin (2015)
Generation V
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (2016) • Beauty and the Beast (2016) • Pinocchio (2017)
Sing-Along Songs
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah (1986) • Heigh Ho (1987) • The Bare Necessities (1987) • You Can Fly (1988) • Very Merry Christmas Songs (1988) • Fun with Music (1989) • Under the Sea (1990) • Disneyland Fun (1990) • Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (1990) • Be Our Guest (1992) • Friend Like Me (1993) • The Twelve Days of Christmas (1993) • Campout at Walt Disney World (1994) • Let's Go to the Circus! (1994) • Circle of Life (1994) • Beach Party at Walt Disney World (1995) • Colors of the Wind (1995) • Topsy Turvy (1996) • Pongo & Perdita (1996) • Collection of All-Time Favorites (1997) • Honor to Us All (1998) • Happy Haunting Party at Disneyland (1998) • Flik's Musical Adventure at Disney's Animal Kingdom (1999)
Post-2001 films
Monsters, Inc. (2002) • Finding Nemo (2003) • The Incredibles (2005) • Cars (2006) • Toy Story 3 (2010) • Cars 2 (2011) • Brave (2012) • Wreck-It Ralph (2013) • Monsters University (2013) • Frozen (2014) • Big Hero 6 (2015) • Inside Out (2015) • The Good Dinosaur (2016) • Zootopia (2016) • Finding Dory (2016) • Moana (2017) • Cars 3 (2017) • Coco (2018) • Incredibles 2 (2018)
Song of the South (VHS/DVD) • So Dear to My Heart (DVD)
The Lion King (1994) • Pocahontas (1995) • Toy Story (1996) • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) • The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) • A Bug's Life (1998) • Toy Story 2 (1999) • Monsters, Inc. (2001) • Finding Nemo (2003) • The Incredibles (2004) • Cars (2006) • Toy Story 3 (2010) • Cars 2 (2011) • Wreck-It Ralph (2012) • Monsters University (2013) • Frozen (2013) • Inside Out (2015) • Zootopia (2016) • Finding Dory (2016) • Moana (2016) • Cars 3 (2017) • Incredibles 2 (2018) • Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) • Toy Story 4 (2019)
Classic Disney Vol. 1: 60 Years of Musical Magic (1995) • Classic Disney Vol. 2: 60 Years of Musical Magic (1995) • Classic Disney Vol. 3: 60 Years of Musical Magic (1996) • Classic Disney Vol. 4: 60 Years of Musical Magic (1997) • Classic Disney Vol. 5: 60 Years of Musical Magic (1998) • Disney's Greatest Vol. 1 (2001) • Disney's Greatest Vol. 2 (2001) • Disney's Greatest Vol. 3 (2002)
The Lion King (1994) • Toy Story (1995) • Return to Pride Rock (1998) • A Bug's Life (1998) • Toy Story 2 (1999) • Monsters, Inc. (2001) • Finding Nemo (2003) • The Lion King 1½ (2004) • The Incredibles (2004) • Wreck-It Ralph (2012) • Frozen (2013)
Television networks
Disney Channel • Toon Disney (1998-2009) • Disney XD
Retrieved from "https://medialibrary.fandom.com/wiki/Mulan_(1999-2000_VHS/DVD)?oldid=53666"
Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection
Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection
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More to “Ask a Lawyer” Lawsuit than Meets the Eye
Media outlets in Texas and around the world have been having a field day with the recent story of a Dallas lawyer who filed suit against a local television station for allegedly failing to forward calls to his office after the attorney purchased spots on an “Ask the Lawyer” program. But as often happens with media reports about lawsuits and lawyers, there’s more to the story.
Thomas Corea of Dallas’ Corea Trial Group filed the claim seeking $1.4 million after CBS affiliate KXTA allegedly failed to forward nearly 60 percent of the calls the station received during episodes of “Ask the Lawyer With Tom Corea,” which cost the firm $2,750 per 30-minute episode. According to the complaint, Corea received more than 1,200 calls during the initial episodes of “Ask the Lawyer” before the phone lines seemingly went dead. The lawsuit says Corea discovered the reason for the decline when his sales rep at the TV station provided a list of all the “Ask a Lawyer” calls the station received during the times when the program aired. When Corea compared that list to one assembled by his call center, he found that only 44 percent of the incoming calls actually were transferred to his office, according to the allegations.
Some media pundits have mocked the lawsuit as a situation where a “TV lawyer” is simply experiencing sour grapes, but Corea’s petition tells a different story. The filing explains that Corea secured an agreement with the station beforehand to ensure that representatives from his office would be able to answer each call in order to guard against callers receiving potentially erroneous answers to legal questions and to prevent any appearance of impropriety or, worse, barratry. Corea also says in the lawsuit that both he and the station agreed that a high number of calls was the only reason for the lawyer to purchase the “Ask a Lawyer” spots in the first place, so the agreement basically became worthless once the call volume cratered.
So all the media hype essentially boils down to a contract dispute between two parties, which ultimately will be decided based on the actual language of the agreed contract. The fact that one of those parties was a lawyer and the other was a TV station is all that was necessary to turn this somewhat mundane contract case into a media firestorm.
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Cell Phone Use Policy
DVD Borrowing
Food and Drink Policy
Gift Policy
Group Study Room Policies
Laptop Loan Policy
Library Access Policy
Library Fines and Replacement Costs
Visiting Scholars and Researchers
The College of Staten Island (CSI) Library is an academic library that serves a diverse population of students, staff and faculty, as well as the general public.
Library patrons can expect that the Library will protect their privacy and rights to research and education in a facility that supports learning in both group and individual settings. To ensure that all patrons and visitors are able to use library resources and services effectively, patrons must take responsibility for their behavior.
Please Follow These Policies When Using CSI Library
Some behavior and activity limits the Library’s ability to offer services. Therefore, patrons of the Library are asked to refrain from activities including, but not limited to:
Disorderly or disruptive conduct
Mutilation, defacement or theft of library property
Use of furniture, library equipment and facilities in a manner for which they were not intended or designed
Harassing or threatening others
Obscene, profane or abusive language or acts
Smoking, or possession or use of alcohol or illegal drugs
Intoxication or impairment
Failure to evacuate in an emergency or during drill
The Department of the Library asks that all patrons respect the rights of each individual to study and do research in a peaceful environment. People who are found to be violating these policies will be asked to refrain from such behavior.
If a person’s actions continue to disturb library patrons or staff, the person will be asked to leave the Library. Public Safety will be notified in instances where a person’s actions or behavior might jeopardize the safety of any library patrons or staff member, the reputation and property of the university, or for continued noncompliance of the above CSI Library policies.
Computer stations with Internet access are located on all three floors of the Library. Patrons are expected to use the Internet for academic purposes only. Use of all library computers must comply with City University of New York’s Computer Use Policy.
Food and drink are not allowed in the library, with the exception of bottled water. Please consume food and all other drinks outside the building.
Please keep conversation and noise at a low level. The third floor of the library is reserved for silent study. Group study should occur in group study rooms on the second floor or on the first floor of the library. Please use headphones when listening to music or watching a video.
Cell phone talking in the Library is disruptive to other library patrons and is prohibited. Please turn your cell phone to vibrate or turn your ringer off when you enter the building.
The Library welcomes children who are accompanied by a parent or adult caregiver. The supervision, safety, and security of children are the responsibility of the adult guardian.
Please do not interfere with Library employees in the performance of their duties. This includes engaging in inappropriate conversation or behavior, sexual advances or physical and/or verbal harassment.
All library patrons are expected to adhere to the City University of New York’s “Campus Behavior Code: Henderson Rules,” located in the CSI Student Handbook, The Gazetteer, under the section, Student Rights & Responsibilities and College Policies.
Portions of this text have been adapted from the Shoen Library at Marylhurst University
Violation of this policy will result in the loss of library privileges, which includes an eight-week loss of privileges to check-out group study rooms, laptops, calculators, textbooks, dvds, inter-library loan materials, and circulating books.
The CSI Library aims to provide a quiet and comfortable study environment. Noise from the use of cell phones is disruptive to this environment. Therefore, the use of these devices in the Library is strictly prohibited. The Library requests that all cell phone users set their phones to vibrate while they are in the building. Persons wishing to receive or make cell phone calls may do so in the entrance lobby on the first floor. Library staff reserves the right to ask anyone to leave the Library if she/he is using a cell phone or disturbing others in any area of the Library.
Violation of this policy will result in the loss of library privileges, which includes an eight-week loss of privileges to check-out group study rooms, laptops, calculators, textbooks, dvds, inter-library loan materials, and circulating books.
The goal of collection development at the College of Staten Island (CSI) Library is to create and maintain a collection of information resources that enhances the college’s curriculum and supports the library's overall mission. The development of CSI Library collections assist with the research activities of students, faculty, and the community; promote lifelong learning and information literacy; provide fair access to high quality yet cost-effective resources in a variety of formats; and encourages diversity and inclusion from its collections.
In particular, collection development activities by the CSI Library and departmental faculty include the selection and deselection of resources. The curriculum of the college provides the main guidelines for the selection of library materials. Materials are primarily collected in subject areas in which students are expected to conduct research.The college supports research from the associate to the doctoral level; therefore, the CSI Library collects and maintains a balance of integrated resources to meet these needs.
The CSI Library collects materials in numerous formats based on the availability, cost, disciplinary requirements, and the professional discretion of library faculty. The library will collect resources in various electronic forms while acknowledging that print resources will remain of critical importance to collect and preserve, especially related to the cultural heritage of the community. On occasion, the library may decide to develop specialty collections that further supports college’s curriculum and community (e.g., graphic novels, nonfiction bestsellers).
The CSI Library acquires materials to serve faculty needs if the materials support the college’s curriculum. When the CSI Library does not hold the desired resource, Interlibrary loan, document delivery, and other types of resource sharing—both within and outside of CUNY- are available to faculty, as well as students, to facilitate scholarship in these instances
Specific evaluative criteria applied when choosing individual collection items include some of the following:
The relevance of the information resource to the curriculum.
The lasting value (e.g., expected frequency of use over time) of the content to the academic and research needs of the college’s students.
The quality, authoritativeness, and accuracy as determined by review sources, bibliographic aids, and the professional judgment of library faculty.
The level of appropriateness as related to the college’s curriculum (e.g., “undergraduate,” “upper-division undergrad” or “graduate”).
The strength of present holdings in the same or similar subject areas.
The authority of the author or the reputation of the publisher.
The likelihood that interest in the subject and resources will endure.
The cost of the item and the format (e.g., print vs. electronic, DVD vs. streaming).
Media that is closed captioned will be selected when it is available.
Textbooks and multiple copies are primarily purchased for the Reserves collection based on budgetary availability.
The library acquires primarily English language reference and research information sources, with the exception of obtaining information to support foreign language programs (e.g., Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Sign Language, and Spanish programs.)
Within the criteria suggested by the college’s mission, curriculum, the academic merit of the resource, and the evaluative criteria above, the library will attempt to collect resources that reflect a multiplicity of experiences, perspectives, and ideas as articulated in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights.
Faculty and student requests are welcome to recommend materials for the collections. However, the CSI Library will only acquire resources that are in concert with it's completed Collection Development Policy and the professional judgment of librarians. Please view the CSI Library's topic guide on Collection Development and Maintenance.
The CSI Library provides access to computers for the purpose of conducting online research and accessing the library’s electronic resources.
Given the limited number of workstations available, priority is given to students conducting library research or working on course-related assignments. Students who wish to simply surf the web, check their e-mail, or play videogames are strongly encouraged to use the facilities at the campus Computer Labs, Cybercafe (IL), or Campus Center (1C).
In order to access any computer on campus, including those in the library, students need a computer user ID and password from the Office of Information Technology (OIT). If you forget your computer login password, go to the OIT helpdesk on first floor of the Library in front of 1L-109A or call 718.982.3695. For more information on accessing campus computers, see Laboratory Login Procedures.
Students and faculty from other CUNY schools, CSI Alumni, and students from Empire State College who wish to use a computer must bring a valid ID to the OIT office in 2A-306D to request a guest computer login for each visit. Please refer to the OIT website for their office hours.
Films on DVD can be borrowed from the Circulation/Reserves desk on the first floor. Currently enrolled College of Staten Island students, faculty and staff may borrow films on DVD for a period of three days.
Borrower Requirements
Films on DVD must be checked-out in person.
No reservations will be taken.
Borrowers must have a valid CSI ID card.
DVDs may be checked-out for up to three days.
DVDs must be returned in the same condition as was checked out. All staff at the counter are required to open up and check condition and the number of all DVDs in the case upon check-out and check-in
Borrowers assume all responsibility and will be liable for any damage to DVD while checked-out in your name.
Late fee: $1.00 per day
Lost fee: Cost of DVD plus $25 processing fee
No food or drink is permitted in the library, with the exception of drinks in closable containers.
Library materials, computer equipment and furnishings must be kept in good condition for you and future users. Food and food residue, such as oil and sugar, attract rodents and insects.
Food and drinks will destroy or damage computer equipment, disks, books, and furnishings.
If you observe a spill, please notify a staff member right away.
Thank you for helping to preserve your resources.
The CSI Library welcomes gifts, material donations to its collection, or the funds to purchase new collection materials. Materials or funds will be accepted with the expectation that they are consistent with the library’s collection development policy. The CSI Library cannot accept gifts, material donations, or funds with conditions as to their disposition or location. Donors will receive a letter acknowledging only receipt of gifts, donations, or funds. The letter will not include appraisal of the monetary value of gifts. Appraisals for tax purposes are the responsibility of the donor. Books added to the collection will be identified with gift plates, as determined by the library.
The library’s policy concerning gifts is as follows:
Gifts of library materials shall be referred to the Acquisitions unit at 718.982.4078 or via the Acquisitions Librarian at kerry.falloon@csi.cuny.edu. To expedite the material donation process, please complete the Library Materials Donation Form before contacting Acquisitions.
Donations of materials that may be appropriate for Archives & Special Collections are handled directly by the Archivist at 718.982.4129.
Gifts of funds shall be referred to the Chief Librarian at 718.982.4001, or can be made online through the CSI Foundation; Please include “library” in the comments.
The library may wish to decline gifts which do not support the college curriculum or benefit the library’s collections. The library declines offers of gifts if they unnecessarily duplicate existing holdings, if the subject matter is outside the scope of its collections, or if there are donor restrictions which the library cannot honor.
Donors may give funds at the time of inquiry, or send funds in an amount they determine. They may recommend that their monetary donations be applied to support particular curricula or subject areas, or in support of particular information technologies. However, all donations and all items acquired through donations must meet the typical selection criteria including quality of content, appropriateness, level of scholarship, and objectivity.
The Library retains the right to dispose of duplicates and unneeded materials regardless of how they were acquired.
Group study rooms are available for use for current CSI students.
The CSI Library provides eight group study rooms located on the 2nd Floor that are available for two-hour periods to CSI students working in groups. Group study rooms can be checked out at the Circulation/Reserve Desk on the 1st floor of the library. Two valid IDs are needed to checkout a group study room. At least two students must be present in the room.
Group study rooms are available on a first come, first serve basis. Two group members must each present a valid CSI ID Card to the Circulation/Reserves Desk staff in order to checkout a study room. Two or more group members must be present to both check-out and renew a study room. One student will be checked out the room key and the other student will be checked out a plaque detailing group study room policies.
Undergraduate study rooms: are to be used by a minimum of 2 and no more than 6 individuals. No more than one room can be used by a single group at a given time. If there are not two individuals present, the room can be recalled.
Graduate study rooms: are to be used by a minimum of 2 graduate students and no more than 12 people. No more than one room can be used by a single group at a given time. If there are not two individuals present, the room can be recalled.
Length of Use and Renewals
Rooms are available for two hours. Rooms can be renewed at the end of the two-hour period provided that:
There are no other groups waiting to use the room.
The group followed library policy (i.e. noise, food, conduct).
There were the correct number of individuals present in the room during use.
The library staff did not receive any complaints or had to address any concerns.
Renewals can only be initiated in the last five minutes of the rental period and both individuals must be present for renewal.
Noise and Disturbances
We ask that you close the door when the room is in use. Please note that the rooms are not soundproof! Group conversations must not disturb other library users. Violation of noise policy can result in the loss of library privileges. Headphones are required for any audio.
No food is allowed anywhere in the library, including Group study rooms. Closed drink containers are allowed
Responsibilities of the Group Study Users
The students registering for the group are responsible for the room key and the condition of the room. They must occupy the room for the entire length of time the room is in use. Please dispose of all trash, return all furniture to its original arrangement, and lock the door on the way out.
Returning Keys and Policy Cards
Keys and Policy Cards are non-transferable and may not be taken outside of the library. Keys and Policy Cards must be returned to the Circulation/Reserves Desk 5 minutes before the expiration of the time allotted and within 15 minutes of the library’s closing. A fine of $10.00 will be charged for every 15 minutes the key and Policy Card is late. A fine of $50.00 will be charged for a lost key and Policy Card.
Violation of these guidelines will result in the loss of library privileges, which includes a eight-week loss of privileges to check-out all circulating materials, including group study rooms, laptops, textbooks and circulating books, DVDs, calculators.
Currently enrolled College of Staten Island students may borrow a laptop computer for use in the library for a period of two hours. There will be a 15 minute check-in and a 15 minute check-out delay so plan accordingly and have the laptop back on time to avoid fines. Laptops can be borrowed from the Circulation Desk, on the first floor of the Library.
Laptops must be checked out in person.
Laptops may be checked out for a two hour period.
Laptops must be returned 15 minutes before closing.
Computer competency and self-reliance are required.
Users who wish to save their work must do so using their own USB flash drive. No documents can be saved on the laptop.
Laptop must be returned in the same condition as when it went out.
Users assumes all responsibility and will be liable for any damage to laptop while checked out in your name.
Late Fines
$10.00 per quarter-hour
No maximum fine
Checkout Times
Fall / Spring Semester
Monday – Sunday 9:00am – 9:30pm
Summer and Intersession
Saturday-Sunday 9:00am – 6:00pm
If a laptop is damaged or lost, the borrower will be held responsible for the repair or replacement cost of the damage or full cost of the laptop. If fees are not paid for damaged or lost item, registration will be blocked and transcripts will not be released. Library privileges will also be suspended at all CUNY campuses.
Access to resources and services at the CSI Library is available to students, faculty, and staff who hold current, validated identification cards from the College of Staten Island (CSI); from any other college within the City University of New York (CUNY); and from Empire State College. Identification cards must be equipped with a valid library barcode, which can be obtained from the Circulation Desk. A library barcode is required to borrow circulating books, DVDs, and course reserve materials. A library barcode is also necessary for use of all audiovisual materials from Media Services. A valid CSI email account is required for off-campus access to the Library’s electronic resources and databases.
The CSI Library is a member of the larger consortium of CUNY Libraries, which provides library services to the 23 campuses that make up CUNY. CSI students, faculty, and staff with valid CSI ID cards and library barcodes may access and borrow books from any library within the CUNY system. Users can request books from other CUNY libraries through the CUNY+ Union Catalog (learn how). Users may also access databases and electronic resources for which CUNY Central has purchased university-wide licenses. A library barcode is required to access CUNY-wide databases from off-campus.
ID cards can be obtained at the Office of Parking & DolphinCard Services, located in West Administration Building 3A Room 106.
Members of the CSI Continuing Education program sponsored by Local 1199, visiting scholars, CSI alumni, and retired CSI faculty and staff members may use the Library. They may borrow books, DVDs, and other materials by presenting a current, validated identification card. Alumni may obtain a CSI Alumni Card through the CSI Alumni Association, located in 1A-110. All other groups listed above should contact the Office of Parking & DolphinCard Services, located in 3A-106, to obtain a valid CSI identification card.
Members of the general public who wish to use the Library’s facilities may do so during normal hours of operation. A photo ID is required to enter the Library. Members of the general public may use items from the Library’s print collection on-site. However, they may not borrow items or access Library computers and electronic resources.
The CSI Library charges fines for lost, damaged, and overdue materials. Borrowers are entirely responsible for returning in good condition all library materials, regardless of circumstances that may occur over the period of the loan. All patrons are subject to fines for overdue, damaged, or lost materials.
Students who have outstanding library fines will have a Bursar stop placed on their account. Bursar stops can only be removed after the fine is paid in person at the Bursar’s Office (2A-105). Bursar Stops can take up to 24 hours to clear. Questions regarding library fines should be directed to the library’s Circulation Desk (718.982.4011) or the Head of Access Services Prof. Andrew Leykam (718-982-4076).
Every CUNY library has its own policy regarding charging fines. Please check the CUNY Circulation page to view individual library policies.
Overdue Circulating Books 25 cents per day (including days on which the Library is closed) to a maximum of the current price of the book.
Overdue Reserve Materials 2-Hour Reserve Loans: 10 cents per minute (or $6.00 per hour). Reserve materials not returned by the time the Library closes but kept overnight will result in an additional $20 fine per night. 7-Day Reserve Loans: $5 per day (including days on which the Library is closed).
Study Room Keys 2-hour Loan: A fine of $1.50 will be charged for every 15 minutes the key is late (.10 a minute). A fine of $50.00 will be charged for a lost key in addition to late fines.
Recalled Books $1 per day after the due date.
Overdue Computer Software (CDROMS) $5 per day (including days on which the Library is closed).
Laptops (2 hour loan) 65 cents per minute (or $40 per hour).
(3 day loan) $5 per day (including days on which the Library is closed).
(4 hour)
10 cents per minute (or $6.00 per hour).
Replacement Costs
Replacement Cost Processing Fee
Lost Books The price of a new copy of the book or $150 dollars if the book is out of Print $25
Damaged Books An amount to be determined by the nature and extent of the damage, not to exceed the price of the book. $25
Lost DVDs Price of the DVD $25
Lost Study Room Key A fine of $25.00 will be charged for a lost key. $25
Lost/Damaged Items
If a borrowed item (i.e. book, calculator, laptop or iPad) is damaged or lost, the borrower will be held responsible for the repair or replacement cost of the damage or full cost of the lost item. If fees are not paid for damaged or lost item, registration will be blocked and transcripts will not be released. Library privileges will also be suspended at all CUNY campuses.
With the Access services Librarians approval, Prof. Andrew Leykam, a replacement copy of the item (in good to excellent condition) will be accepted in place of payment.
Request for access to research resources at the CSI Library will be given to visiting scholars and researchers who are actively collaborating with CSI faculty or administrators on current research and/or contributing to CSI’s academic and research mission by lecture and/or grant activities. The CSI sponsoring entity will be responsible for paying any library fees or fines incurred by visiting scholar or researcher.
Access to CSI Library resources will be given to scholars and researchers for a maximum of 90 days, to be renewed upon request by sponsoring entity. Spouse of a Visiting Scholar or Researcher may also obtain access to Library privileges (with the same expiration date) with approval from sponsoring entity.
Library privileges
Individuals who meet the CSI Library Visiting Scholar requirements are eligible for an email account and a CSI Dolphin ID Card. The email account will enable on-site and remote access to electronic resources subscriptions. Email account can be obtained from the Office of Technology Systems HelpDesk in 2A-306D by providing documentation from the CSI sponsoring entity. The Dolphin ID Card is to be presented at the CSI Library Circulation/Reserves Desk for a barcode. The barcode will provide access to enter the Library and also to borrow materials. ID cards are issued at the Office of Parking & Dolphin Card Services, located in West Administration Building (3A Room 106).
Individuals who meet the CSI Library Visiting Scholar/Researcher requirements will gain access to:
Use of the facility at all times that the Library is open
Borrowing privileges for books, videos, special collections, and other materials
Online resources using CSI email account
Next: Code of Conduct >>
College of Staten Island Library
2800 Victory Boulevard
URL: https://library.csi.cuny.edu/policies
Last Updated: Jul 8, 2019 2:36 PM
LibGuides Login
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Spotlight on Graphic Novels: The Fuse
You can get a copy of The Fuse here.
Deitrich is a German police officer who requests a transfer to the Fuse, a space station with its own vastly different culture and circumstances. There, he’s assigned to homicide and “the Russia shift.” He’s not on the Fuse for a full day when cabelers (an isolated homeless population who lives in the maintenance areas in the walls of the Fuse) show up shot to death. Because guns are highly restricted on the station, the murders peak Deitrich’s interest. He and his abrasive partner, Klem, are about to uncover a horrible secret.
The artwork in the graphic novel is interesting. It reminded me of the artwork in the Jackie Chan Adventures. It’s lots of angles and rough-hewn shapes. It’s interesting. Klem’s gender is a bit ambiguous, but that plays into the way that Klem is as a character.
The story is interesting. It’s fast-paced and interesting. The plot itself is a little rough at times. There’s a lot of convenient plot points that are a bit too easy to come by.
The dialogue is a bit stinted at times. Dietrich never uses contractions which was off-putting. I think this is supposed to make him feel like a non-native English speaker, but it was more awkward than beneficial to his character. His actions make him feel far more real than his dialogue does.
The overall story has a lot of interesting subtext. The Cabelers are a great point with a lot of potential for development. We’ve been told that there’s a lot of complex ideas and reasons that the Cabelers exist and their interactions with the mainstream citizens is going to be great when more fully explored. I’m quite excited for it.
Klem is going to be a very interesting person to see develop. She’s cold and a bit sterile, but we know there’s more to her. The relationship we see with her and her son, as well as the way she approaches Dietrich hint at some very complex relationships.
I received this comic as an e-ARC from Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.
This entry was posted in Graphic Novels and tagged Diamond Comics, Graphic Novel Reviews, Graphic Novels, Homeless, Image Comics, Reviews, Science Fiction, space station.
Review: The Little Green Book of Chairman Rhama by Brian Herbert
Unfortunately, I wasn’t pleased with Brian Herbert’s new release.
Short list of highlights:
-Slow pacing
-Poor character development
-Not enough background
This entry was posted in Reviews, Videos and tagged book reviews, Books, Brian Herbert, Chairman Rhama, dystopian, Greenocracy, Joss Stuart, Kuppi Landau, Little Green Book, Science Fiction, Tor Books.
Review: Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey
Posted on July 8, 2014 Updated on July 8, 2014
Leviathan Wakes was a fun book, but Corey lost me at times. I gave it a 3.5 out of 5.
This entry was posted in Reviews, Videos and tagged book reviews, Books, Holden, James S.A. Corey, Leviathan Wakes, Miller, Protogen, Protomolecule, Science Fiction, The Expanse.
Review: The Martian by Andy Weir
This book is a fantastically varied tale that is compelling and believable science fiction.
In Andy Weir’s The Martian, astronaut Mark Watney is one of the first humans to be on Mars, number 17, to be exact. His six man crew is supposed to land and stay on Mars for 31 days, but, on day 6, a massive sandstorm forces an early evacuation and termination of the mission. The crew scrambles to leave, and Mark gets knocked out. His life sign monitors flat-line, and the crew is forced to leave Mark’s body on Mars. There’s just one problem:
Mark isn’t dead.
He’s now left to try and survive alone on Mars until the next mission to Mars lands, over four years later.
There’s a lot going on in this book, so first things first. Let’s talk about Mark. A very big chunk of the book is Mark’s mission logs, which he starts taking when he realizes he’s stuck and is deciding that he can, in fact, survive for a rescue mission. The logs read much like a personal journal, and we get a sense for Mark’s personality. Mark, we’re told, deals with much of his stress through humor. The first chapter or so makes sure we’re aware of this aspect of his personality. To be honest, I was a little turned off by it at first. Weir lays it on a little thick. But, the more Mark focuses on his mission and survival, the more balanced his voice becomes.
Mark is a very creative thinker. Sometimes it was a little disappointing that we didn’t get to see his brain working through the problems he faced. Instead, the reader sees a lot of the post-idea formation. The actual thought process doesn’t really make it into his logs, but, hey, that’s what a log is for: recording the actions and reasons behind them for future review. We do, however, get a lot of Mark’s reactions to his survival missions and problem-solving attempts. That’s probably where some of Weir’s best work is. Mark’s records where he is panicking are very believable.
The story is counter-balanced by third-person narrative interludes of what is happening in the NASA control centers. Because they can’t always communicate, the NASA employees who find Mark and work to rescue him are often bustling. Weir very often shows the organization’s thought process and how different it is, at times, from Mark’s. What is very cool in this is that we get to see the way that the thought processes, though different, often come to similar conclusions. It also provides a contrast between the more organic self-preservation attempts Mark is making and the rigid institutional attempts that are working to bring him home. This results in some clashes, but the frustration is on both sides and their cooperation is that much more valuable for it.
The only thing I occasionally didn’t like was the quick problem-resolution sequences that occurred. It sometimes seemed that there were very quick solutions to the problems Mark had. When he was looking for a food supply to augment his provisions, the solution was straight forward. Surprisingly there were very few hiccups with implementing the solution. I expected more sustained problems. Another instance of this was when Mark is travelling. There are some very serious issues with his travel plans, some of which, we’re told by the NASA narratives, he couldn’t see coming until it was too late. It felt like there were a lot of times that Mark’s problems were overblown in their presentation. That being said, the story is very fast paced and we see a lot of creative thinking (on both Mark and Weir’s behalves).
As far as “realistic” science fiction goes, this isn’t just enjoyable, it’s very well presented. The characters are likable, there is a sense of urgency, and the story is compelling. A solid 4 out of 5.
Andy Weir talks about how he wrote the story here: http://bit.ly/1qpzBKZ
I received this book for free for an honest review via Blogging for Books.
This entry was posted in Reviews and tagged Andy Weir, Ares 3, Ares 4, book reviews, Books, Mark Watney, Mark Whatney, NASA, Science Fiction, The Martian, Weir.
Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Posted on May 8, 2014 Updated on May 8, 2014
Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
I was hesitant to read this book when I got it because (1) I’m not a big YA reader, and (2) I find fairytale retellings a very precarious type of story. This being said, I liked Cinder quite a lot. It was a fun tale that didn’t overplay many of the elements that could have made it terrible.
I enjoyed the dynamics between many of the characters. Cinder’s relationships with her step-siblings and Ito, the family’s android, were, if not complex, at least fully-formed and not driven solely on artificial hatred. I think it was a wise move for Meyer to build a positive relationship between Cinder and Peony (the younger step-sibling). Not only did this give the story a catalyst that was believable via Peony’s illness, but it also made the rest of the family seem far more sympathetic, if not likable.
The characters avoided being caricatures. There was quite a bit of flatness still in the side characters. There was a lot of room for growth in both the older step-sister and step-mother. I was kind of disappointed that this wasn’t there (In fairness there was little emotional growth for the characters overall).
The world that Meyer built was interesting. Much of the world is built in the international politics as opposed to the science fiction of it all. I enjoyed that. I’m a political science junkie and find the account interesting.
I wasn’t thrilled with all of it. It seemed unlikely to me that the world would treat cyborgs as property. It seemed more likely that there would be a type of Lunar second class before that happened. People’s loved ones don’t stop being loved ones simply because they had an operation. It’s more likely that there would be xenophobic tendencies first.
The plot was enjoyable, if not always as complex as I would have wanted. There is a point when explaining the Lunar monarchy and the Lunar royal family that Meyer hints that something may have been the case. It was an *easy* plot point to make. I was almost convinced that she wouldn’t go for it. She did and I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed.
Regardless, I thought that it was a fun read with a lot of fun character interactions, a solid sense of plot-pacing, and a sense of humor.
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Cinder-Book-One-Lunar-Chronicles/dp/1250007208
Book Depository Link: http://www.bookdepository.com/Cinder-Marissa-Meyer/9780312641894
This entry was posted in Reviews and tagged book reviews, Books, Cinder, Lunar Chronicles, Marissa Meyer, Prince Kai, Science Fiction, Young Adult.
Review: Dune by Frank Herbert
Title: Dune
Author: Frank Herbert
Overview: Duke Leto Atreides is moved to Arrakis to oversee the production of spice and the maintenance of the local desert people, the Fremen, much to the chagrin of the Baron Harkonnen. The Baron sets out to assassinate Leto and succeeds. Paul, the Duke’s heir, and Paul’s mother escape to the desert, a treacherous place filled with sinking sandpits and carnivorous worms the size of spaceships. Renamed Muad’Dib, Paul becomes a leader of the Fremen and seeks revenge on the Baron who assassinated his father and the Emperor who gave his tacit approval.
For Fans Of: Dune (the Movie), Herbert, Orson Scott Card
World-Building: Herbert relies heavily on desert imagery. He constructs the Fremen people around existing ideas about nomadic desert clans and Middle Eastern historical events (i.e. Byzantines). In this regard, his base is strong.
The ecological theory that riddles the novel is interesting. It creates the underlying motivation for the current Fremen state. Their utter belief in their ability to change Arrakis is not only necessary to help build a sense of religious fervor, but also lends credence to Arrakis as an empire’s colony (The netted dew-catchers is an old concept that has been drawn on both in Herbert’s science fiction and in today’s scientific developments.).
My only real problem with Dune’s world is Herbert’s quite obvious struggle with the concepts of genetic determinism and free will. Paul is consistently reminded that he is destined; Herbert often refers to this as Paul’s race consciousness (Note: this is not meant by Herbert in the more nuanced social scientific sense). Paul is genetically foretold and has powers that were granted to him. He has very little choice but to become the fabled Muad’Dib that the Fremen have waited so long for; every move he makes simply takes him closer to this fate. However, Paul is supposed to have choice, free will. We see this from the very beginning with Paul’s struggles with the oncoming potential for religious revolt. These two concepts are difficult to resolve and make parts of Paul’s journey frustrating because Herbert is unclear which he believes to be driving Paul. It’s a type of idealism that’s distracting in Herbert’s tale.
Character Development: Paul’s character becomes very flat the moment his full powers are unlocked. Though the Bene Gesserit parts of Paul should be allowing him insight into his own emotions and those of others, Paul seems to lock them out completely. He relies far more heavily on the Mentat (purely logical, analytical) ability to think and block out emotion. I think this is to the detriment of his development. For instance, it makes his romantic relationship and its intimacy seem very unbelievable.
Plot: The plot was interesting. The calculating nature of the world’s leaders is made very clear as well as the intricacies of their strategic decisions. This makes the plot easier to follow and gives it a sense of intrigue.
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Dune-Frank-Herbert/dp/0441172717
Book Depository Link: http://www.bookdepository.com/Dune-Frank-Herbert/9788497596824
This entry was posted in Reviews and tagged Arrakis, book reviews, Books, Dune, Frank Herbert, Harkonnen, Paul Atreides, Science Fiction.
Review: Dark Eden by Chris Beckett
Posted on April 17, 2014 Updated on April 17, 2014
Title: Dark Eden
Author: Chris Beckett
Overview: John’s family lives in Eden, a dark, wild planet once visited by people from Earth. They’ve spent the last 150 years in the Circle Valley waiting for Earth to rescue them, living as hunter and gatherers in the same spot that their forefathers were abandoned in generations ago. But the valley is dying. There isn’t enough food and no one has left to find more. In a fit of frustration, John destroys the center of their home and departs for the Dark Place beyond the valley bringing with him a group of ragtag youths.
For Fans Of: William Golding, Orson Scott Card (circa 1985?)
World-Building: Eden is pretty interesting as far as settings. It’s a land where there is no external light source and where the animals are mostly six legged and have mandibles (feelers on a mammal would be called _______?) It’s human inhabitants are almost cult-like and it’s surprising that they have absolutely no modern knowledge–presumably their forefathers were stranded astronauts– and live primitively. I found the more interesting parts to be in the time spent outside of the Valley. The developments that John Redlantern and his friends come up with are relatively simplistic, but enable them to encounter some fun and scary creatures.
The culture I found a little unsettling at times if only for the sexual practices. Beckett is not graphic in any of this, but some of it gave me the creeps (i.e. John and the group leader)
Character Development: John is consistently self-centered. That wasn’t so bad except that he’s indulged through to the very end without any real consequences despite a number of instances that seemed to be foreshadowing otherwise. I liked Tina; she was probably the best character. I liked that she had to become responsible and didn’t shirk from it and I liked that she was realistic about the people around her. Beckett sets her up initially as someone who’s a bit vapid, but she doesn’t stay that way.
Plot: There’s no real plot or end to it. John’s screwed it all up royally and it kind of just ends with him running from his screw ups like he did the whole book long. That’s not to say it’s bad. It felt like the way to end it for him, but there wasn’t some overarching plot or purpose to his adventures. Don’t expect a real conclusion to them.
Notes: I received this copy from netgalley.com as an eARC. Dark Eden is an Arthur C. Clark award winner.
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804138680?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0804138680&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2
Book Depository Link: http://www.bookdepository.com/Dark-Eden-Chris-Beckett/9781848874640
This entry was posted in Reviews and tagged April Release Books, Arthur C Clark, book reviews, Books, Chris Beckett, Dark Eden, John Redlantern, Science Fiction, Tina Spiketree.
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Keyword Search of women
Women's Studies Major
Gender and Health Major
Global and Intercultural Study
What Can You Do With a Women's Studies Degree?
Joint PhD Programs
Joint PhD Student Handbook
Funding for PhDs
Dissertation Titles
Graduate Student Placement
Lane Hall
Institute for Research on Women and Gender
Ann Arbor Community
The Women's Studies Department and the Institute for Research on Women and Gender host two exhibits per year in the main lobby of Lane Hall, 204 S. State Street. The exhibits, broadly related to issues of women and gender, are available for public viewing Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm.
Have an idea for a future exhibit? Read about the exhibit nomination process here.
January 9 - August 2, 2019
she was here, once
by nastassja e. swift
The mobility and displacement of the Black body, from port to holding cell, to ward and out, is a history that is embedded in our communities socially, culturally and geographically. Alluding to feelings of pain, otherness, power and triumph, she was here, once features work that illustrates a moment of remembrance and reflection on the women who have roamed these spaces before us. Consisting of wearable fiber sculptures, mixed media installation and film, the exhibition traces the ancestral footsteps of the Black woman in Richmond, Virginia. Nastassja Swift creates an immersive environment shaped from history, story and experience.
In summer 2018, Nastassja Swift organized a collaborative workshop and public performance in her home city of Richmond, Virginia. As a Black female artist working and learning within what was once the center of slave trading in the region, Nastassja sought to explore the journey of the Black female in this area, and how that journey has contributed to the stories and history of Black girlhood in the city. Using a range of choreographed movement, sound, and solidarity, eight Black women and girls, wearing large needle felted wool masks, traced the ancestral footprints of the arrival of the Black body in Richmond. The 3.5 mile walk began in Shockoe Bottom (the site of the importation of slaves into Richmond, and one of the largest sources of slave trade in America) and concluded in the Jackson Ward neighborhood (one of the largest Black communities in Richmond).The multi layered piece has produced a short film, mini documentary, photography, and performance masks, on display in her solo exhibition, she was here, once in Lane Hall.
Nastassja Swift is a Virginia artist holding a Bachelors degree of Fine Art from Virginia Commonwealth University with a major in Painting & Printmaking and a minor in Craft & Material Studies. She is the owner and artist of D for Dolls, an online collection of handmade needle felted figures. Outside of being a doll maker, she works with paint, print, performance and fiber within her studio practice. Nastassja’s work is currently on display in a group exhibition at The Colored Girls Museum, and her solo exhibition at Harmony Hall Arts Center. She has participated in several national and international residences and exhibitions, including her solo exhibit in Doha, Qatar, and fellowships at the Vermont Studio Center and MASS MoCA. More information can be found on her website.
Artwork courtesy of Nastassja E. Swift
she was here, once is presented with support from the Institute for Research on Women and Gender and the Department of Women's Studies.
wsdoffice@umich.edu
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Nicholas Chevalier
(United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand 09 May 1828 – 15 Mar 1902)
Landscape (New Zealand)
The Ovens River, Victoria
Nicholas Chevalier was born in St Petersburg, the son of a Russian mother and Swiss father. He studied in Lausanne in Switzerland, Munich, London and Rome before arriving in Australia in 1854. Chevalier worked for 'Melbourne Punch', contributed to 'Victoria illustrated', made colour lithographs and exhibited his work, establishing himself as a leading figure in art in Melbourne. He travelled extensively throughout the 1860s, including to New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii, Japan, China and India before settling in England in 1870. Edouard Levi Montefiore, the donor of this watercolour to the Gallery, was the brother of Eliezier Levi Montefiore, the Gallery's first Director. He lived in Paris.
[Hendrik Kolenberg, Anne Ryan and Patricia James, '19th century Australian watercolours, drawings & pastels in the Gallery's collection', Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005]
pencil, watercolour, white gouache, gum, scraping out
24.4 x 35.1 cm sheet; 39.1 x 48.2 cm sight edge; 44.7 x 53.8 x 2.7 cm frame
Signed and dated l.r. corner, brown watercolour "N Chevalier/ 1868".
Gift of Edouard Levi Montefiore 1901
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How Wearable Computers Could Make Us Healthier
Courtney Humphries for MIT Technology Review 2012-05-15 20:32:17 UTC
Follow @techreview
The last time your doctor asked how much you exercise, did you tell the truth? Do you even really know the truth—not just how many visits to the gym you've made this month, but how many hours you sit or how many calories you burn in a day?
What if your doctor had already received the information from a tiny device built into your cellphone, wallet, or undershirt? Sonny Vu believes a device like this could fundamentally change health care. "You can't just lie to your doctor—it's all there, recorded," he says. "You cut right to the chase rather than having to tease out all that information."
Vu is an entrepreneur who thinks a lot about how a well-designed mobile device can affect health. As a cofounder of the medical-device company AgaMatrix, he created the first FDA-approved glucose sensor that plugs into an iPhone; it hit Apple stores this month under the brand name iBGStar.
Now Vu is taking his ideas a step further, betting that the next phase for mobile computing is on our bodies. He's heading a new company called Misfit Wearables, which is developing health monitoring devices that he says will fit unobtrusively into the clothing and objects we use every day.
Mobile health devices and software could change medicine profoundly, allowing people to continuously monitor vital signs and better track and modify behavior. That's important because chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes are on the rise. "We're seeing an infusion of mobile technologies into people's lives," says Susannah Fox, who studies technology and health care for the Pew Internet & American Life Project. "And we're seeing a very rainy forecast in terms of people's health."
In health care, however, good ideas often succumb to the realities of human nature. "Health isn't really top of mind for most of us," says Fox. Yet many health-related apps and devices essentially ask people to make health a priority. Pew's research has found that interest in health apps hasn't been increasing among users.
Vu's idea is to remove from the equation what he calls "intentionality"—the deliberate daily choice to use a health technology. Donning a pedometer or entering information into a calorie counter every day is asking too much of most people. "The best products are the ones that you really rely on but you don't have to remember to use," he says.
Vu says that realization came to him after many years of trying to understand why people with diabetes might forget to use their glucose meter, even though their health depends on doing so. (The meters use a drop of blood from a pinprick to measure blood sugar.) "If you have diabetes, what's your main problem? It's that you don't want to have diabetes anymore," says Vu. Carrying around a bulkier glucose meter is annoying and a constant reminder that one is ill. By creating meters that were closely integrated with a phone, something many people never leave the house without, "we enabled people to be closer to where they wanted to be, which was a little less diabetic," he says.
Vu, 39, splits his time between several locations, including Cambridge and his native Vietnam, where he's cultivated a software development team. He calls himself a "product person" who is happiest designing products and obsessing over their details. He founded Misfit Wearables last fall with John Sculley, former CEO of Apple, naming the company after Apple's iconic "Think different" ad ("Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels ...").
The company raised $7.6 million this year from prominent investors, including Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Vinod Khosla, following seed investment from the Cambridge incubator IncTank Ventures. Vu says he's even been invited to brief Bill Gates, who—like other technology leaders—is seeking to understand when, and how, computers will become wearable.
As a developer of medical devices, Vu is accustomed to proving his products' worth to the FDA. Now he's bringing that experience into the much less regulated world of consumer health and gadgets. Devices that monitor weight, activity level, heart rate, or other vital signs could, in principle, lower health-care costs by aiding efforts to prevent chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. They could make it possible to provide medical services such as remote monitoring of patients or automatic detection of falls. "Wearable sensor data is going to be the most complete you can get," Vu says. It could make a yearly blood pressure measurement at the doctor's office seem archaic.
But developing these devices is challenging. First there's what Vu calls the "skin and silicon" problem. It's technically difficult to create an interface that accurately collects physiological signals and transmits them to a small mobile device. It's equally difficult to figure out what to do with the data. The people who obsessively analyze their own heart rate are a tiny minority, and even doctors don't have time to wade through raw data about their patients. The key, he says, is to provide software that can hunt for patterns and provide usable insights—that your heart rate veers dangerously high at work, or that your activity level drops on certain days of the week. But even the best device can't make someone follow its advice.
Vu is keeping quiet about the details of the product Misfit is planning to launch, which is still in development. It will function like current fitness monitors—he mentions the Fitbit pedometer and BodyMedia's activity-tracking armband—but will add a novel measurement that no other wearable device supplies. Vu is aiming for a consumer product, but eventually he'd like to conduct a clinical study of its effectiveness and seek FDA approval for a medical application.
The primary goal, however, is invisibility. "You have wearable products right now—they're just not that wearable," he says. "And you have to remember to wear them." He thinks a health monitoring device should would be unobtrusive enough to be incorporated into something you already wear or carry every day: socks, bra, undershirt, cellphone, wallet, keys.
That goal has brought Vu into the world of high-tech fashion. At a recent conference on smart fabrics, he mingled with designers and textile engineers making clothes that light up with fiber optics or heat and cool themselves. Vu believes the textile world could ultimately contribute more creative innovation to wearable computing than device companies do. "Those folks are thinking about clothing and about stuff you're already wearing," he says. "Not 'How can we strap this thing to your body?'"
This alarmingly simple hack could let anyone tinker with the climate
A cell-killing strategy to slow aging passed its first test this year
When will we have flying cars? Maybe sooner than you think.
Pricing algorithms can learn to collude with each other to raise prices
This article originally published at MIT Technology Review here
Topics: Health & Fitness, Gadgets, Health & Fitness, Lifestyle
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Maryland Court of Appeals Hosts Mock Trial State Championship
(ANNAPOLIS, Md. – April 20, 2015) Two Maryland high school mock trial teams will face off in the historic courtroom of the Maryland Court of Appeals when the state’s highest court hosts the 2015 Mock Trial State Championship on Friday, April 24. Students will argue their cases before Court of Appeals Judge Lynne A. Battaglia in the Court of Appeals courtroom. The media are invited to attend. The arguments will be webcast live on the Judiciary’s website, www.mdcourts.gov, beginning at 10 a.m.
On Thursday, April 23, four teams, representing the following high schools: Allegany High School (Allegany County), Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School (Baltimore County), James M. Bennett High School (Wicomico County), and Severna Park High School (Anne Arundel County), will compete in the semifinals, which will be held at the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County in Annapolis before Court of Special Appeals Judge Timothy E. Meredith and Court of Special Appeals Judge Douglas R.M. Nazarian. The next day, the winners of the mock trial semifinals will present their cases before Judge Battaglia in the Court of Appeals to decide the state championship.
The mock trial competition is sponsored by the Citizenship Law-Related Education Program (CLREP) in cooperation with the Maryland State Bar Association and the Maryland Judicial Conference. Each year, high school mock trial teams compete at least four times each in local matches. By the time a team has reached the state championship, it will have competed, on average, more than eight times. Virtually all competitions are held in either District Court or Circuit Court courtrooms throughout the state.
Since the competition began in 1983, more than 54,000 students from nearly all of the counties in Maryland and Baltimore City have participated.
The success of the mock trial competition depends heavily on the volunteer attorneys and judges who coach the teams and score the competitions at the local, regional, semifinal and final levels. Each year, several hundred attorneys, magistrates, and judges across the state volunteer for this program, which provides high school students the opportunity to learn about the law and the legal system while developing advocacy skills.
2015 Mock Trial State Championship
10 a.m.-noon
361 Rowe Blvd., Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Judge Lynne A. Battaglia, Maryland Court of Appeals, will preside.
Sponsored by the Citizenship Law-Related Education Program (CLREP), in cooperation with the Maryland State Bar Association and the Maryland Judiciary.
Please call the Office of Communications and Public Affairs, 410-260-1488, if you would like to attend or have questions. Cameras will be permitted before and after the arguments, which will start at 10 a.m. The arguments will be webcast live on the Judiciary’s website, www.mdcourts.gov.
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30 Songs, 2 Hours 11 Minutes
Considering Aerosmith’s long and varied career, it’s a herculean task assembling all their best moments in one place. This set was originally released in 2002 as O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits. It contains several tunes remixed – “Draw The Line,” “Pink,” “Just Push Play” – the duet with Run-DMC of “Walk This Way” (and the original version) and two then new tracks, “Girls of Summer” and “Lay It Down.”
The Essential Aerosmith Aerosmith
Mama Kin
Same Old Song and Dance
Seasons of Wither
Big Ten Inch Record
Last Child
Draw the Line (Remix)
Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
Rag Doll
Janie's Got a Gun
Livin' on the Edge
Deuces Are Wild
Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)
Pink (The South Beach Mix)
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
Just Push Play (Radio Remix)
Walk This Way (feat. Steven Tyler & Joe Perry)
Run-DMC
Girls of Summer
Lay It Down
Released: Jul 2, 2002
℗ This compilation (P) 2011 Sony Music Entertainment
More By Aerosmith
Aerosmith's Greatest Hits
Toys in the Attic
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Aerosmith
Music from Another Dimension!
The Best of Warrant
The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock (Remastered)
Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits
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On November 29, 2017 By m3mayhemIn Uncategorized
This site features wonderful stories of alpha males torturing to death worthless male scum, and a few about those of us who realize our pathetic status cooperating in the events.
But it’s Thanksgiving, and time to stop and consider all the wonderful families, and family traditions, that are so positive. This is a story of a wonderful family, a community that appreciates them, and an inspiring young male who is given a chance to give back. I hope you enjoy it – and always welcome and appreciate ay feedback.
It was the day before Thanksgiving, and Matt was excited as he approached the door of the Wilkins mansion. It was a huge estate, and it had taken him ten minutes just to walk from the main gate to the front door, after being admitted by one of the guards. Nervous and anxious about whether he was good enough to deserve the honor that awaited him, he hardly noticed the wonderful holiday decorations that lined the path to celebrate the start of the holiday season, from outdoor tree lights to decorated statues of reindeer pulling sleighs. Snow covered the yard, creating a beautiful winter wonderland, as befits a home that thoroughly enjoys the holidays and has the means to do so. Ordinarily, Matt would have reveled in the surroundings, since this was also his favorite time of year, but he was just too excited. Nervously, he rang the bell as he had been instructed to do.
The Wilkins family was by far the wealthiest in the small Southern town where Matt lived, and in fact they pretty much ran the place, owning most of it, as they had done for many generations. It was a large family, and everyone respected them not only for their wealth and power, but also for what wonderful people they all appeared to be and the generosity they always showed others. Matt attended the local high school with one of the boys, Jim, before graduating and getting a job in one of their factories. Despite their vast difference in prestige and wealth, Jim had treated Matt as a real friend, never belittling him or any of the other kids or taking advantage. Indeed, Matt had been to the mansion before for Jim’s birthday parties and other events, which took advantage of their huge, manicured grassy yard for a vigorous football game and their Olympic sized pool in which they played water polo and had a really fun water fight. Those parties were among Matt’s favorite memories of high school.
Matt’s own situation wasn’t all that great, as he’d been thrown out by his step-father and forced to live on his own since he was 15. That’s because Matt let it leak out that he was gay, and that was unacceptable. Fortunately, a Wilkins family trust had set up a shelter for homeless teens, and he was able to live there until he could finish high school and support himself. The fact he was gay didn’t bother them at all, and he and Jim had “experimented” many times to see if Jim liked gay sex. He did, and it helped make them even closer friends, although not really lovers. Jim wanted to keep his options open, which Matt fully understood. That didn’t stop him from being allowed to suck Jim’s cock or let Jim shove it into Matt’s very tight and willing asshole. Matt thought Jim’s sperm tasted particularly good when Jim shot his load into Matt’s mouth, and was very willing to clean off the cock after the load went up Matt’s ass.
Matt had been one of about 50 local male teens who had applied to join the Wilkins’ family as their guest for Thanksgiving. He was surprised and thrilled when he learned he’d been chosen. It was a tradition the Wilkins’ enjoyed that was a bit unusual, but everyone in town agreed that it was appropriate given all that the family did for the town. So, lots of young guys applied and it was a real honor to be selected, even including a feature in the local newspaper.
After Matt rang the bell, it did not take long for him to hear someone approaching the door, and he was pleased that it was Jim who answered.
“Welcome,” Jim greeted him sincerely. “You’re right on time. And, if I may say so, I’m delighted to see you’re happy to be here. That’s kind of impressive given the snow.”
Matt appreciated the warmth of the welcome, and they both laughed at Jim’s reference. Part of Matt’s instructions had been to show up naked, and the thrill of being featured at the Wilkins’ Holiday tradition had gotten him sexually excited. He was sporting a very enthusiastic erection despite the wintry weather.
“Well, being inside will help keep it that way, and of course it’s available to entertain you if you’d like,” Matt responded. While Jim’s favorite activity was butt-fucking Matt when they were together, Jim also enjoyed watching Matt jerk off for Jim’s entertainment.
“Come right in — and I have no doubt you’ll cum again,” Jim continued the joke. “I probably will make some use of your eager little cock, since dad says you can spend the night in my room. But that’s later, and probably only after you’ve entertained everyone else first. Many of the guys who join us get all nervous and can’t keep their pricks hard, which isn’t as much fun. In fact, last year we picked Dan Young – remember him from football? But Dan was a total dud in that respect and never did manage to shoot a load, although he was a nice kid nonetheless and we had a good Thanksgiving. I’m sure you’ll get a chance to show off.
“Meanwhile, the rest of the family is here and they want to get going with planning for tomorrow. So how about if you sort of hold the thought — or maybe hold the cock? Do keep it hard, as they’ll like that. Last year’s experience with Dan made things a little less fun. That’s part of the reason we all wanted to try inviting a gay guy this year, and I know you’ve shot some great loads while all of us watched during my parties here.”
“No problem. The event turns me on, so I’ll just not try to hide it. Being hard and staying that way is, after all, my great skill.” The two friends laughed loudly at their exchange, both very turned on by the conversation.
Matt stoked his cock to assure it stayed firm and Jim led him into the main family room, where everyone had gathered. Jim was wearing shorts, sneakers, and a very tight T-shirt that featured his impressive physique. Matt was quite content to walk behind him and admire Jim’s backside. The thought of spending the night with Jim assured Matt’s continued arousal.
“See, I told you he’d arrive right on time. And look, he’s even happy to see us.” Jim pointed at Matt’s cock as he made his introduction, and everyone chuckled.
“That’s a nice muscle you have there, son,” Mr. Wilkins observed.
“Jim says it spurts nicely too, and that you also have a nice, tight butthole. He says you’re gay and that you two have been enjoying some fairly intense guy time.”
“Yes, sir,” Matt replied, surprised how open Jim was with his father, and how it was obviously no big deal at all. “But I must acknowledge that Jim’s is a little bigger, and he has been expanding my backside a bit from time to time.” Matt wanted to complement his friend, given how gracious Jim had always been to him, and his suspicion that Jim had been the one who assured Matt’s selection.
“Yeah, so I’ve noticed when we have family orgies. Jim and his brothers usually put on a pretty good show for the rest of us before they submit to the demands of their sisters and cousins. I think it’s sort of a Wilkins tradition to go both ways, and it sure makes for great parties. We’re planning one tonight as part of our Thanksgiving preparations, as you may be aware, so I hope you’ll feel free to join in however you’d like. In fact, guests should be arriving about now, so how about if we all get naked?”
With that, Mr. Wilkins began to strip, and the rest of the family followed suit. Once Jim was out of his clothes, Matt could see that he was indeed interested, showing off his own impressive manhood at full attention. What surprised Matt was the size of Mr. Wilkins’s penis, as it too was quickly erect. Jim had two brothers, twin teenagers who were just a little younger than Jim. They were also eager participants in the display of manhood. Jim’s mother and sisters were also there, but they did not immediately get undressed. Instead, they made rude comments on the males as they compared and rated the male equipment on display.
The guests did indeed show up shortly after the males stripped, and Matt recognized many of them. There were about 10 others, and the newly arrived males quickly got naked as Mr. Wilkins offered everyone drinks and a waiter arrived with elegant appetizers. The waiter was a wonderfully handsome and well built black male of about 18, with light-colored skin that suggested a mixed heritage. He was dressed only in a formal bow tie, and had the largest cock in the room. Mr. Wilkins introduced him to Matt as one of his illegitimate sons, noting that the stud’s mother and her husband would be joining them shortly as soon as she finished her chores.
“We’ve long ago gotten over our silly prejudices, and all of us like to have sex together. I’m pretty sure I’m Tom’s father, but not absolutely so. It might be one of my cousins, or even his legal father. But he seems a little light-skinned for that. It doesn’t matter of course, His legal father has certainly had lots of fun with my wife and the rest of our family — both men and women. Heck, we’re not really sure if Bill there is my kid or if he was conceived when his older cousin got a little carried away with his mother. But who cares?”
Once the food was served, the beautiful young black waiter was invited to join the party. Matt hoped he’d be able to show that he too had no prejudices by offering the gorgeous young black male Matt’s eager white body as a sex toy.
While the food and drink were appealing, the real appeal was the collection of sexually attractive naked male bodies, and Matt quickly understood the rules on how the orgy would begin. The women were in charge, and the guys had to suck and fuck each other exactly as instructed. The women had removed their outer garments, revealing stunning outfits that showed their roles as dominatrix’s. Mr. Wilkins had made a quick announcement once everyone arrived, before everyone got into the orgy:
“Welcome everyone. This is my favorite holiday, which is why we’ve made it a two-day event. And as always, we’re starting with an orgy among our very favorite friends and relatives. But first let me introduce Matt here, who has been selected as our guest of honor. I should let you know he’s gay, so he’ll probably prefer fucking with the guys, but obviously that’s up to the women, since they’re in charge for our first round of fun. I do know that Jim thinks pretty highly of his rather cute behind.”
Matt had never participated in a real orgy, although it had always been a fantasy of his, and it turned out to be a lot more exciting than he had even imagined. Like the rest of the males, he was turned on by the fact of being directed by the women, who were polite and confined the use of his body to male sex only. Under their direction, all the guys took turns having sex with him, since it turned out that one of the characteristics of the Wilkins family was that everyone was bi-sexual. They chose their friends the same way. Matt was fucked and sucked, and he had lots of fun sucking off the eager cocks that were presented for him to service. Matt was particularly turned on when one of Jim’s sisters ordered Matt to butt-fuck Jim, which Matt had not done before even though Jim frequently plugged Matt’s hole. She made it particularly exciting by tying Jim face down on a fuck-horse that had been brought into the middle of the room for that sort of use.
“It’s about time Jim developed a little humility,” his sister said. “He’s been far too proud of that cock of his, and he hasn’t been on the receiving end near enough.” With that, she ordered all the males to fuck Jim once Matt was done, and even strapped on a dildo herself to add to the fun. The other women liked that idea, so Jim got fucked by literally everyone at the orgy. Matt was pleased that he had been allowed to go first, and Jim was a very good sport about the fun at his expense. His hard cock stayed that way as he was fucked, so it was clear he wasn’t too unhappy.
It didn’t take too long before the orgy changed from its dominatrix theme to just an all-American fuck fest. Couples coupled at will, and there were clearly no limits on what was permitted. A few of them started an S&M theme, and Matt found himself getting a thorough whipping on his back by one of the twins while the other twin sucked his cock. He found that surprisingly enjoyable, albeit painful. Matt also got a bit bold, and inquired of the young black dude who had so turned him on if there was any way Matt could please him sexually. It was no time at all after that when Matt felt the pleasure of a huge black cock up his ass, culminating in a spasm of cum filling Matt’s hole that sent Matt’s own cock into orgasm yet again.
The party lasted for hours, moving from an orgy to a drinking festival, with lots of friendly conversations. Everyone was extremely nice to Matt, and he felt this was the best night of his life. It had never occurred to him that the Wilkins family would include him the way they had done. He had assumed he’d just show up for the Thanksgiving dinner.
After everyone was exhausted and sexually spent, Mr. Wilkins suggested they all gather around on the sofas to figure out the events for the next day.
“Well, that was a fun start,” he began. But keep in mind we don’t need to end the fun. Feel free to pick and swap sex partners for the rest of the evening and throughout the night. There are lots of bedrooms, and no need to confine ourselves to just one — or even two or three!” The family and guests clapped and cheered, and it was obvious that people were lining up possibilities for their next sessions.
“Matt, we like to plan in some detail for our feast, so I wonder if you’d mind standing in the middle, here on this coffee table. If you could get hard again that would be great, but given how many times I noticed you cum I will understand if you’re tapped out.”
Matt was more than happy to oblige and put himself on display. Matt got a nice round of applause and a cheer when his penis achieved its full size. He was quite pleased with himself, and not the least self-conscious as he stood naked and hard in the middle of the room with everyone staring at his young, firm body.
“Great. Well done, Matt. I think you may be our best feature yet.
“So, how much do you weigh?”
“145 pounds, sir.”
“Great. It looks like there’s not much fat, so that probably means 8 hours cooking time with our special oven, after we remove some of the internal organs that don’t cook well and drain the fluids. What time do people want to eat tomorrow?”
There was a consensus, after minimal conversations that dinner at around 5 pm would work well.
“OK, that means the meat will need to go in the oven at 9 am. It usually takes me about an hour to prepare the carcass and get all the seasonings and stuffing in place, so that means we need to have the beheading promptly at 8. Is that too early for anyone?”
The group enthusiastically assured Mr. Wilkins that they would be up and ready in plenty of time.
“And how about our “turkey”? Is being processed starting about 7 am and snuffed at 8 convenient for you?”
Matt was once again impressed with the courtesy of the family, and assured Mr. Wilkins that this timing would be fine. While he hadn’t known the details, he had been fully aware that the invitation to the dinner was, in fact, an invitation to be killed, gutted, stuffed and cooked as the main entree for the meal. Letting the Wilkins family butcher and eat a handsome teen volunteer as their Thanksgiving feast (and again at Christmas) was a trivial way in which the town expressed its appreciation for the great patrons. Indeed, Matt recalled reading that in a prior year the mayor himself had donated his oldest son in appreciation for help the family had given the city after a hurricane caused major damage. The Wilkins had included the mayor’s entire family at the feast in response, and while he was very nervous at the start of the orgy when he was asked to masturbate with his family watching and Jim fucking his virgin ass, the son had eventually provided some great sex and had cooked up well. As usual, everyone had a wonderful time.
“That’s good,” Mr. Wilkins continued. “Now, one other thing. We have found it’s a lot more fun if we prolong the butchering of the boy we’re going to cook for our meal. It gets everyone in a good mood and the follow-on sex orgy while we can smell the meat cooking is intense. Is it OK if we use you that way? It involves trying to keep you alive as long as possible while we get you ready for the oven. For example, we will need to cut off your cock and balls to get into some of the cavities where the stuffing will go. We could of course behead you first — which is a quick way to go — and then do the prep for the stuffing once you’re dead, but it’s more entertaining for us if we start by cutting off your genitals — very slowly, cutting off the penis and each testicle separately — while we watch you suffer and listen to you scream. You’ll also probably be alive while we take out your intestines, and maybe even some of the internal organs. Guys don’t last the full hour of prep, but maybe you’ll be the first, and actually die by beheading. Either way, we do like to let the guy have one last orgasm, which is also fun to watch. If you’re OK with providing the entertainment, we’ll cut off your prick very carefully just as you start to shoot.”
Matt had no hesitation in agreeing to the torture/snuff session. In fact, it turned him on to think how much entertainment his final processing would provide for such a wonderful group of people. He wanted to represent the town well in expressing their gratitude, and what better way than to let them add the fun of a torture session to their festivities?
The last part of the ceremony was for guests to identify parts of Matt’s body that they’d like to have carved as their individual entree when it came time to serve the meat. Mr. Wilkins took notes as the guests prodded and poked Matt’s displayed flesh to determine what part they’d most enjoy. Several asked Matt’s suggestions and he was fully engaged in the conversations about which parts of him would taste best. The twins wanted matching cuts of meat, originally focusing on his pecks. But they were worried there wouldn’t be enough meat for them given how hungry they would be, and after talking with Matt they decided to enjoy his butt meat, one taking the right buttock and the other choosing the left. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins then selected the pecks. Matt was especially pleased to learn that his genitals would be sown back on after the stuffing was inserted, and that Jim had been selected to include them as part of his meal.
“I doubt they taste very good, but it just seems like fun to eat another guy’s manhood, especially when you’ve enjoyed it sexually,” Jim explained. Matt offered the hope that Jim would enjoy the delicacy. Mr. Wilkins suggested perhaps Jim would want to consume the testicles raw, which he could do while Matt was still alive and able to watch. He said that in his experience young human testicles tasted better fresh and raw. Both Jim and Matt really liked that idea, so Mr. Wilkins made a note about a slight change in his usual procedures.
The guests soon turned back to drinking and fucking, and the evening went on well into the night and beyond — since they traded partners frequently even after supposedly heading to their nightly rest. Matt spent his final night in Jim’s room as promised, but they had lots of visitors. Jim joked that the main task for his dad the next day would be draining all the cum from Matt’s belly. They both found that pretty amusing, and the next day there was in fact a fair residue of the evening’s fun.
When everyone had gathered for breakfast, Mr. Wilkins placed Matt face up on a huge, man-shaped platter. The carving worked well, starting with Matt entertaining the group with a vigorous masturbation. As he shot his load, Mr. Wilkins reached to the base of his penis and slowly cut it off, lingering long enough for Matt’s sperm to spew all over his belly. Once the penis was removed, Mr. Wilkins spread the cum across the belly, pointing out that it helped flavor the skin nicely. Matt’s scrotum was removed next, exposing his testicles for their individual removal. Jim did the honors there, as agreed, and made sure Matt could watch as he carefully consumed each of Matt’s man-seeds. Matt could remain conscious for the event, grateful for the chance to see himself being used so appropriately. Jim, in turn, decided his dad was right and realized he had found a new delicacy to enjoy. Then the expert chef went through the process of removing Matt’s internal organs.
While Matt didn’t last all the way to the ceremonial beheading that climaxed the preparations, he lasted a long time and provided lots of enjoyment for the deserving family and their guests with his obvious suffering and constant screams of pain. Although it wasn’t Jim’s turn this year, the family agreed that he could do the actual beheading given their relationship, and he did an excellent job wielding the axe, getting a nice clean cut. There were the usual cheers as the head rolled off the platter, and several of the male guests took advantage of it by using the mouth for one last chance to fuck their guest — with Jim getting the final shot. Mr. Wilkins then added Matt’s head to the cabinet where he kept his annual souvenirs, noting that
Matt was clearly the most fun to use and prepare.
Best of all, Matt proved a delicious main course, providing fresh, willing meat to culminate a quant family tradition. There were hardly any leftovers, and it was one of their best Thanksgiving feasts.
brotherscannibalismcastrationCBTcumdecapitationfuckgayincesttwink
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Look at the MAFE project results!
The MAFE data are freely available! All methodological details of the project are presented on these pages
Methodological Notes
MAFE is an international and independent research project. It gathers a large team of scientists involved in public debates with the civil society and public institutions
Public presentations, scientific conferences, trainings ... MAFE fuels debates on international migration
Policy dialogue meetings
MAFE Conference
Centre de Recherche en Démographie et Société, Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve
The Research Centre on Demography and Society is a teaching and research centre in the Department of Population and Development of the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL). Research at the Centre is organized around 7 axes: (1) Migration, (2) Methods of data collection and data analysis, (3) Population, development and the environment, (4) Fertility and reproductive health, (5) Family changes, intergenerational relations and ageing, (6) Health and mortality, and (7) History of populations. Research on these topics has been carried out on a large variety of contexts in Europe, Africa and Asia with funding from various national and international donors (UNFPA, European Union, Belgian Science Policy...).
The Tasks
UCL is responsible for the overall coordination of Work Package 3 (data collection) and of Work Package 5 (description of the changing patterns of migration). Researchers of the UCL team have organized or participated in several large scale surveys in Belgium, in Africa and in Asia. The team has developed a strong experience in designing and coordinating large scale quantitative comparative surveys in an international and multi-cultural context.
Bruno Schoumaker (Geographer and Demographer, PhD) is a lecturer in the Institute of demography. He coordinated a longitudinal community survey as part of a research project on migration in Burkina Faso, and developed research on event history and multilevel analyses of migration and employment in Burkina Faso. Since 2003, he has been involved in the coordination of data collection and analysis for the RHIYA project in Asia. He is also the principal investigator of a research project on migration between Congo and Belgium.
schoumaker@demo.ucl.ac.be
Sophie Vause (Political Scientist and Demographer, MA) is a PhD fellow of the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS). She is currently involved in a research project on Congolese migration to Belgium. She more specifically works on the gender dimension of migration between DR Congo and Belgium, using transnational data and qualitative and quantitative methods. During her degree in political science, she worked on child fostering and child trafficking in Sub-Saharan Africa and did fieldwork in Benin.
sophie.vause@uclouvain.be
Andonirina Rakotonarivo (Economist and demographer) is a post-doc. She will coordinate the Belgium data collection.
andonirina.rakotonarivo@uclouvain.be
Alioune Diagne (Demographer) obtained his PhD in 2006 at INED and Paris 1- La Sorbonne. He worked for two years at the Population Council as a programme officer, and participated in several survey projects in France ("Biography and Social Network") and in Senegal (the "Youth and future of the family in Dakar" survey). He is specialized in the collection and the analysis of biographic data. He is conducted the MAFE-Senegal survey with INED.
alioune.diagne@uclouvain.be
Marie-Laurence Flahaux is a PhD candidate at UCL. Her research is based on a comparative analysis of Senegalese and Congolese migrants’ return and reintegration in their countries of origin.
marie-laurence.flahaux@uclouvain.be
Thierry Eggerickx is Professor and qualified researcher at the faculty of economic, social, political and communication sciences at UCL.
thierry.eggerickx@uclouvain.be
Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve / Centre de Recherche en Démographie et Sociétés
1/17 Place Montesquieu
Website: http://www.uclouvain.be/sped.html
MAFE GED
© ined 2019
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Gabrielle Decamous
Gabrielle Decamous is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Languages and Cultures at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. She has taught at Goldsmiths, University of London, and was the recipient of a Hilla Rebay International Fellowship, working with curators at museums in New York, Bilbao, and Venice and the recipient of a KAKENHI (Grants-in-aid for Scientific Research) in Japan.
Author's Website Small Arrow
Invisible Colors
The Arts of the Atomic Age
Gabrielle Decamous 2019
How art makes visible what had been invisible—the effects of radiation, the lives of atomic bomb survivors, and the politics of the atomic age.
The effects of radiation are invisible, but art can make it and its effects visible. Artwork created in response to the events of the nuclear era allow us to see them in a different way. In Invisible Colors, Gabrielle Decamous explores the atomic age from the perspective of the arts, investigating atomic-related art inspired by the work of Marie Curie, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the disaster at Fukushima, and other episodes in nuclear history.
Decamous looks at the “Radium Literature” based on the work and life of Marie Curie; “A-Bomb literature” by Hibakusha (bomb survivor) artists from Nagasaki and Hiroshima; responses to the bombings by Western artists and writers; art from the irradiated landscapes of the Cold War—nuclear test sites and uranium mines, mainly in the Pacific and some African nations; and nuclear accidents in Fukushima, Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island. She finds that the artistic voices of the East are often drowned out by those of the West. Hibakusha art and Japanese photographs of the bombing are little known in the West and were censored; poetry from the Marshall Islands and Moruroa is also largely unknown; Western theatrical and cinematic works focus on heroic scientists, military men, and the atomic mushroom cloud rather than the aftermath of the bombings.
Emphasizing art by artists who were present at these nuclear events—the “global Hibakusha”—rather than those reacting at a distance, Decamous puts Eastern and Western art in dialogue, analyzing the aesthetics and the ethics of nuclear representation.
Hardcover $34.95 £27.00
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03:51 pm: Carnivale
This was a two-season HBO show. The first episode starts with Michael J. Anderson saying, paraphrased: "Before Trinity, there was magic. After Trinity, there was reason." I'll go for that. This is set in the depression dustbowl '30s, with viewpoints divided between a carnival and a church. Brother Justin, a minister, and Ben Hawkins, a carnie, are both avatars, but it's hard to know which is good and which is evil. I thought it was fascinating, how each learns more about themselves and the other and how the surrounding characters contribute. Netflix calls it "creepy," which I didn't see, but I don't think horror is very horrible, so maybe I don't think creepy is very, er, creepible.
The second (and last) season ends satisfactorily, but it was clearly meant to continue. When I watched the extras on the last disc, one of them was an interview by the Museum of Television and Radio after the first season and the creator says how wonderful HBO is, that they're committed to the series' full run. Um, right. The other extras were really interesting.
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Mets manager Terry Collins: “If we play up to expectations… we’ll be playing in October.”
By Bill BaerFeb 21, 2015, 8:25 PM EDT
It’s been a while since the Mets were in a position to hurl pre-season smack talk. Carlos Beltran was the last to fire a volley before the 2008 season to then-Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who had the previous season declared the Phillies the “team to beat”. Beltran said, “So this year, to Jimmy Rollins, we are the team to beat.” Obviously, things didn’t go as planned. The Mets haven’t been to the post-season since losing the 2006 NLCS to the Cardinals.
Mets manager Terry Collins delivered the closest thing to pre-season smack talk as the Mets have had in a while, saying that if the Mets play up to expectations, “we’ll be playing in October.” Via ESPN’s Adam Rubin:
Regardless, he indicated Saturday that he believes the Mets are a playoff team.
“Absolutely,” Collins said. “We’ve got to go play. But when you look at the back of the baseball cards on the 25 guys or 27 guys we think have legitimate chances, they’re pretty impressive. The addition of Michael Cuddyer, the addition of John Mayberry on that bench, the rotation — just because we haven’t been a playoff team in the past doesn’t mean we don’t have good pitching. We have very, very good pitching. So we should match up against a lot of teams.
“Now we’ve just got to go play. It’s all about execution. As we’ve seen in the past, there are teams that were world champs and the next year they’re in last place. And there are teams that were in last place that the next year they’re in the playoffs. If we play up to expectations and what we think are the caliber of players we have, we’ll be playing in October.”
Though the Nationals have gotten better with the additions of Max Scherzer, Yunel Escobar, and Casey Janssen, the NL East isn’t exactly strong, so an argument can be made that the Mets are the second-best team in the division going into spring training. During the off-season, the Mets brought in Michael Cuddyer, one of few transactions made to bolster a roster that went 79-83 in 2014.
Tags: Carlos Beltran, Casey Janssen, Jimmy Rollins, John Mayberry, Los Angeles Dodgers, Max Scherzer, Michael Cuddyer, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Yunel Escobar
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