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__cc
| 0.532397
| 0.467603
|
Next Generation Coffee
Home Projects Why? Goals About Contact Blog
HomeProjectsWhy?GoalsAboutContactBlog
YOUNG FARMERS DRIVE THE DEVELOPMENT
Kenya is considered as one of the World's leading coffee origins. For more than a century, the East African country has enriched the world's coffee lovers with unique flavors and coffee of a very distinctive character. But the Kenyan coffee production is threatened. Since the heydays in the nineties, the country's coffee production has fallen to a quarter, and the young coffee farmers disappear because they find it hard to see a future in coffee. With the initiatives in Next Generation Coffee, young coffee farmers go first in the battle to reverse the trend.
We have traveled into the highlands of Kenya, where the coffee fields and Othaya cooperative stretch on Mount Kenya's slopes. The drive from Nairobi is approximately 3 hours of hilly and bumby country roads. As we approach the destination, the vegetation becomes greener and the coffee fields battle the place with fertile tea fields, avocado, banana palms, sugar cane, corn and all-around appetizing crops. We are in what the Kenyans proudly call Africa's vegetable garden.
A sad history
With its 15,000 registered coffee farmers, Othaya is the largest coffee cooperative in Kenya. A cooperative that has been at the forefront of the conversion to, among other things, Fairtrade certified coffee and a cooperative who, with ambitious goals, have set themselves to reverse the general development of the country's endangered coffee industry. We were here for the first time in 2012. At that occasion we were greeted by an aging assembly of coffee farmers who all had the impression of having the future behind them. A sad group of old women and men, all of whom recognizing that coffee production was left with no no future. Their businesses were about to join them into the graves.
Their sons, daughters and the region's youth had lost the motivation to grow coffee. The economic foundation was gone. Access to education and financial resources for young farmers did not exist. Instead, the coffee farmers - young as old - were left to themselves and consequently average age of Kenyan coffee farmers had reached an all-time high at 63 years(!). The region's youth was emigrating to the cities with dreams of a golden future. Often without any base such as education or social security net, and not rarely with a life in the city's slums to follow.
An opportunity in life
Today, six years after our first visit to Othaya we are wellcomed by Mariam Nyawira. Mariam is a 27-year old woman and one of the young people who have gone against the stream and today proves that there is a future in coffee. Throughout her life, Mariam has dreamed of creating her own life and business, and she is well on her way: "When I became affiliated with the Next Generation Coffee project (“Coffee for a better future") it opened a fantastic opportunity for me. I felt here was my opportunity and I would not miss that," says Mariam Nyawira. Since the project's start in 2013 she has been associated with Othaya Farmers Co-op Society as a lead trainer. It is Mariam's task to organize, hold and report the many field schools held in the fields of the Othaya farmers.
"Knowledge and education are the way forward. I experience that in my work with the coffee farmers. Those who work purposefully and follow the field schools, they are also successful. When I was selected for the scholarship and got the opportunity to go to university, I became so happy. My family is also very proud of me," says Mariam with humble pride. She would like to lead the way for other youngsters too. "Many of the older farmers are not prepared to learn. It is the young people who are going to drive the development. I would like to go first. That's why I borrowed money and now lease my own coffee fields. I hope to afford to buy my own land at some point. But now I can create my own business, and at the same time I can show the way for other young people. I think that's very inspiring," says Mariam Nyawira.
The benefits of Next Generation Coffee
In the same way as with Mariam, 20 talented youngsters have received scholarships for The Kimathi University in Nyeri and more than 5,000 coffee farmers have received education in agricultural practices at field schools within the cooperative. Efforts that have made the youngsters return. Back to Othaya and back to a life and career as a coffee brewer.
kenyasofia Svahn April 24, 2018
TOGETHER FOR A BETTER LIFE
tanzaniasofia Svahn August 20, 2018
FARMERS MAKING INVESTEMENTS IN THE FUTURE
tanzaniasofia Svahn April 24, 2018
Enjoy your coffee. Today and tomorrow.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758810
|
__label__wiki
| 0.810403
| 0.810403
|
NHL, PA scheduled to resume negotiations Monday
by Dan Rosen
Negotiations between the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players' Association toward a new Collective Bargaining Agreement are expected to resume Monday, according to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.
"We can confirm that we have tentatively agreed to get back together on Monday, either late in the afternoon or early evening," Daly said. "The meeting was requested by the Union and it's their agenda. We will see what they have to tell us."
The sides have not met since Nov. 11, when they got together for roughly 90 minutes and discussed player-contracting issues.
The NHL and NHLPA have been without a CBA since Sept. 16.
The League has cancelled all regular-season games through Nov. 30 as well as the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, which was scheduled for Jan. 1 at Michigan Stadium.
Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter: @drosennhl
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758812
|
__label__wiki
| 0.941812
| 0.941812
|
HSSN
Confined patient walks away from Greystone
By George Berkin/NJ Voices
A Bergen County woman confined to Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Parsippany walked away Thursday night from the state facility with two visitors on a purported smoke break, authorities said early this morning.
The woman, who did not have permission to walk on the grounds, left the building -- Edwards Hall -- shortly after 7 p.m. and remained at large, said Ellen Lovejoy, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, which operates the hospital.
Authorities believe the 38-year-old woman from Lodi was let out through a locked door by a contracted security guard, Lovejoy said. She was discovered missing during a routine patient count, and area police were notified around 7:25 p.m., according to Lovejoy.
She said confidentiality laws prevented her from identifying the patient, but the woman was identified as Donna Chiavetta by Sgt. Glenn St. John of Parsippany police.
On Aug. 15, 2002, Chiavetta was found not guilty by reason of insanity of attempted murder and arson after she allegedly tried to kill her father and sister by setting a house ablaze, Lovejoy said.
The patient was formerly confined to the Ann Klein Forensic Center in Ewing Township, but had been confined to Greystone in Parsippany since July, Lovejoy said.
Police in Parsippany, Morris Plains and Morris Township were notified that Chiavetta was missing.
A nationwide all-points bulletin, under the National Crime Information Center, was issued, Lovejoy said.
The Caucasian woman was described as of medium build. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt, red sweat shirt, and dark sweat pants.
Human Services Police were investigating who her visitors were, and why she was allowed to exit the building.
Although not believed armed, she could be considered dangerous because anyone who is involuntarily confined is considered dangerous, Lovejoy said.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758815
|
__label__wiki
| 0.928167
| 0.928167
|
Red Hot Chili Peppers to headline Isle Of Wight Festival
Leonie Cooper Jan 30, 2014 7:15 pm GMT
Credit: Press/Clara Balzary
It will be the band's only UK show of 2014
Red Hot Chili Peppers are set to headline this summer’s Isle Of Wight Festival.
The band will play Saturday June 14 on the Main Stage, following previously announced Friday June 13 headliners, Biffy Clyro. They join Rudimental, Calvin Harris and The 1975 on the bill. The show is Red Hot Chili Peppers’ first UK festival appearance since 2007. The band have released a statement about their set, explaining that it will be their only UK show of 2014. The statement reads:
“To headline the Isle of Wight Festival is a once in a lifetime opportunity, following in the footsteps of Jimi Hendrix and The Doors. When we were offered the slot, we jumped at the chance… it will be our only show in the UK/Ireland this year… so we intend to make it really special.”
Isle Of Wight Festival runs from June 12-15 in Seaclose Park. For more information visit Isleofwightfestival.com
Red Hot Chili Peppers recently denied reports they will cover Led Zeppelin when they play the Super Bowl half-time show this weekend. The rockers will play the prestigious event at the annual American Football final with Bruno Mars on Sunday night (February 2) and earlier this week drummer Chad Smith claimed that the group would cover ‘Dazed & Confused’ on the night.
However, this has now been disputed by Smith, who told KROQ that he was just joking. “People in the media are so gullible sometimes. We will, however, be performing side one of Rush’s ‘2112’,” he joked. Super Bowl XLVIII takes place at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. U2 will premiere their new song ‘Invisible’ during the event. The track will appear in an advert announcing a new partnership with Bono’s charity (RED) and Bank Of America.
Ariana Grande performs on the first night of the Sweetener World Tour Credit: Getty
Ariana Grande has finally got her Grammy Award – five months after she won the gong for best pop album
Harry Styles Credit: Getty
Harry Styles is in talks for a major role in Disney’s live action remake of ‘The Little Mermaid’
Taika Waititi is returning to direct ‘Thor 4’
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758817
|
__label__wiki
| 0.996751
| 0.996751
|
Charlie Brooker unveils plans for season four of ‘Black Mirror’
Sam Moore Feb 22, 2017 5:22 pm GMT
Black Mirror Credit: Still
Including what is set to be the show's most "comic" episode yet
Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker has revealed a number of details about the upcoming fourth season of the dystopian anthology series.
The Netflix show – which debuted on the streaming service last year for the first time in its six-year history – returned with its highly-anticipated third season back in October, which continued its long-running theme of exploring the potential future pitfalls of humanity’s relationship with technology.
Brooker has now spoken about his plans for the next season of Black Mirror, which is expected to be released later this year. Again set to contain six episodes, Brooker revealed that, while the final two installments of the fourth season are still “up for grabs”, the show will again revel in the variation of its tone.
“We’ve got some strikingly different tones and looks,” Brooker told The Daily Telegraph. “We’ve got one that’s overtly comic, much more overtly comic than anything we’ve done. It’s got fairly mainstream comic elements, but also some really unpleasant stuff that happens.”
While also revealing that one Black Mirror episode is currently shooting in Iceland, Brooker also went on to discuss the Jodie Foster-directed episode.
“That’s more got the tone of an indie movie, an indie drama. There’s a mother and daughter relationship in it,” Brooker said, before also revealing that one episode will be a “crime thriller” while another will have “relationships at the heart of it.”
The acclaimed soundtrack from the third season episode ‘San Junipero’ was released in full back in December – listen to it here.
Paul Wilson, Gary Lightbody, Jonny Quinn, and Johnny McDaid of Snow Patrol Credit: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
The UK’s most played song of the 21st century has been revealed
Cardi B in 'Hustlers' trailer. Credit: Hustlers official Twitter
Watch Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Cardi B plan heists in ‘Hustlers’ trailer
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758818
|
__label__cc
| 0.553967
| 0.446033
|
‘Twilight: Eclipse’ premiere in LA triggers Glastonbury-like camp
Talia Soghomonian Jun 23, 2010 2:31 pm BST
Plus, win tickets to the London premiere
Hundreds of Twilight fans have set up camp outside the Nokia Plaza in Los Angeles to get the chance to see Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner at the Eclipse premiere.
Teens have been there since Monday (June 21), despite the fact the event is not happening until tomorrow (June 24).
R-Patz and co won’t be at the premiere in London on July 1, but the occasion will give journalists, celebs and a few lucky fans the chance to see the film before anyone else.
We’ve got a pair of tickets – to be in with a chance of grabbing them head over to NME.COM/WIN and answer a simple question.
Twilight: Eclipse is out at cinemas in the UK on July 9.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758819
|
__label__cc
| 0.627184
| 0.372816
|
This course is about rights and rights claims, and the idea of implementing justice in the international sphere based on the concept of rights. It is agreed by most people that ‘rights are a good thing’ and in many respects they are. However, this course deliberately takes a critical view. It seeks to examine closely why rights are a good thing and highlights some of the problems associated with rights. In this way, we hope that the sense in which rights are still, ultimately, ‘a good t
Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce materia
Approaches to software development
This free course, Approaches to software development, presents an engineering approach to the development of software systems – a software engineering approach. The course pays particular attention to issues of software quality, in terms of both product (what is built) and process (how we build it). First published on Mon, 18 Jun 2018 as Author(s): Creator not set
6.3 Summary of Section 6
In trying to find solutions to the specific problem of the water-boiler, where the need was for a particular response to a certain temperature change, we have gone into the principles behind the three classes of temperature effect – gradual, accelerating and sudden. This has provided you with mathematical models that are of real use in putting definite numbers to the magnitudes of these effects in any designs that are proposed. The ability to do this is ju
5.4.1 Leadership roles
The classic 'scientific' view of the leader is as the central 'controller' – planning, monitoring and regulating.
The more 'democratic' view sees the role as facilitator, or coordinator.
The more 'educational' view sees it as that of adviser, teacher, source of expertise, etc.
Adair identified three overlapping areas: achieving the task, building and maintaining the team, and developing individuals.
5.2.1 Providing evaluative feedback
One of the roles of a leader is to provide group members with feedback on their performance. This is often an uncomfortable process for both the leader and the recipient. The main reason for this is a failure by both parties adequately to distinguish between the individual and what is being evaluated. When criticism is carelessly given, it is easy for the recipient to take it as an attack on his or her self-esteem. The result is that the recipient resists the feedback and responds in a defens
4.4.1 Task-oriented behaviours
Estimating and planning
The project manager, or someone under his or her direction, has to collect information about what exactly needs to be done and how it is to be organised; how much it will cost and how long it will take; and the interdependencies of various tasks, skills and other resources. The results are a project plan and a project budget.
Assembling a team
A project team can make or break a project. Often the project manager has little say in who wor
4.2 Project life cycles
Earlier I said that a project is: 'a unique venture with a beginning and an end' (Boddy and Buchanan, 1992, p. 8). But it must have a middle, too. We say that a project has a 'life cycle'. This is based on an analogy with living things which are born, live for a period of time, doing things like consuming food and water, breathing, moving, etc., and then finally end (die). There is much discussion about whether there is only one 'true' model of a project life cycle or many, and whether any of
IEC 60793-2-10 (1992) International Standard 60793-2-10 Optical Fibres – Part 2-10: Product Specifications – Sectional specification for category A1 multimode fibres, International Electrotechnical Commission.
IEC 60793-2-50 (1992) International Standard 60793-2-10 Optical Fibres – Part 2-;50: Product Specifications – Sectional specification for category B single mode fibres, International Electr
There are more than 800 courses on OpenLearn for you to
4.4 Fibre in the access network
In the 1980s there was a belief that it was only a matter of time before fibre would be installed in the access network (from individual private customers to the local telephone exchange, also called ‘the last mile’, the ‘local loop’ and, now, the ‘first mile’). Installing ‘fibre to the home’, FTTH, as this has come to be known, was always recognised to be a major undertaking, simply because of the number of links involved. If, however, the revenue from new services enabled by
4.3 Optical networking
DWDM improves the utilisation of optical fibre for point-to-point links, but a further step in exploiting the potential of optical fibre comes from optical networking in which routeing or switching is done optically.
Optical networking is in its infancy, but the concept of the optical layer based upon wavelength channels is emerging. The optical layer effectively sits below the SDH layer in the network, and provides wavelength channels from one location to another.
An analogy can
5.3 Ethics and ethos: ‘does mum know?’
In Act 1 we are presented with a fairly naïve Ned, who initially believes himself to be in control. We discover he is very proud of his intellectual achievements and less concerned with money. He explains his inventions and, when he does so, he finds analogies that highlight the aesthetics of what he is designing. At a crucial point in the conversation, his brother Dan asks: ‘does mum know?’ This is a really significant point in the play because it draws in another relationship and, as I
6.11 Presenting the case
23. Is the format of presentation appropriate for the audience?
24. Is the case presented in a persuasive way overall?
Hopefully, the analytical work carried out to determine costs, benefits and so on will almost
Collins, S., Ghey, J. and Mills, G. (1989) The Professional Engineer in Society, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Foster, J., with Corby, L. (illustrator) (1996) How to Get Ideas, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Haaland, J., Wingert, J. and Olson, B. A. (1963) 'Force required to activate switches, maximum finger pushing force, and coefficient
view solutions as belonging to particular categories, broadly classified as: innovation by context; innovation by practice; routine
see how external factors affect engineering projects, and appreciate the range of engineering involved in meeting the basic needs of our society
recognise and apply a range of problem-solving techniques from each stage of the engineering design cycle, to include the fol
This free course provided an introduction to studying Technology. It took you through a series of exercises designed to develop your approach to study and learning at a distance, and helped to improve your confidence as an independent learner.
5.7.2 Elimination of pathogens through solar disinfection
The lack of safe drinking water in many developing countries has prompted research into simple methods of disinfecting small quantities of water. One such investigation at the University of Beirut in the Lebanon revealed that 99.9% of total bacteria in a water sample could be destroyed by 300 minutes exposure to direct sunlight. In effect this means that if you left a sample of water in a translucent container, a lot of the bacteria in it would be killed.
Research to date has concentrat
3.3.3 Reassembling the parts
As the wreckage was pulled from the river it was examined and identified, and any failures of the metal components were recognised and tagged. This was a mammoth task, given that virtually the whole bridge had fallen into the water, including all the road decks, trusses, chains and hangers, eye bars and the two towers. The parts were then reassembled and all the failed or fractured components photographed and catalogued. Over 90 per cent of the bridge components were collected together and re
3.3.2 Planning the investigation
A plan was needed to determine the chain of events leading up to and during the collapse. That sequence would necessarily depend on which parts had broken first, and a fault tree would enable a plan of action in isolating the cause (or causes) of the disaster. Such a systematic approach is known as fault-tree analysis or FTA, and is part of the armoury of methods used by accident investigators. With large-scale and devastating accidents, all possibilities, however remote, need evaluation in t
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758822
|
__label__wiki
| 0.599864
| 0.599864
|
Home » Pakistan Politics » Why a foreign-born scholar joined Team Tsunami Khan?
Why a foreign-born scholar joined Team Tsunami Khan?
This entry was posted in Pakistan Politics and tagged Imran PTI on April 1, 2012 by Admin
The News report
LONDON: A foreign-born scholar of Pakistani descent, Dr Azeem Ibrahim, a PhD from Cambridge University, a former Research Scholar at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a World Fellow at Yale, world’s top three seats of learning, has joined Imran Khan and has been named his Strategic Policy Development Advisor.
In a special article for The News, Dr Azeem said it was time the country achieved its “second independence” and threw off the denigrating suggestions that it is a failed state, a client state or a country on the brink of disaster.
He writes: “When Pakistan became independent in 1947, its founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah envisaged a democratic country embodying the essential principles of Islam, rather than being a theocratic state. “Sixty five years later, his vision of a democratic state has yet to be fully realized. Pakistan is still awaiting true independence – freedom from being a client state, freedom from fear of its neighbour India and freedom from economic disasters, military adventurism and political instability.
“To achieve these freedoms, Pakistan must look to new leadership – strong, informed and visionary yet pragmatic leadership. This is why I joined the team of Imran Khan, chairman of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party and likely the next Prime Minister of Pakistan. As a foreign-born Pakistani and independent academic, I look at Pakistan with pride in my heritage and great hopes for its political and economic future.
Pakistan has lurched from one unfulfilled democratic government to military rule and back again – each change bringing false hopes for meaningful change. Without respect for a strong constitution, Pakistan’s leaders so far have been unable to rise above the enormity of Pakistan’s problems and all in their different ways have failed to bring real democracy to the country.
The corruption and nepotism which has marred Pakistan’s politics continues to offset the power struggles between mosque, military and political parties. Some of the most refreshing revelations came recently with the release of thousands of classified US State Department cables through WikiLeaks.
The published cables revealed that Pakistan saw the drone attacks as so effective that they wanted some of their own. President Asif Ali Zardari “made repeated pleas for drones to be put in Pakistan’s hands, so that Pakistan would own the issue and drone attacks (including collateral damage) would not provoke anti-Americanism”, one of the cables said. Another Pakistani leader is quoted as saying about the drone attacks,” I don’t care if they do it as long as they get the right people. We’ll protest in the National Assembly and then ignore it.”
Also revealed was the duplicity of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders who had informed the Americans that, in spite of the party’s demands to have the chief justice reinstated, they did not really care for Iftikhar Chaudhry and hoped to remove him once they had scored the requisite political points. Denials were immediately forthcoming but the many disclosures from WikiLeaks – often in less than diplomatic language – prove the duplicity and corruption of politics endemic in Pakistan today.
After a careful reading of the WikiLeaks cables relating to Pakistan, I established that Imran Khan was the only person who said the same thing in private that he said in public and I am convinced that this was a man and a movement I could be associated with as an independent academic and policy expert.
After meeting with Imran Khan on several occasions, I was even more convinced that he is the leader Pakistan needs to move the country forward, finally realizing the destiny that Jinnah had envisioned. Our long and detailed sessions discussing his plans for a new Pakistan, reveal a man with an unusual ability to absorb complex information and to ask the right questions. His recognition that there are no simplistic solutions is a necessary starting point – it is not the economy, the military budget, the lack of spending on education, jobs and healthcare – it is a combination of all of these within the global environment of diminishing resources that needs addressing. The changing nature of the European Community and the shifting economies of China and the United States all must be factored in to Pakistan’s future and I believe that Imran Khan has the capacity as statesman, not just politician, to understand these complexities as well as to deal with national issues.
I feel privileged to be invited to be a part of the planning process, and to be considered a strategic policy adviser to the Khan campaign as it transitions from an opposition party to a government in waiting. I believe that Imran Khan is not only the best hope for Pakistan right now, but he is the only hope and his success in the next election- whenever that will be – will be an embodiment of the hopes and dreams identified by Jinnah for Pakistan those sixty- five momentous years ago.
← LAHORE: Stagnant real estate market drives away speculators
IMF reforms: Sucking poor’s blood →
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758823
|
__label__wiki
| 0.953072
| 0.953072
|
The Ugly, Fascinating History Of The Word 'Racism' : Code Switch The first recorded utterance of the word was by a man named Richard Henry Pratt, whose legacy among Native Americans and others is deeply contentious. His story illustrates problems with how the word is used today.
Race and identity, remixed
The Ugly, Fascinating History Of The Word 'Racism'
subscribe to Code Switch podcast
Code Switch: Word Watch
January 6, 201411:55 AM ET
Gene Demby
Richard Henry Pratt was the first person the Oxford English Dictionary records using the word "racism," in a speech decrying it. But his own legacy on race is checkered. Library of Congress hide caption
Richard Henry Pratt was the first person the Oxford English Dictionary records using the word "racism," in a speech decrying it. But his own legacy on race is checkered.
The Oxford English Dictionary's first recorded utterance of the word racism was by a man named Richard Henry Pratt in 1902. Pratt was railing against the evils of racial segregation.
Segregating any class or race of people apart from the rest of the people kills the progress of the segregated people or makes their growth very slow. Association of races and classes is necessary to destroy racism and classism.
Although Pratt might have been the first person to inveigh against racism and its deleterious effects by name, he is much better-remembered for a very different coinage: Kill the Indian...save the man.
"A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one," Pratt said. "In a sense, I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man."
We're still living with the after-effects of what Pratt thought and did. His story serves as a useful parable for why discussions of racism remain so deeply contentious even now.
But let's back up a bit.
Beginning in the 1880s, a group of well-heeled white men would travel to upstate New York each year to attend the Lake Mohonk Conference Of The Friend Of the Indian. Their primary focus was a solution to "the Indian problem," the need for the government to deal with the Native American groups living in lands that had been forcibly seized from them. The Plains Wars had decimated the Native American population, but they were coming to an end. There was a general feeling among these men and other U.S. leaders that the remaining Native Americans would be wiped out within a generation or two, destroyed by disease and starvation.
The Lake Mohonk attendees wanted to stop that from happening, and they pressed lawmakers to change the government's policies toward Indians. Pratt, in particular, was a staunch advocate of folding Native Americans into white life — assimilation through education.
Top: A group of Chiricahua Apache students on their first day at Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, Pa. Bottom: The same students four months later. John N. Choate/Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption
John N. Choate/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Top: A group of Chiricahua Apache students on their first day at Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, Pa. Bottom: The same students four months later.
He persuaded Congress to let him test out his ideas, and they gave him an abandoned military post in Carlisle, Pa., to set up a boarding school for Native children. He was also able to convince many Native Americans, including some tribal leaders, to send their children far away from home, and leave them in his charge. (They had reasons to be skeptical of Pratt, given the dubious history of white promises to Indians.)
"These [chiefs] were smart men," said Grace Chaillier, a professor of Native American studies at Northern Michigan University. "They saw the handwriting on the wall. They knew their children were going to need to be educated in the ways of the dominant culture or they weren't going to survive."
For many Natives, Chaillier said, this wrenching decision came down to a grim arithmetic: the boarding school would provide their children with food and shelter, which were hard to come by on the reservations. "The reservations were becoming very, very sad places to be," she said. "These were places of daunting poverty. People were starving."
The Carlisle Indian Industrial School would become a model for dozens of other unaffiliated boarding schools for Indian children. But Pratt's plans had lasting, disastrous ramifications.
He pushed for the total erasure of Native cultures among his students. "No bilingualism was accommodated at these boarding schools," said Christina Snyder, a historian at Indiana University. The students' native tongues were strictly forbidden — a rule that was enforced through beating. Since they were rounded up from different tribes, the only way they could communicate with each other at the schools was in English.
"In Indian civilization I am a Baptist," Pratt once told a convention of Baptist ministers, "because I believe in immersing the Indians in our civilization and when we get them under, holding them there until they are thoroughly soaked."
"The most significant consequence of this policy is the loss of languages," Snyder says. "All native languages are [now] endangered and some of them are extinct."
Pratt also saw to it that his charges were Christianized. Carlisle students had to attend church each Sunday, although he allowed each student to choose the denomination to which she would belong.
When students would return home to the reservations — which Pratt objected to, because he felt it would slow down their assimilation — there was a huge cultural gap between them and their families. They dressed differently. They had a new religion. And they spoke a different language.
"These kids coming from the boarding schools were literally unable to speak with their parents and grandparents," Chaillier said. "In many cases, they were ashamed of them, because their grandparents and parents were living a life that nobody should aspire to live."
But Pratt's idea to assimilate Native Americans gained traction, and the government began to make attendance at Indian boarding schools compulsory. Families who didn't comply were punished by the government. "For a period in the 1890s, federal Indian agents could withhold rations [from families] to kind of forcibly starve someone out," Snyder says.
Students at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School were forbidden from speaking in any language but English. Library of Congress hide caption
Students at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School were forbidden from speaking in any language but English.
Tsianina Lomawaima, who heads of the American Indian Studies program at the University of Arizona, told our colleague Charla Bear that the government's schooling policy had more cynical aims.
"They very specifically targeted Native nations that were the most recently hostile," Lomawaima says. "There was a very conscious effort to recruit the children of leaders, and this was also explicit, essentially to hold those children hostage. The idea was it would be much easier to keep those communities pacified with their children held in a school somewhere far away."
Someone is either a racist and therefore an inhuman monster, or they're an actual, complex human being, and therefore, by definition, incapable of being a racist.
Unhappy, homesick students regularly ran away from the schools, and authorities were sent out to apprehend deserters, who were sometimes given asylum by Native communities who protested the mandatory school laws.
But since there was little oversight of the boarding schools, the students were often subjected to horrific mistreatment. Many were regularly beaten. Chaillier said that some of the schools were rife with sexual abuse. Tuberculosis or trachoma, a preventable disease causes blindness, were rampant. All of the boarding schools, she said, had their own cemeteries.
Chaillier said that Pratt wasn't always aware of these conditions. But these were the consequences of the popularity of his philosophies.
Chaillier, who is Lakota, told me a story that her mother often shared with her about her Indian school experience. One day, according to her mother's story, a young student snuck out from his room at night, fell into a hole being dug for a well on the school grounds, broke his neck and died. His body was put on display and the students were assembled, forced to view their schoolmate's corpse as a reminder of what happened to students who were disobedient.
But Chaillier's mother insisted that she didn't attend one of the bad Indian boarding schools. And she wanted Chaillier to attend one, as well. "If you were Indian, you went to Indian school," she said, describing her mother's feelings. Her mother felt that the Indian schools were a net good, even as they were calamitous for Indian cultures.
It's that ambivalence that makes Pratt's legacy so hard to neatly characterize.
Why Being 'Gypped' Hurts The Roma More Than It Hurts You
The History Behind The Phrase 'Don't Be An Indian Giver'
Zoinks! Tracing The History Of 'Zombie' From Haiti To The CDC
"Richard Henry Pratt was an incredibly complex individual in many ways," Chaillier said. "Some of the worst outcomes that have happened in society have started out with someone thinking they were doing something good."
"For his time, Pratt was definitely a progressive," Snyder said. Indeed, he thought his ideas were the only thing keeping Native peoples from being entirely wiped out by disease and starvation. "That's one of the dirty little secrets of American progressivism — that [progress] was still shaped around ideas of whiteness."
Snyder said that Pratt replaced the popular idea that some *groups *were natively inferior to others with the idea that some *cultures *that were the problem, and needed to be corrected or destroyed. In other words, he swapped biological determinism for cultural imperialism.
Given the sheer scale of the physical and cultural violence he helped set in motion, was Pratt himself a practitioner of the very ill he decried at the Lake Mohonk convention? Was he a racist?
Over a century after he was first recorded using the word, we still ask that question — is she or isn't she racist? — in situations where no clear answer would ever present itself. We argue about the composition of the accused's soul and the fundamental goodness or badness therein. But those are things we can't possibly know. And as we litigate that question, other more meaningful questions become obscured.
Racism remains a force of enormous consequence in American life, yet no one can be accused of perpetrating it without a kicking up a grand fight. No one ever says, "Yeah, I was a little bit racist. I'm sorry." That's in part because racists, in our cultural conversations, have become inhuman. They're fairy-tale villains, and thus can't be real.
There's no nuance to these public fights, as a veteran crisis manager told my colleague, Hansi Lo Wang. Someone is either a racist and therefore an inhuman monster, or they're an actual, complex human being, and therefore, by definition, incapable of being a racist.
Ta-Nehisi Coates of The Atlantic, who often writes about race, is one of several writers and thinkers who has drawn attention to this paradox:
The idea that America has lots of racism but few actual racists is not a new one. Philip Dray titled his seminal history of lynching At the Hands of Persons Unknown because most "investigations" of lynchings in the South turned up no actual lynchers. Both David Duke and George Wallace insisted that they weren't racists. That's because in the popular vocabulary, the racist is not so much an actual person but a monster, an outcast thug who leads the lynch mob and keeps *Mein Kampf *in his back pocket.
We can ask whether Richard Henry Pratt was himself racist even as he decried racism. But that question distracts from the concrete and lingering realities of his legacy. It's far more valuable to wrestle with these two ideas at once: Pratt probably improved the material lives of many individual Native American children who lived in poverty and were at risk of starving. He also aggressively campaigned to destroy their cultures and subjected them to a panoply of miseries and privations.
Last Monday, a woman named Emily Johnson Dickerson died. She was the last person in the world who spoke only the Chickasaw language. That's a reality interlaced with the difficult legacy of Richard Henry Pratt.
In the century since Pratt used the word racism, the term has become an abstraction. But always buried somewhere underneath it are actions with real consequences. Sometimes those outcomes are intended. Sometimes they're not. But it's the outcomes, not the intentions, that matter most in the end.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758827
|
__label__wiki
| 0.833822
| 0.833822
|
Daytime eatery coming to Santa Rosa Beach
Heather Osbourne @heatheronwfdn
SANTA ROSA BEACH — A new daytime cafe is coming to Santa Rosa Beach.
First Watch will soon be developed at the corner of U.S. Highway 98 and West Hewett Road. The St. Joe Company, the developer for the project, said the restaurant franchise will be the first in Walton County.
“We are excited to bring a restaurant concept like First Watch to Santa Rosa Beach,” said Dan Velazquez, senior vice president of commercial real estate for St. Joe, in a press release. “The area is experiencing growth in both full-time residents and tourist visitation and this highly visible location is ideally suited for First Watch.”
On the First Watch menu is made-to-order breakfast, brunch and lunch.
Entrees included an elevated egg sandwich, a dish served with bacon, Gruyere cheeses, avocado, mayo and lemon dressed arugula; Asian pork belly breakfast bowl, served with quinoa, farro and brown rice ancient-grain blend, two cage-free sunny side up eggs, pickled daikon radish and carrot slaw, fresh jalapeno, cilantro and sriracha; and lemon blueberry quinoa pancakes served with lemon blueberry butter and house made granola.
The franchise is the largest and fastest growing daytime only restaurant concept in the U.S., according to the press release. The eatery has over 320 locations in 25 states and two others in Northwest Florida — Destin and Panama City Beach.
“We are very excited to enter the Santa Rosa Beach market,” said Brad Dermond, First Watch franchise owner. “Our philosophy focuses on using the freshest ingredients to create unique menu items served in an inviting atmosphere with a focus on the customer experience.”
Construction is expected to begin this summer. The restaurant, if all goes according to plan, will open in 2020.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758831
|
__label__wiki
| 0.990267
| 0.990267
|
Politics|In 2000, a Streetwise Veteran Schooled a Bold Young Obama
Politics | The Long Run
In 2000, a Streetwise Veteran Schooled a Bold Young Obama
By JANNY SCOTT SEPT. 9, 2007
Barack Obamas biggest political miscalculation is considered to be his 2000 bid against Representative Bobby L. Rush, who is still in office. Credit Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times
The rise of Barack Obama includes one glaring episode of political miscalculation. Even friends told Mr. Obama it was a bad idea when he decided in 1999 to challenge an incumbent congressman and former Black Panther, Bobby L. Rush, whose stronghold on the South Side of Chicago was overwhelmingly black, Democratic and working class.
Mr. Obama was a 38-year-old state senator and University of Chicago lecturer, unknown in much of Mr. Rush’s Congressional district. He lived in its most rarefied neighborhood, Hyde Park. He was taking on a local legend, a former alderman and four-term incumbent who had given voters no obvious reason to displace him.
Mr. Rush’s name recognition started off at 90 percent, Mr. Obama’s at 11. Then Mr. Rush’s son was murdered, leading Mr. Obama to put his campaign on hold. Later, while vacationing in Hawaii with his family, he missed a high-profile vote in the Legislature and was pilloried. (One Chicago Tribune editorial began, “What a bunch of gutless sheep.”) Then President Clinton endorsed Mr. Rush.
“Campaigns are always, ‘What’s the narrative of the race?’ ” said Eric Adelstein, a media consultant in Chicago who worked on the Rush campaign. “In a sense, it was ‘the Black Panther against the professor.’ That’s not a knock on Obama; but to run from Hyde Park, this little bastion of academia, this white community in the black South Side — it just seemed odd that he would make that choice as a kind of stepping out.”
The episode revealed a lot about Senator Obama — now running for president, against the odds again and with a relatively slim résumé. It showed his impatience with the frustrations of his state Senate job; his outsize confidence; his fund-raising powers; his broad appeal; and his willingness to be what Abner J. Mikva, a former congressman and supporter, calls “a very apt student of his own mistakes.”
It also shed light on the complicated ways that class has played out in Mr. Obama’s political career as a factor entangled with his race. Class emerged as a subtext in the Congressional campaign, along with generational differences that separate Mr. Obama from older black politicians.
He might have fared better if he had jumped into the race sooner, campaigned even harder and found a way to speak more effectively to working-class black voters, people involved with that campaign say. But most say they doubt he could have won. It is hard to take out an incumbent, and though Mr. Rush may have looked vulnerable after losing a lackluster campaign against Mayor Richard M. Daley in early 1999, he was not vulnerable enough.
“He was blinded by his ambition,” Mr. Rush said. “Obama has never suffered from a lack of believing that he can accomplish whatever it is he decides to try. Obama believes in Obama. And, frankly, that has its good side but it also has its negative side.”
Not that the loss hurt Mr. Obama. Not long after getting “my rear end handed to me,” as he later put it, he ran successfully for the United States Senate — this time with no sitting Democrat to displace, with abundant planning and with a more experienced campaign staff, including David Axelrod, a Daley consultant who is the senior political adviser on Mr. Obama’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“Certain Democrats in Chicago say it’s the best thing that ever happened to him, not winning that race — that he couldn’t have been positioned to run for the U.S. Senate from that district,” Mr. Adelstein said. “In that district, you get pigeonholed pretty quickly as ‘an African-American congressman,’ not as a more transcendent congressman.”
Mr. Rush’s district, the state’s most Democratic, was 65 percent black. And in 1999, it included not only Hyde Park, home of the University of Chicago, but several relatively affluent Irish-American neighborhoods.
There were plenty of college-educated, white, “latte liberals” with whom Mr. Obama polls well. But he was barely known outside his state Senate district, in the eastern part of Mr. Rush’s district. To win, he would have to expand his support among blacks, including the older, church-going, Rush loyalists who vote disproportionately in primaries.
“Taking on Bobby Rush among black voters is like running into a buzz saw,” said Ron Lester, a pollster who worked for Mr. Obama. “This guy was incredibly popular. Not only that, his support ran deep — to the extent that a lot of people who liked Barack still wouldn’t support him because they were committed to Bobby. He had built up this reserve of goodwill over 25 years in that community.”
Mr. Rush had grown up in Chicago, enlisted in the Army, joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and helped found the Illinois Black Panther Party in 1968. He coordinated a medical clinic that pioneered mass screening for sickle cell anemia, which disproportionately affects blacks. As an alderman in 1992, he had ousted a black political legend — Representative Charles A. Hayes, a veteran of the civil-rights and labor movements who was caught up in a scandal that year involving the House bank.
Frustration at the Statehouse
Mr. Obama, 15 years younger than Mr. Rush, arrived in Chicago in his 20s after growing up in Hawaii and Indonesia. He worked as a community organizer on the South Side for three years, then returned to the city after graduating from Harvard Law School. He ran a voter registration drive, joined a law firm, taught constitutional law and been elected to the state Senate from Hyde Park in 1996.
Bobby L. Rush, left, Barack Obama and Donne E. Trotter, candidates for Congress in 2000, at a radio show. Credit Brian Jackson/Sun Times
But he was frustrated at the Statehouse. He had distinguished himself as an ethics reformer there, but it was difficult for Democrats to get much done in a period of virtual Republican lockdown. “He was looking for opportunities to run for offices,” said Dan Shomon, who was then a Senate aide.
In February 1999, Mr. Rush lost the mayoral primary to Mr. Daley, getting just 28 percent of the vote. Toni Preckwinkle, a city alderman, encouraged Mr. Obama to challenge Mr. Rush.
Mr. Shomon said he and Mr. Obama did an amateur poll to gauge his chances. They designed questions, recruited volunteers to telephone 300 people, and concluded that Mr. Rush was vulnerable. Mr. Shomon, who became Mr. Obama’s campaign manager, said, “Obama will tell you that this poll was not the best poll in the world.” Asked why, he said, “Because the results didn’t turn out to be correct.”
State Senator Terry Link, a friend of Mr. Obama, said he advised him not to run. “He tried to justify it: He didn’t feel Bobby was representing the area, he thought he could do a better job,” Mr. Link recalled. “I think he misread it. He didn’t analyze the strength of the congressman in that area, the will of the people.”
Mr. Obama, in a brief telephone interview, said, “In retrospect, there was very little chance of me winning that race. That was a good lesson — that you should never be too impressed with your own ideas if your name recognition in a Congressional district is only eight or whatever it was.”
He entered the race in late September, six months before the primary. He told voters that Mr. Rush represented “a politics that is rooted in the past, a reactive politics that isn’t good at coming up with concrete solutions.” He promised new leadership, reaching beyond the black community and leading coalitions to take on contemporary problems, cut crime, expand health care coverage, promote economic development and expand educational opportunities.
But several weeks later, Mr. Lester’s polling put Mr. Rush’s approval rating at 70 percent and Mr. Obama’s at 8 percent. Forty-seven percent of the people polled favored Mr. Rush, 10 percent favored Mr. Obama and 5 percent favored a third candidate, State Senator Donne E. Trotter, who is also black. Almost all of Mr. Obama’s support initially came from whites, Mr. Lester said.
“Bobby Rush had not been the most active member of Congress from Illinois, but there was no issue that made him particularly vulnerable,” Mr. Mikva said. “He hadn’t robbed a bank or beaten his grandmother or things like that. In that respect, I was concerned.”
“Also,” Mr. Mikva said, “I had seen reform candidates running against incumbents in African-American areas. It’s hard. Reform is not the most compelling issue to people who don’t have a job.”
Then in mid-October, Mr. Rush’s 29-year-old son, Huey Rich, was shot on his way home from a grocery store. He hung between life and death for four days. Mr. Rush benefited from an outpouring of sympathy; the wake was studded with politicians and there were renewed calls for gun control, one of Mr. Rush’s causes.
“That incident seemed to wash away any bad feelings that voters had or might have had about Bobby Rush,” said Chris Sautter, whose communications firm worked on the Obama campaign.
Later, Gov. George Ryan called the Legislature into special session to try to re-enact a package of gun-safety bills that the Illinois Supreme Court had overturned. Mr. Obama was voting consistently in favor of it. But the session dragged on toward Christmas and an annual trip to Hawaii to visit his grandmother, who had helped rear him.
He had planned to return after the holiday when the session was to resume, Mr. Shomon said. But a crucial vote came up earlier than expected. With Mr. Obama and others absent, it failed by five votes. Mr. Obama, in particular, came under fire. In his defense, he said he had not flown back in time because his 18-month-old daughter was sick. But he was hammered by editorial writers, the governor and Mr. Rush.
“We were thrown under the bus,” Mr. Shomon said. “It was a terrible day of news coverage, since, A, we got blasted for not being there and, B, the perception was that Obama doesn’t care about gun safety.”
The Downfall
In his book “The Audacity of Hope,” Mr. Obama wrote: “Less than halfway into the campaign, I knew in my bones that I was going to lose. Each morning from that point forward I awoke with a vague sense of dread, realizing that I would have to spend the day smiling and shaking hands and pretending that everything was going according to plan.”
Billboards in the district read: “I’m sticking with Bobby.” A few black elected officials endorsed Mr. Obama but most fell in line behind the incumbent. Ministers closed ranks. The Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of the St. Sabina Catholic Church, said other ministers and congregation members called to complain when he endorsed Mr. Obama.
Barack Obama with his daughter Malia, voting in the Democratic primary in March 2000. Credit John Lee/Tribune
Mr. Obama’s Ivy League education and his white liberal-establishment connections also became an issue. Mr. Rush told The Chicago Reader, “He went to Harvard and became an educated fool. We’re not impressed with these folks with these Eastern elite degrees.”
Mr. Rush and his supporters faulted him for having missed experiences that more directly defined the previous generation of black people. “Barack is a person who read about the civil-rights protests and thinks he knows all about it,” Mr. Rush told The Reader.
Mr. Obama was seen as an intellectual, “not from us, not from the ’hood,” said Jerry Morrison, a consultant on the Rush campaign. Asked recently about that line of attack, Mr. Rush minimized it as “chest beating, signifying.”
The implication was not exactly that Mr. Obama was “not black enough,” as some blacks have suggested more recently; his credentials were suspect. “It was much more a function of class, not race,” Mr. Adelstein said. “Nobody said he’s ‘not black enough.’ They said he’s a professor, a Harvard elite who lives in Hyde Park.”
Not everything went badly. Mr. Obama proved unusually good at raising money. He raised more than $500,000 — less than Mr. Rush but impressive for a newcomer — tapping connections at the University of Chicago, Harvard Law School, law firms where he had worked, and a network of successful, black, Chicago-based entrepreneurs who have played an important role in subsequent campaigns.
He was also catching on among whites in the district thanks to Thomas J. Dart, then a popular state representative who is now Cook County sheriff.
But President Clinton’s endorsement of Mr. Rush, an early supporter of Mr. Clinton, dealt a final blow. According to Mr. Adelstein, Mr. Clinton — after a personal request from Mr. Rush — overrode his own policy of not endorsing candidates in primaries.
Mr. Rush won the primary with 61.02 percent of the vote; Mr. Obama had just over 30 percent. Mr. Obama was favored by whites but lost among blacks, Mr. Lester said. Looking back, some say the magnitude of the loss reflected Mr. Obama’s failure to connect with black, working-class voters. Mr. Mikva said, “It indicated that he had not made his mark in the African-American community and didn’t particularly have a style that resonated there.”
The Candidate Matures
He and others say Mr. Obama learned from that experience. Mr. Mikva recalls telling him about advice once given to John F. Kennedy by Cardinal Richard Cushing: “The cardinal said to him, ‘Jack, you have to learn to speak more Irish and less Harvard.’ I think I recounted that anecdote to Barack. Clearly, he learned how to speak more Chicago and less Harvard in subsequent campaigning.”
Mr. Shomon said, “There was a gradual progression of Barack Obama from thoughtful, earnest policy wonk/civil rights lawyer/constitutional law expert to Barack Obama the politician, the inspirer, the speaker.” Denny Jacobs, a friend of Mr. Obama and a former state senator, agreed. “He stumbled on the fact that instead of running on all the issues, quote unquote, that hope is the real key,” he said. “Not only the black community but less privileged people are looking for that hope. You don’t have to talk about health care, you have to talk about ‘the promise’ of health care. Hope is a pretty inclusive word. I think he is very good at selling that.”
In March 2004, Mr. Obama won the Democratic primary for the United States Senate with nearly 53 percent of the vote, racking up huge totals in wards he had lost to Mr. Rush in 2000. (Mr. Rush, still stung by Mr. Obama’s challenge to him, endorsed a white candidate in the race, Blair Hull, a former securities trader.) Mr. Obama won the general election with the biggest margin ever in an Illinois Senate race.
Today, Mr. Rush, a practicing Baptist minister in his eighth term in Congress who is backing Mr. Obama’s presidential candidacy, still seems to be ruminating about the Obama phenomenon with grievance and wonder. Mr. Obama’s ambition has found its audience, he said. In a Congressional race, your neighbors “hold you to a different standard.”
“For what he’s doing now, he didn’t need to march against police brutality,” Mr. Rush said, invoking his own record. “He didn’t need to demonstrate against poor meat in substandard grocery stores. He didn’t need that kind of stuff because obviously his audience was at a different level.”
Mr. Rush has an explanation for Mr. Obama’s emergence after the dark days of 2000 as a political star four years later. He vanquished a field of multimillionaires, some more experienced and better known, and benefited from fortuitous domestic scandals that sidelined two opponents and left him facing a Republican widely seen as unable to win.
“I would characterize the Senate race as being a race where Obama was, let’s say, blessed and highly favored,” Mr. Rush said, chuckling. “That’s not routine. There’s something else going on.”
What was he suggesting?
“I think that Obama, his election to the Senate, was divinely ordered,” Mr. Rush said, all other explanations failing. “I’m a preacher and a pastor; I know that that was God’s plan. Obama has certain qualities that — I think he is being used for some purpose. I really believe that.”
Correction: September 20, 2007
An article on Sept. 9 about the Illinois Congressional primary that Barack Obama lost in 2000 misstated the percentage of votes that he and his opponent, Representative Bobby L. Rush, each received. Mr. Obama had 30.36 percent, not “less than 30 percent,” and Representative Rush had 61.02, not 62 percent. The article also misstated the percentage of the vote Mr. Obama received in the 2004 Democratic primary for the United States Senate. It was 52.77 percent, not “nearly 67 percent.”
A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: In 2000, a Streetwise Veteran Schooled a Bold Young Obama. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
Obama’s Failed Race for Congress
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758833
|
__label__wiki
| 0.671378
| 0.671378
|
Sunday Review|The Week When President Trump Resigned
Frank Bruni
The Week When President Trump Resigned
By Frank Bruni
CreditCreditBen Wiseman
As the worst week in a cursed presidency wound down, I spotted more and more forecasts that Donald Trump would resign, including from Tony Schwartz, who wrote “The Art of the Deal” for Trump and presumably understands his tortured psyche.
They struck me not as wishful or fantastical.
They struck me as late.
Trump resigned the presidency already — if we regard the job as one of moral stewardship, if we assume that an iota of civic concern must joust with self-regard, if we expect a president’s interest in legislation to rise above vacuous theatrics, if we consider a certain baseline of diplomatic etiquette to be part of the equation.
By those measures, it’s arguable that Trump’s presidency never really began. By those measures, it’s indisputable that his presidency ended in the lobby of Trump Tower on Tuesday afternoon, when he chose — yes, chose — to litigate rather than lead, to attend to his wounded pride instead of his wounded nation and to debate the supposed fine points of white supremacy.
He abdicated his responsibilities so thoroughly and recklessly that it amounted to a letter of resignation. Then he whored for his Virginia winery on the way out the door.
Trump knew full well what he should have done, because he’d done it — grudgingly and badly — only a day earlier. But it left him feeling countermanded, corrected, submissive and weak, and those emotions just won’t do for an ego as needy and skin as thin as his. So he put id before country and lashed out, in a manner so patently wrong and transcendently ruinous that TV news shows had to go begging for Republican lawmakers to defend or even try to explain what he’d said.
Those lawmakers wanted no part of him. The same went for the corporate chieftains he considers his peers. And for the generals he genuinely reveres. The heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines all went out of their way to issue statements condemning the hatred that Trump wouldn’t take on. A soft coup against a cuckoo: It confirmed how impotent Trump had become.
On Tuesday he “relinquished what presidents from Roosevelt to Reagan have regarded as a cardinal duty of their job: set a moral course to unify the nation,” wrote The Times’s Mark Landler, in what was correctly labeled a news analysis and not an opinion column. Landler’s assessment, echoed by countless others, was as unassailable as it was haunting, and it was prompted in part by Trump’s perverse response to a question that it’s hard to imagine another president being asked: Did he place the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Va., on the same “moral plane” as those who showed up to push back at them?
“I’m not putting anybody on a moral plane,” Trump answered.
Indeed he wasn’t. And if you can’t put anybody on a moral plane, you can’t put yourself on Air Force One.
On Friday Trump finally dismissed his polarizing chief strategist, Steve Bannon. That’s excellent. And irrelevant. A president’s team doesn’t matter when he himself is this lost.
In The Atlantic, under the headline “Donald Trump Is a Lame-Duck President,” David Graham wrote: “For most presidents, that comes in the last few months of a term. For Trump, it appears to have arrived early, just a few months into his term. The president did always brag that he was a fast learner.”
In Axios, Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei noted that the president had “systematically damaged or destroyed his relationship with — well, almost every group or individual essential to success.” They then listed these “methodically alienated” constituencies: “the public,” “CEOs,” “the intelligence community,” “every Democrat who could help him do a deal,” “world leaders,” “Europe,” “his own staff.”
In The Times, Michael Shear, Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush reported that several of his top advisers couldn’t see how his presidency would recover. “Others expressed doubts about his capacity to do the job,” they added.
Striking a similar note, Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, who has not been among Trump’s frequent Republican critics, told reporters, “The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate.”
This is a question of more than competence. It’s a question of basic interest, and when I look back through the lens of the present wreckage at all that’s happened since Trump descended that escalator in Trump Tower in June 2015, I see clearly that he never in fact wanted or set out to be president, not as the position is conventionally or correctly defined.
He revealed that repeatedly as he rejected the traditional rules and usual etiquette, refusing to release his tax returns, bragging about his penis size, feuding with the Muslim father of a fallen American soldier and electing puerility over poetry at nearly every meaningful moment.
Because of his victories in the Republican primary and then the general election, his campaign was hailed for its tactical genius. But it was driven by, and tailored to, his emotional cravings. All that time on Twitter wasn’t principally about a direct connection to voters. It was a way to stare at an odometer of approval and monitor, in real time, how broadly his sentiments were being liked and shared.
Applause. Greater brand exposure. A new layer of perks atop an existence already lavish with them. Utter saturation of Americans’ consciousness. These were his foremost goals. Governing wasn’t, and that was obvious in his haziness and dishonesty before Election Day and in his laziness and defiance after.
He made clear that conflicts of interest didn’t trouble him, drawing constant attention to Trump properties and incessantly pointing out that nothing in the law of the land compelled him to divest his business interests.
He opened the White House door wide to unmoored and unserious people, most recently Anthony Scaramucci, who, during his nanosecond as communications director, disparaged Bannon as someone engaged primarily in a limber act of self-gratification. That was on the record. Then Bannon disparaged his administration adversaries as being so threatened by him that they were “wetting themselves.” That was on the record, too.
A president is supposed to fill important posts. Trump dallied. A president is supposed to be involved in lawmaking, but members of Congress who met with Trump about the repeal-and-replace of Obamacare were aghast at his ignorance of the legislation and of the legislative process itself.
A president is supposed to safeguard the most sacred American institutions, repairing them if need be. Trump doesn’t respect them. He has sought to discredit and disempower the judiciary, the free press, the F.B.I., the Congressional Budget Office. He even managed to inject politics into, and pollute, the Boy Scouts. This is the course of a tyrant.
I haven’t mentioned Russia. How astonishing that it can be left out and there’s still a surfeit to rue.
Trump hasn’t been exercising the duties of his office. He’s been excising them, one by one. The moral forfeiture of the past week was the capper.
And as I watched the Bushes and the generals and Trump’s former rivals for the Republican presidential nomination step into the public square to enunciate their own principles about murderous bigots and domestic terrorists, I realized that they weren’t going through any typical this-is-what-makes-us-Americans motions. They weren’t preening.
They were, in the words of The Washington Post’s James Hohmann, “filling the void.” If Trump wasn’t going to do his job, others had to.
I kept coming across variations on the verdict that he had “failed to lead,” and that phraseology is off. “Fail” and “failure” imply that there was an effort, albeit unsuccessful.
Trump made none. He consciously decided that he didn’t care about comforting or inspiring those Americans — a majority of them — who weren’t quick and generous enough with their clapping. He was more interested in justifying himself.
So he picked division over unity, war over peace. And make no mistake: He didn’t merely shortchange the presidency. He left it vacant.
I invite you to follow me on Twitter (@FrankBruni) and join me on Facebook.
Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section SR, Page 3 of the New York edition with the headline: The Week When President Trump Resigned. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758834
|
__label__wiki
| 0.949183
| 0.949183
|
U.S.|After Hurricane, Signs of a Mental Health Crisis Haunt Puerto Rico
After Hurricane, Signs of a Mental Health Crisis Haunt Puerto Rico
Milagros Serrano Ortiz at her home in Toa Baja, P.R., where at least nine people died and water levels peaked over 12 feet during Hurricane Maria.CreditCreditErika P. Rodriguez for The New York Times
By Caitlin Dickerson
SAN JUAN, P.R. — Her memories of the storm came in flashes: neighbors’ screams, gushing water, swimming against the current with her son.
For Milagros Serrano Ortiz, a 37-year-old grandmother with long, curly hair, the nightmare did not end there. After two days of sheltering upstairs in a house across the street, she returned home to find the walls caked with mud and a vile stench emanating from her cherished possessions, which were rotting in the heat.
Anguished and overwhelmed, she confessed recently to a psychologist at an emergency clinic that she had begun to have disturbing thoughts and worries that she might act on them.
“Like what?” the doctor asked.
Like swallowing a bottle of pills, she said, “never waking up, and not feeling pain anymore.”
The violent winds and screeching rains of Hurricane Maria were a 72-hour assault on the Puerto Rican psyche. There are warning signs of a full-fledged mental health crisis on the island, public health officials say, with much of the population showing symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
Puerto Rico was already struggling with an increase in mental illness amid a 10-year recession that brought soaring unemployment, poverty and family separation caused by migration. Public health officials and caregivers say that Maria has exacerbated the problem.
A photo of Ms. Serrano Ortiz with her two oldest children. Her home flooded up to the ceiling during the hurricane.CreditErika P. Rodriguez for The New York Times
Many Puerto Ricans are reporting intense feelings of anxiety and depression for the first time in their lives. Some are paranoid that a disaster will strike again. And people who had mental illnesses before the storm, and who have been cut off from therapy and medication, have seen their conditions deteriorate.
“When it starts raining, they have episodes of anxiety because they think their house is going to flood again,” said Dr. Carlos del Toro Ortiz, the clinical psychologist who treated Ms. Serrano Ortiz. “They have heart palpitations, sweating, catastrophic thoughts. They think ‘I’m going to drown,’ ‘I’m going to die,’ ‘I’m going to lose everything.’ ”
With hurricane nearly two months in the past, the island is still in shock. Its residents are haunted by dozens of deaths caused by the storm, and many more life-threatening near misses. The reminders are inescapable. They lie in piles of rotting debris as tall as homes that still line many streets and in cellphones that are useless for checking on family members.
Returning to a routine is the most important step toward overcoming trauma, according to physicians and public health officials. But for most Puerto Ricans, logistical barriers like scarce water and electricity, as well as closed schools and businesses, make that impossible.
Since Sept. 20, when the storm came ashore at 6:15 a.m., more than 2,000 calls have overwhelmed an emergency hotline for psychiatric crises maintained by the Puerto Rican health department — double the normal number for that period, even though most residents still do not have working phones. Puerto Rican officials said that suicides had increased — 32 have been reported since the storm — and many more people than normal have been hospitalized after being deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
At the emergency health clinic in Toa Baja, where Ms. Serrano Ortiz lives, Dr. Toro said that he had been frantically calling for help from colleagues in other cities because the facility was overrun with people in need of mental health care.
Because it is in a flood zone, Toa Baja was one of the worst affected areas in Puerto Rico. At least four people died there and water levels peaked at more than 12 feet. The city of 80,000 west of San Juan flooded multiple times, each time that it rained after Maria passed.
Dr. Carlos del Toro Ortiz met with a patient at the emergency clinic in Toa Baja. Mental health experts fear that Puerto Rico is approaching a crisis.CreditErika P. Rodriguez for The New York Times
In his nearly 20 years of practicing psychology, Dr. Toro said he had never before hospitalized as many people with suicidal or homicidal thoughts in such a short time period. Of about 2,500 people who had been to the clinic since it opened two weeks earlier, more than 90 percent were referred for mental health screenings, Dr. Toro said. He and other practitioners at the clinic had already referred at least 20 people to psychiatric wards elsewhere on the island.
“This is an emergency situation,” he said. “It’s still affecting us. There are people that we haven’t seen.”
Health workers are bracing for effects similar to those seen in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, where cases of both moderate and severe psychiatric illnesses spiked. In New Orleans, many people experienced insomnia, cognitive impairment and short-term memory loss, which became known colloquially and among researchers as “Katrina Brain.”
Prolonged losses of electricity, water communications or infrastructure have been linked to the onset of mental health crises, said Dr. Domingo Marqués, the director of clinical psychology at Albizu University, a prominent graduate school of psychology on the island with clinics in two major cities. All of those elements have been relentlessly present in Puerto Rico.
“And this is all happening at once,” he said. “What we have lost is the foundation that holds a society together.”
He said that Puerto Ricans would have to adjust their definition of normalcy in order to function: “It’s ‘I survived. My family didn’t die.’ That’s the new definition of O.K.”
This hurricane season has caused mental distress, and strained resources for treating it, throughout the Caribbean, according to reports from the United States Virgin Islands, Dominica and Antigua.
Laura Rodriguez relied on a strict daily routine to manage her borderline personality disorder, a routine upended by Hurricane Maria.CreditErika P. Rodriguez for The New York Times
The mental health division of the Puerto Rican health department received $3 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate a response to Maria, said Suzanne Roig, the administrator of the Puerto Rican agency.
Its doctors have been knocking on doors in the worst-hit parts of the island and visiting emergency shelters where people who lost their homes have been living.
“We are trying to reach people to tell them that this crisis will pass,” she said, “and that they should not make permanent decisions.”
The agency also started an initiative to monitor social media, and staged interventions in a handful of homes of people who posted what appeared to be suicide notes.
During high-volume hours, its staff members have been taking on extra shifts and working overtime to respond to the increase in phone calls to the 24-hour emergency crisis hotline.
In addition to struggling with their own emotions, Ms. Roig said that distressed callers had reported children who had not spoken since the storm or cried inconsolably when it rained. And people with serious mental illnesses who had experienced psychotic episodes had been locked inside rooms by family members who did not know what else to do.
“People who have a prescription can’t get to a pharmacy,” Ms. Roig said. “If they can get to the pharmacy it might not be open. If it’s open, they might not have the medicine.”
Before the storm, Laura Rodriguez, 39, managed her borderline personality disorder without medication by relying on a strict routine: Early morning CrossFit workouts, long hours at work as an interior designer, going to bed early and never having guests at her home in Río Piedras.
But since Maria hit, her gym had been closed and her therapist had not been working. Neither had she.
“I’m constantly anxious,” she said. “I get these urges to be violent and I can’t control it.”
Memories of the storm were also tormenting her. She had been trapped inside her apartment for two days with her boyfriend, her mother and her mother’s cat. They used plastic tarps, towels, bedsheets and pieces of wood to try to plug the windows where rain water was surging through.
Without access to any of the balms that she typically relied on to stabilize her mood, she was worried about resorting to self-harm, an impulse that she had struggled to control since she was 8 years old. “What if it’s like three months, four months?” she said. “I cannot do this for so long.”
For Ms. Serrano Ortiz, another threat to her mental and physical health loomed.
Before the storm, a scan of her throat had indicated that she may have cancer for the second time. But she has not been able to get any more information about her prognosis because her doctor’s offices have been closed.
At the emergency clinic, she told Dr. Toro that she might not have the energy to fight the disease again. When she looked in the mirror, she said, she saw in herself a reflection of her home — something dirty, smelly and tainted.
“I don’t feel like myself anymore,” she said.
Follow Caitlin Dickerson on Twitter @itscaitlinhd.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 13 of the New York edition with the headline: After the Storm, a Mental Health Tempest. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
Stranded by Maria, Puerto Ricans Get Creative to Survive
From Montana to Puerto Rico, a Small Firm Strikes a Powerful Deal
One Day in the Life of Battered Puerto Rico
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758835
|
__label__wiki
| 0.911499
| 0.911499
|
Shell acquires Cluff’s North Sea licence
The work programme will involve the shooting of not less than 400km² of new broadband 3D seismic data. Credit: Philippa McKinlay.
Shell UK has completed a previously announced acquisition that involved purchasing 70% working interest in Licence P2252, located in the North Sea, from Cluff Natural Resources.
The acquisition closed following the receipt of Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) approval.
In February 2019, Shell signed the agreement to acquire the North Sea licence. Under the terms of the agreement, Shell also assumed the operatorship of the Licence P2252, while Cluff will continue to hold the remaining 30% non-operated interest.
Shell will pay 100% of the costs of an agreed forward work programme to the earlier of 31 December 2020 or the date on which a well investment decision is made. The agreed work programme encompasses acquisition of a minimum of 400km2 of new broadband 3D seismic data over the Pensacola prospect this year.
The Pensacola prospect is located within the Licence P2252 and is expected to host an unaudited mean 566 billion cubic feet of gas initially in place (equivalent to approximately 100 million barrels of oil equivalent).
Shell has already contracted Shearwater GeoServices to carry out the seismic survey. Subsequent processing of the acquired data and sub-surface studies will help to take well investment decision before the end of 2020.
Cluff Natural Resources chief executive Graham Swindells said: “We are delighted to be able to announce the completion of the farm-out of Licence P2252 to Shell and look forward to the company’s involvement in the upcoming seismic operations during the summer.”
Following the well investment decision, all costs incurred at P2252 will be shared between Shell and Cluff with respect to their proportionate working interest in the licence.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758838
|
__label__cc
| 0.6529
| 0.3471
|
Our Insights Market and Economic Commentary
Wealth Intelligence Weekly - 8 July 2019
With the first half of the year behind us, what are the main items on the radar for the last six months of 2019? Before discussing these, it's worth pointing out that markets are moved by surprises, and known risks tend not to cause big problems. It is the unknowns that hurt portfolios. In other words, investors should worry about what others are not worried about. However, when everybody is worrying about something, it often depresses the relevant asset price more than necessary, giving rise to buying opportunities.
TRADE AND MANUFACTURING: UNHAPPY TWINS
The euphoria around the trade truce between the US and China agreed to at the G20 Summit lasted exactly one day. The US government is now threatening tariffs on $4 billion European imports, accusing European governments of unfair support for Airbus, the big competitor of Boeing. This was followed by a tweet from US President Trump accusing Europe and China of manipulating their currencies lower to gain a competitive advantage against the US. He implied that the US should similarly intervene to weaken the dollar, something it has done only in extraordinary circumstances.
The bottom line is that trade will be a source of uncertainty for the duration of the Trump administration, and possibly beyond. Linked to trade uncertainty is the weakness of global manufacturing. The JPMorgan Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to a six-and-a-half year low of 49.4 in June. The PMI for manufacturers of consumer goods was in positive territory, as global retail sales remain fi rm. But the PMI for intermediate goods - inputs for other factories - was negative, refl ecting global trade conditions, as was the PMI for capital goods, with business investment remaining soft. South Africa's manufacturing sector is similarly under pressure, with the latest Absa PMI still stuck below 50.
Manufacturing is a highly cyclical sector, and hence the focus of economists. The weakness cannot be entirely explained by trade wars; the world simply seems to have enough cars and smartphones to last a while. The nature of manufacturing is also changing. During the golden age of globalisation prior to 2008, companies extended their supply chains, outsourcing the production of components to far-fl ung but cheap corners of the world. The more recent trend has been to shorten some of these supply chains and bring production closer to the end customer, aiming for faster turnaround times rather than lower cost. The trade wars are likely to accelerate this process.
Another factor is the persistent strength of the dollar since 2011. Research from the Bank of International Settlements shows that fi nancing these value chains is expensive when the dollar is strong, even when interest rates are low. This is because 80% of trade fi nancing is denominated in US dollars, and lending in dollars is subdued when the dollar is strong.
Consumer spending is still robust in the major economies, supported by jobs growth, modest wage increases and low infl ation. This means that either the production of goods should rise to meet consumer demand (manufacturing output is dragged up) or the weakness in manufacturing leads to job losses and downward pressure on wages, dragging consumer spending down (with a vicious cycle ensuing). This is more likely in a country like Germany where manufacturing is a bigger part of the economy than in the US, where it is a small sector.
ON THE WAY DOWN: CENTRAL BANK POLICY
Interest rate and infl ation expectations remain extremely low, judging from the bond market. The global benchmark US 10- year Treasury (government bond) yield briefl y fell under 2% last week, well below the Federal Reserve's policy interest rate. The bond market is therefore pricing in a series of Fed rate cuts. Friday's US employment numbers showed that this expectation might be somewhat exaggerated, with 224 000 new jobs created in June, more than expected. However, the year-on-year growth in job creation had slowed to 1.5%, while wage growth remains muted at 3.1%. The Fed has reason to reduce rates, but no obvious need to slash them.
Elsewhere, the nomination of former French fi nance minister and current International Monetary Fund (IMF) head, Christine Lagarde, as Mario Draghi's successor in the role of European Central Bank (ECB) President is an interesting but welcome development. Although she has no direct experience in monetary policy, she has proven herself to be a pragmatic leader at the IMF. In many respects the ECB's challenge is political and not technical. It will need the buy-in of Germany and other conservative countries to launch any further rounds of unconventional stimulus. Infl ation is running at around 1% against a 2% target and the risk is that consumer and business expectation of future infl ation will became anchored at these low levels, infl uencing price-setting behaviour accordingly.
The Reserve Bank of Australia cut rates for the second time in many months last week, taking its policy interest rate to a record low 1%. Our own Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee meets later this month, and a rate cut is on the cards. With a global cutting cycle now fi rmly underway, infl ation under control and the rand a bit fi rmer, it has a window of opportunity to give the consumer a small, but much-needed boost.
With central bank support, the global economy, though bending, is unlikely to break.
YOU CAN CHECK OUT, BUT YOU CAN'T LEAVE
One approaches the topic of Brexit with trepidation, given the shambolic state of British politics. But the deadline for leaving the European Union is 31 October (which somewhat ominously coincides with Halloween), and key decisions will have to be made soon. The UK's likely new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has indicated he is prepared to take the country out of the EU (its largest trading partner by far) without an exit agreement if acceptable terms cannot be agreed on. Most economists believe this will be a shock to the economies on both sides of the English Channel, but will impact the UK more. However, in the UK political system Parliament has the fi nal say, and it's not clear that a majority of MPs will allow a no-deal Brexit. It might instead lead to a new election and yet another new Prime Minister. Exactly how this movie will end is anyone's guess at this stage.
As bad as a no-deal Brexit could be, the biggest risk in Europe remains Italy, where a toxic combination of a depressed and uncompetitive economy, a highly indebted ineffi cient state and populist politics could still result in the country leaving the Eurozone in coming years. While the UK kept its own currency, and can therefore leave the EU with minimal disruption to its fi nancial system (trade in goods is another matter), Italy would need to adopt a new currency and rewire its entire fi nancial system. The new currency would be worth less than the euro, meaning the burden of euro-denominated debt including the €2.3 trillion the government has borrowed. In other words, fi nancial chaos would ensue. (Scottish independence from the UK, which will be increasingly called for in a no-deal Brexit scenario, faces the same obstacle.)
SOUTH AFRICA: FISCAL RISKS, HIGH YIELDS
The local tax season has just kicked off and SARS is already lowering expectations on meeting its ambitious R1.5 trillion revenue target. On the spending side, President Ramaphosa has committed to fast-tracking a R230 billion bailout for Eskom, which will add to the long list of spending needs. (Hopefully details on Eskom's unbundling will be shared soon.) The October Medium Term budget is therefore likely to adjust the budget defi cit estimate (the difference between expected revenue and spending) from 4.5% of GDP to closer to 6% for the current fi scal year. Fiscal consolidation remains a pipe-dream for the foreseeable future, unless the economy picks up speed (which should boost tax revenue) or bond yields decline signifi cantly (reducing borrowing costs). Tax rate increases and spending cuts would also be required. This will be very unpopular but potentially also counterproductive, as it would weaken the economy.
So why would anyone touch South African government bonds? The simple answer is that yields are already high (bond prices low), pricing in the worst case of a ratings downgrade. South Africa's government bond yields are now higher than Brazil's both in dollar and local currency terms, even though Brazil's credit ratings are lower. South Africa still clings on to a single investment grade rating from Moody's on its local currency government debt (which is 90% of the total). Losing this last stamp of approval would see local bonds excluded from the FTSE World Government Bond Index. Funds that track this index would be forced to sell, but no one is sure exactly how large this group of investors is, since South Africa constitutes less than 1% of the index. South Africa saw billions of net selling by foreign investors last year, and the bond market did not collapse. Most investors care more about the yield than the rating.
So there is lots to think about and keep an eye on in the coming months. The trick is not to overreact to developments, but to always ask how much the market has priced in. By the time something hits the front page, it is usually old news as far as the market price is concerned. But from time to time there are genuine surprises and shocks. The best defensive against these is to maintain an appropriate level of diversifi cation.
Find out more about the week ahead for South Africa, US, Europe and Japan.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758841
|
__label__cc
| 0.619368
| 0.380632
|
Learn /
Learning difficulties /
Education in South Africa: hits and misses since the very first SONA
We take a look at education and how it's changed since the first SONA delivered by President Nelson Mandela in 1994.
21 June 2019 Vijay Reddy, Human Sciences Research Council and Ncamisile Zulu 0 Comment
There’s been success in early childhood development, infrastructure and social protection, but quality and learning outcomes remain elusive. (iStock)
State of the Nation addresses are delivered at the start of South Africa’s parliamentary year. They focus on the current political and socio-economic state, highlight progress made and signal new policy directions for national government. It is a grand red carpet event, and the public (and markets) expectantly await reports of progress and new hope.
We reviewed 25 years of the education priorities set out in the annual address since the first by President Nelson Mandela in 1994. The review revealed that there’s been success in early childhood development, infrastructure and social protection. But quality and learning outcomes remain elusive. We found that while it’s easy to report on access and inputs, it’s much more difficult to achieve educational quality and meaningful outcomes as there are many intangible factors that impede progress.
The first 10 speeches eloquently articulated the centrality of human resources and skills development to catalyse economic growth. But the country has made very little progress. A report released last year showed that there wasn’t enough alignment between the skills being taught in education and training institutions and what was needed to grow the economy.
This is where the country needs to focus its attention.
The question is: will President Cyril Ramaphosa’s latest state of the nation address, to be delivered on 20 June 2019, simply repeat the perennial issues? Or will he have the wherewithal to take the next step in tackling the more complex challenges?
One of these is the mismatch between education outcomes and what the economy needs. While we think that SONA would articulate the needs of the economy, it is important that government convinces post-school institutions to align their programmes to the needs of the economy. The second is how to improve educational quality.
Also read: 50% of children have never read a book with their parents – here's why we need to encourage reading early on
The findings
Mandela’s administration (1994-1999) focused on establishing democratic institutions, enacting legislation, improving infrastructure and increasing access. His 1994 address highlighted human resource and skills development. The aim was to grow the economy and decrease unemployment. At the school level, he expressed concerns about the culture of teaching and learning.
One of the key social protection programmes, the Primary School Nutrition Programme, was introduced. Given the levels of household poverty and hunger, this had two objectives: food security and education.
The 1999 policy address highlighted the non-delivery of textbooks, an issue which has embarrassed government many times thereafter. Mandela called this “inexcusable” and went on to say:
If our administrations are unable to carry out such straightforward projects, then … ordinary citizens like myself will feel justified in calling for heads to roll.
Former President Thabo Mbeki’s administration (1999-2008) recognised the country’s deep economic inequalities. It’s therefore not surprising that he focused on socio-economic transformation and growth, macro-economic stability and job creation.
The importance of education and skills responsive to the needs of the economy were key to stimulating job creation. Mbeki highlighted the importance of human resource development, releasing a strategy paper that outlined the vision for early childhood development, primary and secondary education, technical and vocational education, adult education, skills development and unemployment.
In the first 10 years of democratic governance, there was little mention of educational quality. Basic education was subsumed within the broad Human Resource Development Strategy. From 2006, concerns were raised about the quality and quantity of educational outcomes, and a focus on Grade 12 as well as the mathematics and science pass rates emerged.
Also read: South Africa’s main parties all have plans for education. What’s missing?
One of the strategic interventions was the expansion of the early childhood development programmes. The 800 000 learners enrolled for Reception year is one of government’s success stories as research has shown that importance of early learning.
Also read: Building the nation with no appreciation: ECD teachers aren’t officially recognised within the NCS
Another social protection intervention, the elimination of fees for the poorest schools began in 2006. Today, most schools are categorised as no-fee. This means that more learners can remain in school.
Zuma’s administration (2009-2014) adopted an outcomes-based approach. The government set achievement targets, and outlined a programme of action for basic education. In his 2014 address he said:
We want teachers, parents and learners to work with government to turn schools into thriving centres of excellence.
The focus was to improve the ability of children to read, write and count in their foundation years. The rallying cry for improved education was the triple “Ts”: teachers, textbooks and time.
In his second term Zuma reverted to focusing on infrastructure development (schools, universities, colleges) and the address was dominated by fee-free post school education and training policies.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration (2018-2019) has focused on infrastructure and subsiding free higher education. It has promised to improve the education system and develop skills needed for now and the future, including skills for new and emerging technologies. It also signalled the expansion of early childhood development to two compulsory years and improving reading comprehension in the first years of school.
Government has, to a large extent, delivered on school infrastructure programmes, though there are some persistent problems – 100 schools still to be built, 9000 schools still using pit latrines, 300 schools without electricity – which must be corrected.
But now the focus must shift to school resources that affect teaching and learning (libraries, science and computer laboratories).
Government has been successful when it comes to social protection. Three quarters of learners get a meal at school and are not obliged to pay school fees. There’s also been an increase in the aid scheme for university students.
But, the question is whether these many social protection programmes, after 25 years of rule, are a mark of progress or concern. With development, and an increase in household incomes, success should be measured by a decrease in social protection.
While state of the nation addresses have signalled clear plans to improve basic education and human resource development, these have not translated into programmes and actions. It’s time that changed, and words became deeds.
Sylvia Hannan also contributed to this article.
Vijay Reddy, Distinguished Research Specialist, Human Sciences Research Council and Ncamisile Zulu, Researcher, Human Sciences Research Council
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Chat back
Which areas in the education sector do you feel could do with more attention and resources?
Tell us and we may publish your comments. Do let us know if you'd like to remain anonymous.
The Department of Education’s proposed no repeat policy for grade R to 3 will do more harm than good to the state of education in SA
UJ study finds that children on social grants go to school earlier and are less likely to be obese
Why so many South African children struggle to read and write
5 things South Africa must get right for tech in schools to work
APARTMENTS / FLATS FOR SALE IN Ballito, Shakas Rock
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758843
|
__label__wiki
| 0.601454
| 0.601454
|
The Parkesburg Library has been serving Parkesburg area residents for 127 years.
The first library, housed in a store owned by Mr. J. Winfield Walker, opened its doors on Monday afternoons in January 1891. There were approximately 120 books available to those who paid an annual membership fee of $1.00. On January 15, 1916, a larger room was secured in the Parkesburg National Bank Building located on Main Street. By the end of the year the library extended its hours, and had a collection of 1,050 books and 500 borrowers.
Another move in 1919 allowed the library more spacious accommodations in the Community House with librarian Miss Mary Lindberg living in an apartment upstairs. Ten directors took out a charter and incorporated the library as a nonprofit.
When the Community House was sold in 1939, the library moved to the old Borough Hall. The larger library had a reading room as an added feature.
In 1943, the library was forced to a new home, this time a small room in the Parkesburg Opera House. Additional moves in 1951, 1960, and 1965 found the library operating from the 400 block of First Avenue and then 318 Main Street. Interest began to grow in erecting a new building that would provide a permanent location for the library.
Plans were finally drawn up for the current building on land donated by the Borough in 1966 on West Street. Funds for the library were secured by Board Members and friends who appeared on television and radio to advertise their cause and, by August,contributions reached $18,138 and a building process was initiated. On December 3,1967, a dedication and open house were held to celebrate the completion of the new building project. The Parkesburg Library, now with well over 30,000 cataloged items, celebrated it’s 50th Anniversary on West in December 2016!
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758844
|
__label__wiki
| 0.906429
| 0.906429
|
Google to revamp its flight search engine, Ryanair's CEO says
By Loek Essers
Amsterdam Correspondent, IDG News Service | PT
Google will add prices for Ryanair to its flight search engine, the CEO of the discount airline said in an interview published Sunday.
Flight Search—Google’s ticket comparison website—will “blow comparison sites like Skyscanner out of the water”, said Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary in an interview with the Irish Independent. His statements were confirmed by a Ryanair spokeswoman on Monday.
”Google, being Google, want to show all of the prices from all of the airlines on display. They don’t want to charge us, they make all of their money out of advertising,” explained O’Leary told the newspaper. “They don’t want to have a limited or biased search. They want to be able to say they’ve screened all of these airlines on all of the routes,” he added.
According to O’Leary, Google wants to provide route selections as well as cheapest prices of all the airlines. Whoever selects a trip will be able to click on the fares to be led to an airline’s website to purchase tickets, he said. Ryanair’s data will be added to Google’s database in March.
The addition of Ryanair, once a fierce opponent of price comparison sites, to Flight Search will absolutely benefit Google, said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Hudson Crossing, in an email.
”Budget airlines like Ryanair account for more than half the airline capacity in Europe. The more budget airlines in Google Flight Search, the greater its potential appeal and utility to travellers,” he said. Flight Search however accounts for a relatively small amount of Google’s business, he added.
”Google’s competitors, such as Skyscanner, Kayak, and Hipmunk, offer hotels and other travel services, which enable them to offer a great degree of convenience and value to their users,” he wrote. “Not having Ryanair won’t help them, but it’s not a fatal product gap,” he said, adding that he won’t rule out Ryanair expanding its participation with other metasearch sites, especially if they can provide more and better reach than Google.
Modes of distribution of tickets will change massively in Europe, with mobile revenues to increase vastly, predicted O’Leary. “In five years’ time, everyone on Ryanair will be paying on their mobile,” he said in the interview.
Google however is not about to launch a product, despite O’Leary’s characterization of the company as working on a revamp of Flight Search, according to a source familiar with the matter. It is currently looking into adding Ryanair to its existing flight search engine, the source added.
”We have nothing new to announce at this stage,” a Google spokesman said in an emailed statement. “We already have relationships with a number of airlines across the world but are always looking to improve the results by signing deals with more,” he added.
Flight Search was launched in 2011 and was brought to the U.K. in 2013. Google based it on technology from ITA Software, which it bought for $700 million. Flight Search currently enables people to compare the best flight times and prices from one site.
Companies that offer similar services like TripAdvisor and Expedia, however have said that Google’s flight search service excluded any links to online travel agencies. Therefore, they filed an antitrust complaint against the service with European Commission in 2012.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758846
|
__label__wiki
| 0.873691
| 0.873691
|
Impressionism and Post-Impressionism (1)
Digital, Multimedia, and Sound (3)
Film and Video (5)
Abkhazia (disputed) (1)
Persia (historical) (1)
Russia [Russian Federation] (2)
Performance Art and Dance x
Abu’l-Qasim
S. J. Vernoit
[Abū’l-Qāsim]
(fl c. 1816).
Persian painter. His only known work is a long composition depicting the Qajar monarch Fath ‛Ali Shah (reg 1797–1834) entertained by female musicians and dancers. The only surviving fragments of it are a painting of the shah (London, B. W. Robinson priv. col.) and three paintings of the entertainers (Tehran, Nigaristan Mus., ex-Amery priv. col.). The paintings of a woman playing a drum and of a woman playing a stringed instrument are signed raqam-i kamtarīn Abū’l-Qāsim (‘painted by the most humble Abu’l-Qasim’) and dated 1816, but the third painting showing a woman dancing is half-length and damaged. All the fragments share the same continuous architectural background and scale (a little less than life-size). Robinson has suggested that this mural might be the one described in the mid-19th century by the traveller Robert Binning, who reported that the house he occupied in Shiraz contained a painting of Fath ‛Ali Shah seated in state attended by ten women. The composition extended around three sides of the room and the figures were almost life-size. This identification suggests that Abu’l-Qasim might have been a native of Shiraz....
Avetisyan, Minas
M. N. Sokolov
(b Djadjur, Akhuryan district, July 20, 1928; d Erevan, Feb 24, 1975).
Armenian painter and stage designer . He studied at the Institute of Theatre and Art in Erevan (1952–4), as well as at the Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) from 1954 to 1960. He benefited from the advice of the Armenian painter, Martiros Saryan, but developed a style of his own, with an intense use of colour similar to that of Fauvism. The influence of Armenian medieval art is strongly apparent in his landscapes, self-portraits and scenes of peasant life, for example Baking Lavash (1972; Erevan, Pict. Gal. Armenia). His work combines an uncommon and expressive richness of colour with a dramatic monumentality of composition. He had a one-man show in Erevan in 1962 and another in Moscow in 1969. In 1972 his studio was burnt down and a large number of his canvases destroyed. He was also a stage designer, producing designs, for example, for sets for Aram Khachaturian’s ballet ...
Baykam, Bedri
Turkish, 20th – 21st century, male.
Active also active in the USA.
Born 26 April 1957, in Ankara.
Painter, performance artist. Figures.
Nouvelle Figuration.
Bedri Baykam, the son of an MP and an architect, began exhibiting his works at a very early age, taking part in exhibitions in Turkey, Switzerland, France, Rome, London and New York. In ...
Doche, Georges
Egyptian, 20th century, male.
Painter, watercolourist, illustrator, decorative artist. Decorative motifs. Stage costumes and sets, designs for jewellery.
A pupil at the Académie Julian, the École des Arts Decoratifs and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Georges Doche went on to show his work in several public exhibitions and, in particular, at the Salon des Artistes Indépendants in Paris, as well as at several private galleries in Geneva, Tokyo and London. He had a number of solo exhibitions, including in Paris (...
Robert J. Belton
(b Jassy [now Iaşi], Romania, Aug 29, 1933).
Canadian sculptor, film maker, costume designer, playwright and poet of Romanian birth. His formal art training began in 1945 but in 1950 he emigrated to Israel. From 1953 he studied at the Institute of Painting and Sculpture in Tel Aviv. Etrog’s first one-man exhibition took place in 1958 and consisted of Painted Constructions, wood and canvas objects blurring the distinctions between painting and low relief (see Heinrich). In these works he tried to embody uncertainties that stemmed from his experience of Nazi aggression as a boy. The results were loosely expressionistic versions of geometric abstraction, derived in part from the work of Paul Klee.
Assisted by the painter Marcel Janco, Etrog went on a scholarship to New York, where he was inspired by Oceanic and African artefacts he saw in the collections there. This led to a preoccupation with organic abstractions, flowing totemic forms, and metaphors of growth and movement, seen in ...
Geva, Avital
Born 1941, in Shemer Kibbutz.
Painter, performance artist.
Geva has continued to live on the kibbutz where he was born. Virtually self-taught, he painted until 1968. Later, his ‘artistic’ work became more experimental, first visual, then sociological: the way of life on the kibbutz, the self-contained world of its inhabitants, the whole making up both the subject and the material. He exhibited at the Museum of Jerusalem in ...
Gudiashvili, Lado
[Vladimir] (Davidovich)
(b Tiflis [now Tbilisi], March 30, 1896; d Tbilisi, July 20, 1980).
Georgian painter, draughtsman, illustrator and stage designer. From 1910 to 1914 he trained at the Tiflis School of Painting and Sculpture and from 1919 to 1926 at the Académie Ronson in Paris. While in Paris he became closely acquainted with Modigliani, Ignacio Zuloaga, Natal’ya Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov. His early works, with their theatrically romantic depictions of Georgian national life, fantastic and Symbolist motifs and surreal effects of colour, combine elements of the grotesque with a charming poetic mystery (e.g. the ‘Tsotskhali’ Fish, 1920; Tbilisi, Mus. A. Georg.). His affinity with ancient Georgian and Persian art, of which he was a connoisseur, intensified on his return to Georgia in 1926; his colours became shimmering and tinged with gold, and, at the same time, the visual link with theatre became even stronger (many of his paintings have opera or ballet performances as their subjects or portray actresses in costume). He frequently depicted fantastic and mythological subjects (e.g. ...
(Joseph)
(b Beirut, Feb 11, 1952).
Palestinian sculptor, performance and installation artist, active in England. Hatoum’s art, as the work of a Palestinian woman in an initially involuntary exile in London, transformed from confrontational performance in the 1980s to a more reflective engagement with a minimalist and conceptualist heritage in the 1990s. This engagement is exemplified by Socle du Monde (1992–3; wood, steel and iron filings, Toronto, A.G. Ont.), a large block covered with a deep patterned crust of magnetized iron filings, a sensuous and visceral remake of Piero Manzoni’s original Socle du Monde (1962; iron and brass, Herning, Kstmus.). The related themes of exile and institutionalized authority pervade Hatoum's oeuvre and find pithy exemplification in her submissions for the 1995 Turner Prize, Light Sentence (1992; Paris, Pompidou) and Corps étranger (1994; video installation; Paris, Pompidou). The latter showed colour video images of an endoscopic probe of the artist's own body, an earthy and disturbing critique of the dualisms of ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ that recasts the political criticisms of her earlier performance work. By working with a variety of media Hatoum criticizes the boundaries of traditional art practice and evokes the danger and threat of authoritarian politics; ...
Ibn El Azîz
Active at the end of the 10th century.
Painter. Local scenes.
Ibn El Azîz was a painter at the court of the Fatimids in Cairo. He was mainly in the service of Vizir Bazuri, for whom he painted among other works a ...
Kakabadze, David
(Nestorovich)
(b Kukhi, nr Kutaisi, Aug 20, 1889; d Tbilisi, May 10, 1952).
Georgian painter, collagist, stage designer and film maker. He was born into a peasant family and studied from 1909 to 1916 in the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at the University of St Petersburg. From 1910 to 1915 he also studied painting and drawing in the studio of L. Ye. Dmitriyev-Kavakazsky (1849–1916). With Pavel Filonov he became a member of the St Petersburg artistic group Intimnaya Masterskaya (The Intimate Studio). The group’s manifesto (1914) proclaimed the beginning of a new era in art, awarded a central importance to Filonov’s principle of sdelannost’ (‘madeness’) and drew attention to the fundamental structural principles of artistic language. The manifesto was one of the most original developments of the pre-revolutionary avant-garde in Russia.
Kakabadze was an outstanding representative of the artistic avant-garde in Georgia. In his work innovation was always combined with a deep interest in Georgian national traditions, on which he was an expert. He studied medieval Georgian ornament while still a student, and in ...
Landau, Sigalit
Jean Robertson
(b Jerusalem, 1969).
Israeli sculptor and video, performance and installation artist. She studied at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, where she was awarded a BFA in 1994 and continued post-graduate studies in 1995. She spent a semester at the Cooper Union School of Art and Design, New York, as an exchange student in 1993. She moved to Tel Aviv in 1996. Landau represented Israel in 1997 at the Venice Biennale and participated in Documenta X that same summer. Since then she became internationally known for complex, ambitious installations that have included video projections, decaying materials such as rotting fruit and cotton candy, and sometimes life-size Ecorché (flayed) figures fashioned by the artist of Papier mâché with surfaces that look like bloody sinew. From 2005, Landau submerged various objects in the Dead Sea then dried them in the desert sun, the salt coating forming a crystallized surface; some are found objects, others are sculptural forms made of barbed wire. The salt-encrusted objects—including lampshade-like forms—became components of installations. She also made individual sculptures of bronze and other materials....
Lichtenberg-Ettinger, Bracha
Israeli, 20th century, female.
Psychoanalyst, assemblage artist.
Bracha Lichtenberg-Ettinger studied clinical psychology in Jerusalem and later earned her Ph.D. in the aesthetics of visual arts at the University of Paris VII. In her early works, such as the series ...
Point, Armand
Colette E. Bidon
(b Algiers, March 23, 1861; d Marlotte, Seine-et-Marne, March 1932).
French painter and designer. He began his career painting the Algerian scenes of his youth, rendering Orientalist subjects—such as markets and musicians—with a distinctive, unaffected precision. In 1888 he went to Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Auguste Herst (b 1825) and Fernand Cormon. He exhibited at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts from 1890.
The discovery of Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelites, and a visit to Italy in 1894, led Point to model his work on the artists of the Florentine Renaissance. The inspiration of Botticelli and Leonardo can be seen in such works as the Eternal Chimera (c. 1895; London, Piccadilly Gal.). Under the dominating influence of Gustave Moreau, his work was also aligned with Symbolism. He became a disciple of Rosicrucianism and a friend of Sâr Peladan, fastidiously rejecting the modern industrial world and what he considered the excessive realism of Zola or Courbet. He painted magicians, endowed with a pure and ancient beauty, or figures of Greek mythology (e.g. ...
Raad [Ra’ad], Walid
(b Chbanieh, June 15, 1967).
Lebanese conceptual artist, photographer, video and performance artist active also in America. Raad received his BFA in photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1989, and completed his MA and PhD in Cultural and Visual Studies at the University of Rochester in 1993 and 1996, respectively, and in 2002 became an associate professor at the Cooper Union School in New York. History and its representation, narration, and memory are the central themes of Raad’s work. His experience of the Lebanese wars between 1975 and 1991 and their ongoing effects inform his inquiries into the methods of historical documents.
Raad began contending with narratives of the Lebanese wars in a series of short video documentaries that included Up to the South (1993)–a collaboration with Lebanese artist Jayce Salloum (b 1958)—and Missing Lebanese Wars (1996). Characteristic of his later practice, these videos critically employ a genre (documentary film) associated with factual reportage, foregrounding the relationship between subject and method of the work....
Saban, Ody or Odet
Painter, watercolourist, draughtswoman, sculptor, mixed media, performance artist.
Art Brut.
Art-Cloche Group.
Saban studied restoration in Istanbul, sculpture in Tel Aviv and painting in Haifa, and from 1977 to 1980 at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. She was a member of the ...
Shervashidze, Aleksandr (Konstantinovich), Prince Chachba
Sergey Kuznetsov
(b Feodosiya, Dec 24, 1867; d Monte Carlo, Aug 17, 1968).
Russian stage designer of Abkhazian descent. In 1893, after studying under Vasily Polenov at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, he went to Paris, where he later joined the Montparnasse art circle established in 1904 by Yelizaveta Kruglikova. From 1891 he worked on easel paintings, but in 1906 he was appointed head of the St Petersburg studio of stage design. His most significant designs during this period were for Vsevolod Meyerhold’s production (1908) of Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the Mariinsky Theatre. In 1911–12 he worked at the Starinny Theatre alongside artists from the World of Art group, such as Nicholas Roerich, Ivan Bilibin, Yevgeny Lansere and Nikolay Kalmakov (1873–1955). Shervashidze also worked as a draughtsman, a book illustrator, a dress designer, and as a critic and theoretist, publishing articles in Apollon, Zolotoye runo, Mir iskusstvo and Iskusstvo. He lived in Sukhumi for a while from ...
Suta, Romans
Mark Allen Svede
(b nr Cēsis, April 28, 1896; d Tbilisi, Georgia, July 14, 1944).
Latvian painter, printmaker, ceramicist, interior designer, tage and film set designer and theorist. He was the foremost ideologue for modernism in Latvia and was one of its greatest innovators. His militant defence of avant-garde principles befitted his experience as a soldier and as one of the artists who, after World War I, was denied a studio by the city officials and staged an armed occupation of the former premises of the Riga Art School. At the end of the war he painted in an Expressionist manner: In Church (1917; Riga, priv. col., see Suta, 1975, p. 19), for example, is an exaltation of Gothic form and primitivist rendering. Unlike his peers Jāzeps Grosvalds and Jēkabs Kazaks, he was extremely interested in Cubism and Constructivism, the theories of which informed his paintings, drawings, prints and occasional architectural projects of the 1920s. At this time he and his wife, the painter ...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758850
|
__label__wiki
| 0.910573
| 0.910573
|
National Paralympic Heritage Trust
Accessibility A A A Black contrast Normal contrast White contrast
Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann
Paralympic athletes
Getting to the Heritage Centre
Schools and Further Education
Call for local stories surrounding the Paralympics and Stoke Mandeville
From modest beginnings in the late 1940s at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann encouraged wounded veterans to play sport as an aid to rehabilitation from spinal injury. This led to local competitions, to the Stoke Mandeville Games and to the Paralympic Games which today attracts national and international public support and interest.
Widely acknowledged as the birthplace of the Paralympic movement, Stoke Mandeville Stadium will become the home of the very first Paralympic Heritage Centre. Opening in March 2019 the Heritage Centre will celebrate and explore this unique status.
This inspirational project wouldn’t be possible without the substantial grant from the AIM Biffa Award ‘History Makers’ Programme; which helps to build communities and transform lives through awarding grants to community and environmental projects across the UK, and support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Rothschild Foundation, Aylesbury Community Chest and Heart of Bucks.
The displays will feature:
The life and work of Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann.
The history and work of the Spinal Injuries Centre.
Key milestones in the journey from the 1948 Stoke Mandeville Games to the present day Paralympic Games.
The development of wheelchair sports.
Paralympic ceremonies.
But crucial to these displays is the need to interweave the stories of the local community, who worked, volunteered, attended events and fundraised. Without them, without YOU the Paralympics would not have been born.
If you or a family member have been involved in any way in the Stoke Mandeville Games from the 1940s onwards, we would love to hear your story so that we can share with others about this great history. We are also interested in any memorabilia you might have (tickets, medals, clothing, photos, programmes).
You can read the local stories we’ve already received on our website. Sally Haynes has shared with us her memories of being involved in the Finmere Horse show, which was established by friends and family from the local riding community to raise funds for the Paraplegic Sports Fund at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. This fund provided transport for the athletes to attend the 1960 Paralympic Games in Rome. Colin Evered describes what it was like for his family to live at Elm Farm and farm the area from the 1940s until 1971. Stoke Mandeville Stadium and track are now built on this farmland. Colin shares his memories of attending the opening of Stoke Mandeville stadium by the Queen in 1969. Perhaps you attended an event as a child, and recall the impact it had on you?
In the early years of the Paralympic Movement the local community came together to support the Stoke Mandeville Games. If you are able to support us at the Paralympic Heritage Centre by volunteering we would love to hear from you. We will be holding a number of volunteer open days at Stoke Mandeville Stadium in 2019 to tell you more about how you can get involved as Heritage Centre Volunteers, Pop-up Museum Helpers and Paralympic Heritage Ambassadors. Visit our website for more information.
Katy-Jayne Lintott, NPHT Learning and Engagement Manager says,
Being able to have a permanent space celebrating the history of the Stoke Mandeville Games and Paralympic Movement is wonderful. We want to invite people in Buckinghamshire to help us tell that story sharing their memories and memorabilia or by volunteering their time.
If you would like to discuss any items or stories you might have, or about volunteering please contact Katy-Jayne Lintott, NPHT Learning and Engagement Manager by email
Our key supporters:
About the Heritage Lottery Fund
Thanks to National Lottery players, we invest money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about - from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife. www.hlf.org.uk. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #HLFsupported.
Biffa Award
Since 1997, Biffa Award has awarded grants totalling more than £165 million to thousands of worthwhile community and environmental projects across the UK. The programme administers money donated by Biffa Group Ltd through the Landfill Communities Fund.
www.biffa-award.org
Landfill Communities Fund
The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) is an innovative tax credit scheme enabling operators (LOs) to contribute money to organisations enrolled with ENTRUST as Environmental Bodies (EBs). EBs use this funding for a wide range of community and environmental projects in the vicinity of landfill sites. LOs are able to claim a credit (currently 5.3%) against their landfill tax liability for 90% of the contributions they make.
Since its inception in 1996, over £1.6 billion has been spent on more than 56,000 projects across the UK. For further information please visit https://www.entrust.org.uk/or see HMRC’s general guide to landfill tax.
Association of Independent Museums
The Association of Independent Museums (AIM) is a national charitable organisation which helps independent and independently spirited museums, galleries and heritage sites prosper by connecting, supporting and representing them.
AIM’s membership ranges from voluntarily run community organisations to some of the largest museums in the country and includes museums, historic houses, heritage organisations, ships and historic railways as well as museum consultants and commercial suppliers.
Published: 7th December, 2018
Author: Beth Faulkner
News and Blog homepage
We'd love to keep you posted with our news, activities and how you can help in other ways. We'll never sell or swap your details with anybody else. You are free to change your mind at anytime. Please indicate how you would like to hear from us by using the tick boxes below.
We will always store your personal details securely. We'll use them to provide the service that you have requested, and communicate with you in the way(s) that you have agreed to. Your data may also be used for analysis purposes, to help us provide the best service possible. For full details see our Privacy Policy
If you use or contribute to this site you agree to abide by our Terms and Conditions and accept our Privacy Policy and Copyright Statement. If you do not agree to be bound by these terms you must not use or contribute to the site. The Terms and Conditions may be amended from time to time and you should review them regularly. If you do not accept any of the amendments made to the Terms and Conditions you should cease using or contributing to this website. Your continued use of this website after amendments have been made to these Terms and Conditions will be deemed as acceptance of those amendments.
Dr Mary Verghese of Vellore
Dr Mary Verghese specialised in the rehabilitation of patients in Vellore, India, visiting Dr Guttmann at the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville in the 1960s.
Celebrating the Paralympic heritage exhibition at Cliffe Castle Museum
The Bradford district’s Paralympic heritage is to be celebrated at a special event to be held at Cliffe Castle Museum in Keighley on Saturday 20 July.
The Trust's July 2019 Newsletter
This is our fourth newsletter and we hope you enjoy catching up on all our work; the opening of the Paralympic heritage centre, regional exhibitions, our Pop-up museum events and much more.
Paralympian wheelchair basketball player, Peter Finbow
Peter Finbow, from Bradford, won bronze medals at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens and also in Beijing in 2008. He was part of the GB Wheelchair Basketball Team at the 2012 Paralympics in London.
Opening of Paralympic Heritage exhibition at Gunnersbury Park Museum
On Saturday 15th June until the 1st September, the Paralympic Heritage: Stories from Ealing and Hounslow exhibition will be open at Gunnersbury Park Museum
The first Paralympic Heritage Centre
The National Paralympic Heritage Centre is now open at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, the birthplace of the Paralympic Movement.
Visit from students studying Global Sport & Disability
In June we welcomed a visit from Canadian students who were eager to learn more about the Paralympic Movement and its heritage.
The Trust's first newsletter May 2018
We are delighted to introduce this, our first 'Annual Review', for all the Trust's key contacts and supporters.
Booker Park School help shape the heritage centre
Children from Booker Park Special School in Aylesbury took on an important consultation role when they were visited by the team from the National Paralympic Heritage Trust.
Paralympic Heritage Norfolk
First regional exhibition of Paralympic Heritage in Norfolk
Sporting legends welcomed into the Stoke Mandeville Hall of Fame
Honouring great men and women within Paralympic sport in this country.
Paralympic Heritage to be saved
Historic archives and artefacts of the Paralympic movement will be catalogued and conserved.
The National Paralympic Heritage Trust was established on 11th November 2015 to protect and share British Paralympic Heritage.
The delivery team
Ice Sledge Hockey player, Naomi Adie
Naomi Adie is an Ice Sledge Hockey player for the Peterborough Phantoms
Paralympic Games Timeline
1960s: Part of the Olympics
In Rome 1960 the International Games were held for the first time in the Olympics venue immediately after the Olympic Games. They are now seen as the first “Paralympic Games”
Interview with Nick Webborn, Chair of the BPA
Interview with Professor Nick Webborn, Chair of the British Paralympic Association and Clinical Professor of Sport and Exercise Medicine at the University of Brighton
Chloe Hixson's volunteer story
We are lucky to have some great volunteers who help us in the work we do. Chloe Hixson, joined us as an Access Assessor and more recently has helped as a Virtual Volunteer
Archery was one of the sports at the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960.
This is a list of all the reports and policies related to the website and its use
About National Paralympic Heritage Trust
For information on how your data is stored and used please see our privacy policy.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758853
|
__label__wiki
| 0.807063
| 0.807063
|
Claudine In Paris
(Claudine - 2)
THE STORIES THAT INSPIRED THE FILM COLETTE, out Jan 2019.
The second book in Colette's enchanting Claudine series.
Seventeen-year-old Claudine is in despair having left her beloved village Montigny for a new life in Paris. Comforted by her devoted maid Melie, her slug-obsessed Papa, and the trustworthy cat Fanchette, Claudine’s instinctive curiosity gradually leads to an awakened interest in the city. Ruthless and sensual, Claudine records her sharp observations and adventures amongst the intriguing characters that surround her, evoking all the glamour and excitement of Parisian life.
Written with striking realism Claudine in Paris is an inspiring portrait of a precocious young girl on the brink of transformation into a woman for her, and our, time.
"Her sensual prose style made her one of the great writers of twentieth-century France"
"She has been compared to a 20th-century female Montaigne, and it is true that her books offer a manual on how to live fearlessly and joyfully – greedily alive to every sensation and experience"
"A perfectionist in her every word"
Claudine At School
Claudine Married
Claudine And Annie
Colette, the creator of Claudine, Cheri and Gigi, and one of France’s outstanding writers, had a long, varied and active life. She was born in Burgundy on 1873 into a home overflowing with dogs, cats and children, and educated at the local village school. At the age of twenty she moved to Paris with her first husband, the notorious writer and critic Henry Gauthiers-Viller (Willy). By locking her in her room, Willy forced Collette to write her first novels (the Claudine sequence), which he published under his name. They were an instant success. Colettte left Willy in 1906 and worked in music-halls as an actor and dancer. She had a love affair with Napoleon’s niece, married twice more, had a baby at 40 and at 47. Her writing, which included novels, portraits, essays and a large body of autobiographical prose, was admired by Proust and Gide. She was the first woman President of the Académie Goncourt, and when she died, aged 81, she was given a state funeral and buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
Read women in 2019: VINTAGE classic and new female authors
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758854
|
__label__cc
| 0.509559
| 0.490441
|
Jacqueline Woodson
Photo: © Tiffany A. Bloomfield
Jacqueline Woodson is the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She received the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and the 2018 Children’s Literature Legacy Award, and is the 2014 National Book Award Winner for her New York Times bestselling memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, which was also a recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor, the NAACP Image Award and a Sibert Honor. In 2015, Woodson was named the Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. Her recent adult book, Another Brooklyn, was a National Book Award finalist, and her new adult book, Red at the Bone, is coming in September 2019. She is the author of more than two dozen award-winning books for young adults, middle graders and children; among her many accolades, she is a four-time Newbery Honor winner, a four-time National Book Award finalist, and a two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner. Her books include The Other Side, Each Kindness, Caldecott Honor book Coming On Home Soon; Newbery Honor winners Feathers, Show Way, and After Tupac and D Foster; and Miracle’s Boys, which received the LA Times Book Prize and the Coretta Scott King Award. Jacqueline is also the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement for her contributions to young adult literature and the winner of the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York.
Sign me up for news about Jacqueline Woodson
Books by Jacqueline Woodson
Red at the Bone
The Day You Begin
Harbor Me
If You Come Softly
This Is the Rope
Jacqueline Woodson Also Contributed To
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Jacqueline Woodson (author of BROWN GIRL DREAMING) | What I’m Reading
An Interview with Jaqueline Woodson
Preview Magazine, Spring 2002
What do you have to have by you to write?
Paper, a good pen, sometimes my dog. Having lots of quiet surrounding me is always nice.
Where do you write?
Wherever I can and on anything that’s handy.
What time of day do you get your best ideas?
My ideas come to me all times during the day and night. I write best in the mornings.
Describe your writing uniform.
Pajamas.
Whom do you share your writing with first?
My girlfriend, Juliet. My friends Toshi and Teresa and then my writing group.Do you read reviews of your own work?Sometimes, and only the good ones.
Nothing. I’m taking a long-needed break from reading and writing. Feels strange—good strange.
What was your favorite book as a child?
Some of my favorite books were No Roses For Harry, Zeely, Chicken Soup With Rice, and Stevie by John Steptoe was an all-time favorite.What was the first book you remember reading, or being read to you, as a child?I remember my big sister reading Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates— I think that was the name of it. I didn’t really like it.
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
From the time I was about ten, although I was writing poetry and stories when I was seven.
What were you doing when you found out that your first book was accepted for publication?
I was working two jobs and hoping that would change.
What did you treat yourself to when you received your first advance check?
Probably dinner.
Tell me about writing Hush.
It was hard. It was a very different story for me. It gave me headaches at times and sometimes it was really rewarding. I’m glad it’s done and that Evie/Toswiah and her family are okay. Once I’ve written the book, I try to put as much of the writing experience of that particular work behind me so that I can move on. As I said before, right now I’m moving on to a break—thank goodness —and then, maybe in the new year, I’ll get back to writing. I think writing Hush really exhausted me.
Book Jacqueline Woodson for Your Next Event
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758855
|
__label__wiki
| 0.738896
| 0.738896
|
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text
By Mary Shelley
Introduction by Charlotte Gordon
Contribution by Charlotte Gordon
Category: Fiction Classics | Gothic & Horror | Science Fiction & Fantasy
About Frankenstein: The 1818 Text
For the bicentennial of its first publication, Mary Shelley’s original 1818 text, introduced by National Book Critics Circle award-winner Charlotte Gordon. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read
2018 marks the bicentennial of Mary Shelley’s seminal novel. For the first time, Penguin Classics will publish the original 1818 text, which preserves the hard-hitting and politically-charged aspects of Shelley’s original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice. This edition also emphasizes Shelley’s relationship with her mother—trailblazing feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, who penned A Vindication of the Rights of Woman—and demonstrates her commitment to carrying forward her mother’s ideals, placing her in the context of a feminist legacy rather than the sole female in the company of male poets, including Percy Shelley and Lord Byron.
This edition includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by National Book Critics Circle award-winner and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon, and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Also by Mary Shelley
See all books by Mary Shelley
About Mary Shelley
The daughter of Mary Wollestonecraft, the ardent feminist and author of A Vindication on the Right of Women, and William Godwin, the radical-anarchist philosopher and author of Lives of the Necromancers, Mary Goodwin was born into a freethinking, revolutionary household in London on August… More about Mary Shelley
Published by Penguin Classics
Jan 16, 2018 | 288 Pages | 5-1/16 x 7-3/4 | ISBN 9780143131847
People Who Read Frankenstein: The 1818 Text Also Read
“Gordon’s framing is the real standout of the anniversary edition (…) Highly recommended.”
—N. K. Jemisin, The New York Times Book Review
“Frankenstein is as efficient and resonant a reference today as it was in 1818. . . In this bicentennial year, much will be written about Frankenstein, its adaptations, and whether there exists a definitive or superior version of the novel. . . The 1818 Text is reflective of the thrill and nervous energy that ushered in a new era of science and society. . . But part of what makes it a little unsettling is what makes it so interesting: The chance to watch a 200-year-old novel develop. In a story that’s reflected so much of the last two hundred years, and centers so much on choices, storytelling, and the potential for change, it only makes sense that Frankenstein reflects changes within its own creator”
—Genevieve Valentine, NPR
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758856
|
__label__wiki
| 0.649679
| 0.649679
|
Police/Courts
Read a digital copy of the latest edition of the Perry County News online.
Notre Dame professor to speak at Saint Meinrad’s Thomas Lecture
Thursday, March 7, 2019 at 8:00 am (Updated: March 7, 8:00 am)
Anderson Township fire
Next Commodore in command
4-H fair saddled for grand opening
TC School Board prepares for budget sessions, collective bargaining
Candidacy of Troy board contender questioned
Edelweiss Ball set to the 60s
Miss Schweizer Fest Pageant entries now open
Chamber announces nominations for business awards
Church News; June 20
Fulda church plans summer picnic Aug. 4
Churches’ Corpus Christi processions Sunday
Six monks celebrate priesthood jubilees
Deer Creek VBS June 9
ST. MEINRAD – Brad S. Gregory will present the annual Thomas Lecture on Philosophy and Theology at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology.
The lecture will be held on Thursday, March 28, at 7 p.m. Central Time in St. Bede Theater. This year’s lecture is titled “On the Compatibility and Complementary Flourishing of Catholicism and the Natural Sciences.”
Gregory is the Dorothy G. Griffin College Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, where he has taught since 2003, and where he is also the director of the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study.
From 1996-2003, he taught at Stanford University. He specializes in the history of Christianity in Europe during the Reformation era and on the long-term influence of the Reformation era on the modern world. He has given lectures at many of the most prestigious universities in North America, as well as in 18 countries.
Before teaching at Stanford, he earned his Ph.D. in history at Princeton University and was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows; he also has two degrees in philosophy from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.
His first book, “Salvation at Stake: Christian Martyrdom in Early Modern Europe” (Harvard, 1999), received six book awards. His book, “The Unintended Reformation: How a Religious Revolution Secularized Society” (Belknap, 2012), received two book awards, garnered over 100 reviews internationally, and has been or is being translated into Italian, Spanish, Polish, Chinese and Arabic. His most recent book is “Rebel in the Ranks: Martin Luther, the Reformation, and the Conflicts that Continue to Shape Our World” (Harper, 2017).
The Thomas Lecture is made possible by an endowment established in honor of the late George and Mary Thomas and the late Fr. Kieran Conley, OSB. The lecture provides an opportunity for students and faculty at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology to explore issues in philosophy and theology.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Parking is available at the St. Bede, Guest House and student parking lots. Saint Meinrad operates on Central Time. For more information, call Mary Jeanne Schumacher at (812) 357-6501 during business hours.
Read and share your thoughts on this story
The Perry County News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Perry County, Indiana, and the surrounding area.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758857
|
__label__wiki
| 0.991835
| 0.991835
|
31 IP families to get farmlands in Boracay
MANILAAt least eight hectares of agricultural land will be distributed to 31 Indigenous People (IP) families on Boracay Island before the end of the year, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Tuesday.
In a Palace press briefing, DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones said the department has already transferred approximately eight hectares of land to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for distribution.
The DENR and the DAR have been closely coordinating with each other, Leones said.
He said the DENR has received a directive from President Rodrigo Duterte to hasten the distribution of the land to the IP recipients.
The DAR now is studying and evaluating the area on the feasibility of making this an agricultural area, Leones said. Perhaps before Christmas, the DAR can already resolve how to distribute these lands.
He said 600 hectares oo Boracay Island are identified as agricultural land under Proclamation 1064.
So out of 600 hectares, about eight could be distributed, he said.
Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Proclamation No. 1064 in 2006, classifying 628.96 hectares on Boracay Island as agricultural and 373 hectares as forestland for protection purposes.
Boracay has been closed to tourists since April 26 to give way to a six-month rehabilitation after President Rodrigo Duterte described the island as a "cesspool" due to sewage and other environmental problems.
Leones said the inter-agency task force that undertook its rehabilitation is ready to reopen the island on October 26. (PNA)
Ondot Announces Investment from Citi Ventures to Power Enriched Transactions
Constellation Brands Prices Offering of Senior Notes
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758862
|
__label__wiki
| 0.688917
| 0.688917
|
The Tale of the Allergist's Wife in Tempe Makes Fun of Wordy, Shallow People by Being Wordy and Shallow
Julie Peterson
Julie Peterson | June 18, 2010 | 6:29pm
You are an audience member sitting in a theater, and the characters on stage are staring at a real, running wall clock. It shows the current time in the city where the theater venue is located. Another character is late for dinner -- two or three hours late, the dialogue indicates. The clock reads 3-ish. These are not the kind of characters who would ever, ever have people to dinner any later than 8 p.m. (especially at this point in the action). You have just entered The Matinee Zone.
Oh, Tempe Little Theatre, didn't you notice this at last week's matinee? (I'm sure the actors did, but I think you've beaten all the fight out of them.) Is the person who's supposed to reset the clock home with food poisoning? I admit I'm persnickety, but they're all staring at the clock and talking about what time it is, so I know I'm not the only person with a good view of stage right who can't stop thinking about this. But other than that and some mysterious, too-faint-to-be-intentional pencil sketches on the peach walls of the set (what is it with this company and box sets?), The Allergist's Wife is a fairly good production of an interesting and funny script.
The storyline covers several critical weeks in the life of Marjorie Taub (Christi Sweeney), a Manhattan society matron with waaaay too much time on her hands. Despite all the culture she absorbs and the good works she performs, her beloved therapist's recent death has left Marjorie feeling that her life is meaningless.
For some reason, this bothers her so much that she's had a wee public breakdown and retreated to her Riverside Drive apartment, her fuzzy slippers, and her bathrobe from which the belt has been removed (nice touch, that). It doesn't help that Marjorie's husband, Dr. Ira Taub (Kelly Parker), is "a saint" who's retired to run a free clinic and teach, or that her hypercritical, Ira-worshipping mother, Frieda (Barbara McGrath), lives down the hall.
Allergist's Wife is one of the only "mainstream" plays by Charles Busch (Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, etc.). Would that director Laurelann Porter and her lead had no idea who Busch is. Porter's director's notes acknowledge that AW is a play about real people who were never intended to be played by female impersonators, but much of Sweeney's performance strays far enough into unsuccessful camp that it's often hard to feel for Marjorie, who is an actual, if ridiculous person.
Occasionally, it's appropriate for Marjorie to realize how melodramatic and self-pitying she is, but her pain and emptiness are as genuine as anyone's -- and would be funny if Sweeney could break away from the diva-like enthusiasm with which she expresses them. (It would also more believably display the return of that enthusiasm at times when she gets her groove back, as it were.)
Nevertheless, the ensemble meshes beautifully, the performances are solid, and Sharon Gonwa's set dressings and William Ferguson's costumes are just subtle enough to recede while still radiating a vaguely upscale feel.
Most importantly, the script is inherently quite funny, and no one does anything to really screw that up. It's a little dated -- I think it should always be set, very specifically, in 2002 -- and it's not just wordy but also a bit heavy-handed and repetitive.
In a way, though, that almost seems purposeful. People who attend five-hour events at Brooklyn Academy of Music and go on and on about Hermann Hesse and Thomas Mann and regard pansexuality as an intellectual construct are a pain in the ass if they take it seriously. (And so is anyone who bothers to argue with them, as demonstrated with virtuoso pretension by Kandyce Hughes as Lee Green, a mysterious, name-dropping visitor who suggests that the whirlwind of real life is a remedy for Marjorie's miasma, even though it's just Lee's own brand of despair.)
That's another interesting thing about The Allergist's Wife -- some of the characters aren't who they seem to be. Or it seems that they aren't, but it turns out they are. Or no one's asking the right questions. It might just make you wonder whether truth is overvalued at times, earning the show status as an entry in what Curtains has come to call the Summer 2010 Unofficial Festival of Uncomfortable Truths. (More to come in ensuing weeks.)
The Tale of the Allergist's Wife continues through Sunday, June 20, at Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 West Rio Salado Parkway. For tickets, $18 to $20, visit www.tempe.gov/TCA or call 480-350-2822.
Julie has written for the Night & Day events calendar section since 2005. As a student at Arizona State, she received the Glendon and Kathryn Swarthout Creative Writing Award and the Theatre Medallion of Merit.
Oro Express Pawn-Gold
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758864
|
__label__wiki
| 0.728201
| 0.728201
|
Punk Goes Classic Rock Compilation Taps Three Phoenix Bands
Martin Cizmar | April 27, 2010 | 2:03pm
Blessthefall, The Maine and The Summer Set are all featured on the new Fearless Records compilation Punk Goes... Classic Rock.
It's no secret that the California label -- essentially Tiger Beat magazine with A&R dudes -- loves Phoenix pop-punkers like these three. The Maine was signed to the label before hopping up to a major, Blessthefall is currently on Fearless and The Summer Set, though signed to Razor and Tie, has toured extensively with the label's acts.
The Punk Goes... series, which started back in 2000, making in ancient by kiddie-pop standards, has previously done Crunk, Metal and Acoustic.
This is probably the most poorly concieved installment in the series, sadly. After all, even the grandly amorphous genre of "Classic Rock" needs to be stretched a bit to accommodate both Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" (1967) and Eddie Money's "Take Me Home Tonight" (1986) songs separated by two decades and two revolutions in recording. The former probably belongs on a '60s folk-rock collection, while the latter is unquestionably '80s synth-pop at its finest.
Actually, who am I kidding? To kids today anything before Blink-182 is filed under "ancient history."
So here we have The Maine contributing a pretty terrible version of Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me." The Summer Set's version of Kiss' "Rock n' Roll All Night" at least has interesting vocals. Blessthefall's take on Aerosmith's "Dream On" doesn't add anything to the original but at least manages to preserve the brooding quality that makes it such a great song.
If it's any consolation, fellow members of the over-25 demographic, this pointless genre is likely to soon come to an end. Justin Bieber is just too much better.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758865
|
__label__wiki
| 0.778928
| 0.778928
|
Ry Cooder's Anti-SB 1070 Song, Courtesy of NPR
Martin Cizmar | June 28, 2010 | 11:39am
Legendary slide guitarist Ry Cooder (he's played on records by everyone from Randy Newman to the Rolling Stones) has recorded an anti-SB 1070 song called "Quick Sand."
Cooder is one of those country(ish) guys the lefties love -- not only is that track available exclusively from NPR until tomorrow, when it goes on sale via iTunes, but Cooder's last high-profile project was for the Howard Zinn documentary The People Speak.
So, yeah, here's what he had to say about his song. It's one of the more interesting SB 1070 songs I've heard from a non-Arizona artist, a first-person narrated tale which finds a nice groove around 3:30 in and disses Yuma a few times:
"The Devil's Highway has been used by migrants traveling on foot for over 100 years," says Cooder. "You should try it sometime. Out there, temperatures can get above 130 degrees. If you fall down, you have religious hallucinations, then you die, cooking from the inside out. If you get lucky, you might make it to Yuma, but then what? That's no comfort station they run up there."
Hear the track here.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758866
|
__label__wiki
| 0.835278
| 0.835278
|
Motorhead - Deaf Forever
Led Zeppelin preview their first official illustrated book
Friday, July 13th, 2018 10:00am
Led Zeppelin © Reel Art Press
Led Zeppelin have given fans a tantalising glimpse of their upcoming illustrated book Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin.
The rock legends uploaded 12 images to their social channels, writing: “Work in progress. A trial production test of a selection of photographs from the book Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin.”
The images are a mix of portrait shots, live performances and also an illustration of their famous Icarus logo.
Work in progress. A trial production test of a selection of photographs from the book Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin. Published by Reel Art Press. Pre-order your copy here: http://bit.ly/2Jjs3do
A post shared by Led Zeppelin (@ledzeppelin) on Jul 3, 2018 at 8:59am PDT
Boasting 400 pages, Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin will be published by Reel Art Press on 2nd October 2018 – 50 years to the month since the band changed their name from The New Yardbirds to Led Zeppelin.
According to Reel Art Press, the book “is the first and only official illustrated book to be produced in collaboration with the members of the band.
“Celebrating 50 years since their formation, it covers the group’s unparalleled musical career and features photographs of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham on and offstage, in candid moments and in the recording studio.
“This definitive 368-page volume includes unseen photographs and artwork from the Led Zeppelin archives and contributions from photographers around the world.”
Last month, Led Zeppelin shared an image of John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page proudly clutching a prototype copy of the book.
Photo: John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page photographed in May 2018 with their working draft of the book "Led Zeppelin By Led Zeppelin". Published in October by Reel Art Press to celebrate fifty years since the formation of the band. (Photo by Dave Brolan/Reel Art Press.) Work on the official book "Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin" is almost complete. The images have been carefully selected and annotated throughout by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones. Celebrating 50 years since the band's formation, it covers the group’s unparalleled musical career and features photographs of Led Zeppelin on and offstage from their very first moments together. This definitive 400-page volume includes previously unpublished photos, artwork from the Led Zeppelin archives and contributions from photographers around the world. There will be regular updates and sneak previews showing the work in progress. Stay tuned. Pre-order your copy here: http://bit.ly/2Jjs3do
A post shared by Led Zeppelin (@ledzeppelin) on Jun 8, 2018 at 9:24am PDT
They wrote: “Work on the official book Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin is almost complete. The images have been carefully selected and annotated throughout by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones.”
Already this year Led Zeppelin have released unheard versions of ‘Rock and Roll’ and ‘Friends’ on 7” vinyl for Record Store Day and in March they released a remastered edition of their 2003 live album ‘How The West Was Won’.
To mark what would have been John Bonham’s 70th birthday on 31st May, a vast bronze Bonzo sculpture was unveiled in his home town of Redditch.
It was also recently announced that Led Zep are re-releasing a remastered version of their 1976 soundtrack album ‘The Song Remains the Same’ in September.
Despite constant tabloid rumours, Robert Plant has consistently ruled out the chances of a Led Zeppelin reunion and recently joked it could only happen 'in a chip shop in Camden Town.'
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758868
|
__label__wiki
| 0.518655
| 0.518655
|
Trinity School, Belvedere
Tag | Astroturf
Erith Road, Belvedere, Kent, DA17 6HT
Full Pitch £66.00/hour
Half Pitch £38.40/hour
Rugby pitches can sometimes be hard to find in south east London but Trinity School is here to accommodate all your rugby needs. The astroturf pitch is expertly maintained with prominent lines, so if you're part of a rugby team or a rugby club looking for a pitch to play on then this is the place for you. The rugby pitch can be used for tag rugby and touch rugby. If you've never tried rugby before but you're looking to get into the sport, then please get in touch today to enquire about booking the facilities so that you can give it a try! The rugby facilities for hire at Trinity School are some of the best in south east London so be sure to get yourself down to play as soon as possible.
If you’re travelling by car, then you’ll be glad to know there is free parking provided by the venue. The free parking at the facility can fill up at peak times and get busy, with weekends being a very popular time, so allow ample time to ensure you secure a space.
For those who like the security of knowing you can play at the same time every week without fail, you can make a block booking at Trinity School. This ensures you stay in the game and keep up your fitness on a regular basis. The very accommodating team at Playfinder will help you to secure your preferred slot or if that isn’t available, we will help you to secure the best alternative. A block booking is a booking made for a set number of consecutive weeks, on average this is 10 weeks.
The venue has changing facilities to use when you book, they are well maintained and suitable for teams or individuals. It's also great for teams as it means you can prepare for games in comfort and in good time.
If you're looking to travel using public transport, then the nearest station is Erith. This facility has excellent public transport links making it easy for all participants to reach the venue.
Rugby pitches can sometimes be hard to find in south east London but Trinity School is here to accommodate all your rugby needs. The astroturf pitch is expertly maintained with prominent lines, so if you're part of a rugby team or a rugby club looking for a pitch to play on then this is the place for you. The rugby pitch can be used for tag rugby and touch rugby. If you've never tried rugby before but you're looking to get into the sport, then please get in touch today to enquire about booking...
Erith Road
DA17 6HT
Nearby Rugby Pitches
Warren Sports Pitch
Whitfield Place, Fitzrovia, W1T 5NZ
Warren Street
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758869
|
__label__wiki
| 0.557701
| 0.557701
|
Country of Origin Labeling
Country of origin labeling (COOL) is a mandatory U.S. labeling law enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that requires retailers notify their customers with information regarding the source of certain foods, also referred to as covered commodities. Among these covered commodities are fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables; peanuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts. Suppliers must provide origin information to the retailer. This may be done by information on the label itself, on the master shipping container or in documents that accompany the shipment.
As noted above, the U.S. country of origin labeling law requires retailers to notify their customers of the country of origin of covered commodities. Many fruit and vegetable suppliers already provide origin information on their products via a number of ways (Price Look Up stickers, labels, bands, twist ties, etc.), though there are some produce items (i.e. loose green beans) where a sign on the display would be needed to convey the origin declaration due to the item being unable to carry a sticker or other labeling mechanism.
COOL is not a food safety program. It is a consumer labeling and marketing law regulated by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service.
Restaurants and foodservice establishments, including foodservice operations within a supermarket, are excluded from the country of origin labeling law
With regard to providing country of origin declarations, there is no single USDA-mandated or preferred method. The agency took into account existing industry practices and allowed industry a great deal of flexibility in this regard. No matter how it is conveyed, origin declarations must be legible and the location conspicuous enough for an ordinary consumer to read and understand it.
According to the final rule, COOL declarations must be easily understood and accurate. When commingling of product from different origins occurs, the country of origins declared on the package or display may be separated by the word 'and', a comma, hyphen or slash. Check boxes on the package may also indicate the appropriate countries.
Labels that denote the state, region, or locality of a product may also satisfy the requirement of country of origin. This applies not just to produce from the United States, but also to produce grown in other countries, e.g. “Florida Fresh” satisfies country of origin and so does “Prince Edward Island” potatoes. In the final rule, USDA stated that state abbreviations may be used to satisfy country of origin labeling requirements as well. USDA has developed an extensive list of resources available to industry via the agency's website.
Tips for Retailers
Here are some areas in the produce department where USDA has frequently found non-compliance and some tips to stay compliant:
Conduct an internal review of the produce items in the department to determine which items already have country of origin designation either on the Price Look Up code, label, package, clamshell, etc.
Compile a list of these items that do not carry origin designations and list them on a bulletin board in the back room so all department staff can focus their attention on those.
For non-labeled produce items that go through a transition as growing regions/production sourcing shifts during the year, inform store-level employees in advance of the shifts so they can pay close attention to country of origin signage.
When a transitional phase ends for a non-labeled produce item, remember to take the sign down for the country whose product is no longer being displayed.
Designate a senior store produce department employee (e.g. the produce manager or assistant produce manager) as the “COOL Cop,” who has the responsibility to check for country of origin signs several times a day – especially for products that do not carry origin on the label or package. Examples of these items include Roma tomatoes, bulk green beans, garlic, onions, cut fruit or vegetables (of one type only; mixed cups/trays do not need a sign), radishes, peppers, etc.
Keep an eye on country of origin declaration differences between signage and Price Look Up stickers; USDA has told us this is the most prevalent non-compliance issue seen in supermarket produce departments.
Be sure that ancillary display signage (highlighting department sales or specials) does not obscure country of origin declarations; USDA has told us this is the second most common non-compliance issue.
Retailers with strong locally grown produce programs should ensure that state or country of origin is included on bills of lading and/or invoices from their local farmers, so as to make the records verification process run more smoothly should documentation be requested for these items.
Suppliers can avoid COOL noncompliance issues by being mindful of where COO declarations are placed on packaging (e.g. placing a declaration too close to a seam and thereby rendering it partially obscured or otherwise illegible as the packaging is formed). The item may be considered non-compliant if the reviewer cannot reasonably locate and read the declaration.
PLU Country of Origin Labeling Advisory for Quebec Markets
ndustry members engaged in commerce in Canada using PLU/GS1 DataBar stickers which include country of origin information, specifically shipping product which may be sold in the province of Quebec, are reminded to provide country of origin information in the form of country name only. (E.g. Do not use "Product of", "Grown in", etc. when designating the country/state/growing region name.) Any information on the PLU/GS1 DataBar stickers not exempted under the Quebec Charter of the French Language will require translation into French. Exceptions to Section 51 of the Charter of the French Language can be found here. Refer to PLU Codes in Canada FAQ for additional information.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
Keeping Up With The Pace of ‘Smart’ Farming in Fresh Produce
Consumers Drive Innovative Global Packaging Trends
Nutrition Facts Label
Nutrition Labeling
PLU Codes Initiative in Mexico
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758870
|
__label__wiki
| 0.876007
| 0.876007
|
Xbox game news
Forza Motorsport 5 competition offers chance to be first to ride in McLaren P1
Hunter Skipworth | 14 June 2013
McLaren has partnered with Forza 5 to offer a once in a lifetime ride in the brand new P1 hypercar at the 2013 GoodWood Festival of Speed. The McLaren P1 has yet to be driven in public, with its unveil taking place at the Geneva motor show.
Winning the competition would mean you would be one of the first people in the world to see the P1 in action, let alone from inside the cabin. All you need to do is place a pin on a map of the Prague track feature in the Forza 5 launch trailer. You can do so via McLaren's Facebook page.
Read: Forza Motorsport 5 Xbox One preview
The McLaren P1 is to be the cover star of Forza 5 and is the latest ultra-cutting-edge hypercar to come from McLaren. Designed to take on the LaFerrari and Porsche's 918 Spyder, the P1 uses Formula 1 technology to bring incredible speed and control to a road car.
Read: Inside the McLaren technology centre
Only 375 P1s will be made, so chances are that you will never see one in the flesh. That said, enter this competition and you could end up sitting one. Oh, and why can't you drive it? Not sure McLaren would be too happy insuring its £1 million for someone they haven't met before.
Forza 5 will be an Xbox One launch title and should be arriving in November. The P1 and all its 916 horsepowers, will be making its dynamic debut at GoodWood on 12 July.
Sections McLaren Xbox Games
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758871
|
__label__wiki
| 0.901851
| 0.901851
|
The Friday Cover
The Friday Cover is POLITICO Magazine's email of the week's best, delivered to your inbox every Friday morning.
Socorro Ramirez has lived in Phoenix for 39 years. | Patrick Cavan Brown for POLITICO Magazine
Is THIS the Year Arizona Finally Turns Blue?
Democrats have been expecting Barry Goldwater’s home state to flip for years now. Powered by a Latino electorate fired up by Donald Trump, they just might do it — as long as they can actually get them to the polls.
By ETHAN EPSTEIN
Ethan Epstein is associate editor of The Weekly Standard.
PHOENIX — “Democrats hope demographic changes will translate into a win in November,” wrote The Nation magazine a while back. “Arizona, the second fastest-growing state … brimming with Latinos and Independents [is] where the bloodiest fight is likely to take place,” correspondent Marc Cooper trumpeted. Liberal writers of all stripes have been bullish in recent years on the Democrats’ prospects in this southwestern state long associated with Barry Goldwater-style arch conservatism. “[C]onsider the influence of ongoing demographic changes in the state which have been steadily increasing the percentage of minority eligible voters, mostly Hispanics, and reducing the share of relatively conservative white working-class voters,” wrote Ruy Texeira in the New Republic, arguing that Arizona is a state that’s ready to “flip.” Democratic optimism in Arizona has even reached across the pond as well, with the U.K.‘s Guardian writing, “Across bone dry Arizona, voters and pollsters have begun to ask openly about a change that seemed nearly impossible not so long ago: Could Democrats take the American West?”
The answer, so far, has had been a resounding no. That Nation article was written in 2004—a year in which President George W. Bush carried Arizona easily, and Senator John McCain coasted to reelection with 76 percent of the vote. Texeira’s missive in the New Republic? That was from 2012; Mitt Romney beat Barack Obama by 9 points that year in Arizona, and Republican Jeff Flake won an open Senate by nearly a million votes. As for the Guardian—it was bolstering the Democrats’ chances in 2016. We all know how that ended.
But this year, those indefatigable Arizona Democrats are sanguine once again. For once, their optimism may be justified: President Donald Trump’s unpopularity, coupled with an electorate that has only grown more Latino since Cooper’s 2004 article, has put two crucial races in play. One is the governor’s contest, where incumbent Republican Doug Ducey faces a likely challenge from David Garcia, a Hispanic-American professor and education expert at Arizona State University. A number of House seats are up for grabs in the state. Then there’s the race to fill Flake’s seat that pits Democratic Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema against, depending on how the primary shakes out, establishment-backed Republican Congresswoman Martha McSally. The last time a Democrat won that seat was in 1982.
Top: The Villalobos family, three generations under one roof, say a prayer of thanks before their Fourth of July meal. Bottom: The first haboob, or sandstorm, of the season blows in with the start of the monsoon season. | Patrick Cavan Brown for POLITICO Magazine
A new POLITICO/AARP poll shows Democrats ahead by 7 points in generic ballots in both the governor’s and Senate races. But to actually win statewide elections in this highly ethnically polarized state, Democrats will need to juice turnout among younger and especially older Latinos, who have tended to vote at lower rates than other voters in their age group — who also are trending ever more Republican. And not just in purplish Arizona: All across the U.S. Southwest, Latino voters could be the key to flipping Republican strongholds from red to blue, if only the Democratic Party can figure out how to get enough of them to the polls. Solve that mystery, and even a GOP-dominated state like Texas could suddenly be in play.
One answer to the Democrats’ puzzle, says Joseph Garcia, director of the Latino Public Policy Center at Arizona State’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy, is that many Latinos don’t realize their potential power at the ballot box. Latinos think of Arizona as a red state, “so they’ve tended not to vote,” Garcia says. The question, in the Trump era , is whether that assumption is safe any longer.
Top: Daniel Ruiz, 16, canvasses the city streets for Mi Familia Vota. Bottom: The first Friday of the month brings local artists and residents together on the streets of Phoenix.
Phoenix, and Maricopa County in general, is saturated in Latino—and specifically, Mexican—culture. (More than 90 percent of Arizona Latinos are of Mexican origin.) Vast swaths of the sprawling county, population 4.2 million, are essentially barrios. Take Central Avenue, south of downtown Phoenix: It’s a seemingly endless strip of Mexican supermarkets, restaurants, body shops and convenience stores, dominated by Spanish signage.
Or Tolleson, a town just west of Phoenix, which is more than 80 percent Latino: Its pleasant, low-slung downtown, recently rechristened the “Paseo de Luces,” or “path of lights,” is a cornucopia of Mexican-American businesses — butcher shops, taquerias, grocery stores selling imported tortillas and salsa. Off the main drag, there are apartment buildings with names like “Casa de Merced.” On a recent weekday, two young men at a local restaurant in downtown Tolleson discussed—in English—recently having attained U.S. citizenship. “It was such a relief!” one exclaimed.
Yet even as Latinos now make up an increasingly large percentage of the population in Arizona (currently estimated at 30 percent), their participation—and representation — in politics has lagged. About a quarter of Arizona’s registered voters are Latino — and, in most elections, only 18 percent to 20 percent of ballots are cast by Latinos.
The last Latino elected statewide here was Raúl Héctor Castro, a Mexican-born immigrant who became a lawyer and diplomat. That was in 1974. (President Lyndon B. Johnson, who tapped Castro as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, asked him to change his last name to avoid confusion with Cuba’s Fidel Castro. He refused.) The contrast between Arizona and nearby states like California and Nevada, which boast heavy Latino political participation and representation, is striking.
Part of this disconnect is a matter of timing, according to political hands in Arizona. The state had long boasted a small Mexican-American population, dating back to when its current territory was actually part of Mexico. But it wasn’t until the early 1990s that the Latino population began to take off.
Arizona’s Deciders in Their Own Words: Arizona voters over 50 have strong opinions about President Trump, immigration, and the state's shifting demographics. (CLICK TO OPEN INTERACTIVE) | Patrick Cavan Brown for POLITICO Magazine
Ironically, it was a steep reduction in illegal migration into California and Texas that spurred the move into Arizona. “You had Operation Gatekeeper and Operation Hold the Line, which were fortifications of urban cross-points in El Paso and San Diego, respectively, which is where everybody crossed without permission,” recalls Ian Danley, a longtime Arizona political operative currently managing the gubernatorial campaign of David Garcia, the Mexican-American Democrat running to replace Ducey. “They believed that if you sealed off the urban crossing points, the natural terrain of Arizona would be its own natural barrier,” Danley says. “And it wasn’t. The economy was too strong.”
Maricopa, a sun-drenched valley that sprawls across more than 9,000 square miles, still contains remnants of its frontier origins. Thanks to its then-plentiful water supplies, the area became a way station for forty-niners seeking their fortunes in the California gold fields. A gold strike in nearby Yuma in 1862 brought an influx of prospectors from the East Coast, who established the mining town of Wickenberg to the northwest of present-day Phoenix.
But it wasn’t until the advent of air conditioning, and innovations like Sun City, the pioneering retirement community that opened in 1960, that the county’s growth first exploded. The Phoenix area, a desert with roughly 300 days of sunshine per year and nearly 200 golf courses, quickly became a magnet for mostly white, middle-class “snowbirds” looking to escape the dreary weather up north. Given this history, Maricopa is very much a land of migrants of all backgrounds.
But because of the heat, the huge number of transplants, its sprawling nature, and the way it developed — think gated communities and highways—it at times seems to lack a unified culture. For a county of Maricopa’s size, there’s a relative dearth of public spaces, like large parks, where citizens can gather. Public transit is sparsely used, too; in my time here, there were never more than two or three people waiting at the light rail stations that dot downtown Phoenix. Sports allegiance, a sign of civic engagement, is weak as well. Even when they’re good, the Diamondbacks are among the lower-drawing teams in Major League Baseball.
Top: A typical, medium-sized Mexican market has more fresh and raw ingredients than its big-box counterpart. Bottom left: Mexican Art Imports, run by the Montez family, is filled with color. Bottom right: It isn't until the sun goes down in the evening that folks begin to venture out into the heat of the summer. Night temperatures in Phoenix often do not dip below 100 degrees Fahrenheit until the early hours of the morning. | Patrick Cavan Brown for POLITICO Magazine
For a time in the early 2000s, Maricopa was America’s fastest-growing county, driven largely by booms in real estate and tourism. Those industries are magnets for immigrant labor, which only added to the appeal for Mexican border-crossers.
Voters 50 and older in Arizona lean toward Trump
By Tyler Fisher and Steven Shepard
Driven by continuing political and demographic changes, Arizona is poised to be a major battleground in this year’s midterm elections and a potential swing state in the 2020 presidential race, a new POLITICO poll shows. Click here to view the poll.
As a result, Arizona’s Latino population trebled from 1990 to 2015 from 700,000 to about 2.2 million. Thirty-one percent of Maricopa County residents are now Latino, according to the U.S. Census. But because the population is so new to the state (and in many cases, unable to vote), political representation has lagged. In terms of Latino political participation, Arizona is “in a place California was in the 1980s,” says Montserrat Arredondo, who runs One Arizona, a Phoenix nonprofit that works to register Latino voters. Her goal is for “political representation to reflect the local population,” she says.
There could be a giant leap toward that objective this year in the state’s governor’s race. Ducey, the incumbent Republican, a mostly moderate, Chamber of Commerce type, is unpopular, and an NBC News/Marist poll from mid-June found that 59 percent of voters, including more than 60 percent of registered Independents, want him replaced this November. The POLITICO/AARP poll had more bad news for the governor, with only 34 percent of registered voters saying they’d vote for him if the election were held today. (Forty-one percent backed the Democrat, and a quarter were undecided.) A prolonged fight with the school’s teachers unions over salaries earlier this year weakened his standing.
Ducey will likely face Garcia, an ASU education professor who leads his closest primary opponent by 25 points according to the latest polls. Garcia previously ran for superintendent of Arizona schools in 2014, and lost by a whisker. (He did better than any other Democrat who ran statewide that year.) Because of the current focus on education in Arizona, Garcia seems tailor-made for this year’s contest.
University professor and gubernatorial candidate David Garcia participates in Red For Ed, an initiative to improve public school education. | Patrick Cavan Brown for POLITICO Magazine
He’s also tailor-made for the state’s rapidly changing electorate. Garcia, 48, is a fourth-generation Mexican-American who grew up in eastern Maricopa County, served in the Army, and attended Arizona State before earning a doctorate at the University of Chicago. He married another Mexican-American who grew up in the same neighborhood and the couple has two daughters. At 48, he stands at the crux of two generations of Arizona Latinos — and he says he notices a big difference between the older and the younger folks.
“The intergenerational split in the Latino community is fascinating,” Garcia tells me in an interview in his campaign office. (With temperatures hovering around 112 degrees outside on this summer day, it’s nice that Garcia runs an office in which casual attire is de rigueur.) “Take, for example, my grandparents. They grew up in almost exclusively Spanish-speaking environment. My dad had to go out of his way to not be Mexican, to not be in a neighborhood where it was all Spanish.”
Garcia, on the other hand, had the opposite experience: He was raised in a mixed neighborhood and didn’t actually master Spanish until later in life — and only after a conscious effort. Indeed, his parents didn’t want him to learn Spanish for fear he would end up in a substandard, segregated classroom, as had been the experience for much of their generation. His dad’s thinking was, “Why would I subject you this Mexicanness, while my goal is for you to be as American as possible?” he recalls.
Garcia says the younger generation of Arizona Latinos is far more ethnically conscious than their parents and grandparents. His experience growing up is “totally different from his daughters,” he says. They, for example, speak Spanish, and have worked to cultivate their Latino identity.
Top left: Student volunteers from One Arizona canvass the local mall for potential voters. Top right: Posters decorate the walls of an office housing several get-out-the-vote causes. Bottom left: The city is broken up into segments highlighting areas of potential voter participation improvement. Bottom right: Latino student volunteers from One Arizona participate in social ice-breakers prior to canvasing the streets. They were each asked four things they were proud of. All mentioned their culture. | Patrick Cavan Brown for POLITICO Magazine
And they’re not alone in that. “We’re seeing a younger generation that’s much more vocal about being Latino, Latinx, Mexicano,” he says. Garcia allows that older Latinos have a more restrictive view of immigration than younger Latino Arizonans do, but says that distinction is eroding. “If [immigration] becomes a racial issue, about who you are rather than what you’ve done … we [Latinos] all in the same boat whether you came over here recently or were here for generations.”
“It’ll all come down to turnout” may be the hoariest chestnut in politics, but it’s conventional wisdom for good reason: To win, you’ve got to get your voters to the polls.
And in Arizona, as in the rest of the country, partisan identification is increasingly tied to ethnic identity. The state hasn’t yet reached Mississippi-like levels of racial polarization (in that state, more than 90 percent of whites tend to vote Republican, and more than 90 percent of blacks vote for Democrats), but its elections do look increasingly like censuses, with three-quarters of Latinos voting Democratic and more than 60 percent of whites pulling the lever for the GOP. Those figures are going up: According to Danley, Garcia’s campaign manager, white Arizonans of all ages are trending more Republican.
Top: Volunteers seek elderly voter registration applicants at a supermarket. Bottom left: Arizonans wearing home-crafted headgear for their Fourth of July celebration. Bottom right: Harry Garewal fills his grandson's swimming pool. His family is growing to occupy two side-by-side lots in a Phoenix neighborhood recovering from a period of rampant crime. | Patrick Cavan Brown for POLITICO Magazine
Demographics, fundamentally, are why Democrats here are so bullish on their chances in 2018 and beyond. It’s not that they’re winning the argument, or that there even is an argument per se: It’s simply that their numbers are growing. That’s a trend that will continue, given that the median Latino Arizonan is aged 27 while the median age for white Arizonans is 47. More than half of public school students in Arizona are Latino; the figures are even higher in Maricopa County.
It wasn’t always this way. In the early late 1990s and early 2000s, Republicans regularly won more than 40 percent of the Latino vote in Arizona. In 2018, under the polarizing presidency of Trump, they’ll be lucky to muster a quarter of the vote.
The new POLITICO/AARP poll shows that among Arizona Hispanics only 26 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” approve of the job the president is doing; 72 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disapprove. The congressional and gubernatorial polls tell a similar tale, with only 22 percent of Latinos supporting the generic Republican candidate for Congress and the same percentage backing Ducey’s reelection bid.
Left: James Garcia, local playwright and activist, in a tent protesting the removal of migrant children from their parents. He spent the day writing scripts which are then performed by local actors and streamed live on the internet. Right: Anna Flores, a poet local to Phoenix, performing a poem she wrote about the idea that "Mexican men work so hard", and what that means to their families in their absence. | Patrick Cavan Brown for POLITICO Magazine
It wasn’t always that way. James Garcia, a 59-year-old Mexican-American playwright in Phoenix, traces the beginning of ethnic polarization to 2010. That year, Arizona passed SB 1070, touted as the toughest anti-illegal immigration law in the country. Its most famous clause mandated that local law enforcement check the immigration status of anyone they deemed to have a “reasonable” chance of being an illegal immigrant. (The law was never repealed, but subsequent court rulings have largely gutted it.)
Much like the current contretemps over the separation of children from their parents at the Mexican-U.S. border, 1070 was an issue that broke through into the broader national consciousness. Russell Pearce, the state senator who sponsored the measure, became a fixture on cable television. So did Joe Arpaio, then the sheriff of Maricopa County, who came up with ever-more flamboyant — and, his critics say, brutal — ways to enforce 1070. (Pearce ended up being recalled in 2011; Arpaio lost his reelection bid in 2016.)
The law not only drove Latinos away from the Republicans, but also spurred a new era of political activism. “1070 was definitely a watershed,” Garcia says. “It sparked not only grass-roots organizations but drew a ton of national attention from organizations who could provide funding.” The law quite literally hit home for Garcia. He recalls his daughter, then about 8 years old, asking, “Are we going to get arrested?”
As a result of 1070, immigration became “existential” for Arizona Latinos, Joseph Garcia of ASU’s Morrison Institute says. And the issue incites voter passions like nothing else—on both sides. Lupe Conchas, a 25-year-old Mexican-American Phoenix native and political activist, for example, traces his political awakening to 1070. And the gubernatorial candidate David Garcia points out that of three big liberal political movements in Arizona—the push for higher teacher salaries; gun control; and immigrant rights—only the latter has invited a palpable backlash. When the “March for Our Lives” gun control rally happened in Phoenix, “there were only 10 or 15 counter protesters,” he notes. Immigration rallies, on the other hand, always draw a sizable counterforce. Arizona’s politics are defined by backlash. Whereas Californians, also riven by identity politics, can chill out at the beach, in arid Arizona the tension just bakes, Danley says.
Top: At the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center local artist Roman Perez Reyes, 71, works in his studio making a giant Day of the Dead mask. Bottom: Ashley Diez manages Mexican Art Imports with her father, her aunts, and a growing family.
Democrats are hopeful that immigration will energize a population that traditionally hasn’t voted much in Arizona—older Latinos. Harry Garewal, a 66-year-old Mexican-American who served on the Phoenix school board, says that Latino political participation, particularly among people of his generation, has long been low because “mostly, people were too busy working.” Garewal rattles off a list of Latino candidates for various local offices in Arizona, noting, pointedly, that all are under 40. Another middle-aged Mexican-American, a well-connected politico here, exclaims, “My mother doesn’t even vote!” She reasons that she’ll be shackled with jury duty if she registers.
Generation Pickleball: Welcome to Florida’s Political Tomorrowland
By Michael Grunwald
In the previous installment of The Deciders, we looked at a retirement community that represents a key bloc in the swing state of Florida. Click here to read.
Activists and Democratic partisans are counting on young Latinos to spur their older counterparts to visit the voting booth—in many cases, for the first time. Take “Dreamers,” the young people who were brought to the country illegally as children. They, of course, can’t vote—they’re not citizens. But Joseph Garcia of the Morrison Institute says they’re very politically active, pleading with older Latinos in their community to register and then vote. The same goes for young Latinos who are American citizens—there’s a movement to “get your nana to vote,” Garcia says.
Montserrat Arredondo of One Arizona says her organization’s goal is to register 200,000 voters before Oct. 9, which is the deadline if you want to vote in the November elections. (One Arizona is nominally nonpartisan, but plainly politically liberal.) To reach that lofty target, her groups sets up shop at “the local grocery store, the park, Target.” In recent years, they’ve gone beyond the traditional set-up-a-booth approach, too: They’ve implemented techniques like text messaging to encourage Latinos to vote.
Arredondo says One Arizona gained “a lot of energy” after Donald Trump’s election, but that obstacles remain, particularly in getting middle-aged and older Latinos engaged. They recall the 2006 ballot measure, she says, which overwhelmingly passed, that made English the official language of the state. After that the older group became “turned off” to politics, according to Arredondo. The other big problem is simply taking the time. People tend to view voting as akin to “going to the DMV,” she says.
But there are signs more people are willing to make that trek to the DMV. At Mexican Art Imports, a Phoenix art store chock-a-block with treasures from south of the border, store manager Ashley Diez, a married, 32-year-old mother of two, told me, “My first time voting was 2016.” The Phoenix native, a fourth-generation Mexican-American, plans to vote this year as well—likely for Democrats.
Diez’s father, Fred Montez, typically votes for Democrats. (Interestingly, Diez’s mother votes Republican, but she doesn’t live in Arizona.) But like many older Latinos, he didn’t have much connection to his Mexican heritage growing up. He didn’t speak Spanish at home, for example—“speaking Spanish was frowned on by older generations”—Diez says, and only learned it when it became a necessity for his business.
Republicans agree that the Democratic electorate seems unusually fired up this year. “Arizona Democrats are experiencing a genuine enthusiasm that I have not seen previously in my 30 years of experience with such things in Arizona,” says Stan Barnes, a longtime conservative consultant here. But he cautions the Democrats that might not be enough: “Republicans have natural advantages in Arizona that give their candidates a meaningful head start,” he points out, starting with the fact that there are still more registered Republicans than Democrats here. Republican voters are older, too, and they tend to vote much more reliably than the young—another boost to the GOP’s prospects. Motivating older white Arizonans to vote is less of a challenge than it is for Latinos—in 2016, more than half of Arizona voters were over the age of 50, according to exit polls. Their turnout will be key to Republican hopes this year, too.
Top: Lupe Conchas, a local activist, stands in front of a sign near a center housing migrant children separated from their parents. Bottom left: Interracial couples are far from the exception in Phoenix. Bottom right: Young people relax during a first-Friday-of-the-month celebration. | Patrick Cavan Brown for POLITICO Magazine
Nonetheless, it’s because of new voters like Diez that Arizona Democrats are increasingly confident that they’ll be able not only to win the governorship, but snatch the Senate seat being vacated by Jeff Flake, who announced his retirement after his criticism of Trump sent his popularity plummeting among Republicans. Polls have presumptive Democratic nominee, Congresswoman Sinema of Maricopa County, ahead of all three Republicans running against her.
Congresswoman McSally from Tucson likely will get the Republican nod; she leads Kelli Ward, an osteopath, by about 10 points, according to the latest polling. Arpaio—yes, Joe Arpaio—is also supposedly running for Senate, but his is essentially a Potemkin campaign. (As recently as this spring, he was picking up the phone at his campaign headquarters.) Arpaio, now 86 years old, is polling a distant third.
A former Green Party member, Sinema is now running to the center, at least on economic issues. “She has cracked the code because she understands pure liberalism doesn’t work. She understands the value of job creation in lifting people out of poverty, not just government programs, so she has embraced the private sector’s ability to create jobs,” says Dave Richins, a Republican former city councilman in Mesa, in eastern Maricopa County.
Jason Rose, a well-known conservative political consultant in Maricopa County who says he has never voted for a Democrat on the national level, nonetheless tells me that even he would “consider” pulling the lever for Sinema. Noting her extraordinary background—so poor was her family that she lived three years in an abandoned gas station when she was growing up—Rose says that “Sinema is the most remarkable statewide candidate in Arizona since John McCain first ran for Senate in 1982.”
McSally, for her part, is a deeply respected Air Force veteran (she was the first woman to fly a combat mission for the Air Force) with a sterling reputation as a thoughtful presence in Congress. She has never revealed whether she voted for Trump, whose approval rating in the POLITICO/AARP poll of Arizona voters remains underwater at 44 percent.
A father and son holding fireworks at a Phoenix Fourth of July celebration. | Patrick Cavan Brown for POLITICO Magazine
As always in Arizona, it is immigration where the clearest lines have been drawn between the Democrat and the Republican. Sinema supports the DREAM Act and said in late June, as the child separation crisis was raging that the Trump administration’s policy had “traumatized innocent children.”
McSally, for her part, has embraced a hard line on immigration. Many Republicans—even conservative stalwarts like Texas Senator Ted Cruz—distanced themselves from Trump at the height of the child separation crisis. Not McSally. When asked about the issue, she said, “I try not to get swayed by what the emotions are or the pressure.” She’s blasted Sinema over sanctuary cities, and even quietly removed herself from legislation offering a path to citizenship to some illegal immigrants.
Indeed, Democrats appear to have handed Republicans a major opportunity with their recent calls to “abolish” Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the division of the Homeland Security Department charged with enforcing immigration laws at home. Many Democrats in Congress have backed the call, and in early July, David Garcia threw his weight behind the campaign as well.
“The ICE issue is the greatest political gift that could have been given to the Arizona Republican Party,” Rose says. Governor Ducey sure seemed to think so: Barely a day had passed since Garcia’s call before he had published an op-ed in USA Today charging that “Calls to abolish ICE are wrong and reckless.”
“The governor is going to go full throttle on the abolish ICE issue,” Rose predicts. McSally won’t be able to: Sinema has said she does not support abolishing ICE.
Rose also notes that the border is a familiar electoral trump card for Arizona Republicans, particularly among older voters. In 2006, Rose recalls, incumbent Republican Senator Jon Kyl faced a tough challenge from a Democratic candidate that he fended off by playing up his support from border enforcement. And “abolish ICE” is not only electoral gold for Republicans in Arizona: Courtney Alexander, communications director of the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Republicans, says her group’s nationwide polling finds that a mere 15 percent of the electorate backs the idea.
Still, the Democrats hope to note only take the Senate seat and the governorship but two House seats here as well. Rep. McSally, the Senate candidate, is retiring from the House, and the race for her seat, which was one held by Gabby Giffords, will be competitive. The Democrats are also targeting the Phoenix-area seat held by David Schweikert, who is contending not only with Trump’s unpopularity but also an ethics investigation into whether he received illegal campaign contributions. And then of course there is the Senate seat held by the terminally ill McCain. An early exit for McCain would set up another competitive race in 2020.
So Arizona does look increasingly like a battleground after years of wishful thinking on the left, and all it took was the surprise election of a certain Manhattan real estate mogul. But it’s going to take an unprecedented amount of Latino turnout for Democrats to win the big statewide races, and it’s likely to get ugly.
Garcia, the Democrat running for governor, expects Ducey to fight hard on immigration and identity issues, perhaps with ads tying him to MS-13, the violent Central American gang. But he’s betting that such an approach ultimately will hurt Ducey—particularly among older Latinos who worked so hard for decades to integrate into American society.
“I’m thinking of my dad,” he says. “It is going to backfire because I can think of my father saying, “Let me get this straight. You served, and they’re going to put this on you? What else do you need to do? ... They’re still going to tag you because you’re brown? I believe that his generation is going to push back. Remember, this was a generation that fought for a place. And they look at someone like me and are proud of the role they played in allowing someone like me to have a place.”
More from POLITICO Magazine
History Dept.
More on Magazine
POLITICO Magazine Links
POLITICO Home
Blogs, Columns & Cartoons
Morning Agriculture
Morning Cybersecurity
Morning Defense
Morning Education
Morning eHealth
Morning Money
Morning Score
Morning Shift
Morning Tax
Morning Tech
Morning Trade
Morning Transportation
Prescription Pulse
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758872
|
__label__wiki
| 0.856969
| 0.856969
|
Warsaw Summit Communiqué
Issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Warsaw 8-9 July 2016
Issued on 09 Jul. 2016
Last updated: 29 Mar. 2017 10:55
1. We, the Heads of State and Government of the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, have gathered in Warsaw at a defining moment for the security of our nations and populations. We are pleased to have been joined by Montenegro, which we have invited to become the 29th member of our Alliance.
2. NATO's essential mission is unchanged: to ensure that the Alliance remains an unparalleled community of freedom, peace, security, and shared values, including individual liberty, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. We are united in our commitment to the Washington Treaty, the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations (UN), and the vital transatlantic bond. To protect and defend our indivisible security and our common values, the Alliance must and will continue fulfilling effectively all three core tasks as set out in the Strategic Concept: collective defence, crisis management, and cooperative security. These tasks remain fully relevant, are complementary, and contribute to safeguarding the freedom and security of all Allies.
3. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to all the brave men and women from Allied and partner nations who have served or are serving in NATO-led missions and operations and in Allies' missions and operations that contribute to the security of the Alliance. We honour all those who have been wounded or paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving our common purposes and values.
4. Since our last Summit in Wales in 2014, we have taken a range of steps to reinforce our collective defence, enhance our capabilities, and strengthen our resilience. We have committed to providing our armed forces with sufficient and sustained resources. Today, faced with an increasingly diverse, unpredictable, and demanding security environment, we have taken further action to defend our territory and protect our populations, project stability beyond our borders, and continue the political, military, and institutional adaptation of our Alliance.
5. There is an arc of insecurity and instability along NATO's periphery and beyond. The Alliance faces a range of security challenges and threats that originate both from the east and from the south; from state and non-state actors; from military forces and from terrorist, cyber, or hybrid attacks. Russia's aggressive actions, including provocative military activities in the periphery of NATO territory and its demonstrated willingness to attain political goals by the threat and use of force, are a source of regional instability, fundamentally challenge the Alliance, have damaged Euro-Atlantic security, and threaten our long-standing goal of a Europe whole, free, and at peace. Our security is also deeply affected by the security situation in the Middle East and North Africa, which has deteriorated significantly across the whole region. Terrorism, particularly as perpetrated by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)/Da'esh, has risen to an unprecedented level of intensity, reaches into all of Allied territory, and now represents an immediate and direct threat to our nations and the international community. Instability in the Middle East and North Africa also contributes to the refugee and migrant crisis.
6. The changed and evolving security environment demands the ability to meet challenges and threats of any kind and from any direction. Based on solidarity, Alliance cohesion, and the indivisibility of our security, NATO remains the transatlantic framework for strong collective defence and the essential forum for security consultations and decisions among Allies. The greatest responsibility of the Alliance is to protect and defend our territory and our populations against attack, as set out in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. And so renewed emphasis has been placed on deterrence and collective defence. At the same time, NATO must retain its ability to respond to crises beyond its borders, and remain actively engaged in projecting stability and enhancing international security through working with partners and other international organisations.
7. Allies confront a wide range of terrorist challenges that pose a direct threat to the security of our populations, and to international stability and prosperity more broadly. In the past months, we have faced terrible terrorist attacks on our soils and in our cities. In particular, ISIL/Da'esh poses a grave threat to the wider Middle East and North Africa region and to our own nations. In response, all NATO Allies and many NATO partners are contributing to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL. Thanks to that determined action, the Global Coalition campaign has made considerable progress, building on our experience in working together and with partners in NATO-led operations, training, and exercises. ISIL/Da'esh is losing territory, control of strategic supply routes and resources, as well as its leaders, fighters, and followers. To ensure ISIL/Da'esh's lasting defeat, our nations remain committed to sustaining the momentum and work of the Global Coalition. In this context, it is important for the Iraqi authorities to continue to promote policies to ensure inclusivity at all levels of government, including the defence and security forces. We also recognise that an effective and enduring fight against ISIL/Da'esh in Syria will only be possible with a legitimate government in place, and stress the need for an immediate and genuine political transition in this country. We condemn ISIL/Da'esh's unrelenting barbaric attacks against all civilian populations, in particular the systematic and deliberate targeting of entire religious and ethnic communities. We also condemn in the strongest terms ISIL/Da'esh's violent and cowardly acts in Allied territory. If the security of any Ally is threatened, we will not hesitate to take all necessary steps to ensure our collective defence. In light of the dramatic humanitarian consequences of this crisis and its repercussions on regional stability and security, Allies are offering security and humanitarian assistance across the region.
8. The global threat of terrorism knows no border, nationality, or religion. We will continue to fight this threat in accordance with international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, with determination, and in solidarity with those Allies and partners that have been victims of terrorist attacks. We are ready to do more to counter this threat, including by helping our partners provide for their own security, defend against terrorism, and build resilience against attack. While we enhance our cooperation to prevent, mitigate, and respond effectively to terrorist attacks, including through our efforts to project stability, we are also mindful of the need to address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism.
9. For over two decades, NATO has striven to build a partnership with Russia, including through the mechanism of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC). Russia's recent activities and policies have reduced stability and security, increased unpredictability, and changed the security environment. While NATO stands by its international commitments, Russia has breached the values, principles and commitments which underpin the NATO-Russia relationship, as outlined in the 1997 Basic Document of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, and 2002 Rome Declaration, broken the trust at the core of our cooperation, and challenged the fundamental principles of the global and Euro-Atlantic security architecture. Decisions we have taken, including here at our Summit, are fully consistent with our international commitments, and therefore cannot be regarded by anyone as contradicting the NATO-Russia Founding Act.
10. Russia's destabilising actions and policies include: the ongoing illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea, which we do not and will not recognise and which we call on Russia to reverse; the violation of sovereign borders by force; the deliberate destabilisation of eastern Ukraine; large-scale snap exercises contrary to the spirit of the Vienna Document, and provocative military activities near NATO borders, including in the Baltic and Black Sea regions and the Eastern Mediterranean; its irresponsible and aggressive nuclear rhetoric, military concept and underlying posture; and its repeated violations of NATO Allied airspace. In addition, Russia's military intervention, significant military presence and support for the regime in Syria, and its use of its military presence in the Black Sea to project power into the Eastern Mediterranean have posed further risks and challenges for the security of Allies and others.
11. NATO has responded to this changed security environment by enhancing its deterrence and defence posture, including by a forward presence in the eastern part of the Alliance, and by suspending all practical civilian and military cooperation between NATO and Russia, while remaining open to political dialogue with Russia. We reaffirm these decisions.
12. As we agreed, talking to Russia allows us to communicate clearly our positions, with the crisis in and around Ukraine being, in current circumstances, the first topic on our agenda. We remain open to a periodic, focused and meaningful dialogue with a Russia willing to engage on the basis of reciprocity in the NRC, with a view to avoiding misunderstanding, miscalculation, and unintended escalation, and to increase transparency and predictability. We also have military lines of communication. We have agreed to continue to use all these channels to address the critical issues we face, and call on Russia to make good use of all lines of communication.
13. Reciprocal military transparency and risk reduction has the potential to improve stability and security in the Euro-Atlantic area. In this context, we call on Russia to constructively engage in the ongoing discussions in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to modernise the Vienna Document, to help close the loopholes that reduce military transparency.
14. The Alliance does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia. But we cannot and will not compromise on the principles on which our Alliance and security in Europe and North America rest. NATO will continue to be transparent, predictable and resolute.
15. As we agreed at our Wales Summit, we will continue our strategic discussion on Euro-Atlantic security and our approach to Russia. As we also agreed at Wales, we continue to believe that a partnership between NATO and Russia, based on respect for international law and commitments, including as reflected in the NATO-Russia Founding Act and Rome Declaration, would be of strategic value. We regret that despite repeated calls by Allies and the international community since 2014 for Russia to change course, the conditions for that relationship do not currently exist. The nature of the Alliance's relations with Russia and aspirations for partnership will be contingent on a clear, constructive change in Russia's actions that demonstrates compliance with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities. Until then, we cannot return to "business as usual".
16. An independent, sovereign, and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security. We stand firm in our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and Ukraine's right to decide its own future and foreign policy course free from outside interference, as set out in the Helsinki Final Act. We strongly condemn Russia's aggressive actions against Ukraine and its continued violation of international law and its international obligations, which have serious implications for the stability and security of the entire Euro-Atlantic area.
17. Russia bears full responsibility for the serious deterioration of the human rights situation on the Crimean peninsula, in particular the discrimination against the Crimean Tatars and other members of local communities. We demand that the Russian de facto authorities take the necessary measures to ensure the safety, rights, and freedoms of everyone living on the peninsula. International monitoring structures must be allowed to carry out their essential work in view of the protection of human rights. We condemn Russia's ongoing and wide-ranging military build-up in Crimea, and are concerned by Russia's efforts and stated plans for further military build-up in the Black Sea region.
18. We are committed to a peaceful solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has claimed nearly 10 000 lives, and reintegration of the areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by the Russian-backed militants. This will require full implementation of the Minsk Agreements based on a comprehensive ceasefire and an internationally verified withdrawal of weapons. We urge all signatories to fully comply with the commitments they signed up to.
19. Russia, as a signatory to the Minsk Agreements, bears significant responsibility in this regard. Despite its declared commitment to the Minsk Agreements, Russia continues its deliberate destabilisation of eastern Ukraine, in violation of international law. Russia continues to provide weapons, equipment, and personnel, as well as financial and other assistance to militant groups, and to intervene militarily in the conflict. We are extremely concerned by the destabilisation and deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine. We call on Russia to desist from aggressive actions and to use its considerable influence over the militants to meet their commitments in full, especially to allow for the observation of the ceasefire regime, implementation of confidence-building measures, and disarmament.
20. We fully support the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM), which has a key role in helping to de-escalate the conflict and stress the importance of full and unhindered access by the OSCE monitors. Impediments to the SMM's work, which continue to occur overwhelmingly in areas under the control of the Russian-backed militants, represent a violation of the Minsk Agreements and seriously hamper the monitoring function of the SMM. We call on those responsible to stop any attacks against OSCE observers, and for the perpetrators to be held accountable. We also commend the work of the EU Advisory Mission to assist Ukraine in the field of civilian security sector reform, including police and the rule of law.
21. We welcome the efforts of the Normandy format and the Trilateral Contact Group to advance the implementation of the Minsk Agreements to open the way to the full reintegration of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including passing a local election law for eastern Ukraine; carrying out local elections, when the security situation allows, in accordance with Ukrainian law and relevant OSCE standards and with a strong presence of international observers; implementation of special status and amnesty; withdrawal of foreign forces; and restoration of Ukraine's control over its side of the international border. We condemn the militants' use of residential areas to launch heavy weapons. We urge all parties to take concrete steps to reduce civilian casualties and to adhere strictly to the requirements of international humanitarian law.
22. We remain committed to a continued coherent international approach, in particular between NATO and the European Union (EU). NATO's response is in support of this overall effort, which includes sanctions as decided by the EU, the G7 and others, to promote a peaceful solution to the conflict and to address Russia's actions.
23. We face evolving challenges in the Baltic and Black Sea regions, the North Atlantic, as well as in the Mediterranean, which are of strategic importance to the Alliance and to our partners. Russia continues to strengthen its military posture, increase its military activities, deploy new high-end capabilities, and challenge regional security. These developments have resulted in increased unpredictability that could be mitigated through reciprocal transparency and risk reduction measures. Recognising the indivisibility of Allied security, we will continue to closely monitor the situation in these regions. Our response will be tailored to specific circumstances in each region. We will also work with interested partners to enhance our situational awareness and to develop common approaches to evolving challenges.
In the Baltic Sea region, where the security situation has deteriorated since 2014, the Alliance has developed mutually beneficial partnership relations with Finland and Sweden on a broad range of issues. We appreciate the significant contributions of Finland and Sweden to NATO-led operations. We are dedicated to the continuous process of further strengthening our cooperation with these enhanced opportunities partners, including through regular political consultations, shared situational awareness, and joint exercises, in order to respond to common challenges in a timely and effective manner.
In the Black Sea region, the security situation has also deteriorated in recent years. We will continue to address the implications for NATO of developments in the region and take them into account in the Alliance's approaches and policies. We will continue to support, as appropriate, regional efforts by the Black Sea littoral states aimed at ensuring security and stability. We will also strengthen our dialogue and cooperation with Georgia and Ukraine in this regard.
In the North Atlantic, as elsewhere, the Alliance will be ready to deter and defend against any potential threats, including against sea lines of communication and maritime approaches of NATO territory. In this context, we will further strengthen our maritime posture and comprehensive situational awareness.
24. We continue to support the right of all our partners to make independent and sovereign choices on foreign and security policy, free from external pressure and coercion. We remain committed in our support for the territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the Republic of Moldova. In this context, we continue to support efforts towards a peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the South Caucasus, as well as in the Republic of Moldova, based upon these principles and the norms of international law, the UN Charter, and the Helsinki Final Act. We urge all parties to engage constructively and with reinforced political will in peaceful conflict resolution, within the established negotiation frameworks.
25. The continuing crises and instability across the Middle East and North Africa region, in particular in Syria, Iraq and Libya, as well as the threat of terrorism and violent extremism across the region and beyond, demonstrate that the security of the region has direct implications for the security of NATO. In addition to the spill-over of conflict from failing and failed states, terrorism and violent extremism, we face other common transnational security threats and challenges, including trafficking of small arms and light weapons, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery means, and threats against maritime security and energy supply. Criminal trafficking gangs have exploited this situation at the expense of displaced people. Peace and stability in this region are essential for the Alliance. Therefore, we emphasise the need to do more to achieve lasting calm and an end to violence.
26. We are adapting our defence and deterrence posture to respond to threats and challenges, including from the south. At the same time, we are continuing to draw on our cooperative security network to enhance political dialogue, to foster constructive relationships in the region, and to increase our support for partners through practical cooperation, as well as defence capacity building and crisis management. We are also exploring options for possible NATO contributions to international efforts to bring stability in the region, building on decisions taken by our Foreign Ministers in May.
27. We remain concerned and vigilant towards the ongoing crisis in Syria, which has direct ramifications for regional stability and for the security of NATO's south-eastern border. The dynamics of this conflict – including terrorism and violent extremism in all their forms and manifestations, the humanitarian tragedy it has caused, and the massive flow of migrants – present challenges and threats for international stability, security, and prosperity. We reiterate our full commitment and determination to defend NATO territory and borders against any threats and address challenges emanating from the Syrian conflict. We condemn all kinds of indiscriminate violence against civilians and civilian infrastructure. We also condemn in the strongest terms the unabated and indiscriminate campaign of bombardment, including the use of incendiary weapons, and violence by the Assad regime and its supporters deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. We also condemn indiscriminate violence against civilians, in particular by ISIL/Da'esh, the Al Nusra Front, and other groups designated as terrorist organisations by the UN.
28. We call on the Syrian regime to fully comply with the provisions of all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs), and to immediately take steps for a genuine political transition in accordance with UNSCR 2254 and the 30 June 2012 Geneva Communiqué. We underline that stability and security cannot be reinstated in Syria without a genuine political transition to a new, representative leadership, based on an inclusive and Syrian-led political process. In this vein, we support the political process under the auspices of the UN and the efforts of the International Syria Support Group to assist the political process. We call for full implementation of the humanitarian provisions of the UNSCR 2254 and the Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) agreement. We strongly condemn the violations of the CoH, in particular by the regime and its supporters. These violations constitute a serious hindrance for the political process. We call upon the parties to the CoH to remain committed to the agreement and its full implementation.
29. We stand in support of Iraq in its efforts to build institutions that could restore stability and security in the country. We commend the success to date of the Iraqi security forces in pushing back and reclaiming key territories from ISIL/Da'esh. The participation of all Iraqis through national reconciliation and inclusive governance is crucial, and we therefore encourage the Iraqi authorities to continue to implement policies to bridge ethnic, sectarian, and religious divisions, and ensure inclusive representation in all governmental institutions, and to develop the country's security forces.
30. We welcome the political developments that have taken place in Libya since December 2015: we support the UN and Libyan-led efforts, which have led to the Libyan political agreement, and recognise the Government of National Accord as the sole legitimate government of Libya. We encourage full implementation of the political agreement, and we express support to efforts by the Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidency Council towards an inclusive political process aimed at promoting national reconciliation in order to establish functioning state structures. These efforts mark an important step to strengthen Libya's democratic transition. The unification of all Libyan forces under the authority of the Presidency Council will be key for Libya's ability to fight terrorism.
31. Terrorist acts and the trafficking of arms, drugs, and human beings across the Sahel-Sahara region continue to threaten regional and our own security. We welcome the efforts of the UN and the EU, and underscore the importance of a strong commitment by the international community to address the complex security and political challenges in this region. In Mali, we welcome the endorsement of the peace agreement, the steps taken in its implementation, and the support of the international community to the stabilisation of the country. We also welcome the robust military commitment of Allies in the Sahel-Sahara region, in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries in the region, and of the security of the Alliance. We commend our African partners' action to deepen regional cooperation to confront security issues in the Sahel.
32. The Alliance military posture is defensive in nature. Deterrence and defence are at the heart of the Alliance's mission and purpose – as the fundamental means of preventing conflict, protecting Allied territories and populations, and maintaining the Alliance's freedom of decision and action at any time, as well as upholding the principles and values enshrined in the North Atlantic Treaty. We will ensure that NATO has the full range of capabilities necessary to deter and defend against potential adversaries and the full spectrum of threats that could confront the Alliance from any direction.
33. All of the actions that we have taken to strengthen our deterrence and defence posture require appropriate investment in capabilities and the development of highly-capable and deployable forces. Our overall security and defence depend both on how much we spend and how we spend it. Increased investments should be directed towards meeting our capability priorities. It is essential that Allies display the political will to provide required capabilities and deploy forces when they are needed. Allies also need to ensure forces are deployable, sustainable, and interoperable. The Defence Investment Pledge we agreed at the Wales Summit is an important step in this direction and today we reaffirm its importance. Through this Pledge we agreed to reverse the trend of declining defence budgets, to make the most effective use of our funds, and to further a more balanced sharing of the costs and responsibilities.
34. Since Wales, we have turned a corner. Collectively, Allies' defence expenditures have increased in 2016 for the first time since 2009. In just two years, a majority of Allies have halted or reversed declines in defence spending in real terms. Today, five Allies meet the NATO guideline to spend a minimum of 2% of their Gross Domestic Product on defence. Ten Allies meet the NATO guideline to spend more than 20% of their defence budgets on major equipment, including related Research & Development. Output is also important, in particular deployability and sustainability of Allied forces. Allies continue to make important contributions to NATO operations, missions, and activities, as well as the NATO Command and Force Structures. Allies invest considerable resources in preparing their forces, capabilities, and infrastructure for Alliance activities and Allies' operations that contribute to our collective security. There is still much work to be done. Efforts to achieve a more balanced sharing of the costs and responsibilities continue. Defence Ministers will continue to review progress annually.
35. In Wales, we approved our Readiness Action Plan (RAP) to respond swiftly to the fundamental changes in the security environment on NATO's borders and further afield that are of concern to Allies. It responds to the challenges posed by Russia and their strategic implications. It also responds to the risks and threats emanating from our southern neighbourhood, the Middle East and North Africa. Less than two years later, it has already contributed to a substantial adaptation of NATO's military posture. The RAP has significantly enhanced our readiness, responsiveness, and flexibility required to deal with the changed security environment. We welcome the Plan's implementation.
36. The Readiness Action Plan Assurance Measures have provided continuous military presence and meaningful activity in the eastern part of the Alliance, on a rotational basis, for the past two years. These defensive measures demonstrate our collective solidarity and resolve to protect all Allies. Assurance Measures provide the fundamental baseline requirement for assurance and deterrence. In addition, tailored assurance measures for Turkey to respond to the growing security challenges from the south contribute to the security of the Alliance as a whole, and will be fully implemented. Assurance Measures are flexible and scalable in response to the evolving security situation, and will be kept under annual review by the Council.
37. Through the longer term Adaptation Measures of the Readiness Action Plan, we have:
a. Enhanced the NATO Response Force (NRF), increasing its readiness and substantially enlarging its size, making it a more capable and flexible joint force comprised of a division-size land element with air, maritime, and special operations forces components.
b. Created a new Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), able to begin deployment within two to three days. It has been certified, exercised at short notice, and on stand-by since 2015. Seven VJTF framework nations1 have been identified and a VJTF rotation plan established through 2022.
c. Established eight multinational NATO Force Integration Units on the territory of Allies in the eastern part of the Alliance to assist in training of Alliance forces and in the reception of reinforcements when needed.
d. Taken the necessary steps to increase NATO's ability to reinforce through new infrastructure projects and increased flexibility in the rapid movement of forces across national territory.
e. As part of the NATO Force Structure, made the Headquarters of a Multinational Corps Northeast in Poland fully operational, and established the Headquarters of a Multinational Division Southeast in Romania to take command of the NATO Force Integration Units and to provide flexible command and control options in their regions.
f. Decided to enhance NATO Standing Naval Forces with additional capabilities.
g. Delivered a more ambitious NATO exercise programme. National exercises are an important part of this effort. In 2015 alone, NATO and Allies conducted 300 exercises, including NATO's largest and most complex exercise in over a decade – Trident Juncture 2015 in Italy, Portugal, and Spain.
h. Enhanced advance planning and enabled accelerated decision-making to ensure both military and political responsiveness.
i. Agreed a strategy on NATO's role in Countering Hybrid Warfare, which is being implemented in coordination with the EU.
j .Established a framework for NATO's adaptation in response to growing challenges and threats from the south.
These Adaptation Measures will remain a major driver of NATO's military adaptation and need to be sustained over time.
38. In light of the changed and evolving security environment, further adaptation is needed. Therefore, we have decided to further strengthen the Alliance's deterrence and defence posture. Building on the success of the Readiness Action Plan, today we are adopting a broad approach to deterrence and defence which draws upon all of the tools at NATO's disposal. This will provide the Alliance with a range of options to be able to respond to any threats from wherever they arise. Given the different nature, types and origins of threats, we will tailor our response to specific circumstances. Taken together, the measures we are approving at this Summit will enhance the security of all Allies and ensure protection of Alliance territory, populations, airspace and sealines of communication, including across the Atlantic, against all threats from wherever they arise. In this context, our response is united and adequate to the new security environment, demonstrating our ability and willingness to defend one another. As part of the Alliance posture, these measures are defensive in nature, proportionate, consistent with our international commitments and demonstrate our respect for the rules-based European security architecture.
39. As a means to prevent conflict and war, credible deterrence and defence is essential. At the same time, as part of the Alliance's overall approach to providing security for NATO populations and territory, deterrence has to be complemented by meaningful dialogue and engagement with Russia, to seek reciprocal transparency and risk reduction. Those efforts will not come at the expense of ensuring NATO's credible deterrence and defence.
40. We have decided to establish an enhanced forward presence in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to unambiguously demonstrate, as part of our overall posture, Allies' solidarity, determination, and ability to act by triggering an immediate Allied response to any aggression. Beginning in early 2017, enhanced forward presence will comprise multinational forces provided by framework nations and other contributing Allies on a voluntary, sustainable, and rotational basis. They will be based on four battalion-sized battlegroups that can operate in concert with national forces, present at all times in these countries, underpinned by a viable reinforcement strategy. We welcome the offers of Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States to serve as framework nations for the robust multinational presence in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland respectively. We have also accepted the Polish offer to provide an existing division headquarters as a basis for the establishment of a multinational division headquarters, pending agreement on the modalities by the Council. We recognise the integral role host nations will play in enhanced forward presence. We further welcome additional contributions from across the Alliance to support this important endeavour. We recognise the significant resource commitments of Allies.
41. We will also develop tailored forward presence in the southeast part of the Alliance territory. Appropriate measures, tailored to the Black Sea region and including the Romanian initiative to establish a multinational framework brigade to help improve integrated training of Allied units under Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast, will contribute to the Alliance's strengthened deterrence and defence posture, situational awareness, and peacetime demonstration of NATO's intent to operate without constraint. It will also provide a strong signal of support to regional security. Options for a strengthened NATO air and maritime presence will be assessed.
42. As part of the Readiness Action Plan and as a contribution to our deterrence and defence posture, we have established a framework for NATO's adaptation in response to growing challenges and threats emanating from the south. The framework focusses on better regional understanding and situational awareness, the ability to anticipate and respond to crises emanating from the south, improved capabilities for expeditionary operations, and enhancing NATO's ability to project stability through regional partnerships and capacity building efforts. We will proceed with the implementation of this framework.
43. As part of a broader approach and the concerted efforts of the international community, we also need to deter and defend against non-state actors that have state-like aspirations, capabilities, and resources, and that threaten or affect the security of Allied populations and the integrity of Allied territory. We have agreed a series of measures to respond to this threat, including ensuring that it is appropriately monitored and assessed and that relevant plans will be updated as necessary.
44. We will not accept to be constrained by any potential adversary as regards the freedom of movement of Allied forces by land, air, or sea to and within any part of Alliance territory. Alliance capabilities, training, and exercises contribute to our ability to operate freely. We remain ready to rapidly reinforce any Ally that comes under threat, when needed, to counter all contingencies.
45. We will ensure that NATO has the full range of capabilities necessary to fulfil the whole range of Alliance missions, including to deter and defend against potential adversaries, and the full spectrum of threats that could confront the Alliance from any direction. In line with our defence planning priorities, we are committed to delivering heavier and more high-end forces and capabilities, as well as more forces at higher readiness. The primary responsibility for achieving this remains with Allies, individually. Multinational approaches are valuable in meeting these vital needs.
46. We will ensure that the NATO Command Structure remains robust and agile, and able to undertake all elements of effective command and control for simultaneous challenges across the full spectrum of missions. In light of the changed and evolving security environment and the increased overall requirements, we will conduct a functional assessment of the current structure.
47. We will further improve our strategic anticipation by enhancing our situational awareness, particularly in the east and south and in the North Atlantic. Our ability to understand, track and, ultimately, anticipate, the actions of potential adversaries through Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and comprehensive intelligence arrangements is increasingly important. These are essential to enable timely and informed political and military decisions. We have established the capabilities necessary to ensure our responsiveness is commensurate with our highest readiness forces.
48. The Alliance maritime posture supports the four roles consisting of collective defence and deterrence, crisis management, cooperative security, and maritime security, and thus also contributes to projecting stability. The Standing Naval Forces are a core maritime capability of the Alliance and are the centrepiece of NATO's maritime posture. They are being enhanced and will be aligned with NATO's enhanced NATO Response Force to provide NATO's highest readiness maritime forces. We will continue to reinforce our maritime posture by exploiting the full potential of the Alliance's overall maritime power. Work is under way on the operationalisation of the Alliance Maritime Strategy, as well as on the future of NATO's maritime operations, which are key to NATO's maritime posture. Allies are also considering complementary maritime governance initiatives to contribute to this endeavour.
49. Interoperability of our armed forces is fundamental to our success and an important added value of our Alliance. Through training and exercises, the development of NATO standards and common technical solutions, the NATO Response Force, Assurance Measures, forward presence in the eastern part of the Alliance, and joint operations in Afghanistan, Kosovo and the Mediterranean, all Allies are also reinforcing their interoperability within NATO as well as with partners, as appropriate. This enables our armed forces to work together successfully, be it in NATO operations or in national, coalition, EU or UN formats, which contributes to our common security.
50. We welcome the many concrete multinational and national initiatives, carried out independently or under the auspices of Smart Defence or the Framework Nations Concept, which strengthen the Alliance. They contribute directly to capability development and to our strengthened deterrence and defence posture. We will ensure overall coherence and unity of effort across all elements of Allied capability development and military presence, including between forward presence and Allies' multinational and national military activities and initiatives.
51. The greatest responsibility of the Alliance is to protect and defend our territory and our populations against attack, as set out in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. No one should doubt NATO's resolve if the security of any of its members were to be threatened. NATO will maintain the full range of capabilities necessary to deter and defend against any threat to the safety and security of our populations, wherever it should arise.
52. As a means to prevent conflict and war, credible deterrence and defence is essential. Therefore, deterrence and defence, based on an appropriate mix of nuclear, conventional, and missile defence capabilities, remains a core element of our overall strategy. A robust deterrence and defence posture strengthens Alliance cohesion, including the transatlantic link, through an equitable and sustainable distribution of roles, responsibilities, and burdens. NATO must continue to adapt its strategy in line with trends in the security environment – including with respect to capabilities and other measures required – to ensure that NATO's overall deterrence and defence posture is capable of addressing potential adversaries' doctrine and capabilities, and that it remains credible, flexible, resilient, and adaptable.
53. Allies' goal is to bolster deterrence as a core element of our collective defence and to contribute to the indivisible security of the Alliance. As long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance. The strategic forces of the Alliance, particularly those of the United States, are the supreme guarantee of the security of the Allies. The independent strategic nuclear forces of the United Kingdom and France have a deterrent role of their own and contribute to the overall security of the Alliance. These Allies' separate centres of decision-making contribute to deterrence by complicating the calculations of potential adversaries. NATO's nuclear deterrence posture also relies, in part, on United States' nuclear weapons forward-deployed in Europe and on capabilities and infrastructure provided by Allies concerned. These Allies will ensure that all components of NATO's nuclear deterrent remain safe, secure, and effective. That requires sustained leadership focus and institutional excellence for the nuclear deterrence mission and planning guidance aligned with 21st century requirements. The Alliance will ensure the broadest possible participation of Allies concerned in their agreed nuclear burden-sharing arrangements.
54. The fundamental purpose of NATO's nuclear capability is to preserve peace, prevent coercion, and deter aggression. Nuclear weapons are unique. Any employment of nuclear weapons against NATO would fundamentally alter the nature of a conflict. The circumstances in which NATO might have to use nuclear weapons are extremely remote. If the fundamental security of any of its members were to be threatened however, NATO has the capabilities and resolve to impose costs on an adversary that would be unacceptable and far outweigh the benefits that an adversary could hope to achieve.
55. Missile defence can complement the role of nuclear weapons in deterrence; it cannot substitute for them. The capability is purely defensive. The threat to NATO populations, territory, and forces posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles continues to increase, and missile defence forms part of a broader response to counter it.
56. At our Summit in Lisbon in 2010, we decided to develop a NATO Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) capability to pursue our core task of collective defence. The aim of this capability is to provide full coverage and protection for all NATO European populations, territory, and forces against the increasing threats posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles, based on the principles of indivisibility of Allies' security and NATO solidarity, equitable sharing of risks and burdens, as well as reasonable challenge, taking into account the level of threat, affordability, and technical feasibility, and in accordance with the latest common threat assessments agreed by the Alliance. Should international efforts reduce the threats posed by ballistic missile proliferation, NATO missile defence can and will adapt accordingly.
57. At our Summit in Chicago in 2012, we declared the achievement of an Interim NATO BMD Capability as an operationally significant first step. At the Wales Summit, we welcomed the forward deployment of BMD-capable Aegis ships to Rota, Spain that could be made available to NATO. Today a new milestone in the development of NATO BMD has been reached and we are pleased to declare the achievement of the NATO BMD Initial Operational Capability. This is a significant step toward the aim of NATO BMD that offers a stronger capability to defend our populations, territory, and forces across southern NATO Europe against a potential ballistic missile attack. The Aegis Ashore site in Deveselu, Romania represents a significant portion of this increase in capability, and the command and control (C2) of the Aegis Ashore site is being transferred to NATO. We also welcome that Turkey hosts a forward-based early-warning BMD radar at Kürecik and that Poland will be hosting an Aegis Ashore site at the Redzikowo military base. We are also pleased that additional voluntary national contributions have been offered by Allies, and we encourage further voluntary contributions, all of which will add robustness to the capability.
58. As with all of NATO's operations, full political control by Allies is essential and will be ensured over the BMD capability. We will continue to deepen political oversight of NATO BMD as the capability develops. It is essential that the functionality of the Alliance C2 network for BMD matches that development. In this context, the next necessary major milestone for NATO BMD capability will be the completion of the next core element of the NATO BMD C2. Overall completion of the NATO BMD C2 will then provide the additional functionalities required for the BMD system to reach maturity.
59. We will develop further our engagement with third states, on a case-by-case basis, to enhance transparency and confidence and to increase ballistic missile defence effectiveness. This could involve information exchange, consultation, and cooperation. NATO missile defence is not directed against Russia and will not undermine Russia's strategic deterrence capabilities. NATO missile defence is intended to defend against potential threats emanating from outside the Euro-Atlantic area. We have explained to Russia many times that the BMD system is not capable against Russia's strategic nuclear deterrent and there is no intention to redesign this system to have such a capability in the future. Hence, Russian statements threatening to target Allies because of NATO BMD are unacceptable and counterproductive. Should Russia be ready to discuss BMD with NATO, and subject to Alliance agreement, NATO remains open to discussion.
60. NATO BMD is based on voluntary national contributions, including nationally funded interceptors and sensors, hosting arrangements, and on the expansion of the BMD capability. The command and control systems for NATO BMD are the only portion for NATO BMD that is eligible for common funding.
61. We also task the Council to regularly review the implementation of the NATO BMD capability, including before the Foreign and Defence Ministers' meetings, and prepare a comprehensive report on progress and issues to be addressed for its future development by our next Summit.
62. Arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation continue to play an important role in the achievement of the Alliance's security objectives. Both the success and failure of these efforts can have a direct impact on the threat environment of NATO. In this context, it is of paramount importance that disarmament and non-proliferation commitments under existing treaties are honoured, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, crucial to Euro-Atlantic security. Allies therefore continue to call on Russia to preserve the viability of the INF Treaty through ensuring full and verifiable compliance.
63. We remain deeply concerned by the proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD), as well as their means of delivery, by states and non-state actors, which continues to present a threat to our populations, territory, and forces. Addressing serious proliferation challenges remains an urgent international priority.
64. Allies emphasise their strong commitment to full implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The Alliance reaffirms its resolve to seek a safer world for all and to create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons in full accordance with all provisions of the NPT, including Article VI, in a step-by-step and verifiable way that promotes international stability, and is based on the principle of undiminished security for all. Allies reiterate their commitment to progress towards the goals and objectives of the NPT in its mutually reinforcing three pillars: nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
65. After the end of the Cold War, NATO dramatically reduced the number of nuclear weapons stationed in Europe and its reliance on nuclear weapons in NATO strategy. We remain committed to contribute to creating the conditions for further reductions in the future on the basis of reciprocity, recognising that progress on arms control and disarmament must take into account the prevailing international security environment. We regret that the conditions for achieving disarmament are not favourable today.
66. We call on all states to commit to combatting effectively the proliferation of WMD through the universalisation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, negotiation of the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, and through the Proliferation Security Initiative. Continued use of chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria, which we condemn, further underscores the evolving and increasing WMD threat to the Alliance.
67. We are deeply concerned about the persistent provocative behaviour by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and we strongly condemn the DPRK's nuclear test of 6 January 2016, the 7 February 2016 launch using ballistic missile technologies, and multiple tests of ballistic missiles since then. We urge rigorous implementation of UNSCR 2270 and other relevant Security Council resolutions. We call on Pyongyang to immediately cease and abandon all its existing nuclear and ballistic missile activities in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner and re-engage in international talks.
68. We commend the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between the E3/EU+3 and Iran, signed on 14 July 2015, and its ongoing implementation since 16 January 2016. We also underscore the importance for Iran to fully cooperate in a timely manner with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in implementation of the JCPOA. However, we remain seriously concerned by the development of Iran's ballistic missile programme and continuing missile tests that are inconsistent with UNSCR 2231.
69. We remain committed to conventional arms control as a key element of Euro-Atlantic security. Full implementation and compliance with these commitments is essential to rebuild trust and confidence in the Euro-Atlantic region. Russia's unilateral military activity in and around Ukraine continues to undermine peace, security, and stability across the region, and its selective implementation of the Vienna Document and Open Skies Treaty and long-standing non-implementation of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty have eroded the positive contributions of these arms control instruments. Allies call on Russia to fully adhere to its commitments. Allies are determined to preserve, strengthen, and modernise conventional arms control in Europe, based on key principles and commitments, including reciprocity, transparency, and host nation consent. We underscore the importance of modernising the Vienna Document to ensure its continued relevance in the evolving security environment, including through its substantive update in 2016.
70. Cyber attacks present a clear challenge to the security of the Alliance and could be as harmful to modern societies as a conventional attack. We agreed in Wales that cyber defence is part of NATO's core task of collective defence. Now, in Warsaw, we reaffirm NATO's defensive mandate, and recognise cyberspace as a domain of operations in which NATO must defend itself as effectively as it does in the air, on land, and at sea. This will improve NATO's ability to protect and conduct operations across these domains and maintain our freedom of action and decision, in all circumstances. It will support NATO's broader deterrence and defence: cyber defence will continue to be integrated into operational planning and Alliance operations and missions, and we will work together to contribute to their success. Furthermore, it will ensure more effective organisation of NATO's cyber defence and better management of resources, skills, and capabilities. This forms part of NATO's long term adaptation. We continue to implement NATO's Enhanced Policy on Cyber Defence and strengthen NATO's cyber defence capabilities, benefiting from the latest cutting edge technologies. We reaffirm our commitment to act in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter, international humanitarian law, and human rights law, as applicable. We will continue to follow the principle of restraint and support maintaining international peace, security, and stability in cyberspace. We welcome the work on voluntary international norms of responsible state behaviour and confidence-building measures regarding cyberspace.
71. We will ensure that Allies are equipped for, and meet requirements tailored to, the 21st century. Today, through our Cyber Defence Pledge, we have committed to enhance the cyber defences of our national networks and infrastructures, as a matter of priority. Each Ally will honour its responsibility to improve its resilience and ability to respond quickly and effectively to cyber attacks, including in hybrid contexts. Together with the continuous adaptation of NATO's cyber defence capabilities, this will reinforce the Alliance's cyber defence. We are expanding the capabilities and scope of the NATO Cyber Range, where Allies can build skills, enhance expertise, and exchange best practices. We remain committed to close bilateral and multilateral cyber defence cooperation, including on information sharing and situational awareness, education, training, and exercises. Strong partnerships play a key role in effectively addressing cyber challenges. We will continue to deepen cooperation with the EU, as agreed, including through the on-going implementation of the Technical Arrangement that contributes to better prevention and response to cyber attacks. We will further enhance our partnerships with other international organisations and partner nations, as well as with industry and academia through the NATO Industry Cyber Partnership.
72. We have taken steps to ensure our ability to effectively address the challenges posed by hybrid warfare, where a broad, complex, and adaptive combination of conventional and non-conventional means, and overt and covert military, paramilitary, and civilian measures, are employed in a highly integrated design by state and non-state actors to achieve their objectives. Responding to this challenge, we have adopted a strategy and actionable implementation plans on NATO's role in countering hybrid warfare. The primary responsibility to respond to hybrid threats or attacks rests with the targeted nation. NATO is prepared to assist an Ally at any stage of a hybrid campaign. The Alliance and Allies will be prepared to counter hybrid warfare as part of collective defence. The Council could decide to invoke Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. The Alliance is committed to effective cooperation and coordination with partners and relevant international organisations, in particular the EU, as agreed, in efforts to counter hybrid warfare.
73. Today we have made a commitment to continue to enhance our resilience and to maintain and further develop our individual and collective capacity to resist any form of armed attack. Civil preparedness is a central pillar of Allies' resilience and a critical enabler for Alliance collective defence. While this remains a national responsibility, NATO can support Allies in assessing and, upon request, enhancing their civil preparedness. We will improve civil preparedness by achieving the NATO Baseline Requirements for National Resilience, which focus on continuity of government, continuity of essential services, security of critical civilian infrastructure, and support to military forces with civilian means. In this context, we welcome the Resilience Guidelines approved by Defence Ministers in June 2016.
74. We will ensure that NATO continues to be both strategically and operationally prepared with policies, plans, and capabilities to counter a wide range of state and non-state Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threats, based on NATO's Comprehensive Strategic-Level Policy for Preventing the Proliferation of WMD and Defending Against CBRN Threats that we endorsed in 2009, and look forward to a report on its continued implementation at our next Summit.
75. At Chicago in 2012, we launched the Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR) initiative. JISR is a high-value, complex, and wide-reaching capability area. Following up on our commitments, we welcome the February 2016 declaration of the initial operational JISR capability, centred upon enhancing the situational awareness of the NATO Response Force through heightened proficiency in collecting and exchanging information and intelligence. Allies also intend to work together to promote intelligence-sharing, as appropriate, by using NATO platforms and networks and optimising use of multilateral platforms and networks to enhance overall JISR efforts, including but not limited to the JISR Smart Defence project.
76. Moving forward, we will sustain these achievements and support future NATO Response Force rotations with the necessary JISR capabilities. We will also expand the scope of our JISR initiative, making the most effective use of Allies' complementary JISR contributions to enhance both strategic anticipation and awareness. It is within this context that we also note the significant progress made on NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS). This capability will become operational in 2017 as planned, and will be complemented in some cases by Allies' contributions in kind.
77. NATO's Airborne Early Warning and Control Force (AWACS) continues to prove itself instrumental not only to monitoring our airspace, but also as a critical part of NATO's command and control capabilities. NATO AWACS will continue to be modernised and extended in service until 2035. By 2035, the Alliance needs to have a follow-on capability to the E-3 AWACS. Based on high-level military requirements, we have decided to collectively start the process of defining options for future NATO surveillance and control capabilities.
78. Multinational and national initiatives provide an important contribution to capability development and our strengthened posture. NATO will continue to work closely with the EU, as agreed, to ensure that our Smart Defence and the EU's Pooling and Sharing initiatives are complementary and mutually reinforcing, and to support capability development and interoperability with a view to avoiding unnecessary duplication and maximizing cost-effectiveness. At the Wales Summit, six Allies launched a multinational effort, led by Denmark, to address their requirements for air-to-ground Precision Guided Munitions. We welcome the progress achieved in this group since then, including its expansion by two Allies and the processing of its first multinational acquisition employing the US Lead Nation Procurement Initiative. We welcome the progress made in implementing NATO's Framework Nations Concept. A group of 16 Allies, led by Germany, is working on establishing larger formations to deliver usable forces and capabilities. Another group, led by Italy and composed of six nations, is developing programmes and activities aimed at supporting the Alliance's operational commitments. We welcome the United States' European Reassurance Initiative, including the rotational Armoured Brigade Combat Team and US Army prepositioned stocks. We welcome the Transatlantic Capability Enhancement and Training Initiative (TACET), which will promote capability development, interoperability, and training, and will enhance NATO resilience in response to the challenges in the Baltic region. We also welcome the Combined Joint Enhanced Training Initiative (CJET), which provides similar engagement with Romania and Bulgaria. We welcome progress on delivering the United Kingdom-led Joint Expeditionary Force, made up of high readiness, flexible, integrated forces from seven Allies. We also welcome the validation, through an exercise in 2016, of the UK-France Combined Joint Expeditionary Force, which will enhance the Alliance's ability to respond rapidly to any challenge. We welcome the decision of the Visegrad Group to provide rotational presence in the Baltic states in 2017 to conduct exercises in support of Allied activities. We further welcome the Letter of Intent on multinational cooperation for the provision of Airborne Electronic Attack. We welcome Allied efforts to address, as appropriate, existing dependencies on Russian-sourced legacy military equipment.
79. To position the Alliance in responding to evolving threats, NATO intelligence reform must be an ongoing, dynamic process. The importance of intelligence in informing our planning, operations, and decision-making continues to increase. To improve NATO's ability to draw on a wide range of intelligence resources, we have agreed to establish a new Joint Intelligence and Security Division to be led by an Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security. The new Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security will direct NATO's intelligence and security activities, ensuring better use of existing personnel and resources, while maximizing the efficient use of intelligence provided by Allies.
80. Against the background of an increasingly unstable, global security environment, and based on a broad and strengthened deterrence and defence posture, we seek to contribute more to the efforts of the international community in projecting stability and strengthening security outside our territory, thereby contributing to Alliance security overall.
81. Our efforts to enhance the Alliance's role in projecting stability will be guided by enduring principles, including a 360 degree approach, commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law, complementarity with international actors, in particular with the UN, EU, and the OSCE and focusing on NATO's added value, local ownership and buy-in, partner involvement, inclusiveness, tailored cooperation, long-term commitment, prioritisation and sustainability, and overall coherence.
82. The Alliance is already responding to these challenges and will continue to do so, building on its recognised experience and its crisis management and cooperative security toolkit. NATO's added-value in contributing to the international community's efforts includes its ability to offer defence reform assistance and advice in a coherent way, its recognised track record in the training and development of local forces, including in more difficult circumstances, and defence education. The Defence and Related Security Capacity Building (DCB) Initiative that we adopted in Wales has proven a particularly important tool to help project stability, providing support to Georgia, Iraq, Jordan, and the Republic of Moldova. We are committed to further develop and adequately resource our capacity building efforts.
83. While retaining our ability to respond to crises beyond our borders, NATO will continue to pursue cooperative security through partnership with relevant countries and other international organisations, and investing in capacity building and training efforts enabling countries to enhance their resilience and to provide for their own security.
84. NATO will continue to enhance its role in projecting stability, including through enhancing regional understanding and situational awareness, further adapting to the challenges and threats from all directions, reinforcing its maritime dimension, and developing a more strategic, more coherent, and more effective approach to partnerships. These efforts will draw upon the important contributions that partners can bring. The Alliance, including with partners where appropriate, will continue to help manage challenges – before, during, and after conflict – where they affect Alliance security. The implementation of the agreed Alliance policies and initiatives must also continue. At the same time, we will continue to consider the political implications of our effort.
85. We are facing long-term challenges, and we are committed to ensure that NATO has a long-term and sustainable approach to projecting stability with adequate and sustainable resources and structures, making best use of existing funding mechanisms. We task the Council to evaluate progress made regarding the implementation of our efforts to project stability, including the specific areas put forward by Foreign Ministers in May 2016, emphasising how efforts can become sustainable, better organised and supported, and to report by the time of the meeting of our Foreign Ministers in December 2016.
86. In a separate declaration issued today, together with Afghanistan and our Resolute Support operational partners, we have reaffirmed our mutual commitment to ensure long-term security and stability in Afghanistan. NATO and its operational partners have committed to sustain the Resolute Support mission beyond 2016 through a flexible, regional model, to continue to deliver training, advice, and assistance to the Afghan security institutions and forces; continue national contributions to the financial sustainment of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, including until the end of 2020; and strengthen and enhance the long-term Enduring Partnership. Afghanistan has made a significant set of commitments. NATO and its operational partners will continue to play an important supporting role in their delivery.
87. Together with the rest of the international community, our aim remains that Afghanistan will never again become a safe haven for terrorists who can pose a threat to our security, and that it is able to sustain its own security, governance, and economic and social development, while respecting human rights for all of its citizens, notably those of women and children. We remain resolute and united in our commitment to a secure and stable Afghanistan.
88. Good neighbourly relations, and regional cooperation and support to a secure and stable Afghanistan, remain essential. The pathway to a sustainable resolution of the conflict is an inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process, which respects the Afghan constitution and human rights, including notably the rights of women. The region and the international community at large must respect and support such a process and its outcome.
89. In accordance with UNSCR 1244, the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) will continue to contribute to a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement in Kosovo, working in close cooperation with the Kosovo authorities and the EU. While we welcome the progress achieved through the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, the security situation in Kosovo is broadly stable, though challenges remain. Changes in our troop presence will remain conditions-based and not calendar-driven. Furthermore, the Alliance will continue to support the development of the security organisations in Kosovo, including through the NATO advisory team on the ground and in accordance with Allied decisions, and will keep the nature of further support under review. We note Kosovo's request for an enhanced relationship with NATO and will respond no later than the December Foreign Ministerial on ways to further develop our support.
90. NATO has made an important contribution to international efforts to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia through Operation Ocean Shield, which has achieved its military strategic objectives. We note that the last successful pirate attack in the Indian Ocean took place in May 2012. While we have agreed to terminate the Operation at the end of 2016, NATO will remain engaged in the fight against piracy by maintaining maritime situational awareness and continuing close links with other international counter-piracy actors.
91. We have transitioned Operation Active Endeavour, our Article 5 maritime operation in the Mediterranean, which has contributed to the fight against terrorism, to a non-Article 5 Maritime Security Operation, Operation Sea Guardian, able to perform the full range of Maritime Security Operation tasks, as needed.
92. Following decisions by our Defence Ministers in February 2016, Allies have swiftly contributed maritime assets to international efforts to stem the flow of irregular migration in the Aegean Sea in the context of the refugee and migrant crisis. The NATO activity has added value by providing real time information on irregular migrant flows to Turkey, Greece, and the EU's Border Management Agency, FRONTEX. The activity is being conducted in cooperation with relevant national authorities and through the establishment of direct links between Maritime Command (MARCOM) and FRONTEX at the operational level. It is an effective contribution to existing efforts in controlling irregular migration in the area, and has also offered new opportunities for enhanced cooperation with the EU at tactical and operational levels in the context of stemming irregular migration. This activity will be evaluated in September and reviewed in time for the meeting of our Defence Ministers in October.
93. We have agreed, in principle, on a possible NATO role in the Central Mediterranean, to complement and/or, upon European Union request, support, as appropriate, the EU's Operation Sophia through the provision of a range of capabilities including Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and logistics support; through contribution to capacity building of the Libyan coastguard and navy, if requested by the legitimate Libyan authorities and/or the EU; and in the context of the implementation of UNSCR 2292 on the situation in Libya, in close coordination with the EU.
94. We reaffirm our commitment to a long-term partnership with Iraq, as well as to assisting the country through the Defence and Related Security Capacity Building (DCB) Initiative agreed in Wales. We are committed to strengthening Iraq's defence forces and institutions through the defence capacity building assistance measures agreed in August 2015, on the basis of Iraq's request. We have made progress in implementing the tailored package of DCB assistance for Iraq as agreed, taking advantage of the availability of the King Abdullah II Special Operation Forces Center in Jordan and of training and education centres in Turkey.
95. Through DCB activities being implemented in Jordan, which include counter-improvised explosive devices, explosive ordnance disposal and demining, as well as civilian-military planning and advice on security sector reform in Iraq, NATO is training Iraqis in selected areas. Building on this effort, we have decided to respond positively to the 5 May 2016 request of the Prime Minister of Iraq and agree to provide in-country NATO training to Iraqi security and military forces, in agreed areas, including, as part of the DCB programme, to continue to support institutional capacity building, in order to contribute to effective and efficient structures and policies to sustain advancement in Iraqi training capacity over the medium- and long-term. This NATO effort in Iraq will continue to be conducted so as to ensure complementarity and added value; inclusiveness; local ownership; sustainability and prioritisation; overall coherence; and tailored cooperation. The continued inclusivity of the Iraqi government and defence and security forces, will be of key importance. The initial planning for implementing these activities in country should be completed in time for Defence Ministers' review in October, which will enable the training and capacity building to start in Iraq by January 2017.
96. Bearing in mind the threat that ISIL/Da'esh poses to all our nations and populations, we have agreed in principle to enhance the Alliance's contribution to the efforts of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL by providing direct NATO AWACS support to increase the coalition's situational awareness. This support is planned to start in the autumn, pending national approval procedures, and the NATO Military Authorities are now developing the details. By providing such support, we reaffirm our resolve to help tackle the security challenges coming from the south, including terrorism. This contribution to the Global Coalition does not make NATO a member of this coalition.
97. In accordance with our Wales decision, we are ready to provide Libya with advice in the field of defence and security institution building, following a request by the Government of National Accord, and to develop a long-term partnership, possibly leading to Libya's membership in the Mediterranean Dialogue, which would be a natural framework for our cooperation. Any NATO assistance to Libya would be provided in full complementarity and in close coordination with other international efforts, including those of the UN and the EU, in line with decisions taken. Libyan ownership will be essential.
98. NATO's partnerships are, and will continue to be, essential to the way NATO works. The success of NATO partnerships is demonstrated by their strategic contribution to Alliance and international security. Over the last decades, the Alliance has developed structured partnerships – Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue, Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, and partners across the globe – with countries interested in pursuing political dialogue and practical cooperation, and engaging actively with other international actors and organisations on a wide range of political and security-related issues. Together we have built a broad cooperative security network. The complexity and volatility of the security environment underscore the need for a more tailor-made, individual, and flexible approach to make our partnership cooperation more strategic, coherent, and effective. We reaffirm our commitment, based on the objectives, priorities, and principles of the Berlin Partnership Policy, to expand political dialogue and practical cooperation with any nation that shares the Alliance's values and interest in international peace and security. We will further develop our partnerships so that they continue to meet the interests of both Allies and partners.
99. We salute the ongoing and substantial contributions that our partners make by deploying together with Allies in operations and missions, and contributing to practical cooperation activities, including Trust Funds and capacity building efforts. Partners are also serving alongside the armed forces of several Allies outside existing formats, in particular to combat terrorism. This has increased our interoperability and strengthened resilience in a changed security environment.
100. At Wales, we endorsed the Partnership Interoperability Initiative, launching the Interoperability Platform, which has become a key format for working with partners on the broad range of issues related to interoperability and preparedness for future crisis management. Since then, the number of partner units certified and evaluated to NATO standards has increased, new partners have joined interoperability programmes, and opportunities for partner participation in NATO exercises have been widened. Here at Warsaw, Interoperability Platform Defence Ministers endorsed a roadmap to guide our joint work on preparing for crisis management for the coming year and discussed future opportunities for NATO-partner cooperation to project stability.
101. As part of the Partnership Interoperability Initiative, at Wales we also agreed to offer enhanced opportunities for cooperation to Australia, Finland, Georgia, Jordan and Sweden, in recognition of their significant operational contributions to NATO. These partners have been increasingly involved into NATO's work on our common security challenges. Their participation at this Summit testifies to the deep links we have built with them. We engage with each of them individually, according to our and their needs, circumstances, and ambitions, and in line with NATO's own security interests. We have developed our practical cooperation to varying degrees and in different formats: enhanced opportunities partners are now pre-approved for a range of NATO exercises; they are also engaged in NATO defence capacity building work, participating in the enhanced NATO Response Force and developing joint threat assessments with us. We stand ready to consider offering enhanced opportunities to other partners as their contributions and interests warrant.
102. We welcome the opening of diplomatic missions to NATO Headquarters by several of our partners as an important step in our cooperation. In line with our Berlin Partnership Policy and the Brussels Agreement, we encourage other partners to follow the same path.
103. We will continue to develop our partnership with countries of the Middle East and North Africa region through deeper political dialogue and enhanced practical cooperation. The Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) remain complementary and yet distinct partnership frameworks. We remain open to welcoming new members in both partnership frameworks. We are providing assistance to 11 partner countries in the region to help them modernise their defence establishments and military forces, through the MD and the ICI.
104. MD and ICI are unique frameworks that bring together key NATO partners: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, respectively. Regular political consultations improve our mutual understanding and our situational awareness. We have also developed tailor-made Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programmes with all our MD and ICI partners. We will continue to enhance practical cooperation, including through further support in the areas of counter-terrorism, small arms and light weapons, counter-improvised explosive devices, and military border security.
105. Bearing in mind the strategic importance of the Gulf region, we look forward to the establishment of regular working-level ties between the international secretariats of NATO and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and to the launch of practical cooperation with the GCC as well as with its member states. Increased information exchange to promote a better mutual understanding of our functions and policies would be a solid basis for more regular political dialogue and possible practical cooperation regarding our shared security challenges. We task the Council to report on progress to Foreign Ministers at their December meeting.
106. We welcome the long-standing partnership with Jordan, a key partner in the Middle East, and the success of NATO's existing Defence and Related Security Capacity Building (DCB) assistance to Jordan. Our efforts are in seven priority areas: information protection; cyber defence; military exercises; counter-improvised explosive devices; communication, command and control; harbour protection; and border security. We remain committed to strengthening NATO-Jordan relations through enhanced political dialogue and practical cooperation in the framework of the Mediterranean Dialogue, as well as through the DCB Initiative and the Interoperability Platform, including the enhanced opportunities. We are grateful to our partner Jordan for its contributions to NATO-led operations over many years, and for hosting our DCB training activities for Iraq.
107. The Western Balkans is a region of strategic importance, as demonstrated by our long history of cooperation and operations in the region. We remain fully committed to the stability and security of the Western Balkans, as well as to supporting the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of countries in the region. Democratic values, rule of law, domestic reforms, and good neighbourly relations are vital for regional cooperation and for the Euro-Atlantic integration process. We welcome recent progress on border demarcation in the region. The Alliance will continue to work closely with the Western Balkans to maintain and promote regional and international peace and security. We task the Council to prepare a report on NATO's activities and relations in the region for submission to Foreign Ministers in December.
108. Strengthening NATO-Serbia relations are of benefit to the Alliance, to Serbia, and to the whole region. We welcome the continued progress made in building the NATO-Serbia partnership and support further political dialogue and practical cooperation to this end. We also welcome the progress achieved in the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and encourage both parties to implement the agreements reached and to sustain continued progress. We welcome Kosovo's aspirations to improve its ability to ensure safety and security for all its inhabitants, as well as to contribute to security in the Western Balkans.
109. The invitation to Montenegro in December 2015 to join our Alliance and the subsequent signature of the Accession Protocol in May 2016 recognise the reforms Montenegro has undertaken, the commitment it has shown to our common values, and its contribution to international security. Montenegro now has Invitee status and is integrating into NATO activities. We look forward to the expeditious conclusion of the ratification of the Accession Protocol, and to Montenegro's continued progress on reform, before and after accession, in order to enhance its contribution to the Alliance. We appreciate the significant contribution Montenegro makes to NATO-led operations.
110. Today we reaffirm our commitment to the Open Door Policy, a founding principle of the Washington Treaty and one of the Alliance's great successes. Montenegro's presence with us today is a tangible demonstration of this, and we look forward to welcoming the country as our next member as soon as possible. Euro-Atlantic integration advances democratic values, reform, and respect for the rule of law. The freedom and prosperity of our societies are built on these foundations. Euro-Atlantic integration also provides a path to stability and strengthens collective security. Successive rounds of enlargement have enhanced our security and the security of the entire Euro-Atlantic region. NATO's door is open to all European democracies which share the values of our Alliance, which are willing and able to assume the responsibilities and obligations of membership, which are in a position to further the principles of the Treaty, and whose inclusion can contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area. Decisions on enlargement are for NATO itself. We remain fully committed to the integration of those countries that aspire to join the Alliance, judging each on its own merits. We encourage those partners who aspire to join the Alliance – Georgia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia2, and Bosnia and Herzegovina – to continue to implement the necessary reforms and decisions to prepare for membership. We will continue to offer support to their efforts and look to them to take the steps necessary to advance their aspirations.
111. At the 2008 Bucharest Summit we agreed that Georgia will become a member of NATO with MAP as an integral part of the process; today we reaffirm all elements of that decision, as well as subsequent decisions. We welcome the significant progress realised since 2008. Georgia's relationship with the Alliance contains all the practical tools to prepare for eventual membership. This year's parliamentary elections will be another key step towards the consolidation of democratic institutions. We encourage Georgia to continue making full use of all the opportunities for coming closer to the Alliance offered by the NATO-Georgia Commission, the Annual National Programme, its role as an enhanced opportunities partner, its participation in our Defence Capacity Building Initiative, and the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package. NATO highly appreciates Georgia's significant and continuous contributions to the NATO Response Force and the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan and recognises the sacrifices and contributions the Georgian people have made to our shared security.
112. We welcome the important progress made in implementing the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package, which we initiated at the Wales Summit. More than 30 experts from Allied and partner countries are now supporting Georgia across various areas of cooperation. Georgia is doing its part in allocating significant resources to this effort. The Joint Training and Evaluation Centre, which helps strengthen Georgia's self-defence and resilience capabilities, is up and running. We will continue to provide the resources needed to implement the Substantial Package, which aims to strengthen Georgia's capabilities and, thereby, helps Georgia advance in its preparations for membership in the Alliance. We have agreed additional practical ways to intensify efforts, including support to Georgia's crisis management capabilities, training and exercises, and improvements in strategic communications. Allies will provide support to the development of Georgia's air defence and air surveillance. We will also deepen our focus on security in the Black Sea region.
113. We reiterate our support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders. We welcome Georgia's commitment not to use force and call on Russia to reciprocate. We call on Russia to reverse its recognition of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions of Georgia as independent states, to stop its construction of border-like obstacles along the administrative boundary lines, and to withdraw its forces from Georgia. NATO does not recognise the so-called treaties signed between the Abkhazia region of Georgia and Russia in November 2014, and the South Ossetia region of Georgia and Russia in March 2015. These violate Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and blatantly contradict the principles of international law, OSCE principles and Russia's international commitments. We encourage all participants in the Geneva talks to play a constructive role, as well as to continue working closely with the OSCE, the UN, and the EU to pursue peaceful conflict resolution in the internationally recognised territory of Georgia.
114. We reiterate our decision made at the 2008 Bucharest Summit and reiterated at subsequent Summits that NATO will extend an invitation to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia2 to join the Alliance as soon as a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue has been reached within the framework of the UN. We therefore strongly urge intensified efforts to find a solution to the name issue. We encourage further efforts to develop good neighbourly relations. We also encourage the building of a fully functioning multi-ethnic society based on full implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement. Given concerns over political developments in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which have taken the country further away from NATO values, we urge all political leaders in the country to fully implement their commitments under the Przino Agreement of June/July 2015, as the framework for a sustainable solution to the political crisis. Acknowledging initial steps on implementation, we renew our call to all parties to engage in effective democratic dialogue and to put in place the conditions for credible elections, strengthening the rule of law, media freedom, and judicial independence. We will continue to follow closely Skopje's progress in these areas, which reflect NATO's core values. We appreciate the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's commitment to international security, as demonstrated by its steadfast contribution to our operations, its participation in fora and organisations for regional dialogue and cooperation, and its commitment to the NATO accession process.
115. We reaffirm our commitment to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a stable and secure Bosnia and Herzegovina and our full support for its membership aspirations. We encourage the leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina to continue demonstrating political will and to work constructively for the benefit of all its citizens in pursuit of reforms. We will offer our continued support to defence reform efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We welcome the recent agreement by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina on principles for the defence review and urge its completion as soon as possible. We welcome the progress made on registration of immovable defence property to the state, but we look to the leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina to accelerate efforts toward meeting the requirements set by NATO Foreign Ministers in Tallinn in April 2010 so that its first Membership Action Plan cycle can be activated as soon as possible, which remains our goal. Allies will keep developments under active review. We commend Bosnia and Herzegovina for its contributions to NATO-led operations and for its commitment to regional dialogue, cooperation, and security.
116. In Wales, we extended the Defence and Related Security Capacity Building Initiative to the Republic of Moldova. Since then, Allies and partners have provided expertise and advice in support of the ongoing defence reform process to strengthen the capabilities of the Moldovan armed forces and the defence sector. Allies remain committed to this work so that the country can enjoy a stable, secure and prosperous future in accordance with the values shared by European democracies. In order to realise such a future, it is important that the Republic of Moldova remains committed to the implementation of reforms that benefit all its citizens. We thank the Republic of Moldova for its contribution to NATO-led operations.
117. Ukraine is a long-standing and distinctive partner of the Alliance. At our Summit here in Warsaw, we are meeting with President Poroshenko and issuing a joint statement. An independent, sovereign and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security. We stand firm in our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and Ukraine's right to decide its own future and foreign policy course free from outside interference, as set out in the Helsinki Final Act. Russia continues to violate Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence. Despite these challenging circumstances, Ukraine's government is making progress in implementing wide-ranging reforms towards European and Euro-Atlantic standards, based on democratic values, respect for human rights, minorities and the rule of law, which will be essential in promoting prosperity and long-term stability. We welcome the steps Ukraine has taken to fight corruption, maintain International Monetary Fund conditionality, reform the judiciary, and move towards decentralisation, but substantial challenges remain and continued efforts are required. We strongly encourage Ukraine to remain committed to the full implementation of these and other necessary reforms and to ensuring their sustainability. Recalling our previous Summit decisions, NATO will continue to support Ukraine in carrying out its reform agenda, including through the Annual National Programme in the framework of our Distinctive Partnership.
118. NATO-Ukraine cooperation is an important part of the Alliance's contribution to the international community's efforts to project stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond. We welcome Ukraine's intent to further deepen its Distinctive Partnership with NATO, as well as its past and present contributions to NATO-led operations and the NATO Response Force even while it has been defending itself against Russia's aggressive actions. Ukraine's choice to adopt and implement NATO principles and standards, for which its Strategic Defence Bulletin provides a roadmap, will promote greater interoperability between our forces. The Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade is an important element of this effort. It will also enhance Ukraine's ability to better provide for its own security, through functioning security and defence institutions under civilian democratic control that are accountable, sustainable, and effective. Ukraine's participation in the Defence Education Enhancement Programme is an important effort in this respect. NATO will continue to provide strategic advice and practical support to the reform of Ukraine's security and defence sector, including as set out in the Comprehensive Assistance Package which we are endorsing together with President Poroshenko at today's meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. The Comprehensive Assistance Package is aimed at consolidating and enhancing NATO's support to Ukraine, including by tailored capability and capacity building measures for the security and defence sector, which will contribute to enhance Ukraine's resilience against a wide array of threats, including hybrid threats.
119. In light of NATO's operational experiences and the evolving complex security environment, a comprehensive political, civilian, and military approach is essential in crisis management and cooperative security. Furthermore, it contributes to the effectiveness of our common security and defence, without prejudice to Alliance collective defence commitments. NATO has developed a modest but appropriate civilian capability in line with Lisbon Summit decisions. We will continue to pursue coherence within NATO's own tools and strands of work, concerted approaches with partner nations and organisations such as the UN, the EU, and the OSCE, as well as further dialogue with non-governmental organisations. We look forward to a review of the 2011 Comprehensive Approach Action Plan for consideration by our Foreign Ministers in 2017.
120. As challenges to international peace and security multiply, cooperation between NATO and the United Nations is increasingly important. We welcome the continued growth in political dialogue and practical cooperation between NATO and the UN, covering a broad range of areas of mutual interest. At last year's Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping, NATO pledged to enhance its support to UN peace operations, including in the areas of counter-improvised explosive devices, training and preparedness, improving the UN's ability to deploy more rapidly into the field, and through cooperation on building defence capacity in countries at risk. We stand by this commitment and remain ready to further deepen our interaction in these and other fields, including through NATO's participation in the follow-up conference to be held in London in September of this year.
121. The European Union remains a unique and essential partner for NATO. Enhanced consultations at all levels and practical cooperation in operations and capability development have brought concrete results. The security challenges in our shared eastern and southern neighbourhoods make it more important than ever before to reinforce our strategic partnership in a spirit of full mutual openness, transparency, and complementarity, while respecting the organisations' different mandates, decision-making autonomy and institutional integrity, and as agreed by the two organisations.
122. We welcome the joint declaration issued here in Warsaw by the NATO Secretary General, the President of the European Council, and the President of the European Commission, which outlines a series of actions the two organisations intend to take together in concrete areas, including countering hybrid threats, enhancing resilience, defence capacity building, cyber defence, maritime security, and exercises. We task the Council to review the implementation of these proposals and to report to Foreign Ministers by December 2016.
123. We welcome the European Council Conclusions of June 2016, calling for further enhancement of the relationship between NATO and the EU. We also welcome the presentation of the Global Strategy for the European Union's Foreign and Security Policy.
124. NATO recognises the importance of a stronger and more capable European defence, which will lead to a stronger NATO, help enhance the security of all Allies, and foster an equitable sharing of the burden, benefits and responsibilities of Alliance membership. In this context, we welcome the strengthening of European defence and crisis management as we have seen over the past few years.
125. Non-EU Allies continue to make significant contributions to the EU's efforts to strengthen its capacities to address common security challenges. For the strategic partnership between NATO and the EU, non-EU Allies' fullest involvement in these efforts is essential. We encourage further mutual steps in this area to support a strengthened strategic partnership.
126. We welcome the Secretary General's report on NATO-EU relations. We encourage him to continue to work closely with the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and the High Representative, on all aspects of the NATO-EU strategic partnership and provide a report to the Council for the next Summit.
127. NATO and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe both play important roles in maintaining stability and addressing security challenges in the Euro-Atlantic area. We appreciate the OSCE's comprehensive approach to security, covering the political-military, economic-environmental, and human dimensions. We also value the OSCE's important role in trying to bring an end to several protracted conflicts in the Euro-Atlantic area. The crisis in Ukraine has once again highlighted the significance of the OSCE for international efforts to support the peaceful resolution of conflicts, confidence- and security-building, and as a platform for cooperation and inclusive dialogue on security in Europe. We also underline the value of confidence- and security-building and transparency measures within the framework of the OSCE. We are committed to further enhancing our cooperation, at both the political and operational level, in all areas of common interest, including through the newly appointed Secretary General's Representative for the OSCE.
128. NATO's cooperation with the African Union (AU) encompasses operational, logistic and capacity building support, as well as support for the operationalisation of the African Standby Force, including through exercises, and tailor-made training, in accordance with the AU's requests to NATO. We look forward to further strengthening and expanding our political and practical partnership with the AU, so we are better able to respond together to common threats and challenges.
129. NATO is an alliance of values, including individual liberty, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. These shared values are essential to what NATO is and what it does. Further incorporating them into all areas of our work will make NATO stronger.
130. Corruption and poor governance are security challenges which undermine democracy, the rule of law and economic development. The importance of implementing measures to improve integrity building, anti-corruption and good governance applies to NATO, Allies, and partners alike. To further our work in this area, today we endorsed a new NATO Building Integrity Policy which reaffirms our conviction that transparent and accountable defence institutions under democratic control are fundamental to stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and essential for international security cooperation.
131. Empowerment of women at NATO and in our militaries makes our Alliance stronger. We attach great importance to ensuring women's full and active participation in the prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts, as well as in post-conflict efforts and cooperation. Since our last Summit in Wales, we have made good progress in implementing UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and related resolutions. Yet, more work is to be done, which requires enduring leadership, transparency, and accountability. We welcome recent high-level appointments in both NATO's civilian and military structures. However, there are still shortfalls in the representation of women at NATO that need to be addressed. We will implement the updated WPS Action Plan, which has been developed with many of our partners and in consultation with the newly established civil society advisory panel. NATO's efforts to project stability are further bolstered by the comprehensive NATO Gender Education and Training Package now available to all. Our Strategic Commands are now operationalising the approved Military Guidelines on the Prevention of and Response to Conflict-Related Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. We affirm the critical importance of robust training and accountability measures in regards to prevention of misconduct, including sexual misconduct and abuse. Our ongoing efforts and commitment to integrate gender perspectives into Alliance activities throughout NATO's three core tasks will contribute to a more modern, ready, and responsive Alliance.
132. Driven by our values and international law, we recognise the imperative to protect civilians from the effects of armed conflict. That is why we have today endorsed the NATO Policy on the Protection of Civilians, developed with our partners and in consultation with the UN and other international organisations. In this Policy, protection of civilians includes all efforts taken to avoid, minimise, and mitigate the negative effects on civilians arising from NATO and NATO-led military operations and, when applicable, to protect civilians from conflict-related physical violence or threats of physical violence by other actors. The Policy complements NATO's existing efforts in related areas and it includes a stability policing dimension. We will implement this Policy through a concrete action plan, which will be reviewed regularly by the Council.
133. We remain deeply concerned that children continue to be the victims of grave violations, especially the six practices identified by the UN Secretary General: the killing or maiming of children; recruitment or using child soldiers; attacks against schools or hospitals; rape or other grave sexual violence; abduction; and denial of humanitarian access. Since our Summit in Wales, NATO has established a robust policy, in consultation with the UN, to enhance our implementation of UNSCR 1612 and related resolutions. The Policy directs our troops, when deployed in NATO-led operations and missions, to monitor and report violations against children and to engage with local authorities. In our Resolute Support mission we have appointed, for the first time, a Children and Armed Conflict Adviser to contribute to the training of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces. In cooperation with the UN, NATO will also further expand its relevant training, exercise and education opportunities. The Council will regularly assess the implementation of our Policy.
134. In the fight against terrorism, NATO adds value and has a role to play, without prejudice to national legislation and responsibilities, in coherence with the EU, and in particular through our military cooperation with partners to build their capacity to face terrorist threats. NATO will continue to reach out to partners and other international organisations, as appropriate, to promote common understanding and practical cooperation in support of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Building on our Defence Against Terrorism Programme of Work and our Biometrics Programme of Work, we will continue to improve our capabilities and technologies, including to defend against improvised explosive devices and CBRN threats. As terrorism and related threats remain high on NATO's security agenda, Allies intend to work together, in accordance with national and international law, as well as established NATO procedures, to promote information-sharing through the optimised use of multilateral platforms, such as NATO's Battlefield Information Collection and Exploitation System (BICES). Allies will continue to seek to enhance their cooperation in exchanging information on returning foreign fighters. The Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security, acting within the agreed Terms of Reference, could serve as a facilitator to enhance the exchange of information.
135. Energy developments can have significant political and security implications for Allies and the Alliance, as demonstrated by the crises to NATO's east and south. A stable and reliable energy supply, the diversification of import routes, suppliers and energy resources, and the interconnectivity of energy networks are of critical importance and increase our resilience against political and economic pressure. While these issues are primarily the responsibility of national governments and other international organisations NATO closely follows the security implications of relevant energy developments and attaches particular importance to diversification of energy supply in the Euro-Atlantic region. We will therefore further enhance our strategic awareness in this regard, including through sharing intelligence and through expanding our links with other international organisations such as the International Energy Agency and the EU, as appropriate. We will consult and share information on energy security issues of particular concern to Allies and the Alliance, with a view to providing a comprehensive picture of the evolving energy landscape, concentrating on areas where NATO can add value. We will also continue to develop NATO's capacity to support national authorities in protecting critical infrastructure, as well as enhancing their resilience against energy supply disruptions that could affect national and collective defence, including hybrid and cyber threats. In this context, we will include energy security considerations in training, exercises, and advance planning. We will continue to engage with our partner countries where appropriate. We will further improve the energy efficiency of our military forces through establishing common standards, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and demonstrating energy-efficient solutions for the military. Today we have noted a progress report on NATO's role in energy security. We task the Council to further refine NATO's role in accordance with established principles and guidelines, and to produce a progress report for our next Summit.
136. A stronger defence industry across the Alliance, which includes small- and medium-sized enterprises, greater defence industrial and technological cooperation across the Atlantic and within Europe, and a robust industrial base in the whole of Europe and North America, remain essential for acquiring needed Alliance capabilities. For the Alliance to keep its technological edge, it is of particular importance to support innovation with the aim to identify advanced and emerging technologies, evaluate their applicability in the military domain, and implement them through innovative solutions. In this regard, NATO welcomes initiatives from both sides of the Atlantic to maintain and advance the military and technological advantage of Allied capabilities through innovation and encourages nations to ensure such initiatives will lead to increased cooperation within the Alliance and among Allies.
137. Institutional adaptation underpins NATO's political and military adaptation. The objective is an Alliance adaptable by design, where the capacity to anticipate, and react to, change is integral to how we operate. Reforms since 2010 have contributed to improved effectiveness and efficiency, adapting NATO towards greater readiness and responsiveness. There has been reform of the Headquarters, Agencies and Command Structure. We have introduced greater transparency by publishing financial audits. We have improved our strategic communications. To take forward these efforts we will develop a stronger and more consistent approach to prioritisation, better linking our political and military priorities with resource requirements, in particular through a more efficient use of the common-funded capability delivery process. We will continue improving accountability, governance and transparency. We task the Council to pursue these efforts, building on recent achievements and taking advantage of the move to the new NATO Headquarters, to ensure we remain ready and able to face the challenges of the future as a confident, committed, adaptable Alliance, and report on progress by our next Summit.
138. We welcome the role of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in complementing NATO's efforts to promote stability throughout Europe. We also appreciate the contribution made by the Atlantic Treaty Association in promoting a better understanding of the Alliance among our nations.
139. We express our appreciation for the generous hospitality extended to us by the Government and the people of Poland. With key decisions to reinforce our deterrence and defence, project stability beyond our borders, and promote our values, our Warsaw Summit has demonstrated our unity, solidarity, and strength. We look forward to meeting again in 2017 at our new NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom.
NATO Summit
Summit Guide
Media backgrounders and fact sheets in PDF
Warsaw Summit Communiqué - Content
NATO’s essential mission (para. 2)
Tribute to service men and women (para. 3)
NATO in diverse and unpredictable security environment (para. 4-6)
Countering threat of ISIL/Da'esh terrorism (para. 7-8)
Relations with Russia - Russia’s destabilising actions and policies (para. 9-24)
Crises and instability across the Middle East and North Africa (para. 25-31)
Defence and deterrence (para. 32-33,42-45)
Allies’ defence expenditures (para. 34)
Readiness Action Plan (para. 35-42)
Robust and agile NATO Command Structure (para. 46)
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities (para. 47)
Alliance maritime posture (para. 48)
Interoperability (para. 49)
Deterrence and defence based on nuclear, conventional, and missile defence capabilities (para. 50-69)
Nuclear capability (para. 53-54)
Arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and WMD (para. 62-69)
Cyber defence (para. 70-71)
Hybrid warfare challenges (para. 72)
Civil preparedness and resilience (para. 73)
Countering Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threats (para. 74)
Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR) initiative (para. 75-76)
Multinational and national capability initiatives (para. 78)
New Joint Intelligence and Security Division (para. 79)
Projecting stability and strengthening security outside NATO territory (para. 80-85)
Resolute Support mission (para. 86-88)
NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) (para. 89)
Counter-piracy operations (para. 90)
Operation Active Endeavour (para. 91)
Assistance for the refugee and migrant crisis (para. 92)
Possible NATO role in the Central Mediterranean (para. 93)
Partnership with Iraq (para. 94-95)
NATO AWACS support to Global Coalition to Counter ISIL (para. 96)
NATO assistance to Libya (para. 97)
Partnership Interoperability Initiative (para. 100-101)
Mediterranean Dialogue - Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (para. 103-104)
Cooperation with Gulf Cooperation Council (para. 105)
Partnership with Jordan (para. 106)
Stability and security of the Western Balkans (para. 107)
NATO-Serbia relations (para. 108)
Invitee status of Montenegro (para. 109)
Commitment to the Open Door Policy (para. 110)
Relations with Georgia (para. 111-113)
Relations with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (para. 114)
Relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina (para. 115)
Relations with Moldova (para. 116)
NATO-Ukraine cooperation (para. 117-118)
Comprehensive approach (para. 119)
Cooperation with United Nations (para. 120)
NATO-EU relations (para. 121-126)
Cooperation with OSCE (para. 127)
Cooperation with African Union (para. 128)
Building integrity policy (para. 129-130)
Implementing UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) (para. 131)
NATO Policy on the Protection of Civilians (para. 132)
Warsaw Summit Communiqué - Implementing UNSCR 1612 on protection of children affected by armed conflict (para. 133)
Fight against terrorism (para. 134)
Energy security (para. 135)
Stronger defence industry (para. 136)
NATO's institutional adaptation (para. 137)
Role of NATO Parliamentary Assembly (para. 138)
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758874
|
__label__cc
| 0.686359
| 0.313641
|
AudioCodes Reports Third Quarter 2017 Results
Posted by Carrie Brunner — October 25, 2017 in Press Releases comments off 1
Third Quarter Highlights:
Quarterly revenues increased by 5.4% year-over-year to $39.2 million;
Quarterly service revenues increased by 12.4% year-over-year to $12.7 million;
Quarterly UC-SIP revenues increased more than 15% year-over-year;
Quarterly GAAP gross margin was 62.8%; quarterly Non-GAAP gross margin was 63.2%;
Quarterly GAAP operating margin was 6.6%; quarterly Non-GAAP operating margin was 8.8%;
Quarterly cash flow from operating activities was $6.2 million;
Quarterly GAAP net income was $1.0 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, compared to $971,000, or $0.03 per diluted share, in the prior year period;
Quarterly Non-GAAP net income was $3.4 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to $2.9 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, in the prior year period; and
AudioCodes repurchased 940,000 of its ordinary shares during the quarter at an aggregate cost of $6.4 million.
AudioCodes (Nasdaq: AUDC), a leading provider of voice networking solutions that enable enterprises and service providers to transition to all-IP voice networks, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2017.
Revenues for the third quarter of 2017 were $39.2 million, compared to $38.7 million for the second quarter of 2017 and $37.2 million for the third quarter of 2016.
Net income was $1.0 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2017, compared to $971,000, or $0.03 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2016.
On a Non-GAAP basis, the Company reported quarterly net income of $3.4 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to $2.9 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2016.
Non-GAAP net income excludes: (i) stock-based compensation expenses; (ii) amortization expenses related to intangible assets; (iii) expenses related to deferred payments in connection with the acquisition of Active Communications Europe; and (iv) non-cash deferred tax benefit or expenses. A reconciliation of net income on a GAAP basis to a non-GAAP basis is provided in the tables that accompany the condensed consolidated financial statements contained in this press release.
Net cash provided by operating activities for the third quarter of 2017 totaled $6.2 million. Cash and cash equivalents, long- and short-term bank deposits and long- and short-term marketable securities were $60.1 million as of September 30, 2017, compared to $65.1 million as of September 30, 2016. The decrease in cash and cash equivalents, long and short-term bank deposits and long and short-term marketable securities was the result of the use of cash for the continued repurchasing of the Company’s ordinary shares pursuant to its share repurchase program.
“We are pleased to report strong financial results for the third quarter of 2017,” said Shabtai Adlersberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of AudioCodes. “As demonstrated over the past 5 years, we continued to execute on our UC-SIP strategic plan, and grew sales of UC-SIP solutions, products and services in the third quarter by more than 15% compared to the year ago quarter. We believe we are now on track to deliver about 15% annual growth for the UC-SIP business which is expected to reach $100 million of annual revenues by 2020. Our performance continues to rely primarily on collaboration with our application and system integration partners worldwide, as well as through winning enterprise voice deployments and service provider network transformation projects on a global basis.
“Along with our higher sales, we continued to improve the efficiency of our operations. We increased gross margin to a record 63.2%, grew quarterly operating margin to a record 8.8% and had quarterly net income of $3.4 million, an 18% increase over the year ago quarter. We are now expecting to deliver about 25% growth in net income for 2017 compared to 2016. At the same time, we continued to invest in our new intelligent voice applications which we believe will start to contribute to improved revenues and profits in coming years. Finally, as in recent previous quarters, we continued to buy back shares to return value to our shareholders,” concluded Mr. Adlersberg.
Share Buy Back Program
During the quarter ended September 30, 2017, AudioCodes acquired 940,000 of its ordinary shares under its share repurchase program for a total consideration of approximately $6.4 million. As of September 30, 2017, AudioCodes had acquired an aggregate of 14.5 million of its ordinary shares since August 2014 for an aggregate consideration of approximately $70.7 million.
In May 2017, AudioCodes received court approval in Israel to purchase up to an aggregate of $15 million of additional ordinary shares pursuant to its share repurchase program. As of September 30, 2017, $5.8 million remained available to the Company for repurchasing shares under this court approval. The current court approval for share repurchases expires on November 15, 2017.
On October 24, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors approved filing a new application with the court in Israel requesting approval for an additional repurchase program for up to $20 million of Ordinary Shares. The Company expects to file a new application shortly and receive a decision from the court in the coming weeks.
Conference Call & Web Cast Information
AudioCodes will conduct a conference call at 8:00 A.M., Eastern Time today to discuss the Company’s third quarter operating performance, financial results and outlook. Interested parties may participate in the conference call by dialing one the following numbers:
United States Participants: +1 (877) 407-0778
International Participants: +1 (201) 689-8565
The conference call will also be simultaneously webcast. Investors are invited to listen to the call live via webcast at the AudioCodes investor website at http://www.audiocodes.com/investors-lobby.
Follow AudioCodes’ social media channels:
AudioCodes invites you to join our online community and follow us on: AudioCodes Voice Blog, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
To download AudioCodes’ investor relations app, which offers access to its SEC filings, press releases, videos, audiocasts and more, please visit Apple’s App Store for the iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android mobile devices.
About AudioCodes
AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ, TASE: AUDC) designs, develops and sells advanced Voice-over-IP (VoIP) and converged VoIP and Data networking products and applications to Service Providers and Enterprises. AudioCodes is a VoIP technology market leader, focused on converged VoIP and data communications, and its products are deployed globally in Broadband, Mobile, Enterprise networks and Cable. The Company provides a range of innovative, cost-effective products including Media Gateways, Multi-Service Business Routers, Session Border Controllers (SBC), Residential Gateways, IP Phones, Media Servers, Value Added Applications and Professional Services. AudioCodes’ underlying technology, VoIPerfectHD™, relies on AudioCodes’ leadership in DSP, voice coding and voice processing technologies. AudioCodes’ High Definition (HD) VoIP technologies and products provide enhanced intelligibility and a better end user communication experience in Voice communications. For more information on AudioCodes, visit http://www.audiocodes.com.
Statements concerning AudioCodes’ business outlook or future economic performance; product introductions and plans and objectives related thereto; and statements concerning assumptions made or expectations as to any future events, conditions, performance or other matters, are “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined under U.S. Federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements. These risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to: the effect of global economic conditions in general and conditions in AudioCodes’ industry and target markets in particular; shifts in supply and demand; market acceptance of new products and the demand for existing products; the impact of competitive products and pricing on AudioCodes’ and its customers’ products and markets; timely product and technology development, upgrades and the ability to manage changes in market conditions as needed; possible need for additional financing; the ability to satisfy covenants in the Company’s loan agreements; possible disruptions from acquisitions; the ability of AudioCodes to successfully integrate the products and operations of acquired companies into AudioCodes’ business; and other factors detailed in AudioCodes’ filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. AudioCodes assumes no obligation to update the information in this release.
©2017 AudioCodes Ltd. All rights reserved. AudioCodes, AC, HD VoIP, HD VoIP Sounds Better, IPmedia, Mediant, MediaPack, What’s Inside Matters, OSN, SmartTAP, User Management Pack, VMAS, VoIPerfect, VoIPerfectHD, Your Gateway To VoIP, 3GX, VocaNom, AudioCodes One Voice and CloudBond are trademarks or registered trademarks of AudioCodes Limited. All other products or trademarks are property of their respective owners. Product specifications are subject to change without notice.
AUDIOCODES LTD. AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES
U.S. dollars in thousands
September 30,
(Audited)
Short-term and restricted bank deposits
Short-term marketable securities and accrued interest
Trade receivables, net
Other receivables and prepaid expenses
LONG-TERM ASSETS:
Long-term and restricted bank deposits
Long-term marketable securities
Deferred tax assets
Severance pay funds
Total long-term assets
GOODWILL, INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND OTHER, NET
Current maturities of long-term bank loans
Other payables and accrued expenses
Deferred revenues
LONG-TERM LIABILITIES:
Accrued severance pay
Long-term bank loans
Deferred revenues and other liabilities
Total long-term liabilities
U.S. dollars in thousands, except share and per share data
Nine months ended
Revenues:
Cost of revenues:
Total cost of revenues
Research and development, net
Selling and marketing
General and administrative
Total operating expenses
Financial income (expenses), net
Income before taxes on income
Taxes on income, net
Basic net earnings per share
Diluted net earnings per share
Weighted average number of shares used in
computing basic net earnings per share (in
thousands)
computing diluted net earnings per share (in
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP NET INCOME TO NON-GAAP NET INCOME
U.S. dollars in thousands, except per share data
GAAP net income
GAAP net earnings per share
Stock-based compensation (1)
Amortization expenses (2)
Research and development, net:
Deferred payments expenses (3)
Selling and marketing:
General and administrative:
Income taxes:
Deferred tax (4)
Non-GAAP net income
Non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share
(1) Stock-based compensation expenses related to options and restricted stock units granted to employees and others.
(2) Excluding amortization of intangible assets related to the acquisitions of Netrake, Mailvision and Active Communications Europe assets.
(3) Excluding expenses related to deferred payments in connection with the acquisition of Active Communications Europe.
(4) Non-cash deferred tax expenses.
Note: Non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the results prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company believes that non-GAAP information is useful because it can enhance the understanding of its ongoing economic performance and therefore uses internally this non-GAAP information to evaluate and manage its operations. The Company has chosen to provide this information to investors to enable them to perform comparisons of operating results in a manner similar to how the Company analyzes its operating results and because many comparable companies report this type of information.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
Adjustments required to reconcile net income to
net cash provided by or used in operating
Amortization of marketable securities premiums
and accretion of discounts, net
Increase in accrued severance pay, net
Stock-based compensation expenses
Decrease (increase) in accrued interest and
exchange rate effect of loans, marketable
securities and bank deposits
Decrease in long-term deferred tax assets, net
Decrease (increase) in trade receivables, net
Decrease (increase) in other receivables and
prepaid expenses
Decrease (increase) in inventories
Increase (decrease) in trade payables
Increase (decrease) in other payables and accrued
Increase (decrease) in deferred revenues
Proceeds from sale of marketable securities
Decrease in short-term deposits, net
Decrease in long-term bank deposits
Proceeds from redemption of marketable securities
Purchase of property and equipment
Net cash provided by investing activities
Purchase of treasury stock
Repayment of long-term bank loans
Consideration related to payment for acquisition
of Mailvision
Proceeds from issuance of shares upon exercise
of options and warrants
Net cash used in financing activities
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the
IR Agency Contact
Niran Baruch,
VP Finance & Chief Financial Officer
Shirley Nakar,
Philip Carlson/Elizabeth Barker
SOURCE AudioCodes Ltd.
Leonhardt’s Launchpads Accelerator Announces Demo Days and Showcases September in San Francisco and Palo Alto for Organ Regeneration and Recovery Focused Startups
Kosmos AI Technologies Inc. (Kosmos) announces the launch of Kosmos Reception – The world’s first AI-powered assistant for small business
295 MEDIA AND FALCON GROVE PRODUCTIONS TO CO-PRODUCE NEW SERIES, THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM
Techees Recruiting Celebrates 10 Years of Ideal Career Placements
Fraudit Fights Programmatic AD Fraud by Automating Refund Requests to DSPs Without Any Upfront Costs
3RD ANNUAL NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES EXPO GATHERED HEAVY-HITTERS, SHARED INDUSTRY-SHIFTING ADVICE
About the Author: Carrie Brunner
Carrie Brunner grew up in a small town in northern New Brunswick. She studied chemistry in college, graduated, and married her husband one month later. They were then blessed with two baby boys within the first four years of marriage. Having babies gave their family a desire to return to the old paths – to nourish their family with traditional, homegrown foods; rid their home of toxic chemicals and petroleum products; and give their boys a chance to know a simple, sustainable way of life. They are currently building a homestead from scratch on two little acres in central Texas. There’s a lot to be done to become somewhat self-sufficient, but they are debt-free and get to spend their days living this simple, good life together with their five young children. Carrie writes mostly on provincial stories.
Enter your email address to subscribe to our paper and receive notifications of new posts by email.
NB Herard has been under new management. NB Herard aims to provide high quality business news from the businesses themselves.
Exceptional Raspberry Harvest Throughout The Province
F.-A.-Gauthier Ferry Breaks Down With 200 Passengers On board
© 2017 - 2019 NB Herald
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758875
|
__label__cc
| 0.741386
| 0.258614
|
Audio/Visual System Design
NetCenter Supply
New Malware Designed To Go After Linux Systems
Posted by drubertus On June 22, 2019
Linux systems aren't targeted by hackers as often as Windows and iOS-based systems, but they're certainly not immune.
Recently, security researchers have discovered a new strain of malware developed by Chinese hackers, specifically for the purpose of targeting Linux-based systems. The new malware has been dubbed 'HiddenWasp'.
It bears a number of features in common with another malware strain. It is similar to the Linux version of Winnti, which has gained some notoriety and is a tool used commonly by Chinese hackers. Whether this new strain was created by the same hackers who make use of Winnti, or a rival group looking to springboard off of Winnti's success is currently unknown. In either case, HiddenWasp is hardly the first malware strain to borrow code from other sources.
As to its use, researchers have so far been unable to discover precisely how hackers are spreading their new creation around. They theorize that it is likely installed by the hackers themselves on systems that have already been compromised.
HiddenWasp's functionality isn't as robust as some other strains of malware, which indicates that it may still be in an early stage of development. Even so, it's capable of uploading and downloading files, running executables and terminal commands, and more. So it's definitely not a threat that should be taken lightly.
The researchers had these details to add:
"We observed that the HiddenWasp files were uploaded to VirusTotal using a path containing the name of a Chinese-based forensics company known as Shen Zhou Wang Yun Information Technology Co., Ltd. Furthermore, the malware implants seem to be hosted in servers from a physical server hosting company known as ThinkDream, located in Hong Kong."
Whether these details are meant to misdirect, or perhaps point to Chinese government involvement in the development of the strain is uncertain at this point. Either way, if you have Linux systems running on your network, be aware that there's a new threat to keep an eye out for.
Twitter Will Soon Release New Features With Update
Report States Bots Account For 20 Percent Of Web Traffic
Windows Update Is Installing Files Two Times On PC
Email Providers Found To Have Signature Vulnerabilities
16 Questions You MUST Ask Before Hiring Any IT Company
If You Depend On Your Computer Network To Run Your Business, This Is One Report You DON’T Want To Overlook!
NetCenter Technologies | IT Services & IT Support Fargo, North Dakota $$$
2536 Main Avenue West
Email: sales@netcentertech.com
© Copyright 2019 NetCenter Technologies
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758876
|
__label__wiki
| 0.814854
| 0.814854
|
David UREÑa
Massachusetts attorney general's office,
David is an experienced attorney with a background in litigation and advocacy on behalf of low-wage workers. David began his career as a Staff Attorney in the Workers’ Justice Project of Mobilization for Justice (formerly MFY Legal Services), where he provided direct legal services to hundreds of low-wage workers in New York City. He went on to join the Workers’ Rights Practice of the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center as a Staff Attorney. At the Community Development Project, David worked with low-wage workers, in partnership with New York City-based grassroots workers’ centers and community groups organizing for systemic workplace change, and provided representation in state and federal court litigation to vindicate their rights.
David is a graduate of Fordham Law School, where he was a Stein Scholar for Public Interest Law and Ethics, and the University of Pennsylvania.
callie wilson
oakland city attorney's office,
community lawyering & civil rights unit
We have partnered with Justice Catalyst to host an additional fellow in the Oakland City Attorney's office on a one-year fellowship. As a PRP/Justice Catalyst Fellow, Callie will collaborate with Oakland’s Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit and work on projects to promote gender equity. During law school, she collaborated with the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office to litigate issues ranging from housing rights to gender equity and climate change. Prior to law school, she served as the Communications Director for Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell, the first openly gay man elected to the New York State Assembly. In that capacity she helped further legislation to combat in-school bullying and facilitate the involvement of parents of ESL students in advisory positions with the New York City Board of Education.
A graduate of Yale Law School and Barnard College, she was a co-Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Journal of Law & Feminism.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758877
|
__label__cc
| 0.703354
| 0.296646
|
/content/in/en/destinations/country/flights-to-azerbaijan https://www.qatarairways.com/en-in/search-results
Flights to Azerbaijan with Qatar Airways
Azerbaijan, the ‘Land of Fire’, is something of an enigma. At the crossroads of Asia and Europe, the country has a little something of both continents.
Its strategic location made it the clashing point of many empires, which have all left their influences in this country. Travel to Azerbaijan and explore an exotic and ancient land on the journey to great transformation.
The best place to start a visit to Azerbaijan is in Baku, its ancient capital, whose Old Town is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sitting on the Caspian Sea, this city showcases old buildings mixed with modern office blocks.
Surrounding the capital is a vast range of deserts that provide a sharp contrast to what’s in the city, with surfaces full of wild fiery fumes and mud volcanoes.
The landscapes away from the towns and cities give a real insight into what life used to be like in this region for many thousands of years. The orchards and mud-brick villages are set against a backdrop of the soaring Taurus Mountains.
While you’re here, visit Yanardag, called the ‘Burning Mountain’ because of the fires that come out of the rocks through a slow natural gas leakage that has been going on for thousands of years.
As tourists are rare in most parts of this unique country, you will enjoy more personal space and a chance to see untouched landscapes and timeless cities in peace and comfort.
Visit the Gala Open Air Museum just outside of Baku for fascinating ethnographic displays and reproductions of ancient tents and houses, and soak up the real culture in an interactive experience like carpet weaving and bread making.
Fly to Azerbaijan with Qatar Airways and discover a newly emerging country packed with true natural beauty and with a strong developing commercial centre.
Read all about
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758879
|
__label__wiki
| 0.990628
| 0.990628
|
ShabanWow!
PETERSBURG - The news was no surprise.
It was no surprise to the fans who frequent Petersburg Sports Complex.
It was certainly no surprise to Petersburg Generals coach Steve Leake.
Yet Ronnie Shaban was still humbled to learn of his selection to the 2009
Yet Ronnie Shaban was still humbled to learn of his selection to the 2009 Coastal Plain League All-Star game.
"It's pretty exciting. I was excited when I got the news," said Shaban, a shortstop and right-handed relief pitcher from Virginia Tech. "It's going to be a lot of fun. It should be a good experience.
"It's a real big deal. I was hoping I would make it [on the All-Star roster]. I was told I had a good chance. When I actually found out I had made it, I was very excited."
A quick look at the statistics reveals why Shaban was a lock to take place in the All-Star festivities, which begin July 20 at Buck Hardee Field in Wilmington, N.C.
He entered a July 15 matchup against the Peninsula Pilots - a game where Shaban's All-Star selection was officially announced to Generals fans - leading Petersburg in batting average [.323]; slugging percentage [.504]; RBIs [28]; and total bases [64].
Shaban hit a solo home run -his team-high sixth homer of the season - against the Pilots.
And he's doing all of this after playing a 53-game schedule for Virginia Tech.
"People are definitely tired, but I'm still going out there and playing hard," Shaban said following the Generals' 6-5 loss to Peninsula. "Our team is playing hard for the most part. We're hoping to start picking up some wins."
Shaban has also emerged as a leader in the locker room.
"I try to be a leader," said Shaban, who was named Dominion District player of the year during his senior season at Cosby High School. "I try to be supportive. I think all the guys understand that we just have to keep grinding."
Leake believes Shaban possesses all the tools of a CPL All-Star.
"I can't think of a guy that deserves to be an All-Star more," Leake said. "Ronnie is a leader. He does whatever we ask of him. He really wears his heart on his sleeve. He wants to win and does those things that help a team win. We're very pleased with his leadership and his numbers."
Shaban is still undecided about taking part in the CPL home-run derby, which takes place on July 20 - the day before the All-Star game. But after watching Shaban's blast against the Pilots - a home run estimated at 400 feet -- his coaching staff and teammates are encouraging him to take his swings in the event.
Shaban was one of two Petersburg players to earn All-Star status.
Villanova right-hander Jerry Battipaglia punched his ticket to Wilmington by posting a 2-1 record with a 1.29 ERA in four apperances for the Generals.
Battipaglia is currently out of action due to soreness in his pitching arm, but is considering joining Shaban at the All-Star festivities.
Battipaglia has struck out 15 over 21 innings and has limited opposing hitters to a collective .149 batting average.
CPL ON ESPNU: The CPL announced July 13 that it is working with ESPNU to feature all league scores shown on the network's Bottom Line feature for the remainder of the 2009 season and into the future.
"We are very happy to be working with ESPNU on posting our league scores on their Bottom Line every night," CPL assistant commissioner Justin Sellers said. "This will definitely benefit all of our Coastal Plain League parents and fans who consistently keep up with the games each night. Working with the staff at ESPNU is a pleasure - and we think this is a great opportunity to get our players and teams more exposure on a national level."
ESPNU will also feature a top player from each team in every game and list that player's name, college, CPL team and statistics from that particular game.
-Neil Fuller can be reached at nfuller@progress-index.com.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758881
|
__label__wiki
| 0.590103
| 0.590103
|
Local resident inducted into Upsilon Pi Epsilon Honor Society
BLACKSBURG - Matthew Brown of Chesterfield, a senior majoring in computer science and applications in the College of Engineering, was recently inducted into the Virginia Tech chapter of Upsilo
BLACKSBURG - Matthew Brown of Chesterfield, a senior majoring in computer science and applications in the College of Engineering, was recently inducted into the Virginia Tech chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon Honor Society.
Upsilon Pi Epsilon Honor Society recognizes academic achievement among computer science students. To be considered for induction, undergraduate students must successfully complete at least 64 hours of coursework, complete at least 12 hours in computer science, and achieve a minimum grade point average of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) in their computer science courses.
Degree seeking graduate students must complete at least 15 hours in computer science graduate coursework and achieve a minimum grade point average of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) in their computer science courses.
Chesterfield schools expand online presence
CHESTERFIELD - Chesterfield County Public Schools recently launched a redesigned Web site and established a presence on Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook and Twitter allow simple, two-way communication between the school system and the public. Chesterfield County Public Schools will use the sites to facilitate communication on all fronts and allow individuals to easily talk with the school system. Superintendent Marcus Newsome will also have his own Twitter account.
To get connected, follow Chesterfield County Public Schools on Twitter at CCPSinfo and Dr. Newsome at CCPSSuper, become a fan of Chesterfield County Public Schools on Facebook and check out the redesigned web site at chesterfield.k12.va.us.
Both the social site accounts as well as the redesigned Web page were created in-house at no additional cost to the school system.
The sites will feature posts on school successes and events. Chesterfield schools will also continue to communicate in traditional ways via telephone, television and print.
CHESTERFIELD - Chesterfield County Prevention Services, a division of Mental Health Support Services, will offer the "For Better or For Worse" course on Thursdays starting Aug. 20 through Oct. 1.
The course teaches couples how to communicate in their relationship, how to resolve conflict and reduce arguments, how to solve problems as a team, and how to keep fun, friendship and intimacy in the relationship.
The class will be held 6:30-8 p.m. at Bon Air Library, 9103 Rattlesnake Road. The fee is $50 per couple, and fee assistance is available.
To sign up or for more information, call instructor Robin Jones at 804-717-6540.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758882
|
__label__wiki
| 0.597994
| 0.597994
|
Featured Article: The Next Manhattan Project and the New World Order
Mossad Chief Calls On World to 'Act Now' To Stop Iranian Bomb
Israel Prepared To 'Neutralize' Hezbollah with 'Overwhelming' Force in Next war
US Military Opens First-Ever Permanent Base in Israel
Nearing Midnight: Seduction in the Storm
Daily Jot: New study shows myth of global warming
Daily Jot: The Purpose of a Testimony
The Next Manhattan Project and the New World Order - By Britt Gillette -
http://www.raptureready.com/2017/09/17/the-next-manhattan-project-and-the-new-world-order/
On September 1, 2017, Vladimir Putin addressed a group of students in Yaroslavl, Russia. Speaking of the future, Putin said the development of artificial intelligence (AI) presents "colossal opportunities and threats that are difficult to predict now" and "the one who becomes the leader in this sphere will be the ruler of the world."
That's quite a statement coming from the leader of one of the world's greatest powers. But regardless of whether or not you agree, this is a major story. In fact, it should be one of the biggest headline stories in years. Why do I say that? Because Vladimir Putin, undisputed leader of Russia, a man who controls 7,000 nuclear warheads, made a public admission overlooked by almost every media outlet in the world. I have to assume they missed it, otherwise Putin's statement would have been the top headline all over the world. Why? Because Vladimir Putin said mutual assured destruction won't last forever.
The End of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)
Since 1949, mutual assured destruction (MAD) has been the linchpin of international peace. Fear of total destruction, the idea no one can win a war between two nuclear powers, is all that's kept us from World War III. But all that is about to change, and Vladimir Putin knows it.
New technologies will one day render MAD obsolete. Artificial intelligence, molecular manufacturing, quantum computers, new missile defense systems, and other technologies will radically alter the balance of power. What if a nation can disable enemy missiles before they're launched? Or, even if they are launched, what if they can shoot down those missiles before they reach their target? New technologies will make both scenarios possible.
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have given the world a glimpse of unmanned drone technology. What happens as those drones become smaller and more powerful? What happens when swarms of drones the size of bees or mosquitoes attack a conventional army? What if they attack nuclear warheads? What if swarms of tiny submarines hunt down and disable nuclear submarines? New technologies will make these scenarios possible as well.
Even worse, numerous other threats could crop up, threats we have yet to imagine. As Putin says, artificial intelligence and its associated technologies will present "colossal opportunities and threats that are difficult to predict now." This inherent uncertainty will further erode the effectiveness of MAD. For instance, what happens if militaries throughout the world decide to place critical battlefield decisions in the hands of artificial intelligence? Could a non-human intelligence spark a global war? It might. And even if it doesn't, the idea it could will impact the decisions world leaders make.
Aside from his admission MAD will lose its effectiveness in the near future, Putin made another equally important admission. He said the nation leading this technological revolution "will rule the world." This wasn't an offhand remark. It was a public acknowledgement of what many people have known for a long time.
The nation that first develops artificial intelligence and molecular manufacturing will have an enormous military advantage over the rest of the world. MAD will be obsolete, and the leading nation will have superior weapons. This nation will have two choices. It can sit on its advantage until other nations catch up. Or it can use its advantage to the conquer other nations. It will choose the second option. How can I be so sure? Because the first option will result in an unstable arms race that will probably lead to worldwide annihilation. Remember, MAD will no longer be effective. And post-MAD weapons will be even more powerful than nuclear weapons.
So it's inevitable the leading nation will use its advantage to set up a global empire. Vladimir Putin knows this. That's why he said, "the one who becomes the leader in this sphere will be the ruler of the world." I'm sure Putin imagines he'll win the race and establish a world empire for himself. But regardless of who wins, the leading nation will draw the same conclusion - global government is the only available course of action.
What the Bible Says
Those who study Bible prophecy have long known what the Bible predicts for the end times. The Bible says a global empire will exist, one that rules every person on earth (Revelation 13:7). This empire will crush and devour the whole world (Daniel 7:23). And when it does, it will control almost every aspect of human life - to the point of determining "who can buy and who can sell" (Revelation 13:17).
According to Vladimir Putin, the leader in artificial intelligence will set up this global empire. He knows it. And other world leaders know it. Have no doubt about it, this was a public admission of an ongoing race. It's a race among world governments. A race to develop new post-MAD technologies. And these technologies include more than artificial intelligence. They include molecular manufacturing, quantum computers, and other technologies most people are unaware of. In this race, there's no silver medal. The second place nations get nothing. The first place nation gets the whole world. That's quite a prize. So have no doubt, the race is on.
The end result will be a global empire (Revelation 13:7) and a worldwide police state with unprecedented power (Revelation 13:17). It's just one more sign of the times. Jesus is coming!
Mossad Chief Calls On World to 'Act Now' To Stop Iranian Bomb - by Deborah Danan -
http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2017/09/18/mossad-chief-calls-on-world-to-act-now-to-stop-iranian-bomb/
Mossad chief Yossi Cohen has called on the world to "act now" to prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb, Israeli media reported Sunday.
"Today's Iran is the North Korea of yesterday, and so we need to act now so that we don't wake up to [an Iranian] bomb," Channel 2 on Sunday cited Cohen as saying.
According to the report, Israeli security officials have warned against taking a hard line against Iran, fearing that Israel will make the same mistakes the U.S. did by entering Iraq in pursuit of WMDs in the 2000s.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the UN General Assembly in New York. Netanyahu said he will use the speech to warn against the growing Iranian military presence in Lebanon and Syria. According to Israeli sources, it will mark the first occasion the prime minister directly addresses Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
"Israel will not tolerate an Iranian military presence on our northern borders. An [Iranian] military presence endangers not just us, but also our Arab neighbors," Netanyahu told reporters on Friday.
Last week, Netanyahu said the deal, signed under the Obama administration in 2015, should either be amended or scrapped entirely.
"Our position is straightforward. This is a bad deal. Either fix it - or cancel it. This is Israel's position," he said.
On Sunday, Breitbart Jerusalem cited Channel 2 as saying that Netanyahu plans to present President Donald Trump with a detailed proposal outlining how "to cancel or at the very least introduce significant changes" to the deal.
Netanyahu denied a Reuters report citing U.S. officials close to the deal as saying that Israel and Saudi Arabia would not be in favor of scrapping the deal entirely and, despite reservations about Iran's behavior, would prefer it remain intact.
Trump has said that he may make changes to the deal and has until October 15 to announce whether Iran has held up its end of the agreement.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Sunday that Tehran will respond to any "wrong move" by the U.S.
"The Iranian nation has stood firmly and any wrong move by the hegemonic system on the JCPOA would draw a reaction from the Islamic Republic," he said, according to Iran's Press TV.
He added on Twitter that the U.S. was the "great Satan" full of "viciousness."
On Monday, Israeli media reported that government officials have accused the UN agency in charge of overseeing Iran's compliance with the deal of failing to investigate or inspect new illegal sites that Tehran did not disclose under the terms of the deal.
Israel Prepared To 'Neutralize' Hezbollah with 'Overwhelming' Force in Next war - By Adam Abrams - http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=1604
Despite the raging civil war to Israel's north and east in Syria, the Jewish state's northern border has remained precariously quiet over the last decade. No stranger to looming threats, Israeli officials are planning and ready for several worst-case scenarios in the north as Iran and its terror proxy Hezbollah continue to forge their stranglehold on the region.
In a possible war scenario with Hezbollah, the Israeli military can launch a "massive and overwhelming" operation that would effectively "neutralize" a significant part of the Lebanese terror organization's military capability, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, the head of the International Media Branch for the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, told JNS.org.
The IDF's operation would be based on "very accurate intelligence" collected "relentlessly" and "would minimize to the greatest extent possible, harm to non-combatants.... by using the most precise guided munitions that strike only at the legitimate military targets," Conricus said.
Striking only Hezbollah targets without collateral damage will be a challenging military feat because Hezbollah is deliberately "deployed in order to maximize collateral damage" to civilians, he added.
One-third of the homes in southern Lebanon's 130 villages are known to house military components belonging to Hezbollah.
"Hezbollah's strategic choice of the battlefield, embedding its military assets in Shiite villages and towns, has put the majority of the Shiite population in Lebanon in harm's way, using it as human shields...." Brigadier general (Res.) Assaf Orion, a senior research fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), told JNS.org.
Defeating the terror group would likely involve "significant IDF ground incursions into Lebanon as well as taking out Hezbollah rocket positions located in high-density population areas," in hospitals, schools and apartment buildings, Dr. Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, told JNS.org.
In a future conflict, one could expect "significant damage to Israel," Orion said, but simultaneously "a devastating and unprecedented destruction in Lebanon, including a significant victory against Hezbollah's military forces and destruction of most infrastructure enabling its war fighting capacity."
Largest drill in decades
Due to Hezbollah's deep entrenchment within civilian infrastructure, the IDF has narrow windows of opportunity to engage "legitimate military targets," Conricus said.
However, the IDF is prepared for this scenario and recently completed its largest drill in two decades in Israel's northern region, simulating cross-border Hezbollah attacks on Israeli towns in which the terror group aims to commit massacres and take hostages.
The exercise was planned over a year and half in advance and tens of thousands of soldiers from all branches of the IDF participated.
During the initial stage of the drill, soldiers simulated rooting out Hezbollah terrorists from Israeli towns and defending the Jewish state's sovereignty. The drill's second stage simulated "decisive maneuver warfare" into the depths of Hezbollah's territory, Conricus said.
The exercise sought to enhance "coordination and synchronization" between the IDF's ground forces, air force, navy, intelligence and cyber units, and shorten "the intelligence cycle" from when a "target is identified to any type of munition meeting that target," he added.
Hezbollah's new capabilities and the coming two-front war
The IDF has acknowledged that since the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah has matured from a guerilla organization to a fighting force equipped with heavy artillery, high-precision missiles and drones. The terror group also receives about $800 million a year in funding from Iran.
A third of Hezbollah's forces are currently entrenched in Syria's ongoing civil war -- becoming battle-hardened, but simultaneously overstretched, losing some 2,000 fighters in the conflict.
Hezbollah and Iran have established weapons factories in Lebanon that can produce powerful missiles and, according to the IDF official, "more than 120,000 rocket launchers and rockets" are positioned in southern Lebanon, "in clear violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701."
Iran and Hezbollah are also constructing permanent military facilities in southern Syria to establish a land bridge stretching from Tehran to Beirut along Israel's northern border.
According to Schanzer, this indicates the next war with Hezbollah "would likely be a two-front battle in Lebanon and Syria," which could also include other Iranian terror proxies in the region.
The IDF official confirmed, "it is definitely possible and plausible" that the Israeli military will be required to fight on more than one front, which the military is prepared for.
Intimate intelligence and advanced technology
Using its "networked intelligence," the IDF is prepared to implement "a massive precision strike.... on a scale which far exceeds the assessed growth in Hezbollah's military [capability]," Orion said.
Since 2006, Hezbollah has occasionally been given a glimpse of the "quality, scope and intimacy" of Israeli intelligence collected against it, the IDF official said, which has created a deterrence and quiet for the past 11 years.
A recent purported Israeli airstrike against a Syrian chemical weapons facility Sept. 7, which occurred during the massive IDF exercise, may have served as one such glimpse into Israel's intelligence capability directed against the terror group and its allies.
Israel is "far better prepared for the next war with Hezbollah" than it was in the 2006, Schanzer said. "We see now the appearance of stealth tank technology, the preparation for ground warfare and the possibility of tunnels into Israel... as well as the preparation for mass volleys of rockets launched by Hezbollah into Israel."
The Israeli Air Force has also acquired several new state-of-the-art F-35 "Adir" stealth fighter jets, and in recent weeks the military unveiled multiple revolutionary defense technologies that will soon be added to its arsenal.
US Military Opens First-Ever Permanent Base in Israel - https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/95179/first-time-us-military-opens-permanent-base-israel/#/#XpXod0tpSDhyZp0a.97
"With Hashem we shall triumph; He will trample our foes." Psalms 108:14 (The Israel Bible™)
The U.S. military has established its first permanent base on Israeli soil located inside an Israeli Air Force base in southern Israel.
"We've established, for the first time in the state of Israel, the IDF, a permanent U.S. military base, flying the American flag," Brig. Gen. Zvika Haimovich, commander of the Israeli Air Force's Aerial Defense Division, said in a statement.
The base is located within the IAF's School of Aerial Defense and will house dozen of U.S. soldiers permanently stationed in Israel as part of a task force.
"This symbolizes the strong bond that exists between the United States and Israel," Maj. Gen. Josh Gronski, deputy commanding general for the U.S. Army National Guard, said during a visit to the base.
According to the IDF, the base will provide space for the Israeli Air Force and American task force to improve detection, interception and deployment in aerial defense, while strengthening cooperation.
"Part of the process of establishing the foundation stems from the process of a culture of cooperation. I appreciate the way the Americans respect the state of Israel," Haimovich said.
Nearing Midnight: Seduction in the Storm - Terry James -
http://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/
We are currently writing a book called Deceivers: Exposing Evil Seducers and Their Last-Days Deception." I say "we" are writing it, because it is to be one of my books that presents a compilation of chapters by some of the most recognizable names. These include Todd Strandberg, Jan Markell, Dr. Dave Reagan, Gary Stearman, Dr. Gary Frazier, and others.
Jesus, while sitting on the Mount of Olives with His disciples nearly two millennia ago, gave as His first forewarning that, in the last days, deceivers will be in abundance. Certainly, there is deception at every level at this present time in human history.
Ruminating over the book we are in process of writing, the thought came that we have on the front burner of headline news a storm-like combination of signals harboring seduction and deception that begs exposure.
The primary foretelling's I would like to look at that Jesus gave while answering His disciples' question-"What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"-include the following:
1) There will be distress of nations with perplexity.
2) There will be wars and rumors of wars.
3) There will be earthquakes in various places.
4) The seas and waves will be roaring.
5) Nation will rise against nation.
During all of this last-days storminess, Jesus said, there will be deceivers and great deception. Again, this is the subject of our upcoming book. But, I would like to consider for our purposes here a peculiar seduction within the end-of-days storm that is assaulting this generation:
1)There will be distress of nations with perplexity.
We have only to consider recent news to validate this Olivet prophecy by the Lord.
The national and world economic distresses are phenomenal. America's own national debt is right at $20 trillion. The unfunded liabilities for the nation exceeds $200 trillion. The world at large has economic circumstances that are maybe not so large, but just as perplexing to those trying to deal with the problem.
There exists at present, one of the most troubling confrontations since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.
The North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un threatens to launch hydrogen bomb tipped ICBMs at the U.S. and our possessions and allies. Whether he has this capability is a matter of conjecture. But, the threat is there.
Other rumors of potential wars can be found without effort simply by thinking on Israel and those blood-vowed to remove the Jewish state from the planet.
The cold war might again become reality in the near future. This, with Russia and China building massive military forces even at the expense of Russia's already-dire economic circumstances on the one hand and China's desire to, for its own benefit, interact commercially with other nations on the other.
Rumors of war are everywhere one looks on the geopolitical horizon.
Most recently, while hurricanes Harvey and Irma devastated portions of the U.S. mainland, an 8.2 earthquake struck Mexico.
Swarms of earthquakes up to 5.3 on the Richter Scale continue to shake the infamous Yellowstone caldera region, causing alarm even among seasoned, professional seismologists.
Earthquakes make much of the Middle East quiver on a regular basis. They are occurring in "various places" at most every hour of every day.
There's no question that the literal seas and waves have been roaring as of late. Again, Harvey and Irma were given 24/7 coverage on practically every news channel over recent days.
But, I believe the Lord was prophesying mainly about figurative seas and waves roaring in this particular foretelling while atop Mt. Olivet.
The peoples of the world are indeed in tumult. Europe is rioting because of economic turbulence. The Arab world is often in tumult against the hated Israel and against each other. America boils with clashes fomented in many cases by thugs paid to stir trouble in our city streets.
The seas and waves, both figurative and literal, are roaring.
We have looked many times at the term "nation" in this prophecy Jesus gave.
The root of the word for "nation," here, is the Greek word ethnos. This means that in the days just before Christ's Second Advent (Revelaton 19: 1) there will be great strife of one racial group against another.
Certainly, these kinds of conflicts exist at this very moment everywhere across the planet -including within our own borders. All we must do to understand this is to look at the groups known as the white supremacists and Black Lives Matter to see the reality of this prophecy taking place in our own time. -And we are at least seven years away from Christ's Second Advent when Armageddon will be raging.
So, we can conclude that we are in the beginning of the great, end-times storm about which Jesus forewarned. Now, to look at the peculiar seduction that I believe is taking place as part of Satan's deception that is, perhaps, at the eye of this prophetic storm.
The following news story, I hope, will help make the point I wish to make.
Sure, the US has a National Flood Insurance Program, but who's covered by it? Besides, the Program was already $24 billion in debt by 2014 largely due to hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. With total costs of Harvey estimated at $200 billion or more, and Irma threatening to cause far more damage than that, where's the money going to come from?
It took an actual fight just to push the first few billion dollars in emergency aid for Houston through Congress, with four Texan senators voting against of all people. Who then will vote for half a trillion or so in aid? And even if they do, where would it come from?...
Trump's plans for an infrastructure fund were never going to be an easy sell in Washington, and every single penny he might have gotten for it would now have to go towards repairing existing roads and bridges, not updating them -necessary as that may be-, let alone new construction.
Towns, cities, states, they're all maxed out as things are, with hugely underfunded pension obligations and crumbling infrastructure of their own. They're going to come calling on the feds, but Washington is hitting its debt ceiling. All the numbers are stacked against any serious efforts at rebuilding whatever Harvey and Irma have blown to pieces or drowned. ("After the Storms Are Over: America Can't Afford to Rebuild, Zero Hedge,"By Tyler Durden, September 10, 2017)
The author paints the direst portrait of the results the storms will bring to America. (You must read the complete piece to get the full impact.) And, I would agree completely with his assessment of the situation-that is, if I didn't know "the rest of the story," as Paul Harvey used to say.
The world's economies, as I have written many times, are intricately, inextricably linked to that of America. That's why I build my thoughts on things that are likely to happen-prophetically speaking-upon the American model. If this nation implodes-comes crashing down-the whole world will be sucked into the vortex caused by the collapse.
Jesus tells us that, like in the days of Noah and of Lot, people at the time of his next catastrophic intervention into history will be buying, selling, planting, and marrying-doing all the normal activities of life. I believe, because it is Jesus who predicts the buying, selling, etc.,- that it will be far more than normal in its reality. I believe we are about to see an economic boom.
Somehow, some way-I don't presume to know how-all of the destruction taking place now because of the hurricane damage might well turn out to be catalyst for the prophesied building, buying, and selling Jesus foretold that day atop the Mount of Olives.
The "seduction" I believe wrapped up in all of this might well reside within the good economic times that could result from the rebuilding-i.e., the economic boom that might be on its way might take people's thoughts even farther from God. The seduction just might produce the think-not generation that Jesus prophesied will be doing anything but giving consideration to God and eternity:
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 24:44)
Donald Trump is a builder perhaps unparalleled in history. Could it be that he is president of the United States for just this moment in regard to Jesus' days of Noah, days of Lot prophecy?
Happy New Year 5778! - A Bible Study by Jack Kelley - https://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/holidays-and-holy-days/happy-new-year-5778/
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago. (Micah 7:18-20)
Rosh Hashanah means "head of the year" and that's why it's often called The Jewish New Year. But it's not at all like the New Years celebrations we're used to in the western world. In the first place, it occurs on the first day of the 7th month of the year. When the Jews were in Egypt, the Lord changed the beginning of their year from the fall to the spring. (Exodus 12:1-2) But since Jewish tradition holds that the birth of the world took place in the fall, they kept the New Year observance where it was. So in effect, they are celebrating the world's birthday on Rosh Hashanah.
The Hebrew name for this day is Yom Teruah, often translated as Feast of Trumpets. This is because over its two-day observance, the shofar, a trumpet-like instrument made of a ram's horn, is blown up t0 100 times.
To the Jewish people, Rosh Hashanah combines a time of happiness with a time of great humility. Happiness, because they are celebrating the birth of the world. Great humility because the ten days beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are a time when each individual is required to take stock of his or her own behavior over the preceding year. These ten days constitute the High Holy Days of Judaism. They are often referred to as the Days of Awe, because their tradition also holds that during these ten days, the Lord decides who will live and who will die in the coming year. So to the Jewish people Rosh Hashanah is a time of great religious significance, second only to Yom Kippur itself.
According to tradition, the Jewish calendar tracks the number of years since the creation. But some believe that in ancient times God didn't note the passing of time when His people were either out of their land or under the rule of a foreign oppressor due to a judgment He had brought against them. Proponents of this view believe there could be as many as 200 such years between the time the Israelites subdued the land under Joshua and the Romans put an end to the ancient nation.
If they are are correct, it fits nicely with the parallel view that the Age of Man will have a 6000-year duration (six being the number of man). Of course it might be just another of man's misguided attempts to predict the Lord's return, and in any case the 6000 year time span is only an approximation. Time will tell.
Irrespective of these speculations, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year Festival that takes place this past week, presents a wonderful opportunity to see once again the consistency of Scripture in revealing God's plan for man.
On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, after spending all morning in the synagogue, observant Jews perform a ceremony called Tashlich, from the root word meaning "to cast away." It's based on Micah 7:19, "... and You will hurl (ve-tashlich) all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."
Every year on this day they go to a flowing body of water, preferably one in which fish dwell, and empty their pockets of breadcrumbs they've brought along for the purpose. By tossing the crumbs into the water they symbolically "throw away" their sins. A fish never closes it's eyes, so it represents the all seeing God who knows all our sins.
After that, they return home to enjoy a festive meal with family where the meal emphasizes sweet tasting foods. This is to symbolize their desire that the coming year will be a good and sweet year. The second day is more of the same with lots of time at the synagogue and more delicious food with family and friends.
As I noted above, Rosh Hashanah begins the 10 Days of Awe culminating in Yom Kippur, their annual Day of Atonement. During these 10 days they attempt to seek forgiveness for all the wrongs they've committed in the past year to make themselves right before God. (In Judaism, you have to obtain forgiveness from the person you've wronged before you can ask God to forgive you.) It's an effort to make sure that when the books are closed on Yom Kippur they will be inscribed for another year of life.
As Christians we can make much of the Tashlich ceremony; the breadcrumbs containing yeast symbolic of sin, and the fish who eats the crumbs representing our Lord Who took our sins away.
But to me the most illumination comes from reading the passage on which the tradition is based.
"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago." (Micah 7:18-20).
This is the most eloquent definition of Grace to be found anywhere in the Old Testament, and along with scores of others written therein portrays our Creator as a compassionate, forgiving, merciful God.
What is this God of the Old Testament versus God of the New? He is the same yesterday today and forever. (Hebr. 13:8) The difference is that the Old Testament looked forward to the cross while the New Testament looks back at it. As Micah clearly states, as soon as the sin problem is addressed He delights to show mercy.
The benefit we have as New Testament believers is that we don't have to wait up to a year to do this. Anywhere at anytime "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) It's our Tashlich. Happy New Year.
Daily Jot: New study shows myth of global warming - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com
Former Senator and failed presidential candidate Al Gore has written books about the world coming to an end because of climate change. Democratic Party politicians have schemed ways to tax us all to change the weather. Celebrities and the immediate past "president" have ridiculed "deniers" of global warming. The science community has censored fellow scientists who have challenged the concept. Fact is, the scientists at England's University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit (CRU), the official source of climate change data, fabricated the data. Now British scientists have released a new study saying that because the modeling was wrong, global warming isn't the threat it once was thought.
Largely ignored by Gore, politicians, celebrities and the news media, UK Telegraph Environmentalist reporter James Delingpole in 2008 blew the whistle on scientists after he obtained 1,079 emails and 72 documents from the CRU. He wrote in 2009 that scientists were practicing "Conspiracy, collusion in exaggerating warming data, possibly illegal destruction of embarrassing information, organized resistance to disclosure, manipulation of data, private admissions of flaws in their public claims and much more." Also in 2008, Nobel Prize winner for physics Ivar Giaever said, "I am a skeptic. . . Global warming has become a new religion."
Now the UK Telegraph reports "Climate change poses less of an immediate threat to the planet than previously thought because scientists got their modeling wrong, a new study has found. New research by British scientists reveals the world is being polluted and warming up less quickly than 10 year old forecasts predicted, giving countries more time to get a grip on their carbon output." The Telegraph says experts are now predicting that there is a 66% chance of keeping global temperatures within 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels because temperatures are far cooler than thought in comparison to data from the mid-1800s. They also say the possible US pull-out of the UN climate accord will not make much difference. So, for now, the polar ice caps will not be melting and causing earth-destroying floods as once predicted.
Genesis 1:28 defines man's role in the environment, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion . . . over every living thing that moves upon the earth." And after the great flood of Noah's time, God promised in Genesis 8:22, "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Jesus said in Matthew 24:4, "Take heed that no man deceive you." Only God the Creator has power to destroy earth. Man is its steward. We should not be deceived by men who are using fear of the earth's destruction to create a new religion, a new social order.
Daily Jot: The Purpose of a Testimony - By Greg Laurie -
www.harvest.org
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8
When you tell other people about what God has done for you, you are sharing your testimony. A testimony is when you share your story of how you came to faith. Every Christian has a testimony.
Some Christians have dramatic testimonies where they tell of being delivered from a life of drug addiction or crime or some sordid deeds. Other Christians don't have testimonies that are quite as dramatic-but they are just as significant.
I like to hear how people came to Christ, but I don't like it when people go into gory details about their past. Then there are testimonies where people tell how much they have given up for Jesus. They'll say things like, "I gave up this and that for Jesus. I have made such sacrifices for the Lord. I have done it all for Him!"
Your testimony is not about what you gave up for Jesus. It's about what He gave up for you. Don't share what you have done for Jesus. Share what Jesus has done for you. Jesus is the one who has done the work. It is Jesus whom we are proclaiming.
A good, strong testimony will lift up what Christ has accomplished. The fact of the matter is that all of us were sinners hopelessly separated from God, traveling in the same boat on our way to Hell; and the same gospel came and transformed us. That is the testimony we all have.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758883
|
__label__cc
| 0.517902
| 0.482098
|
Whataburger explores possible sale of popular burger chain
Amanda O'Donnell @amandamodo
Orange-and-white beacon and Texas-based chain Whataburger has hired financial services company Morgan Stanley to explore expansion and a possible sale, the San Antonio Business Journal reports.
The possibility of a sale was first reported by Reuters earlier this month. According to the news organization, the chain, which boasts more than 800 locations nationwide, could be valued at more than $6 billion.
“Our company is growing and is always attractive to investors, we constantly get inquiries,” Whataburger said in a statement issued to Reuters. “We have always evaluated the opportunities that can accelerate growth and maintain the success of our brand, and we will continue to do so in the future.”
Whataburger was ranked as the seventh largest burger chain in the country by QSR in 2017.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758884
|
__label__wiki
| 0.875084
| 0.875084
|
MEDIA WATCH: Opinions vary on whether Wall Street settlement is adequate
January 06, 2003 by HUGH CLIFTON
New York Stock Exchange chairman Richard Grasso recently called 2002's conflict-of-interest scandals on Wall Street "one of the darkest chapters in the history of modern finance" (The New York Times, December 21).
At the end of the year, 10 of the biggest brokerages (Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney, Credit Suisse First Boston, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, and UBS Warburg (which owns Paine Webber) agreed to a settlement of $1.4 billion in fines and the funding of independent research and investor education in hopes of putting to rest the various scandals that plagued the industry in 2002. Media coverage of the settlement addressed various topics, and though it was seldom the overriding theme, the prospect of lawsuits against these firms was the most visible topic. There was frequent speculation that when the regulators' evidence is made public in the coming weeks, lawyers will sift through it looking for "smoking gun" e-mails and other evidence that could prove in court that the brokers intentionally deceived investors. There was much more substantial reporting on the issue of whether the $1.4 billion penalty was harsh enough. The answer was often no. Reporting often acknowledged that while the sum is substantial, it is a mere fraction of what the 10 firms earned during the heyday of the market bubble. An editorial in The Wall Street Journal (December 21) pointed out that the sum Citigroup (which was fined the largest amount) would have to pay was "far less than the value that Citigroup stock rose Friday after the settlement was announced." Other stories conveyed mixed messages as to the overall impact of the settlement on investor confidence. While New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and other regulators presented the settlement as a significant step to restore confidence among individual investors, there was concern that the potential for abuse still exists, and that the return of investor confidence will take time. On CNN's Lou Dobbs Moneyline (December 20), 84% of viewers said the settlement "did not go far enough to restore confidence in the market's integrity." A number of media outlets placed more emphasis on the long-term structural reforms, rather than the short-term fines. These reports played up the changes that would end such practices as having investment-banking decisions influence research and the practice of "spinning" shares of hot IPOs to executives of current and/or prospective client firms. Finally, many reports noted the role bad publicity played in making Wall Street want to quickly resolve the matter. World News Tonight (December 20) reported, "All the revelations about conflicts of interest and dishonest advice have hurt their reputations and crushed their stock values." The Philadelphia Inquirer (December 22) said the real damage had been to the reputations of these brokerages: "The embarrassment suffered during the investigation has been far more important" than the fine, which the Inquirer characterized as "chicken feed" to these industry giants. While the settlement has been met cautiously, there is near unanimity that it's a good first step to reform and restore confidence. However, the settlement won't magically resolve investors' gripes about Wall Street. Indications are that investor confidence will still need a while to heal.
Evaluation and analysis by CARMA International. Media Watch can be found at www.carma.com.
Prophet hires Hilton Worldwide vet Bill Margaritis
Harold Burson is heading home to Memphis after 73 years
Breakfast Briefing: Omnicom PR revenue down 1.3% in Q2
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758885
|
__label__wiki
| 0.701645
| 0.701645
|
Michael Leunig
, 1995 (printed 2013)
by Helga Leunig
inkjet print (sheet: 42.0 cm x 29.7 cm, image: 36.0 cm x 23.5 cm)
Michael Leunig (b. 1945), cartoonist and popular philosopher, raised in Footscray, Melbourne, studied briefly at university before dropping out to follow the career path of his father, who worked as a slaughterman. At the same time, he began drawing cartoons, and in the mid-1960s his work began to appear in such varied publications as Woman’s Day and London’s Oz magazine. He served as resident cartoonist for the afternoon paper Newsday before gaining wider recognition in the 1970s with his work for the Nation Review. In his earliest work Leunig endeavoured to conduct himself as a classic political cartoonist; but in 1969, frustrated by the genre’s conventions, he submitted a cartoon of a man wearing a teapot on his head riding into a sunset on a large duck. It was published, and Leunig would later come to see it as a symbolic depiction of his own escape from the strictures of political cartooning. His subsequent work – in which the duck has frequently reappeared, along with such characters as gentle Vasco Pyjama and humble Mr Curly – has been adapted for television, theatre and radio, and has been collected in many books, beginning with The Penguin Leunig (1974). Describing his own approach as ‘regressive, humorous, messy, mystical, primal and vaudevillian’, over decades he has persisted in his effort to convey ideas of an innocent and sacred personal world, and the fragile relationships and ecosystems of the world we share. He is a regular contributor to the Melbourne Age – in which his cartoons generally appear three to four times a week – and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Helga Leunig, née Salwe, was working as a professional photographer at the Age in the late 1980s when she met Michael Leunig. She took this photograph of her husband in their then home in Hampton, Victoria.
Gift of Helga Leunig 2013
'Drawing the human spirit'
Philosopher, cartoonist and national treasure, Michael Leunig discusses his art.
Michael Leunig, 2004 by Jacqueline Mitelman
Michael Leunig, Barry Humphries and John Clarke at Mietta's, 1989 (printed 2013) by Helga Leunig
Ginger Riley at the Limmen River, Northern Territory, 1992 (printed 2013) by Helga Leunig
Bob Brown at his home in Liffey, 1988 (printed 2013) by Helga Leunig
Helga Leunig
Michael Leunig (age 50 in 1995)
Helga Leunig (4 portraits)
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758887
|
__label__wiki
| 0.502668
| 0.502668
|
Victoria de'Ath
Class of business manager, Lloyd's
Follow Victoria
Articles by Victoria de'Ath
Lloyd's/London
Blog: Lloyd’s successfully predicts World Cup winner for second time
This year’s World Cup in Russia has widely been regarded as one of the best ever.
Blog: Lloyd’s World Cup predictor proves its value
The World Cup quarter-finals have been and gone, and now we are down to the last four in the competition. And - great news - England have made it to the semi-finals for the first time since 1990.
Lloyd's World Cup Blog: Against the odds – Germany aside, predictions remain on track
We’ve reached the business end of the tournament. With the group stages a distant memory, we look back at the thrills and spills of the first two weeks of competition.
Lloyd's: World Cup kicks off with a bang as reality bites for favourites
The World Cup is well and truly underway, and what a way to get started!
Blog: Lloyd's predicts the World Cup winner
Lloyd's of London predicts which country will win the 2018 World Cup, based on the insurable value of the 32 football teams that start battling it out this week in Russia.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758888
|
__label__cc
| 0.504507
| 0.495493
|
Children Between the Ages of 1 and 9 Are Closer to Having an FDA Approved MenB Vaccine
Trumenba receives Breakthrough Therapy designation for MenB vaccine to protect children between 1 and 9 years of age
Trumenba
A Meningococcal Group B Vaccine named Trumenba has received the first and only Breakthrough Therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for active immunization to prevent invasive disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis group B (MenB) in children ages 1 through 9 years.
Vaccination is the most effective way to protect against this aggressive disease that has a narrow timeframe for diagnosis and treatment, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
** Schedule Vaccine Appointments Here **
Trumenba was the first MenB vaccine approved in the U.S. in 2014 for people over 10 years of age.
The other FDA approved serogroup B meningococcal vaccine for this age group is Bexsero.
As required to assess the safety and effectiveness of Trumenba in children age 1 to 9 years of age, Pfizer successfully completed Phase 2 studies in this investigational age group and these data have been submitted to the FDA.
These data support Pfizer’s request for Breakthrough Therapy designation.
Currently, TRUMENBA can be administered as a two‐ or three‐dose schedule to adolescents and young adults 10 through 25 years of age depending on an individual’s risk of exposure and susceptibility to MenB.
There is an active clinical study to confirm the effectiveness of the two-dose vaccination schedule.
Meningococcal disease is a serious illness caused by a type of bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis. It can lead to meningitis (infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord) and infections of the blood, says the CDC.
Even when it is treated, meningococcal disease kills 10 to 15 infected people out of 100. And of those who survive, about 10 to 20 out of every 100 will suffer disabilities such as hearing loss, brain damage, kidney damage, amputations, nervous system problems, or severe scars from skin grafts.
The majority of invasive meningococcal disease cases worldwide can be attributed to six Neisseria meningitidis serogroups (A, B, C, W, X, and Y).
Together, serogroups A, B, C, W, and Y account for 90% of all invasive meningococcal disease (IMD)1, with MenB accounting for the majority of disease in adolescents and young adults in the U.S. and Europe.
As of 2016, the burden of MenB is highest in adolescents/young adults (32%).
TRUMENBA should not be given to anyone with a history of a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose of TRUMENBA. Some individuals with weakened immune systems may have a reduced immune response.
As with any vaccine, vaccination with TRUMENBA may not protect all vaccine recipients against N meningitidis group B infections.
The most common adverse reactions in adolescents and young adults were a pain at injection site, fatigue, headache, and muscle pain. Nausea was reported in adolescents in early phase studies.
Data are not available on the safety and effectiveness of using TRUMENBA and other meningococcal group B vaccines interchangeably to complete the vaccination series.
Tell your healthcare provider if you are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant.
Only a healthcare provider can decide if TRUMENBA is right for you or your child.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of vaccines to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
PFIZER GRANTED FDA BREAKTHROUGH THERAPY DESIGNATION FOR TRUMENBA®
PFIZER RECEIVES FDA ACCELERATED APPROVAL FOR TRUMENBA®
Serogroup B Meningococcal (MenB) VIS
Meningococcal B Vaccine 4CMenB Found Safe for Children
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758890
|
__label__wiki
| 0.979333
| 0.979333
|
Indie music PR
Online Music PR
Avant-garde music PR
Folk / roots music PR
Electronic music PR
Rock music PR
Metal music PR
Punk / Emo / Hardcore PR
Jazz PR
Full genre list
Music website design
Band photos / Music photography
Music video production
Biography writing
Classic rock & Household name
Latest coverage
Clippings gallery
Music PR jobs
Press releases from Prescription PR, the leading UK music PR agency.
Alt-rock
Trixie Whitley 'Porta Bohemica' due early March 2016
Album release: 'Porta Bohemica' by Trixie Whitley
Release date: March 2016
Label: Strong Blood Music/BMI
More info: Artist website
Porta Bohemica is the name of an old train line that once connected Germany and Austria. Acclaimed singer-songwriter Trixie Whitley, was inspired by the concept of such remote journeys when choosing a title for her latest album. Her sophomore release, Porta Bohemica (Strong Blood Music/BMI), represents an introspective expedition into the depths of her creative identity, culminating in her resolve to fearlessly let go of gratuitous baggage, not needed on future travels.
“The metaphor of an old train line feeds something in my imagination. I related to that sense of travel when making this record because it was an epic undertaking. It involved letting go of my past to embrace my individuality both as a young woman and as an artist. This record has been something of a rebirth for me,” the Brooklyn-based artist says.
Trixie Whitley was born in Belgium in 1987 and re-located to NYC the following year. When she was three years old she and her mother, a philosopher and healer, return to Belgium.
From a very young age, Trixie Whitley nurtured a singular creative spirit, springing from her restless inner directive. Art is inherent in her genetics: she is the daughter of the late Chris Whitley, a renowned blues musician and innovative writer; her great-grandfather was Georges Minne , a sculptor and artist, muse and contemporary of both Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele; her grandfather was an upright bass player; her Grandmother was a model, anarchist and bronze sculptor. At the ripe age of three, she made her onstage debut alongside her father. Never resting on her lineage, Trixie set out to craft a unique personal and artistic identity. At age 10, she picked up her first instrument, the drums. The following year, at age 11, she emerged as an intrepid DJ; with residencies at Modern Art Museums and underground festivals, spinning electronica, free jazz, and hip-hop. Throughout her teenage years, she toured with several avant-garde theater and dance groups throughout Europe; including Les Ballets C de la B, Sidi Larbi and Cherkaoui.
Throughout all of this, she developed an affinity for punk rock’s nonconformist and D.I.Y. ethics that permeated her fearless genre-bending and daring life choices. After a nomadic transatlantic existence, living between New York and Belgium, and touring throughout Europe with several contemporary dance companies in her early teens, she quit high school at age 16 and took a job slinging burgers at dive while steadily advancing her music career. One of her early efforts impressed the iconic producer Daniel Lanois (Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris). At the age of 21, she was enlisted to front his own band, Black Dub, playing alongside drummer Brian Blade and bassist Daryl Johnson. The following year the Black Dub self-titled album was released.
Since 2013, Trixie has emerged as a compelling solo artist with three EPs and one full-length in her catalog. Fourth Corner, her self-released, full-length debut, garnered acclaim from MOJO, Interview, ELLE, Relix, The Village Voice, NPR and The New York Times, among many other publications. Through it’s success, she’s toured internationally and earned three nominations, as well as a win for Best Female Artist at the 2013 Belgium Music Industry Awards (MIAs). She has performed and recorded with such artists as Robert Plant, Marianne Faithful, Meshell Ndegeocello, Daniel Lanois, Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell, Joey Waronker, Mark Guiliana, Sam Amidon, and many more.
Trixie’s prismatic artistry reflects electronica, R&B, the vulnerable ethos of singer-songwriters, and the unapologetic individuality of punk rock. Although her previous effort reflects her broad tastes, it is with her latest that Trixie creates a transcendent musical miscellany. It even took chucking an earlier version of the record and starting over to achieve the meaning and mastery displayed in Porta Bohemica, which flourished with the help of producer Gus Seyffert (Beck, The Black Keys) and Joey Waronker (Atoms for Peace, Ultraísta).
“I wanted to make people think and feel something honest and emotionally complex in my music--that came from me being present in the creative moment. I ended up finishing two records, the second one being Porta Bohemica, and it really came together at the end of the process,” Trixie confides.
The album is bookended by the slow burning “Faint Mystery” and “Visitor.” The tracks are stately and spectral, elegantly vulnerable, and convey a desire for lost love in contrasting yet cohesive form. “When I started recording this album, I wanted to tap into complete openness,” Trixie explains.
“New Frontiers” puts forth a tender, ethereal soulfulness while “Visitor” cuts to the core with Trixie’s honeyed, longing vocals and lonesome piano accompaniment. These tracks are the directional poles of the album, and capture the heart of her artistry. Other standouts include the ominous electronic blues of “Soft Spoken Words” and the lush “Salt.” On “Salt,” Trixie’s vision is at it’s grandest with rhythmic piano melodies, atmospheric keys, a big guitar riff, and hypnotic hip-hop beats. Throughout the album, Trixie’s lyrics express a resilient emotionality. “I hope my music generates a strength through vulnerability that invites people to be courageous enough to explore what’s inside,” she says.
Porta Bohemica was nearly a two-year odyssey that profoundly changed the artist. “I came to a lot of realizations making this record,” Trixie reveals. “When you let go of your fears, you can start facing your potential and there is an endless palette of possibilities to explore. This is just the beginning, and I feel a lot of excitement and optimism about what’s to come.”
Porta Bohemica will be released in the UK March 2016. Digital copies available on request.
If you would like some more information about this release, or would like to contact us about interview opportunities / review copies, just contact us via our press enquiries form.
You can click here to subscribe to our press releases - we'll send you a weekly digest of all our latest releases.
Us Amongst The Rest: Follow The Truth
Album release: Follow The Truth by Us Amongst The Rest
Release date: September 29 2014
Label: Two Star Records
Listen: on official Us Amongst The Rest website
Us Amongst The Rest are a four-piece brotherhood of Rock emerging from York. An alliance forged through years of gigs and rival bands, playing since 2012, UATR hold nothing back. Channelling their collective psyche to deliver a raw, focussed, and soulful take on alternative rock, their suitably explosive debut effort Follow The Truth is ground zero, a place from which they hope great things will be born.
Recording the album at InnerSounds Studios with Sam and Joe Graves (Axewound, Glamour of the Kill, Asking Alexandria), and working with such classic and iconic figures, has helped bring together the band’s vision for their sound, resulting in an incredibly accomplished debut.
Follow The Truth exemplifies their determination and confidence, and is complimented by an exhilarating honesty. Recent single Bring The Fuel, a track long awaited by a fervent fan-base, is a perfect introduction to newcomers, with its high production values and accomplished musicianship. Elsewhere, tracks like ‘Sliver & Lead’ and ‘Fields of Fray’ set the bar high, calling to mind early Funeral For A Friend.
As a back to back body of work, the tracks that make up Follow The Truth stem from the band’s own personal struggles, confronting harsh realities, mending relationships, love, loss and ultimately the desire to follow your own path. Perhaps it’s the album’s penultimate track Rise that sets out the band’s intentions perfectly, as vocalist Karl Sandor comments; “As a band (and like all bands) the struggle we faced was to swim out of a sea of musicians, all fighting to be heard. Especially in the town we are from it seems there are almost more bands than there are audiences to listen to them. We unintentionally wrote an album to better define us in our hometown of York”.
Us Amongst The Rest are:
Karl Sandor – Bass, vocals
Danny Beardmore – Guitars
Paul Fernandez – Drums
Dan Stockdale – Guitars
Of Montreal announce new album
Album release: lousy with sylvianbriar
Release date: 8 October 2013
Label: Polyvinyl
Listen: Stream new single fugitive air here
Defining Of Montreal is impossible. There are too many perspectives to consider, angles to explore and layers to uncover. Just when you think you have a concept of what kind of creature they are they transform into something unexpected and new. As a result, each album holds the opportunity for re-discovery, re-immersion, re-appreciation.
On lousy with sylvianbriar, this paradigm holds true once more. The record was created with a new songwriting approach, a different recording method, and a fresh group of musicians. Seeking creative inspiration, Kevin Barnes re-located to San Francisco where he spent days soaking in the strange surroundings and channeling the city's energy into his writing. After a very prolific period there, he returned to Athens, GA and assembled the cast of musicians to begin the sessions.
Barnes eschewed computer recording, with its pitch correction, limitless effects plug ins and editing possibilities. Instead, with the help of engineer Drew Vandenberg (Deerhunter, Toro y Moi), he recorded lousy with sylvianbriar in his home studio on a 24 track tape machine. With no computer tricks to fall back on, the band - Kevin Barnes (guitars, bass, vocals), Rebecca Cash (vocals),Clayton Rychlik (drums, vocals), Jojo Glidewell (keys), Bob Parins (pedal steel, bass), and Bennet Lewis (guitars, mandolin) - could only get out of the recordings what they put into them. Most of the tracking was recorded live with the band in the same room together. They worked quickly, with the band members composing their parts on the fly with little second guessing. The album was recorded in just three weeks.
"I knew I wanted the process to be more in line with the way people used to make albums in the late 60s and early 70s," reveals Barnes. "I wanted to work fast and to maintain a high level of spontaneity and immediacy. I wanted the songs to be more lyric driven, and for the instrumental arrangements to be understated and uncluttered".
Opening track and lead single fugitive air feels like a Stones-y anthem, with sparks of Philip K Dick's psychedelic prose, Ralph Bakshi's cartoon violence and William S Burroughs' hyper-paranoia. "belle glade missionaries" finds Barnes lyrically at his most political, backed by a soundtrack that is pure Dylan circa Highway 61 Revisited.
Female vocalist Rebecca Cash makes several appearances on the album, taking the lead on the plaintive raindrop in my skull, where her and Barnes share a Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris-inspired duet.
she ain't speakin' now ranks among Of Montreal's all-time great songs, transforming its brooding acoustic guitar intro into a visceral angst-ridden rocker that sounds like the best moments of Neil Young & Crazy Horse. The album's closer "imbecile rages", a caustic and doleful epitaph for a crumbling relationship, is one of Barnes' most raw and personal statements.
Like the classic albums that inspired it, this is an album to be explored, to be lived with, to be listened to in happiness and in darkness, to be dissolved into. To be played very loudly at parties and with eyes closed, in headphones, alone. It should become dog-eared and dirty with use and it should lessen the blow of our enemies, in all of their forms.
The album will be available digitally, on tape, CD and 180-gram vinyl. 1500 copies of vinyl will be clear green vinyl and available through Polyvinyl's E-store exclusively, while the other retail copies will be pink vinyl. Cassette edition limited to 250 hand-numbered copies on green cassettes, courtesy of Joyful Noise Recordings.
Preorder on Polyvinyl here.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - 4th album out 17 September
Album release: Fly By Wire by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Release date: 17 September
Missouri-based indie-pop trio Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin has debuted the first single, Nightwater Girlfriend, from their forthcoming album, Fly By Wire, with Stereogum. Out September 17th on Polyvinyl, the album will be available on CD/Digital, 180-gram coke bottle clear vinyl with a gatefold jacket and collage-style pull-out poster, a special limited edition red/white vinyl exclusively for mail-order, and red cassette tape.
For this new album, the members of SSLYBY returned to the attic where they made their debut full-length Broom, but first they took a 5000 mile detour. After the Boris Yeltsin Foundation in Yekaterinburg, Russia extended an invitation to the band, Phil Dickey, Will Knauer, and Jonathan James spent a whirlwind six days in their namesake's home country this past January: meeting with Yeltsin's close friends and personal translator (who gifted them seven bottles of expensive Russian vodka) and performing at an elementary school after the U.S. consulate named them cultural ambassadors for a day. The trip concluded with a set at Old Nu Rock, making SSLYBY the first American group to play at Russia's largest winter rock festival.
Despite all of its empowering moments, this once-in-a-lifetime adventure also marked a turning point for SSLYBY."I used to joke that we would break up if Boris Yeltsin ever found out about our band," says Dickey. "So I figured this was either the death or rebirth of the band." Happily, it turned out to be the latter. With no one pressuring them to start work on a new album, SSLYBY decided to anyway for the best reason of all - because they simply wanted to. Rejuvenated by the sights they saw and people they met, the three musicians returned home eager to start work on a new full-length. With this desire in mind, there was no better location for Fly By Wire to come together than in the place that started it all: the attic of Knauer's parent's house where SSLYBY recorded their breakout debut album, Broom. The band is releasing a documentary about their life-changing trip this summer, called Discussions With Russians. Watch the trailer here.
Drawing as much from the pop-punk power chords their brains were wired to love as teens in the late 90s, as the multi-layered pop of the 60's and 7'0s they strive to emulate, SSLYBY has been writing songs for over a decade based on the timeless principles of beautiful melodies and good harmonies. From the scuzzy-paired-with-sunny guitar rhythms on handclap-aided first single, Nightwater Girlfriend, to the mid-tempo electro-pop of Harrison Ford, the songs on Fly By Wire are just plain fun to listen to. As a result, the music they create is nothing if not universal. And even though it took a trip to Russia for the band to be reminded of this, one listen to Fly By Wire is all you'll need.
More information / press enquiries
For all enquiries, please contact us. If you feature this story in your publication, blog or site, we'd really appreciate it if you could let us know.
Don't miss great Prescription stories and content
- Get our press releases delivered to your inbox
- Subscribe via RSS
- Get our free must-have tips and advice on music promotion
- Visit our website to find out more about our music PR, band promotion and music website design services.
Wiretree's fourth album, Get Up, to be released on 19 August
Album release: Get Up by Wiretree
Release date: 19 August 2013
Label: Cobaltworks Music
Listen: on official site
Wiretree began as the solo recording project of singer-songwriter Kevin Peroni. After releasing the LP Bouldin in 2007, Peroni recruited other band members to solidify the project. The group released their sophomore effort Luck in 2009, which made its way to numerous year-end Best Of lists, labeled by Blurt Magazine as their “Best Kept Secret”. The band have since appeared at SXSW, featured on Austin City Limits and toured Europe. This year the band will play China’s biggest music festival, The Strawberry Music Festival, alongside acts like Deerhoof and Travis.
Wiretree’s mission statement for Get Up reads thus: unite diverse songs in a compatible way. Peroni, an Austin native, spent his life listening to music from the UK with The La’s, Radiohead, The Kinks all currying favour while sitting side by side US artists such as Grandaddy and Dylan. Each of these bands influenced what would become this beautiful patchwork album. Take Us Away beats like a Shins comedown, while elsewhere much of the album is guided by the power pop light of Big Star.
It was a conscious decision then to create an album that sounded homegrown and carefree, the general feeling being that too many modern albums are left feeling overly clinical, sterile and precise. The recording process itself was varied. Some songs were recorded live with the whole band (So Bold, To the Moon), other songs recorded alone (Marching Band, When You Were Young). The remaining songs were done in various studios, using different equipment and producers resulting in sonically different approaches to match the writing of each song. Peroni admits that when these new songs were birthed, it wasn’t with the intention of them becoming an album, which perhaps going someway to explain the resulting diversity.
Of the album, Peroni says:
“The album before, I tried using only one producer, I let the band members push the music to more of a rocking sound, and that was good for the time, but it made me want to get back to the roots of how I hear music in my head. I think this new album is one of the most revealing in terms of how I hear and create music in my head.”
For many, such diversity might signal a band yet to discover their true direction. But for Wiretree, now four albums in, their path couldn’t be more clear-cut; write the songs you want to listen to.
“There are traces of Britpop’s cool factor and The Shangri-Las’ lilt and sway” - Under The Radar
- Visit our website to find out more about our music PR, band promotion and music website design services
Jane's Addiction: Live in NYC - album / DVD out 8 July
Album /DVD release: Jane’s Addiction: Live In NYC
Release date: 8 July 2013
Label: Capitol / UMC
From the beginning, Jane's Addiction have thrown the most unique parties in rock, mixing a fierce musicality with theatrical flair onstage. 2012 saw the band — who’ve always outrageously combined electricity, sex and danger — return to the stage in support of their acclaimed album The Great Escape Artist (Capitol Records).
Live in NYC was filmed in New York City at Terminal 5 on December 29th, 2012 during a special run of North American shows—called “Theatre of the Escapists”- with the band performing in intimate venues, most of which are classic theatres. The alternative rock pioneers — frontman Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro and drummer Stephen Perkins, along with Chris Chaney on bass — captured this immersive theatrical experience on tape and are making available via Live in NYC on multiple formats.
“We chose to play as many of the great theatres that we could find because we wanted to immerse the audience in a unique experience unlike any they have ever seen at a rock show,” said FARRELL in the band’s tour announcement. “Expect an orgy of musical and visual delights. We like orgies, and hope you do too.”
The album will be released on the following formats: Digital, DVD and Blu-ray (running time 69 mins), DVD & CD, CD – both with 12 page booklets and sticker and also double vinyl LP – which is the first live vinyl release since 1987's self-titled on Triple X Records.
Ain't No Right
Ted, Just Admit It...
Been Caught Stealing
Irresistible Force (Met The Immovable Object)
Up the Beach
Ocean Size
Mountain Song
Encore: Jane Says
Owen to release new album, 'L'Ami du Peuple'
Album release: L'Ami du Peuple by Owen
Listen: on Polyvinyl site
The songs Mike Kinsella writes as Owen have always had rock solid lyrical foundations. And on new album, L'Ami du Peuple, the same can be said for the music. Emphasis on the rock.
Anyone vaguely familiar with Kinsella's musical lineage (Cap'n Jazz, American Football, Owls) knows he's far from a one-note musician. And now, he expands his repertoire as a solo songwriter to include a touch of female vocals, pounding drums, and even dueling electric guitar lines that are the closest thing he’s done in tribute to his 80s hair metal obsession.
The variety of sounds featured on L'Ami du Peuple can largely be attributed to a new approach Kinsella took to the writing and recording process. Rather than locking himself in a room with mostly finished song ideas for a couple of weeks before emerging with a finished album, this time Kinsella involved producer Neil Strauch (Iron & Wine, Bonnie 'Prince’ Billy, Andrew Bird) from the very beginning and spaced out recording over a few month period.
This enabled him to naturally bring a different mood or vibe to the material he was working on every time he entered the studio - re-evaluating what had been recorded during the previous session and collaborating with Strauch on the direction new songs should take.
As a result, L'Ami du Peuple sounds markedly different than any album Kinsella has released under the Owen moniker.
From the electronic blips and hand claps that punctuate I Got High to the ragtime piano melody running through Where Do I Begin? each track possesses a unique and surprising identity.
"In the past I've stifled a bunch of my influences and leaned on a couple consistently, but this time I just let each song happen as I heard them and had a lot of fun trying some new things," Kinsella reveals.
The benefits of this "anything goes" mindset are plainly apparent on album centerpiece Bad Blood -- a track propelled by a quasi-country stomp that explodes halfway through with an electric guitar solo before dovetailing into a closing crescendo.
Bad Blood also affirms that lyrically Kinsella remains as raw and personal as ever. As the title suggests, the song finds Kinsella lamenting his pedigree: "Bad blood / Hereditary law you can't run away from / (Trust me, I've tried)."
This focus on familial relationships occurs often, but with the addition of a new angle on top of those Kinsella has adopted previously Now the parent of two children, Kinsella finds his perspective on life inevitably shifting from being a "son" to being a "father."
This role reversal adds a new dimension to Kinsella's self-examination of his thoughts and fears. As he explains, "Instead of being a son whose father passed away, I've moved on to being the father afraid of passing."
His anxiety at life passing by too quickly is evident on closing track Vivid Dreams: "How long have I been sleeping? / I'm a dad and my dad's dead."
The question he poses doesn't come with an easy answer, but for an artist like Kinsella who is constantly evolving and reinventing himself, death is just an opportunity for rebirth.
New album from Aimee Mann out 17 September 2012
Album release: Charmer by Aimee Mann
Release date: 17 September 2012
Label: Proper
Listen: http://www.aimeemann.com/
"One of the finest songwriters of her generation." — The New York Times
"One of the top 10 living songwriters along with Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen." — NPR
The long-awaited new album from Aimee Mann, Charmer, will be released in the UK on September 17 by Proper Records. Influenced by what Mann calls the “superpop” of the 70s and 80s, the album is her first release since 2008’s celebrated @#%&*! Smilers, which the BBC website called “undeniably beautiful.”
Of Charmer, her eighth studio album, Mann comments, “I’m fascinated by charming people and the whole idea of charm. It's hard to remember sometimes that there is usually an agenda behind the act of being charming, and that is what I'm most interested in. Is someone’s charm being utilized just to try and entertain people, make them feel special and interesting, or is there a more sinister purpose behind it? Sometimes I think ‘charm’ can just be another word for ‘manipulation.’”
The album also includes a duet with James Mercer of The Shins on Living a Lie. Mann will support the new album with tour dates this autumn.
Charmer was produced by longtime friend and band member Paul Bryan and recorded with Ryan Freeland (Ray LaMontagne, Bonnie Raitt) at Stampede Origin in Los Angeles. Bryan joins Mann on the album, among many other friends and collaborators including J.J. Johnson, Jebin Bruni and Jamie Edwards. Mann wrote all of songs on the album, though two, Living a Lie and Soon Enough are collaborations with Paul Bryan and Tim Heidecker, respectively.
Mann began her solo career in 1993 with the album Whatever and made a name for herself through her independent success and the founding of her record label, SuperEgo. In addition to her solo work, she has appeared on many film soundtracks and composed the soundtrack for Paul Thomas Anderson’s much-lauded Magnolia. Since @#%&*! Smilers, Mann has performed for President Obama and the First Lady at the White House, appeared as herself on the hit indie TV series Portlandia and fast become an internet darling. Named one of The Huffington Post’s “13 Funny Musicians You Should Be Following On Twitter,” Mann has gained a diehard social media following for her quick wit and stinging observation, much of which is reflected on the new album.
- Visit www.prescriptionpr.co.uk to find out more about our music PR and band promotion services.
Japandroids - new album, single and UK dates
Album release: Celebration Rock by Japandroids
Release date: June 5 2012
Listen: www.japandroids.com/
Vancouver duo Japandroids' long awaited follow-up to their critically-acclaimed 2009 debut, Post-Nothing, will see its release this summer. Celebration Rock will be available June 5th on Polyvinyl Record Co. On May 15, Brian King (vocals, guitar) and Dave Prowse (vocals, drums) will release the first single off the record, The House That Heaven Built as the 4th installment of their 7” series, which also features a B-Side cover of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds’ Jack The Ripper. Listen to the track at www.japandroids.com or read more about the release below.
King recently talked to Pitchfork about recording the album, which was created in Vancouver at The Hive with engineer Jesse Gander, who they had previously worked with on Post-Nothing:
"On a lot of this new record, we actually tried to simulate the sound of what we thought the crowd would do during the songs," says King. "Dave and I were in the studio just screaming out as if we were in the audience at our own show."
Read the full Pitchfork story here:
http://pitchfork.com/news/45701-japandroids-talk-new-album/
Celebration Rock, featuring eight new tracks, will be available on CD/LP/Digital. There is also a limited edition of 1,000 on 180-gram red vinyl available for pre-order at http://polyvinylrecords.com/celebrationrock
Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to the stream of Japandroids’ new single, The House That Heaven Built, the band has decided to move up its digital release - it's available now. It also features a b-side of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds' Jack The Ripper. The 7” will still be available on May 15.
Starting mid-May, Japandroids will head out on what will be a long road of touring. Dates are below.
Japandroids 2012 UK dates
17/5 Cardiff Club Ifor Bach
18/5 Brighton Green Door Store
19/5 Netherlands London Calling/ Paradiso
21/5 Bristol Cooler
22/5 London CAMP Basement
23/5 Manchester Soup Kitchen
24/5 Glasgow King Tuts
25/5 Leeds Cockpit 2
28/5 London Garage
For all press enquiries (including review copy requests), please contact us. If you feature this story in your publication, blog or site, we'd really appreciate it if you could let us know.
Get our press releases delivered to your inbox - subscribe at www.prescriptionmusicpruk.com/press-releases/
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/prescriptionpr
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/prescriptionpr
Subscribe via RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/prescriptionpr
Get our free must-have tips and advice on music promotion - subscribe to The Prescription e-newsletter.
Visit www.prescriptionpr.co.uk to find out more about our music PR and band promotion services.
New EP from acclaimed Irish alt-rock band Susie Soho
EP Release: Susie Soho, Twelve Twenty Seven
Listen / free MP3 download: http://www.susiesoho.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=54
November 25 sees the release Twelve Twenty Seven, the new EP from Meteor-nominated Irish band Susie Soho (the Meteors are Ireland's equivalent of the Brit Awards). The alternative-rock four piece – whose members have opened for and shared the stage with artists such as Damien Rice, The Frames, Mundy, and Damien Dempsey – are also doing a series of live performances around the country this Autumn to promote the release.
Featuring Jason Maher on bass, Niall Campion on guitar and Mia Fitzgerald on drums, Susie Soho was formed by singer and guitarist Tony Fitz in 2009. Describing themselves as “the kind of band you’d get if Dave Grohl and Gemma Hayes had some kind of musical lovechild”, their catchy, guitar-driven songs blend a distinctively Irish sound with US-tinged alternative rock.
The band made their live debut at Oxegen 2009; this was followed in 2010 with a Meteor Award nomination for Most Promising Artist and the release of their debut album, Where All The Ladders Start. This record was mixed by renowned Greek electro-acoustic composer and producer Anthony P. (aLfa.P, Stereo Nova, Supermarket) and mastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road Studios (Gorillaz, Coldplay, Lily Allen).
Twelve Twenty Seven was recorded at Windmill Lane studios and features four songs. The EP’s themes range from the personal (Your Way Or Not At All; An Eye for an Eye) to the political (Stand Up, which was released as a single in the run up to the last Irish general election), with one track taking cynics to task along the way (Making Taste).
Susie Soho’s EP features melodies you can’t shake from your head, driving guitar riffs and a punchy, in-your-face alternative rock sound. With these excellent tracks in the can, and new material on the way, they are a band to definitely keep an eye on.
Random facts / talking points:
The band name comes from the the title of the 2000 jazz album “Good Morning Susie Soho” by the Esbjorn Svensson Trio.
Tony Fitz got physics lessons from Dominic of Bellx1, back when Bellx1 and Damien Rice were still Juniper. One thing led to another and Tony ended up opening shows and playing lead guitar for Damien Rice.
Tony has also played with The Frames, and with the late Mic Christopher. It was a great honour for Tony to later be asked by Mic's family to perform at the launch of his album a year after his death, and a New Year’s Eve special performance on RTE in his memory.
The band have worked in classic studios such as Abbey Road, London and Windmill Lane, Dublin and are obsessed with studio gear and obscure recording equipment.
The EP’s Stand Up track (a recent single) was written as both a commentary on the causes of the anger and frustration that people all over Ireland were feeling in the final days of the last government, when things were looking more and more bleak, and as a call for people to get involved in the process of turning the country around.
Niall has worked professionally in film and television graphics for many years. As well as working on high profile graphics jobs for RTE and the BBC, he has also edited a number of film projects, including Domhnall Gleeson’s hugely successful short "Noreen". In addition to directing videos for the band's own music, Niall has made videos for Damien Rice, Frank and Walters, Hybrasil, Bellx1 and Saso.
For more information about Susie Soho, or to request an interview, please email Chris Singleton on chris@prescriptionpr.co.uk or call +44 (0)7790 591707. For live dates, please see www.susiesoho.com.
Visit www.prescriptionpr.co.uk to find out more about our music PR services.
Prescription PR London
Kemp House, 152 City Road, London EC1V 2NX (NB: all mail should be sent to our Cambridge address, below).
Prescription PR Cambridge
Office 1, Unit 8, 23-25 Gwydir Street, Cambridge,
CB1 2LG, United Kingdom
Prescription PR Manchester
Stretford Public Hall, Chester Rd, Manchester M32 OLG
Monday — Friday, 9am to 6pm
(c) Prescription PR 2019. Privacy Policy | Website Terms and Conditions of Use | Cookies Notice
Music PR services for England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland | A Repeater Media Company | Design by Style Factory
Quick links: Indie Music PR | Folk Music PR | Metal Music PR | Music Festival PR | Punk Music PR | Rock Music PR | All genres
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758891
|
__label__wiki
| 0.673226
| 0.673226
|
Al-Shabab kills 15 in new attack in Somalia
Mon Nov 26, 2018 06:51AM [Updated: Mon Nov 26, 2018 08:22AM ]
Al-Shabab militants (file photo)
The al-Shabab terrorist group has launched a two-pronged attack on a religious institution in central Somalia, killing a cleric and 14 other people.
“The (security) operation is now over. Al-Shabab killed 15 people, including the cleric, his wife, his followers, and his guards,” Captain Nur Mohamed, a police officer, told Reuters from Galkayo by phone. “Three militants who stormed the center were also shot dead.”
Farah Nur, an elder in Galkayo, said a driver rammed an explosive-laden car into the center before other assailants attacked it, also according to Reuters.
A file photo of al-Shabab militants in the town of Elasha Biyaha, southwest of the Somali capital, Mogadishu (by AFP)
The Takfiri al-Shabab quickly claimed responsibility for the attack.
The terrorist group controls some sections of the Mudug region, where the city of Galkayo is located.
Al-Shabab militants have stepped up on their attacks in the past months, launching numerous attacks on civilian and government targets and injuring and killing many people.
Bystanders look at the wreckage of a van after a car bomb exploded in the center of Mogadishu on September 28, 2017. (Photo by AFP)
In an ambush on government forces on Saturday, the militants killed at least 10 Somali soldiers in the country’s south.
Al-Shabab, which is allied to al-Qaeda, has fought successive Somali governments as well as neighboring governments in Kenya and Uganda.
African Union forces have helped Somali government forces push the Takfiri terrorists out of the capital, Mogadishu, and large parts of the south and central Somalia. However, al-Shabab continues deadly attacks across the country.
Al-Shabab car bombing hits EU convoy in Somalia
A European Union armored convoy has bit hit in a bomb attack by al-Shabab militants in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.
Al-Shabab attacks base in Somalia, kills 15
The Takfiri al-Shabab terrorist group has attacked a military base near Somalia’s capital, capturing the base and a nearby village and killing at least 15 soldiers.
Al-Shabab Takfiri group ‘seizes town in Somalia’
The al-Shabab militant group in Somalia has seized a town in the south of the country after it was abandoned by the military and African Union peacekeepers, residents say.
'Al-Shabab poses immediate threat to Somalia'
The al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group has carried out six sophisticated assaults on hotels in the Somali capital, the report says.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758892
|
__label__wiki
| 0.809475
| 0.809475
|
Beyond Abortion's Silence
Woman tells how Rachel’s Vineyard helped her find healing
Mark Hunter
DENHAM SPRINGS — Elaine Matherne is “Silent No More” about her abortion.
The 52-year-old mother of three grown daughters and grandmother of two young boys is sharing her deeply personal story of pain, regret, forgiveness and healing, because, she said, it is important for women who’ve had an abortion to know that emotional and spiritual healing are possible.
“It took me at least 20 years to face what I had done,” Matherne said. “Now I am a new, washed-clean woman.”
Silent No More is a national awareness campaign by Priests for Life to give a forum to those whose lives have been devastated by abortion. Its signs were carried by many demonstrators during January’s “pro-life” marches in Baton Rouge and Washington D.C.
“The more you keep silent, the more you keep it hidden, the more depressed and isolated you become from the healing that has to happen,” Matherene said.
She marched in the Washington, D.C., event along with 11 busloads of area Catholic young people and volunteered with Silent No More to share her story.
Silent No More’s Internet site includes testimonials from people such as Matherne as well as links for getting involved and finding ministries to bring healing to those who regret their involvement with abortion.
Enter a Baton Rouge area ZIP code, and the site pulls up the Louisiana schedule of retreats offered by Rachel’s Vineyard, a Pennsylvania ministry Matherne credits with playing a key role in her healing journey.
Kevin Burke, a licensed social worker founded the ministry with his wife, Theresa Burke, Ph.D., in 1997, and named it for Rachel, the wife of the Old Testament patriarch Jacob.
In Jeremiah 31:15-17, Rachel “mourns for her children; she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more,” a passage the New Testament Book of Matthew identifies as a prophecy fulfilled in the story of Herod killing the babies of Bethlehem in an attempt to eliminate the Christ child.
Rachel’s Vineyard weekend retreats, held hundreds of times a year and at locations around the world, are, according to a brochure, “an opportunity to surface and release repressed feelings of anger, shame, guilt and grief.”
“Most people have a deep sense of suffering guilt and shame, but there is usually no one to talk about it with; they suffer in silence,” Kevin Burke said. “The grief work at a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat is important in helping them resolve many of the emotional, spiritual and even physical symptoms people have.”
Matherne was silent for years about her struggles before reaching a place where she could tell her story of abortion. She grew up Catholic, and as the daughter of a Navy man, her family moved often. After graduating from high school in 1978, she drifted from her faith and while attending business school began to party, she said.
“I was searching for love, but I felt like I wore an invisible sign that said ‘sexually abuse me,’ ” Matherne said.
At the age of 20 she got pregnant. “When I told the father, he told me, ‘You have to get rid of it,’” Matherne said, her eyes welling up with tears. “He used the word ‘it,’ ” to describe the baby.
He took her to a Baton Rouge abortion clinic, where she underwent a surgical abortion at about the second month, but she can’t remember other details or even the exact day.
“I couldn’t cry” Matherne said. “I blocked it all out.”
After breaking up with the boyfriend, she said, “I cried out to God, ‘I can’t deal with this anymore.’ ”
She prayed to God to bring her a Catholic man who would love her unconditionally and four months later she met her husband, Gerry Matherne. They’ll celebrate their 30th anniversary in May. “He was my gift from the Lord.”
Oldest daughter Jennifer was born in 1983, Christie in 1985, and Andrea in 1991, but it still took seven years for her to tell her husband about the abortion, she said. “He was so compassionate he couldn’t stop hugging me, but I couldn’t accept his forgiveness and God’s forgiveness.”
Eventually, she confessed her abortion to a priest, but never told anyone else until she attended a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat in 2003 as part of her job as Respect Life program coordinator at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Denham Springs.
While at the retreat, Matherne took part in a group therapy session where a counselor had participants close their eyes and imagine walking through a dark forest toward the light of a meadow filled with children picking flowers.
“Jesus hands you this child and tells you, ‘This is your child,’ and you embrace this child and the child says, ‘Mommy, I forgive you,’ ” Matherne said, daubing tears from her eyes as she described the experience. “He (the baby) hands you flowers he’s picked for you, and then you open your eyes and they (counselors) had placed flowers in your lap.”
The women give their baby a name and write their baby a letter. Then a baptism and a memorial Mass is held for the baby.
Kevin Burke described how “reconciliation with God is essential.
“Many feel they have violated something fundamental in participating in the death of that child,” he said. “If those wounds fester, often deeply hidden for years at a time, it affects their relationships like their marriage and other family members.”
Matherne describes her healing process as a series of small steps.
“I focused on the Blessed Mother, her conceiving a son and not being married; there was a connection there,” she said. “It was like she helped me to grieve for my son.”
Matherne traveled to Alabama in 2004 with a local priest who presided over a private Mass just for her and her son with a few family members as witnesses.
She named her lost baby, Stephen Gerard, after the biblical martyr Stephen, who asked God to forgive his killers as they stoned him to death.
“There is no evidence from the abortion that I had a son, but a mother knows,” she said.
“I was able to give Stephen back to God,” she said. “I allowed the healing of God to enter my heart.”
She recommends that any women struggling to recover from an abortion find a healing ministry such as Rachel’s Vineyard and tell at least one person they can trust their abortion story. Matherne welcomes contact from such women and can be reached by email at elamath@cox.net.
For information on Project Rachel, a counseling program offered by the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, call The Respect for Life program at (225) 267-4673.
“Sharing her own story is the beginning of a journey, she said, “a journey of giving away what I have received to those who need love, mercy, forgiveness and redemption of their souls from the sin of abortion.
“The message I want for women to know is that there is hope,” Matherne said. “Life can be joyful. Life can be complete in knowing that you will see this child in Heaven.”
ON THE INTERNET:http://hopeafterabortion.com
http://www.rachelsvineyard.org
http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org
http://www.noparh.org
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758894
|
__label__wiki
| 0.84754
| 0.84754
|
May 28, 2019 / 9:52 PM / 2 months ago
Corbyn set to back second Brexit referendum - report
FILE PHOTO: Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home, following the results of the European Parliament elections, in London, Britain May 27, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo
(Reuters) - Britain’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is set to back a second referendum on Brexit and it could be within days, the Mirror newspaper reported late on Tuesday, citing senior figures of the party.
Corbyn, who has so far said the option of a second referendum should be kept on the table, is under pressure to endorse one without qualification. The prospect poses a dilemma as many of the party’s supporters backed Brexit.
After being punished by voters in the European elections, which saw both pro-Brexit and pro-European Union parties surge at the expense of Labour and the governing Conservatives, Labour said a public vote was the way to reunite the country, but added this could also be a national election.
Corbyn himself on Monday had said that the British public should be asked again to give its verdict on Brexit, either through a general election or a second referendum.
“With the Conservatives disintegrating and unable to govern, and parliament deadlocked, this issue will have to go back to the people, whether through a general election or a public vote,” Corbyn had said, adding the party would have discussions on the way forward.
Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Brown and Sandra Maler
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758897
|
__label__wiki
| 0.518417
| 0.518417
|
IMF approves second review of Argentina, paves way for $7.6 billion in funds
FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., as IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde meets with Argentine Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund has completed its second review of Argentina, the fund said on Monday, paving the way for the country to receive $7.6 billion under a $56.3 billion financing deal.
The next disbursement will be made once the IMF executive board approves the staff-level inspection of Argentina’s fiscal and monetary policy required under the agreement announced in June, the fund said in a statement.
IMF officials conducted the review in Buenos Aires from Nov. 9 to 16, and met with Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne and Central Bank Governor Guido Sandleris, the statement said.
Argentina renegotiated the deal, the fund’s largest ever, in September after the peso lost half its value against the greenback in 2018, sparking investor fears over the country’s ability to service its international debts in 2019.
In line with the agreement, Argentina’s Congress passed an austere 2019 budget earlier this month to balance the country’s fiscal deficit next year.
“Strong implementation of the government’s plan is essential to pave the way for a rebound of economic activity in 2019 and to support job creation, reduce poverty, and improve the living standards of all Argentines,” the statement said.
Under the IMF deal, Argentina’s central bank established a floating exchange rate band for the peso to stabilize foreign exchange markets and has sought control of the country’s money supply to rein in inflation.
IMF Executive Director Christine Lagarde is expected to travel to Buenos Aires this week to participate in the Group of 20 summit, hosted by Argentina this year.
Reporting by Scott Squires; Editing by Richard Chang
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758898
|
__label__cc
| 0.519731
| 0.480269
|
July 3, 2019 / 1:48 PM / 13 days ago
Brazil deforestation exceeds 88% in June under Bolsonaro
Jake Spring
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil’s portion of the Amazon rainforest soared more than 88% in June compared with the same month a year ago, the second consecutive month of rising forest destruction under new President Jair Bolsonaro, who has called for development of the region.
According to data from Brazil’s space research agency, deforestation in the world’s largest tropical rainforest totaled 920 square km (355 square miles).
The data showing an 88.4% deforestation increase is preliminary but indicates the official annual figure, based on more detailed imaging and measured for the 12 months to the end of July, is well on track to surpass last year’s figure.
In the first 11 months, deforestation already has reached 4,565 square km (1,762 square miles), a 15 percent increase over the same period in the previous year. That is an area larger than the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
Environmentalists have warned that Bolsonaro’s strong remarks calling for the development of the Amazon and criticizing the country’s environmental enforcement agency Ibama for handing out too many fines would embolden loggers and ranchers seeking to profit from deforestation.
“Bolsonaro has aggravated the situation. ... He has made a strong rhetorical attack,” said Paulo Barreto, a researcher at Brazilian nongovernment organization Imazon.
The new data coincides with more pressure on the government to protect the environment under the terms of the free trade deal between the European Union and South American bloc Mercosur agreed to last week. Brazil will take action if concerns about an increase in deforestation are confirmed, the agriculture minister said on Wednesday.
The rainy season through April appeared to have held off a spike in deforestation that subsequently came with the dry season starting in May.
FILE PHOTO: A man, who was hired by loggers to cut trees from the Amazon rainforest, sits on a tree next to his chainsaw in Jamanxim National Park, near the city of Novo Progresso, Para State, Brazil June 21, 2013. Picture taken June 21, 2013. REUTERS/Nacho Doce
Deforestation rose 34% in May compared with the same month a year ago.
Bolsonaro’s office declined to comment, saying questions would be addressed by the Environment Ministry.
“We are adopting all measures to combat illegal deforestation,” Environment Minister Ricardo Salles told Reuters. “This week we had 17 enforcement teams simultaneously in all of the Amazon from Ibama.”
Brazil is home to 60% of the Amazon, which is the world’s largest tropical rainforest and is seen as vital to the global fight against climate change.
Grains trader Cargill, the largest privately held U.S. company, said last month that the food industry would not be able to meet a pledge to eliminate deforestation in their supply chains globally by 2020 and committed to do more to protect native environments in Brazil.
While the final text of the EU-Mercosur deal has not been released, an outline from the EU states the agreement includes a provision that the Paris Agreement on climate change must be effectively implemented along with other commitments to fight deforestation.
French President Emmanuel Macron had warned last week that he would not sign off on the deal if Brazil leaves the Paris accord. Bolsonaro met Macron at last week’s G20 summit and reassured him Brazil was in the Paris Agreement to stay.
Greenpeace forest strategist Paulo Adario said “all indications” are that deforestation will worsen under Bolsonaro, but he hopes news of a large increase will put pressure on the government to take action.
“When they have the final numbers, if it is really a lot, this will be a nightmare for Bolsonaro,” Adario said. “This is something that is really important from an international and Brazilian point of view because the Amazon is an icon.”
(GRAPHIC: Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest - tmsnrt.rs/2XaE0ZB)
Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758899
|
__label__wiki
| 0.899407
| 0.899407
|
March 21, 2016 / 2:15 PM / in 3 years
Illicit drugs? How Brexit risks legal limbo for medicines
Ben Hirschler
LONDON (Reuters) - A British vote to leave the European Union would threaten some prescription medicines with regulatory limbo, posing a legal headache for drugmakers, according to lawyers and industry officials.
The logo of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is seen on its office building in Shanghai July 12, 2013. REUTERS/Aly Song
The highly regulated pharmaceutical sector has more at stake than most from a so-called Brexit, prompting top manufacturers GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, both of which oppose exit, to draw up detailed contingency plans.
Smaller UK biotech companies, represented by the BioIndustry Association, also fear a decision to leave would disrupt the market and could affect patient access to medicines.
Currently, under EU rules, drugmakers launching a medicine get a single marketing approval that allows them to tap the entire European market of 500 million potential patients.
But European marketing authorizations, or product licences, can only be held by entities established within the European Economic Area (EEA), comprising the EU’s 28 members plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
In the event of a British exit, UK firms could no longer apply for or hold EU marketing authorizations, unless or until the UK negotiated to be part of the EEA. Licences would have to be transferred to businesses inside remaining member states.
At the same time, new medicines approved by the EU would not be automatically placed on the British market.
To be sure, Britain would not leave the EU immediately, since there is expected to be a two-year hiatus while London agrees a departure date with its former EU partners.
But the ramifications for the drug industry could still be profound as companies prepare to transfer licences out of Britain, according to Elisabethann Wright, a Brussels-based partner at law firm Hogan Lovells, who specializes in pharmaceuticals.
There would also be uncertainty about the granting of new drug licences or the renewal of existing ones, she believes, since the default period for initial licensing is five years, followed by an open-ended renewal.
EU authorities would therefore face a dilemma on whether to approve a drug from a UK company that would not be in the bloc for the lifetime of the licence.
“There is nothing in the European code that permits the European Commission to limit the marketing authorization. The regulation is clear that an initial marketing authorization is for five years and then it is open-ended,” she said.
The European pharmaceutical industry trade body EFPIA warned last month that Brexit would create problems for drug regulation, in part because the European Medicines Agency is based in London.
“If the UK were to leave the EU, then there is a risk that this could affect patient access to medicines,” Christiane Abouzeid, regulatory head at Britain’s Bioindustry Association, said.
Brexit could also push international drugmakers headquartered in Britain to relocate, she added.
AstraZeneca said it was assessing various scenarios.
“The potential complexities around such issues as marketing authorization simply highlight the problems that could be faced by companies and patients alike in the event of exiting the EU,” a spokesman said.
GlaxoSmithKline said leaving the EU would create uncertainty, add complexity and making some short-term disruption likely, although the adverse impact on the group at the global level would probably not be material.
Editing by Jane Merriman
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758900
|
__label__cc
| 0.525467
| 0.474533
|
April 26, 2019 / 4:13 AM / 3 months ago
U.S. economy expands 3.2 percent in first quarter; growth details weak
Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth accelerated in the first quarter, but the burst in growth was driven by a smaller trade deficit and the largest accumulation of unsold merchandise since 2015, temporary boosters that are seen weighing on the economy later this year.
The surge in growth reported by the Commerce Department on Friday put to rest fears of a recession, that were stoked by a brief inversion of the U.S. Treasury yield curve in March. But it also exaggerates the health of the economy as consumer and business spending slowed sharply, and investment in homebuilding contracted for a fifth straight quarter.
Gross domestic product increased at a 3.2 percent annualized rate in the first quarter, the government said in its advance GDP report. Growth was also driven by increased investment in roads by local and state governments.
“The gain in first-quarter GDP would seem to make a mockery of claims that the U.S. economy is slowing as the fiscal stimulus fades,” said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto. “Looking beyond the headline number, however, there are plenty of causes for concern.”
The economy grew at a 2.2 percent pace in the October-December period. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP increasing at a 2.0 percent rate in the first three months of the year. The economy will mark 10 years of expansion in July, the longest on record.
President Donald Trump cheered the economy’s performance in the first quarter. “This is far above expectations or projections,” Trump tweeted.
The White House has sought to boost growth through an array of policies, including a $1.5 trillion tax cut package passed in December 2017. Economists believe the fiscal stimulus, which also included more government spending, peaked in the third quarter.
They expect GDP to slow this year, with annual growth forecast around 2.5 percent, below the Trump’s administration’s 3 percent target. The economy missed the growth target in 2018.
Excluding trade, inventories and government spending, the economy grew at only a 1.3 percent rate in the first quarter, the slowest since the second quarter of 2013. This measure of domestic demand increased at a 2.6 percent pace in the October-December quarter.
A gauge of inflation tracked by the Federal Reserve increased at a 1.3 percent rate last quarter. Fed policymakers are likely to shrug off the last quarter’s growth spurt and focus on the weak domestic demand and inflation when they meet next week.
The U.S. central bank recently suspended its three-year monetary policy tightening campaign, dropping forecasts for any interest rate increases this year. The Fed raised borrowing costs four times in 2018.
“The Fed will focus on the composition of growth, which points to a slowing trend amid softening inflation,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM in New York. “This data reinforces the prudent pause the Fed is engaged in.”
The dollar dropped against a basket of currencies as investors fretted over the weak details of the GDP report. U.S. Treasury prices rose, while stocks on Wall Street were mixed.
BUSINESS SPENDING STALLS
Exports surged and imports declined in the first quarter, leading to a small deficit that added 1.03 percentage points to GDP after being neutral in the fourth quarter. Trade tensions between the United States and China have caused wild swings in the trade deficit, with exporters and importers trying to stay ahead of the tariff fight between the two economic giants.
The standoff has also had an impact on inventories, which increased at a $128.4 billion rate in the first quarter, the strongest pace since the second quarter of 2015. Inventories increased at a $96.8 billion pace in the October-December quarter. Part of the inventory build was because of weak demand, especially in the automotive sector, which is expected to weigh on future production at factories.
Inventories contributed 0.65 percentage point to first-quarter GDP after adding one-tenth of a percentage point in the October-December period.
Growth in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, slowed to a 1.2 percent rate from the fourth quarter’s 2.5 percent rate. The moderation in spending reflected a decline in motor vehicle purchases and other goods, likely related to a 35-day shutdown of the federal government. There was also a slowdown in spending on services.
The government said the shutdown had subtracted three-tenths of a percentage point from GDP last quarter. Retail sales have since rebounded strongly, pointing to some acceleration in consumption in the second quarter.
FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo looking north shows shipping containers at the Port of Seattle and the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, U.S. March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson
“Momentum in consumer spending picked up toward the end of the first quarter, which augurs well for a better consumption outcome in the second quarter,” said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. “Even so ... we continue to expect GDP growth to step down to a 2.25 percent pace in second quarter.”
Business spending on equipment braked sharply, rising at only at a 0.2 percent rate, the slowest since the third quarter of 2016. Spending was held down by weak outlays on agricultural machinery and office furniture. Investment in structures contracted for a third straight quarter.
Residential construction fell at a 2.8 percent rate, marking the fifth straight quarterly decline. Government investment rebounded at a 2.4 percent rate, driven by spending at state and local governments. Federal government spending was flat.
Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758901
|
__label__wiki
| 0.638565
| 0.638565
|
Bill Hines, 1922-2016
The late Bill Hines customized cars for more than half a century. Here he’s seen with one of his most well known jobs, Tats Gotanda’s “Buddha Buggy,” shortly after it was removed from storage in 2005. The lifted ’59 later received a full restoration to its early-’60s guise.
We’re sorry to report that legendary leadslinger Bill Hines passed away early this morning. He was 94.
Bill was an artist in lead and a master craftsman whose career spanned more than seven decades. Originally from Pennsylvania, he learned the basics of bodywork while living in Detroit. By the time he was in his early 20s, he started customizing with a chopped ’41 Buick. After short stints at the Alexander Brothers and Barris shops, he settled in Southern California to work for Barris full-time. In the post-Barris years, he continued working out of his own shop in Long Beach.
All customizers have their signature cars, and for Bill, it was his “Lil Bat.” The Bat was based on a ’50 Ford that he had chopped and fitted with sweeping tailfins while still living in Detroit. It went through several iterations before landing a spot on the cover of Rod & Custom in March 1959.
Jim Semon, a teenager from Sandusky, Ohio, snapped these photos of Hines’ Lil Bat outside the Barris shop while he was on his cross-country road trip in 1958. This earlier version sports Cadillac sombreros, a solid black paint job and ’58 Michigan tags. We told the story of the trip in TRJ #50.
Bill Hines has leaded his name into the history books. He dedicated his life to his craft, and he continued to build and customize into his 90s. Throughout the day, the web and social media have been abuzz with heartwarming tributes to “The Leadslinger.” Our hobby won’t be the same without you, Bill. We send our condolences to the Hines family and custom fans across the globe.
The Barris team poses with “Chili” Catallo’s now-famous “Silver Sapphire” ’32 outside his shop in this early-’60s photo. From left to right, the group includes Catallo, George Barris, Junior Conway, Curly Hulbert and Bill.
Hot Rod of the Year Announced at Goodguys Nashville Nationals
Kent Fuller’s Crowd-Funded Streamliner Gets Moving
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758904
|
__label__cc
| 0.745107
| 0.254893
|
Supreme Decree Nº 2954 on Integral Waste Management
February 21, 2017 Adriana Morales
On October 19 2016, Congress approved Supreme Decree Nº 2954, General Regulation to Law Nº 755 of October 28, 2015, on Integral Waste Management (the “Regulation”) within the framework of article 344 of the Constitution, which provides that the State shall regulate the internment, production, commercialization and use of techniques, methods, input materials and substances that affect health and the environment.
The Regulation encourages the participation of the general population and sustainability in the operational management of waste in compliance with the right to health and seeking to live in a healthy and balanced environment.
To this effect, the following important aspects are included in the Regulation:
Classification of waste generators
Waste generators are classified as follows:
a) Major generator: generates an amount equal to or greater than 20 tons of waste, in total gross weight per year, or its equivalent in another measurement unit;
b) Medium generator: generates an amount equal to or greater than 10 and less than 20 tons of waste, in total gross weight per year, or its equivalent in another measurement unit;
c) Small generator: generates an amount equal to or greater than one and less than 10 tons of waste, in total gross weight per year, or its equivalent in another measurement unit;
d) Micro generator: generates an amount less than one ton of waste, in total gross weight per year, or equivalent in another measurement unit.
The generator must store and classify the waste, either at the generation source, or at authorized locations, designated by the Autonomous Municipal Governments, as appropriate, and must cover operational costs.
Registry and Authorizations
The norm establishes a registry and the authority shall grant authorizations to those who carry out activities for the recovery and collection of recyclable waste (pending the enactment of specific regulation.) Promotes a Technical Assistance Program (TAP) aimed at the development of capacities and knowledge management for collectors and recyclers, with express prohibition in relation to the collection of hazardous waste.
Development of Educational Contents
Development of educational contents related to integral waste management and included in the curricular structures of the country's education system.
Development of Communication Strategies
The Regulations shall develop communication strategies and dissemination of educational messages on integral waste management, to raise public awareness. For this purpose, advertising shall be free, and completely covered by public and private media sector, which in addition, must comply with the following:
a) Radio stations shall broadcast ads or educational and preventive content messages on integral waste management, minimum of 30 minutes per month, distributed in the following time slots: 07:30 to 09:30; 12:30 to 14:00 and 20:00 to 22:00.
b) Audiovisual media shall broadcast ads or content messages on integral waste management, minimum of twenty 20 minutes per month, distributed in the following time slots: 07:30 to 09:30; 12:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
c) Written media shall once a month circulate ads or educational and preventive content messages on integral waste management, allocating the entire back cover - body A.
Media providers that have a digital version on the internet, must disseminate this publicity in a permanent and exclusive form.
Media providers must submit, on a monthly basis, and also upon request by the Ministry of Communication, reports of disseminated communication products, whose non-compliance or falsity, may find media providers liable and subject to sanctions.
The Ministry of Communication, ex-officio, shall request media providers, to provide audio recordings, video or written copy of the publicity issued, granting a term of five (5) administrative days for its remission. The breach or falsity on the information provided, shall find media providers liable media providers.
Media providers that breach the above-mentioned, shall be subject to the following sanctions:
· First offense, the fine amounts to UFV 5,000 (FIVE THOUSAND 00/100 HOUSING DEVELOPMENT UNITS) (“UFV”)
· Second offense, the fine amounts to UFV 10,000 (TEN THOUSAND 00/100 HOUSING DEVELOPMENT UNITS)
In the event of relapse, the fine will be increased by one hundred percent (100%) in relation to the last penalty.
Integral Waste Management Award
Productive activities, involving the integral management of waste, are awarded a recognition through the "Bolivia Limpia" award, a National Prize of Excellence for Living Well, which is given out to public and private entities and institutions that have implemented outstanding innovative practices on the integral management of waste.
Creation of Integral Waste Management Information System
The Integral Waste Management Information System is created, whose content, procedures and collection indicators, recording, systematizing and information update, related to the integral waste management, shall be approved through a Ministerial Resolution issued by the Ministry of the Environment and Water.
Creation of Integral Waste Management Information
The Sectorial Council for Waste is created to improve the coordination and materialize the sectorial policies for the Integral Waste Management.
Promotion of Prevention Measures
The promotion of prevention measures for the generation of waste:
a) Application of technologies that favor the reduction of waste;
b) Minimization in the use of packing or packaging of products;
c) Reuse of materials and containers either in the same initial function or different, as appropriate;
d) Others that encourage the change of patterns of consumption, before the generation of the waste.
Waste containers should prioritize to be made of recycled material and identified as follows:
· Green: Organic waste.
· Yellow: Recyclable waste.
· Black: Unusable waste.
Retailers or distributors of products, in supermarkets, markets or other similar establishments, should promote and encourage consumers to reduce unnecessary use of packing, packaging or containers, through messages or educational incentives, as appropriate.
Autonomous Territorial Entities may establish economic or fiscal measures or institutional agreements aimed at prevention, hazard reduction and take advantage of waste, in the productive or commercial sector.
Packers for the marketing of their products must use containers that include recycled post-consumer material.
Producer's Extended Responsibility
The producer's extended responsibility (PER), set out under Law No. 755 of Integral Waste Management, whereby producers and distributors are responsible for the integral management of their products, until the post-consumption phase, when they become waste, applicable to PET bottles, polyethylene bags, tires or pneumatics, batteries or primary cells and pesticide containers, and is extended by the Regulation, to electrical and electronic equipment waste, which are not generated by specific activities to the electricity sector.
To this effect, producers and distributors subject to this Extended Producer Responsibility regime must register under the registry established by the Ministry of Environment and Water, and develop and submit compliance programs for the comprehensive management of their products in the post-consumer phase, for a period of five (5) years.
Treatment Plants
Regarding treatment plants, the Regulation sets out the following types:
· Waste classification plants;
· Biological treatment plants;
· Biological mechanical treatment plants; and
· Waste heat treatment plants.
The final waste disposal must be carried out using the landfill method with a final disposal capacity of at least 15 years, located at a minimum radius of 3,000 meters from the last housing unit.
Landfills are classified as:
· Landfills for non-hazardous waste;
· For hazardous waste; and
· Inert waste.
Export of Hazardous Waste
In relation to the export of hazardous waste, this may be done after issuing a certification from the Ministry of Environment and Water for formal filing with the Customs Office. Likewise, it is required that the country receiving the hazardous waste issue the respective authorization.
SUPREME DECREE NO. 2954
LAW NO. 755
categories NEWSLETTER
tags WASTE MANAGEMENT, SUPREME DECREE, 2954, LAW 755
Supreme Decree No. 3161 - Wage Increase
REGULATING TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES LAW
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758905
|
__label__cc
| 0.663445
| 0.336555
|
VAL D’ELSA | Wine Estates, Farmhouses with vineyards and Luxury Villas for sale in Elsa Valley (Valdelsa), Florence and Siena
Val d'Elsa
WINE ESTATE AND TUSCAN FARMHOUSES FOR SALE IN VALDELSA - CERTALDO, SAN GIMIGNANO, MONTERIGGIONI
Are you looking for a Tuscan farmhouse or a well-started wine estate to produce your own wine in one of the most beautiful areas of Tuscany? Romolini Immobiliare offers a tailored selection of exclusive properties for sale in Valdelsa, in prime locations such as Montespertoli, Certaldo, Castelfiorentino, San Gimignano, Radicondoli and Monteriggioni.
If you are looking forward to buying a wine estate, a farmhouse or a villa in Valdelsa, Agenzia Romolini Immobiliare - Christie’s International Real Estate offers a refined showcase of estate with vineyards and olive grove, farmhouses with land and exclusive villas for sale both in the Sienese Valdelsa and Florentine Valdelsa.
A CROSSROAD ON THE VIA FRANCIGENA
The Valdelsa (often written Val d’Elsa), is a valley crossed by the river Elsa and shares its brders with the Chianti Hills, the Valdarno, the Val di Merse and the Valle di Cecina. Internally split between Upper and Lower Valdelsa, better known respectively as Sienese Valdelsa and Florentine Valdelsa, it includes several important Tuscan hamlet such as Poggibonsi, Castelfiorentino, Certaldo and Colle di Val d’Elsa.
Thanks to the numerous findings unearthed in the area, it’s been possible to have a reliable idea of the history of Valdelsa. Tools, necropolis and pottery testify the presence of Etruscans in the area, while recent archaeological expeditions unearthed the remains of several Roman villas.
Located among Florence, Siena and Volterra, the Valdelsa was an important crossroad on the Via Francigena during the Middle Ages, the period where an intense urbanization of the area took place with the birth of churches, castles and hamlets. Linking Northern Europe with Rome, the Via Francigena contributed to the economical and political development of the area, a process which unfortunately ended with the Medici. Only the realization of the railway in 1848 allowed the Valdelsa to stand back up and nowadays it attracts tourists from all over the world, eager to discover the beauties Tuscany has to offer.
If you want to rent a farmhouse or a villa in Valdelsa, Agenzia Romolini Immobiliare – Christie’s International Real Estate offers farmhouses and luxury villas for rent both in the Valdelsa Senese and Fiorentina.
SIENESE VALDELSA
In the area known as Valdelsa Senese, or Upper Valdelsa, are located the municipalities of Casole d’Elsa, Colle Val d’Elsa, Monteriggioni, Poggibonsi, Radicondoli and San Gimignano.
The small hamlet of Casole d’Elsa, with a typically medieval urban asset, is built on a rocky spur which allows it to dominate the underlying valley. Originally founded by the Etruscans (as testified by several tombs found in the area), the hamlet hosts several points of interest worth visiting such as the Chiesa della Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta and the annexed cloister, the Cappella degli Aringhieri with frescos by the school of Duccio da Buoninsegna, the Palazzo Pretorio and the Palazzo Comunale but most of all the archaeological museum, full of paintings from the Sienese and Florentine area.
Etruscan and Roman findings have been unearthed in the area of Colle Val d’Elsa, a medieval town born after the union of three preexisting hamlets (Borgo Santa Caterina, Castello di Piticciano and Piano). Knows as Colle Alto, the hilly area hosting the historic centre and the castle is the most ancient. Here one can see the Cattedrale dei Santi Alberto e Marziale, the Palazzo Pretorio, the Chiesa di Santa Maria in Canonica, the towerhouse of Arnolfo di Cambio and the Chiesa di Santa Caterina. Colle basso is the most recent part of the town and hosts the modern city.
Mentioned by Dante in its Divina Commedia with the verses “on its circular parapets / Montereggione crowns itself with towers”, Monteriggioni is a dive into the past thanks to its nice walls and the perfectly preserved towers defending the hamlet. Built by Siena at the beginning of the 13th century as a defense against Florentine raids, Monteriggioni is located right at the border between Valdelsa and Chianti. Through the main gate one can reach the central square with the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta.
Next to the hills of Chianti, Poggibonsi is a hamlet born around the old Pieve di Santa Maria, whose only remains today are the foundations of the bell tower. Contended for century between Florence and Siena, Poggibonsi is nowadays an important commercial and industrial town, widely known for wood crafting.
In panoramic position, Radicondoli is known for its hydrothermal plants and the Natural Reseve of Cornate and Fosini. Important places of interest are the Collegiata dei Santi Simone e Giuda, with its impressive bell tower, the Pieve Vecchia della Madonna and the Convento di San Francesco dell’Osservanza.
Included in the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, San Gimignano dominates the Valdelsa with its beautiful towers. Widely known for its Vernaccia, an excellent white wine, San Gimignano is also an important producer of saffron.
FLORENTINE VALDELSA
The municipalities included in the Florentine Valdelsa’s territory are Castelfiorentino, Certaldo, Gambassi Terme, Montaione e Montespertoli, where Agenzia Romolini Immobiliare offers prestigious villas and farmhouses for rent, an ideal choice for those dreaming of a vacation in the Tuscan countryside.
The original core of Castelfiorentino, named Timignano, was initially a Roman settlement located in a strategic location between the Via Francigena and the Via Volterrana, next to the river Elsa. The name Castelfiorentino was only used for the castle built on the hill above the town. Inside the hamlet are located several churches, among which the Pieve di Sant’Ippolito and the Santuario di Santa Verdiana. Frescoes and sinopias by Benozzo Gozzoli are exhibited in the BEGO-Museum.
Home town of Giovanni Boccaccio, known for his Decameron, Certaldo is a beautiful hamlet built atop of a hill whose name can be traced to the Latin Cerrus Altus, which indicated a hill covered in Turkey oaks. The higher section of the town is the oldest one, where the castle is located, while the modern one is located in the lowlands. Unlike many medieval towns, Certaldo is not laid out around a central square but around an Avenue, called Via Boccaccio, where one can find the main church, the Palazzo Pretorio and the Palazzo Stiozzi-Ridolfi (le Logge del Mercato).
Once district of Montaione, Gambassi became formally independent in 1917 and gained in 1977 the follow-up name of Terme following the foundation of thermal plants. The castle, whose first appearance can be dated to 1037 AD, was partially gifted to the Bishop of Volterra Goddifredo. It took several years before it was totally acquired by the church, which kept possession of it until the 12th century. Next to the castle was built a palace which would eventually become the town hall.
Founded according to the legends by Ajone, a young Volterra citizen who saved the beautiful Figline da Gambasso, Montaione is a fortified hamlet protected by towers. Historically rich, the town hosts several palaces and churched from the early Middle Ages, such as the Pieve di San Regolo overlooking the main square. Around Montaione are located numerous castles, among which the castle of Figline, Collegalli and Vignale.
Located just 20 km from Florence, Montespertoli is dotted by palaces, churches and castles. The oldest documents about the town dates back to the 12th century. Just around the hamlet are located the castles of Bottinaccio e Poppiano, owned by the famous Guicciardini family.
HISTORY OF VALDELSA
Findings dating back to the Etruscan age allow us to determine an intensely human activity in the region starting from the 6th-century b.C. in the form of scattered settlements and agricultural estates, a model undertaken and carried out by Romans too.
During the Middle Ages the construction of the Via Francigena, which permitted an easy route between northern Europe and Rome, gave a determinant impulse for the urbanization of the region. Churches, watchtowers, castles and even fortified hamlets (San Gimignano and Borgo San Genesio) were built along the road.
At the same time, Valdelsa became an important strategic and military hub: Florence showed a growing interest in the region, with a not really enthusiastic reaction on part of the local families, unwilling to give up their possessions. Construction of fortresses and castles such as Certaldo, San Miniato, Castelfiorentino and Semifonte was an attempt to keep control of the area.
Between the 13th and 14th century, Florence’s dominion reached the river Elsa and with the conquest of Castelfiorentino and Certaldo the city finally won the access to the Via Francigena. The track was moved to the valley floor and the opposite bank of the river, promoting the flowering of lowland towns (Castelfiorentino, Certaldo, Poggibonsi…) to the detriment of those along the old road (Coiano, Gambassi Terme, San Gimignano…). The Republic of Siena kept Monteriggioni as its only fortress in the region.
Florence managed to occupy the whole region during the 15th century with the siege of San Gimignano and Poggibonsi, included in the Vicariato di Certaldo (established in 1415).
Used as an “agricultural exploitation area”, the Valdelsa lived a period of economic and cultural regression under the Medici. Winds of changes only started to blow with the reign of the Lorena family (after 1737) and the real impulse was given by the central Tuscan railroad built in 1848 which fostered the establishment of numerous industrial sites in the region.
24 of 832 properties available for sale
TUSCAN RESORT FOR SALE IN SAN GIMIGNANO, TUSCANY
Not far from San Gimignano, this beautiful resort with 31 bedrooms is the result of the careful renovation of a historic villa. The property has been finely brought back to its original look and is currently run as an accommodation business with 11 apartments, restaurant and swimming pool. The vicinity of the most famous Tuscan centers is the icing on the cake.
WINE ESTATE FOR SALE SAN GIMIGNANO
Just outside the town of San Gimignano, beautiful estate placed along the hillside and surrounded by 13.9 hectares of land with five hectares of vineyard (1.4 of Cabernet Sauvignon, 1.6 of Merlot, 0.6 Vernaccia di San Gimignano and 1,1 of Sangiovese), 1,5 hectares of olive grove and 6,5 hectares of woodland.
CASTLE FOR SALE IN TUSCANY NEAR THE SEA, SIENA
In the Tuscan countryside, a short distance from Siena, this imposing medieval fortress from the 12th century is an authentic piece of history. With a surface of 870 sqm, 7 bedrooms, the impressive stone walls and the perfectly preserved battlements, the castle dominates the surrounding valley with an unrivaled view. If you are looking for a place to live in full quiet or a property to start a high quality hosting business, this castle is the perfect choice. The property includes 99.6 hectares of land.
SAN GIMIGNANO: 20-KEY BOUTIQUE HOTEL FOR SALE IN TUSCANY
Exteriors: 2,5 ha (6,2 ac)
A short distance from the medieval town of San Gimignano, in an extremely panoramic position, this medieval abbey has been converted into a luxury 20-key boutique hotel (3,178 sqm). The buildings have finishes of the highest level and the property is completed by 2.5 hectares of garden enclosed by a stone wall. Not far from the villa is the pool area with bar.
AGRITURISMO WITH PANORAMIC VIEW FOR SALE CASOLE D’ELSA, TUSCANY
Casole d'Elsa - Siena - Tuscany
Surrounded by the green hills of the Sienese countryside, on the slope of the “Montagnola Senese”, this Agriturismo is the ideal place to spend the perfect Italian vacation. With an unrivaled view on the surrounding landscape and a wonderfully panoramic swimming pool, the Agriturismo is perfect to break the city routine and seek refuge in the quiet of the Tuscan nature.
VILLA WITH GARDEN AND POOL FOR SALE IN CASOLE D’ELSA, SIENA
Exteriors: 6,500 sqm (1.6 ac)
In the outskirts of a small town in the province of Siena, near Casole d'Elsa, this 150 sqm 4-bedroomed villa is perfect for anyone looking for a private residence in a quiet town or a property to use as base for a hosting business such as a B&B, thanks to the presence of a garden and a 10 x 5 m swimming pool. Another bonus for the property is the location at the center of Tuscany, which grants a quick access to several of the most known and appreciated towns of the region.
WINE ESTATE WITH CELLAR FOR SALE IN SAN GIMIGNANO
A few kilometres from San Gimignano, wine estate with cellar and wine production. The property includes four buildings with a total surface of 575 sqmts and 13 hectares of land of which 5.57 of vineyards. The estate is producing from 35000 to 40000 bottles of DOCG, DOC and IGT wine and has a well-established exportation clientele in Europe, Usa and Canada. Client portfolio available.
Ref. 1005 - WINE ESTATE WITH CELLAR FOR SALE IN SAN GIMIGNANO
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758906
|
__label__wiki
| 0.989469
| 0.989469
|
Bucks have Milwaukee dreaming of first title since '71
By IVAN MORENO Associated Press
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Hunter Trimmel couldn’t give away his season tickets to Milwaukee Bucks games five years ago.
Losing season after season made the Bucks almost an afterthought in Wisconsin, where most teams live in the shadow of the Green Bay Packers. But now the Bucks are the hottest ticket in town, with a glittery new arena and a young superstar that has the team knocking on the door of the NBA Finals. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final against Toronto is Wednesday night.
Trimmel, 37, was among hundreds of fans flocking to the plaza outside Fiserv Forum last week before the Bucks faced Boston in Game 5 of the conference semifinals. The plaza, with plenty of bars and jumbo TV screens for fans who can’t get inside, is part of an atmosphere that Trimmel — a Bucks fan since 1992 — said is a new experience.
"I hate to say it but we felt like a minor league team for a while," Trimmel said.
It’s a golden era in Milwaukee: The Bucks are in contention just a year after the Brewers came within one game of going to the World Series, shifting the focus of this sports-crazed state from the beloved Packers to two long-neglected teams suddenly on the rise.
The last Wisconsin professional sports team to win it all was the Packers in 2011.
The Bucks’ success has been a long time coming. Their only NBA title came in 1971, when a team featuring legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson beat the Baltimore Bullets.
The Bucks were solid in the 1980s, putting up several 50-win seasons behind stars like Sidney Moncrief, Marques Johnson and Junior Bridgeman before things got brutal in the ‘90s — six losing seasons, including four where they didn’t win more than 30 games.
"There was a generation when they stumbled through the wilderness, and a lot of fans lost interest," said Drew Olson, a longtime Milwaukee sports reporter who now hosts a sports talk radio show on 97.3’s The Game. "It was almost to the point that people went to the Bucks games to see the other team."
Olson traced the turnaround to Herb Kohl selling the team in 2014 to Wes Edens and Marc Lasry, two hedge fund managers from New York, and said it paralleled the Selig family’s sale of the Brewers to Los Angeles investor Mark Attanasio in 2005.
"In both cases the locals were skeptical whether we should trust these guys — whether they’re buying the team to move the team," Olson said. "As it turns out, they’ve been really good stewards of these franchises."
Leading the Bucks’ resurgence is MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, a fan favorite and a source of pride for Milwaukee’s Greek community. Antetokounmpo was born in Athens, Greece. He is just 24.
"It’s important for the Greek community to be able to gather together as a unit and celebrate him. And he in turn celebrates us," said Tim Stasinoulias, 61, a Bucks fan since the team came to Milwaukee in 1968.
The Bucks host an annual "Greek Night" event where fans get a Q&A session with Antetokounmpo. Since his arrival in Milwaukee in 2013, Antetokounmpo’s been known to sing the Greek national anthem during those events.
"It’s a bit of a renaissance in Milwaukee sports, just in general with the success recently of the Brewers and now we have the Bucks," said Stasinoulias. "Who would have thought that the Packers would be third on the totem pole at this point?"
Rather than ranking each team’s success, others take another view.
"This is the best Wisconsin sports has ever been as a whole," said Steven Slack, 35, a resident of Sun Prairie who was waiting for the game outside the arena.
"We’ve never had three teams actually in contention before simultaneously. Because we have, we literally have the MVP in all three leagues," he said, referring to reigning National League MVP Christian Yelich, Antetokounmpo’s potential to win it this year, and Aaron Rodgers, the Packers quarterback who has won two MVPs and is in frequent contention.
The Bucks’ success is also a financial boon for the city. Each playoff game is estimated to have a $3 million economic impact on downtown businesses — everything from hotels to transportation and food and beverage, according to Visit Milwaukee, an agency that promotes tourism to the city. It only helps that the Bucks are playing in their new half-billion-dollar arena for the first time this year, attracting dedicated and casual fans alike to the restaurants and bars in the plaza outside the stadium. Taxpayers contributed about $250 million to the arena’s construction.
Away from the arena, the city has been expressing its pride for the team, too, with buses and streetcars flashing "Fear the Deer" and "Go Bucks" on their digital displays. The city’s Public Market has a banner under its name with the same phrase, which is the team’s rallying cry. Billboards on the highway are counting down the number of victories needed to win the championship.
Longtime season-ticket holder Rod Johnson, 55, went to games with his father back when tickets cost $5 and the Bucks played in what was called the MECCA Arena. He saw Abdul-Jabbar play and remembers the 1971 championship season. It’s been an agonizing wait for another title.
"We’re hoping for one more now," he said. "This could be the year."
Associated Press writers Carrie Antlfinger and Doug Glass contributed.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758908
|
__label__cc
| 0.669266
| 0.330734
|
New Years rides show power of cooperation
There’s a good chance that someone is alive today because taxi companies and ride-hailing services put aside their animosity for a night on New Year’s Eve. Drunk or sober, Eugene-Springfield residents had a discounted, safe ride home available after ringing in 2019.
When Uber first entered the market here in 2015, it didn’t go over well. The company bullied its way in without so much as a "by your leave." It had done the same thing in many other cities and had set its eyes on Eugene-Springfield with its sizable number of wired college students.
Unlike a lot of other cities, we didn’t roll over. After less than a year, a city hearings officer ruled that ride-sharing companies needed a license to operate. Uber left.
It came back along with Lyft in September 2018. During the four months since, traditional taxi companies have taken a hit. College students and young professionals prefer to take an Uber or a Lyft ride arranged by smart phone app. On average, they probably aren’t saving much if any money, but it’s their choice of perceived convenience and upending traditional business models.
The marketplace is in a state of upheaval as a result. Uber and Lyft are competing with each other and with taxi companies for the same riders. It’s unclear if there’s enough business to go around for everyone.
There’s nothing wrong with competition in the marketplace, of course. Competition leads to innovation and improvements for customers. That’s happening already. Mike Spurling, who owns Go Taxi, recently told The Register-Guard reporter Christian Hill, "It caused me to really … up our game, so to speak, and offer more and be more reliable and give customers access to the technology that is changing the way we do business."
Even as companies compete, however, opportunities remain for them to cooperate. Working together can benefit everyone.
That’s what happened on New Year’s Eve. Uber, Lyft, Go Taxi, Oregon Taxi and other taxi firms offered discounts to riders. It was incentive for people to be safe after celebrating with alcohol. Even if sober, tired revelers were better off not driving. It was also good promotion for the companies, a chance to encourage people to try them.
The taxi and ride-sharing companies weren’t in it alone. The Technology Association of Oregon, Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and City of Eugene Parking Services all supported, promoted and coordinated in the interest of safety.
Impaired and distracted driving is a serious and dangerous challenge on the roads. But no challenge is insurmountable when so many passionate and innovative groups work together to develop a solution, even for just one night.
The same is true about so many other challenges confronting our community. Homelessness, children’s health, education and more all would benefit from diverse but connected players coming together to see what they can do together. That doesn’t mean there won’t still be healthy competition, but sometimes the best way to compete is to cooperate, too.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758910
|
__label__wiki
| 0.945139
| 0.945139
|
Porter Ranch woman gets Hanukkah…
Porter Ranch woman gets Hanukkah ‘swastika’ wrapping paper taken out of Walgreens stores
Hanukkah gift wrap with a swastika-like pattern that Cheryl Shapiro found at Walgreens in Northridge has been recalled from stores nationwide. (Photo by Andy Holzman/Los Angeles Daily News)
Cheryl Shapiro displays the Hanukkah gift wrap with a swastika-like pattern she found at Walgreens in Northridge. The wrapping paper has been recalled from stores nationwide. (Photo by Andy Holzman/Los Angeles Daily News)
By Brenda Gazzar | bgazzar@scng.com | Daily News
Cheryl Shapiro could hardly believe her eyes when she walked into a Walgreens store in Northridge on Saturday looking for Hanukkah gift wrapping paper with her grandson and saw one that appeared to have dark blue swastikas embedded in its design.
“We were wandering around the store and saw the wrapping paper and I looked at it and said, ‘These are swastikas,’ and I just blew it. I didn’t know what to do,” said Shapiro, 63, of Porter Ranch. “I called my rabbi. It was 4 in the afternoon but it was still Shabbat so he wouldn’t pick up the phone.”
Shapiro then spoke to the store manager. He was “appalled,” she said, by the design overlaid on shiny silver wrapping paper. He assured her it would be taken off the shelves across the country.
• VIDEO: Woman finds ‘swastikas’ on wrapping paper
A label on the Hallmark product indicated it was made in the U.S. and exclusively distributed to Walgreens, Shapiro said. The greeting card company, in a written statement, said it was recently brought to their attention that a holiday gift-wrap pattern “has an unintentional offensive background image.”
“As soon as we were made aware of the situation, we began taking steps to remove the gift wrap from all store shelves and we will ensure the pattern is not used on any product formats going forward,” said the emailed statement from Linda Odell, a Hallmark spokeswoman.
“We sincerely apologize for this oversight and for (the) unintended offense.”
A Walgreens spokesperson confirmed that the wrapping paper was in the process of being taken off shelves nationwide. Shapiro said she received a call from Walgreens on Monday and said she was surprised to hear how quickly they responded to her request.
Television stations picked up the story over the weekend. Shapiro’s rabbi informed her husband that it was even picked up by the Times of Israel, she said.
“I had no idea it was going to skyrocket like this,” Shapiro said. “All I wanted to do was to get it out in the U.S. and get it off the shelves so no one would have to have that wrapping paper in their home for Hanukkah.”
Shapiro, however, has a hard time believing the design was inadvertent. The company could have chosen any other design for its Hanukkah wrapping paper, she said.
“If you have grown up knowing all your life what that symbol meant,” she said, adding, “I had (distant) family in the Holocaust, I know what that symbol was. There was no mistake. My belief is that it was intentional.”
The swastika image, which bears different meanings in various cultures, was adopted by the Nazi party in 1920 as a symbol of Aryan identity. It’s also a sacred symbol in some religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism, according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Brenda Gazzar
Brenda Gazzar is a multilingual multimedia reporter who has worked for a variety of news outlets in California and in the Middle East since 2000. She has covered a range of issues, including breaking news, immigration, law and order, race, religion and gender issues, politics, human interest stories and education. Besides the Los Angeles Daily News and its sister papers, her work has been published by Reuters, the Denver Post, Ms. Magazine, the Jerusalem Post, USA Today, the Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, The Cairo Times and others. Brenda speaks Spanish, Hebrew and intermediate Arabic and is the recipient of national, state and regional awards, including a National Headliners Award and one from the Associated Press News Executives' Council. She holds a dual master's degree in Communications/Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
Follow Brenda Gazzar @bgazzar
More in Things to do
Radio: What the latest ratings mean for LA radio stations
Senior Moments: When your computer crashes, there’s really only one thing to do
SDCC 2019: Her Universe founder Ashley Eckstein talks fashion, inclusion and mental health
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758912
|
__label__wiki
| 0.763229
| 0.763229
|
25263 - Pearson v. Bridges
Belinda Sue Pearson, Respondent,
Tommy L. Bridges, M.D., Petitioner.
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEALS
Appeal From Greenville County
Frank P. McGowan, Jr., Circuit Court Judge
Opinion No. 25263
Heard February 20, 2001 - Filed March 19, 2001
AFFIRMED IN RESULT
Gregory A. Morton and Ashby W. Davis, both of Donnan, Morton, Davis & Snyder, P.A., of Greenville, for petitioner.
Larry C. Brandt, P.A., of Walhalla, for respondent.
CHIEF JUSTICE TOAL: We granted certiorari in this medical malpractice action to review the Court of Appeals' decision upholding the jury's $755,000 damage award to Belinda Sue Pearson ("Pearson").
FACTUAL/ PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On May 1, 1992, Dr. Tommy L. Bridges ("Dr. Bridges") examined Pearson, then a twenty-six year old, who had known problems with gallstones. Dr. Bridges recommended Pearson have her gallbladder removed. Because it was less painful and recovery time was shorter, Dr. Bridges recommended a laparoscopic surgery instead of an open procedure. During the laparoscopic gallbladder surgery on May 6, 1992, Dr. Bridges mistakenly cut the common bile duct instead of the cystic duct. After realizing the mistake, Dr. Bridges converted the surgery to an open procedure, and attempted to repair the common bile duct by inserting a stent. After the surgery, a stricture (1) formed where the bile duct had been cut, necessitating a second surgery by Dr. Bridges in early November 1992 to redo the repair and again stent the bile duct.
Pearson was referred to another doctor in 1993. On September 3, 1993, Pearson had another surgery to replace the stent in her bile duct. The stent was replaced several times because of blockage. In April 1994, Pearson appeared to be doing well, and the stent was removed. However, in May 1994, another stricture developed, and Pearson underwent surgery to insert another stent. That stent was removed in November 1995. At the time of trial in 1997, Pearson had not had any further strictures.
Pearson filed a medical malpractice action against Dr. Bridges in April 1995. In March 1997, the case was tried before a jury. The jury ultimately returned a verdict in favor of Pearson and awarded her $755,000 in damages. Dr. Bridges appealed the damages award. (2) The Court of Appeals, with Judge Anderson dissenting, affirmed. Pearson v. Bridges, 337 S.C. 524, 524 S.E.2d 108 (Ct. App. 1992).
Dr. Bridges then filed a petition for certiorari, and the sole issue before this Court is:
I. Did the Court of Appeals, in determining whether the trial judge erred in admitting the evidence of future medical damages in this case, improperly utilize the standard of proof the jury uses to determine whether future medical expenses have been proven?
LAW/ ANALYSIS
Dr. Bridges argues the Court of Appeals erred in utilizing the jury's standard of proof, instead of the trial judge's standard of admissibility, when determining whether the trial judge erred in admitting the evidence of future medical damages. We agree. The Court of Appeals' opinion confuses and intertwines the standard of proof with the standard of admissibility. However, even under the correct standard, the trial judge did not err in admitting the testimony concerning future damages.
Pearson's medical expert testified there were four scenarios whereby Pearson could incur future medical expenses:
Scenario One: Continual monitoring of Pearson's condition to discover any more strictures and complications.
Projected Cost: $9,473.78
Scenario Two: If the duct restrictured, another cholangioplasty would need to be performed.
Projected Cost: $20,107.56
Scenario Three: If scenario two failed and surgery was required.
Scenario Four:
If scenarios two and three failed, a possible liver transplant.
Projected Cost: $237,128.39
Dr. Bridges did not object to Pearson's presentation of testimony and evidence on scenario number one. He did object to the presentation of the expert's testimony concerning scenarios two, three, and four. (3)
Pearson's expert testified there was a twenty-five to thirty percent chance scenario number two would occur. The expert then testified scenario number three would occur only if the number two stent procedure failed. He further testified if number two and three occurred and failed, Pearson might need a liver transplant. Pearson's other medical expert testified, "to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, Ms. Pearson will not need a liver transplant -- that is greater than 51 [percent]."
Dr. Bridges argued at trial, and now argues on appeal, the testimony was inadmissible because Pearson was required to prove the future expenses would "most probably" occur. The trial judge overruled Dr. Bridges' objections, and admitted the testimony.
The majority of the Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court that the evidence was admissible, holding, "the most probable standard required to prove causation is not the standard to be applied in determining the admissibility of evidence of future damages. Rather, the evidence must be beyond speculation or conjecture and reasonably certain to occur." Pearson, 337 S.C. at 533, 524 S.E.2d at 113. The Court of Appeals was correct in finding the "most probable" standard is not the standard of admissibility in South Carolina. (4) However, whether future medical expenses are "reasonably certain" to occur is also the incorrect standard to use in determining admissibility. Whether future damages are "reasonably certain" to occur is the standard of proof for future damages, not the standard of admissibility. Haltiwanger v. Barr, 258 S.C. 27, 186 S.E.2d 819 (1972) (to recover future damages in a negligence case, the plaintiff must prove the damages are reasonably certain to occur). (5)
The question in this case is whether the evidence was properly admitted, not whether the evidence was sufficient to support a verdict including future damages. The Court of Appeals decision confuses these two standards. (6)
Under current South Carolina law, the standard of admissibility for evidence of future damages is "any evidence which tends to establish the nature, character, and extent of injuries which are the natural and proximate consequences of the defendant's acts . . . if otherwise competent." Martin v. Mobley, 253 S.C. 103, 109, 169 S.E.2d 278, 281-282 (1969). "The fact that future medical expenses might conceivably be small and are difficult to estimate would not deprive the plaintiff of the right to have the jury determine whether any award for future medical be made, and if so, what amount." Kelly v. Brazell, 253 S.C. 564, 567-568, 172 S.E.2d 304, 306 (1970). In Kelly, the trial judge charged the jury an award could not be based on speculation and that damages must be proven by the preponderance of the evidence. This charge created a jury question as to whether the need for future treatment had been proven. See Haltiwanger, supra (it is the duty of the jury to estimate, as best it can, the future damages which are reasonably certain to be accrued by the plaintiff).
In Martin, supra, the doctor testified that his opinion as to the extent of the plaintiff's permanent disability was, "[t]hese patients have a general disability in the neighborhood of ten or fifteen percent disability following this type of surgery." This Court found no error in the admissibility of the testimony since, "[t]he fact that the doctor had not had opportunity to consider whether the plaintiff's permanent disability was more or less than that which generally followed such a condition and operation affected . . . only the weight and not the admissibility of the proffered evidence." Id. at 109, 169 S.E.2d at 281.
The evidence of the medical expenses of scenarios two, three, and four was admissible. These scenarios tended to establish the extent of Pearson's injuries. Id. The fact that Pearson's experts testified that the possibilities of scenarios two, three, and four occurring were 30 percent or less went to the weight of the evidence not its admissibility. Id. Whether Pearson proved the expenses were "reasonably certain" to occur so she would be entitled to an award of future damages was a question for the jury to determine. Haltiwanger, supra. (7)
For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the decision of the Court of Appeals in RESULT.
MOORE, WALLER, BURNETT and PLEICONES, JJ., concur.
1. A stricture is a narrowing of the duct caused by the build up of scar tissue.
2. Dr. Bridges did not appeal the finding of liability.
3. There is no dispute that if Pearson incurs these future medical expenses, they would be the proximate result of Dr. Bridges' negligence. The dispute in this case is over the probability that these damages will arise in the future.
4. The "most probable" standard is the standard required to prove proximate cause. See Armstrong v. Weiland, 267 S.C. 12, 225 S.E.2d 851 (1976) ("when the opinions of medical experts are relied upon to establish causal connection of negligence to injury, the proper test to be applied is that the expert must, with reasonable certainty, state that in his professional opinion the injuries complained of most probably resulted from the alleged negligence of the defendant"). We reaffirm the requirement that plaintiff must prove defendant's negligence, in probability, proximately caused plaintiff's injuries.
5. The trial judge properly charged the jury on the standard of proof. His charge, in relevant part, stated: "your verdict should include an amount to cover any damages that the evidence shows will be reasonably certain to occur in the future. . . I further instruct you that the existence or amount of damages may not be left to conjecture, speculation or guess." The issue of whether the jury's verdict was supported by the evidence is not before this Court. However, we note the jury returned a general verdict in this case in the amount of $755,000. Dr. Pearson never requested a special verdict form separating the elements of damage, and, therefore, there is no way of knowing whether any allowance was made for future medical expenses. The uncontested actual medical expenses in this case were $197,508.43. The remaining damage award could have been awarded for pain and suffering, future pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, impairment of ability to work, etc. There is simply no way to determine if the jury allocated any money for future medical expenses.
6. The Court of Appeals indicates that Martin v. Mobley, 253 S.C. 103, 169 S.E.2d 278 (1969), changed the standard for admissibility of future medical expenses. The question in that case, as in this one, was whether the evidence of future damages was admissible. The earlier cases cited by the Court of Appeals referred to the requirement that future damages must be established with "reasonable certainty" involved the standard of proof. Therefore, the Court of Appeals erred in finding that Martin changed the standard of admissibility.
7. We note that even if the future damages testimony was inadmissible, Dr. Bridges has failed to prove any prejudice since the jury returned a general verdict. See Footnote 4.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758913
|
__label__wiki
| 0.785392
| 0.785392
|
Reviews › Rockets Red Glare › Moonlight Desires
Rockets Red Glare
Moonlight Desires
Minimalist tendencies. Math-rock. Post-rock. All good things in proper doses. But can they be mixed to produce something great? Ah, well, there's the real question. Rockets Red Glare seems to think so. Judging by this record, I'd have to agree with them. Hailing from Ontario, the band were a strange exercise in restraint for the most part, always intriguing by being the one band that never got exceptionally loud in a scene full of bands that did nothing but crescendo. It managed to catch a few ears the first time around; the much-lauded Chicago quartet Sweep the Leg Johnny released the Montreal trio's first album in 2002 on their Sick Room Records label following a series of shows, showcasing the world Rockets Red Glare's minimalist-yet-jagged approach to creating music. By the tried and true method of saying "it sounds like ____ crossed with ____," you could manage to possibly come across the sound of the band by merging Joy Division with Slint, with a dash of June of 44 and Shellac thrown in as an aside, weirding things out just a bit for interest's sake.
And yeah, I agree, it seems like it wouldn't be able to work out all that well. Post-rock is known for layers and layers of noise, and minimalism is known for... well, pretty much the exact opposite. However, the band manages to fuse the two almost effortlessly, bleeding the two into each other. By taking the song structures of the former and inserting the musical works of the latter around them, the band has somehow stumbled upon a formula for greatness. For the most part, it's one guitar, one bass, one drum kit, all of which are played in the "individual" category. Each drum hit is heard clearly. Each bass pluck rings out. Notes are favored as opposed to chords on the guitar. Vocals are used sparingly, admittedly not the focus of the music by the band themselves. That the band manages to make each individual element contain such weight and power when they're played at a pretty breakneck tempo is a feat unto itself. When the time changes come into play, things get really chaotic, and that's when the greatness comes out.
While they're not playing post-rock at its purest, the band is better at it than most of their contemporaries when they choose to go into that mode. At the end of "Go Away Salt," the band launches into a loud section, which for them is cleanly strummed chords, shouted (but not screamed) vocals, cymbals and bass drum crashing, and a bass being banged on rhythmically. It's effective in ways greater than most bands are capable of creating, and in ways that most post-rock bands miss out on, the reasoning behind why there are so few good post-rock bands in the world as a whole. Rockets Red Glare understand that the crescendo is not the point of the song, rather, the song itself is the point of the song.
Taking this approach across the whole album, where each part of it is as important as every other part, one starts to catch the off-kilter, abrasive brilliance of the band which sometimes becomes visible. Notes and progressions and pieces of music that shouldn't be able to work together somehow lock perfectly. Very few parts repeat, and when they do, it's simply to build into another part, not out of concern for any technical form or structure, or to build into a gigantic burst of noise meant to blow you away. By exercising restraint and subtlety, the band manages to be far more captivating and effective than most other bands playing the same game. These two tools are their greatest assets, the keys they possess which few other bands in their league do. As such, it makes them the possessors of an incredibly powerful dynamic, one which it takes time and patience to master, and one which the band obviously had under their control, well enough to throw down six songs that work so well around each other. Unfortunately, this is the last we'll be hearing from Rockets Red Glare, as the band amicably split in late 2003.
8.9 / 10 — Charlie
Blue Skies Turn Black
Posted March 23, 2004, 4 p.m.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758915
|
__label__wiki
| 0.943469
| 0.943469
|
12 LISTS It's the End of the WorldHow do you feel about a little lite apocalypse?
Movies About the End of the World TV Shows About the Apocalypse How to Survive Any Apocalypse The Best Post-Apocalyptic Anime Funny Movies About the Apocalypse Failed Prophecies About the End of the World The Stores You Want to Be In Cartoons That Are Secretly Post-Apocalyptic The Very Best Apocalyptic Songs Upbeat Songs About the End of Days Tools for Your Apocalypse Kit Comic Characters for Your Final Fight Team
Photo: Viktor Vasnetsov
Best Movie Genres The Best Doomsday Movies of all Time, Ranked
Originally by Reference
22.4k votes 2.6k voters 227.4k views 38 items
List Rules Vote for your personal favorite end-of-the-world, doomsday or post-apocalyptic film.
The best way to celebrate the end of the world is by watching the best Doomsday movies of all time to get in the mood. To that end, fans have ranked this list of the top doomsday movies. These movies about the end of the world have been voted by fans of the genre. The best ones appear first, so vote for your favorites to get them to rise to the top of the list. You can click on the doomsday movie titles to get more information about the films. Find out who the directors were, year of release, top-billed cast, and more.
These are the top films in the doomsday film genre, meaning that each and every one of these is a movie about the end of the world or takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. Be it the motifs of the doomsday film genre or just some of the most common archetypes. The films on this list cover multiple genres and are voted on by people who really care about doomsday movie lists.
Show your appreciation for movies like Independence Day or The Matrix by voting for them. If we missed any doomsday movies on this list, please add them to the list yourself, as this is an open list which means you can add any movies whenever you like (choices are subject to moderation). Don't forget, not all end of the world Doomsday movies are sad and action-packed. Some are sentimental and emotional roller coasters, such as Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley.
This list has everything from sci-fi classics like The Day the Earth Stood Still and animated hits like Wall-E. Want to watch these apocalypse movies right now but don't own them? Don't worry, it's not the end of the world. Many of these end of times flicks are streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime. These top Doomsday movies will help you get prepared for the apocalypse.
Plenty of well-known directors have been associated with Doomsday film films, including George A. Romero and Edgar Wright.
rerankers: 6
28 Days Later Cillian Murphy, Christopher Eccleston, Naomie Harris
28 Days Later is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle. The screenplay was written by Alex Garland. The film stars Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, ...more
wiabux added Independence Day Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Vivica A. Fox
Independence Day is a 1996 American science fiction disaster film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. The film stars Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, ...more
The Matrix Keanu Reeves, Hugo Weaving, Carrie-Anne Moss
The Matrix is a 1999 American-Australian science fiction action film written and directed by The Wachowskis, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe ...more
Terminator 2: Judgment Day Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edward Furlong, Linda Hamilton
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 American science fiction action thriller film written, produced and directed by James Cameron. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert ...more
shawna-leigh-morgan added Armageddon Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Taylor
Armageddon is a 1998 American science fiction disaster thriller film, directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film follows a group of ...more
Zombieland Emma Stone, Amber Heard, Bill Murray
Zombieland is a 2009 American zombie comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer from a screenplay written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma ...more
Children of Men Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, Michael Caine
Children of Men is a 2006 science fiction thriller film directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuarón. The screenplay, based on P. D. James's 1992 novel of the same name, was credited to five ...more
MohamedAbdelazizHamed added The Road Rhian Ramos, Barbie Forteza, Alden Richards
The Road is a 2011 Filipino psychological horror film directed by Yam Laranas, and starring Carmina Villaroel, Marvin Agustin, Rhian Ramos, Barbie Forteza and TJ Trinidad. The film was released ...more
Waterworld Kevin Costner, Jack Black, Dennis Hopper
Waterworld is a 1995 American post-apocalyptic science fiction action film directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It was based on Rader's original 1986 ...more
Bird Box Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, Rosa Salazar
Bird Box is a 2018 American post-apocalyptic film directed by Susanne Bier, based on the novel by Josh Malerman. A woman (Sandra Bullock) and a pair of children are blindfolded as they make ...more
Alex Bird added Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb James Earl Jones, Peter Sellers, George C. Scott
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, more commonly known as Dr. Strangelove, is a 1964 political satire black comedy film that satirizes fears of a nuclear ...more
The Time Machine Jeremy Irons, Guy Pearce, Sienna Guillory
The Time Machine is a 2002 American science fiction film loosely adapted from the 1895 novel of the same name by H. G. Wells and the 1960 film screenplay by David Duncan. It was ...more
Night of the Comet Geoffrey Lewis, Mary Woronov, Catherine Mary Stewart
Night of the Comet is a 1984 disaster-comedy film written and directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Beltran, and Kelli Maroney. The film was voted number 10 in ...more
DaleWilken added Threads Reece Dinsdale, Jane Hazlegrove, David Brierly
Threads is a 1984 BAFTA award-winning British television drama, produced jointly by the BBC, Nine Network and Western-World Television Inc. Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson, ...more
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World Keira Knightley, Steve Carell, Connie Britton
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a 2012 comedy-drama film written and directed by Lorene Scafaria, in her directorial debut. The film stars Steve Carell and Keira Knightley. The ...more
Beneath the Planet of the Apes Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Linda Harrison
Beneath the Planet of the Apes is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series ...more
The Return of the Living Dead Clu Gulager, James Karen, Linnea Quigley
This film is a 1985 American black comedy/zombie horror film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa and Linnea Quigley. The film tells the story of ...more
Day of the Dead Mena Suvari, AnnaLynne McCord, Nick Cannon
This film is a 2008 American horror film about a virus outbreak that causes people to turn into creatures. It is a loose remake of George A. Romero's zombie film of the same name, the third in ...more
Fail Safe Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Larry Hagman
Fail-Safe is a 1964 Cold thriller film directed by Sidney Lumet, based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. The film features performances by veteran actors ...more
Maximum Overdrive Carrie Fisher, Stephen King, Emilio Estevez
Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 American science fiction action horror film written and directed by Stephen King. The screenplay was inspired by and loosely based on King's short story Trucks, which ...more
Silent Running Bruce Dern, Ron Rifkin, Joseph Campanella
Silent Running is a 1972 environmentally-themed American science fiction film starring Bruce Dern, featuring Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin and Jesse Vint. It was directed by Douglas Trumbull, who had ...more
A Boy and His Dog Don Johnson, Jason Robards Jr., Michael Rupert
A young man and his telepathic dog roam a post-nuclear holocaust land searching for food and sex. He encounters an underground community that has survived apparently unscathed from the ...more
Land of the Dead Dennis Hopper, Simon Pegg, Simon Baker
This film is a 2005 post-apocalyptic horror film written and directed by George A. Romero; the fourth of Romero's six movies. It was released in 2005 and became a success, grossing over $46 ...more
The Last Man on Earth Vincent Price, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Umberto Raho
The Last Man on Earth is a 1964 science fiction horror film based on the Richard Matheson 1954 novel I Am Legend. The film was directed by Ubaldo Ragona and Sidney Salkow, and stars Vincent ...more
How It Ends Theo James, Forest Whitaker, Kat Graham
How It Ends is a 2018 American action thriller film directed by David M. Rosenthal. A desperate father (Theo James) tries to return home to his pregnant wife (Kat Graham) after a mysterious ...more
Filed Under: Films FilmEntertainmenttop 50Best Movie Genres
List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst The Best Amusement Parks In America Every Single Batman Movie, Ranked Best to Worst The Best Movies That Were Originally Panned by Critics The Greatest Movie Villains of All Time The Best Christmas Movies of All Time The Best Zombie Movies of All Time 30 Celebrities Who Quit Being Famous Quentin Tarantino Movies, Ranked Best to Worst All Pixar Films, Ranked Best to Worst Famous Women Who Look Like Dolls The Best Movie Theater Snacks The Best Lifetime Original Movies of 2019 The Best Actors in Film History The Best Scottish Actors Working Today The Best Animated Films Ever The Best Western Movies Ever Made The Greatest British Actors of All Time The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time The Best, Funniest Comedy Movie Trailers of 2019 The Best Film Adaptations of Young Adult Novels The Most Overrated Movies of All Time The Best Alien Movies Ever Made The Funniest '90s Movies
walt disney cats survivor survivor album best tire brands best joe rogan podcasts ballroom dancing movie miguel from rebelde films set in the 1980s who is in the 27 club famous people from venezuela BEST AMERICAN ACTORS
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758928
|
__label__wiki
| 0.894276
| 0.894276
|
31 LISTS Choose Your Own AdventureLists about real explorers and expeditions and fictional depictions of fast-paced, dangerous adventures in film, TV, anime, literature, and other media.
Adventure Films Set in Space The Very Best Adventure Movies The Best Action Adventure Shows Fun Facts About Indiana Jones Top Adventure Movies for Kids Lewis & Clark Expedition Action-Adventure Films Rated PG-13 The Best Sci-Fi Adventure Movies Things to Know About Goonies Historic Doomed Expeditions Indiana Jones Was an Awful Archaeologist Best Characters in the Whole Indiana Jones Series The Best Newer Adventure Shows Expedition to Antarctica Best New Adventure Movies Best Young Adult Adventure Boks Adventure Movies in the Jungle Funny Adventure Movies Rated PG The Greatest Ever Adventure Shows Adventure Anime
Photo: via Twitter
Entertainment The Best Movies About Female Spies
27 votes 4 voters 39 items
List Rules Vote up your favorite movies with female covert operatives.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with James Bond or Ethan Hunt, but if you feel the spy game has been dominated by men for too long, check out this list of female spy movies.
In real life, women have already played a vital role in spycraft for years. For example, Josephine Baker was an important spy for the French Resistance in World War 2, and Mata Hari spied during World War 1.
However, not all female spies are the sensationalized femme fatales who seduce and destroy. As of 2019, women hold many of the top analyst positions at the CIA, and are an important part of the FBI and similar organizations all around the world. These women are intelligent, hardworking analysts and experts.
But we don't go to the movies to see people working hard at their jobs in a supportive, conflict-free atmosphere. We go to see spies racing against the clock, fighting their enemies, and saving the world. If that's what you're looking for, look no farther than this list of the greatest female espionage films. There are silly comedies, grounded dramas, and heart-racing action in all these femaly spy movies. They include female spies and secret agents.
So vote up the ones you like best, and don't forget to add any favorites! Then check back as new and recent female spy movies are added to the list.
You might also like this list about the best female assassin movies.
Kill Bill Volume 1 Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Quentin Tarantino
Kill Bill: Volume 1 is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of bad guys and their leader Bill after they try to ...more
Kill Bill Volume 2 Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Samuel L. Jackson
Kill Bill Volume 2 is a 2004 martial arts action film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the second of two volumes that were released several months apart. It was originally ...more
Salt Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Salt is a 2010 American action thriller spy film directed by Phillip Noyce, written by Kurt Wimmer, and starring Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Daniel Olbrychski, August Diehl and Chiwetel ...more
Red Sparrow Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts
Red Sparrow is a 2018 American spy thriller film directed by Francis Lawrence, based on the book by Jason Matthews. A Russian spy (Jennifer Lawrence) falls for a CIA officer (Joel Edgerton) and ...more
Hanna Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, Saoirse Ronan
Hanna is a 2011 action thriller film that contains prominent fairy tale elements, directed by Joe Wright. The film stars Saoirse Ronan as the title character, a girl raised in the wilderness of ...more
Inglourious Basterds Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger
Inglourious Basterds is a 2009 German-American war black comedy film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent, Michael ...more
Red Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren
Red is a 2010 American action comedy film directed by Robert Schwentke, inspired by the comic book series by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner. When his peaceful life is threatened by a high-tech ...more
Red 2 Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren
Red 2 is an American action comedy film and sequel to Red. It was inspired by the limited comic book series of the same name, created by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, and published by the DC ...more
Spy Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne
Spy is a 2015 American action comedy spy film directed by Paul Feig. A desk-bound CIA analyst (Melissa McCarthy) is assigned her mission as a field agent to foil the sale of a suitcase nuke.
Atomic Blonde Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman
Atomic Blonde is a 2017 American action spy thriller film directed by David Leitch and written by Kurt Johnstad. It is based on Antony Johnston's 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City, which ...more
Mission: Impossible Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Vanessa Redgrave
Mission: Impossible is a 1996 American action spy film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the 1960s television series. IMF Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) must uncover the mole who has framed
Mr. & Mrs. Smith Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Morrison
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 2005 American action comedy film directed by Doug Liman. Bored upper-middle class married coupleJohn (Brad Pitt) and Jane Smith (Angelina Jolie) learn that they are ...more
Charlie's Angels Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu
Charlie's Angels is a 2000 American action comedy film directed by McG, starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu as three women working for a private investigation agency. The film is ...more
Haywire Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum
Haywire is a 2011 action-thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton, Channing Tatum, Antonio Banderas, and Michael Douglas. ...more
Fair Game Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Ty Burrell
Fair Game is a 2010 biographical spy drama film directed by Doug Liman and starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. It is based on Valerie Plame's memoir, Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by ...more
The Avengers Uma Thurman, Sean Connery, Ralph Fiennes
The Avengers is a 1998 American action spy film adaptation of the British television series of the same name from the 1960s. The film was directed by Jeremiah Chechik. It stars Ralph Fiennes and ...more
Barely Lethal Jessica Alba, Samuel L. Jackson, Sophie Turner (actress)n
Barely Lethal is a 2014 comedy film written by John D'Arco and directed by Kyle Newman.
Zero Dark Thirty Jessica Chastain, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong
Untitled International Thriller is a 2012 thriller film written by Mark Boal and directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
Suicide Squad Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie
Suicide Squad is a 2016 American superhero film directed by David Ayer, based on the DC Comics supervillain team. A secret government agency led by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) recruits ...more
The Spy Who Dumped Me Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon, Sam Heughan
The Spy Who Dumped Me is a 2018 American action comedy film directed by Susanna Fogel. Best friends Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon) get involved in an undercover mission after ...more
The Debt Jessica Chastain, Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington
The Debt is a 2010 American drama-thriller film directed by John Madden and written by Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan
Tomorrow Never Dies Pierce Brosnan, Teri Hatcher, Gerard Butler
This film is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, with the screenplay ...more
Spy Kids George Clooney, Teri Hatcher, Carla Gugino
Spy Kids is a 2001 American/Mexican science fantasy family adventure film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It is the first installment in the Spy Kids series. Alexa Vega and Daryl ...more
Black Book Carice van Houten, Michiel Huisman, Derek de Lint
Black Book is a 2006 Dutch WWII thriller film co-written and directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, and Halina Reijn. The film, credited as ...more
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Cameron Diaz, Demi Moore, Drew Barrymore
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a 2003 American action comedy film. It is the sequel to 2000's Charlie's Angels. It opened in the United States on June 27, 2003, and was number one at the box ...more
List Rules: Vote up your favorite movies with female covert operatives.
Filed Under: Films FilmEntertainmentSpies
The Funniest '90s Movies 'Old' Movies Every Young Person Needs To Watch In Their Lifetime List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst The Best Fantasy Authors The Best Movies Based on Books The Greatest Actors Who Have Never Won an Oscar (for Acting)
bradley cooper wife bonnie hunt young tyler hoechlin film 90s fantasy movies dystopian movies on netflix loras college alumni fairy tale movies soft rock bands canadian weightlifting records john cusack baseball movie
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758929
|
__label__wiki
| 0.968027
| 0.968027
|
28 LISTS Doing What Actors DoLists about actors and actresses and the characters they became, how they disappeared into roles, what they really look like, and more.
Method Acting That Ruined Lives Landed Roles with No Experience Still Acting After All This Acting Just What Kind of Movie Is This? Real Injuries That Made the Movie Actors Who Lied to Get the Part Old Actors Cast as Teenagers Their Decisions Totally Changed the Characters Never Recovered from Infamous Roles Humiliating Auditions Actors in Old Age Makeup Awful Old Age Makeup in Film Crazy Body Changes for Movie Roles Actors vs. The Historical Figures They Played Same Character, Different Ages Played White Supremacists Insanely Good at Doing Accents Multiple Roles in the Same Film Fictionalized Versions of Themselves Greatest One-Hit Acting Wonders
Photo: 20th Century Fox / Warner Bros. / TriStar Pictures
Best Movies The Best Movies All Aspiring Actors Must Watch
1.5k votes 171 voters 10.3k views 66 items
List Rules Vote up the films all aspiring actors must watch.
For actors, watching other people acting is a great way to learn. Anyone in the industry could easily list off the names of the people whose work inspires them. If you dream of making your living performing, here are some movies actors should watch. The films below are full of gripping performances that will help you hone your craft.
These are movies pretty much everyone in the industry agrees are ideal for teaching aspiring actors how to perform on stage or on set. Movies about acting can certainly help actors and actresses everywhere. Flicks like Birdman and Sunset Boulevard don't just feature gripping performances; they help define how and why people are drawn to the art of acting. However, not all movies for aspiring actors need be about the craft specifically. Films like On the Waterfront and The Silence of the Lamb are revered for containing some of the best performances of all time, so they're truly aspirational material. If you're in need of some acting inspiration, check out some of the films below.
The Godfather Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall
The Godfather is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Albert S. Ruddy from a screenplay by Mario Puzo and Coppola. Starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino as ...more
The Silence of the Lambs Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Chris Isaak
The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American thriller film that blends elements of the crime and horror genres. Directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and Scott ...more
The Dark Knight Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the DC Comics character, Batman. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), Police Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and ...more
Pulp Fiction John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino. The lives of two mob hitmen (Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta), a boxer (Bruce Willis), a gangster's wife (Uma ...more
Goodfellas Robert De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson, Joe Pesci
Goodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese. ...more
To Kill a Mockingbird Robert Duvall, Gregory Peck, William Windom
To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American drama film directed by Robert Mulligan. The screenplay by Horton Foote was based on the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee. ...more
Rain Man Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, Valeria Golino
Rain Man is a 1988 American drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of an abrasive and selfish yuppie, Charlie Babbitt, who ...more
Singin' in the Rain Debbie Reynolds, Gene Kelly, Rita Moreno
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American musical comedy film directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and choreographed by Kelly and Donen. It ...more
Taxi Driver Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Martin Scorsese
Taxi Driver is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in New York City soon after the end of the Vietnam War, the film ...more
Breakfast at Tiffany's Audrey Hepburn, Mickey Rooney, Mel Blanc
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a 1961 American romantic comedy film starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, and featuring Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam, and Mickey Rooney. The film ...more
Black Swan Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder
Black Swan is a 2010 American psychological thriller-horror film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, and Mila Kunis. The plot revolves around a production ...more
Requiem for a Dream Jennifer Connelly, Jared Leto, Ellen Burstyn
Requiem for a Dream is a 2000 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, and Marlon Wayans. The film is based on ...more
All About Eve Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Anne Baxter
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It was based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by ...more
Fargo Steve Buscemi, William H. Macy, Frances McDormand
Fargo is a 1996 American neo-noir dark comedy crime film written, produced, edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Frances McDormand as a pregnant Minnesota police chief who ...more
Sunset Boulevard William Holden, Buster Keaton, Gloria Swanson
Sunset Boulevard—stylized onscreen as SUNSET BLVD.—is a 1950 American film noir directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and produced and co-written by Charles Brackett. It was named after the ...more
A Streetcar Named Desire Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Karl Malden
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1951 American drama film adaptation of Tennessee Williams's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 play of the same name. It is the story of a southern lady, Blanche Dubois, ...more
Walk the Line Reese Witherspoon, Joaquin Phoenix, Ginnifer Goodwin
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, ...more
Gordon Keller added Blazing Saddles Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder, Anne Bancroft
Blazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman ...more
Coal Miner's Daughter Tommy Lee Jones, Sissy Spacek, Beverly DAngelo
Coal Miner's Daughter is a 1980 biographical film which tells the story of country music legendary singer Loretta Lynn. It stars Sissy Spacek as Loretta, a role that earned her the Academy Award ...more
Dallas Buyers Club Jennifer Garner, Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto
Dallas Buyers Club is a 2013 American biographical drama film, co-written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. Ron Woodroof was an AIDS patient diagnosed in ...more
Sophie's Choice Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol
Sophie's Choice is a 1982 American drama film directed by Alan J. Pakula, who adapted William Styron's novel of the same name. Meryl Streep stars as Sophie, a Polish immigrant who shares a ...more
Tootsie Bill Murray, Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis
Tootsie is a 1982 American comedy-drama film that tells the story of a talented but volatile actor whose reputation for being difficult forces him to adopt a new identity as a woman to land a ...more
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1966 American black comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is an adaptation of the play of the same title by Edward ...more
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Cloris Leachman
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West ...more
Brokeback Mountain Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kate Mara
Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 American epic romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx; the screenplay was written ...more
List Rules: Vote up the films all aspiring actors must watch.
Filed Under: Films FilmActorsEntertainmenttop 50Best Moviestop 25
The Worst A-List Hollywood Actors The 12 Most Extreme Actor Transformations The 12 Struggles of Being Kinda Fit But Kinda Fat The Worst Oscar-Winning Actors Ever The Best Date Movies Out Now 20 Classic Nude Scenes In '80s Teen Movie History The Greatest 'Simpsons' Religion Jokes The Longest Hollywood Marriages Actors Who Almost Got the Part in a Marvel Film The 13 Sexiest Psycho Girlfriends in Internet History The Best Movie Theater Snacks The Best Lifetime Original Movies of 2019 The Best Actors in Film History The Best Scottish Actors Working Today The Best Western Movies Ever Made The Greatest British Actors of All Time The Best Animated Films Ever The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time The Most Overrated Movies of All Time The Best, Funniest Comedy Movie Trailers of 2019 The Best Film Adaptations of Young Adult Novels The Best Movies Based on Books The Funniest '90s Movies 'Old' Movies Every Young Person Needs To Watch In Their Lifetime
jlo latest boyfriend gary oldman filmography attack on titan anime new kids movies action movies to watch stoned piano rock music gay black men famous animal scientists universal soldier movie list best space movies
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758930
|
__label__wiki
| 0.946131
| 0.946131
|
46 LISTS Everything HorrorLists of the greatest, worst, goriest, and scariest horror movies, series, characters, scenes, and more.
The Scariest Movies Ever Made The Goriest Films You'll Ever See The Greatest of Gothic Horror Supernatural Horror Quintessential to the Genre History's Greatest Horror Films 2019's Most Exciting Horror TV Series The Scariest Horror Novels Ever Written The Best Horror Movies of 2019 The Best Newer Horror TV Shows Horror Shows Too Scary for TV Horror for People Who Don't Like Scary Movies The Best Horror Set in the Woods Horrifying Found Footage Movies The Best Horror Movies Based on Books Scary Movies Set Underground The Greatest Horror TV Shows Terrifying Female Horror Villains 2019's Smartest Horror Movies Best New Horror Movies
Photo: MGM
Graveyard Shift The Best Supernatural Horror Series Ever Made
Ranker TV
994 votes 93 voters 1.1k views 52 items
List Rules Vote up the best scripted supernatural horror shows that have aired on television.
The best supernatural horror shows pair the spooky and the scary to deliver the ultimate frights. The best supernatural horror series ever shown on television offers both bone-chilling horror and spine-tingling creeps. If you’ve been looking for the best supernatural horror to add some otherworldly terror to your TV nights, this list of the best supernatural horror series of all time will help you figure out what needs to go into your queue.
Adding a supernatural element to a television horror series seems like a gimmie. Ghosts are scary, as are demons and whatever other creatures go bump in the night. But to be the best supernatural horror shows, they need to offer more than just supernatural sources of unease and really bring the horrific storylines and scenes. American Horror Story may well be the best defining example of supernatural horror. It's scary, it's spooky and often very good at it being both.
Which shows balance being horror and supernatural series the best? Vote up the best supernatural horror series, vote down the shows that don't deliver the spooky with their scares, and add any scary supernatural series that are missing.
American Horror Story Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Evan Peters
American Horror Story (FX, 2011) is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. An anthology series centering on different characters and locations, ...more
The Haunting of Hill House Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas
The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix, 2018) is an American supernatural horror television series created by Mike Flanagan, based on the novel by Shirley Jackson. The story of five siblings who ...more
Tales from the Crypt John Kassir, Roy Brocksmith, Miguel Ferrer
Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from June 10, 1989, to July 19, 1996, on the premium cable channel ...more
Penny Dreadful Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton, Eva Green
Penny Dreadful (Showtime, 2014) is a British-American horror TV series created for Showtime and Sky by John Logan, who also acts as executive producer alongside Sam Mendes. The title refers to ...more
Tales from the Darkside Paul Sparer
Tales from the Darkside is an American anthology horror TV series created by George A. Romero; it debuted in 1984. Similar to Amazing Stories, The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, The Outer Limits, ...more
Night Stalker Stuart Townsend, Gabrielle Union, Eric Jungmann
Night Stalker is a television series that ran for six weeks in fall 2005 on ABC in America. The series starred Stuart Townsend as Carl Kolchak, an investigative reporter whose wife was murdered. ...more
The Twilight Zone Jordan Peele, Sanaa Lathan
The Twilight Zone (CBS All Access, 2019) is an American anthology drama web television series based on the 1959 television series. An updated version of the classic TV series featuring various ...more
Are You Afraid of the Dark? Ross Hull, Raine Pare-Coull, Jodie Resther
Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a Canadian horror fantasy-themed anthology television series. The original series was created by D.J. MacHale and Ned Kandel, and was picked up by Nickelodeon in ...more
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Kiernan Shipka, Jaz Sinclair, Michelle Gomez
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix, 2018) is an American supernatural television series created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, based on the comic book series. Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) ...more
True Blood Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell
True Blood is an American television drama series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the ...more
Sleepy Hollow Tom Mison, Nicole Beharie, Lyndie Greenwood
Sleepy Hollow is an American supernatural drama television series that premiered on Fox on September 16, 2013, that aired on Mondays at 9:00 pm ET. The series is considered a "modern-day ...more
Eerie, Indiana Omri Katz, Justin Shenkarow, Mary-Margaret Humes
Eerie, Indiana is an American television series that originally aired on NBC from 1991 to 1993. The series was created by José Rivera and Karl Schaefer, with Joe Dante serving as creative ...more
Tales from the Cryptkeeper John Kassir, Elizabeth Hanna, David Hemblen
Tales from the Cryptkeeper is an animated series aimed at children made by Nelvana Limited, PeaceArch Entertainment, kaBOOM! Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television Animation. It was shown on ...more
Haven Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant, Eric Balfour
Haven is an American/Canadian supernatural drama television series loosely based on the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid. The show, which deals with strange events in a fictional town in ...more
The Exorcist Alfonso Herrera, Geena Davis, Ben Daniels
The Exorcist (Fox, 2016) is portrayed as a sequel to the 1973 film of the same name
The Vampire Diaries Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder
The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the popular book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. ...more
The Returned Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Mark Pellegrino, Michelle Forbes
The Returned is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Carlton Cuse as an adaptation of the French series Les Revenants, which was broadcast internationally with the title ...more
Dark Shadows Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall, Alexandra Isles
Dark Shadows is an American gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The series became hugely popular when vampire ...more
Friday the 13th: The Series Colm Feore, Louise Robey, Chris Wiggins
Friday the 13th: The Series is an American-Canadian horror television series that ran for three seasons, from October 3, 1987 to May 26, 1990 in first-run syndication. The series follows Micki ...more
Deadtime Stories
Deadtime Stories is an American anthology horror-fantasy series that aired from November 2, 2012 to December 5, 2013 on Nickelodeon. The series stars Jennifer Stone as "The Babysitter" ...more
Start a conversation about things that go bump in the night, and pretty soon everybody in the room has a story to tell. Paranormal experiences aren't just the domain of psychics and tarot card ...more
Good Omens David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Anna Maxwell Martin
Good Omens (Amazon Video, 2019) is a six-part television serial based on the novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. After being accustomed to life on Earth, the demon Crowley (David Tennant) ...more
Rosemary's Baby Zoe Saldana, Jason Isaacs, Carole Bouquet
Rosemary's Baby is a 2014 television miniseries adaptation of Ira Levin's best-selling horror novel of the same name. Zoe Saldana stars in the four-hour, two-part NBC miniseries that is directed ...more
NOS4A2 Ashleigh Cummings, Zachary Quinto, Olafur Darri Olafsson
NOS4A2 (AMC, 2019) is an American supernatural horror drama television series created by Jami O'Brien, based on the novel by Joe Hill.After discovering a supernatural ability to unlock portals, ...more
Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension Lindy Booth, Neil Crone, Bill Switzer
Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension is a spin-off of Eerie, Indiana. This series aired on the Fox Kids Network in 1998.
List Rules: Vote up the best scripted supernatural horror shows that have aired on television.
Filed Under: TV Programs TVEntertainmentHorrortop 50Horror Movies and TVGraveyard Shift
The Best New Netflix Original Series of the Last Few Years The Best TV Shows to Binge Watch The Best Kids Cartoons of All Time The Best of Premium Cable TV Series The Best Lifetime Original Movies of 2019 The Funniest Characters Currently on TV The Best Single Episodes in Television History The Best New Korean Dramas Of 2019 The Best New Shows That Premiered in 2019 The Best Hallmark Channel Original Movies of 2019 TV Shows That Should Be Canceled Long-Running TV Series That People Need To Stop Watching The Best TV Shows Returning In 2019 The Best Current TV Shows No One Is Watching The Best Cartoons of the '90s The Best Saturday Morning Cartoons for Mid-'80s — '90s Kids The Greatest Female TV Characters of All Time The Most Unforgettable '80s Cartoons The Best New Original Streaming Shows of the Last Few Years Sci-Fi Shows You Should Be Watching Now The Most Annoying TV and Film Characters Ever The Funniest Female TV Characters The Best Cult TV Shows of All Time The Best Saturday Night Live Characters of All Time
will sasso movies and tv shows old nick jr shows pontiac firebird generations Famous Aerospace Engineers that 90s show hallmark movies 2019 international home furnishing brands leading mattress brands me and paul method man redman best songs
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758931
|
__label__wiki
| 0.839068
| 0.839068
|
Further details of The Duke and Duchess's tour to India and Bhutan announced
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will undertake official visits to India and Bhutan from 10-16 April. The tour, being carried out at the request of Her Majesty’s Government, will be the first time The Duke and Duchess have visited either country.
In India, The Duke and Duchess will be starting a personal relationship with a country that will play a major global role throughout Their Royal Highnesses’ lives. The Duke and Duchess will pay respect to the historical relationship between Britain and India, but will focus on understanding India as it is today and will be throughout the 21st century – a vibrant, entrepreneurial, aspirational nation that faces both its challenges and huge opportunities with confidence.
India is the world’s largest democracy and by 2030 is projected to be the most populous nation on earth and home to the world’s third biggest economy. The UK is hugely strengthened by the 1.5 million strong Indian community in the UK. Their Royal Highnesses are pleased to have this chance to contribute to the on-going partnership between Britain and India.
In Bhutan, The Duke and Duchess are looking forward to learning about a beautiful country that has famously prioritised the happiness of its people above all other national goals. Their Royal Highnesses are honoured to have the opportunity to build a personal relationship with Their Majesties The King and Queen, who being of the same generation they look forward to knowing for many years to come. The visit to Bhutan comes less than a decade after the historic decision, led by the Fourth King, to establish a democratic, Constitutional Monarchy in the country. This is an opportune time to build on the friendly relations between the UK and Bhutan.
This tour to India and Bhutan occurs in the week before The Queen’s 90th birthday. The Duke and Duchess are honoured to be carrying out this visit on Her Majesty’s behalf as so many around the world prepare to celebrate this happy milestone. The Queen of course has visited India several times and the country is the largest member of the Commonwealth. In both India and Bhutan,
The Duke and Duchess will seek to pay tribute to Her Majesty’s service and on-going work as one of the world’s longest-serving heads of state who has made an enormous contribution to the diplomatic success of the United Kingdom.
The Duke and Duchess are incredibly grateful to have this opportunity to travel to these two beautiful counties. The tour will see The Duke and Duchess interact with people from all walks of life, from people in very difficult circumstances, to aspiring and established business leaders, well-known cultural figures, inspiring conservationists, leading politicians, and of course other Royals. This will be the most ambitious tour Their Royal Highnesses have undertaken outside a Realm nation and promises to be the most colourful tour to date. It will cover five distinct locations over six days across four regions of India and a visit to a remote and beautiful Himalayan kingdom.
Events will take in everything from state ceremony, to Bollywood glamour, frontline conservation, urban life, and rural tradition. The Duke and Duchess cannot wait to meet the people of India and Bhutan.
Turning to the programme, Their Royal Highnesses’ tour will begin in Mumbai. This vibrant global city is home to over 20 million people and is India’s commercial and entertainment capital. Their Royal Highnesses will see the city in its full character – a bustling metropolis that is home to some of the world’s most successful companies. They will fly overnight from the UK on Saturday 9 March on a scheduled flight, arriving in Mumbai the next morning.
Their first public moment will be on arrival at the Taj Palace Hotel. The Taj was one of the scenes of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008 and is now an iconic symbol of the city’s resilience and strength. The stories of the bravery and dedication of the staff there are now known around the world. The Duke and Duchess are following in the footsteps of other world figures, including The Prince of Wales and The US President who have both used their stays at the hotel to display solidarity with the people of this great city. On arrival they will lay a wreath at a memorial inside the hotel and meet members of staff who helped protect guests during the attack.
After this arrival, The Duke and Duchess will get a chance to say a big hello to Mumbai at one of the city’s most famous public spaces, Oval Maidan. This large public park is home to cricket pitches that boast great views of the city’s skyline and is a gathering place for local people. They will watch a young person’s cricket match and also meet representatives and beneficiaries of three charities here – Magic Bus, Doorstep, and India’s Childline. They will meet and play with children who live in slums around the city. There may be a couple of surprises at this event as well.
From here, The Duke and Duchess will make their way to the Banganga Water Tank. Banganga is an ancient water tank in the Malabar Hill area of Mumbai.
A visit here will allow Their Royal Highnesses to get a real sense of the complexity of this city. Alongside one of the most upmarket residential areas in Mumbai, they will see people who are living in tough circumstances in a small slum and are working hard to gain skills and make their way in the world. They will meet representatives of a charity called SMILE that focuses on skills and opportunities for young people and their parents.
Later that evening, The Duke and Duchess will be introduced to some of Mumbai’s leading figures, including some well-known names from Bollywood and the city’s thriving business world. They will attend a glittering reception and dinner being held in their honour to celebrate Mumbai’s film and creative industries. This will be hosted by The British High Commission in partnership with The British Asian Trust, of which The Prince of Wales is founder and President. It will be a great way for The Duke and Duchess to finish their first day in India. The event will include red carpet arrivals, dance and musical performances, and of course fashion. The event will raise funds for the three charities that Their Royal Highnesses will have met earlier in the day – Magic Bus, Doorstep, and Childline. The Duke and Duchess are pleased that this event will raise funds that will create a small legacy of their visit to India.
The next morning, The Duke and Duchess will meet with aspiring young entrepreneurs at a GREAT campaign event at a bar, restaurant and collaborative workspace called The Social. Mumbai has a thriving young business scene and The Duke and Duchess will be given the opportunity to meet young people with great ideas to power the future of India’s massive economy, where more than 1 million people join the workforce every month.
Prime Minister Modi has launched the Startup India campaign to encourage new businesses and job creation and this will be a chance to explore how the UK can work with Indian business to achieve these goals – Mr Modi has described the UK and India relationship as ‘an unbeatable combination’.
From here The Duke and Duchess will begin the next leg on their tour when they fly to New Delhi, India’s capital city. Their time in Delhi will allow them to pay respect to India’s military contributions, to honour the memory of Mahatma Ghandi, and also to get to know the men and women who now lead the country in government and politics.
They will begin their Delhi programme with a wreath-laying at India Gate. This memorial is situated in the heart of New Delhi. The 42m high red standstone structure is the country’s main war memorial, covering the two world wars, the Third Anglo-Afghan War, and the Indo Pakistan War of 1971.
As the world marks 100 years since the First World War, The Duke and Duchess will in particular honour the 70,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives while fighting for the British Army during the conflict.
From here The Duke and Duchess will travel to Gandhi Smriti. Literally meeting ‘Gandhi memory’, this museum is located in Old Birla House, where Mahatma Gandhi, India’s founding father, spent the last few years of his life.
After arrival The Duke and Duchess will be given a tour of the museum before moving outside where they, like other visitors there, will follow Gandhi’s final footsteps from his humble bedroom to the spot in the garden where he was assassinated in 1948. They will pay their respects at the memorial that marks the location and will watch a choral performance from a group of young people before departing. The Duke and Duchess are grateful to have the chance to learn about this great man’s life in the place where he spent his final years.
That evening The Duke and Duchess will attend a birthday party for Her Majesty The Queen at the residence of the British High Commissioner.
Attended by hundreds of VIPs from the world of government and politics, the garden party will be a chance to celebrate the links between Britain and India, and for all in attendance to toast The Queen ahead of her 90th birthday the next week. The Duke will use the occasion to personally pay tribute to his grandmother with a speech to the invited guests.
The next morning will include two engagements in Delhi, which will be announced closer to the time of the visit. One will allow The Duke and Duchess to see up close work to support desperately vulnerable young people in the city. The second engagement will be a meeting with a senior government leader. Details will be advised.
The Duke and Duchess will also have a private meeting with NGOs working in Delhi before departing the city. Further information will be provided in country.
After these events, Their Royal Highnesses will move onto Kaziranga National Park in the state of Assam. The theme of this leg focuses on the role of conservation in the lives of the rural people of this area. Kaziranga is a World Heritage Site and a wildlife conservation site of great global importance. In addition to being the home of elephants, water buffalo, a number of bird species, the endangered swamp deer, and a high density of tigers, Kaziranga is home to two-thirds of the world’s population of Indian one-horned rhinoceroses – Latin name, Rhinoceros Unicornis.
More than many other famous national parks in the world, in Kaziranga you get a real sense of how closely linked local people are to the animals that live there. This connection is not always easy. The visit to Kaziranga will allow The Duke and Duchess to see up close work being done to manage the conflicts that arise when humans and wild animals live in close proximity. A number of stories of human animal conflict in India have made global news recently and this trip will allow Their Royal Highnesses and accompanying media to understand this issue in much more detail.
The visit to the park will begin on the evening of Tuesday 12 April. The visit comes at the time of the Bohag Bihu festival, the celebration of the Assamese New Year. Around a campfire, the Duke and Duchess will meet local people and see dance and musical performances. It will be a colourful and fun introduction to rural life and a great way to start this leg of the tour.
The next morning, 13 April, will be an early start for an open-air drive around the National Park itself. They will be welcomed by local people and park staff at the entrance to Kaziranga before the drive begins. The Duke, President of United for Wildlife, has long wanted to visit Kaziranga. The park is situated on a flood plain and the vital annual floods drive animals up to the adjacent hills.
In between the park and the hills, however, are growing numbers of villages which are in the path of ancient corridors for elephants and rhinos. The importance of the floods makes the area highly vulnerable to climate change as well, as reduced or increased snowmelts from the Himalayas could have severe consequences for this ecosystem.
The Duke and Duchess will also meet rangers inside Kaziranga. The park has had success in recent years with protecting its animal populations from poachers. This has begun to change, however, with a number of recent poaching incidents. Rhinos are in particular danger as demand in other parts of Asia for their horns continues to rise. Traffickers in South East Asia are now marketing Indian rhino horn as ‘fire horn’ and lying about its increased potency when compared to African horn. The Duke will use this visit to speak out against the lies and violence that threaten this valuable species and the communities that rely on it.
After the tour of the park the Duke and Duchess will have an opportunity to interact with local people in a village. Details will be announced later.
In the afternoon, they will visit the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation. The centre provides emergency care and rehabilitation to wild animals that have been injured, displaced, or orphaned. The centre has a strong re-release rate of 60% and has rehabilitated thousands of animals including hand-raised elephants, rhinos, and bears. The centre is also home to rescued leopards which sadly cannot be re-released from the site and have to be rehomed in sanctuaries and zoos in other locations, mainly in India. Before leaving CWRC, The Duke and Duchess will meet young filmmakers who are members of Green Hub, a project that teaches film-making as a vocational skill to young people across North-East India. They will see two short films that both focus on human animal conflict.
After visiting CWRC, The Duke and Duchess will travel across the road to the Kaziranga Discovery Centre built by Elephant Family, the charity founded by Mark Shand, late brother of The Duchess of Cornwall. Here they will see a first of its kind health clinic for working elephants and an elephant information centre, which is under construction. Their Royal Highnesses will also have an opportunity to meet with villagers who have been relocated by the charity to keep them safely out of the path of an elephant corridor. Before departing, The Duke and Duchess will put the finishing touches on an elephant sculpture to officially mark the ‘call for artists’ for India’s elephant parade, which will see 200 elephants decorated by artists and placed in 200 locations across India by the Elephant Family. These parades have previously been staged in London, Edinburgh, and New York.
On the morning of Thursday 14 April, The Duke and Duchess will fly to Bhutan. On arrival at Paro airport, The Duke and Duchess will immediately get a sense of the beauty of this mountainous country. They will be ceremoniously welcomed by senior state representatives before departing for a scenic drive to the capital city of Thimphu.
In the afternoon, they will travel to the beautiful Thimphu Dzong where they will take part in a Chipdrel, a traditional welcome procession, complete with music, ceremonial dress, and plenty of colour. Inside the Dzong, they will have a private audience with The King and Queen. Their Majesties will then lead The Duke and Duchess across the Dzong’s vast courtyard, which will be beautifully decorated, across to a temple where they will receive a brief blessing and will light butter lamps.
The Duke and Duchess will then say goodbye to The King and Queen for the afternoon before heading to Thimphu’s open-air archery venue, located in the heart of the small city. Their Royal Highnesses will see first-hand Bhutan’s awe-inspiring national sport, where archers must aim at very small, brightly decorated wooden targets positioned 145 metres away from where they are standing. The Duke and Duchess will also have the opportunity to meet young people from local schools and NGOs who will be playing other traditional games.
That evening The Duke and Duchess will have a private dinner with The King and Queen at Lingkana Palace.
The next day, 15 April, promises to be a very special one. The Duke and Duchess will hike to Paro Taktsang, the Tiger’s Nest monastery which dates to 1692. The monastery is near the cave where Guru Padmasambhava – who is credited with introducing Buddhism to Bhutan – is said to have meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, and three days in the 8th century. It is a magical place that The Duke and Duchess are thrilled to be visiting. Their hike will take between 5-6 hours in total and will allow them to get a real sense of the natural and spiritual beauty of the country.
Back in Thimphu that evening, The Duke and Duchess will attend a reception for British nationals in Bhutan and Bhutanese people with strong links to the UK.
The next morning back at Paro Airport, The Duke and Duchess will say farewell and thanks to the people of Bhutan.
They will then board a flight to Agra, India, the home of the Taj Mahal. The Taj, one of the wonders of the world and completed in 1648, will be a fitting location for The Duke and Duchess to say thank you for the generosity and warmth that will have been extended to them on the tour. The Taj Mahal is one of the symbols of India and Their Royal Highnesses cannot wait to see it with their own eyes. The Duke of Cambridge is of course aware of the huge esteem his mother, the late Princess of Wales is held in India and he appreciates the iconic status of the images that exist of The Princess at the Taj. He feels incredibly lucky to visit a place where his mother’s memory is kept alive by so many who travel there. 24 years on from her visit to the Taj, The Duke and The Duchess are looking forward to seeing this beautiful place for themselves and creating some new memories as they say thank you to the people of India at the conclusion of this tour.
As you can see this is going to be a hugely exciting and rewarding tour. Their Royal Highnesses are very much looking forward to it.
The Bishop of London's Sermon
Prince William and Catherine Middleton's Wedding Prayer
The Wedding Dress, Bridesmaids' Dresses and Pages' Uniforms
Outfits for The Queen, The Duchess of Cornwall and The Prince of Wales
Titles announced for Prince William and Catherine Middleton
The Bridegroom and Best Man Uniforms
Miss Middleton's Wedding Ring
Royal Wedding: Ministry of Defence Path-liners
Music for the Wedding Service
Royal Wedding update: Official programme, including Order of Service, available online
Floral Displays in the Abbey and Buckingham Palace
Seating plan for Westminster Abbey confirmed
Selected Guest List for the Wedding Service at Westminster Abbey
The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment carries out final preparations
Her Majesty The Queen gives formal consent to the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
The Royal Wedding Official Photographer
The Band of the Coldstream Guards set to entertain crowds along the procession route
New Coat of Arms for Miss Middleton and her family
An update: The Royal Wedding Online
The Official Souvenir Wedding Programme
How to access the Royal Wedding online
The Wedding of HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton: An update on timings
Trumpeters from the Central Band of the RAF will accolade Prince William and Catherine Middleton on 29th April
My grandmother once said that grief is the price we pay for love.
A speech by Prince William at the memorial service in Christchurch, New Zealand
The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment prepares for the Royal Wedding
Major General William Cubitt OBE speaks about military involvement in the upcoming wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
The role of the Armed Forces in the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
It’s knowing that so many of Scotland’s finest brains and greatest achievers gained – and continue to gain - inspiration from this place
A speech by Prince William at St. Andrews University, Scotland
God speed you in your dangerous, gallant work.
A speech by Prince William at Trearddur Bay lifeboat station, Anglesey
Royal Wedding cake designer is announced
The Royal Wedding music to be released digitally for the first time
The Wedding Carriages
Official Royal Wedding coin goes into production at the Royal Mint
Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund
Prince William and Catherine Middleton have set up a Charitable Gift Fund for the Royal Wedding
Musicians for the Wedding Service at Westminster Abbey
Prince William to visit Australia and New Zealand- Thursday 17th to Monday 21st March 2011
Launch of Royal Wedding website
A message from Prince William to The Prime Minister of New Zealand
Wedding invitations have been sent out
HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton to undertake a Royal tour of Canada
An update on Maid of Honour and Bridesmaids, Best Man and Page Boys
Prince William to be Patron of the University of St. Andrews 600th Anniversary Appeal
Prince William appointed as Colonel of the Irish Guards
But the effect of homelessness is the same for everyone: a crushing sense of hopelessness and despair.
An article by Prince William for the Street News Service
Truly a FIFA World Cup for the world.
A speech by Prince William on the 2018 England World Cup Bid
We all know that we could not be as we are, collectively and individually, without their selfless duty.
An article by Prince William on the appeal for the National Memorial Arboretum, The Sunday Telegraph
This is where the stars of the future will first discover their talents.
An article by Prince William in The Sun on Fields in Trust
Prince William to become Patron of the Imperial War Museum Foundation's First World War Centenary Appeal
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758932
|
__label__wiki
| 0.931645
| 0.931645
|
Golden Jubilee Poetry Competition winners
The Royal Household today announced the results of The Queen's Golden Jubilee Poetry Competition, which saw almost 4,000 children from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland put pen to paper to commemorate a great historical event in an enjoyable and lasting way.
The winners in the three age categories will be invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace and presented by The Queen with specially commissioned gold, silver and bronze medals, based on Raphael's Study for the Figure of Poetry.
The themes of the entries, which were judged by a panel of leading poets chaired by the Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, ranged from The Queen herself and aspects of her time on the throne, to a particular incident or historical event which happened during the past last 50 years.
Andrew Motion said: "The range and quality of the poems were extraordinary and the competition as a whole lived up to our highest hopes.
"It is a great thing to have poetry forming such a central part of the jubilee celebrations."
Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Peat, added: "The poems have been fun and rewarding, and a good way to involve schools and young people in the Jubilee."
All entries will be preserved for posterity in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle. The fifty best poems will be published in the book Fifty Jubilee Poems, copies of which will be sent to all participating schools. Copies will also be for sale with all the proceeds going to two nominated Golden Jubilee charities; Barnardo's and I-CAN.
Appointment of new Royal colonels
Children's literature party deadline reminder
We both retain a deep affection for your country and the outgoing, generous Maltese people who have always offered us the hand of friendship.
State banquet in Malta, 23 November 2005
Announcement of a special Garden Party for children
When limitless amounts of information, much of it ephemeral, are instantly accessible on demand, there is a renewed hunger for that which endures and gives meaning.
Opening ceremony, eighth General Synod of the Church of England, 15 Nov 2005
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh's State Visit to the Baltic
New memorial to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
State Visit of the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil
The Bank was granted its Royal Charter 278 years ago and even a prudent bank needs to build a new headquarters once in a while.
Opening of a new headquarters, Royal Bank of Scotland, 14 September 2005
Announcement of events to celebrate The Queen's 80th birthday in 2006
Message to the President of Pakistan following the earthquake
Atrocities such as these simply reinforce our sense of community, our humanity, and our trust in the rule of law. That is the clear message from us all.
Royal London Hospital, following terrorist bombs in London, 8 July 2005
Message to England cricket captain following Ashes victory
Message to the President of the USA following Hurricane Katrina
I have so many vivid memories and a tremendous sense of pride in being part of the Canadian family.
Farewell dinner in Alberta, Canada, 24 May 2005
My mother once said that this country felt like a "home away from home" for the Queen of Canada. Ladies and gentlemen, six decades later it still does...
Saskatchewan Legislature, Canada, 18 May 2005
Bearing the cipher of Queen Victoria as well as my own, this stone is presented to the First Nations University of Canada.
First Nations University of Regina, Saskatchew, Canada, 17 May 2005
The Queen has made a donation to the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund
Message following bomb blasts in London
Message to congratulate the successful London 2012 Olympic bid team
Message to the London 2012 Olympic bid team
The Queen will dine in HMS VICTORY on the 200th anniversary Trafalgar
Royal Swan Upping 2005
Royal Family to attend the International Fleet Review at Spithead to commemorate
Royal visit to Singapore
Royal visit to Australia
It was the unique quality of his leadership that so inspired the British nation and free peoples throughout the world.
Opening the new Churchill Museum in London, 10 February 2005
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh to visit Malta
Message following the death of His Holiness Pope John Paul II
Everyone is our neighbour, no matter what race, creed or colour.
Christmas Broadcast 2004
In creating this new institution, you are building on a rich academic heritage and a fine tradition of excellence in both teaching and research.
Presentation of a Royal Charter to the University of Manchester, 22 October 2004
I was struck by the spirit of the Korean people, and their determination to overcome adversity
State Banquet, President of the Republic of Korea, 1 December 2004
Engagement of The Prince of Wales
I depart with renewed confidence in the deep friendship between our two countries.
A speech by The Queen to Parliament in Düsseldorf, 2004
I am pleased that Britain continues to play an active role in promoting Brandenburg's prosperity.
Visit to Potsdam, German State Visit, 3 November 2004
Each time I return to Berlin I marvel at the changes.
State Banquet held in the Zeughaus, Berlin, Germany, 2 November 2004
Message to the public following their response to tsunami appeal
We meet in a remarkably open and transparent chamber, where this Parliament sits in the round in European fashion.
Opening of the new Scottish Parliament building, Edinburgh, 9 October 2004
Message to the Foreign Secretary following the Boxing Day tsunami
Arrangements for the funeral of Princess Alice
Statement by The Queen following death of HRH Princess Alice
You have given the Park, at the very heart of our capital city that Diana knew so well, a highly original memorial which captures something of the essence of a remarkable human being.
A speech by The Queen at the opening of a memorial fountain to the late Diana, Princess of Wales
Royal visit to Canada in 2005 announced
Korean State Visit announced for December 2004
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will pay a State Visit to Germany
I ask you to join me in a toast to the French Republic, to the President and to the prosperity of its regions and cities.
Lunch at the Hotel Matignon, Paris, 6 April 2004
Links between Britain and Toulouse have existed over many centuries.
Hôtel De Ville in Toulouse, French State Visit, 7 April 2004
It is fitting that my visit to France should end with this impressive example of Franco-British and European co-operation.
Visit to Toulouse, State Visit, France, 7 April 2004
Democracy is the most precious gift we have and we can never take it for granted.
French Senate, State Visit to France, 6 April 2004
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758933
|
__label__wiki
| 0.562445
| 0.562445
|
Yellow Jack
Broadcast: April 6, 1942
Starring: Donald Voorhees, Myrna Loy, Kenny Delmar, William Johnstone, Homer Fickett, Robert Tallman, Bud Collyer, DuPont Company
Added: Apr 09 2015
In August 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day, which was to replace the separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. But from 1929 until then, Army day had been held on 6th April each year, which was the anniversary date of the United States' entry into World War I.
To celebrate Army day in 1942, the Cavalcade players brought to you a story of the brave soldiers stationed in Cuba in 1900, who offered their lives not in war, but in peace. The play is about the army heroes who defeated a mortal but mysterious enemy, freed the western world of a plague of yellow jack, and made possible our inter-ocean lifeline, the Panama canal.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758935
|
__label__wiki
| 0.586159
| 0.586159
|
Prints by Major Contemporary American Artists Featured in New Exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
The exhibition “Multiplicity” features contemporary prints from the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum that embrace many styles, techniques and approaches with which artists have worked over the past several decades.
“Multiplicity” is on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from Nov. 11 through March 11, 2012. The exhibition is organized by Joann Moser, senior curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and will travel following its presentation in Washington, D.C.
“It is a special treat to be able to put on public view so many large-scale prints by some of the most influential contemporary artists working today,” said Elizabeth Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
“Multiplicity implies abundance and variation,” said Moser. “These prints are the result of collaboration between the artist and professional printers who help realize the artist’s vision. This interaction alters the stereotype of the artist working alone in the studio and celebrates the power of collaboration.”
The exhibition features 83 works, created between 1972 and 2009, by contemporary artists such as John Baldessari, John Cage, Vija Celmins, Chuck Close, R. Luke DuBois, David Hockney, Sol LeWitt, Brice Marden, Julie Mehretu, Martin Puryear, Tim Rollins and K.O.S., Susan Rothenberg, Kiki Smith and Kara Walker. Nearly half of the prints included in the exhibition are recent acquisitions, and 38 were acquired by the museum in the past five years. The exhibition is the first time the museum has shown the majority of these artworks.
The concept of making multiple images from the same matrix has been integral to printmaking ever since the earliest prints were pulled from woodblocks and metal plates in the 15th century. Each impression is considered to be an original work of art. “Multiplicity” brings together a selection of prints by artists for whom the concept of multiplicity in its many forms provides a touchstone for their artistic expression. Many of the artists in the exhibition have expanded the idea of multiplicity beyond editions of identical impressions by creating series, sequences and images that comprise numerous parts. They explore repetition, pairing and variations on a theme as artistic strategies. Implicit in their exploration of multiplicity is a challenge to rarity and uniqueness as determinants of value. All of the prints in the exhibition are part of an edition, and each impression is considered to be an original work of art.
A slideshow of all artworks included in the exhibition is available on the museum’s website.
The museum is presenting several free public programs to complement the exhibition, including a discussion with artists Linn Meyers, Michael Platt, Lou Stovall and Andrea Way Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m. in the museum’s McEvoy Auditorium; gallery talks by Moser Thursday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. and Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012, at 6 p.m.; and a “Multi-Prints Family Day” Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The museum’s monthly jazz series, “Take Five!” in the Kogod Courtyard, will feature printmaking demonstrations by artists from George Mason University Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, from 5 to 7 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Two ticketed programs also will be offered in conjunction with “Multiplicity.” A performance of contemporary classical music that explores the concept of repetition by the 21st Century Consort is Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, at 5 p.m. in the museum’s McEvoy Auditorium. A seminar “Understanding and Collecting the Fine Print” with artist Helen Frederick is Saturday, March 10, 2012 in the museum’s McEvoy Auditorium. Tickets to the concert ($20) and the seminar ($55) are available through Smithsonian Associates at residentassociates.org or (202) 633-3030. Registration for the seminar begins Jan. 1, 2012. Detailed program descriptions are available online at americanart.si.edu.
About the Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum celebrates the vision and creativity of Americans with artworks in all media spanning more than three centuries. Its National Historic Landmark building is located at Eighth and F streets N.W., above the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail station. Museum hours are 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Admission is free. Follow the museum on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, ArtBabble, iTunes and YouTube. Museum information (recorded): (202) 633-7970. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000; (202) 633-5285 (TTY). Website: americanart.si.edu.
Note to editors: Selected high-resolution images for publicity only may be downloaded from americanart.si.edu/pr. Email AmericanArtInfo@si.edu for the password.
Laura Baptiste
baptistel@si.edu
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758939
|
__label__wiki
| 0.565637
| 0.565637
|
More Throbbing Gristle reissues: ‘The Taste of G’ and ‘The Second Annual Report’ on red and transparent vinyl
There’s again some fine news for the fans of vinyl reissues of the back catalogue of Throbbing Gristle. Coming up is “The Taste of TG: A Beginner’s Guide to the Music of Throbbing Gristle” which is a 2004 compilation album by Throbbing Gristle. The cover art is a manipulation by Peter Christopherson of a still from the Pier Paolo Pasolini film “Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma”. The album is now being reissued on red vinyl and can be ordered right here.
Next is the digitally remastered edition of the 1977 debut album from the experimental/post-punk outfit: “The Second Annual Report”. The album has been restored and remastered by band member Chris Carter from 24bit ‘baked tape’ digital transfers of the original first generation analog master tapes. The set includes restored cover artworks, using original source material from the Industrial Records visual archive. This re-release comes on transparent vinyl. You can get hold of this vinyl right here.
For the newbies, Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1976 in Kingston upon Hull. The band comprised Genesis P-Orridge (born Neil Megson; bass guitar, violin, vocals, vibraphone), Cosey Fanni Tutti (born Christine Newby; guitars, cornet, vocals), Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson (tapes, found sounds, horns, piano, vibraphone, synthesizer) and Chris Carter (synthesizers, tapes, electronics).
Throbbing Gristle are widely viewed as early pioneers of industrial music. They disbanded in 1981, but the individual members went on to participate in other projects, and reformed in 2004 for a second stint before disbanding again in 2010 after the death of Christopherson.
Tags: Chris Carter, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Genesis P-Orridge, Industrial Records, Mute Records, Sleazy, Throbbing Gristle
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758940
|
__label__wiki
| 0.83909
| 0.83909
|
Posted on June 20, 2019 by Sidney Daily News
Minster Council asked to approve millage for new community center
By Sandy Rose Schwieterman - For the Sidney Daily News
Minster Council considered plans for an almost $600,000 indoor community center at Wednesday night’s meeting. A .25 mill earned income tax, which would appear on the November ballot, was proposed to build the community center.
Courtesy image
MINSTER – A .25 mill earned income tax was proposed to build an almost $600,000 indoor community center at Wednesday night’s Minster Council meeting.
It is planned to have the issue on the November ballot. If passed, this would result in an increase of $10.42 per month on a $50,000 income.
“We believe that allowing the community to decide on whether they desire a facility like this one we are proposing is the best option,” Brian Wolf, president of the Committee for Sports and Recreation, said.
He said people can see the plans at www.minstercommunitycenter.com.
The 45,000 square foot facility being proposed would be located on the north end of the Minster school property, formerly known as the Schunck property. Wolf said the Minster Board of Education had been made aware of this proposed project during the seven month study period.
The facility would have meeting rooms, basketball and pickleball courts, a three-lane track, batting cages, golf simulators and individual shower rooms.
Wolf said the space would provide space for educational and fellowship activities. He also said it would also enhance athletic training for Minster youth and increase recreational activities for young and old.
Wolf said the facility would be managed by the Village of Minster.
Councilwoman Nicole Clune expressed concerns about the costs of maintenance and personnel for the building. However, Council agreed to have Village Administrator Don Harrod write up a proposed ordinance for Council to consider at its next meeting on July 2.
Council determined there would have to be three readings of the ordinance to meet the deadline to get the measure on the ballot.
In his report to the Council, Harrod said Helms and Sons Excavating continues to work on the Second Street project, having installed a small portion of storm sewer and continuing work on installing the sanitary line down Second Street as weather permits. He said the contractor also started installing curb and gutter on Ohio Street.
He said the Minster electric department spent three days at the end of May assisting with the efforts to restore power to the City of Celina as a result of the tornadoes that went through that city. The mutual aid provided by the department was part of the village’s participation in AMP’s Mutual Aid Program.
Harrod reported that John Neuman along with Mike Kiser from Encompass Engineering traveled to Canada and to Buffalo, New York, to do the final inspection of both the substation transformer and the switch-house. These inspections are required as part of the contract with the suppliers of both the transformer and the switch-house.
He also said the village had received notice that it has been awarded a $24,673.50 safety grant from the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation. The village matches 25% of the amount. The grant will allow the village to purchase a valve maintenance trailer for the Public Works Department, allowing the village to be able to test water valves throughout the village. The Ohio EPA is requiring that all water valves in communities be tested at least annually.
In other actions, Council approved the purchase of an $18,050 Kabota utility vehicle for the wastewater treatment plant. Council agreed to pay $25,000 to buy a replacement for the 20-year-old lift station service pump on Second Street. Harrod said the old pump was damaged during the recent floods when gravel from a construction dike entered the pump. He also said they would turn in claims to FEMA and insurance on the ruined pump.
Council approved a first reading to accept a $118,641 bid from Worldwide Industries to paint the Ohio Street water tower.
Council also approved May 2019 income tax receipts was 1,583,519.05 while invoices amounted to $1,319,783.98
The Council then adjourned to executive session to discuss a possible sale of land. No action was taken.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2019/06/web1_Community-Center-Shaded-Floor-Plan.jpgMinster Council considered plans for an almost $600,000 indoor community center at Wednesday night’s meeting. A .25 mill earned income tax, which would appear on the November ballot, was proposed to build the community center. Courtesy image
By Sandy Rose Schwieterman
Hi! A visitor to our site felt the following article might be of interest to you: Minster Council asked to approve millage for new community center. Here is a link to that story: https://www.sidneydailynews.com/news/147603/minster-council-asked-to-approve-millage-for-new-community-center
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758941
|
__label__cc
| 0.510141
| 0.489859
|
Miami International Airport is a major airport in Florida, USA, operated by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department and is owned by the Miami-Dade County government. It is the primary airport serving the Miami area, located in an unincorporated area in Miami-Dade County, 13 km northwest of Downtown Miami. The public airport, historically Wilcox Field, covers an area of 1,520 hectares and resides at an elevation of 8 ft (2 m) above mean sea level. It is equipped with four asphalt runways: runway 8L/26R measures 2,860 m × 46 m (9,383 ft × 151 ft), runway 8R/26L measures 3,400 m × 60 m (11,150 ft × 200 ft), runway 9/27 measures 3,900 m × 60 m (12,800 ft × 200 ft), and runway 12/30 measures 3,050 m × 46 m (10,007 ft × 151 ft). Miami International Airport provides regular scheduled services throughout the Americas, Europe, and East and West Asia. It is the largest gateway between the USA and Latin America, and the main airport for long-haul international flights to and from South Florida.
MIA's main terminal is still the one used from 1959, save for several new additions. The single terminal facility is semi-circular in shape, divided into three sections: the North Terminal is Blue and consists of Concourse D; the yellow Central Terminal contains Concourses E, F, and G; and the red South Terminal contains Concourses H and J. Level 1 contains ground transportation access and the baggage carousels, Level 2 contains ticketing/check-in, restaurants and cafes, retail outlets, and access to the concourses. On Level 3 of Concourses D and J are the two immigration and customs facilities of MIA.
Miami International Airport is one of the largest airline hubs in the country. It serves as a hub for American Airlines, Eastern Airlines, and the charter airline Miami Air International for passenger services, and Atlas Air, FedEx Express, LAN Cargo, and UPS Airlines for cargo. It is also a focus city for Avianca, Frontier Airlines, LAN Airlines, and TAM Airlines.
There are three parking facilities in MIA: directly in front of Concourse E is a two-level short-term parking lot, and within the terminal's curvature are two seven-story parking garages. No reservations required, but passengers are advised to check the map online for location of airlines and the nearest parking options.
Ground transportation at MIA is available 24 hours a day. Options are licensed taxicabs and SuperShuttle vans from the arrival level, outside the baggage claim area, and Hotel shuttles from the departure level. Pre-arranged ground transportation services from MIA include bus and limousine and Tri-Rail Commuter Train Service just outside the airport.
The airport is also connected to the Miami Central Station and Miami Intermodal Center (also called Miami Airport Station) via the new MIA Mover electric-powered train. It is a rapid transit, commuter rail, intercity rail, and intercity bus transportation hub, which also has a Rental Car Center. The rental car facility allows guests to choose from 16 rental car companies and 6,500 rental cars to make their stay more convenient.
Airports near Miami International:
Fort Lauderdale International airport (34km)
Fort Lauderdale Executive airport (46km)
West Palm Beach International airport (100km)
Bimini International airport (102km)
Fort Myers Southwest Florida Reg airport (168km)
Getting to & from the Airport
Driving hide
MIA is located on 21000 NW 42nd Ave.
Trains hide
Commuter trains serving MIA are the Tri-Rail Train and Metrorail system.
Buses hide
Metrobus routes serving MIA are 7, 37, 42, 57, J (110), 150 (Miami Beach Airport Flyer), 238 (East-West Connection), and 297.
Taxi hide
The taxis serving MIA are located outside of the baggage claim area, at the arrival level.
Miami International
Who flies to Miami International
LATAM Airlines Group
PO Box 025504,
Miami,
FL 33102-5504,
www.miami-airport.com/
80° 17' 9'' W
KMIA
Car hire from Miami International
Miami Holidays
Fort Lauderdale International airport
Fort Lauderdale Executive airport
West Palm Beach International airport
Bimini International airport
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758944
|
__label__wiki
| 0.862688
| 0.862688
|
Regional Archive July 2009
ADB to Help Coral Triangle Policy Makers Through Better Information Exchange
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is assisting the six member-countries of the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) strengthen coastal and marine ecosystems management through a $2.3-million technical assistance.
Fiji President to Retire
Fiji's president and the world's oldest Head of State will be retiring after 9 years as the nation's leader.
Climate Change Warning for the Asia-Pacific
A new report has warned that climate change could produce 75 million refugees in the Asia Pacific region in the next 40 years.
First H1N1 Flu Death in Region
The first death from the H1N1 flu in the region has been reported from Guam.
ADB Board Approves New Policy to Strengthen Safeguard Protections
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Board of Directors today approved a Safeguard Policy Statement that will strengthen protections already in place to avoid or minimize the adverse impacts of ADB-supported projects on the environment and affected people.
Efforts to Reduce Costs of Sending Remittances
Efforts are underway to try and reduce the cost of sending remittances to countries in the region.
Pacific Plan Achieves Significant Progress in Implementation During 2009
Press Statement - 14 July 2009 - The Pacific Plan Action Committee (PPAC) which oversees the implementation of the Pacific Plan endorsed by Forum Leaders in 2005 has been told that significant progress has been achieved in the implementation of the Plan during 2009.
ADB Improving Its Development Effectiveness, Says Report
The Asian Development Bank's operations have delivered tangible benefits to the lives of millions of people in Asia and the Pacific over the past four years, while there are several areas needing further improvement at both the project level and within the organization itself, says a new report.
SIS Officials Meeting Kicks Off a Week of Forum Senior Officials Meetings
A series of meetings of senior officials from Pacific Islands Forum countries preparing for the Forum Leaders' meeting early next month, started today with a meeting of officials from the Smaller Island States (SIS) of the Forum.
Fiji Wins Support of Melanesian Spearhead Group
Fiji's interim regime has won the support of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) for the lifting of its suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum.
Visualising the Vulnerability of the Pacific Islands
Press Release - It's been said that a picture can tell a thousand words. With this in mind, the opportunity for Pacific islands communities to share their climate change impacts with the rest of the World is presented.
7 Countries in the Region With A(H1N1)
7 countries in the region have confirmed cases of the A(H1N1) virus, or swine flu, after confirmations from Cook Islands and Palau.
Conference Reveals Pacific Women in Submissive Position
At a conference for the Pacific STI and HIV Research Centre, it was revealed that women in the region are in submissive relationships or marriages where they do not have a say in issues that affect them, like contraception.
Cow Disease Hits Fiji
Some sections of Fiji's cattle industry are being threatened by the re-emergence of Brucellosis, a bacterial disease found in the reproductive tracts of animals but which can be contracted by humans.
University of the South Pacific Preparing for A(H1N1)
The University of the South Pacific has outlined pandemic plans to inform students and staff on preventative measures against the contraction of the A(H1N1) virus and has identified an isolation area for those infected or suspected of being infected.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758947
|
__label__wiki
| 0.853301
| 0.853301
|
Plenty of applicants for KDNK manager position
Sections: News Published Jan. 11, 2017
By John Colson
Sopris Sun staff writer
Two dozen people have applied to become the next station manager at KDNK, Carbondale’s community access radio station, and there is some hope that a new manager will be on the job within a matter of weeks, according to one station official.
The board has embarked on a national search to replace Steve Skinner, the long-time station manager who was dismissed late last year.
The station, founded in 1983, broadcasts to communities around the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys, and has a live-stream link on its website that brings in listeners from around the U.S. and the world.
KDNK board president Andi Korber told The Sopris Sun on Tuesday that the committee in charge of the search, headed up by local businessman Scott Levine, was planning to take its first, formal look at the list of 24 applicants at a meeting on Wednesday night, and begin the process of whittling the list down to a group of finalists before starting the interview process.
She said there are seven members of the interview committee, including station board members Levine, Heather Dalton and Lee Ingram; community “at-large” representatives Luis Yllanes and Sarah Murray; and staff representatives Luke Nestler and Bodhi Stanberry.
The committee, said Korber and Levine, was scheduled to meet on Wednesday evening (after the Sopris Sun’s news deadline for this edition) for a first formal run-through of the list, though Levine said he and others had already done an initial screening and come up with a list of eight applicants who seem to be the “really top contenders” for the position.
Still, Levine said, all members of the hiring committee will be able to go over the entire list of applicants, as the committee works to narrow the list of candidates to those who will be invited to take part in interviews.
As a starting point in the process, “We are using the job description as the basis of the selection,” said Korber.
The two-page job description, dated December 2016, lays out the duties of the general manager, stating that he or she “leads the staff, leads income generation and budget management, and bears primary responsibility for station operations.”
In addition, the description declares that the GM “develops strategy and policy with and reports to the Board of Directors;” writes grant applications (or oversees the grant-writing); recruits the core of volunteer disc jockeys that often are cited as the reason for the station’s unique qualities; and is responsible for hiring and firing of paid staff members.
The job comes with benefits and a salary of $55,000 to $60,000, depending on experience.
Levine, speaking from work on his cell phone, was unsure about how many of the applicants are from the immediate area and how many are from more distant locales, but speaking for himself, he said, “probably more of our serious candidates are from out of town.”
Nevertheless, Levine continued, perhaps three of the eight “top contenders” from the initial screening are from the local area.
“Everyone wishes they could hire locally,” Levine remarked, but he said the committee is bound to give all applicants equal consideration.
And, he said, the fact is that “the local workforce is very limited” in terms of people with experience and knowledge of community access radio rules, regulations and role in the community.
He said it had not been decided when, or even if, a list of finalists might be made public, prior to the offering of a job to one of them.
That, he said, is something the committee will be discussing, along with an array of other topics.
“We have a lot of talking to do at this point,” he said.
Both Korber and Levine expressed the hope that an offer can be made within weeks, perhaps by early February, but Levine added, “I don’t want to rush through this process.”
After reviewing the field of applicants and conducting interviews, Levine continued, “We may find that we all really like one person,” which could lead to a recommendation to the Board of Directors that it hire that person.
But, he said, it also could easily work out that the committee comes up with a list of three, five or even more desirable candidates, in which case that list could end up before the board.
At that point, although the exact procedures are still being worked out, “My guess is the board might want to do some interviews on its own” before making a final offer, Levine mused.
Overall, though, he stressed that the board invites community interest in the search.
“We want this to be an open, transparent and equitable process,” he pledged, with the end goal of selecting “a person who’s really going to lead this station in the next period of growth and development.”
It takes community support to keep The Sopris Sun shining.
Sections: News By John Colson Published May. 30, 2019
Rams at Work & Play
Sections: News By Jeanne Souldern Published Jul. 10, 2019
Affordable housing a continuing challenge for first responders
Sections: News By Megan Tackett Published Jul. 10, 2019
Translating finer points through different brush strokes
Sections: News By Justin Patrick Published Jul. 10, 2019
Myth-busting rural America at the Ideas Festival
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758948
|
__label__wiki
| 0.953546
| 0.953546
|
Russell Wilson signs deal, says Seahawks ‘got more Super Bowls to win’
Russell Wilson signed his contract extension on Wednesday, and afterward made it clear he intends to lead the Seattle Seahawks to more Super Bowl victories.
Wilson’s extension is a reported four-year, $140 million deal that includes a $65 million signing bonus, the largest in NFL history. The terms of the deal makes Wilson the highest-paid player in the NFL on a per-year basis. The contract also includes a no-trade clause and will keep Wilson in Seattle until 2023.
Wilson and the Seahawks agreed to terms on early Tuesday morning, just as his imposed deadline to work out a deal ended, and the team officially announced the deal with a press conference on Wednesday.
A special day indeed. pic.twitter.com/jE7K4bkABf
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 17, 2019
“I love Seattle, it’s a special place for me,” Wilson said after putting pen to paper. Later, Wilson articulated his goals for the immediate future and beyond.
“For me, for my family and for (agent) Mark (Rodgers), we love Seattle, and it’s the place I want to be,” Wilson said moments after signing the contract, per the Seahawks’ official site. “I’ve always wanted to be here. When I first got drafted in 2012, I wanted to be here forever. This helps solidify that. I’ve got many more years to go and a lot more winning to do—we’ve got more Super Bowls to win. I’m excited about that.”
Prior to the press conference, the Seahawks posted footage of Wilson saying as much in a personal message to the team’s fans.
Time to make it happen #GoHawks x @DangeRussWilson pic.twitter.com/SsMBUJQFBN
Wilson is entering his eighth season after the Seahawks selected him 75th overall in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He led the Seahawks to consecutive Super Bowl berths, winning in his first appearance in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Wilson, 31, enjoyed one of his better seasons in 2018 from a statistical perspective, completing 65.6 percent of his passes for 3,448 yards while reaching a career high in touchdown passes (35) and a career low in interceptions (7).
News Ticker, Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
Rob Gronkowski left dent in Lombardi Trophy by bunting with it
Kawhi Leonard reportedly 'wants to be on the West Coast'
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758951
|
__label__wiki
| 0.543575
| 0.543575
|
The world’s most powerful rocket Falcon departed on Heavy First Space Mission
February 7, 2018 February 7, 2018 - by sportsuserr974 - Leave a Comment
The world’s most powerful rocket Falcon departed on Heavy First Space Mission. American company Spies X has left spacecraft rocket named Falcon Heights from Florida’s Canadian Kennedy Space Center. This rocket is larger in volume and it is being declared as the most powerful.
Alison Mosk, head of the head of Space X, said that the possibility of the first flight of the new rocket is a foothold. Falcon Heavy is now the most talented one of the available space vehicles.
The rocket was released from Florida in the same place where the man started the moon’s journey before and now the date is being re-written, and the final goal of this mission is to bring humans to Mars. The design of this rocket is such that it can take up to 64 tonnes of goods in the ground orbit – that can fly in London with five double-decker buses.
Allen Musk says it’s more capable than the world’s second powerful rocket Delta For Heavy, but it has a quarter of the cost compared to it. Due to the risks related to the first experimental mission, Musk has decided to spend less weight, including his red Tesla sports car. If all its stages are successful and their address will take about six hours after filling the flight, Tester and its passengers will be sent to the orbit of the Sun, which will reach the planet Mars.
Three of the Falcon X-Falcon vehicles are tied together in Falcon Heavy. And by the usual XP X, they all provide power at all times. The lower part of the rocket has returned to the ground in a controlled manner. The other two returned to the Touch-Zones in the south of Kennedy, on the Florida coast, whereas the third booster had to cross the hundreds of kilometers to the drone-powered drone station.
During the launch, the video signal was disconnected from drone strikes, so there is no knowledge about the third booster. However, heavy tissue with cargo test began with the hope that it would come out to reach Mars.Will be And it depends on the fact that the engine will fire successfully on three different stages in the upper stages and the third and last ignition will be after a long run.
Before the flight, Mr. Moskck said that this is the stage they were most concerned about. At the top stage, the Earth’s Mediterranean will pass through the radiation area, which is called Van Allen belt, and it may affect the electrical system.
Prices decrease Xiaomi smartphones, Xiaomi Redmi 6, Xiaomi Redmi 6A, and Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro
Galaxy A7 | Samsung Galaxy A9: After Xiaomi, Samsung’s phone is also cheap, down to Rs 5 thousand in one go
“Nokia 8 Sirocco” .. Ultra-literal and innovative innovations and upgrade “Android 9 Bay”
Previous Article The successful flight of the first passenger drone in China
Next Article Apple dreamed to earn 100 billion rupees
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758952
|
__label__wiki
| 0.905859
| 0.905859
|
Tennis Database
Elias Seixas
Rate this Player1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
[ More photos ]
Birth date 30 Aug 1923 (95 years)
Nationality United States
Nickname Vic
Elias Victor Seixas Jr, was known as Vic for short. He was born on August 30, 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Vic was known for being one of the extraordinary amateur players who did not join the pro tour.
Vic attended college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated in 1949 and was awarded the Patterson Medal in Athletics. Vic had many highlights in his career as an amateur. He played in the US Championships at Forest Hills for a record of 28 times between 1940 and 1969. He won the US Championships singles in 1954 over Rex Hartwig. He was also one of the few players who played more Davis Cup matches than any other American until he was followed by John McEnroe. He won 38 out of the 55 singles and doubles matches he encountered in the seven years that he was included in the team. He ranked in the US Top Ten thirteen times between the years 1942 and 1966. In so doing, he set an American longevity record which was later on equaled by Pancho Gonzalez. His highest point in the US Rankings was when he won the Wimbledon singles over Kurt Nielsen and led the US to the finals of the Davis Cup.
Yet another one of Vic’s career highlights was during the Pennsylvania Grass Championships held at Philadelphia in 1966. Vic was 42 years old when he beat 22 year old Australian Davis Cup player, Bill Bowrey. It was considered the fifth longest singles match in tennis history with the match taking up nearly four hours.
Vic garnered 15 major titles in singles, doubles and mixed and set a Wimbledon record when he won the mixed tournament in four successive years (1953-1956). He also has a record of 13 US titles.
Throughout the prime of his career, Vic stayed as an amateur player and never joined the pro tour. He won 56 singles titles when he was an amateur. At the age of 50, Vic finally decided to become pro in order to compete on the Grand Masters circuit. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971.
Improve this page!
Latest edit made by Maree Cartujano
Oldest Living Tennis Players
Pauline Betz Addie
Francisco Segura Caano
Louise Brough (Clapp)
Who has the best backhand after Federer?
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758953
|
__label__wiki
| 0.760295
| 0.760295
|
Engineering Signals & Communication
Computational Analysis of Sound Scenes and Events
Editors: Virtanen, Tuomas, Plumbley, Mark D., Ellis, Dan (Eds.)
Gives an overview of methods for computational analysis of sounds scenes and events, allowing those new to the field to become fully informed
Covers all the aspects of the machine learning approach to computational analysis of sound scenes and events, ranging from data capture and labeling process to development of algorithms
Includes descriptions of algorithms accompanied by a website from which software implementations can be downloaded, facilitating practical interaction with the techniques
Included format: EPUB, PDF
This book presents computational methods for extracting the useful information from audio signals, collecting the state of the art in the field of sound event and scene analysis. The authors cover the entire procedure for developing such methods, ranging from data acquisition and labeling, through the design of taxonomies used in the systems, to signal processing methods for feature extraction and machine learning methods for sound recognition. The book also covers advanced techniques for dealing with environmental variation and multiple overlapping sound sources, and taking advantage of multiple microphones or other modalities. The book gives examples of usage scenarios in large media databases, acoustic monitoring, bioacoustics, and context-aware devices. Graphical illustrations of sound signals and their spectrographic representations are presented, as well as block diagrams and pseudocode of algorithms.
Tuomas Virtanen is Professor at Laboratory of Signal Processing, Tampere University of Technology (TUT), Finland, where he is leading the Audio Research Group. He received the M.Sc. and Doctor of Science degrees in information technology from TUT in 2001 and 2006, respectively. He has also been working as a research associate at Cambridge University Engineering Department, UK. He is known for his pioneering work on single-channel sound source separation using non-negative matrix factorization based techniques, and their application to noise-robust speech recognition, music content analysis and audio event detection. In addition to the above topics, his research interests include content analysis of audio signals in general and machine learning. He has authored more than 100 scientific publications on the above topics, which have been cited more than 5000 times. He has received the IEEE Signal Processing Society 2012 best paper award for his article "Monaural Sound Source Separation by Nonnegative Matrix Factorization with Temporal Continuity and Sparseness Criteria" as well as three other best paper awards. He is an IEEE Senior Member, a member of the Audio and Acoustic Signal Processing Technical Committee of IEEE Signal Processing Society, Associate Editor of IEEE/ACM Transaction on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing and recipient of the ERC 2014 Starting Grant.
Mark Plumbley is Professor of Signal Processing at the Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing (CVSSP) at the University of Surrey, in Guildford, UK. After receiving his Ph.D. degree in neural networks in 1991, he became a Lecturer at King's College London, before moving to Queen Mary University of London in 2002. He subsequently became Professor and Director of the Centre for Digital Music, before joining the University of Surrey in 2015. He is known for his work on analysis and processing of audio and music, using a wide range of signal processing techniques, including independent component analysis, sparse representations, and deep learning. He has also a keen to promote the importance of research software and data in audio and music research, including training researchers to follow the principles of reproducible research, and he led the 2013 D-CASE data challenge on Detection and Classification of Acoustic Scenes and Events. He currently leads two EU-funded research training networks in sparse representations, compressed sensing and machine sensing, and leads two major UK-funded projects on audio source separation and making sense of everyday sounds. He is a Fellow of the IET and IEEE.
Dan Ellis joined Google Inc., in 2015 as a Research Scientist after spending 15 years as a tenured professor in the Electrical Engineering department of Columbia University, where he founded and led the Laboratory for Recognition and Organization of Speech and Audio (LabROSA) which conducted research into all aspects of extracting information from sound. He is also an External Fellow of the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley, CA, where he researched approaches to robust speech recognition. He is known for his contributions to Computational Auditory Scene Analysis, and for developing and transferring techniques between all different kinds of audio processing including speech, music, and environmental sounds. He has a long track record of supporting the community through public releases of code and data, including the Million Song Dataset of features and metadata for one million pop music tracks, which has become the standard large-scale research set in the Music Information Retrieval field.
Introduction to Sound Scene and Event Analysis
Virtanen, Tuomas (et al.)
The Machine Learning Approach for Analysis of Sound Scenes and Events
Heittola, Toni (et al.)
Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Sound Scenes and Events
Lemaitre, Guillaume (et al.)
Acoustic Features for Environmental Sound Analysis
Serizel, Romain (et al.)
Statistical Methods for Scene and Event Classification
McFee, Brian
Datasets and Evaluation
Mesaros, Annamaria (et al.)
Everyday Sound Categorization
Guastavino, Catherine
Approaches to Complex Sound Scene Analysis
Benetos, Emmanouil (et al.)
Multiview Approaches to Event Detection and Scene Analysis
Essid, Slim (et al.)
Sound Sharing and Retrieval
Font, Frederic (et al.)
Computational Bioacoustic Scene Analysis
Stowell, Dan
Audio Event Recognition in the Smart Home
Krstulović, Sacha
Sound Analysis in Smart Cities
Bello, Juan Pablo (et al.)
Ellis, Dan (et al.)
Download Sample pages 2 PDF (1.2 MB)
Tuomas Virtanen
Mark D. Plumbley
Dan Ellis
Springer International Publishing AG
X, 422
Signal, Image and Speech Processing
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758954
|
__label__cc
| 0.575426
| 0.424574
|
Suspended officer charged in death of 3-month-old daughter
https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/How-to-watch-out-for-printer-makers-ploys-2772517.php
How to watch out for printer makers' ploys
Henry Norr, Chronicle Staff Writer
Published 4:00 am PDT, Monday, September 9, 2002
When George Bush appoints me to the Federal Trade Commission, one of my first proposals is going to be a regulation requiring printer makers to add a big, bold asterisk wherever they use the phrase "up to" in describing how many pages per minute their products will print.
And I won't let them off the hook with a footnote as vacuous as "Actual results may vary." I'll suggest something like "Don't pay any attention to this number -- you'll be lucky to get half of it in real life."
What prompts this fantasy is a round of tests I just ran on three new printers advertised as delivering speeds of "up to" 11, 15, and 17 pages per minute, respectively. In some ways, all three are excellent products -- I'll have more to say about their virtues in a future column -- but none comes close to its "up to" speed.
And that's just one of several traps the industry has placed in the way of unwary printer buyers.
FEEDS AND SPEEDS
To test the vendors' performance claims, I printed out a 17.5-page document,
containing nothing but about 350 words of text on each page, several times on each printer. The best results I got came from the 15 pages-per-minute model, a Samsung ML-1430 laser printer. It did the job in 2 minutes 46 seconds -- 6.4 p.p.m.
The "up to 17 p.p.m." model, a Hewlett-Packard PSC 2210, took 4 minutes 25 seconds (just over 4 p.p.m.) in its normal mode and almost 3 minutes in FastDraft mode, its speediest setting.
Bringing up the rear was the Lexmark X75 PrinTrio, which is rated at 11 p.p. m. It needed more than 6 minutes to print my 17.5 pages in normal mode (less than 3 p.p.m.) and 4:08 minutes at the "QuickPrint" setting.
In short, none of these printers delivered even half its rated speed, even when in the fastest mode.
The spec that's supposed to tell you what you can expect in terms of quality can be just as misleading. That indicator is resolution -- the number of dots per inch (d.p.i.) the printer can lay down on your page. The higher the d.p.i., the sharper the text and the subtler the shading in graphics, according to the theory.
Unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way, because not all dots are created equal -- the quality of the output depends not only on how many of them there are, but also on how precisely they're aimed and shaped, the kind of ink they're made of, whether they bleed on their neighbors and a host of other technical variables.
This all becomes obvious when you compare text output from laser and inkjet printers. Lots of inkjets now deliver "near-laser quality," but few, if any, actually get there.
When I look at the crisp text emerging from the Samsung ML-1430, it looks pretty much like professional printing, even though the printer costs only $200 and boasts a relatively modest resolution of 600 by 600 d.p.i.
By contrast, the two other printers, both inkjets, have significantly higher resolutions -- 2,400 by 1,200 d.p.i. in the case of the Lexmark X75 and up to 1,200 by 1,200 d.p.i. for text from the HP PSC 2210. But even in their best (and slowest) modes, their output on plain paper looked to me like, well, inkjet output -- not bad, but just a bit blurry and soggy-looking.
That's what you get, I'm afraid, when you print by squirting droplets of hot liquid ink at the page -- no matter how many such droplets per inch the printer can squirt.
PENNIES PER PAGE
At $200, the Samsung printer is amazingly cheap for a laser printer, but it's still more than most consumer inkjets. On the other hand, if you generate lots of text pages, and can live without color printing (or have another way to do it), there's another powerful argument for lasers: the toner they use generally costs less per page than inkjet ink.
The ML-1430 comes with a cartridge rated for 1,000 average pages, and replacement cartridges good for 2,500 pages go for $70. You can stretch the page count for either one by 40 percent, according to Samsung, just by pressing the TonerSaver button on the front of the printer. (On most pages, the difference in output quality is barely visible.)
That comes out to a range of 2 to 2.8 cents per page. I can't tell you exactly how that compares with the Lexmark X75, the HP PSC 2210, or other inkjets, because the vendors don't make such information readily accessible, and I don't have the time, money or patience to print through whole cartridges just to calculate ink costs. But trade magazines that have done such testing generally come up with much higher per-page costs for inkjets.
At PCWorld.com, for example, the test reports accompanying a feature posted this month on "Top 10 Inkjet Printers" shows an average per-page cost of 4.5 cents for monochrome printing. (For color printing, the average was 12.7 cents per page.) Only three inkjet printers -- two of them from Canon, interestingly -- were in the same range per page as the Samsung laser printer.
There's a reason printer manufacturers don't talk much about the cost of consumables for their products: that's where the money is in their business. They've adopted the proverbial razor-and-razor-blades strategy, making the printers (razors) cheap but soaking us on the ink (blades).
This is especially the case with the cheapest printers, those that are bundled "free" with PCs or sold for less than $100. In some cases these come with special "starter" cartridges that are only half-full, or there's no black cartridge, so unwitting consumers use up their expensive color ink to produce pseudo-black when printing text. Either way, the buyer who's taken home a printer for, say, $49, has to go back a few weeks later and shell out $30 or more for a replacement cartridge.
In fact, in an excellent overview of printer options published last December, PC Magazine chose to exclude sub-$100 printers on the grounds that "in the end, these are by far the most expensive to own and operate" (www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,5217,00.asp).
CABLE MADNESS
Another way printer makers have traditionally stuck it to customers is by not providing cables with their products. And often they add insult to injury by trying to sell you one for $20 or more.
Don't fall for it. In most cases these days, all you need to connect your printer and computer is a standard USB "device cable," and you can get a perfectly good one anywhere, probably for a lot less than your printer vendor wants. If you can't find one at a good price locally, try the Web -- Amazon. com, Buy.com and other reputable e-commerce sites offer high-quality, name- brand USB cables for less than $5 apiece.
Amazingly enough, the CRT-recycling bills I mentioned here recently -- SB 1523 and SB 1619 -- actually passed the state Legislature on Aug. 31, the final, frenzied night of this year's session.
I'm not happy about some of the changes that had to be made to get the votes -- in particular, the upfront fee to be charged with the sale of CRT- based products was set at $10, regardless of the size of the screen. That might suffice for most computer monitors, but it's certainly not enough to cover the cost of safely recycling big-screen TVs.
Still, the bills are an important first step because they finally create a viable framework for dealing with the looming e-waste crisis. Now the question is whether Gov. Gray Davis will sign them or back down in the face of industry pressure. If you want him to do what's obviously the right thing, now's the time to let him know. You can find details about the bills and a sample letter to the governor at www.recycling.net.
Dr. Mac
Working@Home
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758955
|
__label__cc
| 0.72344
| 0.27656
|
7 Pillars of Shiji’s Business Transformation
(Feb, 17, 2017, Beijing, CN) Shiji envisions being a part of consumers’ lives when they “eat, sleep, shop and play”. This forms the basis of group’s latest transformation
(Feb, 17, 2017, Beijing, CN) Shiji envisions being a part of consumers’ lives when they “eat, sleep, shop and play”. This forms the basis of group’s latest transformation - being a platform service provider with strong data and analytical capabilities encompassing various sectors.
ChinaTravelNews, Ritesh Gupta - Transformation is one movement that has garnered the attention of established travel companies, be it for airlines, aggregators or technology specialists, across thea globe. The drive behind such undertaking is the quest for being customer-centric. It essentially means organizations need to embrace change – make the most of data, content, technology, analytics, cloud and artificial intelligence to know the pulse of the customer.
One key aspect about such major initiative that always garners our attention is: how can one serve the customer better?
For Chinese technology group Shiji, the answer for the same lies in data-driven economy and cloud-based environment.
This blend is going to ensure there is capability to understand every digital and offline/ physical footprint of customer’s (say a hotel’s) customer (guest), asserts Shiji’s COO Kevin King.
In terms of consumerism, Shiji today has presence in certain environments when “consumers eat, sleep, shop and play”, adds Kevin.
Kevin King, COO of Shiji
This essentially underlines the new positioning of group evolving into “a data-driven, consumer application and service platform operator”. This also escalates plans of business diversification as Shiji isn’t only consolidating its position in the hotels sector, but is also foraying majorly into catering and retail industries by developing new products and technologies. Announced in November 2016, this phase of transformation has been marked by a spate of investments, including ones in Europe-based SnapShot (consolidation) and ReviewPro, and new office in Singapore for international expansion.
Decision to initiate transformation
King says it was in 2015 when there was a major introspection, and fundamentally being a technology company, it was acknowledged there have been dramatic changes (be it for consumerism in China or the technology landscape), and the time was ripe for transformation.
“Delving deep into what would be our responsibility towards the industry that has helped grow over the years, we realized the need of the hour is a platform solution, and data-driven offering, and that just not limited to hotels, but to other sectors too,” said King. He added, “Looking at the retail sector, every single minute, every day, they are relying on data for decision-making and have been quite successful at that. So we needed to depict this in our image that we are moving in that direction, we believe in change and we are changing. As for the new branding, if you look at seven dots or spheres as we call it, that part of our logo conveys that data is coming in and data is going out, there is an exchange of data.”
For Shiji, the platform solution is a solid foundation of the future, where the group is headed – “going global, going cloud, going data”.
Platform and customer-centricity
Strategic alliances are part of the plan that would not only facilitate servicing of hotels’ operations, but would also pave way for actionable data via connectivity among systems. This is where ReviewPro and SnapShot are tipped to contribute, be it for the ease with which data can be accessed or even the quality of data.
“With all the systems we have, with all the information we have access to we are able to provide data in a certain format whereby our customers and even the industry at large would have the ability to act on what would be actionable data, real data. Importantly, this would feature data about what guests are thinking - prior to the stay, during the stay and after the stay,” said King. He said access to such data is vital as the platform isn’t just about predictive information, based upon what happened in the past. It is time hotels look beyond historical data on occupancy, average room rate etc. “Listening to customers is a must now. If you look at different pieces of data - reservation of the guest, pre-arrival period, stay including commenting and sharing on TripAdvisor, WeChat, Facebook etc. and then post stay period, there is socialisation of travel. There is a need to make the most of data that is actionable for what is happening “now”. This way a hotel can identify and work on their services, offer better value, and can define a price and rate around that.”
So where do we see the next big change in customer experience? How does a hotel benefit from open connectivity?
King says as long as the decision-making of a guest is within the systems that are connected, be it for hopping on to different devices for shopping for a room or till the point the guest stay is over or loyalty program, the guest can be “tracked’. “You can provide a service to them. Consider this to be a journey that begins when one is looking for a room and shopping, and books it. And that’s the time servicing needs to begin, not when check-in happens. There is a need to know their preferences, and the reason for travel. So from booking to check-in to stay, there is a need to have a say in the experience. Guests do tweet, do interact on WeChat, comment on TripAdvisor…so via reputation management system, one can follow the guest. The information is pushed by the relevant system, and hotels can take charge accordingly. Taking appropriate action denotes that you know about the guest. This would make the guest realize that the hotel values my stay, for instance, taking a corrective measure against what has gone wrong with the experience. Similarly, one can identify opportunities for revenue generation. What did the survey say about the experience? Listen to the guest more, rather than just looking at numbers/ data from the past. When the guests talk or comment, analyze it.”
Making the platform robust
There are several aspects of Shiji’s business model that would ensure that the platform captures relevant data.
1. Covering every data element within the hotels sector:
Shiji has a strong “above the property” capability (CRS, loyalty and payments) and maintenance of critical data within those systems, and this is available across first-tier, second-tier and third-tier cities in China. “Also, all these products and solutions in China - payments, central reservations, loyalty, switching technology etc. - are “transportable” for international markets. Then through our acquisitions in China, we have a wide range of PMS solutions across different companies. This was vital in order to provide actionable data based on systems that control such data, and this route has helped Shiji to cover properties across China. So with this sort of PMS coverage, and then being able to put data and with that connectivity to all those “above” systems, and data into our platform solution paves way for actionable data as being envisioned,” said King. In addition to this, CHINAonline offers an “agnostic switch”, connecting various stakeholders, and then goes into the channel management solution, and maintaining rates, availability etc. The CRS also connects to the property via the CHINAonline switch.
2. Solutions for hospitality:
Shiji also owns a number of POS systems, and this includes a full ERP offering for restaurants, including centralised kitchen processing. Plus there are payroll, accounting and inventory control solutions at a group level as well as individual property level, so Shiji’s portfolio covers what all is needed in the hospitality sector. And each component of that has different data element, complementing the platform strategy.
3. Offering solutions via connectivity:
Shiji is a platform provider. In order to run a platform, you need to be “open” to be able to connect with different stakeholders within the industry. “Joint Wisdom is one of our partners; we have worked with them in this context, too, along with other areas. We have not only jointly looked at booking, switching e tc, but are also looking at other areas of data collaboration and certain products, too. For instance, Joint Wisdom's PMS is integrated into our payments platform,” said King. “We are also looking at working with them for our value added tax (VAT) solution.” The Chinese government last year took a decision related to VAT and it was a mammoth change for the hospitality, retail industry etc. “Shiji has worked out online connectivity for hotels, retail players, restaurants etc. to manage VAT (in conjunction with Baiwang). So such integrations are vital for the industry. We are a platform service provider, and this provides connectivity for a range of products, including ones from our partners, that hotels need for their operations.”
Shiji has already shared plans to set up a business information technology unit with 100 million yuan. King says this division is currently focused on the retail sector, specifically supply chain management solutions – taking data from retailers and offering it to supply chain stakeholders and letting them come to grips with the sort of goods that are being bought by retailers. “This data is part of a platform, so essentially, what this means is that in the future it would have relevance to hospitality. This is because data is being utilized by the retail sector and hospitality players also procure from different vendors. So by using similar analytics, data mining and data sharing, one would be able to contribute in the hospitality food servicing sector. So we are looking at supply chain analytics,” said King.
5. Destination management:
China has been investing in the infrastructure– rail network development, the airports around the country etc. “This enables one to travel across the nation and this opens up avenue for ‘easy, short’ holidays. Destination management is extremely important to us, in addition to hotels, retail and food servicing. So in the whole environment of the destination side, Shiji has presence when consumers eat, sleep, shop and play. So Shiji with its competencies in PMS, POS, theme park solutions, retail solutions etc. is able to provide technology that touches the consumers’ daily lives. And the data that comes into our platform helps customers to analyze,” explained King. Shiji acquired 20% equity in theme park software and system integration firm Galasys for GBP4.593 million in April 2015.
6. Dealing with diverse systems and bringing them onto platform:
King says it is time for the sector, including hotels, to move into the cloud. “One of the options is our domestic offering, Foxhis, which has a hosted solution environment, where the technology is hosted in a data center, and then it provides the connectivity to the hotel. We have also acquired hetras, which has worked on an Internet-based management application for hotels,” he said. hetras was designed around true cloud environment, has full PMS functionality as well as API connectivity for other companies to integrate within. “Of course, Shiji has the ability to capitalize on the technology to connect offline solutions, say PBX telephone system from a hotel. For their part, Shiji has worked on a fully cloud-based restaurant management solution for global use. When you have cloud-based systems in the cloud, then those systems can “talk” (communication between systems) cloud to cloud.”
7. Data strategy:
Companies create a platform, put data in that platform, and try to visualize the data and eventually attempt to work on a commercial reality. Not too much of success has been met by start-ups in this arena. Here King referred to the SnapShot platform, a company set up with initial backing from STR and citizenM, and a subsequent investment from Shiji. The Berlin-based company, which has also forayed in the U. S., has in place over 40 data partnerships, including Oracle, Baylakes etc. The platform helps hotels to take action as it blends data from PMS, RMS, CRM, reputation aggregators, social data, website analysis etc. It is tailored for the hospitality sector, and not “distracted by retail and food servicing”, said King.
This is how Shiji’s platform, based on data-driven and cloud-based environment, is going to ensure there is a capability to understand every online and offline footprint of customer’s (say a hotel’s) customer (guest). “This is the main reason why we are moving into retail and food servicing. So this way we are vertically (different business areas) and horizontally (supporting them) equipped. For instance, our payments’ offering covers all the verticals. Beyond our competencies, we are also respectful of the fact there are other partners who can contribute to the industry. We are not the only one, but we are the dominant one. That’s where our transformation comes in, the responsibility of taking the industry forward with other stakeholders. So it’s sort of a garden, and anybody can play in there.”
But is this garden restricted only to China?
No, says King emphatically. Shiji is a Chinese international company. “Our efforts in the last one year or so have been to expand in the U. S., where we have set up an office. We have over 200 employees in Europe – working on R&D, Snapshot and hetras platform etc. We are focusing both on China, outside of it, so China is part of the story. In all, there are more than 3000 employees in the group. The company is associated with over 11000 hotels in China, across all the service offerings,” concluded King.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758956
|
__label__cc
| 0.610374
| 0.389626
|
Help us over the line
Carlos Carvalhal has urged Wednesdayites to help his players over the line ahead of Saturday’s crunch clash with Cardiff.
The Owls head into the S6 showdown needing to avoid defeat in order to secure a play-off slot, while the Bluebirds’ brief is clear - only a win will do if they have any chance of leapfrogging Wednesday on the final round of fixtures next weekend.
And Carvalhal believes Owls fans can play a key role as Wednesday look to make their home advantage count.
He said: “Although we are the favourites with two games to go, that means nothing in my opinion.
“We have always been the outsiders in the completion, which I have said from the beginning. The minute you start believing you are the favourites, this is when problems can arise.
“We have to continue what we have done all season. The same quality must remain on the pitch, and off the pitch, we must feel the power of Hillsborough.
“We want the environment to be the best for our players. Our massive fans can push the players to the end.”
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758963
|
__label__wiki
| 0.972605
| 0.972605
|
Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall
Jan 18, 2017 | Uncategorised
Walking in the Footsteps of Our Foremothers – Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall
The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall were built as two separate buildings 43 years apart. Victoria Theatre was the first to be constructed between 1866 and 1862, and served originally as the Town Hall. The two-storey building housed municipal offices on the lower floor, and a social hall on the upper level.
Adjacent to the theatre is the Concert Hall, formerly known as the Victoria Memorial hall in honour of Queen Victoria who passed away in 1901. It was built between 1903 and 1905 using public funds raised by the colonial government. In the same year, a 54m clock tower was erected to join the two buildings.
In 1942 the memorial hall served as a hospital shortly before the fall of Singapore. It was also there that war crime trials were held following Japan’s surrender.
In the years leading to independence, the halls were used for public meetings such as a review the Constitution of the Colony of Singapore, and later for the inaugural meeting of the People’s Action Party. Singapore’s pilot television broadcasting service, Television Singapura, was launched there on 15 February 1963.
After several rounds of extensive renovations, the Victoria Memorial Hall was renamed Victoria Concert Hall in 1980. It became home to the newly formed Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), of which acclaimed violinist and 2006 Cultural Medallion recipient Lynnette Seah is a founding member.
The SSO is a full-time professional orchestra that has gained worldwide recognition. Lynette serves as its co-concertmaster and the leader of the 1st violin section.
The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall was gazetted as national monument in 1992. From 2010 to 2014, it underwent another major facelift that cost $158 million. It was reopened on 15 July 2014 with a performance by the SSO to celebrate the occasion.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758964
|
__label__cc
| 0.665295
| 0.334705
|
Shenandoah University Faculty
Faculty Home » Faculty » Conservatory » Theatre » Matt Edwards
Matt Edwards
Virtual Reality Design
Department Of World Languages And Cultures
Gender and Women’s Studies
Health Humanities
Professional & Popular Writing
Music Theory & History
Music Production & Recording Technology
Vocal/Choral
Biopharmaceutical Sciences
Education & Leadership
Position: Associate Professor, Voice; Coordinator of Musical Theatre Voice; Artistic Director, CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute
Location: Ruebush Hall, Room 234
Email: medwards09@su.edu
Employed Since: 2010
Applied Area(s):
Teaching Area(s):
Conservatory Professional Highlights:
Matt Edwards is one of the leading voice teachers for commercial and musical theatre styles in the United States. He is currently associate professor of voice and director of musical theatre at Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University; artistic director of the Contemporary Commercial Music Vocal Pedagogy Institute; secretary of the Musical Theatre Educator’s Alliance and past secretary of the Pan-American Vocology Association.
Edwards’ vocal interests encompass many styles. He has performed numerous roles in plays, musicals and operas with companies including Tri-Cities Opera, Ash Lawn Opera Festival, New Jersey Opera, Atlantic Coast Opera Festival, Bay View Music Festival, the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic Pops, Hudson Valley Symphony, the Miami Valley Symphony, Cincinnati Opera Outreach, Lyric Opera Cleveland Outreach, Theatre Lab, KNOW Theatre, and many others. He has also received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Dayton Opera Guild Competition, The National Association of Teachers of Singing, Southern-Tier Opportunity Coalition, the Voice Foundation and the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.
Former and current students have performed on “American Idol,” Broadway, off-Broadway, national and international tours, national television, cruise ships, theme parks, bands touring throughout the world, and as members of the Ten Tenors, the Singing Sergeants, The Broadway Tenors, and the USO Show Troupe. He has written articles for the Journal of Singing, Journal of Voice, VoicePrints, American Music Teacher, The Voice, Southern Theatre, Vocology in Practice, and has been a vocal coach in residence for Voice Council magazine. He has contributed to books including “A Dictionary for the Modern Singer” by Dr. Matthew Hoch, “Vocal Athlete” by Dr. Wendy LeBorgne and Marci Rosenberg, The “Manual of Singing Voice Rehabilitation” by Leda Scearce,“Training Contemporary Commercial Singers” by Dr. Elizabeth Benson, “Get the Callback, 2nd edition” by Jonathan Flom, and the CCM, Sacred Music, Gospel, Folk Music, A Cappella, and Country editions of the “So You Want to Sing” book series. His book “So You Want to Sing Rock ‘N’ Roll?” is published by Rowman and Littlefield Publishing. It was called “an authoritative text on rock ‘n’ roll singing” by Classical Singer magazine, and is the best seller in the “So You Want to Sing” series.
In high demand for his presentations and masterclasses on commercial and musical theatre voice, he has presented at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) National Conference, NATS Summer Workshop, Voice Foundation Annual Symposium Care for the Professional Voice, Acoustical Society of America, Southeastern Theatre Conference, Virginia Theatre Association, Musical Theatre Educators Association, National Center for Voice and Speech, Pan-American Vocology Association, and Carolina Voices; NATS chapters in Toronto, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Missouri, Arizona, Oregon, and Texas; universities including Penn State, Florida State, Brigham Young, Wright State, Georgia Southern, Otterbein, Illinois Wesleyan, Ohio Northern, Missouri State, Mary-Hardin Baylor, Texas Women’s, DeSales, Hardin Simmons, Snow College, Westminster Choir College, Lawrence Conservatory, Bårdar Academy (Oslo, Norway), University of Alabama, University of Portland, University of Toronto, University of Northern Colorado, and many others.
Also an active blogger, you can read over 200 of his articles on vocal pedagogy, auditioning, and performing at auditioningforcollege.com and edwardsvoice.wordpress.com.
Educational History:
B.M., Cleveland Institute of Music; M.M., Louisiana State University; D.M.A., Shenandoah University
Fields of Expertise:
Musical Theatre Styles Specialist (Pop, Rock, Country, R&B)
Shenandoah Conservatory is a one-of-a-kind institution with opportunities for students to be exposed to a wide variety of music and creative artists. You will be hard-pressed to find another conservatory where you can hear Bach, Mozart, Puccini, Gershwin, Jason Robert Brown, Karmin, Metallica, and Green Day coming from the same studio. The faculty are on the cutting edge of voice training and the collaborative atmosphere makes it a joy to teach here.
Personal Highlights:
Married to Jacqlyn Zito-Edwards with two children, Everett and Gavin.
Recommended Link(s):
Matthew Edwards – Vocal Coach
The official website of Vocal Coach Matthew Edwards
The official blog of Vocal Coach Matthew Edwards
CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute
The official website of the Shenandoah’s Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Vocal Pedagogy Institute, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2012.
Follow Professor Edwards on Twitter @PopRockCoach
Auditioning for College
A blog dedicated to helping high school students interested in vocal music understand the college audition process and choose a major appropriate for them.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758968
|
__label__cc
| 0.712779
| 0.287221
|
Central Air Conditioning Definitions
Air Conditioner: Assembly of equipment for the simultaneous control of air temperature, relative humidity, purity, and motion.
Air Cooled: Uses a fan to discharge heat from the condenser coil to the outdoors.
Air-Source: Air is being used as the heat source or heat sink for a heat pump.
BTU: British Thermal Unit. The amount of energy needed to change the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. In practical terms, it represents a unit of measure of heat extracted from your home for cooling.
Central Air Conditioner System: System in which air is treated at a central location and carried to and from the rooms by one or more fans and a system of ducts.
Compressor: The pump that moves the refrigerant from the indoor evaporator to the outdoor condenser and back to the evaporator again. The compressor is often called "the heart of the system" because it circulates the refrigerant through the loop.
Condenser Coil: A series or network of tubes filled with refrigerant, normally located outside the home, that removes heat from the hot, gaseous refrigerant so that the refrigerant becomes liquid again.
Cooling Capacity: A measure of the ability of a unit to remove heat from an enclosed space.
COP: Coefficient of Performance of a heat pump means the ratio of the rate of useful heat output delivered by the complete heat pump unit (exclusive of supplementary heating) to the corresponding rate of energy input, in consistent units and under operating conditions.
EER: Energy Efficiency Ratio means the ratio of the cooling capacity of the air conditioner in British Thermal Units per hour, to the total electrical input in watts under ARI-specified test conditions.
Evaporator Coil: A series or network of tubes filled with refrigerant located inside the home that take heat and moisture out of indoor air as liquid refrigerant evaporates.
Free Delivery: There are no ducts and the unit may be installed in the field without ducts if needed.
Ground-Source: The ground or soil below the frost line is being used as the heat source or heat sink for a heat pump.
Ground Water-Source: Water from an underground well is being used as the heat source or heat sink for a heat pump.
Heat Pump: An air conditioner capable of heating by refrigeration. It may or may not include a capability for cooling. Outside air or water is used as a heat source or heat sink, depending upon whether the system is heating or cooling.
Heating Capacity: A measure of the ability of a unit to add heat to an enclosed space.
HSPF: Heating Seasonal Performance Factor means the total heating output of a heat pump in British Thermal Units during its normal usage period for heating divided by the total electrical energy input in watt-hours during the same period.
SEER: Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio means the total cooling output of a central air conditioner in British thermal units during its normal usage period for cooling divided by the total electrical energy input in watt-hours during the same period as determined using the ARI-specified test procedure. This rating is only for units with cooling capacity less than 65,000 BTU/hr. The higher the SEER, the more efficient the unit. The more efficient the unit, the lower the operating cost.
Single Package: A central air conditioner which combines both condenser and air handling capabilities in a single packaged unit.
Split System: A central air conditioner consisting of two or more major components. The system usually consists of a compressor-containing unit and condenser, installed outside the building and a non-compressor -containing air handling unit installed within the building. This is the most common type of system installed in a home.
Ton: The unit of measurement for air conditioning system capacity. One ton of air conditioning removes 12,000 BTUs of heat energy per hour from a home. Central air conditioners are sized in tons. Residential units usually range from 1 to 5 tons.
Water-Source: Water is being used as the heat source or heat sink for a heat pump. Sources of underground water are wells and sources of surface water are lakes, large ponds, and rivers.
Year-Round: Air Conditioner which uses gas or oil for heating.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758970
|
__label__wiki
| 0.883376
| 0.883376
|
Police arrest 28 in raid on 'birthday orgy' in Taipei 'love hotel'
28 arrested at an alleged sex party held under the guise of a 'birthday party' at a love hotel in Taipei's Zhongshan District
By Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
Scene of the sex party. (Taipei Police photo)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Police on Sunday (Sept. 30) arrested 28 people for participating in a sex party that was held under the guise of a birthday celebration at a "love hotel" in Taipei's Zhongshan District.
A 34-year-old stock broker surnamed Chang (張), his 20-year-old girlfriend and college student surnamed Hung (洪), and a 39-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃) created a LINE group called "Lots of People in the Room" (房間很多人), where, along with the "Sex" thread on the popular bulletin board PTT, they began posting announcements of sex parties, reported Liberty Times. Police began to monitor these announcements, and observed that there was a major gathering planned for Sunday dubbed the "Super Excellent College Girl's Birthday Party."
On Sunday at 2 p.m., police busted what they called a 28-person "birthday orgy" at the Wego Boutique Hotel (薇閣精品旅館) in the Dazhi in Taipei's Zhongshan District, arresting 9 women and 19 men and seizing 18 used condoms, 298 unused condoms, and sex-oriented lubricants. After taking the suspects in for questioning, Chang said that he held the gathering to give his girlfriend a "20th birthday she would never forget," reported Apple Daily.
Chang confessed that he had organized many sex parties before and that his girlfriend often participated. This time around was "my girlfriend's 20th birthday present," according to Apple Daily. He added that he found it very exciting to watch his girlfriend have sex with other people.
Messages advertising birthday party on social media platform LINE.
After police inspected Hung's ID, they confirmed that her birthday was in fact the next day, and though they considered it an absurd gift, she reportedly laughed and said it was "wonderful."
When police first entered the dimly lit room where the party was being held, they saw several men and women engaged in sexual acts, including with multiple partners. Some of the participants were fully nude while others were partially wrapped in towels, and those not engaged in sexual activities were seen drinking or singing Karaoke songs.
The ages of the revelers arrested on the scene ranged between 20 to 40 years of age. Of the nine women present, many were students, while others worked in the service and medical industries. After questioning, police said that ten of the men and five of the women confessed to having sex at the event, reported SETN.
At the scene of the sex party, in addition to the condoms and lubricant, they seized more than NT$28,000 and other evidence. Chang told police that the men who participated in the party had to pay NT$5,000 per person, while women not only could enter for free, but were eligible for an NT$3,000 bonus, reported Liberty Times. Those who only wished to watch were charged a fee of NT$500.
Scene of sex party. (Taipei Police photo)
Hung, a native of Pingtung who is in her second year of college, confessed that she received NT$3,000 for every three hours she attends such parties. She said that she had already been to eight sex parties, where she had earned NT$24,000, which she said would help her boyfriend's business, reported UDN.
Several of the men present testified that Hung had sex with up to eight partners at the party, and at one point was engaged in sex with three males simultaneously, because she was a "longevity star," according to the UDN report.
Chang said that he had participated in similar parties in the past and found they were easy to organize. After meeting Hung on the internet last year, he separately recruited interested participants and set up the LINE group to send out announcements of sex parties starting in July of this year, according to Liberty Times.
Chang claimed he made a profit of about NT$40,000 to NT$50,000 each month by holding a sex party one weekend per month. UDN cited Chang as seeking leniency for his girlfriend, saying, "everything was instigated by me, and I hope that the prosecutor will give (her) a lighter sentence."
Chang, Hung, and Huang could be charged with breeching the Act on Offenses Against Sexual Morality (妨害風化罪), while the attendees could face fines for violating the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法).
sex offense
sexual exploitation
Sex offenses by teachers in Taiwan rise eightfold in 10 years: MOE
Prosecutors drop charges against Taiwanese man accused of coercing 17-year-old French girl into sex
AirAsia yanks 'get off in Thailand' ads, apologizes
Taiwanese photographer indicted for organizing 'artistic' 13-person orgy
Japanese man caught taking 'upskirt' photo in Taipei
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758971
|
__label__wiki
| 0.710644
| 0.710644
|
HIGH QUALITY HISTORY TUITION IN PAR
Our History Tutors in Par are all fully-qualified History Teachers, who also offer their skills as high quality home tutors. All are subject-specialists, professional, reliable, up-to-date with Examination Boards and the current demands of a changing curriculum. Lessons are taught at your home and are scheduled at your convenience; whether weekdays, evenings or weekends.
Here is a selection of History teachers in and around Par
Qualified and experienced History and English Teacher, currently teaching at City College, Plymouth. Teaches History, English Language and English Literature from Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE and IGCSE; teaches History through to A level; across all major Exam Boards. Provides support for Scholarship, School Entrance Exams and Exam resits. Provides literacy and functional skills tuition for adult learners. PGCE incorporating the Diploma in Education and Training, Plymouth University (2018). MRes (Masters of Research) History, Plymouth University (2016). BA (Hons) History, Plymouth University (2013).
Qualified and experienced History teacher currently teaching at a local Secondary School. Teaches History from Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE, IGCSE and A level; also Geography through to GCSE and IGCSE, across all major exam boards. PGCE History, University of Exeter (2014). Postgraduate Certificate in Archaeology, University of Oxford (2012). BA (Hons) Historical Studies, University of Bristol (2009).
Qualified and experienced teacher of Modern Foreign Languages and Humanities. Experienced as Head of French and German. Teaches French and German from Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE, IGCSE A Level and IB. Provides language tuition for adults and businesses, from beginner to advanced levels. Also offers EFL tuition. Teaches Latin, History and EFL from Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE and IGCSE. Supports preparations for School Entrance Examinations and Scholarship. Experienced Head of Careers and offers support for UCAS and University Admissions. PGCE, History, Cambridge University (1977). MA Modern and Medieval Languages, Cambridge University (1972).
Qualified and experienced History teacher. Teaches History from Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE, IGCSE, A Level and IB across all the major exam boards. Examiner for GCSE, A Level and IB History; prepares students for School and Oxbridge Entrance Interviews. Also teaches English Language and Religious Studies up to GCSE and IGCSE level. Provides support for Functional Skills and Literacy for adults. PGCPP Boarding Education, University of Surrey (2004). PGCE History, University of Wales, Swansea (2000). BA (Hons) History, University of Wales, Swansea (1999).
Qualified and experienced Science and Maths Teacher. Teaches Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology from Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE and IGCSE; also Biology, Geography, Geology and Psychology through to A Level; across all major Exam Boards. Provides support for School Entrance Examinations and GCSE, IGCSE resits. BSc (Hons) Psychology, Open University (2005). MA in Education, Open University (1998). PGCE Secondary Science, Open University (1996). BA (Hons) Biology and Earth Science, Open University (1992).
Qualified and experienced History teacher, teacing across both Primary and Secondary Sectors. Teaches History from Key Stage 2, Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE and IGCSE; acrosss all major Exam Boards. Provides support for Scholarship, School Entrance Exams and GCSE resits. Can support home schooling. Significant SEN experience supporting learners with dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADD and autistic spectrum. PGCE Secondary History, Canterbury Christ Church College (1999). BA (Hons) International Relations, University of Lancaster (1993).
Find a History Tutor in Par
"Teachers To Your Home" introduces you to teachers who provide high quality History Tuition in Par, at your home and convenience. We are the disclosed agent of over 18,000 qualified and experienced teachers, across the UK, who also choose to offer their professional skills as high quality home tutors.
More information for History in or around Par
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758972
|
__label__wiki
| 0.98505
| 0.98505
|
Women to make up nearly half of Theresa May’s reshuffled Cabinet
Theresa May leaves the final Cabinet meeting of David Cameron’s government. She apparently made a wrong turn for her car and had to walk back but shrugged it off Credit: Barcroft Media
Steven Swinford, Deputy Political Editor
12 July 2016 • 9:46pm
Steven Swinford
Theresa May will promote women into some of the most senior positions in her Government on Wednesday after becoming the second female Prime Minister in Britain’s history.
Mrs May is this evening expected to announce significant promotions for Amber Rudd, the Energy Secretary, and Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, as she unveils her new team.
Mrs Rudd is tipped for one of the four big offices of state, with friends of Mrs May suggesting that she could be made Home Secretary, while Mrs Greening is poised to become the new Health Secretary.
Mrs May’s reshuffle is likely to propel several female Conservative MPs onto the front bench for the first time and could mean that close to half of the Cabinet are women.
Justine Greening is expected to receive a promotion in Theresa May's new Cabinet Credit: Christopher Pledger for The Telegraph
A spokesman for Mrs May said: “It was Theresa who set up the campaign to elect more female MPs to Parliament – and she has always believed that there should be more women in prominent government positions.”
Mrs May’s appointment makes her only the second female prime minister since Baroness Thatcher.
However, her decision to promote female MPs into senior positions differentiates her from Lady Thatcher.
Lady Thatcher only appointed one woman to any of her Cabinets in the 11 years that she was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990.
Janet Young, or Baroness Young of Farnworth, was appointed Leader of the House of Lords from 1981 to 1983 in Lady Thatcher’s first term.
However, there were far fewer female MPs during Lady Thatcher’s time in office, with 19 between 1979 and 1983, 23 between 1983 and 1987 and 41 between 1987 and 1992.
In other major moves expected to be announced in the coming days Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, could become the new Chancellor and swap roles with Mr Osborne, who is being tipped as the new Foreign Secretary.
Friends of Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London, said that he hoped to play a “significant role” in Mrs May’s Cabinet and feels that he “has a lot to give”.
Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary who ended Mr Johnson’s leadership hopes by deciding to stand himself, has repeatedly clashed with Mrs May in the past and there are questions over whether he will retain his place in Cabinet.
On Tuesday night it emerged that civil servants have already been charged with finding a building to host her “ministry for Brexit”, which will be led by a prominent leave campaigner.
Chris Grayling, Mrs May’s campaign manager, and Liam Fox, a former defence secretary, have both been tipped for the role.
Mrs May told Conservative activists that the party will “win big” in 2020 as she formally ruled out holding a snap general election, warning that the party cannot forget he threat posed by the Labour Party.
Speaking to Conservative activists she said: “Let’s not forget about the opposition.
Let us make sure we put this time to good use, to build the support we need to go to the country in four years’ time, and not just win, but win big Theresa May
“The Labour Party brought our country to the brink of bankruptcy and we can never let them do it again. Whether it’s led by Tony Blair, Gordon Brown or Jeremy Corbyn, when Labour prospers the country suffers.
“So let’s make sure they don’t prosper. Let us redouble our efforts.
“And let us make sure we put this time to good use, to build the support we need to go to the country in four years’ time, and not just win, but win big.”
There are likely to be several new women appointed to Cabinet including Karen Bradley, a junior Home Office minister, and Margot James, a long-standing ally of Mrs May.
Priti Patel, the Eurosceptic employment minister, is likely to be appointed to a full Cabinet role.
Priti Patel is tipped to replace Amber Rudd as the new Energy Secretary Credit: Neil Hall/Reuters
Andrea Leadsom, the energy minister who stepped aside from the leadership race clearing the path for Mrs May to become Prime Minister, is tipped to replace Mrs Rudd as the new Energy Secretary.
Many of Mrs May’s expected female promotions have a background in finance. Mrs Rudd, Mrs Greening, Mrs Leadsom and Ms Patel all have backgrounds in the City.
Mrs May made an emotional visit to the Home Office on Tuesday where she was cheered as she bid farewell.
In quotes | Theresa May’s ascent
She said she had put social justice at the heart of the Home Office’s work and added that there will “always be a bit of the Home Office in me”.
She then visited the Conservative Party’s headquarters, where she thanked activists for helping David Cameron win a majority at the General Election.
She hailed Mr Cameron as a “superb leader of our party and a superb Prime Minister”, adding that without he support of activists “we wouldn’t have won that great majority last year”.
Who's who | The people behind Theresa May
Justine Greening
Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman accuses US government of 'torture' as he is sentenced to life in prison
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758974
|
__label__cc
| 0.737367
| 0.262633
|
Filtered by tag: advocacy Remove Filter
#IstandwithRochelle
by: Diane Kinch
Category: Board
equitysocial justiceadvocacy
Mathematics is a cultural activity. The way in which people engage in mathematics is often determined by who they are, where they are and how they and the people around them think about mathematics. Ubiratan D’Ambrosio (2001) defines ethnomathematics as a term used to “express the relationship between culture and mathematics” (p. 308). As he explains, “Mathematics is a compilation of progressive discoveries and inventions from cultures around the world during the course of history. Its history and ethnography form a wonderful mosaic of cultural contributions.” (p. 310)
TODOS acknowledges that mathematics is a social construct. In our cultures, in our homes and in our classrooms we jointly build meaning for what mathematics is. For these constructs to overlap, to agree, to form a common understanding across cultures, is the work of the classroom.
As D’Ambrosio (2001) writes, “An important component of mathematics education today should be to reaffirm, and in some instances to restore, the cultural dignity of children” (p. 308)
TODOS acts to develop tools to build a shared understanding of mathematics that gives each child a place in its definition, each culture recognition for its often unique way of visualizing mathematical ideas and each representation of these ideas thoughtful study.
TODOS holds itself accountable for this work and for advocating for those who provide the research and ideas that grow our understanding of social justice in mathematics.
TODOS stands with Rochelle Gutiérrez and other researchers who provide clarity so we remember what we teach, whom we are teaching and center language, culture and literacy in the mathematics that we teach and in the ways that we teach it.
TODOS 2018 Conference will address this goal through the lens of advocating for equity and social justice. (http://www.todos-math.org/) Please join us as we further and deepen our understanding of the role of social justice in mathematics education.
Expect to hear from TODOS’ Advocacy Committee. This group is building the tools we need to proactively support and build on the work of Rochelle and other scholars who are working tirelessly to support us as we advocate for high quality mathematics education for all students.
Please read our joint position statement with NCSM to further acquaint yourself with our stance. (http://www.todos-math.org/socialjustice)
Take to social media and pass this along: #IstandwithRochelle
Diane Kinch
President, TODOS: Mathematics for ALL
D’Ambrosio, U. (2001). What is ethnomathematics and how can it help children in schools. Teaching Children Mathematics,7(6) 308-310.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758977
|
__label__wiki
| 0.682481
| 0.682481
|
What do we really know about the effects of screen time on mental health?
A recent briefing from Public Health England warns that too much screen time is causing emotional problems in children. But is it that simple?
Pete Etchells
@PeteEtchells
Thu 29 Aug 2013 06.54 EDT First published on Thu 29 Aug 2013 06.54 EDT
Active video games promote light-to-moderate physical activity in children. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Alamy
Public Health England this week announced that too much time in front of TV and computer screens is causing increasing psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety, in children. The report, which can be found here, suggests that the amount of time spent playing computer games was negatively associated with wellbeing in children – in other words, their general mental and physical health, resilience and the extent to which they are happy or worry about different aspects of their lives. The effects, particularly on mental health, were most pronounced for those children who spent more than four hours a day using some sort of screen-based technology.
While this sounds all doom and gloom, there are some caveats that need to be taken into account. The briefing was released to coincide with the Change4life campaign, and isn't a piece of peer-reviewed, scientific research. In its discussion of screen time, it cites data from other reports, for example, commissioned for the Department of Health that are themselves secondary analyses of existing data sets, such as the Millennium Cohort Study. If you have a read of these reports, it's really difficult to get a sense of what they did and didn't control for in looking at the effects of playing video games or watching TV.
But it's worth pointing out that the PHE briefing starts off with a very clear outline of the limitations of their research – perhaps the most important being that it's not possible to establish causal links from most of the studies involved. In other words, when a study says that 'X is associated with Y', it doesn't mean that 'X causes Y', which is how it can often be interpreted. It could also mean 'Y causes X', or maybe some other factor is having an effect on both.
So it's a shame when you see headlines such as the Independent's "Overload of screen time causes depression in children", or the Daily Mail's "TV is making children unhappy" – the study didn't say anything like this at all.
But what do we actually know about the effects of screen time on childhood development? It's actually a really tough question to answer, in part because "screen time" is a pretty rubbish concept. It takes into account the use of anything that has a screen – TVs, mobile phones, games consoles and tablets. In a sense, it's easy to see how it's a compelling measure to use: it's a simple idea that everyone can easily relate to. The trouble is, it doesn't really do justice to the sheer diversity of content that screen-based technology can provide. For instance, two hours of watching Teletubbies is probably going to affect our behavior in a completely different way to playing Halo for a couple of hours (although it's questionable which one will do the more damage).
With this issue in mind, what does recent scientific evidence in this area look like? In March, researchers at the Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow published data that also came from the Millennium Cohort Study (although it wasn't cited in the PHE briefing), which looked at whether watching TV or playing video games at aged 5 was associated with behavioural or psychological problems at age 7. They controlled for a large number of factors that could potentially impact on their results – things like health, family socioeconomic status, frequency of parent-child activities, and a measure of chaos in the household.
The results showed that when considering screen time on its own, there were associations between the amount of time spent at a screen and all of the problems they looked at – hyperactivity, conduct disorder, peer relationship problems, and so on. However, these associations all but disappeared once the confounding factors mentioned above were included. The remaining significant association was between viewing TV for more than three hours per day and conduct disorder.
Obviously, one study doesn't tell the whole story – for instance, we know that the amount of time spent watching TV is linked to poorer physical health. But we also know that there is – or should be – a distinction between passive and active screen time. Along these lines, a systematic review from 2010 pointed out that active video games actually promote light-to-moderate physical activity in children.
As it stands though, research into the long-term effects of screen time is still relatively young, so we don't yet know what effects playing video games, using computers, or watching TV has on childhood development.
In releasing the briefing alongside the change4life campaign, the PHE is trying to encourage people to take up a more active lifestyle, swapping the car for bikes or walking, limiting screen time and cutting down on unhealthy snacks in favour of healthier foods. These are all great ideas, but it seems that the best way to stay healthy is to change all of these things, not just one.
In the same way, we must be wary of looking at the effects of screen time in isolation from the myriad factors in the wider home environment that could be impacting on childhood behavioural development.
The 20 big questions in science
From the nature of the universe (that's if there is only one) to the purpose of dreams, there are many things we still don't know – but we might do soon. In their new book Hayley Birch, Colin Stuart and Mun Keat Looi seek some answers
Have a question science could answer?
New science feature: if you have a question that needs an expert answer, we'd like to hear it
Six stubborn myths about cancer
David Robert Grimes
David Robert Grimes: The internet is awash with misinformation about cancer, with potentially tragic consequences for patients
The ups and downs of porn: sexism, relationships and sexual aggression
Nathalia Gjersoe: Does pornography lead to broken relationships, oppression of women and sexual aggression? Research suggests not
Life on earth 'began on Mars'
If we're all Martians now, who are the aliens?
Women and yogurt: what's the connection?
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758978
|
__label__wiki
| 0.534703
| 0.534703
|
Huffington Post 'Slave' Writers in Revolt Over AOL Sale
R. B. Stuart 8 years ago 18 Comments
As a contributor to The Huffington Post since 2008, I have posted 25 original articles that I value at more than $25,000, for free.
So eager to have a platform for my stories about U. S. soldiers returning from Iraq with Cancer, I didn’t ask for payment; I merely handed over the 20 to 30 hours of reporting on each piece gratis.
Over that period, I had asked Arianna Huffington several times for financial support. But after being referred to the D.C. based Huffington Post Investigative Fund as a candidate for payment, I was turned down by the fund, as well as by Executive Editor Roy Sekoff .
[ad#Google Adsense]
I become incensed to learn that in December The Huffington Post hired away two New York Times editors for well over $100,000 each.
Then to receive an E-mail from Arianna and Roy about their “exciting news” of the AOL take over, I was less than enthusiastic.
Do they really think 6,000 slave writers will continue to write for free for an international conglomerate like AOL, which pays their web writers, even if it is meager?
[ad#PubAccess300x250]
AOL made the deal while they courted her over the weekend at the Super Bowl. Not only did they buy out The Huffington Post for $315 million, but $300 million of that amount is in cash.
Essentially, the 6,000 writers Arianna lured with coveted bylines, then exploited while the site raked in ad revenue in the millions of dollars have now been sold without their permission, under the guise that we’ll continue to write for AOL for free.
It is presumptuous and arrogant to say the least.
The only way to respond to this downward spiral for writers who are providing original content for not even a slap on the back, is to withdraw.
We have grumbled over the years that our craft has lost its value with technical advancement. Web writing will never compare to print—in respect nor payment—unless we change it.
Since the Internet is unregulated when it comes to rights for writers and photographers, then my fellow scribers, this should be a turning point where we no longer write for free.
How can one person sell another’s work, without their permission, unless they are slave labor without laws protecting them?
We might have had no rights contributing to The Huffington Post. But it is OUR decision now whether to write for free for the new owners.
This may be an exciting payday for the masthead, but for the thousands of writers who have kept the site in business and lucrative for five years, it is another beast all together.
If AOL assumes it’s business as usual without pay for Huffington Post writers, then the executives brokering the deal need to think again.
Arianna not only sold her soul as well as her ship of slaves, but in my opinion, she sowed the seeds of her own demise with this act of greed and exploitation.
And I may not be the only contributor who needs a glass of water to wash the bitter taste of this deal from my mouth.
R. B. Stuart is a New York author, freelance writer, columnist, poet and photographer. She has written for Glamour magazine, Global Post, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, Distinction magazine, The New York Sun, The Improper, Newsday, Hamptons Online, Long Island magazine, The Independent, Elements magazine and Real Estate New York. She is a contributing writer for The Huffington Post. For more, check out RBStuart.com
Tags:AOL, Ariana Huffington, Huffington Post, R.B. Stuart, Roy Sekoff
Kristen Stewart Loses Arm to Glamour Photoshopping (photos)
Miley Cyrus Got It, So Did Taylor Swift, But Got Milk’s Gone (photos!)
ESPN Tops Sports Illustrated With Nude Issue (video, photos)
Sports Illustrated Draws Heat Over Risque Hannah Davis Cover (see!)
‘Game of Thrones’ Incest Blamed on Gays by Conservative Activist, WTF?
Serena Williams' Buns Too Hot for Television (watch!)
R. B. Stuart
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758980
|
__label__wiki
| 0.750079
| 0.750079
|
budget15
homebirds
NYCI
Lower dole rate leaves Ireland's young people 'struggling to make ends meet'
An organisation representing young people in Ireland is calling for the €188 rate to be restored for all young people who are taking part in education, training and works experience programmes.
By Michelle Hennessy Monday 13 Oct 2014, 4:22 PM
Oct 13th 2014, 4:22 PM 17,428 Views 94 Comments
Image: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland
A NEW POLL has found that four in ten young people in Ireland are ‘struggling to make ends meet’ as a result of cuts to dole rates for those under the age of 25.
The Red C poll, commissioned by the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), found that in Dublin, 54% of young people are feeling serious financial pressure because of the cut to Jobseeker’s Allowance.
One in four said they were unable to move out of home because of the reduction in welfare payments, something NYCI’s deputy director, James Doorley, said his organisation was particularly concerned about.
He said cuts to payments for young people in successive Budgets “have made it increasingly difficult for young people to afford to leave home and live independently”.
The impact of recession has been particularly acute for young people in Ireland and especially for young people who are unemployed. This is reflected once again in our poll which shows that a large proportion of them are struggling to meet the costs of ordinary and everyday life.
The poll also found that 11% of young people in receipt of unemployment benefits are currently in debt.
In its pre-budget submission, the organisation is calling on the government to restore the €188 weekly rate for al young people who are participating in education, training or work experience programmes.
Previous Budget decisions have meant that the training allowance for participation in SOLAS training was reduced from €188 to €160 per week. From the start of this year, the payment for those taking part in the Back to Education Allowance Programme was also cut to €160 a week and Jobbridge interns under the age of 25 ended up on €150 per week while working a 40 hour week.
“Such a first step would serve to reduce the rates of poverty and social exclusion amongst young people and provide an additional financial incentive, particularly to the most disadvantaged young people to participate in education, training and work experience opportunities,” commented Doorley.
The justification put forward for the the cuts in welfare was that they would incentivise young people to take up education, training and/or work experience opportunities. This argument is undermined by the fact that the various welfare payments and training allowances to young people under 25 have also been cut in recent Budgets.
“Ultimately, NYCI believes that the welfare rates for young people cut in successive budgets should be reversed as it is causing deprivation and hardship young people who are unemployed and that all citizens should be paid the same rate of jobseekers allowance irrespective of age,” he added.
Read: Living with your parents? Over 40% of young people do, but it’s getting less common>
Read: Youth unemployment ‘puts the wind beneath the wings of every extremist in Europe’>
<iframe width="600" height="460" frameborder="0" style="border:0px;" src="https://www.thejournal.ie/https://www.thejournal.ie/young-people-unemployment-1721255-Oct2014/?embedpost=1721255&width=600&height=460" ></iframe>
Email “Lower dole rate leaves Ireland's young people 'struggling to make ends meet'”.
Feedback on “Lower dole rate leaves Ireland's young people 'struggling to make ends meet'”.
Lower dole rate leaves Ireland's young people 'struggling to make ends meet' Comments
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758982
|
__label__wiki
| 0.977493
| 0.977493
|
Laureates accept Nobel prizes in Stockholm
nobel2011nobelnobel prizemedicineliterature
The 2011 Nobel laureates in medicine, literature, economics, physics and chemistry received their prizes from Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf at a gala ceremony in Stockholm on Saturday.
The formal event, held as tradition dictates on the anniversary of the death of prize founder Alfred Nobel in 1896, took place at Stockholm's Concert Hall which was decked out in white, yellow and orange flowers for the occasion.
The laureates and guests were clad in white tie and tails for men and evening gowns for women.
Notably absent was one of the three winners of the Nobel Medicine Prize, Ralph Steinman of Canada, who passed away just three days before the award was announced on October 3rd, unbeknownst to the Nobel committee.
While Nobel prizes are not awarded posthumously, the committee decided to maintain its decision to give him one half of the prestigious prize since it had not been aware of his death.
His wife Claudia Steinman accepted the honour on his behalf at Saturday's ceremony.
Bruce Beutler of the United States and Luxembourg-born Frenchman Jules Hoffmann shared the other half of the Medicine Prize, which this year honoured research on the immune system.
The Physics Prize was meanwhile awarded to Saul Perlmutter and Adam Riess of the United States and US-Australian Brian Schmidt for their discovery that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating.
Israeli scientist Daniel Shechtman received the chemistry Nobel for discovering quasicrystals, an atomic mosaic whose existence was initially ridiculed before fundamentally altering theories about solids.
This year's Literature Prize went to Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, whose works address themes of nature, everyday life and death.
Tranströmer, 80, suffered a stroke in 1990 which left his speech slurred, and he was in a wheelchair on Saturday.
Finally, US researchers Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims won the Economics Prize for research on the causal relationship between economic policy and different macroeconomic variables, such as GDP, inflation, employment and investments.
The Nobel Prize consists of a gold medal, a diploma, and 10 million kronor ($1.48 million dollars), to be shared if there is more than one recipient.
The laureates were also to be honoured at a formal dinner banquet later in the evening attended by the royal family and some 1,400 specially-invited guests.
Earlier Saturday in Oslo, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, her compatriot and "peace warrior" Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni "Arab Spring" activist Tawakkol Karman.
Here's the new police list of trouble suburbs in Sweden
Five things you maybe didn't know about the sex lives of Swedes
How Norwegian World War Two refugees shaped Swedish migration policy
Majority of parties support re-evaluating Sweden's strict drug policies
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg nominated for Norway's Nobel Peace Prize
Novelist Stridsberg becomes first Swede to be nominated for Man Booker Prize
Two Nobel Literature Prizes to be announced in autumn, organizers confirm
Poetry and performance infuse Tranströmer's Nobel lecture
Two Americans share economics Nobel
Swedish poet awarded 2011 Literature Nobel
Albert Einstein's handwritten letter to go on show in Stockholm
The woman who introduced undercover journalism to Sweden
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758984
|
__label__wiki
| 0.739539
| 0.739539
|
Home Entertainment Music
REVIEW: Otias – Franki Love
RelatedPosts The most-played song of the 21st Century is… R Kelly must be held in jail without bond, judge rules YouTube won’t ban drill music videos, says UK boss Spanish judge rules 43-year-old is son of singer Julio Iglesias It would be fair to say that an artist that took twenty one months to write, […]
It would be fair to say that an artist that took twenty one months to write, record and produce ten songs may be taking their sweet time over it (unless that someone is called Axl Rose) and perhaps focusing on other aspects of life rather than the music. And this is true to an extent with Franki Love. As if caring for her Mum who was suffering with cancer then recovered, relapsed and sadly died in her arms wasn’t enough, her mentor, who stimulated Franki to push through and write music after her Mum’s death, also died. That’s a lot to go through in a short space of time. To lose people of such importance to you takes a long time to recover from, but to then sit through all that pain time and time again to write something that is powerful, sensitive and soulful is incredibly difficult. The self-imposed pressure to produce a body of work that would make your mother proud and something that justifies the help your mentor provided you with would be simply immense.
New album Otias, which is Franki’s mother’s maiden name spelled backwards, is filled with passion, self-determination and reflection. For Franki Love, this feels like a deeply personal album, in which her desire to avoid cookie cutter pop was only matched by her desire to keep the spiritual element in her music, never settling for anything less than her vision. The album is not written to please the masses or the record labels, it is written for herself, what she holds true. This sentiment is reflected in the following statement; “it’s not ‘who you know’ but ‘WHO YOU ARE’ that really matters… and it’s not about being perfect, it’s about being real and you… authentically”.
Franki Love truly has a phenomenal voice and coupled with her classical training in piano provides a powerful combination made only stronger by weaving her lyrical skill into one emotional tapestry of an album. I look forward to following this artist more and more over the coming years and eagerly await what she might do next. Twenty one months to make an album feels like a long time but the time and dedication really shows in the quality of Otias’s ten tracks.
Franki Love’s ‘Otias’ album is available now.
By @richbroome_tog
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758985
|
__label__wiki
| 0.968431
| 0.968431
|
Our Correspondent
PCB remains hopeful Australia will tour Pakistan
KARACHI: The chances of Pakistan hosting Australia on home soil later this season seem bleak but the PCB is still hoping that it will somehow convince the Australians to visit the country for a few matches in March-April.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been trying to line up home games against Australia for quite some time. But Cricket Australia has recently conveyed that it won’t be sending its team this time around. However, CA has assured that it is open to the idea of its team playing in Pakistan in the future.
The PCB maintains the matter isn’t yet closed, waiting to hear back from CA about a proposal to send a reconnaissance team to Pakistan before making a definitive call not to tour.Australia are scheduled to play five One-day Internationals against Pakistan in March-April.
Australia haven’t played in Pakistan since 1998, however the gradual return of international cricket to the country in recent years had boosted hopes that the Aussies could come back for at least some of this year’s one-dayers.
PCB chairman Ehsan Mani spoke to then-incoming CA chief executive Kevin Roberts during the Aussies’ Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October, with Mani publicly calling for Australia, England and New Zealand to follow the lead of the West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe who have ventured back to Pakistan since 2017.
A handful of Australian players - including current Test captain Tim Paine - also featured in a World XI side that played in Pakistan in 2017.But while CA have indicated a desire to play again in Pakistan, a commitment to tour won’t materialise in the next few months.
“We want to see international cricket return to Pakistan – the country has a huge passion for it,” a CA spokesperson said.“However, the safety of our players and support staff is our number one priority and we won’t compromise that. We’ll continue to take advice from a range of government agencies and our own security intelligence and act on this accordingly.
“At this stage, from an Australia team perspective, we are not contemplating moving our current bilateral-tour arrangements from taking on Pakistan in the UAE, when they host the next series but we do remain open to the idea of playing in the country again. We formally advised the PCB of this position in early January.”
But the PCB issued a statement late on Sunday night which indicated that the issue was unresolved from Pakistan’s end.“The PCB Chairman wrote a letter to the CA Chairman, Mr Earl Eddings, on 7 January in which he had suggested that the CA, as part of a standard protocol and process for bilateral series, should send their recce team to Pakistan to receive presentations on Pakistan’s security arrangements,” the PCB said.
“The PCB is still waiting for a response from the CA. Until the PCB hears further from the CA on their 7 January letter, they will consider this as an open and an ongoing discussion.”The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s current advice is for Australians to reconsider their need to travel to Pakistan in general, while some regions are complete no-go zones. —with inputs from agencies
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758986
|
__label__wiki
| 0.607187
| 0.607187
|
Saracens warn Vunipola following his support of Folau comments
Billy Vunipola has been formally warned by Saracens
Billy Vunipola has been formally warned about his future conduct by Saracens after the number eight defended a homophobic Instagram post by Israel Folau.
The England forward posted a message on the social media website on Friday that included the line “Man was made for woman to procreate that was the goal no?”.
Vunipola was acting in support of Australia full-back and fellow devout Christian Folau, who stated that “hell awaits” for “homosexuals”.
Saracens, who held “lengthy discussions” on Sunday with their number eight, branded Vunipola’s actions “a serious error of judgement” on Monday evening.
Those that are living in Sin will end up in Hell unless you repent. Jesus Christ loves you and is giving you time to turn away from your sin and come to him. _______________ Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these , adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 KJV _______________ Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38 KJV _______________ And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Acts 17:30 KJV _______________
A post shared by Israel Folau (@izzyfolau) on Apr 10, 2019 at 1:18am PDT
A club statement read: “At Saracens, we are one family, open to all with the firm view that everyone should be treated equally with respect and humility.
“We recognise the complexity of different belief systems and understand Billy’s intention was to express the word of God rather than cause offence.
“However, he made a serious error of judgement in publicly sharing his opinion, which is inconsistent with the values of the club and contravenes his contractual obligations.
“The player has been formally warned about his future conduct.”
So this morning I got 3 phone calls from people telling me to ‘unlike’ the @izzyfolau post. This is my position on it. I don’t HATE anyone neither do I think I’m perfect. There just comes a point when you insult what I grew up believing in that you just say enough is enough, what he’s saying isn’t that he doesn’t like or love those people. He’s saying how we live our lives needs to be closer to how God intended them to be. Man was made for woman to pro create that was the goal no? I’m not perfect I’m at least everything on that list at least at one point in my life. It hurts to know that. But that’s why I believe there’s a God. To guide and protect us and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
A post shared by Billy Vunipola (@vunipola_billy) on Apr 12, 2019 at 2:27am PDT
Vunipola insisted that his “intention was never to cause suffering” but he stopped short of offering an apology.
In a statement on Saracens’ website, he said: “I can see that my recent post has hurt people.
“My intention was never to cause suffering. My intention was to express my belief in the word of God.
“These beliefs are a source of great strength, comfort and guidance in my life. This is deeply personal and does not represent the views of my team.
“Anyone who knows me, knows I live with kindness and love towards ALL people.
“I have faith. My Christian faith has sustained me through the ups and many downs of my life. God has given and continues to give me many reasons in life to be grateful.”
Vunipola has also been summoned to talks with the Rugby Football Union but the governing body is refusing to provide any details for its meeting, insisting it remains a private matter.
Twickenham has also been wary at this stage of saying whether disciplinary action will be taken, but if it is decided to pursue the matter further, it would most likely be under the broad charge of ‘bringing the game into disrepute’.
England number eight Billy Vunipola says his “intention was never to cause suffering” (Adam Davy/PA)
Condemnation of his views has also come from Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players’ Association, while on Saturday Vunipola was booed during his appearance as a second-half replacement at Bristol.
Rugby Australia confirmed on Monday morning that it is pressing ahead with plans to terminate Folau’s contract after its integrity unit ruled he had committed a “high-level breach of the professional players’ code of conduct”.
A legal battle with RA could ensue as Folau is refusing to retract divisive remarks which have been liked by a number of international players, including Vunipola.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758988
|
__label__wiki
| 0.907463
| 0.907463
|
Cowboy Tee
Vegas gold shirt with logo on front. Back is blank.
This is a Gildan Softstyle Ring Spun 65% Polyester 35% Cotton. Unisex
Select an optionSmallMediumLargeX-Large2X3X4X
The Po' Ramblin' Boys
Every so often a band comes around that knocks everybody’s socks off and gets people talking. I’d bet good money that you’re gonna really enjoy them, but I don’t want to take your money. Use it to listen to the PRB. I‘m putting my money on them.
-Jim Lauderdale
At a time when most people feel constantly distracted by technology and barraged by the news, authenticity and straightforward honesty are paramount. There’s something about the music of The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys that cuts right through the noise of the world and speaks plainly to the soul. Formed in the Smoky Mountains, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys are at once exactly what you would expect and not at all what you would expect from a tattooed East Tennessee Bluegrass outfit. No strangers to hard work, the boys are as much at home riding in their 1965 GM Tour bus as they are crawling underneath to fix it when it needs maintenance. But they take pride in being ambassadors of their genre, and the group has brought their music from rural bluegrass festival stages to the rock clubs of Europe, with stunning results. “I think to a certain extent everyone is just craving music that they can feel, and any music that feels real will reach any audience” says CJ Lewandowski, the groups founder, “We want to put bluegrass right where it’s least expected”.
Lewandowski was working at Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery in Sevierville, TN when the band first formed. The distillery employed musicians to play for visitors seven days a week, and Lewandowski, who primarily plays Mandolin and sings, was occasionally hired to fill in when the entertainment didn’t show. Eventually, the distillery approached him about forming a band for a full time slot, so he reached out to long time music friends Jereme Brown, who plays banjo for the group, and Josh Rinkel, who plays guitar. “Jereme was doing a lot of welding work at that time, and Josh was running a sign company”, says Lewandowski, “I think we were all ready to do something new, something with our music but we didn’t know when or how”. Bassist Jasper Lorentzen happened to be working in the tasting room at the distillery, and he turned out to be the perfect final addition to the band. The four friends played multiple times a week for a year and half, honing their band sound, meanwhile word was spreading about their music. “The first gig we played out of town was a festival in Alberta, Canada, and a week later we went on a two week tour of Europe, it was crazy”, says Lewandowski.
Material for the group’s debut album “Back To The Mountains”, was a combination of original songs and old numbers that honor the group’s mentors and bluegrass heroes. “We love to dig up old songs that haven’t been heard in years and bring them back into the spotlight”, explains Lewandowski. It’s no surprise, then, that their latest single “Next Train South”, is a song cut by one of Lewandowski’s teachers from his native Missouri. “This song hasn’t been recorded since 1974, when it was recorded by Dub Crouch, Norman Ford and the Bluegrass Rounders.” he says. “Dub was a guy that I learned from back in the day. He was a close friend, and I was with him the day before he died. He was a popular guy for his region, but his music was not as well known on the national circuit. That’s why we love to sing these songs, because when we take these songs and bring them to a larger audience, our heroes and their music will not be forgotten”.
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys passion for bluegrass is as clear as it is contagious. With a heavy touring schedule across the United States and Europe and recently signed record deal with the esteemed Rounder Records, the Boys are well on their way to becoming the quintessential bluegrass band of their generation. Despite all of their recent success, they maintain a humble perspective. “Bluegrass has left such a mark on us that we feel like we owe something back to the music”, says Lewandowski. “We want to do something for the music to show our appreciation… There’s no telling what could have happened to us, what we would have become if we hadn’t found this music. It’s gotten us through a lot, the good and the bad. When I think about all of the damn medications that I didn’t have to take because I had music to turn to. We didn’t have to go to the doctor and pay for something to make us feel better, because we had this music, so we really want to honor it by bringing it out of the shadows and onto new stages and wider audiences. Because we know that if we can bring Bluegrass to new folks, those folks will come with us and support the bluegrass community.”
“Loved having the guys in studio… great live performance…they’re the real deal” !
- Charlie Mattos producer/cohost Coffee, Country & Cody
Pre-order your digital copy of our new album, "toil, tears, & trouble"
Performances sparkle throughout the album's twelve tracks, showcasing why the band has not only energized fans of the traditional bluegrass sound, but younger fans of progressive stringband music as well. The album was produced by the band's longtime associate Dave Maggard and was engineered by 10-time GRAMMY winner Gary Paczosa (Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Sarah Jarosz).
Stream/Download
The Prb General Store
Welcome to our store, here you can find your next favorite T-Shirt, Hat, CDs & more!
Toil, Tears & Trouble CD "Chester Special' Bundle PRE-ORDER
The Po' Ramblin' Boys' long awaited inaugural album for Rounder Records is available for Pre-order now! Be the first to have a copy in hand of the August 23rd release. The project features 12 tracks showcasing the next steps of The Po' Ramblin' Boys, while holding true to their energetic, tattooed grassy rebel persona. This C.J. approved "Chester Special" Bundle includes one (1) Toil, Tears, & Trouble CD, one (1) vinyl T,T&T sticker, and one (1) T,T&T limited edition Koozie.
Toil, Tears & Trouble CD " Lightnin" Bundle PRE-ORDER
The Po' Ramblin' Boys' long awaited inaugural album for Rounder Records is available for Pre-order now! Be the first to have a copy in hand of the August 23rd release. The project features 12 tracks showcasing the next steps of The Po' Ramblin' Boys, while holding true to their energetic, tattooed grassy rebel persona. This Jasper "Lightnin" Bundle includes one (1) Toil, Tears, & Trouble CD, one (1) vinyl T,T&T sticker, and one (1) T,T&T limited edition Koozie and one (1) wicked bandana only available through per-order.
Toil, Tears & Trouble Vinyl "Jug Size" Bundle PRE-ORDER
The Po' Ramblin' Boys' long awaited inaugural album for Rounder Records is available for Pre-order now! Be the first to have a copy in hand of the August 23rd release. The project features 12 tracks showcasing the next steps of The Po' Ramblin' Boys, while holding true to their energetic, tattooed grassy rebel persona. This Josh approved "Jug Size" Bundle includes one (1) Toil, Tears, & Trouble vinyl, one (1) vinyl T,T&T sticker, one (1) T,T&T limited edition Koozie, and one (1) wicked bandana only available through pre-order.
Toil, Tears & Trouble Vinyl "Mini Brown" Bundle PRE-ORDER
The Po' Ramblin' Boys' long awaited inaugural album for Rounder Records is available for Pre-order now! Be the first to have a copy in hand of the August 23rd release. The project features 12 tracks showcasing the next steps of The Po' Ramblin' Boys, while holding true to their energetic, tattooed grassy rebel persona. This Jereme approved "Mini Brown" Bundle includes one (1) Toil, Tears, & Trouble Vinyl record, one (1) vinyl T,T&T sticker, and one (1) T,T&T limited edition Koozie.
Toil, Tears, & Trouble Vinyl - PRE-ORDER
The Po' Ramblin' Boys long awaited inaugural album for Rounder Records is available for purchase Friday, August 23, 2019! Be the first to have a copy in hand by preordering now! This project features 12 tracks showcasing the next step of The Po' Ramblin' Boys, while holding true to their energetic, tattooed grassy rebel persona. Order your signed vinyl today!
Toil, Tears, & Trouble CD - PRE-ORDER
The Po' Ramblin' Boys long awaited inaugural album for Rounder Records is available for purchase Friday, August 23, 2019! Be the first to have a copy in hand by preordering now! This project features 12 tracks showcasing the next step of The Po' Ramblin' Boys, while holding true to their energetic, tattooed grassy rebel persona. Order your signed CD today!
Hat & Tie Sticker
This is a 4 inch circle sticker.
Hat & Ties Tee
Tweed color shirt with logo on front. Back is blank.
2018 IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year
PRB takes home prestigious music award
With 6 nominations, instead of the usual 5, for the IBMA Emerging Artist of The Year award, the pressure was intense on the 2018 award. The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys were considered the underdog in the category, but managed to take home the Emerging Artist of The Year Award from The International Bluegrass Music Association for 2018. This is an outstanding benchmark for the band and they do not take this accolade lightly.
“To be acknowledged by the Bluegrass Music community for our work and music is very satisfying and heart warming. We live Bluegrass music, and we love Bluegrass music. This award is not just a feather in our cap, but a stepping stone for what we like to call ‘Real Bluegrass.’ Our fans and friends are deserving of this award as much as we do. We couldn’t have done it without them these past four years.”- CJ Lewandowski
On the Charts
Next Train south hits #2
Our first single from Rounder Records, "Next Train South", is currently at #2 on both the weekly and monthly Bluegrass Today charts!
https://bluegrasstoday.com/monthly-chart/
https://bluegrasstoday.com/chart/
Grassland Jam (Live 2017)
Lost All My Money But a Two-Dollar Bill (Live at Casino Guitars – 2018)
Next Train South – (Radio Bristol Sessions – 2017)
-Management-
Mike Drudge
Rainmaker Music Management
mike@rainmakermanagement.net
rainmakermanagement.net
-Booking-
Barron Ruth
Crossover Touring
barron@crossovertouring.com
crossovertouring.com
Let us hear from you!
Po' Ramblin' Boys' C.J. Lewandowski Talks Digging Into Bluegrass' Rich History
WMOT's 2018 IBMA Awards coverage
Billboard's 2018 IBMA Awards coverage
SIGNING STORY: THE PO' RAMBLIN' BOYS
Big moves for The Po' Ramblin' Boys
Rounder Records signs The Po' Ramblin' Boys
At a time when most people feel constantly distracted by technology and barraged by the news, authenticity and straightforward honesty are paramount. There's something about the music of The Po' Ramblin' Boys that cuts right through the noise of the world and speaks plainly to the soul. Formed in the Smoky Mountains, The Po' Ramblin' Boys are at once exactly what you would expect and not at all what you would expect from a tattooed East Tennessee Bluegrass outfit. No strangers to hard work, the boys are as much at home riding in their 1965 GM Tour bus as they are crawling underneath to fix it when it needs maintenance. But they take pride in being ambassadors of their genre, and the group has brought their music from rural bluegrass festival stages to the rock clubs of Europe, with stunning results. "I think to a certain extent everyone is just craving music that they can feel, and any music that feels real will reach any audience" says CJ Lewandowski, the groups founder, "We want to put bluegrass right where it's least expected".
Lewandowski was working at Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery in Sevierville, TN when the band first formed. The distillery employed musicians to play for visitors seven days a week, and Lewandowski, who primarily plays Mandolin and sings, was occasionally hired to fill in when the entertainment didn't show. Eventually, the distillery approached him about forming a band for a full time slot, so he reached out to long time music friends Jereme Brown, who plays banjo for the group, and Josh Rinkel, who plays guitar. "Jereme was doing a lot of welding work at that time, and Josh was running a sign company", says Lewandowski, "I think we were all ready to do something new, something with our music but we didn't know when or how". Bassist Jasper Lorentzen happened to be working in the tasting room at the distillery, and he turned out to be the perfect final addition to the band. The four friends played multiple times a week for a year and half, honing their band sound, meanwhile word was spreading about their music. "The first gig we played out of town was a festival in Alberta, Canada, and a week later we went on a two week tour of Europe, it was crazy", says Lewandowski.
Material for the group's debut album "Back To The Mountains", was a combination of original songs and old numbers that honor the group's mentors and bluegrass heroes. "We love to dig up old songs that haven't been heard in years and bring them back into the spotlight", explains Lewandowski. It's no surprise, then, that their latest single "Next Train South", is a song cut by one of Lewandowski's teachers from his native Missouri. "This song hasn't been recorded since 1974, when it was recorded by Dub Crouch, Norman Ford and the Bluegrass Rounders." he says. "Dub was a guy that I learned from back in the day. He was a close friend, and I was with him the day before he died. He was a popular guy for his region, but his music was not as well known on the national circuit. That's why we love to sing these songs, because when we take these songs and bring them to a larger audience, our heroes and their music will not be forgotten".
The Po' Ramblin' Boys passion for bluegrass is as clear as it is contagious. With a heavy touring schedule across the United States and Europe and recently signed record deal with the esteemed Rounder Records, the Boys are well on their way to becoming the quintessential bluegrass band of their generation. Despite all of their recent success, they maintain a humble perspective. "Bluegrass has left such a mark on us that we feel like we owe something back to the music", says Lewandowski. "We want to do somethingfor the music to show our appreciation... There's no telling what could have happened to us, what we would have become if we hadn't found this music. It's gotten us through a lot, the good and the bad. When I think about all of the damn medications that I didn't have to take because I had music to turn to. We didn't have to go to the doctor and pay for something to make us feel better, because we had this music, so we really want to honor it by bringing it out of the shadows and onto new stages and wider audiences. Because we know that if we can bring Bluegrass to new folks, those folks will come with us and support the bluegrass community
From Mandolinist/Vocalist, CJ Lewandowski:
“’Next Train South’ is on Dub Crouch, Norman Ford & The Bluegrass Rounders’ 1974 album titled Next Train South. I grew up with Dub being an ‘Elder Statesman’ in the Missouri Bluegrass community, same for Norman Ford. He was known for his high clean tenor with cutting edge. This music was super hard to find, so some friends made a copy of Next Train South for me. I since have every copy of Dub and Norman's music and own several of the masters.”
“Their intense love for REAL bluegrass led them to make some of the best unknown albums of Bluegrass history. They played for the love of the music, not the fame. That's exactly what The Po' Ramblin' Boys do, as well. It's the perfect Real Bluegrass song. It's an older song, but has been a buried gem. We brought it out, shined it up, and made it new again. I love how it's ‘our’ song, but it's still Dub and Norman's. The hard driving melody with heavy banjo influence and the unique chorus are just what we want. The high harmonies and the subject matter is classic, but a refreshing version. That's what we want. Echo the past, honor the father's, but bring it to new audiences with our own touch. Represent our music the best way we can and bring the real stuff to the table. This song is perfect for that.”
© 2017 The Po' Ramblin' Boys
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758989
|
__label__wiki
| 0.754115
| 0.754115
|
Hall Of Fame Launch
Tickets available for Hall of Fame launch.
Peter Deakin
Hall of Fame launch to take place in October at the ABAX Stadium.
Peterborough United will officially launch their Hall of Fame at the ABAX Stadium on Thursday, 18th October. Tickets cost £10 which includes a buffet and a complimentary drink. They are available now from the Posh Ticket Office during the week and up to 2pm on match days, and from the Posh Trust Stall at the Posh Venue on match days from 1.45pm-2.50pm.
Posh have 32 inductees including two title-winning sides (counted as one inductee). Record appearance-maker Tommy Robson was the first in 2008. Club historian Peter Lane said: “It’s 10 years since the club agreed to my idea for a Hall of Fame so it seems the right time to do an official launch. The majority of the members have been invited to attend and have accepted so there will be an ideal opportunity for fans to mingle, get autographs and photos or just chat to the Posh legends.”
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758990
|
__label__wiki
| 0.742862
| 0.742862
|
https://www.theridgefieldpress.com/news/people/article/Ridgefielders-plan-to-protest-at-Women-s-March-14013932.php
Ridgefielders plan to protest at Women’s March in New York City Saturday
Peter Yankowski
Published 11:30 am EST, Thursday, January 17, 2019
Ridgefield residents Aimee Berger Girvalo and Jessica Mancini are heading to New York again this year for the Women's March.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement from the march organizers in regards to comments made on Facebook.
Organizers for the town chapter of the Women’s March plan to protest in New York City once again at this year’s rally on Saturday, Jan. 19.
Aimee Berger-Girvalo, who organized buses to the first march in Washington, D.C., in January 2017, said the group will be using public transportation to travel into the city.
Ridgefielders who want to attend should meet with the organizers at the bottom of escalators leading to the Metlife building, the terminal’s 45th Street exit. Berger-Girvalo said they plan to leave for Columbus Circle at 9:15 a.m.
Last year, the group chartered buses to New York for the second march, which took place just after the original protest’s one-year anniversary.
Those interested can also message Berger-Girvalo, or fellow organizer Jessica Mancini, through the Women’s March — Ridgefield Chapter group on Facebook.
“Jessica and I will be riding out of Purdy’s Station and would love for anyone to join us on the train ride,” said Berger-Girvalo.
Addressing comments on Facebook, Mancini and Berger-Girvalo wrote the following statement for The Press:
"For the third year in a row, concerned Ridgefielders will gather in NYC, motivated by our passionate desire to affirm, preserve, protect and defend the universal rights and dignity of all people, and to urgently resist the racism, misogyny, bigotry, and hatred promoted by President Trump and authoritarian leaders around the world.
"Organizers of the Ridgefield Women’s March, along with hundreds of other Women’s March groups nationwide are not associated with the organizers of the Washington DC March, who have embraced exclusionist and anti-semitic positions wholly irreconcilable with our mission and morals.
"We will march in an inclusive affirmation of the dignity and universal rights of all people and a disavowal of all hatred."
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758993
|
__label__wiki
| 0.853756
| 0.853756
|
Atheist minister praises the glory of good at Scarborough church
By Eric Andrew-GeeStaff Reporter
Mon., March 16, 2015timer4 min. read
Beside the entrance to West Hill United Church there is a cornerstone bearing a message that no longer applies.
It reads, “To the Glory of God.”
A lot has changed here since those words were inscribed in 1962.
“We were thinking of carving an extra ‘o’ in it,” said Gretta Vosper, the charismatic, controversial leader of this Scarborough congregation.
Vosper, who has been the minister at West Hill since 1997, is an atheist. By her own admission, she is more interested in the Good than in God.
Her services make no mention of a deity, and she certainly doesn’t read from the Bible. The church library has two shelves of theology, three shelves of fiction, and three shelves marked “Life Transitions.”
West Hill is housed in a red brick building near Morningside Ave. and Kingston Rd. that Vosper calls “the ugliest church in Christendom.”
She says it in jest, but there are some in her own denomination who sincerely question whether it is a church at all, or whether it has any place in the Christian community.
Vosper herself is a bit heterodox on the question of Christ. Asked if she believes that Jesus was the son of God, she said, “I don’t think Jesus was.” That is, she doesn’t think He existed at all.
These kinds of provocations – which Vosper invariably delivers with smiling good cheer – have rankled many in the United Church of Canada, famed for its liberality. In 2008, after she ended the practice of children reciting the Lord’s Prayer, more than half of her parishioners left West Hill, a schism that wrenched friends apart and shrunk the congregation to less than 50 people, but seems to have left Vosper emboldened.
More recently, she sent an open letter to the leader of the United Church objecting to a prayer he wrote following the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Vosper thought he was remiss in failing to acknowledge that belief in God had motivated the terrorists who rampaged through Paris.
This prompted a UC minister from Vancouver to call for her resignation.
During her sermons, Vosper is no fire-breathing atheist. (She prefers the term “post-theist” anyway.) For one thing, that would mean bringing God up, if only to deny His existence.
Instead, she preaches a brand of soothing, non-religious morality, faintly spiritual but mostly concentrated on leading a good life and being kind to others.
It can seem a bit woolly to outsiders, a bit New Age-y. A brochure in the pews reads “West Hill United: a warm place to find yourself.”
This attitude is reflected in the church’s design. Rainbow motifs are everywhere, from a quilt hung on the back wall, to the candle holders on the altar, to a set of simple stained glass windows, to the streamers obscuring a large steel cross that still looms over Vosper’s lectern.
Pews on one side of the aisle had recently been torn up and replaced with cushioned chairs, which might be a bit of playful desecration but might also be a practical step in view of the congregation’s median age of 75 or so.
Musical accompaniment to the service is provided by Scott Kearns, Vosper’s husband, a short man, quick to laugh, who from behind his piano bears a passing resemblance to David Letterman sidekick Paul Shaffer.
His compositions reflect the spirit of West Hill as well as anything.
“May our world be a world, be a world of love,” one of his songs implores.
This being the third Sunday of the month, Vosper led the congregation in an interactive service. Parishioners who felt like it were handed a microphone and delivered secular prayers on behalf of ailing friends or relatives. As punctuation, instead of Amen, the congregation says, “In this, our time of need, may love abound.”
If it all sounds vague and mushy, it also seems to work: Vosper has a dedicated, affectionate flock, and the line-up to hug her after the service was about forty people long.
Donna Hall-Standish, who performed a beautiful rendition of “Danny Boy” in honour of St. Patrick’s Day, says West Hill feels like “home.”
She still remembers the first day she sat in on one of Vosper’s services.
“I didn’t feel that there were any critical eyes looking at me,” she said.
Vosper was raised in the United Church and has decided to remain a member because it still provides her parishioners with a sense of community and offers a venue for criticizing traditional Christianity.
Managing this contradiction hasn't always been easy, after Vosper’s first sermon at West Hill picking apart the idea of God, many thought the minister had lost her mind. Her 2008 book With or Without God alienated some congregants anew.
But with an average Sunday attendance of about 70, West Hill is prospering, relatively speaking, while churches throughout the Western world shrink and wither.
All they had to do, it turns out, was get rid of God.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1758995
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.