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io9 ReviewsTelevision
In Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Power Lies With Politics, Not Magic
Filed to: Jonathan Strange And Mr NorrellFiled to: Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell
Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell
TV Recap
io9 ReviewsReviews and critical analyses of fan-favorite movies, TV shows, comics, books, and more.
What if a world of mysticism and magic stood alongside Regency high society? Susanna Clarke’s break-out novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell — the BBC’s adaptation of which began in the U.K last night — asks just that. But as the first episode shows, even in a world with magic, the real power is in politics.
Warning: Although the series has begun in the U.K, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell won’t air in the U.S until June 13th on BBC America. As such, these recaps will be kept as light on spoilers as possible — but there will still be some minor spoilers ahead and in the comments.
With a title like “The Friends of English Magic”, you’ll be forgiven for expecting more actual magic to occur in the show’s first episode — especially with reviews declaring the series “Harry Potter for adults.” But Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell establishes a world that is very much about an absence of magic. Throughout the early proceedings, which follows the York Society of Magicians as they attempt to discover why magic use has lapsed in Britain for 300 years, the audience is introduced (and repeatedly reminded of) a world where the use of magic is as incomprehensible as it would be to us in the real world. Here, power isn’t earned through the spells you can cast, it’s earned through respect, power gained through societal standing. It’s telling that when the York Society is confronted with the news that Mr. Norrell (played to perfection by Eddie Marsan) is a practical magician, that they choose to test his claims through a contract that could see him publicly denounce himself — a far greater shame than being unable to perform magic. The politics of 19th Century society, your place in it and the power that is granted with stature and reputations hold far more sway in this world, even when Norrell astounds the society by making the stone sculptures of the York Minister come to life.
Following his small “victory” against the York Society, Norrell moves from the North to London to build on his magical reputation and aid in the ongoing Napoleonic War. However, he finds his magical prowess of little use. In fact, London’s high society has reduced his feat into a tale of magically washed linens before he’s even arrived, stripping Norrell of what little power he had before meeting with Sir Walter Pole about aiding the war effort. With his Yorkshire sensibility, Norrell finds himself baffled by how London works (another classic north/south divide trope ripe in 19th-century literature), with reputation trumping any actual ability.
He finds the name of practicing magicians sullied by vagabonds and street magicians, and through the gentle prodding of his supportive servant Childermass (rest assured, book fans, Enzo Cilenti’s portrayal of the fan favorite is spot on, down to an accent so Yorkshire I worry American audiences may not quite get everything he says at first) comes to realize that he cannot win over the either the government or the aristocrats that surround him with actual magical power; he has to play the game of politics, no matter how uncomfortable it makes him. The interplay between discovering the power of stature and the burgeoning revival of magic use sits at the heart of the first episode, weaving in and out of the world-building set up, and is a potent reminder that Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is about a lot more than people in fancy wigs casting magic.
Although the show’s first episode excels in establishing its world, perhaps the show’s weakest aspect in the first hour is its pace. Certain changes have been made from the books for the sake of adaptation — although he doesn’t have much to do until near the very end, Strange himself (Bertie Carvel) is much more present throughout the episode ahead of his discovery of his magical talent, instead of residing primarily in the footnotes of the book’s first few chapters — but some of the changes are perhaps a necessity of adaptation.
Part of the joy of Clarke’s novel is its pastiche of classic 19th-century literary styles, the echoes of Austen and Dickens in the prose as it gently ribs the tropes of literature of the era, something that, understandably, you can’t appreciate in a visual medium. Instead, “The Friends of English Magic” relies on untold years of British period drama production to steep you in the atmosphere and place you in that familiar setting. Although at times it does feel like it borrows a bit of that pastiche tone (especially in the wonderful exaggeration of Vincent Franklin’s Drawlight, the aristocrat hanger-on who’s camp and pomp declarations almost border on full-on pantomime in an otherwise reserved cast) it doesn’t quite make up for the loss, instead feeling like it’s stretched a little too thin in terms of what is actually playing out on screen.
Also largely absent (and dearly missed) are Clarke’s footnotes, which extensively peppered the original book with the background of magic’s history in Britain, fleshing out the background of the world without bogging the reader down. It’s once again understandable that the footnotes are missing from a live-action adaptation — without excessive use of voiceover or with characters standing around needlessly expositing at each other they wouldn’t really work — but at the same time it makes it that much more difficult for the show to establish is quirky premise. If anything, certain aspects of Britain’s historical relationship are brushed over a little too much, certain elements left unanswered that confuse viewers rather than intentionally leave them wanting to know more.
But even though it’s not quite a perfect adaptation, there is still enough at play in Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell to make you want to see more, whether you’ve read the book or otherwise. As the episode climaxes with Norrell’s first major proof that he is a powerful, practicing magician (and in doing so making a dangerous deal with the Fey world and Marc Warren’s mysterious “Gentleman” for the sake of gaining political favour with Walter Pole) the stage is finally set for Britain’s two greatest powers, politics and magic, to come together — and seeing how they do will certainly make for interesting viewing.
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Walk Through
ETDC
Residential Accomodation
Campus Location and Facilities
Anand is situated about 36 kms. north of Vadodara and 65 kms south of Ahmedabad on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad main rail line and National Highway No. 8 connecting Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Adjacent to Anand is Vallabh Vidyanagar, the educational township and seat of Sardar Patel University . It is conveniently placed in terms of accessibility to a large number of academic and development institutions; the more important of these are the NDDB, the GCMMF, the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Limited (Amul), the Tribhuvandas Foundation, the Anand Agricultural University and the Sardar Patel University. The Institute's campus is spread over a landscaped sixty-acre site adjacent to the Anand Agricultural University . The campus is fully residential equipped with students' hostels, mess, lecture halls, seminar rooms, library, faculty and administrative offices, auditorium, executive training and development centre, faculty and staff housing, dispensary, and other support facilities. The IRMA staff co-operative store caters to the residents' daily necessities.
The PRM is a fully residential programme. There are nine blocks in the hostel, each with 24 furnished single rooms. Each floor of eight rooms has a furnished common reading room, which is also used for receiving guests of students. The hostel has a boarding facility managed by an elected student body.
The Library is housed in a spacious three-storied building. It supports the teaching and research programmes of the Institute. The present collection includes 42628 books, 417 videocassettes, 40 CD-ROMS, 919 microforms, 1742 MTS reports, 108 OTS reports and 309 Fieldwork reports. The Library has subscribed to 453 periodicals including professional journals, newspapers and popular magazines. In addition to this, the library has also subscribed to three electronic databases, namely, Prowess (CMIE, Mumbai), Indiastat.com (Datanet India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi), and ABI/Inform (Proquest; Informatics, Bangalore).
The Library is fully automated and offers services of photocopying, reference, inter-library-loan, and bibliographical search assistance to the users. It is equipped with facilities such as OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) and Multimedia.
The Institute through its campus wide network provides connectivity to its resources such as Library information, printing and file access, Internet and Mail Services. Each hostel room in the campus is equipped with network access points that enable the student to have access to all these resources. However, a student is expected to possess a network enabled PC to gain such access.
Recreations and Cultural Life
A wide range of facilities for pursuing recreational and extra-curricular activities are provided through the Student Activity Centre. Besides, the Institute has infrastructure facilities for sports such as football, cricket, badminton and table tennis. The air-conditioned 400-seat auditorium has excellent audiovisual projection system that is regularly used by the student community and the Institute for holding a variety of programmes. While the Institute extends support for extra-curricular activities, the initiative for their organisation normally comes from the students. The IRMA Staff Club organises various cultural programmes, entertainment and sports activities, and film shows at the Institute. All the PRM students are associate members of the IRMA Staff Club. The PRM students represent a substantial pool of talent in music, drama and dance. The students organise several cultural programmes, with Jatra, the seven-day festival of students being the grand finale. Under the SPIC-MACAY of which many students, staff and faculty are members, several concerts and recitals by eminent artistes are organised every year. The students use Terra Firma, their biannual magazine, to share with the alumni and the community the experiences of studying at IRMA.
The classrooms testify IRMA's commitment to offering a high quality learning environment. Air-conditioned and well-furnished, each classroom has a projector, microphones, and other state-of-the-art audio-visual material that aid learning.
PRM being a fully residential programme its participants are provided with fully-furnished single occupancy hostel rooms. There is internet connectivity in all the rooms. Besides, each hostel block has a common reading room. Boarding facility is also maintained in the hostels managed by an elected participants' body.
Sports Activity Complex
IRMA provides a wide range of sports services for its students and staff thanks to its Sports Activity Complex. The complex has a well-appointed gymnasium and infrastructure facilities for games like badminton and table tennis. Plus, there are facilities for sports like cricket, basketball, football, and volleyball.
Executive Training and Development Centre (ETDC)
The ETDC is the main hub of Management Development Programmes (MDPs) and workshops held throughout the year. It has air-conditioned conference rooms, a lecture hall, guest rooms, a dining hall, and a computer laboratory networked with the institute's main computer centre.
IRMA has a 24-hour dispensary with a resident nurse. The doctor is available between 1.30 and 2pm everyday.
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3rd EVU Talks 2008 - Switzerland
from EVU News:
EVU Talks 2008 Vegetarianism: The Ultimate Animal Welfare
This year’s EVU talks, between Thursday 1st May and Sunday 4th May, was held at a vegetarian guesthouse (Sonnenhof) in the mountainous region of Preda in Switzerland.
It was a fairly intimate gathering with people from different countries including Switzerland, Germany, Austria, England, Northern Ireland, and Canada. Thursday evening gave us all the opportunity to socialise and get to know each other, and watch a presentation about the venue by Renato Pichler.
The meeting on Friday started off with an introduction given by Renato Pichler of this year’s topic of the EVU talks, which was on the animal protection organisations and their relationship with vegetarianism. At the end of the session we agreed if anyone or if any organisation cares about animals then it would be good to co-operate with them.
In the afternoon, after lunch, Prof. Klaus Petrus (a vegan professor of philosophy from the University of Berne) gave a talk on abolitionism, animal welfarism and vegetarianism. Abolitionism is the total abolition of animal exploitation. After a debate about some of the issues that were raised, it was discussed that we should promote vegetarianism first, as it is easier and more realistic to educate people to go vegetarian and then eventually lead them to veganism, the moral basis of abolitionism.
In the evening, we were shown a short movie from India about ECO-Dharma/Bishnois, a vegetarian community in India that protects all their animals and trees.
On Saturday morning, Erwin Lengauer from the Austrian Vegetarian Union (ÖVU), a philosophy and animal law lecturer at the University of Vienna, gave a talk on the synergy of animal-rights and vegan campaigning in Vienna/Austria. Vegane Gesellschaft Österreich (VGO), which is a vegan campaigning organisation, and Verein Gegen Tierfabriken (VGT), which is an animal welfare organisation, are the two organisations that work together and have an excellent synergy which can be learnt from and followed in their example.
In the evening, Hildegund Scholvien gave us all an update regarding the 38th IVU World Vegetarian Congress in Dresden, Germany.
The meeting concluded with a brainstorming and resume session. It was proposed that the EVU talks for next year could be held in Croatia, since the vegetarian organisation there is not as strong and the movement is very small, therefore the EVU can support them. At the end of the evening we were shown The Sacred Duty by the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA).
It was a wonderful event and a great opportunity for all of us to meet and spend time with people that care about animals and the world we live in, and who are not afraid to change the world for the better. For those that missed the event, we hope to see you in Dresden this year or the EVU talks next year.
Having contacts with younger activists, since they continue to persist with animal rights activities relentlessly
Joining animal welfare organisations themselves, and influencing them from within
Creating links with other groups, such as religious groups
Having specific goals, for example lobbying so that no slaughterhouse products are used in medicines (both a human rights and an animal rights issue)
Doing something that is simple, for example getting vegan options in the European parliament that would suit all religious groups
Getting animal welfare organisations to serve only vegan meals at their meetings, etc
Organising open meetings and talks where members of the public can attend at a central location in a big city
Getting board members and activists of other groups in the world together to discuss ideas
Creating a working group
Going to a country where the vegetarian organisation there is not as strong and the movement is very small, so that the EVU can support them
The complete report about the EVU-Talks 2008 is published in the EVU magazine.
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Category: The Songwriters
Dusty Springfield, “The Look of Love” and Late ’60s Movies
I’ve decided that I might as well rename this blog A Nostalgic Journey Through the Works of Burt Bacharach, January to December 1967, as yet again I have found myself troubled by a pesky earworm from that year. All day yesterday I had the first few lines of The Look of Love by Dusty Springfield going round and round in my head but wasn’t sure where it had come from. I was pretty sure I hadn’t heard it on the radio or on television but here I was yet again revisiting my seemingly favourite year and favourite composer.
The Look of Love, by Burt Bacharach and Hal David featured in the 1967 spoof James Bond film Casino Royale. Here is the scene in the movie where it appears and between Dusty’s husky vocals, the slow motion filming and the saxophone playing, Peter Sellers looks as if he is in for quite a time with Ursula Andress (the original Bond girl – Honey Ryder).
The Look of Love by Dusty Springfield:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/2-24-the-look-of-love.mp3
Of all the songs featured in this blog, 1967 is the year I seem to keep coming back to and after thinking about it a bit more I have come up with a few reasons as to why that might be happening.
First of all I was only six at the start of ’67, so most of my personal musical memories are from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s (post turn-of-the-millennium is still classed as “new” music for me). My point is, there are many songs from the ’60s that are still fresh for me, as I haven’t yet reached the tipping point of having heard them just once too often. (Sadly the exception to that rule is now the song Alfie – After undertaking this project I hope I never, ever, have to listen to it again.)
Secondly, when you are six (just like in the world of A.A. Milne) you have no exam, work, money or relationship worries, so none of the songs from that era conjure up any unpleasant memories. If you were lucky like me and came from a stable family where you were loved and taken care of, life was sweet – The days of teenage angst were far off in the future.
Thirdly (is that even a word), the radio stations I now listen to (briefly in the morning when I get up, and when in the car) generally play older music so I am much more likely to hear something by Burt Bacharach than by Tame Impala in the course of the day, setting off one of those pesky earworms (although to be fair not pesky in the case of this song, more pleasurable).
Fourth, I am truly amazed at the sheer number of musical sub-genres, and in the last couple of weeks alone I have covered songs from the sunshine pop, baroque pop and champagne soul camps. Burt’s music was apparently from the orchestral pop camp and of the many sub-genres out there, I think this is the one I warm to most. In the late ’60s plenty of other arrangers and producers were championing this style of music such as George Martin, Brian Wilson and John Barry (of Bond theme fame) so lots of great stuff to listen to.
And finally, the big one, in my youth I absolutely loved old ’60s movies like Casino Royale shown in the clip. There is a delay of a few years before films made for the big screen can be shown on television and I am guessing that this one, and the non-spoof Cubby Broccoli Bond movie You Only Live Twice, first made an appearance on British television in the early ’70s. Perhaps all was hunky dory where you lived but my memory of early ’70s Britain is that things were a bit grim and depressing. We had economic and political unrest, three-day weeks and power cuts. The clothes were all droopy (midi/maxi skirts and flared trousers) and came in a variety of shades of brown and beige. Compare all that to the brilliant colours and exotic locations shown in those comedic, technicolor movies from the ’60s and I know which era I wanted to live in, albeit vicariously.
Frank Frazetta poster
It is no coincidence that Peter Sellers popped up in the clip for The Look of Love – His output was prolific around that time and he had already starred in What’s New Pussycat? in 1965 and After The Fox in 1966, both films having title songs written by Bacharach and David. There can’t be many people who wouldn’t recognise Tom Jones’ version of What’s New Pussycat? but despite the fact that After The Fox by The Hollies (featuring Peter Sellers) is lesser known, it has now become one of my favourite Burt songs from that period. Again, when you listen to it, you just remember all those great films that usually had very funny cartoonised opening sequences and colourful movie posters designed by Frank Frazetta.
After The Fox by The Hollies (featuring Peter Sellers):
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/2-10-after-the-fox.mp3
So, “What’s It All About?” – After writing this post, I worked out how the song The Look Of Love became an earworm yesterday. It turns out that it is being used in a new advert for tinned soup! That’s another song ruined then, as from now on it won’t be associated with the husky sounds of Dusty Springfield, it will be associated with tinned tomato.
I wrote a while back about how advertising companies have worked out that if they use music from the era their target market turned 16, they will be putty in their hands and mindlessly buy anything on offer. In the case of this song, it looks as if all those recent retirees aged around 65 who eschew spending a fortune on designer soup in cartons, are about to have a purchasing frenzy, buying up all their favourite tinned soups from their youth. (Oxtail anyone? No me neither.)
Very clever marketing The Heinz Corporation, but for me, they have just ruined another classic song from the ’60s…… for all of us.
The Look of Love Lyrics
(Song by Burt Bacharach/Hal David)
Is in your eyes
The look your smile can’t disguise
Is saying so much more
Than just words could ever say
And what my heart has heard
Well it takes my breath away
I can hardly wait to hold you
Feel my arms around you
How long I have waited
Waited just to love you
Now that I have found you
You’ve got the look of love
It’s on your face
A look that time can’t erase
Be mine tonight
Let this be just the start
Of so many nights like this
Let’s take a lover’s vow
And then seal it with a kiss
Don’t ever go
Author AlysonPosted on October 9, 2016 May 13, 2018 Categories 1960s songs, Music from the Movies, The SongwritersTags After The Fox, Bacharach and David, Burt Bacharach, Casino Royale, Dusty Springfield, Peter Sellers, The Hollies, The Look Of Love, What's New Pussycat?4 Comments on Dusty Springfield, “The Look of Love” and Late ’60s Movies
Warm Winds, Burt Bacharach and “A House Is Not A Home”
Ahead of the onset of autumn, my plan for the weekend was, (perhaps foolishly, this being the north of Scotland) to organise an outdoors get-together for some good friends. Ever since writing about the England Dan & John Ford Coley song I’d Really Love To See You Tonight earlier in the year, I’ve been a tad obsessed with trying to recreate the ambiance it conjures up (there’s a warm wind blowing the stars around). This being Scotland it was never going to be easy as to see the stars it has to be dark, and earlier in the summer it barely gets dark at all. So, it really had to be right at the end of the season which meant there would be no warm winds, but if a fire was present at least there would be warmth. Other than a short shower of rain, when we conveniently decanted inside to eat, we were able to sit outside until midnight and although not many stars visible last night there was a lovely half-moon, so really pleased with my efforts.
Late summer in Scotland – waiting for the guests to arrive!
Another real treat was that I took my new portable turntable outside which meant rifling through the old vinyl from back in the day. Rediscovered a lot of records I had forgotten about that have not been replaced in digital format, so a real added bonus to the evening. After writing about Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head recently, and how the scene where it appears in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid contains most of the ingredients I consider important for creating “the perfect day”, last night’s get-together contained most of the ingredients for the “perfect evening”.
You would think that would have been enough for one evening but no, after the guests left and some tidying up had been done, we discovered a wonderful show on BBC4 called Burt Bacharach, A Life In Song. Anyone familiar with this blog will know that I’m a great fan of Burt’s music and especially the songs he wrote with Hal David. This show had been filmed three years ago when Burt was 85 and although it was sad to see him looking so frail and aged, he still rose to the challenge of leading his orchestra and guest singers in a celebration of his music.
It was one of those shows where between the songs, Burt was interviewed by Michael Grade, who quizzed him on all aspects of his very lengthy career. What I found really interesting was that near the end, Michael asked Burt what his favourite song was and it turned out to be Alfie – This was obviously a pleasant surprise. Sadly, because I think I’ve listened to the song once too often this year, I have now become a bit tired of it but it was interesting to note that Burt chose it because he considered Hal’s lyrics to be “important”. A few months back I came to this conclusion also. There are earlier important lyrics in the song but near the end there are the lines:
I believe in love, Alfie
Without true love we just exist, Alfie
Until you find the love you’ve missed
You’re nothing, Alfie
Early on in this process of looking back nostalgically via song, it became apparent that “What’s it all about?” was indeed love – First for our family as children, then for our best friends as teenagers and finally for the people we form relationships with on the way to finding that special person. If you are lucky enough to have children, that is perhaps the greatest love of all and one from which you have no escape, although your patience may be tested at times. There is the old adage that nobody on their deathbed has ever said “I wish I’d spent more time at the office”- It is all about the people you meet on the way. In music and song, the subject of love is never far away, and what a wonderful thing to have in the world (I’m in tears here).
Of course there are many versions of the song Alfie (and it ended up being the Cher version used for the film) but when pressed, Burt very carefully sidestepped the issue of which one he preferred. He did however refer to the now infamous footage of Cilla Black being harangued into recording 41 versions, which suggests it wasn’t her one!
Alfie by Cilla Black:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/1-10-alfie.mp3
But back to the show – When Burt was then asked what his second favourite song was, it turned out to be A House Is Not A Home. This show just kept getting better and better because earlier that evening, when getting ready for the party, I had thanked my lucky stars that due to circumstance we very much reside in a lived-in home as opposed to a show-house. I know that is not really the point of the song, but it had come to mind. By the time you reach your “middle-years” a lot of friends have invested heavily in their expensive, possibly cream-coloured furniture, fittings and floor coverings (the three Fs). All very nice but they are then terrified of ever hosting a social event in case anything gets spoilt or damaged. Having given up a good job when our daughter was born to be a stay-at-home mum, we’ve not had the luxury of constantly upgrading every few years – The upside of this however is that your house becomes a home, where the people in it are the most important thing and not the expensive furnishings. Our daughter’s friends were always welcome, pets were encouraged and social gatherings are a regular occurrence. I feel sorry in a way for those people trapped in the cycle of working so hard to buy all those lovely things that then can’t be enjoyed and shared, but hey, maybe that’s just me.
Yet again I have run out of words but I will end with a version of A House Is Not A Home from my collection which comes from the television show Glee, where it was sung very sweetly by the actor/singer Chris Colfer. I hadn’t really taken too much heed of the song until that point (previously recorded by Dionne Warwick, Brook Benton and many others) but it perfectly fitted the storyline and led me straight to iTunes after the show ended.
A House Is Not A Home by Chris Colfer:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/04-a-house-is-not-a-home-glee-cast-version1.mp3
So yet again I’m up far too late, just as happened last night when I was drawn to watching a late night show featuring Burt Bacharach. And of course this has been a very serious post, so apologies for that – I promise that a much more light-hearted one is to follow and it involves trousers. Watch this space.
A House Is Not A Home Lyrics
A chair is still a chair
Even when there’s no one sitting there
But a chair is not a house
And a house is not a home
When there’s no one there to hold you tight,
And no one there you can kiss good night.
A room is still a room
Even when there’s nothing there but gloom;
But a room is not a house,
When the two of us are far apart
And one of us has a broken heart.
Now and then I call your name
And suddenly your face appears
But it’s just a crazy game
When it ends it ends in tears.
Darling, have a heart,
Don’t let one mistake keep us apart.
I’m not meant to live alone. turn this house into a home.
When I climb the stair and turn the key,
Oh, please be there still in love with me.
Author AlysonPosted on September 11, 2016 May 13, 2018 Categories 1960s songs, 1990s songs, Television shows, The SongwritersTags A House Is Not A Home, Alfie, Bacharach and David, Burt Bacharach3 Comments on Warm Winds, Burt Bacharach and “A House Is Not A Home”
Alexander O’Neal, “Saturday Love” and Mix-Tapes
As is wont to happen, you sometimes start with a plan but then veer off in a different direction to what was originally intended. I started this blog right at the start of the year on the momentous day that David Bowie died. As my day job involves working pretty much exclusively with numbers, I felt in need of some writing practice and with a blog you have a good chance of sticking to the discipline of writing regularly.
But what to write about? Well for a long time I had thought it would be a good idea to write about those memories conjured up by a random piece of music heard in the course of the day. Like most of us, I have ended up letting my grandparents and even my own dad pass away without ever getting their stories down on paper and as I live what I would call an ordinary life, no-one was ever going to ask me to write an autobiography. Even ordinary lives have extra-ordinary moments however and it has been a bit of a joy recalling some of my special moments.
So for seven months now I have been merrily tapping away on whatever device is available and have found that it does become quite addictive. There is also the temptation to continually check on your “stats” only to find them disappointingly low considering you have just published something you think is pretty damned good. Feedback is a gift they say, and even if you are working on a pet project mainly for your own benefit, it can still make your day. But as time goes by, you can become a bit too focussed on the desire to get followers, likes and views and lose sight of why you started the thing in the first place!
Time to get back to what was originally intended therefore and not write for any particular audience other than myself – If anyone does read my posts and enjoys them that’s a bonus but not why I’m doing it. I have discovered some excellent blogs written by real music buffs and enjoy them a lot but the music I write about is really just an anchor for the memory and I would not profess to being an expert on any of it.
So if I were to go back to basics and pick a random piece of music to write about, what would that be right now? Well I have just switched on my iPhone which is sitting here beside me, and the song that randomly started playing on the music app was Saturday Love by American R&B star Alexander O’Neal. It was a hit in 1985 and was written by that incredibly successful songwriting team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis who also wrote for Janet Jackson, Usher, Boyz ll Men, TLC and many more.
Saturday Love by Alexander O’Neal & Cherelle:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/06-saturday-love.mp3
And that is why I think I stopped writing randomly – There is very little I have to say about this track other than that it was one of these smooth night-clubby numbers that I probably heard a lot whilst out with the girls in the mid-eighties (sporting big hair and earrings). I was never a particular fan of the ’80s night club however as it was all smoke and mirrors (literally) and not enough room for the serious business of dancing which is one of my passions. But then again it is a long time since dancehalls and night clubs have been for the sole purpose of dancing – No they have survived for decades for a very different purpose and I think we all know what that would be.
I think this is common to all girls but I do remember having quite a collection of mix-tapes made for me in the mid ’80s by potential beaus! Some of these tapes had fantastic collections of music on them and one had quite a few very seductive Alexander O’Neal tracks. Needless to say, when I met my future husband he was quite jealous of these “love letters in song” and tried to compete by making his own. Sadly he had sold most of his record collection to pay for essentials (like food) when he was a student so didn’t have a great base to work from. His answer was to use my record collection and although it was a really lovely thought, it’s just not the same when a mix-tape is compiled from your own well-loved, but well-worn, tracks. As it turns out we are still together all these years later and I hear him working away on his latest DIY project as I type, so the secret of a long-lasting marriage is obviously not the quality of the mix-tape, just perhaps, it’s the quality of the DIY!
Saturday Love lyrics
(Song by Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis)
I didn’t think I was
Going to see you again
See you haven’t changed
It’s good to see you anyway
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Thursday, Friday, Saturday love
My feelings can’t explain
Why after all this time
My heart still feels pain
Like no one before
You’ll stay on my mind
Always so special
(I was yours and you were mine)
(All the good I won’t forget)
You will stay on my mind
(Saturday, the day we met)
Author AlysonPosted on August 15, 2016 March 14, 2018 Categories 1980s songs, Break-up songs, The SongwritersTags Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Saturday Love5 Comments on Alexander O’Neal, “Saturday Love” and Mix-Tapes
Petula Clark, “Don’t Sleep In The Subway” and The Music of 1967
Yesterday’s foray into the musical output of Andy Williams, has reminded me of some of those other great songs from the 1960s. Turns out that many hits from that era were recorded by a whole host of other artists and Petula Clark often released songs previously recorded by Mr Williams.
A good few years ago after discovering iTunes, we went a bit mad revisiting the “tracks of our years” and probably down to the nostalgia element of remembering happy times as a child with my family, I ended up purchasing quite a few songs from 1967, which was probably the first year I really started to take heed of anything from the world of grown-up music. One of these songs was Don’t Sleep In The Subway by Petula Clark simply because it summed up the sound of my 1960s. The whole hippy thing was happening on the West Coast of America but flower power and psychedelia definitely didn’t come to my Scottish village so the kind of music listened to by families like mine, who watched mainstream television, came from people like Pet Clark, Cilla, Dusty, Lulu and The Seekers. The song was written by Tony Hatch (along with his wife Jackie Trent) and the relationship he had with Petula was likened to the one between Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick. They also worked together on Downtown, I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love and The Other Man’s Grass Is Always Greener.
Don’t Sleep In The Subway by Petula Clark:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/05-dont-sleep-in-the-subway.mp3
Listening to this song again, it is about a couple having a “domestic” so not really the jaunty, upbeat number I had always considered it to be. There are a few lyrics in there that I find vaguely amusing and don’t quite fit the rhythm of the music (’cause it hurts when your ego is deflated, um-m-um-um-um-um) but I don’t profess to be an expert at this kind of thing and it did sell an awful lot of records so who am I to pick holes?
As a matter of interest, a couple of the other songs I purchased from that year were Georgy Girl by The Seekers and To Sir With Love by Lulu. Neither of the films that these songs came from were about particularly jaunty, upbeat topics either but they are still great songs, so well worth another listen.
Georgy Girl by The Seekers:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/07-georgy-girl.mp3
To Sir With Love by Lulu:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/08-to-sir-with-love.mp3
As it turns out my rose-coloured spectacles regarding the 1960s were severely tested this week as I watched the 1966 Ken Loach television play Cathy Come Home starring Carol White and Ray Brooks. It was a landmark piece of broadcasting at the time and told the harrowing story of an initially happy young couple with children, who due to unfortunate circumstances suffer the trauma of unemployment, poverty and homelessness. It was filmed in a doumentary-style which made it all the more poignant but for me the worst aspect was that fifty years on, many young couples with children still suffer the same problems today. It does sadden me that although we have made amazing advances in certain aspects of life (having the technology to amuse ourselves with all this malarkey), we still have people sleeping in subways, and that just can’t be right.
Getting too maudlin now so will leave it there for today but realising as I revisit the tracks of my years, that those seemingly happy, up-tempo songs often told a very different tale, and one which I am only now appreciating.
Don’t Sleep in the Subway Lyrics
(Song by Tony Hatch/Jackie Trent)
You wander around
on your own little cloud
when you don’t see the why
or the wherefore
Ooh, you walk out on me
when we both disagree
’cause to reason is not what you care for
I’ve heard it all a million times before
Take off your coat, my love, and close the door
Don’t sleep in the subway, darlin’
Don’t stand in the pouring rain
The night is long
Forget your foolish pride
Nothing’s wrong,
now you’re beside me again
You try to be smart
then you take it apart
’cause it hurts when your ego is deflated
um-m-um-um-um-um
You don’t realise
that it’s all compromise
and the problems are so over-rated
Good-bye means nothing when it’s all for show
So why pretend you’ve somewhere else to go?
Author AlysonPosted on August 6, 2016 September 2, 2018 Categories 1960s songs, Music from the Movies, The SongwritersTags 1960s songs, Cathy Come Home, Don't Sleep in the Subway, Georgy Girl, Lulu, Petula Clark, The Seekers, To Sir With Love, Tony Hatch, Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent5 Comments on Petula Clark, “Don’t Sleep In The Subway” and The Music of 1967
Katie Melua, Mike Batt and “Nine Million Bicycles”
Last time I wrote about the great punk-rock beauty Debbie Harry. Roll forward to the mid noughties and another rare beauty came along in the form of Katie Melua. Although born in Georgia (the former Soviet Republic one) she had moved to Northern Ireland with her family as a child, before heading across to London to attend the BRIT school in her late teens. She has been one of its most successful attendees along with the late Amy Winehouse and of course Adele.
Unlike Debbie Harry however, Katie did not give us punk attitude, instead she gave us…… Really annoying lyrics! I have written before about songs that I had hitherto quite enjoyed because I had never really listened to the lyrics properly (Rupert Holmes’ Pina Colada song – grrr) but it didn’t take long at all for some of Katie’s songs to really grate.
Exhibit A – Nine Million Bicycles which charted in September 2005. I know I am probably being pedantic here but every time I heard her sing about “the fact”, “the thing we just couldn’t deny” (those nine million bicycles traversing the streets of Beijing), I kind of had to say to myself – Really? Could it not possibly be nine and a half million, or perhaps a bit less than nine million now that car ownership has risen? But no, Katie was emphatic in her song that nine million was the exact number.
Nine Million Bicycles by Katie Melua:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/02-nine-million-bicycles.mp3
Of course we then get on to the next verse and now she tells us that “we are twelve billion light years from the edge” but that “it was a guess and no-one could ever say if that was true”. As it turns out they could, and no, it wasn’t true. Cosmologist Simon Singh took to writing an article for the Guardian pointing out that scientists had pretty much worked out after much research and careful measurement that the universe was actually 13.7 billion years old. A playful spat ensued with Katie re-recording the song with this new information contained within – Needless to say it wasn’t a howling success and both parties had a bit of a laugh about it and agreed that a modicum of poetic license was needed for the song to work, but just shows how hot under the collar we can get when faced with incorrect facts.
I put it all down to the “fact” that the song was written by Mike Batt who despite massive success in many different strands of the music industry will, for me, always be “Head Womble”. There can be no-one of my age who will not have occasionally dipped into an episode of The Wombles on television after coming home from school in the afternoon. They were way ahead of their time with all their recycling, now part of our modern day lives, but back in the 1970s a bit of a novelty and a cue for entertainment.
When Mike Batt got the job of writing the theme song for the animated show, rather than accept a flat fee he chose to acquire the character rights for The Wombles and formed a pop group, releasing a string of top-selling singles and albums between 1973 and 1975. Must have been very hot work “Wombling Free” around BBC Television Centre but quite liberating, as the costumes could be worn by whoever was available on the day. It turns out this was often members of Steeleye Span or the guitarist Chris Spedding (he of Motor Bikin’ fame) whom Mike worked with frequently.
So when Mike discovered Katie in the mid noughties, I think he was so thrown by her amazing beauty that his old Wombling song-writing skills momentarily left him and he put together odd lyrics juxtaposing “facts about love” with erroneous “scientific facts”.
Just one more bone of contention however about a line from the song before I move on – Katie sang about how she would “never tire of the love she would be given every night”. Written by a man indeed as I don’t know of any of my female friends, however happy with their other halves, who would not tire of being given love every night! Sometimes a mug of cocoa and a good book is all that is required – Just sayin’…..
Nine Million Bicycles Lyrics
(Song by Mike Batt)
There are nine million bicycles in Beijing
That’s a fact,
It’s a thing we can’t deny
Like the fact that I will love you till I die.
We are twelve billion light years from the edge,
That’s a guess,
No-one can ever say it’s true
But I know that I will always be with you.
I’m warmed by the fire of your love everyday
So don’t call me a liar,
Just believe everything that I say
There are six billion people in the world
and it makes me feel quite small
But you’re the one I love the most of all
We’re high on the wire
With the world in our sight
And I’ll never tire,
Of the love that you give me every night
Postscipt:
And in case anyone can’t remember how much fun it was to be a Womble in 1974, here is a clip from Top Of The Pops to remind you (just try to avert your eyes from Noel Edmonds’ revealing shirt and medallion during the introduction). All members present and correct I think – Orinoco, Madame Cholet, Great Uncle Bulgaria, Wellington and Tobermory. Didn’t even have to look it up, such is the power of a childhood memory.
Author AlysonPosted on July 5, 2016 February 22, 2018 Categories 1970s songs, 2000s songs, Television shows, The SongwritersTags Katie Melua, Mike Batt, Nine Million Bicycles, The Wombles1 Comment on Katie Melua, Mike Batt and “Nine Million Bicycles”
Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb and an American Trilogy
I hope I haven’t caused confusion – Yes Elvis Presley recorded the song An American Trilogy in 1972 and it became a bit of a showstopper for him when performed during the massive event that was “Elvis—Aloha from Hawaii” broadcast in 1973. But no, the songs I want to revisit today are the three Jimmy Webb compositions recorded by Glen Campbell in the late ’60s.
In the UK at that time London was “Swinging” and we were listening to Sandie Shaw, Cliff Richard and Lulu, but in the USA, the average “Easy-Listening” aficionado would have been enjoying Glen Campbell. He was now in his early thirties and had served his apprenticeship in the music industry working first with his uncle in Albuquerque and then by moving to LA to work as a Wrecking Crew session musician with some of the biggest artists of the day. He even became a Beach Boy for a short while, filling in for the man himself, Brian Wilson, on one particular tour. He definitely has the look of a Beach Boy about him and I can just imagine him in his twenties sporting the short-sleeved stripy shirt that was their trademark.
In 1967 he recorded By The Time I Get To Phoenix, in 1968 it was Wichita Lineman and in 1969 Galveston. I have just revisited a map of the Southwest USA and these places are in Arizona, Kansas and Texas respectively. Glen himself was from Arkansas (born in a town called Delight – lovely) and went on to star in the western True Grit, so he was the perfect choice for this material. Elvis was ultimately a man for all of the USA but Glen was the man for these country-music-loving states. Each artist had their own American trilogy, and Glen had these three songs.
By The Time I Get To Phoenix by Glen Campbell:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/19-by-the-time-i-get-to-pheonix.mp3
I have written about Jimmy Webb before as he also wrote MacArthur Park, successful twice in the charts but with lyrics universally regarded as a bit bizarre. The song used the “cake left out in the rain” metaphor to symbolise the wasted demise of a relationship. With By The Time I Get To Phoenix, here he was again apparently inspired by the same break-up, but this time with much less bizarre lyrics. The timings of his journey across the country are tight, but at a push it turns out the timeline is possible, not that I would recommend trying. Best not to split up in the first place – Just sayin’.
Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/3-17-wichita-lineman.mp3
And so we move on to song number two – Wichita Lineman tells the tale of a blue-collar worker in the heart of prairie country, alone with his thoughts. Again Jimmy was inspired by a relationship that had not turned out well for him so that’s three songs now we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy had his love-life run smoothly. Moving on to the third song, Galveston, the story-telling this time is about a soldier about to go into battle who is thinking of his hometown and the girl he left behind. Written in 1969 it was perceived to be an anti-war song but the inspiration was supposedly a soldier from the Spanish-American war and not the Vietnam war – Perhaps, but a third beautifully put together song featuring a place name in the title.
Live version of Wichita Lineman/Galveston/Country Boy (You’ve Got Your Feet in LA) by Glen Campbell:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/03-wichita-lineman-galveston-country-boy-you_ve-got-your-feet.mp3
I don’t quite know why, but I just love these story-telling American songs featuring place names. Probably because they just wouldn’t work over here. Substitute Phoenix for Felixstowe, Wichita for Widnes or Galveston for Galashiels and the romance is lost. As for 24 Hours From Tulsa, you are never 24 hours from anywhere in Britain unless you have had the misfortune to suffer multiple delays on public transport. Show Me The Way To Amarillo or Show Me The Way To Aberystwyth – I know which one I’d go for. San Jose or Sandbach – It’s a no-brainer.
Yes, it looks as if I have indeed been brain-washed from years of watching American films and television, and listening to all these great songs. As the GI Brides discovered however, when they went stateside after the end of the war with their new husbands, all that glittered was not gold and many found that the deprivations of war, experienced in a small terraced house in Britain, were nothing compared to life in a wooden shack in the Smokey Mountains. But it’s all relative and I am sure that the tourists who flock to my neck of the woods in summer just love songs with our place-names in the title – I did write about Runrig’s live version of the traditional song Loch Lomond a while back and I expect that the Caledonian Societies of North America feel the same way about that song as I do about Galveston.
One last thing – I did consider calling the appreciation of these songs a “guilty pleasure” but have decided against using that term any more. They are indeed a pleasure, so why feel guilty about it? I have always been a fan of music from the easy-listening camp and have had to tell some porkies in my time to explain the ownership or purchase of such material. But why does music always have to be difficult? It boils down to the fact that we never want to feel embarrassed in front of our “cool” friends. No more of this nonsense I say, be loud and proud about what you enjoy and I am pretty sure that if they were being perfectly honest, our “cool” friends would agree with many of our choices.
Wichita Lineman Lyrics
(Song by Jimmy Webb)
I am a lineman for the county and I drive the main road
Searchin’ in the sun for another overload
I hear you singin’ in the wire, I can hear you through the whine
And the Wichita Lineman is still on the line
I know I need a small vacation but it don’t look like rain
And if it snows that stretch down south won’t ever stand the strain
And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
Author AlysonPosted on June 4, 2016 April 16, 2018 Categories 1960s songs, Break-up songs, The SongwritersTags By The Time I Get To Pheonix, Galveston, Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb, Wichita Lineman3 Comments on Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb and an American Trilogy
Student Life, Carole King and “It’s Too Late”
Following on from my last post, I mentioned that 1979 was my last disco-dancing year as around that time I met a boy and morphed into a full late-70s student. We dressed in interesting clothes from charity shops (they weren’t called vintage in those days), hung around dingy bars and listened to “The Songs of Leonard Cohen” (in between attending lectures of course). Looking back, the tracks of my years had up until then, revolved around what was on Top of The Pops, what was played on BBC Radio 1 and the music from film soundtracks so this was a whole new branch of music that I hadn’t really experienced before. Artists like Cohen didn’t release singles that would appear in a chart show run-down, but whole albums of songs to be listened to late at night, in a soporific condition with preferably, a significant other.
Also, the great thing about meeting a boy who flat-shared with an older brother, was that you immediately had access to their record collection as well. Being of the opposite sex and having a few more years’ worth of vinyl, his collection was vastly different to my own and so it came about, that in late 1979 I discovered and formed a relationship with Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Mr Cohen mentioned above, and last but not least, Carole King.
One of the albums we listened to a lot at that time was “Tapestry” which had been Album of the Year in 1972 and went on to sell over 15 million copies. I wasn’t that familiar with Carole King until this time but a lot of the tracks on the album were indeed familiar, as she had been part of that amazing team of Brill Building songwriters who prolifically churned out songs for ’60s artists such as Aretha Franklin and The Shirelles. She wrote, or co-wrote, all of the songs on Tapestry and in doing so created a truly amazing body of work, most of the songs becoming standards in their own right. I think my favourite is It’s Too Late, a really sad song about the end of a relationship and of course by this time King’s marriage to Gerry Goffin, her songwriting partner and high school sweetheart was over, so bittersweet. Interesting also that during this intensely successful period of her career, Carole King had moved to Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles and was hanging out with the likes of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. I have mentioned Laurel Canyon before in relation to The Eagles, Jackson Brown and Linda Ronstadt – Must have been quite a place back in the day.
It’s Too Late by Carole King:
https://jukeboxtimemachine.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/its-too-late.mp3
Not really a coincidence that it’s Tapestry I’m writing about today however – I noticed earlier on social media that it’s the 45th Anniversary of its release. Any artist releasing an album today will have to wait until the year 2061 to celebrate the same anniversary. What will our world be like then? Who knows but I am optimistic that good music will still be around and perhaps we may still enjoy listening to the dulcet tones of Carole King, and Tapestry!
It’s Too Late Lyrics
(Song by Carole King/Toni Stern)
Stayed in bed all morning just to pass the time
There’s something wrong here, there can be no denying
One of us is changing, or maybe we’ve just stopped trying
And it’s too late baby, it’s too late
Though we really did try to make it
Something inside has died and I can’t hide
And I just can’t fake it
It used to be so easy living here with you
You were light and breezy and I knew just what to do
Now you look so unhappy and I feel like a fool
There’ll be good times again for me and you
But we just can’t stay together, don’t you feel it too
Still I’m glad for what we had, and how I once loved you
Author AlysonPosted on February 10, 2016 November 20, 2018 Categories 1970s songs, Break-up songs, The SongwritersTags Carole King, Gerry Goffin, It's Too Late Baby, Leonard Cohen, TapestryLeave a comment on Student Life, Carole King and “It’s Too Late”
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In 1933, Peter Soo Hoo became interested in building a new and more representative Chinatown as the construction of Union Station came near. At the time, George Eastman planned a new Chinatown with the support of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the City Council. His plan included shops, restaurants, a temple, a theater, gardens, and plazas in a Chinese architectural motif but was too costly to implement. As buildings and businesses in Old Chinatown were brought down and closed for the construction of Union Station, some Chinese headed to the City Market Chinatown. Peter Soo Hoo Jr. stated, “When the merchants in Old Chinatown had orders to move out to make room for the Union Terminal, they did not know what to do … They were handicapped by lack of finances and because of the uncertainty of knowing where to go.”
On the 22nd of April 1937, the Los Angeles Chinatown Project Association and a number of guests and leading citizens including Peter Soo Hoo Sr. met with Herbert Lapham at the old Tuey Far Low Restaurant. The Los Angeles Chinatown Project Association planned fundraising, site acquisition, design, and construction. Money was raised among the Chinese Americans without bank financing or loans. No land acquisition or construction could proceed without the up-front collection of all required funds. Erle Webster and Adrian Wilson were the architects and the goal was to build sixty-two units over one square block. Three groups of buildings were constructed along Gin Ling Way for the initial phase of the project.
On the 25th of June 1938, Los Angeles’ New Chinatown opened. By 1939, Y.C. Hong had completed his buildings and the East Gate. At about the time, the Seven Star Sacred Caverns and the wishing pool were completed. On the week of the 16th of January 1939, New Chinatown held its Chinese New Year celebration with a press reception at Forbidden Palace. The Mei Wah Girls Drill Team, led by Barbara Jean Wong performed in the parade. The mall developed by Y.C. Hong averaged twenty thousand visitors a week by the second anniversary. The Moon Festival was held on early August 1941 as a fundraiser between new Chinatown, Old Chinatown, and China City to raise funds for war relief in China. Peter Soo Hoo Sr. stated at the time that the Chinese American community’s desire was “to erect a cultural as well as a commercial center for the purpose of augmenting their [Chinese American] social and business life … They want to erase once and for all the erroneous idea that a Chinatown is necessarily a part of the underworld.” [1]
As the communities surrounding City Market Chinatown and East Adams grew, two other Chinese American communities took shape in the shadows of the newly built Union Station. One of these communities, New Chinatown, was the product of a group of Chinese American business leaders headed by Peter SooHoo. SooHoo was an American-born employee of the Department of Water and Power, who had graduated from USC. His fluency in both English and Chinese allowed him to negotiate the difficult racial terrain of pre-war Los Angeles in ways that his immigrant colleagues could not. The New Chinatown he and other community leaders opened in 1938 was in stark contrast to the dirt roads and tenement housing that characterized much of Old Chinatown. These Chinese American merchants and business leaders had a vision of creating a Chinatown that would be clean, well lit, and that could attract tourists from outside the community.
The other new community built near Union Station was dubbed China City. The product of Christine Sterling, the entrepreneur who had brought the city Olvera Street, China City opened the same year as New Chinatown. Featuring stores run by local Chinese, China City also attempted to capitalize on potential tourist dollars. With buildings modeled after the set of the Hollywood blockbuster the Good Earth and featuring outdoor Chinese performances and rickshaw rides, the vision of Chinese American community created by Sterling was in stark contrast to that presented by New Chinatown. Despite its movie set feel, China City provided a valuable sense of real community to the many Chinese Americans who worked there.
[1] Quoted in Edwin R. Bingham, “The Saga of the Los Angeles Chinese.”
(Master’s Thesis, Occidental College, 1942), 155.
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Category Archives: Raksha Bandhan
Raksha Bandhan, (the bond of protection) or Rakhi, is a festival primarily observed in India, which celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters. It is also called Rakhi Purnima in most of India.[1][2] It is also celebrated in some parts of Pakistan.[3] The festival is observed by Hindus, Sikhs and some Muslims. The central ceremony involves the tying of a rakhi (sacred thread) by a sister on her brother’s wrist. This symbolizes the sister’s love and prayers for her brother’s well-being, and the brother’s lifelong vow to protect her. The festival falls on the full moon day (Shravan Poornima) of the Shravan month of the Hindu lunisolar calendar.[7][9][10][11] It grew in popularity after Rani Karnavati, the widowed queen of Chittor, sent a rakhi to the Mughal emperor Humayun when she required his help.
The festival is marked by the tying of a rakhi, or holy thread, which comes in many colors and designs, by the sister on the wrist of her brother. The brother in return offers a gift to his sister and vows to look after her as she presents sweets to him. The brother usually presents his sister with an envelope filled with money however, other presents such as saris and clothing can be given. The brother and sister traditionally feed one another sweets. These sweets include anything from Jalebi, Kaju Katli, and Burfi. Since north Indian kinship practices give cousins a status similar to siblings, girls and women often tie the rakhi to their male cousins as well (referred to as “cousin-brothers” in regional parlance) in several communities.[12][13] Unrelated boys and men who are considered to be brothers (munh-bola bhai or adopted brothers) can be tied rakhis, provided they commit to a lifelong obligation to provide protection to the woman or girl.
Historical occurrences and mentions
Krishna and Draupadi
Another incident from the epic Mahabharat concerns Krishna and Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas. She had once torn a strip of silk off her sari and tied it around Krishna’s wrist to staunch the bleeding from a battlefield wound. Krishna was touched by her action and declared her to be his sister, even though they were unrelated. He promised to repay the debt and then spent the next 25 years doing just that. Draupadi, in spite of being married to five great warriors and being a daughter of a powerful monarch, trusted and depended wholly on Krishna. Krishna repaid the debt of love during the “Cheer-Haran” (literally “clothing-removing”) of Draupadi, which occurred in the assembly of King Dhritarashtra when Yudhisthira lost her to the Kauravas in gambling. At that time, Krishna indefinitely extended her saree through divine intervention, so it could not be removed, to save her honor. This is how he honored his rakhi vow towards Draupadi.[15]
King Bali and Goddess Laxmi
According to a legend the Demon King Bali was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu had taken up the task to guard his kingdom leaving his own abode in Vaikunth. Goddess Lakshmi wished to be with her lord back in her abode. She went to Bali disguised as a woman to seek refuge till her husband came back.
During the Shravan Purnima celebrations, Lakshmi tied the sacred thread to the King. Upon being asked, she revealed who she was and why she was there. The king was touched by her goodwill for his family and her purpose and requested the Lord to accompany her. He sacrificed all he had for the Lord and his devoted wife.
Thus devotion to the Lord. It is said that since then it has been a tradition to invite sisters in Shravan Purnima for the thread tying ceremony or the Raksha Bandhan.
Alexander the Great and King Puru
According to one legendary narrative, when Alexander the Great invaded India in 326 BC, Roxana (or Roshanak, his wife) sent a sacred thread to Porus, asking him not to harm her husband in battle. In accordance with tradition, Porus, a Katoch king, gave full respect to the rakhi. On the battlefield, when Porus was about to deliver a final blow to Alexander, he saw the rakhi on his own wrist and restrained himself from attacking Alexander personally.
Rani Karnavati and Emperor Humayun
A popular narrative that is centered around Rakhi is that of Rani Karnavati of Chittor and Mughal Emperor Humayun, which dates to 1535 CE. When Rani Karnavati, the widowed queen of the king of Chittor, realised that she could not defend against the invasion by the Sultan of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, she sent a Rakhi to Emperor Humayun. Touched, the Emperor immediately set off with his troops to defend Chittor.[18] Humayun arrived too late, and Bahadur Shah managed to sack the Rani’s fortress. Karnavati, along with a reported 13,000 other women in the fortress, carried out Jauhar on March 8, 1535, killing themselves to avoid dishonor while the men threw the gates open and rode out on a suicidal charge against Bahadur Shah’s troops.[19][20] When he reached Chittor, Humayun evicted Bahadur Shah from fort and restored the kingdom to Karnavati’s son, Vikramjit Singh.[19] Although contemporary commentators and memoirs do not mention the Rakhi episode and some historians have expressed skepticism about it, it is mentioned in one mid-seventeenth century Rajasthani account.
Posted in Raksha Bandhan
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Keep Our NHS Public Cornwall
KONP Updates Part 2
Monitor could be asked to examine £350m contract. A decision by NHS England to hand more than half of the country’s PET-CT imaging services to one company could be the subject of a formal complaint to market regulator Monitor, HSJ has learned. News of the potential complaint comes after the government was asked in the Commons to reassure MPs that no “undue influence” was brought to bear over the £350m contract. The decision in January to award all four regional lots to Alliance Medical sparked fears over the long term impact of the decision on competition. Concerns have also been expressed by another provider over the near “monopoly” Alliance Medical will have over the provision of PET-CT services in England for the next 10 years, as well as the majority control of production and supply of a radioactive drug known as FDG, which is vital to the PET-CT imaging process. HSJ understands Siemens Healthcare, which is the only other producer of FDG in England after Alliance took control of two other companies in 2013-14, is taking legal advice over the decision by NHS England. The company was not a bidder in the PET-CT imaging tender but could be heavily affected by NHS England’s decision.
http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/monitor-could-be-asked-to-examine-350m-contract/5082877.article?blocktitle=News&contentID=15303#.VPliDOFRI80
Lancet condemns NHS for creating ‘culture of fear’ in wake of scandals. NHS reforms introduced following the disclosure of serious failings at the Mid-Staffordshire Trust have left staff feeling fearful of persecution, according to a respected medical journal. The stinging editorial in the Lancet criticises the NHS’ efforts to rebuild the reputation of the health service following a string of high profile scandals. The journal has taken the unusual step of publishing its own manifesto for health ahead of May’s general election. The article says: “The regulatory regime created in the aftermath of Bristol, Shipman, and most recently mid Staffordshire, has created a culture of blame, fear, and intimidation in the UK’s health system.” “Instead of regulation being a means to bring the best out of our health professionals, it is used as a tool to threaten, punish, and harm. The conditions we have created for health professionals in the NHS mean that few people are cherished. “Instead, they are seen as problems to be managed. An obsession with inspection has also blinded us from thinking about health as more than a health-sector issue.” The piece has been timed to create maximum impact ahead of the election, even carrying a distinctive ‘Election UK 2015’ logo, complete with a stylised ballot. An NHS England source said: “It’s a very interesting article. The bit that focusses on the regulatory regime, it’s the Government that sets that up. For us its business as usual, we deliver what’s set out by the Government. There should be an NHS voice in this. But as for why things are the way they are that’s Government policy.” The editorial calls for a more open-minded approach to the issues facing the NHS, demanding “immediate action to improve the interface between general and emergency medicine”, describing the current situation as “atrociously poor”.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11451716/Lancet-condemns-NHS-for-creating-culture-of-fear-in-wake-of-scandals.html
Focus on targets in NHS poses threat to patient care, says thinktank. A “targets and terror” approach to ensure large hospital A&E departments in England treat, admit or discharge 95% of patients within four hours may undermine their care, a former senior NHS official has said. The micro-management culture within the NHS and Department of Health coupled with increasingly tight budgets will hasten the point at which entire urgent care system reaches breaking point, says Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust thinktank. Senior managers in hospitals are so busy collecting information on how they are doing each week to satisfy regulators, NHS bosses, health commissioners and politicians that they are not sorting problems on their own frontline, Edwards and two co-authors claim in a briefing paper. Major A&Es have not hit the 95% mark since summer 2013 despite all the attention paid to weekly figures in recent months, they say. But emphasis on the four-hour measure distorts the picture of how big hospitals are doing in the face of a 12% increase in attendances at their A&E units and a 27% increase in emergency admissions in a decade. The A&E rise is “entirely in line with what would be expected based on population growth”, according to the paper, which warns that 17,000 extra hospital beds could be needed by 2022 unless more could be done to treat people outside hospital. The NHS response was based “on the anxiety of the hierarchy rather than on the care of patients and the flow of patients through the system”, it said.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/06/focus-targets-threat-care-nhs-patients-thinktank
Hospital Doctor News
Extra A&E funding didn’t reach the frontline. Only 1% of the £700m allocated by the government was spent on staff or other resources in their emergency departments. This is the key finding of research by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine which surveyed 142 clinical leaders in emergency medicine across the UK – representing about two thirds of emergency medicine units. Off the back of the survey, the college has released a report – called Ignoring the Prescription – which finds that implementation of recommendations to reduce the A&E crisis has been patchy at best. Last year, four medical royal colleges and many other organisations met to discuss how to make the urgent and emergency care system more resilient. Their report Acute and emergency care – prescribing the remedy was published in June and was welcomed by the NHS confederation and the Department of Health in England. But progress has been slow despite an additional cash injection of £700m. Less than half of EDs in the UK have fully implemented co-located primary care out-of-hours facilities. Less than a third of departments have an appropriate skill mix and workforce in place to deal with their patient volumes and case mix. It also finds that more than half of departments are not assisted by senior decision makers from in-patient teams at times of peak activity. The College concludes that a combination of failure to implement consensus recommendations coupled with the failure to invest allocated monies in frontline services has led to extraordinary winter pressures which were largely avoidable.
http://www.hospitaldr.co.uk/blogs/our-news/extra-funding-for-emergency-units-didnt-reach-the-frontline
Lancaster Guardian
Sneaky way to privatise. Greater Manchester to control £6bn NHS budget – Greater Manchester is to become the first English region to get full control of its health spending, as part of an extension of devolved powers. Chancellor George Osborne said the £6bn health and social care budget would be taken over by the region’s councils and health groups. Mr Osborne said it was a “really exciting development”. A Labour spokesman said NHS workers would “want to be persuaded of the case for a new layer of management”. The plan will come into force from April 2016. Mr Osborne added: “This is what the NHS wants to see as part of its own future. And it’s also about giving people in Manchester greater control over their own affairs in that city, which is central to our vision of the ‘northern powerhouse’, so it’s a very exciting development.” The plan would see local leaders, and ultimately Greater Manchester’s new directly elected mayor, control how budgets are allocated. The government hopes integrating health and social care services will ease pressure on hospitals and help to improve home care services for patients who need it. A shadow Greater Manchester Health and Wellbeing board will be appointed, which will work closely with existing clinical commissioning groups of GPs. The board is expected to run from April, before control of the budget is handed over a year later. Manchester City Council confirmed 10 local authorities, 12 clinical commissioning groups, 14 NHS partners, NHS England and the government are in discussions on a “groundbreaking agreement for health and social care”. What will happen if Greater Manchester over-spends? And if this ‘Grandiose Plan for the NHS’ is extended to other parts of the UK, who will provide health care, should Greater Manchester, other Health Trusts run out of money? Therefore it begs the question, does it not, that I firmly believe is this – privatisation of the NHS by the back door by the Tory Party, and the only people to benefit will be NHS consultants, GPs and medical manufacturers; and also not forgetting MPs, who will, no doubt, have their snouts in the trough with ‘interested parties’. Therefore, may I respectfully suggest that if David Cameron MP is elected Prime Minister in May will he please confirm his Electoral Pledge of many years ago – ‘that the NHS is totally safe in Tory hands’.
http://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/letters-opinion/sneaky-way-to-privatise-1-7140776
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The Daily Talking Points
August 5, 2010 Eli Clifton 2 Comments
News and Views Relevant to U.S.-Iran relations for August 5th, 2010:
Washington Post: Columnist David Ignatius sat in on a journalists’ session with President Barack Obama. Obama related that he was ready to resume negotiations with Iran over the nuclear issues as well as the situation in Afghanistan, albeit on different diplomatic tracks. Background briefers from the administration who followed Obama’s chat with reporters said the renewed U.S. enthusiasm for talks is due to an intelligence perception that, as Ignatius put it, sanctions are “beginning to bite” and that Iran may be having technical troubles with it’s nuclear program, therefore buying time for diplomacy. Obama restated his policy that he is not opposed to a peaceful Iranian nuclear program so long as there are “confidence-building measures” that show there are no moves towards weaponization.
The Atlantic: Marc Ambinder was in the same session with Ignatius, and posted a lengthy account to his blog. Obama said that if “national pride” doesn’t allow Iran to give up an alleged nuclear weapons program, then there will be a “cost.” The use of “all options available to us to prevent a nuclear arms race in the region and to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran,” Ambinder reports Obama as saying, pointing out that this is a euphemism for military strikes. Obama also spoke frankly about his difficulties getting Russia and China on board for sanctions, but said that the Iranians were “surprised by how successful” the U.S. push for international sanctions has been. Ambinder quoted an unnamed senior official who acknowledged that Obama intends to pursue a dual track in dealings with Iran: “Given the technical problems they’re running into, I think we have time to play out the diplomatic strategy that the president laid out, both engagement and pressure.”
The Atlantic: Jeffery Goldberg was also in on the surprise presidential briefing (Obama’s presence was not announced in advance). Goldberg interprets the session as a “victory lap” for the U.S.’s effectiveness in passing sanctions, but remains personally skeptical that they will work to dissuade Iran from its nuclear program. In his interpretation of Obama’s mention of “all options” remaining available, Goldberg writes, “There is no chance Obama will take the military option off the table; there is a small chance, in my opinion, that he would one day resort to the use of military force against Iran’s nuclear facilities.” Goldberg also notes that, despite Obama’s upbeat presentation, negotiations might not work both because, “one of the pillars of Islamic Republic theology is anti-Americanism,” and because the Iranian leadership has effectively suppressed the opposition Green Movement, removing a threat from within that might have caused the regime there to bend to economic pressure.
Commentary: On the Contentions blog, Max Boot picks up on Goldberg’s skepticism (quoting him at length) and lambastes the notion of a “victory lap.” Boot blames Obama for the intransigence of the Iranian leadership in negotiations thus far, proclaiming that they won’t deal “especially because Obama continues to talk of his burning desire to strike a deal with the mullahs, which only encourages their sense of invulnerability.” Boot suggests that negotiations should be abandoned because three decades of dealing with Iran have demonstrated that “that the mullahs aren’t misunderstood moderates who are committed to “peaceful co-existence.”
Washington Post: The Washington Post published an unsigned editorial which appears to echo the recent White House talking points which were also mentioned by Geoffrey Goldberg, Marc Ambinder and Max Boot. Obama is eager to show that the multilateral sanctions for which he finally gained Chinese and Russian support in June are bearing fruit. But the Post’s editorial was quick to mention that “all options” are still on the table. “Yet, as Mr. Obama acknowledged, Iran is still pursuing nuclear weapons,” and “changing their calculations is very difficult. . . . It may be that their ideological commitment to nuclear weapons is such that they are not making a cost-benefit analysis,” the president said. That, he added, is why the administration continues to say that “all options” for stopping an Iranian bomb are on the table,” the editorial reported.
National Review Online: Cliff May, at NRO, reviews a new report from the hawkish neocon-associated American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC). A task force there, which includes two staffers from May’s own Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, among other neoconservatives, recently came out with a report that calls for “An Economic Warfare Strategy Against Iran” (PDF). May calls the program “sanctions plus.” While the report was being drafted, May says task force participants briefed members of Congress, resulting in some of the report’s recommendations already being codified in the latest round of U.S. sanctions signed into law last month. May concludes that the Iranian leadership is “no more eager to attend diplomatic soirees than Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri,” and therefore the report’s path of “economic warfare” is “the only chance we have to avoid more ‘kinetic’ and lethal forms of conflict later.” (Ed.’s note: Expect more from LobeLog on the AFPC report in the coming days.)
Weekly Standard: Gabriel Schoenfeld gets all his facts wrong. He blames Hamas for a late July rocket strike on Askhelon in southern Israel, then blames Hezbollah for the latest clash at the Lebanese border between the IDF and Lebanese Army troops. “Hamas and Hezbollah are Iranian proxies. […] Are the ayatollahs preparing preemptive action of their own, taking the battle to the borders of the Zionist enemy?” he asks tendentiously.
Associated Press (via WaPo): George Jahn of the AP, writing from Vienna, gets an exclusive look at two letters that Iran sent out to diplomats. Iran’s head nuclear negotiator wrote the EU foreign policy chief, saying that the imposition of a fourth round of UN sanctions during diplomatic talks on Iran’s nuclear program was “astonishing,” U.S. and EU sanctions “even more astonishing,” and the whole situation “absolutely unacceptable.” Iran’s International Atomic Energy Agency representative wrote a second letter to the IAEA demanding, among other things, that Israel’s covert nuclear arsenal be publicly discussed.
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy: Patrick Clawson reports on claims that both Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his chief of staff have publicly mentioned plans to pursue 100-percent enrichment — the level required for a nuclear weapon. According to Clawson, the lack of a western response to these remarks has reinforced the Iranian leadership’s belief that they are changing “world management.” Clawson then goes on to report on unsubstantiated reports that Ahmadinejad intends to usurp the Supreme Leader with his hardliner movement. Clawson suggests that now is the time for the U.S. to encourage Green Movement leaders to debate Ahmadinejad and show that his hardline policies have only brought greater isolation for the Islamic Republic. While the WINEP scholar makes a good point that Iran’s domestic politics are more complex than many westerners understand, he fails to consider that Ahmadinejad’s boastful remarks may have exaggerated Iranian enrichment capabilities in order to mobilize domestic political support. On a day when reports are suggesting that Iran — partly due to technical difficulties with their nuclear program — is interested in restarting negotiations with the U.S., it’s unclear how Clawson’s claim that Iran can enrich to 100-percent can be explained.
Message Afghanistan, American Foreign Policy Council, Associated Press, Barack Obama, China, Cliff May, Commentary, David Ignatius, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Gabriel Schoenfeld, Geoffrey Goldberg, George Jahn, Green Movement, Iran nuclear, Jeffery Goldberg, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Marc Ambinder, Max Boot, National Review, Patrick Clawson, Russia, Sanctions, The Atlantic, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington Post, Weekly Standard
Eli Clifton
Eli Clifton reports on money in politics and US foreign policy. He is a co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Eli previously reported for the American Independent News Network, ThinkProgress, and Inter Press Service.
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Jon Harrison
Oh God. I agree with the views of Jeffrey Goldberg as reported here. Medic! Medic!
The president’s reported views are most interesting. Sanctions are already biting, he thinks? It’s been less than two months. If that’s the reality, then why don’t we ratchet up to sanctions plus? Could solve the problem completely. (Somehow I doubt it, though.)
Glad to hear he’s still talking about a willingness to negotiate. I just have the feeling he’s merely covering all the bases, playing to different constituencies. I really think he may be out of his depth on Iran and is hoping and praying that something favorable will turn up.
General comment: a great roundup of what’s happening in the opinion wars on Iran. Keep it up.
Surely Max Boot means ‘three decades of not dealing with Iran’? And no mention by Obama of the Turkey/Brazil swap. I guess that’s a non-starter.
The Missing Three-Letter Word in the Iran Crisis
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Reps invite ex-President Jonathan over $1bn Malabu oil scam
Leadership Newspaper
By Kauthar Anumba-Khaleel, Abuja
The House of Representatives’ Ad-hoc Committee probing the alleged corruption, malpractices and breach of due process in the award of Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 has resolved to invite former president Goodluck Jonathan over diversion of $1 billion.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Rasak Atunwa, revealed this yesterday at a press briefing on the progress of the investigation as well as subsequent steps to be taken which according to him, will be determined by the former president’s appearance before the ad hoc committee.
Atunwa informed that the committee in its meeting, Wednesday morning, “noted that it had conducted extensive investigation into the OPL 245 saga and that it is drawing to a close.
He added that the committee is however, of the view that in the interest of thoroughness, natural justice and fair play, it imperative that evidence should be taken from former President Goodluck Jonathan.
According to him, “In arriving at this decision, the committee took account of the following facts: Mr Jonathan was the President at the material time the ministers brokered the so-called resolution agreement that led to the allegation of $1 billion diversion of funds.
“Mr Jonathan’s name features in the proceedings initiated by the Public Prosecutor of Milan in Italy.
“A UK Court judgement in relation to an application to return part of the money being restrained, castigated the Jonathan administration as not having acted in the best interest of Nigeria in relation to the deal.
“The Attorney-General of the Federation at the material time, Mohammed Bello Adoke, who of course has been charged in relation to the case by the EFCC, has recently instituted proceedings in court wherein he pleads that all his actions were as instructed by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“Accordingly, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution, the committee has decided to request that former President Goodluck Jonathan give evidence to the committee, as to his role in the matter. The secretariat will write to him asking for his response and submissions,” Atunwa stated.
Responding to whether there was an option for the ex-president to make written submission, the lawmaker observed that the former president is at liberty to make a written or oral submission to the committee.
“That is a cause that is open to him. The important thing is that the committee has decided that he must give evidence. He may desire to send us a written submission, and we consider every written submission. We take it one step at a time.
“Section 89 of the constitution requires that we ask for the evidence; we’ve asked him for evidence and he must give evidence, we have asked him to give his response and submission.
“The normal proceeding for a committee hearing investigating such matter is to take a written submission. Let’s follow the procedure the way we’ve been operating. Let’s get this response first and then we take it from there”, he said.
Some Big Nigerians Planning To Kill EFCC Fight Against Corruption – Magu
Edo: Imansuagbon, Charting The Course For Electoral Promise Delivery
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Tag: Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls)
Warm Hole – Brown Eyed Girls
November 13, 2015 July 10, 2016 Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Brown Eyed Girls, Gain (Brown Eyed Girls), JeA (Brown Eyed Girls), Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls)1 Comment
Oh dear, oh dear. I don’t think Brown Eyed Girls do subtle. I can’t say the song disguises the sexual innuendo at all because well, it is on the surface of the song, it is within the song and I am guessing when we read the lyrics together, it is also between the lines. And if you have no idea what this is about, well here is a line from the song “fire in the hole, when you touch me down there, I’m not feeling very well, so hot in down there“. When that part first hit me, I was trying my best not to laugh but it was impossible. The song has this nice funky and disco vibe to it which mirrors the music found back in the day. It has that early 70s feel to it. I have to be honest, the song is quite catchy and addictive. Miryo’s rap and the chorus combined together is a tune that I cannot get out of my own head at the moment. Once again, this is a style that I think only Brown Eyed Girls can pull off like it is nothing. This particular, while it is bit sexual, has that Brown Eyed Girl style, just not the exact type of song that we all expected.
Holes, holes and more holes. This whole music video is full of different holes and a lot of spinning things. Holes in apples, records spinning on the turntable, blenders making smoothies, those really cool tunnels that form when you put air into them. It was a very bright video that has funky and disco vibe to it, making it fit hand in hand with the song. I absolutely love how intrigued they look when it came to the holes. JeA’s part was just a little too innocent. I don’t think climbing into a washing machine is that safe and furthermore kind look over the top for me. I absolutely love their rabbit ears and tails. It all fits into the video and comes together as a great concept.
The dance was anything but sexual. I thought it was very classy. Their costumes indicate otherwise, but the dance on its own really does not scream out slutty or anything that vulgar. Their bum wiggles are cute and fit in very well.
This part of their comeback goes really well together. The only big complaint that I have is: cannot take the song 100% seriously as soon as Miryo starts doing her lines. Not saying she is bad, just the content of the lyrics. 9/10
Brand New World – Brown Eyed Girls
November 12, 2015 July 10, 2016 Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Brown Eyed Girls, Gain (Brown Eyed Girls), JeA (Brown Eyed Girls), Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls)2 Comments
Every single song that I am hearing in November is giving me chills and Brown Eyed Girl’s latest releases have been exactly that. It wasn’t something that I personally expected and thought it sounded really weird. Not the same colour that I expected for a Brown Eyed Girl’s songs, but it is growing on me. I now believe that this song has a style that probably Brown Eyed Girl’s can pull off. But anyway, yeah it is a weird song. I honestly cannot think of a way to describe it as a whole. There are elements of electronic and funk in it, but there is more to it which I cannot identified (I think I identified the more obvious genres that are mashed up into it). It also has a futuristic sound or a sound that I would have associated with the portrayal of space back in the 80’s or 90’s. I absolutely love the chorus, with JeA’s and Narsha’s fast pace singing. Miryo’s rap is kind of iffy for me, but after listening to it a lot, I think she handles it pretty well. The creepy “Hey~” that are featured in the track actually that really nice touch, even though it sounds really creepy.
The music video is one a whole new level. Yeah, those back up dancers with Gain at the start in those shorts, it took me some time to figure out that they were men. And that is what I love about Brown Eyed Girl’s music videos. They seem to always attempt to push something upon us that isn’t considered as typical. The video has a lot of sophistication in it. While it suits the futuristic sound that the band is going for, I absolutely found those bright lights on some of the dance scenes really obnoxious. It is something that has always been a part of me and every time a video has it, it just annoys me. It seems to be the girls go time travelling or something that bends light. I love the concept and thought it was very interesting. I love the special effects of the random shapes that pop up from time to time during the video. Beside those lights, I love everything about the video.
The dance, while it is something that does not scream Brown Eyed Girls, it manages to do the job and goes hand in hand with the song. To me, this dance just shows the girls ages. It really isn’t that strong compared to in the past, and reading articles about the girl’s bodies seem to just confirm my suspicions. My absolutely favourite parts? The creepy “Hey~”. How to make an entrance according to Brown Eyed Girls 101.
Overall, amazing song and video. An okay dance. 8/10
I will be reviewing Warm Hole and releasing the review tomorrow. I chose to do them separately, mainly because I want to share a laugh with you all about Warm Hole. if you don’t understand, it is time to play Warm Hole and listen carefully to some parts. I’ll tell you the rest tomorrow.
Queen – Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls) ft. Gain (Brown Eyed Girls)
August 15, 2015 July 10, 2016 Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Brown Eyed Girls, Gain (Brown Eyed Girls), Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls)Leave a comment
It has been a long time coming but finally something has emerged about Brown Eyed Girls. While this is not a full comeback from the band, one member is pretty good, considering the lack of activities from the band. So when I heard Miryo was making her comeback, I was extremely happy. Yes I know, Gain did make a comeback, but compared to the other members, she is promoted a lot more than her other band members. Brown Eyed Girls also shot down disbandment rumours, by saying that they are currently working on an album and it should be released sometime in the near future. I hope they don’t disband and if it happens that this album may be their last, I don’t mind. Just give me the album. How selfish of me really. But considering their age, it is amazing at where they are today.
So Miryo made her comeback. And the rapper is known for her bad ass style and hardcore rapping skills. And that is what every expected. However, I have to agree with most people. This song is quite underwhelming. I don’t think it is bad, it just does not conform to our expectations of the rapper. That is quite disappointing. But nonetheless, I don’t hate the song. I thought it was quite good and continue to think that it is Miryo putting out a new style. If you consider it, if an artist writes their song and produces it, only to have their loyal fans express their disappointment continuously, it would be hard on the artist. Learn to appreciate the song. For the song, I thought it was classy in its own standard. The song stilled managed to flow pretty well. It was not a badly written song or was not an earsore. Is it a song I would listen on repeat? No, not really. Gain’s feature in the song is pretty nice. There is this thing where the vocals of Brown Eyed Girls blend very well together. There is still that hip hop sound to the song, just it is very tamed and low key. It is a great song to listen to, but yeah, did not really wow anyone.
As for the music video, I am sure a little more budgeting would have made this video into something that makes us go wow. Yeah, rumours have it that Nega Network (which houses Brown Eyed Girls) have been having financial issues. Anyway, the music video was very boring. There wasn’t anything to interest me. Close up shots of the rapper and then dark silhouettes. The use of the Queen cards were pretty smart. I am at awe of her figure as well. She looked very hot in this video and her clothes just made it so much better (much of a pervert???). The music video did fit the style of the song pretty well as well. Gain did not feature in the video, which was another disappointment for this comeback. Yeah.
Now, they say Miryo has a few songs lined up and will be releasing more towards the end of the year. That is what I read online. 2 songs ain’t going to quench my thirst. Hahaha… Or even better, get the whole band to make a comeback. Nice song, though underwhelming. 5/10
Sign – Brown Eyed Girls
February 17, 2015 February 14, 2015 Posted in KPOPTagged Brown Eyed Girls, Gain (Brown Eyed Girls), JeA (Brown Eyed Girls), Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls)Leave a comment
As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Brown Eyed Girls. Sign was released in 2008 after their hit single Abracadabra, which still serves as one of the biggest and well known songs in the KPOP industry to date. Sign was released as a repackaged album for their third studio album. This song was later released in Japan in 2010. After this song, they went on a break and later came back with hits like Sixth Sense and Kill Bill.
Not as great as Abracadabra or their later hits, but it still was pretty good. The piano instrument and electronic sound blended really well to make the song so good. Their vocals were superb and the rapping by Miryo was once again, probably one of the best raps ever. I really like the “sexy” bridge part. Gain’s voice sounded so sexual (this is not a complaint). But like I said before, this song really was not up to par compared to Abracadabra which was such a big hit. It just did not have the feeling of “most popular”. Actually, I am sure some people thought Brown Eyed Girls would become a one hit wonder. That being said, the song was popular in South Korea to a degree and since the band went on to release in Japan as well, showed that the song did achieve some of kind of value for the band. When I first heard this song, I was disappointed. But when I continued to listen to it a lot of times, it grew a lot on me.
This music video was a little controversial when it was first released. It literally made headlines from what I remember. So, the Korean version is a drama version. The reason why it got a lot of criticism because there was a scene in the music video where Gain drowns. Yeah, even though such a scene is confronting to watch, I see no problem. There should be a warning sign on the music video somewhere. I guess that is why they now have a rating system for music videos. The music video shows this man bashing some people up to help save Gain from dying. He, from what we know, completely fails and she sadly turns up dead in the music video. It is a solid plot to an extent. The Brown Eyed Girls members become ghosts throughout the video and sing creepily behind the fighting scenes. As for the Japanese video, they focused mainly on the dance.
The dance was pretty solid. It became a pretty popular dance and I love how they used the beat and incorporated that into the dance with the fans. Not people fans but “it is so hot” fans. Yeah, you probably get me. But it was a cool dance and I enjoyed it a lot.
Overall, a nice song. It just was not good enough compared to Abracadabra. How many times have I said that today? 8/10
Special Guy – LUNAFLY ft. Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls)
April 4, 2014 Posted in KPOPTagged Brown Eyed Girls, LUNAFLY, Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls)Leave a comment
Source: http://area51sv.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/lunafly-special-guy.png
This is my first LUNAFLY review ever. I was meant to review their debut song, but that song sounded to cheesy and at the same time reeks the sound of One Direction, so I stayed away from the song as much as possible. But now the band is back after a year,delivering a new sound so their fans. The band consist of Sam, the leader and guitarist of the band; Teo, the drummer and pianist of the band, while maknae Yun is an all rounder being able to play many instruments. The members are all vocalists of the band as well. This song, in particular, features their label mate Miryo of Brown Eyed Girls. Finally we get some kind of collaboration between the two label mates. Hopefully, we will be able to see more of them.
This song is pretty amazing. I love it and I think I find it the most enjoyable song since a very long time. This band goes for really simple sounds. There really is not much complexity in the songs that they release. It is all straight forward in my point of view. This song is pretty simple, that typical club beat but at the same time they mould the song into a more love ballad type of song. Well, even though the song has that club beat, it is a really soft club sound that I actually like. The part after the chorus is really addictive and basically what drove me to like the song. I also like it how they also make their voices fit the song. Those high parts in the instrumental have high pitch vocals which accompany the song. There are no over the top high notes here but the song still manage to blend well together. Even the rapping is pretty good. We all know Miryo for these really powerful raps, but this rap fitted the song, as it was quite slowed and remained in par with the vocals and the instrumental of the song. Amazing song.
Okay, I have to admit it. I expected a proper music video. There is nothing in their video. Just them playing their song at a club and a really bumping crowd. Beside that, there is really nothing to talk about at all. Miryo’s scene is in a different place, but they they combined her and the band at the club. Why? Was it seriously that necessary to put Miryo somewhere else and then put her in the club as well? I found it boring and uneventful.
The song itself is really beautiful, as for the music video, not so much. 7.5/10.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWMx26y8tzw%5D
Kill Bill – Brown Eyed Girls
August 6, 2013 Posted in KPOPTagged Brown Eyed Girls, Gain (Brown Eyed Girls), JeA, Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls)1 Comment
Source: http://showbiz.omy.sg/sites/default/files/images/201307/20130729/beg_vod_img.jpg
Brown Eyed Girls have made their first comeback to the stage in 2 years with their latest album, Black Box and their latest title track, Kill Bill. Parodying one of the most famous movie series to date, Brown Eyed Girls have made a comeback with a song equally as strong as Abracadabra and Sixth Sense. They announced their comeback through the release of Recipe, another song off their album which was released on the 9th of July earning them an all kill, toppling over their rival, 2NE1. Not only that, but Kill Bill has also proven to be one of most popular songs at the moment, trailing both F(x) and EXO with their songs on the charts.
The song has that western cowboy feel to it that we can all hear throughout the song. To be honest, I felt that this song was kind of weak compared to Sixth Sense and Abracadabra. However, after closely listening to the song, this song turns out to be an equally powerful song. KIll Bill (the song) talks about killing the girls “partner”. They talk about taking revenge on the guy, who has betrayed them of their love. Poor girls. The whole song is really dominated by the instrumental. While that would be a bad thing, I loved the vocals of Gain, JeA and Narsha in the song. They sounded really good and actually matched the song. The rap did not match the song as much compared to the vocals, but was really badass and powerful (Typically what you would expect from Miryo). I also did like the gunshot sounds before each chorus, giving more to that western olden day feels. I also loved how they had this changeover system for the chorus, where each of the three members who vocally sang in the song would each sing a different part of the chorus each time there was a chorus. I honestly was satisfied with the song. Why are they not winning any awards???? My most favourite line from this song when translated would have to be: “Run away from me as far as you can.”
As for the music video, I have to confess. I have never watched Kill Bill before. Yeah, apparently it is a really good series, which I need to start watching. This review however, will be my own interpretation of the music video. Obviously, from watching the video, this whole music video is making fun of the movie, not an actual accurate depiction of the song. At the start of the video, in the olden days, we have Narsha, an calligraphy artist, who was busy painting the word “Bill” on the guys back. JeA who used to have perfect eyesight, was under the bed with a jar of a poisonous spider. Then, we have Gain who shoots the poor guy. Narsha on the other hands grabs her hairpin (paintbrush) and throws it at gain, supposedly killing her. We then have Miryo who comes in and kills Narsha with a gun, buts ends up dying because of that evil spider. Throughout this old scene, we learn that the guy they are all trying to kill is Bill and they all have their own motives for killing him, revenge for leaving them. We then skip forward to the future, where all the members survive, but instead starts hunting each other down to kill them. However that fails. It is not until they all “door knock” on Narsha’s house, that they have an extreme battle and die. Seriously, this is one funny ass video, that you must watch. JeA’s death must be the most unfortunate as she was shot in the eye, attempted to poison Gain, but instead ends up poisoning herself and then ends up falling (a remarkably short distance) to her death. I really do like how they did play on the characters. All I know of Kill Bill, there is a Japanese person, a yellow suit person and a really dumb one? I don’t know. But hilarious video (and artful come to the think of it).
As for the dance, I really did love it. It matched the feel of the song and was really cool. I particularly love the final chorus and Miryo rapping parts. Totally rocking.
9.5/10. REALLY GOOD. LOVING IT. Only problem is, I never watched Kill Bill, so my view of the video was distorted because of that.
Dirty – Miryo
February 4, 2012 September 20, 2012 Posted in KPOPTagged Brown Eyed Girls, Miryo (Brown Eyed Girls)2 Comments
OMG, her debut solo album is out, and it rocks. Now that is off my chest. This song is equally good as the album. I find this song does express a lot of emotion is a very fiery way. I really love the chorus and the “What the ****!” part of the song. I always believe Brown Eyed Girls has potential to be a hit, even their solos. It has a catchy beat & rhythm to it which makes it sound good. Its not like her other songs which she raps in like Sixth Sense, Abracadabra but equally they all share the same amount of hatred for her (their) lovers. Really good.
One thing to say: This music video is going to be banned. Rude fingers covered in fire, a doctor slapping a nurses ass (who is wearing an extremely short skirt & looks like Tiffany from SNSD), swear words in the lyrics & the singer/rapper slapping really weird tan body builders (?). Yeah, that’s right. R rated from the start.
Now why are the body builders weird. Has anyone noticed that they have really tanned bodies while their head is white? No? It is as though they sun bathe but with a plastic bag around their heads. LOL. Anyway, the music video tells about a girl (Miryo) who is paralyzed (I think). Her boyfriend & best friend start to date each other while Miryo is unable to move. She plots revenge on all the characters displayed in the video (Boyfriend, best friend, doctor, nurse). One event starts a chain of events that I assumed killed them all? Not really. Oh well. Oh by the way, Miryo is soon trapped by fire. How does she survive? I really want to know how she got out of there alive.
LOL. Also, I was expecting the video to actually have the horror movie theme in it but sadly it did not. The music video & song goes really well with each other, especially the misleading teasers.
The dance to this song is really cool. Basically the most memorable part was at the chorus where the lyrics are like ‘Dirty Dirty” (NOT THE REAL LYRICS). The dance move here intimates washing hands which is really cool. Also what is with big furry jackets? Well they are not bad. Block B have caused a bigger problem. LOL.
And The Rating?
As always, great song, music video & performance. 9/10.
Have Fun Watching 😀 Troy.
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Brattleboro, Vermont facts for kids
The Gothic Revival Municipal Center (1884), built as Brattleboro's High School, served the town in that capacity until 1951
Motto: The One and Only Brattleboro
Location in Vermont
32.4 sq mi (84.0 km2)
0.5 sq mi (1.2 km2)
Elevation@Low: Connecticut River near Whetstone Brook; @High: Hill west of Waubanog Road
c. 200-1,768 ft (c. 61-539 m)
375.3/sq mi (144.9/km2)
Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
brattleboro.org
Brattleboro (/ˈbrætəlˌbəroʊ/), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The town is located in the southeast corner of the state along the state line with New Hampshire. The population is 11,765 according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2014 estimates. It is the most populous municipality along Vermont's eastern border and is situated on the west bank of the Connecticut River at the point where Vermont's West River flows into it.
Marlboro College Center for Graduate and Professional Studies and SIT Graduate Institute are located in the town. There are satellite campuses of three colleges as well: Community College of Vermont, Union Institute and University, and Vermont Technical College. The town is home to the New England Center for Circus Arts and the Vermont Jazz Center.
The Brattleboro Retreat, a not-for-profit mental health and addictions psychiatric hospital, is also located in the town.
Abenaki land
Frontier fort
Mill town
Brooks Free Library (1886, demolished 1971), Alexander C. Currier, architect (image c.1895)
Because Native Americans in the region tended to name places and regions after their rivers or watersheds, the site of today's Brattleboro, the confluence of the West River and the Connecticut River, was called 'Wantastiquet' by the Abenaki people, a name meaning, according to various translations, "lost river", "river that leads to the west", or "river of the lonely way". Today known only by its English-translated name, the West River remains demarcated by New Hampshire's towering Mount Wantastiquet, directly opposite its mouth, and Lake Wantastiquet, near where it rises at its source. The Abenaki would transit this area annually between Missisquoi (their summer hunting grounds near the current-day town of Swanton) in northwestern Vermont, and Squakheag (their winter settlement or camps) near what is now Northfield, Massachusetts. The specific Abenaki band who lived here and traversed this place were called Sokoki, meaning "people who go their own way" or "people of the lonely way". The Abenaki's inclusive name for what is now Vermont was "Ndakinna" ("our land"), and in the 17th and 18th centuries, as more Europeans moved into the region, their often vigorous measures of self-defense culminated in Dummer's War (also known variously as Greylock's War, Three Years War, Lovewell's War, the 4th Indian War, and in Maine as Father Rasle's War). Most Abenaki allied with the French during this period, and following what is now known as the French and Indian War (1754–1763), they were largely driven north or fled into Quebec, further opening the way for English – and later United States – settlements in the area.
To defend the Massachusetts Bay Colony against Chief Gray Lock and others during Dummer's War, the Massachusetts General Court voted on December 27, 1723 to build a blockhouse and stockade on the Connecticut River near the site of what would later become known as Brattleboro. Lieutenant-governor William Dummer signed the measure, and construction of Fort Dummer began on February 3, 1724. It was completed before summer. On October 11 of that year, the French attacked the fort and killed some soldiers. In 1725, Dummer's War ended.
By 1728, and in subsequent peaceful periods, the fort served as a trading post for commerce among the colonial settlers and the Indians. But violence flared up from time to time throughout the first half of the 18th century. In 1744, what became known as King George's War broke out, lasting until 1748. During this period a small body of British colonial troops were posted at the fort, but after 1750 this was considered unnecessary.
Although the area was originally part of the Equivalent Lands, the township became one of the New Hampshire grants, and was chartered (founded) as such on December 26, 1753, by Governor Benning Wentworth. It was named Brattleborough, after Colonel William Brattle, Jr. of Boston, a principal proprietor. Ironically there is no record that Brattle ever visited the locality, and settlement activities remained tentative until after the 1763 Treaty of Paris, when France abandoned their claims to Vermont, part of the region which they had called New France.
Hostilities having ceased, Brattleboro developed quickly in peacetime, and soon was second to none in the state for business and wealth. In 1771, Stephen Greenleaf opened Vermont's first store in the east village, and in 1784, a post office was established. A bridge was built across the Connecticut River to Hinsdale, New Hampshire in 1804. In 1834, the Brattleboro Retreat, then called the Vermont Asylum for the Insane, was established through a generous bequest by Hinsdale, NH's Anna Marsh. In 1844 the Brattleboro Hydropathic Establishment was opened by Dr. Robert Wesselhoeft; this was the third 'water cure' establishment in the country, utilizing waters from a spring near the current downtown fire station. Until the "Water Cure" closed in 1871, the town was widely known as a curative health resort.
Whetstone Falls near the intersection of the Whetstone Brook and the Connecticut River in 1907
The Brattleboro Retreat has been treating mental health disorders and drug addiction since 1834
Brooks House, built in 1871 and originally a resort hotel, is the largest commercial building in Brattleboro. Devastated by a fire in 2011, it re-opened in the Fall of 2014
Whetstone Falls, very close to where Brattleboro's Whetstone Brook flows into the Connecticut River, was a handy source of water power for watermills, initially a sawmill and a gristmill. By 1859, when the population had reached 3,816, Brattleboro had a woolen textile mill, a paper mill, a manufacturer of papermaking machinery, a factory making melodeons, two machine shops, a flour mill, a carriage factory, and four printing establishments. Connected by the Vermont & Massachusetts Railroad and the Vermont Valley Railroad, the town prospered as a regional center for trade in commodities including grain, lumber, turpentine, tallow and pork. In 1888, the spelling of the town's name was shortened to Brattleboro.
The Estey Organ company, the largest organ manufacturer in the United States, operated in Brattleboro for about a century beginning in 1852. The company's main factory was located southwest of downtown Brattleboro, on the south side of Whetstone Brook between Birge and Organ Streets. At its height, the complex had more than 20 buildings, many of which were interconnected by raised walkways and covered bridges. One of the buildings now houses the Estey Organ Museum. The entire surviving complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, both for its architecture, and as a major economic force in Brattleboro for many years.
British author Rudyard Kipling settled in Brattleboro after marrying a young Brattleboro woman, Carrie Balestier, in 1892. The couple built a home called Naulakha (Rudyard Kipling House), just over the town line to the north in neighboring Dummerston. Kipling wrote The Jungle Book and other works there. He also wrote about local life in the early 1890s: heavy snowfalls, ox-teams drawing sledges, and people in the small towns beset with what he called a "terrifying intimacy" about each other's lives. He recorded the death of men who had left, going to seek their fortunes in the cities or out west, and the consequent loneliness and depression in the lives of local women; the long length of the workday for farmers, even in winter, often for lack of help; and the abandonment of farms.
The first person ever to receive a Social Security benefit check, issued on January 31, 1940 was Ida May Fuller from Brattleboro.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 32.5 square miles (84.0 km2), of which 32.0 square miles (82.9 km2) is land and 0.5 square mile (1.2 km2, 1.42%) is water. Brattleboro is drained by the West River, Ames Hill Brook and Whetstone Brook. The town is in the Connecticut River Valley, and its eastern boundary (and the Vermont state line) is the western bank of the Connecticut River. Hills and mountains surround the town.
See also: Climate of New England and Climate of Vermont
Brattleboro experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa) with cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers. The town can experience snowfall as early as November and as late as April, and in the adjacent mountains and high country as late as May. Nor'easters often come with the potential of dumping a foot or more of snow on Brattleboro when they move through; such storms are not uncommon during the winter months. Summers are warm to hot and generally humid, with abundant sunshine and heavy showers and thunderstorms associated with passing cold fronts. Tornadoes are rare.
The record high is 100 °F (38 °C), set in 1955, and the record low is −33 °F (−36 °C), set in 1958. In terms of average annual precipitation, May is typically the wettest month, and February is the driest. Brattleboro averages 92.58 inches (235 cm) of snow annually.
Brattleboro lies in USDA plant hardiness zone 5a.
Climate data for Brattleboro, Vermont
(-11.7) 13
(-4.4) 34
(-7.8) 35.8
(-34.4) −33
(-28.3) 5
(-36.1)
Source: The Weather Channel
1790 1,589 —
1800 1,867 17.5%
1810 1,891 1.3%
1900 6,640 −3.2%
Est. 2015 11,679 −3.0%
U.S. Decennial Census
As of the census of 2010, there were 12,046 people, 5,364 households, and 2,880 families residing in the town. Almost all of the population is concentrated in two census-designated places identified in the town: Brattleboro and West Brattleboro. The results of the 2010 census indicate very little change in the overall number of people living in the town. Despite this, Brattleboro remains the most populous town along Vermont's eastern border.
The population density of the town was 375.3 people per square mile (144.9/km2). There were 5,686 housing units at an average density of 177.7 per square mile (68.6/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 92.1% White, 1.9% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.7% of the population.
There were 5,364 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.8% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.3% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the town, the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 84.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $31,997, and the median income for a family was $44,267. Males had a median income of $31,001 versus $25,329 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,554. About 9.2% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.
A contestant airborne on the Harris Hill Ski Jumping venue
New England Youth Theatre
Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, formerly Union Station
The Jeremiah Beal Museum of the Brattleboro Historical Society
Brattleboro has a thriving arts community. It was listed recently in John Villani's book The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America, in which it was ranked #9 among 'arts towns' with a population of 30,000 or under.
On the first Friday of every month, an event known as Gallery Walk is held, in which galleries, artists, and arts organizations open their doors to the public to display new work or hold performances. Included in the organizations that participate are the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, the Hooker-Dunham Theater and Gallery, the In-Sight Photography Project, River Gallery School, Through the Music, and the Windham Art Gallery.
Other notable arts organizations in Brattleboro include the Brattleboro Music Center, the Vermont Theatre Company, the New England Youth Theater, the Brattleboro Women's Chorus, the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA), the Vermont Performance Lab, and the Vermont Jazz Center.
The Winter Carnival in February
Harris Hill ski jumping competition in February
Women's Film Festival in March
Maple Open House Weekend in March
River Gallery School benefit auction in March
Taste of the Town in May
Slow Living Summit, late May or early June, just prior to Strolling of the Heifers weekend
The Strolling of the Heifers parade and festival, the first full weekend in June
Vermont Theatre Company's Shakespeare-in-the-Park in June and July
Brattleboro Free Folk Festival, begun in 2003
Brattleboro Literary Festival in October
Brattleboro Film Festival first two weeks of November
The town operates and maintains the Gibson-Aiken Center, a large recreation and community activities facility, located downtown on Main Street, along with a number of parks and outdoor recreation centers, including Living Memorial Park, whose features include an outdoor swimming pool and a municipal skiing facility. There are bicycle lanes on Putney Road in the northern portion of town, on Guilford Street near Living Memorial Park, and on a short segment of Western Avenue in West Brattleboro. Open during the summer months, Fort Dummer State Park is named for, and located near, the original site of a Dummer's War-era stockade. The state park consists of 218 acres of protected forest, featuring hiking trails and a State campground, just south of the population center on wooded hills overlooking the Connecticut River.
Brattleboro sees a substantial seasonal influx of recreational skiers and snowboarders, many of them bound for the resorts at nearby Mount Snow and Stratton, but it is also a winter sports destination in and of itself. The town played an important role in the development and popularization of the skiing industry as a winter sport, with pioneering Brattleboro native and Dartmouth College alumnus Fred Harris, founder of the Dartmouth Outing Club (1909–10), also establishing the Brattleboro Outing Club (in 1922), contributing to the first North American use of motor-driven ski lifts, and building the Harris Hill olympic-scale ski jumping facility, the site of international competitions every February that still attract daring ski-jumping athletes from all over the world.
Brattleboro is the setting for much of H. P. Lovecraft's story The Whisperer in Darkness.
Brattleboro is the birthplace and burial site of William Morris Hunt, noted and influential 19th-century American painter.
Brattleboro is mentioned once in David Foster Wallace's novel Infinite Jest.
Brattleboro is the setting of multiple stories in Jacob M. Appel's collection Scouting for the Reaper.
The popular Joe Gunther mystery series written by Archer Mayor is largely set in Brattleboro.
Brattleboro is where the title character in Tom Taylor's play Our American Cousin meets his English relatives, leading to his trip to England where the events of the play take place.
In the comedy movie Super Troopers, Lieutenant Arcot "Thorny" Ramathorn suggests that Brattleboro would be a good town to move to since his station is going to be shut down.
The psychiatric hospital in the 2011 action movie Sucker Punch is located in Brattleboro.
Brattleboro placed 11th on "The 20 Best Small Towns in America of 2012" list by Smithsonian Magazine in May 2012.
In a Season 5 episode of HBO's Veep, New Hampshire congressional candidate Jonah Ryan gets into some trouble when he references Brattleboro during a Howard Dean-like speech.
United States Navy Seabees Bridge over the Connecticut River
DVTA "the MOOver" bus at the Brattleboro Transportation Center
Downtown Brattleboro, as seen from a walking trail just across the Connecticut River, in New Hampshire. There are many miles of scenic trails in and around the town.
Brattleboro Police car at the Municipal Center, where the local police station is currently housed
I-91 looking northbound at Exit 1
Amtrak train in Brattleboro
A 'bird's-eye' view of Brattleboro, looking westward from near the summit of New Hampshire's Mount Wantastiquet, taken in 1905. In the foreground is Island Park, a recreational area that was mostly washed away by floods in the early 20th century, before flood-control dams were built upriver.
Brattleboro, Vermont Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.
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Home / Book Shelf / Queer Nuns
Queer Nuns | Book
Queer Nuns: Religion, Activism and Serious Parody
by Melissa M. Wilcox
published by New York University Press
May 2018. 336 pages. ISBN: 9781479864133
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence make up an unlikely order of nuns. Self-described as “twenty-first century queer nuns,” the Sisters began in 1979 when three bored gay men donned retired Roman Catholic nuns’ habits and went for a stroll through San Francisco’s gay Castro district. The stunned and delighted responses they received prompted these already-seasoned activists to consider whether the habits might have some use in social justice work, and within a year they had constituted the new order. Today, with more than 83 houses on four different continents, the Sisters offer health outreach, support, and, at times, protest on behalf of queer communities.
In Queer Nuns, Melissa M. Wilcox offers new insights into the role the Sisters play across queer culture and the religious landscape. The Sisters both spoof nuns and argue quite seriously that they are nuns, adopting an innovative approach the author refers to as serious parody. Like any performance, serious parody can either challenge or reinforce existing power dynamics, and it often accomplishes both simultaneously. The book demonstrates that, through the use of this strategy, the Sisters are able to offer an effective, flexible, and noteworthy approach to community-based activism.
Serious parody ultimately has broader applications beyond its use by the Sisters. Wilcox argues that serious parody offers potential uses and challenges in the efforts of activist groups to work within communities that are opposed and oppressed by culturally significant traditions and organizations – as is the case with queer communities and the Roman Catholic Church. This book opens the door to a new world of religion and social activism, one which could be adapted to a range of political movements, individual inclinations, and community settings.
http://readingreligion.org/books/queer-nuns
https://rewire.news/religion-dispatches/2018/05/03/queer-nuns-sisters-perpetual-indulgence-serious-parody-forcing-us-redefine-nuns/.
https://www.newwaysministry.org/2018/08/10/new-books-takes-serious-look-at-sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence/
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According to the National Pork Producers Council, gene editing technology, which introduces useful genetic variation into food animal breeding programs, promises significant animal health benefits, including a natural immunity to disease and a reduction in the need for antibiotic use. (Journal photo by Kylene Scott.)
editor's pick top story
NPPC stresses importance of keeping up with technology
By Kylene Scott
“Keep America First in Agriculture” was launched June 25 by the National Pork Producers Council, stressing the need for establishing the proper regulatory framework for gene editing in livestock across the United States.
This innovation will help ensure U.S. farmers have the opportunity to remain competitive in the world market.
“Without an appropriate regulatory framework, we risk U.S. agriculture one of our country’s most competitive economic sectors falling behind other countries,” Jim Monroe, assistant vice president, communications, NPPC said. “The U.S. has always been the global leader in agriculture innovation.”
Alison Van Eenennaam, an animal biotechnology and genomics Extension specialist, University of California-Davis, gave the low down on gene editing and how it works. Gene editors are basically a “very sophisticated pair of scissors,” she said. They look for a very specific piece of DNA.
“Gene editing really offers an approach to precisely introduce useful genetic variation in food animal breeding programs, because these genome editors can go to a precise location based on the DNA sequence,” Van Eenennaam said. “It very precisely introduces a double strand break at that location in the genome.”
Once a break in the genome has been introduced, it can be repaired one of two ways.
“I think it’s important to note that gene editing is really distinct from genetic engineering, because it is very targeted where that double strand breakthrough occurs. And it doesn’t necessarily involve the introduction of foreign DNA,” she said.
A double strand break is repaired by naturally occurring cellular machinery, according to Van Eenennaam, and those breaks are what is responsible for all genetic variation and for evolution.
“It is actually what animal breeders work on when they’re selecting animals—is basically naturally occurring in mutations introduced by naturally occurring breaks,” she said.
Sometimes when there is a deletion or an insertion of a couple of base pairs often inactivates the gene.
“So if you very precisely go in and break a gene that is responsible for a pig, for example, being susceptible to a disease, you can therefore create a pig that’s no longer susceptible to that particular disease or virus,” she said.
And in this case it doesn’t involve introduction of any novel DNA sequences.
In the homology directed repair pathway it depends on what the donor template is, but it “can do things as simple as altering maybe a single base pair from a T to C, which maybe alters the amino acid that’s coated for the triplet code on and alters the proteins coding which can have a desired function,” Van Eenennaam said.
“Or you might use it, for example, to entergress an allele or a form of a gene from one breed of pig to another, or from one breed of cow to another,” she said.
Van Eenennaam’s lab is involved with introducing an allele for not growing horns in dairy cows so they no longer need to be manually dehorned.
“If it’s donor template is from within the species, then that’s really analogous to the type of alterations you can do using conventional breeding by base basically crossing two different breeds together,” she said.
At the end of the day, gene editing really opens up a new opportunity for breeders’ to address critical problems like disease resistance, animal welfare traits— dehorning and resilience—heat tolerance, and product quality traits.
“I think that’s why the global academic community is so excited about the potential to use this in our food animal breeding programs,” Van Eenennaam said.
NPPC’s own Dan Kovich, deputy director of science and technology, said producers are excited to be able to use gene-editing technology once it becomes available.
“Basically, it allows for precise, small changes to specific genes and for example, the pigs genome that can have huge impacts, and particularly on disease resistance,” Kovich said. “As a veterinarian, that’s what excites me most about this technology is it really offers a powerful new tool to combat particularly diseases of livestock that are caused by viruses.”
Kovich said pig producers have been stuck for a long time because they didn’t have the right tools in their toolboxes to combat viruses and the problems they cause.
“There’s some real timely examples of how gene editing could potentially help our industry,” Kovich said.
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus is one of those. PRRS causes reproductive losses in sows and eventually impacts their respiratory systems, causing a decrease in the production across the entire cycle.
“This is a disease that we have struggled as an industry,” Kovich said. “As well as really the entire world where there are significant populations of pigs for years. It has up to a billion dollar a year impact here in the U.S..”
Kovich hopes with gene editing, technicians can make a small change—basically knocking out one specific gene in the genome of the pig—and making them resistant to all the strains of PRRS.
“That will really, really revolutionize how we control that particular disease,” Kovich said.
He hopes the same can be done for African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease.
“I think that it’s, again, producers are excited because it offers benefits in terms of preventing animal deaths, animal suffering and it makes production more sustainable,” Kovich said. “I think there’s also a lot of other public health benefits that are out there too.”
Often when animals get sick with a virus, producers have to follow-up secondary bacterial infections with antibiotics.
“If we can get a handle on viral disease, it will actually lead probably to a big reduction in anti microbial use in agriculture as well,” Kovich said. “So really tremendous benefits that producers should be able to see from this technology, really just by making these small, precise changes within the animals own genome.”
But without this type of technological advancement, food animal production will stagnate, Andrew Bailey, NPPC lead counsel for science and technology, said.
“Unfortunately, despite all of the promise of this technology, our current proposed regular framework for this we are at a huge disadvantage to other countries across the world,” Bailey said.
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed in its draft guidance for industry, No. 187, it is seeking to treat the altered animal genome itself as a drug instead of the actual technology that alters the genome. Bailey said it has done this on the theory that it meets the regulatory definition of intended to affect the structure of the function of the body of the animal. The Center for Veterinary Medicine states that it will do this regardless of the technology used as the genes and whether or not the genomic alterations are heritable.
“Under this guidance, CVM is proposing to consider each specific genomic alteration as a separate new animal drug requiring approval, and they will restrict any new animal drug approvals and food producing animals to the individual animals and their progeny,” Bailey said.
These rules would “require sponsors to seek a separate approval for the same genomic alteration and each new lineage into which it has introduced in the case of heritable genomic alterations,” he said.
CVM would also consider all animals with the altered genome from the same limit lineage to contain an animal drug, including those that acquired the alteration through crossbreeding.
“They would retain the authority over the initially treated animals as well as all the progeny in perpetuity and forever,” Bailey said. “This approach creates, as you might imagine, a host of problems related to on farm and in plant authorities, as well as enormous trade barriers.”
Many other countries are interested in the technology, and some have their own versions already. Diseases such as African swine fever are driving extreme interest in GE livestock across Europe and in China.
“Many other countries and regions are looking to adopt this technology, recognizing the need to update the regulations to accommodate it,” Bailey said.
Bradley Wolter, a leading pork producer and president of The Maschhoffs, a company that produces over 4 million market hogs per year, spoke on behalf of pork producers. He said American pork is some of the most competitive pork across the globe, and has resulted in millions of U.S. jobs and contributes over a trillion dollars to the U.S. economy.
“We’re a critical industry, not only within agriculture, but the whole of the US economic growth,” Wolter said. “It’s been mentioned this morning, one of the big concerns we have as an industry today is the global spread of African swine fever.”
Because of the rapid spread of ASF across the eastern hemisphere, there’s been “significant investment” in the EU and China to explore ways in which gene editing could create a pig that’s resistant to the virus.
“If they’re successful in editing the genome of these animals, they may be protected and spared from the impact of the virus. And consequently, they may be able to eradicate the impact from their pig populations, if this situation were to occur,” Wolter said.
If ASF were to come to the U.S., swine herds would be decimated, creating a large business risk for American producers.
“The concern we have as producers is that the current FDA regulation, as has been highlighted would preclude the use of gene editing here in the U.S. as a means of mitigating that risk today,” he said. “Even though if it were approved as a legitimate technology in one of these other countries that again have begun investment, likely to be successful in our opinion, we would be precluded from using that technology and clearly put our competitive position at risk.”
Pork producers need something like this technology would provide, Wolter said.
“We are dependent upon the gene editing technology as we see it to remain competitive in this space, adding value to the whole of us agriculture, in protecting the competitive advantage of the family farmers that raise pigs throughout the continental U.S. today,” he said.
Kylene Scott can be reached at 620-227-1804 or kscott@hpj.com.
Bradley Wolter
Alison Van Eenennaam
Dan Kovich
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John Ahearn / Rigoberto Torres / Peter Hujar – The Tribe
Home Events John Ahearn / Rigoberto Torres / Peter Hujar – The Tribe
likeyou, September 8, 2017 September 4, 2017 , Exhibitions, 0
in New York, NY / United States
08.09.2017 - 21.10.2017 10:00 - 18:00
John Ahearn: Monxo BX, 2017, Marwa Tire Shop, Bronx, photo: Joerg Lohse
Peter Hujar: Group Picture (III), 1966, vintage gelatin silver print, 14 x 17 in, 35.6 x 43.2 cm
Alexander and Bonin is pleased to announce the opening of two solo exhibitions. Individual and collaborative works by John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres will be shown on the ground floor. In the lower level galleries, “The Tribe”, an exhibition of photographs by Peter Hujar from the 1960s to the 1980s, will be on view.
A survey of sculptures made by John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres since the early 1990s will be presented. The works – busts, half-figures, and full-figures – exemplify the artists’ singular practice. Working both together and independently, Ahearn and Torres have made casts directly from life models since the early 1980s. Drawing inspiration from the people they meet in everyday occasions, both artists continue to adapt to different environments while being deeply committed to interaction and collaboration with their sitters. The resulting portraits – through their vivid pallets and highly individualized, naturalistic feel – provide a dynamic account of the different sitters’ personalities.
The sculptures exhibited at Alexander and Bonin were made in various locations, spanning from 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan to 100th Street in Harlem, Puerto Rico, and the Bronx. Evolving from constant adaptation to the places and contexts in which the casts were made, the sculpture’s subjects include athletes, shop owners, and artists, of all ages and backgrounds. While the sitters’ faces evoke a variety of expressions – playfulness, pride, sadness, or defiance – all ultimately reveal the sitters’ strength as individuals.
Ahearn’s “The Delancey Street Wall” is currently installed on the façade of James Fuentes Gallery and will remain on view throughout the exhibition at Alexander and Bonin.
Over the course of his career, Peter Hujar took portraits of different groups of artists, musicians, writers, performers, and friends, who defined the downtown art scene. Either by invitation or chance, Hujar captured these “tribes” of the New York avant-garde, thereby positioning himself as a link between them. The exhibition at Alexander and Bonin includes twenty vintage silver gelatin prints which capture a wide range of social circles in early downtown New York.
The first “tribe” portrait took place in the winter of 1966, when Hujar invited Paul Thek to bring a group of friends to be photographed in a studio setting. Thek’s group included an array of downtown New York writers and artists, amongst them Eva Hesse and Gene Swenson. There are several views from this session, which illustrate both the intimacy and formality of the setting. An additional twelve color shots will be projected in an adjoining gallery.
Other group portraits include the Philip Glass ensemble (1986); the poets Amiri Baraka, Jim Carroll, Jayne Cortez and John Giorno (1984); two groups organized by Vince Aletti (1976, 1981), and David Wojnarowicz’s “tribe” in 1987. In the case of Wojnarowicz’s group, Hujar explained: ‘You guys are inseparable and have this really intense relationship that I admire, and I just want to capture this moment.’
“Speed of Life”, a retrospective of Hujar’s work, was organized by Fundacion MAPFRE, Madrid and the Morgan Library & Museum, New York. It will be on view at the Morgan from January 26 – May 20, 2018.
Gallery hours Tues-Sat 10 am – 6 pm
www.alexanderandbonin.com
Alexander and Bonin
Tags: Alexander and Bonin, Amiri Baraka, David Wojnarowicz, Eva Hesse, Fundacion MAPFRE Madrid, Gene Swenson, James Fuentes Gallery, Jayne Cortez, Jim Carroll, John Ahearn, John Giorno, Morgan Library & Museum New York, Paul Thek, Peter Hujar, Philip Glass, Rigoberto Torres, Vince Aletti
Opening: Louis Fratino - So, I've Got YouOpening: John Ahearn / Rigoberto Torres / Peter Hujar - The Tribe
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Linda Sánchez Elected Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus
Washington, DC – Representative Linda Sánchez (CA-38) today was elected by her colleagues to serve as Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus for the 115th Congress, the fifth-ranking position in House Democratic leadership. After the election, Rep. Sánchez released the following statement:
“I am honored to have the confidence and support of my colleagues, and I look forward to working on behalf of the entire Democratic Caucus. Every day I will do everything I can to strengthen our Democratic Caucus and put us in the strongest position. Together with Leader Nancy Pelosi, Whip Steny Hoyer, Assistant Leader James Clyburn, and Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley, House Democrats will fight for an agenda to help every working family achieve their American Dream.
“I have the utmost respect for Rep. Barbara Lee and thank her for running a spirited campaign. She will continue to be a leading member of our Caucus. We all value her knowledge and passion which will be critical to our success as we move forward together.”
“Let’s get to work.”
Rep. Linda Sánchez was nominated to the position of Vice Chair by Reps. John Larson (D-CT), Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), and Pete Aguilar (D-CA).
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Memorial Hospital of Tampa /
For many adults, behavioral health problems - such as depression, anxiety, memory loss and confusion - can be as serious as challenges to their physical health. According to the American Psychiatric Association, three million adults suffer from moderate to severe brain disorders. One in 20 persons over 65 suffers from serious depression, and seniors have the highest suicide rate of any age group in America. But accurate diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions can greatly enhance the quality of life in later years.
That's why we've established a special 32-bed unit within our hospital to focus on adult psychiatry, an area of medicine that addresses the unique physical and emotional needs of adults. Our experienced, compassionate team of healthcare professionals is dedicated to providing the tender care and the emotional support these patients need.
Adult Behavioral Health Unit
Our Adult Behavioral Health unit is in a secured area of the hospital and offers short-term treatment to stabilize patients age 18 and over who are experiencing a crisis that cannot be managed in an outpatient setting. After a comprehensive assessment, we provide an individualized treatment plan.
Our unique Intensive Outpatient program offers an alternative treatment option designed as a "step down" from an inpatient program once an individual no longer needs such a high level of structure, monitoring and care, or when an individual's needs necessitate a more intensive outpatient option than traditional outpatient care.
Anyone can begin a referral to our Adult Behavioral Health unit, including friends and family members, primary care physicians, social service agencies, clergy, and long-term care facilities.
For more information on our mental health services, please call (844) 423-4283.
Dr. Jamie Winderbaum Fernandez Joins Memorial Hospital of Tampa Staff
Thu, February 19, 2015
Memorial Hospital of Tampa, an HCA affiliate, welcomes Jamie Winderbaum Fernandez, M.D., to the Medical Staff.
Back to Main Services
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A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. ... Christian Canvas Art
Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. ... Share Your Faith Products
What does the Bible say about creativity? The very first verse of Scripture actually describes a creative act as "God created the heavens and the earth." Additionally, from Genesis, the Bible says, "God created man in his own image." This could be interpreted as we are creators just as God created us. We create relationships, art, homes, cities, nations and many more things including inventions even yet to be known! The creative spirit is certainly favored by God and our fellow man. Learn more from the collection of Bible verses about creativity below! Bible Verse Wall Art
He made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. Under it were figures of gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. Its thickness was a handbreadth. And its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held 3,000 baths. ...
“You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. ...
"Now I am sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, endowed with understanding, the son of a Danite woman and a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone and wood, and in purple, violet, linen and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to execute any design which may be assigned to him, to work with your skilled men and with those of my lord David your father. Christian Canvas Art
“Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. ... Bible Verse Wall Art
We are faced with a startling opportunity. We may think that we can’t walk this Christian path, but Peter tells us that we have all of the resources that we need in his “very great and precious promises”. When our circumstances cause insecurities and thoughts of despair to dance around our minds, God gives us a way out. We can escape this corruption by knowing God through Jesus Christ. How can we know God? By taking Him at His word! God has already provided for us and He is looking for people who will have the courage to replace their current thinking with God’s faithfulness. Are you looking for the thoughts of God? The Bible is God’s life support to us as we encounter a world of difficulty.
Character Of WickedRevelation, Necessity Ofevangelism, nature ofSatan, Power OfSpiritual Warfare, Enemies InImagination, Evil SchemingPresent Evil AgeNames And Titles For SatanRevelation, Responses ToShiningUnbelief, Nature And Effects OfLikenessFalse ReligionUnbelief, Sourced InSatan, As DeceiverSpiritual Blindness, Consequences OfSatanticPrincehood Of SatanImage Of God Christian Canvas Art
Early Christian art survives from dates near the origins of Christianity. The oldest Christian sculptures are from sarcophagi, dating to the beginning of the 2nd century. The largest groups of Early Christian paintings come from the tombs in the Catacombs of Rome, and show the evolution of the depiction of Jesus, a process not complete until the 6th century, since when the conventional appearance of Jesus in art has remained remarkably consistent. Bible Verse Wall Art
In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. ... Share Your Faith Products
Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men. But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” Bible Verse Wall Art
Huram also made the pails, the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of God: the two pillars, the bowls and the two capitals on top of the pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on top of the pillars, and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the pillars.read more. Share Your Faith Products
In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord. The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house. And he made for the house windows with recessed frames. He also built a structure against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and the inner sanctuary. And he made side chambers all around. ... Christian Gifts
He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits. There were nets of network and twisted threads of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. The capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. There were capitals on the two pillars, even above and close to the rounded projection which was beside the network; and the pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around both capitals. Thus he set up the pillars at the porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz. On the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished. Bible Verse Wall Art
Solomon made all the furniture which was in the house of the LORD: the golden altar and the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold. Christian Gifts
"If you happen to come upon a bird's nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; you shall certainly let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, in order that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days. Share Your Faith Products
The porch which was in front of the house was as long as the width of the house, twenty cubits, and the height 120; and inside he overlaid it with pure gold. He overlaid the main room with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and ornamented it with palm trees and chains. Further, he adorned the house with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim.read more. Christian Gifts
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He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits. There were nets of network and twisted threads of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. The capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. There were capitals on the two pillars, even above and close to the rounded projection which was beside the network; and the pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around both capitals. Thus he set up the pillars at the porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz. On the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished. Now he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in circumference. Under its brim gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, completely surrounding the sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the rest. It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward. It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold two thousand baths. Then he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was four cubits and its width four cubits and its height three cubits. This was the design of the stands: they had borders, even borders between the frames, and on the borders which were between the frames were lions, oxen and cherubim; and on the frames there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the basin were cast supports with wreaths at each side. Its opening inside the crown at the top was a cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. The four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. On the top of the stand there was a circular form half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its stays and its borders were part of it. He engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around. He made the ten stands like this: all of them had one casting, one measure and one form. He made ten basins of bronze, one basin held forty baths; each basin was four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin. Then he set the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south. Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished doing all the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of the LORD: the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; and the ten stands with the ten basins on the stands; and the one sea and the twelve oxen under the sea; and the pails and the shovels and the bowls; even all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were of polished bronze. In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; the weight of the bronze could not be ascertained. Solomon made all the furniture which was in the house of the LORD: the golden altar and the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold. Thus all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the LORD was finished And Solomon brought in the things dedicated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD. Bible Verse Wall Art
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Lost 1968 Neil Young and Joni Mitchell Recordings Could Be Released
Matt Winkelmeyer / Larry Busacca, Getty Images
Lost professional live recordings of Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and others could be released if the owners can secure a record deal. The Michigan History Project are current keepers of seven-inch reel-to-reel tapes recorded in 1968 at the University of Michigan's Canterbury House, a venue popular with counterculture artists at the time. Tim Buckley, Odetta, David Ackles and Dave Van Ronk can also be heard performing. The material was described as “historically significant.”
“We learned of the existence of the tapes about six years ago,” MHP president Alan Glenn said in a statement, via Rolling Stone. “They were in the possession of a private collector. Then they disappeared, and we were afraid they were gone for good. But a few weeks ago they resurfaced, much to our surprise and relief. Now our first priority will be to get them transferred to a digital format, then make sure that the original analog tapes are safely archived.”
Michigan-based mastering engineer said: “These… aren’t audience-recorded bootlegs but first-rate soundboard captures made on professional equipment. It’s an amazing collection with the rare combination of being well-recorded and also well-preserved, and that makes it even more historically significant.”
Young performed three nights at Canterbury House in November of 1969 and two of those were released under the title Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968 ten years ago. It’s not clear whether MHP’s recordings include additional unreleased material. Earlier this month the DVD release of MItchell's 1970 Isle of Wight performance was announced. David Bowie’s first-ever recording was streamed after having been discovered in the attic of his drummer at the time. Bob Dylan just released an album of unheard ’60s live songs.
Next: Top 10 Neil Young Songs
Source: Lost 1968 Neil Young and Joni Mitchell Recordings Could Be Released
Filed Under: joni mitchell, neil young
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Oscar Predictions: Best Supporting Actor
By Sam Unsted on March 5, 2010
Matt Damon for Invictus
Woody Harrelson for The Messenger
Christopher Plummer for The Insider
Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
A few months ago, this would have been a serious race between two of the contenders. Really, up until anyone with a Twitter or blog saw The Lovely Bones, Stanley Tucci was the major frontrunner to take the prize. After seeing that performance, I would argue strongly for his inclusion, but for his role in Julie & Julia instead. Due to the poor reviews for Peter Jackson’s horrendous film, Tucci will have to give up his leading place in the category to Mr Waltz.
Deservedly, Christoph Waltz is going to win this prize. By such a long distance is he the best of those nominated, it would be a farcical outcome for anyone else to take home the prize. Only Samuel L Jackson stands alongside Waltz in the pantheon of Tarantino films as an actor completely compatible with his dialogue. His imprint on the film is indelible and no one can compete.
Plummer’s nomination is probably deserved, but I’ve not seen his film. The lack of excitement around that film, however, excludes him from the running. Matt Damon is fine in Invictus, but it’s more about the actual character rather than the performance while Harrelson’s film won’t have been seen by nearly enough people for him to compete. It’s Waltz’s moment.
Predicted Winner: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
Posted in: Awards | Tagged: best supporting actor, christoph waltz, christopher plummer, inglourious basterds, invictus, matt damon, oscar 2010 predictions, oscar predictions, oscars 2010, stanley tucci, the last station, the lovely bones, the messenger, woody harrelson
Graeme March 5, 2010 at 9:08 pm | Reply
Hello it’s me again. Been a long time but anyway, my vote for Best Supporting Actor, who I think should win/will probably win is Christopher Plummer in The Last Station; A – he plays a famous and important historical character in an acting-fest movie, B – Plummer is pretty old, hasn’t won before and has a long, distinguished filmography and C – even though Christoph Waltz is the best thing in Inglorious Basterds, I honestly don’t know how that film got nominated for any big awards, it’s entertaining and genuinely suspenseful but tasteless (wouldn’t take a WWII veteran to see it), daft, totally self-indulgent (all that interminable dialogue) and felt like another geeky Tarantino homage to the exploitation genre, not unlike Death Proof. Colonel Lander is a tongue-in-cheek uber-baddie and he’s played by a little-known foreign actor. Yes, Plummer winning makes more sense to me.
Only Best Supporting Actor performance I haven’t seen is Woody Harrelson, The Messenger hasn’t come out and I don’t really do downloading (though I might for A Serious Man).
Sam Unsted March 6, 2010 at 10:20 am | Reply
Well I’ve not yet seen The Last Station, so I’ll be checking that out and have a bit of comment on that. On the upcoming Oscar podcast though, I do mention, as you suggest, that Plummer could end up winning, though it would be a major surprise. I think he’s a criminally underrated actor in an Oscar sense, but I don’t think he quite has the momentum to take him through to win.
With Inglourious Basterds, I have taken a bit of a journey with that one. I was extremely underwhelmed the first time round, just felt it was a collection of scenes without much connecting them, as if Tarantino was just writing down everything he enjoyed the most about the idea and failing to actually bring it all together into a cohesive role. But on subsequent viewings, I’ve tried to look past any of those problems and embrace the joy that is obviously flowing through the film. I can’t agree with it being tasteless though. I think it would be foolish to suggest that any film exploring historical events (which this really isn’t attempting to be) should be palatable for everyone in the world. I think that a WW2 vet would probably be offended, but that is no reason to lambast a film outright, especially one which is so outrageous and unrealistic in its depiction of the time. It’s a film which is concerned, both in content and form, with movies, not history. And Waltz is incredible in the film, dude! That performance takes what you describe as a ‘tongue-in-cheek uber-baddie’ and turns it into a living, breathing, cunning monster. He is just a spectacular presence throughout.
Oh he was excellent, but I see Plummer getting the elder statesman vote, notice how times old geezers have won Best Supporting Actor, Alan Arkin, James Coburn, Martin Landau, Jack Palance, Don Ameche, John Gielgud, George Burns and so on.
I’ve only seen Inglourious Basterds once, when it came out. It was pretty pretty gripping in places and after it ended I thought it was a bit bizarre. I’m still quite surprised it got Oscar nominations just because of the kind of film it is.
Sam Unsted March 7, 2010 at 10:00 pm | Reply
Fair cop. I do think that Plummer could nick it. John, inexplicably, went for Matt Damon on the podcast. Literally no idea how he came to that conclusion. I think though that he won’t win, partly because Waltz is better, but partly because the ‘owed’ Oscar this year will go to Bridges. They rarely do a couple of those a year.
Graeme March 7, 2010 at 11:18 pm | Reply
If Bridges does win, it won’t just be a “payback time” Oscar like Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman, he is very good in Crazy Heart, which is a character study so he has the advantage of screentime over Freeman. Crazy Heart is like this year’s The Wrestler.
I’ve not seen it and I am told he is very good, but the movie sounds very standardised, very unoriginal. I think he is owed an Oscar though, he’s been pretty consistently great throughout his career and totally deserves a prize. I would like to see Firth win because he is just fantastic in A Single Man, but I know that is a long shot. I wouldn’t be fussed by a Bridges win though. Any of them deserve it.
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Tag Archives: ben stiller
US Box-Office: Museum Wins War Against Terminator
By Sam Unsted on May 26, 2009 | Leave a comment
So, it seems these Terminators from the future and all that aren’t quite as tough as they would have you believe. Indeed, Terminator Salvation was taught a pretty tough lesson over the weekend as Ben Stiller and friends trounced McG’s franchise effort.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian essentially managed to get all the kids and families into its hollow web of fun to rack up $53.5m over the weekend, an unbelievable result when considering it was up against Terminator Salvation.
The Christian Bale-starring, McG-helmed fourth instalment took $43m, meaning Night at the Museum topped it by $10m, enough in 1984 to make the original Terminator and have significant change. That’s a meaningless fact but, still, that’s quite a big defeat for Terminator given its $200m budget and very high business expectations.
Star Trek managed to stay close to top spot with $21.9m, just pipping Angels & Demons in fourth with $21.4m. They were followed up in fifth by Dance Flick, the horrible-looking Wayans-run spoof, which made a horrifying $11.1m.
The top ten is rounded out by X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Obsessed, Monsters vs Aliens and 17 Again.
Posted in: Box Office | Tagged: 17 again, angels and demons, ben stiller, christian bale, dance flick, ghosts of girlfriends past, mcg, monsters vs aliens, night at the museum 2, night at the museum battle of the smithsonian, obsessed, star trek, terminator salvation, x-men origins wolverine
George Clooney has signed on to star in A Very Private Gentleman, the adaptation of the Martin Booth novel being helmed by Anton Corbijn, the famed photographer and director of the excellent Joy Division biopic Control.
Sean Penn is to star in the English language debut of Paolo Sorrentino, the director of Il Divo, called This Must Be the Place. Penn will play an aging rock star who becomes bored in retirement and makes a decision to track down the killer of his father.
Lynne Ramsey, the prodigiously talented director of Ratcatcher and Morvern Callar, is bringing Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk About Kevin to the big screen.
The trailer has shown up for Sherlock Holmes, the Guy Ritchie-directed take on the character, and features another comic tour-de-force from Robert Downey Jr.
Ben Stiller has been talking up Zoolander 2 in an interview with the UK’s own Screenrush.
Akira Kurosawa’s Kagemusha is to be released in a brand-spanking-new Blu-ray edition through Criterion.
Chris Hemsworth, who made a genuine impression in his ten minutes in Star Trek, is to play Thor.
Dustin Lance Black, the writer of Milk, has lined up Liam Neeson and Jennifer Connelly for his directorial debut, What’s Wrong with Virginia?
John Goodman has apparently joined the cast of The Cross, the new sci-fi from Andrew Niccol starring Orlando Bloom, Vincent Cassel and Olga Kurylenko.
Posted in: Round Up | Tagged: andrew niccol, anton corbijn, ben stiller, chris hemsworth, chris hemsworth thor, criterion collection, dustin lance black, george clooney, george clooney very private gentleman, guy ritchie, jennifer connelly, john goodman, jude law, kagemusha, kagemusha criterion, kurosawa, liam neeson, lionel shriver, lynne ramsay, martin booth, morvern caller, olga kurylenko, orlando bloom, paolo sorrentino, ratcatcher, robert downey jr, robert downey jr sherlock holmes, screenrush, sean penn, sherlock holmes, sherlock holmes trailer, the cross, this must be the place, thor, thor casting, thor casting news, vincent cassel, we need to talk about kevin, we need to talk about kevin film, what's wrong with virginia, zoolander 2, zoolander sequel
Stiller to Help Spread Goodness
Ben Stiller has dived into the Black List from last year to become attached to Help Me Spread Goodness, a screenplay by Mark Friedman which was included on the aforementioned list of the best unproduced screenplays.
The story follows a banker in Chicago who is duped into giving away his son’s college fund by email spammers and then travels to Nigeria to confront those who have wronged him.
It sounds like an interesting project but I can imagine the key will be Stiller finding the right tone for the story. This wouldn’t really be something you would like to see a Will Ferrell-like lead take on, I don’t think. It also doesn’t want to be too serious or sincere about a movie in which a banker loses all his money within the current climate of Wall Street distrust.
Stiller himself is currently also attached to The Trial of the Chicago 7, previously under the control of Steven Spielberg, which of course tells the story of the protests and subsequent trials at the 1968 Democratic Convention in the city. That project seems a similar challenge for Stiller to step outside of his comic zone and produce a serious, politically-motivated drama. That in itself is difficult for most directors to do and Stiller, with Reality Bites the only remotely serious project under his belt, will have to show a new side to pull that off.
For Help Me Spread Goodness however, he may have a chance to revisit the blackly comic tone of The Cable Guy, a somewhat unsuccessful but still interesting work which has now garnered a pretty strong cult following. Maybe this will provide some better material and a more opportune moment for Stiller to show those chops.
Posted in: News | Tagged: 2008 black list, 2008 black list screenplays, ben stiller, ben stiller help me spread goodness, ben stiller new movie, ben stiller the trial of the chicago 7, chicago 7, help me spread goodness, mark friedman, mark friedman help me spread goodness, reality bites, the cable guy, the trial of the chicago 7
Round Up: DeWitt Joins Company Men
By Sam Unsted on April 3, 2009 | Leave a comment
Rachel Getting Married star Rosemarie DeWitt has joined the cast of Company Men, the John Wells movie starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Kevin Costner. Chris Cooper is also in talks.
Noah Baumbach has begun shooting a new film, starring Ben Stiller, about a man who house-sits for his brother.
Night of the Creeps is finally coming to DVD.
Edward Furlong has signed up for the new Uwe Boll project about aid workers in Darfur. Seriously.
Alex Billington at First Showing has some thoughts on the new Woody Allen movie.
Posted in: Round Up | Tagged: ben affleck, ben stiller, chris cooper, company men, company men rosemarie dewitt, darfur, edward furlong, edward furlong uwe boll, janjaweed, kevin costner, new uwe boll, night of the creeps, night of the creeps dvd, night of the creeps on dvd, noah baumbach, noah baumbach ben stiller, noah baumbach new film, tommy lee jones, uwe boll darfur, uwe boll janjaweed, whatever works, whatever works early buzz, whatever works early review
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All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings
3.67 3 5 Forfatter: George H.W. Bush Oplæser: George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush
Findes som e-bog.
Former President George H.W. Bush, revealed through his letters and writings from 1941 to 2010, is “worth its weight in gold…a valuable update of the life of an honorable American leader” (The Washington Post). “Who knew that beneath George Bush’s buttoned-up propriety pulsed the warm heart of a prolific and occasionally poetic writer with a wacky sense of humor?” (People) Though reticent in public, George Bush openly shared his private thoughts in correspondence throughout his life. This collection of letters, diary entries, and memos is the closest we’ll ever get to his autobiography. Organized chronologically, readers will gain insights into Bush’s career highlights—the oil business, his two terms in Congress, his ambassadorship to the UN, his service as an envoy to China, his tenure with the Central Intelligence Agency, and of course, the vice presidency, the presidency, and the post-presidency. They will also observe a devoted husband, father, and American. Ranging from a love letter to Barbara and a letter to his mother about missing his daughter, Robin, after her death from leukemia to a letter to his children written just before the beginning of Desert Storm, this collection is remarkable for Bush’s candor, humor, and poignancy. “An unusual glimpse of the private thoughts of a public figure” (Newsweek), this revised edition includes new letters and photographs that highlight the Bush family’s enduring legacy, including letters that cover George W. Bush’s presidency, 9/11, Bush senior’s work with President Clinton to help the victims of natural disasters, and the meaning of friendship and family. All the Best, George Bush “will shed more light on the man’s personal character and public persona than any memoir or biography could” (Publishers Weekly).
Sprog: Engelsk Kategori: Biografier Abridged Oversætter:
Forlag: Simon & Schuster Audio
Mere info om e-bogen:
Forlag: Scribner
Globalpolitik
Margaret Thatcher: The Autobiography
41: A Portrait of My Father
My Life Bill Clinton
An American Life: The Autobiography
True Reagan
Kissinger: A Biography
The Downing Street Years
Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy
A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety
Bush at War: Inside the Bush White House
We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land
Reflections: Life After the White House
The Anatomy of Fascism
Exceptional: Why the World Needs A Powerful America
Barbara Bush: A Memoir
Stalin: History in an Hour
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M.G. Parham Consulting
MONICA PARHAM
Monica Parham is a sought-after D&I expert who provides consulting and programming on an array of diversity, inclusion, and talent-facing matters. She has spoken widely in the area of diversity and inclusion, and has held a number of D&I leadership roles. She is a former President of the Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals, a Past-President of the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia (the fourth African-American President in the organization's now 101 year history), and current President of the Women’s Bar Association Foundation.
Monica previously served as Diversity Counsel / Head of Diversity at a major international law firm. Under her leadership, the firm received a number of D&I-facing recognitions, including multi-year recognition as one of Working Mother’s Best Law Firms for Women and as a 100% scorer on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. Prior to serving as Diversity Counsel, Monica spent 12 years in practice as a Commercial Litigator.
From a family of educators, Monica is passionate about access and education as key components of inclusion and empowerment. She currently sits on two philanthropic Boards and Chairs a scholarship committee focused on public high school and public charter high school students in the District of Columbia. She also serves on a University Honors College Advisory Board, and has facilitated conversations at both the undergraduate and graduate levels about issues of access and opportunity.
Monica is a "happy traveler" who is endlessly fascinated by people, places and cultures; an enthusiastic amateur photographer; an adventurous foodie (alas, only on the consumption side); a lover of design and architecture; and an aficionado of sub-heavy music.
Monica is a graduate of the Yale Law School, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was Phi Beta Kappa and a Morehead-Cain Scholar.
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It’s all about communication for Oryslava Pelyo – a real estate professional with a seasoned marketing background working with some of the world’s most prestigious TV networks and brands. “When you’re working with high-profile clients, whether they are businesses or corporations, client service is at the heart of all success,” says Oryslava. With such prominent clients in her network as Sony Pictures, Lifetime Television, A+E, Adam Lambert, and Miguel, it’s clear that her approach gets results.
Originally from Ukraine, Oryslava has also lived in London and New York before coming to Miami. Today she says her market perspective and insight is shaped largely from her time in these cosmopolitan world destinations, particularly London. “It’s the place where I learned the value of hard work and persistence… it’s an experience that allowed me to grow culturally and as an individual. It has also allowed me to have a global perspective when it comes to serving my clients.”
To that end, Oryslava believes in pounding the pavement, utilizing her marketing expertise to gain maximum exposure for the properties she represents, and remaining committed to the end goals of her clients. In Miami, that means specializing in the very hottest new properties and neighborhoods such as downtown, Brickell, the beaches, and the Design District. However, when it comes to a single area she is most excited about – Oryslava names East Edgewater as her locale of choice. “There are so many exciting things happening there, like the Perez Art Museum, the new Museum of Science, Miami World Center, and much more.”
Though no longer a marketing TV Producer, Oryslava still puts her considerable skills in this arena to use for her real estate clients, using the latest technologies to showcase properties, and continuing to use her talents in photography and video editing to the same end. She also uses her incredible gift with languages to place a world of clients at ease. She is fully fluent in English, Ukrainian, and Russian, and also speaks some Polish and French.
When she’s not busy creating exceptional buying and selling experiences for those seeking a dream home in Miami, Oryslava enjoys an active lifestyle and spending time with her husband, son, and Yorkshire Terrier. She loves working out doing Cross Fit, High-Intensity-Interval-Training, and a new hobby – JetSet Pilates. “Creativity and energy can apply to every area of your life,” she says, “and when it does, amazing things happen.”
Ory@MiamiLuxuryResidences.com
www.MiamiLuxuryResidences.com
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Tag Archives: HM Revenue
Cameron’s ‘mission’ is morally bankrupt
Posted by Mike Sivier in Benefits, Conservative Party, Cost of living, Disability, Employment, Employment and Support Allowance, People, Politics, Poverty, UK, unemployment, Universal Credit, Workfare
allowance, attack, bankrupt, benefit, bishop, catholic, claimant count, Coalition, Conservative, Customs, David Cameron, death, debt, deficit, Department, destitute, destitution, dole, DWP, employment, ESA, evidence, expense, fraud, government, health, HM Revenue, hmrc, holiday, hope, hunger, Iain Duncan Smith, IB, IDS, Incapacity Benefit, Job Centre Plus, jobseeker, long term economic plan, Mike Sivier, mikesivier, mission, moral, mortality, national Statistics, office, ONS, opportunity, overpaid, overpayment, pension, Pensions, people, politics, punitive, purpose, Reform, responsibility, returned to unit, right, RTU, safety net, sanction, self employ, social security, support, Tories, Tory, travel, Universal Credit, Vincent Nichols, Vox Political, welfare, Westminster, work, Workfare, Working Tax Credit
When David Cameron stands up in all his hypocrisy and tells you that tearing apart the basic safety net that guaranteed people would not be left in hunger or destitution is part of his “moral mission”, even die-hard Tories should agree that the country has taken a turn for the worse.
When he defends an administration that has become so punitive that applicants who don’t get it right have to wait without food for months at a time, by claiming he is doing “what is right”, even die-hard Tories should agree that the man who claims he is Prime Minister has diverged from reality.
That is precisely what he has done, and you can bet that the Tory diehards will quietly go along with it because they think it is far better for other people to lose their lives than it is for their government to lose face.
Cameron has been responding after the Catholic Bishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, delivered a vehement attack on the social security “reforms” being forced on the country’s most vulnerable people by Iain Duncan Smith.
In the Daily Telegraph, Cameron smarmed: “Our long-term economic plan for Britain is not just about doing what we can afford, it is also about doing what is right… Nowhere is that more true than in welfare. For me the moral case for welfare reform is every bit as important as making the numbers add up.
“We are in the middle of a long and difficult journey turning our country around,” Cameron said. “That means difficult decisions to get our deficit down, making sure that the debts of this generation are not our children’s to inherit.
“But our welfare reforms go beyond that alone – they are about giving new purpose, new opportunity, new hope – and yes, new responsibility to people who had previously been written off with no chance.
“Seeing these reforms through is at the heart of our long-term economic plan – and it is at the heart too of our social and moral mission in politics today.”
Drivel. Any evidence-based analysis will find the exact opposite. Where are the opportunities in Workfare schemes that pay only benefits, meaning travel expenses alone put claimants out of pocket, and then send jobseekers back to the dole queue so rich companies can profit further by taking on more claimants on the same terms?
How can anyone derive hope from taking responsibility for their job search, when DWP staff at Jobcentre Plus are ordered to ignore their own responsibilities in favour of harsh sanctions for invented infringements of the Jobseeker’s Agreement?
And how is encouraging people to say they are self-employed, even though they have little chance of earning enough to support them and none of enjoying a holiday or a pension, different from writing them off with no chance?
Look at the new employment figures from the Office for National Statistics – the Coalition government has been making a song and dance about them ever since they came out. On the face of it, they seem reliable: In December 2013, 30.15 million people were in work of some kind, up by 396,000 from the same time the previous year; there were 2.34 million unemployed, down 161,000 from December 2012; and the Claimant Count (those on Jobseekers’ Allowance) was 1.22 million in January, down 327,000 from a year earlier.
However, the number of people marked as self-employed has rocketed to a record level, totalling one in seven of the workforce. That’s 4,370,000 – up 150,000 on the previous year. This is extremely suspicious, as the increase in the previous year totalled 25,000 – just one-sixth of this week’s figure.
Some of these people might be genuinely self-employed and making their new business work – but all of them? In an economy where productivity hasn’t increased since the Coalition took office? You’d have to be stupid to believe that.
Assuming the amount of real self-employment has increased in line with economic growth (at 1.9 per cent), that’s an extra 25,475 in 2013, leaving 124,525 in limbo. Are these really self-employed? Or were they told by Jobcentre advisors to say so and claim working tax credits (as we’ve seen in the past), leading to a huge debt when HMRC tells them they have been claiming fraudulently and have been overpaid?
How many of the unemployed have been wiped off the books due to sanctions? We don’t know, because we don’t have figures up to December 2013. We do know that 897,690 sanctions were enforced in the year to September 2013. We don’t know how many were for one month, how many for three months or how many for three years, but we do know that the rate was six per cent of jobseekers per month in the three months to the end of September 2013. Assuming that rate stayed solid, it suggests that 73,200 were off-benefit due to sanctions in December and should be added to the Claimant Count to give a more accurate figure.
How many of the unemployed have been wiped off the books due to Workfare? We don’t know. How many are unemployed but on Universal Credit, which isn’t included in the Claimant Count? We don’t know – 3,610 were on it at the end of November last year, but the DWP has not divided them into those in work and those without.
David Cameron has access to all of this information, and he doesn’t care. He also has access to the mortality figures for claimants of Incapacity Benefit/Employment and Support Allowance, that the DWP has been withholding from the rest of us, probably for fear of sparking an international outcry. He doesn’t care about that either.
His comments are therefore doubly outrageous – not only is he claiming that his Coalition’s changes are having a beneficial effect when the figures demonstrate the opposite, but he is also claiming the moral high ground when his actions are more appropriate to the populace of the Pit.
In terms of his morality, there can be only one description for him and his cronies:
Bankrupt.
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Archive for the tag “Legal Fraternity”
The ANCWL is Disappointed that Judge Mabel Jansen Reduces Sexual Abuse in SA to being a Black Culture (09.05.2016).
The African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL) unapologetically and strongly believes that gender-based violence has no place in South Africa (SA) and it must be fought by all in the society for women to live happily as equal citizens in the country. The crime statistics for 2014/15 has shown a significant decrease of recorded cases on sexual offenses to have decreased by 7.4%, from 46,647 to 43,195 respectively however the ANCWL does not celebrate such a decrease as the numbers still remain high.
The ANCWL is disappointed by the likes of Judge Jansen who is supposed to uphold the rule of law in an objective and unbiased manner, defining rape as a black culture. Her comments made on Facebook where she claims that the rape of young children is part of black culture, are purely racist and misrepresentation of facts about black culture. The comments are not in anyway assisting in fighting the scourge of sexual abuse in the country.
The ANCWL respects Judge Jansen’s right to participate in public debate but ANCWL has a view that her utterances on rape as being a black culture undermines the standing and integrity of the judiciary. It is the ANCWL’ s view that she violated Article 7 (a) of the Code of Judicial Conduct for South African Judges adopted in terms of section 12 of the Judicial Service Commission Act, 1994 (Act No 9 OF 1994) which requires her that at all times personally avoid and dissociate herself from comments that are racist, sexist or otherwise manifest discrimination in violation of the equality guaranteed by the Constitution.
The ANCWL has lost trust that Judge Jansen will preside over cases of rape fairly in future and therefore calls on Judicial Services Commission to decisively deal with her and relevant bodies to investigate if these utterances do not justify her being de- registered from the legal fraternity.
Whilst the ANCWL calls for gender transformation of the judiciary, the women’s league does not support views coming from any person irrespective of gender or race that reduces the violent sexual abuse of women in our country as black culture. Sexual abuse knows knows no race or social status it affects us all.
ANCWL urges all members of the society to work together in dealing with violence on women and children. All our efforts are required in redressing violence faced by women and children in SA
Issued by: ANC Women’s League
Cde Meokgo Matuba
Toko Xasa
ANCWL, National Spokesperson
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged African National Congress, ANC, ANC Woman League, ANC Women's League, ANCWL, Black Culture, Cde Meokgo Matuba, Constitution of South Africa, Gender-based Violence, GoSA, Government of South Africa, Integrity, Integrity of Law, JSC, Judge Mabel Jansen, Judicial Service Commission, Judicial Service Commission Act, Legal Fraternity, Mabel Jansen, Meokgo Matuba, North Gauteng High Court, Race, Rape, Republic of South Africa, RSA, SA Judicial Services Commission, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Offenses, Social Status, South Africa, South African Judges, Toko Xasa, Violation, ZA | Leave a comment
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Keeping the Prog-Rock Faith A Preview of Marillion at The Vic
October 20, 2016 at 2:35 pm by Bill Kopp
by Bill Kopp
October 20, 2016 November 5, 2016 Filed under:
Prog-rock
Formed in 1979, modern progressive-rock group Marillion got off to an auspicious start: the band’s first and second albums—1983’s “Script for a Jester’s Tear” and the 1984 release “Fugazi”—both top-tenned in the group’s native UK. Their third album, “Misplaced Childhood” (released 1985) was Marillion’s breakthrough; it hit number one in the UK and rose to forty-seven on the US album charts, partly on the strength of its single, “Kayleigh.”
Marillion would appear only once more on the US album chart, in 1987. After that record, lead vocalist Fish left for a solo career, apparently taking with him whatever transatlantic commercial draw the band had. But Marillion’s popularity has persisted in the UK; their eighteenth and latest studio release, “F.E.A.R.,” hit number three on the British album charts.
The band quickly replaced Fish with lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Steve Hogarth, and the lineup stabilized; there hasn’t been a single change in Marillion personnel since 1989. Like many Marillion albums, “F.E.A.R.” is built upon unifying thematic elements; in this case the album deals with the downside of rugged individualism. Lengthy suite-like pieces—“El Dorado,” “The Leavers” and “The New Kings”—form the musical basis of the record suggesting comparisons with Yes, but the sweeping space-rock of Pink Floyd is a musical touchstone as well.
Marillion’s current tour takes the group to about a dozen venues across North America; the band’s two nights at The Vic feature opener John Wesley, the American guitarist-vocalist best-known as a member of the live lineup of Porcupine Tree.
For Chicago fans of progressive music, the Marillion shows will make an excellent addition to a prog-themed week: across town on October 21-23, Reggies Chicago is host to Progtoberfest II, an all-star progressive-rock festival featuring Brand X, Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy, Mike Keneally’s Beer for Dolphins and many more including Chicago’s own District 97. (Bill Kopp)
October 27 and 28, 8pm at The Vic, 3145 North Sheffield, (773)472-0449; $60, $101 for both nights.
Bill Kopp
With a background in marketing and advertising, Bill Kopp got his professional start writing for Trouser Press. His more than 2,500 interviews, essays, and reviews reflect Bill’s keen interest in American musical forms, most notably rock, jazz and soul. His work features a special emphasis on reissues and vinyl. Bill’s work also appears in many other outlets both online and in print. He also researches and authors liner notes for album reissues, and co-produced a reissue of jazz legend Julian “Cannonball” Adderley’s final album. His first book, “Reinventing Pink Floyd,” is due from Rowman & Littlefield in February 2018.
Arena Rock for Modern Audiences RECOMMENDED The Struts are one of those groups that seem as if they've been around forever. Expertly channeling the glammy musical excess of Queen, the quartet from Derby, England burst onto the pop music landscape with 2014's “Everybody Wants.” That album charted modestly in the U.K. and Canada, faring better (number fifteen) on the U.S. rock charts. Ahead of their…
Long Live Post-Rock, Dead Or Alive RECOMMENDED The Who's Roger Daltrey first sang “Rock is dead / long live rock” way back in 1972. So it shouldn't be all that surprising that forty-five years later there's a musical genre known as post-rock, even if the term is so vague as to have no real meaning. Nonetheless, post-rock is the favored label applied to Tortoise. From Tortoise's…
God Isn’t My Only Co-Pilot: Post-Rock Thrives On Two New Releases “Twin Hemispheres” is neither the best composition on the band’s new album nor the right choice for the single (which it was), but I’ll be damned if they didn’t position it perfectly as a statement of intent, as if to say, "We are still Pilot Cloud and we’re picking up precisely where we left off. "
Pop-Rock Redux: A Preview of Charly Bliss at Empty Bottle The story is, the band recorded its debut album twice: first as a scrappier indie-rock record, then two years later as a maximal pop statement attuned to the sound they’d honed on tour. They’ve edited their material into engulfing sing-alongs that’ll thrill audiences at small clubs (like the Empty Bottle this month), but that wouldn’t be out of place on…
The Hardest-Working Man in Rock: A Preview of Steven Wilson at The Vic Theatre Despite his massive output and sterling reputation in the prog and rock world, today Steven Wilson still somehow remains just outside the view of the larger masses. Taking into consideration the fact that most everything Wilson sets out to do is an unqualified success, it's advisable to see him now before that inevitable breakthrough happens.
Beer for Dolphins
Brand X (band)
District 97 (band)
ELP Legacy
Fish (singer)
Steve Hogarth
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Blockbuster: A Preview of The Silver Room Block Party in Hyde Park
Summer 2019: Ten Songs for Summer
Last Punks Standing: A Preview of Mekons at Hideout
Folk and Blues: The Tribulations of The Old Town School
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From the sublime to the hilarious at the London Marathon
Written by runABC North on Wed 1 May 2019
With the ballot already open for the 2020 race we take a look back at some of the off-beat highlights of the 39th Virgin Money London Marathon (VMLM) on Sunday (28 April) through the eyes of runABC reporter Alan Newman, who has a personal connection with one of the most publicised competitors...
This year's London Marathon broke new ground with a record 42,906 starters and 42,549 finishers, 2,000 more than the previous best. There are no superlatives left to describe the utter dominance of world record holder, Eliud Kipchoge, whose winning time (2:02:37) was a course record and second fastest in history behind his 2:01:39 in Berlin – making London the second fastest marathon in the world.
Kipchoge (34) has now won 10 of his 11 marathons, including the Rio Olympics. If you take out his 2:08:44 Olympic gold in torrid conditions in Brazil, his average time is 2:04:00! Kipchoge now joins Ingrid Kristiansen as a four-time London champion.
Sir Mo Farah attracted some negative headlines for fifth in 2:05:39 but this was less than 30 seconds outside his European record and he broke his British 30K record (1:27:28) by three seconds as he battled to stay with the African elite.
Brigid Kosgei (25) became the youngest ever female champion and the ninth fastest in history despite an almost pedestrian first half (1:11:38). The quickest ever second half (1:06:42) was responsible for her magnificent 2:18:20, a personal best by 15 seconds.
Celebrity finishers were led by former world champion cyclist Chris Newton (2:45:24) and model Nell McAndrew (3:15:08). The women's race starter, former Wimbledon champion Amélie Mauresmo, recorded 3:22:46 to miss out on a dinner paid for by men's starter Andy Murray, had she improved her PB. One celebrity who impressed our reporter was the 'Ever Present' Chris Finill (M60, 2:59:46) who achieved his 38th sub-3-hour run in London.
The race predictably took the charity fund raising total to the £1 billion milestone since the inaugural London Marathon and many competitors wore fancy dress in an attempt to set a Guinness world record. Fastest of the 38 successful record beaters was Matthew Berry (2:43:54) 'dressed as a zombie (male)'.
The Metropolitan Police were successful in their bid for glory as the 'fastest six-person costume' as they piloted their Thunderbird 2 outfit to a world record 5:59:33. However, maximum publicity for his charity Dementia Revolution was achieved in a failed attempt on the marathon record 'dressed as a landmark' by Lukas Bates (30) from Maidstone, Kent.
Lukas, a useful club runner with a 2:59:22 best, was coached for a few years at Paddock Wood AC by this writer, who was reduced to tears watching him attempt to get his over-sized Big Ben costume beneath the finish gantry. Lukas clocked 3:54:21 after receiving a big hand from a helpful marshal but he missed the record by 20 mins. Enjoy Lukas' hilarious moment of fame here...
Image courtesy Virgin Money London Marathon on facebook
Eliud Kipchoge
Sir Mo Farah
Brigid Kosgei
Lukas Bates
← Runners encouraged to double up at Sunderland City Runs
Snap up the last places at Snowdonia →
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Robert S. Rubin, Who Defended The Brooklyn Museum Against Rudy Giuliani, Passes Away at 86
Chris Ofili, The Holy Virgin Mary (1996). Mixed media on canvas, 8×6 feet
This litigation is not just about the Brooklyn Museum of Art, it is being undertaken in the interests of all public institutions—museums, universities and libraries—that are dedicated to the free exchange of ideas and information, and in the interests of the people they serve. —Robert S. Rubin, chairman of the board, Brooklyn Museum of Art, September 28, 1999 at a press conference in the museum’s lobby.
Robert S. Rubin, philanthropist, investment banker and champion of free expression, died on Saturday at a hospital in Manhattan. He was 86.
Rubin was instrumental in defending The Brooklyn Museum in a highly publicized controversy in which, as chairman of the museum’s board, he went head-to-head with then-mayor Rudy Giuliani who threatened retaliation over the upcoming exhibition, Sensation: Young British Artists From the Saatchi Collection (Oct. 2, 1999 – Jan. 9, 2000).
Of the many provocative works in the show, one in particular provoked Giuliani’s outrage, Chris Ofili’s The Holy Virgin Mary. Ofili, a YBA (Young British Artist), was the first black artist to be awarded Britain’s prestigious Turner Prize the previous year; his work has been described as “paintings…concerned with issues of black identity and experience and [that] frequently employ racial stereotypes in order to challenge them.”
In keeping with this theme, The Holy Virgin Mary depicts a stylized Black Madonna surrounded by putti, a lump of elephant dung forming one of her breasts. On closer inspection, the putti are revealed to be collaged photos of female genitalia cut from porn magazines. The canvas is displayed leaning against a wall, propped up on two more lumps of elephant dung (a signature material of Ofili’s at the time).
Deriding the work as an anti-Catholic smear on the Virgin Mary, Giuliani ordered the museum to remove it or else he would cancel the exhibition, cut off all city subsidies and eject the museum from the building. During the high-profile battle that ensued, Rubin stood up to Giuliani, and the museum’s board stood firmly behind him.
Rubin filed a preemptive suit against the city in federal court. Judge Nina Gershon ruled that Giuliani’s attempt to cut funding and his threat of eviction violated the First Amendment. Giuliani appealed, and in March 2000 the case was settled: the city agreed to pay $5.8 million over two years to help renovate the museum’s entry hall.
Floyd Abrams, the First Amendment lawyer who represented the museum, said that Mr. Rubin “was very supportive of the effort to resist Mayor Giuliani’s censorship and was willing to run considerable risks in taking on a mayor who had authority over the purse strings and over public opinion and with respect to the museum’s very legitimacy and existence.”
Brooklyn Museum and the 'Sensation' Show
The Brooklyn Museum of Art settled its court case over the Sensation art exhibit at…
Free Expression and Arts Groups Applaud Brooklyn Museum of Art
The free expression and arts community today strongly supported the Brooklyn Museum of Art in…
New Museum Opens - Museum of Censored Art
On Thursday, January 13th, a new museum opens in Washington, DC: The Museum of Censored…
By Joy Garnett|2019-03-06T15:40:55-04:00March 26th, 2018|Blog|
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Proving Knowledge of a License Revocation
Posted on April 12, 2010 by Shea Denning • 0 comment
Driving while license revoked (DWLR), a Class 1 misdemeanor, is one of the most frequently charged criminal offenses in North Carolina. And, while certain elements of the offense are spelled out in G.S. 20-28 and are relatively straightforward—namely that the person (1) operated a motor vehicle, (2) on a highway, (3) while the person’s license was suspended or revoked—the last element, that the person had knowledge of the revocation, is not set forth in G.S. 20-28, nor is it always easily explained or understood.
The state supreme court first held in State v. Atwood, 290 N.C. 266 (1976), that the legislature intended that a defendant have actual or constructive knowledge that his or her license had been suspended or revoked before the defendant could be convicted of violating G.S. 20-28(a). The Atwood court based this determination on the requirement in G.S. 20-16(d) that DMV notify a person that his or her license is suspended or revoked and provide an opportunity for a hearing on the matter. Atwood’s license was suspended based upon her conviction within 12 months of two offenses of speeding over 55 miles per hour. Then, as now, G.S. 20-16 afforded DMV discretion regarding whether to revoke a person’s license for this reason and required that DMV provide an opportunity for a hearing in the event it elected to do so.
While some license revocations are discretionary, like that in Atwood, many are not. G.S. 20-17(a) sets forth offenses for which conviction requires that DMV revoke a person’s driver’s license. Among these are impaired driving and manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle. Upon receiving notice of conviction of such an offense (which the clerk must provide pursuant to G.S. 20-24(b)), DMV must revoke the defendant’s license. Unlike G.S. 20-16, G.S. 20-17 does not require that DMV provide a defendant notice or an opportunity to be heard, though DMV nevertheless provides notice of mandatory revocations. Had the holding in Atwood been based solely on the notice and hearing requirements applicable to discretionary revocations, the knowledge requirement for conviction under G.S. 20-28(a) might be limited only to circumstances in which the revocation was ordered pursuant to G.S. 20-16. But the Atwood court went on to state that the “lack of actual notice and resulting knowledge removes the criminal character from the defendant’s conduct,” thereby indicating that its interpretation of G.S. 20-28(a) also was founded upon the traditional criminal law requirement that a defendant act with guilty knowledge. Justice Exum embraced this implied mens rea argument in his concurrence in Atwood. Subsequent cases make clear that knowledge is an element of DWLR regardless of the reason for the underlying revocation. See, e.g., State v. Curtis, 73 N.C. App. 248 (1985).
Atwood further held that while the mailing of a notice by DMV in accordance with G.S. 20-48 raises a prima facie presumption that a defendant received the notice and thereby acquired knowledge of the suspension or revocation, a defendant may rebut this presumption.
G.S. 20-48 permits DMV to provide notice by United States mail to the address contained in its records. Notice provided by mail is complete four days after the mailing. Before it was amended in 2006, G.S. 20-48 provided that proof of the giving of notice could be made by a certificate from a DMV employee or another adult naming the person to whom notice was given and specifying the time, place, and manner in which notice was provided. Such a certificate, when combined with a copy of the notice, establishes a prima facie case of knowledge. See State v. Cruz, 173 N.C. App. 689 (2005). G.S. 20-48 now provides that proof of notice may be made by a notation in DMV records and dispenses with the requirement that the actual notice be produced. Because, however, DMV has not altered its record-keeping practices to implement this change, the State still must establish constructive notice under G.S. 20-48 by producing the actual notice and a certificate describing the time, place, and manner of notice.
Proof that DMV complied with the notice provisions of G.S. 20-48 creates a presumption that a defendant received notice of the revocation and therefore had the requisite knowledge. When there is some evidence to rebut this presumption, the issue of guilty knowledge must be determined by the jury (in superior court) under appropriate instructions from the trial court. See State v. Chester, 30 N.C. App. 224 (1976). If there is no evidence to rebut the presumption (in other words, no evidence that the defendant was not notified), the trial court is not required to instruct the jury regarding guilty knowledge. Id.
Presumably, the state also can prove actual knowledge based upon a defendant’s admission that he or she knew his or her license was revoked or a defendant’s act of surrendering his or her license to the court upon conviction of an offense that requires revocation pursuant to G.S. 20-24(a).
Category: Crimes and Elements, Evidence, Motor Vehicles, Uncategorized | Tags: driving while license revoked, dwlr, revoked license
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Home Opinion Property registration
LAW EACH WEEK
How are properties owned and registered under the owner’s name under the Philippine laws?
The following are the ways on how to register properties pursuant to Section 14 of P.D 1529 also known as the Property Registration Decree by filling in the proper Court of First Instance (RTC) an application for registration of title to land: (1) Those who by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession and occupation of alienable and disposable lands of the public domain under a bona fide claim of ownership since June 12, 1945, or earlier; (2) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands by prescription under the provision of existing laws; (3) Those who have acquired ownership of private lands or abandoned river beds by right of accession or accretion under the existing laws; and (4) Those who have acquired ownership of land in any other manner provided for by law.”
Can I eventually own the property owned by the government if I live in the property for thirty (30) years?
O nly patrimonial properties owned by the government can be acquired through prescription. In complying with Section 14(2) of the Property Registration Decree, consider that under the Civil Code, prescription is recognized as a mode of acquiring ownership of patrimonial property. However, public domain lands become only patrimonial property not only with a declaration that these are alienable or disposable. There must also be an express government manifestation that the property is already patrimonial or no longer retained for public service or the development of national wealth, under Article 422 of the Civil Code. And only when the property has become patrimonial can the prescriptive period for the acquisition of property of the public dominion begin to run. (Heirs of Malabanan vs. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. 179987, April 29, 2009.
What is meant by “patrimonial properties”?
Under Article 422 of the New Civil Code, “property of public dominion, when no longer intended for public use or for public service, shall form part of the patrimonial property of the State.” It also means that there is positive or an expressed government act declaring that such property is no longer intended for some public service or for the development of the national wealth.
What other elements must be proved or established before registration can be made?
The case of Philippines vs. Zurbaran Realty and Development Corporation (G.R. No. 164408, March 24, 2014) provides that the following requisites pursuant to Sec. 14(2) of P.D. 1529, to wit: (a) the land is an alienable and disposable, and patrimonial property of the public domain; (b) the applicant and its predecessors-in-interest have been in possession of the land for at least 10 years, in good faith and with just title, or for at least 30 years, regardless of good faith or just title; and (c) the land had already been converted to or declared as patrimonial property of the State at the beginning of the said 10- year or 30-year period of possession.
P53M due to SSS for Dgte employees!
Campus journalists to cover city sports
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U.S. SENIOR AMATEUR
Allan Thrilled for Sister's Showing in Wellesley September 18, 2016 | ST. LOUIS, MO. By Tom Mackin
Though disappointed to miss the cut for match play in St. Louis, Dan Allan's spirits were buoyed by the play of his sister, Judith Kyrinis. (USGA/Chris Keane)
Dan Allan walked off the final green at Old Warson Country Club frustrated at having finished 14 over par in his first-ever U.S. Senior Amateur Championship. But his spirits brightened immediately when told that his sister, Judith Kyrinis, was the likely medalist in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur being played concurrently at Wellesley (Mass.) Country Club.
“That is awesome,” said Allan, 56, of Cedarburg, Wis. “We’ve been texting back and forth before our rounds. I expect her to win. She expects to win, too. I hope she holds up her end of the bargain since I didn’t hold up mine.”
Although he finished second in both the 2015 Wisconsin State Senior Amateur and the 2016 Wisconsin State Senior Match Play, Allan found playing in his first USGA championship a much different experience.
“You know the whole field at this level is really good,” said Allan, who grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario. “In state events, half the field is really good. There’s golf, there’s tournament golf and there’s spotlight national golf. I didn’t fare so well but I belong here. I know that I can play with these guys. But I have to work on a few things like everyone else. I was very pleased to qualify but very disappointed not to make match play.”
His younger sister did that and more when she reached the final of the 2014 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at Hollywood Golf Club in Deal, N.J., where she lost, 1 up, to Joan Higgins. Kyrinis, who has played in four other USGA championships and last month swept the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior Amateur titles in Alberta, had given her older brother one word of advice before he traveled to Old Warson Country Club: patience. “That’s all she told me,” Allan said. “Just be patient. You’re not going to win it on the first hole.”
Two years ago Allan took a late-night flight and slept in his rental car at Hollywood Golf Club just to support his sister during that final. “I walked the entire course but unfortunately she lost,” he said. “It was the first time I saw her play in a national event and it was a very inspiring experience.”
Because Allan lives in Wisconsin and his sister lives in Toronto, they don’t see each other that much. But they might later this week. Allan says he will be watching his sister’s matches closely and checking airfares. “If she makes it to the finals on Thursday, I might just fly there to see it. And hopefully get a hotel room this time.”
Arizona resident Tom Mackin is a frequent contributor to USGA websites.
More from the 62nd U.S. Senior Amateur
Championships Photos: Round 2 of Stroke Play at Old Warson
Championships After More Than Four Decades, Two Return to USGA Play
Championships 2007 Champion Stan Lee Rues Brother’s Absence
Championships Stroke Play, Round 2: Live Updates
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Illustration: Christine Daniloff/MIT
University of Massachusetts professor Stephen Burns (left) and Malagasy student Peterson Faina cutting a stalagmite at Anjohibe Cave.
Photo: Laurie Godfrey
Humans settled, set fire to Madagascar’s forests 1,000 years ago
Stalagmites reveal huge shift in ancient Madagascar’s plant life, unrelated to climate change.
There’s no question that our species has had a dramatic impact on the planet’s physical environment, particularly over the last few centuries, with the rise of modern industry, transportation, and infrastructure. But as new research shows, humans have been transforming the landscape, with lasting impacts, since long before the start of the Industrial Era.
Scientists from MIT and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have found that a widespread and permanent loss of forests in Madagascar that occurred 1,000 years ago was due not to climate change or any natural disaster, but to human settlers who set fire to the forests to make way for grazing cattle.
The researchers came to this conclusion after determining the composition of two stalagmites from a cave in northwestern Madagascar. Stalagmites form from water that percolates from the surface, through the soil, and into a cave. These finely layered pillars can be preserved for thousands of years, and their composition serves as a historical record of the environment above ground.
From their analysis, the team found that around 1,000 years ago, both stalagmites’ calcium carbonate composition shifted suddenly and completely, from carbon isotope ratios typical of trees and shrubs, to those more consistent with grassland, within just 100 years.
Was this landscape transformation triggered by climate change? The team’s results suggest otherwise. Around the same period, they found that oxygen isotope levels remained unchanged in both stalagmites, indicating that rainfall rates — and climate in general — remained relatively stable.
“We went in expecting to just tell a climate change story, and were surprised to see a huge carbon isotope change in both stalagmites,” says David McGee, the Kerr-McGee Career Development Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT. “Both the speed at which this shift occurred and the fact that there’s no real climate signal suggest human involvement.”
The team’s results are published this week in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.
Caving for clues
McGee, who studies the composition of stalagmites as an indicator of past climates, teamed up with lead author Stephen Burns, professor of geosciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Laurie Godfrey, professor of anthropology also at UMass Amherst; and colleagues at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar. Godfrey has been studying the extinctions of giant lemurs that occurred in Madagascar over the past 1,000 years. Populations of other large animals declined dramatically around this time, including pygmy hippos and giant tortoises.
The megafaunal extinction was likely accelerated by habitat loss and the widespread destruction of forests at the time. However, it’s been difficult to pin down exactly why the forests shrank, and when. Scientists who have analyzed sediment deposits from ancient lakes in the region and in other parts of Madagascar have observed an increased abundance of charcoal microparticles — a signal of fire. They’ve also noticed a spike in grass pollen levels, indicating a larger extent of grasslands. But dates for these sediments are uncertain.
McGee says stalagmites offer a more precise record of environmental change.
“You’d think stalagmites in a cave are insensitive to what’s going on in the landscape above them,” McGee says. “But because they’re basically fossilized groundwater deposits, precipitated in very regular layers, they’re a fairly sensitive recorder of climate and ecosystem changes.”
In a 2014 expedition to the island, Burns, Godfrey, and their Malagasy colleagues collected samples of stalagmites from Anjohibe Cave, a large cave system in northwestern Madagascar. They sent two meter-long stalagmites to McGee to analyze at MIT.
Seeing a shift
In the lab, McGee and research scientist Benjamin Hardt determined the ages of each stalagmite’s layers by measuring the ratio of uranium to thorium — a common geological dating technique, but difficult in these samples given their relative youth. Burns then measured their carbon and oxygen isotope ratios. All plants take up carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. While carbon dioxide in the air consists of a fixed isotopic ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-13, all plants preferentially take up carbon-12. Among plants, trees and shrubs more strongly exclude carbon-13 compared with grasses.
When the dating and isotope results were put together, McGee and Burns observed a dramatic shift in the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-13 around 1,000 years ago in both stalagmites.
“What we see in the record is that the change from carbon isotopes that look like forest, to isotopes that look like grassland, happens really rapidly, within a century, and it would be unusual for a forest to naturally completely turn into grassland that quickly,” McGee says.
With additional analysis, Burns and McGee determined there was no corresponding change in oxygen isotopes at the time, eliminating climate change, or any natural drop in precipitation, as a trigger for forest loss.
Godfrey and others have found evidence that humans settled on Madagascar around 3,000 years ago and later adopted a more agrarian lifestyle, introducing cattle to the island before 1,000 years ago. McGee says the results suggest that humans used “slash and burn techniques” around this time to create pastureland for cattle.
“I think this is one more piece of evidence that human impacts on the environment don’t just start with Europeans and the Industrial era,” McGee says.
Going forward, Godfrey says the team plans to sample more caves across Madagascar to determine the timing and extent to which humans transformed the landscape.
“The transition from ephemeral forager to dedicated agro-pastoralist occurred, probably across Madagascar, around 1,000 years ago,” Godfrey says. “We know that a dramatic landscape transformation occurred in the northwest. We know that this transformation was not triggered by climate change. But we don’t yet know whether similar shifts, also unrelated to natural aridification, occurred elsewhere on the island, and if so, when, exactly. We are currently seeking to answer these questions.”
This research was funded, in part, by the National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society.
Topics: Climate, Climate change, Environment, History, Research, EAPS, School of Science, National Science Foundation (NSF)
“Rapid human-induced landscape transformation in Madagascar at the end of the first millennium of the Common Era”
David McGee
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Intensity of desert storms may affect ocean phytoplankton
Stalagmites pinpoint drying of American West
A ‘green’ Sahara was far less dusty than today
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Based on the pattern of the New Testament church, North Hills is blessed with an eldership that oversees the congregation. These men are not driven by duty, but rather allow the Lord to move them as they make decisions to spiritually grow the North Hills family.
Paul Holdren
Paul, Debbie and Zak Holdren arrived at the North Hills church of Christ in the summer of 2000, after living in eight different cities during the first twenty years of Paul’s career in the Healthcare industry.
These last fifteen years have been the most spiritually rewarding for the Holdren’s according to Paul. He believes this is, in large part, due to the loving and welcoming environment and the enduring relationships they enjoy with the North Hills Christian family. His spiritual growth has been fostered by, and anchored in, the sound New Testament teaching that is presented here.
Paul grew up his entire life in the churches of Christ, where his father was a minister in various congregations of the church in Northern West Virginia and Eastern Ohio. Paul was baptized as a young teenager and is thankful to have been blessed with faithful parents that instilled in him the importance and relevance of our Heavenly Father, and his desire to call all those who will follow him, into eternal salvation.
After his professional career required him to work out of town for most of the last twelve years, Paul retired from full time work in September of 2015, and now works part time as the President of Adeptys, Inc., a professional healthcare management consulting firm that he founded in 2002.
His desire in filling the role of an elder is to serve, teach, and encourage his Christian family in any way possible to enhance and grow in their relationship with God, and to engage those who are seeking salvation.
Paul may be reached at:
(412) 445-5361 (cell)
Jeff Wolfgong
Jeff Wolfgong grew up in Western Pennsylvania and has been a lifelong member of Churches of Christ. He was a preteen when he was baptized into Christ and he has been continuously faithful to God and his church ever since. Both his father and brother were former ministers of the North Hills congregation before going on to their eternal home. Jeff has always been active in the work of the church.
He served as a bus captain and later director of the bus ministry at the New Brighton Church of Christ during his teen and college years. He and his wife Tammy lived in Knoxville, TN for 12 years where both their children, Jacob and Abby, were born. Jeff was the deacon of the middle school youth program at the West End Church of Christ in Knoxville, TN.
Jeff and his family moved back to the Pittsburgh area in 1999 and became members of the North Hills church at that time. Jeff was asked to serve as an elder in 2004. Jeff enjoys leading singing, teaching classes, studying God’s word, and shepherding. He works full time as the Director of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs for a medical device company in Pittsburgh.
You may reach Jeff at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Serving Deacons
In order to carry on the work that God has set out for the North Hills family, we have a dedicated group of individuals that make up our Deacons and Ministry Leaders. We have serving Deacons in each of the following areas:
Worship - Kipp Madison
Worship Support - Dave Ferguson
Finance - Jim Steigerwald
In addition to the Deacons chosen by the congregation, a number of other individuals have been selected to lead our efforts in the following ministry areas:
Attendance - Dennis McCoy
A/V & Computers - Bobby Strickland
Benevolence/Missions - Ed Kairis
Communications - Anne Taylor
Children's Education - Cheryl Rampton
Evangelism - KC & Jen Branson
Finance Support - Matt Utz
Life Groups - Cole & Megan DeLancey
Men - Jeff Wolfgong
Outreach & Greeters - Terry Lafferty
Strategic Planning - Elders
Teens - Brian & Amy McCumsey
Women - Samantha Richardson & Tammy Wolfgong
Friendspeak - Jenny Lafferty
Building and Grounds Maintenance - Buddy Veiga
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Bizarre Beasts at Creepy Castles
Nick Redfern July 8, 2015
Any mention of supernatural phenomena, in connection with old British castles, is inevitably going to provoke imagery of ghosts, specters, and the dead returned (chain-rattling or not). This is hardly surprising, since Britain is seemingly filled with such stories and legends. Less well know, however, are the cases that link old castles not to human ghosts but to the ghosts of strange creatures. As in very strange creatures.
We’ll begin with the glowing-eyed, black-colored phantom dog of England’s Tamworth Castle; a castle that was constructed by the Normans, way back in the 11th Century. In 1945, the final year of the Second World War, the demon dog – which could have given the Hound of the Baskervilles itself chills – was seen prowling around the grounds of the castle, in ghostly and ghastly form.
Tamworth Castle
It looked like a normal, large mastiff-type dog; the glowing eyes aside, of course – which practically appeared to be aflame. That is, until it vanished in front of the shocked witness. And by “vanished” I mean dematerialized. Notably, within the family of the witness, the hound became known as the “furnace dog.” Whether that was due to those blazing eyes, or to something else, is a matter as intriguing as it is unresolved.
Also in England, there’s the story of nothing less than a large, fast-moving, ape-like animal seen on land next to Chartley Castle, Staffordshire in 1986. The castle, founded in the 13th century, has a long and rich history. Although, it’s fair to say that the events of 1986 surely represent the weirdest part of the castle’s history. The creature, seen by the Dodds family late one night, was described as resembling a large chimpanzee. Coincidence or not, two decades later, in 2006, an impressive-looking Crop Circle was found on the same stretch of land where the unidentified ape was seen years before.
Barbary Ape
Let’s now take a trip to Pembrokeshire, Wales, which is home to ancient Carew Castle. Legend tells of evil Sir Roland Rhys, a 17th century figure who ran the castle with an iron-fist. According to the lore of the castle, at some point Rhys acquired a Barbary Macaque (or Barbary Ape, as they are often called), and which he decided to name Satan. As you do, of course.
The beast certainly lived up to its name. Both Satan and Rhys met bloody ends: the former ripped the throat of its owner. The body of Satan was found burning in the huge fireplace that dominated the dining hall and only seconds after his master’s bloody demise. To this day, so the story goes, the spectral form of the mad Macaque can occasionally be seen roaming Carew Castle.
Moving on to Scotland, there’s the ghostly gorilla of Dundoland Castle – which has its origins in the 11th century. Researcher Mark Fraser has investigated the case of one Josephine Aldridge, who had a nerve-jangling encounter, in 1994, at the castle with something that resembled a gorilla, but which proceeded to do something not at all typical of a gorilla: it vanished before Aldridge’s astonished eyes.
Also in Scotland is Glamis Castle, which was, for many decades, said to have been the lair of a hideous thing that had an enormous “flabby egg”-like body and tiny limbs, and which some researchers perceive as having been a tragic, deformed human. Others, however, have suggested the thing had far more beastly origins. Jon Downes, of the Center for Fortean Zoology, correctly notes that the most popular theory is that “…the creature was supposed to have been the hideously deformed heir to the Bowes-Lyon family…”
Glamis Castle
On the other hand, we have the research of the late Elliott O’Donnell – who, in 1912, penned Scottish Ghost Stories. He told of a woman who stayed at the castle and who had the distinct misfortune to encounter a humanoid creature “covered with a tangled mass of grey hair” and which had “the manner of an ape.”
I could go on and on, but you see my point. Contrary to the popular opinion that Britain’s haunted castles are home to ghosts and specters of a human kind and that’s about it, the reality is that its animals of a very weird kind that so often give such castles their supernatural reputations.
Not that I’m the one to do it, but there’s undeniably a book in all this. After all, an untold number of books have been written on the human ghosts of British castles, so why not the “monster ghosts” of such places, too? Anyone up for the challenge?
Tags Carew Castle Chartley Castle Dundoland Castle Phantom Black Dog
Crop Circles and Sorcery
Nick Redfern February 27, 2011
Bedroom Encounters: Ghostly Black Dogs & Supernatural Wolves
Nick Redfern June 12, 2019
Crop Circles: ET’s Art? Nah. . .
Paranormal Phenomena in an Infamous Prison
Nick Redfern September 30, 2017
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Retaining starters and free agent activity: Training camp edition
By Tony Villiotti
With three weeks remaining until the start of NFL training camps (and having just returned from the beach), this seems like a good time to update DRAFTMETRICS analysis of returning starters and free agent activity. To refresh your memory, this analysis reports the number of games started by players still with their 2012 team as well games started by players acquired through free agency or other means in the offseason.
The proposition put forth here is that having experienced players is a good thing and it is even better if continuity is enhanced by the players gaining that experience with your team. DRAFTMETRICS acknowledges that the number of game started is far from a perfect way of evaluating experience, particularly the quality of the 2012 starters. For example, in this analysis:
• 16 games started by Peyton Manning are the same as 16 games started by Ryan Fitzpatrick
• The acquisition or retention of premier players (such as Darrelle Revis) who missed much of 2012 due to injury tend to be undervalued because of the few games started in 2012.
Still, though, this analysis does give some insight as to the experience level of each NFL team. There remain a number of unsigned free agents and further veteran player cuts are inevitable, so these numbers will continue to change. DRAFTMETRICS will not update this analysis again, though, until the opening of the regular season.
Almost three-quarters of the games started in the NFL last season were by players who remain with the same team for the 2013 season. There is a wide disparity among NFL teams, with the Redskins returning players representing 95% of 2012 starts while the Raiders return less than half that number. Please remember that each team has 352 potential starts (16 games times 22 starters per game). The
following table shows the number of 2012 games started by players remaining on each team’s 2013
roster.
So far in the offseason, players accounting for over 17% of 2012 starts have moved onto a different team. Remaining unsigned free agents started over 7% of 2012 games. The following table shows the total 2012 games started by both returning players and players acquired in the offseason.
As you can see, the Titans have been the leader in acquiring new players, resulting in their having far and away the most experienced 2013 roster in terms of 2012 starts. Will that translate into a successful 2013 season? Time, of course, will tell.
Looking at the totals is informative, but it is also useful to look at the experience level of players under contract by playing position. This will, in theory at least, identify the teams that are most reliant on the draft, players moving from backup to starting duty and players returning from injury. One obstacle in doing this analysis is that team’s employ different base personnel groupings.
• Some teams play a 3-4 defense while others employ a 4-3
• Some teams use a fullback and others don’t
• Some teams use multiple tight ends while others don’t
DRAFTMETRICS addressed this issue by grouping positions (e.g., combining all front seven players). The following tables show the experience level of each team in the four groupings. Teams are shown alphabetically within each experience level. Quarterbacks are excluded from these tables, but are
shown in the “raw data” tables in the Appendix to the article.
Raw data by NFL team is included in the Appendix.
Tony is the founder of DRAFTMETRICS.COM can be e-mailed at draftmetrics@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @draftmetrics
Draftmetrics
Wrapping Up the 2015 Draft
The 2015 draft is now behind us and the 2016 mock drafts have already begun to trickle out. Before we begin hibernatation until the football season starts, let’s take a final look at the draft from a few different perspectives.
Who Won the Draft?
We stay away from handing out draft grades because it is
We stay away from handing out draft grades because it is at least a couple of years too soon to do so. That doesn’t mean I do not read those articles, though, because I am always interested to learn what others have to say and it is interesting reading.
I have stayed away from doing a mock draft myself because I simply do not watch anywhere near enough video on the players, especially in comparison to many in the field.
What we do instead is to put together data regarding which teams should be helped most from the draft. This considered the draft position of each team and the playing positions they drafted. The following table ranks the NFL teams by the number of five-year starters that history says should come from their draft crop.
This table also shows other relevant measures such as number of two-year starters, etc. All numbers indicate the number of players that should achieve the relevant milestone. In all cases, the measures represent historical averages. The Saints, for example, should receive 2.86 starters from this draft class.
The three most relevant factors in the calculation used to construct the table are 1) number of draft choices, 2) location of draft choices and 3) the playing position selected. The playing position selected matters because some positions are more risky to draft than others. This was discussed in an earlier article entitled “Draft Probabilities by Playing Position”. What is not considered in this table is the depth of the team doing the drafting. This is somewhat offset because all expectations are for a player’s entire playing career, which includes both the team that drafted them and any subsequent team. The theory is that eventually a player drafted by a deep team should get an opportunity with somebody.
Balance or Load Up?
Most NFL teams split their selections in the first three rounds between offense and defense. Nine teams, though, went all in on one side of the ball or the other.
Teams opting to go for offense were the Bears, Bengals, Bucs, Rams, Ravens and Titans. Meanwhile, the 49ers, Eagles and Patriots went for defense.
Data by Conference
The 2015 draft had a higher percentage of players drafted by the Power 5 conferences than has been the norm. Almost 80% of draftees were from the five conferences compared to about 70% in the four preceding years. There is no apparent reason for this increase. The following table shows data by conference for the past five years.
The Pac 12 got off to a great start in this year’s draft with 25 selections in the first three rounds to lead all conferences. They trailed off on day three of the draft, though, and finished third overall among the Power 5 conferences. They added only 14 selections in the final four rounds, last among the five power conferences.
Data By Playing Position
As usual, the distribution between offense and defense was pretty equal in the draft. This was the first draft, though, in the last five where more offensive players were selected. The following shows the distribution by playing positions over the past five years.
While this was generally considered to be a down year for quarter backs I do not think anyone predicted that only seven would be taken in the draft. Many in the media are saying that is is the fewest drafted since 1955 but there have been several years with seven draftees, with the most recent being 1998.
While most positions were in the range of normalcy, a few positions were outside of normal bounds:
18 was the fewest number of running backs drafted in the past five years
More tight ends (20) were drafted than any time in the past five years
Fewer defensive backs (total of 46 corners and safeties) were drafted than any other time in the last five years
A couple more offensive linemen were taken than normal
Follow Tony on Twitter @draftmetrics
Read More 631 Words
2015 NFL Draft: Expectations vs. Reality
As was said in our “Let the Draft Holidays Begin” articles, about 75% of five-year starters and 80% of rookie starters, future Pro Bowl selections and All Pro selections come from the first three rounds of the draft so that is where our attention should be focused. We will summarize the complete draft next
As was said in our “Let the Draft Holidays Begin” articles, about 75% of five-year starters and 80% of rookie starters, future Pro Bowl selections and All Pro selections come from the first three rounds of the draft so that is where our attention should be focused. We will summarize the complete draft next week, but for right now we will take a quick look at the first three rounds.
Draftees by Playing Position
First, how do the positions drafted in the first three rounds this year compare to history? The 2015 draft is pretty consistent with what would have been projected based on the 2005-2014 drafts. Here is how the numbers stack up.
The largest variance is in the offensive line where three more players were drafted than would have been expected. Offsetting this variance, fewer quarterbacks and safeties were selected than would have been projected based on history.
Draftees by Conference
Next we looked at the number of draftees by conference. Again, the 10-year historical average was compared to the 2015 Draft. The PAC 12 led the power conferences in the number of draftees over the first three rounds and had a significantly higher number of draftees than in the recent past. Conversely, other conferences (MAC, MWC, etc.) had about half the number of selections than in past years. Information by conference is as follows:
Draftees by NFL Team
A combination of trades and compensatory picks resulted in five teams having more than three selections in the first three rounds. The Browns and Saints each had five selections with the Chiefs, Raiders and Rams having four selections.
Trades resulted in four teams having two selections in the first three rounds. These teams were the Bills, Dolphins, Panthers and Seahawks.
By our count there were 13 trades during the first two days of the draft, with only two of those involving first round selections. The trades are listed below. We have also included the most recent comparable trade to help assess the reasonableness of the cost to move up in the 2015 trades. There are no perfect matches but it does provide a “ball park” look. The year in parentheses under Comparable Trades indicates the year of that trade. A number in parentheses indicates that the team trading up also received a draft selection back to “balance” the trade.
The Lions trade is somewhat difficult to compare with past trades because a serviceable player (Ramirez) was included as part of the consideration. The trades generally are consistent with their comparable trades. It does appear, though, that the Panthers and Seahawks may have paid a somewhat stiff price compared to similar trades. All in all, though, nothing jumps out as unfair compensation.
Let the Draft Holidays Begin
The NFL offseason reaches its peak beginning on Thursday with the start of the three-day NFL draft. A couple of us old-timers were reminiscing earlier this week about the days when the draft was a midweek, two-day event with 17 rounds. There was no wall-to-wall television coverage. As a Pittsburgh native, I got my Steelers
The NFL offseason reaches its peak beginning on Thursday with the start of the three-day NFL draft. A couple of us old-timers were reminiscing earlier this week about the days when the draft was a midweek, two-day event with 17 rounds. There was no wall-to-wall television coverage. As a Pittsburgh native, I got my Steelers draft information by arming my mother with a list of likely draft selections and and deputizing her to listen to periodic radio updates all day.
I am not exactly breaking any new ground by telling you how much things have changed since then. ESPN and the NFL Network provide full “gavel to gavel” coverage of the draft. A cottage industry has sprung up around the NFL draft with amateur and former professional players and scouts providing real-time opinions as events transpire.
The schedule for this year’s draft event is as follows:
Round one will take place on Thursday, beginning at 8 pm ET
Each team is allotted 10 minutes to make their selection.
Rounds two and three will take place on Friday beginning at 7 pm ET
Seven minutes are allowed for a second round selection
Five minutes are allotted for a third round selection
Four minutes are allowed for compensatory selections
The draft wraps up on Saturday beginning at noon with rounds four through seven
Five minutes are allowed for a pick in rounds four through six
Four minutes are allotted for selections in round seven
Four minutes are allowed for compensatory selections, regardless of round
This article is intended to provide the draft follower with a handy guide that reminds him or her of relevant historical information and provides a better perspective from which to interpret what is going on during the draft.
We avoid providing information for potential draftees or projected selections by team. There are ever growing numbers of sources that provide mock drafts and other prospect information. I am sure that if you are really into the draft you already have at least one of those sources in your possession or on your computer.
Number of Picks
The number of picks for each team will change during the course of the draft but following are two tables that reflect the number of picks by team as it stands how. The first table is for the entire draft and the second is for the first three rounds, when most starters are drafted. Both tables include:
The basic number of selections for each team
One per round for each team, or seven for the full draft and three for the first three rounds
The number of compensatory selections (32 in total and three for the first three rounds}
The net number of selections traded or received in trades (which by definition net to zero in total for all teams)
The total picks per team.
First, is the table for the full draft, reflecting that the Seahawks have the most picks of any team:
The next table shows the same information for only the first three rounds (99 selections). There were only three compensatory selections awarded in the first three rounds and only three trades involving the first three rounds. The Browns received a first round selection in the Sammy Watkins trade and the Saints received a first round pick in the Jimmy Graham trade plus a third round selection for Kenny Stills. The Bills, Dolphins and Seahawks each surrendered a selection in the first three round and have the fewest selections.
What are Realistic Expectations for the 2015 Draft
The three-day draft event is a time of great hope, kind of like when you bring home what you are sure is a winning lottery ticket. Come Saturday, a seventh-round pick is a sure starter and is fifty-fifty on making All Pro. Then comes training camp and it becomes obvious that this sure starter is not going to even make the team.
The following table shows what history tells us what can actually be expected by draft round. All numbers represent the number of players.
The table reinforces the fact that the first three rounds produce the most players. About three-quarters of five-year starters come from the first three rounds with 80% of rookie starters and almost 80% of Pro Bowl and All Pro players also coming from the early rounds of the draft.
Probability of Drafting a Five-Year Starter
While there are several metrics that could be used to measure success, we have traditionally focused on a player achieving five-year starter status as being the principal success metric. This means that a player started at least eight games in each of at least five seasons.
In earlier articles, we have analyzed the probability of becoming a five-year starter by Draft Range. The Draft Ranges represent ranges of draft choices where the historical success rates are similar. The Draft Ranges used for 2015 are as follows:
The probability of success varies for each playing positions within each Draft Range. In addition, a Draft Range can extend over two or more draft rounds. There is a significant difference in probability for a player drafted at the end of a round compared to the beginning of a round. A quarterback, for example, is twice as likely to become a five-year starter if he is drafted early in the first round as compared to one drafted at the end of the first round.
The following table shows the probability of becoming a five-year starter for each playing position in each round. The round is then further broken down by Draft Range, recognizing that Draft Ranges overlap draft rounds. For example, picks at the end of the first round have the same probability of success as selections through the middle of the second round. This table is for the first three rounds of the draft. The next table shows the same information but for rounds four through seven.
When the inevitable draft day trades occur, there will discussion about who got the best of the trade and how it compares to the so-called Trade Value Chart and any of the other iterations of comparative worth of draft selections.
The one thing that is not arbitrary, though, is the actual consideration in past trades. Here is a summary of each 2014 draft day trade. This table shows the teams involved, the movement in the draft (i.e., from and to), the number of draft slots moved for the primary picks, the playing position of the player ultimately selected with the trade up selection and the consideration involved.
For example, the Lions received the #40 pick from the Seahawks in exchange for its #45, #111 and #227 picks. The Lions also received pick #146 in the trade. The Lions used selection #40 to take Kyle Van Noy, a linebacker.
Read More 1061 Words
Recent Draft Trends
With the NFL draft commencing on April 30, looked at recent draft trends. Several different aspects of the draft were examined ranging from the number of players drafted by playing position to reviewing players drafted by state.
By Playing Position
If you are a close follower of the draft, you will be sitting down in
If you are a close follower of the draft, you will be sitting down in front of your television set with at least one draft guide in front of you to facilitate an instant evaluation of your favorite team’s selections. How far down the listings by position do you have to go before you reach players that are unlikely to be drafted? The following lists the number of players drafted by position in the past five drafts along with the average and range.
The most noteworthy takeaway from this table is that some positions have relatively tight ranges (indicating not much variance by year) and others do not. The positions with the tightest ranges are wide receivers, offensive line, defensive tackles and corners.
Following the overall look at the draft, we did the same analysis for the first round only. Here are the results.
It is no surprise that offensive linemen are the most frequently drafted position in the first round. Running backs have been shut out in the first round in 2013 and 2014. If you believe the experts, though, that is likely to end in 2015.
The one constant in an analysis by conference is that the Southeastern Conference is the leader in four of the five years. This is certainly not a surprise. It is also noteworthy that the Power Five conferences account for about 71% of all draft selections.
The Big 12 and Big 10 have both shown declines in players selected from 2010 to 2014. The Mountain West Conference along with minor conferences and colleges picked up most of those declines.
By Home State
Players enter the NFL from all over the country. In this section we considered the home state of the player, not where they played college football. The constant in this analysis is that three states (Florida, California and Texas) are the principal producers, though the order may vary by year. The states listed in the following table account for about 60% of all players drafted, with the remainder coming from the remaining 41 states, Canada and other countries.
Rookie Starters
There has not been a discernible increase in the number of rookies who achieve starter status (i.e., start eight or more games). In 2005, 47 rookies achieved that status. The number of over the past five years is higher but there is not a continuing trend upwards. In fact, there was a 10% drop in 2014 over 2013. Here are the number of rookie starters in each of the past five draft classes.
Offense or Defense: What Do You Draft?
Quarterbacks always have the inside track when it comes to being selected at the top of the draft board. But that aside, do NFL teams favor one side of the ball or the other when drafting? Do teams prefer to load up at a position early in the draft and then ignore that position later
Quarterbacks always have the inside track when it comes to being selected at the top of the draft board. But that aside, do NFL teams favor one side of the ball or the other when drafting? Do teams prefer to load up at a position early in the draft and then ignore that position later in the draft, or vice versa? This article addresses those issues through the examination of the 2005 through 2014 drafts.
Offense vs. Defense
While there might be short-term fluctuations due to supply or demand at a position, over time it is reasonable to expect that number of offense players and defensive players drafted should be about even. When looking at the 2005-2014 drafts that does turn out to be the case. Of the 2501 non-kickers drafted, our count is that 1245 were offensive players and 1256 were defensive players. That’s about as even as you can get.
There are more significant variances on a team-by-team basis. Certain teams, even over a 10-year period, do show at least some indication of bias on one side of the ball or the other. A short-term bias is certainly understandable as a team looks to plug holes wherever they exist. Over a 10-year period, though, all that should even out and it may come to a team’s drafting strategy or pure chance.
The following table shows the percentage of offensive draftees for each NFL team for 2005-2014.
The ends of the spectrum are the Jets taking offensive players with 58% of its selections and, on the other end, the Falcons taking defensive players with 60% of its choices. Is the variance from the average a matter of a team’s strategy or is it just random based on a team’s draft board and the players available? It is impossible to say without being in the draft room or being part of a team’s management.
The first three rounds of the draft produce most of the starters in a draft class. Over those three rounds, the numbers historically lean slightly toward defense, but it is still a relatively even split with about 49% of the draftees being offensive players versus 51% on defense. The team distribution changes, though, indicating that some teams favor one side of the ball in the first three rounds and then the other side in the final four rounds. Here is the chart as previously shown, but for the first three rounds only and with the scale slightly changed to accommodate the 49%/51% split.
The extremes for the first three rounds are the 49ers with 59% of its selections from the offensive side and the Saints with defensive players making up 62% of its selections. The same question as above is still applicable regarding whether this is a planned strategy or just a matter of chance.
The differences by team can be seen more clearly in the next table. This table shows the percentage of offensive draftees by playing position and team for round 1-3, rounds 4-7 and overall. Defensive draftees are, of course, 100% minus the percentage of offensive draftees.
Bias by Playing Position
Within the offensive and defensive splits presented above, there are also biases by playing position. Before looking at the information by team here is a breakdown by playing position for the first three rounds, the last four rounds and all rounds. The percentages represent the portion of all drafted players in each grouping from 2005-2014.
This table shows that quarterbacks, wide receivers, defensive linemen and corners account for 50% of draftees in the first three rounds but only 44% of players drafted in rounds 4-7. This indicates a bias towards drafting those positions in the top three rounds.
To get a better feel for the teams that are most and least likely to draft players at those four positions, the following tables show the distribution of players drafted by playing position and NFL team.
The first table shows the quarterbacks drafted in the first three rounds. The Browns, still searching for a quarterback, had the most with five. Six teams did not draft a quarterback in the first three rounds. The Texans are one of those six, though they are not settled at the position.
The next table shows the distribution by team for wide receivers drafted in the first three rounds. The Giants and Titans are the leaders with eight and seven, respectively. The Titans are far from settled at the position. Five teams drafted two or fewer receivers in the first three rounds. With the exception of the Cowboys, none of the teams are well set at the position.
The next table shows the distribution for defensive linemen. The Eagles had the most with 10 and the Redskins the least with one.
And finally, the distribution for corner backs is shown in the next table. The Rams led with eight corners drafted in the first three rounds while the Eagles had only one.
This addressed only one aspect of the positional bias issue. A “shortcut” way of looking at the possible existence of a bias is to find situations where the number of players drafted at a position is somewhat greater (or less) than 1.5 times the number of draftees for the first three rounds. The 1.5 factor is based on averages by position as discovered in this study.
The logic would be applied as follows:
The 49ers selected eight offensive linemen in the first three rounds and six offensive linemen in rounds 4-7.
This indicates a bias for selecting offensive linemen earlier rather than later as using the 1.5 factor they would be expected to have drafted 12 lineman in rounds 4-7, or double the number drafted.
On the other hand they selected two corners in rounds 1-3 and nine corners in rounds 4-7.
This would indicate that they believe they can find corners later in the draft and do not need to draft them early.
The expectation would be that three corners would have been selected in the later rounds, and not the nine actually selected.
The following table shows selected instances of positional biases for each NFL team and the number of players drafted in rounds 1-3 and then in round 4-7.. The number of instances was capped at three. The column labeled “bias” indicates whether the bias was in favor of drafting a position early (like the 49ers offensive linemen) or in favor of drafting a position later. 1-3 indicates that the bias is toward drafting early. 4-7 means that the bias is toward drafting later.
Rankings of NFL Teams by Draft Class
For all the talk about the draft and teams that do well, there is one point that must be stressed. No team does well in the draft every year. Taking that statement to the next logical step, a team does not have to do well in the draft every year to be successful.
To study
To study this premise and associated issues, we reviewed drafts from 2005 through 2012. The drafts from 2013 and 2014 were omitted because it is too soon to make even a preliminary judgment on those. Before discussing the results we should discuss the key elements of the study.
First, contrary to most of the other studies we have done, only a player’s career with the team that drafted him is considered. For example, the Jets do not receive credit for the years Darrelle Revis spent with the Bucs and the Patriots.
Second, despite considerable thought on the matter, we could not come up with a formula or measure that would yield a meaningful comparative rating for the teams, so the ratings are subjective based on several factors. These factors include:
The number of two-year starters in a draft class
The cut-off of two years was used so that we could include as many current drafts as possible
The number of games started by a player over the course of their career with the team that drafted him
The number of Pro Bowl selections
The number of All Pro selections
It is acknowledged that there is an inherent advantage in being drafted by a “bad” team as the path to a starting job is likely to be an easier one, but this was not considered in the rankings. Draft position and number of choices were also not considered, so the result is an absolute and not relative grade.
Based on these factors the drafts of each team for each draft class were analyzed with the teams ranked one through 32. The full rankings are shown at the end of this article. It is recognized that the rankings for at least some of the years might change over time as careers ebb and flow. One would expect, for example, that more post-season honors are likely to be won in the future by some of the more recent draftees.
Perhaps the most striking results from the study is that no team was ranked #1 more than once. Similarly, no team was ranked last more than once either. While other factors may be at play, this supports the variability of draft results and the presence of the “luck factor” in the draft process. The same management team following the same process can garner different results in different years.
Seven teams were ranked in the top 10 in at least half of the eight drafts. Those teams, with its ranking based on its won-lost record for 2005-2014 in parentheses, are:
Several things stand out in the analysis:
The Packers were actually ranked in the top 10 in five of the first six years of the study before earning lower rankings in 2011 and 2012
The Packers have been in either the top or bottom 10 in each of the eight drafts
The Seahawks have finished in the top three in the 2010-2012 drafts
They are the only team with three top three grades
The 49ers were ranked in the top 10 in each draft from 2005-2007 but only once since then
Neither the Chargers nor the Raiders had even one top 10 grade
The Raiders had only one bottom ten grade as well
The Patriots, with the top won-lost record for 2005-2014 by a comfortable margin, were in the middle of the pack as far as draft grades with three top 10 rankings and three rankings in the bottom 10
Seven teams finished in the bottom ten at least half the time. These teams were:
A few notes about the teams finishing at or near the bottom:
The Saints have finished in the bottom 10 for each of the last four drafts
The Jaguars and Giants have finished in the bottom 10 for each of the last three drafts
In addition to its four bottom 10 grades, the Bears have ranked 11th from the bottom on two other occasions
Every team but the Titans have finished in the bottom ten at least once
Here are the complete annual rankings for the 2005-2012 drafts:
The Comprehensive Guide to 10 years of first round trades
As the draft draws closer, the anticipation level for draft day trades begins to rise. These trades help make the draft event the most important occasion of the NFL offseason. To help get ready for this aspect of the draft event we reviewed all trades involving first round choices 2005 through draft day 2014 to
As the draft draws closer, the anticipation level for draft day trades begins to rise. These trades help make the draft event the most important occasion of the NFL offseason. To help get ready for this aspect of the draft event we reviewed all trades involving first round choices 2005 through draft day 2014 to see what could be learned.
Except in extreme cases there will be no commentary on the winners and losers of the trades. Judging a trade involves consideration of two elements. The first is to determine whether a team receives at least fair value in the exchange. Second, a team has to make a wise decision among the available alternatives. A team may make a great trade to get the first pick of the draft but if the player flops all is for naught. Luck overhangs the second element of the process. There is no question that there is luck involved, whether it be the avoidance of injury and off-field issues when drafting a player or good fortune in deciding among the multiple prospects available to a team.
Rather than focusing on either element or the luck aspect, the purpose of this article is to review recent draft history, identify any trends and summarize the outcome of each trade. By my count there were 73 trades involving 123 first round selections during the 10-year study period. This counts some choices twice, such as when a team trades for a selection and then trades it away.
Let us start with some of the demographic information. What playing positions are the most frequent motivators for a trade? For each of the 73 trades, the transaction was reviewed to determine the playing position selected with the highest acquired first round choice, which indicates the purpose of the trade. For example, the offensive line would receive credit if a team trades from #15 to #10 and selects an offensive lineman with the #10 choice. There were two instances in the 10 years where a team acquired the highest draft choice in a trade and then traded it away. In that case, no playing position is designated as the motivator. The percentages by playing position for the other 71 trades are as follows:
I am a little surprised that wide receivers are ranked ahead of offensive linemen, but otherwise it is pretty much what would be expected.
The next thing we looked at is the location of the draft choices. That is, is the 15th pick traded more often than the 25th or vice versa? We considered all 123 selections for this analysis and broke the first round into groups of five selections. Here is what was found for the 10-year study period:
This table shows that later first round selections are traded much more often than earlier first round selections. This is apparently due to teams being more prone to hanging onto their early selections, which certainly seems logical.
Finally, are any teams more likely or more willing than others to be involved in a deal? Here is a summary of the number of trades by team with 147 as the total (72 trades at two teams per trade and one trade involving three teams.) This is different than the previously cited total of 123 trades affecting first round choices because it also includes the side of a trade that may not include a first round choice. For example, a team may trade its first round choice for a second round and a fourth round pick.
Three teams participated in over 25% of the first round trades with the Broncos leading the way. The Titans were the only team not to participate in any first round trades.
The individual trades are listed and described in the remainder of this article. For ease of reading, the trades have been grouped into several categories including:
Players Traded for First Round Choices
Trades involving Future Year First Round Selections
Trades involving the Cleveland Browns
Finding Flacco
The Road to Dez Bryant
Trade Up and Let Down
Too Soon to Tell
Three-Way Trades
There were 10 occasions where players were exchanged straight up for first round choices. These are:
It is sometimes easier for a management team to surrender a pick next year than it is to deal away a pick that affects the current team. This may be due to selfish reasons (will I even have this job next year?) or the perception that next year’s pick is less valuable than this year’s. This is a gamble on both sides of the transaction as a trade is made with a rather significant unknown included. It is one thing to have a future draft choice be a “kicker” in the trade, but quite another having it as a major part of the transaction.
Still, teams are willing to make such a trade and take a gamble on their trading partner’s next season. Here are the trades made during the study period.
For whatever reason, the Browns seem to be in the middle of every controversial first round trade, whether on the positive side or the negative side. They are behind only the Broncos in first round trades, with 12. Here are the trades.
Not to be Captain Obvious, but Joe Flacco has been a key element in the Ravens’ success since they drafted him. These two transactions demonstrate how they maneuvered their #8 pick into taking Flacco and having picks left over.
So, the Ravens ended up with Joe Flacco, Tavares Gooden and Fabian Washington for their #8 pick.
The selection used to take Dez Bryant passed through the hands of a number of teams before it ended with the Cowboys. Here is the trail of relevant draft transactions.
There are a handful of trades that just worked out horribly for the team that traded up. Here are the three that jump out.
There are a few trades that do not fit into any category as they are relatively recent. Here they are:
Three-Way Trade
There was one three-way trade involving first round choices during the study period.
The Rest of the Trades
Here are the rest of the trades involving first round picks that were made during the study period.
The Urgency Index
We have entered the time of year when the term “best player available” dominates any draft conversations with NFL general managers. I personally find the BPA to be somewhat of a mythical and fuzzy character that is often more of a computer creation than an actual football player, kind of like building a player in
We have entered the time of year when the term “best player available” dominates any draft conversations with NFL general managers. I personally find the BPA to be somewhat of a mythical and fuzzy character that is often more of a computer creation than an actual football player, kind of like building a player in Madden.
There is not necessarily agreement across the league regarding the BPA. This makes it difficult to say with any certainty whether teams are sticking to the BPA strategy or drafting according to need. When a team drafts a so-called BPA, it is often the case that the player is really someone who is graded significantly different by one team than the consensus. For example, team A may have a player carrying a second round grade but he is still available in the fifth round. Team A may take him under the guise of a BPA but he is really just a player they value differently than the rest of the league.
Despite what they may say, it seems to me that teams typically draft for need, and I think that is a good thing. Is Jameis Winston the BPA or the best prospect at a high value position that is a need for the team in line to draft him? The combination of need and position value likely moves Winston to the front of the line on draft day.
Consistent with the concept of drafting for need, several years ago I began writing about something I dubbed the Urgency Index. This article updates that discussion. The concept embodied by the Index is that, when in doubt, a team should draft a player at a position of need for which there is the biggest disparity in results between a player drafted earlier and a player drafted later. The Index is the mechanism by which the differences are measured.
I certainly agree with those who believe a team’s scouting department should be relied upon for their opinions. I also believe, though, that the Index has a place as a “tiebreaker” in the draft room when the decision makers are undecided between drafting a player at one playing position versus another.
The current Index is based on historical information from the 1995 through 2009 drafts and compares the probability of drafting a five-year starter in a Draft Range with the probability of drafting a five-year starter in all later Draft Ranges.
Draft Ranges are explained in the article “Breaking Down the NFL Draft” and are as follows:
An Index value would be calculated only for the first seven Draft Ranges because there are no drafting alternatives for Draft Range 8. The Index would be calculated as follows:
The historical probability of drafting a five-year starter at a playing position in a Draft Range, divided by
The historical probability of drafting a five-year starter at that same playing position in all later Draft Ranges, times
Fox example, 68.4% of cornerbacks drafted in Draft Range 2 became five-year starters, while 19.0% of cornerbacks drafted in Draft Ranges 3 through 8 achieved that milestone. The first step of the calculation is 68.4% divided by 19.0%, yielding a product of 3.6. The second step of the calculation is to multiply the 3.6 by 100 to arrive at an Urgency Index of 360.
The following table sorts the indices by playing position within each Draft Range.
A few notes should be made regarding the table:
NA denotes that no player at that position was selected in that Draft Range, making a calculation impossible
A higher Index means that history suggests there is more urgency to draft a player at that playing position in that Draft Range.
An Index of 100 means that players drafted later have the exact same level of success as those drafted in the current Draft Range.
An Index of less than 100 indicates that players drafted later have actually had more success than those in the current Draft Range.
The only position where the Index is lower than 100 is wide receiver in Draft Range 7, indicating that Draft Range 8 wide receivers have actually done better than Draft Range 7 wide receivers.
The sole purpose of the Index is to allow comparisons within a Draft Range
Any comparisons between or among Draft Ranges are useless
An Index is more meaningful with more data points
Quarterbacks have fewer data points than the other positions included in the Index
Draft Range has only 60 data points in total, so the Index is less helpful for the earl picks
So how is the table used? Let’s say that a team has needs at both wide receiver and corners and is considering equally rated players in Draft Range 2. The Index would say to select a wide receiver, (with an Urgency Index of 525), because it is more likely to land a corner, (with an Urgency Index of 360) later in the draft.
There are situations where the Urgency Index preserves the tie. For example, in Draft Range 2, both defensive tackles and safeties have an Urgency Index of 383. In that case the Index tells us nothing and it is time to bring out the coin.
Which NFL Teams Draft the Best?
Evaluating the draft performance of an NFL team is difficult at best. The ultimate test of a team occurs on the field, of course, and is a mixture of many elements, with draft performance being just one. There are a number of issues when trying to isolate draft performance. Teams do not have the same
Evaluating the draft performance of an NFL team is difficult at best. The ultimate test of a team occurs on the field, of course, and is a mixture of many elements, with draft performance being just one. There are a number of issues when trying to isolate draft performance. Teams do not have the same number of selections, drafted players are moving into different playing situations, and so forth.
In this article, the number of starts from 2005 through 2014 was used as the most reasonable metric for measuring draft performance. This is not perfect but allows a window into draft performance. Starts for a player are credited to the team that drafted him and includes games started for either the drafting team or a subsequent team. Drafts for the past ten years (2005-2014) were studied to see what conclusions could be drawn.
Each NFL team starts with 70 selections for the 10-year period (10 years and one selection by round). Adjustments are then made for selections lost due to penalty or used in the supplemental draft, compensatory selections awarded and the net number of choices gained or lost through trades (mostly trade-up or trade-down transactions). Here is a summary by team, sorted by total number of selections between 2005 and 2014:
There is quite a range in the number of selections with the Saints having the fewest with 60 and the Packers the most with 96. All draft selections are not created equal, however, as a first round choice is worth considerably more than a seventh round selection. It is fair to say, in my opinion, that no one views the absolute number of starts as being fully indicative of a team’s expectations.
A measure that does a better job of weighting the draft choices is the number of starts a team could historically expect, given their number of selections and the location of their selections. This sets the expectation but does not provide any information about actual results. The following ranks the NFL teams by the number of expected starts for players drafted from 2005 through 2014.
The revised rankings push the Rams into the position of being the team that should have expected the most help from the draft over the past 10 years, with the Packers dropping from first to second. There is little change at both the top and the bottom of the expectations between the first and second tables.
We next ranked the teams by the actual number of starts by players drafted by each team in the 10-year study period. This gives great weight to the total number of selections by a team, particularly early round selections. The following table shows those rankings:
As can be seen from reviewing the previous two tables, the difference between actual and expected performance can be rather significant. The Ravens, for example, are ranked fifth in actual starts compared to 18th in expected starts by players selected in the study period.
The above table still places, in my opinion, too much weight on the actual number of draft choices. What I believe to be preferable is to rank the teams by number of actual starts as a percentage of expected starts. The following table shows the percentage by which a team’s actual performance exceeds or lags expected performance. Players drafted by the Seahawks, for example, had almost 19% more games started (1785 divided by 1505) than a historical analysis would suggest. A number in parentheses indicates that a team did not achieve expectations.
It is interesting that this year’s Super Bowl participants (Seahawks and Patriots) are at the opposite end of the ratings. This reinforces the notion that there is more than one way to achieve NFL success.
The Seahawks achieved most of its success in rounds two through four, while being close to average in other rounds. The Patriots did better than expected in round one but were ahead of only the Lions in second round performance. The first round is the only round where the Patriots exceeded expectations by more than a nominal amount. While the Patriots did draft some very fine players in round two (like Rob Gronkowski, Sebastian Vollmer and Jamie Collins), they also had their share of flops and players approaching flop status in Ras-I Dowling, Darius Butler, Terrence Wheatley, Ron Brace, Tavon Wilson and Chad Jackson.
The best and worst performances by draft round are shown in the following table. All situations where actual was better or worse than expected by at least 100 starts are included. The table indicates that the Colts’ sixth-round selections, in the aggregate for the ten-year study period, exceeded expectations by 264 starts.
Draft Expectations by NFL Team
Every NFL team, and its fans, begins draft day with high hopes. The reality is, though, that a team will be very fortunate to ultimately end up with two or three five-year starters out of a draft class.
This year should be no different. Based on history, the 2015 draft class will yield about 54
This year should be no different. Based on history, the 2015 draft class will yield about 54 five-year starters and only four players who will be selected as an All Pro three times or more. Out of those 54 starters, 20 will come from the 32 players selected in the first round with 12 more from the second round. This means that half of the 64 players selected in rounds one and two will be five-year starters. Only about one in ten of the remaining players drafted will go on to achieve five-year starter status.
Several factors contribute to a team’s realistic expectations:
The number of selections
The location of those selections
Historical averages
There is a premium on having extra picks in the first two rounds. Both the Browns (trade-down with Bills so Buffalo could take Sammy Watkins) and Saints (Jimmy Graham trade) have extra first round picks. No team has an extra second round selection.
Conversely, the Seahawks and the Bills rank near the bottom in terms of expectations, largely due to having no first round picks. The Bills have only six picks, losing two in the trade-up to take Sammy Watkins and adding one 4th round pick by trading Stevie Johnson to the 49ers.
Teams can be grouped as follows based on the number of five-year starters they can expect to land.
This is highly likely to change on draft day, and maybe before, as teams jockey for position to select a “must have” player, but here is the current summarization.
The Seahawks have the most selections in the draft with 11. However, they are minus a first round choice and do not have a selection until the 63rd pick. They added a fourth round selection in the Graham trade and were awarded four compensatory selections (4th and 3 6ths) in addition to their normal complement of seven choices.
The Browns have 10 selections with a the aforementioned 1st plus a 4th coming in the Sammy Watkins trade-down plus a 6th round pick in a trade where they surrendered a 2014 7th round choice.
The Seahawks have the most selections with 11, but reinforcing the importance of first round choices, rank near the bottom of draft expectations due to their trade for Jimmy Graham.
The following table shows NFL teams in order of expected five-year starters. The expectations are rarely expressed as a round number due to the use of averages (kind of like the census average of 2.58 people per household).
The abbreviations used in the table are:
Comparing Draft Years
Every year experts offer up their opinions on the upcoming draft, both on the overall depth of the class and the quality and depth by playing position. In this article we will explore how real these differences are and the degree of difference among draft years.
Year-to-Year Comparison
What is the best way to measure
What is the best way to measure the differences? There is no perfect metric, but the most practical performance metric is the number of games started. Number of starts has the principal advantage of letting us use recent years in the analysis whereas other measures (such as number of five-year starters) required us to cut off the analysis well before the most recent drafts.
There is an inherent conflict between using current information versus complete information. It takes 15 years or so to “complete the book” on a draft class. This would mean that the most recent year that could be used in this analysis is 1999. That serves as a sound basis for the analysis but many readers would regard the information as stale and, therefore, not relevant.
It was decided to compare draft classes after their first, third, fifth and seventh years. The draft years used were the most recent 10 drafts for which the number of starts data was available as follows:
The following table summarizes the data by draft class for each of the four time periods. The “ratio” row represents the ratio of the number of starts for best draft compared to the worst draft. A high number shows a lot of variation and a low number shows little variability.
This table shows that the degree of difference, as expressed by the ratio, is greatest for the first year and levels off after that. The 2006 draft year has held up best over time. The draft class in each of the last four years has exceeded the number of first-year starts from 2006 but both 2011 and 2012 have fallen behind 2006 by the end of the third year and it is too soon to tell for 2013 and 2014. It remains to be seen if the advantage of the 2006 draft class will hold up.
The 2008 draft class is also an interesting case. That class is ranked last in first year starts but moves up to the middle of the pack for the subsequent measurement periods. This reinforces the notion that the first year does not tell anywhere near the whole story when it comes to evaluating draft classes.
This analysis shows that there is a reasonably large difference among draft years. This makes characterizing draft classes as good and bad a logical exercise.
As an aside, data from the draft classes that are virtually complete as far as number of starters (1995-1999) is instructive regarding the evolution of the impact of a draft class. The cumulative average percentage of total starts by year for the five draft classes is shown in the following table. The table tells us that 91% of the starts from a draft class occur in the first 10 years.
Playing Position Comparison
It should be no surprise that the level of variability increases by playing position. There are fewer data points and this leads to greater variances in results. The analysis by playing position was confined to the most recent ten draft classes and excluded fullbacks and special teams players. Again, the number of starts was used as the performance metric.
The following table shows the best and worst classes for each playing position after one season by draft class.
This table shows that there significant differences among playing positions with the offensive line and defensive backs showing the smallest, though still significant, differences.
The next table shows the same information after three years for each playing position by draft class (which excludes the 2013 and 2014 draft classes).
This table shows that the ratios have tightened significantly by the third year but that they still exist. Offensive linemen show the smallest difference between the best and worst year with running backs having the largest difference.
It is interesting to note that while 2006 is a highly rated draft class, it does not appear as the best year for any playing position.
The Rest of the Equation
The article “Draft Probabilities by Playing Position” laid out the probabilities of achieving various milestones for players selected in the NFL draft. What was missing from that discussion, though, is the time element. That is, how long does it take a drafted player to become a starter or achieve another relevant milestone?
When a
When a team signs a free agent there is a general expectation, unless a special team player is signed, that he will move right in and be helpful. For drafted players the expectations are generally lower in terms of providing immediate help. But what exactly should those expectations be?
Three milestones were used to measure the time element for the purposes of this article. The milestones were the length of time used to become a one-year, three-year and five-year starter. Our definition of a starter is a player who starts at least eight games in a season. The averages include only the players who achieved those milestones. For example, take the case of a player who started for four years. He would be included in the one-year and three-year calculations but would be excluded from the five-year calculation.
The best “score” a player can earn is 1.0, indicating that he became a starter in his rookie season. He would receive a 2.0 if the becomes a starter in his second season. There are no partial seasons awarded, but the averages do show partial seasons (kind of like the Census Bureau saying there are 2.58 people per household).
The logical expectation is that players drafted earlier will start faster (and more often as indicted in the “Draft Probabilities by Playing Position” article). Whether this is because the players are better or because they get more chances due to being highly paid is a matter of debate. The truth is probably that it is a combination of the two.
The following table shows averages by playing position and Draft Range for the one-year milestone and indicates that about 42 players per season start as rookies. It is probably not surprising that running backs take the longest to start for any playing position among early round draftees. For the group a whole (as indicated by the “All” column), though, it is defensive linemen that take the longest to start their first season. The average for the rest of the positions are pretty close.
The table also confirms that the earlier a player is drafted, the sooner he will start. Players selected with the first four picks start much sooner than a player taken later in the draft.
The next table shows the averages for achieving the three-year milestone. Running backs again take the longest to start among the early round selections. This holds true through the 4th Draft Range (which is through the 46th pick). Overall, defensive linemen tend to take longer than average to achieve the three-year milestone. Offensive tackles and linebackers are at the other end of the spectrum and reach the milestone sooner than average. The amount of time to start for a third season ranges from 4.0 to 4.8 seasons.
The final milestone reviewed was the amount of time it takes a player to become a five-year starter. It is interesting that the range tends to narrow at this point because only the better players are likely to achieve this milestone and be included in the calculation of the average. The range is from 6.0-6.7 seasons, slightly narrower than the range by position for achieving the three-year milestone. Among the earliest draft selections (first 14 picks) Running Backs and Quarterbacks tend to take the longest to reach the milestone. Offensive Tackles drafted in that same range are the fastest to reach the five-year milestone. Overall, Guards and Offensive Tackles are the fastest to reach the milestone, while Defensive Ends and Quarterbacks are the slowest.
Click here for the complete breakdown of “Draft Ranges”
Time to Get Rid of NFL Compensatory Selections
Accompanied by the customary media hype, the NFL recently announced the awarding of 32 compensatory draft selections. The determination of the selections to be awarded has evolved into a science. A handful of website and bloggers have “cracked the code” and do an excellent good job of
Accompanied by the customary media hype, the NFL recently announced the awarding of 32 compensatory draft selections. The determination of the selections to be awarded has evolved into a science. A handful of website and bloggers have “cracked the code” and do an excellent good job of projecting the compensatory selections.
I am not a fan of the current compensatory selection process. It is my view the selections provide minimal recompense for the losses a team suffers during free agency. Either there should be no compensation at all or the compensation should be fair. Instead, the NFL has taken a “something is better than nothing” approach.
Supporters of the current system can cite a list of compensatory selections that have gone on to be successful. In my opinion, this is strictly anecdotal information and there is no reason a compensatory pick should be more or less successful than the rest of the selections that surround them. As will be supported later in article by hard data there is no reason to expect that the compensatory selections will yield more than two or three starters each year.
Is there a better way to do it? I think that maybe there is. This article is intended to encourage discussion of the process without regard to the feasibility of actually pushing through a change. I acknowledge that the NFL and NFLPA have negotiated the matter of compensatory selections so it would not be easy to change. Feasibility will be discussed in the course of the article.
Before getting into that, let us review the process in more detail so that the proposed change is considered in the appropriate context. Compliments of the NFL, here are the players lost and signed by the 14 NFL teams that have been awarded compensatory picks.
The rules governing compensatory picks are impossible to find in writing but the aforementioned cap “scientists” have discerned the most important elements based on historical NFL awards. We do know that the number of picks is limited to 32, with no more than four awarded to any single team. What are the 32 compensatory selections likely to yield? Based on 20 years of history and considering their location in the draft, this year’s compensatory selections can be expected to yield the following:
26 players who will play in the NFL for at least one season
11 players who will last at least five seasons in the NFL
Six players who will start for at least two NFL seasons
Between two and three players who will start for at least five NFL seasons
One player who will be selected to at least one Pro Bowl
The value of these selections is further diminished by the fact that the compensatory selections cannot be traded. This means they cannot be used as a throw-in that might facilitate a trade. I am not sure what the trade prohibition is intended to accomplish.
The Chiefs, with four selections between rounds three and six, received the most value in 2015 of any of the NFL teams. History tells us there is less than a 50% chance that the Chiefs’ compensatory picks will yield even one five-year starter. So there should be no illusions that the teams are receiving even moderate value in exchange for their free agent losses.
I would argue that a superior option, and one that does a better job of contributing to league parity, is to adjust a team’s cap through a “luxury tax” based on free agent signings. Let us look at the Chiefs to see how it would work. Here is a summary of free agents lost and signed by the Chiefs, with dollar values representing the 2014 cap for each player as published by overthecap.com.
For each player signed or lost, the contract amount would be multiplied by a percentage (say 17.5%, which is the Major League Baseball luxury tax rate) and the resulting product would be transferred from one team’s next annual cap number to another team. The Chiefs would receive a annual net cap increase of almost $2.4 million. The tax rate could be higher or lower depending on how much parity the league wants to encourage and based on negotiations.
I think there are several reasons why my proposal is better than the current system:
Perhaps most importantly, the proposed process provides greater flexibility in that the additional cap space could be used to either sign one or more free agents that could provide immediate help or allow a team to retain a free agent it may otherwise lose
The proposed process established a direct relationship between the value of a lost player and the compensation received
All teams affected by free agent gains or losses would be included
This is not true of the current system where the 32-choice limit leaves some teams with a net loss of free agents and no compensation
How would the owners, the union (“NFLPA”) and Roger Goodell react to such a proposed change? It is only fair to speculate that, unless it is a sold as “its good for the game” by Czar Roger, both the owners and the NFLPA are likely to be resistant to making a change. I have heard no displeasure voiced against the present system and without a “champion” any change is unlikely.
While there should be no change in overall spending (it is just a matter of the cap dollars changing pockets), the NFLPA may see it as having the potential to restrict player movement due to the luxury tax component. Just by the nature of the bargaining process, the NFLPA would want something in return for making even a neutral change.
It takes the vote of 24 owners to change an NFL rule. Whether that level of commitment is obtainable depends on the balance between teams that are buyers or sellers of free agents. The sellers would not like this change. The current system allows them to pursue free agents without having to surrender anything other than the compensation paid to the player they signed. The proposed process introduces an additional cost of signing free agents. For a team that essentially sits out free agency, I would think they would support this change as it provides value that could be greater and maybe more fair than the current system when free agents are lost. It is hard for me to imagine that 24 positive votes could be garnered.
The bottom line is that, my protestations to the contrary, we are stuck with the present system. There is certainly no discussion I have seen that indicates otherwise.
Follow Tony of Twitter @draftmetrics
NFL Draft: Is it really that simple?
In its recent Analytics Issue, ESPN The Magazine had the following to say about the NFL Draft:
“NFL Draft math is simple: Stockpile picks for more shots at a jackpot.”
But is the strategy really that simple? Of course a team would like to turn
But is the strategy really that simple? Of course a team would like to turn unwanted or unneeded players into draft choices and a team with a surplus of selections would like to turn them into earlier and more selections. But beyond such cases there is considerable debate, both about the strategy and ESPN’s meaning. For example, did they really mean to say stockpile high draft choices or all draft picks?
In short, I do not agree that formulating the right draft approach is all that simple. The key is to be opportunistic and to always make the higher value decision. Also, the probabilities play such a large role that it is also difficult to ignore the “luck factor” in a team’s success. Even give the luck issue, though, it is the ability to evaluate talent that is the differentiator among teams.
This article will explore various aspects of draft strategy. We will keep it simple and do the analysis by draft round rather than the Draft Ranges we prefer. Since it is also highly likely that the answers will differ depending on the metrics used, we will provide multiple answers as appropriate.
Kickers are excluded from the analysis for comparability reasons. The analysis was conducted for a 10-year period and includes players drafted from 2005 through 2014.
What Is a First Round Pick Really Worth?
First, let us take ESPN’s statement to the extreme. What if you had a first round selection and wanted to get the maximum possible number of picks in exchange. How many later picks could you possibly acquire? This article considers only historical trade information and individual trades that are straightforward (e.g., no trades where a first plus another pick is traded cases when a player is involved and trades involving selections for the subsequent year, etc.).
Here is what you might acquire in our theoretical exercise:
So a first round selection can, in theory, be turned into ten late round picks. (We are not commenting on the feasibility of actually being able to execute the required trades.). Now let us compare the value of a first round selection with the ten late round picks using various metrics. The next table shows the number of players that should achieve each metric. The analysis shows, for example, that there is an 87% chance that a first round draft choice will have a five-year or longer career, so a single first- round choice will yield 0.87 players who play five years or more.
This shows that the multiple selections yield more players who may contribute on a limited basis but less in terms of players who should make an impact (defined as a five-year starter or a player who earns post-season honors at least once). Our definition of Pro Bowl selection is stricter than most, and is limited to players who are original selections, not alternates or injury replacements.
We next looked to determine whether there is a “sweet spot” along the way to acquiring the maximum of selections that would yield the best result. The following table shows the comparative metrics after each of the theoretical exchanges.
This shows that there is little difference when comparing each step along the way to the ten selections and, therefore, there is no sweet spot.
Accumulate Early Picks vs. All Picks
We next looked at the crux of the ESPN statement – – more choices lead to more success. The first table shows the number of total selections by team and the aggregate number of wins by each quartile.
The first table shows the number of selections for all rounds by team:
The win totals and a review of the table show that there is no apparent correlation between the number of overall selections and on-field success.
The next table shows the number of selections for the first three rounds by team:
This table does show somewhat of a correlation between the number of selections and the number of wins. This supports our theory that loading up on early selections may be the best strategy.
The first three rounds of the draft provide most of the NFL talent:
80% of All Pro and Pro Bowl selections are from the first three rounds
50% of All Pro and Pro Bowl selections come from the first round
Setting the bar lower, nearly 70% of games started come from players drafted in the first three rounds
Despite the apparent correlation there are winners and losers at both end of the draft selections spectrum. A few highlights are as follows:
31 extra third-round selections were handed out as compensatory picks
Four picks were lost by penalty (Broncos, Patriots, Saints (2) )
Four selections (Redskins picking Jeremy Jarmon, Browns selecting Josh Gordon, 49ers picking Ahmad Brooks and Raiders taking Terrelle Pryor) were used in the supplemental draft
Despite losing a 1st round pick as a penalty for Spygate, the Patriots are tied with the Rams as having the most selections
Three of the Rams extra selections come from the RG3 trade
The Patriots extra selections came from trading players for selections (Deion Branch, Mike Vrabel, Matt Cassel) and trading down and accumulating extra picks
The Patriots record is not spotless, though
They traded up to take WR Chad Jackson while Greg Jennings was selected at the position they traded out of
Other players like Carl Nicks, Joe Staley, Clay Matthews and Darryl Washington slipped through their hands in trade-down transactions
The Seahawks lost six draft choices in the first three rounds through the acquisition of Deion Branch, Nate Burleson, John Carlson, Percy Harvin and Charlie Whitehurst
The Saints lost two second-round selections through Bountygate and did not receive any compensatory picks
They used high selections to move up and take Jamaal Brown and Jahri Evans
The Saints ranked last in number of picks in rounds 4 through 7
Besides the RG3 trade (which may or may not work out), the Redskins wasted high picks on Jason Taylor (waived after one season) and T J Duckett (38 carries for the Redskins)
Should Team Focus on Acquiring Fewer but Higher Draft Choice?
Another strategy worth considering is trading late round picks to have fewer but earlier selections. The Ricky Williams trade in 1999 epitomizes this strategy as the Saints traded their 1999 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th round picks and their 1st and 3rd round picks in 2000 to move up seven spots and take Williams in a trade with the Redskins
How did that work out? Williams lasted three seasons with the Saints and rushed for over 3000 yards and went on to play 12 seasons in his NFL career and rush for 10,000 yards. He was certainly a legitimately good NFL running back. The Redskins, though, landed Lavar Arrington and used a number of the draft selections acquired to facilitate trades for Champ Bailey and Jon Jansen.
Two tables have been compiled to show the minimum cost of moving up to the preceding round. This was done for both five-year starters and players earning at least one All Pro selection. The cost of moving into the first round using post-season honors is prohibitive but it is included anyway.
The following table shows the minimum cost to move up a round while using five-year starters as the metric. The rows in the table show the round a team is moving to. The columns show the picks that must be relinquished by round. An “X” indicates that a pick in that round is not being traded. The number in the column shows the number of selections surrendered in that round. For example, the table indicates that it would take a 2nd, 4th and 7th pick to move from the 2nd round to the 1st round.
The next table shows the cost of moving up a round based on achieving the metric of earning Pro Bowl honors at least once.
The one oddity in the above table is that it costs more to move from the 4th round to the 3rd round than it does to move from the 3rd round to the 2nd round. This is due to the 4th round having a higher percentage of one-time Pro Bowl players than the 3rd round. This is the only round where this occurs. It is hard to say that this is a better approach than adding draft choices. It all comes down to what the market will pay and correctly analyzing the respective opportunities.
NFL Draft: Best and worst of the last decade
Typically, a draft review is set in the context of a comparison of years or by round. In this analysis we will take a slightly different approach and compare how players and teams fared within the Draft Ranges described in “Breaking Down the NFL Draft”.
In this article, the Draft Ranges for the 2005 through 2014 drafts were reviewed for the purpose of identifying the best and worst selections both for individual players and for teams. Bear in mind that our selections of the teams related to the players selected by the team and do not consider whether the player was subsequently retained or not. Also, kickers and other special teams players were excluded from the analysis.
We will first present our opinions in summary form and then briefly discuss each decision. First, this table summarizes our selections for each Draft Range.
The rest of the article discusses these selections.
Draft Range 1 (1-4)
The first Draft Range contains a limited number of data points with only 40 players selected over the 10-year study period. Eight teams (Cardinals, Chargers, Cowboys, Giants, Packers, Patriots, Ravens and Steelers) did not have a selection in this Draft Range.
Joe Thomas (Browns) was a relatively easy decision as the best individual selection of the 40 players drafted. Thomas has started every game in his eight years in the league and has earned seven Pro Bowl and five All Pro selections.
The only challenge to Jamarcus Russell (Raiders) for the worst selection was fellow quarterback Vince Young. Russell started 25 games in his career.
All three of the Lions’ selections (Johnson, Stafford and Suh) worked out well and they were the clear leader as the team who did best in the first Draft Range.
The Raiders are ranked worst on the strength of their Russell pick plus a wishy washy career, at least so far, from Darren McFadden.
Draft Range 2 (5-14)
There are significantly more data points in this Draft Range with 100 selections. Only the Colts and Steelers did not have a selection in this Draft Range. The Bills and Cardinals had six selections each to lead all teams.
Patrick Willis (49ers) was judged the best selection as he logged five All Pro selections in his eight seasons. This was a close call as there were a number of additional contenders for best pick including Darrelle Revis (Jets) and Demarcus Ware (Cowboys), each of whom have had four All Pro selections.
The worst selection was another quarterback in Matt Leinart, a selection by the Arizona Cardinals. Leinart started even fewer games than Jamarcus Russell. Also considered were Aaron Maybin (Bills), Mike Williams (Lions) and Troy Williamson (Vikings).
The 49ers scored well in this portion of the draft with their five selections (including Michael Crabtree, Anthony Davis, Vernon Davis, Aldon Smith and Patrick Willis) and were the leader.
The Lions did poorly with their five selections and did not take advantage of the opportunities in this Draft Range. Mike Williams was an all-time bust and their other four selections have been minimally successful so far.
Draft Range 3 (15-24)
There were also 100 data points in this Draft Range and all teams had at least one selection. The Bengals had the most selections with seven.
Aaron Rodgers (Packers) does not have as many starts as others in this group but has been selected to the Pro Bowl four times in his seven years as a starter along with two All Pro selections. Rodgers did not start until his fourth season as he patiently waited his turn behind Bret Favre. Still, we thought he belonged at the top of the list. Tamba Hali of the Chiefs also received consideration as he has started every game of his nine-year career and was selected to four Pro Bowls.
On the down side, Jarvis Moss (Broncos) started only two games in his NFL career and was considered the worst choice. It was a close decision, though, among Moss, Bobby Carpenter (Cowboys), Matt Jones (Jaguars) and Justin Harrell (Packers).
The Chiefs had good success in this Draft Range with four of their picks and were rated as the top team. Their selections included Hali, Derrick Johnson, Brandon Albert and Dwayne Bowe. A fifth selection was Dee Ford who was drafted in 2014 and may ultimately prove successful. Albert and Bowe have moved on in free agency.
While the Broncos and Cowboys were also considered, the worst draft in this Draft Range was the Rams. Neither of their two selections (Tye Hill and Alex Barron) met expectations. Barron had injury issues but Hill was just a flat out flop.
The number of data points start to mushroom once this Draft Range is reached. There were a total of 220 data points (22 draft slots times 10 years). The Bills had the most selections in this Draft Range with 11 while the Chiefs and Redskins had only four.
The only negative for Rob Gronkowski (Patriots) has been the injuries he has suffered. Otherwise, he has set the standard for the position with three Pro Bowl and three All Pro selections and is the best selection in this Draft Range. The principal challengers for the top spot were Nick Mangold (Jets) and Logan Mankins (Patriots).
John McCargo of the Bills was the worst selection in this Draft Range and started only one NFL game in his career.. McCargo had plenty of competition as Jonathan Baldwin (Chiefs), Chad Jackson (Patriots), AJ Jenkins (49ers), Phillip Merling (Dolphins), Sinorice Moss (Giants), Derek Sherrod (Packers) and Pat White (Dolphins) were also considered.
The Texans were judged to have done best in this Draft Range but had problems hanging onto their players. Draftees included Connor Barwin, Duane Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, Brooks Reed and Demeco Ryans. Ryans was traded to the Eagles and Barwin and Reed were both lost in free agency. The Falcons challenged the Texans with a list of draftees that included Justin Blalock, Curtis Lofton and Roddy White. Lofton left the Falcons after his first contract to move on to the Saints.
The Lions again checked in with the worst performance in a Draft Range. Of their nine selections only Louis Delmas exceeded expectations. Injuries shortened the careers of two draftees (Daniel Bullock and Jordan Dizon) and the group generally did not live up to expectations.
There were a total of 268 players selected (excluding kickers) in this Draft Range. The Packers led with 15 selections and the Saints had the least at four.
Jamaal Charles (Chiefs) was selected as the winner in a tight race. Charles has been selected to four Pro Bowls and earned two All Pro selections in a career that has been hampered by injury. LeSean McCoy (Eagles) is probably the top competitor for Charles and has been selected to three Pro Bowls and earned two All Pro selections.
James Marten (Cowboys) emerged from a crowded field of disappointments to be declared the worst selection. Marten was active for only a handful of games in a single season. Others considered were Jarron Gilbert (Bears), LaMichael James (49ers), and Myron Lewis (Bucs).
The Jaguars were judged the leader in this Draft Range. The players selected include Khalif Barnes, Derek Cox, Justin Durant, Terrance Knighton and Maurice Jones-Drew. Jones-Drew played eight seasons for the Jaguars before moving on in free agency. The remainder of the draftees left after their first contract. The Dolphins were a close contender in this Draft Range but none of the players are still with the Dolphins. The draftees included John Jerry, Kendall Langford, Samson Satele and Sean Smith. Satele was traded and went on to continue as a starter with the Raiders, Colts and then back to the Dolphins. The other three were lost in free agency.
The Broncos had the least contribution from this Draft Range. Of the Broncos eleven draftees, only one (OT Ryan Harris) achieved the expected number of NFL starts, and barely so. Harris has bounced among several teams, including two stints with the Broncos. This earns Denver the bottom spot. The Lions are close to the bottom again as they have experienced virtually no success in the Draft Range.
Draft Range 6 (74-114)
There were 407 players selected in this Draft Range. The Titans had the most selections with 18 and the Vikings had the fewest with seven.
Two guards are the leaders in this Draft Range. Jahri Evans (Saints) has earned six Pro Bowl and four All Pro selections, while starting 142 of 144 games in his nine-year career. Marshall Yanda from the Ravens trails slightly with four Pro Bowl and two All Pro selections.
Maurice Clarett is the worst selection as he went downhill from his college days to the pros and never made an NFL roster after being selected with the 101st selection. Clearly the Broncos rolled the dice with Clarett and it came up snake eyes.
The Bucs have had the most overall success in this Draft Range with Jeremy Zuttah, Roy Miller, Tanard Jackson, Mason Foster and Mike Williams. Zuttah and Williams were both traded and Roy Miller was lost in free agency. Tanard Jackson has had a troubled, though somewhat successful, NFL career and was cut by the Bucs after failing a physical. He was signed by the Redskins in free agency and was shortly thereafter suspended by the NFL for substance abuse. Foster remains, at least so far, with the Bucs.
The Chiefs had the least success in this Data Range. Nine of their 13 selections failed to live up to expectations and only Tony Moeaki was anywhere near successful. He has suffered from injury problems and saw action with the Seahawks last year and was signed by the Falcons this year.
Draft Range 7 (115-187)
There were 712 players selected in this Draft Range. The Packers led with 34 selections and the Patriots trailed with 15.
The top player has to be Richard Sherman (Seahawks), just ask him. Sherman has logged three All Pro selections in his four years in the league. Other contenders were Brandon Marshall (Broncos) and Elvis Sumervil (Broncos).
No “worst selections” were identified because at this stage of the draft the expectations are low and a player who does not make an NFL roster cannot be called a disappointment.
Selecting the team with the best results in this Draft Range was difficult but we went with the Eagles. The Eagles selected Todd Herremans, Trent Cole and Brent Celek among their selections. All three stayed with the Eagles through the 2014 season, though Herremans and Cole were both cap casualties this offseason. The Seahawks also received consideration with their selections of Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Red Bryant and Rob Sims. Sims left in free agency and Bryant was cut and signed with the Jaguars last year. While the four selections were modestly impressive there also a number of draft failures that dragged down their overall rating.
The Rams were judged to have the worst draft as only three of their 16 picks met or exceeded expectations, and none by a large margin. Their top selection was Michael Hoomanawanui who moved onto the Patriots in free agency.
Draft Range 8 (188+)
There were a total of 653 players selected in this Data Range. The Patriots had the most with 30 and the Saints had the fewest with 11.
Antonio Brown (Steelers) came out of the sixth round to earn three Pro Bowl and one All Pro selection in his first five years in the NFL. His principal challenger was Jay Ratliff from the Cowboys.
As in the previous Draft Range, no “worst selection” was determined.
The Colts had the best drafts, snagging Charlie Johnson, Antoine Bethea and Kavell Connor late in the draft. None of the three remain with the Colts as all moved on in free agency. Bethea played eight seasons for the Colts before signing with the 49ers and Connor started in three of this four seasons with them.
Twenty-three of the Bengals 26 selections performed at or below expectations and they were at the bottom. The Bucs also received some consideration as well as they received no net benefit from this Draft Range.
One week later: NFL Free Agency
The article “What Can You Expect from Free Agency” discussed, among other things, early free agent signings and how there would be plenty of them once 2015 free agency started. Well, the first week is now behind us and there was indeed plenty of activity. This
The article “What Can You Expect from Free Agency” discussed, among other things, early free agent signings and how there would be plenty of them once 2015 free agency started. Well, the first week is now behind us and there was indeed plenty of activity. This article reviews the first week of free agency and focuses on the activity that took place through March 16.
By our count, 119 free agent signings took place as of the end of the day on March 16. This includes signing both free agents whose contracts have expired and players who have been cut for salary or performance reasons. Traded players and players claimed via waiver were not included. Resigning a team’s own players is also excluded for the purposes of this analysis. While this is important it strays from the purpose of the article.
This is just the beginning of free agency, of course, but the early trend seems to be that fewer one- year contracts are being signed. Some of the one-year deals are for players returning from injury (e.g., Adrian Clayborn, Henry Melton, Sean Weatherspoon, Tyvon Branch, etc.,).
The following table compares the 119 signings so far in 2015 with the 139 contracts signed during the first three weeks of the 2014 free agency process.
With possible exception of the Scott Chandler signing by the Patriots, it is our guess that all the contracts of unknown length are one-year contract. This would mean that so far in 2015 free agency slightly less than 25% of all signings were for one year versus 36% in 2014. As free agency progresses we are likely to see more veteran-minimum, one-year contracts so this gap should be closed somewhat.
The Largest Contracts
The Jaguars have been the preeminent team in signing 2015 free agents to longer contracts. They have signed seven players so far with four those receiving contracts of five years. This represents 25% of all free agents who have signed contracts of five years or longer. A fifth player was signed by Jacksonville to a four-year contract. Beside the Jaguars, only the Eagles have signed more than one player to a contract in excess of four years, and they signed two.
If all five contracts are combined, the Jaguars committed to contracts having a Guaranteed Value of $77 million. Only the Jets exceed that investment with the contracts of Darrelle Revis, James Carpenter, Marcus Gilchrist, Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine having a Guaranteed Value of nearly $90 million.
Most would agree that, with the ability of NFL teams to release players and void contracts, a contract’s Guaranteed Value is its most important element. Here are the eleven free agent signings with a Guaranteed Value of at least $15 million. Information is from a variety of published sources.
The Suh contract pretty much drawfs the other contracts signed and makes him the highest paid non- quarterback in the league. By way comparison, JJ Watt signed a six-year contract extension last fall and received a Guaranteed Value of $21 million (total contract of about $100 milllion), only one-third of Suh’s guarantee. Seven of the eleven contracts are for defensive players. It is a matter of conjecture whether this is a matter of chance or a commentary on the importance of defense.
Future Free Agent Signings
More players will be added to the free agent pool as the year progresses and teams make further cuts, most of which will be salary cap related. A remaining key date for free agency is June 1. Many teams have an incentive to make cuts after June 1, as that will permit them to spread a terminated player’s salary cap impact over 2015 and 2016. Otherwise the entire amount of a player’s “dead money” goes against a team’s 2015 salary cap, something most teams would like to avoid.
In addition, while many of the big-name players are already signed, there are still a lot of talented free agents available. By our count, over 250 free agents remain unsigned. Some will retire and others will attract no interest, but most will end up in someone’s training camp.
How Are Teams Doing So Far?
The emphasis should be on “so far” as there is a still a long way to go in the free agency process. In assessing a team’s performance it was decided to focus on participation losses. If player A is lost in free agency and had participated in 1000 plays from scrimmage in 2014, his team must find a replacement to play those 1000 snaps.
That replacement can come from the prior year’s roster, the draft or a free agent. In this analysis only free agency is considered so, if a player or players are signed in free agency to replace Player A, his team has suffered no quantitative loss in free agency.
A team that brings in more experience than they lost has a net gain through free agency. The following table summarizes the net gain or loss through free agency for each team. A number in parentheses represents a net loss. The “Added” column represents the number of 2014 scrimmage plays for signed free agents. The “Lost” column represents the number of 2014 scrimmage plays for players lost in free agency.
The Jets and Raiders have added the most while the Eagles and Packers have lost the most. The Packers do not typically chase free agents and others, like the Steelers, tend to sit out free agency until the prices come down.
As a matter of perspective, the Eagles lost the most 2014 scrimmage plays (4637), but those plays represented less than 20% of their total scrimmage plays. So the impact of free agency is relatively modest.
2015 NFL trades: Business as usual?
The NFL is no stranger to big trades. Unfortunately, I am old enough to remember the 1959 trade that sent Ollie Matson from the Rams in exchange for seven players and two draft choices. I also clearly remember the 1989 trade where Herschel Walker went from the
The NFL is no stranger to big trades. Unfortunately, I am old enough to remember the 1959 trade that sent Ollie Matson from the Rams in exchange for seven players and two draft choices. I also clearly remember the 1989 trade where Herschel Walker went from the Cowboys to the Vikings in a trade that involved 18 players and draft choices. Even far more modest trades, though, have been the exception rather than the rule in the NFL.
Because of this, the NFL trades made so far in 2015 have been the source of much discussion. Have there been an unusually high number of trades this offseason? Or is it just a matter of more visible players being traded? This article is intended to put the 2015 trades into a proper context and at least partially answer those questions. Before starting, the point should also be made that this is very early in the trade season and it is likely that more 2015 trades are yet to come.
First, let us address the context. NFL trades can be categorized as being one of five types:
Off-season trades that occur before the draft
Draft day(s) trades where a team moves up in the draft order
Post-draft, pre-training camp trades where a team tries to fill a need it has not met through the draft or free agency
Training camp trades where a team may trade a surplus player
In-season trades that are few in number and are often necessitated by injuryThis article will focus on the pre-draft trades since that is where we are in 2015 process.During the period from 1995 through 2014 the number of pre-draft trades has ranged, by our count, from zero in 2011 to 20 in 2010. The average has been about 10 such trades per year. The following table shows the distribution of the annual number of trades over the study period:
The number of trades in each of the four years preceding 2015 have been relatively few in number compared to the norm with zero in 2011, eight in 2012, ten in 2013 and seven in 2014.
Individual trades over the past five years are listed in the following tables. The expected impact of each trade at the time of the trade is presented in the tables. A “10” in the trade impact column indicates a very impactful trade. A “0” indicates a trade with no impact. If there is no year in parentheses after the draft choice, it means that the choices involved were in the same year as the trade (e.g., a 2012 draft choice was received for a 2012 trade).
2011 Trades
By our count there were no (as in zero) offseason trades
The trade-up to draft RG3 occurred in 2012 and was the most impactful trade of the offseason. It was really a trade-up of draft choices but is included in the trade list because of its timing.
The trades are:
There were several relatively significant trades preceding the 2013 draft. Alex Smith went from the 49ers to the Chiefs; the Jets traded Darrelle Revis to the Bucs and the Vikings traded Percy Harvin to the Seahawks. A fourth trade (Carson Palmer) did not seem significant at the time but was big for the Cardinals. A complete list follows:
Not much of significance happened during the 2014 preseason. Jeremy Zuttah was a starter for the Ravens and Darren Sproles was a situational player for the Eagles. Not much happened with the rest of the trades and they were relatively minor, both in terms of number and impact. A complete list of trades follows:
While it is unlikely that 2015 will go down as one of the years with highest number of trades, the ones that did occur have been high impact. The Graham trade may be the most impactful of the group, as it provides a missing piece to a Super Bowl contender.
The McCoy for Alonso trade is very interesting because there have been historically few recent cases where top-level players are exchanged one for one. Most one for one deals involve role players or are “change of scenery” trades (e.g., Jeff Baldwin for A.J. Jenkins, Jason Smith for Wayne Hunter, etc.) The last trades having anywhere near the import of the McCoy/Alonso deal was the Joey Galloway (from Cowboys to Bucs) for Keyshawn Johnson trade in 2004. Clinton Portis was sent by the Bronocs for Champ Bailey deal in the same year but the trade also included a 2nd round pick.
It is also interesting that the Saints participated as sellers in three of the nine trades. Are there more Saints trades to come?
A list of trades made through March 15 is as follows:
Ranking the Draft Performance of Colleges
In the recent article “The Power Five Conferences and the NFL Draft” we promised to provide information, at a later date, for individual colleges. This article follows up on that promise and evaluates the draft performance of colleges for players selected between 2005 and 2014.
The methodology used to rank the colleges is the
The methodology used to rank the colleges is the same as that used in “Rating General Managers in the NFL Draft”. This methodology compares actual results, expressed as the number of games started, with expected results based on historical outcomes.
As always, we must acknowledge that this is just one way (out of many) of viewing a college’s draft performance. We continue to search for the “perfect” methodology but suspect that it does not exist.
Repeating the example used in “Rating General Managers in the NFL Draft”, Frank Gore illustrates the concept. Gore was drafted by San Francisco as the #65 selection in the 2005 draft. This means that he could have started a maximum of 160 (10 years times 16 games/year) games. Historically, players drafted at that point of the draft started about 36% of the maximum or about 58 games for a player drafted in 2005. The actual number of games started by Gore is 134, so he exceeded expectations by 76 games. This is referred to in this article as his surplus. If a player has fewer games started than expected it is referred to as a deficit.
A college’s surplus or deficit is then determined by summarizing each player’s results. The number of draft selections for each college is also counted. The surplus or deficit is divided by the number of draft selections for each college to arrive at its surplus or deficit per draft selection.
As compared with the analysis for General Managers, the data points for each college are widely dispersed. General Managers generally have a full set of draft selections, or close to it, for each year they are employed. This does happen for many of the colleges. Thus the necessity to convert all data to a per draft choice basis as this facilitates analysis and provides comparability.
The results or our analysis are quite different than they would be if only the absolute number of draft choices and number of career starts are considered. Southern Cal, for example, would be the leader with 67 players drafted and 1994 games started by those draftees. Instead, our analysis is more of a judgment on the efficiency of each college. A college that produces all seventh round choices could rank higher than a team with more or higher selections depending on the degree by which performance was better or worse than expected.
Only colleges with at least 10 players drafted in the study period were included in the analysis. There are 76 colleges that meet the criteria and they are listed in the following table.
The table includes the following information for each college:
The number of players drafted in the 10-year period
The actual number of starts made by those players
The surplus or deficit per player
A number in parentheses indicates a deficit
A zero value indicates performance is exactly average. A surplus means that performance is above average, the higher the better. A deficit represents below average performance.
Some of the highlights associated with this list are as follows:
Central Florida, Purdue and Mississippi were the only three colleges with an average surplus per play of ten games or more
The combined draft selections of the three teams combined (51) was less than six colleges
Brandon Marshall and Josh Sitton, both fourth round selections, account for a significant portion of Central Florida’s positive rating
Bruce Miller, a 7th round selection, is also a major contributor
Purdue’s positive results were largely driven by Ryan Kerrigan (1st round pick), Bernard Pollard *2nd round pick) and Cliff Avril (3rd round pick)
Mississippi was led by 1st round picks Patrick Willis and Michael Oher and 3rd round pick Mike Wallace
Four colleges that had among the highest number of draftees (Florida State, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Southern Cal) were ranked in the bottom 20 of this table
Could player’s from the “big schools” be overvalued and possibly overdrafted?
Florida State’s position is largely due to the underperformance of its draftees in the second through fourth rounds
Chief underperformers included Everette Brown, Lorenzo Booker, Buster Davis, Willie Reed and Craphonso Thorpe
Ohio State had some underperformers in the first round (Bobby Carpenter and Vernon Gholston) and every one of their six third-round choices underperformed
The six third-round picks combined for a grand total of 19 NFL starts
Oklahoma had marginal success in the first two rounds but draftees in the remaining five rounds underperformed
Only four players of their 31 selections after round three had a surplus
While there are plenty of success stories, Southern Cal draftees as a group pretty much underperformed throughout the draft
Biggest deficits were from Matt Leinert (1st round), Dwayne Jarrett (2nd round) and LenDale White (3rd round)
While Rodger Saffold was a net positive performer, three wide receivers (James Hardy in round 2, Courtney Roby in round 3 and Isaac Sowell in round four) dragged Indiana into the basement
Rating General Managers in the NFL Draft
An NFL General Manager has a full plate of responsibilities ranging from signing or retaining free agents to overseeing the draft process. All these duties must be carried out in the context of the Salary Cap, adding another layer of complexity. The ultimate judgment regarding how well
An NFL General Manager has a full plate of responsibilities ranging from signing or retaining free agents to overseeing the draft process. All these duties must be carried out in the context of the Salary Cap, adding another layer of complexity. The ultimate judgment regarding how well a General Manager does his job is, of course, his team’s won-lost record.
It should be noted that not everyone in our analysis carries the General Manager title. Nick Caserio of the Patriots, for example, is the Director of Player Personnel but is the closest person to a General Manager in their front office.
This article focuses on only one aspect of the job – – managing the draft process. We have typically used some measure of being a five-year starter in evaluating performance. That would not be useful in this analysis, though, because it effectively excludes the last six years in a 10-year analysis.
In order to facilitate a more current look at results, our rating were based on a comparison of actual starts and projected starts for all players drafted between 2005 and 2014. Let us take Frank Gore to illustrate the concept. Gore was drafted by San Francisco as the #65 selection in the 2005 draft. This means that he could have started a maximum of 160 (10 years times 16 games/year) games. Historically, players drafted at that point of the draft started about 36% of the maximum or about 58 games for a player drafted in 2005. The actual number of games started by Gore is 134, so he exceeded expectations by 76 games. This 76 game “surplus” is credited to Scot McCloughan, the General Manager at the time, because he was good enough or lucky enough to select Gore.
The percentage used is calculated for each of the Draft Ranges, as defined in earlier articles. This means there is no inherent advantage in our analysis from having an early first round choice (i.e., the top pick in the draft) compared to a later choice (e.g., pick #32). That is taken into consideration in calculating the expected number of starts.
This calculation is repeated for each player drafted between 2005 and 2014. A summation of the relevant individual scores is then made for each General Manager. The resulting total surplus or deficit for each General Manager is divided by the number of years in his tenure between 2005 and 2014, resulting in an average annual rate. McCloughan was, for example, employed as a General Manager for five years and ended up with a total surplus of 295 games, resulting in an average annual surplus of 59. The conversion to an annual rate is done to provide comparability among General Managers with different employment tenures.
An average annual surplus of zero indicates a General Manager that performs at exactly the league average. A high surplus is good. A deficit is bad.
The table that follows ranks all current General Managers by their average annual surplus or deficit, with the largest surplus indicating that the General Manager was the most effective at his job on draft day. Please note that the drafting General Manager receives credit for a player regardless of whether the player remains with the team. If Gore had left the 49ers after three seasons and played for the Chargers, for example, McCloughan would still receive credit for all of Gore’s starts.
The table requires some explanation:
The first two columns are self-explanatory.
The third column cannot be greater than 10 (representing the 10 years studied) and represents the total number of seasons spent as a General Manager from 2005 through 2014.
The next column cannot be greater than the preceding one and represents the number of years spent as General Manager of the current team during the 10-year time period.
The “Average Annual Surplus (Deficit)” column was calculated as explained above and the table is sorted by those values
The final column represents the other teams for which the person served as General Manager during the 10-year period.
There is no perfect way to statistically analyze a General Manager’s draft performance. What is presented here is one way of doing it. A surplus can result from drafting more NFL starters, players with longer careers than typical or some combination of the two.
A few highlights from the above:
Six teams have had the same General Manager for at least the past 10 seasons
Almost half the teams (14) are within 10 games per season of the average
Scot McCloughan left the 49ers for “mutual reasons” and went on to serve as an advisor to John Schneider, the #2 rated General Manager, for four drafts
Mike Maccagnan, the Jets’ new General Manager, came from the Houston Texans where he was Director of College Scouting
It is also interesting to look at people who served as General Managers for at least three seasons over the past 10 years and who are no longer employed as a General Manager. It is no surprise to Lions fans that Matt Millen is at the bottom of the rankings but some of the names at the top might be surprising.
The NFL’S 1%
The Occupy Wall Street and related movements used the slogan “We Are the 99%”. The corollary to that slogan is that the members of the top 1% are the privileged few and enjoy the benefits of wealth distribution inequality. (For the record, that is NOT a view that I share and I am far from
The Occupy Wall Street and related movements used the slogan “We Are the 99%”. The corollary to that slogan is that the members of the top 1% are the privileged few and enjoy the benefits of wealth distribution inequality. (For the record, that is NOT a view that I share and I am far from being part of the 1%).
What does that have to do with the NFL? Well, it turns out that the NFL has its own top 1% when it comes to player performance. Our research indicates that 53 of the 5060 players drafted (or about 1%) from 1995 through 2014 have gone on to become three-time All Pro selections.
In our analyses, we have consistently used the milestone of earning three All Pro selections as the proxy for the top category of player performance. While the outcome of voting for post-season honors is not a perfect indication of on-field success, it does provide the advantage of being at least a somewhat objective and a completely verifiable source of information.
The purpose of this article is to explore whether there are any common denominators among the 53 three-time All Pros (hereinafter referred to as the “Top Performers”) and to provide additional relevant background information. The analysis for this article was for the period from 1995 through 2014.
Who Drafts Them?
This is somewhat of a chicken or the egg situation. Do All Pros make a team successful or do successful teams tend to generate more All Pros because of the team’s success? There is no way of answering this question. What we do know, though, is that 27 of the 32 NFL teams drafted at least one Top Performer. The Bills, Cardinals, Falcons, Giants and Titans drafted no Top Performers during the study period. The following table shows the NFL teams that did draft Top Performers and the number selected by each.
Where in the Draft Were They Selected?
The Top Performers tend to be selected early in the draft. All rounds are represented, though, except for the 7th. The first round produced 35 of the 53 players, with 27 (or almost exactly half of all Top Performers) selected in the first 14 picks. The distribution by round is as follows:
How Many Are Selected Annually?
Typically two to four Top Performers are selected in each draft. The highest number selected in the past 20 years is eight in 1996. The number will increase for some of the years as time goes on and the more recent years (2012-2014 in this case) are highly likely to ultimately generate at least a few Top Performers. The number of Top Performers drafted by year for the past 20 years is as follows:
Which Playing Positions are the Most Prevalent Top Performers?
Top Performers are produced at almost every playing position. Some of the position classifications can be debated (i.e., whether a player was a defensive end or an outside linebacker) but here is the breakdown by position as well as the players who make up the group of 53.
The most surprising item in the table is that only one quarterback (Peyton Manning) was a Top Performer. Manning was selected as an All Pro seven times and, given that only one All Pro quarterback per year is selected, his multiple selections effectively blocked such players as Tom Brady from being in the Top Performer group. The remaining 13 All Pro quarterbacks for the 1995-2014 period, with the number of years in parentheses, were Bret Favre (3), Tom Brady (2), Aaron Rodgers (2), Rich Gannon (2), Kurt Warner (2), Drew Brees (1) and Randall Cunningham (1). Favre was drafted in 1991 so he did not fall into the analysis period and is not counted as one of the 53.
What Colleges Produced the Most Top Performers?
About 85% (45 in total) of the Top Performers came from the Power Five Conferences. Nine colleges in that group produced more than one Top Performer. Miami is the leader with four followed by Georgia with three. Seven colleges (Florida State, Michigan, Pitt, Syracuse, Southern Cal, UCLA and Wisconsin) checked in with two each.
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Original Art /
Old Blue Eyes-Large
Paul Mellia
99 x 119 cm (39 x 47 ″) 99 x 119 cm (39 x 47 ″)
Stretched-Canvas
Stretched-Canvas Total Size : 99X119CMPainted directly onto canvas stretched over a wooden frame
ONGallery recommends Stretched CanvasPrinted on Canvas
SKU : ON2019-L
By Paul Mellia
Now in his late 50s, Paul Mellia has established a reputation over the last 30 years as a super-realist artist, specialising in detailed illustrations of themes from popular culture – film stars, sports cars and motorbikes, comic book characters and superheroes. Paul’s approach is almost sculptural; painting and peeling away layers, until the final unmasking of one of his new originals. He immerses himself in the timeless meditation of creation, focusing on every intricate detail, a flicker of light here, a thread of hair there.
After graduating with a fine art degree at art school, his first appointment was painting frescoes and 16th C images for Baroness De Vail in Paris. There, he lived a bohemian existence basking in the inspiration of legendary painters and sculptures such as Rodin, Gauguin, Picasso and Dali. But it was Warhol’s Pop Art that resonated the most, subsequently fuelling Paul to focus on what he loved most – images of Americana, gleaned from books given to him as a child. “From a very early age I was able to paint them in fine detail. I wanted to make them real and show a different side to them.”
Now one of the fastest selling artists in today’s contemporary art scene, Paul is renowned for his distinctive 3-D interpretations of celebrated icons. Straddling the delicate line between visual art and popular culture, his work is neither illustrative or photographic but standing between the two – verging on fantasy.<
Paul was the first artist to have been granted a licence by Marvel and is approved by DC Comics to reproduce their characters as fine art, and is the first artist ever in over 60 years to have been granted a licence to reproduce Thomas the Tank Engine as fine art. His painting of Thomas the Tank Engine was bought at auction for £150,000 by HIT Entertainment and then presented to HM The Queen, as she is an avid collector of Thomas the Tank memorabilia.
Collectors and owners of Paul’s work include HM The Queen, Tommy Lee (drummer for Motley Crue), HRH Diana Princess of Wales, Nancy Reagan, Mariah Carey, Lisa Marie Presley, Seal, Jonathan Ross, Tamara Ecclestone, Banksy, and he has produced commissioned work for clients such as Hit Entertainment, Mercedes Benz, Marvel Comics, A1 Grand Prix Series, 46664 Nelson Mandela Foundation and Sega.
Night Cafe LA
Los Angeles Dream
Yellow Icon
Amusement in LA
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Happy Birthday, David Hume!
Posted on May 7, 2019 by Ordinary Philosophy
In honor of the great Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume‘s birthday, May 7, 1711, let me share a series of excellent works about him, and share anew my own history of ideas travel series and other pieces I’ve written in honor of this favorite philosopher of mine, if I was pressed to chose one. Hume is the witty, cosmopolitan, skeptical, sometimes sarcastic, eloquent, and genial thinker that many of his fellow philosophers have called the greatest philosopher to write in English.
I fell in love with Hume’s native Edinburgh when I originally visited in the spring of 2014 but even so, I wouldn’t have predicted I would now be living here continuing my education at his alma mater, the University of Edinburgh. It would have been even more impossible to predict that the window of my first flat in Edinburgh would be located directly across a narrow square from the University’s David Hume Tower. I was moved to observe one day, and still am whenever I think or tell of it, that the windows of that glassy tower often reflect the light of the rising sun into my window. I could imagine no more poetic image than that of how this Enlightenment thinker has influenced my life.
Here are some excellent sources for learning about the great David Hume:
David Hume ~ by William Edward Morris and Charlotte R. Brown for The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
David Hume ~ Melvyn Bragg and his guests Peter Millican, Helen Beebee, and James Harris in discussion for In Our Time
David Hume (1711—1776) ~by James Fieser for the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
David Hume: Natural, Comfortable Thinking ~ by Jane O’Grady for the Times Literary Supplement
David Hume: Scottish Philosopher ~ by Maurice Cranston and Thomas Edmund Jessop for Encyclopædia Britannica
David Hume, the Skeptical Stoic ~ by Massimo Pigliucci for How to Be a Stoic
He Died as He Lived: David Hume, Philosopher and Infidel ~ by Dennis Rasmussen for Aeon
How an 18th-Century Philosopher Helped Solve My Midlife Crisis: David Hume, the Buddha, and a Search for the Eastern Roots of the Western Enlightenment ~ by Alison Gopnik for The Atlantic
Self Aware: How David Hume Cultivated His Image ~ by James Harris for the Times Literary Supplement
Here are my own pieces in the order I wrote them, starting several years back. Perhaps you’ll find, as I do when I return to old pieces from time to time, that my thinking has developed and my mind has changed, to various degrees, on some things:
First Day in Old Edinburgh: Hume Sites and Monuments
Hume’s New Scene of Thought, and, It’s Good to Be Able to Say ‘I Don’t Know’
Hume Sites and Monuments, Part 2
The Consolations of Philosophy, and A Death Free from Fear
Scotticisms
Happy 303rd Birthday, David Hume!
The Debate Over Government and Freedom
The Tale of the Magic Toe – Superstition? Or What?
Water of Leith
Last Day in Edinburgh, May 13th, 2014
Hume, Aristotle, and Guns
A memory quilt I created for my Edinburgh trip:
A Hill and a Wall in Edinburgh, 2015, 102″ x 69″
Enlightenment Scotland: Site of James Boswell’s Home in James Court, Edinburgh
Enlightenment Scotland: Advocates Library, Edinburgh
Chirnside and Ninewells, Scottish Borders, Childhood and Summer Home of David Hume
Enlightenment Scotland: Edinburgh’s Select Society
Photobook: Robert Adam, Architect of Edinburgh
Photobook: Letter from David Hume to James Balfour, Mar 15, 1753
*A version of this piece was previously published at Ordinary Philosophy
Posted in Happy Birthday!, History of Ideas, Philosophy, Written by Amy Cools | Tagged Art Quilt, British History, David Hume, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Quilt, Enlightenment, Enlightenment History, Enlightenment Scotland, Freethought, Government and Freedom, Happy Birthday!, history, History of Ideas, James Boswell, Philosophy, Robert Adam, Scotland, Scottish Enlightenment, Select Society, travel, travel blog, Traveling Philosophy / History of Ideas, Water of Leith, Written by Amy Cools and tagged A Hill and a Wall in Edinburgh | Leave a comment
Review: Nancy’s Philosopher
Posted on January 11, 2019 by Ordinary Philosophy
Last night, I attended the one-woman play Nancy’s Philosopher starring the lovely and expressive Kelly Burke, written by David Black.
Through one side of an exchange between Nancy Ord, daughter of Robert Ord, Chief Baron of the Scottish Exchequer, and an unseen and unheard Angus, physician’s assistant, we learn about the social circle in Edinburgh’s well-heeled, sophisticated New Town scene, in which the Ords, James Boswell, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Adam, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and the great Enlightenment philosopher David Hume make their appearances. And through a series of anecdotes, we learn of Nancy’s growing love for the much older, much rounder, and controversial skeptic Hume.
This play is a history and a love letter all in one, and reveals as much about the admiration of the playwright for Nancy’s beloved as it does hers. I won’t offer any spoilers here since the play is so full of delightful revelations and unexpected, little-known connections between great figures in history. I very much recommend you go and see this little gem of a play!
Venue: Anatomy Lecture Theatre, Summerhall, at 1 Summerhall, Edinburgh, EH9 1PL
Price: £15 (concessions £12) / Sat: £20 (concessions £15)
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Posted in Enlightenment Scotland, Philosophy, Reviews & Recommendations, Written by Amy Cools | Tagged Benjamin Franklin, David Black, David Hume, Edinburgh, Enlightenment, Enlightenment Scotland, History of Philosophy, Kelly Burke | 1 Comment
Frederick Douglass in Edinburgh, Scotland, Part 1: Strike for Freedom Exhibit at the National Library of Scotland
Posted on November 23, 2018 by Ordinary Philosophy
Strike for Freedom Frederick Douglass exhibit poster, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2018, featuring an 1853 engraved portrait by John Buttre
This afternoon’s an exciting one: it’s the opening day of the Strike for Freedom exhibit at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland. It features photos, letters, books, memorabilia, and more relating to Frederick Douglass and his family, friends, and colleagues, who spoke and worked for the abolition of slavery and equal rights in the antebellum United States and beyond.
Frederick Douglass is featured here at the NLS because he became an especially well-known abolitionist speaker in Scotland. Douglass traveled to the British Isles in August of 1845 following the publication of his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. He planned to kill two birds with one stone when he crossed the Atlantic: one, he would escape the danger of re-capture by his legal owner with the help of the information contained in the Narrative and two, he would add his voice to the growing antislavery movement in Britain. After touring Ireland, Douglass arrived in Ardrossan, Scotland on January 10th, 1846. Not long after his arrival, Douglass became involved in the ‘Send Back the Money!’ campaign, which called on the newly formed Free Church of Scotland to return donations from American congregations who supported slavery. Though the campaign did not succeed in persuading the Church to return the funds, Douglass’ speeches were immensely popular and he garnered a huge amount of support for the various causes he spoke for, including abolition, temperance, and equal access to public modes of transport and accommodations regardless of race.
Frederick Douglass items in Strike for Freedom exhibit, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2018. At bottom left is the first Irish printing of Douglass’ Narrative, published by abolitionist Richard Webb, with a frontispiece portrait signed ‘B. Bell.’ Douglass hated the portrait, and though Webb took offense at Douglass’ reaction to it, he duly replaced it with another in subsequent printings. This is the very same copy from the NLS’ collection I consulted this summer when researching my master’s dissertation.
The Strike for Freedom exhibit’s opening is kicked off today with a fascinating and rousing talk by Celeste-Marie Bernier, who was instrumental in arranging this exhibit. The focus of her talk was how Douglass did not become the great man he was alone. His wife Anna Murray; his daughters and sons Rosetta, Lewis Henry, Frederick Jr., Charles Remond, and Annie; and his mother and grandmother Harriet and Betsy Bailey were all instrumental in helping him become the man he was. They functioned as inspirations, teachers, helpmeets, companions, consciences, correctives, encouragers, amanuenses, and above all, sources of love, pride, and joy for Frederick in every stage of his growth from slave child, to self-emancipated young man, to husband and father, to activist and author, to American statesman and moral leader.
The Strike for Freedom exhibit centers around Douglass family artifacts (mostly original with occasional facsimiles) from the Walter O. Evans collection. Dr. Evans and his wife Linda are major collectors of African-American art, but Dr. Evans has also gathered a massive collection of African-American documents, photos, and other artifacts throughout the course of his life. The exhibit also includes at least one item from the NLS’ own collection, and images from the Maryland State Archives, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Library of Congress, the Central Library of Rochester & Monroe County in New York, and the National Park Service’s Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington, D.C.
Frederick Douglass in Edinburgh map, Strike for Freedom exhibit, National Library of Scotland, 2018
As I head for the exhibit after the talk, I pass by a large glass case with a map laid out, marked with pins and labels. It shows the location of Edinburgh sites associated with Douglass’ visits to Scotland. I’ll be covering these Edinburgh sites as I take my own journey through Edinburgh following Douglass, stay tuned!
Here are just some of the artifacts I saw in the exhibit. No doubt, I’ll be sharing more with you throughout my Douglass in the British Isles series as they relate to the stories.
Jesse Glasgow’s book on Harper’s Ferry and John Brown and a ‘Send Back the Money!’ anti-slavery meeting pamphlet at the Strike for Freedom exhibit at the NLS, 2018. Glasgow was a classics student at the University of Edinburgh and unfortunately, died young in 1860, at only age 23, having already become a published author and an award-winning scholar.
Lewis Henry and Helen Amelia Longuen Douglass photos and letter, Strike for Freedom exhibit at the NLS, 2018. Lewis was Douglass’ eldest son, and Amelia was a member of a prominent abolitionist family. The love letters between Lewis, away fighting in the Civil War, and his beloved Amelia tell a revealing and fascinating story of love among war and the fight for equality.
Frederick Douglass’ Family Story photos and artifacts at the Strike for Freedom exhibit at the NLS, 2018. At the top, from left to right clockwise, are pictured Rosetta, the Douglass’ eldest daughter; Anna Murray, Douglass’ first wife and mother of all of his children; the Douglass’ middle child Frederick Douglass, Jr.; Douglass with his second wife Helen Pitts (sitting) and her sister Eva (standing); and Douglass with his grandson Joseph (standing), a famous violinist. The four-page document is a speech written by Charles Remond Douglass titled ‘Some Incidents of the Home Life of Frederick Douglass’ in which he describes Douglass’ civil rights work as a family affair.
Frederick Douglass’ Family Story photos and artifacts, Strike for Freedom exhibit at the NLS, 2018
After a good long visit to the exhibit and chatting with some fellow attendees at the talk (including an all-too-brief chat with Dr. Evans), I depart, inspired, happy with the new things I’ve learned, and excited to continue my journey through texts and physical places following Douglass in the British Isles.
The National Library of Scotland’s Strike for Freedom exhibit will be continuing through February 16th, 2019.
Sources and Inspiration:
Bernier, Celeste-Marie, and Andrew Taylor. If I Survive: Frederick Douglass and Family in the Walter O. Evans Collection. Edinburgh University Press, 2018
Delatinerjan, Barbara. ‘Interest in Black Art Just Grew and Grew.‘ New York Times, Jan 30, 2000
‘Jesse Ewing Glasgow, Jr. (c. 1837-1860)‘, Falvey Memorial Library at Villanova University website
Murray, Hannah Rose. Frederick Douglass in Britain and Ireland
Our Bondage and Our Freedom: An international project celebrating the 200 year anniversary of the birth of African American activist and author, Frederick Douglass. School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, University of Edinburgh website
Pettinger, Alasdair. Frederick Douglass and Scotland, 1846: Living an Antislavery Life. Edinburgh University Press, 2018
Pettinger, Alasdair. ‘Douglass in Scotland‘ series for bulldozia.com
Posted in History of Ideas, Human Rights, Traveling Philosophy / History of Ideas, Written by Amy Cools | Tagged Abolitionism, Anna Murray Douglass, Antislavery, Celeste-Marie Bernier, Charles Remond Douglass, Civil War, Edinburgh, Frederick Douglass, Hannah Rose Murray, Helen Amelia Longuen, Helen Pitts Douglass, History of Abolition, Jr, Lewis Douglass, Linda Evans, Narrative, National Library of Scotland, Rosetta Douglass Sprague, Scotland, Slavery, Strike for Freedom, Walter O. Evans | Leave a comment
Following Frederick Douglass in the British Isles
Posted on September 6, 2018 by Ordinary Philosophy
Hello, friends of Ordinary Philosophy!
From time to time, I take a trip to some corner of the globe, to explore the lives and ideas of great thinkers in the places where they lived and worked. For this series, I follow in the footsteps of thinkers who are no longer alive, since those who are still telling their own stories. But those who are no longer alive in the body live on in the ideas that they pass on, and in the example they provide for us to follow.
I’m pleased and excited to announce my ninth philosophical-historical themed adventure following in the footsteps of Frederick Douglass throughout the British Isles. This series continues from and builds on my first Douglass series in the United States.
Frederick Douglass’s life story is inspiring and humbling in the strength, character, and dazzling intellect he reveals, rising to such greatness in the midst of such adversity. Born a slave on the eastern shore of Maryland in the early 1800’s, he was an autodidact, having overheard his master say that learning to read leads to learning to think, rendering a slave too independent-minded to submit to domination by another. Hearing this, young Frederick knew what he had to do. Attaining literacy and learning a skilled trade gave him the wherewithal to escape to New York City in 1838 at about 20 years of age. A few years later, as a result of an impromptu but impassioned and eloquent speech about the hardships of a life enslaved, he was recruited as a public speaker for the abolitionist cause. Douglass spent the rest of his life as an activist for all manner of human rights causes, from the abolition of slavery to universal suffrage to women’s rights and beyond.
Douglass is an especially compelling subject for a student of history and philosophy; observing the true nature and ramifications of slavery led him to think deeply about the most essential questions in human life, which, in turn, spurred him on to a life of thought and action on behalf of oppressed peoples. In these roles, Douglass had a heavy influence on American thought and on the course of American history. He asked, and answered: What does it mean to be a person? What does it mean to be a person of conviction and of faith? What are rights, and why are we entitled to them? What is dignity, and does possessing it entail certain obligations to ourselves and others? Given the frailties and strengths of human nature, how can we best live together and form just societies? What do the Constitution, its Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence really say about slavery, equality, and other human rights issues?
Following Douglass’ life and thought led me on a journey that took me much further than I could have imagined. I first came to Edinburgh as a student of philosophy following David Hume; now I live here, pursuing my higher education at the University of Edinburgh with Douglass as one of my primary subjects of inquiry. So I’ll continue my journey, which began in Oakland, CA and took me on a broad tour of the East Coast of the United States, then here to the British Isles. As I follow Douglass, I’ll visit landmarks associated with his life, places where he lived and died, worked, thought, wrote, studied, and rested, to see for myself how the places informed the man, and vice versa.
Frederick Douglass in Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Posted in Feminism, Freethought, History of Ideas, Human Rights, Justice, Politics, Religion, Traveling Philosophy / History of Ideas, Written by Amy Cools | Tagged Abolitionism, American History, British History, Edinburgh, England, Frederick Douglass, History of Abolitionism, Intellectual History, London, Newcastle, Travels in History, Universal Suffrage | 2 Comments
Happy Birthday, James Hutton!
Posted on June 14, 2018 by Ordinary Philosophy
James Hutton by Sir Henry Raeburn ca. 1776, at the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland, image public domain via Wikimedia Commons
As I hike the hills and crags of Holyrood Park, I often pass a site associated with an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh, where I now attend. It’s not a spectacular site; in fact, it’s just a little stony outcropping that anyone other than a geologist might just pass by or clamber down without a thought. The more observant might notice that there are some nice colors and stripes in the rocks. If not for the fading white printed sign attached to a nearby stone, low enough to step right over it without noticing, no one might know that something important happened here.
Well, two somethings. One took a long time, one much less so. First, over millions of years, minerals were laid down and pressed into sandstone, a band of which pressed and warped against a dolerite sill, a remnant of the ancient volcano that created Arthur’s Seat. In fact, all manner of different processes created Arthur’s Seat, Salisbury Crags, and the other formations of Holyrood Park.
Holyrood Park in spring, viewing Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat thru a flowering shrub, Edinburgh, Scotland
So the second important thing that happened to which I refer is that a sharp-eyed person of particular curiosity and intelligence noticed. In the mid-to-late 1700’s, James Hutton, a native of Edinburgh born on June 3, 1726, and who died here March 26, 1797, closely explored this area. He was a trained chemist and medical doctor, farmer and entrepreneur turned scientist. Hutton spent a great deal of time touring farms and open lands in Scotland, observing farming practices with a professional eye and rock and land formations with a scientific one.
Hutton’s careful observations led him to formulate the theory of uniformitarianism. This theory holds that the earth and its formations were generally not created quickly, in cataclysmic or miraculous events, but very slowly, over vast expanses of time, in slow but regular processes such as sedimentation, erosion, volcanism, and uplift. Hutton published his ideas in his two-volume magnum opus Theory of the Earth in 1795. His demonstration that the Earth was very old indeed made later scientific theories whose justifications required vast expanses of time, notably Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, possible.
Scroll down to see my photos of Hutton’s Section in Holyrood Park and its explanatory sign, and learn more about the great James Hutton through the links below:
James Hutton (1726 – 1797) ~ from ‘Alumni in History’ at the University of Edinburgh’s website
James Hutton: The Founder of Modern Geology ~ excerpt from Earth: Inside and Out, at the American Museum of Natural History website
James Hutton: Scottish Geologist ~ by the editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Hutton’s Section, Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland
Hutton’s Section historical sign, Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland
Another view of Hutton’s Section, Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland
Posted in Enlightenment Scotland, Happy Birthday!, Science, Written by Amy Cools | Tagged Biblical Literalism, Charles Darwin, earth science, Edinburgh, Genesis, Geology, great geological cycle, Holyrood Park, Hutton Unconformity, Hutton's Section, James Hutton, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Siccar Point, Uniformitarianism, University of Edinburgh | Leave a comment
Citizenship, Belonging, and the Experiences of Amero-Africans in West Africa: An Analysis of William Innes’ Early History of Liberia
Posted on May 12, 2018 by Ordinary Philosophy
Rev. Dr. William Innes of Edinburgh
In 1831 and again in 1833, Waugh and Innes of Edinburgh published a history of Liberia by ‘Minister of the Gospel’ William Innes.[1]
In his Liberia: Or, The Early History & Signal Preservation of the American Colony of Free Negroes on the Coast of Africa, Innes describes the founding, structure, and struggles of this West African colony, founded in the early 1820’s as a haven for free and previously enslaved people of African descent and for ‘recaptives’[2] rescued from the newly illegal transatlantic slave trade.[3] Innes was an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh, an ‘independent’-minded Presbyterian and then Baptist minister, one-time chaplain of Stirling Castle, missionary, bookseller, and author of over two dozen books and other publications, mostly on religious topics. The titles of his publications, such as Reasons for Separating from the Church of Scotland (Dundee, 1804), Christianity, the Only Effectual Support Under the Afflictions of Life (Edinburgh, 1810), Domestic Religion, or an Exposition of the Precepts of Christianity Regarding the Duties of Domestic Life (Edinburgh, 1822), and Instructions for Young Enquirers (Edinburgh, translated into Gaelic 1827) indicate why this otherwise mostly theological writer decided to write a history of a colony.[4] As we shall see, this reform-minded man viewed Liberia as a worthy project within the larger goal of uplifting lives as well as souls.
Although Innes’ account includes some discussion of the hardships faced by the colonists trying to build a community in and wrest a living from this unfamiliar and somewhat hostile territory, he presents a generally positive view of the experience and prospects of the Liberian colonization project. Indeed, Innes seems anxious to convince his readers that the colony could not only exist and thrive, but that it should. As we shall see, Liberia is, to Innes, a project of community-building in line with ordered nature and with American beliefs in democracy, self-sufficiency, and the sense of social harmony necessary for a united and healthy political community. In interrogating this text, then, we are led to ask: how are ideas about citizenship and belonging implied and described in Innes’ history of Liberia, how do they relate to the lived experiences of Amero-Africans in the United States and Liberia, and how are these ideas challenged?
Innes commences his history with a discussion of the historical conditions in which this colonization movement arose. The American Colonization Society (ACS) was founded in November of 1816 as a benevolent institution dedicated to the long-conceived but as yet unsystematic scheme of colonizing black inhabitants of the United States to Africa, the continent of their ancestral origin.[5] As Innes and many others saw it, including many abolitionists and proslavery advocates alike,[6] black people could never live peacefully side by side with white Americans. Innes writes that all black persons are ‘branded by their colour as an inferior caste.’[7] He argues that so long as they live as an ‘inferior’ class within the general community of free persons, both black and white will suffer the ill effects of living in a mixed-race society, made up as it is of people with necessarily disparate natures and irreconcilable interests.[8] So long as people of African descent live within the mainstream white American community, the majority of the former will remain ‘idle, ignorant, vicious’ as a result of their disfavor, and cites as an example of this that ‘in many cases the free negroes are a great annoyance to the community, often living by pilfering the property of their neighbors.’[9] Therefore, Innes explains, the only way that people of African descent can create communities to which they naturally belong is to form them separately from white communities, and the best place to do so is by establishing their own communities in the continent of their ancestor’s origin. In doing so, they can enjoy the rights and privileges of citizens with others who share their place in the racial hierarchy. [10] In his majority opinion for the United States Supreme Court 1856 decision in the Dred Scott v. John F. A. Sandford case, which exacerbated the divisive political issues of slavery and race that helped spark the United States’ Civil War,[11] Chief Justice Roger Taney agrees with Innes’ theory of natural racial separation. He likewise believes that human beings are manifestly and naturally separated into inferior and superior races that cannot form a united political community.[12] Ideas such as Innes’ and Taney’s permeated political debate and policy in the United States for decades to come, widely disenfranchising black Americans and relegating them to second-class citizenship throughout the nation.
W.E.B. Dubois, Photograph taken by J.E. Purdy in 1904, public domain via Library of Congress
Yet the colonization scheme as described above is a manifestation of paradoxical ideas about belonging and citizenship rather than a straightforward, across the board rejection of the rights or abilities of black persons to enjoy political power, despite Taney’s assertions to the contrary. According to Innes, Taney, many in the ACS, the U.S. government, and so many Americans, people of African origin who were brought to American shores to labor, to raise crops and buildings and in every other way contribute to the economy and to the material well-being of United States citizens nevertheless do not belong within the political community nor could ever be citizens themselves. Yet advocates of colonization such as Innes believed that people of African descent were or could become citizens in Africa even if they were not born there. This was and continued to be believed by many of African descent as well. W.E.B. DuBois, African-American historian, racial theorist, and proponent of the pan-Africanist ‘vision’[13] of Africa as the natural homeland for all people of African descent, describes Africa as ‘fatherland,’ and ‘motherland.’ DuBois concedes that he has only a ‘tenuous’ connection to Africa ‘in culture and race’, like most people colonized to Africa in Innes’ time. African scholar M.B. Akpan points out that Amero-Africans (acculturated Americans of African descent who settled in Africa) who went to Liberia were vastly different from native Africans in about as many ways as they could be, in dress, language, religion, taste in food, clothing, housing, art, and so on.[14] Yet some, like DuBois, perceived themselves as bound to Africa by an essential ‘kinship.’[15] For Innes and others, this kinship is entirely racially based; for DuBois and many pan-Africanists, ‘the real essence of this kinship is its social heritage of slavery; the discrimination and the insult; and this heritage binds [us] together…’[16]
Innes and proponents of Amero-African colonization, Taney and other racial hierarchists, and pan-Africanists like Dubois share a belief that there is something about a common African descent and shared experiences, however combined with ethnic descent and acculturation from elsewhere, which creates a natural community. Such natural communities, in turn, create opportunities for citizenship that cannot be enjoyed at all, or at least not fully, in any other context. These ideas are in tension throughout Innes’ account of how West African colonies came to be and the way they persisted despite significant challenges and hardships. These challenges arose within the colonies themselves and from conflicts between colonists and the ecology, and between colonists and their native African neighbors. Innes’ account of the difficulties faced by the Liberian colonists differs significantly in many respects from later scholarship and from other contemporary accounts. In Innes’ account, these difficulties are relatively minor compared to the benefits the colonists enjoyed as citizens of a new community to which they rightly belonged.[17] The contrast between Innes’ account and other contemporary accounts backed up by later scholarship[18] imply that Innes’ driving concern to use Liberia as a positive example of how racially-based communities are formed biased his very favorable presentation of the colony.
Regarding their prospects for acceptance and inclusion within the mainstream American social and political community, Innes describes his perception of the state in which non-enslaved people of African descent find themselves:
…[T]roughout the non-slaveholding states, the negroes form a distinct race, branded by their color as an inferior caste; regarded with a species of loathing when thought of as companions, and for ever shut out from the privileges of the white men by whom they are surrounded. Be it prejudice, or founded on reason, the feeling of dislike mutually exists… .No matter what may be their industry and sobriety; no matter what their attainments in science, or their character for morality, they can never hope to pass the broad line of demarcation, or assume a station of equality with the other members of the community.[19]
Frederick Douglass ca. 1847-52, Samuel Miller, American 1822-1882, Art Institute of Chicago, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Racial hierarchists like Taney share the ‘species of loathing’ which Innes describes. Today, Innes’ and Taney’s descriptions of race relations are difficult to read, especially Taney’s. For one, they conflict with contemporary thoughts and sensibilities about race which are, in the main, orders of magnitude more optimistic about the likelihood that people of various races and ethnicities can meaningfully share and participate in communities as social and political equals. For another, they don’t ring true, especially in Taney’s harsh Dred Scott account of the social and political issues of race in America. After all, there were many mixed-race communities in which black Americans lived relatively safely and peacefully alongside their white neighbors even given the national tensions over issues of race. Leading black abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass settled in one such community, New Bedford, Massachusetts, following his escape from slavery in Maryland in 1838.[20] Taney’s opinion reads very much like a partisan political document and presents a wholly dismal picture of both the capabilities and prospects of people of African descent.[21] Innes’ commentary, on the other hand, presents a more mixed though still racially hierarchical view. On the one hand, he implies in the selection above and makes clearer elsewhere that he believes people of African descent are fully capable of ‘industry and sobriety,’ of morality, of worthy and admirable attainments, of being ‘provident’ and ‘respectable,’ of conducting ‘affairs of empire,’ and so on.[22] Yet Innes does not believe they are capable of this, on the whole, so long as they live in communities among their white racial ‘superiors.’[23] Removal from white society and colonization with others of their own racial heritage, then, is the answer.
Yet all the qualities that Innes enumerates as making people belong within communities and which he characterizes as those of good citizens, he already ascribes to Americans of African descent. We can see this most clearly in the passages in Innes’ history where he describes the contrast between Amero-African colonizers and the beneficial and ‘civilizing’ influence that they exert on their native Africans neighbors. In matters of language, religion, dress, morality, ability, education, and so on, they are in turn, deems Innes, superior to their native African neighbors and the latter, recognizing this, wish to emulate them.[24] We can also recognize Innes’ conflicting views in the terms he chooses to refer to the Amero-African colonists and the native African peoples in their territorial conflicts. When describing the participants and victims of battles, Innes refers to Amero-Africans and their native African allies in such terms as ‘woman’, ‘men,’ ‘persons,’ ‘mother’, ‘the people’, and so on. By contrast, Innes refers to native Africans primarily by terms such as ‘barbarian,’ ‘savage’, ‘enemy’, and ‘wretches’, characterized by ‘moral deformity.’[25] This implies that for Innes, civilization can depend on culture, virtues, religious beliefs, and modes of comportment rather than race. The very qualities that make people belong to a community and become good citizens can and are often held by Amero-Africans whatever side of the Atlantic. As we can see in the selection above, Innes concedes this even as he explains why black people cannot belong within American white communities. He allows that black individuals can and do ‘rise above their degraded brethren’ and exhibit such good-citizenship qualities as ‘character for morality’ and ‘industry and sobriety,’ capable of ‘mak[ing] attainments in science’ and so forth.[26] Innes, then, presents two very distinct conceptions of belonging, citizenship, and race which are, if not in direct conflict, at least in tension with one another.
Clipping from The African Repository and Colonial Journal, V. XIII 1837, describing the efforts of William Johnson to settle his former slaves in Liberia, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Perhaps Innes resolves these conflicting ideas about race and belonging to his own satisfaction through his appeal to divine approval. Innes, as a ‘Minister of the Gospel,’[27] looks for and finds signs of God’s will that the Liberian colony survive. He argues that God must approve of removing black people to Liberia because the preservation of Liberian colonies is unlikely otherwise given the obstacles they faced, which in turn shows divine approbation of this racial separation.[28] The idea of divine arrangement of peoples into natural types and nations which pervades Innes’ history resembles such racially hierarchical theories as Taney’s. However, Innes’ view of racial ordering displays more divine benevolence for the black race even as it is extremely patriarchal. Innes perceives a divine will that all people of African descent be redeemed through their separate political and religious institutions. This will best be brought about first by separating the races into naturally sympathetic racially divided communities, and then locating those communities in places where they can spread the gospel of Christ to others of the same race who have not yet received it through the establishment of colonies. The colonizers were then placed in a position to help bring about the divine will in the world such as providing a Christian example to their African neighbors[29] and helping to end the ‘evil’ and ‘dreadful malady’ of the slave trade.[30]
Yet Innes’ overall sunny take on the lived experience of the Liberian colonists contrasts with contemporary and later accounts of the Liberian experiment. Douglass, for example, is skeptical of the glowing accounts of the colony’s success as well as of its prospects of helping to end the slave trade; he questions the motives and therefore the accuracy of those offering glowing accounts of the colonization effort’s success.[31] Innes’ account is one which invites such skepticism. He considers the ‘signal preservation’ of the colony a sign of God’s approval but does not consider the severe hardships that he chooses to cite such as supply shortages, attacks from neighboring tribes, difficulties raising crops, the fact that they had to wrest the colony’s land concession from Dei ‘King Peter’ at gunpoint, and the high rates of disease and death as signs of God’s disapproval.[32] Innes seems to minimize the hardships in Liberia as he follows every mention of them with an immediate qualification or comparison, such as citing the early American colonies’ struggles or remarking that the Liberian colonies could have suffered worse.[33] He goes so far as to dismiss symptoms of illness as mere climatic adjustment reactions of healthy bodies, though he does admit that many died.[34] According to historian Claude Andrew Clegg, however, the colonists often suffered extremely high rates of hunger, disease, privation, and mortality.[35] Clegg also cites many examples of the colonists’ difficulties, including the telling example of Emily Hooper, a young colonist who, after an extraordinarily difficult and expensive effort on her father’s part to obtain her freedom and fund her journey to Liberia, decided to return to slavery rather than further suffer the hardships of the colony. This episode was a great embarrassment to the ACS.[36]
In addition to the evidence of hardship and mortality in many reports, accounts like Innes’ are roundly challenged by argument and even ridicule. One particularly scornful and influential critic of the colonization scheme was Douglass. Indeed, except for the fact that he actually refers to [news]paper accounts in his ‘Persecution on Account of Faith, Persecution on Account of Color’ address delivered in Rochester, New York in 1851, it would be reasonable to assume that Douglass was referring to Innes’ history when he observed: ‘Papers that never speak of colored men in this country but to abuse and slander them, speak in the most flattering terms of …Liberia.’[37] To Douglass, arguments such as those offered by Innes and American statesman Henry Clay, who recommend the removal of black people from American society due to idleness, lawlessness, and other perceived flaws invite a counter-question: ‘Suppose we should admit… that we are degraded and dissolute, as a class; are there no other degraded and dissolute people?… Who talks of their expatriation?’ to which he answers: ‘No one.’[38] Douglass also mocks the idea that colonization movement will weaken slavery as an institution. It’s the presence of free black people in slave states that help weaken slavery by demonstrating to the enslaved that there is another way they can live in America. Removing free black people to Africa, argues Douglass, removes this constant and substantial threat to slaveholders’ desire to rule unchallenged over a docile, resigned slave population.[39]
Liberian Senate drawn by Robert K. Griffin, Monrovia, 1856, public domain via the Library of Congress
Throughout his early history of Liberia, Innes wavers but does not stray far from his theme of Liberia as a natural home for Americans of African descent. His explanations for how and why Amero-Africans, acculturated to the United States in language, morals, religion, dress, and overall ways of life nevertheless belong in a land which most have never seen are not, as we have seen, entirely consistent. Why Amero-Africans can only successfully gain a sense of belonging and engage as citizens in a place where they are outsiders in every way except skin color is also not satisfactorily explained; indeed, Innis presents Liberia as if it were the only alternative to black Americans continuing to live in a state of political and social exclusion and oppression in mainstream white American society. Innes offers the ‘signal preservation’ of the Liberian colony as proof of its value to God and humankind as well as of its eventual success, but glosses over any consideration that the terrible hardships and dangers that the colonists had to face were evidence to the contrary. Others such as Douglass, however, perceive the flaws in the explanations and evidence that Innes offers, and presents both counterevidence and counterarguments that helped undermine support for the colonization project over the decades of its existence.[40]
Akpan, M. B. “Black Imperialism: Americo-Liberian Rule over the African Peoples of Liberia, 1841–1964.” Canadian Journal of African Studies/La Revue Canadienne Des études Africaines 7, no. 2 (1973): 217-36.
Clegg, Claude Andrew. The Price of Liberty: African Americans and the Making of Liberia. 2004.
Douglass, Frederick. Autobiographies. New York: Library of America, 1996.
Douglass, Frederick, and John R. McKivigan (project director). Frederick Douglass Papers: Digital Edition. Accessed 20 March 2018 at http://frederickdouglass.infoset.io/
Douglass, Frederick, and John W. Blassingame. The Frederick Douglass Papers. Series 1, Speeches, Debates and Interviews; John W. Blassingame, Editor. Vol.1, 1841-46. New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 1979.
Du Bois, W. E. B., and Herbert Aptheker. Dusk of Dawn. 1975.
Scott, Hew. Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae: The Succession of Ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation, Vol. IV: Synods of Argyll, and of Perth and Stirling. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1923.
Geiss, Imanuel. The Pan-African Movement. London: Methuen, 1974.
Innes, William. Liberia: Or, The Early History & Signal Preservation of the American Colony of Free Negroes on the Coast of Africa. Waugh & Innes; M. Ogle, etc., 1833. Accessed 20 March 2018 at https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044051050987
Staudenraus, P. J. The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865. London: Oxford University Press, 1961.
United States Supreme Court, Roger Brooke Taney, John H Van Evrie, and Samuel A Cartwright. The Dred Scott decision: opinion of Chief Justice Taney. New York: Van Evrie, Horton & Co., 1860. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, Accessed 21 March 21, 2018 at https://www.loc.gov/item/17001543/
West, Richard. Back to Africa: A History of Sierra Leone and Liberia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971.
[1] Innes, William. Liberia: Or, The Early History & Signal Preservation of the American Colony of Free Negroes on the Coast of Africa. Waugh & Innes; M. Ogle, etc., 1833, frontispiece
[2] Clegg, Claude Andrew. The Price of Liberty: African Americans and the Making of Liberia. 2004 p. 37
[3] Staudenraus, P. J. The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865. London: Oxford University Press, 1961 p. 51
[4] ‘William Innes’ in Scott, Hew. Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae: The Succession of Ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation, Vol. IV: Synods of Argyll, and of Perth and Stirling. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1923 pp. 325-326
[5] West, Richard. Back to Africa: A History of Sierra Leone and Liberia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971 p. 93
[6] Clegg p. 3-4, Staudenraus pp. 2-7
[7] Ibid. p 102
[8] Innes pp. iv-v, 101-103
[9] Ibid. p. iv
[10] Ibid. pp. 102, 106-107
[11] Clegg pp. 174, 195-196
[12] United States Supreme Court, Roger Brooke Taney, John H. Van Evrie, and Samuel A. Cartwright. The Dred Scott decision: opinion of Chief Justice Taney. New York: Van Evrie, Horton & Co., 1860 pp. 18-19
[13] Geiss, Imanuel. The Pan-African Movement. London: Methuen, 1974 p. 5
[14] Akpan, M. B. “Black Imperialism: Americo-Liberian Rule over the African Peoples of Liberia, 1841–1964.” Canadian Journal of African Studies/La Revue Canadienne Des études Africaines 7, no. 2 (1973) p. 219
[15] Du Bois, W. E. B., and Herbert Aptheker. Dusk of Dawn. 1975 pp. 116
[16] Ibid. p. 117
[17] Innes pp. 87-89
[18] Clegg pp. 226-229
[20] Douglass, Frederick. Autobiographies. New York: Library of America, 1996 pp. 353ff
[21] Taney pp. 17-18
[22] Innes pp. 77, 86-87, 91
[23] Ibid. pp. 101-102, 176
[24] Innes p. 83, 86-89
[25] Ibid. pp. 57-65
[26] Ibid. p 102
[27] Ibid., frontispiece
[28] Ibid. pp. vi-vii, 37-38, 62, 64, 72, 91
[29] Ibid., pp. 112-115
[30] Ibid., pp. 9-10, 108-112
[31] ‘Persecution on Account of Faith, Persecution on Account of Color: An Address Delivered in Rochester, New York, on 26 January 1851,’ North Star, 30 January 1851, in Douglass, Frederick, and John R. McKivigan (project director). Frederick Douglass Papers: Digital Edition, pp. 300-302
[32] Innes, pp. v-vi, 16-21, 38-39, 93-95, 101, 108-111; Clegg, p. 37; West pp. 114-115
[33] Innes., pp. 91-92
[34] Ibid., p. 93
[35] Clegg, see descriptions and figures in chapter 7 of The Price of Liberty, ‘To Live and Die in Liberia,’ pp. 201-248
[37] Douglass, ‘Persecution,’ p. 302
[38] ‘Henry Clay and Colonization Cant, Sophistry, and Falsehood: An Address Delivered in Rochester, New York, on 2 February 1851, North Star, 6 February 1851, in Douglass, Frederick, and John R. McKivigan (project director). Frederick Douglass Papers: Digital Edition, p. 323
[39] Ibid., p. 322
[40] Staudenraus, pp. 249-250
Posted in Enlightenment Scotland, History of Ideas, Politics, Religion, The One & the Many, Written by Amy Cools | Tagged Abolitionism, African, African American experience, American Colonization Society, Amero-African, Amero-Liberian, Antislavery, belonging, caste, citizenship, Colonization, community-building, Dei, Democracy, Disenfranchisement, Dred Scott v. John F. A. Sandford, Edinburgh, Frederick Douglass, Henry Clay, history of Liberia, King Peter, Liberia, pan-Africanism, Race, Racial hierarchism, Repatriation, Roger Taney, self-sufficiency, The Dred Scott Decision, W.E.B. DuBois, West Africa, William Innes | 1 Comment
In honor of David Hume‘s birthday, May 7, 1711, let me share anew my history of ideas travel series and other pieces I’ve written in honor of my favorite philosopher if I was pressed to chose only one. I fell in love with his native Edinburgh when I originally visited in the spring of 2014 but even so, I wouldn’t have predicted I would now be living here furthering my education at his alma mater, the University of Edinburgh. It would have been even more impossible to predict that the window of my flat would be located directly across the narrow square from the University’s David Hume Tower. I was moved to observe one day, and still am whenever I think or tell of it, that the windows of that glassy tower often reflect the light of the rising sun into my window. I could imagine no more poetic image than that of how this great Enlightenment thinker has influenced my life.
Here they are in the order I wrote them, starting several years back. Perhaps you’ll find, as I do when I return to old pieces from time to time, that my thinking has developed and my mind has changed, to various degrees, on some things:
Posted in Enlightenment Scotland, Freethought, Happy Birthday!, History of Ideas, Philosophy, Written by Amy Cools | Tagged A Hill and a Wall in Edinburgh, Art Quilt, British History, David Hume, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Quilt, Enlightenment, Enlightenment History, Government and Freedom, history, History of Ideas, James Boswell, Philosophy, Robert Adam, Scotland, Scottish Enlightement, Scottish Enlightenment, Select Society, travel, travel blog, Traveling Philosophy / History of Ideas, Water of Leith | Leave a comment
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I was born in Reading, Pa., on Aug. 15, 1969. My parents, Karl and Susan Fetterman, were both only 19 years old at the time, so I was an “unplanned event.” But my mom and dad did get married and, as I matured and came to understand the circumstances surrounding my birth, the…
Helen Hanna Casey, Real Estate Maven
I grew up in Shadyside, the daughter of Howard W. Hanna Jr., and Anne Freyvogel Hanna, with an older brother and younger sister. Eventually, all three of us went to small Catholic colleges.
Ahmad Jamal, Jazz Master
I’ll bet that I’m the only musician ever to record a CD simply titled “Pittsburgh,” which is a tribute to my beloved hometown. It’s a “miracle city,” really. When it comes to industry, culture and the arts, Pittsburgh has contributed more to the world than most people can begin to imagine.
Christina Cassotis, Allegheny County Airport Authority
I grew up in Southern New Hampshire in essentially a suburb of Boston. My mother was a homemaker, as many women were back then, and my father was a commercial airline pilot for Pan American World Airways, having been a U.S. Marine fighter pilot during the Vietnam War.
Elsie Hillman, Political and Civic Leader
My husband, Henry Lea Hillman, is seven years older than me. He is the son, of course, of Pittsburgh steel mogul John H. Hillman, Jr., an industrialist who built Pittsburgh Coke & Chemical. Anyway, Henry was a friend of my older sister, and I knew his younger sister, so we all became friends.…
More From Our Contributors
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Archives: abc_entertai
News from ABC
(LOS ANGELES) -- Apple TV has added a major addition to its growing slate. According to Deadline, the provider has acquired the rights to George Nolfi's fact-based period drama The Banker for their upcoming streaming service Apple TV+. The film stars Marvel movie co-stars Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie, as well as Nicholas Hoult...
(NANTUCKET) -- Prosecutors in Nantucket, MA on Wednesday dropped a felony sexual assault charge against the actor Kevin Spacey. The decision from Cape and Islands D.A. Michael O’Keefe came after Spacey’s accuser declined to testify at a pre-trial hearing about evidence. Spacey had been accused of groping the young man at a Nantucket restaurant on July...
“It’s weird” seeing how the ‘Stranger Things’ kids have grown, says co-star David Harbour
(NEW YORK) -- Millions of fans of Netflix's Stranger Things have already binged the show's entire third season, which debuted July 4. In fact, the streaming giant claimed just days after its anticipated debut that some 40.7 million accounts had tuned in to watch the continuing adventures of Mike, Jane, Dustin, Lucas and Will. Fans...
Watch Idris Elba, Rebel Wilson, James Corden and more rehearse some feline moves in ‘CATS’ first look
(LONDON) -- Before we get the first trailer for CATS on Friday, a new behind-the-scenes glimpse of the making of the movie musical has been released. The "Look Inside" features the movie's stars -- including Idris Elba, Rebel Wilson, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, and more -- discussing what being a part of the musical...
‘Modern Family’ star Sarah Hyland is engaged
(LOS ANGELES) -- Modern Family star Sarah Hyland is officially off the market -- her boyfriend, Wells Adams, has popped the question, she announced on Tuesday. The 28-year-old actress posted a collection of photos on her Instagram page, along with the caption, "That can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, world...
Ava DuVernay says the most important “recognition” she received from ‘When They See Us’ was from “the men we chronicled”
(NEW YORK) -- Ava DuVernay's critically acclaimed Netflix limited series on the Central Park Five -- now referred to as The Exonerated Five -- When They See Us has scored a stunning 16 Emmy nominations. Even though the series is in major contention for key Emmys, including Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or...
Producer Norman Lear has set record for the oldest Emmy nominee
(LOS ANGELES) -- Norman Lear, the 96-year-old creator of the TV classics All in the Family, The Jeffersons and One Day at a Time, among others, made history on Tuesday, becoming the oldest Emmy nominee at the time of his nomination. Lear, whose Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the...
Jennifer Lopez debuts ‘Hustlers’ trailer on ‘The Tonight Show’
(NEW YORK) -- Jennifer Lopez leads an all-star cast in the upcoming movie Hustlers, and she chose Tuesday's Tonight Show to drop the first trailer. Following his monologue, host Jimmy Fallon facetimed Lopez, whose concert at New York's Madison Square Garden he attended the night before. After chatting about the show, the conversation turned to...
Host Joel McHale genuinely wants contestants to win money on ‘Card Sharks ‘
(NEW YORK) -- The premise may be simple, but the prizes are extraordinary. Joel McHale hosts the new revival of Card Sharks on ABC, a game show where contestants face a row of playing cards and have to guess if the next card is higher or lower than the previous one. If they guess correctly, they...
Director Jon Favreau and cast talk live-action ‘The Lion King’ in ABC special tonight
(LOS ANGELES) -- Just like he did for Disney's 2016 The Jungle Book remake, director Jon Favreau wrote down what he remembered about the 1994 animated classic The Lion King. Then, he attempted to add to its legacy. "We had to hit those moments that people knew so well," Favreau tells ABC's Robin Roberts tonight in the...
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The LHC for dummies
Marianne Freiberger
Submitted by plusadmin on September 5, 2008
The world's biggest physics experiment is due to kick off on September the 10th, when the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) switches on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Never being one to miss out on such exciting events, Plus has put together a short guide for beginners.
A view of the LHC tunnel. Image © CERN.
The Large Hadron Collider is a particle accelerator. Basically, it's a 27km long ring-shaped tunnel made mainly of superconducting magnets which sits 100m underground. It's situated close to Geneva, on the border between France and Switzerland.
It accelerates particles. Two beams of particles called hadrons — these are either protons or lead ions — will be sent hurtling around the ring in opposite directions. They'll travel close to the speed of light at very high energies, and are encouraged to collide.
Why does it do it?
To answer some of the mysteries of the Universe. Physicists think that everything began around 13.7 billion years ago with the Big Bang. Back then the Universe was incredibly hot and dense. But in an instant it started to cool down and the various processes that gave rise to everything we see today sprung into action. To shed some light onto those things we don't yet understand about our Universe, it helps to look back to that first dramatic moment, to understand what ingredients went into making the world as we know it.
The high-energy collisions produced by the LHC will re-create the conditions that governed the moments just after the Big Bang. Physicists hope that the collisions will create particles, even if only for a tiny instant, that have never been observed: they are the missing links of modern physics.
So what are those mysteries?
Well, there are quite a few.
Let's start with some of the things we do know. Physicists think that all matter is made of twelve fundamental particles. These include the familiar electrons and particles that make up the other two ingredients of atoms; protons and neutrons.
The interaction of the fundamental particles is governed by four fundamental forces: the strong nuclear force, which holds quarks together to form each proton, the weak nuclear force, which causes radioactive decay, the electromagnetic force, which acts between electrically charged particles, and, of course, gravity. (The weak nuclear force and the electromagnetic force are actually just different aspects of the same force, known as the electroweak force, but we won't bother with this here.)
The forces aren't "forces" in a mysterious-magical float-around-the-ether sense. More succinctly, they should be called "interactions": what happens when a force is acting is that particles exchange carrier particles, also known as bosons. Each force comes with its own bosons, though, crucially, those belonging to gravity, called gravitons have never been observed — they are purely hypothetical.
The theory which describes what we know about the fundamental particles and forces is known as the standard model of particle physics. It performs remarkably well, but there are several hitches.
Where is everything?
There's more to the Universe than meets the eye. Observations have shown that the things we can observe — what's on our own planet and the planets, stars and galaxies in space — only make up 4% of the stuff that's out there! The rest doesn't emit any electromagnetic radiation — light — and so we can't detect it by conventional methods. We know that it exists, though, because of its effects: the celestial bodies we can observe respond to gravitational forces much greater than those accounted for by known matter, and the Universe's expansion is accelerated by some strange repulsive force.
A diagrammatic view of the LHC. Image © CERN.
Physicists blame two mysterious substances for these effects: dark matter and dark energy, believed to make up 26% and 70% of the Universe respectively. The two substances aren't made up of the fundamental particles of the standard model. Physicists have some ideas of the kind of particles dark matter might be made of, and hope that the high-energy collisions at the LHC might produce them and make them detectable.
Why are we here?
According to the standard model, each fundamental particle comes with a twin called an antiparticle, which has the same mass but opposite electric charge. When two twins meet, they annihilate each other and their mass is transformed into energy. Antiparticles originally dropped out of a mathematical equation which had one more solution than was expected. But since their theoretical conception they have actually been observed in cosmic rays and produced in laboratories.
Now the problem is this: whenever scientists have managed to produce antiparticles, they couldn't help but produce the corresponding particles in the process. If the same happened in the Big Bang, then how come things didn't just annihilate each other and vanish in a puff of energy? Where is all the antimatter? Is there something wrong with the theory? Or is there an entire Antiuniverse out there somewhere? The LHC will enable scientists to look at some of the fundamental particles and their antitwins to establish whether tiny differences might account for this apparent asymmetry of nature.
Mysterious weight gain
The theory that went into the standard model as we know it today predicts that the force-carrying particles should have no mass. Observations, however, show that this isn't true. In response to this paradox physicists have come up with a theory which asserts that, right after the Big Bang, particles were indeed massless. A little later, though, an invisible force field formed, and particles interacting with it acquired mass — they were given mass by a particular boson which came with the force field. Both the field and the boson have been named after the physicist Peter Higgs, who, together with others, came up with the idea.
The Higgs boson, alas, has never been observed. Physicists are optimistic that it might turn up, for the briefest of instants before decaying into something else, as a result of the LHC collisions, and that they might be able to detect its traces. Its detection would fix one of the biggest holes in the standard model. Any evidence for its non-existence would shake the foundations of modern physics.
Cosmic bondage
All matter is made of atoms. Atoms in turn are made of electrons, protons and neutrons. The latter two particles — not being themselves fundamental — are made of quarks. These are held together by particles called gluons. The bond is so strong that no-one has ever found quarks floating around on their own.
Right after the Big Bang, however, things would have been too hot for these strong bonds to exist. Physicists believe that instead there was a sort of primordial soup, known as the quark-gluon plasma. As it cooled down, it slowly formed the particles we know today.
The LHC will create environments of extremely high temperatures and physicists hope that these will melt the bonds between quarks and give them insight into the quark-gluon plasma and its behaviour as it cools down.
Grand unification
During construction engineers moved around the tunnel by bike. Image © CERN.
One of the biggest problems with the standard model is that the most familiar of the fundamental forces, gravity, refuses to fit in. The sub-atomic world is described by the theory of quantum mechanics, while gravity, described by Einstein's theory of general relativity, kicks in at much larger scales. The trouble is that general relativity and quantum mechanics seem to clash: when you apply the mathematics of the latter to the former, you get non-sensical answers. A grand unifying theory that alleviates the contradictions and brings general relativity and quantum mechanics together is something of a holy grail in physics.
The strongest contender for grand unification is string theory. Hailed by physicists and mathematicians for its elegance, string theory, so far, is a purely mathematical construct: it claims that the world is made of tiny vibrating strings rather than point-like particles, but no-one has ever observed such a string, and the theory hasn't been tested in any other way.
One of the most interesting predictions that drop out of the mathematics of string theory is that spacetime isn't four-dimensional, as is usually thought, but ten-dimensional. The six extra spatial dimensions, so scientists believe, are curled up so tightly that we cannot perceive them. One way to test this idea is to create high-energy environments that enable particles to jump in and out of the hidden dimensions in a way we can detect. Physicists will look very carefully at the results of the LHC experiments to see if they can find such clues.
Will we be fried by cosmic rays? Sucked into LHC-produced black holes? Hoovered up by wormholes to be dumped in a parallel Universe in another time? Will the world be tipped into a state in which we can't exist? No, no, no and no. The LHC can do nothing that nature hasn't done already, and we've survived it. It isn't expected to produce any black holes, or wormholes, whatsoever, and even if it does, they'll be extremely tiny, disappear in an instant, or be completely harmless. As for vacuum bubbles in which we couldn't exist, if the LHC could create them, then so would nature, but this has never happened.
As for those people who are reportedly suing CERN for endangering humankind — well, maybe they'd be a lot happier in a parallel universe anyway.
CERN's LHC website provides an accessible introduction and more details.
Plus has several relevant articles:
The physics of elementary particles
The search for Higgs
Secrets of the Universe
Stringent tests
Time to get packing?
String theory: from Newton to Einstein and beyond
Tying it all up
Back Holes
Permalink Submitted by Anonymous on November 8, 2010
Will we be fried by cosmic rays? Sucked into LHC-produced back holes? I sure would want to know what a "back hole" feels like. Maybe its something like a mix between a backhoe and a black hole.
back/black typo.
Permalink Submitted by plusadmin on November 8, 2010
Ooops embarrassing 'back hole' typo corrected!
Permalink Submitted by Anonymous on December 29, 2011
there is a type in one of the first paragraphs
'te' instead of the
DERRR
Thanks for pointing that out!
Permalink Submitted by Marianne on December 30, 2011
Thanks for pointing that out! We have fixed it.
Permalink Submitted by Topher on March 23, 2018
Lol when there is a typo (type) in a comment pointing out a typo
LHC and Higgs explained
Permalink Submitted by Anonymous on June 23, 2012
Thanks for the clear explanation for us non-physicists!
Hadrons
Permalink Submitted by Anonymous on January 22, 2015
Lead ions, while indeed sometimes used in the particle accelerator, are not hadrons. You may instead have mentioned neutrons along with proton, both of which are prime examples of hadrons.
Also, you may want to update your article as the Higgs Boson has essentially been "found".
Permalink Submitted by Anonymous on October 16, 2015
"Physicists think that everything began around 13.7 billion years ago with the Big Bang." - I think this statement is highly offensive and inflammatory because not all who study physics agree with the theory. By writing the statement the author in turn creates the statement that those who do not believe everything began around 13.7 billion years ago with the Big Bang are not physicists. To the author, I would propose a change in this formating of the statement to include Some or the names of physicists who do.
Permalink Submitted by Ian mitchell on June 28, 2016
Ok say the universe began 15 billion years , then what ? A brick wall ?
You can find some answers to
Permalink Submitted by Marianne on July 7, 2016
You can find some answers to this question here: https://plus.maths.org/content/os/latestnews/jan-apr09/bigbang/index
what is your theory about it then?
Permalink Submitted by Luke Aldingon on July 6, 2016
Interested in this one please ellaborate.
Seeking insight.
Permalink Submitted by Anonymous on May 12, 2016
The photo, the very thought of CERN, frightened me down to my core which puzzles me greatly. The fear didn't make sense to me, I knew nothing about it. I contacted my sister she went online found info read and discussed it with me in the attempt to ease my fear. No, it didn't help. I still felt puzzled, how could I be so frightened. So, after months living in fear of this Monster destroy my world, I decided enough was enough I needed answers behind CERN theory what these physicists are really trying to do with CERN instead of letting my mind run wild or listening to babbling of others which would only escalate my fear. I seek knowledge online I came across" LHC FOR DUMMIES" which seemed appropriate. After reading, I feel I have little more insight of CERN, it's so exciting the thought that CERN could have the possibilities in which the physicist would find hidden dimensions by create an high-energy environment that enable particles to jump in and out then colliding together. WOW! I would love to observe the LHC up and operational I can only imagine how beautiful.
Thank you for providing the information. I would love to visit and watch this amazing machine in action.
Yes, great idea!!!
I love to visit it's so exciting!!! A tour would be good. ❤
Permalink Submitted by Justin on January 24, 2019
In Cosmic Bondage there is a misspelling in the last paragraph, it is behavior, not behaviour.
We use British spelling
Permalink Submitted by Marianne on February 27, 2019
Helping men with early prostate cancer
A new online tool developed with the help of statisticians enables patients to make informed treatment choices.
higgs boson
particle collider
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PennMArt Featured in The Morning Call
As the inaugural Great Pennsylvania Music & Arts Celebration (PennMArt) draws closer on Memorial Day Weekend at the historic Allentown Fairgrounds, we want to recognize our wonderful local media outlets, who have helped us spread the word.
Continue reading “PennMArt Featured in The Morning Call”
Tell PAMPS: What Does ‘Pennsylvanian’ Mean to You?
This Memorial Day Weekend will mark the first-ever Great Pennsylvania Music and Arts Celebration (PennMArt). Held at the historic Allentown Fairgrounds, PennMArt is a free, for-all-ages, and family-friendly event that will honor the rich cultural heritage of our Commonwealth, dating back to the days of William Penn to the present. From May 26-28, we will take time to honor our state’s varied folk art traditions, musical legacy, military history, and more.
Before we do that, however, we want to hear from you.
Continue reading “Tell PAMPS: What Does ‘Pennsylvanian’ Mean to You?”
Meet the PennMArt PA Dutch, Polka, and Rock Committee
As we continue working toward making the inaugural Great Pennsylvania Music and Arts Celebration (PennMArt) a memorable experience for all, we want to introduce you to a few of the folks making it all possible.
Our Pennsylvania Dutch, Polka, and Rock Committee has been meeting for months now, planning a weekend full of musical programming that spans the many diverse genres and cultural nuances of our Commonwealth. These folks are accomplished local and regional music personalities, who each bring their own brilliant ideas to the table.
Keith Brintzenhoff – Keith is an expert on Pennsylvania German music, dance, instruments, and folklore. Keith has served as musical advisor for the Kutztown PA German Festival, and has performed at Hershey Museum, Historic Schaefferstown, Der Dutch Peddler Homecoming (Ohio), Berks. County Heritage Festival, Lyons Fiddle Festival, Mayfair, the Mercer Museum, Reading Liederkranz, Landis Valley Farm Museum, Musikfest, three tours in Germany, and at the 700th anniversary of Switzerland Fescht in his ancestral home town.
A teacher by trade, Keith’s programs can be completely educational to completely entertaining. They can be discussion workshops, musical, PA German, kids, folklore, the Belsnickel, and various combinations. He performs a lot, sometimes by himself, sometimes with his wife, or a fiddle or banjo player, and sometimes with his band, The Toad Creek Ramblers. Full bio here.
Dave Follweiler – As chair of the committee, Dave had a large role in assembling a team of volunteers to this committee, each of whom brings a unique perspective to the musical landscape of the Commonwealth. Dave is the keyboardist of TimeWhy?s, a rock and roll band with a heavy 1960s influence who plays a wide variety of enjoyable originals and covers. TimeWhy?s was recently nominated for the Discover Lehigh Valley “Discovered Artist” Award at the 19th Annual Lehigh Valley Music Awards in Bethlehem.
Gerard Longo – Gerard is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Lehigh Valley Underground, the premier community resource for local music and entertainment news in eastern Pennsylvania. Gerard’s accomplishments include the successful launch of the Lehigh Valley Underground First Friday Concert Series in South Bethlehem, in partnership with SouthSide Arts District, as well as the honor of three 2018 Lehigh Valley Music Awards (Outstanding Music Website, Outstanding Music Supporter (Organization), Outstanding Music Supporter (Individual). Gerard also gives spotlight to independent musicians on his own weekly radio show, The Quinn Spinn, Mondays at 7 p.m. ET on WLVU: The Sound of The Underground.
Michael McKenna – Michael is the committee’s resident “music historian,” with decades upon decades of experience as a music journalist and promoter. Michael is an award-winning author for “Reelin’ in the Years: The Valley Music Vault 1960-1990,” a book about the history of Lehigh Valley music, bands, entertainers, radio, DJ’s, clubs, concerts, venues and other related subjects. In addition, Michael is a five-time award-winning journalist for his work on Nor’easter Magazine.
Stay tuned for exciting updates, as we bring a wide array of music to life at the historic Allentown Fairgrounds during PennMArt this Memorial Day Weekend. And, if you’d like to get involved, join us on Wednesday at Allentown’s Historic Benner Mansion for our first open volunteer meeting. Details are available here.
Open PennMArt 2018 Volunteer Meeting Set for Wed., 3/14
Want to be a part of Pennsylvania history? Join our growing team of volunteers for The Great Pennsylvania Music & Arts Celebration (PennMArt), taking place this Memorial Day Weekend a the historic Allentown Fairgrounds.
We will be holding our first open volunteer meeting of 2018 on Wednesday, March 14 from 6-7 p.m. at the Historic Benner Mansion (25 S. 15th St., Allentown). Light refreshments will be served! We will give you an overview of this year’s Celebration, and discuss the different ways you can get involved.
If you are looking to learn more, please reach out to us at 484-560-2810 or email ceopamusicpreserve@gmail.com.
PennMArt to Put the ‘Memorial’ Back in Memorial Day
An integral part of the 2018 Great Pennsylvania Music & Arts Celebration (PennMArt) on Memorial Day Weekend will be three days of extensive programming to recognize the contributions of U.S. veterans, and to showcase Pennsylvania’s deeply-rooted role in the country’s military history. Appropriately, the inaugural event falls on the 100th anniversary year of the end of WWI, and the 150th anniversary of the first official Memorial Day.
Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Music Preservation Society (PAMPS), the Celebration will be held on the site of the World War I Camp Crane ambulance training site at the historic Allentown Fairgrounds. PAMPS CEO Siobhan “Sam” Bennett notes that the region is home to 50,000 veterans, and that PAMPS takes its role in recognizing the positive contributions of veterans, and educating the public on the nation’s military history extremely seriously.
“We want to put the Memorial back in Memorial Day,” Bennett said.
Veterans of yesterday will be remembered in a replica of a World War I log cabin originally built in 1917 to honor the soldiers from the 77th Division, who lost their lives during the bloody battle in the Argonne Forrest in France. Local members of the Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment will build the replica to provide a space where Celebration attendees can post stories or photos of loved ones who have served or are serving in the military, “So We Don’t Forget to Remember.”
Other remembrances will include reenactments from the American Revolution, the Civil War and World Wars 1 and 2. A military history series will include slide and video presentations on the history and tradition of the Purple Heart, the West End, Union Cemetery where both Union and Confederate soldiers are buried together, and the contributions of African-American soldiers, from the Revolutionary War, to the Civil War’s U.S. Colored Infantry, to today.
WWII Normandy bombardier and French Legion of Honor medal recipient Nathan Kline will be a featured speaker at PennMArt during Memorial Day Weekend. He will tell his personal stories and show his collection of photos that he took during his bombing runs.
”In keeping with PAMPS’ mission to preserve and promote Pennsylvania’s distinct musical heritage, we also will be celebrating our military music traditions by featuring performances by the Allentown Band, the nation’s oldest civilian military band, and its colleague bands that make Allentown ‘Band City USA,’” Bennett added.
As part of benefiting veterans of today, Viola Hertzog, director of the Lehigh County Veterans Affairs Office, is working with PAMPS on some of the Celebration initiatives, including providing complimentary exhibition space for veterans’ organizations, and showcasing those that provide housing and other essential services. People attending the free public event will be encouraged to bring new toiletries and clothing to distribute to veterans and their families experiencing housing challenges.
Children’s activities will include the opportunity for youngsters to create greeting cards and other art to send to deployed servicemen and women.
The veterans of tomorrow will be showcased at PennMArt, courtesy of the Junior ROTC Drill Invitational. The inaugural 2018 drill team competition will feature local high school drill teams, including those from the award-winning Louis E. Dieruff High School Air Force JROTC, and William Allen High School’s Navy JROTC. Under the direction of Major Timothy Page (Dieruff) and Commander David Crandall (William Allen), the 2019 invitational will go statewide, with future plans for a national meet to be hosted annually by PAMPS at its Memorial Day Celebration.
Learn how you or your organization can get involved in making PennMArt a success. Contact us using the information on this page.
Introducing the PennMArt Student Hex Sign Project
The Pennsylvania Dutch cultural influence echoes in Lehigh County – where the Pennsylvania Music Preservation Society (PAMPS) will host the annual Great Pennsyvlania Music & Arts Celebration (PennMArt) every year during Memorial Day Weekend at The Historic Allentown Fairgrounds.
This presence is visible on the decorated barns of the region, which are painted in a unique manner quite unlike anywhere else in America. Images of stars and floral patterns in brilliant colors – known as “hex signs” – serve as focal points in the farmscapes and accent an otherwise ordinary agricultural building, elevating it beyond mere utility to a level of folk art.
Here at PAMPS, we want to preserve this important part of Pennsylvania heritage, while educating the next generation as to its influence on our culture. That’s why we are partnering with the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University to host a hex sign project for students in grades K-12, during PennMArt, which takes place May 26-28, 2018.
Students of all ages will have the opportunity to design their own unique hex signs during PennMArt. The public will then have a chance to vote on these works of art to select the signature hex sign for this year’s inaugural celebration.
The Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University will also provide audio/visual educational seminars on Pennsylvania Dutch history, including hex signs and their significance, throughout the weekend-long celebration. To learn more, follow this link. To learn how you can get involved in the festivities, please reach out to us.
PennMArt Fast Facts: PA Veterans and Employment
Pennsylvania had 345,906 veterans between the ages of 18 and 64 in 2016 (4.4 percent of the state’s comparable population). Of these, 266,489 (77%) were in the labor force.
Pennsylvania was home to 13,168 unemployed veterans in 2016, for an unemployment rate of 4.9 percent.
In 2016, Clearfield (12.9%), Adams (11.3%), Indiana (10.4%), Northumberland (9.0%), and Allegheny (8.8%). Lebanon (0.0%) counties had Pennsylvania’s highest veteran unemployment rates. Monroe (0.0%), Centre (0.5%), Berks (0.6%), and Cumberland (0.6%) counties had the lowest veteran unemployment rates in 2016.
In 2016, Northampton (89.5%), Dauphin (89.0%), Lycoming (88.7%), Lebanon (87.8%), and Butler (87.5%) counties had Pennsylvania’s highest veteran labor force participation rates.
In October 2017, there were 339 Pennsylvania veterans claiming Unemployment Compensation benefits through the Commonwealth’s UCX program. This does not account for all the veterans who were receiving UC benefits – only those who were recently discharged from the military.
In 2016, the U.S. veteran unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, two-tenths of a percentage point lower than Pennsylvania’s rate (4.9%).
Source: Pennsylvania Center for Workforce Information and Analysis
We still have work to do, which is one of the many reasons the Great Pennsylvania Music and Arts Celebration (PennMArt) is putting the “Memorial” back in Memorial Day Weekend this year!
Join us as we honor Pennsylvania’s veterans by commemorating the 150th anniversary of Memorial Day, the 100th anniversary of World War I and Camp Crane, and feature programming meant to honor the veterans of yesterday, benefit the veterans of today, and showcase the veterans of tomorrow.
Learn more at this link, and make plans to join us at PennMArt this Memorial Day Weekend at the Historic Allentown Fairgrounds!
Posted on December 20, 2017 February 8, 2018
Hands down! My new favorite destination is the PA German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University. Tucked behind the stately main Kutztown campus buildings is a Pennsylvania Dutch farm replete with the magnificent hex signs created by national hex sign expert and author Heritage Center Director Patrick Donomeyer. We of the 2018 Great Pennsylvania Music & Arts Celebration at the Historic Allentown Fairgrounds on Memorial Day Weekend are honored to collaborate with Patrick – on a multiple year initiative to catalog and restore Lehigh County’s fast disappearing Hex Signs.
Patrick describes Lehigh County as the lessor known leg of the “two legged pants” of the PA Dutch Heartland – coupled with Berks County – better known for its PA Dutch bonafides. Lancaster is distinguished by its rich concentration of Amish and Mennonite religious sects while sister counties York, Northampton, York, Montgomery and Bucks share in PA Dutch traditions. By the time of the American Revolution, the PA Dutch constituted 1/3 of Pennsylvania’s population.
While Berks and Lancaster counties especially have preserved and nurtured their PA Dutch roots – budding a healthy tourism industry around it (Lancaster has the second largest B&B market IN THE NATION) Lehigh has all but forgotten the pivotal role it played in Pennsylvania’s PA Dutch culture.
Through the Great Pennsylvania Music & Arts at the Historic Allentown Fairgrounds on Memorial Day Weekend the PA Music Preservation Society looks to revitalize Allentown and Lehigh County’s role in this important cultural tradition – especially through its educational and preservation focused Lehigh County Hex Sign Initiatives. Stay tuned!
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Life With Myeloma Series
About Myeloma
CAR T-Cell Therapy Update From ASH 2017
Topics include: Treatments
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has been receiving buzz as a promising treatment for cancer patients. So which CAR T-cell treatments are currently approved? Dr. David Maloney, Medical Director of the Bezos Family Immunotherapy Clinic at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, joins Patient Power at the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in Atlanta to explain. Dr. Maloney discusses how this approach works, the long-term durability of the treatment and progress in managing potential side effects.
Sponsored through a grant from Juno Therapeutics, Inc.
View more programs featuring David Maloney, MD, PhD and Andrew Schorr
David Maloney, MD, PhD
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Andrew Schorr:
Andrew Schorr on location in Atlanta at the American Society of Hematology meeting, and one of the areas that's talked about a lot now is chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. We've been talking about it for a while, and now there actually are approved medicines for us. One of the leaders in the field is Dr. David Maloney from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Thanks so much for being with us.
Dr. Maloney:
Thank you so much, Andrew. You know, so much has changed since the last time we talked several years ago. Since then, we actually established the Bezos Family Immunotherapy Clinic at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, which is a clinic dedicated to the delivery of cellular immunotherapy. So we were really convinced there was going to be big time at that time. Thanks to the commitment of several families and generosity of the SCCA, and that's borne out already. We have two products FDA approved.
One, tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah), which is a mouthful, but that's approved for adults and pediatrics—adults up to the age of 25 with ALL. And we now just have our first commercial approval of axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta), which is now approved for adults with refractory large cell lymphoma. So tremendously exciting. We're getting those incorporated into the clinic, and it's—I couldn't have even imagined that we would be here within such a short period of time.
Okay, so just so everybody understands, when we talk about this CAR therapy what are we doing? We're kind of making a drug, aren't we, and combining it with a virus to target something with your cells?
We're actually making a living drug. And so the idea is we take your T cells out of your body, reprogram them with a virus to express a receptor, and that's call the CAR, chimeric antigen receptor. It's based on an antibody recognition unit with the internal parts of a T-cell receptor. And the bottom line is that when we modify the T cells that way and give them back to you those T cells can latch onto the tumor cell via the CAR, by the antibody, and then they can kill that cell, and that will also give them a signal to expand and proliferate and then go off and kill more tumor cells. So it's kind of an explosion of proliferation to actually deal with the cancer.
Now, certainly there are people who have been in the trials who are alive today who maybe otherwise wouldn't be, benefitting this therapy, but it's still a little tricky, isn't it? In other words, how fast do you drive the CAR?
Well, that's a good question, and not all CARs are the same, right? So I think that's really the major issue. But at this meeting we've seen extraordinary results, and so kind of the late?breaking data as of today that was just published in The New England Journal [of Medicine], again effective today shows long-term results now out about a year and a half, 15 months, 16 months with the Yescarta, the axicabtagene ciloleucel, and that shows that about 40 percent, 41 percent of patients are long-term survivors of this treatment, and they're in remission.
This is extraordinary, because these patients would not even have been eligible for a transplant or they'd already failed a transplant. This is revolutionary therapy, and we're only applying it to the hematologic malignancies right now, at least with major success, but we're now looking at having three products available in large?cell lymphoma. When we get around—when the FDA gets caught up with the clinical trials we'll have a Novartis product and we'll have—likely have the Juno product all competing in the same space with different CARs and different toxicities and probably different activities as well.
So different choices, a lot for doctors to learn about and certainly at specialized centers. Let's talk about toxicities for a minute. So the durability of these treatments. It's so new, do we know how long they might last?
Yeah, that's what I'm just saying, with this publication in The New England Journal of Medicine we're seeing our first look at year and a half data, and those plateau curves look really, really good. Meaning that, you know, when you look at the event curves there's only really been one event at one year in one patient, and so that leads us to hope anyway that this could be long-term durable remissions.
But I have to say it's early, right, and we are early. But the hope is there that this could be a transforming therapy in terms of trying to cure patients with these aggressive malignancies, who normally would have a life span of less than six months. This is really a tough patient population to go into.
But you're absolutely right. There are toxicities, and those toxicities can be formidable, in fact, they can be life-threatening and there have been patient deaths, you know, on these trials. But you have to remember their chance of dying from their disease is 100 percent, and so the risk/benefit I would say strongly would support the use of CAR-T cells.
But the two main toxicities we see are the cytokine release syndrome. And so that's where, as the T cells encounter a tumor they proliferate, divide, expand, and they secrete cytokines, and this makes people feel like they have the worst case of flu of their life. They can have high fevers, low blood pressure, and can be very, very ill, and that's called cytokine release syndrome or cytokine storm.
The second toxicity, which we don't understand as well, is neurotoxicity where people become confused and they can even go into a—even a coma, and this can be quite frightening for family members especially. And we don't understand exactly the cause of that. We have some ideas about the pathophysiology, but fortunately it's almost always reversible, and so most patients 100 percent recover from that.
The cytokine release syndrome, that's where people get really high fevers and low blood pressure and things like that, we can treat almost instantaneously with a drug called tocilizumab that blocks the receptor for IL-6. And it's a miraculous drug in terms of cytokine release syndrome. People often get better within hours of that drug, and it can certainly take care of those kinds of symptoms. But we're still learning about the neurotoxicity.
Dr. Maloney, but, as you're saying, this is sort of specialized care that people need to get. This is not necessarily at your community hospital.
No, this is not at your community hospital, and I applaud the companies that are having these drugs approved because they're bringing them out in a very measured fashion. They're starting off in small, specialized centers that have the experience and that's—I think that's absolutely critically important.
This requires a big team. You have to have a team in the outpatient setting, in the inpatient setting, ICU docs, and you have to be able to manage these patients for a couple of weeks, two to four weeks after infusion. It has to be done at specialized centers right now.
Now, could it be different in the future? I think it could be, and I think we're beginning to see that not all the products are the same. We're working with the Juno product that was devolved through our studies at the Hutch, and by actually fixing the mixture of CD4 and CD8 cells we seem to be getting much less toxicity and a better dose response and dose toxicity relationship, and so the incidence of cytokine release syndrome was about a third of some of the other products. And so we still have a long a ways to go, but this is really, really encouraging.
So we started off talking about is it revolutionary. So just so our patients are clear. Who might this apply for now? Who should be looking into this with their doctor?
So the approved products are for pediatric and young adult ALL up to age 25 with at least two prior relapses. The second approval for large-cell lymphoma is for aggressive lymphomas, and patients have to have failed two prior rounds of therapy. So often that's a transplant, sometimes not if you couldn't even get to a transplant. So that's really the only places they're currently approved.
But we're obviously doing studies in other hematologic malignancies. We're very excited about our studies in CLL where this looks like it can induce really deep molecular or even deep sequencing negative remissions, and that correlates with—seems to correlate with outcome in our studies, and we're very, very excited about that.
But that's just the hemo malignancies, and so what everyone wants to know is what about solid cancers? What about breast cancer, lung cancer, things like that? And we're actually starting clinical trials in that. I think it will be a much, a much tougher bar to be able to get these kind of really good remissions in these patients, and we probably will need combinations, but we're really excited about it and seeing some interesting early effects.
Okay. So we'll come back to you with another update maybe next year. Dr. Maloney, it's been…
…yeah, don't wait four years next time.
He's been devoting his life really to these sorts of leading-edge approaches, and CAR T-cell therapy is an area that as he says has not just great promise but starting to save lives. And so if this applies in some of the conditions he talked about, inquire about it for you, and watch this space carefully. Dr. David Maloney, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and Fred Hutchinson and the University of Washington, thanks so much for being with us.
Andrew Schorr on location at ASH where news breaks and this year in CAR T-cell therapy. Remember, knowledge can be the best medicine of all.
Page last updated on January 10, 2018
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POI > USA > Restaurants > Jack in the Box
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Impeachment Process Question? [closed]
Bill Clinton was impeached but not from office. What is the difference. If let’s say our president Trump was impeached and taking out of office. Would vice president Mike Pence take over or does the whole Trump administration and Mike Pence have to leave the White House. What if Trump knew about Russia interfering with the 2016 election would Hillary Clinton be our president because she was supposed to win?
united-states impeachment
edited Dec 4 '18 at 5:05
Garrison ShinGarrison Shin
closed as unclear what you're asking by user4012, Jontia, Mefitico, Burt_Harris, Alexei Dec 4 '18 at 20:47
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_in_the_United_States – Martin Schröder Dec 4 '18 at 6:31
So many wrong assumptions in this question. If the crime occurred in 2016, it would be president Obama who would be on the hook since he was President. The Russian interference was just that, not one vote changed as a result of the "interference" so why would the result of the election change? However, the inference that is illustrated in the question is very wide spread. People actually believe that the Russians did something that changed votes so Trump's presidency and all his acts are void. During the Mueller indictment announcement and Obama said "Not one vote was changed" – Frank Cedeno Dec 4 '18 at 13:14
Formally, Articles of Impeachment were issued against President Clinton by the House of Representatives. This is analogous to an indictment in criminal law. The next step in the process is for the Senate to try the defendant and either convict or acquit them of charges - in President Clinton's case, the articles filed were for perjury and obstruction of justice. The Senate acquitted him of both charges (their rules required a 2/3 vote, the votes were for/against 45/55 for the first charge and 50/50 for the second).
The defendant in an impeachment trial is not removed from office until they are convicted of at least one of the articles of impeachment - this means that in effect, the Senate is not so only deciding whether they did or did not do what the Article accuses them of, but also whether the charge is worthy of removal from office. In the case of the President, the 25th Amendment specifically stipulates that the Vice President takes office when the President is removed from office.
While in practice the Senate runs impeachment cases with similar, albeit looser, rules to a regular criminal trial (similar to an arbitration), they are not bound to do this - the only constitutional requirements are that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court preside over the trial, that the senators sitting "be on Oath or Affirmation" (which appears to just mean the standard oath to uphold the Constitution), and that a 2/3 vote is the threshold for conviction. This means that the Senate could choose to hold an expedited trial in the case that they felt the person impeached needed to be removed from office immediately, where they simply hear the charges and vote. It's doubtful this would ever happen though since it carries a significant risk of senators voting against conviction due to lack of evidence on the record; if the charges were serious enough it's more likely that upon issue of the Articles of Impeachment, the Vice President and a majority of the cabinet would issue a 25th Amendment proclamation that the President is unable to perform the duties of his office, which would in total give the Senate 25 days (27 if they were not in session when it was issued) to deliberate both issues. Clinton's impeachment trial lasted from January 9, 1999 to February 12, 1999, 32 days, so 25 should be enough time for a mostly full trial.
Impeachment is a two-stage process.
First the House of Representatives votes on Articles of Impeachment. That's a bit like a prosecutor filing charges, except that it is a more political process. If there are Articles of Impeachment against an official, that official is said to be impeached.
Next the Senate holds a trial based on the Articles of Impeachment. A two-thirds majority is required to remove the impeached official from office.
If the President is removed from office, the Vice President takes over.
o.m.o.m.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged united-states impeachment or ask your own question.
Is the House responsible for deciding what to fund in the government and is this usually done with “mini-CRs”?
Do previous presidents/elected officials retain security clearance after they leave office?
Why are politicians so obsessed with Russian/WikiLeaks interfering of US elections while some foreign governments openly took sides?
Did Bill Clinton still have his Presidential powers after his impeachment by the House of Representatives?
Can the President of the United States be impeached for crimes committed in an effort to gain the presidency?
How would Donald Trump benefit from a commuted sentence for Rod Blagojevich?
Has Trump's position on the existence of Russian meddling been consistent (in the past few months)?
To what extent did Dilma Rousseff's impeachment increase Jair Bolsonaro's chances to be president?
Did US vice president Pence say anything close to “by any means necessary”?
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Sex Trafficker Sentenced to 122 Years for Using Facebook to Recruit Underage Students
Cover photo of Eliberto Cruz Jacobo, credit to Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. 5 minute read.
When it comes to porn and sex trafficking, secrecy and lies fuel these huge, toxic multi-billion dollar global industries. We’re all about breaking up taboos and changing the conversation from secrets and shame to openness and honesty, and that starts in every one of our communities. And one conversation may not seem like a big deal, but it can start a ripple effect of change and action that can make a visible dent on these issues and change the world in the process.
That’s exactly what happened at one high school in California recently, after what was supposed to be a normal school presentation on human trafficking. When the talk was over, a couple of female students opened up, detailing their experiences of being messaged on Facebook by a woman attempting to recruit them into doing sex acts for money—sex trafficking, in other words.
Their tip proved to be a bigger deal for them and a bigger win for the anti-trafficking cause than anyone could have expected.
One tip, one big catch
When these two high school students spoke up, their tip sparked a full-on investigation by authorities that revealed about 70 potential victims within the course of just one year in Riverside County, California. As it turns out, the “woman” named “Marlissa Garcia” who reached out to these potential victims, a lot of them minors, wasn’t exactly who she portrayed herself to be.
“Marlissa” was actually 46-year-old Eliberto Cruz Jacobo from Hemet, in just one of his fake online identities used to recruit young women and young girls for commercial sex acts. And if that wasn’t disturbing enough, the commercial sex acts he was recruiting for were often with himself. Unfortunately, he was successful in exploiting some of the girls he reached out to. Not cool, and not okay.
Related: The Inseparable Link Between Porn and Human Trafficking
According to the news report by local reporter Katie Widner, Jacobo went on trial, facing “62 felony counts, including human trafficking of a minor, inducing or persuading a minor to engage in a commercial sex act, statutory rape and possession of child pornography.” He was convicted on all counts, and sentenced to more than 122 years in prison for his crimes.
Unfortunately, cases like this happen way more often than many people believe.
A rare victory
While it’s a relief that this investigation has been so effective, it’s not always the case. As Kristen Dolan, an anti-human trafficking director of SafeHouse of the Desert, said in a report, “It’s hard to get them and prosecute them in the way that we need to because there’s so much investigation that’s involved and it’s happening so often.”
This shines a light on how absolutely helpful and important it is to speak up and speak out, especially if you have any suspicious interaction with someone you don’t know, in person or online. And as social media continues to be our generation and the next’s main form of communication, it’s essential that we’re continuously on the lookout for anyone or anything that doesn’t seem right.
Related: Uber Driver Rescues Underage Sex Trafficking Victim
The truth is, sex trafficking is everywhere, including the porn industry. Obviously, human trafficking is an underground business, making firm statistics hard to come by, but the facts in cases that do come to light are chilling. For example, in 2011, two Miami men were found guilty of spending five years luring women into a human trafficking trap. They would advertise modeling roles, then when women came to try out, they would drug them, kidnap them, rape them, videotape the violence, and sell it to pornography stores and businesses across the country. [1]
That same year a couple in Missouri was charged with forcing a mentally handicapped girl to produce porn for them by beating, whipping, suffocating, electrocuting, drowning, mutilating, and choking her until she agreed. One of the photos they forced her to make ended up on the front cover of a porn publication owned by Hustler Magazine Group. [2]
Those cases are only the tip of the iceberg; many more like them exist, and for each victim discovered, countless others suffer in silence. [3]
Still, others are victimized by being forced into the commercial sex world—AKA sex trafficking—like what could have happened to the high school two girls in Riverside, California.
If there’s one thing that always hits home with every human trafficking story we hear, it’s that no community is immune. This is a widespread problem that happens not just in big cities, but in neighborhoods and towns all across the world. Sex trafficking is a global issue in local communities, and it’s up to us to speak out when we see something that isn’t okay.
Related: How Sex Traffickers Use Social Media To Contact, Recruit, And Sell Children For Sex
As porn is becoming more normalized, and as sex traffickers are finding new ways to lure victims into exploitation, these issues should be openly talked about in middle schools, junior highs, and high schools. We need to expose not only the dangerous world of human trafficking, but also the link of how porn fuels trafficking and how the two are inseparably connected.
That’s where we come in.
School presentations can be empowering and powerful for individuals wanting to learn about the harmful effects of porn for themselves, their relationships and in their communities. As these discussions and presentations help de-stigmatize the conversation on the harmful effects of porn, and the local crisis of human trafficking, you never know what can happen to help combat sex slavery. Except, in this case, we do know—conversation starts here, with each one of us opening up and taking a stand. We CAN do something about it. And that is extremely empowering.
Bring us to you!
Bring Fight The New Drug to your school assembly or event to shed light on how porn can hurt, harm and victimize yourself and others.
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[1] U.S. Department Of Justice. (2012). Two Men Sentenced To Multiple Life Sentences For Enticing Women To South Florida To Engage In Commercial Sex Acts And Distributing Date Rape Pills. Press Release, Feb. 17.
[2] Peters, R. W., Lederer, L. J., And Kelly, S. (2012). The Slave And The Porn Star: Sexual Trafficking And Pornography. In M. Mattar And J. Braunmiller (Eds.) Journal Of Human Rights And Civil Society 5: 1-21; U.S. Attorney’s Office For The Western District Of Missouri. (2010). Woman Tortured As Slave, Victim Of Trafficking And Forced Labor. Press Release, September 9. Http://Www.Justice.Gov/Usao/Mw/News2010/Bagley.Ind.Htm
[3] Peters, R. W., Lederer, L. J., And Kelly, S. (2012). The Slave And The Porn Star: Sexual Trafficking And Pornography. In M. Mattar And J. Braunmiller (Eds.) Journal Of Human Rights And Civil Society 5: 1-21.
The post Sex Trafficker Sentenced to 122 Years for Using Facebook to Recruit Underage Students appeared first on Fight the New Drug.
Survey Finds More Than 1 in 3 Women Watch Porn at Least Once a Week
What Popular Porn Sites and the Disturbing NXIVM Case Have in Common
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2017 – A Year In Review
January 4, 2018 by joshpesin | Leave a comment
2017 was a memorable year for me for the simple fact that I turned 50-years-old in June. Turning 50 affected me in a negative way and made me question and wonder about all that I have done in my life up to this point. Summing up this year like I have done in previous years has helped me reflect on the things I have done and has been a kind of therapy for me. Writing this blog has helped me realize that I truly do have a meaningful life if I spend the time to reflect on it through my writing.
I began January making a kind of comeback to running. I registered for the bi-weekly Miles Mania speed series held at the Ocean Breeze Indoor Track in Staten Island. At that time, I had a pronounced belly, but I gave it my all each time I ran a race event. By March, I had accumulated enough points in the series to come in 2nd place out of 12 men in my age group. I won a trophy for this not because I was the best runner, but because I showed up for the most races. And running the races in this series brought me back in time to when I was on the boy’s track team at Sheepshead Bay High School.
My running club friends posing with our hard-earned trophies for the series.
In February, I did my first background acting gig of the year portraying a Russian KGB agent for the TV series, The Americans. We filmed at a set made to look like the interior of the Russian KGB Headquarters back in 1980. The set was located in Brooklyn, a far cry from it’s intended time and place. I had to smoke in the scene, but production always gives the actors herbal cigarettes since they’re less toxic and irritating than the real thing.
During our Mid-Winter Break in February, I brought my kids snow-boarding in the Poconos. It was the first time all of us had snowboarded. I was in pain for the rest of the day from constantly falling, but I still had a good time with my kids.
In March, I ran as a 1:55 pacer for the NYC Half Marathon. It was very difficult for me to maintain this pace since I was overweight and out of shape. But I somehow managed to pull it off by crossing the finish line within 30 seconds of my pace goal. By the look on my face in the photo below, you could see that the struggle was real. My co-pacer Sarah on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying herself. I was in a recovery for days as a result of this.
Also during March, I worked on an episode of Law & Order: SVU playing the strangest character: a big blue bunny. I was actually portraying one of those cheap knock-off costumed characters walking around in Times Square. Elmo and other popular characters cannot be used on shows like this since they are licensed characters and shows need to use only generic unlicensed characters like Mr. Big Blue Bunny. In the scene, me and another costumed character were on a cigarette break sitting down with our heads off. Our “action” was to smoke an herbal cigarette during the filming of the scene. The director asked me to keep on taking puffs of my cigarette to show how stressed I was working as a big blue bunny. I think I smoked the most in my life that evening. If I ever get lung cancer, you’ll know why
My friend Jacky and I were teammates for the High Rock Challenge, a wildly popular adventure race held in the Staten Island Greenbelt every April. This race had a series of mystery challenges that punctuated a 10k race course with challenging trails. Our team was called Muddy Buddies. We had fun taking on the challenges throughout the course and of course we got muddy.
After the race, my friend Darren Corona gave my friends and I challenge: eating a piece of the stinkiest food in the world: surstrÖmming. This Swedish delicacy is fermented herring that according to one Japanese study, has one of the most putrid food smells in the world. As soon as Darren opened up the can, a bunch of flies began flying over his head and almost every one of our friends ran far away from him. Three brave souls ate a piece of this stuff: Darren, Mark Vogt, and I. It was an experience bordering on insanity that I will never forget.
Celebrating our achievements with post-race beers
My friend Linus, a fellow runner and neighbor of mine, is a very creative person. One of his hobbies is to g-write or run routes that draw out various shapes and words using his gps watch. He dedicated one of his runs to spelling out my name in the neighborhood we both live in. It takes special attention to detail to do something like this and that’s Linus’ forte.
Each May while I run as a pacer for the Brooklyn Half Marathon, my uncle Richard stands at Mile 7 and takes photos of all the runners he knows with his iPad. The photo below is one of the last photos he took of me before he passed away in November.
In June, I “ran” the Palisades Climb, a grueling half-marathon along the very treasurous New Jersey Palisades. I made the mistake of not carrying my own water since there was hardly any water stops except one. The race director warned us of this in the race information we had to read. The second half of this race was spent bouldering up and down huge rocks. All of my teammates who participated with me had to be very careful not to lose their footing. By the time I crossed the finish line, I had to be treated for dehydration by EMS. This was a tough race for me, but I had something to prove to myself since I was turning 50-years-old the very next day.
The same month, I met marathon runner and Ironman triathlete John Young at an Achille’s International party in Manhattan. His story was very motivational for me. He took up running to lose weight and to serve as a role model for his son who was being picked on in school. Having dwarfism, he had to train and work harder than those of average height. We both shared stories of how we are role models for our sons. He reminded me to put my own problems in perspective for just when we think we have the biggest life challenges, there is always someone else who has it harder than me.
By the end of July, my daughter auditioned for the role of Callie for an online drama series called Vantage Points. We were both excited for her to get this role. Her episode was filmed in a spooky house off of a Florida swamp. We were there for a week for the filming and I even got a bit part playing a father of one of the other girls. The series is still being marketed around and one of the interested buyers is Amazon Prime. Stay tuned!
By the end of August, I planned an overnight hike along the Appalachian Trail with my kids. However my son didn’t want to go and I ended up going with Emma. We hiked for several miles along the New York section of the Appalachian Trail and had an exciting journey while disconnecting from civilization during those two days. It was a much-needed repose for the both of us.
In September, my brother Aaron and I volunteered our time to help raise funds at a CIPD/GBS fundraiser race on the South Beach Boardwalk in Staten Island. CIPD/GBS are rare debilitating diseases affecting one’s muscles that can sometimes be deadly. It can affect people of all ages. There were many survivors of this disease and their families who participated at the race that day. My friend Michael Ring who is a CIPD/GBS survivor assisted us while we entertained the runners wearing Elmo and Cookie Monster costumes. This was a very enjoyable way to spend time with my brother while we interacted with the small children at the event who wanted to play with our two lovable monster alter-egos.
In October, my friend Kathy invited me to volunteer my time to paint a senior center in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn through an organization called Bay Ridge Cares. Knowing that my daughter needed community service credit and the fact that she loves painting, we painted the center together along with about a dozen other volunteers.
The following day, I was a pacer for the Staten Island Half Marathon. It was a miserable, rainy day and my running shoes got waterlogged at the very beginning of the race. My feet were becoming very uncomfortable from all the water in the shoes. At the last mile, I decided to remove my shoes and socks and run barefoot to the finish line. I still managed to fulfill my pacing duties by finishing just seconds within my pace goal.
Martin Scorsese was filming The Irishman, a made-for-Netflix production about the man who may have killed Jimmy Hoffa. I was fitted to portray a 1970s Michigan cop. The mustache and sideburns in the photo below is the real-deal; many of the other actors playing cops were given fake mustaches and sideburns to wear. The only thing the makeup person had to do was dye my sideburns brown since there were too many hints of natural grey in them.
Since last year when I “dressed” as Hillary Clinton’s emails for Halloween (my son “dressed” as Trump’s tax returns), I wanted to continue making costumes based on recent news. Below I decided to dress as a Russian Hacker complete with a Russian Hacking for Dummies book and a binder listing the passwords to the World’s Leaders. And my hacker ID read, “Picov Andropov”.
One of my greatest accomplishments of 2017 was single-handedly producing the Brooklyn Triple Crown race series. It started as only an idea on a piece of scrap paper at the beginning of the year that kind of evolved by accident. At first, I was very fearful that I could pull this thing off by myself and raise enough funds through sponsorship to make this series financially viable. By August, with the help of Mark Vogt and others from Complete Race Solutions, I had prospected enough race sponsors to generate $5,600. Along with the 100+ runners who registered for the three-race series, an additional $3,500 in race fees was raised through my ongoing promotion of the series. In all, my efforts helped generate over $9,000 in total sales. A portion of this went to local charities. While I did make some money from this since it was a business endeavor, my efforts in obtaining many freebies for the runners made this series a truly memorable experience for them. For the last race, I was able to obtain free Starbucks coffee and pizza for all from a local pizzeria who sponsored our race by “paying” us in pizza.
In November, I was invited by the Partnership for the Parks to an event celebrating those who helped improve Kaiser Park, a park right next to Coney Island Creek. While I was creating the Brooklyn Triple Crown race series, I decided to name one of the races the Coney Island Creek 5k. I thought to myself, Coney Island is famously known for its amusement park and beaches. I wanted to call the race something that is little-known about Coney Island which is the creek that is in need of TLC and public support. Me naming the race after the creek brought awareness that it existed to many runners who never knew of it. Due to this, I was asked to speak at the podium to all the supporters of Coney Island Creek. It was both a surprise and an honor for me. I was always an environmentalist since childhood and this was the perfect opportunity to let others know that.
My friend Diane is a photographer who turns her photos into functional coasters. To sell coasters at an event in Rockaway, Queens, she asked me if I could dress as Santa and have him walk along the beach with Rockaway Bridge in the background. The Santa you see on the coaster below is me.
My brother Aaron and my sisters Rachel and Sara spent Thanksgiving at my dad’s house. We had a great time reconnecting as family since we hardly have any opportunities anymore to do this and we all have busy lives.
My son Hunter is an accomplished pianist who now writes and performs his own original music. However, due to the fact that he chooses to be very private, he does not want me to post photos or videos of him performing. He has been playing the piano for half his life now.
By far the worst thing to happen in 2017 was the untimely death of my uncle Richard. It happened at the very end of November. He was loved by all since he loved and embraced everyone he met, even strangers. He would take the most difficult unsavory person he met and befriend them, humor them, and make them feel special. He encouraged me with my running and always took pictures of all the runners during the Brooklyn Half Marathon. I can still picture all the many great times I spent talking and joking with him and how much he meant to my entire family. His death has left a hole in all of our hearts.
I’ve always liked to bring people together for I believe that half the world is waiting for the other half to become friends. With this in mind, I arranged a multi-club trail run involving three running clubs: the Prospect Park Track Club, the Ukranian Running Club, and the Staten Island Athletic Club. We had run together right after a fresh snowfall which made the woods of the Staten Island Greenbelt a magical winter wonderland.
Writing this blog entry was therapeutic for me for in my mind, I feel that after turning 50, I have done nothing with my life. However, summarizing 2017 as I have just done here in my writing tells me that I am quite wrong with that way of thinking.
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Source: Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals. Vol. III. The United Nations War Crimes Commission, 1948
Trial of Takashi Sakai
Responsibility for Crimes against Peace and other offences.
CHINESE WAR CRIMES MILITARY TRIBUNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENCE, NANKING, 29TH AUGUST, 1946
A. Outline of the Proceedings
1. Facts and Evidence
2. Defence of the Accused
3. Findings and Sentences
B. Notes on the Case
1. Jurisdiction of the Tribunal
2. Jurisdiction Over Crimes Against Peace
3. The Accused's Guilt as to Crimes Against Peace
4. The Accused's Guilt as to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
The accused, Takashi Sakai, a Japanese, served as a military commander in China during the war of 1939-1945, and also prior to that, during the Sino-Japanese hostilities which followed the Mukden incident of 1931. The charges laid against him were described as constituting crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Some charges were made under the terms of Chinese municipal law and concerned offences against the internal security of the State.
The findings of the Tribunal concerning the accused's activities in China between 1931 and 1939 were as follows :
Takashi Sakai was one of the leaders who were instrumental in Japan's aggression against China. Soon after the Mukden incident of 1931 he instigated a man by the name of Li Chi Chun and his followers to form a gang for the purpose of creating disturbances in Peking and Tientsin and to organise terrorist activities. As a result the Secretary of the Kuomintang office in Tientsin, Li Min Yueh, and a correspondent of the Shanghai Daily Chu Shao-tien, were assassinated. In February, 1934, attempts were made on the lives of a Chinese General, Ma Chun-shan, and of the Chairman of the Provincial Government of Hopei, Yu Hsueh-chung, in Tientsin. In May, 1934, the accused threatened to attack Peking and Tientsin by artillery and air force, and demanded the dismissal of the heads of the local Chinese authorities in the province of Hopei. He also demanded the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Hopei. As a Commander of the Japanese 23rd Army in Kwantung, which was then operating in South China, he ordered his subordinates to assist in setting up a puppet administration and in organising a so-called " Peace Army," in an effort to overthrow the Chinese Government.
The following was established to have taken place during the period of the Second World War (1939-1945) :
As Regimental Commander of 29 Infantry Brigade in China, the accused incited or permitted his subordinates to indulge in acts of atrocity. Between November, 1941, and March, 1943, in Kwantung and Hainan over one hundred civilians were massacred by shooting or bayoneting ; twenty-two civilians were tortured; women were drowned after severe beating and one
expectant mother was tortured ; two women were raped and mutilated, and their bodies were fed to dogs ; civilians were evicted from their homes and seven hundred houses were set on fire ; rice, poultry and other foods were plundered. On l7th and 18th December, 194 1, in Hongkong, thirty prisoners of war were massacred at Lyumen and twenty-four more prisoners were killed at West Point Fortress. On 19th December, 1941, the personnel of a British medical unit were massacred-twenty persons in all. Between 24th and 26th December, 1941, seven nurses were raped and three mutilated, and sixty to seventy wounded prisoners of war were killed. Valuable collections of books were pillaged from libraries.
2. THE DEFENCE OF THE ACCUSED
The accused pleaded not guilty.
Regarding his demand in 1934 that Chinese troops from Hopei should be withdrawn and that Chinese administrative heads in Hopei should be dismissed, he pleaded that he had acted within the stipulations of the International (Final) Protocol of 1901. The latter constituted a settlement of the rights of eleven foreign Powers in China following incidents in which the German Minister, Baron von Ketteler, was assassinated and a number of Europeans were ill-treated or massacred. The Powers concerned included Japan.(Footnote 1: The other powers were Austria, Hungary, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Russia and the United States) They were given the right to keep troops in certain areas in China in order to maintain free communication between Peking and the sea. The areas involved included Tientsin and other places in the province of Hopei. The Chinese Government undertook specific obligations for the maintenance of order in the affected areas. All Chinese local administrative heads were made personally answerable for the order in their districts. If offences against foreigners recurred or other violations of existing treaties were not instantly suppressed and the culprits punished, the heads were to be dismissed by the Chinese Government and could not be appointed to new posts.
The accused's plea to the charge that he had taken part in a war of aggression and had committed a crime against peace, was that he had acted upon the orders of his Government. He also pleaded not guilty to the charges concerning atrocities on the grounds that he was not responsible for the acts of his subordinates as he had no knowledge of them.
The accused's pleas were rejected and he was found guilty " of participating in the war of aggression " and " of inciting or permitting his subordinates to murder prisoners of war, wounded soldiers and non-combatants ; to rape, plunder and deport civilians ; to indulge in cruel punishment and torture ; and to cause destruction of property."
For his participation in a war of aggression the accused was found guilty of a crime against peace. In regard to the atrocities he was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He was sentenced to death.
The trial of Takashi Sakai was conducted under the terms of Chinese Rules governing the Trial of War Criminals which were in force at the time of the trial. (Footnote 1: The above Rules were later replaced by a Law Governing the Trial of War Criminals of 24th October, 1946, an account of which will be found in the Annex to this Volume.)
According to Article I of these Rules the primary source of substantive law for Chinese war crimes tribunals is international law. The latter Is supplemented by the provisions of the above Rules. In cases not covered by the Rules the law to be applied is that of the Chinese Penal Code. Article I reads as follows :
"In the trial and punishment of war criminals, in addition to rules of international law, the present Rules shall be applied ; in cases not covered by the present Rules, the Criminal Code of the Chinese Republic shall be applied.
"In applying the Criminal Code of the Chinese Republic, the Special Law shall as far as possible be applied, irrespective of the status of the delinquent."
The above provision was implemented in the case under review, both with regard to crimes against peace and to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Tribunal's verdict on the count of crimes against peace was made with regard, though without express reference, to rules which were explicitly formulated in the latest development of international law in this sphere.
The concept of crimes against peace was first defined in the Charter of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, which was instituted by the London Agreement of 8th August, 1945, for the trial of the Major War Criminals of the European Axis. Article 6 (A) of the Charter contains the following definition :
"Crimes against peace : namely, planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances, or participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the foregoing."
Another definition was given, In almost identical terms, in the Charter of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, which was instituted by a Proclamation of General MacArthur of 19th January, 1946, for the trial of Japanese Major War Criminals. Article 5 (A) of this Charter reads as follows :
"Crimes against peace : namely, the planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a declared or undeclared war of aggression, or a war in violation of international law, treaties, agreements or assurances, or participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the foregoing." (Footnote 2: The words in italics are those not appearing in the Nuremberg Charter.)
Finally, a third and also very similar definition is contained in Article II (1) (A) of Law No. 10 of the Allied Control Council for Germany, of 20th December, 1945, which regulates the trial of persons other than major war criminals and is thus a clear indication that responsibility for crimes against peace is not confined to high State administrators, such as heads of State or members of Government, but may include any other person. The definition reads as follows :
" Crimes against peace: Initiation of invasions of other countries and wars of aggression in violation of international laws and treaties, including but not limited to planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances, or participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the foregoing."
In its Judgment, the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg stressed that the punishment of crimes against peace, as provided in the Nuremberg Charter, was only a reflection of the rules that had evolved in international treaties between the First and Second World Wars, and according to which a war of aggression constituted a criminal offence punishable under international law. The treaties referred to included in particular the Paris or Kellogg-Briand Pact of 27th August, 1928, which condemned recourse to war for the solution of international controversies, and by which the Signatories renounced it as an instrument of national policy. Both Germany and Japan were among the sixty States bound by the Pact.
In the Nuremberg Charter the range of persons liable to prosecution and punishment for crimes against peace is defined in the first and last paragraph of Article 6. It includes any person implicated in its commission whether as an individual or a member of organisations, or as a leader, organiser, instigator or accomplice. The same follows from the Far Eastern Charter and Law No. 10.(Footnote 1: Article II (2) of Law No. 10 includes explicitly "any person without. regard to nationality or the capacity in which he acted.")
in the light of the foregoing provision it appears that, by trying the accused as a person charged with and prosecuted for crimes against peace, the Chinese War Crimes Military Tribunal at Nanking acted within the competence internationally recognised to courts of law in this sphere.
From the wording used in the Judgment, it would appear that the accused was found guilty of crimes against peace for the reason that he had taken part in the war of aggression against China. No further qualifications can be found in the Judgment beyond this point, so that it would seem that, according to the Chinese Tribunal, the accused's liability lay in no other circumstances than in the fact that he had conducted military operations which formed part of a war of aggression.
This would follow from the wording of the formal verdict, which included the following terms
"The defendant, Takashi Sakai, having been found guilty of participating in the war of aggression..." (Footnote 2: Italics inserted.)
The same follows from a statement of the Tribunal, in which it dismissed the accused's plea of superior orders:
" . . Aggressive war is an act against world peace. Granted that the defendant participated in the war on the orders of his Government, a superior order cannot be held to absolve the defendant from liability for the crime."(Footnote 1: Italics inserted)
The rejection of the plea of superior orders was made on the basis of the generally recognised and already firmly established rule that to commit crimes upon superior orders, including those of a Government, does not relieve the perpetrator from penal responsibility, but may be taken in mitigation of the punishment. (Footnote 2: On this point see History of the United Nations War Crimes Commission and the Development of the Law of War, H.M. Stationery Office, London, 1948, Chapter X, pp. 274- 288. Compare also Vol. V of these Reports, pp. 13-22, and Vol. VII, p. 65.) The latter is left to the discretion of the courts. The above rule was expressed in Article 8 of the Chinese Rules Governing the Trial of War Criminals, whose relevant passages read :
" Criminals are not exempted from responsibility in the following cases :
" 1. If the act was committed in accordance with orders of superior officers.
One point in connection with the Tribunal's findings concerning crimes against peace was not made clear in the Judgment. The Tribunal did not state whether the accused's guilt was determined for taking part in the war of 1939-1945, or whether it included the period of hostilities which had existed between Japan and China between 1931 and 1939. The events in which the accused took part in 1931-1934, in Peking and Tientsin, and in which he was engaged in activities against Chinese local administrative heads, were described in the Judgment immediately after the statement that he was " one of the leaders who were instrumental in Japan's aggression in China." This could be taken to mean that such activities were regarded by the Tribunal as having formed part of the " war of aggression " against China, and that its verdict on this count included this period preceding the outbreak of World War II.
On the other hand, however, there are in the Judgment indications that the Tribunal may have segregated this period from that of World War II and that its verdict was confined to the latter period only. When considering the events of 1931 and 1934 the Tribunal declared that the accused had thereby " violated international law by undermining the territorial and administrative integrity of China." (Footnote 3: This was a reference to the terms of the Nine Power Treaty of 6th February, 1922, concerning the status of China, an account of which will be found later.) Later, however, after referring to the international treaties violated by the accused, the Tribunal added that " offences against the internal security of the State should be punished in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Republic of China." This reference to " offences against the internal security of the State " seem to fit the findings concerning the accused's guilt in the events of 1931-1934, where the internal security of the State would appear to have been at stake
due to the accused's activities directed against Chinese local administrative heads and the maintenance of Chinese troops in the province of Hopei. With regard to both the Tribunal stressed that there was " no stipulations in the Final Protocol of 1901 which prohibited the Chinese Government from stationing Chinese troops in Hopei " and that it gave Japan no " right to demand the dismissal of Chinese Administrative Heads in Hopei." In this manner the above reference to offences against the internal security of the Chinese State and to the Chinese Penal Code may mean that, for the events of 1931 and 1934, the accused's guilt was determined under the terms of Chinese municipal law and not under those of international law. This would leave crimes against peace for that period out of the picture.
Irrespective of the above issue, the Tribunal stressed that, in committing crimes against peace for which he was found guilty, the accused had " violated the Nine Power Treaty of 1922 and the Paris Pact " of 1928. The relevant provisions invoked by the Tribunal were Art. I of the Nine Power Treaty and Art. I of the Paris (Kellogg-Briand) Pact.
The Nine Power Treaty was signed on 6th February, 1922, between the British Empire, the United States, Belgium, China, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Portugal. As stressed in its Preamble, it was concluded with a view " to stabilise conditions in the Far East, to safeguard the rights and interests of China, and to promote intercourse between China and the
other Powers upon the basis of equality of opportunity." The first obligation undertaken by the Powers was to " respect the sovereignty, the independence, and the territorial and administrative integrity of China." It will be remembered that the last terms were invoked by the Tribunal against the accused. The full text of Article I of the Nine Power Treaty of 1922 runs as follows : I The
" The Contracting Powers, other than China, agree:
" (1) To respect the sovereignty, the independence, and the territorial and administrative integrity of China.
" (2) To provide the fullest and most unembarrassed opportunity to China to develop and maintain for herself an effective and stable Government.
" (3) To use their influence for the purpose of effectually establishing and maintaining the principle of equal opportunity for the commerce and industry of all nations throughout the territory of China.
" (4) To refrain from taking advantage of conditions in China in order to seek special rights or privileges which would abridge the rights of subjects or citizens of friendly States, and from countenancing action inimical to the security of such States."
Article I of the Paris Pact runs as follows :
" The High Contracting Parties solemnly declare, in the names of their respective peoples, that they condemn recourse to war for the solution of international controversies and renounce it as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another."
As will be noticed, the combined effect of the above two Articles, which were binding upon Japan, was to make a military aggression against China a violation of the two Treaties.
With regard to the concept of crimes against peace the above references show two important features. The first is that the Tribunal had thereby stressed that the accused had taken part in " a war in violation of international treaties," which is included in the definitions of crimes against peace previously quoted. The second feature is that the Tribunal's verdict on this count was entirely based upon rules of international law, as evidenced by the texts of the Nuremberg and Far Eastern Charters, and of Law No. 10.
With reference to offences against civilians and members of the armed forces for which the accused was found guilty, the Tribunal said :
" In inciting or permitting his subordinates to murder prisoners of war, wounded soldiers, nurses and doctors of the Red Cross and other non-combatants, and to commit acts of rape, plunder, deportation, torture and destruction of property, he had violated the Hague Convention concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land and the Geneva Convention of 1929. These offences are war crimes and crimes against humanity."
The relevant provisions of the above two Conventions which the Tribunal found to have been violated were : Article 28 of the Hague Regulations, forbidding the giving over to pillage of a town or place, even when taken by assault" ; Article 46 of the same Regulations protecting " family honour and rights, individual life, and private property, as well as religious convictions and worships," and " forbidding confiscation of private property " ; Article 47 of the Hague Regulations declaring any pillage " expressly forbidden " ; Articles 1 to 6, 9 and 10 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, of 1929, which protect prisoners of war from ill-treatment, as well as protecting their lives.
The Tribunal dismissed the accused's plea that he could not be held responsible for the above violations because they were perpetrated by his subordinates and he had no knowledge of them. The Tribunal's findings were as follows :
". . . That a field Commander must hold himself responsible for the discipline of his subordinates, is an accepted principle. It is inconceivable that he should not have been aware of the acts of atrocities committed by his subordinates. . . All the evidence goes to show that the defendant knew of the atrocities committed by his subordinates and deliberately let loose savagery upon civilians and prisoners of war."
The principle that a commander is responsible for the discipline of his subordinates, and that consequently he may be held responsible for their criminal acts if he neglects to undertake appropriate measures or knowingly tolerates the perpetration of offences on their part, is a rule generally accepted by nations and their courts of law in the sphere of the laws and customs of war. The above findings are therefore in line with the jurisprudence created with regard to this rule, in particular on the occasion of war crime trials held after the Second World War. (Footnote 1: See Trial of Tomoyuki Yamashita, in Volume IV of this series, especially pp. 83-96 ; Trial of Erhard Milch, in Volume VII, especially pp. 61-64 ; Trial of General Wilhelm List and others, in Volume Vill, pp. 88-9; Trial of Wilhelm von Leeb and 13 others (High Command Trial), in Volume XII, pp. 105-12.)
Last Updated 10/09/01 10:06:40
Faculty of Economics and Social Science
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Tag Archives: Taz-Mania Season 1 Volume 2
WHV Finally Gets It Right On Its Latest Peanuts DVD Release
Courtesy: Warner Brothers Home Video
Warner Home Video has struggled quite a bit in the past year or so with its home releases. The 2013 releases of Tiny Toon Adventures Volume 4, Taz-Mania: Season 2 Part 1, and Hats Off To Dr. Seuss were all troubled with their own problems. 2014 hasn’t exactly been off to much of a better start thanks to the release of The Flintstone Kids: Rockin’ in Bedrock. That release presented only the main Flintstone Kids shorts minus the companion Captain Caveman and Son and Dino shorts. That alone took off major points from that set. But now WHV has finally started to pick up the ball and get things back on the right track thanks to the brand new release of This is America, Charlie Brown. This brand new double-disc has officially made its own spot on this critic’s list of the year’s best new DVDs and Blu-rays for families and children. The primary reason for that the features included in this set are both entertaining and educational. Another reason for the set’s enjoyment is the use of both hand drawn animation and historical photos to help illustrate each “lesson.” The last factor to examine in what makes This is America, Charlie Brown a success is its packaging. Each of the noted factors by themselves, play important roles in the success of the set. Together, they make this brand new release one of the year’s best new box sets for families and children.
The first and most important factor in the success of This is America, Charlie Brown is the combination of both entertainment and education. The eight features spread across the set’s two discs educate viewers in such fashion that it doesn’t even feel like viewers are being taught. Thanks to the legacy of the Peanuts gang, it feels more like viewers are going on a fun field trip through America’s history than just learning about history from another documentary. There are even some fun little pop culture references that parents will appreciate along the way. One of those references is to the command module of the Apollo 10 being named Charlie Brown. Lucy comments on this saying that she doesn’t know where such a name could have come from. The kids also see their own comic strip hanging in the Smithsonian Museum of Art. The little reference there is just as funny. On a more subtle level, audiences that know anything about animation history will appreciate Frank Welker (The Real Ghostbusters, Curious George, Garfield & Friends) as the voice of a number of characters here including Wilbur Wright in “The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk.” Gregg Berger (Garfield & Friends, Aahhh!!! Real Monsters, G.I. Joe) joins Welker as the voice of Wilbur’s brother Orville. This isn’t the only feature to which Berger and Welker offer their talents, either. Lou Rawls joins them in “The Music and Heroes of America” and makes the journey all the more enjoyable even as being an educational journey. It serves as one more example of how the combination of education and entertainment is such an important factor in the success of this set. It isn’t the only important factor to the set, either.
The combination of entertainment and education in the features that make up This Is America, Charlie Brown is a solid foundation for the mini-series in whole. Just as important to the set’s success is the use of both hand drawn animation and historical photos to help illustrate and advance each story. Kids will be entertained by the hand drawn animation. And parents that grew up in the days of true animation will appreciate the original animation style of this Peanuts presentation. Those behind the mini-series balanced the animated segments with just enough historical photos to help drive home the stories in each feature. They even included some vintage video to help advance each “lesson,” too. And that video is just as balanced. The resultant effect is a presentation in each feature that will keep viewers of any age fully engaged from start to finish. It’s one more aspect of the whole mini-series that maintains the set’s value.
The visual presentation of the mini-series’ features and the ability of the features to entertain and educate without being too outright about their educational purpose are key to the success of This Is America, Charlie Brown. There is still one more factor to examine in the set in considering what makes it worth the purchase and the watch. That factor is the set’s overall packaging. Both of the discs in the set are placed on their own spindle inside the case. On one level, this protects the discs from scratching one another, thus increasing their life span. On another level, it minimizes the size of the box used to contain the discs. The bigger picture of this is that it conserves space on any viewer’s DVD rack. So not only is the mini-series in whole educational and entertaining, its case is ergonomic. Sure, there’s little else to the set whether extrinsic or even intrinsic. It’s a bare bones presentation. But these factors together make This Is America, Charlie Brown a much needed win for Warner Home Video and for fans that have waited so many years for this mini-series to get a proper release.
This Is America, Charlie Brown is available now in stores and online. It can be ordered direct online from the WB Shop at http://www.wbshop.com/product/this+is+america%2C+charlie+brown-+the+complete+series+dvd+1000411223.do. To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Aahhh!!! Real Monsters, Barney, Betty, Captain Caveman, Captain Caveman and Son, celebrities, Charles Schulz, Charlie Brown, Curious George, Dino, Dr. Seuss, entertainment, facebook, FOX, Fox Kids, Frank Welker, Franklin, Fred, G.I. Joe, Garfield, Garfield & Friends, Gregg Berger, Hanna Barbera, Hats Off To Dr. Seuss, internet, Linus Van Pelt, Lou Rawls, Lucy Van Pelt, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, PBS, Peanuts, Phils Picks, Rocky, Sally Brown, Schroeder, Taz-Mania, Taz-Mania Season 1 Volume 2, Television, The Flintstone Kids, The Flintstones, The Real Ghostbusters, Theodore Geisel, This Is America Charlie Brown, Tiny Toon Adventures, Tiny Toon Adventures Volume 4, Wilma, Wordpress | Leave a reply
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Visit of the J27 65894 steam locomotive
This year, The J27 class locomotive belonging to the North East Railway Preservstion Society wa on our line for the whole of August. Below you can see a comprehensive photographic record of the visit.
Oiling the motion is an important part of running a steam loco. Class J27 65984 (31/07/2018)
Class J27 65894 waits at Leeming Bar to take out the 1540 to Redmire. (31/07/2018)
Class J27 65984 waits for the signal at Bedale on the 1540 Leeming Bar-Redmire. (31/07/2018)
Class J27 65894 stands at Bedale on its inaugural passenger run at the head of the 1215 Leeming Bar-Redmire. (31/07/2018)
Photo - Peter Harbord
J27 loco 65894 at Bedale on its first day of public service (31/07/2018)
J27 loco 65894 at Bedale level crossing on its first day of public service (31/07/2018)
Photo - Michael Metcalfe
Class J27 65894 arrived at Leyburn for water on it's first passenger run of the season. (31/07/2018)
Class J27 65894 Leaving Leyburn on it's 2nd trip to Redmire, alas the sun did not shine..! (31/07/2018)
Class J27 65894 arriving at Redmire. (31/07/2018)
Class J27 65894 Running round at Redmire. (31/07/2018)
Class J27 65894 runs round at Redmire. (31/07/2018)
J27 65894 at Leeming Bar on Yorkshire Day (01/08/2018)
J27 65894 passes through Harmby Cutting working the 1045 Leeming Bar to Redmire. (07/08/2018)
J27 65894 takes water from the new water tower at Leyburn. (07/08/2018)
Recoaling J27 65894 at Leeming Bar. (07/08/2018)
J27 65894 arrives at Leyburn on the 1045 Leeming Bar-Redmire. (08/08/2018)
J27 65894 passes A684 'Traffic Light Bridge', 1220 Redmire to Leeming Bar. (08/08/2018)
J27 65894 approaches Finghall Lane, 1220 Redmire to Leeming Bar. (08/08/2018)
J27 65894 arriving at Redmire (08/08/2018)
J27 65894 has run round at Redmire (08/08/2018)
J27 65894 prepares to depart Redmire (08/08/2018)
J27 65894 ready to depart Redmire (08/08/2018)
Photo - Andy Galpin
65894 near Harmby (08/08/2018)
65894 arriving at Redmire (08/08/2018)
65894 leaving Wensley (11/08/2018)
65894 running round its train at Redmire (08/08/2018)
65894 leaving Redmire (08/08/2018)
Patriotic J27 65894 takes water at Leyburn. (10/08/2018)
Generally passengerless a good number wait at Finghall for steam on the 1045 Leeming Bar to Redmire. (11/08/2018)
J27 65894 pulls away from Finghall Lane after its request stop on the 1045 Leeming Bar to Redmire. (11/08/2018)
65894 near Finghall (11/08/2018)
65894 leaving Finghall (11/08/2018)
65894 arriving at Wensley (11/08/2018)
Coal stock nearly gone at Leeming Bar. (12/08/2018)
Another load of coal delivered at Leeming Bar. (14/08/2018)
Last train of the day approaches Bedale. (17/08/2018)
J27 65894 at Leeming Bar (18/08/2018)
J27 65894 approaches the Yorkshire Dales POGO Crossing with, you've guessed it, the 1045 Leeming Bar to Redmire. (21/08/2018)
J27 65894 at Bedale. (23/08/2018)
J27 65894 at White Cross Bridge. (23/08/2018)
J27 65894 at Fox Park UWC supervised by a director. (23/08/2018)
J27 65894 at Finghall Lane. (23/08/2018)
J27 65894 at Stoop House Bridge. (23/08/2018)
J27 65894 departs Leyburn. (23/08/2018)
J27 65894 guess where. (23/08/2018)
J27 65894 at Wensley. (23/08/2018)
J27 65894 at Leyburn. Filming for a new series of the Channel 5 programme The Yorkshire Steam Railway. 'Piglet' has an away day on the Wensleydale Railway. (23/08/2018)
J27 65894 approaches Harmby Bridge. (23/08/2018)
Photo - David Shaw
Photo taken on the penultimate day of this years steam services, featuring my 1937 Morris 8 with the J27. The photo was taken at the first farm rail crossing towards Leyburn from the Crakehall level crossing. (30/08/2018)
J27 65894 arrives at Finghall Lane on the last working of its stay, the 1620 Redmire-Leeming Bar Friday 31st August. (31/08/2018)
Almost gone again. A bit of clearing up to do now. (01/09/2018)
Photo - Kev Burnitt
The J27 making an impressive sight leaving Leyburn during August. (05/08/2018)
The J27 just left Leyburn Station during the summer. (05/08/2018)
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Researchers forecast lower 2017 violent and property crime rates in much of SoCal
by University of California, Irvine
“Computing the crime rate average over a three year period, from 2013-2015, smooths the random year-to-year fluctuations,” says John Hipp, UCI professor of criminology, law & society. The average value for the region as a whole has a standardized crime rate of 100. Cities with standardized values above or below 100 have crime rates higher or lower than the regional average. Credit: University of California, Irvine
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine project double-digit reductions in both violent and property crimes across much of Southern California for 2017. Violent crime is estimated to drop by 21 percent in 82 percent of cities, and property crime is expected to decrease by 11 percent in 79 percent of cities.
These encouraging predictions come from the third annual Crime Report for Southern California, authored by John Hipp and Charis Kubrin, UCI professors of criminology, law & society, and produced by the School of Social Ecology's Irvine Laboratory for the Study of Space & Crime.
Hipp developed mathematical forecast models using 2000-2015 data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program for 196 cities with populations of at least 4,000 in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. Violent crimes are defined as homicide, aggravated assault and robbery, while burglary, motor vehicle theft and larceny are classified as property crimes.
"We employed a novel approach to calculating crime rates in order to solve the inherent problem of comparing changes in crime rates across cities of different sizes," Hipp said. "Computing the crime rate average over a three-year period, from 2013 to 2015, smooths the random year-to-year fluctuations. The city-level change in overall violent or property crime rates is figured according to the difference in these standardized rates."
The report provides historical and recent comparisons of crime trends throughout the region, as well as city-level socio-demographic characteristics – and insight into how these affect crime rates.
"Criminologists are well aware that cities with certain traits typically have higher rates of crime," Kubrin said. "Our statistical models also take into account socio-demographic attributes such as average household income, unemployment rate, residential stability, number of immigrants and population density to determine what we call the 'adjusted value,' which shows the level of crime above or below what would be expected for a city with that particular set of characteristics."
Immigration suppresses crime, research shows
More information: Crime Report for Southern California 2015: ilssc.soceco.uci.edu/files/201 … rime_Report_2015.pdf
Provided by University of California, Irvine
Citation: Researchers forecast lower 2017 violent and property crime rates in much of SoCal (2017, February 15) retrieved 18 July 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2017-02-violent-property-crime-socal.html
Sanctuary cities do not experience more crime
Assault and robbery rates impact high-end property values
Foreclosure crisis and metropolitan crime rates
New analysis method reveals increasing rate of violent crime in England and Wales
Medical marijuana outlets not linked to crime
Scent composition data reveal new insights into perfume success
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There are 70 million refugees in the world. Here are 5 solutions to the problem
by Gerhard Hoffstaedter And Sara Riva, The Conversation
Credit: CC0 Public Domain
This week, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, labeled the world's refugee problem a crisis that is primarily impacting developing countries, who are hosting most of the world's 70 million displaced people.
It's the highest number of people fleeing violence since the second world war, the agency said in a report. Last year, 37,000 people were forced to flee their homes every day.
My colleague and I have conducted extensive research on refugees at the US-Mexico border and in Southeast Asia and Australia, studying the lives of people in detention, in transit, and resettled in host countries. In all these cases, an enduring problem is that nations are not doing enough to provide adequate protection for refugees.
Australia, and the international community as a whole, needs to do more to help the world's most vulnerable people. Here are five solutions we believe can work.
1. Give them their rights: enforce international conventions
Most countries have either signed the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. These ensure basic rights and protections for refugees, in addition to other human rights conventions.
However, many nations maintain reservations on key articles, have not implemented the agreements or simply do not comply with their international obligations. Others do not provide access to these protections for people without legal status, such as refugees.
Addressing the nonexistent enforcement mechanisms of international conventions, agreements and declarations is the first step for improving refugees' rights.
2. Share the responsibility: regional refugee compacts
In December 2018, the UN Global Compact on Refugees was agreed to by 181 countries. The document has the following objectives:
easing the pressure on host countries
helping boost the self-reliance of refugees
expanding access to third-country resettlement options
supporting conditions in refugees' home countries to help them safely return.
The global compact also includes recommendations for similar regional and national action plans.
Cooperation of this sort has been attempted in our region before with the Bali Process, which focused on cross-border people smuggling and trafficking. But this agreement had an adverse effect by criminalising the movement of people across borders to seek asylum.
A regional refugee compact would shift the focus away from border protection and deterrence and instead ensure refugees receive the protections they need in transit and on arrival in host countries.
3. Treat refugees like human beings: close detention centres
According to the UNHCR, detention should be considered a last resource for countries dealing with influxes of refugees. And yet, refugee confinement has become common practice.
All over the world, the closure of borders and privatisation of immigration detention centres have resulted in a rapid increase in the imprisonment of refugees, including women and children. Although Australia has moved hundreds of refugees off Manus Island and Nauru in recent years, there are still 915 remaining in detention centres on the islands.
It is paramount that detention centres and offshore processing centres be closed. The practice is not only cruel, it's expensive. According to the Refugee Council of Australia, it costs more than A$573,000 a year to hold just one refugee in detention on Manus or Nauru.
The International Detention Coalition has identified over 250 alternatives to detention, such as providing temporary legal status to refugees while they await decisions on their permanent status.
Another alternative is to increase global refugee resettlement quotas. These quotas have been decreasing sharply around the world in recent years. The US, for instance, resettled fewer refugees than Canada in 2018.
4. Allow them to participate: work rights for refugees
Refugees should not be treated as passive recipients of humanitarian aid and charity—they should be permitted to work.
Providing working visas for refugees in transit countries, as well as those on bridging visas or waiting for their asylum claims to be processed, would help them earn a livelihood and contribute to society.
In Malaysia, for example, refugees have no work rights at all and have to work illegally in the shadow economy. In Australia, work rights for many refugees on bridging visas depend on the discretion of the Home Affairs department.
Another important issue: permitting refugees the right to work must also come with safeguards to prevent their exploitation.
5. Let them in: open borders
This "refugee crisis" is really just a crisis of who has the right to move. Thanks to the birthright lottery, some people are able to move freely across borders, while others remain trapped in violence and poverty.
If borders were open to all, the human smuggling business would cease to exist. And refugees of all sorts, including those displaced by climate change, would be able to enjoy work rights and access to health care and education.
Even though we live in an era where more walls are going up between nations, we have evidence this does not stop migration.
And the evidence for the economic benefits for open borders is unambiguous. According to some estimates, opening the world's borders could increase global GDP by US$100 trillion. We just need to take a bold step and give refugees a right already enjoyed by some—the right to move.
Study suggests tweaks to private sponsorship program for Syrian refugees
Citation: There are 70 million refugees in the world. Here are 5 solutions to the problem (2019, June 20) retrieved 18 July 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2019-06-million-refugees-world-solutions-problem.html
Child migrants around the world are being denied their human rights
The fiscal impact of refugees in Sweden
Human rights in a changing sociopolitical climate
Ending refugees' exile
A rare insight into human kindness
Forces behind growing political polarization in congress revealed in new model
I am not sure what that "birthright lottery" is. I did my DNA test, and it clearly told me that my ancestors were Europeans, and not African or native Australian or something else.
Furthermore, I do not see people looking like me (or with my genetics) just spontaneously being born in Africa, from African parent, or in Asia from Asian parents.
Therefore it did not "happen" that I was born where I was born. Luck has nothing to do with it. My ancestors worked hard and fought for it to happen.
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How To: Play the Justin Bieber song "U Smile" on piano
By Nicholas H Battjes
Justin Bieber appears to be here to stay, at least until his voice gets deeper, and his parade of hit songs continues unabated. This video will show you how to play one of his many huge singles, "U Smile" on the piano. You can even check out the sheet music to the song here.
How To: Play an instrumental cover of Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never" on piano
How To: Play "Baby" by Justin Bieber on piano
How To: Play "Baby" by Justin Bieber on a piano or keyboard
How To: Play "Hey, Soul Sister" on the piano for beginners
How To: Play the pop song "Baby" by Justin Bieber on ukulele
How To: Play "Pray" by Justin Bieber on guitar
How To: Play an unplugged version of Justin Bieber's "Baby"
How To: Play "We Are the World" Haiti relief song
How To: Play the Ukulele Version of Third Eye Blind's Song "Never Let You Go"
How To: Play "Dead and Gone" by T.I ft. Justin Timberlake on piano
How To: Play "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5 on piano
How To: Play the easy song "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts on piano
How To: Play the song "Black Keys" by the Jonas Brother on piano
How To: Play "A Song for Mama" by Boyz II Men on piano
How To: Play The Simpsons theme song on piano
How To: Play "Opposite of Adults" by Chiddy Bang on piano
How To: Play the Naruto opening song on the piano
How To: Play the Clint Manselli classic song "Requiem for a Dream" on piano
How To: Play "Kiss the Rain" by Yiruma on piano
How To: Play "Airplanes" by B.O.B. on the piano
How To: Play an easy piano cover of the song "This Love" by Maroon 5
How To: Play "Sally's Song" from The Nightmare Before Christmas on piano
How To: Play the B.o.B song "Don't Let Me Fall" on piano
How To: Play "Your Mother Should Know" by the Beatles on the piano
How To: Play the Warner Brothers theme song on piano
How To: Play the song "Asterisk" from the Bleach OST on piano
How To: Play "Help" by the Beatles on piano
How To: Play an easy version of the Tetris theme song "Korobeiniki" on piano
How To: Play the Lupe Fiasco song "I'm Beaming" on piano
How To: Play Sir Elton John's "Your Song" on piano
How To: Play the Miley Cyrus song "The Climb" on piano
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Matt Strassler [April 2, 2012]
This article is a transcription and cleaned-up version of a post, and its update, that appeared on March 30 and 31. If you want to read the original post, click here.
The article is based on slides from a March 28th mini-workshop recording the results of investigations by OPERA and LVD, along with a report on ICARUS’s results.
The mystery surrounding OPERA, the Gran Sasso experiment which (through a technical problem) measured that neutrinos sent from the CERN lab to the Gran Sasso lab in Italy arrived earlier than expected by about 60 nanoseconds, is now resolved. In this article I’ll explain to you the crucial technique which was used in the process. Here’s an article explaining the whole story in which this technique plays a key role, from when the problems were diagnosed to when the mystery was completely solved.
Inside the Gran Sasso Laboratory, which is deep underground, the LVD experiment and OPERA experiment are just 160 meters apart (a meter is about three feet). If a muon (which, depending on how energetic it is, can travel tens or hundreds of meters through solid rock) passes through OPERA, there is some probability (illustrated in Figure 1) that it will later pass through LVD as well, a half a millionth of a second or so later. If the same particle passes through both detectors, it can be used to check whether the clocks at the two experiments are synchronized.
Fig. 1: From the LVD talk at the mini-workshop, given by A. Zichichi: View from above showing the layout of the Gran Sasso laboratory, and how muons occasionally penetrate through a weak area in the rock and pass through both OPERA (orange box) and LVD (yellow box) which are separated by 160 meters (about 500 nanoseconds at the speed of light.)
Where might such a muon come from? Cosmic rays (high energy particles from space colliding with an atom in the upper atmosphere) create showers of pions, and from there a shower of muons and neutrinos (and their anti-particles). A muon (or anti-muon) from the shower can sometimes penetrate an exceptionally long distance through the rock and into the Gran Sasso Lab. It turns out there is one direction from which there are an exceptionally large number of muons making it through to the underground lab, due to an unusual thinning in the rock to one side of the lab — and by chance, this direction is one which makes it possible for such muons to sometimes pass first through OPERA and then through LVD. Over the past five years they have about 300 such muons.
These muons are at very high energies and are traveling at (actually, just a tiny, tiny bit below) the speed of light, and will traverse the distance between the two detectors in a time that can be calculated (since the distance between the two detectors can be precisely measured inside the lab). Now, if they
measure the muon’s arrival time in OPERA relative to the clock that OPERA uses, and
measure the same muon arriving in LVD relative to the clock that LVD uses,
and compare the two arrival times as given by the respective clocks,
this gives them the relative timing of the two detectors’ clocks.
Fig. 2: Graph from OPERA talk given by M. Sioli: this shows that timing between LVD and OPERA became misaligned in the middle of 2008, before OPERA-1 began, and remained stably misaligned by about 73 nanoseconds until the end of 2011, which is when the fiber problem was identified and eliminated.
What the comparison of the cosmic-ray muons showed (see Figure 2, taken from the OPERA talk by M. Sioli at the March 28th workshop) was that the time difference between when muons arrive at OPERA and then at LVD, as measured by their respective clocks, shifted by about 73 +- 9 nanoseconds around May to August 2008, relative to what it was before that time. And then it shifted back, at around the same time that the suspect optical fiber was screwed back in the way it should have been. This strongly suggests that the badly adjusted optical fiber was responsible for the majority of the 60 nanosecond shift, and that this shift was stable over all or almost all of the entire period of both versions of the experiment, which I called OPERA-1 and OPERA-2. The question of stability of the fiber’s orientation over that whole period was one of my main worries about whether the real problem at OPERA had yet been found; the new information from the LVD/OPERA timing comparison indicates that the cause of the shift was from how far the fiber had been screwed in, and this was stable.
A big question that the OPERA leadership (who resigned March 30th) has to answer: why didn’t they do this cross-check before they made their result public? Did no one think of it til recently? And if not, why not? Was it harder than it sounds? Or did they just miss an obvious opportunity?
Anyway, it would appear that the mystery is now solved: that the fiber was the main problem, and that the second problem they identified (with their main clock) was less important but not irrelevant; the clock’s frequency is slightly off, so if a neutrino arrives early in a grouping of neutrino bunches its time will be accurately recorded, but if it arrives later in a grouping of neutrino bunches, its time will be recorded a bit later than it should be. This effect counteracts and reduces the 73 nanosecond shift from the fiber down to about the observed 60 nanoseconds at both OPERA-1 and OPERA-2. For more details about how the cosmic-ray muons were used to show this with confidence, along with more general discussion about lessons to learn, read this article.
4 responses to “How LVD Helped Solve OPERA’s Mystery”
Dave Schroeder | October 12, 2012 at 12:04 PM | Reply
I am puzzled how a loose fiber optic connector could cause a 60 nanosecond delay in an optical signal. Let’s say the there’s an air gap of 1 millimeter in the suspect connector. The speed of light in air is only a little less than in vacuum, so still around 3 times 10 to the 8th meters per second (rounded up). So, an extra 1 millimeter distance to travel for a light pulse would only take about 1/10th of a nanosecond, unless I did my math wrong. To account for the 60 nanosecond delay the fiber optic connector would have to be loose by about 6 meters. So there must be some other mechanism involved in this reported signal delay, other than simply extra distance traveled by the light pulse/signal.
Matt Strassler | October 12, 2012 at 12:42 PM | Reply
Correct. It has to do with the details of the electronics, and has nothing to do with an air gap.
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Tag: talk radio
Scott Walker compares women working and earning a salary to welfare
AUTHOR’S NOTE: While the blog post references the Republicans’ misleading attacks against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over the salaries that her U.S. Senate staffers made, the author of the blog post is a Bernie Sanders supporter, and both Hillary and Bernie support equal pay for equal work.
Republican Wisconsin Governor and likely presidential candidate Scott Walker has, once again, made downright offensive remarks about women. This time, he went onto a right-wing talk radio show hosted by Adriana Cohen and effectively claimed that giving women equal pay takes away from men and compared women working and earning a salary to collecting welfare benefits:
Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin has gone on the offensive against women again, despite the backlash against his previous ugly remarks about rape victims seeking abortion. As reported by Right Wing Watch, Boston Herald Radio host Adriana Cohen asked him about the issue of equal pay for women, using largely discredited numbers to accuse Hillary Clinton as a hypocrite who pays her staff unequally. Walker could have scored the easy point on hypocrisy and left it at that. Instead he doubled down on why he finds it so offensive to be for equal pay in the first place.
“But I think even a bigger issue than that,” he said, “and this is sadly something that would make her consistent with the president, and that is I believe that the president and now Hillary Clinton tend to think that politically they do better if they pit one group of Americans versus another.”
Walker added that Democrats’ “measure of success in government is how many people are dependent on the government, how many people are dependent, on whether it’s Medicaid or food stamps or health care or other things out there.”
If you’re willing to listen to Scott Walker, you can listen to Walker’s remarks here. You can also view the Right Wing Watch piece that Slate columnist Amanda Marcotte referenced here.
Women earning a salary equal to their male co-workers for the same type of work is not a form of welfare or being dependent on the government; it’s being treated fairly. Full-time working women earn 77 cents for every dollar that a full-time working man makes in this country. Furthermore, working women earning the same amount of pay as working men helps men, especially married men in households where their wives work at a job that pays a salary or wage, because equal pay for women means a higher household income, and, therefore, more money for entire families to spend on goods and services.
To me, it sounds like Scott Walker apparently believes that women shouldn’t earn a salary for their participation in the workforce, and he also apparently believes that women earning more pay somehow threatens men. The former is absolutely absurd, and the latter is absolutely false.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015 Monday, July 13, 2015
Adriana Cohen
Boston Herald Radio
false equivalence
pay gap
right-wing talk radio
Scott Walker
unequal pay
WI-Gov
Wisconsin Governor
working women
workplace discrimination
Wisconsin right-wing shock jock Charlie Sykes publicly made a death threat against Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll
Charlie Sykes, who hosts a right-wing talk radio show on WTMJ-AM in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, publicly called for the lynching (i.e., public execution of a person by a mob, usually by hanging) of Pete Carroll, the head coach of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, either during or immediately after Super Bowl XLIX, in which the Seahawks lost to the New England Patriots by a score of 28-24:
If there is a just God, they will Lynch Pete Carroll in Seattle tomorrow.
— Charles Sykes (@SykesCharlie) February 2, 2015
Sykes’s tweet is still online, so, in case Sykes decides to delete his vile tweet, Wisconsin progressive blogger Chris “Capper” Liebenthal posted a screengrab of the tweet here.
Charlie Sykes’s remarks about wanting Pete Carroll, who is white, to be lynched is disgusting, and WTMJ-AM should pull Sykes off the air immediately. Furthermore, police should investigate Sykes in order to determine whether or not there is an actual plot to kill Carroll, and, if there is such a plot, Sykes and any co-conspirators should be arrested and tried in a court of law for plotting murder. If Sykes’s remarks were merely hyperbole and not an actual death threat against Carroll, then Sykes may be able to avoid a prison sentence, depending on the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court case that involves online death threats.
Additionally, Charlie Sykes is one of two right-wing talk radio hosts in Milwaukee, the other being WISN-AM right-wing talker Mark Belling, that have long supported Scott Walker, a contender for the Republican presidential nomination, and Walker has frequently appeared on Sykes’s radio show. The fact that Walker would associate himself with someone like Sykes is disgusting, and all political figures in Wisconsin should condemn Sykes’s death threat against Pete Carroll.
While I’m very excited about the New England Patriots winning this year’s Super Bowl, the fact that Charlie Sykes publicly called for the lynching of the losing team’s head coach is highly unacceptable.
Sunday, February 1, 2015 Sunday, February 1, 2015
Charlie Sykes
death threat
Milwaukee WI
Super Bowl XLIX
WTMJ
WTMJ-AM
Penn State Professor Sophia McClennen delivers brilliant response to Rush Limbaugh smear attack
Sophia McClennen, a professor at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), wrote this piece for Salon magazine, in which Professor McClennen talked about how Steven Colbert’s style of comedy during his tenure as host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report brilliantly mocked conservatives who (figuratively) wrap themselves in the American flag by constantly talking about their patriotism.
Obviously, Rush Limbaugh, a right-wing misogynistic talk radio shock jock who is best-known for his infamous remarks in which he called attorney and women’s rights advocate Sandra Fluke a “slut” on his nationally-syndicated radio program The Rush Limbaugh Show, was not happy after reading Professor McClennen’s column, so he called her a “professorette” on his radio program and whined about how he couldn’t “escape these professors and these lies and all this crap that’s in the media about everything that’s so-called wrong with America”.
Professor McClennen wrote a pair of responses to Limbaugh’s sexist smear attack against her at Salon magazine and at the progressive website DailyKos. In her DailyKos diary, Professor McClennen called out Limbaugh for claiming to love America but hate a majority of American citizens:
This leads to another persistent flaw in Limbaugh logic: How can you claim to love your country, yet hate so many of its citizens? It turns out that people of color, women and folks who vote with the “Democrat Party” are all part of the very same nation that Limbaugh professes to love. And yet, he seems to have a never-ending ability to spit bile at his fellow citizens, constantly hurling invectives at those with whom he disagrees. Professorette? (His term for me.) Infobabe? Feminazi? And we can’t forget Limbaugh’s treatment of Sandra Fluke. […]
I want to make three points about this.
First, Professor McClennen’s piece about Colbert’s character on The Colbert Report is certainly not a pack of lies and crap about everything that’s wrong with America. It’s a factual and very informative piece about how Colbert parodied right-wing talking heads like Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and others in the corporate media in order to gain a large following among the left in this country and how Colbert fought to redefine what patriotism means in this country.
Second, for Limbaugh to publicly call Professor McClennen a “professorette” is flagrantly sexist. “Professor” is a gender-neutral term, and for Limbaugh to use the term “professorette” to describe a female college professor implies that female college professors are somehow inferior to male college professors, which, at least in my experience, is certainly not the case. I attended a small junior college in the east central part of Illinois on a part-time basis for a few years before dropping out, and, even though my college experience was horrible (mostly because I wasn’t interested in attending college at all), every professor who taught one or more courses I took, regardless of whether it was taught by a man or a woman, taught their courses exceptionally well.
Third, as someone who is a left-wing nationalist and damn proud of both America and my progressive political views, I believe in a different kind of patriotism than right-wing talking heads like Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly, and so on do. Right-wingers in this country believe in the “wrap-self-in-the-flag” kind of patriotism, in which they talk about how great America is while they support policies that are turning America into a third-world country, such as free trade agreements like NAFTA, deregulation of the banking industry, and cuts in government spending on things like education and social safety net programs. On the other hand, I believe in a kind of patriotism simply known as making America exceptional. I believe in raising taxes on the wealthy, protecting and expanding the social safety net, providing affordable health care to the American people, providing a better public education system for future generations, repealing free trade agreements, protecting the American economy, protecting and enacting regulations to protect workers, consumers, and the environment, raising the minimum wage, granting equal rights to all Americans, ensuring that all American citizens who are of age are able to vote in free and fair elections, and protecting the civil liberties of the American people, among other things. I don’t believe in all of that because I hate America, I believe in that because I love America and want to make this country an exceptional place to live!
Wednesday, December 24, 2014 Wednesday, December 24, 2014
conservative media
left-wing
left-wing patriotism
misogynist
Premiere Radio Networks
professorette
right-wing patriotism
Salon magazine
Sophia McClennen
The Pennsylvania State University
Rush Limbaugh publicly supports rape
Right-wing talk radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh has a long track record of showing complete disrespect for women on his nationally-syndicated radio program.
This time, however, Limbaugh said something so vile on his radio program, it’s even worse than his blatantly sexist tirade in which he called Sandra Fluke, now a Democratic candidate for a seat in the California State Senate, a “slut”. Limbaugh publicly supported sexual assault by saying that “no means yes if you know how to spot it”:
“How many of you guys in your own experience with women have learned that ‘no’ means ‘yes’ if you know how to spot it?” he asked on “The Rush Limbaugh Show” Monday. “It used to be used as a cliché.”
Limbaugh then read off Ohio State University’s definition of consent, which outlines how two people should behave once they have decided to engage in a sexual relationship. It states that you and your partner must agree to engage in the activity every step of the way, including agreeing on “why” you are doing so. But that just sucks all the fun out of it, Limbaugh said.
Cumulus Media, which Limbaugh signed a contract with, and Premiere Networks, which syndicates The Rush Limbaugh Show, should fire Limbaugh and cancel the program immediately. When Limbaugh said “no means yes” and then claimed that getting consent from someone to have sex “sucks all the fun” out of having sex, he publicly supported sexual assault. It’s highly unacceptable for anyone, especially someone who hosts a talk radio program syndicated across the entire country, to publicly support a horrific criminal act.
When someone says “NO”, he or she means “NO”. There is nothing fun whatsoever about raping someone.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014 Friday, October 2, 2015
no means no
Premiere Networks
supporting rape
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Home > U-M helps open more than 25,000 early English books to public
U-M helps open more than 25,000 early English books to public
By Mary Morris
Topic: Arts & Culture
The texts of the first printed editions of Shakespeare, Chaucer and Milton, as well as lesser-known titles from the early modern era, can now be freely read by anyone with an Internet connection.
The U-M Library, the University of Oxford's Bodleian Libraries and ProQuest have made public more than 25,000 manually transcribed texts from 1473-1700 — the first 200 years of the printed book.
Full-text public access to the transcribed EEBO-TCP texts.
Oxford's Bodleian Libraries offer individual text downloads in several formats, including ePUB files.
Download the entire body of work via box.com.
The texts represent a significant portion of the estimated total output of English-language work published during the first two centuries of printing in England.
The release via Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication marks the completion of the first phase in the Early English Books Online-Text Creation Partnership (EEBO-TCP). An anticipated 40,000 additional texts are planned for release into the public domain by the end of the decade.
What's available?
The EEBO-TCP texts were transcribed from ProQuest's Early English Books Online (EEBO), a subscriber database of facsimile images obtained from books in libraries all over the world, including the British Library, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Bodleian Library at Oxford.
Among the texts are some of the first books printed in English, a body of work that includes early English literature as well as works of history, philosophy, politics, religion, music, mathematics, and science.
Highlights include several of William Caxton's editions of the works of Chaucer, the first translations of Homer by the Elizabethan dramatist and classical scholar George Chapman, and Sir Isaac Newton's "Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica."
Possibly of even greater value are the thousands of less famous texts that offer unexplored avenues for discovery. Gardening manuals, cookery books, ballads, auction catalogues, dance instructions, and religious tracts detail the commonplace of the early modern period, while books about witchcraft and sword fighting document its more exotic facets.
Many of these works have never before been available to the public online, and physical copies are rare and require special handling. The transcribed texts, as open data, are freely available for anyone to read, reuse, reproduce, repurpose and distribute. (ProQuest's EEBO image database remains available only to subscribers.)
The partnership that made it possible
At its inception in 1999, the aim of EEBO-TCP was to convert the extraordinary corpus EEBO represents into fully searchable digital texts. For modern printed works, such conversions rely upon optical character recognition, which can automatically produce searchable text from scanned images.
But these first printed works use character sets and spelling that aren't OCR-friendly. Age and print quality present additional hurdles to machine readability.
The conversion of EEBO texts requires painstaking manual keyboarding of the texts, including Extensible Markup Language to encode the structure of the text (chapter divisions, tables, lists, etc.), and a thorough editorial process to ensure accuracy.
Getting the task done required a transnational collaborative enterprise driven by the U-M Library, the Bodleian Digital Library at Oxford, ProQuest, the Council on Library and Information Resources; Jisc, the charity that provides digital solutions to UK education and research, and the support of more than 160 partner libraries.
EEBO-TCP already has provided key source material for scholars with institutional access, and has contributed to monographs, articles, essay collections and scholarly editions as well as computer-aided linguistics.
The release into the public domain creates new opportunities for research around the globe, and for corpus-based textual analysis.
"The open access release of the first group of EEBO-TCP texts marks an important milestone in an extraordinary international partnership between public and private entities," notes Charles Watkinson, associate university librarian for publishing.
"The opportunity now exists for scholars both within and outside the academy to apply powerful digital scholarship tools to a huge body of material that is of central importance to world culture. The University of Michigan Library is proud to continue to support this landmark project."
Tags: U-M Library
Source URL: https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-helps-open-more-25k-early-english-books-public
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redzoneplay
All Football All Year
SEVEN FROM SUNDAY – NFL WEEK 2
A look at seven statistical highlights from games played at 1:00 p.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 17, the second week of the 2017 season.
New England quarterback TOM BRADY completed 30 of 39 passes (76.9 percent) for 447 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 139.6 passer rating in the Patriots’ 36-20 win at New Orleans. Brady has 52 career games with at least three touchdown passes and no interceptions, passing PEYTON MANNING (51) for the most such performances in NFL history.
Brady (61,849 passing yards and 456 touchdown passes) and New Orleans quarterback DREW BREES (66,402 and 466) entered the game with a combined 128,251 passing yards and 922 touchdown passes. Both totals are the most in NFL history for opposing starting quarterbacks in a game.
Kansas City rookie running back KAREEM HUNT rushed for two touchdowns in the Chiefs’ 27-20 win over Philadelphia. Hunt, who scored three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) in his NFL debut last week, is the first player in NFL history to have at least three rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns in his first two career games.
Hunt has scored five touchdowns in his first two career games. Only DUTCH STERNAMAN(six) of the 1920 Decatur Staleys has scored more touchdowns in his first two career games.
Hunt had a 53-yard rushing touchdown in the win over Philadelphia. Combined with his 78-yard touchdown reception in Week 1, Hunt is the third player in NFL history to record a 50+ yard scrimmage touchdown in each of his first two career games (DUB JONES, 1950 and ALAN AMECHE, 1955).
Los Angeles Chargers tight end ANTONIO GATES had a touchdown catch in the team’s loss against Miami. Gates has 112 career touchdown catches and passed TONY GONZALEZ (111) for the most receiving touchdowns by a tight end in NFL history.
Gates’ 112 touchdown receptions are the sixth-most in NFL history.
Pittsburgh quarterback BEN ROETHLISBERGER completed 23 of 35 passes (65.7 percent) for 243 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 104.8 passer rating in the Steelers’ 26-9 win over Minnesota at Heinz Field. Roethlisberger has thrown a touchdown pass in 45 consecutive home games, the third-longest streak in NFL history and the longest active streak. Only DREW BREES (60 games) and TOM BRADY (47) have longer streaks all-time.
The BALTIMORE RAVENS recorded four interceptions and three sacks in the team’s 24-10 win against Cleveland. The Ravens, who had five sacks and intercepted four passes in Week 1 at Cincinnati, are the only team with at least four interceptions and three sacks in each of its first two games of a season since the sack became an official statistic in 1982.
The Ravens are the third team since 1970 – and the first since the 1992 Pittsburgh Steelers – to have at least four interceptions in each of the first two games of a season. The 1971 Cleveland Browns are the only other team to accomplish the feat since 1970.
Cleveland tackle JOE THOMAS started his 162nd consecutive game in the Browns’ loss at Baltimore. Thomas, who entered the game having played 9,996 consecutive offensive snaps, reached 10,000 consecutive snaps played on the Browns’ fourth offensive play of the game.
Thomas, who played every snap of today’s game and extended his consecutive snap streak to 10,062, has not missed an offensive snap in his 11-year NFL career.
Indianapolis running back FRANK GORE had a rushing touchdown in the Colts’ overtime loss to Arizona, his 75th career TD run.
Gore, who also has 16 career receiving touchdowns, is the sixth player in NFL history with at least 75 rushing touchdowns and 15 receiving touchdowns in his career, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers MARCUS ALLEN, JIM BROWN, MARSHALL FAULK, WALTER PAYTON and LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON.
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Charles Patrick "Pat" Arthur
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Obituary of Charles Patrick Arthur
Voorheesville - Charles Patrick Arthur died Friday, May 10, 2019 at his home. Born on 12/1/1935 in Ticonderoga, NY to Alice Mary McGrath and Richard Francis Arthur, “Pat” was the oldest of six children.
Pat graduated from Ticonderoga HS in 1953, where he lettered in football, basketball, and baseball, instilling a lifelong love of sports. He worked for International Paper for 1 year and, served in the Army at Fort Ord, CA and the 9th Infantry Division in Germany. Upon return, he was accepted into Cornell University, where he earned his BS from the ILR School in 1961.
Pat married his high school sweetheart, Frances Ann Hopkins, in September 1957, and they set off from Ticonderoga to Cornell as a married couple. Together, Pat and Fran raised seven children and enjoyed 61 ½ years together with the last 40 spent in Voorheesville where he has been a member of St. Matthew’s Catholic Church.
In 1991, Pat retired from the Research Foundation of SUNY and enjoyed his lifelong hobby of collecting and trading stamps. Pat was also an avid gardener, storyteller, and listener of old time radio and his beloved Boston Red Sox. He loved to tell jokes and make people laugh—especially his doctors and nurses. Pat is former member of the New Scotland Kiwanis and Lions Club International.
Pat is predeceased by his parents, and his brother, Richard. Pat is survived by his wife, Fran; his children Joseph, Mary, Patricia (Tony) Sisti, Richard (Lynn), Douglas, Margaret (Dave) Caldwell, and Susan (Fred) Gorman; exchange student and “adopted” daughter Alejandra Hernandez (Jeff) Stein; his grandchildren Maia, Samuel, Michael, Alena, Patrick, Timothy, Kelly, Katherine, and Rebecca; his sisters Maryanne (Clarence) Schaeffer, Jane (Dick) Banker, Shirley (Jerry) teRiele, and Virginia Arthur (Tom Haluska); his sisters-in-law Betty Arthur, Carolyn Malaney, Jean Hopkins, and Helen Johnson; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews.
Relatives and friends are invited to visit with the family at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church on 32 Mountainview St. in Voorheesville on May 17 from 9:30-11 AM, a memorial mass at 11 AM, and followed by a reception. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the American Heart Association P.O. Box 2025 Milford, NH 03055-2025, or St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Voorheesville. An endowed scholarship in his name is being established at Metropolitan State University Foundation in MN; memorial contributions can be made to 700 East Seventh Street, Saint Paul, MN 55106-5000, noting the Charles Patrick Arthur Endowment.
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St. Matthew's Church
Mountainview St.
Voorheesville, New York, United States
Memorial Mass
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Tag Archives: English flag
England, St. George, and the flag
Posted on July 27, 2018 by Ellen Hawley
The mayor of Genoa wrote to the queen recently, demanding the back rent on England’s flag, the St. George cross.
I’ll come back to that, but first let’s talk about the flag itself. It’s a red cross on a white field and if you’re not British you may be thinking of the wrong flag. This isn’t the red, white and blue one with crosses and Xs running every which way. That’s Britain’s flag. We’re talking about England’s.
Here’s how it works. England is a nation. Britain, however, is the country that the English nation’s part of. Think of England as a ping-pong ball. Now think of Britain as the fish tank someone threw the ball into at a fair. Someone who had good aim and won a stuffed goldfish and walked away happy, leaving England inside the British fish tank.
Irrelevant photo: Yeah, any serious blogger would show you a picture of the English flag. This isn’t a flag. It isn’t even England. It’s a stone circle in Scotland.
A week later, the someone looked at the goldfish, wondered why they thought it was worth winning, and dropped it off at a second-hand store (or since this is about Britain, a charity shop).
But the ping-pong ball stayed inside the fish tank. And it brought a flag with it. Also (the metaphor’s breaking down quickly) some of its own laws. The fish tank has a different flag, which incorporates the ping-pong ball’s flag, along with the flags of some of the other ping-pong balls that were thrown in. So the English ping-pong ball has two flags, its own and the fish tank’s.
Like the English ping-pong ball, the tank has a set laws, and they apply to all the ping-pong balls.
The point is not to confuse the ping-pong balls with the fish tank.
Did that clarify things?
I didn’t think it would, but I had to try because–and I have no excuse for this–I often read questions on Quora, and I’ve come to understand that a lot of people can’t tell the difference between a ping-pong ball and a fish tank. Or between England and Britain. Or between a hole in the ground and a part of their anatomy that you’d think they’d have familiarized themselves with by the time they’re old enough to leave questions on a public website.
I used to not just read questions on Quora but answer them. I’ve pretty much stopped now because it was bringing out the worst in me. That’s not hard, but I don’t much like myself when I make fun of people publicly. At least, not after the first rush of damn-that-was-fun.
I’m not being snotty about people not knowing Britain from England, by the way. That’s just a lack of information. It’s the deeper ignorance that I’m talking about. But I am, as usual, off topic.
So, briefly, repetitiously, and more sensibly: Britain has a flag. That’s not the one we’re talking about. England also has a flag. So do Wales, Scotland, and Cornwall (which isn’t recognized as a ping-pong ball but has its own flag anyway; take that, England). Northern Ireland’s also part of Britain and it’s recognized as a nation but it doesn’t have its own flag because all hell would break loose if it tried to choose one. This symbolism stuff can turn ugly pretty easily.
To read a Greek immigrant’s explanation of the Northern Ireland flag situation, follow the link.
With that out of the way, let’s move on:
Genoa adoped St. George as its patron saint in 1190, during the Crusades, and with the saint came his flag. Why was that particular design his flag? Haven’t a clue and by now I doubt anyone else does either, although I expect it was clear at the time. Milan uses the same design but calls it St. Ambrose’s cross. If there really are saints, they’re probably up there arm wrestling over who owns the design.
Or laughing their immaterial asses off.
In the thirteenth century, the English (who weren’t yet British; the fish tank hadn’t been invented yet, never mind the ping-pong ball) adopted the flag from Genoa and, according to an article in the Week, agreed to pay for the privilege. It was “to be flown by its navy to deter enemies from attacking.”
The article doesn’t say why that particular design would deter enemies. Maybe because Genoa was a scarier naval power, but I’m guessing.
Wikipedia (when I last checked) called the Genoa connection a common belief in Victorian times but says it can’t be substantiated. It adds that Richard the Lionheart was supposed to be responsible for adopting the saint and his flag.
According to the Flag Institute (yes, there is such a thing–or at least a website that makes it look like there is), during the Reformation “all religious flags and other saint’s banners, except for St. George’s, were abolished. St. George’s flag had first been used as a maritime flag seven years earlier.”
It was the Flag Insitute–she said defensively–that put the apostrophe in the wrong place. It’s a quote, so I left it. Three points if you spotted the problem.
Those dates don’t match up with the quote from the Week, but let’s not agonize over it. It won’t be on the test. It argues for what Wikiwhatsia said, that it can’t be substantiated.
But England didn’t just buy–or rent–the rights to St. George’s flag, it got George himself as a patron saint. So let’s talk about who he was.
Legend says George was a Roman soldier, born in what’s now Turkey. According to an article in the Independent, “In 303 [the Roman emperor] Diocletian, as part of a crackdown on the growing influence of the Christian community, ordered that all Christian soldiers in the army should be expelled and all Roman soldiers be forced to make the traditional pagan sacrifice.
“St George refused and denounced the edict in front of his fellow soldiers, declaring he was a Christian.
“Diocletian initially tried to convert him with offers of wealth and land but when he refused he was beheaded on 23 April 303.”
Legend has George slaying a dragon at some point–presumably before his death. It was feeding on townspeople. But freedom from dragons doesn’t come free: He’d only do it in if the entire town converted to Christianity.
Nothing in legend connects George to England, but in 1327 Edward III made him the country’s official saint anyway. The beliefs of the time didn’t demand that a patron saint have anything to do with the country that drafted him. He had to embody the country’s characteristics–or to be more accurate about it, the characteristics it wanted to think it had. Or wanted its enemies and possibly even friends to think it had.
There was no practical way for the saints to be consulted about this. They didn’t get to say, “No, I don’t like this country–its topography offends me, its language is too complicated for me to learn, and if that isn’t enough they eat fish and chips and back when I was alive I hated fish.”
They got drafted, and if people prayed to them in a language that was too complicated for them to learn, that was the people’s problem. They prayed for rain and their warts disappeared.
It explains a lot.
So St. George got landed with not just England but also Portugal, Venice, Beirut, Malta, Ethiopia, Georgia, the Palestinian territories, Serbia, and Lithuania. And, of course, Genoa. I don’t think any of the other countries thought they had to rent him from Genoa and why England started that arrangement I don’t know.
I haven’t been able to untangle what flags–if any–all those other places consider to be St. George’s, but I do know that if you google St. George, flag, and Lithuania (I chose Lithuania because it was at the end of the list, not knowing that my fingers don’t like the sequence of the letters), you come up with lots of flag images, the red cross on a white background being only one of them.
What was George expected to do if two of his countries or territories went to war with each other? Intervene on both sides? Pull the covers over his head and weep for humanity? I’m no a expert on religion. In fact, I’m not religious and my lack of religion doesn’t even from this particular religion, so I won’t try to answer. All I can do is raise awkward questions.
But back to that agreement about the saint and the flag: For years, England paid Genoa for the use of the flag, but it stopped when Genoa was occupied by Austria in 1746. And now, after all those years, Genoa’s mayor is making a claim for unpaid rent, writing to the queen, “Your Majesty, I regret to inform you that from my books [it] looks like you didn’t pay for the last 247 years,” He is, apparently, digging through the archives to figure out how much that comes to.
“That means we are owed over 250 years of back payments,” he wrote, before admitting he was only “half serious”.
“Instead of cash, we could ask England to restore one of our old palaces or make a donation to charity.”
Why is he claiming both 247 years’ worth of payments and over 250 years’ worth? Especially when 1746 was neither 247 or 250 years ago? I can’t answer that. Maybe he sat, dazed, though the same math classes that I did, with roughly equivalent results. I’m in no position to criticize.
What happens if England doesn’t pay up? Genoa isn’t likely to declare war, and if some court has authority over a medieval agreement that can’t be verified, I’m not sure which one it would be. Some European Union court, maybe, but Genoa had better hurry.
How do people read the symbolism of a saint’s cross in the modern world? Most people, I suspect, don’t think about saints when they see it. England’s pretty relaxed about religion.
Personally, I find it a bit weird to live surrounded by flags with religious origins. I’m Jewish and I’m an atheist. I don’t think about either of those things daily, but they set me apart in both predictable and surprising ways. Cornwall’s flag is St. Piran’s cross–white on a black background. I tend to see a symbol of Cornwall, but it is a cross and I can’t not see it as a cross. British history’s bound up with Christianity, with all its symbols and its wars and its beliefs. I accept that. What else could I do with it? It’s not as if it would change if I didn’t. But it reminds me regularly that I’m an outsider here.
The St. George flag doesn’t get much official use these days. Sports fans backing an English team use it some but, awkwardly, the English ultra-right and neo-nazis have adopted it as their emblem, so when you see it displayed you can’t tell if you’re looking at a sports fan or a nazi.
There are, mercifully, more sports fans in the country than neo-nazis and unless the context is clear, I tend to assume sports fan. Still, it’s not something you–or at least I–can put out of your (or my) mind.
The queen may well decide to skip the payment.
Posted in History, Politics | Tagged English flag, patron saints, St. George, St. George flag | 86 Replies
Ellen Hawley
Fiction writer and blogger, living in Cornwall.
Divorce Diet-related links
Intercultural Mayhem
Stuff I can't let you miss
The joys of spam
What people really want to know about Britain
At Least Vaguely Related Sites That I Like
A Writer's Perspective A writer of historical fiction explores day-to-day life in the medieval world. Fascinating.
Anglotopia: A bit of everything, from and for people who aren’t British and are obsessed with England (and sometimes Britain)
Cornish Bird Blog It’s not about birds but about hidden places in and little-known tales of Cornwall. Well worth a look.
Emma Cownie Artist Paintings of the Gower Peninsula and Swansea in Wales–and as a bonus, of Donegal
Expats Blog Lists expat bloggers in England and around the world. I wouldn’t call myself an expat, but if they want to I won’t bother to argue.
FoXnoMad: Tips on travel, including “what to expect if you’re detained by the Turkish police during a demontration”
Hole in the Donut Cultural Travel: A good section on Cornwall’s gardens and Coast Path
IdaSwears Photos and text, some of Cornwall and some not
MarvellousAlbion An Italian who’s been living in the U.K. for 20 years.
One Painting a Week: Paintings of the north Cornwall coast
Open the Curtains: A landscape photography and prose blog. “I live, work and faff around in Cornwall.”
Potential and Expectations: A great entry on one American’s experience of Britain’s National Health Service
Very British Problems: The British look at the British–and laugh
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Free Tickets to GOAPELE- Yoshis, San Francisco, 5/1 @8pm; Tank- Yoshis, Oakland, 4/24 @8pm; A List Celebrities Comps for Kentucky Derby, May 5-7, 2011; New Entertainment Jobs May-April 2011!
FREE tickets to GOAPELE show Sunday, May1, 2011, 8:00pm at Yoshi’s, San Francisco, and Tank show Friday, April 22, and Sunday April 24, 2011, 8:00pm at Yoshi’s Oakland. The tickets will be awarded via our Twitter or website, so if you haven’t already, you should join us on:
Yoshi’s- San Francisco
MAY 1, 2011 8:00 PM.
“This spiritual love child of Sade and D’Angelo mixes sweet soul vocals, jazz funk instrumentation and hip hop rhythms by underground Bay Area beatmasters. Goapele can kick it in the streets as in the lounge.”
Goapele brings an infusion of fresh energy and a classic, yet new sound to R&B music with her sophomore set, Change It All.
The Oakland, California-based songstress broke onto the Bay Area music scene in 2001 with her ethereal EP, Closer, and the follow-up full length album, Even Closer. Released on her family-owned record company, Skyblaze Recordings, the album’s mix of soulful grooves and thought-provoking lyrics introduced the world to a multi-faceted artist and songwriter, known as much for her social and political activism as for her lush romantic ballads.
“I grew up,” Goapele explains, “inspired by a tradition of soulful singers like Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Bob Marley, and Miriam Makeba, people who created timeless music and positive change in the world. I’m also part of the hip hop generation, and my influences continue to grow, so my music has become a blend of many musical traditions.”
Critics from Rolling Stone, Billboard, Essence, Vibe, and a host of others, hailed the songstress as an emerging artist to watch and heralded Even Closer as an album that was ahead of its time. The inspiring title track, “Closer,” notched 1’s on radio playlists from San Francisco to LA to DC to Baton Rouge, and as of August, 2005, four years after its initial release, was 1 at the two largest urban stations in Detroit.
Goapele followed up the release of her album debut by hitting the road and taking her serene — yet inspiring — sound to the masses, both stateside and abroad. Time and again, the singer wowed sold-out crowds with her emotionally-powerful songs, energetic spirit, and electrifying shows.
While Goapele garnered the support of music critics and fans, a host of fellow musicians and celebrities–including The Roots, Talib Kweli, Magic Johnson, Prince and Stevie Wonder–came under the spell of her music, style and sensibility. “I’m very excited to get the support of artists I’ve long admired,” she says.
For her new album, Goapele returned to her Bay Area roots to craft an artistically challenging sophomore set inspired by her recent experiences both in and out of the industry. The album was recorded largely at her Skylight studios in Oakland with a combination of old friends Jeff Bhasker, Mike Tiger, and Amp Live, and fresh collaborators like the production team Sa-Ra Creative Partners (Jill Scott, Bilal), veteran producer Linda Perry (Pink, Christina Aguilera), Bay Area hip hop producer Bedrock (E-40, the Team) and fellow soulster Dwele.
“It was really important to me to work with the people who helped me with my first album,” Goapele says of her long-term and frequent collaborators. “We know where each other is coming from, so there’s already a strong foundation to create from. And we’ve all come along way since we made “Even Closer”. Jeff [Bhasker], for example, co-wrote and produced the title track of The Game’s album, ‘The Documentary,’ last year, so I was really excited to come back together in the studio with them and share our new skills and experience.”
The result is a collection of love songs and politically and socially inspired songs that remain true to Goapele’s firmly planted soul roots while allowing her to branch out in a number of exciting, new directions. Songs like the emotive “Darker Side Of The Moon” and “Love Me Right,” with its electro-pop funk, show Goapele taking aesthetic risks while staying true to her signature sound.
“What I am happy about was that I don’t feel like any of the collaborations were forced,” says Goapele. “They were connections that were already there, and we were just waiting for the right time to work together.”
Goapele collaborated with Linda Perry on “Darker Side Of The Moon,” a ballad that reflects her ability to travel far beyond the borders of traditional R&B while strengthening the core values of sweet soul music.
“I met Linda at one of my shows in LA,” says Goapele of the collaboration with Perry, “and we talked about the possibility of working together. Although I was a fan of her music, I really didn’t know how our styles would mesh, but I’m really proud of what we created together. ‘Darker Side’ was inspired by Pink Floyd, who I had recently become a fan of and had been a favorite of Linda’s for years.”
The granddaughter of German holocaust survivors and South African grandparents who lived through apartheid, Goapele knows the importance of giving back time, energy and resources to the community and the planet. “I’ve been involved in community organization since I was 10, so it’s naturally integrated into my music. One of the reasons I wanted to be a songwriter in the first place was so I could sing lyrics that I believed in and that come from my heart. I draw from my own experience and the experiences I’ve watched others go through. I want my music to truly represent me, instead of trying to fit stereotypes that women in this industry are encouraged to fit into.”
The title track, “Change It All,” started with a song idea,” says Goapele. “I was feeling disempowered and frustrated with the people who were elected in 2000, and then re-elected, and frustrated about the disappearing support for music and art and resources that are being taken away from our local communities in order to fund a war that many of us don’t believe in.”
In the spirit of Goapele’s interest in positive change, she and Skyblaze founded an online community that shares its name with her album. ChangeItAll.org presents Goapele’s musical message, highlights political and social change-makers, and provides a forum for Goapele’s fans and others to network and create ways to promote action, creativity, courage and positive growth for people and communities everywhere.
“In talking to the team at Skyblaze, we started thinking, ‘What if we used this opportunity to create a tool for other people to connect, ‘” she adds. “So, instead of looking at what’s wrong in the world, let’s look at what changes are already happening and use it as a way for people to organize around those things.”
For a singer whose name means ‘to move forward’ in Sitswana, a South African language, her new album, Change It All, proves that enlightened change can be a positive force in the world of music and beyond. Note: Goapele is pronounced Gwa-pa-lay.
Friday, April 22, and Sunday April 24, 2011 8:00 PM.
Friday, April 22, 2011 and
Tank is one of the most recognizable names in modern R&B, known for vivid storytelling and sensual love songs. He’s an icon in the making, with four albums and eight Grammy nominations under his belt. He’s also a singer who carries the torch of masters like Marvin Gaye and Al Green, while redefining R&B for a new decade. For singer/songwriter/producer Tank—about to release his Atlantic Records debut Now or Never, his first album in three years, and the one he describes as his most confident yet—the secret is simple. He remains true to who he is, as a man and an artist.
“My music is the real me,” says Tank. “I’ll either live by that or I’ll die by that in this business, but I’ve got to be me.” He’s famous for sexy yet relatable love songs that are at once thoroughly modern and yet steeped in the sounds of classic soul. Though fans know and love Tank for smash hits like “Maybe I Deserve” and “Please Don’t Go,” they may be surprised to learn that he is also behind such chart-toppers as Rubben Studdard’s “Change Me” and Omarion’s “O.” What’s more, Tank served as an associate member of the hit-making production team, The Underdogs, with further credits including the smash soundtrack to the 2006 musical film adaptation of Dreamgirls (in which he also made a cameo). Since releasing his previous album Sex, Love, & Pain in 2007, Tank took a moment to step out of the spotlight, but not necessarily out of the studio. He formed the Los Angeles-based production company Song Dynasty, and began shaping the sound of modern R&B with songs for a diverse roster of artists including Keyshia Cole, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, Chris Brown, and Keri Hilson. Though he has enjoyed crafting hits for these artists, Tank is ready to step into the spotlight yet again, and returns with an incredibly personal collection. “I put a lot of my personal business into my music because people relate to it. I sing based upon the things that I’ve been through. I don’t just sing about the pain, I sing about getting through it. Whether I’m singing about sex, relationships, or the occasional party, the songs are still about classic R&B themes.”
Poised to release his fourth studio album Now or Never, Tank is ready to share the intensely intimate themes his fans have come to love, even as he prepares to show an entirely new side of himself. “The sound of this new album is still the traditional R&B formula, but sonically it’s very current,” says Tank. His first single, “Sex Music,” perfectly illustrates his new sound. The high-energy track lives up to its name with a spacey, shuddering beat. Produced by Song Dynasty with Harvey Mason Jr. (Dreamgirls, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake), “Sex Music” is sure to appeal to die-hard Tank fans.
“We’re going to keep pressing forward with this R&B thing,” promises Tank. During the process of bringing Now or Never to life, he’s experimented with new technology and new collaborators, even as he explores the themes that have always moved him. “Emergency” is an emotional ballad with a sense of humor, comparing a woman’s desire to a four-alarm fire. “You Mean that Much” is a soaring, orchestral anthem. “Can I Make Love”, says Tank, “is self-explanatory… I’m known for having songs that give you an opportunity to not say much. All you need is a little eye contact, and it’s on.”
These timeless songs of love, lust, and loss take cinematic tone in the hands of Tank, as he crafts imagery that is uniquely tangible and real. Perhaps it’s his new love of acting that has deepened his storytelling. Tank recently graced the screen in The Preacher’s Kid, and he has been studying acting, though he promises that music will continue to be his first love. “We have to take this stand now because R&B is slowly becoming a lost art,” explains Tank. “R&B music is the thing that connects people.” Though he loves a fantasy party scene as much as any man, Tank writes about the real, everyday emotions and situations that people relate to because, as he says, “we’re meant to move people with this music, and I want to be part of that movement.”
It’s been an incredible journey since Tank was an undiscovered artist with a dream, penning “Maybe I Deserve” in the basement of his mother’s Maryland home, on “an MPC and two keyboards.” The single would go on to dominate urban radio in 2001, when Tank released his gold-certified debut album Force of Nature. Though he has enjoyed remarkable successes throughout his career, Tank considers Now or Never the album when “it all came together.” The title doesn’t just refer to the urgency he feels within R&B as a whole, but also the growth he’s done over the years as an artist. Now re-emerging with a new team and a renewed confidence in his music, Tank is ready to have these songs heard.
“Everything I’ve been through has prepared me for this moment right now. I’ve got a new deal, new energy and new people around who are just as excited about the album as I am. Everything I’ve learned over the years as a producer, writer and artist have gone into Now or Never.”
Tank – Emergency [Official Music Video]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xne4rHjL0k
A List Celebrities Comps for Kentucky Derby, May 5-7, 2011
If you are or have “A List” Celebrities that would like to attend the Kentucky Derby, May 5-7, 2011you may be able to attend as a select V.I.P. The “A Lister” could receive: air transportation or Private Jet service from major U. S. cities, hotel suites and accommodations, ground transportation, VIP tickets to the Derby, special V.I.P. guest invitations to the exclusive events,
Contact us ASAP with Celebrity bio for consideration.
Millionaires Row
Throughout the years of the Kentucky Derby, the race has had a special appeal to the celebrity set. The rich and famous that mingle among the Derby Day crowd add a unique dimension to the spectacle of the “Run for the Roses.”
One of the first celebrity sightings dates to 1877 when famed Polish actress Helena Modjeska attended the third running of the Kentucky Derby. In the 1945 book, Down the Stretch, it was noted that Modjeska was impressed by the Derby but even more charmed by the mint julep to which she was introduced by Churchill Downs founder M. Lewis Clark following the race.
Terrell “T.O.” Owens and Friends at the Derby
Over the years, a stream of celebrities from film, music, sports, politics and wealth have been drawn to the Derby. On at least one occasion, a celebrity with a more notorious background was the talk of the Derby. The 15th renewal in 1889 brought bank and train robber Frank James to Louisville. The brother of famed outlaw Jesse James and a leader in their outlaw gang, Frank was on hand to watch Spokane take the victory over favored Proctor Knott.
Although most of the rich and famous that attend are guests of prominent ticket holders, the Derby has also attracted an impressive roster of celebrity racehorse owners. The group has found that the thrill of running their horses in the Kentucky Derby is as moving as any accomplishment in their professional careers.
During the 1990s this group of celebrity owners grew to include: musician MC Hammer, 1992 Dance Floor, 3rd; composer Burt Bacharach, 1994 Soul of the Matter, 5th, and 1995 Afternoon Deelites, 8th; music producer Berry Gordy, 1994 Powis Castle, 8th; film producer Albert Broccoli, 1994 Brocco, 4th; New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, 1997 Concerto, 9th; and former NBA and current University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino, 1998 Halory Hunter, 4th, and 2001 A P Valentine, 7th.
A direct descendant of England’s Epsom Derby, the Kentucky Derby has been attended on four separate occasions by British royalty. The first came in 1930, when Edward George Villiers Stanley, the 17th Earl of Derby and a representative of the family from whom the term Derby was derived, became the first member of the English nobility to attend. Prohibition was in effect at the time and Lord Derby expressed his disappointment in not being able to sample a mint julep. “You have a great many advantages I should like to copy for England,” Derby said, “but prohibition is not one of them.” Derby was followed in 1951 by the Duke of Windsor, who had renounced the British throne in 1936 so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
Kid Rock & Crew at Derby
The 100th running of the Kentucky Derby in 1974 brought Princess Margaret and her husband, Lord Snowdon. The most recent visit by British royalty came in 2007, when Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II attended with her husband, Prince Philip.
Eight U.S. Presidents have witnessed the Derby and marveled at the pageantry and spectacle of the famed event. Future President Harry S. Truman was reported as the first and was followed in 1952 by Lyndon Johnson who attended as a Texas senator. In 2000, future President George W. Bush, who would win the election that same year, was on hand for the 126th running of the Derby with his father former President George Herbert Walker Bush. Only Richard M. Nixon attended while serving in office. He had visited in 1968 as guest of Kentucky Governor Louie B. Nunn and commented that if he was elected President he would return to the 1969 Derby. That year also attracted two future presidents Gerald R. Ford and Ronald Reagan. No other President has witnessed more Derbys than Ford. Beginning in 1977, Ford and his wife Betty attended almost every Derby for 10 years as guests of longtime friend John Galbreath, a former Churchill chairman of the board. In 1983, for the 109th Derby, two past Presidents and one future president were in attendance. Ford was joined by Jimmy Carter, the Democrat who had defeated him in 1976, and then Vice President George Bush, who would win the 1988 presidential election. In 1999, Al Gore joined the list of vice presidents that attended the Derby. That list includes: 1931, Charles Curtis; 1937, John Nance Garner; and 1958 Alben Barkley.
MAY-APRIL 2011 New Job Listings
Amsel, Eisenstadt & Frazier is currently expanding its adult theatrical department. We are seeking an experienced adult theatrical talent agent. The candidate should have at least 2 years’ experience as a sub-agent. No trainees or assistants. Our agency is seeking someone to expand on our already successful adult theatrical, youth, commercial and below the line departments. All inquiries are completely confidential. Please contact John Frazier at frazier@aeftalent.com.
Looking for motivated first assistant to established literary manager in Beverly Hills. All the usual assistant duties. Interest in becoming a manager a must. This is a promotion track job. Please email cover letter, resume, coverage sample and references to jobs@radmincompany.comwith subject line: Literary Assistant.
A leading Beverly Hills independent film company has a unique and exciting opportunity for someone with great administrative experience to assist the chairman of the company. The candidate must have a minimum of 2+ years relevant experience working with key players in the entertainment industry, including executives, producers and managers. This is an extremely busy desk and all candidates must have excellent written, oral & interpersonal communication skills. Ability to effectively prioritize with strong time management skills, follow up and ability to multitask. Salary is commensurate with experience and benefits included. Please email resume90210@gmail.com
A busy and growing talent and literary management company seeks a part-time assistant to start May 2nd. Duties include but are not limited to heavy phones, scheduling, organizing, helping with submissions, and other duties. Ideal candidate should be personable, able to multi-task, possess good communication skills, and be PC proficient. Great introduction to the representation side of the business. College degree required. Hours are weekdays 10AM-1PM & 3PM-6PM. One year commitment preferable. Salary to be discussed. Please email cover/resume toptasst2011@gmail.com
Busy talent manager with 14 clients and a number of other ventures seeks a trained, intelligent, type A assistant who is interested in managing actors, developing tv and film projects and a multi-tasker as well as a skilled communicator. Experience in rolling calls, scheduling and anticipating is preferred. Please contact us at assistus@ktmgmt.com.
Assistant to EVP of Production at a busy reality TV company. Ideal candidate has worked at a production company or agency. Person must have strong interpersonal skills and ability to juggle multiple tasks. Responsibilities include assistant duties, managing production office, and providing support to production staff. Technical knowledge of Mac products is required. Please send cover letter and resume to jobs@rrstaff.comwith “Assistant to EVP of Production” in subject line.
Independent television/film/digital production company seeks experienced executive assistant to partner of the company. Candidates must have 2-3 years’ experience supporting a senior level executive at studio/network/agency. Applicants should be extremely organized, detail-oriented, hardworking team players with excellent communication skills and a great attitude. Proficiency with Macs, iPads, Blackberry is necessary. Compensation is commensurate with experience. Please send resumes to careers@bermanbraun.comand write Executive Assistant in the subject line.
Award winning screenwriter and future director looking for intelligent, personable assistant to run their office. Applicants must have at least one year industry experience with references; have excellent phone, writing, and researching skills and be computer savvy. A strong ability to prioritize, multi task and organize a great advantage. Perfect position to see what it’s like from the creative side of the business. Please email resume to: omiohmyproductions@gmail.com, subject line to read “Assistant Position”
Santa Monica based TV Production Company seeks a professional administrative assistant with 3-5 years’ experience to work with two busy television executives. Applicant must be a motivated self-starter with exceptional people skills. Must have excellent written and organizational skills and be proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Administrative duties will include scheduling meetings, maintaining calendars, handling incoming calls, arranging travel and managing correspondence. Looking for a team player who can thrive in a fast paced work environment! Please send resume and cover letter to: agoodproduction@yahoo.com
A talent management company seeks an organized and self-motivated assistant to one of the
Categories: African-American, Art, Books, broadcast media, Business, civil rights, commercial advertisements, Corruption, cronyism, Education, Entertainment, Events, Family, Fashion, Food, Friends, History, Humor, Inspiration, Law, Life, Love, Movies, Music, muslims, News, People, persecution, Personal, Photography, Poetry, Politics, radio, television, US Attorney . Tags: & Pain, (510) 394-4101, 1330 Fillmore Street, 15th renewal, 1877, 1889, 1945, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 510 Embarcadero W, 8:00pm, 94115, 94607, a ballad, a celebrity, a fan, a four-alarm fire, a host of, A List, A List Celebrities, A Lister, a new team, a positive force, a sense of humor, a singer, a soaring, a South African language, a way for people to organize, Aaron, abroad, accommodations, activism, actress, adaptation, aesthetic, ahead of its time, air transportation, Al Green, album, album debut, All you need is a little eye contact, Amp Live, an album, an artist, an emotional ballad, an icon, an online, an online community, and produced, anthem, apartheid, appeal to, April 22, April 24, artist, artistically, as a man, as a producer, as a whole, as an artist, ASAP, assistance, assists, associate member, Atlantic Records, attend, August, awarded, background, ballads, bank and train robber, based, Baton Rouge, Bay Area, Bay Area hip hop, Bay Area roots, beat, 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S. cities, under his belt, underground, undiscovered artist, unique, uniquely tangible and real, urban, urban radio, used this opportunit, V.I.P., veteran producer, via, Vibe, victory over favored, VIP Access, VIP tickets, vivid storytelling, Wallace, watch, wealth, we’re meant to move people with this music, Website, Websites, what changes are already happening, what’s wrong in the world, with a dream, within R&B, working together, would go on, wowed, writer and artist, writes about the real, yet inspiring, Yoshi's, Yoshi's Oakland, Yoshi's San Francisco, You Mean that Much . Author: nowtruth . Comments: Leave a comment
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Tag Archives: Cracker
Audiophile, vinyl
Cracker • Kerosene Hat [2LP]
Well, that’s mighty, errr, low… No 25th anniversary celebration for CRACKER’s sophomore album, Kerosene Hat? The one that spawned their biggest hit, errr, “Low”? Not quite. It’s true that the band left their original (major) label, Virgin Records, in much less than amicable circumstances, so I assume the acrimony left the label’s current corporate overlords (Universal Music) unmotivated to do anything, as I assume Cracker themselves were. So, has anything been done to fête their (second) greatest album? Well, yes.
Leave it to Music On Vinyl out of the Netherlands to do it. Their 2LP, 180 gram release of Kerosene Hat is actually the first-ever vinyl pressing of the album (outside of a super rare Greek issue from ’93). Originally released mainly on CD and cassette, the album was their big ’90s breakthrough, with the hit “Low” and numerous other great “alternative” rock tunes, like “Get Off This” and my personal favorite, “Movie Star.” What’s cool about this reissue is that they didn’t try to cram the twelve songs from the album onto one record. Instead, MOV spread the dozen tunes over three sides and used side four for the “bonus” tracks that were buried on the original CD. Those songs, including the excellent “Euro-Trash Girl” and “I Ride My Bike,” were tucked away among dozens of silent :04 second tracks that were designed to confound listeners. (The CD has 99 tracks on it, only 16 of which have music; these four songs are numbers 15, 69, 88 and 99 and all the rest after number 12 are blank.) I have a few other vinyl pressings from this label – Elvis Costello’s Brutal Youth and Iggy Pop’s Party – and they’re uniformly excellent. I don’t know whether this mastering job came from the original (maybe analog) master tapes, but regardless, the sound of this Kerosene Hat is worth putting on.
Cracker, the followup band to David Lowery’s indie/college rock group Camper Van Beethoven, took a more hard rock approach to the humorous tunes that he wrote. The band was/is of your twoguitarsbassanddrums variety, unlike CVB who augmented their arrangements with East European influences carried out by violin on wacky instrumentals and funny, catchy songs like “Take the Skinheads Bowling” and “Where the Hell Is Bill.” The fiddle wasn’t part of Cracker’s instrumentation so the sound was tougher and just right for the early ’90s, just before grunge was coined and gave birth to a thousand crummy, angsty bands. Kerosene Hat was the followup to Cracker’s eponymous debut album, which had a few minor college radio hits on it (“Happy Birthday to Me,” for instance). This 2LP vinyl reissue is a great way to enjoy the album a quarter of a century later.
4/5 (Music On Vinyl MOVLP 2091, 1993/2018)
Tagged Cracker, David Lowery
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Reuters/Kyodo
Niijima on November 21
That island that erupted off Japan’s coast last month isn’t just sitting there—it’s growing
By Newley Purnell December 19, 2013
Small islands created by undersea volcanos often slip back into the sea as they’re eroded by waves, or simply sink under their own weight. Not so, however, for Niijima, a new islet that sprung to life late last month off the coast of Japan—and has continued to grow ever since. New images from Nasa show the islet 600 miles south of Tokyo has grown to nearly 14 acres (56,656 square meters) and is standing tall, jutting some 65 to 80 feet above the water.
https://twitter.com/The_Japan_News/status/407478563198083073
Scientists at first thought little Niijima was destined to wash away like similarly formed volcanic islands in the Red Sea and off Pakistan. But the islet’s increasingly sizable dimensions indicate it isn’t going away anytime soon.
Japan Coast Guard
Niijima on December 13, a few weeks after its eruption
Indeed, the volcanic rumblings have continued, with rising steam visible in recent videos. ”We are still seeing a wisp of smoke and some ash coming from the islet, and occasionally there is lava belching forth, so the islet may grow even bigger,” Tomoyuki Kano, of Japan’s meteorological agency, told AFP. In fact, Niijima has a similarly resilient—and larger—neighbor less than half a mile away: a volcanic island called Nishino-shima, which last erupted in 1974.
Interestingly, Niijima’s birth comes against a backdrop of territorial tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over islands in the East China Sea. Though Niijima is clearly in Japanese waters, its emergence has led some Japanese ministers to joke about an expansion of the country’s territorial waters.
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Mukul Kesavan, as many of you may know is a brilliant writer who writes on various issues dealing with India as whole. I wanted to quote his article in this post on his unique take on the tragedy in Mumbai. Here Goes:
WE, THE PEOPLE
– The Mumbai tragedy and the English language news media
Mukul Kesavan
“Go to the Four Seasons and look down from the top floor at the slums around you. Do you know what flags you will see? Not the Congress’s, not the BJP’s, not the Shiv Sena’s. Pakistan! Pakistani flags fly high!… You know what I think? We should carpet-bomb Pakistan. That’s the only way we can give a clear message.”
Simi Garewal later apologized for this little outburst on the television show, We, the People. She said she had mistaken Muslim flags for Pakistani ones. She had a harder time explaining away her ‘carpet bombing’ prescription. She claimed that she had meant to suggest a covert attack like the below-the-radar missions Americans so often undertake in Pakistan’s borderlands. Carpet-bombing is hard to do discreetly, but we shouldn’t make too much of this because the point isn’t Simi Garewal and her gaffe: it’s the way the English language news media covered the Mumbai tragedy.
The idiom of the coverage of the terror attack on Mumbai was in part shaped by the need to say something, anything, in the face of horror and evil. The need to voice not just their own feelings but the need to be a proxy for the People, to anticipate and echo a public revulsion, seemed to overwhelm reporters and studio anchors.
The wild-eyed animation with which they spoke seemed prompted by the belief that calm, even lucidity, was an inappropriate response to tragedy. Barkha Dutt’s agitation as she reported from sites attacked by the terrorists was so extreme that on occasion she seemed to hyper-ventilate on camera. Further away from the tragedy, in a studio, Arnab Goswami ratcheted up the hectoring self-righteousness that has come to define his manner, as he and Times TV seek to position the channel as India’s answer to Fox News.
Rajdeep Sardesai managed to be composed, compassionate and knowledgeable at Hemant Karkare’s funeral, but CNN IBN made up for that later by framing their reports on the terror strikes in gory graphics that could have been borrowed from the credits of a Ramsay Brothers horror movie. With the reporters, the excitement was understandable: it’s hard to be calm with bombs going off, bullets flying about and a landmark building burning in front of you. But there were aspects of the coverage that didn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt.
During the crisis, the foregrounding of the Taj was inevitable. It was the site of the longest battle and the hideous drama of its near-destruction was bound to be framed by any sensible cameraman. But it’s still worth making the point Shyam Benegal made, that the dozens of people killed in VT (or CST) station and their grieving relatives and friends got very little screen time. When VT figured in the coverage, it was there for CCTV grabs of the T-shirted terrorist.
The Taj, we were told over and over again, is an ‘iconic’ building. I think we can say without controversy that Victoria Terminus is much the greater landmark both architecturally and in terms of the number of people who pass through it. It may not be ‘home’ to them, in the way that the Taj clearly was for the many fluent habitués of South Mumbai who filed past the cameras of the English news channels, but more Mumbaikars have taken trains to and from VT than have sampled the hospitality of the Taj. And yet we didn’t have people on television reminiscing about the station and what it meant to them, that storied building that has been the beginning and the end of a billion journeys. Even the details of the killing, the alertness of the public address system operator who had platforms cleared and thus minimized the carnage, trickled out later, as the platform tragedy that had happened was eclipsed by the hotel tragedy that was still ‘breaking news’.
I can’t remember the last time that social class so clearly defined the coverage of a public event, or one in which people spoke so unselfconsciously from their class positions. The English news channels became mega-churches in which hotel-going Indians found catharsis and communion. Person after person claimed the Taj as home. Memories of courtship, marriage, celebration, friendship, the quick coffee, the saved-up-for snack, the sneaked lavatory visit, came together to frame the burning Taj in a halo of affection.
The novelist, Aravind Adiga, said in an interview with the BBC: “One of the differences between India and other countries is that a lot of our civic space is contained within the five-star hotels. They have a different function here for us, they are places where marriages happen, where people of all economic backgrounds go for a coffee. For the Taj Mahal to be attacked is somewhat like the town hall being attacked in some other place… .” I’d wager that 99 per cent of VT’s commuters haven’t seen the inside of the Sea Lounge. Whatever else they are, five-star establishments in India are not democratic civic spaces. Few Mumbaikars think the Taj Mahal Hotel is their city’s hôtel de ville.
The Trident, being less ‘iconic’, didn’t get quite the same attention as the Taj, but it wasn’t left out. Shekhar Gupta used his column on the edit-page of the Indian Express to write a thousand-word homage to the Trident. This included descriptions of his sleeping preferences, the number of nights he had logged at the Trident and the considerateness of the hotel staff.
This takes us back to that third hotel, the one we began with, back to Simi Garewal on the top floor of the Four Seasons, looking down at the slums below her, aflutter with sinister flags. Forget the fact that she mistook Islamic flags for Pakistani ones; anyone can make a mistake, and she’s apologized for hers. What’s interesting here is the lack of embarrassment with which she pictures herself and people-like-her staring down disapprovingly from a great, air-conditioned height at hovels and squalor.
Usually, privileged English-speaking Indians have the tact to be politically correct in their public statements; but in the middle of terror and tragedy, the sense of social self-preservation that keeps them from crassness, disappears. “Go to the Four Seasons and look down from the top floor at the slums around you.” That ‘you’ is us: Telegraph-reading, hotel-going people, who, in the heat of the moment and because of the death of people we know (or know of), become the world.
English and American papers treated the terror attack as an assault on the West. The terrorists had, after all, specifically looked for American and British citizens to murder. Ironically, even as NDTV, CNN-IBN and Times Now put hotel guests at the heart of the horror and bumped train commuters to its periphery, older English-speaking peoples counted their dead and dimly regretted all Indian casualties as collateral damage. In that residual category, if nowhere else, the Indian dead remained one People.”
Source: Telegraph India
Tags: America, Barkha Dutt, BJP, CNN IBN, CST, Four Seasons, Hemant Karkare, Mukul kesavan, Mumbai, Pakistan, Rajdeep Sardesai, Shekar Gupta, Simi Garewal, Taj, Telegraph, Trident, We the People
Categories : People
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Lip Clear Lysine+ / Super Lysine+ cold sore study published in Alternative Medicine Review
View and download the LipClear Lysine Study PDF
A study published in the Alternative Medicine Review shows that Super Lysine+ topical ointment healed colds sores faster than leading OTC and prescription brands costing 3 to 5 times more. Median healing time was just 4.0 days. Within three days, the formula either completely eliminated or dramatically reduced cold sore symptoms, including tingling, burning, itching, tenderness, prickling, soreness and blistering. In addition, a remarkable 40% of the participants had full cure by end of the third day.
Cold sore sufferers using the topical ointment healed more quickly and experienced significantly reduced symptoms according to a study from Southern California University of Health Sciences published this week in the peer reviewed journal, Alternative Medicine Review (Volume 10, No. 2). That's good news for the 60 million people with active cold sores.
"The formula reduced the duration of cold sore symptoms by 50% or more when compared to untreated cold sore data". said Betsy Singh, PhD, the University's Dean of Research. The median healing time was 4.0 days - 1/2 to 1 full day shorter than in the studies on the leading prescription and OTC brands which cost 3 to 5 times more.
The study was co-authored by Jay Udani, MD, Medical Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at Northridge Hospital, Assistant Clinical Professor at the UCLA / Geffen School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Research at SCU.
The study, Safety and Effectiveness of an L-Lysine, Zinc, and Herbal-Based Product on the Treatment of Facial and Circumoral Herpes, also showed that within three days, SUPER LYSINE+ either completely eliminated or dramatically reduced cold sore symptoms, including tingling, burning, itching, tenderness, prickling, soreness and blistering. In addition, a remarkable 40% of the participants had full cure by end of the third day. No adverse effects were reported.
The SUPER LYSINE+ formula includes a proprietary blend of L-Lysine and 14 nutrients, (natural Zinc Oxide, Vitamins A, D and E, extracts of Goldenseal, Propolis, Calendula, Echinacea; Cajeput and Tea Tree Oil, and Gum Benzoin Tincture, Honey and Lithium Carbonate in a base of Olive Oil and Yellow Beeswax). For more information visit www.quantumhealth.com or call 1-800-448-1448.
According to the researchers, participants commented that the formula provided a superior experience compared to other formulas; it was invisible, could be worn under lipstick, did not burn when applied, and provided immediate relief.
This open label outcome study measured time to full cure as well as ten common symptoms. Full cure referred to the complete disappearance of the lesion, not merely crusting, the end point in most studies (crusting may take 2 to 7 more days to disappear). The ten factors for monitoring the sores were: tingling, itching, burning, tenderness, prickling, soreness, bump/swelling, small blister(s), oozing blister(s), and crusting. 120 subjects pre-enrolled and 30 subjects, half male/female, 28 to 65, participated. All subjects were experienced cold sores sufferers and were familiar with other treatments and their efficacy.
Cold sores are small blisters that form around the mouth that are clear and filled with fluid. Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus which lives inside nerve tissue. It is estimated that 80% of the population carry the virus and 60 million people have outbreaks once or more per year. Cold sores are also known as Herpes Simplex or HSV1 (not the same as genital herpes) and may be referred to as fever blisters. Cold sores can be triggered by sunlight, fever, illness, stress, arginine rich foods such as chocolate, food allergies or hormonal changes. Early symptoms of an outbreak are itching, tingling or a burning sensation. Cold sores are contagious and can be spread by kissing or sharing eating utensils, toothbrushes, towels or razors.
Safety and Effectiveness of an L-Lysine, Zinc, and Herbal-Based Product on the Treatment of Facial and Circumoral Herpes
CONTEXT: L-lysine, an essential amino acid, inhibits normal replication of Herpes simplex virus (HSV), shortening the normal course and duration of the disease. This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a combination of L-lysine with botanicals and other nutrients in relieving the symptoms of facial and circumoral herpes. METHODS: This small pilot study was conducted using an outcome (open-label) model. Thirty male and female participants (15 in each group) meeting the inclusion/exclusion criteria were admitted to the study. The 10 outcome measures used to monitor the sores were tingling, itching, burning, tenderness, prickling, soreness, bump/swelling, small blister(s), oozing blister(s), and crusting, as well as before-and-after photographs of the lesion, and a daily diary. RESULTS: At the end of treatment the ointment produced full resolution in 40 percent of the participants by the third day and in 87 percent by the end of the sixth day. A cold sore episode may last up to 21 days without treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Overall data indicated significant improvement in participants by the sixth day of treatment for all but two participants. There were no adverse effects reported during this study. (Altern Med Rev 2005;10(2))
Authored By: Betsy B. Singh, PhD; Jay Udani, MD; Sivarama Prasad Vinjamury, MD (Ayurveda); Claudia Der-Martirosian, PhD; Sonal Gandhi, MD; Raheleh Khorsan, MA; Dinesha Nanjegowda, PhD; and Vijay Singh, PsyD (Candidate)
Quantum Health - Natural Products That Make a Difference - Quantum is a natural product company founded in 1982 that specializes in unique formulations designed to help people feel and look their best. Key categories include cold sore, and canker sore treatments, cold and flu relief, natural insect repellents, skin care and immune support. Based in Eugene, OR, Quantum Health makes over 45 products which are distributed throughout the United States and Canada and on the Internet. For more information, call toll-free at 1-800-448-1448 or visit www.quantumhealth.com
Alternative Medicine Review, published quarterly since 1996 by Thorne Research, is a peer reviewed journal that is considered to be a premiere resource for clinically valuable information, studies and breakthroughs in the field of alternative medicine science. The publication is indexed in Medline, Embase (the premier European medical database), Cinahl (a U.S. database for nurses and other allied health professionals), and Index Medicus. Alternative Medicine Review publishes original research, literature reviews, editorial comment, monographs, and book reviews. The Review's editorial board is comprised of forty international physicians and is edited by Dr. Kathleen A. Head.
BETSY B. SINGH, PhD.
Professor and Dean of Research, Southern California University of Health Sciences
Dr. Singh has over 20 years experience as a teacher and researcher with various universities in both academic and medical departments, including her former position as Director of Research, Program in Complementary Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, an NIH-funded site. Formerly, she was a Director of an Organized Research Unit for the UMD School of Medicine where her research group included to 80 persons including field staff in order to participate in dozens of research projects per annum. She is also chair of the Research Oversite Committee for the government funded project to assess the effect of vitamin and mineral supplementation for at-risk children.
Dr. Singh won the Research Excellence Award (Sept. 2002 and 2003) and the Blood of the Turnip Award (Sept. 2002) for work above and beyond the call of duty. She is an editor for Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine (5\1\98 - 1/1/03), formerly on the advisory board (7\97 - 5\1\98) returned as of 1/1/03, and reviews for other journals as well. She also serves on the scientific review committee for the Consortial Center for Chiropractic Research [CCCR] (5/98) funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM/NIH). She is a member of the Homeopathic Pharmeacopia of the U.S. (HPCUS), an oversight committee for Homeopathy. She is affiliated with the Center for Complementary Health Care and a member of the Geriatrics Program, University of California, Irvine. She serves as an advisor to RAND for the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) sponsored Evidence-Based practice Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She has been Principal Investigator (PI), Co-Investigator, or Methodologist on a variety of grants in both complementary and conventional medicine.
JAY UDANI, MD
Medical Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at Northridge Hospital, Assistant Clinical Professor at the UCLA / Geffen School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Research at Southern California University of Health Sciences.
Dr. Udani is a board certified Internist who was the Chief Resident of Internal Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and was the first Fellow in Integrative Medicine at Cedars Sinai. He has published over 25 book chapters and articles on Integrative Medicine in many prestigious medical journals including the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Dr. Udani is also the recipient of the AMA National Achievement Award, the Harvard Medical School Research Fellowship Award, and was voted Best Physician Specialist and Best Medical Speaker in Los Angeles by the Daily News. Dr. Udani is formally trained in Acupuncture, Herbal therapies, Functional Medicine, Nutritional Supplements, and limited homeopathy. In addition, Dr. Udani has completed a fellowship in Health Services Research and Outcomes Research with experience in systematic reviews and clinical trials. He was among the first Physicians in the country to become a Certified Physician Investigator for Clinical Trials through the American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians. Dr. Udani is on the leadership council of the board of directors of the San Fernando Valley Chapters of the American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society.
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From the ‘I’ to the ‘We’: Discourse ethics, identity and the pragmatics of partnership in the west of Scotland
Darryl Gunson, Charles Collins
In Habermas's formal-pragmatic theory of discourse a rational (emancipated) society will be one which tends towards institutionalizing procedures characteristic of an ideal speech situation. Particular strategic interests are to be subsumed, for the purposes of rational discussion of social ends, in a larger process of rational will formation. This involves a movement from the I or the Us of the particular individual or group interest, to the we of the general interest. The problem of institutionalizing the procedures which are to facilitate such a movement raises two sets of questions. The first is to do with formal procedures and invites us to “measure the gap” between the ideal and the actual. However, the problem of institutionalization requires also that we explain this outcome, and seek to identify obstacles to the desired movement. This second question of explanation raises issues to do with the social identities of participants in the process. This paper seeks to address both of these questions in the context of one, at least apparent, attempt to institutionalize procedures similar to those advocated by Habermas in our locality.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.1997.tb00154.x
group interest
Discourse Ethics
Gunson, D., & Collins, C. (1997). From the ‘I’ to the ‘We’: Discourse ethics, identity and the pragmatics of partnership in the west of Scotland. Communication Theory, 7(4), 278-300. [1]. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.1997.tb00154.x
Gunson, Darryl ; Collins, Charles. / From the ‘I’ to the ‘We’ : Discourse ethics, identity and the pragmatics of partnership in the west of Scotland. In: Communication Theory. 1997 ; Vol. 7, No. 4. pp. 278-300.
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title = "From the ‘I’ to the ‘We’: Discourse ethics, identity and the pragmatics of partnership in the west of Scotland",
abstract = "In Habermas's formal-pragmatic theory of discourse a rational (emancipated) society will be one which tends towards institutionalizing procedures characteristic of an ideal speech situation. Particular strategic interests are to be subsumed, for the purposes of rational discussion of social ends, in a larger process of rational will formation. This involves a movement from the I or the Us of the particular individual or group interest, to the we of the general interest. The problem of institutionalizing the procedures which are to facilitate such a movement raises two sets of questions. The first is to do with formal procedures and invites us to “measure the gap” between the ideal and the actual. However, the problem of institutionalization requires also that we explain this outcome, and seek to identify obstacles to the desired movement. This second question of explanation raises issues to do with the social identities of participants in the process. This paper seeks to address both of these questions in the context of one, at least apparent, attempt to institutionalize procedures similar to those advocated by Habermas in our locality.",
author = "Darryl Gunson and Charles Collins",
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Gunson, D & Collins, C 1997, 'From the ‘I’ to the ‘We’: Discourse ethics, identity and the pragmatics of partnership in the west of Scotland' Communication Theory, vol. 7, no. 4, 1, pp. 278-300. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.1997.tb00154.x
From the ‘I’ to the ‘We’ : Discourse ethics, identity and the pragmatics of partnership in the west of Scotland. / Gunson, Darryl; Collins, Charles.
In: Communication Theory, Vol. 7, No. 4, 1, 1997, p. 278-300.
T1 - From the ‘I’ to the ‘We’
T2 - Discourse ethics, identity and the pragmatics of partnership in the west of Scotland
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AB - In Habermas's formal-pragmatic theory of discourse a rational (emancipated) society will be one which tends towards institutionalizing procedures characteristic of an ideal speech situation. Particular strategic interests are to be subsumed, for the purposes of rational discussion of social ends, in a larger process of rational will formation. This involves a movement from the I or the Us of the particular individual or group interest, to the we of the general interest. The problem of institutionalizing the procedures which are to facilitate such a movement raises two sets of questions. The first is to do with formal procedures and invites us to “measure the gap” between the ideal and the actual. However, the problem of institutionalization requires also that we explain this outcome, and seek to identify obstacles to the desired movement. This second question of explanation raises issues to do with the social identities of participants in the process. This paper seeks to address both of these questions in the context of one, at least apparent, attempt to institutionalize procedures similar to those advocated by Habermas in our locality.
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Gunson D, Collins C. From the ‘I’ to the ‘We’: Discourse ethics, identity and the pragmatics of partnership in the west of Scotland. Communication Theory. 1997;7(4):278-300. 1. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.1997.tb00154.x
The UWS Academic Portal contact form
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Instruments you may see at Rosewood gigs
The three members of Rosewood have have been performers on the folk scene for some years and have played at major UK folk festivals as well as on the club circuit. They also play or have played in Bof! and The Hosepipe Band.
The trio is based in East Anglia and most of their bookings have been in the south and east of the country. However, they are happy to travel anywhere in the country to play at clubs or festivals.
Rosewood sing and play traditional and contemporary songs and instrumentals, some of which they have written themselves. Their unique features are the variety of their source material and the range of instruments they play. Depending on venues these may include bandoneon, hammered dulcimer, bagpipes, bouzouki, concertina and deskbells.
Rosewood are now also available to play for French and Breton dances and can offer workshops in French/Breton dances and music.
The members of Rosewood are:
Val Woollard
Bagpipes, Recorder, Flute, Hammered dulcimer, Desk Bells, Saxophone, Vocals
Guitar, Ukulele, Bouzouki, Vocals
Simon Haines
Melodeons, Concertina, Bandoneon, Vocals
The band’s 13-track CD, Rife & Strife & Mirth & Fun is available HERE
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Poll RPG: The Hallston Palace
"I would like to see the palace," Smoke admitted, even if she did expect to be in Hallston for a while and there was no urgency.
With an unselfconscious ease, Corydalis slid open the panel at the front of the floater and requested the driver detour to circle the palace. "To the left, if you please," he added, before sitting back. To Smoke, he continued, "There are tours of the public areas of the palace interior a few times a week, if you decide you'd like a closer look. But the exterior is worth seeing too."
The Hallston palace encompassed a full city block, and had a grandeur unlike the houses of the nobility around it. It was a feat of combined architecture and enchantment. It was all in alabaster white, faintly iridescent and illuminated by bright rows of light globes along its trim. Its wings rose to either side of the main building, in smooth arcs over private gardens. The glass bottoms of the wings cast light into the gardens. The grounds were a fanciful menagerie of plants, bushes, and flowers sculpted into the shapes of mythical animals, as well as suggesting the mysterious cliffs and exotic locales where such creatures might be found. Smoke pressed against the glass of her window to take it in: Corydalis's request to the driver meant the palace was on her side of the floater, rather than his. "Oh, it's marvelous! Is the Ruler in residence now? Is it as improbable on the inside as the out, or does it look like a place where people live?"
"The Ruler is not in residence at this time. I believe they are due next in a few weeks. The private quarters look like a place where people live. The public tours of the inside are just as unlikely as the exterior. It's a work of art."
Smoke glanced over her shoulder at him. "Have you seen the private quarters, Master Corydalis?"
"A couple of times. As assistant, not guest; I helped with the preparations for one of their majesty's private events."
Smoke raised her eyebrows. "You must have an interesting employment history, sir." She sat back in her seat as the floater completed the circuit of the palace and continued on its way to the restaurant.
The black draka shrugged. "No more so than anyone else, I should think. Did you train as an enchanter at a young age, Master Smoke?"
"At fourteen, yes. That was a normal age of apprenticeship when I was young." The normal age had been twelve, actually, though by law apprenticeships didn't start until sixteen now. Autumn was eighteen and Walnut seventeen. "I've never held a job out of the field." Smoke changed the subject quickly, before he could ask for more details. "Do you have family in Hallston?"
"My youngest daughter is an adjunct at Hallston University, and so busy that I only see her a little more often than her two older siblings," he said, with a wry smile. "I didn't grow up in the area, but I've lived here for the last thirty years."
"No spouses...?" Smoke asked, both curious and cautious of prying.
A shake of his head made a stray lock of gold hair fall across one eye. "My former wife and I divorced eight years ago. You?"
"My wife passed away two years ago," Smoke answered, wistful.
"Ah, my apologies. I am sorry for your loss."
"It's fine. I raised the subject." She smiled at him. "I have two grown children, too. A master goldsmith and a bookbinder. I still miss my wife, but I've no regrets."
"As it should be." The floater arrived at the Curry This, and Corydalis helped her out with a natural grace. He offered his arm, and they walked in together.
View poll: #18426
Tags: #18426, gaming, pollrpg
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Tag Archives: ACE
Remembering industry icon Norm Hollyn
Norman Hollyn passed away this week. A film editor, music editor and teacher, probably the best way to describe him is beloved. Since the news broke of his sudden death while lecturing in Japan, there has been an unending outpouring of love and respect for the man who edited Sophie’s Choice and Heathers.
We, at postPerspective, want to pay tribute to Norm by sharing just a few memories from those who knew and loved him.
“Ten years ago, I was working on one of my first large, public technology presentations. I was passed Norman Hollyn’s name as a good resource. We had never heard of one another let alone met one another. Nevertheless, he gave over an hour of his time on a Sunday afternoon to talk with me. The time he spent with me — a stranger seeking knowledge — is the embodiment of who Norman was as a human and educator. This one talk evolved into one of the most rewarding and important friendships I’ve ever had.
“As profoundly sad as I am, I take solace in the fact that if his friendship meant this much to me, how important was his impact to the tens of thousands of people around the world that he inspired, educated and — yes — friended? Then I smile, because I know he’d have some self-deprecating quip ready as a retort.
“I know when someone passes, it’s common to remind folks to tell the ones they care about that they are loved. In this case, I humbly ask that you reach out to your educators — the ones that inspire(d) you, made you a better person, and a student of the world.” — Michael Kammes, BeBop Technologies
“Norm was not just a really good guy who gave so much back to the community. He was also a friend. What I will miss the most is his sharp New York wit. When he would sit on Editors’ Lounge panels, and also moderate some of them, he could be counted on to keep things snappy and humorous. We enjoyed the challenge of busting each other’s chops and then going out for a drink afterwards. He has left a very large hole in our community, and a hollow place in my heart.” — Terry Curren, AlphaDogs/Editor’s Lounge
“I had the good fortune to first meet Norman about 20 years ago. He was always eager to share his knowledge and did so in a most caring way. When we first met, he handed me his book; then years later, as the digital age solidified, he handed me a revised copy! A lot of people in our industry claim to have written the handbook for post production, but Norman actually did. His passion and excitement for all things post was infectious, and I, like all who got the chance to know him, are better because of our experiences with him. He will be missed.” — Mark Kaplan, Technicolor Production Services
“I’m feeling so comforted by reading the hundreds of stories and tributes about the wonderful Norman Hollyn. His life and interactions with those around him were uplifting, and the lessons he taught went beyond film, and encompassed friendship, mentoring, humor and inclusion. We will all continue to be inspired by him for the rest of our lives and I’m forever grateful. Thank you, Norm!” — Jenni McCormick, American Cinema Editors
The joke was: “You would say, ‘He couldn’t carry my scissors’ when you were talking about someone you didn’t think had the talent. Norm could carry all our scissors!” — Herb Dow, ACE
In honor of Norm, LinkedIn and Lynda.com have made his LinkedIn Learning course, Foundations of Video: the Art of Editing, available free for an entire month.
And if you want some Norm wisdom, here he is talking to our Barry Goch at last year’s HPA Tech Retreat.
Main Image Courtesy of Editor’s Lounge.
This entry was posted in In Memory Of and tagged ACE, American Cinema Editors, editing, Norman Hollyn on March 21, 2019 by Randi Altman.
Editor Paul Zucker on cutting Hotel Artemis
By Zack Wolder
The Drew Pearce-directed Hotel Artemis is a dark action-thriller set in a riot-torn Los Angeles in the not-too-distant future. What is the Hotel Artemis? It’s a secret members-only hospital for criminals run by Jodie Foster with the help of David Bautista. The film boasts an impressive cast that also includes Sterling K. Brown, Jeff Goldblum, Charlie Day, Sofia Boutella and Jennie Slate.
Hotel Artemis editor Paul Zucker, ACE, has varied credits that toggle between TV and film, including Trainwreck, This is 40, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Girls, Silicon Valley and many others.
We recently reached out to Zucker, who worked alongside picture editor Gardner Gould, to talk about his process on the film.
Paul Zucker and adorable baby.
How did you get involved in this film?
This was kind of a blind date set-up. I wasn’t really familiar with Drew, and it was a project that came to me pretty late. I think I joined about a week, maybe two, before production began. I was told that they were in a hurry to find an editor. I read the script, I interviewed with Drew, and that was it.
How long did it take to complete the editing?
About seven months.
How involved were you throughout the whole phase of production? Were you on set at all?
I wasn’t involved in pre-production, so I wasn’t able to participate in development of the script or anything like that, but as soon as the camera started rolling I was cutting. Most of the film was shot on stages in downtown LA, so I would go to set a few times, but most of the time there was enough work to do that I was sequestered in the edit room and trying to keep up with camera.
I’m an editor who doesn’t love to go to set. I prefer to be uninfluenced by whatever tensions, or lack of tensions, are happening on set. If a director has something he needs me for, if it’s some contribution he feels I can make, I’m happy, able and willing to participate in shot listing, blocking and things like that, but on this movie I was more valuable putting together the edit.
Did you have any specific deadlines you had to meet?
On this particular movie there was a higher-than-average number of requests from director Drew Pearce. Since it was mostly shot on stages, he was able to re-shoot things a little easier than you would if we were on location. So it became important for him to see the movie sooner rather than later.
A bunch of movies ago, I adopted a workflow of sending the director whatever I had each Friday. I think it’s healthy for them to see what they’re working on. There’s always the chance that it will influence the work they’re doing, whether it’s performance of the actors or the story or the script or really anything.
As I understand it from the directors I’ve worked for, seeing the editor’s cut can be the worst day of the process for them. Not because of the quality of the editing, but because it’s hard in that first viewing to look past all the things that they didn’t get on set. Its tough to not just see the mistakes. Which is totally understandable. So I started this strategy of easing them into it. I just send scenes; I don’t send them in sequence. By the time they get to the editors cut, they’ve seen most of the scenes, so the shock is lessened and hopefully that screening is more productive
Do you ever get that sense that you may be distracting them or overwhelming them with something?
Yes, sometimes. A couple of pictures ago, I did my normal thing — sending what I had on a Friday — and the director told me he didn’t want to watch them. For him, issues of post were a distraction while he was in production. So to each his own.
Drew Pearce certainly benefitted. Drew was the type of director who, if I sent it at 9pm, he would be watching it at 9:05pm, and he would be giving me notes at 10:05pm.
Are you doing temp color and things like that?
Absolutely. I do as much as the footage I’m given requires. On this particular movie, the cinematographer, the DIT and the lab were so dialed in that these were the most perfect-looking dailies I think I’ve ever gotten. So I had to do next to nothing. I credit DP Chung-Hoon Chung for that. Generally, if I’m getting dailies that are mismatched in color tone, I’m going to do whatever it takes to smooth it out. Nothing goes in front of the director until it’s had a hardcore sound and color pass. I am always trying to leave as little to the imagination as possible. I try to present something that is as close to the experience that the audience will have when they watch the movie. That means great color, great sound, music, all of that.
Do you ever provide VFX work?
Editorial is typically always doing simple VFX work like split-screens, muzzle-flashes for guns, etc. Those are all things that we’re really comfortable doing.
On this movie, theres a large VFX component, so the temp work was more intense. We had close to 500 VFX shots, and there’s some very involved ones. For example, a helicopter crashes into a building after getting blasted out of the sky with a rocket launcher. There are multiple scenes where characters get operated on by robotic arms. There’s a 3D printer that prints organs and guns. So we had to come up with a large number of temp shots in editorial.
Editor Gardner Gould and assistant editors Michael Costello and Lillian Dawson Bain were instrumental in coming up with these shots.
What about editing before the VFX shots are delivered?
From the very beginning, we are game-planning — what are the priorities for the movie vis-a-vis VFX? Which shots do we need early for story reasons? Which shots are the most time consuming for the VFX department? All of these things are considered as the entire post production department collaborates to come up with a priorities list.
If I need temp versions of shots to help me edit the scene, the assistants help me make them. If we can do them, we’ll do them. These aid in determining final VFX shot length, tempo, action, anything. As the process goes on, they get replaced by shots we get from the VFX department.
One thing I’m always keeping in mind is that shots can be created out of thin air oftentimes. If I have a story problem, sometimes a shot can be created that will help solve it. Sometimes the entire meaning of a scene can change.
What do you expect from your assistant editors?
The first assistant had to have experience with visual effects. The management of workflow for 500 shots is a lot, and on this job, we did not have a dedicated VFX editor. That fell upon (my co-editor) editor Gardner Gould.
I generally kick a lot of sound to the assistant, as I’m kind of rapidly moving through cutting picture. But I’m also looking for someone who’s got that storytelling bone that great editors have. Not everybody has it, not every great assistant has it.
There is so much minutiae on the technical side of being an assistant editor that you run the risk of forgetting that you’re working on a movie for an audience. And, indeed, some assistants just do the assistant work. They never cut scenes, they never do creative work, they’re not interested or they just don’t. So I’m always encouraging them to think like an editor at every point.
I ask them for their opinions. I invite them into the process, I don’t want them to be afraid to tell me what they think. You have to express yourself artistically in every decision you make. I encourage them to think critically and analytically about the movie that we’re working on.
I came up as an assistant and I had a few people who really believed in me. They invited me into the room with the director and they gave me that early exposure that really helped me learn my trade. I’m kind of looking to pay back that favor to my assistants.
Why did you choose to edit this film on Avid? Are you proficient in any other NLEs?
Oh, I’d say strictly Avid. To me, a tool, a technology, should be as transparent as possible. I want to have the minimum of time in between thought and expression. Which means that if I think of an edit, I want to automatically, almost without thinking, be able to do a keystroke and have that decision appear on the monitor. I’m so comfortable with Avid that I’m at that point.
How is your creative process different when editing a film versus a TV show?
Well first, a TV show is going to have a pre-determined length. A movie does not have a pre-determined length. So in television you’re always wrangling with the runtime. The second thing that’s different is in television schedules are a little tighter and turnaround times are a little tighter. You’re constantly in pre-production, production and post at the same time.
Also, television is for a small screen. Film, generally speaking, is for the big screen. The venue matters for a lot of reasons, but it matters for pacing. You’re sitting in a movie theater and maybe you can hold shots a little bit longer because the canvas is so wide and there’s so much to look at. Whereas with the small screen, you’re sitting closer to the television, the screen itself is smaller, maybe the shots are typically not as wide or you cut a little quicker.
You’re a very experienced comedic editor. Was it difficult to be considered for a different type of film?
I guess the answer is yes. The more famous work I’ve done in the last couple of years has been for people like Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow. So people say, “Well, he’s a comedy editor.” But if you look at my resume dating back to the very first thing I did in 2001, I edited my first movie — a pretty radical film for Gus Van Sant called Gerry, and it was not a comedy. Eternal Sunshine was not a comedy. Before Girls, I couldn’t get hired on comedies.
Then I got pulled on by Judd to work on some of his movies, and he’s such a brand name that people see that on your resume and they say, “Well, you must be a comedy editor.” So, yes, it does become harder to break out of that box, but that’s the box that other people put you in, I don’t put myself in that. My favorite filmmakers work across all types of genre.
Where do you find inspiration? Music? Other editors? Directors?
Good question. I mean… inspiration is everywhere. I’m a movie fan, I always have been, that’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. I’m always going to the movies. I watch lots of trailers. I like to keep up with what people are doing. I go back and re-watch the things that I love. Listening to other editors or reading other editors speak about their process is inspiring to me. Listening and speaking with people who love what they do is inspiring.
For Hotel Artemis, I went back and watched some movies that were an influence on this one to get in the tone-zone. I would listen to a lot of the soundtracks that were soundtracks to those movies. As far as watching movies, I watched Assault on Precinct 13, for instance. That’s a siege movie, and Hotel Artemis is kind of a siege movie. Some editors say they don’t watch movies while they’re making a movie, they don’t want to be influenced. It doesn’t bother me. It’s all in the soup.
Zack Wolder is a video editor based in NYC. He is currently the senior video editor at Billboard Magazine. Follow him on Instagram at @thezackwolder.
This entry was posted in Editing and tagged ACE, Avid Media Composer, Drew Pearce, editing, Editor, Hotel Artemis, Paul Zucker on June 27, 2018 by Randi Altman.
John Gilroy, ACE, on editing Roman J. Israel, Esq.
By Amy Leland
John Gilroy, ACE, comes from an impressive storytelling family. His father, Frank D. Gilroy, was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, as well as a screenwriter and director for film and television. His older brother Tony is a screenwriter and director, known for films such as Michael Clayton and the Jason Bourne films. His fraternal twin Dan is also a screenwriter and director, whose work includes the film Nightcrawler. John’s editing credits include his brothers’ films Michael Clayton and Nightcrawler, as well as many others, including Warrior, Pacific Rim and Rogue One.
John Gilroy (Mike Windle/Getty Images)
While the Gilroy brothers have often worked together, they have all also made significant films independently. With a family filled with such storytelling talents, it is no surprise that John ended up where he is now, but it turns out his path wasn’t as predestined as one might think. I sat down with him to talk about that legacy, his path toward it, and his most recent editing project, Roman J. Israel, Esq. The film stars Denzel Washington, and yes, it was written and directed by twin brother Dan.
Did you want to be in this industry because it’s the family business?
It may be the opposite of that. My brothers and I grew up around the film industry because our dad’s in the business. He’s a writer/director. We didn’t live in Hollywood. We lived in upstate New York, but we were in orbit of all that throughout our childhood. I decided to go the other way. I actually thought, “You know what? I’ll be a lawyer.”
I majored in government at college, but by graduation I really didn’t want to go through another three years of law school. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I worked as a bartender for a couple of years in New York, which was a lot of fun. Then I just started gravitating toward the film business. I really wanted to be a director, like everybody else. I looked around at how I could get my foot in the door. My father knew an editor, Rick Shane, who let me hang out in his cutting room between my bar shifts. I didn’t go to film school, so I picked up what I could there. Then I got into a cutting room on a job as an apprentice, and really just worked very hard and very steadily for a bunch of years. Finally I became an editor. My brothers became screenwriters. They wrote together early on, and then separately. But editing was my trajectory.
Do you remember having early heroes who were filmmakers, or did that come later?
When I was young I was “wowed” by the same films that a lot of people were: Lawrence of Arabia and The Godfather for instance. Many of the films I really loved were made by directors who had been film editors. I was a big fan of David Lean, Hal Ashby and Robert Wise. It’s sort of one of the logical reasons I gravitated to editing I guess — I thought this is a good way to get in, because some of my directing heroes started as film editors.
I think the movie that really made me think about editing early on was Slaughterhouse Five, which was edited by Dede Allen. It’s a great movie — a lot of nonlinear cross cutting. It must have been a lot of fun for her in the cutting room making that movie. But that was the first film I ever saw that I thought, “Ahhh, isn’t it interesting how it’s put together.” I really hadn’t thought about how a movie was put together before that; it just seemed like an invisible process.
I teach editing classes, and one of the things I tell my students is that you have to accept that if you do your job well, people shouldn’t see it. So it’s nice that occasionally it’s okay to see the editing and be impressed by that. That’s a very tough thing to do. I felt that way about Whiplash. When I saw it, I thought, “I’m seeing the editing, and that’s a good thing because it’s really fascinating how this was put together.” That is unusual.
Every once in a while, there is a movie like that. I cut a movie years ago called Narc, where the editing was kind of up in your face like that. Every movie tells you what to do, but you’re right, usually it’s an absolutely invisible and seamless experience. You shouldn’t be thinking about it at all, if it goes right.
You’ve worked a lot with family. In fact, your brother Dan — with whom you did Nightcrawler and Roman J. Israel, Esq. — is your twin. Does that make that working collaboration easier? Does it make it harder? How does it affect that process?
It makes it easier for sure. We’ve all worked with many other people, independent of each other but working with Danny or Tony is easier because there’s a shorthand. You develop a shorthand with a director if you work with them on more than one picture no matter who it is. I guess it’s even stronger if it’s your brother, and then maybe even more if he’s your twin.
We’re very different sorts of people, however…. we’re fraternal twins. You wouldn’t even know we were brothers to look at us, but we definitely have a similar sensibility. So in terms of pace and what’s right and what’s wrong, that kind of thing, we’re pretty much in lock step. Our process moves very quickly. The decision-making is fluid because we’re not debating very much. We’re both looking at our movie in the same way.
For the whole thing to be a success, it’s very important for an editor to be able to climb into a director’s brain and to sync up with them on some level. If there’s some sort of weird tug-of-war going on, it’s never going to happen… You’re not going to find the magic.
How did this particular project come about? Were you involved from the beginning?
Romans J. Israel, Esq. sprang from the fertile imagination of my brother Dan, who is turning out some really interesting spec scripts these days. He wrote it for Denzel Washington, and then Denzel said yes. It’s a brilliant script, and it quickly attracted a lot of people. We were fortunate to have the same production team we had on Nightcrawler. Robert Elswit shooting and Kevin Kavanaugh doing production design, James Howard doing the music, and then me editing of course, so there’s a lot of experience there. Dan has been wise enough to surround himself with a lot of talent. And he’s also a great boss. He is everybody’s compass in finding the movie, but he’s very open to ideas, and the process is pleasant, highly creative and fun. He makes it that way.
Robert Elswit worked with you and Dan on this one and Nightcrawler. He’s such an amazing cinematographer. When you’re talking about the guy who takes Paul Thomas Anderson’s visions and brings them to life, this is clearly somebody with an incredibly strong sense of the visual. What was the collaborative process like for the three of you?
I have an opinion about everything (laughs), but I try to step back in the pre-production process. I step back and let Robert and Kevin and Dan do their thing, and I try not to be part of that because I’m going to have a big say later on. So I’m sort of circling that pre-production process, just looking in, happy to answer any questions, look at anything. It’s fine. I’ll do that.
Once we start shooting, though, my cutting room becomes command central, and I’m building the movie. That’s me taking what’s been shot and looking ahead to see what they’re doing. But I’m trying to put the movie together as quickly as possible. And things are occurring to me, things that I might need. If I say, “Could I get something, I need something quickly,” it’s attended to in the course of the shooting. I just kind of build the movie from the very beginning as quickly as possible, and finding the truth in every scene. That’s what I’m thinking about.
So you are cutting scenes as the production is going on. Are you on set?
I’ll be on set the very first day to say, “Hey, how are you doing?” Then they probably won’t see me very much. Occasionally I’ll come out if their shooting something I’ve asked for, but you don’t see me much on set.
Let’s talk about the technical aspect a little bit. What did they shoot on?
Robert Elswit is a big advocate of film and we actually were able to shoot film for all of the day stuff. Film is not as forgiving at night, so we shot on an Arri Alexa for our night scenes.
What about your edit process? What’s your set up for your edits?
I’m as technical as I need to be. I’m actually one of the last guys that started cutting on a Moviola, like a million years ago. So that’s where I learned how to cut. I had a very good team. Richard Molina was my first assistant and Corey Seeholzer was my Second. It was a small, experienced crew. In terms of the workflow in the room, I tend to delegate that to my First. Basically, the way I work is my First runs the room.
If my first assistant is running the room, I can be focused on my Avid and I thinking creatively about the movie all of the time. There are many technical aspects to our workflow that I only sort of look at peripherally. I obviously have a deep knowledge of how our cutting room operates, but I couldn’t do Richard’s job. It’s too technical for me. I’m doing the same thing that I’ve always done. I’m getting my dailies, and climbing into the movie — thinking about the story — what is the story and where is the truth?
Sound seems so important to this story. His constant use of headphones, his devotion to his iPod, his reaction to the construction next door to him, and especially the way he was experiencing sound to show his emotional state. The couple of times where, in moments of anxiety, sound would drop out. How much of that was worked out in the edit, and how much was left for the sound mix?
In terms of knowing where certain sound design elements are going to happen, again, the movie is telling us what to do. Margit Pfeiffer, our sound supervisor, assembled a really great team. Andy Koyama and Martyn Zub mixed the film. Martyn and Ann Scibelli were our sound designers and Del Spiva was our music editor. Many of us had worked on Nightcrawler and again, there was a shorthand between us… a collaboration which made it easy for the sound of our film to evolve very quickly.
I work hard to make my first pass of a film feel like a third or fourth pass, and the sound has a lot to do with that. That’s how you can make a crazy deadline like what we were shooting for, which was a little (laughs) ambitious. Danny started shooting in April and wasn’t really done until early June. Then he was like, “Hey, what about the Toronto Film Festival?” And I was like, “Okay (laughs some more).”
So one and a half months?
Yeah. We ran for it, and we made it. After the Toronto Film Festival, we saw some ways to make the movie even better and more streamlined, and we acted on that. That’s the version that’s in the theaters now.
What do you look for in an assistant editor?
It’s a complex skill set. They have to be very knowledgeable technically to offset my ignorance on some level. There’s a lot of temp VFX work that we do in the room, wherever we can — filling in green screens and that sort of thing. The assistants have to be quite knowledgeable with VFX tools in the Avid and/or After Effects.
I also mentioned that I do a lot of sound work, but when I’m really working hard on my cut of the film, I delegate a lot of the sound work to them so they must have a deep background in sound and sound design. Those are two important skills they need to have —that and being able to keep the room running smoothly.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started?
Whatever I know now that I’d like to pass on to my young self took thousands of hours to come by, and I’m not sure I could articulate it, but I do think it is harder to become an editor today. It’s a good news/bad news thing… the good news is that you can make media and edit on your phone if you want to — the tools are available. You could start being an editor instantly or at least start practicing. It wasn’t like that when I was young. There was film, and it was expensive, and you had to learn a lot and wait much longer before you got an opportunity.
But these days, an assistant’s job is even further removed from what an editor does. They need to absorb a lot more technical knowledge to work in a cutting room. When I was an assistant, I was often working in a cutting room with the editor shoulder to shoulder, handing him his next shot. You learn a lot by being close in on the process. With computers, editing is a much more solitary endeavor.
Editorial is a ladder. It’s a transition from apprentice to an assistant, and then assistant to editor. From assistant to editor, you’re actually doing two entirely different jobs. It’s always been that way but the chasm seems greater to me now, because assistants need to know more to do their jobs.
Director Dan Gilroy and Denzel Washington on set.
Is there anything else about Roman J. Israel, Esq. that you would like people to know?
In some ways, I think this is one of the most important films that I’ve ever worked on. I think it’s an emotional and brainy piece of filmmaking, in terms of Danny’s story and what Denzel brought to the character. I’m very proud of it. It also portrays our criminal justice system accurately, which might be eye opening for some people.
It was also really interesting and refreshing to actually to see a movie where the main conflict was somebody simply trying to hold onto their morals. It’s almost rare now that that’s something to strive for.
I know… It’s kind of a throwback. It has a ‘70s feel to it, and Roman is also sort of a time capsule throwback himself. The movie works, I think, because Denzel is fascinating to watch, and at the end of his journey, he is ultimately a hero. It was a lot of fun working with Denzel too. He’s a great filmmaker himself, and was extremely helpful to Dan and I in the cutting room. We had a lot of fun together.
Amy Leland is a film director and editor. Her short film, “Echoes”, is now available on Amazon Video. She also has a feature documentary in post, a feature screenplay in development, and a new doc in pre-production. She is an editor for CBS Sports Network and recently edited the feature “Sundown.” You can follow Amy on social media on Twitter at @amy-leland and Instagram at @la_directora.
This entry was posted in Editing, Oscar Awards, The A List and tagged ACE, Amy Leland, editing, Esq., John Gilroy, Roman J. Israel on December 5, 2017 by Randi Altman.
Checking In: HPA Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Herb Dow
The HPA Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be handed out at the HPA Awards ceremony in Los Angeles tonight, is intended “to give recognition to individuals who have, with great service, dedicated their careers to the betterment of the industry.” That sentence perfectly describes this year’s honoree, Herb Dow, ACE.
Not only a hands-on editor with an impressive resume — including cutting episodes of such classic series as Fantasy Island and WKRP in Cincinnati — Herb has spent much of his career helping to build community within the post production world, whether at his roasts during NAB, his now bi-weekly Friday lunches in LA or with his Website postproductionpro.com, a sort of LinkedIn for the post world.
We recently reached out to Herb to ask him about how he got started in the industry, trends he’s seen over the years, and so much more.
You began your career as a film editor. Can you talk about what you loved most about the job and how you got started?
My entry into the business was marrying a film editor’s daughter 51 years ago. My wife’s father, Robert Swanson, was cutting Mannix at Desilu and he recommended me for an apprentice position in commercial integration on the lot. I spent eight years there moving up to Group 1 — back then the joke was you could go to medical school and be cutting brains faster. I loved editing. Putting together stories on film is a great career, and I still miss that aspect of my life.
Can you tell us some of the projects you worked on, and what you were cutting on when you started?
My first editing job was at MGM on a show called Lucan about a guy who turned into a wolf and solved crimes. It lasted seven episodes. I worked on 12 different series (none of which were picked up beyond the original order), but out of eight pilots, seven were picked up for series. I also cut MOWs and a few features.
You are considered a pioneer in nonlinear editing. How did you get involved in the development of the Ediflex system?
I had spent four years working at Culver Studios with a first floor cutting room. It had big picture windows, a beach mural on the wall that made it look like I was cutting on the beach, and speakers hanging from the ceiling playing loud rock music. Then I went over to Universal to cut on a show called Street Hawk. No windows, small room and not a great show.
I went to the head of post and said that I would finish the episode, but I was leaving and my assistant could take over. He asked why and I said no windows, etc. He said they were starting a new series at the Oakwood apartments on Pass and that it had a new-fangled electronic editing system and there were windows.
I went over and met Adrian Ettlinger. He created the CMX 600, the very first nonlinear system. The system was called Vidicut and had six VHS decks all with the same material and a Commodore 64 controlled with a light pen. I jumped at the chance to work on it and cut 24 episodes of Still the Beavers while helping Adrian modify the system to work for editors like myself. We formed a company with Milt Forman, Andy Maltz, Adrian and me called Cinedco. Then we renamed the system to Ediflex.
How has the world of nonlinear editing changed over the years?
Not much has changed since Avid came on the scene 30 years, aside from the computers getting faster. The big change is what I am involved in now, BeBop Technology — editing in the cloud, which gets rid of all the machines.
What are the most significant changes you’ve seen in production and post over your time in the industry?
HD and 4K were substantial. The growth of the business has been astronomical, with many more content providers and outlets. There are a lot more jobs in post.
Looking forward, where do you see the post industry heading?
Well, I might be prejudiced, but I think using the cloud environment for post will change the industry dramatically. Freeing artists to work from anywhere they want with faster processors and no machinery to worry about is going to change our world of post.
Herb at one of his industry gatherings.
What does being given the HPA Lifetime Achievement Award mean to you?
I am so proud to be awarded this honor in my 50th year in post. I was mentored by a lot of wonderful men and women in this industry, and it really is a thank you to all of them for helping me with my career.
You have always been involved in fostering relationships with pros in the industry, from your Las Vegas roasts to your Friday lunches. Why is this so important to you?
It has always been about the people. I love the fraternity/sorority I belong to. My roasts and lunches are a way to be among more of these people all the time. I love them.
You’ve accomplished so much over the years. What is your proudest moment?
No question, it was the Ediflex changing the art form as we knew it. That was an incredible moment for me. And, actually, getting to do it all again with BeBop at the other end of my career is a gift from the gods.
This entry was posted in Editing, HPA, Quick Chat and tagged ACE, Ediflex, Herb Dow, HPA Lifetime Achievement Awards, nonlinear editing on November 14, 2016 by Randi Altman.
Editfest LA line-up set
American Cinema Editors’ EditFest, the day-long event celebrating the art and craft of editing, takes place in Los Angeles on August 6. Launched in 2008, EditFest offers audiences the opportunity to hear award-winning film and television editors share their insights and experiences.
Past EditFest participants have included renowned editors Anne V. Coates, ACE; Tim Porter, ACE; Fred Raskin, ACE; Barney Pilling, ACE; Paul Hirsch, ACE; Tom Cross, ACE; and others.
As in previous years, EditFest will feature film and television panels, a catered lunch and a cocktail reception. The event returns again this year to the Frank Wells Theater at the Disney Studios lot in Burbank.
The schedule for Saturday, August 6th is as follows:
Cutting it in Hollywood – Personal learning experiences and overcoming obstacles
John Axelrad, ACE – Crazy Heart, Rudderless, Something Borrowed
Zene Baker, ACE – 50/50, Neighbors, This is the End
Barbara Gerard – Brothers & Sisters, Everwood, Supergirl
David Rogers, ACE – Entourage, The Office, The Mindy Project
Moderated by Mitchell Danton, ACE (Editor and Author of Cutting it in Hollywood)
Cult Film Favorites
Mark Helfrich, ACE – Showgirls
Tina Hirsch, ACE – Deathrace 2000, Gremlins
Norm Hollyn – Heathers
Mark Golblatt, ACE – Terminator, Starship Troopers
Jane Kurson, ACE – Beetlejuice
Moderated by Michael Krulik – Avid Technology Principal Applications Specialist
Inside the Cutting Room with Bobbie O’Steen: A Conversation With Michael Tronick, ACE
Michael Tronick, ACE – Straight Outta Compton (co-editor), Hairspray, Scent of a Woman (co-editor)
Moderated by Bobbie O’Steen (Author of The Invisible Cut & Cut to the Chase)
The Lean Forward Moment
Jeff Ford, ACE – Avengers, Captain America
Kim Roberts, ACE – The Hunting Ground, Waiting for Superman
Kevin Tent, ACE – The Descendants, Nebraska
Moderated by Norm Hollyn (Editor, Author and Head of USC School of Cinematic Arts)
This entry was posted in Editing, News and tagged ACE, American Cinema Editors, Editfest, editing on July 25, 2016 by Randi Altman.
Sight, Sound & Story editor-heavy summit is set for next weekend
Manhattan Edit Workshop’s (MEWShop) one-day summit, Sight, Sound & Story, returns to New York on June 11 at the NYIT Auditorium. Panels include the art and processes of editing documentary film and episodic television, and behind the greenscreen with VFX artists. This year’s closing panel will highlight the career of Oscar-winning feature film editor Anne V. Coates, ACE, with author and film historian Bobbie O’Steen. Coates has worked on such films as The Elephant Man, Out of Sight, Unfaithful, Becket, In the Line of Fire and the Oscar-winning Lawrence of Arabia.
The event’s schedule is as follows:
10:00am – 11:30am — Visual Effects: Behind the Green Screen and the Integral Role of the VFX Team
Moderator: Ross Shain, chief marketing officer at Boris FX & Imagineer Systems
Speakers: Sean Devereaux (Hardcore Henry, The Magnificent Seven), Ed Mendez (The Leftovers, Sin City, X-Men 2) and Michael Huber (Creed, American Ultra) or Alex Lemke (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Into the Woods)
11:45am – 1:15pm — Anatomy of a Scene: Deconstructing Documentary Films
Moderator: Livia Bloom, editor of “Errol Morris: Interviews,” writer for Cinema Scope, Filmmaker Magazine, and Film Comment)
Speakers: Erin Casper (American Promise, The Last Season), Mona Davis (The Farm, Angola, USA, Love and Diane), Gabriel Rhodes (The Tillman Story, Newtown)
2:00pm – 3:45pm – TV is the New Black: Television’s Cinematic Revolution
Moderator: Michael Berenbaum, ACE (The Americans, Sex and the City)
Speakers: Kelley Dixon, ACE (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Walking Dead), Kate Sanford, ACE (Vinyl, Boardwalk Empire, The Wire), Leo Trombetta, ACE (Narcos, Mad Men, Temple Grandin)
4:00pm – 6:00pm — “Inside the Cutting Room with Bobbie O’Steen”: A Conversation with Oscar-Winning Editor Anne Coates
Moderator: Bobbie O’Steen (Cut to the Chase, The Invisible Cut)
Speaker: Anne V. Coates, ACE (Lawrence of Arabia, The Elephant Man, Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich)
To enjoy $20 off your ticket price for Sight, Sound & Story, courtesy of postPerspective, click here.
Check this space soon for our report from the conference!
This entry was posted in Editing, News, VFX and tagged ACE, Anne V. Coates, editing, MEWShop, Sight, Sound & Story, VFX on May 31, 2016 by Randi Altman.
Panels set for August’s EditFest LA
EditFest Los Angeles is taking place on August 1 in Disney Studios Main Theatre in Burbank. EditFest LA 2015 includes a full day of panels — filled with experienced editors talking about a variety of projects — as well as a one-on-one conversation with Arthur Schmidt and an opportunity to network.
To kick off the event, Steven Rivkin, ACE, and ACE VP will address the crowd. Then the panels begin. Here is the schedule:
From the Cutting Room to the Red Carpet
Elisa Bonora, ACE – Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
Tom Cross, ACE – Oscar-winning editor of Whiplash
Catherine Haight, ACE – Transparent
Wyatt Smith, ACE – Into the Woods
Moderated by Alan Heim, ACE, president of ACE and Motion Picture Editors Guild.
The Hero’s Journey: From Comic Book to Screen
Jonathan Chibnall – Daredevil
Lisa Lassek – Avengers
Dan Lebental, ACE – Ant-Man / Iron Man
Colby Parker, Jr, ACE – Ant-Man
Fred Raskin, ACE – Guardians of the Galaxy
Moderated by Michael Krulik, Avid Technology, principal applications specialist.
A Look Back to the Future with Arthur Schmidt
A conversation with Arthur Schmidt (Back to the Future, Castaway, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Forrest Gump) moderated by Bobbie O’Steen, author.
Vashi Nedomanski
Doug Blush, ACE – Twenty Feet from Stardom
Dody Dorn, ACE – Memento
Vashi Nedomansky – That Which I Love Destroys Me
John Venzon, ACE – South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
Moderated by Norman Hollyn, editor, author, head of the editing track at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
ACE launched EditFest in 2008 in Los Angeles, adding EditFest NY in 2009 and EditFest London in 2013. Plans are underway to add additional cities in 2016.
Tickets for EditFest are available online for $400. Some organizational discounts are offered. A complete list is referenced at http://americancinemaeditors.org/editfest-2015/editfest-la-2015.
This entry was posted in News and tagged ACE, EditFest LA, editing, Steven Rifkin on July 14, 2015 by Randi Altman.
65th Annual ACE Award noms include tie for Best Feature Drama category
The nominees for the 65th Annual ACE Eddie Awards recognizing editing in 10 categories of film, television and documentaries has been announced. Winners will be presented with statuettes during ACE’s annual awards ceremony on January 30 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Next week, the American Cinema Editors will announce the Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year honoree and two Career Achievement honorees.
For only the second time in the organization’s history, a tie resulted in an additional nominee in the Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) category creating six nominees instead of five, indicating a tie in the number of votes for the fifth placing films.
The ACE Eddie Award nominees are listed below.
BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC): TIE!
Joel Cox, ACE & Gary Roach, ACE
Sandra Adair, ACE
Kirk Baxter
Kirk Baxter, ACE
William Goldenberg, ACE
William Goldenberg
John Gilroy, ACE
Tom Cross
BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY OR MUSICAL):
Douglas Crise & Stephen Mirrione, ACE
Fred Raskin, Hughes Winborne, ACE & Craig Wood, ACE
Wyatt Smith
Leslie Jones, ACE
Barney Pilling
BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Edie Ichioka, ACE
David Burrows & Chris McKay
BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE):
Mathilde Bonnefoy
Aaron Wickenden
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
Elisa Bonora
BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (TELEVISION):
Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey: Standing Up in the Milky Way
John Duffy, ACE, Michael O’Halloran, Eric Lea
Pauly Shore Stands Alone
Troy Takaki, ACE & Joey Vigour
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History: Episode 3 / The Fire of Life
Erik Ewers
BEST EDITED HALF-HOUR SERIES FOR TELEVISION:
Silicon Valley: “Optimal Tip to Tip Efficiency”
Brian Merken & Tim Roche
Veep: “Special Relationship”
Anthony Boys
Transparent: Pilot
Catherine Haight
BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:
24: “10pm to 11am”
Scott Powell, ACE
Mad Men: “Waterloo”
Christopher Gay
Madam Secretary: “Pilot”
Elena Maganini, ACE & Michael Ornstein, ACE
Sherlock: “His Last Vow”
Yan Miles
The Good Wife: “A Few Words”
Scott Vickrey, ACE
BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:
True Detective: “Who Goes There”
Affonso Goncalves
True Detective: “The Secret Fate of All Life”
House of Cards: “Chapter 14”
Byron Smith
BEST EDITED MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE FOR TELEVISION:
Fargo “Buridan’s Ass”
Regis Kimble
Olive Kitteridge: “A Different Road”
Jeffrey M. Werner, ACE
The Normal Heart
Adam Penn
BEST EDITED NON-SCRIPTED SERIES:
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: “Iran”
Hunter Gross
Deadliest Catch: “Lost At Sea”
Josh Earl, ACE & Johnny Bishop
Vice: “Greenland is Melting & Bonded Labor”
Joe Langford & Nick Carew
Final Ballots will be mailed on January 5 and voting ends on January 21. The Blue Ribbon panels where judging for all television categories and the documentary film category take place January 18. Projects in the aforementioned categories are viewed and judged by panels comprised of professional editors (all ACE members). All 700-plus ACE members vote during the final balloting of the ACE Eddies, including active members, life members, affiliate members and honorary members.
This entry was posted in News, Uncategorized and tagged ACE, ACE Eddie, American Cinema Editors, editing, Gone Girl on January 2, 2015 by Randi Altman.
PostChat’s Jesse Averna named affiliate member of the ACE
American Cinema Editors held its annual holiday party on December 7 in Los Angeles. As part of the night’s festivities, the organization presents new inductees into the ACE. Sesame Street editor Jesse Averna, who helps run the weekly Twitter conversation #PostChat, was among them.
Averna (@dr0id), a four-time Emmy winner for his work on Sesame Street, was presented with a plaque from Oscar-winning editor Alan Heim (All That Jazz, Network, American History X, The Notebook). Averna was invited into the ACE as an Affiliate Member. While Averna notes that Active membership is his ultimate goal, he fully acknowledges the great honor of this induction, stating, “Tonight I received one of the biggest honors of my career — induction into ACE as an Affiliate member.”
In addition to editing and associate directing Sesame Street, you can catch Averna teaching Avid and FCP X at the School of Visual Arts Continuing Ed. He is also editing a feature documentary on rare kaiju monster flicks called Kaiju Gaiden, editing a short film with LiveStar Entertainment for Marvel called Tales to Astonish, directing a children’s live-action puppet show called Monica’s Mixing Bowl and moving his own film into production.
This entry was posted in News and tagged ACE, American Cinema Editors, Batkid, Jesse Averna, Sesame Street on December 11, 2014 by Randi Altman.
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Launching Session
Intro 45th Session PPT
You are here: Home / PROGRAMA CAT ESP 2018 / 2017 / November
Transversal Gender and Sexual Diversity
Launching Barcelona
The danger of the unique story. Transversalising the focus of gender and sexual diversity.
Rapporteur: Beatriz Plaza Escrivà
Social researcher specialising in Internationalism – Feminism, and activist on the platform Ongi Etorri Errefuxiatuak/Welcome to migrants and refugees.
“The unique story creates stereotypes and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are fake but that they are incomplete. They create one single story, the only story. When we reject the unique story, when we realise that there is never any place that has one single story, then we recuperate a kind of paradise” Chimamanda Adichie
On the recognition of diversity.
Although gender and sexual diversity has been the focus throughout the audience document, we thought it pertinent to devote several paragraphs to highlighting the stories that are not taken into account, and which we consider to be the central focus of the work that develops in the PPT; those that will shape the life processes of migrant and refugee people and show us how gender and diversity shape new realities.
The danger of generalisations when we speak of Human Rights (henceforth HR) lies, to a greater extent, in the fact that diversities are not taken into account and similar measures are applied for people with different needs. In the case of migrant and refugee women, girls and LGTBIQ+ people this is a reality that is maintained both in their transit and in their arrival in the country of destination. And that carries higher levels of violence and vexations against their bodies and lives, either due to their condition or due to their orientation and/or identity.
The absence of figures, either because they have not been able to be registered or have not been systematised, highlight the crisis situation in which the EU finds itself in reference to the application of international instruments for the defence of HR, as it relates to the migrant and refugee population, both in care and in transit, at borders, and in the country of destination. The inefficiency of the resettlement and relocation programmes coupled with the militarisation of borders and the abandonment of refugee camps have once again made evident the inability of the EU to welcome, which has added to the setback of HR that was developing in the field of migration policies. All this demonstrates the success of the neoliberal capitalist model, in which people are objectivised according to their functionality to the market, and that places economic benefit before the guarantee of HR and individual and collective well-being. It is a regression of the Welfare State in all its senses, whose consequences affect us in general society but that is intensified in the most vulnerable populations.
Situation of women and girls.
Both in the countries of origin and transit, as well as at arrival in the country of destination, the situation faced by women and girls differs greatly from the process experienced by other migrants. In the countries of origin, the migratory process of women and girls usually has common characteristics ranging from escape from some kind of violence or mistreatment, to the need for them to migrate in order to send back economic benefits for their wider families. In the case of trafficking for sexual exploitation, there is also the peculiarity that, in the same countries of origin, they are identified and captured by the networks operating in the enclaves, and are given, which some authors have named the ‘identity of the prostitute’. In the case where they are stigmatised through sexual abuse in their childhood or adolescence and isolated from their environments, the only option for improvement of life is provided by the captors who propose transit, the purpose of which is forced prostitution.
Another of the purposes of trafficking is labour exploitation, in which women normally embark on a migration process through ‘smugglers or con men’ with whom they become indebted so that when they arrive in the country of destination they will work as interns, as workers in the home or caring for dependants. In all cases the women end up with large debts, the payment which takes up the entire salary in the case of getting a job. However, in most cases they do not get to do these jobs since the promises made by the ‘smugglers or con men’ are false.
In transit, whether by sea or by land, women and girls suffer doubly the violence that accompanies these journeys, since rape and sexual abuse can be added in almost all cases. In addition, these rapes and sexual abuse often result in unwanted pregnancies, so that abortion or any medical complication that develops in the gestation process usually means death for many of them. And in the case that the pregnancy continues its process and there is a delivery, not being provided with adequate conditions can mean their own death and that of the baby.
Notwithstanding, in the case of adequate delivery and in the country of arrival, the emotional bond between mother and new-born is usually weak and postpartum depressions or other similar situations can develop. The lack of resources for single mother migrant women in the countries of arrival is a reality that we must make visible. Since they are forced to assume high responsibilities of care and attention for the new-born, which leaves them no time to work, since the resources they can access by themselves are difficult, and, in the case of social intervention, since they do not comply with the legal minimums, which is mostly about having the documentation in order, they are not entitled to any type of economic compensation. The only aid to which they can access are those of social emergency, which provides them with basic necessities, but which does not meet all the needs of the baby or the mother, is not sustainable over time, and much less guarantees a decent life.
Another issue that characterises the migratory process of women and girls is the fact that often they do not cross borders in the same way as other migrants. For example, in the case of the southern border of Europe, specifically in the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, women and girls pass hidden in cars or trucks in spaces that are designed as double bottoms, in which they can barely breathe and which require the intervention of technical personnel to open them, since they are usually screwed; thus, in case of an emergency, the person would be trapped inside without any possibility of leaving on their own.
Reports of specialist organisations have been gathering a series of trends that characterise the migration process of women and girls, which are schematically outlined below:
In 2014, it is estimated that only 11% of women out of a total of 170,000 people who tried to cross the sea could reach the shores of the Mediterranean[80].
In transit, women and girls are more likely to be prostituted or trafficked. According to UNICEF, 12% of the women arriving in Macedonia are pregnant.
In most Internment Centre for Foreigners (CIE) women are completely invisible, and the conditions in which they are found vary according to gender. As is the case of the CIE of Valencia in which the interned women are the ones who are responsible for cleaning their cells, whereas the men do not assume this work. As we see, in this case the sexual division of labour also occurs in the case of deprivation of liberty.
Situation of LGTBIQ+ people.
Membership of the LGTBIQ+ group has, historically and even today, been an enormous source of inequality in relation to the compliance with HR. The imposed heteronormativity, reinforced by the binary approach, raises sexual relations to political relations, used to dominate women and LGTBIQ+ people. The persecution and discrimination they suffer is developed through control over their sexuality and/or identity, by which they are prevented from freely expressing themselves. Therefore, this system entails the systematic violation of the HR of LGTBIQ+ silently and with great impunity.
In most cases, LGTBIQ+ people are denied their request for international protection under the argument that, in their country of origin, they can avoid any kind of persecution by hiding their sexual preference or gender identity. This pretext refers to the “requirement of discretion” or also known as the “internal flight alternative”, and is an expression frequently used by many international agencies as a recommendation, despite going against the UNHCR’s guidelines on international protection and fundamental rights.
The “requirement of discretion” is compounded by the determination of credibility, which further complicates asylum-seeking processes on the grounds of sexual orientation and/or gender identity. In addition, this means a vexatious and humiliating treatment for people who decide to formalise their request for political refuge. Therefore, in most cases, and since there is no effective international protection, LGTBIQ+ people decide to start migratory processes when what they are really doing is fleeing violence to live fully in dignity and sexual freedom.
Something as simple as the right of all people to be able to responsibly manifest pleasure and sexual appetites has proved somewhat complicated to defend. For example, in the official international texts on HR there was no reference to sexuality beyond biological sex until 1993; this year marks a turning point with the Vienna Human Rights Conference where, thanks to the lobbying effort of a Women’s group, “sexual rights” was included. In Vienna, recognition of sexual violence as a violation of human rights was achieved for the first time and the term “sexual” was included for the first time within the context of human rights.
The importance of the recognition of “sexual rights” within the framework of HR is significant since, on the one hand, it includes sexual rights within what has traditionally been understood as the rights of citizenship (DESCA) and, on the other hand, echoes the growing social relevance of the diversity of ways in which people live their sexuality and the right to the free expression of these same. There are eleven sexual rights:
Right to sexual freedom.
Right to sexual autonomy, integrity and security of the body.
Right to sexual privacy.
Right to sexual equality.
Right to sexual pleasure.
Right to emotional sexual expression.
Right to free sexual association.
Right to make reproductive, free and responsible decisions.
Right to information based on scientific knowledge.
Right to integral sexual education.
Right to sexual health care
At present, despite the fact that we internationally recognise these rights, as regards migration processes, LGTBIQ+ people are at particular risk of suffering selective violence in the hands of private agents or actors, both in their countries of origin, in transit or in the country of arrival. The exercise of violence can be physical or psychological and is only motivated by the desire to punish whoever has a gender or identity different from the standard. The minimal expression of their identity or desire may thus imply the denouement of a process of violence and/or vexations. In the case of lesbian women this type of violence intensifies when we speak of “corrective rapes” as these also involve sexual violence, since they seek the humiliation of the victim and the renunciation of their own identity and desire based on the application of a corrective punishment.
Conclusions.
Some of the manifestations that could be considered persecution based on gender, including causal sexual orientation, according to the International Human Rights Law, would be:
Rape, forms of sexual violence, forced prostitution or forced pregnancy.
Belonging to the LGBTIQ+ group, being exposed to attacks and/or harassment.
Persecutory laws in themselves emanating from social norms and practices contrary to human rights, for example, female genital mutilation.
Punishments, penalties or sanctions that amount to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment when a woman violates a law or policy.
Laws or policies or practices whose goals may be justifiable, but where the methods for implementing them have severely damaging consequences, for example, forced sterilisations.
Persecutory practices that, although prohibited, are tolerated by the State and where the State is not diligent in preventing and eliminating them.
Situations arising from the transgression of social norms that severely restrict the freedom or physical and psychological integrity of women, for example, forced marriages.
Sexist violence in the couple.
Trafficking in persons for exploitation purposes.
Gender-based persecution occurs when “human rights violations are related to the role of a person due to his or her gender identity (woman, man, trans, or others) or due to their sexual preferences”. This persecution is exercised even more so when it is part of a situation of inequality, and seeks in its finality the subordination or domination of one person or another, a group, ideology or religion.
For all the above, we consider that:
The lack of information on how to report various forms of violence, the absence of effective mechanisms to identify cases, and the insufficient capacity of humanitarian personnel on issues of gender violence, among others, make it difficult to know the reality of the multiple forms of discrimination and violence that are currently being experienced by women, girls and LGTBIQ+ people.
The borders have become imageries of war where the violation of rights and impunity are systematically practised. And in which women’s bodies are at once weapons of war used to defeat and humiliate the enemy, to destroy the social base and used as a currency of exchange.
Sexual violence suffered by women, boys and girls, in transits by all the men they encounter along the way, whether by travelling companions, policemen, mafias, must be strongly denounced, making the situation more visible and demanding action.
Refugee and migrant women must be political subjects. In many cases they must fight against stereotypes in the places of destination and against the control of the community of origin. And aggravated by the weight of having to guard the identity of the community of origin, which patriarchy usually imposes on women. Immigrant women are not passive subjects who receive help; they are protagonists of their own migratory processes.
The spaces of violence against women are also non-spaces, spaces without rights. Feminism has always denounced, and continues to do so, the breach of human rights; there exists a de facto alliance.
The lack of safe routes for migrants and refugees implies that during the transit there are serious situations of direct and indirect violence. This problem is intensified with greater seriousness in the case of certain social groups, among which we want to emphasise that of girls, women and people of diverse identities and genders. Since, on many occasions, these people suffer sexual rapes, humiliations, [etc.] or other problems that must be addressed from their specificity.
The fact that, according to the ILGA report of 2016, 39% of the member countries of the United Nations consider relationships between persons of the same sex to be illegal. And in 75 countries the lives of transgenders, gays and lesbians are restricted by a series of laws.
On numerous occasions, persecution based on gender and/or sexual orientation is in part exercised by non-state actors such as churches, the family, or within communities. It should therefore be recognised as a violence and the concept of persecutor should be broadened.
And we add to the demands made throughout the audience:
The formal recognition of a large part of the HR for LGTBIQ+ people so that they can exercise them in the greater part of humanity. It should be recalled that at present there are many countries that continue to maintain in their legislation homophobic laws that incite hatred, even though the UN General Assembly has promulgated the ‘Declaration on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity’, which promulgates the repeal of any law that criminalises or punishes LGTBIQ+ people for the simple fact of being so.
The signatory countries of the United Nations Charter be required to equate the rights of LGTBIQ+ people with those of the rest of society.
Political and social actors trained on gender and/or sexual orientation so that they provide direct, adequate and comprehensive care to requesters.
The situation of vulnerability of women, girls and LGTBIQ+ people in the migratory processes be made visible.
Appropriate measures applied to the particularity of situations and an immediate response to the emergency adapted for both migrants and refugees.
Appropriate safe routes applied for the most violated populations, such as women, girls and boys, and people of the LGTBIQ+ group.
November 29, 2017 /0 Comments/by jille
http://ppt.transnationalmigrantplatform.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/logo-300x117.png 0 0 jille http://ppt.transnationalmigrantplatform.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/logo-300x117.png jille2017-11-29 12:57:302017-12-10 18:05:56Transversal Gender and Sexual Diversity
Pillar 4 Fortress Europe
European Union policy on asylum and immigration. The construction of an excluding Europe.
Rapporteur: Patricia Bárcena García, Lawyer
By reviewing the legal instruments that the EU has been approving over the last few years we can explain why people have to risk their lives to reach Europe. There are no other options.
The Schengen Agreements[51] were the first step in the progressive construction of a united Europe without internal borders that favoured the free movement of European citizens while selectively limiting access to the EU for people from third countries. Not all of them were interested in it or continue to be interested. Since its inception, the EU policy on immigration has had a short-term and mercantile vision.
The construction of this space of freedom for some people [52]required protection and “control” from the arrival of “the others”, which is how the construction of fortress Europe was initiated through policies for the outsourcing of borders and the generation of two categories of citizenship (European and the rest).
At the same time, within the category of non-EU citizens, other subcategories were promoted: refugees, migrants by regular routes and those who migrated by irregular routes. Gradually deconstructing the concept of “every person” having the rights and freedoms proclaimed in Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), without distinction of any kind such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political opinion or any other nature, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. At the same time, a criminalised image was constructed of who could reach Europe by irregular routes, who resides without documentation, or who loses it (the subject without rights – expellable).
This exclusionary configuration has been the source of the current Europe divided among those who proclaim the protection and guarantee of human rights and those who identify the arrival of people from third countries as a threat to their national identity, their security and their well-being.
Asylum and Immigration Policy was not a priority in the 1990s. It was border control in immigration policy and the slow construction of a common asylum system that was primordial.
Until the signing of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, the EU Member States continued the theme of visas, asylum and immigration as matters of common interest, but within the own jurisdiction of each one of them. However, since the entry into force of this Treaty in 1999[53], the Council of the European Community was required to approve within five years the measures to be taken in accordance with Community immigration and asylum policy, including: conditions for entry, residence, procedures for obtaining visas to reside in Europe and the conditions for the transfer of residence from one State to another. And, for this, adopting the measures to deal with illegal immigration.
It was then at the Tampere summit in 1999 that the basic points on which this common policy was to pivot around were agreed upon, which continue today with slight modifications:
Collaboration with the countries of origin, which resulted in the signing of agreements aimed at curbing migration (both of national persons and those in transit) and facilitating the readmission of persons returned or expelled.
Creation of a common asylum system (SECA), which was shaped by the adoption of Directives, and which more than fifteen years later is undergoing a thorough review.
Fair treatment of third-country nationals residing legally in the territory of its Member States. Thus, excluding from this the possible equalisation of those who reside irregularly in the country with the rights and obligations with the citizens of the European Union. And opening them up to discrimination and exclusion.
Management of migratory flows. It focused more on control than on migration management.
This first Tampere program (1999-2004) was subsequently replaced by the multi-annual program (2005-2009) in The Hague where new priorities were introduced to strengthen the “space of freedom, security and justice” related to security and the prevention of terrorism.
After ten years in which, despite the adoption of a set of asylum and immigration directives, the Member States had not transposed these into their domestic legislation or had done so only in part, the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU entered into force (Treaty of Lisbon), which changed the legal and institutional framework. It went from being a policy of minima to a common policy[54].
The European Council meeting in Stockholm laid down a new road map for the period 2010-2014 and, despite having a unique opportunity to advance a coherent and respectful human rights policy of the EU, the only standards secured were those aimed at encouraging return[55], criminalising solidarity, the so-called “package on illegal aid to irregular immigration”[56], and punishing those who employ citizens in an irregular situation[57].
It is true that labour was needed, but not just any labour. It was the market, once again, that set the guidelines. Not people. For this reason, only the arrival of a select few was favoured: those that were highly qualified (who were awarded a blue-EU card)[58], those who did the work and then returned (temporary[59]) or those that the companies and multinationals wanted to transfer to their branches and subsidiaries located in the EU to occupy managerial and specialist positions[60]. The rest were restricted entry, even hindering family reunification.
In the area of asylum, a new SECA was proposed with the aspiration, as explained on numerous occasions by the then European Commissioner for the Interior, Cecilia Malmström, to create a space of protection and solidarity for the most vulnerable.
A space that facilitates access to the asylum procedure for those in need of protection, allows more equitable, expeditious and sound decisions, assures those who fear persecution that they will not be returned to the situation of danger and, finally, provides decent and acceptable conditions for both asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection within the Union.
The current SECA is composed of: The Procedures Directive[61], The Reception Directive[62], The Directive for Requirements on Recognition[63], The Regulation of the Eurodac Database[64] and the Dublin Regulation[65] and was expected to be fully operational in the second half of 2015, when all the Directives were transposed to all EU Member States (June 2015).
Following the Stockholm Program, the European Council defined[66] the directives that in the next few years (2014-2020) was to guide the transposition, implementation and consolidation of existing legal instruments and measures, emphasising the need to optimise the benefits of legal migration, combat irregular migration and efficiently manage the borders. Offering protection to whoever needs it through a system (the SECA) that, due to its failure, is in the process of being revised.
Conformation of the Spanish regulatory framework and its adaptation to Union policy.
The first normative reference concerning foreigners in Spain, it picks up on the Spanish Constitution of 1978, when indicating in its articles: 13.1. “Foreigners shall enjoy in Spain the public freedoms guaranteed by this title in the terms established by the Treaties and the Law” and 13.4.: “The law will establish the terms in which citizens of other countries and stateless persons may enjoy the right of asylum in Spain.”
That same year, Spain adhered to the 1951 Geneva Convention and the New York Protocol of 1967. However, it was only in 1984[67] that the first law on asylum in Spain was approved to respond to the arrival of a migrant population mainly made up of refugees who had been fleeing the dictatorships of the southern tip of Latin America: Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.
A year later, in 1985, the first Law of Aliens was passed[68]. At that moment, immigration was practically imperceptible, but the imminent entry of Spain into the European Economic Community (that was to take place in 1986), imposed the necessity of introducing these regulations into our legal framework. Its main objective was therefore to regulate (control) the entry of people into Spain, and establish a sanctioning regime to penalise the non-compliance of those entry rules. It contains no objective of an integrative nature.
The economic growth of the country, and the need for labour, make Spain an attractive destination. But, along with economic growth, the pressure that Europe exerted on us grew (we were already beginning to be attributed the responsibility of being “Europe’s southern border”), and this consequently led to changes. In 1991, the agreement to abolish visas with Morocco was cancelled, we began talking about flow control, and we looked at immigration from a growth-threat perspective. We adopted the European discourse but our reality required responding to the arrival of people who obtained a job in our country and those who remained to reside in it irregularly; for this reason, a parliamentary approval procedure was approved[69] through a proposition, not a Law.
In 1994, the Law regulating the Right of Asylum was modified, under the premise that it was being misused by economic immigration. It began to speak of “abuse of asylum” and the figure of the foreign person, who threatens – who abuses the right – and who uses irregular routes of arrival to the country, began to be built around the image of people arriving from sub-Saharan Africa. Due to the reform, Spain went from having about 15,000 asylum applications a year, to having only 7,000. A figure that gradually decreased in successive years, until 2015.
During the following years the growth of the migrant population was even greater. We still needed workers but people came, and the Law of Aliens did not provide answers to the new social reality.
There was only a brief time when the legal framework put people and their rights above control. In 2000, with an almost global consensus between parties and social movements, the Organic Law on the Rights and Freedoms of Foreigners in Spain and their Social Integration[70] was discussed for the first time. Any hint of progress in the recognition of rights was, however, tarnished in a few months, since the Government majority of the Partido Popular reformed it before it was even a year old.
At this time, this same Law has been reformed on ten occasions[71], which reflects the political and self-interested use that, throughout these years, has been made of migration and the rights that should protect migrants.
The restrictive measures taken to control migration do not consider human rights and their impact on the people applying for international protection.
Spain decided to continue to impose visas on countries with which it has historically maintained special relations; initiated with Morocco in 1991 and Peru, the Dominican Republic (1993), Cuba (2002), Colombia (2002), Ecuador (2003) and Bolivia 2007). For example, in the case of Colombia, a country immersed in a civil war for half a century, the 2,532 people who came to Spain to apply for protection in 2001 went down to 1,065 in 2002 and 752 in 2008. Nonetheless, at the same time, European countries, aware of the violence that was striking the country, issued declarations of solidarity or condemned the attacks and kidnappings that occurred daily in Colombia.
The construction of walls and barriers also began to prevent the arrival of people regardless of the reasons why they had had to leave their countries. An investment of 33 million Euro in wire with prongs six metres high was made to render the border perimeters of Ceuta and Melilla impermeable. A height that was doubled between September and November of 2005 due to the crisis unleashed in August and September of that year when more than 700 unarmed sub-Saharans tried to enter Spanish territory from the Moroccan border. Many of them were shot by Moroccan surveillance personnel; there were hundreds injured and at least fourteen people were killed by Moroccan police firing, not counting reports of unusually violent treatment at the hands of the Spanish authorities.
The EU Member States subsequently followed in the wake and built more than 235 km of fences at the EU’s external borders, which cost over EUR 175 million.
During 2006 the so-called “crisis de los cayucos” [“crisis of the canoes”] was unleashed. 39,180 people arrived at our coasts, 31,678 at the Canary Islands and 7,502 at the Peninsula and Baleares. It is not known how many perished. In view of these events, European deployment was reinforced, 12 million Euro were invested in the device Frontex (in 2008, 24 million were invested) and SIVE was extended to the Canary Islands coast. In short, the surveillance systems were tightened to ensure the interception of canoes on the high seas and to force their return. At the same time, the diplomatic offensive intensified, bilateral cooperation agreements increased[72] and controls were strengthened in the countries of origin or transit.
When the increasingly complex migratory trajectories are made by women, they are deeply affected by physical and sexual violence, mainly in border places. Also by its invisibilisation. Already in 2014, from CEAR-Euskadi it was denounced in the report “El camino sin fin; huellas de Mujeres en la Frontera Sur” [The road without end; traces of women on the southern border] the systematic violations that these women, victims of mafias crossing Africa to Spain, suffered and still suffer, their situation of invisibility and their extreme vulnerability. Women, among which more and more children, are being exploited by trafficking networks for sexual exploitation.
The only way to demand international protection in Spain without reaching the territory is through embassies or consulates, an option that since 2009 has disappeared since the current legislation regulating the Right of Asylum and Subsidiarity Protection only provides for the possibility of applying for a visa with the aim of being transferred to Spain to request protection, leaving the procedure to continue a regulatory evolution that has not taken place even seven years after the entry into force of the Act.
The SECA, a failed common system. Reactionary nationalisms.
Increased population movements and the arrival of people in Europe for protection have highlighted the weakness of the system at a time when a rapid response to an emergency situation is required.
Although, as we have seen, there has been a period of twenty years over which a whole set of rules were complied with, which aimed at a common project exceeding the limits of the Nation-State, there have over the years been opposing signs of reaction in which the States have been looking out for their interests alone, and which has now been clearly brought into evidence.
The 1990 Dublin Convention[73] (and its subsequent amendments, Dublin II and Dublin III) does not meet current needs[74] because it was not created with the aim of watching over refugee people and redistributing responsibility for their reception in an equitable manner (although it does make some provision in this regard), but rather of determining which State is responsible for examining each request based on criteria.
In the 1990s, asylum concerns did not arise due to the number of people who could reach European countries for protection (the threat of arrival of people was still far away, in developing countries) but due to the fact that whoever arrived in Europe could ask for asylum in different European countries or even that they could choose the country where to do that. The Dublin Convention thus established as the main criterion that a request for protection should be made in the first country of arrival (thus avoiding asylum shopping and “refugees in orbit”).
This criterion has had dire consequences for border states who have seen the responsibility disproportionately fall on them. And although the Geneva Convention lays down in its preamble the principle of international solidarity when the granting of the right of asylum is excessively “burdensome” for a State, this principle has not been applied. (In 1994, after receiving 460,000 asylum applications, mainly from people fleeing the Bosnian war, Germany proposed the distribution of asylum seekers that took account of the size of the country, the population and GDP). The proposal was rejected, mainly by France and United Kingdom).[75]
On the other hand, at certain times some of the States through which people entered seeking protection preferred not to identify them in order to avoid having to bear the costs of this process. (It is worth recalling the conflict that arose between Italy and France in 2011 with the arrival on the Italian shores of more than 26,000 former North African people whom Italy had let freely circulate in the absence of support from the rest of the State Members, and that was settled with the request of the leaders of both countries for the revision of Schengen.)
And finally, another issue that undermines Dublin is that not all States are prepared to guarantee the reception of persons seeking international protection. The situation in Greece and Italy made this clear recently. But before that, Greece had already been convicted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) since the conditions offered to asylum-seekers did not meet minimum requirements and were considered degrading treatment. In fact, the ECHR condemned Belgium for attempting to transfer an asylum seeker to Greece.[76] Since then the application of the Dublin Convention has been suspended in the Hellenic country.
However, those who are suffering more burdensome consequences is the people who are seeking protection. Although the existence of relatives in another State is a priority for the place of entry, in practice hundreds of families are separated by lack of coordination of information, lack of agile regrouping procedures, or lack of practice in the transfer of responsibility. While the husband is in Finland with refugee status the wife has been relocated in Spain – and no one knows how many months it will be necessary for the couple to be able to meet legally and both keep refugee status.
Neither the procedure nor the reception nor the guarantees of obtaining a statute are common. Differences in national asylum regulations are evident. Many people applying for protection know this and logically do not want to go there where rights are not respected. Sometimes they refuse to be identified.
The imbalance in the number of applications for international protection and the differences in grant ratesbetween the countries of the European Union are symptoms of the stagnation of the common asylum policy.
In 2016, Germany processed 745,265 applications for protection, while, for example, Spain, being the European frontier in the south, processed 15,755 applications, barely 1% of the total. Requests have dropped alarmingly in Melilla, there were only 2,440 applications for protection in 2016, less than half that of last year, and there were barely 220 requests in Ceuta (border enclaves with Africa).
The percentage of concessions in Germany and Sweden is 68% compared to 8% in Hungary or 32% in France and England. Spain is one of the countries where protection is more difficult to apply for.
The effectiveness of the rights of applicants throughout the international protection procedure, the quality of decision-making and the reception conditions are very disparate between the various States, being, in some cases, beneath international and European standards.
For example, in Malta, any foreigner without a visa, asylum seeker or not, may be held in prison for up to eighteen months. Prior to the entry into force of the Return Directive, this time was unlimited.
Greece was summoned by the European Commission on 10 February and 15 June 2016 by two Recommendations to deal with serious shortcomings in the asylum system and with a view to the resumption of transfers under the Dublin Regulation. Deficiencies such as that of 8 December 2016 [77] continued to persist mainly in the legal aid system, in guaranteeing effective judicial protection to appeal against denials of international protection, and in the protection and reception of unaccompanied minors.
The deadlines for processing an application are different in each State and the rights to which the person has access during processing also differ.
Nor have the States so far guaranteed a coherent and gender-sensitive treatment of women seeking protection in Europe. Nor do they provide favourable treatment to the most vulnerable people (minors, persons with disabilities, victims of trafficking)
In Spain until June 2016 there were scarcely six women who were granted protection for being victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, and it is not yet possible to know the data on gender-based protections since the data are not disaggregated. Nor is it known what/how is the most favourable treatment that must be granted in the procedure to the most vulnerable groups because it has to be defined in the longed-for regulations for the development of the Law.
Xenophobic and racist movements are resurfacing in some European states in the various electoral campaigns with results that are concerning in all cases.
Some of the measures that have been proposed such as measures to control refugees directly affect dignity, and others are aimed at limiting fundamental rights such as family life or freedom.
Denmark has carried out a legislative reform that allows the Government to expropriate from refugees their assets and money to finance their stay, as Switzerland already does. The police will confiscate any amount over 10,000 Danish crowns (1,340 Euro), as well as valuables, except those with “special affective value” such as wedding bands. And it has also hardened family reunification.
In Germany, according to data from the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation, there were 163 violent attacks on refugee shelters in the country in 2015, almost six times more than in the previous year.
In the United Kingdom refugees claim to have been victims in their homes, identifiable by the colour of the doors, xenophobic attacks with the launching of dog excrement, eggs, stones and even with logos of the far-right National Front party.
Austria has followed the wake of so many other European states (Spain leading) and has built barriers to stop the arrival of people, 3.7 kilometres long, in the south of the country, on the border with Slovenia.
Sweden, the home country for refugees, par excellence, said last year that it could no longer accommodate more people. For the first time since 1950 Stockholm has imposed controls on the border.
Xenophobic attacks have also grown and an anti-refugee sentiment is beginning to gain ground, according to Human Rights Watch.
For more than 15 years the European Union has been unable to comply with its own standards and has converted the right to seek protection from a fundamental right recognised in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, into a true luxury within the grasp of very few people.
The EC has now opened 40 infringement proceedings against several Member States for failing to fully implement the SECA legislation.
The failure of the Relocation and Resettlement agreements.
In response to the increase in the arrival of people seeking protection in Europe, the European Commission on 13 May 2015 adopted the European Migration Agenda, which resulted in the adoption of two packages of measures in late May and early September.
Among its proposals were the relocation of asylum seekers from Greece and Italy and the resettlement of refugees from third countries. In July, the States pledged to relocate 32,256 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece, with a commitment of reaching 40,000 in December, according to the European Commission’s proposal.
In September, pressured by public reaction and indignation, they accepted the relocation of 120,000 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece. Although, in the Commission’s initial proposal, Hungary was to be a country from which asylum-seekers would be relocated, its Government rejected the final scheme adopted by the Council.
For this reason, out of the 120,000 relocated agreed, 54,000 remained pending reallocation among the receiving states. As far as resettlement is concerned, only the first agreement included the commitment of States to this mechanism and the resettlement of 22,504 refugees, mainly from North Africa, the Middle East and the Horn of Africa was approved.
The relocation and resettlement programmes have failed. At the beginning of June 2017, only 20,327 people had been relocated.
Spain has promised to relocate 15,888 people up to September 2017. In particular, 9,323 should be arriving from Greece and Italy, and the origin of the remaining 6,600 refugees is still awaiting determination. So far, 886 people have arrived. A trickling welcome.
In the cases of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, the Commission has initiated disciplinary procedures against these for breaching their obligations under the Council Decisions on relocation in 2015. Despite repeated appeals by the Commission, these three countries continue to breach their legal obligations and have disregarded their commitments to Greece, Italy and other Member States.
In the resettlement program, out of the 22,504 persons with refugee statuses in third countries that the European Union has undertaken to accommodate, only 16,163 have been transferred to community soil.
Spain pledged to resettle 1,449 people. As of 5 June 2017, they have only transferred 418 people.
These extraordinary reception mechanisms could have been a starting point for relying on a Europe that really guarantees the rights of people, just and in solidarity. However, this reaction, rather than an act of responsibility, more resembled an auction of people accompanied by a policy of return that was effective and harmful to people.
Investing energies in securing the support of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, which are countries under greater migratory pressure, so that they would control the departure of people. And reinforcing naval operations to avoid the transfer of people, not to save lives.
Undoubtedly, where the failure of a European policy that respects human rights legislation and prioritises care to people has been the most palpable has been the signing of the agreement between the EU and Turkey. There is no doubt that the main objective of the European Union is to curb the arrival of refugees and migrants and in order to achieve this, it has not hesitated to associate itself with a country such as Turkey, which will receive compensation of 6,000 million Euro, visa liberalisation for its citizens, and the reopening of negotiations for its future accession to the EU.
An agreement that CEAR has denounced to the European Commission, to the European Commissioner for Human Rights and to the European Ombudsman to demand its withdrawal, with the support of more than 300 social organisations and more than 11,000 citizens who believe in Human Rights and do not want to be accomplices to barbarism.
The proposals for reform of the SECA, a new threat to international protection.
A further twist in EU policy.
Drawing on the need to create a system that was “more equitable, efficient and sustainable” (even using arguments very similar to those alleged by Cecilia Malmström at the time) the European Commission submitted on 6 April 2016 a communication[78] to the Council and Parliament with proposals for the reform of the Common European Asylum System, which, once again, seems to be aimed more at prioritising the interests of States and the Union rather than ensuring the fulfilment of the obligations relating to the right of asylum and international protection.
On May 4, 2016, the first phase of the reform began:
New Version of Regulation of Dublin III laying down the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person (new version):
Strengthening the effectiveness of the system by determining a single Member State responsible for examining applications for international protection.
Establishing a more equitable system of distribution through a corrective mechanism that will automatically detect if a Member State faces a disproportionate number of asylum applications.
Providing a clarification of the obligations of asylum seekers in the European Union, as well as the consequences of non-compliance with those obligations.
Modifying the Eurodac Regulation so that it adapts to the modifications of the Dublin system and ensure its proper application.
Strengthening the mandate of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) by making it a genuine European Asylum Agency.
And on 13 July 2016 the European Commission agreed to complete the second phase to:
Replace the Asylum Procedures Directive with a Regulation: reduce procedural deadlines, establish common guarantees, combat abuses, and establish the definition of safe countries.
Replace the Qualification Directive by a Regulation: achieving convergence of recognition rates, punishing secondary movements, equating the duration of protection time, and establishing incentives for integration.
Reform the Reception Directive: with a view to establishing dignified and harmonised reception conditions throughout the EU.
The main threats of this reform such as CEAR has included in its report “Cinco puntos críticos de SECA” [Five critical points of SECA] [79] revolve around:
Penalising secondary movements. Since it limits the possibility that people can move to another state, and even penalises them. Freedom of movement is reduced. They will not be able to choose.
States will even lose the possibility of deciding for themselves whether they assume responsibility for an application.
Guaranteeing the rights of asylum seekers and refugees is reduced. Since limitations are introduced on fundamental rights such as free legal aid or the right to life in the family.
Lack of protection of people in situations of vulnerability, since there is no progress in improving information between States or in taking measures to provide special care to the most vulnerable.
Application of restrictive concepts and criteria. Of particular concern here is the possible automatic application of concepts such as “safe third country”, “first country of asylum”, “safe country of origin” or “safety hazard”, as they may lead to the total impossibility of requesting protection or the systematic denial of applications.
Barriers to reception, through the extension of detention cases, the introduction of indeterminate concepts such as “dignified standard of living” or “risk of flight”.
And the incorporation of a corrective mechanism activated once the capacity of reception has been surpassed by 150 %, whereby States can detach themselves from it for a fee.
Conclusions and Claims:
Over the last twenty years, in the construction of the European project, the Europe of freedoms, space of freedom, security and justice has prioritised the control, security and well-being of citizenship that is not inclusive but exclusive.
The strategy of classifying people into refugee, migrant, legal or illegal categories perverts these concepts, gradually empties them of content and nullifies a serene debate on the right to migrate and the right to seek protection.
The enormous production of standards has failed to establish a common asylum and migration policy that prioritises human rights and protection mechanisms (both ordinary and extraordinary). The legislator has prioritised this perspective. The principles and values that underpin the Union run the risk of collapsing along with the European project.
The outsourcing of borders favours the death of people at sea and in the desert. Violence against women on migratory routes is a constant. Failure to adopt safe routes of access and access to the destination favours the actions of mafias and the impunity of violence.
European action with regard to third countries cannot be limited to conditioning cooperation on border control; it is necessary to work on the causes of displacement from the standpoint of responsibility and rigour.
Faced with the increase in requests for international protection from people arriving from countries in conflict or where it is believed that human rights are being violated, the concession rates have not exponentially increased. In 2015 more than half of the applicants came from Syria and Ukraine.
The construction in Spain of a policy of asylum and immigration from the concept of invasion and threat has succeeded in legitimising restrictive policies, which violate human rights and pave the way for discrimination and xenophobia; movements that are already seeping through in other European countries.
No extraordinary measure of protection or welcome will be effective if there is no political will to implement it.
We therefore REQUIRE/DEMAND:
A reflection on the concept of citizenship, content and scope so we can move towards the recognition of all people having the same rights and obligations.
A rigorous debate on displacements (voluntary or forced) from a human rights approach and their integral protection, whether they are political, social or cultural rights. The various instruments of protection, scope and content.
The incorporation of a human rights approach into the policies of the European Union, as part of the new regulatory framework. The recovery of the foundational values and the creation of a true space of freedom and protection for all people.
The elimination of bilateral agreements with countries that violate the rights of migrants.
The opening of humanitarian corridors, issuance of visas at embassies and consulates, compliance with relocation and resettlement commitments, and adaptation of other alternatives that favour safe access routes to protection.
The end to illegal returns on the borders of Ceuta and Melilla.
The development of the Law on Asylum and Subsidiary Protection from a gender perspective, which incorporates agile, guaranteed procedures and in keeping with the vulnerability of each person.
The adoption of measures of integration and generation of coexistence with equal rights, to prevent xenophobia and hate crimes.
The immediate approval of the Regulations for the development of the Law on Asylum and Subsidiary Protection after more than seven years of delay.
http://ppt.transnationalmigrantplatform.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/logo-300x117.png 0 0 jille http://ppt.transnationalmigrantplatform.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/logo-300x117.png jille2017-11-29 12:45:412017-11-29 12:49:29Pillar 4 Fortress Europe
Pillar 3 Border Regime Europe
A contemporary reading of the border system in europe: an inhumane cost
Rapporteur: Iker Barbero González[29]
Lecturer at the University of the Basque Country and the main researcher of the IUSFUNDIE.EU (EHU-US 20/15) Project.
A Bleak (border) Panorama.
An entry in the blog “Fortress Europe”, written by the Italian activist Gabriele Del Grande, is entitled “A Cemetery called the Mediterranean”[30]; and this is no exaggeration. Although the figures for the number of people who have died in the attempt to reach Europe are lower than in reality (as it is impossible to know precisely the exact total, due to the extremely high number of disappearances and deaths that will never be counted), the approximate figures that one source or another publishes already amount to a drama in themselves. According to Del Grande, from 1988 to February 2016, 27,382 people have died, of whom 3,507 correspond to 2014 and 4,273 to 2015. However this figure increases to over 5,000 in 2016, as the deadliest year. And according to the IOM project Missing Migrants[31], in June 2017, 1,985 have already died (from a total of 2,700 on borders worldwide). The Mediterranean Sea, a channel for maritime communication and trade for centuries, as the final ‘natural’ frontier with Africa and the Middle East, has become an immense mass grave.
These people, who risk their lives in boats, on roads or in deserts, are escaping from wars, famine, persecution or ecological disasters. These are people whose life process has been broken and their only option is to migrate to areas that are either safer or where there are higher expectations of progress. And those who are the most affected are young people who do have aspirations. This is why it is necessary to add to this situation, the plight of many children who are defenceless, the victims of sex traffickers, and those who are alone, either because they left their homes unaccompanied or because they became orphans along the way. One in every four children seeking asylum in Europe, whether fleeing from wars or catastrophes is alone, according to Eurostat. The figure has risen sharply and dramatically and it quadrupled in 2015 alone. Over 25,800 unaccompanied children reached the Italian coast after crossing the Mediterranean in 2016, according to UNICEF. Many others remained trapped in the Balkans and in Greece, according to the international organisation Save the Children, highlighting “the terrible situation and the degrading conditions” suffered by the children. Several hundred die every year by seeking to cross the Mediterranean with their families or alone. In short, a total violation of the rights of children.
And the European institutional response to the thousands of migrants and refugees who have to risk their lives crossing seas, rivers, mountains or deserts is “Do not come”. This was the statement made in 2016 by the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk who commented on Twitter, stating “Don’t come to Europe. Don’t believe smugglers. No European country will be a country of transit”[32] The EU, far from its values empathy, freedom and justice, is immersed in a policy of border closure, security and selfishness. The rise of extremism and xenophobic discourse, has led to European leaders flying the flag of the “hard hand” against immigration, lowering the accepted levels of what is politically and ethically tolerable (these are the responsibility of opinion and electoral polls).
Giving a total figure of 28,000 or 29,000 deaths has no other purpose than to state that the current system of borders in the European Union is inhumane. It is no longer a question of political debates about which border model is the most appropriate for an acceptable economic or welfare system, it is rather a debate on the ethical and legal responsibilities with respect to the causes of these atrocities. The answer is simple: the EU border system and its consequences.
In order to focus on the EU border system, it is necessary to go back to the Constitutive Treaty of Rome (1957) and to the “compensatory measures” demanded by the Member States following the creation of the common area of freedom of movement for goods, capital and services, And the consequent (supposed) eradication of internal borders. I am referring here to the creation of the TREVI Group (the acronym for Terrorism, Radicalism, Extremism and International Violence) in 1976, as well as to the ad hoc committee on immigration in 1986, which was tasked with updating the external border posts system, coordinating visa policies and combating counterfeiting, and to the Schengen Border Code of 1985 and 1990, to Frontex and its operations Mos Maiorum, Indalo, Minerva, Sophia, et ., to the Eurosur Border Surveillance System, to Return Directive 115/2008; To the SIS I and II databases, Eurodac, and to endless devices for the control of human mobility both to and within the EU.
Although it should also be noted that on these border areas, not only do the institutional agents of the renewed European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex or the police forces of the Member States operate, but also that the number of actors has multiplied, with respect to police officers from third states, who are entrusted with exit control and rescue operations, in addition to private business actors who are responsible for providing technology, devices and knowledge in exchange for large amounts of money, not to mention, people-smugglers, and opportunists who stalk migrants and profit by offering an endless list of services such as false papers, life jackets or a seat on a boat or a refrigerated truck.
Due to all of the above, in this text, without the desire to make a comprehensive compilation of rules, facts and data, although with a willingness to offer arguments on the violation of rights across multiple borders, I will refer to this control system from a kaleidoscopic perspective on the concept of what constitutes a border, in the steps of Etienne Balibar, in Violencias, Identidades y Civilidad (Violence, Identities and Civility) (2005). To this author, the border possesses a heterogeneous character: “Under no circumstances should certain frontiers have been located at the borders in the geographic-political-administrative sense of the term, but should reside elsewhere, wherever selective controls are undertaken.”
In order to manage or rather control and combat irregular immigration destined for the countries of the North, selective administrative, instrumental and personal mechanisms are established, which are located at different points on the migratory path. On the one hand, the border of a nation state, and in the case at hand, the external borders of the supranational European entity, represent the most paradigmatic example of border control. In addition, the strategy that has been most rigorously configured is that of transferring control wherever the migratory process begins, or at least anticipate intervention before it arrives at the external border. This is what has been termed the externalization of borders. Thirdly, and following Balibar’s logic of locating the border wherever a control point has been established, one must also consider the internal borders. Despite the process of elimination of internal controls proposed and implemented by Schengen, the reality is that different internal mechanisms are established to detect, retain and expel those who have not been admitted or who have exceeded the time authorized to them. While the first two examples possess the function of selective containment, internal borders, as we will see below, serve a dual function, largely that of locating irregular persons and expelling them, but they also have another mission that is, as Terray says, “to keep illegal persons in terror of being arrested, to force them to hide, to walk hugging the walls, and not to make noise “.
When immigrants and refugees come knocking at the door: damaging external borders.
According to the European Council[33], the EU has some 7,400 km of external land borders and 57,800 km of external maritime borders and coasts, in addition to the hundreds of airports that receive international flights (from outside the EU/Schengen area), which constitute the external air borders. In 2015, according to the Eurostat report published in June 2016[34], approximately 298,000 non-EU citizens were rejected at one of the external borders. More than two-thirds of these denials were enumerated by Spain (168,345), and took place mainly in Ceuta and Melilla, while the other main countries which denied entry were Poland (30,245), Hungary (11,385), Croatia (6,680) and Greece (5,790). Taking into account that the external borders are diverse in nature, 81% of refusals occurred at land borders, 16% at air borders and 3% at sea borders. In this respect, the United Kingdom and Italy reported the largest number of denials at sea borders (3,215 and 2,760, respectively) for 2015. The main nationalities to see their access at external borders denied were Morocco (164,885), Ukraine (24,485), Albania (16,910), Russia (10,715) and Serbia (7,775). Moroccans were refused entry mainly at the land border with Spain, Russians and Ukrainians at the land border with Poland, and the Serbs at the land borders of Hungary and Croatia. Albanians were mainly denied entry at the Greek, Hungarian, Croatian and Slovenian borders, as well as at Italian maritime and air borders.
For its part, Frontex counted 104,060 irregular crossings in 2010 and 282,933 in 2014. In 2016, the figure rose to 511,371. Despite the fact that in the latter part of 2016 (Q4 Repport Frontex) these crossings have fallen by 93% as a result of the closure of the Balkan corridor and the implementation of the EU-Turkey Agreement. However increased attempts at crossing are being made in the Central (Italy) and Western (Spain) Mediterranean. The data on the illegal crossing of borders offered by this agency, which is published every four months, reveals that the attempt to close routes leads directly to alternative routes being sought.
This land border perimeter is being fortified as far as it extends. Perhaps the most paradigmatic example of this hyper-fortification process is that of the Spanish postcolonial enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. The fences (with a length of 8.2 km and 12 km respectively) that form these external border devices were first constructed in the 1990s, with the entry of Spain into Schengen Territory. In 1999, 2.5 meters of wire fence were replaced by galvanized steel, which was reinforced with hawthorn wire to a height of 3.10 meters and at a cost of 5,680 million pesetas. During the intense attempts to cross, in 2005 (in which 13 people died as a result of the police response), the device consisted of parallel fences of 3 to 6 meters in height with sharp wire, and designed to provide motor vehicle transit along the border perimeter, in addition to helicopter landing facilities, watchtowers, one hundred surveillance cameras, microphones and 24-hour volumetric motion sensors, high intensity searchlights. All of is this managed by almost 2,000 police and civil guards who were hired for the surveillance of Melilla and Ceuta (European Commission, 2005). Its cost was almost 50 million euros, and it was largely financed by the European Union as part of the border “Europeanization” policy. Since 2006, and under the auspices of Frontex, the fences were elevated to a height of 6 meters along their entire length, although without cutting elements but with more effective means to hinder crossing, with the construction of a third fence. This fence, or “three-dimensional wire”, whose cost came to 20 million euros, is aimed at preventing climbing or the use of ladders, by leaning the fence about ten degrees towards the Moroccan side. The cost of installation and maintenance between 2005 and 2013, both inclusive, according to a government reply to a parliamentary question on September 8, 2014, was 47,927,961.76 euros in the case of Melilla and 24,669,835.90 euros in that of Ceuta.
The case of Abdoulaye Mara, a 22-year-old Malian man, is especially striking. On 11 March 2015, he perched on top of the last barbed wire in the Melilla fence complex, he shouted “I asylum, I asylum “. Once he descended to Spanish soil, and while still requesting asylum, he was handcuffed by members of the Civil Guard and handed over to Moroccan auxiliary forces through one of the gates in the fence. This practice of rejection at the border, or “hot returns”, despite being made legal by Final Disposition 1 of the Organic Law for the Protection of Public Safety that amends Additional Provision 10 of the Organic Law on Aliens, has been considered to be a violation of international human rights laws and of European and state law themselves.
Morocco has also been a major beneficiary of public budgets for the development of border control. In October 2005, European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini announced that the EU would develop policies to help Morocco combat irregular immigration. This aid was to consist of 45 million Euros, in addition to the deployment of Frontex troops to train Moroccan officers in border control strategies at the borders of Ceuta and Melilla. Morocco has now built a border structure consisting of a moat and a palisade, as well as a fence several meters high, using knife wire. This cutting wire is of the type that was installed on the Spanish fences but which was later removed due to the atrocious wounds it causes and which, however is now being installed on the fences of Hungary, Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Turkey, by European Security Fencing, a company from the Spanish group Mora Salazar. This company invoiced 700,000 euros for the installation of the Melilla fence and 405,000 euros for the Ceuta[35] fence. Hungary and Lithuania are literally building walls several meters high with Russia, Belarus and Serbia, and Croatia respectively, under the justification of the “fight against illegal immigration”. The EU has not been so divided by fences since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The fortification of the borders, and their hyper-securitization is in fact becoming a very lucrative business, as evidenced in the Nuremberg trade fair for the manufacturers of fences, alarms and other security systems.
The main clients are both EU and third states, however financing comes largely from the various funds available to the Union for immigration, security and police and judicial cooperation matters. One clear example of this is the External Borders Fund, which was implemented between 2007 and 2013 and financed with 1,820 million euros. The purpose of this fund was to strengthen cooperation between states in border control, whether by improving facilities and operating systems and identity control systems, or by the harmonization and development of Community legislation both within the states and in the consular offices. This fund was followed by the Internal Security Fund, which was created for the 2014-2020 period, with a total of € 3,800 million for this seven-year period; an increase of slightly more than twice the previous budget. The aim of the fund is to implement the Internal Security Strategy, cooperation on the application of Community rules on visas, police cooperation and the management of the Union’s external borders. All these funds would be part of the Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows Programme, which would also include, to a lesser extent, funds for integration or asylum, but for which, Spanish governments between 2007 and 2013 have purchased military hardware for the “fight against illegal immigration” to the tune of 155.87 million euros. According to the journalistic research project “The Migrant Files”, in recent years the Union has spent 13 million euros, of which 11.3 million have been used to carry out expulsions, 1.6 million has been spent on border control and 6.700 on FRONTEX (1,095 million between 2005 and 2016, with an increase of 6.388% in the last 11 years).
One booming sector is the research and development of programs and patents with applications designed to control human mobility. The ABC4EU (Automated Border Control for the European Union) R&D project, which is aimed at improving automation systems for the border control of passengers at airports announced a funding of 16.8 million euros in 2014. The consortium, led by Indra, consists of 15 partners from European countries. This is essentially what Claire Rodier, the French lawyer of the GISTI (the Information and Support Group for Immigrants) and co-founder of the European network Migreurop, has called “the security economy”, in reference to those companies and organizations that profit from increasingly sophisticated devices used to close borders. This author cites the French company Thalès, Italy’s Finmeccanica, Spain’s Indra, Germany’s Siemens, the French-German EADS and Sweden’s Eriksson, in stiff competition with America’s Boeing and several Israeli companies. At the end of 2010, the OPARUS project was launched, bringing together Sagem, BAE Systems, Thalès, EADS, Dassault Aviation and several others in the development of a common strategy for the use of drones (remote control aircraft) for the surveillance of land and sea borders. However, the most important thing, as Rodier stated in an interview in Diagonal on July 9, 2013, is that “by investing in the market for migratory security, these companies enjoy an ideological climate that has been infiltrated since the beginning of the century in the discourses pronounced by most of the governments in the EU, and by European institutions, and which consists of making immigrants a threat against which it is important to protect ourselves”. The criminalization of migrants has been a fundamental step in the business of industrialised migration control.
For some time now, the hyper-securitization of the EU’s borders has led its institutions, with the European Commission at its head, to develop the idea of ‘smart borders’. In 2008, this institution launched an initiative that included the implementation of automated border gate identification controls, increased pre-assessment measures and new databases. This proposal was supplemented by a second, which consisted of a road map for the development of the European Border Surveillance System: “EUROSUR”. This system (an heir to the Integrated Surveillance System SIVE, which has been used to control the south-western border of Andalusia and the Canary Islands) adds the use of state-of-the-art radars, satellite tracking systems, drones and autonomous systems for the detection of small boats sailing into EU waters.
However, as the study Borderline, the EU’s New Border Surveillance Initiatives Assessing the Costs and Fundamental Rights Implications of EUROSUR and the “Smart Borders” (2012) strongly raises, it is not clear that this system has saving lives as its ultimate goal. The Commission has repeatedly stressed the future role of EUROSUR in the protection and rescue of the lives of migrants, but Borderline states that “nowhere in the proposed regulation, nor in numerous R&D evaluations, studies and projects is there a definition of exactly how this might be done, Nor are there procedures established for what should be done with those rescued. The current circumstances of humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean are more likely to lead to the use of this system to prevent ships laden with people from arriving at European coasts and if they do arrive, return them; than act in cases of boats adrift, shipwrecked sailors or maritime rescue (as would be required by international maritime law) .The limited assistance provided comes from NGDOs, activists and some maritime rescue services that invest their time, money and efforts in rescuing survivors, and already lifeless bodies. And this work is sometimes criticized, (lifeguards, doctors, firefighters, etc.) who have been detained and prosecuted in various parts of the Mediterranean, after being accused of trafficking in persons or “promoting illegal immigration.”
This deliberately insufficient aid on the high seas is aggravated when it involves certain political bodies abandoning their duty to provide aid. An example of this occurred on 13 October 2013 when, in the wake of a distress call by a Syrian doctor aboard a drifting, leaking boat, Malta and Italy avoided taking responsibility for organising a rescue for five hours, until the boat sank and 268 Syrian migrants died. However, this was not the last case. Following the tragic accident of a fishing vessel on 18 April 2015, in which more than 800 people died off the coast of Libya, an extraordinary session on migration was convened by the EU Council for Foreign Affairs, in which it was decided to tackle the issue of boats in the Mediterranean through military action: Operation Sophia, which is also known as EUNAVFOR MED. Its purpose has been to implement “measures to identify, find and capture vessels and other elements that are used or are suspected of being used by people traffickers.” In other words, instead of focusing their efforts on the rescue of refugees in boats, in order to prevent further deaths, military means have been used to end alleged illegal immigration networks.
This military intervention has not been (nor is it) an isolated fact. Several leading politicians have resorted to the use of different military bodies for the purposes of border control. Spain was a pioneer, when in late September 2005 it deployed some 480 legionnaires and regular soldiers along the border fences of Ceuta and Melilla, in order to stop the various attempts made to cross the frontier barriers. For several months these detachments patrolled the border perimeters, armed with weapons of war. However, it should be remembered that normally the body responsible for border surveillance, on the Spanish side, is the Civil Guard, a police body but of a military character, and on the other side Moroccan auxiliary forces, which are also of a military nature. More recently, and as a result of the arrival of mainly Syrian refugees, many EU countries have used their armies to monitor, guard and reinforce borders. Thus, as detailed in Guerras de frontera. Los fabricantes y vendedores de armas que se benefician de la tragedia de los refugiados en Europa (The Border Wars Report. Manufacturers and Arms Dealers who benefit from the Tragedy of Refugees in Europe), published in 2016 by the Transnational Institute, Stop Wapenhandel and the Delàs Center for Peace Studies, in May 2015, Bulgaria militarized its border with Macedonia. Hungary has passed a law allowing its army to use rubber bullets, tear gas and guns with nets against migrants on its borders; Slovenia, in addition to mobilizing the army, has contracted private security firms to support the border police on its border with Croatia. The Macedonian armed forces used tear gas and stun grenades to arrest migrants and refugees who were seeking to enter the country from Greece. Between 2015 and 2016, Austria deployed five hundred soldiers both on its borders with Slovenia and with Italy, after the closure of the Balkan route. In short, the balance between the reception of migrants and refugees and border control has now taken the latter option, while using one of the greatest expressions of coercive force of the state, the army, as if the issue was one of a military invasion.
“Dirty” control in the hands of others.
In recent years, European policy on border control and the prevention of irregular immigration has opened up a new front, or rather, one that already existed; it has moved the matter beyond the external border: to the countries of origin and to the transit countries that lie outside the walls of Fortress Europe. This is what has been called transnationalization, relocation, or more specifically, the outsourcing of migration control. The aim of this outsourcing of control is threefold. Firstly, it involves curbing irregular immigration by creating a ‘pre-brake’ zone at external borders. Secondly, given the constant uncertainty generated by the “threats” of globalization, the European Union has set itself the task of creating a security perimeter in its adjoining territories in order to prepare itself in terms of reaction and defence. The third aim is to acquire a presence in strategic locations, either for geopolitical issues or for economic interests.
Although at the beginning of the 1990s several pronouncements were made that linked the European policy of controlling irregular immigration with countries of origin or transit countries, the policy of outsourcing border control began to take shape with the controversial Strategic Document on Migration and Asylum Policy. This text, which was drafted in 1998 by the Austrian Presidency of the European Council, sought to transfer in an almost forced manner, a large part of control work to countries of origin. As the text itself states, in order to achieve an integrated approach, “financial assistance should be linked, for example, with visa issues, the attenuation of border controls with readmission guarantees, air links with control regulations at borders, the availability of economic cooperation with effective measures in order to reduce factors of attraction” (1998: 112). Another element of European policy related to the policies of rings, and which places it in the context of the “enemy at the door” is the European Neighbourhood Policy[36]. Launched in 2003 and developed in 2004, the ENP is the instrument through which the EU establishes relations with neighbouring states to “promote economic and social development in transboundary areas; working together to tackle common problems in areas such as the environment, public health and the fight against organized crime; keeping borders efficient and secure; promoting local actions, “from town to town”. The Commission Communication of March 2003 on “A Broader Europe: Relations with Neighbouring Countries: a New Framework for Relations with our Eastern and Southern Neighbours”. The EU offers its neighbours a privileged relationship in exchange for cooperation, especially in matters such as immigration and asylum. As the Migreurop group denounced, neighbouring states receive financial incentives when progress is made in accordance with Community provisions, if not these funds are recouped or eliminated (2009: 37).
As early as February 2000, the readmission clause (Article 13.5.c.ii) was introduced in the Cotonou Agreement 2000-2005 (former Lomé Convention[37]) at the request of one party (the Netherlands) as a requirement for the renewal of the cooperation agreement. Subsequently, in the preparatory sessions of the European Council in Seville in 2002, the Spanish and British representatives suggested suspending cooperation agreements with the countries of origin and transit and even sanctioning those who did not take an active role in the control of their populations. However, due to opposition to this measure by France, Sweden and Finland, the conclusions of the Seville summit did not expressly include the possibility of sanctions, although the final draft did contain the threat that “insufficient collaboration on the part of a country could hinder the intensification of that country’s relations with the Union” (Seville Council of Europe 2002: 11).
A paradigmatic example of development aid that is linked to (or rather conditioned by) immigration management is the first Africa Plan, which was approved by the Spanish Government in May 2006, after the arrival of immigrant rafts on the shores of the Canary Islands from Senegal and Mauritania and the second Africa Plan, for the periods 2009 and 2012. Although these plans were presented with the aim of providing a “global, ambitious and at the same time realistic and determined policy for the sub-Saharan issue” (2006: 6), immigration control is their cornerstone. Prior to 2005, Mauritania and Senegal received less than € 500,000 each in terms of development aid. Although initially this involved material means, such as patrol boats or police agents in cooperation and training missions, from 2006 economic aid began to increase exponentially. This was true especially from 2009, when the Mauritanian authorities received between 10 and 15 million euros per year and the Senegalese government, between 5 and 10 million euros. According to the response of the Spanish Government to a parliamentary question posed by Senator Jon Inarritu of the EH Bildu party. Mauritania has received a total of 108.45 million euros, of which 88.6 million have been earmarked for border control and 19.8 for development aid. In the case of Senegal, Spanish assistance (59.7 million euros in total) has been divided between border control (34.9 million) and development cooperation (24.8 million).
Readmission agreements are one of the counterparts of these development aids (for border control). Two Council recommendations (of 30 November 1994 and 24 July 1995) were the initial rules on which the EU began work on the establishment of a common procedure concerning the guidelines to be followed in the drawing up of protocols on the implementation of readmission agreements. Subsequently, the Laeken Council Conclusions of 2001, and the informal meeting of the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs of 2002 in Santiago de Compostela the drafting of common procedural rules in the negotiations of readmission agreements was given continued encouragement.
The aim of this type of agreement is not only the repatriation of irregular migrants to their countries of origin, but also to force the countries with which the agreement is signed to also admit third-country nationals who are considered to have entered Community territory through their own. Thus, in both the bilateral agreements and in the return directive itself, migrants are expected to return, not only to their country of origin, but also to a country of transit or to another third country, enabling these countries to then do the same at a later date. The main consequence of this type of provisions is that it is difficult to monitor the fulfilment of guarantees in the implementation processes used in the application of these measures.
Although there are many examples of bilateral readmission agreements signed between Member States and countries of origin or transit, perhaps the most paradigmatic is the agreement signed on 18 March 2016 between the EU and Turkey. Basically, this agreement consists of “accepting the rapid return of all migrants who do not need international protection and who have passed from Turkey to Greece, and to accept all irregular migrants intercepted in Turkish waters” in exchange for “visa liberalization and accession negotiations “and at least 3,000 million euros of the mechanism for refugees in Turkey”. However, both the means, the objectives and the manner in which such an agreement has been developed and materialized cast serious doubts on its legality or compatibility with Community Law. Since its implementation, a number of human rights organizations have documented the conditions under which expulsions or readmissions occur, as well as the lack of procedural guarantees that violate basic rights. What are the criteria that allow some refugees to remain in Greece while others are expelled to Turkey? What are the examination procedures being implemented? What information is being offered to refugees about their rights? What are the effective possibilities for requesting asylum and denial? These were some of the questions posed by the French organization GISTI in its report on the mission to the Greek hotspots in 2016 entitled “The Turkey Agreement. EU: the Great Sham.[38]”
In November 2016, various lawyers and human rights organizations backed the presentation of an appeal to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against the agreement, based on the violation of fundamental rights, as established in the Charter of Nice, the Community and international right to asylum, the principles and values of the EU, such as life, dignity and freedom of movement, in addition to the regulations of Community treaties on the creation and signing of agreements with third countries. This is not the moment for an in-depth analysis, but what can be appreciated, although briefly, is the violation of various international treaties such as the Geneva Convention, with respect to the return of persons to an unsafe country, as is Turkey, with its 79 condemnations from the European Court of Human Rights in 2015, in addition to European Law itself, with regard to that established for the creation of international treaties (Article 216 et seq. on the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union TFEU). The appeal was lodged by two Pakistani refugees and one Afghan. The request made to the ECJ in the appeals consisted in calling for the declaration to be made null and void and to detain the forcible return to Turkey of those refugees arriving on Greek coasts, as they are people with the right to asylum in the EU.
The manner in which the ECJ has replied to the appeal has been surprising, if not to say disappointing (Case T-192/16, T-193/16 and T-257/16 NF, NG and NM / European Council) of 28 February 2017[39]: “The EU General Court declares that is does not to possess the capacity to resolve the appeals of three asylum seekers against the EU-Turkey Declaration, which seeks to resolve the migratory crisis” in so far as “this act was not adopted by any of the institutions of the European Union.” In the opinion of this court “there are inaccuracies in the identification of the authors of the ‘EU-Turkey Declaration’ in the press release”, given that it is not clear whether it is the EU or its members who sign the declaration. It is from the evidence presented by the European Council that the court concludes that this agreement / declaration has been signed by the states that comprise the EU, in an international meeting parallel to the European summit, and not by this supranational institutional, the European Council, and which therefore falls outside the area of its jurisdiction.
It is even more surprising that, despite a ruling that disassociates the EU with the agreement, institutional representatives, such as Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas stated “we remain committed to the implementation of the agreement between the EU and Turkey and, as we have said many times in the past, this involves mutual trust and fulfilment, and we hope that both parties will meet their commitments, as it is in the interest and benefit of both of them, and of the Syrian refugees.”
Recently the EU has once again taken up the idea of extending the model of the Africa Plans and the agreement with Turkey to all those places that are the origin of the migratory flows or the last countries of transit. In June 2016, the European Commission, through a communication on the establishment of a New Partnership Framework with third countries, framed in the European Migration Agenda, promised to mobilize eight thousand million euros over a five-year period (from, among other funds, The Emergency Fund for Africa) to “achieve short and long-term migration management objectives” through “a combination of positive and negative incentives in EU trade and aid development policies, to reward countries willing to collaborate effectively with the EU in the management of migration, and to ensure that there are consequences for those who refuse to do so.”
At the Malta Summit in February 2017, after the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, said at a press conference that the 200 million euro agreement with Libya had been made in order to prevent refugees from moving to EU countries is crucial in preventing deaths at sea, “Our method is to direct the refugee flow. This is not a wall nor is it keeping people away. This is a European method that aims to address a rather complicated issue by giving priority to human rights and the fight against criminal organizations.”
The lives of immigrants and refugees is infernal in countries like Libya or Morocco, and even more so in a detention camp in any of these countries. In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País on October 19, 2005, a worker from the NGO SOS Racism described how “Moroccan forces began to deport detainees from near Nador, Casablanca and Rabat to Oujda. Several people from these groups, some of whom were asylum seekers, called me, saying that they were being taken south to leave them in the desert (…) when we arrived at Ain Chuater, on the desert border with Algeria, we saw four groups of buses going south. We followed them, believing that they were organizing an even more murderous deportation to the Sahara, because there are many more obstacles there with respect to our own work and that of the journalists. We arrived at Ain Chuater the day they were regrouping to take the Senegalese and Malians to Oujda. From there we stayed in Bir Gandouz [on the border of Western Sahara with Mauritania] in two days at a rate of 2,000 kilometres a day. Now we must continue to look for survivors and dead in the desert.”
Another example is the Regane detention centre in Algeria, a camp whose existence has been confirmed by the Nigerian ambassador in Algiers. It was an improvised structure made in November 2000 by the Algerian government to detain 600 sub-Saharans from a shanty settlement in Magnia (also in Algeria), which is a base point from which to enter into Morocco clandestinely, before attempting to reach Europe. These are people “waiting for repatriation”, and who have arrived via Mali and Niger, both of which refuse to readmit them, despite attempts by the Algerian authorities to return them. The location of these centres coincides with the former secret detention camps made for fundamentalist prisoners in the 1980s. As the camp is crowded, the authorities “clean” the camp at night two or three times a week: they take a dozen detainees and take them into the desert, leaving them 400 kilometres from the border with Mali. “Algiers is holding 600 migrants in a detention camp in the Sahara.” El Periódico, 25 February, 2001. Recently, 41 Syrian refugees, mostly girls, children and women, were abandoned in the no-man’s land between Morocco and Algeria for more than 40 days without any kind of humanitarian aid.
The outsourcing of borders in Libya, according to reports by Doctors Without Frontiers (DWF), has also led to dramatic consequences such as systematic violence, rape, torture, or mental illness as a result of psychological abuse: “In this prison we were beaten every day, they were very, very brutal (…) the people were sick, but there was no hospital, no doctor to look after them. Some died in this prison. I saw two Nigerians die because they had been beaten too harshly (…) Many women were there too, they were all deported.”- Sidi Bilal, 29[40], Libya.” According to DWF, these detention centres do not meet the minimum standards of hygiene or habitability, which results in refugees suffering from skin diseases, outbreaks of diarrhoea and respiratory and urinary tract infections. As there is no rule regulating them, there is no ruling on maximum detention periods, and all rights to due process or a defence for deprivation of freedom are simply violated.
Although the New Partnership Framework on Migration with Third Countries of June 2016 prioritizes “ending the business model of human traffickers, who seek to exploit migrants for profit, it is essential to address irregular migration, and the best way to do this is to ensure that the borders are safer and better managed, “it is often border officials who illegally benefit from the refugees’ need to cross borders. According to Palestinian artist and director Mohamed Tayeb, who interviewed dozens of Syrians like Khadija on the Moroccan border and in the Temporary Immigrant Stay Centre (CETI) in Melilla to produce the documentary Exile Home “They know that refugees are willing to pay whatever it takes to get to Spain, and they try to take advantage of this, sometimes they raise the price by up to 2,000 euros per person, regardless of age, and then share this money with the Nador Border Police. They simply close their eyes or look away for five or ten seconds until the family reaches the border post with Spain.” These statements are confirmed by the investigation carried out by the Moroccan Judicial Police against border police who are linked to illegal immigration mafia-style
groups in Melilla, and who take some of the money that the Syrian refugees give to these criminal organizations so that they can reach the asylum office in the Spanish city.
In short, the problem with this European outsourcing model (whether we are dealing with Morocco, Libya, Mauritania or Turkey) is that the management of control is left to states, actors and methods that are not always subject to the rules, principles and guarantees that on might suppose a system that abides by the rule of law and democratic apples. In other words, despite the fact that systematic breaches of rights are committed by non-member states, they are directly or indirectly motivated by EU funding, which makes the latter equally responsible for any fatal consequences that may occur.
Once inside, locate and expel (or not).
Recalling what Balibar said about borders and wherever there was a selective control, the term ‘border’ should be used, we must now pay attention to what has been termed the internal border. This refers to those physical and legal mechanisms by which states locate those who have clandestinely entered Schengen territory or who have become “irregular survivors”; they are confined to temporary camps or internment centres and finally they end up being expelled or freed, but with the legal standing of a ‘deportable person’, i.e., a status of non-belonging, of non-citizenship, from which a severe limitation of rights derives, in addition to an existence that entails a precarious daily life marked by the constant threat of deportation. The number of people in this situation is once again impossible to calculate. However, there are official figures available that may be illustrative. According to data from Eurostat data, during 2016, almost one million (983,860) third country nationals have been found living irregularly in the EU, without losing sight of the 2,136,055 in 2015, 669,575 in 2014 or 505,130 in 2010. In the last five years, almost 6 million people have been intercepted who did not possess the relevant documentation within European territory.
The displacement of people from Greece, Italy, Spain or the Balkan countries to the United Kingdom, Germany or Scandinavian countries (what the European authorities have termed “unauthorized secondary movements”) has also led to increased police controls, identity controls and the re-establishment of internal borders between EU countries. Despite the process of eliminating internal borders, the reality is that different internal control mechanisms have been established with the aim of detecting, detaining and expelling those who have entered European territory without permission, or who have exceeded the time they had been allowed to remain therein. These inner controls are mainly implemented through the application of racial profiling, in places such as railway and bus stations, and stigmatised neighbourhoods; places where a high concentration of a certain ethnic group may be expected to be found (international phone centres, markets and mosques, etc.). In late 2010, a joint operation called Hermes was carried out at a European level. The aim of this police operation was to simultaneously coordinate the border agencies of all Member States in order to identify illegal aliens at strategic transport stations. The results of the operation were published by the European Council in the Final Report 17816/10 of 13 December 2010, which stated that between 11 and 17 October 1,900 people were identified as irregulars. As a result of the Rosalind Williams case, an African-American woman who was ordered by the Spanish National Police to identify herself due to her appearance (their actions being made on race-based criteria), the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (2006[41] y 2011[42]) and the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2011[43]) have specifically spoken out on the need to eradicate such policing practices.
In fact, the association of these immigrant movements with various acts of terrorism has increased surveillance and police pressure in certain places and with respect to certain backgrounds. Countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark Germany, Austria, France, Malta and Hungary have alleged that threats exist to public safety and public order so as to obtain approval from those Community institutions responsible for authorizing the reintroduction of border controls. However, the trend has been to act unilaterally in order to shortcut the issue and deal with it without delay.
It was mentioned above that several hundred thousand people have been intercepted or detained in EU countries over the last few years, due to their irregular presence in a country. The profile of these people is highly varied, and includes people whose residence permits have expired or who cannot renew them due to the impossible nature of some form of legal requirement (such as lack of work), asylum seekers and persons whose request for protection has been denied, people who, despite having resided in a country for many years, were never able to gain access to a permit, or people who were prevented from entering European territory and are being held at airports or other borders, or in internment centres.
Although they may seem like figures of the past, refugee camps have proliferated in Europe as a result of containment and confinement policies in islands or strategic locations within the EU. Names like Moira Kara-Tepe, Matamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Vial, Souda, Dipethe on the island of Chios, or Elliniko, Softex, Idomeni and Nea Kavala on mainland Greece. These are just a few examples of camps where thousands of mostly Syrian, Iraqi and Kurdish people fleeing the war – have been crammed together, while awaiting a decision to be made by the European Union to relocate them or deport them to Turkey. Generally, abandoned buildings, stadiums and disused factories, or even fields close to borders, are the places where these camps have been hurriedly put together, sometimes with the connivance or on the direct orders of the Greek authorities, as in the port of Piraeus, in Athens. In all cases, living conditions, especially in the cold and rainy winters, are deplorable.
According to the investigation Life in Limbo: Filling Data Gaps relating to Refugees and Displaced People in Greece[44], after talking to the refugees who lived in the Greek camps, the main concerns voiced centred on feelings of insecurity and vulnerability, with limited access to water, electricity and poor tents, while overpopulation is the greatest problem for many camps. The Moria reception centre on the Greek island of Lesbos has room for 1,500 people, but estimates speak of 4,000 inhabitants who are held in this camp alone. This idea of overflow is also reflected in the GISTI report on Greek hotspots, although a special reference is made to asylum applications and the impossibility of offering legal assistance in decent conditions: “The associations in Athens are overwhelmed by the high number of human rights violations already have already been suffered by migrants on mainland Greece, not only in Athens, but also in Thessaloniki and Idomeni, on the border with Macedonia.” European asylum regulations and the recent amendment of Greek law have led to over 50,000 people being ‘trapped’ by the closure of the Balkan corridor borders and who must now wait for the ‘pre-registration’ of their asylum request in Greece, in undignified conditions.
Calais is a town on the west coast of France, a few miles from the UK by sea, and once the site of the European refugee camp pour excellence, which has finally been dismantled. For years, thousands of refugees survived in ‘The Jungle’ waiting, after paying thousands of pounds, to cross the English Channel in the bottom of a truck or a container heading into the UK. The meagre humanitarian aid and the precarious self-administered organization meant that the conditions in this camp too, were also deplorable. In 2015, according to An Environmental Health Assessment of the New Migrant Camp in Calais[45] a study undertaken by the University of Birmingham and supported by Doctors Without Frontiers and the Council for Economic and Social Research (ESRC), the camp was in a situation of ‘”humanitarian crisis”, and “below the minimum levels of any refugee camp, “due to overcrowding, insalubriousness, the insecurity of women and children inside, from xenophobic attacks or police harassment on the outside, or the peril of bonfires. In its last year, the French authorities installed about 120 containers destined to provide temporary shelter to a small group of some 50 refugees, although this decision also raised a great deal of criticism. The camp was taken down in the first months of 2016 and its inhabitants were forced out, dispersing throughout France and moving mainly to Paris. Despite this, after the eviction, some refugees stated that “we lived better in the jungle”, given that those infrastructures destined to accommodate those who arrived had been reduced to a few bathrooms, toilets and portable urinals, a few water outlets and a complete disregard with respect to the collection of rubbish and waste. According to Refugee Rights[46], many organizations denounced the alarming conditions faced by refugees during the winter of 2016-2017. They faced precarious living conditions and a lack of alternatives to this problem, yet also systematic police violence. “The police are constantly waking up people during the night, and forcing them to move from one part of the city to another. They often use force in the process, and resort to tear gas if people do not immediately comply with their orders. Both during the night and during the day, the police remove the blankets and sleeping bags from the streets and throw them away, regardless of the freezing temperatures out in the open. “Despite the European Return Directive, which aimed to harmonize deportation procedures, the conditions and consequences of detention vary depending on the laws of each state. In Spain, internment takes place in closed centres with a maximum detainment period of 60 days, but in Italy confinement periods extend to up to 18 months. In the United Kingdom, because of its exception to the Directive, a three-year internment period is possible. According to the map drawn up periodically by Migreurop, more than 200 immigrant camps have opened throughout the European Union. Their typology and internal regulations vary from open regime centres to closed centres, asylum centres awaiting resolutions and centres for immigrants awaiting deportation, public centres, which are managed by the authorities themselves, or which are on occasions financed with public funds but managed by private actors. Although, as Migreurop itself warns, “other ‘invisible’ forms of detention should also be taken into account, such as informal centres where, under the guise of an emergency, the authorities detain those people out of reach of the public sphere, often beyond any legal framework: in reused administrative buildings, police stations, army barracks, stadiums, common prisons, airport and port stays, boat booths or even train compartments are all used by the National and Border Police[47].” In December 2007, the European Parliament published a report on the conditions of these retention centres for third country nationals (detention camps, open centres, transit centres and transit areas), and paid special attention to provisions and services for people with special needs in the (then) 25 EU Member States. This report gathered information on the 130 sites visited and the needs of people detained in them, which were defined by the concept of vulnerability (punishment, poor legal, social or health care, depression, death or suicide, etc.).
The deaths of Samba Martine, on December 19, 2011 at the Aluche Internment Centre in Madrid, and Idissa Diallo, from Guinea Conakry, on January 6, 2012 or those that occurred at the Zona Franca in Barcelona (among other deaths), marked a turning point in terms of the social perception and the political dimension of the Internment Centres for Foreigners in Spain. In the United Kingdom, according to data from the Ombudsman for Prisons and Probation, as well as the INQUEST inquiry into deaths in immigration centres (IRCs) and Immigration Detention Centres (IDCs), 25 people have died since 2004. In the report entitled The Hidden Face of Immigration Detention Camps in Europe[48], the Migreurop organisation responds critically to the evaluation report of the Return Directive, which was published by the European Commission on 28 March 2014[49], given that the report does not take into account the violation of the rights established in the Return Directive when put into practice.
However, despite the cost of internment centres and the detrimental consequences for internees, only a relatively small percentage of them are finally expelled. According to Eurostat[50] data, over the last 5 years, some half a million people have been ordered out of Europe. In 2016, a total of 493,785 people were ordered to leave, mainly from France (81,000), Germany (70,005), Greece (33,790), Belgium (33,020), Italy (32,365) and Spain (27,845), although in previous years Greece had the highest figures, with 132,525 in 2010. However, since 2009, European countries have expelled 17,786 people who were living as migrants in an irregular situation. To do this, they used 58 million euros from European funds. This means that despite their subjection to a process of sanction, detention and a system that imposes the temporary deprivation of freedom, deportation only occurs in a few cases. The ‘deportation gap’ or the numerical incoherence between those who are ‘forced to leave’ and those who are actually deported is too great. It is here where the strategy of creating ‘deportable persons’ as subjects who live under a constant threat comes into play, as was mentioned earlier.
Although in a generic manner, the term ‘deportation’ is used, expulsion, with all its social burdens, is one more example, not only of the juridical mechanisms made to counteract irregular immigration, but also a symbolic border that, at the same time , serves as a deterrent to unregulated migratory projects and highlights once again the distinction between citizens and foreigners. This is a penalty system that has been specifically designed to punish administrative offenses committed solely by foreigners, given that a citizen would never be interned for an administrative infraction, and much less would they be expelled.
Each State executes its expulsions in accordance with its legislation, its economic means and its infrastructure and according to the population that it expels. The Return Directive is simply the common framework to which each country adjusts its own measures. Frontex organizes and coordinates expulsions, usually through joint flights, which facilitates both work and expenses for Member States. These deportations are known as Joint Return Operations.
In December 2016, during the height of the German electoral campaign, and after announcing a plan of ‘national effort’ to accelerate the deportation of those immigrants who had been refused residence, the German authorities deported 50 asylum seekers, whose requests had been denied, to their country of origin. This country was Afghanistan, and it was considered to be a safe country. In November the suggestion had already been made in a parliamentary debate that the new policy of deporting ‘failed refugees’ could affect 12,500 Afghans. In fact, asylum was denied to 27% of Afghans in 2015, and for the first nine months of 2016 the rate had risen to 46%. But Germany is not the only European country that deports people to Afghanistan. In 2016, 580 people were returned to the country. These deportations, to countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mauritania, Turkey, Iraq and Ukraine, call into question, on the one hand, the legal concept of what constitutes a ‘safe country’ in that they are places where there are still outbreaks of war or conflict, and at the same time the principle of non-refoulement, or the non-return of refugees from the country from which they have fled, and which is a maxim of international asylum law.
However, not even EU citizens are not safe from the machinery of deportation. In 2010, both French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the then Italian President Berlusconi (to a lesser extent) were involved in what has to date been one of the greatest challenges to European citizenship: the massive deportation of Romanian and Bulgarian citizens (and therefore Europeans) of gypsy ethnicity, who had been settled in France and Italy, citing exceptional public safety issues. Beyond the political disapproval voiced by other European leaders, and the harsh criticism of Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, the European institutions never initiated a sanctioning procedure for this breach of Community law, nor did the European Court of Justice sanction either of these two Member States. In theory, mass expulsions are prohibited by international and European law. However, since there is no legal term that defines a mass expulsion in quantitative terms, the only idea on limitation that can be drawn from the norms and treaties on human rights and guarantees is that people should not be expelled as a group, that is, that each subject deserves the right to an individual sentencing procedure where, according to the law, the causes and the decision (based on legal considerations) are provided. The EU-Turkey Agreement provides exactly the framework required for this type of group expulsion to be possible.
According to the data available, in Spain the predominant practice at the moment is to expel increasingly more people in an express manner. An ‘express expulsion’ (in keeping with Spanish policing terminology) may be defined as a police procedure whereby a foreign person subject to an expulsion order (with or without the application of a final sentence) is detained and expelled in less than 72 hours and without having to go through internment in a detention centre. In this type of expulsion procedure, people no longer are stopped at random or in large-scale police deployment actions, they are rather referred to a police station as a precautionary measure or through regularization procedures, or the police visit the person’s home, place of work or education. And in less than 72 hours they are deported to another country. That is, the daily life of the person in question is curtailed in an extremely direct manner. This system is cheaper than a 60-day internment period in a deportation centre, as the deportee is detained in a police station (without judicial decision having been taken). It is also more effective, as in most cases the expulsion is guaranteed since the procedural implementation takes place within a short term of two or three days, avoiding those delays that legal assistance or the lodging of appeals and precautionary suspensive measures could cause. Express expulsion takes place in police cars that journey to Morocco or Algeria or on pre-established flights. And when faced with the question, how many are there? It is difficult to give a precise number, as this information has not been made public. However, by subtracting the total number of people expelled, plus those deported from internment centres, one would obtain the number of those expelled directly from police stations. According to data provided by the Spanish government in a written parliamentary response to the parliamentary group Amaiur, in 2013 the police carried out 4,726 expulsions from internment centres and 6,462 from police stations. In 2016, of the 7,597 foreigners interned, 2,205 were expelled. However, there have been a total of 9,241 deportations of foreign nationals, according to data provided by the General Directorate of Police to the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture. This means that in 2016, 7,036 people were deported directly from police stations within a maximum period of 72 hours.
The European trend is a ‘more effective’ return policy. This was stated by the Commission in its Communication on a More Effective Return Policy in the EU. A renewed action plan COM(2017) 200 final, 2.3.2017“, which states that European legislation allows countries to apply more forceful measures in several areas, such as extending the detainment of certain migrants (such as those travelling under false identities), curbing the misuse of asylum procedures or improving the exchange of information for the purposes of implementing returns.
The EU (and its Member States), whose principal values are freedom, solidarity and justice, is making an extremely restrictive interpretation of these values in so far as immigration and borders are concerned. We could even be reaching the de facto suspension of the fundamental rights of individuals, who have been rejected because of their nationality, administrative status, or life history.
Although at the beginning of the issue known as the ‘refugee crisis’ (which is in fact a crisis of Europe itself), the reception policies of some countries were presented by some leaders as a positive development, and in line with European values, over time it was proven that the real intention was to legitimize repressive policies against irregular immigration. To put it simply: ‘good refugee vs. bad irregular immigrant’. Moreover, this concept has been increasingly categorized in recent years, not so much in the legal field, but rather in the way it has been handled by the media, and in social terms, a fact that has resulted in the legitimation of practices contrary to international law, and which also run contrary to the interests of refugees; as has been seen in some countries where asylum seekers are interned in detention centres or in the case of the EU-Turkey agreement and its consequences. To put it simply again –‘refugee bad, irregular immigrant bad.”
The cost in human terms, although it has always been high, is today excessive and dramatic, if not to say inhumane. A deal that exchanges the maintenance of border strategy policies for actions that violate rights as fundamental as those of life, physical integrity or human dignity is meaningless from an ethical point of view. The economic cost of detention and deportation mechanisms has no other meaning than the construction of legal categories that are attributable to immigrants and refugees whose sole purpose is to be used a ‘reserve army’ in a neoliberal economy where the labour force must be made to live in precarious conditions by necessity. Furthermore, exorbitant sums invested in the control and expulsion of immigrants encourage companies and investment funds to exert pressure on the ruling elites in order to focus their policies on increased spending and investment in increasingly sophisticated frontiers, that are both militarized and disseminated.
And this trend towards hyper-securitization is solely taken on by the population at large through a discourse of fear, uncertainty and threat. I have already said that there is a need for a debate on how the European Union, with the cooperation of its Member States and third countries, has implemented migration policies based on the construction of the migrant in the popular imagination as a ‘barbarian’, as someone who is ‘uncivilized’. To this end, EU border policies have reinforced an argument that has so often been repeated by social movements and activists: the EU, beyond its discourse of the consecration of universal human rights, has constructed an immigration system against perceived threats (mainly from Muslim countries), its policies are implemented on the basis of categorization of legal personality, post-colonial practices, outsourcing, privatization and the selection of a migrants’ origins. The European immigration system, which is also applicable to other contexts, such as the United States or Australia, is becoming an increasingly disciplined structure with the aim of governing the mobility of all mankind.
http://ppt.transnationalmigrantplatform.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/logo-300x117.png 0 0 jille http://ppt.transnationalmigrantplatform.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/logo-300x117.png jille2017-11-29 12:38:432017-11-29 12:39:48Pillar 3 Border Regime Europe
Pillar 2 Hazardous and Dangerous journeys of transit
Building war from the countries of origin to the gates of Europe
Rapporteur: Helena Maleno Garzón
Researcher specialising in migrations and trafficking in human beings, journalist and activist in the group Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders).
The “non-law” spaces that are built on European borders allow, among other actions, people who ask for help in a small boat to be drowned, people badly wounded in barriers not to be assisted, and human beings in the desert to be abandoned. All this justified by the primacy of the territorial sovereignty of Europe.
At the beginning of the 21st century, European policy towards territory control is leading to the development of the concept of border as an entity beyond the boundaries between states. We are moving towards the construction of a space categorised by its own rules; borders as legal and political spaces separated from the laws of the rest of the territory.
These are areas where Europe can implement policies that are separate and far removed from human rights. They are “non-law” contexts where legal primacy is exercised by immigration control and bilateral agreements with third countries.
Due to the implementation of these control policies, the power of border security industry, increasingly managed by armaments and war industry companies, has increased. Safran, Finmeccanica, Thales, Indra and Airbus, have become the new business lobbies that influence the construction of non-law spaces, forming what we can call “border wars[15]“.
European policies on borders have been accompanied by a discourse aimed at the public that has turned towards building an imaginary scenario around movements of people being directly related to the issue of security.
In the process of filling the border space with warlike meaning, politicians, through the use of the media, have directed discourses aimed at creating a climate of “invasion” around movements of people and outlining a reality of uncontrolled masses that want to enter like an avalanche into the European territories where there is no more space for anyone.
Europe has normalised violence and disseminated messages in which the borders are places of exception, and that what happens in these contexts is due to an extraordinary situation linked to the security of the territory.
Borders as spaces of war, but also as places where the new slavery of the 21st century is constructed.
The absence of the right to free movement has formed a breeding ground for other businesses linked to transnational criminal groups, related to trafficking but, above all, to the trafficking in human beings. These have benefited from the militarisation of immigration control.
In a Europe in economic crisis with a decline in the rights of working people, people in movement are not only cheap labour, but form part of a new slavery with different purposes demanded by the European markets.
The blocking of the right to movement has been so beneficial to business lobbies linked to the war industry and to criminal groups that these movement control strategy policies are no longer only applicable in destination and transit countries, but also in the countries of origin. Since 2015 it has a new strategy in its control policy, which is to sign agreements with the countries of origin[16], criminalising people who leave their territories[17] and allowing deportations from Europe.
Military strategies in non-law areas (borders).
Surveillance techniques in the service of facilitating selective expulsions from non-law spaces. Push-back.
Surveillance techniques, such as the SIVE system, or FRONTEX operations, are used to obtain expulsions back to the third countries from which the crossing to Europe begins. One of the star elements of these policies has been the push-back[18], which has mainly operated on the Spanish border with Morocco and has inspired, inter alia, the EU agreement with Turkey.
It consists of returning them to third countries through various practices that place the right to life at risk for the people who are moved. The expulsions are made without individualised administrative procedures, indiscriminately, and to countries that do not guarantee respect for fundamental human rights[19].
Selective and indiscriminate detentions in the accesses.
Europe demonstrates to the citizens that all the policies developed in the non-law areas are designed for fighting against the mafias. In order to make this struggle effective, it systematically and selectively stops people crossing the border in various ways. On many occasions, these people have no relation with the crimes imputed to them, since criminal networks do not expose themselves in non-law spaces.
In many cases innocent people that are being used as bait by the networks are detained.
Invisibilisation of victims of border violence.
Europe has not set up a proactive search operation for missing persons, and there is no official access to information for the relatives of tragedies.
Control processing of victims/survivors of borders.
The right to reparation and justice for surviving victims of violence in non-law areas is not protected. Control and foreigner procedures are applied to victims of tragedies, not protocols of assistance.
Military strategies in transit states and the origin of people in movement.
European states have been consolidating a border strategy based on outsourcing[20] to the belt states.
The outsourcing of borders allows the violence of European security to occur as a result of our policies, but outside the territory of European “democracies”.
The belt states of European militarisation, also transit spaces, make the migratory issue, the people in movement, into an element of political and economic pressure. Control of the movement does not therefore conform to the logic of International Laws but to the situation of bilateral relations, framed within a glossary of economic and geostrategic interests.
Europe promotes the development of immigration laws in countries of migratory transit.
European policies have promoted, within the transit countries of people who move, the application of foreign laws based on the criminalisation of the right to movement, from irregular entry into the country up to departure from the same[21][22].
Utilización de la Cooperación al Desarrollo como instrumento de negociación para implementar en origen y tránsito políticas de control del derecho al movimiento[23]. [Use of Development Cooperation as an instrument of negotiation to implement policies of control of the right to movement at origin and in transit[24]].
Estrategias militares de control de las personas que se mueven en los países de tránsito [Military control strategies for people in movement in transit countries][25].
Implementation of indiscriminate military raids on the settlements of migrants, in forest areas but also in cities.
Removal of the populations in movement from the border areas, which causes the application of differentiated rights for migrants in various areas of the transit countries.
Collective expulsions without guarantees to other border countries, with the aim of moving them away from European borders.
Forced collective displacement without guarantees within the countries of transit.
Construction of Detention Centres financed by the European Union and where there is no guarantee of respect for fundamental rights. In those located in Libya there are even kidnappings, for which releases must be paid for by the families in the countries of origin[26].
These are not people who are transiting through the “non-law” spaces.
The impact that these policies have on the violation of the rights of the people who move has increased in the last decade, and has had a significant impact on the right to life.
The construction of non-law spaces has been accompanied by the victimisation, criminalisation and reification of people on the move, which has formed part of the process of stripping them of their status as people.
That is why neither they nor their families have recognised rights and the European states are thus exempt from responsibility for the violence that they exert against the victims and the survivors of the border war.
Criminalisation has allowed European policies to justify the violation of fundamental rights as a strategy for combating the mafias. Notwithstanding, during these years of militarisation there has been an exponential increase in criminal networks that coexist and feed off the control industry. Above all, the increase in trafficking networks that take advantage of the opportunity of control to postulate themselves as a “migration strategy”, and which exist due to the demand made by the European slave market for various purposes[27].
The networks therefore have a high capacity for adapting to the economic permeability of the borders and respond to a demand for slavery in European markets that is highly feminised.
Understanding people as goods managed by the networks and demanded by the market has encouraged “reification”. It affects women and girls, who travel through non-law areas, and who are seen as goods demanded in European markets, especially for the sex market, but also for domestic service, drug couriers and organ trafficking.
Victimisation is also part of the framework of border violence. European policies mainly use this approach when talking about women and migrant children, putting the focus on the mafias as the sole perpetrators of rights violations. But the most serious thing is that Europe does not have the instruments in place for women and children in movement to have access to a comprehensive recovery of their violated rights. In this sense, these groups, which are instrumented by European policies to maintain militarisation, do not offer real alternatives for their protection.
In this way, it invisibilises the institutional violence exercised in migration control over people who have already suffered violations of their rights. Women, girls and adolescents refer to the sexual violence to which they are subjected by a patriarchal construction that is also reproduced in the populations in movement, and in the construction of border control. Non-law areas permit sexual violence against women and children in movement, which is also perpetrated by representatives of the security forces in charge of the control.
It is especially the victims/survivors of Human Trafficking, mostly women and children, that have been victims of economic, psychological, physical and sexual violence in the social spaces outside the control of networks. Trafficking networks in many cases become spaces of violence that mitigate the other spaces, being considered a “refuge and a survival strategy” in some spaces where rights are very limited.
People who move, but especially women, children[28] and LGTBIQ+ people, differentiate between violence in private spaces, which is related to positions of power, patriarchy, and the trafficking networks. But they also refer to violence in public spaces, generated by the strategies of border control, and which is exercised by state agents and directly related to the violence of private spaces.
Violence in public spaces is such that the victims/survivors do not have the tools to denounce the violence in private spaces.
How to empower constructions of resistance to border wars?
Communities in movement have themselves become accustomed to assuming institutional violence as an “inherent part of movement.” People in movement survive through building processes of citizenship, even if these are temporary.
Communities know that control policies directly affect their right to life. That is why they establish systems of protection based on information and the search for differentiated strategies so as not to die in transit countries or in non-law spaces. Even to minimise the impact that European policies have on their rights.
They build networks to alert people who are missing or dead at the borders. They are given names, and families are alerted so that they can perform a mourning even though there are no official data from the European authorities.
The people in movement also denounce the use of the term economic migrant as a tool of repression, since poverty is also a violence of the system. Women, children, and LGTBIQ+ people wield a search for rights in their decision to move.
These groups understand that their bodies become spaces of violence, especially sexual, and are also an instrument of power and exchange within the borders and the movement.
After passing through these places they also understand that they await the transit of exploitation in European territory, but they understand that it will be provisional and that this exploitation will allow them in the long term to exercise rights for themselves and their daughters and sons.
Women and adolescents who are victims of border violence are aware that their survival depends on strategies linked to gender and that at the border they are just another commodity passing through. Many are especially concerned about their daughters growing up in those spaces where the bodies of women are a commodity.
But the traces of violence are present in these groups through feelings of guilt, fear, submission, low self-esteem, somatised, in most cases, through body aches and nightmares.
Most of the resilience and reparation processes are built individually or within communities on the move, since Europe is unable to build processes of truth, redress and justice for people whose rights have been violated in border areas.
Legal denunciations of border violence are not effective. The relevant courts in each area have closed court proceedings, even where sufficient documentary evidence has been provided. This normalisation of violence has not only affected the citizenry, the reparation processes, but also the judiciary, which has understood that it should not intervene in “border wars”.
Obtaining justice in non-law areas is practically impossible, and that possibility is non-existent when we speak of European responsibility for violation of rights in third countries.
In a perverse use of the judicial system some of the violence has even been “legalised”. A clear example is “push-back” on the Spanish and Moroccan border.
Victims/survivors are afraid of retaliation even from host countries. They also say they will not be heard or believed by the authorities, or have a presence at legal proceedings.
In the process, the people in movement are not sufficiently supported and protected to be able to launch judicial denunciations. The procedures last for long periods of time, and the person does not yet have the stability to assume facing up to the revictimization of being exposed to recounting the situations of violence suffered.
Even when we speak of people in situations of slavery in Europe, such as victims of trafficking, the procedures for redress, protection and reporting are weak. They continue to be visibilised during exploitation in European territory as “migrants”, “whores”, “black”, “poor”, which significantly affects the reintegration of all their rights.
Border violence has an impact beyond the victims/survivors. The deaths and disappearances of people who move have a psycho-social impact on families, but also on the communities of origin.
Families can also suffer social, legal and economic problems, making them victims of border policies, which are directly caused by the disappearance of their loved ones.
The mass disappearances of people in multiple tragedies at border areas have also affected the communities of origin. Entire villages have lost relatives and have not entered processes of truth, reparation and justice.
This whole denial of reparation process has also meant torture and ill-treatment for family members.
Families are not in the position to demand justice, since we are speaking here about populations in movement, with administrative situations that do not allow access to rights. They have difficulty accessing official information, and being recognised as victims of border violence.
In relation to all the above, it is important to:
Support truth-seeking, reparation and justice processes, initiated by the victims/survivors of border warfare, families and communities of origin.
Generate spaces where the victims/survivors, relatives, and communities of origin of the border war are protagonists.
Reflect on the concepts of truth, reparation and justice, and what the instruments are that are helping take steps to achieve these.
Put on the media agenda the border wars, the business lobbies behind borders policies, and their connivance and feedback with the networks that generate slavery.
http://ppt.transnationalmigrantplatform.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/logo-300x117.png 0 0 jille http://ppt.transnationalmigrantplatform.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/logo-300x117.png jille2017-11-29 12:08:242017-11-29 12:09:32Pillar 2 Hazardous and Dangerous journeys of transit
Pillar 1 Causes Forced Displacement
Rapporteur: Juan Hernández Zubizarreta
Lecturer at the University of the Basque Country and researcher at the Observatory of Multinationals in Latin America (OMAL)
A terminological clarification
The concept of refugee and the legal framework set out in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) and its 1967 Protocol have obvious shortcomings.
Economic migration is assumed to be voluntary; however, this casts a veil over forced displacement. Moreover, millions of individuals and peoples who emigrate due to the climate or the heteropatriarchal and capitalist development projects and model are faced with a political, social, legal and human vacuum.
According to Raquel Celis and Xabier Aierdi:
“Forced displacement would consist of an involuntary change of a place of residence of a person or group of persons who are compelled to escape, to move away from their home, in order to protect their lives or integrity, whether or not this implies crossing the national state border. This may be due to: gross, sustained or systematic violation of human rights (including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights); a massive violation of human rights; widespread violence; armed conflict; natural disasters or those caused by humans; and implementation of large-scale development projects.”
“Forced displacement shall also refer to that suffered by persons who have migrated for any other reason but would be at risk from becoming victims of torture, or inhumane or degrading treatment if they are returned to their countries of origin or third countries.”
Accordingly, it is necessary to look beyond the liberal approach to human rights, which restricts them to the civil and political spheres, and instead understand them as being universal, indivisible and interdependent. In other words, it is necessary to protect persons and peoples who are escaping and become forced migrants.
Looking beyond the statistics: pain and solidarity
It is estimated that there are some 1 billion migrants worldwide. Most involve domestic migration from the countryside to the cities. International migration entails in the region of 244 million persons, i.e., 3% of the world’s population.
In 2016 it was calculated that the number of forced migrants around the globe had reached almost 65.6 million. This equates, on average, to one person becoming a forced migrant every three seconds according to UNHCR’s Global Trends Report.
60% of migration in the world takes place between poor countries or between rich countries; however, North-South migration accounts for only one third of the total. Turkey, Pakistan and Lebanon continue to host the largest number of refugees in the world.
52% of all displaced persons on the planet are currently within their own borders due to violent conflict, persecution, practices of transnational corporations, natural disasters –flooding, heavy rains, etc.– and other environmental reasons. Colombia, Syria and Iraq are the biggest sources of internally displaced people.
Indeed, particularly noteworthy in this regard is the data from the Environmental Justice Atlas revealing that more than 2,100 active socio-environmental conflicts have been identified since 2012 all around the world. In addition, 260 cases have been identified in which environmental activists have been killed.
The largest proportion of refugees comes from Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan. Substantial numbers also come from Somalia, Sudan, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Central African Republic, Myanmar and Eritrea.
During the first quarter of 2017, 1,200 migrants lost their lives, 664 of them in the Mediterranean in the period to 9 April. 90% of them died after attempting crossings in precarious dinghies. In 2016, five thousand people lost their lives in the Mediterranean: 2% on the southern border; 50% crossing the central Mediterranean route (to Sicily); and the remaining 48% crossing the eastern route (along the Greek coastline and the eastern coast of Italy).
More than 1.2 million asylum applications were made in the EU in 2016, 60% of them by women and children.
In this regard, Spain has only three months left to honour its pledge to take in 17,000 refugees and it has merely reached 7% of that target. Moreover, it ordered the deportation of 12,770 foreigners in 2016 and 2,252 in the first four months of 2017, indicative of the misalignment of the horror.
The Mediterranean Sea remains one of the deadliest routes having claimed over 14,000 victims since 2014. This data should not allow us to overlook the number of disappeared and dead persons on other routes, such as those that cross Mexico, for instance, in the Rio Bravo region, the Municipality of Esquipulas in Guatemala, the Sahara desert –it is nigh on impossible to determine the number of fatalities in the Sahara on account of its vast size and the difficulties entailed by tracking large areas in search of persons who are making the crossing–, the route crossing the capital of Eritrea and many others that turn the planet into routes plagued with stories of horror.
The many causes contained in the classification of forced displacement make it difficult to determine each and every one of the violated rights. It would not be over the top to state that the complete, absolute destruction of human dignity takes us back to ancient times when human rights did not form part of the everyday worldview. Violations of the right to life, the right to asylum, non-assistance of persons in danger, violations in child protection, failure to identify and protect victims of trafficking, slavery, starvation, deportation, climate change, war, systematic violence, torture, inhumane treatment, rape and harassment, etc.[1] Moreover, the suffering of those who have lost their loved ones –with no record of those who have disappeared and no opportunity to honour them in a dignified manner– is not effectively protected by the law courts.
Nevertheless, these statistics should not allow us to lose sight of the emotional pain and destruction to millions of people’s lives when their only fault is trying to stay alive. How can so much suffering be measured? When we lose a loved one –just one person– we feel like time and space have taken on a new dimension; hence, under no circumstances do we want these statistics and analyses to cloud the true scale of what this indictment seeks to put before the PPT. It should be paramount to put a face and voice to these situations in this process; therefore, the testimonies of the refugees and migrants constitute the focal point of this indictment.
The Universal Declaration on the Rights of Peoples adopted in Algiers –a fundamental source of the PPT– stipulates that every people has a right to existence, and to respect of its national and cultural identity. Every people has the right to retain peaceful possession of its territory and to return to it if it is expelled. It also states that none shall be subjected, because of his national or cultural identity, to massacre, torture, persecution, deportation, expulsion or living conditions such as may compromise the identity or integrity of the people to which he belongs.
In times when millions of migrants move from one place to another worldwide, in the spirit of Algiers, why not put it to the PPT that they be deemed as subjects with full rights, as if they were a “new people” with transnational heterogeneous identities, a people that must be protected and endowed with rights and obligations regardless of where they live?
The reflection to which the issue raised leads us reveals a circumstance that must be taken into consideration in the PPT; namely, the fact that the Declaration of Algiers should be reinterpreted and realigned to fit in with the new transnational circumstances; and in no case should it leave forcibly displaced persons, who are ultimately the biggest losers in this neoliberal capitalist system.
This indictment deems that the alternative use of the law is designed for all individuals who live in poverty in a world of wealth, human beings living in intolerance and discrimination, who are not considered citizens of a country, who live in an undignified manner in conditions of exploitation, extortion and abuse. It is also addressed to women and individuals in the LGTBIQ community who face the hardships of heteropatriarchal rules, male violence, work gender division, etc., boys and girls condemned and compelled to work, personas, elderly adults in circumstances involving social exclusion and precariousness, and millions of people who are unable to freely express themselves, move, eat, drink and, in short, live a dignified life. These are subjects without rights, holders of the “non-right”.
All these individuals, who are excluded from the hegemonic neoliberal project, need an alternative concept of law that overcomes hierarchies and borders, and is shaped within the general framework of trends supported by counter-hegemonic law or law from below.
In its decision-making and in ruling in its judgments, the Tribunal bases itself on “international principles of the jus cogens as an expression of universal legal conscience” (Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal, 1979). There is thus recognition of the absolute precedence of international human rights law that is built through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Optional Protocols thereto. This is in addition to all the declarations, conventions from the International Labour Organization, conventions, guidelines, observations and principles of international human rights law.
This indictment specifically seeks to highlight the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951), the Bangkok Principles of 1966, the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (1967), the Convention by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) of 1969, the Cartagena Declaration of 1984, the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement of 1998, the Kampala Convention of 2009, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (2000) and the various EC directives. It is also important to underline the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the two conventions on slavery, the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, the Protocol to Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In any event, international human rights law sets out a host of principles that are solely rejected by corporate interests and re-construed to the benefit of transnational companies:
Human rights, and the host of rules for the implementation thereof, are universal, indivisible and interdependent.
International human rights law is underpinned by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, along with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocols –that are part of the International Charter on Human Rights– as well as the declarations, guidelines, observations and principles adopted internationally.
The system of sources of international law is set out in article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice and is formed by general or specific international conventions, international custom, the general principles of law enshrined in the legal systems all over the globe as primary and founding sources of legal rules, and in the legal decisions and doctrine of the highest qualified jurists as ancillary sources and means for interpreting existing rules.
In international law, custom carries the same legal weight as international treaties; indeed, customary international law is in force and is mandatory. The International Charter on Human Rights is part of it and constitutes a genuine imperative rule or jus cogens that enshrines and protects the vital interests of the international community. Moreover, according to article 53 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, said charter stipulates that a peremptory norm is one from which no derogation is permitted and which can be modified only by a subsequent norm having the same character.
The causes
The forced displacement crisis is neither spontaneous nor circumstantial. It is linked to several structural causes that underpin the prevailing social and economic model; therefore, these causes need to be addressed at their core, otherwise the human tragedies that cause forced displacement will not be identified.
These causes are capitalism, heteropatriarchy and neocolonialism
We wish to briefly mention neocolonialism as an updated form of domination by rich countries over countries in the Global South. For the purposes of this indictment, it is pertinent to consider the fact that the prejudice faced by refugees and migrants, which –to a certain extent– forms the basis of xenophobia and racism, is founded on false statements, such as: “they take our jobs”, “they’re criminals and terrorists”, “they exploit our benefits systems”, “we’re being invaded”, etc. Among other issues, these statements fail to take into consideration current forms of neocolonialism.
The Global Financial Integrity (GFI)[2] has calculated that if we look at all the financial resources transferred between rich countries and poor countries every year –including development cooperation funds, foreign investment, trade flows, non-financial transfers such as debt cancellation, unilateral transfers such as remittances by individuals in employment and undeclared capital outflow– they reveal an unquestionable equation: the flow of money from rich countries to poor countries is infinitely lower than that which takes place in the opposite direction. In other words, poor countries hand money over to rich countries: according to data from 2012, countries in the Global South sent 2 billion dollars more to the rest of the world than the amount they received. The GFI has calculated that between 1980 and 2012 poor countries lost a total of 13.4 billion dollars owing to capital outflow. In 2015, the 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa received 161.6 billion dollars from abroad and they sent 203 billion beyond their borders through repatriation of the profit of transnational companies or illegal money evasion beyond the continent[3].
Forced displacement has a direct association with the statistics mentioned. Can the highly patent, explicit economic asymmetry be answered by borders that divide civilisation and barbarism? Which one is which? Who owes who?
Moreover, capitalism is structurally more violent and seeks to grab “huge sums” in a very “short space of time”. Also, a very small number of people have built up astonishing wealth while poverty has spread among a large sector of the population. This is the driving force that “justifies” forced displacement.
The neoliberal capitalist model encounters huge difficulty in maintaining the expansion and reproduction of capital and embarking on a new stage of growth and this situation leads to a vicious circle of productivity, yield, investment, employment and consumption, wherein it is highly complicated to reproduce the enormous influx of surplus generated by a financialised system. In addition, as a result of the environmental crisis caused by global warming we are faced with an ecological meltdown of epic proportions. According to Tanuro, it is a silent disaster caused by climate change and the fact that the three types of fossil fuels on which the pattern of development has been based since World War II –namely, oil, gas and coal– are running out. As a result, we are faced with a diminishing material foundation on which to operate our global society and, accordingly, a major transformation of our hegemonic systems of production, consumption and social organisation.
Likewise, violence and the crisis of democracy are intrinsic to capitalism and heteropatriarchy; therefore, the power of transnational companies destroys people’s sovereignty and entraps countries and regions as if they were part of the internal organisational structure of the major corporations.
Transnational companies strive to run new forums of power and to privatise or co-opt democratic institutions. Although during the 1990s neoliberalism sought to reduce the size of the State and give markets free rein, now it champions powerful States that guarantee the profits of the transnational firms. The State is essential when accumulating capital wealth and in directing and reforming society to work for the benefit of the major corporations.
Although there are challenges in ensuring the “cake” continues to rise, and capital still wants to hold on to its avaricious rate of return, it will need to exhaust the systems for appropriating individual and collective assets.
In this context, the mechanisms used by capital to grab capital gains and maintain its profit rates escalate, extending to exploitation, expulsion by dispossession and necropolitics.
The traditional capital mechanism used to grab capital gains is still exploitation of the workforce, which takes place on both the formal and the informal markets, maintaining and heightening work gender division, global care chains and reproductive work performed by women free of charge and which –currently to a large extent in countries in the Global North– are incumbent on immigrant women. Unemployment, diminishing purchasing power from salaries, from pensions, etc., are permanent effects of the neoliberal model that places precariousness at the heart of labour relations. Similarly, this exploitation is coupled with emerging phenomena, such as job insecurity, in terms of both workers’ rights and salaries, an occurrence that is commonplace in Latin America and Africa, although to date has been less widely observed in Europe.
The global rights index of the International Trade Union Confederation of 2016[4] confirms the abysmal circumstances in terms of workers’ rights. Let us examine some statistics: in terms of fundamental rights at work, the Middle East region and North Africa still rank the worst in the world. In Gulf countries, most workers, and specifically migrants, are excluded from the basic protections afforded by labour laws according to the report.
According to the index, workers are excluded from the right to freedom of association in 58% of countries and they are unable to exercise their right to strike in 68% of them. One simple example is that 3000 workers were fired in Indonesia a number of weeks ago by the US company Freeport-McMoRan at Grasberg copper and gold mine in West Papua. The reason put forward by the company was that they had exercised their right to strike.
In the European Union (EU), more than 119 million people are at risk of poverty and internal migration between member countries of the EU rests on labour and social dumping. In other words, poor employment conditions are established as an essential element to competitiveness between companies and countries in the EU. This practice is widespread in sectors such as construction, transportation, the meat industry, social care and domestic work. This is at least backed up by the community directive on the posting of female workers on the context of service provision, which legalises exploitation of internal migration among workers in the EU.
Another example to illustrate our point is the multinational company IKEA. It subcontracts transportation companies to distribute its products throughout Europe and, in most cases, these companies are located in eastern countries which, in turn, hire the services of female workers from Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, etc. While they are performing their duties, these individuals eat, sleep and live in the lorries for salaries in the region of 150 euros a month. 21st century slavery also becomes institutionalised in internal migration and is embedded within the EU.
Refugees and migrants serve a useful function for the capitalist system, as they become one of its guiding principles. They serve as a formal or informal, cheap workforce accepting insecure conditions, whose careers are formalised on a downward path with regard to workers’ rights. In addition, this workforce constitutes a symbol expressive of and heightening the war between poor people.
Expulsion by dispossession
Capitalism uses expulsion as a means of maintaining the profit rate on capital. It is what Harvey refers to as dispossession or accumulation by dispossession. Transnational companies seize natural resources and land as a business and commodification asset. It provides another way of generating capital gains and maintaining the build-up of capital. Peoples and persons are expelled from their homes and their lands in order to generate profits in agribusiness, mining, oil companies, electricity firms, etc. The large-scale acquisition of land by transnational corporations ruins local economies, destroys the region and redefines huge swathes of land as places for mining and business, leading to denationalised zones where the inhabitants are ultimately expelled.
This situation does not affect men and women to the same extent. As most women do not have legal ownership of the land –despite being the ones who work on it– they are typically excluded from decision-making forums and financial compensation which, if applicable, is paid through settlements received for being expelled from their lands. Moreover, expulsion triggers a severance from their ways of life and displacement dashes wisdom about the land and the region.
The colonial root of European policies fosters extractivism and the build-up of lands and –in European territory– it encourages commodification of life leading to expulsion from the job market, poverty and social exclusion, evictions and energy poverty. Expulsion by dispossession also rears its head in Europe. It is a global corporate logic that is spreading across the globe at varying paces and with differing effects.
People flee, move and travel within their borders and between states and continents because corporate logic and commodification of life demands displacement and expulsion. This creates new forms of slavery (for instance, on monoculture plantations in Central America and Mexico), child labour in value chains, people trafficking for sexual or labour exploitation, and many more profiles without rights.
People move because they have no other choice and some make it to our countries to find a place to live. If only migration truly involved free movement; however, the reality is that only a small number of people are able to travel freely. In addition, the impairment of the environment is triggering forced displacement due to a lack of farmland, a shortage of drinking water, flooding, bare and dead ground with no air or water, etc., caused by climate change.
Necropolitics
This is the third decisive direction chosen by the capitalist economic system which not only involves exploitation and expulsion; it also leaves people to die. In the Mediterranean Sea people are being left to perish offshore, and in the Sahara and Sonoran deserts they are left until they die of dehydration or starvation. These are routes where there is a systematic violation of the right to protection. We cannot believe that the military and border security systems are unable to spot boats drifting secretly. This is called necropolitics: leaving someone to die due to lack of care for people who are malnourished or failing to rescue those drowning in the sea. We have sufficient arguments to corroborate that in these “non-right” areas, true crimes are being committed against humanity. People fleeing war are being left to die in supposedly peaceful regions, such as the Mediterranean Sea, which is close to a new classification of what we may refer to as “peace crimes”. The alleged lack of coordination between the Italian and Maltese coast guards led to the deaths of 268 people including 60 children; this is necropolitics, and the blocking off of immigrants offshore by the Spanish coast guard, sending them back to Morocco, led to a high number of deaths and missing people: 388 (122 children between September 2015 and December 2016); this is also necropolitics[5].
It is also necropolitics that a total of 44 migrants died from dehydration in the middle of the Sahara desert when they were being taken from Niger to Libya[6], not to mention the murders on Tarajal beach on the southern border. The deaths and disappearances of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara desert are well into the thousands; bodies of migrants torn apart by necropolitics. In addition, security protocols rather than victim protocols are applied to those who survive the crossings and capsized vessels; as such, they are treated as criminals instead of being granted the protection they need and deserve.
What is more, genuine international crimes are taking place due to a horrific alliance between the criminal economy and the legal economy; between the mafia economy that launders its money on the legal economy. The leaders of environmental, feminist, LGTBIQ, farmers and indigenous movements are murdered for heading up responses in defence of their lands against the big megaprojects, but people are also being wiped out solely because they are individuals that are surplus to the requirements of the capitalist economic system. Persons who are unable to consume or produce are a nuisance to the capitalist system and become human waste, as indeed Z. Bauman maintains.
Migration and the human rights crisis
The fact that the capitalist system no longer needs so many people does not mean that it is not going to continue to rely on a migrant workforce. However, this is a workforce whose rights will not be regulated on the grounds of justice, equity and equality. In certain sectors, such as construction, hospitality, domestic work and care work, migrants –cheap labour with insecure conditions– will still be relied upon in order to drive down wages and working conditions. This will unfold in a capital-induced process at the behest of governments to cause confrontation between the exploited people and poor people; between poor nationals and poor foreigners. It is a “conflict” that favours capitalism and feeds racism and xenophobia.
Furthermore, the system will keep people located in regions of “non-rights”, as is the case for instance with peddling, mule women on the southern border or prostitution. In Europe rights-free arenas having been gaining traction, such as the immigration detention centres –which entail interment of individuals who have not committed any crime–, racist raids, deportation flights, expulsions, fences and borders of horror, extra-territorial borders, people with expulsion orders, refugee camps, children abandoned in the streets, etc. These are situations of legal limbo that can involve both European nationals –in domestic exclusion processes– and individuals from other places. Prisons are a prime example of this: in the Spanish State, 120 companies employ thousands of people in circumstances of confinement with barely any workers’ rights. Another example can be found in Spanish women who are victims of male violence who often lack pertinent institutional protection, thereby making them “internal refugees” who wander their own countries fleeing violence without any rights whatsoever and left at the hands of a patently heteropatriarchal legal system, as María Naredo maintains.
European governments and EC institutions are not only doing away with and suspending rights, they are also re-shaping the profiles of those who are subjects of those rights and those who fall outside the category of human beings. This is triggering a new era in the deregulation of the international human rights system.
Miguel Urbán and Gonzalo Donaire opine that in the EU two concepts of identity are being constructed: “…identity understood in an essentialist manner, as an ethno-cultural trait divorced from history associated with a people; or identity as a civil and political characteristic which is nevertheless deemed an original, exclusive upshot of European and national tradition.” This gives rise to clear restrictions when it comes to who belongs to the European community, leading to exclusions from rights for individuals considered “non-European nationals” and it paves the way for legal exclusion, laying the programmatic foundations of xenophobia.
Lastly, we should not overlook the refugee camps, which are centres for the purposes of identification, control and expulsion. Women suffer sexual assault, rape or sexual violence at the hands of their partners, relatives, neighbours, employees of NGOs for development, and the government and security forces. These camps are arenas that are held up on the border as a worldview of war. Borders form the line separating order from barbarism, good from evil, the border that renders things invisible so that European citizens’ minds are not aware of what is happening with other human beings, with our peers.
The patriarchy is developing this trend. The welfare state has reduced the highly precarious public policies of support for reproductive work and for care work. This collapse once again impacts on women. In addition, as Silvia Federicci points out, the capitalist patriarchy offers women’s bodies to men as a substitute for the dispossession and loss of power the model creates. According to the author, during the period of primitive accumulation of capital, capitalism offered women to men as a valuable consideration for giving up land. The femicides in Juárez, Mexico City… follow this rationale.
Likewise, it is paramount to condemn the sexual violence suffered by women and children at the hands of the men they encounter on their journeys: travel companions, police officers, mafia members, etc., as well as forced marriage, genital mutilation, forced prostitution and persecution owing to sexual identity or orientation.
The architecture of impunity that strengthens the hand of major transnational corporations and the world’s rich
We are faced with a context where deals, and investment and trade agreements, are being negotiated in order to shore up the business of multinational corporations while money and items of value are confiscated from people seeking asylum and migrants who reach Europe in order to escape war, starvation and precariousness. The international human rights system and the European system for protecting it are re-construed and misrepresented, stripping them of all effectiveness in the face of the immediate, full effectiveness of investment and trade agreements and rules. Far greater protection is granted to the rights of major companies than the rights of refugees and migrants. This is the true European Union.
Equality within the framework of corporate rules: regulatory asymmetry
The lex mercatoria rests on a highly unusual interpretation of the principle of equality: transnational corporations should be treated on an equal footing to national companies; all benefits granted to domestic investors should also be extended to foreign investors. In other words, national investors cannot receive any support from the State as this would constitute quashing the principle of national treatment that has already been incorporated into most investment and “free trade” agreements and deals. However, in many cases that is essentially discriminatory and means that asymmetrical relations of power are placed at the heart of legal techniques. Indeed, an interpretation founded on equity entails treating peers equally and treating unequal parties in an unequal fashion: a major multinational company cannot be treated in the same fashion as a cooperative from a solidarity-based economy. In actual fact, clauses for positive action that favour these small enterprises are the ones that are best aligned to the principle of equality.
The same is true of displaced persons: instead of complying with EC and international regulations, a host of repressive actions and measures of containment are applied to them, preventing any kind of positive action being extended to the most disadvantaged people. This is the prevailing view of the standing that human rights should have in the world market: utmost protection for European transnational companies no matter what they do and wherever they operate –relations with dictatorships, sales of arms, plundering of energy resources and raw materials, etc.– coupled with maximum control, powerful repression and expulsion of refugees and migrants, even if they are fleeing war, starvation or environmental disasters. This is asymmetry of regulations in its purest form.
To name one example, European multinationals conducting their operations in Bolivia must be treated in the same way as Bolivian companies. This ensures that the major corporations cannot be “discriminated against”. However, refugees and migrants that come to Europe are left to die, expelled, rejected or despised. Why is it not possible for the same principle that applies to European companies to apply to them and for them to be treated in the same way as Europeans? Transnational companies unquestionably benefit from countless more rights than refugees and migrants.
Corporate legal protection and legal protection for forcibly displaced persons
On the context of the lex mercatoria, the notion of “legal security” has at its core the protection of contracts and the defence of the commercial interests of multinationals. It is a conception in which reference is made solely to global corporate law, specifically defined in the thousands of bilateral, multilateral and regional treaties, agreements and rules that have been enacted in recent decades by EC institutions and agencies, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization. Even so, legal security is an international principle that is not solely tied in with economic appraisals: genuine legal security is that which places international human rights law above global corporate law. What is happening with legal security for migrants and refugees?
Instead of complying with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951), the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (1967), the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (2000) and the various EC directives, the authorities of the European Union and of the Member States discuss the fact that there is a “humanitarian crisis” and they fail to meet their international obligations. In actual fact, they are repeatedly breaking the law and engaging in practices that could be classified as international crimes.
Corporate justice for rich and poor
Trade deals and investment protection agreements offer protection for transnational companies from potentially being “expelled” from a country. This is justice for the rich which we were able to witness when, for instance, the renationalisation of the Argentinean subsidiary of Repsol began in 2012. When the Government of Argentina ordered the nationalisation of YPF, the oil company immediately engaged in a campaign of impunity: it brought legal actions to the national courts, it lodged a lawsuit against the Argentine Republic to a court in New York, it lodged another case in Madrid, it appealed to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) –an arbitration institution that is part of the World Bank– and, what is more, it benefitted from pressure exerted on all levels by Spain and the European Union. On the other hand, in what court can the violations of the rights of refugees and migrants be challenged? How effective would such complaints be? Why does the international human rights system afford them such weak protection? And, in Spain, what is happening in immigration detention centres? This is what justice for the poor looks like.
Transnational companies and forced displacement
Major European companies benefit from diplomatic, economic, political, legal and media support. In the Spanish case mentioned, they even managed to come up with their own Spain brand. Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, however, meet a response from EC administration and the authorities of the Member States whereby they are stopped by fences, walls and wire; their houses are painted red and they are required to wear red wristbands if they want to be fed; they are confined in “concentration camps”; they are expelled and deported; their belongings are taken away; the assistance provided by certain solidarity organisations and people is criminalised; and there is a failure to protect children fleeing from war, starvation and climate change, a failure to protect LGTBIQ people, and a failure to protect women prisoners from all manner of sexual violence. This is a legal asymmetry of horror.
Global corporate law fuses deregulation of the obligations imposed on transnational companies with the re-regulation of their own rights. That is to say, while the rights of social majorities are deregulated when it comes to all material that is likely to be purchased or sold, the rights of transnational firms are protected with the utmost efficiency. In the case of refugees and migrants, EU administrations and the authorities of Member States “deregulate” their rights and also confine them to refugee camps and immigration detention centres, they are left to die in treacherous crossings and the international human rights system only resorts to mere soundbites calling for a solution to the “humanitarian crisis”. States are weak when controlling the abuses of transnational companies and imposing penalties upon them, but they toughen up when it comes to men, women and children who are fleeing from war and starvation.
Nowadays, in the European Union the rule of law has been replaced by the rule of capital, and the rights and lives of refugees and migrants are worth far less than the Spain brand.
Likewise, the responsibility of transnational companies is inseparable from that of the governing State, that of the host State and the rules imposed by financial economic institutions.
Transnational corporations capitalise on a system of impunity, of inequality, of asymmetry between rights. Transnational firms protect their rights by means of an entire chain of impunity that operates on a global scale: investment and trade agreements and deals; provisions, plans and rules from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization; operating contracts; and arbitration institutions. In other words, they have a highly complex system that shores up the rights of transnational firms lending them immunity. The questions we ask ourselves are the following: Where are the obligations of transnational firms? Who controls them? What does the Spanish government propose doing to tackle the violation of rights by companies on the IBEX 35? Are they not at all liable for the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh where 1,200 people died? And what liability do the textile sector firms Mango and El Corte Inglés have? It is clear that there are alliances between governments and transnational firms; hence, international human rights law cannot compete with trade and investment law. We only have to look at the example of the immense pressure that was exerted on the Greek government to meet its debt repayment targets, completely ignoring the will of the people expressed in a referendum and compare that to the permissive stance adopted in response to the Hungarian government and the country’s referendum decision to slam the door on the tiny share of refugees assigned to the country.
The system of impunity is a direct cause of the forced displacement of people and it subordinates human rights to the rights of transnational corporations.
A number of specific references to corporate practices with regard to displaced persons in the context of the Mediterranean Sea
Military conflicts and wars: who wins and who loses?
The fight to control natural resources is essential to ensure the continued build-up of capital. The appropriation of oil, of the various ranges of minerals, gas, land, water, the construction of pipelines, etc., are significant causes in gaining an acquaintance of the reasons why millions of people flee conflict. Indeed, it is necessary to add other reasons, such as geostrategic, religious, social and economic causes, the interests of major powers, struggles against local dictatorships, etc., and it is important to bear in mind that depending on the conflict some causes carry greater weight than others.
The EU and the governments of Member States should be held accountable for the wars they have caused and assess why they intervened militarily, who benefitted from the war and who their allies are, etc.
This indictment has established two clear issues: the first is that human rights, and the rights of peoples, have not benefitted from conflict and those affected by these wars are the Kurdish people, the Palestinians, the Syrians, the Afghans, the Iraqis, the Yemenis, the Libyans, the Sudanese, etc., who are the actual losers of so much indiscriminate violence. Moreover, the cruelty with which they are received in EU countries closes the vicious circle of structural violence.
The other issue we wish to highlight is this: what do we know about military companies and the banks that fund them? The companies that are involved in the deadly bombings in Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Yemen, Libya, etc., are the same companies that are capitalising on business at the borders and the fences, and who are taking part in the reconstruction of the countries they themselves have destroyed. This is a trade of horror and destruction. Many of these are European capital companies and according to the report Externalización de Fronteras (externalisation of borders) it emerges that 13 European companies are involved[7]. It is also essential to shed light on collusion from the financial sector with the arms business in the form of shareholding, funding for exports, the issue of bonds and notes, investment funds and the granting of credit and loans to arms dealers.
Moreover, governments engage in alliances with the aforementioned companies; indeed, the Spanish government exports arms to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, Bahrain, and so on, nurturing the war business. In addition, world military expenditure rose by 0.4% compared to last year and it accounts for 2.2% of world GDP.
The USA is still the world’s biggest spender on the military according to a report published by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, and President Donald Trump has announced a 9.27% increase in the USA’s military budget for 2018, an injection of 54 billion dollars, the biggest increase since the 9/11 attacks 15 years ago[8].
The war industry has virtually limitless power: the Near East and Africa, the arms races in Asia –the region is home to six of the ten biggest arms importers–, support from the EU –particularly from France, the UK, Germany–, Russia, Saudi Arabia, etc., and the shrinking of legal and political hurdles that formerly restricted the sale of arms to enemy countries[9] are the reasons behind the business triumph of such a destructive industry. On 7 June 2017 the Commission approved the European Defence Fund through which it expects to allocate 500 million euros to research and development of the military industry, which by 2021 will rise by 1.5 billion euros per year.
The conclusion is twofold: firstly, we demand that the international agreements be adhered to and for people fleeing war, such as refugees, to be welcomed; secondly, we demand that accountability be sought for intervening in military conflict and that controls be exerted on the business of the military industry in all dimensions.
Climate change, the extraction-based agri-food model, development cooperation and forced displacement
UNHCR deems that within 50 years, between 250 million and 1 billion people will need to leave their lands and homes owing to displacement triggered by climate change. The International Committee of the Red Cross points out that there are currently more than 200 million people directly or indirectly impacted by environmental damage. Both institutions affirm that climate change is leading to barren lands, flooding, lack of farmland and drinking water, drought, shrinking of lakes –Lake Chad has already lost 90% of its area–, shrinking of physical areas to live, etc.
The report from the Spanish Ministry of the Environment warns that 80% of the country is at risk from becoming desert this century owing to climate change. The third report on climate change in Catalonia released in late 2016 and prepared by forty scientists paints an alarming snapshot looking ahead to 2040: “everyone born this century is at risk.” “Temperatures will rise by at least 2ºC owing to a build-up of greenhouse gases. There will be 20% less water available. Droughts will be longer and more regular. There will be huge fires, although the ‘Great Fire’ will be in the Pre-Pyrenees. The sea level will rise. The Ter, Llobregat and Ebro deltas are under threat. Biodiversity will shrink. Pollution in major cities will become an epidemic problem. New diseases will emerge.[10]”
The International Organization for Migration reports that in the past thirty years, instances of flooding and droughts worldwide have increased threefold, causing more displaced people than all armed conflicts combined. Norman Myers, a professor at the University of Oxford, predicts that “When global warming takes hold, there could be as many as 200 million people [displaced] overtaken by sea-level rise and coastal flooding, by disruptions of monsoon systems and other rainfall regimes, and by droughts of unprecedented severity and duration.” Of the 50 countries most affected by climate change, 36 are in Africa.
The capitalist economic model is causing millions of people to need to flee their homes and lands due to it being physically impossible to survive. They are poor and they have nowhere to go. Climate change affects women especially because in general they are the ones farming the land. According to data from the UN (2008) women and children are 14 times more likely to die during an emergency or disaster than men.
In other words, there are peoples and persons who suffer forced displacement that is sometimes temporary and caused by storms, flooding, hurricanes, etc; while others emigrate because environmental destruction ruins their way of life; and in some cases people are displaced owing to the complete destruction of their “traditional habitat” due to the gradual decline in natural resources.
Nevertheless, with regard to persons displaced owing to causes linked to climate change, there is a risk of diluting responsibility for these causes: “they are problems associated with the climate”; as a result, it is advisable to plainly realise that it is highly difficult to separate the various causes –war, climate change, extraction-based agro-industrial model, practices by transnational companies at the behest of governments, land grabs, food speculation, etc.– which cause environmental displacement. Changes to the climate are not unrelated to a capitalism that exerts pressure on ecosystems, water and land, and appropriates natural resources, energy, minerals, etc., causing irreparable damage to people. Two clear facts emerge from the complexity of what is described: firstly, international human rights law establishes and formally regulates protection of outsiders; secondly, the social and economic model encompasses stakeholders who are accountable for the events described and such accountability falls within the structure of impunity addressed in section three.
Extraction-based agri-food model
Climate change is not unrelated to extraction-based, pollutant and agro-industrial projects that directly expel thousands of people, forcing them to emigrate and, in many cases, leading to their deaths. In the opposite direction, as ecologist Yayo Herrero maintains, if countries in the Global South closed their borders to EU countries blocking the inflow of natural resources and the outflow of waste, European citizens would very shortly be immersed in a civil breakdown.
The UN warns of mass deaths caused by famine in the Horn of Africa, Nigeria and Yemen, the Sahel crisis, etc., that are a response to the rationale of a distant industrial civilisation unrelated to the people who live there. Food speculation, marginalisation of rural and indigenous farming in the region, grabbing of the best land by foreign capitalists, the imposition of crops for export, etc., are just some of the highly specific causes for so much forced displacement. Over the past decade, between 60 and 80 million hectares of fertile land has found itself in the hands of very few individuals, transnational companies, oligarchies, investment funds, pension funds, etc. This grabbing of land entails grabbing of water, preventing thousands of farmers from having access to it as the corporate projects are located at the sources or at strategic points on the river flows.
As Gustavo Duch maintains, seeds for intensive production, land for intensive production, water for intensive irrigation is in the hands of a few investment funds and, we shall add, transnational companies in order to intensively build-up capital and cause intensive poverty, desperation and displacement of people.
Living conditions for many African peoples are worsened, far beyond a number of violent conflicts and wars brought about by the economic powers and by the aggressive nature of agro-industrial policies promoted by African governments, foreign stakeholders and transnational companies.
The report “Honest Accounts 2017: How the world profits from Africa’s wealth” sets out the fact that the natural resources of the continent are under the control of private foreign companies that transfer most of the profits obtained out of the continent, and that those who control tax havens are allowing this theft of Africa’s wealth[11].
All in all, much forced displacement is directly linked to climate change and the system of impunity that protects the practices of transnational companies and both issues are embedded in the patriarchal and capitalist model.
Development cooperation should be geared to fighting poverty and inequality. At present, its exploitation for the purposes of externalisation of borders, containment of refugees and migrants, and strengthening of military systems is an evident example of malpractice that has a bearing on the very essence of cooperation policies[12]. The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa approved by the European Commission at the Valetta Summit in November 2015 is a prime example of the siphoning of development cooperation: it consists of a host of actions where institutional development, economic cooperation, management of migratory flows and the diplomatic offensive on all levels meet with the primary aim of controlling the movement of people. Moreover, certain donors cut back their development programmes because they use their Official Development Assistance (ODA) budgets to cover expenditure on refugees.[13]
This indictment deems that forced displacement cannot be approached by overlooking investment and trade policies, development cooperation policies and the military policies of the EU and the governments of the Member States, as well as the practices of European transnational companies, investment funds, etc.
The separation between forced migration and voluntary migration lost essence some time ago
Under this heading, we do not seek to claim that the causes that lead to either of the above legal categories are similar; however, the solution cannot seek to create such diverse categories that serve to open or close borders in such a random fashion. This is especially the case if the interpretations made by governments and EC institutions opt to do the opposite, i.e., if there is a de facto effort to do away with the rules protecting refugees, and migration is generalised as displacement falling outside the scope of the Geneva Convention.
Economic migration is assumed to be voluntary; however, this casts a veil over forced displacement. It is as if the current patriarchal and capitalist development model caused no “fleeing” effect, and what is highly patent is that “persecution”, as shaped from the standpoint of the EU and the governments of the Member States, is tied to a highly formal, static construal of norms and regulations, which does not make it possible to protect, or even offer an explanation for, the suffering of millions of people.
Despite acknowledging that it is a complex issue, we understand that the PPT very effectively handles the forums and timeframes for intervention; as a result, we have made a clear determination on the petition for proposals in the short-term, which address the immediate day-to-day practical needs of refugees and migrants, as well as the strategic needs, putting forward amendments to regulation systems.
From the standpoint of the legal response, changes should be demanded in the European system and in member countries in relation to the refugee, and it is necessary to call for the system to be aligned stringently to international human rights law, with the approval and incorporation into the Geneva Convention of a specific protocol on environmental refugees. Developments must be made in defining environmental refugees[14] and the agent of persecution –State of origin, transnational companies, financial/economic institutions and governing States– that triggers people to flee owing to environmental reasons. Sweden and Finland have already recognised the figure of environmental migrants. In terms of persecution owing to gender, it is essential to re-conceptualise international refugee law, as Carmen Miguel Juan states. The five reasons envisaged in the Geneva Convention should be interpreted from the standpoint of gender.
Furthermore, rules concerning national and EC migration, such as the Spanish Immigration Act, should be radically overhauled and suited to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which is a UN treaty that seeks to protect the rights of migrant workers. As it happens, it is a convention that has not been ratified by any European country or the USA, to mention a few.
However, the most significant challenge stems from how to seek an alternative conception of law that allows all persons excluded from the neoliberal model to be fully fledged subjects in law irrespective of borders and hierarchies. This calls for a new legal instrument that would take into consideration international rules on refuge, on migration, on climate change and on control over transnational companies, entailing major amendments to the current regulatory system.
What is unacceptable is that there is still a classification of refugees into the first and second categories stated with regard to the fact that those who are persecuted owing to ethnic origin, religion, nationality, etc., deserve greater protection –at least formally– than those who are fleeing starvation, the practices of transnational companies, food speculation, the effects of investment and trade agreements and deals, extraction-based agro-industry projects, land grabbing, the policies of economic/financial institutions, etc., as they are causes that are not divorced from forced displacement. This is one of the central matters that the PPT should address.
We also call on the PPT to act on the causes that trigger forced displacement
It is essential to modernise an international agreement in relation to which issues form part of competitive advantages among companies and which do not. Human, labour and environmental rights should not be intertwined with competitiveness, and the build-up of capital should not be at the expense of human rights.
The alleged fragmentation of international law into separate, supposedly independent spheres enables transnational companies and corporate powers to impose the economic and political rules observed by big business on social majorities. Accordingly, the international rules are re-construed to the benefit of the dominant sectors. It is a pressing issue that we should turn the international legal pyramid on its head and we need a new code of regulations that clearly stipulates that international human rights law –including international labour law and international environmental law– is hierarchically superior to the national and international rules governing trade and investment on account of its imperative nature and as obligations erga omnes, i.e., of and for the entire international community.
We therefore demand the following:
For the military industry to be gradually phased out, and for it to be stringently aligned to human rights.
For the EU and Member States to control and require transnational companies, investment funds and other speculative corporations to submit their activity to stringent compliance with international human rights law.
For investment and trade agreements and deals to adhere to international human rights law, international labour law and international environmental law, the sovereignty of peoples and the rights of farmers.
For development cooperation policies to be aligned to international human rights law and not the “security of the States”.
For the policies of the EU and member countries to establish as their top priority endeavouring to control climate change on a local, national, regional and global scale.
Criminalisation of international solidarity
Council Directive 2002/90/EC, of 28 November 2002, defining the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence grants Member States scope to define various crimes. This indictment does not consider that a context where people from civil society can be prosecuted for assisting refugees and migrants throughout the European continent is in fact in the spirit of international human rights law. What is more, we consider that providing assistance to those who need it, regardless of their administrative circumstances, is perfectly aligned with the philosophy of international human rights law. Helping migrants to cross borders in the current climate of repeated failure on the part of institutions and an absence of policies promoting human rights is entirely legitimate, above and beyond the legality of European and corporate powers. The Princess of Asturias Award of Concord 2017 granted to the European Union is legal and, is it legitimate?
As Emmeline Pankhurst stated in 1908 to the jury presiding over her case: “We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers.”
Bauman, Z. (2014): ¿La riqueza de unos pocos nos benéfica a todos?, Paidos, Barcelona.
Bauman, Z. (2005): Vidas desperdiciadas. La modernidad y sus parias, Paidós Ibérica, Barcelona.
Castañar, J. (2013): Teoría e Historia de la Revolución no violenta, virus, Bilbao.
Celis, R. and Aierdi, X. (2015): ¿Migración o desplazamiento forzado? Las causas de los movimientos de población a debate, Cuadernos Deusto de Derechos Humanos, issue 81, Bilbao.
De Lucas, B. (2016): “Transnacionales en el origen del desplazamiento forzado”, El Salmón Contracorriente, website.
Duch, G. (2014): No vamos a tragar. Soberanía alimentaria una alternativa frente a la agroindustria, Los Libros del Lince, Barcelona.
Fernández, G. (2017): “La que se avecina: un capitalismo (aún) más salvaje”, in Economistas sin Fronteras(Repensando un modelo de sociedad y de economía), dossier issue 26, Madrid.
Harvey, D. (2004): El nuevo “Imperialismo” acumulación por desposesión, Biblioteca Clacso, http://biblioteca.clacso.edu.ar/clacso/se/20130702120830/harvey.pdf.
Herrero, Y. (2012): Con los ojos abiertos. Una mirada para cambiar de disco, Rebelión, http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=152512.
Hernández, J. (2015): “¿Y la seguridad jurídica de las personas refugiadas?”, América Latina en Movimiento, Quito.
Hernández, J. and Ramiro, P. (2015): Contra la Lex Mercatoria. Propuestas y alternativas para desmantelar el poder de las empresas transnacionales, Icaria, Barcelona.
Hernández, J. (2009): Las empresas transnacionales frente a los derechos humanos. Historia de una asimetría normativa, Hegoa and OMAL, Bilbao.
Report by En Europa Podemos (2017): Externalización de fronteras. Impunidad y excepción en la diplomacia del euro, European United Left, Brussels.
Miguel, C. (20016): Refugiadas. Una mirada feminista al Derecho Internacional, Catarata, Madrid.
Sassen, S. (2015): Expulsiones, brutalidad y complejidad de la economía global, Katz, Madrid.
Tornay, M. C. (2016): Entrevista a Silvia Federici: “La muerte de las mujeres en las maquilas recuerda a la fase de acumulación originaria”, Revista Pueblos, Madrid.
Urbán, M. and Donaire, G. (2016): Disparen a los refugiados. La construcción de la Europa fortaleza, Icaria, Barcelona.
Zizek, S. (2016): La nueva lucha de clases. Los refugiados y el terror, Anagrma, Barcelona.
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Foreword by the convening organisations
Since last December, the Transnational Migrant Platform Europe (TMP-E), Centro Filipino, the Associació Catalana per la integració d’homosexuals, bisexuals i transexuals inmigrants (ACATHII) and the Transnational Institute have been busy with the process to convene the PERMANENT PEOPLES’ TRIBUNAL (hereafter the PPT) to give clear visibility to the people of migrant persons as an inviolable subject of rights; to identify and judge the “chain” of co-responsibility along the migratory route leading to the violation of migrant people’s human rights; and to urgently provide and foster adequate measures for access to justice.
In this context, the Tribunal will:
Receive and document rigorously the proposals coming from the communities of migrant and refugee peoples;
Listen to and make visible the cases of violations of the rights of migrants and refugees;
Analyse jointly the root causes of forced displacement of migrants and refugees (including trade and investment agreements, global extractivism, as well as the global production chain).
Determine the responsibilities of governments, including the European Union and other official European bodies.
Focus on the role of transnational corporations in the global supply chain, as well as in the border regimes.
This is a process we want to build from the bottom, with the people most involve and affected. That is why we call on organizations of migrant and refugee peoples to join this process, as well as networks and platforms supporting the work to denounce the violation of human rights and the rights of peoples happening today in the many borders and daily struggles led by migrants and refugees. The launch of the PPT session will take place in Barcelona on 7th and 8th July 2017. The first hearing is due in December 2017, with the prospect of organising a second hearing in 2018. We hope to bring onboard as many sectors present not only in Spain but also in other parts of Europe, as well as in the countries of origin, transit and destination.
With this background, the sections that follow constitute the general framework –drafted by the members of the prosecution and the convening organisations– for this first hearing, made up of a set of ideas that have been gathered in different reports and addressed to the PPT to hold hearings so as to develop the central lines of the indictment in a more exhaustive way. In this bottom-up construction process, the Mediterranean constitutes a first geographical framework of analysis, which successive hearings add other territorial spaces to, based on the testimonials, reports and evidence submitted by each of the organisations, refugees and migrants.
Concluding Remarks (Spanish)
Gender and Sexual Diversity
Pillar 3 External Border Regime Europe
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Program Launch
Permanent Peoples Tribunal (PPT)
Launching Session on the Violations with Impunity of the
Human Rights of Migrant and Refugee Peoples
Place: Aula Magna de la Univesitat de Barcelona (UB), Edifici històric
Pl. Universitat, Gran Via Les Corts Catalanes, 585, Barcelona, Spain
Date: Saturday July 8, 2017
Time: 9.00 – 20.00
Program Launching PPT Session on Human Rights of Migrants and Refugee Peoples
09.00 – 09.45 Registration of participants
Welcome to Tribunal Launch
The City Council of Barcelona [Gerardo Pisarello )
Fundación Solidaritat UB (Xavier Lopez)
Co-Convening organizations: Transnational Migrant Platform Europe (Jille Belisario), ECVC – Coordinadora Europea de Vía Campesina (Federico Pacheco), Comitato Verità e Giustizia per i Nuovi Desaparecidos (Flore Murard) , Sindicato Popular de vendedores ambulantes (Lamine Sarr), SOS Rosarno (Ibrahim Diabate), Institut de Drets Humans a Catalunya (David Bondia), Stop Mare Mortum (Jara Henar)
PART 1. OPENING OF THE PPT – PROGRAMME OF WORK
Introduction of the PPT Session, Secretary General PPT, Gianni Tognoni
Introduction of the Indictment: Helena Maleno, Iker Barbero, Beatriz Plaza Escrivà
12.15 – 12.45 Break
PART 2. TRANSVERSAL DIMENSIONS
12.45 – 13.15 Gender
Elements of the Indictment: Beatriz Plaza Escrivà (Plataforma Ongi Etorri Errefuxiatuak – Bienvenida a las Personas Migrantes y Refugiadas)
Testimonies: Mujeres Pa’lante(Bea Cantero), Caravana Feminista (Montse Benito), EQUIS-MG (Fatou Secka), Reclaiming Migrant Domestic Workers Rights Campaign UK (Khadija Najlaoui)
13.15 – 13.25 Comments from the public
13.25 -13.50 Violations of the rights of minors and youth
Elements of the Indictment: Espacio del Inmigrante – Luciano Banchio Dalmasso (Espacio del Inmigrante- HIJOS- Barcelona)
Testimonies: Plataforma por los derechos de menores y jòvenes migrantes (Fatima Zouir), Migrant Filipino Youth Association (Nemel Reyes)
13.50 – 14.00: Comments from the participants
14.00 – 15.00: Lunch Break
PART 3 SPECIFIC DIMENSIONS
15.00 – 15.40: The Root Causes
Elements of the Indictment: Brid Brennan (Transnational Institute)
Testimonies: Attac Maroc (Lucile Daumas), ECVC – Coordinadora Europea de Vía Campesina (Federico Pacheco), Comunitat Palestina de Catalunya i Alkarama-Moviment de Dones Palestines (Zuhur Dalo)
15.40-15.50 Comments from the participants
15.50 – 16.20: Migration journeys, displacement and violation of rights
Elements of the Indictment: Helena Maleno (Caminando Fronteras)
Testimonies: Agenzia Habeshia (Don Mussie Zerai), UCFR (Baba Jawara), MDCD (Abdellatif Mortajine), Association La Terre pour tous – Túnez (Imed Soltani)
16.30 – 17.10: The Border regimes
Elements of the Indictment: Iker Barbero
Testimonies: SOS Rosarno (Ibrahim Diabate), IRIDIA-NOVACT-Fotomovimiento (Andrés Garcia Berrio), Tanquem els CIES Barcelona (Alberto Guerrero), Carovane Migranti (Giacomo Donadio)
17.10 – 17.20 Comments from the participants
17.50 – 18.15 Fortress Europe – Politics of exclusion and racism towards migrant and refugee peoples
Elements of the Indictment: Norma Falconi (Sindillar y Papeles para todos)
Testimonies: La Via Campesina – La Via Campesina – SOC-SAT (Spitou Mendy), Platform of Filipino Migrant Organisations in Europe (Nonoi Hacbang), EMCEMO (Abdou Menebhi)
PART 4. INTERVENTION OF THE TRIBUNAL JUDGES
18.15 – 19.30: Intervention of the Judges Panel
Members of the Judges: Bridget Anderson (UK), Leticia Gutiérrez (México), Jennifer Chiriga (Zimbabwe), Carlos Beristain (Euskal Herria)
Closing: Gianni Tognoni (Secretary General of the PPT)
PART 5. CULTURAL EVENT
Rosa Sánchez
Las Amigas de Yoli
Nino Quaranta
Co-convenors
Transnational Institute (TNI), Transnational Migrant Platform Europe (TMP-E): Platform of Filipino Migrant organisations: Commission for Filipino Migrant Workers (CFMW), Geneva Forum for Filipino Concerns, Centro Filipino-Barcelona, Kasapi-Hellas, CFMW Italia; MDCD (Morrocan Platform in Europe): Euro-Mediterraan Centrum Migratie & Ontwikkeling (EMCEMO), Al Maghreb, CODENAF, IDD, Khamsa, Migration et Developpement, Na’oura Social Development Cooperative-Ghana, Africa Roots Movement, Kromantse Foundation. RESPECT Network Europe.
ECVC – Coordinadora Europea de Vía Campesina, Associació Catalana per la integració d’homosexuals, bisexuals i transexuals inmigrants (ACATHI), Carovane Migranti, Comitato Verità e Giustizia per i Nuovi Desaparecidos, Entrepueblos/Entrepobles/Entrepobos/Herriarte, Espacio del Inmigrante, Fotomovimiento, Institut de Drets Humans de Catalunya, IRIDIA, Mujeres Pa’lante, NOVACT, Observatorio de Multinacionales en América Latina (OMAL), Sindicato Popular de vendedores ambulantes, Stop Mare Mortum, SOS Rosarno, SUDS, Tanquem els CIEs Barcelona, Tras la Manta, Unitat contra el feixisme i el racisme (UCFR), Ongi Etorri, Marcha Mundial de Mujeres.
Contact us: pptribunal_eu@riseup.net
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Background Note on the Permanent Peoples Tribunal (PPT)
The Permanent Peoples Tribunal was established in 1979, taking the Declaration of Algiers on the Rights of Peoples as a main reference, and it has since held 40 Sessions whose results and judgements are are available here. The PPT is an Opinion Tribunal – which acts independently of States and responds to the requests of communities and peoples whose human rights have been violated. The goal of PPT Sessions is “recovering the authority of the Peoples when the States and the International Bodies failed to protect the right of the Peoples.”
The PPT has its Secretariat at the Lelio & Lisli Basso Issoco Foundation in Rome. For more information please look at the website of the Website PPT
Link to PPT first Hearing on Transnational Corporations in Southern Africa – Aug 2016
Link to the Judgement of the PPT on European Corporations in Latin America (46 Cases and 3 Hearings in 2006-2008-2010)
November 28, 2017 /0 Comments/by jgoudi
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November 27, 2017 /0 Comments/by admin
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Home > Humanitarian > Humanitarian Parole > Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program
Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program
Effective June 8, 2016, certain Filipino World War II veterans and their spouses that are U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs) may request parole for certain family members.
If approved for parole, your family members will be able to reunite in the United States before their immigrant visas become available.
This page provides additional information on:
Tagalog:
Participants in the FWVP Program include:
Petitioner
The Filipino World War II (WWII) veteran or his or her surviving spouse who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) living in the United States. If the Filipino WWII veteran and his or her spouse are both deceased, certain beneficiaries of approved or reinstated Forms I-130, may request parole on their own behalf. This is called self-petitioning.
Only qualified petitioners can file applications for benefits under the FWVP Program. Qualified petitioners must meet the eligibility requirements for petitioners.
Family members who may benefit from the relative petitions (Forms I-130) filed on their behalf and who may be paroled into the United States if approved under the FWVP Program.
Beneficiaries include the principal beneficiary, derivative beneficiaries and add-on derivative beneficiaries.
Principal Beneficiary
The family member for whom a Form I-130 was filed.
For example, the principal beneficiary could be an LPR’s spouse or unmarried child, or a U.S. citizen’s adult son or daughter, married son or daughter, or sibling.
Derivative Beneficiaries
The principal beneficiary’s spouse, and unmarried children under age 21. They may also be listed on the approved Form I-130.
These beneficiaries may be eligible for parole based on their relationship to the principal beneficiary. If the principal beneficiary is not approved for parole, the derivative beneficiaries will not be approved.
Add-On Derivative Beneficiary
In certain circumstances, if a principal beneficiary has married or has had a child since the Form I-130 was approved, that spouse or unmarried child under 21 may become a derivative beneficiary and be eligible for parole based on their relationship to the principal beneficiary.
Program Eligibility
Who is Eligible to Request Parole
You may request parole for your qualifying relatives if you meet the following requirements:
You are either a U.S. citizen or LPR living in the United States;
You have established that you are either a Filipino WWII veteran (as defined under section 405 of IMMACT90 as amended by Section 112 of Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1998,) (PDF) or are the surviving spouse of such individual;
You, the Filipino WWII veteran or surviving spouse, filed a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, for a family member and it was approved on or before the date you filed the request for parole; and
An immigrant visa is not yet available for your relative.
You may may request parole on your own behalf and on behalf of your spouse and children (unmarried and under 21) if:
The veteran and spouse are both deceased, and
You are the principal beneficiary of the Form I-130 submitted by the veteran or by the veteran’s spouse for a son or daughter who is also the son or daughter of a veteran.
Please see Self-Petitioners for additional information.
Requirements for Requesting Parole
If you meet the requirements above, you may request parole on behalf of a family member who meets the following criteria:
The family member is the beneficiary on a Form I-130 filed by the veteran or the veteran’s surviving spouse, and the form (which includes any accompanying spouse or child*) was approved on or before the date the petitioner requested parole; and
The beneficiary has a qualifying, legally recognized relationship with the veteran that existed on or before May 9, 2016.
*The principal beneficiary’s spouse and unmarried children under age 21 (known as derivative beneficiaries) may also be eligible for benefits under the FWVP Program. Derivative beneficiaries will only be considered for parole if the principal beneficiary is approved for parole. Derivative beneficiaries are not eligible for the FWVP Program on their own.
If you are the veteran’s surviving spouse, eligible beneficiaries only include your son or daughter who is also the son or daughter of that veteran. This includes step-children, legitimated children, children born out of wedlock and adopted children. You may request parole under the FWVP Program on behalf of these individuals, even if the deceased veteran filed the approved Form I-130 on which they are beneficiaries, as long as USCIS grants humanitarian reinstatement of that Form I-130 or grants relief under section 204(l). See humanitarian reinstatement for more information.
Petitioners May Request Expedited Processing of Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
USCIS will review an expedite request on a case-by-case basis as a matter of discretion and the burden is on the petitioner to demonstrate that one or more of the expedite criteria have been met. See expedite criteria. If you are a Filipino WWII veteran or the veteran’s surviving spouse and want to request expedited processing of your new Form I-130 petition, include a cover letter with your I-130 indicating that you are the veteran or the surviving spouse, that you are interested in the FWVP program, and that you are requesting expedited processing. After you have received a receipt notice from USCIS, you should also call the USCIS Contact Center (For people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability: TTY 800-767-1833) to request expedited processing.
If you have already submitted your Form I-130 but it has not yet been adjudicated, you may call the USCIS Contact Center to request expedited processing.
If your Form I-130 is approved, you may subsequently file Form I-131 for your eligible beneficiaries with a photocopy of Form I-797, Notice of Action (the Form I-130 approval notice), and other required documents listed in How to Request Parole.
NOTE: You cannot file Form I-130 together with Form I-131, Application for Travel Document. Your Form I-130 must be approved before you can file Form I-131.
Self-Petitioners
If the veteran and the veteran’s spouse are both deceased, you may request parole on your own behalf, and on behalf of your spouse and minor children (unmarried and under 21), if you establish that:
The deceased Filipino veteran had qualifying WWII military service, as noted above, and was living in the United States at the time of death;
The Filipino veteran's spouse is also deceased; and
You are the son, daughter, brother or sister of the deceased Filipino veteran, and that relationship existed on or before May 9, 2016.
In addition, before USCIS may consider your request for parole, one of the following conditions must be true:
USCIS approves the Form I-130 (on which you are a principal beneficiary) while the petitioner is alive, and then after the petitioner’s death USCIS grants reinstatement of the Form I-130 under 8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(i)(C)(2) or grants relief under INA 204(l); or
Where the petitioner dies while the Form I-130 is pending, and the beneficiary or derivative beneficiary was living in the United States at the time of the petitioner’s death and is still living in the United States, USCIS subsequently approves the Form I-130 under INA 204(l).
For more information on how to request humanitarian reinstatement of Form I-130, please see the USCIS webpage on humanitarian reinstatement.
Because many individuals seeking parole as a family member of a Filipino war veteran are at an advanced age, you may call the USCIS Contact Center to request expedited processing for a pending humanitarian reinstatement request. Tell the representative that you will be requesting parole under the FWVP Program.
Form I-131 may only be filed after Form I-130 is approved. However, you may file Form I-131 concurrently (together) with a request for humanitarian reinstatement or while such a request is pending. If you file Form I-131 while a humanitarian reinstatement request is pending, include a copy of the pending request with your application packet.
USCIS will not consider the Form I-131 until the humanitarian reinstatement request is considered, and then only if the request is granted.
For concurrent filing, send the following documents to the FWVP Lockbox address:
A cover letter indicating that the Form I-131 and a humanitarian reinstatement request are being filed together;
The humanitarian reinstatement request completed by the I-130 principal beneficiary, with supporting documentation. There is no separate fee to request humanitarian reinstatement;
Form I-131 completed by the qualified FWVP petitioner, with supporting documentation and the required fee or fee waiver request;
The previously approved Form I-130; and
A legally binding Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, filed by an eligible sponsor with required financial documentation. By submitting Form I-864 with a concurrent filing, you do not need to also include Form I-134, Affidavit of Support. Do not substitute Form I-134 for the Form I-864.
FWVP Program Eligibility
Read this chart from left to right to determine who you are eligible to request parole for. Column 1 refers to who you are – the Filipino World War II veteran, the veteran’s surviving spouse, or the veteran’s child, brother or sister. Column 2 refers to the petitioner who filed the Form 1-130 that USCIS approved. You cannot request parole without an approved Form I-130. Column 3 specifies who you can request parole for, based on who you are and who filed the approved Form I-130.
Who Filed the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, that USCIS Approved?
For Whom Can You Request Parole Under the FWVP Program?
A Filipino World War II (WWII) veteran whose military service has been recognized by the Department of Defense
You, the Filipino WWII veteran
Any of the beneficiaries of your approved Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, as long as your relationship with them existed on or before May 9, 2016.
Your sons and daughters and their spouses, and their unmarried children under 21 years of age; and
Your brothers and sisters and their spouses, and their unmarried children under 21 years of age.
The surviving spouse of a Filipino WWII veteran whose military service was recognized by the Department of Defense
Your spouse, the Filipino WWII veteran, now deceased
Any of the beneficiaries of your veteran spouse’s Form I-130, as long as:
The veteran’s qualifying relationship with them existed on or before May 9, 2016; and
USCIS approved the Form I-130 before your spouse died and then reinstated the approval either under 8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(i)(C)(2) or granted relief under 204(l); or the Form I-130 was not approved before your spouse died, but at least one beneficiary was living in the United States at the time of the petitioner’s death and is still living in the United States, and USCIS approved the Form I-130 under INA 204(l).
This may include the veteran's:
Sons and daughters and their spouses, and their unmarried children under 21 years of age; and
Brothers and sisters and their spouses, and their unmarried children under 21 years of age.
You, the veteran’s surviving spouse
Certain beneficiaries of your approved Form I-130, as long as:
They are also your veteran spouse’s sons and daughters (including their spouses, and their unmarried children under 21); and
The veteran’s qualifying, legal relationship with them existed on or before May 9, 2016.
The following Form I-130 beneficiaries are not eligible for the FWVP Program:
Your sons or daughters who are not also your veteran spouse’s sons or daughters; and
Your brothers or sisters, and their spouses and children.
The son, daughter, brother, or sister of a deceased Filipino WWII veteran whose military service was recognized by the Department of Defense, and the veteran’s spouse is also deceased
The Filipino WWII veteran or the veteran’s spouse, who are now both deceased
You are eligible to self-petition to the FWVP Program on behalf of yourself and any qualifying derivatives as long as:
USCIS approved the Form I-130 on which you are listed as a beneficiary before the petitioner died and then reinstated the approval either under 8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(i)(C)(2) or granted relief under 204(l); or
The Form I-130 was not approved before the petitioner died, but at least one beneficiary was living in the United States at the time of the petitioner’s death and is still living in the United States, and USCIS approved the Form I-130 under INA 204(l);
Your qualifying relationship with the Filipino WWII veteran existed on or before May 9, 2016; and
The veteran was residing in the United States at the time of his or her death.
You are not eligible to self-petition on your own behalf if:
USCIS approved the Form I-130 before the petitioner died but has not reinstated the approval (in this case, the principal beneficiary may concurrently request humanitarian reinstatement); or
The Form I-130 was not approved before the petitioner died, and you have not been granted relief under INA 204(l); or
The Form I-130 petitioner is still living. (In this case, the petitioner must apply for the FWVP Program on your behalf).
You are not eligible for the FWVP Program if:
You are the son or daughter of the veteran’s spouse but not the son or daughter of the veteran; or
You are the brother or sister of the veteran’s spouse.
Family Members in the United States
While the FWVP Program is primarily intended for family members outside of the United States, certain relatives in the United States may be able to benefit from the program. However, if a service center conditionally approves your application, your relative will need to leave the United States and appear abroad at a USCIS office or at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate, as indicated on the Form I-131, to be interviewed by a USCIS or Department of State officer.
If found eligible to travel, your relative will be issued a travel document to allow your relative to travel to the United States and request parole from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at a port of entry. CBP will review the documents and, assuming all is in order, parole your relative into the United States. If not found eligible to travel, we will send a written notification to the FWVP Program petitioner.
Depending on an individual’s status in the United States, a departure from the United States can come with serious immigration consequences. Before pursuing this option, individuals are encouraged to consult with an authorized immigration service provider on the potential risks and benefits of this option.
Alternatively, certain family members in the United States may be eligible for parole in place or deferred action under USCIS’ discretionary options for current or former military family members.
Who is Not Eligible
Participation in the FWVP Program is not available to people who qualify as immediate relatives, since they may immediately seek immigrant visas for travel to the United States once their Forms I-130 are approved. Immediate relatives include:
Spouses of U.S. citizens;
Unmarried children under 21 years of age of U.S. citizens; and
Parents of U.S. citizens over 21 years of age.
Note: If you are the beneficiary of an approved Form I-130, and your petitioner (the Filipino WWII veteran or spouse) in the United States is still living, you cannot request parole for yourself or your family members under the FWVP Program. Your U.S.-based petitioner must file on your behalf.
Age Limit for Derivative Beneficiaries
There is no age limit for a principal beneficiary of a Form I-130 to qualify for the FWVP Program. However, any derivative children must be under the age of 21 on the date that we receive your properly filed request to be considered for parole under this program. Forms I-131 submitted for derivative children who are 21 years of age or older on the date we receive the properly filed application will be denied. We will not return the associated filing fees. We will continue to process the applications for any other beneficiaries, including the principal beneficiary and his or her spouse and unmarried children under 21.
Circumstances That Could Affect Eligibility
Becoming a U.S. Citizen
If you are a Lawful Permanent Resident and become a U.S. citizen after you have properly filed your FWVP Program application, there are two options.
You may choose to have your “immediate relatives” continue to be processed for parole. If the “immediate relatives” are paroled into the United States under the FWVP Program, they are expected to apply for lawful permanent resident status (a Green Card) after entry because immigrant visas are immediately available.
Alternatively, you may choose to have your “immediate relatives” processed for immigrant visas at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate after they pay all applicable immigrant visa fees.
If you become a U.S. citizen before you request parole under the FWVP Program, we will deny any applications filed on behalf of “immediate relatives."
A change in the marital status of a Form I-130 beneficiary relative could affect your relative’s eligibility for the FWVP Program.
Relatives who are not eligible for the FWVP Program if they are married include:
A child for whom a Form I-130 under the family-based second preference was filed. The second preference is available to LPRs who wish to bring spouses and unmarried children to the United States, regardless of the age of the children. If your child has married since we approved the Form I-130, he or she is no longer a child under the INA and is not eligible to benefit from the visa petition.
A child of the principal beneficiary for whom a Form I-130 was filed, otherwise known as a derivative child. If the child has married since the Form I-130 was approved, he or she is no longer a child under the INA even if he or she is under 21 years of age, and may not derive status from the principal beneficiary.
Requesting Parole Under the FWVP Program
Filing Tips
Petitioners (including self-petitioners) will be required to file FWVP Program applications for all family members associated with the same underlying approved Form I-130 at the same time. Derivative beneficiaries will only be considered for parole if the principal beneficiary on the Form I-130 is approved for parole. Derivative beneficiaries are not eligible for the FWVP Program on their own, and any Form I-131 applications you file on their behalf will be denied if the principal beneficiary is not approved for parole.
Requesting the Addition of a Spouse or Child to an Approved Form I-130 (Add-on Derivative Beneficiaries). If a principal beneficiary has married or has had a child since the underlying Form I-130 was approved, and the spouse and/or child could be considered as “add-on” derivative beneficiary in the immigrant visa context, you may file an FWVP Program application on behalf of that principal beneficiary’s spouse and child under age 21 (often referred to as an “add-on” derivative).
Derivative children listed on the approved Form I-130 who are already, or who will be, 21 years of age or older before you properly file an FWVP Program application, will not be eligible for the FWVP Program. The date an application is considered filed is the date that it is received by USCIS. If you file an application on behalf of a derivate child and we receive it after the child has turned 21 years of age, we will deny your application.
How to Request Parole
If you (the petitioner or self-petitioner) want your relatives considered for the FWVP Program, you must follow the FWVP Program-specific application instructions listed below and submit the required documentation to the Lockbox:
Complete Form I-131, Application for Travel Document;
Complete a separate Form I-131 for each family member eligible to participate in the FWVP Program.
Complete parts 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9 of Form I-131;
Note that Part 1 requests information about you, the petitioner (or self-petitoner).
Under Part 2, Application Type, check box 1.F, I am applying for an Advance Parole Document for a person who is outside the United States (Note: check this box even if your beneficiary is currently residing in the United States); Items 2.A-2.P request information about your family member, the beneficiary
Under Part 8, sign it yourself, as the petitioner (or self-petitioner);
Write "FWVP" in capital letters at the top of the Form I-131;
Include a photocopy of your Form I-797, Notice of Action, Form I-130 approval notice, a printout from Case Status Online which shows the approval of an Form I-130, or other evidence of your Form I-130 approval; and
Include the applicable fee or fee waiver request. (Applicants may request a fee waiver by submitting Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver. For instructions, please see USCIS’ Fee Waiver Guidance.)
If you are eligible to self-petition, you must also submit evidence to establish a qualifying family relationship with the deceased veteran and evidence of reinstatement or 204(l) relief of your Form I-130.
Complete Form I-134, Affidavit of Support:
Complete a separate Form I-134 with supporting documents for each family member (including yourself, if you are a self-petitioner). Follow the form instructions provided on the Form I-134 Web page. As needed, you may submit Form-134 affidavits from multiple sponsors to provide sufficient evidence that the sponsors have adequate income or financial resources to support each family member. There is no filing fee for Form I-134.
If you are filing your Form I-131 with a request for humanitarian reinstatement, you only need to include Form I-864. You do not need to complete Form I-134.
If you are concurrently filing a request for humanitarian reinstatement with the Form I-131, or a request for humanitarian reinstatement because a previous request was denied, you must include a request by the principal beneficiary of the Form I-130 petition and include all supporting documents as described above.
Include evidence that you are either a Filipino World War II veteran, as described under section 405 of IMMACT’90, as amended by Section 112 of Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1998, or are the surviving spouse of such individual. If you are a self-petitioner, include evidence that you are the son, daughter, brother or sister of the deceased Filipino veteran, and that relationship existed on or before May 9, 2016; that the deceased Filipino veteran had qualifying WWII military service, as noted above, and was living in the United States at the time of death, and that the veteran’s spouse is also deceased.
NOTE: You must submit a separate Form I-131 and a separate Form I-134 for each relative you wish to have considered for parole under the FWVP Program. You must also pay any applicable fees for each application or request a fee waiver.
Submitting Your Application Packet
You must file for all eligible relatives associated with the same approved Form I-130 at the same time so that they can be processed together. Submit all applications and associated supporting documents, including filing fees or a fee waiver request, in one package to this address only:
USCIS
Failure to submit applications together may impact our ability to determine their program eligibility, and we may deny of all or some of the related applications.
You cannot file your application electronically through our online filing system at this time.
You must pay the fees for Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, for each application you submit for a family member, or you can apply for a fee waiver. There is no fee for Form I-134, Affidavit of Support. Fees are subject to change; you should check the USCIS fee schedule before filing any petition or application. You must also cover all costs associated with attending an interview abroad, including completion of a medical examination and travel to the United States.
Processing Your Application
The grant of parole is not automatic. We will use our discretion to authorize parole on a case-by-cases basis. We will generally only authorize parole to beneficiaries who meet the FWVP guidelines and also:
Pass criminal and national security background checks;
Pass a medical exam; and
Warrant a favorable exercise of discretion
After you file your application at the USCIS Lockbox, the package will be forwarded to a USCIS service center for adjudication. The service center will verify that you are qualified to submit the application and will review the documentation to determine whether your beneficiary may be qualified for parole. The service center may request additional evidence, deny, or conditionally approve your application.
If the service center conditionally approves your application, it will be forwarded to the Department of State’s (DOS) National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC will transfer your case to the USCIS office or U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad where your beneficiary relative will be interviewed.
If we deny your Form I-131, the decision is final. However, your beneficiary may still be eligible for immigrant visa processing based on the approved Form I-130 filed on their behalf. When the beneficiary’s immigrant visa becomes available, he or she can begin the process of applying for an immigrant visa.
It may take approximately six months to process an FWVP application from the time we receive your application to issuance of a travel document. The time required to reach a decision on a case will vary depending on the issues raised and whether we require additional evidence.
Request for Evidence
If the service center finds that an application lacks required evidence or that additional evidence or information is required, they will send you a Request for Evidence (RFE). You must provide the evidence requested by the RFE, or establish that the evidence is not available and submit secondary evidence in its place. Your application may be denied if you do not respond to the RFE within the required time frame.
Beneficiary Interview
NOTE: Please do not try to schedule an appointment directly with a USCIS International Field Office or a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. You will be notified when an interview appointment has been scheduled.
Depending on your location, you (the principal beneficiary) may be interviewed by a USCIS or DOS consular officer at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. After receiving the application from the NVC, USCIS or DOS will schedule an interview appointment and provide information regarding any pre-interview requirements, including instructions on completion of a medical examination.
On the date of interview, USCIS staff or DOS consular officers will interview all your eligible family members to verify identities and confirm eligibility for parole under the FWVP Program.
On the date of their interview, all eligible family members should bring:
A government-issued form of identification;
Passport;
Original civil documents supporting their eligibility for the program, in addition to certified English translations of these documents;
Medical examination results; and
A copy of your interview schedule appointment notice.
Post-Interview Process
NOTE: Beneficiaries should NOT take any permanent actions—such as selling or buying property, terminating employment or withdrawing from school—until they have their FWVP Program parole travel document in their hands.
If travel is approved:
U.S.Embassy staff will issue the necessary travel documents. These documents allow travel to the United States and request parole from a CBP officer at a port of entry. CBP will review the documents and, assuming all is in order, can decide to parole you into the United States in their discretion for 3 years.
All eligible family members must arrange and pay for their own travel.
If travel is not approved:
We will send a written notification to you and your family members if travel to the United States is not approved.
If We Deny Parole
Our decision to deny parole authorization is final, and there is no right of appeal.
If we deny parole authorization under the FWVP Program, Form I-130 beneficiaries may still be eligible for immigrant visa processing based on the approved Form I-130 when the immigrant visa becomes available.
In certain circumstances, the reason that parole authorization was denied may also cause us to revoke the approval of your underlying Form I-130. If the Form I-130’s approval is revoked, you will no longer be eligible for an immigrant visa. We will make these determinations on a case-by-case basis.
What It Means to be a Parolee
Parole is temporary and, in and of itself, does not lead to an immigration status or make you eligible for lawful permanent residence, a “Green Card.” It simply allows you to remain in the United States for the period of time that parole is authorized (generally 3 years for an individual paroled under the FWVP Program) and to apply for work authorization. To get LPR status (a Green Card), you must apply for and meet the eligibility requirements of LPR status.
Once you are paroled into the United States under the FWVP Program, you will be eligible to apply for work authorization from USCIS. You must submit Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with the required fee or fee waiver request, if you wish to apply for work authorization.
Re-Parole
If you are paroled into the United States under the FWVP Program, you are expected to apply for LPR status (a Green Card) once your visa becomes available. Based on information in the Visa Bulletin, it may be many years before visas for FWVP beneficiaries will become current. It is your responsibility to seek re-parole in the United States until you are eligible to adjust status. You should apply for re-parole at least 90 days before your parole expires.
If you remain in the United States past the period of your parole without applying for adjustment of status or applying for an extension of your parole period, you will be present in the United States unlawfully. This can have serious immigration consequences.
Applying for a Green Card
Once your immigrant visa becomes available, you must apply for LPR status (a Green Card). To do this, you must file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, with the required fee. Instructions on how to file the Form I-485 are provided at uscis.gov/i-485. There is no fee waiver for the Form I-485 for applicants who entered the United States under the FWVP Program.
Please note that if you were ever unlawfully present or worked without authorization in the United States, you may need to apply and be processed overseas for an immigrant visa instead of applying for LPR status in the United States.
As you begin requesting parole under the FWVP Program, it is helpful to remember:
USCIS and DOS strongly urge you and your family members to remain vigilant about the possibility of individuals who claim to be U.S. government representatives asking for money. These individuals, often called “scammers,” may attempt to trick you into paying them by offering to help file applications for the FWVP Program. To learn more about common immigration scams and how to report scammers, please visit our Avoid Scams Web page.
Websites ending in ".gov” are official government websites. Information on official U.S. government websites ending in “.gov” is official and correct. Official U.S. government email addresses also end in “.gov,” and any correspondence coming from an address that does not end with “.gov” should be considered suspect.
Optional Checklist - Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program (FWVP)
FWVP Fact Sheet (PDF)
Programang Parole para sa mga Pilipinong Beterano ng Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig (FWVP) (PDF)
Elihibilidad Para Sa Programang FWVP (PDF)
Programa sa Parole sa mga Pilipinong Beterano sa Ika-duhang Giyera sa Kalibutan (FWVP) (PDF)
PAGKA-ANGAYAN SA PROGRAMA NGA FWVP (PDF)
Battered Spouse, Children & Parents
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: Response to January 2018 Preliminary Injunction
Deferred Enforced Departure
DED Granted Country: Liberia
Humanitarian Parole
Central American Minors (CAM): Information for Parole Applicants
Cuban Family Reunification
Cuban Medical Professional Parole (CMPP) Program
Haitian Family Reunification
International Entrepreneur Parole
Refugees & Asylum
Previous Special Situations
Temporary Protected Status
Victims of Human Trafficking & Other Crimes
Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Status
Victims of Human Trafficking: T Nonimmigrant Status
Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C)
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The entities we supervise are obliged to know their customers’ business, detect and examine suspicious transactions, and report any such suspicions to the FIN-FSA and the Financial Intelligence Unit. This directory contains instructions for supervised entities on customer due diligence and the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.
The prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing is based on international standards. Regulation seeks to ensure that uniform customer due diligence procedures are observed in the global financial markets. In this respect, an important role is played by the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), an intergovernmental working group on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, operating under the OECD. The EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Directives are based on FATF recommendations.
In Finland, the Financial Intelligence Unit operating in connection with the National Bureau of Investigation processes money-laundering reports submitted to it. Responsibility for the development of anti-money laundering legislation lies with the Ministry of Finance. It is our task to ensure that the procedures, risk management and internal control of supervised entities comply with statutory requirements.
A supervised entity or its employee may be sentenced to punishment for failure to comply with the obligations of customer due diligence and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing under the Act on Detecting and Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Anti-Money Laundering Act, AML Act). A supervised entity may be guilty of negligent money laundering, for example, if it assists or counsels a customer in investment activities, establishment of shell companies or transfer of funds despite having weighty reasons to be suspicious of the customer's transactions.
The regulations and guidelines were prepared in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act that entered into force on 1 August 2008 and provisions issued under the Act. Please note that the regulations and guidelines have not been completely updated, as they do not take account of the amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act that entered into force on 3 July 2017 (444/2017), or other provisions that were repealed or issued in connection with the overall reform of the Act, or the Act on amending the AML Act (406/2018) and other related acts that entered into force on 5 June 2018 and 1 May 2019. We will update the regulations and guidelines in the course of 2019.
Customer due diligence – prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism
Regulation on the prevention and detection of money laundering and terrorist financing
The Act on Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (AML Act), Act on the Financial Intelligence Unit and certain other Acts on related topics were reformed on 3 July 2017. These measures implemented the fourth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive and the second Funds Transfer Regulation ("2FTR").
Below is a list of links related to the topic:
Act on Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (444/2017) (in Finnish)
Act on Financial Intelligence Unit (445/2017) (in Finnish)
Amendments were made to the AML Act and related Acts on 5 June 2018 and 1 May 2019.
Act amending the Act on Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (406/2018) (in Finnish)
Government proposal to the Parliament on amending the Act on the Financial Supervisory Authority and on certain related Acts (HE 38/2018) (in Finnish)
Hallituksen esitys eduskunnalle laiksi pankki- ja maksutilien valvontajärjestelmästä ja eräiksi siihen liittyviksi laeiksi (HE 167/2019) (in Finnish)
Application of the Funds Transfer Regulation has begun
The EU Funds Transfer Regulation (2015/847) applies as of 26 June 2017.
Regulation (EU) 2015/847 of the European Parliament and of the Council on information accompanying transfers of funds and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1781/2006.
The Funds Transfer Regulation obliges providers to notify the FIN-FSA of shortcomings identified by them in information accompanying funds transfers. The notifications are to be sent to the FIN-FSA by email at maksuntiedot(at)fiva.fi. Use this form in the notification (in Finnish).
The ESA guidelines contain more detailed instructions on how payment service providers should act in order to fulfil the requirements of Regulation 2015/847. The ESA guidelines are available on the ESA website.
The ESA guideline was implemented nationally by FIN-FSA regulations and guidelines 5/2018.
Commission supranational risk assessment
The first Commission supranational report on the EU internal market based on an AML/CFT risk assessment was published in July 2017.
The purpose of the report is to help EU member states to detect and analyse AML and CFT risks and to take mitigating measures. The report analyses risks within the financial sector and beyond, and examines new risk factors, such as virtual currencies and crowdfunding systems.
a comprehensive risk mapping of key areas and a list of most widespread means of money laundering used by criminals
recommendations to EU member states on how to address the risks identified, such as increase risk assessment or supervision of certain activities.
The Commission is committed to examine the options to enhance the operations and cross-border cooperation of Financial Intelligence Units. The Commission continues to monitor the development of money laundering and terrorist financing risks and will publish a new risk assessment at the latest in June 2019 and every other year thereafter.
Commission press release 26 July 2017: Strengthened EU rules to tackle money laundering, tax avoidance and terrorism financing enter into force
European Commission report: Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the assessment of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the internal market and relating to cross-border activities
Commission staff working document Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the assessment of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the internal market and relating to cross-border activities
Commission staff working document Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council on the assessment of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the internal market and relating to cross-border situations
Commission staff working document: On improving cooperation between EU Financial Intelligence units
Guidelines and opinions of the European Supervisory Authorities on prevention and detection of money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism
The European Supervisory Authority (ESA) consists of three separate authorities: The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). The fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive provides on the obligation of these authorities to provide Joint Guidelines and drafts to the Commission for Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS). The ESAs have also prepared Joint Opinions related to the topic.
The Risk-Based Supervision Guidelines
In November 2016, the European Supervisory Authorities published Joint Guidelines on the characteristics of a risk-based approach to anti-money laundering and terrorist financing supervision, and the steps to be taken when conducting supervision on a risk-sensitive basis (the Risk-Based Supervision Guidelines).
The Joint Guidelines set out the ESAs’ view of appropriate risk-based supervisory practices within the European System of Financial Supervision regarding anti money laundering and terrorist financing. The Guidelines apply to European competent authorities supervising the financial sector in their respective home countries. The Joint Guidelines do not apply to financial institutions referred to in the fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
Competent authorities should apply the Joint Guidelines when designing, implementing, revising and enhancing their own AML/CFT RBS model. The authorities should comply with the Joint Guidelines by incorporating them in their supervisory practices as appropriate (comply-or-explain procedure).
Opinion on money laundering and terrorist financing risk threatening EU's financial sector
On 20 February 2017, the ESAs published a Joint Opinion on the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the Union’s financial sector. This opinion was also submitted to the Commission as part of a supranational risk assessment exercise. The fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive imposes an obligation for the supervisory authorities to issue an opinion on EU-level risks of money laundering and terrorist financing in order to support the work conducted by the Commission.
The ESA’s shall update their assessment of the risks within two years of this first opinion.
Joint opinion on the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the Union's financial sector
The Risk Factors Guidelines
On 26 June 2017, the ESAs published their Guidelines on risk factors and simplified and enhanced customer due diligence procedures as required by the fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive. The Guidelines provide reporting entities with tools to assess the ML/TF risks related to their operations and customer relationships as well as monitoring methods and other controls needed in risk management. Application of the guidelines began on 26 June 2018.
ESAs publish AML/CFT guidelines
Guidelines on risk factors and simplified and enhanced customer due diligence
Report on central contact point and proposal for regulatory technical standard
Finland has used the possibility provided by the fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive to require foreign payment service providers and issuers of electronic money providing services to Finland, to appoint a central contact point (Chapter 3, section 14 of the AML Act).
The ESAs have submitted their report on the matter to the Commission to be adopted as a regulatory technical standard. The standard will establish the criteria for member states for determining the circumstances in which foreign payment service providers and issuers of electronic money may be required to appoint a central contact point. The standard also functions that may be required to be fulfilled by the central contact point in the host country in order to ensure regulatory compliance.
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2018/1108 of 7 May 2018 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regulatory technical standards on the criteria for the appointment of central contact points for electronic money issuers and payment service providers and with rules on their functions
Final report on Joint draft regulatory technical standards on the criteria for determining the circumstances in which the appointment of a central contact point pursuant to Article 45(9) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 is appropriate and the functions of the central contact point
ESAs publish central contact point standards in fight against financial crime
RTS on CCP to strengthen fight against financial crime
Report on compliance with group-level AML/CFT policy in so-called third countries
The ESAs have submitted to the Commission for approval their report on reporting entities' group-level AML/CFT policy in circumstances where they have a branch or subsidiary in a so-called third country, whose regulation prevents the implementation of group-wide policies and procedures.
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2019/758 of 31 January 2019 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for the minimum action and the type of additional measures credit and financial institutions must take to mitigate money laundering and terrorist financing risk in certain third countries
RTS on the implementation of group wide AML/CFT policies in third countries
"Know your customer – prevent money laundering" newsletter
The purpose of the "Know your customer – prevent money laundering" newsletter is, among other things, to disseminate news about domestic and international regulatory initiatives related to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and to provide a status update regarding domestic and international authorities specialising in this field. Newsletters are in Finnish.
International financial sanctions and changes therein are communicated at the website of the Ministry of the Interior.
The Financial Supervisory Authority
Marjaana Hassinen, Legal Adviser, tel. +358 9 831 5215
Viivi Jantunen, Risk Expert, tel. +358 9 183 5008
Katri Saari, Risk Expert, tel. +358 9 183 5440
Carri Grann, Risk Expert, tel. +358 9 183 5024
Elsewhere on the Internet
Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
Sanctions pages of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Enforcement: UN and EU sanctions and freezing orders
Financial Intelligence Unit
Useful information on European AML/CFT initiatives on the EBA website
The website of the European Banking Authority contains topical information on European initiatives concerning anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.
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Susan Wingate, Author of STORM SEASON receives coveted Book Excellence Award
Kentucky Author Tiffany Reisz Nominated for National Award
Humorist Andrew Shaffer Announces Summer 2019 "Hope Rides Again" Tour in Support of New Obama Biden Mystery Novel
Revenge, responsibility, confrontation, consequences; demons, disasters and assassins – not party politics, but the new epic fantasy from David Craig
Award-Winning Author Michael Jordan to Appear at Author Alley at Loganberry Books
Children's book championing wildlife protection a finalist at BookCon's "The Spark"
An Enchanted Racetrack Awaits in the Novel, Stairway to Heaven
Michael Jordan, author of The Company of Demons, News and Events
HWA Announces Haunted Library of Horror Classics
LOS ANGELES - March 5, 2019 - s4story -- The Horror Writers Association (HWA) and Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks, are pleased to announce the "Haunted Library of Horror Classics," a new series of reprinted horror classics. Now some of the genre's seminal titles will be easily available to modern readers. The series editors include acclaimed writer and editor Eric J. Guignard, and multiple-award-winning editor and annotator Leslie S. Klinger.
HWA's President Lisa Morton said, "This is a project we've been working on behind the scenes at HWA for years, because keeping the genre's classics alive is something I consider a key part of HWA's core mission goals. I can't imagine better choices to edit this series than Eric and Les, and I'm thrilled to be working with everyone at Poisoned Pen and Sourcebooks."
Each volume will feature an introduction by a noted horror expert and/or author, and every book will close with a study guide for classroom use. The editions (quality trade paperback) are aimed to be reasonably priced for a mass market. The first release, Gaston LeRoux's Phantom of the Opera, will be introduced by New York Times-bestselling author and multiple Bram Stoker Award® winner Nancy Holder.
The other initial titles selected are: The Beetle by Richard Marsh; Vathek by William Beckford; House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson; The Parasite and Other Tales of Terror by Arthur Conan Doyle; and The King in Yellow by Robert Chambers.
"When approached by HWA to consider this project, I was intrigued by the opportunity to introduce a new readership to the masterpieces of this much underappreciated genre," said Robert Rosenwald, Director of Development, Poisoned Pen Press. "And to work with such luminaries as Eric J. Guignard and Leslie Klinger, providing each title with a study guide, and making them available at reasonable prices made the Haunted Library irresistible."
Eric J. Guignard has won the Bram Stoker Award®, been a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award, and a multi-nominee of the Pushcart Prize for his works of dark and speculative fiction. He has over 100 stories and non-fiction works appearing in publications around the world, has edited six anthologies, and created an ongoing series of primers exploring modern masters of literary dark short fiction, Exploring Dark Short Fiction.
Leslie S. Klinger is the New York Times-best-selling editor of the Edgar® winning New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, as well as numerous other annotated books, anthologies, and articles on Holmes, Dracula, Lovecraft, Frankenstein, mysteries, horror, and the Victorian age. His work includes the acclaimed New Annotated Dracula and New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft as well as the World Fantasy Award-nominated New Annotated Frankenstein, and several anthologies of classic vampire and horror fiction. He also serves as Director of Marketing – Nonfiction & Poisoned Pen Press, Sourcebooks, 1935 Brookdale Road, Suite 139, Naperville, Illinois 60563.
About Sourcebooks
Sourcebooks is a thriving entrepreneurial company that brings extraordinary authors to readers in the most dynamic, data-driven ways. We create books that transcend categories and defy odds and have been honored with hundreds of national bestsellers and awards. We are home to enthusiastic, book-loving employees who are dedicated to connecting books to readers in new and innovative ways. Story by story, book by book, we have touched over 100 million lives. Join us as we change 100 million more. Visit sourcebooks.com for more information.
The HWA is a nonprofit organization of writers and publishing professionals around the world, dedicated to promoting dark literature and the interests of those who write it. The HWA formed in 1985 with the help of many of the field's greats, including Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon, and Joe Lansdale. Today, with over 1,500 members around the globe, it is the oldest and most respected professional organization for the much-loved writers who have brought you the most enjoyable sleepless nights of your life. The Horror Writers Association is the home of the prestigious Bram Stoker Award® and the creator of the annual StokerCon™ convention.
John W. Dennehy, Communications Director
Horror Writers Association
***@johnwdennehy.com
Source: Horror Writers Association
Filed Under: Literature
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House Judiciary Committee Approves Atrocious Regulatory Accountability Act; Bill With “Bipartisan” Facade Threatens Vital Public Safeguards
A Statement From the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards
Contact: Rich Robinson, Public Citizen, (202) 588-7773 or rrobinson@citizen.org
Brian Gumm, OMB Watch, (202) 683-4812 or bgumm@ombwatch.org
Today, the House Judiciary Committee, along strict party lines, approved H.R. 3010, the “Regulatory Accountability Act of 2011,” which positions it for a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. The bill is sponsored in the House by Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and in the Senate by Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). The Coalition for Sensible Safeguards condemns this latest attack on public protections and strongly urges Congress to reject it.
The Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA) is one of the biggest threats to environmental standards, workplace safety rules, public health, and financial reform regulations to appear in decades, similar in scope to the much-maligned REINS Act. It would paralyze the implementation of current protective laws and countermand years of consumer protection, worker safety and clean air and water laws by making the costs to corporate interests more important than the health and safety of American workers and families.
The RAA would act as a kind of super-mandate, overriding the requirements of landmark legislation such as the Clean Air Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and distorting their protective focus.
It would also greatly expand the kinds of rules that must undergo formal rulemaking procedures – a highly complex process that can easily take more than a decade to complete. Even if a proposed standard somehow manages to survive this new procedural gauntlet, the bill alters the judicial review standard for most rules, making it easier for special interests and industry to have a rule struck down.
The bill would add new review requirements and other hoops to an already long and complicated process, ensuring significant delays in developing and improving public health and safety standards. It also would allow special interest lobbyists to second-guess the work of respected scientists and staff through legal challenges, sparking a wave of litigation that would add more costs and delays to the rulemaking process, potentially putting the lives, health and safety of millions of Americans at risk.
Congress should stop attempting to weaken the nation’s system of regulatory safeguards and focus its efforts on finding ways to ensure federal agencies enforce the laws designed to protect our food supply, water, air quality and financial security.
The Coalition for Sensible Safeguards is an alliance of consumer, labor, scientific, research, good government, faith, community, health, environmental, and public interest groups, as well as concerned individuals, joined in the belief that our country’s system of regulatory safeguards provides a stable framework that secures our quality of life and paves the way for a sound economy that benefits us all. For more information about the coalition, go to www.sensiblesafeguards.org.
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Proposed Amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines Published
By Brandon Sample | December 15, 2018 | 0
On December 13, 2018, the United States Sentencing Commission published a “reader friendly” version of the proposed amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines. The public comment period for the proposed amendments will run through February 19, 2019. The reply period will officially close on March 15, 2019.
The proposed amendments include the following major categories of changes to the sentencing guidelines: 1) calculating retroactive sentence reductions in light of Koons v. United States and 2) determining whether a defendant’s prior conviction constitutes a “crime of violence” for purposes of enhanced sentencing.
Proposed Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Based on Koons v. United States
What Happened in Koons v. United States?
In Koons v. United States, the defendant was convicted of a drug trafficking crime but did not receive the mandatory minimum sentence because of his substantial cooperation with the government investigation. This was before Congress amended the sentencing guidelines in 2014 and reduced the mandatory minimum for the defendant’s sentence to less time than the defendant had to serve. Congress applied this reduction retroactively.
The Supreme Court found that the defendant was not eligible for the sentence reduction, even though it applied retroactively, because his sentence was based on a reduction for his substantial cooperation with the government. Criminal justice advocates decried the nonsensical result of this ruling and have pushed for amendments to the sentencing guidelines to rectify this issue.
Applying Sentence Reductions Retroactively Under the Proposed Amendments
The proposed amendments deal with the aftermath of Koons v. United States by confirming that any mandatory minimum sentence reductions applied retroactively will trump any otherwise applicable guideline range. This means that a defendant who received a substantial assistance reduction in sentence that left him serving more time than if the amended sentencing range were applied to his case, the defendant will serve the reduced sentence. Importantly, the proposed amendments also note that the court should reduce a defendant’s new sentence from any amended guideline ranges by an amount in proportion to the reduction he received from his substantial assistance reduction. In other words, that defendant would possibly serve even less time than the retroactively applied mandatory range if he had previously received a substantial assistance reduction in sentence.
Proposed Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Regarding the Determination of Whether a Prior Conviction is a Violent Crime
District courts are required to classify a defendant’s prior criminal convictions as either a “crime of violence” or “controlled substance offense” for purposes of determining whether an enhanced sentence must be imposed for the current offense. As it stands, the district courts assume a categorical approach to classifying an offense. This means that they turn to the enumerated elements of a statute to see if an offense fits the definition of a violent crime.
The proposed amendments would make the defendant’s actual conduct in the commission of the prior offense part of the focus of the court’s modified categorical approach in classifying a violent crime. The sentencing court would still factor in the actual elements of the crime in its analysis, but it would be able to look beyond the record of conviction and statutory elements to other sources from the judicial record. This would include the charging documents, the jury instructions, the jury’s factual findings, the substance of a plea agreement and any transcript in which the defendant confirms the factual findings for a guilty plea.
Along those same lines, the proposed amendments seek to clarify the varying definitions of inchoate offenses, such as attempt, conspiracy and solicitation, when analyzing whether to classify an attempt as a violent crime or part of a controlled substance offense. The proposed amendments provide three options for clarifying those definitions, including looking only to the underlying substantive offense to see if it would qualify as a crime of violence and then applying that definition to any inchoate convictions the defendant had for that offense.
← Supreme Court Case Roundup: Recent Criminal CasesPennsylvania’s Sentencing Guidelines: A Review and History →
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Home > Faculty and Staff Publications > By Year > 1089
Faculty and Staff Publications By Year
The Roman Inheritance in British and Spanish America During the Age of Revolution
Elise Bartosik-Vélez, Dickinson CollegeFollow
Renovatio, inventio, absentia imperii : From the Roman Empire to Contemporary Imperialism
"If any one cultural source lay behind the republican revolutions of the eighteenth century", writes United States historian Gordon Wood, "it was ancient Rome -- republican Rome -- and the values that flowed from its history. It was ancient Rome's legacy that helped to make the late eighteenth century's apparently sudden transition to republicanism possible". Wood is speaking primarily about the revolutions in British America and France, although his observations are also applicable, at least to some extent, to Spanish America, where the fight for independence lasted into the 1820s. While a number of scholars have studied the influence of the Roman legacy in British America and the early United States around the time of independence, few have examined its influence in Spanish America, and no sustained comparative study on the topic in the two regions has been done. This essay begins the work of such a comparison by examining how and why Americans rhetorically availed themselves of the legend of Rome, in particular with regard to its territorial expansion. The issue of expansion played out quite differently in British and Spanish America and this, along with the political character of these societies, influenced the ways in which Rome was invoked in political discourse. Here I offer a general comparison of British and Spanish America and, with regard to the latter, I focus on the figure of Simón Bolívar, the architect of independence and several of the new governments of South America.
For more information on the published version, visit Brepols Publisher's Website.
Bartosik-Velez, Elise. "The Roman Inheritance in British and Spanish America During the Age of Revolution." In Renovatio, inventio, absentia imperii: From the Roman Empire to Contemporary Imperialism, edited by Wouter Bracke, Jan Nelis, and Jan De Maeyer, 51-67. Bruxelles: Academia Belgica, 2018.
Full text currently unavailable.
Liberal Arts Research Commons
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Home > McGeorge School of Law > Law Reviews > MLR > Vol. 9 > Iss. 1 (1978)
University of the Pacific; McGeorge School of Law
University of the Pacific; McGeorge School of Law, Environmental Protection, 9 Pac. L. J. 546 (1978).
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/mlr/vol9/iss1/30
Legislation Commons
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The Christian right . . . or wrong?
By Clifford Goldstein |
During the early years of the Spanish conquest of the West Indies, disease, enslavement and violence brought by the invaders decimated the indigenous people. One Taino chief, named Hatuey, fought against the Conquistadors until he was caught and tied to a stake. His captors, professed Christians, offered him the chance to convert, saying that if he did, rather than burn him alive, they would merely chop off his head. Plus, if he converted, he would have the hope of eternity in heaven, just as they did. He declined their “generous” offer, allegedly saying, “No, I don’t want to meet any more Christians.”
This horrific account reveals an unfortunate and uncomfortable truth: not everything done in the name of Christianity reflects the character of Jesus or His teachings. Considering His life, example and teachings, it is, indeed, very difficult to understand many of the things that have been done by those who claimed to be followers of Jesus—and in the name of Jesus Himself.
Of course, this hasn’t been a problem just among Christians. Whether it’s people flying jets into buildings in suicide attacks or inciting mobs to violence and arson or a host of other atrocities, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Atheism . . . all belief systems have had their names stained by those who’ve done horrific things that, in most cases, are contrary to the most basic principles of what they profess.
A false religion
The apostle Paul warned that, before the world ends, a very deceptive form of religion will arise, claiming the rights and authority that belong only to God Himself: “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him,” he said, “we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thessalonians 2:1–4, NKJV*).
These verses have been interpreted differently through the ages, but one crucial point is unmistakable: before the second coming of Jesus there will be a surge of false teaching in the religious world and someone, or more likely a religion, will emerge and seek to take the place of God; to usurp what belongs to Him only.
This idea makes very good sense in the context of the visions of the biblical book of Revelation, which in many places deal with the events that lead up to the second coming of Jesus and the end of the world. Revelation warns that an end-time religious and political system, symbolised by a beast that rises from the sea, will demand worship, even though the Bible is clear that God alone is to be worshipped.
Speaking of this false system, Revelation says that “it was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world” (13:7, 8).
Revelation also warns about a second beast—person, entity or system—that will come “out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed” (13:11, 12).
There’s a religious emphasis to the predictions in these texts, because the issue of worship is central. Worship belongs to God alone and not to any earthly religious or political system. The epic conflict between Christ and Satan, which began in heaven and has continued on earth for thousands of years, will climax in this final battle, which is about loyalty and obedience.
Revelation predicts that persecution will arise against those who refuse to worship this false power in the last days. “It [the beast] also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name” (Revelation 13:16, 17). This will occur shortly before Christ comes the second time.
The rise of religion
With biblical insight, we see signs in current events that hint at this end-time religious persecution. Despite claims that, in our secular and scientific age, religion was headed for extinction—an anachronism, a superstition from a bygone age—the opposite has happened. Religion, including various forms of fundamentalism, is as strong as ever, exerting an influence over nations all around the world, and often in sinister ways.
For example, from the 1980s to 2011, one of the biggest drug cartels in Mexico was “La Familia”. It gained international notoriety in 2006, when five severed heads were rolled onto the dance floor at a disco in Mexico—the work of La Familia. Its members carried Bibles. They claimed that the people they killed deserved death and that their organisation, supposedly inspired by some American preachers, was in the business of (besides selling drugs) dishing out “divine justice”.
Of course, the usurping of religion isn’t always done as crassly as that, but religion still holds a powerful sway over billions of people. And despite the deep divisions seen among many religious groups, major efforts are being made to bring about as much unity as possible, especially in Christianity. Over the past 30 years great strides have been made in the ecumenical movement, which aims to bring various denominations together, including Catholics and Protestants.
The desire for political power, such as is seen in the Christian right in the United States, has been a strong impetus for this union. Divided and fighting among themselves, these religious groups can’t wield the political power they’d like to. So they’re putting aside their religious differences in order to use their combined power to influence the political system for their own ends.
One example of this is the desire on the part of the religious right—and promised by President Donald Trump—to abolish the so-called Johnson Amendment to tax law. The change would allow churches to openly speak in favour of certain candidates and against others.
"We see signs in current events that hint at this end-time persecution."
In the time of Jesus, the Pharisees and Sadducees—rival sects within Judaism—put aside their religious differences and worked together against Jesus, ultimately going to the secular Roman authorities to have Him executed. And for several centuries before the Reformation swept through Europe, the Catholic Church was using secular authorities to execute religious dissidents on its behalf, as in the case of John Huss, who was burned at the stake.
According to the Bible, something similar will happen in the last days. As mentioned earlier, a massive religious system will work with the secular authorities to persecute those who refuse to worship as this power demands.
Neo-Babylon
The book of Revelation refers to this end-time religio-political system as “Babylon”, borrowing the name of the genocidal empire that conquered and exiled the Jews in antiquity. The apostle John, recounting his visions in Revelation, said, “I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. The name written on her forehead was a mystery: Babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished” (17:3–6).
Though much more could be said about this neo-Babylon, two things are clear: it’s religious, because it was “covered with blasphemous names”; and it persecuted God’s faithful people—it was “drunk with the blood of the saints”. In an age of globalisation and instant communication, where religious passions still run violently high at times, it isn’t hard to see this kind of power someday manifesting itself in some very sinister ways.
At the same time, however, the Bible tells us that this Babylon will be destroyed in the end: “Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her” (Revelation 18:8).
Indeed, amid all the gloom and doom, one great bright spot will appear, a powerful sign of the end. Jesus said that before He returns, as the last sign heralding His coming, the entire planet will be made aware of His saving grace: “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14, italics added).
In a time of incredible mass communication, the gospel is being preached everywhere as never before so that everyone can have a chance to hear the good news of Jesus and His work of salvation for us. This has to be one of the greatest signs that we are nearing the end of this world before Jesus returns.
There’s no question that we live in troubled times, and circumstances will unfortunately worsen before they improve. But the great gospel promise is that our difficult life on this earth will end someday, and Jesus will take us to a place that’s free of evil and persecution.
* Bible texts in this article taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Clifford Goldstein
Laying down the law
Humble faith
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European Canadians
53% of the total Canadian population[1][2] (2016 Census)
Regions with significant populations
All areas of Canada
less prevelant in the North
Predominantly English • French
Historically Scottish Gaelic • Irish were spoken in certain regions
Predominantly Christianity (Protestantism and Roman Catholicism)
Related ethnic groups
European diaspora • Europeans • European Americans • European Australians • European New Zealanders
An additional 11,135,965 people chose "Canadian" as their ethnic group in the Census.[1]
European Canadians (sometimes called Euro-Canadians) are Canadians with ancestry from Europe.[3] As of 2011, there were 25,186,890 European Canadians in Canada.[4]
The French were the first Europeans to live in Canada permanently. Hélène Desportes was the first "white" person born in New France. She was born in 1620.[5]
In 2006, most European Canadians had English ancestry (21.03%). Other common ancestries were French (15.82%), Scottish (15.11%), Irish (13.94%), German (10.18%) then Italian (4.63%). However, 32.22% of people said they had Canadian ancestry. Because of this, some people think the numbers for the English and French ancestry are too low.[6]
Most European Canadians are Christian. A small number of them are Jews, Deists, Agnostics, Atheists, Muslims, Bahá'ís, Paganists/Wiccas and Unitarian Universalists.[source?] Most also speak English and French.
↑ 1.0 1.1 Census Profile, 2016 Census - Ethnic origin population
↑ "Census Profile, 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
↑ www.oxforddictionaries.com Euro-Canadian definition
↑ "National Household Survey (NHS) Profile, 2011". Statcan.gc.ca. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-27.
↑ Bennett, Ethel M. G. Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. 2000. "Hélène Desportes". Accessed August 10, 2007.
↑ The Changing Face of Canada: Essential Readings in Population
Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=European_Canadians&oldid=6522523"
Ethnic groups in Canada
"Related ethnic groups" needing confirmation
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Longtime TV Star Jerry Van Dyke Dies at 86
by Emily Donn
in TV News
Actor and comedian Jerry Van Dyke, younger brother of Dick Van Dyke, passed away at the age of 86 according to TMZ. Van Dyke was born July 27, 1931 in Danville Illinois. He began his career in stand up comedy while still in high school, and often toured in strip clubs as well as nightclubs. In 1954 and 55 he was a member of Tops in Blue, a touring group of entertainers made up of active members of the United States Air Force. He won a military talent contest, which lead to a few appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Van Dyke made his onscreen acting debut as the brother of his real life brother on The Dick Van Dyke Show in 1962 and appeared four times in the role of sleepwalking and banjo playing Stacie Petrie. His skills with the banjo had been a part of his stand up routine and would show up again in other acting roles, including a guest spot on The Andy Griffith Show. Not long after, he was offered the chance to replace Don Knotts on The Andy Griffith Show but decided not to.
RELATED: ROSE MARIE, STAR OF DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, DIES AT 94
Not long after his first appearance on The Dick Van Dyke Show, Van Dyke began making movies, with appearances in The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Palm Springs Weekend, and McLintock. He also continued to guest star on TV series, including Perry Mason and The Cara Williams Show. In 1964 he was offered the role of Gilligan on Gilligan's Island but turned it down, claiming the pilot script was the worst thing he ever read. Instead he took the lead on the series My Mother the Car which was canceled after 30 episodes.
Van Dyke continued to work after the end of My Mother the Car. He guest starred on That Girl and two episodes of Vacation Playhouse before taking on another lead in a sitcom - Accidental Family - which was canceled after only 16 episodes. He then co-starred with Andy Griffith in the movie Angel in my Pocket. Van Dyke and Griffith then worked together on another series - Headmaster - which only lasted 13 episodes. Van Dyke continued to make guest appearances on popular shows like Mary Tyler Moore, Fantasy Island, Newhart, The Love Boat, and Charles in Charge. He also worked with brother Dick again, in episodes of The New Dick Van Dyke Show and Diagnosis Murder.
It was in 1989 that Van Dyke got the biggest and most well-remembered role of his career, that of Assistant Coach Luther Horatio Van Dam on the sitcom Coach. The series ran for 9 years and nearly two hundred episodes, and resulted in Van Dyke being nominated for four consecutive Emmy Awards. A revival of Coach was attempted in 2015, but it was canceled before entering production.
Van Dyke continued acting until two years ago, when a car accident left him in ill health - possibly leading to his death. His final role was a recurring one on the sitcom The Middle, appearing in 8 episodes of the series. In the last of those episodes, his brother Dick guest-starred, playing Jerry's brother one last time and bringing Jerry Van Dyke's career full circle.
MORE: WALKING DEAD PRODUCTION COMPANY GETS MAX FINE FOR STUNTMAN'S DEATH
Tags: coach
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Toxic Torts Can Poison Your Business
In the 1800’s, manufacturers and builders started using a natural resource that vastly improved the quality of their products. It added strength to materials, resisted heat, electrical and chemical damage, and absorbed sound. When mixed with cement and used in building construction, it enhanced fire safety. By the middle of the 1900’s, manufacturers were using it in insulation, automobile brake pads, drywall, lawn furniture, fireplace cement, gaskets, and a host of other products. Unfortunately, this material, asbestos, can cause serious lung disease and even death in those who inhale its fibers. Builders and manufacturers who used it have endured hundreds of thousands of lawsuits from the victims or their survivors.
Claims resulting from exposure to asbestos fall into the category of what is known as “toxic torts” — injury and damage lawsuits stemming from exposure to substances proven to cause illness or injury in people. Other substances that lead to toxic torts include lead paint, toxigenic mold, industrial chemicals, pesticides, and toxic landfill waste. These lawsuits can ravage a company’s balance sheet, ruin a good reputation that took years to build, and divert resources and attention away from normal operations and toward legal defense.
Asbestos has been associated with instances of cancer affecting the protective lining that covers most of the body’s internal organs. This form of cancer was killing 3,000 Americans a year by the late 1990s. Most of the victims had long-term occupational exposure to asbestos; a Rand Corporation study estimated that 27.5 million people in the U.S. were exposed to asbestos in their workplaces between 1940 and 1979. Consequently, by 2002 more than 730,000 people had sued more than 8,400 firms for illnesses caused by the fiber. The cost of asbestos-related litigation in the U.S. has exceeded $250 billion.
Toxigenic molds produce a chemical that can be dangerous to people exposed to large amounts of it over a long period of time. Normally, the mold is not present in large enough quantities to be harmful. However, concern has grown over the last several years about the possible effects of long-term exposure to these molds. Newer energy efficient homes have become air tight, preventing moisture from escaping and creating an environment where mold can grow. A Texas woman who sued her insurance company over its refusal to pay for cleaning up mold that allegedly made her home unlivable won a multi-million dollar damage award; a court later reduced the amount. While health experts have not reached a consensus about the actual harm mold can cause, the increased attention to it makes future litigation likely.
The standard commercial general liability insurance policy does not cover most losses resulting from pollutants. However, alternatives exist — pollution legal liability insurance policies. These policies cover damage to the organization’s own property; injuries or damages that others suffer as a result of a toxic incident for which the organization is liable; and associated cleanup costs. Depending on its terms, such a policy might also cover new injury claims, cleanup, and the discovery of new toxic substances after the organization implements a pollution remediation plan. A professional insurance agent can help locate the appropriate coverage at a reasonable cost.
Toxic torts are likely to remain a financial threat to all organizations for the foreseeable future. Controls to prevent injuries or to make existing ones less severe, coupled with the right insurance company, can help ensure that your organization will survive this threat.
Posted in Commercial, Liability
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50 Years of Hilux: The Hilux Story
Known for its ability to handle all kinds of tough terrain – including the North Pole, South Pole and the Dakar Rally – Hilux has been the go-to vehicle if you’re in the market for a powerful workhorse.
Its indestructible reputation has been built over seven generations of constant development and testing in the harshest of topographies. From navigating treacherous icy ridges to entering an active volcano – the boundaries of impossibility keep on being pushed.
To understand the full legend though, we first need to delve back to where it all began…
Born in 1968 at Hino Motors, the original designs were based on the functionality of a car, but this was quickly phased out in order to target those in the commercial sector: people who were after a reliable, durable and comfortable form of transport.
Life started with a four-cylinder 1.5-litre R-series petrol engine with a top speed of 81mph. This was later upgraded to include a gutsier 1.6-litre engine. As the demand for more power and versatility grew, the first four-wheel drive model was introduced in 1979. This allowed people to travel off the beaten track for non-paved adventures over rocky mountains, muddy tracks and everything in-between.
Over time the Hilux (a combination of ‘high’ and ‘luxury’) continued to adapt to meet the demands of modern-day jobs; despite being developed as a commercial vehicle, it began to develop into a popular day-to-day car for families. In 1983 Toyota reassessed its range, offering double-cab body configurations for families that wanted all the comfort of a modern car with the ability to match a conventional off-roader.
Its large size meant that it could accommodate most things from tools of the trade to the domestic trappings of family outings. This led to more versatile sporty models with increased recreational specifications together with a taller cabin and improved sound insulation being released, bridging the gap between commercial and family vehicles.
Top Gear Tests
It wasn’t long before the Hilux garnered a reputation as the all-conquering vehicle, which led to Top Gear – a British TV motor vehicle television show putting these qualities to the test in the most extraordinary way. Their aim was to ‘kill’ an ’88 Hilux that already had 190,000 miles on the clock.
It was subjected to all manner of car torture: from washing it out to sea, hitting it with a wrecking ball, to dropping a caravan on top of it and setting it alight. Despite suffering heavy damage, it could still be driven away after a short repair with basic tools.
Top Gear didn’t stop there. In 2007 they put a modern 2005 unit to the ultimate test by driving it to the North Magnetic Pole, making it the first motor vehicle to do so. The vehicle was only slightly modified with larger wheels and thicker tyres and a sump guard, as well as a few other minor additions.
From here, it was only a natural progression from ice to fire as presenter James May took his Hilux into the mouth of an active volcano in Iceland to retrieve lava samples. This further enhanced Hilux’s reputation of invincibility throughout the generations.
Extreme Terrain
In 2008 Arctic Trucks – an Icelandic company that specialise in modifying vehicles for rough environments – modified four Toyota Hilux vehicles to use as support for the Amundsen Omega 3 Pole Race to the South Pole.
The four trucks were equipped with modern technology that used the heat from the engine to melt the snow to ensure they could function in freezing temperatures (as low as -30°C). Driving on unforgiving terrain with icy ridges, deep snow and hidden crevasses suited the Hilux more than traditional enclosed-cab snowcat vehicles that are typically made for moving snow. The Hilux proved to be faster, more fuel-efficient and produced lower carbon dioxide emissions.
The Hilux is constantly tested in some of the world’s most extreme environments and there are few more challenging environments than The Dakar Rally. Known as one of the toughest off-road endurance races, vehicles are required to cross dunes, rocky canyons and thick mud in severe heat.
In 2014 only 204 vehicles finished out of 450. The epic 9,500-kilometre journey through Argentina and Chile included 5,000km of racing over 13 sections. Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz finished fourth overall and first in the T1.1 class for petrol-powered 4x4 improved cross-country vehicles. With Hilux occupying six of the top 30 spots.
So there you have it: the all-conquering Toyota Hilux has travelled the world, conquered pretty much everything in its path and seven generations later has redefined the way we travel. Built to survive intense heat, freezing cold and even the attentions of a wrecking ball, it has proved to be far more than just an everyday vehicle and has plenty more generations left in the tank.
Hilux AT35 Arctic Trucks
The Toyota Hilux has been the go-to vehicle for handling all kinds of tough terrain - from the Dakar Rally to the North and South Pole - for the past 50 years of production. This momentous half century milestone coincided perfectly with the debut of the Hilux AT35, the latest interpretation of this trusty workhorse.
The AT35 builds on the fine engineering principles Toyota and Arctic Trucks have developed to produce extreme expedition vehicles. It has become first choice for scientists, explorers and adventurers who need a specialist vehicle they can rely on to not only get them to their destination, but also to bring them back. Among the accolades the Toyota and Arctic Trucks team can reassure these intrepid explorers with are a number of world records and multiple world firsts, alongside widespread recognition for supporting BBC Top Gear’s epic expedition to the Magnetic North Pole.
Contact Us Book A Test Drive
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Socialist Action – Canada
Socialism in the Park – Summer 2019
Socialism 2019: Fight Imperialism!
Rebel Films @ Toronto
May Day Celebration
Khadr Deal Exposes Ottawa’s Hypocrisy
July 26, 2017 sa-staff
By Barry Weisleder
Omar Khadr, the Canadian who was captured in the frenzy of a firefight in Afghanistan, and who was tortured in Guantanamo, remains a lightning rod for controversy. At the same time, his case reveals much about the character of the political parties that inhabit Parliament.
The $10.5 million settlement and apology by the Justin Trudeau Liberal government have raised the ire of the Conservative Party, right wing bloggers and talk show hosts. Former Tory Prime Minister Stephen Harper weighed in to congratulate the demagogues and racists who seek to re-direct the funds to a U.S. military widow and to further punish Khadr.
But the Liberal Party deserves neither praise nor credit for trying to close this embarrassing file. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s hand was forced by decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada, including its 2010 ruling that Khadr’s charter rights were breached. In that light, Khadr’s $20 million law suit seemed more than likely to win. And don’t forget that it was the Liberal government of Jean Chretien that sent thousands of Canadian troops on an imperialist mission impossible into Afghanistan. The same Liberal regime refused to press Washington to release Khadr, a Canadian citizen, into Ottawa’s custody. Indeed, Canadian officials interrogated him in Guantanamo in 2003 and 2004, without legal representation, knowing he was a minor and had been subjected to torture.
Largely overlooked in the latest round of disputation is the clincher argument. It applies equally to the hard and soft factions of the pro-military patriots:
Washington had no business charging Khadr with murder, whether he caused the death or injury of U.S. personnel in uniform, or not. If Khadr was a child soldier, which the United Nations says he was by virtue of being under 18, then he wasn’t responsible for his actions. Alternatively, if Khadr ought to have been regarded as a soldier, then he did what all soldiers are expected to do – fight with weapons at hand when attacked.
Despite the demise of thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Khadr remains the only captive charged with killing a soldier. Is there another example, going back to the beginning of warfare?
The Tories and Liberals, like bad actors in a hard cop, soft cop drama, equally join the fray for power and plunder. They differ only over the rhetoric and timing to be employed, not principle.
The union-based New Democratic Party, on the other hand, has no material interest in supporting imperialism. Still, the NDP regularly gets sucked into backing wars due to a combination of pro-capitalism and cowardice on the part of its leaders. It wasn’t until after the 2006 federal NDP convention in Quebec City, where the NDP Socialist Caucus and other anti-war delegates won the issue, that the NDP parliamentary caucus under Leader Jack Layton finally demanded “Canada Out of Afghanistan.” For that policy, the corporate media dubbed him “Taliban Jack.”
More recently, the NDP has supported the bid for justice for Omar Khadr, but did so, sotto voce, and on purely legalistic grounds.
The Green Party, to its credit, lambasted the Conservative Loyal Opposition for its transparent racism and high disregard for civil liberties. The Bloc Quebecois took a similar stance.
Unfortunately, none of the parties addressed the root of the problem, the profit system – not even to the extent of demanding that Canada exit NATO.
The Omar Khadr case shows that progress has been made, and also that there is far to go. We learn again that gains come from grass roots, mass, independent working class political action. That principle is the best guide now to stopping the western-backed war on Syria, and the threats against the elected government of Venezuela.
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Socialist Action / Ligue pour l'Action socialiste is an organization of revolutionary socialists across the Canadian state, active in the labour movement, social justice, international solidarity, feminist and environmental campaigns.
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Rahner Foundations Of Christian Faith
Religion And Blood Transfusions Sep 21, 2017. A Quebec Superior Court justice has authorized a Montreal hospital to perform blood transfusions to treat a 14-year-old girl with cancer, despite. Witness’ beliefs and teachings about blood: As explained in a companion essay, the Jehovah’s Witnesses denomination urges its members to refuse to accept blood transfusions and to not allow them
In his Foundations of Christian Faith, Karl Rahner writes, “However much it involves the individual and brings him time and time again into the community with Christ, it is nevertheless the sacrament.
Describing sacrament in terms of grace and experience rings of the German Jesuit Rahner’s fundamental method. argument had most comprehensively come together in his Faith in History and Society. Me.
Biography. Karl Rahner’s parents, Karl and Luise (Trescher) Rahner, had seven children, of whom Karl was the fourth. His father was a professor in a local college and his mother had a profound religious personality, which influenced the home atmosphere.
This year I thought I’d attack the Shelf of Reproach and read Karl Rahner’s Foundations of Christian Faith, a book that various friends have been pushing at me for years. And probably I still will. Bu.
Or you could say, no, that’s not true, a late work like Foundations of Christian Faith is the most important. But then, I don’t know that either. America: Would it be too much to ask at the end. Fathe.
But one night, working my way through Rahner’s Foundations of Christian Faith and its lengthy reflection on the problem of belief today, it occurred to me: I didn’t know anyone Rahner was describing.
Church Of Our Lady Columbus Ohio NIGHT AT RACES: The Girard FIRST Robotics Teams will hold a Night at the Races 7 p.m. Saturday at Knights of Columbus. 6:30 p.m., Church of the Nazarene, 3924 High St. NW, Champion. • It Works: How. In 1976, he served as Pastor of St. Patrick Parish in London, Ohio. In 1987. 7:30 p.m. on
An exact reflection of Rahner’s approach may be found in a few sentences in his book “Foundations of Christian Faith,” translated and published in the United States last year. “Today, too, Christology.
Both the editors of such manuscript discoveries and the enemies of Christian faith. ers can use Father Rahner’s system as a checkpoint for their own viewpoints and, at the very least, will learn wh.
Critique of Bishop John Shelby Spong. 4) Spong’s View Of God Spong rejects the Christian view of God as the Creator of the universe, which is distinct from Him.
Not Because I Ve Been So Faithful Lyrics If you are experiencing trouble hearing and/or saving songs, download the VanBasco MIDI Player at http://www.vanbasco.com and make it your default player for.mid and. Maren Morris’ life has been a. but not sexual. What’s the distinction there? How do you try and play that out on this album? Morris: It’s funny because I wrote the
Christian Platonism and Christian Neoplatonism — Church Fathers, Late Antiquity, Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Modern Era.
Christianity, Christian History. Ch. 2 – The Early Church Defines Orthodox Christianity (AD 313 – 451). Early Christian Heresies:. Gk. haeresis = "sect"; groups of Christians whose beliefs were eventually rejected by the majority of other Christians main heresies of the 2nd & 3rd Centuries: Adoptionists, Gnostics, Docetists main heresies of the 4th & 5th Centuries, opposed by the first four.
By the middle of the 19th century, church authorities and some university faculties had become convinced that the Christian faith could be defended against modern idealist and subjectivist philosophies by deploying the realism of Aristotle and Aquinas. In opposition to Hegel’s view of reality as the self-realization of “Spirit,” they affirmed the stability of aspects of the external world.
Without this attentiveness to the salvation, the Faith loses its foundation. He also speaks of a. Pope Benedict also refutes both the idea of the “anonymous Christian” as developed by Karl Rahner,
The Rev’d Dr. Sudduth R. Cummings. Fr. Sudduth Cummings is a native of Missouri and earned degrees from Phillips University in Oklahoma and from the General Theological Seminary in New York.
While the prolific and influential Roman Catholic theologian Karl Rahner developed no systematic overview of his ideas, Foundations of Christian Faith approaches that end. In this volume Rahner organi.
Kate Daneluk is a wife, mother of 5, and co-founder of Making Music Praying Twice.With a background in music, theology and education, she contributes articles and resources to various publications.
one may disagree with Rahner’s view that non-Christian religions are ways of salvation for people who practice them in good faith. It is quite another matter to claim that the opinion which he held, a.
Karl Rahner’s Hörer des Wortes appeared in 1941. It was the compilation of 15 lectures that Rahner (1904-84) delivered at the Salzburg Summer School in 1937 concerning the "Foundations of. of argui.
Indeed, the holy Pontiff Pius X himself recognized that some persons were accused without real foundation. It was in a sense "open. If we start from the assumption (conscious or otherwise) that Chr.
Exposes the massive tide of insults against the Faith after Vatican II Volume III of the Collection: ANIMUS INJURIANDI – II (Desire to Offend) Not so long ago the Catholic Faith was proudly called the Holy Faith.
Wordtrade.com reviews academic and professional books in the science, arts and humanities. Focus and religion and philosophy
While reading Bruce Marshall’s new book, Trinity and Truth , all these things happened. This tendency is evident. Consider Karl Rahner’s influential Foundations of the Christian Faith. Rahner inte.
www. Jesus -is-Lord.com Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to God "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." — Jesus Christ, John 14:6
Bridging Science and Religion: Why it Must be Done. By Robert John Russell. 1. Historical roots and the contemporary problem. Though the problematic relations between science and religion can be found throughout contemporary Western culture, their roots lie in the radical changes in the relation between theology and culture in the West since the Enlightenment and the rise of modern science.
Hymns For Death B.C.E., and the Sumerian Hymns to Inanna, set down some one thousand. death.2 The primordial quality of these relationships has led classical and feminist. Oct 28, 2013. The information contained in this review is printed with permission from the author and publisher: Ace Collins, Stories Behind the Hymns that. Nov 22, 2018. Netflix adds to
A Southern Gospel Revival LeFevre Quartet holds on to the #1 this week with the fan-favorite “Revival.” Fan favorite this week also belonged to Michael English‘s “Little Is Much” also for a 25th consecutive week. Urban Gospel. I confirm that I am over 13 years old. * With the Aug. 4 release of their new album, Revival, the members
June 20, 2017 – St. Patrick’s Seminary & University today announced the appointment. numerous theological works into Vietnamese, including Karl Rahner’s Foundations of Christian Faith and various w.
In Today’s Catholic World (TCW) is a True Catholic news service dedicated to presenting important news stories with commentary, articles, and quotes from the Saints and Catholic Devotions to encourage The True Faithful, members of the Church in Eclipse.
and shows how the human subject in Rahner’s most systematic expositions of his anthropology (Spirit in the World, Hearer of the Word, and Foundations of Christian Faith) is "always already" physically.
Summary Of Gospel Of Mark Catholic Churches In Smyrna Ga The Archdiocese of Atlanta is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its ecclesiastical territory comprises Georgia’s northern counties, including the capital of Atlanta. It is led by a prelate archbishop, currently Wilton D. Gregory, who is also pastor of the mother church, the Cathedral
Egan’s storied graduate seminar on the Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner at Boston College. and interleaved with, a reading of Foundations of Christian Faith. There is still theology to be generated be.
♦ The American Mind is a new initiative of the Claremont Institute. The web-only publication is meant to complement the quarterly Claremont Review of Books, bringing conservative intellectual debate closer to the current political scene.Highly recommended.
Christology (from Greek Χριστός Khristós and -λογία, -logia), literally "the understanding of Christ," is the study of the nature (person) and work (role in salvation) of Jesus Christ. It studies Jesus Christ’s humanity and divinity, and the relation between these two aspects; and the role he plays in salvation. The earliest Christian writings gave several titles to Jesus, such as.
INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION. SELECT QUESTIONS ON THE THEOLOGY OF GOD THE REDEEMER (1995) PRELIMINARY NOTE. The study of the theology of redemption was proposed to the members of the International Theological Commission by His Holiness Pope John Paul II.
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Last updated on: 10/9/2013 11:09:40 AM PST
Drug Use in Sports Home Page > Athletes as Role Models > Do Teens Use Performance Enhancing Drugs to Emulate Their Professional Athlete Role Models? >
Do Teens Use Performance Enhancing Drugs to Emulate Their Professional Athlete Role Models?
General Reference (not clearly pro or con)
Jay R. Hoffman, PhD, Chair and Professor at the Department of Health and Exercise Science of The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), et al., in the Jan. 2008 Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise study "Nutritional Supplementation and Anabolic Steroid Use in Adolescents," provided the following:
"A confidential self-report survey was administered to 3248 students representing grades 8-12 in 12 states in the continental United States by their teachers during homeroom or physical education class...
Early studies reported that adolescent AS [anabolic steroid] use ranged from 6 to 11%, but recent investigations suggest that AS use may be lower (ranging from 1.6 to 5.4%)...
The influence that professional athletes have on adolescent AS use is not well known. Although it has been suggested that athletes as role models have a responsibility to their young fans, few studies have actually examined this influence. In this study, approximately 20% of high school age males and females suggested that professional athletes do influence their decision to use AS...When students were asked whether AS use by professional athletes influenced their friends' decisions to use AS, affirmative responses rose to nearly 50%...
The results of this study do not provide conclusive evidence on the relationship between sport figures and adolescent drug use, but they do suggest that adolescents are influenced by media exposure of their heroes using AS."
Jan. 2008 - Jay R. Hoffman, PhD
Norman Fost, MD, MPH, Professor and Director of the Medical Ethics Program at the University of Wisconsin, in his Dec. 15, 2008 email to ProCon.org, wrote:
"I would neither agree or disagree with your proposition [question]. It is too simplistic and, in my view, misses the main reasons teens use performance enhancing drugs.
There are different performance enhancing drugs, used for different reasons, with different risks and benefits. If you restrict the discussion to anabolic steroids, I think the main reasons teens use these drugs are to enhance performance in competitive athletics, and particularly for males, to improve their appearance so they can attract females. Contributory factors include evidence that anabolic steroids are effective for these purposes; misinformation about risks; a general societal tolerance for performance enhancing drugs in society (alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, Viagra, beta-blockers,etc); and widespread use of such drugs by celebrities, their parents, and other role models."
Dec. 15, 2008 - Norman Fost, MD, MPH
Digital Citizens Alliance stated the following in its Oct. 7, 2013 report titled "Better at Any Cost: The Dangerous Intersection of Young People, Steroids, and the Internet," available at its website:
"To many young athletes, steroids may seem worth the risk because the headlines confirm that their favorite athlete made it to the top of their sport by using APEDs [appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs]...
Professional athletes using APEDs send a dangerous message to young athletes.
STEROID USE IS CRITICAL. One in five males ages 18 – 25 said that taking APEDs is 'the only way to make it in professional sports.' An additional 24 percent said it was 'critical to enhancing one's athletic performance.'
PRESSURE IS ON. A whopping 77 percent of males surveyed said that APED usage in professional sports 'puts pressure on young athletes to use drugs to get ahead.'"
Oct. 7, 2013 - Digital Citizens Alliance
Greg Schwab, Principal at Mountlake Terrace High School (Mountlake Terrace, WA) and former University of Oregon offensive tackle football player, stated the following in his June 18, 2002 testimony for the hearing "Steroid Use in Professional Baseball and Anti-Doping Issues in Amateur Sports" before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce, and Tourism:
"For many male high school athletes, pro athletes are major influences. They are the role models. They choose the jersey numbers of their favorite professional players. They emulate their training regimens. They emulate their style of play. And they are influenced by their drug use. When a professional athlete admits to using steroids, the message young athletes hear is not always the one that is intended. Young athletes often believe that steroid use by their role models gives them permission to use. That it is simply part of what one must do to become an elite athlete."
June 18, 2002 - Greg Schwab
Gary Wadler, MD, Chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) Prohibited List and Methods Sub-Committee, in his written statement for the Mar. 17, 2005 hearing on "Major League Baseball and the Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs" before the US House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, wrote:
"Baseball, our national pastime, for better or for worse is a role model sport and likely contributes to the alarming abuse of anabolic steroids by teenagers. Just reflect on the enormous increase in sales of androstenedione (andro), the year after Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris' long standing home run record.
The most recent data from the annual National Institute of Drug Abuse's Monitoring the Future survey (4.2 MB) reveals that in 2004, 3.4% of 12th graders have used these drugs at some time in their lifetime and as many as 1.9% of 8th graders have used them -- very disturbing statistics."
Mar. 17, 2005 - Gary I. Wadler, MD
Frank and Brenda Marrero, parents of the late steroid use victim Efrain Marrero and founders of the Efrain Anthony Marrero Foundation, in their Jan. 8, 2008 letter to US Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), published on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform website, wrote:
"The eyes of the world were riveted on Barry Bonds as he broke one of the most sacred records in the sports world - Hank Aaron's home run record. How ironic that while he was closing in on that coveted mark he was also under investigation for using steroids to achieve his baseball success. Hundreds of thousands of young athletes in this country are watching how this drama plays out - will Barry Bonds go down in history as a true sports hero or be dismissed as a cheater? Make no mistake -- the answer to that question will affect how our children approach their own athletic endeavors.
Did Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens or any other elite athlete use steroids? That is the question your hearings have to answer. I can tell you, however, that my nineteen year-old son Efrain believed they did. Efrain, a promising college athlete, confessed to steroid abuse in the fall of 2004 because of the devastating side effects he was experiencing. When asked what led him to use steroids he replied, 'Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire did it!' Three and [a] half weeks after he quit using steroids 'cold turkey' my son took his own life - a victim of the deep depression that accompanies withdrawal from these drugs. The sight of our son lying lifeless in our home is forever seared into our soul, and we can't help wondering how many other families risk experiencing the same horrifying tragedy as their youngsters turn to steroids following the footsteps of their sports heroes."
Jan. 8, 2008 - Brenda Marrero
Frank Marrero
Henry Waxman, JD, US Representative (D-CA), in his May 26, 2005 statement "Statement of Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Ranking Minority Member Committee on Government Reform Markup of the Clean Sports Act of 2005" published on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform website, stated:
"We learned about the experiences of three families -- the Hootons, the Garibaldis, and the Marreros - whose lives were shattered when their sons committed suicide after using steroids. And we learned that their sons are not the only ones at risk. As many as 500,000 teenagers have experimented with steroids...
This legislation is an effort to break the cycle of steroid use that endangers our children. Aspiring young athletes need to know that steroid use in the pros leads to suspension and expulsion, not home run records and adulation. The tough standards in this legislation will reduce the use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports. And in doing so, the legislation will reduce the use of these dangerous drugs by college and high-school athletes.
There is an absolute correlation between the culture of steroids in the major league clubhouse and the culture of steroids in high school gyms. If we can remove steroids from the clubhouse, we will fix the problems in school locker rooms."
May 26, 2005 - Henry A. Waxman, JD
Jim Scherr, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of the US Olympic Committee (USOC), in his written testimony for the Feb. 27, 2008 hearing on "Drugs in Sports: Compromising the Health of Athletes and Undermining the Integrity of Competition" before US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, wrote:
"People, particularly young people, are educated as much by observing what happens in their world as what is presented in the classroom. And when it is disclosed that certain athlete role models have used banned substances to improve their performance, it sends a terrible message on many levels...
Both children and adults are exposed to a constant barrage of advertising, news stories regarding how celebrities have used certain drugs to retain or renew their youth, and suggestions that certain exotic 'natural substances,' readily available in health food stores, offer a panacea for health, fitness and well-being. Such information often masks reports of the tragic consequences that can lead to depression, suicides, and the development of other fatal conditions, all of which appear to have resulted from the use of certain of these substances."
Feb. 27, 2008 - Jim Scherr, MBA
Bobby L. Barnes, Head Football Coach at Buckeye Union High (Buckeye, AZ), in his written statement for the Apr. 27, 2005 hearing on "National Football League's Policy on Steroids" before the US House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, wrote:
"I cannot speak for the young men who have used steroids to enhance their athletic abilities but it is my belief that our kids did not try steroids simply because of some professional athlete. It is my opinion that they were just trying to get bigger, faster, and stronger, the easiest and fastest way they knew how. I consider their actions selfish and ill advised.
In looking at all the circumstances, I believe they never felt what they were doing was anybodies business, and I feel they never worried about the consequences."
Apr. 27, 2005 - Bobby L. Barnes
Radley Balko, Senior Editor of Reason magazine, in the Jan. 15, 2008 Intelligence Squared US debate titled "We Should Accept Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Competitive Sports," moderated by Bob Costas, stated:
"So what about the children? Survey data actually shows that teen steroid use has mirrored the use of other illicit drugs over the years. It went up mildly in the 1990's, and has since either dropped off slightly, or leveled off since 2000. It's likely that the same trends that govern cocaine or marijuana use govern teen steroid use far more than what's happening in the sports pages. In fact, a study released last year (344 KB) , and one of the few studies to actually attempt to find out what motivates teen boys to take steroids, found that the most reliable indicator of steroid use was a teen's own self, self esteem and body image. The suggestion, and I think we can all agree it's pretty intuitive, is that teenage boys who do take steroids do so not because they want to look like Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire, but because they want to look good for teenage girls."
Jan. 15, 2008 - Radley Balko
Jamie Morris, Resource Development Director at Boys and Girls Club of Evansville, in the Mar. 14, 2008 Evansville Courier & Press article "Focus on Parents, Not Clemens and Bonds," wrote:
"What is disturbing about Major League Baseball's and George Mitchell's approach to the steroid issue is their claim that baseball needs to be 'cleaned up' for the sake of children. While I certainly agree that our children deserve to have professional athlete role models who follow the rules and are responsible citizens, there is a very serious missing link in this argument. What about the parents of the kids who are taking steroids? What would do more good for our children, our schools and our neighborhoods is to clean up the behavior of parents.
I am no expert on the process of obtaining anabolic steroids. I seriously doubt, however, that a 13-year-old student athlete has the ability to walk down to the corner drugstore and obtain steroids. For that matter, are we really to believe that just because a professional athlete admits to taking steroids, student athletes across the country are automatically going to have the desire to take steroids? This is an absurd concept. The parents of student athletes who take steroids must play a major role in this process, from encouraging use to procuring the drugs.
If Major League Baseball and other professional sports are serious about addressing the steroid issue for the sake of children, as they have professed, they must be willing to address the behavior and involvement of overzealous parents. If a child is found to have illegally used steroids to enhance his athletic ability, the parents of that child should be held responsible. Why is this viewed differently from parents who provide alcohol or illicit drugs to their kids?"
Mar. 14, 2008 - Jamie Morris
Aaron Steinberg, Editor of The CEO Report, in his Aug. 6, 2007 Reason online article "Don't Blame Barry," wrote:
"Sports talk radio is fond of throwing out the argument that steroid use among pro athletes translates into use among the high school athletes who emulate them. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) was so convinced of the simple, causal connection that he wrote it into his committee's steroid testing bill, The Clean Sports Act of 2005, and then cited it as the primary motivation behind the law...
Steroid hysterics in Congress would say it goes something like this: The press reports on pros using steroids; teens learn about steroids in the pros, but the coverage is negative; Congress sends kids a clear signal that steroids won't be tolerated in the pros; and what would have been a rising tide of steroid users is abated.
But then again, it could go like this: The media exposes the use of steroids in the pros; thanks to the coverage, more kids try steroids than would do so otherwise; and a downward turn in teen steroid use instead trends up to flat. Maybe both scenarios influence use and cancel each other out. Maybe neither factor in at all. It's fun to play speculative games, but at the end of the day, despite Waxman's assertions, there's no proven correlation...
In other words, kids may undervalue long term risk and overvalue short term gain, but they aren't morons. Those who use steroids seem to care most about what steroids can do for them, not about emulating the figures on baseball cards."
Aug. 6, 2007 - Aaron Steinberg
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Little Fyodor Leads Charge to Keep Denver Weird
|By Chris Meehan
For three decades running, weirdo DJ and musician Little Fyodor and his bandmate and partner-in-abnormality, Babushka, have fought to keep Denver strange.
There are few who are keeping Denver weirder than Little Fyodor. In the various incarnations of his band, ranging from a solo act to a quartet, Little Fyodor has been part of the city’s music scene since 1981, when downtown Denver was a rotting husk of empty buildings and crumbling viaducts.In ’82, Little Fyodor began deejaying his Under the Floorboards show for KGNU Community Radio. “I specialize in playing the weirdest shit I can get my hands on,” he says . He still deejays the show every second and fourth Saturday of every month at 11 p.m.
It was fertile ground to develop a character like Little Fyodor with a long-standing penchant for gaudily patterned sport coats complemented by wiry, silver-tinged hair sprouting from a balding dome above a madcap smile.
He’s essentially the physical incarnation of a Daniel Clowes or Robert Crumb character. And, like any good underground weirdo comic antihero, Fyodor has accumulated a band of weirdos.
Let’s begin with his enigmatic companion, Babushka, her face contorted into a permanent scowl. “Little Fyodor & Babushka started in 1987, a year after I discovered Babushka pushing a shopping cart down a Denver alley,” Fyodor explains. “I helped her cross a puddle. She saw I was a tortured soul and saw I needed help too, and took pity on me.”
“In an act of old world mercy,” Babushka chimes in.
“We played as a duo for many years,” says Fyodor. “If you think we freak people out now, you should have seen when played just as a drumless rock duo. People could handle a solo act, but a duo without drums really freaked people out.”
The band now includes a bass player, Amadeus Tonguefingers, and a drummer, Tricky Dick Wikkit. Fyodor says they’ve been with the band for about a decade and that the songs were always meant to be played by a full rock band. “But I was too antisocial –““And cheap!” cackles Babushka.
“– to put together a full rock band,” Fyodor continues. “I was scared of my lyrics being drowned out.”
Covering everything from lust, antisocial tendencies, mental health and squirrel-watching in the park, the lyrics aren’t your standard fare. “They’re all the shit that’s going through my brain,” Little Fyodor says. “It can be different shit at different times. But it’s about the difficulties of being human.” Perhaps it’s no surprise he counts Daniel Johnston and Jonathan Richman among his inspirations.
Little Fyodor’s lyrics are delivered through a seesawing, cartoonish voice that undulates between a savage growl and a squeaky lisp. Babushka’s unholy organ offers a counterpoint, backed up by a crunchy, angry bass, rock drums and a punk guitar. Then there’s the banter coming from the interplay between Little Fyodor and Babushka that’s still refreshing after all this time.
It’s a sound that’s attracted dedicated fans locally and the band can draw a crowd to larger shows with the right types of weirdos. They’ve been described as “spaz rock” and the bastard child of Devo, and likened to early Talking Heads. They’ve played events for the Church of the SubGenius and even inspired a 2013 cover album, The Unscratchable Itch: A Tribute To Little Fyodor, which sees their songs covered by a host of fellow weirdos, including Voodoo Organist, Ralph Gean and The Inactivists. In 2015, they put out the current lineup’s first EP, Truly Rejected, on vinyl.
From nowhere land to new and shiny
When Fyodor and Babushka started, Denver was a much different place. “Denver was a shell of a town,” Babushka says of her arrival in the ’80s. “Denver had a very bad self-image. There were zines called Cowtown and it wasn’t a compliment. There was a sense of it being a nowhere land.”
“Now Denver’s full of itself,” Fyodor interjects.
“There was a sense that we were at the vanguard and the last living remnants in a dead city,” Babushka asserts. “We were like the strong fierce weird pillars of an absent culture.” She adds, “There was a sense of bankruptcy because the city was bankrupt –“
“Cultural bankruptcy!” Fyodor erupts.
“Yeah, cultural bankruptcy, but there was also economic bankruptcy at the time,” Babushka responds.
“Everyone was leaving Denver,” Fyodor remembers. “That’s before festivals began to proliferate. Now every town worth its salt has to have a festival or two or three.”
“Every town needs a music festival and film festival — they have to have a bluegrass festival and a rock festival and a country festival,” Babushka chimes in.
“Back then, only Telluride did that,” Fyodor says. “There’s just a lot more of everything now. Denver was more of a weirdos club in the ’80s. There are a lot more bands and a lot more venues now.”
In the early days of the duo, local bands “would either be cover bands or weirdos,” Babushka says. “Now there’s more in between.” She notes that some are working to keep it bizarre, like Claudia Woodman, who books the monthly Weird Wednesday shows. “She’s a huge driver of indie, underground and weirdo music,” Babushka says. “She might find a traveling act that’s a little more conventional, but she also finds the emerging artists that we don’t know about. It’s really refreshing to see somebody who is seeking it out all the time and actually introducing us to all that.”
Asked if more music in Denver has led to less creativity in the music scene, Little Fyodor responds, “That’s what’s going to happen when there’s more of something. There’s always going to be more boring stuff when there’s more of it. You can’t complain about the quantity. The quality might be another story.”
The longtime Denver band has never played any of Denver’s local music showcases despite playing with a laundry list of the out-there local and touring acts like Negativland, The Amino Acids, Suzie Homewrecker, The Inactivists, Warlock Pinchers, Captured! By Robots, The Emmas, Magic Cyclops, Dressy Bessy and Mr. Pacman.
“We haven’t applied [to play Denver fests] because we’re not fit for human consumption,” Babushka says. “If you’re playing in your hometown, you don’t need to play in a festival because you can develop an audience and a following,” she continues. “If you’re going out of town, it really makes a lot of sense to play a festival because you have an audience and you have the opportunity to gain an audience.”
The band has played South by Southwest in Austin twice. “There’s just energy coming out of everyone’s ears there,” Fyodor comments. “We’ll play South by Southwest any time they’ll have us.”
Asked whether Denver still has an appetite for the weird and strange in music, Fyodor responds: “So many people are moving here. Right now everyone is into the new and shiny and trendy but after a while they’ll just get sick of it.”
“They’re potentially receptive,” Babushka says. “It just has to get on their radar. I don’t know how easy it is to get on their radar but people are moving here, looking for something different and a new culture, a new place, a new community and I think our audiences are very receptive people who can give them that.”
Babushka cautions that musicians and bands in Denver shouldn’t try to embody a genre. “They should actually originate original expression. Also you shouldn’t be shedding genres or shedding trends,” she says. “Music should be about expressing yourself in your own original way and connecting with the audience.”
“I’m for weird shit,” Fyodor says. “People expressing themselves and everybody’s fucking weird whether they realize it or not. So the more you express yourself as an individual the weirder it’s going to be and that’s good by me!”
They haven’t charted a defined future for the band. “We could end up on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert or we could end up in the gutter, you never know. We’re just out to have fun and do good gigs wherever we can,” Fyodor says. He reflects for a second. “You never know when I’m going to fold and say, ‘Fuck the world!’ and go back to being a home recorder. It’s a possibility — I’ve been threatening to do that for 30 years.”
This story originally appeared in Confluence Denver here.
Newark's Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District embraces the transformative power of music
ArtVenture connects the dots between visitors and public art in downtown Cincinnati
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Home » The Waves (Paperback)
The Waves (Paperback)
By Virginia Woolf, Deborah Parsons (Notes by), Keith Carabine (Editor)
Special Order, May be Out of Print
Kobo eBook $9.99
Hardcover (July 26th, 2018): $23.34
Introduction and Notes by Deborah Parsons, University of Birmingham.
'I am writing to a rhythm and not to a plot', Virginia Woolf stated of her eighth novel, The Waves. Widely regarded as one of her greatest and most original works, it conveys the rhythms of life in synchrony with the cycle of nature and the passage of time. Six children - Bernard, Susan, Rhoda, Neville, Jinny and Louis - meet in a garden close to the sea, their voices sounding over the constant echo of the waves that roll back and forth from the shore.
The subsequent continuity of these six main characters, as they develop from childhood to maturity and follow different passions and ambitions, is interspersed with interludes from the timeless and unifying chorus of nature. In pure stream-of-consciousness style, Woolf presents a cross-section of multiple yet parallel lives, each marked by the disintegrating force of a mutual tragedy.
The Waves is her searching exploration of individual and collective identity, and the observations and emotions of life, from the simplicity and surging optimism of youth to the vacancy and despair of middle-age.
Publisher: Wordsworth Classics
Publication Date: June 5th, 2000
Series: Wordsworth Classics
Paperback$14.95
Hardcover (April 2011): $218.40
Paperback (July 3rd, 2006): $15.95
Compact Disc (March 17th, 2020): $34.99
Paperback (April 22nd, 2019): $42.54
Paperback, Large Print (November 20th, 2018): $11.49
Paperback (June 15th, 2015): $9.64
Paperback (March 11th, 2019): $14.94
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SYTA»Articles»Top French Cities
Top French Cities
Perfect for students seeking an authentic European experience, France is home to several cities worth exploring. Thanks to Atout France, we’re detailing the top French cities to keep on your radar and the can’t-miss opportunities you could find in each.
Marion Fourestier, Director of Communications of Atout France USA, notes there are 29 top French cities—ranging from regional capitals such as Bordeaux to important towns such as Avignon and Versailles.
“They are perfect for young travelers, families, and anyone else looking for fun and authentic French experiences,” said Fourestier. “Most of these cities are university towns with a youthful atmosphere, but all of them reflect the heritage and distinctive flavors of the regions to which they belong.”
If you need even more reason to visit, the Loire Valley—the cradle of the French Renaissance—is celebrating its 500th anniversary in 2019. Magnificent architectural heritage was born in this effervescent period, spearheaded by the French Renaissance King Francis I and Leonardo da Vinci. Take part in the various celebratory festivities or simply soak up the sights.
Ready? Let’s dive in!
France’s only UNESCO Creative City of Design is less than a three-hour train ride from Paris. Students won’t want to miss La Cité du Design, which is devoted to the art of design, offers workshops for students, holds frequent exhibitions and is located in a former arms factory. Saint-Étienne is also home to Firminy, the largest architectural complex designed by Le Corbusier.
This Northern capital of French Flanders is home to a beautiful central square and lively pedestrian quarter. The city’s Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art consistently hosts exhibitions worth checking out. Be sure to also catch La Grande Braderie—the largest annual flea market in Europe.
One of France’s most beautiful and refined old quarters, Montpellier—to any musically inclined student’s delight—is known as a leading city for violin making. Le MOCO is a new contemporary art center, opening in the city on June 29, 2019.
Known as “the Capital of the Alps” since hosting the 1968 Olympics, Grenoble is a base for winter sports and offers students close access to 20 ski resorts. It’s also known for its museums, universities and research centers. Don’t forget to ride Les Bulles—the spherical cable cars that connect the town to the summit of La Bastille hill.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Le Havre is the cradle of French impressionism art, having inspired world-famous names such as Claude Monet. Students could visit Appartement Témoin—a historic show apartment that demonstrates how architects and designers aimed to rehouse locals after 80 percent of the city was destroyed in World War II.
The capital of the Cote d’Azur, Nice offers a taste of daily food and flower markets via Cours Saleya. The city is home to the annual Nice Carnival in February and the Nice Jazz Festival, in July, held in the beautiful neighborhood of Cimiez. Getting around is easy, too: The new tram line runs from the airport to the city center.
The capital of the Champagne region was practically destroyed in World War I but was rebuilt in less than 10 years by more than 400 architects. Reims is known as the home to Cathédrale de Notre-Dame de Reims, which largely survived both World Wars and, recently, a large fire. This is where the kings of France were coronated for more than 1,200 years.
Known for its medieval quarter’s half-timbered houses and impressive cathedrals, this capital of Brittany is a center for contemporary art and music. Students could enjoy the Rencontres Trans Musicales, a premier event for contemporary music and new musical trends, or the Yaouank Festival, a revival of Breton folk music.
This Southwestern capital of Occitanie is now home to La Piste des Géants or “The Runway of Giants”—an old airport runway-turned-aviation museum. Students could also admire the red brick facades, magnificent Renaissance buildings and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Be sure to try cassoulet, a slow-cooked stew of white haricot beans, duck confit and saucisse de Toulouse, served in a traditional earthenware pot.
Versailles historic districts include the Old Versailles on the site of the medieval village acquired by Louis XIII. It features the Convent of the Récollets and the famed Salle du Jeu de Paume site of the French Revolution’s Tennis Court Oath. Another historic neighborhood is the Notre-Dame district, notable for its church and for its antique stores and Versailles’ oldest food market—France’s second largest.
This city at the heart of the Loire Valley boasts one of the best-preserved medieval city centers in France, along with 1,500-acres of green space. Reachable in under an hour by high-speed train from Paris, students can explore Tours on the Loire à vélo bicycle route that runs along the banks of the Loire River.
The capital of Alsace, Strasbourg is home to La Petite France—the city’s most picturesque quarter, with narrow alleyways, canals and half-timbered houses. Don’t forget to visit the Christmas Market beginning every late November; it dates back to 1570 and is the oldest Christmas market in Europe.
Poitier
Known as the “City of 100 Steeples,” Poitier boasts the Eglise Notre-Dame-la-Grande—a masterpiece of Romanesque church architecture notable for its sculpted facade. Students can even see the Statue of Liberty in Poitiers! In 1903, a smaller version of the famous work that Bartholdi presented to New York City was placed on Place de la Liberté.
This city, liberated from the British siege by Joan of Arc in 1492, offers students a chance to see five centuries of works by the great masters at the Museum of Fine-Arts, enjoy the contemporary Les Turbulences building, and more. While visiting, don’t forget to try the light and crispy Jards de Loire biscuits.
This city boasts some of the best-preserved Roman-era structures in Europe, one of them the remarkable Arênes de Nîmes—a Roman amphitheater built around A.D. 70—where students can see concerts today. An interesting fact: The famous serge cloth used in jeans (denim) was originally from—and named after—Nîmes.
Considered the birthplace of surrealism, Nantes is perched on the banks of the most Western part of the Loire River and is notable for the medieval castle of the Ducs of Brittany and the Memorial to the abolition of slavery. Students can peruse Passage Pomeraye, an architecturally remarkable shopping arcade.
Considered to be the birthplace of art nouveau, Nancy is the home to three large plazas—Stanislas, Alliance and Carrière—which together form a unique ensemble of 18th-century architecture recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Famous artists who called Nancy home include Emile Gallé, known for his glasswork; the furniture genius Louis Majorelle; and the celebrated Daum crystal maker.
Here, students could explore the biggest car museum in the world, housing close to 500 vintage cars—including Bugattis. Mulhouse, once an industrial town, is also known for the Cite du train: a huge train museum and beautiful textiles museum.
Metz is known for its old quarter and its Gothic cathedral’s massive number of stained-glass windows—including some designed by Marc Chagall. Students could stock up on all things Mirabelle before, after or during the annual Mirabelle Fest.
Having undergone a stunning transformation over the past several years, Marseille is known as the European Capital of Culture, with various opportunities for students. At the entrance of Marseille’s ancient harbor (virtually built into the city’s historic center) is the ultracontemporary architecture of the MUCEM, the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations.
Known as La Ville Blanche or “The White City” for its luminous limestone facades, La Rochelle offers students an opportunity to visit filming locations from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Don’t miss visiting the beautiful off-shore island of Iles-de-Re.
An elegant town with a thriving gastronomy scene, Dijon is home to the famous mustard bearing its name. Students could see the main sites along the Owl’s Trail, taking in churches, museums and galleries, shops, and café terraces. Also worth seeing is the lively central covered market, designed by Gustave Eiffel.
A lively university town known as “France’s Liverpool,” Clermont-Ferrand boasts many music, theatre, and film festivals as well as various lava stone houses. Students can even visit Vulcania—an amazing volcano theme park. Not to worry: The volcanos are extinct!
Like Marseille, Bordeaux has undergone a remarkable transformation and rehabilitation, especially of its riverfront and adjacent neighborhoods. Students could explore the new Museum of the Sea and Seafaring to get their dose of maritime adventure.
This historic town is home to the largest Gothic palace in Europe, known as Palace of the Popes. This former papal residence during the 14th century is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Students could also admire the famous Pont d’Avignon bridge while visiting.
Full of lovely cobblestone streets and located on the lake of the same name, Annecy is situated at the picturesque foothills of the French Alps. Annecy is sometimes called “Venice of the Alps” because of the Thiou River and three canals that traverse the old city.
Located in the Western Loire, this UNESCO World Heritage Site was once the seat of the Plantagenets and is home to the impressive 12th-century Chateau d’Angers, which today houses the oldest French medieval tapestry to have survived to the present day.
The birthplace of French President Emmanuel Macron, Amiens offers students a chance to enjoy its lively restaurant scene, a 740-acre maze of water gardens that can be toured by flat-bottomed boat, and more.
Known as the City of a Thousand Fountains, Aix-en-Provence is home to Fountain of the Four Dolphins, which dates back to 1667. Students could visit the atelier of French artist and post-impressionist painter Paul Cézanne.
Written by Sarah Suydam, Staff Writer for Teach & Travel.
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A-level » Economics » Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
The '45 Degree' Diagram Aggregate Supply
Aggregate demand and supply analysis is very similar to the analysis in the 'Supply and demand' topic. The big difference is that aggregate demand and supply refer to the aggregates of the whole economy. The supply and demand analysis in the first topic is used in microeconomics to look at the behaviour of individual consumers, producers and industries. Inevitably, when dealing with aggregates it all gets a little bit more complicated. The good news, though, is that the diagrams look quite similar.
The aggregate demand curve
Aggregate demand is the sum of all planned expenditures in the economy. We said in the last Learn-It that this is C + I + G + X − M. The aggregate demand curve shows the amount of goods and services in the whole economy that are demanded at any given price level. The price level here is not the price of any one good, but the average price level for the whole economy.
Note that the x-axis is labelled real national income, but in brackets it is also called 'real output' and 'real expenditure'. Remember that these three things are equal because they are three different ways of measuring the same money flowing around the economy (see the Learn-It on the 'Circular flow of income')
As you can see, the aggregate demand (from now on, AD) curve has the familiar downward slope. At a higher price level (P1) the demand for real national income will be relatively low (Y1) and at a lower price level (P2) the demand for real national income will be relatively high. This is a bit like the demand curve for any normal good, but the reasons behind the downward sloping AD curve are a little more complex.
Why is the AD curve downward sloping?
We could explain this by going through each of the components of AD (C, I, G, and X − M) to see why the real expenditure in each category changes as the price level changes. This can get confusing, though. There are three main factors that explain the shape of the AD curve, some of which will affect more than one component of AD.
Remember that for each of these explanations, we are talking about a movement along the AD curve, not a shift in the curve (see the next section). The initial move is always a change in the price, which then causes the following three things to happen.
Interest rates:
If the price level rises, the rate of interest rises in an effort to stop the price rise getting out of hand (see the topic 'Unemployment and inflation' for details of why this is bad). Consumers' mortgage payments will rise (in the UK, the majority of people have variable rate mortgages). This means that consumers will have less money left over to buy goods and services. Higher interest rates make it more expensive for consumers to buy 'big ticket' items, like new cars, for which money tends to be borrowed. In the same way, firms are less likely to borrow for investment. So, in response to a rise in the price level, the final effect is a fall in planned consumption and investment, and so a reduction in AD.
In the old days, the government would rather not raise interest rates until they had to, because it made many people (voters!) feel less well off. They tended to raise rates in response to a rising price level. Nowadays the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England acts pre-emptively, raising rates in anticipation of a future price rise to stop it ever happening.
Changes in real wealth:
If the price level rises, for a given level of nominal wealth, then peoples' real wealth will fall. This will be true for incomes too if nominal incomes remain constant. Basically, people will feel less well off, and so will probably consume fewer goods and services.
The foreign sector:
For a given exchange rate, if the UK price level rises, then home produced goods will become relatively more expensive in other countries, and so the demand for exports will fall. Also, imports into the UK from other countries will appear relatively cheaper, because their price level has remained unchanged while the price of the home produced goods are rising. The demand for foreign imports will, therefore, rise. Both of these effects cause the level of real national income to fall as the price level rises. Note that sustained differences in the price levels of two different countries will eventually cause the given exchange rate to change. See the topic called 'Exchange rates' for details.
For all three of these explanations, one can reverse the analysis when considering a fall in the price level. Also, note that none of the factors affected government spending (G). In these models it is assumed that government spending is exogenous, which means 'determined outside the model'. In other words, increases in real government spending tend to be unrelated to changes in the price level. In the summer of 2000, the then Chancellor Gordon Brown announced huge increases in real government spending and yet the price level had been fairly stable. Perhaps the fact that the next general election was looming had more to do with the change in government policy.
Shifts in the AD curve
It is important to understand why curves shift, both in the world of microeconomics (why might the demand curve for chocolate bars shift to the left or to the right?) and in the world of macroeconomics (why might the AD curve for the whole economy shift?). It is certainly a bit more confusing when we look at AD. It should be noted, for instance, that interest rates are a cause of a movement along an AD curve (following a rise in the price level) and can also cause a shift in the AD curve (when the change in the rate of interest happens independently of a change in the price level).
In the diagram above, the AD curve has shifted to the left, from AD1 to AD2, so that real national income falls at any given price level. At P1, for example, real national income has fallen from Y1 to Y2 as a result of the inward shift of the AD curve.
Why might this have happened? I mentioned interest rates above. What if interest rates are raised even though the price level remains constant (i.e. not as a result of a change in the price level, which would be a movement along the AD curve). It was explained above that in the relatively new world of the Monetary Policy Committee, interest rates are often raised in anticipation of future rises in the price level, and not as a result of a change in the price level itself. This will cause all the effects mentioned above: reduced consumption because of higher mortgage payments; a reduction in the demand for 'big ticket' items and a reduction in investment by firms.
We now need to think of other 'big' macro reasons.
Unemployment: When unemployment rose during the recession of the early 90s, many households' purchasing power was greatly diminished. The demand for goods and services, and therefore AD, fell whatever the price level was.
Taxation: Although income tax (a direct tax) rates fell during the 80s, indirect taxes increased (see the topic called 'Taxation and government spending' for much more detail). A similar thing is happening at the moment. The Labour government have raised the tax burden, even though taxes directly on income have fallen slightly. This will have the effect of reducing AD whatever the price level; households will have less disposable income to spend. Businesses pay taxes as well. Increased business taxes may cause a firm to reduce investment if it feels it can no longer afford it.
Government spending: Gordon Brown's big increase in real government spending was mentioned earlier. Obviously this will increase real national income for any given price level. But the Chancellor was very cautious with taxpayers' money until a year before the 2001 election. In real terms the increases in spending were very low indeed. If government spending actually fell in real terms, then the AD curve would shift from AD1 to AD2.
The stock market: For most of the 90s the stock market has performed relatively well. In October 1987 and 2008, there were big crashes in world stock markets. For those who had much of their wealth tied up in stocks, both directly and indirectly (through their private pension plans) this was bad news. They felt less wealthy and this would directly affect the amount they spent. The AD curve shifted to the left, ceteris paribus.
Business confidence: This is fairly straightforward. Regardless of the price level or the level of interest rates, firms will invest if they are confident about the future (of their company and the economy generally) and will not invest if they are pessimistic. The famous economist, Keynes, was keen on this factor. Whereas monetarists feel that the rate of interest is the main determinant of firms' investment, Keynesians feel that confidence is far more important. It doesn't matter how low the rate of interest is for a firm if they believe that a downturn is around the corner. They simply will not invest.
The exchange rate: The £ was fairly strong for most of 2000 (or was it just the weakness of the Euro - see the topic on 'Exchange rates' for more detail). This makes UK exports relatively more expensive abroad, and imports into the UK seem relatively cheap. The decline in the demand for UK exports and the increase in demand for foreign imports caused the AD curve to shift to the left, ceteris paribus.
Of course, all of these arguments can be reversed to give reasons why the AD curve might shift to the right.
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Home » Blog » Are engagement rings for women only?
Taylor & Hart's Blog
Are engagement rings for women only?
21st March 2016 by Rebecca Smyth, posted in Lifestyle, The Proposal
February 29th. A date that only comes around once every four years. But what does this mean for the women of the world who are longing to seal their romance with a marriage proposal and are engagement rings for women only?
Technically, this date was introduced to balance the days of a calendar year. Yet according to old Irish legend, St. Brigid was dissatisfied with the length of time women had to wait for a man to propose, so she struck a deal with St. Patrick that allowed women to propose to men on this date, every four years.
Tradition dictates that proposals just aren’t as romantic unless it’s the man who gets down on one knee. But with the introduction of men’s engagement rings, it’s true that engagement rings aren’t just for women anymore.
If you’re the type of lady who desires to propose, you’re unlikely to be bound by the convention of this once-every-four-year date, and of course, you should feel comfortable to propose to your other half on any date you wish.
But this does beg the question… are engagement rings for women only?
The plain and short answer is no.
Here at Taylor & Hart, we’ve created an array of custom engagement rings for men and we’re going to show you a couple of our favourites.
Taking elements from classic engagement ring designs, this brushed rose gold ring with 13 triangle and trillion cut diamonds assorted across the band (pictured below) is a perfect example of a mens engagement ring. Weighing almost 10g, this engagement ring has a handsomely masculine finish, but still includes classic elements, typically seen in engagement rings for women, like rose gold and the use of diamonds.
Another example is this 1.16ct emerald engagement ring, set East-West, as opposed to the traditional North-South setting seen amongst most emerald-cut diamond engagement rings for women.
The overall design offers a linear structure to the ring, with the mesmerising step cuts and facet structure of the emerald. The clean, brushed platinum setting is the perfect canvas to hold such an impressive stone, offsetting the sparkle of the diamond, giving it a masculine edge.
No longer against the rules of true romance, mens engagement rings are a symbol of modernity and offer women and men everywhere the chance to ask for their loved one’s hand in marriage.
engagement rings for women, mens engagement rings
Guidance & Education
Ring Aftercare
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Why Custom?
“I couldn’t really think of life in any other way. There’s only one way to go from there isn’t it?”
“Fate brought us together, as cliché as that sounds”.
Embracing the UN’s 17 Global Goals with jewellery
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PlayStation Vue Released In Select U.S. Cities
Entertainment / Gaming / PlayStation
By Kevin Nunley
As of today, Sony’s cable-like service, PlayStation Vue, is available in New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago. This release of the newly-available service, which was announced last year, is likely tied to the recent developments in net neutrality which will prevent competitors like AT&T, Time Warner, Verizon, Comcast, and others from potentially throttling Sony’s service.
The base service at its lowest price point costs $50 per month. Sony believes that this service is not competing with services like Netflix or Hulu. Instead, Vue is meant to be a direct competitor to the major cable companies, which explains the higher price tag. In an interview with Gamespot, Sony Network Entertainment Vice President Eric Lempel called Sony’s service “a complete TV offering.”
It’s live TV; it’s catch-up TV; it’s a DVR in the cloud. So it gives our users everything that we think they want.
As far as the slow rollout of major cities, Lempel told GameSpot,
We want to get to a lot of cities very quickly. This is the most complex thing we’ve launched since starting the network. Everything we’ve launched usually comes out by country. In this case, because we felt local programming was important to the users, we wanted to make sure we got those deals signed so that it involves the local affiliates individually. But this year, we will be delivering a lot of new markets, so it’s something that will evolve very quickly.
PlayStation Vue’s cheapest ‘Access’ package, coming in at $50/month, includes 50 channels. Most notably out of these channels are CBS, FOX, NBC, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CNN, Comedy Central, Discovery, NBC Sports, Nickelodeon, MTV, Science, Syfy, TLC, and AMC (coming in April).
The next package available is the ‘Core’ package, costing subscribers $60/month, which adds on local sports networks like YES Network in the case of New York or SportsNet Chicago in Chicago’s case.
Finally, the ‘Elite’ package, which comes in at a whopping $70/month, adds another 26 channels including American Heroes, BET Gospel, Boomerang, Centric, Chiller, Cloo, CMT Pure Country, CNBC World, Cooking Channel, Discovery Fit & Health, FOX College Sports Atlantic, FOX College Sports Central, FOX College Sports Pacific, FXM, LOGO, MTV Hits, MTV Jams, mtvU, Nat Geo Wild, PALLADIA, Sprout, TeenNick, Universal, Velocity, VH1 Classic, and VH1 Soul.
One plus side of the service is that you will not be required to have an active PlayStation Plus subscription to access Vue. Vue can also be watched simultaneously by three separate devices, but only one of which can be a PlayStation 4.
As for recording your favorite shows, PlayStation Vue’s DVR is cloud-based, meaning that subscribers will be able to tag any shows they want to record, and not have to worry about space constraints, or having too many shows recording at once.
Finally, we have the question on everybody’s mind: Will there be ads? The answer is yes. Due to the nature of live television, there will be commercial breaks just like with traditional cable. There will also be occasions where Sony can interject their own ads and ad space or sell ad space during live broadcasts. Although, in recorded events, you’ll have the ability to fast-forward through the commercials just like a traditional DVR.
Lempel closed his interview with Gamespot with this statement,
Initially, we’re going out with this easy-to-understand offering of select channels that our users have identified as important, but anything can be added to this. So, in time, if we feel there’s something interesting that a lot of our users want, that can come into this. We have the ability to do it technically … So anything is possible for the future.
What do you think about Sony’s new take on a traditional cable service? Is this the service that will convince millions to finally cut the cord on cable? If you’re one of the few who have signed up for the service already, what do you think about it? Let us know all that and more in the comment section below!
Source: GameSpot Source: Sony Entertainment Network
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You are here: Home / Crown Prince of Ajman: Unifying the Armed Forces is a milestone in the history of the UAE
Crown Prince of Ajman: Unifying the Armed Forces is a milestone in the history of the UAE
By Reporter On 6 May, 2019 At 08:51 AM | Categorized As LATEST NEWS | With Comments Off on Crown Prince of Ajman: Unifying the Armed Forces is a milestone in the history of the UAE
Ajman, May 5, (BNA) HH Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman, confirmed that the unification of the armed forces is a milestone in the history of the UAE.
In a speech on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of the unification of our armed forces, which coincides with the sixth of May each year, His Highness said that the wise decision to unify our armed forces has produced a powerful army that is a shield to break the enemies of our country.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince The era of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was designed to develop and strengthen our armed forces.
He explained that the achievement of our armed forces high levels of progress and development as a natural result of the ongoing efforts as part of an integrated strategy to upgrade them and strengthen the capabilities of our brave heroes who respond to the call when needed and are under the leadership of leadership at all times.
His Highness said: “We are proud today of the sons of the nation who are racing to join our armed forces in their belief in the magnitude of the responsibility placed on them and the values of patriotism towards their country and the protection of land and achievements and gains.”
He added: “We will never forget our brave martyrs who sacrificed their pure lives to raise the flag of our country and to support the oppressed and support the needy and this is the highest degree of sacrifice and holiest .. Like the martyrs of the UAE righteous role models in the defense of the homeland and this is not strange to the people of the UAE who were raised in a school Zayed and drink its values and principles in giving, sacrifice and courage.
Credit : http://wam.ae/ar/details/1395302760867
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Kick-Ass 2 (Movie Cover) Kick-Ass Saga Part 3
Mark Millar ,
David Lizewski has taken a horrifying and exhilarating plunge. Armed with minimal combat training and a pair of baton...
David Lizewski has taken a horrifying and exhilarating plunge. Armed with minimal combat training and a pair of batons, he donned a mask and set out to become a real super hero, Kick-Ass. And he succeeded. Wildly. Kick-Ass and ‘tween black belt Hit-Girl took on the Mafi a - and won. The idea went viral. Suddenly, it became fashionable to put on a costume. Everyone wanted to be a super hero. The next logical step for Kick-Ass? Join a super-hero team. But Kick-Ass’ former ally, Red Mist, thinks heroes are passé. Red Mist will be the world’s most notorious super villain. When he targets Kick-Ass’ family, can Kick-Ass stop Red Mist and his team of villains? And when the conflict becomes a massive-scale riot in Times Square, can Kick-Ass survive being a hero?
13 August 2013 (UK)
Kick Ass 2 - See the Movie, Read the Books Kick-Ass 2 graphic novels out now Published on 14 August, 2013 authored by Titan Books
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Respect Wildlife: Don't Touch! / July 26, 2016 by Todd Henson
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher building a nest. Keep a respectful distance when photographing or observing nesting behavior. Don't stay at the site very long. Don't disturb anything.
I love photography, and I love photographing wildlife in its own environment. But the photograph has to be secondary to the welfare of the animal. We can’t endanger or harasses an animal just to get a photograph. If we don’t respect and protect the wildlife we enjoy watching and photographing, we may lose the privilege, either because the parks we visit restrict access or because the wildlife moves off or dies off.
I've read several news reports over the last year about people mistreating wildlife, sometimes just to capture a selfie, but other times thinking they were helping. It's sad. I'm hopeful some of these people are just ignorant, they don't realize the damage they're doing. I’m hopeful over time they’ll learn and change their behavior. But I fear some people just callously don't care.
The most recent incident I’ve read about involved a mountain goat in Seward, Alaska. The goat entered a populated area, something that is apparently unusual. When it made its way to the harbor people were following it, trying to get pictures. They kept following it, giving it nowhere to go but towards the ocean. It jumped or fell into the ocean and drown. If people had not crowded it, it they weren’t so determined to get close and photograph it, perhaps it could have made it’s way back out of the populated area. And perhaps not, but at least it would have had a chance.
Earlier in the year a couple of tourists at Yellowstone National Park apparently saw a bison calf they felt looked cold, so they picked it up, put it in their truck, and drove it to the ranger station. The rangers brought the bison back and tried to reunite it with the herd, but the herd rejected it. They later euthanized the bison because, having been abandoned, it kept endangering itself and others by approaching tourists and cars. Though it does appear these tourists meant well, and it’s entirely possible the calf would have died anyway, they never should have approached the animal. If the mother had been nearby the tourists could have been attacked. And by interfering with the calf it is entirely possible they were responsible for the mother rejecting it. Wildlife doesn’t care whether we mean well.
There have been several reports of people picking up and taking home harbor seal pups along the U.S. northwest coastline, thinking they had been abandoned by their mothers, not realizing mothers often leave pups for long periods of time so they can hunt for food. Unfortunately, the pup sometimes dies as a result of what are often well-meaning, but ignorant people.
Perhaps some of these reports have left out important details. Perhaps, in some cases, animals are already dead when people approach them. Either way, in most cases they should be left alone. If people feel the need to try to help they should leave the animals where they are and contact organizations better suited to helping injured or abandoned animals. Contact an animal rescue group. If it’s on park land contact the park authorities.
I recall one instance of the correct way to help wildlife. A large osprey nest in a park fell from a tree with a mother and a couple chicks in the nest. The nest landed near a trail. One of the regular visitors of the park saw the fallen nest and osprey. Instead of approaching too close he called the park’s wildlife biologist, then waited by the nest to keep watch and assure no one else approached until the biologist arrived. If he had approached too close he could have been injured, as osprey have very sharp talons and beaks. Or one of the birds could have become agitated by the approach and injured itself. When I happened to arrive at this part of the park the biologist was putting the injured osprey in her truck. She was taking them to a raptor rehabilitation facility. From what I heard later the mother and one of the chicks recovered enough to be released back into the wild.
If you’re new to watching and photographing wildlife, please learn from these examples. Don’t approach wildlife too closely. Don’t harass animals. Don’t feed them or attempt to touch them. Watch from a distance. Observe the behavior of the animal. You can tell if an animal is ok with you being there. If it becomes agitated, if it tries to move away from you, then you’re too close. Move away, perhaps leave and come back another day. You know you’re observing wildlife correctly when the animals seem to completely ignore you. I’ve been in situations where the wildlife I was observing lay down and went to sleep right in front of me. I love those moments!
Young sleeping fox. Don't get too close. Don't try to touch or pet wildlife, no matter how cute they appear.
By all means, go out into nature, observe and photograph wildlife. But realize it's a privilege to be this close to wildlife, a privilege than can be taken away or destroyed if we misuse it. Learn to respect the wildlife. Learn to care more about the wildlife than the photograph. Then when you view or capture a beautiful wildlife moment it will have even more meaning.
Random Thoughts wildlife, animals, respect, blue-gray gnatcatcher, mountain goat, Alaska, bison, calf, Yellowstone, harbor seal, pup, abandoned, osprey, nest, biologist, fox, young, sleeping July 29, 2017
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Home Discover Oisans Resorts and Villages Vaujany
Located on the southern slopes of the Rissiou, opposite the Massif des Grandes Rousses and the Cascade de la Fare waterfall, Vaujany is a fine example of a resort-village combining tradition and modernity. Supported by the government “mountain law”, the resort was created within the old village in 1989, avoiding the need for any compromise between tourism and respect for its identity. With its wealth of history, old buildings and environment, the resort has developed around infrastructures perfectly adapted to modern tourism.
Getting to Vaujany
Resort & village
1500 Touristic beds
25 of Bourg d’Oisans
Bus service (winter and summer)
a Vaujaniat
a Vaujaniate
Resort in the heart of the old village
“Alpe d’Huez Grand Domaine” Ski and mountain bike resort
Sports & Leisure centre open year-round
“Family Plus” and “Green Resort” labels
Classified “Tourist Resort”
Vaujany boasts a number of leisure facilities in the village, including an ice rink and indoor swimming pool, a bowling alley, spa facilities (sauna, jacuzzi and hammam), a gym, gymnasium and indoor climbing wall. A full range of mountain activities are available in both summer (such as via ferrata, hiking, mountain biking, tennis and archery) and winter (skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, etc.), with a direct link to the Oz-Vaujany and Alpe d’Huez Grand Domaine skiing and mountain biking areas. As regards culture, the village has 3 museums and a free-access library.
Swimming Pools and Lakes
Initially established on the road up to the Col de la Croix de Fer, and therefore the frontier with Savoie (Sabaudia), Vaujany didn’t use to be a village at the end of the valley, even if today, this position enables it to enjoy a certain tranquillity. Originally, a village was rarely established away from a thoroughfare and the village’s Latin name, Via Janus or Val Janus (God of gates and doors), indicates that the village was a gateway to Savoie. This role as a frontier village ended in 1850, when Savoie became part of France, and eventually led to the building of the current road that winds round the Rissiou.
For many years, village life centred on agriculture and the breeding of cows and goats. Although very busy in the summer, when locals took their animals up into the mountains and lived in the pastures, the pace slowed down in the winter, when most people had alternative work.
With the advent of the 20th century and the gradual development of hydroelectricity, the village entered the modern day era. Following on from the small plant in Verney (started in 1918) which brought electric lights to local households, the small mountain village was caught up in a whirlwind of modernity with the construction of the most powerful dam in France, the Grand Maison. Commissioned in 1988, it enabled the unprecedented development of tourism and the creation of a modern resort that remains strongly attached to its roots and identity.
Espace Patrimoine
The Heritage Centre features 100 years of history recounted by the inhabitants of Vaujany. Who better than the Vaujaniats to tell you about their village, childhood with the animals and the development of tourism due to the arrival of hydroelectricity? Photos and models complete the story.
Maison de la Faune
Come to the Wildlife Centre to discover the secrets of our mountain animals! This exhibition is lively and fun, thanks to the stuffed animals and the flaps, drawers and buttons that hide droppings, animal noises and footprints! A great family outing for young and old alike.
Musée EDF Hydrelec
The Hydrelec Electricity Museum is THE museum in France for hydroelectricity. Set in a perfect location, at the end of the Romanche Valley, this birthplace of hydroelectricity shares a site with the most powerful dam in France. Fully renovated in 2014, from the turbine to the transformer, this museum is an opportunity to learn more about this clean technology.
Burning of La Villette by the Germans
On 17 June 1944, the Germans mounted an assault on La Villette – the last hamlet on the road up to the Col du Sabot. Searching for résistants belonging to the Maquis de l’Oisans, they interrogated the inhabitants, suspecting them of hiding members of the resistance and their equipment. With their perfect knowledge of the local area, however, the maquisards were easily able to get away. The resistance regularly came to Oisans since a hospital for the Maquis had been set up in the Massif des Grandes Rousses. For a period, the wounded hid from enemy troops in the Rajon hut on the banks of the Lac de la Fare.
Having spotted the Germans approaching well in advance, the inhabitants of La Villette fled the hamlet to hide in the surrounding mountains. Finding the houses empty, the frustrated Germans set fire to all the buildings. After their departure, the locals were unable to save anything from their houses. Fortunately, their animals were able to escape.
The hamlet was then rebuilt by the Ministry for Reconstruction, respecting the original appearance yet improving the comfort of the houses. Today it is difficult to imagine that this remote part of the mountains was the scene for such a tragic episode of the Second World War.
Office de Tourisme de Vaujany
For more information, contact Office de Tourisme de Vaujany
5 Place du téléphérique
38114 Vaujany
Send a mail
Oppening periods
From 29/06 to 31/08, daily between 8.30 AM and 6 PM.
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May 26, 2019 / 8:14 PM / 2 months ago
Motor racing - Pagenaud holds off Rossi to win Indianapolis 500
Steve Keating
INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - Simon Pagenaud steered clear of trouble on the track and in the pits, then out-duelled Alexander Rossi in a final lap shootout to win the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday and give team owner Roger Penske a second consecutive victory in the “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.
May 26, 2019; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indycar driver Simon Pagenaud (22) before the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The win might have saved the charismatic Frenchman’s job with rumours circulating up and down pit lane that Pagenaud’s seat with powerhouse Team Penske was in jeopardy.
It would be hard, however, to find any fault in Pagenaud’s performance in the month of May as the 35-year-old son of a grocery shop owner from Montmorillon recorded the Brickyard double following his victory at the Indianapolis Grand Prix two weeks earlier.
“What do you think? Absolutely,” said Penske, when asked if Pagenaud would be back. “He’s on our team. He’s one of our drivers.
“That was scuttlebutt.”
U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted his congratulations to the Frenchman and Penske, inviting them and the team to the White House.
“I got a call from the President as we were in the winner’s circle and he congratulated me, he said, ‘I must have been your good-luck charm’,” smiled Penske, who increased his record total of Indy 500 wins to 18.
“He was in Japan and Simon had a chance to talk to him, so hopefully he’ll be invited to the White House.”
Pagenaud’s clinically cool display was in stark contrast to a fired-up Rossi, who used a bit of road rage and pit stop frustration to fuel his last-laps challenge.
An exasperated Rossi was left pounding his steering wheel as his pit crew wrestled to engage an uncooperative fuel hose that dropped him from first to 12th, then vented his anger on Oriol Servia, shaking his fist at the Spaniard as they raced down the front straight at 230 mph when he would not give way despite being a lap down.
“When you come here four times and three of the times you can’t get fuel in the car, I think you can understand why I was upset,” fumed Rossi.
Motor racing - Pagenaud wins Indy 500 and a job
Motor racing - Fuelled by rage, Rossi still short on horsepower
“It wasn’t a human error, it was a mechanical problem but still, it’s not something that we can have here. It’s the biggest race in the world, and 75 percent of the time we can’t get fuel in the race car.”
‘MOST DISRESPECTFUL’
The winner of the 100th Indy 500 in 2016 was not nearly as understanding about his battle with Servia.
“I think it was one of the most disrespectful things I’ve ever seen in a race car, to be honest,” added Rossi. “He’s a lap down and defending, putting me to the wall at 230 miles an hour. It’s unacceptable.”
A five-car pile up with 23 laps to run, triggered when Graham Rahal and Sebastien Bourdais came together, brought out a red flag that set up a mad dash to the finish with Pagenaud and Rossi swapping the lead over the final laps.
It was a dominant performance by Pagenaud, who started from pole and led for 116 of the 200 laps, then held his nerve when he needed it most by fighting off two former 500 winners in Rossi and Japan’s Takuma Sato, who completed the podium.
“It’s hard to believe right now,” beamed Pagenaud, who becomes the first Frenchman since Rene Thomas in 1914 to win the Indy 500. “It’s a dream come true. A lifetime of trying to achieve this.
“When you have a car like this, a team like this you just work your way.
“It is all about achieving and executing at the end and we did execute perfectly today.
“No mistakes, here we are Victory Lane.”
While Pagenaud cruised, two of his Penske Team stablemates, defending champion Will Power and three-times winner Helio Castroneves, both had difficult days.
May 26, 2019; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indycar driver Alexander Rossi (27) before the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
Castroneves’s quest for a record-equalling fourth Indy 500 win suffered an early setback when the Brazilian was slapped with a drive thru penalty after running into Australian James Davison during the first pit stops. He finished 18th.
Power also had problems in the pits, bumping one of his crew and triggering a penalty that sent the Australian to the back of the field before battling back for fifth place.
Jordan King also added to the mayhem when he knocked over a crew member who was transferred to hospital with a leg injury.
Reporting by Steve Keating; editing by Toby Davis and Tony Lawrence
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Obama's Big Labor Ethics Loophole
Posted: Aug 18, 2010 12:01 AM
Everything you need to know about President Obama's fraudulent ethics pledge can be summed up in four words: SEIU lawyer Craig Becker.
Becker is the left-wing lawyer Obama sneakily installed on the National Labor Relations Board. The U.S. Senate rejected Becker's nomination on a 52-33 cloture vote in February. Obama responded by flipping the bird and ramming through his recess appointment during the congressional spring break. (The New York Times approvingly dubbed it a "muscular show of his executive authority." When that authority was exercised by GOP President George W. Bush, of course, the Times editorial board called it a "constitutional gimmick.")
Despite the White House's much-heralded policy of binding every executive appointee to strict conflict-of-interest guidelines, a defiant Becker now remains free to rule on cases involving his former Big Labor bosses. And the most ethical administration in U.S. history isn't doing a thing to stop him.
While serving as an associate general counsel for both the SEIU and AFL-CIO in 2009, Becker generously lent his legal expertise to the White House. He served as an Obama transition team member for labor issues and helped draft several union-backed executive orders.
These new rules essentially blackball non-union contractors targeted by labor organizers and blacklist non-union employees in the private sector from working on taxpayer-funded projects. Another union protectionist measure immediately adopted by Obama requires that when a government service contract runs out -- and there's a new contract to perform the same services at the same location -- the new contractor must retain the old workers. Such regulatory favoritism limits freedom in the workplace and raises the cost of doing business. This suits Becker and his White House champions (who reaped $60 million in SEIU campaign donations and support in 2008) just fine.
Becker's anti-business views date back to his days as a UCLA professor, when he argued that unions should not be subject to the same rules of democracy and fair elections as everyone else. He favors radical rewriting of union organizing rules and elimination of the secret ballot process by administrative fiat.
It's no surprise that Becker now refuses to hold himself accountable for the ethics pledge he himself signed in April. As the past two years have taught us, Team Obama's operational slogan is: Rules are for fools. The contractual ethics commitment states: "I will not for a period of two years from the date of my appointment participate in any particular matter involving specific parties that is directly and substantially related to my former employer or former clients, including regulations and contracts." Yet, Becker has participated in numerous NLRB cases involving the SEIU and its affiliates -- and is parsing the definition of "former employer" by arguing that local SEIU chapters are "separate and distinct legal entities" that don't fall under the ethics rules.
The National Right to Work Foundation, which has fought both national and local SEIU officials in court on behalf of rank-and-file workers' rights, eviscerates Becker's lawyerly blather. SEIU's own constitution considers local affiliates "constituent subordinate bodies" of the national union, the foundation notes. "Moreover, in 2009 over 85 percent of the SEIU's receipts came from a per capita tax on the locals' membership dues and fees. The national union even has the power to assume control over its locals if they do not conform to International policies."
In any case, Becker has also acknowledged playing a key role in providing "advice and counsel" to the powerful SEIU affiliate in Illinois "relating to proposed executive orders and proposed legislation giving homecare workers a right to organize and engage in collective bargaining under state law." Championed by Big Labor water-carrier and disgraced former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich and current SEIU-endorsed Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, such measures effectively bust into private homes for the Purple Shirts of the SEIU and other union competitors hungry for new dues-paying members.
Now, Becker is in the catbird seat -- adjudicating challenges to the power grab rules he helped author.
Little did America know that when candidate Obama promised the SEIU he would "open up the doors of government" to them, he'd give them the keys to our living rooms, too.
Big Labor
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London indie rock quartet Spector have released a new video for ‘Kyoto Garden’- a track from their highly anticipated second album. Kyoto Garden and the announcement of the second album comes after a quiet period since their 2011 hit Chevy Thunder and their 2012 debut album ‘Enjoy It While It Lasts’, which reached number 12 in the UK Albums Chart.
The band have been sponsored by Topman for a couple of years now and they made the most of their sponsorship deal by collaborating with the men’s fashion giant on their ‘Open shoot’ project. Spector asked fans and Topman customers alike to come up with creative ideas for the video through Topman’s site and social media. In an interview for the Topman site, frontman Fred Macpherson said he knows what the song means but he would like people submitting ideas to go off how they interpret it. He also admitted to never having been to Kyoto but said that the song isn’t really about Kyoto and it just took him to that ‘headspace’.
The video was shot with the help of production from Never Ending Fun and features vibrant aesthetic visuals of a ‘Kyoto Garden’, as well the Spector boys kitted out in Topman’s new collection. The video is just as tranquil as the music. It’s tranquil but with a psychedelic edge to it and shares similarities with Swim Deep’s trippy video for ‘To My Brother’.
A still from the video for Kyoto Garden
The synth is strangely similar to that of Swedish rapper Yung Lean’s 2013 breakthrough ‘Kyoto’. That must just be the sound of Kyoto. The music is very smooth and seamless which makes it extremely satisfying to listen to. Once you listen to the song, you immediately understand Fred Macpherson’s comments about his ‘headspace’. It’s hypnotic and escapist and makes you feel like you’ve been transported to a Kyoto garden. The song’s title and its video suit the music perfectly in my opinion.
Kyoto Garden has a similar sound and style to Spector’s single ‘All The Sad Young Men’, which was released in February and will be featured on the upcoming album. Both tracks are a million miles from their 2011 hit Chevy Thunder which was all out, high energy indie rock. I think Spector have taken the same approach to their second album as Birmingham band Swim Deep, by cutting all ties to their debut album and starting from scratch.
Spector- Kyoto Garden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fxIeZDLEFo
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From vinyl to CDs to digital, the evolution of radio
Zach Sweat
Despite being over a century old, radio broadcasting is still one of the biggest forms of communication for many today.
Radio has come a long way since its invention, and companies such as Clear Channel Communications are helping to shape and evolve this tried-and-true technology in several ways.
Back in the “Golden Age of Radio,” a 30-year expanse from the 1920s to the 1950s in which radio was the dominant form of communication across the globe, people gathered around their radios to hear news, music, comedies and dramas, much like we gather around our TVs now.
Though the introduction of newer communication technologies has threatened to snuff out traditional radio, it has remained a constant force in the daily lives for many.
Tommy BoDean, operations manager for Clear Channel Media and Entertainment in Jacksonville, has been involved with radio since he was in high school in 1990. After graduating, BoDean said he went to work for a small radio station in northern Michigan, before what he calls “consolidation,” perhaps one of the most drastic changes in radio’s history, occurred in the late ‘90s.
“Before consolidation, radio stations usually had, if anything, an AM and FM station combined, but that was it,” said BoDean. “One owner, one station, that’s kind of how radio was.”
In the late ‘90s, the FCC changed its regulations on ownership, allowing groups to buy up multiple radio stations in different markets. BoDean said when this change occurred, “clusters,” or groups of five or more stations, began to form in cities.
Clusters, such as Capstar, continued to grow in cities until eventually, these groups joined together to become mass media companies, like Clear Channel, in the early 2000s.
Aside from the consolidation of radio stations, the massive impact of the digital age has easily been the biggest shift in radio. Whereas some forms of communication were slow to adjust, radio has proven itself to be one of the most adaptable mediums in communications.
BoDean said when he started out in radio, it was still essentially a DJ, spinning records live until it switched to CDs.
“In the late ‘90s, automation started to become a bigger part of what we do to the point now where I don’t ever need a CD, everything is electronic,” said BoDean.
The implementation of this technology now allows radio stations to operate for weeks on end without ever needing a person in the studio.
As online presences became a more pressing matter in the mid-2000s, Clear Channel introduced its Internet radio platform called “iHeartRadio” to compete against the already-dominating giants like Pandora.
With an early introduction to the Internet radio market in 2008, just three years after Pandora released its game-changing platform in 2005, BoDean said Clear Channel was able to more quickly adapt to the new technologies, unlike many of the company’s counterparts, further boosting Clear Channel’s presence in radio.
Clear Channel has continued to push the iHeartRadio brand by giving it its own music festival, awards show, as well as many other sponsored events.
Revisions to traditional radio such as these are what have helped Clear Channel and the medium of radio broadcasting remain a prominent form of entertainment and media in this modern age.
With iHeartRadio now reaching 50 million users, it seems like radio broadcasting is doing just fine and will continue to be an integral part of many people’s lives for decades to come.
Tags: clear channel, music, online radio, radio, tech issue
Zach Sweat Contributor
Journalist, writer, editor, photographer. Zach is the former editor-in-chief of Void Magazine (now just a contributor). Spreading good music, one day at a time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Muzak Mondays: New tunes from LANNDS, The Young Step; Faze Wave goes into the void.
Watch: We love Florida psych-rockers Timothy Eerie, and so can you
Local Music Spotlight: Hunter Hileman invites us into the “Groove Inn”
LPT Goes Into the Void
Local Music Spotlight: Debut six-songer from deadkaren is quite nice
Turntable Tues: Listen to Void on Vinyl tonight!
Watch: A Taste of Honey Hounds new Single “County Line”
Listen: The numbers add up on LANNDS’ “2093”
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The 2018 MLB All-Star Game Fan Vote: Who Should Make the Starting Lineups & Why
June 8, 2018, 5:32 pmMike Conn Daily Digest, News0
By Mike Conn / June 8, 2018
Voting for the MLB All-Star has officially begun, giving fans the ability to select which offensive players deserve to take the field during this year’s Midsummer Classic. While you can vote for just about any player you want, especially if you just want to see guys from your favorite team take up most of the space, there are, of course, certain players who belong on All-Star rosters more than others from a purely objective standpoint, whether that be due to a particularly great standout season, or if they are simply the best at their position. With that in mind, here are my thoughts on who should be starting on the offensive side of their respective league’s All-Star team.
First Base: Mitch Moreland, Boston Red Sox (.303 BA, 10 HR, 30 RBI, 1 SB, 1.7 WAR)
-Moreland has spent most of his 9-year career has a pretty average first baseman, hovering around .255 and 22ish home runs every season. However, his second year as a member of the Red Sox is proving to be his best season yet, as he’s on pace for his best single-season totals for hits, home runs, and RBIs of his entire career. Considering the fact that Boston has been the Majors’ best offense so far this season thanks in part to Moreland’s contributions, his performance this year certainly warrants him to join his first All-Star team.
Second Base: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros (.338 BA, 4 HR, 31 RBI, 9 SB, 2.8 WAR)
-Altuve is one of baseball’s best players and is easily the best second baseman in the Majors. After a stellar MVP campaign in 2017, he has spent the first few months of 2017 that he remains as elite a pro baseball player as there is. While he’s not on pace to outperform his 2017-self, Altuve is still the best option at his position in either league.
Shortstop: Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles (.332 BA, 18 HR, 50 RBI, 3 SB, 2.3 WAR)
-Although Machado is likely to leave Baltimore in free agency after the season’s end, the Orioles are certainly getting a great final taste of what the young infielder has to offer. The 25-year-old is having his best season yet, playing at elite levels both at the plate and in the infield. While it could be argued that Carlos Correa is the better shortstop, Machado is having a much better season and deserves to start at shortstop for the AL.
Third Base: Mike Moustakas, Kansas City Royals (.272 BA, 12 HR, 40 RBI, 1 SB, 1.3 WAR)
-It’s a bit of a down year for AL third basemen, especially with Manny Machado manning shortstop full time now, but Moustakas is still building on an impressive season. He was an All-Star last year, and he’s currently on pace to surpass his RBI total and OBP from 2017 while maintaining the same batting average. While he may not be as elite as other infielders, Moustakas is still worthy of an All-Star start in 2018.
Catcher: Gary Sánchez, New York Yankees (.201 BA, 12 HR, 35 RBI, 0 SB, 0.9 WAR)
-Don’t let his poor batting average fool you: Sánchez is doing more than his fair share of work in the middle of a potent Yankees lineup. An All-Star in 2017, Sánchez is on pace to have more home runs and RBIs than he did last year, and despite his poor average (which is he almost certain to approve upon), he still has a solid OBP of .303. Expect to see him as the AL’s starter behind the plate.
Left Field: Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox (.359 BA, 17 HR, 37 RBI, 13 SB, 4.1 WAR)
-Betts is having a phenomenal 2018 and is one of the clear frontrunners for AL MVP. Prior to the season’s start, he was already lauded as one of baseball’s best outfielders, and has spent this season proving that he is one of the best overall players in the sport. 37 RBIs at the beginning of June while primarily hitting leadoff is pretty incredible, and he’s also tied for leading the Majors in runs scored. Betts leads all of baseball in batting average and is currently tied for fifth in home runs, making him all but guaranteed to garner a starting spot on the AL’s All-Star roster.
Center Field: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels (.311 BA, 19 HR, 39 RBI, 13 SB, 5.5 WAR)
-Simply put, Mike Trout is the best baseball player in the world and has grown into one of the most dominant all-around threats the sport has ever seen. He’s a lock for an All-Star starting spot every year, but his 2018 has been particularly marvelous, as he could very well finish it off as perhaps the greatest season in baseball history. Case and point: his 5.5 WAR in early June is on pace to shatter Babe Ruth’s single-season record of 14.1. Trout is already in line for his third AL MVP award, and at only 26-years-old, he could just now be entering his prime. We could be looking at an all-time great here, folks.
Right Field: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees (.274 BA, 17 HR, 43 RBI, 3 SB, 3.2 WAR)
-All Rise continues to (ahem) rise up the ranks of baseball’s best players, smashing some of the biggest and most dramatic home runs we’ve seen from anybody in a long time. He definitely still strikes out too much, but that’s something he’ll improve with experience. And even with such bad strikeout numbers, Judge still ranks third in the AL with a .401 OBP simply because his power capabilities are so scary. He’s been steadily improving as a fielder, making some fantastic plays in right field over the course of this season, but it’s definitely his bat which will put him on the AL’s All-Star starting roster.
Designated Hitter: JD Martinez, Boston Red Sox (.314, 20 HR, 52 RBI, 1 SB, 2.3 WAR)
-It looks like Boston struck gold in free agency during the last offseason, as Martinez has lived up to everything expected of him after an incredible second half of 2017. He has solidified this year’s Red Sox lineup and has played an integral part in making them baseball’s highest-scoring offense. Although he’s an extremely lackluster fielder, Martinez has found a home in the middle of Boston’s lineup as their DH, a role perfectly suited for his talents. I wouldn’t be tremendously surprised to see Giancarlo Stanton take this spot, but Martinez certainly deserves it.
First Base: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves (.338 BA, 11 HR, 43 RBI, 5 SB, 3.0 WAR)
-Freeman has quietly been one of baseball’s most underrated superstars for a few years now, but has only made two All-Star appearances. This could very well be due to the fact that he’s spent most of his career playing for a mediocre Braves team, but that excuse can’t be made anymore considering the fact that Atlanta is tied for first place in the NL East thanks in large part to Freeman’s contributions in the middle of their lineup. He’s on pace for arguably the best season of his career, on pace to have his best single-season batting average ever while matching his home run and RBI totals. What’s more, he also leads the NL in OBP, which is always a big help.
Second Base: Scooter Gennett, Cincinnati Reds (.344 BA, 12 HR, 44 RBI, 1 SB, 2.5)
-Gennett has spent 2018 proving that his 2017 breakout campaign was no fluke: this guy is for real. Not only has his ability to hit for power become legit, but he also ranks behind only Mookie Betts and Matt Kemp for the MLB league in batting average. Gennett continues to get better and better as the season goes on, and really the only things that could prevent him from starting for the NL in this year’s All-Star game are the Reds’ poor performance as an overall team and a lack of exposure.
Shortstop: Trea Turner, Washington Nationals (.258 BA, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 17 SB, 2.1 WAR)
–Brandon Crawford might be having a better season with the bat, but I don’t he’s been that much better than Turner to prevent the Nats’ shortstop from getting the starting spot for the NL. The 23-year-old Turner has evolved into one of baseball’s most potent base-stealers, and his .342 batting average during his rookie season in 2016 proves that he’s a great hitter as well. His batting numbers are sure to pick up soon, so he should garner plenty of votes before the All-Star game comes around.
Third Base: Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies (.327 BA, 12 HR, 36 RBI, 2 SB, 2.5 WAR)
-Arenado has just about everything you could want from a third baseman: a fantastic power bat, the ability to hit for average, a quick glove, and a cannon for an arm. The 27-year-old has been an All-Star every year from 2015 and finished in the top 5 of NL MVP voting in both 2016 and 2017. He has already established himself as arguably the best at his position in all of baseball, with perhaps only Kris Bryant providing any question on that front, and will almost certainly be the NL’s starter on the hot corner.
Catcher: JT Realmuto, Miami Marlins (.311 BA, 6 HR, 19 RBI, 1 SB, 2.3 WAR)
-While Buster Posey is more likely to get the starting nod, I would argue that Realmuto is having a better season overall and is very close to being recognized as a top 3 offensive catcher in baseball. After missing the first couple of weeks of the 2018 season due to injury, Realmuto has come back in full force and is on pace for what will likely be his best season to date. However, given how terrible the Marlins are and how nobody watches them, Realmuto probably won’t get the recognition he deserves, although he does belong as the start behind the plate for the NL.
Left Field: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers (.349 BA, 10 HR, 40 RBI, 0 SB, 2.1 WAR)
-Tale about rejuvenation. After spending the first couple of years of the 2010’s as an MVP candidate, Kemp’s production has slowed over the years. He’s been good, don’t get me wrong, but not great. However, he looks to be back to his old self at 33-years-old, as he’s on pace for what could be his best season since his last All-Star appearance in 2012. Kemp’s nowhere near the base-stealer he once was, but his bat has been fantastic and has played a huge part in helping to keep the injury-riddled Dodgers afloat in the NL West.
Center Field: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals (.229 BA, 18 HR, 40 RBI, 5 SB, 1.0 WAR)
-After starting off the season scorching hot, Harper has slowed down a bit but still remains one of the best bats in baseball. Despite his lackluster batting average, Harper’s intimidation factor has still warranted pitchers to walk him 48 times, second only to Mike Trout’s 52. This has helped Harper maintain a very nice OBP of .367, a number which will only grow higher as his hitting improves as the season moves long. One of the most popular players in the sport, Harper is basically locked in as a starting outfielder for the NL.
Right Field: Nick Markakis, Atlanta Braves (.328 BA, 8 HR, 42 RBI, 1 SB, 2.2 WAR)
-If you want to talk more about older veterans completely outdoing themselves, look no further than Markakis, who, at 34-years-old, is on pace for perhaps the best season of his 13-year-career. Along with Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies, Markakis has played a huge role in helping the Braves escape obscurity and genuinely deserves to start in the All-Star game. It probably won’t happen given that most people have forgotten about him, but it would still be great to see.
The 2018 MLB All-Star game is set to take place in Washington DC on July 17, and you’ll be able to catch it on your local Fox network. You can choose the All-Stars for yourself on MLB.com right here.
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