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Open call for Art Jameel’s Arts Writing and Research grant
Deadline: 30 November
Art Jameel, the independent arts organisation, has announced an open call for the second round of its Commissions programme, dedicated to Arts Writing and Research. The commission will provide the awardee a three-month residency at the Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai, as well support in the research, production and publication of a substantial written work. Writers, critics, art historians, curators and artists whose primary medium is writing are invited to apply by submitting a proposal for a written project – which can take the form of a booklet, magazine, pamphlet or other experimental format, either digital or print – to be produced before the end of 2020. The applications will be reviewed by a jury, this year comrpising: Omar Berrada, writer, curator and director of Dar al-Ma'mun, Marrakech; writers and critics Negar Azimi and Nida Ghouse; and members of Art Jameel’s curatorial team.
This is the second in a three-year cycle of commissions, each focusing on a discipline: the first edition, dedicated to sculpture, was awarded to Kuwait-based artists Alia Farid and Aseel AlYaqoub; the third edition, focusing on Drawing and Painting, will be announced in 2019.
Applicants are invited to submit proposals and accompanying materials by 30 November 2018. The selected candidate(s) will be announced in March 2019.
For further details on requirements and how to apply, see here
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Art Jameel announces winners of inaugural commissions programme
Art Jameel to open new arts centre
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Home » News and events » All stories » » Sustainable Development Goals, or a dog’s breakfast?
Image by Dennis Jarvis on Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/archer10/3555040506/
Sustainable Development Goals, or a dog’s breakfast?
Professor Ramesh Thakur is Director of the Centre for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (CNND) in Crawford School. Prior to joining the school he was a Commissioner and one of the principal authors of The Responsibility to Protect (2001), and Senior Adviser on Reforms and Principal Writer of the United Nations Secretary-General’s second reform report (2002).
Answering Australia’s aid questions
The future of Australian aid was in the spotlight at an international development conference attended by 10 ANU students.
Poised on the nuclear precipice
Podcast: Australia’s environmental performance review
Policy Forum Pod: Getting the measure of global poverty
Designing tomorrow with young Australians
How politics keeps Solomon Islands and PNG poor and poorly governed
Centre for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament
The Millenium Development Goals may not be quite the success story the UN would have us believe, and the Sustainable Development Goals may be bereft of a coherent development agenda, Ramesh Thakur writes.
Much as the British are said to have acquired their empire almost by accident, so the United Nations came to adopt the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) almost as an after-thought to the 2000 Millennium Declaration. They established eight main goals and 18 related, measureable targets over a 15-year timeframe. The MDGs were commonly accepted throughout the UN system from 2000–15 as a framework for guiding development policies and assessing progress towards poverty reduction and sustainable human development.
As such, the MDGs articulated a strategic vision for mobilising the international community to action. They changed the discourse from inputs to targets; facilitated the engagement of the private sector in poverty alleviation; and became a tool for social mobilisation, and political and economic governance benchmarks. They represented a global consensus on development policies and targets, even in the absence of a common understanding of what constitutes development or agreement on the strategies for achieving it.
The MDGs were neither radical nor overly ambitious, but the minimum necessary to restore dignity and cleanse the world of fear and want. They were also mutually reinforcing and intertwined. Eradicating extreme poverty, for example, will help to reduce infant mortality, improve maternal health and better ensure environmental sustainability.
Similarly, achieving universal primary education, combating endemic diseases and empowering women would contribute to eradicating poverty.
The MDGs were a quintessentially UN achievement: setting aside disagreements in favour of reaching agreement on shared goals and milestones; they were a mandate that validated many of the operational agendas. The were also the chief template for measuring a country’s development progress against agreed benchmarks, among development agencies – the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the regional banks – and between them and individual countries. And they defined and validated the terms of the relationship between the industrial and developing countries, setting reciprocal rights and obligations as well as targets and performance indicators.
But the MDGs also represented a quintessential UN shortcoming, because there was little to ensure compliance. The UN can provide policy advice and technical assistance, collect and collate data, identify shortfalls as well as progress, issue appeals and exhortations, and try to embarrass a country that fails its goals. But it cannot impose its preferences and policies on sovereign member states.
The MDGs are a quintessential UN story in a second respect. Achievements include successes in combating extreme poverty, improving school enrolment and child health, reducing child deaths, expanding access to clean water, controlling malaria and other tropical diseases, and expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care. When they came to an end in 2015 the official storyline was to measure the indicators in 2000 and 2015 and explain all progress – such as halving extreme poverty from 1.9 billion to 836 million and the overall rate of poverty’s fall from 47 to 14 per cent of world population – as MDG successes.
Yet approximately 80 per cent of global poverty reduction in the last three decades has occurred in China and India. For the MDG period itself (2000–15), China and India accounted for anything between 70 to 80 per cent of global poverty reduction. This is a more or less linear trajectory that predates, and has remained totally independent of, the MDGs. The UN happily claimed credit and boasted that the MDGs were ‘the most successful global anti-poverty push in history’.
The reality is less breathless. Some studies estimated that almost two-thirds of developing countries experienced faster reductions in under-five mortality rates from 2000 to 2010 compared to the decade before. One study calculated that compared to historical trends, primary education rates increased from an anticipated 76 to 81 per cent in 2010, with girls as a percentage of boys going up from 96 to 98 per cent; child mortality fell from a predicted 5.4 to 5.1 per cent; and maternal mortality declined from 221 to 203 per 100,000 births.
By contrast, another study found that child and infant mortality had fell more rapidly before the MDGs in 2000; about half the MDG indicators showed no deviation in their trajectory from 1992 to 2008 (meaning the MDGs had no discernible impact); and about one-third showed an acceleration before 2001 (meaning progress could not be attributed to the MDGs) Moreover, in yet a third study, aid flows were insignificantly related to progress against poverty, under-nutrition, child and maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and gender equality , and negatively related to targets for clean water.
The sequel is also an archetypical UN phenomenon. The original MDGs, the product of a small team inside the Secretariat, were limited and logical, the targets made sense and their power lay in their clarity and simplicity. But, argue Fukuda-Parr, Yamin and Greenstein, because they had not been systematically thought through, some of the targets were poorly selected and the pursuit of the goals and targets sometimes had unintended distorting effects.
The accomplishments ensured that the successor goals would be hijacked by UN processes: the orgy of self-congratulation on the MDGs was followed by an orgy of conferences, consultations and debate. The end result is that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 25 September 2015 (Resolution A/RES/70/1), include everyone’s pet cause (for example, ‘significantly reduce all forms of violence’), the number of goals more than doubled to 17 and the number of targets multiplied exponentially to 169.
In the Australian vernacular, this would be called a dog’s breakfast, not a coherent development agenda. At least they should bring any residual reification to a deserved end.
This piece was first published on Policy Forum, the website of the Asia and the Pacific Policy Society and Crawford School.
Sustainable Development Goals, Millennium Development Goals, United Nations, Ramesh Thakur, development
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Home News Asia News Rahul must be conscious about his words
INDIAN NEWS
Rahul must be conscious about his words
Congress president Rahul Gandhi.(Photo: IANS)
Rahul Gandhi has had another of his escape-velocity-of-Jupiter moments … Amulya Ganguli writes for Asian Lite News
His reference to the massive gravitational force of the solar system’s largest planet was in the context of “explaining” how much velocity was required by a spacecraft to lift itself from the surface of Jupiter compared to what was required on earth — 60 km/sec against 11 km/sec.
According to him, this was the kind of stupendous “effort” which the Dalits needed to “escape” from their present lowly socio-economic conditions.
Following that foray into space science, the Congress president has now offered an economic “explanation” for the lynchings in India during a speech in Germany by arguing that the unemployment caused by demonetisation, which hit small businesses, is behind the mob violence.
Moreover, the traders and entrepreneurs have also experienced grave difficulties because of the “badly implemented” Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The link, however, between demonetisation and lynching is tenuous. For one thing, the people in general showed exemplary patience in lining up for hours before banks and ATMs after the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes were withdrawn from circulation.
For another, the cow-related lynchings of Muslims are widely believed to be the outcome of the atmosphere of hate created by the longstanding anti-minority propaganda of the saffron brotherhood, which has gained traction with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) assumption of power.
Demonetisation and GST have nothing to do with the attacks on Muslims for consuming beef or transporting cattle.
After this flawed interpretation of communal incidents, Rahul Gandhi ventured into another dicey area by linking the rise of the Islamic State in West Asia to the US intervention in Iraq and the resultant insurgency caused by the stalling of the “development process”.
If the Congress president’s point is that the absence of adequate economic opportunities for Muslims and Dalits can breed terrorism in India, he can only be said to be grossly exaggerating.
He had earlier acknowledged during a visit to the US that he is not as good a speaker as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now he has shown that his arguments are not always credible.
Little wonder that the BJP is cock-a-hoop with joy, for Rahul’s speech has reinforced, in its view, his Pappu image which he had been gradually shedding.
In the present highly charged political atmosphere, there is every need for public speakers to weigh their words with care lest the slightest slip enables their opponents to trip them up. No quarter is given at the moment, which is perhaps as it should be, for the age of gentlemanly parry and thrust in politics is over.
For Rahul Gandhi and the national opposition, there are any number of issues on which the BJP can be criticised. These include, among other things, the insecurity of the Muslims as a result of the lynchings and the perception among Dalits of being oppressed, which has been reinforced by the prolonged incarceration of one of their top-ranking leaders, Chandrashekhar Azad “Ravan”.
The fear among the Muslims and also peace-loving Hindus have also been heightened by the possibility of violence caused by various diktats of the Hindutva lobby such as banning animal slaughter on the occasion of Eid or the provocative shows of strength with the brandishing of arms by saffron groups during Navaratri which used to be earlier always observed peacefully.
Apart from these flashpoints, there are also the problems of unemployment and agrarian distress. There is no need, therefore, to range further afield by referring to the Islamic State, especially when the Muslim community in India has always shunned terrorism except for a few who have gone to Syria.
If anything is to be highlighted, it is this spirit of forbearance and tolerance for which the country has always been known rather than the possibility of deprivation leading to the adoption of extreme measures.
India is on the brink of a seminal change. The two opposing political forces facing each other — the BJP on one side and the Congress and the national opposition on the other — represent two virtually diametrically opposite “ideas” of India.
While one is avowedly Hindu-centric, the other emphasises the country’s composite culture.
As one of the leaders of the latter group, Rahul Gandhi has to demonstrate that he and his party are ready to put behind them the ignominious past of being able to win only 44 seats in the Lok Sabha and are ready to take on the BJP’s formidable election machinery and its highly articulate orator, Narendra Modi.
To do so, Rahul Gandhi has to choose his words with care whether speaking at home or abroad and concentrate on the BJP’s obvious weak points instead of looking for parallels from world events.
Since the BJP has the advantage of having a domineering “presidential” figure at its helm, it is keen on turning the next year’s general election into a one-to-one contest with Rahul Gandhi in mind since there is no other leader in the non-BJP camp with a pan-India appeal as his not inconsiderable 27 per cent approval rating compared to Modi’s much higher 49 per cent shows.
But to make it a battle of equals, Rahul Gandhi must not neglect his home work.
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Final kiss of two stars heading for catastrophe
European Southern Observatory Press Release
This artist’s impression shows VFTS 352 — the hottest and most massive double star system to date where the two components are in contact and sharing material. The two stars in this extreme system lie about 160,000 light-years from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This intriguing system could be heading for a dramatic end, either with the formation of a single giant star or as a future binary black hole. Image credit: ESO/L. Calçada.
The double star system VFTS 352 is located about 160,000 light-years away in the Tarantula Nebula. This remarkable region is the most active nursery of new stars in the nearby universe and new observations from ESO’s Very Large Telescope have revealed that this pair of young stars is among the most extreme and strangest yet found.
VFTS 352 is composed of two very hot, bright and massive stars that orbit each other in little more than a day. The centres of the stars are separated by just 12 million kilometers (7.5 million miles). In fact, the stars are so close that their surfaces overlap and a bridge has formed between them. VFTS 352 is not only the most massive known in this tiny class of “overcontact binaries” — it has a combined mass of about 57 times that of the Sun — but it also contains the hottest components — with surface temperatures above 40,000 degrees Celsius.
Extreme stars like the two components of VFTS 352, play a key role in the evolution of galaxies and are thought to be the main producers of elements such as oxygen. Such double stars are also linked to exotic behavior such as that shown by “vampire stars,” where a smaller companion star sucks matter from the surface of its larger neighbour.
In the case of VFTS 352, however, both stars in the system are of almost identical size. Material is, therefore, not sucked from one to another, but instead may be shared. The component stars of VFTS 352 are estimated to be sharing about 30 percent of their material.
Such a system is very rare because this phase in the life of the stars is short, making it difficult to catch them in the act. Because the stars are so close together, astronomers think that strong tidal forces lead to enhanced mixing of the material in the stellar interiors.
“The VFTS 352 is the best case yet found for a hot and massive double star that may show this kind of internal mixing,” explains lead author Leonardo A. Almeida of the University of São Paulo, Brazil. “As such it’s a fascinating and important discovery.”
The red cross shows the location of VFTS 352, some 160,000 light-years from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This view of the Tarantula Nebula star-forming region includes visible-light images from the Wide Field Imager at the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at La Silla and infrared images from the 4.1-metre infrared VISTA telescope at Paranal. Image credit: ESO/M.-R. Cioni/VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit.
Astronomers predict that VFTS 352 will face a cataclysmic fate in one of two ways. The first potential outcome is the merging of the two stars, which would likely produce a rapidly rotating, and possibly magnetic, gigantic single star. “If it keeps spinning rapidly it might end its life in one of the most energetic explosions in the universe, known as a long-duration gamma-ray burst,” says the lead scientist of the project, Hugues Sana, of the University of Leuven in Belgium.
The second possibility is explained by the lead theoretical astrophysicist in the team, Selma de Mink of University of Amsterdam: “If the stars are mixed well enough, they both remain compact and the VFTS 352 system may avoid merging. This would lead the objects down a new evolutionary path that is completely different from classic stellar evolution predictions. In the case of VFTS 352, the components would likely end their lives in supernova explosions, forming a close binary system of black holes. Such a remarkable object would be an intense source of gravitational waves.”
Proving the existence of this second evolutionary path would be an observational breakthrough in the field of stellar astrophysics. But, regardless of how VFTS 352 meets its demise, this system has already provided astronomers with valuable new insights into the poorly understood evolutionary processes of massive overcontact binary star systems.
European Southern Observatory
gamma-ray burst
Hugues Sana
Leonardo A. Almeida
overcontact binaries
Selma de Mink
Tarantula Nebula
University of Leuven
University of São Paulo
VFTS 352
Hubble resolves globular cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the globular cluster NGC 1854, a gathering of white and blue stars in the southern constellation of Dorado. NGC 1854 is located about 135,000 light-years away, in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of our closest cosmic neighbours and a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
Hint of relativity effects in stars orbiting centre of galaxy
10 August 2017 Astronomy Now
A new analysis of data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope and other telescopes suggests that the orbits of stars around the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way may show the subtle effects predicted by Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
Scientists begin modelling universe with Einstein’s full theory of general relativity
Research teams on both sides of the Atlantic have ditched software approximations and found that small-scale structures produce important effects using new computer codes. Precise modelling of the cosmos using Einstein’s full theory of general relativity will change our detailed understanding of evolution in the universe and the growth of structure within it.
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by Kidrobot | posted in: Toys | 0
For many of us, our first exposure to Keith Haring was probably with the release of the original “A Very Special Christmas“. This October marks the 26th anniversary of this compilation album first issued in 1987 that featured such modern holiday songs as U2’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” and Run DMC’s “Christmas in Hollis”, but this classic album also featured the iconic artwork by Keith Haring.
Keith Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was a pre-eminent artist and social activist whose work was fueled by the New York street culture of the 1980s. Widely known for his subway drawings, graffiti, and later for the public works that got critical acclaim, Haring had a gift for capturing the life and emotions of the city with his simple chalked characters found most notably on subway cars. Most of his characters were that of fine outlines of people, babies, barking dogs and spaceships, but their message was far from simple. These characters would become some of the most animated and recognizable figures of our time. In addition to drawing he also experimented later in his career with sculpting, installation, collage, and performance.
Haring’s recognizable characters were being seen worldwide with a brand all his own. The mass appeal was stretching to products and main stream culture fast, and Haring utilized this to get his message and voice across. In April of 1986, Haring opened his first PopShop featuring his work in NY, and then two years later a second store in Tokyo. With his growing commercial appeal, Haring became a new fixture in the gallery and museum circuit, and was featured in over 100 group and solo exhibitions alone. Using his new success and platform, Haring took this opportunity to spread his activism with awareness, racism, cultural understanding, politics, love, disease, and helping children worldwide.
In 1988, Haring was diagnosed with AIDS, and the following year he established the Keith Haring Foundation to provide funding to AIDS organizations and children’s programs. He spent the remaining years of his life raising awareness and educating on the illness. On February 16, 1990 he died at the age of 31 due to AIDS-related complications. To this day, his legacy of art, social awareness, and AIDS education/study knows no boundary.
For more on Keith Haring, please visit the source here.
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Is the Word “Easter” in the Bible?
Mark Ward | Fri, March 11, 2016 | Articles, Training
Why is the most important Christian holiday nowhere mentioned by name in the Bible?
Actually, the word “Easter” does appear in the Bible, but only once—and only in one translation. Among all major English translations of the Scripture, only the King James Version uses the word “Easter.” I won’t go into the history of that particular translation choice, but I will go into how to use Logos to puzzle out what’s going on—even if you don’t know Greek. And if you don’t have Logos, stick around: I’ll explain why this important word doesn’t show up in other English translations.
If you search your Top Bibles in Logos for “Easter,” you get just one hit: KJV, Acts 12:4. But you, diligent student that you are, are probably wondering, “Did they really call it ‘Easter’ that early? Acts 12 is very early on in church history. What Greek word is this translating? Esteros or something?”
If you right click on the word “Easter” in your KJV 1900 (the standard KJV edition in Logos packages), you’d get . . . nothing. There isn’t a Strong’s number attached to this word, like there is for pretty much all the other words you’ve ever looked up.
Hmm . . . That’s odd. What is going on here?
So you try another method of figuring this out: you call up your reverse interlinear. Still nothing. Sort of:
Do you see that little dot in the highlighted column? That’s called a “null.” It means that “Easter” isn’t marked as a translation of anything in the Greek. It’s a bullet: •.
Did the KJV translators just stick “Easter” there randomly?
No: note that there’s another null—another “•” symbol—in the “Surface” (English text) row. That means there was a Greek word that the KJV translators left untranslated: pascha.
Aha . . . Now we’re getting somewhere. In fact, “Easter” is a translation, but the taggers here indicate that pascha in this context simply couldn’t mean “Easter,” so they were unwilling to tie the two together!
What you really want, if you want to get to the bottom of this, is to right click on pascha in the interlinear ribbon and dig in a little further. Choose “Lemma” on the right, and then “Bible Word Study” on the left. You get links to dictionary definitions, a list of all the times the word gets used in the New Testament, and something really helpful within that list: the senses from the Bible Sense Lexicon.
Notice that the list of uses is divided into three at the bottom:
Passover (which is the sense 16 of the 29 times this word appears in the NT)
Passover meal (which is the sense 11 of 29 times)
Passover lamb (2 of 29)
Click the arrows next to any of these senses, and you’ll see the places they appear in the NT. Whatever the reason the KJV translators chose “Easter,” the Bible Sense Lexicon is implying that it really isn’t one of the genuine senses of the word in the New Testament. The word means “passover” (or “passover meal,” or, twice, “passover lamb”).
The question, then, is whether or not the word in Acts 12 refers to a Christian celebration or a Jewish one. “Easter” is a Christian word, “Passover” a Jewish one. The text of Acts 12 makes it sound like it’s Herod “talking” when the word pascha is used:
When [Herod] had seized [Peter], he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the [pascha] to bring him out to the people.
What does Easter mean?
If you use the Bible Word Study by clicking on the drop-down arrows, you’ll see that among the 29 uses of pascha in the New Testament, not one of them can clearly be used to speak of the Christian holiday of Easter. All but three of them are from the Gospels, anyway, before the Resurrection even occurred. The standard Greek-English lexicon says that “the Easter festival” is a sense of the word pascha that developed only “in later Christian usage.” It’s very unlikely that “Easter” was a thing when Luke wrote Acts. That’s why no translations but one use the word.
(Interestingly—language is so cool—the word “Easter,” like the word “east,” comes from a word that meant “dawn,” which always shows up in the east. The Resurrection is associated with a new dawning. Greek’s pascha is directly related to the Hebrew word for “pass over,” the word used to refer to what the angel of death did in Exodus 12 when he saw doorposts with lamb’s blood. He “passed over” those homes. Most languages derive their word for Easter from their word for Passover; English and German are the big exceptions.)
The Bible Sense Lexicon is a user-friendly way to dig into Greek terms even if you don’t know Greek. Handle with care, of course. But do handle. You could get yourself in an awkward situation if you adopt only one translation (be it the KJV or the NASB or the NIV) and 1) never check others or 2) never try to access the Greek and Hebrew through Logos. Does inspired Scripture say “Easter” or not? It’s an important question.
Prepare your heart for Easter
Now that we cleared that up, here’s an even bigger question: how are you preparing your heart for Easter? We’ve put together 10 free videos from top scholars like David deSilva, Tremper Longman III, and Peter Leithart. Each reflection takes you on a Journey to the Resurrection, from the Incarnation to Easter. Sign up for these free videos, and don’t miss our hand-picked selection of Easter resources.
Johnnie R. Bailey says:
(Act 12:4 KJV) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
Strongs number for Easter G3957
EASTER (פֶּסַח, pesach; פַּסְחָא, pascha’; πάσχα, pascha). The word “Easter” does not appear in the Bible and an Easter celebration is not mentioned, though in Acts 12:4 KJV it is used in place of “Passover.” Some also suggest there are remnants of the concept of Easter in 1 Cor 5:7. Easter is a later development of church tradition.
Yup! =)
Just trying to help, may God Bless
Woody Jordan says:
Easter is a bad translation of a word that does not appear in the original language. It was translated into an inferior word for no syntactical reason. Easter is a carryover from the Greco-Roman World; which was engulfed in sun- worship. Romans inherited their military science and pagan practices from the many cultures they conquered. The holiday and the word should be changed back to Passover. The date is out of order and the continued use of the word Easter to commemorate the death , burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is out of order. The merging of the holy and profane started off as a political experiment by Constantine and should not be honored in todays Protestant Church(churches separate from catholic control).
But who among all the countless English speakers who now use the word “Easter” has any idea that there is a pagan meaning to the word? The “authorial intention” of every single person who said or wrote that word today was to point to the Christian celebration, not the ancient pagan one. Why should one set of sounds (PA-so-vr) be superior to another one (EE-str) to name something, as long as everybody understands just what EE-str means? In other words, if “Easter” has shed all its pagan associations, can’t I still use it?
Lamar Claypool says:
I have not used the word (Easter) much when it comes to this season of the resurrection. After rereading this portion of Scripture it does refer to the Passover which really takes away from it’s pagan identity. I appreciate the article and I am blessed by it.
Hello Mark, you have a good point, the same as the words “gosh, darn and golly” are replacement words for bad words, even though most people today are not aware of that. When I was a boy, Easter meant candy and bunny rabbits, but it also had something to do with the celebration of the anniversary of Jesus’ resurrection. As an adult believer for many years I did not think about the use of Easter for Passover and the two terms blended together in my mind. However, I wonder if going back to the use of the word Passover might make the day more special to us, especially as the world has made Easter into anything but Christian. Then of course we might be contending with Israelites who do not connect Passover with Jesus. It is a hard call to make. Sticking to the word Easter is a sure bet, though, and as you said, everyone knows what it means and its pagan roots have almost vanished.
https://answersingenesis.org/holidays/easter/is-the-name-easter-of-pagan-origin/
Hi Mark – hope all is well.
I consult the above website fairly often as its writers always attempt to deal as thoroughly and impartially as possible with Biblical matters. This particular article is quite lengthy, but a very worthwhile read.
I hope other commenters find it helpful, too.
So Easter is used in English and German, but virtually every other language uses some form of pascha. Chinese is exciting with fu hua jie (resurrection day). I prefer dropping Easter for pascha.
Tad says:
It is kinda funny, as I think it is only the sola scripturite Christians (which is mainly evangelical Protestants), who worry about finding everything directly in scripture. No mention of Easter nor Christmas (nor any other Christian holy day), because the church had not yet given them to us. But there is a mention of Hanukkah in John 10. Fun things. :-)
What other authority do you propose which/who can tell us how to worship God?
Well, yes, that is the question that’s divided us for the last 500 years, isn’t it?
Our Lord didn’t leave us a book, but he did leave His Church in the hands of the Apostles, who guided the “the Israel of God” (NSV2CE Gal 6:16) through the first century. Our Lord had told them “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:20), so to perpetuate the Church and “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), they designated successors (“his bishoprick (episkopē) let another take” – KJV Acts 1:20).
I would respectfully suggest that finding the bishops (episcopos) spiritually descended from the Apostles by laying on of hands (1 Timothy 4:14), is to find that authority.
Leonard Edloe says:
That’s why we no longer use the term at the church where I am pastor. We use the phrase Resurrection Sunday.
That may be a wise way to avoid what Paul calls in 1 Tim 6:4, “λογομαχία”—fights about words. But that policy must not itself lead to more fights; this little issue calls for graciousness toward others.
That sounds good. As long as everyone is on board with it, knowing what it means, you have a good name for the day.
…no ‘bible’ mentioned in the bible either…nor are we ever given a list of 73 books from the lips of Jesus as to what books should included in scripture. No Sunday worship commanded either…but Saturday is. And where did Jesus tell us to go when there was a question about the faith? Where did the missionaries at Antioch ten when they had questions? Interesting things to ponder.
You should read Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books. It’s an excellent book.
The official language of the Roman Catholic Church is still Latin – all official documents begin in Latin and are then translated into the other languages of the world. And in Latin, the word for the Christian and Jewish festivals is both “Pasca”. So if there is a problem here, it would seem to be with English and German translators regardless of faith tradition.
I think the KJV translators got this one wrong, but I don’t really see the theological problem some commenters are seeing with using the word “Easter.” As I said privately to someone recently, we all say “Thursday” despite its pagan origins. All the days of the week draw their names from paganism. “Resurrection Sunday,” then is just as guilty of pagan associations as “Easter” is, because “Sunday” derives from sun worship (s.v. Sunday, OED).
David Sloan says:
The early church celebrated the resurrection of Jesus once a year on a holiday they called Pascha. The celebration of Pascha has changed over the course of the centuries, lost old elements and added new elements, but when we celebrate Easter we are still celebrating Pascha. In English we have come up with a different name for Easter and Passover because we feel they are different enough. In Spanish they call them the same thing. Now did the early church celebrate Easter? Yes, they did! It looked more like a Jewish celebration of Passover today than a Christian celebration of Easter, but that does not mean that they did not celebrate Easter. The KJV translation will give the reader the wrong impression that the early church had a celebration similar to ours, but not translating it “Easter” may give the wrong impression (expressed in some of the comments here) that the holiday of Easter is an idea that emerges later. The church has always had an annual celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Call the early Christian practice “Passover” if you like (that is how I would translate it too), but be careful not to give the impression that they did not celebrate Easter in some fashion.
Why not call it what it is. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You are free to do so, but you will never succeed in turning a big ship such as THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (big letters represent big ship! =) on your own.
I am glad to see humility and candor from the commenters in this post instead of angry arguing and defensiveness of positions held. Some contentious people like to argue and ignore the advice of Paul in I Timothy 1:4–“nor pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than the administration of God which is by faith.” As we love and seek to build each other up we will want to be kind, patient and hospitable. Thanks be to God for brothers like this.
Michael Kahler says:
16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (1995). (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version., Col 2:16–17). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
I feel perfectly fine calling it Easter even though it may not be the correct term. Additionally, I have no issue with those who call it Pascha or Resurrection Day. Folks, it just doesn’t matter what you call it in letters, the important thing is knowing the far reaching affect of what it represents!
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A Trick to Help You Read New Testament Epistles as Actual Letters
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Razzle Dazzle v2.0
Jaeson Schultz
October 7, 2013 - 0 Comments
During World War I, British artist and navy officer Norman Wilkinson proposed the use of “Dazzle Camouflage” on ships. The concept behind Dazzle Camouflage, as Wilkinson explained, was to “paint a ship with large patches of strong colour in a carefully thought out pattern and colour scheme …, which will so distort the form of the vessel that the chances of successful aim by attacking submarines will be greatly decreased.” The Dazzle Camouflage was not intended to hide the presence of the ships themselves, but instead was created to hide the ships size, shape, direction, and speed from would-be attackers.
Razzle Dazzle Camouflage applied to a ship
Fast forward to the 21st century, and there are new forms of Razzle Dazzle being deployed. At the end of May, 2013, artist and former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Sang Mun published a collection of fonts called “ZXX”. ZXX is a typeface designed to be unreadable by Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, yet retain its legibility to the human eye. Mun uses several different techniques to add distortion to the characters in the ZXX fonts. There are font characters containing camouflage prints, false characters, noise patterns, and even characters crossed out with X’s.
Those with tin foil hats may note that converting text documents to these new ZXX typefaces does nothing to obscure the (typically) ASCII binary data underneath the hood. It is the ASCII-encoded representation of the letters and words that carries the important data when text is not converted to an image format. If raw text data is going to be sent over a network, it must be encrypted to be secure.
However, encryption is no silver bullet. The end points where a message is encrypted and decrypted are still vulnerable to attack. For example, all computers run on electricity, and as a consequence generate electromagnetic radiation. This radiation can be captured from a distance, allowing an eavesdropper to reconstruct meaningful information about the data being processed on the device. To protect information from such electromagnetic leakage, Ross Anderson and Markus Kuhn of the University of Cambridge proposed using a font called “Soft Tempest” which is very similar to, but more advanced than the ZXX noise font. Soft Tempest is a font that is made up of grayscale glyph images that are individually tailored to add random noise to the least significant bits (LSB) of the image. Unfortunately most modern operating systems are neither equipped to handle grayscale fonts, nor designed with the capability of adding custom noise to each individual font character.
The steps necessary to achieve a modicum of privacy and security in the digital age are ultimately up to the individual or organization. However, we should all take the opportunity during the month of October, National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), to reflect on the contents of our digital information. Once digitized, data can be snatched from the ether, and distributed around the world in milliseconds. What amount of protective security is necessary?
http://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol19/tnm_19_171-192.pdf
http://z-x-x.org/
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ih98-tempest.pdf
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/emsec/softtempest-faq.html
http://staysafeonline.org/ncsam/about
cisco sio
NCSAM
ncsam-2013
Soft Tempest
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Harper Lee autographs have always been in high demand with her key place in American literature
February 19, 2016 BlowoutBuzz
The world lost a Pulitzer Prize-winning author on Friday as Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, died at age 89.
An iconic book in American literature and a staple of educational reading, the novel was the only one Lee published in her career — until a year ago when her second, Go Set a Watchman, arrived 55 years after Mockingbird.
While the story of her book is well known, her life really isn’t as she intentionally lived out of the spotlight after her literary success. Lee granted no interviews after 1964 and made very few public appearances in the past and, as a result of this, signed copies of her book are relatively rare given the potential demand. (Translation: They’ve always been expensive but can be found.)
In recent years, Lee had returned to her small hometown of Monroeville, Ala., population 6,519. According to some accounts, she had signed copies of her book for a few years for small stores there or in occasional private sessions, but she stopped when she saw how much people were paying for them and after she suffered a stroke nine years ago.
Her most-recent book has a publisher-released collector edition where she signed 500 total copies. It’s an expensive version of a book that sold more than a million copies in its first week of release last year. Her first book has sold more than 40 million copies by most accounts.
Older and original copies of Mockingbird as well as old handwritten letters have always been in-demand, though asking prices on those types of items now is much higher.
All of this is, of course, a reflection of Lee’s important place in American literature and people revisiting the story of both Mockingbird and its author. In 2007, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor — by George W. Bush. (That’s also the moment that created her only trading card, which can be found in the 2009 Topps American Heritage Heroes Presidential Medal of Freedom insert set.)
“Laura and I join our fellow Americans in mourning the death of a legendary novelist and lovely lady, Miss Harper Lee,” Bush told The Associated Press today. “Harper Lee was ahead of her time, and her masterpiece … prodded America catch up with her.”
Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.
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Autograph Collecting, Non-sports2009 Topps American Heritage Presidential Medal of Freedom, Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee, Harper Lee autograph, Harper Lee signed, Presidential Medal of Freedom, To Kill a Mockingbird, Topps
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Lisa D’Amour
is a playwright and interdisciplinary artist. She received her M.F.A. in playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a core member of the Playwrights’ Center and a recent alumna of New Dramatists.
Lisa is an Obie award-winning playwright and one half of PearlDamour, an interdisciplinary performance company she runs with Katie Pearl. Her work has been produced by Theaters such as Steppenwolf Theatre, Children’s Theater Company, Clubbed Thumb, the Walker Arts Center, and the Kitchen. D’Amour received her MFA in playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin and currently splits her time between Brooklyn and New Orleans.. M.F.A., Playwriting, University of Texas at Austin, 1996; B.A. in Theater and English, Millsaps College, Jackson, MS, 1991. 2005/6 TCG Playwright’s Residency for work with Infernal Bridegroom Productions; 2004/5 Rockfeller MaP grant for LandMaRK; 2003 Village Voice OBIe award for Nita and Zita, written and directed by Lisa D’Amour; Playlabs participant (Playwrights’ Center), Summer 2003 and 1999; McKnight advancement Grant from the Playwrights’ Center, 2002-03, 1998-99; A.S.K. New Play Retreat participant, March, 2002; MacDowell Colony Fellow, Peterborough, NH, September, 1999; Member, New Dramatists, New York, NY, 1999; Career Opportunity Grant, Video Documentation Grant, Minnesota State Arts Board, 1999; Jerome/Intermedia Performance art Commission, Minneapolis, MN 1998-99; Jerome Fellowship for emerging Playwrights, the Playwrights’ Center, 1997-98; James Michener Playwriting Fellow, the University of Texas at Austin, ’94-95, ’95-96, ’96-97
Her plays have been commissioned and produced by theaters across the country, including The Women’s Project, Playwrights’ Horizons, Children’s Theater Company (Minneapolis), Steppenwolf Theater Company (Chicago) and the Royal National Theater (London). She is the recipient of the 2008 Alpert Award for the Arts in theater and the 2011 Steinberg Playwright Award. Lisa has also received fellowships from the Jerome and McKnight Foundations, an independent artist commission from NYSCA (for Stanley 2006, created with her brother Todd D’Amour) and an NEA / TCG Playwrights’ Residency (to create Hide Town with Infernal Bridegroom Productions).
In 2008, Lisa wrote and directed a performance for visual artist SWOON’s Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea, a flotilla of six boats created from salvaged materials that navigated the Hudson River in August 2009, performing in riverfront parks from Troy, NY to New York City.
D’Amour sits on The Catastrophic Theatre’s advisory board. She lives with her husband, Brendan Connelly, in New Orleans and Brooklyn.
Anna Bella Eema
Anna Bella Eema from Catastrophic Theatre: A Startling Piece of Theater
D.L. Groover - Houston Press (12/7/11)
Catastrophic Theatre keeps it wonderful and weird with ‘Anna Bella Eema’
Everett Evans - Houston Chronicle (12/6/11)
Finding Mythic Spaces: Q + A with Lisa D’Amour
Zachary Doss - Arts + Culture Texas (12/1/11)
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From the Horse’s Mouth – How Pakistan Engineered the 1947 ‘Kashmir Rebellion’
Posted by ळाळुक in Indian Encyclopedia, Jammu and Kashmir, Military, Pakistan, Post Independence History, Uncategorized
Akbar Khan was the formal point of contact whom the Government appointed to manage the Kashmir show, with instructions that it should be shown as a rebellion of the people against the government. Sourced from Operations in Jammu and Kashmir, these are the relevant bits of his interview to Defence Journal. The usual Pakistani bravado is clearly visible in the way he is speaking
Brig (Retd) A.R. Siddiqi: Can you recall the earlier stages of the Kashmir operations before you took over?
Mohammad Akbar Khan: A few weeks after Partition, I was asked by Mian Iftikharuddin on behalf of Liaquat Ali Khan (Prime Minister of Pakistan) to prepare a plan for action in Kashmir. I found that the Army was holding 4,000 rifles for the civil police. If these could be given to the locals an armed uprising in Kashmir could be organised at suitable places, I wrote a plan on this basis and gave it to Mian Iftikharuddin. I was called to a meeting with Liaquat Ali Khan at Lahore where the plan was adapted, responsibilities allotted and orders issued. Everything was to be kept secret from the Army.
In September the 4,000 rifles were issued at various places and the first shots were exchanged with the Maharajah’s troops and the movement gathered weight.
On the 24th of October a tribal lashkar attacked Muzaffarabad and successfully captured it. The next day they advanced and captured Uri. On the 26th they occupied Baramula. On the 27th Maharajah fled from Srinagar and acceded to India. That evening Liaquat Ali Khan held a meeting at Lahore to which I was invited. This was to consider what action to take in view of the expected Indian intervention in Kashmir. I proposed that a tribal lashkar should attack Jammu as this was the focal point through which Indian troops would be going to Kashmir. This proposal was not accepted for fear of provoking war. That evening the Quaid-e-Axam was also in Lahore and according to Alan Campbell in Mission with Mountbatten the Quaid had ordered that Jammu should be attacked by the Army. But this order was not carried out.
Two days later on my own initiative, I went to the Srinagar front to see how the tribesmen were doing. They were at the 4th milestone from Srinagar held up by a roadblock with a machine gun I carried out a thorough reconnaissance and saw that the town was surrounded by water which blocked entrance from outside. However, the roadblock could be overcome by an armoured car. I rushed back to Pindi and soon found that Colonel Masud with three armoured cars was willing to go as volunteer in plain clothes. Then I rang up Karachi and spoke to Raja Ghanzanfar (sic) Ali Khan (Minister for Kashmir Affairs) to ask for permission. Permission was refused. Thus no help went to the tribesmen and they remained held up at the milestone.
A week later, finding the ground unsuitable for their tactics they broke off engagement and withdrew to Uri, from where also they threatened to withdraw to Abbottabad. An Indian brigade advanced from Srinagar and occupied Baramula. It was at this stage that I was earnestly requested to go to Uri and restore the fighting.”
ARS How good had been the performance of the tribal lashkars? It is believed that they broke their ranks and went for loot just when they were within sight of Srinagar
MAK: The performance of the tribal lashkars had been excellent where the ground was suitable for their sniping and hit-and-run tactics. It is not correct to say that they broke their ranks and went for loot just when they were within sight of Srinagar.
It was part of their agreement with Major Khurshid Anwar of the Muslim League National Guards who was their leader that they would loot non-Muslims. They had no other remuneration. Major Khurshid Anwar had been an emergency commissioned officer in World War II in the Supply Corps of the Indian Army. Then he had joined the Muslim League and he had been appointed commander of the Muslim League National Guards in September 1947, when the Prime Minister launched the movement of the Kashmir struggle. Khurshid Anwar was appointed commander of the Northern Sector. Khurshid Anwar then went to Peshawar and with the apparent help of Khan Qayyum Khan raised the lashkar which assembled at Abbottabad and with which he entered Muzaffarabad on the 24th of October I947—reached Baramula where he delayed the lashkar for two days for some unknown reason. Two weeks later, he left the Kashmir front departing from Uri with the lashkar in the first week of November. It was after this that I arrived on the scene and began again where the tribesmen had left.
Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan had apparently helped Major Khurshid Anwar with the raising of the lashkar on the frontier. Thereafter he continued to take active interest to Kashmir and helped with the tribal lashkars thronged (sic—through?) the Kashmir operations ”
ARS: How long did you stay on the Kashmir front and what major operations did you fight there?
MAK: “I stayed on the Kashmir front for six months to begin with and then went away for one month to Kohat to take over command of my brigade and came back to the Uri front with my brigade to meet the Indian offensive. There I remained till ceasefire in December 1948…
“We burnt the bridge at Uri and I raided (sic) and armed with rifles local ex-servicemen who kept the Indians under fire. In a fortnight the tribesmen returned to the front and agreed to all my conditions. Under my direction they successfully ambushed a military convoy between Un and Punch and burnt 36 vehicles. Then I got the tribesmen to surround Uri and keep it under sniping fire so as to prevent them from moving forward”…
“We overwhelmed the garrison at Bagh and took control of the tehsil. We sent a lashkar to surround and isolate Punch from Srinagar. We captured Koth, Mirpur, Beri Pattan and the whole area both sides of the road between Jammu and Punch”.
“In May’48 the Indians mounted an offensive on the Uri front with a division.” “In six weeks fighting we brought the offensive to a standstill at Chakoti. In August I counter-attacked and captured Pandu, taking a hundred square miles ”
ARS: Would you give a brief description of the top civil and military leadership of Pakistan’s earliest years?
MAK: …The mantle of leadership thus fell on Liaquat Ali Khan who was the prime minister. He was a man of moderate temperament and pleasant enough to work with. It was on his behest that I prepared a plan for the conduct of the struggle to Kashmir which he accepted and launched the movement. But thereafter, for reasons which are beyond my comprehension, he showed hesitation in the conduct of the operations thus losing several opportunities by not taking steps where necessary, and accepting a Cease Fire when we were at a disadvantage after the loss of Punch”…
“When in 1947 the liberation movement started in Kashmir and I was conducting operations in Kashmir, he (Air Cmde Janjua) visited me there and gave we enthusiastic encouragement and assistance in the shape of clothing and ammunition from the Air Force depots without permission from the Air C-in-C“
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Events Leading to Rebellion in Awadh, 1847-1857
Posted by ळाळुक in 1857 Revolt, British India, End of Kingdoms, India's Struggle for Independence, Indian Encyclopedia, Kingdoms, Princeley States, Uncategorized
This is an extract from the account of Mirza Muinuddin Hasan Ali Khan, the first Kotwal of Delhi appointed by the Mughal Empire during the rebellion. He puts much weight on the happenings in Awadh as a reason for the rebellion – it is interesting to notice that British saw a threat in the play things of a bored king, which led to the king actually getting bored and the government, haywire. In spite of that, the reason for annexation seems to be a very trivial thing – assertion of my right to pray over the law of the land. Though this account starts with assualt of a Faqir by Brahmins(notice the word Brahmin specifically – is it Brahmin or is it a generic word used by Hindu?) without telling at what the provocation. The anger arising out of the annexation and the loss of jobs – especially in the army seems to be the trigger for the rebellion, according to the author.
When Amjad Ali Shah Padshah, King of Lucknow, died in 1847, he was succeeded by Shah Wajid Ali, who devoted himself to the organization of the Army. Orders were issued that after morning prayer all the regiments in Lucknow were to parade daily at 5 a.m. The King was in the habit of taking command at the parade, dressed in the uniform of a general; he used to drill the troops for four or five hours daily. Furthermore, he issued an order that if he were absent from parade, except through necessities of the State, he was to be fined 2,000 rupees, to be distributed among the regiments in garrison. An equivalent fine was to be levied if any of the regiments were late on parade, and as a further punishment two regiments of infantry and a resalah of cavalry were to remain under arms the whole day.
This activity of the King created suspicion. The British Resident inquired the cause of his exertions in creating an army, and suggested to him that if he required forces for the protection of his province he should employ British troops, to be paid out of the revenues of Oude. The courtiers of his Court also advised him not to raise suspicion by his personal activity. The King, discouraged by these remonstrances, replied that he would employ himself in future with some other occupation, as his interest in his army was not approved of. Henceforward he began to neglect the affairs of the State, and took pleasure in debauchery. The former Minister, Findad Hossim Khan, was removed from his post, and Ali Tukf Khan, a man of good family, was appointed to succeed him. The King married the niece of his new Minister, and then his daughter. He left the management of all the affairs of State to Ali Tukf Khan.
From the neglect of his kingdom there arose results which man’s wisdom could not foresee. There was a Rajah, Dursham Sing by name, a nobleman of old family, the son of a Brahmin, Mahender Sing, a soldier by profession. This Dursham Sing had three sons — Buktour Sing, Durshin Sing, and Cholauka Sing. The eldest obtained the King’s favour and a title of nobility, as did also Durshin Sing. They also obtained appointments as “Chakladars.”
Durshin Sing next proceeded to force defaulting zemindars to draw out bills of sale of their property in his name. Thus he gradually formed for himself a large estate. His talook (property) adjoined a place called Hanumanjari, in the vicinity of Fyzabad, where there was a Mahommedan mosque which Durshin Sing annexed, together with its endowment.
Durshin had two sons, Hanuman Dull and Man Sing. These two men refused to allow the “Arjan” (call to prayer) to be sounded from the mosque. A few days later a travelling Moulvie, Fakir Hossein Shah, came to the mosque to pray, and not knowing of the prohibition, sounded the Arjan. The Brahmins of a neighbouring temple, hearing this, came to the mosque, assaulted the Moulvie, and taking from him the Koran which he held in his hands, threw it into a fire and burned it, and then drove the Moulvie out of the mosque.
The traveller went on his way to Lucknow, and told in the bazaars what had happened. It so happened that in the Hyderabad Mehalla ward of the city, the story interested a man called Hyder Khan, who lived there with his four brothers. All were soldiers in the service of the King. On hearing of the outrage, the two younger brothers offered to assist the Moulvie to obtain retribution for the insult to the Prophet. The three, in pursuance of their plan, returned to Hanumanjari, and the next day at the usual hour of prayer, they sounded the Arjan loudly and repeatedly. Brahmins came running to the mosque ; an altercation followed ; then a fight, in which the two soldiers were killed ; Hossein escaped, and returning to Lucknow, laid a complaint before the criminal court. The native judge, seeing that the case was likely to prove troublesome, put it aside. The Moulvie then appealed to one Syud Amir-Ali, Resident of Kasbeh Intaband, who bore a great reputation in the city as a holy and just man, and who had lived for many years as a recluse in a corner of the mosque at Kusbeh Amaitie. On hearing the story, he took up the Moulvie’s cause. He first called a public meeting at the mosque, and issued a Futwa (law decision) on the consequences of burning the Koran, and the murder of two zealous Mahommedans, who had fallen in defence of their religion. He then began to preach a jehad (holy war) in the streets of Lucknow, and in the adjoining country. He pointed out that there was a danger to the Mahommedan religion, and this excited and inflamed the public mind. Eventually he started for Hanumanjari with a large following of persons burning to revenge the insult offered to their religion. The matter came to the ears of the British Resident, who hastened to the King, and urged him to take immediate measures to allay the excitement. The King sent for Kadum Hossein, and urged him to use his influence to settle the matter amicably.
Hossein Bux and Mahommed Tyer Khan were deputed to bring back the Moulvie, who, however, refused to return. Nawab Ali Tuk Khan then suggested to the King that Bashir-ul-Dowlah should be sent to bring back the Moulvie. He agreed to go if justice were done, and threatened if it were not that he would join the Moulvie. The British Resident again urged the King to prevent widespread bloodshed, and impressed on him his responsibility.
Both the King and his Minister for the time forgot their anger with the Resident for his interference with the King’s military ardour, and consulted upon the measures necessary to suppress the impending trouble. They sent for Moulvie Kadim Hossein, a resident of Feringhee Mehal in Lucknow, a man of ability and position, and asked him to publish a contradictory Futwa, so as to cut away the ground from beneath the feet of those who desired war. The King also summoned Shah Hossein Bux and Mahommed Fakir Khan, and urged them to do all in their power to quiet the Moulvie ; but their efforts were fruitless. The Moulvie would listen to no terms other than that the Brahmins should be expelled from the Hanumanjari mosque, and the Mahommedans protected in the exercise of their ceremonials and prayers, and offenders punished in accordance with the laws of the Koran. Promises were made, but no steps were taken to fulfil them. The Moulvie remained at Lucknow for eight or ten days as the guest of Bashir-ul-Dowlah, who repeatedly urged upon the Vizier the fulfilment of his promise. The Moulvie then sent a message to the King that he would take the enforcement of justice into his own hands, and he returned to Hanumanjari after quarrelling with Bashir-ul-Dowlah for non-fulfilment of his promises. On this, the King ordered Colonel Barlow, who commanded the King’s troops, to take a regiment of Hindus only, and to stop the Moulvie by force, and if necessary he was to blow the Moulvie from a gun in case resistance was offered. The King’s soldiers were encamped four miles from the Moulvie’s camp. When the Moulvie attempted to march from Radii Maidan, Colonel Barton forbad his doing so and surrounded his camp.
Attacked by the Moulvie’s followers, the guns opened fire, and killed all of the assailants, many of the King’s troops falling also. The news of this engagement spread throughout Hindustan and was the forerunner of still greater events. Little by little evil thoughts were generated. The British Resident, impressed by numerous petitions against the grave oppressions to which the people were subjected, and convinced of the inability of the King to rule the province in the interests of his people, recommended annexation. It is singular to record that under a Mahommedan sovereign injustice should have been perpetrated in the matter of a mosque, and that the people should subsequently have arisen in rebellion against the British, to whom they appealed for justice and protection. On the 17th of February, 1856, the British annexed Oude. They little anticipated the result. Thousands of men in the service of the King were thereby thrown out of employment, and were deprived of the means of livelihood. The worse the administration had been, the greater was the multitude of soldiers, courtiers, police, and landholders, who had fattened on it.
Those who had petitioned the English for redress were the poor and the oppressed. But the oppressors saw in British rule their own suppression. Oude was the birthplace of the Purbeah race, and these feelings of dissatisfaction affected the whole Purbeah race in the service of the British Government. To the native mind the act of annexation was one of gross injustice, and provoked a universal desire for resistance.
The King, and all those connected with him, although bowing to the hand of fate, became henceforward the bitter enemies of the English. At this time there were stationed at Lucknow two regiments, the 19th and the 34th, which were in the pay of the English Government. They had frequent consultations together on the injustice of the step which had been taken, and on the resistance which should be offered, and the attempts which should be made to create a rebellion for the purpose of overthrowing the British authority. It so happened that at the time of the annual change of regiments in 1857 one of these two regiments was sent to Berampur, the other to Barrackpur. Both these regiments were full of bitterness towards the English Government, and from them letters were written to other Purbeah regiments. The 34th took the lead. These letters reminded every regiment of the ancient dynasties of Hindustan ; pointed out that the annexation of Oude had been followed by the disbandonment of the Oude army, for the second time since the connection of the English with Oude ; and showed that their place was being filled by the enlistment of Punjabis and Sikhs, and the formation of a Punjab army. The very bread had been torn out of the mouths of men who knew no other profession than that of the sword. The letters went on to say that further annexations might be expected, with little or no use for the native army. Thus was it pressed upon the Sepoys that they must rebel to reseat the ancient kings on their thrones, and drive the trespassers away. The welfare of the soldier caste required this ; the honour of their chiefs was at stake.
The proximity of these two regiments to each other enabled the conspirators to carry on a constant correspondence (the circulation of these letters being conducted with great secrecy), and frequent consultations ensued. By degrees it became known in native society which regiments were disaffected, and it began to be inculcated as a creed that every Purbeah must withdraw his friendship from the foreigner; must ignore his authority, and overthrow his rule. Although these sentiments had become national, the methods to be employed in carrying them into action were but indistinctly known when the actual outbreak occurred. When the rebellion had begun, the full force and significance of all that had preceded it became apparent, and men understood what it meant.
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The end of the blame game in divorce?
Government announces intention to introduce no-fault divorce as soon as possible
On 9 April 2019 David Gauke, the Justice Secretary, announced the Government’s intention to introduce no-fault divorce as soon as possible, probably within the next three months.
Under our present divorce law, set out in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, a person applying for a divorce must establish one or more of five facts, in order to establish the irretrievable breakdown of the couple’s marriage, which is the only ground for divorce. Three of these “facts” are based on the other spouse’s conduct - adultery, unreasonable behaviour and desertion for two years or more. The remaining two “facts” require periods of separation of at least two years (if the other spouse agrees to a divorce) or five years’ separation, whether or not the other spouse agrees.
In reality, a marriage is over when one of the partners comes to the difficult decision that it has broken down irreparably and sadly there is very little the other spouse can do in this situation to save the marriage. Most people do not want to wait a minimum of two years before they can begin divorce proceedings. For this reason, rather than relying on two years’ separation, which is the most civilised basis for divorce, the majority of divorce petitions are conduct-based and unreasonable behaviour is the most usual fact relied on to establish the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. This involves the distasteful process of condensing the history of the couple’s marriage into about four or six very one-sided paragraphs in the statement of case in the divorce petition. This serves no useful purpose and the parties’ conduct is nearly always ignored when the financial aspects of the divorce are decided.
Moreover, however sensitively drafted and anodyne these behaviour particulars may be from a lawyer’s point of view, they will invariably be hurtful and upsetting to the other spouse and only serve to increase the emotional distress, as well as legal costs on both sides, whilst the lawyers bat the draft divorce petition to and fro, as they attempt to agree on behaviour particulars mild enough to be acceptable to the receiving spouse and sufficiently unreasonable to enable the divorce to go through without being rejected by the court. This sets the couple apart and is a poor basis for future negotiations about all the important issues arising out of the breakdown of the marriage, as well as being very detrimental to the couple’s future co-parenting where there are children of the marriage.
Proposed new law
Under the new law, irretrievable breakdown of the marriage will remain the only ground for divorce. However, the five facts will be replaced by a notification process of the intention to divorce by either spouse, or both of them. A divorce will be granted six months after the court has been notified of the intention to divorce. A reluctant spouse will no longer be able to contest the divorce proceedings and hold up the process of obtaining the divorce as well as resolution of the financial aspects of the divorce which depend on the divorce having reached the stage of decree nisi.
Reform: a long time coming
This reform of our divorce law is long overdue. In 1990 the Law Commission published a report recommending no fault divorce and proposing that the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage should be established by a period of separation, allowing a couple to consider the practical consequences of divorce and reflect on whether their marital breakdown was irreparable. No fault divorce, as recommended by the Law Commission, was included in Part II of the Family Law Act 1996 and passed by Parliament, when John Major was Prime Minister of the then Conservative Government.
Unfortunately, despite support for the proposed reform by the then Lord Chancellor, Lord Mackay, politicians of all parties, most family lawyers, relationship experts and senior members of the Church of England, it was strongly opposed by powerful reactionary forces, including the Tory leader in the House of Lords, Baroness Young, and was the subject of a hostile campaign by a tabloid newspaper. In the end, the relevant part of the 1996 Act was never introduced into law and it was subsequently repealed by the Labour Government, under Tony Blair.
Over the last three years a well-organised campaign to change the existing divorce law to remove the requirement of fault was conducted by Resolution, the well-respected campaigning organisation of family law professionals, and The Times, amongst others. There was also support for this important law reform from the most senior members of the judiciary, including Baroness Hale, now President of the Supreme Court and the former President of the Family Division, Sir James Munby.
The need for this reform was highlighted by the case of a wealthy Gloucestershire couple, Tini and Hugh Owens, which went all the way to the Supreme Court in 2017 and caught the public imagination. Mr Owens defended the divorce proceedings brought by his estranged wife, after nearly 40 years of marriage. Mrs Owens was unsuccessful in persuading the court that her husband’s marital conduct had been sufficiently serious to amount to behaviour such that it would be unreasonable to expect her to live with him. The Supreme Court were unable to help Mrs Owens, even though the couple were living apart and their marriage had clearly broken down. This means that (but for the proposed change in the law) she will have to wait until February 2020, when the couple will have been separated for five years, to obtain a divorce, leaving her trapped in a loveless marriage until then. The Supreme Court asked Parliament to change the law to allow couples to divorce without making allegations about the other spouse’s conduct. The Government have now responded to this request and hopefully the law will soon be changed to end “the blame game” in divorce proceedings.
This article is provided for general information only and is not intended to be nor should it be relied upon as legal advice in relation to any particular matter. If you would like to discuss any aspect of it please contact Maeve O’Higgins at [javascript protected email address].
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Tangential Quadrilateral Formula
In geometry, the tangential quadrilateral is a convex quadrilateral whose sides are all tangent to a single circle within the quadrilateral. This circle is called the incircle of the quadrilateral or its inscribed circle, its center is the incenter and its radius is called the inradius.
Since these quadrilaterals can be drawn surrounding or circumscribing their incircles, they have also been called circumscribable quadrilaterals, circumscribing quadrilaterals, and circumscriptible quadrilaterals. Tangential quadrilaterals are a special case of tangential polygons.
Formula of Tangential Quadrilateral
Let a convex quadrilateral with sides a, b, c, d, then the area of a Tangential quadrilateral is, a + c = b + d
\[\large area=\sqrt{abcd}\]
Or the formula can also be written as
\[\large A=rs\]
r = radius of inscribed circle
s = semi-perimeter = (a + b + c + d)
Examples of Tangential Quadrilateral Formula
Example: Find the measure of the fourth side of a quadrilateral circumscribed about a circle, if three other sides have the measures of 5 cm, 6 cm and 4 cm listed consecutively.
Let x be the measure of the fourth side of our quadrilateral. Since the quadrilateral is circumscribed about a circle, the sums of the measures of its opposite sides are equal. Thus, you can write the equation:
5 + 4 = 6 + x
From this equation, x = 5 + 4 – 6 = 3
Answer: The fourth side of the quadrilateral is of 3 cm long.
1 mm =____ cm
Mathematics Formula List Frequency Distribution Formula
Optics Formulas Condensed Structural Formula
Exponential Equation Formula Force Formula
Exponential Distribution Formula A Cube Cube Formula
Heat Gain Formula Length Formula
What type of motion is represented by the tip of second hand of a clock?
Non-periodic
Translatory
Curvilinear
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Elizabeth Hurley’s ‘The Royals’ is renewed for a second season
Although the first season has yet to air, E!’s buzziest new drama, The Royals, has already been renewed for a second season. Starring Elizabeth Hurley as the Queen and guest-starring Joan Collins as the fictional Grand Duchess of Oxford, the network announced the renewal of the series ahead of its long-awaited premiere on Sunday, March 15th.
Just like the real Royal Family, the show features a beautiful brunette at its forefront (à la the Duchess of Cambridge) and takes place in contemporary London - but any similarities between the hour-long drama and the British monarchy appear to end there.
Scroll down to watch the trailer...
In this fictional and racy interpretation of royal life, Elizabeth plays Queen Helena, a “couture-clad vixen dripping in diamonds” who struggles to keep her morally corrupt family in the public's good graces.
Gallery: Royal highlights of the year
The plot centres on the Queen's failing marriage with King Simon and her clashes with her son, Prince Liam (played by William Moseley) over his new American girlfriend, Ophelia, who is played by Canadian actress Merritt Patterson. If all that weren’t dramatic enough, the youngest member of the royal clan, Princess Eleanor, is a headline-grabbing party-girl with a boozy streak.
Created by the same executive producers who brought us One Tree Hill, The Royals is E!'s first fully scripted show. They've previously hosted successful talk shows like Hello Ross! and reality shows like Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
“The Royals will offer a fictional look behind the very public gilded facade of the palace gates to imagine the private, lush, fun, sexy world of the most-watched celebrity family on the planet,” promised Jeff Olde, E!’s executive VP of original programming and development.
The show is set to premiere on March 15 at 10 pm EST.
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September 2, 2008 / 6:22 AM / 11 years ago
Rage in Kashmir meets India's brute force
Alistair Scrutton
SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - The world’s largest democracy locks up protest leaders without charge, shoots dozens of demonstrators dead, beats and intimidates ordinary citizens and raids homes without warrants.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani (C, on wheel-chair), a senior hardline separatist leader, is rushed for treatment after he was released from a jail in Srinagar September 1, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer
Welcome to Indian Kashmir, where the biggest separatist protests in two decades have clashed with the might of the state.
“They are ruthless, trigger happy,” said Ghulam Rasool Bhat, a laborer who says he was beaten by federal police after he tried to buy milk for his two nephews under a curfew in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir.
He lay in a bed, both legs bandaged where a soldier, shouting “Get your milk from Pakistan” had smashed a rifle into his shins. His legs felt, he said, as if in a continuous cramp.
Police have shot dead at least 35 Muslim protesters in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley after a row over land for a Hindu shrine spiraled into marches and strikes against Indian rule.
More than 1,000 people have been wounded in clashes over three weeks, hospital officials and police say, with the Kashmir Valley often under curfew. Hundreds of people have suffered police baton beatings and bullet wounds, doctors say.
The Indian government says its security forces have been fired upon by protesters on several occasions, and said authorities had “acted within the law and with restraint.”
Witnesses said some protesters had thrown stones at police, but said that most were marching peacefully.
India’s hardline response to the protests has highlighted what critics say is its lack of strategy to find a solution to a problem that has already sparked two wars between India and Pakistan, who both claim the region in full but rule it in parts.
The crackdown may also be counter-productive. Residents say the deaths and violent crackdown have fuelled anger against India and boosted the separatist cause after years of relative peace.
“The government of India does not have a strategy,” said Siddharth Varadarajan, diplomatic editor of The Hindu newspaper.
“It is relying heavily on coercion, arresting top and middle-level leaders in the hope it will break the back of unprecedented protests.”
In rare criticism last week, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on India to avoid using excessive force. It drew a rebuke from India for interfering in its affairs.
SIMMERING RESENTMENT
For decades there has been simmering resentment at the hundreds of thousands of Indian troops stationed in Kashmir, making it one of the most militarized regions on earth.
Roadblocks, verbal abuse from soldiers and raids on homes have long been a part of daily life.
But as protests spiraled in August, the government sent in battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), a federal police force of mainly Hindus who do not speak Kashmiri. Strangers to Kashmir, most residents appear to despise them.
In interviews in Srinagar and nearby villages, tales were similar: CRPF beatings, night raids on homes, verbal abuse and smashed windows. Life has been worse than in previous years.
“They are not human,” said Raja, a villager from Newtheed less than an hour’s drive from the city. She said soldiers smashed up her home, shouting “We’ll show you what freedom is.”
In Srinagar, the CRPF has taken over from the local Kashmiri police to enforce curfews and riot control. Residents complain of abuse at the slightest provocation — selling bread, buying milk.
One surgeon, who asked to remain anonymous because of fear of retribution from Indian authorities, said he has received around 400 wounded people in three weeks, 150 of them hit by bullets.
“These are target killings. It’s simple to see,” said the doctor, explaining that many of the chest wounds were from weapons such as AK-47s. “Most of these were intended to kill. They were not to disperse a crowd.”
Shabir Ahmed Dar, 22, lay in one hospital bed after three operations. He was shot in the abdomen during a protest march to the Pakistani Kashmir border.
“There was no warning from the police. They just fired.”
The police firings drew criticism from Human Rights Watch.
“To end this cycle of tragedy, the government should order security forces to act with restraint,” it said in a statement.
It is not just a hardline response to street protests. Authorities have detained several separatist leaders without charge. Other leaders, many committed to democratic change and who publicly reject militant violence, were in hiding.
Asiya Andrabi, chief of Kashmir’s women’s separatist group Dukhtaran-e-Milat (Daughters of the Muslim Faith) who had led some of the protests, has been detained under the Public Safety Act that allows for a year in jail without trial.
The violence still pales in comparison with previous years when officials say more than 43,000 people have been killed in clashes involving Indian troops and Muslim militants since 1989. Human rights groups put the toll at about 60,000 dead or missing.
Some analysts say authorities were in a difficult situation.
“This is a place where security officials are getting attacked every second day,” said Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research, referring to the years of militant insurgency.
For Shameema, a 35-year-old woman who sells bread, the fear of police was clear. She talked about how police smashed her and her family with batons for selling bread under curfew. Her husband displayed a wound to his head.
She fell silent for a moment as a federal policeman official walked up to her shop, ominously tapping his baton. Then, realizing he could not speak Kashmiri, she talked again.
"I am scared," she said "But we have nowhere to go." (Additional reporting by Sheikh Mushtaq; Editing by Simon Denyer and Megan Goldin) (For the latest Reuters news on India see: in.reuters.com, for blogs see blogs.reuters.com/in)
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See Again
Elvis Presley: the untold story of the King - Stars come and go with the times, but in showbiz, there's one name that won't fade away. Elvis Presley, otherwise known as the King, may be remembered forever. In just 42 years on Earth, the American singer conquered the world of entertainment. First it was his music, with songs like 'Heartbreak Hotel' dominating the radio. Then it was the look, the audacious dance moves, which sent shock waves through conservative America and across the globe. Elvis became a household name thanks to performances on programs like 'The Ed Sullivan Show,' which led him into the world of cinema. Though his acting skills are cynically debated, it's undeniable that Presley also made a huge impact in the world of film. His performances in 'King Creole,' 'Blue Hawaii,' 'Viva Las Vegas' are loveable, and only helped the King build his empire.
Now, an actor will step up and star as Elvis himself. A new biopic is in production, centering around the King of Rock 'n' Roll. A number of stars have been named as frontrunners, like Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, and Harry Styles. Only time will tell who will star in the leading role, but jump ahead of the movie hype and get to know the true story. Find out about Presley's tough upbringing, his religious beliefs, the domestic drama, and his tragic demise. Click on for the true story of Elvis Presley.
1 / 31 Fotos
Where it all began - The King was born Elvis Aron Presley on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi. Presley changed his middle name to the biblical "Aaron."
Lone twin - Presley was supposed to have a twin brother, Jesse Garon, however he was sadly was stillborn.
© Public Domain
The Presleys - The singer was born into a working-class family, who frequently moved from place to place. Elvis especially connected with his mother, Gladys, and her faith in God.
Touched by God -
As a child, Presley went to the Assembly of God Church with his family. Gospel music would heavily influence the young musician.
(Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY 2.0)
© Wikimedia/Creative Commons
Faith in music - Elvis got his first guitar for his 11th birthday, given to him by his mother. A few years later he won his high school talent show, and started to pursue a career in music.
© BrunoPress
First demo - The singer recorded his first demo at Sun Studio after graduating in 1953. Label owner Sam Phillips took Presley under his wing.
'That's All Right' - Presley started to hit the road, and continued to record more music. 'That's All Right' was his first single, released in 1954.
Causing a stir - Soon, he started to develop a major following, with fans drawn to the singer's striking music and dance moves.
Signed artist - Under guidance from his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, Presley signed to RCA Records in 1955.
10 / 31 Fotos
1956 - 1956 was a big year for the King. He got his first number one single with 'Heartbreak Hotel,' and his first number one album with 'Elvis Presley.' He also signed a contract with Paramount Pictures.
Ed and Elvis - Presley's provocative dancing caused a stir in America, but the star was a frequent guest on shows like 'The Ed Sullivan Show.'
Elvis fever - By the mid '50s Presley was quite prolific. He was on TV, radio, and in movies too. His first film, 'Love Me Tender,' was obviously a commercial success.
Graceland - By 1957, Elvis had bought Graceland, spending over US$100,000 on the mansion in Memphis.
Drafted into the army - The same year, the singer was drafted into the army, and was inducted the following year. He served in Germany for around 18 months.
Farewell - Gladys Presley passed away just before Elvis left for Europe. He was granted leave from the army, and flew back to Memphis for her funeral.
Meeting Priscilla - The singer returned to duty in Germany, where he met Priscilla Beaulieu, who was still a teenager at the time. They soon struck up a romance.
Back to America - Presley left the Army in 1960, and returned to the charts with the soundtrack for 'GI Blues,' a film in which he also starred.
Presley in the pictures - The singer went on to star in hit films like 'Blue Hawaii,' 'Girls! Girls! Girls!', and 'Viva Las Vegas.'
Continued success - That said, not every Elvis film was super popular. However, they usually made a lot of money, and the soundtracks were often quite successful.
Tying the knot - By 1967, Presley and Priscilla's relationship had blossomed, and they married that year.
Welcome Lisa - The happy couple had a daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, born in 1968.
Ups and downs - However, Presley's spotlight was fading in the late '60s, with his films making less and less. He wowed audiences once again in 1968, with a unique TV special.
Priscilla leaves with Lisa - Sadly, Presley's relationship with Priscilla had taken a hit, and the couple divorced in 1973. Priscilla took custody of Lisa Marie.
Personal demons - Around this time the star was also struggling with personal problems, such as drug addiction.
Hospitalized - Presley was also faced with a weight problem, and was hospitalized with health issues in 1973. He used a fake name for the hospital.
The Vegas era - The King would remain a big name in Las Vegas, and drew huge crowds even in the throws of personal problems.
The last concert - Presley's last concert was on June 26, 1977, at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Return to home - The singer regrouped in Graceland, preparing for his next tour. He passed away aged 42 on the morning of August 16, 1977, dying of heart failure related to his prescription drug use.
Resting place - Elvis Presley was buried at Graceland, near the graves of his parents.
The King's legacy -
Presley will be remembered as one of the most famous and influential musicians of all time. He helped popularize rock and roll, and is the best-selling solo artist ever.
Also recap the American-made music biopics.
Elvis Presley: the untold story of the King
Before the biopic film, find out everything interesting about Elvis
09/07/19 | StarsInsider
CELEBRITY Elvis Presley
Share this article with your friends
Stars come and go with the times, but in showbiz, there's one name that won't fade away. Elvis Presley, otherwise known as the King, may be remembered forever. In just 42 years on Earth, the American singer conquered the world of entertainment. First it was his music, with songs like 'Heartbreak Hotel' dominating the radio. Then it was the look, the audacious dance moves, which sent shock waves through conservative America and across the globe. Elvis became a household name thanks to performances on programs like 'The Ed Sullivan Show,' which led him into the world of cinema. Though his acting skills are cynically debated, it's undeniable that Presley also made a huge impact in the world of film. His performances in 'King Creole,' 'Blue Hawaii,' 'Viva Las Vegas' are loveable, and only helped the King build his empire.
Now, an actor will step up and star as Elvis himself. A new biopic is in production, centering around the King of Rock 'n' Roll. A number of stars have been named as frontrunners, like Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, and Harry Styles. G-Eazy even wants to get in on the action. Only time will tell who will star in the leading role, but jump ahead of the movie hype and get to know the true story. Find out about Presley's tough upbringing, his religious beliefs, the domestic drama, and his tragic demise. Click on for the true story of Elvis Presley.
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Home Cannabis News Canadian Company Files Patent on Cannabis Beer
Canadian Company Files Patent on Cannabis Beer
Province Brands, a Canadian R&D company, recently announced the filing of a provisional patent to create the “world’s first beers brewed from the cannabis plant.”
The filing capped months of development on technology to replace grains with cannabis during the brewing process. Also it reportedly laid groundwork for a recent surge of industry partnerships and investment into the company.
While Canada was the first country in the world to legalize medical marijuana in 2001, edibles and beverages have never been legal, leading many to speculate that they would not become legal even under the government’s pending recreational legalization. This all changed in October 201,7 when the Canadian Government made it clear that edibles and beverages would become legal for the first time in Canada.
Since the government’s announcement, Constellation Brands has partnered with Canopy Growth, one of only 84 licensed cannabis producers in Canada. These new developments have brought forth a flush of new investments into the Canadian cannabis sector, which benefits companies like Province Brands.
“The fact that the first Fortune 500 company to invest in the cannabis space was not a tobacco giant like so many had predicted but was, in fact, Constellation Brands, one of the largest and best run adult beverage businesses in the world, truly validates our efforts and proves the market for beverages like those Province has been brewing,” says Dooma Wendschuh, CEO of Province Brands. “We started our company in 2016 when it was not known whether alcohol free beverages which intoxicate using cannabis or its phytocannabinoids would ever be legalized in Canada. The government, just a few months ago, made it clear they’d allow [these types of products], and I’d suspect that’s what made Constellation Brands step up.”
“We have developed great-tasting beers, but we also have valuable intellectual property, incredible developments in the pipeline, and a world-class team with decades of combined experience in the adult beverage industry, and, importantly almost two years working together,” she adds, reiterating Province’s stated mission to bring a “safer and healthier alternative to alcohol” to market.
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Home › About CanWest Aerospace
About CanWest Aerospace
CanWestAero.com is operated as our Product-focused website for customers looking for self-service purchasing.
CanWestAerospace.com is operated as our Service-focused website for customers primarily interested in our maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities.
CanWest Aerospace’s helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities are strategically located near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; at the Langley Regional Airport (CYNJ).
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Our West Coast location provides easy shipping and access to the Canada and the United States, South American, Europe and Asia Pacific markets via a modern multi-modal transportation network including air, sea, road and rail.
To ensure we provide the highest level of support available to helicopter operators, our highly-qualified and experienced aerospace maintenance and logistics team is available to travel to any point on the globe; wherever and whenever you need our support.
CanWest Aerospace provides a comprehensive range of value-driven helicopter and fixed-wing maintenance, repair and overhaul services including:
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We provide best-in-class helicopter and fixed-wing MRO services for several of the most commonly operated light, medium and heavy helicopter models, including:
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If your helicopter is AOG or requires minor repair or major rebuild; and you need fast, responsive and reliable support for your maintenance and repair and overhaul requirements, contact CanWest Aerospace.
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Accounting and Bookkeeping Services
info@capitalhill.co.nz
Bookeeping
Women In The Workforce
May 1, 2015 by Capital Hill Leave a Comment
Thirty years ago, women would generally leave school at an earlier age than men and with fewer qualifications. The roles women assumed in society were very different and were often paid a much lower wage than what was received by their male counterparts. However, economic development, changing social beliefs and increased education has led to more women obtaining jobs in occupations once reserved for men. Employment opportunities are opening up as more and more females further their education through tertiary institutions. In fact, statistics from leading New Zealand universities put female attendance at almost half their student populations, allowing many to move on to obtain graduate level employment positions.
Despite these recent advances, there continues to be a pay gap between men and women (in 2014 the New Zealand gender pay gap was 9.9%) and many female employees continue to sit at a relatively low rung on the career ladder. At the top, in more senior, executive and board type positions, women continue to be in the minority. This means that their views and opinions are vastly under represented in the decision making processes, which can be problematic given that studies support gender diversity at the top being critical to sustaining performance.
The performance enhancing effects of women working in executive positions goes beyond simply boosting a company’s image and reputation. Reports out of Harvard University have shown that entities with women directors deal more effectively with risk and long term priorities, as women tend to be more strategic thinkers with a natural ability to scenario plan and find creative solutions. Having women in top positions can also improve the performance of other female employees who look up to the more senior women as role models.
Another benefit of having females at the top is that they are generally more familiar with consumer needs. Where women tend to drive the majority of consumer purchase decisions, having women involved at the top can enable more successful products and services to be developed. So with that being said, you would think the ratio of females to males would be higher at the top.
A number of factors contribute to women’s lack of presence in more senior positions. An obvious one is the implications of childbirth, where taking time away from work often means women do not experience constant levels of progression throughout their career. Other factors that can prevent women from reaching those top positions include a lack of support provided by other women, unconscious bias from males in more senior positions and potentially a lack of self-confidence.
It is important for both males and females to recognise and embrace the differences between each gender. It is not a matter of women trying to act like men. It is about people playing to their own strengths and earning the respect of their peers and subordinates by being themselves.
With studies suggesting that women are making a positive difference to the bottom line, it will be interesting to see whether firms that have a more balanced gender composition enjoy an unbalanced share of the profit.
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As water issues loom large, an Indian country voice reflects on news media relations
In Oklahoma, between the end of this legislative session and the start of the next, water policy will become one of the most “cussed and dis-cussed” issues facing the Sooner State and its diverse peoples. Every week that passes, the frequency of news stories about water policy and water plans (comprehensive or not) will grow more frequent.
In a panel discussion on changes in tribal reporting at last weekend’s Region 8 of the Society of Professional Journalists, the politics of water was a recurring theme. Water is of universal interest in a state where the present drought is devastating southwest Oklahoma wheat crops, and effecting life in every corner of the state.
On the panel where he shared time with Clifton Adcock of The Gazette and M. Scott Carter of The Journal Record, D.G. Smalling, an artist and member of the Choctaw tribe, touched frequently on water issues as an aspect of sovereignty, economic development in Indian Country and other issues.
In addition to his work as an artist, Smalling hosts an online program focused on issues of concern to “native people” and tribal governments.
Smalling observed, “The future of the state is directly affected by our success.” While the federal government is the Oklahoma’s top employer and the state government is second, the next two largest employers are the varied operations of the Choctaws and the Cherokees. In fifth place is the Energy industry, he said.
Unlike some businesses that might come and go, he said, “We are locked to this state. We have a geographic lock here.” He reflected on the dramatic rise of tribal economic power over the past 15 years, saying, “The cash is coming from gaming. Interestingly, that cash is relatively stable and not volatile like some entities.”
When it comes to news media coverage of tribes, including debates over water rights, Smalling commented, “Sovereignty has become an excuse not to get involved in Indian country.” In his view, “This state has no rural future without us. Even the small tribes are having a huge impact.”
As part of a candid exchange with reporters and college students preparing for careers in journalism, Smalling said, “Indian country is highly skeptical of the news media and of outsiders. That is justified, yet it’s only practical to connect with journalists.” He continued, “Certainly the press needs to do a better job. Also the tribes need to do a better job of working on ‘P.R.’ with the media.”
The relationship should be a natural one. While there are 39 federally-recognized tribes in the state, there are dozens more with unrecognized status. Smalling says better understanding of the tribes and the people in them is a natural job for journalists. After all, “The state’s first newspapers were tribal newspapers.”
In terms of simple economics, the clout and impact of the tribes are apparent. The Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association will soon sponsor the second largest gaming trade show in the world. Tribes are establishing nation-to-nation memoranda of understanding with nations around the world. In other areas, including tobacco sales and non-weapon defense contracting, tribal-operated businesses are major players.
When it comes to water, as an aspect of the entire question of state-tribal interaction, Smalling reflected, “There is no substitute for relationship, for relationships.” With studied understatement, he observed, “It would behoove journalists to understand the treaties/treaty process.” The various tribal governments are, he said, “sovereign nations going about our own interests.”
Turning his comments back on tribes, he commented, “self-effacement is prized by native peoples and tribes. There is a belief it is unseemly to toot your own horn.” In some ways that is changing: “We have our own, growing, media departments.”
He continued, “I went to the dominant society’s schools, so I can talk about market share.” As “native market share” increases, “We want stability. We need stability.” This means finding common ground with state government is obviously desirable. Besides, “For every one native employed by the tribes, there are six-non-natives. That’s economic impact, my friends.”
In economic development terms as related to the tribes, there is a significant different between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. “Within the confines of Tulsa there are active tribal interests.” In Oklahoma City – where so many Indian people, including Smalling, live – there are no tribal lands, “so that makes the nature of relationship different.”
While not the main focus of Smalling’s comments to the SPJ members, some of the “background noise” in the engaging discussion touched on the nearing state deadline for a new, comprehensive look at water resources and public policy. In this matter, the state’s tribal governments, large and small, are certain to have important things to say, along with everyone else.
The Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) begins a series of “feedback and implementation” meetings on April 19 in Beaver, in the Panhandle.
The series of 13 meetings will conclude in Oklahoma City on May 26. Interim drafts of sections within the eventual the Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan (OCWP) are just beginning to appear on the OWRB website.
Saliency of the water issue for development of state-tribal relations, including inter-government compacts full of budget implications, was manifested in today’s editions of the state’s largest newspaper. John Estus of The Oklahoman reported on recent threats from attorneys for the Chickasaws and Choctaws to sue if Oklahoma City continues to develop plans for use of Sardis Lake water.
Last year, Oklahoma City paid off debt for operation of Sardis Lake and began to lay plans to develop pipelines and other infrastructure needed to bring water to the state Capitol area, where demand for water is expected to exceed supply within 20 years.
In 2001, a study undertaken jointly by Choctaw and Chickasaw interests Oklahoma’s water supply was sufficient to engage proposed water transfer contracts, including inter-state water sales.
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Waiting on Drew: Fight continues over health care constitutionality
While many federal constitutional analysts have dismissed legal concerns about the new federal health care law, other scholars counter that legal challenges to the law could prevail. Most attention has focused on challenges from Republican state attorneys general. Only scattered references have been made to individual litigation against the law's new mandates, lawsuits asserting liberty interests the new law may put at risk.
Meanwhile, state government analysts, including this writer, are waiting to see which way Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson moves. Republicans say they are not irrational in hoping for Edmondson to represent the state in challenging the new law, remembering his decision to join GOP attorneys general in suing if the “Nebraska Kickback” was in the final bill.
OU Law Professor Rick Tepker has asserted there is no merit to efforts at the state Capitol to enact protective or “opt out” measures, proposals that have been detailed by CapitolBeatOK.
Citing the “Supremacy Clause” of the U.S. Constitution, Tepker has predicted lawsuits to challenge the health care bill will fail. Tepker and other analysts have also said those hoping the Constitution’s listing of enumerated powers will undermine the new law (because health care is not an enumerated power) will be disappointed. "Health care is not an issue reserved to the states," said Tepker. "We've had federal regulation for health care in a variety of ways for the past 50 years."
However, another OU scholar contends that Attorney General Edmondson, if he decides to act, will have “strong grounds for challenging the constitutionality” of the health care reform passed by Congress.
In a memo prepared for Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, Michael Scaperlanda, the Gene and Elaine Edwards Family Chair in Law and Professor of Law at the OU College of Law, concluded last week that “Congress lacks the constitutional authority and power to require individuals to engage in economic activity.” While he did not predict the outcome of court action, he said a strong case can be made against the new law.
Scaperlanda cites several cases for precedent, including United States v. Morrison (2000), in which the Court said: “Thus far in our Nation’s history our cases have upheld Commerce Clause regulation of intrastate activity only where that activity is economic in nature.” Scaperlanda reported that Morrison and other cases “struck down congressional acts regulating non-economic activity that arguably affected interstate commerce.”
In relating that to federal health care reform, the University of Oklahoma scholar contends, “Some might argue that the decision not to engage in economic activity -- not to purchase insurance in this case – is itself a form of economic activity, but seems to push the limits of credulity.”
Scaperlanda cites other cases involving interstate commerce, and notes that “there is no interstate market in health insurance.” He asserts, “There are very strong arguments that the individual insurance mandate is unconstitutional as beyond Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce.”
Finally, Scaperlanda cites New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992) and Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997) in stating a precedent that establishes that “unfunded mandates and the commandeering of the states for federal purposes constitute unconstitutional infringements on state sovereignty.”
The Court said in New York v. US, “…the Constitution has never been understood to confer upon Congress the ability to require the States to govern according to Congress’ instructions.” Scaperlanda concludes that “there are serious and strong grounds for challenging the constitutionality of the Act.”
In a statement sent to CapitolBeatOK, Sen. Coffee thanked Professor Scaperlanda, while chiding state legislative Democrats who have assailed him and fellow Republican House Speaker Chris Benge for pressing Attorney General Drew Edmondson to intervene in the controversy. “The media has sought out the same old liberal legal 'experts' in the past week who claim the state has no standing to challenge this law,” Coffee said.
A recent analysis for Politico, a national online news service, noted that Edmondson still has not “reached a decision on whether he’ll join” a lawsuit being organized by more than a dozen Republican attorneys general.
State Sen. Randy Brogdon, a Republican from Owasso, is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, and is sponsor of one of the proposals Professor Tepker has dismissed as ineffectual.
Thus far, all the proposals to challenge the federal law have prevailed easily in the Oklahoma state Legislature.
Brogdon is taking on U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin, front-runner for the Republican gubernatorial nod. She has been as pointed as any one in her criticisms of Edmondson’s inaction. “What does Drew Edmondson know that the people of Oklahoma and the attorneys general of 13 others states don’t?” Fallin asked rhetorically in a press release. When it was before Congress, Fallin spoke frequently against the health care bill.
Recently, Fallin expanded her criticisms to Edmondson’s fellow Democrat and candidate for governor, Lt. Gov. Jari Askins. Fallin says both of them should tell Oklahomans where they stand, and that Edmondson should sue.
In his longest statement on the issue thus far, sent to CapitolBeatOK about 12 hours after the law pased in Washington last month, Attorney General Edmondson said, “More than two months ago I told Congress that Oklahoma and several other states have serious concerns with the federal health care bill. Our office joined other attorneys general offices from around the country on a conference call … to discuss ideas and legal strategies to protect our states from unwanted federal intrusion that potentially places us at a disadvantage. We are reviewing applicable statutes and case law to determine the best course of action.”
Edmondson continued, “We will continue to share information with our colleagues as we monitor the progress of the reconciliation bill being considered by the Senate. Should the final product contain constitutional infirmities that adversely impact the states and are not otherwise being addressed, we will consider appropriate legal action.” Subsequent to his post-passage statement, Edmondson chided those who he said are making the issue “a political football.”
While Edmondson and Askins have not explicitly stated their views on the law, and U.S. Rep. Dan Boren (the only Democrat in the congressional delegation) opposed the bill, many Oklahoma Democrats have spoken up for the measure in the past three weeks.
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Start Over You searched for: Languages English ✖Remove constraint Languages: English Subjects Science ✖Remove constraint Subjects: Science Genre Exhibitions ✖Remove constraint Genre: Exhibitions
1. Catalog of an exhibit in honor of the sesquicentennial of the birth of Louis Pasteur: National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, October 2, 1972- February 4, 1973
National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
[Bethesda, Md.] : U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, National Library of Medicine, [1972]
Pasteur, Louis, 1822-1895.
2. Louis Pasteur 1822-1895: an exhibit presented by the National Library of Medicine in observance of the sesquicentennial of the birth of Louis Pasteur, scientist and benefactor of humanity, Oct. 2, 1972- Feb. 4, 1973, National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Md. 20014
[Bethesda, Md.] : U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, [1972]
3. Exhibit in honor of George Sarton displayed during December 1952 at the Armed Forces Medical Library, Washington, D.C
Wilson, William Jerome, 1884-
Sarton, George, 1884-1956.
NLM Publications and Productions3
Science✖[remove]3
Pasteur, Louis, 1822-1895.2
National Library of Medicine (U.S.)1
Sarton, George, 1884-1956.1
Wilson, William Jerome, 1884-1
Catalog of an exhibit in honor of the sesquicentennial of the birth of Louis Pasteur: National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, October 2, 1972- February 4, 19731
Exhibit in honor of George Sarton displayed during December 1952 at the Armed Forces Medical Library, Washington, D.C1
Louis Pasteur 1822-1895: an exhibit presented by the National Library of Medicine in observance of the sesquicentennial of the birth of Louis Pasteur, scientist and benefactor of humanity, Oct. 2, 1972- Feb. 4, 1973, National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Md. 200141
Exhibitions✖[remove]3
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By Columbus Pro DJs January 28, 2019 Dance
Columbus Pro DJs plays your first dance song according to your music style. With some couples, style trumps the song itself.
The Knot compiled a nice list of first dance songs, and a few overlapped with our list, including the timeless classic, “Can’t take my eyes off of you.” The song was written in 1967 by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio and performed by Frankie Valli, one of his biggest hits ever.
Your music style
The song is so good that hundreds of artists have recorded it in a variety of styles. That means it has probably been recorded to mesh with your music style.
Lauryn Hill won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her hip hoppy rendition of the song. Check it out. Is this your music style?
39 million people have listened to Hill’s version on Youtube. Now you’re one of them!
The timeless British chanteuse, Petula Clark, had a jazzier take on the song:
Speaking of timeless, Nancy Wilson has a dreamy, soulful take on “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You.” Can’t you picture yourself dancing to her beautiful rendition of this classic?
Is this your music style, or do you need something even more romantic? How about the late, great Andy Williams?
Then again, maybe tradition defines you. You may prefer the original version of the song that is forever etched in everyone’s memory, the one sung by the legendary Frankie Valli:
Let us MC and DJ your event
A great song lends itself to many interpretations by great singing artists down through the ages. Columbus Pro DJs will flawlessly MC your celebration and make announcements at the right time and introduce your first dance with flair and style.
We’ll play the version of your first dance song that complements YOUR music style. Get ready for a celebration characterized by customized entertainment built around you.
Future Mother-in-law advice
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AC/DC Releases Catalogue on iTunes
November 20, 2012 | Published in AC/DC, Brian Johnson
After previously voicing strong opposition to iTunes, AC/DC has finally released their catalogue on the Apple music store. Until now, the band’s members felt that their songs should not be made available individually as they were all integral parts of various albums.
“This iTunes, God bless ’em, it’s going to kill music if they’re not careful,” lead singer Brian Johnson said in 2008 upon the release of their last album Black Ice. “It just worries me. And I’m sure they’re just doing it all in the interest of making as much… cash as possible. Let’s put it this way, it’s certainly not for the… love.”
AC/DC released their first live album in 20 years on Tuesday and will tour in 2013 for their 40th anniversary.
In this article: AC/DC, Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson Reportedly Confirms New AC/DC Album
First Ever Beatles Themed Pinball Machine To Be Released
Top 10 Worst Rock Star Fails
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Video For Adele's Hello Racks Up 1 Billion Views In Record Time
LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — The music video for Adele's "Hello," the lead single off of her 2015 smash album "25" has become the fastest video to reach a billion views on Vevo, according to her label XL Recordings.
The video, directed by Xavier Dolan, racked up more than 100 million views in its first five days on the music video streaming service, displacing the previous record holder for fastest to 100 million, which was held by Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball" video.
Adele's 25 held the top spot on the Billboard 200 for seven weeks, finally being displaced last week by the late David Bowie's final album "Blackstar." – Staff Writers
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Home Celebrity Health Celebrity Health: Before Trump, There Was Iacocca
Celebrity Health: Before Trump, There Was Iacocca
Celebrity Health:
Before Donald Trump, Lee Iacocca wanted to make America great again.
The ex-CEO of Chrysler died last week at the age of 94 after a career that transcended his industry and made him a pop-culture icon. Iacocca advocated the restoration of American manufacturing, championed punitive tariffs on Asian imports, and flirted with running for president in 1988.
His personal-brand development was a template for Trump’s successful presidential run in 2016, and the groundswell of support for Iacocca as the Democratic candidate reflected the enduring urge on both sides of the aisle for a populist businessman as president.
After a successful Detroit career that spanned the launch of the 1960s Ford Mustang and the 1980s Chrysler minivan, Iacocca became a national figure when he persuaded a Democratic Congress in 1979 to help bail out Chrysler.
His turnaround of the automaker (paying back federally guaranteed loans ahead of schedule) vaulted him to a 1980s symbol of America on the rebound. Chrysler turned a $1.7 billion loss in 1980 into a $2.4 billion profit by 1984.
The first-generation Italian immigrant’s subsequent autobiography, Iacocca (1984), cemented his brand — reigning on the New York Times best-seller list for 88 weeks, 37 more than Trump’s own The Art of the Deal, published three years later.
Chapter 28 of Iacocca was titled “Making America Great Again.” It might have been written by The Donald.
“Unless we act soon, we’re going to lose both steel and autos to Japan by the year 2000,” wrote Iacocca. “And worst of all, we will have given them up without a fight.”
Colorful, profane, with an ego bigger than Lake Michigan, Iacocca captured the American imagination with his plainspoken style.
Doron Levin, a long-time Detroit columnist and currently host of Sirius XM’s “In the Driver’s Seat,” says that Iacocca, like Trump and Ross Perot, was a brand that cut across political parties.
“They’re populists,” says Levin. “They could run in either political party depending on the election year. Trump saw an opportunity as a Republican in 2016 against Hillary Clinton. Iacocca seriously considered running as a Democrat in 1988 against George H. W. Bush.”
In his book Behind the Wheel at Chrysler, Levin wrote:
The loan guarantee debate, Chrysler’s subsequent return to health, and the publication of [Iacocca’s] best-selling autobiography conferred mythic status on him as the nation’s economic Winston Churchill. At the peak of his popularity, many Americans believed not only that Iacocca held the answers to the nation’s economic ills but also that he should lead the country as president.
Iacocca’s Trumpian call for a national industrial policy in 1988 fit perfectly with that generation’s Democratic party — its power base rooted in the Midwest, with union mouthpieces such as House Commerce Committee chairman John Dingell (D., Mich.) and caucus chair and future majority leader Dick Gephardt (D., Mo.) wielding power.
TV newscasts and newspaper headlines in the early 1980s were filled with painful pictures of American steel mills and auto factories shuttering across the Midwest. Iacocca’s partnership with Washington to rescue Chrysler offered Democrats a white knight in the fight against Reagan Republicans’ policy of free-market economics.
Democrats and their media partisans embraced Iacocca’s call for a Beltway-led industrial policy.
“As important as it is, high tech will never employ the number of people that our basic industries do today,” wrote Iacocca. “In other words, our country needs a rational industrial policy. Governments all over the world plan — except for ours. . . . We’re the only advanced country in the world without an industrial policy.”
If Trump’s bogeyman is China, Iacocca’s was Japan. He warned of the Asian nation’s threat to America’s industrial base and stumped for import quotas.
“I am called a protectionist, I am really a free trader,” Iacocca said at the Detroit Economic Club speech some years later. “The thing that I want to protect is free trade. And the way you do that is you retaliate against those who don’t believe in it.”
Despite favorable polling numbers, Iacocca never threw his hat in the presidential ring.
“For myself, I concluded long ago that to run for president you’ve got to be overambitious or just plain crazy,” he would write years later.
Where would Iacocca fit in today’s political landscape? It’s hard to know. Like Trump, whose pro-business, protectionist policies simultaneously attract and repel conservatives, Iacocca was hard to pigeonhole.
After retiring from Chrysler in the 1990s, he helped start an electric-vehicle company, EV Global Motors, that pioneered the electric bicycles and scooters that are commonplace today and hailed by Democrats for their low emissions. Yet Iacocca would probably have cringed at the takeover of the Democratic party by Californians such as Nancy Pelosi and recent Commerce Committee chair Henry Waxman and their Silicon Valley sponsors.
Today’s planet-saving Green New Deal industrial policy is a long way from Iacocca’s vision of saving the Rust Belt.
The lure of the celebrity executive endures, however. Trump is now president. And a recent Zogby 2020 campaign poll found Oprah Winfrey leading Trump by 53 to 47.
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BrainFuel Podcasting Master Class
Comedian Adam Carolla had a hugely successful 15-year career in broadcast radio. But when the economy soured in 2009, he found himself looking for a new option. So he launched his first podcast, The Adam Carolla Show. With over 50 million downloads in the first year, The Adam Carolla Show was named iTunes #1 podcast. Then Adam launched 10 more podcasts and started his top rated Carolla Digital Network, now PodcastOne. And now, with the help of this six-part Master Class, people around the world can learn how Adam did it too.
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The Innocence Project
I want to talk about people we are less used to talking about around Christmas.
Several times a year I am guaranteed to have a good cry – whenever I get the latest bulletin from the Innocence Project. Without fail they describe at length someone who spent decades in prison, sometimes on death row, for crimes they did not commit. As a human being I am always heartbroken. As an American who believes that we all have a right to liberty, I am both sick and outraged.
And once freed, what education, training or experience do they have? Did they have a chance to start a family and are any left to warm their hearts? The dislocation of freedom is immense. I’ve met men in prison afraid to come out. Those lost decades freeze the soul as they scar past, present and future. Freedom is precious. It also unravels.
I am outraged because there are too many in this country, too many with the power, to keep people in prison, even execute them, even after it has become clear that they were innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted. Justice O’Connor, bless her heart, saw that as unacceptable, although we didn’t always agree on the facts. But the Supreme Court has not yet found the character or the will to conclude that it is unconstitutional to hold an innocent person once that becomes clear, or to sit tight and deny a hearing once evidence has been found that makes it improbable that the prisoner was guilty. The Court has refused to find a right to DNA evidence when that could prove innocence. And prosecutors repeatedly do everything they can to withhold evidence that could result in justice instead of in conviction. The Supreme Court has even said that there are no penalties for withholding evidence even when it is in clear violation of constitutional obligations.
As an American, it is an understatement to say that is no source of pride. As an attorney and a human being, it is a source of disgust – and fear. A legal process that ignores justice is a threat to us all. The purpose of the Bill of Rights and of the Fourteenth Amendment is to protect us all from the abuse of law to polish the prosecutor’s reputation or prejudices instead of serving the cause of justice. Unfortunately attorneys know that the criminal process is more like a canning factory than an effort to separate the innocent from the guilty, truth from lies, and fairness from abuse.
The ACLU and the CATO Institute, otherwise often on opposite sides, come together in support of truth and accurate decision-making. But when the issue is the rights of people accused of crime or the rights of people who have been imprisoned, too many eyes glaze over, not from tears but indifference. Yet those rights, if and when they are honored, are what differentiate us from a police state where people can be imprisoned because of their politics, their parentage or their refusal to kowtow to the unreasonable demands of authorities. These are part of the central meaning of being an American.
The people whose title is Justice of the United States Supreme Court who vote most consistently to protect the right to life of fetuses are the least likely to protect life in any other context. That is hypocrisy under black robes. The behavior of callous prosecutors and unqualified Supreme Court justices is an American disgrace.
— This commentary was broadcast on WAMC Northeast Report, December 26, 2017.
Leave a Comment » | ACLU, Arrogance of power, Civil liberties, Civil rights, Constitutional Guarantees, Constitutional law, Conviction of the innocent, Criminal justice system, Due process, Executive power, Fourteenth Amendment, Law, Prison, Pro-life, Rehabilitation, Sandra Day O'Connor, U.S. Supreme Court | Tagged: abuse of law, abuse of power, abusive prosecutors, ACLU, Bill of Rights, CATO Institute, exonerated, Fourteenth Amendment, innocence, Innocence Project, justice, Justice O’Connor, Prisoners, prosecutors’ motives, right to DNA evidence, right to life, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Justices, unconstitutional, wrongful conviction | Permalink
Sotomayor’s dissent in Utah v. Strieff, Part II
Last time I read a portion of a dissent by Justice Sotomayor.[1] The Supreme Court of Utah had held that the Utah police had violated the defendant’s constitutional rights. The United States Supreme Court overruled that decision. In the portion of her opinion I read you last time, Justice Sotomayor explained what happens, not always, but what often happens when police stop people. And she explained what the Supreme Court authorizes police to do. Justice Sotomayor explained the ways that stops of people regardless of innocence of any crime, let alone any crime deserving jail time, can injure decent citizens. I didn’t have time to read you the last part of her opinion, so I will read it now:
This case involves a suspicionless stop, one in which the officer initiated this chain of events without justification. As the Justice Department notes,[2] many innocent people are subjected to the humiliations of these unconstitutional searches. The white defendant in this case shows that anyone’s dignity can be violated in this manner.[3] But it is no secret that people of color are disproportionate victims of this type of scrutiny.[4] For generations, black and brown parents have given their children “the talk”—instructing them never to run down the street; always keep your hands where they can be seen; do not even think of talking back to a stranger—all out of fear of how an officer with a gun will react to them.[5]
By legitimizing the conduct that produces this double consciousness, this case tells everyone, white and black, guilty and innocent, that an officer can verify your legal status at any time. It says that your body is subject to invasion while courts excuse the violation of your rights. It implies that you are not a citizen of a democracy but the subject of a carceral state, just waiting to be cataloged.
We must not pretend that the countless people who are routinely targeted by police are “isolated.” They are the canaries in the coal mine whose deaths, civil and literal, warn us that no one can breathe in this atmosphere.[6] They are the ones who recognize that unlawful police stops corrode all our civil liberties and threaten all our lives. Until their voices matter too, our justice system will continue to be anything but.
I dissent.
Justice Sotomayor was born in New York City to parents from Puerto Rico. After compiling stellar records at Princeton and Yale Law School, she became a prosecutor, eventually going into private practice. She spent six years as a federal judge, another decade as a federal appellate judge, and joined the Supreme Court in 2009. She writes from every angle of the criminal justice system, as an experienced prosecutor, attorney, member of the community, and judge. Her citations are to decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Before she left the Court, Justice O’Connor wrote a stinging dissent to one of the decisions Justice Sotomayor cites.[7] She was coming to understand the enormity of what the Court has authorized. But this is the Court we have. Is this the Court we want?
— This commentary was broadcast on WAMC Northeast Report, September 6, 2016.
[1] Utah v. Strieff, 136 S. Ct. 2056, 2069-71 (2016) (Sotomayor, J., dissenting).
[2] [Dept. of Justice, Civil Rights Div., Investigation of the Newark Police Department 8, 19, n. 15 [2069] (2014), online at https://www.justice.gov/sites /default/files/crt/legacy/2014/07/22/newark_findings_7-22-14.pdf.] at 8,
[3] See M. Gottschalk, Caught 119-138 (2015).
[4] See M. Alexander, The New Jim Crow 95-136 (2010).
[5] See, e.g., W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903); J. Baldwin, The Fire Next Time (1963); T. Coates, Between the World and Me (2015).
[6] See L. Guinier & G. Torres, The Miner’s Canary 274-283 (2002).
[7] Atwater v. Lago Vista, 532 U. S. 318, 360 (2001) (O’Connor, J., dissenting).
Leave a Comment » | Arrogance of power, Civil liberties, Criminal justice system, Driving while Black, Due process, Equal protection, Equal protection, Fourth Amendment, Homeless population, Police abuse, Sandra Day O'Connor, Sotomayor, Stop and frisk, Stop and Frisk, Terry v. Ohio, U.S. Supreme Court | Tagged: arrest record, background check, civil death, consent to search, delousing agents, discrimination, DNA swab taken, employability, finger print taken, frisk, housing availability, pat down, police powers, police search, pretext, search by police, search of genitals, shower required, Sotomayor, Strieff, unlawful stops, warrant for arrest | Permalink
Our Stake in Each Other’s Welfare
Do we have a stake in each other’s future or only in our own? That is a central question of American politics. The Tea Party’s tossing of the entire American budget into the sea over the issue of Obamacare is an effort to say no, we have no stake in each other’s welfare. To claim a stake in each other’s welfare is socialism. Although the political waters warrant silence from many elected officials about it, that same cry has been leveled and is being leveled against other American efforts to help each other. Social security, socialism. Medicare and Medicaid, socialism. Indeed, there is no logical reason to draw the line there and many don’t. National parks, socialism. Veterans’ benefits, socialism. Head start, socialism. Why stop there? Public schools, socialism. Public hospitals, government health departments and laboratories, socialism. It’s all socialism in the heads of the true believers. So let me repeat that question – do we have a stake in each other’s future or only our own? Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Anthony M. Kennedy, Common good, Community, Debt ceiling, Democracy and violence, Democratic Education, Education, Founders, Health care, Mutual dependence, Public services, Responsibility for each other, Sandra Day O'Connor, Social Security, Tea Party, U.S. Supreme Court, Unemployment compensation, Wage and hours laws | Tagged: e pluribus unum, government shutdown, socialism, stake in each other, Tea party | Permalink
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THE STORY OF OUR DOG PARK
The Generations Active Park Master Plan, a roadmap for the future recreational use of approxiamely 18 acres of parkland on the west side of Glen Allan Drive, was completed in December 2011. A key component of that master plan, and something identified as a high-priority project through public consultation sessions, was the inclusion of a leash-free dog park.
In the 2012 budget year, a detailed design and drawing concept was completed for the leash-free dog park site. In December of 2013, tree thinning took place at the site and the summer of 2014 an entrance to the future site of the South Shore Vet Dog Zone was developed off Glen Allan Drive, icnluding the addition of two trails, culverts and landscaping. On October 14, 2014 a Terms of Reference for an Ad-Hoc Off-Leash Advisory Committee was approved by Bridgewater Town Council.
The purpose of this committee is to help to continue to move the off-leash park project forward and provide additional assistance and support for this exciting project. The ad-hoc advisory committee is responsible for advising the Parks, Recreation and Culture Advisory Committee on policies, the design, phasing, communications and fundraising plans for the future off leash dog park.
pdf Click here to view the (319 KB) Terms of Reference.
In July of 2015, Bridgewater Town Council formally approved the naming rights application submitted by South Shore Veterinary Services in support of the off-leash dog park. As part of the agreement, the park will be formally known as the South Shore Vet Dog Zone for a period of 10 years and, in exchange, South Shore Veterinary Services has agreed to generously contribute $10,000 to the project.
After two more years of intensive prep work on site, the South Shore Vet Dog Zone dog park officially opened to the public on July 6, 2017!
SUPPORT THE LEASH-FREE SOUTH SHORE VET DOG ZONE
The Generations Active Park Off-Leash Committee is still accepting support for the off-leash dog park. In addition to name rights, the committee has sold stainless steel dog bones, which will be engraved in honour of your pets.
These bones will be affixed permanently to the fencing around the park and seve as a long-term, special dedication to your pet, while providing much needed funds to open the park.
Cost: Small Dog Bone 6.25" x 3.5" - $25 each; Large Bone 12.5"x7" - $50 each.
PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY AT TOWN HALL OR BY SUBMITTING THIS pdf ORDER FORM (709 KB) (PDF).
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Black Mirror (Season 4)
January 4, 2018 / James P. Crowley
When Black Mirror began airing in 2011, it inevitably drew comparisons to The Twilight Zone. The hyperbolic narratives served as warnings of our technological advancements the same way Rod Serling chided its viewers’ morality. Creator Charlie Brooker also tended to take the page from Serling’s book of leaving an ominous cliffhanger ending. When Netflix released the third season though, the series had undergone a number of changes: flamboyant colors, American accents, and a few happy endings. “San Junipero” is one of the most widely beloved episodes to come from Black Mirror, and it has a remarkably positive ending. Even the ending of the film-length “Hated in the Nation” leaves a viewer with a sense of pride. The fourth season takes the satisfying ending and runs with it, more often for the better.
Spoilers Ahead:
This season saw the various directors playing with style the most. The only real departure we’d seen had been in “San Junipero,” because even “Nosedive” and “White Christmas” placed different filters on Black Mirror, but never shook up the style. “Metalhead” and “USS Callister” embrace film noir and 60’s Sci-Fi, respectively. “Metalhead” is also the most similar to an older Black Mirror episode though. Very little is explained as the protagonist runs away from a robotic dog. It’s like watching the climax of The Third Man and Halloween all in one. “Callister” is an exploration into sentience and virtual reality, but there’s also a ton of references to a Star Trek-like show. The stylistic shifts mirror that of “San Junipero,” but the unsettling nature of the episode seems incredibly pertinent to kick off the season.
The easiest statement about Black Mirror is that it comments on technology, which it does, but like Serling before him, Brooker is more concerned with the social and political discussion around the tech that he imagines for his universe. The Jodie Foster-directed “Arkangel” does this the best. It’s a warning about using apps like Find My iPhone or Life 360 to have surveillance on your children. Sara grows to resent her mother leading to her being a more rebellious teenager than she would probably have been without the constant monitoring. The season opener is all too timely as it sees an all-star game designer, who secretly creates digital, sentient forms of his coworkers to take out his sadistic fantasies. His relationships with the women are all born out of manipulation and cruelty, all too similar to someone like Harvey Weinstein abusing his power. “Black Museum” is almost self-aware in its exploration of the speculative tech it introduces, but the larger story resembles that of the OJ Simpson trial. The idea of being stuck in a virtual prison cell shows the cruelty of our prison system, and the systematic racism of the police and prison. “Hang the DJ” seems incredibly critical of dating-apps. Showing the detached and trapping feelings of constantly swiping on Tinder, the fictional app forces participants into relationships with set expiration dates in order to find the perfect partner, but as The Smiths play, the two protagonists escape the confines of their virtual life, only shown to be avatars for a perfect match about to meet in a bar. Each of these episodes feels very much like a classic Black Mirror episode, but where “Arkangel” follows suit on the grisly ending, “Hang the DJ” leaves the viewer with a sense of relief, excitement, and joy.
Of the six episodes this season, four are left with positive endings. Each can get really pessimistic, but they tend to end on some sort of positive note. Even the found footage-esque thriller “Crocodile” leaves with a sense that the main character is going to get her comeuppance, as police use their memory scanner to check a hamster at the crime scene. “USS Callister” sees the perverted coding creep dying in his own simulation as Cristin Milioti and her crew escape to a free internet. The end of “Hang the DJ” looks like the last scene in a rom-com. Most of all, when the holographic prisoner’s daughter kills the titular museum curator in “Black Museum,” it’s an exciting revenge narrative that leaves your average binge-watcher excited. Charlie Brooker gave a heads up that this season would be more hopeful, and although many came to Black Mirror for a dark reminder of The Twilight Zone, it seems now we need the optimistic escapism.
arkangel, black mirror, black mirror season 4, black museum, charlie brooker, cristin milioti, crocodile, film noir, halloween, hang the dj, hated in the nation, iphone, jodie foster, metalhead, netflix, rod serling, san junipero, sci-fi, season 4, season four, star trek, tech, technology, The Smiths, the twilight zone, uss callister, virtual reality, white christmas
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Tag: Labour Party
Posted on February 4, 2019 by chrisolewicz
First published in The Social Review: 23 October 2018
After Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party in 2015, Frank Field – who had nominated Corbyn – explained why his candidate had won the contest, and why UNISON leader Dave Prentiss had been wrong to suggest that Labour members had witnessed a “great debate” during the leadership campaign. “We had no such debate,” Field told Sky’s Dermot Murnaghan. “I nominated Jeremy, hoping that we would get this debate, What was shocking and surprising and challenging was that the other three candidates… had nothing much to say. The cupboard is bare…We were offered thin Blairite gruel.”[1] In this instance, the stereotype of social democrats knowing what they oppose but having nothing of their own to propose was apparently justified.
These words are apt in explaining the crisis that has plagued the “moderate” wing of the Labour Party for many years – in particular since Corbyn’s election. It has forgone serious policy formulation in favour of articulating a broad stroke ‘aspirational socialism,’ born out of Blair-Brown era ‘Worcester woman’ analogy. In 2014 Tony Blair declared that Ed Miliband was too left-wing to win the 2015 election.[2] Tristram Hunt stated that Labour had to “appeal to the “John Lewis couple” and those who “aspire to shop in Waitrose.” Andy Burnham stood on a platform of “aspirational socialism” in both in 2010 and 2015. Liz Kendall declared that Labour “needed to show people that we understand their aspirations and ambitions for the future.”
Most notably, Chuka Umunna, a vocal critic of Corbyn within the PLP and an early favourite to succeed Ed Miliband before dropping out, explained soon after the election that a future Labour vision had to start “with the aspirations of voters: to get on and up in the world,. That means offering competence, optimism not fatalism..”[3]
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Tim Tebow, on Jimmy Fallon's late-night show, evidences his readiness to live out his intention to "Know Who You Are" — including his homeschooling upbringing. (Screenshot from YouTube)
Home/Faith/Living faith/Tebow tells homeschoolers, ‘Know Who You Are’
Tebow tells homeschoolers, ‘Know Who You Are’
As a homeschooled child, Tim Tebow sat down with his parents and made a list of goals he had for his future, including becoming a baseball player and a Navy SEAL. Then he reviewed those goals daily with his mother, charting progress along the way.
While God never called Tebow to be a SEAL, he writes in a new book that the personalized guidance of homeschooling played a significant role in his eventual success as an athlete. The former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for the University of Florida, in “Know Who You Are. Live Like It Matters,” published by WaterBrook, relays a series of lessons aimed at homeschoolers from his perspective.
“I wanted to encourage [homeschoolers] because these years are such impressionable times,” Tebow, now a minor league baseball player and SEC Network commentator, said in a news release. “I want these students to know that I went through what they are going through. They matter. God has a plan for them.”
Tebow provides moral and ethical advice in each lesson, illustrating principles with stories from his childhood. In a lesson on the importance of Scripture memorization, he remembers how his mother taught him Bible verses by turning them into songs. Another lesson talks about trusting God and references Tebow’s career as a professional football player.
“Trusting God with all our hearts doesn’t mean our prayers are always going to be answered exactly how we want,” Tebow writes. “Still, we are called to seek him. We are called to trust him.”
Homeschooling has increased steadily over the years, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In 1999, the first year a report was issued by the department, there were 850,000 children being homeschooled in America. In 2013, the most recent report, there were more than 1.7 million children being taught from home.
A longtime advocate for homeschoolers, Tebow has been promoting the “Tebow Bill” in state legislatures across the country. The measure would allow homeschooled students greater freedom to participate in sports at local public schools.
Texas became the first state to adopt the Tebow Bill in April. The Texas version of the bill allows homeschooled students to play high school sports for a fee.
Tebow recalled his own homeschooling experience to explain why the practice may be right for some families.
Tim Tebow, amid an attempt at minor league baseball, will return to the SEC Network for the 2017 season. ESPN photo
“There were times I wondered what regular school would be like, and some days I even wanted to go, but there were so many things to be grateful for,” Tebow said in the news release. “My schedule was flexible, I could study things that I found fascinating and I had the flexibility to go on mission trips.”
The state of Florida allowed Tebow to play high school football, which allowed recruiters to notice the young star and ultimately led to his college career with the Florida Gators and later his National Football League career with the Denver Broncos, according to ESPN.
This year, the former NFL quarterback has drawn media attention for ending his four-year sports hiatus by signing a minor league baseball deal with the New York Mets. Tebow’s presence in the league will mean $3.1 million in increased revenue and a 50 percent attendance increase for opposing teams, ESPN reported.
Baseball as a platform
“If I can take a platform that football and baseball and whatever else has given me and I can go into a hospital, make the kids smile, if I can inspire people … we’re doing something,” Tebow said according to Kentucky Today. “That’s what I’m passionate about, and I’ve always been grateful for a platform.”
The SEC Network also has opted to give Tebow a multiyear contract extension which will extend his time as a commentator for the network, according to ESPN.
In addition to writing books and playing baseball, Tebow works with the Tim Tebow Foundation, which assists people with special needs. Every year the foundation works with local churches across the globe to host A Night to Shine, where people with special needs are invited to a prom night experience. Last year churches in 11 different nations hosted 75,000 guests at the event.
In his book, Tebow extols the importance of striving for something bigger than fame in every realm of life.
“When we think about living bigger, it comes down to letting Jesus shine through us in what we say, how we act, how we lead, how we serve, how we interact with others, where we invest our time, what we do with our talents,” Tebow writes. “This is why faith matters.”
— by Daniel Woodman | BP
homeschool Know Who You Are Tim Tebow
Run the Race movie: dreams, despair, romance, redemption
German homeschooling family consider appeal after human rights court decision
Tim Tebow’s field of dreams | Playing ball, serving Jesus
‘Fixer Upper’ stars Chip and Joanna Gaines host church for the homeless
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Film Review: ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’
The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s reputation certainly precedes it. This October, a new cinematic rerelease of Richard O’Brien’s 1975 cult classic will see throngs of fans fastening their suspender belts and donning shiny, gold speedos as they pay tribute to one of the most iconic musicals of all time. A homage to the B-movie of old, Rocky Horror is filled with references and nods to all things horror and sci-fi, with Tim Curry inexplicably oozing masculinity – despite wearing stockings and a corset – in a career-defining performance as the eccentric scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter: a sweet transvestite from the planet of Transylvania.
Frank-N-Furter is in midst of throwing a very alternative party when his celebrations are interrupted by the newly engaged Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon). While seeking assistance for their broken down car the couple stumble upon his Gothic abode and inadvertently becomes privy to the scientist’s secrets, as he reveals his magnificent creation to his guests.
Brad and Janet soon find their innocence is lost as they become willing prisoners in Frank’s house and he introduces them to a world of uncertain pleasures and sins of the flesh. O’Brien himself guides us through the film, starring as the screeching handyman Riff Raff, alongside a cleverly stock cast of characters including a Criminologist (Charles Gray), a rival scientist (Jonathan Adams) and a groupie (‘Little’ Nell Campbell), as well as an entertaining cameo from Meat Loaf as an ex-delivery boy.
The film will take you on a hedonistic romp through O’Brien’s unconventional world. An ‘erotic nightmare beyond any measure’, Rocky Horror is full of infectious song and dance numbers, intentionally laughable dialogue and farcical set pieces, also encompassing alluring visuals that range from the absurd to borderline genius. Prepare to be left feeling dazed, confused and perhaps a little dirty, as the closing credits role and you’re left unashamedly asking for more. Not for the faint-hearted, O’Brien’s cult hit certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but for lifelong fans or those who adore kitsch, this is a viewing experience not to be missed.
From the outset this film is tongue-in-cheek, but with creepy undertones and a sci-fi inspired storyline it is ideal Halloween fodder for anyone wanting to avoid a generic horror movie this season. Whilst Rocky Horror is to be taken with a very large pinch of salt, it is a film with real heart, and the less conservative viewer will appreciate its resounding, liberal message: ‘Don’t dream it; be it’. For willing subjects, The Rocky Horror Picture Show won’t disappoint. But be warned: once you get your first taste of the time-warp you mind find it hard to look back.
Maxine Bodicoat
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Favela Fashion Brings Women Work
A highly successful cooperative of women in Brazil has shown that it is possible for outsiders to make it in the fast-paced world of fashion. Despite being based in one of Rio de Janerio’s slums, or favelas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favela), the women have developed a reputation for high-quality merchandise and even put on fashion shows.
Fashion earns big money around the world: The global clothing industry is estimated to be worth more than US $900 billion a year. But fashion also has a reputation for relying on sweat shops, poor pay and poor working conditions. The poor are the most at risk of exploitation in the industry – upwards of 90 percent of sweatshop workers are women (www.feminist.org).
Yet the COOPA-ROCA cooperative (www.coopa-roca.org.br/en/index_en.html) – or Rocinha Seamstress and Craftwork Co-operative Ltd – has pioneered a way to involve poor women in the business, build their skills while creating high-quality products, and be flexible enough to make time for their families’ needs. It particularly helps single mothers.
The cooperative was founded by Maria Teresa Leal in Rocinha – the largest favela in Rio, home to over 180,000 people. After visiting her housekeeper’s home in the favela, Leal was impressed by the sewing skills of the women but found they weren’t making any money from their work. She decided to found the cooperative in 1981 and start making quilts and pillows. By the early 1990s, the cooperative had attracted the attention of Rio’s fashion scene. And in 1994, it jumped into making clothes for the fashion catwalks. Fashion designers in turn taught the women advanced production skills and about fashion trends.
Today, the coop has established a hard-won reputation for quality and sells its clothes to the wealthy elite of Rio. Its success has led to contracts with major clothing stores, including Europe’s C&A.
“Creativity is an important tool for transforming people and raising their consciousness,” Leal told Vital Voice. “My great passion is beauty. Beauty has the capacity to inspire, to touch individuals in a more subtle way. For this reason, I like to make beautiful things with the artisans of COOPA-ROCA.”
Leal realized that most small businesses helping the poor fail despite their best intentions. They often make the same mistakes: they fail to produce high quality goods, they fail to do market research and understand who they are selling to, they fail to develop the skills of their workers, and most importantly, they fail to see that they have to compete in a global economy with lots of other enterprises. How many people have seen crafts and knickknacks for sale that nobody really wants?
Slum dwellers are on the increase across the South. As the world becomes a more urban place – and 70 million people move every year to the world’s cities (UN) – the growing population of poor women and households presents a dilemma: how to provide meaningful work so they do not fall risk to exploitation? Without work opportunities, women can feel pressured to turn to prostitution, or even be trafficked by gangs for work or sex. And women in slums experience greater levels of unemployment than those who live elsewhere (UNHABITAT).
Women now make up the majority of the world’s poor: 70 percent of the world’s poor are women, as are a majority of the 1.5 billion living on less than US $1 a day (UNESCO).
Established in 1981 from a recycling project for local children, COOPA-ROCA started with finding ways to use thrown away scraps of cloth to make clothing. It eventually evolved into a cooperative. It focused on improving traditional Brazilian decorative craftwork skills like drawstring appliqué, crochet, knot work and patchwork.
“COOPA-ROCA works with traditional handicraft techniques that are widely used by women around the world,” explains Leal. “As COOPA-ROCA works with fashion, and fashion is always linked with media, the COOPA-ROCA artisans inspire other women who recognize in themselves the potential to do the kind of work that COOPA-ROCA does.”
For its first five years, COOPA-ROCA concentrated on building the organization and the skills of the artisans. Once a production structure was in place, quality control workshops were set up to increase the quality of the products so they could compete better in the marketplace.
“Many social projects believe that money is the only resource required to begin their work. The COOPA-ROCA case proves that social organizations must use a more entrepreneurial vision to understand the concept of resources.”
The cooperative’s mission statement is to “provide conditions for its members, female residents of Rocinha, to work from home and thereby contribute to their family budget, without having to neglect their childcare and domestic duties.”
By doing this to a high standard, the profile and reputation of traditional crafts has been raised.
The COOPA-ROCA hopes the work shows others how they can increase income in poor communities. The cooperative has 150 members and has partners in the wider fashion and decorative design markets.
The women equally share responsibility for production, administration and publicity. While they work at home, they come to the office to drop off the completed pieces and pick up more fabric.
The success of the cooperative has led to donations of funds to build a new headquarters designed by architect Joao Mauricio Pegorim.
Despite the cooperative’s success, it is still not easy to work with partners. “There are many negative preconceptions about Rocinha and the people who live there, both within and outside of Brazil. COOPA-ROCA is consistently rejected when it applies for loans,” Leal said. “Furthermore, the cooperative’s commercial partners usually do not enter the favela themselves, and I must serve as a bridge between the two worlds.”
But Leal is still ambitious for bigger things: “I envision COOPA-ROCA expanding to include 400 women artisans, producing for commercial partners, selling their own brand in Brazil and abroad, and carrying out fashion and design projects in the new headquarters in Rocinha.”
1) The online service CafePress is a specially designed one-stop shop that lets entrepreneurs upload their designs, and then sell them via their online payment and worldwide shipping service. Website: http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/sell/
2) Tips on how to start your own t-shirt business. Website: http://www.pioneerthinking.com/dy_tshirt.html And how to do it online: Website: http://www.ehow.com/how_2135779_start-network-online-tshirt-company.html
3) Once inspired to get into the global fashion business, check out this business website for all the latest news, jobs and events. Website: http://us.fashionmag.com/news/index.php
4) iFashion: This web portal run from South Africa has all the latest business news on fashion in Africa and profiles of up-and-coming designers. Website: http://www.ifashion.co.za/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
5) Kiva: Kiva’s mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty. Website: http://www.kiva.org/
6) Betterplace: Is another great way to solicit funds for NGOs or businesses in the developing world. Website: http://www.betterplace.org
7) Viva Favela: The first Internet portal in Brazil. Viva Favela has a team made up of journalists and “community correspondents” – favela residents qualified to act as reporters and photographers. Website: http://www.vivafavela.com.br/publique/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm?infoid=40489&sid=74
8) Women in Poverty: A New Global Underclass by Mayra Buvinic (1998). Website: http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/beijing12/womeninpoverty.pdf
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DEP Expands Protection of Springs through the Florida Forever Program
Florida Department of Environmental Protection sent this bulletin at 07/08/2019 10:00 AM EDT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 8, 2019
CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850.245.2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us
~Springs are among Florida’s most important natural and recreational resources ~
Madison Blue Springs State Park
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has purchased a 316-acre parcel known as Hardee Springs property. The land is within the Florida’s First Magnitude Springs Project, which is ranked No. 1 in the Florida Forever Partnerships and Regional Incentives project category.
Situated within the upland recharge area and primary focus area for Madison Blue Spring, this acquisition will further protect the Withlacoochee River by conserving an additional 1.5 miles of river frontage. South of the subject property, the Withlacoochee River converges with the Suwannee River, ultimately flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.
“With the thoughtful stewardship of the Hardee family, who has owned the parcel since the 1930s, the tract has remained in a largely natural state and is a perfect complement to Twin Rivers State Forest,” said DEP Division of State Lands Director Callie DeHaven.
The acquisition will aid in the protection of springs and the Floridan Aquifer to ensure that Floridians and visitors will be able to enjoy our state’s springs for years to come. Conservation of Hardee Springs in conjunction with the adjacent forested uplands, will help protect water quality and quantity. The Hamilton County property will be managed by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Florida Forest Service as part of the Twin Rivers State Forest.
“The acquisition of the Hardee Springs Tract will forever protect a significant spring system while adding public recreational opportunities in Twin Rivers State Forest,” said State Forester and Director of the Florida Forest Service Jim Karels.
Florida Forever is the state’s conservation and recreation lands acquisition program, a blueprint for conserving our natural resources and renewing our commitment to conserve our natural and cultural heritage. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of State Lands is Florida’s lead agency for environmental management and stewardship.
About the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is the state’s principal environmental agency, created to protect, conserve and manage Florida’s environment and natural resources. The department enforces federal and state environmental laws, protects Florida’s air and water quality, cleans up pollution, regulates solid waste management, promotes pollution prevention and acquires environmentally sensitive lands for preservation. The agency also maintains a statewide system of parks, trails and aquatic preserves.
Visit the department’s website at FloridaDEP.gov.
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Boundless Microbiology
Cell Structure of Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes
Other Eukaryotic Components
Peroxisomes
Peroxisomes neutralize harmful toxins and carry out lipid metabolism and oxidation reactions that break down fatty acids and amino acids.
Name the various functions that peroxisomes perform inside the cell
Lipid metabolism and chemical detoxification are important functions of peroxisomes.
Peroxisomes are responsible for oxidation reactions that break down fatty acids and amino acids.
Peroxisomes oversee reactions that neutralize free radicals, which cause cellular damage and cell death.
Peroxisomes chemically neutralize poisons through a process that produces large amounts of toxic H2O2, which is then converted into water and oxygen.
The liver is the organ primarily responsible for detoxifying the blood before it travels throughout the body; as a result, liver cells contain large amounts of peroxisomes.
enzyme: a globular protein that catalyses a biological chemical reaction
free radical: Any molecule, ion or atom that has one or more unpaired electrons; they are generally highly reactive and often only occur as transient species.
A type of organelle found in both animal cells and plant cells, a peroxisome is a membrane-bound cellular organelle that contains mostly enzymes. Peroxisomes perform important functions, including lipid metabolism and chemical detoxification. They also carry out oxidation reactions that break down fatty acids and amino acids.
Peroxisomes: Peroxisomes are membrane-bound organelles that contain an abundance of enzymes for detoxifying harmful substances and lipid metabolism.
In contrast to the digestive enzymes found in lysosomes, the enzymes within peroxisomes serve to transfer hydrogen atoms from various molecules to oxygen, producing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). In this way, peroxisomes neutralize poisons, such as alcohol, that enter the body. In order to appreciate the importance of peroxisomes, it is necessary to understand the concept of reactive oxygen species.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as peroxides and free radicals, are the highly-reactive products of many normal cellular processes, including the mitochondrial reactions that produce ATP and oxygen metabolism. Examples of ROS include the hydroxyl radical OH, H2O2, and superoxide (O−2). Some ROS are important for certain cellular functions, such as cell signaling processes and immune responses against foreign substances. Many ROS, however, are harmful to the body. Free radicals are reactive because they contain free unpaired electrons; they can easily oxidize other molecules throughout the cell, causing cellular damage and even cell death. Free radicals are thought to play a role in many destructive processes in the body, from cancer to coronary artery disease.
Peroxisomes oversee reactions that neutralize free radicals. They produce large amounts of the toxic H2O2 in the process, but contain enzymes that convert H2O2 into water and oxygen. These by-products are then safely released into the cytoplasm. Like miniature sewage treatment plants, peroxisomes neutralize harmful toxins so that they do not cause damage in the cells. The liver is the organ primarily responsible for detoxifying the blood before it travels throughout the body; liver cells contain an exceptionally high number of peroxisomes.
Lysosomes
Lysosomes are organelles that digest macromolecules, repair cell membranes, and respond to foreign substances entering the cell.
Describe how lysosomes function as the cell’s waste disposal system
Lysosomes breakdown/digest macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids), repair cell membranes, and respond against foreign substances such as bacteria, viruses and other antigens.
Lysosomes contain enzymes that break down the macromolecules and foreign invaders.
Lysosomes are composed of lipids and proteins, with a single membrane covering the internal enzymes to prevent the lysosome from digesting the cell itself.
Lysosomes are found in all animal cells, but are rarely found within plant cells due to the tough cell wall surrounding a plant cell that keeps out foreign substances.
lysosome: An organelle found in all types of animal cells which contains a large range of digestive enzymes capable of splitting most biological macromolecules.
A lysosome has three main functions: the breakdown/digestion of macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids), cell membrane repairs, and responses against foreign substances such as bacteria, viruses and other antigens. When food is eaten or absorbed by the cell, the lysosome releases its enzymes to break down complex molecules including sugars and proteins into usable energy needed by the cell to survive. If no food is provided, the lysosome’s enzymes digest other organelles within the cell in order to obtain the necessary nutrients.
In addition to their role as the digestive component and organelle-recycling facility of animal cells, lysosomes are considered to be parts of the endomembrane system. Lysosomes also use their hydrolytic enzymes to destroy pathogens (disease-causing organisms) that might enter the cell. A good example of this occurs in a group of white blood cells called macrophages, which are part of your body’s immune system. In a process known as phagocytosis or endocytosis, a section of the plasma membrane of the macrophage invaginates (folds in) and engulfs a pathogen. The invaginated section, with the pathogen inside, then pinches itself off from the plasma membrane and becomes a vesicle. The vesicle fuses with a lysosome. The lysosome’s hydrolytic enzymes then destroy the pathogen.
Lysosomes digest foreign substances that might harm the cell: A macrophage has engulfed (phagocytized) a potentially pathogenic bacterium and then fuses with a lysosomes within the cell to destroy the pathogen. Other organelles are present in the cell but for simplicity are not shown.
A lysosome is composed of lipids, which make up the membrane, and proteins, which make up the enzymes within the membrane. Usually, lysosomes are between 0.1 to 1.2μm, but the size varies based on the cell type. The general structure of a lysosome consists of a collection of enzymes surrounded by a single-layer membrane. The membrane is a crucial aspect of its structure because without it the enzymes within the lysosome that are used to breakdown foreign substances would leak out and digest the entire cell, causing it to die.
Lysosomes are found in nearly every animal-like eukaryotic cell. They are so common in animal cells because, when animal cells take in or absorb food, they need the enzymes found in lysosomes in order to digest and use the food for energy. On the other hand, lysosomes are not commonly-found in plant cells. Lysosomes are not needed in plant cells because they have cell walls that are tough enough to keep the large/foreign substances that lysosomes would usually digest out of the cell.
Intermediate Filaments and Microtubules
Microtubules are part of the cell’s cytoskeleton, helping the cell resist compression, move vesicles, and separate chromosomes at mitosis.
Describe the roles of microtubules as part of the cell’s cytoskeleton
Microtubules help the cell resist compression, provide a track along which vesicles can move throughout the cell, and are the components of cilia and flagella.
Cilia and flagella are hair-like structures that assist with locomotion in some cells, as well as line various structures to trap particles.
The structures of cilia and flagella are a “9+2 array,” meaning that a ring of nine microtubules is surrounded by two more microtubules.
Microtubules attach to replicated chromosomes during cell division and pull them apart to opposite ends of the pole, allowing the cell to divide with a complete set of chromosomes in each daughter cell.
microtubule: Small tubes made of protein and found in cells; part of the cytoskeleton
flagellum: a flagellum is a lash-like appendage that protrudes from the cell body of certain prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
cytoskeleton: A cellular structure like a skeleton, contained within the cytoplasm.
Micrtubule Structure: Microtubules are hollow, with walls consisting of 13 polymerized dimers of α-tubulin and β-tubulin (right image). The left image shows the molecular structure of the tube.
As their name implies, microtubules are small hollow tubes. Microtubules, along with microfilaments and intermediate filaments, come under the class of organelles known as the cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton is the framework of the cell which forms the structural supporting component. Microtubules are the largest element of the cytoskeleton. The walls of the microtubule are made of polymerized dimers of α-tubulin and β-tubulin, two globular proteins. With a diameter of about 25 nm, microtubules are the widest components of the cytoskeleton. They help the cell resist compression, provide a track along which vesicles move through the cell, and pull replicated chromosomes to opposite ends of a dividing cell. Like microfilaments, microtubules can dissolve and reform quickly.
Stained Keratin Intermediate filaments: Keratin cytoskeletal intermediate filaments are concentrated around the edge of the cells and merge into the surface membrane. This network of intermediate filaments from cell to cell holds together tissues like skin.
Microtubules are also the structural elements of flagella, cilia, and centrioles (the latter are the two perpendicular bodies of the centrosome ). In animal cells, the centrosome is the microtubule-organizing center. In eukaryotic cells, flagella and cilia are quite different structurally from their counterparts in prokaryotes.
Intermediate Filaments
Intermediate filaments (IFs) are cytoskeletal components found in animal cells. They are composed of a family of related proteins sharing common structural and sequence features. Intermediate filaments have an average diameter of 10 nanometers, which is between that of 7 nm actin (microfilaments), and that of 25 nm microtubules, although they were initially designated ‘intermediate’ because their average diameter is between those of narrower microfilaments (actin) and wider myosin filaments found in muscle cells. Intermediate filaments contribute to cellular structural elements and are often crucial in holding together tissues like skin.
Microtubules are the structural component of flagella: This transmission electron micrograph of two flagella shows the 9 + 2 array of microtubules: nine microtubule doublets surround a single microtubule doublet.
Flagella and Cilia
Flagella (singular = flagellum ) are long, hair-like structures that extend from the plasma membrane and are used to move an entire cell (for example, sperm, Euglena). When present, the cell has just one flagellum or a few flagella. When cilia (singular = cilium) are present, however, many of them extend along the entire surface of the plasma membrane. They are short, hair-like structures that are used to move entire cells (such as paramecia) or substances along the outer surface of the cell (for example, the cilia of cells lining the Fallopian tubes that move the ovum toward the uterus, or cilia lining the cells of the respiratory tract that trap particulate matter and move it toward your nostrils).
Despite their differences in length and number, flagella and cilia share a common structural arrangement of microtubules called a “9 + 2 array.” This is an appropriate name because a single flagellum or cilium is made of a ring of nine microtubule doublets surrounding a single microtubule doublet in the center.
Extracellular Matrix of Animal Cells
The extracellular matrix of animal cells holds cells together to form a tissue and allow tissues to communicate with each other.
Explain the role of the extracellular matrix in animal cells
The extracellular matrix of animal cells is made up of proteins and carbohydrates.
Cell communication within tissue and tissue formation are main functions of the extracellular matrix of animal cells.
Tissue communication is kick-started when a molecule within the matrix binds a receptor; the end results are conformational changes that induce chemical signals that ultimately change activities within the cell.
collagen: Any of more than 28 types of glycoprotein that forms elongated fibers, usually found in the extracellular matrix of connective tissue.
proteoglycan: Any of many glycoproteins that have heteropolysaccharide side chains
extracellular matrix: All the connective tissues and fibres that are not part of a cell, but rather provide support.
The Extracellular Matrix: The extracellular matrix consists of a network of proteins and carbohydrates.
Most animal cells release materials into the extracellular space. The primary components of these materials are proteins. Collagen is the most abundant of the proteins. Its fibers are interwoven with carbohydrate-containing protein molecules called proteoglycans. Collectively, these materials are called the extracellular matrix. Not only does the extracellular matrix hold the cells together to form a tissue, but it also allows the cells within the tissue to communicate with each other.
How does this cell communication occur? Cells have protein receptors on the extracellular surfaces of their plasma membranes. When a molecule within the matrix binds to the receptor, it changes the molecular structure of the receptor. The receptor, in turn, changes the conformation of the microfilaments positioned just inside the plasma membrane. These conformational changes induce chemical signals inside the cell that reach the nucleus and turn “on” or “off” the transcription of specific sections of DNA. This affects the production of associated proteins, thus changing the activities within the cell.
An example of the role of the extracellular matrix in cell communication can be seen in blood clotting. When the cells lining a blood vessel are damaged, they display a protein receptor called tissue factor. When a tissue factor binds with another factor in the extracellular matrix, it causes platelets to adhere to the wall of the damaged blood vessel and stimulates the adjacent smooth muscle cells in the blood vessel to contract (thus constricting the blood vessel). Subsequently, a series of steps are initiated which then prompt the platelets to produce clotting factors.
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Home > News and Events > News Archive > Dugoni School Hosts Children’s Health Poster Contest Awards
Dugoni School Hosts Children’s Health Poster Contest Awards
Clarise Wu of Spring Valley Science School is the 2017 winner of the poster contest.
Creative and inspiring expressions of good health were recently on display at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry as community leaders and families gathered to celebrate the winners of the San Francisco Dental Society's 42nd Annual Children's Poster Contest.
This year's contest theme was "Choose Water for a Sparkling Smile" and it was open to all San Francisco public and private kindergarten through fifth grade students. The competition is held each year in February in conjunction with National Children's Dental Health Month.
A total of 60 winners were awarded prizes at the May 12 ceremony, with first place going to Clarise Wu of Spring Valley Science School.
The SFDS Board of Directors approved the naming of the first-place prize as the "Dr. Dennis Shinbori Award" in honor of Dugoni School Associate Professor Dr. Shinbori '75. He has been the chairman of this contest for the past 34 years and has worked hard over the years to increase awareness of the importance of good dental health among the public in general and schoolchildren in particular.
Notable guests included California State Senator Scott Wiener and Assemblymember David Chiu who brought Certificates of Merit from the State Senate and State Assembly to present to the winners. Dr. Richard Fredekind, executive associate dean of the Dugoni School, was also on hand to welcome the children and their families on behalf of the school.
Members of the public may view the winning posters, scheduled to be on display at the Fischer Children's Library inside the San Francisco Pubic Library's Main Library at 100 Larkin Street.
The San Francisco Dental Society's Community Dental Health Committee advances dental health and oral health education through numerous programs and volunteer efforts, including the annual Children's Poster Contest. SFDS says the contest facilitates learning about dental health through an artistic means of inspiration and expression, and helps young people learn the importance of proper dental hygiene.
To view the complete list of winners, visit the SFDS website at https://www.sfds.org/menus/annual-childrens-poster-contest.html
Categories: Awards, Community Impact, Oral Health, 2017
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13 MOVIE STARS OVER 50 WHO SELL OUT AT THE BOX OFFICE.
It’s an adage as old as Hollywood (which is, mind you, really, really old) that the older a movie star gets, the less of a draw that star is at the box office. Younger people supposedly go to the movies more often than older people, and young people don’t like to be reminded that they will, in fact, get old. Only wrinkle-free skin and coming-of-age stories matter.
Yet, a small handful of stars have enjoyed the best opening weekends of their careers after they turned 50 — especially (though not exclusively) over the last decade or so. And they’ve done so not in wizened supporting roles, or even in major starring roles in massive brand-name franchises. These are movies in which one of the central selling points is that this particular actor over 50 is starring in this particular lead role.
The most recent member to join the elite club of Success Stories Post-50 is Liam Neeson, whose 2009 megahit Taken pioneered a new career path for Baby Boomer male actors: kick-ass action star. For the last six years, Neeson has headlined a series of old-school action films, peaking — so far — with 2012’s Taken 2, which opened with $49.7 million when he was 60.
And now, at 62, Neeson’s starring in the third (and final?) film in that series, Taken 3, which opened this weekend with a phenomenal estimated debut of $40.4 million — within spitting distance of Taken 2’s peak opening grosses. So it seemed fitting to celebrate the actors like Neeson who have proven life in Hollywood can get even sweeter after turning 50.
(A note on criteria: I drew from the 150 top-grossing stars according to Box Office Mojo, and focused on each star’s top opening weekend gross, the best — but still flawed — barometer for a star’s peak drawing power. I also adjusted for ticket price inflation. I concentrated only on live-action films in which the actor in question had a lead, above-the-title role, and did not include films for which the franchise itself was the main draw — like Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings. This meant some over-50 actors who are popular, like Samuel L. Jackson and Ian McKellan, didn’t make this particular list.)
1. Box office – Dustin Hoffman
Photo courtesy of IMDB
Movie: Meet the Fockers (2004)
Age at release: 67
Opening weekend (adjusted): $60,009,300
Hoffman was past standard retirement age when he co-starred in the enormously lucrative sequel to 2000’s Meet the Parents, performing alongside Barbra Streisand as Ben Stiller’s titular parents. This movie was such a gargantuan hit ($516.6 million worldwide! And it’s a comedy!) that it also served as the box office high watermark for someone else on this list. (See No. 6.)
2. Sean Connery
Photo courtesy of Pinterest
Movie: The Rock (1996)
Connery’s early career was haunted by the ghost of James Bond, but by the 1980s, he had become a full-fledged star outside of 007’s tuxedo, with hits including The Untouchables, The Hunt for Red October, and Rising Sun. But he reached his box office peak with one of director Michael Bay’s earliest films, as the only Alcatraz inmate to ever escape from the prison. Fun fact: This is also co-star Nicolas Cage’s best opening weekend ever. He was 32.
3. Harrison Ford
Movie: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Opening weekend (adjusted): $112,689,900
Indiana Jones may be a name brand franchise, but Ford’s face is that brand — there is no separating the two. As such, the fourth adventure for the whip-cracking hero rates as Ford’s top debut ever. (Without Indy, Ford’s box office peak is still impressive: 1997’s Air Force One, when Ford was 54.)
Incidentally, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with Ford returning as Han Solo, opens this December, at which point all box office records ever will almost certainly be rendered meaningless.
4. Morgan Freeman
Movie: Bruce Almighty (2003)
This is perhaps fudging things a little, since Bruce Almighty is first and foremost a Jim Carrey movie (and also his top debut ever, when Carrey was 41). But Freeman was credited above the title, and he is playing the Almighty. So…
Also, Box Office Mojo has Freeman listed as literally the second top grossing actor of all time, and yet his first major break as a film actor was in the 1987 film Street Smart — when he was 50. So…
5. Anthony Hopkins
Movie: Hannibal (2001)
Like Harrison Ford and Indiana Jones, Anthony Hopkins is so deeply identified with Hannibal Lecter that no one could imagine anyone else playing him. (In a movie, anyway.) While the producers were fine with recasting Clarice Starling with Julianne Moore after Jodie Foster passed on this Silence of the Lambs sequel, there wouldn’t have been a movie — and one of the highest February debuts ever — without Hopkins in this role.
6. Robert De Niro
Photo courtesy of Aspen Peak Magazine
Adjusting for ticket price inflation, Meet the Fockers grossed $356.9 million in the U.S. To put that in perspective, in the last 25 years, the only other live-action comedies that have made more in inflation-adjusted grosses are 1993’s Mrs. Doubtfire and 1990’s Home Alone.
Which is to say that we live in a world in which Robert De Niro is one of the most successful comedy stars of the last 25 years.
7. Liam Neeson
Movie: Taken 2 (2012)
Opening weekend: $49,699,300
After Taken became a surprise blockbuster in 2009, Hollywood has worked hard to replicate Liam Neeson’s Baby Boomer action hero formula with several other actors over 50. While the first two Expendables movies and the 2010 retired assassin film Red did fine, no one has come close to matching Neeson’s success at the U.S. box office when striking out on their own. Not Bruce Willis, not Sylvester Stallone, not Arnold Schwarzenegger, not Kevin Costner, and not John Travolta.
There is just no stopping the Liam Neesons.
8. Meryl Streep
Photo courtesy of Vanity Fair
Movie: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Streep has always held a unique place in Hollywood as an unquestionable acting powerhouse, but it is only relatively recently that that has translated into major box office success. Her recent string of hits — including Mamma Mia!, Julie & Julia, It’s Complicated, and Into the Woods — started here, with Streep demolishing all those around her as the impossible-to-please fashion editor Miranda Priestly. (Based just on raw numbers, December’s Into the Woods actually opened with Streep’s best box office debut ever, but The Devil Wears Prada surpasses it when adjusting for inflation.)
Depressingly, Streep’s box office prowess also makes her unique in Hollywood as the only female star to have her biggest box office debut after 50.
9. Steve Martin
Movie: Bringing Down the House (2003)
Martin’s been a comedy fixture since his debut hit, 1979’s The Jerk, which still ranks as his top grossing film overall when adjusting for inflation. But in 2003, Martin enjoyed the most successful year of his career with back-to-back comedy hits. The first was Bringing Down the House, which co-starred Queen Latifah (whose career was also hot off the success of 2002’s Oscar-winning Chicago) as an escaped convict. Perhaps more impressive than its opening weekend box office returns (which make it Martin’s biggest debut ever) is its precarious tightrope walk over a bottomless pit of racial insensitivity. The second was the remake of Cheaper by the Dozen. This is perhaps a good time to note gently that this story is recognizing financial milestones, not creative ones.
10. Robert Redford
Movie: Indecent Proposal (1993)
There was a time in Hollywood when a movie star’s appeal was not judged on box office prowess alone, and Redford is one of our last symbols of that bygone era. Still, there was a stretch of 1993 when everyone was talking about this movie, in which Redford played a 1 percenter who propositions a married couple (Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore) with $1,000,000 to sleep with the wife. In 2015 dollars, it made more than $200 million in the U.S. When was the last time a contemporary adult drama did that?
11. Denzel Washington
Movie: American Gangster (2007)
Since 2000’s Remember the Titans, virtually all of Washington’s movies in wide release have opened with more than $20 million, a level of consistency that is enviable in modern Hollywood. (And, alas, underappreciated, according to stolen emails recently revealed in the Sony Pictures hack.) But Washington’s track record peaked with this 2007 Ridley Scott–directed crime saga co-starring Russell Crowe. And given the recent solid success of Washington’s film The Equalizer, it would appear Liam Neeson actually does have a rival for the title of biggest Baby Boomer action hero.
12. Jack Nicholson
Photo courtesy of Lynette McNeill Studios
Movie: Batman (1989)
Decades before comic book adaptations ruled the day in Hollywood — indeed, well before the concept of a “movie franchise” governed every studio executive’s life — director Tim Burton’s dark take on the Caped Crusader was a true box office phenomenon, grossing roughly $508 million in 2015 dollars. Yes, of course, Batman had a long-established fanbase, but what also helped to rake in all that money money money was Nicholson’s go-for-broke performance as the Joker. He was even billed over Michael Keaton as Batman — people wanted to see what Nicholson had in store as this character.
13. Al Pacino
Movie: The Godfather Part III (1990)
Like Redford, Pacino has never really operated as a massive box office star. Still, it is rather fitting that 1972’s The Godfather launched Pacino’s career, and 18 years later, the third film in the series served as his best debut ever.
Perhaps the best indicator yet that Hollywood ageism may be waning: Two of the industry’s biggest stars — Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock — recently enjoyed their biggest debuts ever when they were 49, Pitt with 2013’s World War Z, and Bullock with 2014’s Gravity. Both actors are now in their fifties, and show little sign of slowing down. Then again, it is telling that both of these movies rely heavily on visual-effects-driven spectacle as much as genuine star power.
Written by Adam B. Vary and was posted on Buzzfeed.
Alice Mongkongllite for BuzzFeed
Who is your favorite actor above? Let us know in the comments below.
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Sick Pleasure
Tuesday, June 6, 2006 By Douglas Wilson
This is a public statement, made on behalf of the session of Christ Church:
On June 5, 2006, a disgruntled former member of our church took it upon himself to post an announcement on his web site about a former NSA student, Steven Sitler, who has been convicted of child molestation. This posting was done in the context of scurrilous speculation about our church and, given the history of that web site, was par for the course. Because of this posting, and how it has been picked up with glee at other irresponsible web sites, we have a pastoral need to comment on certain things which (for the sake of the victims and their families) we would have preferred not to discuss. But the salient facts which are now necessary to state are these:
1. The pastor and elders of Christ Church deeply regret that the enemies of our church have decided that additional pain to the families of the victims is worth the petty political points they think they can score with this.
2. When this criminal behavior was first discovered, the family of one of the victims came immediately to Douglas Wilson, who encouraged them in their responsibility to turn Steven Sitler into the civil authorities, which they were already intending to do, and immediately did. Our church immediately recognized the limits of ecclesiastical jurisdiction and the lawful jurisdiction of the civil authorities in this, and turned it over to them. This entire process has been a textbook case of scriptural cooperation between church and legal authorities, with us providing spiritual counsel to those involved.
3. Information about the additional crimes came out in the course of pastoral counsel that was provided to Steven Sitler by us, and he was told to confess everything that he had done to the authorities, which he did. The goal throughout this process was to offer the grace of God in Christ to Steven without sacrificing what the Bible requires with regard to civil justice being done.
4. One slanderous claim on this attack web site was that the elders of our church withheld information from the parents of our church, information which they clearly needed to know. To quote that site: “This post is similar, except that it brings heavy tidings to the Palouse, providing information that the Kirk elders neglected to tell you” (emphasis ours). The problem for our enemies here is that we did inform the households of our congregation about the situation on at least several documented occasions last year. There is a detailed discussion of the issue (including Steven’s identity) in my minister’s report to the parish heads of households meeting on November 8, 2005. The minutes of the church-wide heads of households meeting for both Christ Church and Trinity Reformed (Dec. 13, 2005) also show that the situation was again discussed, with Steven Sitler again discussed by name. In addition, although Steven was not a member of Christ Church, his hometown church informed their congregation of what he had done, in the context of suspending him from the Lord’s Supper.
5. While Steven Sitler was engaged in his horrific behavior, he did not think of what his behavior would do to his victims because it was “all about him.” The pathetic individuals who are gleefully circulating this information now have the same problem. They pursue their own desires, and somebody else pays.
6. While this circumstance is particularly awful, there is always sin in the church: sins of predation, sins of parental neglect, sins of attitude, and sins in between all these. We are not called to live in a sinless environment; we are called to respond to the inevitable sin the way the Bible tells us to. We are called to minister to those maimed or hurt by it, to those crippled by inflicting it, and not to circle over any of them like vultures.
7. Steven is in the Latah County jail, where he belongs, and Douglas Wilson visits him there. The adversaries of our church who are behaving this way are in a different kind of prison, the kind that doesn’t have visiting hours.
This is the situation I anticipated a few weeks ago on this blog, and now here we are. When I said in the comments section of that post that any sex scandal would have to manufactured in the same way the so-called gambling scandal was, this obviously did not mean that there was no sin involved in it. It means that our accusers want these to be examples of pastoral scandal when they are actually examples of individuals sinning and pastors and elders then dealing with them accordingly. It takes a special kind of mind to take a situation where elders deal with sin in the way God requires and somehow turn it into an outrage.
In my earlier post, I said this:
As a pastor for almost thirty years, I have seen quite a number of people destroy their lives, marriages or both through sexual disobedience. Sometimes there is church discipline. Sometimes the cops need to be involved, along with the prosecutor. Sometimes lawyers help a couple divide up what they both threw away. Sometimes there are children who were abused, kids whose wounds won’t really bleed until they’ve grown. And so we can expect (at some point) the accusation that pastoring people who have wounded themselves this way is somehow a subsidy. But Jesus said that He came for the sick ones, not for the healthy. That is simply the grace and goodness of God.
As we contemplate the true destructiveness of sin, and we are sickened by what people can do, we always have to remember the undeserved grace of God. This grace has come to all of us, and it can therefore reach the most defiled. This includes people like Steven Sitler, but it also includes those people who take sick pleasure in scoring points with a human tragedy like this. For all concerned, please pray that God would mete out grace and justice according to His Word.
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Maritza| 14 March, 2013
Mickey Mouse returns in an animated short
Following the success of the film “Paperman” in the latest installment of the Academy Awards, where it won the statuette for Best Animated Short, Disney has just introduced a final project that brings back one of its most beloved characters: Mickey Mouse .
The famous character back to the big screen in “Croissant de triomphe”, an animated adventure through the streets of Paris in the 30s, which has background landscapes as representative of the City of Light, reports Mashable.
Mickey has to take his beloved Minnie order of croissants for hungry customers in their small cafe. On the way, has to go through the heavy traffic and landscapes as Parisian as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Seine and the Moulin Rouge.
Furthermore, in the midst of history appear Cinderella and her prince (story originally written by Charles Perrault), in a palace in the middle of Paris, just when he placed the glass slipper.
The drawing style is a tribute to the classic work of the company. The images combine traditional techniques, water colors, and details worked to computer.
The address was given by Paul Rudish, Emmy winner and head of the drawings remembered Cartoon Network “Dexter’s Laboratory” and “Powerpuff Girls”.
This is just the first of a total of 19 shorts featuring Mickey and his friends around the world. The clips will be released through Disney’s official account on YouTube since June 28.
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Urszula Dudziak (also known as Ursula Dudziak) is a leading figure of the Polish vocal jazz scene. In 1972 her album Newborn Light received maximal score of five stars in the prestigious American "Down Beat” magazine. In 1979 her performances solo as One Woman Show with use of electronic devices gave her the title of the singer of 1979 year in Los Angeles Times. Her song Papaya (first recorded in 1976) became a smash hit in 2007 in Asia and Latin America.
Urszula Dudziak, photo: Łukasz Dejnarowicz / Forum
Urszula Dudziak
Leading figure of the Polish vocal jazz scene.
She has sung jazz standards and "evergreens". She made her professional debut in 1958 and then she was invited to join Krzysztof Komeda’s band. In 1964 she started her collaboration with Michał Urbaniak Band and performed with them at some prestigious festivals. Initially, Dudziak performed acoustic jazz and then she became fascinated with music that used voice converters.
From 1981 she worked with the international group Vocal Summit (guests: Bobby McFerrin, Jeanne Lee). She performed and recorded with Gil Evans Orchestra and Archie Shepp Band. With her original program Future Talk prepared with writer Jerzy Kosiński she performed in almost all countries of Europe, North and South America and in Asia
Throughout her career she has also cooperated with artists like Adam Makowicz
Herbie Hancock, Jaco Pastorius, Ron Carter, Michael Brecker, Flora Purim, Nina Simone, Carmen McRae, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Sting or Lionel Hampton.
In 1985 Dudziak returned to Poland and performed with Bobby McFerrin at Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw. Recently she has been concerting along with her daughters: Mika and Kasia Urbaniak.
Selected discography:
Newborn Light (1972)
Super Constellation (1973)
Atma (1974)
Urszula (1976)
Midnight Train (1977)
Urbaniak (1977)
Future Talk (1979)
Magic Lady (1980)
Ulla (1982)
Sorrow Is Not Forever...But Love Is (1983)
Magic Lady concert with Walk Away (1989)
Jazz Unlimited (1993)
Journey, Saturation (1994)
And Life Goes On (2002)
Painted Bird (2003)
Forever Green - Zawsze Zielona (2008)
Urszula Dudziak Superband - Live at Jazz Cafe (2009)
Wszystko gra (2013)
Manager Sylwia Smoczyńska
sylwia@kayax.net www.kayax.net
polish jazz vocalist
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[shutterstock: 232240270, ImageFlow]
Christian Kroschl, Camelot ITLab
Blog • Logistics
DDSCM: Shortening The Process
Camelot Demand-Driven Lean Planning Suite is an integrated software suite based on SAP for the implementation of Demand-Driven Supply Chain Management concepts in chemical, life science and consumer goods industries.
This series is available as PDF download at the bottom of the page.
Many companies in the process industry are already convinced of the benefits of Demand-Driven Supply Chain Management. However, when it comes to implementation, they often face the challenge of applying theory to the practical complexity of their supply chain. Typically, there exist numerous limitations and challenges that need to be taken into account when attempting to increase plant availability and improving overall plant efficiency.
If anything, most companies hence only start with small DDMRP pilot projects in distribution. Since usually no support system is available, complex Excel tools are used. This in turn makes it difficult or even impossible to transfer the advantages achieved in these small pilots to the entire organization. The scalability of these homegrown add-ons is therefore questionable at best.
Lean planning
The SAP-based Camelot Demand-Driven Lean Planning Suite (CLS) is a completely integrated solution that supports companies in the process industry in meeting these challenges. The Camelot Demand-Driven Lean Planning Suite is available on SAP S/4 Hana, SAP Integrated Business Planning (SAP IBP) and SAP SCM. In addition to Demand-Driven MRP (DDMRP), the software suite also includes Demand-Driven Rhythm Wheel Planning (DDRWP), a concept for smooth production planning that is highly regarded as a best practice in the process industry today. DDMRP (available on SAP S/4 Hana, SAP IBP, and SAP SCM) reduces the variability of supply and demand by using the inventory in the system as a buffer and replenishing it based on actual consumption rather than forecasted demand.
Production then follows the DDRWP’s repetitive cyclical production approach (available on SAP S/4 Hana and SAP SCM). In this way, production is leveled over time, demand fluctuations on the upstream stage (for required components) are reduced and the visibility and reliability of relevant signals in the supply chain is increased. Production requirements such as batch sizes, campaigns and optimal sequences are taken into account. With the Demand-Driven Lean Planning Suite, Camelot offers a holistic and integrated solution package – particularly for the process industry – and thus supports the introduction of a Demand-Driven operating model. The suite is also available as a cloud solution.
Shortages
The integration of DDMRP and DDRWP in the Camelot Demand-Driven Lean Planning Suite has the following advantages: DDRWP parameters such as cycle times, production quantities and campaign frequency are used in design and parameterization to automatically determine the level of DDMRP inventory buffers and to align them with production requirements and lead times. During production planning, the projected inventory buffers are calculated based on the current demand situation and can be taken into account to set alerts and/or prioritize for automatic intervention when bottlenecks occur.
Use case: Pharmaceutical industry
Camelot developed a four-step approach for a leading pharmaceutical enterprise, which was used to establish an integrated supply chain operating model within the framework of Demand-Driven SCM. To overcome the challenge of fragmented supply chain processes and limited responsibilities and to ensure transparency and visibility in the pharmaceutical manufacturer’s supply chain, global corporate priorities had to be determined as a necessary first step. It was essential to establish a global end-to-end supply chain planning process involving all relevant parties. Within the process, globally defined goals, such as alignment with actual customer requirements, needed to become the controlling factor along the entire supply chain.
The next step encompassed creating end-to-end visibility and transparency within the supply chain. With the introduction of SAP SCM, the globally defined planning process could be mapped in the IT infrastructure. The solution thus became an important piece to the puzzle as a central and consistent planning platform.
Since SAP SCM is an established standard software for supply chain planning, additional intelligent planning methods were introduced to achieve complete Demand-Driven supply chain planning, in particular the SAP-based Camelot Demand-Driven Lean Planning Suite (CLS).
With CLS’s DDMRP module, the pharmaceutical manufacturer has finally optimized inventories worldwide, which led to a reduction potential of 240 million US dollars. A feasible, reliable and optimized production plan was achieved with the help of the CLS production module, Demand-Driven Rhythm Wheel Planning (DDRWP), which level variability in production. In this way, additional sales potential of USD 100 million could be generated in a single production plant alone. In tablet production, variability was reduced by 60 percent. For the future, the company is evaluating the implementation of DDMRP and DDRWP based on SAP S/4 Hana and SAP Integrated Business Planning.
Lastly, a key aspect for the success of the project was embedding the Demand-Driven mindset in the company through new roles that have both the capacity and the authority to implement the transition from reactive to proactive supply chain planning.
Benefits in practice:
An integrated, Demand-Driven supply chain
240 million USD in potential from reduced inventory
60 percent less variability in tablet production
Additional potential of 100 million USD in revenue
Use case: Consumer goods industry
Reducing the inventory of finished goods by 30 to 60 percent: a remarkable result for a leading company in the consumer goods industry, where supply chain optimization has been at the top of the agenda for 15 years and which has already almost halved its inventories in the same period. In recent years, however, further improvements have only been possible to a limited extent. The reason: an increasingly complex supply chain and increasingly difficult demand planning. It was thus about time to put the previous optimization approaches to the test and to consistently align the supply chain to the new challenges of an increasingly uncertain and volatile environment. The new strategy focused on customer requirements and the ability to react flexibly and quickly to changes in demand. Demand-Driven supply chain planning is an essential component of the strategy.
At the beginning of this year, DDSCM based on the Demand-Driven MRP concept was first introduced in a distribution subdivision. After five months, the results are more than positive. “Our expectations were fully met,” is the conclusion of the SCM manager responsible for the project. Inventories in the regional warehouses were reduced by almost 50 percent without any loss in delivery capacity. After five months, inventory size for majority of finished products was down between 30 to 60 percent in comparison to the same period of the previous year. At the same time, transparency regarding inventories, priorities and optimization potential has improved. The key to rapid implementation and acceptance among supply chain planners was that the new concept could be fully implemented in the existing and globally used SAP SCM system using the Demand-Driven Lean Planning Suite enhancement solution by Camelot ITLab.
As an SAP APO user from the very beginning, integration into the existing SAP planning system was a central requirement for the consumer goods manufacturer. However, the greatest challenges of the project were not in technology, but in the minds of the employees. DDMRP is a paradigm shift in supply chain management and requires a new way of thinking in the company. Change management will therefore play a greater role in the rollout of the new supply chain planning concept, that has already been accepted by management.
Camelot ITLab
E-3 Magazine July/August 2018 (German)
CHristian Kroschl is Partner at Camelot ITLab.
KPIs for DDSCM: Flow Metrics
Demand-Driven MRP: Agile Supply Chain
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Black-Capped Petrel Survival on Dominica
November 12, 2017 November 13, 2017 by Charles Alexander, posted in Dominica, Petrel, Black-capped, Petrel, Jamaican, Pterodroma caribbaea, Pterodroma hasitata
While remaining focused on the fate of Dominica’s endemic parrots, I am also concerned about Maria’s potential impact on the endangered black-capped petrel (Pterodroma hasitata). The rare seabird– known locally as the Diablotin (Little Devil), thanks to its nocturnal habits and eerie calls– was rediscovered over Dominica in 2015. In that year, 968 black-capped petrels were documented darting on swift wings between the sea and the island’s towering volcanic peaks. The phantom birds are notoriously difficult subjects of scientific inquiry, however, as they prefer to breed in remote, densely-forested highlands, returning to their nesting burrows only at night. As of this writing, the presence of Diablotin eggs and chicks in burrows on Dominica has yet to be confirmed.
A gadfly petrel in the genus Pterodroma, the black-capped petrel is one of the world’s rarest seabirds, with as few as 1,000-2,000 pairs remaining. Until it was discovered in numbers over Dominica, the bird’s only known breeding location had been Hispaniola, a Greater Antillean island divided by the nations of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Haiti deforestation via Direct Relief CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Since environmental pressures and widespread deforestation on Hispanolia have proven catastrophic in recent decades, particularly on Haiti, the detection of the black-capped petrel over the mountainous, rainforest-clad Nature Island of Dominica, where natural resources are valued and protected, was considered to be a most fortunate development for the continued survival of the species.
Black-capped petrel range map via Cornell University
For most of the year, the black-capped petrel forages in the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, returning to land only to nest. In the non-breeding season, its numbers are concentrated out-to-sea between the coasts of Florida and North Carolina. Once abundant within its range, the Diablotin was thought to be extinct by the early 20th century, but was fortunately rediscovered. Its close relative the Jamaican petrel (Pterodroma caribbaea)–sometimes considered a dusky subspecies of the black-capped– was last sited in 1879. The Jamaican petrel has yet to be declared extinct, thanks to its secretive, nocturnal habits, with some authorities postulating that the species could still persist on Guadeloupe and Dominica.
1907 illustration of the now-mythic Jamaican Petrel
Though the black-capped petrels nest in January, with young fledging and heading to sea by June or July, the impact on potential nesting grounds post-Maria could prove disastrous to the breeding success of the species on Dominica, thanks to the widespread loss of forest cover and landslides in the high mountains. I will continue reporting on the species as details emerge.
Previous postDominica Parrot Rescue Update 11/11/2017
Next postJacos Eating Grapefruit: More Evidence of Parrot Survival Post-Maria
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Accueil»Encyclopedia»Political epistemology»National Construction and European Issues»France, the Atlantic Alliance and the Europe of Defence since the end of the Cold War
France, the Atlantic Alliance and the Europe of Defence since the end of the Cold War
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The Atlantic Alliance was the central part of security in Europe from 1949 to 1989, with France playing its part, then going his own way. Between the seemingly improbable defence of Europe by Europeans and the defence of Europe by NATO, which seems to have won out, France has tried since the end of the Cold War to maintain a form of national independence, strategic autonomy, and privileged contacts, particularly with the British. The Europe of defence based on reinforced cooperation and genuine pooling of resources sill comes up against national choices, for which France does not bear sole responsibility.
A map showing European membership of the EU and NATO. Blue, EU members only. Orange, NATO members only. Purple, members of both.
The Atlantic Alliance was the central piece of security in Europe from 1949 to 1989. It represented a powerful factor of unity for Europeans and won the Cold War. Since the 1990s, the Alliance has clarified its role, revised its strategic concept, and transformed its organization. It rallied new members, and also granted itself new assignments in a new space with new means—projection capability and terrestrial surveillance—which were added to the traditional capacities for operational planning.
General de Gaulle’s decision in 1966 to withdraw France from certain organizations and integrated commands of the armed branch of the Atlantic Alliance did not however put an end to France’s participation in common exchanges and exercises with its allies. It is in this context that France has engaged in a rapprochement since the 1990s with NATO, firstly at the operational level. This was the case in the Balkans between 1992 and 1999, and especially since July 1995, when France took an active part in NATO operations in Bosnia, for instance during the Kosovo conflict in March-June 1999. 60,000 French soldiers have intervened in Afghanistan on a rotating basis since 2002 within a NATO framework.
The failure of talks in 1997 regarding the possibility of a major command entrusted to France on NATO’s “South” flank did not affect this cooperation, which was reinforced by common external commitments with allies. Franco-American tensions between 2003-2007 explain why things have remained at this level. France’s gradual entry into all of the operational systems of the integrated military organization enabled its official reintegration on April 3, 2009 (on the eve of the Atlantic Alliance’s 60th anniversary) to take place with no major political difficulties. National independence in matters of deterrence, along with France’s liberty of assessment in matters of external commitment was moreover maintained, as is the case for the Alliance’s other nuclear powers.
Three questions currently remain unresolved: the future of national deterrence, the shifting centre of gravity of US strategic interests from Europe towards Asia, and the simultaneous construction of a Europe of defence. Until 1990, the defence of Europe was provided by the Atlantic Alliance and US nuclear umbrella, but since then the project no longer involves solely the defence of Europe, but rather a European defence. For France there is an obligation in terms of strategic interdependence as well as military inter-operability.
The two paths for achieving this are a European defence proprio motu and NATO. During the 1990s, the “Europe of defence,” a notion led by France which is also a French priority, underwent reinforced cooperation on land, sea, and air, as well as among police forces. In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty affirmed the notion of a European identity for defence, which led in a few years to a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and later to a European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). The question of institutions was the order of the day, although operations centred on the UN/NATO duo up to the 1999 war in Kosovo.
The Europe of defence could have been built based on two different partnerships, that of the Franco-German relationship and the Franco-British entente. The turning point came in Saint-Malo in December 1998 as part of a Franco-British initiative that led to an institutional architecture in policy, military, and operational matters, as well as to objectives for European military capabilities at the Helsinki European Council meeting in December 1999.
September 11, 2001 and its ensuing shockwave, the conclusion of the Treaty of Nice, and institutional difficulties between Europeans, along with the 2003 Iraq war and the appearance in Europe of powerful political fault lines regarding the support to be provided for the US intervention, help explain why little has effectively been done with regard to the Europe of defence since then. The French decision on April 3, 2009 for a full operational reintegration into NATO can thus also be explained by what preceded it, as well as help to understand what has followed. For example, Jean François-Poncet would say, with a touch of regret: “We began the Europe of defence with the Germans, and we are ending it with the British.” In 2010, the Lancaster House Treaties were signed by the French president and the British prime minister. They contained a considerable component in matters of armament, including nuclear.
The common intervention in Libya in 2011 also showed the operational reality of military capacity and the quality of tactical cooperation between the two armies, without for all that obscuring indispensable US cooperation and support for NATO general staff. This prompted the two allies to share intelligence and led them to a common analysis of the difficulties encountered, in addition to the possibility of planning other interventions. Did bilateral action take over for a broken-down European construction-process?
These Franco-British agreements were very quickly complicated by highly different political calendars: the British defined their defence strategy in 2010, while France again began work on a White Paper (made public in 2013) and passed legislation for scheduling. In the midst of an economic crisis, each of the two countries organized its choices according to an essentially national basis.
There were subsequently potentially useful contacts with the Germans, Poles, Spanish, and Italians. However, the domains of foreign policy and defence, along with economic, financial, and budgetary realities, seem to have caught unawares those Europeans who believed that the moment had come for strengthened cooperation and genuine pooling of resources.
The tightening of France’s priorities displayed in the 2013 White Paper on Europe and its margins—the Mediterranean theatre, Africa South of the Sahel—can be read in this context. The costly and complicated result of this is the need for a military and naval tool that is as complete as possible and both available and adaptable in accordance with the desired results, in theatres of operations whose dimensions and borders are those of the interests of France and its allies, without having to count on a Europe of defence that remains a very modest reality at operational level.
Author-s
Tristan LECOQ
Soutou, Georges-Henri, La guerre de cinquante ans 1943-1990 (Paris: Fayard, 2001).
Soutou, Georges-Henri, de Montbrial, Thierry, eds., La défense de l’Europe. Entre Alliance atlantique et Europe de la défense (Paris: Hermann éditeurs, 2015).
Lecoq, Tristan, ed., Enseigner la défense, (Paris: CNDP, 2014).
To quote from this article
Tristan LECOQ, « France, the Atlantic Alliance and the Europe of Defence since the end of the Cold War », Encyclopédie pour une histoire nouvelle de l'Europe [online], ISSN 2677-6588, 2016, published 14/11/2018, consulted 16/07/2019. Permalink : http://ehne.fr/en/node/1404
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From ABC News:
She kept a promise of silence and secrecy for 66 years. A promise made to one of the vilest leaders of Nazi Germany.
Now Brunhilde Pomsel, 100 years old, is talking about her time as secretary to Joseph Goebbels, propaganda chief for Adolph Hitler, a man who railed against Jews and once wrote, “Adolf Hitler, I love you because you are both great and simple at the same time. What one calls a genius.”
All these years later, his secretary calls him something else.
“I will never forgive Goebbels for what he brought into this world,” Pomsel tells Bild, Germany’s most widely-read paper. “And the fact that he could murder his innocent children in this way.”
She worked for Goebbels from 1942 until May 1, 1945 — a week before V-E Day — when he killed himself in Berlin.
“He got away lightly with suicide,” she says. “He knew he would be condemned to death by the Allies. His suicide was cowardly, but he was also smart because he knew what was coming if he didn’t take that way out.”
Countless books have been written about Goebbels and his role in the war, but none had the benefit of a conversation with Pomsel, whose job was to take down Goebbels’ every word — “The Jews must get out of Germany, indeed out of Europe altogether”, “The Jews ought to please observe the laws of hospitality and not behave as if they were the same as us,” and so on.
Pomsel tells Bild she was asked to work for Goebbels because she was a fast typist. “It was an order to be transferred to work for him. You couldn’t refuse.”
And while Pomsel kept notes on all her boss’ hate-mongering, she also claims — in colorful language — to have never known about the horrors that were underway. “I didn’t know about the Holocaust. I was a stupid, politically uninterested little sausage of simple means. I only learned about the Jewish extermination program after the war.”
Pomsel recalls eating goose with Goebbels at his home outside Berlin, and receiving dresses from his wife Magda after her own home was destroyed in an allied bombardment. But “you couldn’t get close to him,” she says. “He never once asked me a personal question. Right up until the end I don’t think he knew my name.”
Andrew Roberts notes that Goebbels was the exception - that most Nazi leaders were very kind to their employees as they carried out the most horrific crimes known to man.
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The Electron Pencil
"The blog has made Glab into a hip town crier, commenting on everything from local politics and cultural happenings to national and international events, all rendered in a colorful, intelligent, working-class vernacular that owes some of its style to Glab’s Chicago-hometown heroes Studs Terkel and Mike Royko." — David Brent Johnson in Bloom Magazine
Big Talk
The Pencil
By glabwrites Holocaust, NPR, Prince Harry, Public Education, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
The ex-big bossman of British Jews, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, appeared on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday this morning to deliver the obligatory PR for his own boss, god.
The interviewer brought up an episode wherein that Brit kid named Harry, who has no job but is rich because he’s in line to become the toothless leader of the toothless former empire, was compelled to come see Sacks to get a spanking a few years ago. See, Harry’d gone to a costume party dressed up as a Nazi officer, which is a real riot unless, of course, you’d happen to have lost all your parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles in Hitler and Himmler’s Final Solution.
R. Sacks chewed Harry out and Harry followed up with the most heartfelt of apologies. Well, not really. Harry himself didn’t apologize at all but the publicity office of purposeless UK royal family issued a statement saying that he “has apologised for any offence or embarrassment he has caused.” The kid may have gathered a gang of Final Solution survivors in the office where he performs his non-job to beg their forgiveness for his sartorial faux pas but no record of any such personal mea culpa exists.
Anyway, the Rabbi revealed that Harry was shocked to learn about the Holocaust when he came in for his tongue-lashing — even though he’d attended all the best schools in England. Sacks said it was an indictment of the British school system.
I’ve got news for him: I went through 16 years of parochial and private schools in this holy land and I am prepared to testify in a court of law that I never once heard the term Holocaust uttered in any class.
Yet, I knew of it from the time I was at least 10 years old. I’d read newspapers and magazines, thumbed through encyclopediae, and watched TV documentaries. It seems anybody who’s been alive from the year 1945 on should know of the Holocaust.
Really? Harry Never Once Saw A Photo Like This?
Dig: I’ve never heard a single note from any Taylor Swift recording, but I know a few things about her. You do, too. Any of us can identify her as that vanilla country singer who was once humiliated onstage after receiving a Grammy award. For that matter, I’ve never heard a single note of any Kanye West recording, but I know who he is, especially the part about him humiliating Taylor Swift onstage.
I needn’t have studied pop music history in a top-flight institution of higher learning to know these things. There is the phenomenon, after all, of cultural osmosis.
So, why wouldn’t a rich kid who attended all the best schools and, presumably, had access to books, newspapers, magazines, and documentaries know at least a little something about the Holocaust? All you need to know is one thing: the figure, six million. Once you know that, how can anything else you learn about the program of extermination be shocking?
So, yeah, Rabbi, the schools of our two Anglo nations (well, our own nation is only sort-of Anglo anymore) are indeed lacking in many ways, but it’s incumbent upon each and every one of us to actually learn things on our own.
A young man of wealth, privilege, and entitlement who doesn’t know about the Holocaust is an idiot.
One thought on “Hot Air”
marc haggerty says:
i learned of the holocaust in 5th grade by reading the encyclopedia. after reading it i felt betrayed by all adults for not telling me.
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18th & 19th Floor, Grand Marine Center
3 Yue Fung Street
Tin Wan, Hong Kong
Tuesday to Saturday, 11am – 7pm
Unfinished Return
Ruthless Logic
Mother Is A Woman
Ancestor Bone Hug
The Man Who Sleeps On His Breath
Sonorous Objects
Rolf Julius, Tomoko Sauvage, Rubén D’Hers and Marc Hurtado
Taibach, Billy Bao & NYPD
Suishou No Fune
Melter 2, 2003
Image courtesy of the artist, Empty Gallery, Ratio 3 and Salon 94.
Untitlled (Pink Dot), 2006
Escape Spirit VideoSlime, 2007
Installation view, Takeshi Murata
Untitlled (Silver), 2006
Flag, 2017
Empty Gallery is proud to present Takeshi Murata: Infinite Doors, the LA-based artist’s first solo show in Asia. Spanning the decade-plus between 2004 and 2016, Infinite DoorS surveys the full range of Murata’s seminal moving image work from early psychedelic animations such as Melter II through to more recent CG animation films like I, Popeye and Om Rider. Taking its name from one of Murata’s found-footage works, Infinite Doors has been designed in close collaboration with the artist as an experiment in using exhibition design to amplify and extend the thematic concerns of his practice beyond the frame and into the spatial realm.
Although in recent years, Murata has become known for his series of surrealism-inflected CG still lifes, Infinite Doors focuses on the spiritual core of his artistic practice: the moving image. Synthesizing diverse influences from the lineage of experimental cinema and video art–the flicker films of Paul Sharits come to mind, as well as the analog video experimentations of Steina Vasulka and the new-age abstractions of Jordan Belson–Murata uses digital technology to create perceptually intense works which explore the mediation of consciousness while engaging the vernacular of pop culture. Technology, process, and the larger social world continuously haunt his practice–not as surface aesthetic or intellectual theme, but as the ground of the work’s very possibility.
Switching fluidly between the stylistic idioms of hand-drawn animation, datamoshing, found footage, and Pixar-style CG, Murata’s practice is nonetheless unified by his consistent experimentation with cinematic form, wry fascination with popular culture, and a certain underlying dark humour. Taken as a whole, this body of work is evidence of a kind of tireless questing, an urgent desire to articulate the contours of subjective experience during a moment in which our internal sovereignty feels more tenuous than ever.
About Takeshi Murata (born 1974, lives and works in Los Angeles)
Murata graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1997 with a B.F.A. in Film/Video/Animation. His work has been exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art, New Museum, The Kitchen, Eyebeam, New York Underground Film Festival; Smack Mellon, Deitch Projects, Anthology Film Archive, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, California; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; Peres Projects, Los Angeles, United States; Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; FACT Centre, Liverpool, United Kingdom, among many others. Early solo exhibitions include Black Box: Takeshi Murata at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. in 2007. Other recent solo exhibitions were held at Kunsthall Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway; Vox Populi Gallery, Philadelphia; Salon 94, New York; and Ratio 3, San Francisco, United States.
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Cricket: India beats the West Indies by 16 runs
India defeated the Windies by 16 runs in the fifth ODI at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur, thereby keeping alive their hopes of making it to the finals of the DLF Cup tri-series. The West Indies were chasing 163 to win, but were bowled out for 146 at the end of the 41st over. India will now face Australia in the semi-final on Friday. The West Indies have already secured themselves a place in the final.
Winning the toss, India elected to bat first but got off to a disastrous start. Skipper Rahul Dravid was caught behind off Dwayne Smith's bowling for a duck, and was soon followed by Virender Sehwag who was bowled by Smith after getting just one run off six balls. Suresh Raina, Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh helped bring India's total up above the 150-mark, even as the rest of the batting order collapsed under the West Indian attack.
The Indian bowlers managed to put some pressure on the Windie batting order by getting some early wickets. Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Runako Morton were all dismissed in the 20s, following which the rest of the West Indies batsmen were all sent back to the pavilion by the 41st over.
"Bowlers deny Windies win, snatch crucial victory" — CNN-IBN, September 20, 2006
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Please note that the listed sources may no longer be available online.
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Israeli man faces attempted murder charges for stabbing three gay pride marchers
The man charged with stabbing three participants at Jerusalem’s June 30 gay pride parade faces attempted murder charges.
Yishai Shlisel, an orthodox Jew, said his deep religious conviction led to his actions. "I came to murder on behalf of God. We can’t have such abomination in the country," Shlisel said during a police interrogation, according to authorities.
The combination of police eye-witnesses, video evidence and his confession led to Shlisel being charged with three counts of attempted murder Tuesday in a Jerusalem district court. Prosecutors allege Shlisel purchased an 18-centimeter (seven inches) knife in preparation of going to the parade with the intent to kill homosexuals.
Medical authorities say the victims, two aged 18 and one aged 50, suffered light to moderate stab wounds.
Even before this knife attack, the 2005 Jerusalem gay pride parade already had an extensive legal record. Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski's previous decision to cancel the parade as inappropriate for his city was overturned in court. About 5,000 gay pride marchers and 1,000 protestors turned up for the Thursday night event.
Police temporarily halted the parade after a group of 100 orthodox Jews attempted to force their way through police barricades chanting "Gay is shame!" One man, allegedly Shlisel, did break through and stabbed three marchers. Other religious protestors against the march, including Jews, Christians and Muslims, were peaceful according to authorities.
Amiram Barkat. "Gay pride parade assailant charged with attempted murder" — Haaretz, July 5, 2005
Tal Rosner. "'I acted in God’s name'" — Yedioth, July 5, 2005
"Man charged over Jerusalem attack" — BBC, July 5, 2005
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Please note that this only applies to Wikinews content created prior to September 25, 2005. All content created after that date is released under a Creative Commons license which is mentioned at the bottom of each article. This is currently the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_man_faces_attempted_murder_charges_for_stabbing_three_gay_pride_marchers&oldid=1962710"
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Difference between revisions of "Church of Alexandria (Coptic)"
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[[Image:ChristCopticArt.jpg|frame|Coptic icon of Christ]]
The '''Coptic Orthodox Church''' is the portion of the [[Church of Alexandria]] which broke from the Byzantine churches in the wake of the [[Fourth Ecumenical Council]] in [[Chalcedon]] in 451. Sharing a common heritage before with the Chalcedonian Church of Alexandria, it traces its origins to the [[Apostle Mark]]. The church is one of the [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox]] churches. Its leader is the Coptic Pope of Alexandria, currently [[Shenouda III (Gayyid) of Alexandria|Pope Shenouda III]]. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria cares for about 18 million Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt and abroad, besides being the Mother Church of both the [[Church of Ethiopia|Ethiopian]] and [[Church of Eritrea|Eritrean]] Orthodox Tewahido Churches. More than 95% of the Christians of Egypt are Coptic Orthodox, but other "Patriarchates/Patriarchs of Alexandria" also exist (Coptic Catholic, Greek/Latin Catholic and Greek Orthodox - see 'Coptic Christianity Today' below), as well as small Protestant and Anglican denominations.
The '''Coptic Orthodox Church''' is the portion of the [[Church of Alexandria]] which broke from the Byzantine churches in the wake of the [[Fourth Ecumenical Council]] in [[Chalcedon]] in 451. Sharing a common heritage before with the Chalcedonian Church of Alexandria, it traces its origins to the [[Apostle Mark]]. The church is one of the [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox]] churches. Its leader is the Coptic Pope of Alexandria, currently [[Theodore II (Sobhi Baki Soleiman) of Alexandria|Pope Theodore II]]. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria cares for about 18 million Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt and abroad, besides being the Mother Church of both the [[Church of Ethiopia|Ethiopian]] and [[Church of Eritrea|Eritrean]] Orthodox Tewahido Churches. More than 95% of the Christians of Egypt are Coptic Orthodox, but other "Patriarchates/Patriarchs of Alexandria" also exist (Coptic Catholic, Greek/Latin Catholic and Greek Orthodox - see 'Coptic Christianity Today' below), as well as small Protestant and Anglican denominations.
{{orientalchurches}}
* [http://online.mq.edu.au/pub/AHPG856/coptic_mq.html The MA Program in Coptic Studies at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia]
* [http://www.france-copte.net France-copte.net Coptic Website in France, Autor Mikhail David]
* [http://www.copticmidlanddiocese.co.uk Official Website of Coptic Orthodox Diocese in the Midlands & Affiliated Regions U.K.]
* [http://www.ukmidcopts.org Official Website of Coptic Orthodox Diocese in the Midlands & Affiliated Regions U.K.]
==Bibliography==
[[Category:Oriental Orthodox|Alexandria]]
[[Category:Orthodoxy in Africa]]
[[ar:كنيسة قبطية أرثوذكسية]]
[[fr:Église d'Alexandrie (copte)]]
[[ro:Biserica din Alexandria (coptă)]]
Revision as of 23:53, July 24, 2014
Coptic icon of Christ
The Coptic Orthodox Church is the portion of the Church of Alexandria which broke from the Byzantine churches in the wake of the Fourth Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon in 451. Sharing a common heritage before with the Chalcedonian Church of Alexandria, it traces its origins to the Apostle Mark. The church is one of the Oriental Orthodox churches. Its leader is the Coptic Pope of Alexandria, currently Pope Theodore II. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria cares for about 18 million Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt and abroad, besides being the Mother Church of both the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahido Churches. More than 95% of the Christians of Egypt are Coptic Orthodox, but other "Patriarchates/Patriarchs of Alexandria" also exist (Coptic Catholic, Greek/Latin Catholic and Greek Orthodox - see 'Coptic Christianity Today' below), as well as small Protestant and Anglican denominations.
Churches of the Oriental
Orthodox Communion
Armenia | Alexandria | Ethiopia | Antioch | India | Eritrea
Autonomous Churches
Armenia: Cilicia | Jerusalem | Constantinople
Alexandria: Britain | Antioch: Jacobite Indian
The Coptic Church regards itself as having never believed in monophysitism the way it was portrayed in the Council of Chalcedon, but rather as having always believed in miaphysitism (a doctrine that Oriental Orthodox Churches regard as correct and orthodox). In that council, monophysitism meant believing in one nature of Jesus Christ. Copts believe that the Lord is perfect in his divinity, and he is perfect in his humanity, but his divinity and His humanity were united in one nature called "the nature of the incarnate Word," which was articulated by St. Cyril of Alexandria. Copts thus believe in two natures "human" and "divine" that are united in one "without mingling, without confusion, and without alteration" (from the declaration of faith at the end of the Coptic divine liturgy). These two natures "did not separate for a moment or the twinkling of an eye" (also from the declaration of faith at the end of the Coptic divine liturgy).
1.1 The Catechetical School of Alexandria
1.2 Monasticism and missionary work
1.3 Council of Chalcedon
1.4 The Arab conquest of Egypt
1.5 From the 19th century to the 1952 revolution
2 Coptic Christianity today
3 Some Coptic saints
5 Source
A Coptic altar in Jerusalem
Egypt is often identified as the place of refuge that the Holy Family sought in its flight from Judea: "When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt I called My Son (Matthew 2:12-23). The Egyptian Church, which is now more than nineteen centuries old, was the subject of many prophecies in the Old Testament. Isaiah the prophet, in Chapter 19, Verse 19 says "In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border."
The first Christians in Egypt were mainly Alexandrian Jews such as Theophilus, whom the Apostle Luke addresses in the introductory chapter of his gospel. When the church was founded by Mark during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, a great multitude of native Egyptians (as opposed to Greeks or Jews) embraced the Christian faith. Christianity spread throughout Egypt within half a century of Mark's arrival in Alexandria as is clear from the New Testament writings found in Bahnasa, in Middle Egypt, which date around the year 200 AD, and a fragment of the Gospel of John, written in Coptic, which was found in Upper Egypt and can be dated to the first half of the second century. In the second century Christianity began to spread to the rural areas, and scriptures were translated into the local language, namely Coptic.
The Catechetical School of Alexandria
The Catechetical School of Alexandria is the oldest catechetical school in the world. Founded around 190 by the scholar Pantanaeus, the school of Alexandria became an important institution of religious learning, where students were taught by scholars such as Athenagoras, Clement, Didymus, and the great Origen, who was considered the father of theology and who was also active in the field of commentary and comparative Biblical studies. Origen wrote over 6,000 commentaries of the Bible in addition to his famous Hexapla. Many scholars such as St. Jerome visited the school of Alexandria to exchange ideas and to communicate directly with its scholars. The scope of this school was not limited to theological subjects; science, mathematics and humanities were also taught there. The question and answer method of commentary began there, and 15 centuries before Braille, wood-carving techniques were in use there by blind scholars to read and write.
The Theological college of the catechetical school of Alexandria was re-established in 1893. The new school currently has campuses in Alexandria, Cairo, New Jersey, and Los Angeles, where Coptic priests-to-be and other qualified men and women are taught among other subjects Christian theology, history, Coptic language and art—including chanting, music, iconography, and tapestry.
Monasticism and missionary work
In the third century, during the persecution of Decius, some Christians fled to the desert, and remained there to pray after the persecutions abated. This was the beginning of the monastic movement, which was reorganized by the saints Anthony the Great and Pachomius in the 4th century. By the end of the century, there were hundreds of monasteries, and thousands of cells and caves scattered throughout the Egyptian hills. A number of these monasteries are still flourishing and have new vocations till this day.
Egyptian monasticism attracted the attention of Christians in other parts of the world, who visited Egypt, many bringing monastic ideas home with them, and spreading monasticism through the Christian world. St. Basil the Great, organizer of the monastic movement in Asia Minor visited Egypt around AD 357 and his rule is followed by the eastern churches; St. Jerome, en route to Jerusalem, stopped in Egypt and left details of his experiences in his letters; St. Benedict of Nursia founded monasteries in the 6th century on the model of Pachomius, but in a stricter form.
Council of Chalcedon
St Mark Coptic Cathedral in Alexandria
Note: This article or section represents an Oriental Orthodox (Non-Chalcedonian) perspective, which may differ from an Eastern Orthodox (Chalcedonian) understanding.
By the time the Council of Chalcedon was called, politics had already started to intermingle with Church affairs. When the Emperor Marcianus interfered with matters of faith in the Church, the response of Dioscorus of Alexandria (the Pope of Alexandria who was later to be exiled) to this interference was clear: "You have nothing to do with the Church." It was at Chalcedon that the emperor would take his revenge for the Pope's frankness.
The Council of Chalcedon abandoned Cyrillian terminology and declared that Christ was one hypostasis in two natures. However, in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, "Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary," thus the foundation according to non-Chalcedonians is made clear. In terms of Christology the Oriental understanding is that Christ is "One Nature--the Logos Incarnate," of the full humanity and full divinity. The Byzantine understanding is that Christ is in two natures, full humanity and full divinity. (Just as all of us are of our mother and father and not in our mother and father, so too is the nature of Christ. If Christ is in full humanity and in full divinity, then He is separate in two persons as the Nestorians teach. Imagine your nature in your mother and your father; you are then two different people. If however your nature is of your mother and your father, then you are one person [1].) This is the linguistic difference which separated the Orientals from the Byzantines.
The Council's finding were rejected by many of the Christians on the fringes of the Byzantine Empire: Egyptians, Syrians, Armenians, and others. From that point onward, Alexandria would have two patriarchs: the "Melkite" or Imperial Patriarch, now officially known by the Egyptian State as the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa [2], and the non-Chalcedonian national Egyptian one, now known as the Coptic Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and Apostolic See of St. Mark. Almost the entire Egyptian population rejected the terms of the Council of Chalcedon and remained faithful to the national Egyptian Church (now known as the Coptic Church). Those who supported the Chalcedonian definition remained in communion with the other leading churches of the Roman Empire. The non-Chalcedonian party became what is today called the Oriental Orthodox Church.
The Coptic Church regards herself as having been misunderstood at the Council of Chalcedon. Some Copts believe that perhaps the Council understood the Church correctly, but wanted to exile the Church, to isolate her and to abolish the Egyptian, independent Pope, who maintained that Church and State should remain separate. The Coptic Church regarded that the ousting of Pope Dioscorus of Alexandria in the council of Chalcedon was in part due to the rivalry between the Bishops of Alexandria and Rome. The Tome of Pope Leo of Rome was considered influenced by Nestorian philosophy. It is important to note that Pope Dioscorus of Alexandria was never labeled as heretic by the council's canons. Copts also believe that the Pope of Alexandria was forcibly prevented from attending the third congregation of the council in which he was ousted, which apparently was a result of the conspiracy tailored by the Roman delegates. For further info, please refer to this key paper on the subject by Professor Fr. John S. Romanides, a prominent Greek Orthodox scholar.
Before the current positive era of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox dialogues, Chalcedonians sometimes used to call the non-Chalcedonians "monophysites", though the Coptic Church denies that she teaches monophysitism, which she has always regarded as a heresy. They have sometimes called the Chalcedonian group "dyophysites". A term that comes closer to Coptic doctrine is "miaphysite" [3], which refers to a conjoined nature for Christ, both human and divine, united indivisibly in the Incarnate Logos. The Coptic Church believes that Christ is perfect in His divinity, and He is perfect in His humanity, but His divinity and His humanity were united in one nature called "the nature of the incarnate word", which was reiterated by Saint Cyril of Alexandria. Copts, thus, believe in two natures "human" and "divine" that are united in one hypostasis without mingling, without confusion, and without alteration. These two natures did not separate for a moment or the twinkling of an eye (Coptic Liturgy of Saint Basil of Caesarea).
Copts suffered under the rule of the Byzantine Eastern Roman Empire. The Melkite Patriarchs, appointed by the emperors as both spiritual leaders and civil governors, massacred the Egyptian population whom they considered heretics. Many Egyptians were tortured and martyred to accept the terms of Chalcedon, but Egyptians remained loyal to the faith of their fathers and to the Cyrillian view of Christology. One of the most renowned Egyptian saints of that period is Saint Samuel the Confessor.
The Arab conquest of Egypt
The Arab conquest of Egypt took place in AD 641. Although the Imperial forces resisted the Arab army under Amr ibn al-As, the majority of the civilian population, having suffered persecution for the differing Christian beliefs, were less hostile; in some cases they welcomed their new masters. Considered "People of the Book", Christians were allowed to practice their religion, under the restrictions of the Islamic Shari'a law. This protection stemmed in part from a Hadith of Muhammad (whose Egyptian wife had been the only one to bear a male child) that advised "When you conquer Egypt, be kind to the Copts for they are your proteges and kith and kin" and in part from a need to have capable administrators.
Despite the political upheaval, Egypt remained a predominently Christian land, although gradual conversions to Islam over the centuries had the effect of changing Egypt from a predominantly Christian to a predominantly Muslim country by the end of the 12th century. This process was sped along by persecutions during and following the reign of the mad Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (reigned AD 996-1021) and the Crusades, and also by the acceptance of Arabic as a liturgical language by the Pope of Alexandria, Gabriel ibn-Turaik.
From the 19th century to the 1952 revolution
The position of the Copts began to improve early in the 19th century under the stability and tolerance of Muhammad Ali's dynasty. The Coptic community ceased to be regarded by the state as an administrative unit and, by 1855, the main mark of Copts' inferiority, the Jizya tax, was lifted. Shortly thereafter, Christians started to serve in the Egyptian army. The 1919 revolution in Egypt, the first grassroots display of Egyptian identity in centuries, stands as a witness to the homogeneity of Egypt's modern society with both its Muslim and Christian components. However, recently (2005-2006) Christians have unfortunately been persecuted in various parts of Egypt.
Coptic Christianity today
Coptic Festival in Upper Egypt.
The current Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria is Pope Shenouda III. There is a small Coptic Catholic Church (Eastern Rite Catholic) established in the 19th century and headed by a Patriarch of Alexandria in communion with the Pope of Rome. The Melkite Greek Catholic Church has little presence in Egypt, but is headed by a Patriarch of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem.
By some accounts there are about 60 million Coptic Orthodox Christians in the world: they are found primarily in Egypt (roughly 15 million), Ethiopia (roughly 38 million [4]), and Eritrea (roughly 2 million), but there are significant numbers in North America, Europe, Australia, Sudan and Israel, and in diaspora throughout the world making approximately another 3 to 4 million. However, as applied to the Tewahedo Church of Ethiopia, which in 1959 was granted her first own Patriarch by Coptic Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria, the word Coptic can be considered a misnomer because it means Egyptian. The Eritrean Orthodox Church similarly became independent of the Tewahedo Church during the 1990s. These three churches remain in full communion with each other and with the other Oriental Orthodox churches.
Since the 1980s theologians from the the Oriental Orthodox and Chalcedonian Orthodox churches have been meeting in a bid to resolve the theological differences, and have concluded that many of the differences are caused by the two groups using different terminology to describe the same thing (see Agreed Official Statements on Christology with the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches). In the summer of 2001, the Coptic Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Patriarchates of Alexandria agreed to mutually recognize baptisms performed in each other's churches, making rebaptisms unnecessary, and to recognize the sacrament of marriage as celebrated by the other. Previously, if a Coptic and Greek wanted to marry, the marriage had to be performed twice, once in each church, for it to be recognized by both. Now it can be done in only one church and be recognized by both.
In the Coptic Church only men may be ordained, and they must be married before they are ordained, if they wish to be married. In this respect they follow the same practices as does the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Traditionally, the Coptic language [5] was used in church services, and the scriptures were written in the Coptic alphabet [6]. However, due to the Arabisation of Egypt, service in churches started to witness increased use of Arabic, while preaching is done entirely in Arabic. Native languages are used, in conjunction with Coptic, during services outside of Egypt.
The Coptic Orthodox Church has her own, unique purely religious/liturgical music and chants [7], [8], [9], [10] (some are also used by Coptic Catholics).
Following their own church calendar (Coptic Calendar), Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas on the 7th of January which, since 2002, is an official national holiday in Egypt. The Coptic calendar is the calendar of martyrs. Coptic years are counted from 284 AD, the year Diocletian became Roman Emperor, whose reign was marked by tortures and mass executions of Christians, especially in Egypt. Hence, the Coptic year is identified by the abbreviation AM (for Anno Martyrum or "Year of the Martyrs").
The Coptic Orthodox Church also has her own distinguished Coptic art [11], [12]; iconography [13], [14], [15]; and architecture [16], [17].
Some Coptic saints
Note: Some of these are not saints on the Chalcedonian calendar.
Abanoub
Abdel Messih El-Makari
Abraam Bishop of Fayoum الأنبا إبرآم أسقف الفيوم
Andrews (Ibrahim) the Samuelite
Anthony the Great القديس الأنبا أنطونيوس أب الرهبان
Athanasius the Apostolic البابا أثناسيوس الرسولي
Bishoy
Bishoy Kamel
Cyril of Alexandria القديس البابا كيرلس السكندري عامود الدين
Cyril VI (Atta) of Alexandria قداسة البابا كيرلس السادس
Demiana الشهيدة دميانة
Didymus the Blind القديس ديديموس الضرير
Dioscorus I البابا ديسقوروس
Macarius the Great
Mary of Egypt القديسة مريم المصرية
Maurice القديس موريس قائد الكتيبة الطيبية
Mikhail Ibrahim
Mina الشهيد مارمينا العجايبي
Moses the Black القديس موسى الأسود
Mina (Rizk) AvaMina
Pakhom القديس باخوم أب الشركة
Parsoma (Barsoum El-Erian) الأنبا برسوم العريان
Paul the Anchorite
Philopatyr Mercurius
Samuel the Confessor
Shenoute the Archimandrite
Simon the Shoemaker
Takla Haymanot القديس الأنبا تكلا هيمانوت الحبشي القس
Tigy
Verena القديسة فيرينا
List of Coptic Popes
Category:Coptic interpretations of the Fourth Ecumenical Council
Heritage of the Coptic Orthodox Church
Portions of this article taken from Wikipedia:Coptic Christianity
Official Website of the Coptic Pope
Video - Christianity in Egypt and the History of Coptic Monasticism:
Christianity in Egypt;
Three Kinds of Monasticism;
The Monastery of El-Moharrak: Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol.3;
The History of Monasticism (St. Anthony): Vol.1, Vol.2;
St. Bishoy's Monastery;
St. Makarious' Monastery;
St. Mina's Monastery
An Overview of the Coptic Christians of Egypt by Lara Iskander and Jimmy Dunn
coptichymns.net The hub of the Coptic Media Network
copticheritage.org The Official Website of the Heritage of the Coptic Orthodox Church
Links to ALL Coptic sites
Holy Virgin Mary Apparitions over the domes of Her Coptic Orthodox Church in Zeitun, Cairo, Egypt, 1968 - seen by millions
The late Pope Kyrillos VI (Cyril the Sixth), 116th Pope of Alexandria and See of St. Mark (Coptic Orthodox Patriarch, 1959-1971)
St. Mina (Menas) Coptic Orthodox Monastery in Mariut, near Alexandria, Egypt
Encyclopedia Coptica: The Christian Coptic Orthodox Church Of Egypt
HH Pope Shenouda III: Biography and Writings
Coptic Church History at www.St-Takla.org
More Information on the Coptic Church, its Beliefs, Practices, and Liturgical Life
CoptNet - The Christian Coptic Orthodox Church Of Egypt
Réseau des Coptes en France
Ancient Hymns of the Coptic Orthodox Church
Coptic Hymns
The MA Program in Coptic Studies at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
France-copte.net Coptic Website in France, Autor Mikhail David
Official Website of Coptic Orthodox Diocese in the Midlands & Affiliated Regions U.K.
Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity by Dr. Otto F. A. Meinardus (368 pages - Cairo: AUC Press, 2002)
Traditional Egyptian Christianity: A History of the Coptic Orthodox Church by Rev. Fr. Prof. Theodore H. Partrick (226 pages - Fisher Park Press, 1996)
Story of the Church of Egypt - by Edith L Butcher (1897)
Selected Bibliography about Coptic Christianity
Retrieved from "https://en.orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Church_of_Alexandria_(Coptic)&oldid=119282"
Oriental Orthodox
Orthodoxy in Africa
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Imperial units
(Redirected from Imperial unit)
System of units formerly used in the British Empire and still used in the United Kingdom
This article is about the post-1824 measures used in the British Empire and countries in the British sphere of influence. For the units used in England before 1824, see English units. For the system of weight, see Avoirdupois. For United States customary units, see United States customary units. For an overview of UK and US units, see Imperial and US customary measurement systems.
The former Weights and Measures office in Seven Sisters, London (590 Seven Sisters Road).
The system of imperial units or the imperial system (also known as British Imperial[1] or Exchequer Standards of 1825) is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which was later refined and reduced. The Imperial units replaced the Winchester Standards, which were in effect from 1588 to 1825.[2] The system came into official use across the British Empire. By the late 20th century, most nations of the former empire had officially adopted the metric system as their main system of measurement, although some imperial units are still used in the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries formerly part of the British Empire. The imperial system developed from what were first known as English units, as did the related system of United States customary units.
1 Implementation
1.1 Apothecaries' units
2.1 Length
2.2 Area
2.3 Volume
2.3.1 British apothecaries' volume measures
2.4 Mass and weight
3 Natural equivalents
4 Relation to other systems
5 Current use
5.1 United Kingdom
5.3 Hong Kong
5.6 New Zealand
5.7 Ireland
5.8 Other countries
Implementation[edit]
The Weights and Measures Act of 1824 was initially scheduled to go into effect on 1 May 1825.[3] However, the Weights and Measures Act of 1825 pushed back the date to 1 January 1826.[4] The 1824 Act allowed the continued use of pre-imperial units provided that they were customary, widely known, and clearly marked with imperial equivalents.[3]
Apothecaries' units[edit]
Imperial standards of length 1876 in Trafalgar Square, London.
Apothecaries' units are mentioned neither in the act of 1824 nor 1825. At the time, apothecaries' weights and measures were regulated "in England, Wales, and Berwick-upon-Tweed" by the London College of Physicians, and in Ireland by the Dublin College of Physicians. In Scotland, apothecaries' units were unofficially regulated by the Edinburgh College of Physicians. The three colleges published, at infrequent intervals, pharmacopoeiae, the London and Dublin editions having the force of law.[5][6]
Imperial apothecaries' measures, based on the imperial pint of 20 fluid ounces, were introduced by the publication of the London Pharmacopoeia of 1836,[7][8] the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia of 1839,[9] and the Dublin Pharmacopoeia of 1850.[10] The Medical Act of 1858 transferred to The Crown the right to publish the official pharmacopoeia and to regulate apothecaries' weights and measures.[11]
Units[edit]
Length[edit]
Metric equivalents in this article usually assume the latest official definition. Before this date, the most precise measurement of the imperial Standard Yard was 0.914398415 metres.[12]
Table of length equivalent units
Relative to previous
Millimetres
thou (th) 1⁄12000 0.0254 0.0000254
Also 25.4 μm. Also known as mil[13]
inch (in or ″) 1000 thou 1⁄12 25.4 0.0254
(1 metre = 39.3701 inches)
foot (ft or ′) 12 inches 1 304.8 0.3048
yard (yd) 3 feet 3 914.4 0.9144
Defined as exactly 0.9144 metres by the International yard and pound agreement of 1959
chain (ch) 22 yards 66 20116.8 20.1168
100 links, 4 rods or 1⁄10 of a furlong. The distance between the two wickets on a cricket pitch
furlong (fur) 10 chains 660 201.168
220 yards
mile (mi) 8 furlongs 5280 1609.344
1760 yards or 80 chains
league (lea) 3 miles 15840 4828.032
No longer an official unit in any nation.[citation needed]
Maritime units
fathom (ftm) 2.02667 yards 6.0761 1852 1.852
The British Admiralty in practice used a fathom of 6 feet. This was despite its being 1⁄1000 of a nautical mile (i.e. 6.08 feet) until the adoption of the international nautical mile.[14]
cable 100 fathoms 607.61 185.2
One tenth of a nautical mile. Equal to 100 fathoms under the strict definition.
nautical mile 10 cables 6076.1 1852
Used for measuring distances at sea (and also in aviation) and approximately equal to one arc minute of a great circle. Until the adoption of the international definition of 1852 metres in 1970, the British nautical (Admiralty) mile was defined as 6080 feet.[15]
Gunter's survey units (17th century onwards)
link 7.92 inches 66⁄100 201.168 0.201168
1⁄100 of a chain and 1⁄1000 of a furlong
rod 25 links 66⁄4 5029.2 5.0292
The rod is also called pole or perch and equal to 5 1⁄2 yards
Area[edit]
Relation to
units of length
Square rods
Square miles
perch 1 rod × 1 rod 272.25 1 1⁄102400 25.29285264 0.002529
Although the proper term is square rod, for centuries this unit has been called a pole or perch or, more properly, square pole or square perch.
rood 1 furlong × 1 rod[16] 10890 40 1⁄2560 1011.7141056 0.1012
The rood is 1210 square yards.
acre 1 furlong × 1 chain 43560 160 1⁄640 4046.8564224 0.4047
One acre is 4840 square yards
Note: All equivalences are exact except hectares, which are accurate to 4 significant figures.
Volume[edit]
In 1824, the various different gallons in use in the British Empire were replaced by the imperial gallon, a unit close in volume to the ale gallon. It was originally defined as the volume of 10 pounds (4.54 kg) of distilled water weighed in air with brass weights with the barometer standing at 30 inches of mercury (102 kPa) at a temperature of 62 °F (17 °C). In 1963, the gallon was redefined as the volume of 10 pounds of distilled water of density 0.998859 g/mL weighed in air of density 0.001217 g/mL against weights of density 8.136 g/mL, which works out to 4.546092 L. The Weights and Measures Act of 1985 switched to a gallon of exactly 4.54609 L (approximately 277.4194 cu in).[17]
Table of commonly used volume units
Millilitres
Cubic inches
US ounces
US pints
fluid ounce (fl oz) 1 1⁄20 28.4130625 1.7339 0.96076 0.060047
gill (gi) 5 1⁄4 142.0653125 8.6694 4.8038 0.30024
pint (pt) 20 1 568.26125 34.677 19.215 1.2009
quart (qt) 40 2 1136.5225 69.355 38.430 2.4019
gallon (gal) 160 8 4546.09 277.42 153.72 9.6076
Note: The millilitre equivalences are exact, but cubic-inch and US measures are correct to 5 significant figures.
Legal measures from 1826–1870[18]
Capacity (cu in)
1⁄2 gill 4.3
Gill 1⁄4 pint 8.7
1⁄2 pint 1⁄2 pint 17.4
Pint Pint 34.7
Quart Quart 69.4
1⁄2 gallon 1⁄4 peck or 1⁄2 gallon 138.7
Gallon 1⁄2 peck or gallon 277.4
2 gallons (peck) Peck 554.8
4 gallons (1⁄2 bushel) 1⁄2 bushel 1109.7
Bushel 2219.4
British apothecaries' volume measures[edit]
These measurements were in use from 1826, when the new imperial gallon was defined, but were officially abolished in the United Kingdom on 1 January 1971.[19][20] In the US, though no longer recommended, the apothecaries' system is still used occasionally in medicine, especially in prescriptions for older medications.[21][22]
Table of British apothecaries' volume units[nb 1]
Symbols &
metric value[note 1]
minim ♏︎, , m, m., min 59.1938802083 µL
fluid scruple fl ℈, fl s 20 minims 1.18387760416 mL
fluid drachm
(fluid dram, fluidram) ʒ, fl ʒ, fʒ, ƒ 3, fl dr 3 fluid scruples 3.5516328125 mL
fluid ounce ℥, fl ℥, f℥, ƒ ℥, fl oz 8 fluid drachms 28.4130625 mL
pint O, pt 20 fluid ounces 568.26125 mL
gallon C, gal 8 pints 4.54609 L
^ The vinculum over numbers (e.g. 3) represents a repeating decimal.
Mass and weight[edit]
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the UK used three different systems for mass and weight.
troy weight, used for precious metals;
avoirdupois weight, used for most other purposes; and
apothecaries' weight, now virtually unused since the metric system is used for all scientific purposes.
The distinction between mass and weight is not always clearly drawn. Strictly a pound is a unit of mass, although it is commonly referred to as a weight. When a distinction is necessary, the term pound-force may be used to refer to a unit of force rather than mass. The troy pound (373.2417216 g) was made the primary unit of mass by the 1824 Act; however, its use was abolished in the UK on 1 January 1879,[29] with only the troy ounce (31.1034768 g) and its decimal subdivisions retained.[30] The Weights and Measures Act 1855 (18 & 19 Victoria C72) made the avoirdupois pound the primary unit of mass.[31] In all the systems, the fundamental unit is the pound, and all other units are defined as fractions or multiples of it.
Table of mass units
grain (gr) 1⁄7000 0.06479891 Exactly 64.79891 milligrams.
drachm (dr) 1⁄256 1.7718451953125
ounce (oz) 1⁄16 28.349523125
pound (lb) 1 453.59237 0.45359237 Defined by The Units of Measurement Regulations 1994 Act (amended 2000)[32]
stone (st) 14 6350.29318 6.35029318 The plural stone is often used when providing a weight (e.g. "this sack weighs 8 stone").[33] A person's weight is often quoted in stones and pounds in English-speaking countries that use the avoirdupois system, with the exception of the United States and Canada, where it is usually quoted in pounds.
quarter (qr or qtr) 28 12.70058636 One quarter is equal to two stones or a quarter of a hundredweight. The term quarter was also commonly used to refer to a quarter of a pound in a retail context.
hundredweight (cwt) 112 50.80234544 One imperial hundredweight is equal to eight stones. This is the long hundredweight as opposed to the short hundredweight of 100 pounds as used in the United States and Canada.[34]
ton (t) 2240 1016.0469088 Twenty hundredweights equal a ton (as with the US and Canadian[34] systems). The imperial hundredweight is 12% greater than the US and Canadian equivalent. The imperial ton (or long ton) is 2240 pounds, which is much closer to a metric tonne (about 2204.6 pounds), compared to the short ton of 2000 pounds (907.185 kg).
Gravitational units
slug (slug) 32.17404856 14593.90294 14.59390294 The slug, a unit associated with imperial and US customary systems, is a mass that accelerates by 1 ft/s2 when a force of one pound (lbf) is exerted on it.[35]
F = ma (Newton's second law)
1 lbf = 1 slug × 1 ft/s2 (as defined above)
1 lbf = 1 lb × g/gc (by definition of the pound force[citation needed])
g ≈ 32.17404856 ft/s2 gc ≈ 32.17404856 lbm.ft/lbf.s2
∴ 1 slug ≈ 32.17404856 pounds
Natural equivalents[edit]
Although the 1824 act defined the yard and pound by reference to the prototype standards, it also defined the values of certain physical constants, to make provision for re-creation of the standards if they were to be damaged. For the yard, the length of a pendulum beating seconds at the latitude of Greenwich at Mean Sea Level in vacuo was defined as 39.01393 inches. For the pound, the mass of a cubic inch of distilled water at an atmospheric pressure of 30 inches of mercury and a temperature of 62° Fahrenheit was defined as 252.458 grains, with there being 7,000 grains per pound.[3] However, following the destruction of the original prototypes in the 1834 Houses of Parliament fire, it proved impossible to recreate the standards from these definitions, and a new Weights and Measures Act (18 & 19 Victoria. Cap. 72) was passed in 1855 which permitted the recreation of the prototypes from recognized secondary standards.[31]
Relation to other systems[edit]
English units of length
The imperial system is one of many systems of English units. Although most of the units are defined in more than one system, some subsidiary units were used to a much greater extent, or for different purposes, in one area rather than the other. The distinctions between these systems are often not drawn precisely.
One such distinction is that between these systems and older British/English units/systems or newer additions. The term imperial should not be applied to English units that were outlawed in the Weights and Measures Act 1824 or earlier, or which had fallen out of use by that time, nor to post-imperial inventions, such as the slug or poundal.
The US customary system is historically derived from the English units that were in use at the time of settlement. Because the United States was already independent at the time, these units were unaffected by the introduction of the imperial system.
Current use[edit]
A baby bottle that measures in three measurement systems—metric, imperial (UK), and US customary.
United Kingdom[edit]
See also: Metrication in the United Kingdom
British law now defines each imperial unit in terms of the metric equivalent. The metric system is in official use within the United Kingdom for most official applications with Imperial units remaining in widespread use amongst the public.[36] All UK roads use the imperial system except for weight limits, and newer height or width restriction signs give metric alongside imperial.[37]
Units of measurement regulations require all measuring devices used in trade or retail to display measurements in metric quantities. Almost all traders in the UK will accept requests from customers specified in imperial units, and scales which display in both unit systems are commonplace in the retail trade. Metric price signs may be accompanied by imperial price signs provided that the imperial signs are no larger and no more prominent than the metric ones.
The United Kingdom completed its official partial transition to the metric system in 1995, with some imperial units still legally mandated for certain applications such as draught beer and cider,[38] road-signs,[39] and therefore the speedometers on vehicles sold in the UK must be capable of displaying miles per hour. Even though the troy pound was outlawed in the UK in the Weights and Measures Act of 1878, the troy ounce may still be used for the weights of precious stones and metals. The original railways (many built in the Victorian era) are a big user of imperial units, with distances officially measured in miles and yards or miles and chains, and also feet and inches, and speeds are in miles per hour, although more recent systems are metric, and London Underground uses metric.[40]
Most British people still use imperial units in everyday life for distance (miles, yards, feet and inches) and volume in some cases (especially milk and beer in pints) but rarely for canned or bottled soft drinks or petrol.[36][41] Though use of kilograms is increasing, most British people also still use imperial units in everyday life for body weight (stones and pounds for adults, pounds and ounces for babies).[citation needed] Some government documents aimed at the public give body weight and height not only in metric units (kilograms centimetres) but also in imperial units (stones and pounds, feet and inches).[42] A survey in 2015 found that many people did not know their body weight or height in one system or the other.[43] People under the age of 40 preferred the metric system but people aged 40 and over preferred the imperial system.[44] The height of horses in some English-speaking countries, including Australia,[1] Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States is usually measured in hands, standardized to 4 inches (101.6 mm). Fuel consumption for vehicles is commonly stated in miles per gallon, though official figures always include litres per 100 km equivalents. When sold draught in licensed premises, beer and cider must be sold in pints and half-pints. Cow's milk is available in both litre- and pint-based containers in supermarkets and shops. Areas of land associated with farming, forestry and real estate are commonly advertised in acres and square feet, but for official government purposes the units are always hectares and square metres.
Office space and industrial units are usually advertised in square feet. Steel pipe sizes are sold in increments of inches, while copper pipe is sold in increments of millimetres. Road bicycles have their frames measured in centimetres, while off-road bicycles have their frames measured in inches. The size (diagonal) of television and computer monitor screens is always denominated in inches. Food sold by length or width e.g. pizzas or sandwiches, is generally sold in inches. Clothing is always sized in inches, with the metric equivalent often shown as a small supplementary indicator. Gas is usually measured by the cubic foot or cubic metre, but is billed like electricity by the kilowatt hour.[45]
Some pre-packaged products show both metric and imperial measures and it is also common to see imperial pack sizes with metric only labels e.g. a 1 lb (i.e., 454 g) tin of Lyle's Golden Syrup is always labelled 454 g with no imperial indicator. Similarly most jars of jam and packs of sausages are labelled 454 g with no imperial indicator.
India's conversion to the metric system from the imperial system occurred in stages between 1955 and 1962. The metric system in weights and measures was adopted by the Indian Parliament in December 1956 with the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, which took effect beginning 1 October 1958. For the next five years, both the previous and new system were legal. In April 1962, all other systems were banned.[46]
Today all official measurements are made in the metric system. However, in common usage some older Indians may still refer to imperial units. Some measurements, such as the heights of mountains, are still recorded in feet. Tyre rim diameters are still measured in inches, as used worldwide. Industries like the construction and the real estate industry still use both the metric and the imperial system though it is more common for sizes of homes to be given in square feet and land in acres.[46][47]
In Standard Indian English, as in Australian, Singaporean, and British English, metric units such as the litre, metre, and metric tonne utilise the traditional spellings brought over from French, which differ from those used in the United States and the Philippines. The imperial long ton is invariably spelt with one 'n'. [47]
Hong Kong[edit]
Hong Kong has three main systems of units of measurement in current use:
The Chinese units of measurement of the Qing Empire (no longer in widespread use in China);
British imperial units; and
The metric system.
In 1976 the Hong Kong Government started the conversion to the metric system, and as of 2012 measurements for government purposes, such as road signs, are almost always in metric units. However, all three systems are officially permitted for trade,[48] and in the wider society a mixture of all three systems prevails.
The Chinese system's most commonly used units for length are 里 (lei5), 丈 (zoeng6), 尺 (cek3), 寸 (cyun3), 分 (fan1) in descending scale order. These units are now rarely used in daily life, the imperial and metric systems being preferred. The imperial equivalents are written with the same basic Chinese characters as the Chinese system. In order to distinguish between the units of the two systems, the units can be prefixed with "Ying" (英, jing1) for the Imperial system and "Wa" (華, waa4) for the Chinese system. In writing, derived characters are often used, with an additional 口 (mouth) radical to the left of the original Chinese character, for writing imperial units. The most commonly used units are the mile or "li" (哩, li1), the yard or "ma" (碼, maa5), the foot or "chek" (呎, cek3), and the inch or "tsun" (吋, cyun3).
The traditional measure of flat area is the square foot (方呎, 平方呎, fong1 cek3, ping4 fong1 cek3) of the imperial system, which is still in common use for real estate purposes. The measurement of agricultural plots and fields, however, is traditionally conducted in 畝 (mau5) of the Chinese system.
For the measurement of volume, Hong Kong officially uses the metric system, though the gallon (加侖, gaa1 leon4-2) is also occasionally used.
Canada[edit]
See also: Metrication in Canada
A one US gallon gas can purchased near the US-Canada border. It shows equivalences in imperial gallons and litres.
During the 1970s, the metric system and SI units were introduced in Canada to replace the imperial system. Within the government, efforts to implement the metric system were extensive; almost any agency, institution, or function provided by the government uses SI units exclusively. Imperial units were eliminated from all road signs, although both systems of measurement will still be found on privately owned signs, such as the height warnings at the entrance of a parkade. In the 1980s, momentum to fully convert to the metric system stalled when the government of Brian Mulroney was elected. There was heavy opposition to metrication and as a compromise the government maintains legal definitions for and allows use of imperial units as long as metric units are shown as well.[49][50][51] The law requires that measured products (such as fuel and meat) be priced in metric units, although an imperial price can be shown if a metric price is present.[52][53] However, there tends to be leniency in regards to fruits and vegetables being priced in imperial units only. Environment Canada still offers an imperial unit option beside metric units, even though weather is typically measured and reported in metric units in the Canadian media. However, some radio stations near the United States border (such as CIMX and CIDR) primarily use imperial units to report the weather. Railways in Canada also continue to use Imperial units.
Imperial units are still used in ordinary conversation. Today, Canadians typically use a mix of metric and imperial measurements in their daily lives. However, the use of the metric and imperial systems varies by age. The older generation mostly uses the imperial system, while the younger generation more often uses the metric system. Newborns are measured in SI at hospitals, but the birth weight and length is also announced to family and friends in imperial units. Drivers' licences use SI units. In livestock auction markets, cattle are sold in dollars per hundredweight (short), whereas hogs are sold in dollars per hundred kilograms. Imperial units still dominate in recipes, construction, house renovation and gardening.[54][55][56][57][58] Land is now surveyed and registered in metric units, although initial surveys used imperial units. For example, partitioning of farm land on the prairies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was done in imperial units; this accounts for imperial units of distance and area retaining wide use in the Prairie Provinces. The size of most apartments, condominiums and houses continues to be described in square feet rather than square metres, and carpet or flooring tile is purchased by the square foot. Motor-vehicle fuel consumption is reported in both litres per 100 km and statute miles per imperial gallon,[59] leading to the erroneous impression that Canadian vehicles are 20% more fuel-efficient than their apparently identical American counterparts for which fuel economy is reported in statute miles per US gallon (neither country specifies which gallon is used). Canadian railways maintain exclusive use of imperial measurements to describe train length (feet), train height (feet), capacity (tons), speed (mph), and trackage (miles).[60]
Imperial units also retain common use in firearms and ammunition. Imperial measures are still used in the description of cartridge types, even when the cartridge is of relatively recent invention (e.g., .204 Ruger, .17 HMR, where the calibre is expressed in decimal fractions of an inch). However, ammunition that is already classified in metric is still kept metric (e.g., 9×19mm). In the manufacture of ammunition, bullet and powder weights are expressed in terms of grains for both metric and imperial cartridges.
As in most of the western world, air navigation is based on nautical units, e.g., the nautical mile, which is neither imperial nor metric, though altitude is still measured in imperial feet[61] in keeping with the international standard.
Australia[edit]
Metrication in Australia has largely ended the official use of imperial units, though for particular measurements, international use of imperial units is still followed. In licensed venues, draught beer and cider is sold in glasses and jugs with sizes based on the imperial fluid ounce, though rounded to the nearest 5 mL.
New Zealand[edit]
Main article: Metrication in New Zealand
Although New Zealand completed metrication in the 1970s, a study of university students undertaken in 1992 found a continued use of imperial units for birth weight and human height alongside metric units.[62]
In aviation, altitude and airport elevation are measured in feet whilst navigation is done in nautical miles; all other aspects (fuel quantity, aircraft weight, runway length, etc.) use metric units.
Screen sizes for devices such as televisions,[63] monitors[64] and phones,[65] and wheel rim sizes for vehicles,[66] are stated in inches, as is the convention in the rest of the world.
Ireland[edit]
Main article: Metrication in Ireland
Ireland has officially changed over to the metric system since entering the European Union, with distances on new road signs being metric since 1997 and speed limits being metric since 2005. The imperial system remains in limited use – for sales of beer in pubs (traditionally sold by the pint). All other goods are required by law to be sold in metric units, although old quantities are retained for some goods like butter and sausages, which are sold in 454-gram (1 lb) packaging. The majority of cars sold pre-2005 feature speedometers with miles per hour as the primary unit, but with a kilometres per hour display as well.
Other countries[edit]
Some imperial measurements remain in limited use in Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Measurements in feet and inches, especially for a person's height, are frequently encountered in conversation and non-governmental publications.
Prior to metrication, it was a common practice in Malaysia for people to refer to unnamed locations and small settlements along major roads by referring to how many miles the said locations were located from the nearest major town. In some cases, these eventually became the official names of the locations; in other cases, such names have been largely or completely superseded by new names. An example of the former is Batu 32 (literally "Mile 32" in Malay), which refers to the area surrounding the intersection between Federal Route 22 (the Tamparuli-Sandakan highway) and Federal Route 13 (the Sandakan-Tawau highway). The area is so named because it is 32 miles west of Sandakan, the nearest major town.
Petrol is still sold by the imperial gallon in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Myanmar, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The United Arab Emirates Cabinet in 2009 issued the Decree No. (270 / 3) specifying that, from 1 January 2010, the new unit sale price for petrol will be the litre and not the gallon. This in line with the UAE Cabinet Decision No. 31 of 2006 on the national system of measurement, which mandates the use of International System of units as a basis for the legal units of measurement in the country.[67][68][69][70] Sierra Leone switched to selling fuel by the litre in May 2011.[71]
In October 2011, the Antigua and Barbuda government announced the re-launch of the Metrication Programme in accordance with the Metrology Act 2007, which established the International System of Units as the legal system of units. The Antigua and Barbuda government has committed to a full conversion from the imperial system by the first quarter of 2015.[72]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to British Imperial units.
Acre-foot
Board foot
Comparison of the imperial and US customary measurement systems
Cooking weights and measures
Cord (volume)
History of measurement
Metrication
Systems of measurement
Unit of measurement
£sd (L.s.d.)
^ References for the Table of British apothecaries' volume units: Unit column;[23][24]:C-7[25] Symbols & abbreviations column;[21][22][23][24]:C-5, C-17–C-18[25][26][27] Relative to previous column;[23][24]:C-7 Exact metric value column — fluid ounce, pint and gallon,[28] all other values calculated using value for fluid ounce and the Relative to previous column's values.
^ Britannica Educational Publishing (1 August 2010). The Britannica Guide to Numbers and Measurement. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 241. ISBN 978-1-61530-218-5. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
^ Chaney, Henry James (1897). A Practical Treatise on the Standard Weights and Measures in Use in the British Empire with some account of the metric system. Eyre and Spottiswoode. p. 3. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
^ a b c Great Britain (1824). The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1807-1865). His Majesty's statute and law printers. pp. 339–354. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
^ Great Britain; William David Evans; Anthony Hammond; Thomas Colpitts Granger (1836). A collection of statutes connected with the general administration of the law: arranged according to the order of subjects. W. H. Bond. pp. 306–27. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
^ Edinburgh medical and surgical journal. A. and C. Black. 1824. p. 398. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
^ Ireland; Butler, James Goddard; Ball, William (barrister.) (1765). The Statutes at Large, Passed in the Parliaments Held in Ireland: From the twenty-third year of George the Second, A.D. 1749, to the first year of George the Third, A.D. 1761 inclusive. Boulter Grierson. p. 852. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
^ Gray, Samuel Frederick (1836). A supplement to the Pharmacopœia and treatise on pharmacology in general: including not only the drugs and preparations used by practitioners of medicine, but also most of those employed in the chemical arts : together with a collection of the most useful medical formulæ ... Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman. p. 516. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
^ "A Translation of the Pharmacopoeia of the Royal College of Physicians of London, 1836.: With ..."
^ The Pharmacopoeia of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Adam and Charles Black and Bell and Bradfute. 1839. pp. xiii–xiv. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
^ Royal College of Physicians of Dublin; Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (1850). The pharmacopœia of the King and queen's college of physicians in Ireland. Hodges and Smith. p. xxii. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
^ Great Britain (1858). A collection of the public general statutes passed in the ... year of the reign of ... Printed by G. W. Eyre and W. Spottiswoode, Printers to the Queen. p. 306. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
^ Sears et al. 1928. Phil Trans A, 227:281.
^ Jerrard and McNeill, Dictionary of Scientific Units, second edition, Chapman and Hall; cites first appearance in print in Journal of the Institute of Electrical Engineers (G.B.) vol. 1, page 246 (1872)
^ The exact figure was 6.08 feet, but 6 feet was in use in practice. The commonly accepted definition of a fathom was always 6 feet. The conflict was inconsequential, as Admiralty nautical charts designated depths shallower than 5 fathoms in feet on older imperial charts. Today, all charts worldwide are metric, except for USA Hydrographic Office charts, which use feet for all depth ranges.
^ The nautical mile was not readily expressible in terms of any of the intermediate units, because it was derived from the circumference of the Earth (like the original metre).
^ "Appendix C: General Tables of Units of Measurements" (PDF). NIST. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
^ "imperial gallon". Sizes.com. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
^ Ricketts, Carl (1996). Marks and Marking of Weights and Measures of the British Isles. Taunton, Somerset: Devon Design and Print. p. 94. ISBN 0952853302. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
^ "The Weights and Measures (Equivalents for dealings with drugs) Regulations 1970".
^ "Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, London, Information Sheet: 11" (PDF).
^ a b Zentz, Lorraine C. (2010). "Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Math — Apothecary System". Math for Pharmacy Technicians. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-0-7637-5961-2. OCLC 421360709. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
^ a b Boyer, Mary Jo (2009). "UNIT 2 Measurement Systems: The Apothecary System". Math for Nurses: A Pocket Guide to Dosage Calculation and Drug Preparation (7th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 108–9. ISBN 978-0-7817-6335-6. OCLC 181600928. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
^ a b c Royal College of Physicians of Dublin (1850). "Weights and Measures". The Pharmacopœia of the King and Queen's College of Physicians in Ireland. Dublin: Hodges and Smith. p. xlvi. OCLC 599509441. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
^ a b c National Institute of Standards and Technology (October 2011). Butcher, Tina; Cook, Steve; Crown, Linda et al. eds. "Appendix C – General Tables of Units of Measurement" (PDF). Specifications, Tolerances, and Other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices. NIST Handbook. 44 (2012 ed.). Washington, D.C.: US Department of Commerce, Technology Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology. ISSN 0271-4027. OCLC OCLC 58927093. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
^ a b Rowlett, Russ (13 September 2001). "F". How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. fluid dram or fluidram (fl dr). Retrieved 6 July 2012.
^ Buchholz, Susan; Henke, Grace (2009). "Chapter 3: Metric, Apothecary, and Household Systems of Measurement — Table 3-1: Apothecary Abbreviations". Henke's Med-Math: Dosage Calculation, Preparation and Administration (6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-7817-7628-8. OCLC 181600929. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
^ Pickar, Gloria D.; Swart, Beth; Graham, Hope; Swedish, Margaret (2012). "Appendix B: Apothecary System of Measurement — Apothecary Units of Measurement and Equivalents". Dosage Calculations (2nd Canadian ed.). Toronto: Nelson Education. p. 528. ISBN 978-0-17-650259-1. OCLC 693657704. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
^ United Kingdom; Department of Trade and Industry (1995). The Units of Measurement Regulations 1995. London: HMSO. Schedule: Relevant Imperial Units, Corresponding Metric Units and Metric Equivalents. ISBN 978-0-11-053334-6. OCLC 33237616. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
^ Great Britain (1878). Statutes at large ... p. 308. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
^ Chisholm, Hugh (1911). The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information. At the University Press. p. 480. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
^ a b Great Britain (1855). A collection of public general statutes passed in the 18th and 19th years of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. pp. 273–75. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
^ "The Units of Measurement Regulations 1994". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
^ "Definition of stone in English from the Oxford dictionary". www.oxforddictionaries.com. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
^ a b Weights and Measures Act Archived 16 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Wolfram-Alpha: Computational Knowledge Engine".
^ a b Kelly, Jon (21 December 2011). "Will British people ever think in metric?". BBC. Retrieved 26 February 2017. ...but today the British remain unique in Europe by holding onto imperial weights and measures. ...the persistent British preference for imperial over metric is particularly noteworthy...
^ "Height and width road signs to display metric and imperial". BBC. 8 November 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2017. New road signs showing height and width restrictions will use both metric and imperial measurements from March 2015....Road signs for bridges, tunnels and narrow roads can currently show measurements in just feet and inches or only metres. Some already display both.
^ "BusinessLink: Weights and measures: Rules for pubs, restaurants and cafes". Department for Business, Innovation & Skills. Archived from the original (online) on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
^ "Department for Transport statement on metric road signs" (online). BWMA. 12 July 2002. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
^ "Facts & Figures". Transport for London. Transport for London. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
^ "In praise of ... metric measurements". The Guardian. London. 1 December 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^ "BMI healthy weight calculator". National Health Service. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
^ Dahlgreen, Will (20 June 2015). "Britain's metric muddle not changing any time soon". Retrieved 29 October 2017. even today [2015] most 18-24 year-olds still do not know how much they weigh in kilograms (60%) or how tall they are in metres and centimetres (54%).
^ "YouGov Survey Results" (PDF). 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
^ "Gas meter readings and bill calculation". gov.uk.
^ a b "Metric usage and metrication in other countries". U.S. Metric Association. Archived from the original on 21 February 1999.
^ a b Acharya, Anil Kumar. History of Decimalisation Movement in India, Auto-Print & Publicity House, 1958.
^ "CAP 68 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ORDINANCE Sched 2 UNITS OF MEASUREMENT AND PERMITTED SYMBOLS OR ABBREVIATIONS OF UNITS OF MEASUREMENT LAWFUL FOR USE FOR TRADE".
^ "Weights and Measures Act: Canadian units of measure". Justice Canada. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
^ "Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising". Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Archived from the original on 24 January 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2007. |chapter= ignored (help)
^ "Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations (C.R.C., c. 417)". Justice Canada, Legislative Services Branch. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
^ "A Canadian compromise". CBC. 30 January 1985. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
^ "Les livres et les pieds, toujours présents (eng:The pounds and feet, always present)" (in French). 5 sur 5, Société Radio-Canada. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
^ "Imperial Measures - The Origins". BWMAOnline.com. British Weights and Measures Association.
^ Rosen, Amy (23 February 2011). "Crepes worth savouring". National Post – via PressReader.com.
^ Rosen, Amy (2 February 2011). "Scoring brownie points". National Post – via PressReader.com.
^ McDowell, Adam (28 February 2011). "Drinking school". National Post.
^ "Home Hardware - Building Supplies - Building Materials - Fence Products". Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
^ Canada, Government of Canada, Natural Resources. "Fuel Consumption Ratings Search Tool - Conventional Vehicles".
^ Canada, Government of Canada, Transportation Safety Board of. "Railway Investigation Report R96W0171".
^ "Canadian Aviation Regulations". Langley Flying School. sec. "Altimeter Rules".
^ "Human use of metric measures of length" Archived 9 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Dignan, J. R. E., & O'Shea, R. P. (1995). New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 24, 21–25.
^ "TV buying guide". Noel Leeming. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
^ "Shop for Monitor, Computer Monitors, Computer Monitor". Harvey Norman. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
^ "Mobile Phones, Smartphones | Spark NZ". www.spark.co.nz. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
^ "Tyre Sizes | How To Read Your Tyre Size | Dimensions Explained". www.bridgestonetyrecentre.co.nz. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
^ "Address by Agriculture Minister Gregory Bowen". The Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Grenada. 1 November 2004. Archived from the original on 24 March 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2008. The price of gasoline at the pumps was fixed at EC$7.50 per imperial gallon...
^ "FAQ". MoF.gov.bz. Belize Ministry of Finance. Archived from the original on 23 January 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2008. • Kerosene per US Gallon (per Imperial gallon) • Gasoline (Regular)(per imperial Gallon) • Gasoline (Premium) (per Imperial Gallon) • Diesel (per Imperial Gallon)
^ "The High Commission Antigua and Barbuda". Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
^ Metschies, Gerhard P. (6 September 2005). "International Fuel Prices 2005" (PDF). International-Fuel-Prices.com. German Technical Cooperation. p. 96. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
^ "Introduction of the Metric System and the Price of Petroleum Products". Sierra Leone Embassy in the United States. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
^ "Minister Lovell Addresses Metric Conversions". CARIBARENA Antigua. 18 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
Appendices B and C of NIST Handbook 44
Thompson, A.; Taylor, Barry N. (5 October 2010). "The NIST guide for the use of the international system of units". also available as a PDF file. NIST. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
6 George IV chapter 12, 1825 (statute)
British Weights And Measures Association
Canada Weights and Measures Act 1970-71-72
General table of units of measure – NIST – pdf
How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement
Statutory Instrument 1995 No. 1804 Units of Measurement Regulations 1995
International System of Units (SI)
UK imperial system
US customary units
Apothecaries'
Avoirdupois
Hartree
Rydberg
Geometrised
Lorentz–Heaviside
Quantum chromodynamical
Foot–pound–second (FPS)
metre–kilogram–second (MKS)
metre–tonne–second (MTS)
centimetre–gram–second (CGS)
gravitational
Mesures usuelles
Luxembourgian
Winchester measure
Eritrean
Guinean
Seychellois
Nicaraguan
Paraguayan
Uruguayan
Biblical and Talmudic
Mesopotamian
N-body
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Imperial_units&oldid=905913019"
Customary units of measurement
Systems of units
1824 introductions
CS1 errors: chapter ignored
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This weekend's best bets: March 14
Mar. 14, 2013 - by Kathy Janich
Looking for something cultural to do in the next week or so? Here’s our select list of recommendations. Pictured: Keith Randolph Scott (left), John Stewart and Jeremy Aggers in the Civil War-era drama “The Whipping Man” at the Alliance Theatre. Photo by Greg Mooney.
The Adventures of Mighty Bug. FINAL WEEK. The Center for Puppetry Arts invites you to Bugville, a jumpin’ little place that swings to the Bugville Boogie and is kept safe by the superhero Mighty Bug. What will happen when the evil arachnid Scorpiana attacks? This science-filled, comic book-style adventure is written and directed by the adventurous Jon Ludwig. Recommended for ages 4+. $16.50. At 10 and 11:30 a.m. Friday; noon and 2 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday. 1404 Spring St. N.W. Details, tickets HERE. For discounts, visit PoshDealz.com.
Angry Fags. FINAL WEEK. 7 Stages presents the world premiere of Atlanta playwright Topher Payne’s dark comedy about a couple of gay pals who become enraged when a friend is assaulted. Think of it as an “Oscar Wilde-meets-Fight Club fever dream.” The critics: “In spite of the challenging title and serious subject matter, Angry Fags includes Payne’s signature humor throughout, and the atmosphere is surprisingly tender. … But it seeks to be a lot of things and, in the end, perhaps takes on too much” (Andrew Alexander, ArtsATL.com); “Mr. Payne writes brilliant, sharp comedic dialogue; even if Angry Fags is ultimately less than totally successful, I think that major, big-time success for him is inevitable” (Manning Harris, Atlanta INtown Paper). $20-$25. 8 tonight-Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday. 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.523.7647. For discounts, visit PoshDealz.com. Read more about cast member Suehyla El-Attar in this Encore SNAPSHOT. (Pictured, from left: Suehyla-El-Attar, Jacob York and and Johnny Drago.)
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. German conductor Jün Markl is on the podium for Pastorale, Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony; Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin; and Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, K. 191. Principal bassoonist Carl Nitchie is featured in the Mozart concerto. 8 tonight-Saturday. $24-$75. Symphony Hall, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY. The young and talented players perform a concert titled Crescendo. The program features The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra by Britten, Saint-Saens’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Movement 1, Andante Sostenuto; and the third movement of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8. Pianist-violinist Catherine Xie, a sophomore at Johns Creek High School, is among the featured artists. Music director Jere Flint conducts. $10. 3 p.m. Sunday. Symphony Hall, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.
Baltimore Waltz. FINAL WEEK. Fern Theatre, one of Atlanta’s newer companies, stages this comedy-drama by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel (How I Learned to Drive, The Long Christmas Ride Home, Hot ‘N Throbbing). The smart, quick and deceptively layered script centers around a brother and sister, one of whom has a fatal disease that sends them to Europe to find a cure — and an adventure. The cast: Eliana Marianes, Brandon Partrick and, in many, many roles and accents, Stuart McDaniel. $20. Through March 16. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. 7 Stages BackStage Theatre, 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E. Details, tickets HERE.
The Drowsy Chaperone. OPENING WEEKEND. This hilarious show-within-a-show begins when a die-hard musical theater fan plays his favorite cast album, a 1928 smash hit called The Drowsy Chaperone, and the show magically bursts to life. Audiences are immersed in the glamorous tale of a celebrity bride and her uproarious wedding day, complete with thrills and surprises, a would-be Lothario and a pair of gangsters. Don’t miss the show critics call “delightful and sparkling entertainment!” It’s a perfect fit for Aurora Theatre. Fun fact: In its first incarnation, this show was a wedding gift for the real Janet Van De Graaff, a Canadian stage actor.) $16-$35. Through April 7. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Also at 10 a.m. April 3 (replacing the 8 p.m. show). 128 E. Pike St., Lawrenceville. Free parking in attached deck at 153 Crogan St. Details, tickets HERE or at 678.226.6222. For discounts, visit PoshDealz.com. (Pictured: Liberty Cogen as celebrity bride Janet Van De Graaff. Photo by R. Todd Fleeman.)
Million Dollar Quartet. FINAL WEEK. Revisit a special moment in pop music history — Dec. 4, 1956 — when Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley came together at Sun Studios in Memphis for one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll jam sessions in history. Presented by Broadway in Atlanta. $43-$86. 8 tonight-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E. Tickets, details HERE. Learn more in this Encore FEATURE.
The Secret Agent. ONE WEEKEND ONLY. Capitol City Opera Company performs this new opera based on the 1907 Joseph Conrad novel, a modern music drama that seems ever-timely in an era of terrorism and political dissent. Capitol City Opera, formed in 1983, gives classically trained singers in the metro area a place to learn and perform complete opera roles. $30. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E. Details, tickets HERE. For discounts, visit PoshDealz.com.
The Waffle Palace: Smothered, Covered & Scattered 24/7/365. THIS IS IT! Horizon Theatre completes the encore run of this giddily successful comedy by Larry Larson and Eddie Levi Lee. As it has been since the batter first hit the grill, it’s inspired by real-life tales of Waffle Houses everywhere. $20-$40. 8 tonight-Friday; 3 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday. 1083 Austin Ave. N.E. (at Euclid Avenue). Details, tickets HERE or at 404.584.7450.
The Whipping Man. OPENING WEEKEND. This crackling three-actor drama, set in Richmond, Va., at the close of the Civil War, is one of the most popular titles at American regional theaters this season. The Matthew Lopez drama opens in 1865, when a wounded Jewish Confederate soldier returns to find his family home in ruins and occupied by two former slaves. Among its questions: “What does it mean to be free?” and “What is the power of faith?” The cast: Jeremy Aggers, Keith Randolph Smith and John Stewart. Alliance Theatre‘s Hertz Stage. $35-$39. Through April 7. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Details, tickets HERE. Meet the director, Atlanta-raised, New York-based Alexander Greenfield, in this Encore FEATURE.
Kathy Janich, Encore Atlanta’s managing editor, has been seeing, covering or working in the performing arts for most of her life. Please email: kathy@encoreatlanta.com.
Tagged" aurora theatre" horizon theatre7 stagesadventures of mighty bugalexander greenfieldalliance theatreangry fagsatlanta symphony orchestraatlanta symphony youth orchestrabaltimore waltzcapital city operacenter for puppetry artsferm theatrefox theatrematthew lopezmillion dollar quartetpaula vogelsuehyla el-attarThe Drowsy Chaperonethe secret agentthe waffle palacethe whipping mantopher payne
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About Kathy Janich
Kathy Janich is a longtime arts journalist who has been seeing, working in or writing about the performing arts for most of her life. She's a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, Americans for the Arts and the National Arts Marketing Project. Full disclosure: She’s also an artistic associate at Synchronicity Theatre.
View all posts by Kathy Janich →
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Anthropology, Folklore, History, Monsters, Mythology
Date: April 24, 2018Author: EsoterX 4 Comments
“The companionship of dead writers is a wonderful form of live friendship” ― Julian Barnes
Sometimes they come back.
Life as a 18th Century anatomy professor could be tough. It was one of those career choices that while relatively prestigious, required a certain talent for procuring corpses. While you might get invited to all the cool mortician parties, most folks shy away from life choices that encourage a lot of contact with the recently deceased. And although the average post-mortem chap suffers from a lack of hygiene (not their fault, being dead with the inevitable deterioration of grooming standards), they do have the virtue of not being especially talkative. Occasionally, you’ll get a ghost whining about the unfairness of it all, but in large part corpses remain thankfully uncommunicative. Except for one particular dead fellow that wound up at the doorstep of Professor Junker of Halle, Germany.
Physician Friedrich Christian Juncker (1730-1770) succeeded his father Johann Juncker as an esteemed professor of medicine at the University of Halle, a center of the German Enlightenment in the 18th Century, and their emphasis on rationality over theology has led historians to refer to Halle as the “first modern university”. Sadly, they were more modern than they knew. Professors of medicine needed to provide their own dissectible corpses for the edification of their eager students. Professor Junker was no slouch, so when opportunities for a nice fresh corpse presented itself, he was always quick to gather up the windfall. At the time, folks looked askance at grave-robbing or murder in the name of science, so Junker had to content himself with accumulating the unclaimed bodies of criminals. When it comes to corpses it’s catch as catch can, so when a pack of ghoulish body brokers arrived at his house one night with two dead bodies in cloth sacks. Waste not, want not. As he did not immediately have access to the dissection room at Halle, he ordered the bodies to be placed in a closet in his apartment, whilst he continued his nightly literary labors. Publish or perish, you know. Better somebody else has to perish in service of the goal.
The key of the dissecting room not being immediately at hand, when they were carried home to him, he ordered them to be laid down in a closet which opened into his own apartment. The evening came; and Junker, according to custom, proceeded to resume his literary labour before he retired to rest. It was now near midnight, and all his family were fast asleep, when he heard a rumbling noise in his closet. Thinking that, by some mistake, the cat had been shut up with the dead bodies, he arose, and, taking the candle, went to see what had happened. But what must have been his astonishment, or rather his panic, on perceiving that the sack which contained the two bodies was rent through the middle. He approached and found that one of them was gone. The doors and windows were well secured, and he thought it impossible the bodies could have been stolen. He tremblingly looked round the closet, and observed the dead man seated in a corner (Taylor, 1815, p75-79).
Dead men hanging out in the corner of your salon are a bit off-putting, especially for a respected anatomist. Death be not proud, but in general its considered a permanent state. Dissecting live people is typically considered bad form, unless of course you’re considering menu options. Tastes like chicken, I hear. Well, Professor Junker had two corpses, executed criminals dispatched by hanging, and now he had one, still quite dead, and another sitting in his drawing room. Now it would be rather rude for the formerly dead to not provide some sort of justification for their presence in the private quarters of a respected professor. Said corpse begged for mercy, commenting “He besought the professor for mercy, help, and means for escape, as he was a deserter from the army, and he would be severely punished if caught” (Tebb, 2896. p252-253). Obviously, having been hanged once, he was not eager to repeat the experience.
The Professor then retired, step by step, with his eye still fixed upon the object of alarm and holding the candle in his hand until he reached the door. The dead man instantly started up and followed him. A figure of so hideous an appearance, naked, and in motion, the lateness of the hour, the deep silence which prevailed—everything concurred to overwhelm him with confusion. He let fall the only candle which was burning, and all was darkness. He made his escape to his apartment, and threw himself on his bed; thither, however, he was followed; and he soon found the dead man embracing his legs, and loudly sobbing – Repeated cries of “leave me! leave me !” released Junker from the grasp of the dead man, who now exclaimed, “Ah! good executioner, good executioner! have mercy upon me!” Junker soon perceived the cause of what had happened, and resumed his fortitude. He informed the re-animated sufferer who he really was, and made a motion, in order to call up some of his family. “You then wish to destroy me,” exclaimed the criminal. “If you call up any one, my adventure will become public, and I shall be taken and executed a second time. In the name of humanity, I implore you to save my life” (Seward, 1823, p220-223).
Professor Junker was not a cold-hearted bastard and figured one execution was enough for a lifetime. He opted to assist his corpse to escape the long arm of the law.
The physician struck a light, decorated his guest with an old night gown, and having made him take a cordial, requested to know what had brought him to the gibbet. “It would have been a truly singular exhibition,” observed Junker. “to have seen me, at that late hour, engaged in a tete-a-tete with a dead man, dressed out in an old night gown”. The poor wretch informed him, that he had enlisted as a soldier, but that having no great attachment to the profession, he had determined to desert; that he had entrusted his secret to a kind of individual—a fellow of no principle, who recommended him to a woman in whose house he was to remain concealed; and that she had discovered his retreat to the officers of the police. Junker was extremely perplexed how to save the fellow; it was impossible to retain him in his own house, and keep the affair secret; yet, to turn him out of doors, was to expose him to certain destruction. He resolved to conduct him out of the city, in order that he might get him into a foreign jurisdiction; but it was necessary to pass the city gates; and they were strictly guarded. To accomplish this point, he dressed him in some of his, own clothes, covered him with a cloak, and at an early hour, set out for the country with his protege behind him. On arriving at the city gate, (where he was well known) he said, in a hurried voice, that he had been sent for to visit a sick person in the suburbs, who was dying. He was permitted to pass. Having both got into the fields, the deserter threw himself at the feet of his deliverer, to whom he vowed eternal gratitude, and after receiving some pecuniary assistance, departed, offering up prayers for his happiness (Watts, 1825, p218-219)
Reanimation is a tricky business, and Professor Junker was obviously a man of good character that a general sense of the absurdity of the universe, doing his best to deliver the reanimated corpse to more receptive climes where he would not be summarily hanged by the neck again. For this alone, I think we need to award a certain amount of cool points to the kind Professor Junker. One likes to think that no good deed goes unpunished, given the state of affairs of the universe, but Junker had a strange encounter in Amsterdam years later.
Twelve years later, Junker having occasion to go to Amsterdam, was accosted on the exchange by a man well dressed, and of the first appearance, who, he had been informed, was one of the most respectable merchants of that city. The merchant, in a polite tone, enquired whether he was not Professor Junker of Halle? and, being answered in the affirmative, he requested, in an earnest manner, his company to dinner. The professor consented, having reached the merchant’s house, he was shewn into an elegant apartment, where he found a beautiful wife, and two fine healthy children; but he could scarcely suppress his astonishment at meeting so cordial a reception from a family, with whom he thought he was entirely unacquainted. After dinner, the merchant, taking him into his counting-room, said, “You do not recollect me?” – “Not at all.” “But I will recollect you, and never shall your features be effaced from my remembrance: you are my bene-factor: I am the person who came to life in your closet, and to whom you paid so much attention. On parting from you, I took the road to Holland; I wrote a good hand; was tolerably good at accounts; my figure was somewhat interesting, and I soon obtained employment, as a merchant’s clerk. My good conduct, and my zeal for the interests of my patron, procured me his confidence, and his daughter’s love. On his retiring from business I succeeded him and became his son-in-law. But for you, however, I should not have lived to experience all these enjoyments. Henceforth, look upon my house, my fortune, and myself, as at your disposal” (Professional Anecdotes, 1825, p194-195).
A few morals to this story. Don’t assume folks are dead. Or at least not permanently. Also. Dead people can be incredibly gracious. The trick is sorting out the dead from the living. Here’s a tip. Living people are usually ungrateful jerks. A good rule of thumb is that expressed by Anthony Hicks, who observed, “Dead people have a right to be heard and seen.”
Seward, John. The Spirit of Anecdote and Wit. London: Walker and co.; [etc., etc.], 1823.
Taylor, Joseph, 1761 or 2-1844. Apparitions: Or, The Mystery of Ghosts, Hobgoblins, And Haunted Houses Developed. 2d ed, London: Lackington, Allen, 1815.
Watts, Joshua. The Museum of History: Or, Narratives of the Most Remarkable and Interesting Events Which Have Taken Place In Modern Times… 3rd ed. New Haven, [Conn.?]: H. Mansfield, 1825.
Tebb, William, 1830-1918. Premature Burial and How it May Be Prevented: With Special Reference to Trance, Catalepsy, And Other Forms of Suspended Animation. London: S. Sonnenschein & co., 1896.
The Terrific Register: Or, Record of Crimes, Judgments, Providences, And Calamities … London: Sherwood, Jones, and co.; [etc., etc.], 1825.
“Professor Junker”. Professional Anecdotes, Or Ana of Medical Literature. London: J. Knight & H. Lacey, 1825.
anatomydeathghostprematurereanimation
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4 thoughts on “Be Nice to Dead People: Professor Junker and the Reanimated Corpse”
busterggi says:
This is how religions start.
EsoterX says:
aediculaantinoi says:
Or jobs in accountancy…but, same difference, really. 😉
Steven Philbrook says:
That was a great story.
Leave a Reply to busterggi Cancel reply
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Tag Archives: dade county hurricane andrew
Posted on October 31, 2012 by ExtremePlanet
Hurricane Andrew was the most damaging single windstorm in world history. Whereas most catastrophic hurricanes are defined by their storm surges and flooding, Andrew proved that the winds in tropical cyclones can be just as devastating. (Image courtesy of Michael Laca)
After decades of relative inactivity in the Atlantic basin, Hurricane Andrew marked the first time in modern history that a Category 4 or Category 5 hurricane had directly threatened a large American city. As people across the country watched, the tightly wound storm took aim on downtown Miami. On August 23rd, 1992, journalists and camera crews positioned themselves in iconic areas throughout the city. By 1am on August 24th, winds were howling across Dade County. Employees at the National Hurricane Center, then located in Coral Gables, had the dual task of monitoring the storm and protecting themselves as windows shattered in the upper floors of their building.
Hurricane Andrew strengthened up until, and slightly after, its South Florida landfall. The storm was extremely well shaped, and easily had the most intense and symmetrical eyewall ever captured up-close by land-based radar.
At the break of dawn, the eye of the storm was entering the Gulf of Mexico and the winds across Dade County had begun to die down. Daylight revealed extensive damage across the city of Miami and Coral Gables. Strangely, however, there was little word from areas farther south. A last minute dip in the storm’s path meant that the urbanized areas south of Miami, from Kendall to Florida City, had taken the brunt of the storm. Despite the widespread use of video cameras in the early 90’s, no clear footage exists of the storm at its height. Nearly all of the videos taken south of 152nd Street end abruptly at 4am.
Few videos exist of Hurricane Andrew’s landfall in Dade County. At top left, a clip from a journalist and his cameraman as they filmed the hurricane throughout the city, spending the majority of the storm on South Beach. At bottom left, Dennis Smith from the Weather Channel broadcast live footage of the hurricane in Coral Gables. At right, storm chaser Michael Laca recorded the duration of the storm in Coconut Grove. All three of these films were taken well north of the worst affected areas.
News helicopters and emergency crews quickly realized the extent of the damage. Cities to the south of Miami had taken the full force of the Category 5 hurricane, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless. Nearly everyone who lived south of 152nd Street seemed to agree that “something unusual happened” between 4am and 6am the morning of August 24th. In the words of one Homestead resident –“I’ve been through plenty of hurricanes, and all of them together was nothing compared to this.”
Tests in wind tunnels have found that winds of 130mph are required to overturn a minivan at its most sensitive angle, and winds of 150mph to 180mph are needed for them to be flipped at other angles (Schmidlin, 2003). Hurricane Andrew overturned more cars than any hurricane in history. At left, two vehicles in Homestead were flipped end over end inside a garage. At right, a U-Haul truck was blown atop the roof of a building. In both cases, the proximity of the vehicles to buildings likely contributed to their movements. (NOAA Photo Library)
Hurricane Andrew’s right front quadrant came ashore in the vicinity of Cutler. As would be expected, the maximum storm surge of 17ft occurred in this area. Due to the storm’s fairly rapid forward speed, the most extreme winds should have occurred along the immediate coastline of Cutler and East Perrine. And indeed, the damage was astounding. Trees in the area were stripped bare, and some homes near the shoreline were unroofed and partially leveled by wind gusts in excess of 175mph. The Pinewood Villas, a one-story apartment community in Cutler Ridge, experienced some of the most severe wind damage in the area. Several apartment buildings in the complex were completely leveled, and the remaining units suffered extensive internal damage as doors were ripped from their hinges. Professor Fujita toured the damage at the Pinewood Villas and noted the inconsistent nature of the destruction, which was reminiscent of the narrow streaks of damage left by tornadoes.
At left, a seven-story Holiday Inn was gutted of furniture and some interior walls by the hurricane. At right, a view of damage in Pinewood Villas, one of the areas Professor Fujita visited. He deemed some of the building damage to be of F3 intensity. (NOAA Photo Library)
A little farther inland in Cutler, the hurricane punched through the windows and walls of large retailers and completely gutted a two-story furniture store. Due to Andrew’s incredible power and brisk westward motion, areas well inland were affected by wind gusts over 150mph. The Tamiami Airport, located 10 miles from the coast, suffered tens of millions of dollars in damage. Airplanes were flipped and rolled into piles, and the airport’s hangars were shredded to their metal frames.
During the storm, even though routine weather observations had ceased operation, the official weather observer at the airport continued to keep track of the station’s wind dial. Around 4:45am, he noted that the needle became pegged at a position beyond the instrument’s peak value (later shown to be a bit over 120mph). The needle remained fixed at this point for three to five minutes before dropping to zero as the anemometer failed. The weather observer reported that the winds increased in intensity for another 30 minutes, so it is quite likely sustained winds well over 120mph affected the Tamiami Airport (NHC, 1992).
At left, damage to the Tamiami Airport, which was located 10 miles from the coastline and north of the storm’s eye. At right, the devastated Dadeland Mobile Home Park, which was located several miles east of the airport.
Andrew was a rather fast moving storm, so winds in the northern half of the eyewall should have been more than 35mph stronger than winds in the southern eyewall. Despite the destruction in Cutler and Perrine, however, even more intense damage was found farther south. Arguably the most severe wind damage caused by the hurricane was four miles inland in Naranja Lakes, a small community just north of Homestead. The devastation was unusual because the area was near the geographic center of the storm’s path, well away from the onshore winds that affected Cutler Bay. Even more unusual, survivors in Naranja Lakes and Homestead told surveyors that the most extreme winds occurred during the back-eyewall of the hurricane. One woman in Naranja Lakes was fatally injured as her home was destroyed by southerly winds following the passage of the eye.
Extreme damage in Naranja Lakes. The home at left is where Mary Cowin was killed after being impaled by a piece of debris. At right, a streak of leveled buildings through Naranja Lakes that may have been the result of a “mini-swirl.” Eyewitness statements indicated that the most extreme winds impacted the area around 6am (Powell, 1995). While the exact conditions that led to the extreme damage is unknown, it is theorized that powerful downdrafts may have occurred within the convection cells. (NOAA Photo Library)
Aerial view of damage in Naranja Lakes. Like many properties in the area, buildings that were not leveled still suffered severe internal damage as winds entered residences through windows and doorways. (Image by Carl Seibert)
Radar views of the hurricane provided some clues as to why its southern eyewall caused such incredible damage in Naranja Lakes, Homestead and Florida City. The Miami radar failed as the leading edge of Andrew’s eyewall came ashore, and the Key West radar ceased functioning when the power went out across the region, so no radars within 200 miles of Homestead captured the hurricane as it crossed the coastline. Radar in Tampa, however, was able to fill in the gap, though with slightly less detail due to its distance. As the hurricane came ashore, radar images showed powerful convection cells forming over Homestead and nearby areas in the storm’s southern eyewall. It is likely these dense cells of precipitation led to extremely intense bursts of wind that may have reached 200mph.
View of massive convection cells in Hurricane Andrew’s southern eyewall. These features may explain why the most intense damage was not found in areas affected by Andrew’s right-front quadrant, traditionally the most violent section of a hurricane. The convection cells were not as visible in the storm’s back eyewall, where the most intense winds may have occurred, possibly due to interference from precipitation to the west.
The approximate position of the radar velocities. Areas beneath the bright orange cell include Naranja Lakes and the Homestead Air Force Base.
Images of some of the strongest hurricane winds ever filmed. At left, storm chaser Mike Theiss’s footage of the strongest hurricane winds ever captured on video during Hurricane Charley. Peak wind gusts in the film are likely between 150 and 160mph. At right, legendary storm chaser Jim Leonard captured gusts of 130mph or more whipping through palm trees in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Georges. Peak wind gusts in Hurricane Andrew may have topped 200mph.
The winds that affected Homestead, Florida City and Naranja Lakes were like nothing that has ever been filmed before. Deep convection in Hurricane Andrew’s southern eyewall likely led to near complete white-out conditions during the peak of the storm. Survivors described the roar of the storm as being so loud that “you could barely hear someone screaming next to you.” Lisa Frantz, a Los Angeles resident who survived the storm in her mother’s home in Florida City, described the impact of the storm:
The whole home shook as if it was going to be ripped from the ground. We could hear furniture banging against the walls and being blown out the windows. You could hear some of the gusts right before they hit – it sounded like jet planes were taking off right over us…I was sure we both were going to die.
At left, saplings in a South Dade County nursery were blown to the ground by extreme surface winds. At right, a building that was completely leveled in Naranja Lakes. (Images courtesy of Michael Laca)
Unlike most US hurricanes, the majority of Hurricane Andrew’s deaths were caused by its winds. Falling trees are generally the biggest killer, but the deaths in South Florida were more consistent with tornado-related fatalities. Half of the 15 deaths directly attributed to the storm occurred in the collapse of frame homes or apartment buildings. Additionally: two men sheltering together in a metal storage trailer west of the Tamiami Airport were killed when the container was flipped several times. One man, who was also more than 12 miles inland on SW 198th Street, was killed by flying debris while running for shelter after the building he had been in collapsed. Two more deaths occurred in two separate mobile homes that were obliterated. Only one of the deaths was the result of drowning. (Natural Disaster Survey Report, 1993). A third of the deaths occurred more than 10 miles inland.
Extensive research in the decade following the storm concluded that Hurricane Andrew was significantly stronger than previously estimated (the official intensity at landfall in Homestead was originally 145mph). In 2002, the hurricane was posthumously upgraded to a Category 5 with maximum sustained winds of 175mph. At landfall in Homestead, the storm’s winds are now estimated to have been 165mph, even though the storm’s lowest pressure of 922mb was recorded at this time. The complicated and isolated nature of the wind features in Hurricane Andrew make a single intensity estimate almost impossible to calculate.
At left, view of the NHC’s updated wind contour map of Hurricane Andrew at South Florida landfall. Despite being vastly more accurate than the official intensity prior to the 2002 addendum, the contour map still is unable to account for the extreme wind damage south of Cutler Bay. At right, the contour map overlaying a map of the area.
Hurricane Andrew remains one of only two Category 5 hurricanes to ever make landfall in the United States.* The storm redefined the concept of a hurricane to a whole new generation and left lasting scars in South Florida that are still visible 20 years later. More than anything, the storm highlighted the continued discrepancies that exist between National Hurricane Center estimates and the actual surface conditions in landfalling hurricanes.
*Hurricane Camille’s official landfall intensity of 190mph, according to many objective sources, is inaccurate. The storm was very likely under Category 5 intensity when it crossed the Mississippi coastline.
Posted in highest windspeed, hurricane andrew, hurricane intensity, hurricane re-analysis, Uncategorized Tagged category 5 hurricane, category 5 hurricane united states, dade county hurricane andrew, hurricane andrew, most intense hurricane ever, naranja lakes hurricane andrew, winds hurricane andrew
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Tag Archives: range line road tornado
Posted on July 4, 2012 by ExtremePlanet
The Joplin tornado was powerful enough to scour pavement from parking lots and rip 300lb steel-anchored parking stops from the ground. Without a doubt, the Joplin tornado caused the most intense tornado damage ever surveyed in a heavily urbanized area. In this image, empty foundations are flanked by debarked trees and lawns that have been partially scoured of grass.
□ The power of the EF5 Joplin tornado is sometimes muted against the fury of the 2011 season. While not as photogenic as the Tuscaloosa tornado three weeks before, the Joplin storm left some of the most extreme tornado damage ever documented. Engineers concluded that the winds had to be in excess of 205 mph to tear out the parking stops by St. Johns Hospital (Joplin Globe, 2011). Winds of that intensity only a few inches above the ground easily indicate winds over 250mph several feet above the ground.
The fact that the Joplin tornado spent the duration of its EF5 intensity atop a grid of homes and businesses gave meteorologists a fascinating look at the structure of an EF5 tornado. Never before had such a violent tornado destroyed so many homes. In fact, the Joplin tornado killed more people and destroyed equally as many buildings as all other EF5 tornadoes since the year 2000 combined.
The Joplin tornado maintained EF5 intensity from an area just north of St. Johns Hospital all the way to Rangeline Road. Aerial imagery indicates the tornado reached peak intensity in neighborhoods west of Joplin High School. Dozens of likely well-built homes were swept away between Pennsylvania and Iowa Avenue. The damage was remarkable considering the urban density of the area.
The tornado maintained EF5 intensity all the way to east Joplin. On Rangeline Road, there were 18 fatalities in six businesses, eight of which occurred at a Home Depot (lower left). The tornado was powerful enough to scour grass from the ground, visible here in the worst streak of damage just north of Home Depot.
The tornado was wrapped in rain and not clearly visible to those in its path, and the mesocyclone that spawned it was so immense it blackened the afternoon sky. Despite the less than perfect filming conditions, more than a dozen movies were taken in the vicinity of the tornado. The storm’s massive circulation brought hurricane force wind gusts over a wide swath of Joplin, so most of the films were recorded in the storm’s outer fringes. Only a few videos were taken inside the EF2 damage contour.
Map showing where the two “first person” Joplin films were taken. Point “A” is where the Minnesota Avenue footage was recorded. Point “B” is the location of the famous Fastrip gas station video
B. Fastrip, South Duquesne Road
“Then I heard a noise that sounded like the world was coming to an end.”
-Linda Ledford (4/3/74)
The most well-known video of the Joplin tornado was taken at a Fastrip gas station. Filmed at the intersection of 20th and Duquesne Road, the tornado was 3/4 of a mile wide and at EF4 intensity when it passed over the area. When listening to the video’s audio, it is clear the distribution of winds within the tornado was very uneven. Almost all of the damage occurred during a brief period on the backside of the storm. This may have been the result of a suction vortex imbedded within the tornado or, as some people have suggested, it may have been the back “eyewall” of the tornado after the calm center had passed.
It takes a good set of headphones to really appreciate the roar of the approaching winds, which were likely well over 200mph just above ground level. The wind feature, be it a suction vortex or the tornado’s eyewall, was deafeningly loud, yet only audible for a few seconds before impacting the Fastrip. Therefore, it was moving significantly faster than the forward motion of the tornado, which was about 20 to 25mph. This gives credence to the theory that it was a powerful suction vortex rotating within the tornado.
Using Logic Pro, I was able to sort out much of the interfering noise and focus specifically on the base sounds which constitute the “roar” of the tornado. Each point on the graph is the average base volume around each point (e.g.. the graph’s highest reading at 3″:05″ is the average of :04 – :06 and the point “:10” is the average of :09 – :11). The data indicates the winds dropped significantly inside the tornado right before the spike of highest winds. The roar of nearby winds was audible in the calm center and caused some interference, so the drop was likely even more pronounced than shown here.
The Fastrip was near the geographic center of the damage path and likely experienced the tornado’s eye. It is plausible that the winds decreased significantly, if not completely, right before the most violent winds struck. In the video, a friend of the man filming can he heard saying “We’re good, we’re good” as the audible winds dramatically decrease in the center of the tornado. Also, it appears that the extremely high winds lasted only a few seconds. Even though the overall volume increases when the roof is torn off (as the camera is directly exposed to the outside) around 3:05, the base volume, which may be indicative of the most violent winds, dramatically decreases by 3:10.
If the speed and size of the Joplin tornado were the only variables considered, it would be assumed that the Fastrip experienced peak winds for nearly two minutes. But video evidence clearly indicates otherwise. This may provide an interesting perspective on other large or slow-moving tornadoes, such as the F5 tornado that struck Jarrell, Texas on May 27, 1997.
The destroyed Fastrip is highlighted in yellow. A swath of partial vegetation scouring and wind rowing to the south of the store indicates the storm’s strongest winds may have just missed the area.
The people who hid in the Fastrip were incredibly lucky. A similar series of events took place at a Pizza Hut on Rangeline Road with tragic results. Approximately 15 people sought shelter in a walk-in freezer, much like at the Fastrip. The tornado was still at EF5 intensity when it crossed Range Line Road, however, and the winds ripped into the freezer and killed a third of the people inside. From survivor accounts, it appears the Pizza Hut was also struck by a brief but powerful wind feature. The store’s manager, Christopher Lucas, tied a cord around his waist in an effort to keep the freezer door closed. One survivor, who held onto Lucas’s leg, later told reporters that “everything blew away. He was gone, the door was gone, everything.” Other survivors reported watching people who were “ripped out the front and back” of the freezer. Lucas was found dead in the parking lot of a nearby business. Four other people pulled from the freezer were also killed. Some of the survivors experienced severe blunt force trauma from high velocity debris. The Pizza Hut just happened to be directly in the streak of worst damage, which was made visible by ground scouring in an area between Home Depot and Walmart.
A. 2500 Block, South Minnesota Avenue
A similar, primarily-audio film was taken with a cellphone near the Joplin High School on Minnesota Avenue. The tornado was at maximum strength as it passed by this area, and numerous instances of possible EF5 damage occurred only a few blocks to the north. The home where the footage was shot was just outside the core of extreme destruction near the F2/F3 damage contour. An audio analysis of this video was difficult due to the interference of other sounds, particularly the clatter of debris striking the home.
Even without an analysis of the base volumes, the video still provides useful information about the composition of the tornado. Damaging winds (75mph+) appear to affect the home for approximately 100 seconds, beginning at 1:30 and ending abruptly around 3:10. Most of the damage, however, occurs during two distinct bursts, each lasting less than 10 seconds. During the first burst (at 2:12), flying debris can be heard impacting the home and several loud thuds indicate the home’s roof had begun to fail. Loud clinking sounds are audible as the entire home shakes as if struck by an earthquake. Around 2:35 a second, stronger rush of winds strike the home, likely causing most of the structural damage. Near the end of the storm, the window in the bathroom shatters, an indication winds had shifted as the tornado’s center moved to the east. A third pocket of intense winds roars above the home for a few moments before the storm subsides.
The home where the Minnesota Avenue film was taken was right at the EF2/EF3 damage contour, near the edge of the tornado’s path. Most, if not all of the approximately 70 fatalities that occurred in frame homes were in the EF4 and EF5 damage zones.
The Minnesota Avenue videographer was just outside the area where the tornado’s most extreme wind features were causing EF4 and EF5 damage. The evenly spaced periods of wind acceleration may have been related to the home’s proximity to intense multiple vortices that passed only a few hundred feet to the north. The exact make-up of the tornado may never be known, but the videographer in the Fastrip on Duquesne Road encountered a brief, violent wind feature that the filmmakers on Minnesota Avenue did not experience.
The film taken on Minnesota Avenue was just south of Joplin High School’s athletic fields (one block out of frame). The tornado’s most intense damage occurred only a few hundred feet to the north. Dozens of homes to the west of the high school were swept completely away.
Both videos provide evidence that supports the notion that many violent tornadoes have small, extremely powerful wind features that cause the most intense damage. The Joplin videos indicate that the tornado had a wide swath of powerful winds capable of causing EF1 to EF3 damage, and small-scale vortices that caused EF4 and EF5 damage. While the exact winds will never be known, they were likely significantly more powerful than 210mph cap the Enhanced Fujita Scale appears to utilize.
Posted in articles on tornadoes, Dopplar on Wheels, ef5 tornado, ef5 tornado damage, f5 tornado, f5 tornado damage, f6 tornado, highest windspeed, inside a tornado, most powerful tornado ever, strongest tornado ever recorded, tornado, tornado aerial damage, tornado analysis, tornado facts, tornado intensity, tornado photogrammetry, tornado pictures, Tornado wind measurements, Uncategorized Tagged christopher lucas, do tornadoes have an eye, fastrip tornado video, inside an ef5 tornado, joplin ef5 tornado, joplin tornado, joplin tornado hero, joplin tornado video analysis, multiple vortices, pizza hut joplin tornado, range line road tornado, tornado analysis, tornado calm center, tornado eye, tornado facts, tornado pizza hut, video inside a tornado, what does a tornado sound like, whats it like inside a tornado
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Home > Prince Harry Genealogy > Family Group
⇐ Prev Generation | ⇐ Prince Harry
Edward John Spencer
View famous kin of Edward John Spencer
3rd Generation — Grandfather of Prince Harry
Albert Edward John Spencer
Cynthia Elinor Beatrix Hamilton
St. John's Wood, London, England
St. Mary the Virgin with St. John Churchyard, Great Brington, Northamptonshire, England
Frances Ruth Burke Roche
Westminster Abbey, London, England
Diana Frances Spencer
8th Earl Spencer
Sources for Edward John Spencer
1 England and Wales, Marriage Index, 1916-2005, Marriage record for Edward J Spencer and Frances R B Roche, Ancestry.com (Online Database).
2 Find A Grave, (accessed 01/01/2014).
3 NEHGS NEXUS: New England Across the United States, 1999, Vol. 16, p. 116, New England Historic Genealogical Society (Online Database).
4 NEHGS NEXUS: New England Across the United States, 1997, Vol. 14, p. 71, New England Historic Genealogical Society (Online Database).
5 New England Historical and Genealogical Register, (New England Historic and Genealogical Society), 1982, Vol. 136, p. 96.
6 Connecticut Society of Genealogists, The Connecticut Nutmegger, 2000, Vol. 33, Page 18, New England Historic Genealogical Society (Online Database).
7 Evans, Richard K., The Ancestry of Diana, Princess of Wales , Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society (2007), 5.
8 Kidd, Charles, Debrett Goes to Hollywood, New York: St. Martin's Press (1986), 122.
9 Roberts, Gary Boyd, The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States , Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. (2008), 578.
10 Roberts, Gary Boyd and Christopher C. Child, "The Shared Ancestry of (Rachel) Meghan Markle and Prince Harry of Wales", (accessed 11/30/2017).
11 Roberts, Gary Boyd and William Addams Reitwiesner, American Ancestors and Cousins of The Princess of Wales, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. (1984), 25, Ancestry.com (Online Database).
12 Roberts, Gary Boyd, comp., Ancestors of American Presidents , Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society (2009).
13 The Official Website of The British Monarchy, "House of Windsor Family Tree", (accessed 11/30/2012).
14 Wikipedia, "John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer", (accessed 03/31/2011).
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The parliament has asserted its position as a co-legislator in the EU (Photo: European Parliament)
By Eszter Zalan
BRUSSELS, 4. Mar, 11:33
The European parliament takes pride in being the only EU institution whose members are elected directly by the European people.
That has been the case since 1979.
Klaus Welle is the all-powerful behind-the-scenes leader of the parliament's administration (Photo: European Parliament)
The parliament has used this political legitimacy to claim more and more legislative power over the years, sometimes irking member states that have to negotiate rules with parliamentarians.
Yet paradoxically, despite gaining influence, the parliament has at the same time been losing the interest and votes of EU citizens - of whom only 42.6 percent participated in the last European election in 2014.
Who are its members?
The parliament consists of 751 MEPs from the 28 member states.
After Brexit and the departure of the UK's MEPs, the parliament will number 705 members.
The number of MEPs elected from an EU country depends on the size of the population, with the largest (Germany) having 96 members, down to Cyprus, Estonia, Luxembourg and Malta sending six members each.
They are elected for five-year terms. MEPs form political groups that can secure financial funding, important seats in committees, and their members can be tasked with overseeing and guiding legislative files.
Currently, the largest political group is the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) with 217 members. Centre-left socialists sit in the Socialists & Democrats (S&D) group, the second largest, while right-wing conservatives, liberals, greens, the far-left and far-right parties also have their own smaller groups to represent them.
MEPs earn almost €8,800 per month before taxes (that is EU taxes, with favourable rates compared to national ones), and in addition get generous funding for expenses and office costs.
Where is it really?
It has been the focus of ongoing controversy and has fed eurosceptic arguments against the EU's 'bureaucracy' for decades that the parliament divides itself between Brussels and Strasbourg.
Each month, thousands of parliament staff and a massive amount of paperwork travels from the Belgian capital to the French city for the plenary sessions, with special trains commissioned from Brussels.
Dubbed the 'travelling circus', the moves are said to cost EU taxpayers over €100m each year.
In 2013, MEPs themselves voted to back a single seat for the parliament, but - sadly and perhaps peculiarly - it is not up to them to decide.
In 1992 EU governments agreed to lay down in a treaty that the parliament's official seat is in Strasbourg, and since France is not willing to give that up, the circus will keep on rolling.
What is it doing?
The parliament has the right to adopt and amend legislation in tandem with member states and also participates in negotiating the EU budget. The vast majority of EU legislation happens in the so-called "ordinary legislative procedure".
Under this procedure, the commission makes a proposal, the parliament appoints an MEP responsible for the file, and negotiations start with the member states, once both parliament and the member states represented in the council of the EU agree their own initial position.
Negotiations on legislation are done in the secretive, informal "trilogue" meetings with representatives from the commission, the council and parliament sitting together hammering out compromises. There were 251 such trilogues in 2017.
Once a consensus is reached, the legislation is then adopted by the council and voted in the parliament's relevant committee and, later, the plenary.
The parliament is also responsible for electing the president of the European commission.
After a European election, EU governments haggle over possible candidates "taking into account" the result of the elections, as the Lisbon Treaty stipulates.
Since 2014, the parliament, under the so-called 'Spitzenkandidat' process, has attempted to force governments' hands by pushing them to elect the candidate that manages to secure a majority in the parliament.
Candidates for the different commission portfolios also have to go through a parliamentary grilling.
Who are the power-brokers?
Some of the most powerful posts in the parliament are quite visible: the president represents the EP in meetings with EU leaders, and participates in key decisions.
The leaders of the political groups are key in deciding what gets on the parliament's agenda, who will be members of the committees, deciding on institutional issues, how politically-sensitive topics will be handled, and which party gets to steer important legislative files.
The fortnightly Thursday meetings of the "conference of presidents" is the governing body of the parliament. It consists of the president and the political group leaders.
A less visible, but no less powerful, hub is the "bureau", which deals with issues relating to the budget, administration, organisation and staff of the EP.
It is composed of the president, the 14 vice-presidents of the parliament and the five quaestors, responsible for administrative and financial matters.
Behind both of these bodies stands the all-powerful secretary-general of the parliament - a post that has been held by the German Klaus Welle since 2009. He is responsible for what gets onto the table of the president, the conference of presidents and the bureau.
Rapporteurs are MEPs responsible for specific reports on legislative files.
They are also key actors as they set the tone for the parliament's position on a specific initiative or issue, and work together with shadow rapporteurs from other political groups in their committee to prepare a common position and then lead negotiations with member states.
The election of rapporteurs is done through a complicated points system, in which political party groups bid for a report or a topic, like in an auction. In other cases, groups themselves agree on an appointment.
Is it a Tower of Babel?
Almost 8,000 people work in the parliament, either in the administration or attached to political parties and their politicians. Some of them are based in Luxembourg.
Altogether, they speak the 24 official languages of the EU - and Brexit will not change that, as English will remain one of the official languages.
To guarantee the same working conditions for everyone, all documents and debates are available in all the languages.
There are 552 possible language combinations, and around 300 staff interpreters and more than 1,500 external accredited interpreters to make sense of it all.
For the plenary session weeks, some 700 to 900 interpreters are on hand. The parliament also employs about 700 translators, who monthly translate more than 100,000 pages of documents.
This story was originally published in EUobserver's European Parliament elections 2019 magazine. Click here to access EUobserver's entire magazine collection.
MEPs in Strasbourg: everywhere but the plenary
MEPs vote for transparency, despite EPP secret ballot
Tajani wants second term as EU parliament president
Wanted: new rapporteurs for 'orphaned' EU bills
Three EU leaders and the president of the ECB travelled to Strasbourg this week to debate with MEPs, but attendance was poor.
MEPs voted in favour of transparency - despite a German-led effort in the centre-right EPP group to block the reforms via a rare secret ballot.
Spokesman confirms to EUobserver that centre-right Italian wants to come back as MEP and serve again as parliament president.
Before the elections, Spanish MEP Esther Herranz Garcia had been in charge of steering an important agriculture file through parliament. But Herranz is not coming back.
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Tag: Parents
Ed Duffy. Unforgettable.
We all lose people we love, people who are integral to us. We cannot escape loss. I will never know what it must feel like to lose a child but I know the sorrow of a mother or father’s death.
Today, my father-in-law, Edward Duffy, died.
His wife, Jean, and his seven children are in that unenviable position today of realizing they will never see Ed’s smile again or hear his laugh. They will never sit down for a family dinner with him or debate the future of America.
It is a very hard thing to think about death in those ways. So finite.
But I have learned some things in all the years that have passed without the physical presence of my parents. I have learned that their love has stayed with me, no matter that I cannot see them or hear them or feel them.
Ed would have turned 90 later this month. He lived a long and full life. He grew up on a farm in upstate New York, served in the Navy during World War II and excelled in his banking career. By the time he retired from a top position at Marine Midland Bank, Ed had built a comfortable life for his family. He served on the boards of several companies and was wise with his money, as every good banker should be.
But most of all, he cared deeply about his family. They mattered more to him than anything else. That was something that drew me to the Duffys. When I first met them, my parents were in India and I saw them for a few days every year, if I was lucky. I wanted so much to be a part of a family, and Ed and Jean were gracious enough to give me that gift. After my parents died, I thought of Ed and Jean as my own mom and dad.
I reminded Kevin today of his father’s long and rewarding life. Ed’s children were lucky to have him around so long. That’s something precious many of us don’t get.
Ed may no longer be here on Earth and we will miss him. But his spirit is within all those he loved and he will continue to be a guiding light in their lives.
Here’s to you, Edward Duffy, and a life well lived.
I am born
To borrow from Charles Dickens:
WhetherI shall turn out to be the hero of my own life or whether that station will beheld by anyone else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning ofmy life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) onthe thirteenth day of October. It was remarked that soon after my mother brought me home, a white owl appeared before her on the terrace, glistening in moonlight.
It was Lakshmi Puja day, when Hindus worship the goddess of prosperity, grace, and charm. Lakshmi has a white owl by her side and the bird has come to be known as a sign of good luck.
My mother was then convinced she had done the right thing.
By thatI mean that she had picked me up only days earlier at an orphanage in the Maniktola neighborhood of Kolkata. I had been left there, on the doorstep,hours after my birth.
Many people I have known in the course of my life have asked me why my natural parents abandoned me. I do not fully know the answer to that. If and when I do,perhaps I shall write more.
But what I do know is how lucky I was to have been left at that particular orphanage, run by American missionary Helen Benedict.
Mymother had just met Benedict at a luncheon at the Indo-American Society, whereshe was hoping to improve her spoken English. She told me she was attending afashion show. I never quite figured out what a missionary was doing at afashion show, but I am glad that Benedict went that day.
She happened to be seated next to my mother, who lamented that she had not had success in having children. My parents had been married 10 years by then.
Benedict perked up.
A child was left on her doorstep, she told my mother. Would she like to come and look?
My mother went the next day with my grandmother. Many years later, I would see the gate through which she entered the day and meet the caretaker who greeted her.
I was only a few days old. Apparently, my mother agreed to take me home the moment she saw me.
Benedict advised her that she ought to first consult my father. I suppose there was a chance that he might not have agreed — as much chance as there is of snow falling in Kolkata.
He had already picked out a name. Monimala. Garland of pearls.
At seven days old, I was taken home. To an old house at 206 Barrackpur TrunkRoad on the campus of the Indian Statistical Institute. The banisters were wrought iron, the floors, marble. The courtyard was shaded by tall coconut palms.
My mother told me when I was much older that she had gone up the narrow stairs, up to the roof and seen the white owl. She felt unfiltered joy and relief, like monsoons after a searing May.
Many pages of my life are yet to be written.
But the first chapter begins with my great fortune — a child left at an orphanage who came into the home of a brilliant mathematician and his beautiful wife. That child might have grown up in slums, might not have been educated.Instead, she traveled the world and grew up to write about it.
I tell you this story on my 49th birthday.
Many people still ask me about my natural mother and father. But I tell them I had only one set of parents. They are long gone now but they gave me a life for which I will be eternally grateful. Yes, I an adopted child. Their blood does not run through my veins.
But I have something much more potent — their love.
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Home Globe Globe Telecom to continue ramping up deployment of 700 MHz LTE sites
Globe Telecom to continue ramping up deployment of 700 MHz LTE sites
Mark Marcelo
Globe Telecom will continue to ramp up deployment of the 700 megahertz (MHz) band, with a target to increase utilization of the spectrum by more than 300%, in support of its bid to improve internet experience of its customers.
Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu said the company plans to roll out within the year the LTE 700 in close to 1,800 sites, more than three-fold increase from the 500 sites that it was able to deploy last year. “We continue to maximize the use of the previously unutilized 700 MHz because at the end of the day, our basic product is still the network. Globe has consistently delivered superior mobile services and as the country’s network of choice by smartphone users, we want to be able to stay ahead of the demand curve, taking into account our customers’ growing requirement for bandwidth-intensive content,” said Cu.
The plan is also in fulfillment of its target of providing mobile coverage to about 95% of cities and municipalities in the country within a 3-year period, as committed to the National Telecommunications Commission, explained Cu.
In addition to the LTE 700 sites, Globe is also expanding coverage and increasing capacities for 1000 sites using the 2600 MHz band. Globe gained access to the 700 MHz and obtained additional allocation in the 2600 MHz following a partial acquisition of San Miguel’s telecommunication assets. Prior to the acquisition, such spectrum assets were idle and unutilized.
According to Cu, the new LTE 700MHz and LTE 2600 MHz sites will be deployed in densely populated areas, mainly in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao, where majority of customers using LTE-compatible devices are located. Globe began deployment of LTE sites using the 700 MHz band in June this year following a partial acquisition of San Miguel’s telecommunication assets, which also included spectrum resources in the 1800 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2600 MHz.
In line with its commitment to improve internet state in the country, Globe also plans to deploy 425,000 high-speed broadband bands within 2017 in line with target of rolling out 2 million home broadband lines with speed of at least 10 Mbps by 2020 in support of commitment to improve fixed internet in the country. To date, over 260,000 home broadband lines have already been deployed. Progressive roll outs will be done within the next 3 years until 2020 to serve at least 2 million homes.
Globe also deployed free WiFi services in 500 major areas of convergence that include airports, bus terminals, Ayala Malls, Starbucks chains, convenience stores and MRT and LRT stations, Cu added.
However, the company’s aggressive bid to expand its telecommunication infrastructure is being hampered by circuitous permitting process for the establishment of telecommunication infrastructure such as cell sites. For instance, Globe has a backlog of around 3000 sites amid difficulties in securing permits from various local government units, homeowner associations and other government agencies.
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In Theaters: 12/21/2012
On Video: 05/07/2013
By: Christopher Null
Now that's a squirt gun.
Buy It From Amazon
Buy It On Blu-Ray
A lunatic sniper fires off rounds from a parking garage, killing five presumably random people on the streets below. Identified by a fingerprint, the former soldier is arrested and promptly interrogated. In lieu of a confession, he scrawls on a piece of paper, “GET JACK REACHER.”
Whoa! Who’s Jack Reacher? A former military criminal investigator who lives off the grid — riding only buses and taking money from his pension via hard-to-trace wire transfers. The cops can’t find Reacher, but lucky for them he shows up at the station, ready to weigh in on the case — but only if his court-appointed defender (Rosamund Pike) agrees to take him on as an investigator.
Hey, who wouldn’t want an anonymous freak on their case, right?
Things only get stranger from there, with Reacher proving to have an uncanny ability to suss out the truth, determine motivations, and figure out if he’s being framed, all within seconds of meeting someone. The truth behind these sniper shootings isn’t just shocking, it involves Werner Herzog.
Jack Reacher is the kind of movie — and the kind of character — that can only exist in the mind of the writer of a pulp thriller book. (He’s the lead character in at least a 17 novels written by author Lee Child, who now cranks out five or six of these a year.) There’s no real logic why Reacher is so paranoid that he only uses cash, and no explanation as to where he’s constantly headed on all these bus trips he takes. There’s no real sense behind the killer’s interrogation request for Reacher, but at least it makes more sense than Pike’s character facing off against the D.A. (Richard Jenkins), who’s her father!
This was the lowest-grossing Tom Cruise movie in years, and the soap opera histrionics are largely to blame. Jack Reacher revolves around wild impossibilities and baffling motivations, and the conclusion is a whopper that outdoes everything I’ve discussed above.
At the same time, it’s kind of watchable. Cruise doesn’t do badly here — though he’s not really up to the task of taking on the ballbusting, grizzled veteran — and the supporting players at least seem to be having fun. Director Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) elevates the material the best he can. If nothing else, the shootout scenes — which are frequent — are plenty fun to watch.
One thing’s for sure, even if Hollywood decides to continue this franchise (unlikely) there’s no way it will ever keep up with Child’s prodigious output.
Blu-ray extras include a commentary track from Cruise and McQuarrie, plus numerous making-of featurettes.
Writer: Christopher McQuarrie
Cast: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall
Previous: This Is 40
Next: Les Miserables (2012)
2 thoughts on “Jack Reacher”
Pingback:The 10 Best Movie Ass-Kickings of All Time - Film Racket
JJ Black
I know this is an old review, but you really shouldn’t exaggerate. Mr. Child has put out one Jack Reacher novel each year, with the exception of one year, where two were released. While the premise is far-fetched, the logic for the relation b/w Reacher and the accused is clearly explained and is believable. While Cruise doesn’t come close to matching the stature of Reacher described in the novels (he’s 6’5″ in the books), he was good in this role. I’m sure you are quite chagrined they have made a second book into a movie….I for one am looking forward to more.
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Views on office and UK politics
I hate how the developments in UK politics over the last 24 hours are wreaking havoc with my viewing habits. No EastEnders yesterday, and no Homes Under The Hammer this morning. Instead I was treated to an unchanging view of David Cameron's front door for an hour. Then my expat friend Allan rang to rage against Nick Clegg, "the betrayer", and how as a life-long Labour supporter he was now sure that Britain was "going to suffer" under an "Etonian PM" who is "clueless" and that the British public would never vote in favour of PR in an eventual referendum because Rupert Murdoch ("he's an Australian, you know") and The Sun would never let them; until I pointed out to him that he had no grounds for complaint since he'd thought it too much of a hassle to register to vote this time. Besides, a week or two ago, he said that if he had made sure he could, he would have voted LibDem this time, specifically because living in Europe had made him aware of the advantages of fixed term parliaments and PR, so what was his gripe exactly? After which he accused me of being a closet Conservative and put the phone down on me.
I am no closet Conservative. My political views, in The Netherlands and in Europe, swing to the left, and always have done. But I do think that now the Tories and the LibDems have got into bed together, they should be given a fair chance to make the experiment work. Coalition government is all about compromise, but as soon as either party thinks its being asked to go a compromise too far, it can break up the partnership and the country can go back to the ballot box and elect a new parliament, so why should the prevailing view of it in the UK be so negative? As inhabitant of a country where multi-party coalition government is the norm, I really can't see what all the fuss is about, to be honest.
I got a call from the CAD Business Controller last night, telling me how the CEO and the COO are still angry about The Biatch's actions in refusing me a permanent position. Well, if that's true, then why won't they do anything about it, I wonder? At the end of the conversation, I realised that I really couldn't care less anymore.
Current Mood: morose
unemployment,
suze2000
I'm glad you have already reached a point of not caring about the old position. Though whether that's denial or acceptance I'll leave to you to figure out. :)
The ongoing dramas in Britain have once again made me feel smug about the Aussie electoral system. I love preference voting because it means that if my first choice guy doesn't get in, I can specify who my second choice guy is and my vote goes to him. I also like that we have compulsory voting. It forces people to make a decision, even if it's to hand in a blank ballot paper. We also vote on Saturdays, so people can get to the polling booths in plenty of time. And if you are away from home, you can turn up at any polling place, tell them who you are and where you come from, and STILL register your vote appropriately (I imagine this bit of wonder is due to the compulsory voting). In Britain, if you can't get to your ONE polling place, you can't vote. No wonder their voter turnout is crap and they feel unrepresented!
Anyway, that's my soapbox for the day. I'm disgusted that Clegg is in bed with the Tories, but really it's not my place to complain about it. Though hubby, who's English (and couldn't vote because they have lost his registration!) is really happy to be practically an Aussie now. :)
I love preference voting because it means that if my first choice guy doesn't get in, I can specify who my second choice guy is and my vote goes to him.
That's a wonderful idea! I wish we had that option, the second choice if the first one fails to get in, as well...but at present we can only tick the box behind one of the hundreds of names on the ballot paper.
We're going to the polls next month, but I haven't made up my mind yet as to who or even what party (there's about 30 to choose from) to give my vote to. Whatever the outcome, I doubt we'll have a coalition formed as quickly as the Brits have; it usually takes about 6 weeks before inter-party negotiations are concluded and the Queen gets to confirm her new Cabinet members in their posts.
A few years ago, we too were given the chance to cast our votes at any polling station on presentation of our polling card and ID, and I think it has helped up voter turn-out; which had slumped after compulsory voting was scrapped in the 70s. Luckily, we don't have to register; if you're 18 or over and entitled, you automatically get 'called up' to vote, though it's up to you whether or not to make the effort to get to the polling station on the appointed day.
suze2000 : (no subject) [+1]
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See, think, believe
Matter and beyond
A Moment for Reflection
Literature & Languages
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A New Existence
M. Fethullah Gulen
Category: Issue 106 (July - August 2015)
Antagonism
Each individual owes his or her success and happiness to the peace and the trustworthiness of their society. Conversely, each society owes its health and security to its altruistic and sincere members. Egotistic individuals, paralyzed by unhealthy obsessions, cannot form a healthy society. If a society is not healthy, it cannot provide shelter under its wings nor can it ensure felicity. It is the individuals that weave a society like a canvas; and in return the society looks after its members, supporting them and allowing them to attain the best of their celestial potential.
Only through such a social contract can a society be balanced and promising, and can its members live in dignity and respect. A society of this caliber can offer the most convenient opportunities for the young to learn, and for the learned to share with others their innermost inspirations. In this kind of society, libraries will be packed with knowledge-seekers and learning will be the nature of its individuals; thoughts will reflect on prayers and prayers. Then the land will be a land of virtue, and its residents will overflow with felicity.
An individual whose society is under siege by antagonism all around and in a constant state of decay cannot live with dignity and honor. In such a society, knowledge cannot be taught or learned; the faithful cannot fulfill their duties towards the Creator. Individuals cannot flourish in this society, especially if these individuals live side by side with enemies they are not even aware of. They grow in the same cradle with these enemies, and their heart beats in their rhythm, but they cannot detect the difference.
Yes, our biggest concern is that the adversaries are already streaming through the veins of society, as if they were cancer cells, deteriorating society day by day. We fear that the members of this society are so numbed that they are being devoured slowly and they don't feel anything. If a society's foresight is tied and blinded, and if its enemies are sneaky and relentless, then the Trojan Horse is already inside; the castle is in great danger.
The invaders market and sell banal and cheap old thoughts as diamonds; clowns impersonate celebrities; and some narrow minded, miserable creatures are respected, as if they were apostles. In the meantime, the altruistic national spirit erodes and is washed away by the floods of northern icebergs.
If you would investigate all segments of that society, and all the institutions of the country, you would not find any sign of that spirit which belongs to you. You would not see the hunger for knowledge, the love for truth; you would not find sincerity and pureness, nor morality and ethical values. The body of the nation is vermiculated; knowledge is the work of jugglers, and educational institutions are circuses. There are methods in which (as if they search for truth) unbelief and immorality are taught to the next generations. Hearts are merciless; emotions are vulgar and inhumane; and eyes are without foresight and substance. It's as if the crowds are suffering from depression, ignoring all the spiritual and moral foundations that could maintain a society; carnal pleasures are promoted.
In our day and age, the commodity (goods, love of goods) – which is a bulldozer that crushes the thoughts and emotions of the youth and obstructs them everywhere – has claimed to be the idol of the crowds. Technology which has not been tamed and aligned with the true essence of being human has become a plague. This plague has occupied our lives at the expense of selfless living for the community. It has obstructed lofty aims from flourishing.
For all these reasons, people need to pay more attention to their engulfed heart and ossified spirit, while the restoration of their physical body goes on.
Those whose vision is in the future, and who promise to raise that future on their shoulders, need to feel the responsibility of their work within their souls in every step they take. Only then will they show a real sincerity in their duties. The cause and thoughts of these sincere ones will not be tied up with circumstances and the reality of life; in contrast, circumstances will take form according to their convictions. They will prove their presence by revolting against a life that is spent for only worldly enjoyments, on the deprivation of real love and irresponsibility.
A society that evolves to this point with the guidance of masters and teachers is ready to renew itself and go into a renaissance. If we look hopeful, it is because this kind of new existence has shown its signs on our horizons, due only to our strong trust and confidence in the pure essence of being human and the grace of God.
© Blue Dome Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
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Issue 106 (July - August 2015)
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Home Opinion “Any Kind of Heart:” An Open Letter to the United Methodist Special...
“Any Kind of Heart:” An Open Letter to the United Methodist Special General Conference
Rev. David Hart
This opinion piece, in response to the United Methodist Church’s decision to affirm the UMC’s stances on homosexuality, against ordaining non-celibate gay people and prohibiting clergy from performing same-sex weddings, represents the views of its author and not necessarily those of FoxValley365, its staff, board, or funders.
Dear United Methodist Special General Conference Delegates:
Hip hop artist and Activist Nasir “Nas” Jones once poignantly said, “it hurts to see anybody in pain, if you’ve got any kind of heart.”
Nas, of course, said this against the backdrop of an immense amount of pain in his own world. He had gone through a very painful divorce from the love of his life, and was working through well-documented turmoil and his own family and close friends.
Nas was also deeply affected by the pain he saw in the black community. He was deeply troubled by young men and women being killed by authorities before their time, being sent to prison before their time, being denied opportunities.
Nas saw people in pain, and he was hurt. Because he had a heart.
I say all of this about Nas to say that I, and others with big hearts and a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, witnessed the pain inflicted on the LGBTQ community by the special General Conference of the United Methodist Church.
We witnessed the General Conference vote 438-384 to reinforce the United Methodist Church’s stance against ordaining gay clergy and performing same-sex weddings.
We witnessed as you told fellow Christians and members of the church that if they did not like the decision the general conference made, that they were no longer welcome in the communion, and we witnessed you outline a plan to help them leave.
We witnessed the name-calling, the disdain, the contempt that some delegates expressed toward members of the LGBTQ community and their allies.
And that was painful.
However, nothing was more painful than witnessing how some factions attempted to control the narrative, and gaslight the true victims of the general conference vote.
Their first attempt to control the narrative sounded loving if not familiar to victims of abuse. They said, “We love you, but your lifestyle is incompatible with the scriptures.”
Here, those members of the general conference delegation attempted to sound loving and kind to the rest of the world. However, it was a whole scale in validation of humans, Christians, clergy and faithful people.
They also said things like the Scriptures support the decision we made, and that God is calling on us to do this.
And those of us who are allies of the LGBTQ community saw this argument coming because it’s been used for decades. They drug out the same tired Scriptures, out of context, to serve their end and further their narrative.
But a thorough, holistic and complete reading of the Scriptures doesn’t simply allow for love in the Christian context; we see that God affirms faithful people generally and members of the LGBTQ community specifically.
What’s more, these very same arguments were used to invalidate black people, their marriages and their relationships with God. It was not persuasive when the church did it in the 1868, or 1920 or 1968, and it’s not persuasive now.
And perhaps the most egregious attempt to control the narrative by some members of the general conference delegation came through victim blaming and victim shaming.
I heard Methodist founder John Wesley‘s words thrown around casually and irresponsibly by members of the delegation. They smugly reminded us “to do no harm” and to “do all the good you can.”
And they used those words to establish a universe in which there were two sides to this argument, and that both sides have not done all the good they could do, but rather had done each other harm.
In this fight to secure basic civil and human rights for all people generally, and my friends and colleagues in the LGBTQ community specifcally, is not a two-sided issue. There is only one side to this issue. That’s God side.
Members of the LGBTQ community and their allies have not done harm to others by name calling or invalidating other humans and Christians, The assertion is that they are doing harm to others simply by existing.
And that should not be simply unacceptable, but also a very painful concept to anyone, as Nas said, with a heart.
And anyone with a heart experiencing and bearing witness to this pain should not idly sit by allowing this to occur. This should be call to action.
In service,
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Rev. David Hart is a pastor, attorney, and author living in Madison.
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MIT: Nanosensors could help determine tumors’ ability to remodel tissue – Nanosensors that can ‘profile’ tumors
Sep30 by Posted by Nanoneophyte
MIT researchers have designed nanosensors that can profile tumors and may yield insight into how they will respond to certain therapies. Credit: Christine Daniloff/MIT
MIT researchers have designed nanosensors that can profile tumors and may yield insight into how they will respond to certain therapies. The system is based on levels of enzymes called proteases, which cancer cells use to remodel their surroundings.
Once adapted for humans, this type of sensor could be used to determine how aggressive a tumor is and help doctors choose the best treatment, says Sangeeta Bhatia, the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.
“This approach is exciting because people are developing therapies that are protease-activated,” Bhatia says. “Ideally you’d like to be able to stratify patients based on their protease activity and identify which ones would be good candidates for these therapies.”
Once injected into the tumor site, the nanosensors are activated by a magnetic field that is harmless to healthy tissue. After interacting with and being modified by the target tumor proteins, the sensors are secreted in the urine, where they can be easily detected in less than an hour.
Bhatia and Polina Anikeeva, the Class of 1942 Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, are the senior authors of the paper, which appears in the journal Nano Letters. The paper’s lead authors are Koch Institute postdoc Simone Schurle and graduate student Jaideep Dudani.
Heat and release
Tumors, especially aggressive ones, often have elevated protease levels. These enzymes help tumors spread by cleaving proteins that compose the extracellular matrix, which normally surrounds cells and holds them in place.
In 2014, Bhatia and colleagues reported using nanoparticles that interact with a type of protease known as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to diagnose cancer. In that study, the researchers delivered nanoparticles carrying peptides, or short protein fragments, designed to be cleaved by the MMPs. If MMPs were present, hundreds of cleaved peptides would be excreted in the urine, where they could be detected with a simple paper test similar to a pregnancy test.
In the new study, the researchers wanted to adapt the sensors so that they could report on the traits of tumors in a known location. To do that, they needed to ensure that the sensors were only producing a signal from the target organ, unaffected by background signals that might be produced in the bloodstream. They first designed sensors that could be activated with light once they reached their target. That required the use of ultraviolet light, however, which doesn’t penetrate very far into tissue.
“We started thinking about what kinds of energy we might use that could penetrate further into the body,” says Bhatia, who is also a member of MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science.
To achieve that, Bhatia teamed up with Anikeeva, who specializes in using magnetic fields to remotely activate materials. The researchers decided to encapsulate Bhatia’s protease-sensing nanoparticles along with magnetic particles that heat up when exposed to an alternating magnetic field. The field is produced by a small magnetic coil that changes polarity some half million times per second.
The heat-sensitive material that encapsulates the particles disintegrates as the magnetic particles heat up, allowing the protease sensors to be released. However, the particles do not produce enough heat to damage nearby tissue.
“It has been challenging to examine tumor-specific protease activities from patients’ biofluids because these proteases are also present in blood and other organs,” says Ji Ho (Joe) Park, an associate professor of bio and brain engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
“The strength of this work is the magnetothermally responsive protease nanosensors with spatiotemporal controllability,” says Park, who was not involved in the research. “With these nanosensors, the MIT researchers could assay protease activities involved more in tumor progression by reducing off-target activation significantly.”
Choosing treatments
In a study of mice, the researchers showed that they could use these particles to correctly profile different types of colon tumors based on how much protease they produce.
Cancer treatments based on proteases, now in clinical trials, consist of antibodies that target a tumor protein but have “veils” that prevent them from being activated before reaching the tumor. The veils are cleaved by proteases, so this therapy would be most effective for patients with high protease levels.
The MIT team is also exploring using this type of sensor to image cancerous lesions that spread to the liver from other organs. Surgically removing such lesions works best if there are fewer than four, so measuring them could help doctors choose the best treatment.
Bhatia says this type of sensor could be adapted to other tumors as well, because the magnetic field can penetrate deep into the body. This approach could also be expanded to make diagnoses based on detecting other kinds of enzymes, including those that cut sugar chains or lipids.
Explore further: Nanoparticles amplify tumor signals, making them much easier to detect in the urine
More information: Simone Schuerle et al. Magnetically Actuated Protease Sensors for in Vivo Tumor Profiling, Nano Letters (2016). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b02670
Journal reference: Nano Letters
Provided by: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
This entry was posted in Nanotechnology and tagged Cancer, Genesis Nanotechnology, MIT, Nano Sensors, Nano-Bio-Medicine, Nanotechnology.
← Ontario government scraps plan for $3.8 billion in renewable energy projects – Is this a harbinger of things to come?
Nanoparticles called C dots show ability to induce cell death in tumors →
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Game Of Thrones - Season 1-7
Summers span decades. Winters can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. It will stretch from the south, where heat breeds plots, lusts and intrigues; to the vast and savage eastern lands; all the way to the frozen north, where an 800-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond. Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men...all will play the 'Game of Thrones.' A new original series based on George R.R. Martin's best-selling 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series.
The Battle continues in Westeros with feuding families and power hungry rulers. Five Kings vie for a single, all-powerful throne in the all-new season of Game of Thrones – an epic story of duplicity and treachery, nobility and honour, conquest and triumph. Season 2 plays out against the backdrop of a fast-approaching winter. In King’s Landing, the coveted Iron Throne is occupied by cruel young Joffrey, counseled by his conniving mother Cersei and uncle Tyrion. But the Lannister hold on the Throne is under assault on many fronts. There’s Robb Stark, son of the slain Lord of Winterfell, Ned Stark; Daenerys Targaryen, who looks to shore up her depleted power through three newborn dragons; Stannis Baratheon, eldest brother of the late King Robert; and Stannis’ brother Renly, who has maintained his own claim since fleeing King’s Landing. In the meantime, a new leader is rising among the wildlings North of the Wall, adding new perils for Jon Snow and the Night’s Watch. With tensions and treaties, animosity and alliances, Season 2 of Game of Thrones promises to be a thrilling journey through a riveting, unforgettable landscape.
In Season 3, family and loyalty will be the overarching themes, and many critical plot points from the first two seasons will come to a violent head, with several major characters meeting cruel fates. While a primary focus continues to be on King’s Landing, where the Lannisters barely held onto power after a savage naval onslaught from Stannis Baratheon (brother of the late king), stirrings in the North threaten to alter the overall balance of power in Westeros. Robb Stark, King of the North, will face a major calamity in his efforts to build on his victories over the Lannisters in Season 2, while further north, Mance Rayder (new character, played by Ciarán Hinds) and his huge army of wildlings continue their inexorable march south to scale the Wall. Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys Targaryen – reunited with her three deadly, fast-maturing dragons – attempts to raise an army of slaves to sail with her from Essos, in hopes of eventually overthrowing the Iron Throne.
As Season 4 begins, the Lannisters' hold on the Iron Throne remains intact in the wake of the Red Wedding slaughter that wiped out many of their Stark nemeses. But can they survive their own egos as well as new and ongoing threats? Meanwhile, an unbowed Stannis Baratheon continues to rebuild his army; the Lannister-loathing ‘Red Viper of Dorne,’ Oberyn Martell, arrives at King's Landing for Joffrey's wedding to Margaery Tyrell; Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons and unsullied force aim to liberate the largest Slavery City in the east...with long-range plans to take back the Iron Throne; and a depleted Night's Watch faces the advance of Mance Rayder's wildling army, who are in turn running from the undead White Walkers.
After the shocking deaths of S4, the season begins with a power vacuum that protagonists across Westeros and Essos look to fill. At Castle Black, Jon Snow struggles to balance the demands of the Night’s Watch with those of newly-arrived Stannis Baratheon, who styles himself as the rightful king of Westeros. Meanwhile, Cersei scrabbles to hold on to power in Kings Landing amidst the Tyrells and the rise of a religious group led by the enigmatic High Sparrow, while Jaimie embarks on a secret mission. Across the Narrow Sea, Arya seeks an old friend while a fugitive Tyrion finds a new cause. And as danger mounts in Meereen, Daenerys Targaryen finds that her tenuous hold on the city requires some hard sacrifices.
Following the shocking developments at the conclusion of season five, including Jon Snow’s bloody fate at the hands of Castle Black mutineers, Daenerys’ near-demise at the fighting pits of Meereen, and Cersei’s public humiliation in the streets of King’s Landing, survivors from all parts of Westeros and Essos regroup to press forward, inexorably, towards their uncertain individual fates. Familiar faces will forge new alliances to bolster their strategic chances at survival, while new characters will emerge to challenge the balance of power in the east, west, north and south.
As the season begins, Daenerys Targaryen, accompanied by her Unsullied army and emboldened by Dothraki/Ironborn allies and her lethal trio of dragons, has finally set sail for Westeros with Tyrion Lannister, her newly appointed Hand. Jon Snow, memorably reanimated in S6, has apparently consolidated power in the North after his spectacular conquest of Ramsay Bolton in the “Battle of the Bastards” and the return of Winterfell to Stark control. In King’s Landing, Cersei Lannister, bereft of any surviving heirs, has successfully seized the Iron Throne by using wildfire to incinerate the High Sparrow and other foes in the Sept of Baelor. But as these and other factions drive inexorably towards new alliances or (more likely) violent conflicts, the cold specter of another, apocalyptic threat – in the form of an army of undead White Walkers expected to breach The Wall and invade the South – threatens to undermine the status quo and obliterate the outcome of these smaller, alltoo-human rivalries.
House Baratheon
Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams
Réalisateur(s):
David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
Langue de Doublage:
English, French, Castilian Spanish
Langue des Sous-Titres:
English, French, Castilian, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Prix de détail conseillé : 142,99 €
Économisez : 75,00 €
Expédié normalement sous 24h (jours ouvrables)
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Human Resources Research Proposal
33 essays for Subject “Human Resources Research Proposal”
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Employees Do Not Have Opportunity to Take Part in Organizational Decision Making in the Maldives Public Enterprises
The culture of information sharing and employee autonomy in their work life is not at all encouraged by the management of the enterprises. There is no policy or guideline which facilitates the participation of employees in decision making. Employees’ voices are muted and they do not feel a sense of belongingness to the enterprise they are working.
Pages: 30 (7500 words), Research Proposal
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Barclays Bank, British Airways, and Coca Cola Companys Personnel Policy Is Worthy of Inheritance
Human resource management policies that allow employees to participate frequently and willingly on matters affecting them improve the performance of the organization. The performance of the organization is measured through the company’s financial performance, work attachment as well as employee productivity.
Certain Procedures in Recruiting Management Trainees
PEST (Political, Economic, and Social and Technological factors) is an important tool used for solving problems related to market decline and also understanding market growth thus helps determine the position, potential, and direction of a business. My organization operates in the IT sector, so it faces that industry-specific external factors.
The Various Challenges Faced by Women as They Climb the Corporate Ladder
Lanier argued that women role is still overrepresented in many professions and underrepresented in others. His arguments were based on the statistics that in 1900, only 4.4% women were managers, in 2000, 46% women were managers and in 2002, 34% of working women were managers and 50% of women were working in the sales and administrative support.
Technique on Managing Career Development in the Organizational Context of Qatar Petroleum
This research will determine the obstacles in the way of development of the employees in QP. This research will sort out ways in which the HRD department of QP can provide opportunities to the staff and develop them for their target career in the field of work, as well as provide them with thoughtful solutions and recommendations to avoid risks.
Maternity Mentoring
It is also important to indentify the different issues that the women encounter when they commence on their re-engagement with the organisation in the post maternity period. It is also important to track the path of growth of the parents in the post parenthood phase and how the mentoring process of the parents would help them to reach a phase of development in their career (Ludeman, 2009, pp. Thus the focus of this particular study would be the understanding of the various aspects of maternity
Evaluation of the mediating role of learning style on the impact of transformational leadership on performance. (A Case study of training and development department of ABC transport company Nigeria PLC)
Leadership style can increase the individual work performance of each employee by making them become more self-efficient (Walumba, Avolio and Zhu, 2008, p. Furthermore, the use of transformational leadership style is also effective in terms of enabling the business managers motivate and encourage each employee to align their personal values with the values of the business organization (Givens, 2008). Each time a business organization needs to implement organizational change, business managers
The Importance of Performance Related Pay in Motivating Employees
This study explores how the issues identified by the research in PRP can be tackled and how it can be used as a strong motivation tool. The guiding statement for this research is that PRP is motivating however there should be elements that needs to be integrated if performance related pay is to be used as a motivational tool. Now the question is what elements can make PRP motivational for employees.Perry et al (2009) suggested that in order to make PRP work, it is important to focus on robust
Staff Motivation in Beauty Therapy Industry
To narrow down and draw applicable concepts and theories the beauty therapy industry, I shall base my propositions based on works by authors who have majorly focussed on the British market. Prior to citing from any literature, there are some basic existent facts which are almost intuitive to all players in the industry.
The impact of Leadership Style on Employees Performance
On the other hand, the performances of the employees are the building blocks of an organization. These also form the foundation on which the overall performance of the organization rests. Performance is identified by Cunningham and McGregor (2000) to be a multidimensional aspect that is aimed to achieve goals and is significant for an organization in achieving its strategic objectives. Five levels of hierarchy of performance excellence. Adapted from “Trust and the Design of Work:
Pages: 7 (1750 words), Research Proposal
Crafting a Compensation & Benefits Plan
With its approach to benefits and rewards being made successful by the management’s ability to balance local practices with broad company wide approaches. This will result in a motivating pay structure that is accompanied by a collection of valuable benefits. ABC company will provide compensation, flexible health and welfare benefits, future financial security, travel, time away from work (which will consist of paid time off), professional and personal development, giving back to the
It started more than eight decades ago (1993). This was after Saudi Arabia went into an agreement with a Californian oil company granting them permission to start exploring for oil on the east coast of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco Company takes the first position amongst the oil companies globally. This is in relation to exports of crude oil and natural gas liquids. Similarly, it is a fully functional company with operations ranging from exploration to refining and selling. Furthermore, it is one
Lack of goal setting, poor employee motivation and dearth of rewards are the main problems in this regard.In order to improve the existing situation the company needs to improve its recruitment strategy by taking into consideration the factor of diversity. Additionally, steps must also be taken to improve goal setting and monitoring standards of employees. This should be followed by improving non-financial awards.Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is a relatively new concept that has
Organisational learning, training and development. A study of Gold International transport Nigeria Ltd
Most developing countries, including Nigeria, have surplus labour and increased talent. However, organizations in this country face a challenge with regard to recruiting and retaining best talents, hence there remains a need for effective management to address this issue (Budhwar & Debrah 2004). Fajana, Marian, Tunde & Owoyemi (2011) note that Nigerian companies lack funding for human resource management research and development. However, most companies still strive to offer continued education
Proposal for thr final reserch
Trust and improving the organizational performance and the revaluation of the human resource practices in improving and developing the overall performance of the organization. Human performance at the work place is developed for promoting the attitudes of the employees. The human resource practices transmit powerful signals to its employees about the degree of trust it has towards its management. If the organization fail in its attempt for fulfilling its promises, mutual obligations and sense
The Influencing Factor of Internet and Social Media on the Work Place Learning
The rise of email communication among the firms has allowed the employer to extend the working premises beyond the traditional organizational boundaries. Hyder, (2014) have added that the internet has enabled the employees to gain easy access to the organizational data while not being at his workplace.
Aviation Labor Relation
The airline industry is a very competitive, high technology, and safety-sensitive service industry. Here, the customers, employees, and people are the field of core competence of the organization, not the machines and products. The insinuations are pervasive and fast affecting the culture, strategy, structure, and operational activities of the organization (Fewster 59-71). This section will discuss about the main issues in the aviation industry and how they have an effect on the productivity
How Age and disability are managed in the workplace Challenges, similarities and differences in the British and Brazilian model
The evaluation of approaches in the two dissimilar countries forms a firm foundation to understanding detailed implications of diversity in addition to formulating a human resource solution for other developing countries with similar challenges.As one of the most developed countries, the United Kingdom is also among the leading states in terms of diversity models in the workplaces. In addition to the common factors of diversity such as race, ethnic background and language, the UK has other
WHAT IS THE REASON FOR GLOBAL TALENT MOBILITY IS IT RELEVANT TO THE LAW AND POLICY OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
The business world is changing rapidly. This has transformed the way companies are outsourcing their workforce, organize, and manage them. Currently, knowledge, trade, and technology are interlinked now more than ever (Vaiman & Haslberger 2013). The world is experiencing an explosive growth in the emerging markets, an aspect that is increasing the number of employees working away from their homes. In the past one decade, new markets and disciplines have emerged which require a workforce that
International Joint Venture System
On managing change and ensuring adaptability the (economist, 1991) when China was in a modernization phrase, China attracted industrial foreign investment, and by 1995 China was the second largest recipient of foreign investment after the USA with 42% shall all foreign investment in Asia. (Business report 1996)
More Human Resources Research Proposal
BMW - buyers & Human resources
Human Resources Interview
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Human Resources Admission/Application Essay Human Resources Annotated Bibliography Human Resources Article Human Resources Assignment Human Resources Book Report/Review Human Resources Case Study Human Resources Coursework Human Resources Dissertation Human Resources Essay Human Resources Lab Report Human Resources Literature review Human Resources Movie Review Human Resources Outline Human Resources Personal Statement Human Resources Research Paper Human Resources Scholarship Essay Human Resources Statistics Project Human Resources Term Paper Human Resources Thesis Human Resources Thesis Proposal
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United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.: Nos. 81-1745, 81-1746, 81-1865 and 81-2064
Original Title: United States v. Ghassan L. Ammar, Neil Roger McFayden Judith Ammar, Ibraham Ammar, Abedeen Ammar, Naim Dahabi, Charles Rossi, Michael Dugan, Marshall Stillman. Appeal of Ghassan L. Ammar, Neil Roger McFayden Judith Ammar and Marshall Stillman, 714 F.2d 238, 3rd Cir. (1983)
Description: Filed: 1983-10-31 Precedential Status: Precedential Citations: 714 F.2d 238 Docket: 81-1745
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Gang Expert Testimony and Crawford
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evidence s2.pdf
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United States v. Calvin W. West, (Four Cases). United States of America v. Floyd Lee Davis, (Two Cases). United States of America v. Joseph Lee Dempsey, 574 F.2d 1131, 4th Cir. (1978)
State v. Patron, Ariz. Ct. App. (2015)
United States v. McKeeve, 131 F.3d 1, 1st Cir. (1997)
United States v. Mohammed Keita, 4th Cir. (2014)
Elementary Evidence Lecture - Hearsay
USA v Flores - SDNY - Flores Opposition to Motion in Limine - 14 Feb 2017
John D. McClow Jr. v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Company, M/v Seminole, 842 F.2d 1250, 11th Cir. (1988)
422. Talino v. Sandiganbayan, G.R. Nos. L-75511-14, March 16, 1987
anton002 (NHSCT, 2002)
United States v. Barber, 4th Cir. (2007)
Eleventh Circuit Pattern Jury Instructions Civil Cases 2005
United States v. Yohe, A.F.C.C.A. (2015)
Pp vs Berroya.docx
Bigoms Seperate Opinion
United States v. Arcadipane, 41 F.3d 1, 1st Cir. (1994)
714 F.
13 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 849
Ghassan L. AMMAR, Neil Roger McFayden, Judith Ammar,
Ibraham
Ammar, Abedeen Ammar, Naim Dahabi, Charles Rossi,
Michael Dugan, Marshall Stillman.
Appeal of Ghassan L. AMMAR, Neil Roger McFayden, Judith
Ammar and Marshall Stillman.
Nos. 81-1745, 81-1746, 81-1865 and 81-2064.
Argued Jan. 10, 1983.
Decided June 30, 1983.
Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied July 22, 1983.
Certiorari Denied Oct. 31, 1983.
See 104 S.Ct. 344.
Paul J. Brysh (argued), Asst. U.S. Atty., J. Alan Johnson, U.S. Atty., John
J. Mead, Legal Intern, Pittsburgh, Pa., for United States.
Philip B. Friedman (argued), Leonard G. Ambrose, III, Michelle M. Hawk,
Ambrose & Friedman, Erie, Pa., for Ghassan Ammar.
Andrew J. Conner (argued), Dunn & Conner, Erie, Pa., for Judith Ammar;
James M. Shellow (argued), Stephen M. Glynn, Shellow, Shellow & Glynn,
Milwaukee, Wis., of counsel.
Stephen A. Saltzburg, University of Virginia, School of Law, Charlottesville,
Va., for Marshall Stillman.
Michael M. Palmisano, Erie, Pa., for Neil Roger McFayden.
Before WEIS, SLOVITER and BECKER, Circuit Judges.
SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.
These are consolidated appeals from judgments of conviction arising out of a
conspiracy for the importation and distribution of heroin. After full
consideration of the numerous arguments raised by appellants, we affirm the
judgments below in all respects.
The indictment named nine defendants and two unindicted coconspirators.
Three of the named defendants, Ibraham Ammar, Abedeen Ammar, and Naim
Dahabi, were fugitives at the time of trial; two other defendants, Charles Rossi
and Michael Dugan, pleaded guilty and testified for the government; the
remaining four defendants, Ghassan Ammar, Judith Ammar, Marshall Stillman,
and Roger McFayden, stood trial, were convicted by the jury and now appeal.
The unindicted coconspirators were John Welkie and Gilbert Bunner, both of
whom testified at the trial.
The conspiracy spanned the period from January 1980 to October 1980. It
involved the importation of heroin from Lebanon through Toronto and New
York, and was centered on Ghassan Ammar, who lived with his wife Judith in
Erie, Pennsylvania, where they had a leather importing business. The Lebanese
sources of the heroin were Ghassan's father, Ibraham; his uncle, Abedeen; and
Naim Dahabi.
Briefly summarized, the evidence at trial, viewed in the light most favorable to
the government, showed the following: In January 1980, at a meeting between
Ghassan, Judith and Welkie, Ghassan told Welkie that his father and uncle
could supply heroin for importation into the United States. In May 1980,
Ghassan and Judith, together with Dugan and Welkie, drove from Erie to the
Toronto airport where they met Ghassan's uncle, Abedeen Ammar, with whom
they returned to Erie transporting heroin in hollowed-out chair legs in
Abedeen's luggage. In early June 1980, Judith, Ghassan, and their infant son,
together with Dugan and Rossi, flew from New York abroad to Amsterdam,
where Dugan and Rossi remained while the Ammars flew on to Beirut. Shortly
thereafter, Ghassan and his father, Ibraham Ammar, rejoined Dugan and Rossi
(Judith stayed behind in Beirut), and the four flew to New York with heroin
again concealed in hollowed-out chair legs. From New York, the four men
drove to Rossi's home in Chester, Pennsylvania. Ghassan, Ibraham, and Rossi
flew on to Detroit, where Ghassan met with Marshall Stillman, and then
returned to Erie. During the next week, they made two additional trips to
Detroit, where Ghassan again met with Stillman and transferred heroin to him.
In early July 1980, Ghassan flew to Beirut, where he rejoined Judith; the two
returned to New York on July 4, carrying heroin concealed on Judith's person
and in their baby's diaper, and were met by Rossi, Welkie, and Ibraham. In midJuly, at Ghassan's suggestion, Rossi flew to Beirut, where he was met by
Ibraham and Abedeen, and acquired additional heroin from them. Later in July,
Ghassan, Welkie and Bunner travelled to Detroit where Ghassan met with
Stillman and sold him heroin. After receiving a phone call from Judith, the
three returned to Erie, and together with Judith drove to Toronto, where they
met Naim Dahabi, who had arrived in Canada with heroin concealed in
hollowed-out chair legs. They then drove to Detroit, where Ghassan, Dahabi
and Welkie met with Stillman. On this occasion, Welkie delivered some heroin
to a friend of Stillman's pursuant to Stillman's instructions.
During this same period, Ghassan and McFayden were involved in sales of
heroin to McFayden's friend "Frank," who was in fact Francis Schmotzer, an
undercover agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Ghassan and
McFayden sold heroin to Schmotzer twice in May 1980. In late June, after their
return from Detroit, Ghassan and Rossi met McFayden and Schmotzer and
discussed additional heroin sales. On July 31, Ghassan, McFayden, Welkie and
Bunner arranged a third sale to Schmotzer. McFayden and Bunner were
arrested immediately. Welkie fled by car, but surrendered several days later in
Philadelphia. Ghassan, who was not present at the sale, surrendered August 1.
On August 29, a four count indictment was returned against Ghassan,
McFayden and Welkie, also naming Bunner as an unindicted coconspirator.
Meanwhile, in early August, Rossi returned from Lebanon with heroin, and was
met by Dugan. Rossi and Dugan were arrested on August 12 after attempting to
arrange the sale of a portion of the heroin to a state undercover agent in order to
raise Welkie's bail. Rossi was released, but continued to attempt to sell the
heroin, and was arrested again on October 2. Welkie also was released after
agreeing to cooperate with the government, and on September 19, at the
instigation of the government, had a conversation with Judith who asked him to
sell some heroin to raise bail for Ghassan's release. Judith was subsequently
arrested. Finally, Stillman was arrested in Detroit on October 15.
On October 10, a superseding eight-count indictment was returned in the
Western District of Pennsylvania. Count I charged the nine defendants
(Ghassan, Judith, Ibraham, Abedeen, McFayden, Dahabi, Rossi, Dugan, and
Stillman) and the unindicted coconspirators (Welkie and Bunner) with
conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, in violation
of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1). Count II charged all defendants with conspiracy to
import heroin into the United States, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 952(a) and
960(a)(1). Counts III, IV and V charged Ghassan and McFayden with three
substantive violations of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. 2 based on their
sales of heroin to Schmotzer on May 2, May 20, and July 31. Count VI charged
Rossi and Dugan with a substantive violation of 21 U.S.C. 952(a) based on
their importation of heroin in June 1980 from Amsterdam. Count VII charged
Abedeen, Ghassan, Judith, and Dugan with a substantive violation of 21 U.S.C.
952(a) based on their importation of heroin from Toronto in May 1980. Count
VIII charged Ghassan, Judith, and Dahabi with a substantive violation of 21
U.S.C. 952(a) based on their importation of heroin from Toronto in July
Rossi and Dugan pleaded guilty to Count I and testified on behalf of the
government. Welkie and Bunner, the unindicted coconspirators, pleaded guilty
to a conspiracy charge in a related indictment, and also testified for the
government. Of the four defendants who were tried, Ghassan, Judith,
McFayden and Stillman, only Judith testified. All were found guilty as to each
count in which they were named. Ghassan received seven concurrent fifteenyear sentences, a total fine of $30,000, and concurrent three-year special parole
terms on all but Counts I and II. Judith received four concurrent five-year
terms. McFayden received five concurrent eight-year sentences. Stillman was
sentenced to concurrent twelve-year terms on the two conspiracy counts, and
was fined $10,000.
Appellants in their briefs have made some fifty separate claims of trial error,
which are set out in the Appendix to this opinion. We have considered each
claim, many of which we find to be patently without substance, and have
determined that none warrants reversal of the judgments below. We examine
separately only those issues which we believe merit further discussion.1
ADMISSIBILITY OF COCONSPIRATOR STATEMENTS
One of the principal contentions of error concerns the admission of the
testimony of out-of-court statements made by members of the conspiracy. The
court permitted Rossi, Welkie, and other witnesses to testify about statements
made by the other conspirators on the theory that these were coconspirator
statements admissible under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E).2
A coconspirator statement may be admitted under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E) if
it meets three conditions: (1) there must be independent evidence establishing
the existence of the conspiracy and connecting the declarant and defendant to it;
(2) the statement must have been made in furtherance of the conspiracy; and (3)
it must have been made during the course of the conspiracy. See, e.g., United
States v. Perez, 658 F.2d 654, 658 (9th Cir.1981). Because appellants claim
these requirements were not met as to at least some statements, we consider
each requirement in turn.
INDEPENDENT EVIDENCE OF CONSPIRACY
1. Necessity of an in limine hearing.
In United States v. Continental Group, Inc., 603 F.2d 444, 457 (3d Cir.1979),
cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1032, 100 S.Ct. 703, 62 L.Ed.2d 668 (1980), we held
that as a prerequisite for the submission of coconspirator statements to the jury,
the court must determine that the government has "established the existence of
the alleged conspiracy and the connection of each defendant with it by a clear
preponderance of the evidence independent of the hearsay declarations."3 This
determination is to be made by the court before the coconspirator statements
are submitted to the jury. See United States v. James, 590 F.2d 575, 581 (5th
Cir.) (in banc), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 917, 99 S.Ct. 2836, 61 L.Ed.2d 283
(1979).
Appellants contend that before allowing the introduction of any coconspirator
statement the district court should have held a preliminary hearing at which the
determination referred to above should have been made.4 In United States v.
James, 590 F.2d at 581-82, on which they rely, the Fifth Circuit expressed its
preference for requiring the government to establish the existence of the
conspiracy and each defendant's participation in it by independent evidence
before admitting any coconspirator declarations. Even that court has clarified
that while preferable, this is not a mandatory procedure. See United States v.
Montemayor, 703 F.2d 109, 116-17 (5th Cir.1983).
Our approach has not been dissimilar, but we have emphasized that "the control
of the order of proof at trial is a matter committed to the discretion of the trial
judge." United States v. Continental Group, Inc., 603 F.2d at 456; See United
States v. American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corp., 433 F.2d 174, 195 (3d
Cir.1970), cert. denied, 401 U.S. 948, 91 S.Ct. 928, 28 L.Ed.2d 231 (1971); see
also United States v. Perez, 658 F.2d at 658 n. 2 ("Unlike the Fifth Circuit, this
court [the Ninth Circuit] has declined to express a 'preference' for pretrial
determination of admissibility of the coconspirator's statements"). In
Continental Group, the government had been allowed to introduce
coconspirator statements without a prior showing of a conspiracy based on
independent evidence, subject to the requirement that the government make
such a showing by the close of its case. We held that such a procedure, while it
should be "carefully considered and sparingly utilized," was not an abuse of
discretion in a complex conspiracy case involving multiple defendants and a
"large amount of interrelated testimony." 603 F.2d at 457.
In this case, the district court denied appellants' motion for a pre-trial hearing
on the admissibility of coconspirator statements on the ground that it would
involve "a mini-trial", but stated,
23 at the request of the defendant at any time prior to testimony by a cothat
conspirator, the court will determine whether there is or is not sufficient threshold
evidence of a conspiracy of which defendant was a member or what specifically
must still be proved and the government, of course, will be required to submit such
further evidence or else suffer the possibility of a mistrial.
The court is of the opinion that Rule 104(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence
does not demand more.
We cannot say that in the circumstances of this case the district court erred or
that its refusal to hold a pre-trial hearing under Fed.R.Evid. 104 was an abuse of
discretion.5
2. Adequacy of the Trial Court's Findings.
Appellants claim that the court failed to make the determination of a conspiracy
in which they participated before submitting the coconspirator statements to the
jury. However, in the course of various rulings during the trial, the trial judge
stated that he had made such a determination.6 In addition, at the charging
conference the judge stated that he had made "the determination that there was
threshold evidence of the conspiracy ... rather early in the case, the second or
third day." Tr. 4712. In light of the trial judge's statements, we reject appellants'
contention that no such determination was made. Moreover, we have held that
even in the absence of explicit findings by the trial court, the necessary
threshold determination is implicit in the court's decision to send the case to the
jury. Government of the Virgin Islands v. Dowling, 633 F.2d at 665; United
States v. Continental Group, Inc., 603 F.2d at 460; see also United States v.
Lutz, 621 F.2d 940, 947 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 859, 101 S.Ct. 160,
66 L.Ed.2d 75 (1980); United States v. Green, 523 F.2d 229, 233 n. 4 (2d
Cir.1975), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 1074, 96 S.Ct. 858, 47 L.Ed.2d 84 (1976).
Appellants claim that the court used the wrong standard of proof in making the
required threshold determination. We, along with most other circuits, require
that "the prosecution must lay a foundation for the admission of coconspirator
hearsay by establishing the existence of a conspiracy including the defendant by
'a fair preponderance of independent evidence.' " United States v. Trotter, 529
F.2d 806, 811 (3d Cir.1976); see Government of the Virgin Islands v. Dowling,
633 F.2d at 665. Accord United States v. Santiago, 582 F.2d 1128, 1129, 113336 (7th Cir.1978); United States v. Petrozziello, 548 F.2d 20, 23 (1st Cir.1977).
But see United States v. James, 590 F.2d at 580-81 (substantial evidence
standard); United States v. Dixon, 562 F.2d 1138, 1141 (9th Cir.1977), cert.
denied, 435 U.S. 927, 98 S.Ct. 1494, 55 L.Ed.2d 521 (1978) (prima facie
standard). See generally 1 Weinstein & Berger, Weinstein's Evidence p 104, at
104-52--104-55. Appellants contend that the district court used the lesser
"prima facie" standard. It would have been error had the district court reduced
the burden on the government in this manner. See United States v. Trowery,
542 F.2d at 627; United States v. Trotter, 529 F.2d at 812. However, we believe
the trial court was aware of and applied the correct standard, notwithstanding
the references to "prima facie" case which the court made on two occasions in
this long trial.
During a side-bar conference early in the trial the judge stated:
The Court: I found there was sufficient threshold evidence of a conspiracy. But,
nevertheless, that does not permit [sic] other attacks on credibility or showing
the conspiracy never existed or anything else. The mere fact I make a
determination means a prima facie case.
[Stillman's Attorney]: Has the Court made a determination as a prima facie case
without having a 104 hearing?
The Court: I find there is.
Tr. 432g-h (emphasis added).
The only other reference to which appellants have directed our attention appears
in the charging conference during a discussion as to the difference between the
"preponderance" standard and the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard, which
was relevant to the court's proposal to submit the threshold determination to the
jury. The court stated:
As I read this, that preponderance of the evidence is for my thinking when I
first make the determination that there was threshold evidence of the
conspiracy which I made rather early in the case, the second or third day. I
think I told you people that I had considered it and on the basis of things
produced up to then, I thought there was prima facie evidence of a conspiracy
or threshold evidence of a conspiracy so as to justify the introduction.
I think that is what that has to do with it. But then to go on and say whether an
individual defendant is part of the conspiracy is something the jury has to find
beyond a reasonable doubt.
Tr. 4712-13 (emphasis added).
These two references to a "prima facie" case, though troubling, do not persuade
us that the district court adopted an improper standard. The first reference was
made in a context unrelated to the issue of standard of proof and seems to us a
slender reed upon which to base a claim of reversible error. The second
reference, while imprecise, is insufficient to support the conclusion that the
district court employed the wrong standard. When read in full context, it
demonstrates that the court understood that it had to find evidence of a
conspiracy by the "preponderance" standard. The references to the
"preponderance" standard by both the court and counsel during this colloquy
reinforce our view.
We are not prepared to seize on one or two isolated phrases to conclude that the
court misunderstood the standard that it was to apply. Appellants' present
emphasis on the court's passing remarks seems to us an attempt to invest them
with greater significance than they merit or than they were understood to have
at the time. Significantly, appellants' attorneys registered neither surprise nor
objection to either statement. They did not seek clarification from the court;
indeed, Stillman's attorney repeated the phrase "prima facie case" in his
response to the first statement. In United States v. Pappas, 611 F.2d 399 (1st
Cir.1979), the First Circuit considered a similar claim of error in a case where
the district court had clearly articulated a "prima facie" standard despite the
circuit's adherence to a "preponderance" standard. The court held that since
counsel had failed to object to the judge's ruling at trial, it could review only for
plain error. After noting that "there was more than sufficient evidence to justify
a ruling under the proper ... standard," the court concluded that the failure to
apply the correct standard did not rise to the level of plain error, stating that "it
is possible--indeed in the circumstances it seems likely--that his articulation of
an incorrect standard was a slip of the tongue which would have been quickly
rectified had the error been brought to his attention." Id. at 405. Even were the
trial court in this case to have employed the wrong standard we also would be
inclined to view it as harmless error, since we are persuaded that the evidence
of conspiracy and each defendant's participation was sufficient to satisfy the
"preponderance" standard.
Appellants also claim that it was error to instruct the jury that only after it was
satisfied by independent evidence of a defendant's membership in the
conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt could it consider the out-of-court
statements of coconspirators. Appellants contend that by giving this charge, the
court improperly delegated its responsibility for making the necessary threshold
determination to the jury, and so confused the jury as to render its verdict
meaningless.
As we stated above, the district court made the threshold determination
required by Rule 801(d)(2)(E) before allowing the coconspirator statements to
go to the jury. Since this determination is for the court, it was unnecessary and
inappropriate to instruct the jury that it could only consider the coconspirator
declarations if it too determined, based on evidence aliunde, that a given
defendant was a member of the conspiracy. Once the coconspirator statements
are admitted they should go "to the jury without special instruction." United
States v. Trowery, 542 F.2d at 627; United States v. Bey, 437 F.2d 188 (3d
Cir.1971); see also United States v. James, 590 F.2d at 577-80.7
However, while the trial court's instruction was superfluous, we do not believe
that it caused appellants any prejudice. In United States v. Continental Group,
Inc., 603 F.2d at 459, we rejected a challenge to an almost identical charge,
stating:
No court has held, however, that an instruction that gives the jury an
opportunity to second-guess the court's decision to admit coconspirator
declarations, otherwise inadmissible as hearsay, is reversible error prejudicing
the defendant. To the contrary, it has been generally held that, so long as the
court fulfills its responsibility to make the initial determination, such a charge
only provides a windfall to the defendant.
Furthermore, defendants did not object to this portion of the charge; at the
charging conference Stillman's attorney conceded that the instruction was more
favorable to defendants than they were entitled. Tr. 4710. At trial it was the
government which objected to the instruction now challenged by appellants. Tr.
March 4, 1981 (charge of court), at 54-55. We find that the error in instructing
the jury to make a superfluous finding was not prejudicial.
In summary, we are satisfied that the district court understood its obligation to
make a finding based on evidence aliunde of the existence of a conspiracy of
which each defendant was a member before allowing the jury to consider any
coconspirator declarations against that defendant. It would, of course, have
been preferable for the court to have more clearly articulated on the record its
determinations and the bases for them, but we have never made that an absolute
requirement. United States v. Continental Group, Inc., 603 F.2d at 457, 460. It
is also true that the court was not always as precise or as clear as it might have
been. But this was a complex trial, with a record running to several thousand
pages. Having reviewed the record as a whole, we are not prepared to conclude
that the occasional confusion evidenced in the record was such as to constitute
reversible error.
3. Sufficiency of the Evidence Aliunde.
We must still review the evidence to determine if the district court had
"reasonable grounds" to make its finding. United States v. Continental Group,
603 F.2d at 460; United States v. Bey, 437 F.2d at 196. We do not understand
appellants Ghassan, Judith, and McFayden to seriously challenge the
sufficiency of the evidence aliunde to support a finding of their participation in
the conspiracy; in any event, we are satisfied that it was more than sufficient to
do so. Appellant Stillman, however, does vigorously contest the finding of his
participation in the conspiracy. The evidence aliunde as to him is substantially
less, but we conclude that it was nevertheless sufficient to support the court's
finding.
The threshold evidence offered by the government need not be overwhelming.
The preponderance standard simply requires the prosecution to present
sufficient proof leading the trial judge to find "that the existence of the
contested fact is more probable than its nonexistence." United States v. Trotter,
529 F.2d at 812 n. 8. Furthermore, in reviewing the district court's
determination of proof of a defendant's participation in a conspiracy by a
preponderance of the evidence aliunde, the evidence "must be considered in the
light most favorable to the government." United States v. Provenzano, 620 F.2d
985, 999 (3d Cir.1980).
Both Stillman and the government are in agreement that the strongest
independent evidence against him was Welkie's testimony that during the July
meeting with Stillman in Detroit, Ghassan told Welkie to get a package from
their hotel room which Welkie knew to contain heroin, and that when he
returned with the package Stillman told him to deliver it to an unidentified man
whom Welkie had previously seen with Stillman and whom Welkie
characterized as Stillman's friend. Stillman contends that this was insufficient to
permit the trial court to make the threshold determination of Stillman's
participation in the conspiracy. He claims that even this testimony could not be
properly relied on because Welkie's description of the unidentified man as
Stillman's friend was not shown to be based on his personal knowledge.
However, the inculpatory aspect of Welkie's testimony lies not in the precise
relationship between Stillman and the unidentified man, but rather in the fact
that Stillman directed Welkie to deliver a package which Welkie knew to
contain heroin to the man. As to that, Welkie's testimony makes clear that he
was speaking from personal observation.
We find similarly unpersuasive Stillman's contention that Welkie's testimony
must be discounted because the trial court improperly limited his impeachment
of Welkie and generally failed to consider Welkie's credibility in making its
"preponderance" finding. While Stillman's cross-examination of Welkie was
limited in some respects, there was ample cross-examination as to the two
principal matters Stillman relies on as impeaching, i.e., Welkie's prior
inconsistent statements to government officials and to the grand jury and his use
of drugs. Since these matters were placed in evidence, we believe that any
additional cross-examination by Stillman would have been merely cumulative.
We find no support for Stillman's suggestion that the trial court failed to
consider Welkie's credibility in making its determination based on a
preponderance of the evidence. We will not assume that the court ignored a
portion of the evidence before it simply because its ultimate determination was
unfavorable to appellant.
In addition to Welkie's testimony as to the delivery of the package there was
additional independent evidence, albeit largely circumstantial, of Stillman's
participation in the conspiracy. This evidence included testimony of the
repeated meetings between Stillman and various members of the conspiracy
coinciding with the heroin importations, Rossi's testimony that on one of the
trips to Detroit for a meeting with Stillman he saw heroin in the trunk of
Ghassan's car, and Welkie's testimony that on another trip to Detroit, Ghassan
obtained some heroin from Welkie, then met with Stillman, and was shortly
thereafter seen by Welkie with between $30,000 and $35,000 in cash in his
hotel room. Mere association with those who have conspired cannot alone
support a conviction for conspiracy. United States v. Torres, 519 F.2d 723,
725-26 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 1019, 96 S.Ct. 457, 46 L.Ed.2d 392
(1975). On the other hand, the timing and circumstances of a meeting or series
of meetings may be sufficiently suspicious to permit a reasonable inference of
complicity in the criminal enterprise. See United States v. Gonzalez, 700 F.2d
196, 203 (5th Cir.1983); United States v. Baldarrama, 566 F.2d 560, 565 (5th
Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 844, 99 S.Ct. 140, 58 L.Ed.2d 145 (1978); United
States v. Torres, 519 F.2d at 726. Moreover, the issue before us is not whether
the evidence aliunde was sufficient to support a judgment of conviction beyond
a reasonable doubt, but rather whether the government has satisfied the far
lesser burden to make a threshold showing of conspiracy by a preponderance of
the evidence.
The only independent exculpatory evidence to which Stillman directs our
attention is his impeachment of Welkie. In United States v. Provenzano, supra,
appellant similarly argued that the only evidence aliunde against him came
from "a biased liar." We rejected that contention on the ground that, on
appellate review, the witness's statements "must be accepted as true for the
purpose of determining the sufficiency of evidence." 620 F.2d at 999. We
concluded that "[a]lthough the evidence is not overwhelming, and while it
comes from only one witness whose veracity was certainly open to question, it
was sufficient to establish a conspiracy and to tie [appellant] to that
conspiracy." Id. at 1000. In this case, we have not only Welkie's testimony, but
substantial circumstantial evidence based on the testimony of Rossi and others.
We therefore conclude that the district court could reasonably have found
Stillman's participation in the conspiracy by a preponderance of the evidence
aliunde.
IN FURTHERANCE OF THE CONSPIRACY
The second requirement for the admission of out-of-court statements by
coconspirators is that they be made in furtherance of the conspiracy. Appellants
claim that the district court failed to observe this requirement as to a number of
statements.
The most sweeping challenge on this ground is Stillman's contention that
virtually all of the out-of-court declarations attributed to Ghassan were
inadmissible as coconspirator statements because Ghassan was acting as a
government informant when he made the statements, and hence they were not
in furtherance of the conspiracy. It is undisputed that Ghassan, both prior to and
during the period of the conspiracy, had acted as a confidential informant for
both the DEA and Pennsylvania authorities. In fact, the basis of Ghassan's
defense was that he had been acting as a government agent when he engaged in
the actions charged in the indictment. The government contended that as to the
events charged in the indictment, Ghassan was acting on his own. The trial
court was aware of Ghassan's theory of defense at the inception of the trial.8
Thus, when it admitted Ghassan's statements, it implicitly rejected Stillman's
claim that Ghassan's statements were not in furtherance of the conspiracy.9 The
jury reached a similar conclusion under the higher beyond a reasonable doubt
standard since its verdict reflected its rejection of Ghassan's informant
defense.10
Stillman makes a similar challenge to the admission of a taped telephone call
which Rossi placed to Ibraham at the instigation of the government shortly after
Rossi's initial August 12 arrest. Its purpose was apparently to lure Ibraham back
to the United States from Beirut. Stillman argues that since Rossi was
concededly acting on behalf of the government at the time he placed the call,
the conversation did not meet the in furtherance requirement of Rule 801(d)(2)
(E). The trial court instructed the jury that because Rossi was acting as a
government agent at the time he made the phone call, Rossi's statements could
not be considered as evidence against any of the defendants and should be
disregarded, but that Ibraham's statements, or anything said by Rossi and
adopted by Ibraham, could be considered.
Stillman argues that the evidence was highly prejudicial because it included a
statement by Rossi that he had attempted to contact Stillman after learning of
the arrest of some of the conspirators, but that Stillman would not talk to him
because "it looks like Marshall's [Stillman] scared or something." Stillman
claims that the statement created a "false implication of Stillman's
consciousness of guilt" because Rossi had never attempted to contact Stillman.
Stillman's Brief at 34. To meet that concern, the court specifically called the
jury's attention to the fact that Rossi had testified that he had not met or spoken
to Stillman.
The primary significance of the Ibraham-Rossi conversation was not the
statement on which Stillman focuses but instead was Ibraham's repeated
mention of Stillman's name in connection with raising bail money for the
arrested conspirators, which suggests his association with them. Since this fact
was both relevant and probative, and could not have been considered if Rossi's
half of the conversation was excised, the court did not err in admitting it,
particularly in view of its cautionary instructions. See United States v. Smith,
623 F.2d 627, 631 (9th Cir.1980).11
Both Stillman and Judith claim that certain out-of-court statements should not
have been admitted because they constituted narratives of past events and thus
were not in furtherance of the conspiracy. Judith challenges the admissibility of
Ghassan's statements to Welkie and Rossi that when he and Judith returned
from Beirut on July 4 they had been checked well at customs, but that the
heroin concealed in their baby's diaper and Judith's vagina had not been found.
Stillman challenges Ibraham's statement to Ghassan, Judith and Welkie, as
recited by Welkie, that Stillman owed them a lot of money for the last shipment
of heroin and would have to pay up before he could get another package.
Statements between conspirators which provide reassurance, serve to maintain
trust and cohesiveness among them, or inform each other of the current status of
the conspiracy further the ends of the conspiracy and are admissible so long as
the other requirements of Rule 801(d)(2)(E) are met. See United States v.
Mason, 658 F.2d 1263, 1270 (9th Cir.1981); United States v. Goodman, 605
F.2d 870, 878 (5th Cir.1979). Such statements are more than "mere narratives"
of past events. See United States v. Eubanks, 591 F.2d 513, 520 (9th Cir.1979).
They differ from the statements made in United States v. Provenzano, supra,
relied on by appellants, which had been made to non-members of the
conspiracy who had no need to know about the matters disclosed.
We are somewhat more troubled by Judith's testimony that when Ghassan was
in the Erie County Jail following his arrest, he told her to try to raise money for
his bail by contacting Stillman, who owed them $250,000 for heroin, if she
could not get an advance from one of their business customers. Stillman
contends that because the conversation took place after Ghassan's arrest, it was
not in furtherance of the conspiracy. However, the arrest of a conspirator does
not necessarily terminate his or her involvement in the conspiracy. See United
States v. Killian, 639 F.2d 206, 209 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 451 U.S. 1021, 101
S.Ct. 3014, 69 L.Ed.2d 394 (1981). Ghassan's revelation to Judith of his
relationship with Stillman was for the purpose of enabling her to collect money
owed as a result of the heroin transactions. The in furtherance requirement must
be given the same practical interpretation as the pendency requirement. The
distribution of the proceeds of a conspiracy is one of its central objectives, and
statements which are directed to that purpose must be considered to be in
furtherance of the conspiracy. See United States v. Fortes, 619 F.2d 108, 117
(1st Cir.1980); United States v. Hickey, 596 F.2d 1082, 1089-90 (1st Cir.), cert.
denied, 444 U.S. 853, 100 S.Ct. 107, 62 L.Ed.2d 70 (1979); United States v.
Patton, 594 F.2d 444, 447 (5th Cir.1979).12
DURING THE COURSE OF THE CONSPIRACY
Appellants contend that the conspiracy charged in the indictment terminated
with the arrest of Ghassan, Welkie, McFayden and Bunner on July 31 and
immediately following, and that any conversations thereafter fail to satisfy the
final prerequisite for admitting coconspirator statements under Rule 801(d)(2)
(E) because they were not made "during the course" of the conspiracy. This
contention is based on a misconception. As we have already indicated, the
requirements that a statement must be in furtherance of and during the course of
the conspiracy are closely linked. The arrest of some of the conspirators, even
its principal member, does not necessarily terminate the conspiracy. See United
States v. Mason, 658 F.2d at 1269-70 (conspiracy may continue even when all
but one coconspirator have been arrested); United States v. Killian, 639 F.2d at
A conspiracy is presumed to continue until its objective is achieved. United
States v. Corallo, 413 F.2d 1306 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 958, 90 S.Ct.
431, 24 L.Ed.2d 422 (1969). Even after the arrests of Ghassan, Welkie,
McFayden and Bunner, most of the conspirators remained at large.
Where evidence demonstrates that conspirators remain fully capable of carrying
out their purpose, notwithstanding the arrest of one of them, it cannot be said
that the conspiracy is terminated as a matter of law.... The fact that the
conspiratorial object was postponed or slowed down does not unequivocally
show that the conspiracy was terminated.
United States v. Smith, 600 F.2d 149, 153 (8th Cir.1979) (quoting United
States v. Smith, 578 F.2d 1227, 1237 (8th Cir.1978) (Lay, J., concurring)).
In this case, there was no evidence of abandonment of the conspiracy; in fact
there was affirmative evidence that the conspiracy did indeed continue. After
Ghassan's arrest there was an importation of heroin involving Abedeen, Rossi
and Dugan, which had previously been arranged by and was at the behest of
Ghassan. As with previous importations, the heroin was obtained from the
coconspirators in Lebanon. Furthermore, Rossi continued to try to sell the
heroin on behalf of the coconspirators until his final arrest on October 2. The
conspirators remained in contact with each other and hoped to use funds from
that heroin for the release from custody of those arrested. Under these
circumstances we cannot assume that the conspiracy terminated until at least
Rossi's October arrest.13 Just as a defendant must produce evidence showing
that s/he withdrew from a conspiracy, see United States v. Steele, 685 F.2d 793,
803-04 (3d Cir.1982); United States v. Gillen, 599 F.2d 541, 548 (3d Cir.), cert.
denied, 444 U.S. 866, 100 S.Ct. 137, 62 L.Ed.2d 89 (1979), so also must
defendants show that the conspiracy terminated, such as by demonstrating that
its ends had been so frustrated or its means so impaired that its continuation was
no longer plausible.
PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE REQUIREMENT
Stillman contends that under the rules, a foundation of personal knowledge is
required before coconspirator statements can be admitted under Rule 801(d)(2)
(E). Fed.R.Evid. 602 provides that "[a] witness may not testify to a matter
unless evidence is introduced sufficient to support a finding that he has personal
knowledge of the matter." However, it is clear from the Advisory Committee
Notes that the drafters intended that the personal knowledge foundation
requirement of Rule 602 should apply to hearsay statements admissible as
exceptions under Rules 803 and 804 but not to admissions (including
coconspirator statements) admissible under Rule 801(d)(2).14 See McCormick,
Handbook of the Law of Evidence 262, at 628 (2d ed. 1972); cf. Mahlandt v.
Wild Canid Survival & Research Center, Inc., 588 F.2d 626, 630-31 (8th
Cir.1978) (personal knowledge requirement does not apply to Fed.R.Evid.
801(d)(2)(D)). Accordingly, we reject Stillman's argument.15
THE CONFRONTATION CLAUSE
Stillman contends that even if the coconspirator statements were properly
admitted under the Federal Rules of Evidence, their admission violated his
rights under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment. The circuits are
divided as to whether a determination that coconspirator statements are
admissible under Rule 801(d)(2)(E) is ipso facto determinative that the
requirements imposed by the Confrontation Clause are also satisfied. Compare
United States v. Papia, 560 F.2d 827, 836 n. 3 (7th Cir.1977) (congruent) and
Ottomano v. United States, 468 F.2d 269, 273 (1st Cir.1972), cert. denied, 409
U.S. 1129, 93 S.Ct. 948, 35 L.Ed.2d 260 (1973) (congruent) with United States
v. Perez, 658 F.2d 654, 660 & n. 5 (9th Cir.1981) (not congruent) and United
States v. Wright, 588 F.2d 31, 37-38 (2d Cir.1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 917,
99 S.Ct. 1236, 59 L.Ed.2d 467 (1979) (not congruent). See also United States
v. Lurz, 666 F.2d 69, 80-81 (4th Cir.1981) (treating the Rule 801 inquiry and
the Confrontation Clause inquiry as the same); United States v. Peacock, 654
F.2d 339, 349-50 & n. 1 (5th Cir.1981) (treating the two inquiries as distinct).
We have not yet ruled on this issue.
Although the Confrontation Clause and the evidentiary hearsay rules "stem
from the same roots," the Supreme Court "has never equated the two." Dutton
v. Evans, 400 U.S. 74, 86, 91 S.Ct. 210, 218, 27 L.Ed.2d 213 (1970). If the
language of the Confrontation Clause giving a criminal defendant "the right ...
to be confronted with the witnesses against him" were to be applied literally, it
would preclude use of any hearsay. Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, 62-63, 100
S.Ct. 2531, 2537, 65 L.Ed.2d 597 (1980). The Supreme Court has stated,
however, that both history and policy militate against such a literal application.
Id. at 63, 100 S.Ct. at 2537. Instead the Court has held that the Confrontation
Clause restricts the range of admissible hearsay by imposing a two-prong
requirement: first, the government must normally show that the declarant is
unavailable and that the hearsay testimony is thus necessary; and, second, the
statement must bear sufficient "indicia of reliability" to demonstrate its
trustworthiness. Id. at 65-66, 100 S.Ct. at 2538-2539.
We need not decide in this case the extent to which the government must show
the declarant's "unavailability" when it seeks to introduce coconspirator
statements. It is conceded that the declarants were either physically unavailable
because they had not yet been apprehended, as in the case of Ibraham and
Abedeen, or practically unavailable because they were co-defendants who
chose not to testify, as in the case of Ghassan and McFayden.
Instead, Stillman argues that the statements fail to meet the "reliability" prong
of the Ohio v. Roberts test. The government does not suggest that no reliability
inquiry is appropriate. However, it quotes the Supreme Court's statement that "
[r]eliability can be inferred without more in a case where the evidence falls
within a firmly rooted hearsay exception," 448 U.S. at 66, 100 S.Ct. at 2539,
and argues that Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E) is just such a "firmly rooted hearsay
exception." On several grounds we believe that coconspirator statements are
not encompassed in the "hearsay exception[s]" to which the above quotation
applies.
In the first place, coconspirator statements are not technically hearsay. The
hearsay exceptions are embodied in Rules 803 and 804, and are specifically
denominated as such. In contrast, the Federal Rules of Evidence categorize
coconspirator statements along with admissions as "[s]tatements which are not
hearsay" under Rule 801(d)(2). Thus the rule permitting their admission is not
"a firmly rooted hearsay exception."
In the second place, and more significantly, the rationale for admitting evidence
under the rules covering hearsay exceptions is different from that used to admit
coconspirator statements. Evidence falling within the hearsay exceptions is
admissible because of its special trustworthiness. See McCormick, supra, 262,
at 628; 5 Wigmore on Evidence 1420, 1422. Admissions, on the other hand,
are not admitted because of confidence in their inherent reliability. They are
instead admitted because a party will not be heard to object that s/he is
unworthy of credence. See McCormick, supra, at 628-29. As explained by the
Advisory Committee, "Admissions by a party-opponent are excluded from the
category of hearsay on the theory that their admissibility in evidence is the
result of the adversary system rather than satisfaction of the conditions of the
hearsay rule .... No guarantee of trustworthiness is required in the case of an
admission." Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2) Notes of Advisory Committee on Proposed
Rule 801(d)(2) treats coconspirator statements as a category of party
admissions. It does so because of the legal fiction that each conspirator is an
agent of the other and that the statements of one can therefore be attributable to
all. United States v. Trowery, 542 F.2d at 626. In effect, the Rules have adopted
the agency rationale, although the framers recognized that this theory is "at best
a fiction." Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E) Notes of Advisory Committee on Proposed
If there is no assumption that a coconspirator statement is per se trustworthy, a
Rule 801 inquiry cannot be viewed as necessarily equivalent to a Confrontation
Clause inquiry. It must be separately ascertained whether coconspirator
statements sought to be admitted are attended by adequate assurances of
reliability. As the Court stated in California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149, 155, 90
S.Ct. 1930, 1933, 26 L.Ed.2d 489 (1970), the evidentiary rules and the
Confrontation Clause "are generally designed to protect similar values" but the
overlap is not complete. Statements which satisfy one may not satisfy the other.
We cannot, as the government would have us do, abdicate our responsibility to
preserve constitutional values to the rule writers, whether federal or state. On
the other hand, since the Confrontation Clause is equally applicable in state
trials, see Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400, 85 S.Ct. 1065, 13 L.Ed.2d 923
(1965), we must be cautious not to use the Confrontation Clause as a vehicle
for imposing what are merely our evidentiary preferences on the states. In fact,
the plurality opinion in Dutton which distinguished between the separate
inquiries suggested that the federal evidentiary rule on coconspirator statements
was more limited than required by the Confrontation Clause. See 400 U.S. at
82, 91 S.Ct. at 216.
We agree with the government that in many, if not most, instances a
coconspirator statement which is admissible under Rule 801(d)(2)(E) will also
be sufficiently reliable to satisfy the Confrontation Clause. See United States v.
Nelson, 603 F.2d 42, 46 (8th Cir.1979) ("absent some unusual circumstance"
coconspirator statements which satisfy Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E) do not violate
the Confrontation Clause). The Ninth Circuit has identified the following
factors as relevant to the Confrontation Clause inquiry:
75 whether the declaration contained assertions of past fact; (2) whether the
declarant had personal knowledge of the identity and role of the participants in the
crime; (3) whether it was possible that the declarant was relying upon faulty
recollection; and (4) whether the circumstances under which the statements were
made provided reason to believe that the declarant had misrepresented the
defendant's involvement in the crime. Dutton, 400 U.S. at 88-89, 91 S.Ct. at 219220.
United States v. Perez, 658 F.2d at 661 (footnote omitted). The court also
stated that, "All four elements need not be present in order to satisfy the
confrontation clause. In some circumstances, a statement may be admitted over
confrontation clause objections even if it does not pass scrutiny under each
prong of the Dutton test." Id.
Stillman suggests that the Confrontation Clause requires that a declarant have
personal knowledge before the coconspirator statement will be admissible.
Although personal knowledge is not a requirement for admission as a
coconspirator statement under Rule 801(d)(2)(E), see text at II. D., supra, it
cannot be disregarded in the separate though parallel analysis under the
Confrontation Clause. It is, as the Ninth Circuit recognized in Perez, one of the
significant, albeit not necessarily indispensable, factors which should be
considered in determining whether the content and circumstances of the
challenged statement bear sufficient "indicia of reliability" to vouch for its
trustworthiness.
Our review of the record convinces us that the challenged evidence satisfies the
"reliability" requirement of the Confrontation Clause. The out-of-court
statements by Ghassan, Ibraham, and Abedeen contain numerous "indicia of
reliability." They appear to have been based on first-hand knowledge, they were
made under circumstances which suggest little incentive for prevarication, 16
and they were corroborated by additional evidence.
Stillman claims that DEA agent Schmotzer's testimony that McFayden told him
on several occasions that he was having difficulty obtaining heroin because
Ghassan was delivering it to Stillman instead was not reliable because not based
on McFayden's personal knowledge. We agree that the basis for McFayden's
information is unclear, but even if his statements were erroneously admitted,
this did not constitute reversible error. These statements were largely duplicated
by other properly admitted evidence. Rossi testified that, as they were leaving a
meeting with Schmotzer and McFayden, Ghassan and Ibraham stated that they
wished they had not left the heroin behind in Detroit (where they had met with
Stillman) since they felt that they could make a better sale to Schmotzer. In
view of this testimony, the admission of McFayden's statements could not have
impermissibly prejudiced Stillman.
Accordingly, although we are cognizant that admission of coconspirator
statements in a complex conspiracy trial with multiple defendants must be
carefully monitored by the district court at all stages of the trial in order to
avoid undue prejudice to the defendants, we find no reversible error in their
admission in this case.
MARITAL PRIVILEGE
Ghassan Ammar contends that Judith's testimony regarding conversations
between them shortly after his arrest was inadmissible because it violated the
marital communications privilege. Judith testified that when she visited
Ghassan in jail, he told her to try to raise money for his bail and attorney's fees,
if necessary, from money owed by Stillman from their heroin dealings. Judith
used this testimony to support her defense that she had been unaware until these
conversations that Ghassan's drug dealings had been for his own benefit rather
than as part of an arrangement with the government. Ghassan contends that
Judith's testimony was particularly damaging to him because it undermined his
own defense that he had undertaken the acts charged in the indictment in his
role of government informant.
Judith, of course, could not be denied the right to testify in her own defense.
Testimony essential to a spouse's criminal defense must be permitted even if it
discloses privileged communications. A severance may be granted for a codefendant spouse, if necessary to protect his or her rights. See United States v.
Fields, 458 F.2d 1194, 1198-99 (3d Cir.1972), cert. denied, 412 U.S. 927, 93
S.Ct. 2755, 37 L.Ed.2d 154 (1973).
Here, however, the district court denied the severance after concluding that the
conversations were not privileged marital communications because they
pertained to ongoing or future criminal activity involving both spouses. Other
circuits have recognized such an exception to the marital communications
privilege, on the ground that such communications are not worthy of protection.
See, e.g., United States v. Price, 577 F.2d 1356, 1365 (9th Cir.1978), cert.
denied, 439 U.S. 1068, 99 S.Ct. 835, 59 L.Ed.2d 33 (1979); United States v.
Mendoza, 574 F.2d 1373, 1379-81 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 988, 99
S.Ct. 584, 58 L.Ed.2d 661 (1978); United States v. Kahn, 471 F.2d 191, 194-95
(7th Cir.1972), rev'd on other grounds, 415 U.S. 143, 94 S.Ct. 977, 39 L.Ed.2d
225 (1974). We reject Ghassan's contention that our decision in Appeal of
Malfitano, 633 F.2d 276 (3d Cir.1980), holds to the contrary.
In Malfitano, we held that the wife of a grand jury target could invoke the
privilege against adverse spousal testimony and refuse to testify before the
grand jury, even though she was allegedly involved in her husband's criminal
activity. We held that marriages involving criminal activity were no less worthy
than other marriages of the protection which the privilege against adverse
spousal testimony was designed to provide. We were careful to emphasize,
however, that we were not addressing the separate marital communications
privilege, 633 F.2d at 277 n. 2, and indicated that the result under it might well
be different. Id. at 279 n. 5.
The two privileges are distinct. The privilege against adverse spousal
testimony, which prevents one spouse from being compelled to testify against
the other, rests with the testifying spouse, who may choose to waive it.
Trammel v. United States, 445 U.S. 40, 53, 100 S.Ct. 906, 913, 63 L.Ed.2d 186
(1980). This privilege, designed to protect the marriage relationship as it exists
at the time of trial, "applies to all testimony of any kind." See 2 Wright &
Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure 2d 406 (1983). In contrast, the marital
communications privilege prevents a testifying spouse from disclosing
confidential communications between the spouses. It "reaches only those
communications made in confidence and intended to be confidential." Id.
The government argues that while marriages involving criminal activity may
still be worthy of protection, specific marital communications in furtherance of
that criminal activity are not deserving of protection. This privilege is akin to
the attorney-client privilege, also designed to protect the confidences of the
communicator, which has been held not to extend to communications in
furtherance of criminal activity. See Clark v. United States, 289 U.S. 1, 53 S.Ct.
465, 77 L.Ed. 993 (1933); In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 604 F.2d 798, 802 (3d
Cir.1979). We join the other circuits in holding that communications between
spouses pertaining to ongoing or future criminal activity, are not protected
against disclosure by the privilege for confidential marital communications.
We have already concluded that the post-arrest conversations between Ghassan
and Judith were in furtherance of the conspiracy. See text at pp. 252-53 supra.
It follows that they were not privileged, and that it was not error to allow Judith
to testify nor to refuse the severance, a decision discretionary with the trial
court.17
JENCKS ACT
Appellants contend that the district court erred in failing to strike the testimony
of DEA agent Schmotzer or to declare a mistrial after it was revealed that
Schmotzer had destroyed the handwritten drafts of his reports. These contained,
inter alia, Schmotzer's accounts of his meetings and telephone conversations
with the Ammars and McFayden while Schmotzer was posing as a heroin
buyer. Appellants contend their destruction violated the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C.
3500, which requires that "statements" of a government witness relating to
the subject matter of his testimony be produced by the government upon
motion of the defendant.
In analyzing this issue, it is important to distinguish between three categories of
documents: (1) contemporaneous rough notes taken by a government agent of
meetings, conversations, or interviews during the course of his or her
investigation; (2) the agent's subsequently prepared drafts of his reports of these
incidents; and (3) the final report signed by the agent. In United States v. Vella,
562 F.2d 275, 276 (3d Cir.1977) (per curiam), we held with regard to the first
category that "the rough interview notes of F.B.I. agents should be kept and
produced so that the trial court can determine whether the notes should be
made available to the [defendant] under the rule in Brady v. Maryland, 373
U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963) [requiring disclosure of
exculpatory evidence] or the Jencks Act." Accord United States v. Parker, 549
F.2d 1217, 1223-25 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 971, 97 S.Ct. 1659, 52
L.Ed.2d 365 (1977); United States v. Harrison, 524 F.2d 421, 428-29
(D.C.Cir.1975). But see United States v. Martin, 565 F.2d 362, 363 (5th
Cir.1978); United States v. McCallie, 554 F.2d 770, 773 (6th Cir.1977). No
question under Vella arises here. Schmotzer taped some of the conversations,
had only rough notes of others, and had no contemporaneous record of still
others. The tape recordings were made available to appellants and were played
at trial. The rough notes of the conversations were turned over to the
defendants. The final typed, signed reports were also made available to
defendants.
The issue in this case is thus confined to the second category of materials
referred to above. Appellants claim they were entitled to the handwritten drafts
of Schmotzer's reports, on the theory that some of those were the most nearly
contemporaneous record of the events at issue.
Under the Jencks Act the government must produce written statements made by
a witness which are "signed or otherwise adopted or approved by him." 18
U.S.C. 3500(e)(1). Ordinarily rough drafts of an agent's report which are
subsequently typed verbatim would not be a producible "statement." See United
States v. Kaiser, 660 F.2d 724, 731-32 (9th Cir.1981). On the other hand, in our
Walden decisions, we recognized that a report draft which "was at least in a
form sufficiently acceptable to the agent that he allowed it to be reviewed by
his superior" might have been "adopted or approved" by the agent and hence
fall within the Jencks Act. United States v. Walden, 578 F.2d 966, 970 (3d
Cir.1978) (Walden I ), on remand, 465 F.Supp. 255 (E.D.Pa.1978), aff'd, 590
F.2d 85 (3d Cir.) (Walden II ) (per curiam), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 849, 100
S.Ct. 99, 62 L.Ed.2d 64 (1979).18
Although in most cases a rough draft may not be a Jencks Act "statement," we
believe the same rationale which underlay our decision in Vella directing
retention of rough notes is also applicable to handwritten drafts of agents'
reports. We therefore hold that, hereafter, the government must retain and, upon
motion, make available to the district court both the rough notes and the drafts
of reports of its agents to facilitate the district court's determination whether
they should be produced. This requirement should impose no undue burden on
the government.19
In this case, unlike Walden, the handwritten drafts were not shown to
Schmotzer's supervisor. Thus, there would have been no basis to find that
Schmotzer had "adopted or approved" them, a predicate to the Walden finding
that the handwritten drafts were "statements" under the Jencks Act.
Furthermore, Schmotzer testified that he compared the typewritten reports with
the handwritten drafts and determined that they were substantially identical
before he destroyed the handwritten drafts. There is no basis for concluding that
the destruction was in bad faith. Thus, even were these drafts Jencks Act
material, their destruction would have constituted harmless error. See United
States v. Roemer, 703 F.2d 805, 807 (5th Cir.1983); Walden II, 590 F.2d at 86;
United States v. Vella, 562 F.2d at 276.
We do not read our decision in Walden II as requiring testimony beyond that of
the agent that the handwritten drafts and typed reports were identical, as the
district court suggested in United States v. Butts, 535 F.Supp. 608, 611-15
(E.D.Pa.1982). While such additional testimony may be helpful in making the
Jencks Act determination, we did not mean to suggest that independent
corroboration is a necessary requirement for a finding of harmless error.
Nonetheless, the government must be vigilant in observing its responsibility to
preserve these materials because the Supreme Court has cautioned that "the
harmless error doctrine must be strictly applied in Jencks Act cases." Goldberg
v. United States, 425 U.S. 94, 111 n. 21, 96 S.Ct. 1338, 1348 n. 21, 47 L.Ed.2d
603 (1976).
We therefore conclude that the district court did not err in refusing to strike
agent Schmotzer's testimony or to declare a mistrial based on alleged Jencks
Act violations.
SIXTH AMENDMENT CLAIM
Judith Ammar contends that Welkie should not have been permitted to testify
regarding his conversation with her on September 19, 1980. At that time,
Welkie was cooperating with the government, and the government was aware
that Judith was standing on her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent with
respect to all questions regarding her involvement in the drug activities since
she had appeared with counsel before the grand jury investigating Ghassan on
August 28, 1980 and declined to testify. Judith asserts that the September 19
conversation was an effort by the government to deliberately elicit
incriminating statements from her, in violation of her Sixth Amendment rights
as established in Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201, 206, 84 S.Ct. 1199,
1203, 12 L.Ed.2d 246 (1964), and United States v. Henry, 447 U.S. 264, 273,
100 S.Ct. 2183, 2188, 65 L.Ed.2d 115 (1980). However, at the time of the
September 19, 1980 conversation, Judith had not yet been indicted. Therefore,
the Massiah--Henry principles do not apply. See United States v. Hamilton, 689
F.2d 1262, 1275 (6th Cir.1982), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 103 S.Ct. 753, 74
L.Ed.2d 971 (1983); United States v. Hollingshead, 672 F.2d 751, 755 (9th
Cir.1982); see also Hoffa v. United States, 385 U.S. 293, 309-10, 87 S.Ct. 408,
417, 17 L.Ed.2d 374 (1966).
In Massiah, the Court held that a defendant's right to counsel was violated by
the introduction at trial of statements he made to his co-defendant, who was at
the time acting as an agent of the government. Similarly, in Henry the Court
held that the government's use of defendant's cellmate to report incriminating
statements made by defendant during their conversations violated the
defendant's Sixth Amendment rights, notwithstanding the fact that the informer
had been instructed not to initiate any questioning. In both Massiah and Henry,
the challenged conversations occurred after the defendant's indictment. Indeed,
the Henry Court stated that: "It is quite a different matter when the Government
uses undercover agents to obtain incriminating statements from persons not in
custody but suspected of criminal activity prior to the time charges are filed."
447 U.S. at 272, 100 S.Ct. at 2187. While the Court stated that it is not
necessary that the defendant be actually in "custody" for the rule of Massiah
and Henry to apply, id. at 273-74 n. 11, 100 S.Ct. at 2188 n. 11, it has also
made clear that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel is not triggered until
some action is taken constituting the initiation of criminal proceedings against
the defendant. See Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387, 398-99, 97 S.Ct. 1232,
1239, 51 L.Ed.2d 424 (1977); Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682, 688, 92 S.Ct.
1877, 1881, 32 L.Ed.2d 411 (1972). We view the government's conduct
regarding the September 19, 1980 conversation to be of questionable propriety,
but we believe it is clear from the Supreme Court's statements that the Sixth
Amendment right to counsel, as enunciated in Massiah and Henry, does not
extend to the pre-indictment period.
CHEMISTRY ISSUES
Appellants raise what Stillman has denominated as chemistry issues. They
suggest, somewhat opaquely, (1) that the substance in evidence which formed
the basis for the indictments was not proven to be heroin, and (2) that even if it
were heroin, it may not have been a narcotic.
IDENTIFICATION OF THE HEROIN
100 Appellants were convicted on two conspiracy counts as well as a number of
substantive counts involving importation and distribution of "heroin, a
Schedule I narcotic substance." The schedules of controlled substances are set
forth in 21 U.S.C. 812, and are listed in 21 C.F.R. 1308.11. The Schedule I
substances are drugs or other substances which have "a high potential for
abuse", "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States",
and as to which "there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other
use under medical supervision." 21 U.S.C. 812(b)(1). Heroin is listed as a
Schedule I drug.20
101 At the trial, the government introduced samples of the substance in question
and presented three expert witnesses, each of whom testified that he had tested
one or more of the samples and had concluded that the substance was heroin.
Roger Godino, a forensic chemist who worked for the Drug Enforcement
Administration for ten years and analyzed approximately 5,000 exhibits of
controlled substances in that time, reached the conclusion that the substance
was heroin after subjecting it to various tests. He ran at least three different
color tests, performed a thin layer chromatography test, did a gas
chromatographic analysis, and performed an infrared spectrum analysis. He
testified that the most specific test for purposes of identification of heroin was
the infrared analysis, and that he used accepted techniques in comparing the
infrared spectrum of the specimen with his standard spectrum for heroin. He
concluded unequivocally that the substance in question was heroin.
102 Similar tests were run by the other two government chemists, each of whom
reached the same conclusion. Alexander Stirton, an employee of the
Pennsylvania State Police with eight years experience in analyzing controlled
substances, testified that he subjected the substance submitted to him to color
tests and infrared spectrum analysis, and concluded that it was heroin. George
Yamnitzky, a chemist with the Drug Enforcement Administration who had
analyzed approximately 1,000 specimens of controlled substances, subjected
the samples to color tests, ultraviolet fluorescence analysis, thin layer
chromatography, and mass spectrometry. He stated that he used the mass
spectrometer in preference to an infrared spectrophotometer because of the
nature of the specimens. Based on his tests, he concluded that the substance
was heroin.
103 Stillman introduced the testimony of his expert, Dr. Robert Shapiro, who
testified primarily on general chemical principles. Dr. Shapiro challenged the
conclusion of the government experts that the substance was heroin, testifying
that the results reached by the government chemists were outside of the ranges
for heroin reported in standard chemical literature. He conceded, however, that
the best method of analysis was to use the spectrum comparison method
employed by the government chemists. As Godino testified, it was his preferred
practice to compare the spectrum of the questioned substance against a
spectrum of known heroin previously obtained by him using the same
instrument and under the same conditions, rather than to compare it with a
standard spectrum found in a reference book. Tr. 889-90. Significantly, Dr.
Shapiro did not analyze the substance in question himself and defendants have
conceded that they could have, but did not, conduct such an examination.21
104 The court instructed the jury that it must determine, beyond a reasonable doubt,
that the substance was heroin or any isomer of heroin. 22 The court refused to
give the instruction proffered by Stillman that "[o]nly the optical isomers of
heroin are included." The court characterized Stillman's instruction as
"argumentative, lengthy and ... confusing to the jury." On appeal Stillman
claims that the failure to so instruct the jury was reversible error.
105 To understand Stillman's argument, it is necessary to distinguish between
isomers generally and optical isomers, which are a type of isomer. Isomers are
substances with the same chemical composition but different structural
arrangement. The number of isomers a substance may theoretically have is a
function of the complexity of its chemical formula. Because heroin has a
complex chemical formula, C sub21 H sub23 NO sub5 , the many constituent
atoms could be arranged in a large variety of different structures. While that
theoretical possibility may be of experimental interest, defendants presented no
evidence that it did or could have any practical significance in this case.
106 Under the statute, Schedule I controlled substances are defined to include the
isomers of enumerated substances. The Code of Federal Regulations defines
"isomer" as "the optical isomer" for all but specified substances. 21 C.F.R.
1308.02(c). Optical isomers, so termed because they rotate a beam of polarized
light, are the mirror image of each other. We do not understand the government
to dispute Stillman's claim that heroin as referred to in Schedule I of the
criminal statute is limited to heroin or its optical isomer. Instead, it is the
government's claim that because its evidence conclusively showed that the
substance was heroin within the more restrictive meaning, appellants were in
no way harmed by the court's refusal to give the instructions they requested.
107 In what may have been an attempt to befuddle the issue, the defendants crossexamined the government's experts on other substances such as pseudoheroin,
isoheroin and transheroin, purportedly isomers of heroin, and suggested by
inference that the government experts were unable to exclude the possibility
that the substances examined in this case might have in fact been one of those
compounds. However, Yamnitsky, a government expert, testified that the mass
spectra he obtained showed that the substance was heroin, and not either
isoheroin or pseudoheroin. Tr. 1961-62. Significantly, the defendant's expert
never testified that the test results in this case demonstrated or even indicated
that the substance was isoheroin, pseudoheroin, or transheroin, substances
which, even if they have been created, have been so only under experimental
laboratory conditions. In fact, there is no evidence that transheroin has been
created at all. It may be that the defendants mentioned these substances in their
cross-examination merely because they happen to contain the word "heroin."
The government's expert Godino specifically stated that "isoheroin,
pseudoheroin, and transheroin, that is not a form of heroin. Even though it says
the word heroin in it. It is a little misleading, especially to people that are not
familiar ... with the literature." Tr. 895.
108 The district court instructed the jury on the only issue put into dispute by the
evidence, whether the substance was heroin. It was not obliged to instruct the
jury with regard to hypothetical possibilities when there was no basis in the
evidence to support such possibilities. See United States v. Conroy, 589 F.2d
1258, 1273 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 831, 100 S.Ct. 60, 62 L.Ed.2d 40
(1979). Indeed, in his closing argument, Stillman's attorney attacked the data
obtained by the government's chemists, but expressly stated, "Let us be certain
of what we understand. I am not at this point arguing to the jury that those
exhibits are not heroin." Tr. March 4, 1981 (summations), at 82. We believe,
therefore, that whether or not there was a technical error in the court's
instructions, the refinement requested by Stillman merely eliminated
possibilities that were already definitively eliminated by the government's
witnesses, and that there was a valid basis in the evidence for the jury's
conclusion that the substance was heroin within Schedule I.
THE SUBSTANCE AS A NARCOTIC
109 Stillman further contends that even if the government proved that the substance
in the exhibits was heroin, and thus a Schedule I substance, the government
failed to show that this substance was a narcotic. The statute differentiates in
penalty between crimes involving Schedule I substances which are narcotics
and those which are non-narcotics. It imposes a 15 year penalty in the case of a
controlled substance in Schedule I which is a narcotic drug, see 21 U.S.C.
841(b)(1)(A), but only a 5 year penalty in the case of a controlled substance in
Schedule I which is not a narcotic drug, see 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(B).
110 Stillman argues that because heroin has an optical isomer (or enantiomer),
which the government concedes, the government was obliged to negate the
possibility that the substance in this case was the optical isomer of heroin.
Heroin is an opium derivative. Opium, which is found in a naturally growing
plant, contains morphine which can be modified to yield heroin. The product of
this process is L-heroin, so named because it rotates polarized light to the left.
Heroin made from natural morphine is always L-heroin. Its optical isomer
would be D-heroin (sometimes referred to as R-heroin), and would have to be
created from synthetic morphine.
111 Stillman apparently argues that if the substance were D-heroin, it would not be
a narcotic and hence not subject to the 15 year penalty. Admittedly, none of the
government experts conducted any tests on the substance to determine if it was
D-heroin. The government responds that such a test was unnecessary because
the statute defines "narcotic" as including "opium derivatives" and heroin is
listed as an opium derivative without distinguishing between L- and D-heroin.
See Verdugo v. United States, 402 F.2d 599, 607 (9th Cir.1968), cert. denied,
402 U.S. 961, 91 S.Ct. 1623, 29 L.Ed.2d 124 (1971) (stating that heroin is a
narcotic drug as a matter of law). Notwithstanding differences between Dheroin and L-heroin, Congress is free to define them both as narcotics.
112 The district court was not required to charge the jury with respect to the
possibility that the substance was D-heroin. In the first place, neither the statute
nor the Code of Federal Regulations distinguishes between L-heroin and Dheroin. Furthermore, no witness testified that there was any reasonable
likelihood that the substance in question was D-heroin. As the government
witnesses testified, while theoretically possible, it would be extremely
expensive to manufacture heroin synthetically. Defendant's witness, Dr.
Shapiro, did not testify that there was any D-heroin available. He did testify
that synthetic morphine, from which D-heroin could theoretically be derived,
had been produced under university laboratory conditions, but he gave no
indication whether the amounts produced were significant. Moreover, he stated
that heroin derived from synthetic morphine would not necessarily be D-heroin,
and that in the laboratory examples he knew of the heroin produced had in fact
been an equal mixture of L-heroin and D-heroin. Tr. 4184-85.
113 We believe that the language of the Ninth Circuit in United States v. Hall, 552
F.2d 273, 276 (9th Cir.1977), where the court held that the evidence was
sufficient to support defendant's conviction notwithstanding the government's
failure to test the cocaine in question to determine whether it was L-cocaine or
D-cocaine, is equally relevant here:
114 government's expert] testified that his tests indicated that the substance was
[The
cocaine. In addition, while [his] tests could not distinguish between the isomers of
cocaine, there was extensive circumstantial evidence showing that the substance was
natural cocaine derived from coca leaves (l-cocaine) rather than d-cocaine. The
government presented evidence that d-cocaine was difficult and expensive to make.
More importantly, the experts had never actually found a specimen of d-cocaine.
Finally, d-cocaine could be synthesized anywhere, according to the experts, yet
instead of basing his operations in the interior United States, there was evidence that
[defendant] was engaged in a smuggling operation to bring drugs into the United
States from Mexico. This evidence, with reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, is
more than adequate to permit a rational conclusion by the jury that the substance
sold by [defendant] was, beyond a reasonable doubt, cocaine.
115 Once again, we believe that the district court was not obliged to instruct the
jury on a hypothetical possibility without the support of evidence in the record
and agree with the district court that such an instruction would have been both
misleading and confusing.
116 As the Supreme Court has recently stated, "there can be no such thing as an
error-free perfect trial." United States v. Hasting, --- U.S. ----, 103 S.Ct. 1974,
76 L.Ed.2d 96 (U.S.1983). This is particularly true when, as here, the trial is
long and there are multiple defendants with multiple objections. Our task as a
reviewing court is to review "the trial record as a whole." In view of the
exceedingly large number of issues raised on appeal, we have reviewed all
aspects of this record. We conclude that there was no prejudicial error on any
issue raised by appellants, and that they received the fair trial to which they are
entitled. Accordingly, we will affirm the judgments of conviction.
[Taken verbatim from Appellants' Briefs]
The Ammars' Contentions
118 Whether the Court erred in denying Ghassan's theory of the case instruction.
119 Whether the Court below committed prejudicial error in failing to charge, even
though requested, that the jury must find that the controlled substance which
was the subject matter of the conspiracy and importation charges was, in fact,
heroin within the definition of the Code of Federal Regulations before the jury
could convict the Defendant and whether the Court committed prejudicial error
in failing to submit a charge on the lesser included offense set forth in 21
U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(A).
120 Whether it was error to deny the Ammars' Motion to Sever and Request for
Relief from Prejudicial Misjoinder under Rules 14 and 8(a) and (b) of the
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; whether it was error to deny the Ammars'
Motion to Strike overt acts numbered 50-56 from the indictment.
121 Whether the Court erred in permitting Judith to testify as to confidential
communications not in furtherance of any conspiracy between herself and
Ghassan occurring after his arrest on August 1, 1980 and in failing to grant the
Ammar's related Motions for Severance.
Whether the trial Court committed prejudicial error in failing to grant, even
122 though requested, a hearing pursuant to Rule 104 of the Federal Rules of
Evidence and in accordance with the holding of United States v. James, 590
F.2d 575 (5th Cir.1979) to determine the admissibility of out of court
statements made by co-conspirators and then, thereafter, committed prejudicial
error in failing to apply the proper standard as to the admissibility of those
123 Whether the trial Court erred in failing to fashion an appropriate remedy after it
was learned that the case agent had destroyed his handwritten reports.
124 Whether the trial Court committed prejudicial error in failing to suppress the
evidence regarding Judith Ammar's September 19, 1980 tape recorded
conference with John Welkie when the D.E.A. obtained the statement and
specifically knew that "(1) Welkie was entering her home as a paid confidential
informer with a secret microphone; (2) that Judith Ammar was represented by
counsel and (3) that counsel had specifically advised the Government, that
other than discussing the activities of the Ammar Trading Service, she was
standing on her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent with respect to all
questions regarding her involvement in these drug activities.
125 Whether the Court below committed reversible error in failing to allow proof,
by way of expert testimony, that critical statements attributed to Judith Ammar
in the September 19, 1980 tape recorded conversation with John Welkie did not
126 Whether the Court below committed prejudicial error in failing to grant Judith
Ammar's Motion to Dismiss the Grand Jury Indictment, or at the very least,
conduct a hearing out of the presence of the jury once there was threshold
evidence to establish that her indictment was the product of false testimony of
John Welkie, a paid confidential informer for the D.E.A.
Stillman's Contentions
127 Was the defendant denied a fair trial, due process of law and his right of
confrontation when the trial court took the following actions with respect to the
testimony of the Government's critical witness:
defendant access to statements of the witness given to his probation officer
and refused to examine the statements in camera for impeachment material?
Quashed
defendant's subpoena for letters written by the witness?
to permit defendant to question whether the witness's plea bargain included
an agreement not to bring other charges?
to permit defendant to question whether the plea bargain included an
agreement not to prosecute for income tax evasion?
to require the witness to submit to psychological examination to determine
the extent of memory impairment caused by heroin addiction?
to grant use immunity to a co-defendant whose testimony would contradict
that of the witness concerning the single directly incriminatory event?
to permit cross-examination based upon interview notes taken by a DEA
agent?
to allow cross-examination over the government's inclusion of its right to a
polygraph examination upon demand in the witness's plea bargain?
defendant access to DEA files on the informer-witness, refused to examine
their contents in camera for impeachment material and other exculpatory evidence,
and refused to seal them for transmittal to this Court?
Upheld
an assertion of "governmental privilege" against disclosure of the DEA file
on the witness by an Assistant United States Attorney?
defendant access to interview notes of an Assistant United States Attorney of
an interview immediately before the witness changed his version to an incriminatory
one?
to instruct the jury in accordance with the testimony of an expert that the
witness's addiction to heroin might be considered in assessing his memory?
confrontation when the trial court took the following actions with respect to
out-of-court declarations of alleged conspirators:
to conduct a pretrial hearing to determine whether statement of an alleged
conspirator were admissible within Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E)?
to conduct a pretrial hearing to determine whether statements of an alleged
conspirator were made in his role as government informer?
to apply a preponderance of the evidence standard in assessing the
admissibility of statements of alleged conspirators and instead applied a prima facie
standard?
to exclude statements of alleged conspirators which were narrative and not
in furtherance of any charged conspiracy?
to exclude statements of alleged conspirators which were made after the
conspiracies charged had terminated?
the jury to determine whether statements were in furtherance of a
conspiracy and during its pendency and refused to submit instructions which defined
these terms?
to allow defendant to make an opening statement before the introduction of
evidence in which the jury would be cautioned that out-of-court statements by an
alleged conspirator might have been made in his role of undercover informer?
to exclude out-of-court statements which were neither reliable, trustworthy
nor corroborated?
to instruct the jury that out-of-court statements should be considered with
caution?
to exclude out-of-court declarations when there was no evidence that the
declarant had personal knowledge of the facts asserted?
to instruct the jury that out-of-court declarations by an alleged conspirator
were not evidence against defendant if made while the declarant was acting as an
undercover informer and not as a conspirator?
to allow evidence that the declarant of out-of-court statements had
previously been convicted of a felony and had a bad reputation for truthfulness?
Instructed
the jury that it could not consider the testimony of alleged conspirators in
determining a defendant's membership in the conspiracy?
to instruct the jury that statements by an alleged conspirator were conceded
to be false?
the jury to consider adoptive admissions of an alleged conspirator as
statements in furtherance of conspiracy?
to allow cross-examination of an alleged conspirator over privileged
conversations with another alleged conspirator?
to the jury the determination of which conversations of an alleged
conspirator should be excluded as within the marital privilege?
158 Was the defendant denied a fair trial and due process of law when the trial
court made the following rulings:
evidence of the non-testifying defendant's four-year-old conviction for use
of a telephone to facilitate the purchase of heroin on the theory that both that offense
and the instant conspiracies were "identical" in the sense that a telephone was used
in the commission of both crimes?
to conduct a hearing on whether the probative value of defendant's prior
conviction outweighed its prejudicial effect?
to allow defendant to testify to the circumstances of the prior conviction
and his reasons for entering an Alford plea to that charge without being crossexamined on the merits of the case on trial?
to grant a continuance to permit defendant to obtain evidence which would
contradict testimony of a DEA agent who testified to the prior conviction on the
grounds that the testimony was collateral?
to instruct the jury on the significance of multiple conspiracies and that it
must acquit the defendant if he was found to be a member only of a conspiracy not
charged in the indictment?
an instruction which allowed the jury to convict defendant for a
conspiracy not charged in the indictment?
165 that where the Code of Federal Regulations placed a limiting construction on a
penal statute, the defendant could be convicted if his conduct was within the statute
even though it was excluded by the Code?
Refused to submit an instruction which defined the elements of the offense?
to submit a lesser-included offense when the evidence demonstrated its
existence and possible commission?
defendant's motion for mistrial after it had informed the jury that a person to
whom heroin was delivered was an "agent" of defendant?
the jury that pleas of guilty by alleged conspirators were not "necessarily"
evidence of defendant's guilt?
Instructed the jury that evidence of a defendant's prior conviction could be used in
weighing his credibility when the convicted defendant did not testify?
171 BECKER, Circuit Judge, concurring.
172 I join without reservation in all portions of Judge Sloviter's opinion except for
Parts II.A.1. and II.A.2. In Part II.A.1., Judge Sloviter's follows our opinion in
United States v. Continental Group, Inc., 603 F.2d 444 (3d Cir.1979), cert.
denied, 444 U.S. 1032, 100 S.Ct. 703, 62 L.Ed.2d 668 (1980), and holds that
the district court was not required to hold an in limine hearing to determine the
sufficiency of nonhearsay evidence ("evidence aliunde ") to establish a
conspiracy and connect a defendant to it. In Part II.A.2., also following
Continental Group, Judge Sloviter holds that the district court was not required
to make explicit its conclusion that there was a preponderance of evidence
aliunde because that conclusion could be inferred from the court's decision to
submit the case to the jury.
173 These holdings relate to the trial judge's evidentiary screening function, now
codified in Fed.R.Evid. 104(a). Rule 104(a) allocates the determination of
preliminary questions concerning the admissibility of evidence to the court.
Proper performance of that screening function is essential to the fair conduct of
conspiracy trials, especially of complex, multi-count conspiracy indictments.
Because this panel is bound by our holding in Continental Group, I concur in
the result in Parts II.A.1. and II.A.2. I write separately, however, to express my
belief that the Continental Group rule sweeps too broadly. In my view, this
Court should no longer be content to infer a finding of sufficient evidence
aliunde from the district court's decision to submit the case to the jury, at least
where that finding requires the resolution of credibility questions. Moreover, I
believe that this Court should counsel the district courts that in limine hearings,
while not required, are at least preferred in cases where the defendant wishes to
attack the credibility of a witness whose credibility is critical to the court's
evidentiary determination and the circumstances of the trial itself (typically a
multi-count, multi-defendant conspiracy trial) impairs that strategy.I.
174 To understand the screening function of the trial judge, it is helpful to refer to
Judge Friendly's opinion in United States v. Geaney, 417 F.2d 1116 (2d
Cir.1969), cert. denied, 397 U.S. 1028, 90 S.Ct. 1276, 25 L.Ed.2d 539 (1970),
which was adopted by this Court in United States v. Bey, 437 F.2d 188 (3d
Cir.1971), and its progeny, including Continental Group. Judge Friendly started
with the proposition established in a number of opinions by Judge Learned
Hand1 "that it was for the judge to determine whether there was sufficient
evidence that the defendant against whom [co-conspirator] declarations were
offered had engaged in a 'concerted mutual venture' with the declarant." Id. at
1119. Then, noting that Judge Hand's opinions left in doubt the quantum of
evidence that would suffice, Judge Friendly observed:
175 The circumstance that in a conspiracy trial the preliminary issue on the
admissibility of evidence coincides with the ultimate one of the defendant's
guilt should not cause the trial judge to abdicate his traditional duty to decide
those issues of fact which determine the applicability of a technical
exclusionary rule. When the matter is viewed from the standpoint of the trial
judge, it may be hard to say more than that he must satisfy himself of the
defendant's participation in a conspiracy on the basis of the non-hearsay
evidence.... Setting the standard that high avoids the risk that the requirement of
independent evidence will be rendered "virtually meaningless," as some courts
are said to have done.
176 Id. at 1120 (citations omitted).
177 After observing that the practicalities of a conspiracy trial might require
hearsay to be admitted "subject to connection," Judge Friendly announced the
rule that we have followed:
178 judge must determine, when all the evidence is in, whether in his view the
[T]he
prosecution has proved participation in the conspiracy, by the defendant against
whom the hearsay is offered, by a fair preponderance of the evidence independent of
the hearsay utterances. If it has, the utterances go to the jury for them to consider
along with all the other evidence in determining whether they are convinced of
defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If it has not, the judge must instruct the
jury to disregard the hearsay or, when this was so large a proportion of the proof as
to render a cautionary instruction of doubtful utility, ... declare a mistrial if the
defendant asks for it.
179 Id. (footnote omitted).
180 Thus, the Geaney/Continental Group rule imposes upon the trial judge an
evidentiary screening function that is essential to the fairness of the trial. What
is sometimes overlooked in the rule's formal recitation, however, is that the
preponderance finding differs from the prima facie test it replaces:2 The
preponderance test requires the judge to determine the credibility of witnesses
and to make a finding based on a fair assessment of the evidence, whereas the
credibility of witnesses need not be considered under the prima facie test. The
Geaney/Continental Group rule establishes that the court is to apply a
preponderance test, rather than a reasonable doubt standard, in finding that a
conspiracy exists and that a defendant is connected to it. Judge Weinstein thinks
that this test is not stringent enough.3 This Court has eschewed a reasonable
doubt standard, and it has rejected Judge Weinstein's position (adopted only by
the Sixth Circuit, see United States v. Vinson, 606 F.2d 149 (6th Cir.1979),
cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1074, 100 S.Ct. 1020, 62 L.Ed.2d 756 (1980)) that the
trial judge should consider the hearsay testimony in making the threshold
determination. However, precisely the concerns articulated by Judge Weinstein
suggest that the preponderance standard be applied rigorously, with explicit
findings by the district court both on the credibility of nonhearsay witnesses
and the sufficiency of the evidence.
181 My concern on this record is with the case against appellant Stillman. The
critical evidence aliunde as to Stillman's participation in the conspiracy was the
testimony of Mr. Welkie, a co-conspirator turned government informant. It was
Welkie who supplied the testimony about the crucial transaction linking
Stillman to the conspiracy (i.e., the meeting in July 1980 at the Detroit Hyatt
Regency, involving Ghassan, Dahabi, Welkie, Stillman, and an unidentified
man, where, according to Welkie, Stillman directed him to give a package
containing heroin to the unidentified man).
182 Stillman mounted a considerable attack on Welkie's credibility. He attempted to
establish that Welkie had used more than two grams of heroin before and
during the meeting at the Hyatt. He also attempted to show that Welkie had
given fatally inconsistent statements about that meeting, having asserted in his
statement to Agent Schmotzer that it had been Ghassan, not Stillman, who had
directed that the package be given to the unidentified man. Stillman sought to
attack Welkie's credibility on other grounds as well.4 The district court
excluded much of the proffered impeachment. And yet, despite the centrality of
Welkie's credibility to the preponderance determination, the district court made
no explicit credibility findings.
183 It seems to me that the district court misapprehended the scope of its screening
responsibilities. The majority concedes that "cross-examination of Welkie was
limited in some respects" but asserts that "any additional cross-examination by
Stillman would have been merely cumulative." Ante. I am doubtful of that
proposition, see supra note 4, but more important, it is unclear that the district
court assessed Welkie's credibility on the evidence presented. The majority
refuses to "assume that the [district] court ignored a portion of the evidence
before it simply because its ultimate determination was unfavorable to the
appellant." Ante. In my view, this Court should not be forced to infer from an
ultimate conclusion that the district court properly considered evidence in
performing its screening function. I would modify Continental Group to require
explicit findings, at least where credibility is important to the evidence aliunde
determination. We do not permit implied findings in bench trials under
Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a), and there is no reason for a different rule for a critical
phase of a criminal case, as the preponderance determination under Rule 104(a)
clearly is.
184 I turn to the procedural setting in which the credibility issues must be tested. If,
as the preponderance test requires, evidentiary findings are to be made
rationally and fairly in cases where credibility is at issue, the judge must allow
adequate opportunity for impeachment of the persons or documents supplying
evidence aliunde. And yet in a multi-count, multi-defendant conspiracy trial,
with a jury in the box, the circumstances may not permit that opportunity. I
recognize that Judge Sloviter, either in the text of her opinion or by her
disposition of the myriad claims alleged by Stillman and catalogued in the
opinion's appendix, has rejected the contention that the district court erred in
excluding the proffered impeachment evidence. It is indisputable that the
district court has broad discretion to exclude probative evidence on the basis of
the factors listed in Fed.R.Evid. 403, including unfair prejudice to codefendants. In my view, however, the inquiry does not end with the conclusion
that the district court did not abuse its discretion by its evidentiary rulings.
185 Under Fed.R.Evid. 104(a), a court "is not bound by the Rules of Evidence
except those with respect to privileges" in determining the admissibility of
evidence. One reason for the in limine hearing procedure is to enable the court
to consider evidence bearing upon the preponderance finding but not admissible
at trial. In limine hearings thus give the court the ability to conduct a hearing
out of the jury's presence on the threshold question whether there is a
preponderance of evidence aliunde linking a particular defendant with a
conspiracy, without prejudicing either him or his codefendants.
186 In limine hearings are flexible; they need not be full-dress, pretrial reviews of
the evidence.5 For example, it generally causes little disruption or loss of time
for the trial judge to recess the trial and take sufficient testimony out of the
hearing of the jury to complete the record.
187 I do not suggest that Rule 104(a) requires the district court to receive
inadmissible evidence. That rule makes it clear, however, that a court
conducting an in limine hearing is not bound by the Rules of Evidence and may
consider inadmissible evidence in making its determination. Indeed, the district
court might well have allowed Stillman to develop his excluded impeachment
evidence in this case if our prior opinions had instructed that it is preferable for
a court to hold an in limine hearing when there is a serious credibility problem
in connection with an evidence aliunde determination, or when proffered
impeachment evidence might unduly prejudice a co-defendant. As I have noted,
multi-count, multi-defendant conspiracy trials often impair a defendant's
impeachment strategy. The district court here should have had the impetus
from this Court to at least consider an in limine hearing, and I believe that this
Court should counsel the district courts that this is the preferred course in such
situations. I would not make it an absolute requirement; I am satisfied with the
wise exercise of discretion by the district courts in this Circuit.
188 In sum, the proceedings in this case would have been fairer to Stillman if the
district court had recessed to conduct an in limine hearing to further explore
Welkie's credibility. Moreover, the integrity of that exploration would have
improved markedly if the district court had been required by decisions of this
Court to make explicit findings. I believe that this Court, in the interest of
improving the administration of justice in this Circuit, should modify the
Continental Group rule accordingly.
SUR PETITION FOR REHEARING
189 Before SEITZ, Chief Judge, and ALDISERT, ADAMS, GIBBONS, HUNTER,
WEIS, GARTH, HIGGINBOTHAM, SLOVITER and BECKER, Circuit
Judges.
190 The petition for rehearing filed by Appellant, Marshall Stillman, in the above
entitled case having been submitted to the judges who participated in the
decision of this court and to all the other available circuit judges of the circuit
in regular active service, and no judge who concurred in the decision having
asked for rehearing, and a majority of the circuit judges of the circuit in regular
active service not having voted for rehearing by the court in banc, the petition
for rehearing is denied. Because Judge Becker believes that United States v.
Continental Group, Inc., 603 F.2d 444, 457 (3d Cir.1979), cert. denied, 444
U.S. 1032, 100 S.Ct. 703, 62 L.Ed.2d 668 (1980), should be reconsidered by
the in banc court, he would grant rehearing .
Appellant McFayden has not filed a brief in this court, but instead has informed
us that he relies on the arguments presented by his co-appellants. Our rejection
of those arguments thus applies to McFayden as well
Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E) provides:
(d) Statements which are not hearsay. A statement is not hearsay if-***
(2) Admission by party-opponent. The statement is offered against a party and
is ... (E) a statement by a coconspirator of a party during the course and in
furtherance of the conspiracy.
The need for independent evidence was enunciated in Glasser v. United States,
315 U.S. 60, 74-75, 62 S.Ct. 457, 467, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942), where the Court
stated that coconspirator declarations "are admissible over the objection of an
alleged conspirator, who was not present when they were made, only if there is
proof aliunde that he is connected with the conspiracy" because otherwise
"hearsay would lift itself by its own bootstraps to the level of competent
evidence." Some courts have questioned whether Glasser survives the adoption
of Fed.R.Evid. 104(a), which provides that in making threshold determinations
the trial court is not bound by the rules of evidence, except those with regard to
privileges. See United States v. Martorano, 561 F.2d 406, 408 (1st Cir.1977),
cert. denied, 435 U.S. 922, 98 S.Ct. 1484, 55 L.Ed.2d 515 (1978). The Sixth
Circuit has held that the proviso of Rule 104(a) "modifies prior law to the
contrary", and that "hearsay statements themselves may be considered by the
judge in deciding the preliminary question of admissibility." United States v.
Vinson, 606 F.2d 149, 153 (6th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1074, 100
S.Ct. 1020, 62 L.Ed.2d 756 (1980). Most circuits, however, including this one,
have continued to take the position that the preliminary determinations as to
admissibility must be made on the basis of independent evidence. Government
of the Virgin Islands v. Dowling, 633 F.2d 660, 665 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 449
U.S. 960, 101 S.Ct. 374, 66 L.Ed.2d 228 (1980); United States v. Trowery, 542
F.2d 623, 627 (3d Cir.1976) (per curiam), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1104, 97 S.Ct.
1132, 51 L.Ed.2d 555 (1977); United States v. James, 590 F.2d 575, 581 (5th
(1979). See also 1 Weinstein & Berger, Weinstein's Evidence p 104
Fed.R.Evid. 104 provides in relevant part:
(a) Questions of admissibility generally. Preliminary questions concerning the
qualification of a person to be a witness, the existence of a privilege, or the
admissibility of evidence shall be determined by the court, subject to the
provisions of subdivision (b). In making its determination it is not bound by the
rules of evidence except those with respect to privileges.
(c) Hearing of jury. Hearings on the admissibility of confessions shall in all
cases be conducted out of the hearing of the jury. Hearings on other
preliminary matters shall be so conducted when the interests of justice require
or, when an accused is a witness, if he so requests.
The preliminary question of the admissibility of coconspirator statements under
Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E) is to be decided under Rule 104(a), rather than under
Rule 104(b) to which the court referred. See 1 Weinstein & Berger, Weinstein's
Evidence p 104, at 104-40; United States v. James, 590 F.2d at 579
For example, early in the trial, the court stated during a side-bar conference, "I
have determined from the testimony admitted so far that there is a threshold
evidence of a conspiracy." Tr. 432i. In context, we are satisfied that the court's
reference to "threshold evidence of a conspiracy" encompassed defendants'
The trial court was, of course, correct that the jury must find each defendant's
membership in the conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt, but it may do so
based on all of the evidence, including coconspirator statements, once that
evidence has been properly admitted by the court
Stillman suggests that if the court had held an in limine hearing, he would have
had the opportunity to question Ghassan as to his status. There is no evidence
that Ghassan would have chosen to testify at such a hearing, and he could not
have been compelled to do so. We reject Stillman's suggestion that it would
have been appropriate to grant Ghassan judicial use immunity under
Government of the Virgin Islands v. Smith, 615 F.2d 964 (3d Cir.1980). The
exculpatory nature of Ghassan's would-be testimony is at best speculative, its
necessity is questionable, and, in view of Ghassan's central role in the
conspiracy, the government's interest in not having him granted immunity is
considerable. See id. at 972
The trial judge's view of Ghassan's defense is reflected by his statement during
the charging conference that he had "doubts as to whether there is sufficient
evidence here to show under any set of facts that the defendant Ammar acted as
an agent of the government in these transactions that are before us here." Tr.
4695; see also Tr. 4700
We reject Ghassan's claim that he did not receive an instruction on his defense
theory. He apparently concedes that the court accurately summarized his
position to the jury, but complains because the court did not explicitly state that
if the jury concluded that Ghassan had a good faith belief that he was acting as
an informant, it should find him not guilty. Inclusion of this language may have
been preferable but we believe that the court's charge was adequate. Ghassan's
theory of defense was not legally complicated; it was that he lacked the
requisite intent. The court's charge did properly instruct the jury on the issue of
intent. Viewed as a whole, the charge also adequately called the jury's attention
to Ghassan's theory of the evidence. We find no error in the instructions. See
United States v. Brake, 596 F.2d 337, 339 (8th Cir.1979)
Ghassan and Judith contend that they too were prejudiced by the admission of
the Rossi-Ibraham conversation, on the ground that it contained references to
them. Our rejection of Stillman's claim applies to them as well
Ghassan's statement was also admissible under Fed.R.Evid. 804(b)(3) as a
declaration against his penal interest. See United States v. Lieberman, 637 F.2d
95, 103-04 (2d Cir.1980)
For the same reasons, we reject the Ammars' argument that there was a fatal
variance between the single conspiracy charged in the indictment and what they
claim were multiple conspiracies proved by the evidence at trial. The evidence
was sufficient to justify a finding of a single, continuing conspiracy. See
generally United States v. Boyd, 595 F.2d 120, 123 (3d Cir.1978) ("the
government without committing a variance ... may establish the existence of a
continuing core conspiracy which attracts different members at different times
and which involves different sub-groups committing acts in furtherance of the
overall plan"); United States v. Kenny, 462 F.2d 1205, 1216 (3d Cir.), cert.
denied, 409 U.S. 914, 93 S.Ct. 233, 34 L.Ed.2d 176 (1972) (" Kotteakos [v.
United States, 328 U.S. 750, 66 S.Ct. 1239, 90 L.Ed. 1557 (1946) ] prohibits
charging multiple unrelated conspiracies, but it does not prohibit charging one
master conspiracy and establishing at trial that under the master conspiracy
more than one subsidiary scheme was involved")
The Advisory Committee Notes to Rule 801 state, in relevant part,
The freedom which admissions have enjoyed from technical demands of
searching for an assurance of trustworthiness in some against-interest
circumstance, and from the restrictive influences of the opinion rule and the
rule requiring firsthand knowledge, when taken with the apparently prevalent
satisfaction with the results, calls for generous treatment of this avenue to
admissibility.
(citations omitted) (emphasis added).
In United States v. Lang, 589 F.2d 92 (2d Cir.1978), the same out-of-court
statement was sought to be introduced as either a declaration against penal
interest under Fed.R.Evid. 804(b)(3) or a coconspirator statement under
Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E). The court determined that the statement could not be
admitted as a declaration against penal interest because of the absence of any
showing of personal knowledge under Rule 602, but did not resolve the
coconspirator statement issue in the same manner. Instead, it concluded that the
statement was not admissible under Rule 801(d)(2)(E), not because of the lack
of personal knowledge, but because it had not been made in furtherance of the
Virtually all of the statements by Ghassan, Ibraham and Abedeen admitted
under Rule 801(d)(2)(E) were made to other members of the conspiracy. In
view of the importance of maintaining trust between conspirators, and the
possibility that whatever was said by one might be relied upon by the others,
the conspirators would have understood that a falsehood could have destroyed
the enterprise in which they were jointly engaged. Moreover, many of the
statements were made under circumstances which indicate spontaneity,
decreasing the likelihood of deliberate falsehood
Furthermore, Welkie testified that the conspirators were planning to leave the
country after Ghassan's release on bail. Tr. Jan. 16, 1981, at 127. Since we can
infer that their purpose was to avoid prosecution, this provides additional
support for our conclusion that the bail discussions between Ghassan and Judith
were not privileged
The materials were referred to in Walden I as "rough notes and draft." After
ordering a remand on another issue, we directed the trial court to inspect the
materials (which we assumed still to be available) and determine whether they
were "statements" within the Jencks Act and, if so, whether their nondisclosure was harmless. On remand, the district court found that the drafts had
in fact been destroyed. Although the court determined that they had been
Jencks Act "statements" and therefore should not have been destroyed, it
concluded that their destruction was harmless error. United States v. Walden,
465 F.Supp. 255 (E.D.Pa.1978). We affirmed. 590 F.2d 85 (3d Cir.) (per
curiam), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 849, 100 S.Ct. 99, 62 L.Ed.2d 64 (1979)
We have been advised that the DEA itself has adopted regulations requiring the
retention of draft reports, at least in cases where no contemporaneous notes
were taken. Because of our disposition of this issue, we need not decide
whether, as appellants urge, the failure to follow these internal regulations
would itself constitute a Jencks Act violation
Schedule I(b) includes
unless specifically excepted or unless listed in another schedule, any of the
following opium derivatives or salts, isomers, and salts of isomers whenever the
existence of such salts, isomers and salts of isomers is possible within the
specific chemical designation:
(10) heroin
The government requested the court to order Dr. Shapiro to test the substances,
but the court refused because of Shapiro's testimony that he had other
commitments which would make it impossible for him to do so for several
weeks. Tr. 4219-20
After reading the jury the statutory definition of Schedule I controlled
substances, the court stated:
So if you find beyond a reasonable doubt that the substance in question which
we have been dealing with is testified to as being found at various times,
discovered or seized, is heroin, why, then, of course, that fulfills this definition
of the statute. On the contrary, if you are not convinced beyond a reasonable
doubt that the government has proved that this is heroin or one of the salts or
isomers or salts of isomers, then, of course, you would find that the government
has not made out a case and you should acquit the defendants.
I will say that you are instructed as a matter of law that heroin is a controlled
substance and you must ascertain whether the material in question was, in fact,
heroin. In so doing, you may consider all evidence in the case which may aid in
the determination of that issue, including the testimony of any experts or other
witness who may testify to either support or dispute the allegation that the
material in question was heroin. Again, you will note that salts, isomers or salts
of isomers of heroin are included.
Now, if you find the substance was actually heroin hydrochloride, a salt of
heroin, then you may find it was heroin, a controlled substance under Schedule
I. But, this, of course, you must find beyond a reasonable doubt.
United States v. Dennis, 183 F.2d 201, 230-231 (2d Cir.1950), aff'd, 341 U.S.
494, 71 S.Ct. 857, 95 L.Ed. 1137 (1951); United States v. Pugliese, 153 F.2d
497, 500 (2d Cir.1945); United States v. Nardone, 127 F.2d 521, 523 (2d Cir.),
cert. denied, 316 U.S. 698, 62 S.Ct. 1296, 86 L.Ed. 1767 (1942); United States
v. Renda, 56 F.2d 601, 602 (2d Cir.1932) (per curiam) (attributed to Judge
Hand)
Only the Ninth Circuit even nominally retains the "prima facie" standard of
proof. Judge Weinstein notes that this standard makes sense only in cases
where the jury decides whether there is sufficient evidence aliunde to admit coconspirators' statements into evidence, while the court only makes the initial
decision to let the case go to the jury on the basis of a prima facie
determination. 1 Weinstein & Berger, Evidence p 104, at 104-55 (1982).
However, the Ninth Circuit characterizes the standard as requiring the
government to adduce sufficient, substantial evidence aliunde of a conspiracy
and of the defendant's connection thereto. See United States v. Perez, 658 F.2d
654 (9th Cir.1981); United States v. Zemek, 634 F.2d 1159 (9th Cir.1980), cert.
denied, 450 U.S. 916, 101 S.Ct. 1359, 67 L.Ed.2d 341 (1981); cases cited in 1
Weinstein & Berger, supra, p 104 n. 54. The Fifth, Tenth and District of
Columbia Circuits also require the district court as a preliminary matter to find
"substantial evidence" of the existence of a conspiracy and the defendant's
membership in it. The Fifth and Tenth Circuits require in addition a
preponderance finding at the close of all testimony. See United States v. James,
590 F.2d 575 (5th Cir.) (en banc ), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 917, 99 S.Ct. 2836, 61
L.Ed.2d 283 (1979); United States v. Petersen, 611 F.2d 1313 (10th Cir.1979),
cert. denied, 447 U.S. 905, 100 S.Ct. 2986, 64 L.Ed.2d 854 (1980); United
States v. Jackson, 627 F.2d 1198 (D.C.Cir.1980). The other circuits, including
this one, have adopted the fair preponderance of the evidence standard for the
district court's preliminary determination. See cases cited in 1 Weinstein &
Berger, supra, p 104 n. 44
[T]he fair and practicable method of providing protection to the defendant
without violating the letter or spirit of the Rules lies in insisting on a stringent
standard of proof.... Only if the court is itself convinced to a high degree of
probability--considering hearsay as well as nonhearsay evidence--of the
conspiracy, defendant's membership, and that the statement was made during
the course of, and in furtherance thereof, should it admit
Weinstein & Berger, supra, p 104, at 104-43 to -44 (footnote omitted)
Welkie had also given a statement to his probation officer. Stillman moved for
its production pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3500 (1976) (governing the production
by the government of statements of its witnesses) as evidence tending to
impeach Welkie. The district court held the statement "not discoverable in any
event. That is a private paper prepared for the use of the Court." According to
Stillman, the district court was required at least to compare Welkie's statement
to his probation officer with his trial testimony, see United States v. Cyphers,
553 F.2d 1064, 1068-69 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 843, 98 S.Ct. 142, 54
L.Ed.2d 107 (1977); United States v. Figurski, 545 F.2d 389, 391-92 (4th
Cir.1976). Stillman also sought to learn whether the DEA informant file on
Welkie contained other versions of the event. The court quashed defendant's
subpoenas of that file and refused to examine it in camera or to seal it for
transmittal to this Court
Only portions of Schmotzer's interrogation of Welkie on August 27 were tape
recorded. During the cross-examination of Welkie, Stillman sought to obtain
Schmotzer's notes of the unrecorded portions of the interview. The court held
that the notes were not Welkie's "statements" under 18 U.S.C. 3500 and
ordered them sealed until after Schmotzer testified. The notes were then
furnished to counsel, but when Welkie was recalled for further crossexamination, the court refused to allow counsel to question him based on the
Welkie also had written to his girlfriend, Judith Barlow, prior to his being
released on bail. The government called Barlow as a witness, and Stillman
subpoenaed Welkie's letters to her. The Court perceived the subpoena as
invading Barlow's privacy, examined the letters in camera, and then permitted
counsel to see only two small segments of the letters, quashing Stillman's
subpoena as to the balance.
Welkie stated that during the period about which he was testifying, he was a
heavy user of heroin and also used angel dust. Stillman's expert testified that
the use of these drugs could impair perception and memory and that angel dust
could cause major perceptual distortions. Stillman then moved to have Welkie
examined by any qualified person concerning the effect of these drugs on his
memory and perception. The court apparently misperceived the thrust of
Stillman's argument and denied the motion as one that questioned Welkie's
competence as a witness.
As Judge Weinstein remarks:
To the extent possible, the admissibility of coconspirators' statements should be
discussed at the pre-trial conference, or if at trial, outside the hearing of the
jury. At times, the court will be able to make its determination on the basis of
proffers or even on the opening or what it knows of the available proof from
the pretrial or suppression hearings.
... [I]n most cases the judge can determine from colloquy, documents marked in
advance of trial, suppression hearings and one or two witnesses whether there is
sufficient evidence to warrant admission of a coconspirator's statement.
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GYLA’s Successful Cases
Reform of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia
GYLA Evaluates Negatively the Postponement of Term of Enactment of the Law on State Inspector Service
The Parliament will consider the initiative of the members of the Parliament of Georgia on the postponement of the term of enactment of the Law on State Inspector Service in an accelerated manner. The law, which was adopted by the Parliament on July 21, 2018, envisaged that from 1 January 2019 the mandate of the inspector should be broadened in part of official malfeasance, torture, degrading or ill-treatment, as well as in the part of the offenses committed by law enforcement officers. According to the submitted draft law, it is envisaged to postpone the deadline by 6 months.
We believe that postponing the term of enactment of the Law on State Inspector Service is caused by improper actions of the executive authorities, the measures that were necessary for enactment of the law were not taken timely and the current and next year's budgets were not planned to take into account these measures.
It is noteworthy that the adoption of the law was due to the international obligations to carry out effective reforms for the purpose of fighting against ill-treatment, in particular, to meet the obligations undertaken by the Agenda of Association Agreement between Georgia and the European Union 2017-2020. In addition, the obligation to establish an independent investigative institution, was provided by the action plan of 2017-2018 for fighting against torture, inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment or punishment of human beings, as well as the action plan of the government of 2016-2017 for protecting human rights approved by the resolution No.338 of the Government of Georgia, on July 21, 2016.
GYLA noted in a report of 2018 summarizing the human rights situation that the issue of whether the law could be enacted by January 1, 2019, was under question. We believe that the law on the State Inspector Service, which the Parliament has adopted due to the limited mandate and authority of the Inspector, cannot ensure meeting the obligation by this institution although we believe that even under these circumstances the timely introduction of these amendments was highly important.
The report of the Venice Commission with regard to the arrangement and functions of the High Council of Justice of Georgia and the Prosecutorial Council indicated the inevitability of creating independent investigative institution in a timely manner which assessed negatively the prosecution reform and noted that the regulations provided by the organic law on the Prosecutor's Office was not able to ensure the formation of Prosecutor Office as an independent body. Consequently, when the legislation fails to ensure the independence of the Prosecutor's Office guaranteed by the Constitution and requires further reform, it is of utmost importance that the provisions of the Law on the State Inspector Service will be timely in force.
Based on the above mentioned, we address the Parliament of Georgia, in case of adoption of the draft law:
- To apply the powers provided by article 38 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament of Georgia and to control the issue of timely enactment of the Law on State Inspector Service;
- In the framework of the powers provided by the Rules of Procedure of Parliament to study, why it was impossible to take all the necessary measures required to enact the law by January 1, 2019.
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Georgian Young
Lawyers' Association Rule of Law for Justice
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You are here: Home / Digital Publishing News / What Do Authors Really Need to Know about Copyright?
What Do Authors Really Need to Know about Copyright?
June 13, 2013 By Mercy Pilkington 1 Comment
the digital reading revolution opened up readers’ eyes to the potential for screen reading, authors may have believed they were limited to self-publishing their work via a dedicated e-reader platform, at least in the early days of this current climate of digital publishing, in actuality, publishing has taken on a whole new meaning and there are unique copyright issues that go along with it.
Many authors may be unsure of what their rights are, especially when other forms of digital publishing like blogging or posting to social media are concerned. Christopher Kenneally of the Copyright Clearance Center spoke to GoodEReader this week about some of the considerations that authors need to understand before publishing or posting their work anywhere.
“We hear about copyright all the time and frankly, and from time to time, copyright gets a bad name. But copyright is about individual creators and the whole creative economy, and there are a lot of people and a lot of people’s jobs tied up in copyright. One of our greatest exports in this country is intellectual property. There’s a need for the copyright holders to be able to retain rights to their work and to be able to monetize those rights.
“At the same time, copyright as it is under law in this country is about being able to allow people to use copyrighted materials. That balancing act is for the good of both parties.
“Independent authors are very much a part of that economy and they need to think of themselves in that way. They’re not doing their work for the glory. They need to be able to get some compensation for the hard work that they do.”
For authors, this is important because many are concerned that if they post the first chapter of their novel on a site like Wattpad or on their blogs, they’ve lost control of it and that they’ve lost any future monetary interest in it, and that’s just not true. Whether it’s fixed on a piece of paper or in a digital file, it’s copyrighted. Kenneally was adamant that authors need to be more assertive about their own rights.
One step that Kenneally recommends is for authors to put a copyright symbol on their work, even when posting it online. This is not so much a necessary legal step since the rights are already there, but more of a reminder to readers that this material is owned and that permission can be granted or denied to use that material elsewhere. While copyright registration is no longer required to protect one’s work, Kenneally recommends it. In the past, authors were required to register their work with the Library of Congress, but that is no longer the case. However, it can be an important source of legal protection should a stolen work be fought over in court.
For Kenneally, though, there is one single important consideration that self-published authors must bear in mind, and it protects every aspect of their publication, from an excerpt of their novels sent out as a 140-character tweet, all the way to publishing the full manuscript on a site like Smashwords.
“Just because it’s in the public, does not mean that it’s in the ‘public domain.’ Anyone can get access to globally available information, and the public square has transformed itself from a physical space to a virtual one. Your blog, your pictures, your artwork, your novel, just because it’s now in the public square, does not mean that it’s in the public domain, which is a phrase people use to mean, ‘It’s free, I can do whatever I want with it.’ Finding stuff online does not mean you can take it.”
Filed Under: Digital Publishing News, E-Book News, e-Reader News, Indie Author News
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Obscure Pixels – Nintendo 64 Disc Drive
Grace Hester February 26, 2019
Playstation versus Nintendo was possibly one of the biggest battles of all time. It still is, for some people. But the biggest dividing factor between the Playstation One and the Nintendo 64 was the way they played games. For Sony’s Playstation, it was discs. For the Nintendo 64, it was the tried and true, if becoming quickly outdated, cartridge. Though Nintendo had big plans. They, too, were fascinated by the cutting edge technology and space the humble disc offered. And so, enter the 64DD.
Image: http://n64devkit.square7.ch/kantan/step1/1/1_1.htm
The 64DD, as it was officially known, was Nintendo’s attempt to have the Nintendo 64 offer something more. The 64 was in reference to both the Nintendo 64 and the absolutely amazing 64mb (wow!) storage of the discs themselves. The idea was, a person would go and buy a physical attachment which would combine with their base Nintendo 64 console which would, from there, allow them to play discs, share and download content online and allow expansion content for already existing games.
It was ambitious, to say the least, and it was announced before the Nintendo 64 had even come out. Its release, however, was plagued with delays and complications, with Nintendo insisting they were trying to perfect the device and have a large library available at launch. In the end, the console released in Japan in 1999, towards the end of the consoles lifespan, which already spelled disaster. An American launch was also promised soon after but never came about, other than a prototype which I’ll get to a little later. In the end, it was discontinued in 2001 with only ten games released, despite dozens being in development. Most of which were either cancelled or refined and ported to the Gamecube.
The US Prototype
One incredibly lucky man happened to stumble upon what is speculated to be a retail prototype of an English language 64DD. Jason Lindsey, a former developer for Sierra, began posting about his latest find on a gaming forum. It was a standard package that contained the hardware and, when booted up, it would offer an entirely English language display instead of the standard Japanese kanji. It also came with a mysterious blue diskette, which didn’t launch on the console which was discovered to be a development disk.
Image: https://www.engadget.com/2008/08/28/virtually-overlooked-mario-artist/
There really isn’t a lot of things of note when it comes to the final library of the 64DD. One title that might be immediately noticeable is Doshin the Giant and its expansion pack, which was later ported to Gamecube. SimCity 64 was also released for the 64DD and is pretty darn different to the SimCity 2000 release that the regular 64 saw, with different tilesets, the ability for a player to free roam in their city and 3D graphics which allowed players to become fully immersed in the cities they created. There was also an expansion for F-Zero, the only example of an existing 64 game getting an expansion pack offering new content.
Other than these two, the rest of the releases were all variations on a 64DD franchise called ‘Mario Artist‘. This was the flagship software to really show off what the 64DD could do, a sort of supercharged version of the classic Mario Paint for SNES. There were four titles released:
Mario Artist: Paint Studio allowed players to… Paint! It even came with a mouse, just like the original Mario Paint did. It has all your basic paint tools, various brushes, textures, stock graphics and the ability to import images from VHS tapes and the Game Boy Camera.
Mario Artist: Polygon Studio allows users to create their own 3D polygon based images. So, Mario Paint but this time it’s in 3D. It also contained a few minigames which were very reminiscent of Wario Ware style ‘micro-games’.
Mario Artist: Talent Studio is a tool intended to be used with Polygon Studio in that you can import your 3D image, put your face (or any face imported from the Game Boy Camera or a VHS tape) on it, and then use the tool to create cute little animations. When you think about it, it’s a lot like an initial concept for a Mii.
Mario Artist: Communication Kit is the only game to not have studio in the title so that’s already pretty interesting! It allowed users to connect with the 64DD’s network to share and download content themselves and other users had created using the other Mario Artist titles. Which is pretty amazing when you think it was the year 2000 when these games were released.
Image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk9VtloTxwg
Prototype Games
I could fill an entire separate article just with all the amazing ideas and game prototypes that were intended for release on the 64DD. A few of them were released on other consoles, for example, Resident Evil Zero was later released on Gamecube, and cult classic Seaman was later released on Dreamcast. Other games were retooled into entirely different things, Earthbound 64 was turned into the Gameboy Advance Japan only release of Mother 3, and Twelve Tales: Conker 64 was a delightful cutesie platformer that was retooled into the gritty and crass Conker’s Bad Fur Day and released on cartridge.
Other games, however, were meant to be expansion packs for already existing games. There were a lot more Mario Artist titles planned, even one that would allow players to make their own games, and another that would allow players to make their own music. The most famous of these are two add-ons for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Ura Zelda and Zelda Gaiden.
Ura Zelda eventually became The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest, though Master Quest only changed dungeons around and made things more difficult, Ura Zelda promised new content. This included new enemies and dungeons as well as different graphics and other content that, to this day, fans are trying to uncover, understand and recreate.
Zelda Gaiden, on the other hand, became The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and the world is all the better for it. Though the 64DD version would have offered more content thanks to having more storage space to do so, like having seven days instead of three, more items and masks and possibly even various changes to the story.
Though a lot of the 64DD is pieced together from previews and fan speculation, it’s clear that this is another example of Nintendo doing things a little differently and trying to offer their players a little more, while realizing the cartridge was outdated and the disk was the future.
64DD Legend of Zelda mario N64 Nintendo
Obscure Pixels – Special Guest Characters
Obscure Pixels – Gameboy Oddities
Obscure Pixels – Times Movies and TV Did Games Dirty
Obscure Pixels – LSD: Dream Emulator
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Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, The British Commonwealth, Western and Central Europe, Volume V
Agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Portugal regarding the transfer to Portugal of the airfields at Santa Maria and Lagens
Agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Portugal regarding the transfer to Portugal of the airfields at Santa Maria and Lagens1
1. For previous documentation regarding interest of the United States in acquiring long-term rights to operate military bases in the Azores, see Foreign Relations, 1945, vol. v, pp. 451 ff.
[656] The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Portugal (Crocker)
811.34553B/1–3046: Telegram
[657] The Portuguese Ministry for Foreign Affairs to the American Embassy in Portugal
811.34553B/2–846
[658] The Ambassador in Portugal (Baruch) to the Secretary of State
Lisbon, February 25, 1946—1 p.m.
Lisbon, April 25, 1946—1 p.m.
[Received 10:34 p.m.]
Lisbon, May 5, 1946—3 p.m.
[Received May 6—3:25 a.m.]
811.34553B/5–546: Telegram
[662] The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Portugal (Baruch)
Washington, May 6, 1946—7 p.m.
Lisbon, May 13, 1946—1 p.m.
[Received 3 p.m.]
[Received May 14—2:37 p.m.]
Washington, May 14, 1946—7 p.m.
[Received May 17—7:30 a.m.]
[670] The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Portugal (Baruch)
Washington, May 25, 1946—11 a.m.
[676] War Department Memorandum of Trans-Atlantic Teletype Conference
811.34553B/5–2746
Lisbon, June 5, 1946—6 p.m.
[Received June 5—3:58 p.m.]
Washington, June 6, 1946—7 p.m.
Lisbon, June 22, 1946—9 p.m.
[Received June 23—12:40 a.m.]
811.341553B/6–2246: Telegram
[685] The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in France (Caffery)
Washington, July 6, 1946—6 p.m.
740.00119 Council/7–646: Telegram
The British Commonwealth, Western and Central Europe
List of abbreviations, symbols, and code names
The British Commonwealth of Nations: (Documents 1-80)
Europe: (Documents 81-747)
Portugal: (Documents 656-697)
Agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Portugal regarding the transfer to Portugal of the airfields at Santa Maria and Lagens (Documents 656-697)
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A 24-Hour Queer Porn Theater Is Coming to Los Angeles, But for One Day Only
Written by Daniel Villarreal on September 13, 2018
From midnight on Friday, Sept. 14, to midnight on Saturday, Sept. 15, L.A. residents can enjoy 24 hours worth of vintage gay, lesbian and bisexual porn at Sesión Continua, a 24-hour porn theater project inside the 36-seat Son of Semele theater in historic Filipinotown. The event is the fourth of its kind hosted by Dirty Looks Inc., a queer film, video and performance platform seeking to illuminate queer history for filmmakers, film lovers and porn fans alike.
Bradford Nordeen, the Creative Director and Founder of Dirty Looks Inc. tells Hornet that porn theaters used to be more commonplace in large U.S. cities before the age of home video, “family-friendly” city initiatives and the internet. Early gay pornography before the 1980s was the first form of gay self-representation in film, and (ahem) came before the ’90s wave of gay porn and indie films that made same-sex desire more publicly visible.
“People used to duck into a theater not because of what title was playing, necessarily, but because it was the place to go,” Nordeen says. “Online it becomes more about ‘I want this guy who does that,’ which is more about language than physical interactions.”
He adds, “People didn’t identify as a top or bottom until the 1980s. And that’s kind of unfathomable now as we go around determining every potential trick with a list of qualifiers.”
Some of the films being shown at this year’s Sesión Continua, the 24-hour porn project
For this year’s 24-hour porn theater project, Dirty Looks Inc. worked with the distribution company Vinegar Syndrome to select porn shot in and around Los Angeles, creating a seven-hour loop of the largest collection of 16mm gay hardcore film screened in L.A. since the late 1980s.
“I think we finally accomplished a goal of bringing a pretty wide array of bodies onto the screen this year,” says Nordeen. “Because of it we’ve got blaxploitation, a lesbian love triangle, a smut documentary, a Native American western — that’s not totally cringeworthy — and a lost murder mystery.”
These films differ from the modern-day sex videos available on porn tube sites in that they’re often cinematically shot and experimental.
In choosing this year’s lineup, Nordeen has seen weird horror movies, an anti-Vietnam war porno and a 40-minute film (being screened this year) about an older tailor who makes clothes for gay men but doesn’t allow himself to love. It has an obligatory sex scene in the middle of it — which was probably included just to get funding — but Nordeen calls it “heartbreaking and sweet.”
The poster for this year’s Sesión Continua 24-hour porn theater
Old timey 24-hour porn theaters used to show art films to help pad their round-the-clock screenings, and so does Sesión Continua. Sometimes these films astound viewers, bringing them to applause; other times they just confuse and frustrate people because they’re not porn.
As a result, Nordeen says, Sesión Continua operates as a social space somewhere between a 24-hour porn theater and an art space.
Sometimes people get turned on and start making out or even masturbating during the screenings. But most of all, Nordeen says, “I’m happy providing a platform for people to expand their ideas around the function, purpose and potential for sex and cinema.”
Find more info on Sesión Continua, the 24-hour porn theater coming to L.A., here.
bisexuality gay porn Los Angeles pornography
Pride Guides
Pride Style
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House Democrats lead push to restrict Trump on Iran strikes
AP-US-Congress-Defense
Charles Dharapak, ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-controlled House voted Friday to put a liberalized stamp on Pentagon policy, including a bipartisan proposal to limit President Donald Trump's authority to make war against Iran.
The measure passed along party lines after a series of votes that pushed it further to the left. Among them was a 251-170 tally to require Trump get authorization from Congress to conduct military strikes against Iran, along with a repeal of a 2002 law authorizing the war in Iraq.
More than two dozen Republicans joined with Democrats on the Iran vote. Trump last month came within minutes of launching a missile strike against Iran in retaliation for Iran's downing of a U.S. drone.
The broader measure passed by a 220-197 vote after several other provisions were tacked on by the Democratic Party's progressive wing, which had been upset by leadership's handling of a border bill last month.
"On the floor, the bill has taken a radical left turn," said Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. "There's good and bad in this bill ... but it's moving in a direction that does make America less safe."
The Trump administration has promised to veto the House measure. The Senate passed its own bill last month. Lawmakers will try to reconcile the competing versions in what could be lengthy negotiations given the differences.
The House measure, which cuts Trump's request for the military by $17 billion, is still too rich for some progressives. They also balk at its continued funding of overseas military operations.
But the measure includes Democratic priorities such as a ban on transferring new detainees to the Guantanamo Bay prison and a denial of Trump's request for $88 million to build a new prison at the base. It removes a ban against transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United States that was enacted when Democrats controlled Congress in the early years of the Obama administration.
Republicans are less critical about the measure's overall cost than with its contents, especially in military readiness accounts.
It would ban the deployment of a new submarine-launched low-yield nuclear missile and block the administration from shifting military money to a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
"It's a bill that I think Democrats should be happy with," said the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash. "It's not everything they want but we need to pass it to say, 'This is our position,' to move the ball in the direction we want."
Other provisions are broadly popular, including a 3.1% pay raise for military service members and authorization to procure new weapons systems, and expanded health and child benefits for military families.
Another provision would deliver 12 weeks of paid family leave to all federal workers.
Defense policy
U.S. Democratic Party
Mac Thornberry
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War is not the best way of settling differences; it is the only way of preventing their being settled for you. — G. K. Chesterton
Curriculum CDs
Heritage Home
France and Spain — versus — Britain, Holland, Holy Roman Empire
Austrian Campaign in Italy — 1701-1706 Allied Campaign in Bavaria — 1702-1704
Allied Campaign in the Low Countries — 1706-1712 Allied Campaign in Spain — 1705-1714
Naval Campaign — 1702-1707 War of the Quadruple Alliance — 1718-1720
The war of the Spanish Succession, fought from 1701 to 1714 was the largest scale European War since the Thirty Years War, fought fifty years earlier. While the Thirty Years War, which occurred near the beginning of the reign of Louis the XIV tended to expand French power in Europe at the expense of the Hapsburg Empire, the War of the Spanish Succession, had the opposite effect, curtailing French power, and partially reviving the fortunes of the Austrian Hapsburgs.
THE TAKING OF GIBRALTAR
The issue at stake in the War of the Spanish Succession was one that had been apparent to all of Europe several decades. Charles II was the last in the line of Hapsburg kings of Spain, and it was known from his youth, that he was too sickly and weak to produce an heir. The heir apparent was his cousin, the son of Louis XVI, who was in a position to inherit both the French and Spanish Empires under a single crown. This outcome was unacceptable, not only to the Austrian Hapsburgs, but to virtually all the rest of Europe. Yet the French were already extremely influential in the Spanish court, and could not be dislodged without force. The British and Dutch had been fighting the French for the previous decade in the 'League of Augsburg', and were happy to make an alliance with the Austrian Hapsburgs to resume hostilities.
After eleven years of fighting all over western Europe, the grandson of Louis XIV was not displaced from the Spanish throne, but the cause of the Austrians had not actually been lost. The war had greatly weakened France, and cost her significant alliances and territories. Conceding the Spanish throne to a Bourbon heir, under conditions that the Spanish empire could never be united with that of the French was far more palatable to all concerned, that allowing a Bourbon king to reign in Spain under circumstances where Louis XIV could dictate terms and continue his wars of aggression. The war of the Spanish Succession succeeded in restoring a 'balance of power' to Europe, although not on the conditions originally sought.
The war was fought on several fronts. In the opening years, Austria succeeded in driving France out of Italy, while Britain and Holland fought the French in the low countries. The first critically important battle of the war was at Blenheim in 1704. In that battle, Britain and Austria joined forces to defeat the French in Bavaria. This essentially destroyed the French-Bavarian alliance, which the French were using to push further into German territory. From that time, most of the fighting in the north was in the region of the Rhine Valley, from Belgium to Strasbourg, and France was on the defensive instead of the offensive. There was also a front in Spain and a naval war. Britain dropped out of the war in 1712 and Austria made peace with France a year later.
Austrian Campaign in Italy : 1701-1706
PRINCE EUGENE OF SAVOY IN BATTLE
The most important General of the War of Spanish Succession was Prince Eugene of Savoy. He was born a member of the French aristocracy but left as a young man to serve Austria in its war against the Ottoman Empire. There he distinguished himself and from the beginning of the war of the Spanish Succession, led a series of successful campaigns against France. His first campaign was in Italy, where between 1701 and 1706, he drove France entirely out of Italy, and claimed northern Italy for Austria. He attempted to get a foothold in southern France by attacking the seaport of Toulon in conjunction with the British, but that effort failed.
Battle Summary
1701 Battle of Chiari (Italy ) imperials victory
Fought September 1, 1701, between the Imperialists, about 28,000 strong, under Prince Eugene, and the French and Spaniards under the Duke of Savoy. The Prince occupied the small town of Chiari, where he was attacked by the allies, who, after two hours' hard fighting, were repulsed with a loss of nearly 3,000. Owing to the strength of their position, the Imperialists lost 117 only.
1701 Battle of Carpi (Italy ) imperials victory
Fought July 1701, between the Imperialists under Prince Eugene, and the French army in Lombardy, under Marshal Catinat. The French were signally defeated, and, in consequence, Catinat was recalled from the command.
1702 Siege of Cremona (Italy ) imperials victory
This city, held by a French garrison, was surprised by the Imperialists under Prince Eugene, February 1, 1702, The town was entered without the alarm being given, and many important officers, including Marshal Villeroy, were made prisoners. A portion of the garrison, however, still held out in the citadel, and made Eugene's tenure of the town precarious, and finally, on the approach of a relieving force under the Prince de Vaudemont, he was forced to withdraw his troops. The garrison lost 1,000 killed.
1702 Battle of Santa Vittoria (Italy ) French victory
Fought July 26, 1702, when 4 regiments of Prince Eugene's army, under General Visconti, were attacked by 15,000 French and Spaniards, under the Duc de Vendome. The Imperialists were forced to abandon their camp and retire with the loss of their baggage, but lost only 500 men, while their qualified success cost the allies nearly 2,000 killed and wounded.
1702 Battle of Luzzara (Italy ) imperials victory
Fought August 15, 1702, between the French, 35,000 strong, under the Duc d'Anjou, and 25,000 Imperialists, under Prince Eugene. The Prince attacked the French in their entrenchments in front of Luzzara, and after a stubborn resistance, drove them out with a loss of about 4,000 men. The Imperialists lost 27,000 killed and wounded.
1705 Battle of Cassano (Italy ) imperials victory
Fought August 16, 1705, between the French under the Duc de Vendome, with 35 battalions and 45 squadrons, and the Imperialists under Prince Eugene. The Prince, with greatly inferior numbers, attacked the French in a strong position, which he succeeded in carrying as the night fell. The Imperialists lost about 4,000; the French about 5,000.
1706 Siege of Turin (Italy ) imperials victory
This place, held by an Imperialist garrison, 10,000 strong, under the Duke of Savoy, was besieged by a French army of 68 battalions and 80 squadrons, with artillery and engineers, under the Duc de la Feuillade, May 26, 1706. On June 17 the Duke of Savoy left the city to orgainse a relief force, Count Daun taking the command. The garrison held out stoutly till September 7, when the approach of a large relieving force under Prince Eugene compelled the French to raise the siege. About 5,000 of the garrison perished either in action or by disease. In the action which preceded the retirement of the French, the Imperialists lost 1,500,the French 2,000 killed and wounded and 6,000 prisoners.
1706 Battle of Castiglione (Naval ) French victory
Fought September 8, 1706, between the Imperialists under the Prince of Hesse, and the French under General de Medavi. The Prince was besieging Castiglione, when he was attacked by the French, and totally defeated, with a loss of 8,000 killed, wounded, and missing.
1707 Siege of Toulon (Quadruple Alliance ) drawn battle victory
An attack was made upon the fortress by a combined Dutch and British fleet, under Sir Cloudesley Shovel, July 17, 1707. The allies failed to gain a footing in the town, but 8 French ships lying in the harbour and 130 houses were destroyed by fire.
Eugene of Savoy One of the Greatest generals of the Hapsburg Empire. Led Austria during the War of Spanish Succession.
Duke of Savoy Duke of Sardinia who sided in the War of the Spanish Succession, first with France, then with Austria.
Marshall Villeroy French Marshall during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Allied Campaign in Bavaria : 1702-1704
BATTLE OF BLENHEIM
The electorate of Bavaria was an important ally of France. One of the first goals of the imperial alliance was to prevent France and Bavaria from joining forces and marching on Vienna. To this end, they sent an army into Bavaria. In 1704 the Duke of Marlborough, who had been campaigning in Belgium, and Prince Eugene, who had been campaigning in Italy joined forces and at Blenheim, and delivered the French and Bavarians a crushing defeat. As a result, Bavaria dropped out of the war.
1702 Siege of Landau (Bavaria ) imperials victory
This fortress, held by a French garrison under M. de Melac, was besieged by the Imperialists, under Prince Louis of Baden, June 19, 1702. The garrison made a gallant defense, but was forced to surrender, September 10. The Comte de Soissons, elder brother of Prince Eugene, fell during the siege.
1703 Battle of Speyer (Bavaria ) French victory
Fought November 15, 1703, between the French, under Marshal Tallard, and the Imperialists, under the Prince of Hesse, each side being about 20,000 strong. After a severe engagement, the Imperialists were overpowered by the French cavalry, and totally defeated with a loss of 6,000 killed, wounded and missing. Among the prisoners was the Prince of Hesse.
1704 Battle of Donauworth (Bavaria ) Allies victory
Fought July 2, 1704, between the British and Imperialists under the Duke of Marlborough, and the French and Bavarians under Marshal Tallard. The Duke attacked the enemy's entrenched position at Schellenberg, in front of Donauworth, and drove them out, forcing them to abandon the town. The victors lost 5,374 killed and wounded. The French losses are unknown, but were probably heavier.
1704 Battle of Blenheim (France ) Allies victory
Fought August 13, 1704, between the British and Imperialists under Marlborough and Prince Eugene, and the French and Bavarians under Marshals Tallard and Marsin, and the Elector of Bavaria. The French numbered 60,000, the allies 52,000. Tallard had massed his best troops in the village of Blenheim, and Marlborough, seeing the weakness of his centre, hurled his cavalry against it, and cut the French line in two. Prince Eugene meanwhile had withstood the attack of Marsin and the Elector, and, after Marlborough's charge, he assumed the offensive, and the French right and centre were totally routed. The French lost 40,000, including 1,600 prisoners, amongst whom was Marshal Tallard. The allies lost about 11,000.
Marshall Tallard French General, captured at the Battle of Blenheim.
Duke of Marlborough Most renowned general of his age. Prevailed against the French at the Battle of Blenheim.
Story Links
Blenheim and After in Stories from English History, Part Third by Alfred J. Church
Queen Anne, the Last of the Stuarts in The Story of England by Samuel B. Harding
Greatest General of His Age in The Awakening of Europe by M. B. Synge
Battle of Blenheim in The Awakening of Europe by M. B. Synge
Queen Anne and Marlborough in The Tudors and the Stuarts by M. B. Synge
Prince Eugene by George Upton
Allied Campaign in the Low Countries : 1706-1712
THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH AS A YOUNG ENSIGN
Following his great victory for the allies at Blenheim, Marlborough returned to the low countries and continued his attempt to drive the French out of Belgium. He succeeded in this effort and followed up his victory at Ramillies with a devastating rout of the French at Ourdenarde. France had now lost most of its territories in Germany and the low countries as well as Italy. Marlborough and Prince Eugene tried to press their victories at Malplaquet, which turned out to be the bloodiest battle of the war. The allies were victorious, but suffered such horrendous losses that the campaign to push further into France was abandoned.
1706 Battle of Ramillies (rhine-belgium ) Allies victory
Fought May 23, 1706, between the British and Imperialists, under Marlborough and Prince Eugene, about 80,000 strong, and the French, in equal force, under Marshal Villeroy. The allies drove the French out of Ramillies, their resistance on the whole being unworthy of them, and in the end they were disastrously defeated with heavy loss, 5,000 being killed and wounded, while 6,000 prisoners and 50 guns were taken. The allies lost less than 3,000.
1707 Battle of Stolhoffen (Spain ) French victory
Fought May 22, 1707, when Marshal Villars, with 45 French battalions, stormed and captured the lines of Stolhoffen, which were held by the Imperialists, under the Marquis of Baireuth. The French took 50 guns.
1707 Siege of Bethune (rhine-france ) imperials victory
This small fortress, held by a French garrison of 3,500 under M. du Puy Vauban, was invested July 14, 1707, by the Imperialists, with 30 battalions under Count Schulemburg. Vauban made a most skilful and gallant defense, lasting 35 days, when, the garrison being reduced to 1,500 men, he was compelled to surrender. This little place cost the allies 3,500 in killed and wounded.
1708 Battle of Oudenarde (rhine-belgium ) Allies victory
Fought July 11, 1708, between 80,000 British and Imperialists, under Marlborough and Prince Eugene, and 100,000 French, under the Duke of Burgundy and Marshal Vendome. The French, who were besieging Oudenarde, raised the siege on the advance of the allies, and marched to meet them, but were totally defeated with a loss of 3,000 killed, 7,000 prisoners, and 10 guns. The allies lost 2,000.
1708 Siege of Lille (rhine-france ) imperials victory
This city was besieged August 12, 1708, by the Imperialists, under Prince Eugene, and was defended by a French garrison, under M. de Bouflers, which after repulsing several determined assaults, surrendered October 25. The besiegers lost in the course of the siege 3,632. The French lost about 7,000.
1708 Battle of Wynandael (rhine-belgium ) British victory
Fought September 28, 1708, between the British, under General Webb, and the French under the Comte de la Motte. The French, with 40 battalions and 40 squadrons, attempted to intercept a convoy of supplies for the army besieging Lille, and were totally defeated, by a far inferior force, with a loss of 7,000 men.
1709 Siege of Tournay (rhine-france ) British victory
The town was besieged by the British, under the Duke of Marlborough, July 8, 1709, and was defended by a French garrison under M. de Surville. After 56 days of open trenches, the garrison surrendered, having suffered a loss of 3,000 men.
1709 Battle of Rumersheim (rhine-strasborg ) French victory
Fought August 26, 1709, between the French, under Marshal Villiers, and the Imperialists, under Count Mercy. Mercy was defeated and driven out of Alsace.
1709 Battle of Malplaquet (rhine-france ) Allies victory
Fought September 11, 1709, between the British and Imperialists, under Marlborough and Prince Eugene, and the French, under Marshal Villars. Villars offered battle with the object of relieving Mons, which the allies were besieging, but while they were waiting for reinforcement from Tournay, he was enabled to entrench himself strongly on the ground he had chosen. After desperate fighting, however, the French position was carried from end to end, and they were driven out with a loss of 17,000 killed and wounded. The allies lost, according to most accounts, about 8,000, though some contemporaries assert that their losses were even heavier than those of the French.
1710 Siege of Douai (rhine-germany ) Allies victory
This place was besieged by the allies under Prince Eugene, April 25, 1710, and was defended by a French garrison, 8,000 strong, under General d'Albergottf. The place was obstinately defended, numerous sorties being made, but, the French army being unable to relieve it, d'Albergotti was forced to surrender June 26. The besiegers lost 8,000 killed and wounded.
1712 Battle of Denain (Italy ) French victory
Fought 1712, when the camp of the allies, held by 10 battalions under the Earl of Albemarle, was attacked by 130 French battalions under Marshal Villiers. Prince Eugene made an effort to relieve the Earl, but was unable to cross the Scheldt, and the allies were overwhelmed by superior numbers, only about 4,000 making good their retreat. Five generals were killed or captured.
Allied Campaign in Spain : 1705-1714
THE CITY OF SARAGOSSA
Early in the war, the Austrian forces, under Archduke Charles gained control of Barcelona. They held the city and most of Catalan for the duration of the war. In 1710, a new offensive was launched in Spain to try to forcibly place the Archduke Charles on the throne, but it was ultimately stymied. At this point, the British dropped out of the war, and even the Austrians declined to renew their effort to gain the throne. They continued to hold onto Barcelona until they were finally driven out by the French-Spanish, in 1714.
1705 Siege of Barcelona (Spain ) British victory
This city, which was held for Philip V of Spain by a Spanish garrison, was besieged September 14, 1705, by the British under the Earl of Peterborough. After a short bombardment, the place surrendered, October 9.
1706 Battle of Alcantara (Spain ) British victory
Fought 1706, when a force of British and Portuguese under Lord Galway attacked and drove out of Alcantara the garrison, consisting of a portion of Marshal Berwick's army. Ten French battalions laid down their arms, and 60 guns were captured.
1707 Battle of Almanza (Spain ) French victory
Fought April 25, 1707, between the French under Marshal Berwick, and the British and Portuguese under Lord Galway and the Marques das Minas. Galway, though inferior in cavalry, attacked at first with success, but the Portuguese on the right broke and fled, and the British centre, attacked in front and flank simultaneously, was routed and forced to surrender. As a consequence of this defeat, the whole of Spain was lost to Charles with the exception of Catalonia.
1710 Battle of Almenara (Spain ) British victory
Fought July to, 1710, when the British contingent of the Archduke Charles' army, under General Stanhope, attacked and defeated the Spaniards under Philip V, after severe fighting. So complete was the rout that Philip's army was only saved by the fall of night from complete destruction.
1710 Battle of Saragossa (Spain ) Allies victory
Fought August 20, 1710, between 25,000 Spaniards, and a force of Austrians, British, Dutch and Portuguese troops, 23,000 in number, under the Archduke Charles. The Portuguese in the right wing gave way, leading a large force of Spaniards in pursuit, but the left and centre stood their ground, and finally repulsed the enemy, with a loss of 4,000 prisoners, besides killed and wounded. The Archduke at once took possession of Saragossa.
1710 Battle of Brihuega (Spain ) French victory
Fought 1710 between the British under Stanhope, and the French under the Duc de Vendome. Stanhope, who was retreating from Madrid to Catalonia, was surprised and surrounded, and, though he made a gallant stand, fighting till all his powder was spent, and then leading a bayonet charge, his force was at last reduced to 500 men, when he surrendered.
1710 Battle of Villa Viciosa (Spain ) British victory
Fought December 10, 1710, when 13,000 Imperialists, under Staremberg, retreating into Catalonia, after the defeat of Stanhope at Brihnega, were attacked by 20,000 French, under Philip of Anjou and Marshal Vendome. Staremberg's left wing was cut to pieces, but his right and centre more than held their own, driving back the French with considerable loss, and capturing some guns. Staremberg was, however, too weak to take advantage of this partial success, and continued his retreat after the action.
1714 Battle of Barcelona (Arcadian War ) Spanish victory
French-Spanish forces surrounded the city in July 1713, but were not strong enough to take the city until they received reinforcements of 20,000 men. The assault resumed under the Duke of Berwick, and the city was taken on August 30, 1714.
Archduke Charles Austrian candidate for the Spanish throne, during the War of the Spanish Succession.
James Stanhope British statesman and general during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Duke of Berwick Illegitamate son of James II, and a General in the French Army.
Naval Campaign : 1702-1707
A SORTIE MADE BY THE GARRISON OF GIBRALTAR
There were several important Naval battles fought during the war, the most famous of course, being the taking of Gibraltar by the British. The British were, as usual, dominant on the sea, and in addition to Gibraltar, won a terrific battle at Vigo Bay in which the sunk or captured the entire Spanish treasure fleet.
1702 Battle of Vigo Bay (Naval ) British victory
Fought October 12, 1702, when the combined fleet of 30 British and 20 Dutch ships, under Sir George Rooke, forced the boom at the entrance to Vigo Harbour and destroyed the French and Spanish fleet anchored therein. Of the men-of-war, If were burnt and 10 captured, while 11 Spanish galleons, with treasure, were taken. This action is generally called the affair of the Spanish Galleons.
1704 Siege of Gibraltar (Naval ) British victory
This fortress was captured, July 24, 1704, by a combined British and Dutch fleet, under Sir George Rooke, from the Spaniards under the Marquis de Salinas. The resistance of the garrison lasted 2 days only, during which the allies lost 12 officers and 276 men killed and wounded.
1704 Battle of Malaga (Naval ) British victory
Fought August 13, 1704, between the combined British and Dutch fleets, consisting of 45 sail of the line, under Sir George Rooke, and the French fleet of 53 line-of-battleships, under the Comte de Thoulouse. The French admiral was endeavoring to effect a junction with the Spanish fleet, which was engaged in the siege of Gibraltar, and was brought to action by Sir George Rooke off Malaga. The fighting was severe, and though no ships were lost on either side, the British gained an important strategic victory as the junction of the two hostile fleets was prevented. The British lost 6 officers and 687 men killed, and 18 officers and 1,645 men wounded. The French lost 191 officers and 3,048 men killed and wounded.
1706 Battle of Alicante (Naval ) British victory
On June 29, 1706, Alicante was taken by a British squadron of 5 ships under Sir George Byng. The fleet attacked the city walls, while the suburbs were occupied by a landing party of marines under Sir John Jennings. The place was captured with a loss to the British of only 30 killed and 80 wounded.
Sir Georege Rooke English Naval commander during the War of the Spanish Succession. Governor of Gibraltar.
Spanish Bourbons in The Romance of Spanish History by John S.C. Abbott
Gate of the Mediterranean in Stories from English History, Part Third by Alfred J. Church
Rock of Gibralter in Historical Tales: Spanish by Charles Morris
War of the Quadruple Alliance : 1718-1720
A few years after the close of hostilities in the War of the Spanish Succession, a new conflict arose over the Spanish Empire's claim to Sicily. France, along with Britain, Holland, and the Holy Roman Empire joined forces and insisted that Spain withdraw from Sicily and Sardinia. Spain relented after losing several battles.
1718 Battle of Cape Passaro (rhine-belgium ) British victory
Fought July 31, 1718, between a British fleet of 21 ships under Sir George Byng, and a Spanish fleet of 29 ships under Don Antonio Castafleta. Admiral Byng attacked the Spaniards in the Straits of Messina, and, after a very severe action, in which both sides lost heavily, captured or destroyed no less than 15 of the Spanish ships. Castaneta died of wounds received in the action. This battle is also known as the Battle of Messina.
Image Links
The Taking of Gibralter
in Stories from English History, Part Third
Battle Blenheim
in Famous Men of Modern Times
Destruction of the Spanish fleet in the Mediterranean, 1719
in Story of the Greatest Nations: Spain
The English bombardment of Gibralter
Prince Eugene before the battle of Malplaquet.
in Prince Eugene, the Noble Knight
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Home › Uncategorized
Soul Of The Black Panther: The 10 Best Moments From Captain America: Civil War
Written By Omar Mazariego
Well, it’s official: the Marvel Cinematic Cartel has a stranglehold on the game, and they’re not going to let go. This past Friday (May 6) Captain America: Civil War was unleashed on the masses and audiences were leaving theaters on such a high that the film could eventually find itself on the federal controlled substance list.
Not only did the movie live up to the hype but also surpassed expectations and set the stage for a fanboy’s dream Phase 3 that’s set to feature Spider-Man and Black Panther.
So what made the film so potent? Aside from the great writing and superb casting, it was a movie of filled with heart, humor, and action. That said we decided to jot down the 10 best moments of Captain America: Civil War for your reading pleasure.
Warning: lots of spoilers.
Photo: Marvel
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Gestation: “View House” by Johnston Marklee
Do you recall the first building that made you realized – in a very particular way – that architecture wasn’t just about ‘the project in abstract, in drawings, but something physical and tangible’ as Jonathan Sergison once said?
The Hill House was perhaps our first project during which we were confronted with the concept of weight in both the physical and psychological terms of the word. Building on a steep slope with little flat area for staging, the construction process was equivalent to walking on a tightrope. The sense of a dynamic equilibrium – one that is in a precarious state of stasis that threatens to topple at any moment – was carried from the abstract stages of the design to the construction. Louis Kahn distinguished the difference between the tempo of construction and the tempo of the finished building in his famous aphorism – ‘a work is made in the urging sounds of industry, and, when the dust settles, the pyramid, echoing Silence, gives the sun its shadow.’ For us, the tension embodied within the construction process of the Hill House was manifest in its final form.
Normally are your expectations towards a building exceeded? And if so in which phase of its development does that normally happen?
The physicality of every project consistently supersedes the concepts and the promises leading to each of them. The chrysalis moment typically happens right after the completion of construction and before occupation, at the purgatory state between the consecration of the artifact just before life rushes in. Right after the completion of the View House for instance, there existed a moment where there was a stark contrast between the roughness of the exterior concrete surfaces and the abstraction of the white and empty interior. It is a surreal moment where the coexistence of weight and weightlessness oscillates, reciprocally affirming and denying one another. This state became less astringent when furniture occupied the interior. It is also a fleeting moment, as in Alvaro Siza’s assertion that ‘every design is a rigorous attempt at capturing a concrete moment of a transitory image in all its nuances.’
With time, is it easier to predict how the building will be or is it always a surprise?
The level of surprise decreases with accrued experience, the way a chronic drug addict develops immunity. But while the degree of surprise diminishes with professional age, one is never jaded as there is always of an element of unknown that is not unveiled until the building is finished. And when that moment of cognition arrives, whether its arrival is delayed or subdued; it is euphoric, like a drug.
In your opinion what is the importance of this kind of record?
The life of a building consists of many different tempos – a tempo of its conception, a tempo of its construction, a tempo of its use and its weather. While the tempos of conception and construction occupy a relatively short period in the life span of a building, their impact on the future of the building is immeasurable. If one could view the history of architecture as a history of styles, history of types, history of uses, or a history of ideas, one could equally imagine and benefit from an alternative architectural history of the decisions and nuances that stem from a building’s construction: a history that would capture the omnipresence of instrumentality in architecture.
Gestation: “Royal Collections Museum” by Mansilla+Tuñón
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House of Lords Hansard
Lords Chamber
National Policy Statement for Water Resources Infrastructure 2018
Motion to Take Note
Moved by
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
That this House takes note of the draft National Policy Statement for Water Resources Infrastructure 2018.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Gardiner of Kimble) (Con)
My Lords, plentiful water is vital for securing reliable drinking water supplies, for growing food, for energy production and other industry, and to sustain biodiversity. Securing a sufficient supply of water in the future will be more challenging as pressure from a growing population and climate change impact on us. We will also have to reduce current levels of abstraction from some sources to protect the environment.
The National Policy Statement for Water Resources Infrastructure forms part of a wider framework that the Government have established to deliver two of the goals of the 25-year environment plan: clean and plentiful water and reducing the risk from natural hazards such as drought. The purpose of the national policy statement is to summarise government policy on nationally significant water resource infrastructure in England, including setting out the need for that infrastructure.
The national policy statement draws on a number of reports looking ahead to 2050 to quantify the expected deficit in terms of water available for supply. The most recent was published last year by the National Infrastructure Commission, which was established to provide independent expert advice to government on the nation’s future infrastructure needs. It suggests that immediate action is needed to close a gap of 3.3 billion litres per day to maintain current levels of resilience. This compares to the 15 billion litres per day currently put into the public supply. We need to tackle this challenge on two fronts, reducing demand and increasing supply through a twin-track approach.
In the decade or so after privatisation, the water industry took action to reduce leaks, and levels today are down by one-third compared to 1994. However, in recent years progress has stalled and still around one-fifth of the supply is lost—around 3 billion litres per day. The National Infrastructure Commission calculates that some 1.4 billion litres per day could be saved by halving leaks by 2050. Furthermore, the Secretary of State has made it clear that a step change to reduce leaks is needed and that the industry should deliver the commission’s recommendation. For the next round of business plans, the industry has committed to an average 16% reduction by 2025; a good first step towards the 2050 target. This long-term goal is stretching, but we must be ambitious, given the challenge that we face.
We must also act to reduce our demand for water. More efficient appliances can help, but it is also about how we behave and how we value water. The water companies can help by supporting their customers to reduce the amount they use each day and they have committed to do this in their draft business plans. Levels of consumption have reduced from around 150 litres per person per day in 1999 to around 140 litres per person per day now. Actions such as revising building standards in 2015 to allow local authorities to set a higher efficiency target of 110 litres per person per day compared to the normal 125 litres per person per day for new developments, will help progress. We estimate that this standard has been adopted by around 25% of local authorities. It means that people living in new developments meeting this standard use around 30 litres per day less than those living in existing housing stock. However, I am sure we all agree that more needs to be done.
In the coming weeks we plan to launch a call for evidence on setting an ambitious target for per capita consumption. This will establish a target against which we can measure the progress of the Government and the water industry. Alongside the call for evidence, we will consult on the policy options required to reach our consumption target, such as labels providing information on the efficiency of water-using products, improving building standards and the future role of metering. We know that metering can be an important part of changing behaviour. Customers with a meter use on average 33 litres less each day than those without. The level of metering varies between companies but now stands at around 50% nationally. Action set out in draft water resource management plans would increase this to 83% by 2045. So there is much more we can do to reduce demand.
However, even with considerable ambition, fixing leaks and reducing the amount each of us consumes, there is more we must do. The gap remaining by 2050 after action to reduce demand will be around 1 billion litres per day. We also therefore need to focus on providing additional supplies. This means new or upgraded infrastructure that might transfer water across a company’s area or between companies. It might mean a new reservoir, or it could come from other solutions such as desalination or the treatment and reuse of sewage effluent. Each of these options has pros and cons. There are choices to be made as to the best balance of different infrastructure types.
Lord Adonis (Lab)
I thank the Minister for giving way. This issue of new reservoirs is absolutely central to the debate about new infrastructure for water. The Minister said that there might be a need for new reservoirs, but paragraph 2.6.7 of the Draft National Policy Statement says:
“New reservoirs are likely to play an important role in securing resilient supplies”.
That comes before the passage on water transfers, and raises the very big issue in water infrastructure of whether we have a national system of water transfer to enable water to be distributed from the north, where there is a surplus, to the south, where there is a shortage. It does not say whether the Government’s intention is to place a higher priority on new infrastructure for water transfers than on reservoirs. What the Minister has just said about how there “might” be reservoirs rather than this being “likely” will, if he does not mind my saying so, create further uncertainty in the wider public. Is it “might” or “likely”? What is the hierarchy in the Government’s planning between new reservoirs and new infrastructure for water transfer?
I think that the noble Lord is speaking in the gap, but perhaps I could address those points now. In that passage of the speech, I was taking your Lordships through what may be the range. It may be that I will have to address the crispness of language, but I assure the noble Lord and your Lordships that I will turn in a substantial part of my remarks to the need for further reservoirs. That passage was to say that there will be a range; we will have to assess what its elements will be as we gain more water, as I hope the noble Lord will understand, given his experience on these infrastructural issues. I can fairly confidently say that the next passages of my speech will talk about the fact that, yes, we will need new reservoirs. I hope that that is helpful.
The assessment of options and the choice of the best solutions are made as part of the statutory water resource management planning process. Every five years, the water industry looks ahead at least 25 years into the future to work out how much water will be needed to maintain supplies to customers. Water companies then evaluate all the options, including testing them with customers through consultation, before deciding on the best combination to deliver what is needed. These plans are then assessed by the Environment Agency before publication is approved by the Secretary of State. The most recent round of the process is coming to a conclusion and, despite more ambitious action to reduce demand, it is clear that in the coming decade more infrastructure will need to be built. In total, the infrastructure need in current draft plans broadly meets the deficit of 1 billion litres identified by the National Infrastructure Commission.
The Government, regulators and industry continue to improve the water resource management planning process and are strengthening the national and regional dimension through the Environment Agency’s national framework and the regional group of water companies. Ofwat’s recently established regulatory alliance for progressing infrastructure development will further supplement co-ordination between companies and the identification of appropriate projects.
Some infrastructure schemes will be large enough to qualify as nationally significant and will need to be considered using the national policy statement. The national policy statement itself identifies the national need for schemes of this nature, so it does not need to be demonstrated again through the planning process. This is where one of the main benefits of the Planning Act 2008 regime comes into play, streamlining the planning process for nationally significant infrastructure projects and ensuring timely delivery of schemes that will be vital for securing water supplies.
The national policy statement will apply to certain types of infrastructure that meets criteria set out in the Planning Act 2008. Some of your Lordships may recall that an order amending the Act was debated and agreed in November last year. The national policy statement will apply to infrastructure to facilitate water transfers, desalination plants and reservoirs with a deployable output of 80 million litres per day. Additionally, reservoirs with a physical volume of 30 million cubic metres would be included.
The Government have consulted on the development of this Draft National Policy Statement—a process that was described as exemplary by some of the witnesses who appeared before the EFRA Select Committee. We consulted on our initial approach in November 2017 and on more detailed proposals around the size and type of infrastructure that should be covered in April 2018. In November 2018 we launched a consultation on the Draft National Policy Statement as we laid the document in Parliament. Those responding to the consultation included: water companies; environmental groups, such as Blueprint for Water; local authorities; and organisations that provide advice on planning and infrastructure projects. There was broad support for the need for the statement and its relationship with water resource management plans. We will take into account the responses from consultation and any recommendations that emerge from parliamentary scrutiny when we produce the final national policy statement by the autumn. We will explain how we have done this in the formal government statement of response.
As required by the Planning Act 2008, an appraisal of sustainability has been carried out on the national policy statement alongside a habitat regulations assessment. This significant piece of work formed part of the first consultation in November 2017, incorporating feedback, including that from statutory consultees such as Natural England and the Environment Agency. The national policy statement has incorporated and will continue to be informed by recommendations from the appraisal. The final appraisal is published alongside the final national policy statement.
Having set out the need for infrastructure and the relationship with water resource management plans, the national policy statement sets out assessment principles to guide the examination of applications and more detailed guidance on the construction and operational impacts of the infrastructure types meeting the criteria of the Planning Act 2008. When deciding whether to make an order granting development consent to nationally significant water resources infrastructure projects, the Secretary of State must have regard to the national policy statement. The planning issues set out in the national policy statement that need to be considered in relation to nationally significant infrastructure align with those in the—
Lord Lansley (Con)
I apologise for interrupting my noble friend’s flow. I declare an interest as chair of the Cambridgeshire Development Forum. As my noble friend will know, Cambridgeshire is the driest place in the country, but none the less it has probably the fastest rate of housing growth. I want to ask a question before he moves to the nationally significant infrastructure projects. It seems that the national policy statement, in talking about shaping water resource management plans, was not quite specific enough about taking account of spatial strategies in so far as these are produced by combined authorities, in our case, or local planning authorities. There continues to be an issue about ensuring that the necessary investment is in place to supply water to development projects and not to lead to any delay, as we want to build houses and build out, and doing so is one of the Government’s objectives. That can be because the investment ahead of need criterion sometimes applies, as interpreted by the regulator. Can my noble friend perhaps look at this so that, through the water resource management plans and Water Resources East, for example, we can ensure that not just the nationally significant infrastructure projects but some of the more regional and local projects are incorporated into the water companies’ investment plans, and the regulator enables them to support some of that investment, which they currently tend to treat as speculative?
My noble friend has engaged in something that clearly is part of the reason why we need to be thinking about a range of things. The noble Lord, Lord Adonis, in quizzing my perhaps imprecise language, pointed to the need for a balance of work that will need to be done. I live in Suffolk—Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and many parts of the east are dry and will have increases in population. Part of the responsibility, working collaboratively across the piece, is to ensure that in building these houses we ensure resilience of water supply. This is precisely why a lot of work is going into this. A lot of work needs to be done in increasing supply and reducing demand.
My noble friend raises an issue that is an enormous part of the challenge. We need to supply more houses in some of the driest parts of the country. That is why I deliberately stressed in setting out the challenges that we may need to use a range of options to deal with the elements in different parts of the country. I do not want to go into desalination, because I probably do not know enough about it. However, one can imagine that there may eventually be parts of the country where this is a viable or commercial option. For the future, with a growing population—we know that there could be another 4 million in England by the end of the decade—we will need to find more water and reduce demand. My noble friend raises an absolutely acute point, certainly in relation to Cambridgeshire.
I want to emphasise a point that came up in our debate last November. When decisions are made at the national level, the Planning Act 2008 and regulations made under it set out the consultation requirements for development consent order applications, which include extensive pre-application consultation and engagement with those affected by the proposals. Furthermore, members of the public can participate in the examination process by registering their interest, thus ensuring that local views can be heard. I think that we would all agree with that.
The national policy statement is an essential piece of work to ensure that our nation has sufficient water supply and that we use it wisely. It forms part of a wider framework, which will deliver on our goals in the 25-year environment plan. Our current estimate is that up to three nationally significant projects—all reservoirs—are likely to come forward in the next five to 10 years to provide sufficient infrastructure. Looking to 2050 and beyond, more are likely to be required.
I look forward to hearing from noble Lords on these essential matters. I can assure your Lordships that the Government and their agencies are working on this matter with rigour. A number of questions may be posed and I will endeavour to answer as many as I can. However, the Government and I are most interested in assessing your Lordships’ further commentary on this matter so that we can use parliamentary scrutiny to the best benefit. I beg to move.
Lord Wigley (PC)
My Lords, I am delighted to follow the Minister. I listened to his comments with great interest and thank him for the inclusive way in which he presented this document and his arguments to the House. I accept, in general, the logic of his presentation, although it triggers some worrying questions, to which I will return in a moment.
I recognise that the statement applies primarily to England. I am glad to participate, because it has a huge significance to Wales. The whole subject of water resources has been said to be a burning issue in Wales from time to time—it certainly has been a difficult one. The question of the framework within which policy is developed and executed in relation to the transfer of water from Wales to English conurbations certainly comes into the ambit of what we are discussing today.
I hardly need to remind noble Lords of the background to this: our bitter experiences of the previous century, encapsulated in the Tryweryn Valley saga. Briefly, that entailed Liverpool Corporation, after failing to secure either of two sites in north-west England, identifying the Tryweryn Valley near Bala in Gwynedd as a suitable location for its purposes. In Westminster, legislation was driven through against the combined opposition of all but one of Wales’s 36 MPs to flood the village of Capel Celyn and purloin the farms there to create a reservoir. The purpose of that project was to supply and sell industrial water on Merseyside. Liverpool Corporation ran the whole project to make money for itself and refused to pay a reasonable extraction charge for water it secured from the Tryweryn reservoir. This was a massive political hot potato. That experience colours all our considerations in Wales of issues relating to the supply of water to English conurbations.
I say this by way of context to the debate. As the Minister referred to in his opening comments, it was widely reported earlier this year that demand for water, particularly for south-east England, is likely to increase massively over the next two decades. Clearly, where possible, it makes good sense to reduce leakages, to encourage self-limitation on water use, to develop techniques such as desalination, to recycle where appropriate and to mitigate any negative implications of climate change.
The document before us recognises that planning consent for water resources infrastructure projects in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Government. Paragraph 1.2.3 on page 3 states that consideration must be given to,
“the potential socio-economic and environmental impacts of nationally significant infrastructure related to water resources infrastructure in Wales and Scotland, given their borders with England”.
I would be grateful if the Minister could spell out what exactly is meant by that in practice. Paragraph 2.2.6 highlights the impact of population growth, such as the estimation that,
“the population of England will grow by … 9.6 million by 2040”.
To some extent, that may occur largely in south-east England. It will exacerbate the water deficiency that already exists there. We know from publications over three decades that much thought has been, and is being, given to water transfer schemes, such as creating linkages to supply water from the River Severn to the Thames Valley. Clearly, that has implications for water storage and its release into Welsh rivers.
In this content, paragraph 4.1.3 emphasises the need to work with the devolved Administrations, on which I want to focus my concluding remarks. Given the politically explosive nature of these matters in Wales, good sense dictates that there should be some form of standing dialogue structures between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the one hand and the appropriate people from the Welsh Government on the other. This should be operational at both a political and technical level. Of course, the technical level should include environmental and biodiversity dimensions as well as planning and resource considerations.
Any new proposals with cross-border implications should be highlighted at the earliest possible opportunity and discussion triggered through the procedures I just mentioned. The concept of exploratory consent in principle should be developed, and it should be accepted that no proposal can be taken forward unless there is formal agreement in principle on both sides. Does the national strategy project’s approach, which the Minister mentioned earlier, potentially involve projects in Wales? If so, does it overrule the planning powers given to the National Assembly? If so, that could trigger a strong reaction and create the sort of problems we need so much to avoid.
I recognise that the document refers, where appropriate, to the need for consultation where cross-border issues arise. What I am calling for goes way beyond consultation. There is a need for a mutuality of approach, and for a solution not to be imposed cross-border unless there is a genuine acceptance on cross-border issues. Incidentally, that approach should be taken on matters such as dredging and marine management too, not just water abstraction.
Finally, in terms of the use of water abstracted or provided via reservoirs in Wales, there should be reasonable payments made. If Liverpool Corporation was entitled to create an income stream from water obtained from Wales, surely we in Wales should be entitled to some financial benefit. If projects that are needed to meet water shortages in some parts of England require water from Wales, there are two ways of going about it. First, there is the unfortunate approach of Liverpool Corporation in the 1950s. The alternative is to recognise that any cross-border project must have quantifiable benefits for Wales as well as England. If that approach is taken, there is no reason why, in future, we should not be able to have a harmonious relationship on these matters, unlike our experience in the Tryweryn Valley saga.
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)
My Lords, I welcome this debate and am delighted to follow the noble Lord, Lord Wigley. I declare my interests on the register. I co-chair the All-Party Parliamentary Water Group with the honourable Member Angela Smith in the other place. I also do some excellent work with the water regulator for Scotland—the Water Industry Commission for Scotland—and, through that, with WAREG. I am vice-president of the Association of Drainage Authorities and I am the recently appointed president of the NEA.
I am extremely proud of the work I have done with the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, through which we managed to achieve a contract for technical assistance with the Romanian equivalent regulator, under the auspices of the EU. Through WICS, I have worked with WAREG—the European association of water regulators—and have seen first-hand the importance of sharing best practice both between member states and between existing member states and applicant countries to the European Union.
I congratulate the Minister and the Government on producing this draft national policy statement and, in particular, on the collaborative way that they have worked with the water sector in producing it. It plugs the gap to boost water efficiency, originally as set out in the Walker review. It is interesting that it has taken this long for water efficiency to become the order of the day, but I welcome the recent initiative shown by the Environment Agency in this regard. Successive Governments have implemented the recommendations of the Cave review on competition and, in large part, the recommendations set out in the Pitt review for flood and water management.
I echo the importance that my noble friend has attached to infrastructure and resilience in that regard. I have a passion for SUDS, or sustainable drainage systems, which I hope my noble friend will share, and also for the building of more reservoirs. That begs a question, given that it is one of the remaining issues from the legislation that was set out between 2010 and 2015. I urge the Government to deal with the de minimis rule that is currently discouraging the greater use of reservoirs on farms, golf clubs and caravan parks. I notice that, both in the document and in the Minister’s remarks, the focus is especially—and, probably, quite rightly—on nationally significant infrastructure projects in the next three to five years. I urge the Minister and the department to look at the importance of smaller reservoirs, too, particularly in areas of increasing water stress, where the environmental impact will surely be much less—both in the building of reservoirs and their maintenance.
I entirely endorse the remarks that my noble friend made about leakage. About seven years ago, Yorkshire Water, under measures it signed up to during the last price review, invested in setting up a highly commendable leakage programme. The programme was set back by three days of sub-zero temperatures reaching minus 17 degrees. I defy anyone to be able to protect pipes from freezing at that temperature. I hope that the Minister and the regulator will look kindly on companies that operate under the additional burden of sub-zero temperatures. As I say, it is impossible to protect against leaks in such circumstances.
As we have heard, water companies face increasing challenges of water stress from population growth, housebuilding, global warming and climate change. I recognise that, of all the challenges they face, surface water flooding is one of the greatest and most recent. I welcome the Government’s catchment management approach, which brings together all the relevant partners, but if it is to succeed, one body within each catchment area must be identified as the lead organisation. They must decide which organisation should take the lead, and that will differ from area to area. However, the approach may fail if no one actually takes ownership of the catchment. In many areas, it may be the water company, while in others it may be the drainage board. This needs to be identified in order to enhance the excellent work that is being done on catchment management.
Natural capital is becoming increasingly significant in government policy, yet it remains nebulous, hazy, vague and indistinct. I urge the Government to put more meat on the current bare bones. I refer to the report, Bricks & Water, co-authored by the honourable Angela Smith MP and myself, which has been published under the auspices of the Westminster Sustainable Business Forum and Policy Connect. If my noble friend Lord Gardiner has not received a copy, I will make sure that one is dispatched to him. The report puts forward a number of specific proposals to local authorities, including that they should consider carefully how planning permission for major developments can best be delivered, ideally with the use of SUDS going forward and possibly meeting the even bigger challenge of retrofitting SUDS to historic drainage systems. Also, one of my pet wishes is to end the automatic right to connect to the water supply. This is one of the key recommendations in the Pitt review, but we have still not actually taken it on board.
I welcome the Government’s commitment to reduce per capita consumption, and we have seen how that can be delivered in part through Building Regulations. I hope that my noble friend will look at other jurisdictions, in particular Scandinavian countries like Denmark, where loos are specifically designed to limit the amount of water that is released with each flush. That, along with the use of grey water, must be considered going forward in order to improve resilience and encourage the greater use of innovation.
My noble friend referred—as does the draft national policy statement—to the importance of transfers between water companies and, as the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, has said, the potential for creating a national grid. I would look no further than to congratulate Yorkshire Water, which I believe is the first water company to make a significant investment, delivering a 31,500 kilometre network of underground pipes to ensure that, in times of stress in one area or another, one company can supply water by transferring it from one area in the region with plentiful supplies to another which is suffering from a shortage at a particular time. I welcome similar investments which are being planned from 2020—under the 2019 price review—by companies such as Anglia Water, which has also planned a multi-million pound development.
All major housing developments must pass the test of being built in appropriate places using appropriate infrastructure. We must stop building on functional flood plains, and we need to end the right to connect. I commend the use of natural flood management and defence schemes. My noble friend will be familiar with pilot flood defence improvement schemes such as the Slowing the Flow at Pickering programme, where the planting of trees and the creating of bunds, mini-dams and peat bogs, which take 200 years to develop, is being undertaken. It is a long-term project, but it has already prevented any further flooding in Pickering, a town which used to flood every two or three years. I would place much greater emphasis—I hope I can persuade my noble friend to do so—on natural flood defences rather than on elaborate engineering projects. There is scope for much more rewarding schemes for public good under the environmental land management schemes that Defra imagined going forward. I hope this can encourage the use of such natural flood defence schemes.
Innovation was recognised for the first time in PR14, which encouraged investment in innovation, and as water consumers we have reaped rewards from that. PR19 focuses much more on outcome delivery, with a greater focus on pay against performance. A debate yet to be had is on the role of competition as opposed to regulation, but this is possibly for another day. I would argue that the question of ownership of the water sector and water companies—whether they should be in public or private hands—is a debate we are going to have, possibly at the next general election. However, I would commend the level of investment we have seen in the last 30 years through privatised water companies investing in improvements in water quality on our beaches, in our drinking water and in our rivers.
I conclude by asking my noble friend a number of short questions. When might we expect the environment protection Bill, and when will the office for environmental protection be up and running? What role will abstraction play in the draft NPS, amid competing uses and an ever-decreasing supply of water? I urge his department to use its best endeavours to ensure that SUDS are used in every major housing development going forward. I make an urgent plea that we end the automatic right to connect. In this regard, will he look favourably on using his good offices to confer the status of statutory consultee on water companies in the planning application process? Finally, what greater clarity does my noble friend the Minister intend to give—
Lord Adonis
The noble Baroness says we should end the automatic right to connect, but would that not create severe problems for new enterprises if they cannot be sure that essential infrastructure for them to operate will be available when they go about their lawful and proper activities? How does she see this issue being resolved if there is not an automatic right?
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
I refer the noble Lord—who, given his previous roles, is much more knowledgeable on these matters—to the Pitt review.
How can we ask water companies already in areas of national stress—whether the north-east, where there are pockets of national stress, or the south-east and East Anglia, where we have heard that there are specific problems of water stress—to supply water and take wastewater away safely if they are not consulted and do not have the wherewithal? I have seen first-hand in areas such as Filey that new developments are built on fields that take displaced water—flood-water, essentially —and that water then goes into existing developments. I do not think future home owners should put up with that. Developers go in, build projects where there have been no sustainable drainage systems in place and walk away. We are creating something that I would like to see fixed once and for all—I am not discouraging new enterprises—by giving water companies the tools to do the job. Let us ensure that they are heard. Have we not seen that, once the Environment Agency secured the status of statutory consultee, its advice has been heeded much more rigorously than was ever the case in the past? I rest my case.
Finally, I urge my noble friend the Minister to give greater clarity to natural capital, what is meant by natural capital and what greater role it might play in water policy going forward.
My Lords, the noble Baroness raised a number of very pertinent questions and the Minister will wish to address them. I congratulate the Minister on his opening remarks, which set out the issues involved. As a former chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, I wrestled with these issues myself.
My concern is that the draft national policy statement we are debating today is essentially a list of considerations that need to be addressed in the development of a national strategy for dealing with water infrastructure. It does not set out a strategy. Look at all of the key issues: what should be the policy going forward on water metering, which is crucial? Will we move towards water metering and, if so, when? The Minister said that the Government would come forward with a consultation on that. What will be the policy in respect of new infrastructure? Will we commit to new reservoirs or not? Will we have a national water grid or not? The Minister did not offer any clear way forward on any of those issues and neither does the document, which simply lays out a number of considerations. I am very glad that it pays tribute to the work of the National Infrastructure Commission, and I pay tribute to my colleagues there who wrestled long and hard with these issues. But it does not appear to take the debate forward.
As soon as one gets into the actual issues at stake, they are very controversial. The issue of whether water metering will be mandatory is controversial because it will impose new requirements on householders, many of whom do not want mandatory water metering partly because it imposes the potential of real additional costs for the consumption of water.
The noble Lord, Lord Wigley, referred to the Tryweryn Valley saga, which alongside the building of airports and the closing of railways is one of the great infrastructure controversies of the last generation. I add another controversy to the list: the Abingdon reservoir saga of the proposal to build the first new reservoir in the past 30 years in Abingdon. It was proposed by Thames Water and went to public inquiry. It was reviewed by Ofwat which then ruled against it after a very long controversial planning saga and the reservoir was not built. There is still a big debate about whether that was a huge missed opportunity.
The document itself does not actually say anything about new reservoirs. I probed the Minister on that and he very elegantly said that the plans coming forward would address that issue. But on the questions of whether we will or will not be building new reservoirs, will or will not have a national water grid or will or will not have mandatory water metering—three absolutely critical issues in terms of a water infrastructure plan—the Government have ducked them all so far and have simply kicked them forward. The vogue phrase at the moment is kicking the can down the road. I say gently to the Minister that this draft national policy statement kicks the can down the road.
I raise that because if the can is kicked down the road and this becomes the national policy statement, the onus will in fact be on the water companies to come forward with plans that will then go to Ofwat to go through a regulatory and economic assessment with the Government having the reserve power to intervene or not. I simply say to the Minister—I need to be brief because I am intervening in the gap—that that will not work when it comes to taking controversial decisions. We have been there and it has not worked in the past. That is what the Abingdon reservoir saga shows us. The only way that you will get controversial new infrastructure built is by the Government taking the lead with a government infrastructure plan.
My underlying concern about the draft national policy statement is that it could turn out to be a complete irrelevance. If we need to go into the era of building significant new infrastructure, which we might well need to do, it will have to be at the behest of the Government. It cannot come from private water companies and this does not resolve the issue of how the Government will take forward plans for significant new national infrastructure.
Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)
My Lords, this is a very important subject and I thank the Minister for his extensive introduction. Water resources and ensuring that there is a sufficient supply to meet the needs of the nation are extremely important, as every speaker has said. It is life-saving. This is a reasonable piece of legislation and has some significant steps forward, but it is not perfect. I have three concerns to flag up. The first is around demand management. The second is on the need to tackle climate change if we are to have sufficient water into the future; and the third is the need to ensure that all infrastructure development achieves a high net gain for the environment.
Turning first to the important issue of demand management, this NPS does not make it clear how demand management can be prioritised before allowing hard infrastructure solutions. Paragraph 3.5 outlines a need to assess alternatives. This sounds like a box-ticking exercise after a decision has been made, rather than a determination by the Government to ensure that small-scale demand management or green schemes are prioritised. Disappointingly, the objectives set out in paragraph 1.10 do not refer to the need for demand management and its role in minimising the need for additional hard infrastructure and in meeting the Government’s sustainability goals.
The Liberal Democrats have long argued that, instead of focusing solely on new infrastructure, the priority should be lowering demand in the first place. The role that demand management can play in helping reduce demand, and consequently what this means for the scale of need for nationally significant water infrastructure projects, has not been made clear in this NPS. How will the Government prioritise demand management in order to drive down the need for new, expensive infrastructure?
Does the noble Baroness’s party support mandatory water metering? I am curious to know.
Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville
The noble Lord asks a question to which unfortunately I do not have the answer at my fingertips. I will write to him and let him know.
The draft NPS suggests that,
“maintaining the current level of resilience in future will require at least an additional 3,300 Ml/d of additional capacity in the water supply system by 2050”,
yet there is no indication of how much capacity could be gained from demand management. In its excellent report on water, the National Infrastructure Commission suggested that aiming for additional capacity of 4,000 Ml/d will require a minimum of 1,300 Ml/d additional supply infra- structure by 2030, in addition to around 1,400 cubic metres being met through leakage reduction and 1,500 cubic metres being met through efficiency and metering. The relationship between the two is not iterated in the NPS.
Although we acknowledge the need for supply infrastructure, it is important that the NPS does not result in perverse incentives against small schemes and schemes that do not meet the NSIP criteria, such as effluent reuse. For example, there remains a total lack of incentives to encourage developers and water companies to work together on projects such as greywater and rainwater recycling. This could help in areas identified by the noble Lord, Lord Lansley. Another example is the potential role of natural flood management in increasing resilience to dry weather and providing storage. What support is available to promote small-scale schemes and green infrastructure projects, as mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh?
Just as dealing with water leaks varies hugely across water companies, so ambition around demand management varies widely across the country. Some companies are working hard on this, but not all. There is also much variation in per capita consumption targets. On PR19 Southern leads the way on PCC with its target of 100, but only five other companies are still aiming for less than 120 litres per person per day by 2040 to 2045. That is fewer than half of all water companies. Water leakages are around 20%, and the National Infrastructure Commission has said that halving water leakage by 2050 could deliver one-third of the additional capacity required—so leakages are key. What are the Government doing about putting pressure on water companies to deliver on that and avoid the need for one-third of future infrastructure water resource projects, which cause huge disquiet where they are sited?
Page 13 of the NPS states:
“The Government is also exploring other options for reducing consumption’.
Will the Minister spell out exactly what the Government have in mind? When the Water Bill was going through Parliament, these Benches supported compulsory water metering, with reduced tariffs for those in particular need. France has this scheme but the UK does not. Could the Minister say whether the Government are specifically considering this?
Secondly, climate change should be a big driver for the need for new water resource infrastructure. The Government should be leading the way on this issue. Paragraph 2.2.7 sets out clearly that climate change will lead to water shortages. Green NGOs, such as WWF, have argued that all NSIPs covered by this NPS should aim for carbon neutrality, given the long-term nature of the infrastructure and the need for significant reductions in energy use. This may be particularly difficult in relation to desalination plants, which are very energy intensive as fossil fuels currently fuel the plants. However, it is not impossible to reduce the impact, given developing technology and offsetting. I suggest that the Government adopt a hierarchy approach, with developments required to look first at energy efficiency, followed by green energy provision and use, with carbon offsetting as a backstop. Does the Minister agree with this?
Lastly, we support the proposed requirement for a scheme to achieve net environmental gain. However, it should be made clear that net environmental gain must require, first and foremost, a biodiversity net gain, as the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, said. This is similar to that proposed for development under the National Planning Policy Framework. In addition, we support the requirement for an environment statement. This should play a valuable role in understanding the environmental trade-offs and overall approach taken by the developer.
This is a welcome NPS. I look forward to the Minister’s comments and agree with many of the comments that have already been made.
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for introducing this debate and to all noble Lords who have contributed. As the debate has gone on, it has become increasingly clear that it is a common misconception that the UK is a damp country. In reality, we are in the lower quartile globally of available water resource per capita.
Extreme weather changes from climate change, coupled with an increasing population, as the Minister said, especially in the drier southern and eastern areas, has put our water system under severe pressure, which is likely only to get worse. Across England, there is now a one in four chance of a level 4 serious drought between now and 2050. If that were to happen, it would lead to huge enforceable water consumption limits, on a scale that the current population has never experienced and would find very difficult to tolerate. To ensure resilience of water provision, we would need an extra 4 billion litres every day by 2050.
Across the UK, an increasing number of areas are undergoing “water stress”. In 2007, the south-east of England was designated as being in “serious water stress” by the Environment Agency. The latest projections show that there will be 4.1 million more people living in the south-east region by 2045, an increase of 21%. By 2080, there could be an extra 10 million. Projections show that if no action is taken, most areas will simply not be able to meet water demand by 2050, with significant water shortages, particularly in the south-east of England.
Adapting to climate change means that we cannot continue with a situation where water companies are losing 20% of water to leaks—2.9 billion litres per day. At the same time, it is imperative that we improve the quality of our freshwater resources as well as tackling drought and unsustainable abstraction. Historically, relationships between water companies, housebuilders and local authorities have been complex and disjointed, without a clear sense of overriding priorities.
There has been a short-term focus on climate change at a local level and as a result insufficient progress is being made, particularly locally. For example, only 43% of local authorities plan at least 15 years ahead. Local authority planning budgets have almost halved since 2010, and over a third of planning policy staff have been lost. Only 42% of local authorities have any kind of climate change strategy. Local authorities are not resourced or geared up to the challenge ahead. They need the help, the guidance and the structure that this kind of report will give them for making decisions.
In this context, the publication of this NPS for water resource infrastructure goes some way towards giving clarity and purpose. However, I agree with my noble friend Lord Adonis that very difficult and often controversial decisions need to be taken, and this document is not sufficiently clear on how those decisions will be taken and who will be making them when the chips are down. It is not just a local authority decision; ultimately, decisions will need to be taken at the national level. There are difficult decisions ahead, and we need further clarity on how they will be handled.
We agree with the priorities set out in the draft document. Obviously, securing long-term resilience and protecting customers is vital, but we also need to ensure that any reforms are affordable and do not have adverse socio-economic impacts. We need to ensure that future policies prioritise sustainability, not profits. The noble Lord, Lord Wigley, illustrated that point extremely well. It is becoming clear that water—which we used to take for granted as being free—has an increased value, and a commercial value. We need to be clear about the ownership and decision-making structures when water sources are being raided.
This also means making some bold decisions about how we can focus back on to protecting our environment, which is not simply nice to have, but absolutely crucial and underpins the decisions that we make. We need healthy rivers and wetlands, combined with protected groundwater levels, to sustain the increasing population. It has always been thought that environment was a nice extra, but it must be put centre stage in the whole planning process. It is particularly crucial because we know that the current levels of water abstraction are unsustainable. As the WWF has reported, nearly a quarter of all rivers in England are at risk because of the vast amount of water being removed for use by farms, businesses and homes. Therefore, we need to be clear that any increase in nationally significant projects and expanded local developments of the kind talked about by the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, who I see is not in his place, is in danger of leading to more overlicensed and overabstracted rivers, which is simply not sustainable. We need to support proposals to measure future planning applications against the environmental impact assessment and the habitats regulations assessment. We welcome the fact that this has been flagged up in the document.
I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, that the concept of SUDS should also be written into and underpin the document. Again, all too often we have seen that the consequence for local developments where that has not happened and for the people who subsequently live in those properties can be catastrophic. Ultimately, there has to be a clear demonstration of environmental net gain, which is fundamental to the planning process for all the reasons we have outlined, and for the ongoing sustainability of our water supply.
The document also rightly identifies the cost of waste and leaks. We need urgent action to reduce water leaks, with demanding and enforceable targets for action by water companies, year on year. This must be combined with greater consumer awareness of the value and potential scarcity of water, so that we all play our part in water conservation. That point was well made by the Minister.
While we support the overarching themes of the proposals, I have some specific questions for the Minister. First, one of the two main priorities listed in the NPS is the protection of customers—ensuring every home and business can depend on a resilient water industry. Unfortunately, this is not the case at present. The House might remember that, in March last year, thousands of homes went without supply for over four days straight. What steps are Ministers taking to ensure that water companies do not leave households without a water supply for prolonged periods?
Secondly, the NPS highlights flood risk—not only how climate change will lead to an increased risk in areas susceptible to flooding, but also the implications for other areas not thought of as being at risk. As the Government consider flood defences, what plans do they have to introduce integrated water management, so that water trapped by flood defences can be used in other water-stressed areas?
Thirdly, it is clear that the changes that need to be made to the infrastructure will come at considerable cost. The NPS points to the conclusions made by the National Infrastructure Commission that the cost to maintain current levels of resilience—relying on emergency measures for more severe droughts—will be between £25 billion and £40 billion to 2050. With these costs anticipated, can the Minister justify the high pay of water executives, especially in light of Ofwat’s comments that this high pay has damaged customer trust?
Finally, it is clear that we must all look towards new technologies to cope with increasing demand on the supply of water in years to come. What assessments have the Government made of rainwater harvesting technology and other future technology applications, such as advanced recycling techniques? How are they being funded and what actions are the Government taking to bring the best ideas to fruition in the shortest time?
We welcome this document, but it is only one in the package needed to shape the future of our water supply and its control. As we go forward, it is important to make the interrelation between these different planning documents clear. My noble friend Lord Adonis asked where the ultimate decisions will be taken and whether we can be sure they will be bold, because we face a severe challenge in the road ahead.
My Lords, my predictions were correct. We have had great experience, much more than mine, displayed across the House on these matters. I therefore emphasise that I do not have all the answers. The intention was not for me to deliver a diktat on what the Government have decided on an important matter. It is our responsibility. We are having this debate and the consultations because one of the great responsibilities of Government is to supply one of the most essential components, not only of our lives, but of the whole ecosystem. I have made a careful note of all the questions and will not be replying to each in serried ranks, because much will unfold in the further response. I take on board what your Lordships, in their experience, have thrown into the pot, as an important resource to consider.
We have all identified the undoubted challenges that we need to address to make sure there is enough water to supply businesses and homes, and—as mentioned by all noble Lords, but specifically the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch—to protect the environment. This is at the core of our lives.
I turn to the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, who set out some of the historical mistakes and how one should not do things. England has always welcomed water from Wales. I was not quite as convinced when it was in flood in the Severn, but he made the point that there are ways to address these matters. We would all say that what happened before was not the finest hour of bureaucratic rule. The geographic features of Great Britain dictate considerable cross-border flows, as I have mentioned, and undoubted water dependencies between England and Wales.
To safeguard water resources, water supply and water quality, and minimise the potential for risk in this area of the Administrations’ respective responsibilities, the Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers agreed the Intergovernmental Protocol on Water Resources, Water Supply and Water Quality, which came into force on 1 April last year. Planning systems are devolved in the UK, so any infrastructure elements of cross-border schemes require all relevant permissions from the relevant authorities within those jurisdictions. The guidance on water resource management plans sets out that a company should consult the Welsh Government for sites that affect Wales. Nothing in the Planning Act 2008 overrules the relationship with Wales with regard to water resources.
A number of other points were raised by my noble friend Lady McIntosh of Pickering. I fully intended to talk of Slowing the Flow at Pickering, but quite rightly she got there first. This is a prime example of natural capital. I think that we would all agree to the use of natural capital alongside—when we have to use it—hard engineering in certain towns, including some of those in Cumbria. We need to slow the flow above but we also need to invest in hard engineering in certain places. The most important part of what we have been learning—my goodness, we needed to learn about it—is that natural capital is a resource as well as supplying a much-needed element of our ecosystem.
A number of your Lordships, including the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, raised the issue of small reservoirs. Whether they are on farms or are to supply part of our national water supply, the decisions remain with local planning authorities. The Environment Agency’s national framework and regional groups will consider the whole need in a region, not just public water supply. This should help to meet the needs of smaller users, where appropriate. In the future, particularly in the agricultural sector, marshalling of water through farm reservoirs may be much more common than it already is in certain parts, particularly the eastern counties.
My noble friend Lady McIntosh and the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, mentioned floods, which clearly are also important. Defra is spending £2.6 billion to protect the country better from flooding. This involves 1,000 flood defence schemes, with the intention of protecting 300,000 homes by 2021. In terms of real-terms increase, the figures reflect the fact that we need to do something and have needed to do something about flood protection and investment for quite a long time.
The noble Lord, Lord Adonis, from his previous position, particularly in terms of infrastructure, will know these matters much more intricately. We need to ensure that government and all the water regulators work together and challenge industry on its ambitions about leaks and customer consumption, and on how the needs of neighbouring companies are taken into account. We want companies to build on this in the next five years. Ofwat’s regulatory alliance and the Environment Agency’s national framework are intended to and will support the maturing regional water company groups, making sure that large water resource options that come forward for development have been adequately evaluated and are the best to meet both national and regional need, as well as that of individual companies.
I was at a meeting with the water companies about this winter’s issues, to which I think the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, referred. I had better be careful and diplomatic with my words, but the Secretary of State was correct, polite and robust in saying that matters had to be attended to. The water companies were in no doubt of the need to address some of the points made, and that it was not acceptable for customers to be without water. However, having had frozen pipes, I recognise what my noble friend Lady McIntosh said about those who work for water companies and who were out and about dealing with water pipes at a time of extreme weather. There is a balance to these matters.
In response to my noble friend Lady McIntosh on the environment Bill, someone has to say the following words from the Dispatch Box: “We wish to introduce the Bill in the summer. We have consulted on a range of changes to water legislation which may be included”. I am sorry that that is what I have to say, but I hope it is sufficient to indicate that we clearly wish to make progress on this matter.
I agree that we want further uptake of SUDS in planning and building regulations. Defra, the Environment Agency and MHCLG are working on this matter; it is an important force for good. A number of noble Lords, including the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, and my noble friend Lady McIntosh raised the issue of net gain. The noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, rightly described it as “crucial”. Paragraph 3.4 of the statement concerns environmental net gain. This means achieving biodiversity net gain first, then going further to achieve wider benefits, to deliver ecosystem services and make schemes with wider beneficial impacts on natural capital. Defra has consulted, and will continue to consult, on how best to incorporate natural capital into the planning system. It is extraordinary that we are having to discuss these matters as if we had discovered them. Working with nature seems to me an obvious consideration.
The noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, raised resilience. It looks as though we are going to have changes in rainfall due to climate change. This could mean droughts and severe rainfall. How do we capture it so that, when we have to endure floods, we can work the system to use that water appropriately and to best advantage? This is going to be a vital element of protecting the environment. As all noble Lords said, we need to reduce demand as part of the process. We have to engage with ourselves, as well as with everyone outside this Chamber, on reducing our consumption of water. We should be looking at how other countries are dealing with the demands of increasing populations, perhaps climate change and using water wisely.
The National Infrastructure Commission sets out very good arguments for increasing resilience further. As the Environment Agency develops its national framework, we expect to test what is needed and what it would cost to increase to prepare from a one in 200-year drought to a one in 500. The current draft national policy statement alludes to this but, assimilating what your Lordships’ and others will say, the final draft can make this particularly clear. The noble Lord, Lord Adonis, intervened on the contributions of the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, and my noble friend Lady McIntosh about mandatory metering.
Where the Environment Agency has designated a water company as “water stressed” it can consider mandatory metering if appropriate. We will be consulting in coming weeks on further changes. It is very interesting to see the statistics from water companies on proposals for leakages and on metering numbers. We need to look at the evidence: the evidence for metering is self-evident if we are all to reduce our water consumption, but we also need to be mindful in that arena that some vulnerable parts of the community probably need a disproportionate amount of water compared to others.
What the Minister just said is very significant: he said that the Government will be consulting on further changes. Will the options for further changes include national mandatory metering?
The noble Lord is rigorous in his questioning and I will be opaque in this answer: I would not want to pre-empt anything that may come up. Noble Lords have made some interesting comments, but I am not in a position to give the range of choices because I have not got that before me. I think it is always unwise to make policy on the hoof, but the noble Lord has made an important point.
The noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, raised leakages, something we all feel very strongly about. Ofwat expects companies to justify their leakage performance commitments relative to the minimum level of leakage achievable and expects those companies with the worst records on leakage to go further. There is no doubt about it: Ofwat set out draft determinations for three fast-track companies: Severn Trent, South West Water and United Utilities. All three water companies had proposed a 15% reduction in leakage, but United Utilities is one of the companies with relatively high leakage. As part of the process, for instance, United Utilities has agreed to increase the reduction to 20% over the period 2020 to 2025. I know that this is an area the public feels very strongly about: we need to ensure that water is used wisely and that we reduce leakages very strongly.
The noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, raised water abstraction and the protection of the environment. As I said in my opening remarks, current levels of water abstraction from some sources will need to be reduced, because it is clear that the environment in some parts of the country is being jeopardised. That is in line with the water abstraction plan published in 2017 and river basin management plans. Clearly, we need to work with all parties to ensure that we get the right result for the environment, but yes, as I think the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, referred to, water is important for enterprise and for ensuring that this country has an economic heartbeat, so it is important that we get this right. Going back to the reason we are having this debate, we will need to invest in major infrastructure projects: that is at the heart of all the issues we have rightly discussed today. We must reduce demand but also have to attend to increasing supply. We want to go further in protecting the water environment because that is of prime importance. The noble Baroness also referred to loss of supply. The Government expect companies to increase their investment in water and sewerage in order to maintain a resilient network, fix leaks and prepare for severe weather. That is part of their responsibilities.
Looking through the key points that your Lordships raised, I hope that I have attended to quite a lot of them. I am certainly not seeking to kick any can down the road: in fact, that is not my style of words. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, that that sounds as if I am about to drop litter, which of course I have a passionate phobia about. This piece of work—and today’s debate—is absolutely not about kicking this essential matter down the line. It is about having parliamentary scrutiny and consulting organisations that have a stake in getting this right for us all. I will reflect on Hansard, because key points have been raised on demand, climate change, net gain and—I have referred to this—support. We recognise that we will need both big national infrastructure projects and small-scale projects, which is part of what I have described in lay language as the balance of how we are good custodians of our water supply.
The noble Lord, Lord Adonis, and the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, spoke of difficult decisions. I agree. The whole purpose of this debate, and for taking this matter forward, is that difficult decisions have to be taken for the national interest. If everyone is to have water, that will mean that we may well, provided it is done properly, courteously and correctly, have to ask parts of the country about this—the busy south-east and other parts of the country where reservoirs, for instance, and other infrastructure projects will be not only in the national interest but probably in the local interest as well.
I shall read Hansard again and assure your Lordships that all the points that have been made, particularly given the experience of many noble Lords, will be very important in bringing policy forward. If any of your Lordships would like to have discussions and further meetings at any stage, I would be very pleased to accommodate that.
Motion agreed.
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(Fiona Mersh) Alex Goodenough talks about his autistic spectrum disorder, Asperger's.
More Than Good Enough
Eazibee, HappyNews Columnist
I found this a bit late (it's from last weekend) but it's an extremely interesting piece - sad in some respects, but ultimately hopeful - from the UK's Guardian newspaper.
www.guardian.co.uk/
It's about Alex Goodenough, a teenager from the UK with Asperger's syndrome, who has struggled to navigate his way through the UK educational system even with his mother battling on his behalf. Despite being let down along the way, Alex has emerged from school with a raft of A grades at GCSE, several more at AS and A level, and a place to study engineering at Cambridge later this year. It's an amazing story, of one woman's determination to get the best education for her son, and of a young man's eagerness to acquire knowledge - but to do that his own way.
Alex seems happy in his own skin, whatever labels are applied to him by others. And so he should! His educational achievements thus far should make him, and his mother, proud, as well as offering hope to other children with Asperger's.
Read the story: www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/04/autism-asperger-s-education-society
Read this blog entry in its original location: reasonstobehopeful.blogspot.com/2009/07/more-than-good-enough
Eazibee hails from the UK but now lives in New York, where she works as a consultant - focused on health and environmental issues in developing countries - alongside raising a young family. She devotes any free time she has left to screenwriting and blogging. Reasons to be Hopeful is her principal blog, which she started in October 2007 in an effort to counter the negativity dominating the mainstream newswires. She aims to capture good news from across the world, reflecting the positive experiences of many different communities. Please feel free to send any good stories you come across to eazibee(at)gmail.com.
Less Is More Happiness
Getting Positively Younger
A Beat for Peace
Hope - and Change - Start With You
Saving Energy the Danish Way
First Olympic Skier for Ghana
Passing it Forward in Murshidabad
Creating a Local Vision of a Better World
Man's Skull Regenerates After 50 Years
HIV Vaccine Promise
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This continues my series on Yankee starting pitchers.
The Yankees have had either or both of some of the best brother pitching acts in baseball history.
Of course, every sport has family connections. The combination of genetics and shared good coaching from fathers and youth coaches, plus probably some sibling competition (and perhaps some sibling advice and modeling) result in lots of brother and father-son combos in every sport. I don’t know if baseball has more than other sports or if the combos are more prevalent among pitchers than other positions. It seems that way to me, though.
But I do know that lots of brother combos have taken the mound in the major leagues, and some of the best have stopped, at least briefly, with the Yankees.
I think because pitching requires such a combination of natural talent and technique, brothers tend to be either all pitchers or all position players. One exception, though, included a brief Yankee: George Brett‘s brother, Ken, pitched two games in relief for the 1976 Yankees.
Four of the top nine pitching brother combos in baseball history, according to Bleacher Report, included at least one brother who pitched at least briefly for the Yankees.
I’d say that three of the four brothers in the best two pitching brother combos pitched for the Yankees.
Perrys and Niekros
The Maddux, Perry, Niekro and Mathewson brothers each have one brother with 300 wins.
But in the Maddux and Mathewson families, one brother accounted for all the pitching greatness. Christy Mathewson won 373 games and had 13 20-win seasons. Brother Henry never won a big-league game, but pitched in three and lost one. Mike Maddux, pitching mostly in relief, had only 39 wins and 20 saves. Greg Maddux, with four Cy Youngs and 355 wins, also was better than any of the Perry or Niekro brothers.
But I judge a family by the greatness of the pair (or group, if more than two are involved). The younger Perry and Niekro brothers each topped 200 wins), giving each pair of brothers more than 500 wins.
If you judge by combined wins, the Niekros would be first with Phil winning 318 games, 32 for the Yankees, and Joe winning 221, 14 for the Yankees. That’s 539 combined wins, 10 more than the Perrys (314 for Gaylord and 215 for Jim).
But I value peak performance and the Perrys have a big advantage there. Neither Niekro ever won a Cy Young Award and both of the Perrys did. Gaylord won in each league, for the Indians in 1972 and the Padres in 1978. Jim won for the Twins in 1970. Gaylord Perry won 20 games in five different seasons and led the league three times in wins and once in shutouts. Jim won 20 twice and led the league in wins twice (once with 18). Phil Niekro won 20 three times and led his league in wins twice and strikeouts once. Joe Niekro won 20 twice and led his league once in wins and once in shutouts. Phil also led his league four times in losses, including two 20-loss seasons (he was 21-20 in 1979). The Niekros had six All-Star selections (five for Phil) and the Perrys had eight (five for Gaylord).
It’s close, but I see a clear advantage for the Perrys. Alas, Jim Perry didn’t pitch for the Yankees and Gaylord pitched just 10 games for the Yankees (4-4) in part of the 1980 season.
The Niekros, on the other hand, had 46 Yankee wins, Phil playing two seasons and Joe playing one full season and parts of two others. They were Yankee teammates in 1985.
Joe’s son, Lance, played first base for the Giants for four seasons.
Coveleski brothers
Stan Coveleski, image from Wikimedia
Another high-ranking brother combo barely spent any time with the Yankees. Hall of Famer Stan Coveleski (five 20-win seasons for the Indians and Senators) and his brother Harry (three 20-win seasons for the Tigers) combined for more 20-win seasons than either the Perrys or Niekros. But Stan won only 215 career games and Harry just 81. Bleacher Report ranks them seventh among pitching brother combos. Harry didn’t pitch for the Yankees and Stan pitched only 12 games for New York in 1928, his final season. He was 5-1 but retired after the season.
Finally we have a brother who contributed to a Yankee championship. Orlando “El Duque” Hernández may be the most underrated member of the Yankee dynasty of the late 1990s and 2000. If you were to name the key starting pitchers of that team, you’d probably name Andy Pettitte, David Cone, Roger Clemens and David Wells before “El Duque,” but for two championship years he was as formidable a pitcher as those Yankees had.
His 9-3 record in the post-season, with a 2.55 ERA, tells you more about El Duque’s value to the Yankees than his 12-4 and 17-9 regular-season records in the best of his six Yankee years. I was always confident when he took the mound in October. He was MVP of the 1999 American League Championship Series against the Red Sox.
Liván Hernández, 10 years younger, outdid his brother in post-season MVP trophies, winning them for the Marlins in the 1997 National League Championship Series and World Series, with two wins in each series. He was 7-3 in the post-season in his career.
Neither brother ever won 20 games, but Liván won 178 for his career, pitching for nine different teams. El Duque won 90 games, 61 of them for the Yankees. He played most of his career in Cuba, not joining the major leagues until he was 32.
Bleacher Report ranks them as the ninth-best brother combination. If you value post-season success, championships and/or their play in Cuba, they would rank higher.
Stottlemyres
Mel Stottlemyre, discussed at more length in the post on 20-game winners, is one of the few major leaguers to father two major leaguers, pitchers Mel Jr. and Todd. Neither had nearly as successful a career as their father, but that was a pretty high bar to clear.
Reuschel brothers
Rick Reuschel and his Cub teammates signed this baseball, which my father gave my mother in the 1970s.
Now we’re back to brothers who didn’t spend much (or any) time with the Yankees. Rick and Paul Reuschel rank 11th in Bleacher Report’s ranking of brother pitching combos.
Rick was the more successful brother, winning 214 games, including a 20-win season for the Cubs in 1977 and winning 19 for the Giants in 1988. He played part of 1981 for the Yankees, going 4-4.
Paul Reuschel signed the same ball.
Paul, the older brother, was nowhere near as successful, playing only five years and winning just 16 games. They were Cub teammates 1975-7. My parents moved to Kankakee, Ill., in 1976. Some Cubs visited Kankakee on some sort of promotion in ’76 or ’77, and my father went, getting a ball autographed by all the Cubs for my mother, a lifelong Cub fan. The ball includes both Reuschel brothers’ signatures.
Leiter brothers
Al and Mark Leiter rank 12th, just behind the Reuschels, in the Bleacher Report brother rankings. Both brothers pitched just briefly for the Yankees.
Again, the older brother was less successful. Mark made his major league debut with the Yankees in 1990 at age 27. He just went 1-1 in eight games and was traded to the Tigers before the next season.
He spent three seasons primarily as a starter but never had a winning season with double figures in wins. He led the National League with 17 losses for the Phillies in 1997. The next season, he moved to the bullpen, saving 23 games and winning seven for Philadelphia, not a great season for a closer, but Mark Leiter’s best season. I didn’t include him in the post on successful starters and relievers because he wasn’t a successful starter.
He had a losing career record, 65-73, with 26 saves.
Al Leiter was recognized as a promising pitcher when he broke in with the Yankees in 1987, but he won only seven games before they traded him to the Blue Jays in 1989 for Jesse Barfield, who was only 29, but already in decline.
Leiter went on to win 148 games in 11 seasons for the Blue Jays and Mets (though the Yankees beat him in the clinching Game Five of the 2000 World Series).
Leiter’s best season was probably 1998, going 17-6 for the Mets, with a strong 2.47 ERA and finishing sixth in the Cy Young voting.
Al had control issues, leading his league twice in walks and once in wild pitches.
After a brief stint with the Marlins, Al Leiter ended his career with the Yankees, going 4-5 and getting a post-season relief win against the Angels in his last major league appearance. He still works for the Yankees as a broadcaster.
More on Al Leiter in my post on the team of best players who played for both the Yankees and Mets.
Weaver brothers
Jeff and Jered Weaver didn’t use many Yankee wins to reach 14th in Bleacher Report’s brother rankings.
Jeff was an overrated prospect when the Yankees acquired him from the Tigers in 2002 in a three-team, seven-player deal. He won only 12 games in two disappointing years before moving on to the Dodgers in a deal for Kevin Brown.
He pitched better for the Dodgers, but retired with a losing 104-119 record.
Jered (again the younger brother) has been much better. At age 32, he’s 138-79, with a 20-win season and three All-Star selections, pitching his whole career for the Angels.
Pérez brothers
Mélido Pérez was, sadly, the best pitcher in the fourth-place Yankee starting rotation in 1992, going 13-16 with a 2.87 ERA. He had a winning record, 9-8, with a higher ERA in 1994, when a strike cost the first-place Yankees a shot at their first post-season in 13 years. He retired after the following season, 78-85 for his career and just 33-39 in four Yankee seasons.
Pascual was the best of the Pérez brothers, but not for the Yankees. He and Mélido barely missed being teammates, with Pascual pitching for the Yankees in 1990-91 and Mélido starting in 1992. Pascual was the oldest of three major-league brothers from the Dominican Republic. He was an All-Star team in the midst of a 15-8 season for the Atlanta Braves in 1983. He was 14-8 the next year, but never matched those numbers again and retired at 67-68.
Pascual is perhaps best known for the time he got lost in Atlanta, circling the community three times on Interstate 285 and arriving at the ballpark late.
Carlos, the youngest Pérez brother, pitched only five years, none of them for the Yankees. He was an All-Star his rookie year, for the Expos, but, like his brothers, he retired with a losing record, 40-53.
Their cousin, Yorkis Pérez, was a middle reliever and spot starter for the Cubs, Marlins, Mets, Phillies, Astros and Orioles, pitching 337 games (66 of them starts) over nine years, with a 14-15 record and one save.
Fowler brothers
Art Fowler had an undistinguished career as a pitcher for nine years, the first three years starting at least 20 games a year. He debuted at age 31, played until he was 41, and went 54-51 with 32 saves for the Reds, Dodgers and Angels. His brother, Jesse, 24 years older, pitched only 13 games for the St. Louis Browns in 1924.
The brothers never pitched for the Yankees and wouldn’t deserve mention here, except for Art’s pitching career. As Billy Martin‘s pitching coach and drinking buddy, Fowler was a four-time Yankee coach.
As Nancy Snell Griffith wrote in Fowler’s SABR bio, “his philosophy of pitching was simple: ‘Throw strikes…. Sometimes, big league pitchers overdo it. You can’t throw the ball harder than you can throw it. Some of ‘em used to try to throw it hard and couldn’t get it across the plate.’[6]”
Griffith explained Fowler’s effectiveness for the Yankees:
During their first tenure with the team, Tommy John and Ron Guidry reached their career highs in innings pitched. The Yankees won the World Series in 1977 and 1978. In 1978 Ron Guidry won the Cy Young Award, going 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA. Guidry called Fowler the best pitching coach he ever worked under.
Don Gullet remembered that Billy “really used to let Fowler have it if the pitchers screwed up…I was having trouble throwing strikes so Martin sent Fowler to the mound. He said, ‘Billy told me to tell you that Babe Ruth is dead. That ain’t Babe Ruth up there so throw strikes. Please, Gully, throw strikes or Billy is really gonna be pissed at me.’”[9]
In earlier stops with Martin at Detroit and Texas, Fowler coached Mickey Lolich and Ferguson Jenkins to 25-win seasons, matching Guidry’s total in 1978. He and Johnny Sain are the only pitching coaches I can think of who can claim coaching three 25-game winners with three different teams.
Other Yankee pitchers’ family ties
Tom Underwood went 13-9 for the 1980 Yankees and 86-87 for his career. His brother, Pat, was 13-18, pitching mostly in relief, in four years with the Tigers. Their combined 99 wins ranked them 20th in Bleacher Report’s brother pitching combos.
Doug Drabek, who won a Cy Young Award for the Pirates after leaving the Yankees, is the father of Kyle Drabek, a White Sox pitcher who has appeared in just three games this year.
Dennis Rasmussen, who won 18 games for the 1986 Yankees and 91 games in a 12-year big-league career, is the grandson of Bill Brubaker, an undistinguished middle infielder who played mostly for the Pirates in the 1930s and ’40s.
Have I overlooked any Yankee starting pitchers with notable family connections in baseball (or another sport)? Or do you think another brother combo pitched better than the Perrys and Niekros? Or another combo who pitched better in the post-season than the Hernándezes?
Other Yankee family ties
Of course, many non-pitching Yankees had brothers, fathers, sons, grandfathers who played in the majors. But that’s another post for another day.
The Yankees’ 50 best starters
« Yankees who pitched no-hitters: Don Larsen, Allie Reynolds … Nicknames of Yankee starting pitchers: Catfish, Babe, Gator, Whitey … »
Tags: Al Leiter, Art Fowler, Bill Brubaker, Billy Martin, Carlos Perez, Christy Mathewson, Dennis Rasmussen, Don Gullett, Doug Drabek, Ferguson Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, Greg Maddux, Harry Coveleski, Henry Mathewson, Jeff Weaver, Jered Weaver, Jesse Barfield, Jesse Fowler, Jim Perry, Joe Niekro, Kyle Drabek, Livan Hernandez, Mark Leiter, Mel Stottlemyre, Mel Stottlemyre Jr., Melido Perez, Mickey Lolich, Mike Maddux, Nancy Snell Griffith, Orlando Hernandez, Pascual Perez, Pat Underwood, Paul Reuschel, Phil Niekro, Rick Reuschel, Ron Guidry, Stan Coveleski, Todd Stottlemyre, Tom Underwood, Tommy John, Yorkis Perez
Categories : Yankee starting pitchers
[…] Yankee starting pitchers with family connections in baseball […]
[…] Real name Orlando Hernandez. More on him in the post on Yankees with family members who played in the majors. […]
[…] didn’t win a Cy Young Award, pitch a no-hitter, win 20 games, have a great nickname or have a relative in the big leagues. But they made notable contributions to Yankee teams. Or maybe they got a lot of attention despite […]
The Yankees’ 50 best starting pitchers | Hated Yankees (10:28:55) :
[…] Orlando Hernandez […]
[…] Four ’27 teams had two pitchers headed to the Hall of Fame: the Yankees (Herb Pennock and Waite Hoyt), Cardinals (Jesse Haines and Pete Alexander), White Sox (Ted Lyons and Red Faber) and Senators (Walter Johnson and Stan Coveleski). […]
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William Kitzes
Consumer Safety Associates
productsafety.com
Bill Kitzes is a Board Certified Product Safety Manager and Hazard Control Manager and has been a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society since 1983. He holds an Executive Certificate in Safety Management from the American Society of Safety Engineers and a Certificate in Risk Communication from the Harvard School of Public Health. For the past 30 years, he has provided risk assessment and product safety management services to attorneys, corporations and government organizations. From 1974 to 1981, Mr. Kitzes worked at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), part of which time he served as Legal Advisor to the Director, Office of Product Defect Identification (OPDI), and was responsible for the recall of substantially hazardous consumer products and notification to the public of the danger through warnings and other media. As CPSC Program Manager for Sports, Recreation and Power Equipment (1977-1980), he supervised a team of engineers, epidemiologists, human factors specialists, and technical communication staff developing mandatory and voluntary standards, on-product warnings, and safety education campaigns. Mr. Kitzes has been retained as a consultant for a number of major manufacturers, including the Toro Company, Nobel Chemical Company, Daewoo Heavy Industries America and CISCO Systems. Bill spent 14 years as Chairman of the Florida Consumers’ Council and is currently the public member of the Florida Propane Gas Safety, Education and Research Council. He has lectured at the National Safety Council Annual Congress and Exposition on the following topics: • When Risk Can’s Be Eliminated: Building Adequate Warnings • Injury Prevention Analysis: Guidelines for Product Safety Managers • Post Sale Corrective Action Plans - Recalls and Consumer Notice Mr. Kitzes has testified in 125 trials over the past 30 years in both Federal and State Court.
Breakout Session # 15: 50 States-Managing Risk in a Patchwork of Laws and Regulations Grand Cypress A
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Record setting events
This image released by HBO shows Emilia Clarke, left, and Kit Harington in a scene from the final episode of "Game of Thrones." On Tuesday, July 16, 2019, the program was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding drama series. (HBO via AP)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — HBO's "Game of Thrones" slashed its way to a record-setting 32 Emmy nominations Tuesday for its eighth and final season, leading HBO back to dominance over Netflix, the streaming service that bumped it last year from atop the increasingly crowded television heap. The bloodthirsty...
Spectators cheer as Switzerland's Roger Federer celebrates winning a point against Spain's Rafael Nadal during a men's singles semifinal match on day eleven of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 12, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
The Latest: Federer leads Nadal 2-1 at Wimbledon
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — The Latest at Wimbledon (all times local): 6:50 p.m. Roger Federer is within one set of reaching a record-extending 12th Wimbledon final. Federer leads Rafael Nadal 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-3 in the semifinals on Centre Court. In the third set, Federer broke Nadal for the first...
A woman walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Friday, July 12, 2019. Shares in Asia are mostly higher after a turbulent day on Wall Street ended with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing above 27,000 for the first time. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
World shares mostly higher after Wall St sets new records
BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mostly higher on Friday after Wall Street ended overnight with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing above 27,000 for the first time. Germany's DAX edged 5.68 points higher to 12,337.80 while the CAC 40 in France surged 0.6% to 5,585.27. Britain's FTSE climbed 0...
In this Thursday, July 11, 2019 photo provided by Chris Garrison, Captain Jeremy Ascough of South Africa, left, and Captain Jacob Over Bech of Denmark pilot their Gulfstream aircraft on the tarmac after their record-breaking around-the-world flight over the North and South poles, landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Dubbed “One More Orbit,” the flight paid homage to next week’s 50th anniversary of humanity’s first moon landing. (Chris Garrison via AP)
Former astronaut helps break flight record over poles
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A former astronaut landed back at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Thursday after helping to shatter a pair of records for a round-the-world airplane flight over the North and South poles. Terry Virts was part of the team whose 46-hour, 39-minute and 38-second polar...
American League pitcher Shane Bieber, of the Cleveland Indians, holds the MVP trophy the MLB baseball All-Star Game, Tuesday, July 9, 2019, in Cleveland. The American League defeated the National League 4-3. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
All-Star Game television rating sets record low
NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball's All-Star Game had a record low television rating. The American League's 4-3 victory over the National League on Tuesday night in Cleveland had a 5.0 rating and 11 share on Fox, according to Nielsen Media Research. The game was seen by an average of 5.93 million households...
United States' Megan Rapinoe, center, celebrates after scoring her side's second goal during the Women's World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between France and the United States at the Parc des Princes, in Paris, Friday, June 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Friday's US win most-watched WWC quarterfinal match
The Americans' 2-1 victory over France set a record for the most-watched Women's World Cup quarterfinal match on U.S. English-language television. Fox drew 6.12 million viewers for Friday's match, and peaked at 8.24 million. The game was the most-watched English-language soccer telecast in the...
FILE - In this March 14, 2019, file photo Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks before unveiling the Model Y at Tesla's design studio in Hawthorne, Calif. Musk says in an internal memo that Tesla has enough orders to set a record, but it’s having trouble shipping vehicles to the right locations.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
June 26, 2019 - 8:30 am
Tesla: Sales record within reach but deliveries are problem
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is close to setting a quarterly record for deliveries, but the company is having trouble shipping vehicles to the right places as the second quarter comes to a close, CEO Elon Musk told workers in an internal memo. Musk wrote that the company could break the record of 90,700...
Youngsters cool off at the Trocadero public fountain in Paris, Wednesday, June 26, 2019. High temperatures are expected to go up to 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) in the Paris area later this week and bake much of the country, from the Pyrenees in the southwest to the German border in the northeast. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Germany hits record June heat; rest of Europe sizzles
BERLIN (AP) — Germany saw a new national temperature record for June on Wednesday as torrid weather gripped large parts of western and central Europe. Authorities in Germany imposed speed limits on some autobahns amid fears of buckling road surfaces, and some French schools staying closed as a...
Toronto Blue Jays catcher Luke Maile, left, watches from behind the plate as New York Yankees' Aaron Hicks reacts after hitting a three-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Monday, June 24, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Yanks HR in 27th straight to match record, beat Jays 10-8
NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees' most recent power feat qualifies as "obscure" to manager Aaron Boone. Just not unexpected. Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton stretched New York's home run streak to a record-tying 27 games, and the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-8 Monday night. Hicks and Stanton...
Chicago Cubs' Javier Baez (9) hits a three run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Sunday, June 23, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
Baez HR, Cubs win 5-3; Alonso sets Mets mark for rookie HRs
CHICAGO (AP) — Javier Baez hit a milestone homer to win a game after Pete Alonso went deep once again to set a team record. Baez cracked the 100th homer of his career, a three-run drive in the eighth inning as the Chicago Cubs overcame another home run by Alonso to beat the New York Mets 5-3 on...
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Former Oklahoma teacher sentenced for raping foster child
Posted 10:05 am, June 20, 2019, by KFOR-TV and K. Querry
PRYOR CREEK, Okla. – A former Oklahoma science teacher has been sentenced for raping a foster child in her custody.
According to an arrest affidavit filed in 2018, Stephanie Cowan admitted to having sexual contact with a 15-year-old foster child on four separate occasions since the boy was placed in her care in October of 2017.
Cowan, who was a science teacher at Pryor Junior High School, was suspended and subsequently resigned after she was charged with three counts of second-degree rape.
At the time of her arrest, a spokesman for the Department of Human Services said all of the foster children placed with Cowan and her husband had been removed and placed in a safe home.
According to online court records, Cowan pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree rape in Mayes County District Court. As part of the plea agreement, one count of second-degree rape was dismissed.
She was sentenced to eight years in prison for each count, but the sentences will run concurrently. She will also get credit for time served.
Former Oklahoma teacher charged with rape, sexual battery of multiple students
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Man convicted of rape, kidnapping receives multiple life sentences
Teen sentenced to life in prison for murder of Oklahoma teacher, other crimes
No jail time for school bus driver who admitted raping 14-year-old girl he met on route
Texas woman sentenced to 18 years in prison for taking girl to motel to be raped
Former Yukon teacher charged with second-degree rape asks court for delay
Mother who stabbed 11-year-old, set house on fire to be sentenced
Washington ‘team mom’ accused of raping 11-year-old lacrosse player
Teen withdraws request to take back plea in teacher’s murder
Oklahoma mother who stabbed young daughter, set house on fire sentenced to life in prison
Body cam shows arrest of man accused of attacking, raping 69-year-old woman
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← Libraricating
‘Gilead’ by Marilynne Robinson →
‘The Silkworm’ by Robert Galbraith
J.K. Rowling has a sense of humour. After it became public that Robert Galbraith was a pseudonym for her new crime novel series, she came to the Theakston’s Crime Writing Festival dressed in a suit and tie! Rowling has implied that the new series which started with ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’, will go the distance as long or longer than the Harry Potter series, with at least six or seven instalments. This second in the series was, in my opinion, way better than the first, so I think she is finding her stride in this genre, and with the characters of Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin. Although I don’t think this series holds any of the genius that she displayed with Harry Potter, I am looking forward to what is coming next. The series definitely now ‘has legs’, a pun in poor taste if you know that the protagonist is a war veteran with a debilitating injury.
‘The Silkworm’ is set in the literary world of authors and publishers and editors, perhaps because the author knows the publishing industry. When Owen Quine goes missing after writing a despicable controversial book, his wife calls Cormoran Strike to investigate. Quine has gone off before, but when it becomes clear that there are several people who are angry about the poisonous portraits he has written into the new book, and when his body is discovered in brutally bizarre circumstances, the investigator realizes there might be several people who wanted Quine silenced. I love how Cormoran gathers all of the suspects into one room near the end and flushes out the culprit – reminds me of the old classic whodunits. Cormoran as a character, in my mind’s eye, kind of reminds me of a younger, more handsome version of Fitz from Cracker (Robbie Coltrane).
Robert Galbraith even has his own website! (Robert Galbraith Website) I especially enjoyed the FAQs there.
This entry was posted in Fiction and tagged J.K. Rowling, Robert Galbraith, The Silkworm. Bookmark the permalink.
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Social Sciences Librarian
Academic Liaison Program
The University of California, San Diego Library seeks applications from highly motivated, collaborative, and service-oriented professionals to join the Library as the Social Sciences Librarian serving Political Science, Sociology and other related programs (at the level of Assistant, Associate or Full Librarian). The Social Sciences Librarian will have the opportunity to develop and extend information services to major centers of academic excellence and innovation at UC San Diego.
Responsibilities of the Position
The Social Sciences Librarian will strategically engage with students and faculty in the Departments of Political Science and Sociology, the Law & Society and International Studies Programs, and other social sciences as assigned, to identify areas of library partnership and to support education and research at multiple levels. This position intersects with other interdisciplinary social sciences and the successful candidate will collaborate with other subject librarians and functional specialists including those responsible for data science and curation, maps and GIS, digital scholarship, and scholarly communications. The Social Sciences Librarian will report to the Liaison Services Coordinator for Social Sciences within the Library's Academic Liaison Program. The candidate will:
Partner with students, faculty, and researchers to define and meet information needs for education and research in the Division of Social Sciences.
Serve as the primary contact for assistance with library services, resources, and policies for the Departments of Political Science and Sociology, the Law & Society and International Studies Programs, and other social sciences as assigned.
Provide consultation and reference services to support undergraduate, graduate, and faculty research, teaching and learning endeavors.
Develop and deliver learning programs and tools tailored to social sciences to improve information and data literacy in assigned subjects, and participate in the library's general information literacy instruction programs for undergraduates.
Develop and maintain collections including datasets, legal resources, and international government information, and collaborate with other librarians and staff on collection management activities.
Collaborate with data science, research data curation, scholarly communications, and other subject and functional specialists to develop and implement information services supporting the entire research lifecycle.
MLS/MLIS or equivalent advanced degree. Other appropriate degree or equivalent experience in one or more fields related to library services may be substituted.
Undergraduate degree in political science, international studies, sociology or a related field, or demonstrated knowledge of these subjects as academic disciplines.
Strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education and ability to work with faculty, students, staff and colleagues from diverse backgrounds.
Familiarity with scholarly resources, legal and government information sources, and reference tools for the social sciences.
Demonstrated knowledge in the areas of social science research methodologies, data applications and statistical tools.
Experience in project coordination, including planning, documentation, and implementation.
Ability to self-start, and work independently as well as within a team or collaborative environment.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Experience providing liaison services in an academic or research library.
Experience providing instruction or training to a range of users.
Strong understanding of traditional and emerging trends in social sciences research and scholarship.
About The Library - Great Research Starts Here
The UC San Diego Library plays a critical role in advancing and supporting the university's research, teaching, patient care, and public service missions. The Library is committed to supporting academic excellence and diversity within the faculty, staff, and student body.
The Library's Academic Liaison Program (ALP) directs the user-centered outreach, education and research services of subject specialists in support of the Library's mission to meet the diverse and evolving information needs of the UC San Diego community. The ALP works collaboratively with other Library programs to connect students, faculty, and staff with the full range of Library services.
Librarians at UC San Diego are academic appointees and entitled to appropriate professional leave and all other perquisites granted to non-faculty academic personnel. UC San Diego Librarians are expected to participate in library-wide and system-wide planning and governance and to be professionally active. To foster the best possible working and learning environment, all library staff at UC San Diego strive to cultivate a rich and diverse academic environment, inclusive of students, faculty, and staff of varying social, economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and those with disabilities. For more information, please review the UC San Diego Principles of Community. We also encourage the opportunity to build a network of peers that share your similar passions and interests through the UCSD Staff Associations network.
With a current enrollment of more than 30,000 students, UC San Diego is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through excellence in education and research at the undergraduate, graduate, professional school and postdoctoral levels. The campus is committed to community engagement, public service and industry partnerships in order to advance the health and well-being of our region, state, nation and the world.
The University of California, San Diego is recognized as one of the top 10 public universities by U.S. News and World Report and has consistently been ranked as the top college in the nation by Washington Monthly in terms of its public contributions to the nation. UC San Diego attracts $1 billion annually in research funding and is among the top ten universities in the nation in terms of its federal research funding.
Applications will begin being review on 2/18/19 and the position will remain open until filled. For full consideration, applications must be submitted at https://apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF02011 and include the following:
An application letter addressing your interest in this position and applicable qualifications
A resume or CV of education and relevant experience
The names of at least three persons who are knowledgeable about your qualifications and/or suitability for this position
A personal statement summarizing your past or planned contributions to diversity; guidance for preparing diversity statements can be found at: Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion
Compensation: Salary and level of appointment in the Librarian series commensurate with qualifications and experience and based on the University of California pay scales.
Partner Opportunities Program: UC San Diego recognizes that your employment decisions may involve dual career considerations. UCSD provides online and in-person career and relocation assistance to spouses and partners of academic appointees.
AA-EOE: UCSD is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer with a strong institutional commitment to excellence through diversity.
Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Statement of Contributions to Diversity - Applicants should summarize their past or potential contributions to diversity. See our Faculty Equity site for more information.
Misc / Additional (Optional)
Reference requirements
3-4 required (contact information only)
Create an ApplicantID
Provide required information and documents
If any, provide required reference information
To apply, please visit: https://apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF02011
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About University of California, San Diego
UC San Diego is an academic powerhouse and economic engine, recognized as one of the top 8 public universities by U.S. News and World Report. Innovation is central to who we are and what we do. Here, students learn that knowledge isn't just acquired in the classroom - life is their laboratory. UC San Diego's rich academic portfolio includes six undergraduate colleges, five academic divisions and five graduate and professional schools. The university's award-winning scholars are experts at the forefront of their fields with an impressive track record for achieving scientific, medical and technological breakthroughs.
MPA Career Center is Just One of the Benefits.
Discover what else MPA has to offer!
The job you are trying to reach from was originally posted at MPA Career Center.
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James Gunn says we can still "save the world through science fiction"
Filed to: quote of the dayFiled to: quote of the day
Author and science fiction scholar James Gunn has a new book out, Transcendental. And he gave a fantastic interview to SFSignal, in which he talks about the history of the genre. Including the never-ending battle between optimism and pessimism in science fiction.
Gunn says:
Science fiction always has had strains of pessimism and optimism weaving through its historical development, sometimes one dominating and then the other, usually depending on the state of the world. Optimism was powerful after the emergency of the Scientific Enlightenment of the 19th century, but then what Damon Knight called Wells’s “pessimistic irony” responded to the difficult 1890s to be followed by the “propaganda novels” of the early twentieth century, with their hopes for some revolutionary transformation of humanity and the human condition. Two world wars made optimism a difficult position to maintain, but the Allies’ victory in World War II, the dominant role of weapons created in the laboratory and U.S. power in the world raised spirits again, accentuated for a while by the space program and the moon landing, only to be depressed again by the Vietnam War.
Currently the popularity of fantasy surpassing science fiction and the popularity of apocalyptic fiction, particularly for young adults, may indicate a desire to escape a more difficult and confusing reality, even in astrophysics and particle physics. I’ve always believed in the power of rational thinking and behavior as the savior of the world, and science fiction as a powerful medium to encourage that, which explains my signature line, “let’s save the world through science fiction.”
The whole interview is well worth reading. [SF Signal]
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Roman art reveals regular fish were once full-fledged sea monsters
Filed to: ArchaeologyFiled to: Archaeology
Dusky grouper
These days, the dusky grouper is a major predator in the Mediterranean Sea, generally growing to about two feet long. But that wasn't always the case...and ancient mosaics provide a rare chance to see what this beast used to be.
Researchers at Italy's University of Salento examined both artistic and literary references to the dusky grouper throughout history. This isn't just an academic issue - the dusky grouper has been the victim of overfishing in recent decades, leaving the species perilously endangered. To have the best chance at preserving the species, we need to know what their ideal conditions are, and then try to replicate them as best as possible.
If Roman art is any indication, we've never seen a real dusky grouper, at least not one in its real preferred habitat. Twenty-three mosaics depicting the fish dating from the 1st to the 5th century CE were studied, and two major trends emerged. First, dusky groupers used to be huge, seemingly big enough to eat a person, as you can more clearly see in this image (below).
Modern groupers are known to reach about 3.5 feet long, and close to 5 feet is just possible under absolutely perfect circumstances, but this suggests they were once even bigger. Even adjusting for artistic licence, we're likely looking at a species that once enjoyed far more abundant food resources and, as a result, grew to generally greater lengths - enough to enter "sea monster" territory, at least as far as Roman mosaic-makers were concerned.
Secondly, the mosaics consistently depict people hunting the groupers with poles and harpoons. That fishing method wouldn't work out in the deep Mediterranean waters where the dusky grouper is now found. Instead, it strongly suggests that the grouper once lived in shallow waters, and in the intervening centuries has been forced out to the deep water. That fits with references made by the Roman authors Ovid and Pliny the Elder, both of who mention anglers fishing for groupers in shallow waters.
A new picture is potentially starting to emerge, thanks to these mosaics. Before the advent of more extreme commercial fishing practices, the groupers lived in the shallows, which provided them with far greater access to food. Consequently, they grew bigger and stronger than they do today. That's backed up by modern reserves, which have been built in shallow waters for the groupers and have since seen the fish grow up to 40 inches long, as opposed to 24 inches in more "natural" sites. It's all a remarkable example of how ancient art can become modern science.
Via Discovery News. Image by Giorces.
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Jacob Richards
ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY, Class of 2017
Things to know about Jacob
Jacob lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where he is a student at Arizona Christian University and a Ronald Reagan Policy fellow at the Goldwater Institute. Previously, he worked as a Koch Summer fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, California. Jacob was a 2015 ISI honors scholar and is a 2016 recipient of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s Richard and Helen DeVos Freedom Center Leadership Award. His chief intellectual interests lie at the intersection of libertarian and conservative thought in American politics.
Right away, I was struck by the depth of discussion and the commitment to fostering intellectual growth rather than just promoting an ideology.
How did you find out about ISI?
I stumbled blindly into my first ISI event. A professor forwarded me an email invitation to a conference and I attended on a whim. Right away, I was struck by the depth of discussion and the commitment to fostering intellectual growth rather than just promoting an ideology. It was clear to me that ISI filled a void in my life and that I needed to get more involved. Since then, I’ve been to at least one ISI event every semester.
What was the highlight of your undergraduate experience?
The highlight of my undergraduate experience was receiving the DeVos Freedom Center Leadership Award in New York at ISI’s Dinner for Western Civilization. ISI’s programming has meant so much for my education, and being selected for this honor was the perfect way to punctuate my college years.
What have you valued most about ISI?
ISI conferences provide an atmosphere in which conservatism isn’t politically charged. They’re a welcome break from candidates and policy and they provide the chance to discuss first principles.
How have you spent your summers while in college?
I’ve spent my summers doing internships, traveling to conferences, and reading.
Whom do you admire most, and why?
If I were to pick one person, it would be former ISI president and conservative visionary, WiIliam F. Buckley Jr. I admire the way he communicated complex ideas to a popular audience without sacrificing intellectual rigor.
What advice would you give to other students who want to preserve the principles of liberty?
My advice to other students is to read widely. Know the intellectual framework that undergirds your views. In this age of soundbites and sloganeering, set yourself apart from the crowd of campus activists by having a firm grasp on philosophy, economics, and history. In other words, take advantage of all that ISI has to offer!
Back to Spotlights
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Home Sports Shawna Gordon – Bio, Ethnicity, Parents, Family, All About Shemar Moore’s Ex
Shawna Gordon – Bio, Ethnicity, Parents, Family, All About Shemar Moore’s Ex
Without a doubt, soccer in America, despite arguably being the most popular sport in the world does not enjoy a high-profile status in the country, with preference given to sports like basketball and football. However, the inferior popularity hasn’t stopped a number of Americans embracing the sport, enough for the country to have its own homegrown stars, one of which is Shawna Gordon, who has played soccer internationally as a professional player.
Shawna Gordon began playing soccer at high school and has recorded achievements such as playing for teams like Western Sydney Wanders and Umeak IK in Sweden. She has also featured internationally for the United States at Under-20 level.
Here is everything you need to know about Shawna Gordon, including her personal life and career journey.
Shawna Gordon’s Biography, Ethnicity
On the 18th of January, 1990, Shawna Gordon was born in Fontana, California to her parents. Much of her familial background is unknown other than the fact she was born to mixed parents and thus, is a woman with multi-ethnic roots.
Shawna Gordon was raised in Rancho Cucamonga and she began her education at Los Osos High School where she also began her football career, playing for her school’s soccer team.
At high school, Shawna Gordon helped her school to two league championships and was named in the league’s first team four times during her time as a player, including getting named the most valuable player during her senior year.
Her soccer development included stints at Arsenal and in the Olympic Development Program camps where she spent five years, helping the ’90 Cal South ODP team to a national championship and a second-place finish over the course of five years. Following the completion of high school, Shawna Gordon joined California State University and played college soccer for Long Beach State 49ers.
A central midfielder, Shawna Gordon spent four years playing for the team, playing a total of 89 games and scoring 17 goals, leading the team to three Big West titles along with appearances in three NCAA Tournaments.
After completing her college education, she moved on to player football professional and signed with the Boston Breakers, although she never made her appearance for the team before she moved on to Western Sydney Wanders FC in Australia where she played ten games and scored a lone goal during her time at the club.
After leaving Western Sydney, Shawna Gordon moved on to Umea IK where she spent a year. She returned to America and joined Sky Blue FC in New Jersey, and played a total of twenty-one games for the club.
At the International level, Shawna Gordon has represented the United States playing in the Under-17 and under-20 soccer teams.
Shawan Gordon with her ex-boyfriend, Shemar Moore
Aside from her fame as a soccer player, Shawna Gordon’s popularity also comes via her relationship with Shemar Moore, the actor, and former model.
The couple was reportedly in a relationship for a long time, appearing in various events and public spaces together in what many considered a solid and lasting relationship between both parties.
Unfortunately, like Shemar Moore’s previous relationships with other notable personalities like Halle Berry and Toni Braxton, the relationship with Shawna Gordon came to an unceremonious end.
Since the high-profile relationship ended, Shawna Gordon hasn’t been known to be in any public relationship, and while that might suggest she is single, her Instagram page (@_shawnagordon_) suggests she might be in a relationship with an unknown man. Regardless, nothing has so far been confirmed by the soccer player.
Family – Parents
When it comes to her parents, Shawna Gordon has done a good job of keeping them out of the media spotlight. Despite the fact her career trajectory shows she has had supportive parents over the course of her career as a soccer player, we have been unable to learn any valuable information about her parents.
See Also: Alex Morgan – Bio, Wedding, Husband, Soccer Career, Salary
So far, the only known fact about her parents is their status as an inter-racial marriage.
What Is Shawna Gordon’s Net Worth and Salary?
The lack of popularity of soccer in the US, combined with the comparative difference in salary for women soccer players in the world compared to their male counterparts, means Shawna Gordon doesn’t enjoy a hefty amount of salary as a professional player.
Regardless, a long career in the sport, combined with her work as a model has helped her to an estimated net worth of $1 million. She is believed to be earning $85,000 in salary per year.
Mandy Rose – Bio, Age, Husband, Dating, Boyfriend, Height, Net Worth
Shaun White – Biography, Net Worth, Age, Wife and Career Achievements
Braun Strowman – Bio, Wife, Height, Age, Girlfriend/Partner, Weight, Net Worth
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Category: Press Statements
Malaysian Bar: Supremacy of Federal Constitution and Syariah Court Enactments (2016) June 8, 2016
Malaysian Bar Press Release | Preserve, Respect and Uphold the Supremacy of the Federal Constitution
The Malaysian Bar is extremely concerned over recent attempts by certain parties to ignore or reject entrenched principles in our supreme law, namely the Federal Constitution.[1]
It was reported that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Dato’ Seri Jamil Khir Baharom (“Minister”) said that “the laws to ban unilateral conversion contravenes [sic] Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution which states the religion of a minor under the age of 18 can be determined by their respective mother or father”.[2]
The Minister’s remarks are erroneous. Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution provides: “For the purposes of Clause (3), the religion of a person under the age of eighteen years shall be decided by his parent or guardian” (emphasis added).[3] Article 12(4) must be read with the interpretation provisions in the Federal Constitution — Article 160 and the Eleventh Schedule — that provide that all words in the singular also include the plural. Hence, the religion of children under the age of 18 is to be decided by both parents, where both parents are alive. Continue reading “Malaysian Bar: Supremacy of Federal Constitution and Syariah Court Enactments (2016) June 8, 2016”
Author Kam WengPosted on June 8, 2016 Categories Fundamental Liberties, Islamization of Malaysian Laws, Press Statements, Shariah
MCCBCHST: WE REJECT THE PRIVATE MEMBERS BILL ON HUDUD
Henceforth, the new Hudud Bill or the “Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment) Bill 2016” that is tabled in Parliament should be called UMNO-PAS Hudud Bill. After all, without special assistance from UMNO, the Bill that was tabled by PAS (Hadi) would not get a chance to be debated in Parliament. If passed, the Bill will place the Federal Constitution on a slippery slide leading to a Shariah dominated Constitution. Malaysia will go the way of Pakistan where religious minorities (Christians) are often subject to false accusations and punishment under the Islamic Blasphemy Law. Nearer home, we should be alarmed at the prospect of non-Muslims being caned for ‘violating’ Islamic offences: Re: “Woman, 60, Caned for Selling Alcohol in Aceh” StraitsTimes (14 April 2016); See Also “For First Time in Indonesia, non-Muslim Caned under Islamic law” LosAngelesTimes (16 April 2016).
Perhaps, it would be good to refresh our understanding of the Kelantan Hudud Law: LINK
In the face of this present danger, Non-Muslims (especially East Malaysians) must go beyond a adopting poster of resignation and quiet skepticism toward the hollow assurance from the Prime Minister. They must call upon their Members of Parliament and insist that their MPs vote against the UMNO-PAS Hudud Bill.
To read and comment on the full post, please visit my other blog, Religious Liberty Watch: MCCBCHST: WE REJECT THE PRIVATE MEMBERS BILL ON HUDUD LINK
Author Kam WengPosted on June 1, 2016 Categories Islam, Islamization of Malaysian Laws, Press Statements, Shariah
Call for Rational Debate of Hudud and Implementation of Syariah Compliant Govenment Policies on Non-Muslims
It is encouraging to find Malaysians across the race-and-religion divide coming together to call for rational debate on hudud and the related Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (1993), and affirming that:
– As all Malaysians, Muslims or non-Muslims, Kelantanese or non-Kelantanese, are rightful stakeholders in the enforcement of KSCC, no one should be penalised, threatened or ridiculed for having or expressing any opinion on the matter.
– The success of Islamic banking in winning over the hearts and minds of non-Muslims through rigour and proven benefits, rather than a deceiving assurance of non-Muslim exclusion or a sloppy “trial-and-error” attitude, should be an inspiring example.
– The implementation of KSCC must not be decided on a winner-takes-all manner, such as a simple majority in the Dewan Rakyat, for this will risk tearing the country apart.
– The inclusive spirit of the Federal Constitution and the 1963 Malaysia Agreement, which lay down the secular basis of the Federation of Malaysia, must be upheld.
First, the provisions of the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code is so evidently ultra vires the Federal Constitution that there is a prima facie case to reject it out of hand. It is agreed that the call for rational dialogue should not be restricted to debating whether one should support or oppose hudud. It is a call to all Malaysians to respect the provision related to the status of Islam and other religions in the Federal Constitution which is premised on a secular framework. Put concretely, the starting point for dialogue should be the original intent of the Federal Constitution as a secular-state where there is no establishment of religion, or provision for a dominating position for Islam. In this regard hudud or any Islamic law should not be part of our legal system, except in matters of personal law specifically enumerated in the Constitution. See related post: Malaysia Social Contract (Part 1): Religion and Equal Citizenship and Historic Documents on the drafting of the Constitution.
Second, the rational debate should publicly call into question not only the overt hudud agenda of the Kelantan government, but also the arguably, clandestine introduction of syariah compliant provisions in various State enactments in UMNO dominated State Legislative Assemblies (Dewan Undangan Negeri), and imposition of syariah compliant policies in the government departments affecting non-Muslims. Hudud naturally elicits strong and vocal opposition from all reasonable Malaysians as its implementation is an obvious and undeniable act of injustice against non-Muslims. In contrast, the introduction of syariah compliant laws and departmental policies are subtly and incrementally implemented so that non-Muslims remain unaware of the gradual erosion of their fundamental liberties.
In either case, the inclusive spirit and universal justice enshrined in the Federal Constitution would be shattered by the fatal blow of hudud, or gradually extinguished by the covertly introduced syariah compliant laws of the State Legislative Assemblies and government department policies. Continue reading “Call for Rational Debate of Hudud and Implementation of Syariah Compliant Govenment Policies on Non-Muslims”
Author Kam WengPosted on April 14, 2015 Categories Fundamental Liberties, Islamization of Malaysian Laws, Legal Issues, Press Statements, Shariah
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An Eclectic Combination of Classical and Jazz Idioms: Nikolai Kapustin's Piano Works
Choi_ku_0099D_13982_DATA_1.pdf (4.026Mb)
Choi, Jiwon
D.M.A.
Copyright held by the author.
The piano music of Nikolai Kapustin is a sophisticated synthesis of classical traditions and jazz styles. He has absorbed jazz styles into standard classical form and his approach to jazz idioms is authentic and original compared to other classical composers such as Ravel, Debussy, Stravinsky, and Ligeti, who also wrote jazz-inspired pieces. Kapustin adopted the virtuosic playing of Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum, the unique style of Erroll Garner, and the rich texture and harmony of his experience with big bands. On the other hand, Kapustin’s use of forms conforms to the classical tradition and many of his works recall formal and technical influences of classical composers, especially from Romantic and Russian composers. The Twenty-Four Preludes, Op. 53, published in 1988, is one of Kapustin’s most satisfying works and an ambitious genre to exhibit his extraordinary grasp of both jazz and classical music. The Preludes incorporate a large range of jazz techniques and styles with a variety of rhythms, tempos, and melody as well as the clear structural organization of classical music. A classical pianist performing these works must possess a formidable technique and comprehensive understanding of jazz playing. This study examines on jazz idioms and classical influences in Kapustin’s music and how he combined them to create his own style. The document consists of three parts: biographical information and background, Kapustin’s unique musical voice and influences, and a detailed analysis of the classical and jazz blend found in the Twenty-Four Preludes, Op. 53, including performance considerations. I hope my study will elucidate his compositional brilliance and encourage even more pianists to explore his music.
Music Dissertations and Theses [199]
Dissertations [3546]
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Old or New they all will do to write down here and entertain you!
Coughs and Sneezes Spread Diseases
Man cannot discover new oceans until he has the courage to lose sight of the shore !
His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.
I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."
"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.
Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.
"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.
I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of." And that he did. Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.
What saved his life this time? Penicillin.
The name of the nobleman, Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name, Sir Winston Churchill.
Good as New
The family Bible can be passed from generation to generation, because it gets so little wear.
How To Know If Your Getting Old
Just Another Poppy
It is a fact that a serving soldier has been killed every year since the end of the First World War, with the exception of 1968, when no soldier met with death.
There are no strangers in Wiltshire, just people that you have yet to meet!
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Italy Artist Painter Art Gay
Renaissance Painter
d. May 17, 1510
“Figures are designed and painted with plastic subtlety and confident mastery; they are incarnate with vitality, each seeming to have taken form unforced, imaged on wall or panel or canvas with resolute immediacy.” – Ronald Lightbown, “Botticelli: Life and Work”
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli, was an esteemed painter during the early Italian Renaissance. His most famous works include “The Birth of Venus,” “The Primavera” and “The Adoration of the Magi.”
The son of a tanner, Botticelli was born in Florence, Italy—the epicenter of the Renaissance—where he lived for most of his life. He trained under Fra Filippo Lippi, one of the city’s most prominent artists. As Lippi’s apprentice, Botticelli studied composition and painting techniques. He began painting frescoes in Florentine churches and spent most of his career employed by the politically powerful Medici family.
Botticelli painted prolifically during the 1480s. During this period, he completed “The Birth of Venus” (c. 1484-86). Groundbreaking for its nudity and the artist’s use of a canvas, as opposed to a traditional wood-panel substrate, it is one of the most celebrated and iconic paintings in history. Based on the writings of Homer, it depicts the naked goddess Venus arriving at the shore on a seashell. “The Birth of Venus” hangs in the famed Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
Botticelli’s late 1470s painting, “The Primavera” (meaning “spring”) features a gathering of mythological figures in a grove. Considered one of the gallery’s most significant works, it also resides in the Uffizi.
By 1472 Botticelli had his own workshop. He mentored Filippino Lippi, the son of his teacher. As his success grew, Botticelli was summoned by the pope to help paint the walls of the Sistine Chapel in Rome
Botticelli never married. He was friends with Leonardo da Vinci, and the two collaborated. Many understood Botticelli to be homosexual. Although most of his subject matter concerned mythological characters, the Madonna and religious scenes, Botticelli also painted portraits in which art historians have noted homoeroticism.
Botticelli is regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. His paintings adorn the walls of the world’s most prestigious galleries and museums. In 2016 he was portrayed in the international television series “Medici: Masters of Florence.”
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Why Christian Terrorism is an Oxymoron While Islamic Terrorism is a Truism
Posted on December 4, 2015 December 4, 2015 by Michael Minkoff
In the wake of the Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting, many political commentators have been quick to criticize Republicans for being unwilling to call Robert Lewis Dear a “Christian terrorist” though those same Republicans want to call ISIS and its agents “Islamic terrorists.” Here’s a representative example of this argument from (of course) Think Progress:
But while some famous conservatives such [as] Mike Huckabee were eventually willing to call the massacre [Does this really count as a “massacre”?] a case of “domestic terrorism,” many on social media demanded that right-wing politicians refer to Dear as a “Christian terrorist.” They noted that it is hypocritical for GOP presidential candidates such as Marco Rubio to mock President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for not using the phrase “Islamic terrorism” when discussing militant groups such as ISIS, but avoid ascribing the same standard to terrorists who cite Christianity as their inspiration.
On the face of it, that criticism seems valid. If you think it’s important to cite the religious affiliation of one religiously motivated group, its seems like you should be equally concerned to cite the religion of another religiously motivated group. But right there, in that little word “group,” you have the reason why the phrase Christian terrorism makes far less sense than Islamic terrorism. The shooting at the Colorado Planned Parenthood was the solitary work of a deranged individual, not a group, whereas the terrorist acts in Paris were the concerted work of a self-professedly Islamic group that has been quite busy committing terrorist acts as part of its stated purpose for existence.
Robert Lewis Dear may have claimed to be Christian, but he was not part of any wider Christian community. He may have been inspired by the loosely organized and barely active so-called Army of God, but Dear himself was just one single messed up guy. And he was clearly not faithful to Christianity either privately or publicly. His ex-wife had these words to say on that topic:
“[Dear] claims to be a Christian and is extremely evangelistic, but does not follow the Bible in his actions,” Ms. Micheau said in the court document. “He says that as long as he believes he will be saved, he can do whatever he pleases. He is obsessed with the world coming to an end.” [Emphasis addded.]
And that’s not just Micheau’s perspective. Overwhelmingly, the global Christian community has condemned Dear’s actions. His murderous act is not supportable through Scripture by any reasonable interpretation. He may claim to be Christian to salve his conscience, but he is not living a life consistent with that claim.
But the situation is very different for Islamic terrorists. Very obviously, there is a group of Islamic radicals who self-label as Islamic. Duh. And they very much consider themselves to be faithful Muslims. Furthermore, the larger Muslim community has not overwhelmingly condemned their actions. Sure, you can find a number of Muslims here and there who will say that Islamic practice should be peaceful, but most of those Muslims live either here in the US or in more moderate secular Muslim societies. There are plenty of large Muslim communities around the world with a far different take. And anti-jihad Muslims are generally considered liberals and sellouts by an extremely significant number of those self-labelled “orthodox” Muslims.
Just look at what happened before a soccer match between Turkey and Greece when fans were asked to honor a moment of silence for the Parisian terror victims. What did the overwhelming majority of Turkish fans do? They booed and whistled. Some shouted, “Allahu Akbar.” That’s not an isolated incident. Huge numbers of Muslims all over the world have been cheering ISIS on.
And this is probably more significant: take a look at terrorists claiming a Christian justification versus terrorists claiming an Islamic justification. Deaths from so-called “Christian” terrorist acts are in the hundreds. And even when people are really stretching for cases (like including Timothy McVeigh, for instance, who was obviously not motivated by much more than anti-government sentiment), the death toll is pretty tame and the incidents are few and far between.
Consider that the terrorist act on 9/11 killed more people than all of the acts of “Christian” terrorism in the US combined. And that isn’t even bringing in worldwide Islamic violence. Muslims have been killing each other, killing Christians, killing Jews, and killing everyone else in the Middle East (and all over the world) in huge numbers for hundreds of years. And nearly all of these killings have been “justified” by the Koran. But don’t take it from me. There are dozens of verses from the “infallible” Koran that advocate, and even command, violence for individual “true believers.”
So the Muslims who choose not to engage in terrorism are not really the orthodox of the Muslim world. They are choosing to interpret the Koran loosely in order to pursue peace. Whereas the so-called Christians who commit violence in Jesus’ name are interpreting the Bible loosely in order to reject peace.
After all, the Koran has a perpetual doctrine of jihad established by Muhammad himself. Islam was literally founded on violence. Let’s not forget that Mecca, the holy city of Islam, was conquered by Muhammad and his military force. The only commands you find for violence in the Bible are carefully limited by either historical or jurisdictional context. To use any of those verses to condone individual violence for Christians in the modern day is to take those verses wildly out of context and flatly distort orthodox Christian teaching. But the Islamic doctrine of jihad has no expiration date and the vaguest contextual limitations. It still stands for the Islamic faithful.
So, in the end, the line of questioning should look like this: “Can you be a faithful Muslim living a life reasonably in accord with your religion’s inscripturated teachings and also be a terrorist?” The answer is yes. It is possible to live in accord with the interpretive consensus of any number of national Islamic communities and believe firmly that Islamic jihad requires acts of international terrorism. And on the other hand, the related question would be: “Can you be a faithful Christian living a life reasonably in accord with your religion’s inscripturated teachings and also be a terrorist?” The answer is unequivocally no.
All “Christian terrorists” are either lone wolves or are living in cultish, infinitesimal minority fringes. They are clearly extremist. If you are going to claim that ISIS holds an extremist version of Islam, you have to say then that there are entire countries who hold to an extremist version of Islam. That starts to really abuse the idea of extremism. Jihad and its attending acts of terrorism are not extreme in many Islamic communities. They’re the norm. Islamic terrorism is not merely an isolated fringe reality within the larger Muslim community. For large swaths of the Muslim community, Islamic terrorism and holy war against the infidel West is orthodox Islamic practice. There’s not really any way around that.
I am not falling prey to special pleading here. The flat fact is that a reasonable Muslim can also be a terrorist. A reasonable Christian cannot be. So it is perfectly fair to link at least a few orthodox branches of Muslim thought to jihadist terrorism. It is not fair to link any orthodox branches of Christianity to terrorism, as there really is no reasonable interpretation of Christianity that would justify terrorist acts. It really is that simple.
Posted in Christianity, Islam, Middle East, Religion, TerrorismTagged ISIS, orthodox islam, religious extremist
Atheists Get School Nativity Scene Performance Banned
Report: Mass Shootings on the Rise…but Only in Gun-Free Zones
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Home » 9-day Shanghai & Beijing
Shanghai – Beijing
This affordable premium tour takes in China’s two most popular destinations and the world’s fastest high speed train in between. Highlights include the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.
Top guides handpicked by the owners of Laurus Travel.
Free in-room Wi-Fi in all hotels.
Quality meals in non-tourist restaurants.
Inter-city travel by bullet train.
Great Wall visit at Mutianyu including cable car.
Half-day Jewish heritage tour in Shanghai.
Peking Opera show in Beijing.
Meal Code: B = breakfast / L = Chinese / D = dinner
Scroll down for dates, prices and hotel list.
Day 1/Mon: Departing Home City
The journey begins with your transpacific flight departing from a city of your choice. You’ll lose a day upon crossing the International Date Line.
Day 2/Tue: Arrival in Shanghai
Welcome to Shanghai! Your transfer from the airport to the hotel is included. Enjoy the balance of the day at leisure upon hotel check-in.
China vacation travel
Day 3/Wed: Shanghai (B/L/D)
With a population of 24 million (2015), Shanghai is China’s biggest city. Rapid economic growth in the past 30 years has again turned Shanghai into a leading global city with significant influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology and transport. Today’s visitors to Shanghai are delighted by its futuristic skyline that blends so well with its treasured historical landmarks.
Following tour orientation we visit Jade Buddha Temple located in an old neighbourhood, the famous waterfront promenade known as the Bund, and the Yu Garden in the old town centre. We wrap up the day with a drive through the glitzy financial district of Lujiazui on the opposite side of the Bund across Huangpu River.
Day 4/Thu: Shanghai (B)
Day 5/Fri: Shanghai – Beijing (B)
After breakfast we ride’s the world’s fastest train (350km/h) to Beijing.
Capital of China, Beijing is a world-class cultural and educational centre with a population of 21 million (2013), ranking it China’s second largest city behind Shanghai. Beijing is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, and huge stone walls and gates, treasures that make it the most popular tourist city in China by the number of visitors it receives every year.
Beijing was already a strategically important city in northern China for centuries when Kublai Khan (1215-1294) of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) moved his capital here from Karakorum in Mongolia. With the collapse of the vast Mongol empire in 1368, Beijing, known as Da Du or Grand Capital at the time, lost its status as the country’s capital. But the city regained its capital status in 1420 when the imperial court of the successive Ming Dynasty relocated to Beijing from Nanjing. Beijing continued to serve as China’s capital after Manchu tribes dethroned the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty in 1644 and established the Great Qing Empire (Qing Dynasty), which lasted till 1912.
Free afternoon. Optional sightseeing in Lama Temple may be available upon request. Lama Temple, commonly known as Yonghe Temple among locals, was built in 1694 as residence of Prince Yong (Yinzhen), one of the sons of Emperor Kangxi. After Prince Yong ascended the throne as Emperor Yongzheng in 1722, half of his former residence was turned into a lamasery – a monastery for monks of Tibetan Buddhism.
We conclude the day with a stop at a hutong neighbourhood. Hutong refers to an ancient alleyway with siheyuan or ”4-sided courtyard house” on both sides. The name hutong dates back to the Yuan Dynasty (1279 – 1368 A.D.). According to some experts, the word originated from the Mongolian language, in which it is pronounced as hottog and means “well.” In ancient times, people tended to gather and live around wells. So the original meaning of hutong should be “a place where people live around”.
Day 8/Mon: Beijing (B/L)
This morning we visit Summer Palace, a well preserved UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. The imperial resort was first named Garden of Clear Ripples, which was burnt down by the allied forces of Great Britain and France in 1860 at the end of the Second Opium War (referred to as Arrow War by the British). Reconstruction started 25 years later and was completed in 1895 when the name was changed to Yi He Yuan (Garden of Good Health and Harmony). The design gives prominence to Longevity Hill, and Kunming Lake south of the hill. The sprawling complex covers an area of 290 hectares and the buildings inside consist of over 3,000 bays.
After lunch the afternoon is set free for you to shop and explore on your own.
Day 9/Tue: Beijing – Home City (B)
Free morning. Transfer to airport to board your return flight. Arrive home the same day.
Shanghai 3 Sheraton Shanghai Hongkou or similar luxury
Price is per person based on double occupancy. Payment by cheque or cash only.
scroll down for what the tour price includes and excludes.
2019 Dates and Prices
(Mon) Return
(Tue) Land Only*
Jun 24 Jul 02 $1999/$1499 $838/$625
Jul 08 Jul 16 $1999/$1499 $838/$625
Jul 18 (Thur) Jul 26 (Fri) $1999/$1499 $838/$625
Sep 02 Sep 10 $2110/$1575 $935/$699
Sep 23 Oct 01 $2110/$1575 $935/$699
Oct 07 Oct 15 $2110/$1575 $935/$699
Nov 11 Nov 19 $1999/$1499 $838/$625
* Land Only price does not include international air.
2nd class seat on high speed train from Shanghai to Beijing
A full-time tour leader for groups with 10+ guests.
Tips for tour leader where applicable. Our recommended amount is USD 10 per day per guest.
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NCC Charges Telcos To Double Telecom Investment To $140bn
CHIMA AKWAJA Lagos
The executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has charged licenced mobile network operators (MNOs) to double their telecom investments to $140 billion over the next 10 years by deploying pervasive network infrastructure across the country.
He said this would help meet the growing demand for affordable and accessible broadband services, promote the growth of businesses across all sectors of the economy and create employment for the teeming youth.
Danbatta, who was principal keynote speaker at the 2019 Telecom Executives and Regulator Forum organised by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) in Lagos yesterday, said the $70 billion investment recorded in Nigeria was huge, but it was by no means adequate for one of the fastest growing telecommunications markets in the world.
The telecom regulator, who was represented by Mohammed Babajika, Director Policy Competitors and Economic Analysis Development, NCC said there were over 40 million Nigerians yet to be reached with basic telecom infrastructure and services.
“The capital intensity of the industry, the need for service providers to increase their infrastructure deployment to satisfy the ever-increasing demand, create room for double the size of this investment in the next 10 years,” he said.
Danbatta going further said, “The NCC roadmap for broadband has created new frontiers for investment. The quest for data and social media as well as the increasing value added services create new frontiers for investments. Therefore, the desire for investment in the sector will continue to grow as the size of the network increases.”
Reiterating that robust telecommunications network was important for economic growth, which is achievable through investment. The NCC has consistently provided the enabling environment for growth and a level playing field for competition in the industry.
On eradication of the influx of cloned and fake phones and other telecoms devices in Nigeria, Danbatta stated that NCC has conceived a Mobile Device Management System (MDMS).
KEDCO Appeals For Bill Payments
NNPC Seeks Collaborate With EFCC
NEWS1 hour ago
Obaseki Has No Plan To Leave APC, Says Aide
The Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Political and Community Matters, Chief Osaro Idah, has said that Governor Godwin...
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Tag Archives: matthew flinders
Posted on 26/03/2017 | 15 comments
There’s been a bit of noise about Matthew Flinders’ grave just recently. There are plans to extend the very fast train system from London to the north of England, and to do this, a lot of Euston Station and its surroundings will be dug up and redeveloped.
This includes the old graveyard of St James’ Church, where about 61,000 bodies were buried, Flinders included. Some of the graveyard was dug up during the 19th century during various expansions of the station, so many of these bodies have already disappeared. Apparently when his widow died in 1852, her sister looked for the grave but couldn’t find it. The first expansion of Euston Station was then underway.
Matthew Flinders watercolour miniature, c.1800, from State Library of New South Wales
The Victorians tended to take a brutally unsentimental attitude to such things, as the old music hall song suggests:
They’re moving grandpa’s grave to build a sewer,
They’re moving it regardless of expense.
They’re taking his remains, to put in 9-inch drains,
To irrigate some rich bloke’s residence.
In Australia, Flinders is one of the best-known naval explorers, so it’s a bit startling to find a 2014 article in the (English) Guardian announcing the erection of a statue at Australia House ‘to the most famous navigator you’ve probably never heard of’.
I don’t suppose many people these days read Ernestine Hill, My Love Must Wait (1941), a fictionalized life of Matthew Flinders, but when it was first published it was a bestseller, and it was commonly set as a text book in Australian schools. The Esplanade at the end of my street in Sandgate was renamed Flinders Parade at about this time, and Flinders became a common place name. He shares with only James Cook, John Monash, Charles Darwin and Charles Sturt, the honour of having a university named after him.
It helps to have a cat, too.
One of my favourite Flinders stories comes from early in his exploring career. In 1798, he and Bass sailed south to circumnavigate Tasmania. This was an important matter: if the southernmost tip of the continent was a separate island, it wasn’t covered by Cook’s original claim of possession. On their way back, they stopped somewhere along the Ninety Mile Beach, where they came across a group of Aboriginal people feasting on a beached whale.
Soon afterward a man made his appearance. He was of middle age, unarmed, except for a whaddie, or wooden scimitar, and came up to us seemingly with careless confidence. We made much of him, and gave him some biscuit; and he in turn presented us with a piece of gristly fat, probably of whale. This I tasted; but watching an opportunity to spit it out when he should not be looking, I perceived him doing precisely the same thing with our biscuit. (Matthew Flinders, 7 October 1798)
I like the parallel revulsion of the two men towards each others’ gifts of food – whale blubber and ship’s biscuit – and their equal politeness in trying to spit them out discreetly.
Flinders married Ann Chappelle in 1801, intending to take her out to Australia with him on his next voyage of exploration. It was not uncommon for the captain’s wife to sail with her husband, though it was controversial. (Jane Austen covers the debate in Persuasion, set just a few years later.) In this case the Admiralty chastised Flinders for taking Ann aboard, and she was not allowed to go out with him. On his way home from New South Wales, the French Governor of Mauritius detained Flinders there, and it was 9 years before Ann saw her husband again.
By then she was 40. In 1812 she gave birth to their only child, a daughter, Anne. Flinders managed to get A voyage to Terra Australis published just before he died in 1814, but the book had less impact than he would have hoped, because the record of the Baudin expedition had already been published. (François Péron Voyage de découvertes aux Terres Australes (1807; English translation 1809).
Flinders’ widow and daughter lived on in genteel poverty. For years they pleaded with the British Government for a pension in acknowledgement of Flinders’ work and early death, but as the Guardian article suggests, Flinders was forgotten in his native land. It was only in 1853 that the two colonial governments of New South Wales and Victoria agreed to grant an annuity of £100 per year to the Flinders family.
Ann Flinders had died the year before. That same year, at the age of 40, her daughter Anne married an engineer, William Petrie. Like her mother, she had one child, a son, born at an age – 41 – when childbirth was very dangerous for older women. She named him William after his father, and Matthew Flinders after her own father.
Anne was a scholar of sorts. In 1845, under the pseudonym Philomathes, she published a book, The Connexion between Revelation and Mythology Illustrated and Vindicated, which shows her fascination with Egyptian mythology. She also wrote essays for periodicals under the initials “X.Q.’ Her husband William Petrie was a scientist who took an early interest in electricity and magnetism, and is credited with inventing an early arc light. These two scholarly, aging parents taught their only son at home, using the colonial annuity of £100 per year to enhance his education. He was interested in science and mathematics, but also fascinated, as his parents were, by Egypt. He first went out there in 1880.
He didn’t use his first names, so few people know of the connection, but he eventually became a good deal more famous than his eminent grandfather, in Britain at least. Perhaps there’s an irony in the fact that if archaeologists dig up the graveyard in St James’s Gardens, they will do so according to scientific principles of archaeology that were first laid down by Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie in his ‘small but epoch-making book’, Methods and Aims in Archaeology (1904).
Posted in australian history, biography, european history
Tagged Ann Flinders, archaeology, egypt, Euston station, Flinders Petrie, matthew flinders, William Petrie
Whaling, then and now
It’s very sad that a baby humpback that beached itself on Bribie Island the other week had to be put down, but there’s no doubting the care and concern of the many volunteers who turned out to try to save it. These days, the general public turns out in droves to see whales. They have long been a staple of the tourist industry, but there’s nothing quite like the delight of seeing whales arrive of their own accord in Sydney Harbour.
It was different for the whale that swam up the Derwent into central Hobart in 1852. The Colonial Times reported that
‘On Wednesday morning last much excitement was caused on the wharves by the novel appearance of a black whale which was first seen to approach Battery Point, thence swim along the New Wharf to Constitution Dock. Crowds of people gathered, shouting ‘There he is’ and ‘Here he is’ as a whale moved along the waterfront.’ Immediately, those who could do so took to their boats to give chase. ‘They were the first to ‘get fast’ and to plunge the harpoon into the monster of the deep.’
The dead whale was hauled alongside, and cut up for its oil. It measured 40 feet, and was expected to yield 5 tons of oil. Attitudes change. In the last few days there have been reports that Japan may finally be reassessing its ‘scientific whaling’.
Beached whales were a useful, if erratic, food source for Aborigines, arriving during the winter months when other supplies were sometimes scarce. In September 1790, Governor Phillip and his men came across people feasting on a stranded whale at Manly, and when Bass and Flinders visited Twofold Bay, they met a group eating whale. Flinders wrote on 7 October 1798:
Soon afterward a man made his appearance. He was of middle age, unarmed, except for a whaddie, or wooden scimitar, and came up to us seemingly with careless confidence. We made much of him, and gave him some biscuit; and he in turn presented us with a piece of gristly fat, probably of whale. This I tasted; but watching an opportunity to spit it out when he should not be looking, I perceived him doing precisely the same thing with our biscuit.
Australia has a long history of whaling. Some of the ships of the First Fleet were whalers, and until the 1830s, whale oil was a more valuable export than wool. It continued to be important throughout the 19th century. In the 20th century, kerosene replaced whale oil, and plastics replaced whalebone, but the industry continued on a limited scale for another 70 years.
Oswald Brierly, Whalers off Twofold Bay, from Wikimedia Commons. Although the painting is dated 1867, it illustrates bay whaling in the 1840s, when Brierly was manager at Twofold Bay, near Eden.
Whale numbers were already declining in the 19th century, and the situation grew worse with the development of new, post-Moby-Dick technologies such as factory boats and mechanical harpoons.
In the 1930s nations began to demand regulation of whaling. The League of Nations supported a Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, but over 46,000 whales were killed in the southern oceans in one year, 1937-8. In 1939 a 10-year moratorium on killing humpbacks was declared. The naval war probably protected whales more effectively – except for those occasionally mistaken for submarines and killed by depth charges.
The International Whaling Commission was established in 1948. The original aim of the IWC was not to outlaw whaling, but to regulate it. Mathematical models attempted to estimate how many whales could be killed sustainably. Australia set up a commission to regulate the industry when humpback whaling began again in 1949, with whaling stations at Albany (WA), Eden and Byron Bay (NSW) and Moreton Island (QLD). Inspectors visited regularly during the winter season.
At that point, the humpback population was estimated at approximately 10,000. However the IWC’s modeling seemed wrong for throughout the 1950s, the numbers of whales continued to fall. By 1960, Tangalooma couldn’t find enough whales to meet its allocated quota, and closed in 1962, and the final station, Albany, in 1973.
Why were the models wrong? It was only in the 1990s, when the old Soviet archives were opened, that zoologists discovered that during the 1950s and 1960s, a Soviet whaling fleet was operating in Antarctic waters, killing large numbers of whales without any respect for the quotas imposed by the IWC. This slaughter made the mathematical model irrelevant, and whale numbers plummeted.
Eventually, in the Antarctic as well, the numbers of whales fell so low that harvesting became unprofitable. Since the 1970s the numbers of most species have been rising, but in some species, the selective slaughter of the largest animals has probably affected the gene pool so that individual animals are smaller than the average size in earlier centuries.
For one baby humpback, the natural risks of life proved too great, but the man-made risks are no longer a worry, and fortunately his (or her) species is doing pretty well these days. I hope this continues.
A shorter version of this post appeared in the Weekend Australian here on 13 August 2011.
Posted in australian history, environmental history, maritime history
Tagged history of whaling, matthew flinders, oswald brierly, whales
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Frank J. Sciremammano
frank.sciremammano@gpmlaw.com
Robert Kass
robert.kass@gpmlaw.com
600 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.
The Watergate - Suite 700
Washington, DC20037
Frank Sciremammano is a diligent problem-solver, tackling the toughest litigation issues faced by his clients. Working primarily with businesses, he recognizes that each client’s ideal resolution will differ—whether that means a win in the courtroom, a well-crafted settlement, or a sizable arbitration award. No matter the desired outcome, Frank provides thorough and efficient representation in service of his clients’ business objectives.
Frank focuses on franchise, distribution, and other business litigation and white collar defense matters. He advises some of the nation’s largest franchisors and regularly defends and prosecutes cases on their behalf in matters involving the enforcement of covenants not to compete, vicarious liability, business torts, and trademark infringement, among others. Frank’s experience also includes representing clients in commercial contract disputes and defending individuals in connection with various fraud and trade secret disputes. He represents clients ranging from individuals and small employers to public entities and international corporations. Frank also contributes regularly to The GPMemorandum, a monthly Gray Plant Mooty publication that addresses legal topics of interest to franchisors.
Before attending law school, Frank worked as a radio personality in top 40 and alternative rock radio, and also as an afternoon traffic reporter for CBS Radio in Rochester, NY.
Franchise Litigation & Dispute Resolution
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124 U.S. 505 - District of Columbia v. Gallaher
124 US 505 District of Columbia v. Gallaher
8 S.Ct. 585
GALLAHER et al.
Atty. Gen. Garland and Asst. Atty. Gen. Howard, for appellant.
Th. Hughes and Woodbury Blair, for appellees.
MATTHEWS, J.
This suit was brought against the District of Columbia for the recovery of the sum of $138,459.55; of this $35, 36.49 were alleged to be payable as the balance due upon a contract for building and completing the brick arch upon stone abutments of Tiber creek sewer, as set out and described in the contract and specifications attached to the petition, at the price of $113 per lineal foot. The additional sum of $98,130.44 was alleged to be due on account of extra work and materials furnished by the contractors beyond the requirements of the contract in and about the same work. This indebtedness was denied, and the defendant also filed a plea of set-off in the sum of $82,176; of this, $7,176 was for the value of stone alleged to have been sold by the defendant to the claimants, $35,000 on account of deficiencies in the construction of the sewer, and $40,000 as the reasonable cost and expense of filling the canal for the whole length of the sewer, which the defendant claimed the petitioners were bound by their contract to do. Upon the facts found by the court, it was held that the claimants were entitled to recover upon their claims the sum of $43,935.74; that the defendant was entitled to recover upon the set-off and counter-claim the sum of $1,479; and judgment was rendered in favor of the petitioners for the difference, being the sum of $42,456.74.
The facts as found by the court, so far as material, are as follows: The Tiber creek, prior to the year 1871, was a natural stream of water flowing through the city of Washington, and discharging into what was then known as the 'Washington Canal,' on Third street west, between Maine and Missouri avenues, and by that in the Eastern branch.
Among the improvements projected by the board of public works was that of utilizing this stream in connection with the sewerage system of the city, and the general plan adopted was that of constructing a main sewer of masonry and brick-work along its course, through which the stream should flow, receiving and conducting the sewage from lateral connections on either side. It was constructed for the most part in sections, by contract with different parties, and the part here in controversy was the final or outlet section. It was commonly styled the 'Tiber creek sewer or arch.' On and before July 14, 1873, a portion of this sewer had been completed, which (so far as is here material) extended from the north side of Pennsylvania avenue, across the botanical garden, into Third street, and along and under Third street to a point three feet north of the south building line of Maryland avenue, at which terminus the sewer was (so far as here material) of the following construction and size, namely: The side walls were of masonry, about 3 feet high and 5 feet 6 inches thick, supporting an approximate semi-elliptic arch of 30 feet span and 7 feet 10 inches rise. The extrados of the arch, including the skew-back course, was backed up with rubble masonry to the level of its crown. The timber sleepers for the foundations were 41 feet in length.
Proposing to continue the sewer to its outlet with the same construction and size, the board of public works, on July 14, 1873, sent to H. L. Gallaher & Co., consisting of Hugh L. Gallaher and Edwin H. Smith, a written proposal for continuing the Tiber creek sewer from its existing terminus at Maryland avenue and Third street southwest, along the line of the Washington canal to its junction with the James creek canal, the size and manner of construction of the sewer to be the same as that of the portion of the same sewer constructed on Third street south-west, and to be paid for at the rate of $113 per lineal foot; and they were requested by return mail to notify the board of their acceptance or rejection of the proposal. On the same day H. L. Gallaher & Co., by writing, accepted it. A written contract bearing date July 19, 1873, was executed between the parties in the same terms as that set forth in the petition. Before work was commenced under it the District engineer was instructed to give the grade of the sewer, to be laid out with the same dimen ions as of the existing sewer, which he did in the summer of 1873. It was proposed, however, and consented to by both parties, to deviate from the contract, by which the continuation of the sewer was to follow and be laid in the bed of the canal, so as to take it by a curve from the point of connection on the westerly bank and then proceed parallel with and along said bank to the terminus. About the time of giving the grade Gallaher applied for a plan of the sewer, when by direction of the engineer a plat or working drawing of the structure in transverse section, exhibiting its form and dimensions according to a fixed scale, and representing a structure similar to that of the completed section at the point of connection, was furnished. Gallaher and Smith then proceeded with the work in accordance with that plan, and completed some part of the excavation, and procured and brought on the ground material, but had not constructed any portion of the arch, when Joseph G. and Henry E. Loane, two of the petitioners, bought out the interest of Smith in the contract, and thereupon the original contract was cancelled and one in similar terms executed on December 22, 1873, by the board of public works with the claimants, composing the firm of Gallaher, Loane & Company, a copy of which is set out with the petition. The claimants on entering into said contract received from Gallaher & Smith the working plan furnished to them by the district engineer. It represented the plan and dimensions of the several parts of the structure of the sewer to be built under their contract, and was similar to the completed section with which it was to connect, as provided by the contract, and was the plan under which the work had been commenced and carried on. They proceeded with the work in accordance with the plan, and without calling the attention of the board to any alleged or apparent variation of the same from the contract, and constructing the flooring, masonry, and arch according to the dimensions appearing thereon, and had finished about 680 lineal feet thereof when the board of public works was abolished by act of congress of June 20, 1874. The work as thus far done was constructed under the direction of the district engineers, but neither they nor the board of public works intimated to the claimants that the work was not progressing to their satisfaction, and in accordance with the former sample work, in which the skew-back was constructed of rubble masonry.
Under the new form of government, established by that act for the District, Richard L. Hoxie was detailed as engineer on July 6, 1874, and forthwith made a careful examination of the work being done by claimants, as to its character and conformity with the specification of the contract, in the presence of one of the claimants. He found that, generally, it was being built in conformity with the specifications, but there were several departures. The flooring and sleepers were, as he thought, inferior to the quality required; the masonry was not strictly in conformity with the specifications; there were too few bond stone used; the inside walls were not dressed, and the stones generally were small. But what attracted his attention, and was of the most importance, was the manner of constructing the skew-back. It was made of small stones, spalls, and mortar, while it should have been made, as he thought, of large dimension stone. He called the attention of the party present to these alleged variations, and particularly to the skew-back, which he wished constructed of dimension stone. He was informed that to procure the stone would cause considerable delay in the prosecution of the work. Thereupon he directed that the skew-back might be made of brick, and added that he should make a deduction in price, but named no sum. Thereafter claimants proceeds with their work, making the skew-back of brick, under the direction of defendant's engineers, without further complaint.
In August, 1874, the claimants applied for measureme t of the work so far as completed and a partial payment. The engineer thereupon transmitted to the board of audit, which, by the act of June 20, 1874, was charged with the settlement of such accounts, a statement with the measurement requested. In that statement the engineer represented that the contract required the inside sewer face of the stone wall rough-dressed, and a skew-back stone not less than a three-foot six-inch bed, and in length of not less than four feet; and that these requirements of the contract had not been complied with. He, therefore, on this account, recommended a deduction of $8.94 per lineal foot of the sewer. The board of audit audited the account with that deduction from the contract price, in accordance with the statement of the engineer. The claimants received the partial payment under protest. The amount of this deduction upon the entire work performed by the claimants constitutes the sum of $35,436.49, for which they sue.
The whole controversy between the parties as to this item, and also for a portion of the claimant's demand on account of extra work and material, arises out of the fact that the letter of the contract and specifications does not correspond with the plan of the work as furnished by the district engineer and the sample of the work which had been done previously by other contractors, and with which that of the present claimants was to connect. The work as actually done was done under the direction and supervision of the District engineer, and was performed in accordance with the plan and sample which was supposed and understood to be what was required by the contract, and to be paid for at the contract price. We think that the practical construction which the parties put upon the terms of their own contract, and according to which the work was done, must prevail over the literal meaning of the contract, according to which the defendant seeks to obtain a deduction in the contract price. The other items allowed by the court of claims, both to the claimants and the defendant, we think well established upon the facts as ascertained by it. The reasons for its judgment, as set forth in the opinion of the court, we think entirely satisfactory. 19 Ct. Cl. 564.
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