pred_label
stringclasses 2
values | pred_label_prob
float64 0.5
1
| wiki_prob
float64 0.25
1
| text
stringlengths 44
986k
| source
stringlengths 37
43
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
__label__wiki
| 0.65217
| 0.65217
|
Partnering With MCA
Charles G. “Chip” McClure
Carsten J. Reinhardt
Gerry Giudici
Pedro Ferro
Darrell Smith
Michael Roth, Jr.
Debra Milostan
Ira Jaffe
Timothy Tindall
Active Investments
Industry Advisor
Timothy Tindall is a retired engineer and executive from Detroit Diesel Corporation, one of the leading manufacturers of heavy-duty diesel engines for on-highway trucks. Tim retired from Detroit Diesel after a 40-year career which spanned both technical and commercial aspects of the business. Mr. Tindall served as Director of Engineering for Detroit Diesel with engineering responsibility for the company’s most successful Series 60 heavy duty diesel engine. Tim also served as the company’s Emission Compliance Officer.
Tim was the Program Director for Detroit Diesel’s Emission Development Program for the emission regulations which took effect in 2007 which required the development of significant new engine technology, and the coordinated introduction of this technology into the marketplace.
In addition to his technical experience, Mr. Tindall also held the role of Director of Sales for Detroit Diesel and was part of the Daimler Trucks of North America sales team for the last several years of his career. In this role, Tim was engaged in sales and technical support activities with the largest trucks fleets in the United States and Canada.
Tim also served as Vice-President of the Engine Manufacturers Association.
Since retiring in 2013, Tim has been engaged in numerous consulting activities related to the heavy-duty truck industry.
Mr. Tindall holds Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Master of Business Administration degrees, both from the University of Michigan.
Copyright 2018 | Michigan Capital Advisors | All Rights Reserved
Proudly powered by WordPress . Theme: Corporate Source by eDataStyle.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757040
|
__label__wiki
| 0.583047
| 0.583047
|
Example Pretrial Documents for Plaintiff's Lawyers
Expert Witness Designations
Plaintiff’s Designation of Expert Witnesses
ROBERT LEWIS,
DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS LTD
d/b/a DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP, et al.
Defendants.
Case No. 24-C-069-05747
Now comes the Plaintiff, Robert Lewis, by and through her attorney, Laura G. Zois, and Miller & Zois, LLC, pursuant to Maryland Rule 2-402(e)(1) and this Honorable Court’s Scheduling Order designates the following individuals and entities as potential expert witnesses to testify at the trial of this matter:
Jim Custard, M.D., Jose Marks, M.D. and/or representatives of University Doctors at University of Washington Medical Center, Shock Trauma, experts in the field of emergency and general surgery, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Stan Manger, M.D., Stacy Shore, M.D., Clyde Striker, M.D., LeslieAnne Miller, M.D., Karl Schok, M.D. and/or representatives of University Doctors at University of Washington Medical Center, Shock Trauma, experts in the field of Diagnostic Imaging and Interpretation, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Eli Ackler, Richard Chenson, M.D. and/or representatives of University Doctors at University of Washington Medical Center, Shock Trauma, experts in the field of Neurosurgery, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Mark Studeman, M.D., Kyle Wriggle, M.D. and/or representatives of University Doctors at University of Washington Medical Center, Shock Trauma, experts in the field of Orthopaedic Surgery, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Edmond D. Ricardo, M.D., Randall Simmonts, M.D., James Schoemacker, M.D., Ronald P. Klanzic, M.D. and/or representatives of University Doctors at University of Washington Medical Center, Shock Trauma, experts in the field of Plastic Surgery, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Markus Channel, M.D., Bob Cancol, M.D., Michael Malphrey, M.D. and/or representatives of Kennesaw Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation Hospital, experts in the field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Andrea Shipley, M.D. and/or representatives of the Trauma Clinic at University of Washington Medical Center, Shock Trauma, experts in the field of Trauma Injuries, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Irene Greenbrier, M.D., an expert in the field of General Medicine, is expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and the medical treatment rendered. His doctor is also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctor is expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctor is also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctor’s opinions are based upon her review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Daniel M. Eichenferg, M.D. and/or representatives of Advantage Radiology, experts in the field of Diagnostic Imaging and Interpretation, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
MaryKaye C. Gladen, RPT and/or representatives of Healing Fingers, experts in the field of Massage Therapy, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Darnell Wright, DDS and/or representatives of Darnell Wright, DDS, PC, experts in the field of dentistry, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Stewart Grenich, DDS, PA, and/or representatives of Stewart Grenich, experts in the field of dentistry and Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunctions, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Martin P. Rodack, M.D. and/or representatives of Martin P. Rodack, M.D., experts in the field of Psychiatry, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Dr. Edwin Clanten, is an expert in the field of Orthopaedic Surgery, are expected to testify as to the treatment rendered to Plaintiff following the accident, the fairness, reasonableness, necessity and causal relationship between the injuries sustained in the accident and their medical treatment rendered. His doctors are also expected to testify as to the permanent nature of the injuries sustained by Plaintiff as a result of this accident; future medical expenses and treatment which are reasonably expected to occur in the future. Additionally, his doctors are expected to testify that he suffered from a pre-existing condition and this pre-existing condition was exacerbated in the accident. His doctors are also expected to testify that this pre-existing condition made him more susceptible to injury. The doctors’ opinions are based upon their review of the medical records, treatment or examination of Plaintiff, history taken from Plaintiff and years of experience and medical training. Plaintiff incorporates all of his medical records as though fully set forth herein.
Marty Glaken, Ph.D., is an expert in the fields of psychology, human factor science, and visual warnings; he is expected to testify as to the deficiencies in the visual warnings allegedly placed on the set cart in question and the human factors and psychological factors surrounding such warnings. Dr. Glaken’s opinions are based upon his review of the facts relevant to this accident, his examination of the evidence available, his education and his years of experience and training. He is expected to produce a written report which will be produced upon completion of additional necessary discovery. His curriculum vitae is attached hereto.
Roberto G. Danmiels, PE, Common Engineers & Scientific Study, Inc., is an expert in engineering principles and work place safety. Mr. Danmiels is expected to testify and provide opinions as to the safety of the set cart in question. Mr. Danmiels opinions are based upon his review of the facts relevant to this accident, his examination of the evidence available, his education and his years of experience and training. He is expected to produce a written report which will be produced upon completion of additional necessary discovery. His curriculum vitae is attached hereto.
Jackson M. Ganton, Safest Theater Program, is an expert in the field of Theater Safety Management, and is expected to provide opinions as to the safety issues surrounding the set cart in question and the load out that was done on September 17, 2006. Mr. Ganton’s opinions are based upon his review of the facts relevant to this accident, his examination of the evidence available, his education and his years of experience and training. He is expected to produce a written report which will be produced upon completion of additional necessary discovery. His curriculum vitae is attached hereto.
Plaintiff reserves the right to elicit expert opinions from any experts called by any other party to this lawsuit and/or to rely on the expert opinions provided by any expert called by any other party to this lawsuit.
Plaintiff reserves the right to supplement, revise, or modify its Expert Witness Designation including, but not necessarily limited to, the identification of additional or new experts, based on the production of new evidence, which includes deposition testimony from any experts identified by Defendants.
If and when additional or different opinions are provided by Defendant’s experts and/or those opinions are supplemented, amplified, or modified, Plaintiff further reserves their right to supplement, revise, or modify their Expert Witness Designations, including the identification of additional experts.
If and when any other party identifies additional experts, Plaintiff further reserves their right to supplement, revise, or modify their Expert Witness Designations, including the identification of additional experts.
(410) 760-8922 (facsimile)
Attorney for Plaintiff
Product Liability Verdict Statistics (some lens to what juries are doing in specific product liability cases)
Overview of Product Liability Cases
Sample Defendant's Designation of Experts (auto accident)
Sample Defendant's Designation of Experts (medical malpractice)
Sample Expert Report (product liability)
Striking of Late Expert Designations (which underscores why expert designations should be made with the filing of the complaint)
Help for Tort Attorneys (samples of everything you need to put a case together)
Get Sample Pleadings
Sample Product Liability Expert Designations - Maryland Personal Injury Lawyers
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757043
|
__label__cc
| 0.699474
| 0.300526
|
Bears' Kelvin Hayden Out for Season
Published Aug 7, 2013 at 11:49 AM
Kelvin Hayden was valuable as a back-up cornerback in 2012, but he won't be able to help the Bears this season. The team announced today he is out for the season with a torn hamstring that will require surgery.
He sustained the injury during training camp. Hayden had an interception and five broken up passes in 2012. Isaiah Frey has been impressive in training camp and will likely take Hayden's place on the depth chart. Frey was drafted by the Bears in 2012, and had an interception at Tuesday's practice.
An injury bug has swept the league during the first few weeks of training camp. On Tuesday, three players went down with torn ACLs. The Bears have felt some bumps and bruises, but Hayden's injury is the biggest one they have faced. Earl Bennett suffered a concussion from a hit a Saturday's practice, and will miss Friday's pre-season opener.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757047
|
__label__wiki
| 0.558215
| 0.558215
|
Low Urin Tract Symptoms. 2011 Sep;3(2):79-85. doi: 10.1111/j.1757-5672.2010.00084.x. Epub 2010 Dec 1.
Early Efficacy of an α1 Adrenoceptor Antagonist, Naftopidil, against Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Suggestive of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.
Ishizuka O1, Nishizawa O1, Takeda M1, Nomura T1, Kagawa S1.
Department of Urology, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, JapanDepartment of Urology, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine, University of Yamanashi, Chuo, JapanDepartment of Urology, Institute of Health Biosciences, University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan.
The present study investigated the early efficacy of naftopidil against lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
Subjects comprised patients with LUTS suggestive of BPH who were followed prospectively for 8 weeks. Inclusion criteria were: (i) international prostate symptom score (IPSS) ≥8; (ii) no previous treatment for BPH; and (iii) eligibility for naftopidil monotherapy. IPSS and quality of life index were evaluated, and uroflowmetry and residual urine volume were determined optionally. In the previous study, patients who demonstrated a decrease in total American Urological Association symptom score of 25% or more from baseline were considered responders. The ratio of onset of efficacy of naftopidil was calculated by the ratio of the number of responder in each group with the starting dose.
Naftopidil efficacy was analyzed for 243 patients. Significant improvement of IPSS was achieved within 1-3 days after medication. Starting dosage and average dosage were identified as factors associated with the period until onset of naftopidil efficacy. Onset of efficacy was significantly quicker with a starting dosage of 50 mg/day as compared with 25 mg/day (P = 0.0047). However, ratios of onset of efficacy with starting dosages of 25, 50 and 75 mg/day were 77.9, 76.7 and 85.7%, respectively, showing no significant difference between groups (P = 0.7463). Duration to onset of efficacy with naftopidil dosage ≥50 mg/day was 11.2 days, significantly early compared to dosage <50 mg/day. Incidence of adverse effect was 3.8%.
Naftopidil showed early effects against LUTS suggestive of BPH within a few days.
© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.
benign prostatic hyperplasia; lower urinary tract symptoms; naftopidil; α1 blocker
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757048
|
__label__wiki
| 0.737844
| 0.737844
|
Home | World
"India's Ruling Party Is Anti-Pak, Rebuffed All My Overtures": Imran Khan
"I would never want to have a relationship where Pakistan is treated like a hired gun - given money to fight someone else's war," said Imran Khan.
World | (c) 2018 The Washington Post | Lally Weymouth, The Washington Post | Updated: December 07, 2018 18:39 IST
Imran Khan's remarks come after the US cut military assistance to Pakistan. (FILE PHOTO)
ISLAMABAD:
Imran Khan said Pakistan wants a "proper relationship" with Washington
Trump recently asked him to help bring Afghan Taliban to peace talks
Pak-China tie not one-dimensional, want similar ties with US, he said
Imran Khan, a onetime cricket star, led the life of a glamorous playboy before he turned to Pakistani politics. This summer, after years in the opposition and then as a member of the coalition government in Islamabad, he finally captured the premiership. He inherits it with a daunting list of challenges for his country, including poverty, terrorism and corruption. This past week, President Donald Trump - who has traded Twitter barbs with Khan and cut military assistance to Pakistan - asked him to help bring the Afghan Taliban to peace talks. On the porch outside his home here, he gave his first foreign interview as prime minister to The Washington Post's Lally Weymouth. Edited excerpts follow.
Q. What are you planning to do about your country's relationship with the U.S., which has been deteriorating and has involved a social media war with the president? He wrote in January that "the United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!"
A. It was not really a Twitter war, it was just setting the record right. [Khan wrote on the site this fall: "He needs to be informed abt historical facts. Pak has suffered enough fighting US's war. Now we will do what is best for our people & our interests."] The exchange was about being blamed for deeply flawed U.S. policies - the military approach to Afghanistan.
Q. He wasn't blaming you. He was blaming your predecessors.
A. No, he was saying Pakistan was the reason for these sanctuaries [for Taliban leaders]. There are no sanctuaries in Pakistan.
Q. Every U.S. official says there are Taliban leaders living in Pakistan.
A. When I came into power, I got a complete briefing from the security forces. They said that we have time and time again asked the Americans, "Can you tell us where the sanctuaries are, and we will go after them?" There are no sanctuaries in Pakistan.
Q. Do you believe that?
A. We have 2.7 million Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan. They live in big refugee camps.
Q. But the Americans aren't stupid, come on.
A. But where are these people? Our border between Pakistan and Afghanistan has the greatest amount of surveillance. The U.S. has satellites and drones. These people crossing would be seen.
Q. The U.S. government is saying it would just like Pakistan to cut it out.
A. First, there are no sanctuaries. If there are a few hundred, maybe 2,000 to 3,000 Taliban who move into Pakistan, they could easily move into these Afghan refugee camps.
Q. President Trump wrote you a letter this week asking for your assistance in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table. What is your reply?
A. Peace in Afghanistan is in Pakistan's interest. We will do everything.
Q. You'll put pressure on the Taliban to get them to come?
A. We will try our best. Putting pressure on the Taliban is easier said than done. Bear in mind that about 40 percent of Afghanistan is now out of the government's hands.
Q. American officials say that Pakistan is harboring leaders of the Taliban.
A. I have never understood these accusations. Pakistan had nothing to do with 9/11. Al-Qaida was in Afghanistan. No Pakistani was involved. And yet Pakistan was asked to participate in the U.S. war. There were a lot of people in Pakistan who opposed it, including me. In the 1980s, we collaborated with the U.S. in the Soviet jihad there. Then, in 1989, when the Soviets packed up and left, the U.S. did too. Pakistan was left with militant groups and 4 million Afghan refugees. If we had stayed neutral after 9/11, I reckon we would have saved ourselves from the devastation that took place afterward. By becoming the front-line state for the U.S. in the war on terror, this country went through hell. Over 80,000 people died in the war, and estimates are that over $150 billion was lost in the economy. Investors wouldn't come, nor would sports teams. Pakistan was known as the most dangerous place in the world.
Q. Nevertheless, we are where we are. It appears the Americans want peace talks now in Afghanistan to bring about a settlement so the U.S. troops can leave. Do you want to see them go?
A. I talked for years about how there was no military solution in Afghanistan, and they called me "Taliban Khan." If you did not agree with the U.S. policy, you were [thought to be] anti-American. Now I'm happy that everyone realizes there is only a political solution . . . From Pakistan's point of view, we do not want the Americans to leave Afghanistan in a hurry like they did in 1989.
Q. Because?
A. The last thing we want is to have chaos in Afghanistan. There should be a settlement this time. In 1989, what happened was the Taliban emerged out of the chaos.
Q. There are not many American troops in Afghanistan now.
A. Yes, but the Afghan army is being supported by U.S. dollars. The Taliban clearly realize that for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, they will need American help.
Q. You get the feeling from Trump's tweets that he's done with Afghanistan.
A. This should have happened a long time ago.
Q. Do you have a vision of what you want Pakistan's relationship with the United States to be? Or are you trying to hedge your bets by growing closer to China?
A. I would never want to have a relationship where Pakistan is treated like a hired gun - given money to fight someone else's war. We should never put ourselves in this position again. It not only cost us human lives, devastation of our tribal areas, but it also cost us our dignity. We would like a proper relationship with the U.S.
Q. What does that mean?
A. For instance, our relationship with China is not one-dimensional. It's a trade relationship between two countries. We want a similar relationship with the U.S.
Q. Some people think you're trying to hedge your bets using China.
A. The U.S. has basically pushed Pakistan away -
Q. You've been very anti-U.S. over the years.
A. If you do not agree with U.S. policies, it does not mean you're anti-American. This is a very imperialistic approach. "You're either with me or against me."
Q. You have made statements about the U.S. drone attacks.
A. Drone attacks! Who would not be against drone attacks? Who would allow a drone attack in their country when, with one attack, you kill one terrorist and 10 friends and neighbors? Has there ever been a case of a country being bombed by its own ally? Of course I objected to it. All it did was create more anti-Americanism.
Q. You also did not approve of the U.S. killing Osama bin Laden. You called it a "coldblooded murder."
A. It wasn't killing Osama bin Laden - it was not trusting Pakistan. It was humiliating that we were losing our soldiers and civilians and [suffering terrorist] bomb attacks because we were participating in the U.S. war, and then our ally did not trust us to kill bin Laden. They should have tipped off Pakistan. We did not know whether we were a friend or a foe.
Q. Would you have been OK with it if the U.S. had tipped off Pakistan?
A. Of course . . . I don't know where this came from, "coldblooded murder."
Q. That's what you were reported as saying in the media.
A. I don't remember that, but I do remember that not just me, most Pakistanis felt deeply humiliated that we were not trusted, implying that we were complicit in it.
Q. Do you think Pakistan's relationship with the U.S. should warm up?
A. Who would not want to be friends with a superpower?
Q. To be honest with you, officials across the board - Democrats and Republicans - agree with Trump about the fact that the past Pakistani governments have lied to them.
A. They've been misinformed. Is it possible that the greatest military machine in the history of mankind - 150,000 NATO troops with the best equipment and over $1 trillion - are they saying that just a few thousand Pakistani insurgents are the reason they didn't win in Afghanistan? The United States expected Pakistan to take on the Afghan Taliban. But the Afghan Taliban were not hitting Pakistan. Tehrik-e-Taliban [a Pakistani branch of the Taliban] and al-Qaida were hitting us.
Q. Recently, your government arrested the head of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, Khadim Hussain Rizvi. He elicited riots in the streets after your Supreme Court overturned the sentence of a Christian woman sentenced to death on a blasphemy charge. Why did you order the arrest, and why do you think it's important?
A. It's a straightforward thing. I had gone on television and warned everyone that we will stand by the Supreme Court verdict. If you don't stand by what the Supreme Court says, then there's no state left. The head of the TLP then passed a death sentence on the Supreme Court judges and kept saying that they should be killed.
Q. Your predecessors left you in a terrible financial situation - your country is running a serious current account deficit.
A. In 2013, when the previous government came to power, the current account deficit was $2.5 billion. When we came to power in 2018, it was $19 billion - a huge deficit, especially in a country with falling exports. The immediate thing has been stabilizing the economy.
Q. After your election, you started traveling to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China.
A. We needed support for propping up our foreign currency reserves.
Q. You got some money on your travels?
A. We got some.
Q. The media reports that Saudi Arabia gave you $3 billion in cash and $3 billion in oil credits.
A. Yes. We have received some from all three countries.
Q. For the UAE and China, you can't find figures.
A. Those governments want to keep it confidential. We raised money, but we are talking to the IMF [International Monetary Fund]. We do not want to have conditions imposed on us which would cause more unemployment and inflation.
Q. Are you talking about austerity?
A. Some of the IMF conditions are likely to harm the common man - that's what I'm worried about.
Q. Do you think the negotiations will work out?
A. We have two scenarios: one with the IMF and one without.
Q. Isn't it unrealistic to say "without the IMF"?
A. In the last 30 years, we've had 16 IMF programs. If we go with the IMF, we will make sure this is the last time. Pakistan has never made the structural changes that are needed. Now we have embarked on structural reforms. Already exports are picking up, remittances are going up. We need higher exports, and we are curbing our imports. Already, we have investors coming into Pakistan.
Q. Don't you need to make more people pay taxes?
A. We are making major reforms in our tax collection - getting more people to pay taxes. We want people to be able to make money here. In the 1960s, we were growing fast, and then in the 1970s, [former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali] Bhutto came in with a socialist program. Somehow the mind-set became anti-wealth-creation. This has persisted, sadly, in our bureaucracy and in our political class. We want to make Pakistan an easy place to invest in so that people can utilize our young population.
Q. Do you see signs of direct foreign investment?
A. Yes, Exxon has come back to Pakistan after 27 years, and they're doing a big exploration for us. PepsiCo has put extra investments in Pakistan.
Q. Why?
A. I guess because we are a clean government. We won't be asking them for money.
Q. You founded your party, but it took you 22 years to reach the top.
A. It was a long struggle. For 15 years, it was a very small party. I had only one seat in Parliament. Then about seven years ago, suddenly it was an idea whose time had come.
Q. Why did you persist? You were a cricket star, and you had a great life in England.
A. Because I am part of the first generation of Pakistanis who grew up very proud of our country. Pakistan in the 1960s was an example for the developing world. Then a calamity hit us in 1971, and Pakistan broke up [after Bangladesh won its independence]. From the mid-1980s onwards, we were hit with growing corruption. Corruption goes into megaprojects which have mega-kickbacks. When your political leadership makes money, it cannot park the money in the country because it will be visible. [Past leaders] took that money out of the country, which means the country ends up getting short of foreign exchange. Once your leadership starts making money, it goes right down to every level.
Q. How do you reverse that?
A. My struggle was all about fighting corruption. Corruption you fight from the top, then you build strong state institutions.
Q. You threw out all sorts of gestures to India shortly after you came to office, but India dismissed them.
A. I know, because India has elections coming up. The ruling party has an anti-Muslim, anti-Pakistan approach. They rebuffed all my overtures.
Q. India really wants to see the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai bombing prosecuted. The mastermind, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a leader of the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, was released on bail in Pakistan while a nine-year trial has dragged on for six other suspects, with no results.
A. We also want something done about the bombers of Mumbai. I have asked our government to find out the status of the case. Resolving that case is in our interest because it was an act of terrorism. I have opened a visa-free peace corridor with India called Kartarpur [so that Indian Sikhs can visit a holy shrine in Pakistan]. Let's hope that after the election is over, we can again resume talks with India.
Q. Your main aim is to eliminate poverty in your country?
A. I want to make Pakistan an equitable, just society. I believe in a welfare state. I would be on the opposite side of President Donald Trump in terms of economic policy, probably closer to Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Q. How were your views formed?
A. I went as an 18-year-old to play cricket in England. It was the first time I saw a welfare state. It cared for the underprivileged, for the people who can't compete in the race.
Pakistan Train Collision Kills 11, Injures 78
Chinese Firms Pledge To Invest $5 Billion In Pak After Meeting Imran Khan
Top Sikh Body Invites Imran Khan For Guru Nanak Birth Anniversary Celebration
Imran Khan's Meet With Trump To Help "Reinvigorate Bilateral Ties": Pak
Imran KhanUS-Pakistan relations
বাংলায় পড়ুন
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757050
|
__label__wiki
| 0.858561
| 0.858561
|
Florida Time: 'Great Miami Storm' of '26 among state's biggest hurricanes
Eliot Kleinberg @eliotkpbp
June 1 marked the start of a season we’d just as soon bypassed Florida.
Florida's recorded history — since the arrival of Europeans — dates back 500 years, but most of it has occurred in this century. And along with each major development, a hurricane usually has trailed close behind.
Any map makes it clear why Florida is such a frequent target. Its 1,350-mile coastline accounts for more than one-third of the hurricane strike zone, from Texas’ Mexico border to the tip of Maine. The state sticks out into the sea like a sore thumb.
Of the 289 hurricanes to strike the United States from 1851 to 2015, 108 — more than one-third — included a Florida landfall. Break down the total of 289 to just the 97 major hurricanes — with top sustained winds of at least 111 mph — and 42 of those hit Florida. Of the 42, 18 had a landfall east of Lake Okeechobee and south of Cape Canaveral, the state’s most densely populated area.
In one nine-year period, Florida suffered through three of the 20th century’s four most significant hurricanes (Andrew was the fourth).
While those storms all hit the south end of the state, they were only the worst of dozens that have devastated parts of Florida from Pensacola to Key West. And even places far from landfall suffered because the state overall paid out for recovery, lost tourism income and took other economic hits, and saw its individual residents suffer higher insurance rates.
A storm doesn’t have to hit you to cost you.
We’ll visit the four today and in future columns. First: The Great Miami Storm.
If such a hurricane took the same path now, head-on into Miami, it would cause more than twice the damage that Andrew caused. It also might kill more people — a lot more.
And the storm was the last nail in the coffin for the teetering South Florida land boom.
The Sept. 18, 1926 hurricane still is the most powerful storm to strike Miami proper (Andrew’s official landfall was about 20 miles to the south). Its winds averaged 76.2 mph for 24 hours, the longest period on record at the time for any area to experience hurricane-force winds. And never before had officials recorded an Atlantic hurricane with winds higher than 100 mph for more than an hour.
The storm surge sank or drove onto land at least 150 boats and ships. Downtown Miami's waterfront was flooded for two to three blocks inland from Biscayne Bay. Up to 5 feet of water stood in homes, shops and hotel lobbies. The Miami River overflowed.
The greatest killer, though, may have been ignorance. When the eye arrived, thousands of people emerged from shelter, thinking the storm was over. When the second half of the storm arrived, more vicious than the first, scores died.
The Red Cross would later report that 372 people died from the storm and more than 6,000 were injured. The National Weather Service reports that damages were estimated at $105 million, which would equal more than $164 billion in today's dollars.
A coda: after smashing Miami, the storm shot west across the peninsula and drove water out of Lake Okeechobee's southern end and into Moore Haven, then a town of 1,200 protected only by a 6-foot muck berm. As many as 300 died. Governments said if people were to continue to populate the lake, it would need a bigger wall. But they could take their time. It’s not like the weather gods would send another storm to the big lake any time soon.
Would they?
Eliot Kleinberg is the author of 10 books about Florida (www.ekfla.com) and a staff writer for the past three decades at The Palm Beach Post, The News-Journal’s GateHouse Media partner. Florida Time is a product of GateHouse Media and publishes online in its 22 Florida markets. Submit your questions, comments or memories to FloridaTime@Gatehousemedia.com. Include your full name and hometown. Sorry; no personal replies.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757054
|
__label__wiki
| 0.745184
| 0.745184
|
New York City / NYC
Frank Lloyd Wright’s First Commercial Venture of Textiles and Designs On View at The Met
May 20, 2019–April 5, 2020
The Met Fifth Avenue, Antonio Ratti Textile Center
The renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) launched the first commercial venture of his long and eminent career in 1955, creating affordable home products for the general consumer. The exhibition Frank Lloyd Wright Textiles: The Taliesin Line, 1955–60, which opens at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 20, 2019, will feature printed and woven textiles, wallpapers, and mahogany vases from the line, many of which were recently acquired for The Met collection.
Urged on by the editor of House Beautiful magazine, Elizabeth Gordon, he agreed to design a line of fabrics and wallpapers for F. Schumacher and Co., furniture for Heritage-Hendredon, paint for Martin-Senour, rugs for Karastan, and accent pieces made by Minic Accessories. These designs were featured in the November 1955 edition of House Beautiful, which was completely devoted to Wright and his work. Of the five lines, only the textiles and wallpapers, furniture, and paint were ultimately produced. The designs for the fabrics and wallpapers were based on Wright’s architectural vocabulary and inspired by specific buildings, photographs of which were included in the Schumacher sample book.
This installation features the sample book Schumacher’s Taliesin Line of Decorative Fabrics and Wallpapers Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1955), and nine examples of the fabric it introduced. Only 100 copies of the sample book were printed, and these were available only to authorized dealers. The book includes samples of printed and woven designs and wallpaper. Additionally, all of the pages have been newly photographed and can be viewed on The Met’s website for the first time, as can all 29 pieces of Wright fabric that are in The Met collection. To help create the designs, Wright enlisted his apprentices, members of the Taliesin Fellowship, and one apprentice, Ling Po (1917–2014), was credited with the designs of several of the printed textiles. All were made “under the direction and supervision” of Wright.
While the furniture and paints were not strong sellers, the vibrant textiles and wallpapers were successful, and designs from the original line remained in production for more than a decade. The appeal of Wright’s designs remains evergreen, and Schumacher released an updated version of the Taliesin Line in 1986, and again in 2017 in honor of Wright’s 150th birthday. In addition to the textiles that reflect the signature Wright aesthetic, the installation also includes two examples of Wright-designed wooden vases that were made in a very limited number and never reached the open market, and a 1954 photograph of the architect by Yosuf Karsh.
In conjunction with this exhibition, there is an installation in the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Galleries,Frank Lloyd Wright: Designs for Francis and Mary Little, on view through July 28, 2019, with a second rotation of works on view July 30–November 12, 2019. Inspired by the recent acquisition of drawings, blue prints, building specifications, and letters that add to the existing archive at the Museum, this installation explores the working relationship with Wright’s patrons Francis and Mary Little. The architect built two houses for the Littles—in Peoria, Illinois, and Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. A total of 34 works on paper related to the Little commissions will be shown, ranging from Wright’s iterative sketches to monumental and highly detailed presentation drawings. Frank Lloyd Wright: Designs for Francis and Mary Little is curated by Femke Speelberg, Associated Curator, Drawings and Prints.
Visitors may also explore the Living Room from the Francis W. Little House, 1912–14, in galley 745. A permanent installation at The Met since 1982, The Frank Lloyd Wright Room was originally the living room of the summer residence of Frances W. Little, designed and built between 1912 and 1914 in Wayzata, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The room epitomizes Wright’s concept of “organic architecture,” in which the building, setting, interior, and furnishings are inextricably related. For more information about the room, and to explore its history and features, visit The Met’s website.
Frank Lloyd Wright Textiles: The Taliesin Line, 1955–60 is curated by Amelia Peck, Marica F. Vilcek Curator of Decorative Arts in The American Wing and Supervising Curator of the Antonio Ratti Textile Center.
Mind-Blowing Mini Cities at “Gulliver’s Gate” in NYC’s Times Square
Mind-Blowing Mini Cities at "Gulliver's Gate" Purchase Your Tickets Here… Gulliver's Gate Times Square (New York, NY) 216 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036 Have a look at some of...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757056
|
__label__wiki
| 0.886393
| 0.886393
|
Divorce debacle meets defamation: newspaper publisher accuses estranged wife in print of poisoning him
By Theresa Braine
Joseph Soldwedel, the owner of a chain of small Arizona newspapers, and his wife Felice are locked in a bizarre divorce dispute that includes allegations of poisoning. (Ross D. Franklin / AP)
Joseph Soldwedel, publisher of the Prescott Daily Courier in Arizona, is accusing his estranged wife, Felice Magana, of poisoning him, in a lawsuit levied as part of a divorce battle.
Such “War of the Roses” type cases might be common in court, but Soldwedel’s use of his newspaper as a vehicle to broadcast his allegations brings journalistic ethics into the fray.
The Courier ran a story about the alleged poisoning in December 2017 without naming Magana, but an ad framed with images of skulls and rats did – along with her photo. The lawsuit came in June of this year.
Magana said Soldwedel is merely trying to get out of honoring their prenup, which promises her $900,000 if the couple gets divorced and $1 million if her husband dies. His lawsuit seeks $18 million in damages for civil assault, civil battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Testing of a hair sample submitted to a renowned toxicologist revealed extremely high levels of thallium. But a later test of the same sample by police showed methamphetamine – which conceivably could have been laced with thallium, since heavy metals sometimes make their way into the concoction, according to the Associated Press.
[More U.S. News] SEE IT: New Jersey driver motors away from car wash and into nearby river »
"The test findings are highly suggestive, but not confirmatory, of an intentional poisoning with an intent to kill," Dr. Ernest P. Chiodo, who specializes in forensic toxicology, told The New York Daily News a year ago.
A prosecutor has said there was no evidence of a crime, so charges have not been filed – which brings the specter of defamation to the fore.
“It's highly problematic for a publisher to be using the editorial resources of the paper to pursue a personal vendetta,” Edward Wasserman, dean of the graduate journalism school at the University of California, Berkeley told the Associated Press. “The whole thing is pretty bizarre because someone who is not the publisher would not get that kind of attention, absent law enforcement taking it seriously.”
Latest U.S.
SEE IT: New Jersey driver motors away from car wash and into nearby river
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757058
|
__label__wiki
| 0.978208
| 0.978208
|
Movies|Up Next, a Classic Who Loves Old Films
Up Next, a Classic Who Loves Old Films
Robert Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies, works in a New York studio.CreditCreditDamon Winter/The New York Times
By Dan Barry
Out on the sidewalks of the Flatiron district, a Manhattan without melodrama shuffles along. But just inside a building on East 23rd Street, a white-haired man dressed to kill aims his baby blues right where you live, and utters the password to your grand escape.
“Hi,” he says. “I’m Robert Osborne.”
He says it again and again and again, smiling congenially at the camera that dangles over a warm set designed to evoke his living room. Hi, I’m Robert Osborne. Hi, I’m Robert Osborne. Hi, I’m Robert Osborne.
Say hi to Mr. Osborne, the marquee host for the Turner Classic Movies channel, who is filming introductions for movies to be shown well into December. As always, the films are organized by themes so beguiling that you sit down to watch “North by Northwest,” and the next thing you know, weeks have passed, and your family has left you — so you might as well finish watching “Bringing Up Baby.” Again.
Mr. Osborne has been the Merlin casting this spell since TCM’s very first broadcast 20 years ago. He is a one-of-a-kind cinematic savant, cramming delectable tidbits into brief intros and outros, dissecting films with guests and conducting intimate interviews with stars of a certain age. But he is 82, though he hardly looks it, and the channel’s executives would prefer to change the subject — Hey, December is Cary Grant month! — than discuss a post-Osborne era, so completely does the man personify the TCM brand.
That brand, available in more than 82 million homes, has achieved cultlike popularity. The annual TCM Film Festival in Hollywood sells out quickly, as does a yearly cruise on which nearly 2,000 fans watch movies, discuss movies and try to summon the nerve to talk to movie stars like Shirley Jones. There are even a few TCM tattoos, which might jibe with a 2012 study of the brand: 60 percent of viewers were between 25 and 54, and not a bunch of retirees reminiscing about Buck Rogers serials and lost Shirley Temple dolls.
The TCM alchemy mixes entertainment, audience engagement — and escape. Some days, the world is too much with us: ISIS, Ebola, the broken sump in the cellar. Some days, you’d rather be in a ship’s cabin with the Marx Brothers, Allan Jones, a cleaning lady, two maids, a manicurist, an engineer and his assistant, four waiters — and a woman asking, “Is my Aunt Minnie in here?”
Mr. Osborne helps sell out an annual film festival.CreditEdward M. Pio Roda/Turner Entertainment Networks
“I get stopped on the street all the time,” Mr. Osborne later recalled after a lunch at the New York Athletic Club, which received him with superstar deference. “People say: ‘You got me through cancer last year. You got me past unemployment. You take me away from my troubles.’ Exactly what movies did in the ’30s and ’40s.”
But TCM has had its own troubles, having recently endured buyouts and layoffs imposed by its parent company, Turner Broadcasting, which is part of Time Warner. Still, TCM’s senior vice president for programming, Charlie Tabesh, said the channel would continue to broadcast movies uncut and commercial free. As movie channels like AMC turn more to original programming, he said, TCM will do occasional programming of its own, but remain “true to its core values.”
Those values, he said, are personified by the dapper Mr. Osborne, wearing custom suits made by Guffey’s of Atlanta, as he shares his formidable film expertise with an affable charm, free of condescension.
The celluloid stew he is serving this morning, to be portioned out over several weeks, includes Janet Leigh, fantasy cinema, Spencer Tracy, two films featuring Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, Ingmar Bergman and — in a typically nice TCM touch — the great but mostly forgotten character actress Beulah Bondi.
“Her one great regret was not getting to play the role of Ma Joad in John Ford’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’ the part which went on to win Jane Darwell an Oscar,” Mr. Osborne says to the camera. “Up next! We have Beulah Bondi in a charming movie titled ‘One Foot in Heaven.’ ”
The hint of wistful intimacy in this brief discussion — just one of dozens this day, and one of thousands over the years — is what makes Mr. Osborne irreplaceable. He actually knew Darwell, along with so many others from Hollywood’s golden age. Just a week or so ago, he was chatting with his dear friend Olivia.
That would be Olivia de Havilland, now 98, who made her screen debut in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Mr. Osborne on a movie cruise, interviewing Eva Marie Saint, center, and Tippi Hedren.CreditWill Byington/Turner Entertainment Networks
Mr. Osborne can pinpoint the moment that charted his life’s course: It was 1941, he was 9, and his mother had just bought him a Modern Screen magazine featuring Lana Turner on the cover and, inside, an advertisement for “Kiss the Boys Goodbye,” in which Mary Martin’s lips were impossibly red in an otherwise black-and-white layout. An obsession was born.
Before long, this son of rural Colfax, Wash., was scouring decades-old copies of The New York Times to record — in a book he still owns — the particulars of every first-run movie, down to the theater it opened in and the length of its run.
Mr. Osborne studied journalism at the University of Washington and served in the Air Force in Seattle, pursuing acting all the while. Serendipity struck in the late 1950s, when he appeared in a regional theater production with Darwell, who invited the handsome young actor to live in her guesthouse, outside Hollywood.
He eventually joined the acting stable of Lucille Ball’s Desilu Productions, where she took a maternal liking to him, in part because he knew the work of character actors like Eric Blore and Donald Meek. She invited him to dinner parties and nightclubs, and introduced him to people he knew only from movies and Modern Screen.
One night he found himself dining with Ball, Kay Thompson and Joseph Cotten, among others, and began to think, “Never in my wildest dreams did I ...?”
But then he stopped himself. “Don’t try to kid yourself, Osborne,” he remembers thinking. “You always knew that you’d be in movie stars’ houses, knowing them, being friends with them.”
His own acting career was an unfulfilling loop of commercial bits and small television parts in which he often played a suit with a briefcase whose lines merely advanced the plot. At Ball’s urging, he gave up acting to write, and published his first book, a history of the Oscars, in 1965.
Mr. Osborne's friends include Olivia de Havilland, center, whose film debut was in 1935 with Mickey Rooney in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”CreditFred Prouser/Reuters
Hollywood then was a nostalgia-free zone, populated with former stars not yet prepared to accept the shadows just beyond the spotlight.
“They were cut off like people on a desert island,” said Mr. Osborne, who retains an affable courtliness off camera. “Paulette Goddard, I got to know. Hedy Lamarr, I got to know really well. Nobody gave a damn about Hedy Lamarr back then.”
Nobody except Mr. Osborne, whose knowledgeable appreciation for their careers endeared him to them. “Somebody like Dorothy Lamour,” he said, “she adored me. I knew she had sold more war bonds during the Second World War than almost anybody in Hollywood.”
Bette Davis (!), Lana Turner (!), Ingrid Bergman (!) — they all became good friends. Still, he said, he never forgot the agony on Lamarr’s exquisite face when a strutting Frank Sinatra failed to recognize her, or hearing that the vivacious Turner had stopped going out, after a restaurant hostess snubbed her to accommodate a Loni Anderson entourage.
Mr. Osborne worked for many years as a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, but it wasn’t the best fit; he knew, for example, that Rock Hudson had AIDS but did not break the story, he said, because the actor “didn’t want it known.”
But that job, along with appearances on his friend Dinah Shore’s show and other television gigs, led to an offer as the prime-time host of a new cable channel showcasing Turner Broadcasting’s extensive film library. So, in 1994, began: “Hi, I’m Robert Osborne.”
Since then, TCM has explored A for Astaire, Z for Zanuck, and everything in between: child stars, gangster films, spaghetti westerns, African-Americans in Hollywood, British new wave, Akira Kurosawa, and the seminal work of the Bowery Boys. It has retained the movie-wise Ben Mankiewicz, a descendant of Hollywood royalty, as a regular presence, and featured a succession of guest hosts.
Olivia de Havilland, right, with Mickey Rooney in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” made in 1935.CreditEverett Collection
But Mr. Osborne remains the paterfamilias of film, respectful of other viewpoints but no pushover. If Drew Barrymore, a guest host on Mr. Osborne’s recurring “Essentials” feature, picks “I Love You, Alice B. Toklas” as an essential film, he will gently disagree. If Alec Baldwin celebrates the “Mutiny on the Bounty” of 1962, with Brando, he will indicate his preference for the ’35 version, with Gable.
At times, his interviews with movie legends — Betty Hutton, Kim Novak, Mickey Rooney — are so revealing as to approximate therapy sessions, although Robert Mitchum, ill with emphysema, provided little more than grunts. “He was being a scamp,” the charitable Mr. Osborne said.
Eva Marie Saint, 90, has been interviewed many times about her career, which includes an Oscar-winning performance in “On the Waterfront” and a femme fatale turn in “North by Northwest.” But she said that Mr. Osborne surpasses other interviewers because he creates a “safe place,” in which even personal details become valuable context rather than gossip.
“You look into those beautiful blue eyes and you know that nothing can go wrong,” Ms. Saint said. “He’s one of us, but he also knows a lot more than any of us.”
“There’s only one Robert Osborne,” she added. “I’m sure, as we speak, they’re worrying about that.”
TCM had worries in 2011, when Mr. Osborne took a four-month leave of absence. It was as if your favorite priest or bartender — the one who got you through a tough time — had disappeared. His absence was more unnerving than Dame May Whitty’s disappearance in “The Lady Vanishes.”
Mr. Osborne, who is single, said that he simply needed a restorative timeout from his taxing schedule, which included incessant flights to Atlanta to film his segments at the Turner headquarters. To accommodate him, TCM built the 23rd Street set, allowing him to commute from his apartment in a Midtown building called, of course, the Osborne.
He expressed gratitude for TCM’s reassurances during his last contract negotiation, and said he planned to work “as long as I have health, and as long as I think I look O.K. on camera.” He added, “If I really couldn’t do it with enthusiasm, that would be the time to quit.”
Mr. Osborne even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.CreditVince Bucci/Getty Images
Mr. Osborne knows his good fortune. He is paid well and widely loved for doing what he would be doing no matter what: watching, researching and talking about movies. That wistful trace in his voice comes from a regret that TCM did not arrive soon enough for so many actors to know how their work has endured.
“When I knew Barbara Stanwyck, she was dead in the water, and she knew it,” he said of the great actress, who died in 1990. “My God, I wish she was still around.”
Back in that faux living room, the taping continues. Two umbrellas rest in a stand. A gray suitcase sits in the corner. A black-and-white aerial photograph of Colfax hangs on the wall.
Mr. Osborne tells the senior producer Gary Freedman that he needs to reshoot a segment on the 1958 movie “Separate Tables” because he failed to mention that two of its stars, David Niven and Wendy Hiller, had won Academy Awards for it. Such details are as familiar to him as air. He is intimately involved in the research, writing and editing of every script.
Other movies follow: “Northwest Passage.” “Touch of Evil.” “Psycho.” “Topper.” “House of Wax.” “The Naked Spur.”
Hi, I’m Robert Osborne.
When the shoot ends, Mr. Osborne steps out into the real world, where yet another stranger or two might stop to thank him for helping them forget their cancer, their unemployment, their grief, even if only for as long as a Fred-and-Ginger duet.
He returns, finally, to the Osborne, where he maintains three apartments on separate floors. One is his office, where Veronica Lake peeks down through her blond bang from a “Sullivan’s Travels” poster. Another is for the storage of his extensive collection of movie ephemera.
And the last is for Robert Osborne to live in as just Bob Osborne, with almost no Hollywood remnant on display. It provides escape from escape, and a quiet place for those weekly telephone chats to talk about everything and nothing with his friend Olivia.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section AR, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Up Next, a Classic Who Loves Old Films. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757060
|
__label__wiki
| 0.947769
| 0.947769
|
Senators sacrifice getting them back in series
by Chris Stevenson
OTTAWA -- In the eyes of Ottawa Senators coach Dave Cameron, the smile on the face of forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau says a lot about why the Senators are back in their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Montreal Canadiens.
After falling behind 3-0 in the best-of-7 series, the Senators have won two in a row and with a win in Game 6 at Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; CBC, NBCSN, TVA Sports) can force a seventh game at Montreal on Tuesday.
A big reason the Senators are back in this series has been their willingness to block shots and take hits to make plays.
After blocking another big shot by Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban in the third period of the Senators' 5-1 win in Game 5 on Friday, Pageau limped to the bench and had that smile on his face.
Cameron said the willingness to make that kind of sacrifice has boosted Ottawa. The Senators have blocked 20 of Subban's shots.
Pageau has blocked 14 shots in the series to tie for the Senators lead.
"Some guys do it and do it well and other guys not so much, but that's just the nature of it," Cameron said. "It lifts a team for sure. It lifts the bench. He comes off and he's smiling. He's in pain and he's smiling. That's a huge contradiction, but it's winning hockey, we call it.
"The reason this team is on the roll it's on is they do that. From a coaching point of view, it's a sign your team is committed to winning at all costs. You see not just Pageau, but guys in front of P.K. Subban teeing it up and they are going to be there and they are going to continue to be there. It's one of those intangibles that goes into winning. It's not something you read about in the paper. You read about the goals and the assists and things like that. It's every bit a part of winning as the goals and the assists."
After Game 5, Subban said of his shot and Pageau's willingness to block it: "It's only going to get harder as the series goes on, so I wish him the best of luck."
Pageau wasn't backing down Saturday.
"Whatever [Subban] says, I guess I'm not going to move," he said. "I've got equipment on and that's my job. I'm not going to move, for sure. I don't care if his shot gets harder, like he said. I'm not moving."
Pageau said he would be ready to play in Game 6.
"I'm fine," he said. "He has a good shot. It hurt when it happened, but now it's fine. I'll be fine, I think."
Senators goaltender Craig Anderson, who has stopped 120 of 123 shots since replacing Andrew Hammond as starter for Game 3, said teammates notice and appreciate the little plays that are made on winning teams at this time of year.
"It's the things that don't get talked about," Anderson said. "It's the plays as players you recognize and you know that's why you have success, but at the end of the day, it doesn't get talked about and players don't get rewarded for it, but as a team, as a group, we get the win so there is an overall reward for it."
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757062
|
__label__cc
| 0.66713
| 0.33287
|
W3112: Reproductive Performance in Domestic Ruminants
Milan Shipka
Mark Mirando
The W-112 Regional Research Project was established in 1970 to create a cooperative research group combining both basic and applied expertise to determine factors, and develop methods to improve fertility of domestic ruminants in the Western states. The philosophy and mission for the W-3112 project, established more than forty years ago, continues to be the guiding tenet of our group; that is, cooperative multi-state research, providing product and technique development and outreach for the benefit of animal producers in the Western region and beyond.
The project serves as a forum for the development and conduct of collaborative studies aimed at solving problems that limit the reproductive performance of domestic livestock. Scientists associated with the project collectively possess expertise required to discover basic physiological mechanisms and translate such new knowledge to the management of domestic ruminants. Some stations are best equipped to evaluate the applicability of their results in production situations. In contrast, other stations have the animal resources to test new treatment paradigms arising from the basic studies, but do not have the laboratory facilities (or modern equipment) necessary to perform the basic research studies. These circumstances create an ideal situation for our regional collaborative project. Renewal of the W-2112 Regional Research Project is crucial because interactions among scientists with a broad range of expertise are necessary for the discovery, translation, and transfer of new knowledge to the livestock industry.
Poor reproductive efficiency in domestic ruminants limits profitability and sustainability of animal production systems in the West and throughout the nation. Therefore, we seek to continue our work in this critical area. Participation in the project since its inception has greatly increased in scope and is now comprised of scientists located in the states of Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming. We believe the reproductive challenges important in the Western states and shared by other states are best addressed by combining the expertise and resources from all regions. The addition of leading reproductive biologists from states outside the West has increased the breadth and greatly strengthened the scientific expertise of the W-2112 (W-3112) project. Renewal of this multi-state project is essential to continue to provide a forum that stimulates the development of new hypotheses, conduct of new collaborative research projects, sharing of resources, and identification and testing of new methods to manage reproduction in domestic ruminants.
The livestock industry is a critical component of the agricultural industry in the states represented by scientists involved with the project. The dairy, beef, and sheep industries together contribute approximately $81.5 billion in farm receipts and an estimated overall production value of $192 billion. In addition, direct and indirect employment related to the production and processing of these animals or their products supports over 2.3 million jobs (Otto and Lawrence, 2002; Cryan, 2004; Shiflett, J.S. 2008). Over 64 percent of the nation’s breeding cows (beef and dairy) and 76 percent of the US sheep inventory exist in states represented by participating W-3112 scientists (USDA-NASS, 2012).
W-3112’s goals are consistent with the USDA 2010-2015 Strategic Plan’s Goals 1, 3 and 4. Specific objectives addressed by the project include Objective 1.1 (Enhance rural prosperity), Objective 1.3 (Support a sustainable and competitive agricultural system), Objective 3.1 (Ensure U.S. Agricultural resources contribute to enhanced global food security), Objective 3.2 (Enhance America’s ability to develop and trade agricultural products derived from new technologies), Objective 4.1 (Increase access to nutritious food), and Objective 4.4 (Protect agricultural health by minimizing major diseases and pests to ensure access to safe, plentiful, and nutritious food). Our primary stakeholders are farmers and ranchers in states represented by scientists participating in the project, but there is broad applicability of our work nation-wide. Our secondary stakeholders are the consumers of animal products that benefit from the reduced prices associated with efficient animal production systems. Our tertiary stakeholders are the citizens of communities whose economies are improved by their proximity to profitable and sustainable animal industries and that benefit from the multiplier effects these industries have on community economies.
Reproductive efficiency is widely regarded as the most limiting factor to profitability in animal production systems. Nowhere is this more evident than in the modern dairy industry. Beef producers also suffer as a result of delayed onset of puberty and extended postpartum anestrus, low fertility, and lighter calves at weaning. In the beef industry alone, the cost of infertility to U.S. producers was estimated to be over $1.06 billion annually (Lamb, et al., 2008). Sheep producers also miss out on the potential for added revenue by not realizing the genetic potential for lambing rates in their flocks. Finally, new challenges are faced by farms and ranches managing domesticated exotic ruminants whose reproductive physiology is relatively unknown.
Sub-optimal reproductive efficiency of domestic ruminants and feed costs associated with producing those animals are major obstacles to maintaining the profitability and sustainability of livestock production enterprises. Up to 70 percent of costs associated with producing viable offspring can be attributed to feed required to maintain their dams during gestation. Likewise, decreased fertility resulting from delayed onset of puberty, prolonged postpartum anestrous intervals, early embryonic mortality, and seasonality of breeding continues to limit production. One of the objectives of our work in W-3112 is to provide the scientific and technical expertise that will encourage development and application of science-based management tools to improve the productivity, efficiency, and profitability of livestock producers. In the current project plan we expect to increase our efforts to bring knowledge to producers helping them make decisions based on sound science while at the same time, expanding our understanding of factors that affect reproductive efficiency.
For the current project, research will be focused in four main areas: mechanisms of ovulation and potential causes of anovulation, establishment of pregnancy, fetal development/prenatal programing that affects fetal development, and male reproduction.
Many of the stations that are members of this collaborative agreement are located in the arid western states. Due to the relative paucity of vegetation in these states compared to those in other regions of the U.S., different management techniques are necessary. Therefore, most of the approaches to improve reproductive efficiencies of cattle and sheep in these regions will, of necessity, be different than approaches where these species are maintained in smaller pastures or in confinement as is the case with projects focusing on reproduction in North Central and North East regions.
Related, current and previous research by members of W-2112 (W-1112) is based on the premise that applied research experiments stem from a foundation of previous basic research studies. Studies reported herein, therefore, describe the discovery of mechanisms that regulate reproduction and the translation of those results into methods to improve reproductive performance in domestic ruminants. The list of research achievements, publications, and student theses that are the product of the collaborative work of members of the Project is extensive. During the last 5 year period, 333 refereed publications and technical bulletins and 6 book chapters were generated. In addition, a symposium of research findings was presented to a regional audience of extension educators at the 2015 Western Section American Society of Animal Science Beef Symposium in Ruidoso, New Mexico. Although it is not possible to detail each significant accomplishment, a summary of the major advances is provided below.
Major Advances:
Biology of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis. Estradiol induces the pre-ovulatory LH surge through genomic actions but the onset, duration and magnitude of the surge are controlled by non-genomic effects of estradiol on numbers of GnRH receptors. KiSS-1 peptide modulates LH secretion by regulating the secretion of GnRH without effects on the anterior pituitary gland and independent of the actions of estradiol and progesterone. Microarray analysis identified genes that are differentially expressed in the pituitary gland of cows during the transition from postpartum anestrus to estrous cycling. The higher frequency of GnRH pulses is associated with a higher content of kisspeptin in the hypothalamus during the breeding season, reflecting an increase in kisspeptin input to the preoptic area and mediobasal hypothalamus. Studies will be undertaken to stimulate onset of breeding activity during the nonbreeding season in sheep using anti-estrogens to block the hypersensitivity to estradiol that suppresses the rapid pulses of GnRH needed to promote ovarian activity.
A radioimmunoassay was developed allowing for the quantification of kisspeptin in the brain. The quantification of kisspeptin lead to the determination that kisspeptin (rather than GnRH) changes throughout the year in sheep brain and is likely responsible for seasonal differences in reproductive activity.
Ovarian Biology and Follicle Development Research. Studies focused on vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) in ovarian development and follicle number demonstrated the importance of angiogenic VEGF isoforms on granulosa cell survival and follicle development. Three variants of the FSH receptor are produced at different stages of follicular development. Stable granulosa cell lines expressing specific FSH receptors were used to characterize precise roles for each receptor variant. It was determined differences in gene expression for the regulation of folliculogenesis are partially attributed to breed.
Cows with androgen excess have theca cells phenotypically similar to women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Gene expression of CYP17 and CYP11 are increased along with GATA6, a transcription factor which can upregulate both CYP17 and CYP11, causing excess androgen to be produced. Furthermore, granulosa cells from these androgen excess cows appear to be arrested in the cell cycle and do not proliferate appropriately since FSH stimulated cows with androgen excess have 50% reduction in number of granulosa cells in similar stage follicles. Thus, compromised granulosa cell function may retard appropriate oocyte development.
Estrous Cycle, Physiology, & CL Function. Corpora lutea (CL) function is primarily dependent on number of theca and granulosa cells within the ovulatory follicle that luteinize following ovulation to form luteal cells. CL function is also dependent on the luteal microenvironment which is affected by immune cells that also secrete cytokines. Studies using microarray analysis of CL collected 4, 2, and 1 hour after Prostaglandin F2-alpha (PGF) administration demonstrated that PGF induces expression of immune regulatory genes in vivo. Of particular interest was the prediction of IL-17 signaling and NFκB activation. It was determined that IL-17, but not PGF, directly activated NFκB signaling in luteal cells and IL-17, in combination with TNF and PGF, reduced LH-stimulated progesterone secretion. Thus, PGF induced IL-17 and cytokine activation of NFκB signaling contributes to the dampening of progesterone synthesis by inhibiting LH-stimulated progesterone secretion which appears to be critical during CL regression in beef cows. Additional studies evaluated the expression of interferon gamma (IFNg), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa), IL12, IL10, chemokine ligand twelve (CXCL12), and chemokine receptor four (CXCR4) in CL tissue from non-pregnant (NP) compared to pregnant ewes. An increase in Th1 cytokines and CXCL12 in CL from pregnant ewes was observed. The CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling may play a role in regulating the cytokine milieu in the CL thereby influencing CL integrity and function. This is especially important because CL function is obligatory to pregnancy establishment and CL destruction is obligatory during the estrous cycle to allow a subsequent cycle and another opportunity to establish pregnancy.
Cows with androgen excess also have sporadic anovulation (do not ovulate two consecutive estrous cycles) and appear to have lower sex hormone binding globulin which may be due to altered metabolic function related perhaps to decreased estrogen carrying capacity in the blood. These cows also have 17% reduction in calving rate and appear to develop persistent follicles. Furthermore, calves from androgen-excess cows wean approximately 26 lbs heavier which may be due to excess androgens during gestation. Alternatively, this compensatory growth could have developed due to feeding high protein supplements either during gestation or early life and be a result of prenatal/neonatal programming. Current efforts include characterization of liver steroid metabolism and CL response to PGF of androgen excess and normal cows. The incidence of androgen excess cows within herds has been as high estimated to be as high as 10%.
Oocyte-Embryo-Uterine Physiology. An oocyte/embryo specific gene (JY-1) was identified. This gene regulates cumulus expansion, is dependent on the presence of additional oocyte-secreted factors, and is potentially mediated in part by PGE2 and genes related to stabilization of the hyaluronan-rich extracellular matrix. Cumulus expansion and progression to metaphase II, fertilization, and cleavage rates following IVF are reduced following siRNA mediated ablation of JY-1 in oocytes. Such effects can be rescued by addition of recombinant JY-1 to culture medium suggesting an obligatory role for JY-1 in pregnancy establishment. Additional studies using siRNA demonstrated an obligatory role for follistatin in regulation of early embryogenesis. A negative association of cumulus cell cathepsin expression with oocyte competence and development to the blastocyst stage was established. Treatment with a cathepsin inhibitor during meiotic maturation enhanced blastocyst development.
Reciprocal embryo transfer and duration of proestrus studies demonstrated that effects of ovulatory follicle size on fertility may be manifested through effects of estradiol on the oocyte and uterus. Preovulatory concentrations of estradiol did not influence expression of ISG-15, MX-2, embryonic CSH-1 or IFNt on d 17.5 of gestation or the estrous cycle in cattle. However, estradiol tended to increase the expression of endometrial nuclear progesterone receptors, and is essential in the peri-ovulatory period for subsequent successful embryo implantation in the cow. It was demonstrated the embryo induces endometrial expression of an uncharacterized gene referred to as decidual restricted gene 1 (Drg1). Drg1 may be required for the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. Endocrine effects of IFNt on the CL between Days 13 and 14 of pregnancy in the ewe may protect the CL through mechanisms complementary, yet independent to IFNt’s paracrine effects on the endometrial oxytocin receptor pathway. Infusion of IFNt into the uterine vein in non-pregnant sheep induced IFN-stimulated genes in the CL.
Conceptus elongation coincides with the expression of peri-attachment factor (PF). The use of lentiviral-mediated RNA interference demonstrated that PF is required for normal conceptus elongation and survival.
The roles of fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) on oocyte competency and pregnancy establishment were elucidated. Embryo development in vitro is improved by supplementing FGF2 or FGF10. At least four FGF receptors (FGF-R) reside in pre- and peri-attachment bovine conceptuses. Conceptuses express at least three candidate FGFs during elongation. FGF2 may signal through a downstream PRKCD to regulate IFNt expression in bovine trophectoderm and promote embryonic endoderm development. Blocking FGF receptor activity with specific kinase-domain inhibitors did not affect blastocyst formation in vitro but compromised subsequent development and function. Treatment with FGF receptor inhibitors during maturation limited subsequent embryo development.
A highly specific radioimmunoassay was developed for ovine IFNT, which has different levels of detection in uterine flushing compared to serum. Unfortunately, this ovine assay may not recognize all forms of bovine IFNT and for this reason a new radioimmunoassay and ELISA for IFNT in bovine tissues and fluids will be developed.
The roles of chemokine ligand twelve (CXCL12) and its receptor, chemokine receptor four (CXCR4) exert during early gestation was investigated by delivering a CXCR4 antagonist directly into the uterine lumen during embryo attachment and initial placentation in ewes. A decrease in VEGF was noted in caruncle tissue from treated ewes and alterations in expression of various cytokines were observed. Impaired CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling may lead to poor pregnancy outcomes, such as impaired trophoblast attachment and compromised embryonic growth. A better understanding of CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling during early gestation, may lead to novel applied techniques to improve embryo survival during early gestation in livestock.
Testicular Physiology. Studies were conducted to evaluate bovine testis and spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) xenografts. Effects of VEGF on testis development and spermatogenesis were evaluated to elucidate factors critical for SSC differentiation and maintenance. Using magnetic activated cell sorting technology, Thy 1 was identified as a conserved marker of SSC. Peritubular myoid cells and testosterone are important components of the SSC renewal in the adult testis. Three angiogenic and three tissue growth factors that may improve efficiency of ectopic testis tissue grafting were identified. In conditional KO mice models, it was determined VEGFA angiogenic isoforms appear to enhance SSC renewal while antiangiogenic isoforms cause either apoptosis or allow for SSC differentiation into later stage germ cells. This information will be applied to bovine or ovine systems to determine effects on stem cell populations in domestic livestock.
Active immunization of ram lambs against inhibin increased sperm production 26%. The magnitude of increase in sperm production was directly proportional to the inhibin antibody titer. Inhibin appears to be involved in regulation of the number of primary spermatocytes in males. Based on DNA parent verification, variation in offspring proportion that is not correlated with scrotal size exists in serving capacity or unknown fertility measures of bulls in multiple sire breeding herds. Novel biomarkers on sperm associated with fertility have been characterized and removal of abnormal sperm from the ejaculate of bulls prior to extending and freezing of semen for artificial insemination (AI) increased pregnancy rates in cattle.
Uterine-Placental-Fetal Nutritional Interactions. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with metabolic complications that limit performance in offspring. These studies indicate that developmental adaptions to conditions resulting in IUGR permanently impair insulin-producing pancreatic β-cells. Growth-restricted fetuses have decreased β-cell mass and reduced insulin secretion capacity. A sheep model of placental insufficiency-induced IUGR has similar deficiencies in β-cells. The aim of these studies was to elucidate mechanisms responsible for β-cell dysfunction first by determining gene expression of the islet exome from IUGR fetuses. Near term placental insufficiency-induced IUGR (established by environmental hyperthermia) islets were isolated. Isolated RNA was sequenced with Illumina hiseq2500 and analyzed using the Tuxedo Suite. Reference annotation based assembly using both bovine and ovine genomes identified differentially expressed transcripts. RNA transcripts were queried for enrichment and modeled to functional pathways previously defined. In IUGR islets, 197 transcripts were upregulated and 493 were downregulated using the ovine genome reference. For the bovine genome reference, 425 transcripts were upregulated and 652 downregulated. The two lists were combined for pathway analysis. For downregulated genes, pathways over-represented were cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions (4.8%) and chemokine signaling pathway (2.3%). IUGR islets had reduced expression of CCL2, CCL3, CCL4, CCL5, CCL21, CXCR4, and a portion of the interleukin family of cytokines including IL-1β, IL-8, and IL-6. IUGR islets expressed greater concentration of CXCL12, IL-6R and GPR75. Placental insufficiency-induced IUGR fetuses have decreased pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines that regulate homeostatic processes in the islets. Previous findings indicate IUGR suppresses the inflammatory response in postnatal animals and transiently alters neonatal islet T-helper cells. However, findings also indicate a role for cytokines in β-cell dysfunction because the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis promotes pancreatic β-cell growth and genesis in human and rodent systems.
Fetuses from ewes obese at conception and continuously fed above NRC requirements throughout gestation exhibit marked increases in glucose and fatty acid uptake and adiposity by mid-gestation. At birth, lambs from obese dams had greater body fat and reduced pancreatic function, and were prone to overeating and obesity. These effects remain evident in the second generation in absence of maternal obesity. Second generation males and females remain insulin resistant. However, females, but not males, are insulin resistant in absence of obesity or a feeding challenge. Changes in liver production of IGFBP-3 in the offspring may be partially responsible for growth and adiposity differences noted in offspring from obese mothers.
Impaired placental function was a primary cause of fetal growth restriction. Undoubtedly the placenta plays a major role in determining fetal growth rate. This is obvious from its role as the interface between the maternal and fetal systems, providing for nutrient transport to the fetus and waste removal from the fetus. Additionally, the placenta is a rich source of hormones and growth factors that likely impact the fetus, mother or both. The existence of the placental lactogens (PLs) has been known for over 50 years, and it has been hypothesized that human and sheep PL modulate maternal and fetal metabolism. Lentiviral-mediated transgenesis within the sheep placenta was used to assess the importance of PL in fetal growth regulation at mid (50 d) or late (135 d) gestation. A 50% reduction in oPL mRNA and a 38% reduction in placental oPL protein was achieved using the “knockdown” model. This reduction in oPL was associated with reduced fetal liver (41%) and body (32%) weight. Fetal liver insulin like growth factor (IGF)-1 and -2 mRNA concentrations were reduced 82% and 71%, respectively, with a 62% reduction in umbilical artery IGF-1 concentration. There was a similar reduction in IGFBP-2 (74%) and IGFBP-3 (81%) mRNA. Thus, in utero nutrition has epigenetic effects on the offspring that influence metabolic and production efficiency of livestock.
Statistical Methodology. Statistical methodology and software tools were developed for the appropriate and meaningful analysis of gene expression data, primarily to advance discovery of genomic mechanisms influencing embryo development. A statistical measure JED (Jackknife Expression Difference) was developed to assess the level of numerical dependence induced by various preprocessing methods for gene expression data. Based on this measure, researchers using the Affymetrix platform were given greater confidence in the statistical properties of common preprocessing methods such as RMA. A statistical framework and software package (mvGST, for multivariate gene set testing) was developed to identify differentially active (up or down) Gene Ontology terms based on gene-level significance tests from any experimental design and any transcriptomic platform, used for non-model organisms, including across multiple stages of embryonic development. This mvGST package includes a SFL (Short Focus Level) statistical approach developed to limit the probability of any false positives in testing Gene Ontology terms. This approach is more powerful than other approaches while also being computationally 15,000 times faster. Taken together, these statistical approaches applied to an RNA-Seq study have allowed greater statistical power and computational efficiency in confirmatory identification of biological processes that are differentially active between embryos derived from different assisted reproductive technologies at specific stages of development, while making fewer Type I errors.
The statistical issues originally motivated by this RNA-Seq study were found to have extensions (with multiple hypothesis testing) for quantitative trait mapping in natural populations. This limitation lead to the development of a two-stage LD-based QTL mapping approach that is more powerful and computationally much faster than current methods. While these QTL methods have yet to be applied to reproductive genetics data, they deserve mention here due to their origins in this project.
Behavior and Stress. Objective identification of temperament, and the coupling of stress-responsiveness with immune function, provided impetus to develop methods to select for calm, stress-tolerant, immune-competent, disease-resistant cattle. Exit velocity from a standard squeeze chute was indicative of stress perception in cattle and can be measured reliably as early as 21 d after birth. Calf exit velocity was associated with serum cortisol concentrations but not with temperament of its dam.
Prenatal stress may program bull calves to function more normally when presented with stressors later in life. When stressed at maturity, the prenatally stressed bulls had more frequent LH pulses than control bulls. This research resulted in the development of an EPD for docility for Brahman cattle used by the American Brahman Breeders Association.
Dopamine synthesis and release in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brainstem is credited for pleasurable aspects of mating activity and is central to the reinforcement and repeated expression of that behavior. Following exposure to a putative sexual stimulus, inactive rams had fewer dopamine-synthesizing neurons in the VTA than sexually active rams. Lack of sexual interest in low sexually performing rams may be partially a result of decreased dopamine synthesis in the VTA leading to a less pleasurable experience and attenuated reinforcement of sexual behavior.
Fertility, estrous synchronization and AI. The optimal timing, dose, and route of administration of progesterone, PGF, and GnRH to induce ovulation or estrous cycles was investigated and a protocol developed that increased success to AI by more than 10% in both heifers and cows.
A genome-wide association study was conducted using the EMMAX mixed-model association test to compare genomic differences related to cow fertility. These studies indicate that conceptus growth is not compromised in sub-fertile heifers up to d 14 after estrus. Observed differences in capacity for pregnancy success is manifested between days 14 and 28 when pregnancy recognition signaling and conceptus implantation must succeed for the establishment of pregnancy. Genetic markers identified in this study may be useful to select animals for fertility and enhance our understanding of the physiological pathways governing pregnancy success and loss in mammals.
A number of circulating exosomal-derived miRNAs were identified that differ in abundance in non-pregnant and pregnant cows. Future studies are essential to confirm their suitability as biomarkers for assessment of embryonic presence and viability in cattle and facilitate characterization of mechanisms associated with pregnancy failure.
Late embryonic mortality (> d 28 of gestation) has been reported in both beef and dairy cattle and may vary from 3.2 to 42.7%. The majority of these losses occur around the time that placentomes are beginning to form (~d 35-40 of gestation). Pregnancy associated glycoproteins at day 31 of gestation may be a potential biomarker of late embryonic mortality and a possible model to help understand this period of pregnancy loss in cattle.
Disease, immune function. Epizootic bovine abortion (EBA) is the cause of late-term abortions in beef cattle grazing within regions endemic for the pajahuello tick vector and can result in abortion rates reaching 60%. The pathogen causing EBA as an intracellular bacterium in the class Myxococalesk transmitted through the tick vector. In affected cattle, immunity to subsequent EBA induced abortions occurs but the duration of this protective effect is undetermined. Ongoing efforts indicate that cows are unlikely to abort if exposed to the pathogen in the year subsequent to abortion and that some protection is evident on a herd-wide basis in the second year. A SCID mouse model was developed to serve as a method to raise the etiologic agent of EBA. This allowed for the consistent transmission of the disease with quantifiable amounts of agent. Ongoing research using the mouse grown agent as a source of antigen to vaccinate cattle herds has shown to be a safe method of protection against EBA when administered to non-pregnant cows and heifers. Further research is ongoing but preliminary studies have shown the vaccine provides nearly 100% protection in cows and heifers tested.
Bovine viral diarrhea (BVDV) is a widespread problem that can result in abortions, stillbirths, and birth of weak and chronically sick calves that are carriers of the disease. Cows exposed to the virus during early gestation give birth to persistently infected calves. Persistent infection with ncpBVDV induces a chronic type I interferon response. Because type I interferon acts as a growth suppressive cytokine, this long-term upregulation may contribute to the IUGR observed in persistent BVDV calves and in other viral infections during pregnancy. Through clarifying how BVDV persists, better biocontainment (detection) and treatment (antivirals) strategies can be implemented. Identification and selection of breeding animals resistant to viral infection will also be imperative to control this insidious disease.
Discover mechanisms within five years that have potential to translate into applicable biotechnologies to improve reproductive efficiency in domestic ruminants.
Comments: While we have independent objectives, it is the work of the whole and the culmination of each objective working together that allows for a greater understanding of reproductive physiology in domestic ruminants. The W2112 (W3112) project has a long history of interdisciplinary and long-standing collaborations that underpin our success. In short, each objective, albeit independent, supports and enhances the other objectives. Our Specific Objectives include:
a. Further understand mechanisms of gonadotropin synthesis and release to improve management of reproductive behavior, the reproductive cycle, gamete development and the ovulatory event.
b. Determine the interaction of growth factors and steroid production on gonadal function, and utilize this knowledge to improve gamete quality and develop technologies to mediate infertility.
c. Improve management of reproductive cycles through increased understanding of follicle recruitment, ovulation and corpus luteum development.
d. Increase knowledge of mechanisms that allow for the establishment of pregnancy. Further understanding the interface of the reproductive and immune systems will allow for the development of technologies that target the immune system decreasing the incidence of early embryonic/fetal loss.
e. Increase the understanding of communication and nutrient flow between the embryo/fetus and the dam. This understanding would improve fetal health outcomes and adult wellbeing, and would be important for the optimization of livestock production goals.
W-2112 (W3112) collaborators share a common interest in developing methods to optimize reproduction in domestic ruminants but differ in regards to expertise, laboratory facilities, availability of research animals, and basic or applied approaches to research. This combination of abilities provides unique opportunities to discover and translate scientific information crucial for the development of methods to optimize reproduction in domestic ruminants. Examples of such collaborative efforts follow in a later section.
Presented below are studies that will be conducted in the areas of: mechanisms of ovulation, establishment of pregnancy and placental development, and fetal development and male reproduction. The collaborations among states are stated with each project.
Mechanisms of ovulation (Objectives a, b, c). A population of cattle with excess androgen (A4) in follicular fluid of dominant follicles, with reduced sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), that are either chronic or sporadic anovulatory will be utilized to determine how inflammation, metabolism, and steroidogenesis disruption results in anovulation. These cows have elevated markers for inflammation, liver damage and androgen excess in theca cells with less response to FSH in granulosa cells and also have a 17% reduced calving rate. In this project, scientists from Nebraska, New Mexico, Mississippi, Colorado, and Connecticut will identify alterations in liver enzymes and liver function, gonadotropin secretion and function, metabolic function (muscle and fat), to determine if these are similar phenotypes to women with metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and type II diabetes as well as address how
A4 cows might be identified in producer herds to either select against and/or develop unique strategies to enable reproductive success (capitalizing on the 26 lbs. increased weaning weight).
To mitigate pregnancy loss in cattle, mechanisms by which ovulatory follicle size (indicative of estradiol production and follicle maturity) influence oocyte maturity and uterine receptivity for pregnancy will be investigated. Intra-follicular mechanisms may include differential expression of transcripts from follicular cells and oocytes of cows induced to ovulate mature and immature follicles compared to follicles allowed to progress toward final stages of spontaneous ovulation. Preliminary evidence has shown that peri-ovulatory estradiol is critical to implantation of the bovine conceptus. Differences in the transcriptome of cumulus cells and oocytes, and follicle wall collected from dominant bovine follicles that differ in physiological maturity following a spontaneous or GnRH-induced gonadotropin surge will be determined. Finally, microRNAs derived from exosomes of maternal serum will be utilized to identify potential markers of pregnancy and early embryonic mortality in cattle. Scientists from Missouri, Montana, and Kentucky will collaborate on this project with comparisons to the androgen excess model from the previous project to determine how less estrogen may contribute to the ovulatory process with scientists from Nebraska, New Mexico, Mississippi, Colorado, and Connecticut.
Environmental toxins including phthalates are ubiquitous chemicals that can contaminate many products including animal feed. In women, phthalate exposure is associated with early menopause, decreased hormone levels, and early pregnancy loss. Because ingestion of polluted feed is a source of phthalate exposure for production animals, understanding the mechanisms by which phthalates interact with the female reproductive system will be beneficial to women as well as production animals. As such, the impact of environmental toxins in reproductive biology addresses all objectives. Scientists from Nebraska and Arizona will collaborate on this project.
Application of reproductive technologies is central to adoption of practices and improved reproductive performance. The relationship between additives and nutrients fed during the transition period and early postpartum follicular development and uterine health in dairy cattle will be determined. Specifically the effects of rumen-protected methionine and choline supplementation on follicular development and vaginal discharge in the Holstein cow will be determined. Scientists at Miles City Montana, New Mexico State, Mississippi State, North Dakota State, Louisiana will collaborate on this effort.
Male reproduction (Objective a, b). Studies will be conducted to understand how the angiogenic and antiangiogenic isoforms of VEGFA may be critical for spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) renewal. These studies are important to translate studies in conditional knockout mice to beef calves to further develop tools that enhance spermatogenesis. Experiments to isolate SSCs from the bovine testes will be essential to identify factors that may aid stem cell renewal. PRAMEY identified as a biomarker for sperm quality will be used to analyze semen collected from musk ox, reindeer and beef bull semen. Managerial factors associated with fertility in peripubertal beef bulls and reindeer will be evaluated by assays using fecal testosterone. The neuroendocrine control of the expression of sexual behavior will be continued. These studies are important to identify high libido males, but also determine the neural pathways that may limit the expression of sexual behavior. Scientists from Nebraska, Washington State, Montana, Missouri, Penn State, Kansas State, Wyoming and Alaska will participate and collaborate on these projects.
Behavior and Stress (Objectives a, b). Research efforts in effects of temperament and stress responsiveness on reproduction and performance of cattle will be continued. How stress during gestation influences the epigenome will be determined. The evaluation of calves sired by prenatally stressed bulls and calves from prenatally stressed cows will determine if these DNA methylation changes are present in the second generation.
Studies will determine physiological mechanism(s) by which the biostimulatory effect of the male influences metabolic profiles of hormones to accelerate the reproductive neuroendocrine-endocrine cascade culminating in the resumption of ovulatory cycles in anovulatory females. A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) library will be established for ewes and will be useful to determine metabolic and hormonal profiles in different reproductive states. The neuro-endocrine control of ram reproductive behavior will be continued. Differences in neuropathways which cascade from sexual interest to mating will be identified. Scientists from Montana, Texas and Wyoming will collaborate on these projects.
Establishment of Pregnancy (Objective d). Pregnancy failures are common in cattle, and miscues between the uterus and embryo underlie many of these failed pregnancies. The overall goal of this work is to better understand the physiologic, endocrine, immune, cellular and molecular mechanisms that control establishment and maintenance of pregnancy so that strategies to minimize pregnancy losses can be conceived and tested. An assay to quantify interferon-tau (IFNT) in bovine fluids and tissues will be developed and used to detect release of INFT from the conceptus and presence in bovine fluids such as uterine luminal flushings and serum. This assay will be used to help provide insight into the timing and cause of early embryonic loss. The role of IFNT on sustainability of the ovine corpus luteum during maternal recognition of pregnancy will also be examined and may help identify high and low fertility cows. Likewise, use of pregnancy specific microRNAs mentioned in a previous effort will aid in characterization of early pregnancy loss. The influence of other chemokines, their receptors and subsequent signaling will also be conducted in pregnant sheep to investigate their functions during implantation and placental development. The use of specific inhibitors of CXCR4 to elucidate the role of CXCL12/CXCR4 in embryo attachment and subsequent placentation will be continued. Additionally factors affecting blood flow, microRNA and development of the placenta will be conducted with implications on early pregnancy and embryonic mortality.
While increasing knowledge of mechanisms establishing pregnancy and enhancing understanding of the interface of reproductive and immune systems, it is important to note the intimate association of CL function and maintaining pregnancy. Function of CL is dependent on a closely regulated relationship between cells comprising the CL, which regulate luteinization, steroidogenesis, and angiogenesis and these cells are often regulated by immune cells and their products (i.e. cytokines). Research during estrous cycles has yielded valuable information on cytokine functions in the CL, but the role of immune cells in CL during early pregnancy is lacking. Investigation of cytokines in CL function is underway and similar to roles of CXCL12-CXCR4 signaling at the fetal maternal interface, this chemokine axis is involved in CL function also. As noted for IFNT influencing CL sustainability, it appears other cytokines at the fetal maternal interface are active in the CL as well. These studies underscore the importance of understanding the interface of the reproductive and immune systems to decrease early embryonic loss in the uterus and CL. Scientists from Colorado State, Missouri, Montana, Kentucky, North Dakota State, Mississippi State, New Mexico and Nebraska will lead this effort.
Fetal Development (Objective e). The uterine environment influences adult health and wellbeing of the offspring. Nutrient availability during gestation is central to the production of healthy offspring and is delivered by the placental vasculature. Thus, studies to determine how neuroendocrine mechanisms influence placental blood flow in late pregnancy are planned. It is well known that stress has adverse effects on fetal outcomes and these effects may have transgenerational influence through the epigenome.
Studies to determine the mechanisms by which poor maternal nutrition during gestation affects offspring growth and health will be continued. Experiments will primarily focus on changes in muscle, fat, bone, and organs involved in metabolism (pancreas, liver, heart). Altering specific gene expression within the placenta, using lentiviral-mediated transgenesis will help determine the impact of diminished placental lactogen expression throughout gestation elucidating its role in fetal growth.
The fetus can experience stress from many different mechanism including nutrient lack or overabundance, heat, as well as maternal temperament. These stresses influence fetal growth and often result in growth restriction. Insulin regulation and placental function appear to be a common theme to regulate growth. It is important to identify mechanisms of fetal growth to test the efficacy of treatment to correct developmental changes in chronically nutrient deprived fetuses. Again, highlighting the interdependent nature of our objectives, results gleaned from “Objective d” are closely associated with “Objective e.” Scientists from Arizona, New Mexico, Connecticut, Colorado State, North Dakota State, Montana, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming are involved in leading these investigations.
Collaboration between Stations. Project members meet annually to present results of completed studies, review the progress of on-going work, discuss industry issues and plan and coordinate the initiation and collaboration of new studies for the upcoming year(s). We have created a network of collaborating scientists focused on improving the fertility of domestic ruminants in the West and throughout the nation. The founding members of the W-112 Regional Research Project established a tradition of cooperation that the current members strive to continue. Indeed, in this era of instant and direct communication, cooperation and collaboration has never been greater or more significant. The extent of collaboration between stations is extensive and may best be described by providing examples of collaborative projects.
Perhaps more important is the unrestrained exchange of advice and information that occurs at the annual meeting and in countless telephone and email conversations that occur during the interval between meetings. Jointly, the members of this project constitute a vast reservoir of experience, knowledge and technical expertise that is an invaluable resource for all members of the project. Established members of the group work together to help mentor and guide junior faculty members (eg., invite them to present seminars at their institution, act as reviewers for manuscripts, act as external reviewers on promotion and tenure files, and enhance collaborative research efforts). Sharing of course notes for Endocrinology, Physiology and Anatomy, and Reproduction courses has been a major teaching aide for new members along with ways to develop assessment of learning in courses. Finally, members work together to enhance graduate education by identifying superior students and help to place them in member labs that best fit the student’s career goals and by hosting students from collaborating labs.
Specific collaborations are discussed within each project; however, a compiled list of stations that have plans to work on specified objectives is presented below:
Discover mechanisms within five years that have potential to translate into applicable biotechnologies to improve reproductive efficiency in domestic ruminants. Specific objectives include:
a) Further understand mechanisms of gonadotropin synthesis and release to improve management of reproductive behavior, the reproductive cycle, gamete development and the ovulatory event.
Nebraska, New Mexico, Mississippi, Colorado, and Connecticut, Missouri, Montana, and Kentucky, Arizona, Miles City Montana, North Dakota State, Louisianna, Washington State, Penn State, Kansas State, Wyoming, Texas and Alaska.
b) Determine the interaction of growth factors and steroid production on gonadal function, and utilize this knowledge to improve sperm and oocyte quality and develop technologies to mediate infertility caused by gamete production and ovulation.
Nebraska, New Mexico, Mississippi, Colorado, and Connecticut, Missouri, Montana, and Kentucky, Arizona, Miles City Montana, North Dakota State, Louisianna, , North Dakota State, Louisianna, Washington State, Penn State, Kansas State, Texas, Wyoming and Alaska.
c) Improve management of reproductive cycles through increased understanding of follicle recruitment, ovulation and corpus luteum development.
Nebraska, New Mexico, Mississippi, Colorado, and Connecticut, Missouri, Montana, and Kentucky, Arizona, Miles City Montana, North Dakota State, Louisianna.
d) Increase knowledge of mechanisms that allow for the establishment of pregnancy. Further understanding the interface of the reproductive and immune systems will allow for the development of technologies that target the immune system decreasing the incidence of early embryonic loss.
Colorado State, Missouri, Montana, Kentucky, North Dakota State, Mississippi State, New Mexico and Nebraska
e) Increase the understanding of communication and nutrient flow between the fetus and the dam. This understanding would improve fetal health outcomes and adult wellbeing, and would be important for the optimization of livestock production goals.
Arizona, New Mexico, Connecticut, Colorado State, North Dakota State, Montana, Mississippi State, Nebraska and Wyoming
• • The primary output from the project members is peer-reviewed, scientific works including abstracts, publications, and presentations that represent unique contributions of new knowledge to the fields of reproductive biology. These results fill critical gaps in our knowledge regarding the reproductive physiology of ruminant animals and facilitate the development and implementation of management strategies designed to optimize reproduction.
• • Data generated through the W2112 project has yielded necessary and essential data used in many grant proposals to different agencies. Collaborative research activity carried out through the W2112 regional project has been leveraged and has resulted in > $18.4 million dollars in grant funding to participating AES.
• • During the W2112 project more than 100 undergraduate students received research training with approximately 50 MS and 20 PhD students being granted degrees through projects partially initiated with the W2112 project.
• Research findings of W2112 were presented to a regional audience of livestock producers at the 2015 Beef Symposium at the Western Section of American Society of Animal Science (WSASAS) in Ruidoso, NM. A similar presentation is planned for the sheep symposium at the combined WSASAS at Fargo, ND in 2017.
• Application of new knowledge to improve reproductive performance which sustain rural populations and increase food security is always the ultimate goal. However, how the application of basic knowledge gained today will be applied is not always clear. It is, however, important to understand basic mechanisms in hopes that adoption of practices will improve production efficiency. Comments: Many of these practical implications are presented in state publications, university extension guides, and Western Section Animal Science Proceedings. State publications (eg. Nebraska Beef Report is available at extension meetings, on Nebraska Beef Website (Beef.unl.edu)) are utilized by producers as well as consultants. Extension educators also have informative podcasts available for producers and consultants. Furthermore, states may also have a monthly newsletter (eg. Nebraska has BeefWatch also available on University Beef Website- http://beef.unl.edu/ and information available on the Livestock Range Research Laboratory, Miles City, MT website http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/Docs.htm?docid=16665) .
• The development of a vaccine for Epizootic bovine abortion (EPA) is projected to save beef producers in California alone an estimated $10 to $15 million annually. It is difficult to project with certainty the outcomes and impacts of the project because of the long-term nature of many of the basic studies. Regardless, fulfillment of the objective should lead to the development and application of methodologies to improve animal health, well-being, and reproductive efficiency of domestic ruminants in the short-term. The impact those methods have on the sustainability of livestock production systems will depend on their impacts on quantitative measures of reproductive performance including: days open, services per conception, pregnancy rates, birth of healthy offspring, age at puberty, and lifetime productivity.
• • Decreasing embryonic mortality in beef and dairy cows of just 5% would result in an estimated savings of $25 million annually to beef and dairy producers. The identification of beef and dairy females that are less fertile due to either genetic or prenatal development (nutrition interacting with genetics) may allow for sorting these females off the breeding herd or selection against these females for herd replacements. It may also allow for different treatments during gestation to ensure that less of these females are developed in the herd. Currently, it is estimated that sub-fertile females comprise 10% of the national cow population. The economic impact of even reducing infertile females by 5% overall in the US would allow for a reduction in losses of approximately 12 million dollars annually. This moderate estimate would be even more dramatic in dairy animals.
• • The economic impact of BVDV was projected to range from $15.33 to $20.16 per cow calving. Hence, the development of methods to control this disease would result in an annual savings of $481 to $632.5 million for U.S. cow-calf producers. It is important to recall that the net calf crop for the U.S., based on number of breeding cows that calve annually, was estimated to be 72.7% (Bellows and Lammoglia, 1996). In terms of calves alone, this equates to an annual loss that exceeds $5.5 billion. Categories identified with these losses were; animals that failed to become pregnant by the end of the breeding season (14.6%), losses during gestation (1.6%), losses at or near parturition (5.9%), and losses from birth to weaning (5.2%). Although we are unaware of comparable data for other species, it is reasonable to speculate similar losses occur in sheep, dairy and other ruminants. Because of the magnitude of these losses, we expect research conducted by members W-2112 (W-3112) will continue to lead to new innovations increasing the profitability and sustainability of livestock production enterprises.
• • Identification of rams with high libido would increase producer profitability by decreasing the number of rams needed during the breeding season and increasing the rate desirable genes are incorporated into a flock while decreasing the risk of non-pregnant ewes.
• • Timing and intensity of environmental stresses is crucial to subsequent production traits in livestock. Although nutrient stress experienced during gestation leads to glucose dysregulation in adult offspring, transportation stress experienced in utero is protective against stress experienced later in life.
(2020):• A producer symposium dedicated education on reproductive management of sheep will be presented during the latter half of the project term in order to facilitate the transfer of new reproductive management protocols that have been elucidated from research conducted by W-Temp3112 scientists while providing a venue for producers to influence research priorities for W-Temp3112 researchers.
(2017):• Beef Website at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln will be used as a platform to post project results including reports, podcasts, and monthly newsletters. A similar website targeted to sheep producers will be developed and placed on the University of Wyoming, Agricultural Experiment Station website. Links to the beef and sheep websites will be provided on other participating states AES websites.
(2017):• Members of W3112 project will be involved with organizing the combined society ASAS-SSR Reproductive Symposia to commemorate the 50th anniversary of SSR at their annual meetings in 2017. It is expected that select members of the W3112 project will present at that symposia. This is an opportunity to provide outreach to other reproductive biologist in two important yet distinct societies.
(2019):W3112 will take the lead in developing symposia for the Western Section of the American Society of Animal Science meetings in coming years.
We will disseminate information obtained from the proposed research studies to academic and industry leaders by publication in peer-reviewed journals, industry journals, popular press, and other, more widely read technical bulletins. In addition, the information obtained from these collaborative studies will be presented at national and international conferences, industry meetings, and producer field days. Further, the W3112 will take the lead in developing symposia for the Western Section of the American Society of Animal Science meetings in coming years. The Western Section meetings are attended by many beef and sheep extension and research personnel. By providing symposia on reproduction of ruminant animals at these meetings, the effective audience is greatly enhance as information from the W3112 is provided to Extension Specialists who then provide information to producers and industry personnel in their region and state. Currently, project personnel have requested to organize the symposium for the 2017 Western Section meeting of the ASAS. W3112 member will also be active participants in the combined society ASAS-SSR Reproductive Symposia for the 2017 annual meeting of SSR.
The members of the W3112 Regional Research Project receive direction from the Executive Committee composed of a Chairman, Secretary and Member-at-Large. Each year a Member-at-Large is elected. In year two, that individual serves as Secretary and then serves as Chairman during year three. The Administrative Advisor, appointed by the Western Directors, also sits on the Executive Committee. Tenure of individuals elected to the Executive Committee is three years.
Bellows, R.A. and M.A. Lammoglia. 2006. Management decisions to optimize reproduction and profit. Beef 2:5-6. Montana State Univ.
Cryan, R. 2004. The economic impact of the dairy industry. U.S. Dairy Vol. 10 No. 1.
Geary, T. 2005. Management strategies to reduce embryonic loss. Proc. Range Beef Cow Symposium XIX. Univiversity of Nebraska-Lincoln. Pp 69-78.
Lamb, G.C., C. Daheln, and M. Maddox. 2008. What is the economic impact of infertility in beef cattle? The BeefSite. www.thebeefsite.com/articles/1698
Larson, R.L., V.L. Pierce, D.M. Grotelueschen, and T.E. Wittum. 2002. Economic evaluation of beef cowherd screening for cattle persistently-infected with bovine viral diarrhea virus. Bov Pract. 36:106-112.
Otto, D., and J. Lawrence. 2002. Economic impact of the United States beef industry. Ames: Iowa State University, Department of Economics. www.beef.org
Shiflett, J.S. 2008. Sheep industry economic impact analysis. ASI. www.sheepusa.org
USDA-NASS. 2012. National Agricultural Statistics. www.nass.usda.gov/QuickStats
Publications authored by W2112 project participants since 2011:
Abreu, F.M., Cruppe, L.H., Maquivar, M., Utt, M.D., Madsen, C.A., Vasconcelos, J.L., Mussard, M.L., Day, M.L., Geary, T.W., 2014a. Effect of follicle age on conception rate in beef heifers. Journal of Animal Science 92, 1022-1028.
Abreu, F.M., Geary, T.W., Cruppe, L.H., Madsen, C.A., Jinks, E.M., Pohler, K.G., Vasconcelos, J.L., Day, M.L., 2014b. The effect of follicle age on pregnancy rate in beef cows. Journal of Animal Science 92, 1015-1021.
Aguiar, A.D.S., Forbes, T.D.A., Rouquette, F.M., Tedeschi, L.O., Randel, R.D., 2013. Evaluating the statistical variation in estimating forage dry matter intake of grazing Brahman bulls using n-alkanes. J Agr Sci 151, 129-140.
Akbar, H., Cardoso, F.C., Meier, S., Burke, C., McDougall, S., Mitchell, M., Walker, C., Rodriguez-Zas, S.L., Everts, R.E., Lewin, H.A., Roche, J.R., Loor, J.J., 2014. Postpartal subclinical endometritis alters transcriptome profiles in liver and adipose tissue of dairy cows. Bioinform Biol Insights 8, 45-63.
Alexander, B.M., Cockett, N., Burton, D.J., Hadfield, T.L., Moss, G.E., 2012. Breeding Performance of Rams in Three Wyoming Producer Flocks: Evidence of poor sexual behavior in the field. Small Ruminant Res 107, 117-120.
Alexander, B.M., Skinner, D.C., Roselli, C.E., 2011. Wired on steroids: sexual differentiation of the brain and its role in the expression of sexual partner preferences. Frontiers in Endocrinology 2, 42.
Almeida, J.I., Min, R.J., Raabe, R., McLean, D.J., Madsen, M., 2011. Cyanoacrylate Adhesive for the Closure of Truncal Veins: 60-Day Swine Model Results. Vasc Endovascular Surg 45, 6301-6635.
Alvarez-Gallardo, H., Kjelland, M.E., Moreno, J.F., Welsh, T.H., Jr., Randel, R.D., Lammoglia, M.A., Perez-Martinez, M., Lara-Sagahon, A.V., Esperon-Sumano, A.E., Romo, S., 2013. Gamete therapeutics: recombinant protein adsorption by sperm for increasing fertility via artificial insemination. PLoS One 8, e65083.
Andrews, S.E., Brown, L.D., Thorn, S.R., Limesand, S.W., Davis, M., Hay, W.W., Rozance, P.J., 2015. Increased Adrenergic Signaling Is Responsible for Decreased Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion in the Chronically Hyperinsulinemic Ovine Fetus. Endocrinology 156, 367-376.
Antoniazzi, A.Q., Webb, B.T., Romero, J.J., Ashley, R.L., Smirnova, N.P., Henkes, L.E., Bott, R.C., Oliveira, J.F., Niswender, G.D., Bazer, F.W., Hansen, T.R., 2013. Endocrine delivery of interferon tau protects the corpus luteum from prostaglandin F2 alpha-induced luteolysis in ewes. Biology of reproduction 88, 144.
Ashley, R.L., Antoniazzi, A.Q., Anthony, R.V., Hansen, T.R., 2011. The chemokine receptor CXCR4 and its ligand CXCL12 are activated during implantation and placentation in sheep. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 9, 148.
Ashry, M., Lee, K., Mondal, M., Datta, T.K., Folger, J.K., Rajput, S.K., Zhang, K., Hemeida, N.A., Smith, G.W., 2015. Expression of TGFβ superfamily components and other markers of oocyte quality in oocytes selected by brilliant cresyl blue staining: Relevance to early embryonic development. Mol Reprod Dev 82, 251-264.
Atkins, J.A., Pohler, K.G., Smith, M.F., 2013a. Physiology and Endocrinology of Puberty in Heifers. Vet Clin N Am-Food A 29, 479-+.
Atkins, J.A., Smith, M.F., MacNeil, M.D., Jinks, E.M., Abreu, F.M., Alexander, L.J., Geary, T.W., 2013b. Pregnancy establishment and maintenance in cattle. Journal of Animal Science 91, 722-733.
Austin, K.J., Cockrum, R.R., Jons, A.M., Alexander, B.M., Cammack, K.M., 2012. Renin mRNA is upregulated in testes and testicular cells in response to treatment with aflatoxin B-1. Theriogenology 77, 331-337.
Bas, S., Maquivar, M.G., Coutinho da Silva, M.A., Day, M.L., Daglio, M.C., Harguindeguy, S., Titler, M., Schuenemann, G.M., 2014. Effect of intrauterine administration of gonadotropin releasing hormone with glycerol on serum LH concentrations in lactating dairy cows. Anim Reprod Sci 145, 15-22.
Bas, S., Pinto, C.G., Day, M.L., Schuenemann, G.M., 2012. Effect of intrauterine administration of gonadotropin releasing hormone on serum LH concentrations in lactating dairy cows. Theriogenology 78, 1390-1397.
Bauersachs, S., Ulbrich, S.E., Reichenbach, H.D., Reichenbach, M., Buttner, M., Meyer, H.H., Spencer, T.E., Minten, M., Sax, G., Winter, G., Wolf, E., 2012. Comparison of the effects of early pregnancy with human interferon, alpha 2 (IFNA2), on gene expression in bovine endometrium. Biology of reproduction 86, 46.
Bazer, F.W., Song, G., Kim, J., Erikson, D.W., Johnson, G.A., Burghardt, R.C., Gao, H., Carey Satterfield, M., Spencer, T.E., Wu, G., 2012a. Mechanistic mammalian target of rapamycin (MTOR) cell signaling: effects of select nutrients and secreted phosphoprotein 1 on development of mammalian conceptuses. Mol Cell Endocrinol 354, 22-33.
Bazer, F.W., Spencer, T.E., Thatcher, W.W., 2012b. Growth and development of the ovine conceptus. Journal of Animal Science 90, 159-170.
Beck, J.L., Mealor, R.D., Hess, B.W., Moss, G.E., Lake, S.L., . 2011. Case Study: Effect of cattle and sheep grazing on stocking rate and botanical composition of sub-irrigated pasture. Prof. Anim. Scientist 27, 500-504.
Bielefeldt-Ohmann, H., Smirnova, N.P., Tolnay, A.E., Webb, B.T., Antoniazzi, A.Q., van Campen, H., Hansen, T.R., 2012. Neuro-invasion by a 'Trojan Horse' strategy and vasculopathy during intrauterine flavivirus infection. Int J Exp Pathol 93, 24-33.
Blanchard, M.T., Anderson, M.L., Hoar, B.R., Pires, A.F., Blanchard, P.C., Yeargan, B.V., Teglas, M.B., Belshaw, M., Stott, J.L., 2014. Assessment of a fluorescent antibody test for the detection of antibodies against epizootic bovine abortion. J Vet Diagn Invest 26, 622-630.
Breton, A.B., Austin, K.J., Leedy, M.G., Alexander, B.M., 2012. Effects of progesterone and RU486 on the development and expression of adult male sexual behaviour and gene expression in the amygdala and preoptic area of the hypothalamus. Reprod Fert Develop 24, 916-922.
Breton, A.B., Cockrum, R.R., Cammack, K.M., Austin, K.J., Ford, S.P., Hess, B.W., Moss, G.E., Nathanielsz, P.W., Alexander, B.M., 2011. Hypothalamic Expression of Genes for Appetite Regulators and Receptors for Estrogen α, Estrogen β, and Leptin in Obese Dams and their Fetuses. Animal 5, 1944-1948.
Bridges, G.A., Ahola, J.K., Brauner, C., Cruppe, L.H., Currin, J.C., Day, M.L., Gunn, P.J., Jaeger, J.R., Lake, S.L., Lamb, G.C., Marquezini, G.H., Peel, R.K., Radunz, A.E., Stevenson, J.S., Whittier, W.D., 2012a. Determination of the appropriate delivery of prostaglandin F2alpha in the five-day CO-Synch + controlled intravaginal drug release protocol in suckled beef cows. Journal of Animal Science 90, 4814-4822.
Bridges, G.A., Ahola, J.K., Brauner, C., Cruppe, L.H., Currin, J.C., Day, M.L., Gunn, P.J., Jaeger, J.R., Lake, S.L., Lamb, G.C., Marquezini, G.H.L., Peel, R.K., Radunz, A.E., Stevenson, J.S., Whittier, W.D., 2012b. Determination of the appropriate delivery of prostaglandin F2α in the five-day CO-Synch + controlled intravaginal drug release protocol in suckled beef cows1. Journal of Animal Science 90.
Bridges, G.A., Day, M.L., Geary, T.W., Cruppe, L.H., 2013a. Deficiencies in the uterine environment and failure to support embryonic development. Journal of Animal Science.
Bridges, G.A., Day, M.L., Geary, T.W., Cruppe, L.H., 2013b. Triennial Reproduction Symposium: deficiencies in the uterine environment and failure to support embryonic development. Journal of Animal Science 91, 3002-3013.
Bridges, G.A., Lake, S.L., 2011. Comparison of the CIDR Select and Five Day Select Synch + CIDR protocols that included a limited estrous detection and timed insemination for synchronizing estrus in beef heifers. Prof. Anim. Sci. 27, 141-146.
Bridges, G.A., Lake, S.L., Kruse, S.G., Bird, S.L., Funnell, B.J., Arias, R., Walker, J.A., Grant, J.K., Perry, G.A., 2014. Comparison of three CIDR-based fixed-time AI protocols in beef heifers. Journal of Animal Science 92, 3127-3133.
Bridges, G.A., Mussard, M.L., Pate, J.L., Ott, T.L., Hansen, T.R., Day, M.L., 2012c. Impact of preovulatory estradiol concentrations on conceptus development and uterine gene expression. Anim Reprod Sci 133, 16-26.
Burns, G., Brooks, K., Wildung, M., Navakanitworakul, R., Christenson, L.K., Spencer, T.E., 2014. Extracellular vesicles in luminal fluid of the ovine uterus. PLoS One 9, e90913.
Burton, D.J., Ludden, P.A., Stobart, R.H., Alexander, B.M., 2015. 50 years of the Wyoming ram test: How sheep have changed. Journal of Animal Science 93, 1327-1331.
Caires, K.C., de Avila, J.M., Cupp, A.S., McLean, D.J., 2012a. VEGFA family isoforms regulate spermatogonial stem cell homeostasis in vivo. Endocrinology 153, 887-900.
Caires, K.C., Shima, C.M., de Avila, J., McLean, D.J., 2012b. Acute ethanol exposure affects spermatogonial stem cell homeostasis in pre-pubertal mice. Reprod Toxicol 33, 76-84.
Caldwell, J.D., Coffey, K.P., Jennings, J.A., Philipp, D., Young, A.N., Tucker, J.D., Hubbell, D.S., 3rd, Hess, T., Looper, M.L., West, C.P., Savin, M.C., Popp, M.P., Kreider, D.L., Hallford, D.M., Rosenkrans, C.F., Jr., 2013. Performance by spring and fall-calving cows grazing with full, limited, or no access to toxic Neotyphodium coenophialum-infected tall fescue. Journal of Animal Science 91, 465-476.
Camacho, L., Lemley, C., Prezotto, L., Bauer, M., Freetly, H., Swanson, K., Vonnahme, K., 2014a. Effects of maternal nutrient restriction followed by realimentation during midgestation on uterine blood flow in beef cows. Theriogenology 81, 1248-1256. e1243.
Camacho, L.E., Benavidez, J.M., Hallford, D.M., 2012a. Serum hormone profiles, pregnancy rates, and offspring performance of Rambouillet ewes treated with recombinant bovine somatotropin before breeding. Journal of Animal Science 90, 2826-2835.
Camacho, L.E., Lemley, C.O., Van Emon, M.L., Caton, J.S., Swanson, K.C., Vonnahme, K.A., 2014b. Effects of maternal nutrient restriction followed by realimentation during early and midgestation on beef cows. I. Maternal performance and organ weights at different stages of gestation. Journal of Animal Science 92, 520-529.
Camacho, L.E., Meyer, A.M., Neville, T.L., Hammer, C.J., Redmer, D.A., Reynolds, L.P., Caton, J.S., Vonnahme, K.A., 2012b. Neonatal hormone changes and growth in lambs born to dams receiving differing nutritional intakes and selenium supplementation during gestation. Reproduction 144, 23-35.
Canovas, A., Reverter, A., DeAtley, K.L., Ashley, R.L., Colgrave, M.L., Fortes, M.R., Islas-Trejo, A., Lehnert, S., Porto-Neto, L., Rincon, G., Silver, G.A., Snelling, W.M., Medrano, J.F., Thomas, M.G., 2014. Multi-tissue omics analyses reveal molecular regulatory networks for puberty in composite beef cattle. PLoS One 9, e102551.
Cardoso, F.C., LeBlanc, S.J., Murphy, M.R., Drackley, J.K., 2013. Prepartum nutritional strategy affects reproductive performance in dairy cows. J Dairy Sci 96, 5859-5871.
Castanon, B.I., Stapp, A.D., Gifford, C.A., Spicer, L.J., Hallford, D.M., Hernandez Gifford, J.A., 2012. Follicle-stimulating hormone regulation of estradiol production: possible involvement of WNT2 and beta-catenin in bovine granulosa cells. Journal of Animal Science 90, 3789-3797.
Cerri, R.L., Thompson, I.M., Kim, I.H., Ealy, A.D., Hansen, P.J., Staples, C.R., Li, J.L., Santos, J.E., Thatcher, W.W., 2012. Effects of lactation and pregnancy on gene expression of endometrium of Holstein cows at day 17 of the estrous cycle or pregnancy. J Dairy Sci 95, 5657-5675.
Chang, T.C., Klabnik, J.L., Liu, W.S., 2011a. Regional selection acting on the OFD1 gene family. PLoS One 6, e26195.
Chang, T.C., Yang, Y., Retzel, E.F., Liu, W.S., 2014. Male-specific region of the bovine Y chromosome is gene rich with a high transcriptomic activity in testis development (vol 110, pg 12373, 2013). P Natl Acad Sci USA 111, 3195-3195.
Chang, T.C., Yang, Y., Yasue, H., Bharti, A.K., Retzel, E.F., Liu, W.S., 2011b. The expansion of the PRAME gene family in Eutheria. PLoS One 6, e16867.
Chase, C.C., Wright, E.C., McNeel, A.K., Cushman, R.A., Perry, G.A., Cupp, A.S., Vallet, J.L., Sypherd, D.D., Miles, J.R., 2013. 142 EFFECT OF HIGH AND LOW ANTRAL FOLLICLE COUNT IN PUBERTAL BEEF HEIFERS ON IVF. Reproduction, Fertility and Development 26, 184-184.
Chen, X.C., Green, A.S., Macko, A.R., Yates, D.T., Kelly, A.C., Limesand, S.W., 2014. Enhanced insulin secretion responsiveness and islet adrenergic desensitization after chronic norepinephrine suppression is discontinued in fetal sheep. Am J Physiol-Endoc M 306, E58-E64.
Claro, I., Jr., Sa Filho, O.G., Peres, R.F., Aono, F.H., Day, M.L., Vasconcelos, J.L., 2010. Reproductive performance of prepubertal Bos indicus heifers after progesterone-based treatments. Theriogenology 74, 903-911.
Cleys, E.R., Halleran, J.L., Enriquez, V.A., da Silveira, J.C., West, R.C., Winger, Q.A., Anthony, R.V., Bruemmer, J.E., Clay, C.M., Bouma, G.J., 2015. Androgen Receptor and Histone Lysine Demethylases in Ovine Placenta. PLoS One 10.
Coker, M.R., Rauw, W.M., Nieto, N.C., Thain, D., Teglas, M.B., 2012. Hematologic and IgG responses of heifers experimentally infected with the agent of epizootic bovine abortion. Vet Clin Pathol 41, 344-352.
Coleson, M.P., Sanchez, N.S., Ashley, A.K., Ross, T.T., Ashley, R.L., 2015. Human chorionic gonadotropin increases serum progesterone, number of corpora lutea and angiogenic factors in pregnant sheep. Reproduction 150, 43-52.
Conway, L.K., Hallford, D.M., Soto-Navarro, S.A., 2012. Effects of wet corn gluten feed and yellow grease on digestive function of cattle fed steam-flaked corn-based finishing diets. Anim Feed Sci Tech 178, 20-26.
Cooke, P.S., Spencer, T.E., Bartol, F.F., Hayashi, K., 2013. Uterine glands: development, function and experimental model systems. Mol Hum Reprod 19, 547-558.
Cox, L.A., Glenn, J.P., Spradling, K.D., Nijland, M.J., Garcia, R., Nathanielsz, P.W., Ford, S.P., 2012. A genome resource to address mechanisms of developmental programming: determination of the fetal sheep heart transcriptome. J Physiol 590, 2873-2884.
Craig, Z.R., Singh, J., Gupta, R.K., Flaws, J.A., 2014. Co-treatment of mouse antral follicles with 17beta-estradiol interferes with mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP)-induced atresia and altered apoptosis gene expression. Reprod Toxicol 45, 45-51.
Culp, K.C., Claeys, M.C., Lemenager, R.P., Rusk, C.P., Bridges, G.A., Lake, S.L., 2013. Effects of continuous and step-up ractopamine hydrochloride supplementation protocols on feeding performance and carcass characteristics of finishing steers. The Professional Animal Scientist 29, 141-146.
Cupp, A.S., 2014. Sertoli cell-based gene therapy? Biology of reproduction 91, 40.
Cushman, R., Tait, R., McNeel, A., Forbes, E., Amundson, O., Lents, C., Lindholm-Perry, A., Perry, G., Wood, J., Cupp, A., 2015. A polymorphism in myostatin influences puberty but not fertility in beef heifers, whereas µ-calpain affects first calf birth weight. Journal of Animal Science 93, 117-126.
Datta, T.K., Rajput, S.K., Wee, G., Lee, K., Folger, J.K., Smith, G.W., 2015. Requirement of the transcription factor USF1 in bovine oocyte and early embryonic development. Reproduction 149, 203-212.
Davis, M.A., Macko, A.R., Steyn, L.V., Anderson, M.J., Limesand, S.W., 2015. Fetal adrenal demedullation lowers circulating norepinephrine and attenuates growth restriction but not reduction of endocrine cell mass in an ovine model of intrauterine growth restriction. Nutrients 7, 500-516.
Davis, T.L., Whitesell, J.D., Cantlon, J.D., Clay, C.M., Nett, T.M., 2011. Does a nonclassical signaling mechanism underlie an increase of estradiol-mediated gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor binding in ovine pituitary cells? Biology of reproduction 85, 770-778.
Day, M.L., Mussard, M.L., Bridges, G.A., Burke, C.R., 2010. Controlling the dominant follicle in beef cattle to improve estrous synchronization and early embryonic development. Soc Reprod Fertil Suppl 67, 405-419.
Day, M.L., Nogueira, G.P., 2013. Management of age at puberty in beef heifers to optimize efficiency of beef production. Animal Frontiers 3, 6-11.
Deaver, S.E., Hoyer, P.B., Dial, S.M., Field, M.E., Collier, R.J., Rhoads, M.L., 2013. Localization of ghrelin and its receptor in the reproductive tract of Holstein heifers. J Dairy Sci 96, 150-157.
Decker, J., 2013. World-wide Patterns of Divergence, Migration and Admixture in Domesticated Cattle. Plant and Animal Genome XXI Conference. Plant and Animal Genome.
Dey, S., Chamero, P., Pru, J.K., Chien, M.S., Ibarra-Soria, X., Spencer, K.R., Logan, D.W., Matsunami, H., Peluso, J.J., Stowers, L., 2015. Cyclic Regulation of Sensory Perception by a Female Hormone Alters Behavior. Cell 161, 1334-1344.
Dick, K.J., Duff, G.C., Limesand, S.W., Cuneo, S.P., Knudson, D.K., McMurphy, C.P., Hall, L.W., Bernal-Rigoli, J.C., Marchello, J.A., 2013. Effects of a direct-fed microbial on digestive-tract morphology of Holstein bull calves and performance and carcass characteristics of Holstein steers. The Professional Animal Scientist 29, 107-115.
Dindia, L., Murray, J., Faught, E., Davis, T.L., Leonenko, Z., Vijayan, M.M., 2012. Novel Nongenomic Signaling by Glucocorticoid May Involve Changes to Liver Membrane Order in Rainbow Trout. PLoS One 7.
Dobbs, K.B., Gagne, D., Fournier, E., Dufort, I., Robert, C., Block, J., Sirard, M.A., Bonilla, L., Ealy, A.D., Loureiro, B., Hansen, P.J., 2014. Sexual dimorphism in developmental programming of the bovine preimplantation embryo caused by colony-stimulating factor 2. Biology of reproduction 91, 80.
Dobbs, K.B., Khan, F.A., Sakatani, M., Moss, J.I., Ozawa, M., Ealy, A.D., Hansen, P.J., 2013. Regulation of Pluripotency of Inner Cell Mass and Growth and Differentiation of Trophectoderm of the Bovine Embryo by Colony Stimulating Factor 2. Biology of Reproduction 89, 141, 141-110.
Dong, M., Zheng, Q., Ford, S.P., Nathanielsz, P.W., Ren, J., 2013. Maternal obesity, lipotoxicity and cardiovascular diseases in offspring. J Mol Cell Cardiol 55, 111-116.
Dorniak, P., Bazer, F.W., Spencer, T.E., 2011. Prostaglandins regulate conceptus elongation and mediate effects of interferon tau on the ovine uterine endometrium. Biology of reproduction 84, 1119-1127.
Dorniak, P., Bazer, F.W., Spencer, T.E., 2013a. Physiology and Endocrinology Symposium: biological role of interferon tau in endometrial function and conceptus elongation. Journal of Animal Science 91, 1627-1638.
Dorniak, P., Bazer, F.W., Wu, G., Spencer, T.E., 2012a. Conceptus-derived prostaglandins regulate endometrial function in sheep. Biology of reproduction 87, 9, 1-7.
Dorniak, P., Spencer, T.E., 2013. Biological roles of progesterone, prostaglandins, and interferon tau in endometrial function and conceptus elongation in ruminants. Anim Reprod 10, 239-251.
Dorniak, P., Welsh, T.H., Jr., Bazer, F.W., Spencer, T.E., 2012b. Endometrial HSD11B1 and cortisol regeneration in the ovine uterus: effects of pregnancy, interferon tau, and prostaglandins. Biology of reproduction 86, 124.
Dorniak, P., Welsh, T.H., Jr., Bazer, F.W., Spencer, T.E., 2013b. Cortisol and interferon tau regulation of endometrial function and conceptus development in female sheep. Endocrinology 154, 931-941.
Drackley, J.K., Cardoso, F.C., 2014. Prepartum and postpartum nutritional management to optimize fertility in high-yielding dairy cows in confined TMR systems. Animal : an international journal of animal bioscience 8 Suppl 1, 5-14.
Eborn, D.R., Grieger, D.M., 2013. Timed insemination of beef heifers using the 7-11 Synch protocol. Journal of Animal Science 91, 666-672.
Einarsson, J.I., Grazul-Bilska, A.T., Vonnahme, K.A., 2011. Barbed vs standard suture: randomized single-blinded comparison of adhesion formation and ease of use in an animal model. J Minim Invasive Gynecol 18, 716-719.
Einarsson, J.I., Vonnahme, K.A., Sandberg, E.M., Grazul-Bilska, A.T., 2012. Barbed compared with standard suture: Effects on cellular composition and proliferation of the healing wound in the ovine uterus. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica 91, 613-619.
Elliott, L., Parcell, J., Patterson, D., Smith, M.F., Poock, S., 2013. Factors Influencing Beef Reproductive Technology Adoption. Journal of the ASFMRA.
Endecott, R.L., Funston, R.N., Mulliniks, J.T., Roberts, A.J., 2013. Joint Alpharma-Beef Species Symposium: implications of beef heifer development systems and lifetime productivity. Journal of Animal Science 91, 1329-1335.
Field, M.E., Anthony, R.V., Engle, T.E., Archibeque, S.L., Keisler, D.H., Han, H., 2015. Duration of maternal undernutrition differentially alters fetal growth and hormone concentrations. Domest Anim Endocrin 51, 1-7.
Filant, J., DeMayo, F.J., Pru, J.K., Lydon, J.P., Spencer, T.E., 2014a. Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor Two (FGFR2) Regulates Uterine Epithelial Integrity and Fertility in Mice. Biology of Reproduction 90.
Filant, J., Lydon, J.P., Spencer, T.E., 2014b. Integrated chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing and microarray analysis identifies FOXA2 target genes in the glands of the mouse uterus. Faseb J 28, 230-243.
Filant, J., Spencer, T.E., 2013a. Cell-specific transcriptional profiling reveals candidate mechanisms regulating development and function of uterine epithelia in mice. Biology of Reproduction 89, 86.
Filant, J., Spencer, T.E., 2013b. Endometrial Glands Are Essential for Blastocyst Implantation and Decidualization in the Mouse Uterus. Biology of Reproduction 88.
Filant, J., Spencer, T.E., 2014. Uterine glands: biological roles in conceptus implantation, uterine receptivity and decidualization. Int J Dev Biol 58, 107-116.
Ford, S.P., Long, N.M., 2011. Evidence for similar changes in offspring phenotype following either maternal undernutrition or overnutrition: potential impact on fetal epigenetic mechanisms. Reproduction, fertility, and development 24, 105-111.
Ford, S.P., Tuersunjiang, N., 2013. Maternal obesity: how big an impact does it have on offspring prenatally and during postnatal life?
Forde, N., Carter, F., Spencer, T.E., Bazer, F.W., Sandra, O., Mansouri-Attia, N., Okumu, L.A., McGettigan, P.A., Mehta, J.P., McBride, R., O'Gaora, P., Roche, J.F., Lonergan, P., 2011. Conceptus-induced changes in the endometrial transcriptome: how soon does the cow know she is pregnant? Biology of reproduction 85, 144-156.
Forde, N., McGettigan, P.A., Mehta, J.P., O'Hara, L., Mamo, S., Bazer, F.W., Spencer, T.E., Lonergan, P., 2014a. Proteomic analysis of uterine fluid during the pre-implantation period of pregnancy in cattle. Reproduction 147, 575-587.
Forde, N., Mehta, J.P., McGettigan, P.A., Mamo, S., Bazer, F.W., Spencer, T.E., Lonergan, P., 2013. Alterations in expression of endometrial genes coding for proteins secreted into the uterine lumen during conceptus elongation in cattle. BMC Genomics 14.
Forde, N., Simintiras, C.A., Sturmey, R., Mamo, S., Kelly, A.K., Spencer, T.E., Bazer, F.W., Lonergan, P., 2014b. Amino Acids in the Uterine Luminal Fluid Reflects the Temporal Changes in Transporter Expression in the Endometrium and Conceptus during Early Pregnancy in Cattle. PLoS One 9.
Freetly, H.C., Vonnahme, K.A., McNeel, A.K., Camacho, L.E., Amundson, O.L., Forbes, E.D., Lents, C.A., Cushman, R.A., 2014. The consequence of level of nutrition on heifer ovarian and mammary development. Journal of Animal Science 92, 5437-5443.
Friel, A.M., Zhang, L., Pru, C.A., Clark, N.C., McCallum, M.L., Blok, L.J., Shioda, T., Peluso, J.J., Rueda, B.R., Pru, J.K., 2015. Progesterone receptor membrane component 1 deficiency attenuates growth while promoting chemosensitivity of human endometrial xenograft tumors. Cancer Lett 356, 434-442.
Frost, M.S., Zehri, A.H., Limesand, S.W., Hay, W.W., Rozance, P.J., 2012. Differential Effects of Chronic Pulsatile versus Chronic Constant Maternal Hyperglycemia on Fetal Pancreatic β-Cells. J Pregnancy 2012, 8.
Fu, G., Saunders, G., Stevens, J., 2014. Holm multiple correction for large-scale gene-shape association mapping. BMC Genet 15 Suppl 1, S5.
Funston, R.N., Martin, J.L., Larson, D.M., Roberts, A.J., 2012a. Physiology and Endocrinology Symposium: Nutritional aspects of developing replacement heifers. Journal of Animal Science 90, 1166-1171.
Funston, R.N., Summers, A.F., Roberts, A.J., 2012b. Alpharma Beef Cattle Nutrition Symposium: implications of nutritional management for beef cow-calf systems. Journal of Animal Science 90, 2301-2307.
Gadhia, M.M., Maliszewski, A.M., O'Meara, M.C., Thorn, S.R., Lavezzi, J.R., Limesand, S.W., Hay, W.W., Jr., Brown, L.D., Rozance, P.J., 2013. Increased amino acid supply potentiates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion but does not increase beta-cell mass in fetal sheep. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 304, E352-362.
Ge, W., Hu, N., George, L.A., Ford, S.P., Nathanielsz, P.W., Wang, X.M., Ren, J., 2013. Maternal nutrient restriction predisposes ventricular remodeling in adult sheep offspring. J Nutr Biochem 24, 1258-1265.
Geary, T.W., 2012. Effects of adrenocorticotropic hormone and flunixin meglumine on pregnancy retention in beef cows. Journal of Animal Science 90, 207-211.
Geary, T.W., Smith, M.F., MacNeil, M.D., Day, M.L., Bridges, G.A., Perry, G.A., Abreu, F.M., Atkins, J.A., Pohler, K.G., Jinks, E.M., Madsen, C.A., 2013. TRIENNIAL REPRODUCTION SYMPOSIUM: Influence of follicular characteristics at ovulation on early embryonic survival. Journal of Animal Science 91, 3014-3021.
Geary, T.W., Wells, K.J., deAvila, D.M., deAvila, J., Conforti, V.A., McLean, D.J., Roberts, A.J., Waterman, R.W., Reeves, J.J., 2011. Effects of immunization against luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone and treatment with trenbolone acetate on reproductive function of beef bulls and steers. Journal of Animal Science 89, 2086-2095.
Gentry, G.T., Jr., Gentry, L.R., Godke, R.A., 2013. The effect of exogenous follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and endogenous plasma leptin concentrations on the pregnancy rate of beef heifers subjected to fixed-timed artificial insemination (FTAI). Anim Reprod Sci 138, 49-54.
George, L.A., Zhang, L., Tuersunjiang, N., Ma, Y., Long, N.M., Uthlaut, A.B., Smith, D.T., Nathanielsz, P.W., Ford, S.P., 2012. Early maternal undernutrition programs increased feed intake, altered glucose metabolism and insulin secretion, and liver function in aged female offspring. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 302, R795-804.
Gonzalez, J., Camacho, L., Ebarb, S., Swanson, K., Vonnahme, K., Stelzleni, A., Johnson, S., 2013. Realimentation of nutrient restricted pregnant beef cows supports compensatory fetal muscle growth. Journal of Animal Science 91, 4797-4806.
Goodman, L.E., Cibils, A.F., Lopez, S.C., Steiner, R.L., Graham, J.D., McDaniel, K.C., Abbott, L.B., Stegelmeier, B.L., Hallford, D.M., 2014. Targeted Grazing of White Locoweed: Short-Term Effects of Herbivory Regime on Vegetation and Sheep. Rangeland Ecol Manag 67, 680-692.
Grant, J.K., Steichen, P.L., Wright, C.L., Vonnahme, K.A., Bauer, M.L., Jennings, J.S., Perry, G.A., 2013. Influence of nitrogen and sulfur intake on bovine uterine pH throughout the luteal phase. Journal of Animal Science 91, 1186-1192.
Grazul-Bilska, A.T., Borowczyk, E., Bilski, J.J., Reynolds, L.P., Redmer, D.A., Caton, J.S., Vonnahme, K.A., 2012. Overfeeding and underfeeding have detrimental effects on oocyte quality measured by in vitro fertilization and early embryonic development in sheep. Domest Anim Endocrin 43, 289-298.
Grazul-Bilska, A.T., Neville, T.L., Borowczyk, E., Sharma, A., Reynolds, L.P., Caton, J.S., Redmer, D.A., Vonnahme, K.A., 2014. Ovarian and uterine characteristics and onset of puberty in adolescent offspring: effects of maternal diet and selenium supplementation in sheep. Theriogenology 81, 887-895.
Grazul-Bilska, A.T., Vonnahme, K.A., Bilski, J.J., Borowczyk, E., Soni, D., Mikkelson, B., Johnson, M.L., Reynolds, L.P., Redmer, D.A., Caton, J.S., 2011. Expression of gap junctional connexin proteins in ovine fetal ovaries: effects of maternal diet. Domest Anim Endocrin 41, 185-194.
Greenberg, J.A., Walden, S., Hammer, C.M., Grazul-Bilska, A.T., Vonnahme, K.A., 2011. A comparison of barbed and smooth sutures for ovine cesarean delivery. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 113, 215-217.
Griffin, D., Liu, X., Pru, C., Pru, J.K., Peluso, J.J., 2014. Expression of progesterone receptor membrane component-2 within the immature rat ovary and its role in regulating mitosis and apoptosis of spontaneously immortalized granulosa cells. Biology of reproduction 91, 36.
Gunn, P.J., Lemenager, R.P., Bridges, G.A., 2014a. Using corn stover and dried distillers grains with solubles to conserve stockpiled forages and improve reproductive performance and progeny growth in fall-calving beef cows. The Professional Animal Scientist 30, 215-224.
Gunn, P.J., Schoonmaker, J.P., Lemenager, R.P., Bridges, G.A., 2014b. Feeding excess crude protein to gestating and lactating beef heifers: Impact on parturition, milk composition, ovarian function, reproductive efficiency and pre-weaning progeny growth. Livest Sci 167, 435-448.
Gunter, S.A., Beck, P.A., Hallford, D.M., 2013. Effects of supplementary selenium source on the blood parameters in beef cows and their nursing calves. Biol Trace Elem Res 152, 204-211.
Gupta, P.S., Folger, J.K., Rajput, S.K., Lv, L., Yao, J., Ireland, J.J., Smith, G.W., 2014. Regulation and regulatory role of WNT signaling in potentiating FSH action during bovine dominant follicle selection. PLoS One 9, e100201.
Hafla, A.N., Lancaster, P.A., Carstens, G.E., Forrest, D.W., Fox, J.T., Forbes, T.D.A., Davis, M.E., Randel, R.D., Holloway, J.W., 2012. Relationships between feed efficiency, scrotal circumference, and semen quality traits in yearling bulls. Journal of Animal Science 90, 3937-3944.
Hammer, C.J., Thorson, J.F., Meyer, A.M., Redmer, D.A., Luther, J.S., Neville, T.L., Reed, J.J., Reynolds, L.P., Caton, J.S., Vonnahme, K.A., 2011. Effects of maternal selenium supply and plane of nutrition during gestation on passive transfer of immunity and health in neonatal lambs. Journal of Animal Science 89, 3690-3698.
Hansen, T.R., Pru, J.K., 2014a. ISGylation: a conserved pathway in mammalian pregnancy. Adv Exp Med Biol 759, 13-31.
Hansen, T.R., Pru, J.K., 2014b. ISGylation: a conserved pathway in mammalian pregnancy. Posttranslational Protein Modifications in the Reproductive System. Springer, pp. 13-31.
Hansen, T.R., Romero, J.J., Antoniazzi, A.Q., Bott, R.C., Ashley, R.L., Webb, B.T., Henkes, L.E., Smirnova, N.P., 2013. Endocrine conceptus signaling in ruminants. Anim Reprod 10, 311-321.
Hansen, T.R., Smirnova, N.P., Webb, B.T., Bielefeldt-Ohmann, H., Sacco, R.E., Van Campen, H., 2015. Innate and adaptive immune responses to in utero infection with bovine viral diarrhea virus. Anim Health Res Rev 16, 15-26.
Harris, E.K., Berg, E.P., Berg, E.L., Vonnahme, K.A., 2013. Effect of maternal activity during gestation on maternal behavior, fetal growth, umbilical blood flow, and farrowing characteristics in pigs. Journal of Animal Science 91, 734-744.
Hart, C.G., Camacho, L.E., Swanson, K.C., Vonnahme, K.A., Lemley, C.O., 2014a. Hepatic steroid metabolizing enzyme activity during early, mid, and late bovine pregnancy. Domest Anim Endocrin 49, 31-38.
Hart, N.J., Chung, W.J., Weber, C., Ananthakrishnan, K., Anderson, M., Patek, R., Zhang, Z., Limesand, S.W., Vagner, J., Lynch, R.M., 2014b. Hetero‐bivalent GLP‐1/Glibenclamide for Targeting Pancreatic β‐Cells. ChemBioChem 15, 135-145.
Henkes, L.E., Pru, J.K., Ashley, R.L., Anthony, R.V., Veeramachaneni, D.N.R., Gates, K.C., Hansen, T.R., 2015. Embryo Mortality in Isg15(-/-) Mice Is Exacerbated by Environmental Stress. Biology of Reproduction 92.
Hoffman, M.L., Rokosa, M.A., Zinn, S.A., Hoagland, T.A., Govoni, K.E., 2014. Poor maternal nutrition during gestation in sheep reduces circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-I and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 in offspring. Domest Anim Endocrin 49, 39-48.
Huang, Y., Zhao, J.X., Yan, X., Zhu, M.J., Long, N.M., McCormick, R.J., Ford, S.P., Nathanielsz, P.W., Du, M., 2012. Maternal obesity enhances collagen accumulation and cross-linking in skeletal muscle of ovine offspring. PLoS One 7, e31691.
Hulbert, L.E., Carroll, J.A., Ballou, M.A., Burdick, N.C., Dailey, J.W., Caldwell, L.C., Loyd, A.N., Vann, R.C., Welsh, T.H., Jr., Randel, R.D., 2013. Sexually dimorphic stress and pro-inflammatory cytokine responses to an intravenous corticotropin-releasing hormone challenge of Brahman cattle following transportation. Innate Immun 19, 378-387.
Ilse, B.R., Anderson, V.L., Buchanan, D.S., Odde, K.G., Lardy, G.P., Vonnahme, K.A., 2012. SHORT COMMUNICATION: Growth and attainment of puberty in calves from cows supplemented with linseed meal during late gestation and early lactation. Can J Anim Sci 92, 443-447.
Isom, S.C., Stevens, J.R., Li, R., Spollen, W.G., Cox, L., Spate, L.D., Murphy, C.N., Prather, R.S., 2013. Transcriptional profiling by RNA-Seq of peri-attachment porcine embryos generated by a variety of assisted reproductive technologies. Physiol Genomics 45, 577-589.
Jinks, E.M., Smith, M.F., Atkins, J.A., Pohler, K.G., Perry, G.A., Macneil, M.D., Roberts, A.J., Waterman, R.C., Alexander, L.J., Geary, T.W., 2013. Preovulatory estradiol and the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy in suckled beef cows. Journal of Animal Science 91, 1176-1185.
Kaminski, S.L., Grazul-Bilska, A.T., Harris, E.K., Berg, E.P., Vonnahme, K.A., 2014. Impact of maternal physical activity during gestation on porcine fetal, neonatal, and adolescent ovarian development. Domest Anim Endocrin 48, 56-61.
Kandadi, M.R., Hua, Y., Zhu, M., Turdi, S., Nathanielsz, P.W., Ford, S.P., Nair, S., Ren, J., 2013. Influence of gestational overfeeding on myocardial proinflammatory mediators in fetal sheep heart. J Nutr Biochem 24, 1982-1990.
Keller-Wood, M., Feng, X., Wood, C.E., Richards, E., Anthony, R.V., Dahl, G.E., Tao, S., 2014. Elevated maternal cortisol leads to relative maternal hyperglycemia and increased stillbirth in ovine pregnancy. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 307, R405-413.
Kelly, A.C., Steyn, L.V., Kitzmann, J.P., Anderson, M.J., Mueller, K.R., Hart, N.J., Lynch, R.M., Papas, K.K., Limesand, S.W., 2014. Function and expression of sulfonylurea, adrenergic, and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptors in isolated porcine islets. Xenotransplantation 21, 385-391.
Kennedy, C.E., Krieger, K.B., Sutovsky, M., Xu, W., Vargovic, P., Didion, B.A., Ellersieck, M.R., Hennessy, M.E., Verstegen, J., Oko, R., Sutovsky, P., 2014. Protein Expression Pattern of PAWP in Bull Spermatozoa Is Associated With SpermQuality and Fertility Following Artificial Insemination. Mol Reprod Dev 81, 436-449.
Kim, J.Y., Burghardt, R.C., Wu, G., Johnson, G.A., Spencer, T.E., Bazer, F.W., 2011. Select nutrients in the ovine uterine lumen. VII. Effects of arginine, leucine, glutamine, and glucose on trophectoderm cell signaling, proliferation, and migration. Biology of reproduction 84, 62-69.
Kurz, S.G., Dennison, K.L., Samanas, N.B., Hickman, M.P., Eckert, Q.A., Walker, T.L., Cupp, A.S., Shull, J.D., 2014. Ept7 influences estrogen action in the pituitary gland and body weight of rats. Mamm Genome 25, 244-252.
Lai, D., Ding, J., Smith, G.W., Smith, G.D., Takayama, S., 2015. Slow and steady cell shrinkage reduces osmotic stress in bovine and murine oocyte and zygote vitrification. Hum Reprod 30, 37-45.
Larson-Meyer, D.E., Palm, S., Bansal, A., Austin, K.J., Hart, A.M., Alexander, B.M., 2012. Influence of running and walking on hormonal regulators of appetite in women. J Obes 2012, 730409.
Larson, J., Voelz, B., Hardin, D., Lemley, C., 2014. NUTRITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DAIRY COW DURING EARLY GESTATION AND SUBSEQUENT GROWTH AND CARDIAC MEASUREMENTS OF HER OFFSPRING. American Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences 9, 146.
Lee, K.B., Folger, J.K., Rajput, S.K., Smith, G.W., 2014a. Temporal regulation of mRNAs for select bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP), BMP receptors and their associated SMAD proteins during bovine early embryonic development: effects of exogenous BMP2 on embryo developmental progression. Reprod Biol Endocrin 12.
Lee, K.B., Wee, G., Zhang, K., Folger, J.K., Knott, J.G., Smith, G.W., 2014b. Functional role of the bovine oocyte-specific protein JY-1 in meiotic maturation, cumulus expansion, and subsequent embryonic development. Biology of reproduction 90, 69.
Lee, K.B., Zhang, K., Folger, J.K., Knott, J.G., Smith, G.W., 2014c. Evidence supporting a functional requirement of SMAD4 for bovine preimplantation embryonic development: a potential link to embryotrophic actions of follistatin. Biology of reproduction 91, 62.
Lekatz, L.A., Luther, J.S., Caton, J.S., Vonnahme, K.A., 2013. Impacts of maternal nutritional plane on umbilical artery hemodynamics, fetal and placentome growth in sheep. Anim Reprod 10, 99-105.
Lemley, C., Meyer, A., Neville, T., Hallford, D., Camacho, L., Maddock-Carlin, K., Wilmoth, T., Wilson, M., Perry, G., Redmer, D., 2014a. Dietary selenium and nutritional plane alter specific aspects of maternal endocrine status during pregnancy and lactation. Domest Anim Endocrin 46, 1-11.
Lemley, C.O., Camacho, L.E., Meyer, A.M., Kapphahn, M., Caton, J.S., Vonnahme, K.A., 2013a. Dietary melatonin supplementation alters uteroplacental amino acid flux during intrauterine growth restriction in ewes. Animal : an international journal of animal bioscience 7, 1500-1507.
Lemley, C.O., Camacho, L.E., Vonnahme, K.A., 2013b. Uterine infusion of melatonin or melatonin receptor antagonist alters ovine feto-placental hemodynamics during midgestation. Biology of reproduction 89, 40.
Lemley, C.O., Meyer, A.M., Camacho, L.E., Neville, T.L., Newman, D.J., Caton, J.S., Vonnahme, K.A., 2012. Melatonin supplementation alters uteroplacental hemodynamics and fetal development in an ovine model of intrauterine growth restriction. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 302, R454-467.
Lemley, C.O., Meyer, A.M., Neville, T.L., Hallford, D.M., Camacho, L.E., Maddock-Carlin, K.R., Wilmoth, T.A., Wilson, M.E., Perry, G.A., Redmer, D.A., Reynolds, L.P., Caton, J.S., Vonnahme, K.A., 2014b. Dietary selenium and nutritional plane alter specific aspects of maternal endocrine status during pregnancy and lactation. Domest Anim Endocrin 46, 1-11.
Limesand, S.W., Rozance, P.J., Macko, A.R., Anderson, M.J., Kelly, A.C., Hay, W.W., Jr., 2013. Reductions in insulin concentrations and beta-cell mass precede growth restriction in sheep fetuses with placental insufficiency. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 304, E516-523.
Liu, W.-S., Chang, T.-C., Y chromosome-linked genes implicated in spermatogenesis in cattle.
Long, N.M., Ford, S.P., Nathanielsz, P.W., 2013a. Multigenerational effects of fetal dexamethasone exposure on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis of first- and second-generation female offspring. Am J Obstet Gynecol 208, 217 e211-218.
Long, N.M., Rule, D.C., Tuersunjiang, N., Nathanielsz, P.W., Ford, S.P., 2015. Maternal Obesity in Sheep Increases Fatty Acid Synthesis, Upregulates Nutrient Transporters, and Increases Adiposity in Adult Male Offspring after a Feeding Challenge. PLoS One 10.
Long, N.M., Shasa, D.R., Ford, S.P., Nathanielsz, P.W., 2012. Growth and insulin dynamics in two generations of female offspring of mothers receiving a single course of synthetic glucocorticoids. Am J Obstet Gynecol 207, 203 e201-208.
Long, N.M., Smith, D.T., Ford, S.P., Nathanielsz, P.W., 2013b. Elevated glucocorticoids during ovine pregnancy increase appetite and produce glucose dysregulation and adiposity in their granddaughters in response to ad libitum feeding at 1 year of age. Am J Obstet Gynecol 209, 353 e351-359.
Long, N.M., Tuersunjiang, N., George, L.A., Lemley, C.O., Ma, Y., Murdoch, W.J., Nathanielsz, P.W., Ford, S.P., 2013c. Maternal nutrient restriction in the ewe from early to midgestation programs reduced steroidogenic enzyme expression and tended to reduce progesterone content of corpora lutea, as well as circulating progesterone in nonpregnant aged female offspring. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 11, 34.
Lu, N., Sargent, K.M., Clopton, D.T., Pohlmeier, W.E., Brauer, V.M., McFee, R.M., Weber, J.S., Ferrara, N., Silversides, D.W., Cupp, A.S., 2013. Loss of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGFA) Isoforms in the Testes of Male Mice Causes Subfertility, Reduces Sperm Numbers, and Alters Expression of Genes That Regulate Undifferentiated Spermatogonia. Endocrinology 154, 4790-4802.
Maalouf, S.W., Liu, W.S., Albert, I., Pate, J.L., 2014. Regulating life or death: potential role of microRNA in rescue of the corpus luteum. Mol Cell Endocrinol 398, 78-88.
Macko, A.R., Yates, D.T., Chen, X., Green, A.S., Kelly, A.C., Brown, L.D., Limesand, S.W., 2013. Elevated plasma norepinephrine inhibits insulin secretion, but adrenergic blockade reveals enhanced beta-cell responsiveness in an ovine model of placental insufficiency at 0.7 of gestation. J Dev Orig Health Dis 4, 402-410.
Madsen, C.A., Perry, G.A., Mogck, C.L., Daly, R.F., MacNeil, M.D., Geary, T.W., 2015. Effects of preovulatory estradiol on embryo survival and pregnancy establishment in beef cows. Anim Reprod Sci 158, 96-103.
Magolski, J.D., Shappell, N.W., Vonnahme, K.A., Anderson, G.M., Newman, D.J., Berg, E.P., 2014. Consumption of Ground Beef Obtained from Cattle That Had Received Steroidal Growth Promotants Does Not Trigger Early Onset of Estrus in Prepubertal Pigs. J Nutr 144, 1718-1724.
Mao, D., Hou, X., Talbott, H., Cushman, R., Cupp, A., Davis, J.S., 2013. ATF3 expression in the corpus luteum: possible role in luteal regression. Mol Endocrinol 27, 2066-2079.
Martin, N.T., Thomas, J.M., Nash, J.M., Mallory, D.A., Ellersieck, M.R., Poock, S.E., Smith, M.F., Patterson, D.J., 2014. Comparison of a 16-versus a 19-day interval between controlled internal drug release removal and prostaglandin F-2 alpha following a 14-day controlled internal drug releasetreatment and fixed-time artificial insemination in postpartum beef cows. Journal of Animal Science 92, 1759-1767.
Martins, T., Peres, R.F., Rodrigues, A.D., Pohler, K.G., Pereira, M.H., Day, M.L., Vasconcelos, J.L., 2014. Effect of progesterone concentrations, follicle diameter, timing of artificial insemination, and ovulatory stimulus on pregnancy rate to synchronized artificial insemination in postpubertal Nellore heifers. Theriogenology 81, 446-453.
McCosh, R.B., Berry, E.M., Wehrman, M.E., Redden, R.R., Hallford, D.M., Berardinelli, J.G., 2015. Temporal concentrations of cortisol and LH in virgin ewes acutely exposed to rams during the transition into the breeding season. Anim Reprod Sci 154, 25-28.
McCoski, S.R., Xie, M., Hall, E.B., Mercadante, P.M., Spencer, T.E., Lonergan, P., Ealy, A.D., 2014. Validation of an interferon stimulatory response element reporter gene assay for quantifying type I interferons. Domest Anim Endocrin 47, 22-26.
McFee, R.M., Cupp, A.S., 2013. Vascular contributions to early ovarian development: potential roles of VEGFA isoforms. Reproduction, Fertility and Development 25, 333-342.
McFee, R.M., Rozell, T.G., Cupp, A.S., 2012. The balance of proangiogenic and antiangiogenic VEGFA isoforms regulate follicle development. Cell Tissue Res 349, 635-647.
Mercadante, P.M., Waters, K.M., Mercadante, V.R., Lamb, G.C., Elzo, M.A., Johnson, S.E., Rae, D.O., Yelich, J.V., Ealy, A.D., 2013. Subspecies differences in early fetal development and plasma pregnancy-associated glycoprotein concentrations in cattle. Journal of Animal Science 91, 3693-3701.
Meyer, A.M., Neville, T.L., Reed, J.J., Taylor, J.B., Reynolds, L.P., Redmer, D.A., Hammer, C.J., Vonnahme, K.A., Caton, J.S., 2013. Maternal nutritional plane and selenium supply during gestation impact visceral organ mass and intestinal growth and vascularity of neonatal lamb offspring. Journal of Animal Science 91, 2628-2639.
Meyer, A.M., Reed, J.J., Neville, T.L., Taylor, J.B., Reynolds, L.P., Redmer, D.A., Vonnahme, K.A., Caton, J.S., 2012. Effects of nutritional plane and selenium supply during gestation on visceral organ mass and indices of intestinal growth and vascularity in primiparous ewes at parturition and during early lactation. Journal of Animal Science 90, 2733-2749.
Minten, M.A., Bilby, T.R., Bruno, R.G., Allen, C.C., Madsen, C.A., Wang, Z., Sawyer, J.E., Tibary, A., Neibergs, H.L., Geary, T.W., Bauersachs, S., Spencer, T.E., 2013a. Effects of fertility on gene expression and function of the bovine endometrium. PLoS One 8, e69444.
Minten, M.A., Bilby, T.R., Bruno, R.G.S., Allen, C.C., Madsen, C.A., Wang, Z.P., Sawyer, J.E., Tibary, A., Neibergs, H.L., Geary, T.W., Bauersachs, S., Spencer, T.E., 2013b. Effects of Fertility on Gene Expression and Function of the Bovine Endometrium. PLoS One 8.
Mirto, A., Austin, K., Uthlaut, V., Roselli, C., Alexander, B., 2015. Fos Expression in the Olfactory Pathway of High-and Low-Sexually Performing Rams Exposed to Urine from Estrous or Ovariectomized Ewes. Appl Anim Behav Sci.
Mistry, B.V., Zhao, Y., Chang, T.C., Yasue, H., Chiba, M., Oatley, J., Diaz, F., Liu, W.S., 2013. Differential expression of PRAMEL1, a cancer/testis antigen, during spermatogenesis in the mouse. PLoS One 8, e60611.
Mossa, F., Carter, F., Walsh, S.W., Kenny, D.A., Smith, G.W., Ireland, J.L., Hildebrandt, T.B., Lonergan, P., Ireland, J.J., Evans, A.C., 2013. Maternal undernutrition in cows impairs ovarian and cardiovascular systems in their offspring. Biology of reproduction 88, 92.
Mossa, F., Walsh, S.W., Butler, S.T., Berry, D.P., Carter, F., Lonergan, P., Smith, G.W., Ireland, J.J., Evans, A.C.O., 2012. Low numbers of ovarian follicles >= 3 mm in diameter are associated with low fertility in dairy cows. J Dairy Sci 95, 2355-2361.
Mottet, R.S., Lemley, C.O., Vonnahme, K.A., Berg, E.L., 2013. Lipoic acid decreases progesterone clearance in ovariectomized ewes. Anim Reprod 10, 112-118.
Mulliniks, J.T., Kemp, M.E., Endecott, R.L., Cox, S.H., Roberts, A.J., Waterman, R.C., Geary, T.W., Scholljegerdes, E.J., Petersen, M.K., 2013a. Does beta-hydroxybutyrate concentration influence conception date in young postpartum range beef cows? Journal of Animal Science 91, 2902-2909.
Mulliniks, J.T., Waterman, R.C., Geary, T.W., 2013b. Economics of early weaning in northern great plains beef cattle production system. Agricultural Sciences 4, 219.
Nash, J.M., Mallory, D.A., Ellersieck, M.R., Poock, S.E., Smith, M.F., Patterson, D.J., 2013. Comparison of long-term controlled internal drug release-based protocols to synchronize estrus and ovulation in postpartum beef cows. Journal of Animal Science 91, 3168-3176.
Nathanielsz, P.W., Ford, S.P., Long, N.M., Vega, C.C., Reyes-Castro, L.A., Zambrano, E., 2013. Interventions to prevent adverse fetal programming due to maternal obesity during pregnancy. Nutr Rev 71 Suppl 1, S78-87.
Neville, T.L., Meyer, A.M., Reyaz, A., Borowicz, P.B., Redmer, D.A., Reynolds, L.P., Caton, J.S., Vonnahme, K.A., 2013. Mammary gland growth and vascularity at parturition and during lactation in primiparous ewes fed differing levels of selenium and nutritional plane during gestation. J Anim Sci Biotechnol 4.
O'Hara, L., Forde, N., Carter, F., Rizos, D., Maillo, V., Ealy, A.D., Kelly, A.K., Rodriguez, P., Isaka, N., Evans, A.C.O., Lonergan, P., 2014. Paradoxical effect of supplementary progesterone between Day 3 and Day 7 on corpus luteum function and conceptus development in cattle. Reprod Fert Develop 26, 328-336.
O'Neil, M.R., Lardy, G.P., Reynolds, L.P., Caton, J.S., Vonnahme, K.A., 2008. Impacts of linseed meal and estradiol-17beta on mass, cellularity, angiogenic factors, and vascularity of the jejunum. Journal of Animal Science 86, 3014-3022.
Odhiambo, J.F., DeJarnette, J.M., Geary, T.W., Kennedy, C.E., Suarez, S.S., Sutovsky, M., Sutovsky, P., 2014. Increased conception rates in beef cattle inseminated with nanopurified bull semen. Biology of reproduction 91, 97.
Oliver, M., Nader, G., Maas, J., Blanchard, M., Stott, J., Teglas, M.B., Bushnell, R., 2013. Management Alternatives To Minimize Foothill Abortion. The Progressive Rancher, 20-23.
Ozawa, M., Yang, Q.E., Ealy, A.D., 2013. The expression of fibroblast growth factor receptors during early bovine conceptus development and pharmacological analysis of their actions on trophoblast growth in vitro. Reproduction 145, 191-201.
P Reynolds, L., A Vonnahme, K., O Lemley, C., A Redmer, D., T Grazul-Bilska, A., P Borowicz, P., S Caton, J., 2013. Maternal stress and placental vascular function and remodeling. Current vascular pharmacology 11, 564-593.
Patterson, A.L., Pru, J.K., 2013. Long-term label retaining cells localize to distinct regions within the female reproductive epithelium. Cell Cycle 12, 2888-2898.
Patterson, A.L., Squires, E.L., Hansen, T.R., Bouma, G.J., Bruemmer, J.E., 2012. Gene profiling of inflammatory genes in day 18 endometria from pregnant and non-pregnant mares. Mol Reprod Dev 79, 777-784.
Patterson, D.J., Thomas, J.M., Martin, N.T., Nash, J.M., Smith, M.F., 2013. Control of estrus and ovulation in beef heifers. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract 29, 591-617.
Peel, R.K., Eckerle, G.J., Anthony, R.V., 2012. Effects of overfeeding naturally-mated adolescent ewes on maternal, fetal, and postnatal lamb growth. Journal of Animal Science 90, 3698-3708.
Peluso, J.J., Pru, J.K., 2014. Non-canonical progesterone signaling in granulosa cell function. Reproduction 147, R169-178.
Pennington, K.A., Ealy, A.D., 2012. The expression and potential function of bone morphogenetic proteins 2 and 4 in bovine trophectoderm. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 10, 12.
Penrod, L.V., Allen, R.E., Rhoads, M.L., Limesand, S.W., Arns, M.J., 2013a. Oxytocin stimulated release of PGF(2)alpha and its inhibition by a cyclooxygenase inhibitor and an oxytocin receptor antagonist from equine endometrial cultures. Anim Reprod Sci 139, 69-75.
Penrod, L.V., Allen, R.E., Turner, J.L., Limesand, S.W., Arns, M.J., 2013b. Effects of oxytocin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and polyunsaturated fatty acids on prostaglandin secretion and gene expression in equine endometrial explant cultures. Domest Anim Endocrin 44, 46-55.
Pohler, K.G., Geary, T.W., Atkins, J.A., Perry, G.A., Jinks, E.M., Smith, M.F., 2012. Follicular determinants of pregnancy establishment and maintenance. Cell Tissue Res 349, 649-664.
Pohler, K.G., Geary, T.W., Johnson, C.L., Atkins, J.A., Jinks, E.M., Busch, D.C., Green, J.A., MacNeil, M.D., Smith, M.F., 2013. Circulating bovine pregnancy associated glycoproteins are associated with late embryonic/fetal survival but not ovulatory follicle size in suckled beef cows. Journal of Animal Science 91, 4158-4167.
Powers, J.G., Baker, D.L., Bruemmer, J.E., Ackerman, M.G., Nett, T.M., 2010. Maternal Passive Transfer of GnRH Antibodies Does Not Change Reproductive Development in Elk Calves. Biology of Reproduction, 56-57.
Powers, J.G., Monello, R.J., Wild, M.A., Spraker, T.R., Gionfriddo, J.P., Nett, T.M., Baker, D.L., 2014. Effects of GonaCon Immunocontraceptive Vaccine in Free-Ranging Female Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni). Wildlife Soc B 38, 650-656.
Prezotto, L.D., Lemley, C.O., Camacho, L.E., Doscher, F.E., Meyer, A.M., Caton, J.S., Awda, B.J., Vonnahme, K.A., Swanson, K.C., 2014. Effects of nutrient restriction and melatonin supplementation on maternal and foetal hepatic and small intestinal energy utilization. J Anim Physiol an N 98, 797-807.
Price, D.M., Lewis, A.W., Neuendorff, D.A., Carroll, J.A., Sanchez, N.C.B., Vann, R.C., Welsh, T.H., Randel, R.D., 2015. Physiological and metabolic responses of gestating Brahman cows to repeated transportation. Journal of Animal Science 93, 737-745.
Pru, J.K., Clark, N.C., 2013. PGRMC1 and PGRMC2 in uterine physiology and disease. Front Neurosci-Switz 7.
Quinn, K.E., Ashley, A.K., Reynolds, L.P., Grazul-Bilska, A.T., Ashley, R.L., 2014. Activation of the CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling axis may drive vascularization of the ovine placenta. Domest Anim Endocrin 47, 11-21.
Rajput, S.K., Lee, K., Zhenhua, G., Di, L., Folger, J.K., Smith, G.W., 2013. Embryotropic actions of follistatin: paracrine and autocrine mediators of oocyte competence and embryo developmental progression. Reproduction, fertility, and development 26, 37-47.
Ramstead, A.G., Schepetkin, I.A., Todd, K., Loeffelholz, J., Berardinelli, J.G., Quinn, M.T., Jutila, M.A., 2015. Aging influences the response of T cells to stimulation by the ellagitannin, oenothein B. Int Immunopharmacol 26, 367-377.
Randel, R.D., 2013. Triennial Reproduction Symposium: 2012 Casida Award recipient: philosophy for graduate education in reproductive physiology and endocrinology. Journal of Animal Science 91, 3000-3001.
Randel, R.D., Welsh, T.H., Jr., 2013. Joint Alpharma-Beef Species Symposium: interactions of feed efficiency with beef heifer reproductive development. Journal of Animal Science 91, 1323-1328.
Reed, S.A., Raja, J.S., Hoffman, M.L., Zinn, S.A., Govoni, K.E., 2014. Poor maternal nutrition inhibits muscle development in ovine offspring. J Anim Sci Biotechnol 5, 43.
Rizos, D., Scully, S., Kelly, A.K., Ealy, A.D., Moros, R., Duffy, P., Al Naib, A., Forde, N., Lonergan, P., 2012. Effects of human chorionic gonadotrophin administration on day 5 after oestrus on corpus luteum characteristics, circulating progesterone and conceptus elongation in cattle. Reproduction, fertility, and development 24, 472-481.
Rodrigues, A.D., Peres, R.F., Lemes, A.P., Martins, T., Pereira, M.H., Day, M.L., Vasconcelos, J.L., 2013. Progesterone-based strategies to induce ovulation in prepubertal Nellore heifers. Theriogenology 79, 135-141.
Romero, J.J., Antoniazzi, A.Q., Smirnova, N.P., Webb, B.T., Yu, F., Davis, J.S., Hansen, T.R., 2013. Pregnancy-associated genes contribute to antiluteolytic mechanisms in ovine corpus luteum. Physiol Genomics 45, 1095-1108.
Rowell, J.E., Shipka, M.P., Gerlach, S.C., Greenberg, J.A., Paragi, T., 2013. Sustainable Livestock Production in Alaska. UAF Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, Technical Report 13.
Rozance, P.J., Anderson, M., Martinez, M., Fahy, A., Macko, A.R., Kailey, J., Seedorf, G.J., Abman, S.H., Hay, W.W., Limesand, S.W., 2015. Placental Insufficiency Decreases Pancreatic Vascularity and Disrupts Hepatocyte Growth Factor Signaling in the Pancreatic Islet Endothelial Cell in Fetal Sheep. Diabetes 64, 555-586.
Sanchez, N.C.B., Carroll, J.A., Randel, R.D., Vann, R.C., Welsh, T.H., 2014. Associations between endotoxin-induced metabolic changes and temperament in Brahman bulls. J Anim Physiol an N 98, 178-190.
Sargent, K.M., Lu, N., Clopton, D.T., Pohlmeier, W.E., Brauer, V.M., Ferrara, N., Silversides, D.W., Cupp, A.S., 2015. Loss of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) isoforms in granulosa cells using pDmrt-1-Cre or Amhr2-Cre reduces fertility by arresting follicular development and by reducing litter size in female mice. PLoS One 10, e0116332.
Saunders, G., Fu, G., Stevens, J.R., 2014. A graphical weighted power improving multiplicity correction approach for SNP selections. Curr Genomics 15, 380-389.
Scheffler, J.M., McCann, M.A., Greiner, S.P., Jiang, H., Hanigan, M.D., Bridges, G.A., Lake, S.L., Gerrard, D.E., 2014. Early metabolic imprinting events increase marbling scores in fed cattle. Journal of Animal Science 92, 320-324.
Schmidt, S.E., Neuendorff, D.A., Riley, D.G., Vann, R.C., Willard, S.T., Welsh, T.H., Jr., Randel, R.D., 2014. Genetic parameters of three methods of temperament evaluation of Brahman calves. Journal of Animal Science 92, 3082-3087.
Scholljegerdes, E.J., Lekatz, L.A., Vonnahme, K.A., 2014. Effects of short-term oilseed supplementation on plasma fatty acid composition, progesterone and prostaglandin F metabolite in lactating beef cows. Animal : an international journal of animal bioscience 8, 777-785.
Schueler, J., Alexander, B., Hart, A.M., Austin, K., Larson-Meyer, D.E., 2013. Presence and dynamics of leptin, GLP-1, and PYY in human breast milk at early postpartum. Obesity (Silver Spring) 21, 1451-1458.
Selvaraju, S., Folger, J.K., Gupta, P.S.P., Ireland, J.J., Smith, G.W., 2013. Stage-specific expression and effect of bone morphogenetic protein 2 on bovine granulosa cell estradiol production: regulation by cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript. Domest Anim Endocrin 44, 115-120.
Sen, N., Liu, X., Craig, Z.R., 2015. Short term exposure to di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) disrupts ovarian function in young CD-1 mice. Reprod Toxicol 53, 15-22.
Seto, N.L., Bogan, R.L., 2015. Decreased cholesterol uptake and increased liver x receptor-mediated cholesterol efflux pathways during prostaglandin F2 alpha-induced and spontaneous luteolysis in sheep. Biology of reproduction 92, 128.
Sharma, T.P., Nett, T.M., Karsch, F.J., Phillips, D.J., Lee, J.S., Herkimer, C., Padmanabhan, V., 2012. Neuroendocrine control of FSH secretion: IV. Hypothalamic control of pituitary FSH-regulatory proteins and their relationship to changes in FSH synthesis and secretion. Biology of reproduction 86, 171.
Shasa, D.R., Odhiambo, J.F., Long, N.M., Tuersunjiang, N., Nathanielsz, P.W., Ford, S.P., 2015. Multigenerational impact of maternal overnutrition/obesity in the sheep on the neonatal leptin surge in granddaughters. Int J Obes (Lond) 39, 695-701.
Shukla, P., Ghatta, S., Dubey, N., Lemley, C.O., Johnson, M.L., Modgil, A., Vonnahme, K., Caton, J.S., Reynolds, L.P., Sun, C.W., O'Rourke, S.T., 2014a. Maternal nutrient restriction during pregnancy impairs an endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-like pathway in sheep fetal coronary arteries. Am J Physiol-Heart C 307, H134-H142.
Shukla, P., Lemley, C.O., Dubey, N., Meyer, A.M., O'Rourke, S.T., Vonnahme, K.A., 2014b. Effect of maternal nutrient restriction and melatonin supplementation from mid to late gestation on vascular reactivity of maternal and fetal placental arteries. Placenta 35, 461-466.
Smirnova, N.P., Webb, B.T., Bielefeldt-Ohmann, H., Van Campen, H., Antoniazzi, A.Q., Morarie, S.E., Hansen, T.R., 2012. Development of fetal and placental innate immune responses during establishment of persistent infection with bovine viral diarrhea virus. Virus Res 167, 329-336.
Smirnova, N.P., Webb, B.T., McGill, J.L., Schaut, R.G., Bielefeldt-Ohmann, H., Campen, H., Sacco, R.E., Hansen, T.R., 2014. Induction of interferon-gamma and downstream pathways during establishment of fetal persistent infection with bovine viral diarrhea virus. Virus Res 183, 95-106.
Smith, G.W., Meidan, R., 2014. Ever-changing cell interactions during the life span of the corpus luteum: Relevance to luteal regression. Reprod Biol 14, 75-82.
Sohel, M.M.H., Hoelker, M., Noferesti, S.S., Salilew-Wondim, D., Tholen, E., Looft, C., Rings, F., Uddin, M.J., Spencer, T.E., Schellander, K., Tesfaye, D., 2013. Exosomal and Non-Exosomal Transport of Extra-Cellular microRNAs in Follicular Fluid: Implications for Bovine Oocyte Developmental Competence. PLoS One 8.
Sparks, B.L., Lake, S.L., Gunn, P.J., Fisher, K.S., Horstman, L.A., Lemenager, R.P., Berry, J., Bridges, G.A., 2012. Effects of prostaglandin F2α administration at CIDR insertion on artificial insemination pregnancy rates in beef heifers. The Professional Animal Scientist 28, 552-559.
Spencer, T.E., 2013. Early pregnancy: Concepts, challenges, and potential solutions. Animal Frontiers 3, 48-55.
Spencer, T.E., Forde, N., Dorniak, P., Hansen, T.R., Romero, J.J., Lonergan, P., 2013. Conceptus-derived prostaglandins regulate gene expression in the endometrium prior to pregnancy recognition in ruminants. Reproduction 146, 377-387.
Stapp, A.D., Gifford, C.A., Hallford, D.M., Gifford, J.A., 2014a. Evaluation of steroidogenic capacity after follicle stimulating hormone stimulation in bovine granulosa cells of Revalor 200(R) implanted heifers. J Anim Sci Biotechnol 5, 2.
Stapp, A.D., Gomez, B.I., Gifford, C.A., Hallford, D.M., Hernandez Gifford, J.A., 2014b. Canonical WNT signaling inhibits follicle stimulating hormone mediated steroidogenesis in primary cultures of rat granulosa cells. PLoS One 9, e86432.
Steyn, L.V., Ananthakrishnan, K., Anderson, M.J., Patek, R., Kelly, A., Vagner, J., Lynch, R.M., Limesand, S.W., 2015. A Synthetic Heterobivalent Ligand Composed of Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 and Yohimbine Specifically Targets beta Cells Within the Pancreas. Mol Imaging Biol 17, 461-470.
Sullivan, R.R., Faris, B.R., Eborn, D., Grieger, D.M., Cino-Ozuna, A.G., Rozell, T.G., 2013. Follicular expression of follicle stimulating hormone receptor variants in the ewe. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 11, 113.
Summers, A.F., Pohlmeier, W.E., Sargent, K.M., Cole, B.D., Vinton, R.J., Kurz, S.G., McFee, R.M., Cushman, R.A., Cupp, A.S., Wood, J.R., 2014. Altered theca and cumulus oocyte complex gene expression, follicular arrest and reduced fertility in cows with dominant follicle follicular fluid androgen excess. PLoS One 9, e110683.
Sutovsky, P., Kennedy, C.E., 2013. Biomarker-based nanotechnology for the improvement of reproductive performance in beef and dairy cattle. Industrial Biotechnology 9, 24-30.
Swartz, J.D., Lachman, M., Westveer, K., O'Neill, T., Geary, T., Kott, R.W., Berardinelli, J.G., Hatfield, P.G., Thomson, J.M., Roberts, A., Yeoman, C.J., 2014. Characterization of the Vaginal Microbiota of Ewes and Cows Reveals a Unique Microbiota with Low Levels of Lactobacilli and Near-Neutral pH. Front Vet Sci 1, 19.
Talbott, H., Delaney, A., Zhang, P., Yu, Y., Cushman, R.A., Cupp, A.S., Hou, X., Davis, J.S., 2014. Effects of IL8 and immune cells on the regulation of luteal progesterone secretion. Reproduction 148, 21-31.
Tripurani, S.K., Wee, G., Lee, K.B., Smith, G.W., Wang, L., Jianboyao, 2013. MicroRNA-212 post-transcriptionally regulates oocyte-specific basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factor, factor in the germline alpha (FIGLA), during bovine early embryogenesis. PLoS One 8, e76114.
Utsumi, S.A., Cibils, A.F., Estell, R.E., Soto-Navarro, S.A., Chen, L., Hallford, D.M., 2013. Effects of adding protein, condensed tannins, and polyethylene glycol to diets of sheep and goats fed one-seed juniper and low quality roughage. Small Ruminant Res 112, 56-68.
&n
File W3112 rewrite 6-1-2016 final.docx
AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, ID, IL, KS, MI, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OR, PA, TN, TX, UT, WA, WY
USDA-ARS/MT
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757064
|
__label__wiki
| 0.70897
| 0.70897
|
You are here: Home>Subjects>Buildings, Architecture and Monuments>Religious Buildings>Chapels and Churches
Chapels and Churches
571 historic sites
43 articles about Chapels and Churches
Search within these articles
Add your own article
'The Lantern of Arden' and Astley Church
I have thought about visiting Astley Church in the past and it is open on Sundays between 2.00 and 3.30 p.m. when there is a service so we stopped off ...
A Royal Wedding in Stretton on Dunsmore?
It’s a slightly misleading title, as it wasn’t really a Royal Wedding, but did you know that a relative of Queen Elizabeth II got married in the Parish Church of ...
Belgian Refugees Wed at St. Marie's Church, Rugby
The invasion of Belgium ruined the life-hopes of many ordinary Belgian folk. One couple was Victor Buelens and Emelie Alice deKeyser from Louvain who had planned their marriage for 22nd ...
Building the new Primitive Methodist Chapel in Upper Brailes
The 1851 Census showed that the existing chapel was too small for the growing congregation, but the local landowners were unsympathetic to the needs of the Primitive Methodists. The Circuit ...
112 photos of Chapels and Churches
Search within these photos
Add your own photo
Alcester. Gathering in front of the church
Alcester. High Street
Alcester. High Street and St Nicholas Church
Alcester. Malt Mill Lane
Ashow. Church
Atherstone. Church Street
Barford. Church Street
Bedworth. High Street
571 historic sites related to Chapels and Churches
Search within these sites
Photograph a site
Old Church of St Mary, Ullenhall.
The site of the Old Church of St Mary dating to the Medieval period. Although the nave was pulled down in the Imperial period, the chancel was kept to form a mortuary chapel. It is situated 900m north east of Ullenhall.
Church of St Peter, Wormleighton
The Church of St Peter was built in the Medieval period, although some rebuilding work was carried out in the Post Medieval period, but on the whole it is largely unaltered. It is situated north of Wormleighton.
Church of St James, Old Milverton
The Church of St James, built in the 19th century on the site of a Medieval Church. The church is situated south west of the Hall, Old Milverton.
Church of St Matthew, Shuttington
The Parish Church of St Matthew of which the chancel and nave are Medieval. The church is situated on Church Lane, Shuttington.
Church of St Giles, Chesterton
The Church of St Giles, originally built in the 12th century, modified in the 13th and perhaps the 14th centuries. The church is located 200m south west of Church Coppice.
Church of St Nicholas, Loxley
The church of St Nicholas was originally built during the Medieval period and several features of this date still remain, including the tower. However, it was largely rebuilt during the Imperial period. It is situated in Loxley.
Church of St Peter, Wootton Wawen
The Church of St Peter which was founded as a minster during the Early Medieval period. Alterations were made to the church in the Medieval and Post Medieval periods. It is situated on Stratford Road, Wootton Wawen.
Church of St Mary, Lapworth
The Church of St Mary dating to the Medieval period. Parts of the church were restored in subsequent periods. It is situated 600m south west of the cricket ground, Lapworth.
Church of St Editha, Monks Kirby
The Church of St Editha, originally built in the Medieval period. It was largely rebuilt during the 14th century. The church is situated 175m west of the Post Office, Monks Kirby.
Church of St Editha, Polesworth
The parish church of St. Editha. The building incorporates Medieval masonary and is situated 200m east of Bridge Street, Polesworth.
View more historic sites
Explore Chapels and Churches around Warwickshire.
This map shows markers for every photo, article, historic site and catalogue record within the Chapels and Churches category.
Numbers on the map show there are multiple markers at that location.
Click on the markers to zoom in.
You can overlay the map with a historic map by clicking 'View historic maps'.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757073
|
__label__wiki
| 0.529546
| 0.529546
|
ABU DHABI STRIVES FOR SUSTAINABILITY
A sustainable park will be created in Abu Dhabi that represents a new typology for the region, featuring an urban forest, amphitheatre, natural play areas and a fitness zone for community use.
Benoy’s UAE studios, best known for their work in the MENA region, have released plans for Abu Dhabi’s upcoming Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Park. In a redefinition of the former Khalidya Ladies Park, the renovation – as part of a AED94 million renovation in the region - was commissioned by The Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport at Abu Dhabi City Municipality to “fuel discovery and support the core tenets of the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030.”
The open-air project centers on the concepts of sustainability, economic diversification and growth, improved social and community facilities, the promotion of Arab and Emirati culture, and a focus on contemporary living.
“Benoy strives to design environments that are accessible, all-inclusive and serve to bring the community together. As an open-air, multi-dimensional destination, Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Park will represent a completely new typology for Abu Dhabi; one that will appeal to a broad spectrum of demographics to promote cohesion among communities.”
Over a span of 46,000sqm, the project will feature an urban forest, lush greenery, amphitheater, cycling track, natural play areas, fitness zone, and Women’s Center for the next generation of female entrepreneurs in the region.
“With Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Park, we’ve deliberately stepped out of our comfort zone to really push the boundaries and create something that will continue to evolve and stay relevant over time,” stated Paul Priest, Director and Head of Benoy’s MENA Studios.
“I believe that this type of environment, which takes the visitor out of an enclosed space and promotes walkability and discovery, is a trend that we’ll see a lot of demand for in the GCC and greater MENA region in the near future.”
PLA'S POSITION ON HEALTH & WELLBEING
EVERYONE CAN PLAY AT WAITARA PARK
INSPIRATIONAL DESIGNS TO KICKSTART YOUR PLAYSPACE
PLA NATIONAL AWARDS FINALISTS
CHILDREN ENCOURAGED TO REACH THEIR ZENITH
TECHNICOLOUR COURT BRINGS COLOUR TO PARIS
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757074
|
__label__wiki
| 0.551403
| 0.551403
|
WORLD’S TALLEST VERTICAL GARDEN
Sri Lanka is set to house one of the world’s tallest vertical gardens in what will be the first sustainable high-rise in the country.
Designed by local architect Milroy Perera and his firm, together with Maga Engineering, the Clearpoint Residencies project will rise 46 floors and house 164 three- and four-bedroom apartments.
Clearpoint aims to set the benchmark for sustainable living with a design that will see each apartment have its own garden terrace so residents can immerse themselves in the ‘advantages of ground floor living.’
The residential tower, which will cost six billion rupees to build, will rise in Kottle overlooking the tributaries of Diyawanna Lake and opposite the newly built Diyatha Uyana, a precinct offering entertainment, markets, food outlets and an aquarium.
“Ultimately, the aim is to create a living space where you can not only feel at one with the environment, but actively contribute towards safeguarding and sustainable use of its resources,” explained Perera.
Slated for completion in 2016, the illustration shows the tower wrapped in vegetation. While the garden terraces will offer a striking aesthetic, they will also work to cool the building and provide shade while operating as a natural filter for apartment dust and for their acoustic benefits.
Each garden is self-sustaining and has an in-built automatic drip irrigation system which also delivers nutrients to the vegetation. The grey water will then be recycled and reused for irrigation and sanitation, with an aim to reduce water usage by 45 per cent. Rain water harvesting will also help nourish the gardens.
Along with its living tower focus, the project boasts an extensive list of green credentials, including solar panels to provide energy for lighting, elevators and the recycling systems such as the grey water system. The architects took a thermal approach when designing the structure, ensuring no apartment windows would be exposed to sunlight.
While the tower will be the tallest residential vertical garden in south Asia, some say it might actually be the tallest vertical garden in the world.
French artist and botanist Patrick Blanc, however, contends that Sydney’s One Central Park residential development will hold the title upon completion. Blanc, who is behind the greenery of the two 150-metre Sydney towers, plans to include 21 panels and planter boxes covering 1,120 square metres, with 35,200 plants from 383 native and exotic species used in the design.
The use of vertical gardens in high rise buildings is growing globally. An increasing desire for urban dwellers to live and connect with nature without having to head to the ground floor has prompted the trend. There have been an abundance of impressive green architecture developments already completed including an array of projects in Singapore – a city renowned for ‘urban greening’.
In recent years, the most prominent projects include WOHA’s renowned projects, PARKROYAL on Pickering and the Newton Suites, along with the Solaris building.
The closest project the industry has seen to Clearpoint to date would be Bosco Verticale, a two tower (reaching 110 and 76 metres) residential project in Milan by architect architect Stefano Boeri.
“Bosco Verticale is a project for metropolitan reforestation that contributes to the regeneration of the environment and urban biodiversity without the implication of expanding the city,” said Boeri of the project, which is nearing completion.
The building is set to be home to over 10,000 square metres of forest which will be made up of 21,000 plants and over 700 trees.
Projects like Bosco Verticale and the anticipated Clearpoint demonstrate that nature can indeed thrive in the urban landscape and can be implemented vertically should space be unavailable for natural sprawl.
Images (top to bottom): Clearpoint Residency; Clearpoint Exterior; One Central Park Sydney; and Bosco Verticale.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757075
|
__label__wiki
| 0.747159
| 0.747159
|
Published on Pambazuka News (https://www.pambazuka.org)
Home > Ethiopia: A country for sale
Alemayehu G. Mariam [1]
Sub-Title:
The deal of the century
Supposing someone offered you the following land deal: would you take it or would you walk away believing it to be too good to be true?
For £150 a week ($245), you can lease more than 2,500 square kilometres of virgin, fertile land - an area the size of Dorset, England - for 50 years, plus generous tax breaks.
If you walked away from it, you would have lost out on ‘the deal of the century’, perhaps the millennium. If you think this is a joke or some sort of wild and crazy exaggeration, see this Guardian (UK) report and video [2] on an incredible international land giveaway that is taking place in Gambella in Western Ethiopia and judge for yourself.
ETHIOPIA ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
The Indian agribusiness giant Karuturi Global [3] is today the proud owner of the Ethiopian land. Karuturi did not ask for the land and did not even see it when a signed 50-year ‘lease’ was delivered to its offices in Bangalore, India, on a golden platter by Meles Zenawi, the dictator-in-chief in Ethiopia.
Karuturi project manager in Ethiopia Karmjeet Sekhon laughed euphorically as he explained what happened to Guardian reporter John Vidal:
‘We never saw the land. They gave it to us and we took it. Seriously, we did. We did not even see the land. (Triumphantly cackling laughter) They offered it. That’s all. It’s very good land. It’s quite cheap. In fact it is very cheap. We have no land like this in India. There [India"> you are lucky to get 1 per cent of organic matter in the soil. Here it is more than 5 per cent. We don’t need fertiliser or herbicides. There is absolutely nothing that will not grow on it. To start with there will be 20,000 hectares of oil palm, 15,000 hectares of sugar cane and 40,000 hectares of rice, edible oils and maize and cotton. We are building reservoirs, dykes, roads, towns of 15,000 people. This is phase one. In three years time we will have 300,000 hectares cultivated and maybe 60,000 workers. We could feed a nation here.’
Ethiopia is on sale. Everybody is getting a piece of her. For next to nothing. The land vultures have been swooping down on Gambella from all parts of the world. Zenawi proudly claims ‘36 countries including India, China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have leased farm land.’ This month (March 2011) the concessions are being worked at a breakneck pace, with giant tractors and heavy machinery clearing trees, draining swamps and ploughing the land in time to catch the next growing season. Forests across hundreds of square kilometres are being clear-felled and burned - to the dismay of locals and environmentalists concerned about the fate of the region’s rich wildlife.
Karuturi, ‘one of the world’s top 25 agri-businesses’ plans to ‘export palm oil, sugar, rice and other foods from Gambella province to world markets’.
THE VILLAGISATION OF GAMBELLA AND THE IRONY OF HISTORY
To make way for Karuturi and the 896 other investors, the people of Gambella must be removed permanently from their ancestral lands. Over the past three years, tens of thousands of villagers have been forced to move as part of a so-called villagisation program. Zenawi’s agriculture official said ‘there is no movement of population’ in Gambella. It is the ‘choice’ of the people to move to “villagised” centres where they can get basic services. Once they move, the official said, ‘they have to abandon their previous way of life, and they can’t ever go back to their villages’. Simply stated, Zenawi has imposed a contract on the indigenous people of Gambella: they will ‘voluntarily’ choose to give up their ancestral lands, their culture and their community in exchange for a clinic, a school and a road.
‘Villagisation’(sefera) has a sinister and ugly history in Ethiopia. In the iron fists of the military junta (Derg) that ruled Ethiopia from the mid-1970s until 1991, ‘villagisation’ was a political and tactical counter-insurgency weapon. The Derg ‘villagised’ and ‘resettled’ populations in rebel-controlled areas to deny local support to rebels and create buffer zones. The Derg, like Zenawi’s regime today, justified its ‘villagisation’ program as a ‘development’ and humanitarian effort aimed at providing food, clean water, health and educational services to needy populations.
At the onset of the 1984 famine, the Derg sought to resettle 1.5 million people from insurgent-controlled and drought-affected northern regions to the south and southwest of the country. The Derg said the people were relocating voluntarily. The northern insurgents, who now wield power, told the Derg victims of resettlement that they were being moved to concentration camps and would never return to the land where they were born (‘where their umbilical cord was buried’ to use the local metaphor). It is an irony of history that in 2011 we hear the same old story: the people of Gambella are ‘voluntarily’ leaving their ancestral lands and abandoning their traditional way of life in exchange for ‘clean water, health and educational services’ in villagised centres.
The Derg never asked people if they wanted to be resettled or remain on their ancestral land. Zenawi’s regime did not ask the indigenous people of Gambella if they want to be permanently uprooted from their ancestral lands and be ‘villagised’ or corralled into reservations. The Derg could not have cared less about the people it was resettling as long as the resettlement policy advanced its counter-insurgency strategy. Zenawi could not care less about the indigenous people of Gambella as long it advances his investment strategy. It is all about war or money. The Derg never did an environmental and human impact study before it moved masses of people from the north to the southern part of the country. Zenawi’s regime never did a credible ecological study before uprooting the indigenous people of Gambella.
Tens of thousands of people died in the Derg’s resettlement program from illness and starvation. Families were separated as people fled the ill-equipped and ill-managed resettlement centres. But the indigenous people of Gambella face extinction as a minority in Ethiopian society. So says a 2006 UNICEF field study [4]:
‘The deracination [uprooting from ancestral lands"> of indigenous people that is evident in rural areas of Gambella is extreme. It is very likely that Anuak (and possibly other indigenous minorities) culture will completely disappear in the not-so-distant future. Cultural survival, autonomy, rights of self-determination and self-governance are all legitimate issues for these indigenous groups, and these are all enshrined by international covenants and United Nations bodies - but all are meaningless in Gambella today.’
It is true that history repeats itself over and over again.
When the Derg implemented its ‘villagisation’ and ‘resettlement’ programs in the 1980s as a counterinsurgency strategy, it was not only morally wrong, it was criminal. It is no different for Zenawi in 2011 to ‘villagise’ the indigenous people of Gambella and give away their ancestral lands for free to foreign investors who did not even ask for it. If it was a crime against humanity for Derg leader Mengistu to depopulate the northern rebel-controlled regions as part of his counterinsurgency strategy, it is no less a crime against humanity for Zenawi to depopulate Gambella to make way for his ‘investments’. Mengistu was convicted of genocide by Zenawi in substantial part for Mengistu’s use of ‘resettlement’ and ‘villagisation’ as a tool of counterinsurgency.
Mengistu never believed he would be held accountable; and today Zenawi similarly believes he will never be held accountable. But sometimes ‘justice is like a train that always arrives late’. Justice will soon arrive for the indigenous people of Gambella.
THE GAMBELLA GAMBIT
History shows that the indigenous people of Gambella have been neglected, discriminated against and exploited over centuries of successive administrations in Ethiopia. But it was in December 2003 that the public rape of Gambella became known to the whole world. Before taking Gambella’s ‘best farmland’, they took the lives of hundreds of Gambella’s best and brightest over a three-day period that December. As Obang Metho, the tireless and tenacious young Ethiopian human rights advocate who was born in Gambella described it [5]:
‘They targeted those individuals who were the voices of the community and have a say in the exploration and development of oil on their land. The killing squads went through Gambella town looking for the next Anuak to brutally kill [and"> they chanted, “Today there will be no more Anuak, Today there will be no more Anuak land.” As they raped the women they said, “Today there will be no more Anuak babies.” Within three days, 424 Anuak were dead.’
When I received the news, it was the darkest day of my life. My world was turned upside down. Among the 424 Anuak killed, I personally knew 317 of them. They were my family, my classmates and many others with whom I had been working to bring development not just to the Anuak, but to the region. Most were educated and outspoken. I have no doubt that I would have been one of the victims had I been living there at the time.
Genocide Watch [6] described this massacre as a ‘major pogrom of terror and repression against the Anuak minority carried out by EPRDF soldiers and Highlander militias.’ Human Rights Watch [7] concluded: ‘Since late 2003, the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) has committed numerous human rights violations against Anuak communities in the Gambella region of southwestern Ethiopia that may amount to crimes against humanity.’
The Anuak Justice Council [8] reported ‘genocide and crimes against humanity have continued, raising the death toll to between 1,500 and 2,500, and causing more than 50,000 Anuak to flee.’
ETHIOPIAN DEVELOPERS ARE CRIMINALS, INDIAN INVESTORS ARE HEROES?
A couple of weeks ago, Zenawi condemned [9] Ethiopian developers who were transferring their leaseholds on urban land in Addis Ababa as ‘land grabbers’ and ‘speculators’ who should be ‘locked up’. He said developers were ‘grabbing land that does not belong to them in any legal sense and misusing the land lease rights they were given for personal profit and speculation.’ In Zenawi’s eyes, Ethiopian developers are scammers and profiteers; but Indian investors who are given millions of hectares of the best land in the country are heroes and saviors.
But this is not about Ethiopian developers against Indian investors. It is not about the rights of local against international investors. It is about fairness and equity. It is about official wrongs and the human rights of some of the poorest, historically oppressed, discriminated and exploited indigenous minorities in Ethiopia. It is about a land giveaway of mind-boggling proportions to a foreign company to raise rice, edible oils, maize and cotton for export while millions of Ethiopians are starving and living on international food handouts. It is about making ‘land deals of the century’ without accountability, transparency, public debate, discussion and, above all, the consent of the people who will be permanently displaced from their ancestral lands. It is about how a whole country became the personal investment property of one man and his syndicate.
CRY FOR THE BELOVED COUNTRY
When hundreds of Anuaks were massacred in Gambella in 2003, the international human rights organisations stepped forward to let the world know what happened. In 2011, the Guardian newspaper told the world about the imminent danger facing the indigenous people of Gambella. Over the years [10], I have tried to offer my voice of support to the cause of Anuak human rights [11] and condemned the giveaway of the ancestral lands [12]. I shall cry for all the people of Gambella. I shall cry for the Anuak because I fear, as does UNICEF [4], that they are undergoing a slow genocide by cultural annihilation and dispossession of ancestral lands. The indigenous people of Gambella will forever lose their pastoral way of life, and the new generation of young Gambellans will never know the traditional ways of their forefathers. I shall cry for the precious wild life that will never return because their habitat has been permanently destroyed, and for the bountiful forests that are burned to ashes for commercial farmland and the rivers and fish that will be poisoned with pesticide and herbicide to grow rice and cotton for export. I shall cry out to the heavens for Ethiopia, for she has become the personal investment property of Meles Zenawi, just like the Congo was the personal investment property of King Leopold II of Belgium in the late 1800s.
But this is no time to despair and submit to the arrogance of power and the power of arrogance. The trials and tribulations of the indigenous people of Gambella and their 80 million compatriots shall come to pass soon. The bright sun that is lifting the darkness over North Africa and the Middle East is dawning just over the horizon. Let them all stand up, hold hands, march together and cast away their fears into the fiercely blowing winds of change.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS
* Alemayehu G. Mariam is professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino. Previous commentaries by the author are available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ [13]
* Please send comments to [email protected] [14] or comment online at Pambazuka News [15].
Features [16]
Article Image Caption | Source:
© IRIN
Article-Summary:
An international company has benefitted from a massive handout of land in the Gambella region of Ethiopia. Alemayehu G. Mariam shows what the devastating consequences of the deal will be for local people.
Governance [18]
Oldurl:
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category.php/features/72121 [19]
Source URL: https://www.pambazuka.org/node/70294
[1] https://www.pambazuka.org/taxonomy/term/6135
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/21/ethiopia-centre-global-farmland-rush?CMP=twt_gu
[3] http://www.karuturi.com/
[4] http://bit.ly/gpitSi
[5] http://addisvoice.com/2010/12/the-anuaks-forgotten-genocide-al-mariam/
[6] http://www.genocidewatch.org/Today%20is%20the%20Day%20of%20Killing%20Anuaks.htm
[7] http://www.hrw.org/en/node/11812/section/1
[8] http://www.anuakjustice.org/genocide.htm
[9] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ethiopia-broken-contract-_b_838793.html
[10] http://nazret.com/blog/index.php/2006/09/17/betrayal_of_democracy_in_ethiopia_apeech
[11] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ethiopia-the-anuaks-forgo_b_795330.html
[12] http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/9992
[13] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/
[14] mailto:[email protected]
[15] http://www.pambazuka.org/
[16] https://www.pambazuka.org/taxonomy/term/3272
[19] http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category.php/features/72121
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757079
|
__label__wiki
| 0.803649
| 0.803649
|
Norwich UEA – 18th April 2008
Posted on 18th April 2008 Posted in Live Performance
Top Of the World / Born Of Frustration / Oh My Heart / Boom Boom / Ring The Bells / Hey Ma / Bubbles / Come Home / Of Monsters And Heroes And Men / I Wanna Go Home / Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) / Waterfall / Whiteboy / She's A Star / Sound / Tomorrow / Johnny Yen / Upside / Sometimes
My Federation
OneOfTheThree.com
Let’s cut to the chase. This was the best James, or any other gig, I’ve ever seen. Hamburg 1992 was my previous high-point, it’d had been pushed close over the years, but this show was something special. Everything seemed to fit into the place, the band performance was tight, together, yet splattered with moments of individual and group brilliance, an excellent sound system, stunning lighting and a crowd that was as happy to stand and listen respectfully the new material as it was to go mental for the more familiar songs.
Top Of The World is a surprise choice to open the set. UEA is my old hunting ground as I spent three years here, and oddly James opened a gig here in 1990 with the very same song. Instead of dampening the atmosphere built up by the band coming on late, it heightens the sense of something special being about to happen. Tim comments that it’s a sign that great nights are made of. Born Of Frustration simply confirms this. Andy’s trumpet acts as a clarion call to the crowd who respond by mimicking Tim’s yodel. As the song reaches its conclusion, the band appear to be driving Tim’s dancing, which is freer, more spontaneous and passionate than it’s been for a long long time.
Oh My Heart and Boom Boom demonstrate that Norwich seems to have got the message that Hey Ma is out there, more people seem to be singing along than elsewhere on the tour, and those that don’t know them don’t talk over them, they stand and listen, take it in and give them the reaction they deserve. The instrumental drop section of Boom Boom sees Saul at his very best as it gets more frenzied before the band crash back in.
Ring The Bells simply seals the victory early on for the band. The structure of the song exemplifies everything that is special about James, the outro gives Tim the opportunity to dance, Andy to take centre stage and for the masses to get lost in the music coming from the stage. Hey Ma resembles a communal singalong, I swear people who haven’t heard the song beforehand are singing along and clapping by the end. It’s so Jamesian that such a tragic subject matter can create such a celebration at a live show and it gets the message across in a way most whiney anti-war dirges fail to do so.
Bubbles has been a good barometer for the shows so far. Tonight, it grabs the crowd immediately at the point the song turns and builds. The e-drums fail Tim at the end and he’s pissed off, but jokes that they’d been switched off deliberately because his drumming was so bad, and recalls his early tambourine playing that had the band running for cover and claims that the peas in his maracas were removed so that only one remained to keep his playing out of the sound.
Come Home is magnificent. The set up of the venue prevents Tim going walkabout and staying on stage forces on-stage interaction to drive the song forward. As ever, it sounds at its very best when it’s seemingly on the brink of collapse.
Monsters has suffered from a lot of crowd talking so far on the tour, but there’s no such issues tonight and as a result it has the desired impact. The mirrorball generates cheers when it’s unveiled and it keeps people transfixed on Tim recounting the story of the song. The crystal clear sound just added to the simply spine-tingling, hairs up on the back of the neck feeling as the song rose to its conclusion.
I Wanna Go Home is breathtaking, ten hours later it’s difficult to find the words to describe just how good the song was, how Tim’s vocals merged perfectly with the band as they transform a relatively simple song into a mesmering mash of guitar, trumpet, bass, keyboards and two sets of drums as Tim loses himself in dance and the lights just make the sound more powerful and fascinating. It’s absolutely compelling stuff and James have no peers. At the end, there’s a light shined on Tim alone as he stretches out the last word of the song and everyone is stunned into silence.
Getting Away With It follows with its first appearance on the tour. Saul leads the song and it’s great to see him take the limelight for this track as it recognises his role in James between 1998 and 2001 where he took up the mantle in the absence of Larry and with the Jim / Tim relationship reportedly at its lowest point. It’s based tonight around a simple repeated riff but works wonderfully as it builds, Larry adding some delicious flourishes of guitar over the top. The crowd go mental.
The second set of drums Saul plays makes Waterfall a more ferocious track live than on the record. Andy’s trumpet over the end section pierces through the lights, which get better and better as the gig goes on.
Whiteboy is an absolute riot. Again, the band have fun with the swinging lights, the crowd have their arms in the air, clapping along. Strobes pierce the darkness as the song crashes to its end. Who really needs Laid as the fun, three minute classic when you have this?
She’s A Star is a straight rendition of a classic, but it’s done with a force that is now simply undeniable. The floor area is one big mass of bodies.
Sound seems to go on forever, and I was wishing it would. Three or four times it seemed the song would stop and it started again with different band members bringing it back up. There’s improvised lyrics, a section led by Dave’s drumming, a call and response of the “mah bah oo” where Tim sings a part and then holds the microphone for the crowd to sing the end back to him. The lights keep up with the improvisation going on from the stage. Some of the improvisation is done individually, but there’s points where two or three band members look and feed off each other. It’s mindblowing, words no longer work at this point to describe how good it was.
Tomorrow just seals the victory. Tim jumps onto the barrier, rather nervously at first, but crouches on it to sing directly at a number of members of the audience. When you can see the whites of his eyes, you can see the impact this is having on him, and the rest of the band. This is why they came back, not to do radio shows, interviews with people who’ve never heard of them, it’s to get this connection, this power and this emotion.
There’s no way they’re going to be let go at this stage. Johnny Yen starts the encore and is raggedly magnificent. Tim runs out of things to ask the audience for in the middle section, and just looks straight ahead and smiles as the music swirls around him. Upside sounds more imposing by the performance, even to the point where at the point the final chorus is due to come in Tim stops until the crowd is absolutely quiet before coming in. It’s punctuated by a “we love you James” shout from the crowd, and all the band smile in unison. And then off the song goes again.
Sometimes has the crowd singing from the very start, when it’s taken down, they’re still singing, but rather than a loud chant, it’s being sung. It gets louder and louder and then the band bring it back in, Dave and Larry building the music up louder and faster. Tim stands on the spot, then jumps up and down and dances on the spot. It’s a new twist on the ending of the show. And then they’re gone. Noone really complains too much that there’s no Sit Down or no Laid.
I don’t think I can adequately say in words how good this gig was – if you had the good fortune to have been there though, you will know exactly what I mean. Ten hours later, I’m still buzzing, sleep wasn’t particularly easy (despite less than four hours the last two nights) as the adrenalin is still flowing. Everything was right – the venue, the sound, the crowd, the lighting, the unusual set opener, the old favourite reintroduced, Tim’s voice, the music, the improvisation. It was the greatest gig I’ve had the pleasure of attending ever. It answers Larry’s question in the interview why anyone would want to go to Norwich.
« London Shepherd’s Bush Empire – 17th April 2008
Oxford New Theatre – 19th April 2008 »
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757081
|
__label__wiki
| 0.598083
| 0.598083
|
Howie Morenz
Profession: NHL Star
Why Famous: One of the most dominant players in the league, he was best known for his exceptional skating speed. Considered one of the first stars of the NHL, he won three Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens.
Birthplace: Mitchell, Ontario, Canada
Star Sign: Virgo
Died: March 8, 1937 (aged 34)
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Events in the Life of Howie Morenz
1932-03-17 Montreal Canadiens center Howie Morenz registers his 334th career point with an assist in a 10-4 win v NY Americans; passes Cy Denneny as NHL leader for career points
1933-12-23 Montreal Canadiens center Howie Morenz scores in 3-0 win v Detroit Red Wings; his NHL record 249th career goal
Famous Ice Hockey Players
Brett Hull
Georges Vezina
Ray Bourque
Terry Sawchuk
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Highlights Events Birthdays Deaths Weddings & Divorces
Weddings & Divorces
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757082
|
__label__wiki
| 0.573388
| 0.573388
|
‘Game of Thrones’ was an imperfect show that was perfect for its era
In the beginning, it could have been mistaken for a conventional fairy tale about a virtuous man battling the corruption in his kingdom — until Ned Stark (Sean Bean) lost his head.
.. Characters shifted from victims to protagonists to antiheroes in a way that gave some viewers whiplash, a dynamic that came to a head when Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and her dragon burned a city in the show’s penultimate episode. “Game of Thrones” was a show about trauma and the consequences of treating women as sexual objects — yet the series had a bad tendency to ogle bits and pieces of minor female characters rather than treat them as people.
..Whether you think “Game of Thrones” was a success or a failure largely depends on what you thought the show was trying to do.
.. “Game of Thrones” debuted in 2011, at an inflection point for American television and American politics. Later-stage Golden Age antihero dramas such as “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” were heading toward their conclusions and the idea of a Republican “war on women” was taking hold on the left. During the series’ run, Hillary Clinton suffered a shocking loss to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election; white nationalism surged back into public life; the #MeToo movement exposed the prevalence and impact of sexual violence; climate change took on a new and apocalyptic urgency; and a spike in television production splintered the water-cooler conversation possibly beyond repair.
As a result, “Game of Thrones” took on a prismatic quality. Turn it one way and the series was an argument that trauma gave its female characters moral authority; shift it just slightly, and the show suggested that they couldn’t transcend the damage that had been inflicted on them
.. The White Walkers, the show’s uber-supernatural villains, stood in for the perils of climate change — until they were vanquished with a single blow. The slaves Daenerys liberated in the early seasons of the show were props in a white-savior narrative until they were invoked as proof that she would never break bad. The show’s cultural footprint suggested that rolling out a television show week by week was still the best way to create community around art. Or its viewership numbers, modest by historical standards, could be evidence for an argument that our culture has fragmented beyond repair.
.. And our struggles to figure out whether men such as Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) deserve forgiveness for their past bad acts are a lower-stakes version of the questions raised by the early stages of our national reckoning with sexual assault.
.. Another version of “Game of Thrones” might have offered more decisive arguments about the subjects it raised, or avoided ogling and other artistic pitfalls. That show might have become a cult favorite, but without its intellectual ambiguities and spots of bad taste, it never would have become a phenomenon. “Game of Thrones” caught viewers by surprise when it eliminated its supernatural Big Bad so early in its final season and left the characters to work out their messy, entirely human differences. When the credits roll on Sunday, “Game of Thrones” will leave viewers with the same challenge: tackling some of the hardest problems before us without a unifying magical distraction.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com
Tags: anti-hero, breaking-bad, climate-change, game-of-thrones, hero-dies, mad-men, me-too, objection, sexual-violence, television, victim-protagonist-anti-hero, war-on-women, war-on-women-republican, white-nationalism
The Year of Trump?
As a leader, Trump may or may not be smart, but his temperament ranks low on the scales of emotional and contextual intelligence that made Franklin D. Roosevelt or George H.W. Bush successful presidents. Tony Schwartz, who co-wrote Trump’s book The Art of the Deal, notes that “Trump’s sense of self-worth is forever at risk. When he feels aggrieved, he reacts impulsively and defensively, constructing a self-justifying story that doesn’t depend on facts and always directs the blame to others.” Schwartz attributes this to Trump’s defense against domination by a father who was “relentlessly demanding, difficult, and driven…You either dominated or you submitted. You either created and exploited fear, or you succumbed to it – as he thought his elder brother had.” As a result, he “simply didn’t traffic in emotions or interest in others,” and “facts are whatever Trump deems them to be on any given day.”
Whether Schwartz is correct or not about the causes, Trump’s ego and emotional needs often seem to color his relations with other leaders and his interpretation of world events. The image of toughness is more important than truth. Journalist Bob Woodward reports that Trump told a friend who acknowledged bad behavior toward women that “real power is fear…You’ve got to deny, deny, deny and push back on these women. If you admit to anything and any culpability, then you’re dead.”
Trump’s temperament limits his contextual intelligence. He lacked experience, and has done little to fill the gaps in his knowledge. He is described by close observers as reading little, insisting that briefing memos be very short, and relying heavily on television news. He is reported to have paid scant attention to staff preparations before summits with experienced autocrats like Russian President Vladimir Putin or North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. If Trump’s iconoclastic style was merely a breach of traditional presidential etiquette, one might argue that his critics were being too fastidious, or were trapped in old-fashioned views of diplomacy.
But crudeness can have consequences. While pressing for change, he has disrupted institutions and alliances, only grudgingly admitting their importance. Trump’s rhetoric has downplayed democracy and human rights, as his weak reaction to the murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi demonstrated. Although Trump has echoed President Ronald Reagan’s rhetoric about the US being a city on the hill whose beacon shines to others, his domestic behavior toward the press, the judiciary, and minorities has weakened the clarity of America’s democratic appeal. International polls show a decline in America’s soft power since he took office.
While critics and defenders debate the attractiveness of the values embodied by Trump’s “America First” approach, an impartial analyst cannot excuse the ways in which his personal emotional needs have skewed the implementation of his goals – for example in his summit meetings with Putin and Kim. As for prudence, Trump’s non-interventionism protected him from some sins of commission, but one can question whether his mental maps and contextual intelligence are adequate to understand the risks posed to the US by the diffusion of power in this century. As tensions grow, reckoning with Trump may well become unavoidable in 2019.
Source: www.project-syndicate.org
Tags: reckoning, self-worth, television, trump-childhood, trump-ego
Trump Trackdown ‘The End of the World’
1958 TV Show Had Conman ‘Trump’ Selling Mystical ‘Wall’ To Hysterical Townspeople
Source: talkingpointsmemo.com
Tags: border-wall, con-man, confidence-game, end-of-the-world, hysterical, television, video, youtube
‘Individual 1’: Trump emerges as a central subject of Mueller probe
“There would have been nothing wrong if I did do it,” Trump said. “When I’m running for president, that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to do business.”
Trump often grows aggrieved seeing Cohen on TV, aides say. Among White House advisers, Cohen is seen as an existential threat — as much or more so than the Mueller investigation itself because of his longtime role as Trump’s fixer. Trump’s legal team did not learn until Thursday that Cohen had sat for dozens of hours of interviews with Mueller’s office, according to a senior administration official.
.. Trump was infuriated earlier this year when Cohen released tapes of him, and asked his lawyers and advisers if anything could be done to stop him from releasing any more.
.. According to a person familiar with the investigation, Cohen and the Trump Organization could not produce some of the key records upon which Mueller relies. Other witnesses provided copies of those communications.
.. Many in the White House try to avoid talking with the president about the Mueller probe, for fear they will be subpoenaed. And both of the aides said it was unclear why Trump was complaining more about the investigation recently. During the midterm campaign, the president occasionally told advisers that people had forgotten about the Mueller probe and remarked positively that it was no longer dominating TV headlines.
Tags: aggrieved, evidence, evidence-withheld, existential-threat, michael-cohen, michael-cohen-existential-threat, television, trump-organizazation
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757083
|
__label__wiki
| 0.967486
| 0.967486
|
SANTANA WILL BE A BUSY MAN
Parry Gettelman Sentinel Popular Music CriticTHE ORLANDO SENTINEL
It has been getting harder and harder to take the Grammy awards seriously. After this year, it'll be just about impossible because the nominations in major categories make it plain the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences has a lot more interest in raising its TV ratings than recognizing artistic excellence.
Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera? Please. Milli Vanilli had more substance than these tinny-voiced little refugees from one of those Jenny Jones "My teenage daughter dresses like a hooker" episodes. At least, Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus had the sense to lip sync.
Sure, Britney and Christina have sold a lot of albums. But Pamela Anderson Lee has a lot of fans too, but you don't see anyone trying to give her an Emmy. The Pokemon movie made a bundle, but it isn't up for the best-picture Oscar.
And then there's the slew of nominations for the Backstreet Boys, ensuring that the Grammy broadcast holds the attention of that big-spending teenybopper demographic all evening.
Expect to see lots of commercials for Biore, Maybelline and those cute Nokia cell-phone covers in crayon colors. I hope the Grammy folks remember to plaster their logo all over the screen, so adults don't change the channel thinking they've accidentally tuned into the Teen Choice Awards.
Well, nobody will make that mistake when Carlos Santana inevitably takes the podium to collect a bunch of awards for Supernatural, his big commercial comeback. Unfortunately, the album is packed with more celebrities than a Barbara Walters special, and guests such as Rob Thomas and Dave Matthews were obviously picked more for their youth-market appeal than their compatibility with Santana's Latin-inflected blues-rock. But every year, somebody has to get the "oops! we meant to give this to you three decades ago!" awards.
While the big, televised categories are clogged with ephemera, the Grammys offer fine choices within certain genres. Terrific recordings by Alison Krauss, John Prine, the Roots, Ruben Blades, Little Milton, the Buena Vista Social Club's Ibrahim Ferrer, Caravana Cubana, Carlos Vives, Los Van Van, Cesaria Evora and Caetano Veloso all got nominations. Orlando composer Sam Rivers got a nomination in the large-ensemble jazz category for the acclaimed Inspiration, his first major-label release in ages.
And it's grand that the Grammys recognized Asleep at the Wheel for disproving my theory that the quality of an album inevitably decreases exponentially with the number of celebrity cameos. Asleep at the Wheel's Ride With Bob, a star-studded tribute to Bob Wills, has one nomination for country album of the year, two nominations in the country collaboration category (for cuts with the Dixie Chicks and Manhattan Transfer/Willie Nelson), a nomination for country instrumental and even a richly deserved album packaging nomination. Of course, the track that really should have been nominated in the collaboration category is the one with Merle Haggard, and the album should have been in the album of the year category as well. But let's not be ungrateful for any sign of sentience from NARAS.
Anyway, this year's host of indefensible nominations makes it easier to predict the winners: When in doubt, go with the schlock.
Album of the year: While the Backstreet Boys' Millennium was the biggest seller, I really don't think the academy wants to hear the collective groan that will rise up from adults if the teen dreams win for this particular item from their vast merchandise catalog. Much safer to give them a song award or something. Too bad there's no Grammy award for T-shirts and tour programs (yet). Santana's Supernatural is the likely winner since he has nice sales figures to goose the always heavy better-late-than-never vote. Diana Krall's When I Look in Your Eyes probably got the nomination for the same reason people put "I love jazz" in their personal ads when they wouldn't know John Coltrane from Johnny Carson. The Dixie Chicks' Fly and TLC's Fanmail are likely also-rans too.
Record of the year: The academy often has no shame in this category, so expect a win for the Backstreet Boys' numbingly ubiquitous "I Want It That Way." Cher's "Believe," TLC's "No Scrubs" and the Santana/Rob Thomas collaboration "Smooth" will lose out. "Livin' la Vida Loca" could have a shot, but I'm guessing that as much as the Grammy people would like to congratulate themselves for launching Ricky Martin's career on the last broadcast, his bon-bon isn't enough to make them break the drippy-ballad habit - remember "My Heart Will Go On" and "Tears in Heaven"? "I Want It That Way" will probably also win song of the year.
New artist: What a weird assortment. The striking Macy Gray is tossed in with Video Star Barbie and Skipper, aka Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, plus blues-rocker Susan Tedeschi and professional jerkwad Kid Rock. I'm not sure how Kid Rock even qualified for this category because he has been making a nuisance of himself for at least a decade. When a talk-show host asked veteran rapper Ice Cube what he thought of Kid Rock, Cube gave the host a subzero look and replied with withering diplomacy, "He's persistent." At any rate, it's hard to figure this bizarro category, but Barbie and Skipper will cancel each other out. I'm betting some of the people who showed their appreciation for Lauryn Hill will help Macy Gray pull a surprise win.
Male pop vocal performance: Now, this one Ricky Martin can safely expect to receive - no Backstreet Boys in a solo-artist category. At least, it's nice Marc Anthony, a much better singer, got nominated for "I Need to Know," even if his pop breakthrough is not one-third as good as anything off his last salsa album, Contra la Corriente. Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5" is also a fun entry. Sting's "Brand New Day" is nominated because, that's right, it's Sting's. The nomination for Andrea Bocelli's "Sogno" is another attempt to look sophisticated, although I've never heard anyone who actually likes opera say a kind word about Bocelli.
Country performance by a duo or group with vocal: The formidable Dixie Chicks are sure to clean up here, with their "Ready to Run" easily trouncing BR5-49's "Honky Tonk Song," Diamond Rio's "Unbelievable," Lonestar's "Amazed" and Dixie Chicks clone SheDaisy's "Little Good-Byes."
Country album: Ride With Bob by Asleep at the Wheel really deserves to win, but I would also be thrilled if Alison Krauss' Forget About It won or George Jones' Cold Hard Truth. The Dixie Chicks sounded better with Asleep at the Wheel than on their own Fly, and Trio II by Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton was a disappointing sequel.
Rock album: About as boring as all the other rock categories this year. Santana's Supernatural is a shoo-in against Melissa Etheridge's Breakdown, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' Echo, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication and Limp Bizkit's Significant Other. Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock can go hang out at a strip club after the show and console each other.
Latin pop performance: Ruben Blades lives up to his artistic reputation with the cinematic Tiempos, which has also gotten more airplay than he probably expected, given his decision to explore new sounds. It will likely win over Ni Es lo Mismo Ni Es Igual from Juan Luis Guerra y 4.40; MTV Unplugged from Mana; Amarte Es un Placer from Luis Miguel; and Llegar a Ti from Jaci Velasquez.
Female R&B; vocal performance: Past Grammy winners generally have a good shot at awards, and since Lauryn Hill was the big winner last year, her "Everything Is Everything" is the leading contender. It's nice to see the distinctive Macy Gray nominated for "Do Something." Whitney Houston is a perennial Grammy nominee, and it's not dreadful seeing her "It's Not Right But It's Okay" nominated, even though there were better choices - such as Etta James, who's in the jazz category. Apparently nobody over 40 is allowed in this category now. I still don't get all the fuss over Mary J. Blige, and I won't mind when her "All That I Can Say" loses. If they gave Brandy an award for "Almost Doesn't Count," they might as well go back and give her an Emmy for that TV movie with Diana Ross while they're at it.
R&B; album: Now, how can TLC's Fanmail possibly lose this category when it's up for the more prestigious album of the year award? It's too bad Macy Gray's album isn't nominated. As a Central Floridian, I have to hope for Brian McKnight's Back at One because he might mention Orlando and mitigate some of that teen-pop-capital rep we've gotten. Plus, he can sing rings around R. Kelly, nominated for R. Also losing out: Mary, Mary J. Blige; My Love Is Your Love, Whitney Houston.
Pop album: Cher, like Santana, had a big comeback this year. But we're all kind of used to her comebacks by now, and Believe was more notable for its titular single than as an album. Sting's Brand New Day is only in the category because it's Sting's. Sarah McLachlan's Mirrorball is another one of those look-how-classy-and-sensitive-we-are nominations. Ricky Martin's Ricky Martin, even though it did include some fun songs besides "La Vida Loca," will lose out to the Backstreet Boys' single-spewing blockbuster Millennium.
With nearly 10,000 new homes in pipeline, development in south Lake County is ‘exploding’
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757084
|
__label__wiki
| 0.957927
| 0.957927
|
Bolsa Grande High School Graduation 2018
A graduate celebrates after her name was announced during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduate Johnny Nguyen opens his gown to reveal a wrestling belt during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduate Johnny Nguyen sports a wrestling belt while posing for a portrait during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Counselor George Ocean spins around graduate Johnny Nguyen as he gives him a lifted hug during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduates turn their tassels over during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduates sing the alma matter during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduate Shawn Tran looks out over the crowd during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduate Shawn Tran waves to the crowd during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduate Dustin Tran waves to the crowd during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduate Phuong Tran waves to the crowd during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
A graduate’s tassel is seen during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Members of the crowd cheer during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduating class president Henry Khong addresses the senior class during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Valedictorian Long Hoang Ho addresses the senior class during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
A detailed view of diploma’s during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduate Erica Diaz wears a cap with a mortar board decorated to proclaim “I Survived” as she lines up to enter the field during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
A member of the crowd holds a sign during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduates enter the field during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
A graduate waves to the crowd during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduate Leydi Diaz fans herself with her mortarboard during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduates pose as they enter the field during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
By Leo Smith | leosmith@scng.com | Orange County Register
Bolsa Grande High School held the commencement ceremony for its Class of 2018 on June 14 at the campus stadium.
A graduate waves to the crowd during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduate Johnny Nguyen opens his gown to reveal a wrestling belt during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Members of the crowd cheer during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduate Dustin Tran waves to the crowd during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Graduate Erica Diaz wears a cap with a mortar board decorated to proclaim “I Survived” as she lines up to enter the field during Bolsa Grande High School Graduation at the school’s stadium on Thursday, June 14, 2018 in Garden Grove. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)
Related: See photos from other Garden Grove school district schools:
Los Amigos High School Graduation 2018
La Quinta High School Graduation 2018
Santiago High School Graduation 2018
Rancho Alamitos High School Graduation 2018
Garden Grove High School Graduation 2018
Related: Missed your graduation? Check all of our coverage
There are so many impressive graduates in 2018, including these valedictorians.
Leo Smith
Leo Smith is the Local Editor of the Orange County Register. He came to the Register after 12 years at the Daily Breeze in Torrance. Prior to that Leo was a reporter at the Los Angeles Times and the Oakland Tribune.
Follow Leo Smith @LeoSmithOC
San Clemente Ocean Festival looks to offer fun on land and on sea
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757086
|
__label__cc
| 0.563937
| 0.436063
|
Seanad Éireann debate -
Local Government Reform Bill 2013: Report Stage
Acting Chairman (Senator Paschal Mooney)
Before we commence, I remind Senators that a Senator may speak only once on Report Stage, except the proposer of an amendment who may reply to the discussion on the amendment. Also, on Report Stage each amendment must be seconded. Amendments Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, and 82 to 89, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together.
Government amendment No. 1:
In page 12, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following:
“(12) This subsection, the amendments to the Education and Training Boards Act 2013 provided for in section 5(6) and Part 6 of Schedule 2 and that Act may be cited together as the Education and Training Boards Acts 2013 and 2014.”.
Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Phil Hogan)
This is a set of largely technical amendments to take account of the provisions of the Local Government Reform Bill on other legislation. Part 6 of Schedule 2 deals with minor consequential amendments to Acts other than those already dealt with in Schedule 1 and in Parts 1 to 5 of Schedule 2, as a result of the reform programme. Extensive additions to Part 6 were made on Committee Stage in the Dáil and the Seanad. I am taking the opportunity on Report Stage to add further to the listing by including amendments to a number of other areas where necessary changes have been identified. Amendments Nos. 82 to 89, iniclusive, provide for those additions.
Amendment No. 1 is a related technical amendment to amendment No. 83 and provides for the insertion of the necessary collective citation in section 1 in respect of the Education and Training Boards Acts. Amendments Nos. 2 and 3 correct an existing collective citation contained in section 1(13) to the Health Acts which needs to be updated to include reference to the Health Acts 1947 to 2013 with the collective citation.
I should have extended the compliments of the season and a happy new year to the Minister.
Amendment agreed to.
In page 12, line 41, to delete “This subsection and” and substitute “This subsection,”.
In page 12, line 42, after “Schedule 2” to insert “and the Health Acts 1947 to 2013”.
Amendments Nos. 4 to 6, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together.
Senator David Norris
I move amendment No. 4:
In page 14, line 8, to delete “difficulty” and substitute “insuperable problem or problems”.
I must make a confession that it has been -----
Senator David Cullinane
On a point of order, can I receive clarification on which amendments have been grouped? Has amendment No. 8 been included?
Amendments Nos. 4 to 6, inclusive, are related and being discussed together.
I understood this amendment had been ruled out of order because it dealt with the Title, but it is concerned with tidying up the language used.
Amendment No. 7 has been ruled out of order.
I was told amendment No. 4 had been ruled out of order. Amendment No. 7 is not out of order, but I shall argue the point when the time comes.
The word "difficulty" could mean anything and gives the Minister latitude that is too wide. The Minister might be blunt, but he is trustworthy and I doubt I would have huge difficulties with him in this area. However, one never knows what or who is coming down the line. Therefore, substituting "insuperable problem or problems" for "difficulty" would provide a higher and better provision. If the word "difficulty" remains, difficulties are there to be confronted, not to be swept under the carpet, as Lord Denning liked to do. The word "difficulty" gives the Minister a large sweeping or yard brush, but I would prefer to see him with a little dustpan and brush. Perhaps that should be the other way round and I am mixing my metaphor. It would be useful to say there was this provision if there was an insuperable problem or problems, rather than just a difficulty, because a difficulty could mean anything. This change would not affect the Bill in any way, but it would mean that there could be no tricking around with the issue for no reason.
Deputy Phil Hogan
During the Committee Stage debate on section 2 of the Bill I undertook to examine the wording in subsection (2) and, in particular, the use of the term "expedient". This was in response to an amendment tabled by the Senator and I am grateful for the opportunity to address the issue again in response to further amendments before the House today tabled by Senators David Norris and Sean D. Barrett. Following Committee Stage on 19 December 2013, my officials and I examined the matter carefully. Having regard to this examination and the legal advice received on the matter, I am satisfied that the provisions, as drafted, should stand and I will explain why.
I think the Minister is addressing a different amendment.
We are dealing with amendments Nos. 4 to 6, inclusive, together.
I did not realise that.
It is important to restate what we intend to achieve with this provision. The Local Government Reform Bill, when enacted, will give effect to a comprehensive reform of local government structures, functions and governance. It involves significant amendments of and additions to the existing local government code and it is possible that unanticipated issues may emerge post-enactment. This section has been designed to provide a mechanism for dealing with such difficulties should they arise and similar provisions are found in other Acts within the local government code. I do not envisage that such issues will arise and if I did, a specific provision would be included in the Bill to address them. However, it is only prudent, in the context of such a wide-ranging reform programme, to provide a mechanism to deal with any unforeseen problem that may arise.
I emphasise to the House that the use of this provision is subject to a number of restrictions. In the first instance, it is time bound and may only be used within a period of three years following the coming into operation of the section. Second, regulations made under the provision will require a positive resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas. Furthermore, the making of regulations under this provision will be subject to rigorous oversight by the Office of the Attorney General. In addition to this triple lock, against any Minister who might try to engage in some nefarious practice in the future, the Supreme Court will act as a further bulwark against a Minister who might seek to interpret and use this provision in a way that was unconstitutional. These are fundamental principles attaching to the operation of this provision.
In addition, it is important to point out that the term "necessary or expedient" is referred to almost 900 times in the electronic Irish Statute Book. The earliest reference is in section 36 of the Public Works (Ireland) Act 1831. There are 834 uses of the phrase in primary legislation since 1922 and 284 uses in respect of delegated legislation. The phrase was also used in the District, Circuit and Supreme Court rules. Given the extensive history and continuing usage as outlined, it is unsurprising that the phrase is well known to the courts in its various uses.
I am advised, therefore, that to use a different formula of words would be open to interpretation by the courts that the Oireachtas intended a different meaning or result to that which would have obtained by using the long-established phraseology of "necessary or expedient". Equally, a seemingly straightforward substitution of words as suggested in amendment No. 4 or a deletion of the term "or expedient" as suggested in amendments Nos. 5 and 6 could result in the threshold for coming within the ambit of the provision being set so high as to make it virtually unusable. At a minimum it would significantly reduce the scope of the circumstances in which the regulation-making power under section 22 could be used.
I understood the arguments that were made by Senator David Norris on Committee Stage and was certainly very open to amending this particular section. However, I have since received extensive legal advice on foot of further legal examination of the Bill, including by the Attorney General's office and based on the precedent that was established back in 1831, I am strongly advised that any other interpretation could have implications for other legislation. Regrettably, but in good faith, I cannot accept the amendment which was tabled by Senators David Norris and Sean D. Barrett in good faith.
Is the amendment being seconded?
Senator Thomas Byrne
I second the amendment.
I thank the Minister for the trouble that he has gone to. He has obviously consulted widely on this issue but I suggest that perhaps he has consulted people who have a commitment to tradition, precedent and so forth. The fact that the use of the phrase goes back to 1831 does not mean anything as far as I am concerned because there was an awful lot of trouble in this country at the time. As a lot of very bad legislation and very bad phraseology was introduced then, the argument with regard to precedent is not convincing. In fact, one of the reasons I tabled this amendment is that I thought it would be a good idea to get rid of the phrase. Whatever about the interpretation of the courts, there is a difference between necessary and expedient. Necessary covers every single aspect. If something is necessary, then it is necessary. Not even the maddest court in the land would find it any other way. I defy anybody, including the Attorney General, who is a very charming person, to prove that this would affect a judgment. I do not believe that for one second because if a thing is necessary, it is required to be done for the good of the people and the good of the legislation. Expedient means something very different. It is close to what, in theological terms, we call situational ethics. In other words, one does what is easiest and most advantageous from a partisan point of view. I believe it is very bad to continue to use this term in legislation. If the effect of this was to remove or to cause to be reconsidered 834 uses of the word, which is one which brings politics into disrepute, I would be absolutely delighted. I am afraid, despite the Minister's relatively emollient tone as compared to his very vigorous broadcast, I will be pushing this to a vote because I believe it is very important. I do not think we should be hidebound.
People do not like change, by and large. If one is part of a large operation in bureaucracy, there is a tendency to resist change, particularly if there is a long tradition behind something. However, that is no reason. No reason has been given to me by the Minister that convinces me, even though I do accept his goodwill. He has taken advice, but I believe he has swallowed that advice a little too hastily. I maintain that the term "necessary" covers any appropriate situation whereas expediency leaves the Bill tainted. It emerges from a time when politics was unrepresentative and undemocratic when we had no parliament in this country.
The Minister said up to 1922 there were 834 uses of the phrase. That was when we were ruled from Westminster. On numerous occasions they refused to consider the Irish question, including famine, in the Queen's speech. I have just been reading a superb book about Parnell by Mr. Brian Cregan, a member of the Law Library. It is a wonderful book. The obstructionism of the British Parliament at that point is made absolutely clear. I would not be terribly concerned about upsetting a precedent that comes from that time, which had no respect for democracy, when women were not allowed the vote and Ireland was, not always but generally, walked on by an imperial parliament that produced this noxious phrase, "good republicans". I am not a republican really at all. I would love to have the O'Conor Don back. I suppose we could not push the President, Michael D. Higgins, out of Áras an Uachtaráin but we could get him somewhere nice and have him as a king. That would be wonderful. That is light-hearted, but I will press the amendment to a vote.
Question put: "That the words proposed to be deleted stand."
The Seanad divided: Tá, 27; Níl, 15.
Tá
Bacik, Ivana.
Brennan, Terry.
Burke, Colm.
Clune, Deirdre.
Coghlan, Eamonn.
Coghlan, Paul.
Comiskey, Michael.
Conway, Martin.
Cummins, Maurice.
D'Arcy, Jim.
Gilroy, John.
Hayden, Aideen.
Higgins, Lorraine.
Keane, Cáit.
Kelly, John.
Landy, Denis.
Moloney, Marie.
Moran, Mary.
Mulcahy, Tony.
Mullins, Michael.
Naughton, Hildegarde.
Noone, Catherine.
O'Donnell, Marie-Louise.
O'Keeffe, Susan.
O'Neill, Pat.
Sheahan, Tom.
Whelan, John.
Níl
Barrett, Sean D.
Byrne, Thomas.
Crown, John.
Cullinane, David.
Mac Conghail, Fiach.
MacSharry, Marc.
Mooney, Paschal.
Mullen, Rónán.
Norris, David.
Ó Domhnaill, Brian.
O'Donovan, Denis.
Power, Averil.
Reilly, Kathryn.
van Turnhout, Jillian.
Wilson, Diarmuid.
Tellers: Tá, Senators Paul Coghlan and Aideen Hayden; Níl, Senators Sean D. Barrett and David Norris.
Question declared carried.
Amendment declared lost.
Amendment No. 5 not moved.
In page 14, line 13, to delete “or expedient”.
Senator Sean D. Barrett
Daly, Mark.
Ó Clochartaigh, Trevor.
Ó Murchú, Labhrás.
Walsh, Jim.
Amendment No. 7 is out of order.
On a point of order, I challenge the Chair's ruling and ask him to reconsider it. It was one of the most fatuous rulings I have come across in more than a quarter of a century as a Member of the House. It makes no sense whatever. There have been dozens of nonsensical rulings.
As the Senator will be well aware, we decide on the Order of Business what will be discussed for the day. The Senator's amendment relates to regulations. If they are laid before the Houses and if they are to be discussed, the time to raise that is on the Order of Business.
I do not agree with that because I have three amendments relating to regulations that are proposed to be made under the section. The draft regulations must be laid before each of the Houses of the Oireachtas but the regulations cannot be made until a resolution approving the draft has been passed by each House.
That is outside of the scope of the Bill.
It is clearly within the scope of the Bill. There is no doubt whatever about it.
It is outside the scope of the Bill. The Senator should resume his seat.
This is the kind of rubbish that goes on.
On a point of order-----
I have not finished my point of order yet, although I welcome Senator Thomas Byrne's point of order. I well remember raising a matter in the interest of the country relating to copyright in the House. The then Minister, who is a Minister in the current Government, said he would make a note of it and make sure it was addressed. The provision went through on the nod without discussion and he forgot to address it. Had we been allowed to have a debate on that, we would have saved ourselves a hell of a lot of time and money.
That is a matter for the House.
I am challenging the ruling and I am asking the Cathaoirleach to reconsider it in the light of my argument because it brings the House into discredit when we have nonsensical, fatuous rulings that mean nothing and contradict what is provided for in legislation.
The Senator should resume his seat. Regulations are laid before the House and it is a matter for the House to discuss whether they are discussed. It is not a matter for legislation. It is outside the scope of the Bill.
Exactly. It is a matter for the House, as the Cathaoirleach said.
Of course it is.
Why can we not decide now-----
It is outside the scope of this Bill.
It is not; it is plainly within it.
I call Senator Thomas Byrne on a point of order.
I do not expect to persuade the Cathaoirleach, but I agree with Senator David Norris.
The decision taken by the Cathaoirleach and his office on this amendment is utterly crazy. Senator David Norris makes a very good point on this type of provision. I cannot see why there is any provision against that. It is unconstitutional for the Cathaoirleach to say we cannot put this into legislation. I cannot see what the problem is and Senator David Norris is dead right. I call for a review at the Committee on Procedure and Privileges of what is and is not within the scope of the Bill.
When regulations are laid before the House, it is a matter for the House to then decide whether to discuss them.
It is a matter for us to discuss them today.
We are not doing that today. The Leader of the House said on the Order of Business the whole purpose of the Seanad was for discussion and open debate.
I have made my ruling on this matter.
We are closing it down in circumstances which have been to the detriment of this country’s interests in the past.
I have made my ruling on this matter. Amendments Nos. 7 to 29, inclusive, are out of order.
Why? Can we have the reasons they are out of order?
On a point of order, amendment No. 29 is the Minister’s amendment.
Yes, amendment No. 29 is a Government amendment and not out of order.
What are the reasons for these amendments to be ruled out of order?
There are various reasons.
We should all be apprised of these reasons. It is not good enough for democratic debate. This is a further perversion of democracy. We have only been told about this five minutes before the debate. It is rubbish. Every single Member should be advised as to why their amendments are not allowed.
Some of them are a potential charge on the Exchequer. Will the Senator, please, resume his seat?
Senator Jim Walsh
On a point of order, I have serious reservations about the Cathaoirleach's ruling but, having said that, he is entitled to make a ruling. Will he go through each of these amendments and give us a reason they have been ruled out of order? With respect to the House, he should explain precisely why each amendment has been ruled out of order.
Amendments Nos. 7 to 28, inclusive, have been ruled out of order. I have ruled them out of order for various reasons.
Please, hear my point of order. It is terrible that the House would be going through this process. I would have thought that we would have learned from past controversies that have arisen from failure to monitor and scrutinise legislation. I am not challenging the rulings but will the Cathaoirleach tell us the reason for each amendment? I suspect that, in the absence of him not doing so, it was someone else who made the ruling. That really worries me.
The rulings have been made.
Will the Senator, please, resume his seat?
I have a point of order.
Amendment No. 7-----
I believe the Cathaoirleach did not make the rulings because he does not know the reasons.
I have been asked to outline to the House my decision for ruling out amendments Nos. 7 to 28, inclusive. Amendment No. 7 proposes that regulations made by the Minister under the Act and laid before the Houses shall also include provision for debate of the draft regulations. The amendment is outside the scope of the Bill. The scheduling of parliamentary business in the Dáil is the prerogative of the Taoiseach. In the Seanad, it is the decision of the House. Amendments No. 8 and 11 are related. They propose the holding of a plebiscite on the merging of the six city and county councils proposed under the Bill. Amendments Nos. 9-----
On a point of order, I have to challenge that ruling.
The Senator cannot challenge my ruling at this point.
I can and I am going to take the opportunity to do so.
The Senator cannot challenge my ruling at this point. Will he, please, resume his seat?
With respect, I have tabled 50 amendments, the majority of which have been ruled out of order. We have not been given the opportunity to properly scrutinise this Bill. We are having the same experience we had with the water services Bill. All of the problems that resulted with the passing of that Bill-----
Due to all of the consequences of that Bill and the moneys squandered on consultants for Irish Water, the Minister should resign.
Here we are again, guillotining the debate on a Bill and ruling out amendments for frivolous reasons while not giving the Opposition proper explanations.
I cannot accept that we cannot have a debate on the holding of plebiscites because it might incur a charge on the Exchequer.
Will the Senator, please, address his comments through the Chair?
It is ridiculous. We are sick and tired of having our amendments ruled out of order, Bills rushed through and we cannot scrutinise legislation properly.
The Senator is completely out of order.
It is not fair on the Minister, any Senator or the Cathaoirleach. It is completely unacceptable.
We rushed the property tax and water services legislation. It is always legislation from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.
The suspicion is that certain people want to go home early.
I was asked to outline my rulings. Amendments Nos. 9 and 12 to 15, inclusive, and 28 propose to delete the proposal to dissolve the city and county councils in Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford and the establishment of new amalgamated authorities as their successors and other related matters, thereby preserving the existing local government areas. Amendment No. 10 proposes the establishment of a new local authority for the local government area of Connemara. Amendments Nos. 19 and 20 propose to delete the proposal on the determination by the Minister of local electoral areas and municipal districts, including the application of new governance arrangements. Amendments Nos. 21 to 23, inclusive, propose to delete the proposal concerning the dissolution of town councils. These amendments are in conflict with the principle of the Bill and also involve a charge on the Exchequer as the cost-efficiencies proposed to be gained from mergers and reductions in local authority members would not be achieved. Amendment No. 24 proposes that each municipal district council may, in respect of that district, vary the commercial rate and the local property tax within the district. Amendment No. 25 provides that each municipal district may vary the commercial rate of tax for the district. These amendments involve a potential charge on Revenue.
Perhaps some of the rulings are justified. I certainly do not blame the Cathaoirleach for whom I have the greatest respect. It is time, however, we looked at these rulings. Some of them are complete nonsense. For example, where it says it is in conflict with the principle of the Bill-----
The Senator is a member of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges and knows this is a matter for it.
I will not resume my seat until I finish my point. The principle of the Bill does not apply until it is passed into law. It can and should be changed by Parliament. Otherwise, there is no reason for Parliament.
I thank the Cathaoirleach for giving us an outline of the reasons he has ruled these amendments out of order. Amendment No. 8 seeks to maintain the status quo. As of now, there is no imposition on the Exchequer. The Minister is instead abolishing the councils. On amendments Nos. 21 to 23, inclusive, if we cannot challenge specific aspects of the Bill’s principle, it neuters the House in dealing with legislation.
I understand that. Amendment No. 8 involves a potential charge on the Exchequer.
The Cathaoirleach should think about this. As of today, we are looking for the retention of certain councils which the Minister is proposing to abolish. There is no imposition on the Exchequer, accordingly, as the cost is built into the current structure.
I have given the Senator a lot of latitude in his points of order.
I have made the ruling that it involves a potential charge on the Exchequer.
It is arguable that the Minister is going to create more costs than is currently the case.
A Chathaoirligh, the defect in your ruling is in the wording. It is not your fault, because it clearly states "creates a charge on the Exchequer". Nothing is created.
It is a potential charge.
But it does not create anything. It could not create anything. It is there already, as the point has been argued by my colleague.
My ruling is that it creates a potential charge on the Exchequer.
One cannot create a potential anything. That is a hypothetical use of the non-existent and it is forbidden------
Amendments Nos. 7 to 28, inclusive, not moved.
Amendment No. 29 is a Government amendment and involves recommittal. Amendments Nos. 29 to 32, inclusive, and amendment No. 34 are related and may be discussed together. Is that agreed?
(Interruptions).
I ask Senator Cáit Keane to move the motion for recommittal.
Senator Cáit Keane
I move:
That Seanad Éireann, pursuant to Standing Order 130 of the Standing Orders Relative to Public Business, directs that the Local Government Bill 2013 be recommitted to Committee Stage in respect of amendments Nos. 29 to 32, inclusive, and amendment No. 34.
Can we have a reason for this? There may be something in it. If it is being recommitted to Committee Stage in order that the committee can examine in a positive or even in a neutral light, I have no difficulty with what the Senator is proposing.
When the amendments are recommitted, the Minister will provide the reasons for the recommittal.
Question put:
Tellers: Tá, Senators Paul Coghlan and Aideen Hayden; Níl, Senators David Cullinane and Diarmuid Wilson.
Bill recommitted in respect of amendments Nos. 29 to 32, inclusive.
Amendments Nos. 29 to 32, inclusive, and amendment No. 34 are related and will be discussed together, by agreement. Is that agreed?
Not agreed.
We will take them separately.
Government amendment No. 29:
In page 45, line 1, to delete “relates.”.” and substitute the following:
“relates.
(8) Section 45 shall not apply to meetings of the Committee.”.”.
Amendment No. 29 addresses an omission in the published Bill. It proposes that section 45 of the Local Government Act 2001, relating to the attendance of the media and the public at local authority meetings, shall not apply in the case of the local community development committees. Although local community development committees will be local authority committees, their role and function will differ considerably from those of other local authority committees. A significant element of the local community development committees' work will be the consideration of funding applications. This work will involve confidential and commercially sensitive matters, which would not be appropriate in the presence of the media and the public.
Amendment put:
The Committee divided: Tá, 29; Níl, 14.
Amendment declared carried.
" 'community elements of the Plan’ means those parts of a local economic and community plan relating to the local and community development of the functional area of the Committee pursuant to section 66B;
‘economic elements of the Plan’ means those parts of a local economic and community plan relating to the promotion of economic development of the administrative area of the local authority pursuant to section 66B;".
I am including an amendment for definitions of both community elements and economic elements of the integrated plan to be added to section 128A.
I wish to speak to the amendment because I support the thrust of what is proposed. The Minister has outlined what he means by community elements and economic elements of the plan. I understand it is part of the local community development committees which are being established. If we are to develop community and economic elements of a plan, that will give rise to a number of issues relating to the amendments we tabled that we have not had an opportunity to discuss as they have been ruled out of order.
One of the aspects of the Bill to which I am opposed is the merger of a number of local authorities, including in Waterford, but also in other areas without giving people the opportunity to have their say. One of the reasons I am opposed to that is, on balance, there are different economic and community needs in the city and county of Waterford and I am concerned that if the Bill is passed and if the authorities formally amalgamate after the next local elections, in some circumstances it would be difficult to come up with community and economic plans that could cut across an entire local authority area. Perhaps what the Minister is suggesting is that each local electoral area will have its own plan. He could indicate whether that is the case. I do not wish to rehearse the previous arguments, but I am genuinely concerned at the manner in which we are pushing forward with the Bill and ruling amendments out of order.
I did not do that.
I do not say it was the Minister’s doing, but it has happened. The vast majority of the amendments Sinn Féin has tabled have been ruled out of order, which is unacceptable. It is not good practice that we are not prepared to have a debate on a Bill such as the one before the House. I wanted to have a discussion with the Minister with responsibility for local government on many issues, including the merger of local authorities. We were prevented from doing so on Report Stage because we were told the amendments we tabled would incur a cost on the Exchequer.
Senator Denis Landy
That is a matter for the Chair.
It is outrageous that we have to use the opportunity of a Government amendment to try to squeeze some latitude from a Chairman to raise legitimate concerns about the Bill. It flies in the face of what the Minister and his party promised about a different type of governance when they were in opposition and following the election. We made exactly the same arguments when the Minister railroaded through the Water Services Bill. We were not allowed to raise the questions we wanted to ask. Amendments were ruled out of order. Questions were not answered and we see what happened since and the debacle that has taken place.
Senator Maurice Cummins
The Senator is questioning the Chair.
I am. I have no difficulty in doing so. I am not just questioning the Chair, I am questioning the Leader of the House, the Minister and the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad.
If the Senator knew his Standing Orders, he would know that the Leader of the House and the Minister have no say in such matters.
I am questioning the entire process because it is not fair on anybody. What I see happening is that the permanent government is preventing us as legislators from having a debate on amendments. It is telling us which amendments are in order or out of order. We are putting ourselves in a straitjacket and preventing ourselves from having a proper debate and scrutinising Bills. The debacle with Irish Water is an example of what happens when we do not have proper scrutiny. The Minister has failed to answer even simple questions about the issue. He is dodging questions. It is simply not good politics. This is the only opportunity I have to do so and I strongly express my opposition to again railroading through an important Bill, ruling out of order amendments which are in order and should be debated and discussed. It is a sad day for the Oireachtas and the Seanad that this has happened again. It has happened to so many Bills and here we are again carrying on with the same sort of nonsense.
In the context of the Minister telling us that this Bill is about improving democracy and adding value to existing democracy, we have the charade of not being able to debate many of the provisions in the Bill or not being able to amend them. Even if the Government disagreed with them the Minister could at least listen to us and have the courtesy to allow us to table an amendment and have a debate on the issues. The Government is not even prepared to allow that to happen.
Acting Chairman (Senator Pat O'Neill)
The Senator is inaccurate in saying the Government has ruled amendments out of order. It is not the Government’s decision to rule amendments out of order.
Senator David Cullinane should know all about that in Northern Ireland where there is a permanent government to which Sinn Féin is subservient.
We are not subservient at all; far from it.
I wish to clarify that under the new section 66 provisions, local authorities and local community development committees are tasked with preparing integrated local economic and community plans. I would have thought Senator David Cullinane would welcome that the community plans would be part of the economic and community planning that would take place in each local authority area. This is the first time for that to happen. It is the first time for the community and voluntary sector to have a statutory remit to align itself with local government in order to have its voice heard. The Senator does not want to acknowledge anything we are doing.
The Minister has cut the legs from the local community development sector.
Control has been given to apparatchiks.
I am surprised the Senator does not acknowledge what is being done.
The people who work in the sector know it.
I know the Senator does not like freedom of speech but I am surprised that he does not acknowledge that the work we are doing in the Bill has already resulted in a 20% reduction in the cost of employing people in Waterford city. Savings have been made on the merger which Senator opposed, including in Sinn Féin’s recent budget. It is a clear indication that the Senator is not in favour of employment or competitiveness.
The Minister should get his facts right. I did not oppose anything.
I am sorry, I should have said the Senator’s party. These plans will have economic and community elements which will be prepared separately but in parallel. Consequently, the provisions in the Bill relating to the development of a local and community plan are to be replaced by the new provisions.
Amendment put and declared carried.
In page 46, line 23, to delete “the Plan” and substitute “the community elements of the Plan”.
Amendments Nos. 31, 32 and 34 provide for specific references to the plan we just spoke about in section 128B to be replaced by reference to "the community elements of the plan" or those elements of the plan as the case may be.
I wish to respond to something the Minister said about the community element of a plan. I do not have a difficulty with that in principle but I object to the way the community development sector has been treated not just by the Government but by the previous Government.
That has nothing to do with the amendment.
It does.
That point related to amendment No. 31.
With respect, I am speaking on amendment No. 31.
Amendment No. 32 refers to substituting "those elements of the plan".
Okay, but I am responding to something the Minister said which is relevant to the amendment.
The Senator could have come back in to speak on the matter at the time.
It does the same thing. I just make the point that the community development sector has had the legs cut from under it, as have many other sectors, first, because of cuts in funding and, second, because the voluntary boards of management were dissolved.
Senator Cullinane-----
There are no cuts in funding.
Senator David Cullinane said all that before in response to amendment No. 30.
I did not.
The Senator did.
I did not make those points. The Government is giving local government responsibility for community development when it should be coming from the bottom up.
Local government is at the bottom.
No. The people who work in the community development sector want autonomy from local government. They would work in partnership with local government.
What about the elected representatives?
They would work in partnership with local government but would not be dictated to by local government. What the Minister is doing is taking power away from local communities and giving it to officials in local authorities. The previous Government started the process and the Government is continuing with the same logic - surprise, surprise. The vast majority of people whom I meet who work in the community development sector agree with what I say because they have suffered as a consequence of it. Volunteers on the ground are no longer available because they are not valued by the Government. That is the reality. They always feared that would happen; that they would be pushed under the control of some arm of Government and their autonomy would be removed from them. While it might be a good thing in some respects that there is a community element to the plan the Minister completely ignores the reality on the ground for the vast majority of community development projects and the people who work in them.
The Senator should acknowledge that locally-elected representatives with a democratic mandate from the people are the most important people on the ground with whom one should consult. We are valuing them by giving them more responsibility. They are the people whom I support. The community sector will have to go to local authorities and work with them.
To use the Minister’s term, they will have to be subservient to them.
No. The Senator might be well used to being subservient in the manner in which his party deals with opposition in the community, in particular in Northern Ireland but we do not subscribe to that view.
We are aligning the community sector with local government to ensure that the elected person who has a mandate from the people is centre stage and has the more powerful voice.
As there has been no cut in the local community development programme in 2014 over and above 2013, there is no difficulty with the funding. What we are trying to do is to ensure the community sector and the local government can pool their resources in difficult financial situations and times to be able to get the maximum benefit for the people they and we represent.
In page 46, line 25, to delete “the Plan” and substitute “those elements of the Plan”.
Bill reported with amendments.
Amendment No. 33 has been ruled out of order.
Amendment No. 33 not moved.
Bill recommitted in respect of amendment No. 34.
Bill reported with amendment.
Amendments Nos. 35 to 39, inclusive, have been ruled out of order.
Amendments Nos. 35 to 39, inclusive, not moved.
Amendments Nos. 40, 42, 43, 45 to 47, inclusive, 49, 50, 56 and 57 are related and will be discussed together. Is that agreed? Agreed.
Senator Diarmuid Wilson
I move amendment No. 40:
In page 49, line 23, before “members” to insert “at least 3”.
This amendment is self-explanatory. We discussed the issue at some length on Committee Stage and I would like to hear the Minister's response on it.
I do not support amendment No. 40, but we will discuss the issue with amendment No. 47, when we come to it. Amendments Nos. 42 and 43 propose additional categories to be covered in regard to the membership of committees. I do not agree that a reference, as proposed, to drawing members from communities of interest is required, because section 128D (2)(d) already provides for members to be drawn from representatives of local community interests and this includes communities of interest. A key aim is to ensure a tight focused membership of the committees. The proposed amendments to provide, for example, for guaranteed membership for representatives of all social partnerships would inevitably result in a larger than intended membership. It is well known to all present that we have had a plethora of large committees and boards, where frequently their effectiveness suffers due to the size of the membership. The recommendation made to me by the expert group that studied local development alignment was to keep the committees as small and as focused as possible. Accordingly, I do not support these amendments.
Similarly, I do not support amendment No. 45, concerning the nomination of elected members to local community development committees. When the chief officer is seeking nominees for the local community development committee, he or she shall do so in consultation with the corporate policy group, CPG, as a result of an amendment that was accepted on Committee Stage. Given that the process for selecting nominees will now be carried out in consultation with the CPG, I oppose amendment No. 45.
This argument also applies to amendment No. 46, which proposes that the elected members to be nominated to the committee shall have been elected by the local authority. I will, in due course, bring forward regulations to cover the detailed arrangements for the nomination by various stakeholder bodies to the local community development committees and in doing so, I will consult with the representatives of elected members to ensure a fair and reasonable process is followed in the nomination of elected members to the committee.
I do not support amendment No. 47, relating to local authority membership and the chairmanship of local community development committees. The legislation, as drafted, reflects the balance between the status of the committee as a committee of the local authority on the one hand and the independence of the committee in the performance of its functions on the other, for example, for the purposes of drawing down EU local development funds. A guarantee that the chairperson should be drawn from a specific sectoral interest or that a specific sectoral interest should have a minimum number of members would undermine the independence of the committee and impact on its eligibility as an implementer of key EU local development programmes. Given this requirement, I am not in a position to support the amendments as proposed. However, I should point out that elected members may very well be the chair of these committees. This has already happened in the case of County Cork.
Amendments Nos. 49 and 50 relate to the making of regulations regarding local development community development committees. As proposed, amendment No. 49 would require the Minister to consult with non-governmental organisations, community groups and communities of interest when making ministerial regulations. I do not believe it would represent an effective process to consult with stakeholders in the very wide manner envisaged by the proposed amendments on each occasion that regulations are to be made or amended. However, I believe that consultation with citizens and communities is very important in the workings of the committees and in that regard the Bill provides significant avenues of consultation for citizens and communities in regard to the work of the LCDCs. For example, committees will be required to consult members of the public in the preparation of the local economic and community plans. Moreover, I will provide for participation by the local community in local government in a more general way through the implementation of the recommendations of the working group on citizen engagement.
Amendment No. 50 proposes to remove the provisions that the Minister may consult with public authorities, as he or she considers appropriate, in the making of regulations. There is a range of public authorities with whom it would not be appropriate to consult, such as those with no involvement or interest in local development or community development. Therefore, I do not support the deletion of the text as proposed as this would require the Minister to consult with all public authorities.
I do not support amendment No. 56 as proposed. The amendment seeks to insert a provision in section 128, which deals with local community development committees, regarding what the amendment calls a working group on active citizenship. Section 44, relating to consultation with local communities, was accepted already on Committee Stage in the Seanad. This provides the framework for a range of measures which will flow from the recommendations of the working group on citizen engagement, which I am currently considering. Therefore, the amendment that has been proposed to section 128 is not necessary.
Amendment No. 57 seeks to add to the bodies designated as relevant bodies in section 128F. Section 128F(1) and Schedule 16 prescribe those bodies that shall be considered to be relevant bodies for the purposes of ensuring co-operation with the work of the local community development committees. It is envisaged that the programmes managed and delivered by the bodies listed as relevant bodies in the Bill will be the first to come within the provisions of section 128F. However, new bodies will be added to the list of relevant bodies by ministerial order as new arrangements are agreed with the LCDCs for the implementation of programmes by bodies other than those listed. Similarly, when more programmes come within the remit of the local community development committees, the list of bodies coming within the scope of section 128G and therefore deemed to be the relevant bodies will be expanded. The fact that the groups mentioned in the amendment are not designated as relevant bodies in 128F does not indicate a lack of recognition of the role of these groups in local and community development.
Senator Paschal Mooney
I second the amendment. I am rather intrigued by the Minister's explanation in regard to all of the amendments submitted on membership of the local community development committees. On one hand, he has robustly defended what he sees as the prior role of elected members over those who are not elected. He has talked about the fact that community groups will come to the council but that this will be in consultation. He disabused us of the notion that they would be in any way subservient, but at the same time, he made it clear that he was here defending the elected members. This is all fine and dandy. It is right and I agree with him. However, why is it the Minister is leaving the provision so loose in regard to the membership of local development committees. In general, he refers to the committee including members, representatives, individuals and other such persons or bodies as may be provided for. I get the impression - correct me if I am wrong - that the Minister will issue, by regulation, the number of people who will serve on the committees, in other words, the total membership of the committees. As there is nothing in the Bill to indicate whether there will be five, ten, 15 or 20 members on a committee, I assume the Minister will make that decision by regulation. If so, I assume he will also, by regulation, define the number of members in each of the various categories. In other words, he will say there will be three or four members of the local authority, X number of representatives of public authorities and X number of representatives. Otherwise, the system cannot work. There must be a starting point and we must know how many members the committee will have and this membership must then be divided out on a proportionate basis. That is the nub of the question. Who will be in the ascendancy? Will it be the non-elected members or the elected members?
The reason I raise this issue is that when the local development companies first started in the late 1990s, one of the major bugbears elected members had was that they found themselves in a situation where they sat on local development partnerships.
There would have been four representatives in the local partnerships. They found that because the funding was bypassing the local authority and going directly from the European Union or, in some cases, Dublin, an individual who had contested the previous local elections and had lost out to one or other of these four members was, as chairman of the committee or partnership, in a much more powerful and influential position because he or she had money to dish out. It was a great source of annoyance and frustration to elected members who found themselves competing, as it were, with non-elected members. I raise this matter because I wonder if the balance will now tilt towards the elected members.
I am not in any way trying to take away from the enormously important work done by community groups. It is vitally important that the membership of local community development committees be as widely representative as possible of the communities in which they operate, even if that means that there is a substantial and significant number of non-elected members. The question is whether the Minister will try to achieve a balance or will there just be token representation by local authorities, with the overwhelming majority of those on the committees being non-elected members. That may lead back to the difficult situation in which the partnerships found themselves at the beginning. I am not expressing any criticism of the work the partnerships have done as they have evolved since 1997. They have done extraordinary work and continue to do so. I hope the Minister will ensure those who are now working with the local development companies will still have an important role to play.
A number of my amendments were ruled out of order. I will speak to amendments Nos. 42 and 43 which were deemed to be in order.
Amendment No. 42 seeks to include representatives of the social partners as members of local community development committees and also communities of interest. The Minister has gone some way towards answering the second issue regarding communities of interest, but I am sure he will agree that the social partners have played a very important part in the development of the State. The city and county development boards will be dissolved once the new arrangements come into being, but representatives of the social partners, including the trade union movement, business groups, farming organisations and so forth, sat on these boards. While there may have been some difficulty with the operation of the boards in overall terms, the social partners added some value. I accept that when one is trying to put together the membership of any committee, one does not want it to become cumbersome or unwieldy. One wants the committee to be able to function and work effectively. However, at the same time, one also wants the membership to be as wide-ranging as possible.
We also sought in an amendment that was ruled out of order to have the specific needs of minority groups represented. I ask the Minister to respond on that issue. It might be wise to have representatives of some specific statutory agencies on the committees, but our amendment to that effect was also ruled out of order. We asked that the issue of social inclusion be prominent in the development of the plans. Our amendments were seeking to improve the operation of the committees which would come into being in order to ensure they would be as representative and wide-ranging as possible and add value for all of the people we represent. It is important that the plans do exactly what is needed and if that is to be the case, they must have the support of as many groups and organisations as possible. If statutory agencies, social partners and certain community interest groups, particularly those representing minorities, are outside the door, that will not be good in the longer term. That is why we are seeking to improve this section by tabling a group of amendments, some of which, unfortunately, were ruled out of order.
I agree with the Senator's sentiments. What we are trying to do is rebalance the powers in favour of the elected members who were frustrated in recent times when the finances of local authorities were in difficulty and they saw an enormous amount of activity in their communities in the form of EU programmes into which they had little or no input. What we are doing is aligning the community with local government. We are not excluding anybody but including everybody and getting people to work more closely together at a time of finite resources to ensure we get the best possible results for the community without the enormous administrative costs that were a feature of various programmes in the past. I am showing some flexibility in terms of the numbers in bands and guidelines that I will lay down. In many of the Border counties, for example, peace programmes are operating in addition to the usual statutory programmes being implemented by the Government in the Republic. Therefore, there is a good reason for representation on local community development committees to take account of some of the existing programmes that will continue into the future, particularly in the context of the European Union's bottom-up approach to certain funds. My Department is consulting on a regular basis about the next round of EU funds and programmes to determine the most appropriate structure in order to get the best value for money and maximise the amount of money that goes to projects.
The elected members and the statutory bodies will not be allowed to dominate the local community development committees. If, for example, a committee has 15 members, eight must be non-statutory, non-elected and non-local authority representatives. The 15 members can decide who will chair the committee. In most cases, there will be three representatives of the local authority system, two of whom will be elected members, while the other will be an official. It will be up to the 15 members to decide who will chair the committee. As I said, in one of the pilot programmes we run in Cork a local community development committee has already been established and an elected member has become the chairperson. It depends on the relationship people have with their community. Elected members must foster that relationship and if they wish to become chairpersons of their local community development committees, there is nothing to stop them from doing so.
If all of the social partners want to be represented, as Senator David Cullinane has suggested, something will have to give. That something would probably be the local development companies, the partnership companies or the community sector. We should not have an unwieldy number of members of any group, but at the same time, we should have everybody, in so far as it is possible to do so, represented. It is very important that the representatives in the local community development structures - whoever they may be - are able to feed back the necessary information to their communities in a much more structured way than we have seen in the past. We do not want a repeat of the situation where people - often from the community sector - sat on committees but did not engage with those who had put them there. We need a more structured approach in that regard and that is what I am seeking to in the Bill. That is also why I asked Fr. Seán Healy and his committee to come up with proposals to improve matters further in order that everybody would know what was going on and everybody would have an input. The final decisions, however, will be made by the local community development committees. They will have the money and receive the applications for funding, while the funds will be dispersed through the existing financial structures of the local authorities. That will save money because we are using a structure that is already in place. It also bolsters the local government system, but it does not in any way denigrate the community projects that will come through the community sector and the elected members to the local community development committees.
I welcome what the Minister has just said. In the context of minority groups, I am sure that the vast majority of Members of this House received correspondence from various Traveller groups which had some concerns about the Bill. I am sure the Minister also received that correspondence and hope the rights of minorities will be considered and not diminished as a result of the Bill. In that regard, the assurances the Minister has given are welcome and will copperfasten this. If he has not received the correspondence to which I refer, including suggested amendments, I will gladly forward it to him. I hope the points raised therein will be considered when the Bill is brought back to the other House if they are not dealt with in this House.
I assure Senator Maurice Cummins that in so far as is possible there will be structures in place that will ensure we will have the greatest level of participation and input from the community sector irrespective of whether they are a majority or a minority.
Amendment put and declared lost.
Amendment No. 41, in the names of Senators David Cullinane and Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, has been ruled out of order.
“(f) representatives of social partners,”.
Tellers: Tá, Senators David Cullinane and Diarmuid Wilson; Níl, Senators Paul Coghlan and Aideen Hayden.
"(f) communities of interest,".
In page 49, line 42, after "nominees" to insert ", excepting the elected members of the local authority,".
Senator Denis O'Donovan
In page 50, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following:
"(b) The elected members nominated to the Committee shall have been elected by the local authority.".
In page 50, line 19, after "chairperson" to insert "who should be a member of the local authority".
Tellers: Tá, Senators Paschal Mooney and Diarmuid Wilson; Níl, Senators Paul Coghlan and Aideen Hayden.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh
In page 50, line 37, after “authorities” to insert “and NGOs, community groups and communities of interest”.
In page 50, line 38, to delete “as he or she considers appropriate”.
Question, "That the words proposed to be deleted stand," put and declared carried.
Amendment No. 51 has been ruled out of order. Amendments Nos. 52 and 53 cannot be moved as they propose to amend text that was deleted on Committee Stage. Amendments Nos. 54 and 55 have been ruled out of order.
“(5) The Minister may not include any recommendations or proposals from the report of the Working Group on Active Citizenship without—
(a) prior scrutiny and debate in both the Dáil and the Seanad;
(b) prior consultation with community groups, NGOs, and Communities of Interest.”.
Tellers: Tá, Senators Trevor Ó Clochartaigh and Jillian van Turnhout; Níl, Senators Paul Coghlan and Aideen Hayden.
In page 52, line 34, after "Schedule 16" to insert the following:
"and the National Traveller Partnership, the National Collective of Community-based Women's Networks, the National Women's Council, The Community Workers Co-operative, Pavee Point, and the National Traveller Women's Forum".
Senator Kathryn Reilly
Tellers: Tá, Senators Trevor Ó Clochartaigh and Kathryn Reilly; Níl, Senators Paul Coghlan and Aideen Hayden.
Amendment No. 58 is out of order; it has been negatived in committee by the House.
Debate adjourned.
Business of Seanad
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757088
|
__label__wiki
| 0.786138
| 0.786138
|
Where is Woodville?
Mar. 28, 2013 4:00 p.m.
by Tom Dirsa
One of the first areas in the Central Alberta to be settled was the area around Pigeon Lake. As early as 1783 the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) sent fur traders into the area trying to extend their influence and to capture more of the fur trade from the upstart North West Company. The Bay was interested in catering to the Stony Band and for over sixty years the post became a place for trade and served as a stopping off place for those traveling between Edmonton and Rocky Mt. House.
In 1840 the HBC agreed to allow the Wesleyan Missionary Society to establish missions throughout the land they controlled. Long before Father Lacombe or Rev. McDougall even made their way west. A young man from Cornish, England by the name of Robert Rundle was designated to establish a mission along the shore of a lake the Stony called Hmi-hmoo translated as Woodpecker Lake and introduced gardening to the First Nations people living in the area. It was surrounded by a deep forest and with rich black soil suited for farming. It had all the earmarks for a successful mission. The surrounding forest influenced Rundle in calling the mission Woodville.
Unfortunately in 1847, three months before his assistant Benjamin Sinclair arrived Rundle had been thrown from his horse and suffered a badly broken arm that did not heal properly and left him crippled for life. After helping Sinclair establish the mission on high ground near where present day Mission Beach is located. Rundle was forced to return to England in the spring of 1848 and never return.
Unfortunately the mission was built right in the middle of territory disputed by the Blackfoot and the Cree. Sinclair and his wife, Margaret, decided to abandon the mission after a Blackfoot war party attacked Sinclair’s party near Battle Lake and moved to Lac St. Anne and then to Smokey Lake.
It would be another seven years before another attempt would be made to re-establish a mission at Woodville. This time Rundle’s brother-in-law Thomas Woolsey and Henry B. Steinhauer joined forces and returned to the old mission site. They found two log buildings in desperate need of repair and the lumber for the church decayed and useless. But, a delegation from the Stony asked Woolsey to settle amongst them. Woolsey did remain during the summer, but constant warfare made it impracticable and too dangerous during the winter.
John McDougall fell in love with Henry Steinhauer’s daughter Abigail and married her in 1865. The newly weds decided they would return to the original mission site that had been abandoned for nearly twenty years and rebuild. McDougall would later claim that their honeymoon journey in a horse drawn cart was the first wheels to roll west of Edmonton. Though warfare among First Nations people continued and the troubles brought about by the Northwest Rebellion resulted in stories of scalping and escapes from death the mission would remain. It has the honor of being the only mission to be served by every missionary and their assistants, sent by the Wesleyan Missionary Society, to work in Alberta during the early days of missionary work.
By 1858 the area was known as Pigeon Lake as the sky seemed full of passenger pigeons. The village of Ma-Mi-O is a First Nation word translated as white pigeon.
The Woodville Mission flourished until the mid 1890’s. Several factors would cause the decline. The development of the railroad had switched the movement of goods from canoe to rail resulting in the mission seeing a dramatic lost of traffic, the advent of reserves for First Nations people, and the decline in the fishery all contributed to the reduced need for the mission. By 1903 the land the mission sat on was surveyed and a John Henry Lee was issued title to the land in 1906. That year the mission disappeared from church records along with the name Woodville. Today the old mission site is a peaceful spot providing a beautiful view of the lake and countryside. A monument, which can be seen for miles, is located near the site of Woodville the first Protestant Mission in Western Canada.
The 1890’s may have been the beginning of the end for the mission but it was just the beginning of the influence that Pigeon Lake would have on the development of communities in Central Alberta, but that is a story for another time…
Note and picture supplied by Ted Okkerse from the
Pipestone Flyer Archives.
The above picture was loaned to me by a gentleman named Carl Jenson formerly of the Cloverlawn area. It was featured on the front page of the Pipestone Flyer July 18, 1997. Which incidently was the first full sized version of the Pipestone Flyer ever.
It looks like a train with several cars in tow. Although it is a steam powered train engine, it has been adapted to work in the snow and fitted with skis in the front and tractor wheel and tracks. The cars behind it are sleds loaded with logs. This particular picture shows the tractor pulling 14 sleds loaded with logs from the Pigeon Lake area.
The picture was taken in 1937. The tractor/train had a run of about 6 miles from the logging area to the mill. The mill was one of the largest in Alberta at that time and was operated by the Fraser family headed up by “Big Bill Fraser” shown second from the left at the front end of the tractor.
When other methods began to be used to haul logs to the mill, the engine was dismantled and used to power the planer mill at the town of Breton.
Mr Jenson worked for the Frasers the winter of 36/37 and his job was to look after the engine, such as greasing and water supply and maintenance. The engine burned coal which was hauled in the tender just back of the engine.
Jenson was 84 at the time I first spoke to him and was born in Yuke Meadow, now Cloverlawn. According to Mr, Jenson the far left man at the front of the engine is Harold McEntire who was the driver (or engineer). The second man from the left is “Big Bill Fraser”, the head Honcho of the operation. Third man from the left is Johnny McEntire but he was unable to identfy the fourth man. The man inside the engine is Tine Gilchrist and the man on the side of the fuel sled is Lonnie Powel.
Leduc Badminton Update
Millet Heads Up Highway Emergency
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757092
|
__label__wiki
| 0.508783
| 0.508783
|
Processing.......
Driver Education Station
Thank you for choosing Driver Education Station, , CT
(800)381-8729 | Fax:
Online Signup
Dear student please complete steps 1 through 3 to signup for a classroom and have your seat reserved. Our web site is updated Real-Time so to assure accuracy of the information. Please make sure to include your email address because your enrollment confirmation will be sent there.
New Fairfield 8-Hr Safe-Drive Class--16/17 yrs old Special Grand Opening Price! This is a five-day session to complete the State-Minimum Requirement for obtaining your Connecticut Driver's License! You must attend all classroom sessions to obtain your CS1-Form (Completion Certification). You MUST be at least SIXTEEN or SEVENTEEN YEARS-OLD in order to attend this class! A Parent/Legal Guardian MUST attend with the 16/17 year-old student---The Parent/Guardian portion of the class will meet on the first class of the session. EVERYONE in attendance MUST have a valid ID (CT License, Photo Learner's Permit; OR a Copy of your Birth Certificate along with your Valid Passport---no exceptions)---These are the ONLY forms of Identification that we will accept. This class satisfies the State-Minimum Requirement for obtaining your Connecticut Driver's License. Only students who attend New Fairfield High School can register for, and participate in this course. Special Grand Opening Price! This is a five-day session to complete the State-Minimum Requirement for obtaining your Connecticut Driver's License! You must attend all classroom sessions to obtain your CS1-Form (Completion Certification). You MUST be at least SIXTEEN or SEVENTEEN YEARS-OLD in order to attend this class! A Parent/Legal Guardian MUST attend with the 16/17 year-old student---The Parent/Guardian portion of the class will meet on the first class of the session. EVERYONE in attendance MUST have a valid ID (CT License, Photo Learner's Permit; OR a Copy of your Birth Certificate along with your Valid Passport---no exceptions)---These are the ONLY forms of Identification that we will accept. This class satisfies the State-Minimum Requirement for obtaining your Connecticut Driver's License. Only students who attend New Fairfield High School can register for, and participate in this course. $79.00
New Fairfield High School 02-BTW Two hours of Behind-the-Wheel instruction. Two hours of Behind-the-Wheel instruction. $150.00
New Fairfield High School 04-BTW Four hours of Behind-the-Wheel instruction. Four hours of Behind-the-Wheel instruction. $260.00
New Fairfield High School 06-BTW Six hours of Behind-the-Wheel instruction. Six hours of Behind-the-Wheel instruction. $360.00
New Fairfield High School 08-BTW Eight hours of Behind-the-Wheel instruction. Eight hours of Behind-the-Wheel instruction. $560.00
New Fairfield High School 30/08 Special Grand Opening Price! Full Driver Education Program! This package consists of 30-Hours of Classroom instruction, which includes the Parent/Guardian/Student class, and the State-Mandated 8-Hour Safe-Driving Practices (Drug & Alcohol) class AND 8-hours of Behind-the-Wheel driving lessons using our car! This package allows for a student to test for their Connecticut Driver's License after holding their Learner's Permit for 120 Full-Days. You must be at least sixteen (16) years-old on the day you begin your Driver Education Program with us! Special Grand Opening Price! Full Driver Education Program! This package consists of 30-Hours of Classroom instruction, which includes the Parent/Guardian/Student class, and the State-Mandated 8-Hour Safe-Driving Practices (Drug & Alcohol) class AND 8-hours of Behind-the-Wheel driving lessons using our car! This package allows for a student to test for their Connecticut Driver's License after holding their Learner's Permit for 120 Full-Days. You must be at least sixteen (16) years-old on the day you begin your Driver Education Program with us! $449.00
New Fairfield High School 30/10 Full Driver Education Program! This package consists of 30-Hours of Classroom instruction, which includes the Parent/Guardian/Student class, and the State-Mandated 8-Hour Safe-Driving Practices (Drug & Alcohol) class AND ten hours of Behind-the-Wheel driving lessons using our car! This package allows for a student to test for their Connecticut Driver's License after holding their Learner's Permit for 120 Full-Days. You must be at least sixteen (16) years-old on the day you begin your Driver Education Program with us! Full Driver Education Program! This package consists of 30-Hours of Classroom instruction, which includes the Parent/Guardian/Student class, and the State-Mandated 8-Hour Safe-Driving Practices (Drug & Alcohol) class AND ten hours of Behind-the-Wheel driving lessons using our car! This package allows for a student to test for their Connecticut Driver's License after holding their Learner's Permit for 120 Full-Days. You must be at least sixteen (16) years-old on the day you begin your Driver Education Program with us! $549.00
New Fairfield High School 30/20 Full Driver Education Program! This package consists of 30-Hours of Classroom instruction, which includes the Parent/Guardian/Student class, and the State-Mandated 8-Hour Safe-Driving Practices (Drug & Alcohol) class AND twenty hours of Behind-the-Wheel driving lessons using our car! This package allows for a student to test for their Connecticut Driver's License after holding their Learner's Permit for 120 Full-Days. You must be at least sixteen (16) years-old on the day you begin your Driver Education Program with us! Full Driver Education Program! This package consists of 30-Hours of Classroom instruction, which includes the Parent/Guardian/Student class, and the State-Mandated 8-Hour Safe-Driving Practices (Drug & Alcohol) class AND twenty hours of Behind-the-Wheel driving lessons using our car! This package allows for a student to test for their Connecticut Driver's License after holding their Learner's Permit for 120 Full-Days. You must be at least sixteen (16) years-old on the day you begin your Driver Education Program with us! $999.00
New Fairfield High School 30/30 Full Driver Education Program! This package consists of 30-Hours of Classroom instruction, which includes the Parent/Guardian/Student class, and the State-Mandated 8-Hour Safe-Driving Practices (Drug & Alcohol) class AND thirty hours of Behind-the-Wheel driving lessons using our car! This package allows for a student to test for their Connecticut Driver's License after holding their Learner's Permit for 120 Full-Days. You must be at least sixteen (16) years-old on the day you begin your Driver Education Program with us! Full Driver Education Program! This package consists of 30-Hours of Classroom instruction, which includes the Parent/Guardian/Student class, and the State-Mandated 8-Hour Safe-Driving Practices (Drug & Alcohol) class AND thirty hours of Behind-the-Wheel driving lessons using our car! This package allows for a student to test for their Connecticut Driver's License after holding their Learner's Permit for 120 Full-Days. You must be at least sixteen (16) years-old on the day you begin your Driver Education Program with us! $1499.00
New Fairfield High School 40/40 Full Driver Education Program! This package consists of 30-Hours of Classroom instruction, which includes the Parent/Guardian/Student class, and the State-Mandated 8-Hour Safe-Driving Practices (Drug & Alcohol) class AND forty hours of Behind-the-Wheel driving lessons using our car! This package allows for a student to test for their Connecticut Driver's License after holding their Learner's Permit for 120 Full-Days. You must be at least sixteen (16) years-old on the day you begin your Driver Education Program with us! Full Driver Education Program! This package consists of 30-Hours of Classroom instruction, which includes the Parent/Guardian/Student class, and the State-Mandated 8-Hour Safe-Driving Practices (Drug & Alcohol) class AND forty hours of Behind-the-Wheel driving lessons using our car! This package allows for a student to test for their Connecticut Driver's License after holding their Learner's Permit for 120 Full-Days. You must be at least sixteen (16) years-old on the day you begin your Driver Education Program with us! $1999.00
, Price:
Date Of Birth: Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Year 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Class Selection:
CR#: Date Start: Date End: Time Start: CR Days:
, Price: $
Zip Code: Location:
Class Number Start Date End Date Session Details Location
View/Print
First Name: * Student Cell Phone: *
Middle Name: Home Phone: *
Last Name: * Parent Email:
Address: * Wear Glasses/Contacts: -- Select -- Yes No *
City: * How Did You Hear About Us: -- Select -- Cosmically Facebook Presence Internet Search Mike referred me My Parent/Guardian MADE me come here My Sibling Acquired their License through Driver Education Station Newspaper---Bee Newspaper---High School Newspaper---News Times Newspaper---Republican Newspaper---Voices NMHS Dance Team Not sure, it just kinda happened Other Previous Driver Education Station Students Radio Recommendation from DMV Recommendation from High School Recommendation from High School Teacher Recommendation from my Friend Shelton Gaels Town Crier Word-of-Mouth
State and Zip: -- Select -- CT DC DE FL MA NJ NY PA RI * Gender: -- Select -- Male Female *
Date Of Birth: Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Year 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 * High School: -- Select -- A High School that is not listed Ansonia High School Berlin High School Bethel High School Bloomfield High School Branford High School Bridgeport Military Academy Brookfield High School Canterbury School Cheshire High School Choate Crosby High School (Wtby) Danbury High School Derby High School Emmett OBrien Technical High School Enfield High School Enrico Fermi High School Fairchild Wheeler Fairfield Prep Faith Preparatory High School---New Milford Francis T. Maloney High School Frank Scott Bunnell High School Guilford High School Hamden High School Henry Abbott Tech Holy Cross High School (Wtby) Home School Housatonic Valley High School Ideal Public School, Tenali, INDIA Immaculate High School James Hillhouse High School Joel Barlow High School Kennedy High School (Wtby) Kent School Masuk High School Middletown High School Montville High School Mr. Kotters Class at Buchanan High School Naugatuck High School New Britain High School New Fairfield High School New London High School New Milford High School Newington High School Newtown High School Nonnewaug Regional High School Norwich Free Academy Norwich Tech Notre Dame High School (Fairfield) Old Saybrook High School Orville H. Platt High School Other We will be happy to add your school to our list Oxford High School Pomperaug High School RHAM High School Ridgefield High School Rockville High School Sacred Heart High School (Wtby) School of Hard-Knocks School of Thought Seymour High School Shelton High School Shepaug Valley High School South Kent School Southington High School St. Joseph High School Staples High School Stratford High School Tolland High School Torrington High School Tourtellotte Memorial High School Trumbull High School Wamogo High School We Are Old-School West Haven High School Wethersfield High School Wilbur L. Cross High School Wilby High School (Wtby) Windham High School Woodstock Academy *
Student Email: * Do you have a discount coupon?Enter code:
Payment Information We Accept:
Billing First Name: * Credit Card Type: -- Select -- Master Card Visa *
Billing Last Name: * Card Number: *
Billing Address: * Expiration: Month 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048 2049 2050 2051 2052 2053 2054 2055 2056 2057 2058 2059 2060 2061 2062 2063 2064 2065 2066 2067 2068 *
Billing City: * Security Code (What is This?): *
Billing State and Zip: -- Select -- CT DC DE FL MA NJ NY PA RI * Payment Amount:
© Total Driving School Management, Powered by DanubeNet , All Rights Reserved , Copyright 2008 - 2019
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757095
|
__label__wiki
| 0.877696
| 0.877696
|
MyLearning
Free learning resources from arts, cultural and heritage organisations.
Home Explore Collections
Latest Contribute About Contact & Feedback
Get suggested content
Create personalised work boards
1776 African Youth of the Dales
Yorkshire family discover they are descendants of a slave
Yorkshire Family Discover Ancestor was a Slave Story resources, links7 & downloads6
Yorkshire Family Discover Ancestor was a Slave
This resource is part of the Museum Snapshot collection - a collection of smaller resources perfect for starters, plenaries or spare moments to explore something fascinating.
John Yorke was an African slave, brought to the Yorkshire Dales. The image below is a record of his baptism at Marske near Richmond in 1776. The original baptism record refers to Yorke as a 'Negro Servant'. This was only discovered in 2007 when a lady, Mrs Thornton from Bradford was researching her family history.
She had no idea that six generations back she was descended from an African slave!
Baptism record of John Yorke, a slave of 1776
Mrs Thornton discovered that her descendant came from Fish River plantation near Montego Bay in Jamaica. He was brought to England by the owner's daughter Elizabeth Campbell, who married a wealthy widower John Yorke, of Richmond. Mrs Thornton believes he was given his new master's name, John Yorke, but by 1772 John was 'owned' by John Hutton of nearby Marske Hall. If you look at the baptism document you can read that John was with his owner for four years before he was baptised, but he was allowed to keep his first owner's name of Yorke. What we don't know for sure is how old John was when he first came to Yorkshire.
What Mrs Thornton did find out though, was that John's life improved after he saved a gamekeeper's life and was given a cottage. The family he raised there has 130 descendants, but only 14 in the male line. Mrs Thornton is descended from John's prizefighting son William, born in Marske in 1803. His son George moved from North Yorkshire to Bradford to work at Bolling Iron Works. He died in 1910.
Photograph of George Yorke, grandson of John Yorke
Mrs Thornton said:
"When I found out I was related to a slave I was amazed. But when I learned about John and his life and of his family I was very proud. I think he too would be proud of what has happened to his family over the years.
I feel quite humble that I have come from stock which suffered untold hardship.
To think that, if not John, then one of my ancestors had to come across from Africa to Jamaica on a slave ship and suffer those horrors is very moving."
Mrs Jenny Thornton (nee Yorke) as a child
This document is quite difficult to read partly because it is in handwriting that we are not used to reading, and partly because there were different spellings or abbreviations used over 200 years ago. We have created a transcript that explains some of the different spellings from today. In those days there wasn't a common form of spelling. People just wrote down what they heard. This meant where there were different accents in different parts of the country the spelling of words would vary.
Slavery in Britain was still in full force at this time. However pressure was forming against the practice. The Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was formed in 1787. William Wilberforce, the MP for Yorkshire at the time, led the parliamentary campaign for abolition, which was abolished by the Slave Trade Act of 1807, and slavery itself was abolished in the British Empire in the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.
Discussion Ideas
What do you think it must have been like being a slave, probably being taken from your parents and travelling thousands of miles in extreme hardship? Zoom out of the map below to appreciate how far Marske is from Montego Bay in Jamaica, where John came from before arriving in Yorkshire.
We know that John came from Jamaica but it's likely that he or his Mother were captured as slaves in Africa before that. Discuss what journeys and experiences he might have had.
Do any forms of slavery still exist today in the world?
Talk about what it would be like to learn more about your own family history. There might be 'skeletons in the cupboard'. What do you think that expression means? What kinds of surprises might you find? How would you feel, for example, if you discovered there had been someone in your family who'd had lots of money in the past but none of it had been 'inherited' or passed down to your family?
What do you think the word inherited or inheritance means? What would you like to inherit? It doesn't always mean money, it could be qualities or talents. Mrs Thornton says she is proud to come from 'stock of untold hardship', suggesting that being strong in troubled times is important to her.
We know that John had been with his second 'owner' for four years when he was baptised at 17 or 18, but what we don't know is how long he had been in Yorkshire before that. Write a story imagining you are John coming to Yorkshire and tell your readers what it was like and the life you had experienced before.
Write another account from the slave owner's view point. How might a slave owner's needs in Yorkshire be different from that of a slave owner in Jamaica?
Research your own family tree and see how far back you can go, be careful though if you find 'skeletons in the cupboard'!
It is possible that some of John's descendants returned to Africa. Most slaves in Jamaica were captured in West Africa originally. Write a story imagining you are a descendant of John's returning to West Africa. Think about the period it would it be and why you are returning? You might be e.g. a musician or a photographer, or just interested in your family roots. What are the differences between the culture you have come from and the new one?
Story resources
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757097
|
__label__cc
| 0.570674
| 0.429326
|
Home » Dogs » General » Facts about Dogs
Facts about Dogs
There are several conflicting stories and theories about the way that dogs and humans originally became friends. Archaeologists are still uncovering evidence about the first dogs around the world so our picture of the human-dog relationship is developing all the time. Here are some things that we think we know now.
Genetic evidence points to the fact that the earliest domesticated dogs came from China and Africa. The oldest breeds are the Afghan Hound, the Akita, the Alaskan Malamute, the Basenji, the Chow Chow, the Lhasa Apso, the Pekingese, the Saluki, the Samoyed, the Shar-pei, the Shiba Inu, the Shih Tzu, the Siberian Husky, and the Tibetan Terrier.
Current evidence is suggesting that, contrary to what was previously thought, dogs are likely descended from small Asiatic wolves and not from Gray wolves. Given the probability that early dogs were first domesticated in southeast Asia and then migrated, this is a likely scenario. DNA evidence also shows little or no contribution from Gray wolves in the DNA of modern dogs.
Gray wolves and domesticated canines were present in North America around 12,000 years ago. However, people migrating across the Bering Strait brought dogs with them from Asia. DNA evidence suggests that there was little or no mingling between the dogs from Asia and the North American dogs. The North American dogs appear to have largely died out — unless new evidence can be found that shows their DNA has survived in some modern dogs. Even dogs that are considered to be North American in origin, such as the Eskimo Dog and the Mexican Hairless, were found to be descended from dogs that originally came from Europe and Asia.
For a long time it was assumed that man domesticated the dog. Now it seems more likely that dogs domesticated themselves. Instead of hunters bringing back puppies to their cave or hut, dogs may have become part of everyday human life by scavenging garbage. It is speculated that when humans settled down into agricultural communities instead of existing by hunting and gathering, wolves or wolf-dogs found it easier to find meals by following the trail of leftovers left by humans than by hunting for themselves. The tamer or more curious wolf-dogs would gradually venture closer to humans in order to get food. People who decry training with food motivation in dogs should consider that it’s always been about food motivation!
Estimates of when wolves started becoming dogs vary considerably. The genetic evidence is consistent that we had recognizable dogs by 15,000 years ago.But the archaeological evidence suggests that dogs and wolf-dogs may have been living with humans long before that time. The genetic evidence suggests that dogs could have begun differentiating from wolves around 50,000 years ago.
In 2008 a team of scientists excavating a cave in Belgium discovered a large canine that they could identify as a dog and not a wolf. This dog lived about 31,700 years ago and shared a diet of horse, musk ox and reindeer with the local humans. The scientists said that this Paleolithic dog likely resembled a Siberian Husky but was much larger.
Scientists aren’t sure what role these early dogs played in human life. They don’t know if they simply hung around settlements or if they helped humans hunt. Did they guard early villages? Were they pack animals used to help carry things? Did they help humans track game? Could they have been pets? No one knows yet.
One sign that early dogs may have been pets or guardians was discovered in a cave in France. A child’s footprints — estimated to be 26,000 years old — were found with a dog’s paw prints beside them. There were signs that the child had been carrying a torch in the dark cave. Was the dog her pet? Was he with her for protection? So it seems.
Before the fossil evidence in Belgium the earliest archaeological evidence for dogs comes from Russia where two large skulls were discovered. There was also a dog jaw bone from Germany. Both of these finds date from about 14,000 years ago. Finds in the Middle East have been dated to between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago. By this time dogs appear to have been widespread throughout Europe and Asia. Fossil evidence from periods after this begins to turn up from Germany, the French Alps, Iraq and is found in cave paintings in Turkey.
It may not have taken very long for dogs to become dogs instead of wolves once they began interacting with humans. Dogs are perhaps the most adaptable animal on earth. They are found in all parts of the earth and have adapted to perform many different tasks and live under many different conditions. It’s been shown that wild foxes living in captivity can develop many of the traits of pet dogs in just ten generations, including changes in their physical appearance.
Wolves may have been domesticated by humans at different times, in different places and developed into dogs.Some of those early domesticated dogs may not have come down to us today. The early domesticated dogs in North America appear not to have survived. It appears that, wherever humans migrated around the world, they took care to take dogs with them. These dogs from southeast Asia ultimately became the ancestors of the modern breeds of dogs with have today.The fact that humans made sure that they took dogs with them wherever they traveled is proof that dogs had already shown that they were valuable companions.
As human societies developed and became more sophisticated, the dog’s role would become more specialized.Humans would need dogs who could herd their flocks. They would need dogs who could chase and catch game for them. They would need guard dogs and pack dogs. Dogs were so adaptable that they could fill all of these functions and many others.
Would dogs have developed if humans hadn’t created settlements and started farming and staying closer to home? Who knows? It’s possible that humans and dogs had a symbiotic relationship and that each influenced the other. Perhaps humans wouldn’t have been such successful hunters without the help of the dog. Perhaps they wouldn’t have been such successful farmers without dogs to help them. Working together probably helped both species.
It’s hard to imagine a world without dogs or how different human life might be if we had evolved without them.
Click here for reuse options!
Copyright 2015 Pet Yak
I lost my Dog
Pet Friendly Airlines
Selecting a Dog
Labrador Retriever Trivia
Finding A Lost Dog
Plastic Dog Kennels
Dog Breed Organizations
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757100
|
__label__wiki
| 0.744096
| 0.744096
|
Want to receive exclusive news? Subscribe
Want to receive exclusive news,
videos, tournament highlights,
golf improvement tips and more?
ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia
Qualifying School
Ladbrokes Legends Tour
Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series
Trainee tournaments
PGA Professionals Championship
Major Championships
World Super 6 Perth
Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways
Australian PGA Championship
Find a PGA Pro
Where can I play?
Volkswagen Scramble
Qantas Frequent Flyer Golf Lesson Program
Charity Golf Day
All Abilities Coaches
PGA Academy
Bridging Program
PGA International Golf Institute
PGA Centre for Learning and Performance
Community Instructor Program
2019 PGA Golf Expo
Tour Insider
PGA TV
MyPGA
03/01/17 - 04/01/17 03/01/17 - 04/01/17 2017 PGA Legends Tour Qualifying School Stage 1
Sandhurst (Champions Course), Sandhurst, VIC
05/01/17 - 06/01/17 05/01/17 - 06/01/17 2017 Legends Tour Qualifying School Final Stage
27/01/17 - 28/01/17 27/01/17 - 28/01/17 Peach's Fruit Market/Tyrepower Victorian Senior Masters
Midlands Golf Club, Ballarat North, VIC $30,000 Steve Conran (AUS)
29/01/17 29/01/17 - 29/01/17 City of Greater Bendigo Heathcote Golf Club Legends Pro-Am
Heathcote Golf Club, Heathcote, VIC $11,000 Richard Backwell (AUS)
01/02/17 - 03/02/17 01/02/17 - 03/02/17 Shepparton BMW Victorian Senior Open
Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort (Murray Course), Mulwala, VIC $40,000 Peter Senior (AUS)
11/02/17 11/02/17 - 11/02/17 Southern Wide Tokarahi Legends Pro-Am (NZ)
Tokarahi Golf Club, Tokarahi, Otago, New Zealand NZD$11,000 Martin Pettigrew (NZL) & 2 others
13/02/17 13/02/17 - 13/02/17 Mainpower Legends Pro Am with Lamb & Hayward (NZ)
Rangiora Golf Club, Christchurch, New Zealand NZD$11,000 Colin Hunt (AUS) & David Good (AUS)
14/02/17 14/02/17 - 14/02/17 Russley Legends Pro-Am (NZ)
Russley Golf Club (NZ), Burnside, Christchurch, New Zealand NZD$11,000 Perry Parker (USA)
15/02/17 - 17/02/17 15/02/17 - 17/02/17 NZ PGA Senior Championship (NZ)
Waitikiri Golf Club (NZ), Burwood, Christchurch, New Zealand NZD$35,000 Tim Elliott (AUS)
18/02/17 18/02/17 - 18/02/17 Lamb & Hayward Bottle Lake Legends Pro-Am (NZ)
Bottle Lake Golf Club NZ, Christchurch, New Zealand NZD$15,000 Mike Zilko (AUS) & Stephen Woodhead (AUS)
24/02/17 24/02/17 - 24/02/17 Penrith Golf Club Legends Pro-Am
Penrith Golf Club, Penrith, NSW $15,000 inc.SuperSnr Brad Burns (AUS)
01/03/17 01/03/17 - 01/03/17 Pymble Legends Pro-Am
Pymble Golf Club, St Ives, NSW $30,000 Lucien Tinkler (AUS)
06/03/17 06/03/17 - 06/03/17 Peter Stickley Vendor Advocacy Legends Pro-Am
Eagle Ridge Golf Course, Boneo, Mornington Peninsula, VIC $15,000 inc.SuperSnr Steven Aisbett (AUS)
07/03/17 07/03/17 - 07/03/17 Moonah Links Legends Pro-Am
Moonah Links (Legends Course), Fingal, VIC $15,000 Tim Elliott (AUS)
08/03/17 08/03/17 - 08/03/17 Portsea Legends Pro-Am
Portsea Golf Club, Portsea, VIC $15,000 Steve Conran (AUS)
09/03/17 09/03/17 - 09/03/17 Sandhurst Club Legends Pro-Am
Sandhurst Club (North Course), Sandhurst, VIC $15,000 inc.SuperSnr Michael Harwood (AUS)
10/03/17 10/03/17 - 10/03/17 Gardiners Run Legends Pro-Am
Gardiners Run Golf Course, Lilydale, VIC $15,000 inc.SuperSnr Colin Hunt (AUS)
12/03/17 12/03/17 - 12/03/17 'The Jack Harris & Brian Twite' Victorian PGA Seniors Foursomes Championship
The National Golf Club - Long Island Course, Frankston, VIC $1,200 David Good (AUS) & Lucien Tinkler (AUS)
14/03/17 14/03/17 - 14/03/17 Northern Health Foundation Annual Corporate Seniors Pro-Am
Growling Frog Golf Course, Yan Yean, VIC $15,000 inc.SuperSnr Simon Corbett (AUS) & 2 others
15/03/17 15/03/17 - 15/03/17 Genesis Hyundai & Werribee Park Golf Club Legends Pro-Am
Werribee Park Golf Club, Werribee South, VIC $20,000 inc.SuperSnr Martin Pettigrew (NZL)
23/03/17 23/03/17 - 23/03/17 Bega Cheese Pro-Am
Tura Beach Country Club, Tura Beach, NSW $30,000 inc.SuperSnr Tim Elliott (AUS)
30/03/17 30/03/17 - 30/03/17 Swanbury Penglase PGA Seniors Classic
Adelaide Shores Golf Park, West Beach, SA $12,000 Martin Pettigrew (NZL)
01/04/17 01/04/17 - 01/04/17 Leahcim Sheep Studs and Hummocks Station B & B Kadina Legends Pro-Am
Kadina Golf Club, Kadina, SA $11,000 Martin Pettigrew (NZL)
02/04/17 02/04/17 - 02/04/17 SA PGA Senior Foursomes Championship
Links Lady Bay, Normanville, SA Sweepstakes David Hando (AUS) & 3 others
03/04/17 03/04/17 - 03/04/17 Vines Golf Club Air Diffusion Agencies Legends Pro-Am
The Vines GC of Reynella (SA), Woodcroft, SA $11,000 Grant Kenny (AUS)
04/04/17 04/04/17 - 04/04/17 Innovative Pest Control Legends Pro-Am
Stirling Golf Club, Stirling, SA $11,000 Michael Harwood (AUS) & Peter Woodward (AUS)
05/04/17 05/04/17 - 05/04/17 Victor Harbor Legends Pro-Am
Victor Harbor Golf Course, Victor Harbour, SA $11,000 Peter Fowler (AUS)
07/04/17 - 08/04/17 07/04/17 - 08/04/17 Gordon Refrigeration SA Seniors PGA Championship
Blue Lake Golf Club, Mount Gambier, SA $25,000 Peter Fowler (AUS)
19/05/17 19/05/17 - 19/05/17 Legends Pro-Am - Forbes
Forbes Golf Club, Forbes, NSW $11,000 inc.SuperSnr Steve Conran (AUS)
17/06/17 - 18/06/17 17/06/17 - 18/06/17 Mercedes Benz Cairns Classic
Paradise Palms, Kewarra, QLD $25,000 Tim Elliott (AUS)
29/06/17 - 01/07/17 29/06/17 - 01/07/17 2017 INVEST Samoa Senior Open
Faleata Golf Course, Tuanaimatu, Vaitele, Samoa $40,000 Brad Burns (AUS)
24/07/17 - 25/07/17 24/07/17 - 25/07/17 Yeppoon Legends Pro-Am
Yeppoon Golf Course, Yeppoon, QLD $30,000 Allan Cooper (AUS)
28/07/17 28/07/17 - 28/07/17 Royal Queensland Cup
Royal Queensland Golf Club, Eagle Farm, QLD $15,000inc Super Snr Richard Backwell (AUS)
31/07/17 31/07/17 - 31/07/17 Brisbane Legends Pro-Am
Brisbane Golf Club, Yeerongpilly, QLD $15,000 Peter Woodward (AUS)
04/08/17 04/08/17 - 04/08/17 Altitude Wealth Solutions Mt Warren Park Legends Pro-Am
Mt Warren Park Golf Course, Mt Warren Park, QLD $11,000 Lucien Tinkler (AUS)
07/08/17 - 08/08/17 07/08/17 - 08/08/17 QLD Senior PGA Championship
Wynnum Golf Club, Wynnum, QLD $25,000 Tod Power (AUS)
11/08/17 11/08/17 - 11/08/17 Mancorp Quality Homes Pacific Harbour Legends Pro-Am
Pacific Harbour Golf Course, Bribie Island, QLD $11,000 Darren Rix (AUS)
13/08/17 13/08/17 - 13/08/17 Pine Rivers Legends Pro-Am
Pine Rivers Golf Club, Kurwongbah, QLD $11,000 Darren Rix (AUS) & 2 others
17/08/17 17/08/17 - 17/08/17 Toowoomba Legends Pro-Am
Toowoomba Golf Club, Middle Ridge, QLD $11,000 Anthony Gilligan (AUS)
18/08/17 18/08/17 - 18/08/17 Synergy Cleaning Services City Legends Pro-Am
City Golf Club, Toowoomba, QLD $11,000 David Hando (AUS)
22/08/17 - 23/08/17 22/08/17 - 23/08/17 Ulton, Ken's Plumbing Plus & Lindsay Australia Bargara Legends Pro-Am
Bargara Golf Course, Bargara, QLD $22,000 Peter Senior (AUS)
26/08/17 - 27/08/17 26/08/17 - 27/08/17 Kerry Campbell Homes Fraser Coast Classic
Hervey Bay Golf and Country Cl, Pialba, QLD $22,000 Graham Banister (AUS)
29/08/17 29/08/17 - 29/08/17 Millmerran Legends Pro-Am
Millmerran Golf Course, Millmerran, QLD $11,000 Craig Warren (AUS)
12/09/17 - 16/09/17 12/09/17 - 16/09/17 South Pacific Classic New Caledonia
Golf De Deva & Tina Golf Club, , NEW CALEDONIA AU$60,000 Peter Senior (AUS)
20/09/17 - 22/09/17 20/09/17 - 22/09/17 Vuksich & Borich Fiji Legends Golf Classic
Denarau Golf & Racquet Club, Nadi, FIJI AU$50,000 Brad Burns (AUS)
12/10/17 12/10/17 - 12/10/17 2017 Elders Insurance Legends Pro-Am
Springwood Country Club, Springwood, NSW $15,000 inc.SuperSnr Perry Parker (USA)
13/10/17 13/10/17 - 13/10/17 2017 ICF Haulage Legends Pro-Am
Blackheath Golf Club, Blackheath, NSW $15,000 inc.SuperSnr Allan May (AUS) & Guy Wall (AUS)
17/10/17 17/10/17 - 17/10/17 Golf Cart & Utility Bankstown Legends Pro-Am
Bankstown Golf Club, Bankstown, NSW $11,000 inc.SuperSnr Steven Aisbett (AUS)
18/10/17 18/10/17 - 18/10/17 St Georges Basin Tooheys Legends Pro-Am
The Country Club, St Georges Basin, Sanctuary Point, NSW $20,000 inc.SuperSnr Graham Banister (AUS)
20/10/17 - 21/10/17 20/10/17 - 21/10/17 NSW PGA Seniors Championship
Mollymook Golf Club (Hilltop), Mollymook, NSW $30,000 inc.SuperSnr Steve Conran (AUS)
23/10/17 - 24/10/17 23/10/17 - 24/10/17 Bermagui Legends Pro-Am
Bermagui Country Club, Bermagui, NSW $22,000 inc.SuperSnr Peter Senior (AUS)
26/10/17 - 27/10/17 26/10/17 - 27/10/17 Catalina Legends Pro-Am
Club Catalina Country Club, Batemans Bay, NSW $25,000 inc.SuperSnr Brad Burns (AUS)
02/11/17 - 04/11/17 02/11/17 - 04/11/17 NSW Senior Open Championship
Thurgoona Country Club Resort, Thurgoona, NSW $100,000 Grant Kenny (AUS)
09/11/17 09/11/17 - 09/11/17 David Mercer Seniors Classic
Killara Golf Club, Killara, NSW $70,000 Peter Fowler (AUS) & David Merriman (AUS)
10/11/17 - 11/11/17 10/11/17 - 11/11/17 Roseville Golf Club First National Lan Dom Real Estate Gold Mashie Pro-Am
Roseville Golf Club, Roseville, NSW $35,000 inc SuperSnr Glenn Joyner (AUS)
14/11/17 14/11/17 - 14/11/17 Sydney City Lexus Australian Golf Club Senior Pro-Am
The Australian Golf Club, Rosebery, NSW $30,000 Brad Burns (AUS)
15/11/17 - 16/11/17 15/11/17 - 16/11/17 Sylvania BMW Legends Pro-Am
Cronulla Golf Club, Cronulla, NSW $30,000 inc.SuperSnr Michael Harwood (AUS)
17/11/17 17/11/17 - 17/11/17 Moran Pro-Am - Legends
Kareela Golf Club, Kareela, NSW $11,000 inc.SuperSnr Grant Fyander (AUS) & Martin Peterson (AUS)
21/11/17 21/11/17 - 21/11/17 Suttons Isuzu Trucks Legends Pro-Am
Cromer Golf Club, Cromer, NSW $15,000 inc.SuperSnr Grant Kenny (AUS) & David Saunders (AUS)
22/11/17 22/11/17 - 22/11/17 Windsor Auto Group Legends Pro-Am
Windsor Country Golf Club, South Windsor, NSW $11,000 inc.SuperSnr Steve Conran (AUS)
23/11/17 23/11/17 - 23/11/17 Beverley Park Golf Club Legends Pro-Am
Beverley Park Golf Club, Beverley Park, NSW $13,000 inc.SuperSnr Lucien Tinkler (AUS)
24/11/17 24/11/17 - 24/11/17 Wayne Riley Georges River Council Legends Pro-Am
Hurstville Golf Club, Peakhurst, NSW $15,000 inc.SuperSnr Michael Harwood (AUS)
29/11/17 29/11/17 - 29/11/17 Wakehurst Legends Pro-Am
Wakehurst Golf Club, Seaforth, NSW $12,000 inc.SuperSnr Brad Burns (AUS) & 2 others
30/11/17 30/11/17 - 30/11/17 East's Legends Pro-Am for Maitland Palliative Care
East's Leisure & Golf East Maitland NSW, Maitland, NSW $11,000 inc.SuperSnr Tim Elliott (AUS)
01/12/17 01/12/17 - 01/12/17 2017 Stacks Finance Taree Legends Pro-Am
Taree Golf Club, Taree, NSW $15,000 Brad Burns (AUS)
06/12/17 06/12/17 - 06/12/17 Lismore Legends Pro-Am
Lismore Workers Golf Club, Lismore, NSW $14,000 Lucien Tinkler (AUS)
08/12/17 - 10/12/17 08/12/17 - 10/12/17 Australian Legends Tour Championship
Byron Bay Golf Club, Byron Bay, NSW $37,500 Lucien Tinkler (AUS)
12/12/17 12/12/17 - 12/12/17 Noosa Legends Pro-Am
Noosa Golf Course, Tewantin, QLD $20,000 Darryl Purchase (AUS)
13/12/17 - 15/12/17 13/12/17 - 15/12/17 Sunshine Coast Masters
Twin Waters & Pelican Waters Golf Clubs, Sunshine Coast, QLD $80,000 David McKenzie (AUS)
16/12/17 16/12/17 - 16/12/17 Live Life Communities - Maleny Grove Legends Pro-Am
Maleny Golf Club, North Maleny, QLD $12,000 Colin Hunt (AUS)
PGA Premier Partners
Official PGA Partners
View sitemap Closed
Charity Golf Day supporting Jarrod Lyle Family Trust
© 2019 PGA of Australia
Design, CMS and build by Squiz
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757101
|
__label__wiki
| 0.615937
| 0.615937
|
Philips announces 1000th installation of its Ambient Experience solution to create a patient-friendly hospital environment
Philips installs tailored Ambient Experience solution at St. Claraspital hospital in Basel, Switzerland, using dynamic lighting, video and sound to create a relaxing environment during CT imaging procedures
1000th installation coincides with the tenth anniversary of Philips’ Ambient Experience and is the company’s first installation in conjunction with its IQon Spectral CT imaging system
Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) today announced a milestone for its Ambient Experience solution with the 1000th installation at the St. Claraspital hospital in Basel, Switzerland. With Ambient Experience, the Swiss hospital created a calming and reassuring patient-controlled ambient environment for patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) imaging procedures. Since its commercial introduction in 2006, Philips has incorporated Ambient Experience solutions in medical imaging rooms, imaging preparation rooms, treatment rooms, and emergency departments.
The 1000th installation of Ambient Experience on its tenth anniversary is also Philips’ first installation of the solution in conjunction with its IQon Spectral CT imaging system. This imaging system is the world's first spectral detector based CT scanner that provides clinicians with multiple views of a patient’s anatomy within a single, low-dose exam.
“It is amazing to see the initial positive impact that the Ambient Experience environment has on our patients undergoing CT imaging procedures in the room,” said Professor Hoffmann, Chair of Radiology at St. Claraspital, Basel. “Rather than being stressed, these patients are visibly much more relaxed during their scans, which makes it better for them and more efficient for our hospital staff. Combined with the unique capabilities of Philips’ IQon Spectral CT imaging compared to conventional CT imaging, I am looking forward to delivering a whole new standard of care for our patients.”
“We can all relate to the fear and stress that patients may have when they visit a hospital for an imaging procedure or treatment,” said Werner Satter, Business Leader Healthcare Experience Solutions at Philips. “As a pioneer, we introduced the Ambient Experience concept in 2002 and we have seen a growing global awareness of the importance of the patient experience ever since. In the past ten years, we have installed 1,000 Ambient Experience solutions in radiology departments, emergency departments and treatment rooms in more than 50 countries. We have seen that a purposefully designed patient-centric environment can make a real difference to patients’ experience and state-of-mind.”
Ambient Experience solutions feature the use of dynamic light, video and sound to place patients in a calming, reassuring and relaxing environment. By giving patients personalized control of the theme that defines the color and intensity of the ambient lighting as well as the video and sound in the room, their involvement and engagement in procedures is enhanced. By adopting specialized ‘patient-centric’ design strategies, examination and treatment rooms are de-cluttered so that patients feel less overwhelmed by technologically complex medical equipment and procedures. Philips’ Ambient Experience not only benefits patients. The company’s Ambient Experience environments have been shown to decrease the duration of procedures, while also helping caregivers to work more efficiently and with more satisfaction [1].
The first Ambient Experience room was installed in 2005 at the Advocate Lutheran General Children's Hospital in Chicago, US. The commercial Ambient Experience program was launched in 2006 in the US, and was gradually expanded to Europe and growth geographies such as China and the Middle East. Philips Ambient Experience designs are already supporting radiology, cardiology, oncology, and emergency departments, and are increasingly being deployed in new areas such as NICUs and ICUs. Ambient Experience solutions can be extended from the procedure room to the control room, waiting areas and whole departments.
Philips will be showcasing Ambient Experience at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Scientific Meeting and Annual Assembly in Chicago (US) later this month. Philips’ booth #6735 is located in Hall B at McCormick Place. For more information about Philips’ presence at RSNA, please visit Philips’ RSNA event website, and follow @PhilipsLiveFrom.
[1] A survey conducted in September 2015 by the Children’s Hospital for Wales (UK) among 116 parents/caregivers of pediatric patients (of which 47 were familiar with the former radiology department) showed the following results:
89% indicated that it was easier or a lot easier for their child to relax in the new radiology department.
72% indicated that, compared to their experience in the former radiology department, the experience of the imaging procedure was a lot better for their child.
The Net Promoter Score of the new radiology department was 78 (116 respondents).
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips' health technology portfolio generated 2015 sales of EUR 16.8 billion and employs approximately 70,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757103
|
__label__wiki
| 0.842263
| 0.842263
|
Contemporary Poets » Adrienne Rich
Adrienne Cecile Rich (May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called “one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century”,
One of our country’s most distinguished poets, Adrienne Rich was born in Baltimore in 1929. Over the last forty years she has published more than sixteen volumes of poetry and four books of nonfiction prose. Rich’s work has achieved international recognition and has been translated into German, Spanish, Swedish, Dutch, Hebrew, Greek, Italian, and Japanese. She has received numerous awards, fellowships, and prizes, including the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the Lenore Marshall/Nation Prize for Poetry, the Fund for Human Dignity Award of the National Gay Task Force, the Lambda Book Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Poetry, the National Book Award, the Poet’s Prize, the MacArthur Fellowship, and, most recently, the Dorothea Tanning Prize of the Academy of American Poets and the Lannan Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award (2000). Since l984 she has lived in California.
Poems of Adrienne Rich
Diving Into The Wreck
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757104
|
__label__cc
| 0.539455
| 0.460545
|
Weed Is Legal : But We Ain't Done Yet
The legalization of cannabis is a victory, but it is not enough. The battle is not over until every person who has been punished for cannabis-related crimes, which are now legal, are freed and exonerated. The battle is not over until every person, family, and community is paid reparations for the destruction they have been subjected to by the Injustice System. Yes, let us celebrate this victory, but we do not stop now and we will not stop until justice is in the hands of the People.
On January 1st, 2018, the recreational sale, use, and possession of cannabis became legal in the state of California. This victory is another step forward in a long journey to overturning the "War on Drugs," a campaign which put a disproportionate number of our black and brown brothers, sisters, and kin behind bars and continues to oppress our communities.
Yes, this legislation is a victory, a victory that should be celebrated, but this is just a step in our mission to return justice and power back to the People. A bill that lets us purchase cannabis but doesn't exonerate every single person who did so before is NOT ENOUGH. A bill that lets us grow our own cannabis but does not pay reparations to the communities who were ripped apart by the "drug war" is NOT ENOUGH.
Mad credit to Twitter user @dreamaskew for saying what must be said!!!
The "drug war" used "law & order" as a dog whistle to put our black and brown folx behind bars. The "drug war" tore apart already vulnerable communities to fill the pockets of the prison industrial complex. The 13th Amendment didn't make slavery illegal -- it codified it into law, making it legal to enslave those who have been incarcerated. And it has never been about political parties: Reagan, HW, Clinton, W, Obama, and now Trump. Each administration has fueled or remained complicit in the perpetuation of a system which profits off the back of our incarcerated kin. It has never been about politics, or public safety, or health. The "drug war" was and remains about PROFITS.
And now as states, one-by-one, legalize the use of cannabis we have to remember our mission. We aren't JUST fighting for the legalization of cannabis. We are fighting for and we are demanding a social order which puts the PEOPLE over PROFITS!
That cannot and will not happen until every person punished by laws which are now void are exonerated and until every person and community affected by these policies is paid the reparations that will never be enough to make up for the damage this false "drug war" has done.
It does not matter if our politicians sound "woke" about all this (let's be real, most don't). We know that the only reason to keep innocent people in jail is the same reason the Confederacy rose up....because the system values the profits earned on the backs of slaves more than it values the hearts and souls and humanity of our kin. And, now they have given us a bribe. The legalization of cannabis is a sweet, sweet deal.
IT IS NOT ENOUGH!
The legalization of cannabis is an accomplishment worth celebrating! But it is one step and one step only on the greater journey in returning justice and power to the people. Cannabis promises to raise billions of dollars in taxes for state governments. Where is that money going? Is it going to end up in fat pockets or is it going to be used to rebuild the communities the "drug war" attacked? That is our next step. A cannabis policy that puts the people over the profits is a policy that puts money back into the communities that the old cannabis laws worked to destroy. We do not stop until then and we will not stop after!
Let us fight for the freedom of our kin locked behind bars, locked out of employment by checkboxes, locked out of housing, locked away from their families for offenses that are now legal. Let us fight to ensure a cannabis policy that puts the PEOPLE over the PROFITS, that exonerates those wrongly punished and rebuilds communities in need.
Much love to all of you,
Charles Marks
P.O.P.S.D.
Keine Antworten
Vorhergehende
Welcome to POP-SD website
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757106
|
__label__wiki
| 0.950644
| 0.950644
|
by William Ridley (engraver)
engraving (sheet: 20.7 cm x 12.3 cm, plate-mark: 16.2 cm x 11.1 cm)
More images of this artwork
Sir Joseph Banks Bt (1743 – 1820) was, personally, a polymath of a type that is virtually unknown in the modern world. He saw more in his travels than almost anyone in his own time, and more than most people have now, in the age of jet travel. But Banks also lived his seventy-seven years in one of the most extraordinary periods the Western world has ever seen. During his lifetime Diderot laboured on his Encyclopaedia, and Linnaeus created the system of zoological nomenclature. Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations; Immanuel Kant wrote the Critique of Pure Reason; Hegel wrote The Science of Logic and The Phenomenonogy of Mind. Beethoven wrote most of his works, and Mozart wrote all of his. Byron, the Marquis de Sade and Jane Austen brought forth their entire output. Goya, Gainsborough and Reynolds produced their major works. The French Revolution and the American War of Independence came and went; George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were Presidents. Many of these things happened in the first 20 years of Australian settlement, while the successive fleets discharged their scrofulous passengers, watched by the Aboriginal people of the region. The motto of the Royal Society, Nullius in verba, means ‘take nobody’s word for it’.
Gift of Gina and Ted Gregg 2010
Accession number: 2010.157
Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks, c. 1814 by Thomas Phillips
Sir Joseph Banks, 1840s by C. E. Wagstaff after Thomas Phillips
Joseph Banks and Dr Solander, 1778 by an unknown artist
Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society, 1812 by N Schiavonetti after Thomas Phillips
William Ridley (age 38 in 1802)
Sir Joseph Banks KCB (age 59 in 1802)
Loretta Pash (40 portraits)
Exploration and settlement
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757107
|
__label__wiki
| 0.779404
| 0.779404
|
Irish War Cry ‘Really Hasn’t Missed A Beat’ In Preparations For Haskell
by Press Release | 07.16.2017 | 1:08pm
Irish War Cry galloping prior to the Belmont Stakes
Isabelle de Tomaso's multiple Grade 2-winning homebred Irish War Cry continued preparations for his next start with a six-furlong breeze at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md. Sunday morning.
Both Irish War Cry and his workmate, 5-year-old Grade 1 turf winner Ascend, went the distance in 1:14 over Fair Hill's dirt track.
“I was very pleased with them. They went a nice three-quarters on the dirt and did it how I wanted them to do it,” trainer Graham Motion said. “When you've got horses like that, it's always a little bit hard to match them up especially with a 3-year-old, I think. He had breezed with Painter's Rags the last two weeks but I felt like for a more serious work I thought it was a little unfair on Painter's Rags to keep breezing them together.
“I had breezed Ascend and him together before and Ascend breezes very well on the dirt so it just seemed like a logical combination,” he added. “I don't always breeze 3-year-olds with older horses but obviously he's a bit of an exception, you know?”
Irish War Cry opened his career with three straight wins including his only two starts at 2, a mid-November maiden victory and the seven-furlong Marylander on New Year's Eve at Laurel Park. This year he won the Holy Bull (G2) and Wood Memorial (G2), was 10th in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and bounced back with a strong second in the Belmont Stakes (G1) June 10, his most recent effort.
Scheduled to make his next start in the $1 million Haskell Invitational (G1) July 30 at Monmouth Park, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” contest for the 2017 Classic at Del Mar, Irish War Cry has now breezed three times at Fair Hill since the Belmont.
“I've been very happy with him. He really hasn't missed a beat,” Motion said. “He had an easy half three weeks after the Belmont and then we stepped it up the last couple of weekends. I'm pretty happy with how he's done, really.”
Stone Farm and Madaket Stables' Ascend has also worked three times at Fair Hill following his 27-1 upset victory in the $1 million Manhattan (G1), one race prior to the Belmont. His previous two breezes had come over Fair Hill's all-weather surface.
Ascend has now won three straight races, taking a Keeneland allowance in his 2016 finale and opening 2017 with a half-length victory in the Henry S. Clark April 22 at Laurel in his stakes debut. From the Clark, fourth-place finisher Irish Strait – also trained by Motion – and runner-up Synchrony went on to run 1-2 in the Red Bank (G3) May 27 at Monmouth, and third-place finisher Ghost Hunter won the Arlington Handicap (G3) July 8.
Motion is deciding between bringing Ascend back in the Bowling Green (G2) July 29 at Saratoga or the Arlington Million (G1) Aug. 12. Irish Strait, another Tomaso homebred who is a 4-year-old half-brother to Irish War Cry, is being pointed to the Monmouth Stakes (G2) on the Haskell undercard.
“The nice thing about the Bowling Green is that if he ran well he could come back and run in the Sword Dancer. I'm kind of weighing the options there,” Motion said. “Ascend has done well. He's just a very easy horse to be around. Both horses are, really. They're both very straightforward.”
The 1 ½-mile Sword Dancer (G1) will be run Saturday, Aug. 26 at Saratoga.
Motion said Painter's Rags, unraced since Feb. 3 after having a knee chip removed, could make his return in the $75,000 Concern for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs July 22 at Laurel. The trainer may look at the $75,000 Find for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles on grass Aug. 19 at Laurel for Just Howard, a gutsy winner of Saturday's $75,000 Caveat for 3-year-olds on the turf.
This entry was posted in Breeders' Cup and tagged ascend, Curlin, fair hill training center, Graham Motion, haskell invitational, irish war cry, isabelle de tomaso, monmouth park, Rajiv Maragh by Press Release. Bookmark the permalink.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757112
|
__label__wiki
| 0.901562
| 0.901562
|
By —
Matthew Daly, Associated Press Matthew Daly, Associated Press
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/failure-south-carolina-nuclear-plant-backers-seek-federal-aid
After failure of South Carolina nuclear plant, backers seek federal aid
Nation Aug 14, 2017 1:05 PM EDT
WASHINGTON — Proponents of nuclear power are pushing to revive a failed project to build two reactors in South Carolina, arguing that the demise of the $14 billion venture could signal doom for an industry that supplies one-fifth of the nation’s electricity.
Even though the nation’s 99 commercial nuclear reactors supply about 20 percent of U.S. electricity, no new nuclear plant has been built from scratch in more than 30 years. Supporters were alarmed when two South Carolina utilities halted construction on a pair of reactors that once were projected to usher in a new generation of nuclear power to provide reliable, cost-effective, carbon-free electricity for decades.
Instead the project was plagued by billions of dollars in cost overruns, stagnant demand for electricity, competition from cheap natural gas and – most importantly – the bankruptcy of Westinghouse Electric, the lead contractor.
The July 31 suspension of the partly completed V.C. Summer project near Columbia, South Carolina, leaves two nuclear reactors under construction in Georgia as the only ones being built in the U.S. The collapse of the nearly decade-old project in South Carolina could cost ratepayers billions of dollars for work that ultimately provides no electricity and could signal that new nuclear plants are impossible to complete in the United States.
“These reactors failing would be the end of a nuclear renaissance before it even started,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Graham and other lawmakers from both parties are urging Congress to extend a production tax credit that would provide billions of dollars to the South Carolina project and the two Georgia reactors. The House approved an extension in June, and Graham is pushing for a Senate vote after Congress returns from its August recess.
“I’m mad as hell that you spend all this money and you can’t get it done,” Graham said.
The Vogtle plant in Georgia faces similar economic and competitive threats, including the Westinghouse bankruptcy. The plant’s operator, Atlanta-based Southern Co., has said it will decide in coming weeks whether to finish the two reactors, which are years behind schedule and billions of dollars above projected costs.
Southern CEO Tom Fanning called Vogtle “the last (nuclear) project standing in America” and said it “goes beyond economics” to affect national security.
“If you want a world safe from nuclear proliferation,” construction of nuclear plants “is how we maintain nuclear technology,” said Rich Powell, executive director of ClearPath, a conservative-leaning clean energy group.
Besides the production tax credit, nuclear supporters want the extension of an Energy Department loan guarantee program that has helped Vogtle and other energy projects secure funding. Vogtle received an $8.3 billion loan guarantee under the Obama administration – the largest ever issued by the loan program and a deal that some critics say could end up biting taxpayers.
“We’ve said it for eight years: These massive nuclear reactor projects were doomed from the start, and taxpayer money should not be risked on them,” said Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group.
The Summer plant did not receive a loan guarantee, but the parent company of South Carolina Electric & Gas, one of the utilities building it, tried to get a federal grant worth up to $3 billion before abandoning the project. SCANA CEO Kevin Marsh said he and other executives had “very direct discussions” with the White House and Energy Department, including Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and “explained the need for support for these projects because of the national security interest.”
A spokeswoman for Perry said the project’s failure has not dimmed Perry’s belief in nuclear power. “Secretary Perry remains optimistic about the future of nuclear energy in America and continues to watch this issue closely,” said spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes.
The Energy Department invited the S.C. utility to apply for a loan guarantee, but “that invitation was ultimately turned down by the project’s representatives,” Hynes said.
Marsh, speaking at an Aug. 1 hearing before the South Carolina Public Service Commission, said a loan “doesn’t help the situation we’re in.”
The loan guarantees typically serve as long-term incentives for companies to take on major energy projects.
While President Donald Trump backs nuclear energy, the administration eliminated the loan guarantee program in its proposed budget for the next fiscal year. The program was a frequent target of GOP lawmakers during the Obama administration, especially a $535 million loan to the failed solar company Solyndra.
The White House supports extension of the production tax credit, saying it would “fulfill the president’s commitment to the continuation of nuclear energy as a major contributor to our nation’s energy production and security.”
The current credit requires plants to be operational by 2020 – a deadline neither the South Carolina nor Georgia project will come close to meeting.
Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., called suspension of the South Carolina project a shame. “I can tell you, wind and solar are not going to provide the kind of power that nuclear energy provides,” he said.
Associated Press writer Seanna Adcox in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
READ MORE: 5 stories you probably missed that deserve a closer look
Left: A 2013 photograph that show V. C. Summer Nuclear Station Unit 1 near Jenkinsville, South Carolina. Photo by DJSlawSlaw via Wikimedia Commons
Sanders defends ‘Medicare for All’ after criticism by Biden
By Juana Summers, Associated Press
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757113
|
__label__cc
| 0.632056
| 0.367944
|
Home » IRS Private Letter Ruling “Shinin’ Down Like Water”
IRS Private Letter Ruling “Shinin’ Down Like Water”
By Squire Patton Boggs on February 25, 2015 Posted in Exempt Facility Bonds, Private Business Use
In 1971, Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) released the song, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain”. One line in the song says “When it’s over, so they say, it’ll rain a sunny day, I know, shinin’ down like water”. We have to concede that when it comes to song lyrics, poetic license occasionally must trump the rules of grammar. Whatever John Fogerty (lead singer and song writer) and CCR were trying to convey, it probably had nothing to do with tax-exempt bonds.
Nonetheless, on October 28, 2014, the IRS issued a private letter ruling, “shinin’ down” about bonds for water projects. PLR 201507002, which was publicly released on February 13, 2015, was a favorable ruling for the issuer that requested it. Whether CCR had anything to do with the favorable treatment or it was a simple matter of the IRS correctly applying the law to the facts, we will never know. Perhaps it was a bit of both.
The ruling deals with two different types of water bonds. The first issue is a governmental bond (Bond A). A governmental bond is defined in Treas. Reg. §1.150-1(b) as an issue of tax-exempt bonds none of which are private activity bonds. The second issue is a type of permitted private activity bond, an exempt facility bond issued under Section 142(a)(4) of the Code to finance “facilities for the furnishing of water” (Bond B). Because it is a governmental bond, the interest on Bond A will not be subject to the alternative minimum tax imposed by Section 55 of the Code (AMT) for individual holders (a so-called “non-AMT” Bond) under the exception found in Section 57(a)(5) of the Code. Conversely, the interest on Bond B will be subject to the AMT (a so-called “AMT” bond). Because of the additional tax implications, AMT Bonds carry a higher interest rate than non-AMT bonds. Thus, as a proportion of the overall financing, the issuer would like Bond A to be as large as possible and Bond B to be as small as possible. One nice feature of the ruling is the recognition by the IRS that, while there is a physical connection between the fungible water supplies, they chose to treat each water supply separately.
As is the case with all private letter rulings, the IRS begins with a recitation of the facts and representations made by the issuer.
The issuer of the bonds is a political subdivision of a state whose task is to develop, conserve and protect water resources in a river watershed. To accomplish that, the issuer operates facilities to collect, store and distribute raw water for industrial, municipal, and irrigation purposes, primarily relying on gravity. The storage facilities consist of two respective lakes (Lake A and Lake B) and related facilities. The water is distributed to different, respective sets of customers (A Customers and B Customers). The Lake B facilities include two canals that deliver the water to the B Customers. The river that is the source of the water for Lake B and the two canals intersects a third canal which is owned by another governmental entity and that governmental entity’s water enters one of the Issuer’s canals. The Lake B water is extracted downstream from Lake A and the issuer has the ability to move water from Lake A to Lake B, but the issuer does not expect this to occur in any significant amount based on recent history. The issuer represents that at least 95% of the proceeds of Bond B will be spent on Lake B facilities.
The issuer has entered into or will enter into “take or pay” contracts with both the A Customers and the B Customers. Because a water supply is dependent on the uncontrollable forces of nature, the supply may not always be fully available. A simple “take” contract is a contract where the purchaser agrees to pay for the output only if the facility is capable of producing that output. If the facility fails to meet the customer’s needs, the customer does not have to pay. But a “take or pay” contract is defined in Treas. Reg. §1.141.-7(b)(4) as a contract under which the purchaser agrees to pay for the output from the financed facility regardless of whether the facility can actually deliver all of the expected output. This means the A Customers and the B Customers will pay for the output even if there is a drought and the output is less than expected. The A Customers and the B Customers cannot get out of the contract just because there is insufficient water to meet their needs. We note that the printed ruling has a glitch in its cite to Treas. Reg. §1.141-7(c)(4) (instead of (b)(4)) for the definition of a take or pay contract but the meaning is clear.
The A Customers consist of (i) a single industrial user and (ii) governmental water districts. The issuer has already entered into the take or pay contract with the industrial user and expects to enter into the take or pay contracts with the governmental water districts. The issuer expects that the industrial user will use less than 10% of the water supply and the remainder will be used by the governmental water districts.
The B Customers are (i) industrial and irrigation users and (ii) governmental water districts. The industrial and irrigation customers will take more than 10% of the supply funded with proceeds of Bond B. For this reason, Bond B cannot be a governmental, non-AMT bond and has to be issued as an exempt facility, AMT bond. The issuer represents that at least 25% of the Lake B supply will go to the municipal water districts.
Again, as is the case in every private letter ruling, the IRS then recites its view of the relevant law and applies it to the facts. It breaks that analysis into two parts, the rules for governmental bonds and the rules for exempt facility bonds.
Governmental Bonds. The IRS starts with the fundamental premise that a private activity bond cannot be a tax-exempt bond under Section 141(a)(1) of the Code. A private activity bond is a bond that meets both the private business use test and the private security or payment tests described in Section 141(b) of the Code. The IRS then turns to an analysis of the private business use test found in Section 141(b)(1) of the Code and the definition of private business use found in Section 141(b)(6) of the Code, which states that private business use is use in a trade or business by any person other than a governmental unit. Use as a member of the general public is not use in a trade or business.
The IRS then notes that the Treasury Regulations provide special rules for the application of the private business use test to the purchase of output from “output facilities”. While most people are likely to think of electric generation facilities as output facilities, most people are not likely to have ever thought about whether water production facilities are output facilities. But Treas. Reg. 1.141-1(b) clearly defines an output facility to include water collection, storage, and distribution facilities. The IRS notes that Treas. Reg. §1.141-7(c)(1) provides that purchase of output by a nongovernmental person is taken into account under the private business use test if the contract providing for that purchase transfers the benefits and burdens of paying the debt service on the bonds to a non-governmental person. Treas. Reg. §1.141-7(c)(2) states that a take or pay contract does transfer the benefits and burdens to the purchaser of the output. Treas. Reg. §1.141-7(d) tells the reader that the amount of private business use will be based on the amount of output purchased. Treas. Reg. 1.141-7(h) instructs the reader to determine whether the output contract should be allocated to an issuer’s entire system, a particular facility, or a portion of a financed facility based on all the facts and circumstances. This allocation can greatly affect the amount of private business use because the numerator, the amount of the purchase, remains unchanged but the denominator, the capacity against which that use is to be measured, can vary widely as between one unit of a facility versus the capacity of the issuer’s entire system. On the other hand, the allocation to a more limited portion of a facility can restrict a contract that gives rise to private business use to a particular bond issue where its use is a more favorable percentage.
The IRS analyzes the facts in this matter and concludes that the A Customers will only receive Lake A supply funded by Bond A and the B Customers will only receive Lake B supply funded by Bond B and that there is no expected interaction between the two supply sources and so no expected interaction between the two bond issues. The IRS therefore concludes that Bond A is a good governmental bond because the one industrial customer of Lake A supply will take less than 10% of supply from Lake A.
Of course, if the facts change over the period of time Bond A is outstanding, the issuer may have to make adjustments. Three conceivable changes would be (i) an increase in the amount of Lake A supply going to the existing industrial user, (ii) the addition of more industrial or irrigation users, or (iii) a mixing of the Lake A and Lake B supply.
Exempt Facility Bonds. The IRS then turns its attention to an analysis of exempt facility bonds for the furnishing of water. A qualified exempt facility bond must (i) use at least 95% of the proceeds (ii) for the permitted purpose, in this case furnishing water.
Because the issuer represented that it will satisfy the 95% test, the IRS focuses on what constitutes furnishing water and determines that several factors are critical in making that determination. First, the IRS reaches the obvious conclusion that the issuer is supplying water and cites the conference report regarding the statute that enacted the furnishing of water category of exempt facility bonds, H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 95-1800, at page 237 (1978), (Vol. 1) C.B. 521, at 571, which states that a facility for the furnishing of water is a facility that must be a component of a system or project which furnishes water. That is not an earth shattering conclusion! The statute, the legislative history and the applicable regulations never require that the water be potable. Raw water is acceptable. Second, the IRS concludes that the facilities financed are for furnishing water. Treas. Reg. 1.103-8(h) defines water facilities to include “artesian wells, reservoirs, dams, related equipment and pipelines, and other facilities used to furnish water for domestic, industrial, irrigation and other purposes. Interestingly, the IRS never cites these regulations in the ruling. Third, Section 142(e) of the Code also requires that a facility for furnishing of water must be a facility that makes water available to the general public. The general public is defined for this purpose to include electric utilities, industrial, agricultural or commercial users. The Lake B supply will only go to governmental water districts, industrial and irrigation customers (agricultural users) and the issuer had represented that at least 25% was going to municipal water districts, so this test is clearly met. Fourth, Section 142(e) of the Code requires that the facility either be operated by a governmental unit or that the rates to be paid by customers are either established by state or political subdivision thereof, an agency or instrumentality of the United States, or a public service or public utility commission or similar body. In this case, the Lake B facilities will be operated by the issuer, a governmental unit, and so the IRS acknowledges that this requirement is also satisfied.
The IRS also recognizes that there is an interaction between the Lake B supply and another governmental authority where the canal operated by the other governmental authority intersects and adds supply to the Lake B supply. The IRS again reaches an obvious conclusion that the Lake B supply is operated by a governmental unit because the other source of water is operated by another governmental unit.
While the facts of this ruling make the legal analysis relatively straightforward, the IRS does a nice job of reciting the relevant law and reaching the foregone conclusion. We often are inclined to criticize the IRS when we disagree and perhaps more reluctant to congratulate them for a job well done. This is a job well done. So, to quote CCR, “Someone told me long ago, there’s a calm before the storm”. We should enjoy the calm this ruling provides as a storm will undoubtedly come along before we know it.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757121
|
__label__wiki
| 0.579298
| 0.579298
|
Ambient Radio from Algeria
Ambient music is a style of music that puts some emphasis tone and atmosphere over tradiotional type of music or some rhythm. People also call this type of music as : atmospheric, visual and unobtrusive quality. Ambient music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting. This genre is founded in the United Kingdom when new sound making devices were being introduced widely. Ambient developed in the 1970s from the experimental and synthesizer-oriented styles of the period. Oldfield, Jean Michel Jarre en Vangelis has all influenced the genre of ambient music. The Ambient music had a revival toward the late 80’s, with some influences of house, techno and dance music. In the early 1990s artists such as Aphex Twin were being called ambient house, ambient techno, IDM or "ambient" by the media. Genre has also some subgenres, for example : dark ambient, ambient house, ambient industrial, ambient dub, psybient and ambient trance. Ambient House was found in the late 80’s and is a mix of ambient music with house influences. This music is characteristic by four-on-the-floor beats, vocal samples and synth pads. Ambient house tracks generally lack a diatonic center and feature much atonality along with synthesized chords. Illbient is another form of ambient house music. The song Substrata from Biosphere is the most popular ambient song all time. It sounds at turns like floating though the space, sitting on a ice mountain travelling down a frozen beautiful river. People call this song as a true masterpiece of the ambient music. It is truly a work of art that can be listened to (or rather, slept to) again and again: it almost never grows tiring, because it takes you to so many places. A beautiful old ambient song!
AMBIENT ALGERIA Rating: 1
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757124
|
__label__cc
| 0.554391
| 0.445609
|
Libor No More
By Brad Herring
Last summer, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority announced it would no longer require LIBOR panel banks to report interbank transactions after 2021, thus ending the interest rate index upon which an estimated $350 trillion of loans are based. The decision to end LIBOR is based in large part on the fact that there are no longer enough transactions in the underlying London interbank market to generate an accurate LIBOR rate. The result of the decrease in interbank lending has required the panel banks to submit rate predictions based upon expert opinion rather than objective data. In addition, LIBOR has been susceptible to manipulation in the past, including the well-publicized scandal reported in 2008 which resulted in $9 billion in fines and multiple convictions.
Alternatives to LIBOR
Since the announcement that LIBOR will be phased out, lending institutions and the Federal Reserve have considered alternatives to LIBOR that are more reflective of borrowing costs, but as of yet there is no consensus on a replacement rate.
The United States government created the Alternative Reference Rates Committee which has proposed the Broad Treasury Financing Rate (BTFR) which represents the rate at which banks will make overnight loans collateralized by U.S. treasuries. The BTFR should be published by the Federal Reserve in 2018, however, there remains uncertainty in the industry as to whether BTFR will be generally accepted as the LIBOR replacement.
Impact on Loan Documents
Lenders will need to undertake a thorough review of their loan documentation to determine whether a procedure is established for replacement of LIBOR. Many loan documents generated over the last several years have begun to include at least a rudimentary provision for replacing LIBOR if it becomes temporarily unavailable, often defaulting to the lender’s prime rate, however, many older loan documents which remain in effect do not define a LIBOR replacement.
Many LIBOR replacement provisions in loan documents were not intended to be permanent, but rather, were designed to become effective in the event of the temporary unavailability of LIBOR. In cases where the loan document will remain effective beyond 2021 and there is either no replacement rate or the replacement rate is not designed to be a permanent replacement rate, an amendment will ultimately be needed to define the applicable replacement index (and margin) to avoid confusion once LIBOR is no longer available.
Until a market consensus on a replacement rate has formed, we are encouraging our lending clients not to negotiate the LIBOR provisions in amendments or new loan documents. A lender agreeing to interest rate provisions involving LIBOR over the next couple of years will undoubtedly result in a variety of nonstandard interest rate terms for its borrowers which will necessitate the lender having to track these changes and calculate interest rates on a case-by-case basis. A consistent approach to dealing with a replacement rate is of paramount importance so that a lender is not tasked with having to internally track multiple rates or indices.
To the extent a lender determines that changes to interest rate provisions are advisable, the lender should retain the right to select the replacement index in its sole and absolute discretion, and in no instance should borrower consent or approval be required. Provisions allowing a lender to select a comparable replacement index and margin upon LIBOR ceasing to be reported, which result in a rate equivalent to that in effect immediately prior to LIBOR ceasing to be reported, are starting to be requested by many borrowers, and seem to be generally acceptable to lenders in those instances in which the LIBOR rate alternatives need to be addressed.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757126
|
__label__wiki
| 0.584933
| 0.584933
|
STI Diagnoses Rise Among PrEP Users in a Northern California Health System
The cohort study also found that older individuals on PrEP were at greater risk of reduced kidney function.
January 4, 2017 • By Benjamin Ryan
Among a large group of people accessing Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) from a Northern California health system, the quarterly rates of rectal gonorrhea and urethral chlamydia increased steadily and about doubled after one year.
These rising rates may be a result of various factors, including differences in sexually transmitted infection testing rates and retention in the PrEP program between those at greater and lesser risk of STIs. The increased STI rates may also be a function of increased sexual risk taking as a result of starting PrEP.
The study saw no new HIV infections among those who remained on PrEP. There were, however, two people who contracted the virus during periods when their insurance lapsed.
Publishing their findings in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, researchers analyzed data from July 2012 through June 2015 regarding 972 members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC). The study included all those who started PrEP through KPNC from July 2, 2012 through December 31, 2014.
KPNC includes clinics throughout Nothern California. The largest single-site PrEP provider in the system is in San Francisco, and there are also substantial populations of people accessing Truvada for HIV prevention through KPNC clinics in Oakland and Sacramento.
In a September 2015 analysis of Kaiser Permanente’s San Francisco clinic’s population of 600 men who have sex with men (MSM) on PrEP, researchers found that many of them were using condoms less since starting PrEP and that during their first year or partial year on PrEP half of them had contracted at least one STI.
The researchers in the new study of the larger KPNC PrEP population assessed adherence to Truvada through pharmacy refill data, defining low adherence as taking less than 80 percent of the daily tablets, as presumed by the spacing between refills.
The study population spent a cumulative 850 years taking PrEP, or an average of 0.9 years per person during the follow-up period.
By and large, the study population was affluent, white, well educated, did not have a history of substance abuse and was presumed to consist almost entirely of men who have sex with men (MSM). A total of 97.9 percent were men. Their ages ranged from 18 to 68; the average age was 37. A total of 69.6 percent of them were white, 12.2 were Latino, 10.3 percent were Asian/Pacific Islander and 4.3 percent were Black. A total of 11.5 percent lacked a high school diploma. The median household income was $74,094.
Upon starting PrEP, 32 percent of the study cohort had an eGFR test result of less than 90, indicating at least mildly compromised kidney function. (A result below 70 is more concerning.)
A total of 15.9 percent had an STI when beginning PrEP, and 34.2 percent had one during the previous two years: 13 percent had gonorrhea, 14.6 percent had chlamydia and 13.2 percent had syphilis. A total of 6.3 percent reported drug or alcohol abuse during the previous two years.
There were no new HIV infections while people received PrEP from KPNC. However, two people tested positive for HIV after discontinuing PrEP, including one Black and one Latino MSM who were each younger than 30 and whose insurance had lapsed.
For every year the participants spent in follow-up, the median number of STI tests they took was 4.5 for urethral gonorrhea and chlamydia, 3.6 for rectal gonorrhea and chlamydia, 3.8 for gonorrhea and chlamydia in the throat and 4.9 for syphilis.
Out of the 972 PrEP users, 342 (35.2 percent) were diagnosed with at least one STI during the study follow-up. A total of 173 of them had multiple STI diagnoses, ranging between two and 19 diagnoses, for a total of 771 STIs diagnosed and a rate of 0.91 per year spent in follow-up. The average days between a repeat STI diagnosis was 123, with 80 percent of repeat diagnoses occurring less than six months apart.
After 12 months spent on PrEP, a cumulative 41.9 percent of participants had been diagnosed with an STI. A cumulative 26.7 percent tested positive for a rectal STI, 26.3 percent for chlamydia, 22.9 percent for gonorrhea and 7.3 percent for syphilis.
Based on these high STI rates, the study authors suggested, as many others in the PrEP research community have, that the current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guideline that recommends conducting STI tests only every six months for those on PrEP is insufficient.
Looking at the quarterly STI diagnosis rate between the study population’s entry into the PrEP program through one year on PrEP, the researchers found there was a steady, statistically significant rise (meaning it is unlikely to have occurred by chance) in the rates of urethral gonorrhea and rectal chlamydia. Urethral gonorrhea rose from 0.9 percent at the study’s baseline to 2.5 percent after a year; rectal chlamydia rose from 7.7 percent to 14.1 percent. All other types of STI diagnoses remained stable over time.
The researchers speculate that these increases in STI rates may reflect that those having lower-risk sex dropped out of the PrEP program over time, leaving a higher concentration of people having higher-risk sex. The increases may also reflect that individuals at lower risk get tested for STIs less frequently, that those on PrEP were taking greater sexual risks as a result of starting Truvada (a phenomenon known as risk compensation), and other trends in the community at large.
Among the 915 people who filled their Truvada prescription at least once, the average rate of adherence to the daily drug regimen was 92 percent. The PrEP program includes telemedicine-based adherence support, which may in part account for such a high adherence rate.
After adjusting the data for various factors, the researchers found that compared with whites, Blacks were three times more likely to have an adherence rate below 80 percent. Compared with those who had a monthly copayment less than $50, those who had more expensive copays were twice as likely to have low adherence. Compared with nonsmokers, smokers were 1.6 times more likely to have low adherence.
Compared with men, women were 2.6 times more likely to stop taking PrEP.
Among the 909 people with follow-up eGFR test results, 141 (15.5 percent) had a result below 70. Five people (0.6 percent) stopped taking PrEP because of a low eGFR test result. After adjusting the data for various factors, the researchers found that those who had an eGFR of less than 90 when starting PrEP were 7.1 times more likely to develop an eGFR below 70 while on PrEP. Among those 50 and older who started PrEP with an eGFR below 90, 46.6 percent had an eGFR below 70 after six months on PrEP. Compared with those 50 and older, those who were younger than 30 were 80 percent less likely to develop an eGFR below 70 while on PrEP; those in their 30s were half as likely, and those in their 40s were 40 percent less likely.
These findings that older individuals are at greater risk of developing reduced kidney function while on PrEP correspond with those from a recent paper in The Lancet.
To read the study abstract, click here.
#Kaiser Permanente
#kidney
#PrEP
#San Francisco
“I am Life” Campaign Reaffirms That People With HIV Matter
Most At-Risk Gay Men Know About PrEP—but Only One Third Use It
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757127
|
__label__wiki
| 0.926226
| 0.926226
|
PG&E asked last month to hike bills over California wildfires
JONATHAN J. COOPER, CATHY BUSSEWITZ AND GARANCE BURKE
SACRAMENTO — A utility facing severe financial pressure amid speculation its equipment may have sparked a deadly Northern California wildfire asked U.S. energy regulators last month for permission to raise its customers' monthly bills to harden its system against wildfires and deliver a sizable increase in profits to shareholders.
In an October filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. laid out a variety of dangers confronting its transmission lines running through Northern California, saying its system faced a higher risk of wildfires than any other utility.
"The implications of PG&E's exposure to potential liabilities associated with wildfires are dramatically magnified," the filing said. "Overcoming the negative financial impact of any significant damages that might ultimately be attributed to PG&E will require an ongoing commitment of capital from investors."
San Francisco-based PG&E — one of the nation's largest electric utilities serving most of Northern and Central California — made the request a month before the Camp Fire broke out Nov. 8 and quickly ballooned into the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century. No cause has been determined, but speculation has centered on PG&E, which reported an outage around when and where the fire ignited.
The company has lost $15 billion in market value, its shares plummeting 60 percent in a week.
PG&E already faced financial pressure from its suspected role in a series of deadly fires in California wine country last year. The company's filing last month said it needed to boost revenue to keep investors from fleeing, noting that its credit rating was downgraded and its shares had plummeted since the 2017 fires.
Wildfires threaten PG&E's ability to attract and maintain the investment necessary to support its system and meet California's clean energy goals, company spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo said.
"PG&E's electrical system is not immune from the impact of increases in the frequency and severity of extreme weather," Paulo said.
California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Picker sought to calm financial markets late Thursday with a statement noting "an essential component of providing safe electrical service is the financial wherewithal to carry out safety measures." But he added that he's expanding an investigation of PG&E's safety culture to look at the company's "corporate governance, structure and operation."
PG&E shares rebounded in after-hours trading, regaining Thursday's losses but remaining far below their value when the fire broke out.
The company said in its rate-hike request that the extreme wildfire risk justified a higher profit than an average utility is allowed to earn. It cites a California legal standard holding utilities entirely liable for damage caused by their equipment regardless of whether the company was negligent.
A state law approved this year makes it easier for the company to raise rates to pay off lawsuits, but the company says it still faces high risk and got no relief for fires that started this year.
The precipitous drop in the stock price shows investors are taking into account not just the fires but also the risk of future wildfires for which the utility could be responsible, analysts said.
"It's going to be very difficult for PG&E to finance its needs in the short run, so we think at this point, regulators need to step in and give the market some reassurance," said Travis Miller, a strategist at Morningstar.
PG&E is asking for a 9.5 percent increase in transmission charges — the cost of high-voltage lines that move power across large distances. That amounts to about $1.50 more per month for the average residential customer, Paulo said.
Advocates for utility customers have balked at PG&E's contention that it needs to raise rates because of wildfires. They say its problems are the result of poor management decisions.
"We don't pay electric bills in order to keep bailing PG&E out from its own negligence and incompetence, and we can't afford it," said Mindy Spatt, communications director for The Utility Reform Network.
PG&E reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission this week that it had renewed its insurance coverage for wildfires to about $1.4 billion for the year covering this fire season. But an analyst at Citi Investment Research estimated damages could exceed $15 billion. And the company's potential liability for last year's fires has been pegged at upward of $10 billion.
Some analysts believe PG&E will be able to survive financially as long as there isn't another major catastrophe. But wildfires are getting bigger, deadlier and more destructive as housing pushes into rural areas and drought and high temperatures tied to climate change become the norm.
"The business doesn't earn enough money to pay for that in any kind of regular way," said Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University. "These have to be extreme, once-in-a-generation events."
PG&E's ability to raise capital will be constrained, so it will probably be forced to cut back on expenses such as replacing aging equipment, analysts said. California utilities also need to invest in the type of upgrades that will allow the state to meet its aggressive renewable energy and carbon reduction goals.
Fire investigators have blamed PG&E equipment for 12 of last year's wildfires, including two that killed 15 people combined. In eight of those fires, investigators said they found evidence of violations of state law and forwarded the findings to prosecutors.
The company is facing dozens of lawsuits from insurers and people who lost their homes in last year. And a lawsuit this week blames PG&E for the latest fire, accusing the company failing to effectively maintain power lines.
California regulators generally allow utilities to pass on the costs of those lawsuits to their customers, but only if the company can show it prudently managed its equipment. The new state law makes it easier for utilities to bill customers if they can show a fire got worse from things outside their control, like severe weather. But lawmakers didn't drop the standard that puts all the liability on the utility, which is unique to two states.
"Very large damage payments of the size faced by California utilities are very unusual in other states," said Hugh Wynne of Sector and Sovereign Research, an investment research firm.
Bussewitz reported from New York.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757128
|
__label__wiki
| 0.565722
| 0.565722
|
PD Editorial: California needs to save more of its rainwater
The amount of rain that has fallen on California this winter is prodigious — 18 trillion gallons, enough water to fill 27 million Olympic swimming pools, in February alone.
So, no drought worries for 2019.
Unfortunately, the Golden State hasn’t applied its prudent financial strategy — stashing billions of dollars in a rainy day fund for a recession that’s bound to come — to preparing for the next prolonged dry spell. And, sure as the sun sets in the west, there will be another drought.
Santa Rosa has recorded 26.86 inches of precipitation since Oct. 1, the start of the rainfall year. That’s about 1.5 inches above average for late February, and it’s more than double the total for this date a year ago.
The all-important Sierra snowpack is 41 percent above average for this time of year, according to the state Department of Water Resources. And there could be considerably more rain and snow to come with the recent arrival of El Niño, which warms water temperatures in the Pacific and sometimes fuels major storm systems.
Local reservoirs also are in good shape, with the water supply pools topping 100 percent at Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino.
A contributing factor is the replacement of a fixed regimen of releases with new weather- and flood-forecasting tools that allow the Army Corps of Engineers to store an additional 11,650 acre-feet of water behind Coyote Dam, which creates Lake Mendocino on the upper Russian River.
Reservoirs elsewhere in California also are at or near capacity. Yet much of the winter’s rainfall still races down rivers and into the ocean.
“It’s the fault of 20th century thinking about water, which was to get rid of stormwater; get rid of wastewater, treat it as a liability,” Peter Gleick, president emeritus of the Pacific Institute, told the Los Angeles Times. “That’s the infrastructure we built. We channeled our rivers, and we lined them with concrete so we could get rid of water. Now we know that’s a valuable resource.”
With stepped-up stormwater capture programs, the Pacific Institute said in a 2014 study, Southern California and the Bay Area could boost the state’s water supply by 420,000 acre-feet annually. That’s enough water to meet the needs of 300,000-400,000 people.
The management system at Lake Mendocino is an example of 21st century thinking — increasing water storage without a huge added expense. So is Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to scale back the twin tunnels water diversion project that was the cornerstone of Jerry Brown’s water plans.
Newsom highlighted other cost-effective options in his recent State of the State speech, including expanded floodplains, recycling and groundwater recharge. “We need a portfolio approach to building water infrastructure and meeting long-term demand,” he said.
Yet the state is pursuing proposals like the Sites Reservoir in Colusa County and the Temperance Flat Dam east of Fresno that will cost billions with limited returns. The Trump administration, meanwhile, wants to raise Shasta Dam, which is prohibited by the state’s wild-and-scenic rivers law.
Smaller, less-expensive projects, starting with watershed restoration, recycling and recharging aquifers, could be finished faster and would deliver more bang for the buck — allowing the state to save some storm runoff for the next drought.
You can send a letter to the editor at letters@pressdemocrat.com
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757129
|
__label__wiki
| 0.89958
| 0.89958
|
Out & About: 'The Last Romance' is outstanding dramatic-comedy
By Scott Andrews
The recent wave of superb spring weather underscored the fact that Maine’s summertime is quickly approaching. The same can be said for the arts and entertainment calendar as the fall-winter-spring seasons wrap up for most producers and presenters, clearing the way for summer.
It’s a week of seasonal sayonaras for several of southern Maine’s performing arts organizations. In professional theater, an outstanding production of Joe DiPietro’s “The Last Romance” is the last offering of the 2012-2013 season at The Public Theatre of Lewiston-Auburn.
Two somewhat similar musical ensembles are also wrapping up their seasons this weekend. St. Mary Schola, which specializes in instrumental and vocal music of the pre-Classical era, exits 2012-2013 with two concerts, Friday in Portland and Saturday in Falmouth.
Renaissance Voices, an all-vocal ensemble with a similar focus, ends its season Saturday in Portland with a program devoted to French songs.
Tricky Britches, a rising Port City roots band, is releasing its second CD this month, and the public is invited to this Saturday’s party at Portland’s One Longfellow Square.
‘The Last Romance’
It’s never too late for love – or heartbreak. That’s the poignant and powerful message delivered by the final play of the season at The Public Theatre of Lewiston-Auburn. Written by Joe DiPietro, a Tony Award-winning Broadway playwright, “The Last Romance” is a dramatic comedy about rediscovering the joys – and real-world complications – of love in later years.
Both of the principal characters are in their 70s. The protagonist is the son of Italian immigrants, a widower who loves opera and walks for exercise every day. The object of his affections is a lady who takes her ugly little chihuahua to the dog park every afternoon.
I loved “The Last Romance” when I saw it last week. DiPietro’s dialogue is scintillating, his characters are engaging and his story is compelling. Director Janet Mitchko Schario gets bravura performances from a pair of wonderful veteran actors. P.J. Benjamin’s Broadway credits date back to the 1950s. Playing opposite is his longtime real-life wife, Louisa Flaningam. Their onstage chemistry is amazing and delightful for audiences.
Another top actress is Andrea Gallo, who plays a protective sister and dramatic foil to the widower.
The Public Theatre, 31 Maple St. in Lewiston, presents “The Last Romance” through May 12 with 7:30 performances Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Call 782-3200.
St. Mary Schola
St. Mary Schola is a leading musical ensemble that specializes in music of the pre-Classical era. Featuring both period instruments and voices, it is directed by Bruce Fithian, a longtime professor at the University of Southern Maine School of Music.
Included among the Schola’s accompanying instruments is a theorbo, an exotic-looking Renaissance string instrument that was a forerunner to the modern guitar. Timothy Burris plays this curious instrument, which looks quite formidable but sounds very gently. Another soft instrument from that era is the harpsichord, played by Fithian.
The Schola is wrapping up its 2012-2013 season this weekend with two performances of a program titled “O Primavera.” These springtime concerts lean heavily on English composers. Thomas Weelkes and Thomas Morley, whose careers bridged the 16th and 17th centuries, account for six of the songs.
England’s best-known composers from a century later, Henry Purcell and George Friederic Handel, will also be heavily represented. The Schola will also perform works by Italian musical pioneer Claudio Monteverdi and German musical genius Johann Sebastian Bach.
Two performances of “O Primavera” are slated: May 10 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Luke’s Cathedral, 143 State St. in Portland, and May 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 43 Foreside Road in Falmouth. For more info, visit stmaryschola.org.
Renaissance Voices
Renaissance Voices is a superb, 21-member a cappella vocal ensemble that is best known for performances of early European music in southern Maine, but the group also sings more recent repertoire. This coming Saturday’s annual spring concert features both.
Music director and conductor is Harold Stover, a Juilliard-trained organist, composer and musicologist who has been music director at Woodford’s Congregational Church in Portland for many years and also teaches at the Portland Conservatory of Music.
The title for Saturday’s program is “Vive La France.” For the ensemble’s major work, Stover has picked “Trois Chansons” (“Three Songs”) by Claude Debussy, a French composer whose heyday was about a century ago. Clement Janequin, a Renaissance musician from Paris who was well known in his day for writing songs, is another featured composer.
Unique to Renaissance Voices, selections from poetry will also be interpolated throughout the concert. These poetic interludes are often quite funny and provide an interesting add-on to the music.
The concert is slated for 8 p.m. May 11 at Williston-Immanuel United Church, 156 High St. in Portland. For more information, visit renaissancevoices.org.
Tricky Britches
One of Portland’s newest bands is making tracks fast and showing up everywhere it seems. Most recently I ran into Tricky Britches busking on Congress Street during last Friday’s art walk, but they’ve also been in more prestigious and better-paying venues all over Maine, New England and even Europe.
Not bad for a group that got started only four years ago. Rooted in old-time country music, with a bluegrass kick and the bounce of a street-corner jug band, Tricky Britches performances display down-home harmonies, while their original material harkens back to the group’s humble beginnings on hometown sidewalks.
Tricky Britches formed in 2009, playing on the street simply as a means of paying for a road trip. Members include Jed Bresette on guitar and bass, Seth Doyle on mandolin, guitar and harmonica, Tyler Lienhardt on fiddle and washboard and Ryan Wilkinson on tenor banjo, guitar and bass. All four men share the vocal duties.
Asked to name their influences, band members come up with a varied lineup: John Hartford, Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, Stanley Brothers, Grateful Dead, Everly Brothers and American traditional folk music.
In the past year or so, they’ve focused more on songwriting and original material. Tricky Britches’ two CDs to date have comprised mostly original songs. The first was “Hard Fought Day,” which was released in 2011. The newest is “Good Company,” which goes on sale this month.
You’re invited to the CD release party, which is slated for May 11 at 8 p.m. at One Longfellow Square, corner of State and Congress in Portland. Call 761-1757. Two other local groups are scheduled to perform: Tall Heights and Ghost of Paul Revere.
A late-life love story is the subject of “The Last Romance,” a superb dramatic comedy by Joe DiPietro that’s playing through Sunday at The Public Theatre of Lewiston-Auburn.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757130
|
__label__wiki
| 0.882168
| 0.882168
|
‘They’re just not doing enforcement’
Whatever the cause, the stark decline in violations against commercial-scale developers and landowners under DEP Commissioner Patricia Aho likely pleases the real estate group that once hired her as a lobbyist.
By Colin WoodardStaff Writer
Enforcement actions against commercial-scale developers, landowners, and builders have declined dramatically under Gov. Paul LePage.
Ironworkers position steel beams at a construction site on Commercial Street in Portland. The LePage administration says the sharp drop in the number of enforcement actions by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Land Division is due to improved compliance, but critics say some development-related laws are no longer vigorously enforced. John Ewing / Staff Photographer
In the first two years of Gov. Paul LePage’s administration, the number of notices of violation issued by the DEP’s Land Division dropped by half compared to the last two years of the previous administration. File photo by Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal
Statistics acquired from the Department of Environmental Protection show that its Land Division — which issues building and development permits — issued 49 percent fewer violations in the first two years of the LePage administration than it had in the final two years of Gov. John Baldacci’s administration.
The division issued 74 notices of violation in 2009 and 71 in 2010. Under LePage the number fell to 42 in 2011 and just 29 in 2012. They are typically issued when property owners, builders or developers violate state laws by cutting down lakeside trees, dumping fill in ponds and wetlands, damaging streams with heavy equipment or building structures without permits.
The number of consent agreements negotiated by the department — the legally enforceable method by which significant violations are most often resolved — have also fallen by nearly half. In the last two years of the Baldacci administration, 2009 and 2010, the land division recorded 26 and 23 agreements, respectively. Under LePage, the figures fell to 13 in 2011 and 14 last year.
The administration says the decline is due to improved compliance, but critics charge that the administration has stopped vigorously enforcing key laws affecting large developers and real estate interests while reducing enforcement of existing projects.
“The governor has put the fox in charge of the henhouse, and they’ve had an aggressive agenda to really emasculate the DEP,” says attorney Steve Hinchman, who has been involved in several suits against the department alleging a failure to enforce laws regulating present and proposed developments. “They’re rubber-stamping developments and they’re just not doing enforcement.”
DEP Commissioner Patricia Aho said that the downturn in the economy had reduced the amount of building and development activity over this period, resulting in a commensurate decline in enforcement. “We have not changed our direction of enforcement at all, but it begs the question of the size and complexity and amount of applications we are getting through the door,” said Aho, who was the longtime lobbyist for the Maine Real Estate and Development Association, or MEREDA.
“Have you looked at how many applications we’ve had in? We’re not getting a lot of Site Location and Development Act permits — the large ones — through the door, it’s more permits by rules,” a category for small projects, Aho asserted.
But a review of the department’s own statistics on permitting applications does not support this explanation.
The number of Site Location Law permit applications — those generally dealing with large developments — has barely changed; there were 257 in 2009, 243 in 2010, 246 in 2011, and 235 in 2012. There was a similar trend in the number of applications received under the Natural Resources Protection Act: 507 in 2009, 586 in 2010, 532 in 2011, and 515 in 2012. Applications for smaller projects (under “permit by rule”) saw a decline of just 10 percent between 2009-10 and 2011-12.
A department spokeswoman, Samantha DePoy-Warren, later said the decline was rather due to a contractor certification program “that teaches erosion and sediment control best practices” and has resulted “in less violations because contractors are better educated” and more aware of both the “environmental and economic value of compliance.”
Aho declined subsequent interview requests.
The governor’s communications director, Peter Steele, echoed both explanations when asked about it recently. “Compliance is up, so enforcement is down,” he said. “Other reasons are that the land division work has included fewer large-scale permits and more permits by rules; a sluggish economy means fewer permits, and DEP is focusing more of its work toward compliance, rather than enforcement.”
“The Governor is proud of DEP’s strong enforcement and has worked hard to assure continued enforcement of all Maine’s natural resource and environmental laws,” Steele added.
Aho has been commissioner for most of the period in question, and deputy commissioner before that. LePage’s first DEP commissioner, Darryl Brown, had been a development consultant and was forced to step down in April 2011 after the Attorney General’s Office determined his past work created conflicts of interest that disqualified him from holding the office. Aho became acting commissioner in June 2011, and permanent commissioner in October.
Teco Brown, who was appointed by Darryl Brown and headed the Land and Water Bureau for the first half of 2011, also didn’t have an explanation for the change in enforcement, which appears to have started while he was managing the bureau. But he said there was considerable pressure on the land division from regulated business interests.
“The pressures for change in the land side of things were the greatest,” he said. “During the campaign for governor, there was quite a bit of verbalization about the fact the land bureau takes too long to issue permits and that just engendered a great amount of — I guess you might call it hatred of the land bureau.”
Teco Brown said when he joined the department in early 2011, he and Darryl Brown shared a belief in improving efficiencies in permitting, up “to that fine edge where we were improving but not compromising.” Brown, he said, was no radical. “He’s a soil scientist and an environmentalist, and was not one to take the permitting process and throw it down the drain. He wanted to make it right.”
“I did feel a change when Darryl left and Aho came in,” he added, “but I didn’t have time to figure out where that change was going.”
Whatever the cause, the reduction in enforcement is likely to have pleased Aho’s former lobbying client.
She represented the Maine Real Estate & Development Association from 2007 to early 2011, opposing the tightening of laws and regulations on site location, big box stores, the cutting of shoreland trees, lead paint remediation and construction near vernal pools. (The group represents commercial-scale real estate developers, owners and construction and building firms.) After the LePage administration took office, MEREDA successfully championed the loosening of many of these same measures, especially those related to site location and vernal pools.
LePage has sought to rein in a number of development-related laws and regulations. Preti Flaherty lobbying chief Ann Robinson — who was co-chairwoman of LePage’s transition team and a regulatory reform adviser thereafter — in early 2011 compiled a color-coded regulatory reform binder for LePage’s staff intended as an easy reference tool and checklist.
The binder — viewed through a public records request — includes directives for the governor to issue compelling the DEP to weaken a number of development-related enforcement activities. DEP staff members were to be instructed to “discontinue expansions of enforcement” on rivers, streams and brooks, “investigate ways to reduce compensation and mitigation fees related to project development impacts,” review culvert installation regulations to ensure they “are reasonable.” Staff were also to abandon proposed rules on culverts, and “scenic impact” and “community character” standards.
It’s not clear how many of these actions were undertaken or if some of them may have contributed to the decline in enforcement numbers, and department spokeswoman DePoy-Warren declined to comment.
Several large developers declined to comment on if and how enforcement had changed at the DEP. But an official at MEREDA said the way DEP handled enforcement had changed for the better from its point of view. “Anecdotally from the enforcement front there has been a little more flexibility,” said attorney Gary Vogel, chairman of MEREDA’s legislative committee. “At the DEP there really has been some significant changes just in the attitudes of the personnel and the way they deal with the development community.”
Vogel ascribed some of the change in attitude to the fact that the economy has been poor for several years. “I’ve found that when we get to the peak of the business cycle with a lot of development going on, that’s when you start to see a lot of pushback … and at the other end of the business cycle, there’s a lot less of that because people understand how important development is when there’s less to go around.”
Hinchman, by contrast, thinks part of the answer lies in personnel changes. The department has seen an exodus of experienced staff under LePage. (Read the sidebar, Page A8.)
“They’ve chased out all the people who used to ask the hard questions when a project came in the door,” Hinchman asserts. “The ones who turned a blind eye, they’re the ones who got promoted.”
Colin Woodard can be contacted at 791-6317 or at:
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757131
|
__label__wiki
| 0.930536
| 0.930536
|
Maine’s high court weighing comments on limiting public access to digital records
Taxpayers are funding a $15 million project to put records online, but a task force has recommended that only lawyers be given full use of the system.
By Scott ThistleStaff Writer
Maine’s top judge has said she wants the state’s courts to be more open and accessible to the public – including allowing for online access to records the public would otherwise have to view at a courthouse.
“The public deserves electronic access to its government,” Leigh Saufley, chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, told the Legislature in 2014, when it was considering the Judicial Branch’s request for $15 million from taxpayers to fund an electronic system for keeping court records.
Leigh Saufley
“I can go online from anywhere and find the pending bills, the sponsors and committee assignments, the status of those bills, both in the committee and on the floor, the language of proposed amendments, committee hearing dates, and all written testimony,” Saufley said of the Legislature’s records system. “We seek nothing less for Maine people’s access to justice.”
But soon the court Saufley heads will consider a recommendation that would give lawyers instant access to court documents under the $15 million system, while other Mainers would still have to trek to a courthouse to see the records.
A special task force the court formed to explore how to implement the new system decided that online access to court records should be limited in order to protect individual privacy from those who would misuse personal information. But critics argue that such limits would move Maine in the wrong direction when it comes to transparency in government.
The court will take written comments on the recommendation until Dec. 15 and is expected to schedule a public hearing soon to gather additional feedback. The hearing will offer a final chance for those for and against the recommendation to share their views before the court makes a final decision on implementation.
The Judicial Branch Transparency and Privacy Task Force was made up mostly of lawyers, as well as advocates in the field of domestic and sexual violence and one journalist.
It was created by the court to develop recommendations on the accessibility of digitized court records and propose any necessary changes in state law or court rules.
Its recommendation would allow private attorneys involved in a case, as well as public prosecutors, unfettered access to online records.
ONLY THE DOCKET
But the public would have remote access only to a docket, or a list of the documents in any criminal or civil proceeding that haven’t been sealed by a judge. In order to see or obtain a copy of the entire document in a case, members of the public would have to travel to the courthouse to view the record at a special kiosk, with the aid of a courthouse clerk, who would also charge a fee for any copies of the records, as is current practice.
Advocates for open government contend that if the court adopts the recommendation, millions of dollars in taxpayer funds that were meant to improve public access will instead have been used mostly to benefit the legal profession.
“I likened it to the taxpayers being asked to build an enormously expensive and elegant restaurant and being given a menu of what could be served, but only the lawyers get to dine,” said Judy Meyer, executive editor of the Lewiston Sun Journal and a member of the Legislature’s Right-to-Know Advisory Committee. “And we foot the bill.”
The task force was established in March, held a series of meetings and made its final recommendations in September.
Mal Leary, a political reporter for Maine Public who served on the panel, said the recommendation seems to betray the vision of a more accessible and transparent court system laid out by Saufley in her 2014 address, and it also runs counter to the federal government’s practice of making public court records available online.
In a dissenting report to the task force recommendation, Leary points to Saufley’s words and writes, “What I find most disturbing is the failure to meet the goals set by the Judicial branch itself when it convinced the legislature to authorize the Government Facilities authority to issue bonds to build the electronic records infrastructure.”
In her 2014 remarks to the Legislature, Saufley detailed the limitations of the state’s paper-based records system, including the difficulty of extracting aggregate data to inform policy decisions on key issues like domestic violence.
“You and the media have asked us to tell you how many domestic violence criminal assault charges actually result in convictions,” Saufley said to lawmakers. “It is a straightforward question. Unfortunately, it is one that we simply cannot answer without a squadron of volunteers to look at every paper file related to assault charges. And some case types, such as mental health proceedings, are not even in the database at all.”
More frustrating, Saufley said, was the lack of easily accessible data for those with cases pending before the courts.
“If you have a case pending in the Maine courts, you cannot get the schedule online, you cannot see the filings from a website, you cannot get electronic access to the judge’s rulings,” she said.
“If the judge has entered an order in your case, you or your lawyer must drive to the courthouse or wait for it to arrive in the mail. This antiquated system makes retaining legal assistance more expensive. The public deserves better.”
The Legislature agreed to fund the $15 million system, and in December 2016 state officials signed a contract with Tyler Technologies to digitize all paper records for Maine District, Superior and Supreme Judicial courts.
But a majority of the 21-member task force – which included 15 practicing attorneys or judges – took a different view of public access to the new system. The panel voted nearly unanimously for a docket-only approach, in which the online file will simply confirm that a case exists and list any associated documents. To see those documents, a person would have to travel to a courthouse and read them at a kiosk.
PRIVACY AN ISSUE
The task force embraced arguments that requiring the public to go to the courthouse will weed out people with nefarious intentions who could sit at home and harvest personal information disclosed in court filings. The panel pointed to cases where online court records in other states, such as Florida and Texas, have led to the inadvertent disclosure of private information, such as a person’s Social Security number, for example.
In a concurring opinion with the task force recommendation, task force member and attorney Peter Guffin writes that he doesn’t believe the recommendations go far enough to protect privacy.
“It is widely acknowledged that, up until now, paper case records maintained by the Maine state courts have been difficult to access,” he writes. “With the Judicial Branch’s move to the digital world, however, court records in Maine will be in electronic form, resulting in increased accessibility to the public. Personal information in those records, once protected by the practical difficulties of gaining access to the records, could thus become increasingly less obscure.”
Guffin contends the courts should “recreate in the digital world the ‘practical obscurity’ that existed in the world of paper court records.”
For lawyers, the new system is comparable to the electronic system long used by the federal courts. Cases can be initiated and motions filed remotely at any time and users can access case files online. It also will be used for scheduling and to track bail, warrants and protection orders.
Sig Schutz, an attorney for the Portland Press Herald and other media in Maine, said the task force’s recommendations are a troublesome turn.
“We don’t do justice in secret,” Schutz said. “That’s just something we abhor in this country – in Maine and in the U.S.”
Open court proceedings and records are a hallmark of American democracy, Schutz said. And while the recommendation does not suggest that court proceedings or records be made secret, it does make access to those records and proceedings more difficult when it could make it far easier, Schutz said.
“The public does not benefit from a secret court system, operating in obscurity, with meaningful access limited only to persons deemed worthy of finding out what’s going on,” Schutz wrote in a testimony opposing the task force’s recommendation. “In the long run, secrecy is corrosive to the justice system.”
Schutz also said there is no substantial evidence to suggest privacy rights have been violated in any serious way in states that do allow online records or in the federal system, which has been in place for nearly two decades. Schutz said most of the scenarios envisioned by the task force are “what if” situations.
“There really is no evidence of any sort of misuse of the records where any tangible real harm has been done,” Schutz said.
He noted that access to online court records usually requires a user to register and pay for copies of records with a credit card, which creates a digital record of who has accessed the system. With the federal system, users must register and then pay 10 cents per page for records they download, although the maximum charge is capped at $3 per document.
TREND AGAINST OPENNESS
“It’s not a simple Google search and you can get all these documents,” Schutz said.
The panel’s recommendation echoes a national trend to limit public access to government and records.
In April, the Council for Court Excellence, a nonpartisan civic organization in Washington, D.C., polled state courts about electronic access to court records and found that 18 states and the District of Columbia had adopted a docket-only system, while at least 12 states said they provided court case results, such as opinions, orders and judgments.
Jennifer Nelson, an attorney with the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that works to protect the First Amendment rights of the media, said the committee will file comments in opposition to the task force recommendation.
“The public’s right to access online court records should be the same as that which can be reviewed in a courthouse,” Nelson, the committee’s Stanton Foundation media litigation fellow, said. “Our position is that more records should be made available (online in Maine) than what the task force is recommending. We really don’t believe there was enough thoughtfulness put into how the public can benefit from (an) online system that allows for more access.”
Person found dead in Augusta tentatively identified as former Windsor woman
The Evening Express
Get a little bit of everything you need to know, delivered straight to your inbox each evening.
.evexpress .button{
background-color: #008dde;
border: 2px solid #008dde;
font-size: 12px!important;
letter-spacing: 3px;
-webkit-transition-duration: .25s;
transition-duration: .25s;
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757132
|
__label__wiki
| 0.94184
| 0.94184
|
Ayatollah Momen passes away after long battle with disease
Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:29PM [Updated: Fri Feb 22, 2019 07:26AM ]
Ayatollah Mohammad Momen (file photo)
Renowned Islamic scholar Ayatollah Mohammad Danesh Zadeh Qomi (Momen), who was a jurist member of Iran's Guardian Council, has passed away after a months-long struggle with disease.
Ayatollah Momen passed away at the age of 81 in a hospital in the capital Tehran on Thursday after spending the past two months battling with brain hemorrhage and respiratory problems.
An influential member of the Guardian Council, he was first appointed to the position by late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini in 1984 and continued to serve in that capacity after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei extended his assignment in 2014.
The late cleric also served as a member of the Assembly of Experts after being elected during all of the governmental body’s five elections so far. He also served as the deputy head of the council from 2008 to 2011.
Before attaining Ijtihad (juristic reasoning), he was a pupil of such prominent Islamic scholars as Imam Khomeini, Allameh Tabatabai, Ayatollah Meshkini and many others in the Qom Seminary.
Ayatollah Momen had a long record of struggle against tyranny of the US-backed Pahlavi regime before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Concerned by the effectiveness of his attempts, the Pahlavi regime sent Ayatollah Momen and over 20 other scholars into exile for many years.
The cleric also served as the head of the Qom Seminary and was a member of other important organizations, including the Constitution Review Council, the Supreme Judiciary Council and the Supreme Policy-making Council of the Qom Seminary, among others.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757134
|
__label__wiki
| 0.573694
| 0.573694
|
We've got 0 rhyming words for unnecessarily »
What rhymes with unnecessarily?
This page is about the various possible words that rhymes or sounds like unnecessarily. Use it for writing poetry, composing lyrics for your song or coming up with rap verses.
(adverb) in an unnecessary manner
We couldn't find any rhymes for the word unnecessarily.
unmolested, unmoved, unnamed, unnatural, unnaturally, unnecessary, unneeded, unnerve, unnerved
Find a translation for unnecessarily in other languages:
How popular is unnecessarily among other rhymes?
unnecessarily#10000#27671#100000
A graphical representation of the words that rhyme with unnecessarily.
Discuss this unnecessarily rhyme with the community:
"unnecessarily Rhymes." Rhymes.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2019. Web. 17 Jul 2019. <https://www.rhymes.net/rhyme/unnecessarily>.
Know what rhymes with unnecessarily? Have another rhyming word for unnecessarily? Let us know!
Is unnecessarily wrong or has spelling mistakes?
Alternative searches for unnecessarily:
Search for Synonyms for unnecessarily
Search for Definitions for unnecessarily
Search for Anagrams for unnecessarily
Quotes containing the term unnecessarily
Search for Phrases containing the term unnecessarily
Search for Abbreviations containing the term unnecessarily
Search for Song lyrics containing the word unnecessarily
Search for unnecessarily on Amazon
Search for unnecessarily on Google
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757135
|
__label__wiki
| 0.831994
| 0.831994
|
October 17, 2018 News & Opinion » News
The real fight against fake news
This year's top 10 Project Censored stories
By PAUL ROSENBERG
Fake news is not a new thing, and the new edition of Project Censored selections – the list of the year's most important but unreported or under-reported stories – uses a reference to a 1938 fake news story as an illustration. The cover art for the latest Project Censored book, "Censored 2019: Fighting the Fake News Invasion," recalls HG Wells' "War of the Worlds."
The situation today may feel as desolate as the cover art suggests. "But Censored 2019 is a book about fighting fake news," editors Andy Lee Roth and Mickey Huff observe in the book's introduction.
In the end, they argue that "critical media education — rather than censorship, blacklists, privatized fact-checkers, or legislative bans — is the best weapon for fighting the ongoing fake news invasion."
Censorship and fake news are "intertwined issues," Roth and Huff write.
The cover art theme works at two levels, as the editors explain. The famous Orson Wells radio broadcast of the "War of the Worlds" on October 30, 1938, presented a drama as though it were an actual crisis in progress. It became an example of the potential power of fake news in the radio media era.
"The broadcast became legendary for allegedly leading to widespread panic throughout the United States," the Project Censored editors write. But as Jefferson Pooley and Michael J. Socolow have documented in a series of articles over the past decade, both the audience size and degree of panic have been significantly inflated.
The top 10 of this year's 25 Project Censored stories:
1) Global decline in the rule of law as basic human rights diminish
According to the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2017–2018, released in January 2018, a striking worldwide decline in basic human rights has driven an overall decline in the rule of law since October 2016, the month before Trump's election.
Fundamental rights — one of eight categories measured — declined in 71 out of 113 nations surveyed. Overall, the scores of 34 percent of the countries declined, while those of just 29 percent improved. The United States ranked 19th, down one from 2016, with declines in checks on government powers and deepening discrimination.
Fundamental rights include absence of discrimination, right to life and security, due process, freedom of expression and religion, right to privacy, freedom of association, and labor rights.
Constraints on government powers saw the second greatest declines (64 countries out of 113 dropped). This is where the United States saw the greatest deterioration, World Justice Project stated in a press release. "While all sub-factors in this dimension declined at least slightly from 2016, the score for lawful transition of power — based on responses to survey questions on confidence in national and local election processes and procedures — declined most markedly," the press release stated.
The United States also scored notably poorly on several measurements of discrimination. "With scores of .50 for equal treatment and absence of discrimination (on a scale of 0 to 1), .48 for discrimination in the civil justice system, and .37 for discrimination in the criminal justice system, the US finds itself ranked 78 out of 113 countries on all three subfactors," World Justice Project stated.
The four Nordic countries — Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden — remained in the top four positions. New Zealand, Canada, and Australia were the only top 10 countries outside of Europe.
"The WJP's 2017–2018 Rule of Law Index received scant attention from US corporate media," Project Censored noted. The only coverage Project Censored found was a Newsweek article drawing on The Guardian's coverage. This pattern of ignoring international comparisons, across all subject matter, is pervasive in the corporate media. It severely cripples our capacity for objective self-reflection and self-improvement as a nation.
2) "Open-source" intelligence secrets sold to highest bidders
In March 2017, WikiLeaks released Vault 7, a trove of 8,761 leaked confidential CIA files about its global hacking programs. It drew significant media attention. But almost no one noticed what George Eliason of OpEdNews pointed out.
"Sure, the CIA has all these tools available," Eliason said. "Yes, they are used on the public. The important part is it's not the CIA that's using them. That's the part that needs to frighten you."
The CIA's mission prevents it from using the tools, Eliason noted, especially on Americans. "All the tools are unclassified, open-source, and can be used by anyone," Eliason said. Drawing heavily on more than a decade of reporting by Tim Shorrock for Mother Jones and the Nation, Eliason's OpEdNews series reported on the explosive growth of private contractors in the intelligence community, which allows the CIA and other agencies to gain access to intelligence gathered by methods they're prohibited from using.
In a 2016 report for The Nation, Shorrock had concluded that "not only has intelligence been privatized to an unimaginable degree, but an unprecedented consolidation of corporate power inside US intelligence has left the country dangerously dependent on a handful of companies for its spying and surveillance needs."
Eliason reported how private contractors pioneered open-source intelligence by circulating or selling the information they gathered before the agency employing them had reviewed and classified it; therefore, "no one broke any laws." As a result, according to Eliason's second article, "People with no security clearances and radical political agendas have state-sized cyber tools at their disposal, [which they can use] for their own political agendas, private business, and personal vendettas."
Corporate media reporting on Vault 7 sometimes noted but failed to focus on dangerous role of private contractors, Project Censored says. A notable exception was a Washington Post op-ed in which Shorrock reviewed his previous reporting and concluded that overreliance on private intelligence contractors was "a liability built into our system that intelligence officials have long known about and done nothing to correct."
3) World's richest 1 percent continue to become wealthier
In November 2017, Credit Suisse released its 8th Annual Global Wealth Report, which The Guardian reported on with the headline "Richest 1% Own Half the World's Wealth, Study Finds."
The wealth share of the world's richest people increased "from 42.5% at the height of the 2008 financial crisis to 50.1% in 2017, or $140tn (£106tn)," The Guardian reported, adding that the biggest losers "are young people who should not expect to become as rich as their parents."
"No other part of the wealth pyramid has been transformed as much since 2000 as the millionaire and ultra-high net worth individual (known as UHNWI) segments," the report said. "The number of millionaires has increased by 170%, while the number of UHNWIs (individuals with net worth of USD 50 million or more) has risen five-fold, making them by far the fastest-growing group of wealth holders."
"At the other end of the spectrum, the world's 3.5 billion poorest adults each have assets of less than $10,000," The Guardian reported. "Collectively these people, who account for 70% of the world's working age population, account for just 2.7% of global wealth."
"Tremendous concentration of wealth and the extreme poverty that results from it are problems that affect everyone in the world, but wealth inequalities do not receive nearly as much attention as they should in the establishment press," Project Censored noted.
4) How big wireless convinced us that cell phones and wi-fi are safe
Are cell phones and other wireless devices really as safe we've been lead to believe? We shouldn't bet on it, according to decades of buried research reviewed in a March 2018 investigation for The Nation by Mark Hertsgaard and Mark Dowie.
"The wireless industry not only made the same moral choices that the tobacco and fossil-fuel industries did, it also borrowed from the same public relations playbook those industries pioneered," Hertsgaard and Dowie reported. "Like their tobacco and fossil-fuel brethren, wireless executives have chosen not to publicize what their own scientists have said about the risks of their products."
"On the contrary," they said, "the industry — in America, Europe, and Asia — has spent untold millions of dollars in the past 25 years proclaiming that science is on its side, that the critics are quack, and that consumers have nothing to fear."
Their report comes at the same time as several new developments are bringing the issue to the fore, including a Kaiser Permanente study (published December 2017 in Scientific Reports) finding much higher risks of miscarriage; a study in the October 2017 American Journal of Epidemiology, finding increased risk for glioma (a type of brain tumor); and a disclosure by the National Frequency Agency of France that nine out of ten cell phones exceed government radiation safety limits when tested in the way they are actually used, next to the human body.
The Kaiser Permanente study involved exposure to magnetic field non-ionizing radiation associated with wireless devices as well as cell phones and found a 2.72 times higher risk of miscarriage for those with higher versus lower exposure. Lead investigator De-Kun Li warned that the possible effects of this radiation have been controversial because, "from a public health point of view, everybody is exposed. If there is any health effect, the potential impact is huge."
"The wireless industry has 'war-gamed' science by playing offense as well as defense, actively sponsoring studies that result in published findings supportive of the industry, while aiming to discredit competing research that raises questions about the safety of cellular devices and other wireless technologies," Project Censored summarized. "When studies have linked wireless radiation to cancer or genetic damage, industry spokespeople have pointed out that the findings are disputed by other researchers."
While some local media have covered the findings of a few selected studies, Project Censored note, "the norm for corporate media is to report the telecom industry line — that is, that evidence linking Wi-Fi and cell phone radiation to health issues, including cancer and other medical problems, is either inconclusive or disputed.
5) Washington Post bans employees from using social media to criticize sponsors
On May 1, 2017, the Washington Post introduced a policy prohibiting its employees from criticizing its advertisers and business partners, and encouraging them to snitch on one another.
"A new social-media policy at The Washington Post prohibits conduct on social media that 'adversely affects The Post's customers, advertisers, subscribers, vendors, suppliers or partners," Andrew Beaujon reported in The Washingtonian the next month. "In such cases, Post management reserves the right to take disciplinary action 'up to and including termination of employment.'" Beaujon also cited "a clause that encourages employees to snitch on one another: 'If you have any reason to believe that an employee may be in violation of The Post's Social Media Policy ... you should contact The Post's Human Resources Department.'"
A follow-up report by Whitney Webb for MintPress News highlighted the broader possible censorship effects, as prohibiting social media criticism could spill over into reporting as well.
"Among The Washington Post's advertisers are corporate giants like GlaxoSmithKline, Bank of America and Koch Industries," Webb wrote. "With the new policy, social media posts criticizing GlaxoSmithKline's habit of making false and misleading claims about its products, inflating prices and withholding crucial drug safety information from the government will no longer be made by Post employees."
Beyond that, Webb suggested that the policy could protect the CIA, which has $600 million contract with Amazon Web Services. Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, purchased The Post four months after that contract was signed.
"While criticism of the CIA is not technically prohibited by the new policy, former Post reporters have suggested that making such criticisms could endanger one's career," Webb noted.
"Corporate news coverage of The Washington Post's social media policy has been extremely limited," Project Censored noted.
6) Russiagate: Two-headed monster of propaganda and censorship
Is Russiagate a censored story? Not exactly. But what Project Censored calls attention to is important: "Corporate media coverage of Russiagate has created a two-headed monster of propaganda and censorship. By saturating news coverage with a sensationalized narrative, Russiagate has superseded other important, newsworthy stories."
In April 2017, Aaron Maté reported for The Intercept on a quantitative study of MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show from February 20 to March 31, 2017, which found that "Russia-focused segments accounted for 53 percent of these broadcasts."
"Maddow's Russia coverage has dwarfed the time devoted to other top issues," Maté wrote, "including Trump's escalating crackdown on undocumented immigrants (1.3 percent of coverage); Obamacare repeal (3.8 percent); the legal battle over Trump's Muslim ban (5.6 percent), a surge of anti-GOP activism and town halls since Trump took office (5.8 percent), and Trump administration scandals and stumbles (11 percent)."
At Truthdig, Norman Solomon wrote: "As the cable news network most trusted by Democrats as a liberal beacon, MSNBC plays a special role in fueling rage among progressive-minded viewers toward Russia's 'attack on our democracy' that is somehow deemed more sinister and newsworthy than corporate dominance of American politics (including Democrats), racist voter suppression, gerrymandering, and many other US electoral defects all put together."
7) Regenerative agriculture as "next stage" of civilization
The world's agricultural and degraded soils have the capacity to recover 50 to 66 percent of the historic carbon loss to the atmosphere, according to a 2004 paper in Science, actually reversing the processes driving global warming. A set of practices known as "regenerative agriculture" could play a major role in accomplishing that, while substantially increasing crop yields as well, according to information compiled and published by Ronnie Cummins, director of the Organic Consumers Association in May 2017.
"For thousands of years we grew food by depleting soil carbon and, in the last hundred or so, the carbon in fossil fuel as well," food and farming writer Michael Polin wrote. "But now we know how to grow even more food while at the same time returning carbon and fertility and water to the soil"
Cummins, who's also a founding member of Regeneration International, wrote that regenerative agriculture offers a "world-changing paradigm" that can help solve many of today's environmental and public health problems. As The Guardian explained:
"Regenerative agriculture comprises an array of techniques that rebuild soil and, in the process, sequester carbon. Typically, it uses cover crops and perennials so that bare soil is never exposed, and grazes animals in ways that mimic animals in nature. It also offers ecological benefits far beyond carbon storage: it stops soil erosion, re-mineralizes soil, protects the purity of groundwater, and reduces damaging pesticide and fertilizer runoff."
"We can't really solve the climate crisis (and the related soil, environmental, and public health crisis) without simultaneously solving the food and farming crisis," Cummings wrote. "We need to stop putting greenhouse gas pollution into the atmosphere (by moving to 100% renewable energy), but we also need to move away from chemical-intensive, energy-intensive food, factory farming, and land use, as soon as possible."
In addition to global warming, there are profound economic and social-justice concerns involved. "Out-of-touch and out-of-control governments of the world now take our tax money and spend $500 billion ... a year mainly subsidizing 50 million industrial farmers to do the wrong thing," Cummins wrote. "Meanwhile, 700 million small family farms and herders, comprising the 3 billion people who produce 70% of the world's food on just 25% of the world's acreage, struggle to make ends meet.
If you've never heard of it before, don't be surprised. "Regenerative agriculture has received limited attention in the establishment press, highlighted by only two recent, substantive reports in the New York Times Magazine and Salon," Project Censored wrote.
8) Congress passes intrusive data-sharing law under cover of spending bill
On March 21, the 2,232-page omnibus spending bill was released. It passed both houses and was signed into law in two days. Attached to the spending provisions that made it urgent "must-past" legislation was the completely unrelated Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act of 2018, also known as the CLOUD Act.
"The CLOUD Act enables the US government to acquire data across international borders regardless of other nations' data privacy laws and without the need for warrants, " Project Censored summarized.
It also significantly weakens protections against foreign government actions. "It was never reviewed or marked up by any committee in either the House or the Senate," the Electronic Frontier Foundation's David Ruiz wrote. "It never received a hearing.... It was robbed of a stand-alone floor vote because Congressional leadership decided, behind closed doors, to attach this unvetted, unrelated data bill to the $1.3 trillion government spending bill." Congressional leadership failed to listen to citizen concerns, Ruiz wrote, with devastating consequences:
"Because of this failure, US and foreign police will have new mechanisms to seize data across the globe. Because of this failure, your private emails, your online chats, your Facebook, Google, Flickr photos, your Snapchat videos, your private lives online, your moments shared digitally between only those you trust, will be open to foreign law enforcement without a warrant and with few restrictions on using and sharing your information, privacy and human rights," concluded Greene Robyn Greene, who reported for Just Security.
"The little corporate news coverage that the CLOUD Act received tended to put a positive spin on it," Project Censored noted. A glowing Washington Post op-ed "made no mention of potential risks to the privacy of citizens' personal data, [and a CNET report that] highlighted the liberties that the CLOUD Act would provide corporations by simplifying legal issues concerning overseas servers."
9) Indigenous communities around the world are helping win legal rights of nature
In March 2017, the government of New Zealand ended a 140-year dispute with an indigenous Maori tribe by enacting a law that officially recognized the Whanganui River, which the tribe considers their ancestor, as a living entity with rights.
The Guardian reported it as "a world first," although the surrounding Te Urewera National Park had been similarly recognized in a 2014 law, and the US Supreme Court came within one vote of potentially recognizing such a right in the 1972 case Sierra Club v. Morton. In addition, the broader idea of "rights of nature" has been adopted in Equador, Bolivia, and by some American communities, noted Mihnea Tanasescu, writing for The Conversation.
But that could be just the beginning. "It is a critical precedent for acknowledging the Rights of Nature in legal systems around the world," Kayla DeVault reported for YES! Magazine. Others are advancing this perspective, DeVault wrote:
"In response to the Standing Rock Sioux battle against the Dakota Access pipeline, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin amended its constitution to include the Rights of Nature. This is the first time a North American tribe has used a Western legal framework to adopt such laws. Some American municipalities have protected their watersheds against fracking by invoking Rights of Nature."
If the New Zealand Whanganui River settlement "was able to correct the gap in Western and indigenous paradigms in New Zealand, " said DeVault, "surely a similar effort to protect the Missouri River could be produced for the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River nations by the American government."
The same could be done with a wide range of other environmental justice disputes involving Native American tribes.
10) FBI is racially profiling "black identity extremists"
At the same time that white supremacists were preparing for the "Unite the Right" demonstration in Charlottsville, the FBI's counterterrorism division produced an intelligence assessment warning of a very different though actually non-existent threat: "black identity extremists." The report appeared to be the first time the term had been used to identify a movement, according to Foreign Policy magazine, which broke the story.
"But former government officials and legal experts said no such movement exists, and some expressed concern that the term is part of a politically motivated effort to find an equivalent threat to white supremacists," Foreign Policy reported.
"The use of terms like 'black identity extremists' is part of a long-standing FBI attempt to define a movement where none exists," said former FBI agent Mike German, who now works for the Brennen Center for Justice.
"It's classic Hoover-style labeling with a little bit of maliciousness and euphemism wrapped up together," said William Maxwell, a Washington University professor working on a book about FBI monitoring of black writers.
"There is a long tradition of the FBI targeting black activists, and this is not surprising," Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson told Foreign Policy.
A former homeland security official said that carelessly connecting unrelated groups will make it harder for law enforcement to identify real threats.
"The corporate media [has] covered the FBI report on 'black identity extremists' in narrow or misleading ways," Project Censored noted, citing examples from the New York Times, Fox News, and NBC News. "Coverage like this both draws focus away from the active white supremacist movement and feeds the hate and fear on which such a movement thrives."
Paul Rosenberg is senior editor of Random Lengths, a Los Angeles-area alternative newsweekly. CITY and other alt weeklies are publish the Project Censored report each year to call attention to news much of the mainstream media is missing.
Tags: News, Project Censored, Under-reported news, Cover Story
Speaking of Project Censored, Under-reported
Project Censored, 2016-17
10 stories the media missed
More by PAUL ROSENBERG
Wilt launches House bid, picks up progressive group's endorsement
Canal Corp. delays tree removal
Sinclair TV spreads the conservative message
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757137
|
__label__cc
| 0.738374
| 0.261626
|
Bus systems that work
Buses may not be sexy (least of all Delhi's buses like the one above). But most cities desperately need to improve their basic bus systems.
And I am not talking about Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) this time. No matter how much BRT you put in, neglecting the basic bus system will undermine your efforts. Jakarta is finding this.
The same goes for urban rail systems. These work best when complemented and fed by a good bus system. Seoul realised this in 2004. Unable to expand its subway, it turned to bus improvements for a dramatic boost to its system.
Maybe the only thing less sexy than a bus is bus regulation!
But if you care about public transport it is time to get interested in regulatory questions like these: Who should plan the system? Who should own what? What roles are best for the public sector? What roles are best for businesses? How should they be rewarded? What kind of competition works for city buses?
Getting the regulatory framework right is at least as important as the engineering. Maybe more important!
It is hard to get people to focus on this but better understanding of the key choices would save most cities a whole lot of trouble. Certain ways of regulating and organizing a bus system can set the scene for long-term success. Certain other ways are dead ends that work well only if you have a large number of captive users, who have no other choice.
Take a look at the categories below.
They are from a recent paper I wrote on this [Update: It is called "Public Planning with Business Delivery of Excellent Urban Public Transport" published in Policy and Society, vol. 27, no. 2, 2008. See a preprint pdf here and here is the journal's link].
Which one fits your local bus system best? Do these categories work for your city? Feedback is welcome, since this typology is a little different from the usual approaches.
Public monopoly:
Services are owned, planned and operated by a publicly owned enterprise. Strangely enough, this is the option that is still most common in the United States (despite the fact that 'socialism' is a dirty word there). An urban region may have several of these state-run operators. In theory at least, the state takes total responsibility for the outcomes here and there have been successful state-run bus systems. However, good intentions do not always lead to strong and ambitious systems.
Proactive planning with service contracts:
Services are planned by a state agency, so the public sector takes primary responsibility for the planning of the network and for many of the service outcomes. Nevertheless, operations are procured from independent businesses (either private or state-owned) under service contracts (which can be issued via competitive tendering). In the most strongly planned systems, the state agency collects fares and pays operators for bus service provided, sometimes in combination with other incentives payments. Examples include Helsinki, London, Seoul (since 2004), and increasingly many others. Singapore appears to be headed in this direction too - something that I had called for (pdf). Unless I am confused, Indore in India may even be an example.
Area franchises (well regulated):
Operators are given the right to serve a whole area but with some obligation to do so in a comprehensive way and to meet service standards in return for exclusivity and discretion over many tactical details of service. Responsibility for outcomes is shared between the operator and the state. Hong Kong, Singapore (until 2009) and many Brazilian cities seem to have such systems. There is often no competition (or there may be competitive tendering sometimes) but effective regulation can help achieve a reasonably effective system.
"Passive" route franchises:
Operators are given the right to serve routes, usually with some simple service obligations and at least some exclusivity. Unfortunately, with this approach the public sector often takes little active responsibility for outcomes. The network often ossified into a set of moribund, long-established routes that no-one has an incentive to reform (or is willing to risk changing). Regulation tends to focus on fares and on protecting incumbents. This option gives the worst of both worlds - competition is prevented but it lacks the benefits of effective regulation or proactive planning. Buses in many Malaysian cities and Seoul's buses before 2004 are examples. Kuala Lumpur's RapidKL and Rapid Penang in Penang seem to represent recent attempts to shift to Option 3 but unfortunately only partially, without sufficient exclusivity.
Deregulation:
The state has little direct influence over service outcomes. Almost always, it is the vehicle rather than the route that is the subject of licensing. The most extreme form of deregulation involves vehicle licensing with little or no barriers to entry or exit. Simple quantity limits may be added to this, but still with no obligation to provide service. Jeepneys in the Philippines are an example as are South Africa's 'taxis'. Effective deregulation may also exist if franchises lack exclusivity or allow for sub-contracting, as in Bogota's buses outside its Transmilenio system. Outcomes with deregulated public transport in cities have generally been disappointing. The number of cheerleaders for deregulated urban public transport has nosedived in recent years.
I have argued that Option 2 is catching on and seeing lots of success, especially when combined with ambitious efforts at network integration. Of course, planning is no guarantee of bus system success (as many public monopolies show).
But success with urban buses is certainly elusive without strong planning. Options 4 and 5 are serious mistakes. The era of a strong push for deregulation of bus systems seems to be over.
integration public transport regulation
Labels: integration public transport regulation
Jarrett Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 9:16:00 AM GMT+8
I just gave a presentation at the UIPT Global Cities '08 conference in Sydney, making exactly your point, since Sydney is the last major Australian city that has not figured this out. Please let me know when your paper is ready to be cited, as I will want to distribute pointers to it lavishly.
Sorry, URL was incorrect on last comment.
valburps Sunday, September 5, 2010 at 8:36:00 PM GMT+8
Hi I just read your post and I must say that Options 4 and 5 are DEFINITELY no-no's! Here in Manila bus companies are privately owned. Competition takes precedence over quality of service, so this usually means that bus drivers cut trips (since shorter trips = longer breaktimes), do not come on time (heck they don't even have schedules), and routes are redundant (several companies have buses that ply just 1 route).
Many feel that it is high time our bus systems have to be reformed, but while many want to take them off the road, the fact is that there are thousands of drivers (not to mention, commuters) whose jobs and lives depend on these sad excuses for public transportation.
Siddharth Sharma Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 4:11:00 AM GMT+8
Hello, I have just started an experiment in building a responsive bus system as described here - http://rBus.in It is currently focussed on commuters and serves the "home to office and back" crowd exclusively. I would love to hear any feedback you might have to offer me.
I am trying to build a marketplace for commuter buses where commuters decide the routes they need and reward and punish operators based on performance. The only regulation is provided by the licenses of the bus operators, and consumers are free to demand more luxury if they are happy to pay.
Do let me know what you think if it's not too much of a bother.
Cititrans Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 10:04:00 PM GMT+8
Thank you for sharing about the bus system that should be very systematic that a public will get their bus on time. Visit: http://cititrans.com.sg/
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757139
|
__label__wiki
| 0.571185
| 0.571185
|
July 8, 2019 / 5:42 PM / 9 days ago
Breakingviews - U.S. soccer’s unsporting pay is an own goal
Jennifer Saba
The U.S. team celebrates winning the women's World Cup in Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France on July 7, 2019. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - America’s World Cup soccer winners are being treated like losers when it comes to pay. The women’s team that beat the Netherlands on Sunday – for its fourth win since the 1990s – is fighting for equal wages in a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. As in the corporate world, proving inequality is complex, but reasons to fix it are simple.
Early TV ratings estimate some 20 million people watched Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle score two goals against the Dutch defense, electrifying a home audience that usually favors baseball, basketball and American football over the Beautiful Game. The U.S. women’s team also has four Olympic wins under their belt. The men have never won a World Cup or taken home the gold.
Yet in compensation terms the men have them beat. A top-tier female player would earn only 38% what a male player with similar stats does, the women’s team claimed in a legal filing. Female athletes that make the World Cup team roster get $15,000 for their efforts. Carry a Y chromosome instead of two X’s, and the going rate rises to $55,000.
Questions of fairness quickly get mired in numerical uncertainty. Ticket sales and sponsorships can be hard to pin to a specific team. Contracts vary between players, and between countries. It’s not unlike corporate America, which uses a litany of metrics to explain why there are fewer females at the top and why they earn on average around 85 cents for every dollar a man makes, according to the Pew Research Center.
Companies are doing better than USSF because from Wall Street to Silicon Valley, executives at least openly acknowledge that equal pay attracts more talented women and makes companies look and perform better than rivals. Nearly one-third of board seats are now held by women, according to Catalyst. The split on the USSF’s own board, as it happens, is roughly the same.
Soccer’s failure is all the more egregious because the women’s team visibly brings in more revenue and is more profitable than the men’s. For the 2016 fiscal year, the women’s team made more revenue than the men’s team – $24 million versus $22 million – and they cost less. Closing the pay gap will lead to better players, more fans, good publicity and more money. Reason enough.
Reuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time.
Sign up for a free trial of our full service at https://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com. All opinions expressed are those of the authors.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757145
|
__label__wiki
| 0.96478
| 0.96478
|
It’s official: Donald Trump picks Mike Pence as his running mate
Jul 15, 2016 at 11:04 AM Jul 15, 2016 at 11:28 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has chosen Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate, adding political experience and conservative bona fides to his Republican presidential ticket. Trump announced his decision on Twitter Friday morning, capping a frenzied 24 hours of speculation about his choice.
A news conference was set for Saturday for the two men who will take on Hillary Clinton and her Democratic running mate in November.
Trump offered the vice presidential spot to Pence Thursday, and the governor boarded a plane for New York in anticipation of a Friday announcement, according to a Republican with knowledge of the process. But shortly after Pence arrived, Trump abruptly said he was postponing an announcement because of the deadly attack in Nice, France, that left more than 80 people dead.
The staunchly conservative Pence, who is 57, served six terms in Congress before being elected governor and could help Trump navigate Capitol Hill. He’s well-regarded by evangelical Christians, particularly after signing a law that critics said would allow businesses to deny service to gay people for religious reasons.
Trump’s announcement came about an hour before a deadline for Pence to withdraw from his re-election race in Indiana. State law prohibits candidates from being on the ballot in two races.
Trump’s hectic decision-making process was made more complicated by the fact that the businessman was in California Thursday for a series of fundraisers, isolated from nearly all of his closest advisers, including his three adult children and his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort.
Frustration among Trump and his advisers mounted because of news reports that Pence was the pick, sending top aides scrambling to insist no final decision had been made.
The billionaire said in a series of television interviews Thursday night that he’d not yet settled on a “final, final” choice, leaving open the possibility the unpredictable presumptive nominee could change his mind.
But Manafort dismissed suggestions in an interview on Fox News Channel that Trump was having second thoughts about his choice. He said Trump was planning on making an announcement this weekend.
A second Republican said Friday he spoke to Trump on Thursday morning, and the New York real estate mogul said he had chosen Pence and would be calling the governor to make the offer and ask him to fly to New York.
That Republican also spoke on condition of anonymity, because the person was not authorized to publicly discuss the conversation.
Trump’s choice of Pence as his running mate adds political experience — and a dose of unflappability — to the Republican presidential ticket.
Pence would be a reliably conservative No. 2 with a calm demeanor and deep ties to Washington. His apparent selection signals Trump is serious about addressing GOP concerns about his own conservative credentials and lack of Washington experience.
Trump also seriously considered offering the running mate post to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, according to people familiar with the process.
In a brief interview with The Associated Press Friday morning, Gingrich said he had still not been told by Trump that he would not be the choice.
Trump was up against a clock in unveiling his pick. In addition to Pence’s deadline in Indiana, the Republican convention kicks off in Cleveland Monday.
Top party officials are already in Cleveland, where a committee voted late Thursday to rebuff a push to let delegates vote for any presidential candidate they’d like. It was a major blow to Republican foes of Trump who have been working to try to thwart his nomination.
Pence would have the backing of GOP leaders and ease some of their concerns about Trump’s political inexperience and volatile temperament.
Pence also has influential allies in Trump’s inner circle. But some of Trump’s children, who have been closely advising their father, were said to favor different candidates.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757148
|
__label__wiki
| 0.656208
| 0.656208
|
Last train to Clarksdale
Andrew W. Griffin / Red Dirt Report
This spot - at Tallahatchie and MLK in Clarksdale, Mississippi - is thought to be one of the locations where Robert Johnson made his deal with the Devil.
Andrew W. Griffin | October 11, 2018
CLARKSDALE, Miss. – Writing in his short book The Mystery of Electricity: A Retrospect and a Prophecy, Manly Palmer Hall writes about a French writer and scientist named Dr. Jobard who in 1856 wrote that he felt electricity was not only “brute and blind” but that a certain aspect of electricity demonstrated intelligence and even clairvoyance!
The ancients used this “power” in their ceremonies and in their temples. The Ark of the Covenant was thought to have links to the electrical forces in the air.
Later, Hall writes: “Also in the doctrines of the early Christian Gnostics electricity was represented by the chariot of Abraxas, which is drawn through space by four galloping white horses. Again, according to the alchemists, these four elements supported and sustained in their midst a fifth element – the akashic Azoth – which is merely a cabalistic name signifying the electrical agent.”
Fast-forward to this century. And it is here that I want to bring my attention to the director/writer/actor David Lynch, who is a powerful force all his own. His art, films, TV shows and writings inspire and perplex millions. And with the TV series Twin Peaks (1990-91) and Twin Peaks: The Return (2017), as well as the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992), we are reminded how the force of electricity plays a very important part when he tells his stories – stories that seem to connect on a very, very deep level.
In particular, I am drawn to the scenes in Twin Peaks showing electrical wires, telephone poles and electrical pylons that seem to be conduits to other realms, like the White and Black Lodges. The buzzing and crackling energy of these electric lines and the “bad transformers” causing lights to flicker eerily … Lynch is most definitely on to something. And it is in part because he admits to seeing electricity as something of an enigma, much like the aforementioned French writer Dr. Jobard, noted in Manly Palmer Hall’s The Mystery of Electricity.
TOWER OF POWER: Tranmission tower in Twin Peaks: The Return. (Showtime)
Lynch uses electric lines, poles, outlets as portals of sorts. They are there to help transport you to the next location in space and time. How it works, no can really say with 100 percent certainty.
As Lynch said in recent years: “(S)cientists don’t understand electricity. They say, ‘It’s moving electrons.’ But there’s a certain point where they say, ‘We don’t know why that happens.’ I’m not a scientist, and I haven’t talked to these guys that are into electricity, but it is a force. When electrons run down a wire – do they have that power? It’s amazing. How did a plug or an outlet get to be shaped that way?
And lightbulbs: I can feel these random electrons, you know, hitting me. It’s like when you go under power lines. If you were blindfolded and drove down a highway under those power lines, and really concentrated, you could tell when they occurred. There’s something very disturbing about the amount of electricity – they know these things now. A tumor grows in the head. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not, you know, whacking you.”
And you know, I have David Lynch to thank for bringing the Alan Greenberg script Love In Vain to my attention.
Love In Vain is the story of Delta bluesman Robert Johnson and those final years of his life when he allegedly sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for guitar-playing prowess and fame. (Read my review here).
Lynch talked about the script in his recently-published autobiography Room To Dream (review here) and said he had tried to turn it into a film, but without success (for reasons that are not specified).
Robert Johnson’s encounter with the Devil at the crossroads was thought to have taken place in the mid-1930’s, likely in Clarksdale, Mississippi, although Rosedale, Mississippi is a strong contender (“Traveling Riverside Blues,” giving us clues). Of course that small Delta city has wisely embraced the myth and has done well in attracting tourists who come down Highway 61 and 49, following the Mississippi Blues Trail and the legend of Robert Johnson and his infamous, Faustian “deal.”
Pickup at King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas. (Andrew W. Griffin / Red Dirt Report)
Specifically, in Greenberg’s stunning script Love In Vain, which grippingly recounts Robert Johnson’s alleged meeting at the crossroads with the Confederate-soldier-capped “Devilman,” who tunes the acoustic guitar and plays it to where it “sounds and resounds like an electric guitar.” Robert gives the Devilman a dime for his “trouble” and when he leaves Robert there under the midnight moon, he instructs Robert to give that devil-touched guitar a try (“Talk some shit, man, talk some shit.”)
And Robert does, with Greenberg writing: “Robert falls down on his knees at the crossroads, strumming a fierce guitar riff as the devilman’s words fade.”
I read and re-read that bit (page 46 in Love In Vain – I’m 46 years old, by the way) and I thought of how the Devilman in Greenberg’s version makes an acoustic guitar sound “electric.” It’s given power, in this version of the story. Again, it’s the electricity coming from realms beyond our ability to see.
MEMPHIS-TOPHELES
I have been drawn to Memphis, Tennessee like a pilgrim drawn to a holy site far from home. I’ve been to that city on the Mississippi River half-a-dozen times in the past couple of years, always discovering something new. Having grown up in my earlier years in Little Rock, a little over two hours west, my family and I would go to Memphis for those things that slightly-smaller Little Rock did not offer.
Plus, the history! The music. The food. The vibe. The mix of cultures. I just love it, like I love other Mississippi River cities like New Orleans and St. Louis. And Minneapolis-St. Paul, I guess …
Memphis, though, is unique. And so wandering around downtown, I like sensing the history there, from the Peabody Hotel to the sounds coming off of Beale Street.
It's also, of course, where civil rights leader and martyr Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel in April 1968. Early synchromystic (with a Forrest Gump-like ability to be at the crossroads of history!) James Shelby Downard talks about Memphis and its importance to rogue Freemasons, secret society rites and dark magic. And how all of this was utilized in killing MLK 50 years ago.
But one of my favorite locations is the Memphis Pyramid, which was remodeled and made into a Bass Pro Shops store, complete with a restaurant at the apex of the pyramid and a nice hotel, which I stayed in earlier this year (writing about it here). I wrote about the transition to a Bass Pro Shop in my 2012 article "With its strange history, Memphis Pyramid to become a Bass Pro Shop," with information about about mystical builder Isaac Tigrett and that he hid a crystal skull at the very top, later discovered by workers and removed. All this angered Tigrett who announced that they had made a horrible mistake in removing the crystal skull.
I wrote at the time: "Tigrett “believes in the supernatural power of this skull and that cosmic balance depends on it (somehow) and that it carries a cosmic curse which can destroy the earth.” (More sync thoughts on this here).
The Memphis Pyramid is now a Bass Pro Shop. (Andrew W. Griffin / Red Dirt Report)
And Robert Johnson lived here too, for a short while, anyway, between 1916 and 1920, in those early, formative years of his young life. This was when he was known as Robert Spencer and city life (he lived near Beale Street) was far more sophisticated and interesting than life back on the Mississippi plantation.
The Robert Johnson Blues Foundation notes that Johnson incorporates Memphis in his song “From Four Until Late,” which is similar to Johnny Dodd’s popular 1920 song “Four Until Late Blues.”
DEVILMAN’S PROMENADE
And so after a few days in Memphis, I drove south on historic Delta Blues Highway 61, past the Tunica casinos and Robinsonville (where Robert Johnson had lived) and on to Clarksdale where at the intersection of N. State Street and DeSoto Avenue, there are three “crossed” guitars on the Highway 61/49 sign, with the words “The Crossroads” appearing on a sign below them.
The touristy "Devil's Crossroads" spot in Clarksdale, Mississippi. (Andrew W. Griffin / Red Dirt Report)
It’s in a rather busy area and is the “touristy” version of the Crossroads legend. A nearby eatery, Abe’s Bar-B-Q is right by these crossroads and advertise that distinction on the wall of their building, attracting much attention from visitors and passers-by. This is “The Devil’s Crossroads,” according to Google. And they know it all, right?
But I sensed that this wasn’t the actual location of the crossroads. As with so many things related to Robert Johnson, it’s shrouded in mystery and the mists of time. Who knows, right?
“I went to the crossroads, fell down on my knees,” sang Johnson in the song “Cross Road Blues”. “I asked the Lord above for mercy, save poor Bob if you please.”
It’s cool to get a picture of this famous intersection, where a Ol’ Scratch (Or Legba, or Lucifer …) and a mortal with a penchant for the blues allegedly had a soul-altering encounter back in the 1930’s. It’s rock n’ roll, right?
Still … there were other things to see for the short amount of time I was here in Coahoma County’s largest town. And the Delta Blues Museum was on the top of the list.
And so after a tour of the terrific Delta Blues Museum, I noticed that time was flying and I had to get on over to Helena, Arkansas and the 33rd Annual King Biscuit Blues Festival, which was featuring headliners Blackberry Smoke and Steve Cropper and Dave Mason, among others.
As I was driving out of the parking lot I was trying to get back out to Highway 161 and head back north on Highway 49/61 to the turnoff at Lula, Mississippi.
But somehow I found myself on Martin Luther King Blvd. and near some railroad tracks, at a railroad crossing. It was here that I noticed this railroad crossing was also at the intersection of Tallahatchie. I remembered seeing some comment on Google Maps talking about the real crossroads being at this very intersection, although it did not say anything about railroad tracks. (I later researched this and it seems to be a part of the Mississippi Delta Railroad, which is a short line and had originally been part of the Illinois Central Railroad).
So, I pulled over and jumped out. I was immediately stunned by the intense buzzing sound in the air. The hair on my arms moved slightly. I felt dazed there at the “other” crossroads, a place I had planned to see but couldn’t find on the map. But somehow, here I was!
Another view of the railroad and the electric wires overhead. (Andrew W. Griffin / Red Dirt Report)
I looked up and saw all of these overhead wires here at this crossing. I thought of the significance of MLK and the name “Tallahatchie,” as well, in history (the former) and legend (the latter), via Bobbie Gentry’s 1967 song “Ode to Billie Joe,” and, it was in 1955 that young Emmett Till, a black teen from Chicago, was beaten, shot and sunk in the Tallahatchie River with a cotton gin fan tied around his neck by racist whites who felt the boy didn’t know his place by showing interest in a white woman. A lot of pain and sadness connected to those names and the African-American experience in the South – and in America in general.
I feel that we are reaping what we have sown. How else to explain the odious Trump phenomenon? The vitriol and malice rife in the land, as it was 150-plus years ago as the entrenched Slave Power was challenged – and ultimately defeated.
I felt a bit dizzy, as though I had stepped into a slightly surreal place that was there – but not entirely.
It then dawned on me how bizarre this was. It’s all very hard to explain and this experience was totally unexpected.
All the while, I thought how similar this was to the scenes in Twin Peaks: The Return, where David Lynch’s FBI character Deputy Dir. Gordon Cole is in Buckhorn, South Dakota and sees the swirling portal that nearly pulls him in – before Agent Albert Rosenfield (the late Miguel Ferrer) – grabs him and pulls him away from the maw of the vortex.
If you saw that particular scene, you will remember how dull and rundown this particular “portal” location appears. It’s a rundown house in a poor area of Buckhorn. And this particular railroad crossing at MLK and Tallahatchie had that same appearance. Nothing remarkable. But the spot itself had a distinct power that I was sensitive to.
And at a rail line. That made sense to me. Trains and railroads have played a key role in my life. My first record albums as a child were old folk songs about trains and railroads. And for my life, following this curious path - like a rail line - was something I had to do. Note how the train metaphor, particularly in the blues, represented salvation. (Check out Jimi Hendrix's "Hear My Train A Comin'" here).
So, does this particular location have anything to do with the Robert Johnson legend of meeting the Devil at the Crossroads? I really don’t know. I only know it is marked as such on Google Maps, and someone else commented that this location was significant in connection to the Crossroads legend.
But for me, well, I just happened upon it, having given up a few days earlier because I could not figure out the location on the map. Yet, here I was, as if drawn to it. It was exceedingly eerie, particularly as those wires buzzed and crackled above me and all around me. The energy was palpable.
I was reminded of what paranormal investigator John Keel wrote in his book The Mothman Prophecies, which I reviewed in 2017. I wrote: "Many have connected ley lines to paranormal activity. And we know what happened when the blues singer met the devil at the crossroads ...
"In earlier times, fairies, demons, and even human witches practicing Black Sabbath rites, chose gravel pits, garbage dumps, cemeteries, and crossroads for their appearances," writes Keel. "Modern hairy monsters and UFOs select the same sites, and quite a few UFO contacts have occurred near crossroads or on highway still under construction at points where old highways once intersected. Derenberger's first contact with Cold was on a newly completed highway yards from an old intersection."
CROSSROADS, PACIFIC STYLE
Flag of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (note sycamore tree in the background). (Andrew W. Griffin / Red Dirt Report)
So, is it really any surprise that the US Navy codenamed their atomic bomb testing series in the Marshall Islands in 1946 “Operation CROSSROADS”? For me, the name is clear. The US government, the year before, had detonated an atomic bomb at the Trinity Site, along the Jornada Del Muerto in New Mexico.
And while the “Father of the Atomic Bomb,” Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, was pleased at the success of the Trinity Test, he was full of apprehension about the forthcoming CROSSROADS tests, and told President Harry S Truman as much. “I have blood on my hands,” Oppenheimer is said to have told Truman, knowing his creation had led to hundreds of thousands of Japanese being killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Truman was not impressed.
And so Oppenheimer did not go to the Marshall Islands to observe the CROSSROADS tests, tests that would adversely affect the Marshallese and the marine life in that area with radioactive fallout and loss of their home islands that meant so much to them. It was a tragedy of catastrophic proportions – and done in the name of the State and the War Machine.
I thought of that as I was at that crossroads in Clarksdale, Mississippi – with two fascinated folks in the back of my vehicle who were along for the ride.
It’s downright eerie how things go in life, particularly when you pay close attention to the details – particularly when you find yourself at the crossroads.
UPDATE (4:45 p.m. Oct. 11, 2018): So, I finally got around to watching a video by Twin Peaks fan "Gisela" titled "Twin Peaks: The connections between sycamores and the portals - New York theory." And, as we have known since the original run of Twin Peaks, sycamore trees act as gateways to that next world ...
I am reminded of my April 6, 2017 Dust Devil Dreams post “Desaparecidos (upside down),” where I discussed unexplained disappearances, from a strange case involving a Brazilian man investigating paranormal phenomena to Special Agent Dale Cooper’s courageous crossing into the unknown when he goes to Glastonbury Grove, in Ghostwood Forest, and – where the sycamore trees are located, enters the gateway to the Black Lodge in hopes of saving Annie Blackburn.
So … what really grabbed my attention in the piece was the following:
"I'm reminded of the writer Ambrose Bierce. I am fascinated with the man. He lived an adventurous life, was a prominent journalist in the late 19th and early 20th century and wrote the famous story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” which was later an episode of The Twilight Zone. He also wrote (unwittingly) about President William McKinley's assassination, something I wrote about in my McKinley assassination sync piece, "The red carnation."
Now, what is interesting about that is that this past week I had been thinking about Ambrose Bierce and assassinated President William McKinley. In fact, I had been considering writing the City of Oklahoma City to complain that the street signs for McKinley Avenue are shown as "Mckinley." It's just laziness on their part. And as for Bierce, while researching The Stilwell Enigma up in Kansas City, I stopped in at Prospero's Books and purchased a collection of Bierce's Civil War-related short stories.
But how does that connect with Clarksdale and the Crossroads? While watching Gisela's video and noting the sync/link between either sycamore trees or locations called "Sycamore," (as in Sycamore St. in Dougie Jones' Las Vegas subdivision or Sycamore Street in Buckhorn, South Dakota where the aforementioned portal was located) I had an odd feeling that there was a Sycamore Street in Clarksdale, Mississippi. And sure enough, I was right!
The red marker shows Sycamore Street running into and merging with N. State Street, going to the "Devil's Crossroads." It then goes southwest and runs into the railroad and Tallahatchie Street, linking with the second "Crossroads" location where I had my strange, electrical encounter.
But I almost forgot. Right where Sycamore runs into State, it also runs into - McKinley Street! Named after the dead president. Note the rundown quality of that location (even a discarded rubber tire). The rest of Sycamore is weedy and rough, with a few residential spots that are more middle-class in appearance, via Google Earth.
Where Sycamore St. intersects with McKinley St. in Clarksdale, MS. (Google Maps/Google Earth)
I do believe David Lynch is on to something regarding the symbols he uses in Twin Peaks. The sycamore is certainly one. The two main trees in my own front yard are tall, old sycamores. And I do feel a certain energy when I am by them.
Blues hammer
Old situations need old medicines
Rolltop desk
Keep looking up! (Skylights)
BOOK REVIEW: "The Mothman Prophecies" by John A. Keel
Cornfed rubes
Desaparecidos (upside down)
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757149
|
__label__cc
| 0.508891
| 0.491109
|
Around Hacienda Heights, Oct. 4
By Redlands Daily Facts | redlands@dfmdev.com |
Concert, workshop to help church rebuilding effort
St. John Vianney Church is hosting liturgical musician, singer and composer David Haas in concert on Friday , 7:30 p.m. and again on Saturday morning as part of a music workshop. The church is located at 1345 Turnbull Canyon Road in Hacienda Heights.
Proceeds from both events will go toward the rebuilding of a new sanctuary.
The daylong workshop will run from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Haas, who is from Minnesota, is a noted speaker at the annual Religious Education Congress in Anaheim and has appeared throughout the United States and Europe.
For more information, please call the church at 626-330-2269, ext 260.The church sanctuary was destroyed in an arson fire in April, causing more than $8 million in damages.
County libraries closed for Columbus Day holiday
All county libraries will be closed on Monday, Oct. 10, for the Columbus Day holiday, including the Hacienda Heights Library, located at 16010 La Monde St. in Hacienda Heights.
Fossil finds presented at library
Keith Krzywiec will present a free program on paleontology from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday in the Hacienda Heights Library, 16010 La Monde St.
He will display fossils, shark teeth, whale vertebra and petrified scallops found in the San Gabriel Valley. The free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library.
For information, call 626-968-9356.
Woman’s club meets
The Hacienda Heights Woman’s Club invites women of all ages to join the group as the new club year begins on Oct. 4. A business meeting is held on the first Thursday of every month to discuss community service.
Meetings begin at 11 a.m. followed by a luncheon in the clubhouse at 1917 S. La Mesita Drive.
For more information, call membership chair Diana Wood at 626-330-5228 or Sigi Williams at 626-333-1774.
Search begins along 60 Freeway for mosquito infestation
The Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District, based in Santa Fe Springs, and the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District will team up today to conduct simultaneous neighborhood searches for evidence of the Asian tiger mosquito.
The Santa Fe Springs-based agency will be surveying a 1.5 mile stretch of area along the Pomona (60) Freeway from Santa Anita Avenue near South El Monte to north of the San Gabriel River starting at 9 a.m., according to districts.
The San Gabriel Valley district will be surveying the area north and east from the infestation in El Monte, toward the foothills. Spot inspections will continue in a 20-mile grid north of the San Bernardino (10) Freeway and 2 miles on each side of the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway, the agency announced.
The combined efforts are an attempt to provide awareness and evaluate the extent of the infestation of the aggressive, day-time biting Asian tiger mosquito. Results from this survey will be used to develop future control strategies, both agencies reported.
Asian tiger mosquitoes efficiently carry and transmit dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya, and West Nile viruses, dog heartworm, and several other viruses that can cause encephalitis, the agencies reported.
Asian tiger mosquitoes were found in the cities of El Monte and South El Monte in September.
Safe Surrender program reaches milestone
Don Knabe, county supervisor representing Hacienda Heights, marked the 10th anniversary of the county’s Safe Surrender program last month.
The program allows for a parent or legal guardian to hand over a newborn baby at a county fire station or local hospital. As of Sept. 28, 87 newborns have been surrendered safely, Knabe said.
In addition to honoring those who adopted these children or helped in the transition, Knabe said the First5 LA Commission approved a $500,000 grant to update and increase the Safe Surrender program’s outreach efforts.
“While it is difficult to `celebrate’ a baby be given up, when we consider what the alternative could have been, we recognize the courage it took for a mother, who found herself in a desperate situation, to make a better choice for her child,” Knabe said.
Redlands, San Bernardino County officials seek community input on needs, fair housing plan
Gravestones restored for two daughters of Revolutionary war soldiers in Redlands’ Hillside Memorial Park
No one takes Redlands hospital up on offer of free historic house
Construction begins on Redlands rail mainline, celebration planned
Convicted murderer Aaron Mercado released from prison in October
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757150
|
__label__wiki
| 0.974277
| 0.974277
|
Kushner's Mideast Plan Faces Broad Arab Rejection
RIYADH/AMMAN/CAIRO - Arab politicians and commentators greeted U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East $50 billion economic vision with a mixture of derision and exasperation, although some in the Gulf called for it to be given a chance.
In Israel, Tzachi Hanegbi, a Cabinet member close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, described Palestinians' rejection of the "peace to prosperity" plan as tragic.
Set to be presented by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner at a conference in Bahrain on June 25-26, the blueprint envisions a global investment fund to lift the Palestinian and neighboring Arab economies and is part of broader efforts to revive the Israeli-Palestininan peace process.
"We don't need the Bahrain meeting to build our country, we need peace, and the sequence of [the plan] - economic revival followed by peace is unrealistic and an illusion," Palestinian Finance Minister Shukri Bishara said on Sunday.
The lack of a political solution, which Washington has said would be unveiled later, prompted rejection not only from Palestinians but also in Arab countries with which Israel would seek normal relations.
From Sudan to Kuwait, commentators and ordinary citizens denounced Kushner's proposals in strikingly similar terms: "colossal waste of time," "non-starter," "dead on arrival."
Egyptian liberal and leftist parties slammed the workshop as an attempt to "consecrate and legitimize" occupation of Arab land and said in a joint statement that any Arab participation would be "beyond the limits of normalization" with Israel.
While the precise outline of the political plan has been shrouded in secrecy, officials briefed on it say Kushner has jettisoned the two-state solution - the long-standing worldwide formula that envisages an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
'Another tragedy'
The PLO has dismissed Kushner's plans as "all abstract promises," insisting that only a political solution will solve the problem. It said they were an attempt to bribe the Palestinians into accepting Israeli occupation.
On Israel Radio, Hanegbi said Washington had tried to create "a little more trust and positivity" by presenting an economic vision but had touched a raw nerve for Palestinians.
"They are still convinced that the whole matter of an economic peace is a conspiracy, aimed only at piling them with funds for projects and other goodies only so that they will forget their nationalist inspirations. This of course, is simply paranoia, but it's another tragedy for the Palestinians," he said.
Jawad al-Anani, a former senior Jordanian politician, described widespread suspicion after Trump's decisions to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights.
"This is an unbalanced approach: it assumes the Palestinians are the more vulnerable side and they are the ones who can succumb to pressure more easily," he said. "This is a major setback for the whole region."
Azzam Huneidi, deputy head of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, the country's main opposition said: "The economic plan is the sale of Palestine under the banner of prosperity in return for peace and with no land being returned... A deal with Arab money."
"Historic crime'
Kushner's economic proposals will be discussed at the U.S.-led gathering in Bahrain this week. The Palestinian Authority is boycotting and the White House did not invite the Israeli government.
U.S.-allied Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, will take part along with officials from Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. Lebanon and Iraq will not attend.
"Those who think that waving billions of dollars can lure Lebanon, which is under the weight of a suffocating economic crisis, into succumbing or bartering over its principles are mistaken," parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, said.
Lebanon's Iranian-backed Shi'ite group Hezbollah, which wields significant influence over the government, has previously called the plan "an historic crime" that must be stopped.
Arab analysts believe the economic plan is an attempt to buy off opposition to Israel's occupation of Palestinian land with a multi-billion dollar bribe to pay off the neighboring hosts of millions of Palestinian refugees to integrate them.
"It is disingenuous to say that this plan is purely economic because it has a political dimension that has implications that are incongruous with the political aspirations," said Safwan Masri, a Columbia University professor.
After Israel's creation in 1948, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon absorbed the most Palestinian refugees, with some estimates that they now account for around five million.
'No harm in listening'
In recent years, Iran's bitter rivalry with a bloc led by Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia has increasingly pushed the Arab-Israeli struggle into the background.
While Riyadh and its allies have welcomed Trump's harder line against Tehran, which has cast itself as the guardian of Palestinian rights, critics accuse Saudi Arabia, the custodian of Islam's holiest places, of abandoning the Palestinians.
Muslim scholars in the region, who would have in the past rallied popular opinion in support of the Palestinians, were largely silent hours after the plan was released, in a sign of a crackdown on dissent in several Arab countries.
Saudi Arabia has detained several prominent clerics in an apparent move to silence potential opponents of the kingdom's absolute rulers. Egypt's top Sunni Muslim authority, al-Azhar, has yet to issue a statement.
Amid fears that it would push them to accept a U.S. plan that favors Israel, Riyadh has assured Arab allies it would not endorse anything that fails to meet key Palestinian demands.
Ali Shihabi, who heads the Arabia Foundation which supports Saudi policies, said the Palestinian Authority was wrong to reject the plan out of hand.
"It should accept it and work on delivering the benefits to its people and then move forward aggressively with non-violent work... to seek political rights," he tweeted.
Emirati businessman Khalaf Ahmad al-Habtoor also criticized the Palestinians' refusal to go to Bahrain.
"There is no harm in listening to what will be placed on the table," he wrote last month.
Yet even in the Gulf, backing for Kushner's plan is limited.
"The deal of the century is a... one-sided concession, the Arab side, while the occupier wins everything: land, peace and Gulf money," said Kuwaiti parliamentarian Osama al-Shaheen.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757151
|
__label__wiki
| 0.64727
| 0.64727
|
“Nashville is alcohol-poisoning the minds of our young people.”
Defendants of the adverse trends corrupting mainstream country music will give you many reasons why the trends aren’t really adverse at all, including that if you don’t like the music, you should simply exercise your right to not listen, and that the music isn’t necessarily affecting behavior so in the end it’s harmless. But part of the problem with popular country music these days is that it is so effusive throughout society. You turn on a college football game or watch a wrestling broadcast, and there Florida Georgia Line is singing the intro or taking you into a commercial break. Country is now the most popular genre of American music, meaning it’s being piped into grocery stores, being played at schools, and is ever-present in cars being driven by moms and dads all across the country as their kids sit in the back seat soaking it all up and singing along to catchy songs with simplistic rhythms and repetitive themes perfect for getting stuck in the heads of youngsters.
Compounding the problem is that just a few short years ago, country was one of the safest places on the radio dial for parents with small kids in the car. Think about the “soccer mom” effect that country music was cultivating in the late oughts, when artists like Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Rascal Flatts were dominating the country airwaves. Country radio was full of fluffy pop country songs that parents could feel fine, if not proud of playing in front of their kids compared to the filth pervading Top 40 radio at the time.
Now the entire radio field has been reversed, even though parent’s presets may still be on the country station. Country is where the perverse sentiments of popular culture have come to roost, and the endless droning in songs about drinking, drug use, materialism, and misogynistic views towards women are nearly required to get your music at the top of the country charts. It’s been theorized by Saving Country Music that part of the reason for this trend is a backlash from the mid-00’s when the rising sentiment became that country music was becoming woosified. That’s when you had artists like Eric Church, Jason Aldean, and then later Brantley Gilbert and Florida Georgia Line beginning their ascent, purposely focusing on many non family-friendly themes and constantly trying to prove how country they were in their lyrics.
However we got here, country music is now a haven for filth on the radio, easily giving pop and even hip-hop stations a run for their money. And as mom and dad find their own personal preference on the country station, the themes in the music get incessantly pumped into the young skulls riding in booster chairs and holding sippy cups in the back seat. It’s not that drinking themes haven’t always been present in country—you could argue they’re one of the foundations of the genre. It’s more about who they’re being played to and in front of, and how these themes are being portrayed (glamorous instead of cautionary). Even if you choose to avoid the music yourself, you can’t help but worry how it is affecting society as a whole when so many young people are being subjected to this music.
This was illustrated just about perfectly on Friday (11-21) by CBS Evening News reporter Steve Hartman when he took a deeper look into how his two young kids were computing the lyrics of country songs in their developing brains as they sat and listened to popular country music in the family motor carriage.
Steve Hartman’s conclusion? “I’ve got some sobering news — Nashville is alcohol-poisoning the minds of our young people,” he says in his report.
Hartman goes on to illustrate just how deeply popular country’s drinking themes have burrowed into his two son’s brains as they recite titles and lyrics to popular country songs effortlessly. Hartman turns his blame to Kix Brooks, the host of the syndicated American Country Countdown, where apparently the majority of the Hartman kids’ exposure to popular country music comes from as they listen to the weekly show on the way to swimming lessons. So papa Hartman took the kids to Kix Brooks’ studio and asked the man himself what he thought about the trend of drinking songs in country, and Kix initially drew a blank, illustrating the sort of “deer in headlights” moment many parents feel when faced with the reality that what their kids are listening to might affect them adversely in the future.
Reporter Steve Hartman did a good job of explaining how kids listening to popular country songs can be a good teaching opportunity for parents to explain the ideas behind responsible drinking, etc., but it may be a little too much to expect this from most busy parents who listen to popular country song’s party themes as their own form of escapism. And as Hartman says, these lessons were something he was hoping to avoid until “after 1st grade.”
And Steve Hartman can’t be painted as some modern country hater or alarmist. After all, he was voluntarily listening to the American Country Countdown himself, and many in the industry, including Big Machine Label Group CEO Scott Borchetta have seen their own dilemma with so many drinking songs, saying in December of 2013, “Everybody in Nashville must be drinking 24-7. We’re a bunch of drunks down here. There’s too much, to be honest with you. We can’t keep talking about Fireball and Coors Light and having the tailgate down, etc.”
READ – From Checklist to Bro-Country: The Subversion of Country Music
Of course all of this is anecdotal. There’s no direct data corroborating that five-year-old’s are hitting the sauce too early because they listened to Little Big Town’s “Day Drinking.” But it does illustrate how when people show concern for the themes of country songs, even if they’re not inclined to listen themselves, they’re concerned that it could be having adverse effects on society as a whole. Like teachers in a madras, with a lack of variety, these popular country songs drive home the same themes over and over until it can be recited effortlessly by impressionable minds. It also make one wonder if the underlying reason is to make young consumers for country’s principal advertisers, like the Joe Camel effect of 2014.
Hartman’s report only deals with the drinking aspect of popular country songs, but really you could do a similar experiment dealing with sexual themes, possibly with very young female listeners. This all doesn’t mean these songs are patently evil. Music made for adults who (hypothetically) have the ability to rationalize what they’re listening to and not let it affect them adversely is fine. But just like drinking itself, the music should be consumed by an age-appropriate audience, and as with all things, in moderation. However mainstream country at the moment is on the drinking song binge of its life, even if the substance of the songs is slowly improving, and the question remains if it’s having an effect on the behavior of listeners, or if it will shape the behavior of listeners in the future.
America Country Countdown, Brantley Gilbert, Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Kix Brooks, Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts, Scott Borchetta, Taylor Swift
November 24, 2014 @ 9:15 am
Great point at the top of the article Trigger. Bothers me when people use the”don’t like it don’t listen” line..kinda hard when it’s coming out the speakers of every truckstop and those TouchTone jukeboxes automatically play that crap at every bar.
November 24, 2014 @ 12:15 pm
If your neighbor was drinking dirty water that may contaminate themselves or their children, it’s your job to speak up and warn them about it, and help guide them where the clean water is. Pop country isn’t making anyone sick (well, I guess that’s up for debate), but that doesn’t mean it can’t be harmful. When criticizing bad music, so many people take it as insults or judgementalism or jealousy, when sometimes you’re truly trying to guide these people to making better choices that will eventually make them more happy and healthy.
Busking Danny
November 24, 2014 @ 6:07 pm
I imagine this is the same mindset a lot of people have when they question the lifestyle choices of others. Some may say, judge not lest you be judged, but alternately, when you know a better way of living, isn’t it your duty to tell others?
LucyStag
Tell away, but don’t turn into Tipper Gore.
Matty T
I’m glad more people are starting to see it. Look at Johnny Paycheck’s “Georgia In A Jug”. This is an example of a song where drinking is not necessarily encouraged. The listener can tell that the narrator knows what he’s doing is wrong but he’s trying to cope with heartache they only way he knows how. But now, it’s all about partying and commercialization, I mean these bro-country guys name drop brands like there’s no tomorrow. It all comes down to marketing and money.
nnels
November 24, 2014 @ 11:14 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuxOCMyO1uQ
Drinking songs are not the problem. It’s the pervasiveness of drinking songs, who they’re targeting, and the way they’re portraying drinking as if it can be done to excess every single day and night without any ramifications. There’s nothing wrong with a happy drinking song every now and then either. But the way popular country music is portraying it at the moment, drinking is the only way you can have fun, be accepted, get laid, fit in, and nobody ever gets capped with DUI’s, nobody ever ends up in rehab, nobody ends up ruing their family lives or personal friendships because of it. I hate to sound like an alarmist, but it’s not only potentially harmful to young listeners, it simply isn’t true.
That’s exactly what I was saying in my comment. Using the context of an old country song about getting drunk and how it’s not portrayed as a good thing. And you’re absolutely right, these “artists” are selling a lifestyle that is totally unrealistic while the people who listen to these songs and try to emulate that lifestyle are the ones who suffer the consequences. It’s sad, really.
Troy Turner
You are right on the money and make a lot of valid points.
I used to live that lifestyle: work, go to school and get blackout drunk and so stoned you could slap the piss outta me and I wouldn’t wake up. Running buddies I got trashed with are now either dead, in jail or they’re like me: alive by the grace of God but live with regrets and making amends for our wrongdoing. It truly is an unhealthy lifestyle and if someone walks down that dark path, they’ll end up like my running buddies or like me. When you’re young and foolish, you don’t know any better and youddon’t care about what the consequences might be. Now that I’m 35, I’ve learned to live with my regrets but learning to let them go in the process. The drunken, stoned “party 24/7” lifestyle truly ain’t worth the pain and suffering in the long run. Take it from one who’s learned this lesson the hard way…
It’s a tough road for sure. I’ve got a lot of friends that did it but thankfully they’ve all pretty much straightened at this point. Glad to hear you made it through that.
Matty T,
It’s a road that I hope you and countless others will never have to go down.
Trigger,
This is exactly why we need websites like yours and more people like yourself spreading the good word that there are alternatives to what folks hear on mainstream country radio. Hell, its nice to see even a pop country artists like Carrie Underwood singing about her faith, which now considered odd considering what we hear in mainstream country.
Sisternumber7
Excellent points about the pervasiveness of drinking songs, who they are targeting and the silence on anything about the hazards of drinking & driving.
JC Eldredge
I have a 5 year old myself and had quite the “ah haa” moment last year when, my then 4 year old, sang Red Solo Cup at his preschool. I was called in for a conference, lectured on child appropriate media and advised to turn the radio off when he was in the car. At the time, I thought they were being a bit dramatic. Then I thought, what if he had sung something worse? I didn’t realize that he was even absorbing the music. I still don’t turn the radio off when he is in the car, but I do turn the station when something blatantly sexual or drinking/drug related comes on. I obviously don’t let my young child watch sex/drug abuse on tv so why am I letting him listen to songs about it in the car.
Thanks for sharing this JC. I know a few folks with young ones who would never make the effort to turn off the TV or the radio when age-inappropriate content was aired .
I think its especially notable here because country was once considered the ‘safer’ content on the options list ..CD, radio and/or video . Now , it seems, drinking and sexual innuendo ( and more graphic) are used to sell country right alongside all other forms of ‘entertainment ‘ . I’m always a bit saddened when I see the transformation in a young female artist after being signed . The image becomes much more mature ( make-up , hairstyle , fashion, song themes ) in an effort to make them more marketable . (Carrie , Taylor Swift , Band Perry etc.. ) when all it would take is perhaps a few artists to see through this and remain truer to themselves as artists .
markf
There’s no doubt that in the sixties a lot of kids, probably millions of them, started smoking weed when it was obvious that our rock heroes were smoking. and doing other stuff. More than a few kids and their families suffered a lot as a result.
a lot of these “country” stars, on tv, regularly talk about needing a drink, having another drink, and at the T.V. country music awards shows, they’re constantly holding and hoisting a beer.
Maybe if their music was a little better, they wouldn’t need to resort to such lame, easy to do B.S.
wonder how many of Sturgill’s fans need to get loaded before going to one of his concerts?
The difference is that in the sixties the songs, with a few exceptions, didn’t include the overt references glorifying drug use that today’s country music includes regarding booze. So while many fans who learned of the drug use of their favorite artists messed up their lives by trying to emulate that behavior, young children in general weren’t being inundated with a pro-drug message just by passively listening to the music.
Actually, you are right about that.
ChrisNSC
This is the major problem with today’s country music. If you were to listen to 10 songs on modern country radio, 7 of them would in some way glorify alcohol consumption. Country music has always embraced the theme of using alcohol to cope with life’s problems, but with a few exceptions, it’s never been glorified as a lifestyle that is being pushed on not just the young but all age groups. In the classic songs, it seemed to show the reality of over consumption. Hangovers, an unhappy wife, stints in jail or prison, and broken homes always seemed to be the consequence. Now the new songs seem to just be a 3minute 30 second commercial glamorizing that 3 drink buzz feeling but not talking about what #4 thru 12 do to you.
Now I’m by no way a prude. I enjoy my drink on occasion but I also know what it will do to me if I over indulge myself and have unfortunately seen the destruction within my own extended family that alcoholism can cause. I remember reading an article one time that said alcohol should be viewed as grease for life. A little makes things move a lot easier, but too much sends you right off the tracks. In the end you make your choices and you have to live with them. That theme is found in plenty of Merle Haggard and George Jones songs, but doesn’t seem to be very present in the music of today. New country is missing the consequences that used to be prevalent in the old songs.
ElectricOutcast
My own sister had to go through this a few nights ago with her daughter: sitting in the car seat singing Dierks Bentley’s Drunk on a Plane. At first I laughed at it because that same age I was learning songs like “The Thunder Rolls” “Here in the Real World” and “Don’t Let Our Love Stop Slippin’ Away”
When I was a kid mom was highly mindful of the songs I heard, and there were certain songs, or at least parts of songs that got turned off (the uncensored version of “Devil Went Down to Georgia” always got turned down at that one part) and there was even one artist that was pretty much NEVER allowed (Conway Twitty).
At this point, I swear 3/4th of the singers on country radio would be permanently banned from my ears. Florida Georgia Line can”™t just straight up sing about wanting to “get laid” and then making an obvious sexual innuendo in a song about getting drunk and stoned and expect parents to be okay with it.
Unfortunately, a lot of the parents who would listen to Florida Georgia Line are the same ones who unfortunately don’t possess the type of self-awareness or sense of responsibility to see they’re brainwashing their kids in the back seat while they’re listening.
That’s why I commend this CBS reporter for not just pointing out the trouble with these songs, but presenting some workable solutions for consumers who may not realize what’s happening when their kids listen to this music. Turn it off, or at least talk to them about the realities of drinking. Kids are a lot damn smarter than we think, and sometimes more insightful and aware than the adults taking care of them…until they get dragged into the same routines by corporate music.
Matt Norris
These clowns will defend themselves by coming out and saying that drinking songs have always been a part of country music. Of course they have, but the tone is completely different. Songs like “If Drinking Don’t Kill Me”, or “Tear in My Beer” were obvious laments of the lifestyle heavy drinking brings. The only classic country song I can think of that straight up celebrates alcoholism is Willie Nelson’s “I Gotta Get Drunk”, which is much more clever than the garbage purveyed by Nashville these days. And I fully anticipate one of these asshats saying “well your hero Sturgill Simpson sings about drugs all the time”, to which I may not even be able to respond since their wine cooler/fireball fried brains probably can’t comprehend the meaning of a song that contains actual depth. I long for the days when Country isn’t cool again.
“I long for the days when Country isn”™t cool again.”
Nice. I’ll quote this until it happens.
It’s a fair accusation to say, “Hey, Sturgill’s out there condoning drug use,” and he’s caught some heat for that, and for some stuff that people take as being anti-religious. And those are the criticisms you’re going to face when you broach those subjects in your songs. But “Turtles All The Way Down” would never be played on mainstream country radio for the masses, and it never was meant to be. “Life of Sin” could be, and it has that element of a cautionary tale that would be healthy for many mainstream fans to hear. Same can be said for many independent artists who release a lot of adult-oriented material. They’re not bad songs, or bad people for releasing them. They’re singing to a more mature audience, and one that understands both sides of the drinking coin, and are many times dealing with demons themselves and the music helps to do that.
GregN
Is it glorifying drug use to say “they all changed the way I see, but love’s the only thing that ever saved my life”?
Isn’t that a teaching moment for the kids if you need one?
Not in the same bucket as this topic IMHO.
Why does Kix enable this? I would think he’s financially secure enough that he could be out there calling a spade a spade rather than going on air every week and chuckling about some terrible Thomas Rhett song.
What’s funny is that “Neon Moon,” a song about the lonely and depressing side of drinking, still gets fairly regular airplay after 22 years. Don’t know if we’ll be hearing any FGL in two decades.
Kix is just trying to keep his name relevant and on the radio. He doesn’t pick what’s on the American Country Countdown, the charts do that for him. He comes into the studio for maybe 2 hours every week, reads off a script supplied to him for voice overs between songs that get cut and pasted into the program by an engineer, and goes home.
Let’s not shoot the messenger though.
Exactly, Kix Brooks didn’t write the songs or sing them. He is the DJ who announces the songs that have been chosen. When Brooks commented that young kids aren’t their target audience I took that to mean that parents are ultimately responsible for what their children listen to. I agree. Brooks also made a good point that trends in country music are cyclical.
well what do ya say about, “Marijuana, LSD, psilocybin, and DMT they all change the way I see.”
5 year old kids don’t know what those mean. I mean, what the hell is psilcybin?
I love Sturgill Simpson because he knows those lyrics would never make it on an album from Nashville.
Sturgill Simpson didn’t release “Turtles All The Way Down” to mainstream country radio like Florida Georgia Line released “Sun Daze” or Little Big Town released “Day Drinking.” If he ever does release a song like that to the mainstream, then it would be worth the discussion if this is right or not. It wouldn’t be fair to overlook adult-themed songs by our favorite artists just because we like them. But again, the songs are not the problem. The problem is who is being exposed to them, purposely or inadvertently, and what effect this might be having.
“Marijuana, LSD, Psilocyobin, DMT, they all changed the way I see, BUT LOVE’S THE ONLY THING THAT’S EVER SAVED MY LIFE.” Sturgill’s presenting a totally different message than any beer and girls song on the radio.
“I mean, what the hell is psilcybin?”
It’s the hallucinagenic element in psychadelic mushrooms.
Jeb Barry
I think a more harmful influence on young boys/males is the sexists and dismissive attitude towards female…it’s bad enough for women in today’ world without a new generation of males seeing females as brainless sex objects.
Or on the other side of the coin, young girls coming to understand that this objectification is okay.
At the end of Steve Hartman’s CBS piece, you’ll notice it ends with a shot of the song title, “God Made Girls” written by his kids, alluding that this is the next discussion he’s going to need to have with his two boys. Possibly even more so than the drinking songs, I think you girls are seeing and hearing how women are being portrayed in country songs, and emulating that behavior because they believe that’s the only way to get attention from boys and to be popular. Luckily there’s been a few alternatives like Maddie & Tae’s “Girl In A Country Song” that offer a bit of a counter-balance (even if the song is weak itself), but right now I’m not sure there’s ANY single that casts drinking to excess in a negative light.
Western pop culture and media, in chasing the $$$ ,is progressively more contradictory and hypocritical in its messages to youth including its celebration of a drinking culture while airing ads by M.A.D.D and the like to curb its use , articles by fashion magazines featuring unhealthy looking female models sexed up to sell clothing while others preach ‘love yourself and your body for who you are ” ,and the dismantling of language censorship in media at the same time parents reprimand children for use of those words , phrases and connotations in most homes . Not to mention the ongoing overuse of selling pop music with sex ( AM-Awards show , for example , with J-Lo stooping so low as to simply turn her back to the audience and shake her booty at the crowd and the TV audience . That’s what we embrace as ‘entertainment ‘ and allow networks to air while allowing our kids to be indoctrinated into the sex-sells ( read prostitution ) culture we’ve held up as the way to success for so many ????
There isn’t one person who would argue against the fact that young impressionable minds should not have to be exposed to this at every turn even if they are ( hopefully ) being instructed otherwise by responsible adults at home or school or elsewhere . Totally mixed , hypocritical messages are blasted out to our youth non-stop in so many forms in the name of profit . Fingering country songs as ” alcohol-poisoning ” is just one small aspect of that hypocrisy . How about shows that celebrate drug use ( Breaking Bad ) while prisons are filled with addicts committing crimes to support their addictions,….or how about the legalization of marijuana in 3 ( ? ) states while it is illegal in 47 others ….what the ..?? If that isn’t a contradictory , hypocritical message to young AND old I don’t know what is .
I know we’ve all seen or heard these kinds of observations before but the issue of hypocrisy certainly seems to be more prevalent in our wired society . As happy as I am to see a major network address some of this , I fear the contradicting messages will only grow as money continues to be the motivation for almost everything from ‘entertainment’ to lack of will in the fight to arrest climate change .
You have never seen Breaking Bad if you honestly believe that the show glorifies drug use.
Perhaps ” exploiting drug use and drug culture ” is the more accurate phrase , Brandon . I think my point is clear in either case .
If anything, Breaking Bad is the best anti-drug campaign I’ve ever seen. It clearly shows the destructive nature of methamphetamine.
musicfan
This will probably come as a shock to almost all readers of Saving Country Music, but there IS such a genre as children’s music, written for kids to listen to, and no, it doesn’t ALL suck and won’t drive parents crazy–some of it is badly done, yes, just like in any genre, but there are talented and passionate people making good music for children; if there’s a more thankless, less profitable genre out there, I don’t know what it would be and this blog post is a perfect illustration of that. I could write an entire column on it, but won’t (unless requested–ha!)
there’s also such a thing as “Children’s television.” the problem is not that the solution exists, it’s that the solution isn’t respected. they make bro-country not because it’s better, but because they don’t respect tradition, in the same way, the presence or absence of Children’s programming is irrelevant, until it is respected enough that parents actually turn it on for their kids, instead of FGL and Luke Bryan. The problem is not the music, it’s exposure.
Edit: “The problem is not that the solution “Doesn’t exist” my thumbs betrayed me
It’s not a shock at all. A couple of my favorite alternative artists from the ’80s, They Might Be Giants and Dan Zanes (formerly of the Del Fuegos), among others, have released children’s albums in recent years that are very listenable for a serious music fan.
The problem is that you’re not going to be able to tune in a radio station that plays this music and also has weather and traffic updates.
I think that this is a very serious problem that happens not only in country music but that now transgresses other genres and other forms of entertainment. In a way, I sometimes think that the best thing to do is to simply live your life according to what your parents taught you and the wisdom they cemented and be given entertainment that actually cares about giving a thoughtful message.
Because ultimately, even if the person realizes that what he listens to is contrary to what he should believe / behave, if that message is gunned down sufficiently people are eventually going to act and behave the way these singers do.
And that is probably the biggest crime of them all.
Excellent article on state of country music. I give George Strait credit for releasing the song “Drinking Man” a couple of years ago. Although the song died on the charts, it had a powerful message as to how alcohol can destroy lives. Alcohol and drinking have been a common theme in country music for many years. However, the majority of those songs had real life attached to them. Listening to country music today, we hear nothing of the consequences to the wild partying and drinking.
Trigger used that Nashville buzzword that music row is cashing in on. ESCAPISM. Economy sucks, Iraq sucks, every time you turn on the news or get online another depressing article….hey I got an idea…lets do some day drinking, tonight it’s bottoms up, let’s go chill on a tailgate cause that’s my kind of night. ESCAPISM.
OLE JUSTIN CHAMBERS
The old Folks like Porter Wagoner warned the young folks about how liquor will ruin your life now they condone drinking
I actually don’t agree that Nashville is the problem. Its the people who are contributing to the bro-country tailgate drinking phenomenon that are the problem. He can’t make a generalization like that and paint everybody with the same brush. There are plenty of folks in Nashville that aren’t about that lifestyle and that love actual country music. I get his point and where he’s coming from but to make such a blanket statement like that? Not cool man. Its those fools that are giving us Southern folk a bad name and we get flak for it as a result. Gotta love the good ol’ “guilt by association” y’all…
The suits in Nashville don’t really give too much of a shit about country music, they only care about what makes money.
Justin, I hate to admit it but you make a very valid point.
You have to understand that “Nashville” is synonymous with the mainstream country music business, and equating it in such way is average for someone from the outside looking in like this reporter. I always make sure to delineate Music Row or the specific entities being criticized as opposed to painting the city with a broad brush. But when working in the context of a report on the Evening News, I think the generalities are generally expected.
I agree. As I watched the clip, it never occurred to me to assume that he was talking about every song by every artist that might be considered “country” or every artist that records in Nashville. I think it was made abundantly clear that he was talking about the majority of songs currently being played on mainstream country radio.
That’s the difference between you reporting on a story and this news reporter. You and I deal in specifics while dudes like him deal in generalities. This is why I don’t even bother to watch the news anymore.
I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.
If I had to guess it was lyrics like these that started the “Outlaw” sound… Parents didn’t want their kids exposed to that just like parents don’t want their kids to be exposed to constant drinking references in today’s Country, as the CBS article is saying.
I don’t think there is much of a difference between then and now in terms of adult content. The difference I think is good Country music should tell a story or have meaning and substance.
Teenagers and people that decided to quit learning after high school are the ones Nashville is marketing to because they are the ones who buy the records. The ignorant and naive don’t know how to appreciate a well written song because cognitive reasoning is involved.
But if you sing songs with words they know, like beer/girls/trucks, then they can relate to it without needing to think.
I absolutely despise the sound of todays popular Country music, but there is undoubtedly a market for it and they should continue to play it and record the shitty albums because this is America and you can listen to what you want to and make a living how you’d like… Just don’t label it as “Country Music”.
I hear Pearl Jam on my Classic Rock station, but we all know that isn’t Classic Rock. In a perfect world, the Bro Country (including all the crappy female Nashville groups) should only be played on Pop Radio and be on VH1/Mtv etc… A southern accent shouldn’t automatically put you on Country radio.
The genre needs to officially split. Put the Pop Country and American Pop together on Pop radio, and put the Outlaw/Americana on Country radio as it was intened.
Merle Haggard sang “But here I am again mixing misery and gin,
Sittin’ with all my friends and talkin’ to myself.
I look like I’m havin’ a good time but any fool can tell
That this honky tonk heaven really makes you feel like hell.”
We don’t hear many in country music today lament about the downside of too much drinking. It’s all one big, neverending bonfire party. I miss the days when country music made me feel something deep down, like this old song by Merle….
Aw man, I wish you wouldn’t put Eric Church in the same category as those clowns.
jstanno61
Personally, I’d be more worried about the jingoistic US nationalism than the drinking.
I haven’t really noticed any of that in quite a while, but it was certainly very prevalent several years ago.
The King, George Strait himself, put out a compelling song to radio back 2012 (“Drinkin’ Man”). I love the song. It dealt with the sobering reality that alcohol can and does ruin lives. It wasn’t a redemptive song, it simply told the story of a man that ruined his life and marriage with alcohol. That’s the kind of story I want my kids to hear. That’s good for society as a whole. But what did country radio do? They blackballed the song and labeled it “too dark” for mainstream country audiences, and in doing so, made it Strait’s lowest charting single of his career up to that point (#37). It’s just disturbing that people are going bonkers over the crap that’s on the country waves today. I am 22 years old, by the way, and can’t stand listening to country these days. I love what country was putting out from the 80’s through about 2007. The last five years, especially, have been a joke. Shallow, pointless, stupid lyrics. Mind numbing. America needs to wake up.
this article sucks and so do you.
Someone needs more Bacardi.
Leave a Reply to Tom Cancel reply
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757152
|
__label__wiki
| 0.911535
| 0.911535
|
Fr Tom Maher, C.S.Sp Rockwell College Annual 1990, pp 25-28
Fr Tom Maher, C.S.Sp
Rockwell College Annual 1990, pp 25-28
Fr. Tom Maher, C.S.Sp., was 87 years old on, July 1 and celebrated 60 years in the priesthood on June 29. He can still read without the aid of spectacles and his remarkable eyesight was inherited from his mother, who could still see quite well when she died in 1955 at the age of 90 years. She was a Comerford from Urlingford, an aunt of Fr. Mick Comerford, C.S.Sp. and was principal of the girls' school in the town, when she married Edward Maher, the principal of Lagganstown School, towards the end of the last century. She gave up her job and settled down to married life in the old schoolhouse and teacher's residence in Lagganstown. The new school had heen opened across the road in 1889 and the old one was joined on to the teacher's residence to provide better accommodation. In this house Tom Maher was born on July 1, 1903..
Tom's grandfather had been evicted from the Ballytarsna-Ardmayle area and came to live in Knockgraffon. There were four children in the family, three sons and a daughter. Two sons and a daughter emigrated to Philadelphia, so Tom remains the last link in Ireland with the family. Tom's father became a monitor in Knockgraffon National School and went from there to St. Patrick's Training College, Drumcondra to train as a National Teacher. When he qualified he did not return to Knockgraffon, which would have been usual, but began teaching in Lagganstown, where he later became principal. When he married there was no position in the school for his teacher-wife, because the second post was held by a Miss Dunne.
The first born child was a girl in 1900. She was to die at a young age in 1924. A second girl was born in 1902. She joined the convent of the Sacred Heart at Mount Anville in 1923 and was to spend most of her life in Japan.. When she died in 1980, she had spent 46 years in the Far East amd had been home only once, in 1973, on the ocasion of the fiftieth anniversary of her entry into the convent. Tom came next and a third girl was born in 1905, who is still alive and living in Clonmel.
Tom went to school to Miss Dunne and his father at Lagganstown, and went to Rockwell College as a day-boy in 1917. The annual fee was £8 and there were twelve day-boys. Fr. Andy Egan, C.S.Sp was prefect of the day-boys and among Tom's comtemporaries during his years there were Denis Jones. Canon Morrissey of Boherlahan and Fr. Mick Comerford, C.S.Sp. The boarding fee was £32. In 1918 Tom transferred to St. Joseph's, where there were 24 boys. Fr. Patrick Walsh, C.S.Sp was in charge.
The President of the College at the time was Fr. Johnny Byrne, C.S.Sp. During his tenure rugby was abandoned as the main college game and everyone switched over to Gaelic games. Football used to be played up to Christmas and hurling afterwards. The switch coincided with the start of the Munster Schools' championships in which Rockwell were quite successful. The college won the first Munster senior football championship, when they beat St. Colman's, Fermoy in the final at Kilmallock on December 229 1917. They followed up with another victory in the hurling competition, the Harty Cup, by beating Christian College, Cork in the final the following May. Four more victories were to be achieved in the Harty Cup, the last in 1931. After that rugby was restored as the dominant game
As a result of this emphasis on Gaelic games, Tom Maher played no rugby at Rockwell College. He was to learn the game at Blackrock where he went after completing his studies at Rockwell. He spent three years, 1921-24, as a prefect there. He was one of twelve and they litterally ran the place. Three of his coolleagues from these years, J. J. McCarthy, Ambrose Kelly and Eugene Butler, were to become bishops. Tom was one of the last of the non-professed prefects so he got full holidays at Christmas and summer, which he spent at Lagganstown up to 1923. His father retired in that year and the family moved to Golden for a year and then, in 1924, to John Street, Cashel, where they resided in what is today, St. Anne's Nursing Home. After the father's death in 1926 there was a further move, this time to Friar Street. Tom's novitiate was done at Kimmage and he did his philosophy and theology studies in the Castle, Blackrock. He was ordained at All-Hallows in 1930 and finished his studies in 1931.
Fr. Tom Maher's first port of missionary call was Nairobi, which was a town of 30,000 inhabitants in 1931. There were Europeans, Asians and Africans. There were two Catholic churches and two priests, one for Africans and the second for non-Africans. He was appointed to the African church, St. Peter Claver's, as assistant to Fr. Con McNamara, C.S.Sp. from Co. Clare. In 1934 he became Father-in-Charge.
The non-African Church of the Holy Family was run by an Alsatian Holy Ghost priest, Fr. Bougeau. The new Church of the Holy Family is now the Cathedral and a minor basilica. As well there were about 25 outstations with African catechists in charge, to be visited on a regular basis. About three miles from the Church was a school for girls, run by German Sisters of the Precious Blood. Kiswahili was the language and he soon mastered it. Missionary work involved saying Mass, administering the sacraments, teaching catechism, preparing groups for baptism, communion and confirmation, visiting the two hospitals and the prison and supervising the work of the catechists and the primary teachers. Fr. Maher's first baptism was a leper. One of the hospitals was for infectious diseases and there were many lepers there. The first present he received, a chicken, was also from a leper.
This work continued until 1940 when the advent of World War 11 created a need for army chaplains. Fr. Tom was asked by his bishop if he would serve as a chaplain and he agreed. He was due some leave at the time but there was no way of getting home so he accepted the job for a change. He joined the British colonial army and was to stay until 1963. Since 90% of the personel were African his work in the army was similar to that of a missionary. He joined as a Chaplain Fourth Class with the rank of captain. Later he advanced to Third Class and received the rank of major. Because he wasn't a regular there was no pension.
He first saw combat in the northern territory of Kenya and in Ethiopia and Somaliland and it ended with the battle of Gondar in 1942, near the shore of Lake Tana, the sourse of the Blue Nile. After the East Africa campaign he served for short periods in Madagascar, India, Burma, Sri Lanka. In 1949 he was appointed Senior Chaplain at Command Headquarters in Nairobi and held that position until he retired from the army in 1963. As senior Chaplain he visited troops in Uganda, Tanmzania, Zambia, Zimbabee, Malawi, Mauritius and the Secheyelles. After his retirement he returned to his old mission in Nairobi.
He got back to Irelnad for the first time in 1946. Fifteen years abroad had changed things a lot. He had lost contact with home ˆ his father had died in 1926, his sisters had departed and his mother was alone. He spent two months at home. After that he returned home again in 1949 and after that every two years.
He remembers having been well-received by his fellow-officers in the army. In many places he was the only Catholic in the mess and his colleagues did everthing in their power to help him, sometimes even more than they did for their own. One Christmas Eve, 1948 he believes, he came back to the mess for supper about 10 o'clock, having been hearing confessions in camps all day. The officers had started celebrations some hours previously with Black Velvet and caviar. They kept a generous supply of both for Fr. Tom and were disappointed when he took only one glass of Black Velvet, having to move again at 11 o'clock for more confessions and midnight mass. As a chaplain Fr. Tom was paid the same rate as the Anglican Clergy in Kenya, £420 per annum. Later he received the British rate of pay and was getting approximately £1,600 when he retired.
Return to Nairobi
He returned to Nairobi and his missiionary work after his retirement. Kenya got independence in December 1963 and one of the highlights of the festivities was the blessing of the Kenya Regiment colours. Fr. Tom was one of the chaplains at the ceremony and was presented to His Excellency, Jomo Kenyatta. During the War of Independence Fr. Tom used to have an escort when travelling through Mau Mau territory.
Nairobi and Kenya had changed dramatically since the early days and the changes have continued. It is now a city of over one million inhabitants. In 1931 there were three religious communities, the Holy Ghost, the Loreto Sisters and the Sisters of the Precious Blood. Today there are over ninety. In place of three vicariates under the Propagation of the Faith there are now fourteen dioceses, of which ten are African. The present Archbishop of Nairobi is Maurice, Cardinal Otungo. He was a student at the first Holy Ghost High School at Kabaa.
Fr. Tom Maher retired in 1981 and returned to Rockwell but he wasn't content to rest on his laurels of fifity years of missionary work. Since then he has returned to temporary duty on five occasions to Kenya and once to Sierra Leone. His last return from such duty was last January. It's an indication of where his heart rests. Kenya was his home for so long that it's difficult to hold any other place so dear. He has witnessed the dramatic spread of Christianity in the country. As he rests out his days at Rockwell, his memory stretches from that success way back to the days in Lagganstown school, when he played hurling and football in a field with separate sets of posts for goals and points. It's a long time ago but the memory is still fresh.
Posted in 6 Rockwell College
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757155
|
__label__wiki
| 0.974423
| 0.974423
|
May 8, 2014 12:28PM ET
Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee to Drum on Smashing Pumpkins Record
“Yes, that Tommy Lee,” Smashing Pumpkins website says
Kory Grow
@korygrow Follow
Kory Grow's Most Recent Stories
Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris Unpacks the Legacy of the Beast
See Roger Waters Plea for World Unity in New ‘Us + Them’ Trailer
Imperiled Woodstock 50 Organizers Brace for Impact: ‘We’ve Tried Everything We Can’
Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe, Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins.
John Shearer/WireImage; Theo Wargo/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
Smashing Pumpkins have revealed a guest performer who will play on all nine songs of their upcoming Monument to an Elegy LP: Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. “Yes, that Tommy Lee,” the Smashing Pumpkins website said, with a picture of Lee flashing the devil horns next to Billy Corgan in front of a mixing board. “Here’s a shot from the mission out west,” the caption said with an additional “Schocka-locka-boom” for punctuation.
The Best Smashing Pumpkins Songs, As Chosen by Rolling Stone Readers
In late April, Corgan wrote his own missive on the site, celebrating the fact that he had finished writing the record, “unless I manage to write another corker in the next month.” He included the proposed track list in the post. Monument to an Elegy is one of two records Smashing Pumpkins will release in 2015.
Tommy Lee, meanwhile, is keeping busy in the months before the glam-metal group embarks on its farewell tour in July. All four Mötley Crüe members signed a legally binding “cessation of touring” agreement in January promising not to reunite for another tour. “We always had a vision of going out with a big fucking bang and not playing county fairs and clubs with one or two original band members,” Lee said at the time. “Our job here is done.”
As for the document itself, bassist Nikki Sixx told Rolling Stone that it’s no joke. “We’d worked on it with corporate lawyers for a long time, going through everything and make sure it was right,” he said. “But it’s done. There’s no backing out now. . . . At that point, everyone in the band will be doing their own creative stuff, but there will be moments where we’ll miss this. But we’re not there – no tears yet.”
In This Article: Motley Crue, Smashing Pumpkins, The Smashing Pumpkins, Tommy Lee
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757159
|
__label__wiki
| 0.990244
| 0.990244
|
People to Watch 2016: Rockford's rising golf star Madasyn Pettersen continues to evolve
Matt Trowbridge Staff writer @matttrowbridge
Jan 22, 2016 at 9:00 AM Feb 22, 2016 at 8:57 AM
This article is part of our People to Watch special section, which publishes Sunday. Each year we highlight some of the most intriguing, passionate and community-minded people in the Rock River Valley.
ROCKFORD — No Rockford female has ever hit a golf ball farther than Madasyn Pettersen.
But Pettersen didn't become Rockford's first Illinois Women's Open champion, and the youngest in state history at age 15, because she hits her driver 280 yards on the fly. She won by becoming a great putter, finishing her final round with five straight birdies.
"This last year was the step that is going to change my whole golf game," Pettersen said. "I became a totally different player. I became the best putter in the whole country. That's what started the whole future of my golf game."
Pettersen has always been a star. At age 6, she finished second in the 6-under division of the Callaway World Junior Championships in San Diego. At 11, she was the youngest to reach the championship flight in the Illinois State Women's Amateur. But last year she won even while struggling to hit the ball straight.
"I didn't have a good full swing, but I got up and down from everywhere," she said. "I was making seven to nine birdies a round. It was crazy. That took my game to a new level."
Pettersen, who sometimes practices in Arizona, plans to return to Auburn for her junior year and defend her high school state title. She also plans to enter U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur qualifiers, top amateur invitationals around the nation and even a couple of qualifiers for the Symetra Tour, a stepping stone to the LPGA Tour.
"I am not playing any small tournaments anymore," Pettersen said.
Matt Trowbridge: 815-987-1383; mtrowbridge@rrstar.com; @matttrowbridge
Madasyn Pettersen
Occupation: Auburn High School sophomore golfer
2016 goal: After winning Illinois Women's Open and State Class AA high school golf titles last year, Pettersen wants to play a national schedule of golf tournaments this summer and try to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open and a couple of events on the Symetra Tour, the LPGA's minor-league tour. She also wants to repeat as the state high school champ as an Auburn junior.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757163
|
__label__cc
| 0.676377
| 0.323623
|
Women of 2013 - Five Who Shaped the World
When the European Union nearly fell apart this year, it was a woman, Angela Merkel of Germany, whose unflinching leadership held things together. The horrific gang rape and death of a women in Dehli awakened the world to the epidemic of rape in India.
Here are 5 women who have shaped the world in 2013:
1. Janet Yellin - the tiny woman with a large IQ:
In October President Obama named the first woman as Chief of the Federal Reserve. She succeeds Ben Bernanke.
2. Malala - the teen who advocates for a woman's right to education.
She was shot by the Taliban, and is the youngest person to have ever been nominated for a Nobel prize.
3. Marissa Mayer - CEO of Yahoo!
She banned working from home at Yahoo!, installed a nursury next to her own office, and has been criticized for a somewhat sexy spread in Vogue magazine.
4. The punk rock female band Pussy Riot:
Imprisoned for protesting Vladimir Putin's authoritarianism. Their outspokeness raised an international outcry that was so strong, Putin relented. They have decried his actions as insincere and as merely a PR stunt for the Sochi Olympics.
5. The Saudi Drivers:
They're taking great risks - just to be able to drive a car, in a country where it's not allowed.
By illyjns
i love Malala...i admire her courage and her passion to study
Summer Entertaining Survey: The Results Are In. …
We asked, you answered. Check out what SheSpeaks members had to say about entertaining this summer and enter to win a $25 groc…
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757167
|
__label__cc
| 0.626651
| 0.373349
|
‘How To Sell A Banksy’ Trailer
Generally, art is created, displayed and then sold. That tends to be the normal way of doing things. With the street artist Banksy, though, nothing is normal. Much of his work is displayed in public for all to see, and while it would ideally remain there as something beautiful as well as provocative, governing bodies don’t consider the outdoors an open canvas. Therefore, Banksy’s work regularly get painted over, removed or, in some cases, stolen.
That last case is the most interesting one because you can’t just drive down their street and steal a painting. Banksy’s work, however, is there for the taking. Stealing a Banksy with the express desire to resell it is the subject of How To Sell A Banksy, a documentary by Alper Cagatay and Christopher Thompson. Check out the trailer after the jump.
Thanks to The Awesomer for the heads up.
I imagine Banksy is sitting somewhere in Los Angeles right now (because he was nominated for an Oscar for his directorial debut Exit Through the Gift Shop) laughing at the media coverage and obsession with his work. (Not to mention several films about him that he didn’t direct.) Due to the huge critical acclaim bestowed on his film, plus some well-placed pieces of art around Hollywood in recent weeks, he’s got everyone talking about a variety of different things.
Which is exactly the point, isn’t it? Banksy is meant to provoke. He wants you to steal his art because there’s a moral conundrum there, he wants you to think he created Mr. Brainwash, he wants you to find pieces of art that he didn’t do but could have. This all plays into the questions like “What is art?” “Is art important?” and “Who is an artist?” that permeate in Exit Through the Gift Shop.
And, from this trailer, it looks like those questions and more will be discussed in How To Steal A Banksy. Is it okay to just take this art off the street? And is it your right to make money off of something that you had nothing to do? And what, if anything, is it worth?
Here’s the plot description of the film from its official site. No words on upcoming screenings but we’ll keep an eye out.
Banksy’s work now reportedly changes hands for millions. But he puts up his street art for free. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you got your hands on one of these? Does it mean you’ve found a winning lottery ticket or just scraped some worthless crap off a wall?
Going up against the Art Establishment, Critics, Auction Houses, Gallery Owners and Authentication Boards in a quest for the elusive meal ticket, two filmmakers unwittingly gatecrash the murky and protective world of Banksy.
“HOW TO SELL A BANKSY” raises questions of ownership, authentication and the true value of art itself. Through all the chaos and incompetence comes a modern-day, true-story, crime-theft, comedy-caper.
The Morning Watch: Banksy Teams Up with Danny Boyle, ‘The LEGO Movie’ Influences & More
Saving Banksy Trailer: A Documentary About Removing Street Art
Watch: Banksy’s Dismaland Is Closed, But You Can Still Experience It With “The Official Unofficial Film”
Banksy Releases Dismaland Trailer; Plus: Watch the Short Film Selections
/Tweeted, Business and Industry News, Documentary, Movie Trailers, True Story, Alper Cagatay, Banksy, Christopher Thompson, How to Sell A Banksy
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757175
|
__label__cc
| 0.614995
| 0.385005
|
Home » Law Home » Saint Louis University Law Journal » » » Caetano v. Massachusetts: Modern Day Weapon Protected by the Second Amendment
Caetano v. Massachusetts: Modern Day Weapon Protected by the Second Amendment
By Sarah N. Livergood
In Caetano v. Massachusetts, the United States Supreme Court struck down the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“judicial court”), which upheld the conviction of a woman for the possession of a stun gun.[1] The possession of the stun gun violated Mass. Gen. Laws, ch. 140 §131J, which bans citizens of Massachusetts from possessing an electrical weapon.[2] The Court found the law contradicts U.S. Supreme Court precedent[3] and the judicial court erred when it relied on the explanation that a stun gun does not fall under the protection of the Second Amendment because it was not in common use at the time the Amendment was enacted.[4]
Jaime Caetano (“Caetano”) was a young woman who was forced to take her safety into her own hands after she was hospitalized by an abusive ex-boyfriend.[5] She had obtained multiple restraining orders against him, but with little avail.[6] After fearing for her life, she acquired a stun gun from a friend.[7] One night, Caetano’s ex-boyfriend confronted her outside of her work and started screaming at her.[8] In response, Caetano pulled out her stun gun and threatened that if he did not leave her alone, she would be forced to use it.[9]Her threat was successful and her ex-boyfriend left.[10]
During events that occurred after Caetano’s confrontation with her ex-boyfriend, police arrested Caetano after a search of her purse revealed the stun gun. [11] The trial court found her possession of the stun gun constituted a violation of the Massachusetts law prohibiting the possession of electrical weapons, despite its purpose for self-defense.[12]Caetano claimed that the law was unconstitutional because it violated her Second Amendment right to bear arms. The court rejected her claim, asserting that the Second Amendment right does not include stun guns because they were not in “common use” at the time the amendment was enacted.[13]
The judicial court upheld the conviction of Caetano after relying on an erroneous interpretation of District of Columbia v. Heller.[14] It determined that stun guns are not protected by the Second Amendment because “they were not in common use at the time of enactment of the Second Amendment”[15] and are therefore unusual.[16] Further, the judicial court upheld the constitutionality of the Massachusetts law prohibiting electrical weapons because “[stun guns] fall within the traditional prohibition against carrying dangerous and unusual weapons.”
Court’s Analysis
The Supreme Court found the judicial court’s analysis erroneous because it defied the reasoning in Heller.[17] In Heller, the Court rejected the concept that a weapon is only protected if it was in common use at the time the Second Amendment was enacted.[18]Rather, the Court in Heller stated that “‘the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding.”’[19] Weapons did not have to be in existence at the end of the 18th century to be constitutionally protected.[20] The Court pointed out in Caetano that most weapons commonly used today for self-defense—revolvers and semiautomatic pistols—were not in existence until the 19th century or later. Yet, the Court has not found them to be exempt from Second Amendment protection.[21] Accordingly, although stun guns are a modern weapon, they also should not be considered unusual.[22]
As such, the Court rejected the judicial court’s rationale that stun guns are dangerous and unusual weapons.[23] Under the conjunctional test, a weapon may not be banned unless both elements are met.[24] The Court found that stun guns are not unusual.[25] Thus, the dangerous element of the analysis is not applicable because it is irrelevant to a weapon that is used for lawful purposes.[26]
The Court also refuted the judicial court’s assertion that stun guns are not constitutionally protected because they are not evenly matched to the weapons of the militia—an intent meant to be met by allowing civilians to bear arms.[27] The Court pointed to the use of stun guns and Tasers by law enforcement and correctional officers, who have a similar task as the militia in controlling crowds.[28] Therefore, stun guns would equate to level of force used by modern day officers and would accordingly qualify under the intent of the right to bear arms.
Author’s Analysis
The Supreme Court was correct in finding that the judicial court erred in its ruling. The opinion in Heller provides language as to whether or not weapons were in common use at the time of the Second Amendment’s enactment because Heller addresses the intent of the drafters. The intent of the right to bear arms was to protect citizens who were fit for military service that would bring lawful weapons they possessed at home to militia duty.[29]Consequently, Heller discusses whether the weapons in common use at the time matched the weapons seen in use by the militia. However, Heller does not indicate that the intent of the Second Amendment is to ensure a right of citizens to possess any weapon used by the militia. Rather, the intent is to protect the right of citizens to possess arms in the chance that they must enlist in the militia and use their own weaponry.
Therefore, I find that a restriction on the type of weapon a citizen is allowed to possess to only those that were in existence at the end of the 18th century is incompatible with the original intent of the Second Amendment. Furthermore, if the intent of the Constitution and its amendments are to be upheld, I must find that the possession of a modern day stun gun should be constitutionally protected. Although considered non-lethal, it is a weapon that may potentially be used if a citizen must enlist in the militia.[30]
The Court vacated the judgment of the judicial court upholding the conviction of a woman exercising her Second Amendment right to bear arms. It has affirmatively stated that a weapon does not need to have been in existence or in common use at the time the Second Amendment was enacted in order to be constitutionally protected. A citizen’s right to bear arms will be protected as the weaponry of modern time advances.
Sarah N. Livergood*
Edited By Tyler Winn
[1] Caetano v. Massachusetts, No. 14–10078, 2016 WL 1078932 (U.S. Mar. 21, 2016).
[2] Id. at *2. “Specifically, the statute prohibits the possession of any ‘portable device or weapon from which an electrical current, impulse, wave or beam may be directed, which current impulse, wave or beam is designed to incapacitate temporarily, injure or kill.”’ Id. at n. 1 (citation omitted).
[3] Id. at *1.
[5] Caetano, 2016 WL 1078932, at *2.
[10] Caetano, 2016 WL 1078932, at *2.
[11] Id. at *3.
[14] Id.; District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 627 (2008).
[15] Caetano, 2016 WL 1078932, at *3 (inner quotation and citation omitted).
[16] Id. at *1 (The Judicial Court found that “stun guns are unusual because they are a thoroughly modern invention”).
[19] Id. (quoting Heller, 554 U.S. at 582).
[29] Heller, 554 U.S. at 629.
[30] The author notes that the use of a stun gun or personal weapon during militia service is unlikely in this day and age due to the modern practice of providing soldiers with government weapons as opposed to soldiers supplying their own [but remains a possibility].
* Saint Louis University School of Law, J.D. Candidate 2017.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757176
|
__label__wiki
| 0.830266
| 0.830266
|
Youth: Freddie Gard Interview
@RobertCraven82
Young playmaker looking to follow in the footsteps of Jack Payne
The progression into the professional ranks of playmaker Jack Payne this season has a special resonance for his successor in the club’s youth team, Freddie Gard.
Laindon-based Gard has been at the club for eight years, and he tells Friday night’s edition of the club’s official matchday programme, Blues, that Payne is a player that is used as an example of what can be achieved when coming through the ranks at Boots & Laces.
“Jack Payne is one of the players that we’ve all been told to look up to as he sets the standard for all the youth players,” he reveals. “He’s come through the Academy like myself, so he is someone I look up to and I’m quite good friends with him.”
With Jack Bridge currently sidelined through injury, first-year scholar Gard has made an early step-up to the Under-18 side and, due to his size and talent, Head of Youth Ricky Duncan has already drawn comparisons with Payne in post-match interviews.
“It’s a compliment to be compared to him but I think, although we play similarly, we have different styles as well. We have our own strengths and weaknesses, but it’s nice to be compared to him as he’s broken into the first team and he’s doing really well. Hopefully I can follow in his footsteps.”
And the ascension to the first-team squad of team-mates Josh Banton and Jason Williams is a further inspiration: “To see players that I’ve been around for a long time breaking through shows that I’m working towards something at the end. I understand that, if you keep working hard and you keep putting the hours in, then it will come to something as those players have shown.”
Read more about Freddie Gard’s time at the club’s Academy, the learning curve he has experienced already in his opening months as a scholar and his ambitions for the season ahead in the Fleetwood Town edition of Blues, available for £3 on Friday evening.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757179
|
__label__wiki
| 0.759433
| 0.759433
|
Perseid Meteor Shower Light Show Peaks Tonight
By Denise Chow 2011-08-12T11:53:43Z Skywatching
This year's Perseid meteor shower peaks on the night of Friday, Aug. 12 and into the early morning of Saturday, Aug 13.
(Image: © Michael Menefee)
In a double weekend treat, one of the most well-known and reliable meteor showers — the Perseid meteor shower — will reach its peak overnight Friday (Aug. 12) as the International Space Station flies across the sky above many U.S. cities.
The annual Perseid meteor shower returns this week, but is expected to hit its peak activity in the overnight hours of Friday and Saturday (Aug. 13). While the full moon of August may interfere with the meteor display, the best time to catch the pretty light show (weather permitting) is during the predawn hours, especially on Saturday morning, experts at NASA advise.
And if you're looking skyward before dawn this week, you might also be able to glimpse the space station overhead. [Photos: Amazing Perseid Meteor Shower Displays]
The International Space Station will be making a series of early morning flybys over the U.S. throughout this week and into the weekend, NASA officials said. The massive orbiting complex shines bright enough that its visibility in the sky is not drowned out by moonlight or city lights.
NASA's space station tracker lists local flyby times, including those for several major cities such as Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York, that are expected to have good viewing opportunities on Friday and Saturday.
The Perseid meteor shower will compete with a full moon when it peaks on Aug. 12-13, 2011.
(Image credit: Starry Night Software)
NASA is inviting the public to participate in a Perseids webchat and "all-night" meteor shower viewing party, hosted by astronomer Bill Cooke and his team from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The webchat will begin at 11:00 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT) on Friday (Aug. 12) and will last until 5:00 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT) on Saturday (Aug. 13).
The Perseid meteor shower occurs every year as Earth passes through a stream of dust particles and debris from the Comet Swift-Tuttle. As these specks of comet dust hit the top of Earth's atmosphere at speeds of up to 140,000 miles per hour (225,000 kilometers per hour), they are heated and form bright meteor streaks that can be seen across the sky.
These meteors stream out of the constellation of Perseus, which is how the meteor shower got the name "Perseids." [Top 10 Perseid Meteor Shower Facts]
Skywatchers around the world are currently counting more than a dozen Perseids each hour, according to NASA and the International Meteor Organization. The light show should reach its peak between Aug. 12 and 13, as Earth orbits near the heart of the comet debris stream.
This year, however, the full moon occurs one hour after the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, which could outshine some of the fainter Perseids that would normally be visible against a darker sky, according to NASA. But before dawn, the full moon will be relatively low and the meteor count should be high at that time. [Video: Perseid Meteor Shower 2011 Guide]
The meteor shower will likely be viewed best under dark country skies, which will help eliminate light pollution.
Gaherty also reminds meteor watchers to have patience, as the streaks usually come in bunches, with wait times in between. He recommends budgeting at least an hour or two of skywatching to catch a good glimpse of this year's shower.
Editor's note: If you snap an amazing photo of a Perseid meteor this year and would like to share it with SPACE.com for a possible story or gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at: tmalik@space.com.
You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
Live Now! Meet the Space Station's Expedition 61 Crew
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757180
|
__label__cc
| 0.553679
| 0.446321
|
My SPIEGEL
date... any time last week last month last year headline and teaser full text author
The New Age of Protectionism: Trump Attacks German Business Model
The New Age of Protectionism Trump's Attack on Germany and the Global Economy
U.S. President Donald Trump wants to stimulate the American economy, but he has shown no interest in existing trade deals or in the basic rules of economics. It is a dangerous cocktail for German industry.
It has been quite a scene at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York recently, with a never-ending parade of stretch limousines and armored S-Class Mercedes pulling up to the building. The heads of Ford, Tesla, Boeing and dozens of other companies have all dropped by for an audience with Donald Trump. The president has consistently gushed about the "great meetings," but little more than silence could be heard from the other side.
Behind the scenes, this much has become clear: They didn't come for negotiations or even to offer advice to the new president. They came to hedge their bets. They are on the defensive, in the hopes that Trump will be less aggressive with those who he knows.
Senior executives in Germany have been keeping close tabs on the stream of visitors heading for an audience with Trump, full of concern and nervous about what the future might hold. They have refrained from speaking about Trump publicly, but internally, it's the only thing they are talking about.
There is significant fear that they too might become Trump targets. Nobody knows what rules are still valid in this new political era, one in which billions in value can be destroyed by a single tweet. An era in which it is no longer clear who is a friend and who is an enemy.
It is an era that began on Donald Trump's first day in the White House, when he turned away from what has been the global economy's most important motor for decades: free trade and globalization no longer have any place in America's new populism.
Trump immediately backed out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and is intent on renegotiating other such free trade deals, these "horrible deals," which he sees as the source of America's downfall. "This wave of globalization has wiped out totally, totally, our middle class," he said while on the campaign trail.
On the same Monday, he received dozens of America's most important executives, representatives of the country's leading economic sectors. Trump called it a "listening session," but he didn't appear to be the one interested in listening. Rather, it was the business leaders who were to receive the new rules of this new era. "America first," is the only relevant philosophy, and those who go along will be rewarded by way of massive tax cuts and investments.
Those who resist will be punished, with tariffs, special taxes, government reprisals and, more than anything, the fury of the president -- announced on Twitter and followed by a plunge in the stock price on Wall Street.
Attack on the German Model
Trump's first week was a power play, full of attempts at intimidation and threats. It was a week that raised new, fundamental questions: Can Trump really suspend the fundamental rules of economics, which force multinational corporations to maximize profits and minimize costs? Can globalization be reversed through a few tweets? And most importantly, is the U.S. president risking a global trade war so that he can impose his domestic agenda? For the moment, the answers to these questions appear to be: Yes.
The consequences of this radical political shift are not limited to the United States. When the world's largest and most influential economy makes changes, the shockwaves can be felt everywhere. A new economic world order is coming into being. And it is an attack on the German model.
In his campaign speeches and tirades against globalization, Trump primarily identified China and Mexico as his enemies, but Germany, a nation of exports, is likely to be third on that list. No other large economy is more reliant on the free exchange of goods and services, on border-free trade and barrier-free exports, than the German economy.
It is becoming apparent that Trump's presidency represents a break in the trans-Atlantic relationship, the kinds of which hasn't been seen since World War II. With a U.S. president who openly threatens a German carmaker with punitive tariffs of 35 percent, one who warns that the Germans were "very unfair to the U.S.," it could even mark a shift from friendship to animosity. In corporate headquarters and in Angela Merkel's Chancellery, executives and government officials are considering how best to stand up to this challenge. Is it better to remain composed and unperturbed, relying on rationality, on the strength of decades of ties and on the rules of the global economy? Or would it be better to prepare countermeasures, search for new allies in, for example, Asia or perhaps even to take advantage of the vacuum that is being created?
Either way, with the world looking more fragile than it has in quite some time, there is a lot at stake. The consequences of an economic crisis or even a trade war would likely be disastrous for Germany, particularly with elections approaching in autumn. Right-wing populists, who would love to see Trumpism imported to Germany, would be certain to take advantage of any economic downturn by posing as the champions of the victims of globalization.
Much will depend on the economic recipes that Trump ultimately mixes together and the effects they will have -- whether the U.S. economy will begin to wobble or whether it will actually become stronger, at least for a time.
Tax cuts and additional government spending would usher in a period of sustained economic growth. That, at least, is what the new president is promising, and the stock markets seem inclined to believe him. Optimists believe that good times are on their way and that if the American economy does well, Trump's threats will quickly fade.
A Clear Signal
However, most economists believe that anti-globalization policies can only end in a global trade war that would kill corporate innovation and plunge the entire world economy into a recession. The pessimists are concerned. The worse the American economy fares, the more radical will be the measures taken by President Trump.
In the first week of his presidency, Trump began putting together his team, charged with transforming his course campaign rhetoric into clear plans for financial and tax policy and for the Fed, for industry and for trade.
To do so, he has not surrounded himself with the country's best economists as his predecessor did. That too is a clear signal. Instead, Trump is relying almost exclusively on "businessmen:" men who have made billions, or at least millions, on the free market. They are not all committed to the same ideological course. On the contrary. Some are in favor of protectionism while others are considered to be adherents of globalization. Some want an enormous state-sponsored infrastructure program while others want to see radical spending cuts. Some want to unleash the markets while others are in favor of state regulation of key industries. Some are arch-conservatives while others are liberal.
It is -- intentionally -- unclear who will emerge victorious. The president has divided the influence of his advisers across several power centers. In the end, only one person will decide how to proceed, likely on an ad hoc basis, largely dependent on his mood. Unpredictability is one of the tenants of Trumpism. Contradictions and conflicts are intentionally fostered.
Basically, though, Trump's team, regardless of ideological proclivities, can be divided into two camps. On the one side is a random collection of speculators and crisis profiteers, provocateurs and extremists. The chair of the Council of Economic Advisors will likely be a television host. On questions of monetary policy, he relies on an arch-conservative lobbyist who wants to reintroduce the gold standard. An oil industry billionaire advises him on energy policy.
On the other side, Wall Street is celebrating its political resurrection. Steven Mnuchin is to become Secretary of the Treasury, a man who was long a partner and board member at Goldman Sachs. Head of the National Economic Council is Gary Cohn, who was chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs until a short time ago. His chief political strategist Stephen Bannon was once a Goldman Sachs executive.
During the campaign, Trump constantly attacked Hillary Clinton for her close ties to the financial industry. And many of his followers see Wall Street as the core of the conspiracy against American citizens and as the driving force behind the hated establishment.
Such crass contradictions show how deeply dissatisfied Americans are with the slow economic growth that characterized the Obama years. They long for an economic boom and for the growth rates seen in decades past -- and are willing to accept any means necessary.
An Historic High
Stock markets and consumers seem unconcerned that many of the key elements of Trump's economic plan don't fit together, or even cancel each other out. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones climbed to an historic high. Consumer confidence is higher than it has been since before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Their enthusiasm is driven by expectations of trillions of dollars in tax cuts, particularly for corporations. The cuts are supposed to encourage both companies and individuals to invest and consume, with the hope that the resulting economic growth will produce sufficient tax revenues to pay for the cuts.
Larry Kudlow, designated head of the Council of Economic Advisors, promises that the tax cuts will "really put a booster rocket underneath this economy" and produce growth rates of up to 5 percent. Growth, he says, solves all problems, including the budget deficit.
Such concepts are not new. Ronald Reagan made "supply side economics" popular in the early 1980s. But they didn't work quite as planned.
To be sure, the massive tax cuts produced economic growth rates of over 3 percent. But at the same time, the U.S. developed sovereign debt higher than anywhere else in the world along with an enormous budget deficit. Later, one of the architects of Reaganomics, a domestic policy advisor to the president in the 1980s, wrote a book pillorying the supply side approach, saying that the strategy had been a "failure." Reagan's successor, George H. W. Bush, even referred to Reagan's policies as "voodoo economics." Bush felt impelled to significantly increase taxes.
As such, economists are extremely concerned, regardless of their political affiliations, that Trumponomics could end just as disastrously as Reaganomics in the long term -- with enormous budget deficits, an even more rapidly shrinking middle class and a deeply wounded economy. Perhaps even with a stock market crash.
Nikolaus von Bomhard, chairman of the board at the reinsurance giant Munich Re, believes the recent stock market upturn to be excessive. He finds it particularly regrettable that "a part of the price movements will prove expensive, coming at the cost of engagement against climate change and its consequences." He says that if Trump expands infrastructure investments and reduces taxes while pursuing protectionism at the same time, it will drive sovereign debt and inflation in addition to the desired economic growth. "There will be huge disappointment," says Edmund Phelps, a Nobel laureate for economics and director of the Center on Capitalism and Society at Columbia University. He warns that a "deep recession," could result.
The worse the U.S. economy, the more likely Trump will be to target his putative enemies from abroad. His policies are likely to become more aggressive, including punitive measures against foreign "dumping" and attacks on all those companies who build their new factories in Mexico instead of Milwaukee.
Peter Navarro, a professor at the University of California in Irvine, is responsible for developing these policies. He is head of the newly created National Trade Council.
Navarro is an outsider in several different ways. He is the only economist on the president's team. And he is almost the only economist in the U.S. who fundamentally believes that free trade is a bad idea and who favors tough punitive tariffs. China is a danger, says Navarro, a country that doesn't play by the rules. He even produced a documentary film called "Death by China."
Part 1: Trump's Attack on Germany and the Global Economy
Part 2: German Automakers at Risk
Article...
Related SPIEGEL ONLINE links
Megalomania & Small-Mindedness: How America Lost Its Identity (01/26/2017)
Assault on Europe: Donald Trump and the New World Order (01/20/2017)
Defending Western Values: Time for an International Front Against Trump (01/20/2017)
Mr. Me: No One Loves the 45th President Like Donald Trump (01/18/2017)
Newt Gingrich on Trump White House: 'If They Decide To Become Reasonable, They Will Have Failed' (01/16/2017)
German Exports
German Economy
Discuss this issue with other readers!
Wetoldyouso 01/28/2017
1. Germany Deserves It
Trump and America are under absolutely no obligation to continue trade deals with countries they do not like who advocate policies they do not like and who have made it clear that they themselves are willing to do ugly deals with [...]
Trump and America are under absolutely no obligation to continue trade deals with countries they do not like who advocate policies they do not like and who have made it clear that they themselves are willing to do ugly deals with people like Erdogan. I did not notice Spiegel being so squeamish about Merkel forcing austerity policies that benefited the German banks and German economy down the throats of Italy and Greece. The pious hypocrisy and sour grapes exhibited here descend to the level of ten year-olds in a school yard. This is how politics work. Winners get to reset the rules. Germany should have been a bit less imperious and a bit more flexible when Cameron came calling - but you never do see the next thing coming down the pike, do you?
eks2040@aol.com 01/28/2017
2. The New Age Of Protectionism
Many more articles will be written, and unless the facts get represented truthfully, the results will remain misleading... this by design. In USA it is understood that there were good reasons for rejection of TPP, especially the [...]
Many more articles will be written, and unless the facts get represented truthfully, the results will remain misleading... this by design. In USA it is understood that there were good reasons for rejection of TPP, especially the lack of specifics on the handling of manipulation of foreign currency exchange rates. Also NAFTA is mentioned, because the agreement is not balanced, was/is favoring Mexico by design, and Pres. Trump will change this. Again, you mention the German automobile industry, which like any other exporter from Mexico pays ,zero US import duty. whereas US exports to Mexico suffer a 35 % Mexican import tax. That's not fair and will get fixed. Also German exports to USA are subject to 2.5 % tax, but US exports to Germany suffer a 10 % import tax. Not fair and that will get fixed. Pres. Trump wants international trade, has never rejected trade, however, he is insisting on fair trade, that means balanced conditions for participants. The conditions under globalization as in place today will not survive. It's time for readjustment... and the US claims under NAFTA will be subject to re-negotiations in the next months. Canada and Mexico have agreed with USA to do this asap. And there will be a Trade Agreement USA/UK.. and I assume the EU will not try to interfere. Why would the EU/D object to revising Trade Agreements on the basis of Fair and WIN-WIN?? This Saturday, Chancellor Merkel has the chance in her phone conversation with Pres. Trump to advance the topic and initiate discussions. Let's hope she will take the opportunity, other than lecturing Pres. Trump on VALUES. That did not go over too well.
Raddiy 01/28/2017
3. What did Germany expect?
Germany has exploited the open trading conditions and benevolence of the Anglosphere for the last 25 years, whilst ruthlessly protecting its own industries against foreign competition, against the spirit of free trade. At the [...]
Germany has exploited the open trading conditions and benevolence of the Anglosphere for the last 25 years, whilst ruthlessly protecting its own industries against foreign competition, against the spirit of free trade. At the same time Germany has used its history as a justification for refusing to actively support military action where necessary, happily allowing the Anglosphere to shoulder the load, and then hurrying in afterwards to share in the rebuilding at no cost to themselves. Germany has cut its defence budget to 1.2% allowing the Anglosphere to continue to pay to defend Germany the 4th richest economy, it happily consigns millions of Americans to the dole with its exports and cheap cars brought in from Mexico under NAFTA , and then expects Americans to pay to defend it. Germany has economically taken over control of EU and through the mismatch between a strong German economy and a weak Euro, it is making weaker countries in the union pay the price for its economic success. Well the chickens are now coming home to roost big time, and to many rightly so, Germany, Japan and China have abused the concept of open trade, and I fancy they are now about to pay a heavy price for their arrogance.
thomas 01/28/2017
4. Short sighted views...
that will not be any good for the USA economy. If the 'Twittler' really goes with this nationalistic approach the American people will pay dearly for it. The Chinese are only waiting to take a leading role in the globalization [...]
that will not be any good for the USA economy. If the 'Twittler' really goes with this nationalistic approach the American people will pay dearly for it. The Chinese are only waiting to take a leading role in the globalization that is unstoppable anyway. Europe is still very powerful also and has shown GE once already what happens when their market is ignored...
Inglenda2 01/28/2017
5. Why so much German anti-Trump propaganda?
Looking around the world, there are dozens of state leaders who are of a similar category to Trump. Many of these have been responsible for crimes against humanity, but are still regarded as partners for political and business [...]
Looking around the world, there are dozens of state leaders who are of a similar category to Trump. Many of these have been responsible for crimes against humanity, but are still regarded as partners for political and business reasons. The USA is in no way losing its identity, for Trump would seem to be a typical example of the wealthy, white American. He and many others, do not like to be reminded, that they themselves are the descendants of immigrants. The native Americans have little to say in their own country. This however is nothing new, we have dozens of new-founded artificial states, where the native populations have been either murdered, deported, or absorbed. Of these, most regard themselves as free and democratic. Usually this is only true for part of the population, not for the oppressed. However, even leaving such hypocracy aside, perhaps the biggest grudge Germany has against Trump, is that he is doing just that, which the German government has not done for 69 years, putting his own country first!
Please register to add a comment.
Reproduction only allowed with permission
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757182
|
__label__wiki
| 0.875551
| 0.875551
|
Beth Macy: Dopesick
An instant New York Times bestseller, Dopesick is author and journalist Beth Macy’s masterful, fast-paced account of America’s battle with opioid addiction. Through unsparing yet deeply human portraits, Beth gives a human face to those affected in both struggling communities and wealthy suburbs. Beginning with a single dealer who lands in a small Virginia town and sets about turning high school football stars into heroin overdose statistics, Beth endeavors to answer a grieving mother’s questions about why her only son died.
In conversation with The Monthly's US Correspondent Richard Cooke, Beth discusses how overtreatment with painkillers became the norm in America’s medical culture, the drug company at the centre of it all – that has just agreed to pay US$270M to avoid going to a state court trial in Oklahoma over its role in the opioid addiction epidemic – and how this crisis might be reversed.
Find out more about Beth Macy:
Read: In Deep Lit: Narrative Non-Fiction
Beth Macy (International)
Beth Macy is the author of the widely acclaimed and bestselling books Truevine and Factory Man. Based in Roanoke, Virginia for three decades, her reporting has won more than a dozen national awards, including a Nieman Fellowship for Journalism at Harvard and J. Anthony Lukas prize from Columbia University. Her latest book is Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America. Described as "a harrowing, deeply compassionate dispatch from the heart of a national emergency" by the New York Times, this is the only book to fully chart the devastating opioid crisis in America from a bestselling author and journalist who has lived through it. An instant bestseller, Dopesick was a Kirkus Prize finalist and was short-listed for the Andrew Carnegie Medal.
Richard Cooke (Australian)
Richard Cooke is The Monthly’s US correspondent, and contributing editor to the magazine. His writing has appeared in the Best Australian Essays, The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, The Sunday Times, Australian Foreign Affairs, and many other publications. He is also a writer for television and radio, and a former creative contributor to the Chaser team. In 2018 he was the Mumbrella Publish Award Columnist of the Year, and finalist in the Walkley-Pascall Award for arts criticism.
Cabaret $15
Sallie Tisdale: Advice for Future Corpses
William Davies: Nervous States
Carriageworks, Track 8, Eveleigh
Notes on a Crisis: The Literature of Love, HIV and AIDS
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757187
|
__label__cc
| 0.596577
| 0.403423
|
Cut cheque clearance charge to help SMEs
Sep 11, 2015, 5:00 am SGT
http://str.sg/ZXmk
While working in a legal organisation, I noticed that some banks adopt the practice of charging 50 cents per cheque cleared per month after the first 30 cheques.
While it may not be a major cause for concern for bigger firms, this policy affects smaller firms greatly.
Generally, smaller firms make a lot of payments by cheque. Monetary transfers are done on a per-customer basis.
Cheques also circumvent the hassle and costs of transferring funds to different banks.
The number of cheques used in such transactions usually exceeds 30, which results in costs accumulating for smaller firms.
Singapore is a leading business and legal hub. Ease, efficiency and the cost of monetary transactions are, therefore, extremely important.
It is unfortunate that while work is being done to encourage the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such bank policies are effectively undermining the efforts.
To come to a solution, the interests of both banks and smaller firms must be taken into consideration.
On the one hand, banks incur costs for every cheque cleared. On the other hand, smaller firms seek to reduce their costs.
Perhaps banks could adopt a flexible approach and modify the charge imposed, depending on the company's size.
Should the company be small, the banks could reduce or waive the charge altogether.
This would make banks more competitive on their end, while smaller firms can find it easier to thrive.
Victoria Ngaim (Ms)
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 11, 2015, with the headline 'Cut cheque clearance charge to help SMEs'. Print Edition | Subscribe
TODAY'S LETTERS
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757192
|
__label__cc
| 0.630252
| 0.369748
|
Motor racing: Rosberg fastest in final Spanish GP practice
Mercedes-AMG's German driver Nico Rosberg sits in the pits during the third practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya on May 10, 2014, in Montmelo on the outskirts of Barcelona ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix. Rosberg turned the tables on Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in final practice for the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday. -- PHOTO: AFP
May 10, 2014, 7:06 pm SGT
http://str.sg/rup
BARCELONA (REUTERS) - Nico Rosberg turned the tables on Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in final practice for the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Formula One championship leader was quickest with a time of 1min 25.887sec on a sunny morning at the Circuit de Catalunya with Hamilton, winner of the last three races and fastest on Friday, 0.869 slower.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, winner in front of his home fans last year, was third on the time sheets.
Rosberg qualified on pole in Spain a year ago and will be looking to repeat the feat to turn the momentum back his way, after seeing Hamilton whittle the overall lead down to four points in China last month.
Hamilton was keeping his powder dry however, with the 2008 world champion seeing no need to take part in the final 10 minutes of the session.
Whereas the Briton had an untroubled day on Friday, the German suffered cooling problems and was eager to make up for the lost time. He did 16 laps to his team-mate's nine on Saturday morning, with his fastest on the medium tyre.
Brazilian Felipe Massa went fourth fastest for Williams, while Frenchman Romain Grosjean put in an impressive lap for Lotus, still without a point this season, in fifth.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo was the fastest Red Bull driver, in seventh place, with quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel 10th but getting some laps under his belt after a day on the sidelines due to an electrical problem.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757193
|
__label__wiki
| 0.705595
| 0.705595
|
NEW NARCOTICS UNIT A POSITIVE STEP
SUN-SENTINEL
Anewly created crime unit in Palm Beach County will crack down on crack cocaine sales.
Because the crime unit will focus on one kind of crime and will operate countywide, and because it will be a cooperative effort among 10 city police forces and the Sheriff's Office, it has a good chance of being effective.
Sheriff Richard Wille and local police chiefs created the new unit during several meetings over the past four months. This commendable effort at cooperation across city lines came about because of what Wille called "a unique situation."
"This crack cocaine problem crosses jurisdictional lines and requires an organized approach," Wille pointed out.
In a county where cooperation among different political jurisdictions is far from the norm, this is a refreshing and useful approach. The law enforcement officials are realistic about it; they don't expect to eliminate crack cocaine sales and related crimes that often occur when the drug sales go awry or when drug addicts steal to finance their habit.
Instead, as Wille says, they expect to make the drug sales considerably more difficult.
The crime unit, called the Multi-Agency Narcotics unit, will consist of 10 sheriff's deputies and 10 local police officers, one from each of 10 cities. Each city officer will remain on his individual department payroll and also will be sworn in as a sheriff's deputy, making it easier for him to make arrests countywide. The Sheriff's Office will provide vehicles and equipment.
This unit is to exist for just one year, which may help to prevent the feeling in local police departments that they will have to function short- handed for an indeterminate time or will have to hire an extra police officer as an addition to the budget.
That was one of the problems with an earlier version of this kind of crime unit, which Wille announced just after taking office for the first time in 1977 and which existed off and on for a number of years.
The Multi-Agency Narcotics unit isn't a panacea for the crack cocaine tragedy that besets this county. But it puts the dealers and buyers on notice that their illicit deals will be much tougher to carry out now, and that more of them could wind up behind bars.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757197
|
__label__wiki
| 0.617883
| 0.617883
|
Strong women supporting each other
Special to The Star
The motto of the Strong Women Group is, “Some days you may be the strong woman, other days you may need the support of a strong woman.”
Coastal Community Association and the First United Methodist Church have been hosting a woman’s support group led by Dr. Pamela Valentine, a therapist from Tallahassee. Four more meetings are planned through February and March and it is never too late to attend.
“Just being able to talk with others who are in the same situation, made me feel less alone and less depressed,” one attendee said after the last meeting.
Others have said, “Finding out it’s okay to be mad, sad, depressed, frustrated and that there are ways to deal with these feelings is liberating.”
Dr. Valentine has not only noted that all of our situations have changed dramatically since the hurricane, but that some of those changes are actually changes within the brain.
“The brain can get frozen in the flight, fight or freeze mode and then you may not be dealing with your situation in productive ways but you can start recycling negative, non-productive modes of thinking or behavior,” she said.
She has led the group in discussions of how to regain more stability in their lives.
Not only have there been tears, but there has been laughter and encouragement as the women have shared some of the “craziness” in their lives.
The next meeting will be Feb. 21, 3-5 p.m. EST, in the Great Hall of the First United Methodist Church of Port St. Joe. Future meetings are scheduled for Feb. 28, March 14 and March 28.
Contact Robyn Rennick for more information 527-4671.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757200
|
__label__cc
| 0.60036
| 0.39964
|
Remains of plane crash victims released
FORT LAUDERDALE (AP) -- The remains of four people who were killed when their small plane crashed in the Everglades have been released to their families.
Authorities say the single-engine plane went down about 6 p.m. Sunday west of Fort Lauderdale.
The remains of husband and wife, Bruce and Karen Barber, both 46, and their 14-year-old son Payton, were taken Thursday to a Fort Lauderdale funeral home. A memorial service is scheduled for 46-year-old Phillip Marsh Saturday morning at a Coral Springs church.
Family members say the four people had been flying back from last weekend's football game between Florida and Tennessee.
The cause of the crash is being investigated.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757203
|
__label__cc
| 0.632479
| 0.367521
|
The Five R’s: Heroes and villains revisited
Wanted: More local heroes, better word choices and a boost in literacy
The Five R’s: Heroes and villains revisited Wanted: More local heroes, better word choices and a boost in literacy Check out this story on thecalifornian.com: http://bit.ly/1CaoCKE
Roberto M. Robledo Published 5:39 p.m. PT March 12, 2015
Roberto M. Robledo(Photo: File photo)Buy Photo
Calling all heroes: A story this week about the two Salinas middle schoolers who found and returned $10,700 in cash lit up the social media skies. The story has been posted 2,700 times (and counting) on Facebook; 23 Tweeterbirds have shared it as well (not counting retweets). In this day and age of journalism metrics, that’s pure gold — for both reporters and their employers. Send all of your heroes my way...
Choice of words: It seems that my reference to “checkered” in describing the reputation of one of the heroes in that story fell into disfavor with a few readers. One of them being the student’s grandmother. I humbly apologize to anyone who was offended or disapproved of my choice of words. However, I have it from two highly reliable sources that the reference is accurate. I didn’t pursue that angle of the story but felt it shouldn’t be completely ignored, either. I choose not to dwell on one sentence in the story but to take it in full context. Far and away the story casts two Salinas kids in a powerfully positive light. As I told a media colleague, this kind of story writes itself. Meanwhile, six of seven comments online praise the two girls — and their parents for raising such high-minded children. These kids are heroes. Focus on that.
Test update: For the second straight year, the state Board of Education has suspended the Academic Performance Index, or API. What does this mean? It means that California is phasing out its school testing system to make way for a new one. Parents may remember that since the year 2000 the API has categorized their children as “advanced, proficient, basic, below basic and far below basic” in math and English skills. No more. Under the Common Core State Standards students will now be tested on the Smarter Balanced Assessments. The SBA also fits kids into categories: “standard exceeded, standard met, standard nearly met and standard not met.” It’s all new; probably best to see what shakes out before trying to interpret the results. Besides, educators are still trying to use this year’s SBA testing as another practice round, as in 2013-14. Show some patience. They are still tightening some nuts and bolts throughout the Common Core system. In any event, be sure to send your kids to school test-ready.
High road: Looking for a university for your son or daughter? Times Higher Education (an authority on universities) this week released its world rankings of the “100 most prestigious global universities, based on the world’s largest invitation-only survey of senior academic opinion.” The good news is that American institutions dominate the top of the listing in 2015. Harvard University heads the list followed by University of Cambridge (England), University of Oxford (England). Massachusetts Institute of Technology ties with Stanford University and University of California at Berkeley. The rest of the top 10 is made up of Princeton University, Yale University, California Institute of Technology and Columbia University. U.S. schools take up 26 of the top 50 places and 43 of the top 100.
Low road: A new Department of Education report finds that 24 million people in the U.S. workforce “have low literacy skills, resulting in significant negative impacts on individuals, their families and their communities.” Don’t forget the impact on the quality of performance on the job and on products and services. Of course, Monterey County struggles with its own version of illiteracy. But there are several ways to combat it — programs and services from libraries to adult education. The long-term solution is gaining ground through preschool and pre-kindergarten programs. A worthy goal is to get all children reading at grade level by third grade so they have confidence in their skills moving forward. As for the adults, employers also have a role in encouraging their workers to continue their training and education for the benefit of the bottom line and the community. Illiteracy is too big a problem — nationally and locally — to ignore.
The Five R's — Readin', Ritin', 'Rithmetic, Roberto Robledo — is a weekly column by The Salinas Californian's education and youth affairs reporter. Follow him on Twitter @robledo_salnews #salinas.
Read or Share this story: http://bit.ly/1CaoCKE
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757213
|
__label__wiki
| 0.702586
| 0.702586
|
Veteran of Army’s 101st Airborn Division and Director of Mile Marker
Korey Rowe was among the first invading combat units deployed to Iraq after 9/11. He served for two years in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rdBattalion forces also known as The Rakkasans. With multiple deployments in both the Afghanistan and Iraq war theaters, Korey and his unit were the tip of the spear, twice. He lived in the Middle East for most of 2002 – 2004 but now currently lives in Los Angles where he became a filmmaker. As owner of Prism Pictures, LLC. Korey produces, directs, shoots and edits videos ranging from Narrative features, shorts, commercials, and YouTube Series. His most recent film, Mile Marker, explores events leading to the death of a former battle buddy, Jesse Snider, who took his own life in March of 2014 after a losing his battle with PTSD and subsequent run-ins with the law. In a quest to find answers and raise awareness, he embarked on a 7000-mile road trip throughout the United States to chronicle the tragic story of Jesse through the lens of friends from their unit — all Rakkasans, who share their emotional stories. Having found relief of his own symptoms of PTSD, Korey advocates for policy change at the federal level as a matter of life and death for some veterans. Once reprimanded for use of cannabis while on active duty, he was among the few who didn’t lose retirement benefits or his honorable discharge status. Most veterans with felony drug convictions are stripped of all military benefits and honorable discharge status. He believes no veteran should have their full retirement and VA benefits or honorable discharge revoked for use of cannabis if it helps them cope with PTSD and combat injuries.
Watch Korey Rowe’s Veterans Voices video
Go to Interview
Go to Veteran Voices
Related Guests
Browse All Guests
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757214
|
__label__wiki
| 0.78489
| 0.78489
|
Graduate School of Design, SEAS Welcomes Master’s Cohort
By Theo C. Lebryk, Crimson Staff Writer September 7, 2016
Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have officially welcomed their first cohort of 15 students pursuing a master’s degree in design engineering.
The program, which lasts two years, combines introductory courses, collaborative group projects, and a final, individual capstone project.
Prior to embarking on individual projects, degree candidates in their first year work in groups to develop an app, website, or other solution to a predetermined social issue. This year, students will be tasked with developing solutions to problems facing food systems.
Master in Design Engineering co-director Woodward Yang said the program aims to create well-rounded thinkers, as opposed to highly-specialized academics.
“[We’re] trying to get people who have some areas of expertise to sit together in a room with people with different areas of expertise, look at real world problems, understand that real world problems actually aren’t pointy,...learn from each other, and come up with a really good solution,” Yang said.
The current group of degree candidates draws from the design, engineering and business fields. All of the students have previous experience in at least two of those fields, according to Yang.
“That’s one of the most interesting and exciting things. All these students come from different and multiple areas of expertise and they’re interested in learning more,” Yang said.
Though the current program is small in number, MDE co-director Martin Bechthold said ambitions are high.
Bechthold said he hopes the master’s program will become the best in the field of “programs that address big, complex problems through teaching interdisciplinary methods.”
“The goal is to make the MDE something that, in 50 or 100 years, has become an established degree,” Bechthold said. “Today, the MBA is that and it started at Harvard, and the MDE may be the future MBA in its own field.”
Some current students were particularly attracted to the degree’s combination of distinct academic disciplines and professional skills.
“I think this [program] just gives you a really solid foundation of knowledge that applies across disciplines,” MDE candidate Julie Loiland said. “A lot of companies are looking for people who can connect the designers with the engineers with the business people and kind of bring it altogether, so I think this program will set us up well for being able to work across disciplines in the real world.”
—Staff writer Theo C. Lebryk can be reached at theo.lebryk@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @theo_lebryk.
HUDS Workers Prepare to Strike
Graduate School of Design Research Science News
School of Public Health Will Launch Blended Master’s Degree
The Harvard School of Public Health will launch a new master’s degree program that will be offered largely online, with a small residential component.
SEAS and Design School Launch Joint Master's Degree
The Master’s of Design Engineering is intended for professionals who demonstrate technical literacy and have at least two years of work experience in engineering, design, government, or business.
The Frontier between the Arts and Sciences: Harvard's Pioneers
Arts Asks: Santiago Mota
Business School, SEAS Launch Joint Degree Program
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757215
|
__label__cc
| 0.525843
| 0.474157
|
The Underdogs
photographs by Annie Morton
written by Kara McGinley
Philadelphia’s reputation is strong and not exactly flattering, but it is one that is not entirely unearned. It’s rough around the edges and it insists on staying that way.
In 1863, during The Civil War, Robert E. Lee invaded Pennsylvania. When word reached Philadelphia, they didn’t really feel fear or the need to do much to prepare. A historical mix of toughness and attitude, which is a quintessential Philadelphian response. To this day, that still describes the demeanor of Philadelphia.
We’re proud of throwing snowballs at Santa Claus, batteries at ball players, and shooting flares into crowds. We’re proud of being hellish fans. Drinking is so heavy at Eagles’ games that there is a district judge in the bowels of the Lincoln Financial Field who metes out justice to the inebriated and unruly. Yet, we also have each other’s backs.
It’s a city of neighborhoods and even more so, it’s a city of neighbors. It’s a place where you can still knock on someone’s door and ask for a bottle opener or for help changing a flat tire. This isn’t Southern hospitality, but this is The City of Brotherly Love, meaning you keep it in the family. You look out for one another and really no one else.
There is also an inherent strangeness to the city. It is home to the oldest folk parade in the United States, the Mummers Parade. Tens of thousands of people dress up around the city essentially as extravagant clowns and Philadelphians take to the streets to drink and celebrate the New Year.
It’s something you have to see to understand. However, if you’re not from Philadelphia and you find yourself on Broad Street on New Year’s Day, you might think you entered another dimension; one full of dancing lobsters, feathered jesters and out of tune string music.
When the Eagles won the Superbowl this year, fans not only embraced the title of “underdog,” they literally became it. Wearing dog masks and barking at competitors. When they won, the Eagles’ starting center, Jason Kelce, led the parade of fans in singing the Philadelphia Union fight song:
We’re from Philly, Fucking Philly, No one likes us, We don’t care, No one likes us, No one likes us, No one likes us, We don’t care!
Before the Superbowl, poles were preemptively greased with Crisco in an effort to keep celebrators from climbing them, but it’s hard to stop an underdog on their way up. During the celebration, people were shooting fireworks into the air and standing on top of cars and hotel overheads, breaking them down and essentially destroying the city they were cheering for.
When a keg dropped over a seven foot metal gate, my brother turned to a cop who was standing next to him and asked if this was all okay. I don’t blame him for the stupid question, he’s been living in Boston for five years. The cop looked at him and with a shrug said, “This is for The Birds. This is for Philly, so yes it is, but also no.”
It’s one of the most historical cities in the United States, but a fictionalized character of a boxer is more idolized than Ben Franklin, William Penn or any other figure who actually lived there, including George Washington.
Philadelphians identify with Rocky so much because the city is as important a character in the movie as the fighter himself. Rocky wouldn’t be Rocky if there was no Philly. He wouldn’t exist. Only Philadelphia could breed such an underdog story and only Philadelphians could have such pride in a fictional character that they treat him as though he were real.
Philly doesn’t expect your frills. It doesn’t care.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757216
|
__label__wiki
| 0.613189
| 0.613189
|
Turns Out Getting Revenge Really Does Make You Happier
By Cari Romm
Photo: Mark Matysiak/Getty Images
Revenge is a little like bingeing on an entire cake or texting an ex in the wee hours of the morning: something that seems like a good idea, but soon enough reveals itself to be a mistake. The problem, of course, is that it’s hard to think of those long-term consequences when it feels so good in the moment — especially when, as a recent study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology illustrates, retaliating against people who have wronged you really does make you feel measurably happier.
For the first part of the study, as Alex Fradera explained over at BPS Research Digest, the authors had their subjects write personal essays, then told them they’d be swapping with another volunteer to provide feedback; some of the participants instead received pre-written, mean-spirited messages trashing their writing. The researchers then gave them all a voodoo doll, telling the participants to pretend it was the person who had insulted them — and sticking it with pins, it turned out, went a long way toward boosting participants’ moods.
Test Yourself: Do You Seek Out Revenge, or Avoid Your Problems?
A Neuroscientist Explains the Phrase ‘I Just Snapped’
The problem, though, was that the link between revenge and intention still wasn’t clear: Participants felt better after they took advantage of the opportunity to (sort of) harm their foes, but would they actively seek out that same opportunity in search of the same end? To find out, the study authors recruited a separate group of 154 volunteers, giving each one a pill that would allegedly sharpen their cognitive skills (actually just a placebo). Some subjects were also led to believe that the pill had a mood-stabilizing effect, effectively locking them into whatever mood they were feeling until the medication wore off.
Afterwards, participants played what they believed to be a team-based computer game, with some games programmed to make them feel ignored by the other players. When that was done, the researchers gave the volunteers a chance to “punish” their teammates by sending an uncomfortably loud blast through their headphones. And most of them went for it, with a weird twist: The only rejected subjects who didn’t enthusiastically exact their revenge were the ones who thought they’d taken the mood-freezing pill — who “presumably believed they had no prospect of improving mood, so there would be no point in lashing out,” as Fradera put it.
In other words, participants didn’t just enjoy revenge; they sought it out as a way of making themselves feel better. It’s not exactly a flattering reflection of our collective psyches, but it’s one of those things that’s nevertheless good to know; once you’re aware, at least you can try to channel your rage into more productive outlets. Maybe talk it out, or just take a few deep breaths. Or, if all else fails, swearing feels pretty good, too.
BPS Research Digest
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757217
|
__label__wiki
| 0.529088
| 0.529088
|
‘Fifty-seven murdered in SA everyday’
South Africa recorded 20,336 murders in the last year, an increase of 1,320 murders compared to the same period the year before, Police Minister Bheki Cele has said.
“This means 57 murders a day. It borders on a war zone,” the visibly angry minister said.
Police records show that murder rates have increased in the past six consecutive years.
Francois Beukman, who heads the police oversight committee in parliament, described the numbers as “alarming and totally unacceptable”.
Admitting that the police haven’t done as well as they should have, Mr Cele said the security officers had “dropped the ball.”
“South Africans must not take it as a norm that they can be hijacked, robbed and killed every day. We have to pick up the ball and change the situation for the better.”
He promised to work hard to change the situation: “Our bottom line is that this situation must reverse,” he said.
The motives and circumstances behind killings range from gangsterism to vigilantism.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757221
|
__label__wiki
| 0.787134
| 0.787134
|
HomeDiaspora NewsOnline voting option for Diaspora
Online voting option for Diaspora
September 26, 2018 Staff Reporter Diaspora News, Science & Technology 0
Twenty-seven years ago, less than half of Estonia’s population had a telephone.
Today, the country could provide Zimbabwe with an ICT option for mulled Diaspora participation in elections back home: the e-vote.
On Monday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the United States, President Emmerson Mnangagwa met Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas, and one of the more interesting issues discussed in that engagement was e-voting, or how people can vote for their public officials online.
A day earlier, President Mnangagwa had told Zimbabweans resident in the US that he agreed with the principle of a Diaspora vote, something not presently provided for in electoral statutes, and that he was looking at the logistical issues surrounding this between now and the next general election in 2023.
An official privy to the closed-door discussions said PM Ratas had requested the meeting with President Mnangagwa within the context of seeking Zimbabwe’s support for a rotational seat on the UN Security Council come 2019.
“There is a strong possibility that Zimbabwe is likely to back that bid,” Mr George Charamba – Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet – said. “But more interesting is that in the course of that conversation, it emerged that Estonia uses e-voting.
“As you know, Zimbabwe has a huge Diaspora and one of its most recurrent demands has been the right to vote. That has not happened as quickly as the President would want because of the logistical challenges of such a proposition. E-voting provides possibilities in this regard.”
Mr Charamba said PM Ratas offered to accommodate a Zimbabwean technical team’s visit to Estonia to learn from experts there, or for the Estonian specialists to come to Zimbabwe to assess the current ICT and legislative infrastructure and architecture and make appropriate recommendations on how to implement e-voting.
The Estonian Experience
Estonia provides an option, not only for Diasporans but also for Zimbabwean voters at home, as e-voting could in the long run reduce the high cost of elections in the country.
But why Estonia? Why not India, or the US, or China, or Japan? Or any other country better known for its ICT innovations for that matter?
Estonia is not ICT backwater, and is in fact the silent pioneer of many innovations. The Baltic Tiger has itself allowed e-voting for about a decade now, after having already given the world file sharing giant Kazaa! online communications systems behemoth Sype, and finance technology colossus TransferWise.
By any measure, Estonia is no lightweight in the area of ICT.
ICT contributes about seven percent of GDP, and its researchers and computer scientists are at the forefront of fields like deep learning, quantum cryptography, business process analysis and bioinformatics.
According to the World Bank, GDP per capital in 2012 was $23 631, and was in 2013 number 21 on the same institution’s Ease of Doing Business rankings.
Projections are that by 2025, GDP per capita will compare favourably with Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway, which are normally classed among the most economically stable countries in the world; and by 2050 could be the most productive country in the Eurozone after Luxembourg.
But it is in ICTs that a silent revolution is ongoing.
Since the mid-1990s, the country has aggressively pursued a national ICT education strategy that has seen Estonia rated by some as the most advanced in Europe in terms of e-government.
In 2007, it allowed online voting, the first country in the world to do so, a few years after the government had declared access to the Internet as a human right.
And how does the system work?
Estonia’s e-voting builds on the national identity card, which has “smart” properties including a secure digital signature.
Of course, the ID card on its own cannot work without the requisite ICT infrastructure.
In short, a person opens the election management body’s website, registers to vote, and then votes by inserting his/her ID in the computer’s card reader.
Votes can be cast for about a week before ballots are physically cast by those who do not want the Internet option.
Further, a voter can cast multiple ballots online. So if you change your mind you go back online before election day and vote for someone else. This invalidates any previous choice.
Even then, on election day one can still go and cast a physical ballot which also invalidates the prior online choice.
In essence, the last choice made is the one that is counted.
Voters can check their choices via mobile phone and verify it as it is added to the national/parliamentary/municipal tally.
But the system has its dangers.
As with anything on the World Wide Web, there is a possibility of hacking, viruses or data leakage.
In fact, in May 2014 a team of international computer security experts said their analysis showed they could change votes and vote totals, and erase any footprints so no one would know what they would have done.
However, the Estonia National Electoral Committee responded saying the criticism was based on theoretical suppositions rather than things people were technically and practically capable of doing.
In the 2017 municipal elections, about 31 percent of Estonia’s electorate voted online – a figure that has remained consistent over the past three polls.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757222
|
__label__wiki
| 0.514207
| 0.514207
|
Queen’s Speech 2017: Heads down, there’s work to be done
By Patrick Murray
Today marked Prime Minister Theresa May’s first, and quite possibly last, Queen’s Speech, setting out her government’s legislative agenda for the next two years (if they make it that far). Despite headlines about a pared-down version, there is quite a lot for charities to get their teeth into.
Brexit at the forefront
Unsurprisingly Brexit will dominate much of the programme for government. 8 of the 27 bills mentioned relate to Britain’s departure from the EU. In particular the ‘Great Repeal Bill’, which seeks to transpose EU regulations into British law will be a major, and likely controversial, piece of legislation. Whether as much will be done through secondary legislation as originally envisaged, given the hung parliament, is open to question. But undoubtedly this will be one for charities to watch like eagle-eyed hawks for any seemingly innocuous changes getting slipped in through the back door.
Other bills related to leaving the EU will be important too. Trade and Customs Bills will legislate for any of the new economic realities that the country will need to cope with. An agriculture bill will focus in part on measures protecting the environment. And a new immigration system—arguably the touchpoint that led to the Brexit vote—will need new legislation. A note that may be important for charities with European staff, or working on these issues: the documentation suggests that the aim is to bring EU nationals into the existing UK system. You have only to look at the effect of tightening the existing system for non-EU nationals has had on families to realise that it could have a real impact on both charity staff, and the causes and beneficiaries charities exist to serve.
Surprisingly, in our survey work for our State of the Sector report Charities taking charge, we found that the majority of charity leaders asked think Brexit will have no effect, or a neutral effect on demand for their services, the policy environment, or cohesion within the communities they work in. This seems as unlikely after the Queen’s Speech as it did in the build-up to triggering Article 50. Overall charities will need to get their skates on and work out how Brexit will affect their beneficiaries and organisations.
What else is new?
There were some specific measures that charities from different sectors will want to get to grips with:
A Domestic Violence Bill introducing new powers and a Domestic Violence and Abuse Commissioner.
A ban on letting agents fees, something housing charities have long campaigned for.
The pledge on 0.7% of GDP being spent on international aid will be retained.
Yet another social care consultation, which will desperately need the expertise of social care charities if the election debate was anything to go by.
Confirmation that previously announced education policies such as reform of technical education and funding formula for schools will be going ahead.
Reform of mental health legislation, in particular looking at issues around equalities, rates of detention, alongside a now familiar pledge to give greater priority to mental health. The latter will encompass a new green paper on Children and Young People’s mental health.
A new digital charter, which the government says it will include charities in developing.
What’s not there
But alongside this raft of measures there were several notable omissions. Criminal justice charities may note that the flagship Courts Bill is not called the Prison and Courts Bill. What this means for the prison reform elements delayed by the General Election, such as devolving greater powers to prison governors, is unclear.
And despite much fanfare about the end of austerity, the government remains committed to deficit reduction, saying ‘the government will reduce the structural deficit to less than 2% of GDP and get debt falling as a percentage of GDP by 2020/2021’. Let’s not forget that many of the policies charities have been worried about around benefits are already on the books.
As for the political dimension, there is not yet a formal agreement announced with the DUP. But the election result has led to several significant absences: no mention of pensioner benefits being means tested or changes to the triple lock; grammar schools are absent; and the Trump visit appears to be on the backburner. It’s an important reminder that old certainties are in tatters. We are in a hung parliament and charities need to engage across party lines to get their concerns on the political agenda.
Of course over all of this hangs the spectre of uncertainty. Will any of it actually make it to the statute book? Nevertheless, charities should waste no time in engaging to shape this very fluid agenda. The next couple of years are going to be a bumpy ride, and the sector’s passion, insight and experience will be crucial.
Think Tank & External Affairs
Patrick leads NPC’s policy, think tank and research activities.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757223
|
__label__wiki
| 0.985929
| 0.985929
|
Four dead in C.Africa clashes after vendor's death
The PK5 district has become a flashpoint in the troubled country, already weakened by sectarian violence and dogged by militias
Clashes rocked a Muslim-majority area of the Central African Republic capital Bangui for a second day Thursday, leaving four dead and 26 wounded, local sources said.
The PK5 district erupted in tit-for-tat violence after a vendor was killed by a local militia.
The district has become a flashpoint in the troubled country, already weakened by sectarian violence and dogged by militias.
Imam Awad Al Karim said that three members of a self-defence group had died and that their bodies along with that of the vendor were brought Thursday to the Ali Babolo mosque.
"It started with a dispute between a petrol seller and armed youths," the imam said, explaining that the vendor did not want to pay a tax imposed by the local self-defence unit.
Two youths then lobbed a grenade, killing the 40-year-old man. The victim's family turned to a rival militia to avenge his killing, sparking clashes on Wednesday.
Gunfire between criminal groups ontinued overnight and into Thursday, the spokesman for the UN mission in CAR Vladimir Monteiro told AFP.
"We have sent patrols in the district," he added.
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said 26 people were recorded as injured as of late Thursday.
Shops in the area's main Barthelemy Boganda Avenue were closed and the streets were deserted, an AFP journalist said.
"It started from a simple case of racketeering. However the market is empty and people are scared," a shopkeeper said.
The distinction between fighters and civilians is sometimes difficult to draw in the PK5 district, a major economic hub which has been a battleground on and off since 2014.
The CAR is one of the world's poorest and most volatile countries.
It plunged into bloodshed in 2013 after the country's longtime leader Francois Bozize was ousted by a predominantly Muslim rebel alliance called the Seleka.
Nominally Christian militias called the anti-Balaka emerged in response, accelerating a cycle of sectarian violence.
Former colonial power France intervened militarily from 2013 to 2016 to expel the Seleka, and then wound down the operation.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757224
|
__label__wiki
| 0.977792
| 0.977792
|
The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act
Ancient History and Culture
Medieval & Renaissance History
The 20th Century
Humanities › History & Culture
How the Apartheid Law Affected South Africa
Gideon Mendel/Getty Images
by Angela Thompsell
Angela Thompsell, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of British and African History at the College at Brockport, State University of New York.
The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (no. 55 of 1949) was one of the first pieces of apartheid legislation enacted after the National Party came to power in South Africa in 1948. The Act banned marriages between “Europeans and non-Europeans,” which, in the language of the time, meant that white people could not marry people of other races. It also made it a criminal offense for a marriage officer to perform an interracial marriage ceremony.
Justification and Aims of the Laws
The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act did not, however, prevent other so-called mixed marriages between non-white people. Unlike some other key pieces of apartheid legislation, this act was designed to protect the “purity” of the white race rather than the separation of all races.
Mixed marriages were rare in South Africa before 1949, averaging fewer than 100 per year between 1943 and 1946, but the National Party explicitly legislated to keep non-whites from "infiltrating" the dominant white group by intermarriage. Both the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act and the Immorality Act of 1957 were based on then-active United States segregation laws. It was not until 1967 that the first U.S. Supreme Court case rejecting miscegenation laws (Loving v. Virginia) was decided.
Apartheid Marriage Law Opposition
While most white South Africans agreed that mixed marriages were undesirable during apartheid, there was opposition to making such marriages illegal. In fact, a similar act had been defeated in the 1930s when the United Party was in power.
It was not that the United Party supported interracial marriages. Most were vehemently opposed to any interracial relations. Led by Prime Minister Jan Christiaan Smuts (1919–1924, and 1939–1948), the United Party thought that the strength of public opinion against such marriages was sufficient for preventing them. They also said there was no need to legislate interracial marriages since so few happened anyway, and as South African sociologist and historian Johnathan Hyslop has reported, some even stated that making such a law insulted white women by suggesting they would marry black men.
Religious Opposition to the Act
The strongest opposition to the act, however, came from the churches. Marriage, many clerics argued, was a matter for God and churches, not the state. One of the key concerns was that the Act declared that any mixed marriages “solemnized” after the Act was passed would be nullified. But how could that work in churches that did not accept divorce? A couple could be divorced in the eyes of the state and married in the eyes of the church.
These arguments were not enough to stop the bill from passing, but a clause was added declaring that if a marriage was entered into in good faith but later determined to be “mixed” then any children born to that marriage would be considered legitimate even though the marriage itself would be annulled.
Why Didn’t the Act Prohibit All Interracial Marriages?
The primary fear driving the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act was that poor, working-class white women were marrying people of color. In actual fact, very few were. In the years before the act, only roughly 0.2–0.3 percent of marriages by Europeans were to people of color, and that number was declining. In 1925 it had been 0.8 percent, but by 1930 it was 0.4 percent, and by 1946, 0.2 percent.
The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act was designed to 'protect' white political and social dominance by preventing a handful of people from blurring the line between white society and everyone else in South Africa. It also showed that the National Party was going to fulfill its promises to protect the white race, unlike its political rival, the United Party, which many thought had been too lax on that issue.
Anything taboo, however, can become attractive, just by virtue of being forbidden. While the Act was rigidly enforced, and the police endeavored to root out all illicit interracial relations, there were always a few people who thought that crossing that line was well worth the risk of detection.
By 1977, opposition to these laws was growing in the still white-led South African government, dividing members of the liberal party during the government of Prime Minister John Vorster (Prime Minister from 1966–1978, president from 1978–1979). A total of 260 people were convicted under the law in 1976 alone. Cabinet members were divided; liberal members backed laws offering power-sharing arrangements to nonwhites while others, including Vorster himself, decidedly did not. Apartheid was in its painfully slow decline.
The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, along with the related Immorality Acts which prohibited extra-marital interracial sexual relations, was repealed on June 19, 1985. The set of apartheid laws were not abolished in South Africa until the early 1990s; a democratically elected government was finally established in 1994.
"Curbs on Interracial Sex and Marriage Divide South African Leaders." The New York Times, July 8, 1977.
Dugard, John. "Human Rights and the South African Legal Order." Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978.
Furlong, Patrick Joseph. "The Mixed Marriages Act: a historical and theological study." Cape Town: University of Cape Town, 1983.
Higgenbotham, A. Leon Jr., and Barbara K. Kopytof. "Racial purity and interracial sex in the law of colonial and antebellum Virginia." Georgetown Law Review 77(6):1967-2029. (1988–1989).
Hyslop, Jonathan, “White Working-Class Women and the Invention of Apartheid: 'Purified' Afrikaner Nationalist Agitation for Legislation against 'Mixed' Marriages, 1934-9” Journal of African History 36.1 (1995) 57–81.
Jacobson, Cardell K., Acheampong Yaw Amoateng, and Tim B. Heaton. "Inter-Racial Marriages in South Africa." Journal of Comparative Family Studies 35.3 (2004): 443-58.
Sofer, Cyril. “Some Aspects of Inter-racial Marriages in South Africa, 1925–46,” Africa, 19.3 (July 1949): 193.
Wallace Hoad, Neville, Karen Martin, and Graeme Reid (eds.). "Sex and Politics in South Africa: The Equality Clause / Gay & Lesbian Movement / the Anti-Apartheid Struggle." Juta and Company Ltd, 2005
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949. (1949). Wikisource.
Interracial Marriage Under Apartheid
How Interracial Marriage Laws Have Changed Since the 1600s
The Facts About South African Apartheid
Quotes From PW Botha Reveal Chilling Ideology Behind Apartheid
South Africa's Apartheid Segregation: Group Areas Act No. 41 of 1950
Timeline and History of Marriage Rights
When and How Did Apartheid Start in South Africa?
What Was Apartheid in South Africa?
Biography of Sir Seretse Khama, African Statesman
The Population Registration Act No 30. of 1950 Under Apartheid
What Was the Black Consciousness Movement?
The Amazing Life of Nelson Mandela
South Africa Geography and History
How Donald Woods Covered the Death of Steve Biko
What Is History of the Birth of South Africa?
What Signs Were Used to Enforce Segregation During Apartheid?
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757225
|
__label__cc
| 0.680572
| 0.319428
|
zentiv agency is now TIV
Have we lost our zen?! Perhaps in a literal sense, but we’re as centered as ever…
Two years of building zentiv agency has brought a lot. We’ve built an amazing team. We’ve developed an inspiring list of clients. We’ve pushed the quality of our work to a whole new level. But most importantly we’ve learned a lot about ourselves and what we want our company to be. We decided to eat our own cooking…take our own medicine…call it what you will, but when we decided to part ways with one of our partners in zentiv agency, the need to really look at our branding had arrived.
We start all of our client work with a DISCOVER phase. And what did the DISCOVER phase teach us about ourselves? What we really do is build brands. When you look at our work and the areas where we are experts, everything we do can be classified as developing tools to build brands. For example, digital is the most powerful brand building tool available today. Even if you have a logo, a well developed identity creates the full brand experience. Copy writing develops a brand voice that takes the brand experience beyond the visual. And so on and so forth.
With that in mind we explored all of the things we explore when we’re hired to rebrand a company. Who is our core audience? Is there a secondary or tertiary audience? How are we going to speak to our audience and when we do, what tone will we use? As you can see, we ended up with a casual brand voice which is very similar to the way we all talk in client meetings. Friendly but knowledgeable. We ended up there by going through our brand voice exercise that’s proven effective for a host of clients. I personally wanted to talk exclusively in acronyms, but I was out voted.
With our audience and brand voice fairly well defined we started talking names. zentiv agency? TIV, Inc.? New name? The sky was the limit. But in the end because of what we do, TIV was the obvious choice. Since 2009 we’ve been building brands under the TIV name and the equity in the brand was there. TIV has always stood for quality, expertise and a very personal and hands-on experience. Adding our new partner, Eric Van Cleave, into the mix was the perfect fit for all that TIV stood for. We keep joking that we’re going to adopt Eric to keep the family-owned and operated thing going…but let’s face it, he’s already family whether he likes it or not.
The majority of the initial work in DESIGN centered around the TIV logo. We looked at whether there was a need to adjust the form of the brand mark or whether it remained relevant and representative of who we are. And the color scheme? Those who have visited our old home in Windsor or the zentiv building in Santa Rosa know that we use our brand colors on more than just our business cards. With that in mind we developed a system for using the green, orange, and gray that represents all of the iterations of our company.
Once the logo was finished up we focused on our website. The DISCOVER phase lead to the strategy of keeping a similar format to the old TIV website. We’ve always believed that an agency’s website should be nothing more than a framework for the projects inside. We designed a clean and simple layout that is ideal for showcasing our client work. The biggest carryover from the zentiv agency website was the team page because the sentiment is still true and the team remain the key to our success.
Once the design was complete we moved to the DEVELOP phase which fell heavily on the graphics and programming teams. We knew if we were building a brand new website we wanted it to be perfect. So we took new photos of all packaging in order to keep the style consistent and avoid being visually jarring with jumps between mocks, photos and other treatments. We showed the digital work in action to emphasize the importance of designing for multiple platforms. Finally, we developed a very unique approach to showcase all of the components of our brand development and campaign work. In a perfect world we wanted something recognizable that could also be used across digital and social media channels.
The development team took the opportunity to really explore some user experience ideas that they’d been hoping to have the opportunity to work on. The combination of a simple design with subtle animation is a great example of how great design doesn’t need to be overly intricate.
With the launch of the new website and the new branding, our DRIVE efforts are focused around social media, blogging, and PR. But we don’t want to spoil anything…check us out at TIVbranding.com/blog or Facebook.com/TIVbranding to keep an eye on our ongoing brand building efforts.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757227
|
__label__wiki
| 0.677906
| 0.677906
|
Some Nigerian women forced into prostitution by Eiye Confraternity
TVC E. 21 Nigerian women have been rescued from prostitution in a raid conducted by the Spanish police in Ibiza.
The victims, one as young as 16, were lured to Spain with false promises of a job and were forced to work for 14 hours a day.
It was reported that, the women were flogged with sticks and brooms for not meeting the target set by their employers.
“If they didn’t earn 1,000 euros a day, they would be forced to kneel for hours and beaten with sticks and brooms,” a police spokesman said.
“The network captured very young victims among the lower classes of the major Nigerian cities, deceiving them with false job offers in Spain.
“Once in our country, they were forced into prostitution in marathon days, being beaten if they did not earn the money demanded by the gang.”
The ladies were lured with job offers that were “too good to refuse” and were smuggled into Europe on boats and planes.
The true nature of their job was revealed on arrival in Spain and they were told that they would only regain freedom after paying £50,000 through prostitution.
They were kept in an apartment and were allowed to go out occasionally to buy food or meet a client for an appointment.
The girls were subjected to rituals and sworn to loyalty with threats of killing their family members.
A member of the human trafficking gang was arrested in Germany and it was reported that five others belong to a cult – ‘Supreme Eiye Confraternity’.
Investigators said Ibiza is the destination of choice for summer prostitution because of the high influx of tourists and the gang controls the exclusive streets of the city.
prostitution,Nigerian Women,Eiye Confraternity
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757236
|
__label__cc
| 0.66578
| 0.33422
|
2Face Idibia to raise N14m in 14 days for IDP camps
As 2016 comes to end, Nigerian music star, 2Face Idibia is set to kick off a new project which will support Internally displaced persons in Nigeria.
2face Idibia will be performing between 17th and 31st of December 2016 to raise N14m for IDP camps.
The Project 14/14 as it has been tagged, will see the iconic singer perform at several events between the 17th and 31st of December 2016 in a bid to raise 14 million Naira which will go into supporting six outstanding non-governmental organizations who work tirelessly to support people living in Internally Displaced Persons Camps.
Project 14/14 is an initiative of the 2Face foundation in partnership with the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, KIND.
Corruption,2Face Idibia,Internally Displaced Persons,IDPs
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757237
|
__label__wiki
| 0.954488
| 0.954488
|
Only Wisconsin woman killed by enemy fire…
No more fudge puppies
Closs abductor moved
Frank Viola ejected
Local Jamaican eatery
New at State Fair
Summer books to try
Magic noodle is delicious
That’s one wacky shed
Only Wisconsin woman killed by enemy fire during WWII honored
Lt. Ellen Ainsworth, a nurse with the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, is pictured in her uniform in this undated photograph. Ainsworth was serving with the 56th Evacuation Hospital at Anzio, Italy, when a German bomb exploded outside her tent Feb. 12, 1944. She died from her wounds four days later. Courtesy photo.
(L to R) U.S. Army Nurse Corps nurses Mary Henehan, Lena Grussing, Ellen Ainsworth and Avis Dagit (now Avis Schorer) are dressed for duty while in Italy during World War II. Ainsworth would later become one of six Army nurses killed by enemy fire in Anzio, Italy. (Courtesy of Avis D. Schorer).
A mugshot of the now 95-year-old Avis Schorer when she was a WWII nurse. She wrote a book about the experience called titled 'A Half Acre of Hell.' (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)
An operating room at Anzio, Italy, during World War II. Over a period of four months in 1944, U.S. hospitals at Anzio treated more than 33,000 patients, of which about 10,800 suffered battle wounds. (Courtesy of Avis D. Schorer)
In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, lining the deck of a landing craft at the dock at Anzio, Italy wounded American troops, casualties from the fierce battle for the Bridgehead, lie on litters awaiting transfer to a hospital ship offshore, Feb. 28, 1944. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)
95-year-old Avis Schorer is photographed at her home in Lilydale on Thursday, May 22, 2014. Schorer wrote a book about her experience as a WWII nurse titled 'A Half Acre of Hell.' (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)
A new visitors center at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy, honors eight Armed Service members who lost their lives in Italy, including Lt. Ellen Ainsworth, a Glenwood City, Wis., nurse who was killed by a bomb fragment at Anzio in 1944. Ainsworth was the only woman from Wisconsin killed by enemy fire in World War II. (Courtesy of Tina Young).
By Andy Rathbun | arathbun@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: May 24, 2014 at 8:42 am | UPDATED: November 3, 2015 at 6:43 am
Couple indicted in fatal shooting of 18-year-old blocking them in at Minneapolis gas station
Minnesota DHS deputy commissioners rescind their resignations
22-year-old on trial for causing traumatic brain injury in fight outside State Fair
Wisconsin congressman calls 4 minority congresswomen ‘anti-American’
Head spinning over Minnesota DHS drama? Here’s a timeline and cast of characters.
St. Paul man accuses deputies of rape, is charged with false reporting
Only hours after Lt. Ellen Ainsworth succumbed to shrapnel wounds, a few dozen mourners gathered on the beachhead of Anzio, Italy, to honor the Army nurse who would be the only woman from Wisconsin to die from enemy fire in World War II.
A German bomb had exploded outside her tent four days earlier, gravely wounding the Glenwood City native. Though she had watched Ainsworth’s condition deteriorate day after day, it was a shock to know the fun-loving 24-year-old was now gone, recalled fellow Army nurse Avis Schorer.
“It was surreal,” Schorer said recently of her friend’s death. “I couldn’t believe it. Not Ellen, who had always been so strong and sure of herself.”
Schorer recalled standing on the beachhead and listening as a Protestant minister said a few words and a bugler played taps.
The bugler played wonderfully, she said, and the mourners then watched as a fleet of American bombers flew overhead and dropped their payloads on the surrounding German positions that were holding back Allied advancement.
“In my mind, I can picture that with exceptional clarity,” said Schorer, now 95 and living in Lilydale. “Some things are hard to forget.”
This year marks the 70th anniversary of Ainsworth’s death and the Allied invasion of the Anzio beachhead. Ainsworth is buried at the nearby Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno and is featured as one of eight Armed Forces members in the cemetery’s Sacrifice Gallery — part of a new visitors center that is being celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Memorial Day.
“We’re trying to tell the story of the American Armed Forces and their sacrifices and achievements … and put a face to all of those headstones,” said Timothy Nosal, acting director of public affairs at the American Battle Monuments Commission, which operates the cemetery and 24 more on foreign soil.
Ainsworth — one of nearly 7,900 Americans buried at the cemetery, which also memorializes about 3,100 more Americans missing — became one of the first women ever to receive the Silver Star — given posthumously for actions she took two days before she was mortally wounded.
She was on duty that day in the 56th Evacuation Hospital, which was housed in a collection of canvas tents on the Anzio beachhead, as the area was being hit by heavy artillery shelling, according to a plaque honoring Ainsworth at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King, in King, Wis.
A shell dropped outside of her ward, sending fragments tearing though the canvas. But despite the damage and danger, Ainsworth calmly directed patients to the ground, preventing further injury.
“By her disregard for her own safety and her calm assurance,” the plaque quotes an Army report as saying, “she instilled confidence in her assistants and her patients, thereby preventing serious panic and injury. Her courage under fire and her selfless devotion to duty were an inspiration to all who witnessed her actions.”
Following her death, U.S. Army Nurse Corps Superintendent Col. Florence Blanchfield wrote to Ainsworth’s mother, telling the grieving woman that Ainsworth “typifies the very finest in American womanhood,” according to a passage in “And If I Perish: Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War II,” by Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee.
“Had she known that it was to be thus, she would still have said, ‘I must go. It is my duty,’ ” Blanchfield wrote. “The nurses are like that in this war. They fear nothing. They beg to go forward as far as possible because they feel they are needed so urgently.”
U.S. Army Nurse Corps nurses Mary Henehan, from left, Lena Grussing, Ellen Ainsworth and Avis Dagit (now Avis Schorer) are dressed for duty while in Italy during World War II. (Courtesy of Avis D. Schorer)
A BRIGHT SPIRIT
Ainsworth, born in 1919, the youngest of three siblings, attended nursing school at Eitel Hospital School of Nursing in Minneapolis.
She graduated in 1941, and Pearl Harbor was bombed that December, launching the nation into war.
When Ainsworth signed up for the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in March 1942, nurses were under tremendous pressure to join the military, but another likely factor in her decision to volunteer was a longing to see and experience the world, said Schorer, author of “A Half Acre of Hell,” a book published in 2000 that details her experiences as a WWII nurse.
Schorer met Ainsworth at Camp Chaffee in western Arkansas, where both women did their training, and they became good friends.
“She was a very outgoing, fun-loving person,” Schorer said. “Ellen was a unique personality. Everything to her was exciting, challenging.”
Ainsworth’s cousin Pat Testor grew up with her in Glenwood City and agreed that Ainsworth usually was the life of the party.
“She was one of my favorite people,” said Testor, of Maplewood. “She was so funny. She had a tremendous sense of humor.”
And she wasn’t afraid to have a drink or get into a bit of mischief, either, Testor said.
Ainsworth’s bright spirit didn’t fade when she was shipped oversees — first to Morocco, then Tunisia before she and the rest of the 56th Evacuation Hospital landed in Italy south of Salerno in September 1943.
That November, the hospital moved up the Italian peninsula to Dragoni, and the weather there made for dismal conditions — cold, rain and knee-deep mud that together eroded morale, Schorer said.
As Christmas approached, Ainsworth wanted to bring some cheer to the troops, so she organized a group to sing Christmas carols over the public-address system.
“I think she really strived to make every situation better, if possible,” Schorer said.
TENDING TO THE WOUNDED
The fighting in Italy was not going as well as the Allies had hoped in late 1943.
They had believed the Germans would not hold onto the southern Italian peninsula for long, but the Allies discovered advancement more difficult than anticipated. Weather, terrain and German forces all helped hinder their progress to Rome, said Tim Brady, a St. Paul author of two WWII history books.
The decision was made to try to flank the German forces by invading the Anzio beachhead, which was between the German frontlines and Rome.
The maneuver did not go as well as planned.
While the initial invasion of Anzio was successful, the Allies did not follow up with advances quickly enough, giving the Germans time to move troops into positions surrounding the beachhead and locking the two sides in a quagmire.
Schorer and Ainsworth arrived in Anzio in late January, and the fighting was fierce along the frontlines, which were so close to their hospital that wounded troops could walk there if they were able, Schorer said.
“We had an enormous amount of casualties,” she said. “Some of them were so gravely wounded, you knew they weren’t going to make it.”
The nurses were responsible for observing patients, looking for changes and administering the necessary medical care. They were commissioned officers in charge of their wards, but there wasn’t a large division of labor; everyone did what needed to be done, Schorer said, adding that along with the Allied forces, they tended to German prisoners and the occasional Italian civilian.
Over a four-month period, the hospitals at Anzio cared for more than 33,000 patients, of which about 10,800 had suffered battle wounds.
Schorer said Ainsworth loved doing nursing work and felt protective of those she cared for. But it was difficult for the nurses to watch the ravages of war firsthand.
“These were men our age,” Schorer said. “Some of them seemed like little boys, even.”
Ainsworth’s sister, Lyda Ainsworth, who died last year, wrote a speech in the 1970s for the dedication of a health clinic to Ainsworth. In it, she spoke of a letter she received from her sister:
“I got a letter one time all spotted with tears. She was all torn up over the suffering of ‘her boys’ — and the fact that there was so little she could do to protect them, and to ease and comfort their pain — or halt their deaths.”
‘HELL’S HALF ACRE’
Despite the red crosses painted on the hospital’s tents, the 56th Evacuation Hospital was not a safe place for either the patients or medical personnel.
The hospital was close to ammunition and weapons, legitimate targets for the Germans, and sometimes would be hit with artillery shells and bombs. The hospital’s canvas tents would do nothing to protect those inside, and many were wounded and killed. In just a few weeks following the invasion, several nurses and patients had been killed by enemy fire at the beachhead’s hospitals.
All told, the fighting at Anzio killed 92 medical personnel with the U.S. Army Medical Department, wounded 387 and left 60 classified as missing in action.
The entire war saw 16 women of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps killed directly from enemy fire, six of those at Anzio.
The frequent bombing and shelling of the beachhead made for a constant sense of vulnerability, Schorer said, adding that some wounded troops felt safer in their foxholes on the frontlines than they did in a hospital bed situated in what the troops had nicknamed “Hell’s Half Acre.”
The air raids were numerous at Anzio and when one sounded, the hospital’s staff would shelter in what was little more than a large foxhole covered by timbers. Ainsworth, however, chose not to seek refuge there, saying she did not want all the hospital staff to be killed by a direct hit, and so she took her chances elsewhere, Schorer said.
“She wasn’t afraid of anything,” Schorer said.
On Feb. 12, 1944, Ainsworth had just gotten off duty and was in her tent when a German bomb exploded outside, striking her with bomb fragments.
“I was still in the shelter and someone said Ellen had been hit,” Schorer said.
Ainsworth was immediately rushed into surgery, and everyone was optimistic about her survival at first. But each day that passed, Schorer said, she began to lose ground.
“These fragments would make a small entry in the skin, but internally the injuries were often very severe,” said Schorer, who was assigned to be her nurse. “You didn’t want to think she was as bad off as she was.”
Ainsworth told Schorer not to worry.
“She said, ‘I’m stronger than anything the Germans can throw at us,’ ” Schorer said. “That was the attitude she had to begin with. She really put a brave face on for everybody.”
But toward the end, she was barely conscious, and Schorer was tending to her the morning of Feb. 16 when Ainsworth reached for her oxygen mask and then gasped her last breath.
On March 9, Ainsworth’s family received a telegram informing them she had been killed. It would have been her 25th birthday.
“It was hard on everybody,” said Testor, who was living in Montana at the time.
The family chose not to bring Ainsworth’s body back to the U.S., thinking in part that her mother, who was dying of cancer, could not handle all that would come with that, Testor said.
Ainsworth’s father also was devastated, and it’s the family’s understanding that he was so overcome with grief that he destroyed most of the letters she had sent home from overseas, said Testor’s niece, Linda Hafdahl.
NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN
In the years following her death, a residence hall at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King, a health clinic at Fort Hamilton in New York, a conference room at the Pentagon and the American Legion Post in Glenwood City were dedicated to Ainsworth.
Yet her story was relatively unknown among the younger generations in Glenwood City, said Sally Berkholder, a Glenwood City native who knew the Ainsworth family.
Berkholder knew little about the circumstances of Ainsworth’s death when she posted Ainsworth’s photo and a short message about her on a Facebook page last Memorial Day, prompting a number of responses.
“The switchboard just lit up,” said Berkholder, who now lives in Glenwood City. “The comments from people my age and younger were, ‘Who is Ellen?’ ”
Berkholder, the secretary for the Glenwood City Historical Society, started doing research on Ainsworth, including reading Schorer’s book, and she even visited Ainsworth’s grave during a trip to Italy in February.
Ainsworth and Schorer, she said, belong to an “amazing generation of women” who endured incredibly harsh conditions during the war but kept their humanity.
“Ellen and the people of that generation suffered hardships and turned self-sacrifice into an art form as children,” Berkholder said, referring to the Great Depression. “That kind of experience, I think, steeled them to withstand the onslaught of this war.”
And their story, she added, is not one people should forget.
“These women saved lives, and they never got the credit I think they deserve,” Berkholder said. “She could have sat home and had a great career just being a nurse at a private hospital in the Twin Cities. People like that, giving up the comforts of home and putting their lives on the line — I just think that’s extraordinary.”
Andy Rathbun can be reached at 651-228-2121. Follow him at twitter.com/andyrathbun.
Dakota County
Andy Rathbun
Andy is web editor at the Pioneer Press. He's been with the paper since 2001.
Follow Andy Rathbun @andyrathbun
As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.
Judge: Twin Cities German Immersion School demolition on hold but opponents must raise $2M in a week
A Ramsey County District judge on Monday granted a temporary restraining order sought by residents opposed to the demolition of the former St. Andrew's Church. The restraining order delays the Twin Cities German Immersion School's plan to demolish the building for an expansion project, but perhaps not for long. As part of her order, Judge Jennifer Frisch required residents opposed...
It’s a sculpture, it’s an aardvark, it’s a … storage shed? Western Sculpture Park celebrates a functional new piece.
The Aardvark in the Park Festival in St. Paul on Saturday, July 27, will celebrate a quirky new sculpture. An aardvark joined the Western Sculpture Park’s 15-piece collection last month. The work will serve as both art and a storage shed for youth workshops and other park programs. It provides 128 square feet of interior space to store art materials...
Congestion growing on Twin Cities metro freeways, study shows
Freeway congestion in the metro ticked up slightly last year, according to a new report. The percent of congested freeway miles was 24.2 percent last year -- up from 23.2 percent in 2017, according to the 2018 Metropolitan Freeway System Congestion Report released Monday. That's the highest percentage of congestion in the last 10 years. The analysis by the Minnesota...
Mall of America to open walk-in health clinic this fall
A walk-in clinic will open at the Mall of America in November, offering services for both workers and customers alike. The new clinic was announced Tuesday, and will be part of M Health Fairview, a partnership between Fairview Health Services and the University of Minnesota. To be located on the third floor of the Bloomington mall’s east end, the 2,300-square-foot...
Lake Elmo Airport neighbors opposed to its expansion to meet
Neighbors opposed to the $10.9 million runway relocation and expansion project at the Lake Elmo Airport will meet this week. Lake Elmo Airport opened in 1951 and is one of 83 intermediate airports located in Minnesota. It’s one of the state’s busiest, but its 2,850-foot runway is the fifth shortest. The Metropolitan Airports Commission says a longer runway will be...
Giving is living: Twin Cities No. 1 in volunteering
Kathleen McNamara enters the classroom, pushing though the paper vines and monkeys dangling from the ceiling. She sits down in a ring of 13 preschoolers, and picks up the book “One Red Rooster.” “The chicken book!” shouts one kid. “You wrote that book?” No, she says, and starts reading aloud -- her third act of volunteerism that day. McNamara is...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757238
|
__label__wiki
| 0.517124
| 0.517124
|
More New
MagazineNew
Who?byssey
Our Campus: The Earth and Ocean Sciences complex is UBC’s Science World
Written by Leo Soh
Jan. 22, 2015 · 3 min read
DigiMarCon World 2019 -
Digital Marketing Conference
Tuesday, Nov 19 at 11 AM - Thursday, Nov 21 at 3 PM
In some ways, the Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS) building complex is like any other at UBC: it has offices, computer labs and lecture halls. Unlike most buildings, however, EOAS also has a tornado machine, a green screen 'do-it-yourself' meteorological broadcast station and a giant, interactive, animated globe.
The complex is not only an educational hub, it is also a treasure trove of science- and learning-based gadgets hard to find anywhere else in the city and possibly western Canada.
The most recognizable building in the complex is the Earth Sciences Building (ESB), opened in 2012, which thousands of students pass by daily on Main Mall. Although it was a hefty investment of $75 million, it is now a major contender for the title of nicest instructional building on campus.
The ESB’s aesthetic design is certainly breathtaking, but it is also one of the most efficient and functional structures on campus. The building is LEED Gold certified, signifying its sustainable nature, and as the largest panelized wood building and the largest application of cross laminated timber in North America, it certainly gives our campus some bragging rights. By using over 1,300 tons of B.C. sourced cross laminated timber, the ESB will sequester enough carbon to keep the atmosphere free from over 2,500 tons of CO2.
The Earth Sciences Building modern interior design provides spacious foyers and plenty of natural light. Perhaps to take advantage the building’s traits, the office of the dean for the Faculty of Science has relocated to the ESB, along with the earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences, statistics and the Pacific Institute of the mathematical sciences departments. The ESB also serves as a place where industry leaders in fields such as geology come to connect with UBC students, staff and alumni.
Although most students know of the grandiose nine-metre high-head labs penetrating the first storey of the Earth Sciences Building with floor to ceiling windows, very few have seen the treasures it conceals. Tucked neatly behind the façade of the ESB are countless precious stones, ancient bones and other scientific memorabilia, each piece with a unique and fascinating story to tell. This is, in essence, a secret mini-museum at UBC and a resource not many students even know exists.
At the heart of the complex's natural sciences display is the interactive, animated globe -- the OmniGlobe -- which rests in a small dark room and offers viewers the opportunity to observe the climate, landscape and other features of our planet change throughout its history. Touch one button and a warm glow fills the room as the globe displays the air temperature of the earth over time. Press another, and the ocean's currents stream across the sphere. Other interactive attractions include the wildly entertaining tornado machine and a live stream of the weather courtesy of Global TV with a camera and green screen that let you fulfill your childhood dreams of being Mark Madryga.
The Earth and Oceans Sciences complex houses some of the most incredible accessible technology at UBC, and while the new Earth Sciences Building serves as a place of study, work and innovation, it is also a piece of art in and of itself. At barely three years old, it is already one of the most frequently used structures on the Point Grey Campus, and has the potential to become an even bigger player in the campus community. A fusion of laboratories, office space, lecture halls, and UBC's own Science World, the ESB has a unique charm. Take a look for yourself and help forge the young structure's identity.
UBC drops Dropbike for new bike sharing service
© 2019 The Ubyssey
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757239
|
__label__wiki
| 0.977179
| 0.977179
|
Asa Briggs obituary
Social historian best known for his work on the Victorian era who played a key role in the foundation of Sussex University
Nigel Jones
Tue 15 Mar 2016 17.41 EDT Last modified on Thu 22 Feb 2018 09.20 EST
Asa Briggs served as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park during the second world war alongside Alan Turing. Photograph: University of Sussex/PA
The social historian and educationist Asa Briggs, who has died aged 94, was one of the last survivors of a wartime generation who not only wrote groundbreaking works but helped to make history themselves. As he detailed in two late volumes of autobiography, Secret Days (2011) and Special Relationships (2012), written in his ninth decade, Briggs was one of the Oxbridge brains recruited in secrecy to work at Bletchley Park, the Buckinghamshire country house devoted to cracking German wartime codes. Working in Bletchley’s Hut 6, Briggs, the youngest warrant officer in the British army – “It entitled me to wear a peaked cap and draw a captain’s pay” – worked alongside Alan Turing, mathematician of genius and computer pioneer.
Turing was among the first of the great and the good with whom Briggs spent his long life rubbing shoulders. His friends and contacts reflected the broad span of his interests, from Winston Churchill, whose History of the English-Speaking Peoples Briggs proofread as a young don, to Chairman Mao’s loyal lieutenant Zhou Enlai and J Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atom bomb. Friends and neighbours nearer Briggs’s Sussex home included former prime ministers Harold Macmillan and James Callaghan, and fellow peer Denis Healey, whom Briggs thought would have made a better prime minister than any of them.
Best known for his trilogy on 19th-century social history, Victorian People (1954), Victorian Cities (1963) and Victorian Things (1988), Briggs also wrote a penetrating short essay on Chartism (1959) that has stood the test of time, plus studies of Karl Marx in London and a company history of Marks and Spencer. He was commissioned by the BBC to write a mammoth five-volume history of British broadcasting, which he started in 1961 and completed in 1995. Though he thought it among his finest works, for many its accounts of bygone bureaucratic battles and reliance on internal memos render it a work of reference only.
Asa Briggs, the author of a five-volume history of British broadcasting, on pirate radio and the BBC’s response to it
A key year for Briggs was 1961, as it saw the foundation of the institution with which he became most closely identified, the University of Sussex. In at the university’s start as professor of history and dean of the school of social studies, Briggs served as vice-chancellor between 1967 and 1976. On his retirement he was ennobled as a life peer, Lord Briggs of Lewes, after the town that he had made his home. Briggs’s Sussex era encompassed the years of worldwide student revolt, in which the university played its part. Occasionally Briggs would debate vigorously with crowds of angry protesters on the campus.
Asa Briggs – he was always proud of his unusual Yorkshire forename – was born in Keighley, near Bradford, the son of William, an engineer, and his wife Jane. Educated at Keighley grammar school, he went to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, at the age of 16, where a tutor told him: “You’re just a baby, Briggs, and there’s a war coming. But get your degree first and then join up.” He did better than that, and got two: a BA in history and a BSc in economics in 1941, before he was 20.
By then, he had been spotted by a college contemporary, Howard Smith, a mathematician with whom Briggs played chess, who was to become head of MI5 in the 1970s. Smith recommended him to Gordon Welchman, another Cambridge mathematician, the head of Hut 6, responsible for breaking Germany’s army and Luftwaffe ciphers at Bletchley Park. Recruited by the Intelligence Corps, in 1942 Briggs found himself among the country’s brightest brains at Bletchley, where he was enchanted by the spirit of equality that prevailed, “except for Turing, whom we all deferred to because he was clearly a genius,” he told me in a 2011 interview.
Asa Briggs talking about his book Secret Days: Code-breaking at Bletchley Park
At the war’s end, increasingly interested in urban and working-class history, Briggs lectured at the London School of Economics, attracting the attention of the socialist intellectuals RH Tawney, Harold Laski and GDH Cole. He refused an offer of a safe Labour seat in parliament, and was elected a fellow of Worcester College, Oxford, where he remained for a decade until 1955. One of his students there was the future media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, and in 1952 the pair went on a camping tour of the middle East. Briggs would return to Worcester as the college’s provost on leaving Sussex in 1976, retiring in 1991. Never a Marxist like his fellow Oxford historians Christopher Hill and EP Thompson, Briggs retained a sentimental attachment to old Labour ideals throughout his life.
One of Briggs’s rare failures was when an article on army slang was rejected by George Orwell, then literary editor of the leftwing weekly Tribune. “I thought it would appeal to him – clearly it didn’t,” recalled Briggs ruefully.
A year’s academic appointment at Princeton (1953-54) enabled him to study postwar America and to critique the views of Lewis Mumford on the development of cities, which Mumford regarded as essentially similar, while Briggs stressed their variety.
As a historian, Briggs’s hallmark was his breadth of interest and his grasp of the essential in the torrent of diverse material. In contrast to the aggressive capitalism of the US, for example, he observed that in spite of the Victorian boom: “England did not become a business society ... The failure was crucial to the subsequent development of English society and politics.”
In 1955, he married Susan Banwell and returned to his native county as professor of history at Leeds University. Always a staunch Yorkshireman, Briggs kept in close touch with his roots, and was a proud president of the Brontë Society. But when the call came from Sussex, Briggs did not hesitate. His involvement with the new university reflected an increasing interest in the extension of higher education, and he was one of those instrumental in persuading Harold Wilson’s Labour government to launch the Open University in 1969. Nine years later Briggs became the OU’s chancellor, a post he held until his retirement in 1991.
An indefatigable globetrotter, Briggs was an especially enthusiastic visitor to China in the 1960s, when the country was convulsed by Mao’s bloody and chaotic Cultural Revolution. Briggs, whose chief private hobby was collecting historic ceramics, built up a large collection of Maoist pottery, which he displayed in the windows of his Lewes home. When questioned about this iconography of one of the 20th-century’s worst mass murderers, he conceded that Mao had “probably” been a monster, but added: “We will be arguing about this to the end of time.”
In a sense, Briggs remained marooned in the optimistic period of his prime – the 40s to the 60s – a believer above all in what he called in one of his best books The Age of Improvement (1959). He remained steadfast in his commitment to the education and improvement of the masses, exemplified by his beloved Victorians, and the provincial class and region from which he sprang. From 1958 to 1967 he served as president of the Workers’ Educational Association.
His socialist sympathies notwithstanding, he joined the ranks of the Establishment, and moved in such exalted company with ease, glorying in the many honours (and the grand houses) that came with his academic posts. After leaving Oxford, he and his wife bought part of Tyninghame House, a 19th-century stately home in East Lothian. Not without personal vanity, he took a positively Pooterish joy in mingling with the powerful.
Letters: Lord Briggs obituary
A great committee man, and an enemy of narrow specialisation, he said that he leapt over the frontiers of academic disciplines with as much joy as he crossed national borders. If he had been born a century earlier, he would himself have been among the most energetic of the eminent Victorians that he celebrated. His book Loose Ends and Extras (2014) completed an autobiographical trilogy, and a collection of poetry is due to be published in April.
Briggs is survived by Susan, their two sons, two daughters and 14 grandchildren.
• Asa Briggs, Lord Briggs of Lewes, historian, born 7 May 1921; died 15 March 2016
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757241
|
__label__wiki
| 0.925303
| 0.925303
|
Aid: how much does the UK spend, why it's important and how it works
George Osborne says the UK will hit a UN target on aid this year, putting development spending back under the spotlight
Global development is supported by
Claire Provost and Mark Tran
Wed 20 Mar 2013 09.05 EDT First published on Wed 20 Mar 2013 09.05 EDT
International development secretary Justine Greening says recipients of DfID money will be required to publish spending data. Photograph: Steve Back/Barcroft Media
Why is aid back in the news?
To the delight of NGOs, the chancellor George Osborne announced in Wednesday's budget that the amount the UK spends on aid will hit 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) this year, making Britain the first in the G8 to meet the decades-old promise. The UK's official development assistance (ODA) is expected to rise to £11.3bn when it hits the 0.7% target. With a population of about 63 million, the figure works out at roughly £137 per Brit. The advocacy group One calculates that a person on an income of £25,000 pays £5,465 in tax, of which £52 would go to the overseas aid budget a year.
What is the 0.7% target?
Rich countries have been talking about spending 0.7% of GNI on aid for nearly half a century. Formally introduced as a common goal in a 1970 UN resolution, the target grew out of suggestions put forward by the World Council of Churches in 1958 that wealthy countries transfer 1% of national income to their poorer counterparts. Over the decades, 0.7% has been repeatedly re-endorsed at international conferences, becoming a key rallying cry for aid activists and a common yardstick for the generosity of rich countries. Only five countries – Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and Luxembourg, the "G07" – have met the target.
But some argue the 0.7% target is increasingly outdated and irrelevant. Washington economists Michael Clemens and Todd Moss have argued (pdf) that it "no longer makes sense, if it ever did", as it's ostensibly based on calculations of what poor countries in the 1960s needed to close "financing gaps". Meanwhile, there has been an increasing focus on the quality, rather than simply the quantity, of aid.
Why is David Cameron so keen on reaching 0.7%?
The prime minister and Justine Greening, the international development secretary, justify aid on moral and national interest grounds. In a speech to the UN general assembly last year, Cameron said it was not only a moral obligation that better-off countries have to tackle poverty in a world where more than 1 billion people live on less than a dollar a day; he argued it was also in everyone's interests to build a more prosperous world, otherwise the problems of conflict, mass migration and uncontrollable climate change "will come and visit us at home".
Sticking to the 0.7% pledge can also be seen as a way of "detoxifying" the Tory brand, and it allows Cameron to claim an international leadership role. The prime minister is one of three co-chairs of a UN high-level panel looking at future development policy, although he is not attending the panel's final meeting in Bali, Indonesia, next week because of a diary clash. Cameron is also chairing the G8 summit in Northern Ireland in June.
The decision to press ahead with aid increases at a time of austerity has angered some Tories, who think the aid budget should not be protected. The parliamentary international development committee has warned that pressure to meet spending targets as the aid budget rises could result in the Department for International Development (DfID) making poor decisions.
What counts towards the target?
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's development assistance committee (OECD-DAC) defines what counts as ODA. Only spending with "the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries" is eligible. But the list of specific activities that can count as aid has grown to include administrative costs and spending on refugees in donor countries, estimated costs of students from developing countries, and programmes to raise the profile of development. Some argue this growing list has diluted the meaning of foreign aid and made it harder for the public to understand where their money is going. Both grants and loans (if they have a grant element of at least 25%) can count, and ODA can be given to developing countries or multilateral institutions such as the World Bank.
Donors can count as aid the costs of using armed forces to deliver humanitarian assistance as well as certain peacekeeping activities such as election monitoring and mine clearance, but military equipment and anti-terrorism are not eligible. There is no centralised list tracking changes to how donors classify their spending, making it difficult for the public to understand how much of an increase in aid spend is actually new money. The OECD has recently reopened the debate on what should count as ODA, but don't expect conclusions soon.
How does the UK spend aid?
The 2002 International Development Act requires all UK aid to have a focus on poverty reduction. Most UK aid falls under DfID's budget, but other government departments – including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the UK Border Agency – also spend money that counts towards Britain's overall ODA. In 2011, £20m in "costs of supporting refugees in the UK" was counted as aid along with £3m in pensions paid to former colonial officers.
In the 2010 spending review, the FCO said it would look to "reclassify" as ODA some of the money it was already spending, prompting a parliamentary committee to warn (pdf): "There is a danger that 'reclassification' provides a cover for meeting the 0.7% of GNI target without increasing the money actually spent on ODA." Following Cameron's comments that he is open to spending more aid on peacekeeping and security, analysts will be watching closely to see how the division of ODA will change this year, and whether the FCO will get a bigger slice.
The UK deals in grants, though is rumoured to be thinking about setting up a bilateral development bank to move into loans as well.
How much of this money reaches developing countries?
This is unclear. Because what counts as aid can be so varied, and as money often passes through multiple intermediaries – with overhead costs at each step – analysts have struggled for years to understand where much of this money ends up. In 2010-11, only 15% of the UK's bilateral aid spend was classified as "budget support" – money given directly to developing country governments. The bulk of UK bilateral aid flows through intermediaries such as NGOs, while spending through multilateral institutions has increased.
Last year, reports of £500m spent by DfID on UK-based consultants stoked controversy over whether the department was getting value for money – and why the vast majority of big DfID contracts are still going to British companies, more than a decade after the UK fully "untied" its aid budget. Many thought "untying" (and opening up competition to non-donor firms) would mean money would flow to companies in developing countries.
Greening has said all organisations that receive and manage DfID money, including NGOs, private companies, sub-contractors and sub-agencies, will be required to publish spending data. That should make it easier to see how much money makes it to developing countries. However, no firm deadline has been set for this.
Department for International Development (DfID)
Aid from rich countries falls for second year in a row, says OECD
Thinktank says economic crisis in west has brought 4% drop in aid, and spending shift from poorest to middle-income nations
UK MPs censure DfID over decision to end aid to India and South Africa
Department for International Development accused of political expediency and ignoring recommended review procedures
Published: 7 Jan 2014
David Cameron must do more to meet poverty pledge, say aid agencies
Enough Food for Everyone If campaign warns PM that UK has failed to prepare ground before summit in June
Coalition split looms as David Cameron drops foreign aid pledge
Critics accuse prime minister of bowing to rightwing pressure from backbenches
Published: 4 May 2013
The road to surveillance is paved with good intentions – and warning signs
No plan to drop overseas aid commitment, says Downing Street
Can US farm bill satisfy hunger for reform?
Spain can be a trailblazer in this new age of aid austerity
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757242
|
__label__wiki
| 0.920319
| 0.920319
|
Archive teaching resource
GNM education centre
Manchester Guardian centenary celebrations
The Manchester Guardian celebrated its centenary on 5 May 1921. This month we look at documents in the GNM Archive relating to the events which marked the centenary and the 50th anniversary of its distinguished editor CP Scott
Jan Trott
Fri 1 May 2015 05.58 EDT Last modified on Wed 19 Sep 2018 09.18 EDT
Cover of the 1921 centenary edition of the Manchester Guardian. Photograph: Robin Christian/The Guardian
“I am commanded to convey to you the congratulations of the King upon tomorrow’s celebration both of the centenary of the Manchester Guardian and of the completion of your fifty years’ association with the paper, which, under your courageous guidance, has secured for itself a position of such eminence and esteem in the world of journalism.” This message from Buckingham Palace was delivered to CP Scott, the editor of the Manchester Guardian, on the eve of its centenary.
John Edward Taylor and Peterloo
This message of congratulations was one of many sent to the Manchester Guardian and its long-standing editor marking its one hundredth anniversary on 5 May 1921.
The Manchester Guardian was founded by John Edward Taylor, a cotton merchant in 1821 with the intention of establishing a liberal reformist voice in the aftermath of the Peterloo Massacre.
His nephew, CP Scott, was made editor in 1872 and he purchased the paper in 1907, following the death of Taylor’s son. He promised that the principles of the Manchester Guardian would be upheld by maintaining its independence and running it for public benefit, not private gain. The paper became a limited company owned by the Scott family.
A special anniversary edition of the paper was published on 5 May 1921, which was widely publicised in the weeks leading up to the centenary.
Advance notice was given that the special issue would consist of the normal daily paper, an addition of 92 pages dealing with the whole history of the paper and a facsimile of its first edition. It also highlighted some of the features of this issue including The Manchester Stage by Sir Frank Benson, The Advertiser of 100 years ago, Mechanical progress in a century and the Growth of Municipal Manchester.
Bill room staff with an advert for the Guardian’s centenary issue in 1921, from the centenary photograph album. Photograph: Walter Doughty/The Guardian
The centenary edition of the newspaper also included a coloured cover which reconstructed the old Manchester Exchange and the Manchester Guardian buildings in 1821, a portrait in photogravure of CP Scott and a facsimile reproduction of a print of the Battle of Peterloo, the chief political event which gave birth to the Manchester Guardian. The paper cost 2d.
Download: Cover of the 1921 centenary edition of the Manchester Guardian
To celebrate the centenary and his 50th anniversary as editor CP Scott wrote his famous essay ‘A Hundred Years’, which continues to underpin the traditions of the Guardian today. The essay was printed in full in the special edition and includes the memorable phrase “Comment is free, but facts are sacred.” He insisted: “The voice of opponents no less than that of friends has a right to be heard.”
The hundredth year edition also included many letters and congratulatory telegrams. The Prime Minister David Lloyd George praised the paper and its editor for a “period of unexampled progress in British journalism.”
General Smuts, the Prime Minister of South Africa remarked:
“Mr Lloyd George once said to me that the Manchester Guardian exercised an influence entirely out of proportion to its circulation. This was of course no reflection on its circulation, but a tribute to its power.”
There were also messages of support from The Chicago Tribune, the French Journal des Debats, German newspaper Vorwärts and Switzerland’s Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
Attention was frequently drawn to the wide-ranging influence of a provincial newspaper.
Sir W Ryland D Adkins MP for Middleton and Prestwich congratulated the paper on its praise from “the King downwards, tributes from all parties and classes, appreciations from everywhere abroad, local rejoicing, world-wide respect and congratulations.”
He continued with fulsome praise for CP Scott:
“His spirit lives in every part of the result like the mind of Wren in every stone of St Paul’s. Without him nothing is grasped: knowing him the whole range of moral and technical excellence in the Manchester Guardian becomes intelligible. What counts in this celebration is not the centenary, but the creative and transforming editorship now spanning just half that period.”
The centenary edition looked back on the history of the paper and its reporting. There is a quotation from each year of the newspaper between 1821 and 1921 including:
15 August 1914: “Great Britain declared war on Germany at 11o’clock last night.”
9 May 1915: “The Lusitania, one of the world’s most famous passenger liners was sunk by a German submarine off the Irish coast yesterday.”
12 November 1918: “The Armistice with Germany was signed at 5 o’clock yesterday morning, and hostilities in the Great War ceased an hour before noon.”
Menu and place settings for the Guardian’s centenary celebration dinner. Photograph: Robin Christian/The Guardian
Alongside major preparations for the special edition of the paper publicity was also given to a centenary dinner to take place at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. Announcements were made that invitations had been sent out to prominent citizens of Manchester for the subscription dinner. It was announced in April that Lord Derby would preside and writer John Masefield would be among the speakers at the dinner on 3rd May 1921.
There was coverage of the dinner in the paper on 4 May. It stated that over 500 guests attended and all political parties were represented. On the main table alongside CP Scott were suffragist Millicent Fawcett, John Masefield, future poet laureate and Conservative politician, the Earl of Derby.
Acclaimed Russian tenor Vladimir Rosing sang at the dinner, accompanied by English pianist Ivor Newton.
There was also a staff celebration at Belle Vue in Manchester where CP Scott was awarded a silver salver with the inscription:
Presented to Charles Prestwich Scott by his staff on the Centenary of the ‘Manchester Guardian’ and in the 50th year of his Editorship May 5th 1921.
Silver salver presented to CP Scott to celebrate 50 years of his editorship. Photograph: Robin Christian/The Guardian
Another more inclusive part of the celebration was the compilation of a book of photographs of the paper’s staff, including everyone from the directors to the cleaners and porters. The GNM Archive holds a copy in its collections.
Centenary photograph album: teaching resource from the GNM Archive
A dinner was also held in London described on the pages of the newspaper on May 23 1921 with the headline ‘The London end of the Guardian’. Prominent figures who attended included writer John Galsworthy, Manchester Guardian journalists and women’s suffrage campaigners Helena Swanwick and Evelyn Sharp, archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans and Attorney General Gordon Hewart.
The Attorney general proposed the toast at the dinner and with reference to CP Scott:
“Long might he live to continue with the invincible steadfastness the labour he loved. For us he is a link with the future as well as with the past.”
Clearly overwhelmed by the praise bestowed on him the editor replied:
“Whatever credit is due to the paper … is due not really to me, it is due to the whole lot of us.” He continued that he was also grateful that it was a double anniversary so that he might “behind the greater mass and consequence of the paper” hide his diminished head.
More about events mentioned in this resource can be found on the following pages in 192 moments that made the Guardian’s history:
1. Peterloo Massacre
2. Creating the Manchester Guardian
3. Prospectus “Liberty and reform”
6. First issue 5 May 1821
28. CP Scott
61. The Guardian’s centenary ‘A Hundred Years’ essay by CP Scott
62. A year of celebration
Past teaching resources of the month from the GNM Archive
More teaching resources can be found on our resources for teachers page.
© 2019 The Guardian Foundation. The Guardian Foundation | Kings Place | 90 York Way | London | N1 9GU | United Kingdom. Registered charity: 1153865
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757243
|
__label__wiki
| 0.502153
| 0.502153
|
Odonata - Dragonflies and Damselflies
A Day in July
Category: Odonata
Created: Thursday, 24 February 2011 13:52
It was one of those years with a birthday ending in a "0" so I treated myself to a new camera and, just for the hell of it, added a couple of lenses. Happily this coincided with getting out and about to great dragonfly habitats.
The following pictures were all taken one day in late July 2010 in the Cordillera Cantábrica around a body of water we call a lake but in reality is a man-made reservoir for irrigating the hay meadows below.
Male Emperor dragonflies, Anax imperator, were purposefully patrolling the reed-fringed edges, battling every now and again to hold their respective territories.
Towards the end of the afternoon I caught one briefly resting.
And a female ovipositing on the still water's surface.
A more sedate Broad-bodied chaser, Libellula depressa, settled on a twig, the sun glinting off its pale, cornflower blue abdomen.
He'd been in the wars too by the look of him with chunks torn from his wings. Here's a close-up of his thorax showing the stained glass-like veining of the wings.
Another Libellula species, and the first I'd seen, a Four-spotted chaser, Libellula quadrimaculata, balanced on a stalk overhanging the water. There's very little sexual dimorphism in this species, the length of the claspers at the end of the abdomen determining the sex.
My favourite part of the lake, the stream where water fills it, is forded by a path and has stones sticking out and vegetation poking up making it also a favourite haunt of Beautiful demoiselles, Calopteryx virgo meridonalis.
I wasn't sure who was preying on who here, this male definitely wasn't stuck to the spiders web.
Back at the calmer waters of the lake more damselflies, the spreadwing Lestes sponsa, were also making the most of the sun. This pair are in tandem prior to the final copulation.
The male of this species certainly has beautiful, big, blue eyes.
Insects Galleries
Flora and Fauna of the Picos de Europa
Over the past 25 years, Teresa Farino has compiled a report (more than 100 A4 pages) that includes lists of all the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, grasshoppers & crickets and vascular plants ever recorded the Picos de Europa, plus summaries of each of these groups and an eight-page introduction to the natural history of these mountains. If you would like to purchase a copy, the price is 17.50€, excluding postage and packaging; alternatively, a copyrighted PDF document sent by email costs 11.50€. Click on the image to contact Teresa for further details or to place your order.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757246
|
__label__wiki
| 0.783132
| 0.783132
|
Amazon to pay $1M penalty over pricing practices in Canada
By Francine KopunBusiness reporter
Wed., Jan. 11, 2017timer3 min. read
Amazon.com.ca Inc. has changed its pricing practices in Canada and the U.S. and agreed to pay a $1-million penalty to settle a case of potentially misleading advertising being investigated by Canada’s Competition Bureau.
It will also pay $100,000 towards the Competition Bureau’s costs, according to the details of the settlement, released Wednesday.
The investigation, launched in 2015, looked at “list price” claims designed to make consumers think that products sold on Amazon.ca were cheaper than the same products at competing retailers.
The claims typically featured a higher price, struck out with a line, and the lower Amazon price underneath. The gimmick is widely used among Canadian retailers and the Amazon penalty is meant to send a clear message that unsubstantiated savings claims will not be tolerated, according to the bureau.
“At the heart of this case, it’s really about truth in advertising,” said Josephine Palumbo, the bureau’s deputy commissioner for deceptive marketing practices.
“We know that savings claims are a powerful tool.”
During the investigation, Amazon told the bureau that it relied on its suppliers to provide “list prices” without verifying that those prices were accurate.
Under the Competition Act, when comparisons are made between a regular price and a sale price, they must be true.
Palumbo said Amazon provided full and timely co-operation and that was reflected in the amount of the penalty.
Amazon declined to comment.
Amazon has already made changes to the way it advertises list prices on its Canadian website to accurately represent the savings available to consumers, according to the bureau. The policies put in place by Amazon have also had an effect beyond the Canadian website, including on savings claims for products sold on Amazon.com.
The bureau is authorized to set fines of up to $10 million for violations of the Competition Act, although not for this particular type of offence, said Palumbo. The amount of the penalty depends on the targeted audience, how long the conduct has been going on and whether there is voluntary compliance.
In 2015, Michaels of Canada ULC agreed to pay a $3.5-million penalty following a Competition Bureau investigation into price advertising for custom and select ready-made framing.
Retail experts said it’s unlikely the new ruling will damage the Amazon brand.
“You never want to be the brand that is manipulating or attempting to manipulate a consumer,” said Arthur Fleischmann, partner and president of John St., an advertising and communications firm with retail clients.
“But I would say that today, and particularly anyone under the age of 50-55 who grew up in a highly digital world, most of us are quite savvy, so these things don’t particularly impact us because we all are aware of the grey area that business can run in, and we’re all savvy enough to do our own homework.”
Retailers are competing on price in this way because the North American consumer mindset is never to pay full price for anything, he added.
“We’re conditioned to buying on special now and now these expectations are set, so it becomes a bit of an addiction.”
John Gerzema, chairman and chief executive officer of BAV (BrandAsset Valuator) Consulting, said settling was the right choice for Amazon.
“This is an important settlement for Amazon to not just protect their business, but their brand: In our data … Amazon is in the top 8 per cent of all Canadian brands on ‘trust’. This despite the fact that consumer trust in brands has declined by 50 per cent since 2008 and the financial crisis. This is an advantage they can’t afford to lose.”
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757250
|
__label__wiki
| 0.984321
| 0.984321
|
Yorktown swimmer on an elite path
Just 14 years old, Emily Weiss is bound for Olympic Trials
Yorktown swimmer on an elite path Just 14 years old, Emily Weiss is bound for Olympic Trials Check out this story on thestarpress.com: http://tspne.ws/1Sub9GV
Ryan O'Gara, rogara@muncie.gannett.com Published 9:16 p.m. ET Aug. 1, 2015 | Updated 3:40 p.m. ET Aug. 2, 2015
Emily Weiss practices at Tuhey Pool on Thursday. The 14-year-old has already qualified for the Olympic Trials next summer.(Photo: Corey Ohlenkamp/The Star Press)Buy Photo
MUNCIE – As the conversation takes place poolside, the one that puts into perspective just how remarkable Emily Weiss' rise in the swimming community is, the 14-year-old gets out of the pool. Pink's "True Love" blares over the speakers at Tuhey Pool, and Weiss quietly walks to the locker room after finishing a 90-minute workout early Thursday morning.
Weiss' father, Jon, finds the PDF for the all-time records for the 100-meter breaststroke for 14-year-olds from USA Swimming's website on his phone. Listed with the second-best time is Amanda Beard, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, who swam 1 minute, 8.09 seconds in 1996. The third-best time belongs to Megan Jendrick, another two-time Olympic gold medalist, who swam a 1:09.14 in 1998. Each is a household name, especially in the swimming community.
Laura Seibold-Caudill, who coached at Ball State for 33 years and now coaches at Delta High School, reads the names off.
"Then there's this girl, Emily Weiss, who will fit right in there," says Seibold-Caudill, one of Weiss' coaches with Cardinal Community Swimming Club, pointing at the next name on the list and mimicking a conversation she might have with a stranger. "Where's she from? Cardinal? As in Stanford?
"No, as in Muncie, Indiana. Where's that?"
Seibold-Caudill was trying to show just how anonymous Emily, a rising Yorktown freshman, is at the moment. Now she finds herself in elite company thanks to a blazing heat in the Age Group State Championships in Indianapolis last week. Her time in the 100 breaststroke, 1:09.45, is the fourth-fastest for her age group in USA Swimming history. At the Natatorium that day, Emily won the race by over six seconds.
That time is safely under the 1:11.49 needed to qualify for the Olympic Trials next June in Omaha, Nebraska. Emily had actually already qualified for the trials thanks to a race in Bloomington earlier this summer when she swam a 1:11.49. She is one of 81 girls who have qualified to swim in Omaha next summer, and her race last week would put her at the 30th best time on the list, which hasn't been updated in two weeks.
"I've gotten a lot more comfortable with the national-level things," Emily says. "When I saw the 1:09, I was like, 'Yeah.' I wasn't as excited as last year."
Emily Weiss, a 14-year-old swimmer from Yorktown, qualified for Olympic Trials next summer. Video by Ryan O'Gara
Last year when she qualified for a prestigious national meet in California is one example. Standing in the water, she looked at her time, did a double-take, pumped her fists twice and got out of the water to be greeted by a bunch of hugs.
Emily has more of a business-like approach now, and with the level of competition she'll soon be facing, she doesn't really have another option. Of those 81 Olympic Trials qualifiers, she is one of five girls younger than 15.
"I try not to get too excited because that'll throw me off," Emily says. "… It's easier (to stay grounded) when my friends are with me. They take my mind off the big stuff."
Jon and Lois Weiss put their daughter, who also has a twin brother Sean and an older brother Kyle, in swim lessons as a child as a "social thing," Jon says. Then once she qualified for Divisionals, which is the club version of high school semistate, she began to realize that she might want something more from the sport.
"She saw people standing on the podium, stood there and watched them as they went up to get their medals," Jon says. "At that point, it switched from being social to, 'I want to be there.' That was when she was eight or nine years old, and she really started working hard."
Emily was once a well-rounded athlete, playing basketball and softball and running track. But now it's all swimming, all the time. She's gone from getting on the podium at Divisionals, qualifying for the state meet, getting on the podium at the state meet, then winning state, to setting records.
That singular focus has epitomized her two-year tenure at Cardinal.
"When she came on board, I don't know how to say it, but she just started excelling," says Tony Santino, the club's head coach. "Now she's training a lot harder, has more specific goals and is trying to chase those down. She's the type of kid that when she gets in her head she wants to do something, she's just going to go after it. It's been real fun to coach her."
Santino has told Jon that while it will be extremely difficult for his daughter to make the Olympic team at such a young age, the experience will be well worth the trip. Santino thinks Emily will have three cracks at the Olympics: 2016 in Rio, 2020 in Tokyo and then in 2024. But it's certainly possible for Weiss to break through. In 1996, Beard won gold as a 14-year-old.
Emily Weiss practices at Tuhey Pool on Thursday. The 14-year-old has already qualified for the Olympic Trials next summer. (Photo: Corey Ohlenkamp/The Star Press)
There's many exciting things ahead for Emily, and it's easy to forget she hasn't even started high school yet. Emily actually says she's had minimal contact with her future coach.
"I always keep an eye on who we have coming up," Yorktown coach Laura Hall says. "She's very naturally talented. I was looking at her results… We're just really excited to have her."
The future is as bright as ever for Emily. She leaves for San Antonio in just a few days for a national meet, and then she'll start high school. Before she knows it, Olympic Trials will be right around the corner.
But Emily may have gotten the best snapshot of what lays ahead for her earlier this summer, at that meet in Bloomington. It was there that Emily competed against Katie Ledecky, who as a 15-year-old won a gold medal in the 800-meter at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Emily took a picture with the now 18-year-old. They're not in the same category — yet — but it isn't crazy to think that one day, a rising 14-year-old will be taking pictures with Emily.
"I've met other Olympians like her before, but she's one of the ones I look up to," Emily says. "To think I might be like her one day is pretty cool."
Contact sports features writer Ryan O'Gara at (765) 213-5829. Follow him on Twitter @RyanOGaraTSP.
Bonzi one of four players "deactivated" by Big 3
Muncie Central's Reggie Bass elects to transfer
5Qs: Catching up with Delta's Josh Bryan
IRONMAN 70.3 Muncie to draw thousands Saturday
Why Steve Shondell returned to coach at Burris
Steve Shondell will return to coach at Burris
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757251
|
__label__cc
| 0.734377
| 0.265623
|
Edward Huizenga inaugurated as Professor
11/02/2019 /in UMIO news, Uncategorized /by UMIO
On 1 February, Edward Huizenga accepted his appointment to the Business Practice Chair for Strategy, Innovation, and Change at Maastricht University’s School of Business and Economics.
The central question of his oration:
Does it make sense to design strategies in disruptive times? Yes, As long as we build on people’s behaviour in daily life. Strategy and innovation are foremost a behaviour challenge.
Dr Huizenga has always been fascinated by iconic companies that come up with innovations that are a success. He looks at why seemingly clever products and services don’t get used, even if there is a market for them. This process falls under what business call the 20/80 Rule. Twenty percent of all innovations are a success in the market while eighty percent don’t live up to expectations.
“We’re constantly asking consumers what they think about specific products and services. And we wonder, when they say upfront they like it, but in the end they do not act upon it by buying and using the product and service: have they being collective lying to us, or have we asked the wrong questions? This is where behavioural science comes into play.”
In his inaugural address, “Strategy meets behaviour: new design principles to innovate”, he asserted that companies should define long-term strategies in disruptive times.
“Theories concerning strategy and innovation work from the supposition that people are rational, but they are not. People have their own, personal beliefs, biases and habits in daily life and make predictable irrational decisions. Strategy is more than a plan, it is a behavioural challenge. To this end, we must balance a variety of opposing movements.”
This is the University’s first Business Practice Chair and Dr Huizenga is the first to occupy it. Alongside his teaching position, Edward Huizenga is partner at Benthurst & Co. a strategy consulting firm where he works for companies in Amsterdam, Brussels, Singapore, Germany, and Switzerland to name just a few. It was in his consulting work that he learned how to combine strategy with innovation and behavioural science. As he sees it, strategy models have been around for a while and don’t work as well as they used to, so they need some rejuvenation. During his inaugural address, he talked about the place in business where strategy meets behaviour.
“Businesses and governments are always performing a balancing act in terms of how aspirational their strategy should be, how much money they want to set aside for innovation, and how closely they should pay attention to the facts or have faith in a higher purpose.”
Dr Huizenga considers the existing way of strategy thinking unbalanced. To remedy this, he works according to six design principles that both businesses and government can use to conceive their own strategies:
Aspiration: “Faith over facts” – Balancing an absolute aspiration with demystifying facts.
Discipline: “More over core” – Balancing where to play and how we want to win.
Movement: “Adjust over act” – Balancing adjustment and acting fast.
Behaviour: “Disrupt over do” – Balancing disruptive behaviour with just doing.
Innovation: Balancing exploration and exploitation.
Impact: Balancing purpose and performance.
“If I can teach my students just one thing, it would be to find out what drives people in their daily lives. In every strategy and every innovation, there is really just one challenge – the behavioural challenge. The better you understand that, no matter how irrational people’s behaviour is, the better you can plan for it.”
Dr Huizenga (1970) holds degrees in Economics from Maastricht University and in Business Administration from the University of Zaragoza. In 2001 he obtained a PhD in Innovation Management at Maastricht University. He has written several management bestsellers, including Innovation Management – How Frontrunners Stay Ahead (2001), The Knowledge Factor (1997), and The Knowledge Enterprise (2015).
The Business Practice Chair is established by UMIO, the executive branch of Maastricht University’s School of Business and Economics (SBE). SBE is a leader in strategy, international business, and behavioural economics.
https://www.umio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Edward-Huizenga-Inauguratie.jpg 820 2343 UMIO https://www.umio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Weblogo6.png UMIO2019-02-11 15:36:112019-02-14 09:10:13Edward Huizenga inaugurated as Professor
Studying alongside work; tough yet enriching! Succesvolle pilot training Ruimte voor Zorg
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757254
|
__label__wiki
| 0.877858
| 0.877858
|
Quantum physics experiment shows Heisenberg was right about uncertainty, in a certain sense
The word uncertainty is used a lot in quantum mechanics. One school of thought is that this means there’s something out there in the world that we are uncertain about. But most physicists believe nature itself is uncertain.
Tagged: quantum, quantum mechanics, quantum physics, particle physics
We did a breakthrough ‘speed test’ in quantum tunnelling, and here’s why that’s exciting
When you deal with things at the quantum scale, where things are very small, the world is quite fuzzy and bizarre in comparison to our everyday experiences.
Tagged: physics, quantum mechanics, quantum physics, hydrogen, atoms
Experiments with optical tweezers race to test the laws of quantum mechanics
One might think that the optical tweezer – a focused laser beam that can trap small particles – is old hat by now. After all, the tweezer was invented by Arthur Ashkin in 1970. And he received the Nobel Prize for it this year - presumably after its main implications had been realized during the last half-century.
Tagged: quantum mechanics, optical tweezers
How quantum mechanics can change computing
In early July, Google announced that it will expand its commercially available cloud computing services to include quantum computing. A similar service has been available from IBM since May. These aren’t services most regular people will have a lot of reason to use yet. But making quantum computers more accessible will help government, academic and corporate research groups around the world continue their study of the capabilities of quantum computing.
Tagged: quantum mechanics, computing, quantum computing, physics
How we created the first ever blueprint for a real quantum computer
Quantum computers, which are based on the strange rules of quantum mechanics, will revolutionise society in a similar way to how mechanical computers have. Once built, they will help us answer many questions in science, create lifesaving medicines, provide transformative capabilities for the financial sector and in general solve certain problems that an ordinary computer would take billions of years to compute.
Tagged: quantum computer, quantum computing, quantum mechanics, mechanical computers
Physicists explore exotic states of matter inspired by Nobel-winning research
The 2016 Nobel Prize in physics has been awarded to David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz, three theoretical physicists whose research used the unexpected mathematical lens of topology to investigate phases of matter and the transitions between them.
Tagged: quantum mechanics, quantum physics
Particles in Love: Quantum Mechanics Explored in New Study
Here's a love story at the smallest scales imaginable: particles of light. It is possible to have particles that are so intimately linked that a change to one affects the other, even when they are separated at a distance.
Tagged: quantum mechanics
How we discovered ‘impossible’ material that both conducts electricity – and doesn’t
Metals, which conduct electricity, and insulators, which don’t, are polar opposites. At least that’s what we’ve believed until now. But we have discovered that a well-known insulator can simultaneously act like a conductor in certain measurements. We don’t yet know the reason for this mysterious behaviour but it is likely due to new and exciting quantum effects.
Tagged: electricity, Insulation, topological insulators, samarium hexaboride, fermi surface, quantum mechanics
The universe really is weird: a landmark quantum experiment has finally proved it so
Only last year the world of physics celebrated the 50th anniversary of Bell’s theorem, a mathematical proof that certain predictions of quantum mechanics are incompatible with local causality. Local causality is a very natural scientific assumption and it holds in all modern scientific theories, except quantum mechanics.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757256
|
__label__cc
| 0.734413
| 0.265587
|
Establishment of the Global Action Network on Nutrition Labelling
One of the mechanisms to implement the commitments of the Nutrition Decade is the establishment of Action Networks. Following the first Global Action Network on Sustainable Food from the Ocean for Food Security and Nutrition which was launched by the Government of Norway in 2017, the Governments of France and Australia hosted the inaugural meeting of the Global Action Network on Nutrition Labeling on 6 – 7 February 2019 in Paris.
Nutrition labelling is a policy implementation tool to promote healthy diets and its implementation has been recommended and promoted by various official WHO documents adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA), such as the Comprehensive Implementation Plan on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition(endorsed together with the 6 Global Nutrition target 2025 in May 2012, the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013-2020 (adopted together with 9 voluntary NCD Global Targets 2025 in May 2013) and the Report of the Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity in May 2016.
The Codex Alimentarious Commission (Codex) defines nutrition labelling as “a description intended to inform the consumer of nutritional properties of a food” and provides guidance on the procedures for implementing nutrition labels, such as how to implement nutrient declarations, which nutrients are to be declared, what reference values are to be used, or how to present nutrition labels (including criteria for legibility). But despite the availability of Codex guidelines on nutrition labelling and progress in implementing nutrition labelling policies, the impact and effectiveness on specific outcomes (i.e. consumers’ nutrition and health outcomes, food reformulation, etc) vary between countries.
The Global Action Network on Nutrition Labelling was formed therefore to exchange country experiences and good practices, share successes and challenges they faced, and provide mutual support to accelerate implementation of effective nutrition labelling policies. At the 2 day launching meeting in Paris, 19 interested countries from different regions of the world presented their respective country situations and shared their experiences. They have then discussed about a joint workplan of the Network and next steps. At the meeting, WHO also presented and shared its work on guiding principles for front-of-pack labellingsystems and on-going evidence review and policy guideline development on nutrition labelling that are being developed as part of the guideline development for promoting healthy diet.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757257
|
__label__wiki
| 0.978631
| 0.978631
|
World Cup Qualification for Men
Fourteen Athletes Confirmed to Attend September USA Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team Training Camp
-- Training Camp to Determine USA Team for September Second Round Games --
2018 September USA World Cup Qualifying Team Training Camp Roster
Featuring 10 players who played for NBA teams in 2017-18, and the return of two players boasting of previous World Cup Qualifying game experience, USA Basketball announced today 14 players who will vie for a roster spot with USA’s September World Cup Qualifying Team.
The hopefuls will open training camp on Sept. 6 at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center. The Las Vegas training camp will be used to determine the 12-man team for the USA’s first competition window of FIBA World Cup Qualifying second-round games. The U.S. will square off against Uruguay on Sept. 14 (7 p.m. PDT) at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion, then meet Panama on Sept. 17 in Panama City. The player selections were made by the USA Basketball Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team Committee.
Returning to contend for a USA roster spot after previously playing with USA World Cup Qualifying Teams are guard Reggie Hearn (Grand Rapids Drive) and center Jameel Warney (Texas Legends). Hearn played with the USA’s November 2017 and June 2018 World Cup Qualifying Teams, and while getting the starting nod in all four games, averaged 12.3 points a game. Warney played for U.S. in the November World Cup Qualifier and averaged 11.5 points and 8.0 rebounds a game. Both players were also part of the USA AmeriCup Team that finished 5-0 to claim gold in August 2017. Warney, who was selected the 2017 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year, earned AmeriCup MVP honors after posting 12.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, while Hearn contributed 10.0 points a game.
Rounding out the U.S. training camp roster are Bryce Alford (Oklahoma City Blue); Dwayne Bacon (Charlottw Hornets); V.J. Beachem (Free Agent); Jordan Crawford (New Orleans Pelicans); Henry Ellenson (Detroit Pistons); Isaiah Hicks (New York Knicks); Dakari Johnson (Free Agent); Frank Mason III (Sacramento Kings); Ben Moore (Fort Wayne Mad Ants); Chasson Randle (Capital City Go-Go); Travis Trice (Milwaukee Bucks); and Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).
Former NBA head coach Jeff Van Gundy, who led the USA to a 5-0 record and the gold medal at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup Championship and has led the USA to a 5-1 record in the first-round of the FIBA Americas World Cup Qualifying, returns as head coach of the USA Basketball Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team. NBA G League Westchester Knicks head coach Mike Miller, and former Georgetown University coach John Thompson III, will serve as USA assistant coaches.
“With our September second-round games marking the start of the most critical part of the World Cup Qualifying, I think it is imperative for us to look for players who possess mental fortitude, who are tough, and who have experience,” said Van Gundy. “All of our second-round games are going to very, very difficult and competitive battles. Argentina, Panama and Uruguay are all really good and well coached.
“It’s good to have Reggie (Hearn) and Jameel (Warney) back, they’ve already experienced how tough these games are. And by looking to players who have played in the NBA and internationally, I’m hoping we have the experience required to win and qualify the United States for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.”
Thirteen of the players own NBA G League experience, including 10 who played in the NBA’s official minor league in 2017-18.
Ten of the players earned NBA playing time in 2017-18, including Bacon (53 games with Charlotte Hornets); Crawford (five games with New Orleans Pelicans); Ellenson (38 games with Detroit Pistons); Hearn (three games with Detroit Pistons); Hicks (18 games with New York Knicks); Johnson (31 games with Oklahoma City Thunder); Mason (52 games with Sacramento Kings); Moore (two games with Indiana Pacers); Warney (three games with Dallas Mavericks) and White (17 games with San Antonio Spurs). Additionally, Randle played 26 games in 2016-17 for the NBA New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.
After finishing 5-1 and first in Group C in first-round action, the USA opens the FIBA Americas World Cup Qualifying second round facing Group A’s No. 2 seed, Uruguay (4-2), on Friday, Sept. 14 (7 p.m. PDT) at Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Tickets for the USA-Uruguay game are on sale now andare $20 (plus fees) for general admission and $60 (plus fees) for courtside. For ticket information call 702-739-FANS (3267) or visit USAB.com/WCQ.
The USA will complete the September competition window with an away game versus Panama (3-3) on Sept. 17 in Panama City.
Training camp for the USA World Cup Qualifying Team is scheduled to begin Sept. 6 in Las Vegas. The full USA World Cup Qualifying Team training schedule is available atusab.com/mens/wc-qualifying/training-schedule.aspx.
2017-18 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers
Following the completion of the first round, the top three finishing teams in each of the four, first-round groups advanced to the second round. The three advancing teams from Group A, Argentina (5-1), Uruguay (4-2) and Panama (3-3), and the top three finishers from Group C, USA, Puerto Rico (4-2) and Mexico (3-3), form Group E. The top three finishers from Group B, Venezuela (5-1), Brazil (5-1) and Chile (1-5), and Group D, Canada (5-1), Dominican Republic (4-2) and U.S. Virgin Islands (2-4), form Group F. The three second-round windows of competition will take place Sept. 13-17, 2018; Nov. 29-Dec. 3, 2018; and Feb. 21-25, 2019.
Following completion of the Americas second-round games, seven teams will qualify out of the zone for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, including the top three finishing teams from Group E and Group F, and the top rated fourth placed team between Group E and Group F.
Under FIBA’s new competition system, a total of 80 national teams from FIBA’s four regions of Africa, Americas, Asia (which now includes Oceania) and Europe initially competed in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifying first round looking to earn a qualifying berth into the 32-team 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup competition that will be held Aug. 31-Sept. 15 in China.
The FIBA World Cup Qualifying games are being used to qualify 31 of the 32 nations that will compete in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. China automatically qualified as the host nation of the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Five teams will qualify from Africa, seven teams from the Americas, seven teams from Asia and 12 teams from Europe.
The current two-time defending World Cup champion USA men have participated in 17 FIBA World Cups and have collected 12 medals - five gold medals (1954, 1986, 1994, 2010 and 2014), three silver medals (1950, 1959 and 1982) and four bronze medals (1974, 1990, 1998 and 2006). USA teams own an overall record of 123-27.
Results from the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 will qualify seven teams for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Additionally, Olympic host, Japan, automatically qualified, and the final four nations will qualify through four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments that will be held in 2020 in advance of the Olympics.
Dawn Staley Still Learning, Working to Improve
USA Basketball Women's National Team Practice Quotes
Reggie Hearn
Sights And Sounds: USA Men's World Cup Qualifying Team Versus Argentina
Take a look and listen in for the best sights and sounds from the USA's win at the buzzer versus Argentina in FIBA World Cup Qualifying action.
Reggie Hearn Hits The Game Winner Versus Argentina
Relive the shot and the USA World Cup Qualifying win vs Argentina from every USA Basketball angle.
Sights And Sounds: USA World Cup Qualifying Versus Panama
Take a look and listen in for the best sights and sounds from USA's big win over Panama in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.
The Progression: Qualifying For The FIBA World Cup
Ten games down, two more to go. Relive USA Basketball's journey towards qualifying for the FIBA Men's World Cup of Basketball.
Travis Trice
2019 Player Profile: Travis Trice
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757259
|
__label__wiki
| 0.915656
| 0.915656
|
Unpublished Letters of Rizal to His Parents Reveal Details of His Life in Europe
Letters of Rizal to his family are always interesting pieces of history.
By Mario Alvaro Limos for Esquiremag.ph | JUN 26, 2019
IMAGE LEON GALLERY
An exceedingly significant letter written by Jose Rizal to his parents has surfaced. Dated October 10, 1883, it is from the collection of historian Epifanio de los Santos, who acquired it from one of the members of the Rizal family. For the first time since that acquisition, the letter is back in the public arena, allowing historians to revisit the contexts in which Rizal lived his life in Europe.
The letter is written in Jose Rizal’s own hand on the front and the back of a single sheet of paper. It will go under the gavel on June 22, 2019 at Leon Gallery’s Spectacular Mid-Year Auction with a starting bid of one million pesos.
Content of Jose Rizal’s Letter to His Parents
According to Lisa Guerrero Nakpil, Rizal’s letter to his parents reveal the context of time, place, and circumstance of events that would follow after 1883.
Front of Rizal's Letter to His Parents in 1883
The letter was written at a difficult time during Rizal’s life in which he was experiencing a period of adjustment. In 1882, he left the love of his life in the Philippines and abruptly sailed to Europe without saying goodbye to his lover and his family. It was also the year when he started medical school in Spain.
“The letter gives added dimension to the country’s foremost hero. Like any Filipino expatriate, Rizal would succumb to the enchantments of his foreign surroundings but also to its political liberalism,” said Nakpil.
Back of Rizal's Letter to His Parents in 1883
Rizal was very detailed in his letters, in which he told his parents in great detail the places he saw, and the food he ate.
“Rizal’s letter reveals he took his meals on the very next street, at Calle del Lobo (Street of the Wolf), which had a couple of restaurants frequented by Filipinos, including Hotel Ingles which still exists to this day,” said Nakpil.
“The letter situates him at No. 15 Calle del Baño (Street of the Bath) where Rizal slyly claims he is there only to sleep and study,” Nakpil said, referring to the letter of Rizal to his parents. In the letter to his parents, Rizal also detailed his notorious brindis or toasts.
“Jose Rizal would make the legendary brindis or toasts, but would include so many political barbs and insults to the Spanish colonial authorities that his brother would fear for his life and plead for him not to return to the Philippines,” said Nakpil.
“This would mark Rizal’s metamorphosis as an activist that would reach its zenith in his novels, the Noli and the Fili, and his eventual martyrdom.”
Letters of Rizal to Paciano Details the “Amusements” in Madrid
In the same year he wrote the letter to his parents, Rizal also wrote his brother Paciano about the “amusements” in Madrid.
“Women abound even more (here in Madrid) and it is, indeed, shocking that in many places they intercept men and they are not the ugly ones either... With respect to morality there are some who are models of virtue and innocence and others who have nothing womanly about them, except their dress or at most their sex. Rightly it has been said that the women in the South of Europe have fire in their veins. However, here prostitution is a little more concealed than at Barcelona, though not less unrestrained."
The letter does not imply that Rizal partook in such amusements. However, it was Rizal’s friend and namesake, Jose Alejandrino, who outs Rizal’s gallivanting in his book, La Senda del Sacrificio (1945):
“One day he invited me to amuse ourselves, telling me we could pass the time in the house of two sisters whom he knew. We went there and I came to like the amusement very much, because a few days later I asked him when we could return for more fun, but then he grew serious, saying that he considered such entertainment was necessary once a month, but more than once was already a vice, and he was not willing to encourage vices.”
Letters of Rizal to Consuelo
Contrary to what Rizal’s letter to his parents state, Rizal did more than “sleep and study” during his stay in Madrid. Nakpil also tells the story of Consuelo, one of Rizal’s flings.
“The house at Calle del Baño was owned by one Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey, the former mayor of Manila,” said Nakpil. “Don Pablo had two daughters, the ‘prettier one’ being the 18-year-old Consuelo. She would keep a rather detailed, albeit indiscreet diary, on her gentleman admirers, which included Jose Rizal, then 23 years of age.”
In one of Consuelo’s diaries, she writes about Rizal:
“Rizal says he never goes out except to go to medical school and come here at night. Rizal too is in love, he hasn’t proposed outright but almost, almost… I am divided between Rizal and Lete, the former attracts me because of his conversation and because he seems such a serious young man… Rizal told me he was leaving for Paris to forget, to heal himself of a disease acquired a year ago…”
Based on Consuelo’s very revealing journal entry, it was possible that the “disease” Rizal told her about was a heartbreak or yearning for Leonor Rivera, whom many historians believe was Rizal’s most significant love and heartbreak.
Interestingly, in one of the letters of Rizal to Consuelo, he wrote a poem titled “A la Señorita C. O. y R:”
Why resurrect unhappy memories
now when the heart awaits from love a sign,
or call the night when day begins to smile,
not knowing if another day will shine?
Apart from such poetry, Rizal also gave Consuelo a variety of gifts, according to Nakpil. Among them were gift of fabric and slippers from Manila, the first bloom from his houseplant, and music sheets from Paris.
Leon Gallery’s Spectacular Mid-Year Auction ran from June 15 to 21, 2019.
Jose Rizal's Personal Letters Reveal a Doting Brother and Uncle
Do These Old Letters Prove That Bonifacio Was Really the First Philippine President?
Leonor Rivera: The Tragic Story of Jose Rizal's Most Significant Love and Heartbreak
Jose Rizal as a Lover: How He Two Timed Two Women Until He Got Caught
*This article originally appeared on Esquiremag.ph
Leon Gallery
Philippine history
Mario Alvaro Limos for Esquiremag.ph
View Other Articles From Mario Alvaro Limos for Esquiremag.ph
The Life and Career of Fernando Amorsolo, The Philippines' First National Artist
The Secret Death of Henry VIII's Father, King Henry VII
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757260
|
__label__cc
| 0.578925
| 0.421075
|
Home » What We Do » Global Health » 50 Years of Global Health
50 Years of Global Health
Saving Lives and Building Futures
Recent decades have witnessed dramatic progress in global health. Smallpox has been eradicated. Globally, the percent of married women using a modern method of contraception has increased from less than 10 percent in 1965 to more than 50 percent in 2013. Child deaths from diarrhea have been reduced by more than 50 percent since 1990. Deaths from malaria have fallen by more than 25 percent since 2000. Globally, maternal mortality per 100,000 live births has declined from 380 deaths in 1990 to 210 deaths in 2013. And HIV has been transformed from a disease that meant certain death to a disease that with the right treatment can be managed as a chronic ailment.
In its 50-year history, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has had an important hand in these and other crucial advances in global health. USAID’s new book, 50 Years of Global Health: Saving Lives and Building Futures is a record of our work, a catalog of lessons and a source of pride and inspiration.
Download the full PDF 50 Years of Global Health: Saving Lives and Building Futures [PDF, 14MB].
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757265
|
__label__cc
| 0.707744
| 0.292256
|
Silicon Valley, CA
Silicon Valley USPTO Public Tour
12:00 PM PT - 1:00 PM PT
Silicon Valley USPTO
26 S. Fourth Street
Add to Calendar 2016-08-05 15:00:00 2016-08-05 15:00:00 Silicon Valley USPTO Public Tour The Silicon Valley USPTO serving the West Coast region will host an informational public tour from noon to 1:00 PM Pacific Time. Participants will tour the office and learn about the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the services and resources it provides to the public, famous inventors from the region, and basic patent and trademark information and the role they play in innovation and the economy. The event is free and open to the public. Please register here for the tour. Please note that the Silicon Valley USPTO is a federal facility. Visitors are required to show a valid form of government-issued identification (drivers license or passport) and may be subject to security screening. Silicon Valley USPTO 26 S. Fourth Street San Jose, CA 95113 United States Silicon Valley USPTO 26 S. Fourth Street San Jose, CA 95113 United States Silicon Valley USPTO America/New_York public
Silicon Valley Regional Office
Add to Calendar 2019-06-07 15:00:00 2019-06-07 15:00:00 Tour the Silicon Valley U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Learn about intellectual property programming and resources available at the Silicon Valley USPTO. The office is located in the 3-story Wing building of the San Jose City Hall Complex. Participants tour the office and learn about the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from USPTO representatives. The event is free and open to the public. Register early. Register Now Please note that the Silicon Valley USPTO is a federal facility. Visitors are required to show a valid form of government-issued identification (driver license or passport) and may be subject to security screening to gain access. This event is accessible to individuals with disabilities. To request a reasonable accommodation, including captioning, sign language interpreting, or other, please email siliconvalley@uspto.gov or call 408-918-9900. Silicon Valley USPTO 26 S. Fourth Street San Jose, CA 95113 United States Silicon Valley USPTO 26 S. Fourth Street San Jose, CA 95113 United States Silicon Valley USPTO America/New_York public
General, About Us, Office Locations, Silicon Valley, Organization
Learn how to fund your venture: Licensing Executives Society series
Jul 17, 2019 06:30 PM PT
Attend the TexasBarCLE Annual Advanced Patent Litigation Course
Jul 18, 2019 08:00 AM CT
China IP Road Show: strategies for IP protection in China — what Georgia businesses need to know
Jul 18, 2019 09:00 AM ET
The Silicon Valley USPTO serving the West Coast region will host an informational public tour from noon to 1:00 PM Pacific Time. Participants will tour the office and learn about the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the services and resources it provides to the public, famous inventors from the region, and basic patent and trademark information and the role they play in innovation and the economy. The event is free and open to the public. Please register here for the tour.
Please note that the Silicon Valley USPTO is a federal facility. Visitors are required to show a valid form of government-issued identification (drivers license or passport) and may be subject to security screening.
This page is owned by Silicon Valley Regional Office. Published on: Jul 12, 2016 05:38 PM EDT Last Modified: Aug 9, 2017 12:24 AM EDT
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757267
|
__label__wiki
| 0.698784
| 0.698784
|
And the Home of the Brave
Hennage Auditorium
326 W. Francis St.
United States 326 W. Francis St. Williamsburg 23185
In honor of the adoption of the Star Spangled Banner as the US National Anthem on March 3, 1931 Gabe Stone, Stephen Christoff and Steve Ruckle present a performance of American patriotic music on modern and early brass instruments. Francis Scott Key composed the lyrics to "The Star Spangled Banner" on September 14, 1814 and throughout the 19th century his words, set to a popular English song, were considered our national anthem. It wasn't formally designated as such until President Wilson signed an executive order in 1916 and that presidential order wasn't confirmed until congress acted and President Hoover signed it into law in 1931. (1 hour)
Additional ticket required in addition to Museum Admission, $5 General, $3 Military
Museum Admission included in your Good Neighbor Pass
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757272
|
__label__wiki
| 0.97964
| 0.97964
|
Maliki's Bloc Withdraws Support for Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi
By Edward Yeranian
FILE - Nouri al-Maliki is seen in a Feb. 2, 2015, photo.
CAIRO - Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said his parliamentary bloc of 60 lawmakers is withdrawing support from his rival and successor, current Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, and Abadi's program to reform Iraq's bureaucracy.
Maliki's attempt to derail Abadi's political reform program and possibly unseat him, as well, comes at a time of great regional uncertainty, as both the U.S. and Russia remain at loggerheads in the battle against Islamic State militants.
Iran and its Shi'ite militia allies have publicly criticized the U.S. over its efficacy in targeting Islamic State militants in Iraq and some have openly supported a rival security sharing alliance with Russia.
FILE - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi addres
FILE - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi addresses the media during a news conference.
Abadi has not opposed the deal, although U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford said recently that Iraq's prime minister and defense minister had told him they were not seeking Russian military help against the Islamist militants.
Iran ties
Maliki, who has close ties to Iran, is also said to oppose a stronger role for U.S. forces in the battle against the Islamic State group.
Qais al-Khazali, pro-Iranian militia commander and an ally of Maliki, said Tuesday he thought the U.S. was not very useful in combating the Islamic State group and that he preferred Russian help.
Khazali claims the U.S. and its 60 coalition partners often do not hit the most important Islamic State targets and frequently drag their feet with requested airstrikes, while Russia is hitting and destroying IS targets in Syria quickly and efficiently.
Iraq and Syria: ISILâs Reduced Operating Areas a
Wednesday, Prime Minister Abadi defended his reform program, taking an oblique stab at his rivals, including Maliki, claiming that they were protecting their own interests.
He said his reform program hurts the interests of some politicians, including their large security cortèges, and Iraq can no longer afford to pay for such luxuries (given the recent drop in oil prices).
Maliki ally
Sheik Hamid Ma'idi Saidi, spokesman for Shi'ite leader Ammar Hakim, an ally of Maliki in parliament, told al Arabiya TV that some politicians are “worried” about Abadi's reform program and want “more dialogue” in its implementation, but that they are “not withdrawing support for him.”
James Denselow of the Foreign Policy Center in London told VOA he does not believe that Maliki currently has an Iranian "green light" to oust Abadi.
Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilisatio
FILE - Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilisation units, fighting alongside Iraqi government forces, display, upside down, the flag of the Islamic State (IS) group during a military operation aimed at the centre of Baiji, Iraq, Oct. 19, 2015.
“I think this is more about Maliki's personal ambitions than it is about Abadi's ability to be a flexible pragmatist. I think he's shown an ability to accommodate the pressures from various sides to date and he still seems to have the Iranians and their militias on board," Denselow said.
However, gulf analyst Theodore Karasik disagrees, arguing that he thinks Maliki's “withdrawal of his support (from Abadi) has Iran's backing or even orders.”
Abadi “is caught between Russia and the U.S.,” as well as the Iraqi Shi'ite militias, Karasik said.
Edward Yeranian
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757273
|
__label__wiki
| 0.950672
| 0.950672
|
© Pascal Le Segretain
4 things you should know about Dimitri Rassam
par Marie Périer, translated by Stephanie Green 27 mars 2018
Carole Bouquet's son Dimitri Rassam, is famously discreet about his private life, but he's also a key figure in French cinema. Everything we know about the name on everyone’s lips in Paris right now.
A child of French cinema Dimitri Rassam was born November 16 1981 to the actress Carole Bouquet and producer Jean-Pierre Rassam. After losing his father in January 1985, he was raised by his mother and her new partner, the photographer Francis Giacobetti, and grew up with a little brother who was born in 1987. Having grown up in Paris in a background awash with culture, particularly cinema, as a young man, he began to study for a history degree before turning towards his real passion: cinema. Credit: Dimitri Rassam and Carole Bouquet at the Cannes Film Festival 2014 – Getty images
© Jean Catuffe
A child of French cinema
Dimitri Rassam was born November 16 1981 to the actress Carole Bouquet and producer Jean-Pierre Rassam. After losing his father in January 1985, he was raised by his mother and her new partner, the photographer Francis Giacobetti, and grew up with a little brother who was born in 1987. Having grown up in Paris in a background awash with culture, particularly cinema, as a young man, he began to study for a history degree before turning towards his real passion: cinema.
Credit: Dimitri Rassam and Carole Bouquet at the Cannes Film Festival 2014 – Getty images
From a passion to a job: as a producer It wasn’t his mother’s footsteps that he followed, but those of his producer father, when he started his first production company, Chapter 2, aged 23. It gave him the freedom to produce many significant French films including What’s in a Name?, The Informant, Daddy or Mommy, and Nobody from Nowhere. With Escobar: Paradise Lost, he made his mark worldwide with a film in which Benicio Del Toro plays an uncannily realistic Pablo Escobar. In Trouble at Timpetill, Bad Girl and Free Exchange, Dimitri Rassam worked with his mother, Carole Bouquet. He achieved one of his dreams in 2013 when he set up his own film animation company and recognition for his work came in the form of the César award for Best Animated Film for his 2015 movie The Little Prince. Driven by these achievements, Dimitri Rassam is currently working on various projects. Credit : Getty images
© Theodora Richter
From a passion to a job: as a producer
It wasn’t his mother’s footsteps that he followed, but those of his producer father, when he started his first production company, Chapter 2, aged 23. It gave him the freedom to produce many significant French films including What’s in a Name?, The Informant, Daddy or Mommy, and Nobody from Nowhere. With Escobar: Paradise Lost, he made his mark worldwide with a film in which Benicio Del Toro plays an uncannily realistic Pablo Escobar. In Trouble at Timpetill, Bad Girl and Free Exchange, Dimitri Rassam worked with his mother, Carole Bouquet. He achieved one of his dreams in 2013 when he set up his own film animation company and recognition for his work came in the form of the César award for Best Animated Film for his 2015 movie The Little Prince. Driven by these achievements, Dimitri Rassam is currently working on various projects.
Credit : Getty images
A family man Thirty-six-year-old Dimitri Rassam has a child from a previous relationship. In 2011, his daughter Darya was born while he was in a relationship with the Victoria’s Secret model Masha Novoselovan, whom he married in St Petersburg in 2010. Since 2017, he’s been in a relationship with Charlotte Casiraghi, ninth in line to the Monegasque throne. The couple appeared together in Monte Carlo at the Bal de la Rose in March 2018, both dressed in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. Credit : Getty images
Thirty-six-year-old Dimitri Rassam has a child from a previous relationship. In 2011, his daughter Darya was born while he was in a relationship with the Victoria’s Secret model Masha Novoselovan, whom he married in St Petersburg in 2010. Since 2017, he’s been in a relationship with Charlotte Casiraghi, ninth in line to the Monegasque throne. The couple appeared together in Monte Carlo at the Bal de la Rose in March 2018, both dressed in Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello.
Rare public appearances With infrequent appearances on the red carpet and discretion in his private life, Dimitri Rassam is seen mainly at film industry events. In addition to the Cannes Film Festival and the César Awards, the producer has also made appearances with Charlotte Casiraghi. The heiress appreciated the support of her partner during the screening of "Cahier n°3", the series of philosophy events that she organized in January, and the Bal de la Rose, the flagship celebration of her country. It looks to be a few exciting years ahead for the 36-year-old. Credit : Getty images
Rare public appearances
With infrequent appearances on the red carpet and discretion in his private life, Dimitri Rassam is seen mainly at film industry events. In addition to the Cannes Film Festival and the César Awards, the producer has also made appearances with Charlotte Casiraghi. The heiress appreciated the support of her partner during the screening of "Cahier n°3", the series of philosophy events that she organized in January, and the Bal de la Rose, the flagship celebration of her country. It looks to be a few exciting years ahead for the 36-year-old.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757274
|
__label__wiki
| 0.598739
| 0.598739
|
Keeping Promises For Equity In Era Of Legalized Weed In Illinois
Natalie Moore
Natalie Moore/WBEZ
Alonzo Waheed of Equity and Transformation, or EAT, is on Chicago's West Side every Friday to organize around fairness in cannabis.
It was a hot and lively Friday afternoon at the intersection of Madison Street and Pulaski Road on Chicago’s West Side.
Alonzo Waheed offered up free slices of pizza as an organizing tactic to engage people walking by. He pointed out that the underground economy thrives here where jobs are scarce. To earn money, people sell loose cigarettes, DVDs — and weed.
“With the individuals out here selling socks, braiding hair or just doing whatever it is they need to hustle. If someone comes and takes that job away from them, how do they survive now? So what we’re really talking about is a labor dispute,” Waheed told two women through a gate. What happens to drug dealers, he asked. They leaned in to listen.
A labor dispute is Waheed’s take on how these corners will be affected with the legalization of marijuana in Illinois. He is a lead organizer with Equity and Transformation, or EAT, which was part of a coalition pushing for fairness in the marijuana bill.
The bill Illinois lawmakers passed — and Gov. JB Pritzker signed this week — to legalize adult recreational marijuana is unprecedented in the U.S. The law takes effect in January. It will allow adults 21 years and older to buy the drug at dispensaries that must undergo a rigorous state licensing process. The legislation addresses racial equity and seeks to reverse some harm done to black and brown communities because of the war on drugs.
The disproportionate toll of the war on cannabis is still evident. The 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that white respondents more often reported cannabis use than African American and Latino respondents. However, in Chicago, between 2014 and 2017, African Americans were 21 times more likely than whites to be arrested for cannabis-related offenses, according to a WBEZ analysis. Latinos were nearly five times more likely than whites to be arrested for such crimes. The disparities were similar for individuals from Cook County imprisoned in Illinois for cannabis-related offenses between fiscal years 2014 and 2017.
Individuals from Cook County admitted to Illinois prisons for cannabis-related offenses FY 2014 to FY 2017
Individuals arrested by Chicago police for cannabis-related offenses 2014 to 2017
Now historic criminal justice refoms are underfoot. Among them: Some people convicted of marijuana possession will have their cases expunged. The amounts are minor, yet hundreds of thousands are expected to get relief, an unmatched effort nationally. In addition, a $30 million business development fund will help applicants living in areas impacted by the war on cannabis who want a license.
Now that the bill has passed, the honeymoon is over, and advocates say the work must begin to make sure those promises are kept and that the individuals who were left out of the bill are added in.
“There are also components of the bill that do not ensure equity, specifically, for formerly incarcerated people,” said Richard Wallace, of EAT, who organizes every Friday on the West Side with Waheed. “We need formerly incarcerated and informal workers to see the process through.”
Waheed agrees.
“It was good enough to lock these individuals up. It was good enough to wage a war on them. But now over here on this side, we’re going to allow individuals to come and do the exact thing they were doing. But the individuals we locked up, they’re not unable to make a profit from it,” Waheed said.
Both men were incarcerated, so this issue is close to them.
“I ended up selling drugs in different communities because that was a way for me to survive, to take care of myself, to take care of my family,” Waheed said.
“It started with me around the ages of 8 and 10 years old. I then became the head of my house at that time. My mother couldn’t do it; my father passed away,” he said. “While my mother was hooked on drugs, I had to figure out now what did I need to do to take care of the family. I didn’t have no childhood. It was straight adulthood.”
Neither Waheed nor Wallace would qualify for a cannabis license because of their felonies. They’re not interested in getting a license, but that’s beside the point. They would love to see an amendment to the bill that allows individuals with felony records to participate in the business of marijuana should they choose to do so. But in the meantime, they’re organizing and galvanizing and collecting signatures to show support toward people with felonies on their records.
“Yes, it’s a time to celebrate, but it’s also a time to educate and inform,” Waheed said of the bill’s passage.
State Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, said Waheed and Wallace are right. She pushed for the racial equity policies in the bill.
“People need to have real conversations about the honesty of what we’re talking about. We are legalizing the ability for people in suits to sell metric tons of this, and you have people who still have things on their records for the exact same activity. So they’re not wrong at all,” Hutchinson said.
Passing the bill is the first step in a long journey.
“As that rollout happens and it doesn’t diversify the industry as much as we want to, then we put a lid on the market, slow it down. We’re doing a disparity study so that we can give ourself time to self correct and course correct,” Hutchinson said.
Cannabis legalization isn’t just about smoking or selling weed legally. Anton Seals is executive director of Grow Greater Englewood. This South Side neighborhood is certainly one affected by the war on drugs and could benefit from the social equity in the new law. Englewood has become a hotbed for urban agriculture in Chicago.
“There’s so much talk about the economic improvements, justice improvements. There’s also the efficacy of the growing of the plant itself and they need to be tended and nurtured. And that is something as stewards of the earth, something that African Americans, we want our people to tap back into,” Seals said.
Kenya and Julian Sample are a husband and wife team engaged in urban agriculture. They also own DuSable City Ancestral Winery and Vineyards. They’re interested in a cannabis ingredient that doesn’t get you high and is supposed to help with healing.
“We would love to have CBD-infused wine. Then we’re very interested in the textile industry,” Kenya Sample said. Her husband added that hemp can be developed in so many ways — dog collars, wine stoppers, feminine hygiene products.
Hemp became legal in Illinois last year. Between hemp and the new legal marijuana industry, possibilities abound. According to some estimates, the industry will top more than $65 billion dollars nationwide by 2025. And people in Illinois will literally watch it grow before their eyes, while keeping the focus on racial justice.
“The local organizations like Grow Greater Englewood that were engaged in this process — that level of engagement can't wane a bit,” said state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, who also worked on the legislation. “There’s going to be a very real implementation process we have to pay attention to.”
Natalie Moore is WBEZ’s South Side reporter. Follow her on Twitter at @natalieymoore.
Illinois Becomes 11th State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana
1A Across America: Who Benefits When States Legalize Recreational Marijuana?
Is Illinois' Legal Pot Law Really 'Most Equity-Centric' In U.S.?
6 Things To Know About Illinois’ Marijuana Bill
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757276
|
__label__wiki
| 0.698136
| 0.698136
|
You are here: Webber Wentzel > News > Update on proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act
Update on proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act
We previously covered the notable amendments in the draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2017 (DTLAB) and draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill, 2017 (DTALAB) in our newsletter which can be found here. We also actively contributed to the public participation process by making written and oral submissions on both bills to the National Treasury and the Standing Committee of Finance, as well as at National Treasury workshops on specific aspects of the DTLAB.
As is customary in the legislation process, National Treasury circulated the Draft Response Document on 14 September 2017, which records their responses on the submissions made on the draft bills. In this eAlert, we share some of the responses in the Draft Response Document and discussions at workshops on notable proposed amendments in the DTLAB. The responses and discussions provide a useful (but not final) indication of the wording in the final bill.
All references to "section" below are to sections in the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (ITA) and to "para" are to paragraphs of the Eighth Schedule of the ITA.
Repeal of foreign employment income exemption (section 10(1)(o)(ii))
The first ZAR 1 million of foreign remuneration would be exempt from tax in South Africa if the individual is outside South Africa for more than 183 days, including being outside South Africa for a continuous period of at least 60 days during a 12 month period.
The effective date of the repeal would be 1 March 2020.
Submissions made on the practical difficulties of claiming foreign tax credits, increased costs of employing South African residents, and high costs of living in foreign countries were not accepted.
Proposed amendments on share buy-backs and dividend stripping (section 22B and para 43A)
"Extraordinary dividends", as defined, distributed within 18 months of the share disposal would be deemed to be income or proceeds on the disposal of the shares. Extraordinary dividends would be any dividends received that exceed 15% of the higher of the market value of shares disposed of (i) at the beginning of the 18 month period; or (ii) on the date of disposal of the shares.
Preference share dividends would be excluded if they are determined with reference to a specified rate of interest which is less than 15%. Rates higher than 15% would be treated as extraordinary dividends.
The effective date of the amendments would be changed. These amendments would not apply to arrangements where the terms had been finally agreed by 19 July 2017. (In our view, the amendments should not apply to agreements which had been signed by 19 July 2017, although not yet unconditional on that date.)
The proposed amendments currently provide for the amendments to apply to a shareholder company holding 50%, or 20% where no other shareholder holds a majority. In a listed company context, the 20% threshold would be reduced to any shareholder company holding 10%.
The amendments would be clarified to apply only to shareholder companies holding a direct interest in the company distributing the extraordinary dividends.
Submissions on the interaction of the corporate roll-over rules and the proposed amendments were not accepted. It would not be possible to defer the deemed income or proceeds in section 22B and para 43A by using the rollover relief in the corporate rules.
Submissions on potential double taxation in the context of distributions in specie were not accepted.
Debt relief for dormant group companies (section 19 and para 12A)
A reduction / waiver of debt for more than the fair value of the consideration paid by the debtor for such waiver would currently result in, mainly, income tax recoupments (section 19) or reductions of base costs of assets or capital losses (para 12A).
Section 19 and para 12A would be amended to allow for group exemptions where the resident creditor and debtor form part of the same group (i.e. as defined in Section 41), and the debtor is a dormant company which did not trade in the year of and immediately preceding year of assessment that the debt waiver takes place.
The amendments would apply to any debt that is reduced, cancelled, waived, forgiven or discharged in respect of years of assessment commencing on or after 1 January 2018.
Conversion of debt to equity and artificial repayments of debt (sections 19, 19A, 19B and para 12A)
It appears from the responses in the Draft Response Document that various submissions made on these proposed amendments were noted and largely accepted.
Webber Wentzel participated in the workshop on 26 September 2017 where National Treasury discussed further proposals on these amendments which are set out below.
The initial claw-back provisions in sections 19A and 19B which provided for recoupment of interest and on de-grouping would be removed from the final bill.
Section 19 and para 12A would be amended to include all forms of debt restructuring including debt waivers, debt compromises, subordination agreements, debt concessions and conversions of debt to equity.
The definition of "reduction amount" in section 19 and para 12A would be deleted. Section 19 and para 12A would be amended to include two new concepts - "debt benefit" and "concession or compromise".
A "concession or compromise" would include a waiver of debt, a change in any condition or term of debt, and any direct or indirect settlement of debt with equity (including conversions of debt to equity). A change of terms on interest may be excluded.
A "debt benefit" arises for the debtor where the face value of the debt exceeds:
in the context of debt waivers and change of conditions or terms of debt, the market value of the debt after the waiver or change;
in the context of conversions of debt to equity:(Para (b) may exclude section 8F hybrid debt instruments.)
the market value of the shares issued on the conversion, where the creditor did not hold any shares in the debtor prior to conversion; or
the difference between the aggregate market value of shares held before and after the conversion, where the creditor held shares in the debtor prior to the conversion.
A debt benefit would result in a recoupment for the debtor.
There would only be group exemption where there is conversion of debt to equity between resident debtors and creditors in the same group (i.e. "group" as defined in section 41). There is no proposal for group relief for debt waivers or debt subordinations but this may be reconsidered in 2018.
The amendments would apply for years of assessment commencing on or after 1 January 2018.
A number of issues have been highlighted to the National Treasury on the above proposals, including the practical difficulty of valuing the market value of debt (relative to its face value).
Extending the application of controlled foreign company (CFC) rules to foreign companies held via foreign trusts and foundations (new definition of CFC in section 9D and new section 25BC)
It appears from the responses in the Draft Response Document that various submissions made on the new definition of CFC and section 25BC were noted, and mostly accepted.
Webber Wentzel participated in the National Treasury workshop on this specific amendment on 19 September 2017, where participants were requested to suggest how the amendments should be formulated in the final bill.
It appears from the workshop that National Treasury are considering two possible options for these amendments in the final bill:
Option 1 involves deleting the extension of the new definition of CFC to foreign trusts and foundations holding more than 50% of participation or voting rights in a foreign company, and also deleting section 25BC. Section 25BC may be revisited in 2018.
Option 2 involves retaining the extension to foreign trusts and foundations with clearer references to beneficiaries of the foreign trust. The concept of "foreign foundation" would also be defined. Section 25BC would be amended to deal with potential double taxation of income, foreign tax credits, philanthropic distributions, and exemptions in section 9D. Section 25BC would also be amended to clarify the interaction between this section and section 7, section 25B(2A) and the Eighth Schedule.
In both options above, the extension of the new definition of CFC to include any foreign company where the financial results of this company are reflected in the consolidated financial statements of a resident company in terms of IFRS 10 would be retained. The proposed further proviso to section 9D(2) would, however, be amended to include only the financial results of the foreign company to the resident company on a net percentage basis.
National Treasury has indicated that they are working towards introducing the final bills to Parliament on 25 October 2017, which is the date that the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement is also expected to be tabled.
Webber Wentzel > News > Update on proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757277
|
__label__wiki
| 0.971704
| 0.971704
|
Pop Music Song Lyrics
June 11, 2019Dance Listen LoveComments: 0
This week’s most popular adult top 40 songs, ranked by adult pop airplay detections as measured by Nielsen Music.
A lyrics quiz where you must fill in the missing portions of each song.
Southern Gospel Music Tracks Free Singer Prelude 8280 Bobbin Case Features include carbon fiber black leather strap, stainless steel case, luminous hour and minute hands, water resistance to 330 feet, and more. ThinkGeek.com takes up to 75% off a selection of. Cover: Number – Title – Artist – [Release Date] Contents 8000 Personality 12 Inch Series: Albums Marked (S) –
“Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too,” an episode in “Black Mirror” season 5, features a selection of Nine Inch Nails songs adapted.
Search for Music Artists and song lyrics by A to Z. View all artists under the letter E
Apparently, Lohan is back in the recording studio, and if a new pop album does not emerge within the next. who are actively dissecting Cardi’s every lyric, 2019’s Songs Of The Summer Will Bring.
and some of the most recognizable songs have lyrics that borderline gibberish. But that’s part of the beauty of it. While.
May 24, 2019 · How to Write a Song. Anyone can write a song! All you really need is some basic knowledge of a melody instrument like a guitar or a piano, an idea, and the proper methodology. As long as you know how to brainstorm ideas for your song, how.
Poems and lyrics, while usually interchanged by many people, are actually very different. An article on BostonReview.net by poet and artist Matthew Zapruder best explains the difference between poems.
When a has-been pop star struggles to write a song that could launch his comeback, it takes a quirky woman with a gift for lyrics to get him on track. Watch trailers & learn more.
Daniel Portman Rock The Funk Mp3 Watch Sophie Turner play therapist to characters from ‘Game Of Thrones’ and ‘X-Men’ The actor had some advice for the fictional figures in a new sketch It is hard to properly define when rock music reached its zenith. The blues Delta/Chicago of "Prodigal Son" and "Stray Cat Blues," the country funk of "Dear Doctor" (the
Liverpool are one of the most successful clubs in English football and their supporters’ long list of chants recalls that glory – both past and present. Reds fans pack out Anfield and away sections.
For better or worse, Australian identical twin sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso—aka progressive pop act The Veronicas. that while she likes to start with lyrics first, her sister prefers to.
Wictor first became known for his slide guitar playing and innovative re-imagining of traditional and contemporary songs. He.
Sheet Music to Print or Download We are happy to offer a big selection of sheet music and songbooks for piano, guitar, vocals and violin. Learn how to play songs in any genre including pop, rock, blues, classical, country and much more. Music Downloads are available for most of today’s most popular music. Download songs to your PC, ipad, iphone or smart phone.
Directed by Marc Lawrence. With Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, Scott Porter, Nick Bacon. A washed up singer is given a couple days to compose a chart-topping hit for an aspiring teen sensation. Though he’s never written a decent lyric in his life, he sparks with an offbeat younger woman with a.
Music Genre Charts. Popular Songs by Genre. Top Viewed: Number 1: Acoustic: Hanuman Lyrics Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Jun 01, 2019 · This week’s most popular pop songs, ranked by mainstream top 40 radio airplay detections as measured by Nielsen Music.
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid-1950s. The terms "popular music" and "pop music" are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is.
Another great post-Chime standalone Dessa track, hard on the heels of “Grade School Games,” with a lyric that offers a mild.
the songs are exciting steps forward that still keep an eye on the past. Yorn has a new album on the way, his first since.
Iggy Pop will release a new lyric book collection. ‘Til Wrong Feels Right, which spans 288 pages, features “the complete.
Facebook’s suite of licensing deals with music rightsholders continues to bear fruit. you are,” explained Instagram’s.
In the oft-debated music versus lyrics dispute — as in, which is more integral — I’m always team lyrics. Yes, a killer beat is important, but the right words? That’s where a song hooks me. The.
Famous Stranger Rapper Album RULES OF THE ROAST: Roastees: You must provide at least one high-quality picture of the roastee holding a handwritten sign with the text /r/RoastMe – Phones and Snapchat text overlay is NOT allowed!. All individuals in the picture must be holding the r/RoastMe sign or indicate they are aware of the sign in some way
Do you write songs or lyrics? Let’s make art! Demo My Song will co-write and produce original music with you & distribute your songs on iTunes, Spotify, and more.
If you thought her songs sounded familiar, it’s because they’re actually covers of Nine Inch Nails’ "Head Like a Hole." The.
We’ve "translated" the slang and cultural references of popular hip hop, rock, alternative, and country music to make them more accessible.
Heading to Anfield for a match some time soon? Here’s a taste of the soundtrack you can expect to hear at the home of the Red Men Liverpool are one of the most successful clubs in English football and.
Users would be able to search through its available library of songs and select the one they want to add to a story. As long.
Search for Music Artists and song lyrics by A to Z. View all artists under the letter B
. of music and others even go as far as having similar lyrics. Well, popular on-air-personality, Toolz Oniru has pleaded.
A press release claims that the songs will be included on an upcoming Bon Iver album. The lyric videos for the new tracks.
Arabic pop music or Arab pop is a subgenre of pop music and Arabic music. Arabic pop is mainly produced and originated in Cairo, Egypt; with Beirut as a secondary center. It is an outgrowth of the Arabic film industry (mainly Egyptian movies), also predominantly located in Cairo. The primary style is a genre that synthetically combines pop melodies with elements of different Arabic regional.
Millions of searchable song lyrics at your fingertips. Updated daily with lyrics, reviews, features, meanings and more.
And while their output as collaborators has incorporated rock, pop. he sings. Instead of drowning his sorrows, though, the.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1757283
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.