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Part I - La Belle Époque
In order to understand the complexity of Alice Green Hoffman, the woman whose heirs developed Pine Knoll Shores, it is helpful to know about her life in Paris. The story will be told in two parts.
c. 1902 Photo from The Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson University: The Digital Library Collection. [i]
Alice Green Hoffman’s stay in France spanned three very different eras: La Belle Époque or beautiful era (1871-1914), Les Années Folles, the mad years or Roaring 20s (1920-1929) and the Great Depression (1929-1939). She arrived in Paris in the middle of La Belle Époque and left before World War I, returned after 1918 and stayed until the start of World War II. Understanding each of these eras in Paris suggests the life Alice lived there, and vintage photographs help document that life.
La Belle Époque was a time of peace and, for the upper classes, a time of prosperity. Well-to-do Americans living in Paris shared in the social high life of the upper echelons of French society.
In her 20s, Alice Green had made trips throughout Europe. She loved Paris, and in 1892, at the age of 30, rented an apartment at 55 Champs Elysees with her grandmother, her Aunt Eleanor and a friend Helen Benedict. Three years later, she rented a larger home property in the same neighborhood and took up residence in Paris. The New York Times in its archives has saved a cable, which provides insight to Alice's life abroad. Here is a fragment from that cable:
She was still a single woman at this time, a status she enjoyed for about two more years, until age 43, when she married John Ellis Hoffman, a divorcé.
A note he wrote in The Secretary’s Fifth Report on the Harvard Class of 1896 indicates that he and Alice married in 1905 and divorced in Paris in 1910. Other sources say that the marriage took place in Paris and that the divorce was in 1911. In any case, the relationship was brief.
John Ellis Hoffman and his wife Alice.
Photo from the Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson University: The Digital Library Collection. [ii]
John Hoffman returned to New York City after their divorce, and Alice may have returned for a period of time before the divorce, but she did not remain there. She rented her New York City property and moved to Paris, where she stayed for long periods of time.
We know from the chapter “The Young and Old Colonel” in When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt After the White House, written by Patricia O’Toole, that Alice Hoffman owned property near Étoile, which was and still is an exclusive area of Paris. It is where the Champs-Élysees meets the Arc de Triomphe. (Place de l’Étoile or simply Étoile was renamed Place President Charles de Gaulle in 1970.)
By 1902, the first metro line was operational in Paris, and Place de l’Étoile was an end point, so Alice would have had access to a metro station close to where she was living. Of course, horse-drawn carriages, bicycle-drawn carriages, cars and small buses also provided aboveground transportation on the streets of Paris. In fact, traffic could be quite hectic as seen in the vintage postcard below.
Avenue Bois de Boulogne Postcard. [iii]
A photograph of Alice on a horse-drawn carriage suggests this is the way she travelled.
Description: “Alice Green, Eleanor Butler Roosevelt's aunt, in pony cart driven by Mrs. Turnbull, on Rue du Villejust, Paris, the location of Miss Green's house.” Photo and Description from The Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson University: The Digital Library Collection. [iv]
The note above also suggests Alice lived on rue du Villejust, but the date is unknown. Paris is divided into 20 districts or arrondissements, and rue de Villejust was in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, known as Arrondissement de Passy, one of the wealthiest districts of Paris. Half of Passy was in the Bois de Boulogne, and the other half led up to Étoile or the Arc de Triomphe.
For those familiar with Paris in modern days, it may help to know that rue du Villejust was renamed rue de Paul Valéry. It runs into Avenue Foch, once known as Avenue Bois de Boulogne, a very short distance from Étoile.
Although Alice owned expensive real estate in New York City, she chose to claim Paris as her home address. The 1916 Social Register lists Alice Green Hoffman’s address as 29 Avenue Bois de Boulogne, Paris. Alice had moved there in 1895. This property probably abutted rue du Villejust and Avenue Bois de Boulogne, which led directly from the Arc de Triomphe into the Bois de Boulogne and to Route de Suresnes, where Alice owned property after World War I.
Going from the Champs-Elysees to the Bois de Boulogne is similar to going from Park Avenue to Central Park in New York City. The Bois de Boulogne is a large, wooded area, much larger than Central Park, with several lakes. Though the famous clay tennis courts where the French Open is held today and two horseracing tracks were there, it was quite rural in the early 1900s. Knowing Alice Hoffman’s love of nature, it is easy to understand her attraction to this area. I like to imagine her as one of the women out for a stroll in the Bois de Boulogne as seen in the vintage postcard below.
Vintage photograph postcard, c.1907, uncirculated, divided back, published by Lévy frères, Paris, France.© Casas-Rodríguez Collection, 2009. Some rights reserved. [v]
Any property near Étoile or in the Bois de Boulogne would have been glamorous and expensive. The arts were flourishing in the latter part of La Belle Époque, and prosperity was on display.
Even on her North Carolina property, Alice had a good number of people working for her, so she certainly must have had a full household staff in Paris. She would have enjoyed the life of a well-to-do American of social standing. We can imagine the high-society company she kept. We know, for example, that one of her neighbors on Avenue Bois de Boulogne between 1905 and 1918 was the famous composer Claude Debussy.
Some of those pictured in the vintage photos below could also have been her neighbors.
Walking on Avenue Bois de Boulogne within view of the Arc de Triomphe. [vi] Roger Viollet/Maurice Banger.
Elegant Ladies at the Bois de Boulogne, Paris 1909. Maurice Banger. [vii]
Photograph by Jacques-Henri Lartigue [viii]
We get additional insight on Alice’s pastimes and her social standing from what we know about her husband. He wrote in the Harvard alumni report, “I have not been engaged in any business or definite occupation.” He goes on to say, “I take a good deal of exercise such as tennis, skating, etc. and hear much good music.” We imagine that Alice, while she was married, shared at least some of his interests.
We know from later accounts that Alice, like many women of her time, had rose gardens she planted and tended on her Paris property, but she also owned horses. Even more surprising, she had thoroughbreds that raced at various tracks in and around Paris, including at the Hippodrome de Longchamp, located on Routes des Tribunes in the Bois de Boulogne. She also regularly went to the races and bet frequently. In 1908, her horse Flush Royal beat two Vanderbilt horses at the Grand Prix at Longchamp.
Races at Longchamp - Édouard Manet, 1867
From a reproduction in Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. [ix]
A woman who owned and raced horses would have been a woman who dared to step into a man’s world. An inkling of Alice Hoffman’s daring and combative nature, traits that were to emerge in full force later in her life, is evident when Flush Royal died in an accident involving another horse, whose owner Alice, as a requirement for collecting on an insurance policy, threatened to sue. She went so far as to put a notice in the paper to that effect, a notice that would certainly have raised eyebrows of her Parisian neighbors.
We get a much softer view of Alice from earlier photographs in which she appears as a woman of refinement who attracted gentlemen of social stature. Before Alice married John Hoffman, she had other high-society beaus, such as Mr. Coti, “an Italian gentleman of fashion in Paris,” whom she may have been seeing around 1902.
Mr. Coti and Alice Green
Photos from The Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson University: The Digital Library Collection. [x]
She attended “fancy dress balls,” where gentlemen such as Spencer Eddy, from a prominent American family, courted her as seen in the following photograph. Although Alice had several beaus, she married only once.
Spencer Eddy with Alice.
Photo from The Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson University: The Digital LibraryCollection. [xi]
In 1888, her sister Grace’s daughter, Eleanor, married President Theodore Roosevelt’s son Theodore. This connection with the Roosevelt family increased Alice’s social prestige in New York and in Paris, where Alice was spending most of her time.
When World War I broke out in Europe in July 1914, France became a much less desirable place to live. Alice left Paris and returned to the United States, leaving her Paris home available for her niece. Eleanor lived in her Aunt Alice’s house in Paris until December 1918, wanting to be close to her husband who was garrisoned near Paris. [xii] It is in this timeframe that Alice Green Hoffman purchased her North Carolina property from John Royall.
For a continuation of this story, see blog post: “From Paris to Bogue Banks.”
Post Author: Phyllis Makuck, revised 3/26/14 and 4/30/14
I would like to give credit for many of the dates and some of the general information in this feature about Alice in France to Kathleen McMillan Guthrie’s Alice Green Hoffman: The Queen of Bogue Banks: A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of History, East Carolina University, May 1994.
See photo credits below.
[i] Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University and the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Site gives permission to use images for non-profit purposes, and written permission was requested and received.
[ii] Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University and the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Site gives permission to use images for non-profit purposes, and written permission was requested and received.
[iii]www.flickr.com/photos/24736216@N07/7988276139/ Free to share.
[iv] Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University and the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Site gives permission to use images for non-profit purposes, and written permission was requested and received.
[v] Casas-Rodriguez Collection. creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. Site gives permission to copy free of charge.
[vi] www.parisenimages Parisienne de Photographie. La Avenue de Champs-Elysess, RogerVioliet. Site gives permission to use images for non-profit purposes.
[vii] www.parisenimages Parisienne de Photographie. La Avenue de Champs-Elysess, RogerVioliet. Site gives permission to use images for non-profit purposes. See note above.
[viii] © Ministère de la Culture - France / AAJHL “You are free to use up to five or six images from the site for any personal non-profit, educational purpose. This would primarily be your personal home page, but could also be, for example, one-time use for an offline presentation. You must replicate any copyright notice that may appear under the image if it is used on another web site or in an offline presentation. Provide credit to ‘masters-of-photography.com’ as the source for each scan. If the images are used on a web site, display the credit in the form of a link to the site, i.e. ‘Scan courtesy of Masters of Photography.’”
[ix] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longchamp_Racecourse. Copyright expired. Free to use.
[x] Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University and the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Site gives permission to use images for non-profit purposes, and written permission was requested and received.
[xi] Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University and the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Site gives permission to use images for non-profit purposes, and written permission was requested and received.
[xii] Eleanor Butler Roosevelt, Day Before Yesterday, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1959.
Hyperlinks:
To see the cable to The New York Times quoted in this article, use the following link. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FA0A17F63F5D11738DDDA80894D9415B838CF1D3
Video footage on “Artistic and Leisure Life In Paris,” a 1910 film, provides a sense of life in and around Paris in the latter days of La Belle-Époque. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oQu-vZWHTQ
Video footage of Alice Hoffman’s garden when her niece Eleanor was living there during WW I. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebHgx26THRo
http://www.delcampe.net/items?catLists%5B%5D=5871&language=E
For postcards of Suresnes including one of Alice’s garden at Chateau de Landes
www.granger.com The Granger Collection has excellent photos of the Avenue Bois de Boulogne and the Arc de Triomphe in the 1900s, but restricts their use.
Georgina Pope Yeatman - A Curious Coincindence
Aquarium Story
Links and Bridges
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HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS HOLDS HEARING ON STATUS OF IT SOLUTIONS NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT THE VA MISSION ACT
Online Exclusive posted Thursday, April 18, 2019 - 2:10pm
By PVA National Staff
The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held an oversight hearing on April 2.
The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held an oversight hearing on April 2 entitled, “MISSION Critical: Assessing the Technology to Support Community Care.” Dr. Richard Stone, Executive in Charge, Veterans Health Administration; Mr. James Gfrerer, VA’s Assistant Secretary for the Office of Information and Technology/Chief Information Officer; and Dr. Melissa Glynn, Assistant Secretary for Enterprise Integration represented VA.
This hearing was held to discuss VA’s implementation of the new Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP), which is due to roll out on June 6. The Committee opened the hearing by voicing concerns about whether the Decision Support Tool (DST) will be ready to deploy by the implementation deadline. DST is a tool VA is developing to make decisions on drive and wait times. Dr. Stone stated that DST is not required to launch the VCCP and VA will be ready to launch the program as planned. Mr. Gfrerer explained DST was designed by VA physicians and looks at the Master Patient Index, Enrollment System, and Patient Data Exchange to make decisions about drive time and wait time.
The Committee also addressed VA’s proposed access standards. Committee Members outlined their disappointments in writing to VA, noting the Department’s proposed access standards don’t live up to the goal of the VA MISSION Act, which was to get rid of the arbitrary one-size-fits-all approach to veterans’ access to community care. They urged the Department not to hollow out VA’s capacity to serve veterans by bypassing VA care for nearly-automatic eligibility for community care. The Committee also criticized VA’s unacceptable lack of transparency in developing access standards that would hold community providers to lower standards than VA doctors. Lastly, the members also noted that VA does not know how many veterans will be affected by the proposed access standards and is unable to provide accurate data about how much it will cost tax payers.
To read more about this, order the PN, Click Here.
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Six local students win scholarships to Vaughn College
by Benjamin Fang Queens Ledger
Apr 30, 2019 | 1541 views | 0 | 221 | |
Pictured with Vaughn College President Sharon DeVivo are scholarship winners (left to right) Raihan Mamun, Christopher Zuna, Anthony Uran, Scarlet Zambrano, Jonathan Quezada and Lilidania Rodriguez.
Port Authority and elected officials cut the ribbon on the new opportunity office.
Aviation High School senior Christopher Zuna was always interested in the mechanics of the aviation industry.
“Since I was a little kid, I had never been in an airplane, and I wanted to see how it was,” he said. “And the amazement of how a human being creates an enormous vehicle to allow people to fly from place to place.”
At Aviation High School, the Corona resident said he received a hands-on education that motivated him to pursue a career in the field. Now, he will get the chance to do so debt-free.
On Friday, Zuma was announced as one of the six recipients of a new four-year scholarship to attend Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in East Elmhurst. The $1.3 million scholarship program is part of a partnership between the college and the Port Authority.
The six recipients will not only receive a tuition-free college education, but will be offered paid internships at Port Authority airports during the summers.
Upon graduation, they will have an opportunity to work for the Port Authority in the field of aviation operations.
“This type of opportunity is really amazing,” Zuna said. “I’ve known a lot of college friends who remain in debt. It’s a rare opportunity.”
Zuna added that he had planned to attend Vaughn College after graduation specifically because of their focus on the airline industry. He said wants to eventually work for JetBlue.
For East Elmhurst resident Anthony Uran, who is Zuna’s classmate at Aviation High School, receiving the scholarship means his father won’t have to worry about how to pay for his son’s college education.
“Having the opportunity to be debt-free allows my dad not to be that stressed,” he said. “I’m helping him out, but I’m also doing my part by getting a proper education.”
Uran lives just four blocks from Vaughn College, and said he always passes by the school and see airplanes fly above him.
That’s what piqued his interest in the aviation industry, and why he attended Aviation High School.
Uran said he was shocked to receive the scholarship, but also proud.
“It’s a big opportunity,” he said. “Not just anyone can get it.”
Another recipient is Raihan Mamun, a senior at Newcomers High School. The Elmhurst resident said he was afraid of student loans, which is why he felt lucky to receive the scholarship.
“I’m so grateful,” he said. “I don’t have to take out student loans, which is a great relief.”
Other winners include Jonathan Quezada and Scarlet Zambrano from Aviation High School, and Lilidania Rodriguez from Queens High School for Language Studies.
To maintain the scholarship, recipients must remain enrolled full-time at Vaughn College, maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0, successfully complete a career development seminar, and participate in Vaughn’s Leadership Academy.
In January 2017, Vaughn College was recognized as the top educational institution in the nation for upward mobility, according to a study conducted by The Equality of Opportunity Project.
More than 2,130 colleges were analyzed for their ability to move students from the bottom 40 percent in income to the top 40 percent. The City College of New York (CCNY) and Baruch College placed second and third in that study.
“Education changes lives,” said Dr. Sharon DeVivo, president of Vaughn College. “Vaughn is a really good example of that.”
DeVivo added that the opportunity to graduate from college with no debt, boost a resume with internships, and have a possible job out of college will forever change the students’ stories.
“This is really significant and important,” she said. “We’re just so proud.”
The scholarship recipient announcement coincided with the opening of a new LaGuardia Career Center in Corona. The $1.5 million office is funded by the Port Authority and the Council for Airport Opportunity (CAO), and will be located within the community organization Elmcor Youth & Adult Activity.
According to Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority, the office has already made more than 400 contacts and placed over 30 people into jobs in the first two months.
With so many employers within LaGuardia Airport, Cotton said they will work to fill positions in management, technical aviation spots, and customer service.
“We are committed in terms of ensuring that the first stop for our employers is here with CAO and Elmcor,” he said.
Cotton said the scholarship program and career opportunity office are part of ongoing efforts by the Port Authority to make sure the local community benefits from the LaGuardia Airport rebuild.
According to the Port Authority, the project has already resulted in the issuance of nearly 900 contracts, valued at more than $1.23 billion, to certified Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs).
The redevelopment seeks to build on the nearly 400 new hires for the airport’s Terminal B concourse. More than half of those hires are Queens residents.
Cotton added that they will soon surpass the $400 million mark for contracts awarded to Queens contractors.
“We have a bright future in terms of making those numbers higher,” he said.
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Mitzi Scott (July 18, 1918 - May 3, 2012)
Mitzi Scott passed away in Santa Clarita, CA, on May 3, 2012, at age 93. She was the widow of legendary composer, jazz bandleader and electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott.
Born Mathilde Waldman, on July 18, 1918, in New York City to Muriel and Arthur Waldman, she grew up in the city, where she started dancing at age 10, thus developing a lifelong passion.
From 1937-43 Mitzi was part of the Roxyette troupe at the famed Roxy Theater on West 50th Street. In 1943 she first appeared on Broadway, and eventually performed in the musicals Star and Garter (with Gypsy Rose Lee), Something for the Boys (with Ethel Merman), and the road company of Let's Face It (with Benny Rubin). She performed on three national USO tours, headlined by Bing Crosby, Jackie Cooper, Phil Silvers, Martha Raye, and James Cagney.
In 1946 she married Hewitt Clay Curtis. The marriage dissolved a year and a half later, after which she sold advertising for the Miami Daily News and the Long Island Star-Journal. She became a dance instructor for the world-renowned Arthur Murray Dance Studios, and then served as a District Manager for Avon Cosmetics.
Mitzi was introduced to Raymond Scott in July 1966, and they were married in January 1967. (It was Mitzi's second marriage, Raymond's third.) She lived with Scott in Farmingdale, Long Island, at Willow Park, a sprawling suburban industrial park where Scott rented a large space that he had fashioned into a home and electronics lab. Mitzi undertook the administration of Scott's businesses during a period when he was inventing now-historic electronic instruments and The Electronium, a machine that composed using artificial intelligence. When Scott was hired by Berry Gordy to work for Motown in 1971, the couple relocated to Los Angeles, with Mitzi coordinating most of the cross-country logistics.
In retirement, Scott suffered a major stroke in 1987, which eventually caused severe financial hardship for the couple. Mitzi nursed Raymond almost singlehandedly in their Van Nuys home until his death in February 1994, at age 85. Shortly after her husband's death, Mitzi donated his extensive collection of over 3,000 personally recorded discs and tapes, covering his career from 1932-1987, to the Marr Sound Archives at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. She sold Raymond's no-longer functioning Electronium to Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh in 1996, amid a resurgence of interest in her late husband's music and legacy.
In 1997, Mitzi moved to Santa Clarita and joined a troupe of former professional dancers called the Gingersnaps. She was active in several charitable organizations, including Mes Amis, the North Hollywood Women’s Club, the Women’s Canadian Club and the Hope is Forever Foundation (City of Hope), for which she served as an officer. She was a member of the Sages group at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.
She was a passionate animal lover, and regularly took in stray dogs and cats, and adopted rescue animals. In 2007 the National Wildlife Federation designated her back yard as a certified wildlife habitat. She told the Santa Clarita Signal, "Everybody who has a backyard ought to take care of the wildlife. It's very soothing to look out your window and see butterflies and birds."
Mrs. Scott is survived by four stepchildren: Carrie Makover, Stan Warnow, Deborah Scott Studebaker, and Elizabeth Adams, as well as fourteen grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 22, 11:00 am, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 24901 Orchard Village Road, Santa Clarita. A reception will follow in the church hall. The service is open to the public.
In lieu of cards and flowers, her family has requested that donations be made in the name of Mitzi Scott to City of Hope (via check payable to "Hope is Forever," mailed to Hope is Forever, c/o Chick Benveniste, 409 Meadows Drive, Glendale CA 91202), or online to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Posted by Irwin Chusid at 4:00 PM
Labels: biography, family, Marr Sound Archives, milestones, Mitzi Scott, New York, obits, photos, profiles
Byron Werner May 5, 2012 at 10:42 AM
A very sweet and generous lady. She was a joy to know and it was an honor to help restore her husband's name and fame. I told her it was going to happen but back then I'm sure both of us had our secret doubts as to whether or not it would. And her love of unfortunate animals is well known. A very warm and caring woman.
Irwin Chusid May 5, 2012 at 10:43 AM
There's a big hole in my heart.
Stan and I were emailing yesterday that Mitzi had been part of our lives (and our kids lives) for well over 40 years. She was so loving and supportive of our father. He was lucky to have had her for all the time he did. We will all miss her.
oatman May 5, 2012 at 11:46 AM
Wonderful words about and for Mitzi. While I never corresponded with her I could imagine she was nothing short of an amazing woman. Sending my very best to friends and family.
bb May 5, 2012 at 12:36 PM
Beautiful lady...with a beautiful smile. She will be missed.
Adam May 7, 2012 at 1:57 PM
My condolences to the family and extended family, and thank you Irwin for posting this tribute.
Brian C May 7, 2012 at 3:58 PM
Thanks for posting Irwin. Beautiful tribute
Minimoog56 May 24, 2012 at 6:52 AM
Lovely tribute of a very positive enabler of R Scott's wonderful excesses. A true 20th Century Romance as Illustrated in the recent film by Ray's son. A Kaddish for those no longer among us.
75 Years of Hungry Cannibals
BOB MOOG's memories of his friend and colleague Ra...
New Comic Strip
Raymond Scott on Mickopedia
Tobias Stretch: Reel II
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18/07/2019 UK ministers could resign in battle over suspending parliament
Arab leaders said on Sunday they would seek a U.N. Security Council resolution against the U.S. decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and promised to support Palestinians in their bid for statehood.
Arab leaders, long divided by regional rivalries, also ended their annual summit in Tunisia calling for cooperation with non-Arab Iran based on non-interference in each others’ affairs.
Arab leaders who have been grappling with a bitter Gulf Arab dispute, splits over Iran’s regional influence, the war in Yemen and unrest in Algeria and Sudan sought common ground after Washington recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan.
But the abrupt departure from the summit shortly after it began by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who is locked in a row with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, suggested rivalries were not easily buried. No reason was given for his departure.
Copyright © 2018 Government of Brunei Darussalam. All Right Reserved.
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Banana Boat crew cheers on Wade's triple-double
98dTim Bontemps
Wade records 5th career triple-double in final dance (3:13)
Dwyane Wade reunites with the "Banana Boat" crew and has a storybook ending to his stellar career, finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his final NBA game. (3:13)
Tim BontempsESPN
NEW YORK -- After Dwyane Wade went for 30 points in the final home game of his career Tuesday night, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra tried to downplay expectations about what Wade would be able to do for an encore Wednesday night in the final game of his NBA career.
He didn't need to worry.
With best friends LeBron James, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony -- nicknamed the "Banana Boat" crew after a photo surfaced of the group on vacation in 2015 -- all sitting courtside watching him play for the last time, Wade rode off into the sunset with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, recording the fifth triple-double of his Hall of Fame career in its final game, a 113-94 loss to the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.
"I don't like shooting every time down," Wade said during an on-court interview with Fox Sports Sun after the game. "That's not the way I play. I was so uncomfortable tonight taking that many random shots. ... I like playing a competitive game, so this is not the kind of game I wanted to play in.
"But to be able to go out here and understand that my last game, I wanted it to be about my teammates as much as possible. To be able to pass the ball, get the triple-double and all those things.
"So I accomplished that."
It became the final accomplishment of his storied career, one that spanned 16 years -- 14½ of which came with the Heat. All along the way, Wade's friendship with James, Paul and Anthony became as associated with him as his legendarily effective pump fake.
Wade gives Melo Jersey, takes photo with 'Banana Boat crew'
Dwyane Wade shares a moment with LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony, and decides to give Melo his final game-worn jersey as a gift.
So it was fitting that, as he took the court for the last time, they were on hand to witness it. With none of them having games of their own to worry about -- James' Lakers and Paul's Rockets played their final regular-season games Tuesday night, while Anthony hasn't been on a team since being released by the Chicago Bulls in February -- they all made a pact to be at Barclays Center on Wednesday night to see their friend's last game.
"Listen, we all started this journey together," James told Fox Sports Sun during an interview early in the second quarter, when asked why the three of them came to the game. "Obviously, CP came into the league a couple years after us, but we have a brotherhood that is just so much more than basketball. CP played last night, we had our last regular-season game last night and Melo is right here in New York, so we kind of made the plan and made the decision to come up here."
Moments before Wednesday night's game began, James, Paul and Anthony exited the arena's underground elevator from a private SUV and walked into the bowl of the arena just as the national anthem was ending.
That meant all three of them were able to get to their seats in the corner of the court across from Miami's bench in time for a tribute video honoring Wade before pregame introductions.
Wade, who was introduced first to a standing ovation by the crowd, then went over and hugged James, Paul and Anthony before taking the court in the starting lineup.
"Obviously, it means a lot [to have them here]," Wade said. "They know that I will always be there for them, especially in a moment like this. No matter what I'm doing, I will be there for their last game. It was cool to see those guys over there. I'm glad they came, but at the same time I wish they weren't here because the whole time they kept telling me to shoot, shoot, shoot. But it was great. We've got a brotherhood. Those are my brothers."
After starting slow, and with plenty of questions about his ability to play a full game after his fall on the scorer's table during his postgame celebration Tuesday night had seemed to cause his knee to act up, Wade eventually began racking up stats.
By late in the third quarter, he found himself on the precipice of a triple-double with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.
He hit a 3-pointer to get to 20 points, and then grabbed a rebound and an assist to move within one more pass of the milestone. Then, after driving from the right wing, he kicked the ball out to his longtime teammate Udonis Haslem at the top of the key, and raised his hand to celebrate before Haslem's shot even went in.
Then it did, sending the crowd into rapturous applause in celebration of his feat.
"For me, I wanted to make that night memorable for him," Haslem said. "What other way than to be the guy that knocked down that last shot to give him the triple-double. I swear when I shot the ball, it felt like a game winner. I felt the pressure, I felt the pressure of a game-winning shot.
"I was happy I was able to come through for him. He's come through for me in so many different situations. [It was] probably the best way I could end it for him."
From that point on, the game devolved into a carnival of sorts. As the game progressed, James, Anthony and Paul -- who were sitting in the corner across from the Heat bench -- were imploring him to shoot whenever they could. When he wasn't in the game, they would join in with the crowd in egging on Spoelstra to put Wade back in.
At one point, a loose ball bounced to Anthony, and the entire crowd begged him to shoot it. He initially stepped onto the court and looked like he might -- only to instead hand the ball to the referees before returning to his seat. Meanwhile, during another stoppage in play, Wade's wife, actress Gabrielle Union, fired T-shirts into the crowd.
In the end, things went back where they were supposed to be: about Wade. And, after he checked in for one last time midway through the fourth quarter, and had a few highlights along the way -- including his final basket, a 3-pointer with 2:48 remaining -- he found himself with the ball, dribbling it at center court with about 30 seconds remaining. Rather than try to get one more shot off, though, Wade just stood and dribbled the ball until there were 10.1 seconds left.
At that point, the shot clock expired, he flipped the ball to the referee, raised his arms to the crowd, hugged his teammates and left the court for the final time as an NBA player.
Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and LeBron James sat courtside Wednesday night at Barclays Center to cheer on their friend and fellow "Banana Boat" crew member Dwyane Wade in his final NBA game. Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
"For me I'm happy with this season," Wade said. "Unfortunately for the organization, our team, we weren't in position to make the playoffs, but I'm happy to say I completed it.
"I almost messed it up when I fell on the scorer's table. But it's been great. I'm thankful for it and I can retire and be happy about my career, my body of work and everything I've been able to accomplish."
That left Wade with only one thing to do. So after he took pictures with his three friends, he did one last jersey exchange -- this time with Anthony, the one player he wasn't able to throughout this season.
"It was fitting," Wade said. "I didn't get the opportunity to play against Melo this year and exchange jerseys with him. That was the missing piece out of this whole season. So everything worked out great, with him being here, and being able to give him my jersey.
"I was thankful I could do that. Obviously, I've talked about this, but Melo was one of the nudges, to help me look at it a different way. I was looking at retiring before I came back, and he helped nudge me to go on this tour.
"It was fitting that the last one was him."
He lingered on the court for a while after that, greeting several people -- including Heat owner Micky Arison, general manager Andy Elisburg and Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker -- and eventually doing a full lap around it with his arm around Union, soaking in the cheers from the few thousand Heat fans still in attendance at least 20 minutes after the game had ended.
But then he walked into the tunnel and, after signing autographs and greeting another former teammate, Mike Miller, he exited the court for one last time.
When Wade was asked about the possibility of this not actually being the end of his "One Last Dance," he quickly threw cold water on the idea.
"I think everybody close to me understands that this is a real thing for me," Wade said. "I haven't wavered at one point at all. And I've had everybody's support along the way. That's been the cool thing about this. I've always had a lot of support.
"I think everybody knows that this is for real, and I won't be making a comeback.
"This is it."
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Journal: Zhonghua jie he he hu xi za zhi = Zhonghua jiehe he huxi zazhi = Chinese journal of tuberculosis and respiratory diseases
[Polysomnography and clinical characteristics of Tibetan and Han residents with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in Tibet]
Zhonghua jie he he hu xi za zhi = Zhonghua jiehe he huxi zazhi = Chinese journal of tuberculosis and respiratory diseases
Published about 1 month ago
Objective: To analyze the polysomnography and clinical characteristics of Tibetan and Han residents with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in high altitude areas of Tibet, and to explore whether nationality difference existed. Methods: The clinical data of 425 OSAS patients admitted to the Tibet Autonomous Region People’s Hospital from November 2011 to February 2018 were retrospectively analyzed, which were divided into Tibetan group and Han group. Information including sex, age, body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, waist circumference and hip circumference was collected, and apnea-hyponea index (AHI), mean oxygen saturation (MSaO(2)) during sleep, lowest oxygen saturation (LSaO(2)) during sleep, sleep phases and Epworth scores were compared between Tibetan and Han groups. Results: No significant difference was found in AHI between Tibetan and Han patients. AHI was positively correlated with BMI, neck circumference and waist circumference. Oxygen saturation in the daytime was not significantly different between groups. However, MSaO(2) and LSaO(2) during sleep were lower in Tibetan group compared with Han group (79% vs 82%, 65% vs 69%, respectively, P=0.000). Subgroup analysis showed no significant difference in MSaO(2) in mild OSAS patients, while the LSaO(2) in mild OSAS patients, the MSaO(2) and LSaO(2) in moderate and severe OSAS patients all showed significant differences between groups. Adjusted for BMI, the LSaO(2) in moderate OSAS patients, the MSaO(2) and LSaO(2) in severe OSAS patients in Tibetan group were still significantly lower than Han group. Stage-1 non-rapid eye movement was prolonged in moderate OSAS patients in Tibetan group compared with Han group (P=0.033), while other sleep phases and Epworth scores showed no significant difference between groups. Conclusion: In the circumstances of similar AHI, the MSaO(2) and LSaO(2) in moderate and severe OSAS patients were significantly lower in Tibetan group than in Han group, and the differences partially remained after adjusting for BMI, and the mechanisms needed to be further investigated in high altitude areas.
[The characteristics and determining factors of attention and short-term memory impairment in young patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome]
Objective: To explore the characteristics and determining factors of attention and short-term memory impairment in young patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). Methods: A total of 203 eligible patients with snoring were recruited for the study at Sleep Center, Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from July 2016 to July 2017, and they were all monitored with overnight polysomnography(PSG), recording sleep parameters [NREM (Ⅰ+Ⅱ) sleep ratio, NREM Ⅲ sleep ratio, REM sleep ratio] and respiratory parameters (AHI, ODI, LSaO(2), TS90%, RRMAI). Based on apnea/hypopnea index(AHI), the patients were categorized into non-OSAHS group (030/h). All patients were assessed for sleepiness and the Motreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) questionnaires, Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE), Epworth Sleepiness Scale(ESS), attention and short-term memory assessment which included Trail Marking Test(TMT), digit span test(DST), and Complex Figure Test(CFT). The PSG parameters, ESS scores, total MoCA scores, attention and short-term memory were compared among groups, and a multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the characteristics of attention and short-term memory impairment in young patients with OSAHS and their determining factors. Results: In the overall cognitive function assessment, severe OSAHS patients’s MoCA scores were lower than those of the other two groups [27.0 (25.0, 28.0) vs 27.0 (26.0, 28.0) , 27.0 (26.0, 27.0) , P<0.01]. In the sleepiness self-assessment, severe OSAHS patients's ESS scores were significantly higher than those of the other groups (11.4±5.4 vs 5.3±4.5, 8.0±5.0, P<0.01) . In the attention tests, scores on the DST-D (8.1±1.1 vs 8.8±0.9, 8.5±1.0) and DST-B[5.5 (4.0, 7.0) vs 6.0 (5.0, 7.0) , 6.0 (5.0, 7.0) ] were significantly lower in severe OSAHS patients than in the other two groups (P<0.01) . In the memory tests, the re-drawing scores of severe OSAHS patients were significantly lower than those of the other two groups [23.0 (16.0, 27.0) vs 26.0 (24.0, 28.0) , 24.0 (20.0, 28.0) , P<0.01]. In the executive function tests, severe OSAHS patients spent much longer on both TMT-A (46.7±19.0 vs 40.2±17.4, 34.6±17.2) and TMT-B (76.9±32.6 vs 67.2±21.2, 58.6±27.5) than the other two groups (P<0.01). Multivariate logistic stepwise regression analysis showed that, AHI, ODI and NREM (Ⅰ+Ⅱ) sleep ratios were the independent determining factors. Conclusion: Attention and short-term memory functions of young patients with OSAHS were impaired. The severity of apnea and hypoxia, NREM (Ⅰ+Ⅱ) ratio were all determining factors.
[Blood eosinophils: a biomarker of response to glucocorticoids and increased readmissions in severe hospitalized exacerbations of COPD]
Objective: To compare the clinical characteristics of patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) by different levels of blood eosinophil (EOS) count and to investigate the predictive value of the response to glucocorticoid treatment and the readmission rate in the patients with higher blood eosinophils. Methods: A total of 120 patients with AECOPD were admitted to the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine in The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 01, 2017 to December 31, 2017. Patients were divided into two groups according to their admission blood eosinophil fractions. Patients with EOS%≥2% were in the EOS group (n=56) , while patients with EOS%<2% were in the Non-EOS group (n=64) . The clinical characteristics, hospitalization treatments especially the glucocorticoid treatment response were compared, and the risk of severe acute exacerbation of the two groups including the 12-month COPD-related readmission, and time to first COPD-related readmission were also compared. Results: Compared with the Non-EOS group, the EOS group had lower values of white blood cell (WBC) , neutrophil fraction (N%) , blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) , and C-reactive protein (CRP) . The EOS group also required shorter course of antibiotic treatment [8 (6-10) and 9 (7-11) , P=0.033]. In glucocorticoid-treated patients (n=82) , the EOS group had significantly alleviated symptoms than the Non-EOS group (patients withδCAT≥2 were 86.8% and 68.2%, respectively, P=0.046) , and the duration of hospitalization of the EOS group was shorter [9 (7-11) and 10 (9 to 13) , P=0.042]. Patients with glucocorticoid treatment in the EOS group had significantly alleviated symptoms than those without glucocorticoid treatment (patients with δCAT ≥ 2 were 86.8% and 61.1%, respectively, P=0.040) . The follow-up one year after discharge showed a higher risk of severe acute exacerbation in the EOS group [Adjust OR 2.67 (1.10-6.46), P=0.030; HR: 1.57 (1.02-2.40), P=0.040]. Conclusion: The blood eosinophil levels were useful in predicting the AECOPD patients' response to glucocorticoid treatment and the risk of severe acute exacerbations.
[Incremental cost-effectiveness of the second Xpert MTB/RIF assay for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis]
Objective: To study the incremental cost-effectiveness of the second Xpert assay in detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and rifampicin (RIF) resistance. Methods: We continuously collected 2 896 specimens from suspected tuberculosis patients who had undergone 2 Xpert tests in a week from March 2015 to March 2018, including 2 402 suspected tuberculosis patients with 1 523 males and 879 females, with an average age of 50 years. Among them, 2 144 specimens of sputum and 258 cases of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were collected. We also enrolled 494 patients with suspected extrapulmonary tuberculosis, 318 males and 176 females, with an average age of 42 years. Among them, 157 pleural effusion specimens, 106 cerebrospinal fluid specimens, 34 urine specimens and 197 pus specimens were collected. All specimens were subjected to two Xpert tests, smear microscopy, liquid rapid culture (BACTEC MGIT 960), and positively cultured bacteria were tested for drug susceptibility. Results: Among the 2 896 specimens from suspected tuberculosis patients, either one of the two Xpert test results was positive (including both tests were positive, the same below) in 1 639 patients, and 1 502 (91.6%) were positive in the first Xpert tests. The additional 137 (8.4%) test results were positive in the second tests. According to the smear test results, all specimens were divided into the smear negative group and the smear positive group. The second Xpert test was significantly higher than the smear-positive group (14.86%, 3.2%, P<0.001), and the extrapulmonary tuberculosis group was higher than the tuberculosis group (11.2%, 8.0%, P=0.12).Of the susceptibility test results, a total of 371 were rifampicin-resistant specimens. The first Xpert detected 91.4% (339/371), and the second Xpert detected the additional 8.1% (30/371).The cost increase of the second test was very significant. Tests were calculated at 650 yuan per time, the tuberculosis group was 1 184 yuan and 13 696 yuan(P<0.001); the extrapulmonary tuberculosis group was 1 755 yuan and 13 961 yuan(P<0.001). In the test of specimens of tuberculosis and extrapulmonary tuberculosis, the smear-negative specimen cost increase of the second Xpert test was lower than that of the smear-positive specimen. Conclusion: The second xpert test showed significant value-added cost-effectiveness in the diagnosis of tuberculosis.
[Endogenous Klebsiella pneumoniae endophthalmitis associated with Klebsiella pneumoniae pneumonia: 3 cases report and literature review]
Objective: To study the clinical features and the diagnosis and treatment of endogenous Klebsiella pneumoniae endophthalmitis associated with Klebsiella pneumoniae pneumonia. Methods: Three cases of endogenous Klebsiella pneumoniae endophthalmitis associated with Klebsiella pneumoniae with microbiological evidence were studied. The related literatures published from January 2008 to June 2018 were reviewed with “pneumonia” , “endogenous endophthalmitis” and “Klebsiella pneumoniae” as the keywords in CNKI, Wanfang, PubMed and Web of Science databases. Results: The 3 patients, all males, aged 54 years, 82 years and 48 years respectively. They all had a history of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Endophthalmitis occurred in one eye in all of them, and the patients had eye symptoms including eye pain, progressive loss of vision, periorbital area inflammation, conjunctivitis, weakening or disappearance of pupil light reflex, corneal edema and anterior chamber effusion. All of 3 cases had multiple patchy pulmonary lesions, and Klebsiella pneumoniae was proven to be the pathogen by blood culture. Two cases had pulmonary abscess and liver abscess, and one of them had brain abscess. A total of 28 literatures with 81 cases of endogenous Klebsiella pneumoniae endophthalmitis associated with Klebsiella pneumoniae pneumonia were retrieved from CNKI, WanFang, PubMed and Web of Science database. Conclusions:Klebsiella pneumoniae was one of the most common pathogens of pneumonia and endogenous endophthalmitis, which would seriously damage the lung and the eye. The early clinical features were not specific. Misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis might cause serious consequences. Eye pain and visual disturbance symptoms, ophthalmic examination, chest imaging, blood and aqueous humor etiology were of great value in the diagnosis of this disease.
[Reliability and validity of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease morning symptom diary Chinese version]
Objective: To describe the development of the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Morning Symptom Diary (COPD-MSD) Chinese version and to test its reliability and validity. Methods: The COPD-MSD Chinese version was developed by the standard cross-cultural translation principle. A hundred and eight patients with COPD in stable condition from the Second Xiangya Hospital were assessed by interview with COPD-MSD Chinese version, and underwent mMRC, CAT scores and pulmonary function test.The reliability and validity were evaluated by performing correlation analysis.The stages of COPD determined by lung function were compared to observe the value of COPD-MSD Chinese version in determining disease severity. Results: The Cronbach’s alpha and retest reliability of the total scale were 0.908 and 0.927, respectively.The explanatory factor analysis was conducted using orthogonal rotation through the maximum variation principle components extraction which revealed the presence of 5 components with eigen values exceeding 1, explaining totally 74.257% of the variance, and the total score of the COPD-MSD Chinese version was significantly correlated with the mMRC and CAT scores (r=0.44 and 0.56,P<0.01), indicating that the scale of the convergence validity was good. The COPD-MSD Chinese version scores varied significantly in patients with different severity of COPD(χ(2)=9.808, P<0.05). Conclusion: The COPD-MSD Chinese version showed good reliability and validity and could be used in clinical assessment of morning symptoms in Chinese COPD patients.
[Respiratory pathogen spectrum in pulmonary exacerbation of bronchiectasis in adults and its association with disease severity]
Objective: To determine the pattern of respiratory pathogens at bronchiectasis exacerbation and its associations with disease severity. Methods: A total of 119 steady-state bronchiectasis patients [42 males, 77 females, age range 19 to 74 years, mean age (45±14)years], diagnosed by a compatible history combined with evidence of bronchial dilatation on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), were recruited prospectively from out-patient clinics in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University between September 2012 and March 2013. A comprehensive history taking, radiologic appearance, spirometry, sputum bacterial culture and 16 respiratory viruses in nasopharyngeal swabs and sputum samples by PCR assays were collected at steady-state bronchiectasis. All bronchiectasis patients were followed up one year and assessed for bacteriology, virology and systemic inflammatory indices [including white blood cell, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6, 8 and tumor necrosis factor-α] during bronchiectasis exacerbation. Results: Fifty-eight bronchiectasis patients [20 males, 38 females, age range 19 to 74 years, mean age (44±14) years] reported 100 exacerbations (1 to 5 exacerbation events per patient) during one year follow-up. Respiratory viruses were found more frequently in sputum and nasal swab during exacerbation [35.0% (35/100) and 39% (39/100)] than those during steady-state in bronchiectasis [sputum: 13.8% (8/58), nasal swab: 8.6% (5/58)] (χ(2)=8.33,χ(2)=13.51; respectively, all P<0.05). The rate of bacterial detection during exacerbation in sputum was 56% (56/100), which was not significantly different compared with those at steady-state (35/58, 60.3%;χ(2)=0.284, P=0.59). Of these respiratory infections, viral-bacterial co-infection accounted for 30% exacerbation events. The most common bacteria and viruses during exacerbation in mild bronchiectasis (n=18, with 25 exacerbation events) were Haemophilus parainfluenzae (4 cases) in sputum and influenza A in nasal swab or sputum (4 cases), respectively. In patients with moderate (n=17, with 29 exacerbation events)-severe bronchiectasis (n=23, with 46 exacerbation events), pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common bacteria in sputum (35 cases), and the most common respiratory viruses were rhinovirus in nasal swab or sputum (11 cases). In these 100 exacerbation events, patients with bacterial and viral co-infection, pure bacteria infection, pure virus infection, no bacteria and virus infection accounted for 30, 29, 16 and 25 exacerbation events, respectively. And patients with co-infection had higher serum CRP (45±23) mg/L and IL-8 [9.0 (4.4-15.5) ng/L] (F=23.32, F=9.81,respectively; all P<0.05), and increased risk of hospitalization (30% vs. 0] compared with those in non-infectious group(χ(2)=9.0, P=0.003). Conclusions: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, rhinovirus and influenza A were common causative agents of exacerbation in bronchiectasis.In patients with moderate-severe bronchiectasis, pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common bacterium in sputum, and the most common respiratory virus was rhinovirus in nasal swab or sputum, compared to Haemophilus parainfluenzae in sputum and influenza A in nasal swab or sputum in mild bronchiectasis. Patients with co-infection had more severe systemic inflammatory response and higher risk of hospitalization during exacerbation.
[The ratio of tuberculosis-specific antigen to phytohemagglutinin in T-SPOT assay in the diagnosis of active tuberculosis]
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the performance of the ratio of tuberculosis-specific antigen (TBAg) to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) (TBAg/PHA ratio) in T-SPOT assay in the diagnosis of active tuberculosis (ATB). Methods: Between January 2014 and January 2017, 378 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) culture positive patients (268 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis, 110 extra-pulmonary tuberculosis) and 824 healthy individuals were recruited from Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. T-SPOT assay was performed and TBAg/PHA ratio was calculated in all the participants. To validate the study, another group of 223 MTB culture positive TB patients with positive T-SPOT results were recruited from Guangzhou Chest Hospital between January 2017 and December 2017. This was a retrospective case-control study and differences between groups were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U-test. Results: Of the 378 culture positive ATB patients, 344 patients had positive T-SPOT results. Of the 824 healthy individuals, 204 individuals had positive T-SPOT results. Using healthy individuals as the control group, the sensitivity and specificity of T-SPOT assay in the diagnosis of ATB were 91.0% (344/378) and 75.2% (620/824). Directly using T-SPOT results had a limited accuracy in distinguishing ATB from latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was between 0.7 and 0.8. However, a further calculation of the TBAg/PHA ratio showed a better performance than TBAg in distinguishing these two conditions, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.881 (95% CI: 0.853-0.909). If using the threshold value of 0.234, the sensitivity and specificity of the TBAg/PHA ratio in distinguishing ATB from LTBI were 69.5% (239/344) and 94.12% (192/204). The validation data showed that the performance of the TBAg/PHA ratio in distinguishing ATB from LTBI was also satisfactory, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.901 (95% CI: 0.872-0.931). Furthermore, the TBAg/PHA ratio had an important role in the diagnosis of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. If using the threshold value of 0.234, the sensitivity and specificity of the TBAg/PHA ratio in the diagnosis of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis were 79.2% (76/96) and 94.1% (192/204). The area under the ROC curve was 0.932 (95% CI: 0.897-0.967). Conclusions: The TBAg/PHA ratio in T-SPOT assay was better than directly using T-SPOT results in distinguishing ATB from LTBI. This ratio also showed a potential use in the diagnosis of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis.
[The expressions of CTLA-4 and PD-1 on CD(4)(+) T cells and the level of plasma VEGF in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome]
Objective: CD(4)(+)T cells, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4), programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are associated with cancer development. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of CTLA-4, PD-1 and VEGF in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). Methods: From January 2017 to January 2018, a total of 47 first-visit outpatients were recruited in the Sleep and Respiratory Disorder Center of Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, and were divided into control group (N=17, mean age 54±12 years), mild-to-moderate OSAHS group (N=15, mean age 54±12 years) and severe OSAHS group (N=15, mean age 56±13 years). Venous blood was collected, plasma and cells were isolated, the expressions of PD-1 and CTLA-4 on the surface of CD(4)(+)T cells were detected by flow cytometry, and plasma VEGF was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The proportion of CD(4)(+)T cells in control group, mild-to-moderate OSAHS group and severe OSAHS group were respectively(38±8)%, (35±8)% and (38±6)% (F=1.228, P>0.05). The expression of CTLA-4 on CD(4)(+)T cells were respectively [1.13 (0.59~1.78)]%, [0.45 (0.16~1.43)]% and [0.87(0.47~1.46)]% (H=2.205, P>0.05). The expression of PD-1 on CD(4)(+)T cells were respectively [4.24 (2.12~6.03)]%, [3.54(2.69~5.09)]% and [3.31(1.67~8.25)]% (H=0.541, P>0.05). The concentrations of VEGF in control group, mild-to-moderate OSAHS group and severe OSAHS group were statistically different [(395.16±87.78) ng/L vs (452.85±107.97) ng/L vs (546.42±199.27) ng/L, F=4.827, P=0.013]. Compared with the control group, VEGF concentration was significantly increased in the severe OSAHS group(P<0.01). VEGF concentration was correlated negatively with the lowest SpO(2) (r (s)=-0.480,P=0.001), but positively with apnea-hypopnea index(r (s)=0.403, P=0.005), oxygen desaturation index (r (s)=0.378, P=0.010) and proportion of SpO(2) less than or equal to 90% of total sleep time(r (s)=0.547, P=0.000 3). Conclusion: There was no significant difference of PD-1 and CTLA-4 expression on CD(4)(+)T cells in patients with and without OSAHS. The expression of VEGF was elevated in OSAHS patients, and increased with the severity of OSAHS and hypoxia.
[A nationwide online questionnaire survey of the understanding and implementation of pulmonary rehabilitation at all levels of medical institutions in China in 2017]
Objective: To analyze the implementation and understanding of pulmonary rehabilitation in medical personnel at all levels of medical institutions nationwide. Methods: We used WeChat and e-channels to disseminate e-questionnaires including personal basic information and the implementation of hospital pulmonary rehabilitation (including the setting up of hospital rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation-related treatment, and the composition of pulmonary rehabilitation teams), and awareness of pulmonary rehabilitation (including doctors' understanding of lung rehabilitation status, pathways, prospects, and obstacle factors). Finally, the analysis of the data was performed using SPSS 20.0 for statistical analysis. The frequency distribution and composition ratio were used to describe the distribution of each question item. Comparison among groups according to the unit level of the respondents was performed by chi-square test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 921 medical staff from all over the country completed the survey, covering the entire country including Taiwan Province and a total of 32 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government. 88.1% of medical personnel reported that their hospitals had rehabilitation departments, the difference being statistically significant (P=0.001). Doctors could understand that the most important ways of pulmonary rehabilitation knowledge were the following: expert lectures (559, 60.69%), professional literature (541, 58.74%), professional books (442, 47.99%), pulmonary rehabilitation conference (392, 42.56%), the difference being statistically significant (all P<0.05).Among the factors that impeded the implementation of pulmonary rehabilitation, the top four were lack of talent (690, 74.92%), lack of education (645, 70.03%), lack of policy support (603, 65.47%), and lack of related equipments (578, 62.76%). Conclusions: The lower the level of the hospitals, the poor the implementation and cognitive status of pulmonary rehabilitation. Promoting the training of pulmonary rehabilitation personnel and strengthening the academic exchange of pulmonary rehabilitation were good ways to strengthen the implementation of pulmonary rehabilitation and improve the understanding of pulmonary rehabilitation.
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Roethlisberger bothered by criticism but eager to move on
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
By WILL GRAVES
PITTSBURGH (AP) Ben Roethlisberger heard the noise. How could he not? At times, it was deafening.
Antonio Brown. Le'Veon Bell. A handful of other former teammates long since gone from the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room. The talking heads on TV. They all came for him in some form or another during a turbulent offseason, questioning everything from his character to his decision making.
The typically social media-averse Steelers quarterback heard it all. And yeah, it got to him.
"When it affects your family then it can definitely affect you," Roethlisberger said on Tuesday as Pittsburgh began organized team activities. "So things bother you, you think about it, but you also have to understand that we live in an amazing country, that we have opinions and people can say what they want and you just have to really focus on the guys that are here, and just make sure that they're good and everybody I've talked to is good with me."
That would be a stark departure from the end of 2018, when Brown basically quit on the team before a must-win regular-season finale against Cincinnati, then spent the ensuing two months doing what he could to force his way out of town. That included taking a flamethrower to his prolific if occasionally problematic relationship with Roethlisberger. At one point Brown said he felt Roethlisberger had an "owner mentality" - a sentiment Roethlisberger admits he didn't quite understand - before eventually being traded to Oakland.
The rapid decline of the most successful quarterback/receiver combination in franchise history caught Roethlisberger off guard. He says he tried repeatedly to reach out to Brown, but the All-Pro who had a picture of the two next to his locker that included a note from Roethlisberger that read "AB, we are unstoppable," opted not to respond.
"Sent him texts, sent him calls, this was all before the season was over," Roethlisberger said. "Never heard back so I could never really find out what was going on. For me, that's why it was so confusing because I didn't know where it came from."
Call it part of a busy few months in which Roethlisberger felt the Steelers were "attacked from all different angles." Not that it matters now. Brown is in Oakland. Bell signed with the New York Jets, and Roethlisberger and the other 89 players on the roster are only too eager to move on.
While Roethlisberger acknowledged being blindsided a bit by the torrent of criticism, he did allow the critics may also have a point. He served as the quarterback of a team that started 7-2-1 only to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014. By that metric, he failed as a leader.
"When it comes to leadership, we didn't make the playoffs last year," he said. "We didn't win our division. So I lacked in leadership because that's my job as the leader of this team is to get us to the playoffs, so I'm going to focus and refocus my energy and time on how can I be a better leader to get us back to the playoffs."
That includes being a regular at OTAs. Roethlisberger appeared only sporadically last spring, as did Brown. But with so many new faces on offense, Roethlisberger figures he needs to be a fixture, particularly after signing a contract extension last month that runs through 2021. The 37-year-old says he plans to play for the entirety of the deal.
"I know I talk about season by season because of injuries, there's things you just can't foresee," he said. "But in terms of, you know, my commitment to the Pittsburgh Steelers, it's three years and I'm going to honor that."
Bell's and Brown's departures could be addition by subtraction, at least off the field. Defensive end Cam Heyward wished both players "nothing but luck," but said his focus has turned to the guys he's currently working alongside, not the ones earning paychecks elsewhere.
Asked if the last couple years were emotionally exhausting, Heyward laughed, let out an exaggerated "whew" then added "plenty."
That shouldn't be the case this season.
Roethlisberger, who has been known to publically tweak teammates for substandard play while also pointing the finger at himself, is re-evaluating the way he builds relationships. Yet those who have played with him the longest say it's not on Roethlisberger to singlehandedly revamp the locker-room culture.
"Ben is a guy that's going to come in and do his job," guard Ramon Foster said. "He's going to be the guy. I don't just want to say, `Yeah, there's (going to be) a dramatic change' because then it seems like there was a terrible problem. Just watch him. You guys will be able to tell."
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/tag/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP-NFL
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AfCFTA now live, but cautious optimism advised
Monday July 8 2019
Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat (centre) delivers a speech at the opening of the 35th Ordinary Session of the Executive Committee of the Meeting of the African Union at the Palais des Congres in Niamey, on July 4, 2019, ahead of the Heads of States of the African Union Summit in Niger. PHOTO | ISSOUF SANOGO | AFP
Intra-Africa trade has historically remained low due to trade barriers and poor transport and telecommunication connectivity on the continent.
The AfCFTA agreement took effect on May 30 after achieving the minimum ratification by 22 countries.
The agreement is expected to progressively eliminate tariffs among AU members, creating the world's largest free-trade area since the formation of WTO.
By The EastAfrican
African heads of state and governments are meeting in Niamey, Niger, on July 7 to officially launch the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), paving the way for free movement of goods, services, investments and people around the continent.
The continent’s large corporations and wealthy individuals are expected to make a major announcement on their commitment to address infrastructural bottlenecks that have weighed down intra-African trade and hindered the exploitation of Africa’s full potential.
But this launch comes amid outstanding issues on various key components of the trade agreement, including critical schedules of rules of origin, tariff concessions by the member countries and conclusion of discussions on competition policies expected to deal with crimes such as smuggling and tax evasion.
Intra-Africa trade has historically remained low—at 15 per cent—comparing unfavourably with Europe (68 per cent), North America (37 per cent), and Latin America (20 per cent), due to trade barriers and poor transport and telecommunication connectivity on the continent.
It is estimated that the average tariffs on intra-African trade are about 6.1 per cent, which is higher than those imposed on exports outside the continent.
Big aggregate economy
Albert Muchanga, African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, in a recent interview with America and the World in Washington DC said the single market will increase the level of trade among African countries and remove fragmentation by creating a big aggregate economy that can attract large-scale and long-term investments.
The official launch of the AfCFTA comes after 24 countries ratified the grand agreement to create a single market of over 1.2 billion people and open up markets with a combined GDP of $3 trillion, half of which is controlled by the continent’s biggest economies, South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria.
Cameroon’s parliament last week passed a Bill authorising President Paul Biya to ratify the agreement.
According to Mr Muchanga, the Extra-Ordinary Summit will provide the way forward on when African business people will actually start trading with each other.
“Heads of state and governments will give guidance on when the actual trading will start. It may be within six months or 12 months,” he said.
Outstanding components
But, while there is a lot to celebrate about the coming into effect of the AfCFTA, discussions on various key components remain outstanding. These include an agreement on the critical schedules of rules of origin, tariff concessions and specific commitments in services under Phase I of the negotiations, which were expected to be concluded before the official launch.
Negotiations for protocols under Phase II—Intellectual property rights, investment, and competition policy—are all outstanding and are expected to have been concluded for adoption by January 2021.
The Phase II negotiations are expected to address concerns about smuggling and tax evasion.
The agreement brings together 55 countries but so far, 52 countries have signed.
Nigeria announced last week that it was going to sign it during the launch, after a special government panel formed to study the potential impact of joining AfCFTA recommended that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari sign up.
By press time, Benin had also announced it would sign, leaving Eritrea holding out.
World's largest free-trade area
The agreement is expected to progressively eliminate tariffs among AU members, creating the world's largest free-trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organisation.
Aly-Khan Satchu, chief executive of the investment advisory firm Rich Management Ltd, said the full implementation of the trade pact hinges on the political will of the respective countries.
“If we execute a proper free trade agreement—without non-tariff barriers and with free movement of Africans across the continent—then certainly this will be a silver bullet,” said Mr Satchu, adding, “The challenge will be around the forces of resistance who have made hay in the pre-AfCFTA era and typically have created a loop through which they finance the politics from windfall profits derived from artificial restrictions. Undoing this is the real challenge.”
Other experts say promoting Africa as a single investment destination will not be smooth sailing, largely due to the fragmented nature of its markets.
There are eight regional economic blocs, four of which have Customs Unions. The AfCFTA is expected to leverage on these blocs, and finally create a Customs Union that attracts investors.
Phyllis Wakiaga, chief executive of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, said the AfCFTA presents a raft of opportunities for intra-Africa trade, with successful implementation increasing spending to $6.7 trillion in 2030.
“The continental agenda for business expansion should be reinforced to allow professional and educational mobility, and upskilling of Africa’s workforce. This will ensure that Africa’s youth are given the opportunities they deserve. Nevertheless, political goodwill will play a great role,” said Ms Wakiaga.
Cabinet Secretary in Kenya’s Ministry of East African Community Affairs Adan Mohamed said African countries still have to deal with operational issues, including standards of products to be traded, before they start reaping the benefits of this expanded market.
Africa is expected to increase the level of competitiveness of locally made products through the infusion of technology to increase efficiency, support mass production and ensure that finished goods are standardised.
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Southwest USA Attractions
Legoland California, California
- One LEGOLAND Drive - Carlsbad, CA 92008
http://california.legoland.com/
This one of a kind California resort is the ultimate family destination. Enter deep into the Lego World, with more than 60 rides, shows, and attractions -- including the world's first LEGOLAND Water Park and Sea Life Aquarium. In spring 2013, the new LEGOLAND Hotel opens with Pirate, Kingdom, and adventure-themed rooms! It's a lego experience that you've always dreamed of that the entire family will remember for a lifetime!
Honolulu Zoo, Hawaii
151 Kapahulu Avenue - Honolulu, HI 96815
http://www.honoluluzoo.org/
Over 750,000 people visit the Honolulu Zoo annually. It is the largest zoo within a radius of 2,300 miles and unique in that it is the only zoo in the United States originating from a King's grant of royal lands to the people. King David Kalakaua, Monarch of Hawai`i from 1874 to 1891, made lands of the Leahi Land Holdings available in 1876 to the people for a thirty year lease. That year, a "Kapiolani Park Association" of two hundred subscriber members assumed the administration of the three hundred-acre park. The marshy parcel was a muddle of fishponds, lagoons and islands where King Kalakaua maintained his collection of exotic birds. In 1877 the area was named after the King's wife and opened as Queen Kapiolani Park.
Castles n' Coasters, Arizona
9445 Metro Parkway East - Phoenix, AZ 85051
http://www.castlesncoasters.com
<iframe id='palyer3' src='http://www.youtube.com/embed/?listType=user_uploads&list=castlesncoasters'></iframe id='palyer3'>
Whether you're young or old, big or small, you'll find lots of fun, food and excitement at Arizona's Finest Family Fun and Thrill Park. <br> From the thrilling sky high roller coasters and exciting water rides, to the exotic countries of the world class miniature golf course and enchantment of an old fashioned carrousel, there's magic and new adventures waiting for you and your family at Castles N' Coasters. <br> Castles and Coasters’ business offices are open Monday through Friday from 8 a-m to 5 p-m.
AT&T Park, California
24 Willie Mays Plaza - San Francisco, CA 94107
http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/sf/ballpark/index.jsp
AT&T Park, with its breathtaking views and classic design, was chosen as the 2008 Sports Facility of the Year by Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily as part of the inaugural Sports Business Awards program. The first privately financed ballpark in Major League Baseball since 1962, the Giants' home has many incredible features.
Winchester Mystery House, California
525 South Winchester Boulevard - San Jose, CA 95128
http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/
In 1884, a wealthy widow named Sarah L. Winchester began a construction project of such magnitude that it was to occupy the lives of carpenters and craftsmen until her death thirty-eight years later. The Victorian mansion, designed and built by the Winchester Rifle heiress, is filled with so many unexplained oddities, that it has come to be known as the Winchester Mystery House.
San Diego Zoo, California
2920 Zoo Drive - Balboa Park - San Diego, CA 92101
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/
A not-for-profit organization that operates the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, and San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research. The Zoo was founded on October 2, 1916, by Harry M. Wegeforth, M.D. It currently has a 12-member Board of Trustees headed by Berit Durler; Douglas G. Myers is the Zoo's executive director.
Waikiki Aquarium, Hawaii
2777 Kalakaua Ave. - Honolulu, HI 96815
http://www.waquarium.org/
The Waikîkî Aquarium is one of the premier marine science institutions in the City & County of Honolulu and the State of Hawai'i. Founded on March 19, 1904, this marine aquarium is the third oldest public aquarium in the United States. Since 1919, the Waikîkî Aquarium has been an institution of the University of Hawai'i System. Situated beside a living coral reef on the Waikîkî shoreline, the Waikîkî Aquarium is home to more than 3,055 organisms of 464 species of marine plants and animals. Each year, over 350,000 people visit. The Waikîkî Aquarium was designated a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center of the Coastal America Partnership federal program. <a href="http://www.wikipedia.org" target="new">Source</a>
Gilroy Gardens, California
3050 Hecker Pass Hwy - Gilroy, CA 95020
http://www.bonfantegardens.com
Founder Michael Bonfante's vision - his love of plants and trees, and his commitment to pass this appreciation on through the generations - continues to inspire everyone who works and volunteers at Gilroy Gardens. <br> The trustees aspire to make use of the extraordinary beauty of Gilroy Gardens to attract students to the science of horticulture and environmental studies. We aspire to demonstrate and measure our success in becoming the best center in California for attracting and educating students in the critical importance of becoming good stewards of the natural environment. We aspire to be the best promoters of careers in horticulture and environmental studies in the United States.
Hawaii's Polynesian Cultural Center, Hawaii
55-370 Kamehameha Highway - Oahu, HI 96762
http://www.polynesia.com
<iframe id='palyer9' src='http://www.youtube.com/embed/?listType=user_uploads&list=polynesiancultural'></iframe id='palyer9'>
Laie has been a special place for a very long time. With the world-famous Polynesian Cultural Center, Brigham Young University Hawaii as an international focal point of education and the LDS Hawaii Temple as a spiritual apex, our community encompasses a unique confluence of Latter-day Saint heritage and potential. Whether here for an afternoon, a few years, or a lifetime, modern Latter-day Saint prophets, leaders of nations, thousands of students and millions of visitors have recognized that a special spirit permeates this small community and radiates far beyond our wave-swept beaches.
Hollywood Bowl, California
2301 N. Highland Ave - Los Angeles, CA 90068
http://www.hollywoodbowl.com
The Hollywood Bowl is a natural amphitheater in the heart of Los Angeles. Home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, this theater offers some of the best acoustics in the entire world. It is one of the best places to listen to and watch musical performances, from operas and symphonies to rock n roll and soul, the Hollywood Bowl also displays some of the finest 4th of July fireworks displays in the entire world. One of the special aspects of the Hollywood Bowl is that, since it is located in the heart of the city, thse living in the surrounding neighborhood are able to hear the sounds that come from the ampitheater; certainly a nice touch to a walk through Hollywood.
Rancho Santa Ana Garden, California
500 N. College Ave. - Claremont, CA 91711
http://www.rsabg.org/
<iframe id='palyer11' src='http://www.youtube.com/embed/?listType=user_uploads&list=rsabotanicgarden'></iframe id='palyer11'>
California's native garden, offering panoramic views, beautiful native plant displays, and special exhibits that can be seen here and here alone. Come to the springtime Big Bugs exhibit or the Butterfly Pavilion! Come and see the Majestic Oak, which is more than 300 years old!e Rancho Santa Ana botanic Garden is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to California native plants. What a perfect place to explore with the entire family! Or, a romantic Valentine's Day, in which a lucky date is surrounded by flowers!
Waterworld Safari, Arizona
4243 W. Pinnacle Peak Rd. - Phoenix, AZ 85310
http://phoenix.golfland.com/
Over 16 water rides and cool attractions, it’s adventure, relaxation, and fun for everyone in the family. Congo River Rapids is mini water world for mini water sliders. Pythons serpentine water slides are thrills for all ages.
Wild Island Family Adventure Park, Nevada
http://www.wildisland.com/
<iframe id='palyer13' src='http://www.youtube.com/embed/?listType=user_uploads&list=WildIslandWaterpark'></iframe id='palyer13'>
"The Moondog gift shop, located in the center of the park carries souvenir T-shirts(including T-shirts with our mascot), suntan lotion, and a variety of sun and gift items."
Lagoon, Utah
P.O. Box 696 - Farmington, UT 84025
http://www.lagoonpark.com/
The Bat is Lagoon¹s first suspended coaster that promises fun the whole family can enjoy. Riders will be suspended - feet dangling - below 1,120 feet of twisting track that will bank and weave through the trees creating an exciting sensation of flying. The Bat is unlike any other ride or coaster at Lagoon and is included with each Ride and Season Passport.
Cave of the Winds, Colorado
P.O. Box 826 - Manitou Springs, CO 80829
http://caveofthewinds.com/
Bring Your Curiosity, Your Camera… And Prepare to Be Awed!<br> Cave of the Winds literally makes your jaw drop in wonder and astonishment. It is geology and adventure rolled into one—a true, unique Geo|Venture! Located in scenic hills above historic Manitou Springs, the caves are one of America’s most important show caves. Visitors have shared in the stunning beauty of Cave of the Winds for over a century.
Water World, Colorado
1800 W. 89th Ave. - Federal Heights, AR 80260
http://www.waterworldcolorado.com
<iframe id='palyer16' src='http://www.youtube.com/embed/?listType=user_uploads&list=hhwaterworld'></iframe id='palyer16'>
Water World, one of America's largest family waterparks, is located just 15 minutes north of downtown Denver, Colorado, on 64 beautifully landscaped acres. Water World is celebrating it's 26th year of operation.<br> We feature the biggest variety of attractions (42) in America, from Wally World for the tots, to Voyage to the Center of the Earth for the entire family. Water World has more family tube rides than any other park in America. Thrill rides are in abundance also, like the Red Line speed slide. Plenty of picnic areas are available, from covered pavilions to beautifully landscaped grass areas.<br> Picnics are welcome at Water World and the parking is free. Please see our Pricing/Guidelines page for what picnic items are allowable to bring in to the park. <br> Water World offers a wide variety of food and beverage choices, and at a very reasonable cost, along with a gift shop ,with everything you need to enjoy your visit! Our operating season is generally from the last weekend in May through Labor Day, with some school days excepted.
Disneyland, California
http://www.DisneyLand.com
Disneyland is a theme park that is located at 1313 South Harbor Boulevard in Anaheim, California, USA. It opened on July 17, 1955. The park is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. Currently the park has been visited by more than 515 million guests since it opened to the public, including presidents, royalty, and other heads of state.<br> The park is divided into realms, which radiate like the four cardinal points of the compass from Central Plaza, and well-concealed backstage areas. On entering a realm, a guest is completely immersed in the environment and is unable to see or hear any other realm. The idea behind this was to develop theatrical "stages" with seamless passages from one land to the next. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org" target="new">Source</a>
Hawaiian Waters Adventure
400 Farrington Highway Kapolei - Hawaii, HI 96707
Waters of Kapolei, LLC doing business as Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park. We are a limited liability company with several investors who help finance and manage the park. <br> Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park is an $18,000,000 water themed amusement park. Open in May 1999 we offer a safe and exciting family-oriented experience for kama‘aina (Hawaii residents) and visitors. We are the first attraction of its kind in the islands and in the Pacific Rim. <br> Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park is designed to appeal to all ages and features a unique variety of age-appropriate rides and amenities from a Keiki Kove to a thrilling 6 story drop in a lush resort-like atmosphere. The park, which can comfortably accommodate 6,000 guests at one time, is one of the larger water theme parks in the world. http://www.hawaiianwaters.com/
2301 North Highland Avenue - Hollywood, CA 90068
http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/
One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a current seating capacity of just under 18,000, the Hollywood Bowl has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and, in 1991 gave its name to a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
Cliff's Amusement Park, New Mexico
4800 Osuna Rd. NE at San Mateo - Albuquerque, NM 87109
http://www.cliffs.net/
Location: Take I-25 to Jefferson, go north on frontage road to Osuna, turn right. Or follow San Mateo to Osuna, turn west on Osuna.
Montery Bay Aquarium, California
886 Cannery Row - Monterey, CA 93940
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/
Come and experience the wonder of the underwater world at Monterey Bay Aquarium!
Seven Peaks, Utah
1330 East, 300 North - Provo, UT
http://www.sevenpeaks.com
Wave Pool - An ocean experience far from the sea. Our waves come at you in various patterns that range from one to four feet in height. Enjoy the waves on a tube or body surf from the shore. And much more...
Cheyenne Mountain Zoological, Colorado
4250 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Road - Colorado Springs, CO 80906
http://www.cmzoo.org/
No visit to Colorado's Pikes Peak region is complete without a trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! Here, you'll experience an unforgettable adventure combining our breathtaking mountain scenery with more than 750 animals from around the world. All your favorites are here...from giraffes and elephants to lions and monkeys, hippos and bears. It's also a rare opportunity to see more than 30 endangered species including the Amur tiger, Mexican wolf, and Black-footed ferret!
Southern Nevada Zoo - Botanical Park, Nevada
1775 N. Rancho Drive - Las Vegas, NV 89106
http://www.lasvegaszoo.org/
"The Southern Nevada Zoological-Botanical Park (a.k.a. Las Vegas Zoo) is managed by the non-profit 501 (C) Nevada Zoological Foundation. Our shady 3-acre park is located just 15 minutes northwest of the Las Vegas Strip. The zoo exhibits over 150 species of plants and animals (for more information click here). As the only zoo in Las Vegas and the only year-round zoo in Nevada, we work hard to fulfill our mission to educate and entertain the public by displaying a variety of plants and animals."
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, California
400 Beach St. - Santa Cruz, CA 95060
http://www.beachboardwalk.com/
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California’s oldest amusement park PLUS a State Historic Landmark. The home to two National Historic Landmarks: 1911 Looff Carousel and 1924 Giant Dipper roller coaster. Owned and operated by the Santa Cruz Seaside Company since 1915, the Boardwalk remains a family style amusement park creating memories that last a lifetime.
Stratosphere Las Vegas, Nevada
2000 Las Vegas Boulevard South - Las Vegas, NV 89104
http://www.stratospherehotel.com
Stratosphere Las Vegas Hotel & Casino - One of the best values on the Las Vegas Strip. From exciting casino action and luxury accommodations, to fine dining and fun entertainment, to the world’s most insane thrill rides, Stratosphere Las Vegas Hotel & Casino is the one place that you can’t miss – literally. <br> The 1,149-foot Stratosphere Tower is a true Las Vegas landmark and home to some of the world’s most original attractions. The Stratosphere thrill rides are the world’s three tallest: the Big Shot, X-Scream, and the new Insanity – our scariest yet! If a culinary adventure is more your style, try the 360 degree rotating Top of the World Restaurant & Lounge. And for you lovebirds, The Chapel in the Clouds, over 100 stories above Las Vegas, is an ideal place to tie the knot or renew your vows.
Balboa Park, California
1549 El Prado - San Diego, CA 92101
http://www.balboapark.org/
Balboa Park is made up of more than 1000 acres and offers fifteen museums, various gardens, arts and international culture associations, as well as the San Diego Zoo, making it a place that offers something historical, horticultural, educational and recreational for everyone. Approximately 14 million visitors come to the park each year. Displays of internationally significant art treasures, exotic animal species, unique model railroads, world folk art, sports memorabilia and rare aircraft–to name a few–are on view in the Park's museums.
Los Angeles Zoo, California
5333 Zoo Drive - Los Angeles, CA 90027
http://www.lazoo.org/
<iframe id='palyer28' src='http://www.youtube.com/embed/?listType=user_uploads&list=TheLosAngelesZoo'></iframe id='palyer28'>
What can be more relaxing than a family day at the zoo? The Los Angeles Zoo is home to various animals --including exotic animals, and is very affordable. It is located in the plush hills of Griffith Park, which in and of itself, provides picturesque walks that overlook the enire city. The zoo also includes a gorgeous btanical garden that flaunts some of the worlds most magnificent flora. See pink flamingoes and exotic birds, amphibians, reptiles, tigers, and elephants of Asia! Undoubtedly, a visit to the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens will be a daytime adventure that the entire family enjoys, and will never forget.
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home > education > colleges > new jersey colleges
College Profile: Essex County College
Essex County College is an accredited, co-educational, two-year, public, community college located in Essex County, New Jersey. Its primary campus is in Newark. Other facilities include the West Essex Campus in West Caldwell and other satellite centers around Essex County. Essex County College was established in 1966 as the public, two-year, open access community college of Essex County, admitted its first students in temporary quarters in Downtown Newark in 1968, and moved to its current permanent site in the heart of the University Heights district of the city in 1976, and offers degree programs in Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and Associate in Applied Science degree programs, and certificate programs. Approximately 25,000 people enroll each year in Essex County College's various degree and non-degree programs. Essex County College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
Essex County College, an open access community college, serves the dynamic needs of diverse constituencies through comprehensive educational programs and services.
Essex County College Website
14,225 Student Body Size Yes On-Campus Housing
0 Fall Applicants 24 Total Dormitory Capacity
Yes Less than one year certificate Yes One but less than two years certificate
Social Sciences, General.
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs, Other.
Accounting.
Biology/Biological Sciences, General.
Music, General.
Physical Therapist Assistant.
Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General.
Legal Assistant/Paralegal.
Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services, Other.
Chemical Technology/Technician.
Computer Programming, Specific Applications.
Energy Management and Systems Technology/Technician.
Chemistry, General.
Opticianry/Ophthalmic Dispensing Optician.
Computer and Information Sciences, General.
Art/Art Studies, General.
Education, General.
Physical Education Teaching and Coaching.
Civil Engineering Technology/Technician.
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General.
Mathematics, General.
Social Work.
Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General.
Question and Answer about "Essex County College"
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Connecting Tailgate and Fostergate
Published: 02/09/1998 at 1:00 AM
Joseph Farah About | Email | Archive
Joseph Farah is founder, editor and chief executive officer of WND. He is the author or co-author of 13 books that have sold more than 5 million copies, including his latest, "The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament." Before launching WND as the first independent online news outlet in 1997, he served as editor in chief of major market dailies including the legendary Sacramento Union.
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What do the Tailgate and Fostergate scandals have in common besides official lies, cover-up, and bogus charges of right-wing conspiracy?
Even the establishment press is beginning to notice some other eerie parallels – especially concerning the role played in two major scandals by Linda R. Tripp.
“During the summer of 1994, the White House instructed the Pentagon to hire Linda R. Tripp into its public affairs office without so much as a job interview, even though the office had no openings at the time,” the Washington Post reported Saturday. “The White House’s directive struck Pentagon officials as curious. They had not asked the White House for any promising job candidates in public affairs, and were unaccustomed to such edicts, according to a senior official in that office who agreed to speak only on background but had been authorized to discuss Tripp’s employment. Nevertheless, within weeks, the White House had succeeded in removing a woman who had become exasperated with her fading role there and outspoken about her dissatisfaction with top Clinton officials. And Tripp won a substantial raise. Her new salary was about $20,000 higher than her pay as a White House secretary.”
It was Tripp’s promotion-in-exile that led, several years later, to the friendship with another White House castoff, Monica Lewinsky. Tripp’s 20 hours of covert tape-recordings provided the most tangible evidence of a sexual relationship between President Clinton and Lewinsky.
The Post story continues: “It remains unclear what motivated Clinton aides to offer Tripp such a career-enhancing favor in 1994. After all, for months she was left in limbo, even though she had asked them repeatedly for a new job after her boss left and the new White House counsel brought in his own secretary. Did they become eager to remove her because she was considered, as one former White House co-worker suggests, a ‘dangerous commodity … kind of a loose cannon” with a bad attitude? Did the White House want to make her happy because they feared she might possess damaging information about events surrounding the suicide of Vincent Foster, the deputy White House counsel in whose office she had sometimes worked? Or did they feel obliged to help find a job for a woman whose services were no longer needed but who had put in many years with the government?”
There seems to be no question that, back in 1994, Linda Tripp got very special treatment, reminiscent of the kind of unusual and preferential treatment Monica Lewinsky received following her internship in the White House. Tripp was displaced in her clerical role when Bernard Nussbaum resigned as White House counsel and was replaced by Lloyd Cutler, who brought along his own along his own executive assistant.
An unnamed Pentagon official is quoted by the Post as saying: “What was unusual was the strength of the request (from the White House). … There were no options. There was no interview. It was kind of the extreme of possibilities.”
Tripp’s starting salary in her new Pentagon job, one for which she possessed no experience, “was high,” the official said, at $69,427. It represented a 45 percent increase from her secretary salary. And it got higher quickly. Her favorable evaluations led to a current salary of $88,000.
That same Pentagon official confided that Tripp came over to the Defense Department with an attitude, demanding a private office and chiding co-workers. Several colleagues recall her saying, according to the Post, that she had been exiled from the White House because she “knew too much about Whitewater.”
If she did know anything about Whitewater or Foster’s death, she certainly did not disclose it to investigators – which raises the question of whether the big promotion was a payoff for silence.
So what role did Tripp play in the Foster case? She insists that Foster left the office without his briefcase. Why is this assertion important? Because it contradicted an FBI statement by aide Thomas Castleton who said Foster was carrying one when he left the office that day. Reporter Christopher Ruddy points out that Castleton’s FBI statement was missing from the files handed over to the Senate Banking Committee for its investigation.
It was Tripp’s version of events that became the accepted official version. Why? Because the U.S. Park Police report did not indicate any briefcase in Foster’s car at Fort Marcy Park – even though several witnesses say they saw one in the Honda. What ever happened to Castleton? He, too, got a promotion, raise and transfer to the Justice Department.
Last year, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Park Police, asking for a report on promotions and raises received by those officers directly involved in the investigation of Foster’s death. Wouldn’t you know it? Almost every single one had gone on to bigger and better things. What a coincidence, huh?
One of the most serious allegations in the Tailgate scandal is that the White House “took care” of someone who offered the president sexual favors. Won’t it be ironic if the White House now gets “tripped up” in Tailgate, by someone it bought silence from in Fostergate?
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Favorite Crime Fiction of 2016,
Part IV: Stephen Miller
Stephen Miller was a regular contributor to Mystery News, writing the “In the Beginning” column about new crime-fiction writers for several years. He has also penned posts for The Rap Sheet and reviews for January Magazine. Originally from Central Ohio, Miller now makes his home in Massachusetts with his wife, Leslie, and spends his days working in the insurance industry.
• Crime Plus Music: Twenty Stories of Music-Themed Noir,
edited by Jim Fusilli (Three Rooms Press)
• In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper, edited by Lawrence Block (Pegasus)
Short-story anthologies look easy—a reasonably well-connected author or editor handpicks an assembly of similar writers, gives them the theme of the collection, sits back … and voila, a year later appears a perfectly balanced quilt of short fiction, memorable but not overwhelming, that readers can dip into every now and again. It strikes me as not unlike leading a jazz quintet—everyone gets a solo, but no one should be a spotlight hog to the detriment of the other journeymen. Well, that’s the theory, anyway. Often, the results are less than optimal. The theme is weak, perhaps, or the editing too light and the stories entirely forgettable once a page is turned. In late 2016, two terrific new anthologies broke the mold, favoring discerning readers of short fiction with tales of particularly high quality. Most of us know Jim Fusilli as the creator of the Terry Orr series of private eye novels (Hard, Hard City, etc.). In his day job, however, Fusilli is the rock and pop music critic of The Wall Street Journal, which makes him well-suited to edit an anthology of crime fiction set in and around the music scene. While many of the stories in Crime Plus Music focus on musicians (among them Naomi Rand’s “The Misfits,” about a creepy, predatory producer taking advantage of a naïve girl band), a surprising number of them center around the role music plays in the lives of civilians and how we react to music and let songs serve as the soundtracks of our lives (see “Me Untamed,” by David Liss, for what can result from some auditory courage). A particular standout here is David Corbett’s “Are You With Me, Doctor Wu?” which contains a terrific villain who reminded me of Dashiell Hammett’s Kaspar Gutman, plus several sly references to the Steely Dan album which contains the inspiration for Corbett’s title. (On a related note, this year I also dipped into Fusilli’s Catching Up: Connecting with Great 21st Century Music, a collection of essays about the current state of pop music, and I direct all music lovers to follow my lead.)
In his own 2016 collection, In Sunlight or in Shadow, Lawrence Block amasses another impressive roster of short-story writers (not a single one of whom is duplicated from Crime Plus Music), who were asked to choose a favorite painting by Edward Hopper, the 20th-century American master most closely identified with the theme of urban loneliness and solitude, and go at it. Not all the resulting yarns are mysteries; Jill D. Block’s “The Story of Caroline,” for instance, certainly has an element of the unknown, but it can’t be truly classified as crime fiction. Yet each contains the elements associated with Hopper—characters with troubled pasts and uncertain futures, alone in their thoughts with or without helpful accomplices. Many of the authors mustered here pop up frequently in themed anthologies (Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Joyce Carol Oates), but Block also throws two surprises at us. Craig Ferguson, formerly of late-night television, contributes a laugh-out loud yarn that contains both a whale and the ghost of Elvis Presley; while Gail Levin—author of the definitive Edward Hopper biography—offers a story about the value of owning a Hopper original (as Block notes in his introduction, Levin tells us about “an extraordinary little-known episode toward the end of the artist’s life, of which she has firsthand knowledge”).
Both of these short-fiction collections are well worth your attention.
• The Girls, by Emma Cline
(Random House)
I suppose it’s possible that reasonable minds could fairly debate the inclusion of young Emma Cline’s literary-fiction debut in a tally of exceptional crime fiction, but I long ago gave up that particular ghost—if there’s crime at the center of a story, that’s good enough for me. Cline’s coming-of-age novel about a girl at the periphery of a Manson Family-like cult envelops the reader in a cloud of foreboding that the noir masters could respect. Set during the Summer of Love, 1967, this tale finds an impressionable and largely abandoned 14-year-old Evie Boyd walking her bicycle on the side of a road in Marin County, California, just a few short weeks before she is due to be shipped off to boarding school. That’s when her life changes. After encountering a group of free-spirited girls in a park, she’s swept up by them and taken to their knockabout compound. There she is drawn not to the godlike Russell, this novel’s Charles Manson stand-in, but instead to raven-haired Suzanne, the leader of these acolytes who blindly follow Russell’s increasingly erratic orders. Although in the case of Suzanne, she also serves to provide subtle manipulation, egging Russell on to exercise his worst and deadliest tendencies. Suzanne provides the dramatic lynchpin to both this book’s final act of violence and the haunting secret that Evie will take with her into her adulthood. Cline’s prose is occasionally difficult to claw through, but the characters and atmosphere make up for any stylistic overreach. Fans of Laura Lippman and Donna Tartt will be rewarded here.
Labels: Best Books 2016, Stephen Miller
Richard L. Pangburn said...
The Hopper that stands out is NIGHTHAWKS, which was the inspiration for Tom Waits' classic 1975 album, NIGHTHAWKS AT THE DINER. The album ciover was a parody of the picture. Wikipedia notes other parodies of that particular picture as well.
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Limiting minimum wage no way to lure teachers to Illinois
Published: Monday, August 27, 2018 01:01 PM
SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Andy Manar said he is disappointed but not surprised by the governor’s veto Sunday of a plan to raise the minimum wage for Illinois teachers for the first time since 1980.
For nearly four decades, state statute has required Illinois school districts to pay teachers a minimum salary of about $10,000. Based on decades of inflation, the minimum mandated salary today should be about $32,000.
Manar (D-Bunker Hill), the Senate sponsor of the measure, noted that there are teachers throughout Illinois today who live at or below the federal poverty line, something he said he finds unconscionable given the professionalism and dedication required to educate children.
It was hoped that raising the minimum salary would help Illinois tackle an acute teacher shortage crisis by sending a message that the work teachers do is valued and attracting more young people to the profession.
“Refusing to guarantee professional educators a livable minimum wage is no way to lure more teachers to Illinois,” he said. “I’m disappointed in the governor’s veto, and I know thousands of dedicated, hard-working, creative educators throughout the state are, too.”
Under the measure (Senate Bill 2892), the state would update the minimum mandated salary for teachers annually for the next four years. After that, subject to review by the General Assembly, it would be increased according to the Consumer Price Index. The phase-in looks like this under the proposal:
$32,076 minimum for the 2019-2020 school year
It is unknown if the General Assembly will attempt to override the veto.
Illinois Education Association President Kathi Griffin said members of the organization, which backed the minimum wage bill, also are disappointed but unsurprised by the governor’s veto.
“The governor repeatedly says he’s a friend of education, but his actions tell us otherwise. Senator Manar’s legislation would have been the best way to combat the teacher shortage in Illinois. Studies show the most effective way to alleviate a teacher shortage crisis is through respect and adequate wages,” Griffin said.
“By vetoing this bill, the governor is disrespecting every teacher, student and community in Illinois. We are in the midst of a crisis the governor does not seem interested in fixing.”
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Publicado el Viernes, 13 Abril 2018 11:44
The exaggerated emphasis that conservative autocratic politicians now place on their political actions is an attempt to obstruct the process of emancipation taking place within their societies. This is how the new democratic forces in the Asian region see the current discourse on Confucianism and they reject it because its declared values do not reflect their cultural heritage or their recent social development. *Meanwhile, in the West, those who base their arguments on 'Asian values' are detractors of the welfare state.
Although this dual vision and instrumentation of the teachings of Confucianism could be very helpful for the development of Western civilization, one would need to highlight its genuine humanist character, which is an aspect that is often ignored by scholars and philosophers in the West.
The current global debate on Asian values is just a highly manipulated polemic between two different political and cultural traditions due to the conflict of economic and political interests between the old industrial countries of Europe and North America, on the one hand, and the growing economies of the Pacific area, on the other. Another dimension of the defenders of these Asian values is their maintaining of the current political and social status of their countries by means of simple mythology.
That is why the discussion of this issue remains at the practical political level where the instrumentalization of East Asian values occupies the foreground and almost nothing is discussed at the conceptual, philosophical and political theory levels.
Since the early 1990s, with the decline of socialism, the leaders of some flourishing Asian countries, such as Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who resigned after 30 years in office, and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahather, are trying to find a new world order. In addition to this, they advertise their authoritarian politics, presenting it as 'the Asian way,' and they assume that it was their values that led to the celebrated combination of economic progress and oriental social discipline that they say are responsible for the drive and success of East Asia.
In 1991, the government of Singapore presented its version of Asian values in its' White Paper ', where there are two themes that are the core of this version: 'Nation before community, society above ‘Self ' and 'Consensus takes the place of Controversy '. And in 1993, Singapore’s former ambassador to the US, Tommy Koh published a catalog of ten points thought be the values that led to the success and drive of East Asia, namely:
1. - Orientals do not believe in the extreme individualism practiced in the West because in Asian society the individual seeks to balance their interests with those of their family and the society, so that in case of doubt, these take priority. 2. - Oriental Asians believe in strong families which they see as protective communities and then there are the typical so-called Asian values such as 3.- Eagerness to learn 4.- Thrift and moderation. 5. - Dedication to Work. 6. - Team spirit. 7. - Koh believes that there is an Asian version of the social contract between the people and the government whereby the government maintains security and order while guaranteeing the satisfaction of basic needs such as work, education and health. Citizens are expected to observe the law, respect the government, work hard, save and get their children used to learning eagerly and to be independent. 8. - In some countries, governments want their citizens to be co-owners of the country. 9. - East Asians demand that their governments maintain a healthy moral environment and are against the sale of pornographic magazines such as Playboy. 10. - The good governments of East Asia want a free press but do not believe that this freedom of the press should be absolute, as it is in the West.
For those who defend this theory of 'Confucian capitalism', it is not difficult for them to view it as the explanation for the economic success of East Asia and they point out that loyalty, frugality, conscientiousness, education and harmony are the essential characteristics of that tradition.
Lee Kuan Yew says that Confucianism has helped in two major areas, by instilling a willingness to put the needs of the nation or society above those of the individual and fostering the habit of seeking consensus. In this political model, the minority accepts being a minority and is willing to join with the majority for a certain time, thereby avoiding or reducing internal struggle.
Addendum: This conflict of values between the West and East Asia is the most important one for the time being and it will determine whether the new world will have a new leader and whether violence and cruelty will continue to be the main characteristics of human society or it will evolve towards new and beautiful paradigms.
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Los Angeles Times owner’s optimism toward future of print journalism inspires sophomore
Posted on : April 29, 2019 By Hope Li
The Los Angeles Festival of Books at USC on April 13-14 offered several booths for visitors to explore. The event also featured several book talks and discussions among authors, including journalists as well as the owner of the Los Angeles Times. Photo taken by Accolade adviser Tommy Li
I only knew he was Asian from internet searches (yes, I know that Wikipedia is not the best reliable source).
And that he bought the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune, Hoy Los Angeles and more for $500 million in February 2018.
On April 13 at the Los Angeles Festival of Books at USC, I attended one of the sessions in which this millionaire was the featured guest speaker.
He spoke with a slight accent that I couldn’t quite place, and his deep voice surprised me for someone who stole Luke Skywalker’s hairstyle and made it work with a gray, black and white color scheme.
Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, net worth of $7.1 billion from the work he has done with his companies NantHealth, NantKwest and NantWorks, 2017’s No. 1 wealthiest Los Angeleno, part owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, high school graduate at 16 years old and doctor by 23.
This is all from online research after-the-fact. Just give me some credit here before I say I didn’t really know the other guy (the moderator), either.
Ladies and gentlemen, Los Angeles Times’ executive editor Norman, “Norm,” Pearlstine, who previously worked as Time Inc.’s editor-in-chief and served as executive editor for The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg L.P. and Forbes. (For those of you non-journalese-speaking human beings, this is a really, really big deal.)
On April 13, the two of them were part of the “In Conversation” session at the Festival of Books at USC.
The annual Times-hosted event “gathers writers, poets, artists, filmmakers, musicians and emerging storytellers,” according to the LA Times Events website. The discussion ranged from how Soon-Shiong bought the ex-TRONC-owned newspaper in 2018 to his experience of living in South Africa under apartheid, which involved the racial mistreatment of native South Africans.
When Soon-Shiong bought the Times, he told the hundreds of people in the audience that he only had 48 hours to “in my mind, [not only] save a local paper, but also save democracy.”
Well, I always thought two days is a long time, but this is $500 million, people. The adult world doesn’t work like that when Tronc Inc. is waiting for your money, y’all.
For me as a journalism student, watching Pearlstine refrain from asking Soon-Shiong yes-or-no questions presented a real-life scenario of what reporters do. Pearlstine didn’t always leave it open-ended but included details allowing Soon-Shiong to expand on his answers.
So when Pearlstine mentioned print journalism, he also asked how Soon-Shiong saw the publication’s brand. I took his response to represent the role of all news outlets — including The Accolade — to provide local news and information to inspire the nation. (We might not inspire the nation, but school is a good start.)
He also said the Times is responsible to find stories that are of interest to the readers, not necessarily the advertisers.
“Now this is not a pitch to subscribe,” Soon-Shiong said, “but it is a pitch to subscribe,” prompting laughter from the packed crowd.
Pearlstine added, “But don’t think you can leave this room without signing up.”
And Soon-Shiong again, “It’s the only way for us to survive.”
This didn’t just remind me of the often rumored dying industry that is print journalism, but the popular YouTube tagline urging viewers to like videos and subscribe to the channel. (Be sure to write me in the comments — er, Leave a Reply section — down below!)
Sharing his background as a Chinese, non-white, South African, Soon-Shiong said it taught him the “dignity of strength [and] generated, for me, an empathy” for people today who feel unrecognized, misunderstood and dissatisfied with their state-given rights. When those people say others don’t understand because they didn’t walk in their shoes, Soon-Shiong said he has walked and lived in those shoes.
I see myself as an empathetic person also, and although I have not encountered extreme racial inequality, I tried to put myself in the shoes of older generation reporters at the festival.
One attraction that I visited after listening to these newspaper bigwigs featured typewriters, some colorful and others in glossy black, but all old. I tried to use one and found myself stumbling over letters and leaving them out when I didn’t punch a key hard enough.
Every time I missed a letter I had to keep spamming the backspace button to go backward and type the letter again.
Even seeing how the machines worked without an electric plug or anything was amazing. Imagine reporters several decades ago stabbing away at a clunky keyboard to sell a story (reminds me of some funny scenes in a movie called “The Front Page”). Must have been a great workout, but such a pain to compared to today’s almost-silent butterfly computer keyboards.
Today, the future of physical newspapers seem bleak. Like future-generations-will-be-in-awe-of-such-an-inconvenient-relic bleak. But that will change if print journalism gets more readers — that means you!
This is not a pitch to read The Accolade, but it is a pitch to read The Accolade.
If our reporters aren’t putting the interest of readers first, tell us in the Letters to the Editor; don’t worry, it’s email or social media now, not a snail mail letter.
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Government of Canada selects design for Canadian Surface Combatants
Future Royal Canadian Navy warships to be based on BAE Systems’ Type 26 design
Through the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the Government of Canada is ensuring that the Royal Canadian Navy has the ships needed to carry out its important work, while creating significant economic benefits from coast to coast to coast.
Today, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, announced that the Government of Canada has officially selected Lockheed Martin Canada for the design of 15 new Canadian Surface Combatants that will be built at Irving Shipbuilding’s Halifax Shipyard.
The winning bid is based on the BAE Systems Type 26 Global Combat Ship. The Government of Canada and Irving Shipbuilding will work alongside Lockheed Martin Canada to customize the ship design to meet Canada’s requirements and to incorporate Canadian systems and equipment. This design work is expected to take three to four years to complete. Construction is set to begin in the early 2020s.
The initial contract with Irving Shipbuilding is valued at $185 million (including taxes) and will increase as design work progresses, resulting in significant benefits across the Canadian economy. The Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy will apply to this contract, ensuring that for every dollar the government puts into this contract, a dollar goes back into Canada’s economy.
The National Shipbuilding Strategy is a long-term commitment to domestic shipbuilding that is about revitalizing and reinvigorating a world-class marine industry that equips the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard, supports Canadian technological innovation, creates well-paying stable employment and benefits the economic prosperity of Canada’s coasts and waterways.
Contracts awarded to date through the National Shipbuilding Strategy will contribute an estimated $10.9 billion of gross domestic product and create or maintain more than 10,000 jobs during the period of 2012 to 2022.
The winning design
“Our government is providing the Royal Canadian Navy with the ships it needs to do its important work of protecting Canadians. This procurement process for Canada’s future fleet of Canadian Surface Combatants was conducted in an open, fair and transparent manner that yielded the best ship design, and design team, to meet our needs for many years to come. Today’s announcement is yet another example of how the National Shipbuilding Strategy is supporting jobs and prosperity in communities across Canada, including here in Halifax.”
The Honourable Carla Qualtrough
Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility
“Through Canada’s defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, we are providing our women and men in uniform with the equipment they need to do the important job we ask of them. Today marks an important day for our Royal Canadian Navy as we move closer to the construction of our 15 future warships. These highly advanced, state-of-the-art warships will enable our navy to monitor and defend our waters here at home, help us support our international allies and keep Canadians safe.”
The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan
Minister of National Defence
“The Canadian Surface Combatant project is one of the biggest procurements in Canada’s history. Our government’s policy ensures that Lockheed Martin Canada will invest in Canadian companies and workers, creating more jobs and supporting innovative research. When these ships are delivered, Canada will have a stronger naval fleet, with a strong and skilled shipbuilding industry to support it.”
The Honourable Navdeep Bains
Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development
“We are proud to have been chosen as the prime contractor and shipbuilder of the new Canadian Surface Combatants and to continue our legacy of providing the men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy with the modern, Canadian-made ships they need to serve and protect Canada’s interests. The award of this contract demonstrates the confidence the Government of Canada has in our shipbuilders, who today are hard at work building the Royal Canadian Navy’s Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships. We look forward to working with Lockheed Martin Canada and BAE Systems to finalize the design and start constructing the first Canadian Surface Combatant in the early 2020s.”
Kevin McCoy
President, Irving Shipbuilding
“This award is true validation of our Canadian capability. Our team is honoured, knowing that we offered the right solution for Canada and a proven ability to perform on complex defence programs. Lockheed Martin Canada is ready to continue serving as Canada’s trusted Combat System Integrator, as it has for more than three decades, leveraging the innovation and talent here at home that will ultimately result in unprecedented economic outcomes for Canada.”
Gary Fudge
Vice President and General Manager, Lockheed Martin Canada Rotary and Mission Systems
The Canadian Surface Combatant project is the largest, most complex procurement undertaken by the Government of Canada, with a total estimated project budget of $56 billion to $60 billion.
The ships will replace the Halifax-class frigates and the retired Iroquois-class destroyers. With them, the Royal Canadian Navy will have modern and capable ships to monitor and defend Canada’s waters, to continue to contribute to international naval operations for decades to come and to rapidly deploy credible naval forces worldwide, on short notice.
This entire procurement process has been overseen by an independent fairness monitor. Reports are available online.
The bid met all of Canada’s mandatory compliance requirements and has satisfied the due diligence process.
Construction on the Canadian Surface Combatants is scheduled to begin in the early 2020s.
Lockheed Martin Canada’s winning bid includes BAE Systems, CAE, L3 Technologies, MDA and Ultra Electronics Maritime Systems.
Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/publi...
Government of Canada delivers on its commitment to the Navy by announcing next steps in fleet procurement
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Halifax Shipyard to build two Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships for the Canadian Coast Guard
Irving Shipbuilding today released the following statement in response to Government of Canada’s announcement that the company will build two Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships for the Canadian Coast Guard:
Congratulations to the men and women of the Canadian Coast Guard on today’s announcement that Halifax Shipyard will build two Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships for its fleet. We are proud to be selected to build the two ice-capable, multi-purpose Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships that will increase the Coast Guard fleet’s capability and capacity and enhance its important work in the Arctic.
On behalf of our 2,000 shipbuilders, we would like to thank the Government of Canada for their confidence in our shipbuilding team, and for their proactive approach to creating a sustainable shipbuilding industry in Canada, a key objective of the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
Construction of two additional Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships for the Coast Guard along with continuous Halifax-class maintenance work will ensure steady workload at the Halifax Shipyard leading up to construction of the Canadian Surface Combatants in 2023. We look forward to working closely with the Canadian Coast Guard on construction of these two additional Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships.
An artist rendering shows the potential design for the Canadian Coast Guard's two Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships that will be built at Halifax Shipyard.
Minister Sajjan marks the start of construction for the fourth Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship
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Black Violin is composed of classically trained violist and violinist Wil B. and Kev Marcus who combine their classical training and hip-hop influences to create a distinctive multi-genre sound that is often described as “classical boom.” The band released their major label debut Stereotypes (featuring Black Thought of The Roots and MC Pharoahe Monch) on Universal Music which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover Chart and #4 on the Billboard R&B Chart. Black Violin has shared stages with top names including Kayne West, Aerosmith and Tom Petty, and has creatively collaborated with the likes of Wu-Tang Clan, Wyclef Jean and Alicia Keys.
Wil and Kev place heavy emphasis on educational outreach, and have performed for more than 100,000 students in North America and Europe in the past 12 months, including the featured musical act for the Blue Ribbon Festival at the Music Center in Los Angeles, CA where they performed for 19,000 fifth grade students from the Greater Los Angeles area over a 3 day period. The band is endorsed by Yamaha Music, and has partnered with the National Association for Music Manufacturers (NAMM) to continue their advocacy for accessible music education.
Black Violin has adopted Mary M. Bethune Elementary School in Hollywood, FL.
“We are incredibly excited to become Turnaround Artist because this perfectly aligns with our career goal…to educate, entertain, and inspire a new generation of creative innovators and forward thinkers.”
Back To All Artists
FOLLOW BLACK VIOLIN
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Richard Hooker Grubaugh
Name Richard Hooker Grubaugh
Born 3 September 1815 Hayesville, Richland County, Ohio
Died 11 July 1897 Mansfield, Richland County, Ohio
Buried Mansfield Cemetery
Ohio County Marriages
14 Jun 1844, Richland County
Richard H. Grubaugh & Elizabeth Fiddler
1880 Federal Census. Mansfield, Richland County, Ohio
Series: T9 Roll: 1062 Page: 348
R. H. Grubaugh, 65, cooper, b. Ohio, father b. Pennsylvania, mother b. Maryland
Elisabeth Grubaugh, 59, wife, keeping house, b. Pennsylvania, parents b. Pennsylvania
T. James Grubaugh, 30, son, railroader, b. Ohio, father b. Ohio, mother b. Pennsylvania
Ellie C. Grubaugh, 24, daughter, at home, b. ditto
Walter D. Grubaugh, 21, son, at home, b. ditto
Also a boarder Marinda Casebeer, age 77
Brother J. W. Grubaugh is also living in Mansfield.
Semi-Weekly News, 13 July 1897, Vol. 13, No. 56
Grubaugh, Richard Hooker -- Richard Hooker Grubaugh died at his home, No. 107 North Diamond Street, shortly after 12 o'clock Sunday afternoon, aged nearly 83 years. The deceased was the oldest citizen of Mansfield born within the boundaries of Richland County. He was born on a farm about one mile east of Hayesville, Sept. 3, 1815. During those days there were yet a number of the original inhabitants, the Indians, in these parts. When the subject of this sketch was a child his family moved to a point 1½ miles east of Ashland in Richland County on a farm where they resided until Richard was 15 years of age. Then the father sold the place and took up land 2½ miles south of Perrysville. At the age of 25 years, Mr. Grubaugh drove a stage coach and was in charge of the United States mails between Hayesville and this city for four years. Afterward for four years more he carried the mails and drove a stage between Hayesville and Wooster. While in the service of "Uncle Sam" Mr. Grubaugh had a number of thrilling adventures. Mr. Grubaugh met Johnny Appleseed many times in his youth. He also drove "Tippecanoe" Harrison through Richland County in 1840. Jan. 14, 1843, Mr. Grubaugh was united in marriage with Elizabeth Fidler, of Berks County, Pa. Five children were born, including three sons and two daughters. Joseph L., resides at Indianapolis, Ind., and Walter d., and Ella C. Grubaugh live in Mansfield. The two oldest children, John H. and Susanna, are dead. The mother died about 17 years ago. Mr. Grubaugh was the oldest fireman in Mansfield at the time of his death. He served as a member of engine company No. 1 and also acted as treasurer of the organization until its dissolution. He has been a member of Mansfield lodge No. 19, I.O.O.F. for more than 40 years. Although very aged Mr. Grubaugh's mind was quite clear and his memory was remarkably good. He is of a long lived race. An aunt died at the age of 102 years and an uncle attained the age of 99 years, while his father lived to see is 98th. milestone. Seven brothers and sisters survive Richard Hooker Grubaugh, only one of whom is under 60 years of age. Mrs. Margaret Lantz, of Pulaski, is 81 years of age. Mrs. Rachel Miller, of Perrysville, is 77 years of age. Jonathan Grubaugh, of Van Wert, is 69 years old. Mrs. Elzina Brinley, of this city, is 67 years of age. James W. Grubaugh, of this city, has attained 63 years. Wilson Grubaugh, of Delaware, is 61 years of age. Robert F. Grubaugh, of Galion, is 59 years old. Two sisters, Mrs. Mary McClellan and Mrs. Henrietta Wright, died at the ages of 75 and 57 years respectively.
Funeral Tuesday, July 13, at 3:30 p.m. Mansfield Lodge No. 19, of which the deceased was a member, will attend the funeral in a body, meting at the lodge room at 3 p.m. The old volunteer fireman of the city will also meet tonight at the fire department station to make arrangmem4nts to attend the funeral.
Father Jonathan H. Grubaugh, b. about 1781, Toboyne Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania , d. 15 June 1878, Marion Township Morrow County, Ohio (Age ~ 97 years)
Mother Henrietta Wallace, b. about 1799, Virginia , d. 1843, Hayesville, Vermillion Township, Ashland County, Ohio (Age ~ 44 years)
Married about 1814
Family/Spouse Elizabeth F. Fidler, b. 14 January 1822, Berks County, Pennsylvania , d. 27 November 1880, Mansfield, Richland County, Ohio (Age 58 years)
Married 14 January 1844 Richland County, Ohio
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Arab Extremists’ Logic Calls for Annihilation of Arabs in the Holy Land
Dr. Robert D. Crane
Posted Jan 12, 2009 •Permalink • Printer-Friendly Version
by Dr. Robert D. Crane
On January 6, 2009, the exiled political head of Hamas, Khalid Mish’al, in an article published in http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/06/gaza-israel-hamas offer,ed an “official” Hamas position on Palestinian Nakba Two, the first one being in 1948. This policy statement, not published in the American media, is entitled “This Brutality Will Never Break Our Will.”
The first four paragraphs read as follows:
“For 18 months my people in Gaza have been under siege, incarcerated inside the world’s biggest prison, sealed off from land, air and sea, caged and starved, denied even medication for our sick. After the slow death policy came the bombardment. In this most densely populated of places, nothing has been spared Israel’s warplanes, from government buildings to homes, mosques, hospitals, schools and markets. More than 540 have been killed and thousands permanently maimed. A third are women and children. Whole families have been massacred, some while they slept.
“This river of blood is being shed under lies and false pretexts. For six months we in Hamas observed the ceasefire. Israel broke it repeatedly from the start. Israel was required to open crossings to Gaza, and extend the truce to the West Bank. It proceeded to tighten its deadly siege of Gaza, repeatedly cutting electricity and water supplies. The collective punishment did not halt, but accelerated - as did the assassinations and killings. Thirty Gazans were killed by Israeli fire and hundreds of patients died as a direct effect of the siege during the so-called ceasefire. Israel enjoyed a period of calm. Our people did not.
“When this broken truce neared its end, we expressed our readiness for a new comprehensive truce in return for lifting the blockade and opening all Gaza border crossings, including Rafah. Our calls fell on deaf ears. Yet still we would be willing to begin a new truce on these terms following the complete withdrawal of the invading forces from Gaza.
“No rockets have ever been fired from the West Bank. But 50 died and hundreds more were injured there last year at Israel’s hands, while its expansionism proceeded relentlessly. We are meant to be content with shrinking scraps of territory, a handful of cantons at Israel’s mercy, enclosed by it from all sides. The truth is Israel seeks a one-sided ceasefire, observed by my people alone, in return for siege, starvation, bombardment, assassinations, incursions and colonial settlement. What Israel wants is a gratuitous ceasefire.
“The logic of those who demand that we stop our resistance is absurd. They absolve the aggressor and occupier - armed with the deadliest weapons of death and destruction - of responsibility, while blaming the victim, prisoner and occupied. Our modest, home-made rockets are our cry of protest to the world. Israel and its American and European sponsors want us to be killed in silence. But die in silence we will not.”
What is missing here? Nowhere does Khalid Mish’al, Head of Hamas’ Political Bureau, offer or even mention anything constructive about the future of the Holy Land. This is perhaps because he correctly thinks that the two-state solution is a joke and incorrectly thinks that a federation of peoples is unrealistic. The only other alternatives are either the enslavement and expulsion of all Palestinians or else the elimination of all Jews. The Jews therefore, quite logically, have only one logical alternative, which is to enslave and then expel all Arabs, even though this would surely bring about the eventual destruction of Israel and of all the Jews along with it.
Faced with this artificial dilemma, the three contending political parties in Israel would seem to have no alternative but to launch the Third Phase of response to Palestinian demands for self-determination, namely, urban warfare and its escalation until the Palestinians will have to either emigrate or die. Probably half would die, mostly by choice, but the other half, about 600,000, might be driven into Egypt. Most of the rest of the Palestinians, those in the West Bank, would probably prefer to flee to Jordan, as they did in 1948, and those who resisted could easily be eliminated over a period of a very few months. Probably only a half-way solution will be chosen, which would merely postpone the inevitable.
The only practical solution to the above dilemmas is for the responsible leaders of Hamas, the duly elected leadership, to dethrone the radicals, especially those who think they are defending Arab dignity by sending useless fire-crackers across the border into Israel. The Palestinian government would then be free to enter into a permanent hudna based on immediate, unconditional recognition of the State of Israel as the basis for a decade or so of faith-based reconciliation and faith-based cooperation in removing all the injustices of the past sixty years in an Abraham Federation, as has been spelled out now for decades by supporting position papers, such as those from the Center for Economic and Social Justice.
This solution clearly is humanly impossible, which is why both Jews and Arabs need to rely on a power beyond themselves in pursuit of peace, prosperity, and freedom through compassionate justice. This was the profound commitment of President Ronald Reagan during our discussion when he asked me to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates in 1981. This long-range strategic approach foundered when Israel, with the prior knowledge and support of U.S. policy makers, invaded Lebanon. This started a series of initiatives by materialistic and myopic strategists, led personally by Henry Kissinger, who focused on mere survival through tactical compromise rather than on a higher framework of shared truth and its expression in transcendent law.
The problem is that neither Mash’al nor the Likudniks have any political solutions, other than victory, which is no solution. The commitment to victory without a governing paradigm of compassionate justice for all concerned is merely a step toward mutual annihilation. Such a commitment is a good definition of extremism.
It is precisely when there appears to be no humanly possible solution that we need to look for higher purposes than mere survival and freedom. Throughout the history of civilizations and even of individual persons, whoever focuses only on the self-serving goals of survival or freedom will either die or become enslaved, because these are negative goals. History is shaped by the creative pursuit of peace, prosperity, and freedom for every person and every community and of all humankind through truth and justice, which the Qur’an teaches is the purpose of being.
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Title: Detective Surveillance of Anarchists
Author: Robert A. Pinkerton
Topics: anti-anarchy, Leon Czolgosz, not anarchist, police, surveillance
Source: Scanned from original
Notes: The North American Review, Vol. 173, No. 540 (Nov., 1901), pp. 609–617 Published by: University of Northern Iowa
Robert A. Pinkerton
Detective Surveillance of Anarchists
The police control of anarchists, while by no means a simple matter, may yet be accomplished. To make it effective, however, several fundamental conditions must be observed. The matter must be undertaken in a clean-cut, businesslike manner and the system kept absolutely free from the taint of political influence.
The great trouble with our National Government Detective Service to-day is that politics figure largely in the appointments, and this must result in a lack of efficiency and discipline wherever they take up investigations of plottings by anarchists.
It is perhaps too late to discuss the terrible calamity of President McKinley’s assassination, but it points such a strong moral that the circumstances surrounding it ought not to be lost sight of. With a properly trained and disciplined force of protectors for the President on that day, I believe the tragedy might have been prevented. The first principle of Police guardianship, such as was entrusted to those guarding the President, is to watch the hands of all comers. This is a police axiom that is supposed to be drilled into the minds of all men who have to do this class of work. The hand is the machine and the only machine with which damage can be inflicted. Whether a man is to throw a bomb, or to use a knife, or to fire a pistol, whatever the means of assault, it must be carried out with the hand. Therefore, supervise and control the hands of people surrounding the person to be guarded, and you take a long step toward protecting that person from harm.
Where assassination is intended, it is impossible to guarantee absolute protection. A man may be “picked off” with a rifle at a less or greater distance, or he may be fired on from above while passing through the streets, or beneath a balcony, or a mine may be exploded under him, but against such an assault as was committed on President McKinley by the anarchist, Czolgosz, it is, I believe, possible to guard absolutely with careful, quick-witted men, fully instructed as to their duties, who, although there may be no apprehension of danger in the minds of the general public, are there at all times ever on the alert for just such an attack as that at Buffalo. It would seem that the guards in attendance upon the President that fateful day should have halted Czolgosz the very minute they noticed him in the line with a covered hand, especially a covered right hand. If the hand was really an injured one, no great commotion need have resulted from the act of halting him, but had a concealed weapon been disclosed, as it doubtless would have been at Buffalo, the disturbance arising from the assassin’s being discovered would probably have saved the President’s life. One minute’s inspection would have revealed the assassin’s intent and at least an effort would have been made to make him harmless.
The heads of our Government Secret Service, as a rule, have been men of standing and efficiency; their work heretofore has mainly been the suppression of counterfeiting and frauds against the Government. Appropriations have been too small for what was expected of them, and they have been greatly handicapped by being obliged to appoint their subordinates on political recommendations from men with but little or no experience to fit them for this important service.
There is no intention of, in any way, impugning the present Chief of the United States Secret Service, who, although not having been previously engaged in Police or Detective Service, has proven his capability for the position he holds, but the department of which he is the head has had but very little to do with anarchists, and, as at present organized, I do not believe it would be in a condition to handle this important problem. It would require a thorough reorganization, a large increase in the present force, no little legislation, and a large additional appropriation before much could be done toward controlling or eradicating the dangerous anarchists we have here now as well as those who are coming here in greater or less numbers at all times, and who, of late years, have seemed to do most of their plotting in this country.
If the Government is to take an active hand in the suppression of anarchism, I would advocate the forming of a special department for this purpose, whose whole attention could, at all times, be given to this very serious question.
The anarchists are something like the old “Mollie Maguires” of Pennsylvania. They have their outer and inner circles. The “Mollie Maguires,” who were a band of cut-throats and murderers, were recruited from among the members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians; in fact, they were really an inner circle of that Order. To be a “Mollie Maguire,” a man had to be in the first place an Irishman; in the second place a Roman Catholic (at least in name, although if discovered he had no standing with the Church) ; and in the third place, a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. These conditions were thoroughly well known, and brought odium both to the Hibernians and the Church; yet none of our citizens hated “Mollie Maguirism” and all that it represented and did more in the effort to suppress the evil or fought it more fiercely than the great body of good Catholics and the vast majority of members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Nevertheless, these two bodies constituted outer circles and safe recruiting grounds which made possible the great strength of the “Mollie Maguires.” Under the cloak of protection of religion and of fealty to the fraternal order, it was possible to select those deemed desirable members of the inner circle, to observe them closely, to study their peculiarities, to learn their characters at close range and under the best conditions, and all this without exposing the secrets or manoeuvres of the inner circle.
When it came to breaking up the “Mollie Maguires,” all sorts of measures and plans were resorted to by the men who undertook the task, but it was not until the Church recognized its inability to suppress these bands of murderers by excommunication or by any other means at its command, that they finally gave their consent to the work being done in other ways. It was only then that success was even remotely possible.
Instead of operating under ordinarily accepted detective methods, it was recognized that a man was needed who was an Irishman and a Roman Catholic, and that he would have to become a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in the coal region. It required something more than mere pecuniary reward to secure the right sort of person for this task. The man had to feel that he was serving his church, his race and his country; otherwise, it would be impossible to get any one to undertake a work which invited death by assassination. Such a man, was found in James McParland, connected with our service, who, once he consented to undertake the work, could be relied upon implicitly.
With the anarchists, a diligent and systematic search will not fail to bring to the surface those similarly qualified, who can join groups wherever formed. There would, of course, be lacking the strong religious sentiment and loyalty to the church that actuated the man who risked his life to weed out the “Mollie Maguires”; nevertheless, it will be possible to secure the desired persons. The great majority of anarchists in this country and abroad are a sufficiently harmless body of men and women. They have what they consider advanced ideas on government, or lack of government, but are unalterably opposed to all forms of murder and violence. They realize that such an event as the assassination of President McKinley or of the King of Italy does more harm to their propaganda than anything else that can happen. Therefore, they are violently opposed to the perpetration of these deeds, and those who inspire them. From among this class of anarchists, there doubtless could be secured the material needed for the control and supervision of the “Reds,” as the members of the violent branch of anarchists are popularly denominated. New members could join, in time, the most dangerous groups, who would have no feeling of sympathy with them. There is no such organization among anarchists as there ws among the “Mollie Maguires,” nothing so secret and efficient, and oath-bound and virulent. But there is yet sufficient organization, to assure us that plots are bred and that a dangerous propaganda is systematically promulgated.
I do not believe that the man Czolgosz carried out a plot, or that he had any accomplices; in my opinion, he was simply an impressionable creature who was carried off his mental balance by the teachings of the rabid anarchists of the Goldman, Lucy Parsons, Most school. The assassination of King Humbert was, on the other hand, undoubtedly the result of a carefully hatched plot emanating from the “Reds” who have groups throughout this country. But while these two assassinations were brought about by different methods, they might have been prevented by proper police control in the first instance. Competent emissaries in the camps of the “Reds” would have been informed of the plot against the King of Italy, and Bresci and the whole nest of murderers could have been nabbed before they had a chance to carry out their design. In the case of Czolgosz, he could have been kept free from the influences that made him a murderer if the police powers of the country had had sufficient information and sufficient initiative to act. A man on the inside could have landed information years ago that would have put Goldman, and the other preachers of anarchy who inspired Czolgosz, within the hands of the law. These people are constantly talking violence and the overthrow of government. Of late years, since one or two of them, like Most and Goldman, have had a dose of prison for their firebrand utterances, they have been more careful as to the things they say in public; but, in private, there is no doubt that their fulminations are more violent than ever. A service such as I have indicated should be established to keep the authorities in complete touch with these private utterances, which travel as fast and breed as much damage in the end as speeches made in public. As for open fulminations, these should be placed entirely under the ban, and the police should be given practically unlimited powers to deal with the men and women concerned. It should be impossible to have such a spectacle as is at times seen in Chicago, where women of the stripe of Lucy Parsons, since the execution of her anarchistic husband, and Emma Goldman have openly preached violence and murder. Kindly or half-way measures are thrown away entirely upon the “Reds.” They understand only one argument, and that is the argument of brute force. It is all very well to safeguard the rights of free speech and of free press; but sentimentalism in this direction should not be permitted to carry so far as to allow the open, or secret, advocacy of the overthrow of all government. Only a systematic campaign against this sort of thing can avert a serious condition, for these anarchists are becoming more and more numerous, and those of the violent school are growing steadily bolder. They do not appreciate indulgence. This was shown plainly enough in the case of the assassination of Mayor Harrison, of Chicago. Harrison was the great advocate of free speech and absolute license for the disorderly element of which the “Reds” form a part. He was perpetually preaching about their rights of assemblage and free speech. His reward was assassination, not by an avowed anarchist, but by a man who had such a total disregard for law and order as the anarchists are constantly pointing to as the desirable condition.
In a broader sense, we have had an illustration of the evils that grow out of the indulgence granted to anarchists here, and the lack of a system of control. The nations of Europe have practically combined to force these people to the wall. Instead of joining with them in the effort, we have given the anarchists an asylum here, with the result that they plotted the murder of the King of Italy under our protection, and are permitted to promulgate the doctrines that brought about the murder of our own President. Now that we have these lessons, it is to be hoped that we will change our tactics; that we will deal with these people vigorously, as we should, and that we will co-operate with the foreign governments for the extinction of anarchy and anarchists, and that we will have a comprehensive system of our own.
At the very beginning, there ought to be a law passed to permit the deportation of every man and woman who preaches the overthrow of government and the principles of anarchy. Instead of having any squeamish scruples, we should attack the evil in a rough-handed, common-sense way. I would advocate the establishment of an anarchist colony, a place where every person who wants anarchy can have it. Let the government set aside one of the islands of the Philippines, equip it thoroughly with appliances for tilling the soil, erect comfortable houses, and provide other necessary conveniences, even to the extent of expensive comforts; then to this place let us send everybody who wants anarchy; put them all on one island, and let them work it out among themselves. Have no restrictions at all; let them govern themselves, or refrain from governing themselves, as they see fit, Leave them severely alone on their island, taking care only that they remain there by establishing a system of patrol boats around it. I know of no other single experiment that would be at once so healthful for this country as such a settlement, and so instructive to the anarchists themselves and the world at large as to how their opportunities for individualism and freedom from government restraint would work out. It may be that there is no warrant under our present system of law and government for the establishment of such a colony; but, in the present mood of the public mind towards anarchy, it seems to me that it would not be difficult to induce Congress to permit an experiment such as I have suggested. There we could send our Goldmans and our Mosts and our Parsons, and all the other ranters who are constantly striving to tear down what has been so laboriously built up, and who, in doing so, are raising up a constantly growing army of danger-breeding converts. In time of war the government does not hesitate to protect itself by adopting all sorts of measures. Why not, then, adopt a measure such as this in the face of a condition that is more dangerous in some respects than open warfare, because of the insidiousness of its character and the uncertainty of knowing just where to look for danger. In Europe anarchy has been accepted as a real and tangible menace to government. Here we are still carried away by the fetish of free speech and unrestricted discussion to such an extent that we give absolute liberty to a class of people who are a danger to our institutions and a disgrace to our nation.
The value of a restrictive system applied to anarchy is observable in the conditions that prevail in New York City. There the police have always carried on a relentless warfare against the “Reds.” They have even gone to the length of “illegally suppressing their meetings.” On one occasion, I remember, when a lot of anarchistic sentiments were being shouted from a speaker’s stand in Union. Square, the police, without warrant, descended upon the meeting and broke it up. This was reprehensible from the standpoint of the stickler for social and political rights; but there are certain conditions that cannot be dealt with from the ordinary point of view, and anarchy is one of them, Where that comes into question, we may well permit the authorities to stretch a point for its repression. The activity of the New York police has had the effect of keeping the anarchists in that city bottled up during the past ten years; so that, while we have had the spectacle of “Eeds” shouting in Chicago and most of the other big cities, they have sung very small indeed in the metropolis. This, to my mind, is a strong argument for the application of radical measures in their treatment. The principals are never the ones to go forward and do the deeds which they advocate; yet, as in the Czolgosz case, the real guilt lies with those who preach the doctrine of murder and violence and treason against the government much more truly than with the half-witted instruments who are instigated to do the work. Under a proper system of espionage, carefully controlled, it would be easily possible to get at these leaders, many of whom are men and women of brain power decidedly above the average. The picture of the anarchist drawn by most people, a bearded, drunken, lazy creature, is not at all in line with the facts. Many of the most advanced men in the movement do not drink at all, and know so well how to keep their mouths shut that only the initiated know of their connection with anarchy. Men of the Most stripe, and women of the Goldman type, it is comparatively easy to control. They make no secret of their beliefs and restrain their tongues only in so far as they deem it necessary to keep out of the clutches of the law. It is the quiet, cultivated element behind the loudmouthed tribe that furnishes the sinews of war and that remains entirely beyond the cognizance of the police system as now constituted. To get at them requires clever work and a great deal of patience.
Not the least dangerous thing about this anarchistic movement that seems to be spreading steadily is the fact that so little concerning it is really known to the outside world. Even the European governments seem to have been unable, with all their machinery, to get at the bottom of it. As for America, the people here seem to have regarded it as very much in the nature of some harmless excrescence bordering here and there almost on a joke. In the comic papers the anarchist, with us, has been a constant source of innocent amusement. It required the awful lesson of President McKinley’s assassination to arouse the people to the real dangers that lurk in the movement.
The Haymarket massacre in Chicago ought to have been a lesson to the whole nation. Unfortunately, it was looked upon as a purely local ebullition, something peculiar to Chicago and her cosmopolitan make-up. The lesson given by the hanging of the anarchists concerned in the Haymarket affair was largely nullified by the subsequent pardoning of the men who escaped from the gallows and were sent to prison. That act had a decided tendency to revive the spirits of the anarchists and to bring to our shores many of the dangerous fanatics who were driven out of Europe. It is doubtful if any one has a conception of the strength of the anarchistic movement in America. The evidences that come to the surface in places like Chicago and Paterson are taken as sporadic cases, whereas, an investigation would probably reveal the fact that every city in the country has a considerable number of “Reds” among its citizens. These people should all be marked and kept under constant surveillance and on the slightest excuse be made harmless.
Unlike any other evil that threatens in the open, anarchy is in a great measure irresponsible, and, therefore, only the most drastic and forehanded measures have any effect in keeping it under control. Such measures are possible only if we can arouse the public sentiment sufficiently to secure the organization of a perfect system of police control, a system that would never lose touch with the anarchists already established here, and that would pick up any foreigners that might come as soon as they reached any of our ports. Such a system, reinforced by the establishment of a colony in the Philippines on the lines suggested, would go far toward coping with the evil of anarchy that is at present afflicting us.
Robt. A. Pinkerton.
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Joschka Fischer on global economic risks of an attack on Iran
Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer wonders if we're looking at An Autumn Abyss? Project Syndicate 08/29/2012. His worry in this column focuses Middle East unrest and especially on the possibility of a war with Iran:
No one can predict the direction in which Egypt's Sunni Islamist president and parliamentary majority will lead the country. But one thing is clear: the Sunni Islamists are decisively altering the region’s politics. This regional re-alignment need not be necessarily anti-Western, but it surely will be if Israel and/or the United States attack Iran militarily. ...
A war in the Persian Gulf – still the world's gas station – would affect oil exports for some time, and energy prices would skyrocket, dealing a severe blow to a global economy that is teetering on the brink of recession.
China, already in economic trouble, would be hit hardest, along with the whole of East Asia. With the US also economically weakened and facing a presidential election, America’s leadership ability would be seriously constricted. And could a weakened Europe cope with an oil shock at all? A regional and global security shock caused by asymmetric warfare could add still further to the world economy’s troubles, causing exports to slump even more. [my emphasis]
The Western standoff with Iran won't end tomorrow, and there has been ebb and flow in the current phase, the dispute of Iran's nuclear capability, for years already.
Armin Azad argues that the recent summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) nations in Teheran has bolstered Iran's negotiating position (What Cable News didn’t Tell You: The Non-Aligned Movement Meeting Strengthened Iran’s Hand vs. US, Israel Informed Comment 09/04/2012):
No matter how the Iranian authorities present the results of this conference, the wide participation in the meeting could also be indicative of another point: many countries feel unhappy about being pressured by the U.S to take positions and/or act in ways in which they are not comfortable with or do not serve their interests. In this sense, their positions in the meeting might be interpreted as a sign of protest to the US and Israeli policies – rather than enthusiastic support for Iran.
However, the strong support of Non-Aligned movement for Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy and particularly the right to have a full nuclear fuel cycle (uranium enrichment) may have the immediate impact of strengthening Iranian hand in its show down with the West over its nuclear issue. It may also make it more difficult for Israel to push forward its campaign to attack Iranian nuclear facilities.
And Jim Lobe and Gareth Porter report for After Dempsey Warning, Israel May Curb War Threat Inter Press Service, 09/05/2012:
... Obama has gone further than ever before in warning Netanyahu not to expect U.S. backing in any war with Iran. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told reporters in Britain Aug. 30 that an Israeli strike would be ineffective, and then said, “I don’t want to be complicit if they (the Israelis) choose to do it.”
It was the first time that a senior U.S. official had made such an explicit public statement indicating the administration’s unwillingness to be a party to a war provoked by a unilateral Israeli attack. ...
One of Romney’s senior advisers, former CIA chief Gen. Michael Hayden, has even partially echoed Dempsey, telling the Israeli newspaper Haaretz Thursday that an Israeli raid against Iran’s nuclear facilities would likely be counter-productive.
Both Hayden’s and Dempsey’s remarks about the futility or counter-productivity of an Israeli attack on Iran echoed those of a broad range of Israel’s national-security elite, including President Shimon Peres and the former chiefs of Israel’s intelligence agencies and armed forces, who, provoked by Netanyahu’s and Barak’s war talk, have come out more strongly than ever against the idea.
But that doesn't mean that there is no pressure for making war on Iran. Nor that the Obama Administration is being publicly unambiguous in its opposition to war. Reuters reports in U.S. admiral visits Israel, discusses Iran with Barak 09/06/2012:
A top U.S. general visited Israel's defense minister on Thursday and discussed Iran, in a display of solidarity after the two allies differed publicly over what they fear is Tehran's drive towards nuclear weapons capability.
The vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral James Winnefeld smiled broadly, exchanging pleasantries with Ehud Barak in his office in Tel Aviv in a brief video released by the Israeli Defense Ministry.
Barak later said that they had "discussed regional issues and Iran, of course".
And the fact that Obama scrambled last week to restore the foolishly reckless Democratic Party platform position accepting Jerusalem as Israel's capital is a reminder of how deferential this Administration is to hawkish Israeli policies.
Tags: iran, iran war, israel, joschka fischer
German Constitutional Court ruling coming on EU ba...
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George Soros on the European crisis (Updated with ...
Obama and Biden in Charlotte
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Jerry Brown, Barack Obama and Labor Day
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Jordan Chapman / September 1, 2017 / Atlanta
Black, Woman, American, Blogger, & Student
Identifiers. They label us and present a version of ourselves to the world around us that the world before they get to know us. For me, my general identifiers at the moment are the 5 you see in the title of this post: Black, Woman, American, Blogger, & Student. At this moment in time, these identifiers rule my life. They permit whether or not I get a job, where I can live at the moment, the activities I can partake in, my life in general. But your main question may be, why is race the first identifier for me? Because it is the first thing anyone sees and it categorizes my experience in this world, especially in America. Race has defined how I experience life and in today’s world, I can’t escape the notion of how race plays a role in every other identifier and my experience in the world.
For the past 2 years, or ever since I went to college, I have had a few revelations about how race impacts my life because when I was growing up, I lived in a bubble. I lived and grew up in a color blind bubble, or at least I thought I did. The world does not look at a little black girl and think about how sweet and docile she is, just as they do not look at little black boys as sweet and docile. As I look back, I realize that the people, especially adults, in my life, no matter their skin color, never treated me the same as they did the other children around me. This is a trend that followed me through elementary school, all the way through to my present: college.
Growing into my current self has made me come to the reality that the world is not as diverse as it may seem. As other people of color around the world have been saying for years, people of color are not valued in this world. My entire life has been spent fitting into a box that was never designed for me. I was told to break a glass ceiling that keeps getting higher and higher, and aspire to be a skinny, toned, perfectly tanned white woman, when in reality, I will never be that girl. As I grow into myself, let me explain to you how race played into each of the other 4 aspects of my life.
Society Doesn’t Love Black Women
Aggressive, Not Very Pretty, Too Dark, Thunder Thighs, Slutty. These are just a few of the stereotypes that I’ve been plagued with in my life, but I am none of these (except dark skinned). I’ve played sports my entire life so I am competitive, but never aggressive, which also contributed to my legs being larger than the other kids around me. I’m not a Victoria’s Secret model, but I’m not unattractive. I’m dark skinned and proud, but there’s no such thing as too dark. Don’t @ me on this. And to that last one. I’m not a slut, not a whore, I’ve never had sex and I’m really not a sexual person. Society has placed so many stereotypes on black women that we are expected to present at all times, but in reality, a majority of black women are not like this at all. Black women have to be strong, delicate, and fit stereotypes that are impossible to fill. Race has played such an important part of my life because I’ve had to battle these stereotypes from each and every part of my life.
America’s Not Too Happy with Black People
We have Trump. We have the KKK. We have the Alt-Right. We have white supremacists. We have a multitude of hate groups around every corner. We have racists in the corner store and in the board room. America thinks Black Lives Matter is a hate group or terrorist organization (please refer here, here, here, and here to see why that’s a load of crap) and we are literally having debates about whether or not we should remove statues that were used to intimidate people of color during the 20’s. America is not happy with black people and race has been a focal point of how I act in my life. As an American, I have to represent my country and my people at all times, denounce the President and his racist comments, but also explain to the rest of the world that people of color don’t act like how we are portrayed in the media and we don’t like Trump just as much as the rest of the world hates him.
Where Are All the Black People?
Take a look at your Instagram. Take like 3 minutes, stop reading, open the app, and look at the first 10 people who come up. How many of these people are people of color? If it’s diverse, great for you, I’m proud! If you don’t see a lot of people of color, take a moment and realize…where are all the black people? In reality, there are a lot of black women who are in blogging, but the blogging community and brands do not come together to raise them to the same level as white bloggers.
Take a look at your Youtube subs. Take like 3 minutes, stop reading, open the site, look at your suggested videos at the top of the page. How many of these people are people of color? I’ll answer again for you, not a lot, I’m willing to bet. Black women and women of color overall are not valued unless they do beauty for black women or hair care for black women. We are supposed to fit into a certain niche, but the industries that we are supposed to work with don’t cater to us. Explain why I see 10 shades of beige and tan next to 4 shades of medium-dark brown on foundation shops. That is a key to why representation matters. Representation means that women of color are supported and can get the same opportunities as our white counterparts. It means that when beauty brands make foundation or concealer shades they make an equal part or a varied part of the spectrum. It means that when brands use the #AllWomen or “We Are Women”, women of color are included and not sidelined, just because their skin color does not match a brand’s identity politics. Great black bloggers like Kristabel, Gracie, and Stephanie to name a few, have been mavens in the world of blogging while black, but there’s also bloggers like Anastasia, Yossy, and Rebekah who deserve love and represent bloggers. There are amazing black vloggers out there, like Maya, Patricia, Nikki, and Jackie, who have been recognized by a segment of the community, but there are also others like Jaz, Autumn, and Debbie who also deserve love and support from the community! Change does not come overnight, but just like other aspects of life, it is up to the community at large and white bloggers to make a point of supporting bloggers of color just as they have been supported and people of color supported their content in the past as well. Stop saying that everyone looks alike. Stop saying that the same people get all the campaigns and do something about it, don’t make it a pretty trend, support the movement.
Apparently, I Talk White
If you’re black, how often have you been told, you talk white? I grew up during all of my forming years being told, you talk white? What does that mean? Inherently, it means that white people are the only people who can be educated, when in reality, black women are the most educated group in America. I don’t talk white. There’s no such thing as talking white. Just because I don’t sound like a black stereotype off of TV doesn’t mean I talk white, it just means that I am my own person. Being articulate doesn’t mean I’m any less black, but also using AAVE doesn’t mean that a black person is any less intelligent or unworthy of an education. As a black college student, I have to fight harder than other students to get certain opportunities, just to make it to the same paths. Emory is a diverse college, but only 9.1% of 7180 or so students, the population of black students is small. In my classes, I’m noticing that in 4/6, I am the only black woman if not the only black person in my classes. At a large university like Emory, it’s not only sad, but it is shocking. I was fortunate enough to have a lot of my family members, including both of my parents, pose as people to look up to as people who participated in higher education. Nothing can prepare you for being black in college, especially at a PWI (predominately white institution). The incessant struggle to prove oneself and constantly have people doubt your intelligence when you have worked just as hard as they have to get into the same university is real. To my white peers, I don’t blame you for all of it, but you have to talk to the people of color in your life to get some perspective. For my fellow people of color students or students entering college, it doesn’t get easier, but just know you aren’t alone. The questions will never stop and you don’t have to educate all of your white friends on their ignorance 24/7, just live your life.
I have never talked about this before on the blog, but I want to share my experiences and remind people who are entering blogging or just in need of motivation that just because people don’t look like you, you should still do what you love. Don’t be defined by the identifiers in your life, just be yourself. At the same time, make a conscious effort to promote diversity in your life, whether it’s life, school, friends, or in the people you follow on Instagram. Start the conversation and although people may not see your perspective, it’s worth trying and showing your worth. Each and every one of us is special in our own way and we all have a specific influence that should not be downplayed based on the color of our skin. I’ve been limiting myself due to fear of backlash and hatred from the community as a whole and the people in my life, but you know what? Fear does not, and will never rule me or my life, so here’s to content that matters and makes me happy, no matter what.
If you wanna diversify your feed a little bit, drop me a follow on Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, or Bloglovin’. I promise I don’t bite 😉
Jordan Chapman
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Beautiful post! Hope you are doing well. So sorry to hear about your dad. Geneva Holliday told me about his death.
Mariann Yip
I always support diversity which is why it makes me happy to collaborate with brands that value it as well. I hate seeing the same type of woman being represented across multiple categories especially on social media. It’s unfortunate that it’s still an issue we face today but I’m glad there’s people like you who is shedding light on this topic.
Christine Kong
Thank you for this completely honest post. I understand where you are coming from and can sympathize with the challenges you face as a blogger, student, female, and more being a black woman. I am Asian and feel that as minorities we have to work harder and play smarter to beat the system sometimes. We all have stereotypes placed upon us and sadly it is our job to prove them wrong. You are such an inspiration and definitely defy all of the prejudices that have been set on you. I think posts like this help to spread awareness about our ignorance and injustice and help to make the community more knowledgeable. xoxo, Christine
http://dailykongfidence.com/
Samantha Mariko
September 17, 2017 / 12:40 pm
This was such a good read. With all the recent events that have been happening in the states, it’s just really discouraging, like we’re going backwards when we should be going forward. I actually sort of deal with semi-racism in Japan, as some Japanese people still see mixed people like me as “foreign.” It’s actually quite lame as Japan is becoming more and more diverse. Anyways, keep doing your thing, you are BEAUTIFUL <33
http://www.samanthamariko.com
Thank you for sharing this post. I commend you – great insight. Good luck in college.
Xxgracie
snappedbygracie.com
This post was very insightful about the experience of black people that aren’t often mentioned, well ever here in Australia. It’s sad and detrimental to our progress as a society that marginal groups discriminate, and vilify people of colour. I do agree that people treat people of colour differently, and often worse than our white counterparts. At the end of the day, the amount of melanin in our skin does not equate to our value. It is our actions, and our intentions that matter most of all.
https://www.bunnybernice.com/single-post/2017/09/17/Cherry-Inspired-Makeup-With-INIKA-Organics-Lip-Glaze
Wow babe such a incredible post and love the fact that you are talking about real things in your blog. I have to agree that you don’t see much instagramers or youtubers with dark skin color an thats a shame I think in the soil media world and in te entire aspect of the world we should have diversity and all be treat equally no matter where are they from, what the skin color are of the region. I been traveling in Africa almost for a year and I have actually learned a lot about this subject and sharing your thoughts for me is equally valuable.
BTW you look fabulous in that dress!
Sharon Wu
Loving that blue dress on you girl! It’s perfect for fall 🙂 I totally agree with you on the importance of diversity — I’d love to see brands represent more Asians too! The modeling industry was really tough on Asians before I transitioned into blogging. But I think that as you said, everyone is special in their own way and deserve to be represented! xo, sharon
http://www.stylelullaby.com/fashion/parmigiani-fleuriers-kalparisma-watch/
September 25, 2017 / 10:57 am
Really great post, Jordan. I agree with you that change can only happen if support comes from us supporting each other. The more we as a society talk about the lack of inclusivity in the world, the less it can be ignored. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us.
xo, Jo
rachel vogt
Oh this dress is just so lovely.
@rachelvogttrends http://rachelvogttrends.com/
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Home » Business » Commission seeks tougher sanctions for issuers of dud cheques
Commission seeks tougher sanctions for issuers of dud cheques
The Nigerian Law Reform Commission (NLRC) has called for tougher sanctions for issuers of dud cheques as it is set to amend the law to include stiffer penalties for offenders.
The Chairman of the Commission, Professor
who made this call at a workshop on the reform of the Dishonoured Cheques (Offences) Act, said that the law was no longer serving the purpose for which it was enacted.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had, in a circular of July 5th, 2013 to Banks and Other Financial Institutions on Dud Cheques, said that between January 2012 and December 2012 over 167,507 dud cheques with a total value of N166 billion were processed by deposit money banks.
Osunbor, who gave a brief history of the Act said that the Dishonoured Cheques Act which came into force on May 20th, 1997, was passed to curb the issuance of dishonoured cheques in Nigeria which he said became prevalent during the Udoji Award that followed the oil boom.
Osunbor said: “Thirty seven years since the commencement of the Act, the issuance of dishonoured cheques remain on the increase in Nigeria especially in recent times.”
He said that research conducted by the Commission revealed that despite the existence of the Act, incidents of dishonoured cheques still abound.
Osunbor recommended that the law should be amended to reflect additional grounds for dishonouring a cheque.
He also suggested that the penalties for issuing dud cheques be reviewed upward while provisions to compensate victims of dud cheques should also be included.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Bello Adoke, SAN, said there was an urgent need to amend the Act.
The Minister who was represented by one of his assistants, Mr Bola Odugbesan, said that a reform of the law would enhance the CBN Cashless/Cash-lite policy by ensuring a reliable and secure payment system through the issue of cheques.
Adoke said that the reform of the Dishonoured Cheques Act was in tandem with the President Goodluck Jonathan administration’s effort to reform the economic sector as well as activate institutions to promote efficiency, good governance and the war against corruption.
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Unveiling a plaque on Queenston Baptist Church
Item Types:
Black and white photograph taken during a ceremony of unveiling a historical plaque.
From left to right: Canon Richardson, Dr. Djamal Afrukhteh
Text on a plaque reads:
"THE QUEENSTON BAPTIST CHURCH
By 1808 the Rev. Elkanah Holmes, a missionary from the United States, had organized the first Baptist congregation in Queenston. Following the war of 1812 the congregation declined, was reorganized in 1831 and between 1842 and 1845 erected the rough-cut limestone structure as its church. It is an early and interesting example of the Gothic Revival style in this province. The church had closed by 1918 and in 1928 was sold to the Women's Institute, which occupied the building until 1954. In 1970 it was acquired by Dr. Djamal Afrukhteh who donated it to the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. After a fund-raising campaign by the Queenston Community Association, the building was renovated and in December, 1972, was officially opened as the Queenston Library and Community Centre.
Erected by the Archaeological and Historic Sites Board,
Ministry of Colleges and Universities"
Inscriptions:
"Unveiling
Canon Richardson
Dr. Afrukhteh"
Queenston (Ont.)
QC00088
Geographic Coverage:
Queenston
Latitude: 43.1646834765357 Longitude: -79.0543790416641
Donor:
Huggins, Jean A. E. (1895-1989)
http://www.notlpubliclibrary.org
10 Anderson Lane P.O. Box 430
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0
Comment on this item Create electronic postcard Full Image Reverse
Groups of Related Records
Queenston Collection
The support of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport is gratefully acknowledged.
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RE-REGULATION DECISION A HIGH FLYING WIN FOR MOREE AIR SERVICE
NORTHERN Tablelands MP Adam Marshall says a decision to continue the regulation of the Moree to Sydney air route is a big win for the local community and virtually assures the community of an air service to Sydney for at least another two years.
Mr Marshall was in Moree today to celebrate a decision from Transport NSW to NOT deregulate the Moree-Sydney air route but instead guarantee regulation for the service.
The State MP has fought alongside Moree Plains Shire Council to retain the status quo in the face of threats over the past year for all remaining regulated routes in NSW.
“This decision guarantees the existing service model for a further two years,” he said.
“Essentially it means a licence is required to operate services on the Moree-Sydney route and gives an operator exclusive rights to service the Moree Airport,” Mr Marshall said.
“This gives surety not only to passengers, airport users and commercial operators, but also the airline provider.”
Mr Marshall, with overwhelming support from Moree businesses and the community, fought any moves to deregulate because it was believed a new model threatened the continuation of regular air passenger services.
“The Moree air link with Sydney is crucial for business, health services, tourism and government services and it cannot be jeopardised.”
Mr Marshall said expressions of interest for the tender for an operator to service the route for another two years, from 30 September, were being distributed from today.
QantasLink signed a contract through to 30 September to service the Moree community, on the basis of exclusivity with a regulated route.
Mr Marshall said the decision had obviously taken into account recognition of the unique nature of the Moree to Sydney route, which services around 34,000 passengers a year.
“I encourage the community to participate in Moree Plains Shire Council’s consultation to ensure our voice is heard when the tenders are evaluated,” he said.
“I will also continue to do everything I can to safeguard to interests of the Moree community when it comes to continuity of quality air services
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Home » Interview » Nick Frost Conquers Fear, Salsas Butt Off in ‘Cuban Fury’
Nick Frost Conquers Fear, Salsas Butt Off in ‘Cuban Fury’
By Bernard Boo @BJ_Boo on April 8, 2014
In dance-comedy Cuban Fury, directed by James Griffiths, Nick Frost plays Bruce Garrett, a former childhood salsa prodigy who was bullied out of the ballroom to never return. Now in his late 30’s, Bruce is an overweight, insecure pushover who works a desk job. When his new boss Julia (Rashida Jones) catches his eye, he’s suddenly compelled to pick up dancing again to impress her (she salsas herself). Standing in his way is his jerk co-worker Drew (Chris O’Dowd), who’s made it his mission to beat Bruce to the punch and steal Julia’s heart. With the help of his old salsa instructor (Ian McShane), Bruce rediscovers salsa and begins to shed the layers of self-doubt.
Frost, best known for the “Cornetto Trilogy” (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End), his beloved collaborations with buddies Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, steps into the spotlight without his famous cohorts in Fury to make a delightful comedy with heart, though he had a personal stake in the production as well. In the following edited roundtable interview with other members of the press, we spoke with Frost about using the movie to get over his fear of dancing, a near-violent, on-set mental breakdown, whether there will be more Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright projects, respecting the salsa community, and more.
How important was it that you do all the dancing in the movie?
Nick: I think it was the crux of it. In terms of me and my motives for wanting to do a dance film and the terror that dancing in front of people brought to me at that point, it was all a part of my catharsis, my incredibly expensive therapy session. I messed our wedding up by not wanting to dance with my wife. We had a dance all picked out, but when it came down to it, it was like grade school where I put my hands on her shoulders, we did this a bit (motions swaying back and forth), and then all of our aunties got on the floor and got it going again. I thought, I shouldn’t have to feel like that, you know? I’m an actor and I do scenes in front of 200 cast and crew every day. I shouldn’t be afraid of dancing.
I think there’s a stigma to being a big man who can dance and enjoys it. There’s a look that people give you, as if they somehow feel sorry for you or somehow say, “You go for it, big guy!” Some sort of patronizing “attaboy”. That makes me so cross. That was part of my reason to want to dance, and I think it kind of helped it get green-lit, really. We could have easily done that thing where you just show my top half moving, show an audience reaction, and then feet. There are a couple of those, [but] 98 percent of it is me. Why wouldn’t you want it to look beautiful? That’s the charm of it, that you see Bruce Garrett doing it.
There’s no Oscar for amount of effort put into a comedy. If it was Daniel Day Lewis putting 7 months training into becoming some kind of man who stuffs animals, people would say, “Wow. His dedication to the role is admirable.” But for a romantic comedy about a big man who woos a girl through the medium of salsa, no one gives a shit about your training. (laughs)
The theme of the film is discovering self-confidence. Is there a breakthrough moment you recall when you realized you don’t need to be insecure about dancing anymore?
Nick: No, because it never got easier. There was never a moment where they unplug a wire from your head, your eyes flicker and you say, “I know Pachanga!” That never happened. I don’t want to seem down, because I loved it. When you watch ten minutes of the film and all of that is me I think, “That’s why I did that.” When you’re in it, it’s like, “Fucking hell, when’s this going to end!”
I became a dancer, you know? Also, I didn’t want to lose weight. I wanted to still be a big lump, so I could eat giant steaks in the morning, 50 bananas a day, a whole chicken…it was like a dream for me! I dressed like a dancer, with leggings on and bands in my hair. I’d find myself sat in a room with fifteen 18-year-old ballerinas. “Just been having a fucking stretch!” I became that dancer.
Were there any breakdown moments?
Nick: Twice I had to leave because I started crying in front of people. Once I was going to hit Richard Marcel, who was my choreographer. I don’t like to be manhandled. I don’t like it. It got to a point at 3 in the afternoon where we’d been dancing since 8 am. I got to that point where he’d be talking to me in English and I would be [hearing Mandarin]. “I don’t know what you want from me!” You know? He moved me [with his hands]. I had that spinach moment (mimics Popeye), but it was too much. He’s only a little thing. I would murder him. I had that thing where my voice kind of went quite high. (In a high voice) “Don’t fucking touch me!” He tried to calm me down and I kind of started to cry in front of him, and then I went into the bathroom. There was a bunch of beautiful-shaped ballerina boys, 18-years-old, no tops on. Just amazing! Then this big fucking gorilla comes charging to the toilet in tears. They were like, “You alright?” and I said, “Just fucking leave me alone!” I went back into the studio eventually, grabbed my kit bag and said (in a high voice), “I’m going home!” That was twice that happened.
Did you find it difficult incorporating a comedy element without disrespecting die-hard fans of dance?
Nick: No, not really. It was never about taking the piss out of salsa. Also, literally spending five minutes with the Latino community in London you realize that, should you disrespect that, you have a big problem on your hands, because that’s the thing those people love more than anything in the world. I was very keen that [salsa] be respected. As soon as the community realized that that was our motive, they couldn’t have helped us more in terms of support and making themselves available for training. Sometimes on a Tuesday morning we’d get 20 dancers in and just spend the morning dancing, which was amazing.
The best lesson I ever did, this Cuban kid would put a tape in, and it was just me and him. I’m a reserved English man. He’d take his vest off, the music would start, and he’d just stand in front of me and kind of pop my chest and let me feel it. I couldn’t do it to start with. “I can’t understand what you’re doing to me! I kind of like it, but…” (laughs) The whole point was that he’d say, “If you don’t feel this…forget it.” He’d put his vest on and go home. That was what my lessons were, little bits like that. It’s only at the last minute, month seven, when you realize, “Oh. That’s what they did.” It wasn’t just choreography, which I could’ve learned in a month. It was making me a dancer.
How did you find playing the lead character as compared to your roles in Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead?
Nick: I’ve got to say, it didn’t feel any different at all. The things about Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End is that it is a three-way collaboration. Even though Simon was number 1 on the call sheet, I never felt anything but collaborating with Edgar and Simon. In terms of ego, there’s no space for it on our sets. When you do this and you’re not the funniest person on set, you can rumble about it and think, “Why haven’t I got the funniest lines?”, or you can sit back and think, well, it is for the good of the film. If it’s good for the film, it’s good for me. It didn’t bother me. I had the idea, I produced it, I’m starring in it. You can’t do much more. I’m happy to sit back and watch Chris [O’Dowd] and Kayvan [Novak]. I like what they do.
Did you choose Chris to be in the film?
Nick: I think he kind of chose himself. I’ve known him for years and out of everyone I’ve worked with, Chris is the one I have trouble looking in the eyes. He makes me laugh. He improvises a lot, and to improvise you need to know a lot of things that not only fit but push the story forward, too. It’s difficult acting against it, because if you know it’s coming, you can prepare yourself for it. But when that thing is constantly changing, it’s hard to prepare yourself. If you notice, I don’t look at him in the eye at all until the end. The fact is, I just couldn’t look him in the eye. (laughs)
Why salsa, and what was it like working with a writer other than Simon?
Nick: Ballroom had been done by Baz Luhrmann. Strictly Ballroom was a touchstone for this film. The acting’s fantastic, the comedy’s funny, the drama is dramatic, and the dancing is real and beautiful to look at. That’s what we tried to do. It had to be a dance where there’s physical contact between a man and a woman. It could have been tango, but salsa looks beautiful on screen. The colors and sequins are very cinematic. I think it could have been twerking. (laughs) What an awful movie that would be.
I didn’t want to write the film. It takes so long to write a film that you’re then out of the loop for other acting jobs. Me and Simon took so long to write Paul, and that was two years where we weren’t making a film. We’d known Jon Brown for a while and we got on really well. I said, “These are the characters, this is what I think it should be. Go for it!” He wrote a great first draft. He did it in, like, twelve weeks. It was amazing. If you’re going to not write a film and give it to Jon Brown, what you can’t do is meddle. You have to trust him to get on with it. Otherwise, you might as well have written it yourself.
Was there ever a vocation or hobby you took up that got derailed and you wish you’d stuck with?
Nick: Rugby. I played rugby from age 7 to 21. I was at a point in my life where I think I probably could have been pretty good at it, but it came when I discovered weed and girls. I was playing on a team called London Nigeria, and I was the only white player on the team, the first white player to train with London Nigeria. The thing about London Nigeria is, A: They’re fucking massive. B: They used to fist fight a lot during training. You have to make that decision: Do I want to be hit in the face by a 6’8 Nigerian man on a Tuesday night, or am I going to smoke a bowl and try to get off with this beautiful waitress? I chose [the latter]. I stick by my choice, but I loved playing rugby.
News broke that you’re going to do Sober Companion. What was it about that project that appealed to you to make that potential kind of commitment and what might that might mean for your career?
Nick: I think my career is alright as it is. I don’t lie awake thinking, “Fuck. How’s my son going to go to school?” I’m really excited about it and pretty nervous, because I don’t know how this works. All I know is, I was offered this role of an alcoholic lawyer. It’s a great script, and I love Justin Long. I say no to a lot of stuff, and it really annoys my wife. I thought, you have to say yes to something at some point, and this was it. If it’s picked up for six years and goes and goes and goes, that’s a big commitment. If you look at it as six years, that’s a long time. But if you look at it season by season, it’s not so bad.
If you made a sequel to Cuban Fury, what would it be like?
Nick: We’ve thought about this, actually. We thought it would be Bruce and Bejan going to Tehran to open Tehran’s first salsa club. We thought it would be a cross between something Baz Luhrmann would do and Argo. (laughs) Smuggle me in wearing a rhinestone-covered burkha. He’d find a giant old building that was a club at one point and turn it into a hot new night club.
What was your favorite dance scene to shoot?
Nick: The finale. Me, not wanting to dance in front of people, and then there were 600 people in that club, 450 of which some of the world’s best salsa dancers. They stood there for eight days and cheered us on. That dance is cut to pieces, and we shot different parts, as you do, but there were ten or so takes where we shot three cameras as wides and I did the whole dance, top to bottom. It felt amazing. I don’t usually like feeling like that. I never like feeling like, “Oh, you’re doing well!” I always like to punish and doubt myself, but I couldn’t help myself. I could feel the salsa community willing me on, and it was amazing.
What about the car park scene?
Nick: That was a pain in the hole. We chose the five hottest days of the year in London. When it’s hot in London, it’s horrible. It’s like being in Cairo; it’s relentless. 97 degrees. I got injured lifting Chris over my head, I had to have treatment, and they sent me home for the day. Which is terrible on a film set, for the star to go home. If you’re on a $200 million budget it’s like, “Fuck it! You can have a week off if you want.” When you’re the star and producer, you know you can’t not be on set.
Are we going to see another Simon Pegg-Nick Frost collaboration?
Nick: Absolutely. It might not be for a few years, but we have a good idea that makes us laugh. We think about it a lot. We’ll wait for Edgar to finish Ant-Man, and after ten years, when Sober Companion is finished and I can start doing movies again. (laughs)
Charlie Siskel Talks 'Finding Vivian Maier'
Finding Vivian Maier, a layered documentary co-directed by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, pieces together the life story of the titular Chicago nanny (now deceased) by utilizing the amazing photographs
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Celebrated individuals are recognized each year at WCOPA for their outstanding contributions to the performing arts industry and to WCOPA, and memorialized in the coveted Performing Arts Hall of Fame.
Producer, Director and Choreographer
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Anita Mann spent her youth in a dance studio, perfecting every movement and step. This lifelong drive led to a career as a dancer, producer, director, actress and award-winning choreographer that has spanned more than five decades.
This passion serves her well as the owner of Anita Mann Productions, a company specializing in stage, television and theatrical performances. Mann has been honored by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as one of America’s top five contemporary choreographers. She is the recipient of five Emmy nominations including one Emmy Award win. Her choreography credits include “The Muppets Go Hollywood,” for which she earned her first Emmy nomination, and five seasons on “Solid Gold,” which earned her two Emmy nominations. Mann also earned an Emmy nomination for her work with “The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.” Her first Emmy win occurred for choreographing “The Miss America Pageant,” an honor which she holds close to her heart. Other vast choreography credits include “The Cher Show,” “The Jacksons,” “The Academy Awards,” “The Golden Globe Awards,” “The Academy of Country Music Awards,” “The People’s Choice Awards,” “The Grammy Hall of Fame,” “The Emmys,” “The Great Muppet Caper,” “Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Live,” “Sesame Street Live,” “The Mighty Morphin Power Ranger Tour,” “Snoopy’s World of Magic,” “Arthur” as well as countless other live, film and television shows. Now in its 19th year, Mann is the Producer and Director of FANTASY at the Luxor, and has created, choreographed, and directed revues for casinos and luxury cruise lines. She was the coordinating producer for the television series, “Dirty Dancing,” producer of the musical “Imagine This” at the New London Theatre in London’s West End, produced and directed a show starring NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback, Terry Bradshaw, honored by the Vegas and Hollywood F. A. M. E. Awards as Lifetime Achievement for Live Producer, and most recently appeared with Miley Cyrus on the Video Music Awards.
She is passionate about supporting the arts through dance and health programs. In her limited free time, Mann enjoys spending time with her family, her dog “George” and golfing.
wcopa judge anita mann
Anita Mann Productions
More in this category: « Winners Interviews
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Take a Fresh Look at End of Life Plans
Financial Planning for Alzheimer's
Changes in state laws and shifting practices of financial institutions and health care providers warrant a review of your advance-planning documents.
By Eleanor Laise, Senior Editor
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published in the August 2012 issue of Kiplinger's Retirement Report. To subscribe, click here.
First, the good news: Many seniors planning ahead for their last years of life have a stack of documents outlining how their finances and health care should be managed if they become incapacitated.
Now the bad news: Those documents may not be worth the paper they're printed on.
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A slew of changes in state laws, along with shifting practices of financial institutions and health care providers, make it essential for seniors to take a fresh look at documents such as financial powers of attorney, living wills and health care proxies. Advance-planning documents can help ensure that all your financial and medical wishes are carried out to the letter. But if they're vague, incomplete, outdated or simply stashed in a drawer and forgotten, they may be worthless at best -- and, at worst, leave you vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. What's more, if you lose decision-making capacity and don't have the appropriate advance-planning documents, a court may step in and appoint a guardian for you -- an outcome that few seniors find desirable.
Considering the rate of cognitive decline among older adults, seniors who aren't planning ahead now are missing out on a critical opportunity to make their wishes known to loved ones, advisers and health care providers. About half of U.S. adults in their eighties and 75% of those 90 and older have some form of cognitive impairment, according to medical research.
Before you start buying forms from an office-supply store or downloading them from the Internet, consult a lawyer. Given variations in state law and individual circumstances, senior advocates say, it's well worth the modest amount of time and money required to have a lawyer help you draft documents that are tailored to your situation. Seniors who move to a new state or split their time among multiple states should also be sure to have a lawyer review their documents.
You'll also need to carefully select the individuals who will act as your decision-making agents. Be sure to have in-depth discussions with those people to help them understand your wishes. "Some people are perfectly trustworthy but can't balance a checkbook," says Gregory French, president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. "That's probably not who you want to name" to manage your finances.
Here's a look at some key considerations when preparing your advance-planning documents.
Power of attorney for finances. This legal document allows another person to manage your finances on your behalf, and it's a vital tool when planning for incapacity. Yet several recent trends are making it increasingly difficult for these documents to act as intended: the rising rate of elder abuse, financial institutions' reluctance to accept these documents and new state laws that change the way powers of attorney work.
Powers of attorney are easily abused. The documents often give the agent broad powers over a senior's assets, and there's little independent oversight to ensure that the money isn't misspent. If your agent steps out of bounds while you're incapacitated -- say, by making unauthorized gifts of your property -- the abuse may easily go undetected until you've died.
Naming a competent, trustworthy agent is paramount. Many seniors designate a family member for this task. While you're of sound mind, you can name a new agent or revoke the power of attorney completely for any reason. In addition, you can build in checks and balances to ensure your agent will do exactly what you want if you're incapacitated. You might require that the agent provide a periodic accounting to a third party, such as another relative or a lawyer, or that another individual sign off on any gifts of your property.
You also need to ensure that your agent can act as you intend. Banks and other financial institutions are raising more questions about powers of attorney, lawyers say, sometimes honoring only documents that were signed within the past couple of years and state the agent's authority to deal with specific accounts. "Sometimes you get a financial institution that almost totally frustrates the purpose of the power of attorney by raising all sorts of questions," French says. A bank may demand proof that an older power of attorney hasn't been revoked, he says. If the person who granted it is now incapacitated, "that's a real problem," he says.
To minimize such problems, seniors should show their bank, brokerage firm and other institutions their power of attorney document as soon as it's drafted and ask if it's acceptable, says Sally Hurme, an elder law attorney with AARP. Powers of attorney should clearly state the agent's authority to handle specific investment accounts, annuities and other assets -- details that aren't included in some off-the-shelf documents.
Paul Eckler, a retired chemist in Wildwood, Mo., discovered banks' growing scrutiny of powers of attorney the hard way. For several years he served as agent for his aunt, who held certificates of deposit at ten or so different banks. As each CD matured, she wanted Eckler to reinvest the cash in a new CD at the bank that was offering the highest rate. "It was far more complicated than we thought it was going to be," says Eckler, 66. "We ran into all kinds of troubles."
Transactions were delayed while bank lawyers reviewed the power of attorney, Eckler says. The lawyers demanded changes, resulting in his aunt's attorney making multiple revisions of the document. "Every bank has its own rules," Eckler says. Simple transactions that should have taken 20 minutes, he says, "took a month and three or four visits" to the bank.
Some lawyers like to spell out additional powers. Howard Krooks, an elder law attorney in Boca Raton, Fla., and Rye Brook, N.Y., says he might include the agent's authority to deal with Medicaid, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration, "making sure there's a high degree of specificity regarding what the agent can do."
Changes in state law raise even more questions for seniors. More than a dozen states in recent years have enacted a new Uniform Power of Attorney law, which includes some fundamental changes in how these documents operate. The law says that unless otherwise indicated, a power of attorney is "durable" -- in other words, the agent's powers continue when the person creating the power of attorney becomes incapacitated. Previously, most state laws said that the agent's authority would end when the principal becomes incapacitated, unless the principal specifically set up a durable power of attorney. So it's advisable for seniors to double-check with a lawyer to ensure the language of the document matches their intentions.
The law also includes provisions aimed at preventing abuse. It makes the agent financially responsible for misuse of funds and requires that specific language be used if agents are given certain powers, such as making a gift or changing a beneficiary designation.
Although some seniors have traditionally relied on "springing" powers of attorney that take effect only when they become incapacitated, many lawyers say they're now trying to steer clear of these documents. When the document is actually needed, physicians must certify that the senior is incapacitated, causing delays and possible disagreement. If you're interested in using a springing power of attorney because you're concerned about your agent gaining control of your finances, "then you're naming the wrong agent," and should pick someone more trustworthy, says Bradley Frigon, an elder law attorney in Denver.
Living trust. Even if you've picked the most competent and trustworthy person to manage your finances, that doesn't mean he'll know what should be done with your property. That's where a living trust comes in. This document can provide detailed guidelines on how your property should be managed if you become incapacitated.
Here's how it works: You transfer your investments, real estate and other assets into the trust and name yourself as trustee, so you maintain control of the property. As long as you're mentally competent, you can revise or revoke the trust. You also name one or more "successor" trustees to manage the property if you become incapacitated and include detailed instructions on how the money should be used if you are hospitalized or need long-term care. Unlike a power of attorney document, the living trust remains in force after you die and allows the successor trustee to transfer your property to your beneficiaries without having to go through probate -- the cumbersome process in which a court oversees distribution of property left in a will.
If you have a living trust, you still need a financial power of attorney to manage transactions that may fall outside the scope of the trust, such as dealing with credit card accounts. And by naming different individuals as your living trust's successor trustee and as your agent under a power of attorney, you can help assure that neither person abuses his authority.
Health care advance directives. It's hard enough thinking about how your health care should be managed if you lose decision-making capacity. But ensuring your medical wishes are followed can be a bigger challenge -- even for seniors who have completed the two main types of advance directives: the durable power of attorney for health care and the living will.
A living will documents your wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment. Find living will forms for each state at www.caringinfo.org. Some states combine the living will with a health care power of attorney in one form.
The health care power of attorney allows you to appoint someone to make medical decisions for you if you become incapacitated. You always have the right to revoke the document while you're mentally competent. You also can include specific instructions on how your agent should make your health care decisions. But as with financial powers of attorney, laws governing these documents can vary from state to state. And as patients move among various facilities and health care providers, the documents can easily fall by the wayside.
Fortunately, some new tools can help. The American Bar Association's Commission on Law and Aging last year released a new health care power of attorney form that meets legal requirements in all but five states. The form also walks users through the process of choosing a qualified agent -- sometimes called a "health care proxy" -- and thinking about the guidance they should give that individual. The document, titled Giving Someone a Power of Attorney for Your Health Care, is available at www.americanbar.org.
Seniors looking to include more details in their advance directives might consider the Five Wishes form, which meets legal requirements in more than 40 states. The form, available at www.agingwithdignity.org, allows users to designate a health care proxy and outline the care they want under various medical scenarios.
Although seniors can prepare advance directives on their own, they may want to enlist the help of a lawyer if they're concerned about coordinating all their advance-planning documents -- and preventing conflicts. If your health care proxy and financial agent are different people, for example, your power of attorney documents might state that the financial agent must pay for anything that the health care proxy deems necessary, Frigon says. And although your health care power of attorney gives your proxy access to your medical information, lawyers also recommend completing a separate authorization under federal HIPAA privacy rules so that health care providers can freely share your medical information with certain other family members.
Finally, start talking. "Advance directive documents are only worth the discussions they're based on," says Charles Sabatino, director of the ABA's Commission on Law and Aging. Carol McNama, 54, of Terrebonne, Ore., discovered that when she served as health care proxy for her uncle. If it weren't for the detailed discussions he had with her, she says, she wouldn't have felt comfortable carrying out his wishes.
While hospitalized after suffering a massive heart attack, McNama says, her uncle told her repeatedly that he wanted to be removed from life support if he could no longer speak or move. A few weeks later, a stroke left him completely paralyzed and uncommunicative. When doctors said that he wouldn't recover, McNama decided to remove his life support. "That was the hardest call I've ever made in my life," she says. But thanks to her uncle's clear instructions, she says, "I know in my heart I did the right thing."
Keep the originals of your advance directives in a safe, easily accessible place. Don't put them in a safe-deposit box, where others may have trouble gaining access to them. Give copies to your health care agent, back-up agent, family members and doctors.
Even if your family and friends know what type of care you want, Sabatino says, often the advance directive "doesn't automatically follow you from place to place, provider to provider. It's up to the patient and family to make sure it stays central to the discussion, and that's really difficult to do" during a medical crisis.
A new system gaining momentum among states may help solve that problem. Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, first introduced in Oregon in the early 1990s, are based on discussions between doctors and patients who are frequently hospitalized or have advanced chronic illness. After determining the type of care and quality of life that the patient desires, the provider notes those preferences in a standardized medical order. The brightly colored forms are placed at the top of your medical record, where it's the responsibility of health care providers to ensure they're accessible and up to date.
More than a dozen states have established POLST systems, and roughly 25 more are developing programs. To find out if the protocol has been established in your state, go to www.polst.org. A living will is "just what you hope your doctor will do," AARP's Hurme says, but "an order is an order."
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"No. 17"
Basquiat sets artist record at Christie's New York sale at $57.3 million
Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), Untitled (detail), acrylic on canvas, Painted in 1982. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2016. NEW YORK, NY.- The May 10 evening sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art realized US$318,388,000 / £220,796,117 /€279,086,291 with sell-through rates of 87% by lot and 91% by value. The sale established 6 new world auction records for artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Agnes Martin, Mike Kelley, Richard Prince, Kerry James Marshall and Barry X Ball. The results of tonight’s sale brings the... [Lire la suite]
Posté par Alain Truong à 22:30 - Art du XXème siècle/20th century art - Commentaires [0] - Permalien [#]
Tags : "And If You", "No. 17", "Noon", "PH-234", "Runaway Nurse", Christopher Wool, Clyfford Still, Jean-Michel BASQUIAT, Joan Mitchell, Mark Rothko, Richard Prince
Rothko's Seminal 'No. 17' leads Christie's New York Evening Sale of Post-War & Contemporary Art
Mark Rothko (1903-1970), No. 17, oil on canvas, 91 1/2 x 69 1/2 in. (232.5 x 176.5 cm.). Painted in 1957. $30-40million. ©1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. NEW YORK, NY.- Leading Christie’s Evening Sale of Post-War & Contemporary Art on May 10, is Mark Rothko’s pivotal 1957 canvas, No. 17 (estimate: $30-40million). With its vibrant, verdant hues, No. 17 is emblematic of the experiential nature of Rothko’s art—a manifestation of what one critic called the... [Lire la suite]
Tags : "No. 17", 1957, Mark Rothko
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Home In The News Vietnam vets commemorate 50th anniversary of ‘helicopter war’
Vietnam vets commemorate 50th anniversary of ‘helicopter war’
adriennek
Nell King
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, Va. — Hundreds of Vietnam combat helicopter pilots, their guests and Gold Star families planted a tree in Arlington National Cemetery, Aug. 28, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. combat troops entering the Vietnam War.
The spectators gathered before the tree dedication in the cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater to remember the thousands of helicopter pilots and crew members, who lost their lives during the Vietnam War.
The event began with a round of speakers within the amphitheater, including a keynote address by retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Carl H. McNair Jr. Guests afterwards followed along as the wreath was carried to the tree from the amphitheater.
Above, four helicopters flew over in honor of the fallen as “Amazing Grace” was played on bagpipes.
The memorial tree dedication was the largest gathering of pilots at a single commemoration event, with 1,000 expected, said Bob Hesselbein, president of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, which held a five-day meeting in Washington, D.C., which ended Aug. 29.
Hesselbein said he met with the Family of 1st Lt. Carlos Pedrosa and talked about a picture he took of him in 1972 at Kon Tum Airfield, the day before his death.
“Between missions, I found Carlos among our dispersed aircraft and had him quickly pose for an individual picture,” Hesselbein said. “Our aircraft were dispersed to reduce the risk of many being hurt during the frequent rocket attacks we endured while operating from the airfield. As bad luck had it, the very next day Carlos was killed instantly by a 122mm rocket that struck him in the area visible in the background of the previous day’s portrait.”
Pedrosa was buried at the cemetery and his granite marker has a Huey helicopter carved into it.
More than 58,000 Americans were killed in action during the Vietnam War, and more than 153,000 were wounded. All told, 658 U.S. prisoners of war returned home alive from Southeast Asia, and as of 2014, 1,638 were still unaccounted for. There are roughly 7.4 million living Vietnam-era veterans, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
A presidential proclamation signed in 2012 marked the beginning of a 13-year commemoration to honor the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, which will span through Nov. 11, 2025.
Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, or JBM-HH, was made a commemorative partner of the 50th anniversary Vietnam War Commemoration for “supporting and honoring” Vietnam War veterans last year during the joint base’s annual retiree appreciation day event.
JBM-HH Commander Col. Mike Henderson received a certificate signed by then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, marking the occasion.
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Jaya (Buddhist Broadcasting Network, bbncommunity.com, 9-11-13); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly, originally published September 2019
It is evident that Europe is changing very rapidly, economically and socially. Although these changes are widely discussed in the media, there are a few that attract very little attention.
The change in demography, in particular the growth of alternative religions, is one notable item. Sweden is no exception.
Due mainly to the arrival of Diasporas and the organic growth of Eastern traditions, such as Buddhism, many domestic people are paying attention. Buddhism is still relatively small in Sweden. But in recent years it has seen tremendous growth. It is trending, and estimates on new Buddhists are on an upward swing.
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In April 2011 (the last year for which reliable data are available) it is estimated to have risen to around 35,000 to 40,000 or 0.38-0.43% of the Swedish population, making it the third largest religion after Christianity and Islam.
Most practitioners have Asian backgrounds from Thailand, China, and Vietnam. According to official reports in 2011, Buddhism is proportionally the fastest growing religion.
There are now several Buddhist temples in Sweden, including Stockholm (Theravada Thai and Sri Lankan), Borås, Eslöv, Gothenburg, Fredrika, and other parts of Sweden.
A BNN reader reports that a giant project in the northernmost part of Sweden is underway. It is supposed to be the biggest Buddhist center in Europe. It has now, however, had to scale back its plans to get clearance for its application to build. But once the project is completed, Sweden will have an enormous Buddhist center that can facilitate more followers.
Stockholm Buddhist Temple
The Stockholm Buddhist Vihara (monastic residence) is a Buddhist temple in the Theravada tradition. Like old centers in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and elsewhere, it was established by the Sinhalese community to continue an ancient tradition of spreading the Dharma or Dhamma. The center was built in Sweden in 1985 by the Sri Lanka-Sweden Buddhist Association (SIDA) in conjunction with the arrival of the first resident monastic in Stockholm. It is the first ever Buddhist temple formed in Scandinavia, and the members are mostly of Sri Lankan origin.
A Scandinavian home
SIDA came into being in 1983 as a result of the energetic efforts and dedication of ardent Buddhist devotees who gathered in Stockholm during the winter of 1982 to discuss the possibility of forming an association.
Their courage and determination resulted in establishing a temporary organization, which became permanent after a general meeting in March, 1983 at the SIDA Auditorium in Stockholm.
Once established in 1985 the Stockholm Buddhist Temple moved to several temporary locations until the monastics and devotees succeeded in acquiring a permanent building for the center in Jakobsberg in 1995.
Thai Temple in Gothenburg
In 2005 Mrs. Eh and her husband Stein donated five hectares in northern Rörum for a temple building. However, lack of municipal water and sanitation would have meant additional costs if it had been built there.
So in 2006, Mrs. Eh and her husband found a property, one owned by a Thai/Swedish family, was for sale. They jumped at the opportunity to create a temple in southern Sweden and decided to purchase the property.
The temple has been built by Theravada Thai Buddhists and their partners living in southern Sweden. They have received help from the monks of Wat Pa in Copenhagen under the direction of Abbot Phar Kru Somsak.
Theravada Buddhist temple in Skåne Åstorpsvägen
Buddhism is not a law or set of dogmas. It is a direct path to enlightenment, something to be undertaken and verified for oneself. Since it is not a "religion" in our Western sense, one need not abandon any faith or creed to practice.
It is often spoken of as an Eastern philosophy or a way of life, says the Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Assati. All are welcome here to meditate, not only Buddhists. When the temple at Railway Road 13 in Åstorpsvägen was recently inaugurated, about 100 people attended. Most were Sri Lankan Buddhists from southern Sweden who previously had to travel to Stockholm or Copenhagen, where there are already Buddhist temples.
"Some attendees were not Buddhists," says Mr. Nandi Dei Zylva, Chairman of Standing Behind the Temple, a Sri Lankan Buddhist cultural association in Skaane. "My wife, for example, is a Christian."
"We’re neighbors with Björnekulla Church, and the pastor and his family came here," continues Mr. Dei Zylva. "They were very friendly and accommodating and said that our visitors were free to use their parking [lot]."
The temple in Åstorpsvägen was financed by members and is a Sri Lankan Buddhist temple, unlike the Bjuv, which is Vietnamese. Bhikkhu Assati explains the difference:
"Buddhism, which originated in Nepal and India, has two branches -- ours called Theravada ["Teaching of the Buddha's elder enlightened disciples"] and the Bjuv called Mahayana ["Great Vehicle"]. Theravada is more conservative than the Mahayana. It is much like the difference between Catholicism [which is like universalist Mahayana] and [back to basics] Protestantism."
[A more apt comparison might be Sufism to Islam or Judaism to Christianity because both are related but one is a popularization and is ten times larger.]
"Regardless of the difference, we have a good working relationship with the temple in Bjuv," adds Mr. Dei Zylva. "Before we got our own [Theravada] temple, we went there often."
The temple’s representatives wish many Åstorpsbors will come to visit and meditate. They welcome all who feel the need to replace their daily stress with a moment of contemplative rest.
In addition to the Bjuv Buddhist temple of Sweden, there is a Vietnamese temple in Katrineholm.
Labels: Buddhism in Sweden, scandinavian, sweden, Theravada country, Vietnamese
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The Persuaders
Produced and Directed by: Barak Goodman and Rachel Dretzin
Produced by: Muriel Soenens
Written by: Barak Goodman and Douglas Rushkoff
Correspondent: Douglas Rushkoff
Edited by: Pamela Scott Arnold
Associate Producer: Justin Vogt
Camera: Stephen McCarthy
Original Music: Gary Lionelli
In The Persuaders, FRONTLINE explores how the cultures of marketing and advertising have come to influence not only what Americans buy, but also how they view themselves and the world around them. The 90-minute documentary draws on a range of experts and observers of the advertising/marketing world, to examine how, in the words of one on-camera commentator, "the principal of democracy yields to the practice of demography," as highly customized messages are delivered to a smaller segment of the market. Americans are swimming in a sea of messages. Each year, legions of ad people, copywriters, market researchers, pollsters, consultants, and even linguists-most of whom work for one of six giant companies-spend billions of dollars and millions of man-hours trying to determine how to persuade consumers what to buy, whom to trust, and what to think. Increasingly, these techniques are migrating to the high-stakes arena of politics, shaping policy and influencing how Americans choose their leaders.
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Mass Assembly
This month, an exhibition of 150 sculptures by Pablo Picasso comes to the Museum of Modern Art, showing a less-known side of the well-known artist.
Pablo Picasso, Bull, Cannes, c. 1958, plywood, tree branch, nails, and screws;
Featured Images: (Click to Enlarge)
Pablo Picasso, Guitar, Paris, 1924, painted sheet metal, painted tin box, and iron wire;
Pablo Picasso, Flowery Watering Can, Paris 1951–52, plaster with watering can, metal parts, nails, and wood.
Pablo Picasso, Chair, Cannes, 1961, painted sheet metal
Pablo Picasso, Head of a Warrior, Boisgeloup, 1933, plaster, metal, and wood.
In his book Conversations with Picasso (1999), Brassaï, the Transylvania-born French photographer, recounts an exchange with the artist on Wednesday, October 20, 1943, regarding the nature of stones, and eventually marble sculpture and sculpture in general (a series of nudes Brassaï had photographed within various landscapes 10 years earlier had inspired the rocky conversation). Said Picasso: “It seems strange to me that someone thought of making marble statues. I understand how you could see something in the root of a tree, a crack in the wall, in an eroded stone or pebble. But marble? It comes off in blocks and doesn’t evoke any image. It does not inspire. How could Michelangelo have seen David in a block of marble?” The artist, a trained painter who had incorporated sculpture into his practice early in his career, continued, “Man began to make images only because he discovered them nearly formed around him, already within reach. He saw them in a bone, in the bumps of a cave, in a piece of wood. One form suggested a woman to him, another a buffalo, still another the head of a monster.”
Picasso—who certainly felt the suggestions of the female form—used wood, paper, metal, cast-off supplies, and found objects to create his sculptures. Michelangelo’s solid, monolithic block of marble did not call to him, his sculptural practice being concerned with the accumulation of excess material, rather than the carving away of it. He used malleable materials that were to some extent “nearly formed” and combined them, creating the familiar shapes of his recurring fascinations (think: heads, the female body, the guitar, etc.). However, many of his assemblages after their construction were subsequently cast in bronze.
“[Picasso’s] bronze casts are the most popular,” says Anne Umland, the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, citing popular examples in MoMA’s sculpture garden, “but we’re often not seeing the originals, which are made of found objects.” MoMA’s upcoming show “Picasso Sculpture” (September 14–February 7) will put many of Picasso’s original assemblages on view, giving museum-goers the opportunity to recontextualize the artist. “With this show,” says Umland, “we’ll be seeing Picasso as a contemporary of Rauschenberg—or rather, we’d like people to see him as that.”
Picasso, whose work brings to mind many things, though not necessarily an immediate comparison to Rauschenberg’s “combines,” was, throughout the greater part of the 20th century, playing with techniques and materials in ways that were radically changing sculpture. “Using found objects was one of his major breakthroughs,” says Anne Tempkin, The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at MoMA and a co-curator of the show. “You could say it sprang from his collage work—starting in 2D and moving to 3D—but assemblage and collage are two of the major innovations that modern art brought to sculpture.”
As early as 1913, we see Picasso experimenting with found objects. Glass of Absinthe (Spring 1913), one of the works in the exhibition, unites painted bronze (the artist cast six bronzes from the wax original, each colored differently) with a real absinthe spoon. Of this choice Picasso said, “I was interested in the relation between the real spoon and the modeled glass. In the way they clashed with each other.” She-Goat, a 1950 sculpture that was cast in bronze in 1952, uses debris cast away by potters, which Picasso found in a yard next to his studio in the French town of Vallauris. The goat’s ribcage is a wicker basket, her udders are two ceramic jugs, the slope of her spine is made of flat palm fronds. He fitted other ceramic and metal scraps together with plaster, forming a structure that represents a goat while also suggesting the forms of the materials it was made from.
In 1912, Picasso created Guitar in cardboard, and then in sheet metal and wire two years later (he donated the piece to MoMA in 1971). The piece—which, with no solid center, is open to space—refuses the modeling techniques used to make sculpture for centuries. Made from common objects and depicting a common object, the piece shows Picasso—a trained artist, but not a trained sculptor—in an experimental and improvisational state. “It’s one of the true revolutions—to use an overused word—in sculpture, that one doesn’t need to be a trained sculptor but can instead use cutting, gluing, and piecing things together—as if working with Play-Doh,” says Umland.
The exhibition history of Picasso’s sculptures pales in comparison to that of his paintings. The first retrospective of his sculptural work, Hommage à Picasso, was mounted in Paris in 1966. MoMA’s presentation “The Sculpture of Picasso” which was held the following year, was the first and last survey of this body of work in North America until now. MoMA, which first acquired a Picasso sculpture in 1940, has the largest collection of the artist’s sculptural work outside of Paris, with more than 20 in its holdings. Loans from public and private collections, including a large selection from the Musée National Picasso-Paris, will combine to form an exhibition of some 150 sculptures. The show will colonize the museum’s fourth floor, spanning the entirety of the artist’s career. “This is the first [sculpture] show that separates Picasso’s periods; before, they were always mixed together,” says Tempkin. “Each gallery is a show within itself, and Picasso’s themes actually do correspond with decades,” she adds.
The show will also include some 30 photographs of Picasso’s sculptures and studio taken by Brassaï. “From early on, we knew that photography played a very important part in how he worked,” says Umland, “and when we looked at different photographs of his studio, we saw that Brassaï took pictures of the sculptures that no one else did.”
By Sarah Fensom
Author: Sarah E. Fensom | Publish Date: August 2015
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Phil Dike: Oceanic Feeling
Carol Rama: Outside the Institution
Alice Aycock: Storm Chaser
Honoré Sharrer: Rara Avis
Jack Tworkov: Becoming Himself
Jean Schlumberger: Out of the Box
Rauschenberg’s Revolution
Forming and Transforming
John Graham: Son of Jove
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July 2: “Nick McBlaine & Log Train”
Nick McBlaine & Log Train
Tuesday July 2, 2019, 11:30am-12:30pm,
The Arizona Senior Academy Building
Invented names are always fun, but how are they created? In the case of Nick McBlaine & Log Train, it’s a combination of borrowing from real names and adding a bit of imagination. Violinist/fiddler Nick Coventry, guitarist Peter McLaughlin, multi-instrumentalist Alvin Blaine, and bassist Evan Dain form the core of the band whose regular gigs at Monterey Court take place on the first Wednesday of each month.
The band likes to play and sing “whatever song or style that comes to mind” from their vast repertoire of old-time Americana, folk, country, blues, bluegrass, fiddle tunes and original songs, as well as tributes to well-known musicians.
Goleta, California native Nick Coventry was inspired as a youngster by a recording of gypsy jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. He started his first gypsy swing band while studying classical violin at UC Santa Barbara, and currently plays with Hot Club of Tucson, the Tucsonics, and his touring jazz band The Black Market Trust.
National Flatpicking Champion Peter McLaughlin has toured nationally and internationally, collaborating with artists such as Laurie Lewis and Chris Brashear. His first solo album, “Cliffs of Vermilion,” was released in 1995, and he was inducted into the Tucson Musician’s Museum in the Bluegrass/Americana category in 2013.
Alvin Blaine performs with many local bands, recently appearing at the ASA with Cadillac Mountain, and previously with the Tucsonics. It’s hard to keep track of how many instruments he plays, from lap steel, pedal steel and dobro, to slide guitar, mandolin, banjo, harmonica and accordion.
San Francisco native Evan Dain’s first instrument was guitar, followed by bass, banjo, trombone and tuba. His musical career has encompassed traditional, modern and Latin jazz, rock, bluegrass, pop and country-western styles. ASA audiences have enjoyed his performances with Hot Club of Tucson and the Tucsonics.
Written by Leslie Nitzberg, Academy Village Volunteer
ASA Webmaster June 15, 2019 June 23, 2019 Concerts
← June 27: “Is America Hopelessly Polarized?”
July 9: “Swing into a Doo-Wop Summer Evening“ →
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On 20 July 2014, the pilot of a Cessna 182L aircraft, registered VH-TRS, was conducting a private flight in the local area surrounding the rural township of Burrumbuttock, NSW. The aircraft was observed by witnesses to be travelling at low altitude in a westerly direction toward the township. As the aircraft was flown above a paddock on the outskirts of the town, the aircraft struck wires from a high voltage powerline. The aircraft subsequently rolled inverted and impacted terrain. The wreckage came to rest a short distance from the Farmers Inn. The pilot was fatally injured and the aircraft was destroyed.
What the ATSB found
The ATSB found no evidence of any engine or airframe defect that may have contributed to the accident. The pilot did not hold any approval to conduct low flying and had not received training in the identification of hazards or in the operating techniques for flight close to the ground. There was no operational reason identified for the pilot to have been flying at such a low altitude on the day of the accident. The evidence also indicated that the pilot had a history of unauthorized low flying.
The pilot was reported to be in good health with no issues that might have affected his ability to fly an aircraft. Despite this, the post mortem medical examination revealed a pre-existing medical condition that could have resulted in pilot incapacitation. While it is possible that the pilot may have had a medical incapacitation event immediately prior to the accident, the aircraft was being operated in a manner consistent with previous flights undertaken by the pilot and at a level that provided little margin for error should such an event have been experienced.
This accident highlights the importance to pilots of not flying below the regulated thresholds of 1,000 ft AGL for flight over populated areas and 500 ft for flight over non-populated areas. Pilots who fly below this height without appropriate training and an operational reason to do so are exposing themselves and any passengers that may be on board to an increased risk of striking hazards, such as electrical power lines, many of which are difficult to see from the cockpit of an aircraft in flight.
Accident site VH-TRS
Source: ATSB
The occurrence
At about 1700 Eastern Standard Time[1] on 20 July 2014, a Cessna 182L aircraft, registered VH-TRS, departed from the pilot’s own airstrip for a private flight under visual flight rules[2]. The pilot was appropriately qualified and endorsed on the type of aircraft. Family members and friends of the pilot reported that he regularly flew on weekends around the Burrumbuttock area. His pilot logbook indicated that the flights were generally short in duration of less than one hour.
About 30 minutes into the flight the aircraft was observed to be flying at a low altitude above the ground in a westerly direction toward Burrumbuttock. At 1733, the aircraft struck two energised electrical wires from a powerline in a paddock that bordered the town. The aircraft continued on for a short distance before it impacted terrain in a steep nose-down inverted attitude, stopping short of the Burrumbuttock ‘Farmers Inn’ hotel (Figure 1).
Patrons within the inn were alerted to the accident and immediately exited the establishment to investigate. A number of people ran to the wreckage to render assistance to the pilot. Despite the presence of leaking fuel, one of the patrons crawled into the aircraft where it was confirmed the pilot had sustained fatal injuries.
Figure 1: The accident site at Burrumbuttock
Witness descriptions
There were a number of witnesses identified during the investigation that had either spoken with the pilot early on the day of the accident, who saw the aircraft flying later that afternoon, or who had seen the accident.
Those who saw or heard the aircraft on the day of the accident reported nothing abnormal in its operation. It was noted that it was not unusual to see the aircraft flying quite late in the day around the local area. Two witnesses reported seeing the aircraft flying quite low as it approached the town.
Immediately prior to the accident, the aircraft was observed approaching the town at low altitude. The aircraft appeared to lose height as it banked left, in the direction of the Farmers. It struck the powerlines shortly afterwards. The aircraft subsequently became unstable and impacted terrain a short distance from the hotel.
Eastern Standard Time (EST) was Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) + 10 hours.
Visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of regulations that allow a pilot to only operate an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going.
The pilot had lived and worked in the Burrumbuttock region for around 20 years. He had obtained a private pilot aeroplane license in January 1999 and subsequently gained experience in a range of single- and twin-engine aircraft. Toward the end of 1999, the pilot had attained an Aerobatics and Spinning endorsement and in 2005 had also qualified to fly at night under visual meteorological conditions.[3][4]
The pilot’s logbook showed that he had last undergone and successfully completed a biennial flight review in April 2014. He did not hold a low-level flying endorsement and there was no record of him undergoing low-level flying training. He had accumulated a total of 1,033.6 flying hours, approximately half of which was spent at the controls of the accident aircraft.
The pilot regularly flew the aircraft around the local area and was known to fly over the Farmers Inn, within the Burrumbuttock township, on occasion during weekend flights. A witness to one of these previous flights recalled that the aircraft had passed over the inn, tracking in a westerly direction and that he thought the pilot had maintained a safe altitude.
The pilot occasionally flew with a family friend, also an experienced aviator and one who regarded the accident pilot as someone who flew well and in control. Most of the accident pilot’s flying was around regional New South Wales and Victoria.
Medical and pathological information
The pilot’s last aviation medical assessment was in October 2010, at which time there was no identified medical condition and/or medication which may have affected his ability to operate an aircraft. Family and friends of the pilot reported that he was fit and well rested in the period leading up to the accident.
A post-mortem examination was conducted and the autopsy report stated that the injuries sustained to the pilot were consistent with that of a high energy aircraft accident. Toxicological screening did not reveal the presence of any drugs or toxins.
The autopsy report also stated that narrowing and damage of a major coronary artery to the pilot’s heart was identified. There was an area of plaque haemorrhage and fibrin deposition within the artery that is typically seen as an immediate precursor to a heart attack. The report summarised that, due to abnormalities in the blood vessel, it was possible that the pilot became incapacitated prior to the crash.
The aircraft was manufactured in the United States in 1968 by the Cessna Aircraft Corporation as a model 182L. The aircraft was a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing configuration with a conventional tricycle undercarriage. The engine fitted was a Teledyne-Continental Motors six-cylinder reciprocating piston variety with a McCauley two-blade, constant speed propeller. The aircraft was certified for visual flight rules (VFR) and VFR Night; where flying during the day or night was permitted under visual meteorological conditions.
The engine fitted to the aircraft had last been overhauled in October 2000. The engine logbooks indicated that it had last been serviced in September 2013, 1,065.5 total hours of engine operation since that last overhaul. All servicing requirements were up to date and the next scheduled service was due on 13 September 2014.
Examination of the daily inspection and service sheet records for the aircraft showed the last complete entry was logged the day before the accident flight at 7,930.8 hours. An incomplete entry on 20 July 2014 indicated that the daily certification inspection had been completed by the pilot. There were no reported problems with the aircraft from family members and persons who were familiar with the aircraft.
Accident site
A survey of the accident site showed that the aircraft travelled along the flight path for 195 m after contacting the powerlines, before impacting terrain in an inverted, nose-down attitude of approximately 500 - 600. Upon impact with the terrain, the aircraft then slid forward an additional 30 m. These characteristics, in particular, the extended distance travelled from the location of the wire strike, indicated that the aircraft had been travelling with significant forward speed at the time.
Debris along the flight path in advance of the powerline included items from the left wing, comprising a segment of leading-edge skin, plastic pieces from the landing lights and a guide pulley from the aileron controls.
The aircraft structure had sustained severe damage from ground impact forces (Figure 2). Both wings were compressed and the tail section had buckled midway along its length. Upon contact with the ground, the nose and front section of the aircraft took the majority of the impact loads, breaking the engine mounts and compromising the survivable cockpit space. The pilot’s seatbelt assembly was locked and secure.
A significant quantity of fuel had leaked from the damaged wing fuel tanks. The front spar from the left wing displayed saw marks and tearing that was consistent with striking the powerline. The marks commenced at the strut-to-spar connection and their general orientation indicated that the aircraft was probably right-wing low at the time of the wire strike (Figure 3).
All of the primary structures and controls were accounted at the accident site. With the exception of the left aileron cable, flight control continuity was established and no pre-impact defects were identified. The left wing aileron cable had fractured in overstress coincident with the strut-to-front spar connection (Figure 4).
A small sample of fuel was recovered from the fuel sump drain. The colour and smell of the fuel was consistent with aviation gasoline. Testing on-site showed that water was not present in the fuel sample.
Figure 2: The aircraft impacted terrain near the Farmers Inn hotel. The aircraft was inverted at impact and the propeller separated from the engine
Figure 3: Illustration showing the likely aircraft orientation at the time of striking the powerline
Source: Illustration by Cessna Aircraft Corporation (modified by ATSB)
Figure 4: The aircraft’s left wing leading edge structure including the aileron guide pulley and cable, was damaged from contact with the powerline
Source: Illustration by Cessna Aircraft Corporation (modified by ATSB); photographs ATSB
Engine and propeller
Analysis of propeller damage can provide evidence of the operational state of an aircraft’s engine at the time of any collision with terrain. In this instance, the engine was severely disrupted during the accident sequence and the propeller had separated from the crankshaft and was embedded in soil a few metres forward of the initial point of ground impact. Both blades from the propeller exhibited chordwise scoring and a degree of bending and twist that was consistent with being operated under significant torque at the time of the accident (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Propeller slash marks (arrowed)
Recorded data and instrument examination
A severely damaged Garmin AERA 500 GPS navigation unit was recovered from within the wreckage at the accident site. The ATSB applied forensic techniques to remove and then interrogate the internal memory module from the GPS.
Data from the previous 4 months of flying, including the accident flight, was able to be recovered. Parameters recorded by the GPS were: latitude, longitude, altitude and time. Analysis of the data revealed the following:
The pilot had routinely conducted low-level flying in the local area throughout the previous 4 months, as well as on the day of the accident flight.
The pilot had flown over the Burrumbuttock ‘Farmers Inn’ on many occasions. On 6 July 2014, 2 weeks prior to the accident, the aircraft was flown over the Inn at approximately 150 ft above ground level. The aircraft then continued to descend over the powerline (struck by the aircraft in this accident) and manoeuvre at very low altitude.
The accident flight data (Figure 6) captured a number of low-altitude and aerobatic manoeuvres, including an extremely low-level pass into a quarry, located north-east of Burrumbuttock. Previous flight data showed that the pilot had conducted that manoeuvre previously.
The final recorded GPS track point for the accident flight was written at 1731, approximately 2 minutes prior to the accident. The aircraft altitude at that time was approximately 420 ft above ground level. The ATSB was unable to determine why the GPS ceased recording data at that point.
Figure 6: Accident flight path noting that the final 2 minutes of data was unable to be recovered
Image Source: Google Earth TM, edited by ATSB
Cockpit instruments
Laboratory examination of the cockpit instruments that were recovered from the aircraft wreckage was conducted at the ATSB’s facilities in Canberra. This type of examination may reveal fine details on an instrument face, or its internal mechanism, that may assist an accident investigation gain further information about the aircraft at the time of the accident. In this instance, no additional evidence was able to be derived.
Weather and environment
The Bureau of Metrology forecast at the time of the accident were for overcast conditions, with a light north-westerly wind of up to 3 kt (6 km/h). Witnesses reported weather conditions, including wind strength that were consistent with the forecast.
Sunset on 20 July 2014 for Burrumbuttock was calculated to have occurred at 1720 and last light[5] was at 1748. The accident occurred at 1733. The position of the sun at the time of the impact with the powerline was calculated to be below the level of the horizon.[6] Under overcast conditions and with the sun having set, the pilot’s ability to observe the fine detail of the electrical wires was likely to have been significantly diminished.
Minimum height requirements
Regulation 157 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 outlines the requirements for conducting low flying. It states:
(1) The pilot in command of an aircraft must not fly the aircraft over:
(a) any city, town or populous area at a height lower than 1,000 feet; or
(b) any other area at a height lower than 500 feet.
The above requirements did not apply if weather conditions made it essential for the pilot to fly at a lower altitude. The regulation also did not apply if the aircraft was engaged in approved low flying operations, the aircraft was taking off or landing, or was engaged in the dropping of articles as part of a search and rescue operation. There was no evidence in the pilot’s documentation to indicate that the pilot was issued with a low-flying approval or permission from CASA. There was similarly no evidence to indicate that the pilot was engaged in any approved low-flying operations.
The powerline struck by the aircraft was not required to be marked in accordance with Australian Standard AS 3891.1 - 2008 Air navigation - Cables and their supporting structures - Marking and safety requirements. The electrical supply organisation reported that the section of powerline impacted by the aircraft consisted of a series of wooden poles, each supporting dual, three-strand, interwoven steel wire conductors (Figure 7). Installation drawings for the section of powerline showed that the poles had been erected and the electrical wires strung in 1994. The powerline was energised at the time of the accident and supplied electricity to a number of households in the immediate area. Each pole in the series was separated by distance of about 300 m.
The aircraft’s impact with the powerline dislodged both electrical wire conductors from their insulated tie-off points atop the cross-arm of one of the poles. One of the wires was severed from the impact and a large current fault was recorded at 1733:08 by the company’s electrical system. On-site measurements showed the point of impact to be 30 m to the nearest wooden pole and the wire height at the point of impact was estimated to be 9.5 m above the ground.
Emergency landing
It was known by some members of the local community that an emergency landing strip had existed in a relatively flat farm paddock that bordered the eastern edge of the Burrumbuttock town. The land owner of the paddock reported that the most recent aircraft to have landed on that strip was at least 20 years prior and that any remnants of the strip were probably concealed by crop.
An aerial survey flight was conducted during the on-site phase of the investigation which showed that the paddock was being used for cropping and pasture. No identifying markers or features could be observed that might otherwise indicate the location of such a strip in that paddock and the circumstances of the accident do not indicate that the pilot was seeking to conduct a forced landing.
Figure 7: The powerline (electrical wires arrowed) looking back along the flight path. A piece of the leading edge skin from the left wing is also shown
Wire strikes – an avoidable accident
The ATSB has investigated numerous accidents involving wire strikes from previous years. The investigations generally found that the pilot was involved in low flying for no identified operational reason and, in many of the occurrences, was more than likely aware of the presence of wires.
Between 1999 and 2008, there were 147 fatal accidents reported to the ATSB involving aerial work, flying training, private, business, sport and recreational flying in Australia. Of those fatal accidents, at least six were associated with unauthorised and unnecessary low flying; that is, flying lower than 1,000 ft (for a populous area) or 500 ft (for any other area) above ground.
In March 2013, the ATSB published an education series based on avoidable accidents. The first of the avoidable accident series was focused on accidents involving unnecessary and unauthorised low flying:
ATSB Avoidable Accidents No. 1 ‘Low-level flying’
Recognising the risks and hazards of low-level flying, CASA requires pilots to receive special training and endorsements before they can legally conduct low-level flying. In the accidents examined, many of the pilots did not have low-level training or an endorsement to do so, and none had a legitimate reason to be flying below the minimum limits. For most private pilots, there is generally no reason to fly at low levels, except during take-off and landing, conducting a forced or precautionary landing, or to avoid adverse weather conditions.
Visual Meteorological Conditions is an aviation flight category in which visual flight rules (VFR) flight is permitted—that is, conditions in which pilots have sufficient visibility to fly the aircraft maintaining visual separation from terrain and other aircraft.
Night Visual Flight Rules (NVFR) permit flight at night under the Visual Flight Rules (VFR) using visual navigation augmented by the use of radio navigation aids. Flight under the VFR (by day or night) must be conducted in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), that specify minimum inflight visibility and vertical and horizontal distance from cloud.
Last light is the time when the centre of the sun is at an angle of 6° below the horizon following sunset. At this time large objects are not definable but may be seen and the brightest stars are visible under clear atmospheric conditions. Last light can also be referred to as the end of evening civil twilight.
Astronomical information calculated through www.ga.gov.au. The sun had an azimuth of 293° (north north-west) and an elevation of 3° below the level of the horizon.
While flying at low-level, the aircraft struck powerlines and lost control, resulting in the impact with terrain. The ATSB determined that the aircraft was capable of normal operation up until the wire strike. Upon striking the wires, the left wing aileron cable was severed, rendering the aircraft uncontrollable for the pilot. The aircraft subsequently rolled left and impact terrain at high speed. There was no pre-existing engine or airframe defects that would have contributed to the accident.
The witness descriptions and flight path of the aircraft indicated that the pilot had deliberately intended to overfly the Farmers Inn hotel. The considerable distance at which the aircraft travelled following the wire strike, as well as its configuration as found at the accident site, was not consistent with the pilot attempting to make an emergency landing. No operational reason could be identified for the pilot to fly at a height less than the minimum prescribed levels.
Analysis of the recorded GPS data indicated that the pilot had regularly flown at, and conducted hazardous low-level flying manoeuvres in the months preceding the accident. The pilot resided just outside the Burrumbuttock township and made regular flights over the town. It was therefore probable that he was aware of the presence and location of the powerline and the hazard that it posed. Powerline poles often provide good visual cues to enable a pilot to see the electrical wires. However, when the span between the poles is large this important visual cue is diminished or unavailable.
Additionally, at the time of the accident, the sun had set below the level of the horizon and the sky was overcast, thereby further reducing the ambient light. Under these conditions the pilot’s ability to detect the electrical wires was likely to have been significantly diminished.
Identifying the powerlines
Identifying powerlines and other similar obstructions from an aircraft in low-level flight is not a simple task. If the powerlines are in an area that is known to be a hazard for aircraft operations then they are required to be marked to enhance visibility. In this case, the powerlines were not required to be marked and, therefore, there was no enhancement to indicate their presence or assist in locating them. Factors such as windscreen visibility and environmental conditions can compound the problem of detection.
Wire strike accident investigations have often revealed that the pilot was aware of the presence and location of a powerline, but have nevertheless flown into it. The investigations have shown that even in the event that a subject pilot is able to detect the wires immediately prior to contact, the operating speed of the aircraft would severely limit the opportunity to react.
The effects of a wirestrike at low level are obvious; significant damage to the aircraft, usually leading to a loss of control and, because of the lower margin for recovery, subsequent impact with the ground or water. Pilots must keep in mind that not only do powerlines exist at low levels and in remote areas, they are also not easy to identify. Even against a clear blue sky, wires are difficult to spot for a number of reasons. Wires can oxidise to a blue/grey tinge and may blend into the background, or the wire may be obscured by terrain. Wires are very difficult to detect from the air and can be encountered in the most unexpected places in rural areas. Even if a pilot has spotted a powerline, the ability to judge its distance from the aircraft can be distorted by optical illusions or a lack of nearby visual reference points.
Low-level flying also presents fewer opportunities to recover from a loss of control compared to flight at higher altitudes. It takes time to react and to regain control of an aircraft should something go wrong.
Incapacitation
The post mortem medical examination revealed a pre-existing medical condition that could have led to the pilot being incapacitated during the flight in the moments leading up to the accident. Some coronary damage in the form of plaque haemorrhage and fibrin deposition to the pilot’s heart was found during the examination. Those changes are typically seen as an immediate precursor to a coronary artery thrombosis with the potential for a ‘heart attack’ and subsequent incapacitation. It was also possible that the arterial damage observed during the post-mortem examination had been induced by the impact forces experienced by the pilot.
While this pathological evidence cannot be discounted, the possibility of an incapacitating event is tempered by the facts surrounding the accident. The recorded data supports the numerous witness statements that the aircraft was being flown in a controlled manner and had been conducting low-level manoeuvring prior to the accident. Such operation of the aircraft was consistent with both witness accounts regarding previous flights and the recorded data from the GPS from previous flights.
From the evidence available, the following findings are made with respect to accident involving a Cessna 182L aircraft, registered VH-TRS, while being flown around Burrumbuttock, New South Wales on 20 July 2014. These findings should not be read as apportioning blame or liability to any particular organisation or individual.
Contributing factors
While the pilot was operating at low level, the aircraft contacted electrical powerlines and collided with terrain.
Other factors that increased risk
The pilot did not hold any approval to conduct low flying and had not received training in the identification of hazards or in the operating techniques for flight close to the ground.
There was no evidence of any defect with the aircraft that might have contributed to the accident.
While it is possible that the pilot may have had a medical incapacitation event immediately prior to the accident, the aircraft was being operated in a manner consistent with previous flights undertaken by the pilot and at a level that provided little margin for error should such an event have been experienced.
The powerline was not fitted with visual warning markers, nor was there a requirement for such markers in accordance with the Australian Standard.
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Tag: Peregrinatio in terram sanctam
Whose words?
Dr Mary Boyle
Blog-post author: Dr Mary Boyle, Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow, Maynooth University IE
The co-opting, or re-presenting, of other pilgrimage or travel texts is an integral aspect of pilgrimage writing. This doesn’t mean that pilgrim writings are simply generic – in fact this essential repetition could be seen as getting to the heart of the practice by re-personalising the words of another. The words have become part of the new account, while the repetition itself is crucial in validating the experience. Conformity denotes authenticity. With the advent of print in the second half of the fifteenth century, it was easier and faster than ever to ensure this conformity. One chain, or web, of pilgrimage accounts, stretching at least from Nuremberg to Norfolk, via Mainz, Cologne, Koblenz, and Kent, and covering German, Latin, and English, illustrates the opportunities offered in this area by the new technology.
Image 1. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the pilgrimage account of Bernhard von Breydenbach (f.28v). Source: Münchener DigitalisierungsZentrum, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
The key printed accounts are Hans Tucher’s Reise ins Gelobte Land, Bernhard von Breydenbach’s Peregrinatio in terram sanctam, and the Pylgrymage of Sir Richard Guylforde. Associated manuscript accounts include Peter Fassbender (or Fasbender)’s Betuartt nahe dem heiligen Grabe zu Jerusalem and the Pylgrymage of Syr Rychard Torkyngton (usually now spelt ‘Torkington’), as well as the Pilgerfahrt des Ritters Arnold von Harff. The connection between most of these accounts comes as no surprise, but it’s nonetheless worth looking at and considering what it means for these men’s written experience of pilgrimage, and how that was affected by print. These accounts span the period 1479-1517, and the sections which made it all through this chain belong to the heart of the pilgrimage: the holy places.
Hans Tucher (1428-91) was in the vanguard of German published pilgrims. He travelled from Nuremberg in 1479 with Sebald Rieter (1426–1488). Rieter also produced an account which is in places so similar to Tucher’s that it’s not clear which sections originated with which man, although it’s probably safe to assume that the Rieter family’s accounts of previous pilgrimages were consulted. Rieter’s account, however, wasn’t printed until the nineteenth century, whereas in 1482, Tucher’s appeared from the press of Johann Schönsperger in Augsburg. Over the next two years it was reprinted several times.
Bernhard von Breydenbach (c. 1440-1497) needs little introduction. A canon of Mainz Cathedral, he departed on pilgrimage in 1482. Publication must have been in his mind from the start, for he took an artist with him to Jerusalem. It took around three years for Peregrinatio in terram sanctam, which he misleadingly described as a ‘bůchlyn’ (little book), to reach the press. This work drew on a large number of other texts, of which Tucher’s was only one. In 1486 it appeared in Latin (February), and then in German (June). It wasn’t long before it had been translated into Flemish, French, and Spanish as well.
Only part of Peregrinatio made it into English (from Latin), and it didn’t do so attached to Breydenbach’s name, but as part of the Pylgrymage of Sir Richard Guylforde, which was printed in 1511, four years after the pilgrims’ return. Guylforde himself, though, had died shortly after arrival in the Holy Land. Until 2013, the identity of this account’s anonymous author was unknown, but he has now been identified by Rob Lutton as Thomas Larke, the man whose book on Jerusalem was recommended by Robert Langton, when his pilgrimage ‘to saynt James in Compostell and in other holy places of Crystendome’ was printed in 1522.
By virtue of being printed, these texts were widely distributed and able to influence other accounts in turn – we will probably never know how many. I’d like to outline some examples of manuscript accounts which borrowed from this tradition on the way.
Firstly we have an offshoot midway through the chain: Peter Fassbender (c. 1450-1518), a Jerusalem pilgrim from Koblenz in the Rhineland. When he returned, Fassbender produced an account of his 1492 pilgrimage, which survives in only one manuscript. This certainly draws on Bernhard von Breydenbach, and perhaps also on Hans Tucher.
At the English end of the line, we have Richard Torkington, a priest from Norfolk, who wrote a manuscript account of his pilgrimage in 1517. This work is heavily indebted to Larke’s, and wasn’t printed until 1884, when it managed to obtain the title Ye Oldest Diarie of Englysshe Travell.
Image 3: Greeks in the pilgrimage account of Arnold von Harff. Source: Oxford, Bodleian Libraries, MS Bodl. 972, f. 53v. Photo: Mary Boyle, courtesy Bodleian Libraries.
Image 2: Greeks in the pilgrimage account of Bernhard von Breydenbach (f.77v). Source: Münchener DigitalisierungsZentrum, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
I’d also like to point to the knight Arnold von Harff (c.1471-1505), a knight from near Cologne, because his use of Breydenbach is quite different from Fassbender’s, Larke’s, or Torkington’s. He took little from the descriptions of holy sites, but he drew inspiration from Breydenbach’s images and alphabets, as well as some text. Harff’s account circulated after 1499, along with a set of illustrations, amongst the Rhineland nobility, and fifteen manuscripts survived into the modern era. He called on many previous travel reports and other sources in addition to Breydenbach, amongst them John Mandeville (probably in Michael Velser’s translation), Marco Polo, and Odoric of Pordenone.
Image 5: Greeks in the pilgrimage account of Arnold von Harff (Oxford, Bodleian Libraries, MS Bodl. 972, f. 53v. Photo: Mary Boyle, courtesy Bodleian Libraries.
Image 4: ‘Sarraceni lingua et littera’ (Saracen language and letters) in the pilgrimage account of Bernhard von Breydenbach (f.75r). Source: Münchener DigitalisierungsZentrum, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
With each step, changes in the copied sections were introduced. These could be omissions or additions, and some of these changes are simply the result of switching languages or dialects. On several occasions, the chain passed back out of print, but print was key to its spread. Breydenbach, for example, drew on the manuscript of Paul Walther von Guglingen, a fellow traveller, when describing the non-Christian inhabitants of the Holy Land, but for the visits to the holy places themselves, he chose Tucher’s published work rather than the manuscript account of his acquaintance – it mattered that he was conforming to an image already widely distributed.
Print, of course, was by no means the only reason for the conformity of pilgrim writing. What it did was make that conformity quicker and easier to spread, and easier to present to a wide audience. The works circulating in Europe upheld and broadcast the experience of the Franciscan package deal in Jerusalem.
Author ubapin002Posted on 2017-10-20 2017-10-20 Categories EssayTags Arnold von Harff, Augsburg, Bernhard von Breydenbach, Betuartt nahe dem heiligen Grabe zu Jerusalem, Cologne, Franciscan, Hans Tucher, Jerusalem, Johann Schönsperger, Koblenz, Mainz Cathedral, Marco Polo, Mary Boyle, Michael Velser, Nuremberg, Odoric of Pordenone, Peregrinatio in terram sanctam, Peter Fasbender, Peter Fassbender, Pilgerfahrt des Ritters Arnold von Harff, Pylgrymage of Sir Richard Guylforde, Pylgrymage of Syr Rychard Torkington, Pylgrymage of Syr Rychard Torkyngton, Reise ins Gelobte Land, Richard Torkington, Rob Lutton, Robert Langton, Sarraceni lingua et littera’, Sebald Rieter, Thomas Larke, Ye Oldest Diarie of Englysshe Travell.Leave a comment on Whose words?
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Thread: Happy Birthday U.S. Coast Guard
jamieooh
Happy Birthday U.S. Coast Guard
Written by: Steven Hoarn (Associate Editor) on August 4, 2012
Today marks 222 years of service by the U.S. Coast Guard. Since being founded as the Revenue Cutter Service on Aug. 4, 1790, the Coast Guard has undergone many changes, but still lives up to its motto, “Semper Paratus.� The above photo gallery spotlights just a few of the roles that the Coast Guard plays as the oldest continuous maritime service in the United States.
http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/s...2012-l-photos/
For any support questions please contact the AC staff team via the Contact form - or via email apacheclips@gmail.com.
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Film / TV score composer Joel Goldsmith dies
Posted on May 3, 2012 in Film/TV/Audio, News
According to SFScope, composer Joel Goldsmith, son of prolific film and TV composer Jerry Goldsmith, died of cancer on 29 April 2012 at the age of 54.
During his career he was nominated for three Emmys, for his work on Stargate SG-1 (1998) and Stargate: Atlantis (2005 and 2006). He composed the music for more than 350 episodes in the Stargate franchise.
His other genre work includes: War of the Dead (2011), Sanctuary (2008-09), Witchblade (2000), Monster! (1999), The Outer Limits (1997), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Vampirella (1996), Rattled (1996), Corpse Killer (1994), Man’s Best Friend (1993), The Rift (1990), Watchers (1988), Robot Holocaust (1986), The Man with Two Brains (1983), Island of Blood (1982), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Piranha (1978), Laserblast (1978), and End of the World (1977).
Joel Goldsmith
Chris Marker, film-maker who inspired modern sf, dies
Cover artist Darrell K. Sweet passes
60s Brit TV SF actor, Peter Halliday, dies aged 87
Award-winning SF novelist Harry Harrison dies aged 87
UK actors secure Star Trek roles
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THE BEST OF BRITISH FANTASY 2018: Short Stories ed by Jared Shurin. Review. https://t.co/yV3z2DBhCY
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Where Storytelling, Music, Humor and Philosophy Fight for a Word in Edgewise
Nobody's Business No. 1
November 16, 2016 Stephen Hopkins
Yet Another Unsolicited Post-Election Review and Radical Wish List
I hate to say I told you so, but I did. Sure, my little snippet of unhelpful wisdom is buried somewhere in a useless Facebook or Twitter feed from a year and a half ago, but the NSA probably has a record of it and you can probably dig it up if you know the right people. What I said was: “I wouldn’t bet against Donald Trump. I think he’s just the asshole our reality-drunk nation has been waiting for.”
But then again, who really gives a shit?
This brutal, intentionally divisive election cycle, including the “inconceivable” specter of a megalomaniacal cartoon supervillain reality TV star being handed the keys to the Oval Office and the little black box with nation’s nuclear launch codes, was inevitable. If it hadn’t happened in 2016 it would have happened in 2020 0r 2024. Our sputtering “democracy” has been ripe for the picking at least since the dawn of the television era. It’s actually a miracle that it’s taken this long … that miracle being a couple of dogged reporters figuring out that Richard Nixon was running a black ops domestic spying operation from the White House basement, which kicked the executive power grab down a few pegs for a half generation or so.
Now that the imperial presidency, thanks to G.W. Bush (actually Dick Cheney) and his stealth understudy, Barack Obama, has been cranked up to full stream again, it’s time to shuck the pretense and reintroduce the Leni Reifenstahl stagecraft, the spiffy SS-style uniforms and the crushing atmosphere of paranoia, just in time for a real gold-headed sociopath to be in place to appreciate it all.
But Donald Trump, as blowhardy and narcissistic as he is, is probably no Adolf Hitler. He’s really more akin to what would have happened had Agent 007 failed his mission and Auric Goldfinger had cornered the gold market by vaporizing Fort Knox. Who knows what sort of administration Herr Goldfinger might have installed, once he calmed down and got to the business of actually ruling the world? There would have been no precedent, just like now. Trump’s few real policy statements, shoehorned off the cuff into speeches that were 99 percent about how he was kicking ass attracting bigger crowds of lumpen proles than the hapless “losers” in his gold-plated path, were all over the ideological map, even when he wasn’t backtracking on them every five minutes. Among the few more reasonable ideas I thought I heard were that he wants to spend money on infrastructure, put a stop to the notion that we have to police the world by ourselves, and that he said NAFTA and the TPP are pieces of shit that give away the store, which they are. He spouted a lot of harebrained, often scary ideas as well, which is why he is ten times the enigma Barack Obama ever dreamed of being, and why he seems to be just as popular with people who are sick of the status quo. Trump will either turn out to be a complete con man and liar who duped the red meat American proletariat into electing him because he knew how easy it would be to hornswoggle them, or he’ll be exactly what he’s looked like over the past two years: a small-minded, vindictive, infantile, possibly criminally insane mass of out-of-control ego, incapable of governing his way out of a paper bag and leading our poor nation straight into the toilet. Me, I’m preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.
Which brings me to this: What better opportunity than now to foist a few new ideas into the mix, and to crack the ideological stranglehold certain political notions have on the knee-jerk conservative/liberal majority? I’ve been sitting on a pretty mixed-up bag of suggestions for years now, and am thinking it’s high time to toss them out there to our new president-elect, with whom there actually seems to be a chance for seat-of-the-pants rearranging of priorities for a few minutes before things coagulate and the swamp fills back in around his golden throne.
For instance, I have some things in common with the tea partiers he courted so successfully. As an American growing up in the most violent country on the planet, I think ordinary innocent people should be able to have guns in the house, and in their pockets and purses, to wave at attackers and, if necessary, to shoot them in the extremities without being dragged downtown on a gun or assault charge. I think there’s too much arbitrary, redundant and needlessly complex regulation, especially in state government. I think property taxes are way too high, that public school districts should be consolidated and a lot of unnecessary deadwood should be removed, especially at the administrative level. That doesn’t mean destroying the salaries and benefits of good teachers, who are more valuable to society than just about anyone else. I think other taxes are way too high as well, and that there’s a lot of waste and flat-out corruption in government. It’ll probably always be so, no matter who’s in charge or how big or small government gets. It’s human nature.
But I part ways with the neo-libertarian movement on many fronts. I think America’s burgeoning rich should dispense with the Scrooge act, suck it up and pull their financial weight, tax-wise. Are you listening, Donald? I suspect there’s a closet Roosevelt lurking somewhere inside that puffed-up chest. Call me a pinko commie socialist, but I think cradle-to-grave, single-payer health coverage (including dental and eye care) is the way to go, for everyone in the U.S., not to mention the world. I agree with you that Obamacare is a Frankenstein monster, but my main objection is that it kowtows to the rapacious insurance industry, which should butt out of health care altogether and stick to covering stuff that’s not going to happen to virtually everyone: things like accidents, fires, floods, earthquakes and personal injuries. If you want to get real universal health care done state by state, fine. Just do it.
Yes, single-payer health care will be costly, but there’s an enormous benefit side as well, in quicker and surer response to medical need, increased productivity, elevating of the general standard of living by a significant degree, and a sharp rise in disposable income among those who actually spend money in the economy.
To support it, tax the very rich, and close all potential loopholes. If you don’t like that part, Donald, you could probably get down with this: Legalize marijuana production, sale, distribution and purchase, and tax it unmercifully. The same with sports betting, gambling and in-house prostitution, all of which currently are untaxed, multibillion-dollar industries. These activities, which despite (in fact, because of) being banned are all happening pervasively, dangerously and expensively under the outnumbered, often corrupted noses of law enforcement, could easily be regulated into semi-respectable industries, rendered much safer and less influential on society by eliminating their underground status and bringing them into the light.
As a former front-line soldier in the long and vicious War on Poverty, I like the idea of welfare and Social Security, if not the shoddy implementation. I think when Clinton succeeded in chopping the federal welfare rolls beyond Ronald Reagan’s wildest dreams, he cut off the government’s nose to spite its face, and the result is a lot of the expensive drain on state and local coffers that’s been bankrupting us ever since. The really down-and-out people who used to get welfare have not lifted themselves up, gotten McJobs and become contributing members of couch-potato consumer society. They’re either dead, subsisting in an unpaid hospital bed, nonprofit group home or shelter, living in boxes, sewers and train tunnels, or sending their children out to sell drugs to your children to make their ragged ends meet.
I still think poor people in America should be treated better than poor people in other countries, because this is America and we ought to take care of our own and show how it’s done. Nobody should be hungry or homeless, anywhere. If you insist on being religious about it, it’s a sin, and a far greater one than allowing some poor schlub to pay a fee for a little physical relief, smoke a little reefer before bed, or bet on the Giants once in a while without risking a stay in one of our overcrowded, insanely expensive jails.
For better or worse, most of these poor people, as well as a lot of rich and middle-class ones, live in cities. Cities cost a lot of public money to operate and maintain. Their streets should be clean, safe, well lit and pothole-free. Their schools should be the equal of those in the suburbs. They should have good, clean public transportation. Garbage should be collected. It’s a group effort to keep things up to snuff. If that sort of “socialism” costs money, it’s damn sure a lot less than the money being spent cleaning up after the mess we’ve let fester in our midst. Leaving even one city out there twisting in the wind is, to my mind, un-American.
By the way, America’s red/blue divide — the one Trump manipulated so easily — is really an urban/rural divide. Letting people like Rupert Murdoch — who could give a crap about us as anything but a property to be used in a giant Monopoly game — turn our rural and urban populations against each other by fomenting distrust and fear is weakening us and hastening our collapse into a bargain ripe for plucking by his pals, the Chinese (who happen to be actual pinko commie socialists!). Americans need to embrace each other, find common ground, and build ourselves up. White, rural people need to stop acting like xenophobic, racist homophobes, and snotty, self-centered urban dwellers need to realize that, without a flinty rural backbone, this reasonably well-defended fortress of a nation wouldn’t exist as a host for their interesting experiments in testing the limits of personal freedom.
Related to this, I think the tea partiers, in their half-thought-out zeal to strip government of its ability to govern, have entered into an unwitting and unholy alliance with an entrenched corporate oligarchy (I like to call it an oiligarchy) that is relentlessly conspiring to keep us all sucking on the fossil fuel tit, to our own detriment. There’s nothing “conservative” about the behavior of the world’s oil, gas, coal, energy, plastics, pharmaceutical, electronics and chemical companies, which are fast obliterating the livability of the planet and turning it into an earthly hell, no matter what you think about “global warming.” As a power bloc, these companies through their paid political enablers are trying desperately to maintain dominance in a world that’s getting ready to replace them and render them to history’s dustbin. The closer to extinction they get, the faster they connive to foist upon us a blizzard of dirty, money-saving processes that end up poisoning our air and water, laying waste to our lands, and shortening our ever filthier, asthma-and-cancer-afflicted lives. Neither Hillary nor Trump bothered talking about this, because they were both obviously in the oiligarchy’s pocket, which is really why we got to choose between the two of them.
I would urge those of a libertarian bent to wake up and see that they’re being seriously manipulated. As a litmus test in this particular region, I use the stances of tea party candidates on environmental issues, like gas drilling using chemical-dependent hydraulic fracturing methods. If a conservative candidate utters the mantra “drill baby, drill,” parrots Koch brothers-influenced dreck like “global warming is the greatest hoax of the last 100 years,” or characterizes and environmental agenda as “not just evil, but…contrary to the free-market system that made this country great,” then you know he or she is merely a shill for the scorched-earth campaign being waged by these two fossil fuel industry billionaires and their friends. Problem is, the gas industry has routinely gotten to virtually all the winnable candidates, making the point moot, for now at least.
Then there’s the viper’s nest of social issues everyone on all sides seem to think are most important, but which we should be putting on the back burner for a day (or decade) or two to better concentrate on the survival of our species. Still, they’ve got to be dealt with, so here goes. While I’m a card-carrying nonbeliever, I share a lot of basic values and morals with my Judeo-Christian and (mainstream) Muslim friends. For instance, I agree that one shouldn’t kill, steal, covet or commit adultery. While I think males don’t have the right to tell women how to deal with the issue and should back off, I also believe aborting a fetus is, under all but the most compelling contingencies, an extraordinarily unsettling and life-denying choice to make, and should be strongly counseled against — by health professionals, not by religious organizations. It’s not a religious question, but a question of humane values.
I apparently take “Thou shalt not kill” more seriously than most of my brethren on the religious right. Not only do I not condone killing unborn babies, I don’t condone killing anybody, for any reason. So obviously, I’m against the death penalty, period. I’m also personally antiwar in nature, although I don’t know what to do about that. I suppose if some fool came running at my family wearing a vest lined with C4 explosives, I’d want him dead, and would try to figure out a way to kill him, fast. I know we’ve painted ourselves into a corner as a nation, making this sort of thing a likelihood at some point or another. It would be better in the end if we could all try to get along, but since that’s not going to happen any time soon, I’m forced into accepting protection from the largest, most powerful armed forces on earth, as well as my nation’s decisions as to how to use them. If, like Obama, after getting "the talk" from his military advisers, Trump still wants to keep our people in Afghanistan, there's probably a good reason for it, and you and I are stuck with it. I may be nonviolent, but I'm not suicidal.
I have absolutely nothing to add to the questions of gay and lesbian issues, women’s rights issues, immigration issues, or anything else in the human rights arena, except that every human being should be treated exactly the same under the law of the United States, with no consideration as to any arbitrary distinction. If you are a consenting adult, having a certain configuration of procreative apparatus in your abdomen or between your legs should make no difference, either in what you choose to do with it, or in what rights you and the consenting adult you choose to hook up with in life are granted as a couple.
The tea partiers have a historical point. Marriage, as originally envisioned, is a vestigial societal construct that was created to favor men, help them control their women and give them a status boost. Its role as a tool of social dominance has been dying out since women got the right to vote and divorce laws changed. Indeed, its only real role these days is as an official status by which married couples rate better tax rates, health insurance and death benefits. Either extend its benefits to everybody who wants them, or abolish it as a legal status altogether; I don’t really care.
There’s probably more, but I’m tired. Do me a favor, Mr. Trump, and chew on these ideas for a minute or two, before going off half-cocked. You won, and you don’t have to suck up to these meth-heads and rednecks for three more years. I believe if you were able to get through even one or two of these ideas you might actually even give America a fighting chance to become great again. But no matter what you do, try not to send us back to the Dark Ages. And try not to croak, because your running mate seems to me to be the real nightmare. What the fuck were you thinking? Anyway, congratulations, and good night.
Biff Thuringer
← Nobody's Business No. 2
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City of Bayfield - Historic Preservation
Guide to Historic Preservation
Historic Preservation Ordinance Adopted June 1998
Historic Preservation District:
About the District:
The Bayfield Historic District follows the example of the district established by the US Park Service in 1981. The Park Service recognized a 50 block area to be included in the National Register of Historic Places. This district was amended to include the waterfront, and the approach corridors (Hwy 13).
Since Bayfield doesn't have a single definable neighborhood of Victorian mansions, a town square surrounded by the towns earliest buildings, or an aged warehouse district, as you can see, a large part of the town has been included. This allows for a unique representation of a bigger picture. The visual character of Bayfield, the feel of the place, is as much from the modest homes on the hills, as from stately mansions. It is an architectural history and ethic not created solely by prosperity but by periods of just hanging on.
All was the result of a community blessed with abundant lumber, a spectacular setting, and lives tied to the lake for their livelihood, transportation and recreation.
Introduction and History
Bayfield was first plotted out of the wilderness in 1856. The abundance of lumber and fish and the possibility of becoming an important port on the western reaches of the Great Lakes were enough reason for the town to grow. Bayfield reached the peak of prosperity at the turn of the last century, from about 1880-1910. The fishing, lumber and brownstone industries were booming, creating wealth from the surrounding wilderness. It was during this period that Bayfield's enduring identity was created. The feel of Bayfield is rooted in the architecture of this boom time, whether it's the sweeping lake view porches of the Queen Ann mansions or the modest steep peaked roofs, and clapboard sided houses of the more prevalent class.
The architectural character of Bayfield came from an abundance of local wood and stone, skilled ethnic craftsman experimenting with a freer style, and from, of course, the lake, toward which the developing town was oriented.
Purpose and Intent
The City of Bayfield has adopted the Historic Preservation Ordinance for the following reasons:
TO COMPLY with a State mandate that requires any City or Village with property listed on the National Register of Historic Places to create a historic preservation ordinance.
TO PRESERVE. It has been said, as a culture, the past defines the present. The preservation of our architecture provides a link to the past and contributes greatly to our "sense of place". Bayfield's distinct past gives us a glimpse of a Great Lakes, turn of the century, fishing village and the City feels an obligation to preserve this view.
TO FOSTER civic pride by honoring and caring for the efforts of those who labored before us.
TO STABILIZE property values by ensuring the predictability of contiguous, harmonious neighborhoods. While contemporary design and building methods should be encouraged to evolve in some neighborhoods, in older neighborhoods they may as often detract as enhance.
TO RECYCLE and promote the wise reuse of the native resources of stone and lumber that helped create Bayfield.
TO ATTRACT visitors interested in a place distinct from the homogeneous sprawl of developing America.
TO STRENGTHEN the local economy by creating a collective effect of preservation and local investment.
TO ENHANCE the quality of what we view by preserving the interesting elements of our architectural past and lending cohesiveness to our visual experience.
TO EDUCATE residents and visitors about what it is we are attempting to preserve.
Historic Preservation Guidelines
(2.15 MB PDF - updated 03/23/2018)
Surrounded by natural beauty, we are fortunate to live in a small, caring community and to have inherited an unspoiled historically lovely town. We all need to uphold the historic traditions of our City.
In this community we have a unique opportunity to balance growth with the preservation of our architectural heritage, both in our homes and in our business district. For the last 100 years, or so, the residents of Bayfield have maintained these homes and businesses with an ethic of hard work and practicality, as economics would allow. This, for the most part has preserved the spirit of the architecture of that robust era. THIS ORDINANCE REQUESTS NOTHING MORE.
The Bayfield Historic Preservation Ordinance is being established to create a structure for and to give substance to what has already been started by the citizens here: a town that is lovely to drive into, a treat to walk through, and is as yet uncluttered with the architectural "eyesores" that many communities are trying to rectify around this state and in this country. With this ordinance we will continue to improve and beautify the treasure that is Bayfield. It will reaffirm to long time residents that we have not lost sight of what has been created here and it will give direction and guidance as we welcome newcomers to this the Best Little Town in the Midwest.
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The Secret Behind the London Revival
When Dwight L. Moody visited London, a minister invited him to preach for him the next morning and night. Mr. Moody said, "When the time came I began to speak to them it seemed the hardest talking I ever did." He wished he had not promised to speak again at night.
At night he was having a hard time again. But about half-way through his talk, "The people's faces changed. It impressed me so that when I finished speaking I gave the invitation for those who wanted to be Christians to rise. I thought there might be a few. To my immense surprise the people got up in groups."
Mr. Moody thought they had misunderstood and explained again that he was only inviting those who wanted to be Christians.
The people came crowding, filling all available space. Mr. Moody talked again a few minutes, and then asked those who would be Christians to rise. This time he knew he had made his meaning clear. They got up in clumps, in groups, by fifties!
Then the minister said to Mr. Moody, "What'll I do with these people? I don't know what to do; this is something new."
Moody stayed ten days. Four hundred were added to that church and every church near by felt the impact of those ten days.
Now what was the explanation of that marvelous revival? A church member was sick and unable to leave her bed. God led her to pray for her church.
Sundays, after church service, the sick woman would ask, "Any special interest in church today?"
"No," was the constant reply.
But one Sunday noon the sister came in from service and said, "A stranger from America preached today. I think his name was Moody."
The sick woman's lip trembled a bit, and she quietly said: "I know what that means. There's something coming to the old church. Don't bring me any dinner. I must spend this afternoon in prayer."
Nearly two years before she had read an article by Mr. Moody and her heart burned. God led her to pray that God would send that man into their church in London. No one knew of it but herself and God.
Behind the consecrated Moody, was that woman's praying and fasting. Yet we do not know her name.
Thank You, Lord, for those who perform the all-important secret service of Spirit-led praying and fasting
"I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me" (Romans 15:13).
Hinthorn June 5, 2012 Comment
What to Do When Jesus Sleeps
Hinthorn June 6, 2012
Satan's Two Lies
Hinthorn May 31, 2012
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Posts tagged: evidence
Service of Arbitration Claim Form on Solicitors
In Cruz City 1 Mauritius Holdings v Unitech Ltd and Others [2013], the Court considered an application for an order requiring disclosure of assets worldwide and in the context confirmed the validity of the commercial court’s practice of permitting service of arbitration claims on solicitors within the jurisdiction where:
The underlying arbitration is seated within the jurisdiction (thereby engaging the court’s supervisory jurisdiction).
There is “good reason” for service to take place quicker than under the applicable service convention – the court will be satisfied in “the vast majority of cases” that good reason exists confirming the pro-arbitration policy of the English courts.
Therefore, it followed that the fact that arbitration enforcement proceedings and the application for disclosure had been served on the defendants’ solicitors in London, did not provide grounds for setting aside service. The Court went on to hold that the court had jurisdiction to require disclosure of assets, even though the defendant was outside the jurisdiction and ordered such disclosure to be made.
The court has jurisdiction under section 37(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 (SCA) to order freezing injunctions, including ancillary orders requiring a defendant to disclose its assets worldwide. In Maclaine Watson & Co Ltd v International Tin Council (No 2) [1989] and The Naftilos [1995], it was held that such ancillary disclosure orders could be made even if no freezing injunction was ordered. Freezing injunctions may be granted in support of arbitral proceedings, including proceedings to enforce arbitral awards, pursuant to section 37(1) of the SCA or section 44 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (1996 Act).
In Masri v Consolidated Contractors International (UK) Ltd and others (No 4) [2008] , the House of Lords held that CPR 71 does not enable an order for examination to be made against an officer of a corporate judgment debtor who is outside the jurisdiction.
Service out of the jurisdiction by an alternative method may be ordered pursuant to CPR 6.15. However, this power will only be exceptionally exercised (Cecil v Bayat [2011] and Abela v Baardarani [2011]). Nevertheless, in the arbitration context, the Commercial Court has generally allowed arbitration claim forms to be served within the jurisdiction on the solicitors representing the relevant party in the underlying arbitration. This “invariable practice” was referred to in Kyrgyz Republic Ministry of Transport Department of Civil Aviation v Finrep GmbH [2006] and Joint Stock Asset Management Co Ingosstrakh-Investments v BNP Paribas [2012].
Criz City v Unitech concerned an LCIA arbitration seated in London, awards having been made against three defendants. Permission to enforce the awards was granted pursuant to section 66 of the 1996 Act . The arbitration claim form was stamped “not for service out of the jurisdiction” and was served, with the court’s permission, on the defendants’ solicitors in London. The claimant applied for a further order compelling the defendants to disclose their assets worldwide, pursuant to section 37 of the SCA. This further application was also served, with the court’s permission, on the defendants’ solicitors.
The defendants argued that:
There were no sufficiently exceptional circumstances justifying service on the defendants’ London solicitors and service should be set aside.
Masri precluded the court from ordering a foreign defendant to disclose its assets.
The Court rejected the defendants’ arguments and granted the disclosure order noting that neither Cecil v Bayat or Abela was concerned with arbitration claims. In Kyrgyz, Tomlinson J had commented that the Commercial Court’s “invariable practice” was to permit service of an arbitration claim form within the jurisdiction on the solicitors representing the defendant in the underlying arbitration. The Court of Appeal had subsequently referred to this practice, without disapproval, in BNP Paribas.It followed that it was open to the Commercial Court to continue to implement its usual practice in respect of arbitration claims concerning arbitrations seated within the jurisdiction, as long as there is good reason for service to be achieved faster than it would be under the relevant service convention.
Furthermore, the fact that the current application was made pursuant to section 37 of the SCA did not prevent it from being an “arbitration claim” for these purposes. The claim was one “affecting arbitration proceedings” within the definition of an arbitration claim in CPR 62.2(1)(d). This conclusion was consistent with the overriding policy in favour of enforcement of arbitration awards.
Finally, the Court rejected an argument that the claimants ought to have applied for permission to serve the claim form out of the jurisdiction (rather than permission to serve on the defendants’ London solicitors). Where a claimant seeks an order for alternative service within the jurisdiction, it is unnecessary to apply for permission to serve out provided the court is informed that the proposed defendants are outside the jurisdiction.
In Masri, the issue was whether the court had jurisdiction to make an order under CPR 71.2 directing an individual non-party to attend court. Here, by contrast, the order requested was not an order addressed to a non-party outside the jurisdiction but, rather, an order against defendants who are subject to the court’s jurisdiction. There was nothing in the ratio of Masri that would prevent the court from making such orders pursuant to the SCA.
It followed that the court had jurisdiction to make the order for disclosure and, in light of the policy in favour of enforcement of arbitral awards, it would be just and convenient to do so.
Tags: arbitration clause, award, challenge, evidence, London, seat
Arbitration | pra | June 6, 2013 9:23 am | Comments (0)
I am pleased to announce the ‘birth’ of the Guide to the IBA Rules
I am pleased to announce the ‘birth’ of “The IBA Rules on Taking Evidence in International Arbitration – A Guide”. The Guide reproduces the Rules and the Commentary by the IBA Committee and I have added my own thoughts on how practitioners and arbitral tribunals might approach issues that arise from the Rules.
The IBA Rules are commonly used in international commercial arbitration (and investor – state arbitrations) and yet there are few guides to their use and interpretation. I trust my thoughts benefit the discussion of their application.
The book is available from the publishers, Cambridge University Press, at http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item6969277/?site_locale=en_GB (and other good bookshops!)
Tags: arbitration, arbitration appointment, arbitration clause, efficiency, evidence, IBA Rules, ICC, LCIA
Arbitration | pra | January 14, 2013 3:48 pm | Comments (0)
Admissible Evidence under s69
In Dolphin Tanker Srl v Westport Petroleum Inc [2010] the Court rejected a submission that the scope of admissible evidence on an appeal under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 had been broadened by recent authority, or by recent revisions to CPR PD62. The Court confirmed the general rule that only the award and the relevant contract were admissible. The extraneous evidence adduced by the applicant (including expert evidence showing the commercial background to the contract) was excluded.
The Court summarised the relevant principles as follows:
There has been no relaxation of the general rule that only the award and the relevant contract are admissible. This rule is not affected by the recently revised PD 62 (which allows a party to put before the court “any document (such as the contract or the relevant parts thereof) which is referred to in the award and which the court needs to read to determine a question of law”).
There is a limited exception to the general rule where the award has set out the relevant contractual terms in abbreviated form, or has summarised the effect of an identified contractual exchange, or has identified documents as having contractual effect, without setting out their terms. In such cases, the documents referred to or summarised are admissible because they are highly relevant to the identified question of law. The court “needs” to see the documents (for the purposes of PD 62) because it cannot carry out its appellate function without them.
An appeal on a question of law is confined to the facts found by the award.
Although all contracts must be construed against their commercial background, the only admissible findings in relation to that commercial background are those in the award.
Tags: arbitration, evidence
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Pearl Jardine
Pearl Mary Theresa Jardine was born on October 4th, 1924 to Carl Waldemar Svenson, later changed by Ellis Island to Charles Swanson, and Anna Rosa Aiani. She was born in Chicago but soon the family moved to Tinley Park, Illinois. She was a member of Saint George’s Parish.
She married Norris James (Jim) Robertson of Clinton, Arkansas and they had a son, Norris James (Tom) and a daughter, Sally Jane. In 1951, she married Ralph Edwin Brockley who adopted her children and changed all their names to Jardine to match his stepfather.
Pearl and Ralph managed Jardine’s Restaurant on 159th and Oak Park Avenue for many years, taking over from Ralph’s mother, Gladys Jardine. They retired to Savannah, Georgia in 1975, golfing when the weather was fine and traveling when it was too hot. At home, they entertained friends, played bridge and poker, and raised a succession of yellow Labradors. Amateur archeology was another of their passions along with white-water rafting. Pearl was an embroiderer, a painter and a gardener. She was always looking forward to the next fun event. Her philosophy was “never turn down an invitation because they might never ask you again.”
They moved to Holiday Island, Arkansas in 1982 at the urging of Pearl’s lifelong friends and school mates, Freddie and Mary Jane Willman, building their first home on Shield’s Spur. They loved exploring the Ozarks, driving down every country road and stopping at a different eatery each time. Pearl enjoyed golf and bridge and also began helping her color-blind husband with his stained-glass work by choosing the color palette.
Meeting people and making friends was Pearl’s life work. Her dad called her a chatterbox and she continued that talent by writing her life story and memories of the restaurant and her trips for the family and friends. You can listen to her travel stories on YouTube under “Pearl’s Travelogues.” Pearl and Ralph traveled to almost every country, making friends and enjoying life. Her address book was always in tatters because of all the additions she would make after every trip or cruise. She had many wonderful times with the Red Hat Club, and the Elks Club where she volunteered to be the Bathroom Cleaner-in-Chief.
As her thoughts became more confused, she gave up driving and bridge, but not without a fight. Her last days were made more pleasant and bearable by the excellent care provided to her by the staff and management of Green Acres and by the earthly angels of Hospice. The family wants to express their great debt of gratitude to both of these groups.
Pearl is survived by her daughter Sally, her daughter-in-law Carol, her grandsons Jeffrey, Jonathan and Daniel, and her great-grandchildren Jessi, Nicolas, Reyal and Angelina.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Anna Swanson, her husband Ralph, her son Norris (Tom) Jardine and her brother Richard Swanson.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to Hospice or to the Good Shepherd Humane Society of Carroll County.
Funeral Service will be Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at the St. Elizabeth Catholic Church at 11:00 a.m. Memorial donations may be made to Good Shepherd Humane Society, 6486 Hwy 62 E., Eureka Springs, AR 72632 or Hospice of the Hills 501 E. Sherman Avenue Harrison, AR 72601. Arrangements are under the direction of Nelson Funeral Service. Online condolences may be sent to the family at nelsonfuneral.com.
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Is the Genesis Story of Creation True?
By Steven R. Hemler
Photo Credit: FLickr/EladeManu
Some people believe the creation story in Genesis is literally and historically true. They believe the universe was created only several thousand years ago, in six, 24-hour “days.” However, there is another way to read this story. The story of creation found in Genesis could be a literary form similar to the parables of Jesus.
What was the truth conveyed in the parables of Jesus? Was it the plot and storyline? For example, was the Prodigal Son a real person and was Jesus describing actual events? Was there really a Good Samaritan who actually helped a beaten Jew? The plot of the parables does not have to be literally and historically true in order for them to teach us something very important. The truths that Jesus conveyed by means of parables are found within the fictional plot. For example, God’s love for each of us is the same as the unconditional love of the father towards his Prodigal Son. Like the Good Samaritan, we are also called to proactively show our love for all, even those who are not like us or who are alienated from us.
Similarly, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), Genesis presents God’s work of creation “symbolically” (CCC 337, 375, 390). Just like a parable, the plot does not have to be literally and historically accurate in order for this story to convey profound religious truths (see CCC 109-110, 295-301, 337-349). Several of these religious truths are:
1) God created all things from nothing and everything God created is good.
2) God made the universe in an orderly and sequential fashion over a period of time. First, there was light and energy (the “Big Bang”). Then, the stars, planets, seas and lands were created.
3) Life was created in an ever increasing complexity. First plants, then sea animals, and then land animals. Finally, human beings were created.
4) Each human being, and all human beings together, are the supreme culmination of God’s creation and are created in God’s own image and likeness.
5) The created order is subject to humans, but not absolutely so. Humans must protect its future for their descendants.
6) God gave all humans a free will. Humans, unlike animals, can rationally consider and consciously choose in their decisions.
7) Humans, however, are limited in their judgment and knowledge.
8) From the very beginning, human beings have misused their free will and have surrendered to selfishness and sinned.
9) Sin brought, and continues to bring, hardship and suffering into the world and into our lives. We are called to use our free will in accord with God’s Will.
None of these religious truths conflict with what science reveals about the origin and development of the universe and life on earth. However, science cannot teach us about the purpose and meaning of life. Only theology can do that. Could the Bible, which deals primarily with religious truth, be necessary to complement and complete what astronomy, geology, physics, and biology tell us about our origins? Many people think so.
For as it says in the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not one thing came into being... For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
To further explore the question: “Which is True: Evolution, Creation, or Both?” and find out more about compelling evidence of God’s existence, please see my new book, The Reality of God: The Layman’s Guide to Scientific Evidence for the Creator, which may be obtained from the publisher St. Benedict Press/TAN Books or on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1618902180.
Steven R. Hemler
Steven R. Hemler is President of the Catholic Apologetics Institute of North America (CAINA) and author of The Reality of God: The Layman's Guide to Scientific Evidence for the Creator and Search No More: The Keys to Truth and Happiness, both published by St. Benedict Press & TAN Books.Steve has a Master of Pastoral Studies degree from Loyola University of Chicago, as well as Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil/Structural Engineering from Virginia Tech. He has been actively involved in adolescent and adult religious education for over 30 years. After a 33-year professional engineering career, including 13 years in the Middle East, Steve voluntarily took early retirement in 2011 to follow a calling to serve God and the Church full time. Steve and his wife Linda have been married for over 40 years and have three grown children. They live in Culpeper, Virginia. For more information go to:
www.cainaweb.org
https://www.facebook.com/CAINAonline
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1618902180
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1505112745
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Comweb/William F. White Int’l and The Canadian Film Centre announce $100,000 Jay Switzer Memorial Scholarship Fund for Indigenous Filmmakers
Toronto, September 10, 2018 – Paul Bronfman, Chairmain/CEO of Comweb Corporation/William F. White Int’l and Slawko Klymkiw, CEO of the Canadian Film Centre (CFC), are exceptionally proud to announce the creation of the Jay Switzer Comweb/William F. White Int’l Indigenous Creator Scholarship as a tribute to the late Canadian media figure. Administered through the CFC, the $100,000 award will be distributed over the next 10 years.
“When it comes to the broadcast world, beside the dictionary definition of ‘icon’ is a picture of Jay Switzer: a man for whom the only attribute larger than his intellect and business acumen was the size of his heart. Jay was a dear friend of mine, a mentor, a total mensch. I cannot tell you how much we miss him at the Comweb/William F. White Int’l board table. I am thrilled that we can help sustain his impact and commitment to Indigenous creators,” said Whites’ CEO Paul Bronfman.
“We are truly grateful for Jay’s support of the CFC over the years,” said Slawko Klymkiw, CEO, CFC. "Jay was a visionary leader and a tireless champion of Canadian creative talent. The scholarship honours Jay’s legacy and through this award he will live on in our industry.”
“Jay would be extremely honoured that Paul and Slawko are continuing his unwavering support of the Indigenous creative community. And he would be so touched, as I am, that through this generous scholarship, Jay’s longstanding legacy of commitment and devotion to this community will be recognized,” said his wife, actress Ellen Dubin.
Further details concerning the scholarship will be announced at a later date.
About Jay Switzer
Jay Switzer helped build and lead some of Canada's biggest broadcasting entities. He got an early introduction to the broadcasting business: his father was cable engineer "Sruki" Switzer and his mother was Citytv co-founder Phyllis Switzer. Jay rose up the ranks at Chum Ltd., from switchboard operator at just 16 years old, to president and CEO in 2002. Jay was instrumental in expanding CHUM into new markets – notably he wrote the licence application that would bring MuchMusic to air. In 2010, Jay co-founded Hollywood Suite, where he was chair of the Board of Directors of the independent Canadian broadcaster. Jay also served as vice-chair of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. In 2017 Jay was made a Member of the Order of Canada in recognition of his contributions to Canadian broadcasting and film and television production. Jay was beloved and respected in both personally and professionally, and was a dedicated, loyal, and loving husband, son, son-in-law, brother, mentor and friend to many. Jay passed away from brain cancer in January 2018.
William F. White International Inc. (Whites) (www.whites.com) is a Comweb Group member company. Founded in 1963, Whites is Canada's largest and most iconic provider of production equipment to the entertainment industry. With offices across the country, as well as in Budapest, Hungary, the company services productions of all sizes from coast to coast and houses an extensive state-of-the-art inventory. The Whites group includes Whites Camera, Whites Lighting & Grip, Whites Location Equipment Supply Inc., Whites Specialty Equipment and Whites Studios Inc.
Comweb Corporation (www.comwebgroup.com) was founded through a partnership with Paul Bronfman and famed writer/producer Stephen J. Cannell in 1988 to build and manage Canada’s first Hollywood-style studio complex, North Shore Studios in Vancouver. The studio was the home of original smash TV series hit, The X-Files. Comweb Corporation is also the parent company of William F. White International Inc. Whites provides state-of-the-art production equipment, studio facilities and services to the Canadian and international film and television industry. Comweb Corporation is a founding shareholder of Pinewood Toronto Studios (www.pinewoodtorontostudios.com), an 11-stage production lot, which includes the Mega Stage, one of North America’s largest purpose-built sound stages. Comweb Aviation Inc. offers private jet charter services to entertainment industry and corporate clients.
The Canadian Film Centre (CFC), celebrating 30 years, is a charitable cultural organization that supports, develops and accelerates the content, careers and companies of Canadian creative and entrepreneurial talent in the screen-based and digital industries. Its uniquely designed programs and initiatives span film, television, screen acting, screen composing and songwriting, and innovative work in the digital media and entertainment technology industries, all of which continue to push boundaries and generate world-class content, products and companies for the global marketplace. www.cfccreates.com
Tracy Alves
Director, Marketing & Communications
Comweb Corp./William F. White International Inc.
talves@whites.com
Tamara MacKeigan
tmackeigan@cfccreates.com
Press Release CFC NEWS William F. White International Inc. Comweb Corporation Paul Bronfman Slawko Klymkiw Jay Switzer Jay Switzer Comweb/William F. White Int’l Indigenous Creator Scholarship Film Press Release
Press Kit Individual Downloads
Press Release: Comweb/William F. White Int’l and The Canadian Film Centre announce $100,000 Jay Switzer Memorial Scholarship Fund for Indigenous Filmmakers
New CFC Features Projects Put Women In View
Alumni & Resident Roundup: July 2018
Black Youth! Pathway 2 Industry Visits CFC
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TechTown, a Detroit-based non-profit development organisation linked to the local university, has asked a professional spin-off team from the University of Michigan to make a conceptual design for a new bio-technology district in a former industrial district in Detroit. The city is experiencing increasing unemployment and decay, as the workforce moves out. Bio-technology is one of the strategies to renew industries in Detroit, and the TechTown district serves as a state-wide example for this renovation.
As the urban designer in a small inter-disciplinary team of planners, designers and architects, I have been responsible for the overall research of the site and the city, designing the urban plan, the retail strategy, and partly for the landscape architecture. Also, in the northern part of the site, I have been responsible for the preliminary design for an intermodal transit terminal, and its immediate vicinity. This design is even relevant today as the current federal government proposes to introduce high speed rail in the region.
The plan incorporates a mixed-use district with laboratories, housing, offices and retail. The current derelict industrial district has been assessed, and existing buildings have been used as a setting for the identity of the new district. The final design incorporates a restoration strategy for these buildings, a development plan, an extensive parking plan, and urban design guidelines for further development.
Even though the design was mainly conceptual, it has certainly served its purpose: the media have widely published the plan. This has given the original TechTown concept a lot of press exposure, and it has led to concrete development initiatives for the area.
Detroit - design for Techtown
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info@costofsolar.com
How To Reduce Your Electricity Bill For Decades With A Renewable Energy Investment
If you’d like to reduce your electricity bill, it can pay to do a full energy and efficiency audit of your home, and to then take action on some of the lower-hanging fruit of efficiency measures, such as adding better insulation, installing a smarter thermostat, switching to LED lighting, killing vampire energy devices, and upgrading appliances to more efficient models.
After those aspects of home electricity consumption are addressed, the next best thing you can do to reduce your electricity bill is by investing in renewable energy, which can put money back in your pocket, month after month, for the next couple of decades (at least).
The rising cost of energy is hitting us where it hurts, right in the wallet. And our dependence on dirty energy sources, such as coal, for electricity generation is also hitting us where it hurts, in the form of increased air pollution and poor air quality, which has been implicated in both short- and long-term health issues, especially in children. The good news is that we can address both of those issues on a very personal level, by having a home solar energy system installed, which costs much less than you might think.
The way our residential energy infrastructure is set up makes complete sense historically, because other than a home boiler or furnace (which burned oil or coal on-site for heat), it was the standard to generate energy (often by burning coal or natural gas) in a central location and then distribute it to individual homes as electricity. However, the amount of electricity used at home was much less then than it is now, and with our heating systems now shifted to electric-based devices instead of furnaces and boilers, and with the addition of electric air conditioning systems and an exponentially larger number of appliances and gadgets in the home, it’s starting to make less and less sense.
Why should we burn a dirty fuel off-site, and then send it across the county or city (with losses along the way), when we can tap in to a virtually limitless source of energy that produces no pollution, right on the roof of our house? Generating electricity on-site, with a rooftop solar system, and sending the excess on to the grid for neighbors to use, offers a cleaner and more efficient (not to mention more direct) way of powering homes and businesses. For buildings with appropriately sized and sited solar arrays, the owners or residents can reduce electricity bills anywhere from 25 to 100%, while also lowering peak energy prices for everyone and helping to make the local grid more resilient.
For home or business owners looking to reduce their electricity bills with solar, there are at least a couple of options to choose from, depending on the physical location of the building, the amount of cash or credit available to the owners, and the amount of rebates or solar incentives in that city or state.
Solar leasing
The solar lease / PPA (power purchase agreement) system is heralded as a great innovation in solar financing, as it took the cost of the system (especially the up-front costs) out of the equation for the homeowner and allowed for $0-down solar energy systems, while still delivering the electric bill cost reduction. As a result, leasing as a pathway to solar has taken off, with some 70% of the US homes going solar choosing a solar lease.
Owned solar
Outright ownership of a home solar energy system is the other big option, and although it requires a bit more up-front, the long-term savings are much better, and homeowners can also take advantage of the solar incentives, which they can’t with a solar lease. Financing a rooftop solar array can be done in a variety of ways now, from PACE loans to conventional loans to solar-specific loan vehicles, and while cash on the barrel is still the cheapest option (avoiding interest payments), financing this renewable energy investment will still yield a return as good as (or better than) investing in the stock market or buying a bank CD (certificate of deposit). After the initial payback period (5-7 years, depending on the situation), a home solar system will continue to reduce electricity bills for decades afterward, with little to no maintenance or additional costs. And, by pairing home solar with an electric car, the payback time on the solar array is shortened, while also cutting fuel costs to near zero.
The third option, which is not available in all areas, is participating in a community solar project, or solar garden, which allows residents to purchase as few as a single solar panel to as many as it would take to offset a significant portion of their electricity use. The community solar owners then receive a credit for the power produced by those panels, which reduces their electricity bill by that amount. This option may cost more per watt than a complete solar system which is owned outright, and won’t yield any of the national solar tax credit benefits, but can be a feasible method of getting started going solar without committing to a home-sized system.
Granted, not every home or business is going to be able to reduce electricity bills and benefit from solar in exactly the same way, simply due to the wide variety of different situations. If you don’t use much electricity to begin with, the payback period for solar is going to be much longer. If a roof is partially shaded, even seasonally, it may not be feasible to install solar at that location, and if you live in a multi-owner building, where you don’t own the roof, it can be challenging to have ‘owned solar’ on-site. For older homes that will need a new roof in the next few years, it may make much more sense to do that first (and to add a lot more insulation above the ceiling at the same time) than to install solar panels and then have to remove them for the roofing project and re-install them just a few years later.
Find out how to reduce electricity bills with home solar!
Image: Mike DelGaudio
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A functional food is a food given an additional function (often one related to health-promotion or disease prevention) by adding new ingredients or more of existing ingredients.[23] The term may also apply to traits purposely bred into existing edible plants, such as purple or gold potatoes having enriched anthocyanin or carotenoid contents, respectively.[24] Functional foods may be "designed to have physiological benefits and/or reduce the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions, and may be similar in appearance to conventional food and consumed as part of a regular diet".[25]
Rarely, food allergies can lead to a medical emergency, such as anaphylactic shock, hypotension (low blood pressure), and loss of consciousness. An allergen associated with this type of reaction is peanut, although latex products can induce similar reactions.[140] Initial treatment is with epinephrine (adrenaline), often carried by known patients in the form of an Epi-pen or Twinject.[141][142]
France has various appellation systems based on the concept of terroir, with classifications ranging from Vin de Table ("table wine") at the bottom, through Vin de Pays and Appellation d'Origine Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (AOVDQS), up to Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) or similar, depending on the region.[75][76] Portugal has developed a system resembling that of France and, in fact, pioneered this concept in 1756 with a royal charter creating the Demarcated Douro Region and regulating the production and trade of wine.[77] Germany created a similar scheme in 2002, although it has not yet achieved the authority of the other countries' classification systems.[78][79] Spain, Greece and Italy have classifications based on a dual system of region of origin and product quality.[80]
Wine is a popular and important drink that accompanies and enhances a wide range of cuisines, from the simple and traditional stews to the most sophisticated and complex haute cuisines. Wine is often served with dinner. Sweet dessert wines may be served with the dessert course. In fine restaurants in Western countries, wine typically accompanies dinner. At a restaurant, patrons are helped to make good food-wine pairings by the restaurant's sommelier or wine waiter. Individuals dining at home may use wine guides to help make food–wine pairings. Wine is also drunk without the accompaniment of a meal in wine bars or with a selection of cheeses (at a wine and cheese party).
Some people have allergies or sensitivities to foods which are not problematic to most people. This occurs when a person's immune system mistakes a certain food protein for a harmful foreign agent and attacks it. About 2% of adults and 8% of children have a food allergy.[140] The amount of the food substance required to provoke a reaction in a particularly susceptible individual can be quite small. In some instances, traces of food in the air, too minute to be perceived through smell, have been known to provoke lethal reactions in extremely sensitive individuals. Common food allergens are gluten, corn, shellfish (mollusks), peanuts, and soy.[140] Allergens frequently produce symptoms such as diarrhea, rashes, bloating, vomiting, and regurgitation. The digestive complaints usually develop within half an hour of ingesting the allergen.[140]
While some Christians consider the use of wine from the grape as essential for the validity of the sacrament, many Protestants also allow (or require) pasteurized grape juice as a substitute. Wine was used in Eucharistic rites by all Protestant groups until an alternative arose in the late 19th century. Methodist dentist and prohibitionist Thomas Bramwell Welch applied new pasteurization techniques to stop the natural fermentation process of grape juice. Some Christians who were part of the growing temperance movement pressed for a switch from wine to grape juice, and the substitution spread quickly over much of the United States, as well as to other countries to a lesser degree.[112] There remains an ongoing debate between some American Protestant denominations as to whether wine can and should be used for the Eucharist or allowed as an ordinary drink, with Catholics and some mainline Protestants allowing wine drinking in moderation, and some conservative Protestant groups opposing consumption of alcohol altogether.[citation needed]
Cooking dairy products may reduce a protective effect against colon cancer. Researchers at the University of Toronto suggest that ingesting uncooked or unpasteurized dairy products (see also Raw milk) may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.[38] Mice and rats fed uncooked sucrose, casein, and beef tallow had one-third to one-fifth the incidence of microadenomas as the mice and rats fed the same ingredients cooked.[39][40] This claim, however, is contentious. According to the Food and Drug Administration of the United States, health benefits claimed by raw milk advocates do not exist. "The small quantities of antibodies in milk are not absorbed in the human intestinal tract," says Barbara Ingham, PhD, associate professor and extension food scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "There is no scientific evidence that raw milk contains an anti-arthritis factor or that it enhances resistance to other diseases."[41]
Ultimate Indo-European origin of the word is the subject of continued debate. Some scholars have noted the similarities between the words for wine in Indo-European languages (e.g. Armenian gini, Latin vinum, Ancient Greek οἶνος, Russian вино [vʲɪˈno]), Kartvelian (e.g. Georgian ღვინო [ɣvinɔ]), and Semitic (*wayn; Hebrew יין [jaiin]), pointing to the possibility of a common origin of the word denoting "wine" in these language families.[50] The Georgian word goes back to Proto-Kartvelian *ɣwino-,[51] which is either a borrowing from Proto-Indo-European[51][52][53][54][55][56] or the lexeme was specifically borrowed from Proto-Armenian *ɣʷeinyo-, whence Armenian gini.[57][58][59][60][51] An alternate hypothesis by Fähnrich supposes *ɣwino- a native Kartvelian word derived from the verbal root *ɣun- ('to bend').[61] See *ɣwino- for more. All these theories place the origin of the word in the same geographical location, Trans-Caucasia, that has been established based on archeological and biomolecular studies as the origin of viticulture.
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Sugru parent company bought by Tesa
Published: 24 May 2018 - Fiona Garcia
The London-based company FormFormForm Ltd which launched kneadable glue product, Sugru, is set to become a fully-owned subsidiary of German firm, Tesa SE. Thus.
Adhesive manufacturer Tesa says the acquisition “strengthens its market position in self-adhesive products for consumers”. However, it is reported that investors in FormFormForm Ltd will lose out, as the deal only values the company at nine pence per share, meaning Tesa will acquire the firm for around £7.6million (8.6million Euros). A crowdfunding campaign in 2015, when FormFormForm Ltd raised 355% more than its original target, valued the business at £27million.
FormFormForm Ltd holds all rights to the internationally-patented mounting solution, Sugru - an easy-to-use and versatile, kneadable and malleable special adhesive that is based on silicone.
The Hackney-based manufacturer, which employees around 60 people, achieved sales of 5.6million Euros in 2017. It has sold 10 million mini pack of Sugru worldwide to date and reported an average year-on-year (YOY) growth rate of +32% each year from 2013 to 2016, with forecasts that its growth would increase to +50% YoY each year to 2019.
Whilst Sugru sells its products in retail outlets in Europe, USA and Canada, with listings in B&Q and Target, more than 50% of its sales last year were realised online.
Tesa executive vice-president - consumer & craftsmen, Dr Alexander Bochert said: "The company's expertise in online commerce will give us important momentum in the implementation of our digital strategy.”
Despite the strong sales figures, it is understood that an expected £4 million debt financing facility from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank (CYBG) did not come through last November, which left the company in financial difficulty. As a result, 51% of FormFormForm’s shareholders are understood to have accepted Tesa’s offer to buy.
Sugru inventor and FormFormForm CEO Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh, who is expected to stay on with the company following the acquisition, said of the deal: “Behind Sugru, there is an inventive product and the idea of inspiring ever more people to engage in creating, fixing and repairing, To achieve this goal, over the past years we’ve created an international business with a strong and highly-motivated team. Under the umbrella of Tesa SE, with its strong brand and global infrastructures, we now have the chance to accelerate our development and to put it on an even broader foundation.”
Sugru inventor nominated for European Inventor Award
Sugru to double retail presence with new family-safe glue
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Posted on December 6, 2018 December 17, 2018 by glorena
The Duterte administration’s tax reform package that aims to lower the corporate income tax (CIT) and overhaul the country’s “convoluted” fiscal incentives system is projected to generate some 1.4 million jobs, mostly in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), over the next decade and create a business environment conducive to inclusive growth, according to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.
Dominguez said at a business forum that the proposed staggered cuts in the CIT from 30 to 20 percent over a 10-year period as provided under the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) bill will energize hundreds of thousands of SMEs and encourage them to use part of their saving from lower tax payments to expand their businesses and hire more workers.
He called on the captains of Philippine business gathered at the Wallace Business Forum Roundtable to thoroughly study the CIT reform proposal in its entirety, including “the more controversial component” on the rationalization of fiscal incentives, as he expressed the hope that they would “come to the same conclusion we did: that the reforms will be beneficial to our domestic economy.”
“We urge the business community to thoroughly read the measure, rather than base their positions on hearsay and opinions of uninformed people, so that you can work with the government in explaining the true benefits of the TRABAHO bill to the public,” Dominguez said at the event organized by businessman Peter Wallace held Thursday at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.
Dominguez said that contrary to the perception poised by this proposed tax reform’s critics, the Duterte administration’s plan will not eliminate incentives for investors but would even improve them by offering a better set of perks that includes the following: 50 percent deduction on incremental labor costs; 100 percent deduction on training, research and development; and 50 percent deduction on purchases of local raw materials.
The set of incentives under Package 2 will be transparent, time-bound, targeted and performance-based, Dominguez said, to, among others, help eliminate corruption and cronyism, and “spare Filipino taxpayers from subsidizing the profits earned by a select group of corporations enjoying redundant incentives in a convoluted system.”
The proposed CIT cuts and reforms in the fiscal incentives system constitute Package 2 of the Duterte administration’s comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP).
The Package 2 version of the House of Representatives—the TRABAHO bill—was approved by the chamber last September, while the counterpart version of the Senate–SB 1906 or the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act authored by Senate President Vicente Sotto III–is still being studied by the chamber’s ways and means committee.
He noted that the reforms being implemented so far by the Duterte administration on its end, including improvements in the ease of doing business, have helped raise net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows by a hefty third or 31 percent to $7.4 billion in the first 8 months of the year from $5.7 billion during the same period last year.
Apart from pointing to deepening investor confidence in the Duterte administration, Dominguez said the FDI surge this year proves that investors are not being spooked by tax reform, as claimed by certain groups.
While FDIs are dramatically increasing, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has claimed a slowdown in investments in areas under its jurisdiction, which, Dominguez said, “can only mean they are trying to attract investments that cannot be viable without unreasonable incentives.”
“These are not the investments we need to become a strong economy. The more meaningful investments are being made by competitive companies that do not ask for tax holidays and other incentives,” he said.
“Those who oppose the reform of the incentives program are arguing against the facts,” he added. “All over the world, fiscal incentives are less important in investor decisions than efficient infrastructure and a better-educated and healthier people. We cannot fully address these more beneficial concerns if we let bureaucrats give away revenue for private profit. We need to be fiscally responsible on this matter.”
Dominguez said the Duterte administration wants the incentives program under Package 2 to “work to the advantage of building a dynamic domestic economy, to create jobs, cause technology transfers, advance research and development, enhance linkages between enterprises and improve conditions for competition.”
“No longer will a favored group of businesses enjoy a permanent grant of 5 percent on gross income earned (GIE). Never again will the select group of 328 incentivized firms that received 86.3 billion pesos in tax breaks in 2015 declare 141.8 billion pesos in dividends while incurring only 104.6 billion pesos in direct labor costs during the same year,” said Dominguez.
Dominguez said Package 2 will “produce a transparent and even playing field for business” and “broaden the base of participation in wealth creation for our people.”
He said relying mainly on incentives to attract investments has produced “hardly spectacular” results for the economy, and has led to a program that is “confusing, contradictory, unaccountable and has unclear goals.”
These incentives are granted by 14 investment promotion agencies, with 25 more waiting to be legislated by the Congress, he said.
During the Wallace forum, Dominguez also explained the recent decision of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) to recommend the reinstatement of the two-peso additional excise tax on fuel in 2019 under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, describing it as “the correct policy decision” amid the drastic drop in global oil prices, which will help push down inflation.
Retaining TRAIN’s fuel excise tax adjustment for 2019 will enable the government, he said, to sustain the high level of investments needed to rapidly grow the economy while maintaining fiscal discipline by keeping within the 3.2 percent budget deficit-to-GDP limit set for 2019, Dominguez said.
These investments include, in large part, the “Build, Build, Build” program that is being funded with the assistance primarily of China and Japan.
Dominguez, however, noted that some uninformed critics have made unfounded claims about the country falling into a so-called “debt trap” as a result of the official development assistance (ODA) financing extended by China and Japan, even though the Philippine government had secured these at the lowest interest rates and longest term arrangements possible.
He said that if project financing coming this year is included, the estimated project debt to China will constitute only 0.65 percent of the country’s total debt from the current 0.11 percent. Meanwhile, the project debt to Japan will increase from the current 3.17 percent to 8.90 percent of the total debt at the end of this year.
By 2022, when most of the financing for ‘Build, Build, Build’ will have been accessed, the Philippines’ project debt to China will constitute around 4.5 percent of the total debt, while the project debt to Japan will be around 9.5 percent of total debt, Dominguez said.
Dominguez said the Duterte administration has learned much from the past, blemished by the “scandalous mismanagement of Chinese financing” owing to the fact that “the previous leadership allowed Chinese state-owned enterprises to dictate what projects will be undertaken here.”
“I don’t have to mention the names, I’ll just mention some initials. ZTE, for instance,” Dominguez said.
He ticked off the safeguards that the government has put in place to ensure that only projects that need to be urgently implemented are proposed for concessional financing: 1) a feasibility is conducted on the project to determine its viability, sustainability and best means of financing; 2) approval by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) and the Board of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) that is chaired by President Duterte; and 3) internal vetting of Chinese contractors that would be recommended to implement the project, in order to ensure that each project would be financially viable and truly beneficial to the Filipino people.
DOF to urge Congress to pass higher tobacco tax rates to further discourage smoking, raise more healthcare funds →
← Over 1,000 entrepreneurs take part in ‘Sulong’ regional forums
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Post-Geek
Sorry I'm late. Was up late chasing a deadline on the Flood book and forgot to queue anything here. In any case, Human Resources. The cheekily-named Eighth Doctor Adventures line from Big Finish is an oddity. On the one hand it seems faintly ridiculous - yet another bite at the apple in terms of getting the fizzled McGann era to work right. On the other, with the exception of the TV Movie itself this is as high profile and mainstream as McGann ever got, in that the first season of these audios got their first airing on BBC Radio 7, with CD release following. Later seasons came out on CD first, but Human Resources is notable as one of only nine times Paul McGann appeared in a Doctor Who story that was designed for transmission to the general public instead of for sale to dedicated fans.
Like The Girl Who Never Was it’s doing so in the wake of the new series. Indeed, it’s almost certainly the new series that made the McGann audios on BBC Radio happen in the first place. Doctor Who was big business, so why wouldn’t Radio 7 try to get in on it? And given that there was no way the new series was going to spin off into audio unexpectedly the obvious thing to do was to use a past Doctor. And at that point since you’re basically recreating Big Finish’s schtick, you may as well just have Big Finish do it.
More significant in many ways is the fact that it was Paul McGann doing it. In many ways, he’s the only one who could have. Tom Baker might have done, but there’s a self-conscious retroness to that choice that Paul McGann doesn’t have. McGann is instead an oddly lost Doctor. He has name recognition, but his era, having mostly happened in the obscurity of fan-centric publications, for all practical purposes doesn’t exist in a larger cultural sense. As the Doctor who occupies the strange space immediately prior to 2005, he’s the one who can be reinvented for audio.
In practice, of course, it’s not a reinvention so much as a marginal refinement. By this point people finally had a sense of how to write for McGann specifically, and so we finally have audios that play to his strengths. He’s accordingly on form, and with good reason, as Human Resources basically gives him an unending flood of interesting things to react to, and so he gets to do what seems to be his favorite thing to do as the Doctor: react sardonically to various absurdities. The pace is accelerated a bit, there’s a decent amount of attention to character, and the whole thing feels refreshingly streamlined (in, oddly, a way that The Girl Who Never Was, recorded a year later, doesn’t).
Beyond that, the influence of the new series all but runs rampant. We’ve got forty-five minute episodes, with most of the season being self-contained stories. When we do a two-parter there’s a heft to it such that the story feels oversized (more about which in a minute). The companion is as far from an Edwardian Adventuress as you could get: a self-proclaimed chav somewhere between Rose Tyler and Donna Noble (the latter of whom, admittedly, hadn’t even appeared in the series yet when these audios were recorded). And everything is played so that the starting point is what the general public is likely to remember instead of based on ornate fan memory. The Time Lords revert to their Tom Baker era “we don’t interfere so we’ll have the Doctor do it for us” personalities, handing him missions. The Cybermen are straightforward monsters. Everything is finely tuned and actually aimed at a general audience in a way that Big Finish, for various and perfectly sane reasons, never really did in the Wilderness Years.
But there are also basic storytelling improvements. Let’s take a fairly simple example that mostly gets the rest to slot into place: the reveal of the Cybermen. And let’s compare with The Girl Who Never Was, recorded, as I said, only a year apart, but written for the Big Finish fan audience instead of the general public. After all, both of them have reveals of the Cybermen at the halfway point, making it a fairly straight comparison. And it’s night and day. Where The Girl Who Never Was injects Cybermen to liven up an otherwise flagging plot and tries to wring a surprise out of them when they’re on the cover, Human Resources basically does everything right. The Cybermen are, for instance, not on the cover of the first disc (and BBC Radio 7 doesn’t have covers as such).
But more to the point, the Cybermen aren’t thrown in to revitalize the plot: they’re positioned as the latest in a blizzard of developments. Human Resources starts from a cliffhanger (Lucie Miller getting kidnapped), and plows right into further revelations. The mid-episode reveal that the office building is in fact a giant battle robot is worthy of being a cliffhanger on its own, and it’s not even the only solidly big moment. So when the Cybermen appear it’s more akin to, for instance, the appearance of the Daleks in Bad Wolf: the event that finally goes off the scale. It’s not “oh, that’s what’s been going on for the past hour” or “oh, OK, that’s how this is going to manage another two episodes.” It’s “holy crap, not only all of that, but Cybermen too?” Which is, on the whole, a far better sort of cliffhanger.
So on the one hand Human Resources is the sixth draft of the Paul McGann era, following the TV Movie, The Dying Days, the Eighth Doctor Adventures, the comics (more about which Monday), and the Big Finish main line. But it’s the closest thing to a draft that actually works. It would be overstating the case to suggest that it’s some sort of watershed cultural moment. It’s not like BBC Radio 7 on Sunday at dinnertime is one of the great influential time slots of British media. Yes, this is Doctor Who for the general public, but it’s still Doctor Who for a small audience.
Nevertheless, the fact that McGann got a draft that worked is satisfying. It’s worth remembering that McGann’s status as canonical was potentially up in the air until Davies declared that his Doctor was “the same man who fought the Drahvins, the Macra, the Axons, the Wirrin, the Terileptils, the Borad, the Bannermen, and the Master in San Francisco on New Year’s Eve 1999.” (Although as phrased it suggests a far more interesting TV Movie than we got.) But this piece, in Doctor Who Magazine #344, reveals the extent to which this was a necessary quote as well: Davies also talks about how he met with Philip Segal and Segal was pleasantly surprised to see that the BBC was officially counting Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor.
Put another way, the fact of the matter is that Russell T Davies had a number of options open to him in terms of how to position the new series. He could have done a fresh reboot with a new First Doctor and gotten away with it easily enough. In fact, it would have been easier in many ways than the approach he took, getting away with introducing every classic monster for the first time and fixing any blemishes. But he also could have decided to make a new Eighth Doctor, wiping the TV Movie out of continuity. Its generally poor reception would have allowed for it, and while there would have been grumbles, there were grumbles that Eccleston usurped Richard E. Grant too. And while Davies mumbles that it’s not him who decides these things, it’s the tabloids and the culture, it’s nonsense. There were no rules in 2004. If Davies had wanted to spectacularly snub McGann on the grounds that the TV Movie was American he could have.
And while it’s a good thing that he didn’t, it’s also worth looking at the specific list of monsters he picked in order to establish Eccleston’s enneantality. I mean, the list is conspicuously not “the Zarbi, the Yeti, the Sea Devils, the Wirrin, the Mara, Sil, and the Haemovores.” It’s not that all of the monsters available are crap or from b-list stories: fair cases can be made for the iconicness of four of the seven where there was a choice. But the sheer weirdness of the Drahvin, Bannermen, and Borad skews the others. It’s a list of arcana. Part of this is surely Davies demonstrating that he’s a big enough geek to reference the Borad, but there’s a larger point to it. Davies isn’t just making Eccleston the continuation of the classic series, he’s visibly embracing the crap of the classic series. He goes out of his way to explicitly make Timelash still canon. The message isn’t just “this is a sequel to the classic series,” it’s “everything is canon, even the crap.”
McGann’s canonization, in other words, exists in context with this. It’s accepted, but the fact that it had to be accepted is highlighted as much as the acceptance itself. Even the phrasing, while made necessary by the fact that McGann’s only televised enemy was one he shared with other Doctors, suggests this, feeling like protesting too much, trying to establish beyond all doubt that yes, Davies does mean that Paul McGann. And while he canonizes the TV movie, Davies still took pot shots at it during the series, most obviously at the good old half human line.
In this regard Davies is being accurate: making Eccleston the ninth Doctor is the path of least resistance short of rebooting the series entirely. What was canonized is less the TV Movie than Paul McGann and the McGann era, because that is something that existed culturally and was known. But in this regard the defining aspect of Paul McGann’s tenure is his absence - the way in which he is a Doctor without any stories in his era save for one largely and understandably rejected TV Movie. This failure is, curiously, why McGann can be the Doctor who can co-exist with the new series in this fashion. The fact that he’s an era without content allows it to be filled in.
And so it’s similarly nice that he gets to be the main beneficiary of Big Finish learning from the new series. There’s a real freshness and abundance to the ideas here. The idea of office drudgery being essentially interchangeable with piloting a giant battle robot is at once hilarious and cutting. Throwing the Cybermen in serves to satisfyingly deepen the basic conclusions about the drudgery and dehumanization of work and war. Even the title is bleak and telling, serving as a droll commentary on the objectification implicit in the phrase “human resources,” and equating it tacitly with the Cybermen’s use of humanity.
On top of all of these bits where the story genuinely feels like it has something to say, however, there’s opportunities for lively content. The tedious meeting in which war strategy is discussed is charmingly cheeky. The expansion of the character of the Headhunter into a headhunter in the corporate sense is fantastic. The Doctor infiltrating an office sparkles. It’s a good audio - a fair case can be made that it’s the most successful McGann audio we’ve looked at, simply because it’s managing something that Doctor Who never managed during the McGann era itself: quality in a thoroughly repeatable way. This may be a “season finale,” but it’s not self-consciously structured like one. Everything this story does could work as a normal story. It’s an actual roadmap for successful Doctor Who: interesting situations that allow for a sufficient number of innovative combinations and angles to fill the time slot, and juxtapositions that could only work on Doctor Who.
Back when the Eighth Doctor era was collapsing into its nadir with The Ancestor Cell we suggested that the real survivor of the War arc was the Ninth Doctor. Here we get the reverse: the Doctor who most benefited from the new series. Ironically it’s the one who had the least actual impact on it - the entirely forgettable, erasable Doctor. The blankness of the McGann era allowed for the new series. But in turn, the clarity of the new series allowed McGann to finally, at long last, have an era, and thus to demonstrate that he’d deserved one all along.
time can be rewritten,
mcgann
← Pop Between Realities, Home in Time for Tea 58 (State of Play)
Time Can Be Rewritten 40 (Lucie Miller/To the Death) →
Seeing_I 6 years, 3 months ago
Great comments on RTD's weird list of monsters - I remember thinking at the time what a wonderfully skewed and quirky little list it was.
Theonlyspiral 6 years, 3 months ago
**Spoiler Warning**
I love the Lucie Miller Audios. There are a couple that are...not good. But overall they benefit from the development of Doctor Who after the revival exactly as you say.
Sheridan Smith brings so much life and energy to the part of Lucie, she just might be my favorite companion in any medium. She's clever, plucky and while she gets herself into trouble she also has moments of genuine competence and skill.
I also LOVE the way they do the bait and switch in this season, playing up the fact that Lucie has this great terrible future ahead of her, and that she'll turn into some warlord or other...and then it turns out to be a different blonde girl going to work at the same office on the same day. Brilliant.
Paul McGann was the first Doctor I encountered, and I enjoyed his other audios a great deal. However when I heard the first series of EDA's...his place was cemented. Head and shoulders above almost anyone else. Smith is good, fantastic even. I do enjoy McCoy a great deal. But the Sardonic, almost byronic hero that McGann becomes over the course of his audio adventures is my Doctor.
drfgsdgsdf 6 years, 3 months ago
I being stupid here but what were the other 8 times Paul McGann appeared in a Doctor Who story that was designed for transmission to the general public?
Ununnilium 6 years, 3 months ago
Interesting. I note that Davies's canonizing of "even the crap" is reflected in Grant Morrison expressly pulling some of the silliest Batman stories into canon in The Black Casebook.
Daibhid C 6 years, 3 months ago
The TVM, the other five BBC 7 stories, and ... um ... the animated Shada remake?
...Which I've just realises comes to seven, so I don't know.
sorrywehurtyourfield 6 years, 3 months ago
I think it's genuinely impressive how self-assured and coherent this line is, and how well Big Finish and BBC 7 rise up to the task of addressing the semi-mainstream audience. (Robson in particular seems like an instant breakout writer on the basis of his contributions to this season, although I've not heard anything he's done since.) Especially considering that the webcasts, arguably the biggest precedent in terms of a primarily-audio medium pitched at least somewhat beyond fandom, had flapped around so aimlessly between different eras and visions of the series.
David Anderson 6 years, 3 months ago
Since we've passed over the rest of Eighth Doctor Season One, it has to be observed that Horror of Glam Rock is a serious contender for best Doctor Who story title ever.
The front cover of the CD does credit Nicholas Briggs as Cybermen. I don't mind the surprise being spoiled because the cybermen aren't playing the obvious role in the story (although there's a heavy hint dropped half way through part one). So the cliffhanger isn't, 'and cybermen as well!' as 'how will that role being played by cybermen change things'. (The story wouldn't work if they were generic monsters.)
Actually, the problem is that Human Resources is two of the nine times, not one of them.
Dan Abel 6 years, 3 months ago
Robson has recently had a comedy series on BBC Radio 2: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01k9hmd
Bennett 6 years, 3 months ago
Excellent essay Phil, as always. You've really put your finger on most of the reasons why I feel that Big Finish's 8DAs have given Paul McGann the right space to perform his Doctor at last.
As it isn't in the Eighth Doctor Schedule, I'd be curious to see if you touch on Dark Eyes in your 'To the Death' entry (assuming you've heard it). I found that, while enjoyable, it unlearned many of the New Series tricks you've outlined here. Namely that the episodes are more like 50 minute short-story omnibuses that bleed together, and most alarmingly that the plot culminates to a load of technobabble centred around a character we're not invested in - with the Doctor and Molly (and the relationship between them) making no meaningful contribution to its resolution.
Josiah Rowe 6 years, 3 months ago
Dark Eyes, presumably, would then be the seventh draft of the Eighth Doctor. Eighth Man Bound, anybody?
Oh, and Phil — don't forget to put the links to the Pertwee book in the sidebar! My copy arrived yesterday and I'm enjoying it thoroughly.
Tom Dickinson 6 years, 3 months ago
Blogtor Who had a post today about the upcoming special edition of The Visitation, and specifically the "Doctor Forever" featurette for which Davies was interviewed. I mention it because Blogtor quotes a comment Davies made about Big Finish, and it makes for an interesting side note to your point about his decision to canonize Paul McGann.
http://blogtorwho.blogspot.com/2013/04/rtd-regrets-not-askng-nick-briggs-to.html
Cleofis 6 years, 3 months ago
I had the exact same thought upon reading that statement too, though I tend to think Morrison pulled it off better in the end (albeit in a characteristically overcomplicated-but-not-really Morrisonian way).
...so, as it turns out, McGann is the one who keeps wanting to come back, and Eccleston is the one who won't even show up for the 50th, eight yeara after he quit playing the role. Ouch.
Spacewarp 6 years, 3 months ago
I'm probably with RTD on the whole "Multi-Doctor" thing - why do it? I saw "The Three Doctors" on broadcast and my 9-year old self enjoyed it immensely. But "The Five Doctors" left me cold as it seemed to be just a case of shoe-horning Doctors into the story for the sake of it. For me, "Three" wasn't the "First" multi-Doctor story, it was just "The multi-Doctor story" (in the same way as during William Hartnell's tenure he played "the Doctor", not "the First Doctor").
Personally I kind of think the endless fan expectation for multi-Doctor outings for the slightest excuse (50th anniversary, 39th anniversary, month with a "y" in it anniversary) has cheapened the memory of that golden winter in 1972 when for 4 weeks we had a bit of magic in Doctor Who.
I can well understand Eccleston's refusal to be involved in a cameo. He knows he'd only be invited for the sake of "ticking his number", and not for any real desire to see him act.
Ross 6 years, 3 months ago
The Three Doctors is really much more like a normal Pertwee-era story that just happens to have an extra Doctor and a half in it (not entirely, but much moreso than, say, The Five Doctors is a normal fifth doctor story with some extra doctors in it), and I think that makes it work a lot better (If you're the sort of person for whom Pertwee-era stories work in the first place.) The others all tend to basically just be less forthright versions of 'Dimensions in Time' -- just the actors wandering around doing their individual schticks to please the fanboys while we run out the clock on the episode.
Plus I don't think Eccleston would work in a story with another Doctor in it. His Doctor is a very selfish individual, who would have no interest in (and would probably be jealous of) sharing the stage with another Doctor. Anyone prior to him would remind him of his "War damage", while anyone after him would remind him of his mortality. Having said that, watching Hartnell's Doctor you'd think he'd have no time for a future replacement, and you'd probably be right...if he wasn't almost completely rewritten for "Three" and "Five". As I think Phil pointed out in the entries for these two stories, so I think I'd better shut up now.
But, you know... it's supposed to be the 50th. Not the 7th. Having only one Doctor and one companion return (in what is often considered to be the most obnoxious Doctor/companion formulation in the new series) is just... it doesn't quite seem fair.
Someone on another site put it this way: "Imagine it is 1983. Doctor Who's 20th anniversary special is coming up. They've invited Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. And no one else.
I mean, we know what would happen, right? The current Doctor would be railroaded by their immediate predecessor who remained hugely popular, even after two full series."
I wouldn't bring back multiple Doctors to see them working together. You'd bring back Eccleston's Doctor so that he could heckle with remarks about bow ties and long swooshy coats. In fact, you could probably get away with some variant on the dandy and a clown line.
There's also a serious multiple Doctor story to be written about what someone met themselves at different stages in their life. Eccleston's Doctor would work in that too.
Oh yeah, I know. It's the 50th, make it special.
Like the 10th was special, with the current Doctor meeting the previous Doctors! I mean how incredible was that? It was unique, ingenious, unexpected, and yet such an obvious thing to have done in a programme about Time Travel!
So let's do something equally special, and unique, and ingenious, and unexpected for the 50th. I'd put "The Next Doctor" as on a par with "Three Doctors", at least concept-wise, as something totally original and unexpected. I'd like to see something equally once-in-a-lifetime, original, celebratory, for the 50th.
...Or we could just trot out some other Doctors.
You see what I mean?
Nar, don't get me wrong, it'll be nice to see Tennant again, although continuity-wise, considering his panicked attitude towards Regeneration in "End of Time", I wouldn't expect the 10th Doctor him to treat any meeting with the 11th with anything other than horror and denial.
Hmmm...come to think of it, much like he didn't treat his faux replacement in "The Next Doctor". Continuity, it's such a flexible thing.
Froborr 6 years, 3 months ago
See, I think the only way to make Yet Another Multi-Doctor Story work is to have the Tenth through Twelfth show up (and any others you can get), and then have it not be a regeneration story. 11 is still the main Doctor, and you pay the actor who played Twelve a retainer so you can bring him on whenever Matt Smith quits.
Of course now that I've said that, it occurs to me that this anniversary isn't really for us. The vast majority of its viewers, just like the vast majority of viewers for any New Who episode, have seen little to no Classic Who, and therefore the only multi-doctor story they've seen is probably Time Crash.
jane 6 years, 3 months ago
"the plot culminates to a load of technobabble centred around a character we're not invested in - with the Doctor and Molly (and the relationship between them) making no meaningful contribution to its resolution"
That's too bad. On the other hand, I can get something else for my birthday.
Yet Eccleston will do a one-off Big Finish production. So, has he done anything else at all for the BBC since walking away?
@Matthew: Eccleston *was* invited. He turned them down.
A fair bit, though mostly one-offs. Most obviously The Shadow Line.
Abigail Brady 6 years, 3 months ago
Eccleston will do a one-off Big Finish production.
I suspect an old rumor based on the Destiny of the Doctor productions, which people initially thought would feature Doctors and not be Companion Chronicles.
It's a kind of sliding scale isn't it? Viewers in their 30s probably grew up with McCoy and possibly a bit of Colin, those in their 40s mostly Davison with a bit of Tom, while those now in their 50s (like me) spanned Pertwee and Baker, with a bit of late Troughton. Even someone in their mid-20s may have just scraped the TV Movie. I'd say that a lot of viewers nowadays were at least aware of Classic Who while growing up, even if they didn't watch it. But yes you'd have to be at least 35 to have seen "The Two Doctors" and at least 37 to have see "Five" (assuming an earliest age of 7).
Steven Clubb 6 years, 3 months ago
Dark Eyes is written by Nick Briggs, who seems to enjoy making his box sets into one big story instead of four independent stories with a linking sub-plot. He did the same thing with UNIT: Dominion which is the spin-off series featuring the now non-Nazi Klein. And that's pretty much what he's done with all the Dalek Empire and Cybermen stories.
Frankly, I think it's something in the zeitgeist. Having passed through the Irony Age, we're now in the Even The Crap Age. (Though note that Morrison used it first; that was basically the point of Animal Man.)
Oh, damn. My respect for the guy has shot up further.
Archeology of the Future 6 years, 3 months ago
Surely it's going to be Rose and the not-quite Doctor from that other universe?
It probably is, but he prefers "Metacrisis Ten" to "Shirley".
Rats.
Pen Name Pending 6 years, 3 months ago
See, I haven't bothered with the 50th stuff because a) I'm watching the current series and enjoying it immensely and b) we still have no idea what the plot is and don't know what else it would include. I would have preferred to have just about every Doctor back except Tennant, and a classic companion or something rather than Rose, but oh well. We still don't know much else, aside from Zygons, Kate Stewart, and Strax (who I all like). It's hard to write a multi-Doctor story without problems or continuity and overcrowding (see: The Five Doctors) and I'm sure they have something planned about the show's past.
Pretty much what PNP said.
It isn't. Handy had the blue suit; pics show Tennant wearing the brown pinstripe ensemble, which means it's 10, original flavor.
Tennant absolutely loved the role and will always be up for return cameos. An unashamed fanboy.
(Oh and any US readers, he's damn good in "Broadchurch" at the mo, so grab a copy from the usual outlets if you can!)
While I agree with your interpretation, my instinctive reaction is "Because how could ONE man own TWO suits? That's unpossible!"
ferret 6 years, 3 months ago
They're Zygon Duplicates, for my money.
Although the MO could be changed, the original Zygons could only duplicate people they held the originals of. So even if we get Zygon copies for most of the story, we'll probably see the real ones too.
Daru 6 years, 3 months ago
Great stuff - sums up a lot of my feelings as to why I love the McGann audios. Superb as they developed - as proved by this story. I did do a couple of "what, What, WHAT's!" as I listened the fisrt time. Shows how to throw many elements together and how to make them gell.
Generally I don't much mind what happens for the 50th. Enjoying the stories now and I am sure until the time I will just take pleasure from the anticipation of the event as much as anything...
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By-Laws of DRLC
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever does." -Margaret Mead
Durham Region Labour Council represents workers from many affiliated unions in our community.
Labour council members work at food stores, offices, plants, in public services, construction and much more.
The labour council brings these members together every month for regular meetings, and carries out events and activities between meetings. DRLC meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm at the IBEW 353 Hall in Oshawa (note: there are no July and August meeting).
We are a chartered body of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), representing 3.5 million unionized Canadians. Durham Region Labour Council has been the voice of working people in Durham Region since 1942.
Labour councils can be of great importance to the communities in which we all live. However, labour councils can only make a difference when local unions are involved in building labour’s voice in the community.
As a participating local in the labour council, local delegates have the opportunity to take on leadership roles, whether it be as an executive member or through committee. Labour council experiences can bring new skills to people aspiring to leadership positions in their locals.
Durham Regional Labour Council
Mailing Address: PO BOX 543, Stn. Main, Lindsay, ON K9V4S5
© CLC 2018 CLC Ontario Federation of Labour
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Hunter S. Thompson's Campaign for Sheriff
FREAK POWER EXHIBITION
THE ART OF HUNTER S. THOMPSON’S POLITICAL MOVEMENT
In 1969 in Aspen, American journalist, Hunter S. Thompson collaborated with a colorful cast of activists, intellectuals and artists to launch a political movement which fought for the future of the town, the environment, and the nation. The Freak Power campaign used art, prose, and political theatre to generate a wave of support and to mobilize young people to vote and transform their local government. This exhibition uses over 120 vintage screen-printed posters, photos, films, and texts to tell the story of the Battle of Aspen, which saw artists, beatniks and other concerned citizens fighting against gentrification, oppression, war, and environmental destruction.
The energy of this movement can still be felt in the Freak Power collection, assembled by curator and writer Daniel J. Watkins. Original art by Ralph Steadman and Thomas W. Benton combine with Hunter S. Thompson’s writing and political theatre to shed new light on a chapter in history which also resonates today. The majority of the exhibition is organized by theme and each section is modular and variably sized to fit the spaces and priorities of the venue. There are several events and activities included in the proposal that are designed to encourage people to engage with the exhibition and take action in their own communities. In the current, politically charged environment, this show will resonate with those who are looking for creative ways to incite change.
“This is the real point: that we are not really freaks at all - not in the literal sense - but the twisted realities of the world we are trying to live in have somehow combined to make us feel like freaks. We argue, we protest, we petition - but nothing changes...So now, with the rest of the nation erupting in a firestorm of bombings and public killings, a handful of ‘freaks’ are running a final, perhaps atavistic experiment with the idea of forcing change by voting ... and if that has to be called Freak Power, well ... whatever’s right.” - Hunter S. Thompson, The Aspen Times, October 22, 1970
Hunter S. Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1937. He showed a knack for writing at a young age, and after high school began his career in journalism while serving in the United States Air Force. Following his military service, Thompson traveled the world to cover a wide array of topics for numerous magazines and developed an immersive, highly personal style of reporting that would become known as “Gonzo journalism.” He would employ the style in the 1971 book for which he is best known, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which was an immediate and lasting success.
Though he was already becoming a well known writer and public figure in the late 60s, Thompson kept a relatively low profile at home in Woody Creek, just outside of Aspen. That all changed in 1968 after he witnessed firsthand the violence of the Democratic Convention in Chicago and returned home to find similar forms of citizen oppression taking place in Aspen. He decided then that he had to join the fight for civil rights and needed to start by getting involved with local politics.
English artist and illustrator Ralph Steadman became friends with Hunter S. Thompson in May 1970 and the two corresponded and collaborated regularly on such works as The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Steadman vocally supported the Freak Power movement from abroad and mailed original drawings to Aspen to be used as campaign materials. Steadman has continued to make Freak Power work and recently created a number of new drawings that incorporate original Freak Power materials.
THOMAS W. BENTON
During the late 1960s, Hunter S. Thompson met artist Thomas W. Benton in Aspen. Their friendship and collaboration spanned more than four decades and created or inspired some of Benton’s most recognized works, including the 1970 “Hunter S. Thompson for Sheriff” poster and a series of political posters that combined art and writing called “The Aspen Wallposters.” He went on to create campaign posters for more than fifty candidates including George McGovern, Gary Hart and Willie Brown. Benton also created numerous cause posters for local benefits, non-profits and charitable causes that suited his beliefs.
A variety of workshops, activities and interactive elements are possible during the exhibition. The exhibiting institution, curatorial team, and other partners can work together to provide space, materials, and instruction to creatively explore and express ideas, and foster political engagement. Here are a few examples:
Political Poster Workshop: Led by a silkscreen printmaker
Vintage Typewriter: Provided for museum guests to write their political ideas, messages, and reflections
Media Room: Where Hunter S. Thompson’s books, letters, and magazine articles are available for people to read
Voter Registration Event: To provide materials and information for people to register and become more engaged in local politics
Speaker Series: Throughout the duration of the exhibition, featuring experts and activists talking about politically engaged art and local, national and international political topics
Film Screenings: A BBC documentary, Showdown at Aspen, filmed during the campaign, is available to be screened. Additionally, a new feature-length Freak Power documentary is slated to be released in early 2020. This film will be available to screen at exhibiting institutions (or partner location) during the exhibition and includes footage from the campaign that has never been seen before.
LOAN ITEMS
The complete exhibition consists of the following materials:
120 framed works including silkscreen posters, original drawings and mixed-media paintings, offset lithographs, reproductions of historical newspaper articles, illustrated documentary photographs and high resolution images for digital display.
7,500 square feet (variable) of installation space and 300 linear feet of exhibition material.
Access and exhibition rights to digital video files for the duration of the exhibition.
The final list of loan materials will be determined by discussion and negotiation with the exhibiting venue and curatorial team.
he Freak Power exhibition is organized thematically and composed of silkscreen posters, photographs, graphic art, wall texts, original drawings, manuscripts and multimedia materials. Each section can be variably reformatted depending on the size of the space and the focus of the exhibition venue.
The materials will be mounted, framed, prepared for exhibition, and packed for transport by the lender, Mr. Watkins, at his own expense. The curatorial plan, texts, and wall tag information will also be provided by the lender and Pryz Agency at no additional cost to the recipient.
The recipient is responsible for providing the necessary sound systems, video displays, etc. to exhibit audio or video materials.
The exhibition is premiering in Hunter S. Thompson's hometown of Louisville, KY in 2019 and then showing in New York City in summer 2020. There is still availability for the exhibition in late 2020, 2021, and 2022. Schedule and duration of the exhibition shall be determined based on availability and the schedule of the institution.
Pauline Rolland
pauline@pryzagency.com
Yuri Zupancic
yuri@pryzagency.com
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A Significant Step Forward
by Sharon Sisskind
Tom Mood, a member of the Airing development team, adjusts the settings on a laser micromachining system in the manufacturer's facility.
I want to share that we have overcome one of the biggest barriers to our progress: securing access to the critical equipment we need so that we can control our own destiny! When you are working hard to get a technology developed and a product out the door and into the hands of the people who desperately need it, you must do many things in parallel. We have been doing just that, from the very start. But we have been frustrated by the limited access to a laser system, which is critical to the fabrication of key components such as the mirco-blowers.
Explaining the Problem
The tiny parts of the micro-blowers are made by a laser micromachining system. These laser systems are very expensive, costing up to $1,000,000 or even more. Our strategy, as a small startup company, was to buy time on one of these systems at an outside company. We did find a suitable subcontractor to perform the laser micromachining on the micro-blowers and we were able to turn out our first parts for testing early this year, but this took longer than expected. Development is an iterative process and by July we announced that the latest revision of micro-blowers could blow air, an exciting milestone, but later than expected. The cause of these delays had one thing in common, our reliance on an outside service where we had no priority access to the laser micromachining system. This had to change!
Creating a Solution
Because of your tremendous support and enthusiasm, a number of world class companies have approached Airing with interests in helping us develop, manufacture and deliver our micro-CPAP device to the millions of people who need it. One such company has put, right in our hands, priority access to the laser micromachining system we need, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Now, finally, we can really accelerate the iterations and push to a working prototype.
The Consequence
With priority access to the necessary equipment we can at last work at a quick and steady pace. Our original estimated timeline on Indiegogo showed prototyping being completed by 3/16, but given where we are now, this is likely to be more like 3/17. This delay pushes the product shipping out to 7/18; a year delay, as shown on the Revised Estimated Timeline on Indiegogo. And while the development of the micro-blowers has been slower than we planned, we have always been working on other aspects of the Airing device. For example, even further refinements of the nose buds have been made. Another strategic business relationship – this one with a brand-name battery company – can provide Airing with zincAir battery expertise. And prototyping of several other key components of the Airing micro-CPAP device is complete.
Now that we have removed our biggest constraint, access to equipment, we will push relentlessly to make up time. We will continue to make progress in our parallel efforts: testing, sensing, battery, manufacturing, and other components. And we will continue to keep you up to date.
We sincerely appreciate your patience, and assure you that it will be worth the wait.
- Stephen Marsh and The Airing Team
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Free special report Join our mailing list
Entrepreneur’s Circle
Entrepreneur Award
Sponsor FPC
Goldian
Entrepreneur's Circle
Our nation relies on entrepreneurs to push us out of our comfort zone and lead the way forward toward a brighter future. Below, the FPC honors the vision, grit, fortitude, and determination of entrepreneurs that inspire us to press onward regardless of challenges, obstacles, or setbacks.
Erik Matthew
Erik Mathew is President of Software Nation; a Boston-based tech company specializing in custom software solutions, IBM Watson, cloud computing, web and mobile development, UX design and SEO.
Erik is a proud United States Marines veteran, entrepreneur and visionary . He started his career at the age of 19 when he joined the United States Marines as a Communication’s technologist . Erik developed his leadership, character and resilience core values while proudly serving with the greatest fighting force in the world through his duties and assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After his honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps , Erik continued his career within the I.T. Sector and started a Cognitive and AI company Software-Nation, in which he utilizes leadership skills and IT knowledge to create a high growth 30 member global team business within the first 2 years of operation.
Erik’s vision with Software-Nation has been to improve existing legacy systems as well as deliver new ideas by partnering and co-creation with clients for joint success of developing innovative ideas, enhancing current operations and promotion of their products and services to the marketplace.
With Erik’s leadership , Software-Nation’s has been a pinnacle of success by converging the unique ability to focus and commercialize on complex custom solutions to meet market demands and ever changing industry requirements.
November 2016 Honoree
Neil Rothenberg
Neil H. Rothenberg is the CEO and Founder of Paygevity, Inc., an innovative, disruptive and scalable, Supply-Chain, FinTech payment company. Paygevity has a “win-win” business model.
It contracts with many of the Fortune 1000 corporations and offers them increased flexibility in their working capital management. At the same time, Paygevity “promptly” pays the selected suppliers to these Fortune 1000 corporations. No longer does a supplier to a Fortune 1000 corporation have to wait 45, 60, or 90 days to get paid on their approved invoices.
During the mid-1990’s Mr. Rothenberg was an investment banker at Dillon, Read & Co., Inc. and Prudential Securities Inc. He provided M&A advisory as well as debt and equity underwritings for institutions operating in the financial services sector.
In the late-1990’s Mr. Rothenberg was recruited by CIT Group’s Merchant Banking Division. At CIT Mr. Rothenberg provided factoring loans, bank loans, mezzanine loans with warrants, and equity investments to small and mid-size corporations.
Starting in 2002 Mr. Rothenberg joined the hedge fund industry as a portfolio manager of Corporate Credit, Fixed Income and Distressed Debt. He managed funds for Ramius Capital Group, an affiliate of Paloma Partners, and M.D. Sass.
Mr. Rothenberg holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School and a BA in Political Science from Emory University.
April 2017 Honoree
Lenny Valdberg
Lenny Valberg is an entrepreneur driven by the vision of having at least one VIGO product in every household and hotel in America.
He believes that the products you choose say a lot about your personality.
As President and co-founder of VIGO, Lenny leads a team of talented professionals and business partners in many areas of business growth – strategy, new business development, manufacturing, logistics, R&D, sales, marketing and technology.
Together, he and his team bring an amazing line of high quality and modern products to homeowners who want their kitchen and bathroom to reflect their personality.
Lenny loves forging new business relationships with retail partners and uncovering ways to make our products more durable, more unique and more cost effective. He believe VIGO customers deserve the best products at the best price and I work to expand the business based on this philosophy.
Having done business in more than 15 countries and lived in three, his businesses have always had an international component to them. His personal style, as well as the style of many of VIGO’s products, has been influenced greatly by other cultures’ designs and traditions.
Lenny is always looking at industry trends in other parts of the world, as well as in our own region and is continually on the lookout for business opportunities that will either grow our current business or complement it in some way. As a business leader, building relationships is at the forefront of what he does.
Lenny is a graduate of Brooklyn College with a BS in Computer Science and fluent in Russian too.
March 2018 Honoree
Alexander Lopatine
With more than twenty years of international business experience, Alex Lopatine is recognized as a visionary strategist in the realms of finance, banking and technology. His leadership has leveraged technological innovations to disrupt entrenched industries to the benefit of consumers, investors and partners.
Currently Alex serves as Managing Director at Paladin (paladin-fs.com), a reputable consulting firm in the banking space, where he leads the newly-created Fintech Advantage practice. The new division will enable community banks and credit unions to access the fintech eco-system, while upgrading their software stack.
Alex is also developing various projects in stealth mode that will be unveiled later in 2018.
He is best-known for starting up Nymbus.com, the software system revolutionizing the banking industry through a modern and holistic approach to core infrastructures. He served as Founder & CEO and was responsible for overseeing the strategy, product, sales, business development, marketing and operational arms of the company. He raised more than $40 million for Nymbus from prominent VCs, such as Insight Venture Partners and international banking groups, such as Home Credit Bank.
Past roles include having served as Chief Strategy Officer of Mediaspectrum and Vensure, as well as holding board-level executive positions at several technology and financial institutions.
With a true global perspective, Alex speaks three languages fluently, has lived in five countries and has a Masters of International Law.
Lakshmi Narayanan
Lakshmi Narayanan, referred as Lakshmi is a professional turned successful serial entrepreneur, impact investor, thought leader, Technocrat, an Engineering Graduate, Post Graduate from London School of Economics and a Fellow of Harvard.
Lakshmi is currently heading a conglomerate of technology entities based out of Asian market and part of two fund houses in real estate and education in India and Singapore that are supporting the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Financial inclusion, Housing for all, Clean air and Clean water, Equal access to affordable education and Eliminating Gender disparity by enabling and empowering using technology.
Lakshmi is the executive council member and one of the founders of the largest and the first Financial Advisors Society for Indo Americans (FASIA), a nonprofit organization (www.fasiaamerica.org) that aims to integrate all the licensed professionals of Indo American origin in the United States to embrace the change in the advisory as a profession, educate on the new products and services, enable technology, empower the future generations, engage the community and create woman entrepreneurship.
Lakshmi is also the co-founder and executive council member of New York based educational organization White Polar Bear – A global Crypto academy, a nonprofit organization (www.whitepolarbear.org), focused on Democratizing Crypto Education for everyone, and through curriculum based education in schools and colleges with presence in Asia, Europe and Canada.
Before becoming as an entrepreneur in the role of a professional Lakshmi served as a board member in Fortune 500 companies, established business in 17 plus countries, traveled 80 plus countries across 6 continents. As a professional he has drafted global strategies, raised and managed capital, built organizations across geographies, launched new products and services, turned around ventures, executed cross border mergers and acquisitions.
Lakshmi’s first entrepreneurial venture REBI in 2007, organized the unorganized real estate advisors of 1.8 million advisors across India through a professional networking and technology. Rebi was Indians largest real estate multi location transaction advisory service organization with presence in more than 300 plus locations in India, Middle East, United States, UK and South East Asia. REBI’s current portfolio spread over 1.3 billion USD worth of Assets Under Management (AUM) across various geographies in Residential space. He is one of the early evangelist on smart cities, smart homes, Special Residential Zones (SRZ) instead of Special Economic Zones (SEZ), affordable sustainable housing and housing for all.
TASA Asia the educational venture co-founded by Lakshmi, currently present in 21 countries and works with half million students across South East Asia, helping them to access the global education, served more than 150 plus universities to establish their global presence by adding diversified students into their campuses and achieve 300 million USD plus fees collections every year from global students. TASA Asia has empowered 1000 plus housewives as woman entrepreneurs in the South East Asian continent, though technology touch and enable more than a million students every year for career enhancement.
Lakshmi is Co-Founder of Delphiads Movement – Global Arts and Culture Olympics for school kids, part of 3000 years historical Delphic games, the games that gave birth to Olympic Games of the world. With the vision to be the cultural conservators of every single culture in this world, Delphiads promote, teach, and enable to realize the importance of culture through cultural immersion into the kids in day today life. Delphiads promote the kids to exhibit, present, and compete their arts and cultural skills to the world.
Other than the traditional business ventures, Lakshmi’s is actively involved in the startup ecosystem as an advisor, mentor, investor and cofounder with more than 60 plus companies in various markets, they are engaged with deep technologies like Bloch chain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cognitive analytics (CA), Deep Learning (DL), Machine Learning (ML) in Edutech, Fintech, Clean Tech, Health Tech, Prop Tech, Mobility and Food tech that are helping people to Learn More, Earn More, Live more and Give More.
Lakshmi co-founded one of the India’s largest franchising consulting and advisory company franchise connect India (www.franchiseconnectindia.com), the second largest franchising advisory enterprise in India, operating in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Burma with more than 5000 brands advised in last 8 years across various domains from creating the franchising business models to globalizing their brands.
Lakshmi shares his Business learnings through active participating in various forums in the leadership role. He Co-Chairs IBREA – International Block Chain Real Estate Association, IFA – International Franchise Association, INQ – Global Ambassador to Global Fintech Accelerator out of Australia and India other than as a honorary speakers in various forums.
On a personal mission Lakshmi, With a vision of creating impact and touching lives as much as possible in this lifetime, Lakshmi advocates everyone to have a ” Mortgage Free Home Ownership “, a mission to fulfil the housing needs of billion aspirational people though a systematic saving to own a home. He reinstates owning a home, creates psychological security and Financial Prosperity. Having a place to live is everyone’s Basic Need and Birthright and we would like to help everyone to full fill their Basic need and Birthright.
Lakshmi is fascinated about the entrepreneurship journey of every entrepreneur and speaks in various forums on a topic of “Spiritual Entrepreneurs”, a topic connecting spirituality and entrepreneurship, the relationship between cosmic forces in the journey of life. He is a regular speaker in various conferences, events and Academic Institutions.
May 2018 Honoree
Derek Lundsten
Derek Lundsten is a serial entrepreneur, co-founding and leading half a dozen businesses across the healthcare, consulting, technology, and training industries.
His daily operational role and where he currently spends the majority of his time is as CEO of SCRIMMAGE, a modern mobile learning, development and training technology SaaS firm with a global footprint.
Derek has built and leads this dynamic growth business and a stellar team, overseeing its Sales & Marketing, Client Services and Technology divisions to ensure a proper alignment between evolving customer needs and innovation. Customers include a number of Fortune 100 and 500 organizations as well as startups and SMB’s. SCRIMMAGE’s mission is to make learning fun by personalizing the experience to users and allowing them to integrate learning with mobile devices and more traditional learning experiences.
Prior to his entrepreneurial endeavors, his business experience focused on Business Development and General Management at leading research, intelligence, technology and training organizations, by delivering successful solutions and driving customer retention.
Derek is active on a number of for and non-profit boards, as well several advisory roles with start-up firms and various trade organizations. He is a prolific networker and dealmaker always on the lookout for exciting new technologies, companies and investment opportunities, especially those with the potential to create massive positive societal impact while growing in financial success, ultimately empowering people both in business and in life.
Derek holds a B.S, double majoring in Philosophy and Psychology from James Madison University, and is an active speaker on the topics on entrepreneurship, technology, and healthcare among others.
July 2018 Honoree
Nimish Mistry
Nimish Mistry is the Chairman of the Board at the Mistry’s family office, President of The Dreamworks Media Company and a stakeholder in multiple companies globally. He has been interviewed at NASDAQ for his family office contributions. He is an impact investor and has invested in a number of industries and asset classes globally. His investments come with a humanitarian touch. He has worked with Fortune companies as well as venture capital funds. He has great regard for family values and adheres to the principles of Vedic Arthashastra, a 5000- year-old Indian management philosophy. He, at age 26 has been awarded as The National development Jewel of India, with a Gold medal.
Nimish’s business hubs are London and the US. Apart from heading his family office and other companies, he has developed brands like Auto Tax management, CureMe life, Active Victim and many others. Of these, the closest to him is Active Victim which addresses the raging problem of Gun Violence in the United States. He along with his team, have developed a hands on training program to take action in the event of active shooting incidents. He has also made a short film on the issue.
Nimish is also a mentor at Ramenworks, where he guides companies and entrepreneurs at no cost, it is his way of giving back to the society.
He is a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from VJTI in Mumbai India and holds a Masters of Science from Clarkson University, NY. He pursued contract law at Harvard University and is currently pursuing executive education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Business in Artificial Intelligence.
September 2018 Honoree
Evander Smart
Evander Smart has been a Bitcoin community member since 2013 and one of the world’s foremost Bitcoin experts since founding the world’s leading Bitcoin educational platform, Bitcoin University, in June of 2015 https://bitcoinuniversity.online
Evander is a Digital Currency Council-Certified Bitcoin Expert as of May, 2015, and Certified-Blockchain Expert by The Blockchain Council in April, 2018.
Evander created LOD SEO in January of 2017 to practice the science of Search Engine Optimization on major Internet platforms and has used his SEO expertise to place his website, BitcoinUniversity.online, as the world’s top-ranked website in Google, Yahoo and Bing SERPs under the “Bitcoin University” search
Evander has developed a knack for calling undervalued digital currency investments at the right time. He called the growth of Ethereum in February of 2017 in his Bitcoinist article. ETH was trading in the $10 range and ninety days later, it passed $400 USD in value.
Evander also recommended Antshares buys in August of 2017 for $10. It soon rebranded to NEO, was hailed as “Chinese Ethereum” and passed $135 in value, six months later.
Evander started out as a Bitcoin Journalist & Featured Writer – Bitcoin Journalist for Bitcoinist, CryptoCoinsNews, Bitcoin.com and CoinTelegraph. He has written almost 1000 published Bitcoin articles, which he was paid for in Bitcoin, and produced the most-read article in CCN history, “Why Bitcoin Price Drop is Good For Bitcoin.”
Before entering the Bitcoin community, Evander was an Executive Officer on Wall Street for J.P. Morgan from 2008-2011.
Ramesh Haridass
Ramesh Haridass is a first generation Indian American entrepreneur successfully building and managing his business TSS group over the past 30 years.
TSS is a conglomerate with multiple divisions including EPC, infrastructure, shipping and manufacturing catering to mainly large clients such as REG, Cargill, AGP etc…
Since 2001, Ramesh under his EPC division executed turnkey industrial projects in the Middle East valued at over $ 400 million in addition to executing for a Saudi client a 60,000 tons per annum sodium methylate solution manufacturing plant in Dammam Saudi Arabia, partly owned, operated and managed by the TSS group along with a $20 million plant in Manly, Iowa with a capacity of 20,000 tons per annum
Among some of the major projects Ramesh is involved in is the creation of a 100,000MT per annum of Sodium Methylate capacity in North America along with a dedicated 100,000MT Methanol plant in Iowa.
Ramesh is the quintessential entrepreneur who strongly believes in the wealth creation process and is relentlessly working on establishing himself as a global player in the industry.
Ramesh is a Mechanical engineer with a Masters in business administration from Hyderabad university. His biggest ambition is to touch millions of lives during his life time.
Bret Siarkowski
Bret Siarkowski is a founder of MedScience Ventures (MSV) and a Member of the General Partner. Mr. Siarkowski is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience initiating and leading technology companies in the design and application of innovative market-demanded solutions, as well as creating new markets. His extensive experience spans the mobile, gaming, healthcare, software, semiconductor and electronics industries.
Mr. Siarkowski is a Limited Partner at Kodiak Venture Partners, angel investor and serves on the Board for several technology companies. He has held visionary roles at industry leading corporations including GSN Games, Cadence Design, Synopsys and Digital Equipment Corporation and as well as startups such as Chrysalis Symbolic Design and Verplex Systems. Bret is the founder of CaseNET Inc., an enterprise care management healthcare software company. He is a co-founder of AbleRoad, a community effort that connects people with disabilities, families, friends and caregivers with accessible places. Bret is a co-founder and board member of Biofficient Inc., the “Match.com” for the Biotech Industry, automating the RFP/procurement process for clinical trial sponsors and service providers.
Mr. Siarkowski holds a BSEE from Northeastern University and an MSEE from the University of Southern California. Mr. Siarkowski is an active Mentor in the Northeastern University Health Sciences Entrepreneurs organization. He holds multiple patents that cover both software and hardware industries.
JiNan Glasgow George
A Patent Attorney and former Patent Examiner with the US Patent & Trademark Office, JiNan Glasgow George is an IP practitioner with experience across a wide range of technology fields, serving clients in the US and internationally. She is a registered patent attorney with the North Carolina Bar and the USPTO and the founding partner of Neo IP (formerly Triangle Patents, PLLC) in Durham, NC, USA (www.neoipassets.com).
JiNan has worked with clients doing business or investing in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Europe, India, Jordan, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya for strategic patent analysis and the development of intellectual property rights including patents, trademarks, and copyrights for licensing and commercialization globally.
JiNan Glasgow George is also the CEO and co-founder of Magic Number, Inc., a business intelligence SaaS company that provides insights for investors and executives, serial entrepreneurs and innovation-based companies – giving vision ahead of market data using patent data and machine learning (www.magicnumberip.com).
She was founder & CEO of Neopatents, a patent research and analytics company that provided consulting services and software worldwide from the headquarters in Durham, North Carolina USA (www.neopatents.com). She is also the inventor of patent claims diagramming innovations (Patent Matrix software) and the co-inventor of proprietary patent mapping tools for analyzing patents across all technology fields – and using visuals that help communicate complex information about patent sectors.
Since 2007, JiNan has been working to leverage patent information to stimulate and accelerate innovation, particularly in developing economies. She introduced the Patent Free Zone model – applicable in most developing countries to leverage the world’s most cutting edge research & technology for commercial acceleration of in-country development, while providing an unparalleled opportunity to innovate in ways that are impossible in the US, Europe, Japan, and even China or India.
JiNan also founded the Eclipse IP Futures Conference in RTP/Raleigh-Durham, NC USA area – now in its 6th year. This invitation-only conference uniquely addresses the questions that entrepreneurs and investors have with patents as business assets, not simply legal issues. Patent strategy, competitive intelligence, valuation, and enforcement are key areas addressed by global experts in patents, technology & investment.
JiNan Glasgow George has built her career from engineering to patent law and investment by finding non-conventional approaches, streamlining the path, and creatively using resources to provide answers. She supports large companies and entrepreneurs alike in using intellectual property for creating economic value and sustainable development. She believes that everyone has the power to create – and her work globally has focused on transforming ideas into reality and creating positive commercial impact from them.
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Himanshu B. Patel
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Currently, Triton Solar LLC has business in eleven countries including the US. Himanshu Patel possesses an in-depth understanding of IT, surveillance and the solar products that support and maintain those systems. He has applied this vast experience to the renewable energy sector and specifically engineered solar technology, products and software that wets a higher standard for energy efficiency solar systems.
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Int J Biol Sci 2013; 9(8):803-810. doi:10.7150/ijbs.7136
CD14 Targets Complement Receptor 3 to Lipid Rafts during Phagocytosis of Borrelia burgdorferi
Kelly L. Hawley1, Itziar Martín-Ruiz2, Juan M. Iglesias-Pedraz1, Brent Berwin3, Juan Anguita1,2,4
1. Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.
2. Proteomics Unit, CIC bioGUNE. 48160 Derio, Bizkaia, Spain.
3. Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Dartmouth College of Medical Center. Lebanon, NH 03576, USA.
4. Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48003 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain.
Hawley KL, Martín-Ruiz I, Iglesias-Pedraz JM, Berwin B, Anguita J. CD14 Targets Complement Receptor 3 to Lipid Rafts during Phagocytosis of Borrelia burgdorferi. Int J Biol Sci 2013; 9(8):803-810. doi:10.7150/ijbs.7136. Available from http://www.ijbs.com/v09p0803.htm
Phagocytosis of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is mediated partly by the interaction of the spirochete with Complement Receptor (CR) 3. CR3 requires the GPI-anchored protein, CD14, in order to efficiently internalize CR3-B. burgdorferi complexes. GPI-anchored proteins reside in cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains, and through its interaction with partner proteins, help initiate signaling cascades. Here, we investigated the role of CD14 on the internalization of B. burgdorferi mediated by CR3. We show that CR3 partly colocalizes with CD14 in lipid rafts. The use of the cholesterol-sequestering compound methyl-β-cyclodextran completely prevents the internalization of the spirochete in CHO cells that co-express CD14 and CR3, while no effect was observed in CD11b-deficient macrophages. These results show that lipid rafts are required for CR3-dependent, but not independent, phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi. Our results also suggest that CD14 interacts with the C-lectin domain of CR3, favoring the formation of multi-complexes that allow their internalization, and the use of β-glucan, a known ligand for the C-lectin domain of CR3, can compensate for the lack of CD14 in CHO cells that express CR3. These results provide evidence to understand the mechanisms that govern the interaction between CR3 and CD14 during the phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi.
Phagocytosis is an important component of innate immunity that leads to the destruction of pathogens, the production of proinflammatory factors, and the initiation of acquired immune responses through antigen presentation [1]. During infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, phagocytosis is also a significant element: besides its role in the control of spirochetal burdens during infection, it is required for the induction of a full-blown proinflammatory response in both human monocytes and murine macrophages [2-5]. Phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi enhances, modulates and alters the proinflammatory response of macrophages compared to the use of isolated pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) [2, 5-8]. Because of its importance in the overall phagocytic cell response to the spirochete, it is imperative to clarify the mechanisms of internalization of the bacterium.
Phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi occurs through at least two mechanisms that either require signals emanating, or are independent from the adaptor molecule, MyD88. MyD88-dependent phagocytosis occurs through a yet to be identified receptor [3, 9-11], while phagocytosis mediated by CR3 (αMβ2, CD11b/CD18) does not involve MyD88-derived signals [8]. We have previously demonstrated that the internalization of the spirochete mediated by CR3 requires the participation of the GPI-anchored protein co-receptor, CD14, which is not involved in the binding of the spirochete [8]. However, the role of CD14 during the internalization of B. burgdorferi remains undefined. Our results also showed that CR3-mediated phagocytosis modulates the inflammatory output of macrophages and its absence results in increased cardiac inflammation upon infection with the spirochete [8].
The α chain of integrins is responsible for the binding of specific ligands that occurs at the I-domain present on the N-terminal region of the protein [12]. Some integrins, including CR3, also contain a C-lectin domain that has affinity for a diversity of sugars, including β-glucans [13]. The C-lectin domain is also responsible for their interaction with GPI-anchored proteins, including CD14 [13]. In several instances, CR3 alone is sufficient to mediate the internalization of microorganisms [14], while it can also require the participation of co-receptors to be able to initiate phagocytosis [15]. CD14 does not participate in the binding to the spirochete [8], and thus, is likely to allow the CR3-B. burgdorferi complexes to converge on the cellular surface and initiate the outside-in signals required for their internalization.
GPI-anchored proteins, lacking the capacity to signal to the cell by themselves, serve as co-receptors to a variety of cell surface molecules. These include some TLRs, as well as integrins [16, 17]. In most cases, the activity of GPI-anchor proteins facilitate the formation of cross-linked complexes, which can initiate the signals specific to the main receptor. Thus, upon LPS engagement, CD14 facilitates the translocation of TLR4 to membrane cholesterol-rich microdomains, wherefrom signals can emanate [17]. Another GPI-anchored protein, CD87, has been shown to trigger the location of integrins, such as CR3 to lipid rafts [16]. Therefore, the formation of these membrane microdomains is a characteristic of receptor-mediated signaling events that use these proteins as co-receptors.
In this report, we show that CD14 mediates the translocation of CR3 to cholesterol-rich microdomains in the plasma membrane, an event necessary for the phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi mediated by the integrin. The role of CD14 is probably also played by other GPI-anchored proteins, since the absence of this protein results in a partial, albeit consistent, reduction in the internalization of the spirochete. Furthermore, we show that CR3 crosslinking can occur in the presence of β-glucan that binds the C-lectin domain of the integrin, suggesting that the role of CD14 is circumscribed to its ability to interact with CR3 and promote its translocation to lipid rafts. These results clarify the molecular mechanisms that govern the phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi.
Mice. C57Bl/6 (B6), CD14- and CD11b-deficient mice were purchased from Jackson Laboratories (Bar Harbor, ME). The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at UMass Amherst approved all procedures involving animals.
Cells. Bone marrow-derived macrophages were generated as described [4]. Briefly, bone marrow cells were collected from the femoral shafts and cultured in 20% L929-conditioned RPMI 1640 supplemented with 10% FCS (Hyclone Thermo Scientific, Waltham, MA), 2.4 mM L-glutamine and 10% penicillin-streptomycin (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) in 100 mm x 15 mm petri dishes (Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, PA) for 8 days at 37 ºC with 5% CO2. Non-adherent cells were then eliminated and adherent macrophages were scraped, counted and resuspended in serum-free RPMI medium 2 h prior to use.
CHO cells transfected with human CR3, or CR3 + CD14 [8] were maintained in Ham's F-12 medium (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO). The macrophage-like cell line RAW264.7 was maintained in RPMI 1640.
Bacteria. The clone Bb914, a virulent strain 297 B. burgdorferi derivative, which contains a constitutively expressed gfp reporter stably inserted into cp26 [18] was used throughout.
Phagocytosis assay. Phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi was analyzed as described [4, 8]. The cells (106/ml) were cultured in serum- and antibiotic-free medium with B. burgdorferi at different multiplicity of infections (m.o.i.) for 4h, except where indicated. In some instances, the cells were co-incubated with 1 mM β-glucan of different origins (barley, laminarin or S. cerevisiae, Sigma Chemical Co.). The cells were washed extensively and resuspended in PBS supplemented with 1% FCS and analyzed by flow cytometry using an LSR II flow cytometer (BD Biosciences) or were further prepared for microscopic analysis. The data were analyzed with FlowJo for Mac, version 8.6 (Tree Star, Inc., Ashland, OR).
Inhibitor treatments. RAW264.7 and CHO-CR3/CD14 cells (106/ml) were preincubated for 30 min with 1 or 5 mM of methyl-β-cyclodextran (Sigma Aldrich) at 37°C in serum- and antibiotic-free medium, followed by incubation with B. burgdorferi (m.o.i. 25) for 4 hours.
GPI-anchored protein shedding. RAW264.7 cells (106/ml) were preincubated for 20 min with 0.5-1 units of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) from Bacillus cereus (Invitrogen) at 4 ºC, followed by extensive washing and incubation with Bb914 at an m.o.i. = 25. Following the phagocytosis assay, spirochetal uptake was measured by flow cytometry, as described above. The extent of CD14 cleavage was determined by staining with a phycoerythrin-conjugated anti-CD14 mAb (BD Biosciences), followed by flow cytometry analysis.
Microscopy. To visualize internalized B. burgdorferi, the cells were washed and fixed in 3.7% paraformaldehyde for 7 minutes and permeabilized with 0.1% Triton-X-100 for 5 min. Following blocking of non-specific binding with 5% BSA for 60 minutes, the cells were stained with rhodamine phalloidin (Invitrogen) to visualize the actin cytoskeleton for 20 minutes at room temperature. The cells were mounted with Prolong Gold Anti-fade mounting reagent (Invitrogen). Photomicrographs were taken using a Zeiss Axiovert 200M inverted microscope (Thornwood, NY) equipped with Apotome and a Hamamatsu Orca camera (Bridgewater, NJ).
In order to assess the localization of CD11b to lipid rafts, 5 x 104 RAW 264.7 cells were incubated with Bb914 (m.o.i 25) for 1 h. The cells were incubated with the subunit B of cholera toxin (CTxB) labeled with alexa fluor 594 (Invitrogen) the last 20 min of the incubation period, washed and fixed. The preparations were then incubated with anti-CD11b conjugated to allophycocyanin (APC, clone M1/70, BD Biosciences) 2h at RT in the dark. Upon extensive washing, the slides were mounted and analyzed in a Zeiss LSM 510 Meta Confocal System.
Cell fractionation by sucrose-gradient ultracentrifugation. To determine whether CD11b colocalizes to lipid rafts, we performed a detergent extraction method followed by sucrose gradient centrifugation [19], with a few modifications. Briefly, 1 x 107 RAW 264.7 cells were stimulated with B. burgdorferi (m.o.i. 25) or left unstimulated for 1 h. The cells were washed, resuspended in 200 µl of ice-cold lysis buffer (25 mM MES, pH 6.5, 150 mM NaCl, 1% Triton X-100, 1 mM PMSF, and a protein inhibitor cocktail (Sigma Chemical Co.), and disrupted by passage through a 25G syringe. The cell lysate was mixed with an equal volume of 80% sucrose prepared in lysis buffer without TX-100, placed at the bottom of a discontinuous gradient (650 µl of 30% sucrose, 250 µl of 5% sucrose) and centrifuged at 200,000 xg for 20 h at 4 °C. Ten fractions were recovered from the top and precipitated with trichloroacetic acid. The samples were separated in a 10% polyacrylamide gel, transferred to nitrocellulose membranes and immunoblotted with anti-CD11b (M-19) and anti-CD14 (M-305) antibodies (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Dallas, TX). The blots were also immunostained with anti-flotillin 2 and -actin antibodies (Sant Cruz Biotechnology) to determine the fractions belonging to lipid rafts.
Statistical Analysis. The results are presented as means ± SE. Significant differences between means were calculated with the Student's t test. P values of 0.05 or less were considered statistically significant.
CR3-and CD14 co-localize to cholesterol-rich microdomains during the phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi. CD14 resides in cholesterol-rich domains or lipid rafts where it recruits surface receptors allowing the induction of signaling cascades [20-22]. To determine whether CD14 and CR3 co-localize to lipid rafts during the interaction of macrophages with B. burgdorferi, we performed sucrose gradient assays in RAW264.7 cells that had been stimulated with B. burgdorferi (m.o.i. 25) or left unstimulated. CD11b co-localized with CD14 in lipid raft fractions (determined by the presence of flotillin 2, not shown) regardless of the activation status of the cells (Fig. 1A). We also analyzed the colocalization of lipid rafts during the phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi by RAW264.7 cells using confocal microscopy. The orthogonal projection of the cells showed instances in which cholera toxin subunit B (CTxB) colocalized with B. burgdorferi that had been internalized (Figure 1B, central panel), indicating association with lipid rafts. In other cases, the spirochete was not obviously associated with cholesterol-rich microdomains (Figure 1B, left and right panels). The analysis of CD11b and CTxB staining by confocal microscopy in the presence and absence of the spirochete also showed that CD11b colocalized with CTxB in both unstimulated and B. burgdorferi-stimulated RAW264.7 cells (Fig. 1C). The attachment of B. burgdorferi to the surface of RAW264.7 cells occurred at least partly, in lipid rafts that also contained CD11b (Fig. 1C). These results showed that the phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi involved, to some extent, their association with cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains.
Lipid rafts are required for CR3-dependent, but not CR3-independent, phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi. To determine the contribution of lipid rafts to the phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi, we analyzed the internalization of the spirochete in the presence of the cholesterol-sequestering compound, methyl-β-cyclodextran (MβCD). RAW264.7 cells treated with 1 mM MβCD showed, as expected [23], a reduction in the FcR-mediated internalization upon crosslinking with anti-CD16/CD32 Abs (Figure 2A). Similarly, a partial reduction in the capacity of RAW264.7 cells to internalize B. burgdorferi was observed at this concentration (Figure 2A). We further analyzed the role of lipid rafts on the phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi by flow cytometry. The use of 5 mM MβCD resulted in the reduction of phagocytosis by both RAW264.7 cells (Figure 2B) and BMMs (Figure 2C). Interestingly, while no effect was observed in BMMs that lacked CR3 (Figure 2D), cholesterol sequestration prior to the phagocytosis assay resulted in the almost complete abrogation of B. burgdorferi phagocytosis by CHO-CR3/CD14 cells (Figure 2E). These results indicated that CR3-dependent, but not independent, phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi depends on the presence of cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains.
CD14 deficiency results in a marginal reduction of B. burgdorferi phagocytosis. Our results show that CD14 cooperates with CR3 during the phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi likely by aiding in the formation of B. burgdorferi-CR3 complexes at the lipid raft fraction of the plasma membrane. Previous studies have suggested that a deficiency in CD14 does not affect the internalization of the spirochete by BMMs [20]. We further explored the role of CD14 by first subjecting RAW264.7 cells to a treatment with the enzyme phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus (PI-PLC). The treatment with PI-PLC for 20 minutes resulted in the reduction, but no abrogation, of CD14 surface expression in these cells (Figure 3A, top panel) and no effect was observed in their capacity to phagocytose B. burgdorferi (Figure 3A, bottom panel). We argued that since the colocalization of CD14 with CR3 is limited (Figure 1A), even at low doses of surface CD14, phagocytosis can occur with no impediment. To further analyze the role of CD14, we obtained BMMs from CD14-deficient mice and assayed their ability to internalize B. burgdorferi at low (10) and moderate (25) m.o.i. At an m.o.i = 10, no effect was observed in the capacity of CD14-deficient BMMs to phagocytose the spirochete (Figure 3B, top panel), while some reduction was observed at the higher m.o.i (Figure 3B, bottom panel). Thus, these results suggest that low levels of CD14 are required to aid CR3 in the uptake of B. burgdorferi and in its absence, an effect is mostly evident at higher multiplicities of infection.
CR3-mediated phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi requires the translocation of the integrin to lipid rafts. (A) RAW264.7 cells were incubated for 1 h with B. burgdorferi (m.o.i. = 25), lysed and layered onto a sucrose gradient. The gradients were separated by ultracentrifugation for 20 h. Ten fractions were immunoblotted with anti-CD11b and anti-CD14 Abs. Fraction numbers from the top are indicated. T: whole lysates (25 μg). (B) RAW cells were incubated with Bb914 for 1 h in the presence of CTxB for the last 20 min. The cells were fixed and images obtained by confocal microscopy. The images represent orthogonal projections showing colozalization or lack thereof between Bb914 (green) and CTxB (red). (C) Confocal micrographs showing CD11b localization to lipid rafts. RAW264.7 cells were incubated with Bb914 (lower panels) or left unstimulated (upper panels) for 30 min. The cells were washed, fixed and stained with an anti-CD11b Ab (blue) and CTxB (red). Colocalization of CD11b and CTxB staining is indicated by the purple color in the small panel. The results presented are representative of 3-5 individual experiments.
Lipid rafts are required for CR3-dependent, but not CR3-independent, phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi. (A) RAW 264.7 cells were pretreated with 1 mM of MβCD for 30 min or left untreated, followed by incubation with 10 μg/mL of an anti-CD16/CD32 mAb and an anti-rat IgG for 30 min (top panels) or Bb914 (m.o.i. = 25) for 1 h (bottom panels). After extensive washing, the cells were fixed and those incubated with B. burgdorferi were stained with CTxB Alexa Fluor 594. RAW 264.7 cells (B), WT (C) and CD11b-deficient BMMs (D) and CHO-CR3/CD14 cells (E) were pretreated with 5 mM of MβCD for 30 min (red histograms) or left untreated (black histograms), followed by incubation with Bb914, at the following m.o.i.: RAW264.7 and CHO-CR3/CD14, 25; BMMs, 10. The cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. The grey histogram represents the control performed at 4 ºC. The experiments shown are representative of at least 3 performed.
CD14 deficiency results in a marginal reduction of B. burgdorferi phagocytosis. (A) RAW264.7 cells were treated with 1 unit of PI-PLC for 20 min at 4 ºC, followed by incubation with Bb914 at an m.o.i = 25. The top panel represents the remaining CD14 surface expression after PI-PLC treatment (red histogram) compared to untreated cells (black histogram). The grey histogram corresponds to the staining with an isotype control antibody. The bottom panel represents internalization of B. burgdorferi. The grey histogram corresponds to a 4 ºC control. (B) CD14-deficient (red histograms) or wild type control BMMs (Black histograms) were assessed by flow cytometry for their capacity to phagocytose Bb914 at m.o.i. = 10 (top panel) and 25 (bottom panel). The grey histogram represents the 4 ºC control. The experiments are representative of at least 3 independent experiments.
Ligation of the C-lectin domain of CR3 triggers B. burgdorferi phagocytosis. The interaction of CD14 and other GPI-anchored proteins with CR3 occurs at the C-lectin domain of the integrin. Phagocytosis of zymosan and other microorganisms can progress in the absence of CD14 (i.e. CHO-CR3 cells [14]). This is likely because zymosan particles bind both the I and the C-lectin domains of the integrin [14], which allows its crosslinking in the absence of other receptors. We argued that the role of CD14 during CR3-mediated phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi consists of its interaction with the C-lectin domain that mimics the effect of zymosan binding to this domain. Glucans are molecules that bind the C-lectin domain of CR3 [13]. Thus, we tested the effect of glucans from different origins on the phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi by RAW264.7 cells. While barley β-glucan did not have an effect on B. burgdorferi phagocytosis, both laminarin and, to a greater extent, S. cerevisiae β-glucan, increased the capacity of RAW264.7 cells to internalize the spirochete (Figure 4A). Furthermore, coincubation of CHO-CR3 cells lacking CD14 with B. burgdorferi and S. cerevisiae β-glucan resulted in the internalization of the spirochete (Figure 4B), confirming that ligands capable of binding the C-lectin domain of CR3 can induce the crosslinking of the integrin and the efficient internalization of B. burgdorferi.
Overall, our results show that the GPI-anchored protein, CD14, interacts with CR3 at the cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains that are essential for the internalization of B. burgdorferi mediated by the integrin. These data also reveal that low levels of the CD14 surface pool participate in this process and that crosslinking of CR3 through β-glucan binding to the C-lectin domain is sufficient to allow the phagocytic process to occur.
Internalization of B. burgdorferi by CHO-CR3 cells is facilitated by β-glucans. (A) RAW264.7 cells were incubated with 1 mM barley β-glucan (orange histogram), Laminarin β-glucan (green histogram) or S. cerevisiae β-glucan (red histogram) and Bb914 (m.o.i. = 25) for 4 hours. Control cells (black histogram) were incubated with Bb914. (B) CHO-CR3 cells were incubated with 1 mM S. cerevisiae β-glucan and Bb914 for 4 hours. The cells were fixed, stained with phalloidin Alexa Fluor 594 and analyzed by confocal microscopy. The results presented are representative of 3 experiments preformed in triplicate.
Much is still unknown about the specifics of B. burgdorferi phagocytosis, despite its importance in the host response during infection, not only related to the elimination of the spirochete, but also to the induction of a proinflammatory deleterious state. The internalization of B. burgdorferi by phagocytic cells is a complex phenomenon that depends on at least 2 receptors that involve very different signaling pathways and results in diverse inflammatory outputs. Thus, both MyD88-dependent and independent phagocytosis occur upon the pathogen interaction with monocytes/macrophages. We have shown that CR3 is a phagocytic receptor that does not require MyD88-derived signals and results in the tempering of the proinflammatory output of these cells [8]. CR3-mediated phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi requires, however, the participation of the GPI-anchored protein, CD14, which does not contribute to the binding to the spirochete [8].
The data presented here indicate that CR3-mediated phagocytosis requires the translocation of the integrin to lipid rafts, which could be mediated by CD14. The requirement of cholesterol during the internalization of the spirochete seems to be independent of the newly described role of this molecule on B. burgdorferi biology [24-26], since the cholesterol-sequestering drug did not affect the uptake of the bacterium in the absence of CD11b. Whether CD14 is unique among GPI-anchored proteins in its ability to promote CR3-dependent phagocytosis of spirochetes remains to be addressed. Sahay and coworkers reported a lack of a noticeable effect in the phagocytic capacity of macrophages that are deficient for CD14 against B. burgdorferi [20]. We analyzed further the capacity of CD14-deficient macrophages to internalize the spirochete. As reported by Sahay et al. [20], CD14 null BMMs phagocytosed B. burgdorferi similar to wild type macrophages at an m.o.i of 10. However, at a higher m.o.i (=25) a partial defect in the phagocytic capacity of CD14-deficient BMMs against B. burgdorferi was noted. The reduction in the phagocytic activity of BMMs in the absence of CD14 is much more modest than that observed in CD11b-deficient macrophages. These results suggest the existence of other GPI-anchored proteins that can exert a redundant function during CR3-mediated phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi. In fact, CR3-mediated phagocytosis of Mycobacterium kansasii occurs with the participation of several GPI-anchored proteins [27]. The promiscuity shown by CR3 may be also a characteristic in the case of B. burgdorferi phagocytosis, and could explain the modest effect that CD14 deficiency has in spirochetal internalization. Hovius and coworkers [28] have provided indirect evidence suggesting that other GPI-anchored proteins may be aiding CR3 during B. burgdorferi phagocytosis. They described that Urokinase Receptor (uPAR, CD87) deficiency impairs B. burgdorferi phagocytosis. uPAR is a GPI-anchored protein with known association with CR3. For example, it has been shown to cooperate with CR3 in the phagocytosis of iC3b-opsonized sheep red blood cells [29]. Whether uPAR also cooperates with CR3 during the phagocytosis of the spirochete is worth pursuing and will be the subject of future investigations.
These and our previous results [8] also suggest a direct interaction between CR3 and CD14. GPI-anchored proteins interact with CR3 through the C-lectin domain in the integrin [13]. Thus, we argued that sugars such as lectins, which also bind this domain, could have the capacity to enhance and/or supplement the role played by CD14. Indeed, our results show that the S. cerevisiae β-glucan significantly enhances the internalization of B. burgdorferi by RAW cells. Importantly, the use of this glucan allows CHO-CR3 cells, which lack the co-receptor CD14 and are unable to internalize the spirochete [8], to phagocytose B. burgdorferi. These data are in agreement with the capacity of CR3 alone to internalize zymosan particles, which also contain glucan, and provide further evidence that the role played by CD14, likely through its interaction with the C-lectin domain of the integrin, consists on the facilitation of receptor clustering and the initiation of the required signals for the phagocytic process. Overall, our data show evidence of the mechanism at the molecular level of phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi mediated by CR3 in cooperation with CD14.
We are indebted to Justin Radolf for providing the GFP-expressing B. burgdorferi strain and stimulating discussions. We are also grateful to Robin Ingalls for the CHO-CR3 cells.
JMIP present address: Institute of Genetic Medicine, Dept. of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033.
KLH present address: Department of Pediatrics. University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030.
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5. Salazar JC, Duhnam-Ems S, La Vake C, Cruz AR, Moore MW, Caimano MJ. et al. Activation of human monocytes by live Borrelia burgdorferi generates TLR2-dependent and -independent responses which include induction of IFN-beta. PLoS Pathog. 2009;5:e1000444
6. Cervantes JL, Dunham-Ems SM, La Vake CJ, Petzke MM, Sahay B, Sellati TJ. et al. Phagosomal signaling by Borrelia burgdorferi in human monocytes involves Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR8 cooperativity and TLR8-mediated induction of IFN-beta. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108:3683-8
7. Cruz AR, Moore MW, La Vake CJ, Eggers CH, Salazar JC, Radolf JD. Phagocytosis of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete, potentiates innate immune activation and induces apoptosis in human monocytes. Infect Immun. 2007;76:56-70
8. Hawley KL, Olson CM Jr, Iglesias-Pedraz JM, Navasa N, Cervantes JL, Caimano MJ. et al. CD14 cooperates with complement receptor 3 to mediate MyD88-independent phagocytosis of Borrelia burgdorferi. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012;109:1228-32
9. Bolz DD, Sundsbak RS, Ma Y, Akira S, Kirschning CJ, Zachary JF. et al. MyD88 plays a unique role in host defense but not arthritis development in Lyme disease. J Immunol. 2004;173:2003-10
10. Liu N, Montgomery RR, Barthold SW, Bockenstedt LK. Myeloid differentiation antigen 88 deficiency impairs pathogen clearance but does not alter inflammation in Borrelia burgdorferi-infected mice. Infect Immun. 2004;72:3195-203
11. Shin OS, Miller LS, Modlin RL, Akira S, Uematsu S, Hu LT. Downstream signals for MyD88-mediated phagocytosis of Borrelia burgdorferi can be initiated by TRIF and are dependent on PI3K. J Immunol. 2009;183:491-8
12. Ueda T, Rieu P, Brayer J, Arnaout MA. Identification of the complement iC3b binding site in the beta 2 integrin CR3 (CD11b/CD18). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994;91:10680-4
13. Ross GD. Role of the lectin domain of Mac-1/CR3 (CD11b/CD18) in regulating intercellular adhesion. Immunol Res. 2002;25:219-27
14. Le Cabec V, Cols C, Maridonneau-Parini I. Nonopsonic phagocytosis of zymosan and Mycobacterium kansasii by CR3 (CD11b/CD18) involves distinct molecular determinants and is or is not coupled with NADPH oxidase activation. Infect Immun. 2000;68:4736-45
15. Sendide K, Reiner NE, Lee JS, Bourgoin S, Talal A, Hmama Z. Cross-talk between CD14 and complement receptor 3 promotes phagocytosis of mycobacteria: regulation by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and cytohesin-1. J Immunol. 2005;174:4210-9
16. Kindzelskii AL, Laska ZO, Todd RF 3rd, Petty HR. Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor reversibly dissociates from complement receptor type 3 (alpha M beta 2' CD11b/CD18) during neutrophil polarization. J Immunol. 1996;156:297-309
17. Zarewych DM, Kindzelskii AL, Todd RF 3rd, Petty HR. LPS induces CD14 association with complement receptor type 3, which is reversed by neutrophil adhesion. J Immunol. 1996;156:430-3
18. Dunham-Ems SM, Caimano MJ, Pal U, Wolgemuth CW, Eggers CH, Balic A. et al. Live imaging reveals a biphasic mode of dissemination of Borrelia burgdorferi within ticks. J Clin Invest. 2009;119:3652-65
19. Zhu X, Owen JS, Wilson MD, Li H, Griffiths GL, Thomas MJ. et al. Macrophage ABCA1 reduces MyD88-dependent Toll-like receptor trafficking to lipid rafts by reduction of lipid raft cholesterol. J Lipid Res. 2010;51:3196-206
20. Sahay B, Patsey RL, Eggers CH, Salazar JC, Radolf JD, Sellati TJ. CD14 signaling restrains chronic inflammation through induction of p38-MAPK/SOCS-dependent tolerance. PLoS Pathog. 2009;5:e1000687
21. Triantafilou M, Morath S, Mackie A, Hartung T, Triantafilou K. Lateral diffusion of Toll-like receptors reveals that they are transiently confined within lipid rafts on the plasma membrane. J Cell Sci. 2004;117:4007-14
22. Schmitz G, Orso E. CD14 signalling in lipid rafts: new ligands and co-receptors. Curr Opin Lipidol. 2002;13:513-21
23. Bournazos S, Hart SP, Chamberlain LH, Glennie MJ, Dransfield I. Association of FcgammaRIIa (CD32a) with lipid rafts regulates ligand binding activity. J Immunol. 2009;182:8026-36
24. Larocca TJ, Pathak P, Chiantia S, Toledo A, Silvius JR, Benach JL. et al. Proving Lipid Rafts Exist: Membrane Domains in the Prokaryote Borrelia burgdorferi Have the Same Properties as Eukaryotic Lipid Rafts. PLoS Pathog. 2013;9:e1003353
25. Crowley JT, Toledo AM, LaRocca TJ, Coleman JL, London E, Benach JL. Lipid exchange between Borrelia burgdorferi and host cells. PLoS Pathog. 2013;9:e1003109
26. LaRocca TJ, Crowley JT, Cusack BJ, Pathak P, Benach J, London E. et al. Cholesterol lipids of Borrelia burgdorferi form lipid rafts and are required for the bactericidal activity of a complement-independent antibody. Cell Host & Microbe. 2010;8:331-42
27. Peyron P, Bordier C, N'Diaye EN, Maridonneau-Parini I. Nonopsonic phagocytosis of Mycobacterium kansasii by human neutrophils depends on cholesterol and is mediated by CR3 associated with glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins. J Immunol. 2000;165:5186-91
28. Hovius JW, Bijlsma MF, van der Windt GJ, Wiersinga WJ, Boukens BJ, Coumou J. et al. The urokinase receptor (uPAR) facilitates clearance of Borrelia burgdorferi. PLoS Pathog. 2009;5:e1000447
29. Pliyev BK, Arefieva TI, Menshikov MY. Urokinase receptor (uPAR) regulates complement receptor 3 (CR3)-mediated neutrophil phagocytosis. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2010;397:277-82
Corresponding author: Juan Anguita, PhD, Proteomics Unit. CIC bioGUNE. Technology Park of Bizkaia. 48160 Derio, Bizkaia, Spain. Phone: +34 944 061 311; Fax: +34 944 061 301; e-mail: janguitaes.
Accepted 2013-8-3
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(105 ILCS 5/2-3.159)
Sec. 2-3.159. State Seal of Biliteracy.
(a) In this Section, "foreign language" means any language other than English, including all modern languages, Latin, American Sign Language, Native American languages, and native languages.
(b) The State Seal of Biliteracy program is established to recognize public high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in one or more languages in addition to English. The State Seal of Biliteracy shall be awarded beginning with the 2014-2015 school year. School district participation in this program is voluntary.
(c) The purposes of the State Seal of Biliteracy are as follows:
(1) To encourage pupils to study languages.
(2) To certify attainment of biliteracy.
(3) To provide employers with a method of
identifying people with language and biliteracy skills.
(4) To provide universities with an additional
method to recognize applicants seeking admission.
(5) To prepare pupils with 21st century skills.
(6) To recognize the value of foreign language and
native language instruction in public schools.
(7) To strengthen intergroup relationships, affirm
the value of diversity, and honor the multiple cultures and languages of a community.
(d) The State Seal of Biliteracy certifies attainment of a high level of proficiency, sufficient for meaningful use in college and a career, by a graduating public high school pupil in one or more languages in addition to English.
(e) The State Board of Education shall adopt such rules as may be necessary to establish the criteria that pupils must achieve to earn a State Seal of Biliteracy, which may include without limitation attainment of units of credit in English language arts and languages other than English and passage of such assessments of foreign language proficiency as may be approved by the State Board of Education for this purpose. These rules shall ensure that the criteria that pupils must achieve to earn a State Seal of Biliteracy meet the course credit criteria established under subsection (i) of this Section.
(f) The State Board of Education shall do both of the following:
(1) Prepare and deliver to participating school
districts an appropriate mechanism for designating the State Seal of Biliteracy on the diploma and transcript of the pupil indicating that the pupil has been awarded a State Seal of Biliteracy by the State Board of Education.
(2) Provide other information the State Board of
Education deems necessary for school districts to successfully participate in the program.
(g) A school district that participates in the program under this Section shall do both of the following:
(1) Maintain appropriate records in order to identify
pupils who have earned a State Seal of Biliteracy.
(2) Make the appropriate designation on the
diploma and transcript of each pupil who earns a State Seal of Biliteracy.
(h) No fee shall be charged to a pupil to receive the designation pursuant to this Section. Notwithstanding this prohibition, costs may be incurred by the pupil in demonstrating proficiency, including without limitation any assessments required under subsection (e) of this Section.
(i) For admissions purposes, each public university in this State shall accept the State Seal of Biliteracy as equivalent to 2 years of foreign language coursework taken during high school if a student's high school transcript indicates that he or she will be receiving or has received the State Seal of Biliteracy.
(j) Each public community college and public university in this State shall establish criteria to translate a State Seal of Biliteracy into course credit based on foreign language course equivalencies identified by the community college's or university's faculty and staff and, upon request from an enrolled student, the community college or university shall award foreign language course credit to a student who has received a State Seal of Biliteracy. Students enrolled in a public community college or public university who have received a State Seal of Biliteracy must request course credit for their seal within 3 academic years after graduating from high school.
(Source: P.A. 98-560, eff. 8-27-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 99-600, eff. 1-1-17.)
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Home Sports How Australia plans to topple England in WT20 final
How Australia plans to topple England in WT20 final
Three titles in five attempts. It’s the numbers that have defined Australia’s success at the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 tournament and on Sunday the Southern Stars will be hoping to add another to the tally as they clash with England over the 2018 crown.
It’s been a fruitful series for skipper Meg Lanning’s troops. Boasting only a single loss to India, Australia have set about their 2018 campaign with a marked professionalism and hunger to win. Inspired by the passion of wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy, Australia’s women have built on this year’s red-hot form as they sit just one win away from the championship. Entering the competition off the back of 16 straight wins across all formats since late March and having suffered just one loss, it’s been a dream year for Australia’s women. On Sunday they will look to punctuate it all with victory over England.
It’s a story that sits in stark contrast with their male counterparts, who have struggled through one of the most turbulent times in the sport’s history as new coach Justin Langer looks to rebuild his squad ahead of the Australian summer.
Despite England’s women failing to tread the smoothest path on their way to the Women’s World Twenty20 final, Australian cricket legend Ian Healy expects a heated encounter as one of the oldest rivalries in sporting history adds another chapter to its chronicles.
“It's one of the strongest rivalries we've got in cricket and England have got a good recent record against Australia, so they'll back themselves,” Healy exclusively told Wide World of Sports.
“But Australia have got wonderful form, they've built and improved their team since last time they played England and they'll be difficult to beat."
Healy commended Australia for the calculated and unselfish semi-final victory over the West Indies on a wicket that failed to produce the trademark showmanship T20 is known for. He believes their impressive lead-up provides the Aussies with an edge in Sunday’s final.
“It was really good preparation. By all reports the pitch that they'll play on for the final on Sunday will be more bare, it will have less grass, so it will bounce through a bit quicker,” Healy said.
“The fact that the top order had to rein it in a bit in the semi-final and hit the ball along the ground rather than go for boundaries like they usually do - fours sixes being the focus - they did well to put their egos aside and think, 'Well 130 will be a good score', rather than pushing to a 150 score.
“As it turned out they got to 140 because Rachael Haynes did really well to get 25 off 15.
“They all had to bat and they all had to be thinking, which is great experience. And then the bowlers combined beautifully. Every bowler created some trouble for the opposition. So it was a great preparatory run.”
It's those performances where Australia’s Alyssa Healy has risen to the occasion time again. An opening batter and a dogged wicketkeeper, Healy has had a dream campaign in the West Indies as the stage looks set for her 2018 curtain call.
“A match winning 60 or 70 in the final would be the icing on the cake of what's been an outstanding tournament,” Healy said of his niece.
“I think she's got four out of five Player of the Match awards so far, which is outstanding.”
Despite her dominance, Healy warned that the Aussies must not get too comfortable in their ability to score with England’s roster boasting a host of threatening bowlers that have can undo their star keeper’s at times risky play at the crease.
“Australia can't rely on that sort of strokeplay to come off so often. She takes risks at the top of the order and they've all been working beautifully but there could be some that don't come off,” Healy warned.
“They've certainly got the bowlers to back them to take those sort of risks at the top of the order and still build to a competitive total if they don't come off. Their versatility is the best in the world, the best at this tournament, so they can win even if the top order doesn't work.”
Healy believes Anya Shrubhole is the main threat to Australia’s top order. The medium pacer has the ability to rattle Lanning’s troops with her dangerous inswing.
“We haven't used great tactics against her in the past and she can get a bit of a wriggle on through your order, she has a habit of getting two or three wickets quickly,” he said.
“I think we've got to go with her inswing, not against it. We back away and try to hit through covers against her. I think she's the one, if we can control what we do against her and give her nothing that will go a long way.”
Sunday’s ICC Women’s World Twenty20 final will be held at Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, in Antigua. Fans wishing to watch all the action can tune into the match live on 9Gem from 10:30am (AEDT).
https://ift.tt/2OXIxG5
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Home » Context of 'Late 2006: Anthrax Attacks Suspect Ivins Suspects FBI Is Targeting Him, Says He Is Being Set Up'
Context of 'Late 2006: Anthrax Attacks Suspect Ivins Suspects FBI Is Targeting Him, Says He Is Being Set Up'
This is a scalable context timeline. It contains events related to the event Late 2006: Anthrax Attacks Suspect Ivins Suspects FBI Is Targeting Him, Says He Is Being Set Up. You can narrow or broaden the context of this timeline by adjusting the zoom level. The lower the scale, the more relevant the items on average will be, while the higher the scale, the less relevant the items, on average, will be.
1997: Future Anthrax Attacks Suspect Ivins Develops Anthrax Said to Be Used in Attacks, but as Many as 300 People Have Access to It
Around 2004, FBI investigators will come to believe that a version of the Ames strain anthrax known as RMR-1029 was the anthrax used in the 2001 anthrax attacks (see October 5-November 21, 2001). RMR-1029 is first developed in 1997 by Bruce Ivins, a scientist at USAMRIID, the US Army’s top bioweapons laboratory. The FBI will later claim that Ivins was the sole custodian of RMR-1029, and only about 100 other people potentially had access to it. However, after the FBI makes this claim, the New York Times will report that beginning in 1997, RMR-1029 is not stored in USAMRIID’s Building 1425, where Ivins’s laboratory is, but in the adjacent Building 1412. The Times will report, “Former colleagues said that its storage in both buildings at different times from 1997 to 2001 might mean that the bureau’s estimate of 100 people with physical access to it was two or three times too low.” [New York Times, 9/6/2008]
Entity Tags: United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Bruce Ivins
Timeline Tags: 2001 Anthrax Attacks
February 22-27, 2002: Anthrax Attacks Suspect Ivins Submits Anthrax Sample to FBI Investigators
Anthrax under magnification. [Source: T. W. Geisbert / USAMRIID]Scientist Bruce Ivins submits a sample of the anthrax he has been using to FBI investigators. Ivins works at USAMRIID, the US Army’s top bioweapons laboratory, and is helping with the anthrax investigation even though the FBI has reason to believe the anthrax could have come from USAMRIID (see Mid-October 2001 and Winter 2001). Ivins is using a variety of the Ames anthrax strain known as RMR-1029. A subpoena dated February 22, 2002 is issued to Ivins and other scientists, telling them to submit samples of their anthrax. Ivins submits his sample on February 27, apparently before he receives the subpoena. He is the only scientist to submit a sample before getting the subpoena. He had been discussing with investigators what kind of protocol to use for the samples, so he is familiar with the desire for the samples and how to submit them, but he does not completely the protocol with his sample. The FBI will soon destroy the sample he submits because it has not been prepared using the protocol, which is necessary for it to be used as valid evidence in trial. In April 2002, Ivins will submit a second anthrax sample. Around 2004, scientists will discover some unique genetic markers to the anthrax used in the 2001 attacks and will start comparing that anthrax to other anthrax. No match will be found between Ivins’s April 2002 sample and the anthrax used in the attacks. However, Paul Keim, a biologist at Northern Arizona University and an expert at distinguishing various strains of anthrax, keeps duplicates of all the anthrax samples sent to the FBI. In early 2007, it will be discovered that he still has a copy of Ivins’s February 2002 sample. A match will be discovered between that RMR-1029 sample and the sample from the attacks (see Early 2007). However, at least 100 scientists had access to this sample (see Late 2005-2006). [US Department of Justice, 8/18/2008; New York Times, 8/20/2008]
Entity Tags: Paul Keim, Bruce Ivins, Federal Bureau of Investigation
April 2002: Anthrax Attacks Suspect Ivins Submits Second Anthrax Sample to FBI Investigators
In February 2002, scientist Bruce Ivins submitted a sample of the anthrax he has been using to FBI investigators, but it was destroyed because it was not submitted according to strict protocols. As a result, he is asked to submit a second sample in April 2002, and does. Ivins works at USAMRIID, the US Army’s top bioweapons laboratory, and is helping with the anthrax investigation even as the FBI has reason to believe the anthrax could have come from USAMRIID (see Mid-October 2001 and Winter 2001). Ivins is using a variety of the Ames anthrax strain known as RMR-1029. Around early 2004, scientists will discover some unique genetic markers to the anthrax used in the 2001 attacks and will start comparing that anthrax to other anthrax. No match will be found between Ivins’s April 2002 sample and the anthrax used in the attacks. As a result of this discrepancy, the FBI will raid Ivins’s lab in July 2004 and seize more samples of RMR-1029 (see July 16, 2004). Additionally, Paul Keim, a biologist at Northern Arizona University and an expert at distinguishing various strains of anthrax, keeps duplicates of all the anthrax samples sent to the FBI. In early 2007, it will be discovered that he still has a copy of Ivins’s February 2002 sample. A match will be discovered between that RMR-1029 sample and the sample from the attacks (see Early 2007). However, at least 100 scientists had access to this sample (see Late 2005-2006). [New York Times, 8/20/2008] It remains unknown if Ivins altered the sample he submitted. Keim will later say that the genetic markers found in other samples of RMR-1029 should have been found in Ivins’s sample. He will note that “the FBI is implying he did it on purpose.” However, he will say that “Ivins may simply have failed to collect a representative sample.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/1/2008] In an August 2008 press briefing (see August 18, 2008), a government official will be asked if the sample submitted was not RMR-1029. The official will reply, “I don’t want to speculate that far.” [US Department of Justice, 8/18/2008]
Entity Tags: Paul Keim, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bruce Ivins
July 2002-Late 2003: FBI Openly and Constantly Monitors Anthrax Attacks Suspect Hatfill
An FBI agent checking a dumpster near Steven Hatfill’s apartment. [Source: WUSA]In July 2002, anthrax attacks suspect Steven Hatfill is put under 24-hour surveillance. The surveillance comes after bloodhounds allegedly link Hatfill to the anthrax letters at some point in July. (This bloodhound evidence will be quickly debunked by the media, but apparently this does not dissuade the FBI (see August 4, 2002)). [Vanity Fair, 9/15/2003] The surveillance is quite open and obvious at times. In December 2002, Hatfill alleges that a virtual caravan of unmarked vans and cars are keeping him under constant surveillance, following him on errands and to restaurants, and driving past his house with a video camera pointed out the window. He also believes that his telephone is being wiretapped. [United Press International, 12/23/2002] In May 2003, Hatfill walks up to one of the agents following him attempts to videotape him. The agent drives into Hatfill and runs over his foot. Remarkably, the driver is not punished but Hatfill gets a five-dollar ticket for “walking to create a hazard.” Mike Hayes, a retired 20-year FBI agent specializing in surveillance, says to a reporter regarding the FBI’s behavior with Hatfill, “What you’re describing—really obvious surveillance—doesn’t make a lot of sense.” [Baltimore Sun, 5/20/2003] Shortly after the incident, USA Today reports, “FBI officials believe they can’t risk the embarrassment of losing track of Hatfill, even for a few hours, and then being confronted with more anthrax attacks.” Privately, Hatfill’s lawyer suggests that Hatfill could be outfitted with a satellite-guided tracking device and allow an FBI agent to stay with him at all times, but the FBI rejects the offer. [Los Angeles Times, 6/29/2008] The surveillance continues until late 2003 and is very intermittent after that. [Baltimore Sun, 7/21/2004] The FBI will later admit that this type of open surveillance of a suspect is against FBI guidelines. However, when the FBI’s focus turns to Bruce Ivins in 2007, they will use the same technique on him (see Autumn 2007-July 29, 2008).
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Steven Hatfill, Mike Hayes
March 31, 2005: Anthrax Attacks Suspect Ivins Is Questioned about His After Hours Laboratory Work in 2001
The FBI questions scientist Bruce Ivins about a marked increase in his after hours laboratory work from mid-August through October 2001 (see Mid-August-October 2001). Ivins tells investigators that he was working late at the time to escape troubles at home. The FBI is unable to find evidence of legitimate work Ivins performed during those visits. He is also asked to explain the differences in anthrax samples he submitted to the FBI in 2002 (see April 2002) and those seized in 2004 (see July 16, 2004). [Washington Post, 8/7/2008; Associated Press, 8/7/2008]
Entity Tags: Bruce Ivins, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Late 2005-2006: Investigators Determine about 100 Scientists Used Anthrax Matching that in 2001 Attacks, Including Bruce Ivins
After years of work, by 2005, a scientific team working with the FBI has identified four genetic markers, known as indels, that make the anthrax used in the 2001 anthrax attacks unique (see Early 2003-2005). The anthrax is from the Ames strain, and the FBI has been slowly building a repository of 1,070 Ames anthrax samples from around the world. By late 2005 to 2006, it is discovered that only eight samples match the anthrax used in the attacks. Seven of these eight samples come from USAMRIID, the US Army’s top bioweapons laboratory, and the eighth sample comes from another unnamed laboratory in the US. One of these samples is the ancestor of all eight, and this is a flask known as RMR-1029 kept by USAMRIID scientist Bruce Ivins (see Early 2004). The FBI soon determines that about 100 scientists had access to this flask and its seven descendants. Investigators begin a new phase, using traditional criminology techniques to narrow down the possible suspects. [New York Times, 8/20/2008]
Entity Tags: Bruce Ivins, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
Late 2006: Anthrax Attacks Suspect Ivins Suspects FBI Is Targeting Him, Says He Is Being Set Up
Scientist Bruce Ivins begins to believe that the FBI anthrax attacks investigation is turning its focus towards him. He is correct, but it is unclear how he knows this (the FBI begins openly monitoring him at some point in 2007 (see Autumn 2007-July 29, 2008)). At USAMRIID, the US Army’s top bioweapons laboratory, he tells colleagues that the FBI might be trying to set him up to take the fall for the attacks. His former boss Jeffrey Adamovicz will later recall that Ivins begins to poke holes in the FBI’s efforts. For instance, Ivins says a positive DNA match between the anthrax in the letters and anthrax at USAMRIID would mean little, “because those labs are shared.” [Wall Street Journal, 8/7/2008] It is unclear why the FBI is suspecting Ivins already, because a match between the anthrax used in the attacks and anthrax held by him will not be made until early 2007 (see Early 2007).
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Bruce Ivins, Jeffrey Adamovicz
Early 2007: Investigators Match Anthrax Sample from Suspect Ivins with Anthrax Used in 2001 Attacks
Paul Keim. [Source: Public domain]The FBI matches an anthrax sample submitted by suspect Bruce Ivins with the anthrax used in the 2001 attacks. The sample, of anthrax used by Ivins in his work, was submitted to the FBI in February 2002, but the FBI then destroyed it since it had not been prepared using a strict protocol needed for it to be used as evidence in a trial (see February 22-27, 2002). By late 2006, the FBI suspects Ivins sent the 2001 anthrax letters (see Late 2006). Also in 2006, scientists have discovered unique genetic markers in the anthrax used in the 2001 attacks and they are comparing them to other anthrax samples they have collected. A sample Ivins gave to the FBI in April 2002 does not match the anthrax in the letters. However, Paul Keim, a biologist at Northern Arizona University and an expert at distinguishing various strains of anthrax, has kept duplicates of all the anthrax samples sent to the FBI. In early 2007, Keim discovers that he still has a copy of Ivin’s February 2002 sample, known as RMR-1029, and it matches the anthrax used in the attacks. However, at least 100 scientists had access to this sample (see Late 2005-2006), if not 200 to 300 scientists (see 1997). [Frederick News-Post, 8/19/2008; New York Times, 8/20/2008]
April 9, 2007: Prosecutors Formally Inform Bruce Ivins He Is ‘Not a Target’ of Anthrax Attacks Investigation
The FBI’s letter to Bruce Ivins. [Source: FBI] (click image to enlarge)Bruce Ivins is sent a formal letter by prosecutors saying that he is “not a target” of the FBI’s anthrax attacks investigation. In fact, samples of the anthrax used in the attacks have been shown to match anthrax once controlled by Ivins (see Early 2007) and Ivins has already been questioned about late-night work he had conducted in the USAMRIID laboratory shortly before the anthrax letters were mailed (see March 31, 2005). [New York Times, 9/6/2008] Since late 2006, Ivins has correctly been under the impression that he is a target of the investigation (see Late 2006).
Autumn 2007-July 29, 2008: FBI Agents Openly Follow Anthrax Attacks Suspect Ivins
For about a year until his death in July 2008 (see July 29, 2008), anthrax attacks suspect Bruce Ivins is openly followed by FBI agents in surveillance vehicles. When this begins exactly is not known, but his house is searched by the FBI on November 1, 2007 (see November 1, 2007), so presumably he is followed at least after that date. [New York Times, 8/4/2008] This tactic used on Ivins had already been controversially used on the previous primary anthrax attacks suspect, Steven Hatfill, in 2002 and 2003. One of the heads of the FBI’s anthrax investigation, Robert Roth, later admitted in court that this tactic of openly following Hatfill was against FBI guidelines. “Generally, it’s supposed to be covert,” Roth said. [Associated Press, 8/5/2008]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bruce Ivins, Robert Roth
November 1, 2007: FBI Secretly Raids House of Anthrax Attacks Suspect Ivins, Bars Him from Access to Dangerous Toxins at USAMRIID
The house of Bruce Ivins. [Source: Rob Carr / Associated Press]The FBI suspects that Bruce Ivins, a scientist working at USAMRIID, the US Army’s top biological laboratory, was behind the 2001 anthrax attacks (see October 5-November 21, 2001). His home is searched by the FBI, but no report of this makes the newspapers. On the same day, USAMRIID cuts off his access to the laboratories where biological agents and toxins are used and stored. However, he continues to work at USAMRIID without such access until July 2008, when he will be completely banned from the lab (see July 10, 2008). [Herald-Mail, 8/8/2008] According to McClatchy Newspapers, his lab access is apparently reinstated some time after this date. [McClatchy Newspapers, 8/7/2008]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bruce Ivins, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
(July 22, 2008): FBI Investigators Finally Take DNA Sample from Anthax Attacks Suspect Ivins
About a week before Bruce Ivins dies (see July 29, 2008), FBI agents take a mouth swab to collect a DNA sample from him. It is unclear why investigators waited so long, since he had been an a suspect since 2006 (see Late 2006). [New York Times, 9/6/2008]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bruce Ivins
July 29, 2008: Anthrax Attacks Suspect Ivins Dies in Apparent Suicide
Bruce Ivins in 2003. [Source: Agence France-Presse / Getty Images]US government microbiologist Bruce Ivins dies of an apparent suicide. The Los Angeles Times is the first media outlet to report on his death three days later. The Times claims that Ivins died “just as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him” for the 2001 anthrax attacks (see October 5-November 21, 2001). For the last 18 years, Ivins had worked at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), the US government’s top biological research laboratory at Fort Detrick, Maryland. His name had not been made public as a suspect in the case prior to his death. He dies at Frederick Memorial Hospital after ingesting a massive dose of prescription Tylenol mixed with codeine. Apparently there is no suicide note or any other known final message from Ivins. [Los Angeles Times, 8/1/2008] According to the Washington Post, Ivins had ingested the pills two or three days before he actually died. He was admitted to Frederick Memorial Hospital two days before his death. Investigators had scheduled a meeting with Ivins’s attorneys to discuss the evidence against him. However, Ivins dies two hours before the meeting is to take place (see July 29, 2008). [Washington Post, 8/2/2008] Apparently, no autopsy is performed on Ivins’s body. A Frederick Police Department lieutenant says that based on laboratory test results of blood taken from the body, the state medical examiner “determined that an autopsy wouldn’t be necessary” to confirm he died of a suicide. [Bloomberg, 8/1/2008]
Entity Tags: Bruce Ivins, US Department of Justice, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
July 29, 2008: FBI Still Building Case Against Anthrax Attacks Suspect Ivins When He Dies
On July 29, 2008, when anthrax attacks suspect Bruce Ivins commits suicide (see July 29, 2008), the FBI still has not completed its case against him. Several days later, the New York Times reports that a grand jury in Washington had been planning to hear several more weeks of testimony before deciding to issue an indictment or not. Additionally, just days before his death, FBI agents seize two public computers from the downtown public library in Frederick, the Maryland town where Ivins lives. The Times will call this “an indication that investigators were still trying to strengthen their case…” [New York Times, 8/4/2008]
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Home » Context of 'Afternoon, October 29, 2004: Ohio Attorney General Refuses to Bar Voter Challenges on Election Day'
Context of 'Afternoon, October 29, 2004: Ohio Attorney General Refuses to Bar Voter Challenges on Election Day'
This is a scalable context timeline. It contains events related to the event Afternoon, October 29, 2004: Ohio Attorney General Refuses to Bar Voter Challenges on Election Day. You can narrow or broaden the context of this timeline by adjusting the zoom level. The lower the scale, the more relevant the items on average will be, while the higher the scale, the less relevant the items, on average, will be.
Between September 2004 and Mid-October 2004: Ohio Republican Party Writes to Newly Registered Voters
The Ohio Republican Party, headed by Robert T. Bennett, sends 232,000 letters to all of Ohio’s voters who registered between January 1 and August 31. The letter reportedly welcomes the newly registered voters and encourages them to vote Republican. Roughly 30,000 of the letters are returned as undeliverable either because the intended recipients do not exist, have moved or died, or because the letters went to vacant houses or bogus addresses. Commenting on the large number of returned ballots, Bennett later tells the Columbus Dispatch, “It was an astounding number. The potential for these fraudulent registrations to produce fraudulent votes at the ballot box is very real.” David Sullivan, Ohio coordinator for the Democrats’ voter-protection project, disagrees, claiming that the Republicans’ mass mailing was “an unprecedented effort to throw tens of thousands of voters off of Ohio’s voting rolls.” [Columbus Dispatch, 10/23/2004]
Timeline Tags: 2004 Elections
October 22, 2004: Ohio Republican Officials Submit List of Questionable Voters, Many in Democratic Stronghold
In Ohio, Republican Party officials submit a list of 35,427 registered voters in 65 different counties whose mailing addresses, they say, are questionable to county election boards. 17,717 names on the list are of newly registered voters from Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, a Democratic stronghold. [Columbus Dispatch, 10/23/2004; New York Times, 10/23/2004]
Timeline Tags: Civil Liberties, 2004 Elections
October 23, 2004-October 29, 2004: Many Republican Challenges to Voter Registrations Thrown Out in Ohio
County election boards in Ohio hold hearings to verify the voting addresses of roughly 30,000 recently registered voters whose eligibility to vote has been challenged by the Republican Party (see October 22, 2004). [WTOV 9 (Steubenville, OH), 10/27/2004; New York Times, 10/29/2004] According to Democratic officials, Republicans challenging voters at the hearings have little or no evidence to support their claims, other than that the voter’s registration card was returned “undeliverable” (see Between September 2004 and Mid-October 2004). In Summit County, elections officials reject all 976 challenges after the challengers fail to provide evidence. Similarly, in Warren County, officials throw out every one of the county’s 23 challenges. [Plain Dealer (Cleveland), 10/31/2004]
October 28, 2004: Judge Blocks Voter Verification Hearings in Six Ohio Counties
Judge Susan J. Dlott, of Federal District Court in Cincinnati, blocks the election boards of six Ohio counties—Franklin, Lawrence, Medina, Cuyahoga, Scioto, and Trumbull—from holding voter verification hearings (see October 23, 2004-October 29, 2004). [WTOV 9 (Steubenville, OH), 10/27/2004; New York Times, 10/29/2004]
Morning, October 29, 2004: Halting of Voter Registration Hearings Approved by Appeal Court
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upholds Judge Susan Dlott’s October 28 ruling (see October 28, 2004) halting voter registration hearings (see October 23, 2004-October 29, 2004) in six Ohio counties. [New York Times, 10/29/2004]
Afternoon, October 29, 2004: Judge Halts Vote Challenges throughout Ohio
Judge Susan Dlott issues an injunction halting challenge hearings (See October 23, 2004-October 29, 2004) in all of the state’s 88 counties. [New York Times, 10/29/2004]
Entity Tags: Susan J. Dlott
Afternoon, October 29, 2004: Ohio Attorney General Refuses to Bar Voter Challenges on Election Day
Following Judge Susan Dlott’s ruling (see Afternoon, October 29, 2004), Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell instructs Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro to recommend to federal judges that all challengers be barred from polling locations. [Columbus Dispatch, 10/31/2004; Cincinnati Enquirer, 11/1/2004] He reasons that poll workers hired and paid by the local election boards and supplied by the parties should be able to protect against voter fraud. He also says the challengers could generate confusion. [New York Times, 10/29/2004; Plain Dealer (Cleveland), 10/31/2004] But Petro refuses, saying that to do so would be a violation of Ohio law. “Neither the secretary of state nor I can negotiate away the legal rights of Ohio’s citizens,” Petro says in a statement. “Thus, I cannot submit to the federal courts the secretary’s unlawful proposal to ban all challengers for all parties, candidates or issues on Election Day.” Both officials are Republicans. [Plain Dealer (Cleveland), 10/31/2004; Columbus Dispatch, 10/31/2004; Cincinnati Enquirer, 11/1/2004]
Entity Tags: J. Kenneth Blackwell, Jim Petro
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Home » Timelines by Topic » Topics » Nature » Natural Disasters » Hurricane Katrina
Louisiana Coastal Wetlands
Project: Hurricane Katrina
1930-2005: More than 1.2 Million Acres of Louisiana’s Coastal Wetlands Disappear
During the 75-year period between 1930 and 2005, more than 1.2 million acres of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands disappear. From 1932 to 1956, Louisiana loses 9,600 acres (15 sq. miles) of wetlands per year. The rate peaks between the years 1956 and 1978 at 26,000 acres (41 sq. miles) per year and then declines, falling to 20,000 acres (31 sq. miles) per year during the 1978-1983 period, and 16,000 acres (25 sq. miles) per year between 1983 and 1990. [Wicker, 1980 ; Dunbar, Britsch, and Kemp, 1992; Barras, Bourgeois, and Handle, 1/1994; Barras et al., 2004 ] After state and federal governments initiate a coastal restoration program in 1990 (see November 29, 1990) at a total cost of more than $400 million, the rate decreases to about 15,300 acres (24 sq. miles) per year. [Barras et al., 2004 ] The decades of wetlands loss brings the Gulf Coast 30 miles closer to New Orleans; so by 2005, only about 20 miles remain between the below-sea-level city and the Gulf waters. [Houston Business Journal, 7/11/2003] Studies have projected that Louisiana’s coast will continue to lose land at a rate of about 6,600 acres per year (10 sq. miles) over the next 50 years, [Barras et al., 2004 ] resulting in another 1000 square miles of wetlands being lost, an area almost equivalent in size to the state of Rhode Island. [Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force and Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Authority, 1998] The net loss of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands has been attributed to several factors, including the maintenance of shipping lanes, the dredging of canals, construction of flood control levees, and the withdrawal of oil and gas. [Environmental Protection Agency and Louisiana Geological Survey, 4/1987 ; National Wetlands Research Center, 9/20/2005] The US Corps of Engineer’s flood control system of levees and dams is considered to be a major cause of wetlands destruction, as it prevents the Mississippi River from depositing sediment that is needed to sustain the wetlands. The oil and gas industry is also responsible for the net loss of wetlands. Thousands of canals for pipelines and drilling rigs are plowed during this period, often by the US Army Corps of Engineers, creating a scarred landscape and eroding the marshlands year after year. [Environmental Protection Agency and Louisiana Geological Survey, 4/1987 ; Times-Picayune, 7/26/2002; Houston Business Journal, 7/11/2003] A study in 1982 estimated that as much as 90 percent of Louisiana’s land loss can be attributed to canals. [Turner, Costanza, and Scaife, 1982 ] Furthermore, the extraction of oil and gas from beneath the Louisiana coast is believed (see 2002) to have increased the rate of subsidence, a term used to describe the phenomena whereby land slowly sinks. [Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, 2002 ] Other causes of wetland destruction include wave erosion, land reclamation, and rising sea levels. [Environmental Protection Agency and Louisiana Geological Survey, 4/1987 ] Louisiana’s coast is a vitally important ecosystem and natural feature. It makes up about 40 percent of all US coastal wetlands and provides over-wintering habitat for 70 percent of the migratory birds that come down the Central and Mississippi flyways. [Environmental Protection Agency and Louisiana Geological Survey, 4/1987 ; Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force and Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Authority, 1998; US Army Corp of Engineers, 11/8/2004] The wetlands and barrier islands (some 80 percent of these islands are lost during this period) serve as a natural protective barrier against hurricanes by reducing the size of storm surges. [Environmental Protection Agency and Louisiana Geological Survey, 4/1987 ; Houston Business Journal, 7/11/2003; van Heerden, 2004] The region is also of vital importance to the US economy. By the late 1990s, the region contributes 30 percent by weight of the total commercial fisheries harvest in the continental US; 18 percent of US oil production; and 24 percent of US gas production. Louisiana’s ports outrank all other US ports in total shipping tonnage. [Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force and Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Authority, 1998; US Army Corp of Engineers, 11/8/2004]
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Coastal Wetlands, Land Development, Federal, Private Sector, Environmental Policies/Programs
November 29, 1990: Congress Passes Bill to Provide Federal Funds for Coastal Wetlands Restoration Projects
Congress passes the Breaux Act, formally called The Coast Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA), establishing a task force charged with planning and prioritizing wetland restoration projects that would then be sent to Congress to be included as part of the president’s annual budget submission. CWPPRA specifies that 70 percent of its authorized funds must go to Louisiana restoration projects; 15 percent to the Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program, a program that provides federal funds to restoration projects in other coastal states; and 15 percent to North American Wetlands Conservation Act projects. All projects funded under the terms of this act will require non-federal matching contributions. [US Code Vol. 16, secs. 3952-3956] Louisiana will generate its portion of funding for projects though taxes on fishing equipment, small engine, and motorboat fuels, as well as import duties. The act is set to expire in 2009 [National Wetlands Research Center, 9/20/2005] , but will be renewed at least until 2019. [ESA Policy News Update, 10/15/2004] By 2004, some $400 million will have been spent on coastal restoration projects as part of the program [van Heerden, 2004] , resulting in at least 52,000 acres being created, restored, or protected. [Louisiana Coastal Area Study, 7/2004 ]
Entity Tags: US Congress, The Coast Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act of 1990
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Federal, Coastal Wetlands, Environmental Policies/Programs, Legislation
December 1998: Diverse Team Devises Strategy to Restore Louisiana Coastal Wetlands
The State of Louisiana, the US Army Corps of Engineers, federal agencies, local governments, academics, and local community groups work together to develop a comprehensive restoration plan aimed at rebuilding Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. The plan, named “Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coast,” outlines more than 80 restoration concepts that will serve as the basis for the more technical “Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Comprehensive Coastwide Study” that will eventually be submitted to the White House in 2004 (see October 2003). The Coast 2050 plan is a direct outgrowth of lessons learned from implementation of restoration projects under the Breaux Act (see November 29, 1990) and reflects a growing recognition that a more comprehensive systemic approach is needed. It is estimated that the Coast 2050 plan would cost $14 billion over the next 30 years to implement and require an annual budget of $470 million. It would restore natural drainage along Louisiana’s coast and direct the movement of sediment from the Mississippi to rebuild marshes. One of the plan’s strategies would be to install sediment traps at key locations in the river, from where sediment would be pumped through 100-mile long pipelines to rebuild wetlands and barrier islands. [Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force and Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Authority, 1998; Louisiana Coastal Area Study, 1/2003 ; Civil Engineering, 6/2003; Louisiana Coastal Area Study, 7/2004 ; Civil Engineering, 7/2004; USA Today, 8/30/2005] The Coast 2050 plan is endorsed by all 20 Louisiana coastal parishes, the federal Breaux Act (CWPPRA) Task Force, the State Wetlands Authority, and various environmental organizations, including the Coalition to Save Coastal Louisiana. “This approval is unprecedented,” says the Louisiana Coastal Area website. [National Wetlands Research Center, 9/20/2005]
Entity Tags: Louisiana State Wetlands Authority, CWPPRA Task Force, Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coast, US Army Corps of Engineers
Category Tags: Federal, Louisiana: State, Academia/Professional, NGOs, Environmental Policies/Programs, Coastal Wetlands, Before Katrina
Summer 2001: Louisiana Governor Endorses Plan to Rebuild State’s Coastal Wetlands
Governor Mike Foster (R-LA) endorses the Coast 2050 plan (see December 1998) to spend $14 billion over a 20 to 30-year period to rebuild Louisiana’s coastal wetlands as a means of protecting the mainland from the full destructive force of a major hurricane. [Chronicle of Higher Education, 4/26/2002]
Entity Tags: Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coast, Ivor Van Heerden
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Louisiana: State, Flood Risk, Environmental Policies/Programs, Coastal Wetlands
2002: Study Finds that Oil and Gas Industry Responsible for Significant Portion of Louisiana Coastal Wetland Loss
Former petroleum geologist Bob Morton, now with the US Geological Survey, concludes in a paper that the oil and gas industry’s extraction of millions of barrels of oil, trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, and tens of millions of barrels of saline formation water lying with the petroleum deposits has caused a reduction in subsurface pressure causing underground faults to slip and the land above to subside. “Subsidence rates in coastal Louisiana associated with natural compaction and dewatering of Holocene deltaic sediments should decrease with time; therefore historical rates of delta plain subsidence that accelerate and typically exceed geological subsidence rates are most likely influenced by anthropogenic activities, such as subsurface fluid extraction.” [Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, 2002 ; National Geographic, 10/2004] The oil industry and its consultants dispute Morton’s theory, but fail to disprove it. If Morton is correct, any restoration efforts in the area could fail as they would be unable to offset the high rates of subsidence. [National Geographic, 10/2004]
Entity Tags: Bob Morton
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Coastal Wetlands, Land Development, Environmental Policies/Programs
March 2002-October 2003: Technical Plan to Restore Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Completed
Scientists, environmental groups, and the US Army Corps of Engineers work together on a comprehensive technical plan to rebuild Louisiana’s disappearing coastal wetlands. The plan aims to “provide a sustainable coastal ecosystem with the essential functions, assets, and values of the natural ecosystem.”The Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Comprehensive Ecosystem Restoration Study, as it is called, incorporates the restoration concepts outlined in the 1998 Coast 2050 plan (see December 1998). The LCA study, unlike the Coast 2050 plan, provides the scientific and technical analyses and engineering details that Congress will use to decide if the project meets congressional requirements necessary to secure WRDA authorization. WRDA, or the Water Resources Development Act, provides federal authorization for water resources projects. The team hopes to submit a Chief’s Report by June 2004 so that the plan can be included as a funded action item in the WRDA legislation currently pending in Congress. [Louisiana Coastal Area Study, 1/2003 ; Associated Press, 1/29/2004; Associated Press, 2/3/2004; Louisiana Coastal Area Study, 4/2004 ; Louisiana Coastal Area Study, 7/2004 ; National Geographic, 10/2004]
Entity Tags: US Army Corps of Engineers, Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Ecosystem Restoration Study
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Federal, Academia/Professional, NGOs, Environmental Policies/Programs, Coastal Wetlands
October 2, 2002: Louisiana Senator Warns Congress of New Orleans’ Vulnerability to Major Hurricane
Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La) urges Congress to protect and rebuild Louisiana wetlands, which would buffer the impact of a major hurricane hitting New Orleans. She also informs her colleagues of the need to improve the region’s transportation infrastructure so residents would be able to safely flee the city in case of a hurricane. “We are telling you and begging this Senate and this Congress to recognize benefits Louisiana provides to the nation. Louisiana is proud of that, but we need extra federal help to secure this marshland, to help rebuild it, and protect us. If Louisiana does not receive help the wetlands will disappear, and the people of Louisiana will be sitting ducks for future floods and storms.… While we are making progress, we have a long way to go. So whether it is at the energy conference, where I hope we will have a positive outcome, or in the new transportation bill where we can talk about the highways and evacuation routes in south Louisiana and the Gulf South need our attention. Not only do they serve as economic highways that are really necessary for commerce to flourish, but, as you know, when the hurricanes come, it is the only way for people to flee the storm. We don’t have trains, as people do in the Northeast, to get out of harm’s way. All we have in Louisiana are highways dangerously crowded with automobiles and pickup trucks. We need to make sure people can get north to higher ground…” [US Congress, 10/2/2002, pp. S9834]
Entity Tags: Mary L. Landrieu
Category Tags: Warnings, Flood Risk, Evacuation Problem, Federal, Before Katrina, Coastal Wetlands
Fall 2002: Campaign Launched to Increase Public Awareness about Louisiana’s Disappearing Wetlands
A coalition of governmental agencies, elected officials, environmental organizations, and community groups launch a campaign to increase public awareness about Louisiana’s disappearing coastal wetlands. The campaign—backed with a $3 million grant from Shell Oil, one of the campaign’s partners—is called “America’s Wetland.” The impact of the wetlands’ disappearance on Louisiana’s coastal ecology has been the focus of environmentalists and scientists for years. And scientists have also been warning that the loss of the state’s coastal wetlands and barrier islands has made coastal population centers such as New Orleans increasingly susceptible to hurricane-generated storm surges that could cause massive flooding. What’s unique about this program is that it stresses how the loss of wetlands will impact the oil industry and national economy. The campaign argues that coastal erosion is threatening the oil companies’ network of oil and natural gas rigs, pipelines, and refineries throughout the region. Losing this infrastructure would result in higher oil prices. Furthermore, the state’s fisheries—which make up 30 percent of the nation’s total annual catch—are also vulnerable. “The coast is really about money, aside from the ecological value of it,” explains outgoing Republican Governor Mike Foster, who played a major role in the campaign’s formation. [Associated Press, 6/6/2004; Americas Wetlands, 9/21/2005]
Entity Tags: Royal Dutch/Shell, State of Louisiana
Category Tags: Before Katrina, NGOs, Federal, Louisiana: State, Private Sector, Coastal Wetlands, Flood Risk
October 2003: Louisiana Coastal Wetland Restoration Plan Submitted to White House
The US Corps of Engineers submits a draft report package and a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on the proposed Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) wetlands restoration study (see March 2002-October 2003) to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The Corps is hoping that the report will be released this month, so it can be used to request congressional authorization in fall 2004 for the plan’s basic framework. But its release is held up by questions from the OMB and CEQ. In February 2004 (see February 2, 2004), the Bush administration will provide formal comments about the plan to the Corps in its 2005 proposed budget, directing the Corps to develop a less costly plan that focuses on narrower, shorter term objectives. [Associated Press, 1/29/2004; Associated Press, 2/3/2004; Louisiana Coastal Area Study, 4/2004 ; Louisiana Coastal Area Study, 7/2004 ]
Entity Tags: Council on Environmental Quality, Office of Management and Budget, Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Ecosystem Restoration Study, US Army Corps of Engineers
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Federal, Environmental Policies/Programs, Coastal Wetlands
January 2004: Louisiana Governor Personally Asks Bush to Fund Louisiana Coastal Restoration Project
During President Bush’s visit to Louisiana, Governor Kathleen Blanco asks the president in a private conversation to include $50 million in his budget to begin construction work on the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) wetlands restoration project. She follows up with a formal letter outlining her request. [Associated Press, 2/3/2004]
Entity Tags: George W. Bush, Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Ecosystem Restoration Study, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Federal, Louisiana: State, Coastal Wetlands
February 2, 2004: Louisiana Governor Criticizes President’s Failure to Include Adequate Funds for Louisiana Coastal Wetland Restoration Project
Governor Kathleen Blanco says in response to the release of President Bush’s 2005 budget (see February 2, 2004): “While I am pleased to see that President Bush included some money in his executive budget to address coastal restoration in Louisiana, I must say I am disappointed that the $8 million he proposed is less than one-sixth of what I had requested. We need immediate help… to protect our state and our nation from the continued degradation of the area we call America’s Wetland.” [Associated Press, 2/3/2004]
Entity Tags: Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, George W. Bush
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Warnings, Louisiana: State, Coastal Wetlands
February 2, 2004: Bush Administration 2005 Budget Proposal Falls Short of Army Corps’ Expectations
The Bush administration’s proposed fiscal year 2005 budget sets aside $325 million for civil works projects in the US Army Corps of Engineers’ New Orleans district—slightly less than the $337 million approved by Congress the year before. According to Marcia Demma, chief of the Corps’ programs management branch, the Corps will need $425 million for 2005. “We have a backlog of contracts, and it’s just been for the past few years that… we haven’t been funded at our full capability,” Marcia Demma, chief of the Corps’ programs management branch, tells New Orleans CItyBusiness. Of the $325 million proposed in the Bush budget, the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project (SELA) would receive $30 million, far short of the $42 million the Corps says it needs, and $4 million less than fiscal year 2004’s actual budget. According to Stan Green, SELA project manager, the $30 million would probably allow the Corps to continue its current work on 12 projects in Jefferson and Orleans parishes. But if it were fully funded, he says, it could award contracts for an additional 14 projects. [New Orleans CityBusiness, 2/16/2004] (Congress ultimately approves $36.5 million for SELA. [Los Angeles Times, 9/4/2005] ) The administration’s proposed budget includes only $3.9 million for the New Orleans’ East Bank Hurricane Levee Project, a mere fraction of the $27.1 million requested by the Corps. According to Al Naomi, who manages this project, the budgeted allotment would not even cover the $4.5 million required for unpaid fiscal year 2004 work. (The sum ultimately approved by Congress for the east bank project is $5.7 million.) [New Orleans CityBusiness, 2/16/2004; Times-Picayune, 6/8/2004; Knight Ridder, 9/1/2005; Knight Ridder, 9/1/2005; Washington Post, 9/8/2005, pp. A01] Additionally, the president’s budget rejects a draft plan, submitted in October 2003 (see October 2003) by the Army Corp of Engineers, to begin a $14 billion dollar project to restore Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. Instead, the president directs the Corps to refocus its ongoing restoration study to produce a single, prioritized list of projects that can be completed in 10 years. Additionally, the corps is directed to include in its study several other larger restoration projects that are not part of the Louisiana Coastal Area study, and determine whether the mouth of the Mississippi can be altered to let sediment create new areas of wetlands to its east and west quickly, while still allowing shipping to reach port facilities in New Orleans and elsewhere along the river. Eight million dollars is allocated to the effort, only a fraction of the $50 million that was requested by Louisiana’s Governor (see January 2004). In the budget’s narrative, the White House acknowledges for the first time that Louisiana’s disappearing wetlands are partly the result of the US Army Corps of Engineers’ channeling of the Mississippi River for shipping and the construction of flood-control levees along the river to protect New Orleans. It also says that canals built by the oil and gas industry, natural subsidence, and rising sea levels are contributing factors to Louisiana’s net loss of coastal wetlands. [Associated Press, 2/3/2004; Times-Picayune, 2/3/2004; Louisiana Coastal Area Study, 4/2004 ]
Entity Tags: Stan Green, Marcia Demma, Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Ecosystem Restoration Study, Bush administration (43), Al Naomi, US Army Corps of Engineers
Category Tags: Flood Control Programs, Federal, Resource Allocation, Before Katrina, Coastal Wetlands, Land Development, Environmental Policies/Programs, Louisiana: SELA
July 2, 2004: Army Corps of Engineers Submit Downsized Louisiana Wetland Restoration Plan to EPA
In accordance with the Bush administration’s request (see February 2, 2004) to narrow the focus of the Louisiana Coastal Restoration Plan, the US Army Corps of Engineers submits a $2.0 billion restoration plan for Louisiana’s coastal wetlands to the EPA. The plan, downsized from the orginal $14 billion plan and referred to at this point as the Tentatively Selected Plan (TSP), calls for the accelerated implementation of up to five restoration projects that could begin as early as 2006. The projects would cost a total of $786 million. Other projects, such as a 10-year science and technology program, a demonstration program, a beneficial use of dredged material program, and a modification of existing structures program, would also be accelerated and cost about $385 million. The plan also calls for a large scale studies program costing $60 million, and identifies another 10 projects that would be subject to case-by-case authorization by Congress. [Louisiana Coastal Area Study, 7/2004 ; Environmental News Service, 7/7/2004; National Wetlands Research Center, 12/15/2004]
Entity Tags: Environmental Protection Agency, US Army Corps of Engineers, Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Ecosystem Restoration Study
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Coastal Wetlands
July 8, 2004: Louisiana Coastal Area Restoration Plan Available for Public Review
The Army Corp of Engineers announces that the revised Louisiana Coastal Area Restoration Plan, Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS) is available for public review. The comment period begins on July 9 and ends on August 23, 2004. [US Army Corp of Engineers, 7/8/2004 ]
July 15, 2004: Bush Administration Opposes Legislation to Fund Restoration of Louisiana’s Coastal Wetlands Using Oil and Gas Royalties
In a six-page letter to the congressional conference-committee charged with combining the House (see April 21, 2005) and Senate (see June 28, 2005) versions of the 2005 Energy Policy Act (HR 6), Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman expresses the Bush administration’s strong opposition to a provision that would grant coastal oil-producing states like Louisiana a share of the royalties from offshore oil and gas operations. Historically, the royalties have been paid exclusively to the federal government. [Houma Today, 7/21/2005; Houma Today, 7/23/2005; Salon, 9/1/2005] Bodman writes in his letter that “The administration strongly opposes” the new funding. “These provisions are inconsistent with the president’s 2006 budget and would have a significant impact on the budget deficit.” [Salon, 9/1/2005] The statement also says, “The administration recognizes that coastal Louisiana is an environmental resource of national significance and has worked closely with the state of Louisiana to produce a near-term coastal wetlands restoration plan to guide how the next phase of restoration projects in Louisiana will be identified, prioritized, and sequenced.” [Houma Today, 7/21/2005] Craig Stevens, the press secretary for the Department of Energy, later explains to Salon: “We didn’t object to the idea in principle. [Rather, we objected to] part of the way it was crafted.” [Salon, 9/1/2005] Bodman also takes issue with the House’s WRDA bill (see April 13, 2005). WRDA, or the Water Resources Development Act, provides federal authorization for water resources projects. The House bill would require the federal government to pay 65 percent of the cost of the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) restoration project, leaving the remaining 35 percent for state and local governments to pay. “The cost-share paid by the general taxpayer for the Everglades restoration effort is 50 percent, and this should likewise be the maximum federal contribution for the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway and coastal Louisiana restoration efforts.” If the Fed’s portion of the bill were 65 percent, the letter argues, it would “create expectations for future appropriations that cannot be met given competing spending priorities within the overall need for spending restraint, including deficit reduction.” Adam Sharp, spokesman for Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), notes however that the 50-50 cost-share formula for the Everglades is an exception to the Corps’ practice, not the rule. Indeed, in January (see January 2005), the Corps recommended the 65-35 cost share formula in its report on the coastal plan to Congress saying that such a split would be “consistent with existing law and Corps policy.” [Houma Today, 7/21/2005]
Entity Tags: Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Ecosystem Restoration Study, Craig Stevens, Samuel W. Bodman
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Environmental Policies/Programs, Coastal Wetlands
July 28, 2004: Southwest Louisiana Upset over Revised Louisiana Coastal Area Restoration Plan
In the southwest Louisiana parish of Cameron, the US Army Corps of Engineers presents its recently downsized Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Restoration Plan (see July 2, 2004) to about 25 local residents, scientists, and environmental activists. People attending the meeting are angered that not one of the 15 major projects included in the revised plan are in southwest Louisiana. Apparently, several proposed projects that were included in the first draft of the LCA plan (see October 2003), including a plan to build major navigational locks at the mouths of the Sabine and Calcasieu rivers to prevent saltwater from seeping into freshwater marshland, are absent in the current plan. In this part of the state, saltwater intrusion has eaten away at the delicate marsh grass, both a key hurricane buffer and marine life breeding ground. [Associated Press, 7/29/2004]
Entity Tags: Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Ecosystem Restoration Study, US Army Corps of Engineers
January 2005: Army Corps of Engineers Submits Final Draft of $1.9 Billion Louisiana Costal Restoration Plan to Congress
the US Army Corps of Engineers submits the final draft of the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Ecosystem Restoration Study to Congress for WRDA authorization. WRDA, or the Water Resources Development Act, provides federal authorization for water resources projects. The Corps recommends that Congress approve a federal-state cost sharing ration of 65 percent federal, 35 percent state. A 65-35 split would be “consistent with existing law and Corps policy,” the Corps says. [Houma Today, 7/21/2005]
Entity Tags: Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Ecosystem Restoration Study, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Congress
February 7, 2005: Bush Budget Includes $20 Million for Louisiana Coastal Restoration and $28 Million for Southeast Louisiana Flood Control
The Bush administration’s proposed fiscal year 2006 budget includes $20 million to help support research, planning, and design work related to efforts to restore Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. The budget would also provide $28 million for southeast Louisiana flood control projects. [White House website, 2/7/2005]
Entity Tags: Bush administration (43)
Category Tags: Coastal Wetlands, Flood Control Programs, Federal, Resource Allocation, Before Katrina
April 13, 2005: Senate Committee Approves WRDA Authorization for Louisiana Coastal Restoration Project
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approves the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2005 (S.728), which includes authorization (but not appropriation of funds) for the $1.9 billion Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Ecosystem Restoration Study. The federal contribution to the project would be 65 percent, with the State of Louisiana, paying the remainder. “This legislation is a major breakthrough toward ensuring the future of our unique way of life in coastal Louisiana,” Rep. David Vitter, (R-LA), says in a statement. “It is critical for this authorization to be included in WRDA so that Congress can aggressively appropriate federal funds to restore Louisiana’s coast.” [Advocate (Baton Rouge), 4/17/2005]
Entity Tags: Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Ecosystem Restoration Study, US Congress, David Vitter
April 21, 2005: House Energy Bill Provision Would Divert Offshore Oil and Gas Royalties to Louisiana Coastal Restoration
The House passes its version of the 2005 Energy Policy Act (HR 6). One provision, secured by Louisiana Congressman Bobby Jindal, (R-Kenner), would provide Louisiana with up to $1 billion in offshore oil and gas royalties every year beginning in 2016. Louisiana and its coastal parishes would use the money to fund coastal wetland restoration efforts. Historically, offshore gas and oil royalties have been paid exclusively to the federal government, since these operations are conducted on federal territory. But Louisiana has long argued that a portion of this money should be used to help fund efforts aimed at restoring Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, the disappearance of which has been partly attributed to Gulf Coast oil and gas operations. A similar provision is included in the Senate version of the bill (see June 28, 2005). [Advocate (Baton Rouge), 4/17/2005]
Entity Tags: Bobby Jindal, US Congress
June 28, 2005: Senate Energy Bill Provision Would Divert Offshore Oil and Gas Royalties to Louisiana Coastal Restoration
The Senate passes its version of the 2005 Energy Policy Act (HR 6). Like the House version of the bill (see April 21, 2005), it includes a provision that would divert a portion of offshore oil and gas royalties to coastal energy producing states like Louisiana. But unlike the House version, which would give Louisiana $1 billion in royalties every year beginning in 2016, the Senate version would only provide Louisiana with $540 million over a four-year period beginning in fiscal year 2007. Louisiana would use the money to fund projects aimed at restoring the state’s coastal wetlands. The bill is referred to a conference committee (see July 29, 2005) charged with resolving the differences between the House and Senate versions. [New Orleans CityBusiness, 6/23/2005]
July 22, 2005: Former Louisiana Governors and Senators Urge Bush to Support Energy Bill Revenue Sharing Provision
Several prominent former Louisiana politicians sign a letter urging President Bush to support the 2005 Energy Policy Act (HR 6)‘s provisions for revenue sharing (see April 21, 2005) (see June 28, 2005). Endorsed by former Governors Mike Foster (R-LA), Buddy Roemer (R-LA), David Treen (R-LA) and former Senators John Breaux (D-LA) and J. Bennett Johnston (D-LA), the letter states: “Louisiana puts an average of $5 billion each year into the Federal treasury from revenues produced off its shore. Energy Bill provisions that would give a meaningful share of those revenues through direct payments to Louisiana and other coastal states that host so much of the nation’s energy production are critical.” [Associated Press, 7/22/2005; Louisiana, 7/22/2005]
Entity Tags: Buddy Roemer, J. Bennett Johnston, Mike Foster, David Treen, George W. Bush, John Breaux
July 22, 2005: Bush Administration Offers Alternative to Louisiana-Favored Oil and Gas Revenue Sharing Proposal
The Bush administration proposes an alternative to the offshore gas and royalty revenue-sharing measure that has been proposed in the House (see April 21, 2005) and Senate (see June 28, 2005) versions of the 2005 Energy Policy Act (HR 6). The measure is being strongly pushed by Louisiana politicians because the state stands to earn about half a billion dollars over the next ten years, which they would use to help fund efforts to restore Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. The administration’s proposed alternative would provide the Louisiana with only about $54 million from 2007 through 2015. The White House argues that its approach, based on new oil and gas exploration, would not cut into revenue needed for government expenses. [Advocate (Baton Rouge), 7/26/2005]
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Federal, Coastal Wetlands
July 28, 2005: Blanco Invites Bush and Energy Secretary to See Louisiana’s Coastal Erosion Problem
In a letter to President Bush, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco urges the president and his energy secretary, Samuel W. Bodman, to visit the Louisiana coast and see first-hand the deteriorating condition of the state’s coastal wetlands. She wants the administration to reconsider its objection (see July 15, 2004) to a provision in the House (see April 21, 2005) and Senate (see June 28, 2005) versions of the 2005 Energy Policy Act (HR 6) that would channel oil and gas royalties from offshore operations to coastal states for coastal wetland restoration. In her letter, she emphasizes how Louisiana’s disappearing wetlands is making the oil and gas industry’s vast network of pipelines increasingly vulnerable to damage. She also stresses that coastal wetlands have historically protected the coast from the full fury of hurricanes and, without this barrier, a major hurricane could devastate low-elevation coastal communities like New Orleans. “Let me show you the fragile wetlands that are the only protection for the thousands of miles of pipelines that connect this nation to 80 percent of its offshore energy supply and to a full third of all its oil and gas, both foreign and domestic. The vulnerability of those protective wetlands is all the more apparent to our two million coastal zone residents during this active hurricane season.” [Louisiana, 7/20/2005; Houma Today, 7/21/2005]
Entity Tags: Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, George W. Bush, Samuel W. Bodman
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Federal, Flood Risk, Louisiana: State, Coastal Wetlands
July 29, 2005: Congress Passes 2005 Energy Bill
A House and Senate conference committee working to consolidate conflicting House and Senate versions of the 2005 Energy Policy Act (HR 6) agree on a final draft. One conflict between the two versions was a provision that would require the federal government to share royalties from offshore oil and gas operations with coastal oil-producing states. The committee decides in favor of the Senate version (see June 28, 2005), which would provide coastal states with about $1 billion dollars over a period of four years. Most of the money, $540 million, would go to Louisiana. The House version (see April 21, 2005) of the bill would have provided $1 billion in oil and gas royalties annually to Louisiana, but not until 2016. That version was rejected as was a proposal put forth by the Bush administration (see July 22, 2005) that would have reduced Louisiana’s share to only $54 million. Bush signs the bill into law on August 8. [Advocate (Baton Rouge), 7/26/2005; Boston Globe, 9/1/2005]
Category Tags: Before Katrina, Federal, Coastal Wetlands, Legislation
August 26, 2005: Louisiana Senator Argues for More Federal Funding to Repair Disappearing Louisiana Coast
Today, Senator David Vitter (R-La) will argue before a Senate committee hearing that the federal government should bear more of the cost of a 10-year plan to stop coastal land loss. The Bush administration has argued that Louisiana should bear 50 percent of the costs, while Vitter argues that the federal government should bear 75 percent of the cost. [Associated Press, 8/29/2005]
Entity Tags: David Vitter, Bush administration (43)
Category Tags: Pre-Impact Katrina, Federal, Louisiana: State, Policies, Coastal Wetlands
12:00 pm August 29, 2005: Senator Landrieu Issues Statement
From the Baton Rouge emergency center, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) issues a statement regarding Hurricane Katrina, commending local officials and Governor Blanco for their work. “Unfortunately, the reverberations of this storm will be felt not only in Louisiana but across the nation.” Blanco also reiterates her appeal for protection of Louisiana’s wetlands: “Our port system provides the nation with the transportation needs for our country’s economy while our coastline provides the energy for our homes and industries. And Louisiana’s unique wetlands provide our state with a buffer zone from natural disasters such as hurricanes. But our wetlands have been eroding. As I have said before, in order for us to protect America’s energy supply and transportation needs, the federal government must join with the people of Louisiana to preserve America’s wetlands.” [Times-Picayune Blog, 8/29/2005]
Entity Tags: Hurricane Katrina, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, Mary L. Landrieu
Category Tags: During Katrina, Louisiana: State, Execution of Emergency Plans, Coastal Wetlands
Before Katrina (140)Pre-Impact Katrina (192)During Katrina (76)Immediate Katrina Aftermath (19)After Katrina (3)
Federal (138)Federal: FEMA (64)Louisiana: State (72)Louisiana: NOLA (46)Louisiana: SELA (42)Mississippi: State (4)Mississippi: Biloxi (0)Mississippi: Gulfport (0)Mississippi: Other Local (0)Alabama: State (0)Florida: State (0)States: Other States (0)Private Sector (19)Academia/Professional (9)Media (27)NGOs (17)General Public (9)
Flood Risk (28)Evacuation Problem (22)Public Safety Risk (3)Environmental Risk (5)Organization Capacity (10)Levee Breach/Flooding (58)Sheltering (1)Response Level (1)Advisories (81)Increased Chance of Hurricane (1)
Disaster Management Legislation Relevant to Katrina
Emergency Preparedness/Response Plans
Evacuation (13)Shelter (4)Response (7)Recovery (1)
Policies that Affected Intensity of Katrina Impact
Environmental Policies/Programs (16)Land Development (3)Flood Control Programs (23)Disaster Mitigation (12)Disaster Preparedness (11)Resource Allocation (29)FEMA Restructuring (16)Outsourcing (5)Political Patronage (9)Canvassing (0)
Progress and Impact Hurricane Katrina
Florida (3)Louisiana: State (2)Louisiana: NOLA (20)Louisiana: SELA (18)Mississippi: Local (0)Mississippi: State (0)Mississippi: Biloxi (0)Mississippi: Gulfport (0)Mississippi: Other Local (0)Alabama: State (0)
Execution of Emergency Plans
Evacuation (22)Sheltering (2)Emergency Response (120)Other States' Assistance (0)
Response in Wake of Katrina Disaster
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Recovery from Katrina
Infrastructure (bridges; roads) (0)Governmental Services (water, electricity, etc) (0)Industry (oil industry, etc.) (0)citizenship (0)
Policies (5)Warnings (15)Plans (0)Mitigation (4)Katrina (6)Execution of Emergency Plans (25)Response (0)Recovery (0)
Specific Cases and Issues
Coastal Wetlands (27)
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Author Holly Hudson
Tess Bloom Is Here!
I'm excited to announce that my romantic comedy novel (OK, call it chick lit if you want, I'm not bothered) is now available on Amazon Kindle! Woot! Paperback coming soon, I swear. The backstory on this novel is that it started out as a screenplay in my UCLA screenwriting course a few years ago. It went through many drafts as a screenplay and I decided to "novelize" it just to give myself more leverage with it down the road. I still intend to pursue either optioning the screenplay or simply finding producers interested in helping me make this quirky indie story a reality on silver screens (Netflix or Amazon screens would be OK too;). I hope you enjoy!
Tess Bloom is a successful perfumer living her dream in Paris. But now she has a big secret, one that could ruin her reputation and her business: she has lost her sense of smell.
When her estranged mother dies, Tess retreats to her Ohio hometown to escape the pressure in Paris and settle her mother’s estate. That’s when she meets Jude McCallister, the frustratingly stubborn and attractive woodworker who has built an off-the-grid eco-treehouse on her mother’s property. Tess wants him gone, but he’s determined to stay.
Sparks fly as Tess and Jude battle over the property. Will Tess successfully evict the squatter, or will she allow him to take residence on her property...and in her heart?
Writing and Reading to Music aka Booktracks
So there's been a lot of talk about "booktracks" or soundtracks for books over the past few years. When I first heard about it, which wasn't long ago, I have to admit, I got super excited because I write to music anyway, so I figured, who wouldn't want to read to music too? Just maybe?
The uber-successful sci-fi writer Hugh Howey discusses it on his blog here. I'm not going to get that technical because for my purposes at the moment, I'm going to more loosely interpret the idea of a booktrack and just let you know the music that I listened to the most while writing the first book in the Grace Steele Mystery Series -- Grace Steele: Death in the Pine Forest.
Now, to be fair and honest, I wrote Death in the Pine Forest over a longer period than I hope - or intend - to take with any of other books yet to come in this series. So I probably listened to a few more artists than just these four. But suffice it to say, I really feel that these resonated the most with Grace and they might have been her choices. So here we go:
I have been in love with Amy Lee's voice since I first heard it about ten years ago. Their tracks never get old for me and I think I have each and every one of them on my iTunes. Plus a whole bunch of live recordings and other stuff. Her music makes me feel fearless and romantic beyond any reasonable degree.
You're going to start to see a pattern here. The lead singer for Muse is sort of like a male Amy Lee. Except he, and the rest of the band, are from southwest England. Teignmouth, Devon, to be exact. The trio create an unusual alchemy of heavy metal, English pop, and string instrumentals that result in an intense and soaring listening experience, in my humble opinion, of course. Some tracks I like more than others. In fact, I prefer the more melodic, slower tunes such as Sing for Absolution and Falling Away With You on the Absolution album. But there's something for everybody, literally, on their eight studio albums.
Lana Del Ray and Lily Allen
Bringing up the rear but no less important have been Miss Del Ray and the inimitable Miss Allen, both of whom I love to no end. And what do they have in common? Pretty much nothing other than they were both able to get me in just the right kind of salty mood to be writing about Grace and all her unspoken passions, and her friends of course. My favorite albums for them are respectfully, Born to Die and It's Not Me, It's You.
Happy listening and reading!
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Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 2009
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
1. Definition.
2. Amendment of section 3 (amount of allowance to members of the Oireachtas) of Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act 1938.
3. Parliamentary standard allowance.
4. Pensions to former holders of ministerial and other offices.
5. Amendment of section 13A (ministerial pensions and secretarial pensions) of Act of 1938.
6. Amendment of section 13AA (ministerial pensions and secretarial pensions for less than 3 years’ qualifying service) of Act of 1938.
7. Short title and collective citation.
Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2007
2007, No. 34
Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 1938
Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Acts 1938 to 2001
Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices and Oireachtas Members (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001
Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act 1938
Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act 1964
1992, No. 3
Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act 1998
Oireachtas (Miscellaneous Provisions) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act 1996
Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004
Taxes Consolidation Act 1997
AN ACT TO AMEND THE OIREACHTAS (ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS) ACT 1938 AND THE MINISTERIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY OFFICES ACTS 1938 TO 2001, TO MAKE FURTHER PROVISION FOR SALARIES AND ALLOWANCES PAYABLE TO MEMBERS OF EITHER HOUSE OF THE OIREACHTAS AND FOR THE REMUNERATION, ALLOWANCES AND PENSIONS PAYABLE TO FORMER HOLDERS OF MINISTERIAL AND OTHER OFFICES WHO ARE MEMBERS OF EITHER SUCH HOUSE OR MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.
[21st July, 2009]
Definition.
1.— In this Act “ Act of 1938 ” means the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 1938 .
Amendment of section 3 (amount of allowance to members of the Oireachtas) of Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act 1938.
2.— Section 3 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act 1938 is amended by substituting the following for subsections (1) and (2) (inserted by the Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices and Oireachtas Members (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001 ):
“(1) Subject to subsection (1A) the salaries payable to members of Dáil Éireann are as follows:
(a) in the case of a member of Dáil Éireann other than one to whom paragraph (b) or (c) applies — a salary at the rate of €100,191 per year;
(b) in the case of a member of Dáil Éireann who, on 13 May 2009, has not less than 7 years (but less than 10 years) service as a member of the Oireachtas — a salary at the rate of €103,389 per year;
(c) in the case of a member of Dáil Éireann who, on 13 May 2009, has not less than 10 years service as a member of the Oireachtas — a salary at the rate of €106,582 per year.
However, if a member of Dáil Éireann holds an office to which Part II of the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 1938 applies, the annual salary payable to the member under this subsection is €100,191 while the member so holds office, even if on or before 13 May 2009 the member has 7 or more years of service as a member of the Oireachtas.
(1A) On and from the date of the election or deemed election of a person to Dáil Éireann as a member consequent on the first holding of a general election for a new Dáil Éireann after the passing of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 2009 and in respect of every person duly elected or deemed elected thereafter as a member of Dáil Éireann, the salary payable to each such member shall be at the rate of €100,191 per year.
(2) Subject to subsection (2A) the salaries payable to members of Seanad Éireann are as follows:
(a) in the case of a member of Seanad Éireann other than one to whom paragraph (b) or (c) applies — a salary at the rate of €70,134 per year;
(b) in the case of a member of Seanad Éireann who, on 13 May 2009, has not less than 7 years (but less than 10 years) service as a member of the Oireachtas — a salary at the rate of €72,371 per year;
(c) in the case of a member of Seanad Éireann who, on 13 May 2009, has not less than 10 years service as a member of the Oireachtas — a salary at the rate of €74,608 per year.
However, if a member of Seanad Éireann holds an office to which Part II of the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 1938 applies, the salary payable to the member under this subsection is €70,134 even if on or before 13 May 2009 the member has 7 or more years of service as a member of the Oireachtas.
(2A) On and from the date of the election or nomination of a person to Seanad Éireann as a member consequent on the first holding of a general election for a new Seanad Éireann after the passing of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 2009 and in respect of every person duly elected or nominated thereafter as a member of Seanad Éireann, the salary payable to each such member shall be at the rate of €70,134 per year.”.
Parliamentary standard allowance.
3.— (1) Where a member of the Oireachtas is entitled to—
(a) payments for travelling facilities prescribed under section 5 (as amended by section 18 of the Act of 1998) of the Act of 1964 and granted under section 2 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act 1938 ,
(b) the overnight allowance under section 1 (inserted by section 2 of the Act of 1996 and as amended by section 15 of the Act of 1998) of the Act of 1962,
(c) a telephone allowance under section 2(2) (inserted by section 3 of the Act of 1996) of the Act of 1962, or
(d) an allowance for expenses under section 3 (as amended by section 19 of the Act of 1998 and section 37 of the Act of 2001) of the Act of 1992,
the Minister may decide that any payment due to the member in respect of all or any of them may be paid together as a single composite monthly payment (“ parliamentary standard allowance” ) to the member, of the amount determined in regulations under this section, in lieu of each allowance or payment due to the member being paid separately to him or her.
(2) Where the parliamentary standard allowance applies under this section to a member of the Oireachtas—
(a) the rate payable for travelling expenses determined in regulations under section 5(1A) (inserted by section 18 of the Act of 1998) of the Act of 1964,
(b) an overnight allowance of the amount sanctioned by the Minister for Finance under section 1(2) (inserted by section 15 of the Act of 1998) of the Act of 1962,
(c) a telephone allowance of the amount prescribed in regulations under section 2(2)(a) (inserted by section 3 of the Act of 1996) of the Act of 1962, and
(d) the rate payable of an allowance for expenses determined in regulations under section 3(4) of the Act of 1992,
do not apply to the member.
(3) The Minister may, in applying the parliamentary standard allowance to a member of the Oireachtas—
(a) by regulations revoke any regulations made under the provisions referred to in subsection (2), and
(b) determine in regulations made under subsection (4) the rates and amounts payable under those provisions in determining the amount of the parliamentary standard allowance payable to a member of the Oireachtas in regulations under that subsection.
(4) The Minister may, by regulations, in respect of the parliamentary standard allowance, determine—
(a) the date from which the allowance is payable,
(b) the amount of the allowance payable—
(i) to a member or members of Dáil Éireann, and
(ii) to a member or members of Seanad Éireann,
(c) the manner in which, and the exceptions, restrictions and conditions (including attendance recording and deductions for non-attendance) subject to which, the allowance is to be provided and paid.
(5) Regulations under this section may, if so expressed, have retrospective effect.
(6) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either House within the next 21 days on which the House has sat after the regulation has been laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
(7) Section 836 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended—
(a) by inserting after subsection (1A) (inserted by section 21 of the Act of 1998) the following:
“(1B) Parliamentary standard allowance payable under section 3 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 2009 is exempt from income tax and shall not be reckoned in computing income for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.”,
(b) in subsection (2), by inserting “or under section 3 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 2009 or any allowance or payment made in respect of any particular allowance or payment referred to in subsection (1) of that section” after “1992,”.
(8) In this section—
“ Act of 1962 ” means Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act 1962;
“ Act of 1964 ” means Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act 1964;
“ Act of 1996 ” means Oireachtas (Miscellaneous Provisions) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act 1996;
“ Act of 1998 ” means Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act 1998;
“ Act of 2001 ” means Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices and Oireachtas Members (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001;
“ Minister” means Minister for Finance.
Pensions to former holders of ministerial and other offices.
4.— (1) The Act of 1938 is amended—
(a) in subsection (2) of section 14 by deleting “such person shall on the date of such cesser become entitled to a pension (in this Act also referred to as a ministerial pension).” and substituting the following:
“such person shall on the date of such cesser become entitled to a pension (in this Act also referred to as a ministerial pension), but for as long as such person is a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a member of the European Parliament any such entitlement shall, with effect from the passing of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 2009, be reduced by 25 per cent of the amount which would, but for that Act, be payable.”,
(b) in subsection (2) of section 16 by deleting “such person shall on the date of such cesser become entitled to a pension (in this Act also referred to as a secretarial pension).” and substituting the following:
“such person shall on the date of such cesser become entitled to a pension (in this Act also referred to as a secretarial pension), but for as long as such person is a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a member of the European Parliament any such entitlement shall, with effect from the passing of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 2009, be reduced by 25 per cent of the amount which would, but for that Act, be payable.”.
(2) The Act of 1938 is further amended—
(a) in section 14 by deleting so much of subsection (2) as amended by subsection (1) of this section and substituting the following:
“such person shall on the date of such cesser become entitled to a pension (in this Act also referred to as a ministerial pension), but only for so long as such person is not a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a member of the European Parliament.”,
(b) in section 16 by deleting so much of subsection (2) as amended by subsection (1) of this section and substituting the following:
“such person shall on the date of such cesser become entitled to a pension (in this Act also referred to as a secretarial pension) but only for so long as such person is not a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a member of the European Parliament.”.
(3) Subsection (2) comes into operation—
(a) in the case of membership of Dáil Éireann, on and from the election or deemed election to Dáil Éireann of the person concerned consequent on the holding of a general election for a new Dáil Éireann which first occurs after the passing of this Act,
(b) in the case of membership of Seanad Éireann, on and from the election or nomination to Seanad Éireann of the person concerned consequent on the holding of a general election for a new Seanad Éireann which first occurs after the passing of this Act, and
(c) in the case of a member of the European Parliament, on and from the first day of the European Parliament parliamentary term consequent on the first holding of elections for the European Parliament after the passing of this Act.
Amendment of section 13A (ministerial pensions and secretarial pensions) of Act of 1938.
5.— (1) With effect from the passing of this Act, section 13A (inserted by section 7 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act 1992 ) of the Act of 1938 is amended—
(a) in subsection (7)—
(i) by substituting “subject to subsection (11)” for “subject to subsection (9)” (inserted by section 16(a) of the Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2007 ) in paragraph (a)(i), and
(ii) by substituting “62.5 per cent” for “50 per cent.”, in paragraph (f),
(b) by substituting the following for subsection (8):
“(8) The amount of pension payable to a person who has held the office of Taoiseach shall be reduced by 25 per cent for as long as such a person is a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a member of the European Parliament.”,
(c) by deleting subsection (9) as inserted by section 16(b) of the Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2007 and by inserting the following after subsection (10) (inserted by section 12 of the Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices and Oireachtas Members (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001 ):
“(11) On application for a pension under this section to the Minister for Finance, by a person whose entitlement to the pension arose on or after the date of commencement of this section, the pension is payable as of and from a date that the Minister for Finance may determine in writing that is—
(a) not earlier than the date of entitlement, and
(b) not later than the date of the application.”.
(2) Section 13A of the Act of 1938 is further amended—
(a) in subsection (7) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (f) as amended by subsection (1) (a) of this section:
“(f) No pension under this section (including any subsisting discounted pension as previously provided for under paragraph (d)) shall be paid for as long as such person is a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a member of the European Parliament.”,
(b) by deleting subsection (8) as amended by subsection (1) (b) of this section.
Amendment of section 13AA (ministerial pensions and secretarial pensions for less than 3 years’ qualifying service) of Act of 1938.
6.— (1) With effect from the passing of this Act, section 13 AA (inserted by section 13 of the Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices and Oireachtas Members (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001 ) of the Act of 1938 is amended in subsection (13)—
(a) by substituting “62.5 per cent” for “50 per cent”, and
(b) by deleting “This subsection does not apply to a person who has held the office of Taoiseach.” and substituting the following:
“The amount of pension payable to a person who has held the office of Taoiseach shall be reduced by 25 per cent for as long as such a person is a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a member of the European Parliament.”.
(2) Section 13AA of the Act of 1938 is further amended—
(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (13) as amended by subsection (1) of this section:
“(13) No pension under this section shall be paid for as long as such person is a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a member of the European Parliament.”.
Short title and collective citation.
7.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 2009.
(2) The Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Acts 1938 to 2001, section 11 of, and Part 1 of Schedule 2 to, the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 , section 16 of the Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2007 and this Act (other than sections 2 and 3 ) may be cited together as the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Acts 1938 to 2009.
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Charges taken by PLC on own shares
1042. (1) A mortgage, charge, lien or pledge of a PLC on its own shares (whether taken expressly or otherwise), except a mortgage or charge permitted by subsection (2), is void.
(2) The following are permitted mortgages and charges, that is to say:
(a) in the case of every description of PLC, a mortgage or charge on its own shares (not being fully paid) for any amount payable in respect of the shares;
(b) in the case of a PLC whose ordinary business includes the lending of money or consists of the provision of credit or the bailment or hiring of goods under a hire-purchase agreement, or both, a mortgage or charge of the PLC on its own shares (whether fully paid or not) which arises in connection with a transaction entered into by the company in the ordinary course of its business;
(c) in the case of a company which is re-registered under Part 20 as a PLC, a mortgage or charge on its own shares which was in existence immediately before its application for re-registration.
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Tag: High Holidays
Do you know your priorities?
During the months of Elul and Tishri, when we’re in the midst of the High Holiday season, things are busy. Kids are in (and out) of school and activities, parents are facing the fall rush of activities in their own work lives. Things are rushed. However, if you’re going to synagogue and have even a moment to reflect, you’re being asked to examine yourself. What have you done right this year? What’s gone wrong? What could you do better?
Some years, I’m thinking about my failings, or I get mesmerized by the long list of things that one could do wrong when we list the confession of sins. Other years, I’m so concerned by holiday meals or my kids’ behaviour that I sing along, but my focus is not really on the most important holiday tasks at hand.
Recently though, I got to thinking about this a different way. Instead of focusing exclusively on how we’ve gone wrong, or how we could do better, I wondered, of all the things in the world to fix, what are my top priorities? How could I focus on a few things that are most important?
When we wish people happy new year, we often wish them a happy and healthy year. It’s hard to work towards happiness – and, to be honest, I’m not sure I’d know when I got there. Working on health seems like a given to some people, and is completely ignored by others. What does it mean? Well, for some it means taking medicines, or being able to afford their medicines. For others, it might mean exercise or better food choices, or even being able to purchase healthy foods.
We also mention, in Jewish tradition, an effort to strengthen our commitment to Judaism. Maybe that means going to services more, doing more mitzvot (commandments) or doing more to help others. It might mean offering your kids tools so that they can learn about their faith. For some, it means helping others get to Jewish events – offering a ride, for instance, if the person is unable to drive or walk – or making them feel included and valued when they get there.
People also may have big holiday meals with family and friends. This can be wonderful, and trying. I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes family gatherings force us to confront things that we’d rather not deal with. (Maybe it’s an uncle’s politics or a child’s misbehaviour, or the aging of a beloved parent.) Do you prioritize family? Do you commit to supporting and caring for your family, both those related by blood and those who you choose? Are you willing to travel long distances to see relatives? What about your family friends, those to whom you choose to feel related?
Awhile ago, I was chatting with someone about all my uncles and aunts. She expressed wonder at how many relatives I had. It took me a bit to realize what she meant. Where I grew up, in Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C., many families had moved to work in the U.S. capital. It meant that they weren’t near their families, so we created extended families. All those aunts and uncles were close friends with my parents. I played with kids at those folks’ houses, ate dinner at their holiday tables and learned from them about what it was to be part of a loving family. Our Jewish customs varied, our DNA was different, but our effort included everyone.
The person I spoke with seemed alarmed and uncomfortable with the fact that I called all these people who weren’t blood relatives aunt or uncle. Yet, it was a time and place when many people didn’t live near family.
Some families had been decimated by the Holocaust, so it seemed entirely logical to us. In our circle, there were people who didn’t have grandparents – they had died in Europe. Some had no cousins, either. This was true among people I knew as a kid, and continues to be true. In my husband’s family, for example, I know people who lost many relatives and whose family structures, even in 2018, continue to resonate with that trauma.
This extended family friend concept is also related to our priorities. For me, personally, it’s key, and I choose to continue this practice. Why reinforce alienation for those who lack supportive extended family? My kids have a “tante” who made quilts for their beds and sends them gorgeous handmade gifts. She’s not my blood relative, but we’re part of her family. And we serve as honourary aunt and uncle for a 2-year-old in Montreal, as well.
Recently, I received an email that pointed out the Winnipeg Jewish Federation’s priority action areas for fall 2018, and I loved it. This action document lists many of our community’s Jewish concerns and priorities – many of which, no doubt, are similar to the Vancouver Jewish community’s concerns and priorities.
The Winnipeg Federation document is a good start. While some may think that the points are ambitious, other aspects are simply part of how a community – an extended family – should act. We should care about others, full stop. We should try to include everyone in Jewish life regardless of what they can afford. While it may seem like an enormous goal to “mitigate poverty,” it’s easy to pick an apple tree in the neighbourhood and donate the fruit to the food bank. Nor is it a big deal to bring your kids to visit an older person to help reduce their isolation.
Instead of focusing on the enormity of the individual points, we can instead point to our priorities for the new year. For instance: it improves our health to attend gatherings, socialize and engage in learning in multi-age settings.
I don’t know about expecting happiness, but we can adjust our priorities to include health, well-being and Jewish supports for one another. This is possible – and, to borrow Theodor Herzl’s phrase: “If we will it, it is no dream,” so make your priorities and dream bigger. It’s well worth considering. Happy 5779, everybody!
Joanne Seiff writes regularly for CBC Manitoba and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. See more about her at joanneseiff.blogspot.com.
Posted on September 14, 2018 September 12, 2018 Author Joanne SeiffCategories Op-EdTags Federation, High Holidays, Judaism, lifestyle, Rosh Hashanah
A High Holidays stew
A sudden powerful gust of wind whipping through an open window slammed the door shut…. (photo from wikiHow)
It was one of those hot and humid fall days in Montreal and my sister-in-law “Sadie” decided to make a stew. After all of her baking and cooking for the upcoming High Holidays, she put a pot of simple stew for today’s dinner on the stove to simmer while my brother, “Seymour,” and I made ourselves comfortable in the den. Sadie promptly joined us to watch Coronation Street, as she and Seymour did every day. As a visitor from Winnipeg, I was quite content to go along with their routine. Engrossed in the program, we didn’t notice a change in the weather until a sudden powerful gust of wind whipping through an open window slammed the door shut between the den and the kitchen aaaand … waaaait for it … the doorknob hit the hardwood floor with an earsplitting bang!
We stared in stunned silence at the door and the floor – then at each other in disbelief. Seymour’s expression looked more steamed than the stew in the pot. His face fumed frustration, turning a range of shades from pink to red to purple.
“That doorknob has been giving us trouble for weeks!” he shouted. “I’ve told the concierge of our apartment building umpteen times but he still hasn’t gotten around to repairing it.” Anger spewed forth like an explosion of fireworks.
Well, Sadie saw no problem.
“Just pick it up and screw it in,” she told him in a matter-of-fact manner.
Though he didn’t say anything, his eyes shot daggers in her direction. Then he turned his attention to the doorknob. Over and over, he tried. He twisted and turned it every which way, trying to thread one half with the other. But it wouldn’t work.
“What’s the big deal?” she asked.
“The big deal,” he oozed with sarcasm, “is there’s nothing for it to grab onto. It won’t screw in.”
Now I began to stew a little. We searched for something that could be used as a tool and the best we could find was a coloured pencil but it proved to be uncooperative. After numerous failed attempts, we had to face facts. We were locked in! And there was no phone in the den.
Worry grew to panic. A quick glance between Sadie and me communicated silently with the realization that, not only would the stew continue to simmer on the stove unattended, but Seymour was diabetic and would need to take his insulin shot soon. He was too focused on the doorknob to consider the ramifications of the situation and no one was going to tell him. He would become hotter than the combined temperature of the room and the stew in the pot.
Never mind that he was wearing nothing more than a pair of Fruit of the Loom boxer shorts, which had to be held up manually. The elastic waistband had stretched beyond usefulness. Seymour began to pace around the tiny room, circumventing the furniture, one hand on his shorts, with the two of us following behind like caged animals. The vision of a sitcom popped into my head, and it would have been laughable had the situation not been a reality at the time.
More than an hour passed and we were orbiting the room once again, hoping for a solution. The suffocating humidity was unbearable and Seymour was sweating profusely. This triggered the panic button for Sadie and me and we did what any trapped humans would do. We banged and kicked furiously on the wall of the adjacent apartment and screamed at the top of our lungs.
“Why is it that neighbours complain about the sound of footsteps in slippers but are deaf to purposeful, raucous noise?” I wondered out loud. I could see beads of sweat begin to gather on Sadie’s brow and I knew it was more than just the temperature.
More time slipped by. We turned our attention to the only alternative – the window. The apartment was two storeys up at the rear of the building, which offered an emergency exit on the main floor. Pedestrian traffic was rare.
“I can jump out the window,” offered 68-year-old osteoporotic Sadie in desperation. “There’s a soft cushion of grass below. I may break a few bones but it won’t kill me.”
“Are you crazy?” we shouted.
For a brief moment, I considered flinging my own osteoporotic self out the two-storey window but a quick reality check from my cohorts reminded me my situation was no different.
“Maybe our little group should start the Day of Atonement today because this is ‘the day’ we really need it?” offered Sadie.
Suddenly, from our window view, we saw a man appear at the emergency door. A frantic Seymour leaned out the window and shouted, “Help! Help!” That was our cue to raise the volume and we chimed in chorus to increase the decibels – to no avail.
“Maybe he doesn’t understand English,” suggested Sadie (as if our frantic cries needed interpretation).
“Well, what language would you like to try?” quipped Seymour.
“I don’t know. Try French.”
So, the three of us bellowed like bulls, “Aider! Aider!”
The man looked up. Great! We had his attention. Then, just as suddenly, he disappeared through the emergency door without any acknowledgement to us. Now we were all in a stew. We were doomed.
Fifteen long, tortuous minutes passed before the sound of a key jiggling in the apartment door jolted our attention. Then the wife of the concierge removed the den’s door hinges, releasing us from our prison. With joy and relief, Seymour, still holding up his shorts with one hand, body soaking sweat as if he had just come out of the shower, embraced her with a one-armed hug and planted the wettest kiss on this angel of mercy.
In the calm aftermath, Seymour took his insulin and we all sat down to relish our evening meal. We never did find out who the stranger at the emergency exit was that day so we could thank him. A visitor, we were told, just passing through.
And the stew? Well, it was just right – tender and moist. Bon appetit! And shana tova.
Libby Simon, MSW, worked in child welfare services prior to joining the Child Guidance Clinic in Winnipeg as a school social worker and parent educator for 20 years. Also a freelance writer, her writing has appeared in Canada, the United States, and internationally, in such outlets as Canadian Living, CBC, Winnipeg Free Press, PsychCentral and Cardus, a Canadian research and educational public policy think tank.
Format ImagePosted on September 7, 2018 September 6, 2018 Author Libby SimonCategories Celebrating the HolidaysTags family, High Holidays, storytelling
Coping with a legacy of loss
Claire Sicherman began writing Imprint: A Memoir of Trauma in the Third Generation after her grandmother passed away. (photo from VHEC)
Claire Sicherman’s grandmother didn’t share much about her experiences in the Holocaust. There were three stories – one about bread in Auschwitz, another about her tattoo, a third about washing – none of them overly traumatizing. It was in the silences, though, in what her grandmother did not share, that Sicherman sensed the deep trauma permeating her family.
“When I grew up, there was a constant heaviness that I couldn’t name,” Sicherman told the Independent. “I grew up knowing about the Holocaust but not really knowing too much about my family’s personal struggle with it, the stories.”
Her understanding of the Shoah came more from reading Anne Frank and watching Schindler’s List than hearing firsthand accounts from her grandmother.
These unspoken traumas, conveyed across generations, are what Sicherman will speak about at the High Holidays Cemetery Service, an annual commemoration presented by the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, Schara Tzedeck Congregation and Jewish War Veterans. The event takes place this year on Sept. 16, 11 a.m., at Schara Tzedeck Cemetery, in New Westminster. Her presentation is titled Honour and Remember: Breaking the Silence in the Third Generation.
Sicherman explored the topic in her book Imprint: A Memoir of Trauma in the Third Generation, which she began writing after her grandmother passed away. (See jewishindependent.ca/long-enduring-trauma.)
“After my grandmother died, it was safer to start uncovering the silences,” she said. “I think it’s much safer for the third generation to explore the stories of their families. For the second generation, especially for my mom, for example, there was this not wanting to hurt her parents.
“I experienced a bit of that when my grandmother was alive in that we just knew automatically not to ask certain questions, not to go there. For some of the second generation, the silence was a normal part of life. For others, the opposite is true. It was constantly talked about to the point that it became unhealthy that way. But, for my family, the silence was the norm. I think, in third generations, now you’re seeing more people wanting to talk about it, wanting to get back and explore the roots and figure out what they are carrying.”
Sicherman cites the relatively new science of epigenetics to suggest the weight of family history. As a response to that possibly inescapable legacy, Sicherman practises forms of yoga that release stresses in the body, journaling as a form of therapy and an Ayurvedic diet, which incorporates healthy foods and mindful eating rituals, all of which can potentially ameliorate the effects of inherited trauma.
Sicherman’s grandparents, who were from Prague, were the sole survivors in their respective families. They escaped communist Czechoslovakia in 1968 and settled in the Vancouver area. When Sicherman was 4 years old, her grandfather passed away. The cause of death, she was told, was a heart attack. In her 30s, Sicherman learned that her grandfather had committed suicide. This was another of the family’s secrets.
Despite the hidden past, Sicherman thought her family was entirely ordinary.
“For me, growing up, it was really normal,” she said. “I didn’t know that what my family went through, what I was carrying, what everyone was carrying and not talking about, was not quite normal. For me, I thought I came from a Leave it to Beaver kind of family.”
Sicherman’s dawning realizations of her family’s story and the weight of that history represent a sort of metamorphosis, she said. The cover of her book features a caterpillar, a cocoon and a butterfly.
“This sort of represents being third generation,” she said. “The symbolism around the butterfly is one of transformation and I feel, in writing this book, I was able to carry the story of my ancestors in a different way, and that’s where the transformation comes from.”
Format ImagePosted on August 31, 2018 August 29, 2018 Author Pat JohnsonCategories LocalTags Claire Sicherman, High Holidays, Holocaust Centre, Schara Tzedeck, VHEC
Tashlich with RJDS
(photo from RJDS)
The day before Yom Kippur, Richmond Jewish Day School students in grades 2 and 5 went to Garry Point Park to do Tashlich. The students learned about why Jews have this custom, and listened to a story about teshuvah (repentance) from Moreh Abba (Brodt). They then sang Avinu Malkeinu together and had two students recite the Tashlich prayer for everyone. The students were given breadcrumbs to throw in the water, symbolizing the getting rid of sins.
“Today, we went to Garry Point to say Tashlich,” said one of the students, describing her experience. “We had lots of fun there. We threw breadcrumbs in the water. Each breadcrumb represents my sins I did over the year. I’m so thankful I get to have an opportunity to say sorry to Hashem and ask for forgiveness.”
Chaya Malul is a Grade 5 student at Richmond Jewish Day School.
Format ImagePosted on October 20, 2017 October 19, 2017 Author Chaya MalulCategories Celebrating the HolidaysTags High Holidays, Judaism, Richmond Jewish Day School, RJDS
Feed the hungry
(photo from Jewish Family Service Agency)
Each year, Jewish Family Service Agency, in collaboration with Jewish Women International-B.C., operates Project Isaiah – a High Holy Days food drive that assists members of our community in need. A successful response to Project Isaiah is vital to provide 300 people in the community with four months’ worth of provisions from the Jewish Food Bank.
JFSA is grateful for the assistance of local synagogues in distributing bags and collecting items from congregants for this special project. The bags are distributed in September and JFSA asks that people pick one (or more) up, fill it with non-perishable food and return the full bag(s) to their synagogue or wherever they originally collected the bag(s). All donations go directly to the Jewish Food Bank to assist individuals and families.
For more information about Project Isaiah – “… share your bread with the hungry” (Isaiah 58:7) – contact Marnie Greenwald at 604-257-5151, ext. 1-230, or [email protected], or Sara Ciacci at 604-325-4810.
Visit jfsa.ca/donate or call 604-257-5151 to make a direct donation, or buy a Rosh Hashanah tribute card, to support JFSA’s food assistance programs or any of its other funds.
Format ImagePosted on September 15, 2017 September 14, 2017 Author Jewish Family Service AgencyCategories LocalTags High Holidays, Jewish Food Bank, JFSA, tikkun olam
What kids can teach
Rosh Hashanah is a time to take stock of the previous year and prepare yourself spiritually for the year ahead. But for those of us with busy families, it can be hard to squeeze time for reflection into the round of Yom Tov preparations. It seems that, once you have children, the holiday focus goes from attending shul to tending to your children and, as rewarding as parenting can be, it leaves little time for focusing on spiritual growth. Yet, one of our most important jobs as parents is to teach our children the concepts of teshuvah (repentance), tefilah (prayer) and tzedakah (charity/justice). How are you supposed to teach these values to your children when you may not have time to connect to them yourself?
Child education expert Moshe Beller has found that the answer lies within the very task at hand – by watching your children.
As director of Beit Metzudot School at Seeach Sod, an Israeli organization for kids and adults with special needs, Beller must often answer tough questions about how to teach children these important values. His answer – emunah (faith/belief) – in them, yourself and, ultimately, in Hashem.
“Here at Seeach Sod, we work with children of all ages and abilities. When we approach educating a child, we look at every detail, from the diagnosis, available therapies and interventions, family circumstances and more. Then we calculate it all to find a solution that best serves the individual child. Though I cannot tell you one therapy that works for every situation, I can say that, at the core of every treatment, is believing that your child can succeed – there is no greater intervention than that!”
Sounds good, but how can we tap into that elusive ideal? If you haven’t guessed it already, it’s our children who can teach us that as well.
Children have a profound ability to trust their parents to lead them. Even if they don’t always follow what you say, they trust you with their life essentials. They trust you will keep them safe, fed, clothed, etc. This level of emunah is one we should allow ourselves to tap into when it comes to grappling with G-d. Mirror what your child displays regularly – let go of the worries that hold you back and know that everything is being taken care of for your benefit.
As for teshuvah, an essential element of teshuvah is believing you can start anew, that you can learn from your mistakes without your ego holding you back. Children display this to us with their ability to live in the moment. They don’t condemn their past actions or the past actions of others like adults do. They’re excited to learn and grow without fear of admitting they don’t know it all.
With respect to tefilah, a key to heartful prayer is awe. A sense of G-d’s greatness and the miracles that surround us each day opens possibilities to so much more. Children have the ability to be wowed by things we take for granted. As adults, we become jaded and forget that the simple pleasures surrounding us are in fact miraculous. Learn from your children and find wonder in the simple creations.
Finally, tzedakah. Have you ever seen how a child lights up when you tell them you need their help? At the core of generosity is the understanding that, no matter what your financial situation is, we all have something we can offer to another. Children take much pride in being able to help, whether or not being of genuine assistance is within their capabilities. We, too, can take the same joy in giving tzedakah and doing acts of chesed (loving-kindness).
This year, instead of seeing your children as a distraction from the path to spiritual preparation for the High Holidays, look to them to guide you towards a year of growth.
Format ImagePosted on September 15, 2017 September 28, 2017 Author IMP Group Ltd.Categories Celebrating the HolidaysTags children, High Holidays, Israel, Judaism
Okanagan’s New Year
The Okanagan Jewish community celebrated the High Holidays with spiritual leaders Rabbi Larry Seidman and Rabbi Linda Seidman from California officiating at the services. The husband-wife team had prepared special pamphlets for everyone in the community to be able to participate.
There was an erev Rosh Hashanah service on Oct. 2, as well as morning services the next day, which were followed by a potluck luncheon. For Yom Kippur, there were also two services, with Kol Nidre on the erev and a day-full of services on Oct. 12, which included a discussion period, Yizkor and a break-fast potluck.
The services were all well-attended and Rabbis Larry and Linda were warmly welcomed to Kelowna and to the celebrations.
Rabbi Larry has a background in research and management, encompassing communications, satellites, aerospace, wind energy and telemedicine. He holds many degrees, as well as being skilled in engineering and management, and has been sought after for presentations. He has given talks around the world.
Throughout his career, he has been dedicated to Jewish practice and study, having served as a lay leader of minyans and Torah study groups, and has continued to pursue both formal and informal Jewish education. A few years ago, he retired from his position as a senior manager in Phantom Works, the research and development organization of the Boeing Company, which has allowed him to increase his engagement in Jewish activities.
He was ordained as a rabbi by the Academy for Jewish Religion, in California, and is a member of the Southern California Board of Rabbis. His practice is dedicated to being a rabbi who combines Jewish tradition with modern thought.
A 2010 ordinee, Rabbi Linda currently serves as a prison chaplain in Orange County, Calif. Donning her uniform and bullet-proof vest, Rabbi Linda, who is certified as a deputy chaplain, works with the county jails, offering counseling and other services to 80 or 90 people per month. “If anybody had told me 10 years ago, when I was an aerospace engineer, that I would be doing this, I would have said ‘in your dreams,’ but life takes funny turns,” she said.
Admitting that she failed at retirement, she said she became interested in the Academy for Jewish Religion, which is a non-denominational rabbinical school, when she heard that it offered a part-time program. She enrolled a year after her husband. Today, in addition to the jail chaplaincy, she serves as the chaplain at a hospice, performs an occasional funeral and leads services and Bible study at a senior living facility.
Rabbi Linda believes that there is “a tremendous amount of security in knowing what to do and when to do it,” and that traditional Judaism meets the needs of some people who are happy and comfortable with their roles. But, she feels that women bring another approach to Judaism. “We see things differently than men,” she said. In other areas, however, such as women’s health and children’s issues, “our concerns are rooted in same values, and there is plenty to unite us.”
In other recent OJC news, one of the community’s newer members, Philippe Richer-Lafleche, became a bar mitzvah on Oct. 15. Not having had the opportunity to have a bar mitzvah when he was a boy, Richer-Lafleche had looked forward to the special day, which took place after many months of studying under the guidance of OJC’s religious chair, Evan Orloff. The services were followed by a potluck lunch, which included dishes provided by Richer-Lafleche.
Finally, OJC celebrated Sukkot on Oct. 17 with a mixture of 60 adults and children in attendance. The rains dispersed and the ground dried so that everyone could enjoy the experience of building and decorating the sukkah.
A special thank you to Natasha for organizing crafts, and to the parents who helped construct the sukkah without the help of Google or Siri. The construction was followed by a potluck inclusive of pizza cooked by one of the OJC Golf Classic food sponsors, Mr. Mozzarella Pizza and Wings.
The Okanagan Jewish Community Centre’s mission “is to work towards building a strong and unified Jewish community in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. The OJCC encourages an inclusive atmosphere of understanding and respect amongst Jews of different backgrounds, and maintains cooperative relationships with other regional and national Jewish community organizations. The OJCC also aims to promote a positive and active relationship with the Okanagan community at large.”
Posted on November 11, 2016 November 11, 2016 Author Okanagan Jewish CommunityCategories LocalTags High Holidays, Jewish life, Judaism, Okanagan
From the solemnity of Yom Kippur, we move into the season of rejoicing, Sukkot. As with many of our traditions, this one has multiple layers. The shelters for which the holiday is named represent temporary dwelling places, the transitory generations on the way from bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land and, by extension, the impermanence or fragility of Jewish security.
It would be an understatement to say that the creation of the state of Israel 68 years ago changed Jewish perceptions of ourselves and our place in the world. The existence of a Jewish state presented an alternative for Jewish people living in places of repression and danger. For Jews living in free countries, like Canada, Israel is a source of pride but also the source of a deeply complicated and often challenging reconfiguring of our identities. Diaspora Jews, prior to the success of Zionism, were subject to the changing winds and whims of local populations and leaders. For a few years after the War of Independence, Israel was widely admired around the world as a model of what a new country can be. This was also a time in history when antisemitism may have been at its lowest ebb, or at least at its least visible. For emerging postcolonial states in 1950s and ’60s Asia and Africa, Israel’s head start provided a template for independence and progress.
After the 1967 war, though, the perception of Israel morphed from a model for post-colonialism to one of neo-colonialism, and Palestinians replaced Jews as a cause for progressive peoples. In the time since, Diaspora Jews have often been placed in the position of defending (or not defending) things that Israel does. Yet it remains a haven for Jews who are threatened in their homelands, including, incredibly, in parts of Europe. For those Jews who feel safe in our countries, Israel is also a beacon – of Jewish diversity, knowledge and technological innovation.
The Promised Land, as our historical narrative tells us, was not a place of permanent joy. Twice the Temple would be destroyed and the people dispersed. The impermanence of Jewish sovereignty, even after the ancient return of the exiles, would carry on another two millennia until 1948. The sukkah is a symbol, too, of that impermanence.
And yet, it also represents a joyfulness based on our people’s adaptability and willingness to find a unity and presence even in places and times of disunity and impermanence. And, at the end, we observe Simchat Torah, a celebration of the written word that many believe is the very reason a homeless people were able to maintain cohesion and continuity through generations of dispersion.
Posted on October 14, 2016 October 13, 2016 Author The Editorial BoardCategories From the JITags High Holidays, Israel, Jewish life, Judaism, Simchat Torah, Sukkot
About the cover art
Shula Klinger creates her vibrant, whimsical designs with cut paper. The art is then scanned and reproduced as prints and greeting cards. Selections of her work can be purchased at Delish General Store (Granville Island) and Queensdale Market (North Vancouver). To see her full range of work, visit niftyscissors.myshopify.com or find her at the Artisan Fair, hosted by the North Shore Jewish Community at Congregation Har El in West Vancouver on Oct. 16, noon-4 p.m.
Format ImagePosted on September 23, 2016 September 21, 2016 Author The Editorial BoardCategories Celebrating the HolidaysTags art, gift cards, High Holidays, Rosh Hashanah
This week’s cartoon … Sept. 23/16
Format ImagePosted on September 23, 2016 September 21, 2016 Author Malka Martz-OberlanderCategories Celebrating the HolidaysTags High Holidays, Judaism, resolutions, technology
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Originating and executing special situations financing opportunities and creation of specialised lending platforms.
Neeraj BhardwajPartner
Neeraj has general management, marketing and entrepreneurial experience in financial services, outsourcing and research and analytics. He is currently a Director at Aranca, an India based research and analytics firm serving over 1500 clients globally. He is also an investor/advisor to a number of startups and outsourcing ventures.
Neeraj was the CEO of RocSearch from 2004 to 2007, a turnaround of a publishing business into a custom research and analytics firm. Prior to that he was part of a start up team at Inaltus, the UK’s first SME Accounting and Finance startup. From 1996 to 1999 he was a banking supervisor at the Bank of England and Financial Services Authority.
Neeraj has an MBA from the London Business School and a Bachelors in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics.
Abir MukherjeePartner
Abir has expertise in corporate finance and business development acquired in a range of senior management roles. He focusses primarily on international mergers, acquisitions, capital raising and new business development. Abir is also a Director of Athena Corporate Finance Ltd, which provides corporate finance advisory and capital raising services to small and mid sized businesses looking to grow internationally.
Between 2009 and 2012, Abir was Senior Vice President in charge of international business development and M&A for the British-American Investment Group of companies, headquartered in Mauritius. Prior to this he was a director of Deloitte UK’s India Services Group, in charge of corporate finance.
Abir has a Bachelors in Economics from the London School of Economics (1994), with Honours, he is a UK qualified chartered accountant and holds a Securities Institute diploma in corporate finance.
Alok GangolaPartner
Alok is an English qualified solicitor with expertise in international and domestic corporate, commercial and financing transactions. His practice is primarily focused on mergers and acquisitions, private equity/venture capital investments and restructurings.
Alok was previously a Partner at Sprecher Grier Halberstam LLP and then Kennedys LLP from 2006 to 2014 acting for institutions, corporates, investors, family offices, entrepreneurs and management teams across a wide range of sectors and jurisdictions. From 2001-2006 Alok was Associate General Counsel at CLS Bank following a period of practice as a corporate solicitor from 1999-2001.
Alok has a Bachelor of Laws from the London School of Economics (1995), with Honours.
Hash S. DavePartner
Hash has expertise in private investments primarily focused on special situations, distressed and private equity. He is a Director in AARK Global, a Hong Kong based company focused on Asian opportunities.
Hash was previously a Director in the Asia Pacific Illiquid Investment Team for DB Zwirn Asia Partners, from 2006. Previously, from 2002 to 2006 he was an Investment Principal in the Special Situations team at Actis Capital focusing on Asia ex-Japan. Prior to this he worked as an Associate at KPMG Corporate Finance, a Trader at PRICOA Capital and a Bond Salesman at Peregrine Fixed Income.
Hash has a Masters in Finance from the London Business School (2001) and a Bachelors in Economics from the London School of Economics (1994), with Honours.
James EdmundsAdvisory Board Member
Jim is a very experienced lawyer whose primary areas of practice are banking, leasing, project and asset finance with a particular emphasis on the aviation sector.
In 1988 he established the leasing division at Beaumont and Son, specialising in the aircraft and airline sector. In 2005 Beaumont’s merged with Clyde & Co and Jim developed their Dubai aviation operation until 2011 when he returned to London to join Gates and Partners, a firm started by Beaumont’s former Senior Partner, Sean Gates. Recently Gates has merged with Kennedys where Jim was a partner until the end of March 2015. He know works closely with John at DS Leasing and the HSC Team.
After being educated at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, where he flew jets, he obtained a Law degree from the University of London and started his career with solicitors acting for Julian Hodge. He later became in-house council with successively Lombard and Lloyds Leasing.
Jaideep KrishnaAdvisory Board Member
Jaideep currently owns and runs AARK Global Limited, a Hong Kong domiciled, boutique investment and advisory vehicle.
Prior to June 2009, Jaideep was a Managing Director at D.B. Zwirn Asia, joining in May 2006 and based in Hong Kong and headed the firm’s investment activity in Asia Pacific. Since January 2005 he worked as a Partner and Head of the Special Situations Group at Actis Capital in London. From 1998 – 2003 he was a Managing Director for Cerberus Capital Management in Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, China and SE Asia. Prior to that he held various senior positions at Peregrine Fixed Income in Hong Kong, including Head of Credit Research and Originations. Prior to that he was a Risk Manager at Citigroup Hong Kong and worked at HSBC in Hong Kong & India in various risk management, credit and operation management roles.
Jaideep has a BA Economics from the Sriram College of Commerce in New Delhi and MA in Management Studies (Finance and Marketing) from the University of Bombay.
John LutterlochAdvisory Board Member
John has held senior positions as a Managing Director at G E Capital Corporation Ltd., Managing Director of Baltic Leasing Ltd and Vice President at Security Pacific Leasing (Europe) Inc. At GE he headed up GE Capital’s Northern European operations, focusing on operating leases on sectors such as transportation, telecoms, marine, aviation and IT.
In 1994 he established Industrial Investment Group Ltd as a private investment company. In 2004, he co-founded St Helens Finance plc which was listed on OFEX. The most recent joint ventures have been formed with St Helen’s Capital plc, Merchant House Group plc and Daniel Stewart Securities plc. He is currently Chairman and Chief Executive of DS Finance & Leasing Ltd.
He is a regular contributor to various Leasing publications. Since 2009 he has written the ‘City Chatter’ column for Leasing World magazine.
Stephen StollidayAdvisory Board Member
Stephen is an experienced financial investment professional with a background in Private Equity, Corporate Finance, Business Turnarounds, Portfolio and Asset Management and Special Situations investing. He is the Head of the Special Operations Unit at the African Development Bank.
Stephen has invested in and divested from investments across many countries and industrial sectors over the last 20 years and he has a large and interesting global contact base in the investment community with a specific focus on Central and South East Asia.
Stephen was formerly an investment executive at Finance Wales, investing in equity and development finance deals with SMEs across Wales. Prior to this he has been a director of several major Emerging Markets funds including the Commonwealth Development Corporation (‘CDC’), Actis, the Abraaj Group and more recently he was Deputy CIO for the CITIC Kazyna Private Equity Investment Fund in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, having trained at Price Waterhouse in London and he has lived and worked overseas for the last 10 years in Singapore, China, Philippines and Kazakhstan.
He attended the University of London and has a degree in Geography.
CAPITAL RAISING & IPO
Growth capital for a Chinese educational company
Private debt financing for a SE Asian resources company
Pre-IPO fundraising for an Eastern European mining vehicle
M&A ADVISORY & JOINT VENTURES
Advised a UK based life sciences business on the acquisition strategy
Advised a financial institution on bid to acquire retail banking operations of a major international bank
Advised an Indian group on acquisitions in the UK house building sector
Advised a UK based provider of stem cell banking services, on international growth strategy including finance raising, local partner selection and negotiating JVs
Preparation and implementation of a strategy for refinancing for a major Mauritius based investment group.
Advised on India offshoring strategy of UK based managed services provider
DISTRESSED INVESTMENT
Advised on Investment in South East Asian distressed textile company and subsequent sale to strategic buyer
Purchase of regional finance company as an orphan asset from an international institution
Purchase of a UK listed technology business on behalf of a Asian client
INVESTMENT ORIGINATION
Origination of Asian special situation investment opportunities
Origination of UK real estate investment opportunities
Origination of India based outsourcing opportunities
PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTMENT
Investment in a telecom infrastructure company in South Asia
Financing of a Chinese brokerage in structured investment
Bridge financing for a UK investment company
Sale of commercial property in North Asia
Sale of technology businesses in UK
Disposal of the trade and assets of UK based pharmaceuticals company to overseas acquirers
RERSTRUCTURING
Workout of a specialist a non-bank finance company in Asia
Restructuring plan for an Asia Pacific retailer
UK restructurings and workouts across multiple sectors
Houghton Street Capital Ltd
3rd Floor, 21 Foley Street, London W1W 6DR
http://www.houghtonstcapital.com
info@houghtonstcapital.com
Copyright 2015 Houghton Street Capital Limited. All Rights Reserved. info@houghtonstcapital.com. Company no. 8897733.
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Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 12-11-05
Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW No. 214/12 3-5.11.12
[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS
[01] Turkish MFA: "Turkish Cypriots have equal rights on Cyprus' natural resources as Greek Cypriots"; statements by Ozgurgun
[02] Erdogan stated that Turkey is ready to provide potable water and electricity to the Republic of Cyprus
[03] Bagis: "Turkey expects big push from EU in 2013"
[04] More on UBP crisis
[05] The crisis in self-styled Lefkosia municipality continues
[06] Crisis between the occupation regime and the USA on the restoration of the Armenian monastery in occupied Cyprus
[07] Former President of Pakistan visited Sheikh of Lefka in occupied Cyprus
[08] United Cyprus Party held contacts with the Turkish Communist Party
[09] The "Northern Europe Roadshow" tourism promotion event of the occupation regime in Scandinavian countries has finished
[10] More about Asil Nadir's case
[11] Giant sport complex to be built in western Keryneia
[12] Foreign Universities attended the "International Universities Search and Rescue Council's Coordination Committee meeting" in the occupied area Cyprus
[13] Kurdish students in occupied Cyprus demonstrated supporting the hunger strikers in Turkey
[14] Turkey to try Israeli officers over Mavi Marmara raid
[15] Erdogan brings back to Turkey's agenda the death sentence issue
[16] Bahceli re-elected MHP leader at party congress; Tatar represented the so-called government
Ankara Anatolia news agency (03.11.12) reported that the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a statement released on Saturday, said that the Turkish Cypriots had equal and inherent rights on Cyprus' natural resources within the Cypriot continental shelf as the Greek Cypriots.
The Turkish MFA underlined in the statement that disregarding such a reality and Greek Cypriots' continuation of one-sided provocative activities, was a situation unacceptable by Turkey and the "TRNC".
Turkish MFA's remarks came after the Greek Cypriots held a second (international) tender for the exploration of oil and natural gas in the island.
"Within this frame, Turkey strongly supports the statements made by the TRNC Foreign Ministry on November 2 (on the natural resources of Cyprus)", the MFA underlines.
Meanwhile, according to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris (03.11.12), in a written statement, the so-called foreign minister Huseyin Ozgurgun pointed out that Turkish Cypriots are equal partners of the Greek Cypriots in the island and underlined that they have equal and inseparable rights on the natural gas resources.
Ozgurgun went on saying that despite of the warnings made in the past, the Greek Cypriot side is trying, as he said, to create fait accompli on this issue. Ozgurgun added that it is out of question to permit the rights of the Turkish Cypriots to be extorted.
Ozgurgun said that the Turkish Cypriot side, together with Turkey will continue with determination to take measures in order to protect their rights and interests.
According to Ankara Anatolia news agency (03.11.12) the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that they would carry potable water from Anamur town of Turkey to the "TRNC" via under water pipeline.
Erdogan's remarks came during an opening speech of his political party's meeting in Kizilcahamam town of Turkish capital Ankara on Saturday. "We are making a call on Greek Cyprus from here. We can provide potable water to the Greek Cypriots if they need it. We can also provide them with electricity if they need it. We are saddened to see their conditions. They bring water to the Greek Cypriot administration in tankers and have to drink water with rust. They can avoid drinking water with rust and enjoy the clean water of Anamur if they desire," Erdogan stressed.
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (05.11.12) publishes an interview to the paper by Turkey's EU Minister Bagis who has inter alia, said, that Ankara expects serious action from the European Union after the term presidency of "Greek Cyprus", as he called the Republic of Cyprus, ends in January 2013, to boost Turkey's accession to the 27-nation bloc.
"Turkey should become an EU member before 2023. We don't have the intention to wait until 2023," Bagis told the Hurriyet Daily News, commenting on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's call to the EU to make up its mind by 2023. "No one should expect that the Prime Minister will show patience until 2023. I am talking as someone who knows very well the Prime Minister," added Bagis.
(?)Bagis reiterated that the EU has lost its credibility among Turks by not lifting the visas, by pointing to the Cyprus problem as an obstacle to Turkey's accession while ignoring it when it came to "Greek Cyprus' membership", by not showing enough cooperation in the fight against [outlawed Kurdistan People's Party] PKK terrorism and by not inviting Turkey to council summits.
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (05.11.12) reports that the court hearing for the case opened by Ahmet Kasif against "prime minister" Irsen Kucuk is taking place today, as the crisis within the National Unity Party (UBP) is becoming deeper every passing day.
Kasif supports that the election of Kucuk as UBP chairman at the party's election congress held a few days ago, was not against the party's constitution since the vote difference between them was very small. Kasif supports that a second round of voting should have taken place.
However, as Kibris (04.11.12) reports, under the title "Fighting savagely: Kucuk did not wait for the decision of the court and on Saturday called on for a meeting for the election of UBP central administration. In addition, a mini crisis was created during the meeting since three "MPs" UBP, Zorlu Tore, Hasan Tacoy and Afet Ozcafer, who supported Kasif at the party's election congress were not given the right to speak at the meeting and as a result they left the meeting protesting against the way they were treated.
The Turkish Cypriot press continues to report on the crisis occurred within the occupied "Lefkosia municipality" and the garbage which are not selected in the streets.
Illegal Bayrak (03.11.12) broadcast that some members of the "Municipal Council" from the main opposition Republican Turkish Party and the opposition Democrat Party handed in their resignations to their respective parties, protesting against the situation created in occupied Lefkosia.
Bayrak also broadcast that effort to clean up the streets in line with a decision taken by the "Council of Ministers" is continuing and broadcast statements by the self-styled District Officer of occupied Lefkosia Kemal Deniz Dana who said that they will complete work to clean up as soon as possible.
In addition, Kibris (05.11.12) reports that members of the trade union of the workers in occupied Lefkosia municipality (BES) will go to the so-called police and issue complain against the self-styled government for ordering the workers to stop the strike and go back to their works. BES stated that the "government" ordered them to go back to their works while they have not received their salaries and that this is against the "constitution". "No one works for free", BES stated.
Under the title: "Restoration crisis between the TRNC and the USA", Turkish daily Milliyet (04.11.12) reported that the "TRNC administration" came face to face with the USA on the issue of the restoration of the Armenian monastery in the occupied area of Cyprus, which is to be restored with the contribution of 5 million dollars provided by the United Nations Development Program-Action for Cooperation and Trust in Cyprus (UNDP-ACT).
The rights for the use of the Armenian monastery where given as the paper writes to the illegal Near East university (YDU) in occupied Cyprus, in order to turn it into a Turkology Institute.
However, as the paper writes, the Ambassador of the USA in "south Cyprus", as the Republic of Cyprus is called, opposed to the construction of the institute, providing as an excuse the fact that "the conditions of the agreement were not followed". He also threatened that the support which was to be given in the future in the "TRNC" is to be suspended.
The paper continues and writes that some American officials, recalled the signing of the agreement with the General Directorate of the Vakif foundation in the "TRNC", which envisages the use of the monastery, which is known as "Lady Tyre Armenian church", after its restoration, for intercultural purposes.
The paper adds that together with the USA which evaluated as "unacceptable the transformation of the monastery to a Turkology Institute", the Armenian Diaspora in "south Cyprus" has also got into action. This issue continues the paper has been brought to the agenda as a priority issue, by the Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervis Eroglu, during his latest visit to New York for the UN meeting. After returning to the island, Eroglu gave orders to Vakif Foundation to "find a solution to the problem".
The issue was discussed in a meeting of the so-called prime minister Irsen Kucuk with the Ambassador of the USA in Nicosia, John M. Koenig. Koenig has said that "Washington is watching closely the issue" and stressed also the need for a new tender to take place as regards the use of the monastery. According to the paper, Koenig has also conveyed to Kucuk the message that "it is not right for the Armenian monastery to be turned into a Turkology Institute".
Finally, the paper writes that a high rankly official has stated to Milliyet that the "Turkish Cypriot side does not have the luxury to fight with the USA" and wonder how logical it is a Turkology Institute to be opened in a Armenian landed property.
(AK )
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (04.10.12) reports that the former president of Pakistan Pervez Muserref, paid an illegal visit to occupied Cyprus for the weekend through the illegal Tymvou airport, upon an invitation by businessman Okyay Sadikoglu.
According to the paper, Muserref who was escorted by his wife and two guards, visited Sheikh Nazim Kibrisi (Sheikh of Lefka).
He stayed at Port Cratos hotel and departed from occupied Cyprus on Monday.
Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar newspaper (05.11.12) reports that a delegation of the United Cyprus Party (BKP) visited Istanbul upon an invitation of the Turkish Communist Party (TKP) and held contacts.
According to the paper, BKP delegation consists of the party's chairman Izzet Izcan and the party's organization secretary Andullah Korkmazhan visited "Sol" newspaper and held contacts with TKP members about the developments of the Cyprus problem and the Middle East.
According to illegal Bayrak television (03.11.12) the "Northern Europe Road show" tourism promotion event, which was organized by the so-called ministry of tourism, environment and culture in Scandinavian countries, was successfully finalized despite the "Greek Cypriot side's" attempts to prevent the event.
"Northern Europe Roadshow" was launched in the Danish capital Copenhagen on the 30th of October and this followed promotion events in Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki.
Tour operators in Scandinavian countries showed great interest towards the "TRNC's tourism" as they had the opportunity to seek ways of cooperation with their Turkish Cypriot counterparts.
Promotional films on the tourism potential of the "TRNC" were also screened during the events.
Speaking to reporters during the Helsinki leg of "Northern Europe Roadshow", the "undersecretary" of the so called ministry of tourism, environment and culture, Sahap As?koglu, said that their goal is to reach to 1.5 million tourists by the year 2018.
Meanwhile, according to Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar (03.11.12), in statements during the promotion event in Stockholm, the chairwoman of the "Turkish Cypriot Hotelier's Union", Ayse Dozmezler, gave information on the number of Swedish tourists who visited the occupation regime during between January-September, 2012, and said that a total of 1266 Swedish tourist travel to the occupation regime via the illegal Tymbou airport while 11.164 Swedish tourist came to the "TRNC" via Larnaka airport.
According to illegal Bayrak television (03.11.12) the Cyprus Turkish Businessman Asil Nadir was yesterday ordered to pay back 5 million pounds in compensation for the money he allegedly stole from his own Polly Peck business empire or face a further six years in jail.
Nadir was jailed for 10 years in August after being found guilty of stealing 28.8 million pounds from the company and its shareholders.
The Judge presiding over the case that tried at London's Old Bailey, gave Nadir two years to pay the compensation or face a further 72 months or six years in prison.
Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (05.11.12) reports that the foundation of a "giant project" in occupied Keryneia was laid on Sunday for the construction of a new sport and green area park.
According to the paper, the park, which will be located in an 50.000 square meter area west of Keryneia, will be consisted of a modern sport and greens area complex, with a cover area and fields for tennis, basketball and other sports. It will also have a botanic garden, WC and assisting offices. The new project is described by the paper as the first of its kind in occupied Cyprus.
According to Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar (03.11.12), the "International Universities Search and Rescue Council's Coordination Committee meeting" is to be launched today at Acapulco Hotel in occupied Keryneia.
According to a statement made by the press office of the "International Universities Search and Rescue Council's Coordination Council", the meeting was to be start with an opening speech by the current President of the Council Prof. Dr. Huseyin Gokcekus.
As the paper writes, several universities from foreign countries will attend the meeting. Following are the universities: "The University of Lahore from Pakistan, the College of Advanced Technology Studies (CATS) from India, Azerbaijan State Economic University from Azerbaijan, Islamic University of Indonesia, the Uszelina Vistual University from Poland, the Kerman Medical University from Iran, the Tambov State Technical University from Russia and the Cannakale 18 March University from Turkey".
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (05.11.12) reports that a demonstration was organized yesterday in occupied Lefkosia in support of the Kurdish students who continue a hunger strike for 54 days now in Turkish prisons.
According to Afrika more than 1000 Kurdish students gathered in front of the "Turkish embassy" to occupied Lefkosia shouting slogans like "mass murderer Erdogan" and "stop the killings".
Various political parties, trade unions and organizations supported the action and also signed a manifesto which was read in Turkish and Kurdish about the demonstration.
Under the above title, Turkish daily Today's Zaman (05.11.12) reports that a Turkish court will start a trial of Israeli military officers on Tuesday, as part of its investigation into the Mavi Marmara raid that left nine Turks dead.
An indictment prepared by Istanbul Specially Authorized Prosecutor Mehmet Akif Ekinci last summer, seeks 10 aggravated life imprisonment sentences for each of the four Israeli top commanders, including the country's chief of General Staff, involved in a 2010 Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that left nine Turks dead.
The trial will start in the Istanbul 7th High Criminal Court on Tuesday.
The 144-page indictment mentions 10 "slain Turks," including Suleyman Soylemez, who was among those injured in the raid and who is still in a vegetative state. The document also mentions 490 victims and complainants, including 189 people who were injured in the attacks.
The indictment seeks 10 aggravated life imprisonment sentences for former Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of General Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, Naval Forces commander Vice Adm. Eliezer Marom, Israel's military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin and Air Forces Intelligence head Brig. Gen. Avishai Levi.
Eight Turkish nationals and one Turkish American were killed when the Israeli Navy attacked an international aid flotilla trying to break an Israeli blockade of Gaza in May 2010. Following the attack, Israel's government set up the Turkel Commission, a commission of inquiry headed by Israeli Supreme Court Justice Jacob Turkel, to investigate the attack. Turkish leaders dismissed the Israeli investigation, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon repeated the demand for an independent investigation, stating that the Israeli investigation would not have international credibility.
Turkey also established an inquiry, which concluded, in contrast to the Israeli inquiry, that the Gaza blockade and the Israeli raid are illegal. After the Turkish inquiry, Turkey described the raid as a violation of international law "tantamount to banditry and piracy" and described the killings of activists as "state-sponsored terrorism." Concerning the Israeli inquiry, Turkey said its own commission that it was "surprised, appalled and dismayed that the national inquiry process in Israel has resulted in the exoneration of the Israeli armed forces."
Ankara wants an official apology from Israel for the raid and calls for the lifting of the Gaza blockade but both demands have been rejected by the Israeli government so far. With tensions increased, Turkey has expelled the Israeli ambassador and suspended military agreements it had with the country.
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (05.11.12) reports the following: "Amid doubts about the ruling party's appetite for the ongoing European Union membership process and ten years after its abolition represented the most crucial step in the process, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has put the death penalty back on the agenda, suggesting that a majority of the public wants to see it back in force.
Erdogan's remarks on November 3 came after he warned the hundreds of hunger strikers that their strike would not help in the release of Abdullah Ocalan, the convicted leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The strikers are demanding an end to the isolation of Ocalan, as one of their conditions.
'Don't turn this [strike] into blackmail,' Erdogan said at an annual meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). 'We will not release the terrorist chief just because you say so or resort to such an action.'
He then referred to the issue of capital punishment with regard to Ocalan. 'A death penalty was handed to a terrorist chief who was the cause of death for tens of thousands of people, but this country abolished the death penalty due to pressure from known places. He is now serving in Imral? because of the abolition of the death penalty,' Erdogan said. 'Right now a lot of people say in public surveys that capital punishment should be reintroduced, because the relatives of the dead are hurt while others enjoy themselves at kebab parties.'
Ocalan was captured in 1999 by Turkish agents in Kenyan capital Nairobi, brought back to Turkey, and sentenced to death. His death penalty was lifted as part of Turkey's campaign to join the EU and commuted to life in prison. Since then, he has been serving a life sentence on a remote prison on Imral? Island in the Marmara Sea".
The death penalty in Turkey was abolished in 2002 by a three-party coalition government led by the Democratic Left Party (DSP). Coalition partner the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) did not block the government in going ahead with the proposal, but did vote against it.
Apart from the MHP, the votes of all parties represented at Parliament were divided between "yes" and "no," while Prime Minister Erdogan - head of the-then 59 seat and only one-year-old AKP - was absent at the vote, as he was not yet a lawmaker at the time. As for today's Parliament, MHP Ankara deputy Zuhal Topcu, a senior advisor to MHP leader Devlet Bahceli, supported the idea of reintroducing the death penalty.
"The MHP particularly wants the execution of terrorist chief Ocalan. Today, the issue has come to this point because compromises have always been given. Today, hunger strikes have come onto the agenda because a compromise has been gained after every action," Topcu said.
A senior executive of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) refused to comment in detail on what Erdogan's remarks indicated.
Turkish daily Today's Zaman (04.11.12) reported that Devlet Bahceli was re-elected party leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on Sunday at the party's 10th Regular Congress.
Sunday's congress was the first with more than one candidate running for party leadership since 2003 and the first time delegates voted on alternative candidate lists to elect the members of the Central Executive and Steering Committee.
Ten candidates, including current party leader Devlet Bahseli, ran for the post of MHP chairman. The increase in the number of candidates is attributed to a call from Bahceli saying that anyone in the congress who wanted to run could do so. According to the MHP's lobby, emphasizing intra-party democracy, Bahceli had called for interested party members to run for the post of chairperson, stating: "Whoever wishes to do so can apply for candidacy. I promise this."
In his speech at Sunday's congress, Bahceli emphasized the importance as staying true to party values while increasing votes to come to power. He accused both the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) of bringing Turkey to the brink of disintegration with their policies over the past 10 years. He said the MHP remains as the only political party that still has a national stance, noting that a change in leadership of the party to get more votes would cause the MHP to make the same errors as the government and main opposition. "We will show that we can serve in the government staying ourselves, without giving up our principles, opinions and ideals, he noted".
Bahceli also criticized Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's goals set for 2071. "There is no Turkish nation in these goals, there is no Turkey. The Turkish motherland doesn't exist in the 2071 target list of the Prime Minister. Erdogan's secret agenda is to see an Anatolia that has been sent backward by ethnic clashes, paralyzed by internal turmoil, where saying you are a Turk is a crime and the Republic is dead." He said the AK Party government is the fifth period of collapse in the past 1,000 years of Turkish states.
Also, according to Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar (05.11.12), the so-called minister of finance, Ersin Tatar has represented the "UBP government" at the MHP's congress. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
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Through My Lens - London
Labels: England, Through My Lens
My Canterbury Tales - The End
Canterbury after five in the evening began to close down as tourist traffic thinned down to almost nothing, boarding their buses parked in the large lot along the Riverwalk. One evening as we walked past the entrance to the Cathedral grounds we realized the gate was open and we were free to enter the grounds and walk around. We strolled through the courtyard and up to one of the doors which had a notice posted on it. The notice was actually an announcement for an organ recital to take place the last night of our stay. How exciting! An opportunity to get inside without having to take the tour that we'd already taken on a previous trip and a chance to hear the organ in the grand cathedral.
After our trip to Leeds Castle, we refreshed at our B&B and then took off to find an early dinner so that we could catch the 7:30 p.m. recital. We arrived a bit early at the Cathedral after dinner and waited around to see if the main door was going to open. Since we hadn't seen the recital advertised anywhere else we were a little concerned that maybe we had been mistaken about it.
While we waited, we had time to reflect on the history we had learned about the Cathedral on our first visit. The tale of the murder of Thomas Becket is quite interesting and the pilgrimages that began afterward reflected in the writing of the Canterbury Tales by Chaucer.
Eventually, we saw a few people entering the Cathedral by a small side door. When we inquired and found that indeed that was the entry door for the recital. We followed another couple in and stopped at a table set up for tickets. In England rather than saying senior discount, they ask if you want a concession. Being a senior has its perks in lots of countries.
We were instructed to sit in the area where the choir sits. Unsure of the best place to plant ourselves, we asked a couple who seated themselves in an area just past the choir seats. They were regulars for the recitals that are held every six weeks or so. We joined them and struck up a conversation. They spoke of past recitals and the unfortunate lack of publicity for them.
It truly is a shame that they are not better advertised because it was a wonderful opportunity to hear the huge organ fill the Cathedral to the rafters with its wonderful sounds. While we were not entirely familiar with the pieces that the organist performed, we sat mesmerized by the sweet soft melody that wound around and through the huge arches above our heads and then crescendoed to rich full tones that reverberated and filled the entire massive space of the Cathedral. It was amazing.
When it was over, we strolled back to our B&B in the dusky evening light hand in hand, grateful for the opportunity to once again experience the history and ambiance of the English town of Canterbury.
Labels: England
Through My Lens - England's Bloomin' Flowers
Leeds Castle, Kent
Our day and a half in Canterbury had covered all that we wanted to see. We had visited the Cathedral on a previous trip so while we munched on fish and chips we had asked the proprietor what he recommended we see that would be a day trip. He didn't even have to think about it. "Leeds Castle. It's a lovely spot. You'll quite enjoy it!"
So on our third day in Canterbury, Kent County, we boarded a train and headed for Bearsted. We had to change trains in Ashford which was very simple to do. Along the way we met some interesting folks visiting from South Africa with a lady who lives in England and goes to Africa to find water. She is a dowser. We had quite a discussion about how Americans eat. They
Leeds Castle on River Len
didn't have a good impression of our eating habits. Can you blame them?
At the Bearsted station we had to wait a few minutes for the shuttle to Leeds Castle. For a small fee you get a neat ride through the little town of Bearsted and out into the countryside where the castle is located. I fell in love the moment we stepped off the small mini bus. Cinderella's castle has always been a bit too fru-fru for me. This was a REAL castle.
The grounds were absolutely spectacular, especially in the morning sun. We couldn't believe it.
Another gorgeous weather day. Did someone move England farther south?
Henry VIII Banquet Hall
Lady Baillies's Dining Room
As the Leeds Castle website says: "Leeds Castle has been a Norman stronghold; the private property of six of England's medieval queens; a palace used by Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon; a Jacobean country house; a Georgian mansion; an elegant early 20th century retreat for the influential and famous; and in the 21st century, it has become one of the most visited historic buildings in Britain."
A Lady Baillie Bedroom
Queen's Bedroom
The first stone castle was built in the 1100s on an island in the river Len. Over the centuries, it was owned by many queens who expanded on the facility. After all, every new owner needs to redecorate and renovate. In 1926, ownership of the castle came to an American heiress, Olive Wilson Filmer, later known as Lady Baillie.
Lady Baillie spent much of her oil inheritance on restoring the castle and renovating parts of it for her residence. She was quite a social hostess and entertained extensively such guests as Edward VIII, the Grand Duke Dimitri of Russia, Douglas Fairbanks junior and senior, James Stewart, Errol Flynn, and Charlie Chaplin.
Black Swan Bathroom
Queen's Bath
As you tour the castle, you begin with rooms furnished in the medieval style and move to the more modern tastes of Lady Baillie. Throughout there is commentary called "What the Butler Saw" that tells of life in the castle during the days of Lady Baillie's social gatherings. The information was interesting but took an awfully long time to read as people crowded around. A nice audio tour would have worked so much better.
Looking at my pictures, you can see the contrast between the medieval owners and the more modern changes that the last owner made.The black swans on the towels in the bathroom picture were a symbol of Lady Baillie's castle. There are hundreds of water fowl in the streams, river, and pond on the over 500 acres of property surrounding the castle. And of course, among them, keeping their regal feathers dry are several peacocks.
When Lady Baillie died in 1974, she left the castle to a trust that continues to ensure the public enjoyment of the castle. She also allowed for its use by international statesman which led to the mini-Camp David in 1978 involving US Foreign Secretary Cyrus Vance, General Moyshe Dayan of Israel and Mohammed Ibriham Kamel of Egypt.
Inner Courtyard
Before we left, we ate lunch in the restaurant across the pond from the castle and then decided we could take on the maze. We were wrong. The maze was amazingly difficult. We wandered around and wondered how it was there were kids getting to the middle way before us. Were we getting too old for a sense of direction? No. The answer was evident when we saw one kid climbing over the hedge and another being helped by a parent who had found their way. Eventually, by luck, we made it to the center and down the steps to the grotto below it. So much for medieval entertainment.
My Canterbury Tales 3
Tight squeeze
Canterbury was a bustling little tourist town for sure but early in the morning and after four or five in the evening, the streets were relatively empty. As a matter of fact, we found that most everything except the larger restaurants closed by six o'clock. During the day, most of Canterbury is pedestrian but until ten in the morning, cars and trucks are allowed through the narrow streets to do their deliveries. As you can see in the picture, there's a good reason for making the streets pedestrian when the tourists begin to arrive by the busloads.
Queen Bertha
After finishing the first route of our Canterbury Audio Tour, we ate a light lunch and found our way back to the starting point at Christ Church Gate in front of the Cathedral grounds. We walked down Burgate to Lower Bridge St. and crossed over. Lower Bridge is outside the historical part of the city and is heavily trafficked. Just down Lower Bridge was Lady Wootton's Green, a small well manicured garden with two statues prominently standing in the middle of it all. The statues are relatively new (2006) and are of Saxon Queen Bertha and her husband King Ethelbert who were instrumental in returning Christianity to Kent. It is said that Queen Bertha walked through this area each Sunday to attend church services. So who was Lady Wootton you ask?
Fyndon Gate
Apparently later, when King Henry VIII decided to dissolve the monasteries in England because the Pope would not allow him to divorce his wife, part of St. Augustine's Monastery became lodging for the king. Later it was leased to Edward Lord Wootton whose widow, Lady Wootton continued to live there until she died. When the garden was designed and planted, it was named for her.
St. Augustine's Abbey
At the other end of the Green is the Fyndon Gate, rebuilt in the 14th century and is the entrance to what is now a part of King's School. Further down the street and around the corner we found the entrance to the old ruins of the original St Augustine's Abbey. We opted not to go in. It was getting very warm and we didn't think we wanted to take the time.
Canterbury City Wall
Crossing back over Lower Bridge St. we found the entrance to the City Wall and climbed up the walkway. The wall dates back to Roman times and was already well known in the third century. Towers along the wall were for archers. There were three to four foot upside down keyholes spaced around each tower for the archers to shoot through. Several large gates have been restored (see Westgate in previous post).
City Wall Towers
We walked along in the unusually warm weather and wished we'd packed the sunscreen. Who knew? At the Dane John Mound, we paused for a few moments to try to figure out its significance. It was basically a large mound of earth with a monument on top. Originally it had been large enough for a castle to be built on top of it. One of the reasons for building the city wall was to protect it.
We exited the wall and walked through the shady alleyways to the Canterbury Castle once again. I had hoped to find a bench in the shade but there were none. Normally people don't seek the cool shade in England. Since we'd visited the castle the previous day, we didn't go back in but continued on to our next point of interest, the Greyfriars.
On our way to Greyfriars, we passed the Museum of Canterbury, a beautiful brown stone building with a pretty garden court where some were enjoying an afternoon tea. It is also home to the Rupert Bear museum. The Rupert Bear is a popular children's character in England and the original author/cartoonist, Mary Tourtel, who was actually born Mary Caldwell in Canterbury in 1874.
Greyfriars Chapel
The Greyfriars was truly off the beaten track but the flowers that lined the river along the way were beautiful. The area once belonged to a large 13th century Franciscan friary (a brotherhood of friars). All that remains of it now is a small chapel that spans an arm of the River Stour. It was a lovely peaceful place and would have been a nice place to stop and rest but we continued on, afraid that we would tire before the end of our tour.
St. Margaret's Church
Getting back into the heart of the historical district, we passed by the Canterbury Tales which is housed in St. Margaret's Church. The tour inside the church takes you through several vignettes of medieval life. It appeared to be very popular with groups of students who lined up outside waiting their entry.
Once again we arrived back at the entrance to the Canterbury Cathedral. We removed our tour paraphernalia and began our trek back to the Riverwalk to return it and then continue on to our B&B to rest and relax before dinner. Ah, but when the "Cream Tea" sign caught our eye, we knew we had to stop. You can't miss cream tea in England.
Canterbury on Dwellable
After a hearty English breakfast at our B&B, we set off with our audio tours dangling from our necks and headphones on ears. The Canterbury Audio Tour began at the Christ Church Gate, the entry to the Cathedral grounds. For some reason, I did not take a picture of it. Maybe I needed another cup of coffee to wake me up. The morning was cool with the promise of another sunny day. Who would guess that I'd get a tan in England?
We passed by the East Bridge Hospital, founded just after the murder of Thomas Becket as a place to house pilgrims to the city, and walked over the King's Bridge that was built in the 12th century but was widened in the 1700s. It takes its name from the Kings Mill that used to stand there. Next to the bridge was the Weavers House, built in 1507, it housed Hugenot Weavers whose skills were greatly appreciated. It is from the King's Bridge that you can take water tours (punting) on the river boats.
Marlowe Theatre
Continuing down Peters Street we reached the corner of The Friars. Looking off to our right, we could see the modern Marlowe Theatre. Christopher Marlowe was a contemporary of Shakespeare and it has been rumored off and on that perhaps he wrote for Shakespeare. He was born in Canterbury and attended King's School there.
From the theater, we walked to the Westgate Gardens near the Westgate Towers. The gardens border the River Stour and have been around since medieval times. There is a huge oriental tree in the middle of the garden said to be 200 years old whose massive trunk has grown through a circular iron seat place there long ago as seat in the garden.
The Tower House
The Tower House sits at one end of the Westgate Gardens. The structure is built around one of the square towers that was originally a part of the city's defense. The stone and brick building is now the office of the mayor.
Westgate Towers
Large, round, and gray, the Westgate Towers form the gate to the city. It is also home to an armory, dungeons, murder holes, and museums housing 600 years of history.
The Westgate Towers sit on the corner of an interesting street. It's called Pound Lane. As the story went, the animals were let loose on the streets to clean up the garbage but there was a curfew on them. Any that were still wandering and not claimed by their owners by curfew were rounded up and taken to the pound--on Pound Lane of course.
We crossed over the Stour River again at the place where the Abbott's Mill used to stand. There were several mills along the Stour. At this particular spot it was a mill used for corn and grains. The building that was on the spot dated back to 1792 but in 1933, it was totally destroyed in a fire. One of the axles still remains from the mill wheel. This was a very scenic spot especially in the evening looking down the river and seeing the backyard gardens reflected in it.
The Mint Yard Gate
The next significant spot on our tour was the Mint Yard Gate, the entrance to the King's School where Christopher Marlowe was a student. The school is still operating. Across from the gate is an older building with a very unusual door. It was the original King's School shop and was also owned by someone named John Boy (I don't believe he was related to the Waltons). From the old pictures I found on the internet, it appears the house has always been crooked as has the door. Back in the 1980s it was shored up on the inside with a metal cage when it was deemed unsafe.
Sugar Boy Sweet Shop
On the corner across from the shop is the Sugar Boy Sweet Shop. It is a candy lover's dream. The shelves are bulging with gallon jars of sweet treats. We stopped in and bought some Walker's Toffee and fell in love. Now we are trying to find a supplier in the U.S. Then again, it may just justify another trip to the UK.
Conquest House
Palace Street took us back in the direction of the Cathedral again. Along the way, we found the Conquest House where it is said the conspirators met who murdered Thomas Becket. The facade is 17th century but behind it is a structure built in the 1100s.
Our last point of interest on the first route of our tour was the Sun Hotel and Tea Rooms. It is a 15th century hotel that boasts of Charles Dickens' visit. It has been brought up to modern day standards and reopened as a hotel. I understand it is also a great place for cream tea--tea served with scones and clotted cream and not to be missed on any visit to England.
It wasn't time for tea but it was time for lunch before we set out on Route #2 of our tour. We turned off the voices and headed for a local establishment for a light lunch.
My Canterbury Tales
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Heimaey's Volcano Eruption of 1973
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The Insurance Forum
No. 160: Unclaimed and Unpaid Death Benefits—More on the "60 Minutes" Criticism of Life Insurance Companies
In No. 159 (posted April 27), I discussed the criticism leveled at life insurance companies in the lead segment ("the segment") of CBS's "60 Minutes" on April 17. The segment was directed at unclaimed and unpaid death benefits, and also accused companies of systematically destroying the equity that many policyholders had built up in their policies. The post generated considerable interest, and this follow-up is warranted.
The Varying Responses
No one expressed objections to my description of the historical background of unclaimed and unpaid death benefits, lost policies, and lost policyholders. There were no comments on the first opinion I expressed, but numerous objections to the second. Here are the two opinions:
On the positive side, the segment provided a public service by calling attention to the problems of lost policies and unclaimed and unpaid death benefits. On the negative side, the segment was slanted to shine an undeservedly harsh light on life insurance companies.
I consider the segment slanted in at least four ways. First, it did not mention the insuring agreement invariably found in life insurance policies. Second, it did not mention the automatic premium loan clause. Third, it did not provide air time for the spokeswoman designated to represent the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), a life insurance company trade association, while stating on air that no life insurance company had made a spokesperson available. Fourth, it provided only a few seconds of air time for a spokesman of the Insurance Information Institute, an insurance company trade association oriented more toward property-liability insurance than life insurance. (In No. 159, I said the ACLI spokeswoman, Mary Jo Hudson, was interviewed on the telephone by Lesley Stahl, the on-air commentator. A knowledgeable reader informed me the comment was incorrect because Hudson was interviewed on the telephone by Rich Bonin, the producer of the segment.)
In response to my comment that the segment shined an undeservedly harsh light on the companies, some readers said what the companies had done was so outrageous that people should be in jail. My comment grew out of my concern about the nature of the evidence presented in the segment. I think the documents mentioned probably were not seen by senior officials or mid-level personnel who would have understood the implications of the documents. Also, until I see evidence to the contrary, I cannot believe that knowledgeable company personnel would rub their hands with glee over cheating beneficiaries out of death benefits.
"Asymmetric" and "Symmetric" Use of the DMF
As mentioned in No. 159, the U.S. Social Security Administration maintains a Death Master File (DMF) that supposedly lists all deceased persons in the U.S. As I explained, several years ago there was widespread and embarrassing publicity about life insurance companies using the DMF to learn of deceased annuitants so that life annuity payments could be stopped, but not using the DMF to learn of deceased insureds so that death benefits could be paid where death claims had not been filed. I referred to the practice as "inconsistent" use of the DMF, and said the revelations prompted investigations by state unclaimed property agencies and state insurance regulators. The investigations referred to the practice as "asymmetric" use of the DMF. By contrast, where the DMF was used for both life annuities and life insurance, the investigations referred to the practice as "symmetric" use of the DMF.
Two Companies' Clean Bills of Health
After No. 159 was posted, several readers informed me that Massachusetts Mutual and its affiliates were found to be using the DMF in a symmetric manner, and the company therefore was not required to enter into a settlement agreement with regulators. Kevin McCarty, the Florida insurance commissioner, chaired the investigation by state insurance regulators and was featured in the segment. Here is an excerpt from a press release McCarty's office issued on August 20, 2013:
The examination of MassMutual, one of the largest insurers in the United States, found that it used information from the DMF to both make payments to the beneficiaries of life insurance policies as well as to stop annuity payments. As a result of this positive examination report outcome, a multistate regulatory settlement agreement was deemed unnecessary.
"The conclusion of this examination shows that despite industry practices to the contrary, MassMutual acted in an appropriate way by utilizing the DMF in an attempt to notify policyholder beneficiaries and provide them with the death benefits to which they were entitled," stated Commissioner McCarty.
When I looked further into the matter, I learned that United Services Automobile Association (USAA) and its affiliates also were found to be using the DMF in a symmetric manner, and USAA had not been required to enter into a settlement agreement with regulators. McCarty's office issued the press release about USAA on February 10, 2014. (On April 29, 2016, David Altmeier, a Florida deputy insurance commissioner, succeeded McCarty, who had been the Florida commissioner since 2003.)
Companies Entering into Settlement Agreements
I also learned about all the companies (and their affiliates) that have entered into settlement agreements with regulators. Here is a chronological list showing the names of the companies and the dates of the press releases about the results of the investigations:
John Hancock (May 18, 2011)
Prudential of America (February 2, 2012)
Metropolitan Life (April 23, 2012)
Nationwide (October 11, 2012)
American International Group (October 22, 2012)
Teachers Insurance and Annuity (June 24, 2013)
ING America (August 19, 2013)
Aegon US (September 11, 2013)
New York Life (October 24, 2013)
Aviva (November 21, 2013)
Midland National (November 25, 2013)
Lincoln National (December 10, 2013)
Genworth (January 21, 2014)
Sun Life of Canada (November 13, 2014)
Symetra Life (November 25, 2014)
Allianz Insurance (January 8, 2015)
Guardian Life (March 23, 2015)
Pacific Life (March 23, 2015)
AXA Insurance (December 17, 2015)
Jackson National (December 17, 2015)
Major companies still under investigation are AFLAC, Allstate Life, American Equity Investment, American Financial, American National, American United, Ameriprise Financial, Citigroup, Great-West Life, Hartford Life, Minnesota Life, Northwestern Mutual, Ohio National, Principal Life, Protective Life, Stancorp, State Farm, and Western & Southern. There seem to be no investigations of Aetna Life, Berkshire Hathaway, Connecticut General, Knights of Columbus, Manufacturers Life, Penn Mutual, Primerica Life, and Thrivent Financial.
The Search Procedure
The settlement agreements include a four-page exhibit entitled "Rules for Identifying Death Matches." The exhibit includes three categories of matches: "Exact Match," "SSN [Social Security Number] Match," and "Non-SSN Match." The exhibit also describes "Fuzzy Match Criteria," "Reports of Matches," and "Other Matches and Mismatches."
The National Standard
In a statement the day after the segment aired, the ACLI said 20 states have adopted a "national standard" along the lines urged by the ACLI. The states are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia. Those states have enacted laws based on a model developed by the National Council of Insurance Legislators.
The New Florida Statute
On April 12, 2016, Governor Rick Scott of Florida approved Senate Bill 966 on unclaimed life insurance. The ACLI has expressed two major concerns. First, the ACLI says the new Florida statute seems to require payment of a death benefit unless the company can prove the insured person is still alive. Second, ACLI says the statute seems retroactive in a manner that may violate the contracts clause of the U.S. Constitution.
An ACLI Report
In September 2014, the ACLI issued a 36-page report entitled Life Insurance, Unclaimed Property and the Death Master File: Toward a Uniform National Framework. One of the authors was the previously mentioned Mary Jo Hudson. This sentence is in the introductory section of the report: "These issues have become some of the most contentious in the history of life insurance regulation in the United States."
General Observations
Life insurance companies and state insurance regulators are making significant progress in addressing problems associated with unclaimed and unpaid death benefits, as well as lost policies and lost policyholders. However, a substantial amount of work remains to be done.
A Personal Anecdote
Massachusetts Mutual's clean bill of health, as discussed earlier, reminded me of articles I wrote in the January 1976 and July 1976 issues of The Insurance Forum. They were about the claims practices of Connecticut Mutual, which later merged into Massachusetts Mutual. In the first article, I reported on a letter I had received from a Connecticut Mutual agent. He expressed great respect for his company, and told me about a situation where the company had bent over backwards to honor a claim. In the second article, I reported on a letter from a Connecticut Mutual official who provided further details on the case. In the letter, the official expressed the company's "claim policy" as follows:
Our claim policy, to the extent it can be expressed in a few words and in general terms, is simply that we expect to pay all benefits that are supposed to be paid when they are supposed to be paid. Whether or not a benefit has been claimed is beside the point—if we have information to suggest that a benefit might be due, we pursue the situation and determine whether or not it is. Our claim practice does not include maximizing profit as one of its objectives—that's the job of other parts of the Company.
Available Material
I am offering a complimentary 59-page PDF consisting of the press releases about the investigations of three major companies that grew up in the industrial life insurance business, the press releases about the two companies receiving clean bills of health, a sample exhibit showing the rules for identifying death matches, the Indiana statute as an example of an unclaimed benefit law, my two 1976 articles about the claims practices of Connecticut Mutual, and the ACLI report. Email jmbelth@gmail.com and ask for the May 2016 package about the "60 Minutes" segment.
Email: jmbelth@gmail.com
Blog: www.josephmbelth.com
I welcome your comments. Please email them to me at jmbelth@gmail.com.
No. 164: Executive Compensation in the Insurance I...
No. 162: A STOLI Criminal Case Is Dismissed Withou...
No. 161: MetLife Agrees to a Major Fine After a FI...
No. 160: Unclaimed and Unpaid Death Benefits—More ...
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Huskers overcome slow first half with Borchardt’s big second half
December 29, 2017 | by Tommy Rezac
Nebraska junior forward Tanner Borchardt, who was just put on scholarship last Friday, provided a spark off the bench in the second half with career-highs of eight points and 10 rebounds in Nebraska’s 71-62 win over Stetson at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Photo by Kenny Larabee.
By Tommy Rezac
LINCOLN – Nebraska has officially avoided an embarrassing home loss to a mid-major program for the first time in four years.
The Huskers (10-5) were tied with the Stetson Hatters (7-8) 24-24 at halftime, and lost the lead twice early in the second half, but put together enough offense to earn a 71-62 win on Friday night in front of 11,240 fans at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
“In my mind, the underdogs won tonight,” head coach Tim Miles said. “If you look at this game and you look at the way Stetson played, they outplayed us. They had better energy. They ran their stuff better. They defended way better. Not our best night, but I credit Stetson for that.”
Juniors James Palmer, Jr. and Isaac Copeland each led the Huskers with 13 points, but the difference Friday was made by another junior; Tanner Borchardt.
“We were lucky enough to have an underdog in Tanner Borchardt that came out and really did some great things in a short amount of time,” Miles said. “I thought it helped steady us, give us a little bit of a lead, and a shot of confidence. Sometimes, you need that, and he really served that purpose tonight.”
“It was very timely of course, with him earning a scholarship last week and then following through on it this week. I was very proud of him.”
Just one week after being put on scholarship, the former walk-on from Gothenburg, NE finished with ten rebounds, eight points, two blocks and 14 minutes; all, as you may have guessed, career-highs.
“T is probably the reason we won the game,” senior guard Evan Taylor said, who finished with 10 points and four assists. “Big game from him. We’ve been seeing (Tanner) work since the summer, and we know he’s capable of this, but I’m happy for him. Tonight is his night. He’s the man. He’s the reason we won the game.”
Borchardt had 12 career-points and 25 career-rebounds coming into Friday’s game.
“Whatever Coach (Miles) wants of me, I’m going to go in there and do,” Borchardt said, “and he told me coming out of halftime that he was going to use me off the bench, so I just had to stay ready. It’s all of those reps in scout team getting me ready for this moment.”
All of Borchardt’s minutes came in the second half. Before he checked in, sophomore center Jordy Tshimanga was having arguably his best game of the season.
The 6-10 Quebec native finished with a team-high tying ten rebounds and a season-high tying six points.
“Just like T, Jordy played well, too,” Taylor said. “That’s big for our fives to have 20 rebounds combined together. Jordy and Tanner are both going to get better each game.”
Tshimanga, who played 13 of his 16 minutes in the first half, was probably Nebraska’s best player in the first 20 minutes.
At halftime, Nebraska had only been shooting 7/29 (24.1 percent), including 3/13 from three.
“I thought we were a little offensive sensitive,” Miles said of the first half. “It was 5-2 (at the first media break), and I said, ‘Guys, you know, all we’ve done is pass around and kind of wait for somebody to come in and set the ball screen, or flash it in the high post.'”
The Huskers responded in the second half, shooting an efficient 15/34 (44.1 percent) down the stretch and outscoring the Hatters 47-38 after intermission.
“At halftime, we just stayed positive, said we were going to stay together and go out and play a better second half than we did first half,” Taylor said.
Miles said after Friday’s game that ten wins was the bare minimum his team could have through the first 15 games in order to stay in tournament contention.
Nebraska got its tenth victory by using the bare minimum, at least in the first half, to dive back into conference play with three straight wins and momentum.
“We’re 10-5, that was our bare minimum for our goals,” Miles said. “We met our goals. Now, it’s time to go and make progress in the Big Ten, and really, that’s what we’re here to do. I’m excited for the league. I told our guys we’re going to be the underdogs four of the next five games (@ Northwestern, @ Purdue, Wisconsin, @ Penn State, Illinois) at least.”
“We have to practice like underdogs and play like underdogs just like Tanner did tonight. Just like Stetson did tonight.”
Nebraska hits the road on Tuesday to take on Northwestern (9-5) at Allstate Arena. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. central. The Wildcats face Brown at home on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Watson woes
Junior guard Glynn Watson finished with only one point in 24 minutes of action. He’s only scored three total points in the last two games combined, but Miles says Watson feels fine physically.
“He got knocked in the nose, he a swollen nose,” Miles said, ” and that didn’t help him, but Glynn will be fine. I really do believe that. I need to give him more help than we’ve been giving him. I just don’t think I moved him around enough tonight.”
You can contact Tommy at 402-840-5226, or you can follow him on Twitter @Tommy_KLIN.
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← NEWS
“T-Shirt”: It’s more than just a #1 song to Thomas Rhett →
Meanwhile back at our Bahamian vacation home: Tim & Faith dish for “Architectural Digest”
ABC/Image Group LA
You wouldn’t be surprised to see Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on the cover of People or Billboard, but this summer, they’ll show up in a more unexpected place.
The celebrity-super-couple will be featured on the cover of an upcoming issue of Architectural Digest, showing off their vacation home in the Bahamas: one that just happens to be located on a 17-acre private island.
In a teaser video, Tim and Faith bring the focus back to more mundane concerns, giving AD a glimpse into their everyday lives. While they both agree they’d each like to do away with the other’s cellphone, Faith paints Tim as a typical male who misses the hamper and loves his La-Z-Boy.
The Louisiana native, on the other hand, shies away from criticizing his Mississippi bride.
“I love her,” Tim says. “She just brightens every room she walks into, especially mine.”
He does miss the mark a bit, though, when asked about the key to a happy marriage.
“Just say ‘Yes ma’am’ a lot,” he grins. Faith counters, “[It’s] not saying yes all the time.”
The Soul2Soul tour partners agree it’s Faith who has the most talent when it comes to design.
“You like a lot of light and you like things to be really clean and neat,” Tim says, describing her style.
“You will be rewarded for that answer,” Faith laughs.
You can check out the new video at ArchitecturalDigest.com.
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No need is too small, no mind should be wasted, no voice should be silenced and no person is insignificant. We are committed to reach, teach, lead and connect by empowering people to impact their world for change and transformation.
Be the change you want to see in the world as encouraged by Mahatma Gandhi by joining our army of volunteers, supporters and partners to make a difference in the lives of thousands in the Greater Dallas area and beyond.
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It's been said, 'these are the best of times' and for some 'these are the worst of times.'
At Light The Way International, we believe it's the right time! We are so humbled and grateful to be able to impact the lives of others, all while partnering with some of the most passionate and purpose-driven people on the globe. We are excited about moving forward and making a difference for lasting change and transformation.
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Revamping/Overseeing Children's Ministry for a local church
Itinerant speaker/teacher conducting Life Empowerment and Professional Development seminars
2009 - Ms. Samuel accepts the challenge to establish a regional outreach presence of a world-wide organization covering five different states.
2010 - By strategically focusing on the at-risk areas of the Greater Dallas, Ms. Samuel partners with some of the city's top children after-school and out-of-school programs to reach children for character and spiritual development.
2015 - Ms. Samuel forms partnernership with The Mentoring Alliance of East Texas to reach over 700 children and 20+ staffers through the Boy's and Girls Clu.
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E CAMP WASLight The Way International w/ Sonja Samuel@ 2017
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I'm a writer, editor, and podcast producer. I’m looking for new opportunities to help shape stories in print and audio, and beyond.
Lately, I’ve been working with Hello Sunshine to produce season one of My Best Break-Up. I’ve also been working with Bloomberg to produce a series about health care innovation called Prognosis. And I’ve been editing scripts for Wondery’s American Innovations podcast.
Previously I worked as a podcast producer at Panoply. While there, I worked on Why Oh Why, When Meghan Met Harry, Bad With Money with Gaby Dunn, Family Ghosts, and Broken Record.
Before that, I was a magazine writer and editor. I covered events like SXSW and CES, managed sections of a print magazine, launched a podcast and animated video series, and wrote on topics including business, innovation, architecture, science, and technology.
You can find me on Twitter (@LindseyKrat) or reach me via email at LindseyKrat[at]gmail[dot]com.
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Controversial Philippine cybercrime law suspended
Posted By Steve Porter on October 10, 2012
The controversial cybercrime law has been suspended by the Philippines’ top court after numerous protests were made because it affects freedom of speech.
Earlier this month as covered by our blog post here, we discussed the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 which came into power.
It was made with good intent to help prevent online child pornography, identity theft, and spamming as all these issues raised “legitimate concerns” about criminal and abusive behaviour online. The act is also designed to prevent cybersex, defined as sexually explicit chat over the internet – often involving “cam girls” performing sexual acts in front of webcams for internet clients. But after recent protests a 120-day suspension to revise the law is now in place.
A total of 15 petitions were filed to the Supreme Court questioning the legality of the law. As of now there is a temporary restraining order preventing the act from being enforced. The maximum punishment for breaking the Cybercrime Law was punishable by up to 12 years in jail.
Even though there is a temporary suspension, protests to continue as the legislation could be used to target government critics and crack down on freedom of speech. Under the new act, a person found guilty of libellous comments online, including comments made on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter or blogs, could be fined or jailed. Government officials would also have had new powers to search and seize data from people’s online accounts.
In a statement, Human Rights Watch’s Asia director Brad Adams welcomed the move by the court, but urged it to “now go further by striking down this seriously flawed law”.
Tags: 12 year prison sentence, Black Avatars, Black Squares, Brad Adams, child pornography, controversial law suspended, Controversial Philippine cybercrime law, cybercrime, Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, cybersex, Facebook, free speech, freedom of speech, Hacking Government Websites, human rights, identity theft, Philippines, Philippines high court, September 12, spamming, suspended, Twitter
Controversial Philippine cybercrime law takes effect.
Posted By Steve Porter on October 3, 2012
In recent news a new controversial law developed in the hopes of combating against cybercrime in the Philippines has come into effect. With it’s pass it has raised countless protests and concerns from citizens and media alike fearing censorship.
Named as the “Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012” it was signed last month on September 12 by the Filipino president. It’s intent is to try and stop cybersex, online child pornography, identity theft and spamming according to governmental officials. But the part which people are protesting against is the 12 year prison sentence which comes along side it.
“Questions have been raised about the constitutionality of certain provisions of the act. We recognise and respect efforts not only to raise these issues in court, but to propose amendments to the law in accordance with constitutional processes”
The act has been reported of have had at least eight large court cases raised already from large groups challenging its constitutionality and have been filed against the Philippines high court. Fears continued to rise about it being used by the government to crack down on critics freedom of speech. Under the new act, a person found guilt of libellous comments online, including comments made on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter or blogs, could be fined or jailed. But despite efforts made by protesters the act took place.
The turmoil that has been created because of this Act have lead activists to hacking into government websites, large social media campaigns being support across the globe with journalists holding rallies and citizens blacking out their social media avatars on Facebook and Twitter.
With the added power from the Government to search and seize any data from people’s online accounts, it has been questioned by numerous groups including a US-based Human Rights watch saying it is a clear violation of free speech.
“The cybercrime law needs to be repealed or replaced,” said the group’s Asia director, Brad Adams.
“It violates Filipinos’ rights to free expression and it is wholly incompatible with the Philippine government’s obligations under international law.”
The full Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 can be found here
Tags: 12 year prison sentence, Black Avatars, Black Squares, Brad Adams, child pornography, Controversial Philippine cybercrime law, cybercrime, Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, cybersex, Facebook, free speech, freedom of speech, Hacking Government Websites, human rights, identity theft, Philippines, Philippines high court, September 12, spamming, Twitter
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CUSTOMER LOGIN | TRACKING
Surface Transportation
Supply-Chain Management
Final Mile/White Glove
Magno International Names Leroy O. Hughes, II as Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Miami, Fla., – Magno International, LP, a Minority-, Disabled- and Veteran-Owned global integrated logistics solutions company, today announced the appointment of LeRoy O. Hughes, II as Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing effective immediately. Mr. Hughes will report directly to Chris Monica, Magno International’s President. Mr. Hughes will be responsible for Magno’s global business development, marketing and brand management strategies.
Mr. Monica said, “We are fortunate to have a leader like LeRoy join our executive management team. He has outstanding and unique experience spanning sales, marketing and management. He’s run small and large teams throughout North America and has lead corporate training initiatives for a fortune 500 transportation company. His most recent experience has been as a Business Development Executive with one of the world’s largest consulting firms; we are confident this is the kind of transformational skill-set that will differentiate Magno in a crowded supply chain market.” Raul Pedraza, CEO and Founder of Magno added, “More than anything, LeRoy brings to Magno a track record of success which we’re confident he’ll convert to innovative, sustainable and mutually rewarding solutions for our customers and all Magno stakeholders.”
Mr. Hughes has over 26 years of sales, marketing, and customer service experience. He is a skilled sales trainer and facilitator, and is proficient in various sales processes. Mr. Hughes was most recently with EY in Southern California. He began in their Cleveland office as the Business Development Operations Leader in 2006. He managed a team of 23 professionals that developed/executed the external marketing, events, marketing research, and proposals for EY in Eastern Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Western Pennsylvania. He joined EY’s Southern California consulting practice as a Business Development Executive in 2009. Prior to joining EY, Mr. Hughes spent 15 years in the transportation industry with a Fortune 500 logistics provider in various sales, management, and marketing positions.
Mr. Hughes was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, CA and pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of San Diego (USD). He received his Bachelor of Business Administration from USD in 1990 and earned his Master of Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University in 2006.
LeRoy is a member of several networking organizations and has served as an advisory board member for a LA-based not for profit organization, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). LeRoy will be domiciled in Magno’s offices in Houston, TX.
Houston Astros Ring Ceremony April 30, 2018
Magno International Names Leroy O. Hughes, II as Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing October 3, 2017
Magno International Names Nelson Bettencourt, III as Vice President, Domestic Services July 11, 2016
Address: 1500 Rankin Road, Houston, TX 77073
Email: marketing@magnointl.com
Copyright © 2018 Magno International | Site by: IRONA
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By H. Rider Haggard
King Solomon’s Mines, first published in 1885, was a best-selling novel by the Victorian adventure writer H. Rider Haggard. It relates a journey into the heart of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain in search of the legendary wealth said to be concealed in the mines of the novel’s title. It is significant as the first fictional adventure novel set in Africa, and is considered the genesis of the Lost World literary genre. – Haggard wrote over 50 books, among which were 14 novels starring Allan Quatermain.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/h-rider-haggard/king-solomons-mines/ebook/product-20855197.html
king solomons mines
h rider haggard
fabulist
adventure novel
More From H. Rider Haggard
Allan Quatermain By H. Rider Haggard eBook:
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Search Results: 'Suffolk'
222 results for "Suffolk"
Identity By Tracy Watson-Brown
A third volume from Suffolk based, Yorkshire born poet Tracy Watson-Brown.
The Impact of the 19th Century Fossil Diggings on the Church By Bernard O'Connor
In the mid-1840s a new industry started in southeast Suffolk, that of digging fossils. Known as 'coprolites', some thought them to be fossilised dinosaur droppings. Rich in phosphate they were much... More > in demand by the nation's manure manufacturers. By the 1846s the diggings had spread to Cambridgeshire, hertfordshire, bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Many thousands of men and women, boys and girls, got well-paid work in the pits but there were issues of in-migration, overcrowding and drunkenness. This book investigates the impact of the diggings on the church and its attempts to alleviate the social problems.< Less
American Traces in Anglian Places By Phil W Kaufman
Phil Kaufman is an American author and 28 year resident of East Anglia. This is his book depicting 16 East Anglian churches in Constable country each with important American connections. With lovely... More > color photos and an essay about the history and American connection of each it was inspired by the author's annual Christmas cards to friends and family over the past 16 years.< Less
Saxmundham Beauty Spot and Butterflies By Monty
"God gave all men all earth to love, but since our hearts are small, ordained for each one spot should prove beloved over all." Kipling
The Cat House By Gillian Bence-Jones
The Cat House selected poems by Gillian Bence-Jones. GILLIAN BENCE-JONES is a landowner, poet and writer living and farming in East Anglia. She is a great, great, great, great niece of Jane Austin.... More > Her knowledge of history and love of nature is reflected in her work. She is the author of a series of historical novels, the first of which THE BISHOP,S WIFE is to be published in the spring of 2015.< Less
Exploring Southold Town From West To East By John D'Angelo
In the summer of 2010, John D'Angelo traveled the length of the north fork of Long Island, New York. He wrote about the history of the area and included over 100 photographs of every hamlet and... More > village from Laurel to Orient Point, Long Island. His journal contains high quality color pictures of farms,vineyards, beaches and village centers in Adobe PDF format for downloading to your computer. Take a relaxing trip along the north fork and visit the last vestiges of New England on Long Island.< Less
Reg Has A Secret By Christine Eves
A warm tale of a real life group of animals that live together in Suffolk. They all have different characteristics but fit together in a wonderful circle of friendship.
The Storyteller Tales Blog By Greg Weston
The Storyteller Tales is a Blog started in August 2008 by Suffolk Children's author, Greg Weston. Many of his stories are serialised on the Blog and it's also an opportunity to dip into some of his... More > unpublished tales and his thoughts and experiences of the ups and downs of writing. Please do click below and take a look around! Or have a look at the extract of the Blog in the download. Click to enter the Blog... Click to enter the Shop...< Less
History of the Sixteenth Connecticut Volunteers By B. F. Blakeslee
This publication traces the history of the 16th CT Volunteer Infantry Regiment throughout the Civil War, from its formation in 1862 to its engagements at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Suffolk,... More > Portsmouth, Richmond, and Plymouth. The author, who was Second Lieutenant of Company G of the 16th CT Volunteers, also provides vivid descriptions of what prison life was like for the regiment's officers and enlisted men.< Less
Lord Sherborne By E. K. Vyhmeister
According to family lore, the author was descended from a Lord Sherborne in England. For years, the author tried to find information about the Lords of Sherborne to no avail, the family was... More > apparently extinct. However, using the internet, the author uncovered the Sherborne secret and proved his family’s relationship to the Lords of Sherborne. The author surprisingly finds himself descended over 100 times from the Kings of England and from other notables, including the Howard family, Earls of Suffolk & Berkshire. Most surprising genealogical discovery: that he is a 6th cousin, once-removed, of the former Princess Diana of Wales, and 7th cousin to Princes William and Harry Windsor. So take a genealogical walk back in time to the days when the sons of the blood royal were forbidden to marry the daughters of common men, when class distinctions mattered more than true love, when a toddler was wrenched away from a father that might have loved him but for the customs of the day…and discover Lord Sherborne!< Less
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Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Muslim Cop's Lawsuit Attempts To Force Shari'a Compliance On Philadelphia Police Department
Muslim Cop's Lawsuit Attempts To Force Shari'a Compliance On Philadelphia Police Department
September 9, 2008 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - Attorneys for Kimberlie Webb, 44, a Philadelphia Muslim police officer, appeared before the Third U.S. District Court of Appeals today, arguing that she should be allowed to wear a religious head covering while on duty.
Compared to the much shorter hijab, the khimar covers a woman's hair, forehead, sides of the head, neck, shoulders, and chest, sometimes extending as far down as the calf.
Since 2003 Webb has been a source of conflict in the police department, having been found guilty of insubordination and neglect of duty, because of her refusal to stop wearing the khimar. This led to her being suspended for 13 days by police commissioner Sylvester Johnson, also a Muslim. Webb has also been disciplined for failure to maintain a valid driver's license and for improperly handling evidentiary material. [source, Kimberlie Webb vs City of Philadelphia, http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/07D0703P.pdf]
Webb;s Title VII federal lawsuit is alleging religious discrimination and retaliation. Her attorney, Jeffrey M. Pollock, told a packed court room that the case represented a "fundamental liberty right" and asked the judges whether wearing a scarf is, "such a violent religious symbol that we can't tolerate that?" He also attempted to make the case that according to police regulations it was legal to wear a scarf in cold weather prompting the judge to point out that Webb was appealing to wear her scarf even in "90 degrees."
City attorney, Eleanor Ewing maintained that the police department uniform policy was meant to maintain religious neutrality and stated that decisions on what officers are permitted to wear should rightfully be made by the police commissioner. Regulations regarding dress requirement for Philadelphia police officers is contained in Directive #78.
One heated point of dispute was an allegation by Webb's attorney that the police department had previously allowed officers to wear crosses and angel pins as well as ash on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday, prompting the judge to demand that specific instances be cited. Given the opportunity, Mr. Pollock was unable to provide evidence in substantiation of his claim.
A decision on the matter is expected in 30-90 days.
The backdrop against which this case plays out is important. Officer Webb's campaign - supported by the Islamist group CAIR - is clearly an attempt to use the courts to force the Philadelphia Police Department to become Shari'a compliant and must be understood in context; as a component of the stealth jihad, a plan laid out by the Muslim Brotherhood. So important are such cases to CAIR's thuggish agenda of Islamizing America that it was the party which sought out Webb's attorneys and contacted the ACLU for additional assistance.
"In June of 2007 Officer Webb sought the assistance of the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. CAIR was able to locate two pro-bono attorneys for Officer Webb; Mr. Jeffrey M. Pollock, a partner with Fox Rothschild, LLP and Professor Seval Yildirim from Whittier Law School in California. These two attorneys worked diligently for months to prepare Officer Webb's appeal. CAIR also simultaneously contacted numerous organizations to rally support for Officer Webb's case. One of those organizations, the ACLU-PA, was able to find attorneys, Mr. Frank Magaziner and Mr. John Ghose of Dechert LLP, who also worked diligently to prepare an amicus brief on behalf of all the supporting organizations." [source, http://pa.cair.com/index.php?Page=case-webb-history&Side=crights]
Joining with CAIR [an unindicted co-conspirator in the U.S. vs Holy Land Foundation Hamas terror funding prosecution] and the ACLU in this action are the usual suspects, the Islamic Society of North America [ISNA, also an unindicted co-conspirator in U.S. vs Holy Land] the Majlis Ash‘Shura of Philadelphia and Delaware Valley, the Muslim Alliance of North America, the Muslim American Society [MAS] and the Muslim Public Affairs Council [MPAC, who also supports admitted Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist Sami Al-Arian] as well as the American Muslim Law Enforcement Officers Association. [source, http://pa.cair.com/index.php?Page=case-webb-orgs&Side=crights] http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=webbid=9.9.08%2Ehtm
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South Africa; Year in Review (2016)
Tags: south africa, mining, downgrades, economy, south african reserve bank, stats sa
South Africa’s economy faced another challenging year in 2016, as soft commodity prices, slow domestic demand and an uncertain political outlook combined to limit growth, with prospects for the coming year expected to be only somewhat more positive.
Possible downgrade Allegations of mismanagement by President Jacob Zuma and uncertainty over economic policy continued to impact growth through 2016, causing two leading ratings agencies to put the government on notice of a possible downgrade in the new year. On November 25 Moody’s and Fitch issued statements saying that while there were leaving South Africa’s bond rating at “Baa2” and “BBB-”, respectively, the economy’s outlook had been revised to negative.
While leaving South Africa’s rating untouched, Fitch warned that continued political instability that adversely affects standards of governance, the economy or public finances could lead to a downgrade. In its statement, Moody’s said the negative outlook recognised the downside risks associated with political uncertainty and low business confidence as well as the challenging external environment characterised by low growth, investment and trade. Slow growth, weak demand Low growth was also a factor in the central bank’s decision late in the year to leave its policy rates unchanged.
Citing weak demand, the South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB) held its key rates at its last monetary policy committee meeting for the year, in late November. The bank kept its repo rate at 7%, the same level as it has been since March, while the prime lending rate, as charged by banks, was maintained at 10.5%.
One factor that stopped the SARB easing rates was inflation. This began edging up in the fourth quarter, with the consumer price index running at 6.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) in November, according to data issued by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) in mid-December. That figure was the highest since the 7% recorded in February, at a time when food prices were being pushed up due to drought, and overshoots SARB’s projected full-year inflation range of 3 - 6%.
In late November Lesetja Kganyago, governor of the SARB, said it had revised its assessment for inflation, stating that while early in the year risks had been seen as being balanced, they were now moderately on the up-side. Along with leaving its rates untouched, the reserve bank left its forecast for GDP unchanged, forecasting growth of 0.4% for 2016, with the economy set to gain pace with expansion of 1.2% and 1.6% over the next two years.
The SARB’s growth estimates are moderately higher than those of the IMF for 2016 and 2017, though for the following year, the two forecasts converge. In its “World Economic Outlook” report issued at the end of October, the IMF projected South Africa’s GDP would expand by 0.012% in 2016, rising to 0.79% the next year and 1.6% in 2018.
Mining and manufacturing output fluctuates South Africa’s mining industry posted solid growth in August and September, with production up 10.6% and 3.4% y-o-y, respectively, according to a recent Stats SA report. However, this trend was reversed by a 2.6% contraction in October and a 4.2% decrease a month later.
Platinum metals led November’s slowdown, with output falling 10.8% y-o-y, while iron ore and gold posted decreases of 8.7% and 9.4%, respectively. The industry was buoyed by an agreement brokered in October between industry majors and unions on pay increases to avoid strike action – something that in 2014 resulted in the loss of $2bn worth of production.
In terms of manufacturing output, data from Stats SA also shows fluctuations during the latter half
of 2016, following a peak of 4.7% y-o-y growth in June. Recent figures show a 1.9% rise in
production in November, largely thanks to the strong performance of basic iron and steel, nonferrous metal goods and machinery products, which contributed one percentage point to expansion. Unemployment, meanwhile, grew in the latter part of 2016, reaching 27.1% of the workforce as of September, up from 26.6% in the second quarter. The fall in employment levels saw 5.9m South Africans out of work – an increase of 300,000 in three months – bringing the jobless rate to its highest level in 13 years.
While 288,000 jobs were added in the third quarter, the number of new workers entering the workforce did not compensate for those leaving it. The strongest growth was seen in the construction and agriculture sectors, which saw 104,000 and 56,000 new positions created, respectively.
This South Africa economic update was produced by Oxford Business Group.
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Active filter: Date: 2016 (x)
Preacher: Dr. Gary Benfold (67), Rev. Richard Baxter (29), Rev. Jonathan Stephen (2), Rev. John Rosser (2), Dr Chris Sinkinson (2), Edward Briggs (1), Rev. Jon Pearse (1), Rev. Roland Eskinazi (1). … (2 more)
Book: Genesis (3), Exodus (6), Deuteronomy (2), 1 Kings (1), 2 Chronicles (1), Psalm (9), Jeremiah (7), Ezekiel (1), Matthew (10), Mark (2), Luke (8), John (7), Acts (3), Romans (12), 1 Corinthians (2), 2 Corinthians (3), Galatians (13), Ephesians (1), Colossians (1), 1 Timothy (3), 2 Timothy (1), Hebrews (3), James (2), 1 Peter (3), Revelation (2). … (16 more)
Series: Christmas Services (2), He came, he saw, he conquered (3), 8 from 8 (8), Parables in Matthew 13 (4), New life, new life-style (6), Who Christ is for us (3), The beat of a different drum: 10 Commandments (2), God's word in times of trouble (7), The beat of a different drum: The Five Solas (5), Exodus: The God who... (5), Created in God's Image (3), Easter Services (2), Galatians: Faith, Fools and Fireworks (13), The beat of a different drum: The Apostles' Creed (11), Not part of a series (31). … (6 more)
Service: Sunday Morning (51), Sunday Evening (50), Carols to midnight (2), Good Friday (1), Christmas Day (1).
Date: January (10), February (8), March (9), April (8), May (10), June (8), July (10), August (8), September (8), October (10), November (8), December (8)
He conquered
Luke 1:52 (Series: He came, he saw, he conquered).
Preached by Dr. Gary Benfold on 25/12/2016 (Christmas Day).
The Greatest Message
Luke 2:10 (Series: Christmas Services).
Preached by Dr. Gary Benfold on 24/12/2016 (Carols to midnight).
Christmas: past, present & future
John 1:1-18 (Series: Christmas Services).
Preached by Rev. Richard Baxter on 18/12/2016 (Sunday Evening).
He Saw
Preached by Dr. Gary Benfold on 18/12/2016 (Sunday Morning).
Sing a Song of Christmas
Luke 1:46-56 (Series: Not part of a series).
Preached by Dr. Gary Benfold on 11/12/2016 (Sunday Evening).
He came
Psalm 19:1-14 (Series: Not part of a series).
Preached by Edward Briggs on 04/12/2016 (Sunday Evening).
In him
Ephesians 1:7 (Series: Not part of a series).
Preached by Rev. Richard Baxter on 04/12/2016 (Sunday Morning).
The fear of the Lord
Not even death
Romans 8:38 (Series: 8 from 8).
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Toyota Financial Services continues its sponsorship of the SAGMJ Motoring Journalist of the Year competition
Johannesburg. Toyota Financial Services South Africa (TFSSA), which joined forces with the SA Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ) as headline sponsor of the Guild’s prestigious “Motoring Journalist of the Year” competition in 2013, has reaffirmed its support of the competition and its ongoing sponsorship.
The SAGMJ’s Motoring Journalist of the Year competition seeks to recognise excellence in motoring journalism and photography and to honour journalists and photographers who inform, enlighten and entertain readers, listeners or viewers. The SAGMJ believes that, through the presentation of these awards, its members will aspire to improve and advance the quality and standards of motoring journalism and photography in South Africa.
“A panel of independent judges, who are considered experts in their respective fields, adjudicates the competition and provides commentary and feedback on each entrant’s work so that the end result is not just a win or lose situation, but one where each entrant is equipped with advice that could positively influence his or her future work,” says Christo Valentyn, Chairman of the SAGMJ and convenor of the competition since 2011.
This year’s competition sees the consistent improvements implement over the past three years paying dividends, with more entries than before and additional categories included in order to recognise and reward excellence across the ever-growing sphere of motoring journalism. “Last year we introduced several new categories to the competition and welcomed several new award sponsors to the MJOY fold”, says Valentyn. “This year, we are especially proud of our continued relationship with TFS South Africa, as well as the numerous other sponsors who support the competition. We’ve also added a category focussed specifically on motorcycling, which we believe will grow significantly in coming years.”
“Toyota Financial Services South Africa is once again delighted to be the headline sponsor of the SAGMJ Motoring Journalist of the Year competition for a second year running. We firmly believe that it is important to recognise only the crème de la crème of the SAGMJ but also the role and involvement that each and every member of the SAGMJ plays in the South African motor industry,” says Derek Leach, General Manager Sales & Marketing at TFSSA.
details about the support sponsors and numerous prizes that will be awarded this year will be communicated in the coming weeks as preparations for the gala awards function intensify.
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The Things I Hear
Ed spent two hours with 7 Legos making all manner of shooting and Star Wars type noises during Stake Conference.
Jessie told me I am the "Best Butt Wiper Ever."
We like to play 20 questions in the car. Ed, as is his tendancy in Hide N' Seek as well, just cannot stand the suspense and will give us "hints." We knew it was a thing, it was red, and it was a circle. He says, "Okay, here is a hint. It's the red light bulb that's in the back of the car that makes the lights shine red!"
Yesterday Will started talking to me about something (I have no idea what. That boy!) But he is talking and talking and talking, with no end in sight. That's what he does when he has designed something in his head. He talks it all out, FOREVER. I needed to tell a grown up something, so I told him to hold on a minute. He kept talking. So I put my hand over his mouth, said the quick thing I needed to say (while his mouth was still moving and words were coming out), took my hand off his mouth, and viola: Will was STILL yacking about his invention and all the materials he would need, and what if this was changed or........... on........and.........on.........and...............on.
Kacy delcared yesterday that since middle schoolers are so mean, she is going to grow up and be a nice middle schooler. "Of course, I won't be riding the bus by then, but still."
Hear this: Our bus stop is being cut. Did I mention that? Because my family is six miles from the next closest family and it costs the school district thousands (I think it's around $13,000) a year to get my kids to and from school. With the govenor's proposed budget cut for 2013 of eliinating funding for school transportion, and with the recent cut in ADA money, this is one way for the district to save money. SOOOOO.... I will be driving 40 miles a day to take my kids to and from school. It's that, or drive 20 miles a day to a bus stop out in the middle of nowhere. Literally- no houses. The closest housing is this compound/business where Ryan has arrested people. Two strikes! On the plus side, this new schedule will allow me to wake up early, work out and shower, and THEN get the kids up without having to start my day at a dark and cold 5:00am. Because I DON'T wake up that early. It's DARK! There isn't a street light for a good 30 miles from my house. So I just don't wake up. My lack of exercise is showing. (Enter Pearl, the ACD puppy who has two speeds: 90 MPH and asleep. Boo-yah! Got myself a running buddy!) Anyway, this may make our mornings a little better if I can have more endorphins and be clean and the kids don't have to wake up so early. I can also have daily contact with the teachers if needed. There are many negatives to having to do this, but I'm trying not to think about them. I will say I did again contemplate homeschooling for a few minutes. Then I remembered why I won't do it (yet- never say never!).
I heard about a shoot out. Saturday night Ryan never came home. I happened to be up with Pearl for the millionth time that night, so I called him at 5:50am. Just to see if he was planning on coming home, you know. I don't worry about him, because he has assured me that if anything were to happen to him, I would be called right away. I was thinking he arrested someone and had to take them to jail. Instead, he told me a friend of his, who is a Sherrif's officer, got into a shootout. No one was hit, so that was good. The incident took place an hour away from anyone. Ryan was first on scene as back up, and he made it in 45 minutes. It also happened on a different family friend's property- crazy. Anyway, it's a little scary, and I can only imagine what was going through Ryan's head as he was driving up and over and around the mountains to get to his friend. I know the guy, and just in that split secone between being told "Shotwell was in a shooting." and "No one got hurt." I couldn't help but think of him, his woman, and his infant. Does it make me worry about Ryan? Not a bit. It's just a nice little reminder to appreciate those really boring days.
Right now I hear the rain, and pretty soon it will stop and turn to snow, because it's 36* outside. Friday was 75, and now it's 36. What a wacky winter!
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Trump Criticizes Lesbian Soccer Star Megan Rapinoe Over Refusal To Visit White House
President Donald Trump has criticized out soccer star Megan Rapinoe for saying that she would not visit the White House if the national team wins the World Cup.
Rapinoe was asked whether she was excited to visit the White House if her team wins.
“I'm not going to the fucking White House,” Rapinoe told an Eight by Eight reporter in January, though video from the interview was only released this week. “No, I'm not going to the White House. We're not gonna be invited. I doubt it.”
In an interview last month with Sports Illustrated, Rapinoe said that she would “absolutely not” visit the White House.
“I am not going to fake it, hobnob with the president, who is clearly against so many of the things that I am [for] and so many of the things that I actually am,” she said. “I have no interest in extending our platform to him.”
Rapinoe has previously described herself as a “walking protest” to the Trump administration's policies.
The 33-year-old Rapinoe was among the professional athletes who showed support for football player Colin Kaepernick's social justice protests in 2016. Rapinoe knelt during the national anthem before a game once a month in solidarity with Kaepernick.
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Board Members Take Oath of Office, 2018 Organizational Business Set
2018 Orange Board of Education: Mrs. Deborah Kamat, Mrs. Beth Wilson-Fish (Vice President), Mr. Jeffrey Leikin, Mrs. Melanie Weltman (President), and Dr. Rebecca Boyle.
In January 2018, the Orange Schools Board of Education completed its annual Organizational Business. Taking their Oath of Office were newly elected Dr. Rebecca Boyle and Mrs. Deborah Kamat and re-elected Mr. Jeffrey Leikin. The Board also approved the appointment of Mrs. Melanie Weltman and Mrs. Beth Wilson-Fish as its President and Vice President, respectively.
Dr. Boyle is a the mother of two children who currently attend the Orange Schools. She, her husband Jim and their children have lived in Orange Village for 13 years. She is a member of the Orange Boosters and is a classroom volunteer. She holds multiple college degrees including a Ph.D. in Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy.
Mrs. Kamat has two children who graduated from Orange High School. She and her husband have resided in Orange Village for 22 years. She has been a parent volunteer for Orange Athletics, Destination Imagination, Stagecrafters, Expect Respect, and a local Brownie troop. She has dedicated her life to education by serving as a public school teacher, a private school board member, and an attorney and mediator for the U.S. Department of Education.
Mr. Leikin has lived in the Orange Community for more than 25 years and is a 1977 graduate of Orange High School. He and his wife have three children in the Orange Schools. He is a lifetime member of the Orange Alumni Association and a member of Orange Boosters. He has coached Orange youth sports. He earned a college degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a Juris Doctorate from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.
Mrs. Weltman joined the Board in 2013. She has resided in the Orange School District for almost 39 years including the past 13 years with her husband Mr. Scott Weltman and their three children who graduated from Orange High School. She is also an Orange High School graduate. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law.
Mrs. Wilson-Fish joined the Board in 2016. She and her husband Tom Fish have resided in Moreland Hills for more than 13 years. Her daughter is a graduate of Orange High School. Beth has 31 years of experience in education, which includes 17 years serving the students of the Orange Schools, including three years as a gifted intervention specialist at Moreland Hills Elementary School and four years as the District’s Gifted Coordinator before retiring in 2014.
Other organizational meeting news:
The Board also approved appointments to the 2018 District committees.
Academic Committee - Mrs. Weltman and Mrs. Kamat
Audit and Finance Committee - Mrs. Weltman and Mr. Leikin
Buildings and Grounds Committee - Mr. Leikin and Mrs. Wilson-Fish
Communications Committee - Mrs. Wilson-Fish and Dr. Boyle
Policy Committee - Dr. Boyle and Mrs. Kamat
Approval was given to the regular meeting schedule for the calendar year 2018. The meeting schedule is posted on the District website calendar and in the right column of the Board of Education webpage.
Appointments to the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) were approved. Mr. Leikin will serve as a delegate at the OSBA annual conference with Mrs. Weltman as an alternate. Dr. Boyle will serve as a legislative liaison to OSBA while Mrs. Wilson-Fish will serve as the student achievement liaison.
Board Liaisons were chosen for various school-related organizations and groups:
Curriculum Advisory Council - Mrs. Weltman and Mrs. Kamat
Orange Community Education and Recreation - Dr. Boyle and Mrs. Kamat
Orange Schools Foundation - Mrs. Wilson-Fish and Mr. Leikin
Orange Boosters - Mr. Leikin and Dr. Boyle
Orange Patronaires - Mrs. Kamat and Mrs. Weltman
Orange Elementary/Middle School PTA - Mr. Leikin and Mrs. Weltman
OHS PTA - Mr. Leikin and Mrs. Weltman
Orange Alumni Association - Mrs. Wilson-Fish and Mrs. Weltman
The Board of Education also re-adopted existing bylaws and policies.
View photos from the Board's Organizational Meeting.
Visit the Board of Education webpage
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No plans for Mournes ambulance base
michael.scott@newrydemocrat.com
Tuesday 23 October 2018 9:23
THE Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) does not have any plans to set up a deployment point in the Mournes area.
Brian McNeill, the Director of Operations for the NIAS, was responding to a number of questions put to the organisation by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDC).
At last night's (Monday) special meeting of NMDC in Downpatrick, where councillors heard a number of responses from the NIAS, it was also revealed that the average response time to a Category A 999 call (potentially immediately life threatening) in Newry/South Down (BT34) was 17 minutes and 55 seconds, while it was 13 minutes and 16 seconds in Newry/South Armagh (BT35).
The Chief Executive of NMDC Liam Hannaway, wrote to the NIAS on October 1, asking a number of questions regarding ambulance transport issues, educational issues and services.
Responding to whether or not it was possible to set up a satellite depot in the Mournes area and south Armagh area, Mr McNeill explained that there is currently a deployment point in Crossmaglen but there are no plans to set one up in the Mournes.
“NIAS completed a Demand Capacity Review in August 2017,” he explained. “That review predicted a regional increase in demand of 16.4% from 2016 to 2021.
“That is an average of 3.2% per year increase in demand for ambulance services regionally.”
It was predicted that calls will increase to 20,144 in the NMDC district in 2021 compared to the 16,841 that were made in 2016.
The NIAS acknowledged that there are delays in patient handover at Emergency Departments during busy periods and revealed that of the 644 patients brought to Daisy Hill's ED in August, 40% were handed over within the 30 minute target.
Of the 644 patients, 38 of those were handed over in less than 15 minutes, 218 in 15 to 30 minutes, 245 in 30 to 45 minutes, 96 in 45 to 60 minutes, 41 in one to two hours, five in two to three hours and one in three hours or more.
The council expressed concern at the career path of a paramedic in the NMDC area but the NIAS revealed that there are currently no paramedic vacancies in both Newry and Kilkeel but are currently engaged in recruiting 48 paramedics, 96 emergency medical technicians and 96 patient care staff.
The NIAS also confirmed that there is a memorandum of understanding in place with the Republic of Ireland's National Ambulance Service which facilitates collaborative working between both services in the event of a major incident and extends to co-support during normal business.
To read the NIAS' answers in full visit http://www.newrymournedown.org/media/uploads/Special_Council_22-10-2018(1).pdf
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Previous (Transcendental idealism)
Next (Transcription (genetics))
Transcendentalism was a group of new ideas in literature, religion, culture, and philosophy that emerged in New England in the early to mid-nineteenth century. It is sometimes called American Transcendentalism to distinguish it from other uses of the word transcendental.
1 Unitarianism and the Transcendentalists
2 Thought
5 Other meanings of transcendentalism
5.1 Transcendental idealism
5.2 Transcendental theology
Transcendentalism began as a protest against the general state of culture and society at the time, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard and the doctrine of the Unitarian church, which was taught at Harvard Divinity School. Among Transcendentalists' core beliefs was an ideal spiritual state which "transcends" the physical and empirical and is only realized through the individual's intuition, rather than through the doctrines of established religions. Prominent Transcendentalists included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Bronson Alcott, Orestes Brownson, William Ellery Channing, Frederick Henry Hedge, Theodore Parker, George Putnam, and Sophia Peabody, the wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne. For a time, Peabody and Hawthorne lived at the Brook Farm Transcendentalist utopian commune.
Unitarianism and the Transcendentalists
As early as the second and third centuries, a view of God as a unity and the suggestion that Jesus was human and not a deity emerged in the doctrines of monarchianism and the teachings of Arius, later declared heretical by the Church. During the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, certain rationalists revived the Platonic emphasis on reason and the unity of God, and the Socinians emphasized the humanity of Jesus. British and American Unitarianism originated from Calvinism and an increasingly scientific view of the universe, which inspired more liberal clergy to emphasize reason and morals. It developed into a religious movement that stressed the use of reason in religion, and denied the divinity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity. American transcendentalism emerged in New England Congregationalist churches that rejected the eighteenth century revival movement in favor of moderation, reason, and morals. In 1787, the Anglican King’s Chapel, which had been abandoned by its British rector after the American Revolution in 1776, became Unitarian. In 1825, the creation of the American Unitarian Association, under the leadership of William Ellery Channing (1780–1842), made what had previously been a liberal wing of Congregationalism into a separate denomination.
During the first decade of the nineteenth century, Unitarians predominated over Harvard with the election of Rev. Henry Ware Sr. as Hollis Professor of Divinity in 1805, and of Rev. John Thornton Kirkland as President in 1810. The younger Transcendentalists were educated at Harvard, and it was there that they began to protest against the state of intellectualism at the university and the doctrine of the Unitarian church which was taught at Harvard Divinity School. Unitarianism had encouraged the individual to exercise intellect and free conscience in a quest for divine meaning, and Transcendentalism was a natural consequence for those who were not satisfied with sobriety, mildness, and calm rationalism and sought a more intense spiritual experience. As Minister at the Second Church in Boston, Emerson, publicly rejected the practice of the Lord’s Supper in 1832, and left his pastorate, renouncing what he termed the "corpse-cold Unitarianism of Brattle Street and Harvard College." In 1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson concluded his Harvard Phi Beta Kappa Address, The American Scholar, with these words:
We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds. The study of letters shall be no longer a name for pity, for doubt, and for sensual indulgence. The dread of man and the love of man shall be a wall of defense and a wreath of joy around all. A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men.
Some scholars depict Unitarianism as a bridge between Calvinism, which had conceived of religion, in part, as humanity's quest to discover its place in the divine scheme, and the means of spiritual regeneration; and Transcendentalism. By abandoning the notion of original sin and human imperfectability, Unitarianism prepared for the possibility that man could live in joy and wonder, without self-accusation. The Transcendentalists believed that finding God depended on inner striving toward spiritual communion with the divine spirit.
The Transcendentalists drew their inspiration from many sources: Platonism and Neoplatonism; Indian and Chinese scriptures; the writings of mystics such as Emanuel Swedenborg and Jakob Böhme; the post-Kantian idealism of Thomas Carlyle and Victor Cousin; and German and English Romanticism as expressed in the literature of Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Goethe. Under these influences, the Transcendentalists developed their ideas of human "Reason," or intuition, and made a distinction between “true reason” and a merely analytic understanding.
Transcendentalism began as a protest against the general state of culture and society of the time, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard and the doctrine of the Unitarian church which was taught at Harvard Divinity School. Among Transcendentalists' core beliefs was an ideal spiritual state, which transcends the physical and empirical and is only realized through the individual's intuition, rather than through the logical deduction or the doctrines of established religions. They emphasized the essential unity of all creation and the innate goodness of humanity, which they believed would manifest itself if given the freedom to do so.
Like the Romantics, the Transcendentalists believed that subjective intuition was at least as reliable a source of truth as the empirical investigation which underlay both deism and the natural theology of the Unitarians. In 1833, Frederic Henry Hedge, once professor of logic at Harvard and now minister in West Cambridge, published an article in The Christian Examiner, entitled "Coleridge," explaining and defending the Romantic/Kantian philosophy, and proposing that a correspondence existed between internal human reality and external spiritual reality.[1] The Transcendentalists desired to ground their religion and philosophy in transcendental principles which were not based on, or falsifiable by, the experience of the physical senses, but derived from the inner, spiritual or mental essence of the human. Immanuel Kant had called "all knowledge transcendental which is concerned not with objects but with our mode of knowing objects." The Transcendentalists, largely unacquainted with German philosophy in the original, relied primarily on the writings of Thomas Carlyle, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Victor Cousin, Germaine de Staël, and other English and French commentators for their knowledge of it. They were, however, well-acquainted with the ideas of the English Romantics, and the Transcendental movement may be partially described as a slightly later, American outgrowth of Romanticism. Another major influence was the mystical spiritualism of Emanuel Swedenborg.
The Transcendentalists also drew inspiration from Indian philosophy. Emerson read fully the available philosophic literature from India. In a letter to Max Mueller, Emerson wrote: "All my interest is in Marsh's Manu, then Wilkins' Bhagavat Geeta, Burnouf's Bhagavat Purana, and Wilson's Vishnu Purana, yes, and few other translations. I remember I owed my first taste for this fruit to Cousin's sketch, in his first lecture, of the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna and I still prize the first chapters of the Bhagavat as wonderful."[2] Thoreau was fascinated by Sir William Jones' translation of The Laws of Manu,which he found and read in Emerson's library. Thoreau read the Dharma Sastra in 1841, when he was twenty-four, and had the Bhagavad Gita with him during his stay by Walden Pond.[3]
In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavat Geeta, since whose composition years of the gods have elapsed, and in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial; and I doubt if that philosophy is not to be referred to a previous state of existence, so remote is its sublimity from our conceptions. I lay down the book and go to my well for water, and lo! there I meet the servant of the Brahmin, priest of Brahma, and Vishnu and Indra, who still sits in his temple on the Ganges reading the Vedas, or dwells at the root of a tree with his crust and water-jug. I meet his servant come to draw water for his master, and our buckets as it were grate together in the same well. The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges.
The publication of Emerson's 1836, essay Nature is usually taken to be the watershed moment at which Transcendentalism became a major cultural movement. Emerson closed the essay by calling for a revolution in human consciousness to emerge from the new idealist philosophy:
So shall we come to look at the world with new eyes. It shall answer the endless inquiry of the intellect—What is truth? and of the affections—What is good? by yielding itself passive to the educated Will. … Build, therefore, your own world. As fast as you conform your life to the pure idea in your mind, that will unfold its great proportions. A correspondent revolution in things will attend the influx of the spirit.
In the same year, Transcendentalism became a coherent movement with the founding of the Transcendental Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on September 8, 1836, by prominent New England intellectuals including George Putnam, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Frederick Henry Hedge. In 1840, Emerson and Margaret Fuller founded The Dial (1840–44), the magazine in which some of the best writings by minor Transcendentalists appeared.
The group was concentrated between 1830 and 1860 in Boston and Concord, Massachusetts, the home of many of the literary members such as Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, the Alcotts, Theodore Parker, Jones Very, Orrestes Brownson, George Ripley, James Freeman Clarke, the Peabody Sisters, and W.E. and W.H. Channing. However, the influence of Transcendentalism was far broader, reaching Walt Whitman in Brooklyn, Emily Dickinson in Amherst, and the Hudson River School of painters in New York.
The practical aims of the Transcendentalists were varied; some among the group linked it with utopian social change, such as Brownson, who associated it explicitly with early socialism, while others found it an exclusively individual and idealist project. In his 1842 lecture, "The Transcendentalist," Emerson suggested that the goal of a purely Transcendental outlook on life was impossible to attain in practice:
You will see by this sketch that there is no such thing as a Transcendental party; that there is no pure Transcendentalist; that we know of no one but prophets and heralds of such a philosophy; that all who by strong bias of nature have leaned to the spiritual side in doctrine, have stopped short of their goal. We have had many harbingers and forerunners; but of a purely spiritual life, history has afforded no example. I mean, we have yet no man who has leaned entirely on his character, and eaten angels' food; who, trusting to his sentiments, found life made of miracles; who, working for universal aims, found himself fed, he knew not how; clothed, sheltered, and weaponed, he knew not how, and yet it was done by his own hands. … Shall we say, then, that Transcendentalism is the Saturnalia or excess of Faith; the presentiment of a faith proper to man in his integrity, excessive only when his imperfect obedience hinders the satisfaction of his wish.
Transcendentalist ideas permeated American thought and art throughout much of the nineteenth century. The Transcendentalists stood at the center of the American Renaissance (roughly designated from 1835-1880) in literature, poetry, painting, sculpture, architecture, and music. The writings of the Transcendentalists laid the philosophical foundations for the work of contemporaries such as Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, who, though they did not embrace Transcendentalism, responded to the existential issues it raised.[4] Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a novel, The Blithedale Romance, satirizing the movement, and based it on his experiences at Brook Farm, a short-lived utopian community founded on Transcendental principles.
By rejecting the conventions of eighteenth century thought, the Transcendentalists initiated a critical examination of the whole established order. Many of them were leaders in humanitarian reform movements such as suffrage for women, better conditions for workers, temperance, modifications of dress and diet, the rise of free religion, and educational innovation. Some experimented with socialistic ideal communities, such Alcott’s Fruitlands and Ripley’s Brook Farm. The philosophy, aesthetics, and democratic aspirations of the Transcendentalists influenced the pragmatism of William James and John Dewey, the environmental planning of Benton MacKaye and Lewis Mumford, the architecture (and writings) of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, and the American “modernism” in the arts promoted by Alfred Stieglitz.
Other meanings of transcendentalism
Transcendental idealism
The term, transcendentalism is sometimes used to represent "transcendental idealism," which is the philosophy of Immanuel Kant and later Kantian and German Idealist philosophers.
Transcendental theology
Another alternative meaning for transcendentalism is the classical philosophy that God transcends the manifest world. John Scotus Erigena expressed this concept to the Frankish king Charles the Bald in 840, when he said, "We do not know what God is. God himself doesn't know what He is because He is not anything. Literally God is not, because He transcends being."
↑ Ian Frederick Finseth. American Transcendentalism. Retrieved October 20, 2007.
↑ Edward Waldo Emerson and Waldo Emerson Forbes, eds., Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 10 vols. 1909-1914 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin).
↑ Thoreau, Journal, 2.36.
↑ PBS, The American Renaissance & Transcendentalism. Retrieved October 20, 2007.
Barbour, Brian M. 1973. American Transcendentalism: An Anthology of Criticism. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press. ISBN 0268004927
Boller, Paul F. 1974. American Transcendentalism, 1830-1860: An Intellectual Inquiry. New York: Putnam.
Buell, Lawrence. 1973. Literary Transcendentalism: Style and Vision in the American Renaissance. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801407877
Gura, Philip F., and Joel Myerson. 1982. Critical Essays on American Transcendentalism. Boston: G.K. Hall. ISBN 0816184666
Thoreau, David. Thoreau Journal. Princeton Univ Press, 2007. ISBN 9780691065403
Versluis, Arthur. 1993. American Transcendentalism and Asian Religions. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195076583
All links retrieved December 15, 2015.
The Transcendentalist, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, A Lecture read at the Masonic Temple, Boston, January, 1842.
The web of American transcendentalism.
The Transcendentalists.
What Is Transcendentalism?.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry.
American Transcendentalism by Ian Frederick Finseth.
Transcendentalism history
History of "Transcendentalism"
Retrieved from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Transcendentalism&oldid=992756
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Russian Super Heroes
Russia is demanding that Bulgaria try harder to prevent vandalism of Soviet monuments, after a monument to Soviet troops in Sofia was spray-painted last year.
Grafitti artists transformed the soldiers in the monument into popular superheroes and cartoon characters, including Superman, The Joker, Santa Claus and Ronald McDonald.
The Russian Embassy in Bulgaria has issued a note demanding that its former Soviet-era ally clean up the monument in Sofia’s Lozenets district, identify and punish those responsible, and take “exhaustive measures” to prevent similar attacks in the future, the news agency reported.
https://www.resumesservicesreview.com/ link
I don't know if I will be happy seeing this graffiti on my wall. I know how to appreciate art; even graffiti is an art that I love, but this one has a different appeal on me. We should know our boundaries and standards when it comes to heroes. Heroes are those who make an effort for the sake of other people. Though some can be considered as fictional characters, considering them as real heroes might be quite confusing. We should never let it happen.
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Supporting your Local Theatre Scene
Supporting live theatre in your community does far more than simply cover the cost of putting on a production. The economic impact of allowing theatres the means to do what they do has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the local economy. The spin-off economic activity from having a theatre in your community will benefit local businesses, improve the standard of living and help to build a thriving cultural scene.
The numbers vary depending on which country or study you look at, but a quick Google search on “the economic impact of live theatre” yields a conservative consensus that for every dollar that is spent on a theatre ticket at least another 5 dollars are spent in the community, whether on dining, accommodations, or other pre and post show activities. Every single dollar. That means that even at a bargain-basement theatre ticket price of $10 another $50 in economic activity is being generated every time a ticket is sold. Given that theatre tickets are usually much more expensive, and given the sheer number of theatre companies and productions that may be operating in a given community, the economic benefits of supporting the local theatre scene become obvious.
But obviously it’s not just about dollars and cents. The positive social benefits of attending live theatre are enormous, second only to the positive social benefits of actually getting involved in the theatre and helping to bring shows to the stage. Whether it’s onstage or off, the personal growth and sense of accomplishment that comes with opening night is hard to find anywhere else. Theatre teaches new skills, it empowers those who are shy, it begins friendships that last a lifetime. People have found work, found joy, and even found love just by coming out and getting involved in a play. People who get involved in theatre have more confidence, are more comfortable speaking to and working with large groups of people, and on the whole tend to lead rich, diverse, healthy and fulfilling lives.
Local theatres often have plenty of opportunities for enthusiastic people with no prior experience to get involved, and it’s been where many future actors, directors, designers and technicians have gotten their starts. It has also become a true “second home” for many, again perhaps by being in shows, but sometimes just by volunteering as an usher, house manager or auxiliary crew member. For some people it’s simply the sense of ownership and pride that comes with entertaining others that is the most satisfying aspect of getting involved.
In supporting your local theatre you also be support the development of your national literary voice. If there’s a theatre in your community chances are there will be aspiring playwrights that surround it, even if the theatre isn’t intended as a place for developing new works. Poets, novelists and many other writers naturally gravitate to the creative environment of a theatre, as do visual artists and other people who are vital to a flourishing cultural industry.
It was Polish theatre director Jerry Grotowski, who said “all you really need for theatre to happen is an actor and an audience.” Supporting your local theatre scene doesn’t require a lot of time, energy or infusions of public cash. All you have to do is buy a ticket, and become that audience. If there’s a theatre in your community then it’s a given that the actors will be waiting for you there with open arms.
Support Local Theatre
Support your Local Arts Scene
How to get Noticed in your Local Art Scene
Theres Wonderful Theatre in your own Backyard
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#TBT: Bon Jovi’s “Always” is greatest 90’s video all-time
December 29, 2016 June 20, 2018 Mark Ortega
Hoping to make this a regular sort of thing: Throwback Thursday.
I’ve taken a look at some lists attempting to figure out the best ’90s music videos of all-time.
Aerosmith is on there a lot. Guns N Roses’ “November Rain,” Jamiroquai’s “Virtual Insanity,” and Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” are all common choices. Foo Fighters’ “Everlong,” and Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” are a couple other favorites. But one video consistently gets overlooked and forgotten about that I consider the best video from the ’90s ever: Bon Jovi’s video for “Always.”
The song was the lead single from their greatest hits record Crossroads. The video came at a time that hundreds of thousands of dollars were consistently pumped into the production of music videos, as I uncovered while reading I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution by Rob Tannenbaum. And this video had it all. Watch it below.
First of all, this video features a couple future stars in Carla Gugino — who I always had a crush on (Sin City, Entourage, Son in Law) and Keri Russell (Felicity, The Americans) as young actresses. It was directed by Marty Callner, who directed a lot of the ’90s hit videos Aerosmith put out, like “Love In An Elevator”, as well as heaps of concert documentaries.
It’s also got one of the most ridiculous plotlines of a music video ever. Here’s the breakdown:
Boy meets girl. Boy makes sex tape with girl. Boy cheats on girl with her roommate. Boy gets caught because she watches sex tape of him and her roommate. She runs out of the apartment and stumbles into a guy who brings her up to his ridiculous loft, then paints her nude. He’s gone when she wakes up in the morning. Girl calls cheating boy from earlier to come get her from the loft. Boy sees the painting of her and responds by committing arson on the other guy’s place, then flees to Mexico.
It really is a beautiful story — one that still haunts Keri Russell to this day.
“I was recently in a movie theater, and this young kid in the front was like ‘are you the girl in the green bra in the Bon Jovi video?’ I could have died,” Russell told Tarts in 2009.
It’s a video that should be remembered forever. So let’s relive its awesomeness.
#TBT: Soundgarden takes dark turn on “Pretty Noose”
#TBT: Get ready for a Craig David renaissance
The Angelenos Who Wake Up at Dawn to Dance
Goo Goo Dolls get sentimental on ‘Dizzy Up the Girl’ show at Palladium
Revisited: Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged aired 23 years ago
Revisit Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals’ 2003 Hollywood Bowl show ahead of Friday return
Features Mainbar Featured Revisited
90s Bon Jovi I love the '90s music videos Throwback Thursday
Help The Smell: Best Coast, Bleached play benefit
Best Music of 2016: Biggest Comebacks
ALBUM REVIEW: Night Moves find gold on ‘Can You Really Find Me’
Local Natives deliver special Elysian Park set to Spotify superfans
Foxwarren bring atmospheric rock vibes to Teragram
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Buttapietra, with its surface of 17.27 km², is located at an average altitude of 38 m above sea level. It is 13 km south of Verona. Its territory is enclosed, east to west, by the rivers Menago and Piganzo, both tributaries of the river Tartaro. The area is crossed by a network of small canals, originating in karst springs, locally known as "Sortie" (exits). Its presence of these canals dates back to the 15th century, when it watered the paddy fields and mills were used to harvest its energy. The substantial amount of surface water creates a local micro climate that moderates the extreme temperatures both in winter and summer. Its fractions are Bovo, Marchesino and Settimo Gallese, and it borders the Comuni of Castel d'Azzano, Isola della scala, Oppeano, San Giovanni Lupatoto, Vigasio and Verona.
Three different theories revolve around the origins of the name of Buttapietra. The first recalling the nature of the ground, pebbly and poor in humus, the second refers to the substantial amount of rocks due to the alluvial nature of the soil, the third speculates a connection with the name of the founder of the settlement.
The current inhabited centre origins in the late Middle Ages, when the noble family Campagna received a wide amount of lands south of Verona, as a reward for their services to the Scaligeri. The abundance of water, regulated under the administration of the Serenissima, gave a valuable push to agriculture and wealth, contributing to the prosperity of some noble families and the building of their villas, large manors and small but beautiful oratories. The fraction of Settimo di Gallese, at the seventh milestone from Verona, is placed on the Via Claudio-Augusta, a road initially built by Druso in 15 b.C. and which connected the centre of Ostiglia sul Po with the Adige Valley and Augsburg on Danube. Tombs, urns, coins, bronze and iron tools, ceramics and glass are the remains of the former Roman settlement called Zera. In 1416 Buttapietra entered the parsonage of Ca Campagna, a league of free Comuni, among them San Giovanni Lupatoto, Ca' di David, Castel d'Azzano, Vigasio and Sommacampagna, located in the fraction Ca' dei Macici. As granted by the Serenissima Repubblica of Venezia, since 1625, the towns affiliated to the parsonage have become autonomous. Buttapietra became a Comune in 1700, with 300 inhabitants. After the hardships of the unification of Italy and the world wars, the town finally recovered from its burdensome situation, looking for its own social and economical identity, despite its proximity to Verona.
In the fraction Bovo, around the 1400s, the noble family of the same name, built a stele and an oratory, where there is an altarpiece of Gobbini, a painting of Signorini, the "Salvatore che va al calvario" painted in the 1500 by Domenico Riccio, also known as Brusasorci and finally a lunette protraying "Iddio Padre" by Paolo Farinati dating back to the same century. Worth visiting is the peculiar church dedicated to San Carlo Borromeo, in Magnano. Around SS. Trinità there lies a rather well preserved palazzo. Throughout the 1500s the oratory of Sant'Anna in corte Piombazzo and the primary structure of the parish were built. The latter was renewed a couple of centuries later, with the addition of a belfry and the expansion of its area. It hosts a "Madonna con bambino" by an anonymous artist from the 1300s, "Sant'Elena che adora la croce", "Sant’Antonio da Padova" and "San Gaetano con i poveri", oil paintings of the late 1700s by Giovanni Chiarelli. The grindstone of the Molino Rosso, built in 1530 in via Bovolino, is still working today. The autonomous square shaped compound of corte Zera (or Zara) dates back to 1700 with its small church dedicated to San Giovanni Battista Decollato. Then there is corte Feniletto, with a solid dovecote and a slender main gate. Around Settimo di Gallese there are two villas, work of the architect Alessandro Pompei: villa Giullari and villa Colombo, with a main hall covered in frescos and some statues by Gaudenzio Bellini.
Mainly rooted in agriculture until the 1980s, the economy of Buttapietra, flourishes after the substantial expansion of craftsmanship and industry, parallel to the residential development and the population increase. Local companies specialize in woodwork, prebuilt materials, mechanics and metal carpentry. An observable element of this rebirth is the Etnographic Museum of the Istituto Agrario Statale Bentegodi, practical example of how the daily life of our ancestors fascinates the new generations.
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Movie Review - Emma (Mirimax)
OLD REVIEW FORMAT
Mirimax Films
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. To be sure, there is a season for films that are completely accurate to the book they came from, and there is a time for critiquing the societal norms of the early nineteenth century. And then there are times when you want neither of those; when you want something a little lighter, a little less complex, and a lot shorter. There is, I think, a time for Emma, a film that, like other Jane Austen pictures, sacrifices the details of a few subplots and softens the characters a bit; that takes dozens—perhaps hundreds—of little liberties with the style and purpose of the original story; and that is, in my opinion, the better for it. There are times when we would just rather smile than not.
Still, I have to admit that not all the changes that were incorporated into the movie were good ones, and that not all the things that remained the same are going to avoid giving offense, some of them just for being in film rather than print.
Sexual Content:
Jane Austen, to my recollection, never specified how much female flesh was revealed in the course of the plot, but while I have a feeling the bare arms and low necklines featured here would have been consistent with the author’s ideas, in this category there really is a difference between reading about brash Mrs. E., and seeing what brashness looks like dressed up for film. The immodesty isn’t shocking, but I do wish it wasn’t there at all.
One of the characters is referred to as someone’s “natural daughter”—a girl who, admittedly, doesn’t know who her parents are, and who must bring the stain of “illegitimacy” into her marriage. A character is rumored to have been fallen in love with by a married man, though little is made of the suggestion. Meanwhile, a young girl confesses her (up till now) continuing affection for a man who had been married for some little time.
And, of course, there is English country dancing, and all the holding of hands and arms-about-the-girls’-waists that it entails.
Cultural Stumbling-Blocks:
The use of alcohol is, perhaps, the potentially offensive content that was altered the least, from book to movie, but often people who don’t mind reading about wine and Christmas punch feel a great deal more concern over the thought of seeing it in living color. Not much is made of alcohol in this film, however.
As far as language goes, it is true that, in the novel, there aren’t any words strong enough to gain it a standard PG rating, and that it is not so with the film*. On the other hand, the profane use of “God” as a mere exclamation has been diminished, going from book to movie, by more than half*. Miscellaneous exclamations, like “Blast!”, “Goodness”, and “For heaven’s sake” come up now and then.
Violent and Intense Content:
Gypsies attempt to rob two young ladies by force. The transformation of the child-thieves in the book into the grown men in the movie, makes the scene more interesting (and the ladies’ alarm more understandable), but it also might make it too intense for younger girls.
Worldview:
With most of the worldview problems in Emma, there’s actually nothing inherently wrong with the elements being in the movie. The problem is that it’s not always quite as obvious as it should be that the behaviors or ideas are supposed to be wrong ones; or not as obvious from a child’s perspective, at least.
It’s just a little too easy to start piecing together all the ridiculous media pictures of fatherhood into a representation of what fatherhood really is, for Emma’s sweet but simple-minded father to escape being mentioned in the review. Likewise, it’s too easy in this culture to start associating bad examples of fictional clergymen with the real thing, for Mr. Elton to go unmentioned, with his rather unchristian (let alone un-ministerly) “I never cared whether Miss Smith were dead or alive.” His snobbish remarks about being “an old married man”—and thus being unfit for ordinary (inconvenient) pleasures—might be misunderstood by children to actually reflect on marriage in general.
Emma’s occasional deceit, criticism and gossip are in no way upheld as virtuous, but the humor and irony that go with them might prevent them from being immediately seen for the wrong that they really are.
A character’s reference to his deceased wife includes a brief “God rest her”, and another character prays kneeling in front of an Anglican altar in church.
If there are movies for different times, there are ones for different purposes, too.
It is an unfortunate handicap, but I’ve about become reconciled to the fact that I am not given to sighing, about movies or anything else, really. Doubtless this prevents me from enjoying films like this to the fullest extent; but if I don’t sigh, I do smile—and Emma is one of the movies that is guaranteed to make me do it. I don’t know if it does credit to Jane Austen’s purposes for the story, but the general charm of Douglas McGrath’s Emma suits my own purposes quite well, and will probably suit the purposes of anyone who enjoys comedy of wit and circumstance, imperfect heroines, near-perfect heroes, period costumes or happy endings.
Because of all the content I just talked about in the review, however, I think that Emma—in any form, and any version—is inappropriate for anyone under the age of eight; and I really don’t think anyone under the age of ten is going to be able to appreciate the irony (or to handle the brief violence without being desensitized to it in other movies). I also think it would probably be unwise for children to watch this film without their parents or older siblings to guide them through some of those less-obvious parts of the worldview.
* Spoiler Warning (You may want to read the conclusion to the review to find out my recommended age range first, if you are looking for particulars for the sake of the young children in your family) - Two instances of “d---” can be avoided by muting the gypsies scene, until Frank’s appearance; and two inappropriate instances of “God”, near the end of the film, can be avoided my muting the phrases (from Emma) which immediately follow Mrs. Weston’s “Frank has been secretly engaged to Jane Fairfax,” and Harriet’s “…after Mr. Elton snubbed me. That was when I knew how superior a man he was.” In lieu of muting the language electronically, sudden coughing spells may be used effectively.
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Mar 27, 2015: Christianity Today: Russell Moore and John Perkins Reflect on Racism at ERLC Summit
Growing up in Mississippi, 84-year-old John Perkins recalls seeing signs on Baptist churches that read “Everybody welcome.”
Mar 27, 2015: Christian Post: John Perkins Slams Creflo Dollar's Evil, Heretical Exploitation of Black Communities for $65 Million Private Jet Campaign
John M. Perkins, a civil rights leader and father of the racial reconciliation movement, criticized pastor Creflo Dollar's former fundraising campaign for a new $65 million private jet as "evil," "heresy," and "exploitation," as he explained the damage prosperity preachers have done to black communities.
Mar 27, 2015: Baptist Press: ERLC summit: Reconciliation is Gospel imperative
Longtime civil rights leader John Perkins told the audience of about 500, "I think that we are putting reconciliation back where it belongs -- within the Gospel itself."
John M. Perkins is an American Christian minister, civil rights activist, philosopher and community developer. He is founder and president of the John M. Perkins Foundation (JVMPF.org) in Jackson, Mississippi. Dr. Perkins is broadcast on Bott Radio Network "The Complete Story". Perkins has received Honorary Doctorate degrees from Belhaven University, Lynchburg University, Wheaton College among others. He has served on the Board of Directors for World Vision and Prison Fellowship.
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Ebola Vaccine Maker CanSino Raises $65 Million
Funds will be put toward new facility in Tianjin capable of producing 100 million doses per year.
Denise Hruby
After developing an Ebola vaccine, Chinese pharmaceutical startup CanSino this week announced a new round of investment in which it had raised $65 million, marking one of the largest capital injections into a Chinese biomedical company in recent years.
The company will use the funds to build a new 35,000-square-meter facility in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area in northern China, next to its current facility and about two hours’ drive from Beijing, and will cover costs to complete several clinical trials, Xuefeng Yu, CanSino’s CEO, told Sixth Tone.
“It’s quite a lot of money, but if you look at the operational cost on that scale, the money goes fast,” Yu said. CanSino’s new campus is slated to be operational next year, and is designed to produce around 100 million doses of vaccines annually.
Yu founded CanSino in 2009 together with a group of scientists who, like him, had grown up and studied in China before going to work in Canada and the U.S. When CanSino was founded, China’s biomedical industry was still in its infancy. In the last decade, however, the Chinese government and overseas pharmaceutical companies have made huge investments in an effort to develop the sector.
China’s pharmaceutical market was worth $108 billion in 2015, making it the second-largest in the world after the U.S., according to the U.S. trade administration. By 2020, the market is expected to grow to $167 billion, an annual increase of 9.1 percent.
Shanghai-based Wuxi PharmaTech is now one of the world’s largest so-called contract research organizations (CROs), while drug developer BeiGene, which specializes in cancer treatment, raised more than $158 million when it listed on the Nasdaq stock market last year.
CanSino’s recent funding came from a mix of private and state-owned investment firms, including Future Industry Investment Fund, Gopher Asset, Fortune Capital, and GoldStone Investment.
In 2014, CanSino started working on an Ebola vaccine based on the virus strain that caused the recent outbreak in West Africa and killed more than 11,000 people worldwide. A 2015 phase-two clinical trial in Sierra Leone was successful, putting the Chinese startup in direct competition with some of the biggest players in the market, including GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson — international corporations that are worth tens of billions of dollars.
Although the outbreak has been contained, experts expect the virus to reappear, as it has repeatedly since 1976.
While all of CanSino’s products are still undergoing clinical trials, the first vaccine Yu expects to be licensed and put on the market protects against bacterial meningitis, which can cause long-term disabilities and even death.
Nisa Leung, a CanSino board member and managing partner at Qiming Venture Partners, which invested in CanSino in 2015, told Sixth Tone that her fund expects the startup to become a global player in the vaccine market.
“The Ebola vaccine is a good thing, but vaccines for children are more important, and there’s a bigger market — that’s why there’s so much support from everywhere,” Leung said.
Editor: Kevin Schoenmakers.
(Header image: Medical workers in hazmat suits work on CanSino’s Ebola vaccine at a company facility in Tianjin, Dec. 28, 2016. Courtesy of CanSino)
TCM Therapy Suspended After 92 Kids Complain of Blisters, Burns
Airplane Row Launches Debate Over Passengers With Mental Illness
China’s Top Health Body Seeks Probe Into Henan Doctors’ Pay Row
‘I Want My Own Sky’: Chinese Migrant Mothers Onstage
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Tabley House, Cheshire
Private Collection, c/o Robert Holden Ltd.
39 1/2 x 49 1/2 in.
Tabley House is shown in the distance of a broad panorama. Across the foreground stretches a lake, calm in the declining light, with an indolent young couple on the near bank. The man is angling and the girl is suckling a baby. To the left of them, the water is infused with light reflected from the break in the clouds above.
RA 1780 (152); London 1934 (227); Amsterdam 1936 (180); Paris 1938 (152); Birmingham 1948-49 (1); London 1949 (1); London 1951-52 (81); Manchester 1957 (192); London 1973-74 (40); Munich 1979-80 (63); London, Cardiff and New Haven, 1982-83 (124); Tercentenary 2014 (139)
Commissioned by Sir Peter Leicester (1732-1770) - Wilson's bill for £33 paid at his death; his son, Sir John Fleming Leicester, Baronet, created Lord de Tabley, 1826; sold Christie's 7 July 1827 (42), bt Peacock (193 guineas); Sir James Linton; Williamson; Agnews; bt Thomas Ashton, 1890; 1934, Lord Ashton of Hyde, Vinehall; thence by descent
PLEASE NOTE: SECTION IN COURSE OF RE-EDITING Stretcher: [1] Crossing of vertical and horizontal members, printed and ms.: HAMISH DEWAR | ASHTON 6361 F [in circle] [2] Frame: [1] Upper right vertical member: The British Council [2] Lower horizontal member, left: Royal Academy 1951-52 [3] Lower horizontal member, centre, old typescript label: 'This picture of Tabley House, Cheshire, by Richard Wiilson, R.A. | is mentioned in a catalogue of pictures owned by Sir John Leicester| Bart. 1825. He was the owner of Tabley House.'
PLEASE NOTE: SECTION IN COURSE OF RE-EDITING
Stretcher:
[1] Crossing of vertical and horizontal members, printed and ms.: HAMISH DEWAR | ASHTON 6361 F [in circle]
[1] Upper right vertical member: The British Council
[2] Lower horizontal member, left: Royal Academy 1951-52 [3] Lower horizontal member, centre, old typescript label: 'This picture of Tabley House, Cheshire, by Richard Wiilson, R.A. | is mentioned in a catalogue of pictures owned by Sir John Leicester| Bart. 1825. He was the owner of Tabley House.'
Sir Peter Leicester remodelled Tabley House following the designs of John Carr of York. From 1762-69, it was reconstructed and the grounds 'improved' in the style of Capability Brown.
E71/2 John Young after Wilson, <i>View of Tabley House in Cheshire</i>, 1821, The British Museum (1859,1210.356)
E71/2 John Young after Wilson, View of Tabley House in Cheshire, 1821, The British Museum (1859,1210.356)
David Solkin has commented that this painting is close in design and handling to P131 <span class="italic">On Hounslow Heath</span>, Tate, London. Both works owe much to the panoramic vistas of 17th century Dutch art. Nevertheless Wilson's approach was daringly original in comparison with the prevailing conventions of estate portraiture. The subordination of the house, then under construction, to its surrounding landscape has often been commented upon as an example of his innovations. When exhibited at the R.A. in 1780, it was described by a reviewer styling himself 'An Artist' as 'an old picture and painted in his prime'.
David Solkin has commented that this painting is close in design and handling to P131 On Hounslow Heath, Tate, London. Both works owe much to the panoramic vistas of 17th century Dutch art. Nevertheless Wilson's approach was daringly original in comparison with the prevailing conventions of estate portraiture. The subordination of the house, then under construction, to its surrounding landscape has often been commented upon as an example of his innovations. When exhibited at the R.A. in 1780, it was described by a reviewer styling himself 'An Artist' as 'an old picture and painted in his prime'.
'An Artist', <i>Candid Review of the Exhibition (being the twelfth) of the Royal Academy</i>, MDCLXXX, London, 1780, p. 24; W. Carey, <span class="italic">A Descriptive Catalogue of a Collection of Paintings by British Artists in the Possession of Sir John Fleming Leicester, Bart.</span>, 1819, no. 59; J. Young, <span class="italic">A Catalogue of Pictures by British Artists in the Possession of Sir John Fleming Leicester, Bart, with etchings from the whole collection</span>, 1821, p. 15, no. 32; Wright 1824, p. 271; C. Hussey, 'Tabley House Cheshire - I & II' <i>Country Life</i>, vol. 54, July 21, 1923, pp. 84-90 & July 28, 1923, pp. 114-120; Whitley 1700-1799, vol. 1, p. 383; Commemorative Catalogue 1934 (108, pl. XLI); Bury 1947, pl. 36; WGC, pp. 74, 95, 186-87, pl. 56a; D. Hall, 'Tabley House Papers: Catalogue of Pictures belonging to Sir John Leicester (Lord de Tabley)', <i>Walpole Society</i> vol. 28, 1962, p. 122, no. 113; Parris 1973, pp. 32-34; J. Harris, <i>The Artist and the Country House</i>, London 1979, p. 274, pl. 296; Solkin 1982, p. 231; Courtauld List 1989, no.166; Wilson and Europe 2014, p. 313
'An Artist', Candid Review of the Exhibition (being the twelfth) of the Royal Academy, MDCLXXX, London, 1780, p. 24; W. Carey, A Descriptive Catalogue of a Collection of Paintings by British Artists in the Possession of Sir John Fleming Leicester, Bart., 1819, no. 59; J. Young, A Catalogue of Pictures by British Artists in the Possession of Sir John Fleming Leicester, Bart, with etchings from the whole collection, 1821, p. 15, no. 32; Wright 1824, p. 271; C. Hussey, 'Tabley House Cheshire - I & II' Country Life, vol. 54, July 21, 1923, pp. 84-90 & July 28, 1923, pp. 114-120; Whitley 1700-1799, vol. 1, p. 383; Commemorative Catalogue 1934 (108, pl. XLI); Bury 1947, pl. 36; WGC, pp. 74, 95, 186-87, pl. 56a; D. Hall, 'Tabley House Papers: Catalogue of Pictures belonging to Sir John Leicester (Lord de Tabley)', Walpole Society vol. 28, 1962, p. 122, no. 113; Parris 1973, pp. 32-34; J. Harris, The Artist and the Country House, London 1979, p. 274, pl. 296; Solkin 1982, p. 231; Courtauld List 1989, no.166; Wilson and Europe 2014, p. 313
In 1821 Young recorded P126 as hanging in the 'Anti Room' of Sir John Fleming Leicester's London house.
John Young after Wilson, View of Tabley House in Cheshire, The British Museum
Birmingham City Art Gallery, 17 November 1948 - 9 January 1949
London, Tate Gallery, 22 January - 14 March 1949
London, Tate Gallery, 20 November 1973 - 3 February 1974
Munich, Haus der Kunst, 21 November 1979 - 27 January 1980
London, Royal Academy, 6 January - 17 March 1934
London, Wembley Park, 23 April 1924 - 31 October 1925
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, 4 July - 4 October 1936
London, Royal Academy, 1951-52
New Haven, Yale Center for British Art & Cardiff, Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, 6 March - 29 October 2014
Manchester City Art Gallery, 30 October - 31 December 1957
Paris, Palais du Louvre, 1938
Sir Peter Leicester, 1732-1770
Martin Postle & Robin Simon, Richard Wilson and the Transformation of European Landscape Painting
Leslie Parris, Landscape in Britain, 1750-1850
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FSU's Cody Stilwell Sets New School Record As Bulldog Track Teams Compete At GVSU
Provided by FSU
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's and women's outdoor track and field teams continued action this weekend close to home as the Bulldogs took part in the Al Owens Classic hosted by Grand Valley State University in Allendale on Friday and Saturday (April 20-21).
A variety of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) schools and teams from across the region took part in the outdoor competition.
On the men's side, Ferris State's Cody Stilwell won the hammer throw and reached the national provisional qualification standard while setting a school record with a performance of 62.58m. Teammate Ross Miller was fifth (51.38) in the event and Brett Allpow was 14th (45.62m).
FSU's Jon Cok took third place in the high jump (1.95m) and Stanley Williams was third in the long jump (6.65m).
In addition, Chris Triffo placed fifth in the javelin (45.74m) while Allpow finished ninth in the discus (44.12m).
The Bulldogs' Zach Mckenzie finished eighth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:04.61). Williams also posted the 10th-fastest preliminary time in the 100 meters (11.24).
In the women's competition, Ferris State's Amanda Eslinger placed ninth in the high jump (1.55m). Reina Troxell came in 10th in the discus (36.43m).
FSU's Sarah Utchel came in 10th overall in the 200 meters (25.82) with Sheridan Britney finishing 13th in the 400 meters (59.87). Meanwhile, Jennifer Eaton placed 15th in the 800 meters (2:21.11).
In the 1,500 meters, the Bulldogs' Kathryn Etelamaki placed 11th (4:43.97) with Carissa Schurr 13th (4:45.18) in the top 15 overall.
Ferris State is next slated to compete in both the Hillsdale Gina Relays and the Calvin Tune-Up meet next weekend (April 26-28) in West Michigan.
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The RYLA district 7255 Adult Committee is a dedicated group of Rotarians who volunteer their time and efforts to provide guidance for the Youth Committee and oversee all the activities of RYLA.
As each generation of student-leaders moves on to college and beyond, the Adult Committee ensures that RYLA continues to be a safe place where students can hone their leadership skills, form special friendships, and discover that there is more in themselves than they know!
Barbara Ackermann
Barbara has been a Rotarian of her Southold Rotary for the past 25 years. A retired Guidance Director/School counselor from the Southold School, she worked previously as a child protective case worker and a medical social worker. Barbara serves on the Board of East End Counselors Association, and the North Fork School Advisory Committee. She is a member of Delta Kappa Gama, and was involved in HUGS from its inception, serving on the Board of Directors for several years. She has served two terms as President of Southold Rotary, as well as currently the New Generations Director for her club. Serving again as an Assistant Governor, Barbara is also the scholarship chairperson for district 7260, and serves on the Youth Exchange committee.The program has been an amazing experience of watching the growth of the young people who attend and is a life changing experience for so many who are involved.
Dennis Brennan
Dennis Brennan was a teacher and then administrator for a total of 30 years in the field of education. During that time he also served in the Peace Corps in Micronesia; established an English as a Second Language program K-12 and a student peer mediation program in the Longwood School District. After retiring, Dennis became Captain of the Fire Police Co. in the Port Jefferson Fire Department, President of the Port Jefferson Rotary and has time and time again been in awe of the leaders that are made through RYLA. He is also President of the Port Jefferson School Board and he’s currently a Superintendent’s Hearing Officer for the Eastport/South Manor School District and editor of a Journal for the Port Jefferson Fire Department’s 125th Anniversary. Dennis and his wife Kathleen have two sons, Christopher and Daniel.
Steve Browne is presently an active member and Past President of the Hauppauge Rotary club. Co-owner of the family owned and operated “Browne Insurance Agency.” Managing partner of JustNutra. He has been involved in RYLA for the past 6 years and is inspired by the personal growth and development that takes place in our young adults who attend RYLA events. Steve has served in leadership roles in his local church, chamber of commerce and various business groups. In his leisure time, Steve enjoys healthy cooking, golf, hunting and fishing. Steve resides in Farmingville NY with his wife Lisa for the past 31 years, has two daughters, a son-in law, and soon to be a Grandpa ☺. He hopes to see even more wonderful things happen in the future because of RYLA. Steve is the current C0- Chairperson of the RYLA District 7255 Committee. Steve loves to cook and run the kitchen at the RYLA events ☺
Donald Hester
Don Hester has been active with Rotary youth exchange programs since the 1980's. In addition, his family has hosted over 40 students, and he also served as one of the leaders of the first YEP (Youth Exchange Program) Rotary Exchanges with the USSR, later working for ESSEX as country contact for Russia and Ukraine for 20 years.
During his year as Governor of District 7260, he recruited his friend PDG Cliff Mclean to begin RYLA. Mclean previously worked with Don with D7250 YEP. Presently, RYLA now encompasses all Long Islands high schools and Don was recently asked to help oversee all the Rotary Youth Programs, Interact, YEP, RYLA and Rotaract for D7260 and the newly-merged D7255. Don Hester is very proud that the youth services have already merged programs for many years and his involvement in accomplishing this. In the winter, Don lives in Sayville and spends time on Fire Island during the summer with his wife Judy. Together they have three kids, two of which participated in the YEP.
Thaddeus Hill
Thud actively serves as the past-President of the Riverhead Rotary Club and has devoted extensive time and effort to community-minded organizations of various avenues. He is the Executive Director of Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch, located in Riverhead, New York. This is a not-for-profit agency that provides residential and group care for adolescents; he has held various positions within the childcare field including, administrative, clinical and direct care. Previously, Thud has served as President for Long Island Family & Youth Services (LIFY), Chairman of the Riverhead Youth Committee and a Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA) Board Member along with many other positions in his community including the Riverhead High School Varsity Football Team assistant coach from 1997-2005. Mr. Hill is an avid fan of both physical and mental fitness and is actively involved in the RYLA District 7255 Committee.
Milena Kantor
Milena V. Kantor is a member of the Rockaway Rotary and has found every aspect of this experience to be truly rewarding and is now serving as a Treasurer for her club. Helping the local food pantries, she is actively involved in the annual Ocean Run to help the community. She dedicates much of her effort to support of the Gift of Life program which saves lives of children who are threatened with devestating heart conditions. She is on the Board of Directors of this organization and also serves as a medical translator for Russian Gift of Life. Milena works for the Eli Lilly and Company as a diabetes and senior care specialist. Working with local Nursing homes and pharmacies has really allowed her to appreciate life to the fullest. She first began getting involved with RYLA in 2011 and is eagerly looking foward to all she can do for this outstanding organization she has become a part of and more for the community.
Linda and Thomas Kerr
Tom and Linda are both very active Rotarians in all areas of youth programs. Tom works as a consultant for his former insurance business and Linda is a retired teacher. They have both been involved in Ryla since it started. Linda was the chair for Ryla for 3 years and Tom has been an active committee member. Tom is also a Past District governor as well as overall chair for the Youth Exchange Program. Presently Linda is the outbound Youth Exchange Chair. Tom and Linda have been involved in RYLA for years and have seen the tremendous change in students who are able to be a part of RYLA. They have witnessed students whose lives are completely changed because of a weekend spent with other leaders or time spent studying abroad and developing a further understanding of the world around them. They are both very proud of the influence that RYLA has given to individuals everywhere.
Barry Laub
Barry is a business, career and life coach. Prior, he pioneered special education for the City of NY starting schools, training Principals and teachers in the development of special education programs. He is a #1 bestselling author, sales and marketing trainer and an inspirational speaker. He is an active Rotarian in the Amityville Rotary Club, past assistant district governor of 7255, faculty member of the Rotary Leadership Institute and active with RYLA. Barry was a speaker at the first Summer RYLA where he gave a very powerful and thought-provoking message on "The Power of The Spoken Word" and "The Power of The Written Word." Barry has seen students who through RYLA have been able to understand and value their potential and make life-changing decisions because of it. Barry is on the planning committee for RYLA and a facilitator of leadership programs. RYLA is important to Barry as it fosters his desire to make a difference in the lives of our future leaders and it allows him to further honor his commitment to leadership training and development for our youth.
Wallace Mahoney
Wally is an active member of Riverhead Rotary, and has been a Rotarian for the past twenty years. After serving in the Army, Wally graduated with an MBA from Columbia Business School and married Bernadette. They have been married for the past 55 years, and have four children and five grandchildren. They have lived in various places across the United States, while he worked for several large companies mainly in packaged goods marketing (soap, toothpaste, diapers). RYLA is important to him because it helps the youth in our community lead more productive, successful lives. He enjoys seeing students attend RYLA and leave with more insight into their potential; and has yet to see any student who has not been changed for the better by their experience at RYLA.
Diane Marmann
Diane Pacifico Marmann is the past-President of the Mineola-Garden City Rotary Club and also the treasurer of the RYLA District 7255 Committee and has been involved with RYLA for 3 years. Diane has been the Youth Protection Officer for District 7250 YEP for 3 years and a host Mom twice. She was Co-Committee Chair of the District Conference in 2011-12 and is currently serving on the Installation Committee for incoming Governor Gwenn Ramage. Diane loves interacting with the students who attend RYLA and hearing their stories and how the efforts made by the RYLA Committee have truly changed lives of many young individuals. Diane is an attorney in Mineola and in her "spare" time is involved as a director and actor with the Cultural Arts Playhouse, The Kings of the Coast Pirate Adventure and the The White Post Players.
Jean Mahoney
Recruited by Barbara Ackermann, to be a member of Southold Rotary, Jean Mahoney is currently an English teacher at Mattituck High school. She earned her BA in English from Holy Cross, and her Master of Arts from Stony Brook University. For the past twenty years she has been coaching varsity spring track and cross country. The proud mom of a Marine, She is also been an avid supporter of the Southold NROTC program as a volunteer and chaperone.
Jean loves to read, travel, garden, and spend time with her family and her bernese mountain dog.
Impressed with the incredible impact both Rotary and RYLA have on current and former students, Jean hopes to increase awareness and involvement in the Mattituck/Southold area.
Jackie Merriweather
Jackie Merriweather is a member of the Brentwood Rotary Club. She has dilligently been involved with RYLA for 5 years and is the Logistic Chairperson of the RYLA Committee. Jackie enjoys meeting and working and collaborating with people all over Long Island, Queens and Brooklyn who come to RYLA. Jackie has seen RYLA grow over the years and continues to be in awe of the changes it makes for people and how much of an impact it really has. Everyone she meets has a different story to tell and she is truly amazed to see the individual progress made by the students along with how they take their experience with them and use it in their own schools and communities. Jackie is now retired from work and spends time in caring for her family. Additionally, she is involved in Boy Scouts and the activities they do in her local community.
Lydia Wells
Lydia is a two time past president of the Greenport Rotary Club. She serves as New Generation Chair for her club and is currently the District 7260 Interact Chairperson. She has been on the RYLA Committee in 7260 since the beginning and is thrilled to see the program blossom and grow. Lydia has been in education for 39 years, first as elementary teacher and currently as Guidance Counselor in Greenport. She is the Interact advisor for the High School and Junior High Interact Clubs. As an active member in her community , she has served on CAST Board of Directors, Cub Master for the Cub Scout Troop 51,Girls Scout Leader, and currently is on the Vestry of her church and is the chaplain of the American Legion Auxillary. Lydia feels very honored to be part of such a wonder experience as RYLA and feels blessed to be involved with such wonderful future leaders. Lydia is currently the C0-Chairperson of RYLA 7255 with Steve
Jacki Yonick
Currently a member of the Rotary Club of Glen Cove, Jacki is the Youth Employment Coordinator for City of Glen Cove Youth Bureau, and serves as Chairwoman of RYLA District 7255. A Rotarian since 2006, Jacki is past-President of the North Shore Rotary Club, was the 2012 GSE Team Leader to India (Group Study Exchange), and an active Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) Faculty member.
Jax has introduced RYLA to over thirty Rotary Clubs, and their local high schools, of Brooklyn, Queens, and Nassau County since Spring 2008, after first being introduced to the program herself. Sharing the inspiration and enthusiasm of RYLA, with Rotarians and teens, has helped further develop her leadership skills as much the program does for RYLArians, Facilitators and Youth Committee members. She has cultivated friendships that will last a life time, and is inspired by the transformation and personal growth that happens in a young person through their RYLA experience.
Rich Wells became a Rotarian in 2017, but has been involved with RYLA over the last 17 years with his wife Lydia. In 2015-16, Rich was adopted by the Youth Committee as their 8th member. Rich volunteers at all the RYLA events. He can be seen at Spring RYLA parking cars and in the summer cutting up fruits and veggies in the kitchen. Rich is retired from the Government( Air Force, Plum Island) and also from his second career in health care. Rich and Lydia enjoy working with Rotary, RYLA, and traveling. They enjoy traveling with Rotary and have attended several programs in Cambodia, Toronto, Atlanta, and Germany.
Also a member of the RYLA 2012-2013 Adult Committee is Thomas Licari. His valuable contributions to RYLA have truly helped develop the program to what it is today and all of them continue to support RYLA and be amazed at the students who come into the program and are developed as leaders from what truly is an expereince of a lifetime.
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Yunlin towel maker has its cake and eats it too
WIPING AWAY THE COMPETITION: A local towel manufacturer has found a novel way to compete with cheap Chinese imports, but fears an ECFA could kill its edge
By Joyce Huang / STAFF REPORTER
Shing-Long Towel Industrial Co vice president Michael Lin stands next to a “towel cake” he designed at the company’s headquarters in Huwei, Yunlin County, on March 22.
PHOTO: JOYCE HUANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Amid the protracted economic slowdown, many pundits have touted cost cutting, but 40-year-old Michael Lin (林潁穗), vice president of Huwei, Yunlin County-based Shing-Long Towel Industrial Co (興隆毛巾), said that innovation was the key to survival for the nation’s towel industry.
Lin is the brainchild behind the hot-selling Shing-Long “cake towel” — a repackaging and design idea to add value to traditional towels, which has reversed the fate of the once debt-ridden towel company that his parents founded in 1979.
The company’s newly developed “cake towel” business, launched in 2005, has helped quadruple revenues to NT$42 million (US$1.24 million) last year since 2004, when the company incurred a debt of NT$30 million.
After repaying a NT$20 million debt, Lin said he believed the value-added towel business would now be the way forward for the company, although he said his old-fashioned parents still found the cake idea too fancy to sustain.
“I am sure we’re on the right track and if we miss out this time, we won’t have another opportunity,” he said.
Shing-Long is one of the remaining 50 towel companies in Huwei, down from a cluster of more than 200 before 2002, when the government opened the domestic market to low-priced China-made towels, which hurt the nation’s towel manufacturers.
“During that downturn, we managed to see a smaller-than-expected drop in sales of 10 [percent] to 20 percent, while the sales of most of our peers dropped by up to 80 percent,” Lin said.
Only when the government imposed a 204 percent anti-dumping tax on China-made towels in 2006 did domestic towel manufacturers begin to regain market share.
Today, there are about 100 towel manufacturers nationwide with an annual value of NT$5 billion, making up an 80 percent market share in Taiwan, Yunlin Towel Industrial Technology Development Association chairman Chou Ching-yuan (周清源) said.
But because of pricing, the industry has completely lost its export competitiveness, although the quality of towels made in Taiwan are much better than Chinese towels, some of which use the recycled byproducts of polluted medical waste in their cotton, Chou said, adding that his industry used to have a combined export and import value of NT$15 billion before the 1990s.
Despite the high quality of Taiwanese towels, the retail prices of Taiwan-made and China-made towels are about the same, whereas wholesale prices for Chinese towels are almost half those of Taiwanese towels because of the huge discrepancy in cost structures across the Strait.
For example, Lin said that plain-colored China-made towels cost around NT$100 per kilo, half the cost of Taiwan-made towels, which cuts into wholesalers’ profits when both are retailed at around NT$250 per kilogram.
“That is why many sales channels [once] shut Taiwan-made towels out of the market [a few years ago],” Lin said.
Chou said that the entire industry was worried about President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) plan to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, which would allow the immediate re-entry of China-made towels. However, the industry will still have to face the threat of the re-entry China-made towels in one-and-half years time when the nation’s anti-dumping ban on the industry expires.
“We’re not afraid of competition. It’s the unfair competition that we’re concerned with,” Chou said, urging the government to clarify the trade pact’s contents.
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Magnitude 5.6 earthquake felt nationwide, CWB says
CHAIN REACTION:The main magnitude 5.6 earthquake was preceded by a foreshock which was recorded at 1:56am, and aftershocks continued into the evening
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
Children take part in an earthquake drill in Tainan yesterday.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times
The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that happened early yesterday morning was caused by the Philippine Sea Plate and Eurasian Plate moving against each other.
Data recorded by the bureau showed that the hypocenter of the quake, which occurred at 3:37am, was about 37km northeast of Hualien County at a depth of 15.3km.
The earthquake generated a local intensity of 5 in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) and Hualien County’s Heping Township (和平).
A local intensity of 3 was recorded in Taipei and New Taipei City.
The bureau’s statistics showed that a total of 19 earthquakes were recorded between 12:31am and 2:30pm. Seven of them were felt nationwide and 12 of them were local earthquakes.
Apart from the magnitude 5.6 earthquake, the remaining 18 earthquakes were between magnitude 3.6 and magnitude 4.7. The epicenters of the earthquakes recorded at 12:31am and 12:34am respectively were in Taitung County, and the remaining earthquakes had epicenters in Hualien County.
As of press time, another aftershock -- magnitude 5.5 -- occurred at 9:09 pm.
CWB seismology center director Kuo Kai-wen (郭鎧紋) said earthquakes are frequently recorded on the nation’s east coast.
He said that serial earthquakes are recorded once or twice per month, adding they happen because the Philippine Sea Plate and Eurasian Plate move against each other.
He said that one should be concerned if no such serial earthquake is recorded, as movement releases seismic energy.
Kuo said yesterday’s magnitude 5.6 earthquake was the main earthquake of a serial earthquake.
He said the foreshock of the main earthquake was the magnitude 4.7 quake recorded at 1:56am, adding that aftershocks continued until 2:30pm.
Kuo dismissed speculation that the earthquakes were triggered by a volcanic eruption at Mount Aso in Japan, saying that the two events were unrelated.
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