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For the graphical representation of the architecture of a web site, see site map.
The Sitemaps protocol allows a webmaster to inform search engines about URLs on a website that are available for crawling. A Sitemap is an XML file that lists the URLs for a site. It allows webmasters to include additional information about each URL: when it was last updated, how often it changes, and how important it is in relation to other URLs in the site. This allows search engines to crawl the site more intelligently. Sitemaps are a URL inclusion protocol and complements robots.txt, a URL exclusion protocol.
Sitemaps are particularly beneficial on websites where:
some areas of the website are not available through the browsable interface
webmasters use rich Ajax, Silverlight, or Flash content that is not normally processed by search engines.
The site is very large and there is a chance for the web crawlers to overlook some of the new or recently updated content
When websites have a huge number of pages that are isolated or not well linked together, or
When a website has few external links
2 File format
2.1 Element definitions
3 Other formats
3.1 Text file
3.2 Syndication feed
4 Search engine submission
4.1 Limitations for search engine indexing
5 Sitemap limits
6 Multilingual and multinational Sitemaps
Google first introduced Sitemaps 0.84 in June 2005 so web developers could publish lists of links from across their sites. Google, MSN and Yahoo announced joint support for the Sitemaps protocol in November 2006. The schema version was changed to "Sitemap 0.90", but no other changes were made.
In April 2007, Ask.com and IBM announced support for Sitemaps. Also, Google, Yahoo, MS announced auto-discovery for sitemaps through robots.txt. In May 2007, the state governments of Arizona, California, Utah and Virginia announced they would use Sitemaps on their web sites.
The Sitemaps protocol is based on ideas[1] from "Crawler-friendly Web Servers,"[2] with improvements including auto-discovery through robots.txt and the ability to specify the priority and change frequency of pages.
The Sitemap Protocol format consists of XML tags. The file itself must be UTF-8 encoded. Sitemaps can also be just a plain text list of URLs. They can also be compressed in .gz format.
A sample Sitemap that contains just one URL and uses all optional tags is shown below.
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9 http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9/sitemap.xsd">
<loc>http://example.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2006-11-18</lastmod>
<changefreq>daily</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
</urlset>
The Sitemap XML protocol is also extended to provide a way of listing multiple Sitemaps in a 'Sitemap index' file. The maximum Sitemap size of 50 MiB or 50,000 URLs[3] means this is necessary for large sites.
An example of Sitemap index referencing one separate sitemap follows.
<sitemapindex xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<sitemap>
<loc>http://www.example.com/sitemap1.xml.gz</loc>
<lastmod>2014-10-01T18:23:17+00:00</lastmod>
</sitemap>
</sitemapindex>
Element definitions
The definitions for the elements are shown below:[3]
Required?
<urlset> Yes The document-level element for the Sitemap. The rest of the document after the '<?xml version>' element must be contained in this.
<url> Yes Parent element for each entry.
<sitemapindex> Yes The document-level element for the Sitemap index. The rest of the document after the '<?xml version>' element must be contained in this.
<sitemap> Yes Parent element for each entry in the index.
<loc> Yes Provides the full URL of the page or sitemap, including the protocol (e.g. http, https) and a trailing slash, if required by the site's hosting server. This value must be shorter than 2,048 characters. Note that ampersands in the URL need to be escaped as &.
<lastmod> No The date that the file was last modified, in ISO 8601 format. This can display the full date and time or, if desired, may simply be the date in the format YYYY-MM-DD.
<changefreq> No How frequently the page may change:
"Always" is used to denote documents that change each time that they are accessed. "Never" is used to denote archived URLs (i.e. files that will not be changed again).
This is used only as a guide for crawlers, and is not used to determine how frequently pages are indexed.
Does not apply to <sitemap> elements.
<priority> No The priority of that URL relative to other URLs on the site. This allows webmasters to suggest to crawlers which pages are considered more important.
The valid range is from 0.0 to 1.0, with 1.0 being the most important. The default value is 0.5.
Rating all pages on a site with a high priority does not affect search listings, as it is only used to suggest to the crawlers how important pages in the site are to one another.
Support for the elements that are not required can vary from one search engine to another.[3]
The Sitemaps protocol allows the Sitemap to be a simple list of URLs in a text file. The file specifications of XML Sitemaps apply to text Sitemaps as well; the file must be UTF-8 encoded, and cannot be more than 10 MB large or contain more than 50,000 URLs,[4] but can be compressed as a gzip file.[3]
Syndication feed
A syndication feed is a permitted method of submitting URLs to crawlers; this is advised mainly for sites that already have syndication feeds. One stated drawback is this method might only provide crawlers with more recently created URLs, but other URLs can still be discovered during normal crawling.[3]
It can be beneficial to have a syndication feed as a delta update (containing only the newest content) to supplement a complete sitemap.
If Sitemaps are submitted directly to a search engine (pinged), it will return status information and any processing errors. The details involved with submission will vary with the different search engines. The location of the sitemap can also be included in the robots.txt file by adding the following line:
Sitemap: <sitemap_location>
The <sitemap_location> should be the complete URL to the sitemap, such as:
https://www.example.org/sitemap.xml
This directive is independent of the user-agent line, so it doesn't matter where it is placed in the file. If the website has several sitemaps, multiple "Sitemap:" records may be included in robots.txt, or the URL can simply point to the main sitemap index file.
The following table lists the sitemap submission URLs for several major search engines:
Submission URL
Baidu https://zhanzhang.baidu.com/dashboard/index Baidu Webmaster Dashboard China, Hong Kong, Singapore
Bing (and Yahoo!) https://www.bing.com/webmaster/ping.aspx?siteMap= Bing Webmaster Tools Global
Google https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/ping?sitemap= Submitting a Sitemap Global
Yandex https://webmaster.yandex.com/site/map.xml Sitemaps files Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkey
Sitemap URLs submitted using the sitemap submission URLs need to be URL-encoded, for example: replacing : (colon) with %3A, / (slash) with %2F.[3]
Limitations for search engine indexing
Sitemaps supplement and do not replace the existing crawl-based mechanisms that search engines already use to discover URLs. Using this protocol does not guarantee that web pages will be included in search indexes, nor does it influence the way that pages are ranked in search results. Specific examples are provided below.
Google - Webmaster Support on Sitemaps: "Using a sitemap doesn't guarantee that all the items in your sitemap will be crawled and indexed, as Google processes rely on complex algorithms to schedule crawling. However, in most cases, your site will benefit from having a sitemap, and you'll never be penalized for having one."[5]
Bing - Bing uses the standard sitemaps.org protocol and is very similar to the one mentioned below.
Yahoo - After the search deal commenced between Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft, Yahoo! Site Explorer has merged with Bing Webmaster Tools
Sitemap limits
Sitemap files have a limit of 50,000 URLs and 50MiB per sitemap. Sitemaps can be compressed using gzip, reducing bandwidth consumption. Multiple sitemap files are supported, with a Sitemap index file serving as an entry point. Sitemap index files may not list more than 50,000 Sitemaps and must be no larger than 50MiB (52,428,800 bytes) and can be compressed. You can have more than one Sitemap index file.[3]
As with all XML files, any data values (including URLs) must use entity escape codes for the characters ampersand (&), single quote ('), double quote ("), less than (<), and greater than (>).
Multilingual and multinational Sitemaps
In December 2011, Google announced the annotations for sites that want to target users in many languages and, optionally, countries. A few months later Google announced, on their official blog,[6] that they are adding support for specifying the rel="alternate" and hreflang annotations in Sitemaps. Instead of the (until then only option) HTML link elements the Sitemaps option offered many advantages which included a smaller page size and easier deployment for some websites.
One example of the Multilingual Sitemap would be as followed
If for example we have a site that targets English language users through http://www.example.com/en and Greek language users through http://www.example.com/gr, up until then the only option was to add the hreflang annotation either in the HTTP header or as HTML elements on both URLs like this
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="http://www.example.com/en" >
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="gr" href="http://www.example.com/gr" >
But now, one can alternatively use the following equivalent markup in Sitemaps:
1 <url>
2 <loc>http://www.example.com/en</loc>
3 <xhtml:link
4 rel="alternate"
5 hreflang="gr"
6 href="http://www.example.com/gr" />
9 hreflang="en"
10 href="http://www.example.com/en" />
11 </url>
12 <url>
13 <loc>http://www.example.com/gr</loc>
14 <xhtml:link
15 rel="alternate"
16 hreflang="gr"
17 href="http://www.example.com/gr" />
20 hreflang="en"
Biositemap
Resources of a Resource
Yahoo! Site Explorer
^ M.L. Nelson; J.A. Smith; del Campo; H. Van de Sompel; X. Liu (2006). "Efficient, Automated Web Resource Harvesting" (PDF). WIDM'06.
^ O. Brandman, J. Cho, Hector Garcia-Molina, and Narayanan Shivakumar (2000). "Crawler-friendly web servers". Proceedings of ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review, Volume 28, Issue 2. doi:10.1145/362883.362894. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
^ a b c d e f g "Sitemaps XML format". Sitemaps.org. 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
^ "Build and submit a sitemap - Search Console Help". Support.google.com. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
^ "About Google Sitemaps". Google.com. 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
^ "Multilingual and multinational site annotations in Sitemaps". Google Webmaster Central Blog. Pierre Far. May 24, 2012.
"Major Search Engines Unite to Support a Common Mechanism for Website Submission". Google. Nov 16, 2006.
Google news groups
Sitemaps (archived)
Webmaster help - Sitemap
Alphabet Inc.
List of mergers and acquisitions by Alphabet
Don't be evil
Adscape
Mediabot
Pay Send
OpenRefine
Android Automotive
List of devices
ZygoteBody
Public DNS
Chromebit
OnHub
App Inventor
Closure Tools
Kythe
Owlchemy Labs
Web Toolkit
Website Optimizer
Swiffy
Sawzall
AJAX APIs
(timeline)
Ngram Viewer
Dataset Search
SafeSearch
Insights for Search
Knowledge Graph and Vault
Code-in
Code Jam
Alan Eustace
Alan Mulally
Amit Singhal
Ann Mather
David Drummond
Jeff Dean
John Doerr
John L. Hennessy
Krishna Bharat
Patrick Pichette
Rachel Whetstone
Rajen Sheth
Ram Shriram
Ruth Porat
Salar Kamangar
Sanjay Ghemawat
Shirley M. Tilghman
Urs Hölzle
Vint Cerf
Hal Varian
Gayglers
Chelsea Market
Googleplex
Chrome Zone
Data Transfer Project
Chrome Experiments
Made with Code
Data Liberation
Google Developer Expert
Google (verb)
Google China
Google Express
Googlization
Logo and related
Doodle4Google
Product Sans
Lunar X Prize
Google Station
AI Challenge
elgooG
Google bombing
Goojje
Monopoly City Streets
Google: Behind the Screen
Google: The Thinking Factory
Google and the World Brain
Discontinued products and services
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sitemaps&oldid=853556323"
XML-based standards
CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list
This version of the page has been revised. Besides normal editing, the reason for revision may have been that this version contains factual inaccuracies, vandalism, or material not compatible with the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
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Could This One Pill Be Nix Your Digestive Issues?
Nikhita Mahtani
Women's Health UK June 18, 2019
Photo credit: Fertnig - Getty Images
From Women's Health
If you’ve ever had a meal and felt uncomfortable for hours after—think bloating, indigestion, or cramping—you know how much it sucks.
But what if you could pop a pill and finally have these issues become a thing of the past? Well, digestive enzyme supplements claim to banish bloat and cramping from gastrointestinal issues, so you can enjoy your favourite meals sans the nasty side effects. But do they actually deliver?
[We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.]
What are digestive enzymes?
To understand what digestive enzyme supplements do, you first need to realise that your body already produces digestive enzymes on its own, which help you (you guessed it) digest your food into usable nutrients.
'The best analogy I can give is packing for a trip: You can pack the perfect items, but if it all sits in the suitcase, it’s of no benefit to you,' says Lauren Slayton, a registered dietician and founder of NYC-based nutrition practice, Foodtrainers. 'Digestive enzymes are the key to unpacking your nutrients.'
There are three main digestive enzyme categories: amylases help to break down starches and sugar, lipases break down fats, and proteases break down proteins.
Under these categories, there are several other enzymes responsible for breaking down specific foods, such as lactase for lactose, the sugar found in dairy products, and alpha-galactosidase, for sugars found in beans and cruciferous vegetables.
As long as your body is able to produce these enzymes in the amounts needed for the foods you’re eating on a daily basis, you’re fine. The trouble, however, occurs when they don’t.
Can you get more digestive enzymes naturally?
Slayton says there are a number of ways to naturally get more enzymes. 'Stress affects enzyme production for the worse,' so she recommends reading or meditation (try the Headspace app) to inhibit stress, for starters.
Also, try to eat foods that naturally contain enzymes for digestion. These foods all fit the bill, according to the US National Institutes of Health.
Pineapple contains bromelain, a type of protease that helps to break down protein
Mango contains amylase ,to help digest starch
Avocado has lipase to help digest fats
Kiwi contains a protease called actinidain, which helps to tenderise tough meat
Bananas contain amylases and glucosidades, which break down complex carbs and sugars
Ginger has a protease called zingibain
Papaya has papain, another protease
Kefir has lipase, protease, and lactase
Miso has lactase, lipase, protease, and amylase
The speed at which you eat can also play a role, which is why scarfing down a meal really fast sometimes may leave you feeling bloated and uncomfortable.
'Enzymes in saliva start to break down food, so chewing well matters,' says Slayton.
What are some signs that a supplement may help?
If you’re experiencing persistent bloating, diarrhoea, cramping, or other gastrointestinal symptoms (like undigested food in your stool), consider working with a gastroenterologist or dietitian experienced in digestive health.
They can assess to see if a digestive enzyme may be helpful for you, says Rachael Hartley, a registered dietician and founder of Rachael Hartley Nutrition in Columbia, South Carolina.
If you have a lactose intolerance, for instance, then your body is unable to digest dairy, and you might benefit from a supplement containing lactase.
Slayton also says that if you're above 40 years old, you may want to consider digestive enzymes, since the body naturally stops producing as many the older you get. 'If you have Crohn’s disease, GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), or celiac disease, digestive enzyme supplements may also help.'
Just make sure to check with your doctor before you start taking any supplements, since they’ll be able to determine via lab testing whether you’re actually low in a certain enzyme.
What's in digestive enzyme supplements?
If you doctor prescribes a digestive enzyme, it usually consists of high concentrations of a certain mix of amylase, lipase, and protease. These enzymes are typically made from pigs’ pancreases, and approved by the FDA.
Over-the-counter digestive enzymes, however, are supplements and not medications, which means they’re not regulated by the FDA, and you can’t really be 100 percent sure that they contain everything they promise.
You can get specific ones for lactose intolerance (such as Lactaid) and bloating from beans (Beano), or you can get a more varied one that consists of a number of various enzymes in one tablet.
These are for people with bloating and other common issues, but they’re generally not as intense as the ones prescribed to people with severe gastrointestinal disorders.
How are digestive enzymes different from probiotics?
Digestive enzymes and probiotics have the same basic function, i.e., they help you digest your food. But extra probiotics are generally beneficial for everybody (they help feed the healthy bacteria in your gut), while taking digestive enzymes are helpful only if you don't get enough of a specific enzyme naturally.
'You can take both digestive enzymes and probiotics together, but digestive enzymes are suggested before meals, while probiotics are for after,' explains Slayton. 'In fact, a healthy microbiome encourages enzyme production, so these two work well together.'
So, should you take a supplement or not?
It’s a loaded question, and unfortunately, there isn’t one right answer—it's very individual. 'What's wonderful about digestive enzymes is that they can help many people tolerate foods that might trigger symptoms, which helps them enjoy a wider, more varied, and flexible diet—which means a healthier diet,' says Hartley.
Slayton finds the question a little trickier, and thinks overall, it’s better to cut things out of your diet that you know don’t work for you: 'You don’t want to mask another problem or encourage eating a food that doesn’t work for you,' she says.
'But for travel, holidays, or a time when you may be consuming foods that don’t work well for your body, that’s a good exception to take a supplement.'
Bottom line: You can get natural digestive enzymes from a number of foods and lifestyle practices, but talk to your doctor if you feel a supplement would help.
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Germany women: Our country does not know our names
Omnisport May 15, 2019
Wolfsburg forward Alexandra Popp is one of the Germany women's team stars to appear in a powerful new TV commercial.
The Germany women's national team have fired a broadside to their own country ahead of the Women's World Cup, saying: "We play for a nation that does not know our names!"
In a commercial for Commerzbank, Germany's players highlighted the relatively low profile they have in public, despite the superstar status of many members of the men's team.
Lyon midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsan appears at the start of the commercial alongside Bayern Munich playmaker Melanie Leupolz and Wolfsburg forward Alexandra Popp, who will all feature in Martina Voss-Tecklenburg's squad at the World Cup in France next month.
In the commercial, which was later shared featuring English subtitles by DW Sports, Popp asks: "Do you know my name?"
A narrator continues: "We play for a nation that does not know our names."
The advert also features Turbine Potsdam forward Svenja Huth, Wolfsburg midfielder Sara Doorsoun-Khajeh and Bayern Munich midfielder Sara Dabritz alongside graphics and archive footage illustrating the team's success through the years.
Germany's women won the World Cup in 2003 and 2007, and they have clinched eight European Championship titles between 1989 and 2013, as well as Olympic gold in 2016.
They face China, Spain and South Africa in Group B at the World Cup, with their first game kicking off on June 8.
"It's okay," the advert's narrator continues.
"You do not have to remember our name. Only what we want: to play."
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Grab Intel Stock While You Can Get It at These Prices
Ian Bezek
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is finally enjoying a little bit of relief. Intel’s stock price jumped three percent on Tuesday and has advanced nearly five points from its recent lows. But Intel stock is still in the doghouse compared to the overall market. The S&P 500 looks set to reach new all-time highs in coming weeks, and tech stocks are roaring higher as well.
intc stock intel stock
Source: Intel
Intel’s malaise is easy to understand. It is wildly out of favor at the moment, as are other leading semiconductor companies. That’s because it’s hard to handicap just how long the trade war will continue dragging on. And companies like Intel are highly reliant on China for product sales.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that Intel’s big bounce on Tuesday came with President Trump tweeting about progress in talks with China. Regardless, however, of whether a deal comes soon or still takes a while, INTC stock is a solid bargain at today’s levels.
6 Stocks Ready to Bounce on a Trade Deal
Intel Asks For Huawei Relief
While a lot of U.S. companies have been caught in the trade war crossfire, chipmakers have suffered the worst. That’s because Chinese equipment makers tend to be the leading customers for many of these firms.
Reuters reported that Huawei, for example, buys $70 billion per year of components. Of this, they spend roughly $11 billion on parts from American suppliers. Intel, Qualcom (NASDAQ:QCOM), and Micron (NASDAQ:MU) lead the way in sales to Huawei. Not surprisingly, these firms have appealed directly to the government for trade war relief.
Intel’s executives spoke with the Commerce Department in May, and Qualcomm has been actively lobbying the government as well. If no action is taken, Huawei is expected to shrink its international smartphone shipments by around 50 percent.
It’s unclear if these efforts will sway President Trump and his aides, but Trump is clearly motivated by trying to make the stock market go up. Trump has complained about Fed Chair Powell’s tighter monetary policy and suggested that the Dow Jones index would be 10,000 points higher if the Fed had acted appropriately.
He also tends to tweet positive remarks about the economy whenever the market is sliding. With that backdrop, one has to think Trump will try to make a deal, particularly if semiconductor companies continue to slump in the interim.
Intel Stock: Super Cheap
In a frothy tech market, Intel remained a bastion of value in recent years. In late 2017, that suddenly changed, however. Intel’s stock price soared from $35 to nearly $60 inside of a year. That ended Intel’s nearly 20 year period of stagnant stock performance following the tech bust of 2001.
However, Intel stock has given back much of its recent gains. With shares down more than 20% from the recent highs while earnings continue to surge, Intel is a bargain again.
How much so? It’s now trading at 11x trailing earnings and just 10x forward earnings. Sure, there are some reasons for concern. Normally, also-ran AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) doesn’t cause Intel much trouble. AMD, for the moment, is offering one of its most compelling product line-ups in the past decade, and that has caused some concern for Intel’s market share.
Make no mistake though, Intel still has far more resources and a much larger research budget. They’ll keep dominating the PC chip industry for years to come. Meanwhile, other growth ventures such as Intel’s push into self-driving vehicle tech offer great potential in coming years. It’s amazing how the market is giving so little credit to Intel’s growth prospects. Just 15x forward earnings would lift Intel’s stock price to $67 per share.
Strong Dividend Policy
Intel stock is also a reliable source of dividend income. With bond yields cratering again, investors have been racing into defensive stocks like utilities, REITs, and consumer staples. So far, investors haven’t flocked into Intel yet. But, as an effective tech utility with a great balance sheet, conservative income investors should gravitate to Intel sooner or later.
At this point, Intel is paying a 2.7% dividend. That’s not huge, but it’s well above the S&P 500 and the 10-year treasury bond which are both at 2.0% or lower. And that tends to come with solid dividend growth as well. Intel has averaged 8%, 6%, and 8% compounded dividend growth over the past three, five, and ten years, respectively.
Intel Stock Verdict
No one knows how long the trade war will continue to drag on. I’d predicted that it would wrap up by now, and I’ve been wrong about that. Traders don’t have a good sense either, judging by how much the market swings erratically on every new tweet from Trump’s twitter account.
Looking at the bigger picture, however, it’s kind of silly how much impact the trade war has caused for Intel’s share price. The company remains one of the most dominant positions in the tech industry. And for the first time in a while, it has a robust pipeline of growth opportunities that can cause the company’s overall revenues and earnings to boom again.
With the stock market pushing to new highs, Intel should catch up once trade drama simmers down. I see Intel stock hitting $60 per share – just 13x forward earnings – in the coming months.
At the time of this writing, Ian Bezek owned INTC and QCOM stock. You can reach him on Twitter at @irbezek.
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The post Grab Intel Stock While You Can Get It at These Prices appeared first on InvestorPlace.
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Is Parliament Ready to Back a No-Deal Brexit? You Do the Math
Robert Hutton
(Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy rests, he says, on the idea that the U.K. Parliament is now ready to back a no-deal Brexit.The favorite to succeed Theresa May as prime minister said this week that the drubbings that both his Conservative Party and the opposition Labour Party received in the European elections had left members of Parliament determined to get Brexit done.“I think Parliament now understands that the British people want us to come out,” Johnson told the BBC on Monday. “And I think that MPs on both sides of the House also understand that they will face mortal retribution from the electorate unless we get on and do it.”Parliament has no specific power to stop a no-deal departure. Instead it has moral authority, and MPs have managed to maneuver in the past to force the government to change its negotiating stance. It’s possible a prime minister could sideline or ignore Parliament.But Johnson’s claim is that he wouldn’t need to. Is that realistic? We’ve done the arithmetic, and while it might be closer than you think, there’s nothing like a majority for no-deal.Target: 318There are 650 MPs, but 11 of them don’t vote, which means Johnson needs 320 for a majority. Two MPs on each side of every vote do the counting, so aren’t included in the tallies. Johnson needs to get to 318 to be sure of winning a vote.Last time: 164Parliament has voted already this year on the idea of a no-deal Brexit, and rejected it resoundingly every time. Each vote was on slightly different flavors of no-deal, but no version got more than 164 votes.Could a prime minister determined to pursue no-deal do better? Here’s the count:Democratic Unionists: 10The DUP are willing to back a no-deal Brexit, and have voted for it as a bloc before. Gavin Williamson, who served Theresa May as a go-between with the DUP, is on Johnson’s team, and was last week seen having coffee in Parliament with Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s Westminster leader.Labour: 4Just four Labour MPs voted for a no-deal Brexit in March. Johnson’s argument is that the EU elections have changed Labour views. There’s some evidence of that: Labour’s Gareth Snell said earlier this month that he regretted voting against May’s Brexit deal, and said he’d vote for a deal now if he got the chance.But Snell went on specifically to reject no-deal. There are 30 Labour MPs who have made pro-Brexit noises in recent months, but only 10 of them have been willing to vote that way. Others have specifically cited the fear of a Johnson administration pursuing a harder Brexit as a reason not to vote with the Tory government.Conservatives: 290 (at a push)There are 312 Conservative MPs. About 150 of them have been willing to vote for no-deal if given the choice, but what if they were instructed to? The closest parallel to that was a vote in March where more than 20 Tories, including Cabinet ministers, voted against no-deal. But that probably understates it. More than 30 Tories have either voted against a hard Brexit or indicated that they are prepared to.Total: 304Could anything change this? Some more Tories could probably be won over with a promise of a big job, but Johnson is also going to face the problem that, if he become prime minister, a lot of senior figures such as Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will head to the backbenches with the intention of fighting against no-deal. And Johnson will have nothing to offer.To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Emma Ross-ThomasFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story.
Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy rests, he says, on the idea that the U.K. Parliament is now ready to back a no-deal Brexit.
The favorite to succeed Theresa May as prime minister said this week that the drubbings that both his Conservative Party and the opposition Labour Party received in the European elections had left members of Parliament determined to get Brexit done.
“I think Parliament now understands that the British people want us to come out,” Johnson told the BBC on Monday. “And I think that MPs on both sides of the House also understand that they will face mortal retribution from the electorate unless we get on and do it.”
Parliament has no specific power to stop a no-deal departure. Instead it has moral authority, and MPs have managed to maneuver in the past to force the government to change its negotiating stance. It’s possible a prime minister could sideline or ignore Parliament.
But Johnson’s claim is that he wouldn’t need to. Is that realistic? We’ve done the arithmetic, and while it might be closer than you think, there’s nothing like a majority for no-deal.
Target: 318
There are 650 MPs, but 11 of them don’t vote, which means Johnson needs 320 for a majority. Two MPs on each side of every vote do the counting, so aren’t included in the tallies. Johnson needs to get to 318 to be sure of winning a vote.
Last time: 164
Parliament has voted already this year on the idea of a no-deal Brexit, and rejected it resoundingly every time. Each vote was on slightly different flavors of no-deal, but no version got more than 164 votes.
Could a prime minister determined to pursue no-deal do better? Here’s the count:
Democratic Unionists: 10
The DUP are willing to back a no-deal Brexit, and have voted for it as a bloc before. Gavin Williamson, who served Theresa May as a go-between with the DUP, is on Johnson’s team, and was last week seen having coffee in Parliament with Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s Westminster leader.
Labour: 4
Just four Labour MPs voted for a no-deal Brexit in March. Johnson’s argument is that the EU elections have changed Labour views. There’s some evidence of that: Labour’s Gareth Snell said earlier this month that he regretted voting against May’s Brexit deal, and said he’d vote for a deal now if he got the chance.
But Snell went on specifically to reject no-deal. There are 30 Labour MPs who have made pro-Brexit noises in recent months, but only 10 of them have been willing to vote that way. Others have specifically cited the fear of a Johnson administration pursuing a harder Brexit as a reason not to vote with the Tory government.
Conservatives: 290 (at a push)
There are 312 Conservative MPs. About 150 of them have been willing to vote for no-deal if given the choice, but what if they were instructed to? The closest parallel to that was a vote in March where more than 20 Tories, including Cabinet ministers, voted against no-deal. But that probably understates it. More than 30 Tories have either voted against a hard Brexit or indicated that they are prepared to.
Could anything change this? Some more Tories could probably be won over with a promise of a big job, but Johnson is also going to face the problem that, if he become prime minister, a lot of senior figures such as Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will head to the backbenches with the intention of fighting against no-deal. And Johnson will have nothing to offer.
To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Emma Ross-Thomas
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New To Me – New To You – San Fermin
There’s a rich history of “classical” composers getting involved in pop music. Van Dykes Park is the godfather of such things!
Now 70 years old, he’s still probably best known for his work with Brian Wilson on his lost, then re-found classic “Smile”, but that was in the 1960s! The fact he’s still so well respected and admired 50 years later is a testament to his genius.
His recent work with Joanna Newsom first introduced me to Parks, he took Joanna’s hypnotic harp playing, and gorgeous story telling and turned it into an ambitious, string-laden thing. Some likened it to a Disney film sound-track in places and their was certainly a playful childish air to the collaboration. All in all it it showed Parks ability to take a track and make it go where it needs to go.
The beautiful mix of his classical, orchestral backing and the heart and soul of pop or folk music often led to a match made in heaven. San Fermin main man Ellis Ludwig-Leone is surely an admirer of Van Dykes’ work, indeed he’ll hope to follow in his footsteps, and if he gets anywhere near he’ll have done very well indeed!
San Fermin is largely the work of twenty-four year old composer and song-writer Ellis Ludwig-Leone. He’s been joined by a number of musicians and vocalists. Most notably male lead vocalist Allen Tate and the two female leads Jess Wolfe & Holly Laessig. They’re bulked out by a revolving cast of musicians on record and live.
Ambitious, orchestral pop-music. The fact Ellis worked with Nico Muhly is no surprise, and there’s similar ambition to acts like Dirty Projectors or Sufjan Stevens. There’s a beautiful back and forth approach to the vocals with the baritone male voice counter balanced by the soprano females. There’s a fair whack of brass and string as you’d expect from a classically trained composer.
Once again we have another act based out of Brooklyn! Though their debut album was written on the mountainous border between Alberta and British Columbia apparently, which sounds a rather different setting doesn’t it?
Apparently the debut album was recorded in 6 weeks, it’s only been out for about a week or so here, as it’s basically just Ellis writing tracks though it’s hard to say when “the band” started. He’s 24 which means he was probably born in 1989 though, which is a tad depressing!
Fans of complicated, arty, intricate arrangements and ambition look no further! Complicated rhythms, varied instruments, and stunning vocals it’s got a lot going for it. Fans of the opera and classical music too would probably find a lot to love. Basically if you like your pop, highly articulate you won’t go far wrong. Fans of Dirty Projectors look no further you have a new favourite band in the making! The wonderful male vocalists performance is a superb antidote to all the dense complex music on show and Tate recalls Lambchop singer Kurt Wagner in places, there’s even a hint of Matt Berninger, he’s certainly off a similar octave!
It might be a bit dense for some, and for all Ellis’ attempts to step away from classical and into pop, there’s an awful lot of his classical influences on show. Some might find it easy to admire and hard to love, but I doubt anyone could fail to be impressed by it!
Tagged Ellis Ludwig-Leone, New Music, San Fermin, Van Dyke ParksBy fortherabbitsmusic1 Comment
One thought on “New To Me – New To You – San Fermin”
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(Not) New To Me – New To You… Let’s Buy Happiness →
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Game Queue
Game Queue browsing
OrangeSheep
I want the opportunity to choose from a list of games. Right now you have us choosing but no list of what others want to play. I prefer the four player regular game. As long as the site defaults to 3 player that is what everyone will be in.
Give a list of games available and players waiting in each game and people will jump in. I am tired of the log saying "1 of 3 found, 2 of 3 found, 1 of three found 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2" before finally getting in a game.
Exactly. Lobby system is best for Catan. Also global chat with players who have not entered a game yet.
PersonAD
@Stroom
Stroom here you are again hijacking threads with your lobby discussion. Please start your own thread and keep it there.
@PersonAD I think this topic was describing the lobby so I mentioned that. Lobby is what gives you "the opportunity to choose from a list of games" as it was said. Lobby is essentially a visible game queue. My reply was not a hijack.
mrolimpia112
Given current setup of the game I guess the above stated issue is due to match-makers way of working in combination with your ELO, available player, blacklist...
I have seen this happening and my guess would be that match-maker works by getting games to as many people as possible as fast as possible.
Meaning that if you share a pool of players with other gamers they might be "snatched" off you in case other player has "weaker" / more favorable criteria.
This is why I have brought up in ELO topic the fact that people with higher ELO / longer blacklist actually should be put above other players (smaller ELO / people who are featured in blacklists etc.) otherwise matchmaker actually peanalizes you for having a lot of players in blacklist or too high ELO.
Same goes with 4 player games (actually on that topic join 4 player games guild if you want some 4 player games going) never happen here as if you choose to wait for 4 player game (never happened with me in C&K mode actually no matter how long I waited) you spend there forever and players eventually choose 3 OR 4 player game which again matchmaker spoils as soon as 3 players are found...1 2 3 and we are done waiting for the 4th here goes 3 player game...
So yeah this system is not perfect but again neither would be lobby.
Its like two worlds of total automation and decision making where people cheat the system to gain ELO and eventually f**** up matchups.
Or total freedom which creates a total mishmash unless you lock your games and set them up with particular players (like custom game option available now) which again is too much trouble.
So yeah @Administrator maybe you can fine-tune match-maker and put an end to Stroom's era of lobby topics - everyone's happy (except Stroom)
You will never get matchmaker to consistently create good games with equal ELO players. There are about 20 people looking for a game at any time. If the ELO range is about +-500 then matching these 20 players into 5 games would quite often place people in the same game with different ELOs. You can not fix matchmaker with such a low player count. So rather create games based on player reliability. There weren't many big "bad player" problems when I played regularly on PlayCatan.
Matchmaker is just a lazy way to create games and it hides all the useful info from players who want to choose from available pending games. Why do you think they can fine-tune matchmaker algorithm which has to change constantly based on how many players are online looking for games and having block lists etc... if they can not even make the turn timer work at a consistent level?
With a lobby you have so much more freedom. But you can also limit the games if you want. You are saying that there will always be mismatches. This has not been the case in PlayCatan. You can set the parameters which the player has to have in order to join. And since all players can potentially see the game there is a higher chance that a player who would not be waiting in a matchmaker queue would see that someone wants to play a game with those settings and he will join the game. Freedom is good. I don't know why USM doesn't like freedom
Partly what you said links to my logic but I would rather say that given the course of development of this game they could fine-tune match-maker.
Already mentioned priorities 3 or 4 player games is a priority?
Players with higher or lower ELO gets matched first?
What to do with people who are reported?
What should be the ELO match interval?
Maybe introduce adaptable match-maker rules: if there are players within +/- 20 ELO match if not increase ELO range to +/- 50 etc.
Lobby is totally different concept so I am not quite sure developers will just scrap match-maker and go with the lobby even though if they work according to agile principles it could be done
The topic we are in about choosing what game you want to play based on what other people want to play. You can not do that if you only "fine-tune the matchmaker". Not everyone will want to get into the games which the matchmaker finds for them.
"Give a list of games available and players waiting in each game and people will jump in."
Either create a matchmaker so that you can select from a list of options sets which are pending. Then the players can choose from existing options sets and join these queues... But if you already have a list why not make a lobby? A half-half from both is just a bad compromise.
The developers should scrap a lot of things and start over. They are already making a new menu for instance. The early access will still last at least another year at this pace.
I just dont get that point...
Given your banlist and on the other hand friends list is up to date, given you have set match-maker options accordingly what would be the issue joining any given game? (assuming ELO system works and is not cheated)
If you want super specific game -> there goes custom match.
And other side of a coin - why would you "rob" someone of a chance to play vs you? For example a case - you are a very good player I am as good to match you but I can't do that if you always play some "custom" or as in PlayCatan lobby often seen locked games?
There is a risk of division / polarization of community - bad players stick together making all bad but they cant learn as good players stick apart...
I really see that match-maker in this view is better for majority as admins wrote, the only thing needed is faster fine-tuning rather than waiting for community to go berserk on the topic and reach "i dont give a f***" state.
With the matchmaker you set your settings and you only get that type of game:
I want a 4 player game with friendly robber option.
Matchmaker puts me in the queue to wait for players who want to play 4-player game with friendly robber option.
Some other player wants to play a normal 4 player game. I would be OK to play without friendly robber too if I know that other players are in a queue waiting for that game. Maybe the game options I would like to play could be more extreme - I would play a seafarers + C&K game with 3 players. But I would NEVER play a base game with 3 players.
Matchmaker will never place me in the other game and I will never even know that I have the option to quickly jump into the other game.
The result is that all players are still waiting longer than they would if a lobby was used.
You can not join a game you can not see. This is the biggest problem with matchmaker. Also when you open Catan Universe you have NO idea how many people are online. With a lobby you will see the activity of other players.
Locked games are made by people who want to play with friends, not strangers. This will happen in Catan Universe too, you just do not see the games because there is no lobby to show it.
I don't see how the lobby would polarize the community. Mostly if you join a game you do not really research the players. You just join when you see that the game options and "karma level" are OK for you. Blocked players can not play with each other - the only limit for joining a game.
Would you really force everyone to play with random people just because you want everyone to play everyone? You are always complaining that you are placed in the same game with nubs and quitters.
If something is good for the majority you should not take away the possibilities from the minority either. Matchmaker removes the chance to play with different game options. The developers are planning to add more expansions in the future. The amount of players will relatively stay the same. So it is going to be really hard to actually play the expansions because too few people know that anyone is willing to play with the expansion at that moment. As I have mentioned in other posts, you can not fine-tune matchmaker if there are not enough concurrent players. If you make the matchmaker faster, you get different skilled players in the game or instead of 4 player games the matchmaker will create 3 player games all the time.
Do you have any idea how fine-tuning of the matchmaker should work? You always have about 20 people waiting for a game. 50% of them want a 3-player game, 30% of them want a 3 player game, 10% C&K, 10% Seafarers. Each minute you get 5 more players. A game should be created every 2.5 minutes. How do you create the games? There is no fine-tuning. You just wait 2 minutes and create the game with all the people in the queue as soon as you have enough players..
You are getting into contradictions here:
a ) first you say that you want to play customized / highly customized game, then you add that actually any other option would still do IF you get that game going vs waiting.
So my question here would be: why would you choose going highly custom if you want to have a game ASAP?
Also as an alternative you can put your custom game up for a min or two (nowadays I actually rarely wait longer before game starts - 3 player that is). If people "bite on" you will see that there is a chance to get a game or you will even get it going. If nothing happens=> noone wants to play that version, recreate a game with less custom options/no custom options.
And all that will take you less time than read this post
b ) You say that CU community is too small at the same time you state that there are many expansions and it is hard to get games going due to lack of players.
So question here: why would you over-complicate the matter by setting up a custom game given getting ANY game is already hard enough?
Usually if there will be a custom game preference more people will choose it and you will eventually have a situation like now (at least with C&K expansion) where people just play any random 3 player game, nobody really cares about map, robber or any other custom option.
c ) As for minority - you have a custom game option + friends/guilds list. Go wild!
Finally regarding my comments: my only concern is the match-maker's options and I have stated multiple suggestions about fine-tuning them, will not repeat myself. I really think that it would do the trick.
As for quality of games - well that's mainly quitter problem.
last edited by Stroom
I think you don't understand what I want to say...
a ) Yes, I want a customized game. But I am also OK with SOME other customizations if I see that other players are ready to play it. Using the Custom match is slow as hell due to the fact that matchmaker hides all the info about what queues actually have players in them. So if you want to play with option set A or option set B or option set C but definitely not option set D and E... You can only register for option set A, wait, nothing, option set B, wait, nothing, option set C, wait, nothing, back to option set A... But what if someone else at the same time is trying option set C, then A, then B... You will never meet with the matchmaker.
The fact that you have to actively search for a game BLINDLY is stupid. A lobby gives you all the information and you are smart enough to choose a game you like OR create a game yourself and wait for other players. Seriously, there will not be more than 20 games waiting for players at a time. Pretty much the same as matchmaker but it will be clear to the players.
As a side note, I am still waiting @Administrator to give us information on how many players are playing on Catan Universe daily.
b ) Catan Universe Community IS too small. I also state that there are expansions. How are these related? The game is big, the player base is small. If you want a lot of customizations - base game or expansion A or expansion B or expansion C (and not expansion D)... you will have a hard time to find players to play with you.
The fact that you are OK to play anything at all is just lazy way to look at things. "It is broken but I don't care if they fix it or not." PlayCatan is offering all customization, lobby and people can join games with customizations they did not initially want to play just because they can see that the game already has some players.
c ) The fact that you have to manually go find players, create guilds and organize a day and time to play a game ONLINE... is stupid. If you have a lobby, EVERYONE can find a game with their customizations at any time of day. You can play in the middle of the night when your guild mates and other friends are normally sleeping.
Again... Please explain how you think fine-tuning works. In the other posts you also contradict yourself, I think. And as I already said, there are not enough players in the matchmaker queue at the same time. You get 20 players and no matter how long you wait, the same 20 players will be in the pre-defined game 1 minute later because new people do not join the queue fast enough to change anything.
last edited by mrolimpia112
I totally get your point (and I did it before ).
What I am saying is in reality what would be really those options you would like / definitely would not like to play?!
Multiple choice in custom match would be nice I have stated that before at the same time really how many preference do you have?!
Either I am not really picky or I dont know something but only preference for me is:
which game expansion I want to play
how much time do i have - so I can decide can it be 3 or 4 player game, do I have enough time to play for example The great catan map given that usually takes at least an hour.
That's pretty much it. And you can easily modify that using current options. Fast and easy.
Also against the lobby factor - I am lazy and so are majority of people. Now lobby forces me to review all the pending games, act fast enough to actually join one AND the most importantly if I screw this up (same as happens with widely discussed first placement and time pressure factor) I miss some game setup due to crammed interface / quickly changing lobby info and join a game with some setting I really dislike.
Match-maker does it for you and eliminates that "human" factor.
As admins just said actually we have 4000-7000 users. Well I say that enough for me. I would live with 100 of them actually. So your point about waiting time and not enough players are hardly valid.
I have played online games before and some of the communities managed to survived over 3-5 years with actually sub 100 players. As long as game setup is clear, people are active and all invest at least by reading rules/chat or any other minor but basic input.
Adding to above said the fact that we are not getting 4 player games again indicates the fact or at least really high possibility that players in CU community are probably lazy to change default of match-maker from 3 to at least 3 or 4 player games.
I am 100% sure that as soon as admins implement today mentioned default setting and match-maker looking for 4 player game first this will change on that exact date.
When it does will see how community will be able to adjust as I personally predict many people shifting back to 3 player games (especially ones with low skill / prediction ability) given 4 player games will be so much more crammed, competitive and I mean extra person means extra issues - not liking other playing style / chat language or limited room on the map given they have not played much 4 player games before.
As for fine-tuning:
set default to 4 or as admins now will 3 or 4 player game so there is higher chance to get 4 player games first;
set elo range to lower figure but make it active (eg. start with +/- 20 ELO, after 30 sec lets say shift to +/- 50 etc. until game is matched). I have been matches before with people of almost 100 ELO difference which of course affected the game but if I have to choose no game or game vs lower skilled players I guess I will go with the second;
set priority to people who are not in the banlist over the ones who are - again not to promote quitters;
multiple choice option in custom match - as you said to for example untick just few out of many maps or game options which you are really not ok with.
I would be OK to play a 4 player game with or without friendly robber (Friendly robber is super popular in PlayCatan so once people migrate from there most of the games will be friendly robber or the people would complain until you make it easier to create friendly robber games). I would play a 3 player game only without friendly robber. But I would do that only when I can't find a 4 player game in a reasonable time and there is one spot left for a 3 player game. I do not really want the matchmaker to decide to put me in a 3 player game because it could not find a 4 player game itself. The whole reason it can't find a game is because other players do not know what other people want to play so they do not allow 4 player games.
PlayCatan lobby: http://imgur.com/XSbzD62
Seriously, in a lobby, finding a game is super easy. If you are lazy it does not mean other people should suffer with the matchmaker for it. Have you tried PlayCatan at all? Seems like not. I don't see any of the problems you are describing in PlayCatan. The lobby works there. The lobby games still take 2-3 minutes to fill up and there are about 10-15 games to choose from.
Are you really that slow that you can't read 10 lines and join the first game you like? The info is not crammed up that much. Once you learn to read it, you just look for friendly robber, number of players and stars.
You have to hit start in order to actually agree that the game can start. So you can join a game, read what the options are and if you don't like, you can quit the game before it starts. How the hell can you join a game with settings you dislike? You can always see the game you are in and before you hit the start button you can recheck the ONE line of text. How often does it really happen that you make a "human factor" mistake when joining a game? Do you really have to eliminate lobby because you got into the wrong game once in 100 games? Exchanging freedom for an AI to make decisions for you...
If you are too slow, you can create your own game and wait for other players to join it - still fills up as quickly as matchmaker, you just see other games which are being created too. More choices is better.
Matchmaker removes the human factor and becomes stupid. As I said before: You can not see what games other people like to play so you can not join a queue you did not initially want to play. Maybe I do not want to play a C&K game but I see 2 friends in a C&K game. I will join it and play with them.
My waiting time and not enough players points are valid. Let's do math on the Admin numbers. We have 7k-9k users - about 8000 per day (24 hours). 350 players are online each hour. About 4000 games are created each day. Let's say that a started game has an average of 3.3 players (more 3 player games than 4 player games). This means that the games host 4000 x 3.3 = 13200 players each day (this also includes that a player plays several games each day). Overall, each player plays an average of 13200/8000 = 1.65 games each day. About 35 minutes per game means a player spends 1.65 x 35 / 60 = 0.96 hours on average in Catan Universe. Does not seem very much. Probably most of the players who log in either play custom games, play with AI or just log off without playing.
Next, let's see how it converts to matchmaker. 13200 players are in games each day. 13200/24/60 = 9.17 players join the matchmaker queue every minute. So, on average you have 27-28 players in a queue at any time (Almost exactly what I predicted in another post). The matchmaker waits 2-3 minutes to create a game. So, as I said before in another post - 30 people is not enough for a matchmaker to create a balanced game for the players. No matter how much you tweak the matchmaker logic, choosing 3-4 players out of 30 is not enough. You have players with block lists, you have players with different game options/expansions selected. Only the majority of games can benefit from the matchmaker. Everyone else suffer. Instead it would be better to not make less popular options suffer by hiding them from the players and use lobby. The amount of games started would still be the same in my experience.
Yes, some games have less players but they mostly work because of the tight-knit community. Catan Universe does not offer that. In order to play, you need at least 3 players online agreeing to play with the given customization. And you do not have a lobby to chat with other online players so you don't have much community here. Only guilds which are essentially private groups for players. Seeing how on average players do not really spend much on the game, you can not say that the players are invested in the game. Probably most people play the 3 player games because they are lazy and not invested in the game. Because of that, most players apparently will just play the "quick game" option and won't even try to find a 4 player game.
Fine-tuning:
Default 4 would be OK but I guess the players would still be divided between those wanting 3 and those wanting 4. So it will be changed back to 3. The majority (55-60%) still wants 3 player but this means that more experienced players would have to suffer. So what is the point of creating tournaments on this platform when it does not promote professional playing? A lobby at least does not hide neither 3 nor 4 player games from the players spectating the lobby so there is equal chance to create a game with any settings.
As I said before - not enough players to divide people by ELO. 30 players on average to create a game with. A game is found in 2-3 minutes. By this time your ELO match is already at +-200. I would also rather just have a game and just play than hope that all players are equal somehow. ELO ranking is not a good way to show skill anyway.
How do you really think this would happen? All players have a banlist. If you play long enough you will be in some peoples banlist. Either because you talked too much, stole from them with the robber or won the game and they do not want to play with you for that reason. The more you play the more people would have you in their banlist. Also if you have to choose from 30 players, you can not really make many priorities. How much can you sort 30 players based on the different numbers (ELO, karma, banlist)? What does this priority even do? How do you determine that a player has to be prioritizes or not? You need either a flag (yes/no - is the player in someones banlist or not) or a number (0-x - how many people banned the player or some other metric to determine the quitter percentage). The banned players have to wait one extra minute? Well, then people would just create new accounts once they notice that matchmaker takes 1 extra minute to find a game.
Yeah, this could work on theory. There is a UI issue because you would want to add 2-10 different customizations of what kind of games you want. The UI developer is apparently not good here so it won't work. When you join the matchmaker queue you don't always know what kind of games you want to play. It's very similar to going to a supermarket to buy food for the evening and you pass the ice cream section... Now that you see the ice cream you also buy that. With the matchmaker you do not have that chance because you do not see the other customizations. With a lobby you do. Also there are other kinds of problems with this - the same player is sitting in multiple different queues at the same time. If 2 different queues are planning to place that player in a game at the same time, what happens? One queue will take the player first and start the game. The other queue gets an error - it has to find another player because the one it had chosen to place in the game suddenly quit. At this point it might make more sense to completely throw all players out and re-match the players who are in that queue - it makes the matchmaker slower.
Yes I get what you say in your posts.
And yes I have played PC before. The image of the lobby is exactly what I saw, it kept updating every second (during evenings = busy time) and I really either just randomly clicked on the most complete game or did fail to read the game settings before other players actually just joined the game I was reading about.
That annoyed hell out of me. Only chance was to start reading a game with like 1 or 2 people pending and then join and wait for the remaining ones.
And in any way if machine can do it for you why would I do it?!
As for your requirements - I say you have way to many demands in comparison to "regular player". This might be explained by the fact that you are one of few people actually actively rooting for lobby here (at least as much as I have noticed).
Regarding your calculations (I actually read all that - geeeez): a lot what you mentioned depends on average figures which of course is base of statistics.
At the same time from practice I can tell that I hardly wait 2 min any time I come online and want to play a game. I dont know how many options do I have, I dont know how many people are online. All I care is that I want to play and I want to do it now. I go online get a game going and if I dont get matched I go do other things.
I really couldn't care less if I saw the same via lobby just a few seconds faster (as I would wait a game to match for tops 2 min before leaving the game) vs. a need to input so much above mentioned manual work on any other occasion when actually cummunity would have 30+ players or even games going at the same time.
Regarding improvements:
lets stick with the topic and not go into further developments - I will be happy if I will be able to just play 4 player game (havent done it yet - not a one 4 player game).
As I said before - works for me Plus if ELO adjusts say every X seconds or as soon as new player joins the queue process will be still fast. While even with lobby game match would depend on available players - you can't create a good game out of no good players. If good players are not online neither matchmaker nor lobby will help.
Match-maker could use "confirmed" blacklist (where admins actually record reviewed cases and banned people - not sure if this has happened yet as promised @Administrator ) as priority rule. So players from this list are moved to the lowest priority in queue - meaning match-maker take them into account and actually put in game ONLY when ALL other players in queue have their games OR are pending for players which DO NOT overlap with a potential game for the blacklisted person.
What I dont like now is that potential quitter who has been banned still can actually not only f*** up my game but even "steal" players from my game queue.
I dont shop like that I have my list and always stick with it unless I have forgotten to put something down in it :p
Getting back to your high demands - I doubt many players actually use custom game option / have a need to do so.
I would suggest opening a new topic about it and see how many actually needs it / are against playing totally random game.
I guess you didn't uncheck the options "interrupted" and "in progress" - without these games the games list does not really move around as much. Maybe once every 10 seconds but then you can still visually see which way the games moved and you can easily continue from where you left off. Maybe it just needs a more precise filter to filter out a bit more games for people like you. For me I like the ability to see all the possible games I can join. Matchmaker does not offer that. With 10 games the list does not update that often. Not annoying at all to me.
If machine could do it for me yes, I would be happy. With the current system I will never be happy if I can not see the games like in a lobby. It can not be fixed. The reasons I already explained in the previous posts.
I have seen 2-3 other people asking for lobby. Of the other players... All players with PlayCatan accounts still play there and they do not really come to the CU forums. Since PlayCatan works so well they have no interest in playing in CU. But if PlayCatan is closed I assure you that there will be a lot of complaints about the absurdity of the matchmaker.
Average figures... Well, what else can I say... If you play in hours when there are less than average players then your gaming experience will be horrible. If you play in peak hours... How much different can it be? 2x? This would mean 60 players in a queue. Even then if you divide 3 player, 4 player games, expansions and maybe friendly robber halves all these games... 20 players to create 3 player games, 20 players for 3 player friendly robber. 10 to 4 player games. There is no real use to the custom game options, everyone picks the quick match and goes back to 3 player normal game. Yes, the matchmaker will manage to create a game quickly but as you already mentioned in other posts, you are matched with "nubs" and quitters anyway. Not enough good players to play with, matchmaker can not find you a good player if there aren't enough of them. The matchmaker created games have a lower quality of game.
You probably play any type of game. (Yeah, you mentioned not playing ONE 4 player game here... proves my point) Yes, then you get a game fast. 3 player normal game, no special rules. This is boring to me. And it will be boring to a lot of players and it drives people away from this game. The game will only appeal to less experienced players and it only works for them. There will be no point in developing the expansions because the matchmaker queues will be too long for anyone to even bother playing them. Everyone will only play the 3 player base game.
Starting a game in PlayCatan takes roughly the same time for me than CatanUniverse. So matchmaker is just as fast but at the cost of missing a lot of features of the lobby. The fact that you are lazy does not mean that others are too. If you are lazy with the lobby, just create your own game with your settings and just wait for other 2-3 players to join your game. You don't have to think at all and it is just as fast.
PlayCatan does not use ELO and everything is OK. ELO just does not work for Catan. The only mettric is stars - similar to karma in CU. Just limiting players based on that should be enough IMO. Only players with 5 karma are placed together. If it takes too long, players with lower karma are placed together etc... With a lobby, you just would have a karma limit on each game and you can only join the game if your karma is higher. Yeah, you will need players with good metrics online in both. In a lobby at least you have a potential that a player who would not usually play with your settings would still join your game. In matchmaker he would never know so you wait longer.
I do not think this would work. The admin is really slow to answer a lot of questions. I guess managing the player interactions would also take quite a long time. Remember that it is a company with a lot of different games. So a quitter can still do a lot of damage, maybe for a month until he is banned. In games like League of Legends people could troll for months until there is any response. 8000 players a day. If 1% are quitters you have to deal with 80 people.Let's say this is unique reports for 2 weeks. Looking through the games of that player would probably take 10 minutes each - only one game does not really count. I guess at least 3 games should be seen in order to determine if blacklisting the player is OK. So someone has to waste 13 hours every 2 weeks to blacklist people. I don't think there will be that much admin support on this game.
Why does the game have a frigging custom game option if it does not frigging work?! What the hell?! I thought you were talking about the matchmaker in general, not only about the quick game option. Quick game is pointless since you will have all the new players in it too - all the players without an actual registered user. A lot of trash will be in there.
About not playing a random game? Based on PlayCatan experience I would guess about 25% want a normal 3-player game. 30% want 3-player game with friendly robber, 20% want a normal 4-player game, 15% want 4-player game with friendly robber. The rest 10% want an expansion. Out of the players, 40% would play any type of game and 60% would stick to the specific customization. If the players from PlayCatan are forced to play here they will probably start complaining much more than me. I just want this game to not suck for the old players.
Even in this forum you have posts of people wanting to use a card stack. Can't do that with quick match option.
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Oven Fodder (AKA Why was this review accepted? Provide LINKS, please)
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colin040
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 10:26 am
Found yet another review that's not saying much.
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... 789/63300/
Cat III
I dunno. It is for a three song demo with no other reviews and it does describe the music, though in no great detail.
1st wave is best wave.
Latest Review: Dipygus - Long Pig Feast
Get rid of it.
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... eath/62836
https://thephosphorusbombs.bandcamp.com/ - 90s-style punk rock that unashamedly rips off Bad Religion, Propagandhi, Pennywise, Good Riddance et al.
TheMeh
DarthVenom wrote:
So, about that new Iced Earth review.
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... Meh/339203
I read the review twice to make sure, but there is no musical description here, just the constant refrain that it's "geared for radio play" and "meant to be played solely on the radio" and that it's "mainstream radio music". The closest that it gets to describing the music is when it says that a few songs "do resemble a lot of what Iced Earth has done in the past for me, a lot of what was right about their music, and a lot of what they should be doing." But that sentence would be meaningless to anyone who doesn't already know what Iced Earth sounds like.
If the writer of the review is reading this: it's a pretty common criticism of IE that they have a few killers per album amidst a sea of fillers, but you need to be able to describe it with actual musical detail. If you want to express that Stu Block "performs well in all areas", then don't just say that; elaborate on specific parts of the album where he uses his range to great effect. And if you're going to accuse an album with a six-minute instrumental and a nine-minute epic as just being in it for the radio play, you really need to back that up with more than this.
I noticed this at a very much later time than I probably should have, but I think it'd probably be good to respond.
Incorruptible's a really strange album for me, but I feel like the album itself had, in a way, highlighted the growing mediocrity from the band. Of course, saying that they're gearing music for radio play is wrong, but it felt just like that when I listened to it. It clouded a lot of my thoughts on the album itself, and... if I'm being honest, I do find that this review was wrong in a number of areas, that particular factor included.
Recently, I've come to realize that there's a particular way to write reviews, and that the focus itself should be on more points than just "oh, wow, this sounds like shit". I'm doing my best to be more descriptive with these reviews, and at this point, I'm still learning how to do it all with a good coat of paint. It's part of the reason I've begun to go back and rewrite my older reviews, and part of the reason I will likely do so for some of my less-than-worthwhile reviews. I try to strive for some form of acceptable standard with my reviews, and I'd feel bad if I let too many bad biases slip through like this particular review did.
Given time, I'm probably gonna re-review it. I feel the album deserves at least that from me. I've been busy as of late, so I don't know if it'd be any time soon, but... it'll certainly be in the waterworks. So, with that in mind... thanks for bringing this to my attention. I appreciate it quite a bit.
Ilwhyan wrote:
Is he trying to say that the band has run out of inspiration, and is also conscious of the fact, attempting to make up for it by appealing to a lower common denominator?
Yeah, I don't know if that's the kind of thought process that metal musicians might have when they streamline their style. Not even people like Jon Schaffer, I reckon.
You're entirely right. I completely agree with you on that. I was wrong to go and say that. It was a shallow review in general, and I wrote that in a very much pessimistic and biased state of mind.
While I won't go and say that the album itself doesn't FEEL streamlined, however, I definitely went about doing it the wrong way, and is probably the number one reason why I ought to rewrite the review when I get a chance to do so. As a relatively new person to reviewing, I'm still finding myself having troubles getting down to the exact points and putting down just why I feel that these albums don't perform well... and I can see I'm not the first to see just how bad that ends up getting with some of the older reviews.
Grave_Wyrm
Metal Sloth
Location: a branch
TheMeh, let's take this conversation to the Workshop. We can talk at more length there and help you get your thoughts articulated. This thread is mainly to bring fodder to the mods.
DesecratorJ
A perfect example of track-by-track review that I found in this one heheh.
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... sman/23024
My active Last.fm account
SweetLeaf95
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... /axman/148
I can't possibly see this holding up to today's standards. King Diamond "Them" review from 2002.
"It's not the kill, it's the thrill of the chase" - Deep Purple
SweetLeaf95 wrote:
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/King_Diamond/%22Them%22/1068/axman/148
I'd like to see Jay and Silent Bob review it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2TbE8uHOJ8
I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you - Nobody - too?
-Emily Dickinson
Wilytank
Not a Flying Toy
Track by track.
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... ashi/65724
KrigareTjovane wrote:
BenjaminC81 wrote:
I've got quite an extensive lesbian vampire movie collection at home
I've decided this is the only kind of collection in the world that matters.
TrooperOfSteel
Back in 2017, I started a thread bringing up something similar to this, I probably came at it from the wrong angle, and the thread was shut down and locked. However, in the end, this massive thread is pretty much exactly what I was trying to get at, I'm surprised no one mentioned it at the time, but all good. As this thread is so huge, it began back in 2004 if I'm not mistaken, is the ultimate goal here for people, users, mods and admins to come across reviews they feel are "not up to standard" we'll say?
I cannot see from my quick look, but I guess someone's view of a review that is not up to par differs person to person, so is there a guideline you guys are going by when selecting not so informative reviews? I know when writing a review, there needs to be standards to adhere to. But if there is some guideline, is it listed anywhere and ultimately what happens when someone brings up a link to the questionable reviews in this thread? Does it get discussed and then someone decides whether it gets deleted or not?
I know this would be a massive job which would take a long time, as there are thousands of reviews on here....
Derigin
This thread serves the purpose of letting us know if you find reviews which don't follow our rules and were mistakenly accepted. We don't want people to go on crusades though; we'd prefer if users just posted reviews they might find in passing that seem to have been accepted in error. We'd much rather they not go hunting for such reviews. Once posted here, we'll look at them and decide if they were accepted in error or not.
It's important to keep in mind that our rules for reviews are very basic; our standards for what we're looking for are pretty simple. I won't go into detail, because I have in other places before, but for reviews we look for three things: (1) that the review, above all, describes the music of the album; (2) that the review is well written and formatted correctly in English; and, (3) that the review is a genuine opinion. The latter can be hard to judge, but we usually weight on the side of it being a genuine opinion (even if a controversial or negative opinion). Your previous thread - on negative biases - seemed to be more focused on wanting to police genuine opinions and we don't police such things here. Even if the review attacks the band, or might not have anything novel to say, so long as it meets the three requirements we just listed then we will accept/keep it.
R.I.P. Diamhea 1987-2018
Live young, die free. Gone, but not forgotten.
Derigin wrote:
Thanks for responding and listing the review rules.
I gotta say, after going through the first 5-10 pages of this thread, going back to 2004, I don't see any of those reviews anymore. I mean, all of them listed were shockingly bad and I can see why you want them gone. As for my previous thread about the negative bias, I guess I was coming from the angle that if the reviewer was just basically attacking the band and talking nothing really about the music and just saying "the singer sucks, the drummer sucks, that song sucks, the album sucks, the band sucks", aside from being a genuine opinion, it hardly qualifies as a decent review. So now I have the 3 golden rules and if I see any reviews that dont contain all 3 in my travels...then i'll post them
Track-by-track from 2004. There's three other good reviews so I see no problem axing it.
I'm hesitant to get rid of reviews when they are the only one for an album, but this one is poorly formatted, confusing and not even very descriptive.
BastardHead
Worse than the PMRC
Location: St. Charles, Illinois
Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2018 10:34 am
poof poof
Lair of the Bastard: LATEST REVIEW: Sempiternal Dusk - Cenotaph of Defectuous Creation
The Outer RIM - Uatism: The dogs bark in street slang
BEST BLACK METAL ALBUMS OF ALL TIME RESULTS!
Napalm_Satan
One-Trick Pony
Scant on description?
Aydross
...Don't turn out the lights
Cause there's demons in the night
And they prey on the fears in us all...
Aydross wrote:
I think you just found the textbook example of what not to do in a review.
Ay dios mio
droneriot
incelgender
Location: Spahn Ranch
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... p3tt/77113
Generic black metal with blastbeats, is that enough to describe the music?
Black Tribe Official - Deleted for the hate speech of a GG Allin cover
Entkustete Art - Black metal logos & art
John Gill Historical Archives - Movie & TV reviews
Badly formatted and light on description.
Barely a paragraph long, with only a few of the sentences describing the music. The other review for this album isn't great either, but has just enough description, I think it squeaks by.
HuggieBigs
https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/M ... _Abyss/251
Anti semitic sentiments. Take it down please.
Vaitarna
"Burn churches, eat sharkbites".
Cat III wrote:
First one is poof. Second one is ehhhhhhhh. It's mega short and we frown on One Paragraph Wonders but honestly that might pass as a very succinct 3 pointer. I'll let another mod double check that.
HuggieBigs wrote:
https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Mayhem/Wolf%27s_Lair_Abyss/251
I'm not sure what you're asking for here? You just linked the album itself, not any particular review. I read the newest one and found nothing offending. If you're asking for the whole album to be taken down then yeah that's not happening. That's not how it works here.
Having embraced his Hebrew bloodline, Cashhammer embarked on a mission to revive this dead entity and to breathe life into it once more.
Noctir's review, that's what HuggieBigs is asking for.
droneriot wrote:
I'm not sure about Noctir's personal views, but it seems like he was going for a laugh more than being outright anti-semetic. That looks like a light duty Cartman line rather than an indictment of a civilization, let alone a cornerstone to base anything more than a dig off of. Plus, he doesn't pursue it any further than that one line. He's talking about how the album is a cash grab and contextualizing it in a joke.
I'm working on a review where I call the phrase "androgynous Frenchman" an oxymoron. Is that too mean or are we allowed to toss in an off color joke once in a while?
Twisted_Psychology
"Having embraced his Hebrew bloodline"
Not the worst thing ever but yikes.
Spirit Division (Stoner/Doom): http://spiritdivision.bandcamp.com
My solo acoustic project (Dark Folk/Blues): http://christophersteve.bandcamp.com/
Lavaborne (Heavy/Power/Doom): https://lavaborne.bandcamp.com
brain hammer
ttps://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/B ... zle/320274
"The real highlight of their career is famously Transcend The Rubicon; a lurching, heaving monster of mid-paced death metal with the inimitable bark of Barney Greenway leading the charge."
Incorrect. Dave Ingram is the vocalist on Transcend The Rubicon, not Barney Greenway.
CannibalCorpse
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Rotting_Christ/Khronos/1202/Aurora_Rider/358588
Can anybody explain why this one has been accepted? Based on usual standards?
This user's whole review record is quite awful and not worthy of being on a site like M-A.
Heavy/Gothic Metal with RIFFS. From Austria.
Adder's Fork - Website
Adder's Fork - NEW music video!
Adder's Fork - NEW EP stream!
Reviewer for Antichrist Magazine
He's passable. We don't really have the strictest standards; so long as you focus on describing the music of the album, you write well, and your opinion is genuine we will accept your review. He appears to check all those boxes.
Not in my point of view, not at all. Nearly a decade ago, this would not have been acceptable, but oh well - shouldn't do much harm, should it?
gasmask_colostomy
Location: Behind the wall of fire
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... 5/Lane/454
Deeply unsure whether this kind of track-by-track should be accepted. It doesn't lack content, but it's not a great review even if you ignore the middle part listing all the songs one by one.
henkkjelle
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... isk/370988
Not a lot of musical description going on here.
"Few are the albums that do not have something about them that, changed or rectified, would have made them that tiny bit better. Not so with Heir To Despair. I seriously cannot think of any element in Heir that makes me reconsider giving it top marks."
But then he doesn't tell us what those elements are. At all. What I learned from this review is: Scenario IV: Dread Dreams is good, Graveyard is bad, Heir to Despair is good because it's similar to Scenario IV. But in what ways? I have no idea. What if I never listened to either Graveward or Scenario IV?
The rest is the reviewer talking about how he rates albums, I guess. And that's it's a good album because it satisfies these criticisms. Again, I don't know how. Am I being nitpicky?
Krister Jensen
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... head/19602
Doesn't really describe the release at all, even though it's just a compilation.
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... all/216687
Is this an advert? It's like a poorly-written bio/promo page with no musical description.
meshigene
Location: neverwhere
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... tum/35505/
Scizzgoth wrote:
Feast Of A Monumental Release - 85%
What happens when you get two great bands, in their humble and honest first steps, in their first best appearence? You get the results of this amazing split release off course.
This split saw both bands take on a different route in their sound, with Rotting Christ ending their earlier Death/Grind sound for a deadly, killer, heavy as hell doom sound. Monumental, manifest on the sadness in your soul, throwing a huge rock over your tomb; it honestly feels like dying.
Rotting Christ's offering to the pyre of this release is an amazingly constructed song that will remind you of much, but all of them were suprisingly released after it. Amazingly slow, guitar driven doom/death metal from both bands. Think of a harsher, nearly non-melodic version of Evoken, and you are getting close.
But don't get really close. The stein of rot and decay will take away your soul. Such is the suffering and doom in this monumental release.
very poorly written, barely descriptive, too short for its own good and, although it's subjective, quite misleading.
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... d__/222210
__Ziltoid__ wrote:
Clipped Shit - 0%
After TNOTB was kindly given a promo version of the album from Season of Mist, I was going to be patient like any regular fan, but I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hear this long-awaited album so early before it’s release and give it the glowing recommendation it would undoubtedly deserve as the logical extension of the sound on Elements. Well, are you expecting love for Jupiter because it’s in this column, the one I pretty much devote to death metal that I happen to love? Too bad. Sadly, I regret ever wanting to listen to this jumbled mess of an album. Frankly, I can barely listen to this atrocity. Being one of my first death metal bands, I love all of Atheist’s old material, but this album just doesn’t cut it in any way. Consider this my disappointment of 2010.
Firstly, the biggest criticism I have with this album is with it’s production. It’s clipped worse than Death Magnetic! Sonically, I think that this is the worst, most sterile-sounding album I’ve ever heard. Of course, I half-expected this when it was revealed that Jason Suecof (i.e., the dude who mixes/produces seemingly all of the sterile crappy mainstream metal these days) was mixing the album, but this is worse than I could have possibly imagined. This fucker is clipped to hell, and the entire mix is void of any dynamic range whatsoever, leaving each instrument as some lifeless layer of loud noise. Hell, clipping aside, the mix is still terrible, with the drums obnoxiously loud, the vocals kind of muddy-sounding, the guitars a little bit low for my liking, and the bass just existing, lacking the genuine feel it had on Unquestionable Presence.
As for the music itself, it’s really fucking boring. Atheist used to be innovators. Now it seems like they listened to a Necrophagist or The Faceless album and though, “Hey, now people want tech death to sound like this.” Sure, the technicality is still present, but it just seems to have no purpose. On all of Atheist’s older albums, the songs had a sense of direction–the technicality was there for a reason, and the complex song structures were natural progressions of the music. Here, it just feels like technicality for the sake of being technical, with parts just cut and pasted together. I think I need to go through this album track by track to really get all of my gripes out.
In addition, there are some attempts at being catchy (which Atheist used to be surprisingly good at, considering that they’re a death metal band), such as on ‘Second to Sun,’ but those fail miserably. That riff at 2:01 sounds like some shit I’d hear in a Lamb of God song! That section at 2:40? It sounds like some bad attempt at a breakdown. No, not like the awesome one in ‘An Incarnation’s Dream,’ but more like one you’d find in a Suicide Silence song. Yuck!
Surely things must get better, right? Well, no. ‘Fictitious Glide’ is next, and this is just getting more boring by the minute. The riffs at the beginning of this song are so bland it isn’t even funny. Then the “technicality” shows up for some reason, and it sounds completely out of place. It just gets worse when Kelly’s vocals join in the mess, making for a clusterfuck of tech-drivel. The solos are stale and forced, just like any modern tech-death that’s been released over the past few years. Hell, what the fuck is with that riff at 3:11? I could almost see some crappy groove metal band playing that. At the very least, the solo section starting at 3:45 is decent. It sounds a bit forced (especially due to the fact that it’s rather fast, considering that speed has never been a priority for Atheist), but at least it’s an interesting enough arrangement.
‘Fraudulent Cloth’ just starts with an obnoxiously boring riff, and Kelly’s vocals has never sounded so past their prime. I saw Atheist live last year, and they played an amazing show, so I really don’t know what happened to Kelly’s vocals between then and now. Well, this song is just more of the same. Sterile production, sterile riffs, and “tech-y” songwriting (and I mean that in the most negative way possible). When I hear the obligatory tech bits in these songs, I can’t help but be reminded of later-era (read as: boring) Dream Theater. It just feels like it’s now a contest of “Look what I can do,” and it fails miserably at sounding like a coherent musical structure.
‘Live, and Live Again’ continues with the boring, simple riffs that eventually transition into boring technical sections. The chorus on this song is just laughable, and the production here sounds especially botched for some reason. Oh well. The break at 1:50 had some potential, but Kelly’s Mudvayne-like vocals just make this section impossible to take seriously.
‘Faux King Christ’ starts with a rather boring intro. Kelly’s vocals sound pretty funny here too, with the chorus of “Faux King Christ” sounding like “FUCK-ING CHRIST.” Oh, how clever! If you want some lifeless guitar wankery, then jump straight to 1:53 and hear the solo. Really, it’s getting pointless for me to keep describing these songs, since they’re practically indistinguishable from each other and completely unmemorable aside from a few silly vocal lines.
‘Tortoise The Titan’ might just be the dumbest title I’ve ever heard for a metal song. Sadly, the title is pretty much the only interesting thing going on here. These tremolo-picked riffs that are appearing all over Jupiter are just so utterly stale, and this song has a particularly boring one. Otherwise, just skip on to the next track.
The intro from ‘When the Beast’ is a perfect example of another gripe of mine with Jupiter. Whenever Atheist try to mix the death metal elements of their music with the jazzier, more technical drumming, it just sounds like a mess. On their older albums, Atheist did this with ease, so I’m just left here wondering what the hell happened. But none of that is as bad as the fucking nu-metal riff at 0:55. But wait, now there’s one of the fucking laziest breakdowns I’ve ever heard in my fucking life at 3:39! WHY?????? This is nothing like the Atheist of old. Instead, it’s a mockery of what used to be one of the best death metal bands in existence. I honestly can’t fathom how this is even Atheist.
Thankfully, ‘Third Person’ is the last song here. The intro was decently enough–a hell of a lot better than most of this album–but the vocals again make this laughable. This song has more of that chugging failure that has ruined some of the other songs on Jupiter, and by now, I can’t believe that they ever let such lazy riffing bear the Atheist name, a name which used to guaranty quality and originality.
Ever since I heard the first rumors about this album, I’ve been excited for it. Sure, reunions sometimes fail miserably, but hey, Cynic’s recent reunion turned out wonderfully. Traced in Air isn’t Focus, but it feels like a Cynic album, a definitively logical progression from their older material. Jupiter, unfortunately, feels like a rushed mash-up of bad ideas that were formed based on what the modern perception of technical death metal is, not the perception that Atheist pioneered for the genre back in the day. I hate to write such a negative review for a band I that used to be one of my favorites, but all I can say is that this is a genuine response from a genuine fan. I went into this wanting it to be my favorite album of the year, and it ended up being one of the most disappointing albums I’ve ever listened to. No joke, I actually shed a tear when I finished my first listen of Jupiter. Sorry, Atheist, but I can’t honestly recommend this album to anyone in good faith.
not "bad" per se, but it's a trudge even for a track-by-track review and seems far too exaggeratedly emotional.
zeingard wrote:
Man, not everyone is jerking off to collages of Morpheus Descends, Timeghoul and Demilich in their basement.
Most of them are doing it to 'Left Hand Path' with the right hand (which is wrong).
No chance in hell that this gets accepted today;
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... Death/9414
Just stumbled on this Exodus review. Extremely weak descriptions, "solos are faster than early Megadeth" is the most specific it gets, and cites inaudible bass when I can hear it just fine. Also:
Get this album as soon as you can, but if you have Exodus' older stuff, get "The Atrocity Exhibition..." as soon as possible.
Whoa, this is getting pretty complicated, I may need to draw a flowchart.
Couple of real turds here; https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... Dust/7878/
Nothing to delete here, but I know moderators sometimes "fix" reviews for bad formatting, and the space before the period in this review is just hurting my eyes...
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... pie/154259
thrashmaniac87
https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... cat/223660
This one is downright bizarre. What's with the disco comments?
"Also Nasum isn't grindcore." - Violent_Possessor
untappd: patrick_g
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The Daily Politics
BBC Two England, 22 April 2005 11.30
Electioneering news. The Paxman Interviews, with Michael Howard , is on BBC1 at 7.30pm
BBC Two is a television service which began broadcasting on 20 April 1964.
Feedback about The Daily Politics, BBC Two England, 11.30, 22 April 2005
Please leave this link here so we can find the programme you're referring to: http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/4a82870b5ec84a349bef429b7c0467b1
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BBC One London, 24 December 1999 8.45
Art and craft ideas.
Shown yesterday 4.35pm (S)
BBC One is a television service which began broadcasting on 20 April 1964. It replaced BBC Television.
Feedback about Smart, BBC One London, 8.45, 24 December 1999
Please leave this link here so we can find the programme you're referring to: http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b1cb278d41544a8cb7b6965d5f7c7c94
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Home » By The Numbers » Men’s Basketball Stumbles in Blowout Loss to Seton Hall
Men’s Basketball Stumbles in Blowout Loss to Seton Hall
By: Nathan Chen
The Georgetown men’s basketball team (15-10, 5-7 Big East) came out flat against Seton Hall (15-9, 6-6 Big East) and lost 90-75 on Wednesday night. Senior center Jessie Govan led the Hoyas with 20 points, and senior guard Greg Malinowski contributed 16 off the bench. For the Pirates, junior guard Myles Powell led all scorers with 30 points, and three other Pirates managed double figures in the blowout victory.
The teams traded buckets to open the game, and a Govan dunk made the score 7-6 with 17:08 to play in the first half. From there, Seton Hall took over the game, going on a 17-2 scoring run and getting a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the game. Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing turned to his bench to try and stop the run, and junior guard Jagan Mosely’s assertive dunk on a three-point play brought the Hoyas within 11. Despite a 7-0 run late in the first half, the Pirates led by 13 at the break.
In the second half, it was more of the same, as Seton Hall continued to respond every time Georgetown converted a basket. At 15:59, Powell’s layup gave Seton Hall a 21-point lead, but Georgetown went on a 7-0 run behind a layup from Malinowski, a three-point play from senior guard/forward Kaleb Johnson, and a layup from freshman forward Josh LeBlanc. Freshman forward Myles Cale stopped the run for the Pirates, but Malinowski got hot, connecting on consecutive triples to draw the Hoyas within 13, prompting a Seton Hall timeout.
Every time the Hoyas had a run, Seton Hall quickly answered with a 3-pointer, and this time was no different with Powell hitting another shot from deep. After a layup from LeBlanc and a triple from sophomore forward Jamorko Pickett, the Hoyas trailed by 11, but Seton Hall closed the game on a 9-4 run, making the final score 90-75.
The final result was especially disheartening for the three starting freshmen. Freshman guard Mac McClung found himself in foul trouble early, recording just 3 points in 16 minutes of play. Freshman guard James Akinjo didn’t fare much better, shooting 1-of-6 from the field and scoring only 6 points. As a group, the freshmen shot 5-of-17 from the field and combined for a measly 15 points. Rebounding and 3-point shooting were also major issues for the Hoyas. Georgetown was destroyed on the offensive boards by senior forward Michael Nzei, who pulled down eight offensive rebounds by himself, leading to many second-chance points for the Pirates. Georgetown shot 29.2 percent from deep, while Seton Hall shot 44.0 percent.
The Hoyas return to action at home against the Villanova Wildcats (20-5, 11-1 Big East) next Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for live updates and coverage of all winter sports at Georgetown.
Image Credits: John Picker/The Georgetown Voice
Georgetown Hoyas Men's Basketball Seton Hall Pirates
Nathan Chen is the Halftime Sports Editor. He was born and bred in the DC Sports Bog and is ready to die in it.
Trailer Takes: The Sun is Also A Star, Shaft, and Shazam!
Harry Pottercast: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Movie Edition)
Men’s Lacrosse Beats UD to Win Big East Championship
Aaron Wolf
Women’s Lacrosse Tops Marquette in Big East Semis
Jorge DeNeve
Storm Breakers: Hoyas Sweep St. John’s Out of Town
Tristan Lee
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Giving Priorities
Bulldog Club
Recognizing Donors
Phone Us (252) 399-6376
Email Us alumni@barton.edu
Barton Students Held High Profile at Phi Beta Lambda State Conference
April 30, 2018 May 16, 2018 Bryan Fegley
WILSON, N.C. — April 30, 2018 — Barton College was well represented at the 64th annual North Carolina Phi Beta Lambda (NC PBL) State Leadership Conference held April 5-8 in Charlotte. Sixteen Barton chapter members participated in a variety of competitive events and attended general sessions, regional meetings, and leadership seminars.
Approximately 300 delegates, representing 25 chapters, attended the annual conference. First-place, second-place, and third-place winners at the state conference earn the right to compete at the Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) National Leadership Conference to be held in Baltimore, Md., in June.
Luke Miller, a MBA student from Zebulon, concluded his year as the N.C. Phi Beta Lambda State Secretary, and Kaity Lynch, a freshman from Wilson, was elected N.C. Phi Beta Lambda State Secretary for 2018-2019. Luis Reyes, a junior from Ocala, Fla., concluded his year as the N.C. Phi Beta Lambda Region Vice President. Bronte Thompson, a MBA student from Staley, placed first in Future Business Executive and in Business Presentation. The chapter’s Local Chapter Annual Business Report, authored by Thompson, placed second. She also was a recipient of Who’s Who in North Carolina Phi Beta Lambda. Denning Hudson, a sophomore from Wilson, and Michael Tyler, a junior from Virginia Beach, Va., won first place in Social Media Challenge.
Second place honors for Barton’s team included Kathy Turner, a MBA student from Wilson, and Gentry Buchan, a MBA student from Wilson, for both Business Decision Making and Global Analysis and Decision Making. Joanna Williams, a MBA student from Wilson, placed second in Retail Management and third in Management Concepts. Grace Browning, a junior from Pine Level, placed third in Sales Presentation, while Sean O’Brien, a freshman from Wilson, placed third in Sports Management and Marketing. Tollamius Beatson, a junior from London, placed third in Cost Accounting and eighth in Business Law.
Lynch placed fourth in Job Interview, and Tiffany Cooper, a junior from Wilson, placed fourth in Retail Management. Miller placed fifth in Integrated Marketing Campaign, and Erica Underwood, a junior from Wilson, placed fifth in Client Services. Oliva Rivera, a sophomore from Wilson, placed sixth in Personal Finance. The team of Asia Robinson, a junior from Hendersonville, and Tyler placed sixth in Human Resource Management. Miller placed seventh in Emerging Business Issues. Hudson placed seventh in Computer Concepts. Four members received certificates for participation in the Leadership Development Program.
In addition to receiving the Gold Seal Award and being recognized as a Gold Star Chapter, the Gamma Gamma Chapter at Barton was acknowledged for meeting local, state, and national goals with The Legacy Leadership Award. Barton’s chapter also received recognition for its monetary contributions to state- and nationally-recommended projects (March of Dimes, Professional Division-Foundation Scholarship and General Funds). And, the chapter received first place honors in the Eastern Region for the Largest Chapter Membership, the Largest Increase in Chapter Membership, the Largest Percentage Increase in Chapter Membership, and the Largest NCPBL Professional Division-Foundation Membership. Statewide, Barton’s chapter received fourth place in the Largest Increase in Chapter Membership and the Largest Percentage Increase in Chapter Membership.
Teresa Parker of Wilson, associate professor of instructional technology at Barton College, and Ronald Eggers of Rocky Mount, associate professor of business, and dean of the School of Business at Barton College, accompanied the student delegation to the state conference. Eggers was acknowledged for 30 years as a FBLA-PBL adviser.
For additional information about the Gamma Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Lambda, visit the web site, https://www.barton.edu/campus-life/activities/clubs/#pbl
Giving, Students
A letter from a student – “Forever impacted my life”
A Beautiful Day for Barton College’s 116th Commencement
About Barton College
Barton College is a community of learners freely examining the intellectual and cultural experiences of an interdependent world to understand humanity’s rich heritage and to improve the quality of all existence.
Address: P.O. Box 5000, Wilson, NC 27893
Email: annualgiving@barton.edu
Copyright © 2019 Barton College. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy
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S2 E15 Hungary Heart
The girls take fate into their own hands.
Binge All Three Seasons
Cast: Ayla Kell, Josie Loren, Cassandra Scerbo
Emily Kmetko's dreams of becoming an Olympic gymnast inch closer to reality when she receives a scholarship to The Rock training center in Colorado. But her natural abilities mean that the center’s elite gymnasts would like nothing more than to see Emily head back to where she came from. Amidst the backstabbing and bonding, they're all in pursuit of what every gymnast competes for: a perfect routine.
Friends Close, Enemies Closer
The girls question Sasha's decision to take on the National Committee.
The girls head to France to compete.
Battle of the Flexes
The girls compete against the boys for gym space.
And The Rocky Goes To...
It's time for the Rocky Awards.
I Won't Dance, Don't Ask Me
Competitiveness, arguments and self doubt fill The Rock.
Party Gone Out of Bounds
Temptation arises for the girls when Austin throws a party.
Beals reveals to Lauren that her dad is funding Emily.
Chloe gives Lauren an ultimatum which backfires on her.
Lauren's mom comes back to Boulder to form a relationship with her.
At The Edge Of The Worlds
Sasha's future at the rock is put in jeopardy.
With the World's tryouts over, there is little for the girls to celebrate.
When the new coach arrives at The Rock, life as they knew it changes.
The Buddy System
Darby has the girls swap routines.
Life or Death
The choices made at The Rock have a different outcome than expected.
Hungary Heart
One of The Rock girls must deal with career ending, news.
To Thine Own Self Be True
Kaylie's return may not be the warm welcome she was hoping for!
Dog Eat Dog
The gym heats up as the last slot for the Worlds' team is filled.
Confidences are betrayed on the eve of the Worlds competition!
The Rock girls compete for the World's title.
Follow Make It Or Break It:
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39 trafficked girls rescued in Delhi - Fusion - WeRIndia
39 trafficked girls rescued in Delhi
August 3, 2018 Incredible India Valli Sarvani No comments
Recently, the government of India passed the Trafficking of Persons Bill. This law renders all forms of human trafficking illegal in the country.
Now, people are starting to put the new law into action. On the morning of August 1st, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) rescued at least 39 Nepali girls from a Hotel Hridey Inn in Paharganj.
The DCW had been tipped off about the trafficked women beforehand. The raid lasted through the entire night.
The DCW’s operation started at 1:00 a.m. Their operation went until 6:00 a.m. After the operation was over, the 39 Nepali girls had been safely rescued from the hotel.
Swati Maliwal, the chairperson of the DCW, went on Twitter and provided people with the details of the rescue operation.
A joint team of the DCW had gone in to rescue these women late at night, after the DCW had been tipped off about them.
Maliwal also said that the trafficked Nepali girls were going to be sent off to Gulf countries. However, she concluded that the trafficking racket was successfully busted by the DCW.
Furthermore, this is the third operation like this that has occurred since July 25th. July 25th is when the Lok Sabha passed the Trafficking of Persons Bill.
The first of these three operations took place on July 25th. On this date, the DCW rescued 16 women from Delhi’s Munirka area.
The DCW were helped by the police in this operation. These women were, allegedly, also trafficked from Nepal, and were also going to be taken to Gulf countries.
The second of these three operations took place on July 30th. On this day, the Delhi and Varanasi Police rescued 18 women in Vasant Vihar.
16 of these women were from Nepal. They were captured by an international prostitution racket.
With the August 1st rescue operation being the third of its kind in a week, it can be safely said that the Trafficking of Persons Bill is turning out to be very effective in saving the victims of trafficking.
Revolutionary law passed to deal with…
Beti Zindabad Bakery empowers trafficked
Three brothers fighting violence against
Image Reference: NDTV
Delhi, Human trafficking, nepal girls
Chinese experts to test long-lasting HIV vaccine on humans
Dont do marketing of West Bengal: LS Speaker
Does Defunding Work? $1.9B Later… Private Prisons Seem to Think So
The Many Reasons To Rollover A 401(k) And The One Reason Not To
Sensex tanks 560 points; bank, auto stocks bleed
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Category: Release Dates
Far Cry 5 Announcement Trailer
By Chris King, May 26, 2017 News, Release Dates, Trailers
Welcome to Hope County, Montana, land of the free and the brave, but also home to a fanatical doomsday cult known as The Project at Eden’s Gate that is threatening the community’s freedom. Stand up to the cult’s leader, Joseph… Read More »
Final Fantasy VII Remake info and Mobius Final Fantasy coming to Steam
By getamikeON, January 26, 2017 News, Release Dates, Steam
In case you missed it Square Enix announced that their mobile RPG adventure Mobius Final Fantasy will be making its way to Steam next month on Febuary 6th. Previously released on mobile devices, MOBIUS FINAL FANTASY offers an all-new RPG… Read More »
Injustice 2 Story Trailer and pre order details
By Chris King, January 17, 2017 News, Release Dates, Trailers
NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment released a story trailer to their upcoming fighting game Injustice 2. Coming right off the heels from telling us when we would be able to get our hands on the game which is 05/16/2017… Read More »
Resident Evil 4, 5 and 6 are coming to PS4 and Xbox One
By Chris King, February 25, 2016 Microsoft, News, Release Dates, Sony
That is right folks Capcom is porting more Resident Evil to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Capcom will release the PS4 and Xbox One ports of those Resident Evil games in reverse chronological order which is odd in my opinion…. Read More »
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Connecticut taps nuclear plants to generate clean energy
Posted 7:23 AM, December 29, 2018, by Associated Press, Updated at 07:24AM, December 29, 2018
The Millstone nuclear power plant in Waterford
HARTFORD — Nuclear power plants in Connecticut and New Hampshire made the list of electricity producers selected Friday to generate the clean energy needed to help meet Connecticut’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Robert Klee and Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced the state also chose bids submitted from nine solar projects and one offshore wind project. Final regulatory approval of power contracts, which still need to be negotiated, are still required.
“The selection of this diverse portfolio of zero-carbon resources ensures that Connecticut is doing its part to address climate change,” Klee said. A 2017 state law required DEEP’s commissioner to solicit proposals for up to 12 million megawatt-hours of clean energy annually to meet the state’s renewable energy goals.
Virginia-based Dominion Energy had sought for months to have its Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford, included in the clean energy procurement. Dominion had argued the plant faced closure due to rising expenses and competition from natural gas.
A top Dominion executive said Friday the company is pleased Millstone is part of the portfolio. DEEP selected a 10-year bid for about 50 percent of the entire nuclear facility’s output. DEEP also selected a bid from the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant in New Hampshire.
Millstone still pushing for ‘action’ to save nuclear plant
“DEEP’s decision is good news for Connecticut’s economy and the environment,” said Paul Koonce, EVP, president and CEO of power generation at Dominion Energy. He said Dominion’s “zero carbon offer brings at least $670 million in net benefits to Connecticut customer” and “welcome holiday news” for the power plant’s 1,500 employees.
“We look forward to executing the contract with Connecticut’s utilities shortly,” he said.
State regulators recently determined Millstone was at risk of early retirement, a move that ultimately allowed the plant to be part of DEEP’s clean energy auction.
DEEP also selected nine solar projects, including three in Connecticut, four in Maine and two in New Hampshire. Additionally, DEEP announced plans to expand upon its June selection of 200 megawatts of energy generated by the Revolution Wind off-shore project being developed by Rhode Island-based Deepwater Wind. DEEP said the state will procure an additional 100 megawatts of power from the wind farm, located in federal waters, about halfway between Montauk, New York and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
“Offshore wind is fast becoming a centerpiece of Connecticut’s renewable energy future,” said Jeffrey Grybowski, Co-CEO of Ørsted US Offshore Wind, which acquired Deepwater Wind in October. “We’re proud that our Revolution Wind project will now deliver even more clean energy to Connecticut communities.”
The Real Story: The electric bill
Federal regulators: Millstone guard didn’t maintain weapons
48 arrested at Yale protest over fossil fuel investments
Topics: climate change, deep, energy, environment, millstone nuclear plant, solar power, Utilities, waterford, wind power
Stonington First Selectman Rob Simmons not running for reelection
Trump EPA rolls back Obama rule on coal-fired power plants; CT AG to sue
Russia plans to tow a nuclear power station to the Arctic. Critics dub it a ‘floating Chernobyl’
Gov. Lamont announces development plan to establish New London as a central hub of offshore wind industry
Proposals to transform Waterford’s Seaside Park fall short
Iran says it will break the uranium stockpile limit agreed under nuclear deal in 10 days
Thousands of residents to receive electric refunds following third-party supplier billing error
Chernobyl is becoming a visitor hotspot because of a new HBO series
FOX61 EXCLUSIVE: Head of State Police speaks on Dulos case
Bill would charge fee to help combat invasive aquatic plants
Sleeping Giant State Park to reopen after over a year of clean up
Poof, they’re gone: Power plant towers demolished in seconds
Connecticut OKs dozens of hemp grower licenses for pilot
The Real Story – Wind power
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Zimmerman: Did George Zimmerman’s Conduct Exhibit Premeditation? UPDATED Below
We not only have considerable evidence of a depraved mind with no regard for human life, we have substantial evidence of premeditation that could lead a grand jury to indict Zimmerman for Murder in the First Degree, if the prosecution were inclined to seek an indictment, because the evidence from out of his own mouth shows that he
(1) grabbed his gun,
(2) extended his arm beyond his left hand so that he would not accidentally shoot it,
(3) aimed his gun at point blank range,
(4) pulled the trigger shooting Martin in the chest,
(5) rolled Martin’s body over so that it was face down in the wet grass,
(6) told witnesses not to call 911 because he had already done that even though he knew that no ambulance was on the way because the dispatcher at the non-emergency number that he called had only dispatched an officer to the neighborhood, rather than to a specific address, to investigate a suspicious circumstance, and
(7) mounted him by straddling his body with his full weight on Martin’s back while, according to winesses Mary Cutcher and Selma Mora), leaning forward with his hands on Martin’s neck restricting Martin’s airway.
Proof of premeditation does not require a minimum amount of time. It does require evidence that a defendant formed the specific intent to kill, reflected on the decision to kill, and went ahead and killed the person.
In Berube v. State, 5 So. 3d 734 (2009), the Court defined premeditation as follows:
“Premeditation is the essential element which distinguishes first-degree murder from second-degree murder.
“Premeditation is defined as more than a mere intent to kill; it is a fully formed conscious purpose to kill.
“This purpose to kill may be formed a moment before the act but must exist for a sufficient length of time to permit reflection as to the nature of the act to be committed and the probable result of that act.”
The evidence that establishes intent to kill is the shooting itself. Depravity, reflection and renewed intent to kill (i.e., premeditation) are established by the multiple acts after the shot to delay, to the maximum extent possible, the arrival of emergency medical assistance that, from his perspective, might have saved TM’s life, while at the same time secretively and furtively attempting to administer the coup de grace in the dark area between the two buildings of townhouses within view of many witnesses, including children.
GZ’s actions after the shot also are probative of his intentions before the shot, unless he wants to argue that he was just trying to euthanize Martin to prevent him from suffering, which would be exceedingly unwise to argue for reasons that I am certain I do not have to explain.
In other words, if he had not premeditated the death of TM, he would not have continued his attempt to kill him by suffocating him and delaying the arrival of emergency medical assistance.
He had an opportunity to change his mind, but he decided to continue his effort to kill Martin.
If I were Angela Corey, I would be inclined to leave the charge as is at second degree murder because it’s punishable by life in prison and GZ’s conduct is so extremely depraved and shocking to human sensibility that a life sentence is likely.
Since the probable sentence would be the same, there is no reason to prosecute him for the more serious offense.
Last, but by no means least, GZ’s depraved behavior after the shot exhibits consciousness of guilt because:
(1) He is not reasonably in imminent danger of suffering death or serious bodily injury, and
(2) He is attempting to kill the only witness who could definitively refute his claim that he shot Martin in self-defense
Put another way, if he truly shot Martin in self-defense as he claims, he would not have any reason to attempt to delay the arrival of medical attention to the maximum extent possible while attempting to secretively and furtively finish the job of killing him by smothering him to death in front of many witnesses, including children.
UPDATE: Mary Cutcher filled out a handwritten statement dated February 26th, the night of the shooting (p.102 of 184), in which she told the police she and her roommate, Selma Mora stepped out on their patio after the shot and twice asked George Zimmerman what was going on. She said he told the to “just call the police.” Her handwritten statement was released in the first document dump. (H/T to CommonSenseForChange)
UPDATE 2: Mirre commented,
“I thought 46 seconds was a long time. If you listen to Selma’s statement, knowing that Trayvon may have been concious, the depraved mind becomes very obvious. In Tchoupi’s chart, you can also see that one second before W18 tells the dispatcher, she sees GZ getting up, W3 tells the dispatcher she can see the police arriving on TTL.
Depraved mind indeed.”
Looks like George Zimmerman may have already known the police had arrived when he told Mary Cutcher and Selma Mora to “just call the police.”
His behavior prior to telling them to call 911 demonstrated no concern for Martin.
Equally important, I think, is that he did not call 911 to seek emergency medical treatment for himself. That suggests he knew his injuries were minor, even if bleeding and painful, and it was more important to him to gain more time for Trayvon Martin to die than it was to get medical assistance for himself.
How chilling is that?
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Admission of Guilt, Crime, Depraved Mind, George Zimmerman, Murder 1, Murder 2, Premeditation, Self-defense, Trayvon Martin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
363 Responses to Zimmerman: Did George Zimmerman’s Conduct Exhibit Premeditation? UPDATED Below
I posted some comments on the “Why did GZ kill TM” thread that really have more to do with premeditation — the discussion there seemed to bring up those comments, sorry…
Briefly, to recap them:
I think someone in the N-Watch had phoned the police to complain about George “patrolling with a gun” and being aggressive;
I think George wanted to provoke some incident to prove he needed his gun;
I think he set out that night to show how essential his patrolling AND the gun were to the community;
Thus he called NEN and failed to identify himself as N-Watch personnel and
Thus he tried to provoke Trayvon into violence so he could subdue him, and then either injured himself to make it look like an attack or attacked Trayvon to provoke defense of some sort (admittedly not enough to do real damage, but consider that Trayvon probably had no intention of engaging in combat with the lunatic) so he could NEED HIS GUN and show the NW that his policies were right.
Under Florida law, premeditation does not have to take place over a very long period of time. Even if George’s own version of the events were taken as true, arguendo, he could be said to have premeditated the murder from the time his “jacket came up” until the time he shot Trayvon Martin in the heart. The magic words are:
“Premeditation is a fully formed conscious purpose to kill that may be formed in a moment and need only exist for such time as will allow the accused to be conscious of the nature of the act he is about to commit and the probable result of that act.”
Since Corey did not charge premeditated (first-degree) murder, though, and since she could not do so without convening a grand jury, it may be a moot point now.
Earlier, re Burgess arrest:
The apprehension of Burgess was not attributed to GZ other than Frank Taaffe saying so.
I believe Cynthia Wibker, of the “Homeowners Association” or the “Neighborhood Watch Association” or something, also carried on about how George was so important in apprehending criminals who were preying on the neighborhood.
REMEMBER, though, that these protestations of how important it was for George to patrol and protect have much more to do with the civil suits that will inevitably occur against the property owners at The “Retreat” later on. Interestingly, only the SYG law would have protected THEM from lawsuits. Whether George is convicted or acquitted, or pleads, or escapes, or even predeceases his trial or the resolution of this case, those lawsuits will be a serious consideration to the people who live in the community and a serious consideration for the insurance carriers who have their homeowners’ insurance policies (and the banks holding the mortgages and and and and and…) unless that SYG law can save them ALL from the legal consequences of that evening’s activities, which were indulged in all in the name of the community itself, which was purportedly being protected by this zealous godly volunteer.
If you look at the statements made by George, Bill Lee (“I don’t know why he thought he had to kill Trayvon” presumes he did in fact “have to kill” Trayvon), Taaffe, Wibker and possibly others, you see a sort of pattern of belief that not only was the killing justifiable, but that it was to be justified by people who lived there, not by lawful police authorities. It begins to look like a case of a whole vigilante neighborhood, not just a vigilante neighbor, especially since on March 1, 2012, at a meeting, many as yet unnamed residents kicked out a resident for insisting that he or she had previously called the police to complain about George patrolling with a gun, and there is a suggestion that this person who was kicked out of the meeting had asked the police to STOP George Zimmerman from patrolling with a gun.
Think of the ultimate result of the civil suit if that happened and/or if the police have destroyed the records of that having happened. After all, there were press reports of a young Black male resident claiming that he was afraid to walk around in his own neighborhood because of George Zimmerman’s pre-2/26/2012 activities and neighborhood agitation.
CherokeeNative says:
The key words contained in O’Whiner’s motion is “and to attend to various other necessary matters” which correlates to media interviews in order to pander for more donations and taint the jury pool. I sure hope Judge L. puts the brakes on this b.s., and while he’s at it, adds to his terms of bond 1. no internet presence and 2. no firearms. And, finally, I hope Bernie serves an OSC re violation of the terms of bond for GZ’s Hannity interview. Yep, that would pretty much make my weekend…for now. I can’t think of a better act of defiance that for Judge L. to throw GZ’s butt back in jail while we await the COA’s decision. Weeeeeeee.
SouthernGirl2 says:
I hope Bernie serves an OSC re violation of the terms of bond for GZ’s Hannity interview
Yes!!!!!!!!!!
bettykath says:
It’s probable, that Zimmerman had permission from the court to leave the county for the interview.
I have a new post up:
Did Zimmerman Hasten Trayvon Martin’s Death Via Positional Asphyxiation?
EveryoneIsEntitledToTheirOpinion says:
GZ didn’t have any trouble communicating with his attorney from MD, it sure isn’t difficult from one county away. I feel GZ may try to flee. If I remember correctly the Professor made reference to O’Mara being guided by GZ in a previous blog. But GZ is really making O’Mara look foolish if he is telling him to do these ridiculous motions… Weird..
Professor please correct me if I misquoted a previous blog…
bob kealing@bobkealing
Just in: #Zimmerman files motion to be allowed to live outside Seminole County. Would help him communicate with attorney/assist defense.
Guess not“@RichardHornsby: @bobkealing I take it his phone doesn’t work?”
http://crimewatchers.forumotion.com/t52p550-gz-general-discussion-thread-2
heartofhearts — I was saying the same thing. Mark O”Money needs more interviews….
TruthBTold says:
I honestly don’t think giving anymore interviews is going to help them financially. I really don’t see any new contributors like that. They just need to sit down.
TruthBTold I think you may be incorrect let’s analyze Mark O’Moneys multiple motions suddenly.. Ck out SouthGirl2 info:
“Finally, Hornsby says something that makes sense. Shockarooooo. Actually, the “key” comment to O’Whiner’s motion is “and to attend to various other necessary matters”….as in media interviews, and other money begging events. There is absolutely no reason to change the bond order, EXCEPT to modify it to require that GZ stay off the internet, and not possess or be in the presence of FIREARMS. Wish Bernie would oppose the motion to include these types of changes. In fact, now would be a good time for Bernie to serve his OSC re violation of the conditions of bond/contempt for the Hannity interview.”
@Everyone,
Maybe I am misunderstanding something, but what I am saying is that giving more interviews I don’t think would yield much more money, if any at all. Those who already contributed and continue to tribute know how already and this case is pretty well-known. They closed down the FB page in part, for monetary reasons. I am just opining as it relates to money raising schemes. So for that, they need to have a seat.
I’m uncomfortable with the rhetoric toward and the name calling of O’Mara. He strikes me as a competent attorney who has a difficult case. He’s filing what I (non-lawyer) would consider to be appropriate motions in advancing the case of his client. Even in filing the motion for the judge to be removed, his press conference had him saying how much he respects the judge (ok, don’t piss on the judge b/c he might not be replaced). Even so, O’Mara is being professional and civil and should be respected.
Sandra E. Graham says:
I couldn`t agree more. His name is Mark O`Mara. It is best to be civil and respectful toward others, Isn`t it. Personally, I would like to see the name-calling left at the door. Thanks.
Thank you, Angela.
Has Judge Lester or the prosecutors filed the response to O’Mara’s appeal yet. Isn’t today the deadline?
It’s after 5pm, so it’s probably filed, just not uploaded to the site. Here’s the link:
http://www.5dca.org/
O’Mara: Zimmerman needs “to travel to meet with his lawyers”.
“In a two-page motion, defense attorney Mark O’Mara said requiring him to live there and not leave its borders has made preparing his defense more difficult.”
I’d say the box Trayvon is in is confining too and his ability to leave it’s borders make it pretty hard for him to testify, so I don’t really feel too sorry, poor Georgie.
“Zimmerman needs to be able “to travel to meet with his lawyers,” O’Mara wrote.”
Mr. Z, since you believe this is all part of God’s plan, did you ever consider this part of it?
Go,Rachael!
heartofhearts says:
Personally I think it is so he can make more money off of this by giving interviews. He needs to stay put.
crazy1946 says:
It is almost amusing that now MOM seems to think Zimmerman must be able to leave the county to meet with him. When he begged for Zimmerman to be released from jail, his statement was so he could be close by to be able to meet with him to help with the case! MOM does not seem to be able to make up his mind, does he need him close or does he need him farther away? The judge needs to help him out by putting Zimmerman back in the county jail, where he would be immediatly available for MOM to help with case! IMO!
LOL @ Crazy. Word! Didn’t MOM set-up shop in that area after he took the case? What are they talking about?
princss6 says:
Meet with his lawyers???? I thought he was askeered to leave the house because of deathly ghoul threats???
BTW – Happy Birthday, Rachel! 🙂
I don’t think the judge should give him an inch, because he destroyed his own credibility in court during the first bond hearing and deserves no leniency. He should be happy he isn’t sitting in jail.
He was also instructed not to reach out to Trayvon’s parents in anyway and AGAIN went against court orders by speaking to them via Sean Hannity.
It was painful to watch their reaction to his interview. They should never of had to endure hearing him apologize, then retract his apology by saying he had no regrets, but couldn’t leave it there, one more shot to the heart, it was all God’s Plan.
A motion was filed to allow Zimmerman to leave Seminole County to meet with his lawyer… O’Money is stalling…
Clearly everything seems to always start spinning around the weekends. Thursday it drops on web then by Friday O’Mpney is in court again. Z is playing the media and from freinds of O’Money they sais O’Mara is a very skilled lawyer when it comes to dealing with the media frenzy.. Just wonder is he good enough to handle GZ; think not!
PDF: State responds to GeorgeZimmerman’s attempt to block subpoena for medical records
Thanks Southerngirl, you be on it. The State’s response makese sense to me lol. I thought at one point MOM didn’t want to proceed with any hearings until the Court of Appeals rendered their decision. On the other hand, I think he mentioned that he is still the judge in the matter for now. I don’t know. Just talking out loud lol
Thank you so much for the link. The State’s response helps to answer one of my questions; i.e., since GZ claims to have had a broken nose, how would he prove that without x-ray or other imaging? Sounds as though that is what the State is looking for.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-23/news/os-george-zimmerman-recuse-appeal-state-20120823_1_trayvon-martin-mark-o-mara-george-zimmerman
de la Rionda, in paperwork filed today, said that what O’Mara released wasn’t enough. The state needs to know, he wrote, if there are X-rays, photos or other doctor’s office records that document Zimmerman’s injuries.
It also needs to know if Zimmerman was treated earlier for nose and head injuries and if he got follow-up care, de la Rionda wrote.
And the records, he wrote, are not an invasion of Zimmerman’s privacy because they are exempt from public disclosure and thus, won’t be released to the media.
Oh yes!! Happy Birthday to me.
“It also needs to know if Zimmerman was treated earlier for nose and head injuries and if he got follow-up care, de la Rionda wrote”
Yep, that would indeed be good to know.
Happy Birthday, Rachael. I hope you did something extra special today – May all your dreams come true.
Happy Birthday Rachael. Sending you continued blessings and well-wishes on your special day. :).
Rachel (singing) Hey shortie, it’s your birthday. We’re going to party like it’s your birthday we’re going to drink Barcardi like it’s your birthday — and I really do wish you a Happy Birthday!!!
My son’s birthday was Tuesday!!
Hmmm…Professor, can the State compel GZ to undergo testing to see if there is an old fracture?
Digger says:
Good question Dave, did his truck have “Security” written on the side so that Trayvon might have known he was safe??? NO!!
I betcha it did not.
O’Mara has filed a motion to reconsider the conditions of bond. It’s up with the medical records objection and the prosecution’s response to the objection, for tomorrow’s hearing.
http://www.flcourts18.org/presspublic.html
“Since shortly after the tragic events of February 26, 2012, Mr. Zimmerman and his entire extended family have had to live in hiding, fearing for their own safety,” he wrote.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-23/news/os-george-zimmerman-move-20120823_1_trayvon-martin-george-zimmerman-mark-o-mara
Well don’t shoot unarmed kids as they walk home from the store.
KA says:
Yes, ZImmerman moved out the next day. No one nationally even knew about it for about 2 weeks afterward.
Why would a guy who live’s in a condo own a truck?
Hi Dave – Why would a guy who lives in a condo own a truck. Alright I’ll bite. If you are serious – he has a truck. His wife has a car.
I really don’t know. GZ had a low level whitecollar job and lived in a rented condo. He didn’t need a truck for his work. He wouldn’t need to haul construction materials or landscaping supplies for his house. He had been sued for nonpayment of his credit card bills. His buddy, Osterman described him as “frugal” (and his cheap gun, cheap ammo and cheap flashlight support that description) and yet he splashes out on this big, expensive, gas-swilling truck. It doesn’t make any sense to me but little about Zimmerman does.
A lot of people have vehicles they don’t “need”. It’s to project an image, if only to themselves. It’s an ego thing (does that surprise you with GZ?)
In the Singleton interview (the first interview) GZ says car a couple of times. Was there a vehicle moved. Were there 2 vehicles involved. My theory is still alive and well. Hmmm…
Pooh—- Here is the video in reference to the sign and GZ head injuries… Hope it may clarify some questions…
This was place on youtube by Trent Sawyer.. Do not want to take credit for someone elses work…I came across this video …
Saw the video a few days ago. He sure gives one food for thought. Did you notice in the video that he says – car – a couple of times. There is something about that truck.
Yes, Maam it is something about that truck… Let’s get out the toaster for GZ. Light or Golden Brown? Zimmerman is TOAST!
If you are talking Lager or Ale , I’ll take you up on the offer next time I see ya– but toast, no thanks anyway. Unless you mean a toast with the brew. Then OK. I’m game.
yes, a toast with a brew only! I’m don’t eat bread or meat…
gbrbsb says:
Fits very well indeed.
One thing I don’t quite understand about this I don’t have clear and if my memory serves me well, in one of the interviews Serino trying to push GZ asked him if he left the keys in the truck and GZ answered “no”. Can’t remember which interview but I swear I heard it because it was around the time everyone was theorising about the implications of the second key so I wondered if his denying leaving them in the truck had something to do with it.
Oops! Comment is misplaced reply to whonoze so have re-posted where it belonged.
The interview with Singleton.
I am sure that there is PLENTY of evidence the prosecution has that has not yet been delivered to any public source.
Another thing: I believe that O’Mara has never spoken about the bloody head photos except, one time (shortly after professor Turley put up the first picture while observing that there was evidence of “serious injury”), saying that he was not sure if or how the defense would use the photograph. Now he seems to mention the “broken nose” theme a lot but not the “bloody head” one.
I am still interested in finding out what the cop took out of George’s pocket, wrapped in a jacket, and shoved into the trunk of the squad car, in the underground garage outside the police station when he first brought George in, handcuffed, on 2/26/2012. That was a very peculiar sequence in the video.
If you watch the video from the very start, you will see the Officer has a vest on. As he is standing watching the other Officer frisk GZ, he removes his vest and then while talking walks over and places it in the trunk of the vehicle. He has not removed anything off of GZ, merely removing his vest and putting it in the trunk of the vehicle.
Is a bullet-proof white on the inside. It appears he is also putting what looks like a white shirt in the trunk. Your thoughts. One would think a police vest or any other part of their uniform would be white in this day and age. White can be better seen, can’t it. IMO, he is not just putting a vest in the trunk.
Looks like just the vest or whatever to me and it looks to have a white lining.
Strange, don’t you agree. Maybe someone in this blog can confirm the colour of the lining in a bullet-proof vest currently in use. Please and Thanks.
Sandra – I see what you are looking at in the vest – if you watch as this same officer helps GZ get out of the vehicle, the sides of the inside of the vest does not appear to have white lining…does the back of the inside of the vest have white lining? I cannot tell….but I definitely see the white that you are speaking of when he goes to put it in the vehicle.
whonoze says:
It just came to me why (IMHO) GZ told operator Sean, “The keys are in the ignition.” I had thought this was simply a means of identifying the truck, as in “They’ll see my truck, it’s the one with the keys in the ignition.” But it’s more likely he does not want the arriving officer to be alarmed, as in “They’ll see my truck. The keys are in the ignition, but it’s OK, I left them there.”
Again the significance of this whole statement about the truck is that GZ does not expect to be there when the officer arrives. Which means he is farther away from the truck than he says he is in his statements. I think this explains his sudden change to “can you have them call me and I’ll tell them where I’m at” as well. He has just agreed to meet the officer at the mailboxes, and then through the haze of whatever was confusing him that night (making him forget the street, the address system, making him unable to describe the location of the truck intelligibly) it finally dawns on him that he’s not going to be able to get back to the mailboxes before the officer gets there.
So i don’t think he got a clue to Trayvon’s whereabouts at this point. It’s actually too early in the timeline. But this could be the point where he decides to keep looking. He had agreed to go meet the police at the mailboxes, which basically means giving up. If GZ’s gone down RVC, he’s had a view of the back gate, and he’s pretty sure the goon is still inside the gates. But if he goes back to the mailboxes, the ‘suspect’ will be out the gate and into the wind.
So his first thought is, ‘can’t get back there in time, gotta cancel that.’ And his second thought then becomes, ‘Ok, I’m here. I might as well keep looking.” This is why he perks up. Not because he finds Trayvon: he would have trumpeted that triumph to Sean. But just because the game is not over. He still has a chance to get THIS asshole before he gets away.
When he talks to Singleton, she asks, did you take your keys with you and he says yes —- now, if he said that, why would he tell despatch — the keys are in my truck. The police heard the tape and this is probably why the question was asked. Did he take them or not is the question. She clearly says — the keys — he clearly says keys. However, only one key was found at the scene.
Everyone says “keys” plural. The same way they said “heard shots” not “heard A shot”.
aussie – not everyone says – keys – GZ even says keys in the first interview. If I had one key, as he did, he would say my key is in the truck or ignition, whatever. This is why the question was asked. It was only one key found. My keys are as opposed to – my key is.
martingale says:
Yeah I’m pretty sure most people just say “keys.” People are jumping on a lot of irrelevant stuff that Zimmerman said/did.
Thanks for clarifications Sandra, I knew I’d heard something about his key/s. I agree with aussie and Martingale, at least in my experience people tend to say keys, even if there is only one especially when referring to house or car keys, unless referring to a “spare”. I’m not so sure people have the same habit with shot/s as aussie says. Where I live surrounded by farmland you often hear shooting (rabbits, monkjack, squirrels) and we certainly distinguish one from several.
He also knew the police were on the way…so…hold at gunpoint if you must….
Brandi Bell-Gibson says:
Mr Leatherman I went back through the last discovery dump that included Gildebreath’s and the FBI report. I noticed that special note was made in over 5 statements of GZ’s legs and “shoes” being outside of the police car. Then other statements making note of his “shoes” after the shooting. I went back through the evidence saw that there was trace evidence found on his shoes but the findings havent been released. I then went back to the witness list on the court website and see a trace evidence expert added to the witness list. What do you think this is suggesting?
Was the trace evidence expert on the defense of prosecution’s witness list? Sorry but I don’t remember seeing any witness list from the defense.
Don’ know for sure, but I doubt the defense has provided a witness list yet because it hasn’t completed its investigation, or perhaps even started it, and no trial date has been set.
The trace evidence witness for the prosecution is Siewert and she works for the crime lab. I forget her first name and may have misspelled her last name. Her reports and bench notes regarding her examination of clothing are in the first document dump.
hinkster4ever says:
I think the first is the court site to check for updates. Maybe someone else has a more direct way to find more information.
@hinkster,
rayvenwolf says:
Nope you spelled it right and her first name is Amy.
I’m really hoping the trace evidence can show us where there was contact. For instance, if trace evidence is found of Trayvon’s sweatshirt on the inseams of GZ’s pants…well…well….it’s a wrap!
Please make it so…can we be that fortunate?
On GZs shoes – toes – wet and grass. Trayvon Martins clothing received damp. What does that tell you. Hmmmm…
Remember though, GZ wiped his feet on the rug when entering the police station.
Take a look at the photo. I think I still see grass and wet. How about you.
Agreed – I’m just pointing out that his soles won’t tell us much.
Maybe there is evidence on GZ’s shoes that suggests he was standing when shooting Trayvon, such as a blood spatter. From the photo of Trayvon’s face taken at the scene, there was saliva coming out of his mouth. Maybe some of it dropped on GZ’s shoes.
When SA Corey announced that GZ was charged with 2nd degree murder, I thought then that the prosecution has evidence, lots of evidence, that the public will not know until the immunity hearing.
Mr Leatherman yes the trace evidence person was on the witness list of the preosecutor. On the police station video zimmerman is wiping his feet as he comes through the door.
bettykath also bets says:
I think once the prosecution lays out it’s theory of what happened on the basis of the evidence, especially including witness statements about GZ’s behavior after the shot, there will be no trouble getting a conviction. His testimony, should he give it, and the subsequent impeachment of nearly everything he says, will be icing on the cake.
How far can they go to create a scenario that accounts for the witness seeing one or two people running toward the T, during the 2 minute gap from the end of the NEN call to the first 911 call?
GZ told JohnW13 not to call 911. He told Selma Mora to call the police. You call ‘911’ for an ambulance. You call ‘the police’ to report criminal activity.
9-1-1 Usually asks Fire, Ambulance, or Police as the first question. They ask this first so they can get the right people out ASAP.
Any more proof needed that he is a complete egocentric living in his own egotistical world!
GrannyStandingforTruth says:
*hadn’t* instead of hasn’t
BTW, Sandra, that was a good question you asked. “Why did Zimmerman move out of his house the night of the murder?” The public was not aware of what had transpired yet because it hasn’t been brought to medias attention. It happened in Feb. It did not really come to the public’s attention, until around April or late March I think.
I don’t see anything particularly mysterious or nefarious about this.
After a traumatic/dramatic incident, it makes sense to go stay with a friend who can drive you around, advise you, feed you, let you talk it out, attend re-enactments, script interviews etc etc. I can see he’d not want to go back there anyway, to be daily open to questions about what happened etc.
Then, he didn’t go back to work. I don’t think he had savings to pay months of rent with. So he could no longer afford to keep renting the RVC house. I am sure he did go back, to pack up etc. The “I’ve never been back” to Hannity was just a sob-story and meant to mean he never lived there again, not that he never set foot in the place (as we actually saw him there next day for the re-enactment).
When the bad publicity started GZ moved out of State, most likely with friends or relatives, as he didn’t have the money rolling in then. We don’t know if Shellie was with him there or not; possibly she stayed to finish her course (probably would have done so while they were still at Osterman’s). He drove down by himself, in a rented car, for the meeting with prosecutors at which he got arrested. (Why not take his own truck out of town? Shellie didn’t need it, she has her own car).
If Zimmerman’s tale (pick one) was true I would think that he’d want to be surrounded and protected by the grateful friends and neighbors whom he had so heroically defended.
Hi Dave – exactly right. After all, he said he knew every man, woman, and child in his neighbourhood, didn’t he.
For someone, who many claim isn’t to smart, meaning GZ, he was either well prepared or something of a genius, not only to move out but to get that website going. Who thinks on those levels? I’m sorry but I feel really naive about the cleverness of someone who has very selective memory.
Professor, sorry I’m late for class, but my alarm didn’t go off. 🙂 I bet you heard that excuse a lot. 🙂 However, all joking aside, my body is exhausted and needing rest.
Nevertheless, what caught my eye in the witness report was this, “I was in the kitchen and “heard someone yelling; almost crying”. Then I heard a gunshot. I went outside and saw a man on top of a guy laying on the ground. He was putting his hands on his neck or chest.”
The part about I heard someone “yelling almost crying” before she heard the gunshot. She saw Zimmerman on top of Trayvon. What reason did Zimmerman have to cry? After all, he was the one with the Tec9. That child pleaded for his life and was terrified, which lets me know that Zimmerman had the gun out pointing it at Trayvon and he was the one that said, “You gone die tonight M.F.” I wish they could tack some more charges on that lying heartless s.o.b.!
I don’t how in the world anyone with any type of human compassion after hearing that would…well, nevermind.
“I went outside and saw a man on top of a guy laying on the ground. He was putting his hands on his neck or chest”.
“He stood up and took a couple of steps away and put his hands on his head then walked back over to the guy on the ground.”
Was Zimmerman smearing Trayvon’s blood on himself?
Vickie votaw says:
That is exactly what I thought , that gz smeared Trayvons blood on himself to make it look like he was beat up, they said 45% of gz’s face was covered in blood.
GZ does not deserve all this attention. The issue went international because he murdered a teenager and was not even arrested. His mother forced the issue. Now Florida is a gun-toting State with SYG. There was interest in this case because many did not want to change the SYG law. I think it made headlines because of the racial issue. In short, the media stirred the pot and divided everyone – those seeking justice for Trayvon and others with a more political agenda. Because SYG became a non-issue and because of the Hannity interview, most went home and have moved on with their lives. The ones who are left are the ones seeking a fair trail and ultimately finding the Justice they were seeking. You know the ones who are left defending GZ – I’ll say no more.
Make sure he is placed in a cell with Jerry Sandusky… Maybe they both can play house… Two beast…
CherokeeNative wrote:
Not only did he not make any effort to get an ambulance or otherwise give aid to Trayvon – he sat on his back surely causing more trauma to Trayvon, AND THEN, casually discusses what type of bullet he used. That just friggin blows me away.
He discusses what type of bullet he used as a hunter does.
This was his trophy kill. He was proud of himself. Zimmerman is a cold hearted beast!
Lock him away from society!.
He thought he had passed the test in his rite of passage and was now able to fit in somewhere as a somebody — not the nobody any more. Shelly says – you know you;re famous and GZ says – yeah, I know!!
Shelly says – you know you;re famous and GZ says – yeah, I know!!
Just so disgusting!
I would also pose another challenge for someone who claims it was GZ who was screaming that evening. Since most of his supporters are probably at the very least familiar with someone who owns a handgun and holster, I would love to see a reenactment of the final struggle as described by GZ, complete with non stop screams for help by the acting George, while being assaulted by the acting Trayvon (no rehearsal or editing allowed). I am willing to make a gentleman’s bet that the acting George can not pull it off without noticeable disruptions and a nasal quality in the screams for help.
Brown says:
hm cant see post
MichelleO says:
‘Put another way, if he truly shot Martin in self-defense as he claims, he would not have any reason to attempt to delay the arrival of medical attention to the maximum extent possible while attempting to secretively and furtively finish the job of killing him by smothering him to death in front of many witnesses, including children. “——-wow!
Stalking is nothing new to GZ. He stalked his girlfriend too. Old habits die hard!
Sandra, Please remember there are those who take excetion to the use of the word stalking to describe Zimmerman’s actions that evening. LOL I propose that we use the word “creeping” as opposed to stalking to avoid unnecessary distractions that always seem to follow the “s” word. Of course I realize the term creeping is more commonly used in reference to the Internet activities, but I think it’s use to describe Zimmerman’s actions is appropriate since GZ’s fan base are out there creeping our hosts.
By the way, I agree…Without some type of intervention, once a creeper, always a creeper.
Florida Statute for Stalking:
784.048 Stalking; definitions; penalties.—
(1) As used in this section, the term:
(a) “Harass” means to engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress in such person and serves no legitimate purpose.
(b) “Course of conduct” means a pattern of conduct composed of a SERIES OF ACTS OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, HOWEVER SHORT, EVIDENCING A CONTINUITY OF PURPOSE. Constitutionally protected activity is not included within the meaning of “course of conduct.” Such constitutionally protected activity includes picketing or other organized protests.
(c) “Credible threat” means a threat made with the intent to cause the person who is the target of the threat to reasonably fear for his or her safety. The threat must be against the life of, or a threat to cause bodily injury to, a person.
http://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2011/784.048
Quite frankly, I’ve only seen a few people argue that what happened was not stalking and certainly I believe stalking definitions change from state to state.
thank you for the stalking reference. From where I come from, what GZ was doing was stalking. He continued to follow from, at least the time he entered the complex and continued until the altercation. I am referring to both GZs account as well as DeeDees. But, to keep the peace, I will say — going in the same direction.
As soon as that gun was exposed, he had the upper hand. No reason to shoot. Trayvon, being a teenager, probably would have backed off no matter what position they were in. GZ could either have forced Trayvon to back away under threat of being shot or he just shot him. Because Trayvon screamed for so long, GZ had that gun out for awhile – adding to the terror in the screams. Depraved mind – Yes. Before, during, and after the shooting. Premeditated, yes. He didn’t just pull the gun. He had to rotate it. He had time to think about what he was going to do. I know if I had a gun pointed in my face, I would back off and do whatever GZ said in hopes that he would not shoot. No, GZ chose to shoot. Depraved mind and premeditated.
Because Trayvon screamed for so long, GZ had that gun out for awhile – adding to the terror in the screams. Depraved mind – Yes. Before, during, and after the shooting. Premeditated, yes.
He had to be taunting the kid for nealy 40 seconds….”you’re going to die tonight, muther”. And we already know he likes to taunt. Just ask the guy from Carmax.
April 26, 2012 – Mark Osterman statement – page 2 of 4 as follows:
quote…Zimmerman slapped Martin’s hand away from the hand gun, pulled the handgun, THEN ROTATED THE WEAPON and fired one round. end quote.
GZ didn’t just pull and shoot – he had to rotate it TOO!!!! Impossible. IMO, GZ was on top then standing over Trayvon to get the shot.
Remember – Osterman taught GZ how to shoot. Who would know better than Osterman how GZ holstered and carried his gun. Doesn’t mention left or right though.
Something I just thought of. In his re-enactment they should have had GZ do the following 3 things. 1. Show exactly where his gun was – side hip or back hip. 2. Lay on the ground exactly how he supposedly was and 3. show how he drew his weapon.
Mirre says:
He carried the gun inside the waistband on his right hip. I don’t know anything about guns, but I’ve been reading more informed comments about this issue and what I understand is that GZ’s holster was a right hand holster if worn on the outside of the belt, and a left hand holster if on the inside of the waistband. So if Zimmerman would’ve grabbed the gun with his right hand, he would’ve have to rotate the gun.
Yesterday I read one of the onlder articles of the professor, that discussed where the bulletholes in the shirt and the hoody were in relation to the gunshot entry in the chest. The bulletholes in both the shirt and the hoody were alligned, but the holes in the shirts were 2,5 inches to the left and 3 inches above the entry wound in the chest. The professor speculated that this could indicate Zimmerman grabbed both of Trayvon’s shirts and shot him with the other hand.
Since the shirt must have moved to Trayvon’s right and there was no angle to the wound, that probably means Zimmerman was holding Trayvon with his left hand and shot him with his right hand.
I’ve never been really convinced that they were standing when Trayvon was shot, because none of the witnesses mentions that, but none of the witnesses seemed to have been looking at them, when the shot was fired.
The downward movement of the shirts by 3 inches makes me think that they may have been standing or on their knees. I don’t see why the shirts would have been pulled downwards with Zimmerman on top or on the bottom. Zimmerman is about 3 inches shorter than Trayvon. I think he pulled Trayvon towards him with his left hand and then shot him with his right.
Have you watched any of the YouTube videos by LLMPapa. They are so good and there is one that hypothesises about the gun. I think it is called –How—
So, that would mean that TM’s fingerprints are on the gun, then?
Nope..no DNA from Trayvon on the gun or holster… neither were his bloody hands (from holding his blood mouth and nose) anywhere on GZs shirt or jacket…
Oddly enough no. It proves GZ is more of a contortionist than I thought. If he just removed the gun from the holster, pointed and shot, that is one thing. But, as GZ said, he had run out of time. Before he pointed and aimed — he had to rotate the gun too.
I am noticing a move toward the GZ camp focusing on a shoddy police investigation and GZs ability to get a fair trail — saving face, maybe. They are fast running out of options.
Crane wrote,
“It would never occur to me in a thousand years to look into someone’s family and all aspects of their life, just because I strongly disagreed about a legal case…and then in addition, to just make shit up and place a bunch of false information onto the internet. The thought would never occur to me.”
Of course it wouldn’t occur to you to do that, because you are mentally stable, sensible, well-rounded oh, let’s not forget normal as we all are. So those types of shenanigans wouldn’t occur to us. These people really need to get some help, hope, and a life. For that justincaselawgic person to dedicate a blog to Fred because he was banned for being dishonest in his representation of the Affidavit as it relates to the Stenson case, is kind of pathetic.
ajamazin says:
I would argue that Zimmerman’s motive was formed as a direct
result of the circumstances surrounding Emmanuel Burgess, one of “those assholes who always get away” and Zimmerman’s tacit admission that he choose not to approach or confront Burgess.
Clearly, Zimmerman was no match physically for Burgess.
George loss face and became desperate to compensate.
With this, I believe that Zimmerman began formulating his plan
to bag his “trophy nig*** ”
Zimmerman had a motive and means for premeditated murder.
Trayvon’s presence at the Retreat provided the opportunity.
This is a very interesting issue, Ajamazin. Since I had not read about Emmanuel Burgess before, I didn’t realize it, but you’re right about those vocalizations on the NEN tape; there is no reason for them in view of the actual events of that particular evening; they are archaic material from George’s own mind, having to do with his feeling humiliation.
By the way, the person whose apartment was actually burglarized by Burgess was not all that frantic to make sure the neighborhood was rid of potential burglars; she was, I believe, the woman interviewed on the tape where her face didn’t show — all you could see was her bare feet I believe — and she was very satisfied with the police response and she was not at all paranoid about crime.
I think you’re onto something there.
By the way, can somebody tell me what all this is about, this stuff relating to vlpate — I can’t figure out what post occurred that seemed like a threatening, violent, rant but I gather there was one.
(I am technologically impaired; forgive me.)
I have often thought the circumstances surrounding E. Burgess could have been what spiked GZ to never let this one get away, in fact I believe he may have thought Trayvon was one of Burgess’s accomplices. (If I recall correctly Burgess wasn’t alone and the other/s have not been arrested and he was arrested after being identified a few days after the burglary walking with a group in the area by some labourers).
aja wrote,
result of the circumstances surrounding Emmanuel Burgess, one of “those assholes who always get away” ”
But this is the one that they did eventually catch correct? I know they caught someone, so his whole “they always get away” is just another misstep in GZ’s thinking. He just had some things in his head and was tired of the “rampant crime” occurring.
longtimegeek says:
So far, GZ seems to be the only arsehole that always gets away.
That is GZ the Narcissist part….it is not about neighborhood safety, it is about him…
He said they “always get away” but in reality, ALL open break ins had suspects in custody detained by the police.
They only “always got away”…from HIM. He was not considered in the slightest that the “police” had done a good job investigating and capturing the suspects.
Great comment aja
The Emmanuel Burgess thing is interesting vis a vis George Zimmerman because although Emmanuel Burgess did not “get away,” George didn’t get credit for “catching him” although clearly he WANTED TO GET CREDIT. I think he was making up NOT for the fact that “one got away” but for the fact that HE DID NOT REEL ANYBODY IN YET.
George had to bring in his “suspect”; Trayvon did not cooperate. The motive in this crime is more bizarre than most; this looks like a very twisted “criminal minds” theme after all.
Malisha,
That is exactly the point I intended to convey.
George wanted ‘glory’ and recognition.
Such a poor, pathetic excuse for a man.
TBT I thought I read somewhere that Burgess had accomplices. Perhaps I am mixing it up with another case but I read that in one of the burglaries only one burglar was arrested (and I believe it said thanks to GZ) but one or two accomplices have never been arrested. It may be this was not the Burgess case.
Burgess was apprehended.
The ‘credit’ went to workmen at the Retreat, not Zimmerman.
@gbrbsb,
Oh okay. I will have to look into that. I think I heard something like that, but not sure if it is the Burgess case. We’ll confirm it.
GZ doesn’t seem to do anything well. He’s even a poor wannabe cop. He’s even a poor liar. He’s all over the place, and he doesn’t seem to care that he doesn’t make sense. As a good friend has told me many times, some liars tell enough lie in a given moment to make the questioner go away. Next moment? Next lie. These types of liars don’t think through a cohesive story or care about a cohesive story.
With his hero complex or whatever that is, he may as well go to prison sooner rather than later, before he hurts someone else (after receiving his due process). In retrospect, of course, he picked the wrong victim. In retrospect, of course, he didn’t pick a right victim, because he’s probably too cowardly to pursue a real thug with true probable cause.
GZ’s lying reminds me of Casey Anthony’s lying. This is part of why I’m following this case. I don’t want this *sshole to get away. I have a working theory, which may not be true. But, I keep thinking about it. I’ve been thinking that Casey Anthony lied so extremely much that she and her lawyers confused the jury. I kind of think of it as the Jose Baez defense. Throw enough sh*t against the wall and hope some of it sticks. The jury may have thought that they had weeded out all of the lies, but a few made it through and affected their decision.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2011/10/casey-anthony-mark-omara-saw-bias-against-jose-baez.html
Do all the prosecution’s discovery documents need to be released prior to the hearing on October 3rd. or until prior to the trial itself – if there is one.
Yes. They are not going to have the immunity hearing before the exchange of discovery has been completed and the defense has deposed the prosecution witnesses it wants to depose.
The prosecution still has more discovery that it needs to release.
A few items that I am very interested in are the cell phone records to determine who called whom before and after the shooting. I also want to know if TM’s cell phone has been examined for trace evidence, including blood and DNA and I would like to know the location and size of all of the blood stains on GZ’s jacket.
I’m still trying to figure out what caused those lacerations to GZ’s scalp. I doubt it was the cement sidewalk. Could it have been a sprinkler head that did not fully retract after a watering event? Do they even water the grass during February?
I noticed in the satellite photo of the area between the two buildings that the grassy area on the west side of the N/S sidewalk appears uniformly green whereas the area on the east side appears more dried out. That suggests there may be an underground sprinkler system with sprinkler heads that pop up on the west side, which is where the struggle and shooting took place.
Frustrating to have unanswered questions.
I am also waiting for the pants to see if they were able to gleen any answers about who was on top. I was specifically interested when it was documented that TMs clothing was received still damp whereas, the is no such notation regarding receipt of GZs. There is still much more to analyze. They leave the so-called best for last, I imagine.
Pooh says:
Prof, I believe it was Trent Sawyer who pointed out that at one point GZ said he wasn’t sure whether TM was banging his head on the sidewalk “or a sign.” Sawyer further pointed out how weird it was to confuse a sidewalk or a sign, but also noted the metal sign above the doggie bag station in the vicinity of the T as something the GZ might have come up against — and inadvertently admitted, as he sometimes does. The doggie bags are kept in a sharp-edged metal box beneath the sign.
I don’t know about sprinkler heads but many people have noted the square utility covers of some sort of material that are embedded in the ground at regular intervals.
You can see the doggie bag station here:
http://trayvon.axiomamnesia.com/trayvon-zimmerman-case-photos/trayvon-martingeorge-zimmerman-crime-scene-photos/?nggpage=2
Prof, The judge exempted the phone records from public release. His reason was the other parties’ privacy and not exposing the other parties to the media/public. I guess we’ll only see/hear about those that will be admitted as evidence, if any. He did specify that any calls to 911/NEN should be compiled on a list and released, separate from the phone records.
I am curious to know how long it took LE to arrive following Zimmerman’s prior calls to the non-emergency number as compared to their response to 911 “crime in progress” calls to the neighborhood. My guess is he had a pretty good idea what response times were based upon the nature of the call.
Given the fact that GZ reported that his suspect ran away, he had lost sight of him and that the patrol should call him when they arrived in the neighborhood to asertain his location, I would assume that the dispatcher had advised the patrol that they were not responding to an emergency. Most likely they were on a “see the NHW person” regarding an unknown person (description given just in case he was spotted by patro along the way) in the neighborhood. At that point they were probably in no hurry, and I bet GZ knew it. Especially since he had gone on a ride along, after which he had complained about their lacidazical (my word not his) attitude. IMO, he probably knew LE was not going to arrive within minutes of hanging up his phone with the dispatcher. He knew he had plenty of time to find and subdue his suspect before they arrived. Then he could show them just how prepared he was to become a member of the SPD.
What he failed to consider was that his suspect could very well have been a legitimate teenage visitor to the neighborhood. Based upon the demographics reported for that specific complex, it should have come to no surprise that an individual of color would be walking around. Especially at 7:00 on a Sunday evening. And with the championship basketball game (or some significant basketball event) scheduled to be on tv, I would assume that there might have been several residents with guest over to watch the game. Meaning lots of strangers about… not an important observation, just one more indication that the timing of his hypervigilent behavior was odd. GZ’s paranoia. My point is, he obviously profiled and targeted a black teenage suspect for apprehension during non peak crime hours, but he wanted to be the person who captured him. Apparently dead or alive.
As for his actions following the shooting, anyone who would view them as an understandable, acceptable or typical response needs to request a psychological evaluation by their nearest QMHP. His actions fully support a continuation of his aggressive behavior that evening, and clearly establishes a depraved indifference for the life of his suspect, Trayvon Martin.
EdgySF says:
Great post. Ita.
You said it.
bonniespapermache says:
When a real cop shoots a person, they call for medical help ASAP.
Most of the time when this happens I hear on the news the person shot is recovering because the cop shot them someplace where it wouldn’t be fatal.
The cop wannabe failed to learn this along many other things that real cops do !
Just a clarification and nothing to do with wannabe GZ, but real law enforcement officials when they have to discharge their weapon, they are shooting to stop the threat (a real one) which is shooting center mass. Attempting to shoot in a smaller extremity is dangerous and not particularly realistic. Yes, medical assistance is called. Even stopping a threat, officers still adhere to the preservation of life. They don’t jump on people’s backs or do other type of evil and crazy things.
Attorney shuts down George Zimmerman Facebook page
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120822/us-neighborhood-watch-facebook/
ORLANDO, Fla. — The attorney for the man who fatally shot Trayvon Martin says he is shutting down a Facebook page the defense team was using because it was leading to unhelpful discussions.
Attorney Mark O’Mara announced the decision Wednesday on a separate website set up to distribute information on George Zimmerman’s defense. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting and has pleaded not guilty. He claims he shot the unarmed teenager in self-defense.
O’Mara says the Facebook page served several purposes over the past three months, including giving Zimmerman and the defense team an official social media presence. But O’Mara says it also allowed for discussions of evidence and Zimmerman’s guilt or innocence.
The website GZlegalcase.com is still active
Maybe they need to reallocate more resources to this blog.
Actually, for real, a lot of what is happening around the GZ case is new. Has there ever been a case like it, with heavy social media presence, for example?
Seems like uncharted territory, but anyway, I am not surprised that the heavy social media experiment is not working very well.
People keep comparing and contrasting to the OJ case, but this one is really different because of the internet now compared to circa ’93-’94. I lived in LA and followed that case from the slow chase on, and yes, people had opposing views, but there was not this level of meanness between disagreeing sides. What is the cause of this? Is it racism? Is it something else?
While I never looked at the FB page more than one glance, I suspect the comments turned into another out-of-control situation.
Not that I can immediately recall. I didn’t follow Casey Anthony that much, so unsure of the magnitude and impact, but this case is quite unique.
“People keep comparing and contrasting to the OJ case, but this one is really different because of the internet now compared to circa ’93-’94. I lived in LA and followed that case from the slow chase on, and yes, people had opposing views, but there was not this level of meanness between disagreeing sides.”
I believe if we had the technology that we have now, back then, we would have seen some vile things. Don’t forget that case really split down racial lines. I think it would have been really ugly similarily, to what we are witnessing and for some people, being subjected to.
“What is the cause of this? Is it racism?”
Pretty much. Biases, certain perceptions, etc.
Don’t really think so and the more people present their arguments in support of GZ and subsequent responses, further corroborates the answer to your question above.
Actually, other than the initial outrage over Cz not being arrested immediately…..this case has lost a lot of it’s media appeal. Scott Peterson is the first that comes to mind; lately Sandusky, and now the OTHER Peterson…Drew…but the biggest, by far, was the Anthony case on every media outlet there is. Hundreds of blogs nationwide with bloggers chiming in from all over the world. Media wise it was awful with each station trying to get anything and everything.
Because of the Florida laws that allow us access to most all of the evidence, we get to play arm chair lawyers…lol….and after all Casey Anthony is the most hated person according to surveys taken.
The heinous theater killings by the deranged Joker in CO has actually shocked me… in that it seemed everyone saw immediately when he was arraigned that he was mentally not with us in reality. The media let it go, and the frenzy of feeding sharks never happened….I am glad the media laid back on this and did not hurt the grieving families by having it on everytime you turned on the TV for months and months…
I have only followed the A trial and after she walked….I cut off the blogs and just came back to reading about this one….and the rest is history 🙂
Two words: President Obama
@Crane
I’ve never seen such deep hatefulness towards an innocent dead child whom they don’t know anything about except for what’s preconceived in their mind, so IMO I think it’s racism. I mean some of them speak so ill of the dead it would make one cringe. And then there is the grotesque act of soliciting money. That’s just so vile to me. As a little girl, I saw my parents take the brunt of Jim Crow but they never once taught us to hate. When I would question my dad about the hate, he’d tell me to just ignore it because some folks don’t know any better. But I never once heard anyone speak such ill will of the dead. Maybe it’s the age of the internet? Sometimes I have to step away from reading otherwise it’ll leave you feeling very discouraged.
Internet bullying, haters, are using a medium because they can remain anonymous. Truth be told – it is a only a coward who would use the medium in this way.
princss6 – Not just two words: President Obama – a mother who would NOT give up until she had answers about WHY GZ was not arrested. The public became outraged and the issue became international news.
Rayvenwolf wrote,
“Since when is its FB’s job to discourage speculation of ANY sort? Are these people new to the internet? Speculation and wild ass theories are the bread and butter of the internet.”
Hello. I mean really now. How come we are the only ones that know this? LOL. Yeah, they need to git gone off the Internet. They are not ready LOL
ks wrote,
“That’s funny too. Like Facebook is supposed to monitor their page for opinions as well. LOL.”
I know right. They are silly. What are they upset that God forbid, people are not buying what they are selling and are actually using their brains.
CommonSenseForChange says:
Smacks of lay-off time for business man O’Mara’s ‘net presenters. Their apparently overwhelmed by the public’s willingness to express opinions and can’t afford to keep paying their “fan” base.
He actually stated they had the bandwidth to accept personal calls and emails…wow…
Maybe it is shut down because they are preparing to claim indigence or they have found a wealthy backer and donèt need to beg any more. If you think the hate is spewed only on Facebook, take a look at some of the other sites discussing the case. Horrible, horrible. Facebook is but one more. What were they expecting on Facebook If GZ is so afraid, you would think he would lay as low as low can be. His sites only served to get people riled.
@Sandra,
Sandra, I really believe there is more to come and today I read that there is a motion for GZ to be able to leave Seminole Co. We have to realize that in order to make a good profit from killing an unarmed teenager he cannot expect his interviewers to go to him. (lots of sarcasm there!) LOL
There is a hearing tomorrow on 2 motions made by the defense.
Florida should prepare for some heavy weather.
boar_d_laze says:
According to FL Jury Inst. 7.2:
“‘Killing with premeditation’ is killing after consciously deciding to do so. The decision must be present in the mind at the time of the killing. The law does not fix the exact period of time that must pass between the formation of the premeditated intent to kill and the killing. The period of time must be long enough to allow reflection by the defendant. The premeditated intent to kill must be formed before the killing.”
There is not enough evidence to show beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. Zimmerman formed the intent to kill before firing his pistol. For that reason, I think the charge would be overreach, and probably do more harm to the prosecution than good.
Good point boar. What are your thoughts on GZ exiting the vehicle with not my gun, not his gun, but THE gun? We all know he wasn’t looking for no street address, etc.
Please read Mark Ostermans statement. He says, during training GZ, he always emphasized:
It is not your gun – it is THE gun.
This statement is long befor the Hannity interview.
But GZ took the time to consider and be certain to aim the gun at TM’s heart. He had to go to the trouble of aiming over his own outstretched hand in order to get at the heart. And he had to know that TM would likely die if he fired his gun where he aimed it. He’d done it plenty of times at target practice. It wasn’t a random shot. What other intent could GZ have had other than to kill TM? And the length of time it took for him to develop that intent might be measured by TM’s final screams.
To me, this a difference between what people close to a situation know, e.g., police, and what other people can prove, e.g., prosecutors.
Hi Boar,
In response I would argue that his conduct after the shot (i.e., finishing the job) proves beyond a reasonable doubt that he premeditated the killing.
As I conceded in my article, however, there is no reason to try and prove premeditation because they probably can get a life sentence with a murder 2 conviction.
Therefore, I will concede this battle to you and return the dented hubcap.
mainstreamfair says:
Prof~~it is illegal to drive a vehicle on a public highway without a hubcab? Would that not leave you open to be charged with indecent exposure?
What are those little things that keep the wheels from falling off?
Give me a few days to think of something I don’t like about you. Right now I’m coming up with nothing. Keep the hubcap and substitute a glass of Dickel Barrel Select without any ice or water to mess it up.
I’ll get the next round.
He had a CCW permit. He always carried (chambered) except when at work (or so he says). Exiting the vehicle with the gun is no more premeditation than exiting it wearing shoes. At that stage it’s just a hypothetical familiar backup for a hyothetical emergency. True it makes him less cautious about avoiding any said possible emergecy.
Once he found Trayvon again, he just thought he’d detain and question the “suspect”. Assault & battery. When the screaming started and he saw it was just a terrified kid, THEN it hit him that his whole reputation and self-esteem, rather than being enhanced, would be going down the gurgler — if the witness lives to tell what happened. Especially if the gun was already out to assist in the interrogation. It may have been only a few seconds of premeditation, but it wasn’t a fluid instant reaction; he had time to realise he has to shoot to kill, to preserve his life as he knows it.
I really do think his gun was out well before he says he unholstered it. Listening to how he describes things in the taped interview you can see the gears grinding full stop in his brain to repeat his lie in a way that makes sense.
He said he was holding onto the hand Trayvon had on his face which means he can only draw with the right. Maneuvering his right to be able to draw his gun however would loosen the hold/pin on trayvon’s other hand/arm if not completely free him. At that point Trayvon would have been free to grab HIS hand, further attack him or try and take the gun from him.
Trayvon had to have been in a position where the above were not an option and GZ had time to line up his shot and make sure he didn’t hit himself.
“He said he was holding onto the hand Trayvon had on his face which means he can only draw with the right. ”
Zimmerman told Osterman (I think) that he “slapped” Trayvon Martin’s hand out of the way in order to aim and shoot.
You cannot hold onto and slap with the same free hand. Which lie will O’Mara cling onto?
I all think he had his gun out, and that is why TM was so terrified and screamed for help 17 times in 45 seconds.
In the reenactment video, GZ used the gun gesture as a means of pointing. Freudian slip.
He had his weapon out.
CSFC the way I read it I think he was referring to the hand Trayvon was reaching for the gun with.
It always puzzles me that he would ask others to believe Trayvon smacked him around handily when he was standing and in control of his body, but then ask us to believe that when he was in the most disadvantaged position he could be (crushed below 158 lbs being smothered) he was able to get such an upper hand in that time.His claims show that he easily got the weapon in that position and was able to so successfully control Trayvon’s hands that Trayvon was not even able to touch any part of the gun as he extended his hand and shot in a straight front to back position. .
Where did he explain what BOTH Trayvon’s hands were doing while he successfully “slapped” one hand to extend his arm and shoot a bullseye death shot?
“Slapping his hand” like a toddler, why did GZ not think of that before that moment?
I think he exposed the gun directly after Trayvon said – Why are you following me….. or GZs – You got a problem homie (LOL). In the first interview he says he pulled his cell phone out to call 9-1-1. After that, he says he went for his cellphone, but it was in the wrong pocket. I would ask the person who frisked him or removed his cell from the pocket — which pocket did you get the cell phone from. He clearly indicates a right pocket — the same side as his holstered gun. Firing a gun has a hand to eye coordination. Even though he is left-handed he carried his gun on his right hip. However, a cell phone requires no hand-to-eye coordination. Not remembering which pocket that phone was in is strange. Moments ago, he disconnected a call with the NEN despatcher.
GZ says – No I don’t have a problem. Who would do that. Trayvon was just asking a sensible, reasonable, and answerable question. No need for 9-1-1. He wasn’t reaching for a phone. He showed a gun – No, I don’t have a problem. I think Trayvon bopped him in the nose and tried to take off with GZ in hot pursuit. But, he couldn’t tell where Trayvon went. As he says – he lost visual.
I may be wrong but I am convinced GZ drew his gun at the T. After chasing up the wide open cut through he found that if he wanted to follow the “punk/coon/goon”, (and the little hero did so so want to follow him!), he had to take a much darker narrower path between the backs of houses where the play of shadows from the configuration of patios, screens, and lights coming from inside made it much more sinister and scary and where in any nook or cranny, or even in the “bushes” the “suspect” was surely hiding. He didn’t have the balls to go it alone so gun in hand he went in! Hey, didn’t anyone used to watch Miami Vice at all?!
@KA: In his videotaped interview he says one hand was still on his face when he fired as he was holding onto that hand. So given positions, Trayvon’s right was on his face behind held by GZ’s left. Of course GZ in that same interview says he can’t remember which hand was doing what.
“In his videotaped interview he says one hand was still on his face when he fired as he was holding onto that hand”
Do you remember how he demonstrated supposedly TM going for his gun? If that was the case, blood and stuff would have been on TM’s forearm and elbow area. *side-eye* More craziness.
@TBT: I still have problems with the whole his hand slid over my chest thing. Mostly for the fact the gun is on his hip – Trayvon wouldn’t be copping a feel on his chest for anything.
Please read Mark Ostermans statement. He did not just aim and shoot. He is a lefty with a holster on the right.
Osterman taught GZ how to shoot and in his statement GZ had to rotate the firearm before he aimed and shot. GZ is a contortionist.
@ SEG –
“GZ says – No I don’t have a problem. Who would do that. Trayvon was just asking a sensible, reasonable, and answerable question. No need for 9-1-1. He wasn’t reaching for a phone. He showed a gun – No, I don’t have a problem.”
If I am interpreting this accurately (difficult to say with words on a page) I agree 100%. GZ tries to make it sound as if he say “No, I don’t have a problem” (cue shining halo over his head and innocent expression). But, if you put the emphasis on the word “I”, It becomes “No, “I” don’t have a problem” as he reaches for/shows his gun, implying that now Trayvon is the one with the problem and the problem is GZ and his 9mm. So, I can absolutely understand why Trayvon might have socked him in the nose and taken off, running.
That said, I had a problem reconciling that scenario with my belief and the current understanding that we don’t believe anything that comes out of GZ’s mouth without independent corrobration, and DeeDee has said something entirely different. THEN, I realised I could reconcile both.
GZ doesn’t just have to lie by words themselves, he can also lie by intonation, making a threatening remark sound like an innocent answer to a question. Also, I no longer have to choose between DeeDee’s version and GZ’s. The witnesses have said there was a much more prolonged argument than either DeeDee or GZ represent. We know DeeDee got cut off, so there’s no way she could have heard the entire argument because she didn’t hear the gunshot. Could both of these exchanges have taken place? Could the two exchanges simply be isolated portions of the longer argument that the witnesses heard? GZ could never admit that Trayvon asked him why he was following him, because GZ would then have to explain why he just didn’t tell him, and we already know GZ has no problem lying, including lies of omission.
I believe both statements by GZ, “What are you doing here” and “No, I don’t have a problem”, were said by GZ. I believe they both were said in a threatening tone of voice, not the innocent victimized tone that GZ tries to effect. Could it have happened this way, in the current theory or am I way off base here?
Hi Angelia – Watch that trentsawyer video upstream. Makes alot of sense. I don’t think you are off-base at all. GZ talks in his own kind of code. I think everyone here has realized it and are slowly deciphering what he said and what he meant. I think it is all there. Just waiting for the next document dump hoping there is evidence that will clear up the gray areas. I agree with your comment – absolutely.
Yes Aussie, my thinking exactly. There must have been some cognitive dissonance inside Zimmerman’s brain, when the kid started hollering for help and instantly transformed superhero George into the bad guy. He knew the police should be there any minute. That could mean a second assault charge and the end of his dream of getting a job in LE.
LLMPapa says:
I just wanted to let you know I appreciate your straightforward voice of experience and reason in this case. Thank you and keep up the great work.
Oooooh, shout out to LLMPapa for visiting. Love your work, bruh. I mentioned him before. Check him out y’all.
I enjoy your videos. I’ve been spreading the link around.
YvetteEU says:
Thanks for the hard awesome work
@LLMPapa. I am happy to see you post here as I’ve wanted to tell you that I believe you are anointed. Thank you so much for sharing your talents on YouTube. The How? Pt 3 is very powerful.
I’ll second all the cudos, I was so happy to find your videos ! Hope is important.
LLMPapa! As I live and breathe! I love your stuff!
I have watched your videos and linked to them. You put a lot of work into them with just the right amount of menace and I learned quite a bit watching them. I like the Miami Vice soundtrack too.
Oh my! I love all your videos as well! They are so informative. I always wished there was some way to say thank you! I check daily to see if you’ve posted anything new. Thanks for all you do!
GZlegal is taking down their FB page. What is next? http://globalgrind.com/news/george-zimmerman-legal-defense-shutdown-facebook-page-details
Money not continously coming in the way they hoped, huh? Ha!
“Zimmerman’s defense team applauds Facebook with discrediting and eliminating fraudulent sites and profiles, while providing a forum to discuss the case. However Zimmerman’s defense team also says that FB didn’t discourage speculation when it came to Zimmerman’s guilt or innocence.”
Funny. Like they are doing and should have done, they really need to leave social media sites, interviews, and the Internet alone and focus on their case. *smh*
They wanted to ban free speech on FB?
How unAmerican is that?
I’m sure GZ is sooo disappointed in Mark Zuckerberg! #Jailhousecalls
Um yeah, it was shut down primarily due to failure to manage comments and slurs that were being reported to Facebook in coordinated efforts. A decent volume of emails to O’Mara’s office about GZ page regulars making legal fund donations in TM supporters and his parents/family names. There was also stagnant racially charged comments that were left up with without moderation for days, etc.
I also know that there was some focused attention outside of that group to the posting of redacted witness names personal information, and location (I saw two of those) that were left up for hours without proper moderation.
I think it was so out of hand with such little benefit and a lot of detriment, that the work of continually monitoring it as the hearing and trial got closer was overwhelming.
Princess – LOL!
Interesting… I wonder what they’re up to? Donations must really be drying up and since GZ has his own website now I guess they figured they don’t need it.
A website he’s pretty much done nothing with, lately. Same goes for his parents’ site.
True. Their pr/begging campaign seems to be falling apart quickly.
I think they have realized the number of sympathetic ears that come with open wallets attached is a very LOW number.
I saw an item on the news ticker today that FB is closing down all pages that engender hate speech. Maybe GZlegal decided to quit before they got shitcanned.
Good catch. I didn’t think it was well-intentioned and figure they may have got the plug pulled.
There were coordinated efforts to reporting all racial slurs and comments to Facebook for all sites for the last two months…most I saw several of them and can say conservatively 70% of them were from GZ support or anti Trayvon sites…I know the legal page was reported a LOT (and from couple I saw reported, they were worthy of it)…
There is a difference between free speech and hate speech and some do not understand the difference.
I’ve been on the fence about premeditation on GZ’s part, but exiting the vehicle with that gun is quite problematic just for starters.
Sandra wrote,
“He had many opportunities to tell Trayvon he was Neighbourhood Watch even whilst still in his vehicle. If he had suspicions about the so-called suspect, he could have rolled down the window as he passed Trayvon along RVC.”
True, but I can still see him following Trayvon if Trayvon didn’t give him an exact address to where he lived, or possibly still following him to see if he went to that address, or if TM didn’t believe him and took off. Regardless of whatever, no one is going to tell a stranger where they are staying. Not saying the end result would have been the same, but possibly.
Especially a minor.
Swamp Rabbit says:
Perhaps, Mr. Martin didn’t know the exact address of where he was staying just something like “2nd house in from the left of the third set of condos” or the “one with the pink and purple planter” or whatever.
For example, I have my daughter’s apartment number in my phone for sending packages. But, when I go to visit, I’m not thinking about the number, but more like “go to the northmost stairwell, go up a flight and its the one on the right”. Under duress and fear, I doubt I would come up with the number.
I’m not sure I can hear it, but some folks say that the 911 call that captures Mr. Martin’s screams also has him saying, “I don’t know, I don’t know.” If true, it may be that Mr. Zimmerman wanted to know the address he was staying at and Mr. Martin, honestly, couldn’t comply. That would jibe with Mr. Taaffe saying that things would have been alright if Mr. Martin had answered Mr. Zimmerman’s questions.
Pure speculation, but the comment about the address got me thinking.
Good input Swamp Rabbit. Hmmm…..
Yeah – never thought of that. I can not tell you my sisters phone number unless I have my cell phone with me and we are very close!! The picture is becoming more clear every day.
I think you may be right about that.
Nice catch!
That makes perfect sense.
Chills – I thought he may have been asking him about the break-ins but agree your scenario is plausible. Heh, I’m an adult and live five blocks from my parents. I do not know their address! Hell, I’ve got a key to their home and yet still don’t know the address.
Remember Tracy Martin’s call to report Trayvon missing? and he has to ask Brandi for the address?
And the Nuthouse nasties grabbed that as evidence that the whole story of the relationship and TM living there was made up, just to excuse his presence there when he was up to no good.
And i know heaps of people who don’t know their own phone number. They never ring themselves, do they?
Southerngirl wrote,
“@ Crane,
You’re too funny with the psycho music. But on point!”
I know, she cracks me up when she emphasizes her point with accompanying music. LOL.
I do not see how depravity can be proved if Selma and Mary had already been instructed by Zimmerman to call the police prior to Zimmerman’s interactions with W13 (the neighbor that took the photos). Of course, there would have been no harm in having W13 call the police in addition or just in case Selma and Mary hadn’t.
I think looking for depravity in this area is barking up the wrong tree.
Woops! Should have been more clear…
You cannot use Mary and Selma’s testimony to develop confirmation of what Zimmerman said about jumping on Trayvon Martin’s back and pressing on his back unless you (as prosecutors) are prepared to accept Mary and Selma’s statements that Zimmerman also told them to “just call the police.”
I think the “pressing on the back” is definitely still key for depravity more than the”call the police”.
Those words came AFTER he was off Trayvon’s back (I fully believe knowing Trayvon was now dead) and he was walking back and forth an after they asked him 3 times and he did not answer.
I believe that it was Mary and Selma who were upset that he did not seem to want to do anything to help Trayvon afterwards. They can’t really give state of mind, but can give what they saw happen in the crucial minutes afterwards.
@KA –
Agreed. That’s my only point. In order to achieve “depraved mind”, you can’t rely on the witness who said she called the police BECAUSE Zimmerman said so. All the rest is suspicious, yes, but not proof of not calling for 9-1-1 assistance.
Aaaargh! I need to clarify again. We need to rely on Selma and Mary for the confirmation that George Zimmerman was pressing on Trayvon Martin’s back (pushing blood against gravity, looking for exit wound *if* this was George Zimmerman’s first killing/murder), and for accounts of blood evidence during the frisk).
I just don’t think there’s a “depraved mind” argument here that the defense won’t easily overcome by pointing out that Selma and Mary were TOLD by Zimmerman (in a nasty way) to “just call the police.”
Remember though – she had to be persistent and ask the question three times. The first two times, he said nothing.
@princss6,
Exactly. She was persistent in asking what is going on.
“Call the police” isn’t “Call 911 for an ambulence!”
It’s generic and doesn’t convey a medical emergency in any way. It sounds more like a kiss-off to an annoying pesterer.
TM says:
CraneStation/Professor, I am totally confused today, If someone is coming against you, can we find out who or what so we can go against it. Do they have a blog or some identity regarding what is going on where we can respond back at. With all you are doing in the positive it seems we should stand up and guard that which we are grateful for in your information and teachings.
Mainstreamfair, thank you for that video, rightfully the Guardian Angels speak out against George Zimmerman who has caused the generous acts they provide to be tainted. First time I have heard Curtis Sliwa speak, but have never searched to find out what the GA’s are all about. Do they have association with the community
law enforcements or a group on their own who carry no weapons.
Very interesting because we sure need people like them. Which reminds me, was George Zimmerman wearing any kind of uniform
or badge when he was out after Trayvon.
TM~~nope, Zimmerman did not wear any clothing that would have identified him as a neighborhood watchman. He had the opportunity twice to tell Trayvon that he was a neighborhood watchman and neglected t do so…Big mistake on Z’s part.
GZ knew Trayvon was not a thug. He did not fear retaliation. He had Shelly take the vehicle home – a vehicle he knew Trayvon could identify and here was Shelly driving it to an empty home – by herself. GZ knew he had nothing to fear. He thought he had a good story – good enough to claim SYG or self-defence and go to work and NW meetings a hero. He would be one of the guys to the police. Nothing to lose.
He profiled the wrong black male.
Had TM been a true trouble-maker…say, an ex-con or drug addict, then GZ would more likely have gotten away with his hunt & kill.
He was smart enough to pick an “unsympathetic” victim.
And he thought he was smart for going after a kid. It’s very easy to outsmart young people. They are immature & naive by definition. And GZ knew the area well…TM did not. It would be easy to trap him.
GZ just assumed that any black kid would have some kind of weapon or drug on him.
But Trayvon Martin was a good kid. A baby-faced sweetheart who smiled as he held a baby up. Or tried to look serious in his football uniform.
He came from a good family. A family that loved him very much.
Reminds of that line…uttered by Woody Harrelson in “Natural Born Killers.” Asked why he killed innocent people, Woody’s character said, “everybody’s guilty of something.”
Seems to me GZ thought every black male is guilty of something. But he was wrong. The year is 2012. Good people in America know that the life of a black boy is as valuable as the life of any boy. We’re not going to just sit back & let him get away with this. The online petition that initiated the protests got a million signatures almost immediately.
Good Post, Edgy!
So scary but true.
Edgy is Trayvon had been a real thug GZ would be the one dead. A real thug would have been armed and would have seriously put a hurt on GZ. At least then (IF he survived) Gz would have had a better story to tell and the majority of people would have had no problem in believing it. GZ is soft and no real training when it comes to fighting. A real thug would have put GZ down and then gone about his evening.
Good point, rayvenwolf.
SouthernGirl2 – had GZ claimed TM shot himself, I’m sure many people would actually believe him. 😦
@rayvenwolf
No kidding! With a REAL thug, it would have been on & poppin. Zimmerman knew Trayvon was a kid and felt he could take advantage of him and did.
Southern – its why I’ve said his “i was afraid” nonsense to Serino was just that nonsense. If you’re afraid you don’t leave your vehicle to be anywhere near someone you think might be under the influence or carrying a weapon. And IF you do get out you don’t go far or you hustle your butt back into it ASAP.
But yes a real thug would have just shot him. Some punches sure, but they wouldn’t have made that the bulk of their attack.
Yes, he knew Trayvon was a kid BUT look at his supporters…
either 1) black kids aren’t really kids OR
2) black kids are horrible thug criminals…
Which gets me thinking, why did GZ follow Trayvon in the dark, alone? Was he alone? Did he have some prior knowledge of Trayvon? Did Trayvon do something innocent…like say, run in front of his car while playing football and so he had it in for him…saw him alone and created this entire pretext (he had those lines rehearsed cold if you listen to his prior four 911 calls)? Did he know where Trayvon was going…he says something in one of the interviews that had my ears pricking up about Trayvon going home…
Is there more to this because why would he NOT assume Trayvon had a gun if he thought Trayvon was a criminal? I believe he only pursued him because he didn’t think he had a gun, IMO. And if he did not think he had a gun, why not?
And let me be clear, I’m not saying people should assume that any young black teen has a gun. I live in the ‘hood and certainly never think it, even though it may be possible but I’m just looking at this isolated incident where GZ profiles him as a criminal, wants the dispatcher to believe he has a gun, but then goes chasing him in the dark…
@Princss6
Zimmerman used the dispatch to set everything into play. Evil!
The middle eastern co-worker of GZ, said about him that he thought GZ was a bully who would pick on a weaker person to make himself popular with the crowd. He didn’t think GZ picked on him because of ethnicity, but because he was an easy target to bully and make himself popular with the rest. He also said, he doubted GZ would’ve gone after Trayvon if Trayvon would’ve been a 30 year old man weighing over 200 lb.
Zimmerman’s girlfriend thought he would never place himself in a dangerous position.
Serino called him a softy.
These statements make me believe Zimmerman went after Trayvon because he didn’t perceive him as being a threat to him and/or he was not alone.
W18 said she heard loud voices 10 minutes before she heard the loud voices again leading up to the altercation. Of course these voices may have been unrelated or it may not have been 10 minutes. But my impression from the clubhouse videos is that there may have been 2 cars on TTL.
I know Tchoupi thinks a car is making a uturn on TTL, but I think one car is moving east on TTL and another car is driving west.
If Tchoupi is interested I will explain why I think that, this post will get to lenghthy otherwise.
That is GZ’s ex-girlfriend.
Prof~~hope you don’t mind if I post this. I will link it rather than have the video show which can slow down loading the page. I love this guy, Curtis Sliwa of the Guardian Angels. It is just a short clip and Sliva tends to be a bit high strung. lol
Curtis Sliwa on what Zimmerman did wrong
This was my point on the previous thread. Thanks, Professor, for filling it out so well.
I don’t go the M1 route for anyone b/c of the death penalty possibility. Using death penalty to coerce a plea to life isn’t ethical imo. Actually, I consider the death penalty unethical and immoral but that’s not the topic of the day.
This is OT but I don’t know where else to express it. The two minute gap. It’s possible that GZ went to RVC but not for a house number. I think he went there to cut TM off at the rear entrance. By that I mean that he went to RVC, didn’t see TM, but went down the street some distance, came back to the path, either between the houses or at the end, then came back up the path to confront TM.
What supports this? Bits and pieces. GZ claims to have gone to RVC. There are the extra 2 minutes that are not explained in any of his scenarios. It also more easily puts the initial confrontation pretty much where it ended. There is a witness who has one or two people running up the path toward the T but I’m not sure which witness nor where s/he was located (it’s probably in the evidence but I don’t have the time to find it)
Tzar says:
I am struggling with this hypothesis as well
+/- an accomplice
hi bettykath,
The south-to-north figure(s) running or chasing are from Witness2, about halfway in the block of homes and 30 ft or so south of the death scene.
Here is tchoupi’s imgur site with the witness map and precis of their statements.http://imgur.com/a/bcAII
My long-held theory is that Trayvon hid, to rest, in one of the unpaved cut throughs. GZ on the top path could see he’s not on the middle (doggie) path. So he figures maybe he’s gone through another cut through to RVC. So yes, GZ goes through to RVC and south along it. Again failing to see TM (or, worse, hearing TM on the phone) he cuts back to the middle path, coming out at a gap south of where TM is hiding, just when TM starts to emerge, So the chase goes north.
Two of these cut throughs are at the bottom edge of tchoupi’s map. But I am inclined to think both men were in the next ones down. The ones towards RVC are a bit further south, as the top block of houses is one bigger than on the TTL side.
I don’t believe the confrontation was stationary. There would have been a brief scuffle at the scene, in which most of the debris items were dropped, then it continued to almost to the T, where they turned and ran south again. This fits with witnesses hearing the argument approaching from the north. I think Trayvon returned to the final scene to pick up his precious phone, possibly to use it to call for help. This gave GZ time to catch him again.
Exactly! That’s pretty darned close to my theory, too (as you probably already know).
Re: extra 2 minutes. Trayvon’s phone log provides that he received a call at 7:12 p.m. that lasted 4 minutes. So, we know what Trayvon was doing from 7:12 until 7:16. He was talking on his cell phone. Based on DeeDee’s statement, Trayvon said he had lost the creepy guy following him. That conveys that Trayvon may have gone down the street at the “T” to hide, rather than continuing straight where he could be seen.
What we do not know is what type of ringer Trayvon’s phone had. I suspect it was more than just vibrate because ….
At that time, GZ began to sound pre-occupied during his NEN call. It is my impression that GZ heard Trayvon’s phone ring which gave away his hiding place. At 7:13 p.m. is when he asked that the cop call him for his location. It was only 80 seconds thereafter when the first call to 911 by a resident came in, and the altercation was well underway.
I would think that since Trayvon Martin didn’t put his ringtone on “silent” or “vibrate”, he wasn’t expecting someone would overhear his ringtone.
Zimmerman probably took advantage of hearing
Trayvon Martin’s ringtone in some way. Maybe *that* was the distraction that prompted Zimmerman’s “just tell them to call me” on the NEN. Maybe Zimmerman wanted to locate the ring-tone source and planned to find that source?
DeeDee’s call to Trayvon came in while GZ did not know where Trayvon was. His change of tone, asking for the officer to call, rather than meet him at the mailboxes, occurs at 7:13:22, well after DeeDee called. He could not have been alerted by a ring tone.
@whonoze –
That, to me, supports that Zimmerman got distracted and decided to tell Sean to have the police “just call me” when they arrive. Perhaps his distraction was due to Trayvon Martin’s phone ringing. IDK with any certainty.
@Whonoze. Notice GZ’s change of tone at 7:12 of his NEN call just after he stops running. When asked for his address, GZ said he didn’t know where “this kid is at.” He had reason to believe that he was near enough to Trayvon to be heard by him. Phone logs don’t break down into seconds, so I’m rounding it off. GZ told the dispatcher to have the cops call him at 7:13 p.m. That was one minute or less of DeeDee calling Trayvon. Trayvon was talking on his phone. All GZ had to do was follow Trayvon’s voice.
Logically, if GZ wanted the cop to call him for his location, he had no intentions of returning to his truck.
@Xena –
Excellent points, imo.
And this is contrary to what Zimmerman originally said on the NEN. “They’ll/You’ll see me by my truck”. It indicates to me a change of Zimmerman’s plan forward,
Seems to me like he was planning to continue his snooping activities and a pursuit of the “punk” “asshole” he was determined to detain/restrain… capture!
excellent analysis
aussie, thanks for the link to the map. Considering how dark it was, Trayvon could have hid almost anywhere. We don’t have enough information to narrow down the possibilities but I do think this would account for the extra time. Zimmerman has provided absolutely no accounting for it, as if it didn’t exist. tzar, yes, with or w/o an accomplice. I think GZ was using a speck of truth – going to RVC – and then just eliminated the hunt as if it didn’t happen. It might have worked but the recording of the NEN call and the 911 calls provide a timeline that he can’t match. Maybe he thought that only the 911 calls were recorded but the NEN calls were not.
I’ve always kept in my mind that Trayvon ran to RVC first and not down the dogpath. Meh, it could be intuition…that little voice inside….based on DD’s interview I get the since that Trayvon was running for longer than what would be his distance if he went directly down the dogpath.
His phone may not have been silent or on vibrate if he had his earplugs in…I don’t use mine so I’m wondering, if earplugs in, does the phone ring into the earplugs only or in the phone?
Xena – Outstanding point on the phone ring at 7:12…the timing matches perfectly with his NEN call preoccupation.
‘I’ve always kept in my mind that Trayvon ran to RVC first and not down the dogpath. Meh, it could be intuition…that little voice inside….based on DD’s interview I get the since that Trayvon was running for longer than what would be his distance if he went directly down the dogpath.’
I think so too for a couple of reasons. It takes 23 seconds from the time you here the gear in GZ’s car and he started following Trayvon in his car until the time Trayvon starts running. If Trayvon had been walking from the clubhouse in the direction of the cut-through, he would have been at the beginning of the cut-through. From there it would’ve only taken him seconds to enter the dogpath, and like you said Deedee says he is out of breath, when he tells Deedee he is being followed again, at least 3 min later.
There are 27 sec between the car door closing and when GZ stops running. If his car was where he said it was, and he ran towards RVC, GZ would have been on RVC when he stopped running. I don’t believe for a second, that if GZ saw Trayvon going south onto the dog path, that he would run past the dog path towards RVC.
If Trayvon ran east through the cut-through to RVC, I don’t believe he continued south on RVC, the physical evidence, Deedee’s statements and the timeline, just don’t support a south to north chase.
I believe Trayvon either ran through the cut-through to RVC and crossed RVC and hid between the houses on the other side of RVC, or he ran between one of the spaces between the houses on TTL going north towards RVC crossed RVC and either hid between the houses on the other side of RVC or ran around the back of those houses, where they border Oregan ave.
GZ either followed him on the cut-through towards RVC or if Trayvon ran north he may have thought he could cut him off, expecting Trayvon to go towards the back entrance, or he followed him north between the houses and continued east on RVC expecting to see Trayvon running south towards the back entrance.
When Trayvon thought he had lost GZ, he crossed RVC again towards the cut-through and that is when GZ spotted Trayvon and started following him towards the T.
I know it sounds complicated, but according to Deedee Trayvon was trying to loose the guy and he told her he was going around the back of the houses.
All evidence points to the confrontation beginning near the T, about 3,5 min after Trayvon disappeared and only GZ supporters believe that Trayvon first went south towards his father’s house and then decided to go back north again.
PYorck says:
There is something that I have been wondering for a while. I got the idea when I thought I was hearing strange things in the recording, but it does not rely on them.
How sure can we be that GZ really saw TM run when he said he did? Is it at all possible that GZ overtook him and was ahead of him during the second half of his call? As I understand DeeDee, she describes a period when TM thought he had lost GZ. After that he still has a non-trivial distance left to walk.
What if at some point after the initial encounter but while GZ was still in the car TM steps out of sight? He hides somewhere (e.g. the mailboxes) until he thinks he is safe again. That would explain Trayvon’s “lost time.” This would roughly correspond to the second half of GZ’s call. During this time and directly afterwards GZ is looking for TM around the houses and wandering south in the process.
Trayvon decides it is safe again and goes home. After a while he encounters GZ again – but some distance ahead of him. That would explain why even then TM did not run home. Perhaps that is when GZ ran north to confront him.
Ironically this would mean that GZ really wasn’t following him, just going in the same direction.
“How sure can we be that GZ really saw TM run when he said he did?
I’m still withholding judgement on it. GZ thought he was one of the young black boys who was in the crew robbing who would run out the back entrance…he was primed to say, he ran towards the back entrance.
Further, and someone please correct me, once you are on the cut-through aren’t there two ways to get to RVC? 1) near witness18’s home 2) EW on the cut-through leading past the dogpath around the bend? Someone let me know if I’m off.
Maybe Trayvon walked North to South along the pathway after he turned at the T. Just carried on with his conversation. Could be GZ parked at the South end of the path waiting for Trayvon to come his way. Who knows where he really parked right now. The police recorded tag numbers, I think that is all we have. if I remember right, the vehicle location is not identified in the report.
When my 20s kids were teens they would go outside for “private” conversations (usual with a girl)…I do not think Trayvon thought GZ had got out of his truck and that once he was between this houses he would be safe since he was in the car on the road…he could have been walking slow, talking, pacing, etc once he thought he lost him. He thin saw him near the end of the call and told DeeDee that he was not going to run when she asked him too, but just walk fast. That is when GZ caught up to him and said “What are you doing here?” and pushed him down to detain him.
I am wondering if the lone person lying on the ground that two of the witnesses saw a little but before the shot was GZ. Maybe he slipped and Trayvon ran back to the T area to get his phone maybe to cal 911 or because he was a teen that would be in trouble if he lost his phone…he was barely 17…they do not always make solid safety decisions. (told from personal experience)
I agree that GZ might of got up, now with an injury to his head and angry and ran after Trayvon as he tried to get away, grabbed his clothes, kneel over Trayvon, hold his short as Trayvon screams and then just shoots and knocks his nose with the recoil/kickback. It makes sense that THIS altercation before the shot was so short that most people heard it the first time and then heard the shot 20 to 30 seconds later. When the neighbor yelled he was going to call 911, he heard the shot right after he shut the door and turned around. Another witness heard a noise and looked out to see no one (it seems the acoustics between the buildings made sound identification difficult) and then 30 sec later saw and shot and immediately looked out the window and saw GZ over Trayvon. There is NO WAY GZ was on bottom. He had some significant girth inhibiting him from getting out from under Trayvon after his gangster words and turning over his body is less than 5 seconds when the witness looked out the window. In reviewing the witness statements, after the shot EVERYONE saw GZ on top leaning over Trayvon (one saw Trayvon on his back) or rolled face down.
I think also GZ might have fallen earlier because the EMT said he had considerable dried blood on his cheeks and face, Would that happen in the 3 minutes before the police and then 12 min later getting seen by the EMT? Dried blood on a humid, rainy night in FL does not make sense that quickly.
Deedee says she could hear that Trayvon was running around that same time. She says she could hear the wind. What Deedee appears to be telling, is that she could hear Trayvon running for a while, he stopped running and told her he thought he lost the guy, but right after that he says he is following me again. That is when she tells him to run, and he answers he is going to walk fast. She notices he is out of breath and thinks he is too tired to start running again.
GZ gets out of his car and starts running right after he tells the nen operator Trayvon ran. I think Trayvon was running when GZ said he did.
Deedee also says about GZ and about his voice ” the old man was tired too” and she mimmics GZ’s speech in an out of breath way, which makes me believe he saw Trayvon reappearing at some distance and ran or jogged towards Trayvon.
@Mirre – you and I are on the same page. I think the confrontation lasted a max of 1:45 seconds. I think that still leaves about two minutes of a pursuit from the time GZ reports Trayvon ran. I think towards the “back entrance” was GZ’s unrelenting belief that Trayvon was one of “those kids” and he kinda equivocates on that as well. Unless the pursuit started closer to the clubhouse, Trayvon could NOT have been as winded as DeeDee describes. I also pick up on everything you said regarding her statement.
ada4750 says:
@bettykat and aussie.
I am all along aussie’s scenario. It is possible that Trayvon Martin went back north to the intersection of the T with GZ on his heels and then the struggle brought them back south.
bettykat is mentionning a 2 minutes gap. It is more than that. I believe GZ said “he ran” at the exact time he could see down RVC. And this was at 19:12:11 according to tchoupi.
Pre-Meditated – Yes
He had many opportunities to tell Trayvon he was Neighbourhood Watch even whilst still in his vehicle. If he had suspicions about the so-called suspect, he could have rolled down the window as he passed Trayvon along RVC. He was still in the safety of the vehicle. There is nothing in GZs history thus far that leads me to believe he is a stupid man, as much as he would like us to perceive him. Liar – Yes.
He has called the NEN so many times. Yet, he reports but does not approach. There is no altercation, no wrong-doing when he calls NEN THIS night.
I believe, when he first saw Trayvon that night — Trayvon was not going to get away. He was not angry when he followed Trayvon in the vehicle. He was not angry when he left the vehicle. He wasn’t afraid of Trayvon. He had a gun. He knew he had no right to restrain him, detain him, or interfere with him at all. He knew that. In other calls, he says the suspects have a habit of running out the back entrance. Having said that, so what – any suspect would be gone and GZ could go to Target.
Not this night.
Scare Trayvon. I think he did that before his exiting the vehicle. So, leaving the vehicle wasn’t going to change that. He didnèt leave the vehicle to look for an address. The despatcher had not even asked him for one. To keep an eye on Trayvon – what for. The cops are not going to arrest him when they get there. They might ask him what he was doing there. But, GZ could have done that long ago.
No, he was prepared to do business that night. Dark and rainy, few would be out and about – Sunday night preparing for the week, just finishing dinner. The best time of the week and Trayvon was headed into the darkest spot in the complex. A lion moving in for the kill. Shoot to kill. Could have shot Trayvons hand, ear, whatever. A clear shot. That is what a hunter would do. Shoot to kill.
Yes. GZ was cool as a cucumber the whole time.
The thing that Serino I think missed in that statement about identification is that if he was Neighborhood Watch, then he could not be armed. That is the number one rule of NW is to WATCH only and a weapon is not available.
I assume they do that for the reasons of exactly what happened with TM. The last thing they can afford with this program (which they like in its true form) is to allow an untrained cop wannabe vigilante to get “carried away” with the role and killing someone. In one of the videos with Serino, he says that GZ was obviously not trained on what a “suspect” looks like and then he points out in the conversation that there was no suspects to even look at. All open cases in that neighborhood was closed. You cannot have a “suspect” unless you have a crime.
On GZ’s NW duties that night…I believe that the HOA newsletter recognizes GZ as the Neighborhood Watch Captain and he is to be called when a they see someone “suspicious”, As there is no “working hours” on that, GZ would have a perpetual “on call” roll that is triggered based on a situation, not a time. Now he may have also had “shift” duties as scheduled, but as the one appointed over the program by the HOA and recognized by the police dept, I would think he holds a higher standard of accountability for the training given which includes the rules, as well as the overall responsibility for the program.
I suspect when he moved out, he had to have a conversation with the HOA board to “move” his responsibilities to another for the program leadership. If he was merely a “shift” employee, he would just need someone to take over his time slots.
I thought I saw in the evidence (first document dump) many pages of things pertinent to the Neighborhood Watch and GZ’s role in it.
When GZ arranged the meeting to discuss NW to residents in the compound, a few of the neighbours signed up. They were never contacted by GZ. There was no schedule either.
The HOA newsletter tells people to contact nen if they see something suspicious. It tells people to contact Zimmerman if they wanted information about NW or crime prevention not when they saw something suspicious.
I just want to know how did this lunatic get a concealed weapons permit. He clearly have mental issues… Amazing I guess having a judge for father helps…
RNS1 says:
“I just want to know how did this lunatic get a concealed weapons permit.” Answer:Florida!
Forget the concealed carry permit, how does a guy with GZ’s background get to walk around with a gun, period?
Answer: the NRA.
However guilty and vile George Zimmerman may be, Wayne LaPierre is worse.
Prof~~I think Murder One is an overcharge. I don’t think that you would get a jury to convict with that charge on the table. The jury will not be privy to all the information that we have had access to. I cannot see this going back to the grand jury. From this old armchair detective, my take on premeditation for what it is worth.
” Zimmerman removing the gun from the holster and chambering it ( I think he did that when he got out of his truck) is premeditation. When you have the time/ choice to change your mind in committing an offense and still do it, I consider that to be a premeditated act.”
Another thing, I do not believe in bombarding a jury with ‘information overload’ as I call it. There will be so much that what we believe to be evidence that will never be admissable.
Once again, thank you, Prof, for another great post.
I agree. Most prosecutors and defense have a theme. I suspect creditably shredding is a center component.
After GZ’s words hold no weight, I think the State will introduce their theory in a second by second breakdown of the supported evidence to show the overall logical/probable story for the events that night. I think, in that, they will solidly conclude the necessary criteria for a Murder 2 conviction. The defense will be very limited in its strategic options as it is hard to redeem a discredited defendant in his basic testimony.
I do not think they require a victory or slam dunk for every second or scene to make the totality of their theory work, which is why I think we do not hear or see them with every twist and turn that comes out publically.
As no one needs straight “A”s to graduate with honors from college, I think the public (especially GZ supporters) get riled over every piece of evidence released and its impact while the State stays confident of its overall goal.
The thing I am impressed with this blog and Prof Leatherman, is that conclusions are typically supporter from the corroboration of multiple data points. There are not many lawyers that outright refute sound legal arguments as not all legal arguments (regardless of weight) prevail since it is a jury of subjective people with differing values/experiences that hear, process, and utilize it to form an opinion of guilt or innocence through their own, unique cognitive mapping
KA~~ I would offer the jury the choice of deliberating on both second-degree murder and manslaughter. I think both charges carry a maximum of life with a minimum of 25 years when a firearm is used in the commission of the crime. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong and/or offer your thoughts. With our strict gun laws here in Canada, it is a challenge keeping up with the state of Florida’s laws.
Picking a jury of six will be a task with the way this case has made all the news outlets both nationally and internationally. Regardless of the outcome of the trial, it aint gonna be pretty. We may see a judge, jury and the whole kittenkaboodle run for the hills.
I would think that as well, but I am always surprised when I am talking to one of my friends and they have no clue what I am talking about. They have not followed for months. Most do not even know what is going on.
I am sometimes convinced that GZ only has 50 supporters or so nationally that all have 20 social media accounts each…
Mainstream, I think you have hit on something I’ve not read that caused me to think. I am familiar with the basics of a gun, but not specifically the one he used. Do you have to put a bullitt in the chamber after you take it out of the holster? Or is there one in the chamber and you just take the safety off or pull back on a trigger and fire it?
I am not making sense I am sure, but, unless this gun was just one you pulled the trigger on…..Gz would have had to do something besides just “aim and shoot”…….while wiggling, squirming, keeping Trayvon’s hand from reaching the gun first and keeping himself breathing while removing Trayvon’s other hand from covering his mouth……
Ok, help here, please….I am seeing all kinds of things 😦 If, Gz had to unrelease a safety, or something else it would be premeditation and about impossible…
When Zimmerman unholstered his gun it had a full magazine plus a cartridge in the chamber. This gun does not have a manual safety. All he had to do was pull the trigger.
GZ was carrying his gun with eight bullets: one in the chamber, which he fired, and seven in the magazine, which was found fully loaded after the shooting. So for GZ to have loaded a bullet in the chamber after he left the house, he would have had to carry the bullet with him.
The gun is semi-automatic and has no safety, no cocking mechanism. All GZ had to do was take the gun out and squeeze the trigger, a mere five pounds of pressure. One might wonder how he had the control to squeeze such a light trigger only once, under those terrifying circumstances.
The Kel-Tech PF9 is small, hard to see and easy to conceal, a favorite among those carrying concealed weapons. It is designed purely for “self-defense.”
hinkster4ever ~~I am terrified of handguns. My brothers and dad had shotguns, rifles and twenty-twos that were used to put food on the table. Venison/ deer and moose….yum but not rabbit..yuk
You can take a boo at the following video. I think Z’s gun was at the ready to shoot once it was chambered. I can’t explain about the chambered but I assume that you haul something back and it puts a bullet in the chamber. You don’t have to put a bullet in the gun just prior to aiming and shooting. Someone in here can explain it better I hope.
Animation of Kel Tec PF 9 Pistol Function
To load the gun, you would remove the magazine (often erroneously called a “clip”) by pushing a button on the left side of the frame. Then you would fill it with cartridges by sliding them in from the top. Next reinsert the magazine into the butt of the gun.
To chamber a round (i.e.to put a cartidge in the firing chamber at the back end of the barrel) You “rack the slide”. That means that you pull the slide (the big metal part that surrounds the barrel) rearward against spring pressure and release it. As the slide moves forward a cartridge is pushed off the top of the stack inside the magazine and into the chamber. The gun is now ready to fire and the magazine is one round short of being full. To add another cartridge, remove the magazine, insert the cartridge and reinsert the magazine as before. This is the condition in which GZ carried his gun.
GZ’s gun is “double action only” which essentially means that it has an internal hammer that is cocked when the trigger is pulled. This requires a long, heavy trigger pull which makes an accidental discharge nearly impossible. There is no manual safety butt there is an internal safety device of some sort.
Bill Taylor says:
we are on the same page now from the moment i checked the evidence it always looked like 1st degree murder to me, i thought zimmerman had been planning his apprehension of a “criminal” for many months and likely from the time he was rejected in becoming an officer……he thought out his actions and played them in his head many times, but when the time came he found his “criminal” was just an innocent kid pleading for his life LOUDLY, forcing zimmerman to kill him to shut him up,,,,,,,he could not have the police arrive with him detaining this kid at gunpoint, and knew the dead kid could maybe be called a thug and get away with it(the police clearly treated Martin as if he was the criminal) and readily accepted zmans obvious lies.
Good truth-telling, Bill Taylor!
i thought zimmerman had been planning his apprehension of a “criminal” for many months and likely from the time he was rejected in becoming an officer……he thought out his actions and played them in his head many times
Don’t foget he practiced for the moment at the gun range.
That is a really good point Bill…if Trayvon, in fact, sucker punched him and banged his head in the cement, he could have held him at gunpoint until police arrived since at the shot GZ claims he had gained control over Trayvon’s hands, thus the immediate threat was gone and he was able to get his gun and threaten with it.
No one will believe that an 11th grader is not scared of a gun in his face.
I think the real issue is the night did not happen the way GZ tells it and he could not risk him talking because it was already too far out of hand.
I am still always amazed that the time table for this whole encounter to the shot was around 90 seconds.
I have a kid that can hold his breath under water that long…
KA, That is an excellent point that to see the gun alone would of been enough for Trayvon to stop and for all we know he did stop but that wasn’t enough for GZ. TM was pleading for his life and he still shot him. Very chilling.
I think he seen the gun and that’s when he started hollering for help that’s when GZ shot him…
@Bill Taylor. When I learned that GZ was the person initiating NW in that community, I wondered if it was a cover-up. I posted my reasons for believing this on http://blackbutterfly7.wordpress.com/blogs/was-george-zimmermans-neighborhood-watch-a-cover-up/
Yes, he had planned on apprehending a “criminal.”
Prof~~the naysayers come to disrupt your blog. I just delete their comments and put them in spam filter. They seek attention and I encourage my contributors to not give them the time of day but to ignore them. If you did not have a successful blog, they would not bother you so it goes to show you must be doing something right. JMO
You all, I haven’t been here lately, what’s up with someone in Virginia?
I never thought I’d lean toward thinking the M2 charge is appropriate, but the more I study the evidence and tapes, especially GZ’s own words and actions, the better I see where the prosecution team is coming from . . .
Hang in there, Leathermans! ;]
Thanks, I do not fear these people.
They certainly are afraid of me or they wouldn’t do this.
You bet they’re afraid of you! Keep up the good work! You’re rocking and rolling!
The site that he linked to is located in Virginia per the IP address. Wonder who has family in that area? Suppose there is any connection to that site that is in love with that individual and is busy slandering all the people that are bringing out truth about him?
I suspect she is quite harmless physically as, it appears, her life is pretty well on line.
She has a long history of doing shoddy, biased research and writing long demeaning posts about people who disagree with her.
After looking at her qualifications and history in that, I am completely unimpressed.
Mr. Leatherman, are you going to put up a post regarding the Chavis Carter story? The police claimed that he shot himself in the back of a patrol car with his right hand while handcuffed, but did not hear the shot? He had first been placed in the patrol car unhandcuffed, and did not attempt to flee, kill himself or shoot the police when he had the chance to. Plus his mother claims that he is left-handed. Thank you.
Ezz-Thetic says:
Prof. Leatherman you worry the GZ crowd a great deal. Once I responded to a GZ fan by posting a link to one of your articles. Oh boy did that fluster him. He didn’t refute one word of what you said. He just came back with “That’s all you got!!!???” Thank you for what you do. It is greatly appreciated!
Dear Professor, can you update us on Mark O’Money’s motion to remove Judge Lester. Haven’t heard anything new or will that take place on Friday the 24th. Friday’s seem to give Mark O’Money more time to spin his case on the media airwaves…
My research has come up to “zero on this motion.”
@Everyone
After losing the Motion to Disqualify, the defense lodged an “interlocutory appeal” (means an appeal before there’s been a final decision in the case) in the form of a Petition for Writ of Prohibition, which they filed with the Court of Appeals on August 13th.
The Court of Appeals ordered the prosecution to file a Response on or before 5PM today, August 23d.
Judge Lester, may file a Response as well if he wishes, but is not required to do so.
When the Court set the deadline for the Response(s), it notified the defense that the Court did not want the defense to file a Reply (rebuttal to a Response).
If you like, you can go to the Court of Appeals website and check the online docket to see what has been submitted. The online docket is not real time; filings don’t post until the next time.
The defense’s Petition along with the attached appendices is posted on a number of sites, including Mr. O’Mara’s, and at the 5th District Court of Appeals. However, appellate writing is turgid and very “law” oriented. Whether or not it’s worth reading for a non-attorney is questionable.
Reading a lot of tea leaves, it appears as though the Court had a very good idea of how it was going to rule the day the Petition was filed. To my mind, the Petition does not set forth the law in a fair manner, nor do the facts alleged meet Florida’s standards for judicial disqualification. I expect the Petition to be denied, but wouldn’t be flabbergasted if it went the other way.
Boar – Excellent overview.
Bradley Houston, tell George Zimmerman that Jerry Sandusky is waiting on him.. They both have similar arrogant untouchable attitudes.
GZ isn’t only a stalker and a liar but did things to his cousin and I hope she presses charges if there is still time. It is time for victims’ of bulling and pedophiles to speak out… It helps others… TM did not die in silence; this decease child will speak through our voices here on this blog…. TM will be heard… Get use to it ZBots… Justice must be served…
Excellent article! I have felt this way about zimmerman from day one because of his wrongful and dishonest villification of TM to the NEN person and the vitriol he spewed towards the young man who had done nothing to him. In my opinion he bore ill will towards a complete stranger who was just minding his own business and who was an unarmed minor.
Thought-provoking as usual Professor.
Justme says:
Just curious why vlpate2 comes here and posts as Bradley Houston. I guess she doesn’t want her name associated with the garbage that she spews all over the internet.
Wonder if her white sheet is in the wash and that’s the reason she feels to hide her true identity????
Yup, that might be it!
Blocked and reported vlpate2 on twitter several days ago for posting my personal information (a mugshot from several years ago) onto a twitter feed and saying that I was in prison or some bogus nonsense. Thing is, they had to stalk and stalk to get the photo, possibly pay for it.
Talk about going to any lengths and spending time and effort to stalk. Psycho.
When you plant straight rows of propaganda, you always get unmitigated ignorance.
Conservative Treehouse seems to be their Bible anymore. It trumps any legal argument.
The most sickening thing about vlpate – she sits on the board of some child advocacy group for victimized children….sad state of affairs
What? I am shocked.
I am involved and familiar with many of those national efforts around child trauma and RAD. I am attending a conference in a few weeks around trauma and attachment. I am quite surprised.
actually I do not believe it. If she said it , I suspect she is lying. I have never, not one time in all of my years in this (over 10) seen a trauma worker refer to a child as a “tard”. She tweeted that label to a minor on her account. Additionally, children that are Trayvon;s age are some of the most vocalized cases studies in the RAD/Trauma realms.
If she does not empathize and advocate for someone that age (which is clear in her tweets), then she is lying about her affiliation. I do not know how anyone could do it otherwise.
Sadly, KA, it is true! I’m not going to post her name here….trust me.
@Crane!
It’s just insane. I have never been stalked before, so all this is pretty upsetting to me. I am going to watch a movie tonight, I think. Thing is, I have written over 400 posts, and not one has been on this case, but they are going after me. Not like I am hiding anything, my stuff is up front on my site.
I have read about the sick lengths that stalkers go to to ruin lives and then some, and I am not comfortable with this level of being stalked. Knowing what I know now, I have even more empathy for the Martin family.
Not trying to hijack the Professor’s site and I know you guys are trying to work on combining the two, but no chapter for us today? :). I really enjoy it.
Oh! Yes, of course. Let me have a look. How rude of me, where are my manners!
That is hard to believe. She would seem to me like someone not committed to the cause and faking their way through this for alternative purposes. With some of those tweets, I do not know how she would pass an approval panel to even adopt or foster….she must be very secretive about it.
In the current DFS and GL team I interact with, there is not one person who thinks, when the TM case was in conversation, that Trayvon was to blame for his death regardless of what they read or heard on the news or the latest evidence to come out.
When your heart is dedicated to traumatized and neglected children with resulting disorders, you tend to give children and youth the benefit of the doubt on behaviors and struggles. ALL I know that are dedicated to the children involved first.
This is also a consideration for me with Zimmerman saying he “mentored” kids. Everyone I know who volunteers their time to such causes, typically overly empathizes with kids and youth…period.
Was not Trayvon a mere 2 or 3 year age difference to the AA boy he claims to have “mentored”? Yet, he extended no benefit of the doubt to Trayvon? I would not consider that a person who “mentors”,
This person is dedicated to traumatized children who sets up websites and Twitter accounts to solely disparage the death and character of an 11th grade deceased boy….what a conflict of causes and personality!
Crane – …all I can say is “people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”
This person, who only attended a short term, now almost defunct, career school (that has lost its state certification and is being sued in droves) should not really write a detailed expose’ on a person’s (who has a JD to boot) teaching or professional experience.
It told me all I needed to know….the criteria for various DSM IV diagnosis come to mind….
I agree. I did not read through the hateful site, but I did note the obsessive time investment put into the whole thing, and I was stunned. A few DSM IVs crossed my mind as well. I It’s not just us, it’s Trayvon’s family as well. Other people.too.
It would never occur to me in a thousand years to look into someone’s family and all aspects of their life, just because I strongly disagreed about a legal case…and then in addition, to just make shit up and place a bunch of false information onto the internet.
The thought would never occur to me.
Given the unprofessional nature of her conduct online- the twitter feed is an orgy of hate- I cannot fathom how she works with kids. Mind boggling.
As you say, glass houses…
Good question and great answer 😉
I read a little of her Twitter…wow…as surely as I knew…the Conservative Treehouse is her main source.
When I have glanced at that site, I have felt like I am watching a back woods secret meeting brainstorming false charges on those considered “accursed”.
Seeing that Twitter account actually explains a lot about the nature of that inaccurate blog post. It is a replication of most things I see on the CT site.
I do not mind GZ supporters here, I actually like it…but please, if you do not agree offer something alternative, but with some semblance of base logic …this “nah -uh” argument and personal attacks are tiring [yawn].
I might peruse that place some time and they make me laugh, like really laugh.
Ka, It appears that some of the nuts have been shaken out of the treehouse. Their thread today was focused on the professor and this great blog!
I’m reading the book, “The People of the Lie” by M. Scott Peck that the professor mentioned early on and it is actually allowing me to see things more objectively when dealing with people who cannot defend George but spew hatred and attempt to damage a deceased young man’s character and his family, and now the professor and his family.
What is it that they hate so much? Could it be the truth or any possible version of it?
I haven’t participated as much as some here but I find this blog to be impartial to the truth. I believe the bloggers here are sincere in their attempts to find the truth with the evidence we have at hand.
I would also add that we have not disparaged Trayvon’s
character but why would we? I don’t personally care if he had a Watermelon Ice Tea or an Arizona Ice Tea. I don’t even care that Trayvon smoked pot, which by the way makes a person NON-AGGRESSIVE or if he had plans to concoct some other type of narcotic. What on God’s green earth does that have to do with George’s actions that night and the fact that he killed Trayvon? Yet, that is their argument for this young man’s death and they will repeat this over and over. He was a bad kid and it makes GZ’s actions absolutely, 100% excusable.
You just have to consider the source:
http://diwataman.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/the-many-manipulations-myths-and-lies-of-the-zimmermanmartin-case/
I have that book on my Kindle and have yet to read it. I need to sit and make the time.
The dynamic I see on that side of the camp truly defies logic.
Many of them seem to live two lives. They live as “normal” people, go to work, visit friends, chat at the grocery store, fix dinner, play with their kids and tuck them to bed with kisses. Then, when there is s computer in front of them…and no one is looking but their “like minded internet friends” they turn into the deralicks of society. The bully like it is high school and freely use racial slurs, they say stupid things about GZ being strung out by the “lynch mob” (oh my Lord, they have no idea the real context of that…um, it doesn’t apply) and make it their life goals to “free Zimmerman” after he shot an unarmed kid in, what can be called a conservatively, “suspicious” situation.
I have not followed that many public cases outside of this one. I am not sure if you have but are all of them like this?
I feel like some days I feel I have truly seen the worst our society holds.
You would be shocked at the number of people that hold these views.
Many are even more dangerous because they are able to mask hatred and ignorance in politically acceptable language.
Make no mistake – we are at war.
It is a war on moderation, acceptance, and understanding.
In addition to that, many have rejected the Golden Rule and now worship at the altar of selfishness and greed.
KA, I have never followed a case before other than taking an interest in the OJ Simpson Trial. IMO Trayvon’s family has handled the death of their son with more grace and dignity than I think I could have.
Ajamazin, I also concur that we are at war on moderation, acceptance and understanding.
I really wonder if the people supporting George really care about him or is it fear over their 2nd Amendment rights? The heaviness of the hatred and disparaging comments can only go one way and it isn’t up.
I also need to correct the title of the book, “People of the Lie” omit “The”.
I believe they are just using him and when his case is over, they will use someone else to spew their hatred.
Their only reason for being is to hate.
If worshiping at the altar of selfishness and greed works, I may reconsider my irreligious non-affiliation.
Professor – I love your phrase, “worshipping at the altar of selfishness and greed.” The Penn State scandal rocked the sporting world. It’s shocking to me how little some people seem to care about the children, their families, their friends, etc.–much like this case.
I wholeheartedly agree.
In a majority population that typically deploys apathy as their weapon of choice to continue perpetuating the unfair power structure, I really have been jarred by the superficiality of the “apathy” face. Apathy, as seen in this case, is really just a mask for the intense drive to protect the status quo thereby “freezing” in place their perceived “right” to have not only unfounded fear which allows continued “safety” and prosperity at the detriment of another. I have a saying I use when helping new parents with newly placed with foster kids…”Behavior does not always indicate progress”. Our “good” behavior as a country has not really proven out that anything has changed since the 60s and 70s.
I could go on and on about that.
I think, in looking at several GZ supporting sites that have written articles about Prof Leatherman over the past week or so, their breaking point came when you said that if they buy GZ’s version of events about Trayvon’s actions, they are holding racial bias. The timeframes of the Tweets, articles, and negative posts align to soon after that post.
Those upset supporters cannot align racism with anything else than the KKK. If they are not members, then they are fine. They cannot look objectively at themselves and ponder, “in this scenario, who do I give the benefit of the doubt to?” Same question with the Chavis case, same question with Rodney King, Same question with [insert young black male].
I can bet if it was studied that the answer to just those three are the exact side of the scenario for the majority of GZ supporters.
They will, however, fight with every breath they are not “racist”.
TheRavenMRS. (@Nevermore1976) says:
Great article as usual!!! Professor!!!
Awesome Professor, as every of your articles ..Thank you
Professor – Awesome article, as always!
Bradley Houston says:
[Comment deleted as false and defamatory ]
Unabogie says:
Good luck with that, Brad.
That’s pretty sad Brad. You can’t possibly be stupid enough to fall for such an obvious, and weak, hatchet job. Well, I take that bak. You clearly are.
Bradley deleted for libel. Rest in peace in the spam queue, Bradley. Good luck with the rest of your obsessive stalking of Frederick Leatherman and whoever else you obsessively stalk and post false information about. It’s really helpful to George Zimmerman’s charges and case.
Thank you so much,for the delete.
Any threats will be immediately reported to law enforcement.
OMG!!! Unbelievable. I didn’t see his comments, but from what you wrote that is unsettling.
This just shows you how desperate the Zbots are. Why can’t they just listen or read others opinions’ and respectfully disagree? They all seem to be mentally unhinged just like Zimmerman. That’s why he is facing murder two his arrogant wannabe cop without a bit of training.
EMT’s took Zimmerman’s vitals about 20 minutes after the shooting –
Blood Pressure – Normal
Temperature – Normal
Pulse – Normal
Oh geez, I don’t know how my vitals comment got in the wrong place?
SouthernGirl2 – I am really confused about the way WordPress posts comments. I especially don’t want any of my comments to be posted under a troll’s comment. I just started using the subscribe feature. At least I’m seeing comments in chronological order now. Is there a better approach?
@longtimegeek
I meant for the vitals comment to fall under your cool as a cucumber post. But I messed it up. I’m sorry.
Okay, thanks! (chilling)
SouthernGirl2 – Huh? I’m totally confused about this WordPress commenting system! Comments aren’t in chronological order and sometimes show up who knows where? I thought you were making the same comment I was, but much better, and not necessarily responding to me directly, which of course I likey regardless!
I’ve been scrolling through the same comments over and over looking for new comments. Is there a better way?
SouthernGirl2 – By the way, please don’t apologize to me for anything! I enjoy reading all of your posts!
HA HA! I read their entry
Is the person who wrote it educated in law (or even proper research methods)? They missed many basics of research by omitted some pretty defining information, and making accusations on things that can be refuted out of hand with a simple Google search.
I can assume from the content written that no one is calling him/her to do any Harvard research studies this year.
Have we had a troll come yet with a glimpse of a sound legal argument? I personally cannot remember one.
Like it is said
“..if no one is opposing you…then maybe you are not standing up for the right people…”
Keep doing what you do Prof. Leatherman…you are surely making an impact.
The roaches always come out when their hiding places are sprayed.
@KA
In the words of my late Granny…the Professor is getting down to the brass tacks.
KA, The blog that he linked (probably his) is written by one sick puppy! It is unreal to find that much hate and bigotry in one location. The owner of the blog is such a coward he does not even admit to owning it by publishing his name! The one thing good that he does, however unknowingly is to prove that Professor Leatherman and Crane Station are on the right track in this case, if they were not he would not have dedicated so much time and hatred toward them individually and jointly! Great work Professor! You have them scared and on the defense!
It appears to be a female that advocates for traumatized children.
As one who has dedicated their life to the same…..I find that really hard to stomach due to the hate and disdain she shows for a 11th grade boy after his death.
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diane771
Red-Eyed Vampire
Contact diane771
Post by diane771 » Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:30 am
I do believe that in one aspect the fact that Edward does not have to have physical contact with you has its advantages. But like Alice would do like recite the Battle Hymn Of Republic to keep Edward out of her thoughts. When Aro touches you what type of blocking do you have, except in Bella's case.
http://neverthinkningcom.ning.com/video/rules-dont-stop-me
http://neverthinkningcom.ning.com/video/i-dont-care0001
swedishskinjer
Jump Starting Bella's Truck
Post by swedishskinjer » Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:55 am
Jazz Girl wrote:
swedishskinjer wrote: Jazz Girl:
I'm not exactly sure if Edward could have handled reading Bella's thoughts for two different reasons:
1) It was a tense situation, so why would he want to make matters worse by succumbing to desire and reading Bella's mind without properly asking for her permission? Edward is far too polite to intrude during any emotionally intense moment. I'm sure that he would want his first "experience" with Bella's mind to be more intimate and private.
2) Aro and Edward are both able to read minds, yes, but Aro's ability is infinitely more potent in that he is able to have access to any thought in your lifetime. I've always wondered how he chooses a specific thought to see after making contact. Does he view many things at once before focusing on a specific time? Imagine how overwhelmed Edward would be if he attempted to tap into the mind of a superior immortal without knowing how to handle the immense amount of thoughts. It could potentially break his mind, since he's only accustomed to reading them on a much smaller scale.
Hmmmm, interesting points, both. However, as we know from both Twilight and Dark High Noon, Edward does not have control over whether or not he hears someone's thoughts. He has learned to tune out certain voices over the years, out of respect for his family. However, as he says, it's like being in a noisy room where 1000 voices are buzzing in the background. Some voices come through clearer because of how attuned to them he is. Also, there are only a few people in the room at the moment, all of whom he is trying to focus on to have the most information possible so he can save Bella and get them the hell out. And, in this case, he woudl be listening most intently to Aro anyways as he is the one who will make that call and he is the one closest to Bella, the biggest threat to her in that moment.
As to Aro, I don't know that I would necessarily agree that he is a superior immortal to Edward, just that his power works differently. Yes, he can seee every thought where Edward can only see what you are thinking in that moment. But, conversely, he must have physical contact where Edward does not, giving him an advantage in many situations. After all, it is Aro who covets Edward's powers, not vice versa. And, we know that vampires in general can process so many more things at once than we can. Surely, it woudl be maybe overwhelming for Edward, but I don't think at all that it would break him.
Which brings us back to the original question...
You seemed to be implying that, in this hypothetical situation of Edward succumbing to his specific wants, it would be intentionally and out of intense curiosity. He can't hear Bella anyway, so this probing of her mind would have to be intentional on his part, wouldn't it? Due to the nature of the situation, I don't think that Edward would have indulged in any of his desires, since his main focus was on ensuring their survival. He may be curious, yes, but he's not foolish.
As for the second point, I would say that it's very much debatable. Edward is able to hear thoughts from a distance, but only current thoughts. On the other hand, Aro is able to hear any thought that has crossed your mind since the beginning, including the current ones, after making physical contact. They both have their advantages and disadvantages, which balances it out rather nicely. Aro may covet Edward's ability, but doesn't Edward himself acknowledge the greater skill and potency behind Aro's talent in New Moon? He has had thousands of years to sharpen his mind, and vampirism doesn't make it difficult to forcefully contact a target in certain situations.
Hmm. I don't believe that "break" was the appropriate word...well, perhaps it needed some context, so here's my second try: I just don't think that he would be able to handle Aro's ability under the circumstances. Think of it this way: Edward is in a weakened state due to his lack of proper feeding. Furthermore, he's in the process of calming himself after the surprise of seeing that Bella is alive, and he's intensely aware of the danger before them. What would it feel like to read Aro's mind and also feel him flicking through years of thoughts? Would he even be able to process all of it without considerably weakening his mind and thus dropping a very significant guard against the Volturi for Bella: himself?
Edward is pretty much selfless. He would never violate Bella without first knowing that she approves.
Post by Jazz Girl » Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:07 pm
No, the question is asked with understanding that there is nothing intentional about Edward's reading thought. It comes back to the fact that Edward, while he can tune out the sounds of others thoughts, he cannot shut it off. So, yes, he would be completely focused on protecting Bella and getting them out alive, a part of his mind would recognize that if Aro reads Bella's thoughts, he can hear them second hand. Yes, Alice can interfere with his ability. But, that is a completely intentional action on her part. It is not something Edward can control. Aro would know he could do that but would have no reason to do so. So, again, the possiblity to hear her thoughts would be there. It's just a matter if he would look back and be disappointed that he didn't get that glimpse?
Edward hasn't shown any weakness or sense of being overcome previously in Aro's presence. Yes, he is overwhelmed by Bella's reappearance. But, Edward watched as Aro flicked through years of his own memories without being overwhelmed. He watched Aro read Marcus' thoughts without issue. Edward's only weakness is when he weakens himself, IMO. With Bella returned, he is focused and strong. The rest he can deal with later.
Asheleyo
Teaching Eric Social Graces
Contact Asheleyo
Post by Asheleyo » Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:20 pm
I don't think Edward would have any issues handling the amount of information flowing through Aro if he were to be able to read Bella. He does just fine when Aro reads Alice in New Moon and Renesmee in BD. Why should it be any different with Bella? He, like every vampire in this series, has enormous mental capacity; able to note several things at once with complete ease and in the blink of an eye.
But to the original question, I could see him, in one corner of his mind, being disappointed at the lost chance to get any glimpse inside her mind. I don't necessarily agree that he would never invade Bella's privacy like that. He spent most of his time in Twilight trying to do exactly that. He wanted in so badly. And as we see in BD, when she is finally able to let him in, he's so ecstatic that he just wants her to keep doing it. He wants to see everything he's missed. Every thought she has is precious to Edward. He would love to hear them all. He respects Bella's desire not to have him read every thought, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be quite ready and willing to hear them all.
I think Edward had worked out a theory by that point in New Moon that we're referencing: He probably believed that since his and Aro's gifts were so very similar that he would most certainly not be able to see inside her mind just as Edward cannot, hence the smug look. I thought Rob's look for Edward in the movie was more anxious, like he was every so slightly worried that it would work and she would be nothing special to Aro, and therefore easily dispensable. Then he could also wonder, if Aro's gift worked on her, why it is that his seems defective when it comes to Bella but everyone else seemed to be able to do their thing just fine around her. It could make him feel somewhat inferior.
But I guess I could stretch that to wistful. Expressions can be hard to interpret.
Precisely because death awaits us in the end, we must live fully.
Stars did fly toward each other, irresistibly, as if they were falling in love. And millions of years later, lovers on Earth drew together and fell in love, watching the stars fall.
alphanubilus
Learning to Love Green
Post by alphanubilus » Wed Dec 30, 2009 12:07 am
Edward Cullen and I have a sorded past. When I first read Twilight, like Bella I had dreams of Edward Cullen. Now if you are a girl, that is cool, and apparently obsession generating. However, if you are a guy, it is quite troublesome. However, not to worry. In my dreams I was strangling him, only to realize that alas... he doesn't need to breath, so my efforts were in vain. Darn me. I should have brought a stake.
I will be honest I never clicked well with the Edward Cullen character. I'm not an Edward basher, but as a writer there are things that really bugged me about him, that never seemed to find ramiphication through out the series. In many ways Edward is almost the perfect man. He has money... He has looks.... He has charm... He's protective, fast, uber strong... His breath forever smells of mint, and he sparkles to boot. He's also compassionate, caring, and extremely doting. With all of these wonderful qualities, how can anybody really NOT like Edward?
It all comes down to this... Why doesn't Edward trust Bella? Every problem Edward puts Bella through happens because he didn't trust her. Through out Twilight he "stalks" her, as he wants to protect her. He really cares for her, and understandably to a vampire, a mere human would be rather breakable, and Bella seemed to always be getting into trouble. So Twilight Edward was totally understandable... but then here comes New Moon Edward...
Bella sees that the only way she will find true happiness with him, is IF she is a vampire, like Edward. Edward on the other hand thinks that becoming a vampire is the worse thing that can happen, so much so, he uproots his entire family, because of it. He uproots his entire family because he doesn't want to put Bella in danger and have to make that choice to turn her, even though that is what she wants. His decision is disasterous, as it nearly costs Bella her life and his own.
Again, Bella knows what she wants. She feels it, and it feels right. We know from Breaking Dawn that Bella was right all along. She was born to be a vampire. It was her destiny.
Getting back to New Moon Edward... Edward loves Bella, but Edward doesn't trust that Bella knows what is best for her. We see how that worked out.
However, we see something about New Moon Bella. She is a LOT stronger than she appears. She survives (Barely) a drug-like Edward withdrawl, as a real relationship with an immortal is supernatural. She survives countless crazy stunts. She along with Alice save Edward in Volterra. She performs amazingly in front of the Vulturi.
By now Edward should learn that even though Bella is human, she is a strong woman in her own right and she knows what is best for her life, as it is her life... However, not only doesn't Edward face the ramiphications of his actions, despite all that Bella has proven to him, he still doesn't trust her enough to give her what she wants...until he is forced to side, due to the vote.
Then comes Eclipse Edward... It seems that Edward learned nothing from his experience in New Moon, as he doesn't trust Bella enough to be with her best friend Jacob. Sure Jacob is a werewolf and werewolves can be dangerous, but then again we are dealing with Bella, danger is her middle name, as it literally hunts her down. Edward becomes jelouse of Jacob (there isn't any real reason, Bella has made her choice) and forces Bella to not see him. This puts tons of strain on Bella and it fuels Jacob's fire. Again, all Edward had to do is TRUST Bella, and he would have avoided a lot of misery, especially for Bella, but no.
By the end of the book... Is Bella right.... YUP. Despite all the adversity and hardships, again Bella only proves that she knows what she is doing and Edward should have trusted her.
Edward's greatest "sin" though comes in Breaking Dawn. Bella gets pregnant and Edward is afraid for her life. Bella KNOWS that this baby is going to be a blessing. Edward isn't so sure. Again, his old enemy arises and he doesn't trust that she knows what is best for her. In despiration, he actually tries to talk Jacob into coaxing Bella into an abortion, with the consolation prize of having puppies instead. (not really puppies, but Edward did say it. ). Jacob doesn't agree with Bella, but you have to hand it to the wuff, he did trust her.
The sad fact is, Edward didn't trust Bella until she was a vampire, his equal. This to me is sad and something that Edward will eventually have to answer for.
The reality is, relationships are largely based upon trust. My Grandfather worked as a marriage councilor for several years, and he still does, when the need arises. 99.9% of failed marraiges happen because they don't trust each other. You see a relationship is a partnership, and sometimes hard choices have to be made. Life isn't all about frivelous easy decisions, and as a husband or wife, you are going to have to (one day) trust your spouse with a choice... a choice you may not understand or like, but that is how it works.
Edward's greatest flaw is his inability to trust Bella.
In the end Bella was right. She was right all along. She knew what she was doing.
To bad Edward couldn't have seen that earlier. Then again... had he done so... the series would have ended with Twilight, and there would have never been a Jacob Black...well a werewolfry Jacob Black.
Post by diane771 » Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:41 pm
Edward wasn't the perfect guy, and yes he has a lot going for him but you can not demean him for not trusting JACOB.
Edwards trust of Bella was there, it was his mistrust of Jacob and the possibility of Jacob losing control with his temper and hurting Bella. Everyone seems to forget that Jacob is a hot head when it comes to Edward and a newly into phasing. He still didn't have it under control by BD.
How could Edward feeling like he does take Bella's soul away from her just because she wanted to become a vampire. To lose her family and never get to do what he could have if his life was human and he wasn't going to die. College, love, marriage and family. Who can find fault in Edward not wanting Bella to regret her desision and he did nothing to stop or prolong her life?
Pregnancy even Carlisle thought that Bella would not survive the birth and she wouldn't have if Edward had not turn her. So who was right ? Edward by saying that the pregancy would kill her? or Bella?
Bella totally played mind games with Edward in Eclipse and he put up with more than any man would with her "friendship" with Jacob. Jacob in turn never let up on Bella about how wrong Edward was for her. Trust was not the issue between Edward and Bella I see it as Edward not trusting Jacob at all. Remember Edward knows all the manipulation that Jacob is doing and causing Bella more stress and pain. Even when they got married, Jacob would not let go. So I do believe that the trusting issue is with Jacob and not Bella.
No Bella wasn't right all the time, she played Edward and Jacob against each other in Eclispe to the point I really stopped liking her. Her whole universe was what she wanted and she didn't think things out completely. I think that Edward trying to slow things down was good for Bella and gave her more time to grow up. But thats just how I see it.
Post by Jazz Girl » Wed Dec 30, 2009 11:24 pm
Alphanubilus~ It is certainly an interesting way to look at things. However, I think there was slightly more to it than that. I don't think that Edward didn't trust Bella. I think he wanted to make sure she would never regret her decision. What she was asking for was eternity. Edward knew, either from personal experience or from the experiences of his foster mother and sisters, exactly what Bella would have to sacrifice to have that. Edward wanted nothing more than to love Bella as long as he possibly could. But life is never that simple. For Bella's happiness, and also for his own peace of mind, Edward had to be sure Bella took all of those factors under consideration.
Diane~ Absolutely. I could not have said it better myself. I have said it over and over again. When you examine the relationships in the Twilight Saga, you absolutely CAN NOT remove the supernatural elements and influences in the story. And, absolutely every decision Edward made in regards to Bella was driven by the fact that Bella's life was surrounded by the supernatural, and she wanted to join that designation.
Post by Asheleyo » Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:39 am
The problem I see with Edward not wanting to turn Bella so that she would still live a human life is that, at least after New Moon, Edward still wanted her for as long as he could have her. He wanted to keep her, but not change her. As long as he has Bella, she has no hope for children or a normal life. So what is he really saving her from? The only thing he is doing is leaving open the option for Bella to leave him. In that, he might as well be telling her that he doesn't believe her love is strong enough to keep her with him for the rest of her life. If it is strong enough, then she just wasted her life when she could have an eternity with him. If it's not strong enough...well, we know it is, so there's really no point going there. And even if Bella chose to leave at some point, Edward would still be out there waiting for his chance. He would never leave her alone. So I really find his stubbornness in not wanting to change her annoying. He wanted to keep her for a human length of forever, i.e. the rest of Bella's life, but he wasn't willing to extend her the courtesy of choosing a real forever, one where she didn't have to watch to differences in their ages grow and grow, to the point of ridiculousness. Honestly, if I were Bella, I probably couldn't help but feel a bit insulted by Edward's obstinance on this issue.
Post by diane771 » Thu Dec 31, 2009 1:02 am
Edward NEVER said that he wanted to KEEP Bella, he said he would be there for her. Big difference. Edward only wanted Bella's happiness and if she found it and wanted to have childern, Edward would still be there and still love her. I think you are not getting that. Edward was not wanting Bella to stay human to deny her human wants and needs such as family, and other things, and most people who read into that don't really see what Edward is offering her. He is offering her life and his love and letting her know that he loves her so much that he will be on the earth as long as she is alive. A world without Bella is a world that Edward could not live in. If Bella chosed Jacob, Edward would have accepted that and still loved her till she died.
So Edward was never intending on taking anything away from Bella's life.
well, we know it is, so there's really no point going there. And even if Bella chose to leave at some point, Edward would still be out there waiting for his chance. He would never leave her alone. So I really find his stubbornness in not wanting to change her annoying
That statement to me isn't what I read into Edward when I read the books. But everyone has their own opinion but just by the way Edward acted in the Saga just shows you he put Bella's happiness before his own. And he love doing that.
Post by alphanubilus » Thu Dec 31, 2009 9:59 am
I still stand by my thoughts. I'm not saying that Edward didn't love Bella, but I believe that Edward didn't trust her motivations, as like any other human, she is affected by him being a vampire. The reality of the supernatural addiction is revealed in New Moon, once he breaks up with her. Her actions were that of an addict trying to go clean. She was having withdrawls and you combine that with the loss of love, it nearly destroyed her. HOWEVER, Bella wasn't totally destroyed and largely due to the help of Jacob Black, her broken soul started mending. The reality is, she can live with out Edward and actually find happiness. She is, in fact, stronger than she ever believed.
However, that whole mess would have been avoided had Edward simply told her how he felt. He hints, he pines, he broods, but he doesn't sit down and just talk to her about it. It is Carlisle that reveals Edward's fear for her mortal soul, not Edward. Edward is so afraid of this, that he lies to her (lying in a relationship no matter the "motivation" does not solve problems, but creates more). If he felt that the only way to save her, was to leave her, he should have been honest about it, and honest with her. Lying to somebody is a sign of lack of trust.
Again folks, trusting somebody, doesn't mean that their decisions are right or that you have to agree with them, or even like what they have in mind. If the decision is wrong, call a spade a spade, and do something abou it.
In reference to Bella's pregnancy. Even in normal pregnancies there is always a chance things will go wrong. I have friends who are doctors (I could never be one... I would pass out just looking at the needles ) and one of whom works with pregnancy, and the reality is, some pregnancies go horribly wrong. If they abort the pregnancy, it would save the life of the young lady, or they can carry through and risk her life, to save the baby. As much as we'd like all stories to end happily, it doesn't always happen.
Bella was fully aware of what she was asking. She loved her unborne baby. She knew the great risk she was taking, but she would do what any mother would do, to save their child, even if it meant sacrificing her life.
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AllCrimePeopleHealthEnvironment
carpathian basin Csíksomlyó ethnic Hungarians National Cohesion Day Pope Francis Rákóczi Szövetség Viktor Orbán
Up To 8000 Hungarian Students Join Rákóczi Association’s Events in Early June
Ferenc Sullivan 2019.06.15.
Thousands of secondary school-aged Hungarian students from the mother country, Hungarian-populated neighbouring regions and the diaspora took part in the Rákóczi Association’s events to mark the historic papal visit to Transylvania, the Csíksomlyó Pilgrimage and the Day of National Cohesion.
Thanks to a travel programme provided by the Prime Minister’s Cabinet in cooperation with the Rákóczi Association, some 2500 Hungarian students between the age of 13 and 19 from across the Carpathian Basin attended Pope Francis’ open-air mass at the Csíksomlyó pilgrimage site in Transylvania. The ground-breaking papal visit attracted over 100 000 registered pilgrims, as well as religious and state dignitaries including Hungarian President János Áder, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén and Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă.
Within the framework of the Rákóczi Association’s Student Travel Programme, over 4000 pupils from 100 Hungarian-language secondary schools in the Carpathian Basin visited another Hungarian community by crossing at least one state border to mark 4 June, the Day of National Unity. Hungary welcomed 31 groups of ethnic Hungarian students, while Slovakia (29) and Romania (22) were also popular destinations.
Additionally, a further 1000 students and their accompanying teachers were welcomed at the Association’s central celebration at the Rákóczi Camp and Events Centre in Sátoraljaújhely, northeastern Hungary, where the crowd was addressed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
PM Viktor Orbán addresses a crowd of 1000 young Hungarians to mark the Day of National Cohesion, Sátoraljaújhely, 4 June 2019. Photo by Viktor Orbán’s Facebook Page
One week after the papal visit, 300 young Hungarians from southern Slovakia and the Sub-Carpathian Ukraine, as well as a small group from the global diaspora, travelled to the same location for the annual Csíksomlyó Pilgrimage on board the Virgin Mary Pilgrim Train, organized and funded by the Rákóczi Association, to join the hundreds of thousands of Hungarians flocking to celebrate Pentecost for the 452nd time this year.
Csíksomlyó Pilgrimage: Passengers of the pilgrim train joined the crowd of hundreds of thousands to celebrate Pentecost. Photo by Rákóczi Association/Facebook
Applications were open to all institutions of secondary education in the Carpathian Basin, with the Rákóczi Association undertaking to cover travel costs up to HUF 300 000 (EUR ~1000), depending upon the number of participating students and the length of the journey.
In the featured photo: PM Viktor Orbán with students. Photo by Rákóczi Association
“This Government Thinks in Terms of Nationality, not in Borders” – Interview with Péter Szilágyi
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Home Statistics Others Alex Pall Height Weight Body Statistics
Alex Pall Height Weight Body Statistics
Alexander Pall
Alex Pall in an Instagram selfie in July 2017
New York City, New York, United States
Alex Pall graduated from The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY in 2004.
He subsequently went to New York University, where he earned a bachelor’s in Music Business Management in 2007.
YouTuber, DJ
Father – William “Bill” Blatt Pall (Art Dealer)
Mother – Margaret Olivia (Wolstenholme) D’Agostino (Housewife)
Siblings – Unknown
The Chainsmokers is managed by Adam Alpert of Disruptor Records, New York.
EDM, Pop, Electro-pop
Turntable, Guitar
Disruptor, Columbia, Sony Music
87 kg or 192 pounds
Alex Pall has dated –
Tori Woodward (2014–2018) – Alex started dating a girl named, Tori Woodward in 2014. They celebrated their three-year anniversary, as per an Instagram shared by Pall on February 9, 2017. The couple split in January 2018 after it was made public that Alex had cheated on Tori.
Katelyn Byrd (2018-Present) – In mid-March 2018, Alex was seen with a mystery blonde who was identified as model Katelyn Byrd. In October 2018, they went on a dinner date at Los Feliz, California.
A post shared by A L E X (@alexpall) on May 22, 2016 at 8:13pm PDT
He is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent on his father’s side and of English, Serbian / Croatian and/or German descent on his mother’s side.
Multiple body tattoos
Gangsta Caps
A post shared by A L E X (@alexpall) on Sep 14, 2017 at 7:27pm PDT
The Chainsmokers duo was named global brand ambassadors for Tommy Hilfiger in 2017.
Being a member of the group “The Chainsmokers.”
The success of their 2016 hit “Closer” that hit #1 in American United Kingdom’s dance/electronic songs chart.
First Album
Alex Pall (as part of The Chainsmokers) released their debut album Memories…Do Not Open in April 2017. It was certified as ‘Platinum’ in U.S. and reached #1 on Billboard 200.
Alex made his first TV show appearance on the talk show Larry King Now in 2016.
Alex Pall keeps fit by avoiding unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking and hitting the gym as often as possible. In an interview with Men’s Fitness, he confessed that as a child, he had man-boobs. He immediately took a month off to hit the gym and turned all the fat into muscle. Since then, he has been staying healthy and lifting weights to remain toned and feel sharp.
Alex Pall Favorite Things
Cities – Manhattan, Los Angeles
TV Shows – Digitalism, The Bloody Beetroots, Animal Kingdom
Pastime – Watching TV, Cuddling with his dog
Gigs – Timeflies at Terminal 5, Marquee Vegas, Opium Barcelona
Music Artist – David Guetta, Daft Punk, Trentmøller, Blink-182, Twenty One Pilots
Songs – Into The Past, Open Season, HUSTLER
Idols – Deadmau5, Pharrell Williams, Drake, Diplo
Music Blogs – Hype Machine, Showtek, White Raver Rafting
Source – Raver Rafting, Billboard, YouTube
A post shared by A L E X (@alexpall) on Aug 4, 2017 at 5:45am PDT
Alex Pall Facts
He started his group “The Chainsmokers” with former DJ Rhett Bixler.
He confessed that during his early years he was inspired by Jeremy Piven’s Entourage character Ari Gold.
He was introduced to Drew Taggart by manager Adam Alpert in 2012.
Pall’s early singles like Selfie and others were uploaded on Soundcloud as FREE releases.
In 2012, his group “The Chainsmokers,” collaborated with Indian actress and Recording artist Priyanka Chopra on the single “Erase”.
Pall confessed that the group name “The Chainsmokers”, had nothing to do with smoking. It was picked up from a joke about medical marijuana.
Pall and partner Drew Taggart supported Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.
He has revealed that singing on stage makes him nervous and that he finds it difficult to sleep the night before a gig.
Visit The Chainsmokers official website @ TheChainsmokers.com.
Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Featured Image by Alex Pall / Instagram
Alex Pall
Yaroslava Shvedova Height Weight Body Statistics
Christina Hendricks Height Weight Body Statistics
CCH Pounder Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics
Marlon Wayans Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics
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'Not a Beat, Not a Scene'
RnB/Hip Hop | Friday 14th June 2013 | jim
Here is a short documentary, Not a Beat, Not a Scene looking at ‘The Beat Scene” in LA. It includes an assortment of better (and lesser) known artists who operate and produce in the heart of L.A. The discussions look at why L.A. has become the center for lo-fi, ambient, psychedelic beats, and the “lackadaisical stoner aspect” of the city.
The scene has been given the name “the Beat Scene” because there is no other real word for it. So many elements of music combine in the city, whether it be jazz, hip-hop, rock, electronica which all fuse together to produce what has become the L.A. sound. It started of as lo-fi music, which had a small but passionate following, but this has grown into a world-popular scene, whose influence spans into many genres.
This is not music to jump up to and pump your fist to, but to listen and enjoy music with each other. The sets encompass nearly every genre of music and this is what people like. As said in the documentary they are always looking for what hasn’t been done, if its been done before then boring…
Stand out acts from the beats scene are Shlohmo and Flying Lotus. If you haven’t listened to any L.A. beat scene then get on it, grab a beer and check it out in the sun.
written by Jim Roberts
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Gardens / Paradise Collection
Italian Renaissance Garden
Other gardens in this collection
Indian Char Bagh Garden
Japanese Garden of Contemplation
Chinese Scholars' Garden
English Flower Garden
Modernist Garden
Italian Renaissance Gardens evolved from many sources, in particular the Arab garden traditions although Islamic symbolism was given a Christian interpretation. The other major influence was a revival of interest in the cultures of antiquity, and the Renaissance designers constantly tried to emulate and surpass the ancient Greek and Roman achievements.
This included accommodating antique sculptures or copies of antique figures like the copy from the original 5th century Capitoline wolf with Romulus and Remus in the Italian garden. The two babies, Romulus and Remus, were thrown into the Tiber River, which carried them to Platine where they were suckled by a she-wolf and then raised by a shepherd.
Renaissance gardens were also an evolution of the Medieval garden and many of the elements from that earlier era were retained such as the high surrounding walls, flat square beds with edges lined with plants, beds of simples, flowery meads, and the arched trellis work. The major difference in the Renaissance gardens was the introduction of a strong central axis and the discovery of linear perspective as a link between the main buildings and the different portions of the garden. Gardens became separated into compartments that could be named, enclosed, and hidden to create an unfolding sequence of spaces. The axis organised and unified the whole composition.
Geometry was seen as a reflection of a divine and cosmic order and a lot of Renaissance study was focused both on trying to find geometric patterns in nature and then trying to recreate this codified order in architecture, art, town planning and gardens. Long successions of theologians from St Augustine onwards were convinced that numbers and proportions were divined and that a secret canon could be partially derived from Holy Scripture. Art and science were strongly linked and a study of proportion and the human figure created a framework for a classical order of perspective, proportion, symmetry, and geometric forms, circles and triangles. These forms have provided the underlying grid for the Hamilton Gardens example.
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Home Statistics Filmstars Nolan Gould Height Weight Body Statistics
Nolan Gould Height Weight Body Statistics
Nolan Gould
Nolan Gould at the 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards
The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Nolan earned his high school diploma prematurely at the age of 13 in 2012 by taking the General Educational Development test.
He became a member of MENSA (the most esteemed IQ society in the world) at the age of 4 which provided him with various resources to stay on his advanced academic program.
He followed it up with online community college courses.
Father – Edwin Gould (Worked in US Military)
Mother – Angela Gould
Siblings – Aidan Gould (Older Brother) (Actor)
He is represented by Coast to Coast Talent Group, Los Angeles, California.
71 kg or 156.5 lbs
Joey King (2015) – People developed an interest in Nolan’s dating life when he suggested with a post-workout shirtless Instagram post in July 2014 that he wanted his character Luke to have a steady girlfriend in the next season of Modern Family. That set the paparazzi wondering about his actual dating life and he was first associated with the teen actress, Joey King, but neither of the two clarified if there was any truth to those RUMORs, though they claim to be good friends.
Ariel Winter (2016) – Nolan being very close to Ariel who has played his older sister in Modern Family, the two spend a lot of free time together outside the sets. Nolan was RUMORed to be dating Ariel when they were found kissing each other on a Bahamas vacation.
Nolan Gould with Joey King at the Screen Actors Guild Awards 2016
He comes from English, French and German lineage.
Since Nolan refuses to confirm dating rumors there is a lot of speculation among the paparazzi that he might be gay. In his defense, Nolan considers himself too young to get into a relationship and claims preoccupation with improving his financial net worth. Hence, his sexual orientation remains to be unconfirmed.
Sharp Chin
Prominent dimple in right cheek when he smiles
His body specifications may be –
Nolan Gould shirtless on a vacation in Dominica in March 2017
8.5 (US) or 8 (UK) or 42 (EU)
Nolan has been a part of several print and TV commercials. Some of which includes –
A commercial with Lebron James for American Signature bedroom furniture shot in Miami.
Played a Cupid in H&R Block commercial, an American tax preparation and consulting company.
Cocoa Pebbles cereal
Royal Caribbean Cruise Company (alongside other celebrities in 2013 as per AdWeek)
In 2013, he was declared Ambassador of Hope for a non-profit organization started by Hyundai to raise funds and awareness in support of pediatric cancer.
Old Spice’s HoliSpray Toy Donation Exchange (2014)
Nolan teamed up with his onscreen father, Ty Burrell for the Grand Canyon campaign (2016)
Although his curly hair and name often confuse people into thinking he is Jewish but he confirmed being a member of a church in an interview.
Playing Luke Dunphy on the ABC sitcom Modern Family.
Nolan’s very first film was a short film The McPassion where he played the minor role as Son at a Restaurant.
In 2007, Nolan had a two-episode appearance as Young Jimmy in animated family drama show Out of Jimmy’s Head.
A major growth spurt at the age of 14 turned Nolan from a chubby kid who was short for his age to a very lean teenager by the time he turned 15.
Thereafter, he started lifting weights and going to the gym regularly to gain muscle.
To retain his agility and take advantage of increasing muscle mass, Nolan learns parkour / free-running at Tempest Freerunning gym sometimes and practices rock-climbing on other days when he simply needs to blow off some steam.
He often tests his physical skills on an obstacle course.
Nolan is extremely fond of traveling and he often explores different terrains by backpacking and hiking through them.
He is into a range of outdoor activities and has tried rappelling, trekking, and scuba diving.
Living a physically intense, active lifestyle, Nolan can afford to eat whatever he wants for now and does not need to worry about limiting calories.
Nolan Gould Favorite Things
National Park – Yosemite, Zion
Outdoor Activities – Paragliding, Shark Diving
Gadget – MacBook Pro
Video Game – Skyrim
Application – Words with Friends
Indulgence – Video Games
Nighttime Ritual – Going on Twitter
About Playing Luke – Empathizes with his character’s girl troubles
Modern Family episode – Fulgencio (Season 4, Episode 13)
Source – Sierra Club, Ad Week, YouTube, TV Addict
Nolan Gould with Modern Family co-star Ariel Winter at the 2016 Critics’ Choice Awards
Nolan Gould Facts
Nolan is so convincing playing a dumb Luke Dunphy that most people find it difficult to believe he has an exceptionally high IQ of 150.
His earliest modeling gig was at the age of 5. A picture of Nolan dressed as a pirate was printed on the cover package of a pirate costume.
Nolan’s mother enrolled his older brother Aidan in the theater when he was 5 and Nolan joined him at the age of 3 because she recognized early that both her sons had advanced learning abilities for their ages.
Being a musician is Nolan’s backup career option. He likes to play the banjo, double bass, didgeridoo, and mandolin. He has tried his hand at theremin and sitar but found them difficult to master.
During the initial seasons of Modern Family, Nolan, Ariel Winter, and Rico Rodriguez were required to attend school on the sets for 3 hours every day under the supervision of a teacher as a compulsory part of their distance education.
Not only did Nolan finish High School early, but being an avid reader, he finished reading Catch 22, The Hunger Games and Lord of the Rings Trilogy books on his iPad by the time he was 13.
He disclosed on Instagram that he is an advanced open water diver.
During 2014-2015, Nolan was reportedly earning $70,000 per episode of Modern Family.
Nolan is environmentally very conscious. He is a part of an environmental organization called Sierra Club and particularly made a choice to purchase an electric hybrid as his first car.
He seriously follows all the lessons he learned as a former Boy Scout and hopes to promote them further by making documentaries on animal conservation and environmental efforts.
Nolan also studied photography and considers being a photographer for National Geographic as one of his dream jobs.
Follow Nolan on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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Old Lady Movie Night
Not all of us are meant to journal (and other lessons from 'Bridget Jones' Diary')
Anne T. Donahue
The first time I saw Bridget Jones, I was 14 and the only person who recognized Colin Firth from Pride and Prejudice, which my Nana had rented for me one March Break and which undoubtedly changed the way I would see the world forever. (I have been in love with Colin Firth since I was 10, and I have no regrets about any of it.)
I was also a single 14-year-old, and since high school hierarchy dictated that you must either have a significant other or walk slowly into the sea, I found solace in the story of Bridget, a woman who had a) horrible taste in dudes (like me!), and b) managed to walk away a winner (aka standing in the snow, making out with Colin Firth, who was also a winner — everybody wins).
So, it’s with great joy I bring to you this: the lessons I learned from Bridget Jones’ Diary, a movie whose sequel we’re going to pretend doesn’t exist. Put on your Christmas jumpers and/or bunny costumes — this time, it’s personal.
1. We have all met a Hugh Grant
And I know his “real” name is Daniel, but I prefer to call him Hugh, because to me, Hugh Grant the person always trumps Hugh Grant the characters, so let’s just leave it at that.
But in terms of dating Hugh Grants and/or Daniels: we’ve been there. We’ve all been there. It’s happened. They are the gentlemen (or not so much) whose love of self comes before the respect of anybody else, and eventually causes the demise of both your relationship and yourself, a terrible rock-bottom state summed up perfectly by Bridget singing “Can’t Live” in her pajamas. GIRL, I FEEL YOU. Frankly, those guys all go on to teach us something about ourselves (read: that we need to figure out why we keep choosing people like them). And while they’re not always bad people (although some of them are), during the ordeal? They’re the worst. And they always show up at the most inconvenient times to say, “Oh, JK I really like you, actually — just as I see you like someone who’s actually worth your time.”
Fortunately, the older you get, the more inclined you are to say “I’m way too tired for this” before it even gets to hanging out with Hugh Grant once. There’s just too much other stuff going on.
2. Every movie fight should be set to “It’s Raining Men”
And if you think I’m joking, you’ve got another thing coming. Imagine The Avengers and/or X-Men being set to a Geri Halliwell cover of a Pointer Sisters jam. It’d be amazing. No villain can take themselves too seriously coupled with the chorus of “HALLELUJAH.” Especially because the song is about physical men falling from the sky. No wonder Hugh Grant and Colin Firth crashed through a window. They were mesmerized.
3. Some of us aren’t meant to keep diaries
After I saw Bridget Jones and read Bridget Jones, I wanted to keep a diary. This was a goal I’d had since being given one at age eight, but surprise surprise: I couldn’t do it. I’m terrible. (In life, but especially when it comes to keeping a diary.) I am Rachel Greene, who fills out one page, all about how excited she is to write in it, and then I never write in it. To be honest, I can barely finish a planner before getting frustrated with how messy it’s gotten and buying a new one.
And why’s that? Because I hate having a record of feelings, which I know is terrible, but to be honest, this is the gif that describes me best:
I’m just bad at them. I process feelings at the movie theatre, like, alone (crying during Wild), and not via the written word. (And I’m a writer.) So no, diaries aren’t for all of us. Especially ones in which you record your weight. Please don’t record your weight. You are fine. It will make eating dinner seem like a chore, and no thank you.
4. Bridget Jones WAS perfect just the way she was
Remember when Colin Firth says that and everyone’s SURPRISED? (I mean, her friends aren’t because Bridget Jones’ friends are the best.) But the point is, nobody in this movie could believe a guy had said that to her. And like: WHAT? Why would this be surprising? Bridget was killing it at her career, she had a nice flat, good pals, and was learning not to take any nonsense from terrible men. And yet, she kept thinking she had to change. And that actually brings me to my next point.
5. We all know we don’t need to be validated by the people we want to date, right?
Which, of course, is an easier question to ask others than ourselves. But for the majority of Bridget Jones, the whole point is that she’s looking for validation from dudes. And again, we’ve all been there. But in the end, it’s when Bridget’s like, “I’m fine with who I am — I’m going to travel with my posse!” that Colin Firth steps up and is like, “Yeah, I was an idiot, and do you want to date?” Which is great! (Not him acting like an idiot, but the #communication we see going down here.)
Ultimately, I have learned in my 29 years that you will never find what you’re looking for in another person, and that if you’re searching for that thing, the people who aren’t in it to win it are the ones who will spring up and make you feel special for about three minutes before doing the opposite. And it’s a process! Bridget builds up, and so must we. (And the process feels terrible and necessitates a lot of snacks and “HOW DO I LIVE” freakouts with friends, so don’t freak out — it’s normal) Ultimately, even if we’re all a bunch of weirdos who wear reindeer jumpers our parents bought us and make us wear on Christmas, it’s our job to like ourselves “just as we are.”
And just to end on probably the most important lesson of all: in the words of Jack Donaghey in 30 Rock, when it comes to Colin Firth, that man can wear a sweater.
(Images via, via, via, via, via.)
By Anne T. Donahue
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‘Aquaman’ Director Offers Support To ‘Shazam!’ Helmer Over Fan Doubts
by Sebastian Peris on February 20, 2019
Aquaman director James Wan took to social media to support Shazam! helmer David F. Sandberg over the doubts raised by concerned fans.
Zachary Levi’s ‘Shazam!’ Movie Gets Trolled By Shazam App
While Warner Bros. already released a teaser trailer and featurette, some fans are concerned about the marketing campaign for Shazam! being relatively small so far despite the DC film being less than two months away from hitting theaters. In fact, some have gone as far as baselessly suggesting the studio is trying to hide something embarrassing. In response to these concerns, Shazam! director David F. Sandberg took to his official Twitter to assure fans the marketing for the film will not slow down and Aquaman director James Wan offered words of support to his fellow DC movie helmer.
In his message, James Wan noted how the trailer and official release dates for Aquaman being pushed back prompted fans to speculate the project was in jeopardy, only to complain that too much was being revealed when previews were finally unveiled. Of course, Aquaman would later gross over $1 billion worldwide and become Warner Bros. highest-grossing DC film. James Wan concluded with a message by advising Sandberg to ignore the noise and focus on doing his best with the Shazam! movie.
(When the trailers/extended one finally arrived, everyone was like, “Oh, now you’re showing too much…We’ve seen the whole movie.” lol)@ponysmasher Best thing you can do is ignore all the noise and distraction, and focus on your project and do your best. That’s all you can do.
— James Wan (@creepypuppet) February 20, 2019
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Are you excited to see Zachary Levi’s DC hero on the big screen? Share your thoughts below!
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong).
Directed by David F. Sandberg, Shazam! stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Grace Fulton, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Cooper Andrews, Marta Milans, and Ron Cephas.
Shazam! will be released in theaters on April 5, 2019.
Suicide Squad Characters That Can Appear In The James Gunn Sequel
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James Gunn is directing The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros. but that comes at a cost.
When the first Suicide Squad was about to hit theaters DC fans were completely ecstatic. The trailers looked great and the feel of the movie was much different than the darkness that preceded it in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This movie was expected to be one of DC's biggest hits and it turned out to be one of the biggest let-downs of all time.
Suicide Squad was bad and its reviews reflected that. It was one of the only movies I've ever been upset at and it made me want to leave the theater. A sequel was announced because the film did well at the box office, going through a number of drafts until James Gunn was brought on to write it. With James Gunn now officially set to direct The Suicide Squad, it looks like the film will be a bit of a soft reboot.
Last night was a bit of a DC maelstrom of news. We got the release dates and official titles of Matt Reeves' The Batman and James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. Both movies will be hitting theaters in Summer 2021. Throughout all of the chaos a small tidbit surfaced about The Suicide Squad: the James Gunn-directed film will be some sort of relaunch with new characters and actors. Here are the characters I think James Gunn should introduce in his Suicide Squad movie. Hit Next to view all of my choices.
Warner Bros. and DC may want to reboot Suicide Squad, but it would be seriously dumb for them to recast Amanda Waller. Viola Davis was one of the saving graces of the first film and bringing her back is the smart thing to do. Amanda Waller is the one that puts the group together and she shouldn't be changed due to a new director.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II made his debut as Black Manta in Aquaman and he didn’t get much screen time. The Suicide Squad is the best place for Black Manta to receive some character development and for audiences to see him grow as a villain. Black Manta is a main squad member in the New 52 and I think James Gunn could do the character justice.
Another bright spot from the first film: Will Smith as Floyd Lawton, a.k.a. Deadshot. Will Smith is one of the most famous actors of all time and throughout every review of Suicide Squad his character shines. His charisma and screen presence dominated the film. Not bringing Smith back would be sabotaging the sequel as fans will expect the actor to return following his great performance.
Joe Manganiello made his debut as Deathstroke in the post-credits scene of Justice League. His character wasn't as eager for a team-up as Lex Luthor, but we could see the assassin enroll in the Suicide Squad. It could be great for Manganiello as his Deathstroke film has been put on the back-burner.
This character is unlikely to show up in The Suicide Squad as she's being heavily utilized in The Flash series on The CW. But, if James Gunn does get his hands on Killer Frost, I guarantee the character will not be a complete shitshow like in the series. Hopefully the director can make Killer Frost as villainous as possible.
Poison Ivy will definitely return to the big screen. Pamela Isley made her big screen debut in Batman & Robin with Uma Thurman playing the character and while that film is so campily terrible, fans are looking forward to a modern take on the iconic DC Comics villain. Poison Ivy is rumored to be part of a Gotham City Sirens film and a rumored Birds of Prey versus The Gotham City Siren project. Ivy could definitely make her DC Extended Universe debut in The Suicide Squad and then return for more movies.
King Shark was supposed to be in the first Suicide Squad, but ultimately didn't make the cut. The concept art of the character shows the cold-blooded amphibious mutant in a Hawaiian shirt looking like a totally monstrous shark. If James Gunn does decide to utilize this character it would be fun to see what he does on screen.
Bronze Tiger was heavily featured in the first half of Arrow season 7. He was a major help to Oliver Queen during his tenure in prison. But Arrow hasn't done a very accurate version of Bronze Tiger and The Suicide Squad could be the first place we get to see Ben Turner really let loose.
Bane is an interesting choice to join The Suicide Squad. He is a member in the comics and even the first film had some concept art featuring his mask. Fans are clamoring for Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista to join the film as the iconic Batman villain, having the actor reunite with James Gunn.
Kristen Wiig will make her debut as infamous Wonder Woman villain Cheetah in 2020's Wonder Woman 1984. Maybe after the film, Cheetah gets locked up by A.R.G.U.S. and joins the Squad in present day. It would be great to see Wiig's character be explored more in future films.
Sebastian Peris
Canadian film buff, political junkie, comic book geek, and board game enthusiast.
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MS Dhoni’s advice helps bowlers excel against South Africahttps://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/ms-dhonis-advice-helps-bowlers-excel-5049278/
MS Dhoni’s advice helps bowlers excel against South Africa
MS Dhoni might have given up on the captaincy but his advice from behind the stumps has always helped the bowler to excel.
By Express Web Desk | Published: February 2, 2018 11:44:43 pm
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MS Dhoni in action against South Africa. (Source: PTI)
MS Dhoni might have given up on the captaincy but his advice from behind the stumps has always helped the bowler to excel. On Thursday, Dhoni once again showed his skills about reading a batsman’s mind as he kept directing the bowlers to bowl in respective areas from behind the stumps.
On one of the instances, he asked Hardik Pandya to pull the length of the delivery and not keep it full while told Yuzvendra Chahal if he tries to get the ball in, the batsman would try to go over covers. Dhoni even contradicted the sipper’s call when he asked the alter a fielder’s position.
Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav in an interaction with PTI told about how Dhoni helps the bowlers from behind the stumps. “Actually I was confused a bit what I should bowl because I am playing in South Africa for the first time and it was a new experience for me. The wind was good and the ball was drifting so I was confused what to bowl, and which variation to use. So I was asking Mahi bhai (Dhoni) and he told me ‘bowl as you are bowling’. It is good that he keeps advising from behind the wickets, it gets easier,” PTI quoted Yadav saying.
“When you have two legends, Virat (Kohli) and Mahi, one is leading the team and the other has led the team, it is helpful. As a spinner, Mahi bhai does 50 per cent of your work because he has played so much cricket, he reads the batsmen easily,” the spinner said at the post-match press conference.
India won the first match of the six-match series by 6 wickets after Virat Kohli notched up his 33rd ODI hundred.
Follow the Cricket World Cup 2019 live updates and real-time analysis on IndianExpress.com. Check the ICC Cricket World 2019 Schedule, Teams and Points Table.
India Tour of South Africa 2018
MS Dhoni's advice helps bowlers excel against South Africa
1 Sunil Chhetri tips India to win U-19 World Cup
2 Harbhajan Singh to lead Punjab in Vijay Hazare Trophy, Yuvraj Singh his deputy
3 ICC U-19 World Cup: India’s road to the final
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Home Sectors Healthcare Marijuana Momentum, Airlines Ascending: Groups in Focus
Marijuana Momentum, Airlines Ascending: Groups in Focus
Two different groups have been “flying under the radar” and “hitting new highs” in recent weeks. Let’s check them out.
First: Flying under the radar. Yep, some of the airlines have been climbing. This group is a bit muddled because performance between carriers has been so different. But it’s worth mentioning that incremental news has swung sharply in a bullish direction over less than the last month.
For example on August 20 analysts at firms including Cowen and Bank of America Merrill Lynch cited rising fares and slowing capacity growth. The next day, ARCA’s Airline Index ($XAL) spiked to its highest level since May 25. On August 29, industry group Airlines for America gushed about the busiest Labor Day ever.
So far, the leaders have been Spirit Airlines (SAVE) and United Continental (UAL). For you options traders, American Airlines (AAL) usually has the most volume, but it’s also been one of the worst performers.
Speaking of options, let’s turn to “hitting new highs”: Calls and puts have been lighting up in the cannabis space. This group has materialized out of a puff of smoke in the last 1-2 months as traders look for exposure to Canada’s planned legalization of marijuana on October 17.
Three stocks are clearly associated with this trend:
Cronos (CRON) looks to invest in developers of cannabis-based products and drugs. It had a big jolt higher this week after signing a partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks.
Tilray (TLRY), a producer of medical-grade marijuana, only went public in mid-July but it’s already trading north of 50,000 options contracts per day. The firm reported strong earnings on August 28 and spoke the next day about the potential for nationwide legalization in the U.S. Hey Wall Street, put that in your pipe and smoke it!
Canopy Growth (CGC), showing options activity and events.
Canopy Growth (CGC) is another greenhouse operator that started blitzing higher after receiving a $4 billion investment from beer maker Constellation Brands (STZ). It’s also seen options volumes climb from about 5,000 contracts per day to over 50,000.
Averaging it out, these three companies have gained about 140 percent in the last month. One noted short-seller, Citron’s Andrew Left, has criticized CRON in particular. It’s also hard not to notice that these companies trade at extremely high price-to-sales multiples despite making little or no profit.
Will sentiment keep lifting these names or will the gravity catch up with them? Regardless, traders should keep the October 17 date on their calendars. And when you consider U.S. mid-terms follow less than a month later, don’t be surprised if this issue starts popping up on this side of the border before long!
Bottom line: The broader market’s been pretty quiet of late. But two areas have shown signs of life amid the summer doldrums.
Previous articleIs Reed Hastings Still the King of Streaming?
Next articleThe Importance of Questioning Assumptions
Tech and FANG Languish as Sentiment Shifts
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Diary of a mothering worker. October 20, 2017.
Posted by grrlscene under momentous trivialities: diary of a mothering worker | Tags: golf course, impunity, Keith Rowley, Life in Leggings, me too, men against violence against women, objectification of women, sexual harassment, sexual violence, Tarana Burke |
I won’t belabor the blatant objectification of women in the Prime Minister’s block-talk guffaw that “a golf course is like a woman, you have to groom her everyday otherwise it turns into a pasture”. Objection means seeing or referring to someone as a commodity or object, you know, like a pasture. Or, seeing women as an object of male sexual desire, you know, like sexual offenders’ practice of grooming girls to enable their acquiescence to sexual predation.
On national TV, of the many things we saw is that even Parliament isn’t a workplace where women are safe from sexist jokes by powerful men. Tells you a lot about the likelihood of that kind of discomforting bro-code language and power being similarly wielded across our nation’s workplaces in addition to its street corners. It also tells you a lot about the myth of women achieving all they want. You could get your education and your career, but you are out of order to expect ideals of manhood to change in acknowledgement of the fact that you are not just meant for men’s bedrooms, groomed.
However, above all, it’s his unapologetic impunity that makes me want to throw a teacup in Dr. Rowley’s direction.
The guy is a UWI graduate, a grandfather, political party leader, and the most influential elected official in the land. Parliament was in a supposedly serious debate about responses to an economic crisis which is extremely likely to exacerbate intimate partner violence as household insecurity increases. And, finally, a woman is neither like a golf course nor a pasture, because she is a person.
Impunity is freedom from punishment for harm caused, and its pervasive, making you wonder if all women and girls should arm themselves with a driving iron to unhesitatingly use in response to sexist language, harassment and violence. The extremely low conviction rates for domestic violence and sexual assault tell us much about the extent of that impunity, for there are no real consequences for wrong-and-strong men. In the context of such state-enforced gender inequality, Dr. Rowley’s lack of real accountability further asserts, hope for solidarity and expect salt, for bad man doh account to women and doh give no apology.
Ironically, in the same week, the ‘me too’ campaign circulated across the lives of millions on the planet. Started by activist Tarana Burke ten years ago, the words are meant to show that girls and women who have survived sexual abuse and exploitation are not ashamed and are not alone. Revived as a social media status, women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted disclosed their own survival, with far too many in Trinidad and Tobago either adding their post or reading others with which they could identify.
I had been lucky enough to attend the third match between the Sri Lankan and West Indies cricket teams last week Friday, but unlucky enough to see Sam, a longtime cameraman, and sexual assaulter from my youthful newsroom days, there also. I pointed him out to Ziya and told her what he had done so she could know, her mom is educated, employed and empowered, but look at what impunity looks like because he never faced consequences. Yes, ‘me too’.
Last year was swept with ‘Life in Leggings’ stories from Caribbean women harassed and harmed. Then, as now, I find myself asking the ‘what about the men’ question that occupies everyone when girls are doing well because they worked hard, but not when women are being dehumanized and threatened. Don’t men want a world where no girl or women has to again say ‘me too’? Isn’t speaking out for approval of a national plan to end gender-based and sexual violence, or for higher conviction rates for sexual offenses, or across the board workplace and political party sexual harassment policies also men’s responsibility? Isn’t also publicly insisting on better from Dr. Rowley?
His words may seem harmless, but they land on a nation full of girls and women still struggling to break silences about harm, and still hoping for men’s solidarity. Lack of consequences is part of something much greater, that gets far more dangerous. That is why a Prime Minister’s impunity must be taken seriously.
Diary of a mothering worker. February 16, 2017.
Posted by grrlscene under momentous trivialities: diary of a mothering worker | Tags: #lifeinleggings, Asami Nagakiya, bikini mas, Calypso Rose, Carnival, Clyde Harvey, jamette, Keith Rowley, Leave Me Alone, not asking for it, Say Something, slut shaming, slut walk, Tim Kee, Trinidad and Tobago, violence against women, Womantra |
From the Say Something ‘Leave Me Alone’ Campaign, co-founded by Attillah Springer and Angelique Nixon
Over the last three decades, the rise of bikini mas has been considered a sign of Carnival’s loss of politics. In this view, gone was the costuming skill and performance that defined mas itself, to be replaced by wining skill and body display, with the heyday of top male bandleaders replaced by bottom and ‘Carnival is woman’.
The feminization of Carnival was an unrepentant fall from high mas, and women’s ‘vulgarity’ was obsessively interlocked with the downfall of decency and order in the wider society. This easily fit the misbegotten myth that all the world’s troubles would be solved if only women never misbehave.
Women disagreed by the tens of thousands.
The past thirty or so years of bikini mas, which is now typical for an entire generation of young women, could therefore instead be thought of as a massive women’s movement taking cultural form, indeed ‘taking over’ Carnival, to continue traditions of self-affirmation, resistance to subordination, and renegotiation of the rules of public space.
Observers of the ‘jamette’ tradition point to the fact that women in Carnival always combined the folk politics of ‘playing mas’ with the gender and sexual politics of ‘playing yuhself’ in ways that were typically disallowed to women, and that women took both these politics into their challenges to the state.
What’s evident over the last decades is that such ‘jamette’ performance has crossed racial, religious and class differences amongst women, becoming national, and therefore even more disturbing for men as diverse as Sat Maharaj, Tim Kee, Keith Rowley and Father Harvey, with their patriarchal passion for women’s responsibility, decency, dignity and prayer.
Women’s annual occupation of the nation’s streets over Carnival, to experience sexual control, bodily pleasure and freedom from respectability, predates anti-‘slut shaming’ or ‘slut walk’ marches in the North by decades. Unexpectedly, bikini mas helped powerfully cultivate contemporary women’s opposition to rape culture, or a society where sexual domination of women and their vulnerability to sexual violence is seen as natural and normal. Though globalized, this creative expression of women’s rights is homegrown.
We saw the force of such opposition when Asami Nagakiya was murdered and the groups Womantra and Say Something called for the resignation of the PoS Mayor. We have seen it in continued ‘not asking for it’ campaigns across the region, in a younger generation of women publicly refusing old men’s bad habits of victim-blaming, and in diverse support for #lifeinleggings’ call to break silences about sexual harassment. It’s part of Say Something’s current ‘Leave me alone’, ‘Leave she alone’ campaign, in collaboration with Calypso Rose, which encourages women to share “experiences of street harassment and violence during Carnival and also of positive moments when you felt defended or protected by your Carnival community…whether as revellers or frontline workers and service providers”.
The rise of bikini mas is complex. Women’s increasing income and economic independence are major factors. Desires to be affirmed as beautiful as black and brown women, not just as ascendant students and workers, is another. Expansion of women’s spaces for friendly sexual ribaldry, such as the maticoor, into the public domain is a third, bringing with it challenges to the hypocrisy of male privilege, which allowed men all kinds of license while keeping women in check.
There are also contradictions. Costs of bikini mas participation mean that class shapes access to these moments of freedom. Many women continue to play within ropes, reproducing historical ways that upper classes cut themselves off from others, while signaling the reality of sexual harassment which all classes of women continue to fear. Additionally, the marketing of hypersexuality over these very decades has reinforced hierarchies of beauty and the policing of women’s bodies in ways that complicate the radical potential of bikini mas to throw off pressures women face, embrace self-pleasure without judgment or justification, and defy nation-state commodification.
Against nostalgic anxieties, bikini mas has enabled serious woman politics of all kinds to take up space in Carnival. It is the largest movement of women to take to the streets in the country, bringing diverse aspirations for an equal place as gendered and sexual beings. And, it has cultural capital, empowering anti-violence activists’ demands that both men and the state better behave.
Diary of a mothering worker. February 9, 2017.
Posted by grrlscene under momentous trivialities: diary of a mothering worker | Tags: "I am not in your bedroom. I'm not in your choice of men", Caribbean, gender based violence, gender sensitivity, Keith Rowley, male violence, National Strategic Action Plan on Gender Based and Sexual Violence, programmes for perpetrators, public health, Say Something, Trinidad and Tobago, violence against women, Womantra, women's movement |
The PNM’s media machine experienced a disastrous week of damage control in relation to PM Rowley’s words, “I am not in your bedroom, I’m not in your choice of men. You have a responsibility to determine who you associate with, and know when to get out, and the state will try to help, but then, when the tragedy occurs, and it becomes the police, the police must now go the extra mile…”
The AG said that Mr. Rowley said nothing wrong, how the PM speak is how he does speak, and that it was true that a person was “equally responsible” for his or her situation. Fitzgerald Hinds said, without irony, that he didn’t understand gender sensitivity, but he didn’t see any offense in telling women they should leave when they begin to see signs of violence, despite the fact that many women don’t leave because of economic insecurity, children or straight-up fear.
The OPM awkwardly angled the story in terms of the PM offering “empowering advice to our women” so that women could “make smart choices”. Though, these choices do not include safe and legal termination of pregnancy in situations where violent relationships may make women feel another child will mean less ability to leave.
The press release then listed Gender Affairs Division programmes which have long been in existence and are unrelated to Dr. Rowley’s leadership, and pointed to the Community Based Action Plan to End Gender Based Violence in Trinidad and Tobago, which has not yet been approved, and needs adequate resources from F&GPC to succeed.
All Mr. Rowley needed to say was, he understands how traumatized people are feeling about violence against women, he’s sorry his comments may not have been phrased in the most sensitive way, it wasn’t intentional, and he’s prepared to grow and improve in his engagement with gender-based violence, as we all should. All the spin would have been unnecessary. We are all fallible. We can all practice accountability.
Nonetheless, the problem isn’t Mr. Rowley. It’s pervasive myths about violence against women that feel like common-sense: that women deserve it when they are abused or killed and their bad decisions are where accountability lies.
However, women have no responsibility for male violence. Men’s enactment of violence is entirely their responsibility and occurs in situations where they are taking control of a woman, not losing control of themselves. We should nonetheless consider that male violence takes place in a wider context where male supremacy is considered normal and natural. This kind of gender inequality shapes what boys learn about manhood and power as they become adults, leading to invisibility of male domination and violence except in situations where it becomes severe.
Second, women do not get into relationships with men who are abusive. Abuse develops over the course of relationships and may start when women get pregnant, the more children they have, when they become economically dependent, when they get their own jobs, when men lose their jobs, when women try to leave, and when they take out protection orders.
Third, gender-based violence is a societal, public health and citizenship issue when women’s inequality, and their greater vulnerability to violence defines their experience of belonging to the country. Intimate partner violence is only one kind of violence that women experience by the thousands each year. Yet, state response to violence against women has never been adequate at the level of policing, social services, anti-gender based violence training in schools, and in the court system. The protection order system needs to be completed revised. Programmes for perpetrators or men who want to address their own violence, or its potential, need to be in place.
The fact is that its women’s refusal, whether on the street, in gyms, in offices or in relationships – not choosing of men – that often provokes violence. And, state officials need to be clear that women are at risk at work, in transportation to and from work, and when they become unemployed and are searching for work. Women are already choosing to leave when they can, and being stalked, harassed and even killed because of it. Right now, “empowering advice” from the PM simply is not what all these women need.
Diary of a mothering worker. June 15, 2016.
Posted by grrlscene under momentous trivialities: diary of a mothering worker | Tags: citizenship, discrimination, homophobia, human rights, inequality, justice, Keith Rowley, LBGTQI youth, LGBTQI, love, Orlando massacre, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, sexual and gender diversity, Trinidad and Tobago |
“On behalf of the Government and People of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, I wish to convey heartfelt condolences to the President of the United States of America and the American People with respect to the unspeakable horrors of the June 12th attack on an Orlando, Florida nightclub, the worst mass shooting in twentieth century US history.
Today, we urge the American people to acknowledge the national and global danger of their pro-gun culture; religiously-legitimized sexism and homophobia; embedded racism and classism against African-descended persons, people of colour and immigrants; and pervasive realities of violence against women. Violence against persons, who do not fit dominant ideals of manhood, womanhood and heterosexuality, profoundly intersects these other issues and experiences. True greatness is showing fearless will to dismantle these points where oppression and fear meet, instead making them meeting points for cross-cutting transformation.
The People of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago recognize that members of the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender communities share the right of all citizens of all nations to live in conditions of safety, respect and equality, and to create spaces for affirmation, empowerment and joy. Members of these communities are part of our nations’ families, civil society organizations, workplaces, religions and schools. We understand that threat to their lives also harms those who know and love them, and whose solidarities are with them.
As the Government and people of the United States of America struggle to come to terms with this terrible tragedy, Trinidad and Tobago is also gripped by shock, sadness and outrage. This strengthens our resolve to collaborate across the region and hemisphere to fulfill the dream of full emancipation born out of the subjugation experienced, refused and resisted by so many of our resilient peoples. The lesson to us is that violence to one constitutes violence to all as it violates the hope of a world of greater justice and peace.
No doubt, members of Trinidad and Tobago’s LBGT community wish to hear even greater government commitment to ending discrimination and criminalization on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, knowing that such laws perpetuate the conditions for many forms of gender based violence, which harm citizens, including children, across all sexualities.
Without commitment behind them, words remain just such. They offer little genuine solace or solidarity on behalf of the nation’s representatives, highlighting above all our own fears of challenging homophobia and surviving in political life.
Acknowledging this vulnerability means being truthful about what it takes for LBGT persons to survive and thrive daily. Therefore, my government takes this moment to conscientiously state its commitment to ending the conditions within which such an American massacre becomes possible. It is not enough to say may it never happen or should never happen in Trinidad and Tobago. True leadership means taking action so that it does not. Prejudice will not keep us from acting, for our watchword of tolerance does not extend to inhumanity and inequity.
Our hearts are also heavy at the loss of so many young, promising lives. We are reminded that protection of children and youth includes those who are lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender, for they face greater vulnerability. As Prime Minister, I assure our own LBGT young people that we honour your need for safe spaces to grow and flourish, whether in schools or other public places.
No nation should ever have to face such tragedy and it is hoped that nothing of this nature will ever befall any nation again. I call on everyone, from religious leaders to teachers, from youth to parliamentarians, to affirm a place for the human rights of all.
Join me in assuring the LGBT community that the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago will unite to treat each other as we wish to be treated, to choose compassion instead of conflict, and to tolerate and protect gender and sexual diversity as we do religious and cultural diversity. May we strengthen our resolve to create a nation where each of us is surrounded by love, and safe within our shared home.”
Dr. Gabrielle Hosein for Dr the Honourable Keith Rowley
Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Diary of a mothering worker. December 31, 2015.
Posted by grrlscene under momentous trivialities: diary of a mothering worker | Tags: construction sector, corruption, environment, Keith Rowley, Martin Carter, mas making, masculinities, mismanagement, Nina Simone, permaculture, Prime Minister, recession, renewable energy, sexual division of labour, sustainability, Trinidad and Tobago, whistleblower's legislation, women's economic inequality |
We are stewards of our nation.
Each morning, waking to a fresh opportunity to refuse a dark time for now or the future. The alternative to boom and bust cycles may not feed our glittering fantasy of El Dorado, but it can fire hope amidst an oncoming bruising and battering for self-preservation.
The question of where to cut and to invest are ours, not the government or the Prime Minister, but we citizen’s own. We must look around our communities, at ourselves and with our representatives, and insist on our own budgetary priorities. For this reason, I appreciated the Prime Minister’s address, particularly the presentation of numbers and his direct challenge to the business community to share profits. All of us have to find more ways to go local and spend wisely. In the last decade when even workers were only drinking Johnny Walker, we were clearly living beyond our means.
My first choice for investment is the environment and renewable energy. Our natural resources will sustain wealth for generations, even centuries. And, when it comes to our air, seas and rivers, we will not get a second chance. Trinidad is full of permaculture and environmental management specialists who can tell us how our environment produces food, community and profit. Planning should anticipate how cost saving, health and wealth generation could look in seven generations. For such sustainability, now is the time to invest.
Culture is also on my priority list. Not the millions won in a night by soca stars, but investment in the yards of pan and mas making. Over years of doctoral ethnographic research with mas camps, I came to understand the incredible way that they sustain traditions to land, language, life lessons, and making a living. Going for wide dispersion of available funds to create community around the families and schools of jab jab, or blue devil, moko jumbies or Indian mas can also help with tackling issues of boys and masculinities.
On the supply side, the governments’ plan to stimulate jobs through the construction sector, e.g. plumbers, masons and joiners, will disproportionately benefit men. This has social costs, and reproduces women’s economic dependence, and their clustering in low waged sectors. Such explicitly gendered effects have to be empirically understood if this is pursued, along with strategies to equalize access of qualified individuals of both sexes to a construction boom. The location of a Gender Division under the Office of the PM should provide exactly such cross-sectoral policy analysis and direction. Also keep in mind that while taxes, particularly on land, are necessary, sales tax always affects women more because of their greater responsibility for food provision and making groceries.
Beyond economic policy, the government’s primary focus should be on containing corruption through measured change in effective public service monitoring and evaluation, passage of whistleblower legislation, and successful prosecution of cases. Sheer waste and mismanagement of money account for billions bled from schools, hospitals and NGOs. Governments like to say that people don’t show up to town hall and regional corporation meetings, but people know the consultation process can also be both insult and joke. Still, even if it is only through a media that powerfully tackles fiscal scandals, we must insist on government for the people, which means suturing waste and corruption in 2016.
Wherever you are when the year begins, may you experience it with safety and joy, and carry a sense of togetherness in your heart in the days ahead. May we remain pensive, grateful and blessed, drawing on our best sources for long term sustainability. Let us be guided by ground up lessons on opportunities for our islands to navigate predicted rough seas.
“Who are the magnificent here? Not I with this torn shirt”, you may say. Even with scars upon our soul, wounds on our bodies, fury in our hands and scorn for ourselves, to quote Martin Carter, it is possible to turn to the world of tomorrow with strength. The sources of such strength are all around us to recognise.
My new-year tune is Nina Simone’s song, ‘Feeling Good’. There is a new dawn. There is always a new day. Tomorrow when you awake, look it up and press play.
Posted by grrlscene under momentous trivialities: diary of a mothering worker | Tags: 2015 Election, Allies for Justice and Diversity, CAISO, campaigning, citizenship, Colin Robinson, Equal Opporutnity Act, equality, Friends for Life, Gender and politics, Hazel Brown, homophobia, I am 1, Institute for Gender and Development Studies, Jowelle de Souza, Keith Rowley, Khadijah Ameen, LBGTI, Luke Sinnette, marginals, Nafeesa Mohammed, National Gender Policy, Network of NGOs of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women, People's National Movement, Sabrina Mowlah-Baksh, sexism, Silver Lining Foundation, transgender, Trinidad and Tobago, United National Congress (UNC), Women's Caucus, Women's Manifesto |
Diary of a mothering worker.
At last week Wednesday’s forum, ‘Reflecting on Gender and Politics in the 2015 Election Campaign’, young people filled the room, many of them lesbian and gay, who I hope felt that the Institute for Gender and Development Studies at UWI created a safe space for public deliberation, for once not defined by their marginality.
The event was inspired by ‘the marginals’ in national talk about the election. How could we instead think about politics beyond polls and ‘the numbers’, to see multiple kinds of ‘margins’ in our landscape, especially in the deeply connected experiences of women and the LBGTI community? How could we encourage public reflection that no other site in the country would, precisely because feminist academia is founded on solidarity with these groups’ continuing struggles for equal citizenship? How could we build on civil society efforts to bring us together across political party divides?
There was the history of the Network of NGOs of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women to build on. Twenty years of producing a Women’s Manifesto and trying to get campaigning parties to commit to its goals. Twenty years of funding women candidates in the hopes that they would see the women who helped to get them into power as an important constituency. More years of encouraging a women’s cross-party caucus, where women politicians could gather as allies, rather than adversaries.
There was also the history of organisations like Caiso, Friends for Life, Women’s Caucus, Silver Lining Foundation and I am One to support. More than a decade of advocacy to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2010, Caiso produced a manifesto, ‘6 in 6’, which outlined six policy and leadership steps they hoped that the new government would take in its first half year in office. Five years later, with those all unfulfilled, whether in terms of police treatment of LGBTI crime victims, the creation of safe schools or the community’s greater vulnerability to homelessness, they were still challenging their marginality. Now as part of a new network of groups called Allies for Justice and Diversity, a rights-we-deserve-not-what-rights-we-are-allowed manifesto was again created in 2015.
In a country where ‘the marginals’ decide the victor, it made sense for a post-election forum to bring together marginal groups to document their overlapping analyses and strategies, as they both contested how ideals of masculinity and femininity shape the lived realities of political life. Sexism cannot be ended without also ending homophobia, and advancing emancipation requires us to fearlessly document, understand and defy an unjust status quo. Where else then, would we discuss the homophobic bullying and stereotyping experienced by gay male candidates, from the population, their own political parties, and our headline-hungry media? Where else would we share how campaigning is experienced by women as they negotiate the significance of their family roles, femininity, and sexual respectability for their acceptability as representatives and leaders? Where else would the nation’s first transgender electoral candidate affirm her right to all the rights of citizenship, including public office?
As an act of university solidarity, and to strengthen the alliance between women’s and LGBTI rights advocates, Nafeesa Mohammed, Khadijah Ameen, Sabrina Mowlah-Baksh, Luke Sinnette, Colin Robinson and Jowelle de Souza were all on one panel. Watching representatives of the PNM and UNC sit with these citizens, knowing their parties had unjustly abandoned them in their National Gender Policy drafts and in the Equal Opportunity Act, I hoped that the young people there could see that legitimacy and space is created incrementally, relentlessly, despite setbacks and disappointments. There was more than fifty years of activist history of holding the baton in that room, from Hazel Brown in her 70s to Afro-Trinidadian, lesbian, working class young women in their 20s. A generation coming after me should know that a path continues to be cut for them to run.
On election night, Dr. Keith Rowley, said that he is the Prime Minister of all of us, and “that we are all in this together”. We lead him by our example. Those young people came because they aspire for an equal place. Acknowledgment of that is what ‘all in this together’ means for politics in our nation.
Diary of a mothering worker. September 15, 2015.
Posted by grrlscene under momentous trivialities: diary of a mothering worker | Tags: Caribbean, gender, gender equality, gender mainstreaming, Institute for Gender and Development Studies, Keith Rowley, People's National Movement, SDGs, Trinidad and Tobago, women in development, women's empowerment, women’s rights |
Is the sudden loss of the word ‘gender’, in any Ministry title under the Rowley government, a sign of gender equality’s oncoming policy demise?
This new invisibility, which reverses decades of state practice and Caribbean advocacy, isn’t a matter of letterhead. It shows lack of familiarity with Caribbean history, misunderstanding of why ‘gender’ was made independently visible, and a step out of time with the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2015 to 2030, to be adopted at the General Assembly meeting in New York in just two weeks.
Some have argued that, under the last administration, ‘gender’ was in a Ministry title, but “nothing” effective was tried or achieved, so why keep it in? But, “nothing” achieved, or more to achieve, is more, not less, reason for gender equality’s visibility while following through on the budgetary allocations, and cross-ministerial policies and programmes that its inclusion signals.
Others have argued that disappearance of a Ministry, with visible leadership for integrating women’s empowerment and gender equality across all planning, is a message that the government is serving all. But this “serving all” defense assumes that women and gender represent special interests. Not true.
Everyone’s entire lives, including how we access power, are shaped by ideals of masculinity and femininity, across everything from the economy to schooling. And women are not a special interest group, for what happens to women similarly affects everything from the economy to schooling. To fix the problem of boy’s educational underachievement, end women’s subordination and the low status of femininity. Same for sex inequality in the labour market which affects the health and wealth also of men and families.
Except where efforts are well integrated, a single Ministry still needs to push technical recommendations and expertise across other parts of government, which might be adopting agendas based on inaccurate analyses, personal biases or unfamiliarity with global conventions.
There are also major problems with subordinating gender equality to ‘social development’ or ‘family services’; a move that regresses to pre-1975. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are their own goals, whether or not they advance a state’s ‘development’ or ‘family’ agenda. What if the development plan includes an ‘Export Processing Zone’ where goods are made, but unions are forbidden, and what if the majority of workers are women? Here their right to organize as women workers, for everything from day care to decent conditions, will be at odds with a development plan.
Gender equality may also be at odds with ‘family services’, particularly where women’s resistance to all forms of male domination in religion or violence in the family, or the right of LGBT citizens to equally choose who they love, or the justice of providing safe and legal access to pregnancy termination as a public health policy, is cast as a threat to the ideal of ‘family’. Women’s rights are human rights to be pursued regardless. They are not reducible to service provision, nor justified by women being “half our resources”, nor legitimate only for heterosexuals, wives or mothers.
Caribbean feminists fought since at least the 1970s to get gender visible at a ministerial level. Jamaica led the world with a Women’s Desk in 1973 and decade after decade of regional struggle and advocacy won a Bureau, then a Division and finally a Ministry. There was data and logic backing this, for Caribbean states are historically patriarchal and the Ministry of Gender was to be the radically transformative site for internal reform that had inched past the glass ceiling right to the top, to struggle there for change.
How will a Ministry of Social Development and Family Services fill the mandate of a Ministry of Gender Affairs to challenge patriarchal beliefs, values and organization of power, as they create sexism and homophobia, in and out of the state? Can we expect the ministry to stop ungendered priorities flinging wrong resources in wrong directions, costing the treasury? Will the Minister lobby within Cabinet for gender equality, as if that is a headline mission of her Ministry, not simply a division under the manners of social welfare and family?
What’s in a name? At minimum, a public commitment to women’s rights and gender equality. What has been lost? Disappointingly, Cabinet-level representation, leadership and accountability.
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Create Features
Features Explained
How to Set Up a Welcome Message
Click here to learn how to create a welcome message inside of MSGHero
Written by Brad Stephens
"Welcome Message" can be found by clicking on "Create" in the top navigation menu and then selecting "Welcome Message" from the menu drop-down.
(This is an optional feature, it is not required)
Setting up a welcome message will allow you to set a custom message to be sent to anyone who clicks the "Send Message" button on your Facebook page for the first time.
This message will only be sent if the person manually messages you directly from your Facebook page by clicking the "Send Message" button. Wondering how to enable messaging on your Facebook page? Click here to find out how.
When they click 'Send Message', the Messenger window will appear and they'll be greeted by what we call a "Greeting Message", which is a short message along with a 'Get Started' button.
Here's the sequence we need to create for a welcome message:
Greeting Message
Follow Up Message (Sent when they click the "Get Started" button)
Firstly, go to "Create" and select "Welcome Message". Click the "+ Add New Welcome" button in the top right corner.
A pop-up will appear as shown below. Select your Facebook page and enter a "Greeting Text". This is a short message limited to 160 characters in which you can introduce your business/brand and tell them to click the "Get Started" button.
Here is how it looks inside the actual Messenger window (see below):
The first red circle represents an example of a "Greeting Text"
The second red circle indicates the "Get Started" button (not customizable as per Facebook's guidelines).
Click "Continue" after entering your "Greeting Message" in the pop-up and you'll be redirected to set up a customized message.
This is the message that will be sent when they click "Get Started" and is just like a normal messaging funnel.
Here's the one we have set up for MSGHero:
Set up your customized message as per usual and click on "Publish".
Now, anytime someone clicks "Get Started" after messaging your Facebook page manually for the first time they will receive this message.
There are multiple scenarios where you'd want a welcome message. For example:
Introduce yourself/your business/your brand
A general message to let them know you'll get back to them shortly
Get them to your website
Have any questions about setting up your welcome message? Feel free to reach out to our support using the orange chat widget in the bottom right corner of this page :)
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How Does Hydroponics Work
Contrary to what many suppose, hydroponics didn’t begin with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon – there were no compound chemicals available then and, at best, the Hanging Gardens were a series of cleverly constructed water channels down which the water flowed thus watering all the plants in soil-based systems from top to bottom. Rather, it began in the USA during the 1930s as an outgrowth of the culture techniques used by plant physiologists in plant nutrition experiments in that country.
What is hydroponics?
Its name gives us the sense that hydroponics means to work in water – hydro being the Greek for water, and ponos, work. In a nutshell, the basic difference between hydroponics and traditional soil-based agriculture lies in the fact that in hydroponics the nutrient food for the plants comes from water-soluble nutrients, whereas in agriculture the nutrients come from the soil. So, in hydroponics there is no soil – hydroponics can thus be said to be the growing of plants in nutrient solutions (rather than just water) with or without sand, gravel or other inert media to provide mechanical support.
Having established that fact, one might be tempted to assume that hydroponics is a much simpler way of growing plants than growing in the soil, but this is not totally true. Hydroponics is a meld of chemical engineering and agriculture together and, apart from nutrition, other aspects such as pest and diseases, and the preferences of the plant for more or less light remain the same.
Plant nutrition in hydroponics
Plant nutrition in hydroponics is based upon the premise that all the nutrients that are required for the plant’s growth throughout its life cycle will be supplied in the same proportions that the plant will take up. Developmental science has established that there are 16 different elements that need to be supplied to the plant to maintain growth, development and survival, or put another way, for foliar development, flowering and fruiting. These elements are divided into six macronutrients (where the minerals are absorbed in large quantities), seven micronutrients (where the minerals are absorbed in minute quantities) and three gases.
Minerals are measured in parts per million (ppm) and these are expressed in grams per million cubic centimetres of water. 1m ccs of water is 1 litre so ppms = g/l in the case of macronutrients and milligrams (one thousandth of a gram) per 1m ccs water in the case of micro nutrients or mg/l. Developmental science has established certain bandwidths within which the minerals should fall and they are broadly as follows:
Nitrogen (N): 100-450
Phosphorous (P): 10-100
Potassium (K): 100-750
Magnesium (Mg): 20-95
Calcium (Ca): 70-350
Sulphur (S): 20-250
Iron (Fe): 1-6
Manganese (Mn): 0.8-4
Boron (B): 0.3-0.8
Zinc (Zn ): 0.2-0.5
Molybdenum (Mo): 0.05-0.2
Copper (Cu): 0.05-0.1
Chlorine (Cl): 0.01-0.02
The reason for such precision in the balance of nutrients is to avoid toxicity or deficiency in the nutrient mix.
Thus, contrary to what occurs in soil, the plants are supplied in just the correct proportions that they need resulting in perfectly balanced nutrition, the exact requirements of the plant resulting in optimal growth and high quality produce. If the produce is perfect, then so are the availability of vitamins and minerals also at their maximum. In soil and organic growing, the plant nutrients are not perfectly balanced often resulting in poor nutrition and slow growth. Yields are reduced and growth is stunted with consequent attacks by pests and diseases as they always attack a weak plant first.
Soil versus hydroponics
When growing in soil, farmers must have their soils analysed to establish what minerals are missing, and add lime to them to balance the pH level and fertilisers to fill in the missing minerals. Completely balanced nutrient levels are not always possible when farming in soil.
Most fertiliser companies supply their nutrient mixes in the form of a cocktail or blend of nutrients containing all the minerals except Calcium Nitrate which is supplied separately. This is to prevent the Calcium and Sulphur reacting together and forming Calcium Sulphate which sets up like epoxy when mixed together in concentrated form.
pH measures the number of hydrogen ions present in a solution and is important in hydroponics because the minerals are absorbed by the plant more readily when the pH is between 5.5 and 6.0 (7.0 is neutral). A hydroponic enthusiast should get a handheld pH and EC meter combined – Hanna instruments make a good one.
It’s important, before starting a hydroponic venture, to get a proper education in hydroponics. This will save you a lot of money and prevent you from making costly mistakes. DaisyFresh holds monthly two-day hydroponics courses in Camperdown, outside Durban. Contact us for further information.
By daisyfresh Jan 14, 2016 0 Comments
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Important Facts
by Year, New Mexico and U.S., 1999-2017
by County of Residence, New Mexico, 2013-2017
by Age Group and Sex, New Mexico, 2013-2017
by Race/Ethnicity and Sex, New Mexico, 2013-2017
by Year and Injury Intention, New Mexico, 1999-2017
by Sex and Injury Intention, 2013-2017
by Race/Ethnicity and Injury Intention, New Mexico, 2013-2017
by Urban and Rural Counties, New Mexico, 2013-2017
by Health Region, New Mexico, 2013-2017
by New Mexico Small Areas, 2012-2016
by U.S. States, 2017
Relevant Population Characteristics
Health Status Outcomes
Health Indicator Report of Injury - Firearm Injury Deaths
Firearm related violence is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In the U.S., more than 39,700 persons died of a firearm injury in 2017, an average of 109 deaths per day. In 2017, firearm was the third leading cause of injury death in New Mexico after poisoning (28.2 per 100,000) and motor vehicle traffic (18.5 per 100,000) deaths. Firearm injuries contributed significantly to premature mortality in New Mexico , accounting for a total of 12,283 Years of Potential Life Lost (YPPL) before the age of 75 years. Suicide due to firearm injuries ranked as the the sixth leading cause of premature death (6,961 YPPL's) in the state.
The highest firearm injury death rates in both males and females were due to intentional self-harm, followed by assault.
Data Notes
Firearm deaths were defined by underlying cause of death based on the International Classification of Diseases, version 10 (ICD-10) codes. All rates are per 100,000, age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
Population Estimates: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program, http://gps.unm.edu/.
Data Interpretation Issues
Firearm deaths include only NM resident deaths. Deaths for persons of unknown age are not included in age-adjusted rates.
Health Indicator Definition
The firearm death rate is defined as the number of deaths attributed to firearm injury per 100,000 population.
The total number of firearm deaths per year.
The estimated mid-year population.
Health Objectives and Targets
Healthy People Objective: IVP-30, Reduce firearm-related deaths
Other Objectives
In 2017, the age-adjusted firearm death rate was 18.4 per 100,000, accounting for 394 deaths among New Mexico residents. From 2013-2017, most firearm deaths were due to intentional self-harm (66.2%), followed by assault (25.6%) and legal intervention (4.6%). Only 1.5% of firearm injury deaths were unintentional. Firearm was the leading cause of violent death in New Mexico, accounting for 53.2% of intentional self-harm deaths (suicide) and 59.0% of assault deaths (homicide).
Current Outlook
Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, New Mexico had the 10th highest age-adjusted rate of firearm death in 2017, 18.5 per 100,000 population.
How Do We Compare With the U.S.?
Over the past 18 years, firearm death rates in New Mexico have been consistently higher than U.S. rates. In 2017, the New Mexico firearm death rate was 53% higher than the U.S. rate.
Health Improvement Resources
Firearm ownership rates across the United States and rates of firearms in the home associate positively with firearm mortality rates which also associate with states' firearm laws.^1-6^ Obtaining a license to purchase or possesses a gun is a requirement in 14 states.^7^ Ten of them require a permit-to-purchase (PTP), three require a license to own a firearm, and one state requires proof of successful completion of firearm safety training. Additionally, states' licensing practices often include safety training, and comprehensive background checks required of licensed dealers and unlicensed private sellers, both. States with strong firearm policies had lower firearm mortality rates than states with weaker firearm policies.^1-3^ Thirteen states have proposed and passed legislation for Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOS), as of September 2018.^8^ When a person is in crisis, many ERPOS allow family members, household members, and law enforcement officers to seek a court order to temporarily remove firearms from a dangerous situation and reduce the risk of violence. In many cases the warning signs that precede firearm violence are witnessed by spouses, children, relatives and friends to include emotional instability, physical violence, mental illness and verbal threats. After the laws passed in Connecticut and Indiana suicide rates decreased by 14% in Connecticut and 8% in Indiana.^9^ [[br]][[br]] ---- {{class .SmallerFont # Kaufman, EJ., Morrison, CN., Branas, CC., and Wiebe, DJ. ''State Firearm Laws and Interstate Firearm Deaths from Homicide and Suicide in the United States, a Cross Sectional Analysis of Data by County.'' JAMA Intern Med. 2018,178(5):692-700. # Fleegler, EW., Lee, LK., Monuteaux, MC., Hemenway, D., and Mannix, R. ''Firearm Legislation and Firearm-Related Fatalities in the United States.'' JAMA Intern Med. 2013,173(9):732-740. # Kalesan, B., Mobily, ME., Keiser, O., Fagan, JA., and Galea, S. ''Firearm Legislation and Firearm Mortality in the USA: A Cross-sectional, State Level Study.'' Lancet 2016;387:1847-1855. # Miller, M., Barber, C., White, RA., and Azrael, D. ''Firearms and Suicide in the United States: Is Risk Independent of Underlying Suicidal Behavior?'' Am J Epidemiol. 2013;178(6):946-955. # Siegel, M. and Rothman, EF. ''Firearm Ownership and Suicide Rates Among US Men and Women, 1981-2013.'' Am J Public Health. 2016;106:1316-1322. # Anglemyer, A., Horvath, T., and Rutherford, G. ''The Accessibility of Firearms and Risk for Suicide and Homicide Victimization Among Household Members.'' Ann Intern Med. 2014;160:101-110. # ''Gun Licensing Laws, 2018.'' Accessed online: https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/gun-owner-responsibilities/licensing/ # ''Extreme Risk Protection Orders, 2018.'' Accessed online: https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/who-can-have-a-gun/extreme-risk-protection-orders/ # Kivisto, A.J., and Phalen, P.L. ''Effects of Risk-Based Firearm Seizure Laws in Connecticut and Indiana on Suicide Rates, 1981-2015.'' Psychiatric Services. doi:10.1176/appi.ps201700250 }}
Page Content Updated On 01/29/2019, Published on 02/05/2019
Page Content Updated: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 16:02:09 MST
Content updated: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 16:02:09 MST
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Pitching for a Common Civil Code, Gujarat High Court condemns Muslim Polygamy.
Polygamy in Muslim personal law being misused ‘for selfish reasons’. Stop Muslim polygamy, as it is ‘heinously patriarchal’ says Gujarat HC, pitching for a common civil code.
Upananda Brahmachari | HENB | Ahmedabad | Nov 6, 2015:: In its extraordinary judgement, the Gujarat high court on Thursday made a strong pitch for a uniform civil code and called for the abolition of polygamy in Muslim society in India as it’s a “heinously patriarchal” act. The court said the Quran was being “misinterpreted by some Muslim men” to get away with more than one marriage.
The court recommended an amendment of Muslim personal law saying that in this day and age, the practice of polygamy is often driven by selfish motives.
“On the basis of modern progressive thinking, India must shun the practice (of polygamy) and establish a uniform civil code,” said Justice JB Pardiwala, while adjudicating on a petition by a Muslim man who faced bigamy charges after marrying for a second time without his first wife’s consent.
A man was charged under section 494 of the IPC, for bigamy, but his second marriage is valid as per Muslim Personal Law, so he could not be prosecuted for bigamy.
“When the Quran allowed polygamy, it was for a fair reason. When men use that provision today, they do it for a selfish reason,” said Justice JB Pardiwala in his order on the petition of Jafar Abbas Merchant, who had been taken to court by his wife Sajida after he married another woman.
Sajida Merchant had alleged that the marriage is illegal per Indian law, which bans polygamy. After a lower court ruled in her favour, Mr Merchant went to the high court and argued that the Muslim personal law allows men to marry four times.
The high court disagreed, saying polygamy finds mention in the Quran only once, “and it is about conditional polygamy.”
“Some Muslim men are able to get away with by misinterpreting and using to their advantage the message of the holy prophet Mohammed, which is reflected in the holy Quran. The Quran does not say that a Muslim can treat his wife cruelly, drive her out and without dissolution the first marriage in accordance with law, he can marry for the second time and up to four times,” said the judge.
He also said that it was time for the country to embrace the uniform civil code, but left it to the government to decide, saying: “On the basis of modern, progressive thinking, India must shun the practice and establish uniform civil code.”
Justice Pardiwala had to quash the bigamy charges but while doing so, he said the practice of polygamy and unilateral talaq — without the wife’s consent — violates the provisions of the Constitution. He quoted Article 44 of Part IV of the Constitution, which mandates that the state must “endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory.”
“If the state tolerates this law, it becomes an accomplice in the discrimination of the female, which is illegal under its own laws,” the judge said.
The Quran forbids polygamy if the purpose to marry more than once is self-interest or sexual desire, Justice Pardiwala said. “… It’s for the maulvis and Muslim men to ensure that they do not abuse the Quran to justify the heinously patriarchal act of polygamy in self-interest,” the judge advised.
Citing history, Justice Pardiwala said that when the Quran allowed polygamy, it was for a fair reason. “The Quran allowed conditional polygamy to protect orphans and their mothers from an exploitative society… When men use that provision today, they do it for a selfish reason.” Thanks God! The court refrained to say that the Islamic polygamy is only for ‘Sexual Debauchery’ and ‘Population Jihad’.
The court praised and said that abolition of polygamy in Hindu society was a progressive step and added that it could not be replicated for Muslims due to their ‘social backwardness then’. But now, in the context of a much-changed socio-economic scenario, ‘polygamy is going into oblivion’ and ‘monogamy is becoming the reality’, the court observed.
__with inputs from PTI.
To fight against Jihad in India pl. donate to Hindu Existence Forum.
3 comments on “Pitching for a Common Civil Code, Gujarat High Court condemns Muslim Polygamy.”
Gopalakrishnan Nair
MODI should come forward with legislating RIGHT OF WOMEN ACT………….if they want to exclude muslim women from it it will become a topic for discussion………..GET OUR PART CLEAR……..come over PAMPA RIVER BANK ………………365 day and night prayer and meditation around GANESH …………
First decide what are the rights of husband and males in law zero ? why claiming women rights and not the males rights?When women would learn to take equal duties also .Modi would be in jail if his wife would file case against him…..
Pingback: Uniform Civil Code:Fill Law Commission's form to do your bit! - LegalParley
This entry was posted on November 6, 2015 by hinduexistence in ANTI JIHAD, Breaking Indian National System by Muslims, Conspiracy against Hindus, Conspiracy against India, Demand of Common Civil Code for Indian Muslim, Demand of Common Civil Code in India, Islamic Menace, Jihad in India, Stop Islamic Menace in India, Stop Shariah Law in India and tagged Article 44 of Part IV of Indian Constitution, Gujarat High Court, Gujarat High Court condemns Muslim Polygamy, Muslim personal law being misused 'for selfish reasons', Pitching for a Common Civil Code, Polygamy in Islam being misused 'for selfish reasons', Population Jihad, section 494 of the IPC.
https://wp.me/pCXJT-5gR
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Google Might Face Another Fine Of INR 136 Cr From CCI
Delhi Transport Department Sues Redbus, Penalises Shuttl
RedBus and Shuttl Were Taken To Task For Plying Buses On Unauthorised Routes In Delhi
The Delhi government has reportedly filed a case against online travel aggregator redBus. As per a recent report, the government initiated legal proceedings alleging redBus of ‘issuing tickets’ for buses that are plying on illegal routes.
App-based bus aggregator Shuttl has also reportedly been penalised by the transport department for allegedly plying on illegal routes in the capital.
The report states that the enforcement wing of the transport department has penalised 52 Shuttl buses in the last few weeks. The buses plied by Shuttl have contract carriage permits. They are not allowed to pick up passengers or issue tickets under provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. Only stage carriage buses are allowed to do so.
Commenting on the same, a Shuttl spokesperson told Inc42, “At Shuttl, we believe that commute should be reliable, affordable and dignified, and we exist to take the pain away from daily commute. We are fully compliant with the law and want to clarify that the action taken by authorities is absolutely arbitrary and without any basis.”
Launched in April 2015 by Amit Singh along with Deepanshu Malviya, Shuttl claims to offer economic and comfortable shuttle services to commuters in Delhi-NCR.
Related Article: Shuttl & Ola Shuttle Services Suspended In Gurgaon; over 20 Shuttles Seized
On the other hand, a case was filed against redBus on the charges that the company is engaged as an agent for booking tickets by public service vehicles that do not have permission to run in the city.
KK Dahiya, Special Commissioner, Transport Department said, “The department is also conducting an inquiry into the portal’s operation.”
He further added that ‘in the last two months, the department has impounded 1,190 buses, mostly from Majnu Ka Tilla, Sarai Kale Khan, Kashmere Gate, Lal Qila, Anand Vihar, and Dhaula Kuan.’ He assured that all the illegal buses plying in the city will be out within 15 days.
RedBus was founded in 2006. In June 2013, ibibo Group, a joint venture between South Africa’s Naspers and Chinese Internet company Tencent, acquired a controlling stake in online bus ticketing firm redBus, valuing it at about $140 Mn (INR 800 Cr). As per an official website, the company has 2,000 bus operators covering over 100,000 routes across countries.
In an interaction with Inc42, a redBus spokesperson said, “redBus is merely an intermediary and thus serves as a marketplace that connects two ends of the ropes i.e. bus operators and consumers, thereby enabling online ticket booking of bus tickets by the consumers. It is to clarify that redBus does not operate or run any of the buses whose inventory is being reflected on the website. The bus operators directly bill in the customers and redBus only acts as a technology provider for both ends.”
The spokesperson further added, “While bus operators listed on redBus provide an undertaking that they have the requisite permits and licences to operate the buses, it is not in redBus’s jurisdiction to physically verify or enforce this. Even under the Information Technology Act, 2000, the nature of business of redBus can be categorised as intermediary, and so we are afforded an immunity under the above Act from data that is posted on our website by third parties. It is reiterated that various inventory listed on the website is not owned by redBus.”
The company spokesperson also complained of being singled-out in the process as multiple aggregators are offering the said routes. The spokesperson also assured that the company would make “appropriate representations in the Court.”
This is not the first time that the Delhi government has cracked down on buses plying in the city. In September 2015, Ola launched Ola Shuttle – a service to offer shuttle bus service to urban commuters. However, in December 2015, Shuttl and Ola’s Shuttle, were suspended from operating in Gurugram. According to the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) in Gurugram, these services were stopped as they did not fall under the ambit of the Haryana Contract Carriage Permit Act 1988, 1993, 2001, 2004, and 2013.
(The development was reported by ET)
App Bus Aggregator bus-booking Business Delhi Delhi Transport Department Entrepreneurs Ibibo Ibibo Group Investors Ola Ola Shuttle Redbus Shuttl Shuttles Startups
Shuttl & Ola Shuttle Services Suspended In Gurgaon; over 20 Shuttles Seized
By Akanksha P.
19 Dec'15 3 min read
Sequoia Backed Shuttl Aims To Throw Crowded Commutes Under The Bus
By Rahul Raj
In An Online World, Shuttl Offers An Offline, Convenient Meal Service On Its Buses. Here’s Why
By Shreya G.
Bus Aggregator Shuttl Launches New Security Experience – Shuttl SAFE
Amazon Leads $11 Mn Funding Round In Urban Mobility Startup Shuttl
Say Ola To Ola’s New Shuttle Service; To Be Launched In Bangalore & Gurgaon
Ola Acquires Intelligent Transportation Company, Geotagg To Strengthen Ola Shuttle
By Nandini C.
https://inc42.com/buzz/nirmala-sitharaman-startup-coast/
https://inc42.com/buzz/g20-india-government-startup/
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Privatising the ABC: The Liberals' secret agenda
By John Jiggens | 4 May 2019, 12:00pm | comments
Kerry O'Brien speaking in Brisbane for Friends of the ABC (Screenshot via YouTube)
Considering the Coalition's blatant dislike of the ABC, an unlikely win in the May election could lead to privatisation, writes Dr John Jiggens.
THE 2019 ELECTION CAMPAIGN BEGAN, as Media Watch’s Paul Barry observed, with “lies, hysteria and untruths about Labor’s electric car policy”, which was dutifully echoed by the Coalition’s friends, News Corp and its coven of climate change deniers.
Nothing to see here, you might think. Surely, this was hyperbole as normal.
But is there a hidden motive behind the Murdoch media’s pro-Coalition frenzy? According to the Friends of the ABC, the secret agenda of News Corp and the Liberals is the post-election privatisation of the ABC.
Given the Coalition’s historical dislike of the national broadcaster, privatisation may well be the fate of the ABC if the Coalition were to win the coming election.
Here’s a grab from my interview #KennyOnMedia tonight. IPA + Liberal Party resolution carried in June 2018 call for the privatisation of the ABC. Liberal informants have told me if Coalition is re-elected ABC will be punitively targeted. https://t.co/9HLHlpvzD2
— Quentin Dempster (@QuentinDempster) April 29, 2019
The Liberal Party’s policy wing, their think tank, the Institute for Public Affairs (IPA), argue that privatising the ABC will set it “free”. In June last year, they published a book titled Against Public Broadcasting — Why we should privatise the ABC and how to do it. That same month, the Liberal Party’s peak council voted almost 2:1 to privatise the ABC with vocal support from the IPA, which said the ABC could be sold or given to Australians who already own it.
The motion said:
“That Federal Council calls for the full privatisation of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, except for services into regional areas that are not commercially viable.”
The Communication Minister, Mitch Fifield, opposed the motion, while Scott Morrison said there were ‘no plans’ to privatise the ABC, but with a Federal Election looming within a year, they had to.
All of the current leaders of the Federal Parliamentary Liberal Party are members of the IPA: Prime Minister Scott Morrison is and so is his deputy, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Mathias Cormann, Senate Leader and Finance Minister and his deputy, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, are also members of the IPA.
Other ministers who are members of the IPA are Mitch Fifield, Minister for Communication with responsibility for the ABC, Michaelia Cash, Minister for Small and Family Business and Kelly O’Dwyer, Minister for Industrial Relations.
This is the shared view of a majority of the Liberal Party Federal Council and the current Minister for Communications is an IPA member that once pushed for the privatisation of the public broadcaster.
You just can’t trust the IPA & Liberals with the ABC. https://t.co/lJbzp5NHx8
— Australian Unions (@unionsaustralia) April 22, 2019
Coalition Commonwealth Parliamentary members who also are members of the IPA are Tony Abbott, Eric Abetz, George Christensen, Ian MacDonald, James McGrath, James Paterson, Scott Ryan, Tony Smith, Alan Tudge and Tim Wilson.
Speaking in Brisbane for the Friends of the ABC, Kerry O’Brien, former host of Four Corners and the 7.30 Report, detailed the repeated cuts to ABC budget under successive Liberal Governments.
He recalled sitting on the ABC panel on election night in 1996, watching Richard Alston, who was about to become their minister, promise there would be no cuts to the ABC. He reiterated an earlier pledge – a very clear promise – no cuts to the ABC budget.
Yet, says O’Brien:
“It was his recommendation to Cabinet that saw the ABC budget slashed; not cut, slashed!”
Later, Alston privately acknowledged to his Cabinet colleagues (in a draft Cabinet submission that was leaked to O’Brien) that the cuts would be a breach of an election promise. “He actually said that the cuts he was recommending would be in breach of an election promise,” said O’Brien. When O’Brien questioned him about this on the 7.30 Report, Alston kept denying the undeniable, repeatedly saying there was no breach of faith.
Kerry O’Brien takes us through ABC’s tumultuous week following revelations of political interference, and the importance of reporting without fear or favour. #TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/XorAJdgrCi
— The Project (@theprojecttv) September 30, 2018
In 2013, Tony Abbott similarly promised no cuts to the ABC — next budget, his Communication Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, cut the ABC budget by $254 million.
As Kerry O’Brien rhetorically asked:
“So, how good is their word leading up to the election?”
Given this history, if the Liberal Party plan further cuts to the ABC or to privatise the ABC, they are unlikely to admit it before an election.
The Institute for Public Affairs was founded in 1943 by Rupert Murdoch’s father, Keith Murdoch and friends. On the IPA’s 70th anniversary, his son Rupert was the guest speaker and he praised the IPA for its strong stand against nationalisation and for privatisation and for competition.
While the opinion polls indicate a Coalition win in the next election is unlikely, the Murdoch tabloids are giving “ScoMo” a headline-a-day, and the polls are tightening. For Murdoch and the other big players in commercial media, the ABC must seem, as it is, a great and glorious jewel.
Liberal Party's ABC privatisation motion revealed in footage from meeting https://t.co/19RPY1TbWL #auspol
— Virginia Gordon (@chatsbury) April 17, 2019
Dr John Jiggens is a writer and journalist currently working in the community newsroom at Bay-FM in Byron Bay.
Bill Shorten has clearly differentiated Labor from the Coalition in defending the ABC against financial cutbacks and the threat of privatisation. Join us to get ready for the next Federal Election when voters will be urged to
“Vote for the Candidate you Trust with Your ABC pic.twitter.com/K0A5L4YUiC
— ABC Friends (@FriendsoftheABC) September 4, 2018
ABC privatisation LNP Scott Morrison Federal Election 2019 May 18 Media Watch Paul Barry Friends of the ABC News Corp
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Tag Archives: Stories from Hurricane Sandy
Three Days of Frankenstorm
October 31, 2012 Jenny BahnBrooklyn Hurricane Sandy, Frankenstorm, Hurricane Sandy, jenny bahn, nyc, Stories from Hurricane Sandy Leave a comment
The store is running out of things like bread and water. People stand in line holding cases of beer and itching at a dulled panic. Our instincts tell us to be prepared. Our arrogance tells us not worry. This is New York; nothing happens here, nothing happens to us. But on the news they’re saying that it could. My friend — who is working on a show about global warming and has been in daily talks with the hurricane control center — assures me that it will.
“Make sure you’re ready,” she says. “Buy food.”
Bloomberg’s waited to announce the severity of the storm, letting the weekend pass with its Halloween festivities, allowing us to get drunk and dance and dress up like bloodied homecoming queens and spandexed superheroes, unworried about impending doom. Now, with a day left to go, everyone is scrambling.
I’ve stocked up on a whole mess of useless, perishable things, incapable of imagining the worst case scenarios: stuck in my apartment, surrounded by water for weeks, with only wilted kale and room temperature hummus to sustain myself. Dutifully, I buy my cans of beans, a couple boxed soups. What a depressing series of meals that would be.
Today, everyone just prepares and waits. The clouds that have been hanging over the city for the past four days are still there, gray and omnipresent. The wind has started to pick up. It doesn’t rain. At 7 p.m. they close the subways.
Cops are patrolling the neighborhoods closest to the river, telling people they need to evacuate right away. I am on the border of Zone A and Zone B. When I try to walk towards the pier to get a look at the city before we are all extinguished, a cop flashes his lights and tells me to “move it along.”
I sneak down the next street where the police cars driving past are not so militant. The East River is already rising, well over three feet higher than normal and just beneath the pier. It’s noon and the hurricane hasn’t even made landfall. The wind is blowing hard. I go home for fear of falling trees and things that generally kill stupid people who never listened to their mothers.
The day progresses and sometimes it rains but mostly it’s the wind. It finds its way through the tiny spaces between the wall and the windowpanes and whistles through my apartment. Outside, it howls like an army of screaming men, strong and bellowing. Green leaves are wrenched off of boughs and sent floating through the air – not simply down, but around – yanked across the sky sideways.
With each unrelenting gust, the trees outside twist painfully, seemingly as pliable as strings of rubber – one bough goes this way and another goes that.
Before the power shuts off, I make dinner and take a shower, not wanting to do either by candlelight. The lights have been flickering for the past hour. Around 8 p.m., against my better judgment, I put on clothes and go down to the water, walking down the middle of the street with all the other storm chasers so that we’re not so exposed to the trees hanging over the sidewalk.
The air is sticky and warm, wet with mist. Red lights from a parked ambulance glow on black pavement. There are a surprising number of people here to see what’s going on — boys and girls in rain slickers and boots, hoods over their heads. The cops aren’t telling us to go away anymore because what idiot would go further; the East River has already breached the edge and made it up a whole block. To the left, where the road slopes ever so slightly, cars are half-submerged in water. We stand at the edge, the river making an impromptu shore of the asphalt, and wonder how much worse it is going to get.
Gusts of wind come harder, pushing at the back of my legs. The corrugated metal fence wrapped around an empty lot bangs angrily against itself, the wind peeling it back at an opening like the lid of a tuna can. You can hear heavy things being blow around and slamming into walls. The sound of sirens screaming somewhere distant.
It’s going to hit us soon.
I run home and Jared calls with an update from South Williamsburg. He and Lisa have been watching green lights flashing over the boroughs. “Looks like laser beams!” Lisa yells in the background.
We’re talking about Halloween parties and rave music and people being too messed up for after parties when the sky outside my bedroom windows flashes lime green, flaring up to the skies above.
Jared saw it, too.
That was a big one.
When I call Serena three minutes later, she is walking through the East Village in a panic. “ We just saw the ConEd building, like, blow up. I gotta go.” After she hangs up, the lower part of Manhattan loses power and cell reception. I won’t hear from her again until late the next day.
By this time, the Internet has gone out. I have no idea what’s going on in the real world, or how far the river has moved up my block. All I’m left with are slow-loading Instagram photos and Facebook posts, mostly from people updating in other cities. From what I can tell it looks bad. Lief sends me a picture of his part of Brooklyn, where the street grids between low-lying industrial buildings are flooded with about three or so feet of water. Cars are covered, trash bags float. They’ve run out of booze. Things are looking grim.
I fall asleep with four more hours of the storm to go, the power still running, the wind still wailing.
The sky is gray but the wind has mellowed. I miss the noise, the frenzied rustle. I pull on sneakers and a coat and head outside to see the damage. There are a few fallen trees, the sidewalks covered in a thick carpet of wet leaves and twigs. The water has receded, taking back with it garbage and leaving the remainder scattered in the middle of the streets. All of the wooden fences are down, separated and strewn about.
All of lower Manhattan is without power and cell phone reception. The subways are flooded, the bridges are closed. The only way in and out of the city are through two tunnels that the mayor doesn’t want anyone using.
The Internet is back on and I can see the damage: the waterfalls of seawater pouring into the World Trade Center, the surging tide surrounding the carousel along the Brooklyn waterfront, the security cam photo from the inside of a flooded PATH station. Manhattan is a disaster.
But it’s business as usually in Brooklyn. I walk around with friends, work from home with my electricity that works, eat from a fridge that’s still running. I meet my friend for dinner and then head home, passing lit-up Halloween decorations and glowing patios.
Before I go back inside, I walk towards the waterfront to see the blackout from a distance.
Manhattan sits there, hulking and useless, half of it just a series of boxy shadows. It is bizarrely silent, save a solitary honk from a semi truck. The restlessness we are known for – the go go go go that never stops, never sleeps – has grinded to a halt, reluctantly.
A tranquilized giant.
Sparse strings of headlights and taillights pass along the mostly empty FDR. Cop cars dot the highway, evident by their blinking blue and red.
This reminds me of what the Titanic must have looked like right before it sank – eerily still and massive, all of the lights off, silent and agreeable, bound to its fate. It is such a strange thing standing here, seeing New York City like this.
I walk along the darkened pier, listening to the lapping of water, the rustling of plastic bags trapped in the metal fence. Trash clings to it: empty bottles, cardboard containers for Bud Light, dead sea grass. The unfinished parts of the pier have been upended and scattered.
Standing here, you get the real sense that we are just going to extinguish ourselves off of the face of this earth. We will be gone but our buildings will stand, and the wilderness will overtake it because the wilderness is paramount. But until that time comes, no one will do anything. We will just keep building our buildings and flying our planes, making money off of ransacking this planet, scooping out nonrenewable resources as though it were an all-you-can-eat buffet for which we will not have to pay.
I look out at a black Manhattan and turn to leave just as the old Polish men come out with their fishing poles and battery-powered lanterns, hooking bait and coughing loudly.
Business as usual.
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Josh Kennison: Track Star
February 24, 2016 November 16, 2016 / jlstrattonpossiblebooks
Introducing Joshua Kennison from Norway, Maine. Josh is a track star, Camp No Limits mentor, and an incredible role model for young aspiring athletes.
What sports do you play? I am a track and field athlete. I run the 100 meter and 200 meter dash. In my free time I also play soccer, basketball and frisbee.
Josh with his bronze medal from the 2013 World Championship in the 100 meter dash. Photo Credit: Portland Press For video of his race click here.
What is your sports story? I’ve always been an athlete ever since I could walk. In middle and high school, I played soccer and ran track. During those years, I never had fancy running legs. In 2008 I started the process of getting some running legs. In 2009, I ran my first track meet for the Paralympics. Ever since then, I have been traveling nationally and internationally, and in 2012 I was one of the top five in my classification in the 100 and 200. I just missed qualifying for the 2012 London Games.
What accomplishments in sports are you most proud of? I am most proud of representing the US in 2013 World Championship. There I won the bronze in the 100 meter dash. In 2012, I l broke the world record in long jump, and I held the record for about a year.
What is your workout schedule? Monday through Friday I train two hours a day on the track. Each session usually includes working on my running technique work, power work where I pull a weight sled, and agility stuff. Every day has it’s own group of muscles I work. Then, Saturday or Sunday is core work.
What songs are on your workout playlist? I only listen to music during my warm-up. I usually listen to hip-hop and R&B. I like a variety.
What’s your mantra that keeps you going during tough workouts or bad days? You can do anything you set your mind to as long as you have a positive mind set.
What superpowers do you possess? I have a sixth sense. I can sense who someone is as a person. I pay attention to the small details.
Josh competing in long jump. Photo Credit: AchieveMagazine.com
How would you define ability? I would define ability like this…I think everyone can do anything they set their mind to. It’s up to you. Every day in life I try to make myself happy. When I am happy and positive, I can accomplish a lot more.
How would you define grit? I think grit is messy. It is working so hard that you are reaching for every ounce of energy you can provide yourself.
What advice do you have for other athletes? Help one another. Athletes who care about others and their sport are better people.
Who would you like to thank? I want to thank my mom for sure. She never let me think I couldn’t do something.
You can follow Josh on his road to Rio and beyond on Twitter: @Nubz89 or Instagram: @Nubz8919.
To hear more about Josh’s story in his own words check out KSBW News Report.
UPDATE: You can hear about Josh’s transition from athlete to coach in his recent interview.
Profiles of the Possible, Team Possible
Camp No Limits, Josh Kenninson, Paralympics, Profiles of the Possible, Team Possible, US Paralympics
← Trish Downing: A Straight Shooter
McKenna Dahl: On Target for Rio 2016 →
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Five by Five Books #2: “Skin” by Kathe Koja (1993)
March 28, 2014 January 11, 2019 / J. Eric Smith
(Note: This is one of an occasional and ongoing series of reviews of my favorite books, structured by covering five facets of my reading experiences, each in five sentences).
What’s it about? Protagonist Tess Bajac is a talented metal sculptor who enters into a creative partnership with dancer Bibi Bloss and her posse of night (club) creatures. Their performing arts troupe — dubbed Surgeons of the Demolition — incorporates ever-increasing acts of ritual violence into their work, with Tess and Bibi’s collaboration resulting in a move toward powerful bio-mechanical syntheses. As their work grows stronger and finds its audience, Bibi engages in increasingly obsessive efforts to mortify her flesh through extreme body modification. Tess is torn by these developments: she knows that her work is achieving transcendence through her collaboration with the Surgeons, but she struggles to accept responsibility for — or to even want to be knowledgeable of — what Bibi slowly becomes. Skin is ostensibly a horror novel, but its grounding in a gritty, believable, industrial urban artscape lends it a resonance that few Gothic, fantastic, period, or supernatural horror novels achieve.
Who wrote it? Kathe Koja published five challenging speculative fiction/horror novels between 1991 and 1996, with Skin sitting smack in the middle of her initial print run explosion. Her first novel, The Cipher, won the Bram Stoker Award and was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award, ably demonstrating how well many of her works straddle traditional genre definitions. After publishing a short story collection called Extremities in 1997, Koja embarked upon a successful career as the author of young adult fiction through most of the early 2000s. She returned to intense and evocative adult fare with 2010’s Under the Poppy and its recent sequel, Mercury Waltz. Koja is an ensemble member of Nerve, a contemporary creative troupe that has brought her written work to stage in florid, interactive, theatrical environments.
When and where did I read it? Late 1990s, when we still lived in our townhouse on Harvard Drive in Watervliet, New York. I discovered Kathe Koja on a Saturday morning back when Katelin and I would make a father-daughter visit to the William K. Sanford Town Library in Colonie most weeks, so she could hang out in the kids’ section and load up on an assortment of reading material for the week, while I scavenged the grown-up shelves for my own edification. On this particular Saturday, something had recently reminded me of William Kotzwinkle’s Doctor Rat, which I had read in early high school days, so I went to grab and re-acquaint myself with that title again. Koja’s The Cipher was nearby on the shelf and caught my eye, so I grabbed it, checked it our, read it, and loved it. I then moved on through the rest of her early works from there, with Skin being the one that has retained the most resonance for me over the years.
Why do I like it? Kathe Koja does an absolutely extraordinary job of accurately portraying the shifting inter-personal dynamics associated with creative collaborations in evolving, amorphous or open group settings. I’ve read some reviews that criticized the “minutiae” of these interactions, but they feel very real, and they give the work much of its emotional depth and structural heft for me; this, of course, may be a function of my own experiences with such creative collaborative communities, but it works. As a long-time devotee of hard industrial culture of the Survival Research Laboratories and RE/SEARCH Publications varieties, (not to mention a fan of the garish Tetsuo: Iron Man), I was also deeply impressed at the care Koja took in exploring the motivations, manifestations, and ramifications of the creative bio-mechanical desires of Skin‘s protagonists. The story moves quickly, and characters flit in and out of the narrative (as happens in real life), and while you know early on that the whole thing is likely to end awfully, there’s a certain grandeur to watching the story arc play out to its inevitable conclusion. At bottom line, Skin is a wonderful oddball in my list of favorite novels, very different from what I normally read, and I applaud Kathe Koja for creating a powerful work that easily transcends genre stereotypes or expectations.
A five sentence sample text: “She remembered her real school, welding school: truck bodies and they had let her watch, they thought she was cute or something, had not driven her away. Hot, always, and the big ventilators going on and on and on, the endless revolution of blades big as bodies, rod and arc and the fountaining shine like stars ground to pieces, the endless eclipse one must not watch. Fascinated, silent, in roll-down pants and her hair skinned back, baseball cap and wanting to make the fire, make the metal run; she had never gotten over it, the idea of liquid metal. She remembered the smell of scorched clothing, heavy coveralls burned straight through, everything seen through the underwater gloss of welder’s goggle, the helmets most exotic; round-head spacemen with flat square eyes, the world’s most faceless mask. She had seen men — it was all men, only men — hurt, burned, once she saw a man drop the fluxless tail end of his welding rod into his low-cut shoe: hideous and funny his screaming dance; he had danced her into taped-up pant-legs as an article of faith.”
CLICK THE COVER BELOW TO ORDER YOUR OWN COPY:
ALL FIVE BY FIVE BOOK REVIEWS:
#1: Engine Summer by John Crowley (1979)
#2: Skin by Kathe Koja (1993)
#3: Nova by Samuel R. Delany (1968)
#4: Titus Groan/Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake (1946/1950)
#5: The Islanders by Christopher Priest (2011)
#6: The Flounder by Günter Grass (1977)
#7: The Mabinogion Tetralogy by Evangeline Walton (1936 to 1974)
#8: Smallcreep’s Day by Peter Currell Brown (1965)
Art, Books, Five By Five Books
Kathe Koja, Skin
← McPhersonville’s Moment in the Sun
That’s My Team: In Praise of the Beloved Royals (And Others) →
5 thoughts on “Five by Five Books #2: “Skin” by Kathe Koja (1993)”
Robert "Goat" Beveridge
Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes. One of my favorite books of all-time (and the start of the four-book stretch where Kathe Koja was the best author in America).
[late 1990s? You might’ve noticed it based on my rec…]
I know I found Koja cold from the Kotzwinkle angle . . . but I think we talked about it soon after I read “The Cipher” and you probably did encourage me along in reading the rest of her works!
I figured you’d approve!!!
Pingback: Kathe Koja » Blog Archive » A shared artistic skin
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Risk factors and clinical outcomes of arrhythmias in the medical intensive care unit
Rodrigo J. Valderrábano1, 3, 4Email author,
Alejandro Blanco2,
Eduardo J. Santiago-Rodriguez3,
Christine Miranda3,
José Rivera-del Rio del Rio2,
Juan Ruiz2 and
Robert Hunter2, 3
Journal of Intensive Care20164:9
© Valderrábano et al. 2016
The clinical impact of arrhythmias on the continuum of critical illness is unclear, and data in medical intensive care units (ICU) is lacking. In this study, we distinguish between different types of arrhythmias and evaluate if their distinction is of clinical importance based on ICU length of stay and mortality outcomes.
We performed a retrospective analysis of 215 patients in a community-based teaching hospital medical ICU. Variables gathered include sociodemographic data, arrhythmias identified and interpreted by the study team, and admission diagnoses coded into clinical mediator categories based on theorized common risk pathways. Univariable and multivariable Poisson regression models were used to identify risk factors for developing arrhythmias by type, prolonged length of stay, and hospital mortality.
Significant arrhythmia was detected in 28.8 % of subjects with most new arrhythmia events developing within the first 3 days of ICU stay. Acute myocardial ischemia and acute kidney injury at the time of ICU admission were associated with an increased risk of developing supraventricular arrhythmias (SVA) (RR = 2.02; 95 % CI 1.08–3.78 and RR = 1.93; 95 %CI 1.09–3.37, respectively). SVA in the first 3 days of ICU stay was associated with an increased risk of prolonged ICU stay (RR = 1.47; 95 % CI 1.09–1.97). After controlling for clinical mediators, development of SVA was not independently associated with in-hospital mortality. No mediators significantly increased the risk of developing ventricular arrhythmias (VA). VA were not associated to prolonged ICU stay but were associated with increased risk of hospital mortality (RR = 1.93; 95 % CI 1.18–3.15).
It is important to distinguish between supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias for outcomes in the medical ICU setting. Developing a new VA increases the risk of in-hospital mortality independently. Developing a new SVA increases the risk of having a prolonged ICU stay but does not appear to increase in-hospital mortality independently. These findings suggest that the development of a VA should be considered an independent morbid event and not necessarily the end result of a complicated clinical course, while a new SVA may be considered a cardiac complication of the disease continuum which may add complexity to an ICU stay.
Ventricular Arrhythmia
Intensive Care Unit Admission
Intensive Care Unit Stay
Arrhythmias are common clinical events in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. The frequency and prognosis associated with arrhythmias vary according to the clinical setting in which they occur. Arrhythmias have been reported to occur in 15.7 and 19.7 % of patients in the surgical and medical ICU settings, respectively [1]. In one epidemiologic study of critically ill patients, it was reported to be as high as 78 % [2]. Nevertheless, the clinical impact of many arrhythmias in the continuum of critical illness is somewhat unclear. In some studies, arrhythmias have been implicated as a marker of disease severity in critically ill patients [3]. They have also been associated with increased length of stay in the ICU, worse clinical outcome, and increased mortality [4, 5]. In the setting of cardiovascular surgery, the development of post-operative atrial fibrillation is considered a significant source of morbidity [6]. The development of ventricular arrhythmias (VA), although less common, are considered to be relevant clinical events [7, 8].
The clinical course of patients receiving care in the medical ICU is usually complex in nature with the presence of multiple concomitant insults to target organs in the form of renal, cardiac, and pulmonary illness. The co-existence of these morbid conditions in ICU patients makes it difficult to establish an association between a specific arrhythmia, an individual clinical scenario, and ultimately patient outcomes. The increasing human and resource utilization in ICU patients with arrhythmias argues for a more detailed evaluation of the clinical impact of arrhythmias in the ICU setting [9].
The majority of published studies evaluating the prevalence and relevance of arrhythmias in critically ill patients focus on cardiac vs. non-cardiac surgical patients, while data in the setting of a general medical ICU is less abundant. Our study focused on patients admitted to a medical ICU and aimed to elucidate the effects of simultaneous dysfunction in multiple target organs and the clinical scenarios associated to the development of atrial or ventricular arrhythmias. We hypothesized that similar clinical scenarios would have common mediating effects on heart arrhythmias and sought to establish which of these clinical scenarios would increase the risk of arrhythmias along with their association to patient outcomes. In addition, our study evaluated the distinction between supraventricular arrhythmias (SVA) and VA and their clinical importance on patient outcomes.
After Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from the Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine, we performed a retrospective and prospective evaluation of patient records from patients older than 21 years of age admitted to the medical ICU at the Hospital Universitario Ramón Ruiz Arnau in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, from January 1, 2010 to February 28, 2011. Waiver of informed consent was granted by the IRB. Records from all admissions to the 5-bed general ICU of the community-based teaching hospital were evaluated. ICU patients were either direct admission to the ICU or transfers from the general wards. Patients were considered to be positive for arrhythmia if they presented with a new arrhythmia in the first 10 days of ICU stay. Patients with chronic arrhythmias were only considered if a new and different arrhythmia was detected. Arrhythmias which directly triggered cardiac decompensation and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) procedures were included in our analysis. Arrhythmias and other waveforms which were present during ACLS or chest compressions were not included.
Arrhythmias were identified by a data gathering team that included two board certified internists and a senior internal medicine resident and was instructed to record any non-sinus rhythm. All electrocardiograms, rhythm strips (routinely printed every 4 h), and code cart strips available in the records were analyzed for the first 10 days of ICU stay for every patient in the study. Arrhythmias were first interpreted by the data gathering team using all available information and then confirmed by a review team of two board certified internists and one board certified cardiologist. If there was a disagreement on the appropriate interpretation of arrhythmia, a majority ruling was accepted. Arrhythmias were interpreted according to established definitions.
A supraventricular event was defined as having at least one non-sinus rhythm of supraventricular origin, excluding sinus arrhythmia and premature supraventricular contractions (PSC). A ventricular event was defined as having at least one non-sinus rhythm of ventricular origin, excluding premature ventricular contractions (PVC). Arrhythmias were classified according to their nature into Isolated (if the arrhythmia consisted of only one event) and Recurrent (if the same arrhythmia recurred with a period of at least 2 h of sinus rhythm between events) and according to their duration into Short-lasting (all events lasted under 24 h), Prolonged (at least one event over 24 h), and Permanent (event persisted continuously throughout the hospital stay) for descriptive purposes. Recurrent arrhythmias were considered as one event for analysis.
Arrhythmias were managed according to established protocols by treating physicians. Hemodynamically unstable patients with ventricular arrhythmias were treated with electrical cardioversion or defibrillation depending on morphology. Stable patients with monomorphic ventricular tachycardia were treated with IV amiodarone bolus and subsequent infusions. Hemodynamically unstable patients with SVA were given immediate electrical cardioversion. Stable patients with SVA were given IV diltiazem boluses and subsequent infusions. Correction of potassium levels were performed as required.
Acute diagnoses
The ICU admission diagnoses were tabulated within 24 h of ICU admission. Acute ICU admission diagnoses were classified into general categories termed clinical mediators, which were divided according to their theorized modifying effect on arrhythmias. These did not include chronic pre-existing conditions unless there was an acute exacerbation present. The following clinical mediator categories were utilized: Acute Respiratory Failure (ARF), Acute Myocardial Ischemia (ISC), Shock (SHK), Hyperglycemia (GLU), Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), Local infection (L-INF), Systemic infections/inflammatory state (S-INF) (including sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome), Acute central nervous system event (CNS) (including stroke and seizures), Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB), Acid-base disorders (ABD), Electrolyte disturbance (E-DB), Decompensated Congestive Heart Failure (DCHF), and Acute intoxication (TOX).
The number of clinical mediators within a given patient was tallied. Patients were grouped based on the number of clinical mediators present: 0–2, 3–4, and 5 or more. These categories were used in statistical analyses as a measure of complexity of critical illness.
Descriptive statistics, such as medians and proportions, were used to describe the population. Sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle risk behaviors, presence of clinical conditions, patients’ ICU length of stay, and in-hospital mortality were all evaluated according to the occurrence of arrhythmias using the Kruskal-Wallis test on continuous variables and chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests on categorical variables. Post hoc assessments were carried out to identify which groups differed in the bivariate analyses. Differences in continuous variables were measured using Dunn’s test while differences in proportions were evaluated calculating z tests and adjusting by the Bonferroni method.
Poisson working models with robust variance estimators [10] were employed to determine the factors independently associated with arrhythmias, ICU length of stay >5 days, and in-hospital mortality, as this procedure was found to be the most appropriate [11]. For ICU length of stay, only arrhythmias in the first 3 days of stay were utilized for calculating extended stay (over 5 days) in order to maintain temporality and therefore assess risk. Sociodemographic variables and categories based on the sum of diagnostic mediators were included in the final models if their association with dependent variables resulted in a p < 0.20 on previous univariable analyses. Results were reported as relative risks (RR) with their respective 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI). Statistical significance was set at the 0.05 level, and all tests were two-sided. Stata/SE (Version 12.1, College Station, TX, USA) and IBM SPSS Statistics 20 were used to carry out the analyses.
A total of 267 patients were admitted to the medical ICU between January 1, 2010 and February 28, 2011. Two-hundred nineteen records were available for review, of which four were excluded due to age and missing data. Our cohort consisted of 215 subjects (Fig. 1). One hundred and six (49.3 % of total) patients had arrhythmia (rhythm other than sinus) with a total of 197 arrhythmias events. Fifty-five patients had one arrhythmia event, 30 had two events, 10 had three events, 5 had four events, 4 had five events, and 2 patients had six different arrhythmia events. Eighty-two patients had at least one premature contraction event (premature ventricular or supraventricular contractions), and in 44 of these patients premature events were the only arrhythmia event. A total of 62 (28.8 % of total) patients had supraventricular or ventricular arrhythmia events other than premature contractions. Of these, 44 patients had at least one SVA event, 27 patients had at least one VA event, 9 of these patients had at least one of both SVA and VA events. A total of 93 arrhythmia events were recorded. In Table 1, we present the descriptions of the arrhythmias documented. The most frequent supraventricular event was atrial fibrillation (33.3 % of SVA), which was also the most common arrhythmia overall (10.1 % of total events), while ventricular tachycardia was the most common ventricular event (51.5 % of VA).
Arrhythmia flow chart by study subject. Flow of subjects enrolled into the study divided by the presence and type of the first arrhythmia. Subgroup of subjects with more than one type of arrhythmia is presented at the right.
Description of the different types of arrhythmias detected in the ICU
Arrhythmia events
No. events
Events (%)
Total (%)
Supraventricular
Junctional escape rhythm
Paroxysmal atrial tachycardia
Multifocal atrial tachycardia
Av node re-entry tachycardia
Accelerated junctional rhythm
Wandering pacemaker
Sinus pause/arrest
Mobitz type 1
Total supraventricular events
Premature supraventricular contractions (PSVC)a
Premature atrial contractions
Atrial bigeminy
Premature junctional contractions
Total PSVC events
Ventricular escape rhythm
Ventricular fibrillation
Torsades de point
Accelerated ventricular rhythm
Total ventricular events
Premature ventricular contractions (PVC)a
Premature ventricular
Ventricular bigeminy
Total PVC
Total arrhythmia events
aPSVC and PVC are presented separately but considered as one in the text
We analyzed the sociodemographic variables as a function of the absence of arrhythmias, and the presence of significant arrhythmias (SVA or VA), or premature contractions (PVC or PSC only) (Table 2). Patients with premature contractions were generally older and were more likely to be retired (51.2 %), have Medicare as their health insurance (38.6 %), have a history of alcohol drinking (38.1 %), and a history of hypertension (81.8 %) and congestive heart failure (22.7 %) than those in the other groups. Patients with arrhythmias had a significantly higher in-hospital mortality rate (46.8 %) when compared to the other two groups (no arrhythmias: 19.3 % and premature complexes: 15.9 %).
Sociodemographic profile and selected clinical variables of participants according to the presence or absence of significant arrhythmia and presence of premature complexes
All (n = 215)
No arrhythmia (n = 109)
Arrhythmiaa (n = 62)
Premature complexesb (n = 44)
51 (39–64)c,d
66 (55–81)c
72 (64–82)d
Male gender, n (%)
Race/ethnicity (n = 198), n (%)
Hispanic white
Hispanic black
Civil status (n = 201), n (%)
Single/divorced
Education (n = 139), n (%)
<High school
High school graduate or more
Employment (n = 181), n (%)
Retired/disabled
23 (24.2)c
Medical insurance, n (%)
80 (73.4)c,d
21 (47.7)d
Risky behaviors
Tobacco smokers (n = 202), n (%)
Illicit drug users (n = 204), n (%)
Alcohol drinkers (n = 201), n (%)
Hypertension (n = 210), n (%)
Diabetes (n = 211), n (%)
CHF (n = 209), n (%)
8 (7.6)c
CAD (n = 209), n (%)
Dyslipidemia (n = 210), n (%)
HIV (n = 210), n (%)
CKD (n = 210), n (%)
Asthma/COPD (n = 210), n (%)
Liver disease (n = 212), n (%)
Length of stay in ICU (days)
Median (IQR)
29 (46.8) c, d
7 (15.9)d
p values were computed using Kruskal-Wallis test on continuous variables and chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test on categorical variables. Post hoc evaluations were made using Dunn’s test and z tests with Bonferroni corrections
aPatients who presented supraventricular and/or ventricular arrhythmias
bPatients who presented premature atrial contractions (PACs) and/or premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) but no arrhythmias
c,dDenote which groups have statistically significant differences after post hoc comparisons (p < 0.05)
The majority (73.0 %) of patients presented their first event within 72 h of admission to the ICU (Fig. 2). Of the patients that had SVA events, 47.7 % had their first event on the ICU admission day, 25.0 % on ICU day 2, and 13.6 % on ICU day 3, with a cumulative 86.3 % in the first 72 h. Approximately one tenth of the first SVA events occurred on ICU days 4 and 5, and 2.3 % of events occurred on or after ICU day 6. Of the patients that had VA events, 29.6 % had their first event on the ICU admission day, 25.9 % on ICU day 2, and 3.7 % on ICU day 3, with a cumulative 59.2 % in the first 72 h. A total of 18.5 % had their first VA event on ICU days 4 and 5, and 22.2 % of events occurred on or after ICU day 6. Similar patterns emerged in patients which had premature contractions as their sole arrhythmia events. Of these patients, 47.7 % had their first event on the day of ICU admission, 22.7 % on ICU day 2, and 6.8 % on ICU day 3 with a cumulative 77.2 % on that day, while 11.4 % of the first premature events occurred on ICU days 4 and 5 and 11.3 % of events occurred on or after ICU day 6. Of the SVA events, 65.9 % were of short duration. Of the VA events, 96.3 % were of short duration.
Onset of the first arrhythmia by ICU stay and type. Initial detection of the first arrhythmia for subjects admitted to the ICU, organized by day of ICU stay and site of origin of significant arrhythmia. Premature complexes were excluded from analysis
We also analyzed the clinical mediators associated with the arrhythmias in the study (Table 3). The most common ICU clinical mediators were acute respiratory failure (50.2 %) followed by local infection (47.0 %) and acute kidney injury (42.3 %). There was a significant difference in the occurrence of acute kidney injury (p = 0.004), decompensated CHF (p = 0.016), and systemic infection/inflammation (p = 0.036) between the arrhythmia status groups. Patients with GI bleeding and intoxication were few in number, and they lacked the power to perform statistical analysis, so these mediators were excluded from regression models.
Association of significant arrhythmia, premature complexes and no arrhythmias with clinical mediators responsible for ICU admission
Acute respiratory failure, n (%)
Shock, n (%)
Acute Myocardial Ischemia, n (%)
Decompensated CHF, n (%)
Hyperglycemia, n (%)
Acute kidney injury, n (%)
Local infection, n (%)
Systemic infection, n (%)
Acute CNS event, n (%)
Gastrointestinal bleeding, n (%)
Acid/base disturbance, n (%)
Electrolyte imbalance, n (%)
Intoxication, n (%)
Mediators, n (%)
≥5
p values were computed chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test
Results of univariable and multivariable regression analyses evaluating the association of clinical mediators, sex, and age with the different types of arrhythmias are presented in Table 4. Older age, acute respiratory failure, shock, acute myocardial ischemia, acute kidney injury, local infection, and systemic infection were found to be associated to SVAs at a level of p <0 .20. When these factors were included in the multivariable model, only acute myocardial ischemia (RR = 2.02; 95 %CI 1.08–3.78) and acute kidney injury (RR = 1.93; 95 % CI 1.09–3.37) were associated with a significant increased risk of SVAs. No clinical mediators were identified which could be associated with the presence of VAs. Older age categories and decompensated congestive heart failure were found to be associated to premature complexes in univariable analyses. The multivariable model revealed older ages (51–70 years and over 71 years vs. 21–50 years) were associated with an increased risk of premature complexes (RR = 4.82; 95 % CI 1.48–15.70 and RR = 6.07; 95 % CI 1.88–19.65, respectively).
Univariable and multivariable analysis of the association between age, sex, and clinical mediators associated with the presence of significant ventricular, supraventricular arrhythmia, and premature complexes
Supraventricular (n = 44)
Ventricular (n = 27)
Premature complexes (n = 82)
Univariable
Multivariablea
Multivariableb
n (%)
RR (95 % CI)
5.29 (1.63–17.15)
DCHF
L-INF
S-INF
E-DB
ARF acute respiratory failure, SHK shock, ISC acute myocardial ischemia, AKI acute kidney injury, DCHF decompensated CHF, GLU hyperglycemia, L-INF local infection, S-INF systemic infection, ABD acid/base disturbance, E-DB electrolyte imbalance, CNS acute CNS event
aFactors included in the model had p < 0.20 in univariable analyses
bModel was not built because only one factor had a p < 0.20
Chi-square analysis revealed that prolonged or permanent duration of SVAs was associated with increased ICU length of stay (more than 5 days) (p = 0.015). Prolonged or permanent duration of VA events was not associated to increased ICU stay (p = 0.437). Prolonged or permanent duration of SVA and VA events was not associated to in-hospital mortality, (p = 0.759 and p = 0.999, respectively).
Results of univariable and multivariable analyses of the associations between arrhythmias and length of ICU stay (over 5 days) and in-hospital mortality are shown in Table 5. Older age, having three or more clinical mediators, and presenting SVA in the first 3 days of ICU stay were associated with a prolonged ICU stay (more than 5 days) at a p < 0.20. Notably, having VAs or premature complexes in the first 3 days of ICU stay was not associated with prolonged ICU stay in univariable analyses. The multivariable model confirmed the association of SVA in the first 3 days of ICU stay with an increased risk of prolonged ICU stay (RR = 1.47; 95 % CI 1.09–1.97).
Univariable and multivariable analysis of the risk of prolonged ICU stay and in-hospital mortality after development of a new significant ventricular, supraventricular arrhythmia, and premature complexes
Prolonged ICU staya,b
Multivariablec
1.02 (0.76-1.37)
38 (17.7)b
16 (7.4)b
SVA supraventricular arrhythmias, VA ventricular arrhythmias, PC premature complexes
aICU stay of more than 5 days
bArrhythmias considered for this analysis occurred during the first 3 days at ICU
cFactors included in the model had p < 0.20 in univariable analyses
Older age, higher number of clinical mediators, SVA, VA, and premature complexes were all associated with an increased in-hospital mortality at p < 0.20. The multivariable Poisson regression model suggested a significant association of VA and increased risk of in-hospital mortality (RR = 1.93; 95 % CI 1.18–3.15), while controlling for the other factors. Finally, SVA and premature complexes were not associated with mortality.
In our single-center medical ICU study, we found that the incidence of significant arrhythmias (SVA or VA) was 28.8 % and that supraventricular arrhythmias were associated with a 47 % increased risk of prolonged ICU length of stay while ventricular arrhythmias were associated with a 93 % increased risk of in-hospital mortality.
We found that most new arrhythmias occurred in the first 3 days of ICU stay. After adjusting for methodological differences (our ICU day 1 = post op day 0), this pattern is comparable to several studies that have shown arrhythmias shortly after thoracic surgery [7, 12, 13]. Other studies in medical ICUs have shown similar patterns [14]. This suggests that the ICU admission event may be considered comparable to surgery in terms of the temporality of developing new arrhythmias.
One objective of our study was aimed at analyzing acute conditions which may modulate development of arrhythmias. We found that having acute myocardial ischemia and acute kidney injury upon admission to the ICU was associated with increased risk of developing SVA after controlling for other factors. This is in line with data where acute infarction was associated with rhythm abnormalities [15] and new onset atrial fibrillation [16]. Increases in cardiac dysrhythmias have also been found to be in greater prevalence in complex cardiovascular patients [17]. Elevated initial serum creatinine levels have also been associated to the development of atrial fibrillation, a type of SVA [16]. Other studies have also found association between atrial fibrillation and acute kidney injury in cardiac surgery patients [18]. Our findings suggest that acute myocardial ischemia and acute kidney injury may be considered independent risk factors for developing SVA when present at ICU admission.
Our results indicate that development of VAs was not found to be associated to any particular diagnostic mediator. We also found that VAs occurred mostly in the first 72 h after admission to the ICU (>50 %), and there was a trend to continue developing new arrhythmias throughout the entirety of ICU stay more than SVAs. This may mean that ICU admission diagnoses are not good predictors of developing VAs and that the developing clinical condition throughout an ICU stay is more important than the admission diagnosis for ventricular arrhythmias. Indeed, other studies have shown that chronic conditions are not good predictors of new onset sustained VA in coronary artery bypass graft patients [7, 19]. An alternate hypothesis for the lack of associations in VA could be that patients who developed ventricular arrhythmias had different predisposing baseline conditions. To test this, we performed univariable analyses of pre-existing conditions (results not presented), and there were no significant differences between our comparison group and the groups with different types of arrhythmias. So, in our cohort, the lack of associations cannot be explained by this hypothesis.
Supraventricular arrhythmias were significantly associated with mortality in univariable analysis, but this effect was attenuated when included in the regression model with the clinical mediators derived from ICU admission diagnoses, supporting previous data that suggests that SVA are markers of disease severity [12, 14], although, in certain clinical scenarios, arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation can add significant morbidity [20, 21]. Indeed, SVAs were found to be associated with prolonged length of stay when controlled for age and diagnostic mediators, replicating the pattern that has been demonstrated in other studies [4, 22]. We found that SVA events of over 24 h duration were also associated to prolonged length of ICU stay, supporting the notion that development of an atrial arrhythmia adds to the complexity of managing an ICU patient, which may increase ICU length of stay.
Ventricular arrhythmias were not associated with prolonged length of stay but were associated with in-hospital mortality. Although we did not directly measure the temporal relationship between mortality and VAs, one explanation could be that patients with higher mortality have shorter ICU length of stay than survivors. The association with mortality persisted after controlling for clinical mediators and other types of arrhythmias. Numerous mediators in a single patient may represent increased complexity of illness overall, and while increasing number of clinical mediators increased the risk of in-hospital mortality, the association of VA and mortality was not significantly attenuated by the inclusion of this variable in our analyses. One study on the mode of death after cardiac arrest revealed that almost 75 % of patients that died after in-hospital cardiac arrest due to ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, or pulseless rhythm were not due to purely cardiovascular causes [23]. Our data suggests that ventricular arrhythmias in the medical ICU patient population may be considered an independent contributor to mortality instead of part of the continuum of critical illness or the end result of a complicated clinical course.
We found that decompensated congestive heart failure and older age increased the risk of developing premature complexes. Premature ventricular complexes are common and may increase the risk of other ventricular dysrhythmias [24] and cardiomyopathy [25]. In our study, the development of PVCs and PSCs were not associated with increased risk of prolonged ICU length of stay or mortality. The subset of patients who had premature complexes as their only arrhythmia in our cohort were older and more frequently had congestive heart failure and hypertension as pre-existing conditions. This suggests that the development of these abnormal rhythms may be a marker of baseline heart disease, but not an important contributing event in the evolution of an ICU hospitalization.
Our study continues to add to the currently limited data on arrhythmias in medical ICUs. It expands on previous reports by detailing what clinical scenarios are likely to increase the risk of different types of arrhythmias and by exploring the differential effect of SVA vs. VA on outcomes. Our study is limited by a relatively small sample size. Our sample was also obtained from a pool of patients from a purely medical ICU, so that patients with significant surgical disease such as severe valvular heart disease were not represented.
Our findings suggest that arrhythmias behave similarly in medical patients compared to surgical patients in terms of the temporality of developing new arrhythmias. Our findings also suggest that acute myocardial ischemia and acute kidney injury are related to development of SVAs, that premature complexes do not add to morbidity or mortality, that SVAs add to morbidity but not mortality, and that VAs are independent risk factors for mortality.
ABD:
acid base disorder
ACLS:
advanced cardiovascular life support
AKI:
ARF:
acute central nervous system event
DCHF:
decompensated congestive heart failure
E-DB:
electrolyte disturbance
GIB:
gastrointestinal bleed
GLU:
hyperglycemia
ISC:
acute myocardial ischemia
L-INF:
local infection
PSC:
premature supraventricular contraction
PVC:
premature ventricular contraction
RR:
relative risk
SHK:
S-INF:
systemic infection
SVA:
supraventricular arrhythmia
TOX:
VA:
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health award number R25MD007607, 8G12MD007583, and U54RR026139/2U54MD007587 and educational support to the first author by the Hispanics in Research Capability: HiREC award #S21MD001830. Support for the first author by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health award number T32-DK007217-39S1. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Statistical support was provided by the Puerto Rico Clinical and Translational Research Consortium. The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Ricardo Alequin for his help with data gathering and entry.
RV conceived the study, collected the data, helped perform the data analysis and drafted the manuscript; RH helped design the study, helped perform the data analysis, and critically revised the manuscript; AB participated in the design of the study, was responsible for the collection of data, was responsible for data entry, and helped draft the manuscript; ES was responsible for the data analysis and critically revised the manuscript; CM critically revised the manuscript; JRdR helped with data interpretation and critically revised the manuscript; JR helped with the data interpretation and critically revised the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Endocrinology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
Medicine Department, Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Retrovirus Research Center, Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Department of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Drive, Grant Building, Rm S025, Stanford, CA 94305-5103, USA
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Predicting the Need for Fluid Therapy—Does Fluid Responsiveness Work?
Hiroshi Ueyama1Email authorView ORCID ID profile and
Sawami Kiyonaka1
Published: 6 June 2017
Fluid overdose can be harmful in critically ill patients. Since central venous pressure (CVP) is currently considered to be an inappropriate indicator of preload, much attention is being given to predicting fluid responsiveness, i.e., the response of stroke volume (SV) or cardiac output (CO) to fluid challenge. However, when fluid responsiveness was evaluated in critically ill patients, including sepsis, only 40–50% of the patients responded. Moreover, most fluid responders do not show significant hemodynamic improvement after fluid administration. In this review, we discuss why fluid responsiveness based on the Starling mechanism did not work well in the clinical setting.
According to the Starling mechanism, a patient whose SV/CO significantly increases after a fluid challenge is considered to be a fluid responder and judged to need fluid therapy. However, the currently recommended fluid challenge dose of crystalloid 250–500 mL has little effect on increasing blood volume and is not sufficient to increase the preload of the Starling curve. Especially in septic patients, due to their vascular hyperpermeability, increase in blood volume is even smaller. Furthermore, Infusion induced hemodilution is known to reduce blood viscosity and hematocrit, as a result, decreasing afterload. This indicates that the increased SV/CO after fluid challenge is caused not only by increased preload but also by decreased afterload. For these reasons, fluid responsiveness with small crystalloid challenge is questionable as a clinical indicator of fluid therapy.
Fluid responsiveness
Fluid challenge
Starling’s law
Starling mechanism
Crystalloid
Afterload
Systemic vascular resistance
Fluid therapy
Fluid therapy has been used to prevent or to treat circulatory failure. However, excessive fluid in critically ill patients has been recognized to cause cardiac complications, including pulmonary edema and heart failure [1, 2]. It is especially important for septic patients and for those with adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) to discriminate which patients are expected to have improved hemodynamics with fluid therapy.
The venous blood is theoretically separated into stressed and unstressed volume [3]. The unstressed volume is defined as the blood volume necessary to fill the venous system, and only the stressed volume, i.e., volume that surpasses the unstressed vein, refluxes to the heart and contributes to cardiac output (CO). In healthy patients, 70% of the venous blood is unstressed volume and 30% is stressed volume [3]. The rational for the necessity of fluid therapy for septic patients is that they are relatively hypovolemic due to blood retention in their unstressed volume from venodilation [3]. Hence, CO is improved by the correction of blood volume.
Hemodynamic monitoring has been used to guide fluid therapy. Central venous pressure (CVP) has been used as an indicator for fluid therapy for a long time. Since the compliance of the vein is 30 times higher than that of the artery [4], CVP varies little with changes in blood volume; hence, it is an inappropriate indicator of venous volume [5].
Instead of CVP, attention is being paid to the assessment of fluid responsiveness [4]. Fluid responsiveness is a relatively new concept evaluating the need for the fluid therapy, by checking the response of stroke volume (SV) or CO to fluid challenge, in accordance with the Starling mechanism [6]. However, when the fluid responsiveness was evaluated in critically ill patients, including sepsis, only 40–50% of the patients responded [7]. This result suggests that only half of the critically ill patients needed fluid therapy. More importantly, most fluid responders do not show significant hemodynamic improvement after fluid administration [8–10]. This review discusses the problems with fluid responsiveness based on the Starling mechanism.
Starling Curve and Fluid Responsiveness
In the 1920s, E.H. Starling, an English physiologist, conducted a study on the heart and lungs of dogs and showed that the CO increased as the right atrial filling pressure increased by elevating the height of the venous blood reservoir [6]. He also showed that the CO conversely decreased after the right atrial filling pressure increased beyond a certain point (Fig. 1). The device used in this study used artificial aortic resistance. Since arterial resistance was constant in almost all cases, CO correlates with atrial filling pressure [6].
Starling curve and left ventricular function: the relationship between SV and preload. a If fluid challenge adequately improves SV, a patient is considered hypovolemic (responder). b If fluid was given at the plateau of Starling curve, SV will not increase, and a patient is considered normovolemic (non-responder). c For decreased left ventricular function cases, SV response after fluid loading cannot be observed even in hypovoelia, as Starling curve is flatter than the normal cardiac function cases. SV stroke volume
The fluid responsiveness can be explained using the Starling curve as follows [11].
If rapid fluid challenge improves SV/CO, the fluid responsiveness is considered positive. The patient is considered hypovolemic, and both CO and tissue perfusion are expected to increase by fluid therapy (Fig. 1a).
If SV is not improved by fluid challenge, the fluid responsiveness is considered negative. Aggressive fluid therapy in this situation increases the risks for both pulmonary edema and heart failure (Fig. 1b).
If left ventricular function is decreased, the SV/CO response is minimal even if the preload is increased, consequently, the above interpretation cannot be applied, (Fig. 1c).
The SV/CO changes due to fluid challenge have been evaluated using both pulmonary artery catheterization and Doppler transesophageal echocardiography. Recently, devices to measure stroke volume variation (SVV) and pulse pressure variation (PVV) have been developed to evaluate fluid responsiveness [11]. SVV and PVV are based on mechanical ventilation-induced changes in preload resulting in respiratory variations in SV or arterial pressure, respectively. The fluid responsiveness is evaluated with these parameters using the findings that SVV/PVV is greatly increased at the ascending limb of the Starling curve (Fig. 2a), while SVV/PVV is minimal at the point where the Starling curve reaches a plateau (Fig. 2b). Although these devices are expensive, they are easy to use and have been widely used not only for control of critically ill patients but also for surgical patients.
Starling curve and respiratory variation of SV. At the point where the ascending limb of Starling curve, respiratory variation in the stroke volume is significant (a) and judged as a large preload reserve. While at the point where the Starling curve is nearly flat, the respiratory variation is minimal (b) with a small preload reserve. SV stroke volume
Problems in Applying the Starling Curve to Monitoring Fluid Responsiveness
Fluid challenge with 6 mL/kg (250–500 mL) of crystalloid for 15 min is currently recommended, and patients with an SV increase of 10–15% are determined to be fluid responders [12]. However, the use of the Starling curve as an indicator of fluid responsiveness has not been fully validated due to the following problems.
Dose the right atrial filling pressure increase in parallel with the infused volume?
To explain the fluid responsiveness using the Starling curve, preload or right filling pressure is used as the horizontal axis and stroke volume as the longitudinal axis. However, except for patients after cardiac surgery, the right filling pressure cannot be measured. Fluid responsiveness was evaluated under the assumption that the preload was increased by the fluid challenge. But, it is not clear whether the administered fluid increases preload in a volume-dependent manner.
A clinical study showed that when 1.5 L of lactated Ringer’s solution was infused for 30 min prior to cesarean delivery, only 25% of the infused solution remained in the blood and the fluid increased the blood volume only by 7% [13]. Since blood volume in humans generally ranges from 4 to 6 L, the expansion effect of 500 mL of lactated Ringer’s solution is estimated as maximum 200 mL immediately after fluid challenge. This volume increase is considered minimal relative to the total blood volume. Therefore, the 250–500 mL of crystalloid fluid challenge, which is currently recommended for evaluation of fluid responsiveness, is not sufficient to increase preload and the right atrial pressure of the Starling curve.
Furthermore, individual differences in the effect of infusion on blood volume have also been found. Svensén et al. administered 25 mL/kg of lactated Ringer’s solution to patients who underwent abdominal surgery for 45 min during surgery and found that 40% (4/10) of the patients were fluid responders in whom the CO increased, and the others were non-responders [14]. Ueyama et al. also confirmed the range of blood volume change using 1.5 L lactated Ringer’s solution, 0.5 or 1.0 L of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) to be 0–10, 5–13, and 15–25%, respectively, which reflects individual differences [13] (Fig. 3).
The relation between percent change in blood volume and cardiac output (CO) after volume preload with 1.5 L lactated Ringer’s solution (〇), 0.5 L hydroxyethylstarch solution, 6% (●), and 1.0 L hydroxyethylstarch solution, 6% (×) in parturients at term. [15]. Exponential increase in CO was observed after volume preloading
Sepsis is characterized by diffuse endothelial injury and shedding of the endothelial glycocalyx layer, which induces capillary hyperpermeability. Consequently, crystalloid and colloid solutions cannot be expected to remain in the intravascular space of septic patients. Studies have shown that only 5% or less of the crystalloid infusion remained in the intravascular volume after 1 h in septic patients [15, 16].
In summary, the blood volume expansion effect of 250–500 mL of crystalloid is not only insufficient but also variable among individuals, so this menu is inappropriate for fluid challenge. Furthermore, the mathematical effect of fluid challenge does not translate to septic patients because the blood volume expansion effect of fluid was less in septic patients. Therefore, problems remain with the use of the SV/CO response to small amounts of infusion.
Decreased Afterload by Fluid-Induced Hemodilution
CO is affected not only by preload but also by afterload. In Starling’s experiment, the blood was used as preload. However, unlike the blood, fluid reduces afterload, i.e., systemic vascular resistance (SVR) by hemodilution.
Infusion is considered to decrease SVR due to the following effects on blood flow characteristics.
Hemodilution decreases blood viscosity and hematocrit.
When the blood is diluted, the thickness of the plasma layer in the arteriole increases, leading to decreased vascular resistance with the arteriolar wall [17, 18].
When colloid was administered to patients who underwent peripheral vascular surgery, the CO actually increased but the SVR and mean arterial pressure (MAP) decreased [19].
In septic patients, hemodilution due to volume preload also induced a decrease in SVR. Monge-Garcia et al. administered 500 mL of either crystalloid or colloid for 30 min and evaluated the SV/CO using Doppler transesophageal echocardiography and reported a 10% decrease in the SVR by infusion in fluid responders (67%) [10]. This result suggests that not only increased preload but also decreased afterload is involved in the increase of SV/CO with small amounts of fluid challenge. Marik et al. stated “ Fluid boluses should be considered vasodilator therapy in patients with sepsis and that aggressive fluid resuscitation may potentiate the hyperdynamic state.” [20].
Approximately 50% of septic patients develop myocardial damage caused by inflammatory cytokines and by vascular hyperpermeability earlier at onset, and cardiac function decreases at the early stage of sepsis [21]. In the Starling curve, if left ventricular function is low, the SV/CO is considered not to increase despite the fluid administration in hypovolemic conditions (fig. 1c). However, if afterload is decreased by hemodilution due to fluid administration, the SV/CO may increase despite the low left ventricular function.
Hence, decreased afterload due to hemodilution has a large impact on the interpretation of the fluid responsiveness in fluid challenge.
Does infusion increase SV/CO similar to the Starling curve?
If fluid administration behaved like the Starling curve, the increase in blood volume by infusion should linearly increase CO. However, this does not agree with the past findings that evaluated the relationship between percent change in blood volume and in CO after crystalloid or colloid administration in parturients [13]. This result showed that 8 to 10% increases in blood volume produced by 1.5 L of lactated Ringer’s solution, and 0.5 L of HES were associated with 11 to 14% increase in CO. However, doubling the increase in blood volume (20%) by 1.0 L of HES more than tripled (43%) CO (Fig. 3). As this marked increase in CO in the 1 L HES group was associated with 20% decrease in hemoglobin (Hb) value, the increase in CO is probably due to not only an increase in preload but also a decrease in afterload. This result suggested that SV/CO may increase exponentially, not linearly, as the dose of fluid is increased, even in the normovolemic or hypervolemic state if cardiac function is preserved (Fig. 4). Therefore, it is inappropriate to apply the SV/CO changes by fluid challenge to the conventional Starling curve.
Schematic illustration of the hypothetical Starling curve after fluid administration. Infusion beyond normovolemia may exponential increase SV until the onset of heart failure. The maximum increase in SV against preload change (δSV/δP) may observe at hypervolemic state
Effect of Fluid Therapy on Blood Pressure and Blood Volume
One of the objectives of fluid therapy for critically ill patients is to increase both blood pressure and tissue perfusion pressure by increasing the CO. MAP is defined as follows.
MAP (mmHg) = SVR (dyne*sec*cm−5) × CO (L/min) ÷ 80
This equation shows that blood pressure is the product of SVR and CO.
This equation also shows that for increase in blood pressure, changes in SVR and CO need to maintain a good balance. If fluid is given to a patient with low blood pressure due to bleeding, the reduced CO increases if the blood volume is sufficiently increased beyond the unstressed volume, which leads to increase in blood pressure. However, even if blood pressure is increased by fluid therapy, it is almost impossible to increase systolic blood pressure to 100 mmHg or higher with infusion alone. The reason is that increased CO by fluid administration is offset by the decreased SVR due to hemodilution. Conditions are consistent with blood pressure control for critically ill patients, who have sepsis or ARDS. SVR is also known to decrease by infusion in septic patients [10]. Furthermore, in septic patients, although the MAP is transiently increased by the fluid bolus administration, it returns to base line within 1 h [8, 9].
This result suggests that, in critically ill patients, the effect of the fluid therapy on blood pressure is minimal and the duration is short. Therefore, not only fluid therapy but also vasopressors, including noradrenaline, is necessary to increase vascular resistance and subsequently increase blood pressure.
If fluid responsiveness using the SV/CO changes does not work well, how should we evaluate the effect of fluid therapy on blood volume? A simple method to detect the change in blood volume after fluid administration is the measurement of Hb value. For example, in the situation without bleeding, the decrease in Hb value from 10 to 9 g/dl after fluid administration indicates approximately a 10% increase in blood volume. In a clinical study, the changes in Hb value after fluid administration inversely related with increase in blood volume [13]. If the decreased Hb value after fluid administration increases with time, it means that blood volume augmentation effect of fluid has disappeared.
Rehm et al. recorded the in-out balance and blood volume before and after gynecologic surgery in 18 patients. This study found that the mean blood volume decreased from approximately 5100 mL before surgery to approximately 4600 mL after surgery although transfusion and infusion with colloid were performed for intraoperative bleeding and the intraoperative in-out balance was +3800 mL [22]. Similar results were also found in patients who underwent cardiac and neurosurgical surgery. These results suggest that nearly all infused solutions do not remain in the blood vessels and probably move to interstitial tissues, regardless of whether crystalloid or colloid is administered.
Fluid responsiveness and prognosis
Since the introduction of early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) in 2001 by Rivers et al. [23], the mortality of sepsis decreased. As this EGDT regimen included a fluid therapy, fluid administration is thought to be essential. However, recent clinical study in septic patients showed that positive fluid balance at initial 12 h and day 4 is associated with higher mortality [2]. Furthermore, recent multicenter clinical studies (ProCESS, ARISE, and PROMISE) showed that less fluid administration (about 6 L within the initial 72 h) than EGDT 2001(about 14 L within the initial 72 h) resulted in less mortality [24–26]. Douglas et al. divided the fluid therapy of EGDT into two phases, the early (first 6 h) and the later phases (6–72 h) and suggested that further positive fluid balance in the later phases may be counterproductive [27].
It is not clear whether fluid responsiveness guided fluid therapy improve the prognosis of critically ill patients or not. However, as fluid responders are recommended to repeat fluid therapy until responsiveness disappears, it may induce overhydration and worsen the prognosis. Furthermore, fluid challenge itself is considered to be harmful in some situations. For instance, when a patient falls into hypotension five times a day, a total of 2500 ml of fluid is required for five times 500 ml of fluid challenge [28]. For this reason, a new fluid challenge, called mini-fluid challenge, which administers a small amount of infusion in a short time has been proposed. In mini-fluid challenge, a 100 ml of colloid in 1 min [29] or 50 ml of colloid in 10 s [30] has been tried. One of the problems of this method is the need for accurate CO monitoring, since the changes in CO is small due to small preload. The most serious concern of this method is whether the results from such a small preload is reliable [28].
Instead of fluid challenge, some authors report the effectiveness of the passive leg raising (PLR) [31]. This maneuver is performed by lifting the legs and transiently increasing venous return to the intrathoracic compartment while assessing changes in CO. The advantage of PLR is that preloading is reversible and does not affect afterload, but the disadvantage is that the amount of preloading cannot be evaluated.
From these results, indication of fluid therapy needs to be judged from various examinations and physical findings.
Does Fluid Responsiveness Work?
Starling’s law explains that shifting blood from unstressed volume to stressed volume restores decreased SV/CO. Since Starling’s law does not take into consideration the decrease of afterload due to fluid-induced hemodilution, it is not an appropriate model to explain fluid responsiveness.
Like watering a plant, infusion replenishes the whole body and circulates through the whole body and does not remain in a particular compartment. Liquid taken orally is absorbed in the intestine and retained in the interstitium and then spreads from the blood vessels to the cells. As this is the case, the storage reservoir of fluid is the interstitium, not the blood vessels. It is only natural that infused solution moves rapidly from the blood vessels to the interstitial space. Thus, the effect of fluid on SV/CO is short-lived and limited.
The effect of fluid challenge on SV/CO is more complicated than we thought, and interpretation is difficult. In my opinion, fluid responsiveness based on the Starling curve would not work in the past, present, and future.
Adult respiratory distress syndrome
CVP:
Central venous pressure
EGDT:
Early goal-directed therapy
Hb:
HES:
Hydroxyethyl starch
Mean arterial pressure
PVV:
Pulse pressure variation
SV:
SVR:
SVV:
Stroke volume variation
The authors thank Dr.Takehiko Iijima, Department of Perioperative Medicine, Division of Anesthesiology, Showa University, School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan, for his expert advice.
As my article is a review, this is not applicable in this session.
HU searched the literature, selected the papers, extracted the data, interpretended the data, drafted the manuscript, and approved the final version to be published. SK revised the draft and approved the final manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Not applicable in this session.
Department of Anesthesiology, Kansai Rosai Hospital, 3-1-69, Inabaso, Amagasaki 660-8511, Hyogo, Japan
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In these collections
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Community Maps
Lapeer County
Sanilac County
Mayfield Twp Real Estate - Find Your Perfect Home For Sale!
Mayfield Twp Listings Summary
Mayfield Twp - Town vs. County Stats
Avg Price in Mayfield Twp: $350,300 / County Avg $354,400
Avg Taxes in Mayfield Twp: $1,800 / County Avg $2,200
Avg Sq. Ft. in Mayfield Twp: 1,833 / County Avg 2,180
Avg Price per/ft2 in Mayfield Twp: $191 / County Avg $163
Avg Walkscore in Mayfield Twp: 8 / County Avg 16
Avg Year Built in Mayfield Twp: 1963 / County Avg 1976
Avg Days on Website in Mayfield Twp: 123 / County Avg 81
2388 Millville Road
Mayfield Twp Listings
2254 Valentine Road
Mayfield Twp Real Estate Market Health
Mayfield Township is a civil township of Lapeer County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,659 at the 2000 census.
Mayfield Township was first organized in 1843 when John B. Evans, John Ryan and Martin Stiles gave notice to the township's inhabitants that a town meeting would be held on April 17 at the school near Stiles' home. 34 freeholders met that day, elected the township's first officers, and voted to raise $125 to pay expenses and establish a burial ground. The cemetery was later named after Stiles.
Six years after it was organized, Mayfield Township was attached to Lapeer Township in a move by the state legislature. That arrangement continued until March 13, 1869, when the township was reorganized.
In the years following, the lumber industry grew and by 1874, there were ten saw mills operating in Mayfield Township. The success of the lumber industry resulted in three thriving villages within the township: Fish Lake, Five Lakes and Millville. As land was cleared of its trees, it was sold to individuals for homesteads and farms. By 1884, the village of Fish Lake was abandoned. The census of that year reported no saw, shingle, or lathe mills still operating.
Much of the formerly prime lumbering lands in the township were bought by the Michigan Department of Conservation in 1944. The Michigan State Game Area comprises much of the land once owned by Mayfield Township's early settlers.
Besides the mills at Millville, the township's longest running business may have been the Callis brick making plant. William Callis moved to Mayfield in the mid-1850s. The plant on the family homestead was built about that time and operated for many years. The home Callis built for his son, William Elmer, at the corner of Callis and Davis Lake Roads still stands.
Mayfield Township has also been home to two of the most successful manufacturing businesses in Lapeer County's history. In 1962, Vesely's Apache camping trailer was named Michigan's Consumer Product of the Year. At one time, the plant was the world's largest camping trailer factory, producing up to 2,000 per month. Next, the plant was home to Durakon Industries, which manufactured pickup truck bedliners.
Two historical sites in the township recognized with special markers from the Lapeer County Historical Society are the former villages of Millville and Fish Lake.
Realty Executives Home Towne
49433 Hayes
3543 Pine Grove Ave.
WASHINGTON TWP.
58047 Van Dyke Ave #202
Washington Twp, MI 48094
CHESTERFIELD TWP.
34095 23 Mile Rd.
SHELBY TWP.
49433 Hayes Rd.
Provided through IDX via MiRealSource. Courtesy of MiRealSource Shareholder. Copyright MiRealSource. The information published and disseminated by MiRealSource is communicated verbatim, without change by MiRealSource, as filed with MiRealSource by its members. The accuracy of all information, regardless of source, is not guaranteed or warranted. All information should be independently verified. Copyright 2019 MiRealSource. All rights reserved. The information provided hereby constitutes proprietary information of MiRealSource, Inc. and its shareholders, affiliates and licensees and may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, scanning or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from MiRealSource, Inc.
Provided through IDX via MiRealSource, as the "Source MLS", courtesy of the Originating MLS shown on the property listing, as the Originating MLS. The information published and disseminated by the Originating MLS is communicated verbatim, without change by the Originating MLS, as filed with it by its members. The accuracy of all information, regardless of source, is not guaranteed or warranted. All information should be independently verified. Copyright 2019 MiRealSource. All rights reserved. The information provided hereby constitutes proprietary information of MiRealSource, Inc. and its shareholders, affiliates and licensees and may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, scanning or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from MiRealSource, Inc. Show More...
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An Extraordinary Life at the Market Theatre
Jervis Pennington is bringing his one man musical memoir show to the Market Theatre this June. Straight off a sold out season in Cape Town, An Extraordinary Life traces Jervis’ life and career from a former teen idol, to member of a boy band and finally writer of the highly acclaimed musical, Who really freed Nelson? Don’t miss this witty, intimate show at the Barney Simon venue.
56 Margaret McIngana St, Newtown, Johannesburg.
Jervis Pennington is best known for being a former teen idol and winner of the SABC’s 1983 National TV Talent Show Follow That Star. He toured the country with his boy-band The Soft Shoes and their No 1. song Elvis Astaire, which reached no.1 on several local radio stations. But, what many people don’t know about Jervis is that he really is an excellent song writer. His musical, Scribble /Who really freed Nelson? won five Naledi Theatre Awards including Best Musical and Best Music Score.
Now, Jervis is bringing his life story to the Market Theatre stage. His one man musical memoir, An Extraordinary Life is both witty and heartbreaking. He tells it like it is – from famous to homeless and on to fearless, Jervis doesn’t shy away from the truth. Performing a couple of his older songs, and some new, Jervis has been lauded as a stand-up comedian with the brooding gaze of a poet.
Don’t miss out on An Extraordinary Life. It will be staged for a limited time only, so get your tickets ASAP!
Thursday, 27 June – Sunday, 14 July 2019.
Show times:
Tuesday – Saturday at 20:15
Sunday at 15:15
Market Theatre, Barney Simon Theatre, 56 Margaret Mcingana Str, Newtown, Johannesburg.
Tickets cost R90 – R150 per person and may be purchased online via Webtickets.
For more information, visit the Market Theatre’s website, or follow them on social media for updates:
Contact the theatre Box Office on 011 832 1641 or via email at thatok@markettheatre.co.za
2019-06-27 00:00:00 2019-07-14 18:00:00 Africa/Johannesburg An Extraordinary Life at the Market Theatre https://joburg.co.za/an-extraordinary-life-at-the-market-theatre/ 56 Margaret McIngana St, Newtown, Johannesburg. Joburg.co.za thatok@markettheatre.co.za
The Fisherman At The Market Theatre
What Is It? The Fisherman is coming to The Market Theatre and they are getting ready to wow you with a spectacular......
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パーツ iPhone iPhone 8 Antennas
iPhone 8 Antennas
iPhone 8 A1863
iFixit ギア
お持ちの iPhone 8 モデルを選択:
iPhone 8 A1863 47パーツ
iPhone 8で使用されているパーツ：
iPhone 8 Wi-Fi Diversity Antenna
Replace the Wi-Fi antenna and cable that is stuck to the loudspeaker in the lower right corner inside the rear case.
iPhone 8 Wireless Charging Antenna
Replace a damaged or malfunctioning internal inductive charging coil.
Ten years after the launch of the original iPhone, Apple’s latest refresh of the product line skips the ‘iPhone 7s’ name in favor of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 plus. The iPhone 8 (as well as the 8 Plus and the X) was formally announced on September 12, 2017. The design has remained fairly similar to its predecessor, with the only distinguishing difference being the switch from an aluminum backing to a glass back case. Apple has refined this design over the last three years, so it’s highly polished. The iPhone 8 has added fast-charging support, so you can charge up to 50 percent of the battery in 30 minutes. There’s also wireless charging support through the Qi standard, made possible by the new glass back. Internally, the phone possesses a new hexa-core system-on-chip with two high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores along with an Apple designed GPU that all work to improve system and graphics performance.
There are three models of the iPhone 8. Model A1863 is available for carriers Verizon and Sprint in the U.S. and for carriers in China, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. Model A1905 is available for carriers AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S. and for carriers in Canada, the UK, Europe, and globally excluding Hong Kong, China, and Japan. Model A1906 is for carriers in Japan.
The most commonly needed repairs for the iPhone 8 are cracked screens and dead battery replacements. iFixit carries the best iPhone 8 screens and iPhone 8 batteries on the market.
All iPhone 8 repairs will require a Pentalobe P2 screwdriver in addition to standard precision electronics tools. Any repair that removes the battery from the chassis will require battery replacement strips. If the LCD display is removed from the front of the phone for any repair, you will need replacement display adhesive to restore water resistant functionality. All iFixit Fix Kits come with all tools and replacement adhesive needed to complete the repair.
Once all parts and tools have been acquired, check out iFixit’s iPhone 8 repair guides for step-by-step instructions on how to make the fix.
The iPhone 8 earned a 6 out of 10 in iFixit’s repairability assessment. Watch the Teardown Review for more:
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Blackjewel Still Looking For Money for Campbell County Mines
After another unsuccessful attempt to get $20 million, it was able to obtain $5 million in emergency funding to secure the mines and the equipment.
Blackjewel Still Seeking Funding to Reopen Campbell County Mines
The attorneys for Blackjewel said they expect to provide another status report by Wednesday.
Wyoming Machinery Gets Blackjewel Pledge About Mine Equipment
Wyoming Machinery Co., owns a lot of equipment at the mines and it provides monthly about $3 million in maintenance and other services.
Casper Woman Reported Missing on Friday is Found Safe
Police said Friday she was not in any trouble.
Casper Man Who Threatened Judge Is Not Guilty Because of Insanity
A Casper man was found to be not guilty by reason of insanity for threatening to kill a federal judge in 2017, according to a judge's verdict.
David Michael Chavis and federal prosecutors agreed that he sent a threatening letter to U...
Mills Company Wants to Retrieve its Equipment at Blackjewel Mines
Monday, Blackjewel failed to secure $20 million in emergency funding, and then immediately closed the mines and sent more than 600 mine workers home.
Casper Vice Mayor Shawn Johnson Supports Using Fireworks in City
Professionally-produced fireworks displays are allowed at certain events, such as the July 4th show at the Casper Events Center.
Judge Approves Pay to Workers Sent Home From Campbell Co. Mines
The bankruptcy court also authorized the debtors to pay vendors and shippers that billed Blackjewel before the bankruptcy petition.
BNSF Rail Service to Closed Mines in Campbell County is Uncertain
BNSF Railway, which has hauled coal from the Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte mines in Campbell County, is aware that their owner Blackjewel LLC, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy business reorganization, a BNSF spokeswoman said in an email Wednesday...
Another Emergency Hearing for Blackjewel; CEO Would Resign
The Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of West Virginia is scheduled to conduct the emergency hearing at 12:30 p.m. MST.
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Harminder Singh, AIFF-The All India Football Federation
Player Ratings: India vs Kyrgyzstan
Written by: Sourav Neogi
Khel Now rates and slates players from both teams after the Blue Tigers' latest win in AFC Asian Cup qualifying...
India defeated Kyrgyzstan in their Asian Cup 2019 qualifiers Group A match at Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru last night. The Indian captain, Sunil Chhetri scored the winning goal for the hosts as Jeje Lalpekhlua registered his name on the assist sheet.
Match Highlights: India close in on Asian dream with their second win in 2019 Asian Cup Qualifiers
The match was a physical as well as a tactical showdown between the two teams. Kyrgyzstan started with eight forwards but failed to score a single goal. On the other hand, the Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu delivered a brilliant performance under the sticks, ensuring an Indian win by not conceding from any of the shots by Kyrgyz behemoth Mirlan Murzaev. Chhetri was awarded the Hero of the Match following his heroics against the White Falcons. Let’s take a look at the players’ ratings of the Asian Cup 2019 Qualifier game.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (9.0)
One of India’s best players on the pitch last night. The Indian goalkeeper had a magnificent outing where he saved the Indians from conceding any goals against Kyrgyzstan. Six feet five inches tall, the goalkeeper had little trouble saving Vitalij Lux and Mirlan Murzaev’s long rangers which posed the Indian defence a severe threat. He made at least seven saves from screamers during the match and was content dealing with free-kicks as well. His best moment came when he saved a long shot from the Kyrgyz captain in the 15th minute.
Pritam Kotal (7.5)
The full-back had a decent day at the office last night against the Kyrgyz Republic. The Mohun Bagan right-back started the match brightly, going on complimentary overlapping runs on the right side to support Jackichand Singh on the wings as well as tracking back in case of counter-attacks.
Sandesh Jhingan (8.0)
India vs DPR Korea Analysis: Is the team sizzling or fizzling under Igor Stimac?
#INDSYR Talking Points: Did the Blue Tigers put themselves under pressure with poor passing?
The central defender had another solid match against the White Falcons. Though he lost track of Kyrgyz attackers in the box several times (e.g. against Murzaev in the second half) he caught up with the rest of the attack builders, won the possession and contributed to the defensive duties actively.
Anas Edathodika (8.0)
One of the better performers of the Indian contingent against the White Falcons. Edathodika posed a threat to the Kyrgyz attackers throughout the game. The defender from Mohun Bagan was constantly on watch and his agility helped him keep forwards such as Bernhardt and Murzaev at bay. The central defender won the possession several times from opposition counter-attacks and contributed to that of the Indians.
Narayan Das (6.5)
The full-back was subject to a lot of Kyrgyz penetration and ball playing on the left side of India. The East Bengal defender lost the possession several times and failed to block opposition forwards penetrating through the left side which ended in several build-ups and crosses which could have dismantled the Indian defence.
Rowlin Borges (6.5)
The midfielder who played with stitches in his head had a typically combative performance in the middle of the park. Tasked with covering for the more forward inclined Eugeneson Lyngdoh he was often required to break up Kyrgyz surged through midfield and while his success rate was hit and miss he was never overawed by the opposition or the occasion and stuck to his guns throughout the evening.
Also read: Tactically stout India see off defensively strong Kyrgyzstan
Eugeneson Lyngdoh (7.0)
It wasn't one of his best games in an India shirt or the Bengaluru FC man. His inability to link up with the forwards and provide quality service from midfield was one of the reasons the Indians found themselves on the back foot for much of the first half. That said, the creative ace was workman-like in his tracking back, a role usually foreign to him and deserves credit for that.
Jackichand Singh (6.0)
The winger had a mixed bag of a game. He found himself in space on the right wing on several occasions and while his pace was an asset the quality of his final ball was poor, to say the least. Jackichand also joined Rowlin Borges and Eugenson Lyngdoh in defensive duties several times, overcrowding the defence and denying the visitors to score goals on many chances.
Holicharan Narzary (7.0)
The DSK Shivajians man did not have that much effect as was expected from him. Narzary was caught between the Kyrgyzstan defenders and was forced to either give up the possession or misfire throughout the match. However, he created few chances throughout the game that kept Sunil Chhetri and company fed during the match.
Sunil Chhetri (9.0)
The best man on the pitch against the Kyrghyz Republic. The Indian skipper had a superb game against the White Falcons and scored the only goal of the match and deservedly won the Hero of the Match award. Chhetri, who returned to the fold from an injury displayed leadership skills, magnificent runs into the opponent box as well as defending against opposition counter-attacks.
Sunil Chhetri: 'by far the best performance by the Indian Team' in a long time
Jeje Lalpekhlua (7.0)
The Indian striker had a moderate game at best against Kyrgyzstan as he often misfired as well as lost possession to the Kyrgyz defenders. Jeje was also found out of position which as a result broke down Indian counters and helped the Kyrgyz players to regroup once again. However, it was the Mohun Bagan man’s individual brilliance that saw a lobbed pass finding Chhetri’s feet before the captain converted it in to score the only goal of the match.
Substitutions:
Mohammed Rafique (7.0)
The midfielder replaced Rowlin Borges in the midfield in the 65th minute of the second half. Rafique provided the team with incisiveness in attack which ultimately helped tilt the balance in India's favour. He made some important tackles and maintained a sustainability by dealing with opponent counter attacks.
Bikash Jairu (6.5)
Jairu replaced Jackichand Singh in the 74th minute of the match and provided fresh legs and good energy that helped the team see out Kyrgyzstan'ssearch for an equaliser in the final minutes.
Robin Singh (6.0)
The striker was sent on the pitch in the 80th minute and replaced Jeje Lalpekhlua in the team. Although he wasted a chance to score the second goal of the match in the dying minutes his physical presence and pace were key both at the back and in attack.
12th Man: Indian Football Fans (10)
The sort of support West Block Blues, the East Block and other fans in the stands provided the Blue Tigers was exemplary.
One of the biggest banners in Asian Football was unveiled on Tuesday evening at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore.
Kyrgyzstan:
Pavel Matiash (7.5)
The Kyrgyz shot-stopper started the match brightly but conceded a goal in the second half which allowed India to defeat the White Falcons at home. However, the Maziya S&RC goalkeeper pulled off some good saves and gave his compatriots a fighting chance against India.
Kozubaev Tamilran (5.0)
The full-back had a moderate game, based solely on physicality against the Blue Tigers. Tamilran could not keep the Indian wingers at bay throughout the match which resulted in several crosses to the Kyrgyz penalty box, intended for the Indian strikers.
Iliaz Alimov (5.5)
The 26-year old defender posed a threat to the Indian attackers in the initial phase of the match but failed to sustain his performance for long. Alimov made some important tackles, regaining possessio in the process.
Amanbek Manybekov (5.0)
The young defender had a tough time adapting to the Indian players’ pace last night. He was caught off guard several times but was saved by Alimov who came into rescue him. However, both of the central defenders were at fault for the only goal of the match.
Maier Viktor (8.0)
Arguably the best Kyrgyz player on the pitch. The Germany-born footballer was a constant threat to the Indian defence throughout the match. Maier, who operated primarily as a full-back kept Pritam Kotal on his toes. Maier made some important crosses, however, none were converted because of individual brilliance of Sandesh Jhingan and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu who dealt with the aerial balls, denying Viktor to get in on the assist sheet.
Anton Zemlianukhin (N/A)
The Kyrgyz winger could not make much impact in the match as he was injured in the early minutes of the first half and was taken out on a stretcher.
Akhlidin Israilov (7.0)
The midfielder displayed a superb gameplay in the middle of the pitch as he outsmarted his Indian counterparts throughout the game. Israilov played an instrumental part in Kyrgyzstan's domination of the midfield, denying the Indian midfielders to gain possession. He also dictated the buildup well, distributing key passes to Murzaev and Lux upfront.
Farkhat Musabekov (7.0)
The physical presence of Farkhat Musabekov made things more complicated for the Indian midfielders. Farkhat, who acted as a holding midfielder, shielding the defence, intercepted numerous passes and broke down several counter attacks, denying the Indian midfielders to find the attackers up front.
Baktyiar Duishobekov (5.5)
One of the weakest links in the Kyrgyzstan team last night, the left winger was caught between Jackichand Singh and Pritam Kotal several times and was forced to give up the possession. He also displayed a poor defensive ability, which resulted in Jackichand runs into the opposition half and delivering crosses to the Indian forwards.
Mirlan Murzaev (7.0)
The Kyrgyz captain was surely one of the better performers on the pitch against India. Murzaev, who operated in the middle and just behind the striker, created several chances for Lux in the opposition half but none of them was converted into goals. Murzaev also displayed some skills in distribution, passing the ball to the striker or to the wings. He also made some brilliant long range shots towards the Indian goal but all the shots were saved by the Indian goalkeeper.
Vitalij Lux (5.0)
The striker did not have a good day at the office against India as he was denied on several chances by the Indian shot-stopper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Lux, who was operating as the loan striker for the White Falcons, was forced to go wide for the brilliant defensive display of the Indian defensive duo Edathodika and Jhingan. He also wasted some key chances and lost possession in the final third and was one of the worst performers on the pitch for Kyrgyzstan last night.
Edgar Bernhardt (5.0)
Bernhardt replaced an injured Anton Zemlianukhin in the early minutes of the first half. However, he failed to replicate the form of the star forward and was subject to wasting several chances against India. He lost possession to the Indian full-backs multiple times, handing India the opportunity of a counter-attack.
Jyrgalbek Uluu Kairat (N/A)
Uluu replaced the visitors’ captain Murzaev in the later parts of the second half but could not have much impact on the game.
Murolimzhon Akhmedov (N/A) Akhmedov replaced Maier Viktor in the 81st minute
Akhmedov replaced Maier Viktor in the 81st minute of the match but could not impact the game much.
12th Man: YAMAMOTO (Referee) (10.0)
The Japanese referee is well known in the Indian sub-continent for his controversial and wayward decision making. The final of ISL 2015 was officiated by him and the game is still remembered for its horrific decision-making. On Tuesday evening, the 34-year-old was again in ISL mode and gave numerous decisions against the hosts, some of them shameful.
Published: Wed Jun 14, 2017 04:57 PM IST
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Search still on for serial child predator
New details arise in Brantford double homicide
Still no sign of a stray dog's owner
Sweltering temps sweeping Southern Ontario
Woman who gave water to pigs bound for slaughter not guilty of mischief
Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, May 4, 2017 12:27PM EDT
Last Updated Thursday, May 4, 2017 1:44PM EDT
A Toronto woman who gave water to pigs on a truck headed to an abattoir didn't break the law since she didn't harm the animals or prevent them from being slaughtered, an Ontario judge ruled Thursday as he found the activist not guilty of a mischief charge.
Anita Krajnc also did not intend to hurt the pigs or mean to cause the slaughterhouse to reject them, Justice David Harris told a Milton, Ont., courtroom packed with animal activists.
Court heard that on June 22, 2015, Krajnc was dumping liquid from a water bottle into a truck carrying pigs in Burlington, Ont., as the vehicle approached a slaughterhouse.
Despite the Crown's argument that Krajnc gave the pigs an "unknown substance," potentially contaminating the food supply, there was no evidence she gave them anything but water or that the slaughterhouse was concerned about such a risk, Harris said.
But the judge rejected a defence argument that Krajnc should be cleared because she was acting in the greater good, and suggested she may have been motivated in part by the prospect of drawing attention to her cause.
"This may be the most ironic aspect of this case," Harris said. "The fact that Ms. Krajnc gave water to a pig received little attention initially."
"Conversely, the act of prosecuting Ms. Krajnc has probably led to enough bad publicity for the pork industry that it might be said that the prosecution actually accomplished what they accused Ms. Krajnc of trying to do."
Cheers erupted in the courtroom as Krajnc, an activist with the group Toronto Pig Save, was acquitted on the charge of mischief laid in connection with the incident. She had pleaded not guilty, although she admitted to giving the pigs water.
Outside court, Krajnc acknowledged that the case has bolstered her cause and said she hoped it would encourage others to stand up for animal rights.
"This is how social movements get their word out, we go outside our comfort zone and we do what's right," she said.
James Silver, one of Krajnc's lawyers, said the court ruling "acknowledges that compassion is not a crime," which he deemed an important victory.
Her other lawyer, Gary Grill, nonetheless expressed some disappointment that the judge "missed the greater arguments...about Anita acting in the public good."
"Should the matter arise again, we'll be ready to make that argument all over," he said.
A spokesman for a group representing farmers said he recognized Krajnc was trying to do the right thing but said the ruling was a letdown.
Pat Jilesen, director of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, said that for farmers, it was a matter of protecting food safety.
Krajnc's behaviour, no matter how well-intentioned, "puts not only the animals at risk, it puts people at risk," he said.
The Crown had argued that the pigs were the property of a farmer, and Krajnc was interfering with his property.
In his decision, Harris said the activist had not interfered with anyone's property.
But he took issue with the defence equating Krajnc giving water to pigs with people giving water to Jews transported on cattle trains during the Holocaust, calling the comparison "offensive."
He also rejected comparisons to historic rights activists such as Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Susan B. Anthony.
Harris said that while it is legal for activists such as Krajnc to tout a meat-free lifestyle and put pressure on governments to change the law, "they must however do this within the confines of the law that currently exists."
Krajnc had testified that she was treating the pigs as she would want to be treated.
The pigs' owner, farmer Eric Van Boekel, testified that he complained to police because he was worried there were contaminants in the water, and that could lead the slaughterhouse to turn his hogs away.
Pig trial resumes in Milton
Driver of truck that crashed while carrying pigs to slaughterhouse facing charges
Animal rights activist Anita Krajnc gives water to a pig in a truck in a handout photo. (The Canadian Press/HO-Elli Garlin)
Fire burns tents, hydro pole in Kitchener
Suspicious vehicle reported before murders of Ont. couple
Unlicenced pot shop removes city barricades, re-opens
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klempner69
Hampton Court Palace 2014.
In 1514, in the parish of Hampton, Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York began building a magnificent palace on the north bank of the River Thames. Wolsey had water for his new palace running from Coobe Hill in Surrey through lead pipes which traveled through Surbiton to get to Hampton Court. Not much of Wolsey's original building remains due to the remodeling by Henry VIII and later kings. Part of the Great Hall are probably from Wolsey's palace, and the structure of the Base Court looks much like it did in Wolsey's time. The parts of the kitchens from the original building are also very much as they were in Wolsey's first building.Henry VIII received the palace from Wolsey in the mid to late 1520s, although the Archbishop retained apartments there, as well as at all the other royal palaces until he fell from favor and was arrested (and subsequently died before he could be executed). Henry made many additions to the palace and most of the Tudor parts we still see today were built by him. Henry enlarged and rebuilt his own apartments, parts of the kitchens, the Chapel Royal, replaced most of the Great Hall and added tennis courts. Henry also laid out the overall plan for the gardens at Hampton Court, the basic structure of which is still seen today.All photos were taken using a phone,so please be lenient!
We park in the rail station car park and walk across the bridge to the Palace main entrance.
Walking down towards the entrance
Tickets please
Impressive looking building
We elect to start by going round the kitchens
Head over to the door next to the right hand tower
Where the meat was prepared
Home made pies
The surround is actually made from lead!!
More pies..can you imagine the mouth watering smells here!
Modern range!
Gorgeous old range
Massive fire place needed a lot of fuel methinks
Heat would have risen all the way up
I assume each one of these had a fire lit underneath
Early type of spit roaster
I reckon this kitchen was damn good for the time period
But then again,it was a palace!
Joints of meat would have been skewered and turned by hand to cook
Imagine the heat produced in this area alone cooking for a palace this size
Yet another prep area
Judging by the blackened wall,it was extensively used
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Konica Minolta bizhub C554e/C454e Series Offers Enhanced Performance
Next Generation Color MFPs Feature Intuitive Control Panel Interface
Ramsey, N.J. – May 29, 2013 – Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta) today announces the launch of the bizhub® C554e/C454e Series of Color Multifunctional Products (MFP - print, copy, scan and fax all in one system). Featuring Konica Minolta’s award-winning INFO-Palette design, these high-speed, high-volume print/copy/scan MFPs are considered enhanced versions of their predecessors (bizhub C554/C454) and offer broader accessibility, more effective communication, improved information sharing and energy savings.
The series is ideal for a broad range of users, including medium to large businesses; healthcare, education and legal customers with customization needs; and corporate environments with high-quality color output needs. With output speeds of up to 55 ppm and built in print control, this new series provides high-volume printing with pro-quality inline finishing options. The series also incorporates the latest evolution of INFO-Palette design with enhancements including: improved swiping; drag and drop; tap and toggle; pinch in and pinch out; as well as image rotation operations. The control panel offers direct access to downloadable apps from the Konica Minolta bizhub MarketPlace®, and security has been expanded on these models, making them one of the first bizhub MFPs to comply with the IEEE 2600.1 international standard for MFP and printer information security as well as ISO 14001 international environmental standards.
To reduce energy consumption, the series incorporates a wake-up function, which enables automatic answering for network communication. The result is a larger power shutdown area that reduces power consumption in sleep mode so that electricity is only provided to the area needed to wake up the device. This new platform consumes less than 1.0 watts during sleep mode and also improves TEC values.
“We continue to improve upon the success of existing models to respond to what we hear from our customers and how we can better improve their workflow,” says Kevin Kern, senior vice president, Marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. “As an enhanced series of MFPs, the bizhub C554e and bizhub C454e demonstrate how customers can count on Konica Minolta for solutions that are easily customized to their business needs with less impact to the environment.”
Click here for more information on the bizhub C554e/C454e series.
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is a leader in advanced document management technologies and IT Services. The company focuses on complete business solutions including production print systems, digital presses, multifunctional products (MFPs), managed print services, vertical application solutions and related services and supplies. Konica Minolta has won numerous awards and recognition including being recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for six years in a row. For the third consecutive year, Buyers Laboratory LLC (BLI) has named Konica Minolta as the winner of its “A3 MFP Line of the Year” award. In 2012, Konica Minolta also received “Document Imaging Solutions Line of the Year” recognition from BLI – and has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index in recognition of the company’s economic, environmental and social performance. For more information, please visit www.CountOnKonicaMinolta.com and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Konica Minolta Contacts
Naeran Rubio
nrubio@kmbs.konicaminolta.us
Rachel Reed
rachel.reed@kmbs.konicaminolta.us
Alicia Libucha
alibucha@kmbs.konicaminolta.us
Konica Minolta bizhub® and bizhub MarketPlace® are registered trademarks of Konica Minolta, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
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Tag Archives: Fossil
46 million year old Blood-filled mosquito fossil found.
A Unique 46-million-year-old mosquito fossil with a belly full of dried blood has been found in a Montana riverbed, US researchers say.
“It is an extremely rare fossil, the only one of its kind in the world,” said Dale Greenwalt, lead author of the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, on Monday.
Cutting-edge instruments detected the unmistakable traces of iron in her engorged abdomen, but just what creature that blood came from is a mystery since DNA cannot be extracted from a fossil that old.
Greenwalt said it might have been blood from a bird, since the ancient mosquito resembles a modern one from the genus Culicidae, which likes to feed on our feathered friends.
“But that would be pure speculation,” said Greenwalt, a retired biochemist who volunteers at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington.
Greenwalt said he became fascinated with fossilised insects several years ago.
He learned about Master’s student Kurt Constenius, who described his discoveries of fossilised insects along a remote Montana riverbed in an obscure geological journal more than two decades ago.
Greenwalt and Constenius discussed the fossil grounds, which lie near the Flathead River along the western boundary of Glacier National Park.
The fossil described in PNAS came from a collection of fossilised insects languishing in Constenius’s basement since the 1980s, and which he and his family had donated to the Smithsonian museum.
“As soon as I saw it, I knew it was different,” Greenwalt said.
The mosquito itself is only about 0.5cm in size. Somehow, the fragile creature ate its last meal, filling its abdomen until it was nearly ready to burst like a balloon.
Then, perhaps as the mosquito was flying over an algae-coated lake, it became caught in that mucus, enveloped in microbes that protected it from degrading, and eventually sank deep into the sediment of the lake.
Despite its impressive age it is far from the oldest known mosquito fossil. That honour goes to a 95-million-year-old mosquito in amber in Myanmar.
First Fossil of Blood-Filled Mosquito Discovered (richarddawkins.net)
Blood found in 46-million-year-old mosquito – Sydney Morning Herald (smh.com.au)
First Fossil of Blood-Filled Mosquito Discovered (westerndigs.org)
Posted in Science | Tagged DNA, Flathead River, Fossil, Glacier National Park, Montana, Mosquito, National Museum of Natural History, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | Leave a reply
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Recent Articles:
The State Dinner: Gifts for Sasha and Malia
MERAKI; To do something with soul, creativity, love
How to: Wear the Maverick Shawl
Posted: Mar 16 2016
The State Dinner
Last Thursday we had the honour of finding out that our collection had just been selected as part of a monumental event being held at the White House.
As part of the State Visit, the first between Canada and the United States in 19 years, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and Justin Trudeau made sure to represent Canadian designers during each part of the day.
Upon arrival at the White House, the Trudeau's presented the Obama's with gifts on behalf of Canada. For Sasha and Malia Obama, we were so honoured to have our Maverick Shawls gifted to the young ladies.
The gifting happened just prior to a Let Girls Learn event, an organization in support of young female education worldwide, and a cause Michelle Obama is active in supporting. As a subject matter we're very passionate about, this could not have been more meaningful.
To us, a Maverick is 'a person who shows independence of thought and action' and our line is designed for strong, empowered females. We hope both Sasha and Malia love them!
Thank you to Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and Justin Trudeau for your support of Canadian designers and for including our line as a small part in this event.
And thank you to Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and Michelle Obama for supporting female education, entrepreneurship, and empowerment through the conversations you're having, relationships you're building, and example you're setting.
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Win a Cadfael: Complete Collection autographed by Sir Derek Jacobi!
by Patrick Luce
Monsters and Critics
Seen on PBS.s Mystery! in the late 1990s and based on the best-selling books by Ellis Peters, Cadfael: The Complete Collection has arrived on DVD from Acorn Media, and M&C is giving away a copy autographed by Sir Derek Jacobi! Featuring all 13 episodes from the acclaimed series, Cadfael: Complete Collection sees Jacobi (I, Claudius; Gosford Park; Hamlet) in the role of Brother Cadfael, a warrior turned monk who solves crimes in war-torn medieval England. Filled with pitch-perfect period detail, the award-winning series also features stars Julian Firth (Sylvia) and Michael Culver (A Passage to India) and offers a riveting glimpse into the past. Once a Crusader, now a man of the cloth, the worldly but humble
See full article on Monsters and Critics
Mystery!: Cadfael (1994)
Gosford Park (2001)
Sylvia (2003)
A Passage to India (1984)
Edith Pargeter
Julian Firth
Michael Culver (I)
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Hairini bus lane cops flack
4:32pm Thursday 12 Jul, 2018 | By Sam Gardner sam@thesun.co.nz
The new bus lane opened last Friday. File photo.
Residents are venting their frustrations over a new dedicated bus lane in Hairini.
The Hairini St and Turret Road bus lane opened Friday July 6, allowing buses to take an uninterrupted trip down Hairini Street and onto the causeway toward the Turret Road bridge.
An Ohauiti resident, who only wishes to be referred to as Andy, says he doesn’t agree with it.
“I tried to contact council about it and they told me it wasn’t their road. I got referred to NZTA, who diverted me back to council who finally admitted the road is their responsibility.
“They tell me the whole reason behind it all is they want people out of cars and onto buses or bikes.
“Only about two or three per cent of people use buses and they think this is enough to justify blocking a whole lane to other vehicles. It’s not good enough,” says Andy.
“If they want to get people in buses, they should put all the schoolkids in buses in the morning. You see it during school holidays, there’s no traffic and it’s a breeze.
“We’re paying for all these buses in our rates, and they’re all driving around empty. How long is that going to go on for? Why not get vans instead? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bus in this city at its maximum capacity, so why not downsize.”
Andy, who lives on Ohauiti Road, has been told Council are reconsidering allowing a right turn from the Welcome Bay Rd intersection again.
“That’s great but still have traffic going the other way too. Make it free, so cars are moving and get the traffic going.
“At the end of the day it’s not too much of an inconvenience to me, but it’s going to hinder traffic, slow things down and we want to get the roads moving, make it easier for people not harder.
“They say the decision is indefinite, but they might look into putting another road in, at a later time.”
Andy says council hasn’t given enough thought to other people using the roads.
“It’s all been driven by their own ideology. They want to put everyone in buses and on bikes but they haven’t thought about how practical that is.
“I’m a small business owner and I can’t fit all my gear in a bus. Eighty per cent of businesses in town are the same.
He says his thoughts are echoed by neighbouring residents.
Harini resident Peter Magnussen is another person who has voiced his disapproval.
He says he has been sent two letters.
The first, dated June 25, informed residents Hairini Road would be “closed for a few weeks".
He says this was followed by another, dated July 5, which claimed the road would be “closed for the foreseeable future".
“I sent an email to council asking what date it would be opened, and if it wasn’t going to open again, then why not? I’m waiting on a response.”
Peter says Hairini residents want the road open.
“I started walking around asking neighbours their opinion; I got seven people saying they want the road open.
“People who live at 1 and 1a Hairini Street can’t even legally get out of their house,” says Peter. “They have to do an illegal action to get out of their house and there’s a camera on the road capturing it all.
“Council have done a lot of stupid things here, but the most recent is that the Welcome Bay Road now has a right-turn, right in the middle of the road.
“We used to always have two lanes, we could park in the middle of everything to come down Hairini Street but now they’ve made the right-hand lane a right turn onto the Maungatapu roundabout and only one lane going down to Hairini Street.
“You can imagine if three cars are going down Hairini Street, we’re going to block the main highway.
“It’s very difficult to describe unless you’re there experiencing it for yourself.”
Tauranga City Council transportation manager Martin Parkes says the bus lane is part of a long-term solution.
“If we’re serious about addressing traffic congestion then we need to help make public transport more convenient and reliable.
“The Hairini Street bus lane will allow buses a faster trip into the city. One bus lane on its own won’t solve the city’s traffic issues, but it’s an important piece of the larger puzzle.
"The Bay Of Plenty Regional Council is planning to introduce a new, improved bus service in December 2018. We’re supporting this initiative by looking for opportunities to give buses higher priority on the roads.
“We appreciate that it might be hard to see the benefits of bus lanes in the short term, but to improve the efficiency and safety of the transport network, we need to start somewhere.”
The proposed build of the lane was announced in May, however a consultation process did not take place.
“The road closure change happened faster than planned because Hairini Street was closed unexpectedly for safety reasons,” says Martin. “The NZ Transport Agency and council had to react quickly, not allowing time to consult with the community in the way we would have preferred.”
He has confirmed the bus lane is permanent.
“Safety above convenience is our priority. Council and the Transport Agency are monitoring traffic movements and reviewing the access for general traffic down Hairini Street.”
The lane is restricted to buses only with motorcyclists and cars using the general traffic lanes. In addition cyclists share an off-road facility with pedestrians.
Anyone driving an unauthorised vehicle on the bus lane is at risk of a $150 fine.
Road closed, power cut following crash in Parkvale
Vehicle crashes down bank onto beach
SH29 reopened following crash
77 per cent of crime unreported
Security workers flee bush gunfire in BOP
Fuel prices around Tauranga
Air ambulances may be cut from rural areas
Future growth of the Te Papa peninsula
Teachers to protest along Cameron Road
$4.4 million drinking water supply project begins
hairini bus lane experiment
Posted on 11-02-2019 13:50 | By Bill S
it,s time to re visit the bus lane introduction. Even when a bus does use the bus lane they will be basically empty,in the meantime the diverted traffic is adding to the congestion on the Maungatapu end. Both directions of the highway are conjested. The $45 m tunnel was sold by TransitNZ to clear their highway ! Then they agree to shutting the Hairini road and allowing TCC to put in a bus lane. Waste of asphalt. Time to admit a mistake has been made and return the road for purpose.
Lane for no one
Posted on 13-07-2018 20:27 | By Hopeful
TCC have to realise that just because they want the people out of cars & into buses just will NEVER make it happen. Tauranga Citizen’s have always used their cars to get from point A to B, then add the population explosion and development growth we are experiencing, add the country’s third largest port and remember we are in the centre of the golden triangle of Auckland Hamilton and Rotorua. Making Hairini sliplane just for a few empty buses has completely made the whole maungatapu underpass a big farce leaving only 1 lane into CBD for traffic coming from Eastern Link,Mount, Maungatapu, Ohauiti. There will always be cars on our roads, it’s a certainty that this will increase, it’s a given that TCC will never fix the problem till they four lane 29a Corridor and bridge, then think about bus lane wishes
Posted on 12-07-2018 19:26 | By Castreece
I totally agree, the amount of cars dropping kids off to school is dangerous. When my daughter was at school it started off that I could pay for a school bus pass, then there were too many children and my daughter wasn’t allowed on bus at all. The amount of dings and near misses with all the cars outside of the school when I had to drive her was shocking. I love driving in school holidays as the traffic drops dramatically. Come on council, look after kids and traffic congestion, bus our children to school.
About time someone started complaining
Posted on 12-07-2018 18:03 | By Angel74
the welcome bay tunnel has only caused new problems and more congestion, like Andy im also a resident of ohauiti, and getting on a bus or a bike isnt an option, im a support worker and need my car. Something else ive noticed is drivers coming down from the Maungatapu intersection changing over to the right hand lane, which is meant for traffic exiting the tunnel..................i say open up the exit on Hairini street and get the traffic on the welcome bay intersection moving again.
Lost respect
Posted on 12-07-2018 17:21 | By Blasta
As the title says, I have lost respect for the council over this rash, ill conceived ideologically based decision. Less safe, builds congestion and totally negligent. The welcome bay roundabout is now just a morass off people getting cut off, pulling out in f not of each other, frustration and horns. OPEN THE BUS LANE TO THE GENERAL TRAFFIC!
Complete Stuff Up
Posted on 12-07-2018 17:10 | By Taffy
We now have a bus lane on the left as we approach the bridge,and traffic on the right on the new through road,now I have noticed that if the left lane is even a little blocked we now have the impatient drivers switching lanes just to save a few seconds. Secondly if traffic is light on the Welcome Bay underpass traffic is going too fast, nobody takes any notice of the current 50kph limit. Maybe they need to put yellow lines down the centre of the road to stop lane jumping.We do not need a bus lane catering for a min number,I observed atleast six buses this morning that had 2 or 3 passengers and two that had 1.Come on TCC get it sorted!!!
What are they.
Posted on 12-07-2018 16:55 | By astex
Trying to make a left turn at the maungatapu roundabout with the tailback at rush hour is almost impossible.Allowing a right turn at Ohauiti Road will just send cars to another "car park". Oh, they keep saying that Hairini Road is closed for "safety reasons". Two things needed here. What are the safety reasons and how come, if unsafe, the buses are permitted to use it?
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The Permanent Smilers: One Real Big Identity Crisis – album review
Written by Paul Scott-Bates9 March, 2015
The Permanent Smilers – One Real Big Identity Crisis (IRL Records)
CD / DL
Norfolk alternative rockers releases their new album. Louder Than War’s Paul Scott-Bates reviews.
As the title would indicate, One Real Big Identity Crisis flies through one of the most eclectic albums you’ll have heard for a while. From the opening Identity Crisis sounding like The Wedding Present and straight into Uh-Oh with its Sergeant Pepper characteristic, the album is clearly influenced by many.
Led by Richard Lemongrower (unsurprisingly the songwriter behind The Lemongrowers) the Norfolk band fill an album with thirteen tracks, some obscenely short, which are nothing short of effervescent and very enjoyable. Anyone who says that the album is incoherent clearly isn’t listening as the tracks are perfectly arranged in a running order that speaks as much about the album as the tracks itself.
Like the circus depicted on the album artwork the tracks move from act to act in a fashion that indicate a band already at the top of their game. Elastic is a catchy piece before the chorus comes into play with hints of Inspiral Carpets containing a lovely little keyboard tinkering away in the background, and despite Just No Good being less than two minutes long it packs an energetic backing and power in from the off.
With nods towards Wonderstuff and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin thrown in for good measure it’s an album that really can’t fail to impress. It Doesn’t Work Anymore has more than a smattering of The Fall about it and by the time the low-key Ghosts comes around a respite is more than welcome. Ghosts is lovely, with its gentle horn section and simple percussive background allowing vocals to shine through.
Voodoo as you’d expect has a slightly tribal sound and vocals that appear to be echoing through a jungle pass, and You Know When To Go is the most energetic fifty-four seconds this side of Norwich. More simplicity with album closer Sleepyhead in the style of Here Comes The Sun and who can argue? As Spring approaches The Permanent Smilers could be ready to grin inanely across the airwaves.
The Permanent Smilers have a website here and can be liked on Facebook here.
All words by Paul Scott-Bates. More of Paul’s writing on Louder Than War can be found at his author’s archive. Paul’s website is hiapop Blog and you can follow him on Twitter here, and on Facebook here. You can also follow him on Twitter as @saveonthewire for all On The Wire news.
Album Reviews Alt Rock Reviews Blogs Indie Pop Reviews Music Music Reviews Pop-punk Reviews Rock Reviews
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Every Cook Can Govern
Filed under: democracy,national question,socialism — louisproyect @ 6:47 pm
Among the more than a thousand films I have reviewed over the past 24 years, “Every Cook Can Govern: Documenting the life, impact & works of CLR James” earns pride of place as the most intelligent, serious and passionate application of Marxism among all of them. I strongly urge buying the DVD from the film’s website since it is not only a study of arguably the most important Marxist thinker since the death of Leon Trotsky but a chronicle of some of the major events of the 20th century class struggle seen through the prism of James’s career. The documentary brings together the most respected CLR James scholars (among them Paul Buhle, Scott McLemee and Kent Worcester) as well as family members such as his former partner Selma James and his nephew Darcus Howe, a revolutionary activist and major thinker in his own right. Finally, you can see James himself discussing his life-long career as a revolutionary that culminated with what he considered his greatest achievement—helping to destroy Stalinism.
When I joined the Socialist Workers Party in 1967, party veterans would always speak derisively of those dissidents who eventually found themselves removed either voluntarily or involuntarily from the group that Leon Trotsky considered the gold standard of his ill-fated Fourth International. CLR James was the leader of a tendency in the party along with Raya Dunayevskaya, who wrote articles under the names of Johnson and Forest. When the standard turned out to be made of fool’s gold, I made it a point to read the “renegades” who were always portrayed as fleeing helter-skelter from Marxism. James’s writings were an epiphany for me. All the appetites that I had suppressed in the SWP could be satisfied by reading James, especially his brilliant discussions of both high and popular culture. James was not only capable of writing on Shakespeare and Herman Melville. He also wrote “Beyond a Boundary”, a combination memoir and salute to the game of cricket. Indeed, the title of that book expressed my vision of the kind of Marxism that was necessary, one that sought to transcend sterile sectarian divisions on the left.
I was not the only person inspired by James. What makes the film so compelling was the passionate interviews with people who knew him when he was alive or through his writings, including a number of British college students who were familiar with his work as well as activists in the ongoing struggle against racism and imperialism.
What sets James apart from other Marxists was his lived experience as a subject of the British Empire. Born in 1901 in the town of Tunapuna in Trinidad, then a British colony, he became acutely aware of the racism of the white upper crust and the injustice of being ruled from afar. That racism expressed itself in a number of ways, including the unwritten rule that Blacks could not coach cricket teams as well as the poverty suffered by the descendants of slaves. His earliest achievements were in writing fiction, especially about the lower classes he identified with. Paul Buhle refers to his novel “Minty Alley” as remarkably contemporary and accomplished, one that could have been the first in a chain of critically acclaimed and financially rewarding works. Instead James devoted himself to a revolutionary career, something that Horkheimer once referred to as leading to misery, disgrace, ingratitude, prison and a voyage into the unknown. Not only did James choose such a career but one inside its most isolated and woebegone sector—the Trotskyist movement.
The film wisely chose to stick to James’s political life rather than his personal story. While I am sure that his marriage to someone as outspoken and talented as Selma James could have been a story in itself, co-directors Ceri Dingle and Rob Harris wisely focused on his activism and his ideas.
One of the most interesting parts of that life was the time he spent in Nelson, England that was to the textile industry that Detroit was to the auto industry. In both cases, the factories have either been levelled to the ground or lay dormant. Nelson was not only a stronghold of the Labour Party but its left wing. James felt at home among these workers and especially their love of cricket and football that were virtually the only entertainment for the masses in the age before television.
Alan Hudson, an Oxford professor who grew up in Nelson, must be singled out for his tour of the town that has the charm of the best guide you have ever heard as well as the erudition of someone with a scholarly grasp of working class history. In one memorable scene, he is sitting at a picnic table with young college students having what amounts to a seminar on James’s relationship to the town that makes you realize that leftists still have an important role in academia.
CLR James’s masterpiece “Black Jacobins” is dedicated to his “good friends” Harry and Elizabeth Spencer of Nelson, Lancashire, England. Harry Spencer was a leftist and well off enough to provide the 100 pounds that James needed to work full time on researching Toussaint L’Ouverture. The discussion of the book by various scholars in the film is worth the price of the DVD since it provides an eye-opening perspective on why France and England had diverse class interests on the slave trade. We learn that James had little use for William Wilberforce, the icon of British abolitionism and much more for the textile workers who refused to work on cotton exported from the south during the Civil War even though the loss of wages created severe hardship for their families.
If Deutscher was justified in calling Leon Trotsky a prophet, you can reasonably describe James in the same terms for his role as a tribune of the anti-colonial struggle. His advocacy put him in touch with some of the outstanding leaders of the liberation movement in British colonies like Eric Williams and Kwame Nkrumah. Williams, who was James’s student when he taught secondary school in Trinidad, wrote “Capitalism and Slavery”, a work that was a kind of companion piece to “Black Jacobins”. As much as James admired Williams as a scholar and revolutionary anti-imperialist, he was outspoken in his assessment of how Williams (and Nkrumah) cut deals with the British after their nations became independent. If James were alive today, you can be sure that he would be just as scathing on the African National Congress. As an uncompromising defender of the working class, James always knew what side of the barricades he belonged on.
Averse as I am to hype, let me conclude by saying that this film belongs in every socialist’s collection. It is one that you can watch repeatedly for both pleasure and edification. It cost 20 pounds for Britons and $33 for Americans. At five times the price, it would still be a bargain. This was a labor of love for the people who made the film and those who were interviewed. It is a stunning example of how Marxist ideas can be communicated in a film that other filmmakers would find worthy of emulation—including me.
Let me conclude with something I wrote about twenty years ago as part of a series of articles on Black Nationalism, long before I began blogging and before blogs were invented for that matter. It was based on Scott McLemee’s excellent introduction to “CLR James on the Negro Question”, a collection of articles he edited and well worth reading.
CLR James (1901-1989) was a Trinidadian revolutionary intellectual and writer who was won over to Trotsky’s ideas in the 1930s when he was living in London. He arrived in the United States in 1938 shortly after the publication of his “Black Jacobins”, a study of Toussaint Louverture, who led the Haitian revolution. In 1939 the public figure of CLR James disappeared. What happened is that he reemerged as “JR Johnson”, a member of the Socialist Workers Party. For the next decade he functioned as a disciplined member of the Trotskyist movement and all his writings were targeted for publication in party journals or internal documents.
James was not particularly interested in the “Negro question” when he came to the United States. The question did become important to him through his discussions with Trotsky, who did view the question as paramount as early as 1933. James was part of a delegation that visited Trotsky in Mexico in 1939, as I mentioned yesterday. It was there that the subject of Garveyism and black nationalism arose. Trotsky was more favorably disposed to the call for self-determination than James was, who doubted that Garvey’s mass appeal had much to do with the desire for a separate nation.
When James returned to the US after the Mexican visit, he went through a transforming experience. He visited New Orleans in order to learn about Jim Crow on a first-hand basis. He was astonished to learn that if he was seated on a crowded bus, a white passenger would expect him to give up his seat. This came as a profound shock to the aristocratic intellectual who had read William Thackeray’s “Vanity Fair” at least twenty times by the age of fourteen.
In April 1940, James went with the Schachtman group into the new Workers Party. The Workers Party differed from the SWP on the nature of the USSR, which they no longer considered a workers state. In 1941, James ventured south again, this time to Missouri where sharecroppers were on strike for higher pay. The struggle was extremely militant, as the sharecroppers defended themselves with firearms. This was the closest James had been to the class struggle in the flesh. Workers Party organizers who were involved with strike support shuttled him back and forth to keep him away from any violence.
In the 1940s, James developed a fascination with popular culture. Unlike the Frankfurt exiles, James was enthralled with commercial entertainment, including radio soap operas. At this time, he also led a study circle in the Workers Party that had a rather unique approach to politics and culture. James explained:
We struggled to understand Marx in the light of European history and civilization, reading Capital side by side with Hegel’s Logic in order to get a sense of dialectical and historical materialism. We explored the world of Shakespeare, of Beethoven, of Melville, Hawthorne, and the Abolitionists, of Marcus Garvey and Pan-Africanism. At the same time most of us worked in the plant, struggling to squeeze every ounce of revolutionary significance out of what American workers were saying and doing.
In the late 1940s, James started to hook up with artistic figures in Greenwich Village, in particular at a club called The Calypso, where radical intellectuals of all races gathered alongside artists and stage performers. One of the waiters was James Baldwin, who was at work on his first novel. The dishwasher was a Schachtmanite named Stan Weir who claimed that regulars at the club thought that the Russian and American state leaders were “incapable of leading the world to more personal freedom and were part of the problem.” It was a place where “people were genuinely entertaining each other, and as an extension of their enjoyment, discussing politics.” No such places exist in Greenwich Village today, I can assure you.
At this time James became friendly with the CP writer Richard Wright and he soon discovered that they had a common appreciation for the revolutionary dynamics of black nationalism. In a letter to his wife, James explained their shared perspective:
Briefly, the idea is this, that the Negro is ‘nationalist’ to the heart and is perfectly right to be. His racism, his nationalism, are a necessary means of giving him strength, self-respect and organization in order to fight for integration into American society. It is a perfect example of dialectical contradiction. Further, however, the Negroes represent a force in the future development of American society out of all proportion to their numbers. The repression has created such frustration that this, when socially motivated, will become one of the most powerful social forces in the country.
James eventually rejoined the SWP after WWII, but found himself politically isolated. His unorthodox views on the USSR were one of the main sticking points. When he left party politics, James became an important and respected black intellectual who influenced a wide range of American and African revolutionaries, including George Padmore.
Even though James had long left the SWP, his views on black nationalism continued to exert an influence among Trotskyists since Trotsky’s own views and James mature views had so much in common. When the SWP began working with Malcolm X in the mid-1960s, Conrad Lynn (a civil rights lawyer and friend of James’s) gave Malcolm copies of James’s writing. When Lynn and Malcolm began discussing James, Malcolm stated that he was aware of James’s oratorical gifts. It is interesting to speculate on the transmission belt of ideas between Lenin, Trotsky, CLR James and Malcolm X.
Democracy, the Democratic Party, and superdelegates
Filed under: democracy,electoral strategy,liberalism,parliamentary cretinism — louisproyect @ 7:56 pm
Although I plan to vote for Jill Stein, I sympathize with his supporters who are repelled by the underhanded tactics of Hillary Clinton and her mouthpieces. Besides the constant barrage of propaganda from the likes of Paul Krugman and Thomas Friedman, there are institutional barriers to him becoming the DP candidate for president, especially the “superdelegates” who are free to vote for Clinton even if she loses a primary as was the case with New Hampshire. Despite being in a dead heat with Clinton in Iowa (and on the losing side arguably through fraud orchestrated by her minions) and having won in New Hampshire, the delegate count is 394 delegates for Clinton, both super and earned through the ballot and only 42 for Sanders.
The superdelegates for Clinton are a kind of rogue’s gallery for the DP (which I suppose is a kind of redundancy.) Like Andrew Cuomo, the CNN reporter, and his brother Mario who is the neoliberal dirtbag governor of NY state. Historically the superdelegates were a reaction to the hiccup of democracy that emerged in the DP during the 1960s radicalization. In 1968 the DP convention nominated Hubert Humphrey for president even though the delegate count for Robert F. Kennedy was 393.5 and 258 for Eugene McCarthy. The combined total for the two antiwar (sort of, anyhow) candidates was 651.3 while Humphrey had 561.5. With Kennedy’s death, the only fair outcome would have been a McCarthy nomination but LBJ pulled strings to make Humphrey the nominee.
With outrage against the proceedings exacerbated by the continuing war, party bosses decided to introduce a bit more democracy to placate the masses. A commission headed by Senator George McGovern and Representative Donald Fraser recommended that party bosses be curtailed of their power and that restrictions on voter registration be lifted. All this threatened the corporate domination of the party so a new commission headed by North Carolina (you were expecting Massachusetts maybe?) governor Jim Hunt drafted the superdelegate rules.
There’s a useful history of the superdelegate system on CounterPunch by Eva Liddell. Written in 2008, it has the benefit of sizing up Barack Obama correctly:
During the Reagan years when the Democratic party propped up a presidency reminiscent of its current antics in the George W. Bush years, the Democratic party elites bestowed upon themselves five hundred and fifty “super-delegates.” They announced it was imperative to alter the rules to “make it easier for the party to consolidate around front-running candidates.” Meaning that it would make it a lot easier for party leaders and the party’s money backers to rally around the candidate of their choice putting all the resources of the party behind him, to beat out insurgents and foist the guy they owned onto the voting public.
The surprise ascendancy of Barack Obama, interestingly backed by the old Carter hand Brzezinski along with numerous financial backers, has him facing competition from another party insider, Hillary Clinton, along with her own big money people. The super-delegates are finding themselves in the position of having to pick one or the other candidate in what might be an internecine falling out among thieves which only aggrandizes their own power within the party as the two candidates are made supplicants for their votes while promising them rewards.
Delegate State Group Candidate
Alma Adams[4] NC Representative Clinton
Pete Aguilar[5] CA Representative Clinton
Maggie Allen[6] ME Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jill Alper[7] MI Democratic National Committee Clinton
Dennis Archer[7] MI Democratic National Committee Clinton
Patrice Arent[8] UT Democratic National Committee Clinton
Brad Ashford[8] NE Representative Clinton
Jon M. Ausman[9] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Carrie Austin [10] IL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Shawn K. Bagley[11] CA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Tammy Baldwin[12] WI Senator Clinton
Nick Balletto[13] CT Democratic National Committee Clinton
Karen Bass[14] CA Representative Clinton
Jan Bauer[15] IA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Joyce Beatty[16] OH Representative Clinton
Xavier Becerra[17] CA Representative Clinton
Michael Bennet[18] CO Senator Clinton
Ami Bera[19] CA Representative Clinton
Bret Berlin[20] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jeff Berman[21] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Don Beyer[22] VA Representative Clinton
Gus Bickford[23] MA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Erin Bilbray[24] NV Democratic National Committee Sanders
Stephen Bittel[25] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Richard Bloomingdale[26] PA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Earl Blumenauer[27] OR Representative Clinton
Richard Blumenthal[28] CT Senator Clinton
Dean Boerste[29] IN Democratic National Committee Clinton
James Boland[21] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Suzanne Bonamici[30] OR Representative Clinton
Anita Bonds[31] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Cory Booker[32] NJ Senator Clinton
Madeleine Bordallo[18] GU Representative Clinton
Muriel Bowser[33] DC Gov. Clinton
Barbara Boxer[34] CA Senator Clinton
Carolyn Boyce[35] ID Democratic National Committee Clinton
Sandra Brandt[36] VA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Christine Bremer Muggli[37] WI Democratic National Committee Clinton
Scott Brennan [38] IA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Doug Brooks[39] MO Democratic National Committee Clinton
Boyd Brown[40] SC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Corrine Brown[41] FL Representative Clinton
Sherrod Brown[42] OH Senator Clinton
Julia Brownley[43] CA Representative Clinton
Jocelyn Bucaro[44] OH Democratic National Committee Clinton
Tonio Burgos[45] NJ Democratic National Committee Clinton
Cordelia Burks[46] IN Democratic National Committee Clinton
Cheri Bustos[47] IL Representative Clinton
Laphonza Butler[4] CA Democratic National Committee Clinton
G.K. Butterfield[48] NC Representative Clinton
MaryEva Candon[49] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Maria Cantwell[50] WA Senator Clinton
Lois Capps[51] CA Representative Clinton
Michael Capuano[52] MA Representative Clinton
Tony Cardenas[53] CA Representative Clinton
Ben Cardin[54] MD Senator Clinton
Maria Cardona[21] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
John Carney[55] DE Representative Clinton
Tom Carper[55] DE Senator Clinton
André Carson[56] IN Representative Clinton
Karen Carter Peterson[57] LA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Matt Cartwright[58] PA Representative Clinton
Bob Casey, Jr.[59] PA Senator Clinton
Barbara Caspar Silperstein[45] NJ Democratic National Committee Clinton
Richard Cassidy[60] VT Democratic National Committee Sanders
Joaquín Castro[61] TX Representative Clinton
Mitchell Ceasar[20] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Judy Chu[62] CA Representative Clinton
David Cicilline[63] RI Representative Clinton
Katherine Clark[64] MA Representative Clinton
Yvette Clarke[65] NY Representative Clinton
William Lacy Clay, Jr.[66] MO Representative Clinton
Emanuel Cleaver[18] MO Representative Clinton
Alan Clendenin[67] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Bill Clinton[68] NY DPL Clinton
Tony Coelho[26] DE Democratic National Committee Clinton
Larry Cohen[1] DC Democratic National Committee Sanders
Steve Cohen[69] TN Representative Clinton
Rickey Cole [70] MS Democratic National Committee Clinton
Sheila Comar[71] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Gerry Connolly[72] VA Representative Clinton
John Conyers[73] MI Representative Clinton
Chris Coons[74] DE Senator Clinton
Jim Cooper[75] TN Representative Clinton
Maria Cordone[20] MD Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jerry Costello [10] IL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jeannette Council[76] NC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Joe Courtney[77] CT Representative Clinton
Jeffrey David Cox[78] NC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Joseph Crowley[79] NY Representative Clinton
Henry Cuellar[18] TX Representative Clinton
John Cullerton [10] IL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Elijah Cummings[80] MD Representative Clinton
Ana Cuprill[81] WY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jennifer Cunningham[71] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Andrew Cuomo[82] NY Gov. Clinton
Maria Cuomo Cole[71] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Melba Curls[39] MO Democratic National Committee Clinton
John Currie[83] NJ Democratic National Committee Clinton
Joyce Cusack[20] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Danny Davis[18] IL Representative Clinton
Wendy Davis[84] GA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Mark Dayton[17] MN Gov. Clinton
Howard Dean[85] VT DPL Clinton
Diana DeGette[86] CO Representative Clinton
John Delaney[18] MD Representative Clinton
Lizette Delgado Polanco[83] NJ Democratic National Committee Clinton
Rosa DeLauro[87] CT Representative Clinton
Suzan DelBene[88] WA Representative Clinton
Ted Deutch[18] FL Representative Clinton
Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel[71] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Nancy DiNardo[89] CT Democratic National Committee Clinton
Debbie Dingell[18] MI Representative Clinton
Arrington Dixon[49] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Kate Donaghue[23] MA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Ronald Donatucci[26] PA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Joe Donnelly[90] IN Senator Clinton
Joanne Dowdell[91] NH Democratic National Committee Clinton
Tammy Duckworth[18] IL Representative Clinton
Dick Durbin[92] IL Senator Clinton
Jess Durfee[93] CA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Maria Echaveste[94] CA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Donna Edwards[20] MD Representative Clinton
Joyce Elliott[95] AR Democratic National Committee Clinton
Keith Ellison[96] MN Representative Sanders
Eliot Engel[97] NY Representative Clinton
Akilah Ensley[98] NC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Reni Erdos[99] NJ Democratic National Committee Sanders
Anna Eshoo[5] CA Representative Clinton
Lily Eskelsen García[21] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Elizabeth Esty[100] CT Rep Clinton
Joe Falk[20] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Herman Farrell[71] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Chaka Fattah[71] PA Representative Clinton
Dianne Feinstein[101] CA Senator Clinton
Rajiv Fernando [10] IL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Bill Foster[18] IL Representative Clinton
Donald Fowler[102] SC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Earl Fowlkes[103] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Lois Frankel[104] FL Representative Clinton
Isabel Framer[105] OH Democratic National Committee Clinton
Al Franken[106] MN Senator Clinton
Marcia Fudge[107] OH Representative Clinton
Kate Gallego[108] AZ Democratic National Committee Clinton
Ruben Gallego[109] AZ Representative Clinton
John Garamendi[110] CA Representative Clinton
Montserrat Garibay[111] TX Democratic National Committee Clinton
Dick Gephardt[39] MO DPL Clinton
Penny Gerber[26] PA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Alice Germond[36] VA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Mike Gierau[81] WY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Kirsten Gillibrand[28] NY Senator Clinton
Emily Giske[71] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Angel Gomez[20] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Barry Goodman[112] MI Democratic National Committee Clinton
Billi Gosh[39] VT Democratic National Committee Clinton
Al Green[113] TX Representative Clinton
Darlene Green[39] MO Democratic National Committee Clinton
Gene Green[18] TX Representative Clinton
Amanda Green-Hawkins[26] PA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Vallena Greer [70] MS Democratic National Committee Clinton
Raúl Grijalva[114] AZ Representative Sanders
Marcel Groen[115] PA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Michael Gronstal[116] IA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Stanley Grossman[117] DA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Steve Grossman[23] MA DPL Clinton
Luis Gutiérrez[118] IL Representative Clinton
Debra Haaland[119] NM Democratic National Committee Clinton
Dan Halpern[84] GA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Janice Hahn[18] CA Representative Clinton
Mary Hales[81] WY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Maggie Hassan[120] NH Gov. Clinton
Alcee Hastings[104] FL Representative Clinton
Denny Heck[88] WA Representative Clinton
Martin Heinrich[121] NM Senator Clinton
Heidi Heitkamp[12] ND Senator Clinton
Luis Heredia[108] AZ Democratic National Committee Clinton
John Hickenlooper[122] CO Gov. Clinton
Brian Higgins[43] NY Representative Clinton
Tony Hill[20] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Rubén Hinojosa[43] TX Representative Clinton
Jim Himes[123] CT Representative Clinton
Mazie Hirono[19] HI Senator Clinton
Marge Hoffa[124] MN Democratic National Committee Clinton
Eleanor Holmes Norton[21] DC Representative Clinton
Danny Homan[125] IA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Mike Honda[126] CA Representative Clinton
Steny Hoyer[18] MD Representative Clinton
Fred Hudson[127] VA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Alice Huffman[4] CA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jared Huffman[128] CA Representative Clinton
Harold Ickes[21] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Vince Insalaco[95] AR Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jay Inslee[88] WA Gov. Clinton
Steve Israel[18] NY Representative Clinton
Troy Jackson[129] ME Democratic National Committee Sanders
Sheila Jackson Lee[18] TX Representative Clinton
Jay Jacobs[71] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Hakeem Jeffries[65] NY Representative Clinton
Eddie Bernice Johnson[18] TX Representative Clinton
Hank Johnson[130] GA Representative Clinton
Lacy Johnson[131] IN Democratic National Committee Clinton
Barbara Jones[119] CO Democratic National Committee Clinton
Ray Jordan[23] MA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Gale Jones Carson[132] TN Democratic National Committee Clinton
Tim Kaine[133] VA Senator Clinton
Elaine Kamarck[23] MA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Ron Kaminski[134] NE Democratic National Committee Clinton
William Keating[135] MA Representative Clinton
John Keller [10] IL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Randy Kelley[136] AL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Unzell Kelley[136] AL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Robin Kelly[137] IL Representative Clinton
Joseph P. Kennedy III[138] MA Representative Clinton
Ruben Kihuen[139] NV Democratic National Committee Clinton
Dan Kildee[18] MI Representative Clinton
Derek Kilmer[18] WA Representative Clinton
Paul G. Kirk[140] MA DPL Sanders
Ann Kirkpatrick[108] AZ Representative Clinton
Amy Klobuchar[141] MN Senator Clinton
Kaye Koonce[142] SC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Sarah Kovner[71] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Caitlin Kraft-Buchman[143] DA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Ann Kuster[144] NH Representative Clinton
Jim Langevin[145] RI Representative Clinton
Linda Langston[15] IA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Rick Larsen[18] WA Representative Clinton
John B. Larson[100] CT Representative Clinton
Brenda Lawrence[146] MI Representative Clinton
Gerald Lawrence[26] PA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Patrick Leahy[147] VT Senator Clinton
Sunita Leeds[148] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Frank Leone[36] VA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Cindy Lerner[20] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Sandy Levin[18] MI Representative Clinton
John Lewis[18] GA Representative Clinton
Yvette Lewis[149] MD Democratic National Committee O’Malley
Ted Lieu[19] CA Representative Clinton
John Litz[132] TN Democratic National Committee Clinton
Dave Loebsack[150] IA Representative Clinton
Zoe Lofgren[151] CA Representative Clinton
Martha Love[152] WI Democratic National Committee Clinton
Myron Lowery[153] TN Democratic National Committee Clinton
Nita Lowey[18] NY Representative Clinton
Michelle Lujan Grisham[18] NM Representative Clinton
Stephen F. Lynch[18] MA Representative Clinton
Mark Mallory[44] OH Democratic National Committee Clinton
Dan Malloy[154] CT Gov. Clinton
Carolyn Maloney[155] NY Representative Clinton
Sean Patrick Maloney[18] NY Representative Clinton
Joe Manchin[156] WV Senator Clinton
Jack Markell[157] DE Gov. Clinton
Ed Markey[158] MA Senator Clinton
Ken Martin[159] MN Democratic National Committee Clinton
Trudy L. Mason[71] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Doris Matsui[18] CA Representative Clinton
Janet May[136] AL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jayne Mazzotti[160] IL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Terry McAuliffe[161] VA Gov. Clinton
Claire McCaskill[162] MO Senator Clinton
Jennifer McClellan[163][164] VA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Betty McCollum[165] MN Representative Clinton
Dustin McDaniel[95] AR Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jim McDermott[18] WA Representative Clinton
Jim McGovern[166] MA Representative Clinton
Joseph McNamara[167] RI Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jerry McNerney[5] CA Representative Clinton
Gregory W. Meeks[17] NY Representative Clinton
Shari Mellin[90] IN Democratic National Committee Clinton
Grace Meng[79] NY Representative Clinton
Barbara Mikulski[80] MD Senator Clinton
Breanne Miller[8] UT Democratic National Committee Clinton
Nancy Mills[115] PA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Stephanie Miner[71] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Walter Mondale[168] MN DPL Clinton
Gwen Moore[17] WI Representative Clinton
Minyon Moore[21] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Bruce Morrison[20] MD Democratic National Committee Clinton
Seth Moulton[168] MA Representative Clinton
Dorothy Mrowka[169] CT Democratic National Committee Clinton
Bob Mulholland[46] CA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Chris Murphy[170] CT Senator Clinton
Patrick Murphy[171] FL Representative Clinton
Ian Murray[26] PA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Patty Murray[172] WA Senator Clinton
Jerrold Nadler[173] NY Representative Clinton
Grace Napolitano[174] CA Representative Clinton
Katie Naranjo[175] TX Democratic National Committee Clinton
Richard Neal[176] MA Representative Clinton
Bill Nelson[177] FL Senator Clinton
Jadine Nielsen[148] HI Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jay Nixon[177] MO Gov. Clinton
Chad Nodland[178] ND Democratic National Committee Sanders
Rick Nolan[179] MN Representative Clinton
Michael Nutter[26] PA Democratic National Committee Clinton
David O’Brien[23] MA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Blanca O’Leary[180] CO Democratic National Committee Clinton
John Olsen[169] CT Democratic National Committee Clinton
Sandy Opstvedt[181] IA Democratic National Committee Clinton
William Owen[132] TN Democratic National Committee Clinton
Frank Pallone[182] NJ Representative Clinton
Bruce Palmer[81] WY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Bill Pascrell[183] NJ Representative Clinton
Donald Payne, Jr.[184] NJ Representative Clinton
Gregory Pecoraro[149] MD Democratic National Committee Clinton
Christine Pelosi[126] CA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Carol Pensky[185] MD Democratic National Committee Clinton
Ed Perlmutter[18] CO Representative Clinton
Gary Peters[186] MI Senator Clinton
Scott Peters[17] CA Representative Clinton
Pedro Pierluisi[187] PR Representative Clinton
Chellie Pingree[18] ME Representative Clinton
Redding Pitt[136] AL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Stacey Plaskett[4] VI Representative Clinton
Jared Polis[18] CO Representative Clinton
Karen Pope-Onwukwe[20] MD Democratic National Committee Clinton
DuBose Porter[188] GA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Steven Powell [10] IL Democratic National Committee Clinton
David Price[189] NC Representative Clinton
Carrie Pugh[21] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Sandy Querry[39] MO Democratic National Committee Clinton
Mike Quigley[190] IL Representative Clinton
Jake Quinn[191] NC Democratic National Committee Sanders
Evie Rafalko McNulty[192] PA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Gina Raimondo[193] RI Gov. Clinton
Andres Ramirez[139] NV Democratic National Committee Clinton
Rion Ramirez[194] WA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jack Reed[195] RI Senator Clinton
Kasim Reed[84] GA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Steve Regenstreif[21] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Ed Rendell[196] PA DPL Clinton
Rory Respicio[197] GU Democratic National Committee Clinton
Laura Ricketts [10] IL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Dennis Rivera[71] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
José R. Rodríguez[111] TX Democratic National Committee Clinton
Mannie Rodriguez[180] CO Democratic National Committee Clinton
Roy Romer[180] CO DPL Clinton
Carol Ronen[198] IL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Ellen Rosenblum[199] OR Democratic National Committee Clinton
Sally Rosser[84] GA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Lucille Roybal-Allard[174] CA Representative Clinton
Charles Rangel[18] NY Representative Clinton
Chris Regan[200] WV Democratic National Committee Sanders
Kathleen Rice[18] NY Representative Clinton
Cedric Richmond[18] LA Representative Clinton
Raul Ruiz[187] CA Representative Clinton
Dutch Ruppersberger[20] MD Representative Clinton
Bobby Rush[201] IL Representative Clinton
Tim Ryan[18] OH Representative Clinton
Gregorio Sablan[202] MP Representative Clinton
Linda Sánchez[203] CA Representative Clinton
Loretta Sanchez[174] CA Representative Clinton
Raymond Sanchez[204] NM Democratic National Committee Clinton
Bernie Sanders[1] VT Senator Sanders
Keelan Sanders[70] MS Democratic National Committee Sanders
John Sarbanes[20] MD Representative Clinton
Lee Saunders[21] DC Democratic National Committee Clinton
Peggy Schaffer[6] ME Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jan Schakowsky[18] IL Representative Clinton
Brian Schatz[205] HI Senator Clinton
Adam Schiff[18] CA Representative Clinton
Kurt Schrader[75] OR Representative Clinton
Nancy Schumacher[206] MN Democratic National Committee Clinton
Chuck Schumer[207] NY Senator Clinton
Bobby Scott[36] VA Representative Clinton
David Scott[17] GA Representative Clinton
José E. Serrano[208] NY Representative Clinton
Terri Sewell[17] AL Representative Clinton
Lottie Shackelford[95] AR Democratic National Committee Clinton
Billy Shaheen[91] NH Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jeanne Shaheen[18] NH Senator Clinton
Garry Shay[209] CA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Brad Sherman[210] CA Representative Clinton
Peter Shumlin[211] VT Gov. Clinton
Louise Slaughter[212] NY Representative Clinton
Leslie Small[84] GA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Adam Smith[213] WA Representative Clinton
Hilda Solis[214] CA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Lenora Sorola-Pohlman[111] TX Democratic National Committee Clinton
Jackie Speier[5] CA Representative Clinton
Dennis Speight[111] TX Democratic National Committee Clinton
Debbie Stabenow[215] MI Senator Clinton
Kathy Sullivan[91] NH Democratic National Committee Clinton
Eric Swalwell[216] CA Representative O’Malley
Susan Swecker[217] VA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Gerry Sweeney[71] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Annette Taddeo[218] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Mark Takai[205] HI Representative Clinton
Mark Takano[19] CA Representative Clinton
Allison Tant[20] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Marian Tasco[26] PA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Bennie Thompson[219] MS Representative Clinton
Mike Thompson[43] CA Representative Clinton
Krystal Thrailkill[95] AR Democratic National Committee Clinton
Dina Titus[18] NV Representative Clinton
Paul Tonko[97] NY Representative Clinton
Niki Tsongas[220] MA Representative Clinton
Tom Udall[221] NM Senator Clinton
Chris Van Hollen[222] MD Representative Clinton
Marc Veasey[18] TX Representative Clinton
Filemon Vela, Jr.[223] TX Representative Clinton
Nydia Velázquez[18] NY Representative Clinton
Brian Wahby[39] MO Democratic National Committee Clinton
George Wallace[36] VA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Tim Walz[159] MN Representative Clinton
Carolyn Warner[108] AZ Democratic National Committee Clinton
Mark Warner[224] VA Senator Clinton
Maxine Waters[53] CA Representative Clinton
Bonnie Watson Coleman[184] NJ Representative Clinton
Randi Weingarten[225] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Royce West[175] TX Democratic National Committee Clinton
Sheldon Whitehouse[18] RI Senator Clinton
David Wilhelm[44] OH DPL Clinton
Alan Williams[20] FL Democratic National Committee Clinton
Nikema Williams[84] GA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Frederica Wilson[104] FL Representative Clinton
Sylvia Wilson[26] PA Democratic National Committee Clinton
John Wisniewski[226] NJ Democratic National Committee Sanders
Tom Wolf[17] PA Gov. Clinton
David Worley[84] GA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Ron Wyden[227] OR Senator Clinton
Rosalind Wyman[228] CA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Karen Yarbrough[160] IL Democratic National Committee Clinton
John Yarmuth[229] KY Representative Clinton
Laurence Zakson[230] CA Democratic National Committee Clinton
Patricia Zieg[134] NE Democratic National Committee Clinton
Rob Zimmerman[231] NY Democratic National Committee Clinton
Democracy, Mugabe-Style
Filed under: Africa,democracy — louisproyect @ 3:32 pm
COUNTERPUNCH WEEKEND EDITION NOVEMBER 13-15, 2015
Beginning on Wednesday November 18th, the Film Forum in New York will be showing “Democrats”, a cinéma vérité documentary judged best at the Tribeca Film Festival this year. Directed by Camilla Nielsson, a Danish director trained at NYU who has made political documentaries since 2003, it consists exclusively of footage of two Zimbabwean lawyers as they go around the country making the case for and against Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF. On the pro side is Paul Mangwana, a former Minister of Information; on the con side is Douglas Mwonzora, an adviser to Morgan Tsvangirai, the head of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Both men have been assigned by their rival parties to work on a new constitution. It is 2008, when Mugabe and Tsvangirai rule Zimbabwe in a nominally power-sharing arrangement that resulted from political and economic pressure, particularly from the USA and Britain. Serving on the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC), they traveled across the country over a three year period to monitor community meetings tacitly organized to hear ordinary people express their views on matters such as term limits, etc.
Almost as if on cue from central casting, the ZANU-PF representative Paul Mangwana is cynical and mocking, implying on numerous occasions that he regards the whole exercise as a dog and pony show. By contrast, Mwonzora is sober and thoughtful.
However, don’t expect a simple morality tale to unfold. The film is much more interested in demonstrating the tangled nature of Zimbabwean politics where Mugabe’s continuing rule after 35 years is only partially based on violence. To a large extent the dominance of the ZANU-PF is a function of the ineptitude of the opposition as can be gleaned from a key scene. When Mwonzora shows up at rural village to get a report on how the meetings on the draft constitution went, an MDC member tells him it did not go well at all. Their party members showed up drunk and unclear about their purpose. For Mangwana, the domination of the meeting by ZANU-PF members was easy to understand. Smiling like the cat that ate the canary, he says that his party was better organized.
Who’s Afraid of Democracy?
Filed under: democracy,Iran,Lenin — louisproyect @ 5:44 pm
A guest post by Reza Fiyouzat
The engineers know better, but the common story about Edison finally finding the one filament that did work suggests that it took more than a thousand tries. The social project of building a socialist society must surely be more complicated than that, and therefore will require many tries. So, let’s not be disheartened. We do know what does not work. That is a good continuing point; not a starting-from-scratch point, but a point of progress.
In the Manifesto, Marx draws a comparison between the transitions from feudalism to capitalism to the epoch of the transition from capitalism to socialism. In other words, for Marx, there would not be one major event that would bring about world socialism, but a series of events and a long period of class struggles that would eventually overthrow capitalism as the dominant mode of production and social relations.
Looking at it as a historical process, we must then assign characteristics to this process, so that we can determine at what stage of the historical process we stand today, and where to go from here. Traditionally, it has come to a few choices; one way to look at the transition to socialism is as a two-stage revolution with two historically distinguishable stages, the first ‘democratic’ and then ‘socialist’, with strict rules to be followed at each stage, in some prescriptions with experts at the helm of a revolutionary command center directing the revolution, deciding all the important decisions. Or, we can see it as a dynamic historical process with ups and downs for both sides of the class struggle, yet a process that can be influenced by the wise tactical and strategic interventions of revolutionaries, yet a process that has to be moved from below. Or, you can just characterize it as an uninterrupted process (as some do), or as the Trotskyist school suggests, a permanent revolution. If I were a Trotskyist, I would propose a reformulation in favor of a permanent revolution/counterrevolution.
All these different formulations point to the same basic historical fact: the fact that class struggle does not take a break. You’re either winning tactically or strategically, or you’re losing tactically/strategically. So perhaps too much energy is expended in some socialist quarters in the debate over ‘how many stages’ we should have. All sides agree that it is a historical process, not a one-step event.
For this reason it is important to take into consideration Gramsci’s insightful concepts of ‘war of maneuvers’ (as in, what we should do during revolutionary periods) as contrasted to ‘war of positions’ (characterized by spontaneous mass struggles that arise in non-revolutionary conditions, and what socialists should do in those fights). This conceptualization is much more productive than the simplistic and ultimately mistaken dichotomy, ‘reform v. revolution’.
For both Marx and Lenin, the transition to socialism was a dynamic historical process with ups and downs. In these ups and downs, the task of the socialists and revolutionaries is to find ways to intervene in spontaneous movements that arise and infuse them with the revolutionary input that would shape and elevate these spontaneous struggles to higher levels of self-consciousness, with wider outlooks, and help turn them into movements that could lead to the popularization of socialist answers to capitalist contradictions, thus creating the conditions to take a revolutionary leap as a society.
That is why for Lenin it had become clear that the most conscious and committed communists and socialist workers and intellectuals needed to organize themselves in a political party exactly because they are supposed to intervene in every struggle caused by the never-ending contradictions that capitalism throws up periodically. Your intervention is likely to be a lot more effective when you have an organizational capability for analyzing, planning and acting when you need to do so. This is just elementary politics.
Now, a political party based on ideas of Lenin and his fellow revolutionaries, at a particular time and in a particular place, should not be reduced to an organizational fetishism, attempting to replicate the Bolshevik party. The principle we need to take into account is far more basic, and is the antithesis of fetishistic. The basic principle is simple: Be Organized! For the obvious reasons that the other side is highly organized and a very violent and effective fighter.
The organizational form itself cannot be the main problematic; the form can and does vary and nobody can eliminate the possibility that, besides the old forms that have proven effective, newer forms of organization are possible and even necessary. Some will work, and some will not work, like the Occupy Movement’s ‘lack of structure’ structure. But the reason Occupy Movement fizzled out quickly had less to do with a ‘lack of organized structure’. ‘Lack of structure’ went along with a more fundamental lack. There actually was a structure, I went to regular peoples assemblies: the hand gestures and the people’s mike, as you remember, even came in handy for the late night comedians to get easy laughs. The structure, however, did not allow for a clear articulation of what concretely it was fighting for. It became the hallmark of the movement to declare even (and proudly so) that they must not explicitly state demands! Which, if you think about it, is the antithesis of a movement, in a way.
So, the main problematic is not lack of ‘proper organization’. Our most real concerns should be to engage with and intervene in reality, and while doing so let’s not forget to pay attention to how we’re doing it, ergo, the need for being organized and self-critical, always learning from our own practices and mistakes, always looking for more effective means of achieving political goals that actually have an effect in the real world.
That is where we can win the battle of democracy. Not just in struggles that come out with declared socialist aims. No such mass movements ever happen anywhere spontaneously. People come out onto the streets for very concrete demands. They don’t come out shouting, “We Want Socialism!” Most people come out shouting, “We Want Water! We Want Bread! We Want No More Wars! We demand equal rights! We demand safety from the random violence of the State! We want water sources that don’t burn up when you light a match to ’em!”
Democracy is not just some nicety or luxury, as some socialists are prone to think. It is not reducible to elections. Democracy is the essence of pushing capital to its limits and then pushing some more till it cracks wide open. This means that, as socialists, we don’t sit back and grade whatever movement arises in the society, giving it a ‘Pass’ or ‘Fail’ before we decide whether or not it should be supported. Supported, as in, just in words even (not to denigrate the value of verbal support when that is all you can give). Notice the mentality though: the movement hits the streets; we wait some time to give ourselves enough time to give it a grade; then what we mostly do is announce support or no support. The mentality is that of a reactive mode, not a proactive mode; not a mentality that tries to shape and change reality, but one that takes directions from social reality.
This mentality does nothing to intervene and affect the movements that arise spontaneously; to find, in the array of forces present, close allies and build them up and change the internal dynamics of the movement; to infuse good ideas into those movements, to facilitate their organizing, to bring them resources, etc. To intervene in all struggles thrown up by capitalism’s never-ending crisis-inducing nature, that is the duty of the socialists. Sometimes we get defeated, and sometimes we win and elevate the social discussion around particular issues, and make clear the universal elements in those localized struggles. And by so doing, we elevate the conditions to our benefit for the next struggle that is sure to come up. And only by doing all that can we shorten the timeline for creating conditions that would support a revolutionary leap. Revolutionary conditions don’t just materialize out of the blue all by themselves. They must be brought about.
Aside: This is why one can easily find fault with some socialists and Marxists who denigrate environmental issues as ‘liberal’ or ‘middle class’. Such arguments are erroneous on two counts because environmental issues negatively impact the working classes doubly. On one level, environmental degradations that lead to loss of quality of life are invariably targeted at working class and poor communities. Are socialists and Marxists justified in ridiculing as ‘liberal’, for example, the Appalachian poor working class residents, whose mountaintops are being obliterated, for demanding that their tap water should not be a fuel source as well?
On another level, environmental damages brought about by industrial capital must be looked at in terms of externalization of costs for particular capitalists (and capital is always concrete, not an abstract economic category), and therefore about maximization of profit margins. To externalize the environmental costs to the society (again, always targeted carefully) is an indication of the inherently anti-democratic nature of capital, something that should be exposed by socialists as such, and used to draw attention to the inability of capital to protect the environment, which belongs to all. On the flip side, by forcing environmental regulations on polluting industries, we reduce their profit margins, and place limitations on how freely they can exploit resources. For socialists to consider environmental issues as something to be denigrated as subsidiary, unworthy, below-me-so-blow-me, is to abdicate responsibility as socialists. End of aside.
Looked at in this framework, for Marx and Lenin (see his State and Revolution as well as his debates regarding the necessity for the independence of the labor unions from both party and state structures in post-revolutionary Russia, particularly debates starting in 1918 and continuing to early 1920s, before his death) the battle for democracy means exactly to push into the cracks (contradictions) in capitalist social contract and to force them wide open. As well, capitalist accumulation, by nature, will present us with an infinite reserve of spontaneous social movements sure to arise as capital develops, expands and consumes more spheres of social life globally.
In the Communist Manifesto, Marx presents the now-well-known formulation, “winning the battle of democracy”. Elsewhere, Marx explains in detail how bourgeoisie presents an appearance of fairness when it presents the market as a place where equals meet and agree on a contract. According to the bourgeois ideologues, the market creates an equal playing field in which the two sides (labor and capital) come to a mutually agreed upon price for the labor hours to be purchased by the capitalist and provided by the laborer.
In the first and the second volumes of Capital, however, Marx clarifies how this ‘fair’ contract is in fact based on a history of forced expropriation of means of independent production for the workers, a historical process that stripped an entire class of the society, a vast majority, of all means of making an independent living, forcing that class to the position of having to sell itself, its labor power, in order to survive.
“The capitalist system pre-supposes the complete separation of the laborers from all property and the means by which they can realize their labor. As soon as capitalist production is once on its own legs, it not only maintains this separation, but reproduces it on a continually expanding scale” (Capital, Vol. 1, Part 8, Chapter 26).
Part eight of the first volume of Capital then goes on to chronicle a short history of that process of expropriations: forced land expropriations driving peasants off their lands, through to anti-vagabondage laws, maximum wage laws, “forcing down of wages by acts of parliament”, as Marx describes it. Further, the original accumulation of capital was infused plentifully with the wealth stolen from the colonies, explicitly enumerated by Marx in part eight of the first volume. In the second volume, Marx reminds the reader that money should not be mistaken for capital since money cannot become capital unless under social relations in which the complete expropriation of all independent means of living has already stricken the vast majority; just as money can only be exchanged for slaves under social relations that allow slavery.
However, exactly because there is a gigantic historical theft hidden behind bourgeois presentation of the marketplace contract as fair, Marx could call the historical bluff. More specifically, throughout his seminal work, Capital, he shows the workers the exact mechanisms through which the employer extracts surplus value from them, and how capital enriches itself while spreading misery among the workers and property-less classes.
This fundamental contradiction in the social contract presented by bourgeoisie opens a crack in the system. By exposing the mechanisms through which surplus value is created and extracted by capital, Marx in effect shows the workers how to fight back, how to intervene in the cycle of capitalist production and accumulation, how to minimize (to start with) the surplus extracted from them; and how through a protracted struggle in a historical process, working classes will eventually be able to expropriate back all the surplus value.
So, to answer the question in the title, it is clear that capital is definitely afraid of real democracy. That is why it has had to distort and twist the concept beyond recognition, reducing it to mere elections, and it has had to work hard and tirelessly at this task, with the aid of millions of organic intellectuals it trains and retains in its educational institutions, mass media, the culture industry, its think thanks, industrial associations, financial cartels, etc.
But even while distorting the meaning of democracy in the public mind, selling it as cyclical elections of representatives, capital never forgets to fight back against, and attempt to repeal and reverse, all the real democratic gains of previous fights by the working classes. Why else the 30-some-year long attack by the right wing in the U.S. on women’s rights such as reproductive rights, or attacks on laws protecting collective bargaining by unions, attacks on public education? The list can go on.
This brings us back to the false dichotomy opposing reform to revolution, and to some others who are afraid of democracy, in very unexpected quarters: some socialists. In this unfortunately posed dichotomy, reform is the all-negative, as contrasted to revolution. I believe that the error arises from the assumption that we are always in revolutionary conditions. Under revolutionary conditions, of course, it would be folly to advocate reforms, when in fact the ground is well suited for a revolutionary leap. However, revolutionary conditions do not persist at all times. They are rare. So, what do we do when conditions are not revolutionary? Pack it in and wait?
Socialists who truly believe that reforms are bad, to be consistent, must join the Republican politicians and fight for the repeal of all laws protecting the environment, all child labor laws, maximum hours-in-a-workday laws, workplace health and safety laws, equal rights legislations banning racial and other discriminations, women’s rights legislations, and so on.
Of course, no socialist would do such a thing. Why then hold such dichotomies as if they were true?
Any past democratic gain by our side is a limitation we have been able to force on capital, a limitation on how freely capital can act, and is therefore a positive. It is a platform from which we can deploy a more effective fight, something to be cherished and appreciated and not denigrated. For capital will not rest until it has snatched back every single one of those platforms.
However, there are other indications that some Western socialists do not really understand the importance of democracy and democratic movements that arise spontaneously all over the world, all of which movements are pooh-poohed by these kind comrades, who are adept at missing opportunity after opportunity to be actually effective for the right side of the battle.
A case in point is the massive popular movement that filled the Iranian streets by the millions, in the aftermath of the too-obviously stolen elections of June 2009. Now, let me clarify that normally everybody in Iran knows the elections are a farce as a matter of routine. But in 2009, people came out agreeing to go along with the farce, and asked only that state functionaries at least follow the script they themselves had written; as in, allow the real votes for the two candidates to be counted fairly, since the state had allowed the two to run., So, when the functionaries suddenly did switch scripts in mid-process, then people had every right to take to peaceful massive protests to declare they were pissed off.
Let’s look at that historical moment, just for two more seconds. In Tehran alone, in a matter of three days after the hasty announcement of the results in favor of Ahmadinejad, in a highly irregular manner, more than three million people occupied the streets of the capital city. By contrast, if any political organization in the U.S. could bring three million people onto the streets (less than one percent of the U.S. population), they would announce it as a revolution in itself. Now, when that happened in Iran (a country of 70 million at the time), in just one city (and there were massive street protests in many major cities), some leftist writers and activists in the west argued that the whole thing was an imperialist conspiracy, the work of CIA. These socialists concluded that the movement as a whole was engineered in the west to destabilize the Iranian regime, and therefore the movement had to be condemned.
The enormous absurdities in that explanation are so numerous that will go way beyond the scope of this piece. Still. That is quite a conclusion coming from socialists, but believe it or not some were actually publishing articles arguing exactly that. Iranian socialists, of course, were shocked and awed, not so much by the sheer ignorance of such statements, in themselves enough to cause extreme alarm, but mostly because it sounded exactly like the propaganda by the theocracy that was busy shooting at peaceful demonstrators, imprisoning them by the thousands, torturing them at will, raping them, or threatening them with rape in their dungeons. So, yes, we were truly shocked by the depth of antipathy toward just plain human decency displayed by socialists.
How can CIA have such superpowers as to bring people onto the streets of Iran, in millions, at will? Really? I am sure CIA analysts get a good laugh when they hear of these superpowers they are supposed to have. It seems amazing that all the enormous and very real internal social contradictions, the suffocating puritanical social rules dictated by a theocracy of a minority, the massive economic pressures of mass unemployment and huge inflationary rates, all these obvious sociological factors figure not at all in the political explanations of these socialists. One would have hoped that socialists would have, by now, left the bizarro land of conspiracies and returned to the firm terrain of scientific historical materialism.
All kinds of social demands started percolating up to the surface as a result of that mass movement in Iran, a movement that initially took to the streets asking merely: “Where is my vote?” That movement very rapidly graduated onto more general demands regarding governmental accountability, political rights of free speech, free association and free assembly rights, just to name the obvious ones. Even the legitimacy of the theocratic state apparatuses came under open and loudly expressed social questioning. This was a huge move forward, and if it had been helped and supported, it could have led to better places and could have provided some breathing space for the Iranian working classes. Which section of the working classes would not benefit form the advantage of being able to organize freely and protected by law? Who would gain the most from legal equality between men and women? And who would lose the most? Who would gain the most from limitations put on state security forces so that they are not able to torture political prisoners at will?
How a big segment of the western left behaved toward the massive spontaneous movement of the Iranian people in June-December 2009 is indicative of a fundamental malaise that runs deep and far too widely in the global left: misunderstanding the importance and the meaning of democracy.
It is time for socialists, and leftists in general, to stop being afraid of democratic movements that arise spontaneously. It is time to expose capitalist development as inherently anti-democratic and to fight to win the battle of democracy anywhere we can.
Reza Fiyouzat may be contacted at: rfiyouzat@yahoo.com
Socialism and democracy
Filed under: democracy,socialism — louisproyect @ 7:10 pm
Karl Marx in the offices of The Neue Rheinische Zeitung: Organ der Demokratie (“New Rhenish Newspaper: Organ of Democracy“), a German daily newspaper he published between June 1, 1848 and May 19 1849.
Four days ago I received a query from a Latin American journalist:
Dear Louis:
I am an editor at a leading newspaper in Quito, Ecuador, and I will like to make a you one question (if you agree of course) for an article I am trying to write, after the international leftist meeting that was held this week here in this city.
My piece is about, how is it that the new and modern left is so tolerant with authoritarian regimes. Castro, Chávez and even Correa have been very sympathetic with leaders such as Lukashenko, Mugabe and Kaddafi.
So my question is if you think that this is part of a stalinist legacy that has not been thrown away by the left, despise all the horrors that the stalinist regime was responsible for?
Since others might have the same sorts of questions, I am posting a public response as follows.
This is a very complex question. To start with, Hugo Chavez is something of a paradox on the question of democracy. Keep in mind that the entire premise of “21st Century Socialism” rested on the assumption that Stalinism tainted the 20th century version. In a speech to the World Social Forum in 2005, Chavez stated that “We have to re-invent socialism. It can’t be the kind of socialism that we saw in the Soviet Union, but it will emerge as we develop new systems that are built on cooperation, not competition.” On the other hand, in the very same speech he said, “Today’s Russia is not Yeltsin’s… there is new Russian nationalism, and I have seen it in the streets of Moscow… there is a good president, Mr. Putin, at the wheel.”
That, in a nutshell, is the contradiction we see on the left. There is acknowledgement, at least verbally, that Stalinism was unviable. If you keep people repressed there is always a tendency for them to do as little as possible to keep the system going and to look for ways to game it. Stalinist societies rot from within. Even if there is pressure from imperialism, the bigger threat is always the spiritual and psychological disaffection of workers and farmers.
But what good does it do for Chavez to make this observation while at the same time nodding in approval of Vladimir Putin? It is obvious that there would be an affinity with Putin since he superficially had the same agenda as Chavez, namely to use the revenue from petro-exports to improve the conditions of life for the average citizen. Keep in mind that toward the end of his life, Chavez had moved away from the notion of building socialism entirely. His model was less and less based on what are commonly referred to as “communist” states but Western European social democracies, which are simply welfare states resting on capitalist property relations. So naturally he would tend to see all petroleum exporting states with a populist but repressive regime and enemies of his own enemy—the USA—as partners. This meant that Russia, Iran, Libya and Syria were hailed in the Venezuelan press as forward-looking societies even though their jails were filled with political prisoners.
You are absolutely right to understand this as rooted in Stalinism. The belief that socialism could be built in a single country was in contradiction to the core Marxist belief that socialism had to be built on a global scale, just as was the case with the social system that preceded it: capitalism. Despite the fact that the USSR was an enormous country with all of the resources advanced industry would require, Leon Trotsky warned that the system would collapse unless revolutions triumphed in Western Europe: “But how far can the socialist policy of the working class be applied in the economic conditions of Russia? We can say one thing with certainty–that it will come up against obstacles much sooner than it will stumble over the technical backwardness of the country. Without the direct State support of the European proletariat the working class of Russia cannot remain in power and convert its temporary domination into a lasting socialistic dictatorship.” (I should add that Trotsky used the term “dictatorship” in the technical Marxist sense of a particular class dominating the state rather than what exists in Zimbabwe et al.)
With Trotsky’s defeat, the USSR tended to see other countries less as candidates for social transformation and more as potential allies for “socialist development”. If there was a clash between the workers in a capitalist country and their rulers who were seen as favoring Soviet interests, the workers got short shrift. When Greek workers took up arms against a fascist dictatorship, Stalin decided to sell the workers out rather than jeopardize the friendly relations he had with FDR, who was amenable to allowing Eastern Europe to become a “buffer” against invasion. This was not a socialist foreign policy but a global chess game in which a struggling people were sacrificed as a pawn.
This is the same thing that is happening today even though capitalism has returned to Russia. It would probably make more sense to speak of neo-Stalinism since Vladimir Putin would be the last person on earth to favor a socialist Russia. If Stalin saw Ukraine as a kind of outpost dedicated to the defense of the USSR, not much has changed under Putin, except that the social relations being defended are based on private property rather than state ownership. Hitler invaded Russia in order to smash collective ownership while the West never had any such intentions. Why would it if Exxon is invited in as a partner in some of the biggest oil exploration deals in history, including drilling in the most ecologically sensitive areas?
It is understandable why some on the left would be anxious to smear every protest movement in the Russia/China orbit as an imperialist plot. There is ample evidence that Washington will exploit every movement to see its own agenda advanced. When I was involved with Nicaragua solidarity in the 1980s, I was incensed about reports that the NED was funding parties opposed to the FSLN. That explains why some are so anxious to write off the Hong Kong protesters as tools of the USA. But revolutionary politics is not based on algebraic formulas. You have to be able to understand that sometimes X can be equal to Y and not equal at the same time. In other words, Hegel is a better guide to social reality than Aristotle, the father of formal logic.
In places like Syria, Ukraine, Libya, Zimbabwe, Iran and Russia, the protest movements have both progressive and reactionary tendencies. To some extent, this is a function of the socialist left having lost its moral authority. In Ukraine, with the CP being an unabashed supporter of Russian domination, is it any wonder that ordinary people topple Lenin statues? Those statues, I should add, never had much to do with defending socialism. They were like George Washington statues in American parks, empty symbols of national sovereignty.
Very often when people begin fighting for freedom, they bring certain prejudices along with them. Although it would be best if a social movement had a crystal-clear agenda based on a combination of Enlightenment and socialist values, there is often a mixture of past, present and future that can be confusing to the onlooker. For example, there are many Syrians who have fought against the Baathist dictatorship who are for Sharia courts, a symbol to many on the left of a feudal past. But when you keep in mind that the judicial system in Syria was rigged to favor the Baathists, the temptations of Sharia law become more understandable. When the Irish rose up against British colonialism during WWI, the same kind of confusion cropped up on the Marxist left. Why support a movement that seemed to be tainted by Catholic dogma? Lenin tried to answer this question in an article titled “The Irish Rebellion of 1916”:
To imagine that social revolution is conceivable without revolts by small nations in the colonies and in Europe, without revolutionary outbursts by a section of the petty bourgeoisie without all its prejudices, without a movement of the politically non-conscious proletarian and semi-proletarian masses against oppression by the landowners, the church, and the monarchy, against national oppression, etc.–to imagine all this is to repudiate social revolution. So one army lines up in one place and says, “We are for socialism”, and another, somewhere else and says, “We are for imperialism”, and that will be a social revolution! Only those who hold such a ridiculously pedantic view would vilify the Irish rebellion by calling it a “putsch”.
It is regrettable that so few on the left can understand many grass roots movement today in the same light.
In order for the left to regain its moral authority, it has to once and for all stop functioning like the CP did in the 1930s, least of all when Russia and its allies lack even the economic justification that once existed for that type of “border guard” stance. Unless socialism and socialist politics are once again synonymous with democracy, the left will have nothing to say to young people fighting for social change.
When you stop and think about, Marx and Engels entered politics in the same spirit as the Syrians who marched in the streets of Homs and Aleppo in early 2011 for an end to a system that used torture and murder to enforce neoliberal rule. They were deeply involved with the movements for democracy in 1848 that challenged the old feudal order, the counterpart to Baathist rule in those days.
August Nimtz, an American scholar, wrote a book titled “Marx and Engels: Their Contribution to the Democratic Breakthrough” that reaffirmed their commitment to democracy that has unfortunately been forgotten by much of the left. In an interview with Socialist Project this year, Nimtz explained what his goals were in writing such a book:
As you probably know from my writings, I prefer to let Marx and Engels speak for themselves. And for this question there’s no better place to begin with than their Manifesto of the Communist Party, a document that sharply distinguished itself from the programmatic stances of other socialist tendencies in its position that the prerequisite for the socialist revolution was the democratic revolution—the necessity “to win the battle for democracy.” In related pronouncements clarifying their views they wrote that, like the Chartists in England, the German proletariat “can and must accept the bourgeois revolution as a precondition for the workers’ revolution. However, they cannot for a moment accept it as their ultimate goal.” And in no uncertain terms the Manifesto, in four successive locations, made clear that it would take “force” to “overthrow the bourgeoisie” in order to reach the “ultimate goal”. Nevertheless, they maintained to the end that the means to that goal was the conquest of the “bourgeois revolution.” When a critic charged in 1892 that they ignored forms of democratic governance, Engels demurred: “Marx and I, for forty years, repeated ad nauseam that for us the democratic republic is the only political form in which the struggle between the working class and the capitalist class can first be universalized and then culminate in the decisive victory of the proletariat.”
Ultimately, this statement might serve as a litmus test for the left. Although I am too old to get involved with organizing a movement, this pro-democracy orientation would be at its core. I have not only seen the USSR collapse because of dictatorship, I have also seen the socialist organization I belonged to for more than a decade collapse as well. The right to speak freely and act freely is as natural as breathing. When it is taken away, we suffocate, as does society. Ultimately, as Nimtz points out, democracy is a means to an end: the creation of a new world based on a just and rational economic order. Anything that stands in the way has to be rejected. It is not even a problem if this is a minority viewpoint today because in the long run it is the only one that can succeed.
Left Forum panel discussion on Lenin and democracy
Filed under: democracy,Left Forum,Lenin — louisproyect @ 8:08 pm
This is the first in a series of videos I made at the recently concluded Left Forum.
Even though I was reconciled to making some points about Lenin and democracy within the sixty seconds allotted me during the Q&A after the presentations above, I was not ready to limit myself to a question. After 30 seconds (I timed myself) of making some points about the Bolsheviks opposing democracy in the Ukraine after 1917, someone in the audience interrupted me, telling me that I could only ask a question. I gave up at that point and walked out in disgust. If I knew who the nitwit was, I would have written an open letter warning him that if he ever did it again, he’d regret it–dagnabit.
Now that I am back in my ‘hood—the Internet—I don’t have to show anybody my stinking badge as the Mexican bandit told Humphrey Bogart in “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”. I will have my say on these questions now and that’s that.
As might be expected from a panel organized by Paul Le Blanc, there was effusive praise for Lenin as a democrat. Nimtz just wrote a book titled “Lenin’s Electoral Strategy from 1907 to the October Revolution of 1917: The Ballot, the Streets – or Both” that can be yours for a mere $85. An educated consumer can listen to him and decide whether to pony up the cash. Ty Law focused most of his talk on the election campaigns being run by Socialist Alternative, including his own in Minneapolis.
If you go strictly by what Lenin wrote, there’s not much to disagree with. Of course, we know from experience that Marxists reading the same Lenin texts can draw violently opposed conclusions, as is the case with the works of Marx and Engels as well.
With Lenin, this becomes even more of a problem when considering the actions of the Soviet state in the period following the October 1917 revolution when the survival of the state required sacrificing socialist principles in the interests of national security. What becomes even more confusing is that the sacrifice was often defended as serving socialist principles when they were in fact violating them. In a way, it was analogous to the character in “Manuscripts Don’t Burn”, the very powerful Iranian film, who insisted that he was serving God by killing agents of the “Cultural NATO”.
We are used to cynical defenses of indefensible actions after Stalin took power but there is ample evidence that the Soviet Union was ready to apply realpolitik in the same fashion. The tragedy was that the application of realpolitik backfired as the Soviet victims came to the conclusion that when it came to their own interests and that of the Soviet state, they came in a distant second.
Let me review a few examples:
1. Turkey:
The USSR welcomed the new Kemalist government in Turkey as an anti-imperialist partner, which it was. Just as the Red Army drove back the Whites, Mustafa Kemal defeated the imperialist-backed Greek army. But in addition to being anti-imperialist, the Kemalists were also anti-Communist. In volume 3 of his history of the infant Soviet republic, E.H. Carr describes the willingness of the USSR to look the other way when it came to the democratic rights of the Turkish Communists:
The suppression of Edhem [a Makhno type figure] was immediately followed by drastic steps against the Turkish communists. Suphi was seized by unknown agents at Erzerum, and on January 28, 1921, together with sixteen other leading Turkish communists, thrown into the sea off Trebizond — the traditional Turkish method of discreet execution. It was some time before their fate was discovered. Chicherin is said to have addressed enquiries about them to the Kemalist government and to have received the reply that they might have succumbed to an accident at sea. But this unfortunate affair was not allowed to affect the broader considerations on which the growing amity between Kemal and Moscow was founded. For the first, though not for the last, time it was demonstrated that governments could deal drastically with their national communist parties without forfeiting the goodwill of the Soviet Government, if that were earned on other grounds.
2. Poland:
Thanks to Paul Kellogg, we are now privy to the USSR’s violation of Polish democratic rights when Lenin was alive and kicking. To put it in a nutshell, there was a tendency in the early 20s to consider the use of the Red Army as being roughly equivalent to Napoleon Bonaparte’s peasant army. Where Napoleon used the army to extend bourgeois-democratic social relations, the Red Army would serve to extend socialism where it did not exist beforehand as well as defend the USSR.
In giving the green light to an invasion of Poland in 1920, Lenin overruled Trotsky’s objections. Here is Kellogg’s explanation of the differences between Russia and Poland:
But Poland was not Russia. True, the Polish peasants were oppressed by a rich and corrupt landlord class, just as were the Russian peasants,. But they were also oppressed by Russia, through a long history of invasions and occupations. The relation of Poland to Russia was analogous to that of Ireland to Great Britain, Quebec to English Canada, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) to the United States. The Polish people were an oppressed nation within the prison‐house of nations that had been Tsarist Russia. An army of Russian peasants was not going to be greeted as a liberation army any more than would be a British army in Ireland, an English Canadian army in Quebec, or an 18th‐century U.S. army in Haudenosaunee territory in what is today New York state.
The Russian invasion was a disaster, not just for the Red Army that was routed but for Polish Jews who fell victim to the Red Army’s demoralized deserters as Lenin noted:
A new wave of pogroms has swept over the district. The exact number of those killed cannot be established, and the details cannot be established (because of the lack of communication), but certain facts can be established definitively. Retreating units of the First Cavalry Army (Fourth and Sixth Divisions) have been destroying the Jewish population in their path, looting and murdering … Emergency aid is vital. A large sum of money and food must be sent.
3. Ukraine
This was the most glaring example. I find it singularly depressing that much of the left is either unaware of the painful realities of early Soviet history are—even worse—prefers to sweep it under the rug. I can only recommend once again the article titled “For the independence of Soviet Ukraine” (written when the Ukraine had not gained its independence) by Polish Trotskyist Zbigniew Kowalewski.
It will not only show how little interest the Bolsheviks had in the democratic rights of the Ukraine but the degree to which today’s problems have their origins in the Soviet state arrogating to itself the right of sovereignty over a “lesser nationality”:
Skrypnyk, a personal friend of Lenin, and a realist always studying the relationship of forces, was seeking a minimum of Ukrainian federation with Russia and a maximum of national independence. In his opinion, it was the international extension of the revolution which would make it possible to resist in the most effective fashion the centralising Greater Russian pressure. At the head of the first Bolshevik government in the Ukraine he had had some very bitter experiences: the chauvinist behaviour of Muraviev, the commander of the Red Army who took Kiev, the refusal to recognize his government and the sabotage of his work by another commander, Antonov-Ovseyenko, for whom the existence of such a government was the product of fantasies about an Ukrainian nationality. In addition, Skrypnyk was obliged to fight bitterly for Ukrainian unity against the Russian Bolsheviks who, in several regions, proclaimed Soviet republics, fragmenting the country. The integration of Galicia into the Ukraine did not interest them either. The national aspiration to sobornist’, the unity of the country, was thus openly flouted. It was with the “Katerynoslavian” right wing of the party that there was the most serious confrontation. It formed a Soviet republic in the mining and industrial region of Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih, including the Donbas, with the aim of incorporating it into Russia. This republic, its leaders proclaimed, was that of, a Russian proletariat “which does not want to hear anything about some so-called Ukraine and has nothing in common with it”. This attempted secession could count on some support in Moscow. The Skrypnyk government had to fight against these tendencies of its Russian comrades, for the sobornist’ of the Soviet Ukraine within the national borders set, through the Central Rada, by the national movement of the masses.
What all these violations of democracy have in common is their belief in the special role of the USSR. As a cradle of socialism, it had the right to run roughshod over the democratic rights of other nationalities as part of a larger effort to defend socialism and by extension the worldwide revolution.
As should be obvious from the tendency of people like John Rees and Tariq Ali to line up with Putin against Obama, the same disregard for “lesser nationalities” never went away. What is bizarre, however, is the application of this Red Realpolitik to states that have nothing to do with socialism. A simple algebraic formula is applied. You take the position that any struggle that emerges against client states of Russia is ipso facto pro-imperialist. Since the world is divided between the “imperialist” bloc and the “non-imperialist” bloc, all you need to do is locate a struggle within the two camps. Any effort to understand or even sympathize with a Syrian or a Ukrainian sick and tired of oligarchic rule is excluded.
Of even greater concern is how this methodology feeds reactionary tendencies even as it is deployed on “anti-imperialist” grounds. As has been pretty well established, the European ultraright, including Golden Dawn that now sings Nazi anthems at its rallies, has thrown in its lot with Russia, which they see as a brake on European Union ambitions. The emerging alliance between ultraright parties and Russia also rests on social questions, such as the need to support “traditional values” such as Christianity and the nuclear family, as well as nativist opposition to immigrants. I sometimes wonder how in the world such people can fail to see the handwriting on the wall but then again I remember how blind the CP was in another period of a protracted economic downturn. If Marxism is to have any value in this period, it will be on the basis of drawing clear class lines. The time for building multiclass alliances in the name of questionable “anti-imperialism” is long gone.
Vaclav Havel and the struggle for socialism in Czechoslovakia
Filed under: Czechoslovakia,democracy,Stalinism — louisproyect @ 5:12 pm
Somehow I find the unctuous outpouring over Vaclav Havel far more off-putting than anything said about Christopher Hitchens. With Hitchens, you at least got the impression that he enjoyed being a prick. With Havel, you got the same kind of overpowering sanctimoniousness you get with religious figures. Keeping that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Havel was close to the Dalai Lama, another snake-oil salesman.
To understand Havel, you have to go back to the beginning of Czech socialism that is a bit more complicated than is usually portrayed in the bourgeois press. While the general consensus among the anti-Stalinist left is that Eastern Europe was turned into “satellite states” of the USSR after WWII, Czech reality is far more complex.
After British imperialism decided to sell out Czechoslovakia through Neville Chamberlain’s infamous deal, respect for the Western “democracies” declined precipitously and admiration for the USSR grew rapidly. Under Nazi occupation, the CP underground fought heroically as well. Unlike the situation in France, this occupation was unimaginably brutal resulting in the death of up to 55,000 Czechs in concentration camps or through execution. Last August I reviewed Protektor, a very good film dramatizing the assassination of Reinhold Heydrich and the repression that followed. Now available from Netflix, the film captures the period well.
So it is no surprise that Edvard Benes, the left social democrat Prime Minister who was ousted by the Communists in 1948, amounted to a “friend of the Soviet Union”. In a 1943 visit to the USSR, Benes found himself “amazed at the tremendous progress that he found and saw in it confirmation of his belief that the Soviet system, having successfully withstood the difficult test of a massive invasion, was now passing through a gradual transformation to a liberalized form of socialism.” In a nutshell, Benes can be compared politically to fellow travelers of the USSR found in the USA during the New Deal.
Additionally, Czechoslovakia had the largest indigenous Communist movement anywhere in Europe before WWII. In free parliamentary elections held on May 26, 1946, the CP won 38 percent of the vote nationwide and the Social Democrats received an additional 13 percent. So we are not exactly talking about socialism imposed at the point of a bayonet.
While signing a decree to nationalize land and factories, Benes also sought to placate the west as a buttress against Soviet power. He didn’t understand that a rising anticommunist mood in Washington would effectively preclude this. Benes was perceived as being too friendly to the USSR and too radical. Hence the decision by Secretary of State James Byrnes to annul a $50 million credit to Czechoslovakia in 1945. Even after a poor harvest in 1947, the US Embassy in Prague maintained a policy of “no food and no loans” to Czechoslovakia. In essence, the country would either have to align itself with the United States or the Soviet Union.
The model of a restive population seeking to break the chains of socialism and opening the doors to multinational corporations has little to do with Czech realities. In fact, the first open revolt against the Stalinist bureaucracy was mounted in the name of “socialism with a human face”.
In the late 60s, the opposition to Soviet-style repression was not inspired by Hayek or Ayn Rand. The students and intellectuals who provided an informal vanguard were more likely to be readers of Ernest Mandel or Herbert Marcuse. In Yugoslavia, students occupied the universities raising the banner of “For a Red University”. In Czechoslovakia, the slogan was not quite so bold but it certainly expressed a desire to create a system that retained popular control over the economy.
Under Alexander Dubcek, there was a Prague Spring in 1968 that was very much in sync with the student movements of the West. In 1967 a group of writers, including Milan Kundera, threw their support behind members of the Communist Party who were ready to challenge the old way of doing things. In April of 1968, Dubcek announced an Action Programme that would have transformed the country. Politically, it stressed democratic rights of the sort that were once understood as consistent with socialism. Economically, it advocated a more market-driven approach not that different from what existed during the NEP.
Ironically, when Fidel Castro made his speech in 1968 describing Russian intervention as a necessary evil to stamp out an imperialist plot, the very “liberal” measures he was condemning in Czechoslovakia were exactly the same that he and his brother would be pursuing today.
Despite widespread support for socialism early on, the ruling CP did everything it could to dampen the people’s spirit. Even when other Eastern European CP’s were loosening their grip after Stalin’s death, the Czechoslovak CP stuck to its hidebound ways. It was committed economically and culturally to the worst abuses of the Stalin era. As is usually the case, the intelligentsia was the first segment of the population to grow restive.
Another film is useful in understanding the vise-like grip with which the CP held society captive, namely Costa-Gravas’s “The Confession” which dramatizes the Slansky trial of 1952. Rudolf Slansky was a Jewish CP’er who was put on trial for thought crimes in the same manner as the Moscow trials of the 1930s. Charged as “Trotskyist-Zionist-Titoist-bourgeois nationalist traitors, spies, and saboteurs, enemies of the Czechoslovak nation, of its People’s Democratic order, and of Socialism”, Slansky and other victims of Stalinist injustice were executed.
The purpose of these trials was exactly the same as it was under Stalin, to cower the population into silence. Even the intelligentsia, especially the writers who would later on rebel against such madness, was pressured into supporting the regime. Dusan Hamsik, a leader of of Writer’s Union that was in the vanguard of the Prague Spring, wrote: “In those days it was the writers themselves who were their own best censors; the few who thought differently never offered their words for publication — indeed never committed them to paper in most cases. For it was unthinkable that any discordant voice should raise itself.”
A bit of a thaw took place in 1962, largely as a result of economic difficulties. As is so often the case, when a Stalinist government finds it difficult to deliver the goods, it will ease up a bit in order to allow the population to blow off steam. But to make sure that his subjects did not go too far, the dictator Novotny warned:
We will not allow this decadent capitalist culture to be propagated in our society, and we will not allow the socialist system, won in hard struggles, to be attacked in various ambiguous terms in the television and often also in the theatre … we need criticism … but let no one dare touch our Communist Party, its program, or our socialist system. This must be sacred, and it must stay sacred for all … the Party maintains the right to direct cultural activity, the same as it directs and manages the entire life of the country.
Novotny was also deeply concerned about the decadent cultural influences that the West was having on Czechoslovak youth, sounding very much like the preachers denouncing Elvis in the USA: “all right, let them dance, but we will not permit these modern dances to degenerate into vulgarisms and thus actually cultivate dark lusts in our people.”
Unlike any other country in Eastern Europe, the Czech intelligentsia was disproportionately represented in the CP. This meant that when the reform-oriented faction in the party led by Dubcek sought to renovate the system, the program was a mixture of political liberalization that everybody could support and economic measures geared to the market. The working class embraced the former and held an open mind about the latter.
In December 2008, Andy Kilmister wrote an article for International Viewpoint, the magazine of the Mandelista Fourth International, titled “The `Prague Spring’ and the `Prague Autumn’” that is a must-read for understanding what happened. It reveals that although the workers might have been sitting on the fence in the economic debate between Novotny supporters and the new government, they swung sharply against the Soviet invasion in a revolutionary manner:
Between 1 October and the end of 1968, 260 further workers councils were created, with the trade unions playing a leading role in initiating this development 17. In January 1969 a national meeting in Plzeň of councils and preparatory committees representing 890,000 employees (over a sixth of the workers in the country) took place and `thereafter, the workers’ movement sheltered the political left as the ČKD-Vysočany plant had sheltered the secret August congress’.
The agreement with the metal workers on 19 December was followed by agreements in January 1969 between the students and construction workers, mineralogical, geological and gas workers and print workers and later by collaboration with power-station workers, designer and civil engineers, lumber workers and railway workers. Galia Golan reports that `by and large these alliances held throughout 1968-9 though they were much criticized (and feared) by the conservatives in the regime. In concrete terms, they led to the formation of worker-student action committees which coordinated efforts designed to salvage what was possible of the post-January policies’. Petr Cerny describes `Prague radicals who, for a brief moment, achieved what the western left had only dreamed of in 1968: a worker-student alliance’.
While the most famous Czechoslovak writers were solidly behind the Dubcek initiatives, including Milan Kundera and Jeri Pelikan, one decided that he had no interest in reforming socialism. The whole system had to go as the NY Times obituary on Vaclav Havel makes clear:
Mr. Havel, a child of bourgeois privilege whose family lost its wealth when the Communists came to power in 1948, first became active in the Writers Union in Czechoslovakia in the mid-1960s, when his chief target was not Communism so much as it was the “reform Communism” that many were seeking.
During the Prague Spring of 1968, the brief period when reform Communists, led by Mr. Dubcek, believed that “socialism with a human face” was possible, Mr. Havel argued that Communism could never be tamed.
Moving ahead to 1989, when Stalinism entered its death-knell, Czechoslovakia was given the opportunity to pick up where the Prague Spring had left off, not having to worry about Soviet tanks. Among the politicians deemed suitable for leading a new society, Dubcek and Havel stood out—representing two different solutions to the problems that had faced for decades.
In a review of John Keane’s critical biography of Vaclav Havel, a biography that Slavoj Zizek used as a peg to attack Havel’s legacy in the London Review, Laura Secor wrote:
In 1989, five years after Havel’s release, popular demonstrations brought down the Czechoslovak government. Dubcek, Keane contends, was the obvious choice for the country’s transitional presidency — but Havel manipulated Dubcek into stepping aside, by promising to support him in the upcoming free elections. According to Keane, Havel broke that promise, betraying Dubcek and retaining the presidency for himself. Not long afterward, Czechoslovakia split.
Once in power, Havel set about the task to dismantle Czech socialism and create a new state according to the formulas established in George Soros’s Open Society Foundation and elsewhere. A section from Michael Parenti’s “Blackshirts and Reds” has been circulating widely on the Internet, including my posting to the Marxism mailing list. Written not long after the Velvet Revolution of 1989, it knocks Havel off his pedestal rather deftly:
Havel called for efforts to preserve the Christian family in the Christian nation. Presenting himself as a man of peace and stating that he would never sell arms to oppressive regimes, he sold weapons to the Philippines and the fascist regime in Thailand. In June 1994, General Pinochet, the man who butchered Chilean democracy, was reported to be arms shopping in Czechoslovakia–with no audible objections from Havel.
Havel joined wholeheartedly in George Bush’s Gulf War, an enterprise that killed over 100,000 Iraqi civilians. In 1991, along with other Eastern European pro-capitalist leaders, Havel voted with the United States to condemn human rights violations in Cuba. But he has never uttered a word of condemnation of rights violations in El Salvador, Colombia, Indonesia, or any other U.S. client state.
In 1992, while president of Czechoslovakia, Havel, the great democrat, demanded that parliament be suspended and he be allowed to rule by edict, the better to ram through free-market “reforms.” That same year, he signed a law that made the advocacy of communism a felony with a penalty of up to eight years imprisonment. He claimed the Czech constitution required him to sign it. In fact, as he knew, the law violated the Charter of Human Rights which is incorporated into the Czech constitution. In any case, it did not require his signature to become law. In 1995, he supported and signed another undemocratic law barring communists and former communists from employment in public agencies.
Now I have no way of knowing what Parenti would have been saying about the Prague Spring in 1968, but I strongly suspect that he would have agreed with Fidel Castro. For the section of the left that believes that the Soviet intervention was a “necessary evil”, there’s actually a strong affinity with liberals who have urged a vote for Gore, Kerry and Obama in recent elections. If the choice is between someone like Obama and Newt Gingrich, you have to vote for Obama. Along the same lines, a Czechoslovakia under Dubcek might have led down the slippery road to what it would become under Havel so it was necessary to back the Soviet invasion.
The possibility that an alternative to both liberalizing technocrats and open supporters of Western imperialism does not really exist in the mind of someone like a Michael Parenti or many who think this way, like Alexander Cockburn or Michel Chossudovsky. The drama in a place like Iran or Libya is always between two players, and no possibility exists for the masses to make history on their own terms.
This is the terrible political legacy that 70 years of Stalinism has left us. After WWII, a powerful constellation of nominally socialist states existed around the world, either conforming to the Soviet model or to some Bonapartist variant best expressed by Nasser’s Egypt. In such states, the authoritarianism was necessary—we were led to understand—because political freedoms would open the door to CIA subversion. It was never considered that such repression was mainly designed to enforce class distinctions that were the same in spirit or in substance like those in capitalist societies.
Social inequalities and repression of the sort symbolized by Novotny or Qaddafi’s show trials were rationalized as blemishes in a system that was historically “progressive”. When the disgruntled masses took it upon themselves to resist their rulers, the “anti-imperialist” left took the side of the rulers if there was the slightest hint of Western support. Given the realities of geopolitics, it was almost impossible to find a situation in which the CIA was not intervening. In Egypt, the contradictions were most acute as the West backed the Tahrir Square protesters and the Mubarak regime simultaneously.
If there was ever a time to break with this “lesser evil” mentality, it is now. With the deepening crisis of world capitalism, an urgent task confronts us. A revolutionary movement has to be built worldwide that makes no concessions to the paternal rule of a Qaddafi or a Novotny. There will always be the possibility that in a revolt against such rulers, things might not follow a straight and narrow path toward socialist victory but deferring to the status quo in the name of “anti-imperialism” is unacceptable.
Arise ye pris’ners of starvation
Arise ye wretched of the earth
For justice thunders condemnation
A better world’s in birth!
No more tradition’s chains shall bind us
Arise, ye slaves, no more in thrall;
The earth shall rise on new foundations
We have been naught we shall be all.
Zizek’s Lenin and Ours
Filed under: democracy,Lenin,Zizek — louisproyect @ 2:12 pm
For reasons I don’t quite understand, anytime I write anything about Zizek, it generates exceptional traffic here. This may be because there is a lot of interest in Zizek or because he brings out the best (worst?) in me. I confess that Binh was probably right when he described Zizek as a troll not worth feeding, but I do look forward to increased traffic on my blog in the hope that new readers will find other articles useful as well. The one below was written before I began blogging. You can find all my articles, both from that period and afterwards, at http://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mypage.htm.
Posted to http://www.marxmail.org on January 31, 2004
An “In These Times” article by cultural theorist Slavoj Zizek titled “What Is To Be Done (With Lenin)?” has been circulating on the Internet. Today, a link to it popped up on neoconservative Denis Dutton’s “Arts and Letters” website, obviously a sign that Zizek was doing the left no favors when he wrote this article. Dutton is like a vacuum cleaner sweeping up every hostile reference to Marxism that can be found in the major media and academic journals. Despite his obligatory genuflection to Lenin, Zizek’s Lenin serves more as a token of ‘epater le bourgeois’ rebelliousness rather than a serious attempt to make him relevant in the year 2004.
Zizek’s article is a discourse on freedom, having more to do with Philosophy 101 than historical materialism. In defending the idea of relative freedom versus absolute freedom, he cites some remarks by Lenin in 1922:
Indeed, the sermons which…the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries preach express their true nature: ‘The revolution has gone too far. What you are saying now we have been saying all the time, permit us to say it again.’ But we say in reply: ‘Permit us to put you before a firing squad for saying that. Either you refrain from expressing your views, or, if you insist on expressing your political views publicly in the present circumstances, when our position is far more difficult than it was when the white guards were directly attacking us, then you will have only yourselves to blame if we treat you as the worst and most pernicious white guard elements.’
These rather blood-curdling words are interpreted by Zizek as a willingness on the part of the Soviet government to suppress criticisms that would undermine the workers’ and peasants’ government on behalf of the counterrevolution. In other words, Zizek’s Lenin favors shooting people who have ideological differences over how to build socialism, or so it would seem.
Without skipping a beat, Zizek amalgamates the execution of Mensheviks and SR’s found guilty of thought-crimes with the tendency in liberal societies to be offered meaningless choices between Coke and Pepsi or “Close Door” buttons in elevators that are not connected to anything. He concludes by saying:
This is why we tend to avoid Lenin today: not because he was an “enemy of freedom,” but because he reminds us of the fatal limitation of our freedoms; not because he offers us no choice, but because he reminds us that our “society of choices” precludes any true choice.
Although it seems implausible at best that Soviet firing squads in 1922 have anything remotely to do with choosing soft drinks, it might be useful to review exactly what Lenin was talking about in his speech–even though it might subvert the postmodernist exercise that Zizek is engaged in.
To begin with, it took a little bit of digging to find out where Lenin said these words. In poking around in Google (the MIA archives used a different translation so an exact match could not be found), I discovered that Zizek was not the only one lending credence to this version of Lenin as the High Executioner. The super-Stalinist Progressive Labor Party dotes on these words as well. In a book on their website titled “Another view of Stalin” by Ludo Martens, we discover that Lenin’s threats against his opponents demonstrate that he “vehemently dealt with counter-revolutionaries attacking the so-called `bureaucracy’ to overthrow the socialist régime.” In other words, Zizek’s Lenin and that of the PLP is a precursor to Stalin, implicitly and explicitly respectively.
At least I did learn from the PLP article the source of Lenin’s words, which was a Political Report of The Central Committee of the Communist Party at the Eleventh Congress on March 27, 1922. It can be read in its entirety at: http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1922/mar/27.htm
If you do, you will discover nothing in Lenin’s speech to support the interpretation of Zizek or the Progressive Labor Party. To begin with, the report is a defense of the turn away from War Communism toward the New Economic Policy, which most historians view as an end to economic, political and legal regimentation–including the use of the death penalty. Immediately upon taking power in 1917, the Bolsheviks did away with the death penalty. It was only restored during the civil war when White terror was unleashed on the civilian population. As soon as the White armies were defeated, there was no use for the firing squad. A January 17, 1920 decree of the Soviet government stated that since the counter-revolution had been defeated, there was no need for executions. Since this occurred more than two years before Lenin’s speech, it is a little difficult to figure out what Lenin was talking about.
As it turns out, Lenin was referring not to an actual firing-squad, but a figurative one as should be obvious from the paragraphs that immediately precede Zizek’s citation:
When a whole army (I speak in the figurative sense) [emphasis added] is in retreat, it cannot have the same morale as when it is advancing. At every step you find a certain mood of depression. We even had poets who wrote that people were cold and starving in Moscow, that “everything before was bright and beautiful, but now trade and profiteering abound”. We have had quite a number of poetic effusions of this sort.
Of course, retreat breeds all this. That is where the serious danger lies; it is terribly difficult to retreat after a great victorious advance, for the relations are entirely different. During a victorious advance, even if discipline is relaxed, everybody presses forward on his own accord. During a retreat, however, discipline must be more conscious and is a hundred times more necessary, because, when the entire army is in retreat, it does not know or see where it should halt. It sees only retreat; under such circumstances a few panic-stricken voices are, at times, enough to cause a stampede. The danger here is enormous. When a real army is in retreat, machine-guns are kept ready, and when an orderly retreat degenerates into a disorderly one, the command to fire is given, and quite rightly, too.
If, during an incredibly difficult retreat, when everything depends on preserving proper order, anyone spreads panic-even from the best of motives-the slightest breach of discipline must be punished severely, sternly, ruthlessly; and this applies not only to certain of our internal Party affairs, but also, and to a greater extent, to such gentry as the Mensheviks, and to all the gentry of the Two-and-a-Half International.
So Lenin’s words, taken literally by Zizek and the PLP, were specifically regarded by him as a figurative exercise. Lenin was talking about figurative armies, figurative retreats, figurative machine guns and figurative firing squads.
More to the point, there were no SR’s or Mensheviks in the USSR to brandish such threats against by 1922. They were no longer part of the political equation inside Russia and were left to issuing condemnations of the revolution from afar. Of course, the question would certainly arise as to why they were no longer inside the country. Had the Bolsheviks exiled their political adversaries in the same fashion that Lincoln arrested and deported a sitting Congressman to Canada who opposed the Civil War? Or in the fashion that FDR had imprisoned the leaders of the Trotskyist movement for criticizing the motives of the war with Germany and Japan?
In reality, repression of the SR’s and the Mensheviks had little to do with ideas about building socialism. In John Rees’s valuable “In Defense of October”, we learn that the infant Soviet republic faced the same kinds of threats as Cuba has faced since 1959. At the very time the White Army was slaughtering Soviet citizens and torching villages, foreign diplomats were organizing the nominally socialist opposition. R H Bruce Lockhart, the British diplomatic representative in Moscow, was instrumental in ensuring that Kerensky escaped from Russia after his unsuccessful military attempt to unseat the Bolsheviks. Rees writes:
Sidney Reilly, a British intelligence agent, was trying, unsuccessfully, to convince Lockhart that he ‘might be able to stage a counter-revolution in Moscow. But, according to Reilly, one part of his plan was prematurely put into effect in August 1918: Socialist Revolutionary Fanny Kaplan shot Lenin twice at point blank range, bringing him close to death. Earlier Reilly had managed to establish himself as a Soviet official with access to documents from Trotsky’s Foreign Ministry. And another British agent, George Hill, became a military adviser to Trotsky.
So the concrete application of the death penalty during the civil war has more to do with preventing assassination attempts by people like Fanny Kaplan rather than preventing alternative ideas about constructing socialism from reaching the Soviet people, just as the execution of hijackers in Cuba recently had more to do with preventing innocent lives being taken by desperate criminals than enforcing monolithism. Of course, in the early 1920s such defensive measures were interpreted by liberals as exercises in thought control and social repression just as they are today in the case of Cuba. It is singularly depressing, however, to see Zizek–a self-proclaimed fan of Lenin (in the same sense really as a fan of David Lynch movies)–giving credence to such an interpretation while nominally defending Lenin.
Is democracy the enemy? A reply to Zizek
Filed under: democracy,Lenin,socialism — louisproyect @ 6:27 pm
Although the content of Slavoj Žižek’s blog post in the London Review (Democracy is the enemy) is not so nearly as bad as the title, it still betrays the same kind of misunderstanding of the relationship between democracy and socialism that I addressed in my critique of “The Idea of Communism” conference held a couple of weeks ago in NY:
Indeed, part of Zizek’s talk this morning dealt with exactly this question, scoffing at those leftists who care about which judge will be elected. He reminded the audience that Marx believed that it was only through seizing state power and abolishing capitalist property relations that true freedom could be achieved. That of course would be news to Marx scholars like August Nimtz, whose “Marx and Engels: their contribution to the democratic breakthrough” revealed their commitment to what Zizek writes off. The book includes this epigraph that obviously Zizek would regard as liberal mush:
The movement of the proletarians has developed itself with such astonishing rapidity, that in another year or two we shall be able to muster a glorious array of working Democrats and Communists — for in this country Democracy and Communism are, as far as the working classes are concerned, quite synonymous.
–Frederick Engels, “The Late Butchery at Leipzig.-The German Working Men’s Movement”
To start with, the title is an obvious attempt to jar the liberal sensibilities of the London Review’s readers. As a perennial Katzenjammer Kid of academic Marxism, Zizek relishes these types of formulations. It goes hand in hand with his embrace of Lenin, who unlike Gramsci or Walter Benjamin et al, will never be invoked at a Modern Language Association keynote address.
The first part of Zizek’s article actually makes some good points at the expense of the atrocious Anne Applebaum, a neoconservative at the Washington Post:
The protests on Wall Street and at St Paul’s Cathedral are similar, Anne Applebaum wrote in the Washington Post, ‘in their lack of focus, in their inchoate nature, and above all in their refusal to engage with existing democratic institutions’. ‘Unlike the Egyptians in Tahrir Square,’ she went on, ‘to whom the London and New York protesters openly (and ridiculously) compare themselves, we have democratic institutions.’
‘Global’ activists, if they are not careful, will accelerate that decline. Protesters in London shout: ‘We need to have a process!’ Well, they already have a process: it’s called the British political system. And if they don’t figure out how to use it, they’ll simply weaken it further.
So, Applebaum’s argument appears to be that since the global economy is outside the scope of democratic politics, any attempt to expand democracy to manage it will accelerate the decline of democracy. What, then, are we supposed to do? Continue engaging, it seems, in a political system which, according to her own account, cannot do the job.
Back in 2003 I had an occasion to write Ms. Applebaum one of my patented Lazlo Toth type letters:
My dear Anne Applebaum,
I realize that you have a lot invested career-path-wise in flogging Communism and might get carried away on occasion like a bull at the sight of a red cape. However, your review of Robert Harvey’s “Comrades: the Rise and Fall of World Communism” in the London Telegraph seems to detach itself from the planet and fly off into the stratosphere. You start off:
“Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Mao, Ceausescu, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot, Salvador Allende, Mengistu, Castro, Kim Il-sung: the list of murderous communist leaders is long, diverse and profoundly multicultural.”
I wasn’t aware that Salvador Allende was a murderer, or a communist. Is this your own heterodox interpretation or something that the neo-McCarthyite movement has cooked up while I wasn’t paying attention? I honestly can’t keep track of all the nutty things coming out of the Weekly Standard, the NY Post editorial page and David Horowitz’s website nowadays. It is like trying to keep track of car commercials during a football game. Can you refer me to an article that makes the case that Allende was rounding up free-market ideologues and throwing them into concentration camps or cutting off their noses? In sorry times such as these, a good laugh always helps.
I remember her rising to the bait and replying to me, but I can’t exactly remember what she said. Anyhow, I’m happy that Zizek took her on.
However, I am not so happy with his take on Marxism and democracy:
Here, Marx’s key insight remains as pertinent today as it ever was: the question of freedom should not be located primarily in the political sphere – i.e. in such things as free elections, an independent judiciary, a free press, respect for human rights. Real freedom resides in the ‘apolitical’ network of social relations, from the market to the family, where the change needed in order to make improvements is not political reform, but a change in the social relations of production. We do not vote concerning who owns what, or about the relations between workers in a factory. Such things are left to processes outside the sphere of the political, and it is an illusion that one can change them by ‘extending’ democracy: say, by setting up ‘democratic’ banks under the people’s control. Radical changes in this domain should be made outside the sphere of such democratic devices as legal rights etc. They have a positive role to play, of course, but it must be borne in mind that democratic mechanisms are part of a bourgeois-state apparatus that is designed to ensure the undisturbed functioning of capitalist reproduction. Badiou was right to say that the name of the ultimate enemy today is not capitalism, empire, exploitation or anything of the kind, but democracy: it is the ‘democratic illusion’, the acceptance of democratic mechanisms as the only legitimate means of change, which prevents a genuine transformation in capitalist relations.
The thing that bothers me the most is that for all of Zizek’s constant references to himself as a kind of diehard Marxist-Leninist, as well as all of his academic credentials, you can never find him referencing what Marx or Lenin ever wrote about democracy. I am especially troubled by his claim that “Radical changes in this domain should be made outside the sphere of such democratic devices as legal rights etc.”
Did you ever consider why Lenin decided to get a law degree? It was in order to discover loopholes in the Czarist legal codes to help workers win the right to strike or to organize. Back in 1970 when I was in the Boston branch of the Socialist Workers Party, a debate broke out in the branch between the majority led by Peter Camejo and a minority led by Larry Trainor, an old-timer from the James P. Cannon generation, over whether we should support the Shea Bill, described at the time by the Harvard Crimson:
The law, often known as the Shea Bill after its sponsor in the Massachusetts legislature, Rep. H. James Shea. Jr. (D-Newton), authorizes Massachusetts residents to refuse combat duty in wars Congress has not declared. Furthermore, it instructs Massachusetts Attorney General Robert Quinn to defend and assist servicemen who refuse to fight on these constitutional grounds.
The minority made arguments similar to Zizek’s, accusing the majority of fostering “a democratic illusion” in a parliamentary system stacked against the working class. By urging a vote for the Shea Bill, we were supposedly building confidence in the capitalist state and undermining the anti-war movement, as if we urged a vote for Gene McCarthy or George McGovern. I have vivid memories of Peter getting up to explain how Lenin used to study the Czarist legal codes late into the evening to figure out a way to use the laws against the system. That was the way most of us in the SWP thought about such matters in the days before the group turned into something similar to the De Leonite Socialist Labor Party that like Zizek is all too fond of drawing distinctions between the communist goal of the future and just about every reform that is worth struggling for.
You can get a good idea of Lenin’s approach to these matters in his 1899 article “Factory Courts” that urged the creation of joint employer-worker bodies that would “examine cases and disputes arising in connection with the terms of hire, with the fixing of rates of pay for ordinary work and overtime, with the discharge of workers in violation of rules, with payments for damage to material, with unfair imposition of fines, etc., etc.” Such bodies were fairly common in Western Europe at the time and would obviously never affect what Zizek called “the social relations of production”. That being the case, why did Lenin urge their introduction into Russia? He explained:
The first advantage of the factory court is that it is much more accessible to the workers. To present a petition to an ordinary court, one has to submit it in writing (which often requires the employment of a solicitor); stamp duty has to be paid; there are long waiting periods; the plaintiff has to appear in court, which takes him and the witnesses away from their work; then comes a further period of waiting until the case goes to a higher court to be retried after an appeal by dissatisfied litigants. Is it any wonder that workers do not willingly resort to the ordinary courts? Factory courts, on the contrary, consist of employers and workers elected as judges. It is not at all difficult for a worker to make a verbal complaint to one of his fellow workers whom he has himself elected. Sessions of factory courts are usually held on holidays or, in general, at times when the workers are free and do not have to interrupt their work. Cases are handled much more expeditiously by factory courts.
After enumerating other advantages, Lenin concludes with the most salient point:
Finally, there is one other benefit accruing from factory courts that must be mentioned: they get factory owners, directors, and foremen into the habit of treating workers decently, of treating them as equal citizens and not as slaves. Every worker knows that factory owners and foremen all too often permit themselves to treat workers in a disgracefully insulting manner, to rail at them, etc. It is difficult for a worker to complain against this attitude; it can be rebuffed only when the workers are sufficiently developed and are able to give support to their comrade.
The above paragraph is about as “Leninist” as you can get. Unlike Zizek’s Lenin, who comes across as a podium-pounding preacher for “communism”, Lenin’s focus was on organizing workers so that they gain self-confidence in struggle, achieving victory by victory until they have enough of a sense of their own right to become a ruling class. When that day arrives, you will see the greatest flowering of democracy possible.
That being said, Lenin also believed in the need to expand bourgeois democracy. Why? It was a way for workers to press their own demands within the system. To sneer at workers running their own candidates, etc. is not only a slap in the face to what Lenin stood for, but Marx and Engels as well.
In 1847 Engels wrote an article titled “The Principles of Communism” that, among other things, answered the question “What is the attitude of the communists to the other political parties of our time?” It stated:
In England, France, and Belgium, where the bourgeoisie rules, the communists still have a common interest with the various democratic parties, an interest which is all the greater the more closely the socialistic measures they champion approach the aims of the communists – that is, the more clearly and definitely they represent the interests of the proletariat and the more they depend on the proletariat for support. In England, for example, the working-class Chartists are infinitely closer to the communists than the democratic petty bourgeoisie or the so-called Radicals.
I was also intrigued to see Engels urge communists to “continually support the radical liberal party, taking care to avoid the self-deceptions of the bourgeoisie and not fall for the enticing promises of benefits which a victory for the bourgeoisie would allegedly bring to the proletariat.”
One can only assume that Engels probably would have urged leftists in the U.S. to support our own “radical liberal party”—the Greens before the Democrats took over, or the Nader-Camejo campaign in 2004. Given the lack of motion in the working class, such formations are the only instruments existing today that can pose an alternative to the two-party system and even elect men and women to local office. Furthermore, if the Green Party hadn’t been sabotaged by the Demogreens, it is conceivable that as it gathered more and more momentum, it might have even elected people to Congress.
Can you imagine the impact Peter Camejo would have had if he had been elected to Congress? With only a Bernie Sanders there to pose as an “independent” critic of capitalist misrule, there’s not much of an alternative to conventional liberal politics.
Someone like Camejo would have used every opportunity to denounce the system from within, in the spirit of what Lenin urged “left Communists” (Zizek’s forerunners) in his famous article on Left-Wing Communism, the Infantile Disorder:
Even if only a fairly large minority of the industrial workers, and not “millions” and “legions”, follow the lead of the Catholic clergy—and a similar minority of rural workers follow the landowners and kulaks (Grossbauern)—it undoubtedly signifies that parliamentarianism in Germany has not yet politically outlived itself, that participation in parliamentary elections and in the struggle on the parliamentary rostrum is obligatory on the party of the revolutionary proletariat specifically for the purpose of educating the backward strata of its own class, and for the purpose of awakening and enlightening the undeveloped, downtrodden and ignorant rural masses. Whilst you lack the strength to do away with bourgeois parliaments and every other type of reactionary institution, you must work within them because it is there that you will still find workers who are duped by the priests and stultified by the conditions of rural life; otherwise you risk turning into nothing but windbags.
Windbags, indeed.
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AFSCME President Lee Saunders issued the following statement in support of the Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act, which was introduced today by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Rep. Deb Haaland (D-New Mexico):
“It’s already hard enough for working families to make ends meet, let alone afford the extraordinary cost of quality child care. The plan by Senator Warren and Congresswoman Haaland provides much-needed relief to millions of hardworking families who are falling behind in an economy that overwhelmingly favors the wealthy. It’s time to ensure that all families have access to affordable child care and that providers of that care are paid a fair wage for the important work they do.”
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This game is called “Dungeon!” and it’s inspired by “Dungeons and Dragons,” but it’s more simple to play.
If there was one thing I wasn’t planning at all when I started homeschooling, it’s that we’d become a family of gamers. Well, we may not be gamers according to everyone’s definition, but we do play a lot of games. My boys love their digital games, but they also love board games, and this past year, especially, we have played more times than I care to count. The boys keep getting more and more games for gifts too. (Anything that keeps them busy for long stretches of time is actually a great gift!)
I play games with my eight-year-old every. single. day. Well, almost. Once in a while, something might interrupt this schedule, but we really do play pretty much everyday. He is becoming adept at strategizing, counting change, and planning ahead. I think he’s learned so much from these games, which is why I don’t mind playing with him.
Star Wars Risk – really fun game.
We play in the evenings during the eleven-year-old’s second piano practice session. This can take over an hour, so we’ve got a lot of time. During his breaks, my eleven-year-old will come over to watch us, and sometimes he’ll try to help me play a game better, but his brother doesn’t appreciate that very much. lol Sometimes he helps his brother too.
I taught him how to play Rummy, which I always played with my grandmother.
On the weekends and sometimes during the week, if they aren’t playing outside, the boys will play board games together. It’s a lot of fun for me to watch them play together. They’ll play games that I don’t know how to play, and in fact, my eleven-year-old has spent some considerable time reading the hefty instruction booklets of a couple of his dad’s old war games this year. (I think that’s one of the biggest perks of having a boy who can read — I don’t have to read the instructions anymore!)
We love monopoly and play it often. Sometimes “Chick” plays with us too. In this game, he became a “thousandnaire” and won.
I can’t possibly list all of our games, but here are a few that were played frequently this year. Don’t tell the boys, but we also have a few other games packed away in the closet, waiting for birthdays and holidays and such! 😉
Some vintage games we own:
Air Assault on Crete
Great games for younger kids:
Sum Swamp
Newer games that the boys love:
Star Wars Monopoly
Star Wars Risk
Dungeon!
Please tell me about your family’s favorite board games.
Posted in Homeschooling, Project-based Homeschooling board gameshomeschoolingmathproject-based homeschooling
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5 thoughts on “Board Games”
Board games are so much fun! My son loves to be the banker in Monopoly and he has a good math mind so it works out great. Life is fun, too.
Monopoly was one of my favorite games as a young girl, and it still is today! Our boys sound like they have this in common!
twainausten says:
Oh my, us too! I remember hearing about homeschoolers making their own game and thinking we’ll never do that. Yup, we’ve even done that too!
My boys have made up a few games of their own too! 😉
bethgulley says:
We enjoy Ticket to Ride, Upwords, Uno, Skipbo, and Exploding Kittens, just to name a few. We are always looking for new game ideas. Great post!
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Luke Matthews, PhD
Does it matter if we are all African?
Research out last August by Anders Eriksson and Andrea Manica made news in the press for contradicting claims of neanderthal ancestry in contemporary humans. This research is completely driven by mathematical modeling rather than relying on empirical data, and I think ultimately Neanderthal admixture will be supported. John Hawks has very capably laid out the scientific issues and the reasons why Neanderthal admixture is likely to be supported when all is said and done. What I want to address in this blog are the moral lessons that some have tried to extract from the “out of Africa” explanation of human origins. Considering these past arguments in light of the currently debated genetic evidence for Neanderthal admixture indicates why arguments for the equal treatment of people based on their common origin are dangerous rhetoric passed off as reasoned philosophy.
The history of the argument that we should all treat each other equally because we are all so genetically similar or because we share a common ancestry in Africa dates back at least a dozen years. In an article that appeared in the New York Times, writer Nicholas Wade quoted Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson as saying “We need to create a new epic based on the origins of humanity” (Wade 2000). Dr. Wilson’s comments came from another article in the Wall Street Journal, in which he indicated that the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens could be a new basis for spiritual values that could replace traditional religion. Mr. Wade’s own commentary from his article was that: “Many of the biologists who are reconstructing the human past certainly believe their work has a value that transcends genetics. Although their lineage trees are based on genetic differences, most of these differences lie in the regions of DNA that do not code for genes and have no effect on the body.” He then quoted Dr. Peter Underhill, a geneticist who studies human origins as saying, "We are all Africans at the Y chromosome level and we are really all brothers."
Isn’t it convenient when scientific knowledge of the way the world is seems to justify how we think the world ought to be? In this case people were arguing from evidence of the way biological variation originated in our species (world is) as a reason for why human behavior should be equitable across racial distinctions (world ought to be). Trouble eventually follows though when people start saying the reason we ought to behave a certain way is because the world is a certain way. As the out of Africa model gained more empirical support, even more scientists wanted to jump on the band wagon because they thought they had found a home-run secular reason to justify the equal treatment across race lines that had always been argued on theistic grounds from the time of the Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionists to Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Searching online can find plenty of comments from anthropologists about how human biological variation is only ‘skin deep’ and we are all very recently diverged – as if racism would be more OK if biological differences went deeper than skin level or they diverged more anciently? By 2010 Richard Dawkins was giving talks to forums for the black community about how “we are all African,” and even selling T-shirts!
It was Christopher diCarlo, however, who laid out the case most explicitly that we all should treat each other well because of the facts of our origins in 2010 in Free Inquiry. Dr. diCarlo does an admirable job of laying out the known science of human evolution. Intriguingly, one of the scientists he covers prominently is Andrea Manica. He summarizes the state of the science with: “We are all African. With these four words, we see a genetic coalescence of the entire human population. We now know that we descended from inhabitants of Africa who began migrating out of Africa around 60,000 years ago. In this way, it is impossible for us to not all be, in some ways, related.” He then continues to draw philosophical lessons from this: “With these four words [we are all African], we see that racism is a human invention. It is a social construct with lingering natural biases—leftover baggage from our mammalian xenophobic tendencies.”
I suppose then the proverbial shoe fell in May 2010 when scientists apparently confirmed that at least all living non-African humans have some Neanderthal ancestry that is not shared by African humans (here I use African in the idiomatic English language meaning rather than the sense of Dr. Dawkin’s linguistic contortion). Yes, the percentage is small. The original Neanderthal genome article put the value at 1-4% Neanderthal genes for non-Africans, but more recent studies indicate that number might rise to 8% summed admixture from Neanderthals and Homo erectus for some of us. So, 8% non-recent African origin is small, but it certainly seems nontrivial. Does that mean Dr. diCarlo now should conclude that racism is less of a ‘human invention’ or that some racism is more functional than ‘leftover baggage’? Should we now start making T-shirts for Africans that say things like “Racially pure, no Neanderthal in here” or the Caucasian version “1-4% Neanderthal and loving it.” If all Dr. Dawkins was doing with his T-shirt was educating the public about science then I suppose these post-neanderthal genome T-shirts are equally valid? I hope he sends me a note when he starts selling them at his online store.
Of course Dr. Dawkins wasn’t just talking about science. He and Dr. diCarlo were trying, poorly, to justify their deeply held ethical belief that equal treatment of people from different human subpopulations is a moral imperative. For hardline atheists like these thinkers, the traditional theistic and metaphysical justifications on which abolition and civil rights were based are off the table. They can’t believe as theists do that we should all treat each other equally because we emulate the God who knows and loves everyone regardless of the particulars of their traits or origins. They don’t buy into the metaphysical claims of many Enlightenment thinkers that people are endowed with inherent rights that do not arise from natural origins. Thus Drs. Dawkins, diCarlo and others predicated moral truth on empirical truth of our natural origins. If they sincerely meant any of what they said, then they have to conclude racial prejudice is now a little more permissible (on the order of at least 1-4% more permissible).
Alternatively, they could admit what I suspect is the case, that they never actually thought these arguments from peoples’ origins being equal were good justifications for people treating each other equally. Admitting that however, would be tantamount to admitting that they don’t have a justification for their moral claims. It would also mean admitting that instead of searching for good justifications for their moral claims, they would rather pass off glib rhetoric as reasons to their audience, apparently confident that their audience wouldn’t see that these are terribly illogical arguments, and therefore dangerous arguments, for equal treatment of human persons.
I suspect the current debate about human origins will land on the conclusion that some living humans exhibit some degree of genetic admixture from Neanderthals. The result of this debate has many important scientific implications, but for those of us who hold to the reasons our culture has always held for equal treatment there are no ethical implications of this research. From the many founding fathers of the United States who objected to slavery at our country’s infancy, to Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., our culture has always used some form of metaphysical argument, and usually a theistic one, to justify that people from different ‘races’ should be treated equally. The theistic justification is a strong one precisely because it does not depend on any of the facts of what our origins, similarities, or differences may be.
Wade, N. 2000. The human family tree: 10 Adams and 18 Eves. The New York Times. May 2, 2000, Tuesday, Late Edition – Final. Section F; Page 1; Column 1.
This is my personal blog. The views expressed on this page are my own. My views should not be taken to represent the views of my mentors, employer, or any person or group other than myself.
Cultural Phylogenetics
History Of Anthropology
Kin Selection
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Meeting to Mitigate
The Wastequip legal team implemented quarterly meetings with designers back in January 2016. Now, after roughly a year, the company's proactive approach keeps everyone on the same page.
By Urmila Ramakrishnan
Back in 2014, Wastequip was asked to commit to a certain number of new product offerings, and the legal department agreed to accept the challenge of supporting those initiatives. The department realized that the designers would come to legal with their inventions whenever they were completed, rather than coming to them with the concepts and ideas. In order to create a more disciplined structure and process, the company’s senior vice president and general counsel, Richard Sedory, implemented quarterly reviews and meetings with designers. It fit well into the staging process to bring new products to the markets.
The first formal meeting was in January 2016, and since then, Wastequip has seen a more engaged design and engineering team. Sedory has seen an increase in the number of patent and trademark applications, which he says is a direct result of getting in front of this group. He’s also seen a reduction in external IP spending. Though he says he can’t attribute the reduction directly to the quarterly meetings, he believes there is a direct correlation between the increased level of early engagement of the legal team during new product development and lowering the IP costs.
Sedory’s approach with these meetings is all about implementing structure. Agendas are sent out in advance by Wastequip’s staff attorney, Mary-Karen Bierman, so designers and attendees have input going into the meeting. With Bierman leading the meetings, they also go over the IP patent portfolio to see what’s in the pipeline, the status of various projects, and what might be rolling into expiration. It’s a very robust conversation that typically includes the division president. It’s all about what Wastequip is inventing and what’s next in development to allow continued protection and anticipation of what competitors might do when a patent rolls off of protection. The company has always been very hands-on in its strategies in the C-suite, with the mentality of serving those leaders.
“We are there to serve our customers,” Sedory says, and adds that holding quarterly meetings is just one way he does that.
Another way Sedory and the legal department have taken a proactive stance on research and development initiatives is through a new invention disclosure form, which is on Wastequip’s intranet in a user-friendly and structured manner. They’ve also done something similar with their nondisclosure agreements. Everyone has access to them on the intranet, and each employee understands what confidentiality agreements and NDAs are.
Sedory says he hasn’t seen any major challenges yet, but he sees a more involved legal department in the future.
“When legal is involved up front in the process, you can address issues immediately, and you’re going to mitigate what can happen downstream,” Sedory says. “We see that when getting into intellectual property discussions. With the robust and engaging discussion, you have the freedom to operate and bring to market the product you’re talking about with the added protection from legal.”
Getting that green light up front rather than down the continuum has enabled better communication between designers and legal and has brought together various teams to create a streamlined approach to invention and IP. Instead of an ad hoc approach, these meetings have created an expectation for more robust research and development discussion between engineers, design, production development, legal, and commercial sides of business. It’s bringing more players to the table in a disciplined fashion.
“Everything is iterative,” Sedory says. “You’re always building on prior actions, the successes and learning from previous work.
“There’s always been the effect of being able to learn from our prior practices, but there are also advantages of having everyone around the table. When you engage multiple players and teams, you’re leveraging all of their individual leanings.”
Over the next several years, Sedory also hopes to have more training sessions at the major manufacturing locations that would include the engineering and design teams and teach them about trade secrets, confidentiality, and nondisclosure of trade secrets.
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This article is so full of errors that I do not know where to begin. For starters the independence of India was as violent if not more violent than Israel. Both Bengal and Punjab were subject to gory Hindu Muslim riots and some believe it led to the largest migrations in History. It ended with an Islamic Pakistan and a Secular India.
Second the author claims that Savarkar was an admirer of Adolf Hitler (misspelt incidentally) and an admirer of Israel in almost the same sentence. This is totally bizarre!! Savarkar was a multi faceted person but certainly cannot be an anti-Semite and a Zionist lover in the same sentence.
It baffles me as to how a person so ill informed as this author can be a “Professor” of South Asian studies. Anyways I guess to each their own!! My only message to the author is : do not worry. we will strike your name off the support list for Israel if there is one. The opinion of 59% of people in a country matters more than a ranting intellectual. My only crib is that Modi and his ministers seem more interested in appeasing the secular lobby than the people who elected them. We need to come up with a resolution backing Israel and its right to self defence.
We wish all people including the Palestinian people a great future. But that should not be at the cost of Hamas stated objective of “destroying” Israel and all its citizens. People who support Hamas are guilty of supporting their call for mass murder!!
It is funny how these same people also continue to ignore the genocide of Bengali Hindus in Bangladesh in the 70s and continuing now while ranting at 500 deaths in Gaza!!
On Mr. Modi– do not court apartheid Israel in my name,
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Dating app Bumble wants to help you network
by Sara Ashley O'Brien @saraashleyo October 2, 2017: 2:24 PM ET
Men swipe right, but women make the first move
There's a fine line between dating and networking. But one company thinks both can coexist in the same app.
Bumble -- the dating app where women make the first move -- has launched its new service, Bumble Bizz, for finding career contacts. It comes more than one year after it was first teased by the company.
As with the original Bumble service, women send the first message after a mutual connection in the app is made.
Instead of attending in-person career networking events, Bumble Bizz will enable people to virtually network by swiping for contacts. Once matched, connections can chat in the app and setup meetings IRL.
Because the app is location-based, people will only see potential contacts who are nearby. While Bumble Bizz is accessible via Bumble's original app, the vertical intends to be unrelated to dating.
According to CEO and founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, a safe space is needed for women who are career networking, just as it is necessary for dating.
"Being solicited on LinkedIn is a real thing that happens," Wolfe Herd told CNN Tech.
She's experienced that discomfort first-hand -- and so have some of her female employees. This includes receiving comments on LinkedIn such as "professionally speaking, I think you're really beautiful."
Related: Dating app ditches swiping, requires phone calls
In response, some women have rejected LinkedIn invitation requests from men if they believe they're being pursued for the wrong reasons, such as for a date. Men who want to connect on a professional level can lose out.
"Men are used to getting turned down on LinkedIn, but what about men genuinely looking to connect with women in different industries?" she said. "Men and women both need to network and build their Rolodex."
The use of LinkedIn to find dates has been reported in recent years by sites such as the Atlantic and Glamour.
"There is a shield built into Bumble," said Wolfe Herd.
LinkedIn did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Bumble Bizz is Bumble's third vertical, behind its friendship-finding service Bumble BFF.
All three offerings can be found within the main Bumble app. Users can toggle between the verticals and set up different profiles with distinct profile pictures.
Bumble Bizz has a photo verification tool to keep the platform free of frauds, as well as space to include a digital resume, your skills, and examples of your work.
Related: Bumble founder created the app after experiencing online harassment
In the coming weeks, Bumble will roll out more features such as the ability to hide the app's dating functionality for those who may have used the dating service but are now in relationships (it will add a timestamp displaying when the account was frozen). "Our concern was: How do we make sure this doesn't cause any mistrust in relationships given how dating apps have been perceived?"
But individuals can choose to sign up just for Bumble Bizz.
Now available to users in USA, Canada, UK, France and Germany, it was expected to launch one year ago. But Wolfe Herd said the launch was delayed because people were still "getting accustomed" to the app's premise -- that women must make the first move. "We felt the moment wasn't right."
That changed when the team saw members use Bumble's existing services to network. Some would update their profile descriptions to state they were looking to match with people in certain industries or professions.
Although Bumble Bizz may be looking to address some of the complaints about LinkedIn, Wolfe Herd doesn't consider it a competitor.
"We're offering something on-demand and hyper-local with clear intentions," she said.
But it's not the only site to make the leap from dating to careers. Last year, eHarmony branched into career matchmaking with a new platform, Elevated Careers. However, the service was acquired by startup Candidate.Guru in August.
CNNMoney (New York) First published October 2, 2017: 2:24 PM ET
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myWestern
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50 Years Since Stonewall
The June 1969 Stonewall riots, memory, and terrains of LGBTQ+ liberation
The Stonewall riots marked one of the most galvanizing periods in the fight for sexual and gender liberation and the six days of protest against transphobia, homophobia, and police repression offered powerful stories, movements, and acts of queer resistance, sexual and gender liberation, and racial, ethnic, and cultural solidarity. The riots inspired LGBTQ+ people throughout the country to organize in support of gay rights, and within two years after the riots, social movements for gender and sexual liberation were sparked in nearly every major city in the United States.
Three events on May 22 and 23 for students, staff, faculty, and the community offer multidisciplinary explorations of the Stonewall riots and ongoing struggles towards queer liberation.
Pride Postcards to LGBTQ+ Prisoners
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Many aspects of LGBTQ+ life were criminalized throughout US history and LGBTQ+ people remain disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system. In memory of those arrested at Stonewall and in solidarity with those incarcerated today, we’ll be sending postcards celebrating Pride to incarcerated LGBTQ+ people. Stop by for ten minutes or stay the whole time. All materials provided.
Schooling After Stonewall
a panel with A Longoria, Instructor of Secondary Education, and community K-12 educators
Wednesday, May 22, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., Miller Hall 152
What are the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth today? How can we best serve the evolving needs of Queer identities in schooling? This vision-setting panel conversation will highlight current youth work and perspectives on what schooling should look like after Stonewall. This panel conceives of schooling broadly, with a particular emphasis on K-12 schooling. It will consist of educators, community organizers, and activists. A brief overview of the state of schooling today, including legal and policy developments and implications, will precede a moderated panel.
Stones to the Wall: How to Remember a Riot
a talk by Chris E. Vargas, Assistant Professor of Art
Thursday, May 23, 5:00 p.m., Fraser 201
In this talk about his recent exhibition and residency at the New Museum in New York City entitled “Consciousness Razing: The Stonewall Re-memorialization Project,” Chris Vargas explores Stonewall as a geographically, demographically, and historically contested site.
For the New Museum exhibition, Vargas’s Museum of Transgender Hirstory & Art (MOTHA) commissioned artists to propose new monuments to the 1969 Stonewall riots. In doing so, Vargas questions what we think we know about these riots, often cited as a formative event for gay liberation and the modern LGBTQI civil rights movement in the US. In 2016, to commemorate the riots, President Obama designated Stonewall Inn and the adjacent Christopher Park a national monument. Yet for years, many of the activists who led the fight against violence and police brutality against queer and trans people—including Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major, and many others—were not properly recognized in popular accounts of Stonewall. These figures are increasingly acknowledged in mainstream LGBTQI histories, but narratives of their work often elide their more radical demands and their critiques of racism, economic marginalization, and transphobia. Rather than construct a neat historical trajectory, this project contends that attempting to narrate a stable history does the past a disservice. Instead, MOTHA’s “Consciousness Razing” finds new ways to uncover, recast, and recuperate elements of the past.
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African American and African Diaspora Studies
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The study of the experience of African Americans in the United States, including history and culture. Further, African American and African Diaspora Studies is a broad interdisciplinary field related to the humanities and the social sciences and to the African Diaspora worldwide. Along with the resources found at this site (in the left-hand column), there are many more resources located at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Library.
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African American Newspapers (1827-1998) is available to authorized IU Bloomington users (on or off campus)
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← Links 12/27/11
Links 12/28/11 →
Is Economics a Science? And If Not, Then What Is It?
Posted on December 28, 2011 by mikethemadbiologist
A recent guest post at Naked Capitalism by economics student Jake Romero lists “Ten Principles of Responsible Economics.” What intrigued me was principle #10 (boldface original):
10) In theory, economics is a science. In reality, economics is a science the way Ayn Rand is a literary luminary
To casually label economics a science is at best aspirational, at worst manipulative, at a minimum misleading. At the introductory level, the issue at stake is less one of methodology than of how deferential the layperson or novice should be to the authority of expert or policy entrepreneur appeal to economic theory. Skepticism is always a virtue. When evaluating claims based on simple economic models, it’s self-defense.
My first thought is “Wow. You’ve dedicated years of your life to economics. That’s very sad”, followed by, “Well, then what is economics?” This is actually an important question. In any intellectual discipline, including biology, it is useful, once in a while, to examine what you do from a broader perspective. And, of course, like it or not (and many days, I don’t like it at all), economists have a disproportionate influence on the boundary conditions that affect how we do science. In a word: funding. If we’re told we need to cut spending, well, that will put the damper on research and technological development, while if we’re told we need to increase federal spending, well, write up that ad for a post-doc. They both can’t be right at the same time. So if economists are doing a shitty job, then we all suffer.
So what is economics? The snarky answer is that it’s theology.
There is a set of a priori beliefs that are held, and internally valid constructs are made to justify those beliefs. Before you think this is ridiculous, there is an entire vein of steampunk science fiction that has people worshiping algorithms, such as Tim Akers’ Heart of Veridon. I realize calling it religion is inflammatory, but arguably, one could perceive much of economics as philosophy (perhaps bad philosophy) with some simple math draped over top of it. It seems to me that, for example, the argument over whether recessions should be viewed as ‘vacations‘ has as much to do with deeply internalized views about human nature based on personal experience and values as it does evidence (although regular readers of this blog will know that I think the ‘Great Vacation’ idea is ludicrous). So to describe economics as a philosophy, perhaps a political philosophy, doesn’t seem so far-fetched.
I don’t think it’s fair to describe economics as sociology: that would be an insult to good sociologists. When done well, most sociologists readily acknowledge the limitations of their work (e.g., the first chapters of both Peter Moskos’ Cop in the Hood or Lisa Dodson’s The Moral Underground: How Ordinary People Subvert an Unfair Economy). They admit the very human limitations of their approaches.
But perhaps economics is mostly where population genetics was sixty to seventy years ago. At that time, population genetics was almost entirely a theoretical science, and it was mostly deductive, in large part because we lacked the tools to quantify genetic variation*. There was a lot of elegant (and not so elegant) mathematical modeling work that was done which described how things should work, given a set of assumptions. Much of this theory wasn’t ‘wrong’: there’s no way the neutral theory of evolution can be ‘wrong’, since it is internally consistent.
The important question is ‘does it have any relevance to biology‘? And we couldn’t begin to answer that until we start collecting mounds of data. And I’m not talking about a time series with fifty points; I mean gobs of the stuff. As Barry Eichengreen put it:
The late twentieth century was the heyday of deductive economics. Talented and facile theorists set the intellectual agenda. Their very facility enabled them to build models with virtually any implication, which meant that policy makers could pick and choose at their convenience. Theory turned out to be too malleable, in other words, to provide reliable guidance for policy.
In contrast, the twenty-first century will be the age of inductive economics, when empiricists hold sway and advice is grounded in concrete observation of markets and their inhabitants. Work in economics, including the abstract model building in which theorists engage, will be guided more powerfully by this real-world observation. It is about time.
The absence of data about how real-world economic systems behave is a glaring absence. I can’t imagine doing biology without all of the stupid natural history facts we’ve collected–and economics, like biology, studies complex systems. So maybe there’s some hope after all?
So, what do you think economics is? Or should be?
*One exception was quantitative genetics which had very immediate and applied contributions.
This entry was posted in Economics, Philosophy Shit. Bookmark the permalink.
6 Responses to Is Economics a Science? And If Not, Then What Is It?
John Danley says:
Economics: Limited resources with unlimited access to those resources by a select group of assholes.
Noah Yetter says:
Sure is productive when people with zero knowledge of economics decide to render sentence on whether it’s a science or how honest its practitioners are.
“I don’t think it’s fair to describe economics as sociology: that would be an insult to good sociologists. When done well, most sociologists readily acknowledge the limitations of their work… They admit the very human limitations of their approaches.”
Which is exactly what good economists do. But you wouldn’t know that, because you’re criticizing something you know nothing about.
Vene says:
You see, Noah, those of us in the sciences can make predictions with a reasonable degree of accuracy; unlike economists who completely missed the biggest depression in ~70 years. I don’t expect perfection, that would be ridiculous, but I do expect agreement on the big things.
lynxreignlynxreign says:
Noah, repeatedly claiming he has zero knowledge of economics is ridiculous as you could easily tell if you spent a few moments reading through the other blog posts. As it stands, you’ve simply given a good example of projection.
I think the problem with the section you quoted is the word “good”. “Good” economists probably do just that, but they are much fewer and further between than “good” sociologists or scientists. The majority of economists seem to start with a conclusion and then look for ways to justify it, the opposite of science, but much like religion.
bobbyp says:
Noah,
Well OK. Name a “good” economist.
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Archive for the tag “FDC Youth League”
FDC: “Re: Consultative/ Mobilization meetings” (13.04.2018)
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged CID Headquarters, Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye, Col. Kizza Besigye, Dr. Kizza Besigye, Dr. Warren Smith Kizza Besigye Kifefe, East Africa, FDC, FDC Youth League, Forum for Democratic Change, GoU, Government of Uganda, H. E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, H.E. Yoweri Museveni, Hon. Nathan Nandala-Mafabi, Joseph Obwona, Kibuli, Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni., Moses Byamugisha, Moses Byamugyisha., Nathan Nandala-Mafabi, National Resistance Movement, NRM, NRM Regime, Opposition, Patrick Oboi Amuriat, Police, President Museveni, Uganda, Uganda Police Force, Yoweri K. Museveni, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni | Leave a comment
The Shadow Cabinet in the 10th Parliament… why we shouldn’t pay it no-mind; it’s a tool for legitimacy of Mzee and nothing else!
Let me be brutal and clear, as the FDC Presidential Candidate that at some point the day before the officiating of President Museveni on the 12th May 2016, while Dr. Kizza Besigye we’re sworn-in on the 11th May 2016. With that in mind, he has committed treason while certain Forum for Democratic Change is playing Democracy in the Parliament of Uganda.
It’s like the Community Colleges and Students are playing the United Nation Security Council to clear out the problems of the world and fixing the issues, the same is the value of the Shadow Cabinet in the 10th Parliament of Uganda. When you have a gun-wielding, opposition detaining, arresting and detaining soldiers and leaders of the army, while also attacking Rwenzori Sub-Region to retake and pursuit the loyalty to towards the central leadership and President of the nation; that is all done to control the nation, and when you have those activities happening daily and constantly, than the value of a shadow cabinet is pointless.
I hate to say that, as Hon. Winnie Kiiza and Hon. Ibrahim Nganda Ssemujju are only useful for President Museveni and not really for themselves. If they we’re useful the up-and-coming not to talk about ambitions Hon. Nathan-Nandala Mafabi would have stepped up to the plate this time as well, but after he have played second fiddle in last term and tenure in Parliament; he knew that those who are in the Shadow is playing a ghost-goose hunt into the wilderness.
Why I don’t care about the men and woman picked? That Winnie Kiiza had reasons for not appointing Uganda People’s Congress members, as they are surely in cahoots and embedded with the National Resistance Movement with their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) together with the loyalist appointments from Mzee towards the Hon. Jimmy Akena pact. So if Kiiza thought she had got cards in the trade, she dust and hot air, while the ones filling in papers with the NRM-UPC pact would have a initial pay-day where they together are looting the Bank of Uganda, while they leave scrapped shillings to the ones in the Shadow.
I have nothing against the Hon. Kiiza or Hon. Nganda Ssemujju, but their role is only feeding the ego and arrogance of President Museveni, and they are supposed to be loyal towards the man in Luzira, that what hurts, that the FDC NEC and FDC-Party went for the Shadow Cabinet and doing this while the sizeable cabinet of 81 Ministers! Those 81 Ministers are supposed to follow by their shadows with checks and balance of their record. While that might be Nobel task and usefully a task of opposition, at this point there are so much to stagger the dominion of FDC.
The FDC, The FDC NEC and the FDC Party in general should be more focused on getting their party in line and continue to work for the audit of the General Election of 2016, get in line with securing the popular campaign together with Dr. Kizza Besigye, as he held together with FDC Activists nationwide during the Campaign Trail of 2015 and 2016. That shouldn’t be forgotten and the reason for the Mzee to ban the different media-houses for their treatment during the Campaign. That was because of the traction and real opinion during the Campaign that the NRM Regime have done by all means to silence with detaining, harassing, conspiring and making life hard for the opposition.
And in this picture the Opposition is only as their faith in the change, as the Opposition are steadfast in the belief, that they will overcome the fraudulent system and their works to counter the totalitarian and Police State that they are living under.
In this picture and under this oppressive state, as their leaders and so many activist are hurt, tortured, detained and even lingering in jail, the shadow cabinet is just a useful to toy for legitimacy of Mzee, so why are Hon. Kiiza and Hon. Nganda Ssemujju playing with the toy and thinking it matter. Because is shouldn’t, they shouldn’t’ and the force behind it is personal greed and status, not for the cause of the matter. What the leadership and tarnished exchange of a uncertain peace that Gen. Mugisha Muntu got out of giving in, is not sure! But certainly the value of the trade is certainly only in the hands of the oppressive regime and the FDC sold itself short.
Dr. Kizza Besigye have played that game before and this time, I am sure he wouldn’t give in as the cause, and the peaceful transition have to happen in Uganda, at one point, there been happening in villages and at county levels for decades, why can’t it happen on the highest governmental position, the Presidential change and rule of law for that. A president need to be changed as the Government need fresh blood, not to be feed the nepotism, cronyism and corruption in favour of the NRM Elite, Musevenism and other clans connected to the NRM-O and the NRM NEC.
So please FDC Shadow Cabinet, why do you want to be used by Mzee for the small pieces of silver, when your own are detain, harassed and kidnapped from their home? How can you play these shadows in the august halls of the Parliament, while your own loyal youth and the men risking their political future in the word of the ‘Defiance’ like Ingrid Turinawe and Doreen Nyanjura and so on; while you are eating and living well in the basking glory of Mzee with the rest of WaBenzi! Have you thought about that and the consideration of the reflection of your values, as the leader you stood by and earned your space, on his merits together with your groundwork gotten you into Parliament and your letting him dwindle in oblivion between dozen of court-cases as the Uganda Police Force and other State Authorities are pinning cases on him Christmas decoration on a Christmas tree while you are reading the ‘diary’ for the Parliament procedure and following the calendar of Parliament Speaker Hon. Rebecca Kadaga… instead of following the ethical and moral authority of Besigye and his cause of a government following the will of the People and not Mzee, as government should do! Peace.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged 10th Parliament, 10th Parliament of Uganda, 2016 General Election, 2016 General Election Uganda, 2016 Rigged Election, Badru Kiggundu, Banning Defiance Campaign, Campaign of Defiance, Citizen, Civil Disobedience, Defiance, Defiance Campaign, Deputy Chief Justice Stephen Kavuma, Destruction, Disobedience, Disobeyed Lawful Order, Disobeying Police Orders, Doreen Nyanjura, Dr Badru Kiggundu, Dr Badru M. Kiggundu, EC Uganda, Edward Kale Kayihura, Election Rigging, Electoral Commission, Eng. Dr. Badru M. Kiggundu, EU, European Union, FDC, FDC Headquarters Najjanankumbi, FDC HQ in Najjankumbi, FDC National Executive Committee, FDC NEC, FDC Youth League, FDCYL, Forum for Democratic Change, Forum for Democratic Change Youth League, Francis Mwijukye, Gen. Kale Kayihura, Gen. Mugisha Muntu, GoU, Government of Uganda, Gulu, H. E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, H.E. Yoweri Museveni, Happy David Ngabo, Hon. Francis Mwijukye, Hon. Ibrahim Nganda Ssemujju, Hon. Jimmy Akena, Hon. Nabilah Nagayi Sempala, Hon. Nahan Nandala Mafabi, Hon. Nandala Mafabi, Hon. Nathan Nandala-Mafabi, Hon. Olara Otunnu, Ibrahim Nganda Ssemujju, IGP Gen Kale Kayihura, IGP Kale Kayihura, Illegitimate government, Ingrid Turinawe, Innocent, Interim Ex Parte Orders in AG V. Besigye (Constitutional Petition No. 13 of 2016), James Akena, Jimmy Akena, Kakayi Zeridah, Kale Kayihura, Kases, Leader of Opposition, Legitimacy, Legitimate, Legitimate Government, Legitimate Power, LOP, Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni., Luzira, Luzira Maximum Security Prison, Maj General Mugisha Muntu, Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu, Major General Mugisha Muntu, Michael Kabaziguruka, MP Reagan Okumu, Mubarak Munyagwa Apolo Kantinti, Mugisha Muntu, Mwijukye Francis, Nabilah Nagayi Sempala, Nabilah Naggayi Sempala Reagan Okumu, Nandala Mafabi, Nathan Nandala-Mafabi, National Resistance Movement, NRM, NRM Regime, NRM-UPC, Ogenga Latigo, Opposition, Owek Joyce Nabbosa Ssebuggwawo, Pader, Parliament of Uganda, Pastoor Happy David Ngabo, Pastor Happy David Ngabo, Police State, Politcal affliation, President Museveni, Professor Baryamureeba, Reagan Okumu, Rigged Election, Rwenzori-Sub Region, Shadow Cabinet, Shadow Cabinet 2016-2021, Sham Election, The Electoral Commission, The Electoral Commission of Uganda, totalitarian, totalitarian power, Totalitarian State, Uganda EC, Uganda Electoral Commission, Uganda General Election 2016, Uganda People Defence Force, Uganda Peoples Congress, Uganda Peoples Defence Force, Uganda Peoples Defense Force, Uganda Police Force, Ugandan Government, UPC, UPDF, UPF, Winnie Kiiza, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Yoweri Museveni | Leave a comment
Opinion: FDC must not destroy itself with a shadow cabinet in Parliament; they must continue the liberation struggle as Besigye are lingering in Luzira!
There are rules and regulations as the 10th Parliament are starting the Forum for Democratic Change National Executive Committee had talks and a meeting where the FDC top management was certainly discussing its policies and who to challenge for the shadow government, as much as it is to become the Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the Parliament.
But with the Intimidation, with the detainees, with the Police Force monitoring the Party and the members lingering in prisons and at police post, all the forged up charges against members and leader of party; while still the defiance campaign have been made illegal, but good news to hear that the Forum for Democratic Change Headquarters are not besieged and a crime scene anymore.
The FDC have to make smart and wise decisions, not the ones of Professor Baryamureeba who recently wanted the FDC to be loyal to the Parliament and change tune to make it possible for NRM and the regime to work without fuzz and create havoc. Well, the FDC should not follow men who are loyal to NRM and Museveni, as they are not supposed to follow that party-line as they have already standing legal issues and other aspects of being intimidated and harassing members, even torture of FDC leaders. That should worry the leadership and not silencing them, because that is all that the NRM Regime has right now.
FDC had the votes and the real crowds during the pre-election period and on Election Day for a change of guard and wishing to usher in Dr. Kizza Besigye. That was there, but the Electoral Commission and other forces have done whatever needed to rig and destroy proof of conspiracy of the electoral rigging and sham election. That even now after the EU and other Western Powers accepts, even if they know this.
That certain hardliners will claim that the ones in Parliament from the FDC that goes into the Shadow Government are traitors are understandable, even if they are not so, as in fact they are just doing a duty that are bound by the rules of Parliament. Still, they should have defied this and stay loyal to the President who are detained instead of thinking of their pockets and honors in the chambers; at the same time we cannot expect all lines of a party be such Nobel as the hardest wishes for change that are in the FDC. I am sure that certain parts of the ANC was not happy that after the releasing of Nelson Mandela from prison back in the day, that he went and still negotiated with the ruling regime and the last part of the minority rule in South Africa. I am certain that some of his close allies hated that he did so, but that mended the fences between the old and new, so South Africa had some sorts of softer landing after the election after years of struggle against the Apartheid regime.
Why I am saying this, is because the same will initially happen with certain members of FDC and certain opposition fractions, not talking about the UPC, most of them have already sold the party to National Resistance Movement, after the agreement between Hon. Akena and Museveni. That certain Democratic Party members are also in tail with the NRM are to be seen and should not flabbergast anybody, that independent candidates and MPs are naturally for MPs after this elections, as the independent are often NRM Primaries losers, who run again on their own ticket and was even facilitated by Museveni and the State House.
The FDC should be wise now and not self-destruct as the intimidation and the aggression have been so high. That certain member’s wants glory in parliament is to be understandable, as some wants to eat and are clinging on the Regime and the rules of Parliament instead of direct hardline loyalty!
There will be the ones who are more ideological for the struggle against the aggressor and the ones who eat of the state and take it for it is own gain, not-so-honorable Museveni and his elite. The Police Force are following the FDC and are looking for the men and woman they also can control, as the NRM wants to own the country and have everybody under line and the vision of Museveni. That is known, so if there moles and un-loyal people in the FDC, that should be expected. But we should not quickly drag the FDC who are fighting for the LOP or Shadow Cabinet position as they want to have a position in Parliament and have name in print. People are vain; politicians are even vainer and have more vanity as they want glory and capital.
The FDC should ask them what they want to be, as if they want to recognize the “Elected” Parliament and the “Elected” President. As the members and loyal supporters should ask if they want accept business as usual as they know with that, that the stakes of fortunes of crude oil and other resources will not benefit the Ugandan State, instead the Museveni Elite.
What would be interesting is how Dr. Kizza Besigye would take the persons and feel about the men and woman who accept a shadow government position since he is risking everything; while certain allies of him is in a way showing credibility like EU delegates after the walkout of the Swearing-In. The non-sense of attacking them directly and self-destruction is not advisory; it is more of the long-term process of knowing who is really wanting the democratic change and who wanted quickly to earn bucks on the Political Capital that a man of the stature of Besigye.
That is an important to ask, as the people who votes for a candidate and the ones that candidate endorse, together with the loyalty of party-line and the initially wish of actually making a difference. That is what the FDC have to ask as they, have been through wind and fire during the recent months and days. The Police Force and Army have attacked together with the Judiciary have used all methods to silence and all kind of types of aggression to bring the FDC to their knees. No questions as even FDC leaders been taken without warrants from their own homes into cars and driven from Kampala to Northern towns of Gulu/Lira and so on, in safe-houses to be tortured.
With that in mind, the FDC have to ask how much and who will stand by and be the ones that want to collaborate with the Regime that does that to fellow brothers and sisters. That the regime has uses tear-gas and guns against citizens, and the ones that arrest demonstrators instead of letting them demonstrate against the regime peacefully, something they should not be allowed to do. Therefore the questions are open and should be asked. What kind of party does FDC want to be? Certainly not sell their soul and party as Hon. Akena did during the Pre-Election Period. Since their “Presidential Candidate” and the ones Sworn-In before the Treason Charge is lingering now in Luzira, while the FDC NEC is playing shadows games that Museveni will enjoy.
The only one winning on the political inner-battle is not Besigye, is not the voters who voted for Besigye and the FDC. The ones that wins on internal battle of the Party is the NRM and their Museveni. Just as he did with UPC between Akena and Otunnu, as he has earned on the weakness of DP and their leaders endorsement of Mbabazi, Hon. Mao. There are too many Opposition parties and leaders who haven’t matched the Machiavellian and Orwellian leader of Museveni. Only one seems to have the stamina and diligence and that is Besigye. He is not totally perfect, he is human and has his weakness, still all his hardliner and ethical standpoints are there and components are there now and he seems to be the only one. As he have fought and fought ever since leaving the NRM.
Now is the time for FDC to decide on ONE primary question; either they are legitimizing the NRM and Museveni with his 10th Parliament with his selected candidates; if not doing so, they should defy the Parliament and the rules; show that they are really the ones who have the legitimacy of the people and does not need the stolen government funds that Museveni will spoil to the ones who are dancing to his tune. Peace.
Posted in Africa, Army, Civil Service, Corruption, Development, Economic Measures, Economy, Election, Ethics, Governance, Government, Law, Leadership, Politics and tagged 10th Parliament, 10th Parliament of Uganda, 2016 General Election, 2016 General Election Uganda, Apartheid, Apartheid Regime, Aswa Bridge, Badru Kiggundu, Banning Defiance Campaign, Campaign of Defiance, Citizen, Civil Disobedience, Defiance, Defiance Campaign, Deputy Chief Justice Stephen Kavuma, Destruction, Disobedience, Disobeyed Lawful Order, Disobeying Police Orders, Dr Badru Kiggundu, Dr Badru M. Kiggundu, Dr. Olara Otunnu, EC Uganda, Edward Kale Kayihura, Electoral Commission, Eng. Dr. Badru M. Kiggundu, EU, European Union, FDC, FDC Headquarters Najjanankumbi, FDC HQ in Najjankumbi, FDC Youth League, FDCYL, Forum for Democratic Change, Forum for Democratic Change Youth League, Francis Mwijukye, Gen. Kale Kayihura, Gen. Mugisha Muntu, GoU, Government of Uganda, Gulu, H. E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, H.E. Yoweri Museveni, Happy David Ngabo, Hon. Francis Mwijukye, Hon. Ibrahim Nganda Ssemujju, Hon. Nabilah Nagayi Sempala, Hon. Nahan Nandala Mafabi, Hon. Nandala Mafabi, Hon. Nathan Nandala-Mafabi, Hon. Olara Otunnu, Ibrahim Nganda Ssemujju, IGP Gen Kale Kayihura, IGP Kale Kayihura, Illegitimate government, Ingrid Turinawe Harold Kaija, Innocent, Interim Ex Parte Orders in AG V. Besigye (Constitutional Petition No. 13 of 2016), Kakayi Zeridah, Kale Kayihura, Leader of Opposition, Legitimacy, Legitimate Government, Legitimate Power, LOP, Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni., Maj General Mugisha Muntu, Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu, Major General Mugisha Muntu, Michael Kabaziguruka, MP Reagan Okumu, Mubarak Munyagwa Apolo Kantinti, Mugisha Muntu, Mwijukye Francis, Nabilah Nagayi Sempala, Nabilah Naggayi Sempala Reagan Okumu, Nandala Mafabi, Nathan Nandala-Mafabi, National Resistance Movement, Nelson Mandela, NRM, NRM Regime, Nyanjura Doreen Nathan Nandala-Mafabi, Ogenga Latigo, Olara A. Otunnu, Olara Otunnu, Opposition, Owek Joyce Nabbosa Ssebuggwawo, Pader, Parliament of Uganda, Pastoor Happy David Ngabo, Pastor Happy David Ngabo, Police State, Politcal affliation, President Museveni, Professor Baryamureeba, Reagan Okumu, Shadow Cabinet, Stephen Kavuma, Steven Kavuma, The Electoral Commission, The Electoral Commission of Uganda, totalitarian, totalitarian power, Totalitarian State, Uganda EC, Uganda Electoral Commission, Uganda General Election 2016, Uganda Police Force, Ugandan Government, UPF, Winnie Kiiza, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Yoweri Museveni | Leave a comment
The Cavalry tortured of FDC Vice Chairperson of the FDC Youth League; she survived but is still in critical state!
Today is a sad day; because of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and their Government are using their Police Force to brutally destroy opposition. That Police Force are using all tactics to dismantle the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), the words of the President Museveni, that he wanted to crash and even crush the Opposition, are now in full effect; without no mercy and the Police Officers are doing their job. The job of crashing the Opposition with all kind of methods and no care for their lives.
It is not easy writing about this, as this could have been me or you. We all who stand against tyranny and fight injustice can get into the hands of Police State and get punished for speaking out our mind. Therefore it is saddening me, to see the pictures and the story that fellow comrade Ingrid Turinawe describes and writes today. As I will show; this is heartbreaking and sad. The brutality and bestiality from the Authorities that not only mentally, but also with chemicals destroys a fellow human beings life, because of her political affiliation, she wasn’t a criminal or a terrorist, she was an active member of the FDC in Uganda. That was it! That should not be a reason to get this treatment, none should get this treatment, she is an innocent citizen who cares about politics and get hurt for life for doing so. The Destruction of this life lays in the tarnished legacy of President Museveni and by orders of IGP Kale Kayihura, hope these people will hunt your sleep and mind. As they are just like you, with a heart and mind; they will be the reminder of how you ate the whole state and now is punishing the ones who is not affiliated with the NRM. That is not “Rule of Law” or Justice for that matter.
Before I get to preachy; let Ingrid Turinawe tell the story:
“Kakayi Zeridah is the FDC vice chair person of the Youth league. Arrested in Kampala on 11th May, driven to unknown places, injected with chemicals that made her unconscious! Today, I visited ZERIDA, her story is so shocking! After a whole week of terrible torture! In an isolated hut, (read safe house in Gulu) she was driven and abandoned for dead on the road side at the bridge – River ASWA boarder of PADER and Gulu. Good Samaritans rescued her, before they called Kampala family who went to pick her. She has an injured back, she cannot walk on her own. She needs prayers. Listening to Zerida z story, you really thank God that she is alive! Unbelievable! Can’t imagine these things can even happen in our motherland!” (Ingrid Turinawe, 21.05.2016).
That’s enough for now. Peace.
Posted in Africa, Civil Service, Development, Election, Ethics, Governance, Government, Law, Leadership, Politics and tagged Aswa Bridge, Banning Defiance Campaign, Campaign of Defiance, Citizen, Civil Disobedience, Defiance, Defiance Campaign, Destruction, Disobedience, Disobeyed Lawful Order, Disobeying Police Orders, Edward Kale Kayihura, FDC, FDC Youth League, FDCYL, Forum for Democratic Change, Forum for Democratic Change Youth League, Gen. Kale Kayihura, GoU, Government of Uganda, Gulu, H. E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, H.E. Yoweri Museveni, IGP Gen Kale Kayihura, IGP Kale Kayihura, Innocent, Kakayi Zeridah, Kale Kayihura, Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni., National Resistance Movement, NRM, NRM Regime, Pader, Police State, Politcal affliation, President Museveni, totalitarian, totalitarian power, Totalitarian State, Uganda Police Force, Ugandan Government, UPF, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Yoweri Museveni | Leave a comment
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Archive for the tag “Labour Union”
UK: 39 Labour MPs letter to Jeremy Corbyn asking him to sack Shawcroft (29.03.2018)
Posted in Civil Service, Development, Election, Ethics, Governance, Government, Law, Leadership, Politics, Transparency and tagged Andy Slaughter, Angela Eagle, Ann Coffey, Anti-Semite, Blairites, Brexit, Brexit Minister, Chris Bryant, Chris Evans, Chris Leslie, Confidence, Conservative, Conservative Party, Corbyn Administration, Coup, Coup d'etat, Dame Margaret Hodge, David Wayne, Emma Lewell-Buck, Heidi Alexander, Hon. Jeremy Corbyn, Ian Austin, Ian Murray, Jeremy Corby, Jess Phillips, Jim Fitzpatrick, Kate Osamor, Labour, Labour Party, Labour Union, Legacy, Lib-Dem, Liberal Democratic Party, Lilian Greenwood, Lillian Greenwood, Liz Kendall, London Mayor, Lord Mayor Sadiq Khan, Louise Ellman, Luciana Berger, Lucy Powell, Mary Creagh, Members of Parliament, Mike Gapes, Mike Kane, New-Labour, Owen Smith, Peter Glass, Peter Kyle, Red-Wing, Right Wing, Ruth Smeeth, Sadiq Khan, Shadow Cabinet, Socialism, Socialist, Stella Creasy, Stephen Doughty, Stephen Kinnock, Steve Reed, Theresa May, Theresa May MP, Tony Blair, Tories, Union, United Kingdom, Vote of Confidence | Leave a comment
Opinion: A failed rebellion from the Labour MPs as the Members votes to keep Jeremy Corbyn!
The United Kingdom politics seems to have changed a lot since the Brexit Election. Theresa May thinks she the second coming to the Queen and tries to the Iron Lady while triumphant acts like a winner; even if she just inherited the honourable Prime Minister government and traded seats to loyalist for her. Well, other news has been the disgraceful and despicable attacks on Jeremy Corbyn and his allies in the Labour Party. The Main Opposition party that has been under fire for their activity and nativity under the Brexit campaign; that has backfired on the central leadership and ended is disarray in the socialist party.
There we’re very few MPs in Public who we’re behind Jeremy Corbyn like Kate Osamor and few other rare Members of Parliament that we’re silent through the storm after the Brexit.
This happens as the knowledge of the rebel MPs who fled the ship and wanted to axe their leader without any concern of how recently he was elected. These we’re the likes of Peter Kyle, Emma Lewell-Buck, Peter Glass, Chris Evans, Heidi Alexander, Steve Reed, Lucy Powell, Ruth Smeeth, David Wayne, Chris Bryant, Ian Murray, Jess Phillips, Andy Slaughter, Lillian Greenwood and Angela Eagle. All of these MPs wrote letters resigning from the Shadow Cabinet and later worked to do what they could to marginalize their leader. They even had a vote in Parliament where they Opposition voted no-confidence in Corbyn.
In a big party as Labour there would be natural that their more than one major wing. In the Labour Party of United Kingdom, you have the Blairites, the once that you cannot spot the difference between if they are Liberal-Democrats (Lib-Dem) or Conservative Party (Tories) as they acts are the same, but hints of collective consideration when they need too. Than you have the Right-Wing socialist and Labour Unionist that is core bases of the Party. These two wings are the ones that have fought for control of the party. The Legacy of Tony Blair and his New Labour is hunting the Party like a vindictive disease that it cannot kill off. Instead the internal squabbles strengthen the Theresa May government and her brash tone towards the world. While the looking non-member possible voter feels that Labour Party is not the first choice because they cannot control themselves.
There been enough scandals and wrong methods from the leadership under Corbyn. But he has been a backbencher and not a key player until late. The once behind him and the core leadership should have backed him and given him better advice and made sure that certain Anti-Semite slurs wouldn’t be associated with the party and some of the MPs who are loyal to Corbyn. As much as Corbyn should have used a stronger force in the Brexit campaign to gain momentum for what he believed in at that junction. But let’s be clear, the coup d’état that the Shadow Cabinet Ministers are not how to run a party; it is how to ruin a party. Some of these should just flee the Labour Party; ask for forgiveness in their role of disfranchising the Unions and Members of the Party. Or be noble and find a new home. The rebel MPs should beg for forgiveness for weakening the party and their causes. This has wasted time and efforts for the cost of Labour.
The Corbyn Administration better use the time wisely and enter a method of sending their message and making sure programs offered the public can be sold and understood in Brighton and in Swindon.
Certainly the rebel MPs are the key losers today, but also the party because of the internal destruction and maladministration that has led to this effort. The Labour Party can become vital if their principals are in order and if the leadership are true to their balanced message. In a big party as Labour if there weren’t fractions, we as followers of them should be worried. Than there would an authoritarian leader who demands what the rest of the party should think and have on their mind.
If the Corbyn Administration doesn’t handle the rebels, then the friction between them will continue until next election. Even if the Theresa May Cabinet postpones the Article 50 into oblivion as she really wants to and just having a Brexit Minister and having boy-scout Boris Johnson proud-cocking around Europe to ask for forgiveness for his previous insults of the past. Even with all this in mind Corby and his loyal leadership around him has to consolidate and get a clear message, while handling the men and woman who did what they could to oust him. They tried to have both MP Angela Eagle and MP Owen Smith instead of him. The reaction of the matter is now clear as the Members wish to have Jeremy Corbyn longer staying with the helmet.
Certain tabloids and media houses should ask mercy to Corbyn for their attitude and stinking press of slur of ignorance and fixation on getting him axed. Like they wanted to destabilize the party in the wish to strengthen May Government! It isn’t just me who see that clear vindictive attitude of British press towards Corbyn? It was factory made press of banality and obstructive behaviour that we’re out of this world. The only one getting as much bad press, but deservingly so is Donald Trump and he speaks venom; that is not the ways of Corbyn.
Let’s be clear, if the Labour Party wants to be serious contender and become a Party of the People again. Then they have to consolidate and retaliate with fierce precision against the rebels while giving them limited options. MP Owen Smith can now go back to his constituency and try to win over with this lobbyist smile and “make this election the most important in the party history”.
If Labour want to reign again, then they have to go internally and fix, amend and show progress of stature and credible socialist message that can bring belief of a better future for workers, households and industry. Not only trading the Blairites for getting voters now. Corbyn, congratulation on your second victory in Inner-Party Election; now it is time to work! Peace.
Posted in Development, Election, Ethics, Europe, Governance, Law, Leadership, Politics, Western-Hemisphere and tagged Andy Slaughter, Angela Eagle, Anti-Semite, Blairites, Brexit, Brexit Minister, Chris Bryant, Chris Evans, Confidence, Conservative, Conservative Party, Corbyn Administration, Coup, Coup d'etat, David Wayne, Emma Lewell-Buck, Heidi Alexander, Hon. Jeremy Corbyn, Ian Murray, Jeremy Corby, Jess Phillips, Kate Osamor, Labour, Labour Party, Labour Union, Legacy, Lib-Dem, Liberal Democratic Party, Lillian Greenwood, London Mayor, Lord Mayor Sadiq Khan, Lucy Powell, Members of Parliament, New-Labour, Owen Smith, Peter Glass, Peter Kyle, Red-Wing, Right Wing, Ruth Smeeth, Sadiq Khan, Shadow Cabinet, Socialism, Socialist, Steve Reed, Theresa May, Theresa May MP, Tony Blair, Tories, Union, United Kingdom, Vote of Confidence | Leave a comment
Bernie Sanders joins Striking Verizon Workers in Brooklyn (Youtube-Clip)
“Bernie Sanders joins 40,000 Verizon workers striking nationally today #StandUp2Vz CWA District 1 #WFP4Bernie Join Bernie in solidarity and add your name: http://bit.ly/StandWithVerizonWorkers” (Working Families, 2016)
Posted in America, Business, Civil Service, Development, Economic Measures, Economy, Election, Ethics, Governance, Government, Industry, Politics, Tax, Trade and tagged #StandWithVerizoneWorkers, Bernie Sanders, CEO, Communications Workers of America, Contract Dispute, Corporate Greed, CWA, Democratic Party Primaries, Federal Income Taxes, Health Benefits, Just Pay for Just Work, Labour Union, Outsource, Outsource Jobs, Profitiable Corporation, Solidarity, StandWithVerizonWorkers, Strike, Tax, United States of America, USA, Verizon, Verizon Limited, Verizon Strike, Verizon USA, WFP4Bernie, Workers Strike, Working Condition, Working Families | Leave a comment
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Watch: Premiere of Strangers New Music Video ‘Persona Non Grata’
Written by Marc Zanotti on August 21, 2012
Music Feeds is proud to premiere the lead single and title track from Strangers‘ debut album Persona Non Grata, which is due out via Shock on October 12, 2012. The five-piece from Sydney have teamed up with producer Tom Larkin (The Getaway Plan, Calling All Cars, Shihad), to help create the most high energy, heavy-hitting record possible.
Strangers came together in 2010 and consists of vocalist Ben Britton; guitarists Mark Barnes and Ben Kinsela; bassist Tristan Griffiths; and on the drums Timmy Hansen. Having already received airplay behind singles Red Brick and Bred for Breeding, Strangers have accomplished an impressive amount in their two short years together and look likely to continue this trend with their latest single Persona Non Grata.
To celebrate and promote their debut record, Strangers will be taking up residencies in both Melbourne and their hometown of Sydney during September and October in addition to a set at this year’s Big Sound music conference in Brisbane.
The video for Persona Non Grata was directed by Natalie Van Den Dungen, who has worked with the likes of Children Collide and Seeker Lover Keeper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIsGzT6VIDY
Strangers – Persona Non Grata – Album Launch Dates
Wed 5th September – Cherry Bar, Melbourne
(supporting King of the North)
Wed 12th September – BigSound, The Tempo Hotel, Brisbane
Wed 19th September – Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Wed 3rd October – Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Thu 4th October – Vultures @ Lansdowne, Sydney
(with guests King of the North)
Wed 10th October – Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Thu 11th October – Vultures @ Lansdowne, Sydney
(with guests: King of the North)
Watch: Strangers – Persona Non Grata
Tom Jones Wants To Make A Record With Jack WhiteHarvest Festival 2012 Line Up: Second Announcement Coming This Afternoon
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Emilia Clarke Goes Blonde (For Real) as ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8 Gears Up
Gods know when Game of Thrones will return to deliver our final six episodes, but production is nonetheless on the march. Star Emilia Clarke confirms as much with a curious change to Daenerys’ look for the final episodes, so let’s get to speculatin’.
Clarke shared an Instagram post of getting her hair in Khaleesi shape for the final episodes, which star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau pointed out were likely to start filming in October. As Vanity Fair points out, it’s unusual of Clarke to actually dye her hair for the role, compared with the usual elaborate braids and wigs of Seasons 1-7, so there might be some reason Daenerys’ hair needs to appear more naturally free-flowing (or short?) on-camera:
AAAAHHHHHHH SHHHHIIIII****** I done did it. Mother of dragons meet Emilia. Emilia meet mother of dragons. If you squint just so you might never know. ⚡️ All hail to the magnificence of @kevalexanderhair and @candicebanks74 the genius creators of ‘KHALEESI WIG’ (and not forgetting all the hair on game of thrones for 8 glorious years) for at long last making this magical moment a reality. ❤️ #khaleesikicksoff #gameofthrones #cominghomeneverfeltsogood
A post shared by @emilia_clarke on Sep 19, 2017 at 6:18am PDT
For what it’s worth, Season 8 has also begun casting a few new roles as well, with recent descriptions searching for – wait for it – a “Northern girl” and a “boy” (via WatchersontheWall)
The first role we’ve learned about is for a Northern Girl. The character will be around age 8, but they are open to seeing actresses older than this, up to age 10. The role is described as being a straight-talking Northern-accented girl, someone remarkable for her dauntlessness and integrity. According to the write-up, she’s been brought up in a family of soldiers and shares their fearlessness. The part is said to be a “very nice stand-out part for a strong-minded young girl with a fighting spirit.”
Game of Thrones is also searching for a Boy aged 8 – 12, with a physically fit and agile look, someone with a good, distinctive face. He’s described as being from a poor background, a boy who has to fight to make his way in the world. The description we saw mentions that they need an actor who can “completely own the scenes that he appears in,” hinting at multiple scenes.
Elsewhere of Season 8, we know production will reportedly film multiple endings to guard against leaks and hacks, but it remains unknown if the final episodes will debut in 2018 or 2019. In the meantime, we’ll keep laser-focused on Emilia’s hair, as with Jon Snow before it.
16 Lingering ‘Game of Thrones’ Questions That Need to Be Addressed in Season 8
Source: Emilia Clarke Goes Blonde (For Real) as ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8 Gears Up
Filed Under: hbo
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HomeHum Log
For The Love of Burgers
By McDonald's on July 2, 2019 Hum Log
Ram has loved every bit of his one year tenure at McDonald’s. But he especially likes burgers. “I love assembling burgers. I take it as a challenge to wrap multiple numbers of burgers with perfection in less time,” he says.
Ram was referred by his brother. He is pursuing his BA these days and he aims to grow at McDonald’s. “I am in it for the long haul,” he says.
Tags: McDonald's BurgersMcDonald's employeesMcDonald's IndiaMcDonald's India (West & South)
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McDonald’s Sets Foot in Thiruvananthapuram
Up-close With A McDonald’s Bun
We Are Like A Family
There’s a McDonald’s For Every Moment
Empowering Our Women To Be The Best
The Wholesome McAloo Tikki Burger
McDonald’s: Photos And Stories
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How two 1990s discoveries have led to (some) cured cancers, and a Nobel Prize
by Craig Gedye, The Conversation
Credit: CC0 Public Domain
This year's award of the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo, for their work in the early 1990s on immune checkpoint proteins CTLA4 and PD1, is a fitting recognition of how their work has led to a seismic shift in the way we treat cancer.
In a remarkably short time, drugs that inhibit these immune checkpoints (or immune brakes) have transformed the practice of clinical oncology. Drugs like pembrolizumab (Keytruda), ipilimumab (Yervoy), nivolumab (Opdivo), avelumab, durvalumab (Imfinzi) and atezolizumab – some of which are now being subsidised on Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) – are being applied across a range of cancers.
From AFL player Jarryd Roughead to businessman Ron Walker, to former US president Jimmy Carter, anecdotes abound for the activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced cancers such as melanoma, lung, kidney and bladder and others.
One of the first patients I was privileged to care for in clinic had completed four rounds of treatment with an experimental drug – three months of infusions of a checkpoint inhibitor (one of which is now on the PBS). She had managed these infusions well, but past treatments had failed, so she was understandably anxious.
Before going to see her, I checked her scan report.
Then I looked at the scans.
I checked the report again.
My first words when I walked into her room were ones I never dreamed I'd say to someone with advanced cancer: "I can't see the cancer on your scans anymore". My entrance would have been a lot more dramatic if the nurse hadn't already told her the good news.
"When can I book a holiday?" she said.
How checkpoint inhibitors work
Originally, Allison and Honjo's studies were focused on the underlying machinery of how the immune system controls itself. Like many mechanisms in our body, the immune system has the ability to sense prevailing conditions and rapidly amplify a response to defend the body.
This powerful process has evolved over millions of years. But a powerful system also needs powerful regulation, for which our bodies have evolved so-called "checkpoints", or brakes, that guard against overactivity of the immune response.
There are myriad immune checkpoint proteins on the surface of immune cells and normal cells of the body to allow this regulation to occur. Immune checkpoints work in a committee to vote their approval or disapproval of whether an immune cell becomes activated and attacks when it meets and recognises another cell or organism.
Insufficient or impaired checkpoint signalling allows an overreaction, which may contribute to the causes of autoimmune diseases such as colitis and arthritis. Conversely overactivity of immune checkpoints can obscure and confuse the immune system, allowing infected or abnormal cells to persist.
Cancer cells use these immune checkpoints to hide and evade from immune cells, tipping the balance in favour of the cancer and turning each immune cell off. Checkpoint inhibitor drugs work by not allowing the brakes to come on, so the immune system can keep attacking the cancer.
Allison and Tashuka initially conceived that their discoveries may help treat chronic infections such as hepatitis B and C. The drugs created from their discoveries remain in trials for these conditions, but their most exciting application has come through the treatment of cancer.
Using the power of the immune system to fight off cancer actually goes back to the late 19th century. Surgeon William Coley had developed an approach to treating cancer that involved injecting patients with a mixture of heat-killed bacteria in the hopes of stimulating the body's "resisting powers."
But with rapid understanding of the physics of radiotherapy, and the chemistry of chemotherapy, the use of immune therapy for cancer languished. It waited until we had a better understanding of the biology of the immune system.
We now know that the current crop of immune checkpoint inhibitor drugs will help a minority of patients across many cancers, but still fail the majority. Our understanding still feels very basic. We can't yet predict who will be helped, who will be failed, who will suffer side-effects, or who will benefit from different combinations of therapy.
But this platform of studies and drugs will provide us with the foundation to understand how the immune system is structured and could be reactivated in every person with cancer, to try to solve this puzzle in real-time for each individual.
The work of Allison and Honjo has given us hope of delivering mundane miracles to everyone with cancer, and turning cancer patients back into people.
Nobel-winning therapy weaponises immune system against cancer
Citation: How two 1990s discoveries have led to (some) cured cancers, and a Nobel Prize (2018, October 2) retrieved 19 July 2019 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-10-1990s-discoveries-cancers-nobel-prize.html
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← DERRICK NIER
DEBRA AND DORIS WENSMAN →
Current Events » ASHLEY HORNING
ASHLEY HORNING
ASHLEY HORNING: ACCORDING TO PEOPLE.COM: WHY A WASH. WOMAN’S BOYFRIEND TURNED HER IN FOR MURDER AFTER A CONCERNING FACEBOOK MESSAGE — 1/29/2019
Spokane, WA - After learning his girlfriend had been accused of murdering her ex’s mother, a Washington state man said he called 911 to tell police where they could find her.
Ashley Horning, 25, is being held on $1 million bond after Spokane Police charged her with the second-degree murder of Christina Powell, the 48-year-old mother of her ex — and the grandmother of her young daughter.
Zachariah Gardner told KXLY he and Horning had been dating for several weeks when he discovered she was a murder suspect.
“She was a good woman, I’ll tell you that for sure,” Gardner told the station. “Obviously, that’s hard for some people to see right now.”
Police allege Horning fatally shot Powell on Thursday morning before going on the run from police.
Court documents obtained by PEOPLE confirm Gardner received a Facebook message from Horning not long after Powell’s killing. In it, she allegedly expressed suicidal thoughts.
Gardner said he went to meet Horning, who was sitting on a bench about a mile from the crime scene.
“Long story short, I picked her up because I felt something was off,” Gardner told KXLY.
It was then, he said, that Horning showed him a news story about how police were searching for her.
“It was a stressful situation and I said, ‘We’re going to turn you in,’ and then she agreed,” Gardner recalled.
Gardner told the station police were on the scene within a minute of that call.
The following Official Record of ASHLEY HORNING is being redistributed by Mugshots.com and is protected by constitutional, publishing, and other legal rights. This Official Record was collected on 1/29/2019.
Mugshots.com ID: 174708150
people.com – https://people.com/crime/boyfriend-turned-in-washington-woman-for-m...
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KidzNotes creates more than music for Durham kids
(Don’t often post a placement I earned for a client, but it’s a great organization. Originally published 12.18.11 in the Raleigh News & Observer)
photo: Liz Condo
BY ANNE BLYTHE
DURHAM The performance inside the Holton Resource and Career Center auditorium in east Durham late Saturday morning was billed as a “Winter Concert.”
But there was no “icy chill in the air,” as the chorus belted out in the song “Winter Fantasy.”
Nothing but warmth exuded from the stage as 110 young musicians in the making – from kindergarten through the fourth grade – shouted out holiday songs and sawed bows across the strings of violins and cellos that in many cases were almost as big as they were.
Parents beamed as they trained cell phone and video cameras toward the stage.
Pride swelled in grandparents, friends and teachers as the orchestra delighted them with unique renditions of such seasonal favorites as “Jingle Bells,” “Good King Wenceslas,” “Deck the Halls” and “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.”
Occasionally, a particularly ornery string squeaked or squawked.
But the audience, teachers and volunteers cheering the children on could turn a deaf ear to a misplayed note or a few extra exuberant “ho, ho, hos” from the chorus.
KidZnotes' Katie Wyatt (photo: Liz Condo)
Katie Wyatt, the true conductor in chief of the program, stood to the side as performance conductors took their turns during the concert.Wyatt is the executive director of KidZNotes, a program for Durham school children who might otherwise be blocked from music by economic and social barriers.
The two-year-old program is modeled after the venerable El Sistema, an instructional system born in Venezuela nearly three and a half decades ago that since has unleashed hundreds of thousands of instrumentalists and choristers across the South American country.
The idea is to give the children access to instruments and hundreds of hours of instruction each year with hopes that they will become an orchestra that represents the community.
The community, then according to the ideal model, the utopian dream, nurtures the children in their musical endeavors and more.
“It takes all of us to raise a child together,” Wyatt said after the well-attended show.
And many financial backers.
It can cost $2,500 per child. The instruments are pricey and only sent home for good with children who demonstrate that they are ready for the responsibility of practicing and taking care of a violin, viola, cello, trumpet or flute. Each musician in the making receives 10 hours of free instruction a week — or 400 hours of after-school and weekend training.
“This is excellent,” said Arvilla Taylor, the grandmother of fourth-grader Donald Moore, an 8-year-old who rushed up for a big hug in between pieces so he could boast a bit about the top-notch score he just made on a math test, too.
“We prayed he would be the best,” Taylor said, “and look at him.”
Taylor left Philadelphia years ago when her children were young to move Donald’s mom and her siblings away from a neighborhood where drug dealers and others involved in illegal activities were the ones who commanded respect.
KidZNotes, Taylor said, has taught her grandson much more than musical notes.
Similar praise echoed throughout the auditorium – from adults and the young.
Erica Torres Villalba, 8, a viola player, and her sister, Esmeralda Torres Villalba, 6, a violin player, rated the performance as the audience pushed toward the exit doors.
“My favorite was ‘Jingle Bells,’ ” Erica said. “Everybody likes ‘Jingle Bells,'” Esmeralda chimed in.
“I like ‘Good King Wenceslas.’ ”
The girls agreed, though, on what instrument they wanted to play later in life.
“When I grow up I wish I could have a flute,” Erica said. “Then I could be a magician.”
Bianca Morten and Francina Everett, mother and grandmother of 8-year-old violinist Mikayla Hunt, chatted enthusiastically about the opportunities the program provided. In just a few months, Mikayla was making big plans – she hoped to move from the violin to more musical endeavors and possibly join the chorus.
Mikayla, who says “it’s pretty cool” because “you get to finger your notes,” acknowledged one downside of the program that she hopes will lead her to a “big orchestra” some day. She gets stage fright before a big show. “Nervous,” she said, her shoulders shuddering. But she has a secret for pushing beyond the edginess.
How does Mikayla settle her nerves?
“By smiling,” she said.
It must have been a contagious smile that spread well beyond the confines of one east Durham auditorium Saturday morning.
“Isn’t it amazing,” said Evan Howell, a volunteer and promoter of the program.
December 18, 2011 March 16, 2012 Evan T HowellAnne Blythe, cellos, Duke, durham, durham public schools, el sistema, Evan Howell, Holton, katie wyatt, kidznotes, Liz Condo, winter concert violins
Previous Previous post: KidZnotes of Durham in Holiday concert, part of global program supporting in need children
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PhoneGap gets a fancy new demo
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-lQwAlaEXA&w=425&h=344]
The PhoneGap demo is really starting to grow beyond the capacity of a single screen since tons of new features are being added all the time. It’s even showing a few examples of the tab and navigation bar features, but they didn’t really do anything beyond just throwing out alerts and log statements. I decided to change that to show just what’s possible with a PhoneGap app.
(Forgive me for the ugliness of the video…this is my first upload to YouTube, so I had assumed I could resize the embedded viewer to fit the aspect ratio of the original).
I’m pretty excited about it. Not only does it give developers a starting place for developing apps, but it allows us to improve the demos to give the user a better experience. I’d like to show a Canvas graph of the accelerometer values, or even show a rolling ball in a box to see how the accelerometer can influence JavaScript.
Tags:AppleDemoDevelopmentJavaScriptObjective-CPhoneGapyoutube
previousI’ve moved away from Blogger
nextBuild process experiments with PhoneGap
14 thoughts on “PhoneGap gets a fancy new demo”
desarrollo web June 5, 2009 at 2:11 pm
PhoneGap’s demo is really interesting.
A greeting.
Ralph Haygood June 5, 2009 at 7:12 pm
This is exciting, but I’m still waiting to hear whether Apple is going to adopt a consistent policy regarding apps built with PhoneGap. I’m assuming they haven’t said anything to you since their initial “we’ll get back to you” response to your recent letter.
Bart June 5, 2009 at 10:39 pm
I’m working on a game using phonegap.
But i’m really worried about the Apple app rejections.
Do you have new info about that?
Nacho June 6, 2009 at 1:35 pm
No new news as of yet. Someone has graciously sent me a phone number to try contacting Apple support on about this, so I’ll give that a try on Monday.
Jeff June 8, 2009 at 8:15 am
Best demo yet!
Just an fyi, the cancel button in the top nav of the photo section consistently crashes my emulator.
So how do I get this running on my hardware? Anything after 0.7.2 seems to have changed so much that the “getting started” tutorial no longer applies. Hope I don’t come off as a whiner here. You guys are doing great work!
Nacho June 8, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Yeah, I’ve noticed that too. I think I’m releasing the image picker incorrectly. I’ll be pushing out an update on that as soon as I finish my current contract.
PanMan June 9, 2009 at 2:10 am
Cool Demo!
So, the photopicker should be implemented now? We can use photo’s in Phonegap?
‘just’ from the gallery, or from the cam as well?
That’s something I quite look forward to!
Thnx,
Michael Nachbaur June 16, 2009 at 10:40 am
The photopicker was implemented before, but was pretty broken. I’ve fixed it, and have tried to implement the picker in a flexible fashion. The callbacks are still broken though, so I haven’t done a big announcement for that yet. More to come soon on that. 🙂
Stuart July 23, 2009 at 4:49 am
Looks fantastic. I am working on an iPhone / PhoneGap app at the moment. It’s a fairly simple app for measuring time and distance for when I go running. Its coming along nicely. I only downloaded PhoneGap a couple of days ago. I am trying to implement a tabbar but no luck yet. I downloaded the latest version of PhoneGap from the phonegap site. Is this the latest version I need. I have not really got my head around github yet.
Where can I download this latest version of the demo with tabbar ui in? I have downloaded the latest version from the PhoneGap site but the demo does not have any tabbarstuff in. I need to get my head around the Git stuff so I can get to the latest files.
Also, are there any plans to implement the native spinning number picker UI? I am building a stopwatch / distance app for running. Its looking pretty good considering I have only been using PhoneGap for a few days. I have the basic stopwatch working and it’s tracking distance travelled. But I need to add some more pages to the app. So ideally I need a tabbar which can jump to a history page and settings pages. Im a designer primarily hence the reason I went with PhoneGap but im still getting lost! One step at a time I supoose 🙂 I can send you some screen grabs of what I have so far if you like. It looks good i reckon
samuele August 4, 2009 at 4:39 am
Same like Stuart, Where to download that demo?
Jack September 3, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Hey nachoman,
I am using your tab bar code for phonegap and I have created a functioning application for the simulator, but when I build it to an iPhone it displays the tab bar but with a white screen where the content should be. Any ideas why this is happening? Does your code only work on the simulator?
Mike December 20, 2009 at 10:05 am
Where can find the demo source code?
Nicolas January 9, 2010 at 11:14 am
Happy New Year to all of you !
The demo is very impressive. Same question as the other, is there a link to downloas this demo ?
Leave a Reply to Ralph Haygood Cancel reply
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Tiger (6-over) projected to miss cut at The Open 41 mins ago
NFL declines to punish Chiefs WR Hill 41 mins ago
NFP Saturday Tailgate
By Dave Miller
Week 8 offers us a full slate of intriguing matchups as conference races start to heat up across the country.
A pair of marquee night contests highlight Saturday's action, which kicks off with a tricky road test for Oklahoma State in Columbia against Missouri.
So dust off that grill and get it fired up because we’re ready to start this weekend’s tailgate.
Wisconsin (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) at Michigan State (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten): The Badgers will take part in their second huge night game of the season, and we all remember how well Bret Bielema’s squad played in their first prime time affair — a thorough victory over Nebraska in Madison. This time around, Wisconsin hits the road and travels to East Lansing to face a Spartans team that is coming off of a strong performance against in-state rival Michigan, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. The Spartans are No. 2 in the nation in total defense, and they’ve recorded 21 sacks and 8 interceptions on the season. However, end William Gholston will miss the game due to his suspension for his actions last week against Michigan. That’s a big loss for the Spartans, so even more pressure will be on tackle Jerel Worthy to pace the front four. Their trio of linebackers will also have to continue to play outstanding, which they have been this fall without former standout Greg Jones, who moved onto the NFL.
How will the Badgers be able to run against the No. 2 rush defense in the nation? Montee Ball, who has found the end zone 16 times this year, and James White pace an always prolific rushing attack. And Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback Russell Wilson has given the team a dangerous additional threat on the ground, especially on roll outs after play-action. But is this the game where Wilson has to make more plays in the passing game? He’s been efficient through the air thus far, but he has never had to carry the Badgers. Will the MSU defense make Paul Chryst’s offense one-dimensional? Receiver Nick Toon is expected to play for the Badgers after missing last week with an injury, so his presence will be a boost.
Edwin Baker will need to pace a strong Michigan State rushing attack if the Spartans want to knock off Wisconsin.
Michigan State, meanwhile, needs to be able to run the ball effectively itself. Edwin Baker stepped up last week against the Wolverines, and head coach Mark Dantonio cited the improvement of the offensive line as a major reason for the strong day against Michigan. And as I’ve mentioned before in this Saturday column, the Spartans' offense is predicated on Cousins’ ability to effectively utilize the play-action and hit receivers B.J. Cunningham and Keith Nichol in the passing game. That aspect of the offense was taken away from them in the loss at Notre Dame earlier in the year.
The Badgers have seen a blitzing defense before — Nebraska gave them some trouble by sending extra attackers earlier this season — so they will be aware of the Spartans’ blitzing tendencies. MSU has been very stout defensively on third down, so staying out of third and long will be key for Wilson and Co. However, the Badgers are one of the best in the nation converting on third down, and their success rate has largely been because of such an effective rushing attack.
Certainly, the Wisconsin ground game against the MSU front seven will be the most important “game within the game” Saturday night in East Lansing.
NCAA '12 simulation results: The NFP did a simulation of this game, as well as the USC-Notre Dame matchup. The PS 3's forecast? A 36-30 Michigan State winner. Kirk Cousins threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns, while Russell Wilson threw for two scores but also had two interceptions in the Badgers loss.
Auburn (5-2, 3-1 SEC) at LSU (7-0, 4-0 SEC): Clint Moseley will get his first career start in place of Barrett Trotter, who started the first seven games of the season for Auburn. Expect a lot of Kiehl Frazier in this game, as well, as coordinator Gus Malzahn looks for any and every possible way to move the football against John Chavis’ defense, which is arguably the best in the nation. LSU ranks 15th in the nation against the pass, so expect a healthy dose of Michael Dyer and Onterrio McCalebb. The problem is that LSU knows how to shut down the run, as well, as Chavis keeps rotating fresh bodies in along that defensive line throughout the game. Although cornerback Tyrann Mathieu will miss the game because of his one-game suspension, it’s hard to imagine Auburn moving the ball through the air against Morris Claiborne and Co. And Auburn receivers Travon Reed and Emory Blake are questionable for this game, as well, so it could be a long day for Malzahn’s offense. Unless Tre Mason has a huge day returning kicks, I’m not sure how many points that Auburn offense can score in Death Valley.
ICONCan Washington QB Keith Price keep up his exceptional play in Palo Alto?
Washington (5-1, 3-0 Pac-12) at Stanford (6-0, 4-0 Pac-12): The Huskies entered the Top 25 this past week, as Steve Sarkisian’s squad has been playing excellent football offensively under the direction of quarterback Keith Price, who has thrown 21 touchdowns against just 4 interceptions while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes. Washington has the talent to keep up with the Cardinal offensively, but will Nick Holt’s defense be able to make enough stops against Andrew Luck, Stepfan Taylor and Co.? Luck has lost just one time in Palo Alto during his career, so the Cardinal attack will be tough to stop. The Huskies do possess a big-play defense, however, so forcing turnovers is key for Holt’s unit if they want to spring the upset. The problem is that Stanford doesn’t turn the ball over too easily. I still contend that the loss of Shayne Skov will hurt the Cardinal down the line, but Chase Thomas continues to do an excellent job leading a defense that has registered 23 sacks on the year.
Oklahoma State (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) at Missouri (3-3, 1-2 Big 12): The Tigers have dealt with some tough losses this season — an overtime road loss to Arizona State, a 10-point defeat at Oklahoma and a road loss to Kansas State. But they can turn around their season with a win over the Cowboys, a Top 5 BCS squad. Henry Josey, who is ninth in the nation in rushing and averages 9.7 yards per carry, leads a deep Tigers backfield. And he also returns kicks — and a big return could swing the momentum in this Big 12 contest. Mizzou quarterback James Franklin, however, must have a turnover-free game, because the Pokes have 12 interceptions on the season. Oklahoma State has a “bend but don’t break” defense that relies on the big play. The Tigers must be able to control the ball because they don’t want their defense to constantly be on the field defending Brandon Weeden, Justin Blackmon and Joseph Randle. This game is a noon ET kickoff, so expect it to pave the way for what could turn out to be one of the more exciting Saturdays of the season.
USC (5-1) at Notre Dame (4-2): Last season, the Fighting Irish snapped their eight-game losing streak to the Trojans. On Saturday, Notre Dame will be hosting its first night game in 21 years. Brian Kelly’s squad is coming off of a bye week, and they are unquestionably playing their best football of the season. It will be interesting to see if star receiver Michael Floyd gets a chance to return punts, as he’s been working at fielding footballs as the Irish look to generate better production in the punt return game. Meanwhile, the Trojans have serious issues at running back and cornerback. Marc Tyler is out with a dislocated shoulder, Anthony Brown is out for the year and Torin Harris may not play against the Irish either. Matt Barkley and Robert Woods may connect for a score or two, but coordinator Bob Diaco’s defense will make things hard on the Trojans’ offense — especially without a dependable running game.
Will Notre Dame play like a champion against USC?
NCAA '12 simulation results: When these two teams squared off on the PS 3, USC scored a 41-34 victory behind five touchdowns from Matt Barkley. Tommy Rees threw for a whopping 495 yards and three scores, but he also tossed two picks in the defeat.
Other games worth monitoring
– North Carolina at Clemson
– Cincinnati at South Florida
– Georgia Tech at Miami
– Texas Tech at Oklahoma
– SMU at Southern Miss
Have a great weekend. Enjoy all the games Saturday, and have a blast watching my Detroit Lions get back into the win column and move to 6-1 with a victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
Follow me on Twitter at Miller_Dave
Check out the latest college football news under the Against the Grain column.
Have a college football question? Feel free to send me an email at dave.miller@nationalfootballpost.com
College Football Report
2017 NFL Draft Preview – Top-5 Running Backs
By Danny Shimon
Continuing with our series in previewing some of the prospects for the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft. This week we take a glimpse at the top-five running backs who look to be available come the Spring of 2017.
The RB class contains several talented runners who project very well at the next level. Overall depth
The RB class contains several talented runners who project very well at the next level. Overall depth in the class will allow teams, in need of a RB, to find starting caliber backs on the drafts third-day. Reminiscent to last year when the Bears drafted Jordan Howard, the league’s second leading rusher, in the fifth-round.
1. Leonard Fournette, LSU
Coming out of high school Leonard Fournette was regarded as the number one prospect in the nation, and was one of the most highly recruited players to ever come out of the state of Louisiana. Throughout his stay in Baton Rouge Fournette did not disappoint as he set LSU’s school rushing record by a freshman (1,034 yards) in 2014, then as a sophomore proceeded to establish the Tigers single-season rushing mark in both yards (1,953) and touchdowns (22).
Fournette has all the makings of a lead back who is capable of spear heading a team’s ground game. He is an explosive runner who demonstrates a natural feel for the position as he can find openings by getting “skinny” and sneaking through and getting into the defenses second level. Fournettes quick-feet and excellent lateral quickness allow him to change direction, string together multiple cuts on a run, and make defenders miss in the open field. He can bounce a run to the outside or simply plant his foot and cut it up field once he sees an opening on the plays backside.
His balance and strength allow him to easily break through arm tackles and become a difficult runner to bring down to the ground once he gets behind his pads and starts lowering his shoulder into defenders, while also demonstrating a violent stiff arm.
What makes Fournette ever so dangerous is that besides the ability to power through a defense, becoming an effective short yardage or goal line runner, he possesses terrific build up speed that once he gets in the open field he has a chance to pull away from defenders, and take it in for a touchdown.
In terms of what still needs to be developed, pass protection would top the list as he needs to be better at helping to protect the QB. Fournette must get better at absorbing the impact from the defender instead of just meeting them at the POC or attempting to stall them with a shoulder block. While as a pass catcher Fournette was limited in the number of passes thrown his way so his route running and overall effectiveness in the passing game is something his NFL coaches will need to develop.
Overall, Fournette’ s combination of size, speed, and power running ability project him developing into a lead back and a bell cow for an offense. He has all the attributes you look for in a true-blue chip NFL runner that you build your team around, and one that can be an impact starter as a rookie next season.
2. Dalvin Cook, Florida State
A five-star high school prospect and top running back in the state of Florida Dalvin Cook put together quite the resume as a Seminole. Cook posted back-to-back All-America Campaigns (unanimous All-American in 2016) as he leaves FSU as the school’s all-time leading rusher surpassing the 20-year record set by Warrick Dunn. He also ranks second all-time in the ACC with 4,464 career rushing yards, and became the only player in conference history to break the 4,000-yard marker in just three seasons.
Cook possesses a well-rounded game posing just as big of a threat as a pass catcher as he is a runner. Whether it’s his quick-feet when he strings together multiple cuts on a single run, or when he easily bounces a run designed to go up the middle to the outside, Cook is an offensive weapon that opposing defenses need to game plan against.
Cook’s balance and quickness allow him to run through arm tackles in the defenses second and third levels once he is past the LOS. He can make defenders miss in the open field and possesses the athletic ability to change directions without needing to slow down. While his vision and instincts help him quickly identify holes opening on the plays backside.
Cook flashes game-breaking ability when he catches a screen pass out of the backfield and runs up the sideline turning on the jets and running by the defense into the end zone for a touchdown. With his speed, Cook is a threat to score every time he touches the ball, whether it is being handed off to him or thrown to him.
While his blocking technique and overall strength need continued development, he is not a total liability in pass protection as he is aware of protection schemes and which defender is his responsibility to pick-up when the defense rushes or blitzes the quarterback.
Where Cook can struggle is in short-yardage situations where he is called on to lower his pad level, take on a defender, and move the sticks.
Overall, when you watch Cook play his ability pops out at you, and there is no doubt that we are watching one of the more exciting players in the country, and a future NFL running back. Cook’s versatility and all-around talents fit perfectly in today’s pass happy NFL game. Flashing game-changing talent as both a runner and pass catcher.
3. Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
As a sophomore in 2015 all Christian McCaffrey did was become the NCAA single-season all-purpose yards’ record holder (3,864) eclipsing the mark which was previously held by Barry Sanders. McCaffrey also became the only FBS player to ever lead his team in rushing, and receiving yardage in the same season. He would be named The AP player of the year and Paul Hornung Award winner leading the NCAA and Pac-12 in rushing with 2,019 yards, while racking up another 1,070 yards on 37 kick-offs returns for a whopping 28.9-yard average per return.
This past season McCaffrey once again led the PAC-12 in rushing with 1,603 yards while playing in only 11 games.
McCaffrey’s athletic ability and big play potential is evident when you watch him play. Whether it’s as a runner, receiver, or returner his ability in space and the threat to score at any time is impressive.
As a runner, McCaffrey displays excellent vision as he can quickly identify a hole and accelerate through the line of scrimmage and into the defenses second and third levels. He plays with patience and demonstrates good instincts as a runner in allowing his blockers time to set up and quickly anticipating an opening or a play developing. With quickness and speed being his calling card, McCaffrey can easily get to the edge and take the corner at full speed and quickly accelerate up field.
As a receiving threat, McCaffrey’s hands are good enough to play wide receiver on a full-time basis. He can line up in the slot and run receiver routes. He can set up defensive backs with head fakes, and create separation at the top of his stem with sharp precise cuts.
While on special teams McCaffrey, for his career, averaged 26.4 yards on kick-off returns helping to consistently set up his offense with very good field position.
The main concern with McCaffrey is his size. At 5’11” and 202-pounds he will not be every down carry the load type of running back. Instead he projects as more of a stretch runner that will threaten the edge of the defense as opposed to a between the tackles type who will keep pounding away inside.
Overall, McCaffrey does not possess the frame that can add that much more weight so expecting him to be a 20-25 carry runner is unrealistic. Where McCaffrey can win is by leveraging his quickness, speed, and playmaking ability in both the running, and passing game along with additional chances on both kick-off and punt return duties. This would allow McCaffrey ample opportunities to get the ball into his hands and to continue making big plays.
4. D’Onta Foreman, Texas
In a draft class deep with talented runners it appears Texas tailback D’Onta Foreman gets lost in the shuffle. However, the reigning Doak Walker Award winner is a talented power runner who in just a one season as a starter led the BIG-12 with 2,028 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in route to being named a Consensus First Team All-American, becoming the first Longhorn runner to earn that distinction since Ricky Williams back in 1998. He ended his collegiate career by rushing for a school-record, 13 straight 100-yards games.
Foreman is an old-school downhill power runner who is comfortable running it between the tackles and taking on big-bodied defenders at the LOS. He has very good athleticism for a big power back carrying his weight well, demonstrating quick-feet and vision with his jump cut ability in and out of holes along with a knack to see blocking develop at the first and second level of the defense. Foreman is a patient runner who will allow his blockers to get out and set up their blocks, and follow them through the gap. He is good at finishing his runs by lowering his pad level and running through defenders. Demonstrates good balance and leg-strength running through arm tackles, bouncing off and continuing to pick up YAC; also, is a weapon in short-yardage and goal line situations.
Foreman has very good straight line speed, breaking off long TD runs of 74 and 62 yards this past season. Just last week Foreman confirmed his long speed for scouts at Texas Pro Day where he was hand-timed twice running a 4.45 forty.
Some of the concerns in Foreman’s resume starts with his marginal receiving production, where in his three seasons at Texas where he totaled just 13 receptions. He never appeared to be a viable option in the passing game for the Texas coaches. His pass-blocking is also questionable, and is still a work in progress, taking some questionable angles and appearing to still be learning how to block. He also had seven fumbles this past season, losing six of them, which bring into question his ball security.
Overall, Foreman is a big north south runner with good quickness, vision, and strength. He possesses the speed to break-off big chunks of yardage and could be an ideal four-minute back capable of grinding out the clock. Appears to be best suited for a power Gap blocking system where he will make his mark creating tough yards. Limited contributions as a receiver and blocker could lessen his draft stock.
5. Samaje Perine, Oklahoma
A three-year starter and two-time first team Big-12 selection (by the league coaches) Perine leaves Oklahoma as the school’s all-time leading rusher with 4,122 yards despite turning pro after just three seasons. The NCAA single-game rushing record holder (427 yards vs. Kansas in 2014) Perine is fourth in Oklahoma history with 49 rushing TD’s and second with six games of at least 200 rushing yards.
Perine is a powerful compact runner who rarely goes down on first contact, displaying very good balance that allows him to excel at running through contact. Exhibits good play strength and an ability to finish by lowering his pads and punishing tacklers at the end of his runs. At 5’11” and 233-pounds he is deceptively quick for his size as he can quickly plant and cut in seemingly one motion, swiveling his hips, to allude defenders or spring through an opening at the LOS. He does not dance around behind the line, instantly looking to follow his blockers, up into the hole, or use his good run vision to find an outside alley that could develop on the plays backside.
Perine has solid instincts as a runner, anticipates openings, and can feel his way through the trash along the line of scrimmage. He is good at avoiding negative runs, and is rarely ever taken down for a loss. Instead he is always leaning forward and driving his legs to gain positive yards on a play.
Perine is a bit of a short stepper with tightness in his hips – gears to cut, does not open his stride in the open field and can get caught from behind, lacking breakaway speed.
He never really developed as a pass catcher, only 40 receptions in three seasons, as he shared the backfield with Joe Mixon who was much more heavily utilized in the passing game.
Overall, Perine is a big, strong, competitive runner with bruising power to produce tough yards between the tackles. With his vision, balance, and ability to excel in short-yardage situations, bouncing off contact, Perine appears to have the makings of a 15-20 carry between the tackle thumper at the next level. Proving to be a viable option in the passing game, will determine if Perine can develop into a three-down back.
Danny Shimon
NFPost Scouting 101 & Scouting Seminar Graduate.
Bears writer for www.windy-citysport.com
College Football Report, NFP Fresh Voices, The Scouting Department
2017 NFL Draft Preview – Top – 5 Quarterbacks
Continuing with our series in previewing some of the prospects for the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft. This week we take a glimpse at the top-five quarterbacks who look to be available come the Spring of 2017.
The 2017 QB class is one of the more highly scrutinized position group heading into the draft. Seemingly
The 2017 QB class is one of the more highly scrutinized position group heading into the draft. Seemingly being knocked for lacking ready-made signal callers who can come in on day one and lead their respective franchise. While the 2017 QB class may not have a plug-n-play franchise signal caller it does have some talented athletes who with time and proper coaching can develop into starting caliber NFL quarterbacks.
1. Deshaun Watson, Clemson
Watson has been one of college football more decorated athletes over the past two seasons having compiled a 32-3 record as a starter. He led Clemson to back-to-back National Championship games, and helped secure the schools second National Championship title in its history with a 35 – 31 victory over Alabama this past January, where he was named the National Championship game most valuable offensive player.
Three-year starter and team captain Watson exudes leadership and confidence at the helm of an offensive unit, and is lauded by coaches and teammates for his work ethic, competitiveness, and overall high football character.
Physically Watson is a good athlete, who possesses solid size. He can extend plays with his feet and escape pressure with the quickness, and foot speed to become a dual-threat out of the backfield.
As a passer, Watson has a quick trigger able to quickly get rid of the football. Possessing good arm-strength capable of making all the necessary throws expected of an NFL QB. Displays solid accuracy on back shoulder throws, end zone fades, and on 50/50 balls, giving his receiver a chance with his ball placement and very good touch on his throws. Has good pocket awareness able feel pressure off the edges and can climb the ladder to buy some time for his receivers to get open. Tough as nails as he plays his best it seems in big games or in critical situations of a ball game illustrated by the fact he had 16 touchdowns thrown, to only two interceptions for his career in the fourth quarter.
While there are certain areas of his game that still need fine tuning, such as not staring down receivers, cleaning up his footwork, and improving his down field accuracy. Not to mention the fact he played in a hybrid-spread offense and must get familiar with huddling, reading defensive coverages pre-snap, and aligning protections Watson is far from a finished product.
However, with 35 starts under his belt, big-time production versus some elite competition, off the charts leadership qualities, Watson has the makings of a starting caliber NFL QB who can help his team win on Sundays.
2. DeShone Kizer, Notre Dame
Kizer is one of the more physically gifted quarterbacks in the entire 2017 NFL draft. Possessing prototypical height, size, and athleticism Kizer, who measured in at 6’4” 233-pounds with long arms and big hands, simply looks like a starting NFL QB.
In his second season as the Irish starting QB Kizer had a up and down campaign that saw him struggle with his accuracy, decision making, and overall confidence. For his career in South Bend Kizer made 23 starts throwing for over 5,800 yards with 47 passing touchdowns, and 18 rushing scores.
Besides being a good athlete with height and size Kizer possesses elite arm strength and can make and complete special types of throws. He can fit the ball into tight windows, stretch the defense vertically with the best of them, and place touch on the ball to drop in between the 2nd and 3rd levels of a defense. He has a clean delivery with a quick release. He shows solid awareness, able to buy time in the pocket with his feet. Can also tuck it and run for big yards possessing enough speed to pull away from linebackers in certain conditions. Kizer shows good toughness as he will stand firm in the pocket, take a hit, to deliver the football, and has no qualms lowering his pad level and running over a defender in short-yardage situations or at the goal line.
Parts of his game where he struggled was bird-dogging his receivers waiting for them to come open, and not going through his progression, which in turn resulted with him holding onto the ball too long, with the outcome typically being a sack or a negative play. He was not consistently able to throw receivers open, especially versus better competition, as you would see passes sail on him, bounce off the turf, or not even coming close to the intended target.
There are not many quarterback prospects in this draft that can match Kizer’s physical skillsets however. What he will need is time (to sit and learn behind a veteran) and a good QB coach who can correct some of his issues. When right though, Kizer has a huge ceiling and if placed in the proper situation with proper coaches he can be a big-time NFL quarterback.
3. Mitchell Trubisky, North Carolina
A relative unknown prior to the 2016 season Trubisky was just a one-year starter (13 starts) at North Carolina, seeing only limited action as a backup his freshman and sophomore seasons. Having said that Trubisky does leave UNC ranked fifth, in school history, for both career passing touchdowns (41) and passing yards (4,762) demonstrating how productive he was when he was on the field.
Trubisky possesses solid size (6’2” 222-pounds) with solid athletic ability, and quick feet. While he too played in a spread offense there are examples on tape of Trubisky reading the field sideline-to-sideline and going through a progression. His delivery is a compact over-the-top delivery, with a quick-release, and the ability to throw it from different arm angles. While not possessing elite arm-strength he is solid in this area, able to torque his upper-body to get plenty of zip on the ball, capable of making all the throws. What really stands out with him as a QB is the anticipation and accuracy he shows from both the pocket and when asked to throw it on the run. He can throw a receiver open and lead them away from coverage understanding the importance of ball placement.
Having only made 13 starts in his career Trubisky is still a developmental prospect who still needs time to develop a feel for the pocket, refine his footwork and learn to take snaps from under center on a regular basis. He could also stand to show more poise in the pocket against pressure as he would tend to rush his throws and not operate comfortably with bodies by his feet.
While Trubisky had probably the best tape in 2016, among the rest of the QB group, his body of work still leaves many wondering how to project Trubisky as an NFL signal caller.
Although he displays traits you like to see in starting QB’s like size, athletic ability, solid mechanics, accuracy, and anticipation. He is a prospect that many will debate leading up to the draft, and probably continue to after he has been drafted.
4. Davis Webb, California
The 6’5” 229-pound Webb started his career as a Texas Tech Red Raider playing for head coach Kliff Kingsbury. While playing at Texas Tech Webb set seven Big-12 freshman records, and four different school marks, including throwing for at least one touchdown in his first 18 career games. He led the Big-12 in passing yards per game (317.4) and was named the offensive MVP of the Holiday Bowl after leading Texas Tech to a victory over #14 Arizona State by passing for 403 yards and four touchdowns.
After losing the starting job to Patrick Mahomes, after he got injured, Webb decided to transfer to Cal for his senior season. In his lone season at Cal, Davis finished 2nd in the PAC-12 in passing yards, completions, and total touchdowns (43).
Davis possesses the prototypical size, and length along with a strong-arm that can make NFL type throws. He can place the ball on a rope standing on the boundary hash and throw it to the field sideline. He shows surprisingly quick feet and solid ability to extend plays by escaping pressure when the pocket collapses, and on rollouts. Playing in the same spread Cal offense that produced last year’s top pick in Jared Goff, Davis demonstrated his solid mental processing ability by progressing through full-field reads and audibling at the LOS, which is something we rarely saw Goff do. He shows good downfield accuracy with an ability to drop the ball in a bucket, over the top of a defense, and lead his receiver away from coverage to help maximize his YAC ability.
As is the case with most QB’s who come from a predominately spread offense Webb has picked up some bad habits along the way. Such as throwing off his back foot, and sloppy footwork in the pocket which affected his downfield passes as they would either sail over the intended target or simple be nowhere near the receiver. His decision making also suffered a bit as he would rely on his arm to force the ball into heavily covered receivers, and at times throw it to a receiver who was being sandwiched by a corner and high safety.
Unlike some of his spread predecessors though Webb possesses the size, arm-strength, and feel for the passing game that should excite the NFL. He is an intelligent kid who really took to the coaching that Hue Jackson and his staff offered up down at the Senior Bowl, and it showed in the game. With his skillset, it wouldn’t surprise me if Webb finds himself higher on several team’s draft boards than many would have anticipated originally.
5. Brad Kaaya, Miami
Entering the 2016 college football season Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya was generally regarded as the second-best college football quarterback behind Clemson’s Deshaun Watson at the time, and a prime candidate to be a very high draft pick.
However, after a solid junior season in which he threw for more passing yards (3,250) and touchdowns (27) than he had ever before in his career, Kaaya has seen his draft stock take somewhat of a slow dive even after becoming Miami’s All-Time leading passer with 9,968 yards in just three seasons.
Kaaya’s strength revolve around his height, decision making, pocket presence, and ball placement. Also, working in Kaaya’s favor was playing in a Pro-Style offense last season under head coach Mark Richt. He was asked to take snaps from under center, read the full-field when going through his progression, called out protections and identified the Mike backer at the LOS. All of which is huge in terms of being mentally prepared for what he will see when he gets inside a NFL QB room next season. Physically, Kaaya also possesses a quick release with a solid arm. He drops back and sets up quickly with sound footwork in the pocket. Makes good decisions with the ball, only seven interceptions in over 400 pass attempts, displays good pocket presence able to feel backside pressure and either climb the pocket or maneuver to avoid the rush by sliding his feet to extend the play. He throws a tight catchable spiral knowing when to take pace off the ball, and conversely when he needs to fire it into a tight window. His accuracy and touch along with ball placement on back shoulder throws and corner fades is above average.
Where Kaaya struggles is on throws downfield (20 plus yards) outside the numbers towards a moving target and on out routes as he lacks the elite arm-strength to consistently make those types of throws on time, and on a line. Appearing instead to be more comfortable throwing inside the numbers, on in-cutting routes, to stationary targets. Kaaya has also fallen into some bad habits of not fully striding into his throws, short-arming passes as he prematurely bails to protect himself from taking a big hit. Possessing only adequate foot speed Kaaya is a true pocket passer and won’t threaten the edges of the defense and needs a solid pocket in front of him to operate effectively.
Kaaya seemingly is flying under the radar in terms of pre-draft hype, but as the draft gets closer look for his name to prominently be mentioned among the QB group that teams will be looking to maneuver for on day two of the draft.
2017 Post-Combine Mock Draft
1. Cleveland – Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
Comment: Browns pass up on a QB to take arguably the best pass rusher in the draft, giving defensive coordinator Gregg Williams a cornerstone defender to build a defense around.
2. San Francisco – Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
Comment: In a bit of a surprise GM John
Comment: In a bit of a surprise GM John Lynch goes to his alma mater to select Thomas, who on tape looks unblock able at times. Thomas displayed both athleticism and versatility and appears capable of playing in any defensive scheme.
3. Chicago – Jamal Adams, SAF, LSU
Comment: The Bears ignore Adams slower than expected 40 times and select the LSU safety third overall. He is a physical safety who will supply an attitude and swagger in the Chicago secondary.
4. Jacksonville – Jonathan Allen, DE, Alabama
Comment: In Tom Coughlin’s first draft back as the football czar in Jacksonville he selects Alabama’s Allen who is a well-coached and scheme versatile defensive lineman. An arthritic condition in his shoulders will be something that will need to be cleared by the Jaguars medical staff during the pre-draft process though.
5. Tennessee – Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
Comment: Fast athletic cover corner who can come in and be a day one starter for the Titans and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.
6. NY Jets – Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
Comment: With no clear-cut starting QB on the roster currently, and with the recent release of receiver Brandon Marshall looks like the Jets might turn into a ground and pound offense next season. Fournette is a workhorse runner with a combination of instincts, vision, and power to carry an offensive unit.
7. LA Chargers – Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
Comment: Williams gives QB Phillip Rivers a weapon on the outside to complement the tight end combo of Gates and Hunter Henry, along with Keenan Allen on the opposite side. Williams possesses good size and strength supplying the Chargers with a playmaker downfield who can go up and high point the ball.
8. Carolina – Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
Comment: Barnett will help boost the Panthers pass rush with his ability to provide pressure off the edge utilizing his relentless motor and athleticism.
9. Cincinnati – Reuben Foster, ILB, Alabama
Comment: Despite being sent home from the combine due to a dispute regarding his medical evaluation Foster is one of the better defensive prospects in the draft. He is an instinctive linebacker who projects as a four-down player.
10. Buffalo – DeShaun Watson, QB, Clemson
Comment: With the future of Tyrod Taylor still up in the air currently the Bills and new head coach Sean McDermott commit to making Watson the future face of the franchise.
11. New Orleans – Jabril Peppers, SAF, Michigan
Comment: Looking to shore-up a defensive unit that ranked 27th overall, in total defense, last season the Saints add Peppers to a secondary that no longer has veteran Jairus Byrd at free safety.
12. Cleveland – Mitchell Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
Comment: Using the selection they received from the Eagles in last year’s trade the Browns nab Ohio native Trubisky to hopefully be the answer to their QB problems.
13. Arizona – DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame
Comment: With Carson Palmer entering what may be his final season the Cardinals select his heir apparent in Kizer. Coach Bruce Arians loves big strong quarterbacks who can get the ball downfield in his offensive system and Kizer fits that description.
14. Philadelphia – John Ross, WR, Washington
Comment: Looking to supply quarterback Carson Wentz with a weapon on offense the Eagles select former Washington Huskie John Ross and his 4.22 speed. Ross, who broke the scouting combine record for the fastest timed forty-yard dash is not just a speed demon playing receiver. He runs good routes and can be lined up in either the slot or on the outside.
15. Indianapolis – Sidney Jones, CB, Washington
Comment: Continuing in their pursuit to find a viable corner to play opposite Vontae Davis the Colts nab Sidney Jones who gives them added length and speed at corner.
16. Baltimore – Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan
Comment: With Steve Smith retiring, and 2015 first-round pick Breshard Perriman inconsistent and unproductive wide receiver is a need position for Baltimore. With Corey Davis, they get a big-play receiver with size, and speed who in 2016 ranked in the top-10 in catches (97), receiving yards (1,500) and touchdowns (19).
17. Washington – Malik Hooker, SAF, Ohio State
Comment: Hooker was one of the better ball-hawking safeties in college football last year with seven interceptions (three returned for TD’s). He drops a bit here mainly due to lack of starting experience (one-year starter) and injuries. He is coming off surgeries to repair a sports hernia and a torn labrum. His status as to when he will be able to take the field next season is still currently unknown.
18. Tennessee – Haason Reddick, LB, Temple
Comment: Reddick is one of the draft’s biggest risers since the season ended. He was a hand in the dirt defensive end for the Owls but displayed the ability to play off the LOS as a stand-up linebacker down in Mobile at the Senior Bowl. He continued his rise up draft boards at the combine when he ran a 4.52 forty at 237-pounds and jumped a vertical of 36.5 inches.
19. Tampa Bay – Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
Comment: The Buccaneers continue surrounding QB Jameis Winston with weapons, as the team-up the former Seminole Cook with veteran Doug Martin giving them a very good one-two punch in the backfield.
20. Denver – O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
Comment: Howard is one of the safest picks in the draft as he is a physical freak who can line up inline as a blocker or be split out wide as a receiver. Howard will add a pass-catching threat at TE for the Broncos that has been missing since Julius Thomas left town.
21. Detroit – Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
Comment: Humphrey is a physical press corner who has the size, speed, and agility to mirror receivers downfield.
22. Miami – Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
Comment: With Mario Williams no longer in Miami, the Dolphins hope that Charlton’s size (6’6”) and length (34-inch arms) along with intensity will make a formidable combination upfront when teamed with the likes of Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake.
23. NY Giants – Chris Wormley, DT, Michigan
Comment: With the possibility of losing defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins to free agency GM Jerry Reese looks to fill the hole with Wormley. The former Wolverine will look to provide both size and versatility along the Giants defensive front.
24. Oakland – Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
Comment: At 6’4” 230-pounds Cunningham’s length, and speed are his two biggest assets. He possesses very good closing burst that allows him to track down ball carriers and become a sideline-to-sideline tackling machine.
25. Houston – Budda Baker, SAF, Washington
Comment: Baker is an undersized safety/nickel defender who draws favorable comparisons to Arizona cardinals Tyrann Mathieu. Baker possesses very good quickness and is fast to diagnose and attack. He can be a roving defender and matchup safety for the Texans and DC Romeo Crennel.
26. Seattle – Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
Comment: Seahawks look to shore-up an offensive line that needs an infusion of talent. With Robinson, they get a talented athlete who played left tackle at Alabama but will need to switch over to right tackle or move inside to guard in the NFL.
27. Kansas City – Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
Comment: The Chiefs find the perfect replacement for Jamaal Charles with Stanford’s McCaffrey. Like Charles, McCaffrey is a dual-threat back who is equally effective as both runner and pass catcher out of the backfield.
28. Dallas – Jordan Willis, DE, Kansas State
Comment: Willis stock really started to rise during the senior bowl practices and he carried that momentum into Indianapolis this past weekend. Willis ran a 4.53 forty, vertical jumped 39-inches, and posted the fastest 3-cone time (6.85) among the defensive line group. Dallas needs to upgrade their pass rush off the edge, and that is an area Willis can help them get better at.
29. Green Bay – Takk McKinley, EDGE, UCLA
Comment: With both Nick Perry and Julius Peppers UFA’s there is some uncertainty at outside LB for Green Bay. McKinley can certainly help fill that void as he is a relentless pass rusher who plays with a non-stop motor.
30. Pittsburgh – Charles Harris, EDGE, Missouri
Comment: Missouri’s Charles Harris is another in the long line of edge rushers to come out of the Tigers program. He is an edge defender who during the combine demonstrated surprising agility and athleticism in the linebacker drills. He projects best as a stand-up outside backer whose forte is to get after the quarterback.
31. Atlanta – Fabian Moreau, CB, UCLA
Comment: Moreau really stood out during the East West Shrine game displaying playmaking ability along with quickness and speed. He is a tall corner with a thick build who can press and reroute receivers while also comfortable in off coverage. Moreau will remind coach Quinn of the corners he had in Seattle when he was the Seahawks DC.
32. New England – David Njoku, TE, Miami
Comment: With the expected departure of Martellus Bennett in free agency and with Gronk coming off another injury the Patriots pick the athletic Njoku in hopes of continuing the success they have had with their two tight end sets. While not a finished product Njoku offers tremendous upside as a pass catching TE. His combination of size, speed, and athleticism should provide a comparable replacement, minus the blocking ability, for Bennett.
College Football Report, NFP Fresh Voices
2017 NFL Draft Preview – Top-5 Safeties
Continuing with our series in previewing some of the prospects for the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft. This week we take a glimpse at the top-five safeties who look to be available come the Spring of 2017.
The 2017 safety class looks to be one of the more talented and deepest position group in recent drafts.
The 2017 safety class looks to be one of the more talented and deepest position group in recent drafts. Teams with a demand at safety should be able to fulfill their needs with this 2017 draft class. There are liable to be starting caliber NFL safeties still waiting for their names to be called on day three, of this draft, then we have had for quite some time.
1. Jamal Adams, LSU
Adams is a well-built physical safety with good speed and strength that excels at or near the line of scrimmage. A two-year starter and a 2016 first team All-SEC and a second team All-American (as voted on by the AP) Adams was the leader of the Tigers backfield and a team captain. His combination of size and play speed allow him to make plays both in the run game as well as in coverage. He is a solid off-coverage safety who can diagnose and attack downhill with quickness and burst to wrap up and secure the tackle. With his speed, he displays good range with the ability to go from the hash marks to the sideline and provide over-the top help. He can cover a tight end in the slot and will get physical with them at the top of their routes. Adams also brings a swagger and enforcer type mentality to the defensive backfield.
However, there is no doubt that where Adams is most impactful is at the line-of-scrimmage where he is both instinctive and competitive, able to deliver some explosive hits with terrific timing, and anticipation. He is an aggressive run defender able to chase down ball carriers and make plays sideline-to-sideline. Lining him up inside the tackle box is like having an extra linebacker out on defense that the opposing offense must deal with.
While there is some unease in terms of his coverage ability (not a lot of plays on the ball when scouting his film), plus struggles with quick change of direction, as well as too many missed tackles due to his over aggressiveness in pursuit, Adams heads into the draft process as the top-rated safety on many draft boards.
The combination of very good football character, speed, athleticism, and impactful plays will have Adams on the field early as a rookie with the potential to develop into a cornerstone player on defense for any team that selects him.
2. Jabrill Peppers, Michigan
Jabrill peppers is one of the more talked about and scrutinized prospects in the 2017 draft due mainly to questions surrounding a true positional fit for him at the next level. However, the 2016 Big-Ten DPOY and recipient of the Ronnie Lott Impact Trophy is a hybrid player who can be used on all three phases of a football team.
Peppers projects best as a hybrid LB/SS a position that has become more popular in the NFL the past few seasons. As a safety Peppers has shown the ability to press tight ends at the line-of-scrimmage as well as bigger receivers outside the numbers in red zone and goal line situations. As a corner (limited reps in 2015) he displayed quick-feet and hip flexibility to open and run with a receiver in man coverage downfield. He does a good job of getting his hands on them altering their routes, and positioning his body between them and the ball. In off-coverage he uses his very good short-area burst and open-field tackling ability to minimize the yardage on anything caught in front of him. As a run defender, he appears comfortable and instinctive as a in the box strong safety who can quickly locate and chase down ball carriers with his speed. He is willing to come up and set the edge to help funnel runners back inside towards his lineman. As a blitzer Peppers was very effective coming in off the edge or on delays from a linebacker position.
Where Peppers struggles is with downfield coverage as his ball reactions, and awareness leave something to be desired. He has trouble with quick receivers and will at times play slower than his stopwatch numbers may indicate.
While safety will most likely be the position where he sees the most snaps at during his NFL career, Peppers versatility allows a defensive coordinator to disguise coverages and utilize his athleticism in several different ways from multiple positions. Allowing Peppers to line him up and see snaps at all three levels on defense might be the most effective way for him to make an immediate contribution defensively as a rookie.
3. Malik Hooker, Ohio State
In 2016 Hooker was a redshirt sophomore and first-year starter for the Buckeyes. In that one season though Hooker was named a first team All-American and All-Big Ten defender as he led the Big-Ten with seven interceptions, returning three of them for scores – which topped the FBS.
Hooker is a coverage safety who is best suited to play free safety at the NFL level. He possesses a combination of quickness, speed, balance and short-area burst. A good athlete Hooker is very good transitioning and attacking downhill using his speed and change-of-direction. He is effective playing a single-high set or a two-deep zone safety. He is instinctive when playing the pass with range to either side. Hooker can cover receivers in the slot or carry a tight end up the seam. He also demonstrated very good zone cover skills and can key on the QB eyes to jump routes, and use his natural hands to pick-off the ball with a nose to find the end zone.
As a run defender Hooker can get slowed down with play-action or RPO plays causing some hesitation with his reaction times. He can struggle to jolt and shed blockers (needing additional strength), can take some bad angles in pursuit, and doesn’t always arrive under control which led to missed tackles. He also tends to duck and lead with the crown of his helmet coming downhill to tackle a ball carrier which, in the NFL, is a good way to end up seriously injured.
Hookers play-making ability and overall athleticism gives him a shot to be the top-rated safety heading into the draft. However, he currently stands third on this list mainly due to his struggles defending the run, coupled with just one-year starting experience, and his postseason injuries. Hooker, is scheduled to miss the scouting combine as he recovers from a couple of surgeries, one in which repaired a torn labrum while the other a sports hernia. How he recovers from both operations will go a long way in determining how high Hooker will get drafted. However, it is never a good thing, especially for a safety, to enter the NFL having already gone through a major surgery on his shoulder.
4. Budda Baker, Washington
A three-year starter on defense for Washington and a NCAA Consensus All-American in 2016 Budda Baker was one of the more fun prospects to scout. Baker is quite simply a play-maker in the defensive secondary. Whether he was lined up at safety or as a slot corner Baker was all over the field demonstrating innate playmaking ability. He possesses terrific anticipation, timing and zone awareness. Along with lateral quickness, agility, and quick-feet, Baker has excellent balance and body-control. He can mirror and cover receivers (in the slot) off the LOS. Displays instincts and awareness in coverage as he can quickly diagnose and locate the ball. Very smooth in his transition able to plant-and-drive quickly, which when combined with his ability to seamlessly change directions, and open field tackling makes him very effective in zone coverage. Despite a lack of ideal size Baker plays bigger than his measurable might indicate. He is an aggressive tackler and packs a wallop when he hits his opponents. His aggressiveness makes him very good blitzing off the edge as he gets there quick, and makes his presence felt. As a run defender Baker is quick to read and react, displaying no concerns or issues coming downhill and attacking ball carriers. He is a highly intense, aggressive, and competitive football player when asked to defend the run.
The main concern with Baker revolves around his lack of size. Listed at 5’10” Baker looks to be a couple of inches shorter than that. Which makes it hard to envision him as a full-time starting safety. Instead what Baker offers is a strong, hard-hitting physical presence with ideal hip flexibility, speed, and fluidity to be a playmaker from the nickel/slot position. Drawing favorable comparisons to Arizona Cardinals DB Tyrann Mathieu.
5. Marcus Williams, Utah
Even though Marcus Williams was a three-year starter and an All-PAC 12 defender for Utah many may consider him a bit of a sleeper at the safety position. Williams is a rangy safety with length and speed to go along with his fleet feet and lateral agility. His backpedal is smooth and balanced which makes Williams look, at times, like a corner instead of a safety. While in coverage he is quick to read and react, able to zoom around the field playing in a single-high safety set, which allows him to stand out on tape. He possesses good speed and fluidity allowing him to keep pace with receivers and tight ends. Shows good range off the hash, to either side, taking direct angles to the ball. He can break on throws, showing good short-area burst to close. With 11 career interceptions Williams demonstrated quick soft hands, like a receiver, to snatch interceptions.
While a solid downhill defender Williams is a bit high-cut, and will play too tall failing to get low and wrap up the ball carrier’s legs. He was also inconsistent on his downfield ball reactions with his back to the throw preferring to keep everything visible to him.
Overall, Williams is an active, aggressive defensive back who is at his best reacting to plays in front of him. He possesses good size/speed combo coupled with range, and sure-hands that allow him to be a “centerfield” type playmaking safety.
2017 NFL Draft Preview – Top-5 Cornerbacks
Continuing with our series in previewing some of the prospects for the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft. This week we take a glimpse at the top-five cornerbacks who look to be available come the Spring of 2017.
Cornerback is one of the draft’s more deeper position groups. There could be as many as five defensive corners
Cornerback is one of the draft’s more deeper position groups. There could be as many as five defensive corners selected in the first round of the 2017 draft. With plenty of talented players still on the board for teams to grab on day two as well.
1. Marshon Lattimore, Ohio State
A former four-star prospect and a top-50 recruit nationally Lattimore possesses excellent foot quickness, with the ability to change directions, and stop/start without needing to slow down. He demonstrates terrific lateral agility along with flexibility. Stands low and balanced in his stance and can quickly open his hips to turn and run with a receiver. Flashes speed to track down ball carriers or to quickly recover if beaten. While in coverage Lattimore exhibits very good instincts and awareness. He can swiftly locate the ball mid-flight, able to diagnose routes while keying off QB eyes to release his man and drive towards the ball or the intended receiver. Lattimore is also a very good and willing run defender. He will come downhill aggressively to set the edge. He will take on lead blockers, and will utilize his hands and quickness to fight through to wrap up the ball carrier. He is a competitor who plays hard and does not give up on a play.
While average size and previous leg injuries are, a bit concerning. If he can stay healthy he possesses the explosiveness, instincts, and play speed to develop into a terrific cover corner in the NFL.
2. Marlon Humphrey, Alabama
A two-year starter for the Crimson Tide and a 2016 first team All-American on defense, as voted by the FWAA, Humphrey is a well-coached competitive football player whose father (Bobby Humphrey) was a former RB at Alabama and a first-round pick of the Denver Broncos. Humphrey displays the instincts to diagnose and quickly react to what the offense is attempting to set up. He possesses the flexibility and agility to mirror the receiver off the line of scrimmage. With his size and straight line speed he gets himself in position to make a play on the ball downfield. In run support Humphrey is an aggressive defender who will attack downhill able to shed blockers, and locate the football. Humphrey demonstrates his competitive toughness, both on defense and special teams, as he is willing to throw his body around all over the field, and will play to the whistle.
While he can struggle with strength at the point-of-contact as well as quick-twitch receivers and double-moves Humphrey has the size, speed, and agility to mirror receivers downfield. With an aggressive two-hand jam Humphrey projects as a press cover corner at the next level.
3. Jalen Tabor, Florida
Tabor is a tough average sized corner who plays bigger than his dimensions may indicate. Displays quick-feet, balance, and agility. He can stop and start without losing momentum, and is quick in his transition able to plant his foot in the ground and attack forward. Displays instincts, and awareness in coverage along with an aggressive play speed attacking quickly underneath and out in the flats. Comfortable playing off coverage, peeking into the backfield, and maintaining proper position downfield. Does a nice job of anticipating, keying off the QB, to jump/undercut routes, displaying very good short-area burst, and either coming away with a turnover or a pass break-up. A willing run defender who won’t shy away from contact, but can struggle with bigger bodied blockers.
Tabor is an off-coverage zone corner whose instincts, along with the ability to anticipate and jump routes will allow him to make plays in the NFL. His ball skills, short-area quickness, and toughness will also allow him an opportunity to flourish inside as a nickel defender.
4. Tre’Davious White, LSU
White possesses average height and length with a thick muscular build to go with quick-feet and agility to cover receivers. White’s an experienced four-year starter (47 career starts) on the LSU defense, and ranks fifth all-time in school history with 34 pass breakups. He demonstrates loose hips and good short-area burst. He is fast with his backpedal and can quickly transition forward on anything underneath. White is very zone aware with good pattern recognition, understanding how to read QB’s and progressions, and when to undercut routes. While in press coverage he is physical both at the line-of-scrimmage as well as at the top of the receiver’s route. White does a good job of positioning his body between the receiver and the football, both downfield, and in red zone situations. While he is a willing run defender he does not always arrive under control and can miss tackles failing to wrap up.
White was one of the more improved players in 2016, making his decision to stay in school for a fourth season a wise one. He showed better awareness and anticipation in coverage while also doing a better job of getting his hands on the ball (14 PBU’s). He was a more confident corner playing with more swagger as opposed to previous seasons and it was evident in his play.
A solid week of practices down in Mobile for the Senior bowl (before an injury cut short his week) may have cemented White a spot in the first round of the draft.
5. Sidney Jones, Washington
Sidney Jones possesses good size along with length on a narrow and thin frame. Jones was a three-year starter, and a key contributor on defense for the Huskies. He can shadow a wide out off the line with quickness and change of direction ability. He can quickly flip his hips and run vertically with a receiver. Demonstrates very good recovery speed to make up ground if he is beaten at the snap. Good plant-and-drive quickness which allows him to transition swiftly. Displays solid awareness in off coverage, likes to keep his eyes on the QB in the pocket. A naturally aggressive player, which can be seen in the way he comes downhill, throwing his body around, to help defend the run.
Lack of strength is a concern with Jones as he can struggle to effectively reroute receivers off the line or shed blockers downfield. He has also shown some inconsistencies with awareness, while in coverage, failing to turn his head and playing the ball. Additionally, you notice that he would predominately line up on the left side of the defense. Whether that was a coaching decision or his lack of versatility will need to be considered.
However, Jones is an athletic corner who plays the game hard and aggressively. His combination of size, quickness, and speed along with the ability to play both press and off coverage are positives that many teams will want to have.
2017 Senior Bowl Standouts – Offense
With the 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl now officially in the books that puts an end to the college all-star game portion of the pre-draft process. Having scouted both the North and South team’s practices throughout the week, and graded the game film from Saturday here are the players who stood out the most down in
With the 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl now officially in the books that puts an end to the college all-star game portion of the pre-draft process. Having scouted both the North and South team’s practices throughout the week, and graded the game film from Saturday here are the players who stood out the most down in Mobile.
1. Davis Webb – QB – California, Webb had an up and down week during the practice sessions in terms of accuracy and ball placement. Where Webb really shined was on game day as he went 11-16 for 165 yards with a touchdown. Webb, who played only one season for Cal after transferring from Texas Tech, has a strong arm coupled with a quick release, and you notice the football exploding out of his hand. On his touchdown throw Webb did a nice job of holding the safety with his eyes before dropping a ball into the arms of Texas A&M receiver Josh Reynolds. Webb, who replaced Jared Goff as the starter at Cal, is bigger than last year’s 1st overall pick with a stronger arm and better anticipation in the passing game.
2. Cooper Kupp – WO – Eastern Washington, The Eastern Washington product was the talk of the week down in Mobile for his smooth route running ability and hands. Kupp caught everything thrown his way and at times made getting open look easy. Kupp is a natural pass catcher and does a nice job of looking the ball into his hands. He was able to separate at the top of his route and made catches at all three levels of the defense.
3. Zay Jones – WO – East Carolina, Jones, the NCAA leader with 158 receptions in 2016, may have been the best player on the field at Ladd-Peebles stadium on Saturday. Jones took a very good week of practices into the game and was able to display his full repertoire. Jones has very good body control and is able to contour his body and adjust nicely to poorly thrown passes. He possesses a wide catch radius and can go up and high point a catch, extend away from his body, or get his hands underneath a low pass and scoop it up. He is also physical of the top of his route and can make contested catches as he is blanketed by a defensive back. Jones, whose father is former NFL linebacker Robert Jones, may have been the biggest winner this week down in Mobile. He took advantage of his opportunities and displayed the ability to be a downfield playmaker, and may have gone from a day three pick to a very high day two selection.
4. Josh Reynolds – WO – Texas A&M, The Texas A&M receiver quietly had a very impressive week of practice culminating on game day where he ended up with six receptions for 96 yards including a 39-yard touchdown reception. Reynolds really shined in the one-on-one drills along with team runs. He is explosive off the line of scrimmage with quick feet and does a nice job of attacking the football on hitches and comeback routes. He catches clean with his hands able to snatch the ball out of the air. He can stack the defender then use his quickness and speed to separate over the top. He locates the ball nicely mid-flight and does a good job of looking it into his hands. Reynolds led the SEC in receiving yards (1,039) and touchdowns (12) in 2016, and after spending a week watching him operate in both practice drills and on game day you can see the talent that Reynolds possesses.
5. Forrest Lamp – OL – Western Kentucky, Lamp was not able to complete the week in Mobile as he suffered an ankle injury during one of the practice sessions. He was held out as a precaution, but had already done enough to impress scouts that the missed time should not negatively affect his stock. Lamp is an experienced four-year starter at Western Kentucky predominately at left tackle where he excelled. However, his height and short arm length (31 1/8) will likely have him moving inside to guard at the NFL level. Lamp displays the lateral agility, short-area quickness, and balance to succeed as an offensive lineman in the pros. Lamp can rework his hands to fend off defensive lineman and can sink his hips to re-anchor and become stout at the point-of-contact. While still early in the pre-draft process it is not out of the question that Lamp might be the first offensive lineman off the board come April.
Others who also flashed during the week on offense……Chad Williams – WO – Grambling State, Dion Dawkins – OG – Temple, Evan Engram – TE – Ole Miss
2017 Senior Bowl Standouts – Defense
1. Haason Reddick – LB – Temple, as an undersized defensive end Reddick was very productive for the Owls football program. However, in the NFL Reddick is looking at a position switch to either inside or outside linebacker, and the Senior Bowl would be his first time playing these new positions in front out coaches and scouts. Reddick did not disappoint as he was all over the field whether he was lined up as in inside Will-backer in a 3-4 or even further outside as a weak-side LB in a four-man front. Reddick demonstrated an ability to quickly diagnose and locate while also displaying the ability to play off the LOS and in space. In coverage, he was able to quickly break on the ball and got his hands on a couple of pass deflections. While in run defense he was able to shed blockers, and wrap up the ball carrier. With his pass rush ability Reddick gives defensive coordinators the option of rushing him off the edge either by blitzing him or standing him up in a two-point stance. A tough and competitive athlete Reddick should be an instant contributor on special teams as a rookie while he continues his transition to linebacker.
2. Obi Melifonwu – S – UCONN, Melifonwu catches your eye with his size, and length for a defensive back, but what really impressed many was his ability to move and redirect without slowing down while in coverage or planting and attacking downhill in run support. For a safety, his size Melifonwu appears to have the foot quickness and agility to cover tight ends in the slot or taller receivers on the outside (especially in red zone situations). With rumors circulating that Melifonwu expects to run the forty in the high 4.4’s at the combine next month the intrigue surrounding Melifonwu might just be starting to ratchet up.
3. Alex Anzalone – LB – Florida, A highly-touted recruit out of high school Anzalone was one of the better linebackers down in Mobile this week. He was consistently around the football as he displayed good instincts to quickly diagnose and locate the ball. He was solid in his run fits coming downhill and filling the hole with authority. He also possesses good speed and burst able to quickly close in on the ball carrier. Coaches lined him up both inside as well as on the outside demonstrating some of his scheme versatility. The biggest concern surrounding Anzalone revolve around his health. Injuries have taken a big chunk of his playing time away the last couple of seasons, missing four games last season with a broken arm, and 12 games the previous year with a shoulder injury. If he can stay on the field, he looks like he has the skillset to develop into a four-down LB.
4. Tarell Basham – Edge – Ohio, Basham, the 2016 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, showed good quickness off the snap able to engage and get into the offensive lineman instantly. He displayed strong hands as he would knock back lineman when he planted them into their chests. He can convert speed to power and walk back the tackle into the quarterback’s lap. While he was solid with his run defense there were, times were, he gave up the edge and lost containment allowing the ball carrier to breakout for a long run. What teams will need to figure out is whether Basham will need to add more weight and play as a hand in the dirt defensive end or stand him up as an outside LB in a 3-4 defense.
5. Damontae Kazee – CB – San Diego State, Kazee was one of the more aggressive defensive backs in the one-on-one drills, and team sequences during the mid-week practices. He took it to every receiver he went up against being physical with jam at the line, and at the top of their stem as well as downfield. Kazee has very quick feet which allows him to mirror a receiver downfield, while also allowing him to plant and drive forward in his transition. Kazee was able to get his hands on the ball, displaying good awareness and ball skills something he also demonstrated in college where he ended up with 17 career interceptions and 29 passes defensed. With his agility, closing burst, and toughness Kazee projects best inside as a slot corner/nickel back. Throughout the week Kazee displayed good competitiveness and toughness that caught the attention of not only the receivers he was battling but also the scouts and coaches in attendance.
Others who also flashed during the week on defense……Dalvin Tomlinson – DT – Alabama, Isaac Rochell – DE – Notre Dame, Stevie Tu’ikolovatu – DT – USC, Marquez White – CB – Florida State
2017 East West Shrine Game Standouts
This weekend marked the “unofficial” start of the 2017 pre-draft process as the 92nd annual East West Shrine game was played. While not the first college all-star game on the docket (College Gridiron Showcase in Dallas was) the East West Shrine is considered by many as the start of a long process that culminates with
This weekend marked the “unofficial” start of the 2017 pre-draft process as the 92nd annual East West Shrine game was played. While not the first college all-star game on the docket (College Gridiron Showcase in Dallas was) the East West Shrine is considered by many as the start of a long process that culminates with the 2017 NFL Draft in April.
Listed here are five players who stood out to me during this weekend’s game. Seeing that the game ended with a final score of 10-3 in favor of the West team, and that the games only TD was not scored until midway through the fourth quarter. It should be no surprise that defensive players from both rosters were the players that caught my attention.
Deatrich Wise Jr. – DE – Arkansas
Measuring in at 6’5” 275-pounds with 35-inch arms Wise offers both size and length at the defensive end position. He followed up a solid week of practices with a good performance in the game. Wise had 1 ½ sacks (one being a strip sack) in the game and made a few impressive plays defending the run.
He displayed the ability to stack and shed at the line of scrimmage and set the edge when defending the run. While also hustling to make tackles on the backside of the play as well as downfield.
While he may not develop into a double-digit sack pass rusher what Wise has is the size, length, and strength to become a base 4-3 end and a solid NFL defensive lineman.
DeAngelo Brown – DT – Louisville
Brown flashed early in the game when he stood up the opposing center and blew up a 4th and goal attempt for the West squad by tackling the RB for a loss. Brown is powerful and stout at the point of contact. He has heavy hands and when he gets leverage on an offensive lineman he is a load to block.
He had 13 tackles for loss last season for Louisville, 22 for his career, demonstrating his strength and ability to penetrate the offenses backfield.
While he won’t give you much in terms of a pass rush he looks to be a very good rotational defender who can line up at either the nose guard position in a 3-4, or as an interior run stuffing tackle in a four-man front.
Trey Hendrickson – DE – Florida Atlantic
Hendrickson was the talk of the week during the practice sessions down in Tampa leading up to the game. Then on Saturday Hendrickson, the 2016 conference CUSA DPOY, did not disappoint as he displayed good speed when he beat Texas A&M tackle Avery Gennesy off the snap with a speed rush, turning the edge to create a sack fumble. Later on in the game Hendrickson showed his competitive toughness by racing across the formation to track down the ball and make a backside tackle.
Although productive as a defensive end for Florid Atlantic (41 TFL & 29.5 sacks) look for Hendrickson to be converted to outside linebacker in the NFL and initially used as a rush specialist. At 255-pounds and below average arm-length it would be difficult for Hendrickson to hold up physically as a hand in the ground defensive end in the league.
Hendrickson made a name for himself this week, and if he was not on every NFL teams radar before the East West game he surely will be now.
Fabian Moreau – CB – UCLA
During the game Moreau displayed the skill set that has many projecting him as a complete corner. Moreau demonstrated cover skills as he mirrored receivers down field, followed by closing speed to aggressively attack anything thrown in front of him. He even made an impressive special team tackle in punt coverage as a gunner.
Moreau possesses good size and athleticism along with the aforementioned closing speed. He displays good awareness while in coverage downfield, and is willing to come downhill and support the run defense.
UCLA coaches rave about his football character and when coupled with his 6-foot frame along with 4.40 speed, and ball skills Moreau has a chance to be the first player from this year’s game to be drafted come April.
Bryan Cox Jr. – DE – Florida
The son of former NFL linebacker Bryan Cox Sr. showed the same hustle and effort you saw when scouting his game film. The average sized end did not produce eye popping stats while playing for the Gators but you always saw him hustling and playing to the whistle.
Similarly, Cox made a couple of downfield tackles and provide some pressure on the QB’s that allowed him flash. He was able to quickly locate and track down the football while also displaying some strength and the ability to set an edge when defending the run.
While he will need to continue to develop/refine his pass rush technique his non-stop motor, athleticism, along with his bloodlines will allow him an opportunity to make it in the NFL.
Mid-Summer 2016-17 Bowl Projections
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With the Fourth of July holiday in the rear view mirror, a fresh college football season is on the horizon.
By the end of the shortened work week, we will be just seven Fridays away from the Hawaii-Cal season opener, and we are approaching a mere eight Saturdays away from the
By the end of the shortened work week, we will be just seven Fridays away from the Hawaii-Cal season opener, and we are approaching a mere eight Saturdays away from the first weekend action of the new season.
So how will the 2016-17 postseason take shape?
Here are my very early projections of where your favorite program could land. As always, these predictions are subject to change and will look different than my post-spring Top 25, which was more of a power rankings than anything else. In addition, there is always more studying to do, so I’m likely to re-slot some teams before the season begins as I become more familiar with 2016 depth charts, quirks in the schedules, etc.
The College Football Playoff
Semifinal—Dec. 31 Peach (Atlanta): No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 TCU
Semifinal—Dec. 31 Fiesta (Glendale): No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 3 Ohio State
Championship—Jan. 9 (Tampa): The winners of the two semifinals meet
The CFP Selection Committee New Year’s Six bowl games
Dec. 30 Orange (Miami): Clemson (ACC) vs. Notre Dame (Big Ten/SEC/Notre Dame)
Jan. 2 Rose (Pasadena): Michigan (Big Ten) vs. Stanford (Pac-12)
Jan. 2 Sugar (New Orleans): Oklahoma (Big 12) vs. LSU (SEC)
Jan. 2 Cotton (Arlington): Tennessee (At-Large) vs. Houston (At-Large)
The rest of the bowl slate
Dec. 17 Cure (Orlando): East Carolina (AAC) vs. Troy (Sun Belt)
Dec. 17 Las Vegas (Las Vegas): Boise State (MWC) vs. Utah (Pac-12)
Dec. 17 Camelia (Montgomery): NIU (MAC) vs. Appalachian State (Sun Belt)
Dec. 17 New Mexico (Albuquerque): Western Kentucky (C-USA) vs. New Mexico (MWC)
Dec. 17 New Orleans (New Orleans): Louisiana Tech (C-USA) vs. Georgia Southern (Sun Belt)
Dec. 19 Miami Beach (Miami): Memphis (AAC) vs. Central Michigan (MAC)
Dec. 20 Boca Raton (Boca Raton): Tulsa (AAC) vs. Marshall (C-USA)
Dec. 21 Poinsettia (San Diego): BYU (BYU) vs. Air Force (MWC)
Dec. 22 Potato (Boise): Ohio (MAC) vs. Colorado State (MWC)
Dec. 23 Bahamas (Nassau): UConn (AAC) vs. Toledo (MAC)
Dec. 23 Armed Forces (Fort Worth): Washington State* (Big 12) vs. Navy (Navy)
Dec. 23 GoDaddy (Mobile): Western Michigan (MAC) vs. Arkansas State (Sun Belt)
Dec. 24 Hawaii (Honolulu): FIU (C-USA) vs. Utah State (MWC)
Dec. 26 Quick Lane (Detroit): NC State (ACC) vs. Indiana (Big Ten)
Dec. 26 St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg): Georgia Tech (ACC) vs. Temple (AAC)
Dec. 26 Independence (Shreveport): Duke (ACC) vs. Mississippi State (SEC)
Dec. 27 Military (Annapolis): Syracuse (ACC) vs. Cincinnati (AAC)
Dec. 27 Holiday (San Diego): Michigan State (Big Ten) vs. Washington (Pac-12)
Dec. 27 Heart of Dallas (Dallas): Maryland (Big Ten) vs. Southern Miss (C-USA)
Dec. 27 Cactus (Tempe): Texas (Big 12) vs. Arizona (Pac-12)
Dec. 28 Texas (Houston): Baylor (Big 12) vs. Arkansas (SEC)
Dec. 28 Russell Athletic (Orlando): Miami, FL (ACC) vs. West Virginia (Big 12)
Dec. 28 Pinstripe (New York City): Pitt (ACC) vs. Northwestern (Big Ten)
Dec. 29 Birmingham (Birmingham): USF (AAC) vs. Missouri (SEC)
Dec. 29 Belk (Charlotte): North Carolina (ACC) vs. Auburn (SEC)
Dec. 29 Alamo (San Antonio): Oklahoma State (Big 12) vs. USC (Pac-12)
Dec. 30 Arizona (Tucson): San Diego State (MWC) vs. Georgia State (Sun Belt)
Dec. 30 Sun (El Paso): Virginia Tech (ACC) vs. Oregon (Pac-12)
Dec. 30 Liberty (Memphis): Texas Tech (Big 12) vs. South Carolina (SEC)
Dec. 30 Music City (Nashville): Penn State (ACC/Big Ten) vs. Texas A&M (SEC)
Dec. 31 TaxSlayer (Jacksonville): Louisville (ACC/Big Ten) vs. Georgia (SEC)
Dec. 31 Citrus (Orlando): Iowa (Big Ten/ACC) vs. Ole Miss (SEC)
Jan. 2 Outback (Tampa): Nebraska (Big Ten) vs. Florida (SEC)
TBD Foster Farms (Santa Clara): Wisconsin (Big Ten) vs. UCLA (Pac-12)
Dave Miller, the college football editor for the National Football Post, is on Twitter @Miller_Dave.
2016 Post-Spring Top 25
With the calendar flipping to May and spring practices completed for programs across the country, it's time to take a look at the National Football Post's post-spring Top 25.
1. Alabama: Nick Saban’s defending national champs aren’t going anywhere, as the reload continues in Tuscaloosa. Blake Barnett, Cooper Bateman, David Cornwell
With the calendar flipping to May and spring practices completed for programs across the country, it’s time to take a look at the National Football Post’s post-spring Top 25.
1. Alabama: Nick Saban’s defending national champs aren’t going anywhere, as the reload continues in Tuscaloosa. Blake Barnett, Cooper Bateman, David Cornwell and Jalen Hurts will try to win the starting job under center, but it may not matter who is the starter because the Tide are loaded on defense.
2. Florida State: The biggest question for the Seminoles is whether Deondre Francois or Malik Henry can beat out senior Sean Maguire for the starting quarterback gig. We know that Dalvin Cook will remain a beastly and productive running back after setting the single-season school record with 1,691 rushing yards, but the ‘Noles need to be able to make big plays through the air. The defense will feature new starters, but safety Derwin James leads a talented unit.
3. LSU: It was ridiculous that Les Miles had to deal with the “hot seat” drama late last season, but that’s the world of big-time college football that we live in these days. The Tigers certainly enter the new season with high expectations, as a boatload of veteran talent returns. Leonard Fournette recorded a school-record 1,953 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns last year, but can Brandon Harris or Purdue transfer Danny Etling provide a steady force under center? I’m convinced that Harris is poised for a strong ’16 campaign.
4. Tennessee: Is this the year for the Vols? Butch Jones led his team to six straight victories to close out last season, and most of the main pieces are back from that squad, including linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin and cornerback Cameron Sutton on defense and quarterback Joshua Dobbs and running back Jalen Hurd on offense. The defense is deep and experienced, but can the offense be more explosive and pick up bigger chunks of yardage in bunches?
5. Baylor: Quarterbacks Seth Russell and Jarrett Stidham return to an offense that should be stocked again with leading rusher Shock Linwood and a receiving corps that is still deep despite the losses of Corey Coleman and Jay Lee. The defense is undergoing a bit of a rebuild, but coordinator Phil Bennett’s unit should be steady enough to complement the explosive offense.
6. Clemson: The Tigers nearly captured the national title last season, and they’ll have a chance to win one this year behind stud quarterback Deshaun Watson, who could be the top overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. He’ll be surrounded by weapons such as running back Wayne Gallman and wide receiver Mike Williams, who was lost to a neck injury last season. We saw how good the Tigers were defensively last year despite losing a ton of talent to the NFL, but can that level of play be sustained after returning just four starters from the ’15 unit and losing cornerback Adrian Baker to a torn ACL in March? Three defensive backs left early for the draft, and pass rushers Kevin Dodd and Shaq Lawson also departed.
7. Michigan: Jim Harbaugh has put his stamp on the Wolverines faster than most had expected, so expectations are very high for the ’16 squad. Star defender Jabrill Peppers will be used as a hybrid linebacker by coordinator Don Brown, so his athleticism will be depended upon when facing teams with spread elements. Offensively, can former Houston signal-caller John O’Korn lead the unit as well as Jake Rudock did last season?
8. Notre Dame: Brian Kelly and his offensive staff must decide on a starting quarterback after junior Malik Zaire and sophomore DeShone Kizer both proved capable of carrying the load. Kizer was thrown into a difficult situation but managed to help the Irish to a 10-win season after Zaire was hurt early in the season at Virginia. The team certainly lost top-level talent in this past weekend’s NFL Draft, but the cupboard isn’t bare in South Bend.
9. Oklahoma: The Sooners made the College Football Playoff last season, but they didn’t have the Orange Bowl experience that many had expected. Baker Mayfield is back to run the offense, which should continue to be efficient under coordinator Lincoln Riley. Mayfield completed over 68 percent of his throws last season, while Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon combined to rush for over 2,500 yards. But can the defense replace the level of play that performers such as Zack Sanchez and Eric Striker provided? Tests against Houston and Ohio State will answer that question early in the season.
10. Stanford: The Cardinal reached their third Rose Bowl in four seasons in ’15, but longtime starting quarterback Kevin Hogan is gone. However, do-everything Christian McCaffrey, who notched 3,864 all-purpose yards last season, returns for another Heisman Trophy run. The question is whether Ryan Burns or Keller Chryst will be able to do enough through the air to complement McCaffrey’s game.
11. Ohio State: Urban Meyer seems to do his best work with young squads, and the ’16 version of the Buckeyes will indeed feature youth. The program lost 15 starters from last year’s one-loss team, but keep in mind the national championship team from two years ago was short on experience. It helps that this will be J.T. Barrett’s offense again.
12. Houston: Tom Herman put together a magical first season as a head coach, as the Cougars earned a berth to the Peach Bowl where they handled Florida State. Can Greg Ward Jr. (3,936 yards of total offense and 38 total touchdowns in ’15) and an opportunistic defense (35 takeaways last fall) actually compete for a College Football Playoff berth in ’16? The schedule may allow for it to happen, as UH opens against Oklahoma and hosts Louisville.
13. Georgia: Kirby Smart landed his dream job in Athens, and he inherits a team loaded with talent. When will true freshman quarterback Jacob Eason get his chance to run the offensive show? Greyson Lambert may get the call against North Carolina in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, but Eason will see the field very soon. Oh, and star running back Nick Chubb is expected to be at full strength after tearing knee ligaments last October.
14. Michigan State: The Spartans will be replacing Connor Cook at quarterback with either Tyler O’Connor or Damion Terry, and whoever wins the battle will be working behind a line that lost some key pieces. However, the backfield is deep, and the defense is filled with experience such as defensive end Malik McDowell, linebacker Riley Bullough and safety Demetrius Cox.
15. TCU: The Horned Frogs showed a lot of resiliency throughout last season, including in the team’s bowl game. Injuries decimated the squad, but Gary Patterson still notched 11 wins. Foster Sawyer and Texas A&M transfer Kenny Hill are battling to replace prolific signal-caller Trevone Boykin, and a lot will be expected of the winner of that QB derby because the offense only returns three starters.
16. Ole Miss: The Rebels lost some top talent to the NFL, as head coach Hugh Freeze has to replace 12 starters from a team that helped the program to its first 10-win season in 13 years. Quarterback Chad Kelly is back after setting program records for total offense and total touchdowns, but he’ll need some help from the running back corps.
17. Louisville: Bobby Petrino brings back an electric quarterback and an experienced defense. There’s no question that Lamar Jackson needs to be more consistent and efficient through the air, as he completed just 54.7 percent of his passes and tossed eight interceptions last fall. However, the sophomore nearly ran for 1,000 yards and had 11 TDs on the ground. Can he consistently resemble the player we saw go off in the Music City Bowl? Former TCU linebacker Devonte Fields paces the defense and had 11 sacks and was a force against the run last fall.
18. Iowa: The Hawkeyes were a goal-line stand away from making the second College Football Playoff, but longtime head coach Kirk Ferentz was still able to lead the program to its first Rose Bowl in 25 years. Can the Hawkeyes prove that 2015 was not a fluke? They have a chance with quarterback C.J. Beathard, who proficiently led an offense that was more wide open in ’15.
19. USC: Clay Helton had the interim tag removed from his title, but can he navigate a tough schedule and the high-stakes pressure of being in the Los Angeles spotlight? The Trojans open up the season against defending national champion Alabama, and either junior Max Browne or redshirt freshman Sam Darnold will be under center. Offensive weapons abound, but can the defensive line hold up for an entire season?
20. Washington: The Huskies are a sleeping giant in the Pac-12 under Chris Petersen. The team closed ’15 strong, and the duo of quarterback Jake Browning and running back Myles Gaskin will pace the offense. How much time will junior cornerback Budda Baker see at wide receiver? The defense returns a lot of key players from a unit that led the Pac-12 in scoring defense and total defense.
21. Oklahoma State: The Cowboys bring back a lot of experience from a team that won 10 games in ’15, although the Pokes did drop their final three contests of the season. Better offensive line play is needed, as OSU ranked 113th in the FBS in rushing yards per game and allowed 32 sacks. Road trips to Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma loom.
22. Florida: Jim McElwain claimed an SEC East title in his first season in Gainesville, and he’ll need to find a quarterback if the Gators want to repeat and put up a better fight than they did in their showcase games to close the ’15 campaign. Luke Del Rio is the favorite to start at quarterback, and plenty of talent remains on defense.
23. Boise State: Bryan Harsin has taken over play-calling duties on offense after coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz left for NC State, while linebackers coach Andy Avalos was promoted to defensive coordinator to replace Marcel Yates, who left for Arizona. Quarterback Brett Rypien passed for 3,353 yards with 20 touchdowns as a freshman, while running back Jeremy McNichols grounded out 1,337 rushing yards and 20 scores.
24. North Carolina: The Tar Heels advanced to the ACC title game and gave Clemson fits before ultimately falling short. Still, Larry Fedora led the program to its first 11-win season since 1997. UNC made a dramatic improvement on defense last year, so a similar effort will be needed along with stability at quarterback with Mitch Trubisky, who is replacing the prolific Marquise Williams.
25. Miami (FL): New head coach Mark Richt inherits Brad Kaaya, who is one of the best quarterbacks in the country and has logged consecutive 3,000-yard passing seasons. We don’t know what the future holds for running back Mark Walton (DUI charge), who had a team-high nine touchdowns last season. But Joseph Yearby ran for 1,002 yards in 2015.
Under consideration:
Michigan lands pledge from Heisman finalist’s brother
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff are not letting up on the recruiting trail.
Just under two weeks after the Wolverines put together a Top-5 recruiting class for the 2016 cycle, the program landed a commitment Monday night from blue-chip quarterback Dylan McCaffrey, who is the younger brother of
Just under two weeks after the Wolverines put together a Top-5 recruiting class for the 2016 cycle, the program landed a commitment Monday night from blue-chip quarterback Dylan McCaffrey, who is the younger brother of Stanford’s Heisman Trophy finalist Christian McCaffrey.
The 6-5, 200-pound Class of 2017 Colorado product tossed 27 touchdowns against just four interceptions in 2015 while leading Valor Christian High School to the Colorado Class 5A football championship. He also ran for 592 yards and 13 more scores.
McCaffrey is considered the nation’s No. 2 pro-style quarterback in 2017, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Michigan brought in signal-caller Brandon Peters this past National Signing Day, so McCaffrey certainly is not shying away from future stout competition. The son of former Denver Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey becomes the fifth player in the Wolverines’ 2017 class, joining running back Kurt Taylor, tight end Carter Dunaway, offensive tackle Ja’Raymond Hall and cornerback Benjamin St-Juste.
Miami (FL) fires Golden
Miami (FL) fired head coach Al Golden following the program's biggest loss in its history.
Hurricanes athletic director Blake James made the announcement Sunday evening. Tight ends coach/run game coordinator Larry Scott will be the team's interim head coach.
"Coach Golden has led our program through some very difficult times and
Miami (FL) fired head coach Al Golden following the program’s biggest loss in its history.
Hurricanes athletic director Blake James made the announcement Sunday evening. Tight ends coach/run game coordinator Larry Scott will be the team’s interim head coach.
“Coach Golden has led our program through some very difficult times and he has done so with class, integrity and a true desire to see our students succeed on the field, in the classroom and in the community,” James said in a release. “However, we have a proud tradition of excellence at Miami, not just in football but in all sports, and we want to compete for ACC and national championships. I simply believe that now is the time to bring the Hurricane Family together and rally behind our young men.”
Golden, who never was able to defeat Florida State as Miami head coach, finished his ‘Canes career with a 32-25 mark (17-18 in the ACC) over four-plus seasons in Coral Gables. The final nail in the coffin was a 58-0 home loss Saturday to Clemson, which dropped the ‘Canes to 4-3 on the season.
“On behalf of my family I want to thank the University of Miami for a tremendous opportunity,” Golden said in a release. “I believe in what we are doing and how we are doing it and we have some outstanding young men in our football program. Though this moment is difficult, we wish the Canes the best of luck going forward.”
NFP Top 25
Let's take a look at the National Football Post's newest Top 25.
1. Ohio State (8-0) [1]
2. TCU (7-0) [2]
3. Michigan State (8-0) [3]
4. Baylor (7-0) [4]
5. LSU (7-0) [6]
6. Alabama (7-1) [7]
7. Clemson (7-0) [9]
8. Notre
Let’s take a look at the National Football Post’s newest Top 25.
8. Notre Dame (6-1) [10]
9. Stanford (6-1) [11]
10. Oklahoma (6-1) [12]
11. Iowa (7-0) [13]
12. Oklahoma State (7-0) [14]
13. Memphis (7-0) [15]
14. Florida State (6-1) [5]
15. Utah (6-1) [8]
16. Florida (6-1) [16]
17. Michigan (5-2) [17]
18. Temple (7-0) [18]
19. Toledo (7-0) [20]
20. Houston (7-0) [21]
21. Ole Miss (6-2) [22]
22. Duke (6-1) [23]
23. Mississippi State (6-2) [25]
24. UCLA (5-2) [NR]
25. Wisconsin (6-2) [NR]
The next five: Georgia (5-2), Pitt (6-1), BYU (6-2), Texas A&M (5-2) and Boise State (6-2).
5. Florida State (6-0) [5]
8. Utah (6-0) [8]
10. Notre Dame (6-1) [12]
11. Stanford (5-1) [13]
19. Texas A&M (5-1) [10]
24. Cal (5-1) [NR]
25. Mississippi State (5-2) [NR]
The next five: Georgia (5-2), UCLA (4-2), BYU (5-2), Texas Tech (5-2) and Pitt (5-1).
South Carolina’s Spurrier to retire
Steve Spurrier is hanging up his visor.
The Head Ball Coach is walking away from South Carolina, according to a report from Thayer Evans of Sports Illustrated. Co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Shawn Elliott is expected to be named interim head coach on Tuesday.
The 70-year-old Spurrier is in midst
The 70-year-old Spurrier is in midst of his 11th season with the Gamecocks. After a brief stint in the NFL, Spurrier returned to college football and built South Carolina into an SEC contender, culminating in three straight 11-win seasons from 2011 to 2013. But the team won just seven games last season and sits at 2-4 this fall, with all four losses coming against SEC foes. Spurrier has never had a losing season as South Carolina’s leader, and the team was bowl-eligible in his first 10 seasons.
Spurrier won the 1996 national championship and six SEC titles at Florida, where he coached for 12 seasons. The former quarterback played his college football in Gainesville from 1963 to 1966 and won the Heisman Trophy for his play in his final season.
He began his coaching career with the Gators in 1978 as the quarterbacks coach and served in the same role at Georgia Tech the next year before becoming Duke’s offensive coordinator in 1980. After becoming the youngest coach in professional football when he took over the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits, he came back to Duke for his first head-coaching job in college football in 1987. He was named the ACC coach of the year twice while in Durham, and he left the school with a 20-13-1 mark. After a 122-27-1 record with the Gators, Spurrier resigned and took the head gig with the Washington Redskins.
Spurrier has a combined record of 228-89-2 at Duke, Florida and South Carolina. He is the Gamecocks’ all-time winningest coach with 86 victories.
It’s safe to say that college football won’t be the same without Spurrier.
USC fires Sarkisian
USC has fired head coach Steve Sarkisian.
One day after placing him on an indefinite leave of absence, athletic director Pat Haden terminated the contract of the head coach effective immediately. Clay Helton will continue as the interim head coach.
The following is a statement from Haden:
"After careful consideration of
“After careful consideration of what is in the best interest of the university and our student-athletes, I have made the decision to terminate Steve Sarkisian, effective immediately.
“I want to thank Clay Helton for stepping into the interim head coach role, and I want to add how proud I am of our coaching staff and players and the way they are responding to this difficult situation.
“Through all of this we remain concerned for Steve and hope that it will give him the opportunity to focus on his personal well being.”
Sarkisian went 12-6 in less than two seasons as head coach. The Trojans went 9-4 last season and started 3-2 this year.
The question now is whether or not Haden will be around to pick the next permanent head man at ‘SC.
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Home / News / Health Care / Health leader defends criticized Medicaid report
Health leader defends criticized Medicaid report
By: The Associated Press September 18, 2014 0
BATON ROUGE — Louisiana’s health department said Wednesday that its evaluation of the state’s Medicaid privatization was on target, despite criticism from the legislative auditor that it lacked key data and contained inconsistencies.
The auditor’s office told lawmakers the report from the Department of Health and Hospitals had mathematical errors, offered skewed comparisons and presented unsubstantiated performance reviews.
DHH Secretary Kathy Kliebert disagreed with the auditor’s findings.
“We don’t believe it paints a complete picture concerning what we thought was a really good response to what was requested,” Kliebert told the Legislative Audit Advisory Council, a legislative panel that oversees the auditor’s work.
A yearly report analyzing the performance of the private managed-care networks handling Medicaid services through the Bayou Health program is required under a 2013 state law. Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration submitted its first report to the Legislature in January.
“The report has numbers that you can’t rely on,” said Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera. “This report has significant flaws in it.”
Kliebert, however, said the report was thorough and provided useful information. She said her staff committed hundreds of hours to compiling the data, in a tight time frame that gave DHH seven months to pull the report together after the law’s passage.
“It wasn’t like you just found out when it was passed. I think y’all knew this thing was coming,” Rep. Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge, said of the reporting requirements.
Jindal privatized much of the Medicaid program in 2012, shifting 900,000 of Louisiana’s 1.4 million Medicaid recipients to the insurance model, mostly pregnant women and children. Medicaid recipients in Bayou Health choose from — or are assigned to — one of five privately operated networks of primary care doctors, specialists and hospitals.
The auditor’s review said the DHH report used primarily self-reported data from the managed-care organizations. Kliebert said her department uses a verification process to check the information and has contracted with an outside accounting firm to do additional reviews.
Purpera also said the report asserted the state saved money from the privatization, but he said the health department didn’t provide information to corroborate that.
“They can’t say overall whether or not they’re saving any money?” asked Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Metairie.
Kliebert said her agency has documentation to prove it saved nearly $136 million in the 2013 budget year. Only about $44 million of that figure was state general fund savings, however, while the rest was a reduction in federal Medicaid money.
Lawmakers said they wanted that data shared with the legislative auditor and more details about how the savings figure was reached.
“When you tell somebody you saved $100 million, you ought to be able to show where you saved it from,” said Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton.
“We can show you where we saved it from,” Kliebert replied.
Kliebert said she expects to tweak and improve the Bayou Health report, based on legislative feedback.
“I think you’ll be much happier with the report next year,” she told lawmakers.
Department of Health and Hospitals Medicaid 8:24 am Thu, September 18, 2014 New Orleans CityBusiness
Tagged with: Department of Health and Hospitals Medicaid
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Dean Does Hillary A Favor
By Michael Crowley
This is the closest thing to Clinton's talking points I've heard from a party majordomo recently:
The Democrats’ national chairman, Howard Dean, told The Financial Times in an article on Friday: “I think the race is going to come down to the perception in the last six or eight races of who the best opponent for McCain will be. I do not think in the long run it will come down to the popular vote or anything else.”
"The will of the voters" as measured through the popular vote and pledged delegate count is an empirical metric by which Hillary will almost certainly come up short. But the question of who is strongest against McCain is far more subjective, and tailor-made for the growing implication of the Clintonite spin that America just isn't ready for a black president.
--Michael Crowley
Person Career
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Economic Confidence Slips in July, for Second Month in a Row
Economic outlook falls to a new 2012 low
by Jenny Marlar
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gallup's Economic Confidence Index averaged -26 in July, a decline from -22 in June, and close to the 2012 low of -27 measured in January. Economic confidence improved during the first five months of the year, but July marks the second monthly decline in a row. Still, the index remains significantly higher than the -42 from July of a year ago.
Gallup's Economic Confidence Index consists of two measures -- one assessing current U.S. economic conditions and the other assessing the nation's economic outlook. Americans were more pessimistic about both current conditions and the economic outlook during July. Fourteen percent of Americans said the economy is excellent or good, while 42% considered it poor, resulting in a -28 current conditions rating. The -23 economic outlook rating reflects a five-percentage-point decline from June, with 36% of Americans saying the economy is getting better and 59% saying it is getting worse. This is the lowest economic outlook rating of 2012.
Confidence Lowest Among Republicans
Republicans' and independents' confidence declined, while Democrats' remained steady in July. Confidence among Republicans was -54, a five-point decline from June and their most negative monthly average of 2012. Independents dropped four points to -30, tied for the group's lowest monthly measurement since January. Democrats were unchanged from June at +7, up somewhat from -3 in January but still down compared with most months of 2012.
U.S. economic confidence wavered during the month of July, likely because of several factors, including another tepid jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on July 6, and a mid-month report of lower-than-expected GDP growth. This, combined with little positive news on the domestic front and Europe's continuing economic troubles, likely resulted in the July decline in confidence.
Americans will need positive economic signs, such as the decline in unemployment seen earlier in the year, for the index to regain the positive momentum it had during the first part of the year. Politics may also be playing a role. For the index to significantly improve, Republicans will need to have a more optimistic outlook on the economy. However, with the ongoing presidential campaign, there may be little immediate chance of narrowing the partisan gap.
Gallup.com reports results from these indexes in daily, weekly, and monthly averages and in Gallup.com stories. Complete trend data are always available to view and export in the following charts:
Daily: Employment, Economic Confidence, Job Creation, Consumer Spending
Weekly: Employment, Economic Confidence, Job Creation, Consumer Spending
Read more about Gallup's economic measures.
View our economic release schedule.
Results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking from July 1-31, 2012, with a random sample of 14,043 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, selected using random-digit-dial sampling.
Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample includes a minimum quota of 400 cell phone respondents and 600 landline respondents per 1,000 national adults, with additional minimum quotas among landline respondents by region. Landline telephone numbers are chosen at random among listed telephone numbers. Cell phone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.
Samples are weighted by gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, adults in the household, and phone status (cell phone only/landline only/both, cell phone mostly, and having an unlisted landline number). Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2011 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older non-institutionalized population living in U.S. telephone households. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting and sample design.
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Gallup Global Financial Health Study
Discover what more than 15,000 people in 10 countries say about their finances.
U.S. Consumer Spending Holding at Slightly Higher Levels
Americans' self-reported daily spending averaged $73 in July, similar to June's $70 average and the $74 average from July 2011. More broadly, spending in 2012 to date remains above the levels of the prior three years.
U.S. Unadjusted Unemployment Rate Increases in July
U.S. unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, was 8.2% in July, up slightly from 8.0% in June, but better than the 8.8% from a year ago. Gallup's seasonally adjusted number for July is 8.0%, also up from June.
U.S. Job Creation Slips in July
Gallup's U.S. Job Creation Index slipped to +17 in July, after registering at or near +20 from April through June. Private-sector and local government hiring slowed the most in July.
The Performance Management Needs of the Changing Workforce
Learn how to design performance management practices for the workplace of the future.
Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/156452/Economic-Confidence-Slips-July-Second-Month-Row.aspx
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Tag Archives: flying saucers
Posted by Admin on December 22, 2016
“I don’t know if you’re a person who’s ever read the Bible or not, but I think the Star of Bethlehem was one of God’s flying saucers.”
Download this video clip: https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=kZWPhxZP6NwN7FH4EzWRsoloq4uhygBviqV
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and all through the stars, alien life forms were stirring from the Dipper to Mars …
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and more entertaining. Paul Hellyer is a former National Defense Minister under Soviet Agent Lester Pearson and then under Red Mole Pierre Trudeau. Hellyer founded the Canadian Action Party (the CAP) in 1997 to put the sovereignty of Canada up to a vote. 1
He and his former successor as leader of the CAP, well known Communist Connie Fogal-Rankin, would like the Canadian parliament to have a “democratic mandate” from the Canadian people for the North American Union. (The BNA Act of 1867 prohibits North American Union, so these cons have introduced the forbidden as an “option”.)
However, the deeper truth behind the Canadian Action Party is truly bizarre. 2 And there is no way to spoof it for you to celebrate Christmas-New Year’s 2016-2017, other than to expose the truth.
Therefore, listen to Paul Theodore Hellyer — on Russian TV to boot (Putin’s favorite propaganda channel) — when he tells the cameras:
“I think the Star of Bethlehem was one of God’s flying saucers.”
Hellyer’s interviewer, Sophie Shevardnadze, evidently perplexed, can only reply, “Uhum” to the news that a flying saucer had hovered over Bethlehem to announce the birth of Jesus.
But that mythic scenario fits precisely into the intergalactic-theocratic-Urantia cult behind Paul Hellyer’s Canadian Action Party.
Paul Hellyer: “I think the Star of Bethlehem was one of God’s flying saucers.”
When Hellyer says, “one of God’s flying saucers”, he is referring to the Book of Urantia peddled by Canadian Action Party president Paul Kemp.
In its internal, non-public culture, Hellyer’s Canadian Action Party supports a one-world government, a globalist religion (Urantia), alien-human hybridization, and membership of the Earth (real name, Urantia) in an interplanetary federation. The scam is that Earth must have world government in order to be admitted to the federation.
Add to this an intergalactic Jesus incarnated throughout the infinite alien-populated worlds advanced as “fact” and “truth” in Paul Kemp’s presentation of the Urantia Book, and you start to see why Hellyer would announce: “the Star of Bethlehem was one of God’s flying saucers.”
The Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Bilderberg Group are presumed by Urantia “believers” at CAP to have received “alien contact”. This is why these sainted organizations, run by the world’s worst Evilarchy, are motivated to form a one-world government: so that Earth can join “galactic society”.
One such believer is Paul Kemp’s friend, retired U.S. Air Force Lt.-Col Don Ware, who admits to channeling telepathic aliens. Ware is said to have claimed:
“In 1989, after studying and learning more about the non-physical aspects of the universe, I was used by a higher intelligence to send a message to the generals at Eglin Air Force Base.”
Also, says Ware:
“I accept the idea that intelligent life is abundant throughout the universe, in both incarnate and discarnate forms”
“the normal means of communication by higher intelligence is telepathic”
“Millions of Americans are participating in a hybridization program with short beings from Zeta Reticula.”
“The main reason alien liaison is increasing now is because our planet is being transformed to support a new world order.”
Notice anything familiar yet?
Ware continues:
“The new order is destined to support a learning process that is one step beyond the human experience of free-will choices.”
A world Marxist dictatorship is “one step beyond” “free-will choices”. Coincidence? Give up your free will for the greater good of the intergalactic collective! Just what we need! Space aliens who are Marxists! Perhaps Karl channeled the Manifesto from telepathic Zeta Reticulans?
“… the new world order can become what Jesus described as heaven on Earth.”
The Warburg-financed Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, viewed by many as the founding father of the European Union (first chunk of the world-government system laid in place) said in his 1925 book, Practical Idealism:
Through the ages Jewry has remained faithful to the theocratic idea of the identification of politics and ethics: Christianity and Socialism are both attempts to create an earthly paradise. [lit.: a State of God] Now, the Kemp web sites prominently feature the Star of David and the flag of Israel in the Urantia scheme for an intergalactic federation of world-governments.
Don Ware continues:
“I think the Bilderburgers [sic], the Trilateral Commission, and the Council on Foreign Relations in America is influenced by alien liaison.”
“I think many members of these groups recognize that having a government that can speak for all of the people of the world is a prerequisite to joining a galactic society.”
“Economies are coalescing into three major economic blocks, and advanced communication and transportation systems are allowing a great inter-mingling of societies.”
The Urantia cult is a spinoff from the 7th-Day Adventists who themselves spun off David Koresh’s Messianic Branch Davidians. The Branch Davidians met their tragic end in a bloody FBI siege in 1993 at Waco, Texas. (It is alleged that Hillary Rodham Clinton ordered the massacre.)
Waco (wacko?) is also the home of the alleged Bush-Fox-Martin signature in 2005 of a non-released document behind the “Security and Prosperity Partnership” of North America, to complete a regional union (“regionalism is Communism”, says Charlotte Iserbyt of NewsWithViews) on the pretext of 9/11.
The “Urantia Book” behind the cult is a faked “religious” document “channeled” by a member of the Kellogg family. The same family produced at least four members of the ominous “Skull & Bones” secret society.
The object of the Urantia cult is world government for the Earth (Urantia), where the Earth is just one among an infinite number of planets in an interstellar federation of planets, each with its own world government. The aliens inhabiting these “worlds of space” are all portrayed as “higher intelligences”, “advanced beings” whom we Urantians ought to emulate.
At the center of the whole federation is God on the middle planet. Which explains the reference of Paul Hellyer in the news clip to “one of God’s flying saucers”. This is pure Urantia Book. (And no, we don’t know yet if God is David Rockefeller.)
So the purpose for pretending to “channel” a 2000-page book to kick-start a new religion might well be sinister.
And, sinister it is when you discover the passages in the Urantia Book (the cult’s “Bible”) demanding a one-world government.
Now, world government is what the Canadian Action Party claims to oppose when addressing the public. But, one-world government is a religious tenet of the UFO cult manically pursued behind the scenes by Canadian Action Party founder Paul Hellyer and his conspiratorial Executive members.
The Canadian Action Party’s president, Paul Kemp, literally preaches Urantia on and off-line (see his Facebook page and his collection of “other worlds of space” web sites linked below). According to Kemp, the Urantia Book says:
134:6.4 Another world war will teach the so-called sovereign nations to form some sort of federation, thus creating the machinery for preventing small wars, wars between the lesser nations.
The malign intelligence behind the words “will teach” in that passage is too startling to be ignored. In the past few years, self-styled analyst Joel M. Skousen, nephew of W. Cleon Skousen who published The Naked Communist and The Naked Capitalist, has been warning that “they are planning a war for us”.
Says Skousen to Alex Jones, in the advertising film for his book Strategic Relocation (drumming up business for Skousen’s profession installing hi-tech nuclear bomb shelters for the mobile rich):
“Well, part of it is that they don’t understand the nature of the conspiracy. They don’t understand that there is a great powerful force not only to take down Liberty, which is what their agenda is, but to make sure that they don’t get the blame for it.
So, they are going to use — they blame it on anyone, they blame it on the free market, they blame it on “business cycle”. It’s not the business cycle, it’s the monetary cycle created by the Fed.
And ultimately, these people are going to escape blame, because they are planning a war for us. A third world-war. A nuclear war. Which in fact will wipe out a great deal of the financial centers and will let them to walk away and say, ‘It wasn’t our fault’.”
“The Fed” is the U.S. Federal Reserve bank, which is not a national bank but a private bank. The Federal Reserve is composed of all the same banking interests behind the Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA) which for over a century has engineered all the major wars, including World Wars I and II, financing both sides.
The goal of this Bankers’ protection racket was to push the free nations of the world to the bargaining table, there to create a world government. With the creation of the United Nations Organization in 1945, stage one has been accomplished. The table has been laid. Stage two is underway, and Hellyer and Company are playing “the alien card“.
We therefore have currently playing out before us, an apparently Marxist, Bankster-friendly Urantia UFO cult, hybridized with Christianity and with Zionist forces. For Paul Kemp’s Urantia web sites all use the Star of David and the flags of Israel and the United Nations as twin pennons of the desired World Order over Earth in an interplanetary federation.
All are pushing naive people to accept, on religious faith, the spirituality and “goodness” of David Rockefeller’s Trilateral Commission, his Marxist Council on Foreign Relations, and his pro-Communist Bilderbergers.
Enameled onto this religious tenet is the requirement that Urantia believers agree that national sovereignty is poisonous, and the cause of wars.
National sovereignty is not the cause of wars; the Bankers are the cause of wars. Wars could not be fought without financing. It is well known that the Rothschild bankers have financed both sides in most European wars for hundreds of years. They financed both sides in the last Napoleonic War, and capitalized on their advance knowledge of Napoleon’s defeat, to trick the British markets into a panic so the Rothschilds could buy up stock at rock-bottom prices. As a consequence, it is hotly rumored, the Rothschilds thus acquired control of the Bank of England.
Another passage from the Urantia Book, as posted by the CAP’s Paul Kemp, gives a very strong hint as to who is really behind this phony religion and UFO cult:
134:6.11 Under global government the national groups will be afforded a real opportunity to realize and enjoy the personal liberties of genuine democracy. The fallacy of self-determination will be ended. With global regulation of money and trade will come the new era of world-wide peace. Soon may a global language evolve, and there will be at least some hope of sometime having a global religion — or religions with a global viewpoint.
Let me read a little from Vladimir Lenin’s Collected Works, page 499, Volume 19, March-December 1913 in a letter to S.G. Shahumyan of December 6th, 1913:
“Why will you not understand the psychology that is so important in the national question and which, if the slightest coercion is applied, besmirches, soils, nullifies the undoubtedly progressive importance of centralisation, large states and a uniform language?”
Lenin continues, linking his view of how a global language must “evolve” spurred by the development of a “capitalist” economy:
“But the economy is still more important than psychology: in Russia we already have a capitalist economy, which makes the Russian language essential. But you have no faith in the power of the economy and want to prop it up with the crutches of the rotten police regime.”
Apparently, Paul Hellyer and the Canadian Action Party are propping up Marxist world government on the crutches of a phony UFO cult.
On the topic of “democracy”, Lenin had this to say in his September 7th, 1913 article in Pravda (page 357, Vol. 19, Collected Works), although when Lenin says “alien” he probably doesn’t have in mind the inducement to world government promoted by Hellyer.
“Working-class democracy counterposes to the nationalist wrangling of the various bourgeois parties over questions of language, etc., the demand for the unconditional unity and complete solidarity of workers of all nationalities in all working-class organisations — trade union, co-operative, consumers’, educational and all others — in contradistinction to any kind of bourgeois nationalism. Only this type of unity and solidarity can uphold democracy and defend the interests of the workers against capital — which is already international and is becoming more so — and promote the development of mankind towards a new way of life that is alien to all privileges and all exploitation.”
But what of the Canadian Action Party’s “global religion”! Have the Marxists conceded the value of blending the behavioral goals of their materialist religion with the enforcement function of religion over “primitive instincts” to free choice and self-determination?
Perhaps Maurice Strong will emerge with a more complex version of Urantia, itself, linked to phony man-made “climate change”?
Urantia is pretty deadly stuff; and it’s targeted to securing compliance with a Bankster-engineered overthrow of Western Civilization by a naive element of that same population.
Basically, when the views that the Evilarchy wants people to hold become tenets held on faith; they are no longer open to challenge in the real world outside that hypnotically wobbling orb of the imaginary universe created by Urantia around its advocates.
The Urantia cult as promoted by Heller converts the Banksters and their Marxist Council on Foreign Relations, their Trilateral Commission and extended networks into collaborators of Christ to create a world government “paradise” on Earth, as part of an intergalactic federation where it is possible to voyage to the middle planet and meet God; (or perhaps David Rockefeller).
Bloggers including Tim Boucher have questioned whether Hellyer has lost his mind. Indeed, I believe there is calculated method to Hellyer’s apparent madness. His “far out” Urantia cult enables a real political power grab advanced through mind control exerted over a fringe element with limited capacities for critical judgment.
As for me, I’m betting that “God” will turn out to be a trans-humanized, brain-transplanted Evelyn de Rothschild, ensconced upon the Divine Hijacked British Throne at the center of Kemp’s wacky Universe.
I hope the galactic truth about Paul Hellyer and the Canadian Action Party has set you free!
Merry Christmas, everybody, and a Cosmic New Year!
Paul Kemp’s Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/Paul8Kemp
A few of Paul Kemp’s Urantia web sites:
http://www.machiventa.org/OWS/2006-10-10-OWS-WP-01.htm
http://www.machiventa.org/MM/MM-PaulKemp-Web-Sites-00-WP.htm
http://www.cap-mp.com/ (This one’s the Canadian Action Party, Maritimes)
http://www.machiventamelchizedek.org/
http://www.machiventamelchizedek.org/Urantia-Book/The-Urantia-Papers/000-Papers_All-Index.htm
http://www.machiventamelchizedek.org/Urantia-Book/The-Urantia-Papers/074-Paper_74_ADAM-AND-EVE.htm
Other quick statements of Hellyer’s on alien contact:
DOWNLOAD: https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZveBxZ0pvcPawBEtLBVW2IXmPogQP3oHFV
Hellyer: Decades Ago, Aliens Wanted to Help Us!
DOWNLOAD: https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZ4nBxZdPYMppxfzA4vCJ0kM215I7dnBzGV
Hellyer: Has America Developed Flying Saucers?
DOWNLOAD: https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZbnBxZeqtN8137TjYQmjpo6EaV301MYf7k
Hellyer: “Paranoid” Military Disdain Aliens as “Partners in Development”
For another fun read, look for “The Canadians are getting ready for the aliens. Are you?” by “The New Tim Boucher” posted on November 27, 2005 at 2:53, now in The Wayback Machine.
1 In 2003, Paul Hellyer tried to merge the Canadian Action Party with the New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP). The NDP has always been a full member of the Socialist International (SI), whose platform is world government (Oslo Declaration, 1962). The fact that Hellyer tried to merge the CAP with the NDP proves that Hellyer is in favor of world government.
The text of the Declaration of the Socialist International endorsed at the Council Conference held in Oslo on 2-4 June 1962, is online at the web site of the SI, itself.
Source: http://www.socialistinternational.org/viewArticle.cfm?ArticleID=2133
Backup @ Calameo: http://en.calameo.com/books/000747447c87ba69f7cac
“SOCIALISM AND WORLD PEACE
“The ultimate objective of the parties of the Socialist International is nothing less than world government. As a first step towards it, they seek to strengthen the United Nations so that it may become more and more effective as an instrument for maintaining peace.”
2 Back around 2009, a concerned member of the Canadian Action Party who was inside and able to observe the “pro” world government activity of the CAP and its Urantia UFO cult, began to leak documents on these hypocrites who were pretending to save Canada’s “sovereignty”.
Thank you very much to Terry Le Blanc, Former Organizational Chair for the Canadian Action Party, for leaking all those nuggets on Hellyer, Fogal, Moulden, and the CAP’s world-government Urantia cult. Merry Christmas, Terry! Sadly, Terry’s pages are no longer online, not even in The Wayback Machine.
Leave a comment Posted in Bankers & Big Business Love Socialism, Communism in Canada, Communism in the world, Communist Regional Union, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Merry Christmas!, North American Union Tagged Alex Jones, aliens, Andrew J. Moulden, Bilderberg, Branch Davidians, Canada, Canadian Action Party, CAP, CFR), Charlotte Iserbyt, Christianity, Christmas, communist, Communist Regional Union, Connie Fogal, Connie Fogal-Rankin, Connie Rankin, Council on Foreign Relations, Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, David Koresh, David Rockefeller, flying saucers, galactic friends, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Joel M. Skousen, Marxist, Max Warburg, NewsWithViews, North American Union, Paul Hellyer, Paul Kemp, Paul Theodore Hellyer, Paul Warburg, RT, Security and Prosperity Partnership, Skull & Bones, Sophie Shevardnadze, SPP, Star of Bethlehem, Trilateral Commission, U.S. Air Force Lt.-Col Don Ware (retired), UFO, UFO's, Urantia, W. Cleon SKousen, Waco (Texas), world government, Zionism
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Reflecting on Continuing Medical Education
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“Creepy, Dreadful, Wonderful Parasites” Feb. 15: A Parasitologist’s View of the World
Every week, Mayo Clinic microbiologist Bobbi Pritt, M.D., posts a new Parasite Wonders case. In this week’s case, structures were seen in the stool of a young child. What is the identification?
By Bobbi Pritt, M.D. • February 15, 2017
Presenting MLS through Mayo Clinic Exploring Program
Ali Addesso, a student in Mayo Clinic’s Medical Laboratory Science program, discusses her experience in presenting the program to local high school students through Mayo’s Exploring Program.
By Ali Addesso • February 15, 2017
“Creepy, Dreadful, Wonderful Parasites” Feb. 8: A Parasitologist’s View of the World
Every week, Mayo Clinic microbiologist Bobbi Pritt, M.D., posts a new Parasite Wonders case. In this week’s case, structures were seen in a concentrated stool specimen and measured approximately 75 micrometers in greatest dimension (2.5 micrometers per line on the scale bar). What is the identification?
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Ergonomics in Action: What Is the Most Important Part of Having a Good Workstation?
Employees often ask our Ergonomics Department, “What is the most important part of having a good workstation?” The answer—A fully adjustable chair. Sandra Woolley, Ph.D., Certified Professional Ergonomist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, provides an overview.
By Sandra Woolley, Ph.D. • February 7, 2017
Mayo Clinic PathWays: A Collaborative Weblog for Global Pathology Education
Andrew Norgan, M.D, Ph.D., Chief Resident for the Mayo Clinic Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology Anatomic and Clinical Pathology Residency Program, provides an overview of Mayo Clinic PathWays.
By Andrew Norgan, M.D, Ph.D. • February 2, 2017
Every week, Mayo Clinic microbiologist Bobbi Pritt, M.D., posts a new Parasite Wonders case. In this week’s case, small white motile objects were seen in a infant’s stool specimen by the mother, and a stool ova and parasite exam were ordered. What is the identification?
Learning with a Twist
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By Alex Harker • February 1, 2017
Staffing to Workload: Direct Effort
Mike Baisch, Systems Engineer at Mayo Clinic, discusses the mechanics of performing a staffing-to-workload analysis in the testing laboratories. There are three primary areas of focus with staffing needs: direct effort, indirect effort, and operational needs. This post focuses on direct effort.
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“Creepy, Dreadful, Wonderful Parasites” Jan. 25: A Parasitologist’s View of the World
Every week, Mayo Clinic microbiologist Bobbi Pritt, M.D., posts a new Parasite Wonders case. This week’s case is an arthropod, which was found on a sandy beach in South America. It is approximately 1 mm in greatest dimension. What is the identification?
By Kelley Luedke • January 25, 2017
Introductions: What, So What, and Now What?
Justin Kreuter, M.D., a clinical pathologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, will be blogging monthly about his experiences in laboratory medicine. This post provides an introduction to Dr. Kreuter, his work, and his blog.
By Justin Kreuter, M.D. • January 19, 2017
Every week, Mayo Clinic microbiologist Bobbi Pritt, M.D., posts a new Parasite Wonders case. This week’s case is from an elderly institutionalized patient with diffuse thickened skin on her arms and back. A crust from her skin was submitted for examination, and scrapings showed the following images. What is the identification?
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A Career in Medical Laboratory Science: One Student’s Journey
Interested in science and helping people? Kate McKeown, a student in Mayo Clinic’s medical laboratory science class of 2017, discusses how medical laboratory science might be the career option for you.
By Kate McKeown • January 18, 2017
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GT’s Column
HomeWorldVenezuela: Guaido under pressure over alleged misappropriation of aid funds
Venezuela: Guaido under pressure over alleged misappropriation of aid funds
June 19, 2019 News784 World Comments Off on Venezuela: Guaido under pressure over alleged misappropriation of aid funds
(Telegraph.co.uk) – Venezuela’s US-backed opposition on Monday came under increasing scrutiny for a case in which two activists allegedly misappropriated funds designated to help Venezuelan security forces who deserted and crossed into Colombia.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido said his diplomatic representative in Colombia will on Tuesday provide Colombian investigators with information about an opposition probe of the case. Guaido, who is trying to topple Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, says anyone found guilty of wrongdoing must be punished.
“Dictatorships cover up corruption,” Guaido tweeted. “We don’t.”
Still, the alleged theft was a blow to an opposition movement that frequently accuses Maduro and his associates of large-scale corruption, contributing to the economic and humanitarian crisis that Venezuela has endured for years.
Maduro was quick to highlight the alleged opposition theft, saying it shows Guaido’s camp cannot be trusted.
“Corruption isn’t new in the opposition,” he said. “The evidence is coming out.”
Hundreds of Venezuelan security forces heeded an opposition call to leave their posts in February, around the time that Guaido tried to deliver U.S.-provided aid from Colombia and Brazil into neighboring Venezuela. The attempt collapsed when Venezuelan forces loyal to Maduro blocked aid trucks and clashes broke out.
Many of the Venezuelan security forces who fled into Colombia ended up in limbo, staying in hotels and other lodgings with no means of supporting themselves. Working with Colombian authorities, the Venezuelan opposition set up a plan to provide food and shelter for deserters and any family members who had joined them.
Humberto Calderon Berti, the top opposition envoy in Colombia, has said he started an internal investigation into the alleged corruption two months ago after a tip from Colombian intelligence. He will present the results of the probe to the Colombian attorney general’s office, according to Guaido.
The two suspects in the case were removed from their jobs after the internal investigation started, according to the Venezuelan opposition. They are currently in Colombia.
In January, Guaido declared that he was the rightful leader of Venezuela and that Maduro’s re-election last year was a sham. The United States led dozens of countries in recognizing Guaido’s claim, and imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s already deteriorating oil industry.
Maduro has defied the pressure, maintaining the support of Venezuela’s military leadership as well as allies Cuba and Russia.
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Home National Crime Should The Most Violent Society Lead?
Patrice Ayme
USA Violence Is Not Just About Guns. Jail, God, & Paying For Everything Is Also Part of It.
“International” authorities keep pressuring Greece to conform to “austerity“. But what does “international” mean? It means the domineering socio-economic order, inspired by? Inspired by violence. As I will show.
The basic story of the present Greek tragedy is the following: (some) plutocrats stole (gigantic amounts of) money from their accomplices the banksters. States and institutions (IMF, ECB, Fed, etc.) then stepped in, and replenished the banks which their own management, banksters, and plutocrats had just stolen. No attempt was made to recover the money from the plutocrats who had stolen the, now apparently, but not really, ruined, plutocrats (pulling the strings from behind).
Then the governments and said “international” institutions turned around and asked the Greek Public to compensate for all the money those worthies had given to the banks. The same request was made everywhere, thus all sorts of budgets, from social services, to defense, to fundamental research, were slashed (even in the USA; the big exception is… China, where bankers toe the line fixed by the state more carefully).
This replenishment of the banksters by the Public was, and is, the world’s greatest fraud, ever perpetrated. It’s closely related to the following. Where did the money go?
70 trillion dollars (70,000 billion dollars) of stolen money rest in Tax Havens (source: Alain Bauer, a renowned world criminologist). Not even counting the hidden money in the world’s two largest tax havens, Britain (Great or not), and the USA.
The worthies, our great leaders, having bought their own elections, know the ropes… Or know enough about the ropes, not to ask too many questions. Clearly this situation, overall, this gigantic conspiracy, this cover-up, is, all together, an act of the greatest violence.
Could it be related to the enormous violence of the country which leads this show? The image above are some international comparisons; the USA leads in violence.
(Also, it would be good to note that homicide by guns is just one metric of violence in the USA; there are worse ones, such as having to fork out 100K for a university education with the elite. Interestingly, there are no national statistics, in the USA, on police violence; judicial violence can be measured, by the millions which “justice” processes… violently; no such luck with those police processes… Or should we say, dispatches?)
Violence is both cause and consequence, feeding on itself. Violence is not just about killing people. Incarcerating them is also violent. Even The Economist recently observed that the USA was “Jail Nation”. Having a violent God, accepting money rules all, including elections, is also part of the violence.
No less than 8 million citizens of the USA are either in jail, or under suspended sentences, probation, etc. In a society with that much legal (and thus, police) violence it is only natural that it spills all over.
My point? Who controls, who has built, most of the world’s institutions? The USA (observe the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, and where the IMF and the World Bank sit: not even half a mile from the White House). So, if the ideology and practice of the USA is impregnated with violence, it’s an ideology of violence which controls everything, and especially economic theory.
Even Academia is hyper violent in the USA; to attend Harvard what you need is beaucoup bucks. Harvard and the like cost around 100,000 dollars a year. That’s why I call them “plutocratic universities“.
Obama himself pointed out last week that the homicidal rate in the USA is 49 times that of France. That’s satanic. I know many Americans are bad, but do they deserve to be eliminated at 50 times the rate of Frenchmen?
Homicides, guns and violence are related markers, and marks of society. There is a relationship with the Human Development Index. Notice, in all these comparisons, that small countries don’t really matter. Comparing republics such as France and the USA has meaning: both are republics, both have independent defense systems, and worldwide empires (France controls nearly 11 million square kilometers, the USA nearly double this).
However, a small poodle such as Sweden will follow the orders Washington gives, and Luxembourg, with less than 1% of the population of France, and no industry, but for corruption, follow the wishes of all and any plutocrat.
Main article: List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI
The Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI)[9] is a “measure of the average level of human development of people in a society once inequality is taken into account.”
2016 estimates for 2015
Change in rank from previous year[9]
Change from previous year
Norway 0.949
Australia 0.939
Switzerland 0.939
Germany 0.926
Denmark 0.925
Singapore 0.925
Netherlands 0.924
Ireland 0.923
Iceland 0.921
Canada 0.920
United States 0.920
Hong Kong 0.917
New Zealand 0.915
Sweden 0.913
Liechtenstein 0.912
United Kingdom 0.909
Japan 0.903
South Korea 0.901
Israel 0.899
Luxembourg 0.898
France 0.897
Belgium 0.896
Finland 0.895
Austria 0.893
Slovenia 0.890
Italy 0.887
Spain 0.884
Czech Republic 0.878
Greece 0.866
Brunei 0.865
Estonia 0.865
Andorra 0.858
Cyprus 0.856
Malta 0.856
Qatar 0.856
Poland 0.855
Lithuania 0.848
Chile 0.847
Saudi Arabia 0.847
Slovakia 0.845
Portugal 0.843
United Arab Emirates 0.840
Hungary 0.836
Latvia 0.830
Argentina 0.827
Croatia 0.827
Bahrain 0.824
Montenegro 0.807
Russia 0.804
Romania 0.802
Kuwait 0.800
Countries in the top quartile of HDI (“very high human development” group) with a missing IHDI: New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Liechtenstein, Brunei, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Andorra, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Cuba, and Kuwait
The most violent country ought not to lead: it’s as if one chose the local violent drunkard as the leader. However, it’s precisely because they are stupid and violent that bullies lead. Thus a paradox: the worst, are most esteemed.
Just after five Islamist attack in five countries around the old Roman Imperium, killed more than 70 people in 24 hours, including more than 40 in Tunisia, it may feel strange that I focus on the USA. However, Americanism and Islamism are directly related, these days.
Islamism was quasi-inexistent in, say, 1948. It is the implementation of the Great Bitter Lake Conspiracy, a plot elaborated in Washington, and more exactly from the “democratic” advisers around president Roosevelt, which fabricated the rule of Islamism (though the good works and financing of the Saudi plutocrats).
The mentality imposed by lords of the USA brought us Islamism, and the sort of tricks played on Greece. And they belong to a class. This so-called “Deep State” was animated, already a century ago, by individuals such as the Harriman brothers. (The Wikipedia link gives none of the savory details, where countries such as France, Nazi Germany, and the USSR figure prominently.)
There is a war against democracy, but its ways are subtle enough to escape the understanding of the baffled masses.
Judicial Violence
Tags: Austerity
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It’s Official: Police Were Ordered To Stand Down And Let The Baltimore Riots Rage Out Of Control
12 Unanswered Questions About The Baltimore Riots That They Don’t Want Us To Ask
Times: New York Heavens For World’s Wealthiest Criminals
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13 tourists robbed at gunpoint
NALINEE SEELAL
Thirteen people, including 12 Bahamians and a taxi driver, were robbed at gunpoint on Saturday night and relieved of a quantity of US currency, cell phones, jewellery and other valuables, including a gold Rolex watch, valued at US$10,000.
Police said around 10.30 pm on Saturday, the visitors hired the driver of a yellow-band maxi taxi to take them to the Insomnia fete in Chaguaramas.
In Carenage, the maxi stopped because of traffic. A gunman and his accomplices entered the maxi and robbed the tourists.
The assailants then fled the scene and the driver of the maxi turned around and drove to the Central Police Station in Port of Spain where he reported the incident.
The tourists were interviewed until the early hours of the morning and returned to the Hyatt Regency Hotel where they were resting yesterday.
The visitors told police that they were supposed to leave on Ash Wednesday, but because of the robbery they were contemplating leaving yesterday or Tuesday and were attempting to make arrangements for their departures.
The victims said they were advised about the crime situation in the country but never thought they would be victims.
Some of them told police that they came to Trinidad before and their stay here were incident free until now. They have vowed not to return until the crime situation is dealt with,
One of the visitors told Newsday, in his country people sleep with their windows open and move about without the fear of becoming victims of crime.
She said Saturday’s incident will remain etched in her mind forever. The visitor was thankful no one was injured, but said she was anxious to return home.
Yesterday, a team of officers led by acting Snr Supt Ajith Persad and Inspectors Godfrey Vincent, Harvey Jawahir, Sgt Narine and others teamed up and carried out searches for the suspects in the robbery.
Police also reported that they had information that other people were robbed on their way to the Insomnia fete on Saturday night.
The team of officers carried out several searches yesterday in a bid to recover the stolen items. Police said arrests are imminent and advised the public that it was against the law to purchase stolen items. Investigations are continuing.
Reply to "13 tourists robbed at gunpoint"
I will never steal again says woman, 71
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Bandit beaten senseless
A 26-year-old man was yesterday badly beaten when he tried to rob a Barataria house.…
Woman robbed, raped, thrown out car
A 34-year-old woman from West Trinidad was yesterday nursing bruises after being abducted, raped, robbed…
Judge rejects two property developers
A High Court judge has dismissed the application of two property developers for an extension…
Relatives threaten police with voodoo
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Turkey rescuers pull 5-year-old girl from rubble
Associated Press / 05:36 PM February 07, 2019
Rescue workers try to remove rubble from an eight-storey building which collapsed a day earlier in Istanbul, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. An eight-storey building collapsed in Istanbul Wednesday, and Istanbul Gov. Ali Yerlikaya told reporters early Thursday that rescue teams working overnight pulled 12 people out of the rubble with injuries and at least three people are confirmed dead. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
ISTANBUL — Turkish emergency services have pulled out a 5-year-old girl from the rubble of an eight-story apartment building in Istanbul about 18 hours after it collapsed.
The girl, Havva Tekgoz, was carried to a waiting ambulance on a stretcher as one person in a crowd of onlookers chanted “God is great!”
Overnight, a 9-year-old boy was also rescued from the debris.
At least three people have been found dead in the rubble, and 13 people — including Tekgoz — have been rescued.
Istanbul Gov. Ali Yerlikaya told reporters early Thursday that three of those pulled out of the rubble by rescue teams working overnight were in serious condition.
It was not immediately clear how many people were still trapped in the debris of the building on the Asian side of Istanbul in the mostly residential Kartal district.
The building, with 43 people living in 14 apartments, collapsed on Wednesday. The cause was under investigation but authorities said the top three floors had been illegally built. /kga
LP solons vow support to Robredo amid sedition case
Dengvaxia mess triggered measles outbreak, says DILG chief
TAGS: building collapse, International news, Kartal, news, tragedy, Turkey, world, world news
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Judge allows Democrats’ lawsuit against Trump to proceed
Associated Press / 09:16 AM June 26, 2019
WASHINGTON – A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a lawsuit that accuses President Trump of profiting off the presidency in violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause can move forward.
U.S. District Judge Emmett G. Sullivan of the District of Columbia ruled against Justice Department lawyers who sought a mid-case appeal to a higher court and a stay on proceedings.
President Donald Trump speaks as he receives an an update on the Fentanyl epidemic, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The case brought by nearly 200 congressional Democrats argues that Trump has been accepting gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval. Trump, unlike modern presidents before him, has declined to fully divest from his businesses.
The lawmakers say Trump’s unwillingness to ask permission is akin to denying lawmakers the right to do their jobs.
The judge’s decision clears the way for the lawmakers to begin subpoenas for information.
Tuesday’s ruling came as Trump was heading to a roundtable event and fundraiser with supporters at his namesake hotel in Washington.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi welcomed the ruling. As the Trump administration largely stonewalls congressional investigations, House Democrats have increasingly turned to the courts for relief. It’s the latest of several recent court rulings in their favor.
Hawaii expands power to block telescope protesters
“No one is above the law – not even the president,” Pelosi said in a statement. “Once again, the courts have resoundingly reaffirmed our efforts to hold the President accountable for corruption, and ensure that the President acts in the public interest, not his own interest.”
One of the lead lawmakers in the suit, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., tweeted, “This tremendous victory assures that President Trump will be held accountable to the Constitution & the American people — a historic triumph for legally mandated transparency.”
The case argues that the president has received foreign government favors, such as Chinese government trademarks for his companies, payments for hotel room stays and event-space rentals by representatives of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and proceeds from Chinese or Emirati-linked government purchases of office space in Trump Tower.
Ethics experts say the constitutional emoluments clause was created by the Founding Fathers to ensure that government officials act with the interests of the American public in mind instead of their own pocketbooks.
Unlike prior presidents, Trump chose not to divest from his assets and he remains the owner of the Trump Organization, a sprawling business empire with 550 entities in more than 20 countries that include branded hotels, golf courses, licensing deals and other interests.
His Washington, D.C., hotel is near the White House and has become a magnet for foreign governments, previously hosting groups tied to Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. /gsg
Police release more than 1,000 files from Smollett probe
TAGS: Democrat, lawsuit, proft, Trump, US news
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August 12, 2010 | History
3 editions of 1824 found in the catalog. Add another edition?
Eric Flint
1824 Close
Are you sure you want to remove 1824 from your list?
The Arkansas War
1 edition
by Eric Flint
2 Want to read
Published November 28, 2006 by Del Rey .
United States in fiction, African Americans in fiction, Indians of North America, Indians of North America in fiction, In library, Fiction, OverDrive, Arkansas in fiction, Protected DAISY, African Americans, History
1817-1825, 19th century
In the newest volume of this exhilarating series, Eric Flint continues to reshape American history, imagining how a continent and its people might have taken a different path to its future. With 1824: The Arkansas War, he spins an astounding and provocative saga of heroism, battlefield action, racial conflict, and rebellion as a nation recovering from war is plunged into a dangerous era of secession.Buffered by Spanish possessions to the south and by free states and two rivers to the north, Arkansas has become a country of its own: a hybrid confederation of former slaves, Native American Cherokee and Creek clans, and white abolitionists--including one charismatic warrior who has gone from American hero to bete noire. Irish-born Patrick Driscol is building a fortune and a powerful army in the Arkansas Confederacy, inflaming pro-slavers in Washington and terrifying moderates as well. Caught in the middle is President James Monroe, the gentlemanly Virginian entering his final year in office with a demagogic House Speaker, Henry Clay, nipping at his heels and fanning the fires of war. But Driscol, whose black artillerymen smashed both the Louisiana militia in 1820 and the British in New Orleans, remains a magnet for revolution. And fault lines are erupting throughout the young republic--so that every state, every elected official, and every citizen will soon be forced to choose a side. For a country whose lifeblood is infected with the slave trade, the war of 1824 will be a bloody crisis of conscience, politics, economics, and military maneuvering that will draw in players from as far away as England. For such men as Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Sam Houston, charismatic war hero Andrew Jackson, and the violent abolitionist John Brown, it is a time to change history itself.Filled with fascinating insights into some of America's most intriguing historical figures, 1824: The Arkansas War confirms Eric Flint as a true master of alternate history, a novelist who brings to bear exhaustive research, remarkable intuition, and a great storyteller's natural gifts to chronicle the making of our nation as it might have been.From the Hardcover edition.
OL9840290M
Better World Books $4.48 (used)
More by Eric Flint
May 29, 2012 Edited by ImportBot import new book
February 13, 2012 Edited by ImportBot import new book
April 24, 2010 Edited by Open Library Bot Fixed duplicate goodreads IDs.
{{Citation |publisher = Del Rey |ol = 9840290M |isbn = 9780345465696 |author = Eric Flint |title = 1824 |publication-date = November 28, 2006 }}
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You are here: Home > News > REC becomes Ban the Box employer
REC becomes Ban the Box employer
01 March 2018 10:32 am
Ban the Box calls on UK employers to give ex-offenders a fair chance to compete for jobs by removing the tick box from application forms and asking about criminal convictions later in the recruitment process. Today we are delighted to announce REC, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation as the latest signatory.
The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) has signed up to the Ban the Box campaign, committing to fair recruitment for people with criminal records. As a result, the REC will not ask questions about criminal records at the application stage of the recruitment process but will ask the questions at a later stage.
Later this year, REC will launch a practical guide, which has been developed with charities Business in the Community, Nacro and Unlock, to help agencies with the recruitment of people with criminal records. The guide will outline steps they can take to ensure their processes are compliant, fair and inclusive.
“The people with criminal records we meet tell us how disheartening it is to know that employers see their past mistakes before even looking at their skills and talents. Even small details like taking a tick box off an application form or delaying questions about criminal records until later in the hiring process can make a big difference. The Recruitment & Employment Confederation is leading the sector in a more inclusive approach to recruitment. We’re pleased to support them to improve recruiter and employer practices and give more people a chance to turn their lives around through work.”
Grace Mehanna, Business in the Community Employment and Skills Director
REC chief executive Kevin Green says:
“Diversity and inclusion in hiring is critical for organisations who want to attract the best talent available. That’s why we want to tackle the issues that people with criminal records face when trying to find a job. The REC is proud to sign up to Ban the Box and we are improving our recruitment processes in line with this.
“The recruitment industry has a key role to play in supporting people with criminal records to get into work, so we’re helping our members put inclusive hiring at the forefront. Recruiters are in a unique position with the power to transform people’s lives, so they need to take steps to ensure their processes are fair and give everyone the chance to succeed.”
1. For more information, contact the REC Press Office on 0207 009 2157/2192 or pressoffice@rec.uk.com. An ISDN line is available for interviews on 0207 021 0584
Ban the Box calls on UK employers to give people with criminal records a fair chance to compete for jobs by removing the tick box from application forms and asking about criminal convictions later in the recruitment process.
Find out more about Ban the Box >>
2. Jobs transform lives, which is why we are building the best recruitment industry in the world. As the professional body for recruitment, we’re determined to make businesses more successful by helping them secure the people they need. We are absolutely passionate and totally committed in this pursuit for recruiters, employers, and the people they hire. Find out more about the Recruitment & Employment Confederation at www.rec.uk.com.
Partner with us to leverage intergenerational working
Solving the challenge of plastic waste on the environment
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Biogeochemical aspects of the New Zealand sector of the Southern Ocean
Kirchlechner, Thomas M.
PhD thesis (28.78Mb)
Cite this item: Kirchlechner, T. (1999). Biogeochemical aspects of the New Zealand sector of the Southern Ocean (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy). University of Otago. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10523/6231
The main focus of this study was an investigation of phytoplankton processes across the Southland Front off the South Island of New Zealand. The Southland Front is part of the Subtropical Convergence, a major circumglobal oceanic frontal system. A suite of measurements of temporal and spatial changes in hydrography, macro-nutrient levels, phytoplankton biomass, community structure (phytoplankton pigments) and primary production were undertaken between September 1996 and March 1999. Seasonal patterns of algal dominance and succession varied both between water masses and interannually. Despite lower macro-nutrient levels than in the water masses further offshore, neritic waters exhibited the greatest phytoplankton biomass (as expressed by chlorophyll a concentrations) in all seasons. It became apparent that in summer phytoplankton growth in coastal waters is limited by nitrate and/or phosphate and by silicate in offshore waters. Subtropical and subantarctic waters exhibited a pronounced subsurface chlorophyll a maximum in spring and summer. The reasons for the formation of this feature in subtropical and tropical waters are known, but the mechanisms responsible in subantarctic water are not clear. Using surface primary production and solar irradiance measurements, water column integrated areal production was calculated and extrapolated to annual primary production. Primary production, particularly during the spring phytoplankton bloom, was then converted into macro-nutrient uptake and compared to the measured macro-nutrient drawdown in spring. For a finer temporal resolution, measurements of changes in biomass (chlorophyll a) and macro-nutrients over the annual cycle were also carried out weekly at the local beach and revealed the timing, magnitude and duration of the spring bloom and the associated consumption of macro-nutrients. These results were compared to those of the coastal stations along the Southland Front transect and proved useful to help with estimating annual primary production along this transect. A third study area included transects across the Southern Ocean between New Zealand and the Ross Sea, with an opportunity to study oceanic boundaries other than the Subtropical Convergence and in particular, apply phytoplankton pigment analysis. It was demonstrated that levels of phytoplankton pigments and hence the phytoplankton species composition change significantly when major oceanic fronts are crossed, and led to the assignment of 'pigment signatures' to specific water masses.
Advisor: Peake, Barrie; Boyd, Philip; Hunter, Keith
Degree Discipline: Chemistry
Supplementary data available on CD-ROM attached to print version
Chemistry [148]
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Billy, the Man
Valdes, Alisa
"Megan Garcia returns to New Mexico after years away, to tend to Mama Bryant, the loving (and now dying) ranch owner who took Megan in as one of her own after she was orphaned. Heartbroken by Mama's illness, and haunted by the ghost of her father, Megan finds herself still deeply in love with Mama's only son, bad boy Billy Bryant. Older than Megan, he'd always ignored her when they were kids. But they're both grownups now, and the chemistry between them is explosive. But is it enough to overcome all the taboos and divisions that separate them?."-- Provided by publisher.
Publisher: Los Gatos, Calif. : [Publisher not identified], 2012
Characteristics: 1 online resource (67 pages)
Additional Contributors: enki Library (Online service)
Read more reviews of Billy, the Man at iDreamBooks.com
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HOW TO: Use Advanced Twitter Search To Find a Job [VIDEO]
By Jehangir Irani 2011-01-08 14:58:38 UTC
Looking for a job is never an easy task. But, in the Internet age, there are certain tools at our disposal that can help job seekers focus on what's out there. One of these tools is Twitter.
In this screencast, we'll show you how Advanced Twitter Search can help you find a job by using hashtags, geolocation and a little ingenuity.
Have you found a job using Twitter? Would you try something like this for your next job search? Let us know in the comments section below.
Social Media Job Listings
Every week we put out a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we post a huge range of job listings, we've selected some of the top social media opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!
Buzz Builder/Marketing Intern at Likeable Media in Boston, MA.
Social/Emerging Media Manager at Toys"R"Us in Wayne, NJ.
Sr. Manager Social Media Marketing at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, NY.
Social Media Strategist at LivingSocial in Washington, DC.
Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com in Chicago, IL.
More Job Search Resources from Mashable:
- 6 Ways to Score a Job Through Twitter
- HOW TO: Land a Job at Twitter
- 19 Resources to Help You Land a Job in 2011
- HOW TO: Score a Job Through Facebook
- 5 Ways to Get a Job Through YouTube
Images courtesy of iStockphoto, geopaul, and pagadesign.
Topics: advanced search, How To, job search, Job Search Series, Jobs, Social Media, Twitter, Video, YouTube
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Offices.org.uk > Serviced Offices > Gravesend Serviced Offices
Serviced Office Space in Gravesend
The riverside town of Gravesend, which is steeped in history, is very well connected. It's close to the A2 and M25 for road access and the high speed train service from Gravesend gets you to St Pancras is about 25 minutes.
At lunch times there's a range of places to get something to eat or drink in Gravesend including several popular traditional riverside pubs.
The serviced offices in Gravesend on this page are in the heart of the town centre, near the council offices and civic centre, and there's also office space in nearby Northfleet very close to Ebbsfleet International station from where there are regular services in to continental Europe.
Serviced Offices Gravesend
Waterman House Business Centre, 1 Lord Street, DA12
This impressive serviced office business centre is in the heart of Gravesend town centre, just opposite the main civic centre and close to ample public parking. A full range of services are available in these well furnished offices including: a staffed reception during business hours, 24 hour a...
352 yards from Gravesend station · 0.8 miles from Tilbury Riverside station · 2 miles from Northfleet station · 2 miles from Tilbury Docks · 2.2 miles from Ebbsfleet International station
The Old Rectory, Springhead Road, Northfleet, DA11
This charming serviced offices are located in Northfleet, Kent, close to Gravesend. Based in a recently-refurbished Grade II former rectory, the business centre provides good quality office space in an attractive setting. There are meeting rooms available and breakout areas, too. The business ...
0.7 miles from Northfleet station · 0.8 miles from Ebbsfleet International station · 1.4 miles from Gravesend station · 1.7 miles from Tilbury Docks · 1.7 miles from Tilbury Riverside station
Fleet House, Springhead Enterprise Park, Northfleet, DA11
Fleet House at Springhead Enterprise Park in Northfleet is home to a new business centre. The professional space offers a great array of amenities at a fantastic, competitive rate. Suitable for business of any size and nature, this centre boasts furnished space, fast internet and 24-hour access ?...
Swanscombe Office Space
Dartford Office Space
Rochester Office Space
Chatham Office Space
Gravesend News
Tuesday 7th September 2010
Offices.org.uk is a new office portal from Uretopia Limited providing news from the office and commercial property sector, as well as serviced offic...
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Top Japanese pharma companies join forces for global R&D project
HannahBlake
A new $100m pioneering partnership has been set up between five of Japan’s largest pharma companies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Japanese government, with the aim of funding international research into neglected tropical diseases that affect the poor.
The first project funded by this new partnership will allow scientists to have access to five Japanese pharma companies’ compound libraries in order to search for new drug candidates in the areas of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, among others.
The five companies involved are Astellas, Eisai, Daiichi Sankyo, Shionogi and Takeda, who have all agreed to join forces, each pledging $1 million over five years.
This project is a turnaround for Japanese pharma, who have been slower than their Western counterparts to invest in emerging markets.
Japanese drugmakers open ‘libraries’ in $100 million health project (Reuters)
Japan in pioneering partnership to fund global health research (Financial Times)
Don't miss your daily pharmaphorum news.
SUBSCRIBE free here.
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Tarah Inam-McDermot / November 22, 2017
This UCL Girl Can Week: Dodgeball
T’arah Inam-McDermott reports on the Panther’s first league match of the season and interviews captain, Tamara Höfer, on her thoughts about dodgeball and This UCL Girl Can Week
Dodgeball is one of UCL’s fastest growing sports societies and has been running very successfully for 6 years. Having entered two teams (UCL Panthers A and UCL Panthers B) in the Women’s University League for the very first time ever, and having placed third in the league last year (the best result out of all our university teams!), these dodgeball girls are ready to show us exactly what they can do.
In the first league of the season, the Panthers were ready to pounce! They began by completely outshining the Portsmouth team with a victory of 19-5. It was clear to see that our girls had been practicing together for a while. Like a well oiled machine, they followed the instructions of Tamara Höfer, the team captain; lining up, pausing, and throwing with the grace of synchronised swimmers and the strength of shot put throwers. I’ll tell you now, I would not have liked to be on the receiving end of one of those throws! This strong team cohesion, smart strategising, and some beautiful catches-twice in a row by Jasmine Lu!- lead to Portsmouth’s defeat. They then continued in the same way by winning a 18-4 game against Southampton.
Our seconds team, even with one player down, fought hard and played two highly tense games without any hesitation. Despite their valiant effort, they narrowly lost them with a score of 13-11 to Winchester and 11-9 to UEA. However, with it being so early in their first season, they still have many opportunities to show us what they can do at full strength. Seeing their brilliant performance without a complete team, I’ve got a good feeling about these girls and I’d be very excited to see them again in the future.
I don’t know if it’s to do with the small size of the pitch or the small size of the team, but dodgeball is a team sport like no other. I’ve never seen such an encouraging atmosphere or attentiveness to teammates in a match before. When on the court, all the players were looking at the rest of the team, constantly staying alert and adapting tactics. Even when players were out, they were constantly shouting advice and motivating, ensuring that their fellow team mates were always supported.
This year the rules have changed from 3-ball to 5-ball dodgeball. This means the dynamics of the game have been completely altered and the Panthers need to adapt their tactics accordingly. But are they worried about these changes? Of course not! As always these girls are loving the challenge and ‘looking forward to an interesting season’. These women are working hard, playing hard, and showing everyone just what us UCL girls can do.
Tamara Höfer only took up dodgeball a year ago and played her first ever season with the UCL panthers. Since then, she has gotten the dodgeball bug, working her way up to become the captain of the first team, coach of the second team, and to also play for the London Storm dodgeball club. I asked her about her thoughts on playing dodgeball and the importance of This UCL Girl Can campaign:
What is your favourite part of Dodgeball?
What I personally love about dodgeball is that the dodgeball players are like a family. Despite being opponents on court, we are all supportive and helpful when it comes to improving our skills and interacting off court. I always feel at home at tournaments as they are always attended by so many amazing people.
What motivates you to do this every week and why do you think others don’t do the same?
What motivates me the most is my ambition to one day play for the Austrian Team in the World Cup. Their women’s team is currently the best in Europe and it would be an honour to represent the country I have grown up in on the international level. I think it is difficult to stay motivated if you don’t see yourself improving and don’t get positive feedback. Therefore, I ensure that my players always get a “personal highlights” message after tournaments and League Days.
What opportunities do you have at UCL as a woman in sport?
I think there are a lot of opportunities for women to get involved in sport at UCL. The This Girl Can week highlights many of the amazing initiatives that the Union’s clubs and societies come up with to promote sport amongst women. With dodgeball, I have had a lot of opportunities: for instance, this year, we have two women’s teams and thus more women playing competitive dodgeball at UCL this year than any other previously. It’s something I’m really proud of.
What is lacking at UCL, how could things be improved?
Dodgeball has still got a way to go before it is universally taken seriously as a sport. I think UCL could improve their support of the ‘underdog’ sports like ours by highlighting the achievements of other lesser known sports clubs more, and particularly the achievements of those women within them, to make them more open and accessible to everyone.
Why is this UCL Girl Can Week important?
A lot of people who are studying/teaching at UCL do not have any idea what great things the girls at UCL have achieved. This UCL Girl Can week can be motivational for other girls to achieve similar goals and stay active but also paves the way for more recognition of women in sports.
What has your favourite event been in your club?
It is very difficult to choose my favourite thing I have done with UCL dodgeball so far as we have just had so many amazing socials and other club events since I joined. I can say that my favourite dodgeball event was perhaps the Freshers Championships last season. It was a mixed tournament and my team took third place against competitors from across the country!
Featured Image Credit: T’arah Inam-McDermott
The Madness of Measles
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UCL Shows Review: Illusion
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Pi Sport
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The Port of Trois-Rivières receives the Distinction Award
Trois-Rivières art travels to the French West Indies!
A Record Year to Launch On Course for 2030
Collaboration agreement between the ports of Trois-Rivières and Mulhouse-Rhin
Mr. Sylvain Gendron appointed Operations Director
$2.5 million for environmental protection and innovation at the Port of Trois-Rivières
2018 Year End Results: Record tonnage at the Port of Trois-Rivières!
The Port of Trois-Rivières welcomes the first ocean-going vessel of 2019, the Ellensborg
Innovation Cooperation Agreement between the Montreal and Trois-Rivières port authorities
Changing the world, one school at a time: The Port de Trois-Rivières-Roue Libre team is pursuing its cause for a 6th year and is presenting a cheque for $32,850 to the schools in Les Deux-Étangs and de l’Envolée
The Trois-Rivières Seamen’s Club Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary
The Trois-Rivières Port Authority and IDE Trois-Rivières sign a partnership agreement
Trois-Rivières Port Authority unveils its On course for 2030 plan
Appointments of Ms. Véronique Néron and Mr. Pierre Ducharme as directors
Ms. Sara Dubé is appointed Director of Public Affairs
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Choose Concrete to build an Impressive Driveway
First impression is the last impression.
What is the first thing that a guest comes across when he/she visits your home? It is neither your garden nor your living room. It is the driveway. If you want to build an impressive home, you need to ensure that the driveway is impressive as well.
Abundant Choices!
In the past, there were limited options for building a driveway. But today, you can build an impressive driveway with the help of any of the following materials:
Pea-Stone
Recycled Materials, etc.
Even though there are several options, homeowners tend to choose concrete for building an impressive driveway. Why is it considered as the ideal material for building a driveway?
Cost-Efficient
When it comes to undertaking a home renovation project, cost is one of the most important factors that you need to consider. If you are on a limited budget, it is advisable to opt for concrete. It may be costlier than asphalt or gravel but it requires less maintenance making it an ideal choice for homeowners.
You need to ensure that the material you choose for building a driveway has the ability to bear the load of your vehicles. Concrete has great structural integrity and is ideal for bearing the load of several vehicles. It is not prone to erosion. Its proof is the use of concrete in building roads and bridges.
If you live in a cold region, you know the time and energy it takes to remove snow from the driveway. If you choose gravel or pavers as a material for building the driveway, it will become difficult to remove the snow.
It is a fact that a cold climate is harsh on a concrete driveway and it can crack due to the freeze-thaw cycle. But, if you use quality sealants, you will be able to avoid cracks. Also, it doesn’t take much work to keep the concrete driveway clean. You can remove the stains with warm water and soap. And, once in a while, you can contact a stain removal expert to remove stubborn stains and marks.
In the past, home owners often chose pavers or gravel to add beauty to the driveway. But, concrete is fast becoming a go-to option for home owners because of its versatility. Concrete can be stained and stamped in a wide range of colors and made to suit the color scheme of your home. You can also opt for concrete brick pavers and build a driveway that resembles one made from bricks and stones.
Traditionally, concrete was considered to be an unexciting option for building a driveway. But today, the story is different. Home owners trust concrete as the ideal material for building a strong and long-lasting driveway. If you want to build an impressive driveway and add to the curb appeal, contact a concrete contractor. He/she will understand your requirements and provide you with beautiful options for building an impressive concrete driveway.
When it comes to building an impressive driveway, choose Pour Concrete. The licensed concrete contractor will use quality material for building a long-lasting driveway. Call on (647) 847-4009 for building a concrete driveway.
building a concrete drivewayconcrete brick paverconcrete contractorcost-efficientcurb appealdurabilityerosionfreeze-thaw cycleideal materialload bearing capacitypaverspea-stonequality sealantrecycled materialssnow removalstained concretestructural integrity
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Harvey Weinstein doc features interviews with alleged victims
The film “Untouchable” features interviews with many of the disgraced movie mogul’s alleged victims.
Tina Brown thinks women should compete against each other 'in a healthy way'
"I mean women can compete in a healthy way."
Tina Brown says she made enemies as Vanity Fair editor
December 6, 2018 | 7:42am
Brown was only 30 in 1984 when she took over the failing Vanity Fair.
Tina Brown's garden parties have come to an end
“It was 21 years of joy and hilarity in that house . . . The garden has gone, but I promise you the parties will go on," Brown told us.
Tina Brown says she was pitched Charlie Rose comeback show
"These guys are already planning their comebacks!”
Tina Brown: Trump once poured wine down journalist's back
The entry for Dec. 10, 1991, tells how Donald Trump poured a glass of wine down the back of journalist Marie Brenner at an NYC Parks black-tie gala at Tavern...
Tina Brown says she 'had no idea' about Harvey Weinstein
“It wasn’t my business to pry into what he did after hours. I had no idea what was going on.’’
Tina Brown has nothing bad to say about Anna Wintour
September 6, 2017 | 8:41pm
Bravo may have a “Feud”-esque series in the works about legendary Condé Nasties Tina Brown and Anna Wintour. But Brown, the former editor of Vanity Fair and the New Yorker,...
Why Tina Brown's first shot at moving to New York was a bust
“You can have an opportunity that confronts you and you can choke,” she recalled to us on Monday.
Tina Brown 'thrilled' for Mika and Joe
May 6, 2017 | 4:53pm
Tina Brown, a friend of “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, says she is happy for the engaged couple. Brown, a regular guest on the show, where the...
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Australian Constitution
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Equal Pay Standard Bill 2018
Wilkie, Andrew, MP
Hogan, Kevin (The DEPUTY SPEAKER)
National Integrity Commission Bill 2018
PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
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Civil Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2018, Customs Amendment (Collecting Tobacco Duties at the Border) Bill 2018, Treasury Laws Amendment (Australian Consumer Law Review) Bill 2018, Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Bill 2018, Treasury Laws Amendment (Lower Taxes for Small and Medium Businesses) Bill 2018, Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Omnibus) Bill 2018
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Champion, Nick, MP
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Productivity Commission Amendment (Addressing Inequality) Bill 2017
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Goodenough, Ian (The DEPUTY SPEAKER)
Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bill 2018, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2018
Symonds, Mrs Elizabeth Ann, AM
Warringah Electorate: Lifeline Northern Beaches
Abbott, Tony, MP
Solomon Electorate: Darwin
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Broadbent, Russell, MP
Victorian State Election
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Cairns Men's Shed
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Vietnam Veterans Federation of South Australia
Dolkar, Ms Pema
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Morrison, Scott, MP
Mack, Mr Edward Carrington 'Ted'
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Reports Nos 10, 11 and 12 of 2018-19
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Mitchell, Brian, MP
McMillan Electorate: Prom Country Lodge
Mitchell, Rob, MP
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Laundy, Craig (The DEPUTY SPEAKER)
Civil Aviation Safety Authority: Project Wing
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National Day for War Animals
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Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
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Georganas, Steve, MP
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Beaton, Dr John Mark
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Nur, Mr Bashir
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Joyce, Barnaby, MP
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Morton, Ben, MP
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Conroy, Pat, MP
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Ms PLIBERSEK (Sydney—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (12:26): I'm not sure that you are very tolerant in question time, but thanks for the warning.
The SPEAKER: I just warn her: I don't have a sense of humour before question time.
Ms PLIBERSEK: I'm rising today to support the resolution that the message from the Senate be agreed to. I thought I was going to be able to agree with the Attorney-General as well, because he started by saying that this matter deserves sober and cautious consideration. I completely agree that this is a very important motion and a very important matter that does deserve sober and cautious consideration. Sadly, the Attorney-General then went on to take us on a tour through a horror show of what would happen if we introduced a national integrity commission in Australia. If indeed what he was describing, that we'd be looking at 30-year-old breaches of workplace codes of conduct, was the outcome, I'd be the first to line up behind him and say that's not what we want in this country.
But nobody is proposing a national integrity commission that would look at 30-year-old breaches of workplace codes of conduct. What we are saying on this side, what the crossbench are saying and what the Senate has said is that where there is systematic and serious misconduct we ought to have a body in this country that is able to find it, examine it and then refer it, if there is cause for criminal charges, to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, the Australian Federal Police or an appropriate body.
I am one of those people who is proud of the fact that I believe Australia is a corruption-resistant country and that we have low levels of corruption by international standards. I believe our public servants are, by and large, dedicated, good people who do their work with integrity every day. I believe the same of members of this place and the other as well. I believe the vast majority of my colleagues, even the ones I disagree with every day, work hard in the national interest. But we can't put our heads in the sand, because we know, from looking at the state based integrity commissions, that there are exceptions to this principle. We know, from looking at the work of these state based integrity commissions, that when we catch people we do a very good public service, because we restore the faith of our electors in our parliamentary democracy—in democracy itself—by saying that if something goes wrong there is somewhere to complain to and someone who can examine that complaint.
I'm from New South Wales so I've had plenty of opportunity to see up close the work of an effective integrity commission. You can point to plenty of Liberal ministers and members of parliament on the other side who've resigned because of allegations of corruption, including recently when a member who was caught on tape resigned, causing a by-election. But we had our own, on our side. We had two former ministers jailed—one for five years and one for seven years. I and I know my colleagues would be the first to say, 'That is good. That is good for us as a party. That is good for us as a democracy.' We are prepared to be examined with all of the same scrutiny as we wish on our opponents. That is good for our democracy. I've got to say, seeing Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald jailed were two of the happiest days of my life, because it was like cutting a cancer out of the Labor Party. I'm happy that it happened. I am, first of all, prepared to say I don't believe that there is a great deal of corruption in Australia but I'm equally prepared to say that where there are these instances, it is vital for our democracy that we can find them out. I saw the open letter from 32 judges to the Prime Minister about this. I think the point made in that letter is important. It said:
When this confidence and trust is diminished, pessimism, divisiveness and conflict increase; and social cohesiveness is harmed.
We need to reassure Australians that, at a federal level, they can trust the integrity of our democratic processes. The judges went on to say:
Existing federal integrity agencies lack the necessary jurisdiction, powers and know-how to investigate properly the impartiality and bona-fides of decisions made by, and conduct of, the federal government and public sector.
These 32 people are in a better-than-average position to have an opinion on this and to know the difference that a national integrity commission would make.
The member for Indi has proposed a way forward here. We have laid out our own principles that we would apply, and the Leader of the Opposition went through those seven principles. In fact, the integrity committee that has been sponsored by the Australia Institute has proposed a number of other ways forward in this area. I think the fact that we have three different sets of proposals shows how important it is to take a bipartisan approach here. The Attorney-General said that we should have a sober and cautious approach to this, and I agree. The best way that we can have a sober and cautious approach to designing a national integrity commission is for there to be a bipartisan approach, where the government—after rejecting the need for a national integrity commission for as long as they have—set aside those objections and agree to work with us, the member for Indi and others on the crossbench, on a detailed approach that looks at the strengths and weaknesses of the various state integrity commissions, looks at what can be improved in those state commissions and proposes publicly an approach that can be examined by people who have an interest, like these 32 former judges, like the National Integrity Committee that's been established.
We can have a public debate that looks at a really robust approach that has strong investigative powers and balance that with the fact that anybody accused of impropriety ought to be accorded natural justice, ought to have the opportunity of properly answering those allegations before they're on the front page of a newspaper. Balancing those approaches, we can do that. The Attorney-General has gone through a whole lot of horror scenarios of what might happen. It is important that we get this right. It is absolutely critical that we get the detail right. But, surely, Attorney-General, the fact that you have concerns about the member for Indi's specific proposal is a reason for us all to work together across the chamber to get the detail right, not a reason to stick our heads in the sand and pretend there has never been, and never will be, corruption at a federal level. It is not beyond us to get this legislation right.
We know that this is yet another area in which the people are ahead of the government. We know that about 80 per cent of Australians support some type of national integrity commission. I think, Attorney-General, when so many Australians have enough concern to support a national integrity commission, it is important that we ask ourselves as political leaders, first of all, what we're doing wrong to see such concern amongst the people we represent; and secondly, how we can allay those concerns. What can we do together to design a national integrity commission with strong powers that can reassure Australians that we continue to live in one of the least corrupt countries on earth?
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Crystal Gardens (Ladies of Lantern Street Series #1)
by Amanda QuickAmanda Quick
New York Times bestselling author Amanda Quick delivers “a promising start to a Victorian-era series”* with the first Ladies of Lantern Street novel…
Evangeline Ames has rented a country cottage far from the London streets where she was recently attacked. Fascinated by the paranormal energy of nearby Crystal Gardens, she finds pleasure in sneaking past the wall to explore the grounds. And when her life is threatened again, she instinctively goes to the gardens for safety.
Lucas Sebastian has never been one to ignore a lady in danger, even if she is trespassing on his property. Quickly disposing of her would-be assassin, he insists they keep the matter private. There are rumors enough already, about treasure buried under his garden and occult botanical experiments performed by his uncle—who died of mysterious causes. With Evangeline’s skill for detection, and Lucas’s sense of the criminal mind, they soon discover that they have a common enemy. And as the energy emanating from Crystal Gardens intensifies, they realize that to survive they must unearth what has been buried for too long.
Ladies of Lantern Street Series , #1
Amanda Quick is a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, the author of more than fifty New York Times bestsellers. She writes historical romance novels under the Quick name, contemporary romantic suspense novels under the Krentz name, and futuristic romance novels under the pseudonym Jayne Castle. There are more than 35 million copies of her books in print.
The mufled thud of the shattered lock echoed like a thunderclap in the deep silence that drenched the cottage. Evangeline Ames recognized the sound at once. She was no longer alone in the house.
Her first, primal instinct was to go absolutely still beneath the covers. Perhaps she was mistaken. The cottage was old. The floorboards and the ceiling often creaked and moaned at night. But even as the commonsense possibilities flitted through her head, she knew the truth. It was two o’clock in the morning, an intruder had broken in and it was highly unlikely that he was after the silver. There was not enough in the place to tempt a thief.
Her nerves had been on edge all afternoon, her intuition flickering and flaring for no obvious reason. Earlier, when she had walked into town, she had found herself looking over her shoulder again and again. She had flinched at the smallest rustling noises in the dense woods that bordered the narrow lane. While shopping in Little Dixby’s crowded high street the hair had lifted on the back of her neck. She had felt as if she was being watched.
She had reminded herself that she was still recovering from the terrifying attack two weeks ago. She had very nearly been murdered. Little wonder her nerves were so fragile. On top of that, the writing was not going well and a deadline was looming. She dared not miss it. She’d had every reason to be tense.
But now she knew the truth. Her psychical intuition had been trying to send a warning for hours. That was the reason she had been unable to sleep tonight.
Cool currents of night air wafted down the hall from the kitchen. Heavy footsteps sounded. The intruder was not even bothering to conceal his approach. He was very certain of his prey. She had to get out of the bed.
She pushed back the covers, sat up quietly and eased herself to her feet. The floorboards were chilly. She stepped into her sturdy, leather-soled slippers and took her wrapper down o? the hook.
The assault on her person two weeks earlier had made her cautious. She had considered all possible escape routes when she had rented the cottage. Here in the bedroom, the waist-high window was her best hope. It opened onto the small front garden with its lattice gate. Just outside the gate was the narrow, rutted lane that wound through the dense woods to the ancient country house known as Crystal Gardens.
Out in the hall a floorboard creaked under the weight of a booted foot. The intruder was moving directly to the bedroom. That settled the matter. He had not come for the silver. He had come for her.
There was no point trying to silence her movements. She pushed one of the narrow casement windows wide, ignoring the squeak of the hinges, and clambered through the opening. With luck the intruder would not be able to fit.
“Where do you think you’re going, you bloody stupid woman?” the harsh male voice roared from the doorway. It was freighted with the accents of London’s tough streets. “No one slips away from Sharpy Hobson’s blade.”
There was no time to wonder how a London street criminal had found his way to Little Dixby or why he was after her. She would worry about those questions later, she thought, if she survived the night.
She jumped to the ground and stumbled through the miniature jungle of giant ferns that choked the little garden. Many of the fronds were taller than she was.
To think she had come to the countryside to rest and recuperate from recent events.
“Bloody hell, come back here,” Hobson howled from the bedroom window. “Make things difficult, will ye? I’ll take my time with ye when I do catch you, just see if I don’t. You’ll die nice and slow, and that’s a promise. Bloody little bitch.”
A string of savage curses told her that Hobson was finding it impossible to squeeze through the casement window. A tiny whisper of hope swept through her when she did not hear the pounding of footsteps behind her. Hobson would be forced to use one of the two doors in the cottage. That meant she had a little breathing room, time enough, perhaps, to make it to the only possible sanctuary.
There was no escape through the woods that bordered the lane. The moon was nearly full but the heavy canopy of summer leaves blocked the silver light that should have dappled the forest floor. Even if she’d had a lantern, she would not have been able to make her way through the dense undergrowth. She knew just how impenetrable the vegetation in the vicinity of the old abbey was because she had attempted to explore it during the day. The trees and undergrowth around the ancient ruins flourished in what the locals whispered was an unnatural manner.
She found the graveled garden walk and flew down it, the hem of the wrapper flapping wildly. She paused long enough to unlatch the gate and then she was out in the moonlit lane, running for her life. She knew that Hobson would see her as soon as he emerged from the cottage.
Heavy footfalls thudded behind her.
“I have ye now, ye silly bitch. Ye’ll soon get a taste of Sharpy’s blade.”
She risked a quick glance over her shoulder and saw the dark figure bearing down on her. She would have screamed but there was no point wasting her breath. She ran harder, heart pounding.
The ancient stone walls that protected the vast grounds of Crystal Gardens appeared impregnable in the moonlight. She knew from previous explorations that the massive iron gate was locked.
There was no point trying to run the length of the long wall to the front door of the sprawling country house. There was no time. Hob-son was gaining on her. His footsteps were closer now. She could hear his harsh breathing, or perhaps it was her own labored gasps that she heard.
She reached the back wall of the ancient abbey and raced toward the mound of overgrown foliage that concealed the jagged hole in the stone barrier. She had discovered the opening a few days ago and had decided to indulge in some discreet exploration before the new owner had arrived to take up residence. She could not help herself. Her sense of curiosity was linked in some ways to her psychical talent and the mystery of Crystal Gardens had fascinated her from the start. It was the reason she had chosen to rent Fern Gate Cottage instead of one of the other properties available in the countryside around Little Dixby.
The fact that the rent on the cottage was considerably cheaper than it was for the other suitable lodgings in the area had also been a factor. But she had discovered soon enough why the little house was a bargain. The locals feared the abbey and the woods around it.
She slammed to a stop in front of the concealing foliage and pulled aside a curtain of cascading greenery. The jagged opening in the stone was about two feet above ground level. It was large enough for a person, even a man the size of Hobson, to squeeze through. But if he did pursue her onto the grounds she might have a chance.
She looked back one last time. Hobson had not yet rounded the corner of the wall but he would at any second. She could hear him—his thudding footsteps and his ragged breathing—but she could not yet see him. She had a few seconds.
She put one leg over the broken stone and then the other and then she was inside the grounds of Crystal Gardens.
She caught her breath, transfixed by the eerie scene that surrounded her. She had seen enough of the strange gardens by day to know that there was something bizarre about the energy inside the walls and that the vegetation was not normal. But at night the paranormal elements were unmistakable.
The foliage on the vast grounds glowed with an eerie luminescence. In the very center of the gardens where the ruins of an ancient Roman bath were said to be located, the psychical light was as dark and ominous as a violent storm at sea.
She knew from the guidebooks that she had purchased from Miss Witton, the proprietor of the bookshop in Little Dixby, that Crystal Gardens was divided into two sections. The outer region in which she stood was called the Day Garden on the maps. It surrounded the walls of an elaborate maze, which, in turn, encircled the interior portion of the grounds known as the Night Garden.
In the nearly two weeks that she had resided in Fern Gate Cottage she had not ventured much farther into the gardens than where she was tonight. But she had seen enough to know that the peculiar nature of the atmosphere inside the walls would provide her with her best chance of escaping Sharpy Hobson’s knife.
There was a steady stream of curses as Hobson yanked and clawed at the foliage.
“No little whore gets away with making Sharpy Hobson look the fool. I’ll teach you to show some respect, see if I don’t.”
She looked around, summoning up a mental image of the layout of the gardens. The maze was the obvious place to hide. Her talent would very likely ensure that she did not get lost inside. But on a prior expedition she had discovered that a locked gate blocked the entrance to the labyrinth.
She started toward the gazebo. The graceful domed roof and the pillars glowed with a faint blue light that seemed to emanate from the very stone of which it was constructed. She hurried but she did not run. She wanted Hobson to see her.
He finally scrambled through the hole in the wall, grunting and swearing. She stopped and looked back, wondering how much of the paranormal light he could perceive. There was a shocked silence as Hobson took in his surroundings.
“What the flamin’ hell?” he growled. He rubbed his eyes.
Then he saw her and promptly forgot about the strangely luminous landscape around him. He yanked a knife out of the leather sheath at his hip and lunged toward her.
“Thought you’d get away from me, did ye?” he growled.
She whirled back toward the gazebo. Her goal was the darkly gleaming pond in front of the structure. With luck Hobson would not be able to see it until it was too late. Her senses told her that if he tumbled into the gleaming black pool he would quickly lose interest in her. There was something nightmarish about those waters.
She was so focused on her plan to lure Hobson to the pond that she was unaware of the presence of the man in the long black coat until he walked out of the shadows and into the moonlight. He stopped directly in front of her, blocking her path.
“Is it the custom around here for visitors to call at such an unusual hour?” he asked.
His voice was as dark as the obsidian surface of the pond and charged with a similar chilling power. It stirred all of her senses. In the strange moon-and-energy-lit shadows it was difficult to make out the man’s face clearly but there was no need to see him. She recognized him immediately. Indeed, she thought, she would know him anywhere. Lucas Sebastian, the mysterious new owner of Crystal Gardens.
She stumbled to a halt, trapped between Lucas and Sharpy Hobson.
“Mr. Sebastian,” she said. She was breathless and her heart was pounding. She struggled to identify herself, afraid he would not recognize her in the darkness, dressed, as she was, in her wrapper and nightgown, her hair falling around her shoulders. They had met only the one time, after all. “Sorry to intrude like this. Evangeline Ames, your tenant at Fern Gate Cottage.”
“I know who you are, Miss Ames.”
“You did say to call upon you if I had a problem. As it happens, I do have one.”
“I can see that,” Lucas said.
Hobson pulled up short. He made a slashing motion with the knife. “Get out of my way and ye won’t get hurt. I just want the little whore.”
Lucas regarded him with what could only be described as detached curiosity. “You are trespassing. That is a very dangerous thing to do here at Crystal Gardens.”
“What’s going on in this place?” Hobson looked around uneasily.
“Haven’t you heard the stories?” Lucas asked. “Everyone around here knows that these grounds are haunted.”
“Sharpy Hobson ain’t afraid of no ghosts,” Hobson vowed. “Won’t be hanging around long enough to meet one. All I want is this bitch.”
“What do you want with Miss Ames?” Lucas asked.
Evangeline was floored by Lucas’s matter-of-fact tone. It was as if he was only casually interested in Hobson’s reasoning.
“None of yer bloody business,” Hobson snarled. “But I can tell ye she’s worth a nice bit of blunt dead and I’m not going to let anyone get in my way.”
“You don’t seem to comprehend the situation,” Lucas said. “The lady is my tenant and therefore under my protection.” Hobson snorted. “I’m doing you a favor taking her o? your hands. The way I heard it, she’s a lying little bitch.”
“Someone hired you to kill her?” Lucas asked.
Hobson was starting to appear uncertain. Matters were evidently not proceeding the way they usually did when he went about his business.
“I’m not wasting any more time talking to you.” Hobson leaped toward Lucas, knife ready to slash. “Yer a dead man.”
“Not quite,” Lucas said.
Energy, dark and terrifying, flashed in the atmosphere. Evangeline had just time enough time to realize that Lucas was somehow generating it and then Hobson was shrieking with raw, mindless panic.
“No, get away from me,” he shouted. He dropped the knife and clawed at something only he could see. “Get away.”
He whirled and fled blindly into the gardens.
“Damn it to hell,” Lucas said quietly. “Stone?”
A second figure glided out of the shadows. “Here, sir.”
The voice sounded as though it emanated from the depths of a vast underground cavern and, like Sharpy Hobson’s voice, it carried the accents of the London streets.
In the strange light provided by the subtly glowing foliage Evangeline could see that Stone suited his name. He was constructed like some ancient granite monolith and looked as if he would be just as impervious to the elements. The moonlight gleamed on his shaved head. The shadows and the eerie luminescence around them made it difficult to estimate his age but he appeared to be in his early twenties.
“See if you can grab Hobson before he blunders into the maze,” Lucas said. “Whatever you do, don’t try to follow him if he gets that far.”
Stone broke into a run, moving with a surprising lack of noise for such a large man.
Lucas turned back to Evangeline. “Are you all right, Miss Ames?”
“Yes, I think so.” She was still trying to calm her rattled senses and rapid pulse. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
A high-pitched, keening scream echoed from somewhere deep in the gardens. The unearthly cry iced Evangeline’s nerves. She stilled, unable to breathe.
It ended with horrifying suddenness. Evangeline was shivering so violently it was all she could do to remain on her feet.
“Sharpy Hobson,” she whispered.
“Evidently Stone did not get to him in time to prevent him from entering the maze,” Lucas said.
“Is he—?” She swallowed and tried again. “Is he dead?”
“Hobson? Probably or he soon will be. It’s unfortunate.”
“Unfortunate?” she managed. “That’s all you can say about the man’s death?”
“I would like to have questioned him. But as that does not seem likely to happen, you and I will talk, instead.”
She tried to compose herself. “Mr. Sebastian, I’m not at all sure what to say.”
“There will be nothing complicated about our conversation, Miss Ames. You will come inside with me now. I will pour you a glass of medicinal brandy for your nerves and you will tell me what you are doing here in my gardens at this hour of the night and why a man with a knife was trying to murder you.”
“But that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I have no idea why Hobson attacked me.”
“Then we must reason it out together.”
He shrugged o? his coat and draped it around her shoulders before she could summon up further protest. When his fingers brushed the nape of her neck a thrill of awareness stirred her senses. The heavy wool garment was still warm from the heat of his body. She caught a trace of his masculine scent. It caused her senses to flare in a way that she had never before experienced.
Stone appeared. “Sorry, sir. He saw the open gate and ran straight inside. Probably assumed it was a way out of the gardens.” “I’ll deal with the body later,” Lucas said. “I wish to speak to Miss Ames first and then I will escort her back to the cottage.”
“Yes, sir. Will you be needing anything else?”
“Not at the moment.”
Stone moved into the shadows. Evangeline watched him disappear. She was starting to wonder if she was caught up in some bizarre dream. Perhaps she was hallucinating. It was not beyond the realm of possibility, she thought. Her employers and her friends were convinced that her nerves had been badly strained by the attack two weeks earlier. Perhaps they were right.
Lucas’s powerful hand closed around her arm. The shock of the physical contact made her flinch. Her talent was still flaring wildly and it was linked to her sense of touch. She could perceive Lucas’s aura now quite clearly. The fierce bands of ice-and-fire energy took her breath.
“Relax, Miss Ames,” he said. “I will not hurt you.”
There was nothing in his aura to indicate that he was lying. She was safe enough, she decided, at least for the moment. She pulled herself together and lowered her tpsychical senses.
“This way, Miss Ames.” He steered her around a large bush. “Watch your step. There are a number of hazards on the grounds, including those roses.”
The power she had glimpsed in Lucas’s aura warned her that he was probably a good deal more dangerous than anything in his strange gardens.
Sharpy Hobson had stopped screaming but she knew that she would hear the echoes of his last, horrifled cries in her nightmares for a long time to come.
“A compelling, very romantic tale made memorable by its historical paranormal foundation, clever plot twists and a hero and heroine you can’t help but love.”—USA Today
“Danger-rich, paranormal-spiced…an absolute delight.” —Booklist
“Cannily plotted.” —The Seattle Times
“Well-written with engaging characters.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Filled with danger and intrigue.” —Midwest Book Review
Praise for Crystal Gardens
“From the entertaining battle of wits between the story’s intriguing heroine and mysterious hero to the botanically inspired plot and its deliciously gothic setting, all the literary components add up to a romance worth savoring.”—Booklist (starred review)
“A compelling, interesting story with a strong hero, a worthy romance and enough intrigue to keep the pages turning.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Delivers all that Quick fans swoon over.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A superb paranormal take on the Victorian romance suspense.”—Midwest Book Review
Romance and the paranormal are neatly entwined in late 19th century England in the opening of the new Ladies of Lantern Street series from the prolific Quick (Quicksilver). Sent to the country to recover from the trauma of a murder attempt, psychic investigator and novelist Evangeline Ames is pursued by a hired assassin onto the grounds of an ancient abbey, Crystal Gardens, which have become the focus of an unusual surge of paranormal energy. Rescued by the owner of the Gardens, Lucas Sebastian, who has arrived to investigate the sudden death of his reclusive uncle and the dangerously increasing power of the Gardens, Evangeline finds herself drawn not only to the various mysteries but to Lucas himself, possessor of a dark paranormal talent of his own. While not a standout, the occult elements provide an original twist to a competent mystery plot with a dash of gothic flair and a traditional romantic pairing for a pleasant tale that will satisfy fans of gaslight paranormals. (Apr.)
A psychic spinster meets her match in a dark, equally gifted stranger, in Quick's Ladies of Lantern Street series launch. Evangeline, of good breeding but approaching 30 and penniless, is deemed unmarriageable by Victorian society, but luckily she has not had to enter service or support herself as a governess. She is a paid companion, but for a most exclusive and remunerative agency, Flint & Marsh, which deploys clairvoyants as private eyes to the moneyed classes. Undercover in her dowdy disguise, Evangeline recently completed her latest assignment: exposing as a fortune hunter a young man, Douglas, who was courting an heiress. However, Evangeline wasn't expecting Douglas to exact revenge. (The two were not unacquainted in the past.) When she's forced to use psychic power to immobilize him, resulting in his death, Flint & Marsh sends her to a country cottage to recuperate (where she can devote some time to writing the melodramatic novels which are her real passion, at least until her landlord, Lucas Sebastian, comes along). When a London thug, Hobson, breaks into the cottage, knife at the ready, Evangeline manages to escape to Crystal Gardens, the mansion newly purchased by Lucas. As Lucas and his hired man Stone deflect the threat by luring Hobson into a menacing maze of carnivorous greenery, Evangeline cannot deny the powerful pull Lucas exercises on her, in both the paranormal and sensual realms. All too soon, however, an invasion of his relatives dampens the budding romance, as Lucas and Evangeline try to contain their ardor long enough to solve several mysteries—e.g., who murdered the former master of Crystal Gardens, Lucas' Uncle Chester, a reputed madman whose botanical experiments have run amok in the gardens? Who hired Hobson to kill Evangeline? Is there really Roman treasure buried on the estate? These questions are overshadowed by the book's main focus: ensuring that the course of true love is strewn with as many obstacles, psychic and otherwise, as possible. Delivers all that Quick fans swoon over.
Crystal Gardens 4.2 out of 5 based on 0 ratings. 143 reviews.
Great book, but the nook version is missing lines at the bottom of a lot of pages. This is very aggravating!! I would have given it a higher rating if not for that.
If you were missing lines, it is because you do not have it set on Publisher' s Default Settings. When you have the font on your personal preference setting, it cuts off lines sometimes. Don't know why, but wanted everyone to know how to fix it. GREAT BOOK! BUY IT!
SharonRedfern More than 1 year ago
Evangeline Ames wakes up to the certainty that someone is breaking into her house and it quickly becomes apparent that it is not just a random burglary and she is in danger. Evangeline is forced to leave the cottage she is renting and try to get help from her landlord who lives in the estate next door, Crystal Gardens. Once on the property she is startled to find him and his manservant out on the property. The estate is an eerie setting suffused with paranormal energy and the burglar soon meets an unfortunate end in the strange maze situated in Crystal Gardens. Lucas Sebastian is the owner of the Gardens, having inherited from his uncle Chester. Lucas believes his uncle was murdered and has come to the estate to investigate. He and Evangeline make an instant connection on many levels. Evangeline has come to the village to recuperate after being attacked by a male acquaintance. Lucas recognizes that she has paranormal abilities as he does and they both work to help victims of criminal activities. This first night begins a story of attempted murder, treasure hunting and an unusual romance. Add three investigating women, curious siblings, a garden full of dangerous, possibly man eating plants, and you have a page turner in this book. I have to mention that the mysterious pools on the estate are HOT in more ways than one! Having read all of the Arcane Society series and subsequent books, I enjoy the fact that this new trilogy continues the paranormal theme. Lucas and Evangeline have abilities that they can’t categorize but know are real. Lucas has despaired of ever finding a woman who would be able to live with his abilities. Evangeline has been betrayed by love before and keeps men at a distance. Their abilities are a common bond that helps cement the relationship. Ms. Quick does a great job incorporating elements from earlier books that have been discovered and investigated by Arcane and others and placing them in this story as new and unexplainable. An example is a paranormal infused lantern and crystals that are a mystery to Lucas and Evangeline. She has also made the Crystal Gardens themselves a character in the story with a life of its own. The characters from the next two books make an appearance and whet the reader’s appetite for the next story. I for one can’t wait.
lanlynk More than 1 year ago
Paranormal suspense romance. Great read. The interaction between the male and female leads is good. Just enough humor to keep the story on the light side, but plenty of adventure and mystery too. The plot was well-constructed, the story and relationships detailed. Yes, there's a measure of predictability, but I read this author because I can rely on her style and characterization. I'm looking forward to the sequels. In repsonse to another review here: My Nook copy did not have any issues; there were no lines missing at all.
After reading all of the Arcane and Harmony novels, this one seemed to try to do too much. The characters' paranormal abilities were a compilation of so many previous characters and why no mention of the Jones' or Arcane Society? If I had no previous knowledge of the other books, this would have been more enjoyable.
lovetoreadAR More than 1 year ago
Really liked this, what I'm assuming is another installment of the Arcane Society series, the Lantern Lane ladies. The characters were very emotionally and developmentally rich as always. And I did love the introduction of a sort of J&J organization back in the day with a twist. Evie and her friends were so interesting, and I liked the idea of female agents and undercover work, with that touch of psy talent. And Lucas, the ever charming darkly powerful figure. Troubled, strong, loyal and loving. The clash of wills was fun, I love reading as they bandy wills back and forth, but of course each knowing they're done for. They supply each other a much needed peace and solve mysteries that have preyed on them both. And we visit again the other talents and find out more of how things in the future series play out. Plant energy and even water energy, what dull crystals really mean power wise and what they seem to be able to do, and why does glass seem to dampen it? The science, the romance, the adventure, everything is there rolled into a very exciting and enjoyable package. I was particularly touched by what Lucas did for his stepmother and how Evie just knew. They aren't just connected, it's as if they can read each other's thoughts and hearts. Another great book by the author to add to my collection of favorites.
Really great book
This is not the best book ive read by this author. It seemed like so much of it was rushed or assumed. The possession of talents just seemed ho hum. Everyone has them. No big deal. It also seemed like these talents were a lot more omnipotent than in her other books. The characters seemed to be able to do whatever they wanted with no ill effects. Overall the book was entertaining. I love this authors use of the paranormal and romance. I just wanted more time spent developing the story. It was a very busy book.
Phyllis_L More than 1 year ago
It was a good read, for the most part. It felt like it could have been smoothed out some and the bits of backstory woven in more effectively along with the various clues and themes and so on. Not the best Quick I've read, but fun and engrossing nonetheless.
LelRaven More than 1 year ago
Good book but not my favorite of Quick's. The lack of connection to Arcane when placed in seemingly the same era and world is slightly annoying but can be overlooked. I would be interested in more books covering the women of the agency Evangeline works for, especially if a connection to Arcane is developed. My Nook book had nothing missing.
kimba88 More than 1 year ago
Crystal Gardens is the first in a new trilogy by Amanda Quick called the Ladies of Lantern Street. It’s a historical romance laced with paranormal elements. Quick delivers an action packed novel with characters that I quickly came to love. Filled with suspense, mystery, paranormal ability and a swoon worthy hero I was quickly swept up in the story. The tale begins with protagonist Evangeline Ames. She is writer and ladies companion who has taken time off to explore the paranormal energy surrounding Crystal Gardens after she was attacked in London. When someone breaks into the cottage at night she instinctively runs to the Crystal Gardens estate and runs smack dab into swoon-worthy Lucas Sebastian. His uncle has recently passed and he believes foul play was involved. He and his trusted employee Stone are now residing in the home. The gardens are a dangerous place and Lucas has his hands full with his uncle’s botanical experiments. The tale that unfolds was typical Quick and while familiar it captivated me none the less. Lucas Sebastian is a dark man who makes people uncomfortable. He has a strong psychical talent that he must constantly keep in check. While people fear him, Evangeline sees the hero under the wolf’s clothing. While he can behave like a boar, Evangeline begins to soften him. I found Evangeline to be delightful, witty and intelligent. She is a fictional romance writer, with absolutely no romantic experience beyond a kiss or too, so you can imagine the fun in that. We meet her best friends and the other ladies of Lantern Street when they come to visit. The three of them conversing had me giggling. We learn there is much more to these ladies. There were other characters that rounded out the cast and made the plot interesting. The plot contains mystery, suspense, romance and a healthy dose of paranormal. While it isn’t original fans of Quick are sure to enjoy it. We have the mysterious death of Lucas’s uncle and someone is trying to murder Evangeline. Putting all the pieces of the puzzle together was fun and I enjoyed the ride. Throw in a lost treasure, some colorful characters and a well paced story-line and I was highly entertained. The romance between Lucas and Evangeline was hot. From the moment they encountered each other the tension and electrical current running between them was obvious even to an outsider. Evangeline decided to base her hero in her novel on Lucas and considers a romantic tryst with Lucas to conduct research. She sees herself outside of his social circle and cannot imagine anything beyond that. She may lose her heart but she will have the memories. Lucas has other plans.
Not her best, but still an entertaining read. I enjoyed this book.
I enjoy all her books. I read all her books!
Loved The book when is the next one coming out
Masquerader888 More than 1 year ago
Another Thrilling Ride by Amanda Quick When I am looking for a good read, and a story that will delight, entertain and is guaranteed to have a happy ending I know I can never go wrong with Amanda Quick (AKA Jayne Ann Krentz). Crystal Gardens introduces us to the Ladies of Lantern Street trilogy; expertly blending romance, mystery and the paranormal into a thrilling and heartwarming tale of love, murder and wits against a gothic background. This book was a fun read that introduced strong characters, incorporated an intriguing plot, and set the scene for the next two books with brilliant ease. I loved getting to know the two main characters in this book. Connected from the first chapter, I enjoyed seeing their relationship grow and bloom throughout their adventure. Lucas, a dark and mysterious character, was a great and stalwart hero and I enjoyed seeing both his intelligence and his honor woven through this work. Evangeline showed both spunk and determination, I found her a fascinating female…blending and balancing her chosen vocation with her gifts, she was fun to watch though out this tale. The setting on this book, incorporating both botany and the paranormal, imbued it with an ambiance that was truly unique. Adding more dimension to a tried-and-true romance plot, it expanded the scope of the story, taking on a life of its own. All in all it was another wonderful book by Ms. Quick to which I give a very happy four stars.
Fast moving, interesting plot with a few surprize twists.
BeachRead245 More than 1 year ago
Thank you to Lydia Hirt and Amanda Quick for the privilege to review this great book. This book will start off the International Chick Lit Month for 2012. Synopsis: Evangeline Ames came to Little Dixby for rest and relaxation so she could focus on her writing career. She is taking a break from her regular job as a paid companion working for the Lantern Street Agency. Little did she know that her life would be in danger from a previous case. Lucas Sebastian has also come to Little Dixby on a different matter to investigate the death of his uncle Chester. They become involved in an investigation in a case of murder and attempted murder. Will Lucas accept the help of Ms. Ames and her associates? There is also this garden that has supernatural energy that hides many secrets. Can Lucas untangle the secrets of the garden? My Thoughts: I am not usually a fan of the paranormal genre. I felt this book was well written. The novel was easy to read. The plot was great! I felt it had a lot of good twists and turns. This story did not have the typical period restrictions that are often focused on women. The only problem with this novel is the slow part in the beginning of the story. The setting of this novel is Victorian England era. I thought this setting was an interesting choice. In this time period, if you did not get a husband then you were considered a spinster. Then there was also less no opportunities for employment other than as a governess or paid companion. The fact that the paid companion was often in the background lends itself to the plot of a woman being an able investigator. I feel that it is quite possible for a woman to also be an investigator. I wonder where this series will go? The Crystal Gardens is the first novel in this series.
samsontinker More than 1 year ago
Fun story, quick paced, and wonderfully told
Kaywillis on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
I enjoyed this book very much. It was a quick read, had a little paranormal, a little mystery, and romance! I want to read about the other two ladies of Lantern Street.
thewalkinggirl on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
Light-hearted, fast-paced story featuring standard JAK/AQ themes: an emotionally-restrained hero with dangerous psychical powers entranced by a sensible-but-artistic heroine with psychical powers of her own. Also features a vaguely gothic abbey, a garden full of man-eating plants, meddling family members and a small cast of potential villains.The plot and characters lack the focus and depth of the author's best works, but this was still an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.
elissa_kay on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
I received an advanced copy of this book in the mail 2 days ago. I finished it yesterday. The only reason I didn't finish it the first night was because I had to go to work the next morning.In this book we meet Evangeline and Lucas. Evangeline has retired to the country after a traumatic experience in London on the advice of her employers. She is intrigued by the local estate, Crystal Gardens, because she can feel the paranormal powers that swirl through the gardens--but she is even more intrigued by the new owner. When danger knocks on (actually, breaks down) her door again, she escapes into Crystal Gardens and into Lucas's protection.Lucas has come to his late uncle's estate to prove that he was murdered, and finds more than he bargained for when Evangeline stumbles into his life--while in her nightgown, no less. They band together to solve each other's mysteries, and can't ignore the energy pulsing between them. In her trademark style, Amanda Quick delivers a fun, sexy read that you can't put down. I highly recommend this book. The love scenes are sexy and sensual, the mysteries get you thinking, and the characters keep you laughing. As long as she keeps writing them, I will keep reading them!
VmpGirl on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
The Ladies of Lantern Street looks like it will be a good series to follow. I felt the characters were will defined and the plot has enough twists to keep a reader hooked. I hope to see future books about not only Evangeline's friends, but Lucas's siblings as well
lulu150 on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
I thought this was a very enjoyable read!!! The story line had enough twists and turns to keep it interesting and of course romance. I also really liked the paranormal aspect of this book. I cannot wait for the next one in this series. If you like romance, mystery and paranormal then I suggest you read this book!!!!
paranormal historical romance books
book by amanda quick
dieb meines herzens the third circle
glut der herzen roman
book by jayne castle
Atracție periculoasă (The Third Circle)
Deghizata in haine barbatesti, Leona Hewitt se strecoara intr-o noapte in muzeul particular de antichitati ...
Deghizata in haine barbatesti, Leona Hewitt se strecoara intr-o noapte in muzeul particular de antichitati a lordului Delbridge, ca sa recupereze un artefact furat in urma cu multi ani de la familia sa. Insa, socata, gaseste in galeria intunecata un ...
Beauty's Beast
Ashley is a master storyteller. --RT Book ReviewsA master of her craft. --Maggie ShayneBeautyFair of ...
Ashley is a master storyteller. --RT Book ReviewsA master of her craft. --Maggie ShayneBeautyFair of face and figure, Kristine is young, innocent, pure. Yet she has been condemned to the gallows for killing a man. The only one who can ...
Bitter Spirits (Roaring Twenties Series #1)
It’s the roaring twenties, and San Francisco is a hotbed of illegal boozing, raw lust, ...
It’s the roaring twenties, and San Francisco is a hotbed of illegal boozing, raw lust, and black magic. The fog-covered Bay Area can be an intoxicating scene, particularly when you specialize in spirits…Aida Palmer performs a spirit medium show onstage ...
Cristalul nopții (Burning Lamp) (Dreamlight Trilogy Series
Bantuit de cosmaruri si de halucinatii, Griffin Winters, unul dintre celebrii lorzi ai lumii subterane ...
Bantuit de cosmaruri si de halucinatii, Griffin Winters, unul dintre celebrii lorzi ai lumii subterane din Londra, este convins ca a fost ajuns de blestemul mostenit de la unul dintre stramosii lui, fondator al Societatii Oculte. Instinctele care l-au ajutat ...
Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega Series #1)
#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs presents the first Alpha and Omega novel—the start of ...
#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs presents the first Alpha and Omega novel—the start of an extraordinary series set in Mercy Thompson’s world, but with rules of its own...Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent ...
Dieb meines Herzens (The Third Circle)
Voller Geheimnisse, knisternder Erotik und unvergesslich amüsanter Wortgefechte! Die schöne Leona Hewitt ist eigentlich eine ...
Voller Geheimnisse, knisternder Erotik und unvergesslich amüsanter Wortgefechte! Die schöne Leona Hewitt ist eigentlich eine anständige junge Frau – wenn sie nicht gerade stiehlt. Doch gerade als sie die Finger nach dem Aurora Stone ausstreckt, kommt ihr der charmante Dieb ...
Firewalker (Stormwalker Series #2)
View our feature on Allyson James’s Firewalker.Janet Begay's Crossroads Hotel has attracted the supernatural ever ...
View our feature on Allyson James’s Firewalker.Janet Begay's Crossroads Hotel has attracted the supernatural ever since it opened. But a new, dark power is rising, this time inside Janet herself. Her boyfriend Mick, a sexy dragon shapeshifter the Navajo call ...
Glut der Herzen: Roman
Neues von der Queen of Romance Seit dreihundert Jahren liegt ein Fluch auf der Familie ...
Neues von der Queen of Romance Seit dreihundert Jahren liegt ein Fluch auf der Familie Winters, der schleichenden Wahnsinn und ewige Verdammnis über die männlichen Nachfahren bringt. Griffin Winters weiß, dass er dem grausamen Schicksal nur mithilfe der magischen Lampe ...
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Regulation of glucose homeostasis by C/EBPB
The United States is experiencing an epidemic of obesity-driven metabolic disorders which is even greater in juvenile populations. The metabolic abnormalities accompanying obesity frequently involve inflammation, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia, however the transcriptional mechanisms underlying these abnormalities remain poorly understood. Recent results from this laboratory in mice lacking CCAAT/Enhancer Binding Protein b have revealed a remarkable array of metabolic regulatory functions for C/EBPb, including significant effects on energy intake, gluconeogenesis, and triglyceride metabolism. The proposed research is based on the hypothesis that C/EBPb is required for regulating gluconeogenic and lipogenic responses in the liver and mediating aspects of leptin-mediated gene transcription yet to be described. The long-term goals of this proposal are to further characterize the metabolic effects of C/EBPb in liver and brain, to identify target genes and the regulatory mechanisms involved, and to understand the potential role of C/EBPb in development of fatty liver. In Specific aim 1 we will generate tissue-specific knockout mice to determine the role of C/EBPb in liver and brain on resistance to obesity. In Specific Aim 2, the biological consequences of the truncated isoforms of C/EBPb on triglyceride synthesis and metabolism will be examined in livers from transgenic and cell culture models. We will also examine whether PPARa is required for C/EBPb knockdown to inhibit hepatic lipogenesis using substrate metabolism, gene array, and PPAR knockout cell lines. In Specific Aim 3 we will determine the metabolic consequences of over-expressing the activating (LAP) and liver inhibiting (LIP) form of C/EBPb on lipogenesis and gluconeogenesis in-vivo. Lastly, in Specific Aim 4 we will determine whether C/EBPb plays a role in the liver of obese children with fatty liver disease. Our studies will quantify lipid staining and address whether C/EBPb and other transcription factors involved in lipogenesis are over-expressed in the liver from obese subjects with NAFLD and NASH and their relationship to the lipid positive cells. The studies described in this proposal will have important clinical implications for understanding the pathways that control liver gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis and could open up new avenues for understanding mechanisms contributing to obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver disease.
R01DK059767
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Thetrek Podcasts
Best Thetrek podcasts we could find (Updated July 2019)
Related podcasts: Sports Society Lifestyle Travel Hobbies Outdoor Hiking Appalachiantrail Backpacker Continentaldividetrail Hikertrash Julianachauncey Pacificcresttrail Thruhiker Zachdavis Thetrek public [search 0]
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Backpacker Radio
From the Appalachian Trail to the Pacific Crest and everything in between. Backpacker Radio is a show all about the wonderful world that is thru-hiking and long distance backpacking. Co-hosts, Zach "Badger" Davis and Juliana "Chaunce" Chauncey muse on the backpacking life and the latest from the trail every other week. Topics include but are not limited to news, trail culture, interviews, gear, advice, and all you can eat buffets.
Trail Correspondents
Trail Correspondents is a teleportation machine to the trail- in audio form. Every other week, a select handful of thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and the American Discovery Trail, give us a glimpse into the world of long distance backpacking. Through their eyes and vocal cords, we learn all about the highs, lows, and nitty gritty details that go into a half-year, cross-country trek. Trail Correspondents is the next best thing to being on ...
Newest Oldest Longest Shortest show series
#13 | The Thru-Hiker Diet: Favorite Foods, Hiker Hunger, and Nutrition Strategies (Group 2)1:03:31
We hope you've got enough appetite to stomach another show about trail food, because today's edition is an all you can eat buffet of hiker fare. Our remaining PCT and CDT hikers weigh in on what their favorite trail foods are, what they're craving most, if they've been stricken with the notorious hiker hunger, how their food systems have evolve ...…
#42 | Clare Gallagher1:14:05
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio, I am joined by recent Western States 100 winner, Clare Gallagher. Not only is Clare a world-class ultra runner, she's also a very vocal and passionate environmental activist, Princeton graduate, Patagonia athlete, and all around powerhouse. She shares how she was able to pull off the most important victor ...…
#41 | Chaunce (Yes, Juliana Chauncey)1:28:32
She's baaaaack. Sort of. Halfway. At this year's Trail Days, we caught up with Juliana Chauncey aka Chaunce, who was roughly half way into her AT thru-hike. She regales us with tales from the first 1,000 miles of her trek, including what has surprised her, how her gear system has held up, how it's differed from her PCT hike, and talks about tha ...…
#12 | The Thru-Hiker Diet: Favorite Meals, Snacks, and Philosophy (Group 1)1:11:11
Food. It's is a subject of endless fascination to just about everyone. Even the most experienced hikers stand room for improvement with their backcountry menus. Rarely do I go a long stint on trail without picking up some sort of tip for how to enhance my hiker fare. This episode will be appealing to those who want to improve their on trail cul ...…
#40 | Jim Kern + Pox Holiday1:32:34
Jim Kern is a name you ought to you know. He's the founder of the Florida Trail Association, co-founder of the American Hiking Society, founder of Big City Mountaineers, founder of Hiking Trails for America, author, and passionate outdoorsman. He gives us his best pitch on why someone should hike the Florida Trail, how his organization has been ...…
#11 | Thru-Hiking Gear: Regrets, Upgrades, and Best Advice (Group 2)1:12:55
Gear. For some people it's their favorite topic in the world, for others, it results in a shoulder shrug and an eye roll. But whether you love or hate gear talk, there's no way around it: what you carry on your back, plays a big role in how much you enjoy your hike. More precisely, getting it wrong the first time, can be emotionally and financi ...…
#39 | The Real Hiking Viking on The Jordan Trail, "Failing" on The Long Trail, and Upcoming Plans2:11:30
We are once again joined by Backpacker Radio's most invasive species, otherwise known as The Real Hiking Viking. We hear all about his two month long stint on the Jordan Trail. He tells us all about this trek, the region, its people, the food, and the experience altogether. We also chat about what went wrong on his Long Trail winter thru-hike a ...…
#10 | Expectations vs. Reality (Group 2)53:06
To prepare for a thru-hike is to spend months reading blog posts, watching videos, and following social media accounts trying to absorb as much information for your forthcoming journey as possible. But even the most type A person can't completely envision what lies ahead on the trail- and thank god for that. That is precisely the premise of tod ...…
#9 | Reactions to the Murder on the Appalachian Trail24:52
Today's episode was not supposed to happen. At the beginning of the season, we outline the subjects in which we want our hikers to share with you. Today's show was not on that agenda. This episode is in response to the recent news of the murder that occurred on the Appalachian Trail. In the very early hours on May 11th, a pair of hikers were at ...…
#38 | Legend on his Arizona Trail FKT, The Great Western Loop, and Supergluing His Foot Shut1:44:16
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio, myself plus a special guest co-host are joined by Jeff "Legend" Garmire. He's back, and oh boy does he have new stories to share, including the time he had to superglue his foot shut. We chat all about his previous year, which was arguably busier than anyone in the backpacking world, including his Great W ...…
#8 | Thru-Hiking Gear: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why (Group 1)58:49
It's the subject which most aspiring thru-hikers dedicate the most time, energy, and money toward. Yes, let's talk gear. We get an early look into our how our crew's backpacking gear is treating them. They share what they've sent home (if anything), if they've added anything new, if they have any regrets- really just an overall shakedown, a few ...…
#37 | Jenny & Scott Jurek on the Appalachian Trail Speed Record, Parenting, and What's Next2:28:23
In 2015, Scott Jurek was the most talked about person on the Appalachian Trail, even the trail community at large. As soon as the legendary ultrarunner announced that he was bringing his talents to Appalachia, a flurry of fanfare and press followed suit. Though his record has been broken a pair of times since, the swell of attention has yet to ...…
#7 | Night Before the Trail + First Day on Trail (Group 2)50:16
As you likely recall, in episode 5, we got our first updates from the trail. Today we get our first trail update from our second group of hikers. More specifically we get a pair of updates. We first get a taste of where our hiker's minds are the night before they embark on their treks. This likely comes as no surprise, but this is a time when e ...…
#36 | Jon "Airborne" Schwarze on His PCT Yo-Yo2:08:53
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio, presented by The Trek, Badger is joined by Jon Schwarze, aka Airborne. Despite this being his first thru-hike, last year Airborne became just the fifth person to yo-yo the Pacific Crest Trail (which is to thru-hike the same trail in both directions in less than one year). We go balls deep on everything th ...…
#6 | Expectations vs. Reality (Group 1)1:10:09
#35 | Weezer on Hiking Sober, Processing Grief, and Metamorphosis on the Pacific Crest Trail1:28:19
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio, presented by The Trek, recorded at Wayfinder, Badger sits down with Weezer, a 2018 PCT hiker with one hell of a story. We talk about what it's like to thru-hike in the PCT's bubble as a sober person, an incredibly sad life event she had to endure while on trail, and how the trail has played a role in her ...…
#34 | Ken Ilgunas on Trespassing Across America1:43:19
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio, Smiles and I sit down with author Ken Ilgunas. To put it simply, Ken is a guy who marches to the beat of his own drum. We talk at length about his time hiking the length of the Keystone XL Pipeline both where it was developed and supposed to be developed, where had to not only trespass for much of this hi ...…
The shows leading up to today's served a necessary role. They introduced us to our 2019 hikers. We got to meet the vast array of personalities trekking across the country, and learn a good deal about the motives behind these epic journeys. But, I like to think that these entries were just this season's hors d'oeuvres. Today's show begins our ma ...…
#33 | Andrew Skurka2:01:22
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we are joined by adventuring legend, author, blogger and backcountry guide, Andrew Skurka. This is a very meaty show, we touch on a huge number of subjects including his ridiculous backpacking endeavors, his favorite backcountry routes, his bear bagging recommendations, the current s ...…
#32 | Peter Downing on Ultra Running, the Peace Corps, and Suffer Better1:37:30
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio, we're joined by Peter Downing, a modern day renaissance man. We chat about his history as an ultra runner (including his four wins at the Buena Vista 50), his time in the Peace Corps, his career as a lawyer, and now, his latest undertaking, Suffer Better, a community of ultra runners whose mission is to g ...…
#4 | Wildcard I (Sacrifices Made to Thru-Hike)1:26:41
A few weeks ago, I touched base with our correspondents to see what subjects they wanted to discuss before taking off for their hikes. As you may imagine, their responses were all over the map, as they are soon to be. Given they were due to hit the trail soon and their emotions were likely hitting a fever pitch, I gave them free rein to talk ab ...…
#31 | Justin "2Taps" Helmkamp on the Te Araroa and Wilderness Therapy Guiding1:20:58
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio, we're joined by Justin Helmcamp, aka Two Taps, who was kind enough to extend his layover in Denver to record this show. We chat about his Flip Flop thru-hike of the AT, his hike on New Zealand's Te Araroa, and his work as a wilderness therapist. We do a patent pending. And we commence the #ChaunceDontChaf ...…
#30 | Gummy Bear on Being a Gay, Plus-Sized Hiker, PCT 2019 PSA, and Things to Freak Out About Before a Thru-Hike2:00:19
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio, we are joined by Gummy Bear, a 2018 PCT hiker and all around awesome dude. We do a deep dive on his experience of being a gay and plus size hiker in the trail community. We chat some about his upcoming Arizona Trail hike. Chaunce and I deliver the PCT class of 2019 a warning for what they can expect to se ...…
BPR Community Show #1 | Advice to Prospective Thru-Hikers33:54
Today's show is a special edition, an experiment, and a community-sourced show, all rolled into one giant tortilla, hiker trash style. A few months ago, we put a call out to The Trek's bloggers and vloggers to share their top tips for someone who's about to embark on a thru-hike. Tis the season. As you will see, this advice runs the gamut, and ...…
#3 | Thru-Hike Preparation2:06:20
Preparing for a thru-hike can be a maddening experience. When it comes to overhauling your life to spend upwards of a half year, on foot, in the backcountry, where does one even begin to make sure they're crossing all of their ts and dotting all their i's prior to stepping foot on trail. That is precisely the subject of today's episode. So- how ...…
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Tech Society US Government
Ask the CIO « »
U.S. Digital Service helps CMS with ‘novel’ approach to IT modernization
MPEG•et;Episode home•et;Series home•et;Public Feed
By PodcastOne / Federal News Radio. Discovered by Player FM and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Player FM, and audio streamed directly from their servers.
Jonathan Sullivan, a digital services expert at the U.S. Digital Service, said modernizing the Quality Payment Program for CMS required a change in approach.
How USAID got out of technical debt43:24
The U.S. Agency for International Development has no legacy systems. With more than $7 billion in technical debt across the government, USAID is not responsible for any of that. Jay Mahanand, the chief information officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development, said the agency accomplished what few others have been able to do: Get out ...…
DoD, NATO turn to collective defense against cyber attacks
Since 2004, the Defense Department has been a part of an international Computer Emergency Response Team through NATO.But only in the last few months has DoD and some of its allies been able to share cyber threat information and work together in real time.Ian West, the cybersecurity chief of the NATO Communications and Information Agency, told A ...…
For HHS, FITARA is not just a law, but a lifestyle42:54
It’s one thing to get an “A” or a “B” in the different areas of the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard. It’s another to translate those grades into real IT reforms. While the results are far from final, the Department of Health and Human Services seems to be on a path to transform how it manages technology and delivers service ...…
NSA dares students to break the cyber code, and then recruits them43:25
NSA’s six-year-old program challenges students and others to solve a multi-step cybersecurity problem as a way to expose them to the type of work the agency and the government does.By Jason Miller.
Over last 18 months, Federal CIO Kent’s goal is create a continuous improvement mindset33:12
Federal chief information officer Suzette Kent said in an exclusive interview that during her time leading federal technology she has learned the biggest areas agencies need to catch the private sector in is processes and people, but not technology.By Jason Miller.
DHS, IRS, OMB clearing a path to achieve agile maturity43:24
OMB’s draft cloud smart strategy is one of several ongoing efforts across the government to help agencies deliver services and modernize systems more quickly.By Jason Miller.
How the cloud saved USCIS from the post-shutdown blues42:52
Eric Jeanmaire, the former division chief for Identity, Records and National Security Delivery in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and now the CEO of Finality, said moving E-Verify to the cloud made surviving the government shutdown not only possible, but a success.By Jason Miller.
Public, private sector CIOs face uphill climb to trusted partner status43:23
Like legacy technology systems, agency chief information officers are struggling to modernize their own roles. Federal technology executives and their private sector counterparts still face an uphill battle to shed the long-held viewpoint that they are back-office, cost centers. A new survey of public and private sector CIOs indicated the moder ...…
For the FBI, data is both a blessing and a curse43:00
Gordon Bitko, the chief information officer of the FBI, said the bureau is relaying on a combination of tools, training and shared services to better manage data.By Jason Miller.
USDS applying its own lessons learned to fix federal hiring, acquisition43:25
Eddie Hartwig, the deputy administrator of the U.S. Digital Service, said the goal is to train 250 contracting officers under the Digital IT Acquisition Professional Program (DITAP).By Jason Miller.
GSA’s acquisition systems modernization effort buoyed by new contract writing system50:34
The General Services Administration will host an industry day on April 18 to detail initial thoughts around a new contract writing system. Crystal Philcox, the assistant commissioner for Enterprise Strategy Management at GSA's FAS, among others joined Federal News Network's Jason Miller for Ask the CIO.…
For DLA, there’s only one path to modernize its technology50:33
Michelle Jacobs, the director of DLA’s hosting office, said the agency is using commercial cloud services to host more than 60 percent of its applications and wants to move toward a software-as-a-service model. Jacobs joined Federal News Network's Jason Miller on Ask the CIO.By Jason Miller.
Sandia’s synthetic network offers new insight into how cyber attackers work43:23
Vince Urias, a distinguished member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories, said the HADES program creates a fake environment where cyber defenders can lure hackers and better understand their techniques.By Jason Miller.
IT modernization at the CDC is just one piece of a bigger strategy43:24
Suzi Connor, the chief information officer at CDC, said a new three-pronged approach will change the way the agency manages and uses technology. Connor joined Federal News Network's Jason Miller on this week's episode of Ask the CIO.By Jason Miller.
Fixing federal IT requires changing acquisition, funding approaches43:27
Whether or not the Section 809 panel’s recommendation to exempt the Defense Department from the Clinger-Cohen Act makes sense or goes too far, the congressionally-mandated group hit upon a bigger issue to be solved for every agency: The way Congress provides funding for agencies to buy technology is frozen in time. Former Office of Management a ...…
NIH to hire chief data science strategist as part of its drive to harness big data44:02
Andrea Norris, the chief information officer at the National Institutes of Health, said her agency is investing heavily in people, tools and cloud services to take more advantage of data.By Jason Miller.
How Energy is using its $15M loan to get “over the hump” to move to cloud email43:01
Max Everett, the Energy Department’s chief information officer, said about one-third to one-half of the department still needs to move their email to the cloud.By Jason Miller.
FTC to speed up its journey to the cloud50:40
Raghav Vajjhala, the chief information officer of the FTC, said a new blanket purchase agreement with four vendors will help the agency take a low risk approach to IT modernization.By Jason Miller.
How GSA is using AI to keep agencies on the right side of the law43:24
Contracting officers are getting some much needed help to make sure solicitations include language to guarantee accessibility for people with disabilities. Section 508 requires agencies to buy technology products and services that are compliant with accessibility standards. Where no human could review the tens of thousands of requests for propo ...…
To find cyber, data science workers, agencies should explore non-traditional disciplines, like musicians43:25
Margie Graves, the deputy chief information officer of the government at the Office of Management and Budget, said the administration is trying to identify innovative approaches for recruiting and training IT workers.By Jason Miller.
Six ways the CIO is supporting the Army’s new AI task force43:25
Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford, the Army’s chief information officer, said the service’s new artificial intelligence task force will focus on tasks ranging from automating cybersecurity to identity management.By Jason Miller.
Former OMB cyber chief explains why federal cyber is better today than 3 years ago43:23
Josh Moses, the former Office of Management and Budget’s chief of the cyber and national security branch in the office of Federal CIO, said agencies are in better shape to defend against cyber attacks because of a combination of policy, people and programs.By Jason Miller.
AI, cyber workforce at the top of House IT subcommittee priorities for 201943:29
Artificial intelligence and the cyber workforce will be front and center when the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on IT comes back for the 116th Congress. Both Reps. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), currently the chairman and ranking member of the subcommittee, respectively, said they want to see progress across ...…
Here is how Commerce is making shared services work50:26
Glenn Davidson, the former executive director of enterprise services at the Commerce, said after three years the agency is seeing better services and cost avoidance from consolidating IT, acquisition and HR services. He joined Federal News Network's Jason Miller on Ask the CIO.By Jason Miller.
For NIH’s Dugar, like minds really do think differently around cybersecurity43:22
Jothi Dugar, the NIH’s clinical center’s chief information security officer, said she is using the agency’s Diversity of Science effort to increase the number of women in cybersecurity.By Jason Miller.
Mobile apps, services have changed so the government’s approach is too24:00
The General Services Administration is creating new special item numbers under its IT schedule to make it easier for agencies to buy mobile computing services.By Jason Miller.
Air Force restructures CIO to bring business, IT and data closer together43:10
The Air Force is the second military service to restructure its chief information officer’s role by moving it to a higher level in the organization. The service named Undersecretary Matt Donovan as its new CIO to go along with his current role as the chief management officer. And while there is more to finalize around the Air Force’s restructur ...…
HHS remakes cyber threat center to have external focus41:32
Janet Vogel, the acting chief information security officer at HHS, said the Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) replaces the Healthcare Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (HCCIC).By Jason Miller.
For 2019, DHS, OMB to begin next chapter of CDM program
Jeanette Manfra, the assistant secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications at DHS, said her office will focus on helping agencies manage and mitigate vulnerabilities through the CDM program.By Jason Miller.
How NSA is winning the war for cyber talent50:10
Kathy Hutson, NSA’s senior strategist for academic engagement, said a 20-year partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County helps keep current employees growing and brings in new ones.By Jason Miller.
HUD, USDA bolstered from first payments from Technology Modernization Fund40:49
USDA and HUD are taking advantage of both the Technology Modernization Fund and the Centers of Excellence to jumpstart IT modernization efforts. David Chow, the chief information officer at HUD, said TMF and CoE are part of HUD’s financial transformation.By Jason Miller.
Education’s body and soul approach to IT modernization41:12
Jason Gray, the Education Department’s chief information officer, said IT modernization is all about making both the policy and the infrastructure more flexible, agile and customer focused.By Jason Miller.
How NASA plans on ensuring that its data is accessible forever41:21
Renee Wynn, the NASA CIO, said during the upcoming ACT-IAC ELC ImaginationNation conference she’s interested in learning about SDN and zero trust networks.By Jason Miller.
GSA’s Thomas pushing IT modernization from his front-row seat41:16
Alan Thomas, the commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at GSA, said the Technology Modernization Fund and the EIS contract are helping to push agencies toward better IT services.By Jason Miller.
DHS’ Intelligence and Analysis Office riding cloud, shared services to reach better mission results41:10
Dave Bottom, the chief information officer in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at DHS, said upgrading to Windows 10 will buoy its larger IT modernization effort.By Jason Miller.
State’s move to hybrid cloud underpinning new IT modernization strategy41:18
The State Department's approach to modernizing its technology is focused on two major shifts: The first is centralization of back-office or commodity IT. The second is all about consuming IT-as-a-service. Ken Rogers, the State Department’s deputy chief information officer for business management and planning, said State’s strategy is all about ...…
DLA turns to AI, machine learning to bring surety to the DoD supply chain43:23
The Defense Logistics Agency is five months into using its new Business Decision Analytics tool and the impact is obvious for them. The platform is giving DLA contracting officers more specific and better information to know what they are buying isn’t counterfeit or filled with computer malware. For more, Federal News Radio's Jason Miller spoke ...…
Bradley talks declassification; McCarthy talks IT spending41:22
On this special episode of Ask the CIO, host Jason Miller talks to Mark Bradley, the director of the Information Security Oversight Office, and Shawn McCarthy, the research director for IDC Government Insights.By Jason Miller.
GAO’s Powner’s legacy: Call it clean, don’t sugar-coat it, be constructive43:20
David Powner left the Government Accountability Office in early August after spending 16 years overseeing federal technology management issues.By Jason Miller.
Nelson quickens NRC’s move to the cloud by building on successes42:52
Dave Nelson, the chief information officer of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said it just took one success and a little bit of time to get the NRC fully on board with cloud services.By Jason Miller.
Emerging threat to warfighters required new thinking by DoD’s JIDO43:22
Leonel Garciga, the CTO of the Joint Improvised Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO), broke from the traditional federal model with open source to get capabilities out faster.By Jason Miller.
5 years after blowing the whistle on cyber problems, Davis has no regrets
Jerry Davis retired from federal services after more than 20 years, including the last five as the NASA Ames CIO.By Jason Miller.
Data integration effort delivers savings, better decision making for HRSA42:24
The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded $11 billion in grants across 90 programs in fiscal 2017. And with that comes petabytes of data and the need to analyze that information. Adriane Burton, the Health Resources and Services Administration’s chief information officer, said a new modern data analytics platform holds the key fo ...…
The benefit, curse of senor technology pushes the Air Force to try something different41:09
Frank Konieczny, the CTO for the Office of Information Dominance and chief information officer in the Air Force, said the service is figuring out how to authenticate connected devices.By Jason Miller.
EXIM Bank addresses nuts, bolts of IT modernization41:26
The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. received an unusual report from its inspector general. Auditors praised the agency’s efforts to modernize its infrastructure and deploy new systems. Howard Spira, the chief information officer of EXIM, said on Ask the CIO with Jason Miller that he focused the agency on the nuts and bolts of operations and main ...…
Through CoEs, USDA starts proving what's possible with IT modernization41:27
The Agriculture Department is moving closer to ending the planning stage and entering the operational stage of the Trump administration’s Centers of Excellence IT modernization initiative. USDA and the General Services Administration will host a CoE phase 2 planning session on June 27 for contractors to learn about their procurement strategies. ...…
Before buying technology, NNSA performs a cyber checkup42:50
Wayne Jones, the chief information officer at the NNSA, said he is taking a hybrid approach to modernizing systems and applications.By Jason Miller.
Intelligence Community brings on Microsoft as key piece to second epoch of ICITE43:21
John Sherman, the Intelligence Community’s chief information officer, wanted to tamp down any rumors about why the IC signed a deal to bring Microsoft’s cloud into the mix. He tells it all to Executive Editor Jason Miller on Ask the CIO.By Jason Miller.
4 bots relieve NASA employees from doing ‘low-value’ work43:11
Pam Wolfe, the chief of the Enterprise Services Division in the NASA Shared services office, said because of robotics process automation, her office can review grant applications more quickly.By Jason Miller.
How OMB is moving CIOs from cost center to value add42:51
GSA started down the path using the Technology Business Management (TBM) framework more than two years ago. David Shive, the chief information officer for GSA, said he began with TBM for purely selfish reasons.By Jason Miller.
Start listening to Ask the CIO on your phone right now with Player FM's free mobile app, the best podcasting experience on both iPhone and Android. Your subcriptions will sync with your account on this website too. Podcast smart and easy with the app that refuses to compromise.
Podcast by ycombinator
Hosted by Molly Wood, “Marketplace Tech” demystifies the digital economy. The daily show uncovers how tech influences our lives in unexpected ways and provides context for listeners who care about the impact of tech, business and the digital world.
Front End Happy Hour
A podcast featuring panelists of engineers from Netflix, Evernote & LinkedIn talking over drinks about all things Front End development.
UXpod - User Experience Podcast
A free-ranging set of discussions on matters of interest to people involved in user experience design, website design, and usability in general.
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Beyond the Uniform
Careers Business Education Advice Career Interviews Military
Beyond the Uniform « »
April 2019 Sneak Peak
By Justin M. Nassiri. Discovered by Player FM and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Player FM, and audio streamed directly from their servers.
Here's a quick look at what's in store for Aprils episodes, and a quick update on other upcoming BTU initiatives.
BTU #290 - We Study Billionaires (Preston Pysh)58:24
Why Listen It was such an honor to connect with Preston, who runs the #1 Investing Podcast, We Study Billionairs, which has over 1 million downloads per month. In addition to that, he is ranked on Amazon in the top 35 Business Authors. Both of these are impressive enough on their own, but what really kicks this to the next level is the fact tha ...…
BTU#289 - How to Negotiate (Stanford's Maggie Neal)52:09
Why Listen Context: in 275+ interviews with military Veterans about their civilian career, one of the biggest challenges I hear about from guests is around interviewing, salary negotiation, and sales in general. Two reasons often cited for this are (1) little to no practice with this while in the military, (2) a culture of advocating for one’s ...…
Behind BTU - July 13, 201934:56
Why Listen: In this episode, I share a few professional thoughts from an upcoming interview with Laura Renner about building a career that is uniquely aligned with who you are. I also share personal thoughts about advice giving, relationships, and more.
BTU #288 - Army to CEO @ Mercedes Benz (Steve Cannon)56:17
Why Listen Steve served as President & CEO of Mercedes Benz USA, and now oversees the parent company for the Atlanta Falcons and other iconic brands. We talk about the rejection that Steve faced on his way to these incredible accomplishments, and how persistence, taking advice from wherever you can get it, and creating purpose in the workplace ...…
BTU #287 - Self Reliant Leadership #2 (Jan Rutherford)49:08
Why Listen This is my second interview with Jan, and if you haven’t had a chance to listen to Episode #240, be sure to check that out. In this interview, we talk about crucible experiences - what they are, why they are so valuable, and steps you can take to introduce them into your everyday life. We talk about why you may want to write a book e ...…
Behind BTU - July 6, 201916:09
Why Listen: In this episode, I share a few thoughts from a recent POW interview I conducted (will be aired in August).
BTU #286 - Finding a Workplace Where You Can Thrive (Valerie Rivera)43:27
Why Listen: Valerie left active duty after 15 years of service, and has gone on to found a company designed to help people thrive at work. In addition to discussing her own journey, we talk about how to find out if a culture is right for you, how to shift your mindset to be happier at work, how to make sure you are living a life of alignment, a ...…
BTU #285 - Transition Planning Advice (Kirk Windmueller @ LMCO)39:14
Why listen Kirk retired from the Army after 22 years of service, but still found that the transition to his civilian career snuck up on him. In this interview, Kirk is candid about a lot of the mistakes that he made in his own transition. More importantly, as an act of service he put together some of the most compressive transition documents we ...…
Behind BTU - June 29, 201942:02
A few musings around professional and personal life.
BTU#284 - American Corporate Partners (Colleen Deere)53:50
Why Listen: American Corporate Partners is one of the most cited resources on Beyond the Uniform. Colleen is ACP’s Executive Director, and in this interview we talk about what she and her team have learned from helping over 14,500 Veterans in their civilian career. We talk about mentorship, networking, and more. About Colleen: Colleen Deere is ...…
July 2019 Sneak Peak14:06
Why Listen: A few announcement and a look at our INCREDIBLE line-up for July 2019.
BTU# 283 - Life after being declared Killed in Action (Justin Constantine)57:09
Why Listen What to say about Justin? Well, he was shot in the head by a sniper and pronounced killed in action… but that didn’t stick. Justin is a Purple Heart recipient, an author, a lawyer, an motivational speaker, an entrepreneur, and he now works with a company that helps over 24k military members and their families EVERY MONTH - that’s rig ...…
Musing on career and life (and a few admin items)
BTU #282 - Vineyards, Wellness Centers, and More (Ken Falke & Leon Tackitt)51:15
Why Listen Well, this is the first interview I’ve done with a vineyard owner, and the first interview I’ve done with the owner of a wellness retreat for Veterans. These are both great resources and career overview for listeners, but Leon and Ken cover so much more ground. They both served in Explosive Ordinance Disposal while in the military. T ...…
BTU #281 - 30 Year Navy Veteran to Lockheed Martin (Chuck Hollingsworth)49:32
About Chuck Chuck Hollingsworth is part of Lockheed Martin’s Corporate Strategy and Business Development, where he focuses on strategic customer relationship development, corporate orders growth and focus programs, and several functional development courses such as the Doing Business Overseas Institute. He started out at the US Naval Academy, a ...…
Why Listen: In this episode, I share five thoughts on professional life and one thoughts on personal life that I thought may benefit the BTU audience.
BTU #280 - Navy to PGA Golfer (Billy Hurley III)53:37
Why Listen: Billy is a professional golfer, the first Naval Academy graduate to earn a PGA TOUR card, which he has done for the last seven years. The more I learn about Billy’s journey, the more I’m blown away by what he achieved. In a field that is crowded and incredibly competitive, Billy has succeeded despite having five years where - instea ...…
BTU #279 - Career Placement Advice (Natalie Oliverio)46:27
Why Listen Natalie helps military personnel realize their potential and define their professional goals. She partners with companies that are ready to hire Veterans, and acts as a broker to make sure that both the Veteran and the company are happy. In this interview, she shares an immense amount of wisdom she’s learned in helping Veterans. We t ...…
Behind BTU - June 7, 201935:47
In Behind Beyond the Uniform episodes, I go off script to share career and personal life thoughts, musings, and more. Enjoy.
BTU #278 - The Rotary to Airline Group (Erik Sabiston)44:58
Why Listen: In this interview, Erik talks about the challenges the airline industry is facing, with an extreme shortage of personnel anticipated in the future. He talks about the Rotary Airline Group, which exists to help members of the military - with ANY background - to enter into this industry. He talks about why Veterans may love this indus ...…
BTU #277 - How to Maximize your GI Bill Benefits (Robert E. Woods III)25:46
Why Listen: Special thanks to Frank Vanburen from episode #39 for making the introduction to Robert. Robert is the Founder of Banneret, which has discovered a unique method to help veterans transition, that is attractive to companies that want to do the right thing, but are cash strapped. In this interview we talk about this approach, which may ...…
Why Listen: In this episode, I share four thoughts on professional life and three thoughts on personal life that I thought may benefit the BTU audience.
BTU #276 - Life at ComcastNBC Universal (Louis Daleandro)48:28
Why Listen: Comcast NBCUniversal was recently recognized by Military Times as the #3 best employer for veterans. With a commitment to hiring 21,000 members of the military community by the end of 2021, the global media and technology company is more than "military-friendly." It's "military ready." In this interview we talk about why Veterans ma ...…
June 2019 Sneak Peak13:03
A sneak preview of our episode lineup for June 2019.
BTU #275 - Rowing 3k Miles for Veterans Mental Health (Bryant Knight)48:06
Why Listen: In this interview we talk about the Oil & Gas industry - the different aspects of this massive field, and why Veterans may like the mission-focused approach of this industry. We also talk about Bryant’s participation in a 3,000 mile rowing race, as the first military veteran team to row an ocean as part of the Fight Oar Die team. Ab ...…
Behind BTU - May 25, 201930:13
We had a team meeting this week to set our plan for Beyond the Uniform for the rest of 2019. I walk through what we discussed, as well as four different thoughts on mindsets to help you in your civilian career.
BTU #274 - Uber for small satellites (Spaceflight with Jeff Roberts)46:30
Why Listen: Jeffrey works at a company that is the Uber for small satellites. This is an eye-opening interview about the space industry, and why Veterans should consider a career in this rapidly expanding…space (had to go there). We talk about program management, about work-life balance with a demanding job, the reserves, and five kids. We talk ...…
BTU #274 - Your Personal Brand (Lida Citreon)59:14
Why Listen: While not a Veteran herself, Lida is an expert in personal branding and - in addition to her work with top executives, she has been helping countless members of the military and veterans for the past 10 years. In this interview we talk about your brand - what it is, why it’s important, and how to take steps towards improving it. We ...…
Why Listen: Riffing on what’s been on my mind this week, some news about BTU and what’s in store, and more. This is a more casual, in-between episode, deviating from our traditional format.
BTU #272 - The Defense Entrepreneurs Forum (Morgan Plummer)49:25
Why Listen: Morgan talks about how he made the difficult decision to leave the military after 12 years of service, and how he was pulled into government service. He talks about his day job with the US Department of Defense. However, we spend the bulk of our time talking about the non-profit version of his day job, the Defense Entrepreneurs Foru ...…
BTU #271 - The Global Special Operations Forces Foundation (Stu Bradin)50:22
Why Listen: Stu started a non-profit to help the Special Operations community, and structured it in a way where it is partner and member run. He has now grown it to over 2k members in over 60 countries, with 88 corporate partners, and is growing at a rate of 10-15% every year. He talks about what it’s like to establish a “network of networks” w ...…
Behind BTU- Where I was last weekend29:29
In this episode, I share two admin items (~ 2 minutes) and provide more information about a 5-day men's retreat I was at last weekend. If you haven't listened to episode BTU#262 - Men's Groups (https://beyondtheuniform.org/blog/btu-262-mens-groups) it would be great to listen to that first.
BTU #270 - Dr. Nick Armstrong (IVMF)48:56
Why Listen Nick’s decision to go back to education led to him working in national security policy and ultimately his role with research and execution at the IVMF. Nick never thought he would pursue a Ph.D., but his positive experiences with professors and mentors led him to dive in. In this episode, we talk about the guilt Veterans face when th ...…
BTU #269 - Air Force to co-host of Food Network’s The Kitchen (Sunny Anderson)48:48
About Sunny Sunny is a chef, entrepreneur, Food Network personality, and radio personality. She grew up as an Army brat, and served in the Air Force as a radio broadcaster and journalist.After leaving the Air Force as an award-winning broadcaster, she continued her travels as a radio DJ in many cities, culminating in her dream job in New York a ...…
BTU #268 - How the Outdoors Saved My Life (Stacy Bare)57:30
Why Listen: This interview is unlike any I’ve ever done before. When they launch “The Stacy Bare Fan Club” one day, I’m signing up as a charter member. Stacy is awesome, and every military Veteran should listen to this episode. About Stacy: Stacy is the Principal at bare, a boutique consulting firm working to grow healthy organizations, people, ...…
BTU #267 - Hiring our Heroes (Anna Christen)45:12
Why Listen Anna helps run the Military Spouse Program at Hiring our Heroes. In this interview we talk about the 1,00 career summits Hiring our Heroes has conducted, and lessons for Veterans and their spouses. We talk about a Corporate Fellowship program that every Veteran and their family members should know about. We talk about a whole host of ...…
May 2019 Sneak Peak26:58
Why Listen: A few announcements and a look at our INCREDIBLE line-up for May 2019. Resources: Joe Rogen episode with David Goggins: https://jrelibrary.com/1212-david-goggins/ David Goggins’ book; https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Hurt-Me-Master-Your/dp/1544512287 Audible offer of a FREE audio book for BTU listeners: http://www.audibletrial.com/beyond ...…
BTU 266 - Army Veteran to Senior Security Administrator @ Amgen (Rene Berlingeri) - Sponsored39:24
Why Listen: Rene work for Amgen in their Puerto Rico office, where he oversees an expansive security system. He talks about life at Amgen, about his work with military Veterans within Amgen, about continuing to serve on reserves and complete multiple deployments all while still working at Amgen, about passion and doing things with purpose in yo ...…
BTU #265 - How to Thrive not Survive (Bryan Reeves)49:33
Why Listen: This is a great episode for a couple of reasons. First of all, Bryan is a Life & Relationship Coach, which is an off-the-beaten path career path we haven’t covered before. But it’s also a career path that has given him a lot of insight into challenges that people face, both men and women. He talks about thriving, not surviving in on ...…
Behind BTU: April 20, 20199:04
A quick check-in on what's going on behind the scenes at Beyond the Uniform.
BTU #264 - Retired Army to LinkedIn Top Voice (Michael Quinn)56:01
Why Listen: Michael Quinn has been named on of LinkedIn’s Top Voices two years in a row - in this interview he shares easy to apply tactics to expressing yourself on LInkedIn, growing an audience, and building your network. He is also the Founder of HireMilitary, which allows Veterans to get their foot in the door of a company, demonstrate valu ...…
BTU #263 - Business Development @ Palantir (Chris Musselman & Michael Adams)59:13
In this episode I interview not one but TWO incredible Veterans who work at Palantir, both of them work in Business Development. We do a deep dive on both Palantir and the functional role of Business Development, with two different viewpoints on each. We talk about listening to your gut when you make decision; we talk about how Veterans have mo ...…
BTU #262 - Men's Groups35:39
Why Listen: In this episode I talk about Men’s Groups and work I’ve done with three different groups over the last two years. I talk about why this may be interesting to Veterans, and the benefits I’ve seen. Selected Resources: https://thehustle.co/ BTU #188 - "Nice Guys" and Prioritizing Your Needs (Dr. Robert Glover) The Mask You Live In - ht ...…
BTU #261 - A 13 Year Journey to the Perfect Post-Service Career (Robin Brown)50:25
Why Listen: First of all, Robin Brown is one of three Veterans spotlighted in the 30-minute documentary, Adventure Not War. I watched it and consider myself a movie aficionado -it’s fantastic. Google it - it’s also free. It is inspiring, to say the least. In this interview we talk about Robin’s long and complicated transition process from the m ...…
BTU #260 - Marines to Founder of Ranch Road Boots (Sarah Ford)50:37
Why Listen: First off, Sarah has graciously provided a 15%-off coupon for Beyond the Uniform listeners for every product on her website at RanchRoadBoots.com. Just enter the code BTU at checkout and you’ll get 15% off all items, including those on clearance. This is an exceptional interview for aspiring entrepreneurs. We talk about how Sarah su ...…
Saber Tooth Tigers7:10
A quick thought about gratitude based on a recent Men’s Group meeting I had.
BTU #259 - Advice about Crowdfunding (Brian Olivier)47:16
Why Listen: Brian faced an unexpected departure from the military, which eventually led to his side hustle, Gluconfidence. In this interview, we go step-by-step through the crowdfunding process. We also talk about the importance of doing something you love with a startup, so that not everything is tied to a financial outcome. We also talk about ...…
BTU #258 - Army Ranger to HBO and Writing & Directing Movies (Brian Hanson)54:10
Why Listen: Brian works at HBO… enough said. As if that weren’t enough to listen to this episode, he wrote and directed the movie, The Black String, starring Frankie Muniz (from Malcom in the Middle, amongst other productions). In this interview, we talk about how Hollywood is more similar to the military than you would think. We talk about how ...…
April 2019 Sneak Peak13:06
BTU #257 - Air Force Veteran to NBA Trainer, Nike Innovation, & Public Speaker (Kevin Carroll)50:02
Why Listen: I think you are really going to enjoy Kevin and his perspective, because his is a story of not just pivots, but MAJOR career pivots. This started while he was in the Air Force, where serendipity and tenacity got him into physical training. His career since then has included being an athletic trainer in the NBA, an innovation directo ...…
Start listening to Beyond the Uniform on your phone right now with Player FM's free mobile app, the best podcasting experience on both iPhone and Android. Your subcriptions will sync with your account on this website too. Podcast smart and easy with the app that refuses to compromise.
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Career Tools is a weekly podcast focused on specific actions you can take to grow and enhance your career, whether you are a manager or not. Career Tools won the Podcast Awards Best Business podcast in 2010 and was nominated every other year it has been eligible. Whether you are interested in jump-starting a stalled career, or sharpening your edge, Career Tools is the podcast for you. Go to http://www.manager-tools.com/testimonials to read what others are saying about the impact Career Tools ...
Banking Information Security Podcast
Exclusive, insightful audio interviews by our staff with banking/security leading practitioners and thought-leaders. Transcripts are also available on our site!
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Welcome to the "Speaking of Wealth" podcast showcasing profit strategies for speakers, publishers, authors, consultants, and info-marketers. Learn valuable skills to make your business more successful, more passive, more automated, and more scalable. Your host, Jason Hartman interviews top-tier guests, bestselling authors and experts including; Dan Poynter (The Self-Publishing Manual), Harvey Mackay (Swim With The Sharks & Get Your Foot in the Door), Dan Millman (Way of the Peaceful Warrior) ...
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