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Home | Wire | Ludwig von Mises and the Nature of Money
Ludwig von Mises and the Nature of Money
Tags Money and BanksHistory of the Austrian School of EconomicsMonetary Theory
02/13/2019Jörg Guido Hülsmann
As a true disciple of Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises began the presentation of his theory of money with an analysis of the nature of money itself. He then went on to deal with the determination of money’s purchasing power and with the impact of what he called Umlaufsmittel (fiduciary media) on the monetary system.
In dealing with the nature of money, Mises relied heavily on the work of Carl Menger. The founder of the Austrian School had shown that money is not to be defined by the physical characteristics of whatever good is used as money; rather, money is characterized by the fact that the good under consideration is (1) a commodity that is (2) used in indirect exchanges, and (3) bought and sold primarily for the purpose of such indirect exchanges.
Menger also stressed that money emerges spontaneously on the market as a response to the lack of the double coincidence of wants. Indirect exchanges are resorted to, for example, by the chair maker seeking to buy a dozen eggs from the farmer who already has enough chairs, or by the painter trying to purchase a glass of beer from the brewer who does not care for art. They first exchange their products into highly marketable commodities, such as salt, wheat, or silver coins, in order to exchange these “media of exchange” against eggs and beer in a subsequent deal. The significance of this fact was that a monetary system could come into being without a prior social contract and without government fiat.1
Mises added to and refined this analysis of the nature of money in four ways.
First, he took issue with the idea that the functions of money—being a means of exchange, a store of value, a means of payment, a means of deferred payments, a numéraire (measure of value)—were of equal importance. Mises argued that a commodity could play the role of numéraire only because it was used as a means of exchange; and, similarly, a commodity was held as a store of value precisely because it was marketable. Thus there was a hierarchical order of the functions of money: the means of exchange was primordial, being a necessary condition for the others.
Second, Mises developed a comprehensive typology of monetary objects—that is, in Mengerian language, of all the things generally accepted as media of exchange. On the most fundamental level, he distinguished several types of “money in the narrower sense” from several types of “money surrogates” or substitutes. Money in the narrower sense is a good in its own right. In contrast, money substitutes were legal titles to money in the narrower sense. They were typically issued by banks and were redeemable in real money at the counters of the issuing bank (see diagram on the previous page).
In establishing this fundamental distinction between money and money titles, he applied crucial insights of Böhm-Bawerk’s pioneering work on the economics of legal entities. He stressed: “Claims are not goods; they are means of obtaining disposal over goods. This determines their whole nature and economic significance.”2 As his exposition in later parts of the book would show, these distinctions have great importance, both for the integration of monetary theory within the framework of Menger’s theory of value and prices, and for the analysis of the role of banking within the monetary system. At the heart of his theory of banking is a comparative analysis of the economic significance of two very different types of money substitutes. Mises observed that money substitutes could be either covered by a corresponding amount of money, in which case they were “money certificates,” or they could lack such coverage, in which case they were fiduciary media—Umlaufsmittel. Mises devotes the entire last third of his book to an analysis of the economic consequences of the use of Umlaufsmittel.3
Third, Mises refuted the idea that money prices are a measure of value. Here he relied on the work of the Czech economist Franz Cuhel who some years earlier, in his Zur Lehre von den Bedürfnissen (On the Theory of Needs), had clarified several fundamental issues of the new Mengerian price theory.4 Cuhel was a champion of the psychological theory of marginal utility (Gossen-Jevons-Wieser), but several of his contributions to the theory of value and utility proved useful despite that fact.
Cuhel refuted Böhm-Bawerk and Wieser’s quantitative claims about marginal utility, which referred to homogeneous units of a supply of goods, where each individual unit provides the same utility. According to Böhm-Bawerk, the utilities derived from the use of several units could be added, to the point that the utility, say, of consuming fifteen plums equals exactly fifteen times the utility of consuming one plum. But Cuhel objected that this contradicted the basic idea of the law of diminishing marginal utility, namely, that the satisfaction derived from the consumption of each additional unit of the good is lower than the utility derived from the consumption of the previous unit.5
Cuhel also made a devastating case against interpersonal comparisons of satisfactions. The benefits derived from the consumption of two different goods could be compared only indirectly, and only in one narrow case, namely, in the case of individual decision-making at one point of time. From the fact that an individual chooses to enjoy satisfaction A rather than B, one can infer that A yields more satisfaction to this person than B does, because at the time of the choice both A and B were present and competed directly with one another.6 Hence, the observed choices of individuals provide evidence about the relative size of enjoyment. But this is the only type of evidence available because it is fundamentally impossible to perceive the comparative satisfactions of other people.7 One can only have direct knowledge of the utilities that the satisfaction of various needs has for oneself. Other people’s utilities have to be inferred, indirectly, from their actual decision-making.
It follows that there is no such thing as value calculation or even value measurement. Even money does not have a constant value, and is therefore unable to provide the basis for a value calculus. Moreover, since money prices are the result of individual valuation processes, they are individual historical events, always determined by the particular circumstances in which they emerge. Contrary to what Walras’s system of equations suggests, there are no constant relationships between money prices of different times and places.
It was therefore out of the question to follow Irving Fisher in his attempt to establish a quantitative law—such as in physics— of the relationship between the quantity of money and money prices (the price level). Mises placed great emphasis on this crucial implication of value theory for the methodology of economics:
Because there are no constant relations in the field of human action, the equations of mathematical catallactics cannot be made to serve practical problems in the same way the equations of mechanics solve problems through the use of data and constants that have been ascertained empirically.
In my book on money I did not say one controversial word against the mathematical school. I presented the correct doctrine and refrained from attacking the method of mathematicians. In fact, I even resisted the temptation to dissect the empty term “velocity.” I refuted mathematical economics by proving that the quantity of money and the purchasing power of the monetary unit are not inversely proportional. This proof demonstrated that the only constant relationship which was believed to exist between “economic quantities” is a variable determined by the data of each individual case. It thus exploded the equations of exchange of Irving Fisher and Gustav Cassel.8
Mises’s criticism of the mechanical version of the quantity theory had an impact well beyond the theory of money. For this version of the quantity theory represented a larger agenda: a quantitative view of social science in general. Mises showed that there are no quantitative constants linking human actions to repercussions in the social realm. An increased demand for apples would in all cases lead to higher apple prices than would otherwise have existed, but there is no law that tells us that a 10 percent increase of the apple demand will cause, say, an 8 percent or a 14 percent increase of apple prices. Actual quantities will always depend on the particular circumstances of each individual case.
Fourth, and finally, Mises dealt more explicitly than Menger with the claims of the monetary statists or “chartalists.” Whereas Menger had argued that money could emerge spontaneously on the market, the statist scholars asserted that money was a creation of the state.
Debate on this topic can be traced back to the times of Plato and Aristotle. It ran all through the Middle Ages and was only settled, for a short while, by the classical economists, who had argued along Mengerian lines. But at the end of the nineteenth century the statists struck back. Cernuschi in France, Neupauer in Austria, and Lexis in Germany reasserted the view that money is what the state declares to be such.9 But the most famous champion of this view was Georg Knapp—the same Knapp who had pioneered the studies on Germanic rule as a liberating force for East-European peasants.
In his Staatliche Theorie des Geldes (State Theory of Money), Knapp argued that money was a creation of the legal order and that the theory of money therefore had to be studied as a branch of legal history.10 According to Knapp, money came into being through government proclamation. The state says that this or that is money, and it suddenly becomes a token for some corresponding amount of real goods. The essence of money was therefore to be a government-proclaimed token (charta in Latin) that could be used as a legally valid means of payment.11
Knapp’s views were not well received at first,12 but did find early support from prominent bankers13 and eventually won many converts to the state theory of money. His chartalist theory did, after all, perfectly complement the statist convictions already prevalent among German economic professors. As Mises later observed:
The statist school of German economics has probably reached its high point in Georg Friedrich Knapp’s State Theory of Money. It is not per se remarkable that this theory has been formulated; after all, its tenets have been championed for centuries in the writings of canonists, jurists, romantics, and certain socialists. What was remarkable was rather the success of the book.14
Knapp’s fundamental error was in failing to see that government orders can only be relevant in the context of presently existing contracts involving deferred payments. Ex post, governments can determine what should be counted as “money” and, hence, what should be counted as payment. But it does not have the power to impose on market participants the future use of any means of exchange:
Business usage alone can transform a commodity into a common medium of exchange. It is not the state, but the common practice of all those who have dealings in the market, that creates money. 15
Excerpted from Mises: Last Knight of Liberalism
1. Although Menger delivered a painstaking analysis of the process of the emergence of money (a process that was in his view the best illustration of the emergence of social institutions) he was not the first economist to point out that money does not come into being by social contract. Among Menger’s predecessors were John Law (1705), Ferdinando Galliani (1751), Étienne de Condillac (1776), Adam Smith (1776), Antonio Genovesi (1788), Jean-Baptiste Say (1802), and Richard Whately (1832). On the emergence of this approach in the eighteenth century see Arthur E. Monroe, Monetary Theory before Adam Smith (New York: Augustus M. Kelley, [1923] 1966).
2. Mises, Theory of Money and Credit, p. 65; also Mises quoted Böhm-Bawerk’s Rechte und Verhältnisse vom güterwirthschaftlichen Standpunkte, pp. 120ff.
3. Regrettably, this comparative focus of his analysis was lost in the English translation of the title of the book: Theory of Money and Credit. The term Umlaufsmittel, which literally translates into “means of circulation,” was rendered in the English text as “fiduciary media.” Consequently the title of the book should have been Theory of Money and Fiduciary Media, but the publisher decided that the unusual terminology would irritate readers and thus opted for the smoother but toothless Theory of Money and Credit, failing to honor the fact that even in the original German version the expression was unusual. Mises was hostile to innovations in language that were not justified by the analysis of hitherto neglected phenomena. But the difference between money certificates on the one hand, and Umlaufsmittel on the other was such a neglected phenomenon, to the point that established scientific terminology even lacked the means for expressing this difference. Mises thus introduced the expression Umlaufsmittel for this purpose and even used it in the title of his book to highlight its importance.
4. See Franz Cuhel, Zur Lehre von den Bedürfnissen. Theoretische Untersuchungen über das Grenzgebiet von Ökonomik und Psychologie (Innsbruck: Wagner, 1907).
5. See ibid., pp. 190f. Böhm-Bawerk had made this claim in a long essay on the theory of value, his first statement on value theory. See Böhm-Bawerk, “Grundzüge der Theorie des wirtschaftlichen Güterwertes,” Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik n.s. 13 (1886): 48. It was this passage that met with criticism in Cuhel and Mises. Mises said many years later that, in distinct contrast to corresponding passages in Böhm-Bawerk’s Positive Theory of Capital (New York: G.E. Stechert, 1930), the statement in Grundzüge “was incompatible with the whole tenor of Böhm’s theory” (Mises to A.E. Foerster, letter dated March 2, 1965; Grove City Archive: Böhm-Bawerk file). This letter raises a certain problem because Mises here said that Böhm-Bawerk eventually realized his error and expressed the correct formulation in a later edition of Capital and Interest (South Holland, Ill.: Libertarian Press, 1959, vol. 2, bk. 3, part A, chap. 3, p. 148). But in the second edition of Theorie des Geldes und der Umlaufsmittel, 2nd ed. (Munich and Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1924, p. 13), Mises said Böhm-Bawerk had not said anything new on this matter
6. See Cuhel, Zur Lehre von den Bedürfnissen, pp. 178f
7. See ibid., p. 210. Cuhel called subjective utilities by the unusual name of “Egenzen.” In an analogous case, Vilfredo Pareto called subjective utility “ophélimité.”
8. Mises, Notes and Recollections, p. 58.
9. See Henri Cernuschi, Nomisma; or, “Legal Tender” (New York: Appleton & Co., 1877); Josef von Neupauer, Die Schäden und Gefahren der Valutaregulierung für die Volkswirtschaft und die Kriegsbereitschaft (Vienna: Lesk & Schwidernoch, 1892); Wilhelm Lexis, “Papiergeld,” Handwörterbuch der Staatswissenschaften (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1893; 2nd ed., 1901, 3rd ed., 1910). Mises mentions Neupauer’s book in Mises, “Die wirtschaftspolitischen Motive der österreichischen Valutaregulierung,” Zeitschrift für Volkswirtschaft, Sozialpolitik und Verwaltung 16 (1907): 578.
10. See Georg F. Knapp, Staatliche Theorie des Geldes, 2nd ed. (Munich & Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1918), p. 1.
11. See ibid., p. 31. Knapp thought he had to create an entirely new vocabulary to adequately deal with the theory of money and among many other innovations came up with the expression “chartal.”
12. In particular Andreas Voigt, one of the leaders of the small but growing cadre of anti-Schmoller economists, gave Knapp an unfavorable review. See Andres Voigt, “Die staatliche Theorie des Geldes,” Zeitschrift für die gesamte Staatswissenschaft 62 (1906): 317–40.
13. See L. Calligaris, “Staatliche Theorie des Geldes,” Münchener Allgemeine Zeitung (February 1, 1906); idem, “Staatliche Theorie des Geldes,” Österreichische Rundschau 7, no. 80 (May 10, 1906); F. Bendixen, Das Wesen des Geldes (Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1908), p. 3; idem, “Fünf Jahre Geldtheorie,” Bank-Archiv 10, no. 10 (1911): 145ff.; W. Lexis, “Eine neue Geldtheorie,” Archiv für Sozialwissenschaften und Sozialpolitik 5 (1906): 557–74; idem, “Die Knappsche Geldtheorie,” Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik, 3rd series, 32 (1906): 534–45.
14. Ludwig von Mises, Staat, Nation und Wirtschaft (Vienna: Manz, 1919), p. 5, n. 3. Mises referred to Anderson’s verdict that Knapp’s book “has had wide influence on German thinking on money. It is typical of the tendency in German thought to make the State the center of everything.” Benjamin M. Anderson, The Value of Money (New York: Macmillan, 1917), p. 433. He also quoted Carl Menger’s exasperated comment on the success of the State Theory of Money: “It is the logical development of Prussian police science. What are we to think of a nation whose elite, after two hundred years of economics, admire such nonsense, which is not even new, as highest revelation?” Mises, Erinnerungen, p. 20; Notes and Recollections, p. 35.
15. Mises, Theory of Money and Credit, p. 93.
Jörg Guido Hülsmann is senior fellow of the Mises Institute where he holds the 2018 Peterson-Luddy Chair and was director of research for Mises Fellows in residence 1999-2004. He is author of Mises: The Last Knight of Liberalism and The Ethics of Money Production. He teaches in France, at Université d'Angers. His full CV is here.
Contact Jörg Guido Hülsmann
Jörg Guido Hülsmann
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New Paranormal Saga “Glitch” Begins Filming
Matchbox Pictures, in association with ABC TV, is pleased to announce that the new six-part drama series “Glitch” has begun shooting on location in Melbourne and around Victoria. A high-concept drama, “Glitch” is a paranormal saga about love, loss, and what it means to be human.
Created by Tony Ayres (Cut Snake, The Slap, Nowhere Boys, The Home Song Stories), developed by Ayres and Louise Fox (Broadchurch, Dead Europe, Love My Way), and produced by Matchbox Pictures (The Slap, The Straits, Nowhere Boys, Old School, Devil’s Playground), “Glitch” is a tale of love and redemption, of second chances gained and lost, of vengeance and forgiveness.
Tony Ayres, Series Creator said, “’Glitch’ is an elevated genre series. At its core it is a Gothic mystery with a story that is passionate and dramatic.”
“How do ordinary people deal with great love, longing, and the utterly unexpected? This is an exciting drama from a hugely talented creative team,” said ABC Head of Fiction Carole Sklan.
Featuring an impressive ensemble cast led by Patrick Brammall (Upper Middle Bogan, Offspring) with Rodger Corser (Party Tricks, Rush), Emma Booth (Cloud Street, Jack Irish), Emily Barclay (Suburban Mayhem, Lou), Genevieve O’Reilly (Episodes, Star War Episode III), Andrew McFarlane (Devil’s Playground), Daniela Farinacci (Redfern Now, Lantana), Sean Keenan (Puberty Blues), and Ned Dennehy (Sherlock Holmes).
Set in the fictional country town of Yoorana, the 6 x 1 hour series sees the run-down town take on a new life from the most unlikely of places – the past.
When six people inexplicably rise from the dead with no memory of their identities, disbelief soon gives way to a determination to discover who they are and what happened to them. Yoorana becomes the Gothic rural backdrop against which the “Risen” rediscover their past and why they have returned while those around them are also faced with a perplexing new reality, challenging all the beliefs and ideals they held dear.
“’Glitch’ is a whole new type of television for ABC and for Australia. It’s not just for people who know and love genre, it’s for those who love character-driven stories with big heart and bigger thrills,” said producer Louise Fox.
“Glitch” will air on ABC in 2015.
“Glitch” is produced by Matchbox Pictures with the assistance of Screen Australia, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Film Victoria, and NBCUniversal. The series is being sold internationally by NBCUniversal.
Production Credits: A Matchbox Pictures production in association with ABC Television, Screen Australia, and Film Victoria. Written by Louise Fox, Kris Mrksa, and Giula Sandler. Directed by Emma Freeman. Produced by Ewan Burnett and Louise Fox. Executive Producers Tony Ayres and Debbie Lee. ABC TV Executive Producers Carole Sklan and Christopher Gist.
Wanna Know What Eurotophobia Looks Like? Check Out New “V/H/S: Viral” Poster
If you ever wondered what it might look like to suffer from Eurotophobia (fear of the vagina) then look no further than the new “V/H/S: Viral” poster. I imagine it is what sufferers from this condition my possibly experience. Anyway the new artwork is giving me a total Dead Space meets Lovecraft vibe.
“V/H/S: Viral” is the third installment to the anthology series and brings to life nightmares through the lens of the new online video craze. The film brings together directors Todd Lincoln, Nacho Vigalondo, Justin Benson, Marcel Sarmiento, Aaron Moorhead, Gregg Bishop. “V/H/S: Viral” hits limited theatrical release on November 21st, 2014. The film is currently available on VOD.
Police chase after a deranged ice cream truck has captivated the attention of the greater Los Angeles area. Dozens of fame—obsessed teens flock to the streets with their video cameras and camera phones, hell—bent on capturing the next viral video. But there is something far more sinister occurring in the streets of L.A. than a simple police chase. A resounding effect is created onto all those obsessed with capturing salacious footage for no other purpose than to amuse or titillate. Soon the discovery becomes that they themselves are the stars of the next video, one where they face their own death.
My Review Of “The Dark Place”
Jody Wheeler’s gay thriller “The Dark Place” takes on the conventional mystery with witty, and quick story telling. The film stars Blaise Embry, Eddy Rioseco, Shannon Day, Sean Paul Lockhart, Timo Descamps, Allison Lane, and follows a young man who returns home to make amends with his mother. His visit is one filled with chilling, and stark revelation as he learns the very real danger he is faced with meeting new family members. “The Dark Place” is a straight forward suspense, thriller that builds upon common themes of deadly relations.
The story is a well written, smart mystery that doesn’t rely on over-drawn stereotypes, or caricature personas to create character or entertainment value. “The Dark Place” keeps with a more serious tone, building a tense story arc that aims to draw viewers in with drama, action, and suspense. At times the story takes itself a bit too serious missing some moments that could have shown a comfortable, authentic feeling. The dialog, and writing move quick, with some witty, dark humor. However the acting, at times, feels somewhat contrived. Two dimensional characters present us with only superficial connectivity in scenes that require a strong emotional investment from the viewer. However there are some stand out moments from the cast during some of the film’s more dramatic scenes.
“The Dark Place” starts a little choppy and confusing, forcing us to trust that things will fall into place as the story moves forward. It works to the extent of setting the tone of mystery and suspense. The downside to the choppy scene transitions at the start falls on the fact that not enough back story, or character development exists for us to give in completely to that trust. It caused a conflict in my ability to get into the story, and my knee-jerk reaction of distrust of Wheeler’s intentions and objective. Luckily the story arc stays pretty focuses and moves right into Wheeler’s intended vision effortlessly by the second act. More of the story becomes clear, characters become stronger, and a hint to the intense climax starts to unfold. By the third act I found myself glued to the drama unfolding, and the big reveal about some character’s back story, I was quietly seeking, was given to me.
The special effects and sound effects didn’t really impress me, the special effects wear minimal. Wheeler had plenty of opportunity to show a darker, grittier, and more visceral side but chose to play it safe. Letting the drama, and dialog support most of the thrills. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I would have liked to have seen more gruesome effects during altercation and action scenes. What Jody Wheeler chose to give us came closer to Lifetime level of effects. With that said, “The Dark Place” does manage to create some real intense situations, plenty of emotion, and is quite entertaining. Even the mediocre instrumental music score and effects aid in the film’s suspenseful atmosphere.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by “The Dark Place”. The characters were not cartoonish stereotypes, and the story was a serious mystery, thriller. Even with the rough start, “The Dark Place” manages to become a captivating thriller. It is above most LGB&T thrillers that I have seen. There isn’t really any horror elements in the film, and the thrills are hit/miss throughout, so that was a slight disappointment. Still, Jody Wheeler does have a solid story here, with some stellar moments that create the necessary suspense and intensity. The ending was a little flat, but I was given the ending that I was hoping for, even if the final scene was a bit rudimentary and hokey. I definitely think mystery fans, and especially the LGB&T community should watch “The Dark Place”. Not that the film doesn’t have merit for the broader, hetero inclusive fan base.
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Check out these new images for slasher horror “The Wicked One”. The film is directed by Tory Jones and stars Katie Stewart, Dale Miller, Jack Norman, Ari Lehman, Jessica Bloom, Deb Perkins. Read the details for “The Wicked One” below.
The Wicked One is a breath of fresh air into the subgenre of Slasher movies. With his dilapidated coat, signature burlap mask, and a large knife for his intended victims, this Slasher has only one goal…. Death.
Set inside the walls of a Mental Institute, the story follows Alex Curtis (Portrayed by the talented Katie Stewart) after her incarceration. Alex claims that a figure known only as the Wicked One is after her and will soon claim her life, enough to make everyone think she’s insane. The story is really about Alex’s journey and presents the question is this young woman insane or is someone truly after her? Heading up Alex’s therapy is a doubtful and dapper young Psychiatrist Dr. Adam Lawson (Played by MMA Legend Dale Miller) As bodies begin to pile up at the Athens Institute, the staff may soon find that the Wicked One (Jack Norman) may be a real entity.
This madness, all the vision of Director Tory Jones who wanted to unleash a new slasher onto the scene. With the majority of today’s horror being dominated by cliche found footage and paranormal movies at every turn a return to the slasher formula is something I’ve always been interested in and something I’m a fan of. Now I have celebrities like Leslie Easterbrook, Renae Geerlings, Ari Lehman, Tamara Glynn, and countless others commenting on the mask and movie and that’s a huge compliment for someone who grew up a fan of those old school 70’s and 80’s slasher movies. I’m hoping this film could be the start of a franchise and a sequel script is being teased and ideas thrown around. It’s just something that will be dependent upon the success of this film.
The first official trailer is set to be released in the coming weeks with a premiere planned for Early 2015!
2015 Release Date Set For “Gnome Alone”
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When timid college student Zoe witnesses a hit-and-run, the dying victim gives her a strange amulet. Suddenly, all those who have offended Zoe in her life begin dying horrible deaths at the hands of a malicious gnome (Troyer). When Zoe discovers the horrible history behind the amulet, will she be able to harness its magical power before the gnome begins killing those closest to her?
FX Sets Out To Bring To Life “From Hell” Killer In New Series
FX has announced the decision to explore “From Hell” serial killer, Jack The Ripper, in new series. The concept is based on the 572 page graphic novel from writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell. The novel spawned the 2001 Johnny Depp film which focuses on the brutal crime spree of one of the world’s most notorious serial killers from his point-of-view. “Children Of Men” writer David Arata has signed on to write the FX original series which explores the world of Jack The Ripper from a first person character study into the mind of the killer. The news was first reported by Deadline.com
From Hell tells the tale of Jack the Ripper with the killer himself as the main character. Detailing the events leading up to the Whitechapel killings and the cover-up that followed, the 572-page graphic novel is a meditation on the mind of a madman whose savagery and violence gave birth to the 20th century.
First TV Spot Released For “Dementamania”
The first television spot has been released for Kit Ryan directed “Dementamania”. The film hits limited theatrical release and VOD on November 17th, and stars Kal Penn, Vincent Regan, Geoff Bell, Sam Robertson, John Thomson. "They Say There is no Harm in Daydreaming” A frustrated office worker finds himself caught between the realms of his deranged imagination and the mundane reality of his everyday existence.
Frustrated with the social injustice he faces everyday and the bureaucratic culture of the office where he works, EDWARD ARKHAM (Samuel Robertson) is at boiling point. Although a successful analyst with a leading IT consultancy, years of routine have taken their toll, and the unbearable daily monotony fuels his frustration and bitterness.
When Edward is stung by a mysterious bug, it results in a painful and aggressive rash which unlocks the door to a secret world inside his head causing nightmarish fantasies to manifest themselves within vivid hallucinations. As the rash spreads and threatens to envelop his entire body, his visions become more terrifying and reality begins to drift further from his grasp.
Poster And Trailer For “Magi” Released
Check out the promo poster and teaser trailer for Hasan Karacadag’s “Magi”. The film stars Lucie Pohl, Michael Madsen, Stephen Baldwin, Brianne Davis, and will be released on February 27, 2015 in Turkey. Not sure when this comes out here in the states…
Magi follows an American woman who relocates to Istanbul to take on the job as an English teacher. Soon, her journalist sister slowly comes to realize that all may not be as it seems with her sibling’s new baby.
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FX Sets Out To Bring To Life “From Hell” Killer In...
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South Africa’s 55,910,000 population comprises the world’s biggest HIV epidemic: an unusually high 18.9% adult people living with HIV (PLHIV)—varying by region—and 270,000 new infections in 2016. Nationwide 320,000 children are infected.
Men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender women, sex workers and people who inject drugs (PWID) experience even higher rates: sex workers nationally 57.7%, in Johannesburg an astonishing 71.8%., yet not many are getting Antiretroviral therapy (ART). The rate of infection among young women is 4 times greater than among same-age men.
High levels of stigma, homophobia and ignorance prevent many people living with HIV (PLHIV) from getting the health care they need.
Yet there is ground for hope. South Africa has the largest Antiretroviral therapy (ART) program in the world, a huge investment. It was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to approve PrEP. It now has a progressive national HIV policy for sex workers, although on the ground, the program meets resistance from local authorities.
(Figures from AVERT, 2016)
Truckdrivers at Pomona
Pomona is a truck stop where every day dozens of drivers maintain their trucks and take some time to relax. At Pomona there is a gas station, a cafe, a laundromat and a shop. There are also dozens of sexworkers.
Most truck drivers and sexworkers we’ve met came from Zimbabwe. But we also spoke to men and women from Zambia, Ghana and South Africa. Doctors estimate that more than 60 percent of the men and women at Pomona are infected with HIV. North Star Alliance has a container clinic on this site where you can be treated for HIV.
Petros Size Acid
Our man from Zimbabwe
I’m sitting on the veranda of the clinic dozing when I first spot him, the truck driver in his dark shabby outfit who comes quietly but purposefully towards me. Through the dust clouds swirling in the bright sunlight, it’s as if he’s floating at his own pace, in his own world.
When he’s standing in front of me a few seconds later, I’m surprised when he stretches out his hand and politely greets me.
“Good afternoon, sir.”
I see now that he’s still a young man. The lines that life leaves behind when we age have not yet marked his face. He looks at me without guilt or shame. An explorer, who has yet to take the first steps of his long journey, but trusting that all the days to come will bring good luck.
He’s a remarkable man. Before I can say anything, he surprises me for the second time. “I have come for the HIV test. I told the nurse yesterday that I was coming. Here I am.”
I am speechless…
Of course, HIV is prevalent in this world. The nurses who work in the container clinic behind me estimate that 80 percent of the truckers and 60 percent of the sex workers who have gathered on this dusty piece of land are infected with HIV.
It means that nearly all the adult men and women on this piece of land have HIV, a truth that blows me away when it sinks in… But despite the fact that HIV is so prevalent, it’s not talked about much. On the contrary. At this truck stop HIV is not spoken about. Here they whisper about it, preferably after sunset. Telling a strange white man about your HIV test… no one does that.
Except for the unusual man standing in front of me…
“When you’ve finished with the nurse at the clinic, shall we talk?” I ask him.
FIRST MAN-TO-MAN TALK ABOUT HIV
“Did you get the result immediately?”
He nods. “It was positive.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
He looks unfazed, but I feel that appearances are deceiving. It must have been a shock. A positive HIV test is always a shock.
“I’m going to take the pills. Every day. Then you don’t die. I will be fine.”
“Yes,” I say, “that’s right. Look at me. I’ve been taking the pills for 20 years and I’m still not dead. And I’m not going to die either, not for a long time.”
He looks at me with eyes wide. He asks me three times to repeat “20 years”. He’s being told that you can grow old with HIV, that unlike 10 years ago, you aren’t necessarily sick from this virus, you won’t die.
But so much is said, so much is whispered.
“How old are you?” he asks. Because he wants to make sure I’m not fooling him.
“I’m 56.”
Okay, he thinks, then you can have the virus for 20 years. He takes my hand, shakes it long and enthusiastically. “I’m 28,” he says. “And you’re 56!?”
“You don’t look like an old man. You’re not sick.”
“I’m not sick. I work, I travel, I drink a beer, I’m talking to you here…. And I still do all the things that men do.”
The last makes him extremely happy. Men are attached to their man things, it’s as simple as that. We talk for at least five minutes about all those things you don’t often talk about, but which you can’t do without. Three times he expresses his surprise that I’m 56, because that’s really old, especially when you consider all the years that I’ve had the virus in my body. And yes, how good it is even if you’re so old, and have the virus in your body for so long, that “you can still be happy and do the thing.”
I’ve given him the gift of decades of life by my outpouring. That’s how he experiences it. After the setback of the positive test, this is a godsend.
I ask him if he wants to tell me what made him decide to do an HIV test. That’s no problem; after all, we’re friends now. Although he wonders how anyone can be helped by it.
“I’m a truck driver. I work for 11 months, but in December I’m free. Then I go home. We celebrate and party all month. I live in a village in Zimbabwe, two hours from Harare. But December last year, my wife behaved a bit odd. She was not happy to see me. There was much talk in the village. My sister told me that I had to ask my wife.”
“You have to ask her!”
“Then I discovered that my wife was secretly taking pills against the virus. She had another man, she said, who also had the virus. I was very angry and left the house. When I returned my wife was not there. Only our daughters were still at home. I have not seen my wife since.”
“’You should call her’, my sister said. I talked to her once. She did not want to come back, she said. Then the phone stopped working.”
My sister was angry with me. She told me to go and look for her and punish her, and the man she ran away with, too. ”
“Did you?”
“No. No, I did not.”
He really loved his wife. He was angry, of course he was angry, but if she had come back, it would have been okay. He wouldn’t have shut her out because she had the virus. They would have gone through it together.
It was January and he had to go back to work. His mother and his sister promised to take care of his daughters.
“Are your daughters healthy?”
“Yes, my daughters are healthy.”
The 7-year-old was tested first, and then again to be sure. Twice his mother sent him the good news. The 4-year-old was tested, and she was clear too. She still needs to be tested a second time, but he’s confident that she’s also free of the virus.
A CIGARETTE, AJAX AND AFRICA
He doesn’t smoke. The clumsy way he clamps the cigarette between his fingers betrays him. But that doesn’t spoil the enjoyment. We both feel deeply the happiness of this special moment. Because when two men sit at a table to talk about life, the intimacy between them is increased with every drag on a cigarette.
“What do you do when you are free, when you have to wait for the next load?”
“Then I clean the truck. And I talk to my friends… ”
“About what?”
“About everything! About the truck, about home, about football… We watch a lot of football together.”
“Back home where I live, in Amsterdam, I also watch a lot of football. I support Ajax… Sometimes I go to the stadium to see a game.”
He doesn’t believe me. How is it possible that he’s here talking to someone who occasionally sits in the stands at the great Ajax? Then he starts to laugh, a laugh that grows and grows, a laugh that increasingly bursts at the seams; and this cheerful disbelief is unstoppable. He hits the table with his hand … “Ajax!!! Ajax Amsterdam!!??”
“Yes, Ajax Amsterdam!”
“Good for you, man. Good for you! ”
He’s a smart guy. Wise, in an African style. He’s much more able to withstand the accidents in life than most people I know. I don’t doubt his ability to survive. He will always be able to see the horizon where happiness awaits him. He won’t go under. He is like Africa in the 21st century. Poor, pushed aside, infected with HIV, but with an unshakable belief that the future belongs to them. He doesn’t know my world. Ajax Amsterdam in the Arena is out of reach for him. But the day will come when it will be different, when he sits next to me in the stands.
SECOND MAN-TO-MAN TALK ABOUT HIV
It’s not easy to return to the reason for our conversation. HIV is never an easy subject to talk about.
“So in April you were tested, but the result of the test was unclear, and that is the reason why you came back today for a new test?”
He nods.
“Weren’t you worried over the past few months about the results of this new test? Did you think about not coming back at all? ”
“No. I knew I would be back in Pomona. I always come back here. I arrived two nights ago and made an appointment in the morning… I told the nurses at the clinic in April that I would come back.”
He had some physical complaints and was worried. But perhaps the most important reason for him to be retested was the responsibility he felt, being the eldest son and a father of two.
“I send my money to my mother in Zimbabwe so that she and my daughters can eat, and so that my children can go to school. If I keep taking the pills, I will stay healthy and I can stay on the truck. I have to, because there is no work in Zimbabwe…”
“I’m saving for my mother now. Then she can start her own business in a few years. Then I’m going to save up for a business for myself. Yes, in my village, if I can in my village. That’s better for my daughters. ”
“No longer driving the truck through Africa?”
“If I have a business, I’ll have a car.”
We drink some more, in silence, and then we’re finished.
“We’ll have to meet up again in 20 years,” I tell him. He takes that seriously.
“That’s good. That would be great.”
“You’ll be 48,” I say.
“Yes, 48, and you’ll be…”
It takes a while for it to sink in.
“That’s okay. Because you’re not going to die yet.”
“No, and neither are you.”
Russia Warrior
“Women are stronger than men when they have to deal with HIV.”
Truckers and
Sex workers
“Only if they buy me a new dress, then they can kiss me.”
Health services to hard-to-reach populations
North Star Alliance Clinic
“We support each other. We’re sisters. We always support each other.”
Florence and Brilliance
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Craig Marshall Smith
As part of her training in high school, this Canadian track star ran against her male counterparts. She had two ambitions: becoming a member of Canada's national track team and competing in the Olympics. Deborah Miller-Brown displayed hard work and determination. In 1968, her dreams were realized, as she became the first Black Nova Scotian to participate at the Olympics.
Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Brown began her track career at age of eleven in Brantford, Ontario. The track records she set while in secondary school were an early indication of the success to come. Miller-Brown ran her best time, which was only two seconds shy of the world record in a race shortly before the Olympics. During her career, Miller-Brown also broke the Canadian women's record, in the 100-yard dash.
At age seventeen, Miller-Brown was one of the youngest track participants at the Olympics. She competed in the 100-yard event and with the Canadian women's relay team. Though failing to qualify for the finals, Miller-Brown clocked a time that led to her being ranked eighth in the world. Her hometown of Brantford was so proud of her accomplishments that the residents provided financial support through various fund raising events. A special fund was also collected to pay for Miller-Brown’s mother to accompany her to Mexico for the 1968 Olympics. Upon returning from the Olympics, Miller-Brown was awarded a Medal of Excellence in Sports from the Prime Minister.
Still involved in the sport, Miller-Brown has exchanged her participant role for a coaching role. Miller-Brown is currently coaching the track and field team at Saint Mary's University in Halifax.
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From migrant to volunteer, woman finds love in helping others and becomes a U.S. citizen
By Jeremy Carranco on April 2, 2018 People
Born in the Mexican town of Canutillo Durango on Sept. 5, 1953, Cleo Parrish struggled to gain United States citizenship for 45 years. On Sept. 14, 2016, her 45-year wait came to an end when she was declared a U.S. citizen.
“It was a surprise to me because I struggled understanding and learning English while I was crossing over,” said Parrish, 64. “I was nervous about the exams and my documents because they (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) ask for so much. But God worked it out for me and it felt amazing to finally get this right.”
In fiscal year 2016, Parrish became one of 752,800 immigrants who were naturalized nation-wide, a 14 percent increase from 2015, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“I would cross over with my cousin and learn English a little bit at a time,” she said. “It was a relief to leave home as a kid because I always wanted to live in the U.S., and get good at everything English in order to become the U.S. citizen.”
In 2015, 516 people became U.S. citizens in El Paso during a unified gathering at the Abraham Chavez Theater. In addition, 43 percent of El Paso County’s population growth between 1970 and 1990 was a result of international migration of both documented and undocumented people, according to Center for Immigration Studies.
During that same period, immigration to the area contributed to an increase of 50,000 new workers to the local labor force, and an additional 20,000 to 25,000 that were commuter workers, residents of Mexico who travel to the U.S. for work.
Applicants for U.S. naturalization must meet certain requirements, including being at least 18 years of age, being a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), and having resided in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident for at least five years. In addition, they are required to have been physically present in the U.S.for at least 30 months and be willing and able to take the Oath of Allegiance.
The ultimate deciding factor is an exam called the “Path of Citizenship” that tests applicants’ ability to understand the English language through speaking, reading and writing. A knowledge of U.S. government and history is also required.
“The verbal part of the exam was easy but I was nervous about the writing part,” Parrish said. “I had a choice to take it in English or Spanish so I took it in English and the guy (proctor) was surprised. I ended up passing with a 99 percent.”
During her 45-year journey of traveling back and forth from Mexico to the U.S., Parrish worked to help others at local public schools in Northeast El Paso.
“I didn’t cross to work,” she said. “I crossed to learn new things (English) and try new things in order to help others.”
Her husband Jerry Parrish, 71, a now retired U.S. Army Veteran, joined the service in 1968 and met his future wife four days after Valentine’s Day of 1977 in El Paso while stationed at Fort Bliss. Early in 1978, the couple moved to Germany because of Jerry Parrish’s involvement with the Army, and returned to the border region in July of 1981. They bought a house in Northeast El Paso, a few minutes drive from Desertaire Elementary.
It was at Desertaire where Parrish started to realize her love for helping others.
“Right away she got involved,” Jerry Parrish said. “If she gets involved with something she stays with it.”
The couple has three children. The oldest, Renee, 40, another daughter, Lucia, 37, and a son named Jerry Jr., 36. Renee was born four months before the couple moved to Germany and Lucia was born in Germany four months prior to their return to the Sun City. Jerry Jr. was born in El Paso at William Beaumont Army Medial Center.
With the couple’s oldest (Renee) having to deal with a health complication, the family hasn’t stopped loving one another despite the difficulty.
“Renee has had some problems in her life so she’s living with us,” Jerry Parrish said. “Being bipolar has unfortunately taken a toll on her and caused a lot of problems but I’m proud of all my children and love them all equally.”
The Parrish’s family bonds are as strong as Cleo Parrish’s devotion to volunteering. Her drive eventually led her to her first paying job in the U.S. as a cafeteria worker at Parkland High School in November of 1991, just minutes away from where she volunteered at Desteraire Elementary.
Her job at Parkland consisted of cutting fruit, making burritos during breakfast hours, and seasoning and preparing the food. Aside from dealing with the food, Parrish helped in any way she could.
“You have to cook with love, with your own love,” Parrish said. “Some kids (students) come to school hungry, looking for a meal every day and to know that I helped in making sure they ate was special to me.”
After 26 years, Cleo retired from Parkland High in June of last year. She said considers that period in her time there was better than anything else she had ever done in life because of what she was contributing to the local community.
“I would buy things like shirts or chocolate from the students or whatever they were selling because it helped them,” Cleo said. “Me and Jerry still go to the football games today because we’re fans of the school; we care about this place.”
Wanda Reyes, the current assistant manager at Parkland High School’s cafeteria, first met Cleo when she first arrived on campus in 2011. Reyes said that Cleo was not only a hard worker that cared for others, but was pretty good at the cooking part too.
“She worked everywhere and was here the longest,” Reyes said. “She was a server, she was a cook, she did salads and helped in just about every food section. Her work ethic was always excellent and (she) is still an awesome cook.”
Although now retired, Parrish continues to visit her former coworkers at Parkland High and sometimes even volunteers.
“They’re like my family,” she said. “I volunteer, I help others, it’s what I do.”
Today, Cleo works part time at a local EP Fitness in Northeast El Paso and says she is the happiest she has ever been.
“I love my job at EP Fitness,” she said. “I love the members and all the special people I run into that I knew from my time at Parkland. One lady came in one day with her husband and she said ‘we graduated in 1993, do you still work there?’ and I told her ‘No, I volunteer.’”
Museum therapy helping soldiers deal with PTSD
A recent grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts is helping the El Paso…
Volunteering finds its way from the classroom into the community
EL PASO — The concept of volunteer work is evolving rapidly within higher education as…
A soldier finds it hard to shed the war in civilian life
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — This Fourth of July, the Cardona family had more to celebrate…
United Way helps millennials give back to the Borderland through RISE
Martial Arts organization teaches discipline, respect and self-defense to children
Jeremy Carranco
Jeremy Carranco is a multimedia journalism major at UT El Paso graduating Spring 2018.
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10 Last-Place Facts
1) Only four of the eleven top-ranked last-place finishers have failed to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup race, and all four of them were prolific owner-drivers: J.D. McDuffie, G.C. Spencer, Jimmy Means, and Neil Castles.
2) Derrike Cope holds the record for the most last-place finishes in a single season when he picked up six driving for owner Raynard McGlynn in 2006.
3) Jimmy Means’ owner-driver operation holds the modern-era record for most last-place finishes by a team in a single season when the team picked up 9 in 1992. Means picked up three while co-drivers John McFadden and Graham Taylor picked up four and two, respectively.
4) The most laps led by any last-place finisher was 95 by Greg Biffle, the polesitter for last May’s Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington. An engine failure knocked him out on lap 234.
5) Drivers have finished last without completing a single lap of the race 131 times in NASCAR history, most recently in 2006 when Tom Hubert crashed on the first lap of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway.
6) The season with the fewest first-time last-place finishers was one in 1997: when Buckshot Jones crashed out of the finale at Atlanta. Every NASCAR season has had at least one first-time last-place finisher.
7) No driver has ever picked up more than two last-place finishes in a row, but in May of 1997, Geoffrey Bodine’s team finished last in three straight races: Sears Point, Talladega, and Charlotte. Geoffrey drove the team’s #7 in the first two races, but was injured in a practice wreck at Charlotte. Geoffrey's brother Todd took over driving duties that weekend and was taken out in an early crash. As a side note, Geoffrey returned to the #7 the following week at Dover and finished next-to-last with Bobby Hillin, Jr. taking last place.
8) Not only have all three of road racer Tom Hubert’s last-place finishes come at the Infineon Raceway, but they happened in three consecutive years (2004, 2005, 2006).
9) Dale Earnhardt has five last-place finishes, including three in 1992, but he never finished 43rd.
10) Entering 2009, some notable active drivers without a single last-place finish include Clint Bowyer, David Gilliland, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Chad McCumbee, David Ragan, Boris Said, Johnny Sauter, and Regan Smith.
davidd said...
I believe Jeff Gordon finished in 43rd place in the spring race at Texas last year (2008) and that was the first time in his 15-year career. A pretty impressive stat.
Brock Beard said...
Actually, according to my statistics, Jeff Gordon also finshed 43rd at Texas in 1999. Poor Jeff has had so much bad luck at that track!
you as usual sir, are correct. That's the same race "Texas Tery" won. so Jeffy-O has had 2 last-place finishes. Still a pretty good ratio!
Not bad for him at all if you check out some of the other guys in the rankings! In total, Jeff Gordon has 5 last-place finishes in his Sprint Cup career, but only those two happened in 43-car fields. His other three were Atlanta in the spring of '97 (42 cars) and both North Wilkesboro races in '93 (34 cars).
Last-Place Finishers: Can-Am Duel at Daytona (1959...
Last-Place Finishers: The All-Star Race (1985-pres...
Last-Place Finishers: The Clash at Daytona
CUP: Most Last-Place Finishes (1949-present)
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In many of the discussions surrounding Christopher West's interpretation of "Theology of the Body", West invokes John Paul II talking about the "Hermeneutic of Suspicion." I'd like to offer a very brief outline of this understanding.
As anyone who studies Church history knows, the Church has dealt with various heresies. Sometimes, those heretical concepts colored the judgement of even good and honorable men, some even saints! St. Hippolytus was an anti-pope. Tertullian died outside of the Church due to his Montanism. St. Cyprian through his rigorous orthodoxy at times lacked Christian charity towards the lapsed, and Pope St. Stephen rebuked him for it.
That this mindset has also colored the worldview of some Catholics throughout the years in the battle to present an authentically Christian view of sexuality is not surprising. We know that the Manichean influences that Augustine was once associated with at times led to some problematic statements he made regarding sexuality. While one should be very careful in substantiating the charge, there are those throughout Church history, even saints, who had a very dismissive view of sex and sexuality. This is why we must take great care to understand their statements in a wide context. Charity requires that we first attempt to reconcile their statements with the greater Catholic tradition.
I believe the precise opposite has happened with the debate surrounding Christopher West and those who defend him. A classic example of this occurs in the comboxes at Sr. Lorraine's blog. After what was a fairly boilerplate discussion, the topic turned to the importance of the marital embrace within marriage. Some were arguing that it was the "central" and "fullest" way of understanding the "spousal meaning of the body." Wade St. Onge objected to this line of thought, and used St. Frances De Sales to buttress his claims:
Married people ought not to keep their affections fixed on the sensual pleasures of their vocation, but ought afterwards to wash their hearts to purify them as soon as possible, so that they may then with a calm mind devote themselves to other purer and higher activities. (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 39: “The Sanctity of the Marriage Bed”)
The response of Sr. Lorraine was telling.
Well, Wade,it seems to me that the quote from St Francis de Sales perhaps has a bit of the attitude of suspicion, as John Paul might call it..... But when he says "wash their hearts to purify them" he seems to imply that they were somehow made impure by conjugal union. But authentic conjugal union marked by love is not an impure activity, so why would they need to be thereafter purified? Even some of the saints had traces of Manichaean attitudes, as probably most of us do still have them in some ways.
I find this troubling in a number of ways. Most importantly, she's accusing a Doctor of the Church of Manichean tendencies. Not just any doctor, but one of the great spiritual masters of the Church, of whom Pope Pius XI said the following:
What is more, it appears that Francis de Sales was given to the Church by God for a very special mission. His task was to give the lie to a prejudice which in his lifetime was deeply rooted and has not been destroyed even today, that the ideal of genuine sanctity held up for our imitation by the Church is impossible of attainment or, at best, is so difficult that it surpasses the capabilities of the great majority of the faithful and is, therefore, to be thought of as the exclusive possession of a few great souls. St. Francis likewise disproved the false idea that holiness was so hedged around by annoyances and hardships that it is inadaptable to a life lived outside cloister walls. (Rerum Omnium Perturbationem )
I submit it is quite imprudent to charge one of the great spiritual masters with Manichean tendencies, unless you have some real evidence. Sister Lorraine provides none. While some may find the quote Wade cited troubling, reading the context helps give a far better understanding of the text in mind. I submit that not only is the great Doctor assured of his spiritual orthodoxy, but he provides a large problem for the partisans of Mr. West.
There is one problem with the quote: depending on which version you have, it will or will not exist. An interesting discussion for scholars of St. Frances, but we need not bother ourselves with this debate. The context of the discussion surrounds that of over-indulgence. In giving his advice on the marriage bed, St. Frances says the following:
The marriage bed must be undefiled, as the apostle says, that is to say, kept free from uncleanness and all profane filthiness. Holy wedlock was first instituted in the earthly paradise, where as yet there never had been any disorder of concupiscence or of anything immodest.
We see here that St. Frances talks about the divine origin of marriage. God instituted marriage, and it is something that helps the spouses grow in holiness. There are those who take their warped views into the bedroom, and give us all kinds of perversity. (A popular example is Dr. Gregory Popcak's "one rule" which states that almost anything goes in the bedroom, provided contraception isn't used and the spouse's fulfillment is in mind.)
He then goes on to point out that like anything else, humans can abuse what was given to us by God. He demonstrates how to eat is holy, but people abuse eating into gluttony:
Just as to eat, not for the preservation of life, but to keep up that mutual intercourse and consideration which we owe to each other, is a thing in itself both very just and lawful, so the mutual and lawful compliance of the persons united in holy marriage is called by St. Paul a debt. But it is a debt so great that he allows neither of the parties exemption from it without the free and voluntary consent of the other....
After talking about the varying degrees of which indulgence is permitted (provided the primary purpose of marriage not thwarted), St. Frances says:
In truth, nuptial commerce, which is so holy, just and commendable in itself and most profitable to the commonwealth, is yet in certain cases dangerous to those that exercise it. Sometimes it causes their souls to be seriously ill with venial sin, as in cases of simple excess. Sometimes it kills it effectually by mortal sin, as when the order appointed for the procreation of children is violated and perverted. In this latter case according as one departs more or less from this order, the sins are more or less abominable, but they are always mortal. The procreation of children is the first and principal end of marriage. Hence no one may ever lawfully depart from the due order that that end requires.
Let us remember that above all, St. Frances was a pastor of souls. He understood well that sexual temptation is a serious issue, even in marriage. Even in marriage, even in the just, there can still be the temptation to use and exploit another person for your own ends. The more one focuses on the sensual, the greater that danger is, just as the more one focuses on the pleasure food provides, the greater the risk of gluttony and over-eating. It is in this context that the quote from Wade is given. St. Frances continues afterwards:
In this advice consists the perfect practice of that excellent doctrine which St. Paul gave to the Corinthians: "The time is short," said he, "it remaineth that they also who have wives be as though they have none." According to St. Gregory,' that man has a wife as if he had none, who takes bodily consolation with her in such a manner as not to be diverted from spiritual demands. What is said of the husband is understood likewise of the wife. "Let those that use the world," says the same apostle, "be as though they used it not".... We should enjoy spiritual things but only use corporal. When their use is turned into enjoyment, our rational soul is also changed into a brutish and beastly soul.
St. Frances is not saying that the marital embrace is unholy. Quite the contrary. He is telling people to exercises it properly, and to never let it interfere with your spiritual duties, especially those towards your spouse. Good as the marital embrace may be, it is not the epitome of marriage. Though it is a readily available sign of the union of husband and wife that they are "one flesh", one can think of even greater signs. (Indeed, St. Joseph did not partake in marital relations with the Blessed Mother, yet in John Paul II's eyes they practiced the spousal meaning of the body par excellence.)
Now is St. Frances saying that one can take no enjoyment from the marital embrace? Certainly not. What he is saying is that the said enjoyment of yourself should never be the main focus. How many people do we know, even in marriage, who are only thinking of themselves and their "needs." The more one focuses on their needs, the more likely they will start neglecting their spouse. If indeed the marital embrace is supposed to provide (however faint) a glimpse of the enjoyment we spend in heaven, should we not afterwards stay focused on what that is, instead of what gave that enjoyment?
I believe I have demonstrated that on this area, and so many others, the great doctor is truly above "suspicion." The question becomes: Why is he not taken at his word? I believe that if we do take this great spiritual master at his word, the positions of Mr. West and his associates are quite hard to justify, as I intend to prove another time.
dcs October 21, 2010 at 6:25 PM
Not to pat a fellow partisan on the back, but this is masterful.
Kevin October 21, 2010 at 6:33 PM
Thanks dcs. It just amazes me how people, in their attempt to defend something, absolutely throw some of the greatest Christians in history under the bus.
One should take great care in even insinuating that statement in public, even if you agree with it.
I'm sure the pro-West crowd will just love to read what St. Francis has to say about the marriage debt.
I have to say that the charge of "Manichaean" from West's defenders is turning into a bromide. I don't think the Manichaean heresy had a lot of influence on the Church. One can't just blurt out "Manichaean!" whenever one encounters a writing that doesn't conform to one's idea of what the Church teaches today.
The irony is that Manichaeism is a gnostic heresy, professing to bring salvation through knowledge. Isn't that a bit like what West & Co. are teaching? All we have to do is know TOB, the fullness of the Church's teaching on sex, and then we'll be able to achieve mature purity and be freed from concupiscence.
Nick October 22, 2010 at 6:46 PM
I really enjoyed this article; it was well done.
Anyone who knows even the basics can see St Francis was simply giving a commentary on 1 Cor 7 (which is essentially being ignored by many on the West side).
What made me laugh was when you said the only "problem" was whether that original quote was authentic or not...yet that quote is nothing but a restatement of 1 Cor 7:5,
"Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control."
Sister Lorraine can't really accuse the first quote of being Manichean without also accusing St Paul of the same thing!
Hello Nick,
Perhaps I should clarify. I never doubted the authenticity of the quote. Just that certain versions of De Sales' work do not carry that section, yet the original of course does.
Greg November 2, 2010 at 3:54 PM
Kevin, do you have the particular source for Fr. Loya's statement?
Kevin November 2, 2010 at 4:46 PM
Yes, I now do. When Catholic Exchange re-designed their entire site, a lot of the old links got broke.
I'll be re-adding the link now that it is good again.
For now:
http://catholicexchange.com/2010/02/15/135034/
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History of AA in Orlando: Intergroup History and Highlights
The following article appeared in the October 1976 issue of THE INTERGROUPER. It had been presented at the first annual Appreciation Banquet, held September 18; the speaker was Sandy B. from Alexandria, Virginia.
INTERGROUP HISTORY AND HIGHLIGHTS
by John Van D.
Prior to March 1971, all calls to AA in the Central Florida area were handled by a commercial answering service, which in turn referred the calls to a small but devoted list of 12th steppers.
In March of 1971, delegates from the then 15 groups in the area organized what has since been known as Central Florida AA Intergroup Services. A chairman, Bill T., and a secretary-treasurer, Ed J., were elected, and the late Bill S. first volunteered and then was paid to answer the phone in a room on the second floor of the Alco-An Club on East Jackson Street. At that time there was a total of 39 12th-step volunteers, 25 men and 14 women, on the Intergroup list.
Calls Logged
In the nine months of 1971 that calls were logged, a total of 1,105 calls were received and handled through the Intergroup Office. Regular meetings of Intergroup officers and delegates were held each month at the Alco-An Club.
A Move and New Activities
In the summer of 1972, Intergroup moved into the office building at 205 E. Jackson, the building where it. is located to this day. AA volunteers manned the office phone six days a week, and other volunteers stood by for calls relayed by T.A.S. on evenings and weekends. Institutional committees and public information committees began carrying the message to jails and hospitals, to schools, universities and civic and religious groups, and through the press and radio. In that year, 2,000 calls were logged.
In August of 1973, an AA was hired as office manager, as the number of calls rose to 3,690 during that year. In August of 1973, THE INTERGROUPER (our sterling AA journal) completed its first year of publishing. Calls to the Intergroup telephone rose steadily to 4,352 in 1974, 5,308 in 1975 and through the month of August 1976, 3,679. In six years, that’s more than 20,000 calls.
Growth in the Area
Groups and group meetings increased at an equally rapid rate. Today, Intergroup’s meetings list shows 39 AA groups, offering 84 meetings each week. Today, more than 150 men and women have volunteered for 12th-step work in the Central Florida area. Group and individual support, both in services and financially, has enabled the Intergroup to meet its responsibility under our Fifth Tradition…’’Each group has but one primary purpose, to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers…”
“I am responsible when anyone, anywhere reaches out for help. I want the hand of AA always to be there. And for that: I am responsible.”
Previous Article: History of AA in Orlando: Traditions In Action / Next Article: History of AA in Orlando: Minorities & AA
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Between 22 and 31 May 2009 the Chief Executive of Change4Change, Martin Jeffs and his daughter Rebecca were in India visiting projects.
However, the story started long before then. On 16 November 2007, we received an e-mail from Samuel Joshua Geddam in the district of West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh.
After sometime we were able to validate Joshua as a trustworthy individual and received a proposal from him for sewing machines (ordinary and zig zag) and basket making kits.
Change4Change is a charity that raises funds in the UK to set up sustainable businesses in the developing world, usually by loans which recirculate in the relevant country. No administration fess are taken out of funds raised as these are all financed by the Trustees of the charity and so 100% of all donations are used on projects,
Meanwhile, back to the story, on 29 February 2008, we agreed to finance 10 ordinary sewing machines, 10 zig zag sewing machines and 10 basket making kits and sent funds of £1,560 to India.
It very quickly became apparent that Joshua not only understood what we wanted to achieve with re-circulating the funds, but also quickly had an efficient organisation on the ground with Co-ordinators in the various villages to supervise the projects and collect the loans, which incidentally are interest free.
Joshua also provided us with regular reports and photographs, which are very important to us.
Because of the initial success we proceeded to finance more projects.
In September 2008, Joshua asked us to consider financing some village stores at a cost of £200 each and then in November put a proposal to us to finance bore wells for villages without water at a cost of £600 each, which the villagers would take responsibility for and repay in 18 monthly instalments.
By the time of our visit in May 2009 we had financed the following:-
Ordinary Sewing Machines
Zig Zag Sewing Machines
Basket Making Kits
Further machines and funds
What was really inspiring was that with the loan repayments we were able to distribute further machines and funds which brought the numbers to:-
This means that up to that point we had financed projects here to the value of £9,720 but that the value of current projects was £18,888 affecting the lives of 281 families.
What was also exciting was that 60 of the businesses that had been set up had now repaid their loans in full and so far on the 281 projects not one person had missed even one loan repayment which is absolutely phenomenal.
In addition to all this we have also financed 20 bore wells affecting the lives of around 8,000 people with the loan repayments financing a new bore well each month from now on.
But what people really want to know are the stories.
India is quite an experience for anybody who has never been and the roads and driving are quite something. You must drive with only one hand on the steering wheel as the other is required for the continuous sounding of the horn.
Also the "triple" speed bumps are a work of art! This means that by the time the front wheels have cleared the third bump the rear wheels hit the first. The resultant "shake up" will remove any loose teeth you may have.
During our time in India we probably had a minimum of 5 to 7 power cuts each day which tends to leave the air conditioning pretty ineffective.
I was presented with a flower holder that was made by the basket makers as a gift.
One of the young boys who now runs a village store was desperate to find the means to make a living and as no banks would lend him any funds, he became suicidal. He was at this point introduced to Change4Change who provided the funds to buy his business and make a living. We may have literally saved his life!
A lady and her daughter run a village store selling drinks etc. The husband had died and they were left with no means of support until Change4Change financed the purchase of the store.
Another lady, opened a café at the local court where she sold breakfast to people attending court as well as providing meals for the officials. She had also put in a public phone so that people attending court could contact their families if required.
Newspapers, radio and television
On our final morning in West Godavari we were presented to the newspapers, radio and television which was quite an experience.
We were later asked by representatives of two other districts being East Godavari and Krishna if we would be prepared to do something similar in those states as we had already done in West Godavari.
On 31st May we flew back to England, however this is not the end of the story it is just...
The Begining!
Note – In June/July 2009 we financed a further 15 village stores in West Godavari and then 10 ordinary sewing machines, 10 zig zag sewing machines, 10 basket making kits, 5 village stores and 16 bore wells in each of East Godavari and Krishna.
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Coddling the Rich?
Comments Off on Coddling the Rich?
by Peter on August 24, 2011 in Uncategorized
Billionaire Warren Buffet, also known as “The Oracle of Omaha,” works hard to keep a folksy, down-to-earth reputation despite a net worth reaching as high as $62 billion. His Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meetings are the rock concerts of the investment world, attracting upwards of 40,000 attendees, and his annual letter to shareholders is pored over like the latest pronouncement from the pope. Buffet has become a favorite “go-to” guy when lawmakers and reporters need a voice of financial reason, and he has weighed in on topics as diverse as the government bailouts, stimulus spending, and stock market gyrations.
So it’s no surprise that Buffet has something to say about taxes. What’s surprising is that he thinks people like himself and his mega-rich friends should pay more! Last week, he wrote a piece in the New York Times calling on government to stop coddling the super-rich. “Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744,” Buffet writes. “That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.”
Buffet’s solution? He argues that Congress should raise rates immediately on the 236,883 taxpayers reporting income over $1 million, and raise them even further on the 8,274 earning more than $10 million. “My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress,” he concludes. “It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.”
Buffet saw his net worth drop $25 billion in just 12 months during 2008 and 2009. He’s shown he can handle a little financial pain, and he probably won’t miss any extra he pays in tax. But what about everyone else?
Three days later, The Wall Street Journal countered Buffet’s argument and accused him of volunteering the middle class for a tax increase. The Journal cited their own former editor Barney Kilgore’s observation that it’s easy for rich people to call for higher taxes because they already have their money. And they pointed out what they called three flaws in Buffet’s argument:
1. Much of the income Buffet says isn’t taxed enough consists of “qualified corporate dividends,” which are already taxed before they even reach him at corporate rates of up to 35%.
2. Taxing “the rich” alone won’t raise enough to close the deficit gap because there just aren’t enough of them. That’s why the President has called for higher taxes on families making over $250,000 per year, most of whom aren’t billionaires or even millionaires.
3. Finally, Buffet has already sheltered the bulk of his fortune from future taxes by pledging it to a charitable foundation.
If you’re not sitting on a billion-dollar fortune, you have a couple of ways to look at Buffet’s call — whether you think taxes should go up or not. Those of you who think taxes are high enough already can see how he uses perfectly legal tax planning to cut his own tax to the legal minimum — and resolve to do the same ourselves. Those of you who think the government really does need more revenue can see his voice as adding weight to the growing chorus for that revenue. Whichever side you take, though, we’re here to keep your taxes to the absolute minimum possible.
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Legal Advice to the Georgia-Pacific Company (Law Essay Sample)
/ Samples / Law / Legal Advice To The Georgia Pacific Company
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Check Out Our Legal Advice to the Georgia-Pacific Company Essay
The company, which is going to be reviewed, is “Georgia-Pacific”. This company was founded by Owen R. Cheatham in 1927 as a hardwood lumber’s wholesaler (which was named at that time “Georgia Hardwood Lumber Co.”). During all its history, it has changed its names as well as the headquarters several times (Augusta, Olympia, Portland and then to Atlanta).
The “Georgia-Pacific” has grown through acquisitions and expansion and became one of the leading manufacturers as well as marketers of pulp, building products, tissue, packaging, paper, and related chemicals in the world.
This company employs more than 40,000 people at more than 300 locations not only in the USA but also worldwide. Moreover, during 1941-1945, it was probably the larger supplier of lumber to the U.S. armed forces. For the outstanding service in the war, “Georgia-Pacific” was awarded by the Army-Navy “E”.
The company believes in creating long-term customers, value, and business partners. All the employees are guided by principles of Market Based Management. It should be noticed, these principles are based on compliance and integrity; they also force the company to develop achieving world-class excellence. The “Georgia-Pacific” strives to find new and better ways to support the consumers’ needs and produce goods.
The “Georgia-Pacific” has a strong belief to make significant contributions, which are going to support the environment. The employees of “Georgia-Pacific” work closely with mostly non-profit organizations to facilitate growth and sustainability.
The “Georgian-Pacific” has a lot of programs, initiative and maintains some scholarships. For example, it has partnered with Womenetics. The aim of this partnership is to encourage future leaders to learn more about Global Women’s Initiative, to inspire action and cooperation among leaders in different spheres and to lift actions which are going to make a difference in women’s lives all around the world. The “Georgia-Pacific” has even created its own foundation which main aim is to strengthen the communities where everyone lives and works. The Foundation invests its sources in 4 key areas – “the Four E’s”, as its members call them: entrepreneurship and community enrichment, education, and environment.
One of the most important initiatives that the Georgia-Pacific has is a ‘Georgia-Pacific Sustainability’. The company defines it as meeting the needs that society has today. The “Georgia-Pacific” considers that sustainability has three dimensions – social, environmental, and economic. In making decisions, it tries to find a proper balance among all these dimensions and to achieve the subsequent results.
The social dimensions are: better life for people, supporting for communities, maintenance of quality work environment, etc. As for the environmental dimensions, they are: wise use of resources, compliance with law, operating in safe, responsible, efficient manner. The third dimension is economic: profitability maintenance, making the products which are preferred at the market, etc.
As for the sustainable forestry, it means that the way the forests are insured today the better or worst forests people will have in the future. Due to the “Statement on Forest Protection and Sustainable Practices”, there is a need for a company to protect endangered forests or the forests in special areas. It is not only a benefit for customers who buy a good and legal product, but also for a company to improve its image. At this program, the company is focused on science which will help to identify the location of unique or rare areas, which are to be kept and maintained for the future generations.
In addition, this company works on creation of long-term value, using resources to provide wholly new products and solutions that meet the needs not only of customers but also of society, operating in a socially responsible and environmentally manner.
The second initiative to be reviewed is the “Georgia-Pacific Chemicals Leverages Open Innovation”. This program is focused on opening innovations by seeking development partners to expedite significant technology advancements, support opportunities of growth, and address customer needs.
The open innovation strategy helps the company to provide the opportunity to channel the technology of partners to meet both the visions of the “Georgia-Pacific” and satisfy its customers’ objectives.
The “Georgia-Pacific Chemicals” seeks partners within universities, entrepreneurs, both federal and private laboratories, and other corporations that have or can have the technologies of interest to leverage the development capabilities and its own application.
Administrative Law and the Initiatives
These initiatives are considered as long-terms ones so it should be taken into account that later they will need some changes due to the law changes. Mostly all the programs and initiatives the “Georgia-Pacific” has are ecological ones.
The strategy is right. If the company produces goods made from the environmental products, so the company needs to act restoring it for the future generations.
To make the future work of the company effective, additional bodies are to be made. According to the first initiative, tree bodies should be made: the first one will enforce to work making no harm to the environment. If the problems appear, the other bodies will solve it without coercive measures made by the authorities. The Members of the second body will investigate and explore the market. It will help the company understand what customers want to buy and what products are demanded. Third body will study the results of both previous bodies’ work: was the harm caused by reviewed company, what decisions were to be made, what changes should be taken.
According to the next initiative, two bodies have to be established, which will
examine whether the innovations are new, do they have technical capabilities (1st body), and whether they meet the needs of customers (2nd body).
These bodies have to be controlled by the legislative body. The final decisions are made by the body of higher authority. However, if the situation appears when there is a need of instant decision, these bodies have a right to make it with proceeding notification.
At the end of each fiscal period, the legislative body should carry out verification of activities. This verification should be made carefully as the results of illegal activities of such company have more or less impact on the environment in which we live.
The leaders of the company should understand that the products they produce can be sold either by the direct sales or through the Internet. A customer wants to see, sometimes even touch such products as wood, pulp or other materials. In this case, the sales are carried at shops or factories. On the other hand, the “Georgia-Pacific” receives a great image and one of the most profitable companies in the world. If a customer knows it, he or she can buy goods by means of the Internet or make an order by telephone.
It should also be noticed that “Georgia-Pacific” is a world well-known company which have its branches and representative offices all over the world. That is why there will be no profit from giving a license as customers will continue to buy at the “Georgia-Pacific” company as they have already known the product quality, which is represented, and the quality of service that is provided.
The profit of these initiatives can be received only when people will understand the importance of products which make no harm to society and environment. Currently, society understood this problem and started to make steps towards healthy way of life.
Nevertheless, “Georgia-Pacific” should, firstly, expand the program of protecting the environment widely. The posters and slogans should be distributed everywhere. These steps will draw attention to the company and will eliminate other competitors. In addition, the novelty and appropriate, safe processing of raw materials must be fully patented, making the production of even a little bit similar product impossible.
Death Penalty in the United States of America
Crime in the United States of America
Human Rights Act
Summary on Listened Files
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The Mormons' trademark shiny happy disposition is a great fit for the toothy smiles and jazz hands of musical theatre. The form's protocols are observed, but the satire cuts through the suffocating good cheer that would normally put me off. The cast have the difficult task of balancing bathos with pathos. Too much of the former and you are left with a simple diatribe against the self-delusions of religion, and anyone can do that. What is more interesting is the way religions actually work. The question that needs answering is WHY people believe these 'fucking weird', even malicious, fabrications. The Book of Mormon attempts an answer, with some success. One of the great ideas in the show is the way Elder Cunningham draws on his pop culture knowledge (Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings) as a resource when adapting the Mormon holy text. This both demonstrates the way narratives are stitched together from previously articulated narratives (whatever is available), and the way religious movements have done this in the past to stay relevant. Arguably Christ used Judaism for his own purposes, as Joseph Smith used Christianity for his.
Following on from the previous post, alarm bells will start ringing whenever privileged writers try to portray less privileged cultures. Trey Stone and Matt Parker are white guys setting much of their story in Uganda, and they ask their cast to speak with African accents. To their credit, they partly get around the difficulty by very blatantly calling it out while the characters are still in America, and they continue to do so: the missionaries chant 'I am Africa!' when they successfully convert the village, and there is even a dig at Bono (who is fair game as far as I'm concerned). Parker and Stone mostly stick to making fun of American attitudes, and if you were being kind you could lump 'maggots in my scrotum' and sex with babies to cure AIDS as part of the same satirical project. However, they do also take a stab at evoking the genuine African experience by giving Nikki M. James a solo where she dreams of living a life less 'shitty'. Again, pathos expertly mixed with bathos. And any worries I had about the imposition of alien attitudes onto an existing culture were blown away by the strength of her performance. The cast as a whole were brilliant, which certainly helps Stone and Parker get away with it.
Index: Religion, Theatre
The controversy over the book's 'orientalism' is certainly worth paying attention to. Obviously, Craig Thompson is an American depicting a vaguely Middle Eastern setting and culture, which will inevitably set alarm bells ringing. It doesn't help that the book features a sultan's harem, slavery, and the sexual abuse of children and women. The author certainly doesn't exhibit a sense of superiority. Neither is there a significant amount of 'othering' going on, at least on a conscious level (not like, say, Frank Herbert's concern over the hubris of 'Western man'). If anything, Habibi ends on a distinctly cosmopolitan note. I'm thinking particularly of the third and fourth panel on p.672, where the new family walk into and are lost in a crowd of people – out of the story and into our lives – Thompson is working under the assumption that the characters he is portraying ultimately share the same essence and worth as us, and that condescension or idolization are both to be avoided. The author's intentions are irreproachable in that respect.
If I have a problem with the book, it is with Thompson's predilection for over-explaining himself, brought out particularly in the eighth, image-less, chapter. His characters sometimes spend too much time telling the reader the precise reasons behind their emotions or actions. That said, Thompson's sense of precision is also one of the book's great strengths, in that it is put together with extreme care as a visual narrative. He employes a dazzling array of devices (repetitions, contrasts, symbols) in telling the story, to the extent where I get the impression the book could work as a pretty solid primer for the range of possibilities presented by the comics form. In that spirit, I'll note some of the effects I noticed in the first chapter below.
The first panel of a drop of ink is all meta, obv, but the idea as developed in the rest of the page is a bit more subtle than that. Sure, this is the creation of the story as well as the world, but the ink is also a river – a sustainer of life. The book will continue with these transitions between religious myths and lived experience. Indeed, one of its main themes will be the way such bedtime stories layer and make sense of our reality.
The page is divided into a nine-panel grid. Later on, Thompson will explicitly draw attention to the range of patterns that can be worked into these nine squares – the fact that they can be read vertically and diagonally as well as horizontally. This is also brought out on the first page. The middle panels make reference to the water / earth / fire / air idea which will be significant later. There is a certain male-female contrast between the left and right of the page. Finally, panels 3 and 9 foreshadow the very end of the book: where our heroes decide to go up the river, and where Dodola is freed from the predations of a patriarchal society.
On the next two pages there is a cross-page contrast between a hand holding money on the top left corner and a hand holding a pen on top right (which also recalls the very first panel). Dodola appears to be sold for water as well as money – the issue of control and exploitation of natural resources is something the book will continue to explore.
Page 12 is another nine-panel grid, with certain visual repetitions when read vertically. The final panel on that page ('So pure') is called back to on page 14 ('It proves that you were pure') – the veneration suggested by the act of washing the feet contrasted with the subjection of the veil. The image of the veil is carried on to the next page, where it symbolises people's separation from the divine essence – the separation of reality and storytelling. The implication being that writing can lift that veil.
The next couple of pages map out a progression from literacy to knowledge and corruption – an orthodox reading of the fall of man as a journey from the innocence of childhood to the experience of adulthood. Page 19 literally draws a religious frame around the events portrayed in page 22.
The 'River Map' of the chapter's title refers to the nine-square maths problem which stops the flooding in Dodola's story, but also serves as a metaphor for the imposition of order on an unpredictable world. Taking that a bit further in a meta direction, comics are also a way of imposing order on reality – magic charms that will protect us against devils and make us braver when faced with the unknown. The story will go on to explore other themes, and this first chapter almost serves as an introduction to the methodology Thompson will use to do so. For me, this internal logic makes it the strongest of the lot.
Index: Comics, Religion
The Castle of Cagliostro
I remember Harold Bloom said somewhere that the object of Don Quixote's quest is ultimately unanswerable, that he endures his many humiliations because the reader demands it of him. I was reminded of this at the end of The Castle of Cagliostro (Hayao Miazaki's first film), when Clarisse asks Lupin to stay with her, and Lupin physically pulls himself away from the proposition. He can't settle down. Why? Unanswerable by the film itself, it's because the readers of the manga and the watchers of the anime series demand that Lupin stay the same adventurer-thief. Telling that such a finale does not feel like a cynical move to ensure the viability of further sequels, but rather suggests comparisons with Cervantes. Fact is, in that moment, I believed that Lupin is genuinely torn up at the prospect of love and serenity at the cost of abandoning his true self and forgoing a life of danger and excitement. Whatever essential qualities the character embodies (and I knew nothing about Lupin III before watching this film) Miazaki did a fine job of encapsulating them, and demonstrating just how essential they are.
Index: Film, Hayao Miyazaki, Literature
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California Chrome wins Meydan’s Dubai World Cup 2016
Marco Virgili
English, Events, Sport
On Saturday March 26 2016, California Chrome wins the $10m Dubai World Cup, the richest race of the season, by three-and-three-quarter lengths in a course record time. California Chrome finished second behind a surprise winner in the same race 12 months ago.
Victor Espinoza, California Chrome’s jockey, said he felt his saddle starting to slip at an early stage but he steered the 2014 Kentucky Derby winner to an emphatic success. Sherman, a former jockey who also rode work on Swaps, one of the great Kentucky Derby winners, paid tribute to Espinoza’s skill.
“Victor did a fabulous job,” Sherman said. “I rode for 23 years, and when your saddle slips it makes you move backwards on a horse, you have to keep control. “He’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse for me, anybody that knows him and has been around him all the years like we have, you really get attached to him. You think about all the great trainers that have never come up with a horse like him.”
Festivities on Dubai World Cup day end with the magnificent Dubai World Cup show and concert.
The multi-platinum-selling artist Janet Jackson will perform at the close of horse racing series on Saturday, March 26. It will be her first concert in four months, after she was forced to pull the plug on her Unbreakable world tour to undergo an emergency throat operation.
Jackson, the 49-year-old sister of the late Michael, began her career as a member of siblings act The Jacksons before finding solo fame in the mid-1980s. She has sold more than 160 million records, including 1990s anthems That’s the Way Love Goes, Together Again and Got ’til it’s Gone.
You can see all the pics here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1046278838763447.1073741907.711114128946588&type=3
CaliforniaChrome, Dubai, DubaiWorldCup2016, Meydan, meydanhotel, meydanracecourse, winner
Dubai Nightlife Weekend: March 24, 25 2016
An April shower of Events @ Capital Club Dubai
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Monocytes and macrophages
Three functional subsets of human monocytes have been identified with some overlap between the types in humans. Macrophages are monocytes that have migrated out of the blood stream and into the internal body tissues. Once a monocyte leaves the blood, it matures into a wandering macrophage or a fixed macrophage. Macrophages are scavengers whose job is to engulf or eat up infecting germs and even infected cells. MDM (Macrophage Dérivé de Monocyte), Macrophages, Macrophages dérivés de monocytes, Macrophage, Macrophages dérivés de la moelle osseuse Swedish Makrofager Monocytes and macrophages play a critical role in tissue development, homeostasis, and injury repair. Many tissue-resident macrophages with embryonic origins can self-renew and persist into adulthood, while those in other tissues are gradually replaced by bone marrow-derived monocytes. Monocytes and macrophages are part of the body's first line of defence, eliminating pathogens by phagocytosis or by releasing a broad array of inflammatory mediators, such as …White blood cells such as monocytes and macrophages are known mediators of inflammation, and according to new findings by researchers at A*STAR, also …Monocytes and Macrophages The monocytic cells seen in body fluids have variable morphology as they have the ability to transform into phagocytic macrophages. Physiologie des monocytes et des histiocytes macrophages. Miltenyi Biotec distribution: As a global market leader with numerous subsidiaries and distributors, Miltenyi Biotec is committed to providing our customers around the world with the highest quality products. Macrophages are either derived from blood borne monocytes which have migrated into tissue and differentiated, or from dividing macrophages within the tissue. In case of the defense, monocytes get conveted into macrophages. Log in Sign up. Monocytes have the ability to change into another cell form called macrophages before facing the germs. Weirong Fang 1,3, Xuan Zhai 1,4, Dong Han 1, Xiaoxing Xiong 1, Tao Wang 1, Xun Zeng 5, Shucheng He 3, Rui Liu 3, Masaaki Miyata 6, Baohui Xu 2, Heng Zhao 1 . . nature. They are the largest type of leukocyte and can differentiate into macrophages and myeloid lineage Mar 2, 2017 Monocytes & macrophages are very closely related cells with a few distinctions. Monocytes are a type of immune cells found in blood; they are capable of migrating to tissues by differentiating into macrophages. La demi-vie des monocytes dans le sang est d’environ 2 à 3 jours. Monocytes and macrophages are important mediators for both innate and adaptive immunity, due to their crucial role in many inflammatory processes associated with infection, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cancer. The presence of Ly6C hi , but not Ly6C low , monocytes in TS/A tumors suggested that the former could be more efficiently recruited to tumors and function as the TAM precursor. In the 1950s, radioisotopic studies demonstrated the high prodution rate and short lifespan of neutrophils and allowed researchers to follow the monocytes as they moved from the marrow through the blood to become tissue macrophages, histiocytes, and dendritic cells. Monocytes are large, spherical cells that make up 2 to 8% of circulating WBCs. Put simply, monocytes are macrophages in the blood; macrophages are monocytes in tissue. This technique has been described for almost 50 years (66). The authors found that, although tumor-associated macrophages expressed PD-L1, these cells did not generally suppress T cell responses. In fact, monocytes are derived from the same common progenitor cell as macrophages and dendritic cells—the monocyte macrophage dendritic cell progenitor—and all three cell types have been categorized as part of the mononuclear phagocyte system first proposed by van Furth in 1968. Dendritic cells initiate and regulate the highly pathogen-specific adaptive immune responses and are central to the development of immunologic memory and tolerance. Monocyte progenitors are initiated in the bone marrow as a common myeloid‐monocytic progenitor, the colony‐forming unit of granulocytes and monocytes (CFU‐GM). They phenotyped monocytes and macrophages in tumors and adjacent tissue, as well as samples from control subjects without cancer. Macrophages are larger than microphages and can either be wanderers (free macrophages) or immobile (fixed macrophages). Furthermore, another difference between neutrophils and macrophages is that neutrophils have a multi-lobed nucleus while the nucleus of macrophage is big and round shaped. Monocytes and macrophages express F4/80 antigen after differentiation and proliferation of F4/80 negative precursors in the embryo (not shown) and bone marrow. Title: Monocytes and Macrophages 1 Monocytes and Macrophages Michael Fishbein. Lymphocytes, Monocytes-Macrophages, and Microglia The brain contains very few lymphocytes compared to other organs that do not have a vascular-tissue barrier. A protocol is presented for cell culture of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) differentiated human monocyte-derived macrophages. Since there is a continuum A majority of macrophages are stationed at strategic points where microbial invasion or accumulation of foreign particles is likely to occur. Monocytes and Macrophages Peripheral Blood Monocytes and Monocyte Cell Lines In a qRT-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screen, human peripheral blood monocytes (HPBM) were shown to express high levels of MMPs-8, -11, -17, -23, and -25, although all except MMP-11 were downregulated after culturing for a few Monocytes deposit themselves in various organs, producing macrophages which surround foreign particles to destroy them (phagocytosis). Search. The difference in cytoplasmic coloration is an invariable distinction between monocytes and band neutrophils by light microscopy. Macrophages constitute a very versatile population of phagocytic cells present in most tissues, albeit in different forms such as microglia, osteoclasts, and Kupffer cells. They can actually consume, or munch, on harmful bacteria, fungi and viruses. CCR2-dependent monocytes/macrophages exacerbate acute brain injury but promote functional recovery after ischemic stroke in mice . Upon tissue damage or infection, monocytes are rapidly recruited to the tissue, where they can differentiate into tissue macrophages or dendritic cells. The term exudate macrophages designates the developmental stage and not the functional state. David Kluth. 1% BSA and 0. View Larger Image : Differentiated Human M1 Macrophages Secrete IL-12. Monocytes have the ability to change into another cell form called macrophages before facing the germs. Although monocytes and tissue-resident macrophages are involved in the processes of inflammation and tissue repair during fibrosis (57, 58), a role for MRTMs or MRTM subpopulations has not been investigated in such models. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Macrophages are derived from monocytes, which also originate in the bone marrow. Nevertheless, scant evidence existed to suggest that monocytes differentiate into tissue-resident macrophage populations. Monocytes and Macrophages Michael Fishbein. Monocytes/macrophages constitute the first line of defence for external intrusion or infection. However, even in absence of pathology, a few T-lymphocytes regularly cross the intact blood brain barrier, wander in brain tissue for short distances, and re-enter the circulation. Recent advances in immunology research have discovered that monocytes are heterogenic and can be divided into three subsets based on specific surface markers and that each subset displays specific functions. These macrophages and monocytes are the principle cells by which HIV enters to Central Nervous system (CNS) by crossing blood brain barrier (BBB). , 2008). Some of them may be called up if needed, to form the precursors of two other types of white blood cells: tissue macrophages and dendritic cells. Additionally, CD68 is a very classic marker for human macrophages. This antibody reacts with Mouse samples. 4. Monocyte and macrophage differentiation: circulation inflammatory monocyte as biomarker for inflammatory diseases Jiyeon Yang , 1 Lixiao Zhang , 1 Caijia Yu , 1 Xiao-Feng Yang , 1 and Hong Wang 1 1 Department of Pharmacology, Centers for Metabolic Disease Research, Cardiovascular Research, and Thrombosis Research, Temple University School of Macrophages and intestinal macrophages have high plasticity causing their phenotype to be altered by their environments. As a part of the vertebrate innate immune system monocytes also influence the process of adaptive immunity. The MPS constituted monocytes and macrophages with the premise that all macrophages are derived from blood monocytes. sion, evaluating human monocytes/macrophages from healthy donors. monocytes+macrophages/100 leukocytes in body fluid by manual count This field contains the LOINC term in a more readable format than the fully specified name. They perform important active and regulatory functions in innate as well as adaptive immunity [1]. A protocol is presented for cell culture of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) differentiated human monocyte-derived macrophages. Monocytes/macrophages play an important role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis. The production and deployment of phagocytes are central functions of the hematopoietic system. Monocytes can mobilize from bone marrow, traffic to their required destination, and differentiate into effector cells, dependingFor example, they can develop into macrophages, which are cells that eat bacteria, viruses, parasites, cells that have become infected, and debris in tissues. Macrophages / Monocytes Monoclonal Antibody from Invitrogen for Immunohistochemistry (Frozen), Immunohistochemistry (Paraffin) and Flow Cytometry applications. 1,2 THP-1 cells, a human leukemia monocytic cell line, monocytes and macrophages coexpressing M1 and M2 markers To date, deep immune profiling of human lung tumors has been mostly at the molecular level and is based on transcriptomic data interpreted by computational analysis (19 Monocytes and macrophages are considered to belong to the same differentiation lineage, but represent sequential stages of a linear development process. This results in lipid accumulation inside cells. They are usually identified in stained smears by their large two-lobed nuclei . Monocytes and macrophages have crucial and distinct roles in tissue homeostasis and immunity, but they also contribute to a broad spectrum of pathologies and are thus attractive therapeutic targets. The goal for targeting monocytes/macrophages using liposomes includes not only drug delivery but also potentially a role in cell ablation and cell activation for the treatment of conditions including cancer, atherosclerosis, HIV, and chronic inflammation. Cited by: 377Publish Year: 2014Author: Jiyeon Yang, Lixiao Zhang, Caijia Yu, Xiao-Feng Yang, Hong WangMonocytes and macrophages: developmental pathways and https://www. 1 La phagocytose = fonction immune naturelle. They circulate in the peripheral blood and are recruited to tissues following injury or infection. Lymphocytes vs Macrophages. Human peripheral blood CD14 + monocytes were differentiated for 6 days under M1 or M2 macrophage polarization conditions using reagents included in the CellXVivo ™ Human M1 Differentiation Kit or the CellXVivo ™ M2 Macrophage Differentiation Kit (R&D Systems, Catalog # CDK013). However, in the chronic phase after myocardial infarction, macrophages residing in the infarct were again independent from the blood monocyte pool, returning to the steady-state situation. F4/80 + cells were isolated from spleen single-cell suspension using Anti-F4/80 MicroBeads UltraPure, two MS Columns, and an OctoMACS™ Separator. Monocytes and macrophages have crucial and distinct roles in tissue homeostasis and immunity, but they also contribute to a broad spectrum of pathologies and are thus attractive therapeutic targets. Selective labeling of blood monocyte subsets indicates that non-classical monocytes are biased progenitors of alternatively activated macrophages. Monocytes and their progeny contain toll-like receptors and granules. Create. Monocytes & Macrophages in London: Celebrating Elie Metchnikoff. Monocytes/Macrophages in Experimental Models of Acute Liver Injury. Supplementary key words obesity • infl ammation • innate immunity • interleukin-1beta • palmitate • stearate • oleate • linoleate Interleukin-1 (IL-1 ) is a proinfl ammatory cytokine in-In contrast to macrophages from many other tissues, those in the LP of the intestine are continuously replenished from recruited Ly6C + blood monocytes under steady state or in response to inflammation . Abstract. They are essential for innate host defense against infection, tissue repair and remodeling, and the antigen-specific adaptive immune response. Therefore, targeting monocytes and macrophages is a promising immunotherapeutic approach. Importantly, monocytes/macrophages are involved in both the initiation and the resolution of an inflammatory response, and two corresponding activation states for macrophages have been described in vitro (11–13). Albeit monocytes and macrophages are both mature cells, monocytes proliferate much more than macrophages, hence in these myeloid cells low MBNL1 is associated with lower proliferation, as opposed to stem cells. Ly-6C hi monocytes dominate hypercholesterolemia-associated monocytosis and give rise to macrophages in atheromata Filip K. Supplied as 100 µg purified antibody (0. Macrophages are involved in RA pathophysiology and can be polarized in different phenotypic profiles, pro-inflammatory (M1 macrophages) or immuno-regulatory (M2 macrophages). These cells are involved in inflammatory processes, with a profound capacity to synthesize and secrete pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Macrophage differentiation from monocytes occurs in the tissue in concomitance with the acquisition of a functional phenotype that depends on microenvironmental signals, thereby accounting for the many and apparently opposed macrophage functions. Under these pathological conditions, the excess heme mediates differentiation of monocytes into macrophages, restoring the capacity of the spleen, marrow, and liver to metabolize the excess hemoglobin and recycle the iron needed for the increased erythropoiesis that accompanies such hemolysis. Monocytes can also increase in response to stress and other factors. APPLICATION NOTE Detecting Intracellular Cytokines in Activated Monocytes Scope Originating in bone marrow, blood monocytes are incompletely differentiated, but mature to. Macrophages develop in the mouse embryo in three waves, starting with phagocytes derived from the yolk sac independently of blood monocytes and then blood monocytes produced in the fetal liver, and finally definitive monocytes derived from bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)3/2/2019 · In this case, the monocytes are replacing any macrophages that have died off. The tumor promoting role of M2 macrophages has been described in in vivo models and the presence of macrophages in certain tumor types has been linked to a poor clinical outcome. The phylogenetic principle that the development and differentiation of macrophages precede those of monocytes during the evolutionary processes of animals applies to human and murine ontogeny of macrophages. Monocytes and macrophages are an important part of the innate arm of the immune system. The number of monocytes/macrophages infiltrating into the rheumatoid synovium correlates with the extent of the inflammation in synovial tissues []. Resolution of injury, apoptosis and macrophages. Macrophage: Macrophages contain CD14, Cd11b, CD68, MAC-1 and -3, EMR1 and Lysozyme M on the surface of the cells. Monocytes-macrophages are important regulators in both innate and adaptive immunity. 1,2 THP-1 cells, a human leukemia monocytic cell line, Monocytes and macrophages are an important part of the innate arm of the immune system. These innate immune cells participate in guiding vascular remodeling, stimulation of local stem and progenitor cells, and structural repair of tissues such as muscle and bone. For example, human monocytes possess AT 1 receptors for angiotensin II and are activated by the peptide . Monocytes are a kind of white blood cells, produced in bone marrow. and removes and destroys worn-out red blood cells. We demonstrated that vortioxetine has the ability to direct monocytes/macrophages towards an anti-inflammatory phenotype. Macrophages are a sybtype of monocytes (white blood cells) along with dendritic cells and foam cells. First of all you have to know monocytes are immune cells (white cells) which belong to the natural immune system, they protect you from infectious agents and other kind of injury, usually when they are circulating in the blood they are called like that “monocytes” but once they are in the affected tissue they are “"Macrophages” it's like Bruce Banner as Monocytes and Macrophages as Hulk. This video is unavailable. 1 Bone marrow–derived monocytes differentiate into macrophages in response to signals provided by cytokines, cellular metabolites, and microbial products. The human immune system is responsible for identifying, destroying, and removing all foreign substances from the body. emerging evidence indicates that neutrophils and monocytes/ macrophages have distinct roles as innate immune cells and therefore are indispensable as key players against infection. This is the main difference between neutrophils and macrophages. Monocytes/macrophages circulate in the blood and become macrophages in the tissues. Neutrophils circulate for only a short time in the blood (typically a day or two) but are far more numerous than monocytes. Methods. After tissue injury, monocytes and macrophages undergo marked phenotypic and functional changes to play critical roles during the initiation, maintenance, and resolution phases of tissue repair. Whether an individual develops asymptomatic, mild, or severe malaria is partly dependent upon the balance between protective immunity and immunopathology. Macrophage Ontogeny and the Mononuclear Phagocyte System. The cells were fluorescently stained with CD45-VioBlue®, CD11b-APC, and Anti-F4/80-FITC and analyzed by flow cytometry using the MACSQuant® Analyzer. Cytokine, Chemokine, Growth Factor Pathways ‹ Cell CCR5 Pathway in Macrophages › CD4 and CD8 Monocytes can differentiate into dendritic cells, osteoclasts or macrophages. both macrophage and monocyte are phagocytes, which help the body by engulfing the foreign material and pathogens. Tác giả: Life Science HelpLượt xem: 4. Monocytes/macrophages are known to play an important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Journal of Drug Delivery is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal that publishes original Many tissue-resident macrophages with embryonic origins can self-renew and persist into adulthood, while those in other tissues are gradually replaced by bone marrow-derived monocytes. This review focuses on viral adaptations to enter monocytes/macrophages, immune escape, reprogramming of infected cells …Monocytes can differentiate into several different cell types. Therefore, in monocytes and macrophages lacking GSDMD, Val-boroPro induces caspase-1-dependent apoptosis. The primary role of monocytes was considered to sense the environment and replenish the pool of tissue macrophages and dendritic cells. If there is an immune response by the body, monocytes can rapidly move to the site of the infection and take an active and passive role in the response. Figure 3. However, macrophages do much more than that: Not only do they act as antimicrobial warriors, they Macrophages are the main scavenger cells of the immune system. Together, they perform vital effector functions related to their capacity to phagocytize, their role as antigen-presenting cells and their ability to produce and secrete cytokines and other effector molecules. Departments of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA 2. Body has its own defence mechanism. Monocytes are probably best known for their role in serving as something akin to reserve forces in the military. Conrad Liles 1,2,3. These cells together as a group are known as the mononuclear phagocyte system and were previously known as the reticuloendothelial system. This notoriously heterogeneous system is composed of macrophages themselves in addition to dendritic cells, monocytes and their lineage committed progenitors. Under physiological and pathological conditions, cardiac resident macrophages appear not to be a homogenous population, but rather comprise distinct subsets, …What is the difference between Monocyte and Macrophage. CD40 is a TNF receptor superfamily 5 member and is expressed in monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells. Although this ap-proach is informative, it does not allow simultaneous assessment In our previous study, we also demonstrated expansion of Ly6C hi monocytes in the blood, and proinflammatory CD206 − macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) in the heart, at 1 week post-TAC with subsequent normalization of monocytes/macrophages thereafter. APPLICATION NOTE Detecting Intracellular Cytokines in Activated Monocytes Scope Originating in bone marrow, blood monocytes are incompletely differentiated, but mature to Three functional subsets of human monocytes have been identified with some overlap between the types in humans. The lymphocytes in this field have a more regular cytoplasmic border without the cytoplasmic blebbing and pseudopods that are present in monocytes. Monocytes are macrophages in the blood. They are the largest type of leukocyte and can differentiate into macrophages and myeloid lineage dendritic cells. Provides an easy to understand definition for monocytes. Monocyte/macrophage lineage includes among others, monocytes, macrophages and brain resident macrophages. Representative cell countings of isolated monocytes and macrophages of 20 buffy coat preparations. The mechanism will fight against the infections and the foreign substances. The key difference between monocyte and macrophage is that monocyte is the largest type of white blood cell that can differentiate into macrophages or dendritic cells while macrophage is a large specialized white blood cell that engulfs infectious particles and cleans micro debris. Monocytes are the largest type of white blood cells and play an important role in the adaptive immunity process. The monocyte is a spherical cell with prominent surface ruffles and blebs when examined by scanning electron microscopy. What Healthy Monocytes Do in the Body Until recently, the main role of monocytes was considered to be sensing the environment and replenishing the pool of tissue macrophages and dendritic cells, as needed. The Macrophage definition is - a phagocytic tissue cell of the immune system that may be fixed or freely motile, is derived from a monocyte, functions in the destruction of foreign antigens (such as bacteria and viruses), and serves as an antigen-presenting cell. In response to cellular stresses, monocytes (macrophage precursors) are Macrophages derived from DCM-treated CD14 + monocytes performed very efficient rituximab-mediated ADCP, however, using different FcγRs from those used by slan + macrophages. The results from immunophenotyping of peripheral blood monocytes and alveolar macrophages are shown for a representative patient in fig3 and are summarised in table 4. An abnormal increase in monocytes is called monocytosis. Tim Johnson. g. Monocytes are a type of leukocyte, or white blood cell. The fate of monocytes in atherosclerosis. Tissue-resident macrophages have central roles in tissue development and homeostasis, immune surveillance, phagocytosis, antigen presentation, and wound healing. White blood cells such as monocytes and macrophages are known mediators of inflammation, and according to new findings by researchers at A*STAR, also play a key role in promoting human cancer. 6KDifference Between Monocytes and Macrophages | Astarte https://astartebio. where they mature into adult cells called macrophages. related. Monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells constitute an integral part of the immune system. effect on monocytes/macrophages is a dominant phenomenon and is not explained by a lack of IFN- or other inflammatory mediators in the Treg-monocyte cocultures. Blood film. These immune cells are classified according to their function and phenotypic characteristics. Les monocytes et les macrophages sont des phagocytes et sont donc capables de phagocytose. Macrophages play a key role in the process of inflammation in many different tissues. They destroy necrotic cell debris and foreign material including viruses and bacteria, and can present antigens to naive lymphocytes. Accordingly, macrophages play a role in nearly every human disease and are Monocytes and macrophages play a critical role in tissue development, homeostasis, and injury repair. monocytes replenished heart macrophages. 1 mg/mL) in PBS with 0. monocytes and macrophagesMonocytes are a type of leukocyte, or white blood cell. Mouse anti Chicken Monocytes/Macrophages, clone KUL01 recognises chicken monocytes and macrophages. Monocytes migrate into tissues and become macrophages. Activated macrophages of different phenotypes are routinely classified Macrophage Plasticity is More Than Black and White. Macrophages, like monocytes, protect the body against disease and infection. adj. Monocytes are produced in bone marrow and circulate in the blood anywhere from one to three days. Start studying Monocytes/Macrophages. Reference: “Neutrophil. Background: Macrophage differentiation is accompanied by expression of unique extracellular matrix molecules. Immunology -Monocytes and Macrophages. Certain genetic abnormalities affect the function of monocytes and macrophages and cause buildup of fatty (lipid) debris within the cells. Dr Harry Antoniades (ICL) “The role of monocytes and macrophages in the immunopathology of acute liver injury Monocytes & Macrophages in London: Celebrating Elie Metchnikoff; Past events; Become a member today. Differential Constitutive and Cytokine-Modulated Expression of Human Toll-like Receptors in Primary Neutrophils, Monocytes, and Macrophages . Macrophages (and their precursors, monocytes) are the 'big eaters' of the immune system. William Luscinskas, 3 Ralph Weissleder, 1,4 and Mikael J. 29 terms. The majority of viruses discussed in this review employ monocytes/macrophages as a repository but certain viruses use these cells for productive replication. Monocytes circulate in the blood a few days and then migrate into various tissues and mature into macrophages. Pierre Guermonprez; & Julie Helft. Activation of liver-resident macrophages (Kupffer Feb 13, 2019 Monocyte/macrophage lineage cells (MMLCs) accumulate in many types of human and murine tumors and are thought to regulate nearly every Dec 19, 2018 The mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) was originally proposed as a new classification of macrophages, blood monocytes, and their 2 Mar 2017 Understanding the Difference. Monocytes, constitute the basic cellular ingredient in the blood. Lipid Res. Monocytes respond to inflammation and chemotactic stimuli by active diapedesis across vessel walls into inflammatory foci, where they can mature into macrophages, with greater phagocytic capacity and increased content of hydrolytic enzymes. Monocytes and macrophages are mononuclear phagocytes with crucial and distinct roles in transplant immunity. Typically, neutrophils are the first responders to be recruited and have a higher microbicidal activity; whereas monocytes/ macrophages are recruited later on. They are the largest type of leukocyte and can differentiate into macrophages and myeloid lineage dendritic cells. Heterogeneity of the macrophage lineage has long been recognized and, in part, is a result of the specialization of tissue macrophages in particular microenvironments. Les monocytes sont des globules blancs présents dans le sang qui évoluent en passant dans les tissus biologiques en : macrophages (ostéoclastes, microgliocytes, histiocytes, macrophages alvéolaires (poumons), cellules mésangliales (reins), Tissue-resident macrophages have three possible origins: yolk sac-derived primitive macrophages, fetal liver-derived monocytes, or bone marrow-derived monocytes. Monocytes are a type of leukocyte, or white blood cell. Monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells form the mononuclear phagocyte system of innate immunity. The list of acronyms and abbreviations related to GM - granulocytes and monocytes/macrophages Monocyte/macrophages in innate immunity [Video file]. 7k Views · …However, overwhelming evidence suggests that bone-marrow--derived circulating monocytes can be recruited to the site of injury early during inflammation in tissues, where they differentiate into macrophages. They are similar in that they are both classified as mononuclear cells, meaning that their nucleus is formed in one piece, but differ in their function within the The image is a microscopic field from a CSF cytospin. Ils proviennent de la différenciation de leucocytes sanguins circulants, les monocytes. Inflammatory monocytes and tissue-resident macrophages are key regulators of tissue repair, regeneration, and fibrosis. The red arrow points to a monocyte and the blue arrow points to a lymphocyte. Increased number of activated macrophages is a promi- Monocytes are considered to be immature macrophages, and the two types have been considered part of the reticulo-endothelial system (RES) or mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS). Macrophages develop from circulating monocytes that migrate from the blood into tissues throughout the body, especially the spleen, liver, lymph nodes, lungs, brain, and connective tissue. This can happen for several reasons such as stress, inflammation, a fever from a virus, severe infection (because more macrophages are Start studying Monocytes/Macrophages. As a part of the vertebrate innate immune system monocytes also influence the process of adaptive immunity. Monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells constitute an integral part of the immune system. To better understand how monocytes and macrophages influence developing tumor immunity, Singhal et al . Circulatory monocytes represent about 10% of leukocytes in human blood and resident macrophages are distributed in a variety of tissues and organs to maintain body homeostasis. Clone KUL01 will also detect interdigitating cells and activated microglia but does not recognise Bu1+ve B-cells or CD3 +ve T-lymphocytes. What are "reactive" monocytes? severe septicemia. Given the heterogeneous nature of the various triggers of ALI as a common sequela, it is a rational approach to use different experimental models in order to shed light on the pathogenesis of this disorder. monocytes that transform into macrophages while in circulation. Watch Queue Queue. Monocytes look similar to lymphocytes in many instances, but when a monocyte performs its unique function as a macrophage, engulfing and digesting invaders that the lymphocytes identify, they become significantly larger and irregular in shape. For initiation of experiments, fresh or frozen monocytes are cultured in flasks for 1 week with M-CSF to induce their differentiation into macrophages. Macrophages store high amounts of unintegrated viral DNA in circular form, and infected macrophages and monocytes were found in ART treated HIV-1 patients with viral loads under the detection limit [93 – 95] as well as in the brains of pre-symptomatic HIV-1 patients . Monocytes are derived from precursors in the bone marrow and can be subdivided into subsets that differ in size, trafficking and innate immune receptor expression. Monocytes are a population of circulating white blood cells with the potential to differentiate into tissue macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs). Monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs) constitute a group of myeloid cells which share common hematopoietic origins and express related functions in host homeostasis and innate and acquired immunity. Monocytes and tissue macrophages represent two main branches of the mononuclear phagocyte system, and they have complementary roles during immunological challenges. Macrophages originate from blood monocytes that leave the circulation to differentiate in different tissues. They remain in the bloodstream for a couple of hours after which they migrate to tissues such as the lungs, liver, spleen, bone marrow where they will mature into macrophages. History of the terminology of macrophage polarization In the 1990s it was discovered that the cytokine interleukin (IL)-4 induced different effects on macrophage gene expression compared to that of interferon (IFN)-gamma and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Thrombocytes are involved in hemostasis, phagocytosis, and secretion of specific products. This is a challenge considering the bacteria found in the gut are not Main Difference – Monocyte vs Macrophage. Monocytes and macrophages are critical effectors and regulators of inflammation and the innate immune response, the immediate arm of the immune system. Is transglutaminase the switch between inflammation and scarring in chronic allogaft nephropathy. Macrophages come from specific white blood cells called monocytes. Means ± SEM. These cells are very important in alerting the immune system about an infection. HIV-1 establishes latent infection in resting CD4+ T cells and findings indicate that latency can also be established in the cells of monocyte/macrophage lineage. Start studying Monocytes & Macrophages. In the limelight of human and animal studies, we discuss potential translational applications. macrophages were screened using a BD Pathway™ high-content imaging system. Methods Isolation and differentiation of monocytes Human monocytes were isolated from 20 healthy anony-mous human buffy coats (provided by the Transfusion Ser- macrophages termed M1 macrophages can be obtained from peripheral monocytes when stimulated with IFNc whereas al-ternative activation of macrophages (M2) induced by IL-4 or IL-10 leads to tissue repair and suppression of inflammation [5]. bone marrow macrophages, blood monocytes, liver Kupffer cells, connective tissue histiocytes, brain microglial cells. Then, the macrophage breaks it down by mixing it with enzymes stored in special sacs called lysosomes. Start studying monocytes and macrophages. 2,3 Macrophages have Macrophages typically derive from circulating blood-borne precursors such as monocytes. As a result, these media lack unwanted non-defined and deleterious effects attributable to FCS and therefore enable standardized and controlled macrophage differentiation. The discrepancies are due in part to the difficulty in determining nobility in a number of cases. 44 terms. The main difference between monocyte and macrophage is that monocyte is the precursors of some of the macrophages whereas macrophages are the professional phagocytes, which engulf pathogens invading the body. The monocytic cells seen in body fluids have variable morphology as they have the ability to transform into phagocytic macrophages. First, the macrophage surrounds the unwanted particle and sucks it in. They are usually identified in stained smears by their large two-lobed nuclei. They are a kind of reserve cell which turn into macrophages and immune helper cells called dendritic cells. (B) Band neutrophil with horseshoe-shaped nucleus and pink-orange cytoplasm. Monocytes and macrophages are critical effectors and regulators of inflammation and the innate immune response, the immediate arm of the immune system. Monocytes/macrophages isolated from tumors can also induce NK-cell dysfunction during hepatocellular carcinoma , suggesting a role for tumor-associated monocytes/macrophages in impairing antitumor NK-cell function during tumor progression. The below infographic on the difference between neutrophils and macrophages provides more details on the comparative differences. Monocytes are produced by the bone marrow and released into the bloodstream. December 23, 2010 Posted by Dr. Schematic illustration of F4/80 antigen expression by tissue-resident macrophages in the mouse. , lung, liver, spleen, brain). The decomposition of today's noble families in terms of origin is as follows (Séréville and Saint-Simon): 1/7/2014 · Monocyte and macrophage differentiation: circulation inflammatory monocyte as biomarker for inflammatory diseases. The analysis of results from both proof-of-principle screening experiments identified 21 markers expressed on both THP-1 monocytes and macrophages, 23 markers uniquely expressed on THP-1 monocytes, and 20 markers uniquely expressed on THP-1 macrophages. Another difference between monocyte. monocytes Macrophages and monocytes Novel products for macrophage development in the immune system. What is a Monocyte. Many questions arise. What do high monocytes levels mean in a lab test? Update Cancel. NLRP3 infl ammasome in human monocytes/macrophages. Learn more about Monocytes/Macrophages including related products, articles and interactive pathways. nificant benefit in terms of monocytes and macrophages standing for highly reactive immune cells. In the healthy brain, resident microglia are the predominant macrophage cell population; however, under conditions of blood-brain barrier leakage, peripheral monocytes/macrophages can infiltrate the brain and participate in CNS disease pathogenesis. Outside the blood stream, she plays the role of a macrophage. . They are a kind of reserve cell which turn into macrophages and immune helper cells called dendritic cells . Dec 14, 2018 Monocyte and macrophage dysfunction are central to disease progression of ALF and ACLF. Monocytes can also divide into dendritic cells in the tissues. They can activate fibroblasts through many molecules, including IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, but there have been very few reports on the role of CD147 in RA. In tissues, monocytes transform to macrophages. Macrophages are Advances in the field of monocyte and macrophage biology have dramatically changed our understanding of their role during homeostasis and inflammation. In the steady state the heart is populated with cardiac resident macrophages (1-3). The resulting disorders are the lipid storage diseases (such as Gaucher disease and Niemann-Pick disease). Loading Close. Macrophages are formed through differentiation of monocytes, one of the major groups of white blood cells of the immune system. As macrophages, monocytes play an important role of eliminating foreign material, tumorous cells and microorganisms through a process known as phagocytosis. Macrophages are very important members of the mononuclear phagocytic system. Dendritic cells are cells that process antigen . 21 Based on the ability of monocytes and macrophages to assimilate foreign particles efficiently, the use of nanoparticles is a Macrophages: The 'defense' cells that help throughout the body wound-healing macrophages arise when monocytes differentiate in response to interleukin-4, a cytokine which is released during sion, evaluating human monocytes/macrophages from healthy donors. monocytes and macrophages Monocytes represent about 1% to 10% of the white blood cells circulating in blood, that is about 200 to 600 monocytes present in every micro liter of blood. 54: 2998–3008. Macrophage (マクロファージ, Makurofāji?) is a minor character in Cells at Work! She is a white blood cell, specifically a Macrophage or a Monocyte. Monocyte/macrophages in renal inflammation. monocytes Macrophages and monocytes Novel products for macrophage development in the immune system. , adj monocyt´ic. 1. Macrophages develop from white blood cells called monocytes. Methods Isolation and differentiation of monocytes Human monocytes were isolated from 20 healthy anony-mous human buffy coats (provided by the Transfusion Ser-Yield of monocytes and macrophages. Locations Macrophages are present throughout the body with large numbers in the lymph nodes , bone marrow and spleen . Following exposure of primary human monocytes and macrophages to supernatants of a variety of tumor cell lines, we have analyzed transcript and secreted protein levels of EGFR family ligands and of STAT3 activators. 2013. Isolation of F4/80 + macrophages. Difference Between Lymphocytes and Macrophages. Macrophages don’t eat cells the same way you might eat your food. Like granulocytes, monocytes are produced by stem cells in the bone marrow and circulate through …Both the bone-marrow-derived monocytes and the monocytes of intermediate phenotype can respond to pro-inflammatory cues, migrate to inflamed tissues and differentiate into macrophages and DCs. Monocytes are the largest type of white blood cell. Apoptotic neutrophils were fed to THP-1, monocytes and macrophages for 90 min Phagocytosis was assessed by MPO staining and phagocytic index calculated by multiplying the percentage of cells that had engulfed neutrophils by the average number of neutrophils per cell . Monocytes, macrophages, and malaria. This review focuses on viral adaptations to enter monocytes/macrophages, immune escape, reprogramming of infected cells and the response of the host cells. These lipid-loaded macrophages, or macrophage foam cells, differentiate from peripheral blood monocytes that migrate into areas of “damage” in the arterial wall as a result of chemotactic stimuli (3, 4). Professor Frances Balkwill (QMUL) “Macrophages in the Tumour Microenvironment” Dr Harry Antoniades (ICL) “The role of monocytes and macrophages in the immunopathology of acute liver injury” Dr Clare Bennett (UCL) “Why do we have Langerhans cells? wound healing macrophages. This review will focus on the development of monocytes as macrophage precursors, the functions of tumor-associated macrophages and the possibility of interfering with tumor development and progression by targeting these myeloid cells. These cells reside in every tissue of the body, albeit in different Learn more about Monocytes/Macrophages including related products, articles and interactive pathways. An overview of the function, ontogeny and phenotype of each cell type can be found by clicking through to the individual pages listed below. Since there is a continuum of morphologic forms during this transformation, some laboratories combine these cells into a single category called monomacrophages. Finally, M2 macrophages in regressing plaques may be derived from newly recruited monocytes. Monocytes and macrophages are critical effector cells that serve to regulate inflammation and the innate immune response. These cells reside in every tissue of the body, albeit in different General information about the use of ELISpot and FluoroSpot in the studies of monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells. Find out about new music, videos, tour dates and more. Cell shape varies, depending on the tissue type in which the macrophage resides (e. AAMs can be derived either from proliferation of tissue resident macrophages or recruited inflammatory monocytes, but it is not known whether these different sources generate AAMs that are phenotypically and functionally distinct. The Immune System: Information about Lymphocytes, Dendritic Cells, Macrophages, and White Blood Cells The Immune System The Immune system is a complex network of cells (such as lymphocytes) and organs that work together to defend the body against foreign substances (antigens) such as bacteria, a virus or tumor cell. 21 Based on the ability of monocytes and macrophages to assimilate foreign particles efficiently, the use of nanoparticles is a Macrophages are very important members of the mononuclear phagocytic system. Abstract. Role of macrophages in diagnostic interpretation of endomyocardial biopsies. Shane O'Mahony 1, Uyenvy Pham 1, Ramesh Iyer 1, Thomas R. Monocytes and macrophages play important roles in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia. 02% sodium azide. When there is tissue damage or infection, the monocytes leave the As the monocyte enters the tissue and differentiates into a macrophage, the cell volume and number of cytoplasmic granules increase. Les histiocytes ont une fonction de phagocytose, suivie de dégradation soit totale des débris à éliminer, soit partielle avec préservation des sites antigéniques. This characteristic differentiates monocytes from neutrophils, which have several lobes with a divided nucleus. Some monocytes enter your tissues, then enlarge and mature into macrophages, or "big eaters. PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONOCYTES AND ALVEOLAR MACROPHAGES. There is a substantial heterogeneity among each macrophage population, which most probably reflects the required level of specialisation within the environment of any given tissue. Monocytes can enter peripheral tissues to become tissue macrophages which can engulf large particles and pathogens. The goal for targeting monocytes/macrophages using liposomes includes not only drug delivery but also potentially a role in cell ablation and cell activation for the treatment of conditions including cancer, atherosclerosis, HIV, and chronic inflammation. The key difference between monocyte and macrophage is that monocyte is the largest type of white blood cell that can differentiate into macrophages or dendritic cells while macrophage is a large specialized white blood cell that engulfs infectious particles and cleans micro debris. youtube. After leaving the blood stream and migrating into organs and tissues monocytes differentiate into tissue macrophages or dendritic cells. Recent studies demonstrate that these actions are only partially conducted by liver-resident macrophages, but largely depend on recruitment of monocytes into the liver, namely of the inflammatory Gr1+ (Ly6C+) monocyte subset as precursors of tissue macrophages. Macrophages can also eat cells in the body which have been infected by a pathogen, to curb the spread of the pathogen and keep the body healthy. Lymphocytes, Monocytes-Macrophages, and Microglia The brain contains very few lymphocytes compared to other organs that do not have a vascular-tissue barrier. The initial inflammatory response is carried out by macrophages that produce high amounts of proinflammatory cytokines and reactive Monocytes/macrophages during cardiac homeostasis. The similarities and differences between this human monocytic leukemia cell line and normal human peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages have been evaluated (28, 101). The final factor in support of targeting monocytes/macrophages for treatment of RA is the differential activation of intracellular signal transduction pathways that underlie different macrophage effector functions, in conjunction with the availability of more specific inhibitors of key metabolic enzymes and/or particular signal transduction Yield of monocytes and macrophages. Jeremy Hughes. When the monocyte level is too high, this is known as monocytosis. Like macrophages, intestinal macrophages are differentiated monocytes, though intestinal macrophages have to coexist with the microbiome in the intestines. Macrophages are tissue-resident profes-sional phagocytes and antigen-presen-ting cells (APC), which differentiate from circulating peripheral blood monocytes. On-site delivery of the immunomodulatory small molecule FTY720 recruits S1PR3-expressing non-classical monocytes that support vascular remodeling after injury. The hallmark of atherosclerosis is the accumulation of lipid-loaded macrophages in the arterial wall (1, 2). They have a large, single nucleus that is often kidney-shaped. Monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells form the mononuclear phagocyte system of innate immunity. Monocytes originate in the bone marrow (an early mouse marker is Ly-6G), and are prevalent in the blood, bone marrow, and spleen where they act as immune effector cells. Monocytes and macrophages are important mediators for both innate and adaptive immunity, due to their crucial role in many inflammatory processes associated with infection, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cancer. These cells exhibit a spindle-like shape and are interspersed between cardiomyocytes (). studied samples from patients with early-stage lung cancer. Alex Magil. Les monocytes sont libérés vers le sang sous l’influence de chimiokines spécifiques. Pittet 1 Performance in open-field test, corridor test, and active avoidance test at 2 or 3 weeks and 3 months after injection of M2-like monocyte-derived macrophages (n = 6, a–c), or non-primed monocytes (n = 6, d) or vehicle (n = 5, a–d) into the ipsilateral lateral ventricle 1 day after cortical stroke. Monocytes typically circulate through the blood for 1–3 days before migrating into tissues, where they become macrophages or dendritic cells. The human body faces attacks from micro-organisms, and other foreign substances. The most common applications for Monocytes are the in vitro differentiation into monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDC), macrophages, and osteoclasts as well as their use as phagocytic immune cells in immunology and infection biology. Monocytes express various receptors, which monitor and sense environmental changes. The majority of viruses discussed in this review employ monocytes/macrophages as a repository but certain viruses use these cells for productive replication. Macrophages are a phenotypically and functionally diverse population of cells that play key roles in maintaining immune surveillance and tissue homeostasis. In most cases, monocytes float within the blood stream for up to three days before migrating to a specific tissue for macrophage differentiation. we compared the properties of macrophages originating from monocytes cultured either in media containing serum together with M-CSF for M2 and GM-CSF for M1 It should be noted that these studies were conducted using THP-1 monocytes and PMA-induced macrophages. NK (natural killer) cells are specialized lymphocytes which have functions different than those of neutrophils and monocytes. Alex Magil A major part of previous studies on blocking reagents for flow cytometry have been done in mice, and published results are not completely in agreement. However, macrophages are very malleable and take varied roles in the growth and spread of cancer cells. Apoptotic neutrophils were fed to THP-1, monocytes and macrophages for 90 min Phagocytosis was assessed by MPO staining and phagocytic index calculated by multiplying the percentage of cells that had engulfed neutrophils by the average number of neutrophils per cell . monocytes and macrophages in aortic aneurysm given their critical and distinct roles in several steps of the vascular response to injury, and we summarize the current knowledge on their origins and roles in disease development and complications. In The Biomedical & Life Sciences Collection, Henry Stewart Talks. Monocytes and macrophages represent critical arms of the innate immune system and are considered regulators and effectors of inflammation and the innate immune response. There is a substantial heterogeneity among each macrophage population, which most probably reflects the required level of specialisation within the environment of any given tissue. Macrophages basically eat anything that does not bear the mark of a healthy cell: damaged cells, debris, foreign matter, cells infected with viruses, parasites or bacteria and cancer cells. Since macrophages are derived exclusively from monocytes they exhibit similar properties. D. In humans, Fc‐receptors are found on most leukocytes, with highest abundance on monocytes/macrophages. Summary – Neutrophils vs Macrophages As the monocyte enters the tissue and differentiates into a macrophage, the cell volume and number of cytoplasmic granules increase. Nature Immunology 20, 383-385 23 May 2014 Monocytes and macrophages have crucial and distinct roles in tissue homeostasis and immunity, but they also contribute to a broad spectrum Macrophages (and their precursors, monocytes) are the 'big eaters' of the immune system. Monocytes are derived from promonocytes in the bone marrow and circulate in the blood for about 24 hours before migrating to the tissues, such as the lung and liver, where they develop into macrophages. Monocytes are born from stem cells in the bone marrow and circulate throughout the blood stream. Micrographs and cell size measurements of monocytes and macrophages. They have a great capacity for phagocytosis—the Les monocytes et les macrophages dérivent du progéniteur déjà décrit et passent par diverses étapes de maturation dans la moelle osseuse. Another note: You are right, neutrophils are different than NK cells. Monocytes and Macrophages The monocytic cells seen in body fluids have variable morphology as they have the ability to transform into phagocytic macrophages. There was an optimal correlation between the percentages of lymphocytes, granulocytes, and monocytes-macrophages as determined by the May-Grünwald Giemsa stainings and the percentages of T-lymphocytes, granulocytes, and monocytes-macrophages as determined by immunologic marker analysis in combination with phase-contrast morphology. These peripheral-blood monocytes develop from hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. Mononuclear phagocytes (monocytes, macrophages) are distributed across all body tissues and play a central role in maintaining homeostasis. (A) Monocyte with horseshoe-shaped nucleus with enlarged, folded end, gray cytoplasm. However, the presence of interactions between tumor-associated monocytes/macrophages and NK cells, as well Alternatively, the M2 macrophages may be derived through the proliferation of a pool of tissue-resident macrophages that originated from the yolk sac, as has previously been demonstrated in other tissues . Increased in vitro monocytes-macrophages function corresponded with increased in vivo resistance to disease (Sun et al. Instead, the eating machines engulf viruses and bacteria. Results: Monocyte-to-macrophage transition involves selective expression of serglycin, TSG-6, hyaluronan, and versican and the formation of inter-α-trypsin inhibitor and amyloid-like precursor protein complexes. J. This is called phagocytosis. monocytes and macrophages coexpressing M1 and M2 markers To date, deep immune profiling of human lung tumors has been mostly at the molecular level and is based on transcriptomic data interpreted by computational analysis (19– 21). Red blood cells are cells that help carry oxygen in the CD68 is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein present in macrophages and monocytes and CD68 antibodies may be used to distinguish between Crohn’s Disease and Chronic Granulomatous Disease. Sometimes, genetic conditions affect the function of macrophages. Pro-inflammatory, metabolic and immune stimuli all elicit increased recruitment of monocytes to peripheral sites4, where differentiation into macrophages and DCs occurs, contributing to host defence, and tissue remod-elling and repair. Monocytes are a type of white blood cell, part of the human body's immune system. In response to cellular stresses, monocytes (macrophage precursors) are Macrophages and monocytes bearing CD4+ molecules and CCR5 on surface are also targeted by HIV. Advances in the field of monocyte and macrophage biology have dramatically changed our understanding of their role during homeostasis and inflammation. Monocystosis can come from chronic inflammatory disease, viral Monocytes/macrophages have begun to emerge as key cellular modulators of brain homeostasis and central nervous system (CNS) disease. Monocyte activation and increased numbers of non-classical monocytes, is important for normal pregnancy. com/blog/ask-scientistwhats-difference-humanMonocytes and macrophages are very closely related cells with a few important distinctions and different use cases. In early ontogeny,macrophages develop from Cytokine, Chemokine, Growth Factor Pathways. Click to launch & play an online audio visual presentation by Prof. Sign up for email updates. The long common names have been created via a table driven algorithmic process. Neutrophils originate in bone marrow and mature during circulation. This procedure is known as antigen presentation, which causes the T lymphocytes to activate, eventually leading them to Monocytes and macrophages play important roles in the immune defence, inflammation and tissue remodelling and they do so by phagocytosis, antigen processing …Monocytes incubated with free cholesterol micelles showed lower levels of neutral lipid accumulation compared with macrophages, suggesting that monocytes can be more resistant to become foam cells compared with fully differentiated macrophages. Cytometry Part B: Clinical Cytometry focuses on the development and applications of cellular system analysis and array based technologies as applied to clinical practice and translational research. Lymphocytes come next, then monocytes/macrophages come in to mop up the mess. Skip navigation Sign in. Macrophage Plasticity is More Than Black and White. In mice, the CD11b antigen is expressed on monocytes/macrophages and to a lower extent on granulocytes, NK cells, CD5 + B1 cells, and a subset of dendritic cells. phages and monocytes appear in vertebrates. They phenotyped monocytes and macrophages in tumors and adjacent tissue, as well as samples from control subjects without cancer. Our observations shed new light on the complexity of the immune microenvironment of DLBCL and demonstrate plasticity of slan + monocytes homing to cancer tissues. They are capable of being differentiated into dendritic cells as well. But monocytes also have other roles in infection and disease, some of which have nothing to do with tissue macrophages and dendritic cells. Circulating monocytes and tissue‐resident macrophages are evolutionarily ancient cells involved in a myriad of fundamentally important physiological processes from tissue development and maintenance to metabolic homeostasis, host immunity, and wound‐healing . Phase contrast microscopy of monocytic cell suspension before (A) and after (B) macrophage differentiation. Swirski, 1,2,3,4 Peter Libby, 2,3,4 Elena Aikawa, 1 Pilar Alcaide, 3 F. ” Encyclopædia Britannica. com/watch?v=5Q2aBtASujENhấp để xem trên Bing3:5010/7/2017 · Immunology -Monocytes and Macrophages. Clone: ER-HR3. What Do Low Monocytes Indicate Home Health Medical Ranges & Levels. Monocytes/Macrophages Monocytes are agranular leukocytes that originate from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the bone marrow. Start studying Monocytes/Macrophages. Monocytes – High, Low, Normal Posted by admin on November 13, 2012 // Leave Your Comment. The pieces may be added into the MHC modules and then sent to the cell surface of the monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells. macrophage structure Macrophages, the principal phagocytic (cell-engulfing) components of the immune system, The macrophages, or histiocytes, are derived from circulating monocytes in the bloodstream; they are also important for tissue repair and for defense against bacterial invasion. As the monocyte enters the tissue and differentiates into a macrophage, the cell volume and number of cytoplasmic granules increase. Inflammasome activation: a monocyte lineage privilege. Macrophages are created through the differentiation of monocytes. Monocyte Immunobiology. Subscribe Lymphocytes and monocytes are both white blood cells; together, they make up the majority of the function of the lymphatic immune system. Counterflow centrifugal elutriation (CCE) is a negative-selection isolation technique that can be used to isolate large numbers of purified monocytes. It should benotedthat,althoughlactatedehydrogenase(LDH)releaseisa hallmark of lytic cell death, LDH release in Val-boroPro-treated Gsdmd–/– cells (Figure 1C) is likely due to secondary necrosis of apoptotic cells (Silva, 2010). Several humoral factors that influence blood pressure can also modulate the activity of macrophages. Human body is composed of millions of cells. Dendritic cells, monocytes, macrophages applications. The immune system has different types of cells including lymphocytes, macrophages, monocytes, neutrophils, and Les macrophages sont des cellules appartenant aux globules blancs, qui infiltrent les tissus. Many rules in biology exist, and even more exceptions to these rules. Human monocytes express high levels of CD14 and low CD16, while macrophages express low CD14 and high CD16. Les macrophages, disséminés dans l’ensemble de l’organisme, se distinguent des monocytes par une plus grande taille, le développement considérable de l’appareil vacuolaire (vésicules d’endocytose, endosomes, lysosomes primaires, phagosomes, phagolysosomes) et des expansions cytoplasmiques qui forment de véritables pseudopodes. A macrophage is a type of white blood cell, which is part of your immune system. Monocytes and macrophages are very closely related cells with a few important distinctions and different use cases. The term "macrophage" conjures images of a hungry white blood cell gobbling invading bacteria. This journal also covers relevant techniques such as flow cytometry, image cytometry, beadbased and slide-based array analyses, as well as other cell-based spectroscopic analyses. Macrophages also participate in the immune response by producing and responding to inflammatory cytokines. Transfected macrophages in renal inflammation. Hawn 1, W. Tissue infiltration of blood monocytes is a complex phenomenon that involves several steps, including the activation of the capillary endothelium and the increased expression of adhesion molecules, such as ICAM-1, and the adhesion of blood monocytes, followed by their transmigration across the endothelium and differentiation into macrophages. Monocytes are found mostly within the blood, while macrophages occur within the tissues. Monocytes play a central role in coordinating immune responses by secreting cytokines and prostaglandins. Mononuclear phagocytes (monocytes, macrophages) are distributed across all body tissues and play a central role in maintaining homeostasis. com/articles/nri36715/23/2014 · Monocytes and macrophages have crucial and distinct roles in tissue homeostasis and immunity, but they also contribute to a broad spectrum of pathologies and are …Cited by: 871Publish Year: 2014Author: Florent Ginhoux, Steffen JungTác giả: Florent Ginhoux, Steffen JungImmunology - Monocytes and Macrophages - YouTubehttps://www. Monocyte, normal. In immune system: Macrophages …the mature form of the monocyte. " macrophages play many important roles within your immune system. A key question is the relative contribution of changes in the types of infiltrating monocytes and changes in pre-existing lesional monocytes or macrophages, such as by proliferation of inflammatory macrophages and phenotypic switching. Is transglutaminase Monocytes and macrophages have crucial and distinct roles in tissue homeostasis and immunity, but they also contribute to a broad spectrum of pathologies and are thus attractive therapeutic targets. Macrophages are mature, tissue-differentiated monocytes of the reticulo-endothelial system (RES) or mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS). Siamon Gordon on Monocyte/macrophages in innate immunity, part of a collection of online lectures. General information about the use of ELISpot and FluoroSpot in the studies of monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells. Monocytes display a remarkable plasticity in response to signals from the microenvironment, enabling them to differentiate into various cell types. High monocytes alone can't tell you the nature of your problem or disease. Given the rapid progress in monocyte research from broad spectrum of inflammatory diseases, there is a need to summarize our knowledge in monocyte heterogeneity and its impact in human disease. Macrophages are the main scavenger cells of the immune system. Levels of monocytes in the blood tend to rise when someone has an infection, because more of these cells are needed to fight it. Guru. One note: neutrophils are phagocytes, but not antigen presenting cells. 21. An increase in the number of macrophages in parts of the body other than in the blood (such as the lungs, skin, and other organs) can occur in response to infections, sarcoidosis, and Langerhans cell histiocytosis. Macrophages originate from blood monocytes that leave the circulation to differentiate in different tissues. the observation that monocytes emigrated from blood vessels and developed into macrophages in the tissues. The mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) was originally proposed as a new classification of macrophages, blood monocytes, and their precursors, based upon criteria of morphology, function, origin, and kinetics 1, 2. Function Monocyte: Monocytes are involved in the innate immunity by differentiating into macrophages. Activation of macrophages: humoral versus mechanical factors. For years, immunologists have tried to classify macrophages into two subtypes, classically activated M1, and alternatively activated M2 macrophages. Macrophages adopt an alternatively activated phenotype (AAMs) when activated by the interleukin-4receptor(R)α
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441 E Fordham Rd
Fordham, New York City’s Jesuit University, combines intellectual challenge and individual attention with the dynamic resources of one of the world’s great cities. Whether educated at the green and Gothic Rose Hill campus, or Lincoln Center, in the cultural heart of Manhattan, Fordham students benefit from close contact with distinguished faculty who teach at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels. The Jesuit tradition, characterized by excellence in teaching, the care and development of each student, and a commitment to the promotion of an ethical society informs every aspect of a Fordham education.
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The gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers is well documented, and though recent initiatives have been encouraging more women to take up technology careers in academia and industry, higher positions in academiia, design and production remain overwhelmingly populated by men.
Technological innovation and science are too important to be left to only men. Why are there still less women working in technology and science? Is it biological differences, a result of 'male-dominated' organisations or societal culture? Why does our society still favour men? How can we bridge this gap?
In order to examine gender inequality in tech, Professor Antonella De Angeli has co-created a new game - Mind the Gap!
This research introduces Agonistic Design and Mind the Gap (MtG), an intervention that structures social interaction and dialogues in a role-play game to examine the complex issue of the gender gap. The MtG game illuminates players’ attitudes and experiences through playful engagement, and reveals diverse perspectives concerning gender privilege and discrimination. The game examines gender, not as biological dichotomy, but as performance of identity and reiterates the importance of striving for gender equity in STEM curriculum and industry.
Mind the Gap aims to find new ways to reflect on the gender gap and its potential repercussions. Through role-play and playful social interaction, the attitudes and experiences of the players will be uncovered, and will contribute to the further development of the game. To date, the game includes more than 180 participant-authored micronarratives which describe real people's experiences, perceptions and imaginations of gender advantages and disadvantages. These experiences have been collected through playing the game across Europe.
Mind the Gap was created as part of a PhD research process in the development of Agonistic Design, by Max Willis, University of Trento, Italy (SKIL TIME) and Professor Antonella de Angeli, University of Lincoln, UK and University of Trento, Italy.
Gaining momentum
The game is now gaining momentum and a gaming session, led by co-creator Professor Antonella De Angeli, will be hosted by Waag, an influential initiative in Amsterdam, as part of a thematic evening event, on 16 August 2018.
The findings of Mind the Gap will be used to encourage more women to take up science and technology-related careers
Prof Antonella De Angeli Max Willis, Universita degli Studi di Trento
Gender and technology
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Dr. Shirin Ebadi
Dr. Ebadi’s Curriculum Vita (CV)
Dr Shirin Ebadi was born on June 22nd, 1947 in Hamadan-Iran. Her father, Professor Mohammad Ali Ebadi was a lecturer in Commercial Law. His book “Commercial Law” was later edited and updated by his daughter, Shirin.
When Shirin was only a year old, her family moved to Tehran where she receieved her education. In 1965, she started her law degree, completing it 3 years later. In 1970, after a period of internship, she became one the first female judges in Iran. She soon progressed through the ranks and was appointed Chief Magistrate of 26th Divisional Court in Tehran in 1975 – again making her the youngest and first female for the post.
Shirin married in 1975 and has two daughters, Negar and Nargess.
In 1979, immediately after the Islamic revolution in Iran, all female judges were dismissed as the then revolutionaries believed that women were forbidden from passing judgment. She was demoted to the post of a magistrate’s clerk in the very same court over which she once presided. Soon after, she opted for early retirement.
In 1992, she set up a private practice handling contentious cases. She was the defense lawyer for many controversial political and human rights cases in Iran including, Zahra Kazemi (a journalist killed in Evin prison), Parvaneh and Dariush Foroohar (well-known political activists, killed by security forces), Ezat Ebrahim Nejad (killed in the dormitory of Tehran University, 1999), and Zahra Bani Yaghoob (a young doctor, killed in detention). She also took on the case of the seven leaders of the Baha’i faith in Iran. All these activities led to her incarceration on charges of spreading and publishing lies against the Islamic Republic in 1999. She spent 25 days in solitary confinement. The first court convicted her to one-and-a- half year imprisonment and barred her from practicing law for 5 years. In the appeal process and due to international pressure, her sentence was reduced to a fine.
Dr. Ebadi won the Nobel Prize in 2003. She used some of the prize money to set up an office for the Center for Defenders of Human Rights and support the families of political prisoners. This center became a prominent human rights organization. As a result it was honored by the National Human Rights of France in 2003. In 2008 the center was closed down by the security forces. They confiscated the building.
Dr. Ebadi left Iran shortly before the June 2009 presidential election to participate in a conference in Spain. She did not return to Iran owing to the severe restrictions imposed on human rights activists, and upon receiving news of her colleagues’ arrests and many killings. She continued her activities in de facto exile. The Iranian government, disapproving of her actions, filed a case against her in the revolutionary court. The government confiscated her properties, including the office of the CDHR, on the pretext of unpaid taxes. Moreover, to blackmail and silence Dr. Ebadi, her sister and her husband were arrested by the security forces.
SOCIAL EXPERIECES
Founded the Society for Protecting the Rights of the Child in 1995 and chaired it until the year 2000
Founded and chaired the Human Rights Defenders Centre in 2001
Proposing a law to the Iranian parliament on preventing violence against children,(summer 2002)
Founded and chaired the Mine Cleaning Collaboration Association in 2003
Collaboration with 6 other women’s peace prize laureates to fund the Nobel Women’sInitiative in 2006. Now she is the member of the board of the latter
Conducted several research projects with the Tehran office of UNICEF
Teaching courses free of charge on the issues of children’s rights and the Conventionof the Rights of the Child for different groups
Teaching courses free of charge on educating and promoting human rights andwomen’s rights
Participation in deferent legal and human rights conferences and seminars
Lecturing at various Universities and Institutes around the worldPROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Lecturing Trade Law at Tehran Islamic Azad University between 1989- 1993
Lecturing Law and Urban Planning Regulations at the Graduate and PostgraduateSchools of Fine Arts, University of Tehran between 1993-1999
Lecturing Rights of the Women at the post graduate school of social sciences, AllameTabatabayi University between 2001-2004
Lecturing at Tucson University at Arizona/ US in 2005Books
Criminal Law in collaboration with Professor Abdolhossein Aliabadi (1973)
The Rights of the child (1988)
Medical Rights (1989)
The Young Workers (1990)
Literary and Artistic Rights (1990)
Architectural Rights (1992)
The Rights of Refugees (1994) this book translated into English
History and Documentation of Human Rights in Iran (1994) this book translated intoEnglish
Tradition and Modernity in the Iranian Legal System (1996)
Comparative Children’s Rights (1997)
Iran Awakening: One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country (2007)
The Golden Cage: three brothers, three choices, once destiny (2011)
Honorary doctorate, Williams College/US, 2004
Honorary doctorate, Liege University/Belgium, 2004
Honorary doctorate, Brown University/US, 2004
Honorary doctorate, University of British Columbia/Canada, 2004
Honorary doctorate, University of Maryland, College Park/US, 2004
Honorary doctorate, University of Toronto/Canada, 2004
Honorary doctorate, Simon Fraser University/US, 2004
Honorary doctorate, Koc University/ Istanbul, 2004
Honorary doctorate, University of Akureyri/Iceland, 2004
Honorary doctorate, Australian Catholic University/Australia, 2005
Honorary doctorate, University of San Francisco/US, 2005
Honorary doctorate, Concordia University/US, 2005
Honorary doctorate, York University/Canada, 2005
Honorary doctorate, The University of York/UK, 2005
Honorary doctorate, Université Jean Moulin in Lyon/ France, 2005
Honorary doctorate, Loyola University Chicago/US, 2007
Honorary doctorate The New School University/US, 2007
Honorary doctor of Laws, Marquette University/US, 2009
Honorary doctorate, Genova University/Italy, 2010
Honorary doctorate, Madrid European University/Spain, 2010
Honorary doctorate, University of Cambridge/UK, 2011
Honorary doctorate, University of Westfield/US, 2012
Honorary doctorate, Law Society/Toronto, June 2012
Honorary doctorate, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) London, July 2012
Honorary doctorate, Cesar Vallejo, Peru, 2016
Received an official award from the Ministry of Culture and Higher Education of the Islamic Republic of Iran for having authored The Rights of the Child
Official spectator of Human Rights Watch, 1996
Received the Rafto Foundation prize for Human Rights activities, Norway 2001
Nobel Peace Prize in October, 2003
International Democracy Award, 2004
Lawyer of the Year Award, 2004
James Parks Morton Interfaith Award from the Interfaith Centre of New York, 2004 Women’s eNews 21 Leaders for the 21st Century Award/US, 2004
Freedom Award/Germany, 2005
UCI Citizen Peace building Award/US, 2005
The Golden Plate Award by the Academy of Achievement/US, 2005
Legion of Honor award, 2006
Honorary Citizen of “San Sebastiano al Vesuvio” /Italy, March 2007
One of A Different View’s 15 Champions of World Democracy, 2008
Award for the Global Defence of Human Rights, International Service Human RightsAward/ London, 2009
Democracy Award of the city of Bone/ Germany, 2009
The Manhae Prize/ Korea, 2009
The Scholars at Risk Prize, Dublin/Ireland, 2009
Ronald Berger Human Dignity Award, Ronald Berger Institute/Germany, 2009
Human Security Award, Muslim Public Affairs Council/US, 2009
The Felix Ermacora Prize for Human Rights/ Austria, 2010
Exodus Award/Rimini-Italy, 2010
Honorary Citizen of Paris, 2010
Honorary Citizen of Genova/ Italy, 2010
Human Rights Award from the Advocates for Human Rights/ US, 2011
Save the Children Award/ Spain, 2011
Honorary Membership of Spain Bar Association
Member of Jury for Ronald Berger Award
Named a street in Poitier, a city in France, after Shirin Ebadi, 2011
Avicenna Award/ Frankfurt- Germany, May 2012
Prize for International Understanding and Human Rights from Ulrich ZewienerStiftung / Germany, May 2012
Honorary Citizen of Pordenone/ Italy, May 2012
Lifetime Achievement Award/ Association of Muslim Lawyers/ London, October2012
“Novi cives: builders of citizenship” within the XII edition of the “International Festival of History”-
Bologna/ Italy/ October 2015
Honorary Citizen of “Torino di Sangro”/ Italy, May 2016
Honorary Doctorate, Cesar Vallejo University (UCV) November 2016
Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal, New York, October 2017
IV Edition of Committed Optimists, Spain, May 2018
Honorary Doctorate, Lleida University, Spain, May 2018
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Home > Tajikistan > ADB Grant $35 mln to Reconnect Tajikistan to the Central Asian Power (...)
ADB Grant $35 mln to Reconnect Tajikistan to the Central Asian Power System
DUSHANBE (ADB press service) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $35 mln grant to reconnect Tajikistan’s electricity system to the Central Asian Power System (CAPS) through interconnection with the Uzbekistan system. This will help expand regional energy trade and improve regional energy efficiency among countries connected to CAPS.
The total cost of the project is $40 ml, with the Government of Tajikistan providing $5 mln. The project will install and upgrade modern relay protection equipment for synchronizing Tajikistan and Uzbekistan’s electricity systems, expand interconnection points, and strengthen Tajikistan’s capacity for stable parallel operation. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.
ADB, through the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program, actively promotes regional power trading among central Asian countries and the expansion of power exports to Afghanistan and Pakistan from the region. An interconnected power system in central Asia will benefit all countries, optimize power use, enhance regional energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
CAPS is a regional electricity transmission network created during the Soviet Union era, and its operation today is coordinated among Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan. In recent decades, power exchange within CAPS has been in progressive decline, and Tajikistan’s disconnection from Uzbekistan in 2009 limited the effectiveness of an interconnected CAPS. However, the signing of a power trade agreement to restart the electricity trade between the two countries in March this year is a step forward for a renewed regional energy network.
“This project will enable Tajikistan to export summer surplus electricity to Uzbekistan and allow for more efficient use of regional energy resources”, said ADB Finance Specialist Mr. Yuki Inoue. “This reconnection signifies a major step towards a full parallel operation with Uzbekistan’s electricity system and CAPS.”
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Breakout Tracks
Welcome Reception
GEOWalk
Closing Celebration
All Sessions Take Place in the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
Lifetime Achievement Award Presentation — K. Stuart Shea, Chairman and CEO, USGIF; and President, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, SAIC (8:00a - 8:30a)
Master of Ceremonies — The Honorable Jeffrey K. Harris, Corporate Vice President and Managing Director, Situational Awareness, Lockheed Martin Corp. (8:30a - 8:45a, New Orleans Theater)
Keynote — LTG Ronald L. Burgess Jr., U.S. Army, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency (8:45a - 9:30a, New Orleans Theater)
LTG Ronald L. Burgess Jr. is the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. He was commissioned in Military Intelligence through the Auburn University ROTC Program in 1974. He earned a Master of Science degree in Education from the University of Southern California in 1980, and a Master of Military Arts and Science from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1986. His military education includes the Armor Officer Basic Course, the Military Intelligence Officers Advanced Course, the Command and General Staff College, the Advanced Military Studies Program, and the Air War College.
Interoperability Tech Talks (9:00a - 10:30a, Exhibit Hall)
Have you battled through learning, developing and implementing services and solutions using Geospatial open standards? Do you have lessons learned, best practices or just tips and tricks for standing up an OGC compliant Web Processing Service?
Exhibitors and attendees are invited to listen to the Interoperability Tech Talks from 9 to 10 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday during the GEOINT 2010 Symposium.
Presenters Include:
• 9:00 a.m.: Dave Kolas, Scientist, Raytheon BBN Technologies
• 9:15 a.m.: Edward Lane, ER2 Designated Intelligence Community Element (DICE) PM, NRO & Glenn Cruickshank, ER2 Program, Specialist Leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP
• 9:30 a.m.: Don Self, Chief, Sensor Assimilation Division, Sensor Assimilation Division, NGA
• 9:45 a.m.: Mark Reichardt, President and CEO, Open Geospatial Consortium
• 10:00 a.m.: Dr. Sean Gorman, President and Founder, FortiusOne
Learn more about the Interoperability Tech Talks
Networking Break (9:30a - 10:00a)
GEOINT and MASINT: Operations Other Than War — Introductory Keynote: Mr. Scot Lopp, Deputy Director of Intelligence and Actionable Integration, National Counterproliferation Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (10:00a - 12:00p, Room 278)
MASINT and GEOINT together can bring the power of precision science combined with pinpoint accuracy to many activities across the spectrum of civil applications in ways we have never before considered, except in futuristic novels. This breakout session will examine applications, capabilities, potentials, enablers and roadblocks for those scenarios that represent “Operations Other Than War.”
Participants Include:
• Mr. John L. Morris, Chief Scientist, Riverside Research Institute; and James B. Longley, Executive Director, Advanced Technical Intelligence Association
• Barbara Alexander, Director, Collections Requirements Division, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security
• William Bryan, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Department of Energy
• CAPT J. Scott Paradis, U.S. Coast Guard, Chief, Prevention Division, Eight Coast Guard District (dp)
Mastering the Human Domain: Socio-Cultural Intelligence and Analysis — Moderator - Dr. Christopher Tucker, Principal, Yale House Ventures (10:00a - 12:00p, Room 273)
Though we have entered an era of low intensity conflict characterized by population-centric operations, the U.S. national security community is still not organized to provide policymakers, commanders, warfighters and mission partners with a comprehensive grasp of human domain. Whether called human terrain, human geography, activity-based intelligence, etc., the GEOINT community has begun to take steps at organizing and analyzing cultural information geospatially, but to what extent is knowledge of the “human domain” intelligence? Or is it a basic form of “understanding” that forces must have in order to effective in expeditionary security operations? Learn about where we should be going during this session.
• Christopher Tucker, Principal, Yale House Ventures
• Dr. Jerome E. (Jerry) Dobson
• LTC Al Di Leonardo, U.S. Army, U.S. Special Operations Command
• Douglas E. Weinstein, Policy Analyst, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
• Elizabeth Lyon, Geographer, Engineer Research and Development Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Cyber-Location Nexus — Introductory Keynote - Maj. Gen. Suzanne M. "Zan" Vautrinot, U.S. Air Force, Director of Plans and Policy, U.S. Cyber Command, Fort George G. Meade, Md (10:00a - 12:00p, Room 265)
The real-world, defined in geographic space, has collided with the virtual world leading to a host of complex policy and national security issues. Here, at the cyber-location nexus, bad actors can target infrastructure in particular locations entirely through cyberspace. Natural and man-made disasters in a particular geography hosting critical infrastructure can have profound impacts in cyber-space. How well versed are we at surviving the cyber-location nexus? What actions are being taken to ensure that cyberspace is being mapped geographically? What steps are being taken to geospatially-enable the attribution of bad actors in cyber-space? Do we really know “where” our cyber infrastructure is? Find out the answers to these by attending this session on Thursday afternoon.
• Jeff Jonas, Chief Scientist, IBM Entity Analytics; IBM Distinguished Engineer, IBM Software Group
• Bob Gourley, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Crucial Point LLC; Editor, CTOvision.com
• John Kelly, Founder and Lead Scientist, Morningside Analytics
Exhibit Hall (11:00a - 5:00p)
Lunchtime Roundtable: Tradecraft Certification — Moderators: Darryl Murdock, Esri and Karen Metzler, Northrop Grumman (12:00p - 2:00p, Room 275)
• Jane Homeyer, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
• Reese Madsen, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
• John (Jack) P.K. O’Connor, Chief Learning Officer, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
• Craig Haney, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Lunch in Exhibit Hall (12:00p - 2:00p, Exhibit Hall)
Keynote — Mr. John C. (Chris) Inglis, Deputy Director, National Security Agency (2:00p - 2:45p, New Orleans Theater)
Mr. John C. Inglis is the 14th Deputy Director of the National Security Agency. As the senior civilian at NSA, Mr. Inglis acts as the Agency’s chief operating officer, guiding and directing strategies and policy, and serves as the principal advisor to the Director. Mr. Inglis returns from London where he served as the Special U.S. Liaison Officer for the past three years contributing greatly to one of the Nation’s longest standing cryptologic partnerships.
Closing Keynote — Gen. James E. Cartwright, U.S. Marine Corps, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2:45p - 3:30p, New Orleans Theater)
Exhibit Hall Reception (3:00p - 5:00p, Exhibit Hall)
Jerseys & Jeans Closing Celebration at the Louisiana Superdome — Attire is casual for this event (7:00p - 10:00p, Louisiana Superdome)
The Jerseys & Jeans Closing Celebration at the Louisiana Superdome is a casual evening of fun to close out the week. We invite you to wear your favorite football team’s jersey as we gather on the home field of the Super Bowl XLIV Champion New Orleans Saints.
All are welcome. Come casual and come hungry. Heavy appetizers and plenty of refreshments will keep you going through the night.
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Tau Empire Codex 2013 | Army Builder Program
Dark Angels Codex 2013
Chaos Daemons Codex 2013
Chaos Space Marines Codex 2012
Warhammer 40k Forum Tau Online
Warhammer 40k Forum Tau Online » Tau Online » Tau Online Comments/Suggestions » Glitching in Chat.
Warhammer 40K Forum
Glitching in Chat.
12 Jan 2009, 03:23 #1 (permalink)
enderwiggin
Shas'O
I'm not 100% on why it's doing it...
But apparently I'm a Mod on chat.
Not that I wouldn't like it, but I'm pretty sure I'm not meant to be (nobody informed me of it at least).
However, the glitch seems to be sporadic. Chat also removes my host status at random. :P
Seventh Sanctum signature oddities.
Alignment: Neutral Pessimistic
Area of Magical Study: Practical Chronomancy
Favorite Spells: Divine Spell of the Cotton Candy Golem and Field of Bacon.
Proud supporter of Joe Wood!
Makes this your one good deed a day.
http://www.thehungersite.com/
Re: Glitching in Chat.
Does it make you a host when your the only one in the room and removes it when one of the normal mods come in?
But it seems to be done for now. *Shrugs* :-[
Originally Posted by enderwiggin
That'll be it then . The chatroom automatically makes the first person to enter a host until a known host enters. It's so that there is always a host in the room, even though it could lead to someone being made a host that maybe would never be normally.
DELPHEUS
Doesn't do that when I (I includes all known aliases. I've tested it) log in or when a guest logs in.
*Doh!-Nuts DarkWand3r3r Msg Player 04-08-2009 17:51:32
Moral of this story... in real life or in a pen and paper game... do not piss off Delpheus or he will OMGWTFBBQPWN your face with a uber hit.
Fire_Warrior 032
That's because we have installed a ban on opping Tak
I laugh at the fools who thought Tau Online Chat Op is hard work! :shifty:
:P But how would it know it's me when I have methods of hiding my IP and I have aliases that even ya'll don't know about? ;P
cannot get on chat razgriz_cipher Computers, Science and Technology 7 26 Apr 2010 17:28
NEW chat bug korik1 Tau Online Comments/Suggestions 3 28 Aug 2007 10:43
TO chat Grunt90 Enclave Talk 17 27 Mar 2007 21:55
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TauOnline.org is completely unofficial and is in no way endorsed by Games Workshop Limited.
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R.I.P. Kip Niven
Started by Defenestrator, May 7
Defenestrator
Sorry to learn that a familiar face from some big movies in the seventies, Kip Niven, has reportedly passed away at age 73. I recall reading an interview with him about 20 years ago in which he mentioned two misconceptions people had of him. One was that he was the son of David Niven, which was untrue but he didn't go out of his way to dispute when those big movies were being cast. Another assumption was that he was part of some repertory company to appear in Charlton Heston movies. It turns out that although he was in "Airport 1975," "Earthquake" (as the guy whose seismic calculations turn out to be true) and "Midway," he said in the interview that (at that time anyway) he had never met Heston, as he didn't have any scenes with him in any of those movies. Heston of course had previously worked with David Niven in "55 Days in Peking" which may have exacerbated the two assumptions. Some of his other big seventies movies were "Magnum Force," "The Hindenburg" and "Swashbuckler," basically demonstrating that a Kip Niven movie was likely to have one of the most fondly remembered posters of its era. He also did a host of popular prime-time shows like "CHiPs," "T.J. Hooker," "Hart to Hart," and "S.W.A.T." and so much more. I see from the obit that he really had a great run on the stage too.
https://www.kcur.org/post/longtime-kansas-city-and-1970s-hollywood-actor-kip-niven-dies#stream/0
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GHSN Team
GHSN Services
The American Nursing Institute
American Hospital Management Institute
Christeen Holdwick, MA, RN, BSN
Ms. Holdwick has practiced nursing and hospital administration for more than 30 years. Educated at the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University, she has clinical expertise in the areas of inpatient medicine/surgery, women and children’s services, and behavioral services. She also holds a Certification in Advanced Quality Health Care from Intermountain Health Care Institute.
In addition to her extensive clinical leadership experience, Ms. Holdwick has expertise in organizational development, employee engagement, and patient and family satisfaction. Her prior experiences in acute care include roles such as Director of Behavioral Services, Director of Nursing Operations, Patient Care Director of Women and Children’s Services System and Integration Leader, and Director of Organizational Development and Service Excellence.
Ms. Holdwick is personally committed to excellence in patient care and to creating a physical facility, a management infrastructure, and a climate of caring so every patient has the best possible health care experience.
Ms. Holdwick has experience within the US as well as internationally. Recent projects include a new hospital commissioning project in Nigeria, a six-hospital feasibility study in Sri Lanka, director of clinical curriculum for a nursing program in Yangon, Myanmar, director of clinical curriculum for a nursing program in Yunnan, China, development of a national mental health program in the Federated States of Micronesia, and a project director for the development of a hospital-affiliated nursing college in Bangladesh.
Ms. Holdwick has received numerous awards for her excellent work in nursing and mental health, including the Top Nurses of Michigan Award – Distinguished Nurse, Intermountain Health Care, Advanced Quality Improvement Certificate, the Washtenaw Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Distinguished Community Service Award, a recipient of a grant for the Humor Project, New York, and an Employee Achievement Award from St. John Mercy’s Health System. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Rho Chapter and the Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Ms. Holdwick has given national as well as international presentations on a variety of nursing topics and has been published in scientific journals numerous times.
Martha Tanicala, EdD, MSN, RN
Director of Education and Director of ANI
Dr. Tanicala has 40 years of progressive nursing experience in clinical practice and nursing education with a demonstrated record of nursing excellence. As a world-class educator with 25 years in nursing education, Dr. Tanicala aims to help others learn through shared exploration and discovery.
Dr. Tanicala holds several advanced degrees, including a Master of Nursing degree with a major in community health nursing and a minor in nursing education from the Medical College of Ohio, a Doctorate of Education in leadership studies from Bowling Green State University, a diploma in Tropical Nursing from the Liverpool School of Tropical Nursing, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Toledo.
Dr. Tanicala has proven expertise in curriculum development, construction of student clinical experiences in diverse health care environments, and implementation and evaluation of program goals and student learning outcomes. She has strong communication skills, demonstrated in her roles of leader, mentor, advocate, teacher, consultant, and collaborator. She was previously an Associate Professor of Nursing at Eastern Michigan University and led the development of a college of nursing and allied health professions in Southeast Asia.
In addition, Dr. Tanicala has extensive international experience. She has served with the United States Peace Corps in Turkmenistan, taught as a community health educator in Kampala, Uganda and at Makerere University, Uganda, developed curriculum for a BSN nursing education program in Kampala, Uganda, served as the Director of Nursing Education for a nursing skills elevation program in Yangon, Myanmar, consulted as a nursing expert for a 300-bed hospital in Chittagong, Bangladesh, consulted as a nurse educator for Imperial College of Nursing in Chittagong, Bangladesh, and is currently serving as the Director of Nursing Education for a RN to BSN program in China.
Claude Lauderbach, MS, BSN
Director of Hospital Operations
Mr. Claude Lauderbach is a healthcare executive with more than 30 years of experience in nursing, acute care, ambulatory, behavioral, home health and hospice care settings, physician hospital organizations, and population based health management. He has lent his expertise to multiple medicinal fields, including tertiary and academic, community health, and multi-hospital systems on local, regional, and national levels.
Mr. Lauderbach is dedicated to his continuing education and is currently a student in the Wayne State University College of Nursing, pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice in preparation to become a family nurse practitioner. He currently holds the following degrees:
Masters of Science, Medical-Surgical Nursing and Administration from the University of Michigan
Bachelor of Science, Biology from Albion College
Bachelor of Science, Nursing from Creighton University
Mr. Lauderbach has held multiple prominent positions in healthcare systems throughout the US. These positions have helped form a wealth of practical and applied leadership knowledge, as well as an expansive network of health specialists. Prior to August, 2014, he was the Chief Operating Officer of St. Mary Mercy Hospital, Michigan. St. Mary Mercy Hospital, a 304-bed community teaching hospital, is part of the St. Joseph Mercy Health System serving southeast Michigan, and a member of Trinity Health. He also served as the Vice-President for Supply Chain for the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, a 1,000-bed, four-hospital system in southeast Michigan. In his leadership positions, he has successfully improved organizational financial performances and process and quality improvement, in addition to his strong medical practice.
Daniel Miesle, MHA, CHE, EDAC
Director of Capital Projects
Mr. Miesle brings 39 years’ experience in the healthcare industry, with leadership expertise in the areas of facility planning, space planning, strategic planning, transition strategies, hospital operations, and ambulatory services. His professional growth has been augmented by a Masters in Health Care Administration and certifications in evidence based design and health care executive leadership.
In addition to his extensive leadership experience, Mr. Miesle has expertise in planning, programming, and opening of new facilities, facility consulting for over 45 organizations, operation development, organizational development, and employee engagement. His responsibilities include many leadership roles, including Director of Capital Improvement Projects, Administrative Director of Space Planning & Transition Strategy, Director of Facility Planning & Development, Founder and Principal of Consulting Agencies, Associate Director of Hospitals – Administrator Ambulatory Services, Associate Director of Hospitals – Strategic Planning and Marketing, Vice President of Hospital and Director of Planning and Government Affairs.
Mr. Miesle has extensive experience with major health care projects, including with Stanford Hospital & Clinics, Palo Alto, CA, the University of Kentucky – UK HealthCare, Lexington, KY, the Indiana University Hospitals, Indianapolis, IN, St. Luke’s Hospital (now Genesis Health), Davenport, IA, Rochester Methodist Hospital, Rochester, MN (an affiliate of the Mayo Clinic), and Hennepin County Health & Hospitals, Minneapolis, MN.
Mr. Miesle has dedicated his professional career to advancing health care planning and development strategies. His goal is to create world-class physical facilities and strong management infrastructures to create efficient and sustainable health care systems.
He has received his Masters of Health Care Administration from the University of Minnesota and his Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from the College of St. Thomas. He has numerous professional certifications, including being an Evidence Based Design Accredited Certified EDAC from the Center for Health Design and a Certified Health Executive from the American College of Health Care Executives. Mr. Miesle has produced multiple publications and given numerous presentations on facility development, lean design methodology, capacity management, hospital planning and marketing, and hospital administration. He is a diplomat of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), a board member of the American Association of Healthcare Consultants (AAHC), a board member of the Society for Ambulatory Care Professionals (SACP), and a former Health Care Design jury member of the Center for Health Design.
Mike Lynch, BS
Director of Equipment Planning
Mike Lynch has been actively involved in the healthcare industry for 18 years. He works closely with the client and project team to identify and understand the project’s needs – clinical, operational and financial. Mr. Lynch works diligently to find the most efficient and cost effective medical technology solutions for the client and team members. He provides the experience required to direct a successful project from conceptual budgeting to interface with architects, engineers and contractors through installation and turnover. Mr. Lynch has his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Wyoming and is AutoCAD Certified and Access Certified.
In his practice, Mr. Lynch has managed multiple projects with expertise involving strategic capital equipment planning, medical equipment planning, schematic design, construction documents, procurement, design development, and construction support. Mr. Lynch has worked on health care projects internationally. His most recent experience includes a 320-bed hospital in Viet Nam, a 264-bed general hospital and MOB in the United Arab Emirates, and a 230-bed hospital, 90,000 sf nursing school, and 10,000 sf central plant in Trinidad. In addition, Mr. Lynch’s project directing experience with major health care projects in the US is extensive and impressive, including a 28,180 sf, 36-bed neurology floor build out, including ancillary spaces and a rehabilitation gym, a 16,000 sf expansion and renovation including 3 operating rooms, 1 DaVinci room 3-bay PACU and sterile core, a 400,000 sf, 12-story women’s pavilion with 30 high risk patient rooms, 48 post-partum rooms, 20 NICU rooms, LDR and C-section suites, and physician practice space. Mr. Lynch has also facilitated the medical equipment planning for a 40-bed build out, a medical office building, a 1 million sf campus master plan, 600,000 sf expansion, and 50,000 sf renovation, a 75,000 sf renovation and expansion for emergency services, a 30,000 sf new cancer center, a 16,000 sf interior renovation of the radiology and pre-op departments, including adding 2 new MRIs, replacing a MRI with a new MRI Ambient System, and renovation to the procedure area. He has also done medical equipment planning on the overall increase to the number of pre-op and PACU rooms and renovating support spaces and waiting areas, a 65,000 sf renovation, and addition, a 20,000 sf of medical office building space above the hospital area, a 350,000 sf addition and 130,000 sf renovation, including a 10-story, 192-bed tower, emergency department, laboratories, cardio-diagnostic services, and surgical suite, a 497,000 sf, 5-story, 144-bed replacement hospital, a 892,000 sf replacement hospital, a 756,000 sf replacement hospital, a 225,000 sf replacement hospital, a 12,000 sf ambulatory care and surgery center, and a 100,000 sf, 80-bed patient tower expansion.
Kate Rowley, MBA
Ms. Kate Rowley is the marketing manager and a main project manager for GHSN. She specializes in developing and executing successful projects and programs while focusing on the important connections between research, a strong web presence, and creative business development solutions in international business. She has participated in projects in the United States, Viet Nam, Myanmar, China, Nigeria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Prior to this role, Ms. Rowley was a small business manager and held several leadership and research positions within University associations. Ms. Rowley is a Michigan State University alumnus, holding her Bachelor of Arts in German and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She is also an Oakland University alumnus, holding her Masters of Business Administration with a specialization in international business.
Ms. Rowley is fluent in German and English and has been published in psychological research journals. She is a member of Phi Beta Delta, the Honors Society for International Scholars, Delta Phi Alpha, Delta Mu Chapter, the National German Honor Society, and Psi Chi, the Psychology Honors Society.
Okey Nwanyanwu, PhD
Senior Executive, Africa
Dr. Okey Nwanyanwu is a world-class Epidemiologist with over 35 years of experience in public health, infectious diseases, executive management, and organizational development. He has worked with governments on both national and international levels and has over 100 scientific publications.
Dr. Nwanyanwu strives to build capacity of local organizations and host governments for sustainable disease control and improved healthcare outcomes. He has focused on building sustainable health systems in several countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Under his leadership, public health and disease control efforts have improved in these nations. He currently lends his expertise to improving healthcare policies, market strategies, project implementation, and infrastructure developments. The areas of focus are in public health, hospital and healthcare management and training, capacity building, and economic development. Dr. Nwanyanwu has an internationally expansive network of industry experts and suppliers. He strives to implement strategies which are applicable to cultural standards, sustainable solutions, and efficient protocols. Dr. Nwanyanwu has lived internationally and brings a unique perspective to all projects by utilizing his experiences in cross-cultural settings. He is fluent in English, Portuguese, Igbo, and Creoles – Pidgins.
Dr. Nwanyanwu has wide-ranging experience internationally. He has served as a Strategic and Medical Planner for hospitals and medical universities Nigeria. He has acted as the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) Country Director in Nigeria, South Africa, the Chief of Party for the CDC Global AIDS Program in Guyana, the USAID Chief of Health, Population, and Nutrition in Mozambique, and the Technical Advisor, Government of Malawi Ministry of Health and USAID in Malawi. In addition, Dr. Nwanyanwu has extensive experience with major health care programs within the US. Dr. Nwanyanwu has served as the Senior Advisor for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Epidemiologist Director for the CDC, an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer for the CDC, the Chief Epidemiologist for the County Health Department in Texas, an Epidemiologist for the Health Department in Texas, and the Operations Manager for the University of Texas, School of Public Health.
Dr. Nwanyanwu has also lectured and taught in several universities within the US and internationally, including Texas A&M University, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Houston Community College. Dr. Nwanyanwu earned his Doctor of Public Health from the University of Texas – School of Public Health and his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of South Carolina. He is also a certified Center for Disease Control Epidemic Intelligence Officer.
Anele Nwaynyanwu, JD
Anele O. Nwanyanwu, Esq., is a Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania trained attorney and counselor at law in New York. He started his legal career in a Wall Street firm in which he specialized in helping foreign companies access the United States capital markets for fundraising primarily through the listing of their shares on the New York Stock Exchange and by structuring the private placements of their securities with institutional investors.
After working on Wall Street, he enjoyed a successful career in real estate and as a civil litigator who brought lawsuits against hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare professionals on behalf of patients injured as a result of negligent medical care and treatment. His success as a medical malpractice attorney earned him admission into the exclusive Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
Currently, he concentrates his work primarily on cross-border transactions, involving the representation of governments, companies and entrepreneurs in commodities trading, including oil and gas products, mining and minerals, agriculture, energy, maritime, aviation, security, healthcare, construction, project developments and finance, between the emerging markets of Africa and the rest of the world.
As CEO of Anele & Associates, P.C., Mr. Nwanyanwu holds a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael Obiefune, MD
Dr. Obiefune brings 29 years of medical practice and research experience to GHSN – Africa. Specializing in infectious diseases, Dr. Obiefune has served as:
Africa Regional Director for the University of Maryland Institute of Virology
Country Director for the AIDSRelief program of Catholic Relief Services
Executive Director for PeTR-Global Solutions
Dr. Obiefune received his medical degree from University of Lagos College of Medicine. Currently he is an Assistant Professor and Regional Technical Director and Advisor at the University of Maryland and is affiliated with the University of Maryland Medical Center as an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine. In addition, Dr. Obiefune has been published extensively for his research on HIV and AIDS.
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Showing posts with label secular. Show all posts
Can Religious Symbols Be Trademarked?
At the intersection of intellectual property, culture and the First Amendment lies the interesting question: Can religious symbols be trademarked under U.S. law?
In short, the answer is yes.
There is no inherent or statutory bar for a symbol that has acquired religious connotations and spiritual meaning to a group of believers to become protected as a federally registered commercial trademark, provided that certain legal conditions are met.
For example, the mark must be "used in commerce" and become associated with a "single source."
These legal requirements demand that some form of commercial goods or services are offered in connection with the mark by a single entity, either a church, not-for-profit organization or corporation. Therefore, a "generic" religious symbol such as a crucifix would not be protectable because it represents a system of beliefs that is not associated with a single identifiable "source." That is, the Roman Catholic Church could lay a claim to it, but so could Orthodox, Protestant denominations, and thousands of other Christian organizations.
Additionally, even the name of a church or religion can be trademarked. For example, "THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH" is a federally registered trademark for religious instruction services (see right).
In one federal lawsuit testing the bounds of these concepts, the Te-Ta-Ma Truth Foundation-Family (the “Foundation”) sued the World Church of the Creator (the “World Church”), alleging that the World Church infringed its registered trademark for “Church of the Creator.”
The World Church was one of three primary divisions of the white supremacist movement. The mission of the Defendant was twofold: (1) to ensure the survival, expansion and advancement of the white race and (2) to eliminate Jews, blacks and “mud- races.” The Foundation, on the other hand, was a denomination professing universal love and respect, and actively included everyone who wished to join. In order words, the beliefs ensconced by the World Church were diametrically opposed to the beliefs practiced by the Foundation and therefore fundamentally incompatible.
On appeal, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the World Church infringed the Foundation’s trademark. The court held that the Foundation’s name did not preclude others from distinguishing themselves and implied that the name encapsulated the Foundation’s identity: “[U]sing ‘Church of the Creator’ as a denominational name leaves ample options for other sects to distinguish themselves and achieve separate identities.”
The issue affects all organized religions. For example, a Lubavitch Jewish religious group that uses a symbol of the Torah and Hebrew letters on a shield has litigated whether or not this symbol can legitimately function as a trademark. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board held that it could.
In an article titled "Register Trademarks and Keep the Faith: Trademarks, Religion and Identity," Professor David A. Simon writes about some of the issues confronted when religious organizations wage secular court battles over the unauthorized use of religious trademarks.
Professor Simon notes that such litigation is not a traditional trademark dispute. Such cases are focused on protecting rights to compete in commerce. Here, the dispute is driven by a unique cultural struggle to protect religious identity, but the parties are forced to use the secular litigation system to resolve essentially cultural, "identity" disputes.
He suggests a novel approach to resolving such disputes that is modeled on the Uniform Dispute Resolution Procedure ("UDRP") triggered when there are disputes surrounding the legitimacy of Internet domain names.
In any event, even if permitted under intellectual property law, applying secular trademark concepts to legal disputes involving religious identity and cultural control remains an uneasy fit.
Labels: domain names, First Amendment, free speech, freedom of religion, identity, litigation, religious symbols, secular, trademarks, UDRP
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Reviewed by Brooke Lehmann
Lisa Ballantyne's career has previously found her involved in the Chinese education sector with the occasional writing for magazines in English and in Chinese.
However, the Mandarin speaking Scot has turned her mind to the world of novels, introducing her debut, The Guilty One (Platkus) to our bookshelves in August. Finding itself an international phenomenon, critics have boasted The Guilty One as being 'psychological and suspenseful'.
The story follows Daniel Hunter, a man who knows what it is to come from a dysfunctional family. Now a partner at a solicitor's firm in London, life wasn't always peachy for the successful lawyer; a fact that resurfaces when he receives the case of 11-year-old Sebastian Croll, who has just been charged with the murder of eight-year-old Benjamin Stokes.
The novel flashes between memories of Daniel's childhood in foster-care due to his drug addicted mother's inability to care for him and the absence of his father, and the murder case which has all of London talking.
Daniel, or 'Danny' as we come to call him, is forced to reconcile with his tumultuous past; one of fear, loneliness and instability of home, until he met his new foster mother, Minnie, a waddling, gin-loving, rough, but well meaning Irish lass.
While Minnie manages to break down the walls that young Danny created in an act of self-preservation, Daniel learns the hard way that it's those we love and trust who can hurt us the most.
Concurrently, Danny is consumed with the uncertainty that surrounds the outcome of the overly intelligent and slightly unnerving Sebastian; a conclusion that could find the 11-year-old lost to the system forever.
The outcome adamantly remains elusive right to the final pages. Ballantyne's plot successfully involves all the conventional lines one would find in a psychological novel; a convoluted case, haunted pasts, twists and turns, and the uncertainty of truth at the end.
However, aside from these typical concepts, Ballantyne's narrative is a little dry. Admittedly, a slow build up is a given for this genre, however, Ballantyne fails to capture the reader's attention the way through. Somewhat of a letdown, the focus and pressure established around young Sebastian's fate is hardly given justice in the execution of its portrayal.
Despite these bungles, there are moments of brilliance in some of her metaphors. "He smoothed the ivory-coated wood of the piano, his fingers still tingling from the bashing he had given the keys", writes Ballantyne, a beautifully crafted sentence that bespeaks of life's highs and lows; at once critical, hurtful and unforgiving, and the next gracious, doting and soothing.
A novel bordering on mystery and intrigue, The Guilty One is worth a read, however, don't build up your hopes too high.
Posted by Erica Bartle (nee Holburn) at Tuesday, October 02, 2012
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JOURNAL OF RESOURCEFULNESS AND DISTINCTION Vol 7, No.1 April 2014
Resourcefulness Vol. 7 No. 1, April, 2014
ISSN 227-9684
Education for All: Progress, Problems and Prospects Prof. N. M. Mbajiorgu, (Ph.D)…………………………………………………1
Education for All: Problems and
Prospects in Nigeria Prof. Uju Clara Umo, (JP).......22
Education For All (EFA) Problems and Prospects in Nigeria -Prof. Nwani Akuma...........37
Gender Balance as a Panacea to a Credible and Successful Election -Dr. Udeji Nixon Chiedozie; Hyginus O. Ogbonna and Assoc. Prof. B. U. Maduewesi................49
Appraisal of Guidance and Counselling Services in Schools and Non-school Settings in Nigeria:
The Way Forward Imoiboho S. Umoh, (Ph.D)........63
Role of Teachers in Controlling Drug Abuse and Cultism among Nigeria School Youths
-Theresa Ngohile Samu.........70
Environmental Ethics for Sustainable
Environmental Education in Nigeria -Amunnadi Chukwudi Ani, (Ph.D).................79
The Role of Internal Audit in Strengthening
Corporate Governance in Nigeria -Aliu Momodu Mohammed; O. A. Unuigbokhai and A. F. Ihimekpen....89
Teacher-Student Class Interaction on Academic Performance: A Case of Senior Secondary Economics Students in Benue State -Mnguember R. Aboho; Ahangba E. Dodo and Elyakubu Lawal Isa........103
Imperatives of Education and Security Challenges in Nigeria: Implication for Education for All -Ogbodi Iyare Friday................119
Creativity: A Tool for Enhancing Social
Entrepreneurship Education in Secondary Schools -Chibueze U. Mgboro, Ph.D and Nicholas A. Eke.........128
Transliteration as a Linguistic Error or a Literary Style? A Study of Selected Statements from African Novels and Students’ Essays -Echezona Ifejirika, Ph.D....135
Schooling and Communal Unrest: How Safe is Learning for Science and Technology (S&T) EducationNchekwube M. Okafor..147
Effective Strategies for Entrepreneurial Skills Development in the Classroom Using
School-Industry Links -K. U. Wilfred – Bonse and L. E. Sam-Ngwu..............154
Attaining Functional Secondary Education in Nigeria through Counselling Servious Attitude of Muslim Parents towards the Girl-Child Education in Sokoto State Cajethan E. Ekpe..176
Women Education: A Strategy for Actualization of
Education For All in Nigeria -Nwamaka G. Onyebu and Amaka V. Okanume-Onah........198
Impact of Socio Economic Status on Adult
Education Programmed in Sokoto State: Implications
for Counselling -Bashiru Muhammed Liman and Umar Abdullah Kilgori....211
Perception of Undergraduate Graphic Design Students on the Adequacy of Training for Self Employment in South-Western Nigeria Academic Support Services and Administration in ODL System -B. A. Ogunlade ........221
Academic Support Services and Administration in ODL System -Fidel O. Okopi, (Ph.D) and N. M. Ofole, (Ph.D)......234
Education For All: Challenges for Teacher Education in Nigerians -Osagiede Mercy Afe, Ph.D and Dr. J. E. Idiaghe.....247
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« Michio Kaku believes in God, if not that God
Another reason why imperialism wanted Libya overthrown »
Goodbye Facebook, and screw you too
PHOTO/paz.ca/CC by 2.0
I joined Facebook in 2014 at the urging of a friend of mine in Moab, Utah – of all places, Moab, an outpost in the desert – who had worked in marketing, political advertising, messaging and the like. He said, “You need to get on there, man! Network. Get your message out. Your articles.”
Of course I should never have trusted someone trained in the degrading art of getting the message out. Marketing has since ruined sweet little Moab with mass recreation, floods of tourists, and second homeowners looking to invest.
But I joined the rest of the fools out of an experimental belief that it would widen the audience for my journalism – that is, for selfish money-grubbing reasons, the reasons of the true marketeer.
Maybe it did expand my audience. I have no idea. About the only proven use I found was being able to get on Tinder to get laid, as you cannot have a Tinder account without a Facebook account. Thereafter I called it Fuckbook.
Now the experiment is over. Last week I deleted the account. There are many reasons to have never created one. Facebook by the very nature of the platform is a mire of navel-gazing and narcissism, its content a general embarrassment to the human race, its “friendships” defined by algorithms, the idolatry of images, the robotism of shared “likes.” A mockery of real sharing of feeling, understanding, amity, mutuality.
Users with at least half a brain have long known that Facebook exploits their privacy and was probably from the start a vehicle for full-blown surveillance by our spy agencies. I certainly suspected the latter. In 2009, I wrote up a pitch for an investigative piece about Google, Facebook and their connections to the CIA. I published a piece in Counterpunch about the Google angle, but was never able to report out fully what I suspected about Facebook. In the pitch, I wrote:
If personal data could be collected in more concentrated, focused form, with the additional advantage of efficiently collating social networks, complete with personal photos, habits, activities and itineraries freely provided in a centralized system by the users themselves…well, that would be Facebook. The intelligence services’ hand in Facebook is not direct, but publicly available records suggest that venture capital was pumped into Facebook from investment firms whose board members cross-pollinate with a company called In-Q-Tel.
Founded in 1999 to research and invest in new digital technologies focused on intelligence gathering, In-Q-Tel was part of the push for the privatization of national security operations that would become endemic under the Bush Administration. Some $25 million in seed money during Google’s start-up in 1999 arrived in part from the equity firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which works with In-Q-Tel to develop spy technology. In-Q-Tel-funded companies produced the eye-in-the-sky image database that would become Google Earth. In mid-2005, In-Q-Tel’s former director of technology assessment, Rob Painter, joined Google as “senior federal manager,” further cementing Google’s bond with the intelligence community.
Like Google, Facebook is ambiguous in its privacy policies as to how it will share information with third parties. A former CIA officer, speaking anonymously, confirmed the CIA’s interest in Facebook as an intelligence and communications tool, noting that the agency’s use of Facebook for operations is “classified.” The former CIA officer only went so far as to suggest the CIA may be using the site for communications. “It’s a perfect place to hide communications,” says the former CIA officer. “You don’t need secret, expensive satellite systems anymore when you can hide in plain sight with millions of idiots sending photos and inane messages to each other.” When pressed on the subject, the source reiterated: “How it’s employed by [the CIA] is classified, and you shouldn’t write about it.” The Facebook angle for the proposed piece will require further reporting. What’s widely known is that the CIA has been using Facebook since 2006 as a recruiting tool for the clandestine services, which marks the first time the CIA has employed online social networking for the hiring of personnel.
Ah, but denial is a powerful drug, one that produces amnesia, and I soon forgot my own reporting and marched as a guinea pig into the Facebook surveillance system. We now know exactly how Facebook shares information with third parties.
Counterpunch for more
This entry was posted on Thursday, April 12th, 2018 at 00:03 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Lutèce, Paname…how many Paris nicknames do you know?
Lutèce, Paname, City of Light… Paris by any other name is just as sweet! You’ll see Paris’s former names and nicknames used all over the city as well as in books, movies and songs. Here are the noms de plume of Paris to know.
Lutèce
Before present-day Paris existed, it was a Roman city called Lutetia. The French version of the word is Lutèce (pronounced: loo-tess). Julius Caesar name-checked Lutecia in his memoir, and you can still find ruins of the ancient Roman city in Paris — including the Arènes de Lutèce amphitheater in the 5th arrondissement. Nowadays you’ll see Lutèce used in the names of cafes, shops as well as the first language school I attended after moving to Paris, Lutèce Langue.
The origin of Lutetia is uncertain, but the most common belief is that the word derives from Celtic roots meaning “place near a swamp.” Now you may not think of a swamp when you imagine Paris, but the name of the neighborhood “Le Marais” also translates to “marsh” or “swamp” in French. This is because it is close to the Seine and used to flood whenever the river got too high.
Parisii
This is the word the name Paris is derived from. The Parisii were a Celtic (Gaulish) tribe who lived in the area. Around the year 400 the city was named “Parisios,” which became “Paris” in 887.
Paname
A slang word for Paris that has recently re-emerged as popular. Paname (pronounced: puh-nam) is a play on the country of Panama and its famous hats, which were popular with Parisians in the early 1900s. There is a 1975 song called “Amoureux de Paname” by the singer Renaud which is a bit of a love song to Paris, despite calling it full of garbage and smelly. Today you can sip a beer at Paname Brewing Company or buy a sweatshirt with the word emblazoned on it.
The City of Light — La Ville Lumière
Originally this moniker came not from the illumination of the city, but from Paris being the birthplace of the Age of Enlightenment. Paris played a leading role in Europe’s sharing of education and ideas, being the home of countless writers, inventors and philosophers.
But the nickname has now taken on a more literal interpretation. Paris was one of the first cities in Europe to install gas street lighting, and today 20,000 light bulbs illuminate the Eiffel Tower every night.
The City of Love
Ooh la la! Paris’s reputation for romance birthed this nickname. The beauty of the city and its native language has made it a top spot in the world for engagements and honeymoons. All year round you can spot brides and grooms taking photos in front of Paris’s most beautiful landmarks.
Une capitale de la mode
Paris is known as a “Fashion Capital” of the world, sharing the title with New York, London and Milan. The home of iconic design houses including Dior, Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, French fashion has a huge impact on how the rest of the world dresses.
MORE PARIS-RELATED SLANG
Parigot
A slang term for a Parisian person, the word Parigot (pronunciation: pear-ee-go) is particularly used by French people who don’t live in Paris to insinuate someone is a bit of a snob. Like in many countries, people who live in the biggest city of France are considered a bit pretentious. The opposite would be to call someone provincial, which means someone is a country bumpkin.
la dame de fer
The Eiffel Tower shares her nickname, The Iron Lady, with former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. But to the French, La Dame de Fer is a reference to the wrought iron lattice that makes up the Eiffel Tower.
Have you heard any other common nicknames for Paris or its famous sights? Leave a comment and share!
Filed Under: french language / la langue française, paris tips / tourisme
Tags: french language, learn french in paris, learning french, paris
French Favorites: Diptyque Carrousel
1 thought on “Lutèce, Paname…how many Paris nicknames do you know?”
I really appreciate these fun educational posts. It reveals the humanity inside the mysteries and helps us all a whole big bunch, too.
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Corby Home page
This page contains answers to some of the more frequent questions asked about Corby, Artificial Intelligence and related matters. Many of the subjects included here are discussed with greater detail in these articles:
What is (Artificial) Intelligence?
The Chinese Room
Section 1 – Definitions
1.1 - What is intelligence?
1.2 - What is Artificial Intelligence?
1.3 - What is behaviour?
1.4 - What is learning?
1.5 - What is information?
1.6 - What is knowledge?
1.7 - What is a concept?
1.8 – What is a world model?
1.9 - What is inference?
Section 2 – Questions about Artificial intelligence
2.1 - What is an intelligent device?
2.2 - What is the Turing Test?
2.3 - Will an artificial device ever be able to pass the Turing Test?
2.4 - What is the Chinese Room argument?
2.5 - Is “strong AI” possible?
2.6 - Can an artificial device have consciousness?
Section 3 – Questions about Corby
3.1 - What is Corby
3.2 - What are Corby's main features?
3.3 - Is Corby intelligent?
3.4 - How does Corby learn?
3.5 – Does Corby understand what people say?
3.6 - Will Corby pass the Turing Test?
3.7 - Is Corby conscious?
3.8 - Does Corby have free will?
3.9 – Can I use emoticons with Corby?
Here is a set of definitions of intelligence, which range from the serious to the nonsensical, that someone compiled recently on Usenet:
Intelligence: Ability to reason. Adapt to environment. Adapt the environment to yourself. Put someone on Triton and see if they survive. Things IQ tests measure. A great painter. Common sense. Logic + memory. Metallic asteroids with super conducting strands. Bill Clinton and "triangulation." Star Trek's Data or R2D2. Jimmy Carter and differential equations. Sum of all talents (or skills). Produce radio signals that can be detected outside your solar system. Build a Dyson Sphere. What humans do. What ants do. Longevity of a species. What dolphins and humans do. What computers do. The design of the universe. Existence. What God endows on humans. Ralean UFO's DNA experiments. What's in panspermia organisms. Higher levels of consciousness. "Mind" as opposed to brain. Holy spirit (i.e. link to the "soul" data bank), and finally the biggie: Ability to imply that other posters are stupider than you.
Corby is based on the following definition of intelligence:
Intelligence is the ability to discover the rules that govern the relationships between elements of the environment.
Artificial intelligence is defined as intelligence exhibited by anything manufactured (i.e. artificial) by humans. This also means, machine intelligence, a term used to refer to the field of scientific investigation into the plausibility of and approaches to creating intelligent systems using general-purpose computers.
It is the interaction of the organism with the environment characterized by movement of the organism, or of its parts, in space, through time, and having at least one measurable effect on the environment.
Learning is the process by which an intelligent organism acquires the appropriate responses to changes in its environment. There are many learning mechanisms: One of them is by direct experience. If you touch a hot object, you get hurt and then learn that hot objects are not to be touched. Another major learning mechanism is by imitation: If you see other people fleeing a lion, you learn that lions are to be avoided. Another learning mechanism involves language and therefore it is mainly restricted to humans: You are told explicitly how to respond to some change in the environment.
If you consider a species as a whole, evolution can also be considered a learning mechanism. It provides a way for the species to better adapt to its environment.
Information has a very precise definition in information theory. This theory, due primarily to Shannon, models in precise mathematical terms some aspects of a communications channel, established between a transmitter and a receiver of messages. According to this theory, the amount of information that a message conveys is the base-2 logarithm of the inverse of the message’s probability.
In everyday use, in the field of Artificial Intelligence, information is just any change in the environment that is captured by the organism’s sensors.
The two definitions may come together when you consider that the information captured by the organism’s sensors from the environment (the transmitter) is used by the organism to update its world model (the receiver).
Knowledge is the set of all the relevant information collected by an intelligent organism, which enables it to properly respond to changes in the environment.
A fundamental part of the knowledge that an organism possesses, constitutes the world model – see 1.8 below.
A concept is a compact representation of a family of similar ideas. Concepts are very important to intelligent organisms because they provide mechanisms for data compression, inference and creativity. For more details see the Learning Page, which is part of the Operation Manual.
A world model is the part of the intelligent organism’s knowledge that reflects the state of the real world, as perceived by the individual. The world model is essential for the organism to respond to solicitations from the environment, when a required part of the real world is not available at the moment.
Inference is the ability to draw conclusions based exclusively on the knowledge that one possesses. There are basically two forms of inference: Inductive and deductive.
In deductive inference one progresses from certain premises to certain conclusions. In inductive inference, one tries to establish general principles from a limited number of observations.
Both types of inference are very important to intelligent systems because that is what enables them to acquire new responses based exclusively on what they already know.
An intelligent device is some artefact that behaves, in some particular aspect, like an intelligent living organism. As the ability to learn in a characteristic that is common to all living organisms, an intelligent device should also have it.
In his 1950 paper “Computing Machinery And Intelligence” he proposed the following thought experiment that he called “The Imitation Game”: Imagine a locked room with a computer inside. Questions can be fed into the room, and its hidden inhabitant must reply. If, based on such a dialogue, we cannot determine whether the inhabitant is human or machine, then the machine can think.
For more information on this take a look at The Turing Test article.
It is doubtful. Not that this is deemed impossible by some well-established law of physics, so, at least in theory, it is possible. The problem is that for a machine to achieve that state is very costly, especially compared to the benefits it would bring. For a more detailed discussion of this question take a look at The Turing Test article.
In 1980, John Searle proposed the Chinese Room thought experiment that goes like this: A person who understands no Chinese sits in a room into which written Chinese characters are passed. In the room there is also a book containing a complex set of rules (established ahead of time) to manipulate these characters, and pass other characters out of the room. This would be done on a rote basis, e.g. "When you see character X, write character Y". The idea is that a Chinese-speaking interviewer would pass questions written in Chinese into the room, and the corresponding answers would come out of the room appearing from the outside as if there were a native Chinese speaker in the room. This whole set-up depicts a computer executing instructions (program) to manipulate abstract symbols.
It is Searle's belief that such a system would indeed pass the Turing Test, yet the person who manipulated the symbols would obviously not understand Chinese any better than he did before entering the room. Searle proceeds to try to refute the claims of strong AI: that if a machine were to pass a Turing test, then it can be regarded as "thinking" in the same sense as human thought; or put another way, that the human mind is some kind of computer running a program.
For more information on this take a look at The Chinese Room article.
Strong AI refers to the possibility of creating a Human-level AI, in which the computer program thinks and reasons much like a human mind.
As there is no well-established law of physics that prevents it from happening, Strong AI is, at least in theory, possible. Many people tried, over the years, to demonstrate by logic reasoning that Strong AI is impossible. The most famous of all is John Searle’s Chinese Room thought experiment – See 2.4 above.
Some people refer to Strong AI as the possibility of creating a Human-like AI. This is highly improbable – See 2.3 above.
Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise things such as self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between itself and the environment. At the most basic level, consciousness denotes being awake and responsive to the environment; this contrasts with being asleep or being in a coma. Consciousness can be seen as a continuum that starts with inattention, continues on sleep and arrives to coma and death. Some people also require that the individual have some sense of its history to demonstrate consciousness. In sum, the conscious individual must see itself as a separate entity, located in its environment and having a history.
There is little doubt about our ability to build machines that are “awake and responsive to the environment” and have a history. No aspect of consciousness is, a priori, out of our reach.
Corby is an intelligent conversation robot that simulates human verbal behaviour. Its most distinctive features are its ability to learn and its language independence. Corby is based on a stimulus-response model. The stimulus consists in a statement provided by the user, which causes Corby to provide an appropriate response.
Besides its ability to learn and its language independence, Corby provides innovative solutions to the usual problems in Artificial Intelligence: Learning, abstraction, inference, conceptualisation, knowledge representation and world models. But its most important contribution to the field is in the area of semantics, one of the thorniest problems in Artificial Intelligence. If you want to learn how Corby is able to understand what people say, take a look at the Learning Page, which is part of the Operation Manual.
Yes, according to the definition of intelligence given in 1.1.
Corby learns from the normal interaction with its users. The basic learning model uses a pair of paragraphs where one of them constitutes the stimulus and the other is the appropriate response to that stimulus. This can be done automatically during normal system use; in this case Corby will consider any statement input by the user as the appropriate response to its previous production. You can also submit text or HTML files for Corby to learn from, in an autonomous way.
Yes, at least it behaves as if it does. For more details take a look at the Learning Page, which is part of the Operation Manual.
Probably not. See 2.3 above or look at the article The Turing Test.
No. If we ever reach that stage, it will, almost certainly take an embodied intelligent device, that is, a robot to do that. See also 2.3 above or look at the article The Turing Test.
No. Corby’s responses are a deterministic function of the contents of the Knowledge base. This, in turn, is the result of learning. Corby will behave, in principle, exactly in the way it was told to behave. When Corby is asked a question for which it does not have a response, it will use inference but that is also based on what it learned before. That being said, it is not easy to predict what Corby will say in a particular instance. A response can depend on many variables and it is impossible to determine which ones just by looking from the outside.
Yes, and if you do
By arts and mime
In Corby’s own time
It will use them too
Comments and suggestions about this page are welcome and should be sent to fadevelop@clix.pt
Rev 1.0 - This page was last modified 2005-07-17 - Copyright © 2004-2005 A.C.Esteves
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Attention, Wal-Mart shoppers
The Waterford crystal over in aisle 12 is going for $30,000. Well, truth is, it's not for sale, but as a piece of crystal it's worth $30,000, and last Saturday, you could get your picture taken with it in front of the Dr. Pepper display as part of a sponsorship deal. The University of Alabama won the crystal football championship trophy last week by beating Texas in the Rose Bowl, and first thing they did was put the trophy on display over at the Wal-Mart SuperCenter on Skyland Boulevard in Tuscaloosa.
Here are some of the thousands of fans who stood in line to pose with it.
When I first heard that the University of Alabama would be displaying the crystal football in . . . Wal-Mart . . . I was certain my proverbial leg was being proverbially pulled. But google it yourself; it really happened, though spokespeople for the University claim that the Wal-Mart tour was not their idea. I guess I've just been gone from Tuscaloosa for way too long.
(Image credit: Birmingham News),
Tuscaloosa,
University of Alabama,
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This tax plan:
My father used to say, "Don't tell me what your values are -- show me your budget, and I'll know what your values are."
Well, last week, in the dark hours of morning, Republicans showed us exactly what they value when they passed a 500-page bill, full of last-minute changes literally made with hastily scribbled notes in the margins, and it's this:
Helping the already-wealthy get even richer. Giving huge corporations larger tax breaks. All at the expense of the American worker. And that's not a figure of speech.
If you're disgusted by this (and more than half of Americans say they are), then give what you can today to help elect a new kind of leadership for this country: those who will fight for working people, not just those who can stand to donate the most.
This plan raises taxes on more than 80 million families with incomes under $200,000. It's not a middle-class tax cut; it's higher taxes for working families to pay for tax cuts to investors.
At least 13 million Americans would lose their health coverage.
Folks who make more than $3.5 million would get an average tax cut of over $700,000 every year.
Under the House tax bill, taxpayers would no longer be able to deduct payments they made on student debt. Tax breaks for college tuition would be repealed. Graduate students would see their tax bills spike, as they'd be taxed on free tuition. All in all, it makes college more expensive for American families across the country.
This Republican plan isn't anything more than the latest, worst edition of the same-old trickle-down economics that has failed time and time again.
Even more than that, let's be clear about what's happening here. The goal the Republicans have today is the same goal they had when trickle-down economics first came on the American scene: Their long-term goal is to starve government. To say we don't have the money to pay for Medicare, for Medicaid, for Social Security. We heard it last week when one of the leading Republicans in the Senate actually said after passing this new tax cut that we don't have the money to pay for children's health care.
Simply put, the values reflected in the Republican budget are shameful. They aren't my values. And I don't believe they're America's values either.
And so it's time for a change. Right now, you can show that these actions have very real consequences. From now until 2018 and beyond, I'll be doing everything I can to help elect a new kind of leadership in our politics. Folks who actually understand the issues an average American faces. Folks who aren't scared to stand up to big corporations. And more importantly, folks who are absolutely committed to standing up for working people.
Let's once again elect leaders with true courage.
Thousands of regular Americans around the country are standing up to make a difference right now. Give $10 or whatever you can afford -- and let's go change the face of leadership in this country once and for all.
From where I sit, tax reform is all about values.
Based on my core values, here are five core principles I hope to see in any tax package that comes out of Congress.
Pay for national priorities by closing ineffective loopholes. Our tax system is weighed down by expensive and inefficient gimmicks. We can pay for all the things that are important to Americans -- infrastructure, education, expanded Social Security -- by cutting back on the loopholes that have no economic value. To take just one example: We could pay for 14 years of free college education three times over if we just cut back on a loophole that lets wealthy heirs escape paying capital gains tax. To me, this is an easy choice.
Treat workers and investors the same. Investors are a critical part of our economy, but they're not more important than workers. Our tax code confers an enormous preference for shareholders over people who make a living by working. Every time we give a dollar in tax cuts to an investor, a working family ends up paying more. It's time to give workers the break they deserve.
Don't burden the next generation with our unpaid bills. We need a tax system that can bring in enough revenue to pay for our spending. I don't know a single parent who would take themselves shopping with their kids' credit card, but that's exactly what we're doing with some of the plans floating around DC. If a tax cut is worth making, it's worth finding a way to pay for it. Between rising student loan debt and increasingly expensive housing, the last thing our children need is to inherit our unpaid bills.
Build a tax code that promotes growth, not tax havens. Taxes can influence how people choose to work, spend, and invest. If designed smartly, an efficient tax code can promote economic growth and prosperity -- especially if targeted at the middle class. But there is a wide gulf between a tax code that creates wealth and jobs and one that simply allows wealthy taxpayers to sidestep their civic duty to pay taxes. During the 2016 campaign, for example, Donald Trump proposed a tax cut that would lead to $2 trillion in additional tax evasion by large "passthroughs" like law firms and hedge funds, with little if any benefit for American workers. The future of our economy depends on knowing the difference.
Tax reform is about real choices, not creative accounting. After four decades in the Senate and White House, I can tell you that tax reform requires tough choices and making hard tradeoffs. The American public elected members of Congress to make these difficult decisions, not to hide behind accounting stunts -- like overly optimistic dynamic scoring. If Congress settles on a plan, we need to know the real cost -- not the one contrived by fantastical thinking.
There's a way to do this right. But it's going to take a new kind of courageous leadership willing to make tough choices.
If you agree, then let's join together and elect the true representatives who will get it done.
I haven't lost hope yet, Robert -- and I don't plan on it.
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12 Months. 12 Stories. 12 Photos.
A Real Christmas Surprise: Bring Healthcare Home i...
Your #5Actions for This Week!
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So, if you’re reading this you made it through the most depressing time of the year. Seems like ages ago now, but ‘Blue Monday’ is the time when the new year feeling is over, we’re back into monotonous routine and there feels like there’s not a great deal to look forward to. It’s also bang in the middle of a period when staff absences are likely to be high.
Adrian Lewis, Director of Activ Absence, said:
“Weary workers cannot face coming into work – it’s a long month, too, with financial woes often adding to the problem for an already stressed workforce. It’s a challenge that HR professionals face every year.
Mental health issues often create a pattern of short-term sickness absence, and sufferers often find it easier to face disciplinary action for faking a sickie than to admit they have a mental health issue, because of the stigma attached to this. Not only does ‘being in trouble’ make them feel even worse, it also prevents them from getting the support they could get if their managers were aware of the problem.”
Interestingly, the same week, Prime Minister Theresa May discussed the UK’s mental health crisis, and pledged to spend an extra £250 million per year on NHS provisions to tackle the issues.
Whatever your views might be though around this statement, mental health isn’t something that can be solely tackled from the very top down. Business owners and line managers need to take responsibility and recognise that they play a role in the wellbeing of their staff.
So, whilst you breathe a sigh of relief that the most depressing time of the year is now behind us, it might not be time to look forward to the summer months just yet. Take the time to think about how you can ensure that your staff are happy, productive and enjoying good mental health.
It has business benefits for sure… But it’s also simply the right thing to do.
If you want to be prepared for dealing with problems in your workplace surrounding mental health issues, then give us a call. We can assess the effectiveness of your existing policies and procedures, ensure that you’re compliant with relevant legislation, and help you to move forward towards exemplary leadership.
Get in touch today and arrange your no-obligation consultation.
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The magic of reading
Can you make sense of those lines in the image to the right? Of course not. They’re deconstructed from the letters of a simple, one-syllable word and randomly re-arranged. It’s just four letters, but their component parts are not arranged in the proper order, so they seem like meaningless lines and squiggles. We’ve not been taught to assemble them into a structure that makes sense to our brains. Yet we’re quite capable of assigning meaning and context to abstract forms, if they’re assembled properly.
The order that we prefer those lines and curves to be in is arbitrary – the association of any particular line or curved with another piece is simply a convenience we all agree to use. Other cultures, other languages have a different agreement, equally arbitrary. The lines that form a lamed in the Hebrew alphabet don’t look anything like the lines we use to make an “L” but they get translated into that sound in the reader’s brain because that’s what the reader was raised to expect. Similarly, a Cyrillic “L” looks different from both English and Hebrew, yet performs the same function in the language. When a non-Hebrew or non-Cyrillic reader sees them, they recognize the lines, but there is no neurological association to tell that reader what they mean.*
When those lines and curves are again aligned differently, they offer a hint of order. English readers can more easily recognize some of the forms, even if they don’t always coalesce into specific letters. You might be able to guess at some of the letters, maybe even all., but most likely the word itself remains obscure unless you put a lot of cogitative effort into solving the puzzle.
Yet even if you can’t figure it out, our brains are remarkably agile in that they are eager to build associations from even the smallest clues. That’s how pareidolia happens – described on Wikipedia as, “…a psychological phenomenon in which the mind responds to a stimulus, usually an image or a sound, by perceiving a familiar pattern where none exists (e.g. in random data).” But while it makes for imagined faces of Jesus on grilled cheese sandwiches, it also helps us identify things that are not in the exact shape and form that we expect.
Continue reading “The magic of reading”
Wolf Hall reviewed
I have just finished watching the six-part BBC series, Wolf Hall, based on the two novels by Hilary Mantel. I am also about halfway through my reading of the first of the two, Wolf Hall (with Bring up the Bodies waiting in the bedside pile).
The series conflates the two novels into six one-hour episodes. Given the length of the novels (Wolf Hall is 650 pages itself), compacting them and retaining clarity, plot and drama is quite a feat.
Normally, I would argue for the written word over the adaptation. Any adaptation. As good as they may be, it is rare that a film or TV production can match the richness of any book. But in this instance, I find myself siding with the BBC’s version when recommending a choice to others. It is beautiful, well-crafted production, and visually stunning. But in truth, the two are synergistic.
(digression: the exacting approach of the BBC to history, to production, to costume and sets puts to shame the risible, American TV series, The Tudors).
For me, the period of the Tudors is the most intriguing, exciting, entertaining period of English history. In part it’s because the Renaissance bursts upon European consciousness and radically changes everything – politics, art, philosophy, literature, music, technology et al. And on its heels comes the Protestant Reformation, which rocks the very foundation of everything it touches. Everything was in flux.
It’s also in part because the Tudors themselves are larger-than-life characters in a giant, swirling drama that reaches into the nations and courts across Europe.
Unlike earlier periods, the Tudor era is remarkably well documented – the first period to benefit from the new printing technology that swept the continent. We know much more about the daily lives of the time than we do about previous eras. So it helps make the characters live in our imagination. Plus it is the era of Shakespeare, albeit a generation later than this series portrays.
And then there’s the story itself. Or rather, the many stories – plots and subplots, twists and turns – that arise. Henry VII’s rise from Bosworth to end the War of the Roses, Henry VIII’s unexpected ascension to the throne, and his marital adventures. Elizabeth I and her reign against all odds. Mary. Edward. Five monarchs in all. It’s just such rich stuff, compressed into a mere 120 years. You can’t fail to be drawn in.
Who among us doesn’t know at least the outline of the story of Henry VIII’s wives? Or the defeat of the Spanish Armada under Elizabeth? Mary Queen of Scots? The beheading of Anne?
Little wonder I continue to read and watch stories about them. They are endlessly entertaining.
Continue reading “Wolf Hall reviewed”
Why I Still Watch M*A*S*H
The news of Harry Morgan’s death at 96, back in 2011, saddened me. I’m at the age when it seems far too many icons of my youth are dying off. Not from some misspent life or accident; from old age. And the process accelerates as I age. I now understand why my grandparents and then parents read the newspaper obituaries. I haven’t quite succumbed to that, but I’m sure the day will come.
No, I’m not being morbid. Or maudlin. I have, I believe, a healthy attitude towards death. Death moves me, sometimes fascinates me (as our collective attitude towards it fascinates me), but it doesn’t frighten me. But when someone dies, it’s a row of dominoes that tumble. We’re all connected, even if only through the TV screen.
Morgan played Colonel Sherman Potter in the latter part of the long-running TV series, M*A*S*H. he brought to the show a maturity and a softer wit. I recall watching him as a harder character in the 1960s’ crime show, Dragnet. I preferred Colonel Potter.
I was reminded of his death only last week, through a Facebook re-post on the anniversary of his passing. That got me thinking about the show, about the era in which it was made, and how it affected me then and later. I dug out my DVDs so I could start watching the series again. (Susan struggles to watch Columbo, a contemporary show from that age that I recently acquired, but loves M*A*S*H).
Continue reading “Why I Still Watch M*A*S*H”
Houses of Cards
While there are parallels between them, there is no direct, simple comparison between the original, British mini series, House of Cards, and the American series of the same name. The latter, aired 13 years after the original, owes much of its first-season content to the BBC’s production, but it quickly went its own way. Like its contemporary, The Bridge, the American version took on a life of its own – and a very distinct, American character – and can’t be considered a simple adaptation. Both are excellent shows.
In part, the vast differences between American and British political systems compound the problem of comparison and understanding.
Canadians, on the other hand, will easily understand the machinations of the characters in the British show because our system is quite similar, but they are more opaque in the American version. From the outside, American politics seem designed to increase confrontation and partisanship. And political venality (it seems all American politicians and votes are for sale to the highest bidder…), but that’s not my point here. Americans might find the British version equally incomprehensible.
We finished watching season three of the American series recently and began to watch the British series again, after several years hiatus (it remains one of my favourite series). The latter is somewhat dated – aired before the internet and cell phones – but still well worth watching: the acting is superb. As are in most British series. But the cast in the American House of Cards is, for the most part, among the best I’ve seen in an American series (Kevin Spacey excels).
The British version has more humour, albeit dry, wry wit. It might be best described as either a political satire or dark comedy. I’m not sure everyone will appreciate its subtlety.
The American series has some of this in the first season, but less as it progresses. It’s more of a drama-cum-soap opera with less satire. Underwood speaks to the camera a lot more in the first season than in later ones. And that’s too bad because I think it adds to the viewer’s engagement.
The main characters – Francis Urquhart in the British (Ian Richardson), and Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) in the American – are very different in style and behaviour. Urquhart speaks more to the camera than Underwood, and offers more knowing, sly glances and smiles than his American counterpart. Underwood is far more about raw power; the underlying tongue-in-cheek attitude of the British politicians is absent.
The roles and the power associated with each leader is very different, too. Urquhart has to be more cunning than Underwood because his system is very different from the American. Underwood can sometimes batter his way through to success, where Urquhart has to squirm.
Continue reading “Houses of Cards”
Weaponized Aryan Jesus?
The term “weaponized Jesus” comes from an article I read on politicsusa.com, from November 2013, titled “The Religious Right With Their Weaponized Jesus Are Not Christians.” It’s worth a read, if you enjoy the political-religious debate.
I eventually traced the phrase back to a 2010 story in Mother Jones. It’s a good description of the way some fundamentalist Americans are taking their religion. But that’s not at issue right now. It’s the guy on the left of the movie still that I want to write about.
Someone on my Facebook stream recently posted the picture above and talked about how she loved the show. It shows a still short from a movie called “Son of God.” I hadn’t heard of the movie before this FB post, so I had to read more about it because I’m pretty sure that the hippie guy in the still doesn’t look anything like what a Middle-Eastern, radical Jewish preacher called Jesus* would have really looked like.
This guy looks a little too much like Russell Brand, or a younger Brad Pitt, and not quite enough like the Roman-era, Palestinian Jew he would have been. And where was his hat?
If you watch the trailer, you’ll see I’m right. That might be one reason the movie got a one-star rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but there are many more. The movie, it turns out is a spin-off from the History Channel’s apparently successful Bible series (didn’t see it), but the film was apparently crafted from content edited out of the TV series. As it says on the IMDB site:
…there was a reason all of that footage was cut. If it wasn’t good enough for television, how can this possibly be good enough for the cinema? Well, it’s not. This movie is a bore. With an unnecessary 138 minute run-time, the film drags through dialogue delivered at a pace slow enough for the slothful to keep up. Even then the script isn’t interesting. The selections of the gospel that get quoted are mercilessly butchered. And that’s another thing, if not the most important criticism of a movie of this caliber — the filmmakers had no respect for the source material.
But this isn’t a movie review, per se, since I haven’t seen the film (nor have I seen Mel Gibson’s overly-violent Passion of the Christ, although from the stills I’ve seen, actor Jim Caviezel, playing the Jesus role looks like he, too, is miscast…). It’s about history, ideology and cultural prejudices.
Continue reading “Weaponized Aryan Jesus?”
Internet TV and Roku
I picked up a ROKU streaming stick this weekend at the local Staples store to get access to some internet TV. The box advertises 500+ channels, while the boxes for the upscale models 2 and 3 offer 450+ and 1,000+, respectively.
However, the official webpage for Roku says you can get more than 1,800 channels in the US on these devices. The Canadian site suggests it’s closer to 1,000 – Canadians get shortchanged by this and similar services, it seems. But by my count on the screen, the actual number of possible “channels” tops 1,300.
Before you shout “woo hoo” and rush out to buy one, I suggest it’s not really close to that many, at least not channels you will want to subscribe to.
It also depends on your definition of a channel: i wouldn’t count more than 100 streaming applications like Plex, games (47) or screensavers (76) as channels, but Roku does.
As you will read below, it’s not whether you get 1,800, 1,000 or even 500 channels: it’s whether the channels are top quality, commercial programming like you get on your cable. Of that category, it’s maybe a dozen.
Why, when I had dropped cable almost two years ago, would I want TV now, you ask… well, I primarily wanted to find a more convenient way to get Acorn TV (the source of many BBC programs). We already have Acorn on the iPad that hooks up through Apple TV but it’s not as comfy or convenient to use as a simple changer. Tapping at the iPad while watching is distracting and frankly, the iOS app is clumsy. It times out frequently, and drops the show, forcing you to restart then fast forward to the dropped location – unless you keep tapping the screen now and then to wake it up.
I am thinking of subscribing to Netflix, too, and wanted the same easy and dependable access. Yes, I could always hook my laptop to the TV with an HDMI cable, but that’s not always convenient, either.
First a comment on the device and setup: simple, easy, well-made. The Roku interface is cleaner and easier to use than either Apple TV or the internet-ready apps built into our Sony Blu-ray player or TV. Setup takes a few minutes to get networked and authenticate the device online (an external computer connection is needed here). It took another minute to link it to my Acorn TV account. After that, it worked flawlessly.
The HDMI picture is, from what little we’ve seen, clear and crisp and if the original was also in hi-def. However, not everything is presented that way. Sound seems okay, but volume is inconsistent (some channels are way too loud, others are low).
Continue reading “Internet TV and Roku”
Misquoting Shakespeare. Again. December 31, 2018
Don Quixote times three July 2, 2019
2018 in review January 1, 2019
The death of critical thinking or just bad journalism? July 17, 2019
Hegseth, hand washing and social media February 12, 2019
Not All Words Are Equal, or Used Equally
Our gawker culture
Is the Internet making us stupid? Or just shallow?
A Pyramid Hoax Reappears on Facebook
Psychics 2013: the silly, the scams, the failed predictions
A Council Christmas Carol – Part 2
The Book List Game
Our treasonous council
10,000 words too many
The Grey Wolf Escapes
“…to find out how the mountains rise, how the valleys open out, how the plains lie, and to understand the nature of rivers and marshes… The prince who lacks this skill lacks the essential trait that a captain should possess, for it teaches him to surprise his enemy, to select quarters, to lead armies, to array
the battle, and to successfully besiege towns.”
— Niccolo Machiavelli , The Prince, Ch. XIV
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Grayson Hugh
THE NEW RECORD!
CAPTAIN FLAME 2019 (The Movie Songs)
DIGITAL ALBUMS & SINGLES
The Here & Now
Between Now & Then
Trip to U.K. -Writing Songs for BLIND TO REASON
ABOUT GRAYSON HUGH & THE MOON HAWKS
PRESS FOR LIVE SHOWS
“In a red-carpet event on Saturday June 2, 2018, at the legendary Village Studios in Los Angeles, Grayson Hugh was honored as ‘Top Soul Man For Our Time’ at the ROCK JUSTICE AWARDS in recognition for his decades of soulful performance, songwriting, album releases and jaw-dropping, barnstorming piano playing. Hugh, along with singer Polly Messer, completed a raucous two hour set upon a nine-foot concert grand piano before adoring West Coast fans who had a chance to connect again with their favorite artist. ‘Grayson Hugh demonstrates a freewheeling versatility in Soul, R&B, and rock ‘n roll,’ says Bennett Zimmerman, founder of the ROCK JUSTICE AWARDS Concert Series. ‘Grayson’s current albums are just as strong and satisfying as the ones he debuted with on the scene in 1988. Grayson Hugh is a true soul master.’ “
- Sarah Tulowitzki, Canadian Business Tribune, June 8, 2018
“Grayson Hugh and Polly Messer performed a powerful concert last night at First Church. Grayson is an amazing songwriter. With his wife Polly Messer, and her awesome voice and blended harmonies, they create a sound that is the ideal of duet singing. The resonance of their voices together are sweet perfection! Grayson Hugh and Polly Messer are a gift to the music world!”
- Angela Salcedo, Director of Music Ministries, First Church Of Christ Congregational, Glastonbury, CT, February 26, 2019
“The Kami Lyle Sit-A-While, Real Songs, Real Writers, Fake Fireplace Concert Series was inspired by the legendary Blue Bird Café in Nashville. Kami wanted to share with her New England audiences genuine, talented singer songwriters who work year-round as performers. Having Grayson Hugh and Jon Pousette-Dart at the Cotuit Center for the Arts in October 28, 2016 was a wonderful combination. They were two professional and personable guests. Adding Grayson’s wife Polly Messer, a talented singer-musician herself, to the show, was a delight. The combination of these three talented artists makes for a power house of a show. I would not hesitate to bring them back to Cotuit Center for the Arts for second. The sold-out audience loved them!”
- Ruth Condon, January 24, 2019, Co-Creator, Executive Producer of “The Kami Lyle Sit-A-While” Songwriter Series
“ Grayson Hugh & The Moon Hawks put on an overwhelmingly soulful concert featuring Grayson’s fantastic songs, powerhouse piano playing, incredible vocals and amazing harmonies with Polly Messer. The whole band’s musicianship inspired everyone! We absolutely loved this show here and they will be back for more!”
- Peter Moshay, Director of Production at Daryl’s House, January 30, 2018
"After just one standing-room-only performance, we want Grayson Hugh & The Moon Hawks to be our house band! Enough said."
- James Varano, Proprietor, Black-Eyed Sally's, Hartford CT, October 5, 2016
"Grayson Hugh - Great Artist!"
- Pete Anderson, Grammy-winning Blues and Roots Guitarist & Producer (Dwight Yoakum, Lucinda Williams, Roy Orbison, Michelle Shocked) March 1, 2016
"Grayson Hugh's performance last night at the First Church of Christ (Glastonbury, CT) absolutely mesmerized the crowd with his eclectic mix of his great original songs, played straight from the heart. His soulful delivery and his keyboard virtuosity combined with Polly Messer's spot-on beautiful harmonies took the audience on a musical ride which paralleled the journey of his long career. Check him out if you get a chance, he's truly an American treasure!"
- Tom Guerra, Vintage Guitar Magazine, November 8, 2015
"At his recent concert at Harrison School for the Arts, Grayson Hugh's masterful piano-playing and Polly Messer's precise vocal blending made it a memorable event. With Hugh's foot-stomping melodies and soulful vocals, any live event by Grayson Hugh should be placed at the top of your "must-see" list."
- Daryl Ward, Ph.D., Principal, Harrison School for the Arts, November 27, 2015
"Grayson Hugh and Polly Messer rode into the Carolinas on Grayson's number one hit, “Goodbye Train”. Their August 30th show at the Spanish Galleon in North Myrtle Beach, SC kept the sold out crowd entertained and intrigued with his soulful songs that tell beautiful stories. It was an honor to have been a part of Grayson Hugh's Carolina Tour and we look forward to having them back in November!!"
- Chad Sain, Carolina Beach Music Awards Staff, September 9, 2014
"I was proud to have Grayson Hugh return to The Lyric after so many years. Our audience loved the show - and having Polly Messer as part of the performance on October 19th made it even more special."
- John Loesser, Owner, The Lyric Theatre, Stuart, Florida, October 29, 2013
"The Norwood Theatre thoroughly enjoyed a dynamic performance by Grayson Hugh and Polly Messer on Saturday October 26th, 2013. The chemistry between the couple on stage was apparent to the audience as they sang their brilliant harmonies. A well deserved standing ovation completed a perfect evening."
- Susan Lewis, Owner, The Norwood Theatre, Norwood, MA, October 28, 2013
"Grayson Hugh and his harmony singer Polly Messer delivered a wonderful intimate performance that had the audience yelling for more. The diversity of his music, stage presence, artistry and impeccable storytelling through lyrics and melody made for an exceptional evening."
- Marc Kaplan, Owner, SubCulture - Arts Underground, NYC, August 10, 2015
“Blue-eyed Soul legend Grayson Hugh and Polly Messer rocked the Wallingford Public Library last night! What a treat to experience Grayson's soulful voice, amazing songs and skillful keyboard playing with Polly's smooth vocal harmony in such an intimate setting. Grayson's vivid lyrics transport you to another place and time. I HIGHLY recommend Grayson and Polly--you won't be disappointed, the crowd will be cheering all night!”
- Julie T. Rio, Adult Programming and Community Services Librarian, Wallingford Public Library, November 30, 2018
"Grayson Hugh is the real deal. Great songs, a classic voice and a passionate performer. Grayson and Polly tore the roof off of The Cutting Room. Can't wait for them to come back and do it again!"
- Lincoln Foley Schofield, Talent Buyer, The Cutting Room, New York, NY, January 21, 2013
"Grayson Hugh's debut appearance on the Towne Crier's stage on Feb. 15, 2013 was a smashing success. His songs are first-rate, and his powerful & volcanic voice was complimented by the beautiful harmony singing of Polly Messer. I look forward to his return!"
- Phil Ciganer, Owner, Towne Crier Cafe, Beacon, NY, February 21, 2013
"Grayson Hugh and his wife, the superb singer Polly Messer, did a spectacular show the other night at Infinity Music Hall. Blue-Eyed Soul's Prodigal Son is back - and stronger than ever."
- Jack Forchette, Director of Entertainment and Business Development, Infinity Music Hall, Norfolk, CT, May 21, 2012
“Once again, Grayson Hugh rocked the Kate leaving our audience begging for more. A lot of people play our piano, but nobody whips it into a frenzy like Grayson.”
- Chuck Still, Executive Director, Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, Old Saybrook, CT, April 10, 2012
"Grayson Hugh came to the Amazing Things Arts Center on a cold January day this year. He and Polly Messer spent the evening burning up the place. Grayson has a voice that, at least for me, defies categorization. Yeah, he's soulful, at times almost channeling Motown greats. But at other times, his voice is tender and full of intense emotion. He's not just a performer - he's also a fine songwriter. Some of his songs were featured in well-known films like "Thelma and Louise". But it's the songs that have been written for imaginary films (yeah, really) that will make you think twice about putting this guy in a box.
Grayson's show on January 4, 2012 was a revelation to me. We can't wait to have him back in Framingham in 2014!"
- Philip D. Knudsen, Executive Director, Amazing Things Arts Center, Framingham, Massachusetts, March 1, 2013
"Grayson Hugh is a class axe, as we say here at Bridge Street Live. From Soundcheck all the way until the meet and greet it was a pleasure working with him. Not to mention how much the crowd loved him and Polly Messer. Dynamite songs, fantastic energy, a true crowd-pleaser!"
- Pat Ryan, Entertainment Director, Bridge Street Live, Collinsville, CT, April 2, 2013
“We were thrilled to have singer/songwriter Grayson Hugh and Polly Messer perform as part of our Opening Weekend celebrations. The concert was fabulous and Grayson’s piano playing was simply amazing! He and Polly sang wonderfully together with soul and plenty of passion.”
- Lesley Lambton, Program Coordinator, Ridgefield Library, May 31, 2013
"Grayson Hugh is a soulful vocalist with great tunes. His wife Polly Messer adds great harmonies - making for a great night of music!"
- Patrick Norton, Executive Director, The Narrows Center For The Arts, Fall River, MA, April 10, 2013
"It was a really lively and fantastic night at Free Blues Club when Grayson Hugh performed on the 16th of September here in Szczecin, Poland. It was simply amazing. From the sweet, soulful songs with his wife Polly Messer to the excellent rock’n’roll sung with power. Everything of course with brilliant solos on Hammond organ and piano! Awesome music! "
- Andrzej Malcherek, Owner, Free Blues Club, Szczecin, Poland, October 29, 2012
"Grayson and Polly's performance was fantastic. Grayson is a master writer and performer of American Music – the perfect mix of blues , soul and country. The evening of September 14th will be remembered as one of the best shows of Fall 2012. Great musicians and very nice people."
- Adam Grzedziel, Owner, The Oldtimers Garage, Katowice, Poland, September 30, 2012
"Grayson Hugh and his wife, singer Polly Messer, put on an phenomenal show recently at The Songwriter's Beat at The Christopher Street Coffeehouse. A critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter, Grayson wowed us with his powerful and funky piano playing, soulful voice and poetic lyrics. Polly Messer added beautiful musical backup harmonies - their voices blending together as one. It is SO good to see Grayson back on the scene, stronger than ever!"
- Valerie Ghent, founder of The Songwriter's Beat at Christopher Street Coffeehouse, NYC., January 21, 2011
"Amazing show last night!!! I always expect great music from Grayson Hugh and am never disappointed. But at last night's concert at The Katherine Hepburn Theater, he took us all up to a new level because of the musical chemistry with Polly. It's a magical blend!"
- Colin McEnroe, Host of The Colin McEnroe Show, WPNR/CPBN, April 10, 2011
"Grayson is an incredibly soulful singer and amazing songwriter. I never forget an artist I love and Grayson is one of those artists. His recent performance with his wife Polly Messer at The Knickerbocker on blew my socks off! I'm so glad he's back on the performance scene."
- Greg Piccolo, talent booker, The Knickerbocker Cafe, Westerly, Rhode Island, August 2009
"I jumped at the chance to book Grayson Hugh and Polly Messer into Smokin With Chris. Grayson is an amazing songwriter, incredible singer and pianist. The harmonies that he and Polly create are truly remarkable. Their residency here (they play every few weeks, since the winter of '09) has been a bright spot in our calender. Laura & I (and the audiences here) are blessed to have them. In this world of mediocre music, Grayson and Polly are the real deal - original, soulful, meaningful. Playing a mix of Grayson's radio hits and songs from his recently released "An American Record", his music is a national treasure."
- Chris Conlon, Owner, Smokin With Chris, Southington, CT, June 2009
PRESS FOR "BACK TO THE SOUL"
A committed soul man for the better part of the past 27 years, Grayson Hugh makes a joyous noise on his latest LP, the aptly dubbed Back To The Soul. While certain songs bring to mind the archival imprint of Otis Redding, Al Green, Marvin Gaye and Jerry Butler, Hugh’s original material gives the album a freshness and vitality that avoids any hint that this album is anything other than an absolutely spontaneous celebration. From the sheer exhilaration of album openers “Everybody Hangin’ On” and “We Were Havin’ Fun” to the touching emotional embrace of a tender ballad like “Already In Love With You,” Hugh’s songs sound like well-honed classics, even on the initial spin.
Happily too, Hugh’s arrangements enhance the overall experience. His deft keyboard playing recalls the essence of Booker T. and his crack band emulates the best of the Stax studio sound. The solid groove of "It's Got Soul" conveys the intent to maximum effect. Likewise, “Rock ‘n Roll Man” conveys its well-trod notions with such an effortless energy, it would do the Temptations proud. Indeed, Hugh’s ability to revisit archival ideas and refurbish them for the current generation provides that timeless connection the album title obviously implies.
The art of procuring pure soul and genuine R&B has seemingly been lost in recent times, given the preponderance of rap and hip hop on the popular music scene. Kudos then to Grayson Hugh for reminding us of not only how it all began, but where it should remain.
- Lee Zimmerman, Elmore Magazine, January 5, 2016
"A RETURN TO HIS SOUTHERN SOUL ..."
Grayson Hugh is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, Hammond B3 organ player and composer. Grayson grew up in a musical environment. His father was the British-born radio host Ivor Hugh and his mother was born in Shanghai, the daughter of a missionary and writer Dr. Frank Rawlinson. Grayson has played piano from a very young age, playing in an African-American gospel church and studied African drumming. Grayson also studied piano with jazz pianist Jaki Byard and avant-garde pianist Ran Blake.
In 1980 Hugh released a self-titled debut album, on One Of Nineteen Records, based in Connecticut. In 1987 he moved to New York and signed a contract with "RCA Records”. Three singles from this album "Blind To Reason" ("Talk It Over," "Bring It All Back" & "How 'Bout Us"), became radio hits.
In 1992, Hugh released “Road To Freedom” on MCA Records, which was called one of the top ten albums on the year by Billboard Magazine.
In 1994 Hugh left MCA Records, after his A&R man Paul Atkinson was fired and all his acts, including Hugh were dropped. Hugh moved to North Carolina and in 1999, moved back north and taught songwriting at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
In 2008, Hugh married his backing singer Polly Messer, who had also sung with the swing band Eight To The Bar in the early 80's. In 2010 Hugh released his long-anticipated comeback album called "An American Record" on his own label Swamp Yankee Records. It was co-produced with Polly Messer. He proceeded to tour a lot, with Polly, in America and Europe and in 2015 released ”Back To The Soul”. It's an album with twelve new songs and, in addition to his wife Polly Messer and his band (Casey Meyer: guitar, Albert Rogers: bass and Camron S. Dudley: drums, Glen Tippett on saxophones). One guest, guitarist/producer Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakum), stands out, soloing on the track “Rock ’n Roll Man”.
Hugh opens the party with "Everybody's Hangin’ On”, and you’re sure to be reminded of the unforgettable Marvin Gaye's" What's Goin 'On”. But this is not the only party because immediately, without any further with conversation, we have "We Were Havin’ Fun”. Note that in the harmonies Polly Messer's voice fits so very well with that of Hugh. We’re having fun on the one hand, but at the same time looking forward to new things with (”Gettin 'On With My Life”) without forgetting the past ("Already In Love With You”). In "It's Got Soul" and also with the title song we get upbeat tributes to the classic music of Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Solomon Burke and Al Green. Hugh’s music really makes you move to the rhythm of the beats. Polly Messer and Glen Tippett sing the gospel-style harmonies in the song "Rock 'n Roll Man". In the slower "We're Gone Again" we feel the irresistible sexual attraction between the parties involved. Another really funky soul song, with excellent sax interventions by Tippett, is "Put Your Feet In The Water”and " Gimme Another Answer", with a series of wonderful organ grooves Hugh. The ballad" Thank You Lord " features a very emotional Hugh as he converses with God. He thinks back to the lost years of life and how he was redeemed to become the man he is now. ”Motorcycle Ridin”, a blues, closes the album on two wheels. It is the journey to freedom, because, as Hugh says, motorcycling is “some pure poetry”.
"Back To The Soul" by Grayson Hugh is an album that is liberating. Hugh has written twelve strong soul songs about alienation, loneliness and come out stronger. It is music for people who know what it's like to be afraid and who have had to stand up and to find their way back. It is music for people who enjoy real music, poetic lyrics, beautiful harmonies, with Hugh’s rockin’ piano and voice that really deliver the goods and the grooves.
- Eric Schuurmans, Rootstime, January 26, 2016
"SONGS TRUER THAN FATHER'S WISDOM"
There's a few things you need to know before you can really appreciate “Back To The Soul”.
Let me begin by dispensing with any notion that your humble correspondent is an unbiased observer. I bought two copies of Grayson Hugh’s debut album, 1988’s “Blind To Reason”. I bought four of his 1992 follow-up, “Road To Freedom”. And then I burned a back-up disc, just to be sure.
See, I had this fear that, five or ten years down the road, if my vinyl album broke or my CD became unplayable, I might not be able to just waltz in to the record store (we still had record stores then, children) and buy either one. And this was music I simply did not want to be without.
I loved “Talk It Over”, the hit single from “Blind To Reason”; it was burnished with harmonies the Temptations would have been proud to call their own, haunted like an old house by the ghost of Sam Cooke, and had Grayson preaching an inspired sermon from the gospel of baby-please-just-give-me-another-chance.
And “Road To Freedom” might just be my favorite album of all time, a masterwork of songwriting and performance, of small moments keenly observed and sung in one of those rough-sweet voices, truer than father’s wisdom, that strikes unerringly at the tenderest spot in your soul.
I played those discs until they were burned in memory and waited eagerly for the next album by Grayson Hugh.
It was to be a long wait. Almost 20 years, to be exact.
It turns out Grayson had begun a long, all-too-familiar spiral. His champion at MCA Records left the label and Grayson followed, shortly thereafter. It was about this time, he says, that he found out his business managers weren’t doing a very good job of managing his business. Bankruptcy followed. Then prescription drug addiction. Then Grayson, an alcoholic who had been sober for 20 years, started drinking again.
“By then,” he recently told an interviewer for Standing Room Only, “I was teaching at Berklee College Of Music in Boston and living in my stepfather’s house helping him take care of my mother who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s."
“Things got worse and I was fired from Berklee for drinking on the job and kicked out of my stepfather’s house. I found myself broke and homeless. I found a room above a bar in a restaurant, where I drank worse than ever for two years. In 2004, I had a seizure in a blackout and wound up in a detox at a hospital, then landed in a sober house. A bed opened up at the last minute or I would have had to go to a homeless shelter.”
The road back was a long one, hard steps of personal redemption. He found himself working at a McDonald’s and was glad for it. “Something to show up for,” he says. Weeks turned to months, months to seasons, seasons to years. And healing came. Slow, and not at all inevitable, but it came. Love came. Marriage came. And then, in 2006, a rehab counselor who knew Grayson’s work came and asked him if he’d ever given any thought to recording again.
So, here's why you had to know all stuff first: because “Back To The Soul” is about all of that, about going through it all, surviving through it all, gathering the skeins of a sometimes-difficult life – the alienation, the loneliness, the brokenness – and weaving them into a song of redemption, a redemption that comes, not despite those things, but because of them.
Grayson sings this explicitly in “Thank You Lord”, a searingly-intimate letter to God, a meditation on those lost years, on their blind alleys and degradations and on the amazing grace by which he was delivered and redeemed. “I needed every stumble, drink and failure, every one,” he sings.
It’s a theme Grayson returns to in “Already In Love With You”, a smoldering ballad. “Now, when I look back it all seems so clear,” he sings. “I took every step I needed to get me to here.”
None of which is to suggest “Back To The Soul” is an album of somber pieties. No, this is the music of a man who’s come through the fire and wants to dance about it.
“We Were Havin’ Fun” is a light-hearted paean to young love, young music and those good old days when “summer was a feelin’ and there was sunshine all around” fitted me with an Afro I haven’t worn in 30 years, and put me back behind the wheel of that raggedy Pontiac I junked in 1978, with the Commodores blaring on the AM radio. In other words, it took me back. It made me feel good.
The title song and “It’s Got Soul” are cut from similar cloth, affectionate, up-beat homages to the truth, rhythm (and, okay, blues) of that foundational American music. Among the other highlights: “We’re Gone Again”, a slow-burn of irresistible sexual attraction; “Everybody’s Hangin’ On”, which recalls Marvin Gaye’s immortal “What’s Goin’ On”, both in the way it opens with a party and, more substantively, in its gentle insistence upon our shared humanity upon a shared planet; “Motorcycle Ridin”, a barroom blues fable about two-wheeled escape down endless highways, the ride more important than the destination.
And don’t miss “Gettin’ On With My Life", an anthem of a different kind of escape – of the conscious decision to leave behind a stuck place and embrace the promise and the uncertainty of a fresh dawn.
This is music of and for people who know what it is to be scarred and scared, who have been knocked down hard a time or two and had to find their way back to their feet. It is music of and for people who can appreciate a hot horn section or funky bass groove, who know how to slide on the grease that oozes when the organ hits a lick just right, who are suckers for a rough-sweet voice singing the truth.
Finally, this is music of and for those who have a little life behind them – and a whole lot more ahead. It is both realization and reminder that, for all the changes life takes you through, if you hang with it and fight through it, it will eventually, inevitably, round the corner and bring you back.
Back to self. Back to joy. Back to love. Back to, well…you know.
- Leonard Pitts, Jr., Miami Herald Journalist and winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary, iTunes Album Review, August 12, 2015
Grayson Hugh’s story is the story of the record industry at its best and worst. Most music fans learned of Hugh in the late 1980s and early 1990s after hearing his soulful baritone on the hit record “Talk It Over.” That cut found Hugh being a part of pop music’s recurring racialized theme when the video premiered on Vh1 and viewers saw that voice coming from that singer. Hugh’s star seemed to be heading in the right direction and his pedigree and training marked him as someone uniquely qualified to become a fixture on pop and urban adult contemporary radio. He parlayed the success of “Talk It Over” into the universally acclaimed Road To Freedom, an album that had two tunes featured in the film Thelma and Louise.
Hugh then encountered the first of a series of professional and personal setbacks which left him homeless and almost took his life. In 1994, a shakeup at MCA Records resulted in the A&R man who brought Hugh to the label being fired and all of the artists he brought to the label being shown the door as well. Hugh landed a job at the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1999, but an addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol - a habit that nearly took his life - sent Hugh into a tailspin that resulted in him getting fired from Berklee in 2002 and playing piano for his room and board at a Cape Cod restaurant.
The slow road to recovery began in rehab when a counselor encouraged Hugh to use music to aid his recovery. Hugh eventually managed to begin writing and recording the tunes for his 2010 album An American Record with the help of some of his musician friends from the old days – including backup singer Polly Messer, who became Hugh’s co-producer and his wife. Now Hugh returns with Back to the Soul, his fourth solo project.
Hugh’s life has all of the elements of a music biopic, from his slow and steady climb to fame, through the label politics that derailed his career, veering into self-destructive behavior and finally redemption with the help of good friends and the love of a good woman, and with Back to the Soul, Hugh already has the soundtrack.
Hugh, like soul music idols Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye, is at his absolute best when wearing his heart on his sleeve and being totally transparent. In fact, Hugh goes way beyond keeping it real – he keeps it honest. With his feet firmly rooted in the soul and blues of Memphis and New Orleans, Hugh has crafted a record that is about as eloquently biographical as a music project can be.
The gospel funk of “Rock ‘N Roll Man,” with its church inspired call and response conversation between Hugh and his backing vocalists, along with the percussive bass drums, hand claps and Hugh’s soulful organ playing, is a rollicking biography of the highs and lows of his life. When Hugh opens the song with the line “I was 17 when I left home/I had to leave/I had to roam,” he’s singing about his personal history. Hugh dropped out of school to pursue music. The song tells the story of his rise to stardom, his fall due to shady music label politics and descent into darkness, with his love of rock music being the only constant.
Hugh relies on the soulful chops that he acquired playing music in an AME church during his youth on the soulful ballad “Thank You Lord.” This biographical track finds Hugh telling the story of his struggle through the darkest period of his life and how those trials – even the near fatal ones – make Hugh the man that he is now. When he sings about living above the barroom because “that’s all I could afford,” listeners feel the pain. And when he sings “It was out of there you led me/My journey had begun/I needed every stumble, drink and failure/Every one,” we know that this song is Hugh’s testimony.
Hugh merges soul inspired vocals and musical arrangement with a country artist’s penchant for storytelling on “Already In Love With You,” a tune that tells the long journey that led him away from and eventually back to his wife.
The one quality of Hugh’s career that stands out to me, besides his talent, is patience, and Back to the Soul is a patient record. Hugh is an expert storyteller who doesn’t rush his delivery. He allows the stories contained in his songs to unwind and that will bring a sense of satisfaction and a deeper appreciation of his struggles and gifts with each listen. This album beautifully completes a more than three decade story of a talented artist who, after too many years away, found his way back to his musical home. Strongly Recommended.
- Howard Dukes, SoulTracks. com, August 14, 2015
"SOUL MAN AND COMEBACK KID"
The year 1989 had a surprise hit in store for us: the smoldering soft soul song “Talk It Over” was a strange but welcome diversion from the Bon Jovis that reigned over the charts at that time. It looked like Grayson Hugh had struck gold. Even Hollywood opened up for him, with his songs reaching the soundtracks of Thelma & Louise and Fried Green Tomatoes. But then things took a change for the worse. The typical mixture of bad business decisions, unlucky changes in record companies and lack of promotion brought Hugh back to zero; literally, for a while Hugh was broke and even homeless.
After a slow but determined recovery and a first album after a 15 year hiatus, he’s now back in full force with what surely is one of the strongest, most enjoyable soul-rock albums of the year. “Back to Soul” is vibrant and alive with a genuine love for soul music. Hugh has spent his whole life struggling with the preconceived idea that white men wouldn’t be fit to sing soul music. Well-documented is his very first encounter with a producer in an elevator. The man couldn’t believe that this white dude in front of him was the same one that could be heard on tape belting out a soulful song, so he asked Hugh to sing the song right there and then. The result was a record deal that lead to the album Blind To Reason and the subsequent hit single “Talk It Over”.
New album Back To The Soul is a last, definitive argument to close the pointless discussion “White Men Can’t Be Soul Singers” once and for all. Every song does indeed ooze with pure soul. In that respect, Grayson Hugh’s effort can be put in line with an album like Billy Joel's “An Innocent Man”. Where Joel wrote his album from start to finish as a love letter to the greasy fifties doo-wop and early soul from the streets of New York, Hugh does the same, but highlighting different aspects of soul music. Next to Hugh’s versatile, gritty voice, the most impressive feature about Back To The Soul are the horn arrangements. They give extra color to each and every song and make for an album can be easily compared to some of the best work from that other white soul boy, Van Morrison. The beautiful title track is especially vintage Van The Man. Hugh namechecks some of his favorite singers – Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Solomon Burke, Clarence Carter – while the horns push the song forward. Such an impressive song.
Indeed, Grayson Hugh doesn’t play hide and seek on Back To The Soul, he wears his influences on his sleeve. “Everybody’s Hanging On” has the same lyrical message as Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, “We Were Having Fun” has a nostalgic feel good vibe that is reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield’s earlier work with the Impressions, “Already In Love With You” is a ballad in the vein of Sam Cooke, and “Rock ‘n Roll Man” with its call and response backing vocals is a gospel spiritual that would get a nod of approval from Ray Charles. Big names and big references, I know, but this album does succeed in its mission: celebrating the pure joy of real soul music.
- By Johan Copermans, Dr.Music.org, November 14, 2015
When I heard the gently grooving, uncommonly radio-friendly Everybody's Hangin' On, I was immediately hooked on Grayson Hugh all over again. Balm for the soul he is! And that was only but the opening salvo.....
In a dizzying spin, we blaze onto the Summer dance floors with We Were Havin' Fun; then we hear the quiet, soulful and rocking farewell song Gettin' On With My Life. Next is the sultry soul torch song Already In Love With You; into the funk with It's Got Soul. We then slide into the gospel-feeling, spicy fable Rock 'n Roll Man, and the swinging groove of "We 're Gone Again". The piano -driven, New Orleans styled Put Your Feet In the Water is a masterpiece. The catchy Gimme Another Answer, the poignant Thank You Lord, the joyous title song Back To The Soul and the funny and funky blues Motorcycle Ridin' moved much too quickly towards the exit ...
Listening to Grayson Hugh’s brilliant new Back To The Soul, the repeat button has been in constant use.
What can I say? Highly recommended indeed!
- Benny Metten, CTRL. ALT. COUNTRY, Riemst, Belgium, November 2, 2015
PRESS FOR "AN AMERICAN RECORD"
Thoughts on "An American Record" by Leonard Pitts, Jr.
On his brand new CD, Grayson Hugh sings of harbor towns and roads that don't look back, of thin trees and snow mountains, of mists rising from the sea and woods seen in soft southern light. He sings of mourning and disillusionment, of remembered love and lost time, of life scraped from the bottom of a lobster pot.
This is "An American Record". Some of us have been waiting for it a very long time.
I've been listening to Grayson for - Lord, has it really been that long? - 20 years, since I was a writer for Casey Kasem's countdown show and he was a young guy making his major label debut with a shades-of-Sam-Cooke soul stirrer called "Talk It Over". That song did everything except imprint itself on my DNA. His follow-up CD, "Road To Freedom", sealed the deal. I wrote about Grayson for Casey's show, wrote about him for Musician magazine, wrote about him in my music column for The Miami Herald, did everything but quit my job to follow him on tour, though I may even have considered that for half a second.
I wanted people to listen, to hear what I heard. Because this was music that told the truth.
Do you know how rare that is? Surely you've had that feeling, while flipping the radio dial, that American music has come to sound like a shopping mall - all shiny glass, gleaming contrivance and bright artifice, all surface shimmer with nothing underneath. But Grayson is another kind of cat. In a world where music is often a brittle artificiality, the music he makes is hard and strong, convicted and convincing. And true. Most of all, true.
It's there in the gritty lament of his voice, in the roughhouse eloquence of his piano, and the atmospheric poetry of his words. He has that thing Sam Cooke and Ray Charles had, that thing you still hear sometimes in Bruce Springsteen, that lonely, train whistle in the dark thing, that yearning, keening thing that gets right to the heart of what it means to be alive, what it means to be a human being.
It is soul music in a way that has nothing to do with soul in the sense of Motown or Stax, the Godfather or the Queen, nothing to do, really, with any of the usual genres by which we demarcate American music. Country? Jazz? R&B? Rock? Grayson sounds like none of them, sounds like all of them. Because his music is soul in the sense that it looks you in the eye and speaks to you from the gut, that it is real, honest and - we keep coming back to that word - true.
"An American Record" is an ambitious journey across a vast landscape of American sounds and American places, from the cantankerous down east funk of "Swamp Yankee" to the elegiac lament that rises from a cemetery in "North Ohio", from a jazz-inflected meditation on a day when the snow in Connecticut lies in shades of "Bluewhite" to "What It's All About", a meeting of hearts at a beach on a Georgia island between two lovers wounded by life but loving, still.
This is, Grayson will tell you, an album of places, an autobiographical survey of his life's wanderings: "Evangeline" recounts his days in coastal North Carolina, "Angel of Mercy" recalls time spent in Manhattan and London, the barrelhouse piano of "Tell Me How You Feel" is a remembrance of lonely days in Buzzards Bay, Mass. But as much as or more than "An American Record" surveys places on the map, it also surveys (apologies to Sally Field) places in the heart, those tender and broken spots where the things you regret live side by side with those you still foolishly hope. "Give me one good reason to give it up," sings Grayson in "Give Me One Good Reason". "We can't stop believing in what we've got."
And we can't. Because it's the believing that makes us human.
On his new CD, Grayson Hugh sings of blue twilight turning black, and a thunderstorm looming on the horizon, of a catlike girl on a Boston train and an angel walking down on concrete, of life that flickers like a candle and of flying high above the tears. He sings of who we are beneath brittle artifice, what we regret beneath gleaming contrivance and how, at the end of the day, when everything else has conspired to pull us apart, loves mends us together again.
This is "An American Record". Some of us are glad the wait is over at last.
- Leonard Pitts. Jr., Miami Herald, March 8, 2010
Grayson Hugh had just finished writing a statement for his Facebook page. He’d wanted to get something off his chest for a while. Having done that, he pointed toward the “Send” button … and paused.
“I was about to post a very vitriolic comment about the mediocrity of the music in …” And here, one might imagine the name of a film whose soundtrack had been pretty widely acclaimed for its authenticity. “But then I didn’t publish it because what’s the point of being negative? I’ve learned that lesson in a lot of ways. Negativity just breeds negativity. Sometimes it’s best to keep your vitriolic thoughts to yourself.”
That’s just one bit of wisdom that Hugh has picked up on his ramble through spotlights and shadows. His path has led him to the summit as a musician, performer and writer; his multifaceted talents manifested in formats as varied as soul, jazz, Western swing, study with piano legends Ran Blake and Jaki Byard, a gig playing piano in an African-American church as well as accompaniment and composition for modern dance.
All of these elements and more came together in his own unique sound when Hugh burst onto the scene with Blind to Reason, his major-label debut in 1988. The album impacted, lofting the single “Talk It Over” into the Top 20 and featuring a duet with R&B star Betty Wright on “How ‘Bout Us.” Billboard would laud his second album, Road to Freedom, as one of the ten best of 1992; his songs were featured on soundtracks for Fried Green Tomatoes and Thelma & Louise.
Then, in 1994, after being dropped by his label in a moment of misguided restructuring, Hugh suddenly found himself without the financial support necessary to keep a band on the road. He moved to rural North Carolina and attempted to rejuvenate his career in surroundings far-removed from New York and Los Angeles. After a year of slowly going broke and unable to find a new record label, he moved back north where he landed a job teaching songwriting at Berklee College Of Music in Boston. While there, he continued to write songs prolifically and was even commissioned to compose some scores for several modern dance companies. But in 2001, he spun into a free-fall and a near-fatal relapse with alcohol and drugs that left him for more than two years with no way to pay the rent other than through a job at McDonald’s.
Hugh's rise from that point to his present renaissance owes to two factors: his determination to apply everything he has experienced, the worst as well as the best, to redefining and strengthening himself as an artist, and the invaluable help of his wife, backup singer and soul mate Polly Messer, who met him in 1980 but would enter his life years later as his best friend, greatest inspiration and true artistic partner. "Polly's contribution as co-producer on this record was invaluable," says Hugh. "She kept encouraging me to raise the bar."
Hugh's recent personal and artistic achievements inform every track on his new album, An American Record. This overlay of art and heart breathes a gospel air into the irresistibly churchy “Tell Me How You Feel,” paints a stark yet beckoning landscape on “North Ohio,” cranks up the funk in the cocky, horn-stabbed strut and haunting chanted coda of “Swamp Yankee,” hangs a lover’s plea over an elegant and unforgettable chorus hook on “Give Me One Good Reason” … Every track tells its story with a mix of passion, craft and impact that’s rare in our time. In flaunting the discipline and knack for accessibility that distinguished his earlier recordings and compositions, An American Record confirms his return as a commercial as well as artistic force.
From the worst of his times, Hugh emerged with a strength and focus that filters now into his work. “I had to confront a lot of my faults, and that self-reflection has reformed my music,” he explains. “It got simpler because I learned how to let the feeling of a song distill in silence for months. They’re kind of cooking, so that when I actually write, it comes quickly.”
It also empowered Hugh to find universal meaning in his lyrics, which draw from what he’s witnessed but convey that emotion directly to listeners and their lives. “For instance, ‘North Ohio’ came from my visiting my grandmother’s grave by the banks of the Maumee River in Ohio,” he explains. “But it’s about the emotion, not that specific place and time. Look at Thomas Wolfe: Look Homeward, Angel, You Can’t Go Home Again and Of Time and the River. Images of rivers figure prominently in them all. It’s all universal.”
That, too, explains the range of An American Record, whose embrace is wide enough to encompass working-man’s rock, roadhouse blues, calls to glory answered from the amen corner, a smatter of jazz and more. “It’s a record and it’s American, with all kinds of musical references,” Hugh says. “There’s bluegrass, soul, funk, folk, rock … There’s no single musical theme, but it’s all human.”
It’s all human: In three words, that’s what Grayson Hugh has learned about music and its power to touch and move, inform and inspire. It also explains why he takes it personally when he hears something that fails to achieve these goals, to the point of almost taking it to the world on Facebook.
“I write for myself ultimately because that’s the way I spit out how I see the world,” he says. “It’s a cathartic process. But when a fan writes to me and says, ‘This affects me,’ that’s the payoff.”
With An American Record, the payoff is just beginning. Grayson Hugh has been there and is back again. His story – our story – has to be heard.
- Robert Doerschuk, CMAworld.com, May 10, 2010
GRAYSON HUGH "An American Record"
We didn't reckon on a record like this anymore! After all, the last serious feat by Grayson Hugh dated from 1992 when, with "Road to Freedom", he not only delivered a succesor to his fabulous major label-début "Blind to reason" which was released 4 years before, but also one of THE greatest records of that year. Then things became very silent around the man who, with his voice filled with soul, poetic lyrics and sophisticated keyboard playing, had created fans worldwide. You enjoyed his mega radio hits such as "Talk It Over" and also "Bring It All Back". Now, some eighteen years later, after all his radio hits, songs featured in hit films and acclaim as a singer/songwriter, Grayson Hugh has made an amazing comeback with "An American Record", his fourth full length album. And with this record he shows he hasn't lost his abilities.
With 14 new songs Hugh sparkles once more on this record, which has a substantionally less overly-polished sound. Three years of hard labour went into this record. For Hugh this was a unique opportunity to pick up the thread of his life to some degree, after recovering from a near fatal relapse with alcohol and drugs. The man himself said : "It is a record of places, times, rivers, hills, loves and tides of the heart. This became my path and I am grateful that I was always able to see the light around the bend and finish it". And this finds an echo in the songs.
Whether it's the funky opening song "Swamp Yankee", which has been dedicated to Dean Gilmore who helped Hugh to get back on the right track, or the long spun piano ballad "Bluewhite". From the playful lovesong "Evangeline", spiced with a pinch of country, to "Zoe on the T Train" which flirts with R&B in a relaxing way. Or the perfect rootsy pop songs like "Never To Come Down" and "Sweet Summer Rain" and the calm soulful "North Ohio". On to the radiogenic "Angel Of Mercy" with it's nice twangy guitar sound - and the duets "Long & Lonely Night" and "Give Me One Good Reason" that both remind us of the old days with their blue-eyed soul sound. And the cheerful pop-Americana of "Time Is Like A River".
And throughout the album Hugh's piano playing is a veritable cyclone of soul, drawing its energy from such regions as the swampland funk of Professor Longhair, the testifying soul of Ray Charles, with the rhythms of African drumming and boogie-woogie thrown in the mix!
With all these songs and others Hugh seizes every opportunity to show you that he's not only back, but also a magnificent vocalist and sublime songsmith. Welcome back, man! FIVE STARS!
- Benny Metten, CTRL. ALT. COUNTRY, August, 2010 (a website from Belgium dedicated to Alternative Country, Roots Rock, Blues, Rockabilly & Americana Singer Songwriters)
GRAYSON HUGH - AN AMERICAN RECORD
Grayson Hugh called his new album AN AMERICAN RECORD for a reason. One listen tells you why. AN AMERICAN RECORD features funk, blues, country, rock, zydeco, folk, jazz, soul and R&B music with a little bit of gospel mixed in. Basically, any kind of authentically American music that has been a part of this country's musical soundtrack for more than a century can be found on this recording.
For those who first got introduced to Hugh's soulful and raspy voice from his 1989 blue-eyed soul smash "Talk It Over," AN AMERICAN RECORD's amalgamation of sounds may come as a shock. For those who knew a little more about Hugh's biography, the new record will not be nearly as shocking. Having that background knowledge will make it a more pleasing experience from the outset. However, patience will reward those who lost track of Hugh after he stopped being a presence in the early 1990s.
The fact of the matter is that there is a lot of soul, blues, R&B and funk on this album. Songs like "Give Me One Good Reason" and "Long and Lonely Night" will reintroduce fans to the soulful crooner many of us first met in 1989. "Tell Me How You Feel," is a rollicking blues, soul and gospel tune that shows where the barrelhouse blues meets the Baptist and sanctified church. The song features an extensive blues/jazz solo and ends with an energetic Hugh calling out from the pulpit of love how much he needs his woman's love. The song then takes listener to the church choir stand with band playing some ‘shouting and handclapping music.' "Give Me One Good Reason" revives the lost art of the soul duet with Hugh and his wife, Polly Messer, taking turns leading the song.
For those willing to move out of their comfort zone, AN AMERICAN RECORD features solid work in other genres. "Evangeline" is a nice mid-tempo country tune that tells the story of how the love of a beautiful and good woman inspired the singer to leave a dead end town while "Zoe On the T Train" is a rock song that tells of an encounter with a woman on a train. Other strong songs include "Bluewhite" and "North Ohio."
Grayson Hugh hails from a family of musicians and actors. The vocalists in his family sang everything from classical to show tunes. Hugh definitely inherited the family's musical curiosity - a characteristic that doesn't always get rewarded in today's music market. People have limited time to listen, and they often spend it listening to the known quantity. Fortunately, there is a lot of quality soul on AN AMERICAN RECORD, and a lot of other good music as well. This is a journey through America that is worth a try. RECOMMENDED.
- Howard Dukes, SoulTracks.com, September 26, 2010
The title tells it all as Connecticut piano man Grayson Hugh blends all the facets that make American music into AN AMERICAN RECORD, using blues as the floor boards in the majority of the tunes here. The funky (and I mean that in a good way) title cut starts it off, thanks to Hugh's B3 and the steady drumming of Rob Gottfried. The majority of the cuts here could be described as soulful rockers, with "Zoe On The T Train", "Never To Come Down" and "Time Is Like A River" as prime examples.
"Give Me One Good Reason" would have been at home in the 1960's on a release by R&B legendary Stax Records and Tom Majesky does some nice guitar work during "Angel Of Mercy". With Grayson's wife Polly Messer on harmony vocals, gospel gets touched on during "Sweet Summer Rain" and "Tell Me How You Feel", with the latter ignited by Hugh's boogie woogie piano.
Americana gets a spotlight during "Evangeline", due to Jim Chapdelaine's banjo picking as Hugh's pennywhistle adds to the lonliness factor of "What It's All About".
Coming up on 40 years writing about music, I've been at a ton of promo parties over the years. One memorable one was from late 1988, when invited to an RCA party at Beachwood Studios. It was for Grayson Hugh's first project BLIND TO REASON and, after giving the media and retail folks some liquid refreshments and finger food as Side 1 of the new record played, the RCA promo man told us to go to Studio B to hear Grayson play Side 2 live. The presentation was impressive, because I have never since seen a national label go to those lengths at a promo party.
When Grayson Hugh releases a new album, it is always worthy of your attention. This is one of the most eclectic discs he's ever had out and it might be hard to track down, so I'll direct you to his website at wwwgraysonhugh.net.
- Peanuts, The Greater Cleveland Blues News, March 2013
PRESS FOR "ROAD TO FREEDOM"
As impressive as Grayson Hugh's 1989 debut album "Blind To Reason" was, "Road To Freedom" represents a quantum leap beyond it. While Hugh's blue-eyed vocals and affinity for gospel-style Hammond organ remain, his music adds a welcome infusion of rock 'n roll punch. "Hideaway", "Forever Yours, Forever Mine" and "When She Comes Walking" bristle with radio-friendly hooks, while Hugh's Rod Stewart-meets-Sam-Cooke vocals on "I Can't Untie You From Me" and the ballad "Walking Through The Fire" are sublime.
- Dan Kening (five-star review), Chicago Tribune, Nov. 19, 1992
BILLBOARD'S TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 1992
Grayson Hugh's "Road To Freedom" - Gutsy, melodic, heartland style soul-rock that really fills a hole.
- Jim Bessman, Billboard Magazine, Nov. 29, 1992
Here's a CD I'm having trouble keeping out of my player. The long-delayed follow-up to "Blind To Reason", Hugh's killer 1989 blue-eyed soul release, "Road To Freedom", is well worth the wait. Led by Hugh on a Hammond B-3 organ, "Hideaway" sets a swirling tone for the project. His soulful vocals, from the reflective "Soul Cat Girl" to an anti-war masterpiece titled "For The Innocent" are heartfelt, to say the least. The grand finale is a gospel assault on Bob Dylan's "I'll Remember You" that could raise the dead. Any year with a Grayson Hugh release in it can't be all bad.
- Peanuts, The Cleveland Sun, Dec. 3, 1992
Whoever said truthful soul and rock 'n roll was dying has yet to hear singer/songwriter/keyboardist Grayson Hugh's "Road To Freedom".
Hugh is a unique but diverting cross between Otis Redding and Hank Williams. His creation of a tight, four-piece band has a fascinating way of producing a distinct sound very seldom heard.
"Road To Freedom" features the song "I'll Remember You", Hugh's arrangement of a Bob Dylan song. It plays over the credits to 1992's hit film "Fried Green Tomatoes". Another of Hugh's songs from the album, "I Can't Untie You From Me", was featured in the runaway hit "Thelma and Louise".
His album also features "Road to Freedom" (inspired by Nelson Mandela's release from prison in 1990), "Soul Cat Girl", "Forever Yours, Forever Mine", "Lost Avenue", "There's A Time" (which he wrote at age sixteen), "Walking Through The Fire" and four other hits - all prime examples of Hugh's powerful singing, soulful songwriting and unequaled keyboarding.
Hugh, raised in a small New England town, says in a press release "I remember being fascinated by old-time blues singers...I've been writing poetry since grade school, and I was always playing piano and organ". Throughout the album Hugh displays his talent and distinguished organic sound, which is a little bit rock 'n roll, a little bit country, and alot of soul. And Hugh says "I love that fine line between country and soul".
He admits his true obsession is his Hammond B3 organ.
"It's an integral part of my sound", he explains. "I had it custom-made with a wah-wah pedal and other modifications. I want to extend the sound of that instrument, to use it almost like a guitar".
Along with his sound, Hugh's lyrics are also distinguished and profound. His songs are filled with life, loss, good times and bad times. The words will touch you. In short, with "Road To Freedom", Grayson Hugh has come up with a style that is all his own - eloquent, entertaining and extremely enjoyable.
- Jennifer Derrick, The Penn, Indiana University, October 12, 1992.
AMAZING GRAYSON
Grayson Hugh is an American music original.
Hugh brought his diverse souffle of rock, gospel, balladry and poetry to a slow simmer last night at the Lyric Theatre in sleepy little downtown Stuart, Florida. The building threatened to rise from its foundations, but the trembling rafters weren't caused by passing trains. It was just Hugh's voice soaring for the stratosphere, strong and emotional, sweet and assured.
Releasing only two albums in five years, 1989's "Blind To Reason" and "Road To Freedom" in 1992, Hugh is still considered an artist on the rise. After last night's experience, however, the audience must have wondered why this man is not recognized as one of the country's most enduring talents.
- Gary Shipes, The Stuart News, May 6, 1994
NEWCOMER'S SOUND IS SHEER POETRY
Grayson Hugh's music, lyrics are stirring.
I don't want to get your hopes up about Grayson Hugh. Don't want to oversell him so you put 1988's Blind To Reason or the new Road To Freedom in the CD player and expect light to flow forth, healing cancer and removing cataracts. But ask me about him straight up and I'd have to answer you this way:
Have I heard any newcomer in the last decade who excites me more than this guy?
Have I heard any newcomer in the last decade who excites me as much as this guy?
Your next question is obvious as the chin on Leno's face: Well, what's the guy sound like? And therein lies a problem, because while there are a lot of obvious comparisons, none gives a complete picture.
He's the thoughtful singer-songwriter type, like James Taylor or Paul Simon, but there’s more pure soul in him than that comparison would imply.
Well then, how about Marvin Gaye, Rod Stewart or Sam Cooke? Yeah, he’s got the requisite gravel and rasp and anguish in his voice. But there’s more poetry and grace in his lyrics than theirs.
Bruce Springsteen? The introspection’s there. The fist-cranking Born To Run adrenaline rush isn’t.
So what does he sound like? Like everything you’ve heard before. And nothing you've heard before. No risk-taker or barrier-breaker like, say, Prince or R.E.M or Nirvana or Me Phi Me. But yet, a haunting sound, a rock ’n’ soul groove, greasy with Hammon organ, spangled with guitars, it’s melodies framed by understated piano accents, it’s choruses and bridges braced with harmonies as plaintive as a train whistle at midnight.
PICTURES IN LYRICS
And his lyrics! If you love words, if you’re one of those people for whom heaven is a rainy day and a good book, then know this: Hugh doesn’t write words — he writes pictures.
Like "Forever Yours, Forever Mine", which speaks of “steep September daylight when the shadows fall at four” and “eyes just staring down the college street strewn with the paper of sycamore leaves.”
Like "Road To Freedom", which offers a breathtaking view — “over the tops of mountains over the western snow, watching the river wander, just a vein of silver far below” — and adds a hard observation certain to strike a chord with any Native American or African American — “They take away your money, and they take away your name, and they take the ground that you’re standing on but never, ever take the blame.”
And then there is the stark, painful ballad called "For The Innocent". Hugh wrote it for his grandfather, Dr. Frank Rawlinson, a missionary in Shanghai who wal killed during the Second World War. Hugh sings: “In trees and fields the snowflakes fell, gently on the gravestone of one I knew well. Cut down before his time on some rocky road, caught in someone else’s war for some cause of old. He was a writer and a peaceful man, never held a rifle in his hand.But upon that fateful day, a bullet from a gun sought him out as if to say, I’ll find the meekest one.”
Hugh, a thirtysomething native of Hartford, Conn., who quit school at 15, says, “I remember the English teacher said, ‘You should really consider being a poet.’ I didn’t want to hear it. [But] I read from when I was 14 on. Every poet I could get my hands on. James Joyce, Faulkner, James Agee, Dylan Thomas, Archibald MacLeish. I read voraciously. I quit high school and just kind of educated myself.
“I was lucky enough to have parents who said “That’s cool if you want to do that. You’ve just got to get a job.” One year I had something like 55 jobs — a lot of odd jobs. Then I discovered I could make money playing in bands.”
During those years, Hugh’s family was moving around, alighting in South Carolina, Louisiana and Maine. Musically, he was moving around a lot too.
“I played organ and piano [for a black church in Hartford]… That was really my introduction to [gospel], a form of music I love to this day. I sort of got into that and combined that with my rock roots.
“Then there’s a lot of other music that I grew up with. My dad is a classical DJ in Connecticut and he always had an extensive record collection, all different kinds of music — classical, jazz, rock, folk. I grew up with a lot of different inlfuences.”
Asked to describe the sound those influences have fostered in him, he’s at a loss.
“I don’t know what you call it. My girlfriend half-seriously said “When people ask you what you play, say country gothic.”
Why not? Works about as well as anything else.
Hugh’s debut album Blind To Reason was the result of a chance meeting with producer Michael Baker in the elevator of a New York apartment building.
“I was carrying a keyboard, we started talking…I was going to my manager’s apartment; we asked him in, played him the tape, and he introduced me to the people at RCA.”
RCA sent Hugh into the studio with Baker, and the result was Blind To Reason. There are some great tracks on that disc, including the raw-dog blues of the title number and the old-school, Sam Cooke soul of Talk It Over.
Hugh says now it was a little too smooth, a little overproduced for his taste. “I felt I was being pigeonholed… I needed to branch out.”
Four years later, he’s branched out to MCA Records, where veteran R&B producer Bernard Edwards took the helm on Road To Freedom.
“Basically, it’s much more raw,” Hugh says of the new album. “And it’s really the way I always was. Basically, I always was a real rocker. All my bands were pretty hard-edged.
My producer, Bernard Edwards, encouraged me to just be myself in the studio. We laughed a lot. It was real easy working with him…he kept it fresh. It’s kind of the way I approach my writing.”
It’s always risky business to play fortune-teller in this game — especially when dealing with an artist eight out of 10 record-buyers have never heard of. And your humble music writer here has a great track record of proclaiming superstardom for acts that never even get out of the starting gate.
So, tempting as it is, no predictions here.
Except one. You’ll enjoy Grayson Hugh.
- Leonard Pitts, Jr., The Miami Herald, Oct. 19, 1992
REVIEWS FOR "BLIND TO REASON"
GRAYSON HUGH'S HIT
One of the summer’s most engaging hits is Grayson Hugh’s recording of Talk It Over. Without sounding like too much of an imitation, the 30-year-old’s performance echoes the style and timbre of Sam Cooke with its winning warmth and sweetness. The song is included on his debut album, Blind To Reason(RCA).
“To be honest, Sam Cooke was before my time; I didn’t know about him until a few years ago,” said Mr. Hugh, who was reared in West Hartford, Conn., and who now lives in New York. Growing up, he said, the singer he was most aware of was Marvin Gaye.
Unlike the vast majority of pop singers and songwriters, Mr. Hugh has had extensive musical training. At the age of 11, he said, he wanted to be Gustav Mahler. Later he studied with the avan-garde composer Ran Blake and was part of a trio called the Wild Goose, which tried to incorporate ideas from Stavinsky, Stockhausen and Lukas Foss. But rock-and-roll, which he had discovered at 14, also attracted him.
The most crucial experience leading up to his recording career, however, was a yearlong stint playing the piano in a black gospel church in Hartford 11 years ago.
“My dad, who was a friend of the minister, heard that their pianist had quit,” he said. “I auditioned for the job and got it. In that year I learned more than in all my years of formal training.”
- Steven Holden, The New York Times, Aug. 30, 1989
New On The Charts
The beginning of newcomer Grayson Hugh’s recording career took place in an apartment elevator on Manhattan, New York’s Upper East Side. That is where he met Michael Baker, co-producer of Blind To Reason, his debut album on RCA records.
A self-taught piano player, Hugh grew up listening to and admiring great black singers of his age like Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding. He spent a year playing piano in a black gospel church and later founded several Connecticut bands.
The chance encounter with Baker, one-time producer of Wet, Wet, Wet and the Blow Monkeys, eventually led to a recording contract with RCA. Baker noticed Hugh playing a synthesizer in an elevator and found himself listening to his demo tape 15 minutes later. Of that meeting, he says, “I was immediately struck by the dichotomy – here’s this quiet, sort of shy white guy with a leather jacket and long hair, who sounds like all the greatest black singers in the world rolled together.”
“Talk It Over, the first single from Blind To Reason, has entered the hot 100 singles chart is already a top 10 hit on the Hot Adult Contemporary charts.
- Jim Richliano, Billboard Magazine, Jul. 8, 1989
Have You Met Grayson Hugh?
You turn to page fifteen of this week’s Billboard Magazine, the music industry’s most prestigious publication, and you see the listing of Talk It Over, the single from Grayson Hugh’s newly-relased RCA album Blind To Reason on the Adult Contemporary Top Twenty Chart. This is impressive for several important reasons. First of all, getting signed to a major record company these days is an extremely difficult task. Secondly, reaching national chart recognition with a first release is almost never accomplished. And then you listen to the album and you’re the most surprised of all. Is it possible that this white young man can sound so much like Sam Cooke on one track, like Otis Redding on another, reminiscent of Marvin Gaye on another and of Wilson Pickett on another still? And his extraordinary lyrics make his songs seem more like poems set to music. You send away for his press material to find out what is really behind all of this.
Grayson Hugh and I are sitting at a picnic table on the large rear lawn surrounding his rented South Hampton cottage. This is his first weekend back after a performing tour with Phoebe Snow and he’s happy to be relaxing. The building appears to have been a stable, perhaps twenty or so years ago, and it is lined with barn doors carrying names of famous horses: Native Dancer Man of War. He offers freshly-made home-brewed French roasted coffee and tells me his story.
He is first-generation Welsh and was raised in Hartford, Connecticut. His father is a classical deejay from Britain; his mother, the daughter of missionaries, is from Shanghai. “I grew up with music around me from as far back as I can remember,” he says. “I can recall walking around the living room conducting an imaginary Peer Gynt suite by Grieg. There was always a piano around, I just taught myself.” His father was also Director of Communications for the Connecticut Council of Churches. In this capacity he was always meeting people of different countries – African musicologists, people from India, etc. The household record collection was filled with albums by artists like Harry Belafonte and Olatunji as well as early folk music of the ‘50s and ‘60s.
One day when he was still in elementary school, some musicians came to visit through a cultural exchange program and demonstrated the saxophone. “I was about nine,” he says, “and I was instantly sold.” He started taking formal lessons on alto sax and also learned to read music and to orchestrate. By the time he was fifteen he had his own band; at eighteen he was supporting himself full-time as a musician, songwriter and performer.
The big break came during the winter of 1987 in New York City. He calls it his “elevator story” and acknowledges that it’s hard to believe, but assures me it’s true. While riding in an elevator in an apartment building on the Upper East Side, heading for a business meeting with his manager, he met a man whose appearance was as distinctive as Grayson’s own. Each knew immediately that the other was a musician. They started a conversation and by the time they had reached the fifth floor, there was a professional relationship in the works. The other man was record producer Michael Baker who interrupted his day’s schedule to hear Grayson’s demo tape. His response was, “I’m immediately struck by the dichotomy: here’s this quiet sort of shy white guy with a leather jacket and long hair who sounds like all the greatest black singers in the world rolled together. It was fascinating, this image with this voice. I immediately called my girlfriend and said, ‘I just found the next Buddy Holly!’”. Next, he introduced Grayson Hugh to RCA Records and the rest, as they say, is chart-making history.
I ask why he responds so strongly to black music and he says, “I have no idea. Why do people like the color green? It’s pretty arbitrary. I have two brothers – we grew up playing music together. One brother was in an African drumming group and my other brother just went on a Fullbright with Yale to study music over there this summer. We like it, rhythm has always been an important part. I guess I like passion, if you really want to analyze it. But I also love great bluegrass and I love all sorts of music from different parts of the world.”
Well, "Blind To Reason" is authentic raw soul of the first order.
There’s been a sense in the Hamptons for some time now that an important music scene is developing here. It’s been known as the second home for major artists such as Billy Joel, Paul Simon and Paul McCartney. But over the last few years the area has also been home to emerging artists. It seems very likely that eastern Long Island is going to be as well-known for its music community as for its artists and writers.
Grayson Hugh is the first one on the charts. Stop by Long Island Sound today and hear how unusual and entertaining he is.
- Candace Leigh, Dan’s Papers, May 12, 1989
I think I was heading to work across the bridge this summer when it hit me: "Talk It Over" may be the most perfect pop record of the year. I'd heard it maybe 10 times earlier, but at that moment its lilting, fluttering recreation of Sam Cooke's style, its flawless doo-wop harmonies and its mellifluous melody were like an epiphany. Grayson Hugh is a white guy in long hair and black leather who has apparently soaked himself in the sounds of Otis Redding, Al Green and the late, great Cooke. His LP debut is a revelation, every note as wonderful as the single that stole my heart that summer day.
- The Nashville Tennessean, Sept. 17, 1989
Grayson Hugh - Soul In The Suburbs
Irony fans, please note: The soul man is a dinosaur in decline, right? Al Green went and got religion, Dennis Edwards is in exile from The Temptations again and, let's face it, Luther Vandross is way too cool to sweat.
So who's left to save the genre? Some down-and-dirty black powerhouse who grew up in a suburb of Hell, singing in the local church? Not quite. He's a white guy from a suburb of Hartford, Connecticut. And the first time he was ever in a black church and saw somebody whip out a tambourine, he jumped a mile. Meet Grayson Hugh and the music he likes to call "poetry with an attitude".
"That's sort of a phrase I've come up with that seems to describe my music", he says. "It's loud and it's a little audacious and it's moody and it's in the setting of a band playing live. It's not just a beat with empty words."
Nothing empty about Hugh's brilliant debut album, "Blind To Reason". The single "Talk It Over" is a smooth, deftly executed Sam Cooke reprise; the album's title track is brutal, raw dog blues. Nothing empty about his resume, either. The gravel-voiced 31-year-old grew up with the prerequisite love for black music. Unlike so many other "blue-eyed" soul men, though, he followed the music to its spawning ground, walking in "audaciously" to apply for a job as pianist at a little black church.
"Y'know", he says, "the first few times I played people were a little amazed to see me, being the only white and really young. But after two or three Sundays I remember this woman, the mother of one of the singers, got up and just said, in the middle of the service, 'I know this boy is doing something a little different, but he sound okay to me'".
Of course, after nine months they fired him, Hugh says, because "they really wanted an all-black church."
He survived. And roughly a decade later Hugh is back with a debut album that serves notice: Of the currently active soul men, he is, arguably, the best in class. It's hard to improve on what the woman said: Yeah, he's doing something a little different, but he sounds okay to me.
- Leonard Pitts, Jr., Musician Magazine, Nov. 1989
A QUIET GIANT
The first time THE STREET ran into Grayson Hugh: November 1rst, 1988. The scene: The Dickie Betts Record Party at The Lone Star Roadhouse in New York. It's wall-to-wall people inside. Loyal Allman Brothers fans who did manage to get into the sold-out show have been waiting in line for hours. There are lights, cameras, cables everywhere. Technicians working video/audio hookups for MTV and TV broadcast coverage. The SRO show includes many musicians and industry VIPs. "No Shows" - despite rumors to the contrary - are Jimmy Page and Gregg Allman. But nobody cares. that's because on stage, it's one of those once-in-a-lifetime lineups of the legends of rock n' roll.
Dickie Betts - former ace guitarist of The Allman Brothers - is center stage playing with his current sidemen. There's Jack Bruce, bassist extraordinaire of the legendary group Cream. There's also Rolling Stones ex-guitarist Mick Taylor, and still yet another world-class axeman - Rick Derringer.
No one on keyboards yet. But a buzz goes through the crowd as a tall, long-haired musician wearing a cowboy hat emerges from stage left to sit at the piano, joining the others for a scorching set of southern rock 'n roll. The all-star jam rocks out the crowd and when it's all over, a lot of folks are asking "Who was that hot keyboardist?"
None other than Grayson Hugh, THE STREET finally learns from the mystery man himself during a recent phone interview. Hugh and his seven-piece had opened for Dickie on a tour through the South and the Midwest, so Betts invited him to sit in for the show at The Roadhouse.
That memorable jam was just for starters in the unusual career of Grayson Hugh. Hugh is getting his share of notice currently, due to the release of his RCA debut album "Blind To Reason". The blue-eyed singer of Welsh ancestry penned all the songs on this powerful record and he is an authentic and authentic soul singer - reminiscent of such artists as Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke. But he is quick to point out that his roots are also very much rock 'n roll.
These days, Grayson is busy working on new material and getting ready for some concert dates in the U.K. and another upcoming U.S. tour.
- Carol Tormey, The Street, October 1989
A Natural Soul Man
Music fans had their choice Sunday night between down-home gritty Delta blues or contemporary blue-eyed soul as venerable legend John Lee Hooker and rising pop star Grayson Hugh performed at the Omni/New Daisy Theater and Peabody Alley (at The Peabody Hotel) respectively.
While there were some pronounced differences in approach, technique and sound between Hooker and Hugh, a firm foundation in the black music tradition was the underlying theme linking both performers.
While the Hooker set attracted casually dressed blues lovers, the more sophisticated classy bunch filled Peabody Alley for Grayson Hugh.
Performing songs from his powerful debut album “Blind To Reason”, Hugh displayed the complete range of his influences. He played a string of rolling chords and flashy phrases on electric keyboard that reflected his gospel and jazz background, while his delivery and singing method were straight out of the R&B/Soul school. Hugh’s a natural Soul Man, right down to the stage mannerisms, which included playing on his knees and behind his back. He did two stinging cover songs, one a sizzling “Bring It On Home To Me”.
While the packed house of over 450 people at first seemed more interested in hearing Hugh than reacting to him, by the middle of his set the dance floor was also packed.
- Ron Wynn, The Memphis Daily News, Oct. 12, 1989
REVIEW FOR "GRAYSON HUGH"
A Jazzy Rock-and-Blues Homebrew
Ever wish someone would come along who could sing like a fusion of Al Green and Steve Winwood, write music that blended influences as diverse as Yes and Ray Charles, and hammer the keyboards with Emersonian adroitness and Wonderous soul?
Enter the prodigious Grayson Hugh, grown in Hartford’s back yard soil. Hugh spent a year recording his first album at the Nineteen Studios in Glastonbury, and the result is a sprawling, ambitious product that just drips with talent.
Strange things happen within the circular borders of "Grayson Hugh", an album with happy ties to some of the musical brilliance of the 1960s. The album’s most magical interludes evoke some of the excitement of the early attempts to blend jazz, rock and blues – Winwood’s gutsy Traffic jams and Steve Katz and Bobby Colomby’s earliest dabblings in Blood, Sweat and Tears. The guts of the album, though, are sheer rhythm and blues, as practiced by Charles.
None of the above, however, fully prepares the listeners for tours de force like "There’s No Such Thing As Those Walls", which matches a growly Charlseian vocal against a Hancocked funk-fusion piano-bass groove and gradually adds overlays of sax, honking in an almost Colemanish counterpoint. Before he has exhausted these possibilities, Hugh abruptly rips the seams out of the composition and erupts into a phosphorescent keyboard solo reminiscent of Keith Emerson’s careening attacks, pumped along by a juggernaut-like cymbals-to-bass rhythm track supplied by drummer Rob Gottfried and bassist Dave Stolz (whose relationship has its roots in the Chris Squire/Bill Bruford tandem of Yes’s middle period – all of which scarcely warns us of Tom Majesky’s whirring guitar solo to come.
Well, let me tell you, it quickens the pulse to think they’re laying this stuff down just an infield fly away, in little old Glastonbury. (For those who worry about the quality of a “local product,” it should be noted that producer Ron Scalise has meticulously recorded, mixed and mastered the music. The sound qualities are far superior to 95 percent of the pop music released by major labels, and the high-grade vinyl is a welcome respite from the snap, crackle and pop garbage that the big labels mass-produce.)
For all the brilliance of the material, "Grayson Hugh" does not necessarily herald great commercial success for its author. Although Hugh occasionally writes attractive pop hooks, as in the country and western-inflected "Just When I Was Dancing", he is never content to let the matter rest there. "Just When I Was Dancing" begins as a fairly sraightforward pop song, but Hugh pushes it into unpredictable regions, and the song expounds at least four separate musical themes – a lot for a casual radio listener to digest in five and one half minutes.
A song like the epic "City Dawn" – which takes off from its initial rhythm-and-blues premise like a trout on a long line, twisting and diving through a daring musical territory – will never appear on the narrow horizons of album-oriented rock radio. Hugh’s music is marvelous, but it may prove too sophisticated for its marketplace – haute cuisine fare in the junk food world of contemporary pop. The adventurous musical palates of the 1960s are harder to find these days.
The most commercially accessible tune on the album is " When You’re Young and in the Picture", which Hugh pegged to Majesky’s Motwonish guitar lick, giving the cut a gently rocking Isley Brothers feel. "Madness of the Heart", an impressionistic jazz ballad is also within the grasp of most pop listeners.
It remains to be seen, however, if the “adult contemporary” patrons of Ambrosia and Eddie Rabbitt are ready for the eerie naturalism and exquisite counterpoint of In The Hour of the Loon.
Regardless of whether or not the album succeeds, "Grayson Hugh" matches up in excitement, diversity and sophistication to the best rock music recorded in 1981. Hugh and his band have achieved a meritorious level of musicianship, and his music is the kind that yields new delights and insights with each new listening.
Hartford ought to be proud.
- Colin McEnroe, The Hartford Courant, May 3, 1981
© 2019 Grayson Hugh. All Rights Reserved. Powered by HostBaby.
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INTERVIEW: advantage Lucy
Advantage Lucy, one of Japan’s greatest rock bands, released an album called Echo Park in September 2005, their first full album in four years.
I talked to the band’s two members, vocalist Aiko and guitarist Yoshiharu Ishizaka, about Echo Park, the four years that it took them to finish the album, and their plans for the future, including new albums and possible overseas tours.
Japan Live: It’s been six months since you released Echo Park, and in that time you’ve gone on a national tour. What have those six months been like?
Ishizaka: Has that much time passed? I guess you are right. The tour was loads of fun. But I guess we better start by talking about what happened before that, from the night before the album was released.
Aiko: What happened the night before the release?
Ishizaka: I’m trying to remember…
Aiko: I think, rather than thinking, wow, the album is about to come out, we had a mountain of shipment orders for the album and we had to ship them on the day of the release, so things were crazy.
Ishizaka: We were busy in our capacity as Solaris Records [the independent label run by the two].
Aiko: Yes. But then, the album came out, and there was great positive feedback in our BBS and other places, and that made us happy.
Japan Live: So then you went on tour…
Ishizaka: Yes, we went on tour, and it was a really great tour.
Aiko: We had fun, it might have been the most fun we’ve had during a tour.
Ishizaka: The solo show in Nagoya especially stands out in my memory. The first song of that show, Aiko—
Aiko: Yeah, I suddenly choked up.
Ishizaka: She started crying during the first song.
Aiko: Yes. I cried. There was just something very different in the air there. I could really feel that the audience had been waiting for us, and so, I felt happiness.
Ishizaka: But the other members, we were like musicians at music award ceremonies who continue playing even if the singer starts crying, we were like, we’re not going to stop no matter what.
Aiko: But you didn’t look me in the eyes, because you thought you might start crying too! And Tai-chan [Taisuke Takata, who plays guitar for advantage Lucy], I looked over at him, and he was already crying [laughs]!
Japan Live: [To Ishizaka] Did you feel that nice atmosphere in Nagoya too?
Ishizaka: Yes, it was great. While I was playing I thought to myself, the way the stage was small there, and the way the club looked old, in a good way, those things reminded me of a live house in Shinjuku called the Jam, where we used to play in the early days.
Aiko: It had a similar feel.
Ishizaka: The stage is so small, the neck of my guitar hits the wall. That was like [the club Jam] too.
Aiko: Wait, I remember! I choked up during the first song, and then started crying during the second song, “Glider”.
Ishizaka: It was during the second song?
Aiko: Yes, yes. The second song, during that part [sings the instrumental intro to “Glider”, the first song in the album Echo Park].
Ishizaka: You’re right, it was the second song. That reminds me, during the first night of the tour, at the Shimokitazawa Que, when I did the intro to the first song of the night, “Hair Cut”, my guitar was out of tune…
Aiko: From the start?
Ishizaka: Yeah. I didn’t realize it was out of tune until I started playing. That was quite a disaster. It was like, on the first night of our solo tour, the first person to play was me, out of tune…
Aiko: That’s terrible…
Ishizaka: Yeah, it was, and it was an intro that couldn’t be started over. It made me a little depressed, but the other band members looked at me, like, ‘don’t worry about it’, and they made me want to have fun.
Aiko: Osaka was great too. All in all, we had a lot of special energy, because we’d just released an album for the first time in a while, and we were taking that album along with us on a tour where we were the only band playing.
Japan Live: So the Nagoya show was the best in the tour?
Ishizaka: Nagoya was especially good, though the other places were of course fun too. The thing is, Nagoya used to be thought of as a city where the audience never got that excited. That’s what other musicians say too.
Aiko: They say that Nagoya is a hard city to play.
Ishizaka: So it betrayed our expectations, in a good way.
Japan Live: I wonder what the difference was.
Ishizaka: Maybe it’s just that times have changed. Anyway, the tour ended [in early November] and then I had, what would you call it, burnout syndrome until about the end of the year [laughs].
Aiko: But we were busy at the year-end [because they did many shows].
Ishizaka: Yeah, the year-end was pretty hectic.
Aiko: I thought I would die…
Ishizaka: But once the New Year began, I started thinking, ‘I better start writing some songs again’. And little by little, we’ve been recording demos. And, that brings us to now.
Japan Live: How many demos are you working on?
Ishizaka: We have plans to record about ten songs.
Japan Live: And you are working on those little by little?
Ishizaka: Little by little, yes. We’re still at an early stage, and only have fragments of songs, and we need to flesh those out. What we’re doing now is making demo tapes at the same time we’re writing music.
Aiko: I think that the part that is the main pillar for our songs is the melody. I really like songs where you can hum the whole thing, and I think that [making a melody] with one guitar and voice at this stage is extremely important. It’s like, if our songs have a strong foundation [in the form of a good melody], you can pile anything else on top and it would still be okay.
Japan Live: It’s Ishizaka-san who writes the music for advantage Lucy, right? How do you come up with the music? Does it come to you when you are walking around, for example?
Ishizaka: That happens too, and also when I’m casually playing the guitar. Recently, Aiko has been writing a fair amount of music too. And, when I have an image but the melody doesn’t come to me, when I tell Aiko about it, she’s often able to come up with specific melodies.
Aiko: But I don’t like my melodies that much, including their rhythm, and I like it better for some reason when I give the melody to Ishizaka-san and have him sing it in his own way.
Japan Live: So it’s a joint effort.
Aiko: Yes, a joint effort.
Ishizaka: Yes. It’s like Paul and John. And Mick and Keith.
Aiko: We need to make sure we don’t fight [laughs].
Ishizaka: Or maybe we’re more like Morrissey and Marr.
Aiko: That’s not good! We would fight once and then never get back together again.
Japan Live: When the melodies are done to a certain extent, Aiko then writes the lyrics?
Aiko: Yes. Although, recently, I try to write the big theme of the lyrics the moment the melody is created. And then, when the music is all done, I try to put together [the lyrics].
Japan Live: Why do you do it like that?
Aiko: It’s because if I wait too long, the music develops a personality of its own, and I have trouble infusing it with my own emotion. I really consider the first moment when I hear a song important. When I didn’t [come up with a theme for the song right away], I had some songs in Echo Park where I couldn’t write any lyrics for around two years, or others where I re-wrote the lyrics many times because they just didn’t feel right.
Ishizaka: There were some songs where the working title changed many times.
Aiko: Or others that started out as a song in English, but ended up being one in Japanese. When I listen to songs [that Ishizaka writes] for the first time, it’s always a pleasant shock. But when too much time passes after that initial shock, I start thinking, ‘what was that thing I felt?’
Japan Live: So the initial shock is an important thing for you.
Aiko: Yes. I think the initial feeling is a true thing. So, rather than trying to write lyrics about things I usually think about, what ends up becoming my lyrics are things that were sleeping inside me until I listened to Ishizaka-san’s music.
Japan Live: So you don’t really have specific topics that you want to make into lyrics?
Aiko: Not really. Though I’m not sure it’s a good thing that I don’t.
Ishizaka: Couldn’t you at least keep a notebook of ideas [for lyrics]?
Aiko: Well, I do have some ideas, but I don’t always write them down.
Ishizaka: You don’t have a notebook of ideas, but you do keep a dream diary.
Aiko: Oh, yes, this year I started keeping a dream diary. It’s interesting.
Ishizaka: And didn’t you used to keep a diary that you wouldn’t show anyone?
Aiko: Yeah, I did. That was around 2000, when I was really down, and troubled about things. Rather than a diary where I talk about what happens from day to day, it’s one where I pour out my troubled emotions. So, I myself don’t want to read it again now.
Ishizaka: I see. By writing it down you were sorting things out inside.
Aiko: Right, that’s how it worked. But I was only writing in it at one point in time. It was sometime during the four years before Echo Park came out.
Japan Live: Does your dream diary help you come up with song lyrics?
Aiko: I want it to. But I keep on having weird dreams…
Ishizaka: She has a lot of strange dreams that would never work as lyrics. We were talking today about her latest dream, and it had to do with her being asked to act in a battle scene in a Hollywood movie. And she was given about three lines to memorize, and her partner was the chimpanzee Pan-kun [a chimp that often appears on Japanese television].
Aiko: Yes, it was a movie, but one in which the filming was done non-stop. I was asked to act in it, and I was given two or three lines, and they said here’s your partner, which was a chimpanzee. I was a doctor, and lots of patients were being carried in and I had to examine them. So, I would examine one patient and say something like, ‘this person’s left arm is broken’, and then Pan-kun would write down in his notepad, ‘the patient’s left arm is broken’ [laughs].
Ishizaka: There’s no way that could be turned into lyrics!
Japan Live: It’s very surreal.
Aiko: Yes, lots of weird dreams.
Ishizaka: I mean, a chimpanzee as a doctor’s assistant?!
Japan Live: When and where do you write lyrics? Do you write them at night?
Aiko: When I’m putting the final touches on lyrics I usually go to a family restaurant near my place late at night and work on them until morning. Also, in the bath. I love to take baths, and I’m in the bath for about two hours, and I go in with a pencil and a piece of paper and write lyrics in a relaxed mood. And there’s also a traffic intersection where lyrics often come to me.
Ishizaka: Really?
Aiko: Yes, I told you that before. The intersection of Kan-7 and Koshu Kaido. When I cross the sidewalk there, something comes down to me. It’s on my way home from Ishizaka-san’s house. I got into an accident there too.
Ishizaka: That’s right. You’ve been in a car accident there, and you’ve also witnessed an accident there.
Aiko: It’s a place where things happen for me.
Japan Live: So I guess it’s a dangerous intersection?
Aiko: Very dangerous. There are lots of trucks, and everyone is speeding.
Japan Live: And you get ideas for lyrics there.
Aiko: Yes, I do.
Japan Live: Has it always been the case that you think up lyrics while you are doing something, for example, back in the days when you worked on the albums Fanfare and Station?
Aiko: Yes, oftentimes I’m doing something, like riding my bicycle or taking a bath, rather than sitting at a desk trying specifically to think up lyrics.
Ishizaka: She’s basically not the type of person who can just sit down somewhere and be told to write lyrics and be able to write them.
Japan Live: How about yourself, when you write music? Are you usually doing something else when ideas come to you?
Ishizaka: I used to find it easier to come up with ideas for music when I was doing something else, but I’m the opposite of Aiko, in that I don’t do things unless there’s a deadline. I write music more easily when I have to just sit down and do it.
Japan Live: “Echo Park” is a name of a guitar effect pedal, right? Why did you choose that as an album title?
Aiko: We were looking for a title for the album, which is something that we have trouble with every time, and in particular, this time, it had been four years, so we weren’t looking for a specific noun [for the album title] but some expression that would have broad meaning. The songs too, there were older songs and also songs we’d finished recently, the album covered many years’ worth of work. And the lyrics were about both the future and the past, and covered a lot of territory. So I was thinking, ‘is there anything that would work’, and I went to practice and looked down and next to Ishizaka-san I saw an effect pedal called Echo Park. I thought, ‘that’s great!’ That fits the image I have exactly, and the image of a park goes well with our music too.
Ishizaka: Personally, the image I have is of eleven songs sitting together at a park. They are sitting in a circle, facing each other, and each is expressing its feelings. And those are echoing in this park.
Aiko: Hey, that’s nice!
Ishizaka: That’s the image I’ve had all along. Lots of different feelings, four years’ worth of them, are echoing together. What a profound title, isn’t it?! But you know, in the future I think we should come up with an album title first, and work on the album based on that.
Aiko: I think that would be good too.
Ishizaka: But [the album] we are working on now isn’t like that. As usual, we’re giving it our all on each of the songs, one at a time.
Japan Live: How do you think Echo Park is different from advantage Lucy albums that came out before it, for example in terms of the music, the lyrics, the image and so on?
Aiko: Music-wise I think it’s close to what we did in the early period.
Ishizaka: The album wasn’t produced [by a major record label] so it has a similar feel to when we started as an indie band. We’re recording and releasing music exactly the way we like. When we were at Toshiba [EMI], things weren’t like that, whereas in the beginning we released our own music. I think that’s the difference.
Japan Live: Because four years had passed since the last album, I assume there was a lot of stuff that you wanted to put into Echo Park.
Ishizaka: Yes, and there were lots of songs that didn’t make the final cut. Although maybe we should have put those into the album. You know, the albums I’ve listened to since I was a child can all fit into 40-minute tapes, and so that’s the image I have of an album. When I listen to others’ work, if it’s close to 70 minutes, I feel myself losing my concentration. I feel that 45 minutes are about the limit for keeping the same sort of atmosphere in one album. Though, having said that, Echo Park is a little longer than that. Anyway, I personally want to change things from the next album. Maybe, for example, I can make the album 70 minutes rather than 45 minutes, and make it my challenge to not bore the listeners. Though, actually, that might be a pointless challenge…
Japan Live: Maybe you can make a double album?
Ishizaka: Yes, that might work. I want to do something unusual.
“Mune-Kyun”
During the interview the two used a Japanese expression, ‘mune-kyun’, which I had trouble translating because I couldn’t think of an equivalent English expression. But it was an important concept so I decided to keep it in Japanese. It means something like the way it feels when you see someone you have a crush on, across the street.
Aiko: Our standard for whether to put a song in the album is whether it’s mune-kyun or not mune-kyun. We have many songs that aren’t mune-kyun, but are extremely good.
Ishizaka: OK, so let’s put in songs that aren’t mune-kyun. Like, really cool songs.
Aiko: Or very dark songs. There are many songs where I think, ‘if a super-cool jazz vocalist sang this, it would be an incredibly good song.’
Japan Live: How would you define ‘mune-kyun’?
Ishizaka: ‘Mune-kyun’ is, probably, like a teenage movie. An American one.
Aiko: When the members of the band got together for the very first time, what brought us together was an ad in a magazine seeking a guitarist and a vocalist who like the Cardigans, and what else was it?
Ishizaka: U.K. and U.S. indies.
Aiko: Yes, and at the end, the ad said ‘I love mune-kyun’. And that part puzzled me, because not many people say ‘mune-kyun’ anymore, but when I met everyone and listened to their music, I knew where they were coming from.
Japan Live: It was Fukumura-kun who placed the notice in the magazine, right?
Aiko: Yes. Fukumura-kun. [Takayuki Fukumara, the guitarist who founded advantage Lucy.]
Japan Live: And ‘mune-kyun’ has remained a condition for whether to include a song in albums?
Aiko: Yes, it’s a condition.
Japan Live: How about a song like “Shiosai” [in Echo Park]? Is that ‘mune-kyun’?
Aiko: Yes, that’s ‘mune-kyun’.
Ishizaka: Is it ‘mune-kyun’?
Aiko: Don’t you think? Though it’s a more painful one. There’s a variety of ‘mune-kyun’, and that song might belong more in a category of sadness and pain.
Japan Live: Echo Park starts out in an upbeat way, while the middle part is mellower, and it closes with songs that work well as a finale. Did you intentionally structure the album in that way?
Aiko: I definitely wanted to have “Glider” as the first song and “Spur Line” as the second song, and then Ishizaka-san said why don’t we make “Anderson” the third song and keep it super-lively.
Ishizaka: Right, and that made it three lively songs in a row. And when “Anderson” ended, we thought, ‘ok, that’s enough’, and put in “Akai Natsu” [a quiet ballad]. I wonder what we’re trying to express with the order of the songs. Maybe an atmosphere.
Aiko: But, you know, we have trouble every time with the order of songs in albums, because we have many different kinds of songs. If it were two years ago, we might have made “Shiosai” the first song.
Ishizaka: Yeah, you were saying you wanted to make that the first song.
Japan Live: That would have given the album a very different feel.
Aiko: Yes, very different!
The four years that led up to the release of Echo Park were a turbulent period for advantage Lucy. They had left the major label Toshiba EMI to form their own independent label, Solaris Records. But during that period drummer Kaname Banba went on a long break from the band for medical reasons, and in the end, quit. Then in November 2003, Takayuki Fukumura, the band’s founding member and former guitarist, passed away of heart disease, only 28 years old.
Japan Live: What were those four years that it took you to finish the album like?
Aiko: I was constantly troubled about things.
Ishizaka: About what?
Aiko: What was I troubled about…? The biggest thing was, the question of what I would be able to express [through music]. People around me all said you need to just continue producing things, and I agreed with what they said, but I wasn’t deciding myself which direction I wanted to go, and I couldn’t come up with answers. And in that kind of environment, I was able to make music, but I felt a lot of resistance toward releasing it. And I had trouble coming up with lyrics. What were you doing during that time?
Ishizaka: Uh, I’ve forgotten. What was I doing? But in any case, it was good that Echo Park came out.
Aiko: Yes. But if there wasn’t that four-year blank period, we probably wouldn’t have been able to make that album. During that period, there were the matters of Banba-san and Fukumura-kun, and in the end those two things pushed us to walk down our own path.
Ishizaka: You’re right. It was hard to sort things out emotionally after those two incidents.
Aiko: Yes.
Ishizaka: We needed time.
Japan Live: During those four years, did you ever think about taking some time off from advantage Lucy?
Ishizaka: I never did, no.
Aiko: No, I didn’t want to take a break. I wanted to continue with it. But I was very stressed out, so, for example, I kept a secret diary [laughs].
Japan Live: But you continued to do shows during those four years.
Aiko: Yes. And we met Sotomura-san. [Kimitoshi Sotomura, drummer of the band Sherbets, who also now plays drums for advantage Lucy.]
Japan Live: Echo Park contains many songs about the passage of time, and about loss and discoveries.
Ishizaka: You are right.
Aiko: That’s something that couldn’t be avoided. We needed to have those things in our lyrics. But because we were able to make those lyrics and songs, the next road opened up for us.
Next Album
Japan Live: Will your next album go in a different direction than previous albums?
Ishizaka: Yes, we’ve been thinking about that. We talk about this as we make songs. If a song flows in a certain way, we can continue with that flow until the end, or we can suddenly change directions. Until now we’ve been making relatively straightforward songs, but we sometimes think maybe we can make songs in a slightly different way, or we can try things that advantage Lucy would have never done before.
Japan Live: So, for example, you might make a song whose mood changes in the middle?
Ishizaka: Yes. We haven’t really done songs like that before.
Aiko: Even though we like songs like that.
Ishizaka: But we’re not trying to be too brainy either.
Aiko: I think it’s just that we’re able to cover more ground. We’re doing things on our own and we feel freedom.
Japan Live: I assume you’ve just started on your new album, but in what ways do you think it will be different from Echo Park? Do you have any goals?
Ishizaka: I think it will be an album that is very free, emotionally.
Aiko: Yes, because now there isn’t anything that is getting in our way.
Ishizaka: With Echo Park, we looked back, at a time when we needed to look back. We really needed to review things. But because we’ve finished that, we’re free emotionally. And that makes us want to try things that we haven’t done before.
Japan Live: Have you found new musical influences recently?
Ishizaka: One thing that opened up my mind is Cat Powers’ new album. What was it called? Oh yes, The Greatest. That’s a free-sounding album.
Aiko: It’s good.
Ishizaka: But Cat Powers still hasn’t strayed from her roots. The way she is relaxed, the way she expresses her emotions so freely. She’s influenced me, though our music is different from hers. But it’s good stuff.
Japan Live: Advantage Lucy started out as a band of people who liked New Wave and Swedish pop. Have your influences changed since then? Were there any particular artists you listened to a lot when making Echo Park?
Ishizaka: Well, this is something I heard from someone, but when you start out, you study under a teacher, as an apprentice. And, eventually, you gain independence, but at that point you are still influenced by your teacher’s skills, and you haven’t established your own. But when you break through that, you finally become someone. In the case of advantage Lucy, bands like the Cardigans and the Smiths were our teachers, but now we want to take the next step. Advantage Lucy started out influenced by them, but now we are trying to break through that shell. And, then, I think there will really be a genuine band called advantage Lucy. So, in that sense, while of course listening to others’ music influences us, an even bigger thing for us now are things like musicians’ attitude. That influences us more. Cat Powers is like that, and so is a percussionist named Tomo Yamaguchi. He’s someone with real personality, he makes his own percussion instruments. He’s a session musician, and appeared on TV with UA, on a kid’s program. And because he’s so straight and modest when it comes to music, he’s able to express what he feels very powerfully. People like him have been influencing me. I mean, there’s a Lucy in the minds of others, and there’s our own Lucy, right?
Ishizaka: Well, I want Lucy to satisfy people’s expectations. But as artists, we might be trying to take our own Lucy in a direction that is contrary to people’s expectations. But, I really like our fans, and so I wonder if we’re doing the right thing, but then when I meet artists who are exceptional, they give me power. In Aiko’s case, she likes art, and goes to museums a lot.
Aiko: Yes, we went together to this exhibition of art by Olafur Elisson that looked at light as a theme, and it was great. When I see things like that, I get the desire to create music that would go well with such art.
Ishizaka: At the exhibition of light there was this interesting room that was all orange light, and when you go inside the room everyone appears black and white.
Aiko: It’s just an orange-colored, square room, but when you go in, you turn black and white.
Ishizaka: Right, it’s very interesting. And, the Aiko I’m looking at now turns black and white, and looks like someone from the past. This is art about how I respond when I see Aiko like that: it makes me think things like, here is this person that I’m in a band with, and I’m always making her worry, but I better treat her with more care…
Aiko: [Laughs] What?
Ishizaka: I’m saying that’s an example of how that sort of art makes you feel. It’s a simple thing, but by making you look at things in a different way, it creates something interesting. It gives me hints on how, when making our own music, maybe if we try this or that it might be interesting.
Japan Live: Do you think people won’t accept it if you started making music that is contrary to their expectations of what Lucy’s music should be like?
Ishizaka: I actually think, no, people won’t be turned off. I mean, we’ve always given it our all and have always been completely satisfied about our work, and have lots of confidence, but if we become less focused on entertainment and really showed who we are, I think people who truly like our stuff would be impressed. We’ll be able to betray people’s expectations in a good way.
Aiko: But you know, we’re making some good songs.
Ishizaka: Yeah, they’re pretty good. I’ve been saying a lot of stuff, and earlier I was saying that we would be moving away from our teachers. One thing I’ve wanted to do is to focus on making three-minute pop songs. But…that’s what the Smiths were about [laughs]! So, I guess in some ways we are moving away from them, and in other ways we aren’t, but in any case our songs were getting a little long recently.
Aiko: So we’re aiming for three minutes. Though one song is already longer than that…
Ishizaka: Well, I think that song is fine like that. But if we think, ‘this song should be three minutes’, we’ll cut as many of the parts as needed, and will really tighten it.
Japan Live: You said before that this year you are aiming to release two albums.
Ishizaka: Yes, two.
Aiko: We will work on two. But can we release two?
Ishizaka: Of course we can! If we don’t work with that mindset, we can’t release two. There’s no more ‘four year blank period’ for me.
Aiko: No, of course not. Of course we will release one album this year, but there’s one other theme we are thinking about for an album, and do you think we will be able to release it this year too? Will we make it?
Ishizaka: Well, probably not.
Aiko: But we will start making it this year, probably.
Japan Live: Why are you thinking about making two albums? Will the two be very different?
Ishizaka: Well, I like light bulbs, and I told Aiko I want to make a mini-album with light as a theme.
Aiko: And I really like things like that, so I thought we should make that one theme in our shows, and choose the right venues, and make it into something where art and music unite. But if we do that as part of our usual solo show, we will want to do our usual upbeat songs too, and the audience will also be expecting those songs, and then the atmosphere wouldn’t be right. So we thought it would be best to divide the shows into two types, and if we were going to do that, we felt it would be clearer if we made two albums too.
Japan Live: So one of the albums will have that as a theme?
Aiko: Yes, it might become a little experimental.
Japan: You’ve been doing shows at a lot of different, interesting places recently.
Aiko: Yes. We haven’t done many shows at normal live houses recently, proportionately speaking.
Ishizaka: Yes, but we’ve been doing mostly acoustic sets these past two or three months.
Aiko: Acoustic sets are good because they require a lot of focus. You know, there are old buildings across the country, I’d like to visit them and do (acoustic) shows in them.
Japan Live: A national old building tour?
Aiko: That’s right. I’d like to. (The show we did) at a temple was good too. It was in a big space with a floor of tatami mats, and behind us was a shiny altar, and everyone was sitting on the floor watching the show.
Japan Live: Where was that show?
Ishizaka: In Hiroshima. The sake was delicious there. The sweet sake too, it was very delicious.
Aiko: It’s because they make it there.
Japan Live: By doing shows in new types of locations where you’ve never played before, are you trying to show the audience new things too?
Ishizaka: That’s what we want to do with the other album, while with the album that will be the sequel to Echo Park—well, not really a sequel—its extension—well, not an extension either...
Aiko: Standard Lucy?
Ishizaka: Standard? I don’t know if that’s the right word either. Maybe, the main one.
Japan Live: Will that main album come out first?
Ishizaka: Yeah, we will need to release that one first. We’re going to be busy from now on.
Playing Abroad
Japan Live: You’ve already been to Seoul twice, will you be playing abroad more?
Ishizaka: Yes, we will continue to go abroad. We want to do a lot abroad.
Japan Live: You might be going to Taiwan around May?
Aiko: Maybe. But it’s still undecided. We will be going to Korea in April though.
Ishizaka: We will go to Niigata then too. And we want to go to the U.S. and Europe.
Japan Live: I get e-mails from Lucy fans reading my website who are from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia…
Ishizaka: Indonesia! Wow.
Japan: And the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Spain.
Aiko: That makes us happy.
Ishizaka: The Internet has made me think, since I was born on earth I want to go to all sorts of places while I’m alive. I don’t want to die without having seen the Pyramids. You know?
Aiko: That’s right.
Ishizaka: Or, is it really okay to die without having seen the Himalayas? Though, I can go on endlessly like that.
Japan Live: Do you have any specific plans yet to play abroad?
Aiko: No, nothing yet.
Japan Live: Where do you want to go most?
Aiko: On tour, right?
Ishizaka: The Maldives [laughs]? That wouldn’t be a tour, it would be just travel.
Aiko: If on tour, England, for one.
Ishizaka: Yeah, Europe. And the U.S. too. Because we’ve been influenced by music from the U.S., England, and Spain and France too. I want to go to Manchester and Glasgow. And San Francisco and LA. I’ve only been to the East Coast of the U.S., Washington and New York.
Japan Live: The West Coast is nice and warm.
Ishizaka: Yes, and Aiko looks every day at the Panda Cam of the San Diego Zoo.
Aiko: Every day.
Ishizaka: It broadcasts Internet images of pandas, pandas sleeping, pandas eating bamboo…
Aiko: And being fed milk. It’s incredible.
Japan Live: Well, you should definitely go to the West Coast.
Ishizaka: If any promoters are reading this, please invite us [laughs]! We won’t ask for much.
Japan Live: Do you have anything you want to say to your overseas fans?
Ishizaka: Thanks so much for supporting a band like us, from an island nation like ours. We want go to your town some day. Please call for us with a big voice.
Aiko: It makes me so happy that people like you from a distant land say you like us. I want to meet you and shake your hand.
Posted by Ken M - Japan Live at 4:57 AM
putra raditio said...
banzai advantage lucy!!
Mothercoat Video
Two New Bands At The Grapefruit Moon
Kitchen Gorilla's First "One Man"
Help! Planning Band Tour
Little Lounge Little Twinkle; Three Berry Icecream...
Advantage Lucy & The Arrival Of Spring
3 * 3 * 3 Girl Singers (Tornado Tatsumaki)
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The History of Jazz in Australia
Australian Jazz Archives
Jazz Concerts & Festivals
Australian Jazz Convention
Original Tunes Competition
Overseas Guest Artists
Working Bands and Vocalists
Honours in Jazz
Australian Jazz Bands
The Radio Pioneers of Australian Jazz
Admin July 7, 2018 0 Comments
Following the introduction of news radio in Australia in 1923 (via 2BL and 2FC) live dance music became an added on-air attraction. Imported and local records were broadcast frequently to a large audience, our professional orchestras introduced the latest renditions of US and English popular music using imported arrangements and the Australian sheet music publishing industry flourished.
Hugh Reskymer
Hugh Reskymer [Kym] Bonython AC AO:
(b. Adelaide SA 15 September 1920 — d. North Adelaide SA 19 March 2011) drums/broadcaster/concert promoter.
Kym, from a wealthy Adelaide Establishment family, was introduced to jazz by listening to his brother Jack’s records. He learned to play drums and presented a regular jazz programme on ABC 5CL from 1938 until joining the RAAF as a pilot in March 1940. He served in Northern Australia, the East Indies, and New Guinea and awarded an AFC and DFC for his distinguished war service. On his return to civilian life, Kym unsuccessfully auditioned as an ABC announcer then, in 1946, recommenced his ABC jazz programme (renamed Tempo Of The Times ) that ran weekly nationally until 1975. He later became a guest jazz presenter on radio 5UV and had a weekly jazz program on 5MBS FM for five years from 2000 to 2005.
Kym recorded with the Southern Jazz Group in 1949, worked and broadcast with Bruce Gray’s jazz band during 1949-1950, opened a record shop in the city and was the Adelaide representative for Melbourne-based concert promoters Aztec Services in the early 1950s booking venues and hotels for theatrical artists. In November 1956 he brought the Red Norvo Trio and Helen Humes (already in Australia for Sydney promoter Bill McColl concerts) to Adelaide. This influenced him to start his own entrepreneurial business and from 1960 to 1975 imported jazz artists and bands including Dave Brubeck, Eddie Condon, Ray Charles, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stars of Newport, Kid Thomas, Earl Hines, Wild Bill Davison, Errol Garner, Oscar Peterson and Turk Murphy. He also presented some non-jazz performers including Peter Nero and Chuck Berry.
Over the years the experience proved to be an expensive venture. In addition to jazz promotion Kym was a dairy farmer and breeder, owned racing cars, motorbikes and boats, was a speedway and speedboat champion, opened art galleries in Adelaide and Sydney, published five books on modern Australian painting and held executive positions on the Adelaide Council, Adelaide Festival of Arts and the 1986 South Australian Jubilee 150 Board. His autobiography Ladies’ Legs & Lemonade, detailing an extraordinary life, was published in 1979.
Eric Charles Child
Eric Charles Child OAM:
(b. London, England 27 April 1910 – d. Sydney NSW 23 April 1995) broadcaster/drums.
Eric grew up with jazz in London, heard the visiting Plantation Orchestra in 1927 and Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway in the 1930s. He played drums in local dance bands and presented irregular jazz programmes on London BBC from 1936. Rejected by the Royal Navy, Eric volunteered as a radio officer with the Merchant Navy in mid-1939, served in the Atlantic and was torpedoed in the Pacific en route to Australia in 1942.
He joined the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve in October 1942, saw active service in the Pacific and on discharge in April 1945 stayed on in Sydney then returned to radio in 1946 at 2GZ in Orange NSW where he initiated a regular jazz programme. He married, moved to Brisbane to join the ABC as a staff announcer in 1948 where he occasionally hosted early broadcasts of the Thursday Night Swing Club. In March 1952 programme controller Clem Semmler (qv.), aware of Eric’s vast record collection (rescued from post-war London) gave him the new Saturday morning jazz spot on the national network presenting Rhythm Unlimited.
Retitled several times it eventually became World of Jazz and ran for over 30 years until February 1983. Eric had moved to Sydney in 1957 and, in addition to normal on-air radio duties, presented other regular jazz programmes including, Workshop For Jazz, Jazzography, The Late Night Show and Discourse on Jazz. Following his official retirement in 1975, he continued to present jazz on the ABC and prepared and pre-recorded in-flight jazz tapes for Qantas. Loss of sight forced him to sign off in January 1991. Eric was a much loved and dedicated member of the Australian jazz community.
Clement William Semmler
Clement [Clem] William Semmler AM, OBE
(b. Eastern Well SA 23 December 1914 — d. Bowral NSW 10 August 2000) broadcaster/radio executive/writer.
Clem discovered jazz at Adelaide University in 1932, met Dave Dallwitz at the Adelaide Teachers’ College in 1936, Kym Bonython in 1938, started collecting records and joined the Adelaide Jazz Lovers’ Society in 1939. Using his teaching association with the local ABC he proposed and was given a jazz programme, Drop Me Off At Harlem. It, along with those presented by Ron Wills in Sydney in Sydney and Ellis Blain in Melbourne, was one of the first ABC jazz programmes and ran until December 1943.
He had joined the ABC as an education officer in April 1942, arranged broadcasts for Adelaide bands and wrote jazz articles for Tempo. He was transferred to Sydney NSW in 1946 as federal script editor for educational broadcasting, as well as acting director of light entertainment, and in 1949 initiated The Thursday Night Swing Club (later to become the ABC Jazz Club). It alternated records with live jazz, was relayed nationally and, compèred variously by Ellis Blain, Ron Wills, Alan Saunders, Eric Child, Wally Norman, Eric Dunn and Ian Neil among others, ran for nineteen years. Clem attended the First Jazz Convention in Melbourne in December 1946 and organized recordings for later broadcast.
He also initiated the ABC sponsored Graeme Bell Australian Jazz Band eastern Australian tour in 1948 following the band’s triumphant return from Britain and Europe. It was Clem, who recognized Eric Child’s talent in March 1952 and allocated him the Saturday morning jazz spot on the national network presenting Rhythm Unlimited. What eventually became Eric Child’s World of Jazz ran for over 30 years until 1983. Clem was in a unique position at the right time and used the situation to give Australian jazz its rightful place on air. It all came to an end in 1965 when Clem was removed as Program Head and promoted sideways.
From that time the amount of jazz on the ABC began to disappear and, as he recalls in several writings, “The 1950s and 1960s were the Golden Age Of ABC Jazz.” Clem MA and Doctor of Letters (D.Litt ) was a distinguished author of four books who maintained a keen and active interest in jazz all his life and sought it out on trips overseas. He was Assistant General Manager of the ABC from 1960 to 1964 and Deputy General Manager until 1976 and after 35 years, disenchanted with the new direction the ABC was taking, resigned and retired to Bowral in the Southern Highlands of NSW. It was a busy retirement that also saw him involved in the local community and jazz events held there.
Copyright Jazz In Australia 2018
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India hasn't quite slammed the door on Iran: US report
January 19, 2013 12:52 IST
http://www.rediff.com/news/report/india-has-not-quite-slammed-the-door-on-iran-us-report/20130119.htm
India [ Images ] is hesitant to implement all aspects of US and European Union sanctions against Iran, a Congressional report has said, attributing this to New Delhi's [ Images ] reliance on Tehran with regards to Afghanistan and the historic, cultural and economic ties between the two nations.
"India is implementing UN sanctions against Iran but its cultural, economic, and historic ties -- as well as its strategic need for access to Afghanistan -- have made India hesitant to adopt all aspects of US and EU sanctions on Iran," the independent and bipartisan Congressional Research Service said in its latest report on Iran.
"India first signalled greater support for sanctioning Iran in late 2012 when its central bank ceased using a Tehran-based regional body, the Asian Clearing Union, to handle transactions with Iran," said the report.
Apparently perceiving international sentiment for tightening sanctions on Iran, India has been reducing its dependence on Iranian oil, CRS said.
Since 2008, India has reduced its imports of Iranian oil by volume and as a percentage of India's total oil imports, to the point where, by the end of 2012, Iran was only supplying about 10 per cent of India's oil imports, down from over 16 per cent in 2008, it said.
"Despite requiring significant investment to switch over refineries that handle Iranian crude, Deputy Oil Minister R P N Singh told India's parliament on May 15, 2012, that India would cut Iranian imports by another 11 per cent from May 2012 until the end of India's fiscal year in March 2013," the CRS told US lawmakers on its latest report on Iran.
"The Obama [ Images ] Administration welcomed the pledge, and India received an exemption from P L 112-81 sanctions on June 11, 2012. Indian refiners have cut buys from Iran largely in line with the government's requests, although some months might show fluctuations as batches of oil shipments arrive. India's exemption was renewed on December 7, 2012," it noted.
The CRS said India appears to be distancing itself from participation in the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project.
India reportedly has been concerned about the security of the pipeline, the location at which the gas would be officially transferred to India, pricing of the gas, tariffs, and the source in Iran of the gas to be sold.
If Iran resolves its disputes with the international community, India may envision an alternative to the pipeline project as a means of tapping into Iran's vast gas resources.
"During high-level economic talks in early July 2010, Iranian and Indian officials reportedly raised the issue of constructing an underwater natural gas pipeline, which would avoid going through Pakistani territory. However, such a route would presumably be much more expensive to construct than would be an overland route," it said.
According to a table compiled by CRS, even as India has considerably reduced its import of oil from Iran from a high 320,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2011 to 280,000 bpd in 2012, it is the second largest importer of crude oil after China, which in 2012 imported 400,000 bpd.
CRS said the international sanctions has adversely affected Iran's economy to the point where key Iran leaders are considering the need for a nuclear compromise.
"Oil exports provide about 70 percent of Iran's government revenues and Iran's oil exports declined to about 1.25 million barrels by the end of 2012 -- a dramatic decline from the 2.5 million barrels per day Iran exported during 2011.
"The cause of the drop has been a European Union embargo on purchases of Iranian crude oil that took full effect on July 1, 2012 coupled with decisions by several other Iranian oil customers to substantially reduce purchases of Iranian oil in order to comply with a provision of the FY2012 National Defence Authorisation Act (P L 112-81). To date, 20 countries have been deemed in compliance," it said.
"The loss of hard currency revenues from oil -- coupled with the cut-off of Iran from the international banking system and the decline of Iran's foreign exchange reserves -- caused a collapse in the value of Iran's currency, the rial, in early October," CRS said.
That collapse prompted street demonstrations and, in response, Iran has tried to impose currency controls and arrested some illegal currency traders.
These steps have not restored public confidence in the regime's economic management -- inflation has soared, industrial production has fallen, and some of the more expensive medicines are reported to be in short supply, it said.
The CRS said sanctions may be slowing Iran's nuclear and missile programs by hampering Iran's ability to obtain some needed technology from foreign sources.
However, Department of Defence and other assessments indicate that sanctions have not stopped Iran from developing some new weaponry with indigenous skills.
"Iran is also judged not complying with UN requirements that it halt any weapons shipments outside its borders, particularly with regard to purported Iranian weapons shipments to help the embattled Assad government in Syria.
"And, international sanctions targeting the regime's human rights abuses do not appear to have altered Iran's repression of dissent or its efforts to monitor public use of the Internet," it said.
Jim Carey - How Wealthy People Laugh
IMF concerned over Pakistan’s falling reserves
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund expressed concern over Pakistan's falling exchange reserves on Friday, but stopped short of echoing analysts' warnings that it could face a new balance of payments crisis within months without a new loan package.
"There is still a balance of payments concern … the foreign exchange reserves in the central bank have declined," Jeffrey Franks, the regional adviser to the Fund on Pakistan told a news conference. "Foreign direct investment has fallen sharply but other capital inflows are also very weak."
Franks said that Pakistan has not sought a new loan programme. However, if it did, it would have to implement strict measures for achieving economic targets needed to qualify for a new IMF programme, DawnNews reported.
Pakistan's state bank currently has about $9 billion, enough to cover about two months' worth of imports, if cash deposits in private dollar accounts are not counted, Franks said.
In 2008, the country averted a balance of payments crisis by securing an $11 billion IMF loan package. The IMF suspended the programme in 2011 after economic and reform targets were missed. Some analysts have since warned about the prospect of a new balance of payments crisis. Pakistan owes the IMF just over $6.2 billion. It is due to repay $1.6 billion in the first six months of 2013, Franks said, a schedule that will strain reserves and may accelerate the slide of the rupee currency. The rupee currently stands at 98.6 to the dollar, a depreciation of about 8 per cent over the course of 2012.
"Those reserves are not yet at a critical level but it's important to address the policy – the underlying policy issue well before you get to the point where they become critical," said Franks.
But the current government has failed to enact the reforms needed to boost reserves and qualify for a new IMF programme.
Broaden tax base, slash subsidies
The Fund wants Pakistan to broaden its narrow tax base and slash subsidies it says mainly benefit the wealthy.
Franks said further funding was contingent on a consensus being reached by political parties on comprehensive, permanent financial reforms and firm implementation of them.
Analysts think the IMF is unlikely to cut a deal soon as the government will probably lack the political will to take bold measures ahead of elections due this spring.
"The earliest the IMF can step in is in June," said Sakib Sherani, a former finance ministry official who now heads the Macro Economic Insights research institute. "It's a matter of a few months before there is a crisis."
Mohammad Khan, a former commerce minister, said the looming election virtually ruled out any deal soon with the Fund.
"This is a government that has been irresponsible for five years, and now they are going to spend extravagantly to win these elections," he said.
Most Pakistanis are already angry over the handling of the economy. Demonstrators cited a lack of jobs, high food prices and power cuts in mass protests this week led by cleric Tahirul Qadri demanding the government's resignation.
The IMF predicts growth will touch 3.5 per cent in the fiscal year beginning in July against last year's figure of 3.7 per cent and slow to three per cent the following year – less than half the rate needed to absorb the population entering the workforce.
Growth is hindered by chronic power cuts that have hurt key industries like textiles. Mismanagement of the power sector costs an estimated $1.5 billion ever year, according to the Pakistan Planning Commission.
The IMF estimates that inflation for this fiscal year will reach around 9.5 per cent against 10.8 per cent last year, Franks said. Wages have not kept up, causing widespread anger. Franks said the Fund wanted Pakistan to reduce its fiscal deficit – which could exceed seven per cent this year – by closing tax loopholes and cutting expenditure like energy subsidies.
"It's not just the lack of energy, it's the unreliability, the unpredictability," said Franks. "That's what's holding your growth back more than any other thing."
http://dawn.com/2013/01/18/imf-concerned-over-pakistans-falling-reserves/
IMF rules out writing off or restructuring heavily in debt Pakistan's loans
By ANI |
Islamabad, Jan. 19 (ANI): The International Monetory Fund (IMF) cannot write off or restructure Pakistan's loan, the head of the organization has said.
While speaking to the media, Jeffrey Frank further said that Pakistan has not formally sought a new program.
He added that that if they did want to seek a new program then their economic strategy must radically change as losses of government institutions had drowned the current economic strategy, the News International reports.
Frank said that Pakistan was in need of billions of dollars in revenue in expenditure as it was suffering from a current deficit of 16.24 trillion, adding that Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves had diminished.
The IMF mission chief also said that taxation on agriculture, retail and sales should be made more effective and tax relaxations and concessions should be done away with, the report said.
He further said that Pakistan's major issue is power deficiency and power theft was behind the increasing deficit, it added. (ANI)
http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/imf-rules-writing-off-restructuring-061319372.html
Doomsday scenario: IMF paints a gloomy picture of Pakistan's economy
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) may sign a loan programme with the caretaker government if all major political parties agree on a broader set of action plans. However, before that is possible, Pakistan will have to take some tough prior actions, says the Fund's representative for the region.
In a luncheon meeting with a group of journalists here on Friday, Jeffrey Franks, adviser to the IMF for the Middle East and Central Asia, spoke at length on the grave economic situation the country is faced with. He also shed light on the Fund's ongoing dialogue with the government, aimed at building consensus on a set of conditions needed to be fulfilled before and during the course of a fresh bailout programme. Franks was accompanied by the new IMF Country Representative Mansoor Dailami.
"The current polices will have to be readjusted in order [for Pakistan to become eligible] for an IMF programme. The IMF has discussed with the government what kind of policies would be necessary," said Franks.
The IMF's prescription to Pakistan includes a healthy measure of – not surprisingly – increasing taxes, cutting expenditures, withdrawing electricity subsidies and increasing interest rates to check inflation, which is expected to rebound soon and devalue the currency further.
"We have agreed with the government that the deficit eventually needs to come down to 3-3.5% of the GDP in three years, from the current level of over 7%," revealed Franks. "According to our one-month assessment, Pakistan's currency is overvalued by 5-10%. Modest depreciation might yield positive results for the economy," he added. "The monetary policy also needs to be calibrated to bring down inflation to between 5-7%."
He underscored the need for having "broadest and deepest possible political support for any new programme". Franks also sought support at the highest levels, besides taking provinces on board, before the government enters into a formal arrangement with the Fund. He said that if political parties agree on a broader reforms agenda, the IMF can be flexible on how Pakistan goes about achieving it.
"The decision whether or not we will enter into a programme with the interim government will be made by the IMF management: however, if there is very strong and broad political support, going beyond the interim government, it might be possible," Franks said, while responding to a question asking about the timing of the programme.
The IMF official observed that Pakistan's problems require long-term solutions, and that any new programme will not last less than three years.
Franks disclosed that, according to the IMF assessment, this year's budget deficit will remain around 7-7.5% of the GDP. In absolute terms, the IMF projects a Rs1.624 trillion deficit – a whopping Rs516 billion or 2.3% higher than government estimates. Besides the significant shortfall in revenues, Pakistan also may not be able to complete the auction of the 3G telecom spectrum, causing another shortfall of around Rs75 billion.
To add icing to that unsavoury cake, the economy will grow just 3.5% this year according to the IMF's estimates, as against official projections of 4.3%.
"The number one bottleneck to growth is the energy sector. The number two bottleneck is the energy sector, and the number three bottleneck is also probably the energy sector," said Franks.
"Private sector credit growth is very weak; large scale manufacturing is positive, but very low; and we don't see robust export growth," observed Franks. He further said that while declining inflation is a good indicator, it is also worrisome because domestic demand continues to remain weak. He also criticised the government's tax collection efforts, which he said are indicative of weaknesses in the economy.
Even though the IMF has projected a current account deficit of a low 0.7% of GDP, Franks warned that even this low level is dangerous due to drying foreign inflows. As a final blow, he also ruled out any restructuring of IMF loans.
He agreed that tough actions may cause a temporary drop in growth, but insisted that they were necessary for achieving macroeconomic stability.
Franks also hinted that the central bank should be made an independent part of plans for the new programme.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2013.
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http://tribune.com.pk/story/495916/doomsday-scenario-imf-paints-a-gloomy-picture-of-pakistans-economy/
Balochistan law and order: FC given ‘free hand’ to launch crackdown
By Our CorrespondentPublished: January 17, 2013
http://tribune.com.pk/story/495213/balochistan-law-and-order-fc-given-free-hand-to-launch-crackdown/
Decisions taken in the meeting include a ban on publicly displaying weapons across the province.
Balochistan Governor Zulfiqar Ali Magsi has decided to give police and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel ‘a free hand’ to crack down on elements responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in the province.
According to an official handout, the decision was taken in a high-level meeting held at the Governor House on Wednesday to solve issues plaguing Balochistan.
Decisions taken in the meeting include a ban on publicly displaying weapons across the province. All law enforcement agencies and provincial administration departments were directed to ensure compliance with the ban.
The governor also directed concerned quarters to compensate the family members of those who lost their lives or were injured as a result of violence in the province till January 31, 2013. He also announced a Rs10,000 stipend for rebels who decide to quit armed resistance in the province.
The meeting was attended by Lt Gen Mohammad Alam Katak, Balochistan Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad, FC Inspector General (IG) Maj Gen Ubaidullah Khan, Balochistan police IG Tariq Umar Khatab and provincial secretary of interior Akbar Hussain Durrani among other officials.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: On LOC Situation
By Kumar
IS our silent PM aware of the seriousness of the ground situation as it obtains on the LoC? In the past he was quick to express concerns when am Indian was arrested on suspicion of terrorism. He is pathetic and his body language even more worse. I am forced to use such strong language, because the government is filled with nincompoops. When the COAS is warning Pak of strong retaliatory action and exhorting his field commanders not to remain passive and meet fire with fire, this bloke who heads the Foreign Ministry talks of the amount of time invested in peace efforts with Pakistan. May I ask what is the rich dividend that this country has reaped through its investments? ZERO. All we got was Kargil, Parliament Attack, bomb blasts in major cities and Mumbai 26/11. What is this government and its ministers like the FM up to? The author must be reminded that our FM is an utter failure and so was his predecessor - remember Sharm el-Sheikh. So let us not give too much credit to the FM and his ministry.
It is true that our men and officers both in service and those who have been martyred and retired are a neglected lot. Full credit to you for highlighting it.
Wadhwani Foundation launchs video portal Entrepreneur Academy
We are pleased to announce the launch of our video portal, the Wadhwani FoundationEntrepreneur Academy powered by NEN. It features videos which include courses, interviews and how-tos for aspiring and growing entrepreneurs.
The course videos inform and throw insight on all aspects of the lifecycle of a venture - from the idea stage all the way to growth and exit stages. The how-to videos give step-by-step information on specific topics while the interviews with established entrepreneurs and experts are chockful with inspiration and learning for the discerning user.
As we gear up for the public launch of WF Entrepreneur Academy, we are glad to share the exclusive content with you and look forward to your feedback to help us to continue building a great learning platform.
Click here to go to the Entrepreneur Academy website and mail your feedback toeacademy@nenglobal.org . You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel for the latest videos here.
We are working towards making Entrepreneur Academy an awesome experience for you and aspiring entrepreneurs like you. We deeply appreciate your help in achieving this goal
Shri Modi inaugurates CCTV surveillance network of Surat police
January 18, 2013#Surat'Safe City Surat' project of Surat police
CM inaugurates CCTV camera surveillance network in Surat
Chief Minister:
"The project will show path to the nation in establishing reliable vigilance network for crime detection"
Rising above the PPP model, the project has become the best example of
four 'P' formula of 'People's Public Private Partnership'
Chief Minister Narendra Modi today dedicated to people closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera surveillance network – 'Safe City Surat' – of the Surat police. Inaugurating this unique public safety project based on public private partnership (PPP) model, the Chief Minister exuded faith that the project will show path to the nation in establishing reliable vigilance network for crime detection.
The project will be exemplary for other cities of Gujarat and will also infuse new vigor in the judicial system, he said.
The vigilance network covers over 200 km. radius of Surat city. About 104 CCTV cameras are installed at 26 strategic places. The Chief Minister went to the command and control centre of the project at the police commissioner's office and sought information on various aspects of the project. He said the CCTV cameras will prove to be a 'third eye' of Surat police.
The first-ever in India, this project has been equipped with the latest technology at the cost of Rs.10.50 crore.The Chief Minister congratulated the police for setting up the network which will be instrumental in crime check and traffic control. He also congratulated the police for adding one more 'P' to the PPP model and coming up with four 'P' formula of People's Public Private Partnership.
He said the project is the best example of convergence of human and technological capacities. Speaking about the crucial role of technology for the checking of crime the Chief Minister said, "Today when people with criminal mentality have started misusing latest technology, the good use of the same by police for the security of common men has become necessity."
The Chief Minister said that Gujarat is having 24 hour power supply and a well-planned optical fiber network, which has helped Surat in initiating such project. "Gujarat police force is the youngest in India in average age. The state government's approach is to recruit IT-trained youths in all cadres of police from constable to Police Inspector", he said.
He hoped the project will be proved effective in crime detection and in dropping the crime rate. He suggested that the project can also give additional benefits to the municipal corporation and to the judicial system.
Minister of State for Home Rajnibhai Patel said that during Mr.Modi's leadership the state is witnessing a safe and secure atmosphere, besides scaling new heights of growth. The state government is working hard for the safety and security of the citizens, he said.
Surat Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana said the Chief Minister was the motivational force behind this project. "The Surat city is prepared to meet any challenge", he said
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Ramanlal Vora, Forest and Environment Minister Ganapat Vasava, Minister of State for Water Supply Nanubhai Vanani, MPs C.R.Patil, Darshanaben Jardosh, Bharat Parmar, Mayor Rajendra Desai, MLAs Kishor Vankavala, Kishor Kanani, Praful Panseriya, Harsh Sanghavi, Mrs. Sangita Patil, Ranjit Gilitwala, Ajay Choksi, Janak Kachhadiya, Mukesh Patel, Raja Patel, Gujarat DGP Chitrangan Singh, Municipal Commissioner M.K.Das, District Collector Jayprakash Shivhare, industrialists, donors, and citizens in large number were present on the occasion.
India and Pakistan: Getting Along with the Peace Process
http://idsa.in/idsacomments/IndiaandPakistanGettingAlongwiththePeaceProcess_sspattanaik_180113?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Smruti S. Pattanaik
The incident of killing and mutilation of two soldiers of the Indian Army—and especially the beheading of one of them— by intruding Pakistani forces on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) has threatened to derail the India-Pakistan peace process. On the back of the public outcry over the incident, a usually soft-spoken Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issued a statement that there cannot be "business as usual". The government has decided to "pause" the implementation of the liberal visa regime on 'technical' grounds. Against this backdrop, the following questions come to mind: is India-Pakistan peace process sustainable? Can they be de-linked from the events on the ground, especially in Kashmir? Can Pakistan's fledging democracy be a partner in this long and tardy path of peace?
Scepticism about the longevity of bilateral dialogue has been a perennial feature of discourse on India-Pakistan relations ever since the two countries restarted the peace process in the aftermath of the ghastly Mumbai attack with the Indian government extending a hand of peace in spite of certain reservations expressed in the country regarding the future of the peace process.
The two countries have been observing a ceasefire along the LoC since 2003, although the number of ceasefire violations has increased over time. From the Pakistani side there has been a slow move towards increasing contact with India without at the same time insisting on the 'core issue'; in effect, Pakistan seemed to be adopting a holistic approach towards its relationship with India. Two reasons are self-evident for this new Pakistani approach. First, there appears to be a broad understanding among the political parties in Pakistan to stay engaged with India with the objective of reducing bilateral tensions. Second, there is a conscious effort not to over-emphasise India as a enemy, which inevitably empowers the Army and emboldens its position vis-à-vis the political forces in Pakistan.
For the past few months, Pakistan seemed to be balancing the interests of the political parties with the interest of the Army. While it may be difficult to segregate these two interests into water-tight compartments, nevertheless, a majority in the Army do strongly believe that India is an existential threat in spite of their recognition that the internal security threat remains the most critical challenge confronting Pakistan today.
This is not to deny that there are vested interest groups in Pakistan that have in the past tried to invent a link between non-resolution of the Kashmir issue and stability in Afghanistan. Even Zardari, perhaps at the behest of these forces, was seen to be raising the Kashmir issue at the United Nations. The attempt by Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jillani to meet the Hurriyat Conference leaders in Delhi in July 2012 was not only to assure these leaders that Pakistan has not abandoned their cause but also to send a signal to the Pakistani establishment that the government is conscious of the 'core interest' while pursuing the agenda of peace.
While the Pakistan Army was on board on Islamabad's decision to grant MFN status to India and broaden trade ties, it was clear that it was not in a position to oppose the decision at a time when its relationship with the United States had deteriorated over the Salala attack which killed 22 soldiers. Instead, it chose to oppose the government's policy through its militant protégée, i.e., Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC)—a conglomeration of radical militant groups—which completely opposed the decision to grant MFN status to India. This led to a delay in the signing of the liberalised visa regime and grant of MFN status to India by the beginning of 2013. Pakistan's flip-flop on the issue became obvious during Rehman Malik's India visit when he made outrageous remarks equating the Mumbai terrorist attack with the demolition of the Babri Masjid and linking Abu Jundal to Indian intelligence. This created quite an uproar in India questioning the future of the process of engagement.
Yet, the fact remains that both countries have too much at stake in the peace process. For India, it provides an opportunity to rise above the narrow security paradigm and establish durable relations with Pakistan. For Pakistan, it is a way out of the multiple crises it is beset with. The internal security situation has worsened over time threatening the stability of the state and the societal structure. In the year 2012, 6,211 people were killed in terrorist attacks. The Army has been under constant attack by TTP militants. The economic situation is declining very fast. At this juncture, one would imagine that better political and economic relations with India would serve Pakistan well. However, one does not see much change in the Army's security doctrine in spite of a realization in Pakistan that there is a need to 'redefine and redesign a new defence doctrine'.
The current spate of ceasefire violations seems to have been prompted by the desire in the Army to create an opportunity to internationalise the Kashmir issue. This was evident when Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar suggested a UN probe into the ceasefire violations, knowing fully well that India is allergic to any such suggestion. Zardari's speech in the UN earlier showcasing Kashmir as a symbol of the world body's failure needs to be seen as a reassertion of the pro-Kashmir lobby in the government's India policy in recent months.
In spite of the recent flare-up along the LoC, India must continue to engage Pakistan in dialogue especially at this moment when Pakistan's experiment with democracy seems to be unravelling in the face of constant badgering from the Supreme Court and the military's allegedly quiet intervention in politics through events like Qadri's long march. Keeping the existing political turmoil in Pakistan in mind, any upping up of the ante by India would strengthen the very forces that seek to spoil the process of engagement. This could have potentially disastrous consequences for the democratic forces in Pakistan.
It is important to engage the civilian government in Pakistan as it is in India's interest, in spite of the former's occasional baiting on behalf of the powerful Army. In order to keep the Army out of politics, India needs to invest in Pakistan's democratic constituency. The leaderships in both countries need to recognize that the peace process will face several hiccups and there will be continuous attempts to derail it. The move to de-escalate is a welcome development. Thus, even as it presses for action against the people responsible for beheading of Indian soldiers, India should take care not to disengage from the process of dialogue.
The Cleric in the Container
By HUMA YUSUF
Zohra Bensemra/Reuters Muhammad Tahir-ul Qadri addressed supporters from his container in Islamabad on Jan. 15.
LONDON — Between 25,000 and 50,000 people marched on Islamabad this week to demand the resignation of the government and electoral reforms. At the head of the movement is Muhammad Tahir-ul Qadri, a cleric who recently returned to Pakistan from Canada.
Qadri says he wants to ignite a "people's democratic revolution." Others say the protests are being orchestrated by a Pakistani security establishmentthat wants to weaken civilian authorities months ahead of a historic election.
But perhaps more than Qadri's calls, or the controversy over his intentions, it's his curious abode that may say more about Pakistan's prospects: Since Monday the cleric has been sounding the clarion from within the confines of a yellow shipping container parked in front of Parliament.
Qadri's container is bullet-proof and powered by an electric generator; it contains a heater, a fridge, a microwave oven, mattresses and a toilet. As onetweeter put it: "Wow!!! #TuQ's container is better than a normal middle-class family's house." What's more, Qadri can safely address his supporters for hours on end from within, thanks to a reinforced window.
These, and other, precautions — which are expected to cost the Pakistani government more than $2.5 million — are meant to protect Qadri from"credible" militant threats, but so far they've only served to shield him from a stray bullet fired by an antiterrorism squad.
Ah, the ironies of staying safe in Pakistan.
Growing up in Karachi, I was accustomed to seeing blue, orange and red containers stacked high along the roads leading to the city's port. But what were once symbols of the globalized economy and regional trade have become markers of Pakistan's deteriorating security situation.
Shipping containers, which have been used to transport NATO supplies through Pakistan to Afghanistan, now represent rocky U.S.-Pakistani relations. In 2011 and 2012, to protest the killing of Pakistani soldiers in American airstrikes, the Pakistani government blocked the passage of containers for seven months and threatened to only allow the resumption of shipping for exorbitant transit fees. The containers have also become a favorite target of militants who oppose Pakistan's cooperation with the United States in the fight against terrorism.
More routinely, the Pakistani police use shipping containers to try to keep suicide bombers at bay or block off buildings and control traffic during tense times. Last year, the authorities in Karachi requisitioned containers from shipping companies to create a protective barrier around President Asif Ali Zardari's residence in Karachi. These makeshift fortresses have bred resentment among locals by signaling the political elite's growing disconnect from — and fear of — the public.
And now, there is Qadri's refuge. While he kicks back in his big box, warm and secure, his supporters have to sleep on the cold, hard roads of Islamabad. One tweeter described the disparity like this:
http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/muhammad-tahir-ul-qadri-the-cleric-in-the-container/
Former CIA officer and Brookings Institution fellow Bruce Riedel explains the politics of Pakistan.
As protests escalate in Pakistan before the spring elections, former CIA officer and
Brookings Institution fellow Bruce Riedel offers a glimpse into the country's complex
political process.
The Fold/ The Washington Post.
Watch the Video : http://www.washingtonpost.com/video/thefold/former-cia-officer-explains-the-politics-of-pakistan/2013/01
First Pakistani military and it's ISI tried Mr. Imran Khan, the cricketer, to stage the drama for the military take over against Zardari's elected civilian Government, but when he failed, they have now imported this Cleric from Canada to do the job. They think they can fool the world by saying look, he is a moderate and is against Taliban and Al-Qaida, Bla Bla Bla, so that the west accept him, or they just to use him as a scare tactic to tell the west that look, if the green light is not given to the military for a coup, then these extremists will take over the country and get the nuclear weapons in their hand Bla Bla Bla.. In either case military is trying very hard to create situations that help them to bring down Zadari's Government and take over. All these explosions and suicide bombing that is happening in Pakistan are a part of this ISI game, to make Zardari's Government fail and look bad in the eyes of world as incompetent and to pave the way for another military coup. This is the first time that military have waited for too long to take over. They are getting very itchy and impatient with Zardari and the civilian rule. They do not want the elections to happen and another civilian Government can take place for another 4 more years... !!! : )
Beijing's Map Aggression Now and Then
BY CLAUD ARPI in IDR.
http://www.indiandefencereview.com/beijings-map-aggression-now-and-then/
Yesterday, Xinhua reported that China "has inked for the first time South China Sea islands on its new official maps in equal scale to that of the Chinese mainland."
The National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation (NASMG) announced that "the new vertical-format maps of China, published by Sinomaps Press, include more than 130 islands and islets in the South China Sea, most of which have not been featured on previous maps of China."
The Indian Prime Minister had still not realised that the Five Principles were a one-way road; but he was much too engrossed in his future role not only as the 'neutral' chairperson of the cease-fire commission for Indochina but also the self-appointed leader of the newly independent nations of Asia and Africa.
Zhou Beiyan, the editor of the new maps declared: "The old maps, which were in horizontal format, only featured bigger islands such as the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands. These were illustrated in the bottom-right corner at half the scale used for the Chinese mainland."
The new maps will not be available to the public until the end of January.
But according to the Communist mouthpiece: "The maps will be very significant in enhancing Chinese people's awareness of national territory, safeguarding China's marine rights and interests and manifesting China's political diplomatic stance.
The publisher of the maps asserted that "the new vertical maps have marked clearly the major South China Sea islands and demonstrated their geographic relations with surrounding island countries as well as surrounding islands and islets".
This reminds me of the map aggression against India in the early 1950s, at the time the infamous Panchesheel Agreement was negotiated and the foolishness of the Indian Government which did not react to the Chinese 'map' aggression.
Nehru's Visit to Beijing in October 1954
The visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Beijing marks the apogee of the 'friendship' between India and China and perhaps also the first beginning of the doubts in Nehru's mind.
For the first time on October 19, 1954, the Indian Prime Minister met Mao in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The Great Helmsman began the talks by dwelling "on the age-old associations and the new friendship between China and India".
This remark speaks for itself. While the Indian leaders were speaking of 2000 years of friendship, Mao was speaking of 'new friendship'.
Nehru had two talks with Mao, but neither party raised the Tibetan issue or the border question. Mao was more interested to know the reaction of the Indian leader on the use of the atomic bomb . It is during this meeting that Mao first termed the bomb as a 'paper tiger'.
Nehru hesitantly told Zhou: "…Supposing we publish a map showing Tibet as a part of India, how would China feel about it?…"
During the three meetings between Nehru and Zhou Enlai, once again the 'small matters' were not discussed, except for a short mention about the Chinese maps which showed large parts of India and Burma within the Chinese territory.
Nehru hesitantly told Zhou:
As regards maps, I just casually mentioned to you some of the anxieties of our neighbours. We are not worried on this point. Our frontiers are clear but I mention it in the case of Burma because questions of this kind become a handle in the hands of enemy. Supposing we publish a map showing Tibet as a part of India, how would China feel about it? But as I said, I am sure, the maps were old maps and you did not mean it.
Finally at the end of meeting, Nehru dared ask Zhou a question directly linked to the six-month old Agreement on Tibet. As with the 17-Point Agreement three years earlier, the Chinese had scant respect for the provisions of the Sino-Indian Agreement. Though always ready to use its preamble, the Chinese leaders treated the Agreement as a mere piece of paper, at least as far as the main clauses were concerned. This was less than six months after the signature. For a simple matter such as the rights to go on a pilgrimage, the Indians (and Tibetans) were harassed. Nehru explained as mildly as possible to his counterpart the difficulties encountered by the pilgrims:
There is a small matter which I may take this opportunity to mention to you. Some complaints have recently been received from pilgrims going to Tibet. Some of them are apparently being harassed by guards and I hope that Your Excellency will look into the matter. As you are aware, every summer there is a large pilgrim traffic between India and Tibet. As an example of the sort of harassment to which these pilgrims are subjected, I would mention that one of my friends was stopped by the border guards who told him that he could not be regarded as a pilgrim because he was not wearing a monk's gown.
Two small incidents indicate the future direction in which the relations between India, Tibet and China would go.
The Sino-Indian conflict of 1962 was far away and seemed unlikely in 1954 in the hey-day of Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai. I do not know on what basis Nehru foresaw this, but the 1962 war was of India's making.
During the course of his visit, Nehru had occasion to meet the young Dalai Lama for the first time. As we have seen, Tibet and the border issue had been totally ignored in the talks with the Chinese leaders. This encounter with the young Lama was for Nehru like a mirror reminding him of the main provisions of the treaty (i.e. Tibet). The Dalai Lama recalls:
We [in Tibet] had heard his name. India also was a country very close to our mind. I had personally heard about Nehru.
When we heard that we will meet him, there was a bit of excitement.
Pandit Nehru led by Zhou Enlai and many Chinese dignitaries were lining up when he reached the place where I was standing.
Zhou Enlai said: 'This is the Dalai Lama.' Nehru remained motionless, no speech, not looking in the eyes.
He just stood in front of me, without speech, without moving, motionlessly he remained like that. I was a bit embarrassed. I told through the Chinese interpreter: 'I have heard a lot about you, and today I am very happy to meet you'.
Nehru did not give a particular response, he seemed maybe happy, then he went to the next person. That was my first experience [with him].
[That day] I thought and felt that from Nehru's side, there will be no support for Tibet and no support for the Dalai Lama. During a short moment, many things that occurred from 1949 till 1954 [passed] in his mind, like lightning, that is my feeling.
Was this strange silence of the Indian Prime Minister a sign that he had begun to realize that he had betrayed his own statement four years earlier in the Lok Sabha ?
Another incident is worth relating. Sultan M. Khan, then an official in the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing remembers:
Sino-Indian relations continued to get closer, and Nehru received a very warm welcome on his visit in 1954. A few days after his visit, the Indian Embassy held a reception at which I overheard an Indian diplomat, who had acted as Nehru's interpreter, telling some of his colleagues that just before his departure for Shanghai, Nehru was in a very sombre mood, and had said to senior members of his delegation that after his talks with Mao, he was pessimistic about the relations with China, and foresaw a conflict in the future. The Sino-Indian conflict of 1962 was far away and seemed unlikely in 1954 in the hey-day of Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai. I do not know on what basis Nehru foresaw this, but the 1962 war was of India's making.
Perhaps after hearing Mao's comment on the atomic bomb, Nehru was unsure of the success of his Five Principles. Though one cannot be certain of the veracity of Khan's comments, they appear to have some truth. It is certain that in June-July 1954 the Chinese leaders had got the support that they needed from India at a very crucial moment of their history. It helped them to impose their view in Geneva. Six months later, their needs were not the same and this partly explains Mao's tough talk with Nehru.
at 5:33 AM 140 comments Links to this post
India’s new strategic challenge
by Anil Padmanabhan
Freelance terror may become the norm rather than the exception, with attendant consequences
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/xfKzrFJTGCkJVL4s83JirL/Indias-new-strategic-challenge.html
Last week’s face-off with Pakistan on the Line of Control, following the mutilation of the bodies of two soldiers killed on the border, has stoked predictable responses. While those who demand an eye-for-an-eye are right in their own way, the peacenicks, too, make a legitimate point when they claim that this is not the time to abandon the path of reconciliation. For the moment, it does seem, despite belligerent remarks by the defence minister, that India has pulled back from the brink; the situation is yet fragile though.
The bigger worry is whether this was a one-off, or a warning of an emerging challenge for India.
There are several factors that are rapidly converging, which suggest that India, which has evolved as the unchallenged economic centre of South Asia and, hence, a source of major envy, is likely to come up against a strategic threat posed by increased infiltration by state and non-state sponsored terrorists from Pakistan. Freelance terror may become the norm rather than the exception, with attendant consequences.
A lot of this has to do with the emerging contours of the new global energy map that is less reliant on oil and gas, and the growing disengagement of the US in the region.
The US has already announced that it will be drawing down its troops stationed in Afghanistan by 2014 and, more recently, even suggested that they will withdraw completely, even though the job of restoring Afghanistan is far from over and there is a strong likelihood of civil war breaking out in that country.
In a quick recap, it was the US, assisted by a few Western nations, which had first invaded Afghanistan and, later, Iraq to effect regime changes. Since then, it has been engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with Iran over the latter’s stealthy move to nuclear arm itself. After the Arab spring, most of West Asia is in a stage of foment or, as in the case of Syria, embroiled in a civil war. The US retreat is a tacit admission that its tactics have run their course.
At the same time, the global energy map is beginning to see the first signs of change. It may not happen immediately, but there are sufficient signals to suggest the emergence of a new energy order over the next two decades.
The pressure to commercialize non-conventional energy sources, such as solar, have gained momentum, but are yet to acquire critical mass to challenge hydrocarbons. There is, however, considerable research being undertaken by the US and China, two of the biggest consumers of fossil fuel, which may offer an alternative sooner than expected.
The two front-running options are to generate energy from thorium and shale gas. According to an article published in Foreign Affairs magazine—The New Power Map, World Politics After the Boom in
Unconventional Energy by Aviezer Tucker—new technologies are emerging that make drilling and extraction of energy from underground shale formations increasingly easy and cheap.
Tucker then goes on to claim, “Hydraulic fracturing has been used widely for only about the past five years. But the result—a staggering glut of natural gas in the United States—is already clear. The price of natural gas in the country has plunged to a quarter of what it was in 2008.”
Tucker argues that China possesses the largest deposits of shale gas of any country in the world (886 trillion cu. ft compared with the US’s 750 trillion, the world’s second largest deposits). “According to Chinese government estimates, the country has enough natural gas to provide for its domestic needs for up to two centuries,” he adds.
Similar initiatives are being undertaken to shift to thorium-based nuclear reactors. Writing in the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard says that once again there is a race between China and the US to come up with the right technology to tap thorium. “At the least, it could do for nuclear power what shale fracking has done for natural gas—but on a bigger scale, for much longer, perhaps more cheaply, and with near zero CO2 emissions.”
Connecting the dots, it is clear that both China and the US are slowly, but steadily, developing alternatives to fossil fuel. While this may or may not force a downward pressure on the prices of fossil fuels, it is clear that West Asia, the world’s biggest supplier, will gradually lose its strategic importance to both countries. Already, the US hydrocarbon imports are down to 45%. In other words, the US is less likely to be inclined to expose its military in the region.
To put it bluntly, the region will have to fend for itself. In the current state of chaos, India could be rapidly played up as the next big threat and, consequently, a target. Given the geographical contiguity, it is highly vulnerable to such a threat. If it is any consolation, it will be terminal for Pakistan—already its tryst with sponsoring terror has led to a near annihilation of the fief of government.
It is not that the situation can’t be handled. For that, however, first the problem has to be acknowledged; second, and more importantly, both countries have to give up on their favourite hobby of giving each other a bloody nose and look to cooperation—this, obviously, is more a message for Pakistan, where the military continues to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds.
Anil Padmanabhan is deputy managing editor of Mint and writes every week on the intersection of politics and economics. Comments are welcome at capitalcalculus@livemint.com
Fight Pakistan fire with fire, Army chief orders commanders on LoC
By Rajat Pandit, TNN | Jan 15, 2013, 12.24 AM IST
NEW DELHI: India on Monday demonstrated its renewed resolve to fight fire with fire along the volatile Line of Control, directing all its battalion commanders on the fiercely-contested boundary to retaliate with all their might if the Pakistani Army provokes them by violating the ceasefire or pushing militants into J&K.
"I expect all my commanders on the LoC to be aggressive and offensive in face of provocation and fire...No passivity is expected from them. Their response has to be measured and for effect," said a tough-talking General Bikram Singh, a day ahead of Army Day celebrations.
The fact that the Army chief issued an unequivocal warning to Pakistan to cease and desist from misadventures along the border is a confirmation there is going to be no immediate de-escalation of tension, especially as a defiant Pakistan refused to own up to the beheading of an Indian soldier and mutilation of another's body by its elite SSG commandos on January 8.
Speaking around the same time that Pakistan brushed aside India's charges at the brigadier-level flag meeting at the Chakkan-Da-Bagh crossing point in Poonch district, Gen Singh accused Islamabad of resorting to "outright lies".
Pakistani Army's cross-border raid on January 8 was a "premeditated and pre-planned" operation that would have needed at least 10 days of preparation and reconnaissance, he said. The Indian jawan's beheading was a "gruesome, most unpardonable act" that went against the "basic ethics" of soldering and tenets of the Geneva Convention, he added.
Although Gen Singh emphasized the current tension would not escalate into a conflagration, holding that several stages have to be crossed before the two countries go to a full-scale war, he did admit the first stage of the spiral had been reached.
The blunt acknowledgment coincided with hardening of the anti-Pakistan mood which would test those in the government who want tension to be defused for the sake of the peace process. The toughening of the popular sentiment found reflection in Congress's endorsement of Shiv Sena's opposition to the participation of Pakistani players in the India Hockey League as well as BJP's bellicose exhortation that Indian troops decapitate 10 Pakistani soldiers for each Indian one.
Gen Singh said the Indian Army was quite clear that it "reserved the right to retaliate at a time and place of its choosing", confirming what TOI had reported on January 10.
India has reasons to be furious. This is not the first time Indian soldiers have been beheaded by the Pakistani Army-jihadi combine, with their heads being taken back as "trophies" across the LoC, admitted Gen Singh.
Infamous Pakistani terrorist and al-Qaida member Ilyas Kashmiri was part of the raid on an Indian post in the Nowshera sector in 2000, for instance, during which one Indian soldier of the 17 Maratha Light Infantry was beheaded and six others killed.
More recently, two jawans were decapitated during the turnover between the 19 Rajput and 20 Kumaon Regiments in the Keran sector in July, 2011. "We have to put pressure on Pakistan, nationally and internationally, to make its Army accountable," said Gen Singh.
"Though the beheading has angered us at the strategic level, it was a tactical operation and we will respond at the tactical level now...We do not plan to up the ante. We will uphold the ceasefire as long as the adversary respects it but will retaliate if provoked," he added.
The Army chief admitted the January 8 cross-border raid had exposed "some tactical lapses" on the Indian side but said this was not the time for an inquiry to be conducted since it would affect the morale of the forces. For now, even as corrective measures are underway, "we won't remain passive when attacked", he said.
On the Siachen Glacier-Saltoro Ridge imbroglio, the Army has told the government it should not let go of the "strategic gains" achieved after shedding a lot of blood - over 850 Indian soldiers have died in the glacial heights since 1984 - till the "trust deficit" with Pakistan is bridged.
Pakistan has to first agree to the sequential pre-requisites of authentication, delineation and demarcation of the relative troop positions before any talk of demilitarization. "The area is strategically important for us and we should continue to hold the heights," said Gen Singh.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Fight-Pakistan-fire-with-fire-Army-chief-orders-commanders-on-LoC/articleshow/18025070.cms
NEGLECT OF WELFARE & HONOUR OF EX-SERVICEMEN
B.RAMAN
The barbaric Pakistani attack on Indian soldiers in the Jammu area on January 8,2013, and the brutal killing and mutilation of two soldiers with one of them beheaded called for a three-pronged response:
· An exercise to express the solidarity of the nation with the families of the martyred soldiers and to initiate action to maintain their honour and dignity. This should have been the responsibility of the Prime Minister's Office which should have taken a series of gestures like the PM visiting the families of the martyred soldiers, asking one of his senior officers to represent him at their cremation, a televised address to the armed forces to assure them of the solidarity of the nation and working for an all-party consensus on the subject to prevent partisan exploitation of the issue. One has an impression that these important aspects were totally neglected by the PM and his entourage.
· A second exercise to determine how the Pakistanis were able to carry out this barbaric attack well inside Indian territory without resistance from the Indian troops posted in the area and to tighten up the prevention of trans-LOC violations. This was the total tactical responsibility of the Army. In his media briefing on January 14, Gen.Bikram Singh the Chief of the Army Staff, firmly and lucidly explained the action taken by the Army in this regard. He clearly explained that trans-LOC aggressions will be dealt with aggressively and offensively with appropriate retaliation not ruled out as an option. The Army, which has been entrusted by the Government with the responsibility for protecting the LOC, is empowered to take whatever measures are necessary and the COAS made it clear that it will do so.
· The third exercise was to ensure that the Pakistan Army's tactical barbarity across the LOC did not seriously disrupt the strategic dialogue between the political leaderships of the two countries. This has been competently handled by the Foreign Office.
2. In my view, the serious deficiency has been with regard to the first exercise due to lack of appropriate leadership initiatives from the Ministry of Defence and the PMO. In cases like this, taking initiatives for reassuring the forces of national solidarity and for building up a national consensus is the responsibility of the head of the Government. In the US, whenever the Armed Forces suffer a serious set-back, it is the President who steps forward and exercises leadership in dealing with the situation instead of leaving it to his Defence Secretary. So too in other Western countries.
3.Dr.Manmohan Singh, who prefers to operate from the background instead of from the forefront, chose to let the Defence Minister handle the first exercise. He failed to handle it himself. As a result, there was no leadership either from the Defece Minister or the PM. This created an unfortunate impression of neglect and indifference in the minds of the relatives of the martyred soldiers and possibly in the minds of other soldiers too.
4. The inept handling of the first exercise has again drawn attention to the insensitivity, indifference and casualness with which successive Governments have been handling matters relating to the welfare and honour of our ex-servicemen, whether retired or martyred. This needs urgent corrective steps. The over-all responsibility in this matter should be transferred to the PMO and the PM should set up a standing Task Force to deal with the welfare and honour of our ex-servicemen, retired or martyred. ( 15-1-13)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. Twitter: @SORBONNE75 )
ISI sets up 2 new terrorist training camps near Jaisalmer-Ganganagar areas
Vimal Bhatia, TNN Jan 14, 2013, 01.40AM IST
JAISALMER: Pakistan Intelligence Agency ISI have reportedly opened two new centres to train a large number of youngsters on terrorism. The centres are in the Pakistani side just opposite the Jaisalmer-Ganganagar area along the international border.
Sources said one of centres is only 50 km away from the Jaisalmer border in the Ghotaki area of Pakistan. It is housed in an underground bunker and managed jointly by ISI and Jaish-e-Mohammad
Similarly, opposite the Ganganagar border in Bahvalpur area, ISI officials and Jaish-e-Mohammad cadres are brainwashing many youths and imparting them with terrorist training. These terrorists could be pushed into the Indian border taking advantage of mist and fog.
Upon receiving this information from across the border, the BSF has put its jawans on high alert especially during mist and fog and the borders are being strictly guarded. Jawans from reserve and training companies have also been deployed at the border.
According to the intelligence and defence sources, ISI has once again started weaving terrorist activities in Rahimiyar Khan, Ghotaki and Bhavalpur area in Pakistan opposite the Rajasthan border. Rahimiyar Khan and Ghotaki are opposite the Jaisalmer border, while Bhawalpur lies opposite Ganganagar and in these areas, new terrorist training activities have started.
In Ghotaki area in Pakistan, the new centre in an underground bunker imparts four hours terrorist training daily to college youths aged between 20 and 30 years. The training is being imparted under the supervision of Pakistan army officer Col Anwar Ali in which the youths are taught use of weapons, explosives, setting up IED and several other terrorist activities. The Jaish-e-Mohammad is extending all types of help for managing this training camp, where local people are not allowed to go near it.
Intense training was given to the youths the entire day last Friday, sources said.
The sources also said there has been information that a new alliance has been made between Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Babbar Khalsa at Rahimiyar Khan. A few days ago, JeM and Babbar Khalsa group under the leadership of ISI officers organized a meeting, in which a strategy to revive terrorism in Punjab in India and a plan to carry weapons and explosives to agents of Babbar Khalsa, were discussed.
Sources further said despite strict vigilance on the border adjoining Punjab, ISI has managed to intensify its efforts to push weapons, explosives and heroin consignments into Ganganagar. The sources added that ISI has given directions to increase contact with the spies in Ganganagar area and to help these terrorists get inside Indian territory to conduct terrorist activities.
BSF Rajasthan Frontier inspector general P C Meena said there is heavy fog at the international border, these days and taking advantage, undesired elements from across the border could make efforts to intrude into the Indian territory. Jawans deployed at the international borders adjoining Jaisalmer, Ganganagar and Bikaner have been asked to be on high alert and intensify the vigilance and patrolling has been intensified, he said.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-14/india/36331150_1_pakistan-intelligence-agency-isi-babbar-khalsa-ganganagar-border
India is entering into an unpredictable phase in counter-terorism cooperation with the US
I think we are entering into an unpredictable phase in counter-terorism cooperation with the US. The US Exit Strategy, no doubt mid-wifed by the ever devious British, has daangerous implications for us. The concentration will not be on emiminating "Al qaeda and its affiliates" as President Obama asserted. The real problem is that most Americans are not prepared to admit the reality that the Taliban is an Al Qaeda "affiliate", as is the Lashkar e taiba. The "immunity"' to former ISI Chief Lt. Gen. Shuja Pasha by the State Department of the class action suit in New York against the LeT is a manifestation of how far the Obama Administration is prepared to go to absolve the ISI of its sins.and this tendency will grow once Senator Kerry assumes charge as Secretary of State.
Given these developments the parting of ways with the US on counter terrorism may well become inevitable. Despite what Praveen Swami has said, he personally acknowledges that present tensions have risen primarily because of covering fire and support on the LoC by the Pak army to Lashkar e taiba infiltration. And the Lashkar now has the objective of undemining the democratic process in J&K by killing elected members of village panchayats.
I think that despite American exhorations, an effective and measured response militarily from our side is necessary and should not be ruled out, despite our weak kneed Government. Even the Congress Party is fuming. We have to look after our interests and not forever to subordinate these interests to American "imeratives" for their "exit strategy" in Afghanistan.
G Parthasarathy
Narendra Modi a 'king among kings', says Anil Ambani at Vibrant Gujarat summit
Edited by Surabhi Malik (With Inputs from Agencies) | Updated: January 11, 2013 16:26 IST
Gandhinagar: Narendra Modi received lavish praise today from India Inc at the biennial Vibrant Gujarat summit that began today, where the chief minister of Gujarat employs his marketing savvy to drive investment in his state.
Mr Modi, in his address to the gathering, promised the creation of three million additional jobs through the various development initiatives undertaken by his government. On Twitter the Gujarat Chief Minister tweeted, "Earlier, Gujarat was the gateway to the Globe from India. Now it is becoming the Global gateway to India.
Earlier, speaking at the summit, Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, said "In Narendra Bhai, we have a leader with a grand vision." He announced a Rs. 500-crore university that will be set up in collaboration with the Gujarat government. (Special Feature: At Vibrant Gujarat Summit, India Inc praises Modi)
His younger brother, Anil - a headlining rapprochement was reached recently - acknowledged "respected elder brother Mukesh Bhai" in his opening remarks before going on to call Mr Modi "a king among kings." There was more. "Narendra Bhai has the Arjuna-like clarity of vision and purpose." He said the chief minister's skills have "acted as a huge magnet for investors and entrepreneurs from India and across the world in the past decade."
Mr Modi was re-elected for a third time as chief minister of Gujarat last month.
Initiated by Mr Modi in 2003 to attract investment after the violence and an earthquake in 2001, the event is attended by thousands of corporate officials who pledge billions in investment, although in reality only a fraction has seen the light of day. Of 12,40,000 crore rupees in investment proposed at the 2009 event, just 8.5 per cent had been spent as of November 2011, according to state government data.
Industry in Gujarat is helped by a long coastline and plenty of barren land that is easy to turn over to factory use.
Mr Modi has also been able to leverage the well-acknowledged business acumen of Gujaratis, a prosperous global diaspora and the support of billionaires such as Adani Group chief Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani who controls Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company.
"Under Modi's regime, there has been significant improvement in infrastructure growth, significant improvement in industrialisation, as well as agriculture," said Jahangir Aziz, senior Asia economist at JP Morgan. "But what has been overplayed is initial conditions were actually pretty decent in Gujarat."
Critics say that while Mr Modi has indeed encouraged investment and helped bring reliable electricity and law and order, double-digit growth has not been shared broadly enough. In the five years through March 2010, some states - including Tamil Nadu and Karnataka - did better at bringing down poverty levels.
Led by Mr Modi, his party the BJP won 115 of the state assembly's 182 seats last month. The scale of his victory has fuelled speculation that he could lead the BJP in 2014 against the Congress party, though he repeatedly asseverates his commitment to working in Gujarat. His prime ministerial ambitions are also threatened by allegations that he did not do enough to stop the communal riots of Gujarat in 2002, in which more than 1,000 Muslims were killed.
Mr Modi lured Tata Motors to the state in 2008 after the company's plans to build a factory for its low-cost Nano car were thwarted by farmers in West Bengal.
Ford Motor and Maruti Suzuki are also building plants in Gujarat - high profile investments that carry the added benefit of acting as marketing tools.
In the seven years through March 2011, Gujarat's economy grew an annual 10.08 per cent at constant prices, against 6.45 per cent in the eight years through March 2002 (Mr Modi took office in October 2001), which was still ahead of the all-India average of 6.16 per cent. A handful of states, including Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, clocked bigger gains over the same recent period.
By comparison, policy gridlock at the national level has contributed to a drop-off in corporate investment, putting India on track to record its slowest annual growth rate in a decade.
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The word 'cappuccino' is
The word 'cappuccino' is the result of several derivations, the original of which began in 16th century. The Capuchin order of friars, established after 1525, played an important role in bringing Catholicism back to Reformation Europe. Its Italian name came from the long, pointed cowl, or cappuccino, derived from cappuccino, "hood," that was worn as part of the order's habit. The French version of cappuccino was capuchin, from which came English Capuchin. In Italian cappuccino went on to describe espresso coffee mixed or topped with steamed milk or cream, so called because the color of the coffee resembled the color of the habit of a Capuchin friar. The first use of cappuccino in English is recorded in 1948 in a work about San Francisco. There is also the story line that says that the term comes from the fact that the coffee is dark, like the monk's robe, and the cap is likened to the color of the monk's head.
Coffee trees are self-pollinating.
A googol is a
Penicillin was first produced
When a man was
One of the largest
There are 293 ways
There is air in
Betsy Ross is the
Moon was Buzz Aldrins
Some frogs use sugars
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Jack Covert Selects: Jack Covert Selects - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Pat Lencioni, Jossey Bass Publishers, 220 Pages, $22.00 Hardcover, March 2002, ISBN 0787960756 Pat Lencioni is the president of a management consulting company in San Francisco and has written two very successful books on leadership. Lencioni excels at using the business fable, a genre I expect can be traced back to Eli Goldratt and The Goal. I have read (or attempted to read) many business fables that have a composite CEO trying to turn around a metaphorical company. One of the biggest problems I sometimes have with this genre is that the author is too distracted by the moral of the story to concentrate on actually telling a good story and creating memorable characters. The characters in this book ring true, are completely recognizable, and fully-realized. The book itself is well-written, and, I believe,ranks with the best of the genre. It is the story of a person hired by the board of directors to come in and fix a young company. The crux of the companys problem is well-articulated in this passage spoken by the new CEO: We have a more experienced and talented executive team than any of our competitors. We have more cash than they do. We have better core technology. And we have a more powerful board of directors. Yet in spite of all that, we are behind two of our competitors in terms of revenue and customer growth. How can we fix that? The answer? Teamwork. And the book uses a great tool, The Model, to show how this transformation is accomplished. To support the fables lessons, Lencioni uses a section for an overview of the model, another for a team assessment, and one that deals with understanding and overcoming five dysfunctions of a problem company. This book works for the CEO, the supervisor, or the small businessperson. We all need knowledge on building and using teams.
JACK COVERT SELECTS: Jack Covert Selects -- Silos, Politics and Turf Wars
By Jack, published March 1, 2006, at 9:15 PM – Filed under: Management & Workplace Culture
Silo, Politics, and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable About Destroying the Barriers That Turn Colleagues Into Competitors by Patrick Lencioni, Jossey-Bass, 224 pages, $22. 95 Hardcover, March 2006, ISBN 0787976385 I think Patrick Lencioni has the record for the most Jack Covert Selects (including Death by Meeting, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive). Why?
JACK COVERT SELECTS: Jack Covert Selects - Getting Naked
By 800-CEO-READ, published March 11, 2010, at 9:14 PM – Filed under: Management & Workplace Culture
Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding The Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty by Pat Lencioni, Jossey-Bass, 220 pages, $24. 95, Hardcover, February 2010, ISBN 9780787976392 For over ten years, Pat Lencioni has helped define the genre of the business fable. He is most famous for The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which I thought so highly of that I included it in our collection of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time.
NEWS & OPINION: Lencioni and Publishers Weekly
Pat Lencioni (Five Dysfunctions of a Team; Silos, Politics, and TurfWars) does Three Answers with Publishers Weekly.
NEWS & OPINION: Best Books To Make Best Workplaces
By 800-CEO-READ, published October 8, 2007, at 12:36 PM – Filed under: Management & Workplace Culture
Last week, The Wall Street Journal announced their Top Small Workplaces 2007 winners. The Journal asked the folks who run those places what books they would recommend to others trying to create first-class workplaces. Here the alphabetical list of their selections.
NEWS & OPINION: Reviewing Reviews
Heather Green has written a wonderful review of Jeff Howe's Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd is Driving the Future of Business for the September 29 issue of BusinessWeek. After observing that "Books about the crowd are becoming a crowd unto themselves," Green writes: What sets Howe's book apart is his focus on business, an examination of different crowdsourcing models, and a deep dive into academic research to explain why people work together. It's a welcome and well-written corporate playbook for confusing times.
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Judge allows project near Palladium to move forward
Posted on July 19, 2018 Author Independent Wire Services Comment(0) 50 Views
LOS ANGELES — A judge has blocked an attempt by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to prevent the construction of two residential towers near its headquarters, it was reported July 12.
The foundation filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in 2016 seeking to overturn approval of the project, which would be located in the parking lot behind the Hollywood Palladium and be called the Palladium Residences.
The suit named the city, City Council and developers of the Palladium Residences Project, CH Palladium, LLC and CH Palladium Holdings, LLC, as defendants, and tried to claim the planning approval process for the project violated the California Environmental Quality Act, the City Charter, the Los Angeles Municipal Code and other laws.
But Superior Court Judge Amy D. Hogue’s ruling said city officials followed the state’s environmental laws in approving the project, and that the city properly determined that the project’s “aesthetic impacts” were not significant, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“We believe and assert in our lawsuit that the pattern and practice of the mayor, city attorney, city Planning Department, city Planning Commission and City Council operating in defiance of an express City Charter limitation on authority to process and grant general plan amendments is a willful failure to comply with public duties imposed by the city’s fundamental land use laws,” Michael Weinstein, AIDS Healthcare Foundation president, said when he announced the suit.
The City Council voted 12-0 in 2016 to approve the project, which will be located next to the foundation’s headquarters. Weinstein told The Times he plans to appeal the ruling.
The $320 million project, at 6215 Sunset Blvd., would be built on a 3.6-acre site that takes up a block bounded by Selma, Argyle and El Centro avenues, minus an area taken up by an existing business on the northwest corner.
The plan calls for construction of 731 residential units, which could range from studios to three-bedroom apartments spread out between two towers of up to 30 stories each, with some commercial and retail space on the ground floor.
The plan includes preservation of the existing Hollywood Palladium concert venue.
At the time the project was approved, Aaron Green, a spokesman for Crescent Heights, another of the project’s developers, and vice president of a lobbying firm, said the lawsuit was “simply frivolous.”
“The Palladium Residences was unanimously approved by the city Planning Commission and City Council, and Council member Gil Cedillo has called it a ‘model project,’” Green said.
“The Palladium Residences has more than 3,500 supporters and provides desperately needed housing at rates regular people can afford.”
Tagged AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Hollywood Palladium, Michael Weinstein, Palladium Residences Project, Superior Court Judge Amy D. Hogue
Homeless solutions projected to cost $1.87 billion
Posted on January 15, 2016 Author Independent Wire Services
LOS ANGELES — Mayor Eric Garcetti said he believes city leaders will be able to find $100 million in next year’s budget to help reduce homelessness, and he is open to asking voters to increase taxes to come up with part of the $1.8 billion needed over the next decade to address the issue. City Read More…
Pedestrian safety improvement comming to Hollywood and Highland
Posted on August 18, 2015 Author LAI Staff
HOLLYWOOD — The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) has agreed to implement a major improvement that will increase safety for pedestrians at one of the busiest intersections in Los Angeles, Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell announced today. Design will soon get underway for a ‘scramble crosswalk’ at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. A scramble is a Read More…
Governor to provide state money to fight homelessness
Posted on May 18, 2018 Author Independent Staff and Wire Reports
LOS ANGELES — Mayor Eric Garcetti praised the hundreds of millions of dollars set aside to fight homelessness by Gov. Jerry Brown, although the amount is short of what the mayor has called for and he did not say if he would continue to advocate for a larger state investment in tackling the problem. Brown’s Read More…
Niecy Nash receives star on Walk of Fame
Cedric the Entertainer gets star on the walk of fame
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LA Music Blog > Interview > Interview with Billy Martin of Good Charlotte
Interview with Billy Martin of Good Charlotte
Cardiology is set for a November release.
Anna Hartenbach
In the nearly four years since Good Charlotte released their last album, Good Morning Revival, most of the members have settled down and had children, but that doesn’t mean that they’ve gone soft. The band began recording their new album, but scrapped the project when they realized it wasn’t exciting them like previous albums had. After 10 years with Epic records, they announced in July that they switched to Capitol Records where they revisited the project and began recording their fifth album, Cardiology, set for November 2nd release. If you’d like to give some of the new tracks a listen live, the band will be performing at “Plugged In,” a new, free concert series through Universal CityWalk on November 4 to celebrate the album’s release before kicking off the new year as headliners on Kerrang in 2011.
LA Music Blog recently had the chance to talk to Billy Martin of Good Charlotte about the band’s long-awaited album, the recording process, and what the new year holds for GC.
Cardiology is Good Charlotte’s fifth album. How has the process of writing an album changed since the band started?
Five albums in we definitely feel more comfortable with everything. I think every record we’ve done is a little different. Usually Benji and Joel will demo a song or come up with an idea on acoustic guitar, sometimes as a home demo, and then we all sit down to go through the songs that everybody’s the most excited about to come up with ideas and layering parts. A lot of it really comes together in the studio. We don’t really sit around and track the songs live like a full band. Usually we’ll record the drums down first, the rhythm guitars and the bass, and then I’ll come in and add some lead guitars or texture sounds. After that we might decide that it doesn’t sound right and re-track a part or change the drums.
Things were a little different in the past because I’ve written a handful of songs on some of the previous records. A few months before we started recording this record my son was born, so I was selfish and I wanted to be dad and spend some time with my family, which means I didn’t bring any songs to the table this time. Lucky for us, Benji’s the only one who is not married with kids so he stayed very headstrong and focused on songwriting, demoing, and took over steering the ship to keep us on track. In that aspect, we’re all a little older with families, so we have a few more things to juggle in life.
On previous records, there was always a bit of a struggle because we all wanted to give input and feel like the record was going how we wanted it to go. Sometimes those things end up pushing you backwards because you’re too busy being worried about all these little insignificant parts. This time we all went in just looking at the big picture, like, “Okay, how do we make the best record possible? Who cares about all the little things because we’re more mature, we’re older, and we have a different outlook on life.” It was kind of easy just to go in this time and say, “When you need me to play guitar on this song, then I’ll come in and I’ll play guitar the best I can.” We did a good job of coming in when something needed done and actually getting it done, which made it probably the most enjoyable and easiest recording process we’ve had yet.
Technically Cardiology was recorded then canned and re-recorded with Don Gilmore as the producer. What made the band want to go back to Don for this record?
At first we just wanted to try something new. Howard seemed like a natural fit because everyone was a fan of the records he did, so we brought a lot of demos to him and we started tracking. I think we got through all the drums, all the bass, and a handful of the guitars. To prevent Joel from blowing his voice out by doing all the vocals at once, he wanted him to just go in a couple days a week and start doing some vocals while we were still doing guitars on the other songs. It got to a point that we got about three songs finished. He did a rough mix and played it for us, but everybody was just really disappointed. It just seemed like the heart and the soul that was in the demos had been sucked out, and it sounded very mechanical.
I remember hearing it and feeling this lump in my chest, like, “Man that sucks. That’s not what I thought it was going to sound like.” I think everybody was thinking it, but nobody wanted to say it because we had invested so much time into it. We kept thinking that maybe we’re so invested in it that we can’t look at it from an outsider’s perspective. Benji called me out of the blue one day and said, “Do you think I’m crazy? I want to scrap the record and start over.” I said, “Oh God, I’m so happy you said that because I feel the same way.” He said, “Really? Wow, alright I’m going to call Joel and tell him.” When we finally all talked about it, we realized we all felt the same way, so it was an easy decision.
We love Don because working with him doesn’t really feel like we’re working with a producer. He jokes around a lot, and he has a really good sense of humor. He’s really smart and really great at his job. We love him, and I know he loves us too. We went to Don and said, “Listen, we’re screwed here. It’s the last minute and we need to redo the record, but we know you’re a busy guy.” Don was like, “No, I’ll do anything for you guys. I’ll drop what I’m doing, and I’ll start tomorrow if you need that.” It just was a no-brainer. The first half of the recording process was a nightmare, but once we started with Don, it was easy and the most fun we’ve had doing a record.
What do you feel that Don brings to the Good Charlotte records that other producers might not?
I think he knows us really well. I think a lot of producers have a process in which they record, and they expect the band to adapt to their process, but every band works differently. The way Howard does records is really different than the way we do records because he’s one of those producers with a team, and he’ll check in once a week and give notes. However, Don is there every day in the studio, pressing the buttons, tuning the guitars, and plugging the amps in. I think, for us, we’ve always had producers who invest the same amount of time and heart as the band does. For me, that’s important. If you think you have a good idea, you’re always going to second guess yourself because it’s your album; everyone’s going to hear it, and it’s going to be around for the rest of eternity.
It’s nice to have someone like Don, who’s produced a million big records, around to be able to bounce ideas off of him. He’s willing to tell us when something doesn’t work or fit and tell us when we’re going in the right direction. It’s about being able to trust your producer. Don knows when to be serious and when to kid around, and he gets us. When you’re in a band, each person brings something different to the table, and the producer has to know what to expect and what not to expect from each person. Don knows that with us, so after this record I have a pretty good feeling we’ll just keep working with him as long as he’s around and wants to do it.
The new album seems to step away from the Good Morning Revival album and more towards your earlier albums. What made the band want to change that direction?
I think that comes back to us reaching a higher maturity level with this being our fifth record. When you’re young, everything feels so important, you have the need to make a statement and want to be artistic for the sake of being artistic because you’re young and finding yourself. You can see us growing up through our music. When we recorded our first record, I was still a senior in high school. We were super young and that record was just simple. We had fun with it, and it was about the hooks, the melodies, and simple, catchy songs, and that worked. As we got older, we added more textures, more sounds, and diversity in the music. We brought in new influences and just kept trying to outdo the previous record to make sure that each record was better, and we kept growing.
We love all of our old records, but each group of fans likes a specific era of Good Charlotte better than another era for some reason, whether it’s nostalgia for that part of their life or the sound on that record. We tried to find a way to take the best parts of each record and put it all together for this record. There’s still a decent amount of keyboards on this new record because we love music with keyboards and electronic sounds. We’re not going to ditch it just because some fans don’t like it because we do. The first album had a simple, feel-good attitude that we tried to recapture because we felt that maybe we’ve gotten a little too far from that feeling.
The new album comes out November 2nd in the US. How does this band spend album release dates? After five albums, do you have rituals?
Not really. Every record’s been different. We keep talking about a record release show, but I don’t think we have anything planned. The week of the release, I think we’re doing a show in LA and then something in Vegas and some TV shows, but we certainly don’t have a ritual. I think we tend to just do whatever is fitting at the time.
Good Charlotte recently switched over to Capitol, with Cardiology being the first release on the label. What prompted the move from Epic after four albums?
It kind of just happened naturally. Our manager used to work at Capitol and knew a lot of people there. They seemed really excited about the record, and it was a nice change. It’s been ten years since our first record was released. I think that things in the music industry seem to work in cycles of ten years. Most bands that came out ten years ago have already been through a slump and are working their way back up—if they survived. It just felt like a good time to start fresh. It’s our first record with a new management company and a new record label, so it felt almost like the first record all over again. Every time you start fresh with someone, everyone’s got something to prove. They want to show that they can do it better than the people who did it before. With EMI and Capitol, everyone seems really excited, and we needed that new energy.
Do you guys have any US tour plans following your headlining the Kerrang Tour at the beginning of next year?
Yeah, we’re definitely going to do a US tour. I think the problem is that the record comes out in November, and that’s when a lot of the radio stations in America do Christmas shows. We’re going to try to do a handful of those across America. Then we got offered the headlining slot on the Kerrang tour in January and February of next year and that was too awesome to pass up. There really just wasn’t a proper time to do a US tour before then. Summer or late spring seems to be a good time for us to do America, but we don’t have anything planned yet. I’m not hiding any details; there just aren’t any at this point, but of course we’re going to tour America. Sometimes these opportunities come up, and you’ve got to take them. Starting in January, we’re going to get really busy, and we’ll tour pretty heavily through the whole year.
What else does the band have planned for 2010?
Really we just want to get to as many countries and as many fans as possible. With each new record, we seem to go to new territories. Once you go to those new territories and play once, it’s like they always want you to come back. We love going to new territories, so for us it’s just a matter of trying to get to as many countries, gain as many fans as we can, and play shows. That’s what we like doing the best, playing concerts. Making records is fun, but playing live is the thing that I think we all love the most. We just like letting our fans know how thankful we are that we actually got to make a fifth record. Not that many bands get to album number five, and we only have because we’ve got such great fans. Now it’s just a matter of making sure we get to all of them to play some shows and say thanks.
For more info on Good Charlotte:
http://www.goodcharlotte.com/
Anna Hartenbach Anna Hartenbach hails from the hicks and sticks of southeast Ohio. She's currently a student studying magazine journalism, interning and building up her 401K in the financial aid office, and selling chicken on the weekends. Outside of that glamorous lifestyle, she can usually be found behind a camera or buried in a mosh pit at a hard rock, heavy metal or hardcore show.
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Home Fire & Police Dozens Evacuated Over Gas Leak
Manhasset News
Dozens Evacuated Over Gas Leak
Elizabeth Johnson
More than 60 residents in Manhasset were evacuated from 20 homes just before midnight on March 5 after a natural gas leak in the area.
Police responded to a 911 call for a gas leak in the vicinity of 124 Chapel Rd. at 11:57 a.m. The Manhasset/Lakeville Fire Department along with National Grid and PSEG were at scene and evacuated residents were taken to the fire department.
National Grid attempted to shut off the valve to stem the flow of gas and PSEG shut power down in the area while repairs were being made.
At approximately 4 a.m. the area was deemed safe and residents were able to return back to their homes. Electrical power was restored, but gas was not.
No injuries were reported.
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Elizabeth Johnson is former editor of Manhasset Press and Manhasset Press Magazine. Growing up in nearby Garden City and attending New York University, she is well-versed in the locale and knowledgeable about the beat she covers. Her community involvement is extensive and includes the Manhasset SCA, Kiwanis International, Manhasset Chamber of Commerce, St. Mary’s Church, and various civic and local charitable organizations. Curious by nature, her travels, community service, love of the arts as well as local sports give her the inside view to unique content. During her time at Anton, she has received several awards from the New York Press Association and the Press Club of LI, including the coveted "Best Community Newspaper" several years in a row.
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ten questions
Saturday, 15 December 2012– Agents, Black Horse Western, Hour of the Black Wolf, Questions, Robert Hale Ltd, Western Fiction
1) What is the title of your Book?
Hour of the Black Wolf.
2) Where did the idea come from?
I don’t think there was one specific originating point for this one. Ideas drift around idly in the deep currents of your subconscious, bump into one another, cling together and expand. If you’re lucky the better ones come to the surface. If you’re unlucky, the bad ones turn up. You know, things like – But then again, no, perhaps wiser not to go there.
The way I remember it, for a long time I’d had the idea about writing something based around one of the European landscape painters who first went to North America. Confronted with a whole new world, in effect, what must it have been like? Wild, untamed vistas everywhere. New geologies. All to capture in paint. Thing was, I didn’t have the resources to properly research it, let alone the skill set required to produce such a novel.
But I liked the idea of an artist in the Wild West, and over time and through some arcane process of evolution I thought it would be interesting to use the artist as someone gigging as a Wanted poster illustrator. Characters tend to present themselves to me more than plot ideas. Plot can be found through exploring your character. That character of someone exploring the Wild West with pencil and brush rather than with a sidearm stuck. Not so much of the macho. You know?
Anyway, when I learned that Robert Hale were open to unsolicited submissions for Westerns, that character jumped back up onto my shoulder and said, much like Jim Kerr but with a different voice, “Don’t you forget about me” and I started writing to see what would happen.
3) What genre best defines your book?
Western. More the entertaining end of the genre than the thoughtful, literary market. We’re not talking historically – or even geographically – accurate here. But it’s a fun read. Or is supposed to be.
4) What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?
Hm. Well, I jokingly had the two male protagonists down as younger versions of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne when I was asked this a while ago, but when I was writing the book they were only references for myself. Ciphers really. In real life, I don’t know who’d play anything. I guess Dick Dastardly would be a good villain. You know, the whole twirly moustache thing. Were he still alive, John Denver would have done well as the Reverend.
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Sheriff Gus Dudgeon attempts to keep alive a witness who could reveal the identity of the feared outlaw Black Wolf, while Gus’s friend, former Texas Ranger Will Tayling, fights the Wolf’s gang to bring a wanted poster artist into town to draw up an illustration of the outlaw.
6) Is the book self-published or represented by an agency?
The book’s in print, published in the summer of 2012 by Robert Hale Ltd, under their Black Horse Western imprint. It wasn’t represented by an agency. I subbed it directly to the publishers.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?
Ten days. Had a first draft just shy of 72,000 words.
Believe me, things don’t normally happen for me as quickly as that. I just happened to have fourteen days without any commitments, and those fourteen days coincided with a stint of good health. It’s remarkable the things you can do when your biorhythms are in sync.
I started writing on the first day and instead of stopping at an acceptable word-count, or at the point where I’d usually have to give up through tiredness, I just kept going, producing four to eight thousand words a day, sometimes more than that. At times I felt sad to be breaking off to go to sleep at night. Ten days of that and I had my first draft.
What did I do with the spare days after I’d finished the first draft? Sat around drinking decaff tea and feeling smug and a bit of a buzz.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I think it most closely resembles the movies I remember watching as a kid, and aspects of the Western TV series being screened back then, than the Westerns I read. Though no particular story in particular. Certainly the made-to-measure characters and set locations come from my hazy memories of The Lone Ranger and Bonanza and even Champion the Wonder Horse. Maybe Champion the Wonder Horse accounted for the role of a couple of kids in the piece, now that I think about it.
9) Who or what inspired you to write the book?
It was a set of circumstances. I’d written four books to this point, published a couple of handfuls of short stories in various genres ranging from science fiction to mainstream to chick lit. But the first book was wallowing in slush piles with agents. Because of the very slow response times I was getting – as the manuscript was mused over and kicked up the chain of command to head agents, seemingly enjoyed, and then mused over again as they met with the harsh economics of “is this commercial enough for us to spend time with?” – I’d written new books while the first was still stuck in the never-never world of presentations.
It was taking six months a time to get nowhere and I’d manuscripts that no agent had yet seen, let alone presented to a publisher. When I saw that there’d be somewhere to send the Western to, and because, as I said above, there was the window in which to try to get a first draft down, I went for it. And had a fun time doing it. And whaddayaknow, I got a published book out of it, brought out by a long-established, respected publisher, and it happened without the complications of involving the middlemen and women and worrying about all of that “business” stuff. It really was that easy.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
The theme of the book, if I may be so bold as to suggest there is a theme, is identity. I have some fun in the book playing about with that theme in ways that you wouldn’t be able to do in, say, a movie. So far the reviews for the book have managed to avoid spoilers, which I’m happy about. There’s a little trick in the book that I’m quite pleased with, and readers’ reactions to it so far have been a lot of fun.
in the white of the snow
experiments in ebooks (ii)
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“Freddie Mercury proved your sexuality doesn’t have to define you”
THE TELEGRAPH – After production ended on Lucy Boynton’s latest film, Bohemian Rhapsody, the 24-year-old British actress was surprised to find herself dating Freddie Mercury.
The film begins in 1970 when Farrokh Bulsara, a Zoroastrian Indian immigrant (played by Rami Malek), is working as a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport. By the final scene, set 15 years later, he has become Queen’s lead singer, performing a Live Aid set watched by a packed Wembley Stadium and a TV audience of 1.9 billion. When filming wrapped in February, Boynton and Malek started seeing each other.
After watching the film, it’s impossible to imagine anyone but Malek as Mercury, who died of Aids-related pneumonia in 1991 at the age of 45; the 37-year-old American actor disappears entirely into the role. Learning to speak – and sing – through prosthetic teeth was only a small step on the way to a transformative performance that Brian May, Queen’s guitarist, has called “flawless”.
“He became Freddie so closely that I assumed many of those idiosyncrasies must be his own,” says Boynton. “Then we started hanging out, and I realised that he could not be more different. Having got to know him better, and then gone back to watch the film, I just think… how?”
In Bohemian Rhapsody, Boynton plays Mary Austin, Mercury’s one-time fiancée, who remained his closest friend and muse long after their romance had dwindled and he was living out his true sexuality. The relationship between the two characters is the emotional heart of a film that has had a far from straightforward journey to the screen.
Talk of a Mercury biopic first began in 2008, to be scripted by The Crown’s Peter Morgan and produced by two of the surviving members of Queen, May and the drummer Roger Taylor. Two years later, Sacha Baron Cohen was said to have been cast as Mercury. But in 2013, he quit, amid reports that he wanted the film to be a “gritty, R-rated tell-all centred around the gifted, gay singer”, while May and Taylor were intent on a more respectful narrative.
‘Apostle’ Trailer
Apostle Movies Videos
Lucy for The Beautiful Mind Series
Interviews Photoshoots
THE BEAUTIFUL MIND SERIES – Actress, Lucy Boynton, on being a woman in film and embracing the darkness in alternative selves.
Stepping in and out of other selves
When you’re becoming another human, you have to find something in them that resonates with you. But it’s not that they have to be like you. In fact what excites me most are the characters that I don’t see in myself. In no other job do you get to step in and out of other selves like this.
Why I’m drawn to the dark
There’s something dark in actors. To be able to be so transient in identity there has to be a certain amount of yourself that is – empty is the wrong word – open. You have to be an open wound. I love the darker material because it is an extreme that I don’t experience in my own life. It quenches some kind of absence in me.
The darkest character I will ever have played…
Is one I’m going to play in Medusa, an upcoming film by Osgood Perkins. He’s the director I also worked with in The Blackcoat’s Daughter and I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House. The films Osgood writes are dark and devastating but also beautiful and rooted in grief and loss. Violet, my character, is dark but only in the sense of absence of light. There’s an innocence to her darkness.
The empowering feeling of instilling fear
Being brought up as a woman, you have a sense of vulnerability projected onto you, in the way you are taught to take care of yourself walking home at night and so on. But in this film, Violet is the one the others fear. For someone who looks like me, someone you might mistake as vulnerable, it’s empowering to instil fear in others.
Wow this is dark!
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Los Angeles Photocall
Lucy attended a photocall for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ alongside Rami Malek on September 5, 2018 in Los Angeles. High quality pictures have been added to our gallery, enjoy!
Public Appearances > 2018 > ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Los Angeles Photocall
Lucy visits “Jimmy Kimmel Live”
Lucy was spotted arriving at “Jimmy Kimmel Live” with her ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ co-star Rami Malek on September 4, 2018 in Los Angeles.
Public Appearances > 2018 > Visits “Jimmy Kimmel Live”
Vanity Fair Magazine September 2018 Scan
Lucy is featured in the newest issue of Vanity Fair (US) magazine. Digital scan can now be found in the gallery.
‘Murder on the Orient Express’ Blu-Ray Screencaptures
Movies Murder on the Orient Express
In 2017, Lucy portrayed the Countess Andrenyi in the film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express’. I have updated the gallery with blu-ray screencaptures, enjoy!
Film Productions > Murder On The Orient Express (2017) > Blu-Ray Screencaptures
New ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Trailer
Bohemian Rhapsody Movies Videos
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Rolls-Royce unveiled a custom-designed one-off luxury car, called Sweptail, at the Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este on 27 May. The new one-off model is not just another custom-made Rolls-Royce car, Sweptail has seen some exquisite levels of luxury. At $12.8 million, it might also be the world’s most expensive new car ever, according to commentators.
The Sweptail takes inspiration from the Rolls-Royces of the 1920s and 1930s. According to Rolls-Royce, the client of the super expensive Sweptail was a “connoisseur and collector of distinctive, one-off items, including super-yachts and private aircraft”.
The idea was first shared in 2013 and it took almost four years for the automaker to make the car. The client had specifically asked that the Sweptail incorporate features from the coach-built two-seater Rolls-Royces from the 1920s and 1930s that had been reimagined on the one-off car.
The Sweptail also takes inspirations from luxury yachts, including the panoramic roof.
The front remained much like a Rolls and the Sweptail had the Pantheon inspired grille which was milled from solid aluminium, the largest on any era Rolls-Royce and got a hand to a mirror finish. The coupe also gets its unique registration number – 08 – that had been milled from ingots of aluminium and hand polished.
“… the desire was for a coachbuilt two seater coupe featuring a large panoramic glass roof. As a connoisseur of Rolls-Royces, he was inspired by many of his favourite cars from the marque’s golden era of the early 20th Century, as well as many classic and modern yachts,” the carmaker said.
The Sweptail incorporated perhaps the largest ever grille on any modern-era Rolls-Royce.
The two-seater coupe also featured a panoramic glass roof, one of the largest and most complex ever seen on a motor car of any marquee. The roof allowed natural light to flood the cabin and animate a host of beautifully handcrafted materials.
“It is a Rolls-Royce designed and hand-tailored to fit a specific customer,” said Giles Taylor, director of design at Rolls-Royce.
This post was originally published on this site.
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rbglover (2018-2019)
Views: 1044 User Since: 01/09/19
University of Texas Austin Accepted A $95,000 10/04/18 -- 10/10/18 01/14/19 3 months
University of Texas Austin
Vanderbilt University Accepted $90,000 -- -- 10/06/18 12/18/18 5 months
Columbia University Waitlisted -- -- -- -- 5 months
College of William and Mary Accepted $114,000 -- -- -- -- 5 months
College of William and Mary
University of Michigan Ann Arbor Rejected -- -- -- -- 5 months
University of Pennsylvania Rejected -- -- -- -- 5 months
Emory University Accepted $126,000 -- -- -- -- 5 months
University of Notre Dame Accepted $105,000 -- -- -- -- 5 months
University of California Los Angeles Waitlisted -- -- -- -- 5 months
University of Southern California Accepted $120,000 10/10/18 -- -- 01/18/19 5 months
University of Florida Accepted $69,000 -- -- 10/05/18 10/22/18 6 months
Georgetown University Waitlisted -- -- 10/07/18 12/14/18 6 months
George Washington University Accepted $105,000 -- -- 10/08/18 11/27/18 6 months
Boston University Accepted $70,000 10/09/18 10/09/18 10/10/18 12/10/18 6 months
University of Minnesota Twin Cities Accepted $105,000 -- -- 10/09/18 11/26/18 6 months
In Undergrad
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Home > Articles, Reports, Theses > Reports > Search Results: "marketing"
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Agricultural producer support estimates for developing countries: Measurement issues and evidence from India, Indonesia, China and Vietnam
Nguyen, H.; Grote, U.; Orden, D.; Cheng, F.; Thomas, M.; Mullen, K.; Sun, D.
This study analyzes the evolution of agricultural policies from 1985 to 2002 in India, Indonesia, China and Vietnam and provides empirical estimates of the degree of protection or disprotection to agriculture in these four countries, both by key commodities and in aggregate . Taken together the reported measures of support and disprotection of specific crops and agriculture in total provide a reasonable basis for assessing the stance of agricultural policies of India, Indonesia, China, and Vietnam. Attention to measurement issues provides a sensitivity analysis. The results reported are indicative of the range of outcomes likely to be found more broadly among developing countries. From regimes of heavy intervention in agricultural markets, each of the four countries in the study has undergone a substantial reform process
This study analyses the evolution of agricultural policies from 1985 to 2002 in India, Indonesia, China and Vietnam and provides empirical estimates of the degree of protection or disprotection to agriculture in these four countries, both by key commodities and in aggregate . Taken together the reported measures of support and disprotection of specific crops and agriculture in total provide a reasonable basis for assessing the stance of agricultural policies of India, Indonesia, China and Vietnam. Attention to measurement issues provides a sensitivity analysis. The results reported are indicative of the range of outcomes likely to be found more broadly among developing countries. From regimes of heavy intervention in agricultural markets, each of the four countries in the study has undergone a substantial reform process
Seeking common grounds: Analysis of the draft proposals for the International Coffee Agreement
The International Coffee Agreement (ICA) establishes the only dedicated intergovernmental forum for coffee-related matters: the International Coffee Organization (ICO) . The ICO brings together various stakeholders — including coffee-importing and coffee-exporting countries, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) — to discuss, negotiate and cooperate on shared strategies and policies regarding the global coffee economy.
Coffee plays a crucial role in the livelihoods of millions of rural households in the developing world. Yet market volatility and declining terms of trade, along with inadequate access to infrastructure, financial resources, and market information, have increased the economic vulnerability of many of those households. Small-scale farmers and farmworkers have been particularly hard hit, and their condition has been linked to rural poverty, migration, and increased production of illicit crops, consequences which in turn contribute to a vicious cycle of social instability and conflict at the local, regional, and even global level.
The current ICA expires in September 2007. Negotiations regarding the next ICA are an excellent opportunity to implement policies to advance international cooperation on the development of a more sustainable, participatory, and equitable coffee supply chain. In May 2006, Oxfam International joined 12 coffee-producing and civil society organisations from around the globe in outlining policy recommendations for the next ICA in “Grounds for Change: Creating a Voice for Small Coffee Farmers and Farmworkers with the Next International Coffee Agreement” (available at Make Trade Fair).
In September 2006, the International Coffee Council (ICC) established a Working Group on the Future of the Agreement and gave it the mandate of submitting recommendations to the Council by May 2007. Oxfam urges ICC Member delegations participating in the Working Group to seize this opportunity by implementing reforms along three general themes:
Enhancing participation by small-scale producers. The ICA should expand opportunities for small-scale farmer organisations to advocate for themselves to address the unique challenges and opportunities they face.
Promoting sustainability. The ICA should further codify economic, social, and environmental sustainability as a focus of the ICO, and should provide for consultation with a range of stakeholders on these issues.
Providing tools for small-scale farmers to compete in challenging and changing markets. The ICA should enhance information collection and dissemination, project selection and coordination, and quality improvement efforts. It should stimulate access to markets, rural financing, risk management tools, livelihood diversification, and technical assistance.
Sustainable financing of protected areas: A global review of challenges and options
Emerton, L.; Thomas, L.; Bishop, J.
Targeted primarily at government and non-government agencies responsible for funding and managing Protected Areas (PAs), this report:
assesses the recent status of and trends in PA financing;
examines the concept of PA financial sustainability, describing how financial constraints can block effective biodiversity conservation in PAs;
explains various financing mechanisms, reviews examples of their application in different contexts, and identifies lessons learned about the factors which influence their success;
considers mechanisms for attracting and administering external flows of funds to PAs;
considers mechanisms for making market-based charges for PA goods and services, including tourist charges, bio-prospecting, resource extraction fees and payments for ecosystem services .
Key conclusions from the report are:
increasing the funding of PAs is an obligation. By establishing permanent PAs, governments assume responsibility for ensuring that adequate funds are provided for their upkeep;
many PAs are under-funded and likely to remain so under current conditions;
PA financing needs and opportunities will continue to grow and change, partly due to increased expectations from the public as to what PAs should deliver as well as population growth and economic expansion;
the increasing difficulty of raising funds for PAs from conventional sources and the increasing complexity of PA funding needs and opportunities, highlight the importance of financial planning and marketing skills;
sustainable PA finance requires supportive policy and market conditions.
The report makes several recommendations for the future sustainability, efficiency and effectiveness of PA funding:
PA financial planning and budgeting processes, and the institutions that fund PAs, should support all aspects of financial sustainability, not just funding levels;
donors and governments should increase funding to PAs in line with their stated commitments, and in light of identified needs;
national environmental agencies should work with financial and economic agencies to ensure that policies, markets and prices in other sectors do not undermine PA financial sustainability;
PA authorities should work towards incorporating a diversity of funding sources and a multiplicity of beneficiaries;
PA authorities should take advantage of new, innovative financing mechanisms for raising money;
PA authorities (and donors) should see funding as part of broader management requirements;
PA authorities must recognise and respond to the broader sustainable development goals of the governments and other groups that fund them;
a comprehensive global study of PA financing should be undertaken, as a first step towards the creation of a permanent PA financial information system;
appropriate means should be found to transfer technical expertise and build the capacity required to achieve PA financial sustainability.
Hoodwinked in the hothouse: The G8, climate change and free-market environmentalism
Smith, K.; Ma?anit, A.; Kelk, S.; Gilbertson, T.; Erion, G.; Bachram, H.
This briefing examines the origins of the neoliberal economic paradigm and carbon "offset culture" of the G8 nations and other power blocs in the context of climate change, and the way it is being enthusiastically applied as a panacea in other areas of environmental policy as well . It argues that the "win-win" rhetoric pervading the climate discourse is an attempt to confound and marginalise those seeking more meaningful and effective action on climate change. Moreover, it contributes to increased corporate power and further commodification of natural resources such as the earth's carbon-cycling capacity. The paper is critical of both corporate, institutional and market-environmentalist NGO "greenwash" - presenting a positive public image for environmentally unsound practices. It claims that free-market environmentalism and increased trade and investment liberalisation in the area of "environmental goods" and "ecosystem services" is ultimately a false promise. Carbon as a tradeable commodity item represents a great threat to averting the climate crisis. According to the paper, increasingly corporate-friendly trade measures and the promotion of global investment - under the pretence of sustainable development - is a red herring. For activists seeking to engender meaningful social and environmental change in the climate arena, these trends must be challenged outright. Activism on climate change must begin to grapple with the wider issues, and promote greater synergies with other important struggles in the areas of trade, finance, human rights, environmental justice and democracy, if an effective challenge to the neoliberal paradigm is to be mounted. This is, ultimately, in the interests of broader ambitions for people and planet, or even the more specific and urgent need to combat the root causes of climate change
Nepal: Hills leasehold forestry and forage development project (HLFFDP)
Forest areas in Nepal decreased at a rate of 1 .7 percent every year between the end of the 1970s and the mid 1990s. Land degradation leads to soil erosion spelling disaster for poor rural households who are forced to spend more time collecting fodder and fuel which in turn leads to a drop in agricultural labour supply, agricultural production and food security. However, leasehold forestry, an innovative approach introduced by IFAD in the early 1990s, has the potential to reverse this trend. Forty-year leases are provided to groups of households giving them user rights over plots of degraded forest land. They rehabilitate the land by banning grazing and by stall-feeding their livestock, and use and sell forest products such as timber, fuel wood and fodder.
Two main approaches aiming to cope with forest degradation have been tested in Nepal in the last 25 years. Community forestry, a flagship programme for several international organisations, consists of preventative measures to protect well-stocked forest areas against over-exploitation. Community forestry has achieved impressive results but has not always benefited the poorest households; it only recently included provisions for the most disadvantaged. Leasehold forestry, through the IFAD-supported Hills Leasehold Forestry and Fodder Development Project, envisaged a direct transfer of land assets to the very poor. The leasehold approach adopted so far is costly, however, and needs adapting into a simpler, cheaper solution if it is to be scaled up as the Nepalese government intends. Moreover, the legal status of leasehold titles needs clarification whilst provisions for the transfer and inheritance of leases will improve security of tenure. Key insights from the evaluation include:
Continued collaboration and policy dialogue between the donor agencies supporting ‘community forestry’, and IFAD which supports the leasehold approach is necessary to try to establish common ground between the two approaches to forest degradation and sustainable management.
Forage improvement packages need to be more flexible, to focus on local knowledge and the natural regeneration of plants and trees rather than importing species that are costly and often unsuited to the soils and climate of the Nepalese hillsides.
Better use of technical assistance grants (for IFAD-supported projects) to strengthen project management capacities, train government staff and build sustainable organisations of leaseholders is crucial. Such grants should be accompanied by an exit strategy that progressively reduces subsidies and encourages grassroots institutions, the government and the private sector to take responsibility for financing activities.
Leasehold groups and cooperatives played a crucial role in creating market linkages, improving access to marketing information and providing financial, training and advocacy services. To ensure project sustainability and to keep overall costs down, future interventions need to strengthen and build grassroots organisations, especially in isolated rural areas.
Leasehold vs. community forestry: Friction has existed between proponents of community and leasehold schemes. Community forestry programmes cover two thirds of Nepalese districts while leasehold initiatives are at an early stage; community measures target whole communities and concentrate on forest conservation whilst leasehold approaches involve a redistribution of assets in favour of the poor by leasing degraded forest areas to groups of specifically targeted resource-poor farming households. Friction between the two approaches is mainly at the donor level although the two approaches often co-exist at the field level. Fundamental to leasehold replication and up-scaling is enhanced policy dialogue between IFAD and the donor agencies involved in community forestry to increase resources and ease the friction between the two approaches. A second phase of the Hills Leasehold Project should aim to facilitate inter-agency dialogue and improve awareness of IFAD’s activities amongst other development agencies working in Nepal.
Local solutions to local problems: The design of leasehold management plans and technical packages did not pay attention to lower-cost options based on local knowledge of plant species, natural regrowth or on local people’s preferences and basic needs. This also meant that intervention costs were high. Imported fodder tree species, for example, were unsuited to the Nepalese terrain due to insufficient topsoil, steep slopes and limited moisture retention. The project design regarding the provision of subsidised exotic varieties of trees and grasses was too rigid. Instead, research with local farmers is needed, to build on and use their knowledge of local plant and animal species. Communication between farmers and project field staff to identify and promote site-specific livestock packages is also important. Appropriate technological packages can be developed through action research, perhaps with the involvement of university students and successful options disseminated through study tours and fairs. In addition, training programmes (in forest, livestock and land management for example) should focus on practical skills and knowledge rather than be classroom-based and theoretical. They should also be demand driven, responding to the needs and preferences of group members.
Grant-dependency syndrome? Disenchantment with the shortcomings of government agency services has led several donors to create parallel delivery service structures using grant-funded non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Although this has fostered a more pluralistic approach to development, in the forestry sector it has also diverted attention away from the need to invest in the capacity building of government agency staff in particular. NGO input into such training and strengthening of grassroots organisations is essential but by law a number of tasks (such as identification of leasehold plots, preparation of management plans, periodic monitoring of activities) must still be performed by government field staff. Given the high number of grant-funded forestry programmes operating in Nepal, there is a real risk that donors will see such grants as a cure-all for the inadequacies of government services, that the government will become over reliant on grant-funded technical assistance and unable to shake off the dependency.
Putting people first: Although not originally planned for in the project design, grassroots organisations (inter-groups and cooperatives) were invaluable in creating market linkages, improving access to information, providing small-scale financial services and a platform for training and advocacy. The cooperatives (formed by NGOs and registered with the government) facilitate the storage and marketing of products, organise the provision of loans, and provide a forum for decision-making in which women often play a central role. The more informal inter-groups (clusters of leasehold groups) are there to strengthen and institutionalise leasehold groups and prepare them for subsequent formation into cooperatives. Inter-groups facilitate social development activities, recommend group members for loans, training programmes or workshops, encourage savings and have helped resolve conflicts between leasehold and non-leasehold households. It will be important to support the inter-groups and the cooperatives as they prepare to take over implementation of project activities after the project has ended.
Rice market liberalization and poverty in Viet Nam
Minot, N.; Goletti, F.
Market liberalisation, though an important element in economic reforms in developing countries in the past two decades, has been accused of harming the poor through higher food prices, layoffs in formerly state-owned enterprises and the erosion of social safety net programmes . Since the 1980s Viet Nam has relaxed a number of government controls over rice production and marketing, stimulating large increases in rice production. Yet the government retains control over rice exports and internal rice trade. This report analyses whether further loosening of state controls in Viet Nam’s rice markets would help or hurt the poor and draws lessons for other countries
Master plan for agricultural marketing in Kathmandu valley: main report
Starch industry development as a strategy for agro-food based rural industrialization
To promote development, there is increasing need for activities and policies which generate and diversify income in rural areas . The starch industry in Viet Nam provides a good example of rural industrialisation whereby low-value agricultural commodities such as cassava and canna are processed into high-value commodities such as starch to be used in a variety of food and non-food industries. Though this sector is relatively small, it has a high potential in terms of demand growth, poverty reduction and income diversification in rural areas, particularly the less favoured ones. The project had five main objectives:
To characterise the production and consumption of starch in Viet Nam;
To describe the marketing channels for the starch distribution system;
To identify the key policy issues related to the promotion of the starch industry as a strategy for rural industrialisation;
To analyse the effects of alternative policy options for accelerating growth of the starch industry; and
To identify priorities for further research.
The study found that growth in the starch industry has been dramatic. Over the past 10 years, the share of cassava used to process starch has grown about 250 percent, while average investment has increased by 78 percent each year. Most participants are new entrants (62 percent have entered since 1988), while industrial capacity has grown 8-fold between 1994 and 1997 alone. Moreover, the industry has strong linkages with rural development as many rural households become involved in processing through small enterprises. Rural households working as starch processors make more than twice the income of the average rural household. In turn, the industry drives increased cassava production. However, the industry faces several constraints to greater productivity: low levels of technology adoption by small operators who comprise the majority of producers; limited access to credit; the high cost of raw materials; and environmental degradation, as starch residue pollutes local water supplies. Based on an econometric analysis of key policy alternatives, the following policies were judged the most sound: research and extension activities to increase raw material (e.g. cassava) yield at the farm level and to raise the quality of starch to compete internationally through appropriate institutions; and an increase in credit access for capital equipment investment, particularly among small and medium scale enterprises
The forest products marketing system in Nepal: a case study of the urban areas of Kathmandu valley - final report
Shaikh, A. M.; Kannel, K.; Koirala, D.
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Limerick girl who travelled for an abortion tells her story
By Cillian Ryan
Picture: Mark Allen
Every week, 77 Irish women travel to the UK in order to have an abortion performed. With support for repeal of the Eight Amendment growing daily, Cillian Ryan speaks to one Limerick girl who made the trip.
Anne* found out she was pregnant when she was 16 years old. “I got really ill a few weeks into it, and I went to the hospital with what I thought was my appendix and I just found out,” she said.
She was with her father when she found out and had to immediately weigh up her options. The pregnancy itself was the result of a one night stand, and to this day, her partner has no idea she was ever pregnant.
“To be honest, it was either travel, or have it, and that’s college gone out the door. Those were my only two options,” she explained.
Anne eventually decided to make the trip, and while her family were very supportive for the most part, she still found the trip “nerve wracking”.
“The day of the procedure itself, that was the worst part of it. There were two people outside protesting, trying to stop me from going inside. Shouting abuse, calling me a murderer. They even pushed my father out of the way to try and give me leaflets. That freaked me out a lot. It was scary going over, but my aunt was living there, and she told me that there are girls my age going in and out every single day. I was in there, in the clinic, crying my eyes out, hugging my father, and these other girls were walking in and out, just like it was a visit to a GP,” she said.
Despite the support from her family, Anne still feels there’s a huge level of stigma around the experience of flying over. She said, “If abortion was available in Ireland, and you didn’t have to fly to a foreign country to have this procedure done, I think that would make a huge difference to the girls trying to make this decision, that I had to make”.
When asked if she had anything to say to anyone making this decision, she said, “It’s actually not that big a deal. It’s not nearly as big as it’s made out to be, once you see how easily it’s done. I was able to go over and back over the space of a weekend, and that was all the recovery time I needed”
She said that repealing the Eighth Amendment would not end the stigma, however. She still only has told a select few people that she had this procedure done, and feels like if it was widely known, she would be heavily stigmatised.
Anne fully supports the call for a repeal of the Eighth Amendment, with no limitations. “If I had had this child, that would have meant taking a year out of school, and I wouldn’t have been able to enrol in college. I wouldn’t have met my boyfriend, my life would have been totally different from what it is now, and not for the better. No regrets whatsoever about having the abortion,” she said.
*Name changed to protect identity
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article please contact:
Positive Options: 1850 49 50 51
Samaritans: 061 412 111
Irish Family Association: 1850 49 50 51
Related Items:abortion, Eight Amendment, Featured, GP, health, Ireland, Limerick, Options, Pregnancy, Stigma
Young mother praises Eighth Amendment’s role in Irish society
Limerick responds to appetite for vegan and vegetarian menus
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Special Events & Festivals in Monterey
There is something to please every music lover in Monterey County with festivals geared towards jazz, reggae, blues, swing and much more. From the Jazz Bash by the Bay, Carmel Bach Festival to the California Roots Music and Arts Festival, Monterey County's line-up of music festivals makes for a invigorating getaway. June 16-18, the Monterey International Pop Festival - the first commercial American rock festival - returns for the 50th anniversary in 2017 during the Summer of Love at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. And in September, the annual Monterey Jazz Festival hits a chord as the world's longest continuously running jazz festival delivers a showcase for such artists as India.Arie, Sonny Rollins and Poncho Sanchez. See a list of music festivals events here.
Monterey County plays host to several world-class spectator sporting events each year, drawing visitors and competitors from all over the world. For golf fans, there's AT&T's star-studded celebrity golf tournament. If car racing is more your speed, check out the Indy cars and other racing events at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Salinas plays host to an annual air show featuring military-precision flight squadrons and showcases bronco-bustin' cowboys at the rodeo. Finally, if sheer determination and human willpower is what you're after, check out the world-class runners puffing down 26 miles of Highway One in what's been consistently called one of the best marathons in North America. Click here for a list of exhilarating sporting events.
Nearly every event on Monterey County's jam-packed calendar features a collection of culinary creations and wine celebrations reflective of the destination's people, culture and agriculture. A handful of events, though, are dedicated primarily to gastronomical pleasures. For die-hard foodies, Pebble Beach Food and Wine in April matches 200 acclaimed wineries with 60 celebrity chefs for a weekend of wine and beverage tastings, cooking demonstrations and some of the most exclusive, unique dining opportunities available in the world. Ever tried artichoke ice cream? Here's your chance! Castroville is the Artichoke Center of the World and proudly celebrates its title at the annual Artichoke Festival every May. For a full list of foodie events click here.
Monterey County celebrates the arts through festivals, performances, tours and more. The Carmel Art Festival educates and inspires people of all ages about the visual arts. In addition to Plein Air and Sculpture in the Park events, the festival is host to the Carmel Youth Art Show, Quick Draw, Kids Art Day and more. The funky streets of Sand City shut down during the last weekend in August for the Sand City West End Celebration. Unique artwork is on display accompanied by live entertainment and food vendors. Last but not least, the best cowboy poets and balladeers are featured at the Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival. This three-day event features a western art and gear sale, a Saturday night western dance, a "cowboy" church service, and a silent auction, among others. Click here for a list of art festivals throughout Monterey County.
It seems that something special and exciting is always going on in Monterey County; local community events such as Pacific Grove's Good Old Days and the Monterey County Fair give every visitor a slice of hometown Americana. Community events showcase the local heritage and unique cultures that Monterey County has to offer, while giving locals and visitors a chance to come together as one. For a list of other events throughout the community click here.
For a complete overview of events, visit SeeMonterey.com's Events page here.
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The Napa Valley Film Festival
8 Reasons to Love the Exploratorium
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Republican lawmakers lap up Trump's 'clarifying' explanation of his Russia comments
Not everyone was buying it when President Trump said he simply misspoke during his Monday press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when he said he didn't "see why it would be Russia" that interfered in American elections. On Tuesday, he told reporters that he simply meant to say that he didn't "see why it wouldn't be" Russia, adding, "I think that probably clarifies things."
Lucky for Trump, some conservative lawmakers were happy to accept his defense of Russian meddling in the 2016 election as a simple misunderstanding.
"I'm just glad he clarified it," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told NBC News. "I can't read his intentions or what he meant to say at the time, and suffice it to say that for me as a policy maker, what really matters is what we do moving forward."
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) concurred, telling Fox News that he took the president at his word when he explained his controversial comments as a botched double-negative. Portman on Monday called Trump's failure to side with the U.S. intelligence community "troubling."
While Rubio and Portman enjoyed a sigh of relief, not every conservative who condemned Trump's Monday comments has been so quick to move on. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), for example, didn't back down from his criticism, including when he said Monday that Trump gave Putin "a propaganda win." Instead, he told Fox News that Trump had been "weak" and delivered a "bad day for America." Summer Meza
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Columns, Faithful and Reforming
The man who wouldn’t take no for an answer
Michael L. Sherer / February 24, 2012
Try to imagine this: You arrive at Christmas Eve worship at your local Lutheran congregation and hear the gospel story about shepherds arriving at the manger. But on the basis of that text, the pastor preaches about the care and feeding of animals!
These sorts of things occurred during what church historians call “The Age of Rationalism.” That was the kind of world, in 1808, into which Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe was born. An outgrowth of the secular “Age of Enlightenment” in Europe, rationalism seemed to take the churches captive. It emphasized that if you can’t prove it, don’t believe it. Miracles were out of favor, as was any thought of the supernatural.
Michael L. Sherer
In that climate, it is not difficult to understand why young Pastor Löhe came to embrace and become a cheerleader for the Lutheran confessions (documents that Lutherans embraced in the generations after Martin Luther’s death to help them remember their distinctive identity). Such “Confessionalists” had no use for rationalism.
Sent to the boondocks
The spirit of the times in the German Lutheran Church of the 1800s was such that Löhe’s superiors didn’t like the young upstart pastor/theologian very much. They thought he was hopelessly old-fashioned and decided to deny him a position in a prestigious congregation anywhere in his native Bavaria. (Such coveted parishes would have included historic St. Sebald Church or equally desirable St. Lorenz, both in Old City Nuremburg.)
Instead Löhe was consigned to a hamlet (a mudhole, some would have said) with a nearly unspellable and almost unpronounceable name — Neuendettelsau. The Lutheran congregation there was marginal and its members largely uneducated.
Clearly his superiors believed they had successfully taught Löhe a lesson by sending him to “the Bavarian boondocks.” What they were really saying to him was, “Wilhelm, you’re not pastoral material. You don’t belong on the clergy roster.”
But Löhe wouldn’t take no for an answer.
During his long ministry in Neuendettelsau, this brilliant, thoughtful, passionate, frequently German-stubborn churchman worked a miracle — in an age when miracles were out of fashion! Empowered by the Holy Spirit, he grew the small parish church into a thriving ministry center. But that wasn’t all.
Under Löhe’s leadership, the community and the congregation founded agencies of mercy — a Lutheran deaconess motherhouse, an orphanage, an improved local school system, and a Lutheran Society for Inner Mission.
Footprints in the New World
And Löhe’s vision extended far beyond Neuendettelsau. He had a heart for people in lands where Christianity had not yet reached. Under his direction a Lutheran mission field was planted in faraway New Guinea, an island north of Australia.
Löhe became aware that German Lutherans were immigrating to the American frontier. He recruited and sent to North America an impressive number of clergy — all committed to the confessions of the Lutheran Church. He also identified revenue sources to provide salaries for the overseas clergy and to help fund new schools on the other side of the Atlantic.
Miracles were out of favor, as was any thought of the supernatural.
Named for the Franconian region of Bavaria, a series of Löhe-sponsored settlements sprang up in Michigan, in the region east of present-day Saginaw. They had names like Frankentrost, Frankenlust, and Frankenmuth. The latter community is the home of St. Lorenz Lutheran Church, one of the five founding congregations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS).
In Saginaw, some of the “Löhe men” founded a school to train pastors and teachers. This fledgling institution, begun in 1852, after several starts and stumbles, would give rise to what eventually became Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, and Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. But there was soon a falling out between the school’s founders and pastors loyal to the LCMS. It quickly became clear there was to be no reconciliation, so the Löhe contingent packed up their school — teachers, books, and students — and moved to Iowa.
With this stormy and uncertain beginning, the “Joint Synod of Iowa and Other States” came into being. Until his death in 1872, Löhe, who never came to North America, sent pastors and money to the German Lutherans in Iowa.
The Iowa Synod grew into a sizeable church body. A pair of gifted theologians, Sigmund and Gottfried Fritschel, taught for generations at its seminary in Dubuque. During their tenure, theological conflict with the LCMS became intense. At stake was the interpretation of Scripture. The Iowa Synod theologians made a lasting contribution to American Lutheran church life with their contention that Holy Scripture does not definitively settle everything where faith and life are concerned. There are, they maintained, “open questions.”
In 1930 the Iowa Synod merged with the Ohio and Buffalo synods to create the American Lutheran Church (a German body). Thirty years later, this denomination combined with Norwegian and Danish Lutherans and, 28 years after that, became part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Michael L. Sherer, editor emeritus of Metro Lutheran, is a retired Lutheran pastor living in Waverly, Iowa.
Tags: Age of Enlightenment, Age of Rationalism, American Lutheran Church, Bavaria, Buffalo Synod, Confessionalists, German Lutheran Church, Gottfried Fritschel, Iowa Synod, Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe, Joint Synod of Iowa and Other States, LCMS, Löhe, Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Lutheran Society for Inner Mission, Martin Luther, Miachel L. Sherer, Mike Sherer, Neuendettelsau, Nuremburg, Ohio Synod, Sigmund Fritschel, St. Lorenz Church, St. Sebald Church, Wartburg College, Wartburg Theological Seminary
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Weekly Analysts' Ratings Changes for Radian Group (RDN)
Apg Asset Management Nv decreased Westrock Co stake by 199,285 shares to 420,797 valued at $22.15 million in 2017Q4. Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) has risen 14.00% since April 7, 2017 and is uptrending. The Perf Month is commonly used by stock traders for evaluating the monthly performance of the financial management companies, stakeholders, investors, corporate owners, tycoons and entrepreneur groups in the stock markets.
These Two Ex-Patriots Will Announce NFL Draft Picks For Former Team
But if you were to ask me, what were the odds of getting into round one, I would have said they were very low". "I think we're positioned to capitalize on however it does play out". Rumors were swirling that the Chiefs could move up from that spot back into the bottom of the first round for a cost of a second and third round pick, the latter of which they have two at their disposal.
Anticipated $0.21 EPS for Encana Corporation (ECA) on May, 1
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 48 points, or 0.20%, to 23,975, as a rally by Boeing Co. following better-than-predictable earnings and an upbeat outlook wasn't enough to lift the index into positive territory. Castleark Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Encana by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Encana in the 4th quarter worth $2,827,000.
Liberum Capital Lowers Card Factory (LON:CARD) Price Target to GBX 210
Therefore 62% are positive. Pearson PLC has GBX 975 highest and GBX 330 lowest target. GBX 3931's average target is 20.14% above currents GBX 3272 stock price. Investors sentiment increased to 2.11 in 2017 Q4. It's up 0.06, from 1.15 in 2017Q3. 20 funds opened positions while 20 raised stakes. (NASDAQ:KINS).
Shell puts buybacks on hold despite rising profit
About 1.36 million shares traded. Heading back 6 months, shares have seen moved -3.24%. Total production of 3,839k barrels of oil equivalent per day was up 2% on the previous year and preceding quarter. After a recent check, Royal Dutch Shell plc stock is found to be 1% volatile for the week, while 1.33% volatility recorded for the month with ATR of 1.05.
ProVise Management Group LLC Buys 821 Shares of CVS Health (NYSE:CVS)
Ticker's shares touched $68.71 during the last trading session after 1.44% change.Currently CVS Health Corporation is downtrending after 22.81% change in last April 26, 2017. 32 are the (NYSE: CVS)'s ratings reports on 26 April 2018 according to StockzIntelligence Inc. The stock of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE: CVS ) has "Buy" rating given on Tuesday, December 26 by Tigress Financial.
Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) Analyst Ratings as of April 26, 2018
The relative volume of the stock is 0.63, while its market cap is $4.93 Billion. Usually the RSI is considered overbought when above 70 and oversold when less than 30. The company had revenue of $810.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $852.68 million. Moving average is significant analytical tool used to discover current price trends and the possibility for a change in an established trend.
Trade (NASDAQ:ETFC) Raised to Buy at ValuEngine
The stock increased 4.76% or $0.08 during the last trading session, reaching $1.76. Goldman Sachs has 4.24M shares. It has underperformed by 4.16% the S&P500. On Thursday, December 21 the stock rating was maintained by Keefe Bruyette & Woods with "Hold". $675,418 worth of E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC) was sold by LAWSON RODGER A.
Mobile and Sprint could reach merger agreement as soon as next week
This information comes from "people familiar with the matter", and was published by Reuters . Remember a couple of weeks ago when we heard that T-Mobile and Sprint were in merger talks again ? Those sources went on to caution that there's no guarantee that a deal will be reached.
JPMorgan Chase Lowers American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) Price Target to $69.00
JPMorgan Chase's target price suggests a potential downside of 1.10% from the stock's current price. KeyCorp lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 18th.
EPS for Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (COG) Expected At $0.24
Hyatt Hotels Corp now has $9.23 billion valuation. The stock increased 0.45% or $0.3 during the last trading session, reaching $66.33. About 42,476 shares traded. (NYSE:HLF). Amundi Pioneer Asset Mngmt accumulated 10.04M shares. Smithfield Tru invested in 0% or 85 shares. Us Bank & Trust De reported 0% stake. Highbridge Capital Management Limited Liability Corp reported 104,900 shares.
$0.50 EPS Expected for Sealed Air Corporation (SEE) on May, 3
On Monday, February 12 the firm earned "Buy" rating by Vertical Research. Baird restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Sealed Air Corporation in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Sealed Air by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. The stock increased 0.64% or $0.28 during the last trading session, reaching $43.93.
What the Tech? Amazon auto deliveries
The company, which has been working over the past few years to solve the last mile of package delivery, today launched a new program for Prime members called Amazon Key In-Car. Jacksonville is one of 37 cities across the county where Amazon will deliver packages to locked cars that are unattended via remote unlocking. They will first try and fit the package in the boot, but will put it in the cabin if that is not possible.
Nintendo changes the guard with new chief as Switch helps profits soar
Including titles from other game publishers , a total of 12 games selling at least one million have emerged on the Nintendo Switch . The electronics and video game company posted 2018 fiscal year results which included 2018 third-quarter operating profit of ¥178 billion that beat consensus of ¥169 billion by 67%.
Institutional Portfolio Favorite in Spotlight: Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TRN)
U.S. Concrete, Inc. (NASDAQ:USCR) has risen 1.66% since April 24, 2017 and is uptrending. Another important element to consider is the price target and recommendations from brokerage firm analysts. Big Money Sentiment increased to 1.05 in 2017 Q4. It has change of 0.24, from 2017Q3's 0.81. 92 grew positions while 61 funds acquired positions. Investors holded 122.94 million in 2017Q3 but now own 128.36 million shares or 4.41% more.
Multiple Top Pattern Is Formed By Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (ESPR) at $69.95
ESPR outperformed the S&P 500 by 78.31%. The reduction is 24% according to 2017Q4 SEC filling. Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bnp Paribas Arbitrage Sa stated it has 0% of its portfolio in Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. Rothschild Asset Management holds 20,871 shs or 0.01% of its capital.
Monsanto Co Sentiment Worsening on Bad Stock Potential, Now at 0.81
Invest House Llc reported 0.16% in Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON). Monsanto Co New has $54.96B market cap. Monday touched $124.56 during the last trading session after $0.18 change.Currently Monsanto Company is uptrending after 3.06% change in last April 25, 2017.
Rite Aid Corporation (RAD)
The RSI oscillates between zero and 100. According to Wilder, any number above 70 should be considered overbought and any number below 30 should be considered oversold. Rite Aid's quarterly revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter a year ago. At present time the stock is moving -31.50% away to its 200-day moving average.
$1.15 EPS Expected for Dover Corporation (DOV)
Therefore 36% are positive. Bridge Bancorp had 11 analyst reports since April 15, 2016 according to SRatingsIntel. Now we move forward to see the historical returns of Entegris, Inc. equities research analysts expect that Dover will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year. During 2017 Q4 the big money sentiment decreased to 0.99.
What Are Analysts Opinions On The Blackstone Group LP (BX)
The stock increased 0.74% or $0.5 during the last trading session, reaching $68.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 133,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,542,052.45. Therefore 35% are positive. Vetr lowered The Blackstone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $32.95 price objective for the company.in a report on Wednesday , January 10th.
Carpetright to shut stores and swing the axe on 300 jobs
The result came as the gloom engulfing the high street deepened, as it emerged that Poundworld could axe hundreds of jobs and almost 100 stores in response to the brutal conditions. Shareholders in the listed firm will also vote on the CVA on April 30, but the creditor vote will take precedence in the event there is a discrepancy.
Are Analysts Bullish about Omnicom Group Inc
Institutional Capital LLC now owns 2,350,056 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $200,013,000 after buying an additional 1,365,822 shares during the last quarter. Kings Point Cap invested in 0% or 300 shares. Therefore 22% are positive. Omnicom Group had 12 analyst reports since October 31, 2017 according to SRatingsIntel.
New York City Mayor Seeks Spending Increase
The executive budget is, in part, a response to the state budget enacted April 1. The executive five-year capital commitment plan totals $82 billion in all funds. But de Blasio expected the economy of the city - and the country - to stay strong. "When (current economic growth) ends, we will have serious consequences in the city".
APC speaks on Buhari endorsing Oshiomhole for National Chairman
The governors, who only about 24 hours ago met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, on Wednesday evening held in a closed-door meeting with the Oyegun-led NWC of the party. "There is no imposition at all". NAIJ.com gathers that Ganduje, while reacting to that, said that everybody was free to contest for the seat, just as everybody was free to hold an opinion on who should lead the party.
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Now Covered by Sanford C. Bernstein
After having $0.02 EPS previously, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s analysts see -650.00% EPS growth. Argus upped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday , December 20th.
Discover Significant Financial indicators of: Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN)
The level of trading activity in a stock is often a good proxy for the level of interest and enthusiasm for the name within the investment community. tronc, Inc. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Texas Instruments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $113.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 3rd.
US lawmakers, IT firms against ending work permit to spouses
TOI reported yesterday that the U.S. plans to revoke a policy which enables spouses of H-1B visa holders to obtain an employment authorisation document (EAD). More than 100,000 H-4 visa holders have so far been beneficiary of this rule. The US is India's top export destination with shipment worth $ 47.9 billion shipped to the country in 2017-18, a growth of 13 per cent over the previous year.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Insider Acquires £43754.60 in Stock
Over the past quarter, the average daily trading volume stood at about 3.56 million shares per day. GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday , April 25th. 148 funds opened positions while 391 raised stakes. Albert D Mason reported 11,375 shares. Bessemer Incorporated accumulated 125,917 shares or 0.02% of the stock.
Starbucks CEO Says Coffee Managers Will Have 'Unconscious Bias' Training
If you recall, the two men at the Philadelphia location were arrested for trespassing, but they simply explained that they were waiting for a friend to come so that they could place their orders. Activists then made their way to the Starbucks at 15th and Latimer streets, according to WCAU, where they shouted, "no justice, no peace", before marching to the Starbucks at The Bellevue Hotel on Broad Street.
Robert W. Baird Raises Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Price Target to $280.00
The stock decreased 0.41% or $1.26 during the last trading session, reaching $305.76. About 8.76M shares traded. Netflix, Inc . (NASDAQ: NFLX ) has risen 108.73% since April 26, 2017 and is uptrending. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock.
Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 379 Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (STWD)
Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) has risen 26.23% since April 26, 2017 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 12.44% the S&P500. Shelton stated it has 0.03% in Starwood Property Trust, Inc . Earnest Ptnrs Ltd Co accumulated 142 shares. 25,403 were reported by Alps Advsr Incorporated. (NYSE:JPM) for 111,546 shares. Cubist Systematic Strategies Ltd has 25,168 shares.
Top Volume Shares Archer-Daniels-Midland Company's (ADM)
The stock increased 0.02% or $0.01 during the last trading session, reaching $45.85. About 170,423 shares traded. Overall, 5.6 Million shares exchanged hands versus its average trading volume of 4.03 Million shares. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company ( ADM) stock price rose 0.57 percent over the past one year, while increased 5.21 percent during the past 6 months.
Range Resources Expected to Post FY2018 Earnings of $0.66 Per Share (RRC)
Trexquant Investment Lp who had been investing in Microsemi Corp for a number of months, seems to be bullish on the $7.63B market cap company. The amount of free cash flow available to investors is ultimately what determines the value of a stock.
Stryker (SYK) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.08 EPS
About 134,612 shares traded. News stories about Stryker (NYSE: SYK ) have trended somewhat positive on Thursday, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. It has outperformed by 8.11% the S&P500. It also upped Wisdomtree Tr (DON) stake by 175,858 shares and now owns 263,008 shares. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was reduced too. Stryker earned a daily sentiment score of 0.11 on Accern's scale.
EPS for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) Expected At $0.96
Davenport & Company Llc increased its stake in Bpy (BPY) by 13.41% based on its latest 2017Q4 regulatory filing with the SEC. In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Bradley H. Maverick Capital holds 47,430 shares or 0.07% of its portfolio. Rhumbline Advisers has 0.08% invested in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL). Robeco Institutional Asset Mngmt Bv reported 183,897 shares.
Toll Brothers (TOL) Holdings Increased by LPL Financial LLC
Fifth Third State Bank, a Ohio-based fund reported 195 shares. Cwm Ltd Co, Nebraska-based fund reported 3,244 shares. Beach Counsel Inc Pa reported 0.02% stake. When we see the company's Volatility, it now has a monthly volatility of 2.97% and weekly volatility of 3.13%. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,717,119 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $71,209,000 after buying an additional 283,578 shares during the last quarter.
Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR) Analysts See $0.60 EPS on May, 2
Continental Resources, Inc. explores for, develops, and produces natural gas and crude oil properties in the north, south, and east regions of the United States. 15,000 shares valued at $796,950 were sold by Hart John D on Thursday, March 8. The stock stands almost $11.88 off versus the 52-week high of $42.61 and $1.19 above the 52-week low of $29.54.
NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NEP) Consensus Estimates Analysis
NextEra Energy stock traded up $1.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $163.33. About 12.36M shares traded or 56.06% up from the average. On 4/25/2018 NYSE: NEP - NextEra Energy Partners announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 4.04% with an ex dividend date of 5/4/2018 which will be payable on 5/15/2018.
Societe Generale Upgrades Boeing (BA) to Buy
Active investor focuses on important indicators those changes daily in trading session that includes where the WNS (Holdings) Limited stock price change moved UP, DOWN or UNCHNAGE? About 428,478 shares traded. Therefore 73% are positive. Boeing had 112 analyst reports since August 26, 2015 according to SRatingsIntel. On Thursday, February 8 the firm earned "Neutral" rating by Buckingham Research.
Mobile Security Market Outlook 2024, Global Opportunity & Growth Analysis
It also provides market share by regions, type and applications . The Mobile Payments analysis study incorporates details concerning prevailing and projected Mobile Payments market trends, moneymaking market opportunities, and risk factors related to it.
AT&T, Inc. (T), Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) — Trending Stocks Alert
Chesapeake Energy Corp (NYSE: CHK)'s price to sales ratio for trailing twelve month stands at 0.3, whereas its price to book ratio for the most recent quarters is at 0. Ratings analysis reveals 20% of Chesapeake Energy's analysts are positive. The rating was downgraded by Bernstein on Monday, March 26 to "Sell". State Street has invested 0% of its capital in Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK).
Skechers USA (NYSE:SKX) Releases Q2 Earnings Guidance
Leading up to this report, we have seen a -23.21% fall in the stock price over the last 30 days and a -28.67% decline over the past 3 months. About 1.46M shares traded. Piper Jaffray maintained Merck & Co., Inc. Looking backwards over the past quarter, these shares have fell -28.67%. The NASDAQ composite tumbled 121.25 points, or 1.7 percent, to 7,007.35.
Susquehanna Bancshares Analysts Give Radian Group (RDN) a $27.00 Price Target
Akorn Inc now has $1.66 billion valuation. The stock increased 0.61% or $0.095 during the last trading session, reaching $15.595. $21.47's average target is 44.38% above currents $14.87 stock price. 197.95 million shares or 1.52% more from 194.98 million shares in 2017Q3 were reported. King Luther Mgmt Corporation owns 1.72M shares or 0.94% of their United States portfolio.
Nike, Inc. (NKE) Received a $63.00 Target Price at Credit Suisse Group
Boston Private Wealth Limited Liability Co has 0.19% invested in NIKE, Inc . The stock increased 1.05% or $0.7 during the last trading session, reaching $67.37. 109 funds opened positions while 312 raised stakes. 135,594 are held by Halsey Incorporated Ct. Lombard Odier Asset Mngmt (Switzerland) Sa stated it has 7,139 shs.
Air Products & Chemicals Inc's (NYSE:APD) Sentiment is 1.23
The institutional investor held 10,274 shares of the basic industries company at the end of 2017Q4, valued at $1.69M, up from 5,959 at the end of the previous reported quarter. Freshford Capital Management Llc have in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Air Products & Chemicals had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 33.51%.
Is this Active Stock Safe to Play in? Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN)
It has underperformed by 20.39% the S&P500.The move comes after 7 months positive chart setup for the $25.81B company. Jgp Global Gestao De Recursos Ltda increased its stake in Bma (BMA) by 1162.59% based on its latest 2017Q4 regulatory filing with the SEC.
Tri Pointe: 1Q Earnings Snapshot
The stock, as of last trade, has shown weekly return of 1.02%, which was maintained at 15.07% in 1-month period. About 927,629 shares traded. It has outperformed by 32.48% the S&P500. The company was maintained on Friday, August 5 by JP Morgan. ( NYSE : TPH ) earned "Buy" rating by FBR Capital on Wednesday , February 21. Deutsche Bank has "Hold" rating and $83 target.
Institutional Investor Sentiment About Pioneer Natural Resources Co (NYSE:PXD) Increased
Pioneer Natural Resources traded as low as $199.68 and last traded at $194.72, with a volume of 855156 shares changing hands. Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by investment analysts at Jefferies Group in a note issued to investors on Thursday.
Short Interest in NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) Grows By 133.1%
For best decision making investors should look at NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI)'s EPS growth for next year stands at 10.97%. About 24.34 million shares traded. The firm has "Buy" rating given on Tuesday, September 1 by Citigroup. The company was maintained on Monday, March 19 by Morgan Stanley. The stock of NXP Semiconductors N.V.
Keane Group, Inc. (FRAC) Forms H&S Chart Pattern at $15.00
The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink . This table compares Keane Group and its peers' net margins , return on equity and return on assets . Keane Group had 25 analyst reports since February 14, 2017 according to SRatingsIntel. Among 16 analysts covering Keane Group (NYSE:FRAC), 9 have Buy rating , 0 Sell and 7 Hold.
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HERA TRIAL: two years versus one year of trastuzumab after adjuvant chemotherapy in women with HER2-positive early breast cancer at eight years of median follow-up
April 2013 - Breaking Away, Breast
NE Oncology Issue – April 2013
Goldhirsch A, et al. ESMO 2012:LBA6; SABCS 2012:S5-2
In 2005, the HERA (HERceptin® Adjuvant) trial and other large randomized trials demonstrated a statistically significant disease-free survival (DFS) benefit for one year of trastuzumab compared with observation alone following adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)- positive early breast cancer (EBC).1,2 The protocol for the HERA trial was subsequently revised in order to shift the focus to the secondary objective of assessing whether trastuzumab administered for a period of two years was superior to one year of treatment with the drug. At the 2012 ESMO Congress and SABCS, new data by Goldhirsch and colleagues was presented comparing the efficacy and safety of these two periods of trastuzumab after a median eight years of follow-up, as well as additional analyses of one-year trastuzumab versus clinical observation.2,3
The patients (N = 5,102) accrued from 2001 to 2005 for the HERA trial (NCT00045032) were diagnosed with locally determined HER2-positive, invasive EBC.
All patients underwent treatment with surgery and (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy and were required to have central confirmation of HER2-positive breast cancer (immunohistochemistry 3+ or fluorescence in situ hybridization +) and a left ventricular ejection fraction ≥55% before randomization.
Having met these criteria, patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups:
Observation (n = 1,698);
One year of trastuzumab (n = 1,703, iv infusion of 8 mg/kg initial loading dose; 6 mg/kg thereafter, once every three weeks [q3w]);
Two years of trastuzumab (n = 1,701, iv infusion of 8 mg/kg initial loading dose; 6 mg/kg thereafter, q3w).
Patients in the observation arm were given the option of switching to trastuzumab after trial results were presented at ASCO in 2005. This enabled 885 (52.1%) of 1,698 patients in the observation group to selectively cross over.
The following analysis included patients who remained diseasefree for at least 366 days after randomization to the trastuzumab arms (one year: n = 1,552 and two years: n = 1,553).
Baseline characteristics for patients in both trastuzumab arms were well balanced.
Despite the complication of selective crossover from observation to trastuzumab after disclosure of first results in 2005, intent-to-treat (ITT) analyses at long-term followup indicated that one year of trastuzumab compared with observation significantly improved DFS in all patients, regardless of their hormone receptor status:
DFS (one year trastuzumab vs. observation): (Figure 1)
All patients (HR = 0.76; 471 vs. 570 events, p <0.0001);
Hormone receptor positive (HR = 0.81, 218 vs. 253 events, p = 0.0258);
Hormone receptor negative (HR = 0.72, 253 vs. 317 events, p <0.0001).
In addition, ITT analyses of patients in the one-year trastuzumab arm demonstrated a statistically significant OS benefit. In a subgroup analysis, trastuzumab provided a significant OS benefit in the hormone receptor negative group and a trend towards OS benefit for the hormone receptor positive group.
OS (one year trastuzumab vs. observation): (Figure 2)
All patients (HR = 0.76; 278 vs. 350 events, p = 0.0005);
Hormone receptor negative (HR = 0.70, 152 vs. 204 events, p = 0.0007).
At a median follow-up of eight years, a total of 734 DFS events were reported for both trastuzumab groups (367 events in each arm).
Two years vs. one year of trastuzumab were not significantly different in terms of DFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.99 [95% CI: 0.85–1.14], p = 0.86). (Figure 3)
Also, the DFS rates for patients receiving two years vs. one year of trastuzumab were similar at two years (89.1% vs. 86.7%), four years (81.6% vs. 81.0%), and eight years (75.8% vs. 76.0%) following randomization. (Figure 3)
At those same time points, the DFS rates for patients subdivided by hormone receptor status were also similar for both treatment arms, except for a slight advantage for hormone receptor negative patients receiving two years vs. one year of trastuzumab (87.8% vs. 83.8%); this was observed at three years from randomization.
Overall, no significant benefit in DFS was detected for two years vs. one year of trastuzumab in patients with tumours that were hormone receptor positive (HR = 1.05 [95% CI: 0.85–1.29], p = 0.67) or hormone receptor negative (HR = 0.93 [95% CI: 0.76–1.14], p = 0.51).
An overview of DFS events, such as regions of disease recurrence, contralateral breast cancer, second (primary) malignancies, and death, showed that each type was experienced by comparable proportions of patients in the trastuzumab arms. (Table 1)
Overall survival (OS) rates were similar for patients receiving two years vs. one year of trastuzumab following two years (97.4% vs. 96.5%), four years (92.6% vs. 91.4%), and eight years (86.4% vs. 87.6%) after randomization. (Figure 4)
The longer duration of trastuzumab (two years vs. one year) was not significantly more beneficial for OS (HR = 1.05 [95% CI: 0.86–1.28], p = 0.63). (Figure 4)
In the safety analysis population, adverse events (AEs) occurred in slightly more patients in the two-year trastuzumab arm than the one-year arm, both of which had a greater frequency of AEs compared with observation alone (two years vs. one year vs. observation): (Table 2)
≥One grade 3/4 AE: 20.4% vs. 16.3% vs. 8.2%;
Fatal AE: 1.2% vs. 1.1% vs. 0.4%;
Primary cardiac AE: 1.0% vs. 0.8% vs. 0.1%;
Secondary cardiac AE: 7.2% vs. 4.1% vs. 0.9%.
While the cumulative incidence of primary cardiac end points was similar in the trastuzumab arms, primary or secondary cardiac end points were met more frequently in patients receiving two years vs. one year of trastuzumab (8.2% vs. 4.9%). (Table 2)
HERA results at 8 years MFU show sustained and statistically significant DFS and OS benefit for one year trastuzumab versus observation in ITT analyses despite selective crossover.
Benefit for one year trastuzumab, compared to observation, was shown across hormone receptor positive and negative cohorts.
Patients with HER2-positive EBC derived no added long-term benefit in DFS or OS from two years compared with just one year of trastuzumab when administered as sequential treatment following chemotherapy.
While the majority of cardiac end points occurred with trastuzumab administration, they were generally infrequent and reversible.
One year of trastuzumab remains the standard of care as part of an adjuvant therapy for patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer.
References: 1. Piccart-Gebhart MJ, Procter M, Leyland-Jones B, et al. Trastuzumab after adjuvant chemotherapy in HER2-positive breast cancer. N Engl J Med 2005;353:1659–72. 2. Goldhirsch A, Piccart-Gebhart MJ, Procter M, et al. HERA TRIAL: 2 years versus 1 year of trastuzumab after adjuvant chemotherapy in women with HER2-positive early breast cancer at 8 years of median follow up. ESMO Congress Abstracts 2012:LBA6. 3. Goldhirsch A, Piccart-Gebhart MJ, Procter M, et al. HERA TRIAL: 2 years versus 1 year of trastuzumab after adjuvant chemotherapy in women with HER2-positive early breast cancer at 8 years of median follow up. SABCS Annual Meeting Abstracts 2012:S5-2.
Canadian Perspectives
Jean-Francois Larouche, MD
Dr. Jean-Francois Larouche obtained his medical degree in 2000. Upon graduation, he trained in internal medicine, hematology, and oncology at Laval University, Quebec City. Pursuing his interest in oncology, Dr. Larouche completed a postdoctoral fellowship in 2008 in Lyon, France, on lymphoma management. His interests include lymphomas and clinical research.
Stephen Couban, MD, FRCPC
Dr. Stephen Couban is a professor of medicine at Dalhousie University and Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Capital District Health Authority in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is Co-Chair of the NCIC CTG Hematology Site Group and is also active with the Canadian Blood and Marrow Transplant Group. Dr. Couban is Vice President of the Canadian Hematology Society and a past-president of the Canadian Blood and Marrow Transplant Group. His research interests have focused on allografting and in particular on exploration of different types of grafts, including GCSF-stimulated allogeneic peripheral blood allografts and GCSF-stimulated bone marrow allografts. He is actively involved in a number of clinical trials for patients with leukemia and lymphoma, as well as those undergoing blood and marrow transplantation.
Investigator Commentary
Sunil Verma, MD, MSEd, FRCPC
Dr. Sunil Verma is a medical oncologist and the Chair of Breast Medical Oncology at the Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre in Toronto, Ontario. He is also an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto. Dr. Verma completed his medical degree and postgraduate training in internal medicine and medical oncology at the University of Alberta. He completed a fellowship in breast cancer at the University of Toronto and a master’s degree in medical education at the University of Southern California. Dr. Verma is internationally recognized for his educational leadership and research in breast and lung cancers. He has led and created numerous innovative educational projects in oncology and won several teaching and mentoring awards. Dr. Verma’s research interests include reducing the toxicity of systemic treatment, developing novel therapies for breast and lung cancers, and medical education. He is the principal investigator for many clinical trials in breast and lung cancers, including an international phase III trial in breast cancer, and has authored or co-authored articles appearing in publications such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer, The Oncologist, Lancet Oncology, Lancet, and The New England Journal of Medicine.
Véronique Leblond, MD
Dr. Véronique Leblond is the Head of the Department of Haematology at Pitié- Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France. She has a long-standing research interest in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM). Dr. Leblond has been the Principal Investigator of several multicentre trials investigating immunological therapies and novel chemotherapies. Currently, she is Chair of the French cooperative groups on CLL and WM, and is a member of the French Society of Haematology and the American Society of Haematology. Dr. Leblond has authored over 250 research articles, books, and book chapters.
Francesco Lo-Coco, MD
Dr. Francesco Lo-Coco is a full Professor of Hematology and Head of the Laboratory of Integrated Diagnosis of Oncohematologic Diseases at the Department of Biopathology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. His main research activities include genetic characterization, monitoring, and treatment of hematologic tumours, particularly acute myeloid leukemia and acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). He has served as President of the Italian Society of Experimental Hematology, been a board member of the Italian Foundation for Cancer Research, and a member of the Committee on Health Research at the Italian Ministry of Health. He is presently chairman of the APL subcommittee of the Italian National Cooperative Group GIMEMA, chairman of the Education Committee of the European Hematology Association, and a member of the editorial board for the journals Leukemia and Haematologica.
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Image of Harriet Tubman $20 bill mock-up revealed
This 1860-75 photo made available by the Library of Congress shows Harriet Tubman. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is calling “completely erroneous” a report published Friday, June 14, 2019, that an initial 2020 deadline for completing the design of a $20 bill featuring Harriett Tubman could have been met. (Harvey B. Lindsley/Library of Congress via AP)
Substantial work had already been done revising the $20 bill with an image of Harriet Tubman before a six-year delay was announced by the Trump administration, citing security and technical concerns.
A mock-up of the bill, obtained by The New York Times on Friday, shows the fearless freedom fighter. The Times reports that the preliminary design was wrapped up three years ago during the Obama administration.
The Times release of the $20 bill mock-up comes on the heels of an announcement from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that the bill’s design would be delayed by six years and that production of the bills would not happen until 2028.
In addition, Mnuchin couldn’t confirm that Tubman would placed on the $20 bill.
Although Munchin said the holdup was due to security concerns, rumors are spreading that the real reason for the delay is to keep Andrew Jackson on the front of the bill since Jackson is Trump’s favorite president.
First announced by former President Barack Obama, placing Tubman on US currency would mark the first time an African-American has been featured on the front of a bill.
The goal to include Tubman’s likeness was to commemorate the centennial of the 19th Amendment next year, which granted women the right to vote.
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Light and Entry
I just started my new gig so the posting has been a little slow. I've recently seen a couple of inspiring photographers that are worth noting. The first is Joel Sartore, a photographer who's name you probably don't know, but who's pictures you probably do. At Close Range with National Geographic is a short documentary on this heroic photographer.
Also inspiring is Callie Shell's series for the Digital Journalist on Senator Obama before and during his campaign for the the Presidency. Callie not only has a sense for the moments and emotions, but also an eye for the shot. Light, distance, and timing are the pillars of her amazing work on our hopeful future president.
Eighty Eight and Sunny
First decent ride on the pista in ages. I only wanted to coast once. Delivering flyers and posters for the Super Market Street Sweep was a great reason to enjoy the weather.
88.0 °F / 31.1 °C
48.7 °F / 9.3 °C
Met Hamish today and saw Niloc and Melissa. Seth, Brad, Sumeet, and Aus took my ten dollars.
Super Market Street Sweep
I'm helping organize the Super Market Street Sweep again this year. If you're going to be in SF this December and want to support the SF Food Bank on two wheels, you should come out.
The rules and format for this year's SWEEP will remain the same as before. There will be a SPEED race and a POINTS race.
For the SPEED race, be the FASTEST Boy or GIRL to bring back groceries from 5 supermarkets. Prizes for road bikes and fixed!
For the POINTS race, bring back the most groceries you possibly can from 5 supermarkets. Certain food items will earn you BONUS POINTS. This year's overall top POINTS RACE winner will get a special prize from XTRACYCLE! They're donating a COMPLETE FREE RADICAL KIT that includes installation! Win this and you can haul your groceries with your bike for life (and win future Sweeps!)
For more information and a complete list of sponsors check out the Super Market Street Sweep Blog.
First Amendment, Slander, and Campaign Politics
Like many of us who are following the campaign for the White House, I have keenly followed the attacks and the responses by each camp. During this campaign, unfortunately like most others, I've heard a number of claims being made, bad facts, slanted truths, and outright lies aimed directly at Senator Obama, his associations, his record, and his intentions.
While most of this is campaign "business as usual" I can't help but wonder how this squares up with the first amendment and the laws regarding slander. Wikipedia's entry defines slander, "In law, defamation (also called calumny, libel, slander, and vilification) is the communication of a statement that makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government or nation a negative image."
Let's take McCain's recent attack on Obama claiming a connection to famed 1960's Weather Underground radical Bill Ayer. The allegations that Obama "ran a radical 'education' foundation" with Ayer have been found to be misleading and false. While hateful speech can be protected by our First Amendment, outright lies that attempt to smear another individual seem to fall squarely in the realm of slander.
So how do campaigns get away with this? I've done a bit a research and have failed to find any lawsuits brought against candidates seeking the office of president for smear tactics. While a lawsuit is probably the worst campaign strategy, it would be interesting to see a lawsuit post election day. I suppose at that point the winner has too much to lose and the loser has already lost the election.
Meanwhile the McCain campaign attempts to quell the raging fires it has lit over the past week. "If you want a fight, we will fight," McCain said. "But we will be respectful. I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments." I am less angry as I am fearful at the ease in which McCain's base has taken his lies into a place of violent fervor.
Perhaps at the end of the day, the public has become numb to the dishonesty of American politics. I, however, would love to see a little justice served.
Posted by Jonathan Koshi at 3:13 PM 1 comment:
Unlikely Tourist in Soweto Part IV
Across from this taxi rank is the largest Hospital in the southern hemisphere. The Chris Hani Bara Gwaranath Hospital provides public health care for the township and surrounding areas. It's named after Chris Hani the former president of the Communist Party who was assassinated by the apartheid regime in 1992. It sees an estimated one million patients a year and has an extensive facility that includes a large housing complex for the doctors who come from all over the world to work there.
Just beyond the hospital and the old power station, we come upon an informal settlement and SonnyBoy pulls into a dirt lot where we will take a short tour inside. This is one of many informal settlements in the township. This one is named after Elias Motswaledi who was arrested with Nelson Mandela in 1963. Started in 1993, the lot where this settlement stands was once owned by a white farmer in response to growing unrest to the housing crisis. 10 million homes were planned to be completed in ten years starting in 1994 and only four million have been completed so far. Residents here have little faith this goal will be met.
The government has done little to improve conditions here, there are 50 community water taps for the 1 250 spaces, no sewage, and no electricity. There are long drop toilets, simple holes in the ground, each serving two to three families each. Deficient infrastructure does not mean this settlement goes without regulation. Amazingly there are rules to qualify to live here; residents must make no more than 3 000 Rand a month. With rising food and fuel costs, almost 100% in the last three months, it seems almost against reason to put restrictions on those who are trying desperately to rise out poverty.
Roughly 20 000 people live here from 8 different tribes speaking as many languages. Xolisa, our resident guide, is university educated, articulate, and thoughtful. But he, like his neighbors in the settlement suffer from high unemployment, a lack of opportunities and ill-thought out government policy. Government grants for each child under 13 years of age have the expected result of increasing the burden on the community by encouraging more children.
We visit the home of one of the residents, Hilda. She lives in a small single room shack. She cares for seven grand children, and at 67 is now too old to work. Our conversation lasted a few minutes, we got to ask a few questions and was asked to make a small cash donation that she immediately slid under her pillow, next to other donations from the tourists who visited her earlier in the day. She was convincingly pitiful and our short visit was among the most awkward interactions I've had with another human being in my life.
Her story was sad, but it was hard not to deny how manufactured an experience this was. Manufactured for a burgeoning tourist industry whose increasing numbers have become part of a new industry. On our way out we are given the chance to buy a souvenir. Jess and I are split up to maximize the opportunity. It also reduces our bargaining position and exposes us to a greater number of the settlement's residents. To say the least, it is an experience that is highly designed. And it works. Jess and I both end up purchasing souvenirs and making donations to the settlement. After about 15 minutes and 450 Rand, the both of us leave with tokens of our visit and an experience we won't soon forget.
Unlikely Tourist in Soweto Part III
As we continue into the rest of Diepkloof one gets a better idea of how most of the township lives. Throughout the 1950's and 60's the government built "proper" houses for Soweto residents. These matchbox houses, so named for their minimal floor-plans, have proper running water, sewage systems, and electricity. Until 1994 these matchbox houses were available only as rented units from the government. Ownership was not only prohibited by law, but by the sheer economics of the township.
Many of the matchboxes have since been augmented with roughly constructed additions built with materials scavenged from construction sites or purchased from scrap yards. They now stand literally elbow to elbow with no easements. Many also have corrugated iron shacks in their yards, these aren't for storage, they are, incredibly, rental units for those who have come to Soweto from the countryside in search of better living conditions. Laughable by modern standards, these corrugated shacks represent income for many of Soweto's residents who otherwise have no marketable skills. Rents for these shacks can be as much as 150 Rand a month.
The occasional tuck shop, or convenience store, provide basics to the neighborhood as many of its residents cannot make the trek to markets that are car-distances away. Brightly colored public phone booths provide communication for the township. The woeful lack of a public transportation system is just another in a series of shortcomings that Soweto's residents must deal with. Black taxis, over-crowded mini busses, and make-shift horse carts are Soweto resident's only means of transport. The bicycle is conspicuously absent.
We leave Diepkloof and head to a nearby taxi rank, a depot for black taxis, where an informal market occupies a dirt lot. At the market entrance is a crudely erected tent; four unpainted steel poles and a dusty tarp provide shade for a make-shift table where the food is served. And it's served directly on the table next to tin cups, except for the rice, which would probably stick the the splinters of the raw wood top. The patrons welcome me to try the local fair with a chuckle. I'm adventurous, but not that brave.
Aisles of stalls selling anything from produce to batteries comprise the market. Sellers break up large bulk purchases from the wholesale market across town, but not all sellers have managed the same scale. Some are selling individual candies and fruit for a few Rand a piece while others have larger operations. Everyone does what they can to eek out a living, trying to get enough Rand to have a single meal for the day.
Unlikely Tourist in Soweto Part II
From the old city center it is not far to the site of the new stadium under construction for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Its massive structural skeleton is still far from complete. With construction starting in 2006, the stadium is destined to host 120 000 fans for the upcoming World Cup. It stands as a symbol of progress, a display of progress and wealth. It also just happens to be located between the decaying city center and the township.
From the new stadium the vestiges of Soweto's past appear on the horizon. The cooling towers of the old power station, now painted to disguise their blighted appearance, stand as a reminder of a time where Johannesburg's energy was provided by the township at the expense of their environment. Pollution once spewed over the township while not a single volt of electricity was available to it. In 1970, they were finally shut down amidst criticism and growing dissatisfaction with the apartheid regime. It would be more than another 20 years until the township itself would see modern electrification.
Our tour of Soweto proper started in the well-to-do neighborhood of Diepkloof. Clean streets are lined with large modern houses with varied architectural styles. Bed and breakfasts are scattered throughout this upscale neighborhood as tourism over recent years has become one of Soweto's new economic foundations. For relatively little Rand, a tourist can stay in the famous township overnight, something that many might have never imagined.
At the edge of Diepkloof Expensive, as SonnyBoy refers to it, we come upon a section of empty lots. From here aging hostels built in the 1960's by mining companies stand only a few hundred yards in the distance. These hostels once housed black workers migrating from the country side to work mining jobs in Joburg. They were male-only, had no running water or proper waste management and no electricity. They have since become residences for hundreds of squatting families.
The government has taken steps to provide water taps and chemical porta potties, but have not electrified the units or installed proper sewage infrastructure. Rather they have begun the slow process of replacing these hostels with family housing units, still without electrical or sewage infrastructure, the units have yet to be populated by the families in the neighboring hostels. The resourceful residents have taken things into their own hands and have tapped illegally into the power grid by running raw non-insulated copper wire from light poles in Diepkloof across the street and into the hostels. If you don't know what you're looking for, these make-shift power lines are otherwise invisible except for the rocks that hold them down. Government and neighborhood officials have tried in vain to stop the practice.
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Invisible Fratter
by M.F. Ellison on March 8, 2014 March 8, 2014
“Master Race! Master Race!” chanted my drunken Aryan friends. The “Beer Olympics” had seemed like a great idea; what better way to build camaraderie amongst brothers than to engage in the spirit of competition, and to do it while getting shitfaced? This has bonded men together since the athletics of the ancients. However, while our intentions might have been good-humored, this seemingly lighthearted, “all in good fun” game quickly developed into a competition between races—as I believe most sporting events do.
We have all heard it said, or maybe thought it ourselves, that there are some sports that black people “are just better at.” Basketball and track are the obvious examples, although I’m sure I could go on about other sports as well. Then, of course, there are sports where whites prevail in much higher numbers: golf, tennis, lacrosse, squash, and curling. I have never given this seemingly apparent truth much sincere thought. I grew up just taking it as an obvious fact, something that I had observed since I was old enough to differentiate between skin tones. I suppose there might be reasons that blacks don’t predominate in some of those other sports, due to a mixture of inherent athletic talents and socioeconomic circumstances. Since having participated in the Beer Olympics, I have come to believe that “drinking games” might be safe to add to the list of white-dominated sports.
The breakdown for the Olympics was simple. They consisted of games you could imagine any frat-star championing: boat races, pitcher chugging, chesties, flip cup, and, of course, the classic beer pong. There were seventeen guys, with four teams of four competing tournament-style in five events, and the seventeenth guy serving a dual role as referee/bookie. The ref split the teams based on race. There was the Aryan team (consisting of the dudes with blonde hair and blue eyes), the Jews, the ethnics (consisting of the south and east Asian guys alongside the black guys), and the mutts (consisting of the mixed race people and the leftover Caucasians). The ref/bookie then proceeded to seed the teams and take bets, putting point spreads on the groups. The lowest spread went to the Aryans (meaning they were favored to win), and the highest spread went to the ethnics (meaning they were favored to lose).
At this point I remember thinking, “Wow this is really fucked up.” And yet my competitive spirit made me determined to win (who doesn’t like a classic underdog story?). I put my capped-at-two dollar bet on Team Ethnics and got ready to rumble!
Throughout the competition it became apparent that the rankings were overwhelmingly accurate. The Aryans dominated the boat race and swept the flip cup. Although the ethnics did win the beer pong (I credit this to our basketball skills, alongside the fact that the Aryans were really drunk from the chugging events), I remember continually thinking throughout the Olympics how white people are far better than other races at drinking games.
I’m not entirely sure why this is. My running hypothesis is that minority people simply do not drink to the same extent (or in the same fashion) as white people. There is something about white people’s blatantly nihilistic drinking style that I believe holds black people back. For generations blacks were slaves, to be possessed and expended at the discretion of their white masters. Viewed as nothing more than property, blacks were without autonomy of their bodies and minds, and as a result, have come to be a race of people who place high value on self-sovereignty. It has become a cultural parenting practice amongst blacks to instill in children a sense of obedience and control that I believe many white parents do not. I think this can especially be said of the black students who end up getting into Princeton. Blacks refuse to be uninhibited to the point of unrestraint, and as a result I believe many black people are turned off by the lack of control that accompanies excessive chugging.
An economic argument can also be given to explain whites’ superior skill in drinking games. It is more economically prudent to buy a cheap bottle of liquor to get fucked up than it is a thirty rack of beer, which is not as cost effective in getting one drunk. The inefficiency of it all, in the experience of the black people I know, is particularly off-putting.
By the time we had completed the first four events, the Aryans and the mutts were tied for first and the ethnics and the Jews were tied for third. We entered into the tiebreaker event: pitcher chugging. The ethnics and the Jews set up to go head-to-head. Each member of the team had to finish chugging an entire pitcher before the next member of his team could start drinking. The team whose members all finished first won. The ref said “go,” the teams began chugging, and I couldn’t tell who was going to win until the end, when the ethnic’s anchor came in clutch with a big performance. Surprisingly, the ethnics upset the Jews, and everyone went wild.
Next it was time for the Aryans and the mutts to set up. The competition style was the same, except this time each member of the team had to finish two pitchers. It was at this point that the Aryans started chanting their heinous chant, “Master Race! Master Race!”
I’m not going to lie: I wanted to kick the shit out of the Aryans. Not because of who they were, because there were good guys in there, but what they represented. While I personally have no malice towards anyone, I wanted to beat them simply because of what they embodied: whiteness, to its fullest extent. I often have a hard time grappling with my conception of white identity. I’m not sure what it would constitute, other than a vague sense of privilege that I could never understand or even hope to define, and to some degree, something that they (white people) may not even be aware exists. In this battle, as in all of my life, whiteness was merely what separated us from them, and me from him. It is something unattainable that I could neither hope nor desire to have.
The ref said “go” and the teams began. After a lot of chanting, a little throwing up, and a whole bunch of beer being chugged, Team Mutts emerged victorious! This admittedly satisfied me; the Aryans’ chant of “master race,” although playful, was so deeply rooted in historical realities that it disturbed me to the core. Their chant was a piercing reminder that to some degree many whites still subconsciously view themselves as the entitled, superior race, and thus was a validation of the reality that we only nominally live in a post-racial society.
I do not think that the events from the Olympics troubled others as much as they did me. I suppose that I, along with people who look like me, are burdened with a long memory and an eye for things that most people suspect are long gone. I was never going to be a full participant in this event, because I was cursed (and blessed) with a different lens, a veil through which to view society that leaves me marginalized not only at the Beer Olympics, but in another, larger experiment: America.
CategoriesCampus
One thought on “Invisible Fratter”
Jamal says:
“I wanted to beat them simply because of what they embodied: whiteness, to its fullest extent.”
I’m sorry I respect everyones views, but this piece is objectively both racist and hypocritical.
The quote covers racism, refuting that would represent the choice to abandon logic. (imagine if that sentence was changed to blackness, would you argue that it wasn’t racist no matter the context?) This whole thing is also entirely hypocritical because you chose to go to this event, participate at this event, stay to the bitter end, and express no personal regret for participating in what was clearly a racist event. If you had chosen to leave at the beginning your argument would be more substantive, or at least have substance. That is to say you haven’t really earned the right to say the events of the Olympics troubled you without also admitting that you were wrong (morally) to have participated in the first place, which you don’t do.
On a slightly less objective note, I think that you are undervaluing intent. I wouldn’t sacrifice sixteen friendships if they said something racist to me if it was not intended to hurt my feelings. If it really bothered me I might say something to them, but I wouldn’t publish an article criticizing them if they hadn’t intended to be mean, especially if all of this transpired when everyone was inebriated.
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Home SafeSchools
SafeSchools
Information compiled by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities on school and university access control and monitoring with metal detectors, surveillance cameras, and card access systems including smart cards.
Assessing School Facilities Damaged by Natural Disasters
Information on assessing flood-, wind, and earthquake-damaged schools, compiled by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
CPTED for Schools
Information on the principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) as it applies to school facilities, compiled by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
Information on fire prevention and protection of school and university facilities, compiled by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
Preparedness for Disasters - State Emergency Planning Guides
Plans, guidelines, manuals, and checklists developed by school districts and state education offices to assist schools in preparing for and responding to emergency and disaster situations.
Preparedness for Disasters -- Overview
Information on building or retrofitting schools to withstand natural disasters and terrorism, developing emergency preparedness plans, and using school buildings to shelter community members during emergencies.
Information on building or retrofitting colleges and universities to withstand natural disasters and terrorism, and developing emergency preparedness plans. Compiled by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
Preparedness for Natural Disasters
Information on school preparations for wind, earthquake, and flood hazards, compiled by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
Preparedness for School Shootings or Terrorism
Information on the protection of school and campus facilities from school shootings or terrorism, compiled by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
Safety and Security Assessment
Information on assessing school and university buildings for safety and security purposes, compiled by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
Information on safety and security issues on college and university campuses, compiled by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
Safety and Security--PK-12
Information on designing safer school facilities, compiled by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
Seismic Design and Retrofit for Schools
Information on design and retrofit of schools to resist earthquakes, compiled by the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
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Mark Gevisser
Mark Gevisser is an Open Society Fellow and a prize-winning South African author and journalist. His journalism has appeared in publications and journals including Granta, the New York Times, Vogue, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Foreign Affairs, Public Culture, and Art in America. He currently writes most regularly for The Guardian in the UK and the Mail & Guardian and the Sunday Times in South Africa. His 2008 title, Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred, won the Alan Paton Prize. Lost and Found in Johannesburg, was published in 2014. He is a contributor to Safe House, an anthology of narrative non-fiction published in 2016.
Image courtesy of www.markgevisser.com
The Queer Afro-modern
Books by Mark Gevisser
Buy Mark Gevisser books at the Book Lounge
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Building Character: Shino Asada (Sinon) from Sword Art Online
Building Character: Yuri Hyuga
Building Character: Willem & Chtholly From WorldEnd
Building Character: Let’s Talk About Sadie
By William Haderlie / April 13th, 2016
For my contribution to our week of Idea Factory International coverage, I wanted to talk about my favorite character from the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, Plutia/Iris Heart, and what makes her my favorite character. Like everyone who really gets into a series (or picks a waifu), there are often very personal reasons for those decisions. So first I’ll give a bit of a character primer on Plutia, and then I will describe why she is so endearing to me. This will be a personal post but I do consider most of the best writing to be personal. So let’s get on with it.
Keeping Plutia happy is a good decision for your mental health.
Plutia was first introduced as a CPU from the past of Planeptune. Initially it can be rather difficult to tell which console she represents, however that is resolved when she finally transforms for the first time. As anyone who plays the series consistently knows, the CPUs and CPU Candidates represent consoles from certain companies. Planeptune represents Sega, so when you see her transform it becomes apparent that she is the Sega Genesis. In her normal form her laziness is even greater than that of Nep-Nep, so apparently it must be something in their genes. In fact, she is so lazy that she wanders around in her pajamas and slippers, and attacks using her stuffed animals. Of course, the stuffed animal attack also takes on a new perspective when you see some other sides of her personality. But initially she is just very sweet and kind and loyal and very easy to get along with or make friends with. Noire was not that keen to help out Neptune when she got trapped in the past, but it was Plutia that adopted the wayward CPU. However, when she transforms a new aspect of her personality comes out. And it is the most drastic change of any of the CPUs in the series thus far.
Serving me is in your best interest.
When she transforms she becomes Iris Heart. Certainly she is very beautiful, but without her even uttering a word, you can tell that she is a CPU cut from a different cloth, and that cloth is leather. That’s right, folks, in this CPU we have our BDSM queen, a Dominatrix. And she does not just wear the outfit, she loves tormenting her girls. Not only does the enemy feel her wrath, but also her companions must be wary lest her whip be turned on them. So, in general, they decide for their own safety that it’s best to keep Plutia calm and only call out Sadie (as she is aptly nicknamed) when things are really desperate. She will destroy the enemy, then grind them into the dust, and then look to her friends for more. Why would the Sega Genesis be represented this way? Well there are a lot of reasons. But my suspicions would be that it is the combination of several factors. The console was a darker and more mature looking black and red compared to the Nintendo consoles of the time. They engaged in an aggressive marketing strategy, in particular focusing on their blast processing and doing things that “Ninten-don’t”. And right from the gates they wanted to focus on more “adult content” for their console, in this case games like Altered Beast, Splatterhouse, and an unedited Mortal Kombat.
Phrases like this are catnip for some individuals.
I actually missed out on Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory the first time around. Although I had owned the previous two games in the series, I had not beaten either of them yet and I was invested heavily in an MMO that was dominating (pun intended) most of my gaming time. So actually I only really got to know her on the fabulous remakes on the PS Vita. She is a playable character on Re;Make 1 and 2, but you don’t have any story or background until 3. I liked her look and her battle quotes a lot in the first two games, but I really fell in love with her once I was able to play her as a main character in Re;Make 3. I ended up loving her so much that it was my only major disappointment with the fantastic Megadimension Neptunia VII that I was not able to play Iris heart again.
It’s okay Iffy, don’t be scared, let me explain.
So why did Iris Heart become my favorite CPU? Honestly, I’m not a very big fan of the Sega Genesis; I was a much larger fan of the SNES and still consider that console to be superior in practically every way. I have gone back and played many of the Genesis games that I missed but they never really captured my heart the same way, especially the Sonic games. So my fondness for her has nothing to do with the console that she represents. It is her personality and design alone. And that attraction for me is almost entirely due to how she represents the BDSM lifestyle. So I’d like to talk about that a bit, both to educate and to enlighten. For the definition of BDSM, I will go with the outline of Tristan Taormino in her book The Ultimate Guide to Kink (pp 4-5) paraphrased. It is one of the better ones that I have come across:
B & D or B/D stands for bondage and discipline. It (isn’t) necessarily meant to denote only bondage and discipline, but rather a range of activities that revolved around power exchange.
SM is the common abbreviation for sadism and masochism or sadomasochism. These terms were coined by Richard von Krafft-Ebing in 1886 and have appeared frequently since then in psychoanalytic literature to describe sexual pathologies; however, kinky people reclaimed them beginning around the 1970s, and S/M was the most popular term until BDSM gained widespread use by the 2000s.
Embedded in the acronym BDSM is D/s, which represents dominance and submission or Dominant/submissive. Today, D/s is most often used to denote relationships that are built around a dominant/submissive power dynamic where power echange is always or very often present (and may exist without other elements of BDSM). In those D/s relationships where the power exchange is always present, partners inhabit their roles and reinforce the dynamic through various rituals, protocols, and behaviors all the time; these relationships may be referred to as 24/7 D/s, lifestyle D/s, TPE (total power exchange), or APE (absolute power exchange).
I define these things because there is a lot of misunderstanding around them and so that you will know what I am talking about here. Especially to point out “lifestyle D/s” as above. While I am not currently in a lifestyle D/s relationship, I have been in the past, and I respect and value them very much. It should come as no shock that this is a relationship type that is very seldom explored in the world of video games. Not only is that a shame for those of us who are into the world of BDSM and Kink, but it also provides and inaccurate view of adult sexual relationships to avoid it entirely. Franky most studies show that the lion’s share of long lasting relationships will at least delve into the world of BDSM , you can look at a more thorough study here or you need only look at the sales figures for the 50 Shades of Grey to understand how prolific that is.
The very words ‘sadism’ and ‘masochism’ come from the world of novels: Sadism comes from the name Marquis de Sade who wrote The 120 Days of Sodom which features many scenes of sadism (enjoyment at the infliction of pain or asserting control), Masochism comes from the name Leopold von Sacher-Masoch who wrote Venus in Furs and features masochistic tendencies (enjoyment at the receiving of pain or humiliation). I want to spell these things out, not only to educate, but to make the point that if video games want to be considered a high art, like the novel, I expect them to stretch boundaries, not to just exist to make money. I could rant on that one for days.
Pride cometh before the fall.
So why do I love Sadie so much? Because she is an avatar for me. An aspect of me that is seldom explored in this hobby. Sure, I do read a lot of books with BDSM content and I play some visual novels with it as well, but this is one of the few video games that has allowed me that expression. No, I do not dream of Sadie punishing me, while I can switch at times I am mostly a Dominant, but she represents a large part of my personality. And games are often at their best when they are personal, just like writing. The BDSM lifestyle has just as much right to exist in the world of video games as any others that we represent. That is not to say that every developer should insert it into their game to please me. No, I want more content, not less. And I want it to be written by those that have a passion for it. In that respect, it is not a big surprise that it has been coming out of Japan. BDSM clubs and professionals are fairly common in the Land of the Rising Sun (here are some examples of their cultural attitudes for it, or you can watch season 2, episode 7, of Parts Unknown for a more visual exploration). Do I mind that it’s a very strong female character that I see myself as? No, not really. I’m enough of a man to identify with a woman and not feel that my masculinity is in any danger. So those that are looking for strong female characters that meet whatever test or criteria you have set up, feel free to look at Sadie here. Or is she too attractive for you? If so, she will see you in her dungeon; her boots can use a spit shine.
About William Haderlie
Born in the 1970's, I've been an avid participant for much of video game history. A lifetime of being the sort of supergeek entrenched in the sciences and mathematics has not curbed my appreciation for the artistry of video games, cinema, and especially literature.
View all posts by William Haderlie
Hyperdimension NeptuniaHyperdimension Neptunia Re; Birth 3Hyperdimension Neptunia VictoryIdea Factory InternationalPS VitaPS3
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Platinum Taekwon-Do
VI Dan Instructors
V Dan Instructors
IV Dan Instructors
Contact to Join
ITF World Cup Sydney 2018
Oceanic Taekwon-Do Championships 2019
Selections for the 2019 ITF World Championships
Coloured Belts
Grand Master Tran’s Messages
Platinum Taekwon-Do students and I Dan Black Belts, Aiden Duryea (15) and Isaac Blackwell (15) have been selected as members of the Australian National Team to represent Australia in the 2019 International Taekwon-Do Federation World Championships to be held in Inzell, Germany
24- 28 April.
Western Australia will additionally be represented by Platinum Taekwon-Do instructor, Paul Raymond who has been selected to fill the role of one of five Australian coaches on their World Championship team.
Aiden and Isaac have been training alongside each other and competing in ITF Taekwon-Do for ten years and it is a significant achievement to be selected for the National team. This event follows closely after the ITF World Cup in Sydney in September 2018 where the boys performed very well. Aiden was teamed with fellow Platinum Taekwon-Do student Euen Chong earning a bronze medal and Isaac also earnt a bronze medal in sparring. Aiden and Isaac will compete in free sparring, patterns and prearranged sparring in Germany.
mob: 0414 932 609 email: platinumtkd@iprimus.com.au
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Home Directory Attractions & Activities Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
Address: 165 Forest Avenue
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Website: http://www.pgmuseum.org/
The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History is located at the corner of Forest & Central Avenues in Pacific Grove, California. The Museum is dedicated to exhibiting and interpreting the natural history of Monterey County, California. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., except on major holidays.
The Museum has permanent exhibits which interpret the native plants, animals, geology, and aboriginal populations of Monterey County. The Museum also displays a variety of special temporary exhibits throughout the year.
The Museum has an on-site education program for group visits at no cost to Monterey County schools. Visits can consist of either a self-guided walk-through, or a talk from one of the Museum staff on a specific topic, or a combination of both.
The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Asssociation was established in 1967 to provide support for the Museum, both in voluntary work, and providing financial assistance. Each year the Association contributes funds to provide exciting temporary exhibits, educational activities, and lecture series. The Association runs a small Gift Shop in the Museum which is staffed by volunteers. The Gift Shop hours are from 10:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on days that the Museum is open.
Volunteers are always a welcome addition to the Museum's many programs. Volunteer opportunities include staffing the Museum Gift Shop, conducting tours of the Point Pinos Lighthouse, and assisting visitors at the Monarch Grove Sanctuary.
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Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
September 25, 2016 /
As a fan of the SMT games and a die-hard fan of their spin-off Persona games, I wanted to like SMTIV:Apocalypse, but I just can’t get into it. I played a bit of the first SMTIV and really didn’t care for it. This game is more of the same, but with less likable characters. I love the post-apocalyptic setting and the imagery, however the NPCs that you share living space with are completely devoid of character other than their names/descriptions like as “irrational woman” or “grizzly man”. No joke, these are the game’s style of naming unimportant NPCs. I guess it gives the idea that there are more people living in this tight area than if they only allowed you to explore your direct living space and an open gathering space. Still, if they’re trying to show over-crowding, I don’t get that vibe with one or two kids wandering around and a bar that only has 2-5 people to speak with.
I love the idea of summoning demons via smartphone apps, and that society still has smart phones and networks for such things. Let’s face it, we’re not giving that shit up as a people after the world goes to complete shit. There’s a lot that I do like about the game, but just as much that I just can’t forgive. There is zero support for the *New* 3DS in the form of controlling the camera with the nub or even a circle pad pro, should you have one. Instead, it relies on camera controls from the first Persona game, which is using the L and R buttons to pan left and right. Not only does that offer a terrible camera, it also closes off shortcut options. Perhaps the game doesn’t need shortcuts, but I haven’t encountered an RPG that wouldn’t be better with them, even if it’s just so you can advance dialog. I’m playing 4 other games along with this one, and each one of them use a second analog or the 3DS’ nub for camera controls, so coming back to SMTIV:A feels more like slogging through an old PS1 game that I only kind of like when I really just want to play Monster Hunter with my friends.
To me, SMTIV:A is a game made for fans of SMTIV. It’s a side story to the original, and often uses the characters from IV as a crutch to tell a story from the view of a regular person. You play as Nanashi who dies before you get past the introduction. A demon restores you back to your former self and grants you access to some of his powers if you agree to become his godslayer. Naturally, you agree so you can rescue your friend. Nanashi seems like he’s kind of a rebel and bad ass judging by his punk-like clothes, hair, and especially the look on his face. As it turns out, he’s a little fanboy of Flynn and follows in his shadow for over half of the game. After a while he comes out of Flynn’s shadow, and has a very enjoyable story of his own. Once that happens, it’s much more enjoyable. I just wish it didn’t take as long as it does to get to that point.
There are some highlights to the game. First, the map is much improved over SMTIV. Other improvements include the game’s tutorial is much more intuitive, smarter and faster to navigate menus and user interface, and an easier to understand demon fusion system. If you’re a die-hard fan of the series, ignore most of what I’ve said and continue playing, because you probably already knew all of this going in. It’s better than IV in some ways, and not so great in others, but it’s still SMT at it’s core. It just didn’t grab me.
3DSApocalypseAtlusNintendoShin Megami TensaiSMT4:Apocalypse
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Greenpeace Wants G20 Leaders to Do More on Climate Change
Tokyo-(PanOrient News) The environmental organization Greenpeace wasn’t fully satisfied with the results of the G20 Leaders Summit held in Osaka on June 28 and 29, calling on leaders of the participating nations to take immediate and stronger action to combat climate change.
“To prove to the people they are really prepared to do what’s expected of them, G19 leaders must launch a rapid decarbonisation of their economies and not let another meeting in an endless trade negotiation be the focus,” said Jennifer Morgan, the international executive director of Greenpeace International.
On the issue of climate change, the participating countries ended up with a statement echoing the one made at last year’s summit, which simply reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris Agreement. The U.S. once again remained the outlier, however, as it has withdrawn from the pact.
“Every moment is critical and in this accelerating crisis, summit outcomes reaffirming a commitment to the Paris Agreement are increasingly akin to business-as-usual if not matched with national policy commitments and real world action that rapidly aligns them with the 1.5C goal,” said Morgan, referencing the goal to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Although Morgan called the G19 resolve to act on climate “steadfast,” she also said that the summit host Japan has a “weak long-term climate strategy” that doesn’t address carbon pollution at its source. She said countries need to make fundamental changes to production and consumption models to adequately address the issue.
“The youth are striking from school and communities launching lawsuits against polluters, all of them demanding that G20 leaders prove themselves worthy of the name by taking immediate action,” she said. “The reality of climate change is here and it’s time to get on with implementation.”
Jun. 28: A Hong Konger Seeks Independence
Jun. 19: Sudanese in Tokyo Call on Japan to Help Restore Peace in Their Country
Jun. 08: Japan Condemns Deadly Attacks on Protesters in Sudan
Mar. 27: Japan Welcomes Fall of Last ISIL Stronghold in Syria
Mar. 26: Japan Condemns Rocket Launched from Gaza
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Japan Palestine Summit Meeting
Tokyo- Japan's Foreign Ministry issued the following statement on the summit meeting held between Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad:
On November 24 (Wed) for about 25 minutes from 6:00 p.m., Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan, held a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office with Dr. Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, on his visit to Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1.Prime Minister Kan stated Japan’s support for a two-state solution that would realize peaceful coexistence between Israel and a Palestinian state, and strongly urged the resumption of the direct peace negotiations. Prime Minister Kan also announced that Japan would continue assisting the Palestinian Authority’s state-building efforts and extend assistance of approximately 100 million US dollars within this fiscal year.
2.Prime Minister Kan expressed an intention to continue working on the “Corridor for Peace and Prosperity” Initiative as a model of regional cooperation. He also explained that Japan intends to expand the supporters for the Palestinian Authority’s state-building, in cooperation with other East Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
3.Prime Minister Fayyad stated that the Palestinian side would be committed to peace negotiation, and thanked the Government and the people of Japan for their assistance to the Palestinian Authority’s state-building. Prime Minister Fayyad also requested continued support from Japan in the preparation process leading up to the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2011.
Dinner between Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Seiji Maehara and Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority Dr. Salam Fayyad
On November 24 (Wed) for about 1 hour and 45 minutes from 7:30 p.m., Mr. Seiji Maehara, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, had a dinner with Dr. Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, on his visit to Japan. In line with the discussions at the summit meeting that preceded it, the following exchanges took place.
Minister Maehara strongly urged the resumption of the direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian side and the realization of a two-state solution through negotiation. He explained Japan’s stance on the peace in the Middle East, including its call on Israel to freeze all settlement activities in the West Bank which includes East Jerusalem.
Minister Maehara also explained that Japan will continue to extend assistance to the Palestinian Authority’s for its state-building, and that its assistance of JFY 2010 will reach approximately 100 million US dollars.
Prime Minister Fayyad expressed the Palestinian commitment to peace negotiation, and expressed his appreciation to Japan for clarifying its stance on the peace in the Middle East, which he regards as contribution to advancing the peace process. The Prime Minister also thanked Japan for its assistance to the Palestinians, including the “Corridor for Peace and Prosperity” Initiative and collaboration with East Asian countries for supporting the Palestinian state-building efforts.
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Their Beautiful Minds: Focusing on Strengths
It is time, long since past due, to follow a strengths-based paradigm as we understand children’s minds, especially the minds of those children who struggle to learn. It is time to reject the pathology-based model of disabilities, disorders, and diseases and replace it with a more comprehensive and neurologically capacious model that emphasizes talents, interests, and strengths as well as the obstacles that get in the way of their developing.
Listen in as Dr. Hallowell and Penny Williams discuss how parents can shift to a positive, strengths-based approach with their kids with autism.
Edward (Ned) Hallowell, MD, is a board-certified child and adult psychiatrist, a thought leader, a NY Times bestselling author, a world-renowned keynote speaker and a leading authority in the field of ADHD. He is the Founder of The Hallowell Centers in Boston MetroWest, New York City, San Francisco and Seattle. He has authored 20 books on various psychological topics, including ADHD, the power of human connection, the childhood roots of adult happiness, how to help your people SHINE, forgiveness, managing worry and managing your “crazy busy” lives.
Creating Optimal Wellness for Kids with Autism
There are a lot of things in our environments that affect kids with autism spectrum disorder, and it’s not limited to sensory issues. Toxins can have a negative impact, while a healthy diet and lifestyle can have a positive impact.
Join Jennifer Scribner and Penny Williams as they discuss what products in our homes could be negatively impacting kids with autism, what a healthy lifestyle looks like for individuals with autism, and how to get picky kids to try more foods and diversify their diet.
Jennifer Scribner is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Certified GAPS™ Practitioner, and Restorative Wellness Practitioner. She’s the author of the book From Mac & Cheese to Veggies, Please. How to get your kid to eat new foods, end picky eating forever, and stay sane in the process, which is based on her work with hundreds of clients and details how any parent can dramatically change the diet of their pickiest kids.
Jennifer teaches families how to make step-by-step changes to create a non-toxic lifestyle. Her focus includes food choices, non-toxic home products, and mindset and stress management tools, including EFT Tapping.
Her other passions include her husband and two cats, Hello Kitty, and taking cooking classes when she travels abroad. Learn more and connect with Jennifer on her website and blog at www.bodywisdomnutrition.com.
Developing Independence & Flexibility in Kids with Executive Function Deficits
Do you ever feel like your kid is being deliberately oppositional because they refuse to do something that is clearly in their best interest? It’s usually not a matter of WON’T, but rather CAN’T, and difficulties with executive functioning can make it even harder.
In this conversation with Monica Adler Werner, M.A., you will learn about the seven executive functions (shift, inhibit, emotional control, initiation, working memory, planning and organization, and monitoring) and what they look like in everyday situations. Once you know what your child is struggling with, you will learn about the scripts that the creators of the Unstuck and On Target curriculum have found will help your child develop these incredibly important skills.
Monica Adler Werner specializes in program development, executive function interventions in autism and parent coaching and support. She currently works at the Center for Assessment and Treatment (CAAT) as an executive function and parent coach. She also consults extensively to schools, and works with the Ivymount Outreach Program. Formerly she was in the leadership at the Ivymount School where she served as Director of Training, Consulting and Program Development (2017-18) and the Director of the Model Asperger Program (MAP, 2011-2017). In that capacity she led the 2 year old, new program, into becoming an innovative, child centered school that integrates social learning curriculum throughout the day and emphasizes problem solving, self advocacy and self regulation–while keeping students on track academically. She also collaborates with a multidisciplinary team to develop—and establish the evidence basis for curricula that support the development of executive functions.
She is a coauthor of “Unstuck and On Target” (Brookes, 2011), a curriculum to enhance cognitive flexibility and problem solving in students with Autism and “Solving Executive Function Challenges: Simple Ways to Get Kids with Autism Unstuck and on Target.” She is the coauthor on numerous papers and posters about working with children with Autism. Prior to Ivymount, Monica co-founded of Take2 Summer Camp, a program designed to pilot the development and application of evidence based social skills programs. Monica has an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins. She completed the coursework for her BCBA at Florida Institute of Technology.
Teaching Social and Emotional Concepts to Kids with Autism
Kids with autism sometimes have a hard time understanding how their actions appear to others. But when we point out how it is coming across, they can become defensive or upset, because no one likes being told they are doing something wrong, especially in front of their peers.
In this interview, Kari Dunn Buron describes several techniques she likes to use to help kids with autism learn how they are coming across, and how to self-regulate. These include the Incredible 5-Point Scale, paired with a social story that describes what the different scale levels look like and how to change your level to one that is expected for the current environment. She also describes how to use video self-modeling in which children make a video of themselves using the techniques they have chosen to successfully self-regulate. With real-life stories, she helps us understand that kids want to learn these skills – we just have to do it in a way that makes sense to them.
Kari Dunn Buron taught in K-12 with students on the autism spectrum for 30+ years and was a founding member of the MN Autism Project. She developed an Autism Spectrum Disorders Certificate program for educators at Hamline University in St. Paul, MN. In 2003, Kari received a fellowship that allowed her to spend a year interviewing and working internationally with a number of scientists and researchers in the area of Social Cognition and Education, with a focus on autism and challenging behaviors. In 2012, Kari was inducted into the Illinois State University Education Department Hall of Fame.
Kari is the co-author of The Incredible 5-Point Scale and the author of When My Worries Get Too Big-Revised (Mom’s Choice Award 2013 Gold), A 5 Could Make Me Lose Control and A 5 is Against the Law! (2008 ASA literary award winner). Kari is the co-editor of a textbook for educators entitled Learners on the Autism Spectrum: Preparing Highly Qualified Educators (2009 ASA literary award winner) and a co-author of Social Behavior and Self-Management (a scale book for adults). Kari recently released a social skills curriculum called The Social Times Curriculum (based on the Social Times magazine and winner of a National Indie Excellence Award).
Social Skills Interventions & Strategies that Help Kids with ASD
Through no fault of their own, kids with autism struggle to effectively navigate the social world. They make mistakes that cause other kids to avoid interacting with them, to think they are mean or rude, or even selfish. Very often autistics know that they are doing something wrong, but they have no idea what they should do.
If you’ve been in Autism World for a while, you’ve probably enrolled your child in a social skills group or two, perhaps without much success. Sometimes, we teach our kids to do social “appropriate” things that actually end up making them look terribly awkward. (For example: walking up to another child, introducing yourself and asking if you can play. Sounds good but that’s not how socially skilled kids join in and play.) In this session, Speech Language Pathologist Kathy Dow-Burger, MA, CCC-SLP will describe social skills interventions that actually work to help kids avoid making social blunders.
Kathy Dow-Burger, M.A., CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist (SLP) and an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Maryland-College Park. She is also the Co-Director of the University of Maryland Autism Research Consortium (UMARC). Kathy is the founder and program designer of the Social Interaction Group Network for All (SIGNA) http://umdsigna.weebly.com/. She and the SIGNA and UMARC team are conducting outcome research on the SIGNA programming and virtual reality (VR) projects related to ASD. She was a speech-language pathologist at Kennedy Krieger Hospital, the Kennedy Krieger Center for Development & Learning Programs & Services and the Kennedy Krieger School in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, she has worked as an SLP at the Katherine Thomas School in Rockville, Maryland as well as in Prince George’s County Public Schools.
How to Help Kids With Language Processing Difficulties
Just because your child can speak doesn’t mean they can understand you. And it doesn’t mean that they are necessarily good at all language tasks. Sometimes talking repetitively about the same topic is a coping strategy for language-based learning disability – it’s a lot easier to learn how to properly talk about a single topic than to flexibly respond to a wide variety of topics.
In this session, Speech Language Pathologist Maria Dixon, MA, CCC-SLP describes different types of language learning disabilities that are common in children with autism – from odd pronunciations and prosodic patterns, to category-specific vocabulary deficits, to difficulty with understanding the order in which things should happen, challenges understanding pronouns, or verb tense endings… not to mention social pragmatic skills like when to respond, how to read body language, and how to control your own body to keep an interaction going. In addition to describing these challenges, Ms. Dixon will give tips for parents to help their kids learn to communicate more effectively.
Maria V. Dixon is a faculty member in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Arizona State University. She is a licensed and certified Speech-Language Pathologist with over 10 years of clinical experience and expertise evaluating and treating children with a variety of speech and language disorders. Maria’s clinical and research interests are in child language development and disorder in general and in autism spectrum disorders. She has designed and implemented social language groups for young children, adolescents and young adults who have social language difficulties.
The Importance of the Parent-Child Guiding Relationship
When parents are intuitively in sync with their children, they naturally know how to push their children enough that they are challenged, but not so much that they fall apart. In autism, the children don’t give feedback that the parents can understand which makes it hard for a parent to know when they have pushed their kids farther and faster than they can handle.
In this session, Dr. Rachelle Sheely shares techniques that will help you learn to be a good mentor to your child and how to teach them to be responsive to your guidance. You will learn strategies for teaching a child to co-regulate – where both of you can take responsibility for keeping an interaction going. You will also learn how to avoid doing things that make your child withdraw, or worse, passively wait for your every command. By learning how to help your child feel competent, you will teach them how to think for themselves.
Rachelle K. Sheely, Ph.D., President of RDIconnect® serves as the President of RDIconnect® as well as the head of professional training and supervision. For the past fifteen years she has been a leader in the development and logistical implementation of programs for both families and professionals working with children, adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities. Along with her extensive clinical training, Dr. Sheely brings an accomplished background in education, art, music and poetry allowing her to inject creativity and originality into the teaching, training and management of the thousands of professionals and families she reaches on a daily basis. Profoundly affecting, Dr. Sheely has spent a lifetime working with children on a professional and personal level. With a gift for moving from observation to intuitive precision, her work extends far beyond treatment, and into the everyday moments that resonate in the lives of her clients.
Transitioning to Life After High School: College & Gap Year
Graduating from high school is a time of transition for kids and their parents. Figuring out how to successfully launch your young adult into a life of independence and fulfillment is a daunting task, even when they don’t have autism. Young adults with autism who get good grades may not do well in college because they don’t know how to do the activities of daily living, how to organize and plan their time in an unstructured setting, or know how to meet other kids who share their interests.
Listen as Judy Bass, a Certified Educational Planner, describes how to figure out what level of support a child will need, and how to choose a post-secondary option that will allow them to grow and become independent. Learn why it is important to prepare for options that are realistic for your child – by focusing on their strengths, and steering them to careers where they can do what they are passionate about in a setting where they can be successful. Ms. Bass describes four different types of post-secondary programs available to students with disabilities: (1) college with supports, (2) programs where students learn life skills while taking a college class or two, (3) programs for students who do not want a diploma, but who need to develop career skills, and (4) gap year programs. As Judy says, “All students develop on different time lines. There is no one path to independence.”
Judith S. Bass, CEP is an internationally recognized expert in the field of college placement for students who learn differently. For the past 18 years, Ms. Bass has provided comprehensive college and post-secondary planning for students who learn differently. Ms. Bass has developed CollegeWebLD, www.collegewebld.com , a one-stop source of information on college disability services at over 400 colleges in the US. Ms. Bass is the current Chair of the Commission on Credentialing for AICEP (www.aicep.org) and is a past Board Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA). She also serves as a consultant to several independent high schools in the Washington, DC area. Ms. Bass is a contributing author in the recently published book, Navigating the Transition from High School to College for Students with Disabilities. Her articles have appeared in numerous magazines, including Washington Parent and ATTENTION Magazine. Ms. Bass received her undergraduate degree in Spanish and Education from Stony Brook University, earned a Graduate Level Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA and holds the designation of Certified Educational Planner.
Be Different: Navigating the World of Neurotypicals
It’s tough to be a kid with autism, and it’s tough to parent a kid with autism. John Elder Robison has experienced both sides of the equation – growing up as an undiagnosed child with autism, and then raising his son, Cubby, who is also autistic. We asked Mr. Robison to join us to help parents understand how to support their kids while embracing the things that make them unique.
During this interview you will hear about the pain of growing up thinking that you are “less” instead of “different”, and some of the challenges John faced while raising an autistic child while being autistic himself. You will learn about the importance of finding a place for your child to explore their interests and the joy of exploring and sharing mutually enjoyable experiences with your child. As John observes, “Knowledge of autism is empowering. Knowledge of your behavior without understanding where it comes from hurts.”
John Elder Robison is an autistic adult who teaches neurodiversity and works to shape autism research and treatment policy. He is an active participant in the ongoing discussion of ethical and legal issues relating to autism therapy, services, and intervention. He is particularly interested in improving quality of life for those people living with autism today – both autistic people and family members.
John is the Neurodiversity Scholar in Residence at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, and an advisor to the Neurodiversity Institute at Landmark College in Putney, VT. He’s a member of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee of the US Department of Health and Human Services, and he serves on other boards for the US National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and private organizations.
John is best known for his New York Times Bestselling books, including “Look Me In the Eye.”
How to Advocate Effectively with School Teams
During the week, your child spends half of their waking hours at school, so you want to be sure that that time is well-spent. Sometimes that means altering the classroom or assignments to support and accommodate their learning differences, and sometimes that means providing additional services to help them learn missing skills. Either way, the relationship between families and educators can have a big impact on a child’s experience.
In this interview, Ms. Martin describes the differences between 504 Plans and Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), and how to gather evidence of measurable progress to help a team decide on appropriate supports and interventions. Learn how to document your child’s story, and how to involve the school team in understanding your child. You will learn about the importance of written documentation in building this understanding, and also about the processes and timelines that will help you get support for your child.
Debrah Martin has been an advocate for children for more than 36 years. She is a School Psychologist who founded Best Solutions Educational Services after retirement from Fairfax County Public Schools. As President of Best Solutions, her goal is to help ALL students reach their potential. One of her primary goals is to help parents navigate through the services provided in school systems by providing consultations, advocacy services, and parent workshops. Best Solutions also provides individualized tutoring and academic coaching for students who need support in the area of executive functioning. Debrah Martin also supports several community endeavors which include serving as the President of the Board of Directors for SPEC Foundation Inc. and as the Ministry Leader for The Safe Place Ministry at Woodstream Church (for families who have children with special needs). She has been a part of several community- based organizations that support the special needs community and served on the Board of Directors for the Arc of Prince George’s County for five years.
Brain Differences and Their Impact on Your Child’s Autistic Experience
It’s so easy to think that your child is trying to manipulate you when they are struggling to do things that seem simple to people who don’t have autism. But there are brain-based differences that can explain the some of autism’s mystifying properties.
In this presentation, Dr. Sarah Wayland, Ph.D. describes how the autistic brain is different and how those structural and functional differences can explain behavior. Learn about differences in individual neurons, how key brain regions are structured, how those regions are interconnected, and how they respond. As you learn about the biological disparities, you will better understand your child’s experiences. You will also learn how the autistic brain is primed to react strongly to external stimuli, and how the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems can drive self-regulating responses that make a child look “more autistic”. To quote Ross Greene: “Kids do well when they can.” And when they can’t, a biological response is likely the reason.
Sarah Wayland, PhD, is a certified RDI Consultant, parent coach, and Special Needs Care Navigator at the company she founded, Guiding Exceptional Parents. She helps parents learn how to confidently and effectively help their children at home, at school, and in the community by learning about everyone in the family and collaborating with them to develop customized strategies that work.
Medication Management for Kids on the Spectrum
While there aren’t yet any medications that directly target the core differences of autism, there are medications that can help with some of the co-occurring challenges, including attention, and anxiety, and mood disorders, to name a few. Unfortunately, a lot of kids with autism respond atypically to medication which can make it difficult for a doctor to find the right drug.
In this presentation, Dr. Gonzalo Laje will describe some of these atypical responses, and will explain how the field of pharmacogenetics is revolutionizing psychiatric treatment. He will help you understand some of the differences in how individuals with autism respond to medications, so you can work with your doctor to find the medications that will help your child function at their best.
After completing his medical education at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, Dr. Laje moved to the U.S. and worked at the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at Columbia University. He completed his training in general psychiatry at New York University/Bellevue Hospital in New York City, and his training in child and adolescent psychiatry through the combined program NIMH/Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. He completed a research fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in psychiatric genetics and became and Associate Clinical Investigator. His research has focused on pharmacogenetics, clinical trials and neuroimaging, as well as, pharmacological interventions to address behavioral and emotional difficulties in genetic disorders. Dr. Laje is author and co-author of peer-reviewed publications in major psychiatric and genetics journals. Dr. Laje earned a Master of Health Sciences in Clinical Research from Duke University.
Dr. Laje is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and he is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) in General Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He has been the recipient of multiple awards including: Washingtonian Magazine – Top Doctors 2012 and 2015, Bench-to-Bedside Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Fellows Award for Research Excellence, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Outstanding Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Resident; the AACAP Outstanding General Psychiatry Resident; the International Medical Graduate Mentorship Program in Psychiatry by the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT); the American Psychiatric Association – New York District Branch – Resident Research Award; the APA – Janssen Research Scholar on Severe Mental Illness and the NCDEU-NIMH New Investigator Award.
He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Society of Human Genetics and the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics. He is a Board member of the Washington Psychiatric Society (WPS), the Winter Conference on Brain Research (WCBR), the Montgomery County Public Schools Educational Foundation, the Scientific Advisory Boards of Madison House Autism Foundation, Parents and Researchers Interested in Smith-Magenis Syndrome (PRISMS) and the Editorial Board of the journal Child Psychiatry & Human Development. He is the co-founder of Autism Spectrum Partners and the Maryland Institute for Neuroscience and Development.
Flexible Thinking in a Dynamically Changing World
Have you noticed that your child struggles to adapt to the constant changes that are part of everyday life? Situations that can cause difficulties for people with autism are often situations where what will happen is unpredictable. This is one reason social situations are such a challenge – other people are unpredictable!
In this presentation, Dr. Steven Gutstein Ph.D. will help you understand the critical importance of being able to encode your memories, organize them, and then retrieve those memories for analysis so you can figure out which parts of those experiences match the current situation, so you can anticipate how to navigate your current situation. As you listen, you will learn strategies for teaching your child how to master this critical life skill.
Dr. Steve Gutstein is an internationally renowned pioneer in the field of developmental disabilities. As the developer of RDIconnect®, he has brought over twenty years of experience in treatment planning, program development, clinical expertise and education to his innovative approaches for treating at-risk children, adolescents and adults. Over the course of his career he has trained thousands of dedicated professionals, supporting them as they work with families around the world. It is Dr. Gutstein’s belief that every individual with developmental disabilities merits a second chance to realize success in a world where their choices and decisions are entirely their own.
Autism Looks Different in Girls
Girls with autism are underdiagnosed, and when they are diagnosed it is nearly two years later than their male counterparts. One reason for the delay is that they present very differently from boys; you can’t focus on their outward behavior, and instead have to ask them about their internal experiences.
Dr. Donna Henderson, Ph.D. helps us understand girls with autism – the differences in social presentation, the types of repetitive and restricted interests, how rigidity presents, and when the differences become apparent. Listen to this interview to learn about how the social expectations of girls compound the challenges that autistic girls face, leading to much higher rates of anxiety. Get ideas for how to help your autistic daughter navigate the hormonal, physical, and emotional changes of adolescence, which can be more intense for girls with autism. At the end, you will hear ideas for how to support your child and help her learn to face new challenges.
One day, my kids were asking me to explain what I do at work. I didn’t think they wanted to hear about neuropsychological tests and report writing, so I explained it this way: I’m a detective. The mystery is always that a wonderful, bright person is not doing well in school or at work, and I need to figure out why and help them do better. I can only look for clues by spending time with that person, asking them to do different kinds of tasks. I have been doing neuropsych evals for over twenty years and I can honestly say that I am enjoying it now more than ever. No child or adult should have to go through life with an undiagnosed problem, feeling badly about themselves and not knowing how to make things better. In addition to my formal training, I have had additional training at home for the past 19 years with my three children, who have taught me all about parenting kids with autism and ADHD. I meant to add a line about what I do in my spare time, but having a wonderful husband, three amazing children, and a gratifying career leaves little free time (and I wouldn’t have it any other way)!
Understanding the Rumble & Rage and Managing the Cycle of Meltdowns
When your child is losing it, there are predictable stages they go through – from rumble through rage to recovery. If you have a child who is easily or unpredictably triggered to fight, flight, or freeze, it’s hard to know how to respond.
In this presentation, Dr. Brenda Smith Myles helps us understand that meltdowns are not purposeful behavior – they are neurologically based – and need to be addressed as an involuntary response to something in the environment that they are having trouble with. Learn to identify the behaviors that indicate that a child is starting to rumble and how to handle it. If you can’t address the rumble, learn how to identify the signs of a rage, and how to avoid making that worse. Learn why restraint is not helpful during a rage, and what to do to help your child safely get through it to recovery.
Brenda Smith Myles Ph.D., is president of AAPC Publishing – a small niche company that publishes books on autism spectrum disorder. Formerly, a professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Kansas, is the recipient of the Autism Society of America’s Outstanding Professional Award, the Princeton Fellowship Award, The Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome (GRASP) Divine Neurotypical Award, American Academy of Pediatrics Autism Champion, and two-time recipient of the Council for Exceptional Children, Division on Developmental Disabilities Burton Blatt Humanitarian Award. She served as the editor of Intervention in School and Clinic, the third largest journal in special education and has been a member of the editorial board of several journals, including Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Remedial and Special Education, and Autism: The International Journal of Research. Brenda has made over 20000 presentations all over the world and written more than 300 articles and books on ASD. In addition, she served as the co-chair of the National ASD Teacher Standards Committee and collaborated with the organizations who identified evidenced based practices for autistic individuals. Further, in the latest survey conducted by the University of Texas, she was acknowledged as the second most productive applied researcher in ASD in the world.
Understanding the Core Features of Autism
Autism is an incredibly complex neurodevelopmental difference that has an impact on nearly every aspect of a child’s profile. And while the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (aka the DSM-5) puts forth strict criteria for diagnosing someone with autism, the reality is that the experience of autism encompasses many areas of functioning.
In this interview, Dr. Shapiro describes some of the core features of autism, including social difficulties, restricted and repetitive interests, sensory issues, difficulties with language processing, and challenges with mood regulation. You will learn about different types of autism, and why “high functioning” and “low functioning” may not be the best way to describe the different ways that autism affects a child. Dr. Shapiro also addresses the impact of autism on family dynamics, and talks about the importance of nurturing a child’s strengths. “If you understand autism, you understand all of human development and behavior.”
Dr. Dan Shapiro attended medical school at George Washington University in D.C. His Pediatric Residency training was at Children’s Hospital in DC. Then he practiced Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine in Silver Spring, Maryland for 13 years before shifting his focus to Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. He enjoys seeing children and consulting with parents in his home office. He also observes children and collaborates with educators at dozens of area schools. He developed the Parent Child Journey Program and offers this behavior management training group throughout Greater Washington. He is author of Parent Child Journey: An Individualized Approach to Raising Your Challenging Child. Dr. Shapiro is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. He’s married with 4 children and 2 grandchildren — all wonderfully different.
Disorders That Commonly Co-Occur with Autism
Autism can make it really hard for a kid. And sometimes there’s more going on than just autism. It makes sense that trying to navigate the world of typically developing kids while autistic would make a child incredibly anxious, but anxiety might also be a co-occurring condition that makes everything harder.
Listen to this conversation with Dr. Salya Namazi, as she describes some of the other challenges that frequently co-occur with autism, including attention regulation and executive dysfunction (ADHD), anxiety, depression, seizures, gastrointestinal issues, and sleep disorders, to name a few. You will also learn why some autistic kids can appear to be oppositional when anxious, or to lack empathy despite being incredibly empathetic. Dr. Namazi describes the challenges inherent in these conditions, how they present, how to get an accurate diagnosis, and how to get appropriate treatment.
Dr. Salya Namazi is a clinical neuropsychologist and licensed psychologist who specializes in the evaluation of individuals ages 11 and up with learning, attention, autism spectrum, and neurological disorders, as well as emotional difficulties. Dr. Namazi has diverse experience in pediatric and adult clinical neuropsychology. She joined the Stixrud Group after completing a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology where she received extensive training in neuropsychological and psychological assessment, cognitive rehabilitation, and psychotherapy. She also trained in pediatric neuropsychology under William R. Stixrud, Ph.D. Prior to her fellowship, Dr. Namazi completed an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited internship where she specialized in neuropsychological and psychological assessment. Dr. Namazi earned her Ph.D. from the APA accredited California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. Dr. Namazi’s undergraduate alma mater is The Catholic University of America where she graduated with honors, with concentrations in psychology and philosophy. She is licensed to practice psychology in the state of Maryland.
Failure to Launch: Helping Young Adults with Autism Transition to Independent Living
Life is pretty predictable for kids. They live with their parents who take care of basic needs like housing, food, and clothing. They get up and go to school every morning, spend the day with other kids, come home and do their homework, eat dinner, and go to sleep. Until they finish high school, there aren’t a lot of decisions to be made. That structure ends when they graduate, and many young adults with autism struggle with the transition to adulthood.
Alisa Foreman, LMFT, will help you understand why the transition is so difficult, and how to help your child move forward with their life. She describes the importance of a social network, and how to build it, how to help black and white thinkers consider a range of options, and how to teach the skills of daily living to kids who need those skills to function in the adult world. Listen to learn how to support your child through this transition so that they will be self-sufficient and have the confidence to take on whatever challenges life brings.
Alisa is the Clinical Director at the Optimum Performance Institute (OPI) and has worked at OPI for over 9 years. She received a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Phillips Graduate Institute. She has a strong passion for the field of psychology and for supporting others on their life path through the power of therapy. She began her work at the California Counseling Center providing therapy to children, adolescents, couples and families. She also served as a child therapist, for the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she conducted both individual and group therapy for students at an elementary through high school level. Her passion for the mental health field began as an undergraduate student at UCSB where she volunteered as a Paraprofessional Counselor, for the Family Service Agency Suicide Crisis Helpline. She also worked as a research assistant at Verdugo Mental Health Clinic. She has had extensive training in Social Skills and Violence Prevention/Anti-Bullying and has run countless social skills groups and parenting workshops.
Alisa is enthusiastic about the work that she does at OPI and the opportunity to help young adults on their journey to independence. She believes in the importance of finding joy and balance in life and building a healthy repertoire of skills to manage day-to-day life. When Alisa is not working she is focused on her other passion which is her family. She loves spending time with her husband, two daughters and two French Bulldogs.
Learning to Cope: How the Parent Brain Evolves from Grief to Acceptance and Beyond
When your child is diagnosed with a disability like autism, it’s easy to focus all your energy on how to help them. But before you can help your child, you need to process your own emotions and recognize how those emotions may be shaping your decisions.
In this interview, Dr. Eichenstein explains the importance of parents as a critical component of a child’s treatment. Listen as we talk about the stages that they go through as they come to terms with their children’s diagnoses: what each stage feels like, what to look for, how to help when family members are in a different stage than you are, and how to address the challenges you will face. Dr. Eichenstein reminds us that, “Your well-being is part of your child’s medicine.”
Dr. Rita Eichenstein is a Pediatric Neuropsychologist in Los Angeles, an author of award-winning book “Not What I Expected: Help and Hope for Parents of Atypical Children” with a foreword by Dr. Dan Siegel, a mom of three grown kids, and a grandmother of two. She has a busy private practice at Cedars-Sinai Medical Towers in Los Angeles, where she specializes in neuropsychological assessments and she works with children, teens and parents of all types, investigating their brains and their lives. She works to infuse passion, purpose and hope into every client. Her client base is international and families visit her from around the world. She blogs at “Positively Atypical” and speaks around the country about Parents Brains, Neurodiversity and Learning Differences.
When not working, blogging or thinking about her kids, she is most likely on the beach, doing yoga, hiking while sometimes simultaneously having passionate conversations with parents around the globe on how to hang in there. Her motto: It takes an army of love to raise an atypical child. But that doesn’t mean you don’t get to have a life.
Enhancing Success for Physical Activity and Sports Programs
Does your child enjoy sports? Or are they one of those kids who hangs off to the side, not sure how to participate? There are a lot of reasons that kids with autism might have trouble with sports – difficulty with fine or gross motor skills, the sensory aspects of play, coordinating with others, not to mention the fast pace.
In this presentation, Dr. Melissa Pangelinan, Ph.D., describes accommodations and strategies – including visual and behavioral supports – that you can use to help your child learn complex motor skills and be more physically active. Dr. Pangelinan will also describe the work she has done with programs in the US & Canada to implement these strategies so kids of all abilities can join in and play.
The Pediatric Movement and Physical Activity Lab at Auburn University, under the direction of Dr. Melissa Pangelinan, Ph.D., employs state-of-the-art brain and body imaging, as well as neurocognitive and movement assessments, to better understand how motor skills and physical activity participation affect brain and physical development. The goal of this research is to develop age-appropriate interventions that will promote motor competence and physical activity participation, which will impact the long-term development of brain and physical health.
Dr. Pangelinan runs several research studies and outreach programs for typically-developing children/adolescents and those with developmental disabilities or neurological conditions. These programs include adapted tennis through ACEing Autism, and adapted bicycle training, adapted swimming lessons, and adapted gymnastics through iCanShine.
Loving Connections: Getting Away from Blame and Shame in Parenting
We try our hardest to be good parents, but we sometimes fall short of our own unrealistic expectations, not to mention the unrealistic expectations of others. And when this happens, we feel shame. Our children feel it too. It doesn’t feel very good.
Listen as Dr. Palmiotto describes how to rediscover your authentic self, and shift away from the notion that you (and your child) have to be “perfect”. Blame and shame erode loving connections. By focusing on ourselves, acknowledging our experiences, asking for what we need, and accepting our needs without shame, we can create meaningful change for our children and our families.
Jenny Palmiotto, Psy. D., LMFT is the clinical director of The Family Guidance & Therapy Center which provides services in Southern California and Central Texas. She is the founder of Love & Autism; a social change movement and national conference where autistic people are positioned as leaders. As a clinician, Jenny is driven by her values of authenticity, adventure, and belonging. She wholeheartedly invites joy into each therapy session using family-focused, relational methods such as Relationship Development Intervention (RDI), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Movement Method (MM), and The Daring Way. With seventeen years of experience, she brings a depth of understanding and compassion to autistic people and their families. Its more important than ever to grow loving-kindness in our families, homes, and communities; Jenny enjoys helping people do just that.
Change Course: The Pitfalls of Traditional Parenting & What Works Better
Traditional parenting — what Penny calls “crime and punishment parenting” — just doesn’t work for kids with autism. It doesn’t take into account the individual’s physiological difference in the brain and doesn’t address the cause of the behavior itself. When the behavior isn’t a cognitive choice, punishment won’t change it.
Join Penny Williams and Sarah Wayland as they discuss the pitfalls of the traditional parenting model and outline what parenting approaches and strategies work better for kids with autism. It’s time to write a new parenting guide.
Penny Williams trains and coaches parents raising kids with ADHD and/or autism. She’s the award-winning author of four books on parenting ADHD — “Boy Without Instructions,” “What to Expect When Parenting Children with ADHD,” “The Insider’s Guide to ADHD,” and “The Hidden Layers of ADHD.” Penny hosts the annual Happy Mama Retreat and the Purposeful Parent Bootcamps, and is also a frequent contributor on parenting and ADHD for ADDitude Magazine and other parenting and special needs publications.
Ensuring Siblings Feel Loved and Important, Too
It’s super tough to be the sibling of a child with autism. It’s the nature of autism to require more time and energy of a parent than a neurotypical child, which leads siblings to often feel less loved and less important.
Join Jackie Flynn and Penny Williams as they discuss what growing up with an autistic sibling is like for a child, and strategies to ensure that your neurotypical kids know for certain how much you love them and how important they really are to you and the family.
Jackie Flynn EdS, LMHC, RPT is the founder and director of a group private therapy practice in Central Florida, Counseling in Brevard. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Registered Play Therapist, Certified EMDR Therapist, Couples Counselor, Education Specialist, Certified Hypnotherapist, and a Former Elementary and Middle School Counselor. Her passion for helping people through a variety of therapeutic modalities inspired her to open a heart-centered, private practice group where she provides caring, thoughtful counseling and therapy to individuals of all ages, families, couples, and groups.
Managing and Resolving Challenging Behavior
There are many possible causes of challenging behavior when your child has autism. The reality is that it’s the way his or her brain works. Often, it’s a symptom that expectations are out of scale for the child’s actual capability — something that can be improved.
Join Holly Moses and Penny Williams as they discuss behavior challenges, what behavior means, and how to address behavior challenges effectively. They discuss developmental age and how to use it to determine appropriate expectations for your child. They also talk about unwanted behavior and some red flags that behavior isn’t a choice, and outline what to do to improve your child’s behavior.
Holly Blanc Moses, MS, BCBA, LPC, LP, is a psychologist and behavior analyst with over 20 years’ experience in ADHD and Autism. Her specialty areas include challenging behavior, anxiety, and social skills deficits. She is also a mother of two differently wired boys.
Untangling Our Own Stuff So Our Kids Can Be Who They Are
Raising kids with autism is an intertwined “mess” of your child’s struggles, tangled with your own. This special parenthood is complicated, and messy.
Not tangling your own parenting emotions and struggles with your child’s to further complicate your this life is the topic of discussion in this session with Debbie Reber and Penny Williams. This is not a conversation about resolving every painful feeling and struggle. Instead, awareness and clarity are offered, and the realities of life raising a child with autism, doing the best you can, and making the most of it are discussed.
Deborah Reber is a parenting activist, New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and the founder of TiLT Parenting, a website, weekly podcast, and social media community for parents raising differently wired children. The TiLT Parenting Podcast has more than 500,000 downloads and a slate of guests that includes high-profile thought leaders across the parenting and education space. Debbie’s newest book is “Differently Wired: Raising an Exceptional Child in a Conventional World” (Workman Publishing, 2018).
Prior to launching TiLT, Debbie spent more than fifteen years writing inspiring books for teens including “Doable: The Girls’ Guide to Accomplishing Just About Anything” and “Chill: Stress-Reducing Techniques for a More Balanced, Peaceful You” and speaking and creating content on issues like self-esteem and confidence. Before that, she worked in TV and video production for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, UNICEF, and CARE. She has an MA in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research and a BA in Communications from Pennsylvania State University. Originally from the US, she lives with her husband and 14-year-old differently wired son in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The Trauma Effect the Autism Experience Has on the Brain
There is growing research that shows that the experiences of individuals with autism affect the brain and functioning in the same way that enduring trauma does. This is remarkably telling as to what much of life with autism is like for your child, as well as why many of their behaviors occur.
Listen as Robert Cox and Penny Williams talk about what autism feels like to your child, using the way the autistic brain works as evidence. Learn how sensory struggles and fear impact kids with autism, why it’s virtually the same experience as traumatic events, and how to help your child cope.
Robert Cox, LPC, NCC, CCT, is a therapist and owner of Life Recovery Consulting, LLC a company that specializes in the treatment of trauma, addictions and autism in the NW MO area. He has worked for over 23 years with autism, developmental disabilities and addictions in one capacity or another. In his work and research, Robert noticed that sensory issues and social exclusion begin to shape the brain in the same ways as developmental trauma and recently released his first book from that work, The Life Recovery Method: Autism Treatment From A Trauma Perspective.
No “Fixing” Required: Accepting Our Kids for Who They Are
There’s no more powerful parenting message for raising kids with challenges than recognizing that there’s nothing to be “fixed” and accepting your child for who they are. Achieving that is truly freeing, for both you and your child.
This is crucial to not only being the parent you want to be for your child, but also for your own physical and emotional wellbeing. In this session, Penny Williams talks with “Mom Is In Control” maven, Heather Chauvin, about the importance of this acceptance and what it takes to gain that freedom.
Heather Chauvin BSW has been named the next generation’s thought leader in parenting and women’s leadership. Her mission is to crack women open to their deep potential and help them understand and decode their child’s behavior.
Heather is a Tedx Speaker and the creator of the Mom Is In Control Podcast. She has been featured on the OWN Network, Huffington Post, TV outlets, and others.
With wit and wisdom, Heather inspires a global community of women to take back control of their lives and evolve how they lead, work, play, and parent.
Communication Strategies to Build Connections
Kids with autism who are fluently verbal also struggle with communication. When you add in traits like concrete thinking and inflexibility, it can be tough for them to make connections with others, inside and outside the family.
Join Dr. Ali Griffith and Penny Williams as they discuss strategies to foster the parent-child connection with your child with autism, as well as social connections. Dr. Ali speaks on this subject from the expert perspective of a speech-language pathologist and audiologist, and also as a mom who is living it herself.
Dr. Alisha “Ali” Griffith is an autism parenting expert, strategist, and coach. As a compassionate professionally trained educator, speech language pathologist, and audiologist for nearly two decades, she has worked in schools, homes, offices, and in her own practice connecting those with sensory challenges. Through her work, Dr. Ali has helped many to SHIFT their self-talk towards BELIEVING in their unique strengths and gifts.
In August 2016, Dr. Alisha Griffith added #1 Best-Selling author to her list of credentials with her book AU-MAZING GIFT: A Journey to Autism Acceptance. She is an Autism Mom Coach, Communication Expert and dynamic Motivational Speaker, due to her authentic practice of applying her passion, willingness to serve others, and her dedication to ignite a change to autism acceptance and inclusion, globally. She is a maverick and catalyst for bold changes, a great connector within the autism community and igniter of positive energy. Dr. Ali has created a movement to shift inner dialogues from negative to positive with appreciation through the power of listening and embracing differences and unique gifts. Currently, the CEO of Dr. Alisha Griffith, LLC., a training and development company for autism parents, Dr. Ali previously launched two other programs, So Smart Kids, Inc., and a 501 c (3) non-profit organization, Smart Fit Fam. Both are programs that inspire, educate and transform children and families on the autism spectrum on wellness, nutrition and fitness. She believes the KEYS to parenting success are maintaining a positive mindset, finding your strengths and gifts through life’s journey and powerfully staying in ACTION.
Preparing Your Teen for Life After High School: Career Readiness
Preparing a teen with autism for living independently and supporting themselves can be a daunting task (really many tasks in that one goal). There are many facets that go into preparing kids for the transition from high school to the workforce, all of which need to be considered in the teen years, if not sooner.
Haley Dunn and Penny Williams discuss how to teach the skills necessary to succeed in the workforce, how to support the transition, the resources available to families to assist with navigating the transition, and when to start. Haley recommends that you start building these skills much earlier than you would think.
Haley Dunn MA, LPC works as the Teen and Adult Coordinator at Milestones Autism Resources. Her passion is helping individuals with autism transition to adulthood. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has worked with children birth to five, school age and young adults providing diagnosis and treatment of mental health. She has a deep passion for connecting people to their community, whether it is through employment, volunteering or life enrichment activities.
Homeschooling & Hybrid: Alternatives for Autistic Students
It’s common for parents to consider homeschooling their child with autism when mainstream school isn’t a good fit. The idea of homeschooling can be overwhelming and daunting, however. What most don’t realize is that homeschooling isn’t the only creative option when it comes to alternatives to traditional education.
Join Shawna Wingert and Penny Williams as they discuss different educational alternatives available, the basics of homeschooling, how to get started, and the potential pros and cons of educating your child differently. Learn the truth about hybrid schooling and homeschooling — positive and negative — so you can make an informed decision.
Shawna Wingert writes about motherhood, special needs and the beauty of everyday messes at nottheformerthings.com. She is a special needs advocate, speaker, and writer and has participated in parenting discussions on Today.com, Simple Homeschool, Autism Speaks, The Mighty, For Every Mom, and The Huffington Post.
She is the author of three books, “Everyday Autism,” “Special Education at Home,” and “Parenting Chaos: Practical Support And Encouragement For Parents Of Explosive Children.” Shawna lives in Southern California with her voice actor husband and two awesome sons.
The Importance of Self-Care for Parents of Kids with Special Needs
Why is it that moms feel guilty and ashamed of taking some time to take care of themselves, much less nurture themselves? Self-care is a parenting strategy. Self-care is paramount to your family’s wellbeing, not just your own.
Listen as Vikki Spencer, aka The Mom Whisperer, and Penny Williams bust the myths of mom self-care, offer ideas for self-care activities and how to make it a regular part of your life, and give you permission to make yourself a priority, too.
Vikki Spencer is a family change agent, encourager of the worn, and mom whisperer. She helps moms subtly and powerfully shift family life so it becomes as phenomenal as they are. Vikki teaches parenting strategies, identity work, and self care practices to moms of toddlers through the teen years.
Understanding & Honoring Kids’ Sensory Sensitivities
When a child’s behavior is tearful, messy, wacky, sluggish, impetuous, or damaging, our initial response is often negative because we’re rushed, exhausted, frustrated … and human. Let’s flip this and find the energy to respond positively, with understanding and awe. Tearfulness should be honored because the tee-shirt tag may really burn, because the music evokes deep emotions, or because another child is hurting and our boy cries with him.
Listen as Carol Stock Kranowitz and Sarah Wayland discuss the eight sensory systems (visual, auditory, taste, smell, touch, proprioception, vestibular, and interoception) and the impact that an imbalance in any of these systems can have on your child. Learn strategies you can incorporate into your daily routine that will help your child learn to function in a world that is filled with unexpected sensory experiences.
During her 25-five year career as a preschool teacher, Carol Stock Kranowitz introduced Sensory Processing Disorder to parents and educators around the world through her groundbreaking book, The Out-of-Sync Child. This first book in the “Sync” series has been translated into many languages and has sold one million copies. Her most recent book is The Out-of-Sync Child Grows Up. Carol speaks nationally and internationally, explaining SPD’s effect on learning and behavior and how we can support our growing children. A graduate of Barnard College, Carol earned her master’s degree in Education and Human Development at The George Washington University. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland, is a cellist, and dotes on five grandchildren.
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Northwest Flight and the Lesson of Flight 93 (Updated)
Filed under: Air Security,Terrorism — DRJ @ 9:53 pm
[Guest post by DRJ]
The New York Times quotes a passenger on Northwest Flight #253 regarding the reaction to the terrorist attack onboard the aircraft:
“The incident unfolded just before noon. “There was a pop that sounded like a firecracker,” said Syed Jafry, a passenger who said he had been sitting three rows ahead of the suspect. A few seconds later, he said, there was smoke and “some glow” from the suspect’s seat and on the left side of the plane.
“There was a panic,” said Mr. Jafry, 57, of Holland, Ohio. “Next thing you know everybody was on him.” He said the passengers and the crew subdued the man.
The suspect was brought by the crew to the front of the plane — Northwest Airlines Flight 253, bearing Delta’s name — and the plane made its descent into Detroit Metropolitan Airport, landing at 11:53 a.m. (The two airlines merged last year.) Once on the ground, it was immediately guided to the end of a runway, where it was surrounded by police cars and emergency vehicles and searched by a bomb-disabling robot.”
My sympathies to these passengers for their ordeal but kudos to those who reacted with valor to subdue the suspect.
The material used in this terror attempt sounds more like an incendiary than an explosive, which may be why it escaped detection. Starting a fire in the close confines of an airplane would not only be dangerous, it would also cause panic.
— DRJ
UPDATE — The hero of Flight #253 is Jasper Schuringa:
“[Passenger Jasper] Schuringa told CNN he heard a sound similar to a firecracker as the Detroit-bound flight was preparing to land. After seeing smoke, he noticed a burning object between Abdulmutallab’s legs.
“I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away,” Schuringa told CNN.
Schuringa said his hands were “pretty burned” after incident, but said the injuries were minor.
“I am fine. I am shaken up. I am happy to be here.”
Schuringa said he stripped off the suspect’s clothes to make sure he didn’t have any more explosives on him and helped a crew member handcuff him.
He described Abdulmutallab as “was staring into nothing” following the thwarted attempt.”
CBS has video at the link.
Filed under: Humor,Politics — DRJ @ 8:46 pm
Ray Stevens has a message for Congress: “If you voted for ObamaCare, we’re gonna vote you out of there.”
“Tell Nancy Pelosi we’re gonna do the hokey-pokey: Put the Right ones in; Pull the Left ones out.”
We’ll see. It’s a long time until November 2010 and even longer until November 2012.
RELATED: Have we come to the tipping point of another Jacksonian moment?
Terrorist Attack on Northwest Flight #253 into Detroit (Updated x4)
A Northwest Airbus carrying 278 passengers landed safely in Detroit following an al Qaeda-linked terrorist attack:
“The White House said it believed it was an attempted act of terrorism and stricter security measures were quickly imposed on airline travel, but were not specified.
Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab. Others had slightly different spellings.
One law enforcement source said the man claimed to have been instructed by al-Qaida to detonate the plane over U.S. soil.
“It sounded like a firecracker in a pillowcase,” said Peter Smith, a passenger from the Netherlands. “First there was a pop, and then (there) was smoke.”
At least one passenger acted heroically.
Smith said the passenger, sitting opposite the man, climbed over passengers, went across the aisle and tried to restrain the man. The heroic passenger appeared to have been burned.”
The flight originated in Nigeria with a stop in Amsterdam. An unnamed U.S. intelligence official said “the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid” and it failed when the Nigerian suspect tried to detonate it. He is reportedly being held and treated in an Ann Arbor hospital.
Merry Christmas from al Qaeda.
UPDATE — Via the Ace of Spades:
“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you John Murtha, Chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee:
U.S. Rep. John Murtha told reporters Tuesday that he isn’t convinced al-Qaida is still a threat to national security.
Murtha said he visited Kuwait and Afghanistan during Thanksgiving and approves of the military’s strategy, but expressed a need to measure progress in Afghanistan.
“I don’t agree there is a threat to national security,” Murtha said, while not ruling out the possibility that he could be wrong about al-Qaida’s influence. “They keep saying they’ve defeated al-Qaida.”
UPDATE 2: I notice the White House acknowledged this was an “attempted act of terrorism” although the Department of Homeland Security calls it an “incident.” Thankfully neither used the term “man-caused disaster:”
“SPIEGEL: Madame Secretary, in your first testimony to the US Congress as Homeland Security Secretary you never mentioned the word “terrorism.” Does Islamist terrorism suddenly no longer pose a threat to your country?
Napolitano: Of course it does. I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word “terrorism,” I referred to “man-caused” disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.”
UPDATE 3: Rep. Peter King says the suspect was on a list “indicating significant terrorist connections.”
UPDATE 4: The suspect is reported to be an engineering student at the University College of London, and claims of an al Qaeda link are being questioned:
“The suspect — an engineering student at University College of London, according to ABC News and NBC News — began his trip Thursday from Nigeria. It was not clear Friday whether Mutallab underwent security screening in Amsterdam or merely changed planes there.
It also was uncertain Friday night whether the suspect had ties to a terrorist organization or had attempted the attack on his own, authorities said. Despite earlier reports that he had claimed a connection to Al Qaeda, Mutallab denied any such link in later statements to FBI agents interrogating him, the anti-terrorism official said.
“Right now he is saying he was not part of an organization or a coordinated effort. I want to caution people from jumping headlong into the Al Qaeda link because it’s a very murky area,” the official said.”
The report also indicates the suspect had an incendiary powder in a container taped to his leg that he triggered by injecting liquid via a syringe.
Filed under: Current Events — DRJ @ 12:05 pm
Christmas at the Capitol
Merry Christmas! We are blessed to live in the greatest and strongest country on earth, and I pledge to do everything I can to keep America great and strong.
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You are here: Home | Article Showcase | Redevelopment Matters | Documents Required at Various Occasions for Redevelopment of Housing Societies | Knowledge Centre | What is Refuge Area in High Rise Building
WHAT IS REFUGE AREA IN HIGH RISE BUILDING?
Refuge areas are such areas in a building where people can take shelter in case of a fire. These areas are often misused by Developers who surreptitiously convert them into habitable areas. Many Builders are known to sell these areas to buyers who then illegally utilize them as part of their apartments.
May it be commercial or residential; the buildings with the height of nine floors in Mumbai city shall be categorized under high rise buildings. The buildings which fall under high rise category shall have to follow certain building norms and fire safety regulations. Also, the Terrace Floor of the building will be considered as “Refuge Area”
Now a new set of guidelines, which form part of the modified Development Control Rules notified by the State Government, lay down stringent provisions for fire-fighting and curb misuse of these areas by Developers. The Notification has been issued by the State Urban Development Department to streamline building approvals system and prevent Builders from manipulating and misusing certain portions of their towers.
The new Rules stipulate that a Refuge Area will have to be provided at every 7th habitable floor after the first 24 meters of the high rise building. The Refuge Area shall be provided within building line at floor level. In case of high rise buildings having height more than 30 meters, the first Refuge Area shall be provided at 24 meters or 1st habitable floor, whichever is higher. Thereafter, the Refuge Area shall be provided at every 7th habitable floor.
The guidelines stipulates that a Refuge Area will now be restricted to just 4% of the habitable floor area it serves and will be free of Floor Space Index or FSI, the ratio of permissible built up area vis a vis the plot size. If it exceeds 4%, the excess area shall be counted in the FSI. In the past, Municipal Commissioners were notorious to sanction entire floors as Refuge Areas which the Builders would then misuse it for commercial gain. In an upcoming landmark residential tower near Worli Naka, the BMC sanctioned a Refuge Area of 550 sq.ft outside every apartment thereby raising eyebrows about its possible misuse in the future.
For buildings having height up to 70 meters (about 24 floors), as an alternate, Refuge Areas can be provided as reinforced cement concrete (RCC) cantilever projections at the alternate mid-landing level of staircase free of FSI. Each Refuge Area at mid-landing shall have a minimum width of 3 meters and minimum area of 10 sq. meters for residential and 15 sq. meters for non-residential buildings.
Under the new law, in high rise buildings with up to 30 meters height, the terrace floor of the building shall be treated as the refuge area. The Fire Check Floor in a building having height more than 70 meters shall have to be mandatory. It will cover an entire floor at every 70 meters level. However, the height of the Fire Check Floor will not be allowed to be more than 1.8 meters to check its misuse. It will not be used for any purpose and it shall be the responsibility of the owner/occupier to maintain the same, clean and free of encumbrances and encroachments at all times.
The Refuge Area shall have a door which shall be painted or fixed with a sign in luminous paint mentioning "REFUGE AREA". The lift/s shall not be permitted to open into the refuge areas, it said. The rules further stated that refuge areas will be designated exclusively for the use of occupants as temporary shelter and for the use of Fire Brigade Department or any other Organization dealing with fire or other emergencies and also for exercises/drills if conducted by the Fire Brigade Department.
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Kita Kita is all blithe and funny movie, not until you reach the point where it hits you in the face with the reality of life and death that definitely sets it apart from the rest of its genre peers. We, Filipinos love romantic comedies...
Beauty and the beast 17 enchanting facts you should know
Beauty and the Beast is not quite as old as time after all. It may be very old but Fans are still looking forward to Disney's Beauty and the Beast Live-action remake. It is without a doubt that with its timeless story, catchy songs...
Things that single folks should do on Valentine’s Day
Marydel Mitch Flores - January 31, 2017
Single folks out there are probably worrying about what to do on Valentine's day. But just because you are single doesn't mean you're alone. There are actually a lot of things that you should be happy of rather than getting jealous or frustrated about...
Pokemon Go is now available in PH: Here are the things you should know
Charm Villalon - August 6, 2016
After months of anticipation and weeks of frustration over the delay of its Asian release, Filipino Pokemon Go fans are now rejoicing when the much-awaited game finally became available in the country early Saturday morning. Today, fans of the game woke up to the great...
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by The Manimal
TPP Leak Confirms the Worst: US Negotiators Still Trying to Trade Away Internet Freedoms
November 15, 2013 in News by The Manimal
Source: Activist Post
After years of secret trade negotiations over the future ofintellectual property rights (and limits on those rights), the public gets a chance to looks at the results. For those of us who care about free speech and a balanced intellectual property system that encourages innovation, creativity, and access to knowledge, it’s not a pretty picture.
Today Wikileaks published a complete draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement’s chapter on “intellectual property rights.” The leaked text, from August 2013, confirms long-standing suspicions about the harm the agreement could do to users’ rights and a free and open Internet. From locking in excessive copyright term limits to further entrenching failed policies that give legal teeth to Digital Rights Management (DRM) tools, the TPP text we’ve seen today reflects a terrible but unsurprising truth: an agreement negotiated in near-total secrecy, including corporations but excluding the public, comes out as an anti-user wish list of industry-friendly policies.
Despite the Obama administration’s top U.S. negotiators’ fast approaching their self-imposed 2013 deadline to complete the agreement, today’s leak is the public’s first look at the sprawling text since a February 2011 leak [pdf] of the same chapter and a July 2012 leak of an individual section. And even as the public has been completely shut out, the U.S. Trade Representative has lobbied for wider latitude to negotiate and for “fast-track authority” to bypass Congressional review.
The document Wikileaks has published contains nearly 100 pages of bracketed text—meaning it includes annotated sections that are proposed and opposed by the negotiating countries. The text is not final, but the story it tells so far is unmistakable: United States negotiators (with occasional help from others) repeatedly pushing for restrictive policies, and facing only limited opposition, coming from countries like Chile, Canada, New Zealand, and Malaysia.
Copyright Terms
The leaked chapter features proposals for setting a new “floor” for copyright duration, ranging from the already problematic U.S. term of life of the author plus 70 years to an incredible life of the author plus 100 years, proposed by Mexico. Such bloated term lengths benefit only a vanishingly small portion of available works, and impoverish the public domain of our collective history. The U.S. is also pushing for countries to embrace terms lengths of 95 years for corporate and 120 years for unpublished works.
Extending term lengths in the U.S. was already a bad idea. The U.S. Trade Rep shouldn’t be compounding it by forcing other countries to follow suit. Countries around the world that have shorter term lengths than the U.S. celebrate the arrival each year of new works into the public domain, and the economic activity that can accompany them. Since the 1998 passage of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, however, the U.S. will see no new published works enter the public domain until 2019. The proposal in TPP would export that sort of restriction to all the countries that join it.
These expansive terms have also exacerbated the widely recognized problem of “orphan works” also known as “hostage works.” These are works where the rightsholder can’t be identified or located and, therefore, folks are afraid to use them, publish them online, etc, lest the rightsholder appear at last and file a lawsuit. As a result, millions of works effectively disappear from the cultural commons until their copyright terms at long last expire. Earlier this year, the U.S. Register of Copyrights advised a reduction or limitation in term length as a possible solution. Crystallizing U.S. term lengths in international agreements would frustrate efforts to enact such reasonable policies. This is a classic example of policy laundering, whereby corporate interests use secretive international forums to trump the democratic process at the national level.
Fair Use and Fair Dealing
Although the addition of the “3-step test” for fair use provisions washailed by the U.S. Trade Representative as a major step forward for users’ rights in trade agreements, its original intention has been subverted. It now may serve as a ceiling on rights, and not a floor.
The agreement claims not to confine copyright limitations and exceptions further than earlier deals, such as the Berne Convention, but early analysis from groups like Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) suggests that’s not the case. Functionally, TPP as drafted creates a tightly circumscribed space in which countries can grant rights like fair use and fair dealing to its citizens.
Given the important role that flexibility in copyright has played in enabling innovation and free speech, it’s a terrible idea to restrict that flexibility in a trade agreement.
The newly leaked text reveals substantial disagreement over the language on copyright liability for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other online platforms. The February 2011 leak contained extensive language that would have imposed regulatory requirements to police users’ activities online and paved the way for systems like three-strikes take down policies andISPs filtering and blocking access to websites that allegedly infringe or facilitate copyright infringement.
Even though the text appears to be very much in flux, it’s clear from the leaked chapter that Canada is pushing back hard against U.S. pressure to adopt draconian copyright enforcement measures. A majority of countries appear to be proposing language that would give them some flexibility to limit the liability of ISPs, so they can develop enforcement frameworks that best suit their national laws and priorities. That flexibility is essential to staving off copyright enforcement laws that in practice would violate users’ free speech and privacy. And yet the U.S., backed by Australia, opposes this language.
Anti-Circumvention
The leaked draft includes controversial language calling for laws prohibiting the circumvention of “technological protection measures,” also known as DRM. The U.S. has had such a law in place for over 15 years, and it’s been a disaster for free speech and competition, chilling the legitimate speech of innovators, filmmakers, security researchers, and many others. In fact, it’s so bad thatPresident Obama and many in Congress have said it must be reformed. Just as much of the U.S. public is realizing our anti-circumvention law was a mistake in the first place, we’re not only trying to export it but also potentially impeding our own ability to fix it.
Despite numerous heroic proposals for fixes, most notably from Canada and Chile, the articles as drafted include many such dangerous provisions. Though the text remains unsettled, the current proposal calls for criminal liability for violations of these anti-circumvention provisions, except for when conducted by a non-profit.
Worse, because of the broad language, this criminal liability could apply to people circumventing these restrictions even where the underlying work is not covered by copyright.
Temporary Copies
The strict regulation of temporary copies reflected in the February 2011 leak was a startling throwback to an outmoded and dangerous idea: that copyright should apply even to ephemeral copies. The implications are staggering. Computers and networks create, in the normal course of operation, temporary and ephemeral copies. Regulations on these sorts of copies, as described in the earlier leak, would interfere with basic technical operations and give rightsholders an opportunity to sit on an essential chokepoint of the Internet.
Fortunately, negotiators may have recognized the fundamental folly of this proposal. Although the U.S. has yet to support any reasonable text on this topic, the draft leaked today included a proposed clarification that temporary copies may be exempted from copyright restrictions.Language from Chile, New Zealand, and Malaysia proposes that countries may make these exemptions for: temporary acts of reproduction which are transient or incidental and an integral and essential part of a technological process and whose sole purpose is to enable (a) a lawful transmission in a network between third parties by an intermediary; or (b) a lawful use of a work; and which have no independent economic significance.
Similar language appears in a footnote proposed by a larger group of countries that does not include the U.S., and which negotiators have noted faces “no substantive objection to the concept” but which is not yet finalized.
The leaked draft reveals that the US is pushing hard for provisions expanding the reach of patent law and limiting ways in which a patent may be revoked. These proposals are meeting widespread opposition from the other participants. For example, the U.S. proposes—and nearly every other nation opposes—that patents be made available for inventions that are “plants and animals.”
The U.S. also proposes language that would prohibit denying “a patent solely on the basis that the product did not result in enhanced efficacy of the known product.” Again, nearly every other nation opposes the U.S. on this issue. And a good thing too. Setting the bar to patentability too low locks up innovation. Advocates for access to medicine argue that it allows pharmaceutical companies delay generic entry through “evergreening.” In other technology areas, the U.S. is seeing the terrible consequences of a flood of low-quality software patents, many of which are for minor improvements on existing technology. There’s no reason for an international treaty to export the problems of the U.S. patent regime.
The latest TPP leak confirms our longstanding fears about these negotiations. The USTR is pushing for regulations that would, for the most part, put the desires of major content and patent owners over the needs of the public. No wonder the negotiators want to keep the process secret. There are marginal improvements since February 2011, but they are not enough. Real and substantially balanced proposals will not happen unless and until negotiators can be held accountable to the public for the proposals they are making.
Rest assured: if they can’t be challenged now, they will surely be challenged later. Internet users have proven that they will not stand for backroom deals that put their freedoms at risk.
Tags: Internet Freedom, TPP, Trade, U.S.
Comments Off on TPP Leak Confirms the Worst: US Negotiators Still Trying to Trade Away Internet Freedoms
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STEVE GUTTENBERG OPENS UP TO RESIDENT
Comedian Extraordinaire
STEVE GUTTENBERG OPENS UP TO…
STEVE GUTTENBERG’S COVER PARTY COVERAGE
Cinematographer: Kensey Jean | KenseyJean.com
Resident Magazine August Cover Party Honoring Steve Guttenberg from michael travin on Vimeo.
By Nathalie Barclay.
A lot of people will remember Steve Guttenberg from his 1984 comedy film Police Academy where he plays a bumbling and clumsy policeman-in-training. Popular at the time, the film’s legacy seems to have bled into more recent films and shows, notably the hit movies 21 and 22 Jump Street. Though these two movies are remakes of the 21 Jump Street TV show, the silliness of the two policemen is extremely reminiscent of Steve Guttenberg’s character in the film. He also played in other big films like 3 Men and a Baby and Short Circuit.
Growing up in a small home in Long Island, Guttenberg’s childhood is perhaps best marked by his close relationship with his family. He enjoyed an interesting combination of personalities with his parents, his father being a US Army Ranger before becoming a cop, and his mother being a gentle and very sweet woman. From this, Guttenberg says he gleaned a bit of both his parents’ characters, describing himself as at once strong and soft spirited. However, it was his mother that taught him perhaps the most important character lesson of all: Be yourself. This is a phrase that Guttenberg has carried with him throughout his life and career, and has truly shaped the person he is today.
For Guttenberg, being himself is closely linked to his general happiness. “I’m most happy when I’m around people I love and people who love me. If I’m happy in my heart, then I’m happy anywhere. I just want everyone around me to be comfortable and happy.” In being yourself, or more accurately being the best self you can be, he believes you’ll have the life you want most. It all comes down to being yourself while also raising your standards: “Raise your standards. If you do, you’ll be around the right people, you’ll get the right jobs, you’ll have the right income, the right life, and you’ll live in the right place.” This optimism is the backbone of Guttenberg’s upraising, as well as his relationships with those around him. If you aren’t around people who respect you, treat you well, and make you happy, how can this possibly lead to a better life? How is that being yourself?
Guttenberg is also extremely humble. Despite being a famous actor, his life in New York is fairly modest: his apartment is New York sized (i.e. a closet) and his friends come from all walks of life, ranging from CEO’s to Dunkin Donuts employees. Indeed, one of his CEO friends taught him an interesting lesson, saying: “‘I don’t hire people for what they can do, I hire them for who they are. Because I can teach you to fly an airplane, I can teach you to fly a spaceship. I can’t teach you to not steal from a register. I can’t teach you not to lie.’” This is an especially unusual concept in today’s work market as it usually seems like an impressive resume and expensive college are the new currency. Another unusual relationship stance is his relationship history with his exes: unlike most people, he remains close friends with his ex-girlfriends. When asked about his first kiss, Guttenberg humorously described his date with a young girl named Jeanie from Plainview. In an effort to impress, Guttenberg had his Dad driving him a few blocks away from the date location, where he then took out his bike from the car and biked the rest of the way. He wanted to make it look like he had impressively and athletically ridden his bike all the way to the date. He later came home and looked at himself in the mirror, concluding that he had become an entirely different person. He is currently dating Emily Smith, reporter for CBS.
As he gets older, Guttenberg is getting more and more excited about his career and the new roles now within his reach. While science fiction movies used to be seen as lesser films, today they have made quite the mark in the box office. It’s a rare day when a new Marvel or DC Comics film is not in the works or playing on the big screen. This shift toward sci-fi was very exciting for Guttenberg and he decided to star in the film Lavalantula and its subsequent sequel 2 Lava 2 Lantula! The plot comes down to a simple concept: Fire-breathing spiders that come out of volcanos, with Steve Guttenberg there to save the day. A mix of comedy and action, the film is wonderfully entertaining and fun. In some ways, the film can be seen as a way for him to get back to the feel of his earlier films, that mix of action and comedy combined with a modern twist. 2 Lava 2 Lantula! comes out in August 2016.
Having done much theater before his film days, Guttenberg is also looking forward to returning to the stage in future productions. For him, reaching your 50’s means getting to play Lear in Shakespeare’s King Lear, Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing, and Othello in Othello. “At 50, you’re just the right age to take on the heavier roles, while also being youthful enough to inspire into the roles the energy it needs.” When asked about his favorite role so far in both the film and theater productions, Guttenberg’s answer was simple: the next one. Aside from acting, he has many other passions, many of which surprise. An especially surprising one is his passion for gardening (even more so if you consider the fact that he lives in a small New York apartment). But it seems that Guttenberg has quite the green thumb and a large amount of expertise. Dividing a lot of his time between New York and LA, he had different perspectives on gardening for each location: “In LA, I can grow impatients all year round, which are my favorite flowers in the world. The flip side is that when you grow plants in California, it will grow slowly and nicely, but when you grow plants in New York in April and May, they know, we just have to go! By October we have to leave, we have to go go go!” Even Michael Caine seems to be an expert gardener, offering Guttenberg much advice on how best to take care of his plants. If Guttenberg has one piece of advice for how to have the healthiest and most fruitful garden possible, it’s to use Osmocote, a type of plant food that he claims will make your plants go crazy!
Guttenberg also has a large interest in the state of the country, both politically and culturally. Already seen to be an optimist, he expressed his belief in the goodness of the American people and the strength of the country as a world leader. Though not necessarily agreeing socially with Donald Trump, he did express his belief in the politician’s ability to help the economy and to lower the costs of New York real estate through an increased number of new homes and apartments. However, no matter the politics, Guttenberg holds fast to America being a great country, “maybe because of its natural resources, maybe its positioning, the shoulders that we stand on, but mostly because of the attitude that people have.” Moving beyond politics, Guttenberg is extremely passionate about the restaurant and fashion scenes in both LA and New York. His favorite designers include Armani, Zara, Zegna, Prada, Hugo Boss, adding that he really likes “anything European.” Listing a large amount of wonderful restaurants in both cities, he especially recommends Atlantic, Acme, Mezzaluna, and Parm in New York and Taste, Kayndaves, Mastro’s, and Spago in LA. His final words were recommendations for books to read this summer, ranging from thrillers to books on real estate: A Wrinkle in Time, Keep Calm, and The New Rules of Real Estate are but a few examples. Steve Guttenberg is a man that goes far beyond the label of actor and seems to constantly surprise, as well as inspire with his wonderful optimism and advice!
BILL CLINTON MENTIONS STEVE GUTTENBERG
BEHIND-THE-SCENES WITH STEVE
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Randy at work
Return to the Autobiography chapter index
‘I have made nine albums,’ Randy Crawford told me, ‘and no black sister in America knows who the fuck I am. That makes me feel bad.’
It was not the first time I had had such an approach from a famous name. A number of singers, particularly glamorous women like Belinda Carlisle and Patricia Kaas, have come to me over the years begging me to find a way to release them from the burden of a shallow, tawdry and cheap success, telling me they want to make real, earnest, sincere music from the heart, something that will touch people. But to give them what they want I first have to unravel their personas as stars and bring them down to earth.
‘Okay,’ I tell them, ‘well there are rules. Firstly it has to be a team effort, not a star and six also-rans. We have to build a team of equals around you.’ I then teach them everything I know.
A large percentage of the people that I produce go on later to produce themselves, like Sade, and sometimes even to produce other people. I like to think that it is because I teach them well. I see myself as a cross between a driving instructor and that music teacher who inspired you when you were young and who you stayed in touch with later.
Randy was also not the first person to come to me carrying a reputation for being difficult. When I was due to work with both Fine Young Cannibals and Men At Work I heard just the same stories of what nightmares they were going to be. I never let it put me off.
On the first day in the studio Randy was still carrying her airs and graces and called somebody “young man”. I ran down the stairs and whipped the headphones off her head. I held her cheeks in my hands.
‘Listen here, Randy,’ I said.’ We’re not going to have any of this stuff at all. We are going to cut it out right now. If you are happy with your headphones we have got some things to do, would you please go down to the kitchen and make us all a cup of tea?’
‘I don’t do tea,’ she replied.
‘Do you mean you are too important to make tea? Because if you are, we are going to fall out.’
‘No,’ she said. ‘I mean I have never made tea.’
‘Then that’s different,’ I said, taking her hand. ‘Come with me and I’ll show you how it’s done.’
She made us all tea and from then on I never let her miss anything. I made her stay in the studio while we routined so that people could hear her singing along while they were doing their bits, which she had never done before.
‘Normally I just come in when they tell me they’re ready for me to do my vocals,’ she explained.
‘Maybe that’s why your voice always sounds like it’s stuck on top of the backing tracks,’ I suggested.
I made her stay in London while we mixed the tracks, which takes two or three weeks for an album when you have fifty or sixty instruments involved. Normally she would have been off back to California by then. I even made her come to the mastering, when the original stereo tapes are converted into the glass master to go to the factory.
Randy had travelled six thousand miles to come to London in order to make an r&b album. The work we did together resulted in four top ten r&b singles for her in America. She showed that she had magic in her voice and could sing with great soul and earthiness when she rolled her sleeves up and behaved like a normal person.
After completing the album I was pounced on by two legendary American producers at the Abbey Road Studios in North London, insisting on taking me to lunch.
‘I’m greatly honoured, gentlemen,’ I said. ‘To what do I owe this?’
‘Are you kidding?’ one of them said. ‘Three men who produced Randy Crawford and lived?’
All through lunch they regailed me with their horror stories and I had to keep telling them that I hadn’t found her like that at all. In fact she had proposed marriage to me quite seriously, about three quarters of the way through the album. I’m told there are some hilarious photographs of Randy rolling around on top of me on the sofa and the floor at the back of the studio, romping like a large overly-playful dog. I remember being struck by how light and firm she was for her size.
About a year later I wanted her to do a guest vocal. I knew she was really happy with the album because now black women came up to her in the street and showed her respect.
‘I’m afraid Robin,’ her manager said when I contacted him, ‘I don’t think you’ll be doing another record with Randy.’
‘That’s a pity,’ I said. ‘Why not?’
‘Really, she just likes to sing, shop and eat, you know,’ he explained. ‘She found working with you far too much like hard work.’ I think this said an awful lot more about her manager than it did about her, although perhaps she went back to the Halcyon Hotel each night after being with me in the studio and thanked God she had some people she could order around like a real superstar. I doubt it.
Click here to read the next section 'In Paris with Malcolm Mclaren'
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The Rock and Roll Report
The Rock and Roll Report is a place to go when you are tired of the same music played over and over on commercial rock radio. Playing great rock and roll from indie and unsigned bands.
Artists and Bands
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CD Review: Syre & Fresko S/T
November 15, 2014 Matheson Kamin Reviews and Suggestions 0
Syre & Fresko are a husband and wife duo from Melbourne, Australia. Within the band, Syre plays the guitar and keys while also providing the male vocals and Fresko plays the keys and provides the female vocals for the duo’s songs.
The duo creates music that could easily be compared to the likes of another husband and wife musical duo, of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart who were known as Eurythmics. But unlike Lennox and Stewart who created music with a pop/rock feel to their music, Syre & Fresko’s music is centered within the Alternative Rock genre. While Syre & Fresko have released a few singles throughout the time they have been a duo, they just released their first real EP.
The self-titled EP from Syre & Fresko begins with the track “Broken Fragments”. The track features a guitar-driven feel to the music. Syre’s guitar playing takes center stage on the track as it sends the song in an Alternative Rock direction. The rock music on the track shows that the duo can create a song that has plenty of power to it. Both Syre and Fresko perform the lyrics to this track and the doubling up of the vocals gives the lyrics extra power and texture. The track also features a strong refrain that gives the song a very commercial feel to it. The strong rock feel of “Broken Fragments” is a strong way to begin the new release from Syre & Fresko.
While “Broken Fragments” features a strong guitar base to it, the song “Plastic Dreams” changes the musical direction for the duo slightly. After a track that was guitar-based, the duo creates a track that features a sound that equal parts guitar and keyboards. In fact, the music of the track is created by Syre & Fresko as they perform the majority of the song playing the same musical lines. The effect of both the keyboard and the guitar playing the musical parts in equal parts gives the song an interesting feel to it.
On the track “Tightrope,” Fresko steps out to take center stage as far as the vocals are concerned. The results of Fresko standing alone as the vocalist has her vocal style sounding a lot like Mary J. Blige with a slight rock edge. The track even takes on an R&B feel to it. Even with the first two tracks on the release feeling as solid as they do with their Alternative Rock sounds, “Tightrope” does not feel all that out of place. The different musical feel of the track simply allows the listener to enjoy another side to the duo’s musical talent.
With the next track, the duo of Syre & Fresko venture into the musical genre of Americana. The track of “Ruth” finds the duo creating a track that has a strong Folk base with some Country elements to the music such as steel guitar. The track features lyrics that have the main singer pining for time with a lost love. When Fresko joins in on the vocals to sing side-by-side with her husband, the track becomes a very beautiful duet. The resulting track has a certain amount of beauty to it with some sorrow to it at the same time. The track ends up being the most touching moment on the release.
The self-titled EP from Syre & Fresko comes to a close with the track “Gonna See Miracles”. The track has the most commercial feel of any of the tracks on the release. The pop/rock song feels it was created to be played on Top 40 radio. However, with the track’s spiritual lyrics, the track would feel more at home on radio formats such as The Fish.
Syre & Fresko’s self-titled EP is a very entertaining release. The tracks switch directions from track to track and that gives the listener the chance to hear many sides to the duo’s musical personalities. The five tracks on the release is a great place to start and it leaves plenty of room for the duo to continue creating their music.
Check out the duo’s Soundcloud profile to hear the entire EP.
For just a taste of the duo’s sound, check out the acoustic version of their song “Ruth“.
guitar-based
keyboard-based
Syre & Fresko
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Buy custom The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights essay
The African regional human rights system
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights came into existence on the 21st October 1986 and was an enormous step in recognizing and implementing human rights in Africa. The charter not only provides the guarantee of rights within all African nations, but it also helps the establishment of a body, the African Commission, to monitor the effectiveness of the rights contained in the charter. The African Charter contains most of the fundamental rights mentioned in UN Charters and other international treaties, such as political and civil rights as well as ESCRs. The formation of human and peoples’ rights under this Charter is distinct in its conceptualization of collective rights known as human and peoples’ rights. It has also acknowledged a large range of those people’s rights, which were not previously recognized in any treaty.
African Charter, thus, internationally recognizing the rights of all people to self-determination, also emphasizes on the right of peoples’ to equality, existence and development. One cannot avoid wondering if this novel approach of the African Charter contains practical value to the benefit of peoples’ rights in African states, considering the history and prevailing situation of the African continent.
This paper seeks here to examine how peoples’ rights are essential to consider the human rights of unprivileged groups such as minorities. With respect to this, some of the issues that this paper focuses and seek to addresses are: What is the role of peoples’ rights in addressing these human rights concerns? What are the serious human rights concerns in the African continent? While trying to highlight these issues it is also necessary to observe the essence of human and peoples’ rights under the Charter, and the legality of the African Commission on peoples’ rights.
In this respect, the key issues are: What are the socio-political and historical factors that compelled the vast elaboration of human rights in the African Charter? How peoples’ rights fit within the given framework of the African Charter and who are the key beneficiaries of peoples’ rights.
To evaluate these and other similar issues, this paper explores the concept of human and peoples’ rights under the African chapter and also discusses the status and legal nature of human and peoples’ rights of the African Charter. Finally, the paper ends with some of the serious peoples’ rights concerns in Africa that make human rights particularly prominent in the African continent.
The status of peoples’ rights under the African charter
Regional human rights instruments are usually more effective than UN instruments, because they are capable to understand regional conditions much better. Significantly, the UN itself always promotes the creation of regional systems to deal with human rights and security, which should comply with UN mechanisms. The instruments of African human rights are, Africa-specific, and should obviously be expected to consider certain customs and values peculiar to the African continent.
In terms of its conceptuality, the African Charter bears significant resemblance to the contents mention in Universal Declaration than to the Inter-American and European regional human rights systems. The philosophical foundation emphasizing the equal human rights that the African Charter mentions in its seventh Preamble paragraph follows as:
Convinced that … political and civil rights cannot be dissociated from
ESCR in their formation as well as universality and that the satisfaction of ESCR guarantees for the enjoyment of political and civil rights.
Besides its eloquent Preamble, this charter underscores the significance traditionally attributed to human rights concepts in the African continent. This instrument divides into three focal parts of 68 articles. Part I consist of a set of Rights and Duties (articles 1-29), while Part II contains ‘Safeguards and Measures (articles 30-63). Part II further subdivides into Organization and Establishment of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Mandate of the Commission, Procedure of the Commission and Applicable Principles. Part III, finally deals with ‘General Provisions’ (articles 64-68).
Despite its deficiencies, many scholars recognize various distinctive features of the African Charter, what is significant and striking are the dominating endorsement of the interdependence and principles of indivisibility in the African Charter. This charter, which is the leading African Rights Mechanism, provides provision for all human rights of Africans within the same context, and equal force.
Normative Content
The African Charter mentions a long list of human rights expressed as the rights and entitlements of each person (articles 2-18) and all Africans (articles 19-24). Some of the key rights mentions in the African Charter are such as;
Individual rights discourage on the prohibition of discrimination;
The inviolability and integrity of the human person;
The legality in principle of equality and protection of the law for everyone;
The protection of human dignity by implementing the prohibition of all forms of degradation and exploitation;
Freedom of information and expression of opinion;
Freedom of religion and the right of a fair trial;
The right to freedom of asylum and movement;
The right of assembly;
The right to property and right of participation in the political process, including access to public affairs and facilities;
The right to fair working conditions, the cultural life, health and education;
Protection to women, children, the elderly and the disabled people.
Thereafter, the African Charter continues further to elaborate a number of key issues in service of mankind such as peoples’ rights, the right to exercise liberty over natural resources and their wealth, the right to socio-economic development and self- determination, right to economic, social and cultural development, right to a protective environment as well as right to international and national security and peaceful living.
It is noteworthy to observe that, throughout the African Charter, explicit derogation cause is absenting as is traditional in human rights treaties. This simply implies that no African government has an authority to abridge these rights, even in case of emergencies.
While much content is available about the claw back clauses in the content of the African Charter, it most probably has skipped from the scrutiny of experts as there is no such mentioning of claw back clauses with regard to the ESCR provisions in articles 15 to 24. These clauses are in unrestricted, unqualified and plain language.
Scope and Nature of Obligations Created
The fundamental obligation of states under the African Charter is similar to what mentions the International Bill of Rights – protection of human rights and civil liberty.
Article 1 of the African Charter creates the fundamental obligation of states to recognize the duties and rights enshrined in the African Charter, and undertake to implement legislative or other suitable actions to give effect to them. The logic of this obligation noticed in article 62, which makes it obligatory for states to submit periodical reports on the legislative or any other measures they have adopted for giving effect to the African Charter.
The African Charter extends further to spell out the promotional responsibilities of the African States. Under article 25, it is obligatory for all African states to ensure and promote the peoples’ rights and freedoms through education and public teaching. Supplementing this, in article 26 there is another provision mentioned compelling states to provide the guarantee for the independent functioning of courts and allow the improvement and establishment of appropriate national institutions assigned with the protection and promotion of the rights, freedoms and civil liberty in the African Charter. Some crucial points also surface from a synchronized study of these provisions. The language used in articles 1 and 62 unveils the overall purpose of initiating an active human rights attitude in the African continent, rather than a simple set of utopian goals.
It is evident that the human rights posture developed by the African Charter equalizes all its provisions: Political and civil rights has to be given the same priority as ESCR, and also peoples’ rights. However, it is regrettable to observe that the analysis and interpretation by the intellectuals under estimate the value of the ESCRs content of the African Charter.
While commentators who assume that the Charter provides no opportunity for programmatic realization is far between, recent and few, there is an enormous number of intellectuals who either strongly or subtly campaign the idea of ESCRs being inferior to the political and civil rights in the African Charter, or of being incompetent of implementation.
As an example, while admitting the indissoluble link in the universality and conception of political and civil rights and ESCRs, Rembe derived his analysis of the Charter by mentioning that it is difficult to make ESCRs justifiable in the same sense as political and civil rights – without providing any legal, empirical or moral authentication. Thus, despite the clarity in the text of the African Charter, the ample travaux préparatoires, and opinions of the distinguished African jurists, the effectuation question remains an albatross in vitalizing the ESCRs provisions in the Charter.
The reasons for this are surely unconvincing. The prolonged historical and philosophic debates in which human rights entangled in the cold war years, ultimately, gave birth of human rights treaty system within the United Nation. Moreover, the endless consequences of brutal dictatorship, culture of maladministration, and colonialism to which African scholars have for long been accustomed and exposed, African scholarship could not evade pessimism in its appreciation and uniqueness of regional human rights system.
After all, many scholars view the Charter as a product of neocolonialists and oppressors. That cynical approach to human rights concerns is simply one of the innumerable symptoms of the distorted intellectualism that permeates the African human rights terrain. The misconception about the nature of ESCRs obligations under the Charter has also put many states in dilemma. After scrutinizing the reports, filed by African states under article 62 of the African Charter expose the wrong perception among many states in balancing their liabilities under the Charter, with the reformist requirements under ICESCR. This perception is erroneous, while taking into account the Guidelines mentioned by the African Commission on the reporting process. Under these Guidelines regarding the Contents and Form of Reports on ESCRs, the African Commission specifies that:
As under political and civil rights, African Commission recommends that the reports under social and economic rights should consist of two types: initial reports and periodic reports.
It was not coincidental that the monitoring body of African regional human rights treaty described ESCRs as fundamental freedoms. They have to be reported as comprehensively as political and civil rights. Scholars often contend that while ESCRs are subject to progressive implementation under ICESCR and in case of unavailability of any textual inference, the spirit of ESCRs provisions suggest immediate implementation under the African Charter.
The Guidelines for Periodic Reports indicate that Article 20 of the African Charter demands that all communities have equal rights for participation in political activities, and possess equal opportunities of the country without any discrimination. In this light, rights of people are influential to make the state responsible to the will of its people.
Discrimination is one of the key issues concerning minority community that underlie many of the minority conflicts involving groups and the state. This is not simply a result of guarantee for equality and nondiscrimination. For certain groups such as the San of Botswana or the Massai of Kenya, it also results from the distinguishable feature of their characteristics, their minority status.
In one of the periodic reports, African Commission has found discrimination of Batwa community. The discrimination observed is in the areas of access to justice and education, social services, and job opportunities. Many problems of the state-people relationship have resulted to implement a homogenous national culture on the diversified ethno-cultural groups. Under the African Charter, all African states will take care of the identities and cultures of non-domminating groups and provide a protection to various minorities against insults of their cultural rights.
Implementation mechanisms
In the African Charter, the principal mechanism that prevails to ensure and monitor the states complying with their treaty accountability is the African Commission. Article 30 of the Charter establishes the African Commission with the tripartite mandate to interpret, promote, and ensure the peoples’ rights. The responsibility of African Commission is to abide by the rules of Charter, and the African Commission carries out its mandate in numerous ways: through the complaints procedure, state reporting procedure, and with its promotional programs. The state reporting mechanism enables the African Commission to ascertain what measures a state is practicing to secure the provisions of the African Charter.
In certain cases when the African Commission has to make a judgment on the continuation of violation of human rights, the Commission often collects the data to find out as to how much portion of the population in a state is suffering. The usage of the term “portion of the population” in such cases by the Commission does not prevent an understanding that minority communities possess peoples’ rights under the Charter. This holds true in case of a self-identifying minority. There had been two such examples of the Katanga case and the Ogoni cases, which highlight this issue. In the case of Katanga the complainant who is the president of the Peoples’ Congress of Katanga, approached the Commission to recognize, the independence of Katanga on account of Article 20(1) of the African Charter.
It is worth noting two issues. First, the Katangese constitutes only a fraction of population of Zaire. Second, they distinguish themselves as people and thus, empowered to rights of people under the African Charter. African Commission, while deciding the case did not hesitate to refer Katangese as people without holding it significant to ascertain whether Katangese constitute one or more ethnic group. The African Commission then arrived at the conclusion that the case holds no grounds of violating any rights of people under the African Charter. As such, request for independence is not significant under the African Charter. Here, it is worthwhile observing the differentiation that the Commission anticipated in its judgment between Katanga and the state of Zaire.
Similarly, the Ogoni case also involves a violation of rights of people, namely the right to dispose of one’s natural resources and wealth under Article 21 and the rights to environment protection under Article 24. Although, in its judgment, the African Commission used the phrase “people” interchangeable with the Ogoni people and the Ogonis, it was apparently to emphasize the distinctness of a community, with its own place in the Nigerian community.
The Commission pronounced that Nigerian state violated the rights of Ogonis, inter alia, to freely disposal of one’s natural resources and wealth. This presumes the Commission’s view that the Ogonis hold peoples’ rights under the African Charter.
The clear differentiation that the Commission made between the state, Nigeria, and the Ogoni people by referring them as a group, confirms this point. Certainly, the distinction means to treat group as subjects of rights of people and the state being the bearer of obligations that rights enforce.
Individual complaints procedure
The individual complaints mechanism of the African Commission has been remarkably active in reacting to a large range of human rights insults in African states. Nevertheless, certain cases brought before the Commission point to total imbalance in the communications.
A survey conducted by the African Commission between 1995 and 2002 reveals a considerable difference between the communication dealing with political and civil rights and ESCRs in the African Charter. Even when there were effective communications that require crosscutting rights, the African Commission had been flexible to excise the ESCRs portion from its remedial consideration. The contradiction of the Commission becomes clear when one measures the way in which it deals with communications on the numerous rights in the African Charter.
One peculiar decision would support this point. In Malawi African Association v, Mauritania, the Commission presented its capability to elaborate on the civil and political rights of the African Charter and offer specific and concrete remedies in unequivocal language.
The African Commission, in this case, held that Mauritania government must setup an independent enquiry to find the fate of disappeared persons, initiate diligent steps to replace the identity documents collected from the expelled citizens, reinstate persons dismissed from their jobs without conducting enquiry process, ensure appropriate compensation for the violations, and implement legislative measures to abolish slavery. This was one of the enormous opportunities where the African Commission slipped to elaborate on the content of ESCRs as well as to draw the remedial implementation.
This paper attempts to highlight some of the legalistic obstacles to the actual conceptualization of ESCRs obligations with regard to African continent in the broader peoples’ rights discourse, and attempt disproving the crucial theoretical issues, namely, resource constraints and justifiability. In the course of the above, this paper highlights the wide assemblage of regional and international human and peoples’ rights frameworks that can encourage an integrative rights-based approach to peoples’ development in African states, indicating the political and legal considerations that should direct the achievement of human development rights obligations.
The paper also emphasizes on the institutional and normative frameworks of ESCRs at the African regional levels and their significance for the efficacious implementation of ESCRs at all level in the African states, in a manner that strengthens human development. The African Charter shows ample ESCRs protection mechanisms and yet there is an asymmetry of weak realization. It points out a wide range of the legalistic problems that have come up in the course of the textual explanation of ESCR’s norms. The final analysis indicates that, despite numerous constraints, ESCRs consists of promotional and protective elements that can enhance their value as legalistic rights.
Brief Description of Rawls' Theory of Justice
Power of the Courts
Critical Legal Studies School of Jurisprudence
Introduction to the American Court System
Public Relations and Civil Rights
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Science Tutor Edmond Oklahoma
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About Royal River Chorus
Royal River Chorus is a membership organization of female singers, who meet regularly to practice, perform, socialize, and have fun. Royal River consists of 35+ women of varied backgrounds and professions, united by a love of singing and performing. Members come from six counties in southern, central and mid-coast Maine.
Royal River Chorus is a chapter of Sweet Adelines, International, a non-profit organization of approximately 30,000 members worldwide. Headquarted in Tulsa, Oklahoma, it is the world's largest music education association for women singers. Sweet Adelines is dedicated to the promotion of 4-part a cappella harmony in the barbershop style, an original American art form.
Royal River Chorus entertains at least 3,000 people each year at annual shows, community events such as the Yarmouth Clam Festival, private functions, and at annual competitions. They also enjoy performing Singing Valentines on Valentines Day. Royal River Chorus is available to sing at your next function or event. If you're looking for a unique musical experience to liven up your event, please see Hire Us.
In addition to sharing music with others, another great passion of the chorus is learning more about the art of acapella singing. Vocal instruction is a regular part of chorus rehearsals, and a very important component of the chorus experience. A few times a year, the chorus will get coaching from a visiting master in the art of barbershop, where they learn many fabulous tricks of the trade.
CompetitionIn the spring of every year, Royal River Chorus participates in the Sweet Adelines Region 1 chorus competition in Springfield, Massachusetts. Competitions are a special time for quartets and choruses from the region to come together to sing for each other, and get some constructive feedback from a panel of judges. The winners of the regional competition in both quartet and chorus categories get to travel to International Competition, which is held in the fall in a city selected each year.
Most choruses have members who form their own vocal quartets in addition to singing with the chorus. Click here to see our quartet section to learn more about them.
The Royal River Chapter was organized in Yarmouth, Maine in 1983 by 12 experienced Sweet Adelines. The chorus chartered with the international organization in January, 1985 with 25 members and has grown in size and talent ever since. Throughout the years, Royal River members have maintained a special bond of friendship in harmony, and eagerly welcome other women to share their hobby. In recent years, the chorus has maintained standings within the top four at the annual Region One Competition in Springfield, Massachusetts.
In Atlantic Region One of Sweet Adelines (which includes New England and part of NY and Canada), Royal River is currently the the 4th place medalists overall.
Because of high scores at recent Regional Competitions, the chorus qualified three times to compete as a “Wild Card” with the 40 highest-ranked Sweet Adeline choruses in the world at Sweet Adeline International's annual competition. The first International Contest was in Phoenix, AZ in September 2003, where Royal River earned the Harmony Achievement Award (an award given to the "smaller" chorus who scored the most points during the contest.) In October of 2005 Royal River competed at International in Detroit with 52 members on stage. Our third time was in 2009 in Nashville.
Previously Royal River had won the title of Division AA World Champions by virtue of winning the organization's Harmony Classic Contest twice, the first time in San Antonio, Texas in 2000, and then again in Greenville, SC in July, 2002. (The Harmony Classic is a contest for the top small and mid-size choruses.)
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May 15, 2019 by Alexandra
What makes a book influential? I believe it’s a message that can withstand the test of time. Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mocking Bird appeared when social and racial tensions in America were high and its message about shattered innocence with an appeal for compassion impacted audiences. But has the world changed to become more tolerant and less divided? The novel’s continuing popularity proves that it hasn’t, that Harper Lee touched on an enduring theme. In 2006 To Kill a Mocking Bird topped the list of British librarians who were asked to name a book every adult should read before they die (https://www.theguardian.com/books/200…).
Library lists of twentieth-century influential titles may differ. Selections made by the Boston Public Library––and I’ll speak here only about several works of literary fiction and non-fiction––include George Orwell’s 1984 , The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, and Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago. These books have influenced our collective consciousness, their titles became household words.
Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl appeared in 1947, shortly after the end of the Second World War and well ahead of major Holocaust studies and memoirs. It has accomplished what later volumes could not. Anne Frank’s tragic fate affected us personally, deeply, and unforgettably; through her story we could grasp the unfathomable nature of the Holocaust and the fate of millions. In the midst of today’s global conflicts this book will continue to live on, acquiring new meaning and importance.
Numerous books have been written about fascism and communism, the twentieth-century’s plague; however, few titles had the capacity to capture international audiences and become classics. In 1984, when I was still living in Moscow, my friend gave me a samizdat copy of George Orwell’s dystopian novel. That year marked a unique literary anniversary of Orwell’s 1984. Orwell’s book was still banned in the USSR: its publication only became possible at the height of Gorbachev’s glasnost. Back then, reading it in Russian, I was unaware that its translation had been secretly commissioned by the Communist Party Propaganda Department for distribution among a select few. In an Orwellian turn of events the Big Brother and the Ministry of Truth controlled what Soviet people should read. But a copy of Orwell’s novel slipped into samizdat. Soviet readers viewed 1984 as a close portrait of their tyranny, along with the fear and conformity it inspired. Although Orwell had never lived in a totalitarian state, he intuitively captured its nature: “a boot stamping on a human face––forever.” Published in 1949, his novel supplied metaphors and terms we use today.
Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago, launched in the West in December 1973, produced, in Robert Conquest’s words, “an almost unprecedented, worldwide impact” on audiences. It revealed the truth about the hidden empire of deadly Soviet prison camps and changed the way communism was perceived; the term “gulag” entered nearly every language. Although books about Soviet concentration camps had appeared before Solzhenitsyn’s, The Gulag Archipelago provided overwhelming evidence and changed the minds of millions about the socialist paradise. Solzhenitsyn’s indictment of the Soviet political system exploded in the West during Cold War; the fact that the author was an ex-inmate still living in the USSR gave his work tremendous moral authority.
In 1958, the year Boris Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, Edmund Wilson extolled his novel Doctor Zhivago as “one of the great events in man’s literary and moral history. Nobody could have written it in a totalitarian state… who did not have the courage of genius.” At the time, Vasily Grossman’s incomparably more scathing novel, Life and Fate, was unknown. Written almost simultaneously with Pasternak’s, Grossman’s work was a powerful testimony about crimes of the Communist and Nazi regimes, which he presciently compared. An early chronicler of the Gulag and the Holocaust, Grossman put the two totalitarian systems on trial.
In 1961, after Grossman bravely attempted publication of Life and Fate in a Moscow journal, his novel was seized by the KGB. The Soviet authorities correctly considered this work more dangerous than Pasternak’s; they compared its potential impact to a nuclear bomb, and vowed to keep it suppressed for 250 years. In the event, they managed to postpone publication until the Gorbachev era––enough to reduce the initial effect of Grossman’s message. The novel’s reputation and influence grew slowly over the years. Today it has become recognized among the most important works about the calamitous twentieth century. In the West it has influenced scholars researching the Second World War, Ukraine’s famine, and the Holocaust. In post-Soviet Russia, where comparison between Nazism and Stalinism remains illegal, the book could not become influential.
December 19, 2018 by Alexandra
This Q & A was compiled by the author herself.
Q. What prompted you to write Vasily Grossman’s biography?
A. If I had to answer in one sentence––Vasily Grossman’s subject matter. To use James Atlas’ words about Edmund Wilson, Grossman “offered a large canvas on which you could draw a map of the twentieth century––the ideal subject for a big, ‘definitive’ biography.” This line comes from Atlas’ memoir The Shadow in the Garden: A Biographer’s Tale. In fact, Grossman’s novels Life and Fate and Everything Flows capture the twentieth century along with its calamities brought about by the Nazi and Stalinist regimes––World War II, the Holocaust, Ukraine’s famine, and the Gulag. Each of these topics may take a lifetime to explore, but I felt I could approach them through Grossman. As Atlas remarks, a biographer’s biggest reward is a chance to educate yourself while reconstructing someone else’s world.
Q. Writing a book is a marathon. What kept you going?
A. I had a sense of personal connection to Grossman’s themes. My birth family of Russian Jewry had suffered under Stalin and Hitler. My mother’s family––her uncle, aunt, and cousin––were liquidated during Stalin’s Great Purge. Her other uncle was shot as a Jew in Nazi-occupied Kiev. Earlier, while living in Kharkov and Kiev in the 1930s, my mother and grandmother witnessed Ukraine’s famine.
World War II is also not a remote event for my generation. My father had fought on the Eastern front; his brother and cousin were killed in battle. After the defeat of German fascism, Stalin launched his own anti-Semitic campaign, so my father, a war veteran, was, as a Jew, denied employment. In Life and Fate, commenting on postwar Soviet politics of state nationalism and antisemitism, Grossman writes that Stalin raised over the heads of Jews “the very sword of annihilation he had wrested from the hands of Hitler.”
I grew up in Moscow where Grossman spent much of his life. My parents and I lived in the apartment building where Grossman had a studio and kept part of his archive. Our house was among the addresses where in 1961 the KGB confiscated copies of Grossman’s novel, Life and Fate. My father, the novelist Grigory Baklanov (Friedman), brought his first fiction about the war to Grossman and later studied in his creative writing seminar. During Gorbachev’s glasnost my father became editor of Znamya literary magazine and published Grossman’s splendid Armenian memoir and short prose, and also published his wartime diaries as a separate volume.
Q. Vasily Grossman died in 1964. Why are his works relevant today?
A. Grossman wrote about state nationalism, the rise of totalitarianism, and antisemitism, topics that today remain among the most discussed. In Life and Fate the Nazi officer Liss says, “Nationalism is the soul of our epoch.” We are now witnessing the rise of nationalism in America, Europe, Russia, and China, and these words can be read as a warning from history.
In the 1950s both Grossman and Hannah Arendt elucidated on the nature of totalitarianism in Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union. As Timothy Snyder points out in Bloodlands, “The Nazi and the Stalinist totalitarian systems must be compared, not so much to understand the one or the other but to understand our times and ourselves.” We are observing a strong comeback of far-right populist governments in Europe and elsewhere; in her award-winning book, The Future Is History, Masha Gessen even argues that totalitarianism has reclaimed Russia.
Because Grossman was a banned writer, his major works have only appeared after much delay. In the past two decades interest in his ideas has been steadily rising. Grossman’s novels are now recognized as a valuable historical source, a testimony about the twentieth century and the global evil perpetrated by totalitarian regimes. His powerful 1944 article, “The Hell of Treblinka,” became part of the evidence at Nuremberg. Today it continues to provide insights into the Holocaust, which Grossman was among the first to fathom and to chronicle.
Q. Martin Amis referred to Grossman as “a Soviet Tolstoy.” Do you agree with this description?
A. Yes and no. As a war novelist Grossman had undoubtedly experienced Tolstoy’s influence: his research notes for Life and Fate reveal that he used the structure of War and Peace as a blueprint. Written with epic sweep, Grossman’s novel also includes war parts and peace parts. Like Tolstoy, he depicts historical figures alongside fictional characters; his narrative switches between global events and family occurrences. Grossman, however, was not imitating Tolstoy. He was leading a dialogue with his predecessor and, as he states in his notes, intended to show “how life changed over 100 years.” Grossman’s protagonists fight in Stalingrad; are marched to a gas chamber, and, like the physicist Victor Shtrum, work on the Soviet nuclear program.
Actually, it was not merely Tolstoy’s greatness as a novelist that had inspired Grossman to model his epic Life and Fateon War and Peace. He saw in Tolstoy an example of a writer who was driven by the moral imperative to tell the truth. Having testified about Nazi crimes in Treblinka, he realized the pressing need to also make the world aware of the crimes of Stalinism.
In 1952, after three years’ battling with Soviet editors, Grossman succeeded in publishing a censored version of the novel For the Right Cause (this was the first part of Life and Fate). The initial reaction was positive: critics hailed it as “a Soviet War and Peace.” A few months later, For the Right Cause was attacked in the Soviet press and a political campaign against Grossman was launched, nearly ending in his arrest. Unlike Tolstoy, Grossman lived and wrote in a totalitarian state and many of his topics were the strictest Soviet taboos. In 1960 Grossman produced his uncompromising anti-totalitarian novel, Life and Fate. His attempt to publish it in the USSR was an act of desperate bravery and defiance.
Q. How will your book affect what we know about Grossman?
A. This book will come out 23 years after a single English-language biography by John and Carol Garrard. It’s drawn from my archival research, published and unpublished memoirs, letters, and interviews. My biography amasses the latest information about Grossman and his subject matter. I read everything Grossman had produced, including his early works, which were usually dismissed by biographers. My research helped me discover, for example, that Grossman’s beliefs in freedom and democracy were lifelong and that the Jewish theme was also conspicuous in his early works. My biography traces his life and ideas from the beginning, and I show how the war and the Shoah moved him to openly oppose the state.
I’ve always tried to unveil myths in my books, and this biography dispels a number of myths. Ehrenburg’s remark that Grossman was born under the star of misfortune has been given too much attention. Although there was tragedy in Grossman’s life, he was fortunate to survive Stalin’s mass purges and the war––despite reporting from Stalingrad and Kursk, the site of the largest tank battle in history. When discussing the confiscation of Life and Fate we need to know that this violent action was not unprecedented in the Soviet Union. The epilogue of my book tells the story of Georgy Demidov, a writer and Kolyma survivor, whose manuscripts were seized by the KGB and who was also deprived of the means to complete his testimony about the Gulag. In contrast, Grossman was able to produce his most uncompromising novel, Everything Flows, which became his political testament. One needs to remember that the list of Soviet literary martyrs is extraordinarily long. It includes writers murdered by the regime––Isaak Babel, Osip Mandelstam, and Boris Pilnyak.
Q. It took you four years to produce this book. Any regrets?
A. It pains me to see the clichéd image on my book cover. This picture of Grossman, made in the burning Berlin in 1945, has been repeatedly published. I provided the publisher with a little known picture of Grossman in his study, but it was rejected “as not dramatic” enough. I believe a cover is important. It gives the first impression about the book. Regrettably, someone in the marketing department, who did not even read my book, decided the cover’s outcome.
March 17, 2018 by Alexandra
In January 2018 the conservative National Review magazine published a piece The Most Ridiculous PC Moments of 2017 . The comedian and television personality Katherine Timpf commented on eleven nonsensical episodes of political correctness on campus and elsewhere.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article…
“Novelists are now employing ‘sensitivity readers’ in order to make sure that they don’t portray fictional characters from other communities in an inaccurate way. Note: No one actually knows how to portray a fictional person ‘accurately,’ because fictional people do not exist. In all seriousness, this trend is a terrifying one that threatens to ruin the art of fiction as we know it.”
I believe the comedian is right. Political correctness has gone too far. It threatens freedom of expression at universities and in publishing.
Thus, the PC people propose we stop studying Shakespeare and Mark Twain. They intimidate writers and publishers by setting off online outrage against books they deem offensive. But the definition of “offensive” is vague. It can be endlessly stretched. This is why hiring “sensitivity readers” will not always work. Someone who looks for cultural stereotypes will find them between the lines.
When in 2009 my book, Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography was being published, my editor insisted on removing the word “black” from the following paragraph: “A famous tragedian of the day, the black American actor Ira Aldridge, was on tour in Russia and his performance in Moscow was not to be missed.” Ira Aldridge was playing Othello, so I failed to understand how this could be offensive and did not budge. In the end, my editor, who threatened to delay my book’s publication, backed off.
Today there’s also much ado over the issue of cultural appropriation. I find this issue highly confusing and debatable. A few years ago at a writers’ conference an aspiring Canadian writer, a German immigrant married to an aboriginal man, asked whether she can write a fictional story about her neighbors on an Indian reserve. She said she attempted to publish her stories, but was always refused––not because her stories were bad, but because of the cultural appropriation issue. She argued that she did not write outside her immediate experience: she lived with an aboriginal man next to the reserve. “Does the Canadian government prohibit writers of non-aboriginal ancestry to explore aboriginal subjects?” she asked.
When it comes to cultural appropriation I also want to ask seemingly naïve questions. What does it mean to write outside one’s own cultural experience? Journalists, scholars, artists, and writers have always explored unchartered territories with success. (As in the Shakespearean play cited above.)
The best and most comprehensive nineteenth-century dictionary of the Russian language was compiled by Vladimir Dahl, neither an ethnic Russian nor a trained lexicographer. Dahl, whose father was Danish and whose mother was of mixed German and French ancestry, had served in the Russian Navy and was later trained as a military doctor. Yet, his dictionary of the Russian language informed generations of writers, including Vladimir Nabokov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
Some of the most influential books on Ukraine’s famine were written by Robert Conquest and Anne Applebaum, also the author of the Gulag. Applebaum’s Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine has just been named the 2018 world’s best non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs.
For centuries foreigners produced illuminating and astute travel accounts. George Kennan’s Tent Life in Siberia captures ethnographies and histories of Siberia’s native peoples. This book continues to inform audiences, and no one yet complained about cultural appropriation.
Are we traveling less in the age of globalization? Can we travel and can explore another culture but cannot write about it? Was Life of Pi, Yan Martel’s best-selling novel about India, cultural appropriation? The truth is––nobody cares.
Yet, a Canadian editor of Write magazine Hal Niedzviecki was forced to resign for urging white middle-class writers to explore “the lives of people who aren’t like you.” In 2017 a campaign of shaming was launched against him and his supporters.
Would these PC people shame the French post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin for his Tahiti paintings?
This March I learned that the Cambridge Dictionary will include the term “cultural appropriation” and will define it as cultural theft.
http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/…
Actually, writers and artists do not steal from other cultures––they create their own work, which enriches us globally.
Cultural appropriation strikes me as a brainchild of a radical minority, empowered by social media.
I grew up in the Soviet Union, and the notion of enforced “political correctness” brings back the memory of political censorship.
Do we want censorship in the free world?
November 30, 2015 by Alexandra
The BBC has produced an adaptation of War and Peace featuring scenes of nudity and incest. The adaptation, by Andrew Davis, will air in the New Year. As The Telegraph writes, Davis is known “for his racy take on Pride and Prejudice and for admitting that he read Austen’s book only when he undertook the project.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/12023569/BBC-under-fire-for-ripe-and-inappropriate-adaptation-of-War-and-Peace.html
So, does Tolstoy depict an incestuous relationship? I read War and Peace many times in Russian and in translations by Anthony Briggs, and Pevear and Volokhonsky. I will be quoting here from the latter, but first a few words about Tolstoy’s plot.
Scholars are now debating Tolstoy’s intention in depicting Anatole and Hélèn Kuragin, more specifically the brother and sister relationship. I believe there is hardly any need to speculate––Tolstoy clearly suggests it involved incest.
When Pierre Bezukhov receives a vast inheritance, becoming a millionaire overnight, the Kuragin family at once considers him a match for their beautiful daughter, Hélèn. During Anna Pavlovna’s soirée, attended by the cream of Petersburg aristocracy, Hélèn is seated next to Pierre: money and beauty go together.
Pierre is divided in his heart between everyone’s expectations of him to marry Hélèn and the unattractive things he knows about her: “I’ve been told that her brother Anatole was in love with her and she with him, and there was a whole story, and that’s why Anatole was sent away.”
True, not everything Tolstoy wrote appears in the final draft. As Tolstoy’s wife, Sophia, writes in her autobiography, she persuaded her husband to exclude some “cynical scenes” involving the beautiful Hélèn Kuragina. However, Tolstoy was no puritan and an ardent reviser, so it’s hard to know whether he heeded her advice or slashed some paragraphs because he wanted to.
In an early draft, published in Tolstoy’s 90-volume Collected Works, the brother and sister relationship is shown in more detail. Anatole refuses to leave his sister’s room until the small hours of the morning; their mother, entering unexpectedly, witnesses Anatole caressing Hélèn. Tolstoy further suggests that Anatole experiences sexual arousal and that Hélèn enjoys being fondled. After the incident the old Prince Kuragin strictly forbids brother and sister to be together and sends Anatole away.
Tolstoy undoubtedly implies an incestuous relationship. But he certainly doesn’t show brother and sister in bed. It is enough to depict Anatole’s sensuality, to show “animal” expression on his face when he is caressing Hélèn’s bare shoulders. Less is more––the reader gets the message.
I believe that scenes of nudity in the BBC production of War and Peace will not affect audiences as much as Tolstoy’s implication, which leaves room for imagination.
Finally, because I know and love the novel, I unlikely will be watching the BBC production, although I also realize that some viewers may be drawn to the adaptation because of the bedroom scene. And this is regrettable. While scandal helps draw attention to the film, it takes away the audience’s attention from the book.
Fifteen years ago a Russian publisher produced Tolstoy’s magnificent novel without the war and philosophical parts––a sensational publication of War and Peace minus the war. The BBC adaptation strikes me as an attempt to sell the masterpiece on the strength of nude scenes, to which modern audiences are accustomed, but which present some novelty because this is about nineteenth-century aristocracy.
Russia’s ‘Year of Literature’
Russia has proclaimed 2015 the Year of Literature. Coming from the state where nothing happens without Putin’s personal approval, the initiative can only inspire scepticism, not pride.
Throughout Russia’s history, genuine writers were the main opposition to authoritarian regimes and were relentlessly harassed for speaking out. Sensing hypocrisy, Kommersant newspaper is publishing a calendar of Russia’s literary persecutions: e.g., February 24 marks Leo Tolstoy’s excommunication from the Orthodox Church and February 28 confiscation of Vasily Grossman’s famous novel, Life and Fate.
If the Kommersant calendar of Russia’s literary harassments were comprehensive there would be enough cases of writers’ arrests, book banning, deportations, and murder to mark every day of a year. All literary celebrations in Russia begin with Alexander Pushkin, the national genius and the country’s pride. The poet, however, pursued his entire writing career under police surveillance. Censored by the Tsar himself and prohibited from traveling even within Russia, he needed a special permit to publish and to read his poems to friends.
Tolstoy lived under police surveillance for 50 years. Russia’s intellectuals were always watched; yet, there are more police reports on Tolstoy than on any other public figure. Three police departments maintained constant surveillance. Scrutiny was intensified during Tolstoy’s last decades, after he had denounced the authoritarian regime and its obedient Orthodox Church. Tolstoy accused the Church of endorsing all repressive government policies and war. Had Tolstoy lived today, he would protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the role of the official Church, which hasn’t changed. During Tolstoy’s life, his nonfiction circulated in underground copies. It was never reprinted in Soviet Russia; will it be celebrated today?
Back to the calendar of literary persecutions: April 23 will mark an anniversary of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s incarceration in Peter and Paul’s Fortress. In 1849, Dostoevsky was arrested for belonging to a group studying utopian socialism and narrowly avoided execution by firing squad. The day when his death sentence was commuted to hard labour in Siberia was the happiest in his life, he said: Dostoevsky was singing in his cell. Later, when he became loyal to the regime, the police still treated him as a former political convict, confiscating some of his manuscripts at the Russian border.
The fate of twentieth-century writers was far more tragic: under the Soviet dictatorship 2,000 were arrested and of those 1,500 perished in the gulags. Every Soviet republic lost its bravest and most talented. In Russia, Isaac Babel, Boris Pilnyak, and Osip Mandelstam were among those tortured and killed under Stalin. Mandelstam was re-arrested on May 2, 1938, for composing a satirical poem about Stalin; he died that year in a transitory camp in the Far East. As he had famously remarked, “Poetry is respected only in this country––people are killed for it. There’s no place where more people are killed for it.” Mandelstam’s spiritual legacy survives today only because his widow, Nadezhda, was heroically hiding it for decades from the authorities.
The Soviet state routinely persecuted writers, seizing their manuscripts, libraries, and archives in the course of arrests. There was one case though when a novel was “arrested” independently from its author.
On February 28, 1961, the writers’ community in Moscow, to which my family belonged, was shaken by the news that the KGB had searched Vasily Grossman’s apartment and confiscated the manuscript of his major novel, Life and Fate. Depicting WWII, the Gulag, and the Holocaust this novel is compared today to War and Peace––both in scope and mastery. However, the author died without seeing his masterpiece published or his papers returned to him. Grossman was the first to compare, with clarity and depth, the Nazi and Stalinist totalitarian systems. Timely release of this novel would have had tremendous impact on Soviet Russia and would have changed what the nation knew about its Stalinist past. Sensing a threat to the regime, the authorities vowed to keep it suppressed for 200 years; in the event, they succeeded in postponing the book’s publication by three decades. In December 2013, the FSB released Grossman’s papers from its vaults, much to surprise and delight of the Russian State Archive for Literature and Arts. This archive had long petitioned the authorities to release all confiscated writers’ libraries and manuscripts, including Grossman’s.
Writers’ deportations should also be marked on the calendar, like feast days: along with freedom deportees were awarded world fame. Joseph Brodsky was put on a plane to Vienna on June 4, 1972; Alexander Solzhenitsyn was flown to West Germany on February 14, 1974. (A tradition of exiling Russia’s intellectuals to Germany is an old one.
In 1922, protesting Lenin’s deportations, the German chancellor quipped that “Germany was not Siberia.” The list of Russia’s literary martyrs is long and distinguished. Anna Akhmatova, Marina Tsvetaeva, Boris Pasternak, and Mikhail Bulgakov were not imprisoned, but they endured decades of persecution.
Bulgakov, to whom Stalin himself had repeatedly denied publication, died in obscurity on March 10, 1939. A brilliant satirical writer and playwright, he was destined for posthumous world fame. One of the finest poets of her generation, Tsvetaeva was driven to despair and took her own life on August 31, 1941. It should be noted that by the end of the Soviet era, the same Party officials who earlier prohibited Bulgakov’s and Tsvetaeva’s works were showing off the volumes in their own libraries––not because they came to value genuine literature, but because these editions were impossible to get.
During the Year of Russia’s Literature officials will make speeches, to be broadcast through state-controlled media. This strikes me as ironic, since writers succeeded despite government interference in their lives and work. Today, the state is broadening its sphere of influence, and Soviet practices of controlling literature are being revived. Last December, Russia’s Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky said that Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina should be excluded from the high school curriculum as inappropriate. The minister, whose previous responsibilities include the Federal Tax Police and the menacing Presidential Commission Against the Falsification of History, will determine the lists of books for patriotic reading. Will Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Akhmatova, and Grossman make it to the recommended lists?
Tolstoy’s False Disciple –– Q&A
I am publishing my answers to questions about my book, “Tolstoy’s False Disciple,” that I have received through social media and during the book’s launch at McNally Robinson Bookstore in Saskatoon.
Q. How intimate were Tolstoy and Chertkov?
A. Tolstoy’s contemporary biographer and translator, Aylmer Maude, describes the relationship as intimate and non-transparent. Chertkov was at the center of events that generated lasting controversy––Tolstoy’s signing of the secret will, his flight from home at eighty-two, and his pathetic death at Astapovo. This is when Chertkov was first brought into the public eye. But it remains little known that he was Tolstoy’s companion and confidante for three decades.
Tolstoy’s personal doctor, Makovitsky, describes Chertkov’s influence over the writer as “tremendous and despotic.” Sophia alleged that her husband’s relationship with Chertkov was homosexual in nature. She implied this in her diary (not all her entries are published to this day) and spoke her mind with Makovitsky and the writer’s secretary, Bulgakov. Because of Tolstoy’s moral authority, her allegations were dismissed. But this doesn’t mean that Sophia’s suspicion was unfounded.
In fact, it’s hard to explain Tolstoy’s attachment otherwise. The only thing they shared was Tolstoy’s religion. But this doesn’t justify the exclusive relationship: Tolstoy had other followers and a dogmatic Chertkov could not contribute any ideas to him.
Tolstoy referred to Chertkov as the man he “most needed,” the “person closest” to him, and frequently wrote him about his love. The two had secrets, and some of their early exchange was destroyed by mutual consent. The writer’s son-in-law, Mikhail Sukhotin (his full diary also remains unpublished) has remarked that Tolstoy loved Chertkov “with exceptional tenderness, partially and blindly” and this love drove him “to become completely subordinated to Chertkov’s will.”
Tolstoy did have homosexual leanings, having admitted in his youthful diary, that he had been in love with men.
Q. What do you think about Paul Giamatti’s portrayal of Chertkov in The Last Station?
A. Giamatti portrays Chertkov as a conniving adviser to Tolstoy, and I think he got it right.
Actually, the most surprising thing about Chertkov was his banality. He did not value Tolstoy’s talent and time and was manipulative and rude with him.
Q. Did Chertkov ever marry?
A. Chertkov had homosexual relationships, and married through Tolstoy’s insistence. His wife was a semi-invalid, who spent much of her life in a wheelchair.
Q. Was Chertkov an agent of the secret police? And if so, did he spy on Tolstoy from the very beginning?
A. Tolstoy lived under surveillance for fifty years. Chertkov met him in the fall of 1883, soon after the police watch was intensified. This was because Tolstoy in his new writings began to challenge the Orthodox Church and the authoritarian state. The secret police collected information about Tolstoy’s causes, writing, and private life. During his last decades Tolstoy lived under double surveillance: in addition to the police scrutiny Chertkov arranged to keep a copy of his entire correspondence and diaries. The disciple insisted on this privilege despite Tolstoy’s objections. Over the years, Chertkov employed secretaries who aside from helping Tolstoy copied for Chertkov. He was obsessed with Tolstoy, but his method of collecting intelligence resembles that of the secret police.
Chertkov’s family was close to the tsars and to the interior ministry, and he maintained close ties to the establishment. His lifelong friend, Dmitry Trepov, was the chief of the gendarmes, and later an assistant minister of the interior. Trepov is infamous for organizing Jewish pogroms and shooting student demonstrators. Chertkov called him “a decent man.” Chertkov’s other friend was a member of the secret police. While it is unknown what role Chertkov played in surveillance over Tolstoy, his handwriting was identified on one of the reports to the Petersburg Police Department.
Chertkov was a chronic manipulator and schemer with a knack for conspiracy. These traits would make him ideally suited for clandestine activity.
Q. Was Chertkov a psychopath?
A. Chertkov’s intricate plots and a secret will he imposed on Tolstoy suggest he had a psychopathic mind. His exaggerated sense of self-worth, emotional shallowness, superficial charm, and persuasiveness would make him a case study. He was also quarrelsome and despotic and, as Maude writes, had an unmatched ability to impose his will on other people: “Everybody connected with him became his instrument, quarreled with him, or had to escape.” Tolstoy admitted that Chertkov was “a difficult man.”
Q. Why did Tolstoy maintain a lasting relationship with such a man?
A. This question drives my book. Tolstoy’s contemporaries, including Bulgakov, were unable to fathom the relationship. In his marginally published memoir Bulgakov asks, rhetorically, how could such a man as Tolstoy love such a man as Chertkov? There is no rational answer to this.
I think that Tolstoy maintained the relationship because he loved Chertkov and also because he was afraid that Chertkov would not spare him if they broke up. So, he tried to appease his companion by satisfying all his demands for privileges and promotions. But this only inspired Chertkov to demand more. His ultimate goal was to become the executor of Tolstoy’s literary estate, and to possess the writer’s manuscripts. This is why Chertkov imposed a secret will on the writer. When, after signing it, Tolstoy attempted to change his mind, Chertkov threatened him with a scandal. Later, Chertkov composed a persuasive, but entirely false account of Tolstoy’s final year, misleading biographers and the public for a century.
Q. How does your book affect what we know about Tolstoy?
A. The book tells about Tolstoy’s behind-the-scenes relationship, which impacted his private and public lives. Chertkov was responsible for Tolstoy’s marital conflicts and eventual alienation from his wife. He also aspired to the role of Tolstoy’s editor and censor. As such, he meddled in Tolstoy’s work, took his energy and time, and nipped many of his ideas in the bud.
Chertkov introduced secrecy into Tolstoy’s life. It’s disappointing that Tolstoy preached high morals, despite his involvement with a cad. Tolstoy used his authority to promote Chertkov and to silence his scandals, all of which was against his beliefs. This shows that Tolstoy was inconsistent and weak in private life, unable to defend his own privacy and peace, let alone such benefits for his family.
Tags: Tolstoy, Chertkov, homosexuality, Paul Giamatti, psychopaths, Russian secret police, The Last Station
Tolstoy’s Writing Advice
Today, authors approach famous writers for a book cover blurb. Few expect honest advice.
But over a century ago, when beginning writers sent their manuscripts to Tolstoy, they wanted his advice and some even asked him to revise their prose. He was generous with his time and frequently helped authors from underprivileged backgrounds. In some cases, their prose would get published because Tolstoy had marked it.
His suggestions to authors were paradoxical: Tolstoy advised them not to write, unless they felt it was absolutely necessary, and never to write with an eye to publication. In 1887, replying to an obscure writer, Tolstoy suggested: “The main thing is not to be in a hurry to write, not to grudge correcting and revising the same thing 10 or 20 times, not to write a lot and not, for heaven’s sake, to make of writing a means of livelihood or of winning importance in people’s eyes.”
However, most authors approached him precisely because they sought publication and were hoping for praise. Some thought that Tolstoy’s advice would boost their writing skills. This was precisely what Tolstoy warned them against: “God save you from that.” Attaining the skill was secondary to what he called “inner content.”
He did not believe that it was possible to teach one how to become a writer, and was annoyed when authors asked him to share secrets of the trade. In 1895, he replied to an author: “…I won’t answer your questions, or rather interrogation, about writing, because they are all empty questions. The one thing I can say to you is to try as hard as you can not to be a writer, or only to be one when you can no longer help being one.”
As he suggested to another author, “You should only write when you feel within you some completely new and important content, clear to you but unintelligible to others, and when the need to express this content gives you no peace.”
He valued sincerity, but thought this quality extremely rare. His advice to fiction writers was simple, although hard to follow: “…Live the lives of the people described, describe in images their inner feelings, and the characters themselves will do what they must do according to their natures…” A fiction writer “needs two things: firstly, to know thoroughly what should be; and secondly, to believe in what should be…” But, as he complained to a friend, immature writers have one without the other.
Preparation for writing mattered most: according to Tolstoy, one had to sift through 1,000 thoughts before recording a valid one. “Just as in speech the spoken word is silver and the unspoken one gold, so in writing––I would say that the written word is tin, and the unwritten one gold…” Many authors, who approached him, lacked this vital ability to restrain their thoughts and do the necessary work, which precedes writing.
In style Tolstoy valued clarity, and to achieve it, he endlessly revised his own prose. “Don’t spare your labour,” he advised an author in 1890, “write as it comes, at length, and then revise it, and above all shorten it. In the business of writing, gold is only obtained, in my experience, by sifting.”
He wrote nonfiction, he said, to clarify his own thoughts. There were “two kinds of writing.” The first and most demanding, came from the writer’s need achieve “the greatest possible clarity” of expression. Such a writer would work assiduously and reject everything that obscures his idea. But there was also writing driven by ambition and the need to impress. It served “to obscure and confuse the truth for oneself and others.” This second type was prevalent and filled newspapers and magazines. As Tolstoy remarked, “I hate it with all my soul.”
In this blog I relied on R.F. Christian’s translation of Tolstoy’s Letters.
Tolstoy and Anti-Semitism
August 25, 2013 by Alexandra
The Washington Times’ recent review of Sarah Honig’s “Debunking the Bull” praises the book of essays by The Jerusalem Post correspondent as a truthful exploration of Jewish history. What caught my attention was the paragraph about Honig’s essay “The German Robbed Cossack.” It tells of anti-Semitism among the literary elite in Europe, beginning with Leo Tolstoy’s reaction to the 1903 Jewish pogrom in Kishinev. Here Steven Bernstein’s reliance on Honig’s facts is unfortunate.
After the horrific pogrom in Kishinev (Chişinǎu, now the capital of Moldova; in 1903, a part of the Russian Empire), writer Shalom Aleichem asked Tolstoy to contribute to a Yiddish collection for the benefit of the victims. As Honig writes, “Tolstoy never so much as bothered to reply.” Unaware that Honig is wrong, Bernstein echoes that Tolstoy “not only didn’t bother to reply, he resented the request” made by Aleichem.
In reality, Tolstoy wrote him several letters and contributed three stories to the Yiddish anthology, which were published in Warsaw in 1903. On May 6, Tolstoy told Aleichem: “The terrible crime perpetrated in Kishinev made a painful impression on me… We recently sent a collective letter from Moscow to the mayor of Kishinev expressing our feelings about this terrible affair.” This letter from Russia’s intellectuals, for which Tolstoy suggested the text, expressed condolences to the victims of violence, horror for the brutal actions of the Russian people, and disgust towards those who incited the mob –– the Russian government. This letter was published in Yiddish also in 1903. Honig’s –– and Bernstein’s –– allegations that Tolstoy had demonstrated “indifference to Jewish suffering” are thus unfounded.
Tolstoy’s reaction to the pogrom is well documented. He learned about the tragic events from a brief newspaper report and correctly assumed that the true culprit of the terrible crime was the Russian government along with fanatical clergy and corrupt officials.
Today we know that the pogroms were organized by local authorities in conjunction with the Petersburg Police Department; the goal was to keep minorities in submission. The police had a secret printing shop where proclamations to incite the riots were printed. During several days of rioting in Kishinev the police did not interfere, allowing the mobs to kill and rape, and burn Jewish property.
Although an advocate for religious tolerance, Tolstoy had never specifically supported the Jewish community. But the charge of anti-Semitism is ludicrous, since in his day, he was a rare example of the opposite. In the 1880s, Tolstoy had studied Hebrew with Moscow’s first rabbi and read the Talmud in the original.
Steven Bernstein’s review in The Washington Times: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/14/book-review-debunking-the-bull/#disqus_thread
Sarah Honig’s essay in The Jerusalem Post:
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Another-Tack-The-German-robbed-Cossack
anti-Semitism, Jewish pogroms, Russia, Tolstoy
Stalin and ‘Casual Vacancy’
This spring, while in Moscow, I visited a central bookstore on Tverskaya Street. Shop windows displayed the familiar red and yellow jackets of J.K. Rowling’s Casual Vacancy in Russian translation. But upon coming in, I found myself face to face with Stalin’s flamboyant photographs gazing at me from the red covers of Soviet-style editions, prominently placed by the entrance. For a few seconds, I was baffled and lost in time. Stacks of Rowling’s book were further back in the store, and I recalled an advertisement on a Russian website saying that her book was read by the entire world.
Promoting Casual Vacancy alongside Stalin biographies is ironic. This March marked sixty years since Stalin died, and one hopes his death left no casual vacancies. But in the past decade, Stalin’s popularity in Russia has visibly grown. When it comes to popular novels, Russians read what the rest of the world is reading. But when it comes to Soviet history, they are encouraged to read books that tell a different version than what the rest of the world knows.
While Stalin biographers in the West have produced factual accounts, the tendency in Russia is to bring back the myth. This is why the comprehensive Stalin and His Hangmen by Donald Rayfield is hard to find; as far as I know the book was published only marginally in Russia. This also applies to Anne Applebaum’s famous book Gulag: A History, which was translated into scores of foreign languages, but is barely accessible in Russian. Yet, one can easily find trashy editions that attempt to resurrect the myth of Stalin’s greatness.
Although millions died in Stalin’s mass purges, understanding the history of the gulag is still not believed to be essential. The dictator is celebrated with a new biography in the series of “Lives of Remarkable People” and such titles as Stalin Won the War, Stalin. The Military Genius, and a memoir How I.V. Stalin Lived, Worked, and Raised Children. Over a recent decade, scores of obscure authors have created his sympathetic portrait and even suggested his martyrdom in Krushchev Killed Stalin Twice and What Stalin Was Killed For?
Articles emphasizing Stalin’s achievements abound on Russian websites. In 2010, a website, “Truth About Stalin,” was launched. The most amazing thing about it is that it provides entirely false information. Unlike with the Holocaust, which now cannot be openly denied in most countries, deniers of Stalin’s mass murders are functioning in the open. In the absence of full information about Stalin’s regime, there is still no consensus in Russia about mass repressions, forced collectivization, and the organized famine, which depopulated entire areas in Ukraine and the Northern Caucasus.
There is no shortage of books about the gulag in Russia, including Solzhenitsyn’s volumes, which are sold everywhere. In recent decades, scores of memoirs by the gulag survivors were produced. I’ve seen these editions in a kiosk at the entrance to the former Lenin Library (now the Russian State Library) where they are sold by volunteers. Over the years, I noticed fewer people were buying them.
This situation invites a parallel with China where no full account of Mao’s Great Famine has ever been published, while memoirs of victims, less damaging to the current leadership, are available. Thus, a recent book by a journalist Yang Jisheng, Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine 1958–1962, is banned in the mainland China because of the author’s sweeping investigation. Mao’s disastrous policies were closely copied from Stalin’s and the reasons for historical amnesia and censorship in both countries are similar. But while in China is it no longer possible to openly admire Mao, in Russia, Stalin’s cult is being gradually resurrected and a school textbook discussing his accomplishments has been produced.
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Spanish Teenager Gonzalez to Make BRDC F4 Bow with SWR at Snetterton
Pictured SWR is hoping to retain Marc Gonzalez into the second half of the BRDC Formula 4 season.
SWR is hoping to retain Marc Gonzalez into the second half of the BRDC Formula 4 season.
Catalan teenager Marc Gonzalez will make his single-seater racing debut with top team SWR during the upcoming Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship event at Snetterton in East Anglia this weekend, 11th/12th July, boosting the Oxfordshire squad’s entry back up to a capacity three cars.
The 17-year-old, who is part of the Oucinde Racing Management stable headed by Mariano Oucinde, will arrive in BRDC F4 off the back of a strong maiden test in SWR’s third MSV F4-013 at Snetterton just over a week ago where he delivered an impressive performance.
With a strong karting pedigree at domestic, European and World level, while Barcelona native Gonzalez will be making his car racing debut at the Norfolk track, he does bring a small amount of single-seater experience from tests at Formula 3 level in the EuroFormula Open.
Although the deal with Gonzalez is only for rounds 10, 11 and 12 at Snetterton for the time being, SWR is hoping to retain the Spaniard into the second half of the BRDC Formula 4 season alongside regular drivers Jordan Albert and Zubair Hoque.
“It’s great to have signed Marc for Snetterton, he’s a young driver with a lot of promise and in last week’s test at Snetterton he did a good job”, commented SWR team owner Sean Walkinshaw, “It’s going to be a big step-up for him, his first races in single-seaters and first time racing in the UK, but we feel confident he’ll deliver some strong performances.
“The main thing is for Marc to learn as much as he possibly can, work closely with Jordan and Zubair, and keep building and making progress throughout the weekend. It’s fantastic for SWR to be back up to three cars at Snetterton too, we’re very pleased.”
Gonzalez started out in karting in 2009 at Cadet level in the Catalan region before progressing into the national Spanish championship the following year. Stepping-up to the Junior Championship of Catalonia in 2011, the youngster also raced in the Spanish KF3 Championship and was third in the Viana do Castelo in Portugal.
Continuing in Spanish KF3 in 2012, Gonzalez also contested the WSK Euro Series and a year later continued his karting education in the Rotax Winter Cup, Mojo Iberian Cup, European Rotax and the World Rotax Grand Final in the USA. He remained in the Rotax classes in 2014 before turning his attention to cars with his single-seater race debut now just days away.
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38-year-old Sparta man charged with aggravated assault
By Kim Swindell Wood | July 8, 2019 12:00 pm
Last Updated: July 8, 2019 at 12:25 pm
Jason Lee Hensley
A White County man is facing multiple charges after he allegedly broke into a woman’s home and assaulted her while his mother reportedly attempted to stop the incident.
On June 22, 2019, at approximately 11:15 p.m., Deputy Donald Dennis, of White County Sheriff’s Office, was dispatched to 9404 Crossville Highway about a break-in and an assault on the homeowner.
According to an arrest warrant, upon arrival, Dennis spoke with a female who advised him that Jason Lee Hensley had broken into her house and entered her bedroom. He allegedly began choking her and punching her in the face. The female stated she was able to get one of her hands free and started hitting Hensley, while his mother attempted to pull him off the alleged victim.
Hensley had reportedly broken several windows and the door glass at the alleged victim’s house. Hensley’s mother reportedly called E-911 and was attempting to tell the dispatcher about the incident. When Mr. Hensley heard his mother on the phone, he reportedly took the phone and broke it and told her “she was next.”
After Hensley left the premises, the two women called law enforcement officials. Hensley reportedly ran across the highway to a neighbor’s house. He then asked the neighbor for his phone, and the neighbor advised Hensley he did not have a phone. Hensley then reportedly grabbed the neighbor around the neck and told the neighbor he was going to kill him and his family. According to the arrest warrant, the neighbor “was able to talk Mr. Hensley down” and kept Hensley at his house until law enforcement officials arrived.
According to records at the White County Justice Center, Hensley was charged with aggravated burglary, vandalism over $1,000, aggravated assault (two counts), and interference with an emergency call. His initial court appearance was June 23, 2019.
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Home Statements Joint Statements Joint Statement: Uniting for Peace in Syria: Global Civil Society Appeal to...
Joint Statement: Uniting for Peace in Syria: Global Civil Society Appeal to UN Member States
• 223 organisations from 45 countries and 5 continents have signed the civil society declaration.
• While the UN Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, the UN General Assembly also has responsibilities in that regard under the UN Charter. A “Uniting for Peace” procedure adopted by the General Assembly in 1950 allows the General Assembly to recommend collective action when the UN Security Council fails to uphold its responsibility because of lack of unanimity of the permanent members.
The UN Security Council has failed Syrians. In almost six years of conflict, close to half a million people have been killed and eleven million have been forced to leave their homes. Most recently, the Syrian and Russian governments and their allies have carried out unlawful attacks on eastern Aleppo with scant regard for some 250,000 civilians trapped there. Armed opposition groups have also fired mortars and other projectiles into civilian neighbourhoods of western Aleppo, though according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “indiscriminate airstrikes across the eastern part of the city by Government forces and their allies are responsible for the overwhelming majority of civilian casualties.” Efforts to stop these atrocities and hold those responsible to account have been blocked repeatedly by Russia, which continues to misuse its veto power in the Security Council.
The UN’s special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has warned that the UN must not allow “another Srebrenica, another Rwanda, which we are sadly ready to recognize written on that wall in front of us, unless something takes place.” Yet, there is no sign that the Security Council deadlock will end anytime soon. The guardian of international peace and security has failed to fulfill its task under the UN Charter and has failed to uphold its responsibility to protect the Syrian people.
This is why we, a global coalition of 223 civil society organizations, urgently call upon UN member states to step in and request an Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly to demand an end to all unlawful attacks in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria, and immediate and unhindered humanitarian access so that life-saving aid can reach all those in need. Member states should also explore possible avenues to bring perpetrators of serious crimes under international law on all sides to justice.
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The Way of the Geek #4 – Adam Barnett!
Adam Barnett is the blogger behind “Comics Make No Sense”, where he pokes fun at a variety of comic books, usually one issue at a time! Check it out!
Adam is the distant middle child, with three sisters and no brothers. Adam said, “That had certain challenges all its own, like never having access to a bathroom or telephone until I was out of the house.” Adam has been married for about 19 years to “someone who obviously has a lot of patience and low expectations.” He has no children, but three dogs he said are every bit as demanding. He's been an attorney for almost 17 years.
Adam's geekery is pretty much limited to comic books. “I don't like most science fiction or magic and prefer mainstream comics to indie ones for the most part,” he explained. “I don't have the patience or the intelligence to be a gamer. The only animated shows that appeal to me are the ones based in the DC Universe. I *do* have a slew of DC Direct Action Figures in one room, but I find that the older I get, the less interest I have in collecting things. I'm at the point in life now where I'm looking to get rid of clutter."
Adam's geekery began over 35 years ago. “In March of 1974, I saw my first comic book in the magazine rack of a grocery store,” he recalled. “It was Shazam! #11, where Captain Marvel had to stop
cherry gelatin from swallowing the city. I had no idea storytelling could be so awesome. From there, I seem to recall my father getting me an issue of Batman, which I thought was even cooler. I didn't
really take an interest in Marvel until the Electric Company had those live-action Spidey Super-Stories. So, I'm living proof that cross-promotion works, especially on impressionable children."
His siblings seemed to have little interest in comic books, so Adam turned to his friends. “I generally found friends who had at least a passing familiarity with comics, but I was the one who they turned to for information. This was before the Internet, kids."
As he grew older, Adam's father thought he should've outgrown comic books (I think we've all been there at some point or another), so Adam had to keep his geekdom under wraps. He explained, “I still bought comics, but I hid them as if they were crack cocaine." Adam didn't retain many of his comics from his childhood, however, buying most of his current collection in the last 20 years. Among the items he's purchased as an adult are Shazam! #11 (“I think I've bought it a few times.”) and the Batman: From the 30s to the 70s hardcover. Adam's had pretty good luck re-purchasing the lost gems of his childhood, thanks to the internet. “It was much different back when you were limited to the local flea markets!"
Adam said that keeping his geekery confined to one room, with a perpetually-closed door, has been the way he's stayed married all this time. Within that room is Adam's most prized geek possession, a copy of “The Doonesbury Chronicles.” This book “was autographed by Garry Trudeau's Yale room-mate, who was the inspiration for the title character. Sadly, he has passed on, but he told me at the time that
he couldn't recall anyone ever asking him to autograph anything, so I think I've got a one-of-a-kind item there,” he explains.
For someone who's as much a comic geek as Adam, one would think he's attended many a comics convention, but so far, he hasn't! “I'd like to go someday, though, just to see what it's like." You'll be amazed, Adam! "When I retire, I dream of planning trips around conventions. You can imagine how much my wife would be looking forward to *that*."
Of course, having missed out on comics conventions, Adam hasn't had a chance to meet any creators in person, although he does note “"I've had some e-mail exchanges with some writers - Tony Isabella,
Chris Gage, Priest, etc. It was me being a total fanboy and either lavishing praise upon them for something I really enjoyed, or posing a question about some behind-the-scenes thing that would explain the direction something took. They have all been very nice and gracious. Gail Simone is one of my favorite writers and a friend on Facebook, but she isn't a fan of CMNS as near as I can tell. Most people in comics justifiably give me a wide berth."
Adam hoped to work in comics some day. He recalled, “When I was 12, I sent a plot synopsis to Jim Shooter, who was editing Marvel Comics at the time. He sent back a form letter that *said* it
was a form letter, but that they had two different kinds of form letters, and I was getting the one that they sent people whose work showed promise but just wasn't ready for the big leagues. As I went
through adolescence, I thought I wanted to do something more 'relevant' and 'artistic.' Of course, now I'm a blogger of a humor site, so I guess *that'll* teach me." I know I have a similar story myself.
Adam's day is pretty well-balanced between work, his wife and dogs, and his geekery. "It has been jusitifiably remarked that I am rather stingy with my time, and that's probably true. I spend an hour in the morning with the dogs, another hour in the morning playing video games before going to work, then about an hour average finding material for the blog and getting it online. Every other non-working second is generally spent with my bride."
Adam knew that he'd start a blog someday, having the need for a forum, but decided his own life wasn't that interesting to share, holding off until he could “find something that wasn't too self-indulgent.” The sites he found on the 'net seemed to be mostly about the current happenings in comics “...and took themselves and the hobby very seriously.” The pivotal point became when he happened upon Mike Sterling's Progressive Ruin. “I enjoyed it because he's living my dream of running a comic book shop, and I appreciated his ability to look at the hobby and find some of the less-proud moments. I admired the way he mixed elements of his life and the subject of comics into a very accessable saga of his life. It occurred to me that I didn't have his "comics industry insider" perspective, but I *did* have the voice of every middle-aged comic reader who shared the last 40 years of comics with me and might enjoy laughing with me about it."
Unlike some bloggers, Adam didn't begin Comics Make No Sense with an introductory post, he just jumped right in with a joke. “I remember I had just finished reading 'Villains United,' and I came
upon an old Hostess house ad where Catman was thwarted by his love for fruit pies. It occured to me that if the Society had simply done their research, they could have used that strategy in Villains United
and there might have been a completely different outcome,” he joked.
Originally, he'd just post a single panel with a funny title, rarely adding a blurb below it, but the blog (as all blogs tend to do) evolved. “Over the years, I've grown much more verbose and comfortable adding my own editorial slant. I got into the habit of titling each post 'Such and Such Monday! This and That Tuesday!,' etc. because it helped me keep track of what post I was to put up and when."
Adam also has some recurring features, such as “Fun With Out of Context Dialogue,” the Costume and Character “Hall of Fame” and “Hall of Shame,” “Great Moments in Comics,” and whatever else occurs to him. It should be noted that Adam adds a trademark symbol after each of these “because these are obviously stupid things that are hardly worth stealing."
What keeps Adam going is knowing he has an audience. “I would have kept the blog going if ten
people read it. Last year, I was averaging over 67,000 visitors annually and it's still growing. And that's strictly from word-of-mouth. The non-comic blogger community thinks comics are for nerds, and the serious comic sites generally ignore me for insulting the medium. This site should have died a long time ago from lack of interest, but it thrives, and has even inspired some other bloggers to find and share those comics than many folks were hoping would be buried forever." Along with Progressive Ruin, Adam also regularly reads Comics Ought to be Fun, What Were They Thinking? And Comics Should Be Good.
Adam's wife is a “good sport” about his love for comics. He says she won't read them, but encourages him to indulge himself. “She'll watch the movies with me as long as I don't drown her in trivia."
Adam does some purchasing on eBay, and has this advice for people considering doing the same: "Pay attention to feedback and try with a small order first to see how things go. There are two types of sellers - those that will screw you over, and those that will not. It doesn't take long to figure out who
is who if you don't ignore the warning signs because you want what they're selling." If you're considering selling, Adam says, “The main thing is to realize that it's a buyer's market and most of us should consider ourselves lucky if we break even. Keep in good communication, treat the buyer how you would want a seller to treat you, and always use online package tracking options."
It may be surprising, given how Adam makes fun of comics on his blog, how passionate he is about the medium. "When we talk about comics, we're talking about a world that had thirty years of storylines behind it before I was even born. As with most of us, people have come and gone in my life, but these characters have always been a part of it. More importantly, they have been and remain a harmless escape from reality when I need it. I think the blog works because while there's a lot of teasing going on, it comes from a place of genuine affection. It's like that one person in your life who can tell you anything no matter how much you don't want to hear it because you know that, when the dust settles, they're your support. And that's what I am. I'll make fun of comics, but I also have a deep appreciation for what they've contributed to the lives of their readers."
In conclusion, Adam has this to say to his fellow geeks: "Embrace who you are. Be comfortable in your own skin. But remember, not everyone (particularly women) is going to think having a Wolverine haircut is cool. Enjoy the hobby as that - a hobby. But give yourself plenty of other interests and don't substitute being a fly on the wall at the JLA Watchtower for relationships with real human beings. Moderation in all things. Most of us have to have a day job, so make it a good one!"
Labels: Way of the Geek
Movie of the Week: Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger...
This 'n That Black Friday Edition!
Fandom Library: 16 Magazine Beatles Movie Book!
By the 10s: The Blue Beetle!
Give-A-Show Fridays: 1977 Chad Valley Bionic Woman...
CBT: Captain Marvel Storybook #2, Part 1!
Forrest Ackerman, Famous Monster of Filmland! Part...
By the 10s: Ace Comics!
Random Videos of Geekery: The Beatles "Lucy in the...
Dog of the Geek: Dinky Dog!
Cool Stuff: Superman Stuff and More!
Retro-Review: The Green Lama #4, Part 3!
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Category Archives: Interviews
Robert Anton Wilson Interviews
The Realist Archive
Posted on November 8, 1998 by quackenbush | Leave a comment
With the completion of The Realist Archive Project, we present an index of contributions to The Realist by Robert Anton Wilson:
Man Becomes What He Hates (short poem)
No 6, February 1959
The Semantics of ‘God’
No. 8, May 1959
“Splitting Bad Hairs” and “Wilson Replies” (letters on “The Semantics of ‘God'”)
No. 9, June/July 1959
Negative Thinking: DETERGENT DEMOCRACY
No. 10, August 1959
Negative Thinking: A COLUMN OF MISCELLANEOUS HERESIES
No. 11, September 1959
Negative Thinking: Sex Education for the Modern Liberal Adult (text)
No 12, October 1959, reprinted in The Best of The Realist
Negative Thinking: Notes on a Skeptical Mystic
No 13, November 1959
To the White Citizen’s Councils
Negative Thinking: The Morality of Head-Hunting
No 14, December 1959/Janurary 1960
Negative Thinking
No 15, February 1960
NEGATIVE THINKING: The Doctor with the Frightened Eyes
No. 16, March 1960, reprinted in Coincidance
Negative Thinking: Letter to a Lady in Iowa (on Caryl Chessman)
No. 17, May 1960
An Impolite Interview with Albert Ellis questions by Krassner and Wilson
Supplement – May 1960, reprinted from Issues 16 and 17
NEGATIVE THINKING: The Semantics of the ‘Soul,’ Part One
No. 18, June 1960
negative thinking: Ezra Pound at Seventy-Five
No. 19, July/August 1960
negative thinking: The Semantics of ‘Soul’, Part Two
No 20, October 1960
negative thinking: The New Art of the Brave
No 22, December 1960
negative thinking: Is Capitalism a Revealed Religion?
negative thinking: What I Didn’t Learn at College (text)
negative thinking: Letter to a Man in Washington
No. 30, December 1961
negative thinking: [on Hugh Hefner] (text)
No. 41, July 1963
Timothy Leary and his Psychological H-Bomb (text)
The Anatomy of Schlock by A Nonymous Hack (text)
No. 62, September 1965, reprinted in The Best of The Realist
The Fatal Snowball Fight on Cumberland Avenue
No. 65, March 1966, reprinted in The Illuminati Papers
Three Authors in Search of Sadism or Thirteen Choruses for the Divine Marquis
No. 67, May 1966, reprinted in Coincidance
The Cybernetic Revolution (text)
The Great Beast – Aleister Crowley (text)
Nos. 91-B, 91-C, 92-A, 92-C; Winter 1971-72
Married: Connubial Bliss Blues
No. 100 – Jan-Feb 1986
Why I Voted For Michael Dukakis
No. 108, Winter 1989
The Future is Coming!
No. 111, Winter 1990, reprinted in part in Cosmic Trigger 2
Is Alan Cranston Full of Shit?
No. 114, Fall 1990
The First International Orgasm Conference
No. 117, Summer 1991
Out of the Innsmouth Triangle (text)
The Persistence of False Memory
Tim Leary is Tripping Again
excerpts from Everything Is Under Control
No. 140, Autumn 1998
Posted in Essays, Excerpts, Fiction, Interviews, Letters
Tagged Paul Krassner, The Realist
Playing Kickball with Chaos
Posted on October 1, 1995 by quackenbush | Leave a comment
Playing Kickball With Chaos:
An Interview Robert Anton Wilson
by Faustin Bray
from Magical Blend #48, October 1995
Champion of the underdog and self-appointed caretaker of conspiracy theories, with a deep philanthropic twist, Robert Anton Wilson has amused, bemused and infused readers with his witticisms and ponderings for almost thirty years. He is that rarest of creatures – a futurist with a sense of humor. Cantankerous? Yes. Ornery? Certainly. But while others have fallen into jaded cynicism, Wilson’s passion for learning has kept his wit razor sharp and ready to parry.
Chaos and Beyond is Robert Anton Wilson’s latest book. A collection of essays and stories from the magazine, Trajectories, the cast of characters the book presents is pure Wilson: Dee Scott Appel, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Timothy Leary, Linus Pauling, Robert Newport, Edward Kellogg III, Peter Russel, George Carlin and even Ed McMahon.
A prolific writer who takes delight in turning a mirror on society so that it can, for a moment, see itself and hopefully learn something, Wilson detests political correctness as just another form of fascism. Refusing to pull his punches, he can be, as his initials indicate, RAW.
People seem quick to agree that the world is becoming more and more chaotic, but what they mean when they use the word is not always clear.
Robert Anton Wilson: What I’m talking about is the upsurge of the totally unpredictable, a system that may be determinist but still can’t be predicted until after you see what it’s done. A mathematician named Theodore Gordon did a paper about three years ago showing that chaos increases where information flow increases. This is something I’ve been writing about for years, the fact that information is increasing faster all the time. For example, in the 1,500 years between Christ and Leonardo da Vinci, we had one doubling. Now information is doubling every eighteen months. That means there is more and more chaos. Coming out of this chaos are some astounding things: the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of Nelson Mandela to the presidency of South Africa, treaties being worked on between the Israelis and the PLO, and the IRA and the British government . All of these things were totally unpredictable before they happened.
Those represent the sunny side of chaos. What about the dark side?
Robert Anton Wilson: One example that I give is the McMartin pre-school satanism case, where over a hundred teachers and clergymen were accused of running a satanic, child pornography ring. After prolonged investigation, no evidence of a pornography ring was ever discovered, no evidence of satanism was discovered. Out of a hundred accused teachers, the police indicted seven, dropped charges against five and ultimately brought only two to trial. The jury refused to convict even those two. It seems to have been total hysteria, but there are still people down there who say “no smoke without fire, it couldn’t all have been hysteria; somebody must have been guilty of something.” But it’s the classic case, just like Salem all over, and there have been thirty-three other cases, not as well publicized. I caught a sociologist in Chaos and Beyond who studied thirty-three of these panics of that sort coming out of nowhere, people just going nuts all at once. It happens. Look at Nazi Germany. It’s incredible. You change society rapidly enough, and make people uncertain enough, and some of them will jump on to the craziest damn belief systems. That’s part of the chaos we’re going through, too. Beside the satanic hysteria, there’s the UFO abductions. Thousands of people have claimed they have been abducted and sexually molested by little Grey buggers from outer space. The idea seems to be that these characters get into some particularly vicious neurochemicals every so often. Then, about the time they’re really zonked on them, one of them says, “Hey, I got a great idea. Let’s get in the flying saucer and zoom a couple of billion light years over to Earth and have another go at Whitley Strieber’s ass. And there’s poor Whitley suffering again, and nobody takes him seriously. I’m sorry, but I’m one of the guys who thinks he’s having terrible experiences, but I don’t take them literally. That’s part of a sociological trajectory, too. There’s more and more of these UFO abduction cases reported.
What are the signs of chaos and why do you think it’s happening now?
Robert Anton Wilson: Information is doubling faster than ever before and the amount of available energy is higher than ever before. The social systems existing on the planet are all inadequate to manage the kind of technology and the kind of energy economy we’ve got now. Radical changes are needed. And naturally you’ve got a variety of people of varying degrees of sanity and rationality, with different programs about what needs to be done. But everybody knows that something needs to be done.
What do you think of your role in terms of gathering all of the information that you do? What is it you’re serving in our culture at this time?
Robert Anton Wilson: I picked up the phrase “guerrilla ontology” from somebody in the physics/consciousness research group back in the seventies. I forget who invented it-Jack Sarfati, Nick Herbert, Fritjof Capra, Saul Paul-Sirag, Fred Wolf, Elizabeth Rausher I forget who the hell came up with the term “guerilla ontology,” but I liked it a lot and I’ve been using it to describe my own activities. It has a distinct family resemblance to deconstructionism, except the deconstructionists only seem to want to deconstruct Western civilization. I’m interested in deconstructing the rigid thought patterns that keep us from achieving our full potential and unleashing the full creativity of the human race for solving it’s problems, instead of just bitching about them.
A lot of people feel this is a crescendo moment, that we are on the threshold of a meta-jump. Colin Wilson talks about it, so does Barbara Marx Hubbard. It’s the idea of co-evolution into a great expansion of evolutionary overmind. It’s something that’s going to step us up to another level. What do you think?
Robert Anton Wilson: I’ve always had a strong intuition that all of this that’s been going on, from the first unicellular organisms up to the present, is not all a bad joke intended to end up in catastrophe. It’s going to higher and higher levels.
What would be a good way for people to look at the chaos that’s going on now in terms of information overload?
Robert Anton Wilson: What I try to get at in all of my books, and especially in this one, is the notion that we cannot solve our problems by looking around to find out who’s to blame for them and punishing them. This has been tried throughout history, and it’s never produced any worthwhile results. It’s led to a lot of what subsequent generations regarded as senseless persecutions. A little while ago, before the tape started, you were wondering whether it was warm milk or cold milk that increases your tryptophan. This is the first generation in human history where a large percentage of the population have talked about how to change their brain chemistry to function better. It’s no accident that we’ve got this incredibly brutal and stupid war on drugs, because obviously a lot of people are going to be experimenting with things the government doesn’t think it’s safe to let us experiment with. I’m sixty-two, and I keep waiting for the day when the government thinks I’m old enough to make up my own mind about issues like this. But I guess I’ll have to keep waiting. They’ve already taken my tryptophan. Now they’re trying to take away my vitamin C.
One of the things that strikes me about Chaos and Beyond is the sense of information overload it provokes.
Robert Anton Wilson: I would say the book contains as much information as I could pack into one volume. The idea was to hit the reader with so much information that they would experience, in reading the book, what information explosion and chaos mean. We haven’t changed much genetically since the last Ice Age, but we are changing culturally. We have more and more information. We’re creating all sorts of different types of cultures after a hundred thousand years or so of a hunter- gatherer society. We mutated into cities and then into the Industrial Revolution, and now we’re going in a dozen different directions, including outer space. We’re creating what Teilhardde Chardin called the “noosphere”-a mind world that’s totally our own product. And yet the mind world does change the material world, because every time a part of the mind world is sufficiently accurate, it can be duplicated in the material world, and we’ve got a new tool, a new machine, a new technology that will do things we couldn’t do before.
Raw Circuits
Posted on May 28, 1995 by quackenbush | Leave a comment
Surviving With Robert Anton Wilson
by Tiffany Lee Brown
from FringeWare Review 08:20
Deep in the heart of darkest California, home to cults, crystals, and the techno-elite, pioneers of the psychedelic revolution live in quiet houses alongside surfers, artists, and programmers. Tourists flock to the beaches and craft shops while hippies drum in peaceful parks and hearty yuppies unload their cycling gear.
In one such community lives Robert Anton Wilson, icon to Discordians, conspiracy theorists, modern mystics, subgenii, and trippers the world over.
Best known for the The Illuminatus Trilogy (with Robert Shea), Wilson’s writing romps from the medieval Church to the Chicago Democratc Convention, from puns to ciphers, from LSD to JFK, fusing impressive historical research with mindbending science fiction and postmodern fable.
When I first met Wilson in 1991, I’d just spent a couple of years immersed in his works: Masks of the Illuminati, Cosmic Trigger: Vol 1, the Schroedinger’s Cat Trilogy, etc. I wasn’t sure whether his writing had helped me toward indelible epiphanies, led me to Chapel Perilous, or just fucked my brain so hard it didn’t know which way was up. Perhaps it had done all three; in any case, I immediately liked the man himself. Even while illustrating its ambiguity, he seemed solidly grounded in what passes for reality, treating with equal parts cynicism, humour, and hope.
In spite of flooded highways and a multitude of glitches on the part of my usually-trusty tape recorder, I managed to talk survival and politics with Wilson..
fwr: We’re interested in how people process their own instinct to biosurvival, and how they deal with it in relation to society. This theme recurs in your work, most specifically in Prometheus Rising, in which you presented a tutorial of Timothy Leary’s 8-Circuit model of consciousness. Do you still use that as a construct?
raw: Yes. I find the 8-Circuit model very, very useful. I’ve been saying for a long time now that everything is temporary these days, and the a-Circuit model will be obsolete in 15 years. Then someone pointed out to me, “You’ve been saying that for 20 years!” I haven’t found a better model yet.
I don’t call them Circuits anymore, I call them the eight Systems. I think Leary used too much cybernetic metaphor; “Systems” are a little more complex and abstract, and the word sounds better. The first thing is that Leary believes behavior results from genetics, imprinting, and conditioning. He hardly ever mentions learning, but I’m sure if you backed him into a corner he would admit that it plays a role, too.
Even if you don’t believe Leary’s model all the way down the line, there’s plenty of things which are neither conditioning nor genetics- they result from imprinting, or learning, or situational conditions. John Dillingerwas a heterosexual outside of prison, and a homosexual inside prison. I think that’s a pretty general pattern. This “either/or” I don’t like.
So, you’ve got four factors to behavior, and the Biosurvival System has a genetic drive to survival. Through bad imprinting this instinct can be negated, as in the case of autistic infants who don’t make any effort to be alive at all. The main biosurvival drive is to find a Mommy, and reptiles don’t have that drive because they’re born ready to deal with the world as it is. But mammals need a certain period of nurture; so we all have some sort of mother complex, to some extent. There is a strong bond to the mother, and some degree of neurological damage appears to occur if there is no bond.
Throughout history, the Biosurvival System has been attached to the tribe. Since tribalism has broken down and civilization has gotten more and more abstract, the biosurvival urge has hitched to “Survival Tickets”, what we call money. It’s not just Americans, it’s everybody in the industrial world that is money-mad. We don’t have tribes, we don’t have extended families, we don’t even have families anymore- so everybody’s biosurvival drive is attached to money. When the money disappears, people experience dizziness, anxiety, general sense of panic, and near-death experience –which is what tribal people feel when they’re lost from the tribe.
In traditional societies, exile from the tribe was considered a terrible reproof. In Shakespeare, Romeo says, “Exile! The damned use that word in Hell!” Everybody in Shakespeare hates the idea of exile; nowadays, nobody gives a damn, because our survival drive isn’t attached to the family and the tribe, it’s attached to money. Nobody minds going into exile if they can take a million dollars with them.
So how do you get your money? There is no general answer. Everybody’s gotta figure that out for themselves.
fwr: One of FringeWare’s exercises in community has been fostering some online tribalism, using the Internet to find like minds. We even try to earn survival Tickets through the Internet, without giving our energies over to the usual corporate entities…
raw: On the Internet, you don’t know who you’re talking to, so you respond to people’s minds. Ageism, racism, and sexism become less an issue in that environment. In a sense, people are fundamentally their minds; a strange thing for me to say, since I try to put things into functional and non-Aristotelian terms, and I just came up with something very Aristotelian.
But the mind of a person is what interests me most about them, and the Internet puts you in a position to interact with the mind, with the Third Circuit or Semantic System. You don’t know their colour or gender or sexual orientation.
fwr: It seems to me that government creates itself in an attempt to satisfy biosurvival urges; since we lack organic tribes or families, we create an external structure to act as our tribe, our protective father archetype, our nurturing mother, and to allocate our Survival Tickets.
raw: I agree with Tom Payne – government is a necessary evil. Or George Washington, who said “Government is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” I think government has become our master too much, and I find a great deal of morbid humour in the right-wing talk show hosts who are blaming it on the liberals. Most of the things the government does which have annoyed me have been done by conservatives. The government has become a monster that pries into our private lives and harasses us; continually, the conservatives have had as much blame to take for this as the liberals. It’s amazing how they can get away with saying that the liberals are to blame.
fwr: How do you suggest that Americans get involved with politics, or should they at all?
raw: For years, I was in the anarchist headspace: “Don’t vote, it only encourages them.” I didn’t vote for years. Then I went through a change; part of it was living in Europe, then moving back here, and part of it was the end of the Cold War, in which I began to see the differences between the Republicans and the Democrats again. During the Cold War, those differences tended to disappear. The Democrats have been corrupted to some extent, but they do pretend to be on the side of the working class. And some of them really are trying to help.
The main thing I learned from Europe is that a multi-party system is better than a two-party system. Every part of Europe has amenities that are distinctly absent here, due to the fact that they have three or four parties in their parliaments. A party that only represents a minority can change things, through blocking the legislation of the major parties.
I tend toward the libertarian, but I think – and this is going to shock every Libertarian who reads it – I think every country in Europe that’s had a socialist government has benefited from it. Having four or five parties, with the radicals winning occasionally, tends to produce a more balanced society than here, where we’ve got basically two right-wing parties, one of which has a nostalgia for its left-wing past. Relative stasis here – even Perot, whom I trust about as much as I would trust David Rockefeller – Perot was helpful in the sense that he made the debate more interesting in the last presidential election.
But if I could be dictator for a day and pass any law I wanted, I’d pass a law that every medium- television, radio, papers- has to give equal coverage to any political party that has over a million members. The media keeps telling us that a third party can’t win- well, they win all the time in Europe, and they would here if they got some coverage. The media always starves them out. If people knew more about the Libertarians, or about Peace and Freedom . . . the thing is people need to see more than just this incredibly narrow choice that they’ve got in the two-party system.
fwr: The media presentation encourages us to stay uninvolved. It generally presents two viable parties, and prevents those in the third parties as freaks, losers, or radical revolutionaries who wanna blow shit up.
raw: Every country that has a multi-party system has a higher voter turnout than we’ve got. We’ve got the lowest voter turnout in the Western world, and we were the first major democracy formed. People have gotten so disillusioned with it that they don’t bother; at the polls, they’re confronted with “not a choice, but a dilemma” as John Anderson said back in 1980.
The rest of the world is changing – Mandela comes out of prison and now he’s president? Apartheid is ended? You look at the USSR coming apart, the Berlin Wall coming down, the British and the IRA negotiating — the whole world is undergoing tremendous change because of the information revolution. And mathematically, this does lead to more unpredictable systems appearing.
As information flow increases, according to chaos Theory, unpredictable increases. So we’re gonna see a lot of surprising changes here. The way the country went to the Liberal side in ’92 and toward the Conservative side in ’94 is just a hint of the way the system is moving towards chaos, changing rapidly. I don’t think anyone really understands the changes: I think the pundits are just guessing about why it went the way it did. The people are dissatisfied.
fwr: How could we make third parties viable in American politics?
raw: Educate, talk about it, try to get the media to adopt such a law. If Clinton and Gingrich had a debate with a Libertarian, somebody from Peace and Freedom, and someone from the Green Party and the American Independent Party, boy the voters would turn out. Everybody would see somebody up there who was close enough to them to be worth voting for, and we’d have a more interesting Congress.
It’s going to surprise everyone. I think the changes that are going to happen have a good chance of occurring nonviolently, because of what happened in South Africa and others. Any attempt at a violent revolution in this country wouldn’t last very long. Nobody could overthrow this government, it’s so goddamned powerful and it’s got so many atom bombs to begin with.
The one thing I’m keen in keeping is the division of powers within our government.
fwr: One option for handling the discrepancy between how we think we ought to live and the reality of living in society is to “drop out,” or withdraw from the social or governmental structure. Have you made experiments in extracting yourself from American government and society?
raw: I extracted myself from the major society by going to live on a farm for a while, twice I did that, once in Ohio and once in Mendocino. It didn’t really work; rural life is okay for those who like it, but I’m not one of them.
I also did so by moving to Europe. The IRS doesn’t tax you when you’re in Europe unless you make over $75,000 a year. I went over there because I was so fed up with the pinhead bureaucrats in the IRS and their pinhead rules that get more incomprehensible every year.
Newt Gingrich was right in claiming the Clintons are counterculture McGovernicks or whatever the hell he called them. They’re definitely counterculture types who are trying to cover it up by acting respectable. You read about what they were doing in the 60’s, and
they have the same sort of education and background- they’re the first First Family in my lifetime that I would enjoy having dinner with, that I would enjoy conversation. I feel that all this hatred that’s being directed at them is directed at me, too; it’s directed at the whole aspect of American society that they represent- and we’ve turned out to be a much smaller group than we thought we were after the last election.
I like Hillary and Bill; I don’t like all the compromises they’ve made, but compromise is what government’s about.
fwr: I guess compromise is the problem I have with the government and with today’s structures for seeing to my survival needs; I know that compromise is necessary for any kind of social unit to exist, but it seems so impossible to reach acceptable compromises. You seem to have reached an equilibrium, which I admire, actually. You write good stuff, get it published, you have a home and family you care for. Yet a lot of your work is incredibly subversive.
raw: But in a good-hearted way. I don’t hate anybody.
BOB ’95
So, what’s up with Robert Anton Wilson in 1995? Is he resting on his hard-won laurels, drawing Social Security and drinking Guinness all day? Are he and his lovely wife Arlen lounging on cruise ships while some flunky ghost-writes their memoirs?
Nope. Wilson’s still cranking out his trademark prose and publishing Trajectories newsletter. “I’ve completed Cosmic Trigger 3,” he says, “which like everything when I’ve finished it, seems like the best thing I’ve ever written. I started thinking of things that would round out Cosmic Trigger 2, which I’d thought would be the last, and it turned into a whole new book.”
“I didn’t set out to be a trilogy writer, it’s just sort of happened,” he adds with a chuckle. CT3 will be available later this year from Falcon Books.
Previously, Wilson and Robert Shea has begun work on Bride of lIIuminatus, collaborating on the outline together. He explains, “The title derives from my saying to Bob Shea, “Let’s name it after the first great sequel.’ He said, “Bride of Frankenstein.” Then I thought that the first great sequel was really the New Testament. They said, “Hey, the God book is selling. Let’s do ‘Son of God!‘”
Shea passed away before the book had been written. Regretfully, Wilson says he’s writing Bride of the Illuminatus pretty much on his own now – though he did stick with the title Shea suggested. “It does make more sense to do the Bride before the Son, so I decided to follow the Frankenstein model,” he says with a laugh. “I may do a Son of Illuminatus later.”
There’s also a new Wilson book on the shelves of your local bookstore right now: Chaos and Beyond, a collection of articles from the first six years of the Trajectories newsletters.
Miss Brown (a.k.a. magdalen) guest-edited Issue #8 of Fringe Ware Review with Erika Whiteway (a.k.a. outrider), in which this interview was first published. Nowadays, she is a Portland-based writer and performer who edits New Oregon Arts and Letters. – online at 2GQ.org. Though copyright is unfashionable, she’d appreciate it if you’d contact her should you be interested in reproducing this interview in whole or in part. Please seem magdalen.com for more info. Thanks.
Reprinted here at RAWilsonFans.com with permission.
On a Rainy Day
Posted on March 1, 1995 by quackenbush | Leave a comment
Robert Anton Wilson – March 1995
On a rainy day in March, intrepid Internet geek CCN traveled to Capitola, California with a cracked Realistic mini casette recorder and a bottle of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey to record an interview with local author Robert Anton Wilson.
CCN: What would you call your writing: conspiracy literature, science fiction, futurism?
RAW: Well, I used to call it “guerrilla ontology,” which is a term that I picked up in the Physics Consciousness Research Group. I forget who coined the term and nobody in the group seems to remember who coined it either. It was just going around the group. It could have been Fred Wolfe, Jack Sarfatti, or maybe Nick Herbert. Everybody in the Physics Consciousness Group seems to have written a book by now and has gotten better known …
CCN: When was this?
RAW: Somewhere back in the ’70s. I like “guerrilla ontology” as a description. Ontology is the branch of philosophy that tries to understand what’s real and what isn’t, or what’s the difference between real reality and mere appearance. Guerrilla ontology is closely related to French deconstructionism. I didn’t realize this while I was developing guerrilla ontology, but our approach is to knock down everybody else’s attempt to settle the question. Our attitude is: There is no final answer.
What the scientifically illiterate consider the final answer is just the latest model. The latest model, presumably, will include more facts than any previous model, or it won’t become prevalent. The latest model will be the best we can do at this time, but it will be replaced by a better model in five years, if not sooner.
CCN: In the Illuminatus! trilogy, there was a character named Markoff Chaney, the midget, who acted as one of the few out of control random elements in all of the various plots, conspiracies and intrigues described in the book.
RAW: His name comes from a mathematical term for a random numerical process.
CCN: It seems the midget would be a good prototype for a guerrilla ontologist in the sense that he spent the bulk of his time throwing semantic monkey wrenches into other people’s environments which shifted their perception of reality, and behavior.
RAW: Yes. I got the idea in a store on Clark Street in Chicago, North Clark Street. I saw a sign which appears in Illuminatus!, and the sign says, “No employee may punch the time card for any other employee. Any deviation will result in termination. The Mgt.”, which obviously stood for the management. But looking at that sign, I immediately conceived of this character, this angry midget who’s on a crusade to stamp out sizism and not to concede a fucking inch to the conceited and arrogant giants who run the world. He wants to get little people recognized for the contributions they’ve made. And he also engages in guerrilla warfare against their expectations. Like, he’s the one who’s wired the traffic signs so they say “Walk” on red and “Don’t Walk” on the green. Everybody has noticed that. Well, that’s his work.
And he engages in a lot of other activities like that calculated to drive the overgrown majority out of their heads and make them a little uncertain. He’s at war with the concept of the average or the normal, actually. These things are very unscientific and dehumanizing terms. He’s been adopted as a hero by gay people and “Stamp Out Sizism,” which is a slogan he goes around graffiti-ing, has been picked up all over the Castro, I’m told. He later wrote a book…a book called Little Men with Big Balls claiming all important science and art was created by men less than five feet tall. The publisher decided Chaney had some kind of unconscious bias of his own and changed the title to Little People with Big Ideas …
CCN: Well, it sounds as if the efforts of the midget come from his own biases and, perhaps, some personality problems. What is it that drives you to be a guerrilla ontologist yourself? What’s the chip on your shoulder?
RAW: Well, I find that I’m not normal either. Chaney’s problem was very conspicuously visible. Society treats people different if they’re short. A very good friend of mine, the actor David Rappaport, who played Markoff Chaney on the stage in England and Amsterdam once said, “You see the world entirely different when at a party all you see is people’s crotches and asses.” You have a different view of the world, and…I think I reflect the views of people who are alienated for one reason or another from orthodox society. Some people are alienated in ways that make my books very uncomfortable for them because their form of alienation is part of what I’m satirizing. I’m not only satirizing the normal. I’m satirizing everything that seems absurd or unreasonable to me.
CCN: Certainly, Illuminatus! was a collection of every absurdity on every level, something for everyone.
RAW: There’s hardly anything in that book that isn’t based on something that’s widely believed by some group of paranoids or individualists, or whatever you want to call them, some dissident group.
CCN: But back to the chip on your shoulder that’s leading you to be a guerilla ontologist …
RAW: Chip on my shoulder? I prefer to consider it a dilation of perception. For instance, I’m the American director of the Committee for Surrealist Investigation of Claims of the Normal (CSICON). We insist that “the normal” doesn’t exist outside pure mathematics.. In the real world everybody is abnormal in one way or another. As James Joyce said, “The State is concentric, but the individual is eccentric.” And so we have a $10,000 reward for anybody who can produce any perfectly “normal” man, woman or child, normal in all respects, or even an “average” sunset or an “ordinary” day. And so far, nobody has collected it. The normal, the average and the ordinary are total fictions.
CCN: Well, you mentioned Chicago previously, and one of the things that really strikes me about Illuminatus! is that you portray Chicago in a way that indicates that you’ve had some very tough, brutal, personal experiences there. And so I’m wondering: what’s your problem with Chicago?
RAW: Well, I don’t have a problem with Chicago any more. Illuminatus! was written in Chicago. Shea and I were both living in Chicago when we wrote it. And our problem was that during the Democratic Convention of 1968, we participated in what appeared to us, or what we were told would be nonviolent demonstrations and, what looked like nonviolent demonstrations from where we were standing at different times. No matter where we went, we never saw any violence by the demonstrators. The police used tear gas, mace, clubs, to beat the hell out of everybody, cream them. They put hundreds of people in the hospital. They claimed that the demonstrators were violent. I claim that somebody was hallucinating. I never saw any demonstrator do anything violent. And so that was why there was a certain satire aimed at Chicago in general and Mayor Daley in particular. I just did not believe the official version of what happened in convention week. I believed what my eyes saw and my ears heard.
And then a police informer told the Red Squad that I was running guns for the Black Panthers, and… Jesus, I can talk about this now… I wasn’t running guns for the Black Panthers. I was one of the people involved in collecting food for their breakfast program for poor black children. But that wasn’t exciting enough — the fact that we were bringing food. The informer, to improve the story and please his superiors, said I was smuggling guns for them, which led to a tap on my phone and a mail cover and all sorts of things. And I found out about all this immediately because the Red Squad was infiltrated by a spy from Playboy. I was working for Playboy at the time, and the spy immediately informed Playboy’s managers whenever an editor of Playboy was under police surveillance and told them why. They come down to my office, closed the door, and we had a very frank discussion about whether I was or was not running guns for the Black Panthers. And I convinced him I wasn’t. The executive knew me a bit anyway, and he knew I’m not the type to be into violent revolution. And he said if they do anything nasty to you, Playboy will provide legal counsel. But it’s kind of nerve-racking to know you’re being spied on by people who think you’re smuggling guns and that people are lying about you and that this is perfectly normal among the subversive squads of our police forces.
CCN: Especially in Chicago. Let me see. Fred Hampton comes to mind.
RAW: Yeah. Fred Hampton got shot. They claimed he was shooting at them, but the evidence indicated he’d been drugged. Obviously, somebody slipped him a barbiturate to knock him out. He was unconscious when the cops came in and shot him.
CCN: So Chicago’s not a good town to be on the bad list of …
RAW: It’s not a good town to be radical in, I’ll say that. I don’t think Chicago is so bad, it’s just that’s where we were living when we wrote Illuminatus!, in my other novels set in Naples and London and Paris and New York and Dublin and other places, I described illicit and illegal and unconstitutional activities by government agents. This is, I think, a rather constant factor in history that always has to be warned against and fought against.
CCN: Yeah, I just … detected a certain personal amount of energy in your painting of Chicago as so …
RAW: Well, an English friend of mine said that I have a love/hate relationship with England, and that really astounded me. That’s just the way it seems to him because he’s English. I have a love/hate relationship with every country. They all have something admirable, and they all have governments that do evil things at times. H.L. Mencken said every decent man is ashamed of his government. That sounds sexist nowadays. Every decent person is ashamed of their government …
CCN: Let’s go over your bibliography …
RAW: I’ve got 28 books altogether.
CCN: What are you trying to say in your books?
RAW: There’s no one message. I’m trying to say lots of things. Schrodinger’s Cat in a sense was an attempt to dramatize how our view of the world would change if any of the eight standard interpretations of quantum mechanics were applied on the microscopic level. There’s a lot of debate about whether they could be applied on a microscopic level, but some think they could. And so in that book, the characters are waves and particles simultaneously, and every section or eigenstate is a parallel universe. . In between sections, the characters are waves, and the next time you see them, they’re a different kind of particle.
And I was very happy when New Scientist called that the most scientific of all science fiction novels because I did put a lot of effort into getting the physics right. There are three Cosmic Trigger volumes, and the third is just about to be published. The second was called “Down to Earth,” and the third which is coming out next is “My Life After Death.” And these are all attempts to relate my life and my thinking to the major problems of the 20th century…you might say I’m using myself the way Buckie Fuller used himself. He referred to himself as “Guinea pig B” for Buckie. …You might consider me “Guinea pig R” for Robert. And I’m using myself as a typical 20th century model as I’m trying to make sense out of the world around me.
CCN: So, you’re defining yourself as normal?
RAW: No, just typical in the sense of being one of the damn good models around these days. I am typical in the sense that…a lot of people are on the same wave length as me. I get fan mail from people that are absolutely stunned that there’s somebody else besides themselves who thinks this way. So, we’re a minority, but there are a lot of us. On a planet this overcrowded, a minority can have a few million numbers.
CCN: So when you say “think this way,” could you define that for me?
RAW: More scientific than religious. More open than dogmatic. More optimistic than pessimistic. More future oriented than past oriented. And more humorous than serious. I really dread serious people. Especially serious, dogmatic people. I regard them as sort of what Reich called the emotional plague. I regard them as very dangerous.
CCN: Well, I’m glad you mentioned Wilhelm Reich because aside from your references to Chicago, you also make a lot of references to Wilhelm Reich. Could you briefly describe who Wilhelm Reich was, what he did and why your interest in him? Did he present a good working model for you?
RAW: Well, Reich was a pupil of Freud. He was an M.D. from the University of Vienna which is pretty damn high qualifications. He was increasingly radical, and one of the turning points in his life occurred, I forget whether it was ’31 or ’32, one of those years just before Hitler came to power … he got kicked out the Psychoanalytical Society for being too Marxist. And then he was kicked out to the Communist Party too for being too Freudian. He joined the Socialist Party and was kicked out for being too anarchistic, and then he had to flee Germany because he was Jewish. And when he came to the United States, somebody filed a false report with the FBI that he was a Nazi agent which led to him being imprisoned for a period, not in prison, just held in custody until they investigated. He had a great capacity to arouse irrational hatred obviously, and that’s because his ideas were radical in the most extreme sense of the word “radical.” His ideas have something to offend everybody, and he ended up becoming the only heretic in American history whose books were literally burned by the government.
Timothy Leary spent five years in prison for unorthodox scientific ideas. Ezra Pound spent 13 years in a nuthouse for unorthodox political and economic ideas. Their books were not burned. Reich was not only thrown in prison, but they chopped up all the scientific equipment in his laboratory with axes and burned all of his books in an incinerator. Now that interests me as a civil liberties issue.
When I started studying Reich’s works, I went through a period of enthusiasm, followed by a period of skepticism, followed by a period of just continued interest, but I think a lot of his ideas probably were sound. A lot probably were unsound. And, I’m not a Reichian in the sense of somebody who thinks he was the greatest scientist who ever lived and discovered the basic secrets of psychology, physics and everything else, all in one lifetime. But I think he has enough sound ideas that his unpopular ideas deserve further investigation.
CCN: Unpopular ideas such as about sexuality and the energy of sex, “orgone”?
RAW: Well, first of all…I don’t believe in any more this idea that sexually repressive religions are the main cause of sadism. There are plenty of sexually open societies that have had a lot of sadists in them, so I think Reich was oversimplifying there. The Orgone Theory I’m still open-minded about, especially because recently there was a Ph.D. dissertation accepted at a German university where they did a double-blind study of the orgone accumulator, and nobody knew who was in the accumulators and who was in the inactive boxes, and yet the people in the accumulators did report the results that Reich said they should feel — tingling mildly erotic sensations and a rise in temperature. That interests me.
I don’t know why somebody in this country doesn’t have the balls to do an experiment like that. In this country the establishment says he was a nut, period, and they won’t repeat his results. People who do repeat his results tend to confirm him, although none of them have done a real hard, double-blind study. But if they confirm him, they get known as Reichians and dismissed as nuts themselves, and I think there’s an awful lot of prejudice there.
CCN: Yeah, no doubt. And you have a background in psychology? You have a doctorate I understand?
RAW: From an alternative university approved by the state of California. Now, California has four ratings from approved down to authorized. Authorized is the fourth. I forget the two in the middle. Approved is the highest they give. So it’s not a diploma, though. It was approved by the state but it’s not quite orthodox. It’s an alternative university.
CCN: Tell me a little bit about your play, Wilhelm Reich in Hell.
RAW: Well, in a sense…it’s about Reich. It’s about the controversy surrounding him. It’s also about my own doubts and confusions, and it’s in two parts. There’s a long introduction because Bernard Shaw said, “People don’t buy plays unless they have long introductions.” And it worked. People bought Shaw’s plays, and they usually don’t buy plays in book form. So I wrote a long, funny introduction like Shaw always wrote for his plays. And in the introduction I fight with the people who say Reich was a nut and they won’t repeat his experiments because it would just be a waste of time. That’s rhetoric where I’m defending Reich’s right to be heard. The play is what is poetry. Yeats said we make rhetoric out of our quarrel with others and poetry out of our quarrel with ourselves. The play is my own doubt, questioning, how much was sound and how much was crazy in Reich? I’m never sure. I keep changing my mind. So the play dramatizes my own doubts and questions. When did he go crazy? How crazy did he go? I’m not at all sure about that.
CCN: He died in prison?
RAW: Yeah.
CCN: In the United States?
CCN: The charge that he was convicted of …?
RAW: Contempt of court. He was forbidden to use the orgone accumulator any more, and he defied the court deliberately, to dramatize his libertarian position that a court has no right to say that certain lines of scientific research are illegitimate. That’s the same thing Leary went to jail for, except they had a better rationalization. Namely, one half of one marijuana cigarette. But the judge who sentenced Leary did denounce him for his dangerous ideas. So, it was basically, Leary and Reich have very similar cases. Except, believe it or not, Reich aroused even more fury and prejudice because, like I said, they burned his books and they didn’t burn Leary’s books.
CCN: … Why do you think that was? Reich is known, at least by myself, as somebody who is mainly what you would call a sex researcher, and Leary was exploring the effects of LSD and psycho actives, let’s say. Why is it that the drugs only landed Leary in prison, but the sex basically killed Reich?
RAW: Well, I think one reason is that Reich ran athwart of the courts in the ’50s when the McCarthy era was ending, but the atmosphere was still there, and things were a little more extreme, a little more fanatical, then than they were when Leary ran athwart of the system. But still Leary was originally sentenced to 37 years, which is pretty heavy for scientific dissent, especially in a country with the First Amendment which is supposed to guarantee freedom of speech. The sexual apsect of Reich’s work, well, that would push people’s buttons. I mean, look at Madonna. All you’ve got to do is come up with something that challenges orthodox sexual ideas and everybody goes off the handle, both the left wing and the right wing.
Who hates Madonna more — the Feminists or the Fundamentalists? Challenge sexual fascism or the traditional Judeo-Christian code as it’s called and all hell breaks loose. Everybody is down on your case. And they were all down on Reich, everybody from the extreme left to the extreme right.
CCN: When you say orthodox sexual ideas, the first thing that comes to my mind is that we don’t really have any these days.
RAW: Well, we had more back in the ’50’s. There was more of a consensus than there is now. If Reich were alive today, I think he’d have much less trouble publishing and discussing his ideas. He was just publishing half a century too early. But today, Reich would probably sound conservative.
CCN: Well, what are you working on now? What is your current literary project?
RAW: Well, I just finished Cosmic Trigger III, and I’m working on Bride of Illuminatus!.
CCN: Bride of Illuminatus!?
RAW: Yes. Bob Shea and I agreed to write another book together after all those years of not collaborating. We never had a feud like Gilbert and Sullivan. It’s just that we both got busy with different projects, and we never had the time to work together. And then one day he said, “Why don’t we do a book together. We could fit it into our schedule.” Well, anyway, we decided we could do it, and we got started and then Shea died of cancer which was…the major tragedy of the last couple of years of my life. He was my best friend I think. So I’m finishing it on my own…. It may not be as funny as the first one because Shea’s death kind of hangs over every page of it in the back of my mind somewhere. But anyway, it’s called “Bride…” because I thought we should follow the Hollywood tradition where the first great sequel was “Bride of Frankenstein,” so why not Bride of Illuminatus!? Then I realized that the first great sequel was “Son of …”
CCN: Son of Mighty Joe Illuminatus!.
RAW: No, the first great sequel was the New Testament. Somebody said, hey, the God book is doing really good, let’s do Son of God, and they wrote the New Testament. Most movies do go from Godzilla to Son of Godzilla, and so on. Frankenstein is one of the few that remembered you need a woman for reproduction and went to the bride, next after the original. So this is Bride of Illuminatus!. Once we had the title, we had to figure out who the bride of Illuminatus! was…and we’ve got a very interesting heroine, and she’s getting more interesting.
CCN: Any sneak previews you want to share?
RAW: Well, it’s set in 2026, exactly 50 years after Illuminatus! ended, and I didn’t realize when we started, but Internet is going to play a large role in the plot. So is Cryonics.
CCN: Well, I want to touch upon your thoughts about the Internet a little bit later, but one thing I want to talk about since we mentioned Shea is that just to get into the mechanics of a writer, how did you collaborate?
RAW: Well, different writers have had different techniques. What Shea and I agreed on is to write alternate sections, and then I, how shall I phrase it? I persuaded Shea to let me rewrite his sections in order to make the style more uniform. So there are many sections that are almost all Shea in content, but they’re still me in style if you know what I mean. Like, one of the longest sections that’s almost all Shea is the movie about Atlantis… …yet the style is me. I rewrote the thing to get it into the style of the rest of the book, and I added a few key things like the idea of the fur bristling as an expression of emotion and a few other things like that. I also come up with the clouded lenses and I was trying to figure out how people who didn’t have our concepts of sin or mental illness would describe somebody whose perceptions they couldn’t understand, so I came up with the metaphor of the clouded lenses.
CCN: …Well…that’s a very good point because when you say, “Your lens is clouded,” and we talk about that in the context of somebody who’s, let’s say, crazy, we get to the notion of “normal”, “crazy” being defined loosely as “not perceiving normally” or “not behaving normally”. I don’t see pink elephants floating around the room, and let’s say somebody who’s insane and is prone to hallucinations might see these pink elephants. There seems to be a spectrum of human perception and of behavior that might be called normal.
RAW: Then the spectrum is much wider than most people realize. I’ve been doing seminars for nearly 30 years now…originally on general semantics, and then later I broadened it out so much that it’s just a Robert Anton Wilson seminar, it includes so damn much. But in my seminars, I have lots of exercises that show that no two people ever perceive the room the same way or hear the same sounds. So we’re all living in our own epic reality, as they call it in sociology. I like Leary’s term “reality tunnel” because it’s poetic and vivid and people get it right away. We’re all living in our own reality tunnel, and I define psychoses as behavior that has reached the level of the unendurably obnoxious.
I don’t care what the hell people believe. They can bore me by talking about it too much, but that still doesn’t bother me. It’s when they start doing weird or frightening things that I call them mentally ill and want them removed from my environment. We once lived with a schizophrenic in a building in Berkeley, and his beliefs didn’t bother me in the slightest, but his behavior did when he started getting on the phone to the police regularly because he was imagining the building had been captured by terrorists or other fantasies of that sort. We all in the building agreed we couldn’t stand having the police come in so damn often.
And so that’s when I come up with my “objective” definition of insanity. Operationally, nobody has ever defined what’s real to my satisfaction. So operationally, the only definition of psychoses is the condition in which people’s belief systems lead them to act in a way that nobody else can tolerate for a day longer no matter how hard they try.
CCN: Convenience and safety.
RAW: When behavior becomes intolerable, then I call it psychotic. I get somebody to take them somewhere else so I don’t have to put up with them any more.
CCN: Like the definition of a flower and a weed.
CCN: A weed is just a person you don’t want to be around.
CCN: I’ve read a few pieces by you and have heard you on the radio talking about androphobia. The women against white males conflict. The impression I get after talking with you, is that in talking about androphobia, there seems to be some guerrilla ontology involved …
RAW: Yes, there is an element of deliberate parody in there. It’s like Markoff Chaney’s crusade against the giants who run the planet, these enormous overgrown ignoramuses who don’t treat midgets with proper respect. And his attempt to prove all culture was created by people shorter than five feet and often shorter than four feet.
CCN: So in this case …
RAW: … but there’s more to it.
CCN: … everything good was created by people with vaginas.
RAW: Yeah. That seems to be the current mythology, and a lot of it is just as crazy as my satire. I don’t think even the craziest feminists are as dangerous as, say, the American Nazi Party. But there is a tendency in feminism that is really crazy, it seems to me. And I often feel like a Jew in Germany in 1931. Nothing bad has happened yet except for about 20 cases of guys whose penises have been cut off. Bobbit is just the one that got all the publicity. The Fortean Times had a list of about 20 others who it’s happened to, honest to God. I feel…well, I’ll trace the background of my thinking. They opened the Nazi death camps when I reached puberty. I think reaching puberty is a point of acute imprint vulnerability, and I developed a horror not just of anti-Semitism but of any kind of group hatred. And this was reinforced by the educational system of New York City when I was in high school. English, civics, history. In lots of courses the teachers spent a lot of time trying to train us not to make reckless generalizations about groups. And as I grew up, I thought every educated person had learned that, and then suddenly this new movement appears that’s devoted to making wild and reckless generalizations about a certain group and that seems to be inculcating hatred and contempt toward that group just like with the anti-Irish thing in the 19th century, the anti-Mexican thing in California now, the anti-Semitic mania in Germany, and a lot of other tragedies in history. It seems teachers stopped teaching about the dangers of group hatred.
And this time the group selected for the target of stereotypes and hate mongering is a group I happen to belong to, so I not only think it’s illogical and historically dangerous, and morally objectionable and so on; I’m also one of the potential victims if it continues to grow more irrational and more violent. We’ve seen a lot of evidence of what this kind of thing can lead to. If they get enough sperm in the sperm banks and start building the gas chambers, I’m in the group that they picked out to be exterminated, the villains. We’re the ones elected the villains like the Jews were in Nazi Germany. Now, I don’t want to carry that too far. I don’t think in the first place Ms. is the main organ of that movement, and they never had a circulation higher than 200,000 at their best, so I am not paranoid or terrorized, but at the same time it irritates me to hear all these unscientific and unfounded libels against the male gender. So I can’t resist satirizing them and pointing out how similar this is to the Nazi generalizations about Jews.
CCN: Well, you’ve just said “they” and the “movement,” and I wonder if you could describe who “they” are in a little bit more specific terms like in terms of the ideology involved and the movement, the things that you are reacting against here. Obviously, not all feminists want to chop off penises. The feminist movement is yet another spectrum with extremes.
RAW: Yes. There’s quite a wide variety of feminist ideas. I very much approve and like Sharon Presley’s Alliance of Libertarian Feminists. This agrees with the majority of the feminist movement in being Libertarian oriented rather than Marxist oriented. My wife has been a feminist all her life, but she stopped using the word because she doesn’t like the extent to which male-bashing Marxists have taken over the movement. To be specific, I don’t like to name names and attack individuals, but that’s the only way to avoid making reckless generalizations, so I will name a few names. Robin Morgan, Andrea Dworkin, Catherine McKinnon and to a great extent Gloria Steinam, and to some extent Naomi Wolfe, have all written things that I think are as crazy as anything that was ever published in Der Sturmer in the 1930s. They exactly fit Reich’s profile of the similarity of Red Fascism and Blackshirt Fascism. You just take out the word “male” and put in the word “Jew” and it sounds exactly like Nazi propaganda… …and I think anybody who isn’t a little bit frightened by it is living in a dream. They’re trying so hard to be fashionable and politically correct that they stop thinking entirely.
CCN: So you think that we’re seeing an era in which we’re producing more good Germans in terms of this whole political correctness thing because the feminist ideology that you’re referring to here seems to be under the generalized PC umbrella. It’s not just feminism but…you know, the whole “who is the victim now,” you know, and the oppressor seems to be, in general, the “white male.”
RAW: Yeah. “The white male” doesn’t exist, any more than “the normal” or “the average.” The columnist in the San Jose Mercury, Angelo Figueroa, who says white males own all the corporations is a classic case of neurolinguistic neuroses. What he says is true, but it’s false. It’s true in the sense that most, not all, most of the corporations are owned by white males except for the ones that are owned by oriental males, Arab males, etc. … and some of them are owned by women, a few, very few, but a few. But that does not mean that all white males own corporations. This is where you need symbolic logic to avoid getting confused. Label logic often gets you all messed up. All giraffes are animals, but not all animals are giraffes. Most corporations are owned by white males but most white males do not own corporations. I wish people like Figueroa had to spend six months studying elementary logic before they were allowed to vomit their racist and sexist hatreds in print.
This Figueroa asshole, if I may speak precisely, he walks every day, or he drives everyday, past lots and lots of homeless white men begging on the streets, and he doesn’t see them because his definition of “white male” is somebody who owns a corporation. Just like the Nazis didn’t see poor Jews. Their definition of a Jew was somebody who owned a bank. This kind of terminology makes people blind. They can’t see what’s directly in front of them. Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinam cannot see how many poor white men there are in this country. They think all white men own corporations. Just like the Nazi hallucination. I’ve never owned a corporation in my life and I don’t think I ever will own one. I don’t even own part of one. I don’t have any stocks.
CCN: So this is personal for you, being a member of the “hated class” here, being the Jew or the nigger of the ’90s.
RAW: It’s personal in the sense that I refuse to stand there with a polite expression on my face when feminists say nasty things about men. I just won’t do it any more. I feel like a Jew smiling politely at a Nazi in 1931. I won’t do it. If they say something nasty about men, I tell them that sounds as stupid as Hitler talking about the Jews. I know it’s not nice, but I tell them to their face. If the Jews were less nice in 1931, more of them might have survived.
CCN: You’re on the Internet now.
CCN: You’re what is referred to as “net newbie.”
RAW: Yes.
CCN: What are your thoughts on the Internet as an environment, and your experiences as a newbie?
RAW: I think technology used properly in a decentralized way can solve all of the problems that are confronting this planet. That’s my favorite solution to all problems: better technology and more decentralization, and Internet seems to me the most successful example of what I believe in and hope for. It’s a technology that’s so radically decentralized that I don’t think anybody will ever be able to control it.
CCN: Well, there are various efforts under way in Congress to control the content of the network. The most recent is the “Decency in Communications Act” in the Senate.
RAW: I signed a petition against it. I like the idea of an electronic petition. And I also wrote to Bill Clinton to organize the Democrats against it. It’s stupid in the first place, but if they could try to enforce it, the result would be that America would fall behind the rest of the world as the Internet continues to grow. They’d be dragging people out of business.
CCN: But, in general, how are you finding your experience on the network?
RAW: There are a lot of things that are really exciting to me. One day, I exchanged e-mail with a friend in Munich twice in one day and sent a fax to a reporter in Australia, and I thought, my God, I really am living in a global village. I begin to see some of my favorite futurist, especially McLuhan and Fuller in an entirely new way. It’s becoming more real and concrete. I’ve been thinking about these things for years, but now it’s becoming easier to think about because I’ve got a concrete example to illustrate …
CCN: But when you say “it’s becoming more real and concrete,” what it? The “global village of McLuhan” it? The “future is here now” it? “We’re able to talk to each other no matter where we are physically” it?
RAW: One way of looking at is Bucky Fuller made a lot of graphs of trajectories. And he predicted that by the 1980s we would be crossing oceans in seconds. And he said he was stunned himself by that, and he couldn’t imagine how we could do it, what kind of technology would make that possible? Well, we’re doing it. It’s just that our physical bodies aren’t traveling along with us. I still go on lecture tours every year, but I always hate the airports, I hate the airplanes. I have post-polio syndrome which is not anything serious, but everybody who had polio had or has it to some extent. I get terribly cramped and have a lot of muscular problems on long airplane trips. But I have to do it because I get a lot of money out of my lecture business.
But it’s wonderful that a lot of things I can do in cyberspace without traveling at all. I’m beginning to see how a time will come, I don’t know all the details, a time will come in which I can get paid for my ideas by people in Tokyo and Berlin without actually traveling to Tokyo and Berlin in those god damn uncomfortable planes. I won’t have to travel. In order to compete, the airlines will have to make more comfortable airplanes, finally, which they should have done 30 years ago or 50 years ago. It’s ridiculous that airplanes are so uncomfortable.
CCN: So one effect of the Internet might be more leg room.
RAW: Yes, they might build airplanes that you’re not uncomfortable in, just so they can compete.
CCN: We can only hope, that and better food.
RAW: [laughs] And better food, yeah.
CCN: Have you met anybody on the Internet now? One of the great things about the Internet is the fact that you can meet people in safety. You can meet mind to mind without having to worry about the safety of the body or even the comfort.
RAW: I like that. You know, the Irish have a wonderful custom. I lived in Ireland for six years. They have a wonderful custom. You never invite anybody to your home, and you never expect anybody to invite you to their home when you’re first getting to know each other. You agree to meet at a pub. That’s very comfortable because you don’t have to figure how the hell to get them out the door if you don’t like them. All you do is say, “Oh, geez, it’s getting late,” and you leave the pub, you know. And we don’t have an equivalent institution in America. E-mail does it. If you find somebody who’s incompatible, you just stop answering them and they get off eventually.
CCN: You mentioned something earlier in conversation about the ramshackle nature of the Internet …
RAW: Yeah, the ramshackle. I started referring to Internet as “ramshackle techno-anarchism” because it’s growing and changing all the time, and the parts aren’t always perfectly compatible, and I’ve begun to discover that some things are not mistakes on my part, it’s just the system is weird. And it always will be because there’s always new software and hardware, and things are always changing and being added. And sometimes I’m going through Cern, and suddenly I’m cut off, and God knows why. But I’m pretty sure, some cases, it’s not a mistake I made, it’s just that’s the nature of the system. But that’s the way the world is more and more becoming. Internet helps you to get used to the fact that we’re living in a world where everything is being torn down and rebuilt continually. The Buddha understood that, but very few people since Buddha have understood it.
CCN: What do you think the Internet’s going to do politically? Previous forms of communication, especially mass communication have all been broadcast oriented. With the Internet you can send e-mail to the author and say, “I loved your book” or “the book stinks.” It’s the same with politicians who are now getting on the net. There’s more direct feedback mechanisms. What do you think this is going to do to society to suddenly have a dialog capable, planet-wide communications system?
RAW: I have very high hopes for it. I think, well, to quote an unpopular poet, Ezra Pound, “Peace comes with communication.” They did a show about Internet on channel 54 a few weeks ago in which they presented some evidence, which I don’t recall too well, that Internet played a large role in the failure of the coup in Russia, the attempt to restore hard-line Communism. And, I think, well, this is long before Internet, this was one of the things that I developed out of the study of general semantics 30 years ago, 40 years ago. Communication tends to solve problems. Not always, but it tends to solve problems. Breakdown in communication tends to aggravate problems.
And, so I see Internet as potentially the greatest contribution to world peace that’s come along in my lifetime, and may have played an indirect role in a lot of other things that have happened besides blocking the hard-line coup in Russia. Since ’89, we had not only the overthrow of the Soviet empire, the most peaceful, nonviolent revolution over the greatest land mass from East Berlin to Vladavostok. Nothing like that has ever happened in history before. After that, we’ve had the establishment of the Palestinian state, the peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis, very uneasy but still it’s there, it’s working. They’re both working toward it.
And Nelson Mandela come out of prison. He’s not only a free man, he’s now the president of the country. And the IRA and the British are beginning to negotiate. The IRA is negotiating with everybody else. The British are agreed to join in the negotiations, and the president of Sean Fein was a guest of the White House on St. Paddies day. Internet may be playing an indirect role in all these things.
CCN: When you talk about communication, one of the statements in Illuminatus!, and actually a theme frequently in your books whether it’s stated explicitly or not, is that communications is only possible between equals. Let’s look at the Germans and the Jews. How do you get through somebody’s thick skull?
RAW: Well, you picked a really hard case …
CCN: Bosnians and Serbs, I mean, we could look at the feminists, the feminists and the white males …
RAW: Let’s go back to the Nazis and the Jews. I don’t think Internet, even if it existed then, would have necessarily deflected the general path of Nazism, the general direction it was going in. But I think if it had existed, a hell of a lot more Jews would have found out soon enough how bad it was and got out quicker, so there would have been a lot more survivors. I think that’s pretty damn clear. At least, I mean…we’ve got to distinguish survivors and escapees. There were those who went into the camps and survived through sheer good luck, and then there were the escapees who never went into the camps because they got out before that happened. Internet would have increased the number of escapees. There would have been a more clear understanding of what was going on. Internet would have, undoubtedly, put enough pressure on the United States to accept more Jewish refugees. Roosevelt wanted to, but he knew what he was up against in Congress so he couldn’t.
CCN: So the “ship of fools” would have been impossible.
RAW: The “ship of fools” would have landed in New York, and they all would have gotten off.
CCN: So, at the very least, even if there’s not communication with the adversary, there would have been communication amongst the folks in the same boat, so that organization would have possible, survival oriented organization.
RAW: And also to some extent Internet might have cut down the size of the Nazi Party. Communication does tend to break down prejudices in the long run.
CCN: Well, let’s look at the prejudices that exist in America today. People with a certain level of technological access, income and education now on the Internet find themselves, still, with the fundamental inability to communicate. A large amount of the content of the online discussion groups is little more than personal insults and never ending verbal wars.
RAW: Well, we’ll just have to wait and see just how much good Internet does. One of the newsgroups I subscribe to is for the topic of Free Masonry, and there’s a very lively discussion going on there between Free Masons and the people who believe Free Mason worship the devil. And I don’t know if the Free Masons have converted anybody yet and have persuaded them that they don’t worship the devil, but it’s fascinating that the conversation is going on. And I think some people may get over the idea that Free Masons worship the devil, some of the people in that discussion. Of course, some people, because of their own emotional problems, will never be cured by any amount of discussion. But discussion, by and large, it’s better than no discussion.
CCN: You wanted to talk a little bit about chaos and society …
CCN: Chaos. Are you talking about the mathematical chaos or political chaos?
RAW: Well, I’m talking about the mathematical, but the curious thing is that…the Discordian Society which I got involved in back in the early ’60s was based on the belief that chaos is the fundamental fact of existence, and everything that we can put into an orderly form is just an abstraction from the fundamental chaos. I didn’t discover until later that Nietzsche had that idea even before it was Discordian. And now there’s a lot of interpretations of chaos math that say that’s what it’s indicating is that the universe is fundamentally chaotic, and the Newtonian or classically deterministic systems are a minor subcase. But the aspect of chaos that especially interests me now is what I heard about at the meeting of the world future society a couple years ago. A mathematician named Gordon has demonstrated that as information flow increases, chaos increases, chaos in the mathematical sense. That’s the unpredictability.
CCN: So as communication increases in a system, chaos increases.
RAW: The unpredictable increases. What happens is that as information increases, that’s unpredictable knowledge, things we couldn’t predict before, we see the information gives us a new reality tunnel. Out of that, inevitably, comes new technologies, and out of new technologies comes new social forms, and so as the acceleration of information increases, the acceleration of technology increases, and society changes in weird, jerky ways. And you can see this in lots of periods of history where things go one way, and then suddenly they jump and go the other way. And I think right now information is doubling faster than ever before in human history, so it’s only to be expected that the world, the planet, should be changing in very unpredictable ways, such as Nelson Mandela going from a convict to the president of the country in a couple of years. Or the president of Sinn Fein being a guest at the White House. The next thing is Fidel Castro will be a guest at the White House. That’s no more shocking than the head of Sinn Fein being a guest at the White House, it really isn’t. It takes people a while to get used to something like that. John Major is not quite adjusted yet to Gerry Adams being at the White House.
CCN: In Illuminatus!, you talk about neophobes and neophiles, the lovers and haters of things that are new. Might that not be a measure of a person’s ability to deal with unpredictability?
RAW: Yeah, I think people are going to have to get used to a lot more uncertainly which is what all my books are preaching, the acceptance of uncertainty, a high tolerance for uncertainty. Some things you can say yes or no, but more and more there are more and more things where you can’t say yes or no. You can only calculate the probabilities in between, and people are going to have to get more and more used to that. Meanwhile, since most people still think in terms of yes and no, we’re getting more and more bizarre and weird political movements. In this part of the country the weirdest ones we’ve got aren’t quite as weird as what you find on the other side of the Rockies where there are talk shows that are actively their listeners to buy guns and prepare for a march on Washington.
That’s really going on. That’s treason, technically, but they’re still getting away with it because, I guess, because the administration doesn’t want to give them more publicity by busting them, and there’s this very delicate First Amendment issue there too. But I think that kind of weirdness, people who are ready to make war on the government, that’s scarey. I distrust government in general, but I don’t regard the government as being that dangerous at this point that I’m going to buy automatic weapons and prepare to join a revolution against it. But that’s a yes/no logic. I can see how people are driven to positions like that until they learn to think in terms of probabilities. The world is getting more unpredictable. And one way of handling it is to believe in a conspiracy theory and arm yourself against the conspiracy.
CCN: To turn yourself into a victim of a conspiracy.
RAW: Yeah. There’s also a tendency — it goes way back to the stone ages where the king was regarded as being in charge of the weather–so there’s a tendency to praise the president if anything good happens, and blame the president if anything bad happens, as if the president is a kind of demi-god. And I used to say the president’s popularity goes up and down depending on how many earthquakes and tornadoes we had that year. And, by God, after the recent flooding, there are actually people blaming the government. Sam Farr said the rain had something to do with flood damage too. [laughs]
CCN: So, it seems there’s a lag time involved with social innovation and people’s ability to respond to it. Things are becoming a little bit more reactionary, politically and socially. People are looking for targets to blame.
RAW: Everybody has their own scapegoats or stereotyped groups.
CCN: Is it a reaction to just things becoming unpredictable though?
RAW: Yes, some people, since they don’t have mathematical and sociological, perspectives on the thing, they look around for who to blame. And depending on their upbringing and the biases that seem natural to them, they find some evidence to blame whoever they have a natural tendency to dislike anyway. And so we’ve got a country full of groups that hate each other.. We’re a country full of hatred at present. There are lots of people who get along very well, but every group in the country has members who hate a couple of other groups and are encouraging everybody else to join them in blaming and hating some other group. It’s incredible the amount of scapegoat groups, and you have a choice, depending on what you want. You can pick any group out to hate, and you find out who hates them and write to them, and they’ll send you a whole bunch of books to prove that your hatred is justified.
CCN: Well, what do you think this says about the human race? We have self-esteem problems, and we need somebody to beat up?
RAW: We need better education in science and logic. [laughs]
CCN: Is that really it, though? I mean, let’s go back to the Internet. I know I mentioned this before, but let’s beat the dead horse some more. You know, you have to have a certain level of education and intelligence and access to economic resources to buy a computer and plug into the Internet. And yet, on the Internet you see the ongoing abortion debate, the man vs. women debate, the heterosexual versus homosexual debate, and you see some incredibly ignorant, hateful remarks being spat out from both ends, and it seems that maybe intelligence and education aren’t proof against idiocy or hatred.
RAW: Well, not the kind of education we have so far. We need better education.
CCN: Well, when you say “we,” this is worldwide?
RAW: Yeah … I mean, yeah, it’s worldwide.
CCN: What are your hopes? And about when can we expect to see this education developed and implemented?
RAW: I’ve given up naming dates.
CCN: Not even ballpark?
RAW: No. As Heinlein said, it doesn’t pay a prophet to be too specific. Really, every prediction I’ve made in my books has turned out to be a little bit too optimistic. I have yet to see any grounds for abandoning any of my predictions, I just have to postpone them. And when I started writing about longevity…nobody, hardly anybody else, was writing about it. Now it’s a major topic of not only articles and so on, but of research, real scientific research. We are going to have longer life spans. It’s just not coming as fast as I thought. We are going to have space colonies. They’re just not coming as fast as I thought. But we are going to have space colonies. Everything, I haven’t lost faith in any of my predictions. I’ve just lost faith in my ability to guess the speed at which they’re coming.
CCN: So you’re basically talking the long haul. The historical perspective.
RAW: Yeah …
CCN: Are you a little discouraged? Does it seem like the human race is a little bit stupider than your optimism would want you to say?
RAW: No, I didn’t expect … no, I think stupidity is situational anyway. People can be stupid in one situation and not so stupid a few weeks later. My feeling is that a lot of the irrational behavior we see around today is because of this chaos, this unpredictability and the fact that most people have no tools to understand what’s happening. But I think … that’s only temporary. I think we are moving toward a … well, hell, Newt Gingrich, the head of the party that controls Congress is a fan of the Tofflers, who are not the best futurists around, but…to that extent he’s involved in futurist thinking. And Al Gore was the head of the Senate committee on the future all the time he was in the Senate and has got a very high reputation for the amount of books and articles he’s read, his general erudition in that area, and he’s a member of the World Future Society. And so on both sides of the aisle, in spite of the stupidity on both sides of the aisle, we’ve got people who are really involved in future studies. And we’re going to be moving more and more to the point where that dumb senator with the censorship bill will be impossible because the government will be educated enough to understand that Internet can’t be controlled that way.
CCN: Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?
RAW: Yeah, the only … the one thing that I really feel strongly about … that we haven’t discussed is Bill Clinton. I feel very strongly that he’s getting a raw deal from everybody. You expect him to get a raw deal from the right, but he’s getting a raw deal from the left too. And the only president I can think of who got so much abuse from both extremes before Clinton was F.D.R., who is now remembered as one of the greatest presidents we ever had.
CCN: Why do you think that is?
RAW: Well, I think we’re in a time where people are very angry and very frightened and very impatient for a solution, and if he’s not doing exactly what they think he should be doing, they think he’s selling them out, and so that comes from both sides. But as far as I’m concerned, I think Clinton is the best president we’ve had in my lifetime.
CCN: Seriously.
CCN: What makes you say that?
RAW: Because he never says anything conspicuously stupid. Because he frequently says intelligent things. Because he is cutting the deficit. Because he’s appointed more women and minorities to federal judgeships than all three presidents before him combined, which I think is very important to restore, to start to establish an approximation of real justice in the court system. And he’s done a lot of other things that I approve. And all the accusations of him waffling, weaseling and so on, to me that’s a matter of evaluation. To me it just looks like he’s an intelligent man. Intelligent people change their minds.
CCN: That’s true, but he’s more than just a man or a person, he’s a totem, an icon. He’s the guy who has to make the crops come in.
RAW: Yeah, and he hasn’t made the crops come in yet, but I don’t think any American president has such a successful record internationally in solving problems non violently. I think that’s an incredible thing. We’ve never had a president who’s gone into so many hot situations and diffused them. He’s had a lot of help from Jimmy Carter. But he’s obviously, he’s the one in charge. I think you’ve got to give … you can’t say Jimmy Carter is saving Clinton. Clinton is, I think, Clinton is the main strategist, and Jimmy Carter is the front, the one who has the knowledge of the people, the more experience.
But I think the Clinton administration has a very good record for solving violent problems nonviolently, and that’s what we need now that the cold war is over, and we can start to think in new categories. All we need is to study how to make peace. We’ve studied how to make war too long, and we’ve got to learn how to make peace. And besides, I like Hillary. I know every right wing nut in the country seems to … regard her as a mixture of Lady Macbeth and the Bride of Frankenstein, and I think Hillary is a marvelously intelligent and witty person. And, so Bill and Hillary seem like a very attractive combination; As Arlen, my wife, says, “They’re the only first family in our lifetimes that we’d enjoy having for dinner. We’d enjoy conversation with them.” I can’t imagine having an intelligent conversation with George and Barbara or with Pat and Dick or with Ronnie and Nancy.
CCN: Why not?
RAW: They never struck me as being particularly intelligent people.
CCN: Is it possible for a stupid person to become the president of the United States of America?
RAW: It sure looks that way to me. I mean when the doctors announced that Reagan has Alzheimer’s, my reaction was, Jesus, I knew that 10 years ago. What’s the matter with the medical profession that took them this long to figure it out?
CCN: So, would you say, then, that maybe the executive of the country is not really the pinnacle of power. I mean, if a person with certain attention deficits and whatever you want to call Ronald Reagan could become president of the United States, a former Hollywood actor could become president of the United States, do you think this speaks to something about the political scene in America?
RAW: Yeah, they picked a mediocre actor. I wonder if they picked Paul Newman, he would have made a much better president. He’s a better actor, and he’s obviously a more intelligent person. I’d really like to see Barbara Streisand as president.
CCN: She has the power drive for it. What do you think psychologically about somebody who aspires to be president of the United States who wields a lot of power over, let’s say, situations and other people and you or I?
RAW: There’s probably not that much difference. They have a different way of seeking to influence history, but I definitely want to influence history. I don’t admire Karl Marx in particular … he’s one of my least favorite political figures. But if you were to put a gun to my head and tie me to a lie detector and ask me …, “What’s your highest hope for your books?” It would be that they shake up the 21st century as much as Marx shook up the 20th century but in a more constructive way. Not in a destructive way. I really want to change the world. I think everybody has that in the back of his mind. So some people want to do it by becoming president. Buckie Fuller used to answer people who asked, “Why don’t you run for president?” He said, “I’ve got more important things to do,” because his way of changing the world is through inventions. My way is through books. Bill Clinton’s way is through going into that dirty area called politics. Somebody has to do it. Somebody has to clean cesspools too.
CCN: Do you think Clinton and Gingrich might makes some sort of a team? A progressive team? A future thinking team as opposed to an atavistic type of team? Will there be a team at all?
RAW: Well, Clinton has certainly been generous towards the opposition in many ways. When Gingrich’s mother made that mistake on television of quoting Newt about Hillary, instead of taking advantage of that to tromp on Gingrich, Clinton made a joke out of it. “I’m glad Connie Chung didn’t interview my mother.” He’s trying very hard to build bridges. I think that is his main vision of himself as a bridge builder, a problem solver and a bridge builder. That’s what he wants to be, I think.
CCN: Is this the right time for somebody like that?
RAW: Maybe not. Maybe this is a time for extremists. But in that case, we’re in for a bad decade. I hope bridge builders have a chance.
CCN: Oh boy, me too.
Posted on April 1, 1992 by quackenbush | Leave a comment
Robert Anton Wilson interview April 1992
Ken Thomas: You are listening to “Off the Beaten Path”, 30 minutes of flashbacks and fallout from the Beat Generation. My name is Ken Thomas, and I’m here with Phil Gunis and tonight, our guest is Robert Anton Wilson, author of theIlluminatus! trilogy, editor/publisher of Trajectories newsletter, whose list of credentials goes down my arm and are much longer than I can name. Thank you for being on the program tonight, Bob.
Robert Anton Wilson: Oh, it’s very nice to be with you.
KT: So, the purpose here is to talk about you new book. Is it going to be published by New Falcon?
RAW: No, the new book is published by Dell Books, who’ve handled most of my fiction for the last ten years or so.
KT: So this new work is fiction.
KT: And it’s called?
RAW: Reality is What You Can Get Away With.
KT: Is this the latest volume in the current Historical Illuminatus series?
RAW: No, this is outside that series. The Historical Illuminatus series is being published by Penguin Books.
KT: I see.
RAW: I’ve got four publishers. It’s complicated, but that’s the way it works out sometimes.
Phil Gunis: So it is a new work – a novel that we can expect plots, sublots, and so forth with?
RAW: Well, it’s a novel in the form of a screenplay which has got as much structure as a Monty Python routine, at least.
KT: I’m always taken aback at how prolific you are. I think I just recieved a copy of Cosmic Trigger II, and for some reason I always think of you in terms of Thomas Pynchon, who writes kind of similar things, but he does one every twenty years, and doesn’t talk to anybody.
RAW: Yeah, somehow he makes a living from it. I don’t know how. I’ve got to keep writing as fast as I can, or I’ll go broke.
KT: Are you still on the lecture circuit?
RAW: Yes, very much so.
PG: And what are your audiences like these days? Are you getting any kind of feedback Post-Reagan that you weren’t getting, say, in the late Seventies?
RAW: I still get largely young audiences. Well, there’s always a scattering of people of all ages, right up to my own age, which is sixty. But still, I attract mostly people around twenty, some under twenty.
KT: That’s interesting. The world has really changed so much since I started reading your books in, I guess, the mid- to late seventies. How do you see your early work, in terms of your present-day environment? Has a lot of what you predicted come true? Do you expect the same kind of things in the future?
RAW: Well, the major thing I predicted was that there wouldn’t be a nuclear war, and that humanity would survive. I feel very – I feel vindicated by recent events on that issue, anyway. I write non-fiction, as well as fiction, and it’s curious that in my fiction, some of the weird things in my fiction have turned out to be true, and I wasn’t even trying to be a prophet. In Schrondinger’s Cat, a science fiction trilogy I did in 1979, I have America being overrun by armies of homeless people, and that was supposed to be crazy satire of the worst that could happen. And now it’s really happened. Sometimes I feel a little bit guilty, like I caused it.
PG: Is that creating reality, or is that some unconscious, indirect channeling or something of something coming through there?
RAW: I don’t like to think I created that reality, maybe I have some gift for free cognition, maybe it’s just a coincidence. I’m sure the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal would know it’s a coincidence. I don’t have that kind of intuitive certainty, so I sometimes wonder if it might be precognition.
KT: So if we were to look for some kind of futuristic vision of the world here that’s going to be accurate, then we want to read your new novel moreso than Cosmic Trigger II, is that what you’re telling us?
RAW: Yes, Reality Is What You Can Get Away With, a new book from Dell, is in the form of a screenplay, which has a sequence of dreams and supernatural events in which the television seems to come alive and take over the house, and it comes from the same level of the unconscious as my other novels, so it probably has just as much insanity and just as much prophecy as my other novels.
PG: Have you ever had any of your other works made into films?
RAW: No, that’s one of the major disappointments of my life – a dozen times I’ve had books optioned, but none of them ever went all the way through to production and release – yet. But, on the other hand, instead of mourning over that, I prefer to contemplate the fact that all my books are still in print – that’s a remarkable record for a writer.
KT: I’ve always thought that a lot of them would be very difficult to make into a movie – at least I did think that until I saw The Naked Lunch. Did you see that film?
RAW: Yes, I liked it a lot. Well, what astounded me was that Kent Campbell in England managed to turn Illuminatus! into a stage play. It ran twelve hours – there were mystery plays of the middle ages that ran that long. He really did it, he turned it into a play, and it was done at the Science Ficiton Theatre in Liverpool, the National Theatre of Great Britain, Cambridge University, and on the Continent in Amsterdam, and Frankfurt.
KT: And you like the way it turned out?
RAW: Oh, yes, I liked it very much. I didn’t think it was possible – I don’t see how you could make that into a movie, but you could make it into a TV miniseries.
KT: A miniseries – that’s what I was thinking…
RAW: If there are any producers listening, I hope their ears perk up at that.
KT: I think it’d make a perfect miniseries, actually. You don’t have any fears that if a TV producer ever tried to do one of your works, that they would turn it into something like The Naked Lunch, which really wasn’t The Naked Lunch, as much as it was biographocal material of Burrough’s and Exterminator, and a few other books.
RAW: Well, I’m not afraid. I know what happens when you get involved with mass media. It would be a fight, but it would be fun, too.
PG: So does the new work in any way parallel Videodrome, to talk about another Cronenberg film – talking about the influence of the TV, and so forth?
RAW: I don’t think it has much in common with Videodrome. It has more in common with the Monty Python gang taking over Cosmos one night. Not Cosmos, Nova, I mean. Nova is the continuing science series, Cosmos was the short one with Carl Sagan.
KT: Nova was the one that did the thing on the Magic Bullet theory, with all the computer graphics that proved that the Magic Bullet therory could work, right?
RAW: Did they?
KT: Yeah, Walter Kronkite…
RAW: That must have been while I was living in Ireland. I lived in Ireland for about six years in the 1980s.
PG: I think that took place on the 25th anniversary, there were some specials, and Nova ran one with Kronkite.
RAW: Did they actually show the bullet turning around eight times in midair. Must have been wonderful! Well, that’s Wilson’s Law of the superiority of politics to science, which holds that if A equals B, and B equals C, then A equals C, except where forbidden by law.
KT: I want to get back to your experiences in Ireland, and why you left, but as long as we’ve gone near the Kennedy assasination, we’ve talked to a number of people recently, like Mark Wayne and Dick Gregory about JFK’s assasination, and Ram Das and I’d like to – first off, I’d like to know if you’ve seen the JFK, Oliver Stone movie, and get your response to that, and also I’d just like to pluck your brain specifically about where you were on November 22?
RAW: Well, I not only saw JFK, I saw the first show on the first day it opened here where I live, in Santa Cruz. I was very curious, I couldn’t wait, and I had to get out and see it right away, before I could read any reviews, so I could make sure I was making up my own mind. And I think it’s the greatest movie since Citizen Kane, fifty years ago. It’s innovative in its film techniques like Citizen Kane, and politically it’s hot as burning coals, just like Citizen Kane, and I liked it a great deal.
PG: Had you read any of the pre-publicity things in Esquire magazine?
RAW: Well, somewhere I picked up that Garrison was the hero, which I felt was kind of goofy, but I can see, dramatically, why Stone picked Garrison. The more responsible conspiracy researchers don’t make interesting stories, they sit and do research, and write books – that’s not cinematic. Garrison took a man into court and had a trial – that is cinematic. So naturally, Garrison was the cinematic hero.
KT: So,you don’t have a very high regard for Garrison’s research?
RAW: No, not at all.
PG: And why, specifically, was that? He wasn’t even near where he should have been with the evidence, or the way that he pursued it? Is that your feeling?
RAW: My feeling was that a lot of his evidence was very slapdash, and he didn’t impress me very much. His evidence didn’t impress me.
KT: Still, what do you think about Stone’s basic premise – that JFK was killed because he was going to get us out of Vietnam?
RAW: Well, it’s possible, but I don’t believe it.
PG: Why do you think it did happen, then?
RAW: There are a dozen alternative theories that are just as plausible. I think the Mafia had a lot of reasons for wanting to get rid of Kennedy, especially their concept of honor. He took a lot of help from them to win Illinois, and then he double-crossed them and started throwing them in jail. That’s the kind of thing they regard as dishonorable and worthy of punishment. And there’s a lot of evidence pointing in that general direction, of the Mafia, but then again there’s evidence pointing in the direction of the CIA, but I’m not at all sure you can distinguish the Mafia and the CIA any more. The two are so intertwined that it’s like one entity rather than two.
PG: Well, that’s exactly what Phil Abage has said, so they’re on the same wavelength, then. Yeah, but the CIA would have been the one organization that could have perpetuated a coverup for twenty-eight years. The Mafia could not have done that, do you think?
RAW: Yes, the Mafia couldn’t have made the alterations in the body between the Parkwin Hospital and the Vetsa Hospital – that had to have come from within the government.
KT: So you buy David Lipton’s theories?
RAW: Yes, yes.
KT: Hmmm. One of our guests was Kerry Thornley, who is a friend of yours. Remember Kerry?
RAW: Oh, how could I forget him? At one point he was convinced that I was his CIA babysitter.
KT: Oh, really, he was?
RAW: He suspected all of his friends at one point or another.
KT: Well, you know that is interesting – this whole charge of you being connected to the CIA, and Tim Leary being connected to the CIA. It comes up time and again. What do you think causes that?
PG: Just random paranoia?
RAW: Well, there are some people on the left who have no concept of what evidence is, or what proof is, very little sense of intellectual honesty, and if they don’t like you, they just call you a CIA agent. In Nazi Germany, they would have called you a Jew.
PG: How did you meet Kerry Thornley, and what exactly was your relationship with him in the last few years? I found him a fascinating person when we talked to him for our interview.
RAW: I met Kerry though a magazine we both wrote for, called The Libertarian Connection, back in the Sixties.
PG: And at that time, did he feel that he was a part of a Nazi breeding experiment?
RAW: Oh, no. That all happened after Garrison accused him of perjury. And then Kerry started trying to figure out what had really happened, and then he decided he had been brainwashed by Naval Intelligence while he was in the Marines, and then, retroactively he worked it backwards to the womb, and he’ll eventually find causes going back to the Garden of Eden, I’m sure.
PG: How did you relate to the different revelations when Kerry would tell you about these things?
RAW: I did not hide my skepticism sufficiently, so he decided that I was one of the conspirators. That’s the trouble dealing with people who are in that mental state. If you don’t believe everything they say, then they immediately promote you to a starring role in the Conspiracy against them.
KT: Yeah, I noticed that this is something that’s happened between the two successors to Mae Brussels.
RAW: Oh yeah, each of them is accusing the other of being a government agent. This happens all the time. The best portrait of it is in The Life of Brian, the Monty Python movie, with all the Palistine Liberation Organizations more engaged in fighting each other than they are in trying to drive out the Romans.
KT: Well yeah, that’s what happens. We interviewed Mark Lane, and Lane was involving E. Howard Hunt and Frank Sturgess in the Kennedy assassination. He actually went through a trial that kept Hunt from being able to sue for libel if you say in print that he was one of the people involved in the assassination. And it seemed pretty straightforward – Mark Lane kind of exposing the CIA. It wasn’t until after we had aired those programs that we had discovered that in fact people had suspicions about Lane being in the CIA, and we were being used by the CIA to put forth his disinformation story.
RAW: Well, this goes back to the Sixties. In the Sixties I was very involved in the peace movement, and more and more people in the peace movement started telling me and telling one another that we were infiltrated by government agents. And after a while, I decided it was true, and we just had to learn to live with it. There wasn’t much we could do about it. No sense in getting hysterical about it. But it turned out that we were – that was the “call and tell” program. Then when the war ended, I got involved in the Timothy Leary defense fund, which was raising money to fight Leary’s case and get him out of prison. Everybody in the Leary defense fund eventually suspected everybody else of working for the Drug Enforcement Administration, and we were all suspected of being government agents, we all suspected one another. People would come around and tell me, “John is a government agent,” and the next day John would come around and tell me Jim was a government agent. I’ve been living in that kind of environment since the late sixties. I just got used to it.
KT: Bob, let me generalize this question about the CIA again. I don’t want to harp on it, but it seems to me that a lot of people are saying that the philosophy that you’ve written on and about, and the philosophy that Tim Leary espouses is all part of a directed campaign to depoliticize youth culture in America.
PG: Was that part of the plan, when LSD was introduced into the culture, do you think, Bob?
RAW: Well, I’m very politically involved, so I don’t see how that can depoliticize anybody else.
PG: I think what Ken may be making reference to is the idea, at least back in the sixties and early seventies, of the image of the “hippy-dippy” stoned-out people just laying out in the grass as opposed to the image of someone who’s as militant as the Black Panthers or the Weathermen, and the difference that psychedelics played with those two groups.
RAW: Well, we survived, and they didn’t. I’m not going to deny being a CIA agent. Hell, the more you deny it, the more people think that there must be some truth in it, like the story about LBJ spreading the rumor that, when he was running for congress, that his opponent was a swinophiliac. You see, you can say it on radio if you say it in Latin. That’s somebody who has an inordinate sexual attraction to pigs, hogs, and other distinguished varieties of swine. And we asked LBJ, “What do you expect to accomplish by all this?” And LBJ says, “At least I’ll make him deny it!” I’m not going to deny every idiot charge that’s laid against me, because that makes it sound like they were taken seriously, and there might be some truth in them.
KT: Okay, good point. We’ll just leave that topic, then, and talk a little bit about the old motto that we ascribe to you – Space Migration, Life Extension, and the Intensification of Intelligence. Are these still three things that concern you, and how do you feel they’ve been developing?
RAW: Well, yeah, I ‘m still very interested in all three of them, and I’m glad more and more people have spent more and more time in space colonies, and more and more people are drinking smart drinks than booze, and that life extension research is moving along very rapidly. I think a lot of other things have to happen first before we’re ready for space migration. I’m more interested in Bucky Fuller’s plan to integrate all of the electrical grids in the world into one grid, which will make electricity cheaper for everybody, and show the governments and corporations of the world that they’ve got more to gain by cooperating than they have by conspiring against one another.
PG: How do you turn that consciousness around, as far as corporate America goes, do you think?
RAW: Well, I agree with Fuller – when you show them something that works, and they see how they can make a profit out of it, you turn them around.
KT: Do you have any interest in the Biosphere project?
RAW: Yeah, I’m very interested in that. I’m interested in the sense that I’d like to know more about it, rather than in investing in it.
KT: Well, we weren’t trying to solicit for it. You don’t think then, that it’s what a lot of people have said – that it’s just a dead end?
RAW: No, we’re going to learn a lot from that experiment, I’m sure. We’ll learn even more when we build a complete ecosphere in outer space, but meanwhile, it’s a very good idea to build one on the Earth.
KT: Well, let’s talk a little bit about what’s going on in space. Are you disappointed, say, in the breakup of the Soviet Union, and of the consequence that it had on their space program, and out own program sort of limping along the way it does?
RAW: No, I think the breakup of the Soviet Union was absolutely wonderful. It put the CIA and that whole segment of our government in a hell of a jam. How can you have an arms race when you’re only racing against yourself? They’ve got to find some substitute for the arms race now and they’re desperately looking for something that won’t involve improving the living conditions of most of us, because if we are allowed to develop the way technology could allow us to develop, then we’d all be billionaires, and they wouldn’t feel superior to us anymore. It’s the sentient primate drive to get higher on the tree than anybody else that governs all ruling classes. I also think the Soviet change began in 1989, with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, and it’s just when Bucky Fuller predicted it would happen in his book Critical Path, published in 1981.
KT: Really? He predicted it to the year?
RAW: Ah, he didn’t say that the Berlin Wall would come down, he said that by 1989, the world would either begin breaking apart and coming together in a new system, or we’d have a nuclear war, one or the other. We did not have a nuclear war – the world started breaking apart and forming into a new system. And Fuller hit it right on the head. He picked the year exactly.
KT: So, you don’t feel then that the space programs of the world are stunted, or not what they should be?
RAW: No, once the dunderheads in Washington begin to realize that there is no more Cold War, once they really understand it fully, I think that if we keep the economy going, they’ll have to invest in space, which is the place where you can get the biggest return on new investment now, and there’s more out there than there is on the surface of the planet, because there’s more out there!
KT: Have you heard anyting about this photograph from the Soviet Mars probe to the Martian moon of Phobos?
RAW: No.
KT: This is something that Don Ecker has been publishing in the latest issue of UFO magazine. Apparently, before they lost contact with the probe that they sent to Mars, it took a photograph of a fifteen and a half mile long UFO, and Ecker has published this last photograph from the probe. This is supposedly a topic of conversation between Bush and Gorbachev during their last summit, and supposedly one of the reasons behind SDI research and the whole urge to do a joint Soviet-US Mars mission. That’s not a conspiracy you’re privy to, I take it?
RAW: No, this is the first I’ve heard about it, but it’s fascinating. Fifteen and a half miles long?
KT: Yeah, sure, I’ll send you a copy of the photo.
RAW: I’d love to see it.
KT: Do you keep up with conspiracies? I mean, you’re famous for being a writer of a novel of the greatest conspiracy of history out there. Are you privy to the details of Danny Cassilaro or Robert Maxwell, or any of that?
RAW: I don’t recognize either of those names. I just finished reading Jonathan Manken’s Conspiracies, Coverups, and Crimes, and I’m just starting one called The Illuminati, by Larry Verkit, which is a christian fundamentalist version of … are you there?
KT: Yes.
RAW: My phone just tilted.
KT: Somebody beeped the word “christian”. 🙂 So you’ve read Manken’s book. What did you think of that?
RAW: I liked it. I thought it did a very good job of covering a lot of different theories rather impartially.
PG: Do you think he dealt pretty fairly with Kerry Thornley, and represented him the way he should have been represented?
RAW: Yes, I think so. He could have made Thornley sound like a raving nut, and he didn’t.
PG: We did an interview with Manken. I found his book to be fascinating also. What was your take, for instance, on his mention of Mark Lane as popping up in suspicious places, and surviving Jonestown, when a few others didn’t. Did you raise an eyebrow at that?
RAW: Well, I had thought of that myself, but I don’t believe it. It’s just a thought that’s crossed my mind. You can think of certain things, and then you realize that you can’t prove them or disprove them, and you just leave them in the “I don’t know” file.
KT: Yeah, we’ve got a pretty thick “I don’t know” file. Let me get back to your stay in Ireland, and your recent return to California. It all came to mind again for me, recently, when Ireland went through this whole thing recently about the girl and the abortion, that they weren’t going to allow her to leave the country to have an abortion. Can I get your impressions of Ireland, and what kind of a culture does that to little girls?
RAW: Well, in the first place, that was obviously a put-up job. I don’t deny that the girl was pregnant, but women leave Ireland every day, and have abortions in England. It’s a well known fact. Every side in the abortion debate in Ireland admits it. The estimates of how many go to England every year vary from three thousand to six thousand. Four thousand seems to be the most popular figure. Nobody knows. There’s no way they can control it. Ireland may be Catholic, but it’s got a lot of common sense, and it’s not totalitarian. So the idea of giving women pregnancy tests before they get on a ferry to Liverpool just won’t float. So nobody knows how many women going to England are pregnant when they leave and not pregnant when they get back. And somebody for some reason decided that this girl should become a test case, and announced that was why they were going to England, so the government tried to stop it, and the Supreme Court realized that it would make everyone look totally idiotic to the rest of Europe. There’s also the economic factor there. If the case goes to the European Supreme Court, Ireland has to obey, or drop out of the EEC. And if they drop out of the EEC, that will cost them millions of dollars every year. So they’d rather not go to the European Supreme Court.
KT: Why did you leave Ireland?
RAW: Well, chiefly, my wife and I missed our children and our friends back here, and the climate. As much as I may like Ireland, the climate gets you down after a while if you’re used to California weather.
PG: Is the spirit of James Joyce still evident over there? Were you aware of that?
RAW: Yes, Ireland is the most literary country in the world. You’ll find fewer Irish scientists than any other nation, but you’ll find more great Irish writers than any other nation. The Irish have the largest vocabulary of any group in the English-speaking world. It’s always been an oral culture. Not in the Linda Lovelace sense, but in the sense of being in love with speech.
PG: Is Van Morrison a popular musician there, in his own land? Are you familiar with his work?
RAW: Yeah, yeah, he’s popular, and U2 was very popular in the neighborhood where I lived before the rest of the world discovered them. They were very popular in Host(?), which is where I lived, which is on a little known hill north of Dublin.
KT: So you were there for six years?
RAW: Yeah, I decided when Ronald Reagan was elected, that I was getting the hell out of this country. But after a while, like I said, you start missing your family and friends, and even with Ronald Reagan here, you’ll come home.
KT: Was California a lot different when you returned?
RAW: No, it was pretty much the same. Fewer cigarette smokers.
PG: Were you living in California when Reagan was governor?
PG: Was that post-Playboy days, or were you not connected with Playboy magazine then, when Reagan was in the governor’s mansion?
RAW: Come to think of it, I wasn’t living here when he was governor. Jerry Brown was in by the time I got here.
KT: You were living in Chicago then? Could you talk a little bit about what your association with the Playboy empire was like, and the general politics? It’s kind of a fascinating publishing empire, isn’t it?
RAW: Well, it’s not that different from any other. I worked for twenty years approximately for various magazines, and Playboy is not that different from any other magazine job. You come in to the office, you work at your – in those days, we used typewriters – we didn’t have computers yet. The glamor is all in the magazine, it’s not in the work being done in the office.
PG: But they were showcasing writers like James Baldwin and Norman Mailer, and even Kerouac at the time?
RAW: Yeah, they printed every major writer. One critic said that they printed the second-rate work of every major writer. There’s a sudden silence. Somebody ask something.
KT: A pregnant pause.
PG: We could talk about the number twenty-three…
KT: This is going to be one of those, “we’re not really on the air right now”, so we’re going to have a little break here. Yeah, this is going to be aired on April 23rd.
RAW: When did we go off the air?
KT: Just now…
KT: Bob, do you remember your time in St. Louis from a few years back?
RAW: Yeah, I was living in Ireland, and I was on a lecture tour in the States, and I went through about twenty cities in about twenty days, and it was all very much like an acid trip. All I remember is that giant McDonald’s arch as I went into the city. I never understood why they put that there – was that where McDonald’s was founded, or what?
KT: It was actually used as a giant tuning fork in a Captain Marvel comic book one time.
RAW: Is that was it was for?
KT: Well, I remember I was escorting you around when you came through St. Louis, and you were talking about the old twenty-three synchronicity. And I said something about the numerological significance of the radio station we were going to, which was in something called the Sevens Building, and you pointed across the street at a skyscraper and on top was a huge twenty-three – it’s street address was twenty-three.
RAW: Yeah, somebody took me out for a pizza after my lecture, and be got number twenty-three. He asked me, “my God, how do you do it?”
PG: Yeah, Ken really introduced me to that concept. What’s happening with that twenty-three? Is that necessarily a benevolent number, or a malevolent number, or just a significant number?
RAW: Well, you have your choice. You can decide for yourself. I haven’t figured it out yet. Most of the time I’m quite convinced that it’s just a neurological set. You start looking for twenty-threes, and you just notice them more than any other number. And then it pops up in such weird contexts that I’m not at all sure that’s the explanation. I like it. I like data that I can’t explain because it keeps me thinking. If I could explain everything, I’d stop thinking. And then I’d either end up in the Vatican or in the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.
PG: So you keep a big “I don’t know” file as Ken and I also do?
RAW: Oh yes, I have one of the most enormous “I don’t know” files in the Western world. Hey, how’s that for bragging? Mine is bigger than yours!
KT: Let’s take out our “I don’t know” files and weigh them, then we’ll see who’s a real man. Do you have a new volume of the Historical Illuminatus trilogy coming out? I know there’s a fourth one planned.
RAW: Yeah, the fourth one is called The World Turned Upside Down, and when that’ll come out I’m not exactly sure. The next one coming out is the one from Dell, Reality is What You Can Get Away With, which is due out at the end of April. By the way, you mentioned my newsletter, Trajectories? If anybody’s interested in that, it can be ordered from P.O. Box 700305, San Jose, 95170, California.
KT: And this is the Permanent Press, right?
RAW: That’s right, Permanent Press – P.O. Box 700305, San Jose, 95170.
KT: And that is the adress of Robert Anton Wilson’s newsletter, Trajectories. How often does that come out, Bob?
RAW: As often as we can manage it. It’s supposed to come out four times a year. But it doesn’t matter – if you subscribe, you’ll get four issues, whether it takes us a year, or a year and a half – you’ll still get your four issues.
KT: How do you know when it’s time to go to press?
RAW: Whenever I can fit it into my otherwise busy schedule.
KT: I guess the intent of that question was, you’re sort of like a sensor out there – a finger on the pulse of everything that people that are interested in your writing want to read about. So how do you know when you’ve got enough, or how do you know you’re reporting the right stuff, or what?
RAW: Oh, I never know. If you try to make sure you’re right, you’ll never put anything on paper. Somebody asked T.S. Elliot about who was the most important poet in the twentieth century, you or Pound or Yeats, and Elliot said, “it doesn’t profit to think about such questions.” And it absolutely doesn’t. I mean, trying to decide whether your work is good enough to publish, well, that’s up to the publishers to decide. If you believe the good things that people say about you, you become a megalomaniac. If you believe the bad things they say, you become a depressive and stop writing. So you’ve got to ignore all of it – the praise and the denunciation – and just do the work.
PG: I think that Henry Miller knew a couple of characters like that in Paris, didn’t he, Bob? Boris, who was always going to write a novel, but never did? Do you remember that character?
RAW: Oh, he’s in Tropic of Capricorn. That’s funny you should mention Henry Miller. I just drove by the Henry Miller Memorial library a couple of days ago.
PG: Tell us about that…
RAW: There’s nothing to tell. I just drove by it – it was on my way to Epsiland(?).
KT: Were there people sitting around remembering Henry Miller?
PG: Did you go into the library? What did they have in there?
RAW: No, I was just on my way to E..(?), I just drove by. There was a lot of trees – I couldn’t even see the library. In that part of California the trees are so thick, you don’t know what’s behind them. I often suspect characters out of places like Lovecrafts Dunwich and Innsmouth are hidden behind those trees.
KT: While we’re on the topic of historical figures, let’s talk about Wilhelm Reich a bit. I know you wrote a play, Reich in Hell, and I know he’s had an influence on you, or at least he’s somebody who’s ideas you haven’t too fearful – like the rest of the writers of the twentieth century – to talk about. How did you get introduced to Reich’s work?
RAW: When they burned his books.
KT: Really, right when it was happening?
RAW: Yeah, I was quite young then, and I’d never heard his name, until it was in the newspapers that they were burning his books. That got me kind of irritable. I don’t approve of burning books. I was quite shocked that it was happening, and that all the liberals in New York were just ignoring it, who said, “he’s a nut, so it doesn’t matter.” I thought the purpose of the First Amendment was to protect the nuts. Besides, who knows who’s a nut? It takes a hundred years to decide sometimes. So I didn’t approve at all what happened to Reich, and I started making inquiries, and I got to read three or four of his books while they were all still banned. People wouldn’t let me borrow them – I had to sit in their apartments and read the books. I felt like I was living in the days of the Inquisition.
KT: Because it was underground stuff, really.
RAW: Well, there were these books, and people would let you look at them in their house, but they wouldn’t let you take them out of their house. In the Sixties, I was working for Playboy, and I was interviewing all sorts or psychiatrists, psychologists, sexologists, behavioral scientists, and a hell of a lot of them would say, “I agree with Tim Leary,” and then the government threw Tim Leary in jail, and then everybody shut up and nobody agreed with him any more. And I got the feeling, hey, the Inquisition never did end, did it? I finally wrote a book called The New Inquisition, in which I expressed my suspicions on that point.
KT: So you kind of got into Leary the same way you got into Reich, you heard about his incarceration, or no?
RAW: No, I got interested in Leary before he was incarcerated.
KT: So you’re not only interested in the criminal element?
RAW: Oh, no…the thing about Leary being a CIA agent…
KT: Well, that would make him a policeman.
RAW: …the last time we got together, no, not the last time, but a recent time, at NYU there was a group of anonymous and therefore courageous left-wingers handing out a leaflet saying that Leary and I were both CIA agents, and Leary didn’t get a copy of it, so I showed him one, and Leary said, “Jeez, I wish I could find a way to make those bastards pay me all the back pay they owe me!” I feel the same way every time I’m accused of being a CIA agent.
PG: Did you get aquainted with Tim Leary pre-Millbrook days, or post-Millbrook days?
RAW: Well, I read Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality pre-Millbrook, and I met Leary at Millbrook.
PG: And what are some of your memories of that whole scene at Millbrook at that time?
RAW: Well, I’m sorry to sound like an advocate, but my impression was that Leary was one of the most brilliant people that I’ve ever met. Very much like my impression when I first met Buckminster Fuller, and William Burroughs. The three people who gave me the sensation that I am in the presence of higher intelligence.
PG: And would you elaborate a little bit on why you put William Burroughs in that company? What do you see in Burrough’s writing, or his particular brand of intelligence that you put him in that company?
RAW: Well, it’s the choice of words. I first read Seventeen Episodes From Naked Lunch in a magazine called Big Table, and I felt no writer since James Joyce was able to put words together so efficiently and effectively to create the exact images and emotional overtones that he wanted. And I began to notice that not only was he a great prose poet, but he had a lot of interesting ideas, too.
KT: Have you also had some familiarity with Alfred Korzybski at that point?
RAW: Yes. That’s one thing that Burroughs, Leary, Bucky Fuller and I all have in common – we all have familiarity with Alfred Korzybski and General Semantics.
KT: Could you give us a couple sentences that explain Korzybski for our listeners?
RAW: Oh, that’s a hard one.
KT: I know. And then the history of the world after that, in ten minutes.
RAW: Korzybski was an engineer and mathematician who, in World War I was so horrified with what the human race was doing to itself – he didn’t even have to wait for WWII, he saw it in WWI – he decided to apply scientific method to understanding human behavior, and tried to develop a system which would teach people to be less in insane. This system he called Human Engineering, and then he discovered someone else was using that word, so he changed the name a couple of times, and he finally ended up calling it General Semantics. Semantics because it deals with evaluations, and General because it’s not just limited to the study of words, it deals with how words affect the nervous system. He coined the word “neurolinguistics”, which is very popular nowadays. His main emphasis was on how words hypnotise us, and how we can learn to wake from the hypnosis that’s created by words. Well, that’s it – that theme in Burroughs, “rub out the word”, “the word is virus”, all that comes from Korzybski.
PG: And you don’t think in any way that perhaps Burroughs has centered more on the aspects of control with language rather than liberation?
RAW: Oh, yes, Burroughs has stressed the dangers of language, even more than Korzybski and he hasn’t said as much as Korzybski did on how we can use language to liberate ourselves from the control of language. There is a difference there, definitely.
KT: Do you maintain contacts with men like Burroughs and Leary – well, I know you talk to Leary all the time, it seems like – but what about Burroughs and Ginsberg and those kind of writers?
RAW: I’ve met Burroughs a few times. I wish I had met him more often.
KT: I’d like to get back to your relationship with Tim Leary. You actually got into pre-LSD Leary. It sounds like you read the Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality, which is all of his scientific work, trying to understand personality, and got off on that.
RAW: Yes, well I thought that was the first really mathematical and visualizable, topological map of how people relate to each other that really did have the precision of science, and really could be used to make predictions.
KT: And when did you first meet Leary, himself?
RAW: In, 1964, in Millbrook.
PG: Keeping in mind this scientific approach to analyzing or predicting human behavior, and again to tie in here with what went on in Millbrook and your experiences there, do you think Richard Albert, Baba Ram Dass, has totally missed the boat, or do you think that some of what he does and says makes sense as far as personal application to modern life?
RAW: Well, that’s like, “the armadillo missed the boat, should we all be elephants?” Really, Ram Dass is the on the right trip for Ram Dass. If you ever investigate how much charitable work he’s doing to help people who are suffering, it’s absolutely staggering. How can anybody say that’s the wrong thing to do? It’s the right thing for him. I think that anybody who goes through the psychedelic or yogic experience comes out different, and evolution always produces differences – the spotted owl, and the goose, and the mosquito, and the shark, and the Congress of the United States, and some of them I find ugly, and some of them I find attractive, but they’re all part of the evolutionary process. I wish that there were less of them that looked like the Congress, and that more of them had the beauty of sharks or hummingbirds.
KT: As long as we’re on the topic of Congress, or we’ve moved there, can I get your impressions on the current presidential race?
RAW: Well, you know there’s selective nouns for birds – there’s a parliament of owls, and a exultation of hawks. The word for turkeys is a congress of turkeys, and that’s exactly what we’ve got in Washington.
KT: How true, how true.
RAW: There’s one character down there – I was listening to a talk show on the radio yesterday – who wrote over $400,000 worth of bad checks in his Congressional career. They not only can’t balance the national budget, they can’t balance their own budget. The amazing thing is, these people were ordinary human beings, just like you and me before they went into politics, and moved to whatever planet it is that they live on now. Which has no contact at all with reality or financial responsibility, obviously.
KT: Do you favor any particular candidate in this race this year?
RAW: Wile E. Coyote.
KT: Wile E. Coyote! Beep-beep! Listen, we’re going to have to wind this up – I think we’ve taken an hour of your time. I think we’ll have plenty to be able to put otgether a program on. Um, are there any last thoughts? Anything you want to communicate to our listeners?
RAW: Yeah, a phrase from William Butler Yeats, a great Irish poet. “A statesman is an easy man, he tells his lies by rote. A journalist invents his lies, and rams them down your throat. So stay at home and drink your beer and let the neighbors vote.
KT: (laughs) Thank you. This has been “Off the Beaten Path”, and you’ve been listening to Robert Anton Wilson, author of Reality is What You Can Get Away With, and publisher of Trajectories newsletter and the author of the famousIlluminatus! trilogy. And with that, we’re going to power down…
The HIGH TIMES Interview:
by Philip H. Farber
from High Times # 195, November 1991
Based on Robert Anton Wilson’s incredible and varied career, it’s hard to know what to expect when you meet him. This is a guy who spent five years in the ’60s as an editor of Playboy, then went on to coauthor (with Robert Shea) the mind-boggling llluminatus! (cut into a trilogy by its publisher), got his PhD in psychology, wrote the “new-age” classic Cosmic Trigger, collaborated on two books with Timothy Leary, wrote a whole bunch more on his own, released a punk-rock album, and toured as a stand-up comedian. Robert Anton Wilson has expanded as many minds with his books as all the Sandoz acid ever manufactured.
A small surprise, then, to finally see this white–bearded, Buddha-like man dressed in the same casual suit that your college physics professor wore-a slightly wacky Buddha, to be sure, cracking jokes and reciting Monty Python routines in a pleasantly gruff Brooklyn accent. Wilson’s conversation is startlingly like his books, his words tying together an amazing diversity of facts, theories and punchlines in a way that gently prods at your sense of reality.
Oh well, as Wilson’s readers know well enough, it’s always fun to watch as your preconceptions are blown to little, tiny bits.
HIGH TIMES: Who do you think is responsible for the “War on Drugs?”
Robert Anton Wilson: I suppose the Eli Lilly Company.
HT: How do you figure that?
RAW: The War on Drugs is chiefly a war on pot, according to Judge Sweet. Eighty-five percent of the drug budget is going into pursuing pot-smokers. They’re trying to drive pot off the market because the CIA is a making a big profit out of the cocaine business, and Eli Lilly provides the materials that the Colombians need to make cocaine out of the coca. So they want to keep the cocaine business going. By the way, do you know who owns Eli Lilly?
HT: No, I don’t.
RAW: The Quayle family owns a large part and George Bush owns a large part.
HT: How much do you think the US government is involved in maintaining that supply of materials from Eli Lilly to Colombia?
RAW: Well, the government isn’t doing anything to stop Eli Lilly from sending those materials down to Colombia and there’s lots of cases where the CIA has been caught red-handed laundering drug money. They were running a bank in Florida a few years ago – the WorId Finance Corporation – which was mainly a cocaine-money laundromat. And then there was a bank in Australia which the CIA was running, which was laundering heroin money [The Nugan Hand Bank; see Jan. ’91 HT]. Most of their banks were tied in with the Swiss Alpine Bank in the Bahamas, which was run by Roberto Calvi, and Archbishop Marcinkus, so they could run the money through the Vatican Bank, where it leaves no record.
HT: I’ve noticed that a lot of the so-called anti-drug propaganda is phrased in a strange, negative fashion-sort of reverse suggestion. For instance, “Keep on smoking crack and you’ll end up with nothing,” could be taken as a suggestion to keep smoking crack. Do you think this is deliberate, or are they just stupid?
RAW: Never underestimate the stupidity of the establishment in this country. The stupidity of the establishment approaches to infinity.
HT: The executive branch of the government, the CIA and the Vatican Bank are pretty monolithic institutions to be working against. Do you think there is much chance of cannabis being legalized in America?
RAW: Yes, because there are more and more people becoming aware of the valuable properties of hemp, thanks to Jack Herer and a lot of others-but especially Jack Herer. There are more and more people who know that we could be running our cars on hemp oil and not polluting the air the way that petroleum pollutes the air. A lot of people know that we can print books on hemp paper, and that will slow down the destruction of the forests. A lot of facts like that are becoming more widely known. It’s an uphill battle against deception, greed and ignorance – but it’s not hopeless.
HT: Are there some ways to do this that you think haven’t been fully explored, but can be?
RAW: I think we should study the samizdat methods that were used in the Soviet Union to transmit information when the censorship was so strict there. We’ve got computer networks, that’s one avenue for distributing information. Meanwhile, we do have alternative radio. We have Pacifica and National Public Radio where a lot of information gets out that can’t get into the major media. I think more and more people are aware of that while listening to those radio stations.
HT: We’ve been talking about hemp being legalized. What do you think is the possibility of any psychedelic being legalized or even just accepted by the public?
RAW: I’m beginning to think that there’s a real chance that research will be legalized again. There are more and more people in the psychotherapeutic professions who are speaking out, and it has been re-legalized for research purposes in several countries in Europe: in Switzerland, Germany and Holland, among others. There is definitely a movement toward, at least, legalizing research again. It does seem, with the passing of time, that more and more people can see how stupid it is to forbid scientific research in an area where the research that was done thirty years ago was so promising.
There was evidence, in the early sixties when research was legal, that LSD was useful in the treatment of alcoholism, schizophrenia – all sorts of psychological problems. Leary took a bunch of convicts, and when he was through with his therapy, the overwhelming majority of them never committed another crime for the rest of their lives. And for as far as the follow-up studies followed them, they were still law-abiding citizens – the most astonishing feat in the history of behavioral science! There was all the evidence that people learn languages faster with acid. And there was the research on religious experiences, like the Good Friday Experiment.
All of that was so promising that it’s hard to believe that we can return to the days of the Holy Inquisition, and that promising areas of scientific research can be forbidden indefinitely. Especially, as I said, when it’s beginning to open up in Europe.
HT: You mentioned the Good Friday Experiment – what was that?
RAW: That was an experiment in the early sixties where twenty theology students were in a chapel on Good Friday and ten of them got psilocybin and ten of them got placebos. The ten who got psilocybin all had mystical experiences of the highest quality.
HT: What kind of research is being done in Europe, that you know of?
RAW: Mostly, it’s clinical. All that I’ve read about is just that therapists are allowed to use it in the treatment of their patients.
HT: Is there a way that you’d like to see psychedelics used by this society?
RAW: My personal opinion, based on what was done in the sixties, and what has been done underground-in a clandestine way since-is that it’s probably the wonder drug of the twentieth century, much more than penicillin. Intelligently used, acid has nearly infinite potential.
HT: Do you think that a resurgence in psychedelic use now would produce the same kind of cultural ferment that it did in the sixties – bringing ideas up to the surface?
RAW: Undoubtedly. The main effect of psychedelics is to break down conditioned and imprinted circuits in the brain. You start using your brain in new ways, which means new impressions, new perceptions and new ideas.
HT: How can clandestine experimenters with psychedelics approach these experiences?
RAW: It should be approached seriously, with a religious attitude or an attitude of philosophical inquiry.
HT: What do you mean by a religious attitude?
RAW: An expectation that your whole world is going to collapse and that you’re going to be reborn. If you don’t expect that, if you think you’re just having fun, you’re likely to have a terrible shock which can frighten you.
HT: That kind of experience might be frightening to a lot of people.
RAW: It is. It causes acute paranoia in politicians who’ve never used it, and it’s done some damage to people who have tried it. If they’re not prepared properly.
HT: Do you think electronic highs – light and sound machines, or electromagnetic headsets – can fulfill some of the same uses?
RAW: Not yet, but I think we’re getting closer to that all the time. I expect within two or three years we will have electronic equivalents. There are different machines that are approaching it from different angles, I don’t know where the breakthrough will occur. There are so many different types of brain-altering machines that someone is going to come up with one that acts just like LSD.
HT: You sometimes talk about the evolutionary value of stupidity in connection with the development of these machines….
RAW: Yeah, I’ve often wondered why there’s so much stupidity in the world. It’s got to be serving some function. Nothing survives a long-term evolution unless it has a function. And I finally decided that the function of stupidity is to force the intelligent to become more intelligent. The Inquisition vastly accelerated science, and I think that the New Inquisition that we’re currently living through has inspired all sorts of creative work that wouldn’t have happened if LSD had remained legal. People wouldn’t have been searching into so many alternatives if they’d had LSD available for legal research.
HT: In your recent novel, Nature’s God, you’ve got these great scenes with George Washington smoking some herb in his campaign tent. Is this purely fiction, or do you think that cannabis really was influential in the founding of the United States?
RAW: Oh, George was a pothead! That was documented by Dr. Michael Aldrich back in the sixties. I quote a lot of the documentation in two of my previous books, in one of the appendices to Illuminatus!, and in Sex and Drugs[Playboy Press, ’73].
HT: Is there something inherent in cannabis that had people thinking about independence?
RAW: You know, the first hemp law we had in this country obliged farmers to grow it. Hemp was considered so valuable that they wanted everybody who owned a farm to grow some. Yeah, hemp played a major role in American history. The Constitution was written on hemp paper. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp. All of our early ships were built largely out of hemp.
HT: What about the buzz itself? Did that altered state affect the thought and events that were going on at that time?
RAW: Yeah. Pancho Villa was another pothead. I think if you compare the military campaigns of Washington and Villa, you’ll see that they were both influenced by marijuana. They were very nonlinear, that’s why they kept going so long against such impossible odds. The British were thinking in a linear, Aristotelian way, and Washington was thinking in a nonlinear way. That’s how he wore them down over six years.
HT: Do you think there is a way to approach the headspace of George Washington for the purpose of gaining individual autonomy, which seems to be the present battle?
RAW: There’s a Sufi word, that I don’t remember, for the man who drinks wine in secret and doesn’t get caught. Jesus said, “Be as harmless as doves and as subtle as serpents.” In a mad world, one has to pretend to be at least partly mad in order to pass as normal. Or, as J.R. “Bob” Dobbs says-Praise “Bob” – “Act like a dumb shit and they’ll treat you like an equal.”
HT: Do you think that the rise of strange new religions – like the Church of the SubGenius [who “worship” J.R. “Bob” Dobbs] – is having some effect on the culture?
RAW: When I first started talking about these deliberately surrealist religions, ten years ago, most people had never heard of them. Now when I talk about them, people in the audience have already heard of them, and they yell “Praise ‘Bob'” and “Hail Eris” and things like that. I was at MIT recently and I saw in one of the men’s rooms, written on the wall, “‘Bob is the only hope now.” So, definitely, these religions are impacting all over our culture. There was an Atari computer a while back that, when you first tired to use the printer, it printed out a hundred “Bob” heads before it would do anything else.
HT: Was that intentional or a virus.
RAW: That was somebody at Atari. Atari gave up trying to find out who did it and just sent a letter of explanation to people who complained. People were writing in and saying, “Why is my computer printing out pictures of Hugh Hefner?” I never realized “Bob” looked like Hugh Hefner until I read that.
HT: Is the Discordian Church, such as it ever was, still at large?
RAW; Oh, it’s very active.
HT: What’s the evidence of that?
RAW; The Chaos Computer Club in Germany-they infiltrated the whole American defense [computer] system.
HT: Are there Discordians active to that extent in the USA?
RAW: One hears rumors.
1988 OBIE Interview
Posted on April 23, 1988 by quackenbush | Leave a comment
This is an edited transcript of an interview which took place in Los Angeles on April 23, 1988. I would like to thank Bob Wilson and his wonderful wife Arlen for inviting me into their home, and special thanks to Bruce Eisner for helping to arrange it. The interview was broadcast on college radio station KFJC, 89.7 FM in Los Altos Hills, California five weeks later. –David A. Banton
DAB: This is David B, here in Los Angeles in the home of Robert Anton Wilson. It is April 23, 1988, a significant day in Robert Anton Wilson philosophy. What is the significance of 23?
RAW: Well, 23 is a part of the cosmic code. It’s connected with so many synchronicities and weird coincidences that it must mean something, I just haven’t figured out yet what it means! In several of my books, including the Illuminatus trilogy and Cosmic Trigger, I have given examples of a tremendous number of coincidences connected with 23. Take today as an example, April 23: this is the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, April 23, 1556 and his death, April 23, 1616. Also April 23, 1616, the same time Shakespeare died in England, Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, died in Spain. April 23, 1014 is when Brian Boru died, he was the first high king of Ireland to be a political as well as religious leader. He unified all Ireland and drove the Danes out, and on April 23, 1014 he was killed by one of the Danes after the battle of Clontarf, where he defeated the Danes for the final time, and liberated Ireland from foreign rule. August 23, 1170 is when the Normans came in, and Ireland has been under foreign rule again, in whole or in part, ever since. On Aug. 23, 1920 James Joyce was discussing coincidences with a friend in a Paris bar when he suddenly saw a giant black rat and fainted dead away. So that ties Joyce together with the invasion of Ireland, and Shakespeare, and Brian Boru. All of this is in (James Joyce’s) Finnigan’s Wake, by the way.
DAB: You have a whole series of books focusing on the Illuminati. What is the Illuminati, and how did that become an inspiration for so many books?
RAW: Well, the Illuminati was a secret society in Bavaria in the 18th Century. A certain number of paranoid individuals believe the Illuminati still exists and has either taken over the world, or taken over most of the world, or something like that. I discovered the anti-Illuminati literature in the late 60’s when there were all sorts of weird conspiracy theories going around. And then I discovered there were two ambiguities connected with the Illuminati. First, there are those who say the Illuminati don’t exist, versus those who say the Illuminati still exist, and then among those who say the Illuminati do exist, there are two schools of thought: those who claim they’re the arch-villains of all history, and those who claim they’re the heroes who are trying to liberate the human race from superstition and ignorance. And so, I decided a group that ambiguous, where we don’t know whether they exist or not, and we don’t know whether they’re the good guys or the bad guys, they’re the perfect symbol, to me, for all the confusions of the age we’re living through, and all of the rampant paranoia of our time. Conspiracy theories have never been more popular, not even in Nazi Germany.
RAW: Recently, Falcon press has been reprinting a lot of your books, and there’s a little joke in the list of Falcon Books. With so many of them by Robert Anton Wilson, it asks, is Falcon Press owned by Robert Anton Wilson? Well, is it?
RAW: No, that’s just one of the publisher’s little jokes. Falcon Press is actually owned by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which was the English branch of the Illuminati, according to some conspiracy buffs. Of course, it wasn’t really, that’s just what some nutty people say. And I want to also deny Mae Brussel’s claim, uh, no it’s not Mae Brussel, it’s Lyndon LaRouche. Lyndon LaRouche claims I’m the head of the Illuminati; there’s no truth in that whatsoever. Mae Brussel is the one who said I’m an agent of the Rockefeller conspiracy. That is the truth, I can’t deny that one! Actually, my whole cellar is full from floor to ceiling with bars of gold sent to me personally by David Rockefeller for all the services I provide for the Rockefeller Conspiracy.
DAB: Ah-ha!
RAW: I confessed that several years ago when Mae first made the charge against me, and I confess as frequently as possible to that, because the more people who believe my cellar is full of bars of Rockefeller gold, the better my credit rating will be, so I don’t see how that can harm me at all. It can only do me good.
DAB: Speaking of the Golden Dawn, they have a mysterious reputation as some sort of secret society, and you say there is some variation of that going on today?
RAW: Oh yes, the Golden Dawn has three chapters in the Los Angeles area alone. It’s got chapters all over the country, in England, in Canada, New Zealand, Australia . . . and I believe there’s a chapter in Switzerland, I don’t know where else.
DAB: What exactly do they do?
RAW: Well, the Golden Dawn is a hermetic society devoted to altering consciousness on a planetary scale. Its objectives cannot be defined more clearly than that. It’s a Cabalistic, Rosicrucian, magickal group. Among the more famous members of the Golden Dawn have been William Butler Yeats, the great Irish poet; Arthur Machen, the great fantasy writer; Florence Farr, one of the great actresses of the Victorian age, who incidentally was the mistress of both Yeats and Bernard Shaw, that’s an interesting link; and, oh of course, Aleister Crowley was a member of the Golden Dawn all his life. The current head of the Los Angeles Temple of the Golden Dawn is a close friend of mine. However, I am not a member of the Golden Dawn myself.
DAB: Nor have ever been?
RAW: (laughing) Nor have I ever been! Except that the head of the Golden Dawn says I am . . . he was asked that question in an interview, Christopher Hyatt, the head of the Golden Dawn, the Outer Head. He was asked if I was a member, and he said Wilson belongs to all groups and none. I think that’s such a perfect definition, I don’t attempt to improve on it.
DAB: You mentioned Aleister Crowley. You’ve written about him a lot. How did you first become interested in him?
RAW: Sometime around 1970, or ’69, I was having lunch with Alan Watts and I mentioned the Illuminatus trilogy, which I was working on at the time, and the symbolism of the eye on the pyramid, which is the symbol of the Illuminati. And Alan said, that reminds me, the best book I’ve read all year is called The Eye in the Triangle by Israel Regardie, and I took Alan Watts very seriously. I mean, he was a very funny man, but when Alan said something was worth reading, I took that seriously, so I went out and bought the book, The Eye in the Triangle, and it turned out to be a biography of Aleister Crowley. Israel Regardie was Crowley’s secretary for a while in the 1930’s. Then later he was a psychotherapist right here in Los Angeles . I got into correspondence with Dr. Regardie for several years, before his death, and learned quite a bit from him about the inner traditions of the Golden Dawn, and about Crowley’s work.
DAB: So how about the eye in the triangle, what does that symbol represent?
RAW: The eye on top of the pyramid, let’s start with, the eye on top of the pyramid represents the transcendental ego as distinguished from the normal ego. It represents your awareness of your role as an evolutionary agent with all past generations holding you up to the position you’re in now. The pyramid represents all past generations and the open eye represents your realization of your oneness with all past generations, especially all past generations of magicians. Reality, as we call it, is the temporary resultant of continuous conflict between rival gangs of magicians and shamans. The eye in the triangle by itself represents the Eye of Horus. Horus is the lord of two horizons in Egyptian mythology; that means he’s the lord of the rising and the setting son, birth and death, and all other opposites. War and meditation are two of his chief characteristics.
DAB: The average person would think of a magician as a side-show entertainer. What is a magician, in your definition?
RAW: Well, it’s an ambiguous word. It can refer to prestidigitation, conjuring, other show business tricks, or it can refer to the ancient science of the magi, which is where the word magic comes from etymologically, it’s the science of the magi. It’s the science of rapid, voluntary brain change, how to use the human brain for fun and profit.
DAB: That brings us to something you’ve written about called the HEAD Revolution: Hedonic Engineering and Development.
RAW: The HEAD Revolution is my term for what’s been happening since the 1960’s, the discovery of newer and better technologies all the time for rapid alteration of brain functioning. We’ve gone from psychedelic drugs, to biofeedback and Lilly isolation tanks, and a lot of fascinating new machines like the Mind Mirror, which is an accelerated biofeedback system that gives you a continuous profile of both hemispheres of your brain, and which frequencies they’re working on. Every year, the technology of rapid brain change gets more advanced, trying to figure where it’ll be five years from now particularly makes me dizzy, it’s moving so fast at present.
I think it’s a great example of the evolutionary function of stupidity. When the government made psychedelic research illegal in the 60’s, scientific, open above-board research I mean, that did not stop research, the research just went underground, together with a great deal of partying and hell-raising and whatnot with those drugs. I thought it was the stupidest thing the government ever did, but in retrospect I think stupidity has an evolutionary function, because when they stopped that research, all the leading researchers in the field went into other areas, and so we’ve discovered dozens of other ways of rapid brain change. Lilly worked on his isolation tank, others went into biofeedback. Stan Grof, who came to this country seeking scientific freedom because he felt he didn’t have enough scientific freedom in Czechoslovakia, he came to this country seeking scientific freedom and they told him he couldn’t do any more LSD research, so he went to work on breathing techniques and the effect of sound on the brain, and has developed some very interesting post-Reichian, post-yogic techniques of brain change. So, by and large, the stupider the establishment is, the smarter the rebels become. Establishment stupidity is the greatest spur to creativity in evolutionary history. That’s why I think Reagan has been a godsend to this country. He’s brought more stupidity to Washington than anybody in my lifetime, and there’s been a tremendous upsurge of creativity while he’s been in there.
DAB: Have you tried any of these new brain machines?
RAW: Every one I can get my hands on. I started out with the Pulstar, which sends magnetic pulses into the brain, and the brain goes into the rhythm of those pulses, so you go to any frequency you want to go to, you move down from beta to alpha, to theta to delta, wherever you want to go, with direct magnetic impulses. I tried the Isis ,which uses light, and the Synchro-energizer, which uses light and sound, and the Neuro-pep which uses light and sound. I have a Pulstar, and Neuro-pep, and an Endomax. Endomax uses impulses against the mastoid bones behind the ear, and affects the hypothalamus directly, which controls the neuropeptide system in the whole body. And recently, I got to try the Graham Potentializer, which is a long, table-like contraption between two electromagnetic generators, and it revolves in a certain mathematical pattern that Graham has worked out. He claims ten sessions on that will raise your IQ tremendously. I only had one session on it, so I can’t judge yet, but after one session I was high as a kite, and I was feeling delighted with myself and the world for about 24 hours afterwards.
The Graham Potentializer is much more expensive than the others. I think what will happen, the way it’ll reach the mass market, is not people buying Potentializers, but people setting up places like with Lilly tanks, where you can go in and rent an hour on a Graham Potentializer like you can go in and rent an hour in a Lilly tank in most cities these days. When I go around the country on my tours, I always ask my audiences, can you get an hour in a Lilly isolation tank here, and in the last year I haven’t been anyplace where the answer wasn’t yes. No matter where you go in this country now, you can rent time in a Lilly tank. I think in a couple of years, you’ll be able to rent time on a Graham Potentializer, wherever you go.
The latest one I’ve tried is the Mind Mirror, which is the most sophisticated biofeedback system to come along. It gives you an instantaneous reading. I found out I’ve got a disorganized awakened brain, I found that very interesting, I kind of suspected it.
DAB: What exactly is a disorganized awakened brain?
RAW: Well, it’s a pattern that’s similar to the awakened brain state measured in Zen masters and yogis, but it’s not quite, it’s a little more raggedy. It’s usually found in scientists and artists, and some psychics.
DAB: Do you think these new brain technology tools and the flotation tanks are good enough to replace say, LSD and other chemicals for brain change? Are those no longer relevant?
RAW: I think the avant-garde edge of the consciousness revolution, the HEAD Revolution, is moving away from chemicals towards machines, because you can get much more precise control. Molecules are great big ungainly things to throw at your brain compared to electronic impulses. I think pretty soon, within five years, we’ll be able to have a little computer keyboard, and just punch in the right code to send the right impulse into your brain, to have any brain experience you want. The first time you tasted chocolate ice cream, you just punch in the right code, you get that back; your first sexual experience, you punch in the right code you get that; samadhi, you punch in the right code, you get that. And so on. I think that can’t be more than five years away, the way this technology is moving.
DAB: In the 70’s you and Leary came up with the SMIILE formula, which stands for Space Migration, Intelligence Increase, and Life Extension. Do you still find those three things to be important?
RAW: Oh, very much so. Space migration is tremendously exciting to me, because it’s the opening of a new frontier. Historically, every time a new frontier has opened, there’s been a big upsurge of creative energies, a Renaissance effect, a creativity boom, and the human race badly needs that at this point. Also, I think most of the energy problems that it’s fashionable to worry about will be solved when we get out of the closed system of one planet and start dealing with many worlds. When we have hundreds and hundreds of space colonies dotted all over the earth-moon system, or as far out as the asteroid belt probably, then there won’t be any more energy problem, there’s so damn much energy out there compared to the energy available on the surface of the Earth. And it will also solve the population problem, more and more people will be migrating into space, I’m sure. I want to go myself, some people think that’s whimsical in a man my age, but I’m expecting rejuvenation technology will be along in the next 10-15 years . . .
DAB: The Life Extension part of SMIILE . . .
RAW: Yes, I figure 20 years from now, I’ll be 20 years younger instead of 20 years older.
DAB: So you think you’ll make it into space one day then?
RAW: Oh, absolutely!
DAB: Do you think you’ll run into any UFO’s? You talk about that a lot, do you believe in UFO’s?
RAW: Of course! I don’t know what they are, but to deny them is like denying frogs falling out of the sky or brick walls, these are very obvious things. You may have different explanations of them. I don’t know what UFO’s are, I don’t know whether they’re spaceships, or time ships, or a special kind of hallucination triggered by abnormal electromagnetic conditions . . . that’s a theory suggested by a psychologist named Persinger, which I find very persuasive, but not totally convincing. Or maybe they’re archetypes escaped from the collective unconscious, as Jung suggested, or maybe they’re all heat inversions. I don’t know, maybe there is no one theory that accounts for all of them. But they’re certainly there, to say that they’re not there is like saying that Charlie Chaplin doesn’t exist. Charlie Chaplin may have been an actor, but he existed in some sense. Charlie Chaplin and UFO’s are at least as real as the Gross National Product.
DAB: We’ve covered the Space Migration part of the SMIILE formula, what about Intelligence Increase?
RAW: Well, I think these brain machines I’m talking about are going to play a tremendous role in raising intelligence. Graham, who claims to do more scientific measurement than anybody else in the brain-machine field, he claims he can demonstrate a definite increase in IQ in anybody who has used the Potentializer more than 10 times. And I’ve seen, I think it’s pretty clear that most of these machines have some effect on the IQ, as well as general health and tranquilization.
DAB: Life Extension: You were once Director of the Prometheus Society, right? Weren’t they involved in that?
RAW: I was the Western Director.
DAB: Does that group still exist and are you still involved with them?
RAW: I sort of lost touch with them, I don’t know whether they still exist or not. I’ve lived in Ireland for five years, I sort of lost touch with the L5 Society, the Prometheus Society, and a lot of things I was involved in before I went over to Europe. Now I’m trying to reestablish connections with groups that interest me.
DAB: What is the L5 Society?
RAW: That’s a society of scientists and others that are concerned with colonizing the L5 area, which is La Grange Point 5. There are 5 La Grange points around the moon, which are places where the gravity of Earth and Moon are approximately equal to each other, and they’re good places to build space colonies, for engineering reasons. L5 used to be considered the best. The latest calculations I’ve seen indicate that L4 may be better, but the L5 Society has already got that name, so I doubt they’re going to change it, even if we end up colonizing L4 instead of L5.
DAB: You’ve been living in Ireland for the last 5-6 years, now you’re back here in California . What are you current plans?
RAW: Oh, I intend to hang around LA for quite awhile, but I’m doing a lot of traveling, too. So far this year, it’s only April, so far this year I’ve been in Phoenix, Dallas, New York, New Jersey and Boulder, Colorado. Next week I go back to Austin, Texas, and at the end of May I’m going over to Europe and doing lectures all over Germany and Switzerland and Holland. And I intend to keep traveling, I find it exhilarating to be a citizen of the planet, rather than of one particular place.
DAB: Are you planning to go back to Ireland eventually?
RAW: Well, I am going back to Ireland to pick up a lot of my property I left there last Fall. When I came over here the last time I was doing a lecture tour, I didn’t expect I’d get hired to write a movie, so I didn’t go back to Ireland to get all my gear right away. I was trying to figure out how long will I be on the movie, how long do I want to be here, and so on, I’ve got involved in several other projects around Hollywood and it’s obvious I’m going to be here for quite awhile, so I’m bringing more of my gear over from Ireland while I’m doing the European lecture tour. But nothing is permanent, I may be living in Switzerland in five years, or I may be living in Mexico, or maybe in Japan.
DAB: I understand you’ve been working on a book about James Joyce.
RAW: Well, I was working on a book on Joyce, and I finally decided that for financial reasons, the kind of money you make out of writing scholarly books on Irish writers is not really huge. I’m publishing about a third of the Joyce book together with essays on other writers, under the title Coincidance, and that’s due out any day now from Falcon Press. Meanwhile I’m working on more commercial ventures. There will come a time, sometime in the future, when I will write a whole book on Joyce. Meanwhile, I’ve got a third of a book on Joyce bound together with two-thirds of a book on other subjects.
DAB: What is your fascination with Joyce?
RAW: I could talk all day about that! Joyce was more interested in synchronicity more than any other writer before me, and he influenced me a great deal. My fascination with synchronicity grows more out of Joyce than out of Jung. Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake are all about synchronicity, and they came out long before Jung ever wrote anything on the subject. Joyce fascinates me because of many other things. In Ulysses, he was the first one to write a relativistic novel, the first Einsteinian novel. Every other novel before Ulysses had one point of view, which was supposed to be the objective point of view, and in Ulysses, Joyce refuses to give you an objective point of view. He gives you about 54 different points of view, and leaves it up to you to decide which of the various narrative voices you’re going to believe. And I find that a very appropriate style for the 20th Century, it’s entirely compatible with relativity and quantum mechanics . . . the amount of deception and propaganda in the 20th Century world, where you can’t take anything at face value. It’s compatible with modern philosophy, everything from Nietzsche and Wittgenstein on, we’ve learned more and more about how the mind creates its own reality-tunnel; it’s entirely compatible with modern psychology and neurology and cultural anthropology.
I don’t see why anybody is still writing Victorian novels, I think everybody should be writing Joycean novels, to be contemporary, to be compatible with modern science, modern philosophy and modern civilization in general. People who are writing pre-Joycean novels, it seems to me like they’re riding around in a stagecoach instead of using a car or a plane.
DAB: Of all the books you’ve written, how many are novels, 6 or 7 maybe?
RAW: It depends on how you count. If you count the Illuminatus trilogy as one novel, you get a different figure. If you count the Schrödinger’s Cat trilogy as one novel, you get a different figure. If you count the Illuminatus trilogy as three, and the Schrödinger’s Cat trilogy as three, then I seem to have nine novels in print.
DAB: And the other three are Masks of the Illuminati . . .
RAW: The Earth Will Shake, and The Widow’s Son.
DAB: Aren’t those two books part of a trilogy, too?
RAW: No, that’s part of a pentology.
DAB: A pentology?
RAW: Yes, that’s a series of five books.
DAB: And so far two of them have come out.
RAW: That’s right. I’m working on the third, which is called Nature’s God.
DAB: And what is the basic concept behind that series of books?
RAW: Well, that series deals with European, and to some extent, American history, between 1764 and 1824. That was a period in which all the rules changed, everything, the whole Western world went through a total change. We went from feudal, agricultural monarchy to capitalist democracy and industrialism. Everything changed, the style of music changed, we went from Baroque to Romantic, everything changed. Philosophy changed, it was in that period that David Hume’s books appeared, knocking the bottom out of all previous philosophy. Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations appeared there, the Declaration of Independence, of course. I’m taking that as a model to show how revolutions work. They work on many levels besides violent revolutions, there are non-violent revolutions, but they’re all tied together. We’re going through a period like that right now, and what got my started writing those novels was to give an example of a previous period that was as revolutionary as the period we’re living through; to show some of the general laws of what happens when society goes through rapid transition. We’re going through a dozen revolutions at once right now, too.
DAB: So the new novels could almost be thought of as an earlier . . . For example, the Illuminatus Trilogy took place in the seventies, right? So the new series takes a similar view, but from an earlier cultural revolution.
RAW: Well, the pentology deals with 1764 to 1824. Masks of the Illuminati deals with the 1890’s to 1914. Illuminatus is set in the 70’s, but has flashbacks to the 1930’s and everything in between the 30’s and the 70’s. The Schrödinger’s Cat trilogy is set in the 80’s and the early 90’s, and when I write a few more and fit them into the pattern , I’ll have a complete history of the Western world from 1764 to 2001.
DAB: That’s quite a feat! Do you have a favorite of the books that you’ve written? I think my personal favorite right now is the Schrödinger’s Cat trilogy.
RAW: Oh, thank you, that’s the one that got more bad reviews . . . you know, that’s about to be reprinted, I’m happy to say. But that got more bad reviews than anything else I’ve ever written, it only got two good reviews I ever saw. The “LA Times” said it was hilarious, multi-dimensional, a laugh a paragraph, something like that. “New Scientist” in England had the other good review, they said it was the most scientific of all science-fiction novels. Everybody else said it was unintelligible, deliberately obscure, pretentious, incoherent, everything they say about Joyce!
DAB: Right, like when Finnegan’s Wake came out.
RAW: Yes, exactly, just like Finnegan’s Wake. As a matter of fact, it’s my attempt to translate Finnegan’s Wake into a quantum comedy. Even the title has the same rhythm as Finnegan’s Wake: Finnegan’s Wake, Schrödinger’s Cat, Finnegan’s Wake, Schrödinger’s Cat, there are all sorts of analogies built in.
DAB: You appeared on a punk rock album by a band called the Chocolate Biscuit Conspiracy?
RAW; No, that was the title of the album, the name of the band is the Golden Horde.
DAB: How did you get involved with that project, and what exactly did you do on that?
RAW: Well, they came up to me after a lecture in Dublin, and said, we’re a punk rock group. And I said, yes, I kind of suspected that from the way you’re dressed. And they said, we’d like to have you on our next record. And I said, hey, I’d love that, I’d love to make a punk rock record. Not many men my age get invited to make punk rock records. And I wrote a whole bunch of lyrics, and they picked out the ones they liked, and then they lured me down to the studio to improvise some surrealist poetry in between in the songs, and so it’s a combination of rock and poetry and surrealism and gnosticism. It’s basically Celtic-Gnostic punk rock.
DAB: Is this album available anywhere that you know of?
RAW: It seems to be released on a need-to-know basis. People have found copies of it in the United States. I have seen them, I have autographed them. It’s very hard to find, but not impossible.
DAB; You have another album called “Secrets of Power,” made up of talks you gave . . .
RAW: No, that was a stand-up comedy act I did in a nightclub in England. I’m doing stand-up comedy these days, just because I’ve never done it before. I’ve done stand-up comedy in London, Dublin, New York, San Francisco and a couple of other smaller places I don’t quite recall. I think I’m getting better at it all the time, and I’m enjoying it, I’m having a great time. It’s a tremendous challenge. When you’re doing a lecture, or even a workshop, they don’t have to be laughing all the time. But when you’re in a nightclub, they’ve got to be laughing all the time or you feel like you’re dying up there, and it gives you a tremendous adrenaline rush. It’s the next best thing to skydiving, as far as scaring the hell out of yourself for fun. As Edmund Kean said on his deathbed, Sir Edmund Kean the great British actor, his last words were, “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” And it really is, so I enjoy the challenge.
DAB: Leary’s been doing some stand-up comedy, too. Have you seen his act?
RAW: Oh, yes!
DAB: Back to the album: The “Secrets of Power” album is released on the Illuminated Records label. How was that arranged?
RAW: Well. the boys down at Illuminati Headquarters said, Bob, we want you to put . . . no, no, I’m not supposed to reveal that! The cover story is that the people who started the record company named it after my Illuminatus novels. And then when they discovered I was in Ireland, and they were in London, they decided to have me do a record for them. That’s the cover story, anyway, and I’ll stick to that!
Oh, this morning I looked at “Bride of the Monster” for the first time.
DAB: “Bride of the Monster”?
RAW: It’s an Ed Wood movie, he made the world’s worst movies. He made “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” you must have heard of that. “Bride of the Monster” has Bela Lugosi live, instead of his (Wood’s) wife’s chiropractor pretending to be Bela, as in “Plan 9”? This one has Bela Lugosi while he was still alive, and Tor Johnson, the guy who played the sheriff in “Plan 9,” he plays Bela Lugosi’s moronic assistant. Bela plays a classic mad scientist, and it is just as bad as “Plan 9,” it’s incredibly bad! Ed Wood was a backwards genius, he set out to make horror movies and he didn’t know how to do it, and he ended up making, unintentionally, he made the funniest movies ever to come out of Hollywood. Ever scene in this movie which tries to scare you is so stupid that you bust out laughing. Ed Wood is proof that Mencken was wrong. Mencken said, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.” Well, Ed Wood did go broke by underestimating their intelligence. It is possible, you can underestimate the intelligence of the masses!
DAB: So, you’re a fan of bad science fiction movies?
RAW: Oh, yes. Bad movies are generally just plain bad, and you can’t stand them, but bad science fiction and bad horror is funny. And the worse it is, the better it is, because the less convincing, the more amateurish, the more stupid and clumsy it is, the funnier it gets. Like “Plan 9,” with that immortal line, “The message couldn’t get through because of the weather conditions in outer space.” “Bride of the Monster” has some really wonderful stuff, too. There’s an atomic explosion at the end and the main characters are all standing around, there’s no fall-out, no blinding white light, none of the side effects of a real atomic explosion, just a mushroom shaped cloud and they stand there and look at it. And the chief of police says, “He meddled in God’s domain,” which is probably the corniest line in the history of films, but this together with an atomic explosion that isn’t an atomic explosion, it’s absolutely hilarious. I think there should be an Ed Wood memorial toilet somewhere in Hollywood. He brought movies, he brought his movies down to the crap-house level!
DAB: What about good science-fiction? A lot of your books are considered science-fiction, although they are often hard to categorize. Do you have any current favorite science-fiction writers?
RAW: The guy who wrote Neuromancer,William Gibson. I’d say he’s my current favorite. Phillip K. Dick, but he’s dead, or they claim he is. They took the liberty of burying him anyway. There are people who think Phil isn’t dead, you know.
DAB: Like some people think Jim Morrison isn’t really dead.
RAW: That’s another interesting question. Why did so many photographs disappear from the LA Police Department connected with the Bobby Kennedy assassination?
DAB: One of your recent books is The New Inquisition: Irrational Rationalism and the Citadel of Science. Maybe you could tell us a little bit about this book.
RAW: I coined the term irrational rationalism because those people claim to be rationalists, but they’re governed by such a heavy body of taboos. They’re so fearful, and so hostile, and so narrow, and frightened, and uptight and dogmatic. I thought it was a fascinating paradox: irrational rationalists. Later on I found out I didn’t invent that. Somebody else who wrote an article on CSICOP, that’s the group they all belong to: Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. Somebody else who wrote about them also used the term irrational rationalism. It’s a hard term to resist when you think about those people.
I wrote this book because I got tired satirizing fundamentalist Christianity, I had done enough of that in my other books. I decided to satirize fundamentalist materialism for a change, because the two are equally comical. All fundamentalism is comical, unless you believe in it, in which case you’d become a fanatic yourself, and want everybody else to share your fundamentalism. But if you’re not a fundamentalist yourself, fundamentalists are the funniest people on the planet. The materialist fundamentalists are funnier than the Christian fundamentalists, because they think they’re rational!
DAB: They call themselves skeptical.
RAW: Yes, but they’re not skeptical! They’re never skeptical about anything except the things they have a prejudice against. None of them ever says anything skeptical about the AMA, or about anything in establishment science or any entrenched dogma. They’re only skeptical about new ideas that frighten them. They’re actually dogmatically committed to what they were taught when they were in college, which was about 1948-53, somewhere in that period. If you go back and study what was being taught in college in those days as the latest scientific theories, you find out that’s what these people still believe. They haven’t had a new idea in 30 years, that’s all that happened to them. They just rigidified, they crystallized around 1960.
DAB: The Amazing Randi recently “debunked” Uri Geller, the guy who bends metal. What do you think about the Amazing Randi in particular? I understand that he has investigated some of these faith healers, he’s debunked some of that. So some of the work that he’s done seems to be rational. What would be an example of something irrational that he’s done?
RAW: Well, his whole critique of the research of Plutof and Targ, at Stanford Research Institute. Randi was not there, he was not on the scene, and yet he claims to know what was going on there better than the two scientists who were supervising it. This implies 100% accurate telepathy. He was in New Jersey at the time of the experiments. The only way he could know better than the scientists running the project what was going on in their laboratory is if he had 100% accurate telepathy. Now he’s offering a $100,000 reward to anybody with 100% accurate telepathy; he should give all the money to himself! How else could he know? If he wasn’t there, he can’t know, he’s only guessing, and to the extend that he thinks he knows, and doesn’t realize he’s guessing, that’s what I mean by irrational rationalism. He’s lost all track of reality. He doesn’t know when he’s guessing anymore.
I’ve heard him make charges against scientists that remind me of Joe McCarthy. The only excuse for such things is that such a person doesn’t realize he’s guessing anymore, he thinks any suspicion that crosses his mind must be true. And that’s the only way you can forgive them, because every ethical system has some equivalent to the Bible injunction against bearing false witness against your neighbor. Anybody who goes around charging so many people with being frauds and criminals and whatnot, the only way to forgive them is that they don’t understand the seriousness of what they’re doing. And they believe they are infallible. If he had any sense of fallibility, he couldn’t do such things.
DAB: Let’s talk about the whole New Age movement happening now, Shirley McClaine, crystal healing and all that: Didn’t I hear something about you writing a book about that?
RAW: Yes, I’m writing a book about New Age sewage.
DAB: New Age sewage?
RAW: Yes, I got the idea from William Erwin Thompson, the anthropologist. He pronounces New Age as “Newage” so it rhymes with sewage. And I thought, boy there sure is enough of that around, isn’t there, New Age sewage. Just because there’s a slight chance people may not have read my other books, and may read The New Inquisition, and think I’m only against one type of fundamentalism, I decided to make the sequel to it, an attack on the imbeciles on the other side. And so, I’m going to tear into Ramtha and all these other sages who come back . . . the main thing Ramtha proves is you can be dead 40,000 years and still be a bore. That may be interesting news, but that’s . . . Everything I’ve heard from Ramtha sounds like an editorial from the Reader’s Digest in 1958 or something.
Then there are these ecological loonies who would like to abolish the human race so that the trees could live in peace again. I think they’re kind of funny. Then there’s these animal rights activists who also seem to have a very low opinion of humanity. I don’t know why they don’t all commit suicide, and get rid of the most, I mean, if you hate humanity, you’ve got to regard yourself as one of the prime offenders, because you know yourself better than the rest of humanity. If they have a low view of humanity, they must have a very low view of themselves. I wish they’d remove themselves from the scene and stop annoying the rest of us. I like people, I like humanity.
DAB: Except for the ones who don’t like people?
RAW: Well, I like them, too, I just find them a bit of a drag!
DAB: Is the Pope infallible?
RAW: I regard that as a game rule of the Catholic game. If you want to play the Catholic game, you’ve got to accept that rule. Like if you want to play baseball, you’ve got to accept the rule of the umpire, who is considered infallible. I don’t believe umpires or popes are de facto infallible, it’s just a game rule. I choose not to play the Catholic game. I’d find myself terribly constricted to live in a world where some right-wing Polish schlimazel is supposed to be infallible. I’d sooner accept Randi as infallible than the Pope.
DAB: Don’t you, in fact, hand out Pope cards?
RAW: Oh yes, I do. Kirby Hensley set out back in the 50’s to make every man, woman and child, and other miscellaneous, on the planet a clergy-entity.
DAB: Clergy-entity?
RAW: Yes, well clergy-person has human chauvinism in it, and Hensley got over that very early in his career. After ordaining all sorts of men and women, he started ordaining chimpanzees and parrots, and house cats and all sorts of critters. A friend of mine named Malaclypse the Younger got the idea that it’s not enough to make everybody a clergy-entity, let’s make everybody a Pope. He started printing up Pope cards and distributing them, and I thought it was a good idea, so I started distributing Pope cards too, and there are oh, a couple hundred at least Discordians who are distributing Pope cards.
Only recently, the Vatican announced that Cardinals can give indulgences over television, which raises some interesting theological problems, because if you make a videotape of it when a Cardinal is giving an indulgence and you play the videotape over and over, do you get perpetual indulgence? And then can you join the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in San Francisco? The Jesuits haven’t answered that, yet. But while they’re working on it, I figure, well, if they can do indulgences over television, I can do pontifications over television, or radio. So every time I’m on a television or radio show, I make the whole audience Popes.
As a matter of fact, everybody who is listening to me right now, if they take a deep breath and relax while I say the magic formula, “Spectacles, testicles, brandy, cigars,” they’re all Popes. Everybody listening, they’re all now as infallible as the guy in Rome, or Randi, or Carl Sagan, or the Ayatollah Khomeini, or any other authority on the planet. You’re all equally infallible, and take crap from nobody!
DAB: And they thought they were just listening to the radio!
RAW: Yes, they didn’t know I was about to liberate them totally, did they?
Man Bites Dogma
Posted on July 23, 1985 by quackenbush | Leave a comment
A Conversation with Robert Anton Wilson
about Politics, Religion, Drugs, and Quantum Mechanics
by Michael Dare
He’s been called a cult figure to various lunatic fringe groups, Tom Robbins calls him “a dazzling barker hawking tickets to the most thrilling tilt-a-whirls and daring loop-o-planes on the midway of higher consciousness,” he calls himself an iconoclastic comedian, and whether Robert Anton Wilson is a philosopher or a public nuisance is now up to you. His books, The Illuminatus Trilogy, Schroedinger’s Cat, and The Cosmic Trigger all fall somewhere in between non-fiction and pure fantasy, full of unquestionable facts and quotes that somehow always add up to utterly preposterous conclusions. This devotion to eccentricity and breaking down barriers reaches it’s zenith in The Illuminati Papers, a book seemingly written by characters from all his other books. It contains, among other esoterica, a whole page of Haiku by Raymond Chandler in which Wilson has simply taken short descriptive excerpts from Chandler’s work and reformatted them into beautiful miniature poems.
With all the passion of a religious crusader, Robert Anton Wilson is out to destroy all personal belief systems, to force every one of his readers to seriously question any and all thoughts they hold dear. His specialty is in analyzing systems that seem to contradict each other and trying to find the points at which they do agree. In Prometheus Rising he synthesizes the works of Leary, Jung, Freud, Sagan, Gurdjieff, Berne, and several others into a general system that shows how much they have in common, where they disagree, and why. His newest work, Reality is What You Can Get Away With, reads like a screenplay by Picasso – it’s cubist, outrageous, completely non-linear, constantly startling, and very funny. All of his books are part of a series; they’re cinematic, full of cross cutting, montages, flashbacks, and flash forwards. But no one seems to be able to figure out if this new one is a movie or a book since it actively defies both definitions. He’s raised the put-on to the highest art form.
Wilson holds a Ph.D. in psychology, edited the Playboy Forum for six years, has made a comedy record (Secrets of Power) and a punk rock record (The Chocolate Biscuit Conspiracy), the stage version of his Illuminatus trilogy has been seen in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Seattle, Jerusalem, and was performed recently in Liverpool by the London National Theater in a 12 hour noon to midnight marathon. His latest play, Wilhelm Reich in Hell has only been seen in Ireland where Wilson has lived for the past five years. A screenwriting job brought him to Hollywood recently, where he has been delivering lectures and running fantasy role-playing encounter groups. These evenings are enlightening, self-contradictory, very funny, and hazardous to your dogma. We started out talking about one of his favorite subjects.
Do you see everything as a conspiracy?
No. Somebody once accused me of claiming that everything is subjective, but I don’t make statements about everything, I only make partial statements. I think conspiracy is very prevalent behavior on this planet. It even precedes humanity. Lions conspire – one lion will frighten a herd of antelope to get them running in a certain direction where the other lions will be waiting there to eat them. That’s a conspiracy against antelopes, and I’m sure the antelopes are very bitter about it. Ants conspire, they seize territory and drive off interlopers, rats have very vigorous conspiracies, when a rat from a strange pack gets into a house they’ll hunt him down and kill him. It’s just like the mafia, “Don’t do anything on our territory.”
Is it possible for a conspiracy to be benign?
It would have to be open. The difference between a conspiracy and an affinity group is that when me and my friends do it it’s an affinity group and when someone we don’t like does it it’s a conspiracy. Conspiracies run the literary world, the art world, marijuana arrives here due to conspiracies. It’s a conspiratorial world.
People naturally form groups and to the extent that they’re competing with each other, they try to hide what they’re doing. The best explanation of conspiracy is in The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, a very thick mathematical treatise. It explains that it’s very beneficial to have conspiracies in competitive situations – the bigger an alliance you form, the quicker you move ahead.
The function of every alliance is to conceal information from the other alliance and to spread false information, just like in a poker game. You don’t want them to know what hand you’ve got but you want them to think they know. Poker is the essence of conspiracy. Everybody’s trying to deceive one another. A benevolent conspiracy would have to be open, without the factor of concealment, and everybody’s invited in. That’s the only kind of conspiracy that could really improve the world.
So you think that Summit Conferences should be broadcast live to everybody?
Of course. People are so paranoid about the Bilderbergers because they’re so secretive. For all we know they’re only getting together to look at stag movies once a year. The Bilderbergers have a lot of members in common with the Tri-Lateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations and the Royal Institute of International Affairs. To a great extent they’re financed by the Rockefellers and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. They’re all part of one gang that meets once a year in secret. They’re called the Bilderbergers because their first meeting was in Bilderberg. They get more coverage each time they meet because they’re so secretive about what they’re doing. They say they’re meeting to discuss international harmony and the peaceful resolution of our problems, but no one’s allowed to hear what they’re talking about.
Would giving away the Bilderberger’s secrets make them more benign?
No, it would just make them more paranoid, more devious. My business is not to expose but to collect comparative exposes so that the readers can see that conspiracy is normal behavior and that there’s no one big conspiracy that runs everything.
In the ’30s, the Nazis were very much into the theory that the Jewish bankers controlled everything, and that led to such horror that it became forbidden to think about conspiracies at all for decades thereafter. The first people who said there was a conspiracy in the Kennedy assassination were all denounced as obstinate nut cases and wandering loonies. My attitude, after looking at the evidence for a long time, is that there is no one big conspiracy, that the historians who refuse to admit conspiracy as a factor in history are just over-reacting to stupid conspiracy theories.
There really are conspiracies of varying sizes, but they’re so busy fighting each other that they have nothing to do with us. Most of them are for monetary reasons. There are conspiracies to decide whose book is going to be reviewed on page one of the New York Times or the Herald Tribune. Often it’s the same book in both, more often than coincidence or even synchronicity can account for. There are commercial conspiracies to fix prices. Some have ideology or mysticism behind them. I don’t think you can understand history until you understand the element of poetic whimsy and sheer irrationality in the minds of so called practical people.
In WW2, both Churchill and Hitler thought they were in direct communication with God. So did MacArthur and Patton. Hitler and Mussolini both outlawed Freemasonry in Germany and Italy. The leaders of the war against them were Roosevelt, a 33rd degree Freemason, Churchill, another high ranking Freemason, Hoover, the head of the secret police in America was a 33rd degree Freemason
What exactly to those degrees stand for?
They indicate how many initiations you’ve gone through. Actually, any Freemason who is nominated to the presidency of the United States gets elevated to the 32nd degree right away. Then if he’s elected, he’s given the 33rd degree, which is only honorary. The 32nd degree in mainly concerned with the Knights of Malta, who are the enemies of Freemasonry.
The Freemasons claim that the Knights of Malta have sworn an oath to stamp out liberalism, free thought, and restore the total reign of tyranny and superstition that existed in the dark ages. It’s a secret society within the Catholic Church that doesn’t seek publicity at all. Very little is known about it. William Casey of the CIA was a Knight of Malta, Alexander Haig is a Knight of Malta. According to Gordon Thomas, an English journalist, the Knights of Malta now act as couriers between the Vatican and the CIA. His theory is very complicated, but it illustrates how conspiracies operate in the real world as distinguished from paranoid fantasy.
The Gray Wolves are a Muslim fundamentalist group who deal heroin to get money to buy arms to carry on their campaign to exterminate Israel. They’ve been very involved in gunrunning because they have a link with the Bulgarian secret police, who are very much into selling munitions underground. The KGB uses the Gray Wolves for operations that, if they’re ever blown, can’t be traced back to Russia. Roberto Calvi of Banco Abrosiano was taking a great deal of this heroin money from the Gray Wolves and the mafia and running it through the Vatican Bank, which doesn’t have to show records to anybody. The Italian government can’t examine their records, it belongs to the government of the state of the Vatican, so they’re the only ones who can look at their own books. If you can get illicit money into the Vatican Bank, it disappears forever, nobody can find any trace of it.
The Gray Wolves had a grudge against the Pope because of his involvement with Calvi, who embezzled so much money that everybody got swindled. He was found hanging from a bridge in London, his secretary was pushed from a window at Banco Abrosiano the same day, a few more executives have died mysteriously since then. Calvi’s partner in the swindles, Michele Sindona, was convicted in this country of 65 counts of stock and currency fraud and faking his own kidnapping to escape prosecution. Back in Italy, he was convicted of the murder of the examiner hired to investigate his bank. After that they were going to put him on trial for conspiracy in 80 murders, but he was poisoned in his cell. All of this is part of how the Bulgarian secret police hired a killer from the Gray Wolves to get the Pope.
Isn’t the Pope just a figurehead without much power, sort of the Gerald Ford of the Vatican?
That’s not true, the Pope does have a lot of power. Consider the case of Pope John Paul I. He was a rebel who didn’t like the way the church was being run, and in 1978 he announced that he would be going through a complete overhaul, throwing out a lot of the old crowd and bringing in new people. Observatori Politico sent him a list of 115 Freemasons in the Vatican, including members of P2, who had infiltrated 900 members into the Italian Government, including the secret police. John Paul ordered an investigation, and within a few days he was mysteriously found dead.
The Vatican has never shown a death certificate and no autopsy was performed. They told two different stories about who found him dead, things disappeared out of his bedroom that have never been accounted for, including his will, his medicine bottle, and his glasses. Pecorelli, the editor of Observatori Politico who sent him the list of P2 and other Freemason members in the Vatican, was shot to death through the mouth, Mafia fashion, on the streets of Rome a few weeks later. You can’t explain that in terms of one big conspiracy, there are obviously interlocking and feuding conspiracies – the Mafia, P2, the Freemasons, the Bulgarian secret police, the CIA, and God knows who else.
Licio Gelli, the grandmaster of the P2 Lodge, was on the payroll of the CIA and the KGB. He was that kind of operator. He disappeared from Italy, which shows how many friends he had in the police. He showed up in Switzerland a few months later to take some money out of a bank account, and he was recognized and arrested. The Swiss put him in a maximum security prison but he was out within two days. One guard claimed he was hypnotized. The fascinating thing is that if you look at pictures of Reagan’s second inaugural, you’ll see Licio Gelli right next to Reagan.
Most of this information can be found in two books, In God’s Name by David Yallop, and In Banks We Trust by Penny Lernoux, which explains how the whole international banking system interlinks with the heroin and cocaine laundering business that the Vatican has been running.
Are you saying the Pope is a drug dealer?
The biggest drug laundromat ever busted in this country was the World Finance Corporation in Miami. The president and several other senior executives were convicted. Two directors of the bank were allegedly former CIA agents, but the prosecutors were blocked in Washington when they tried to investigate the connections between the bank and the CIA.
In any case, the WFC had all this money going into it from South American countries that are in the cocaine business, and they sent it to the CIS Alpine Bank in the Bahamas, which is owned by Archbishop Marcinkus who runs the Vatican Bank, which is where the money ended up. After that it’s in a black hole, it disappears from human vision forever, most likely ending up in Swiss bank accounts. The profits from this go towards keeping those dictators in power, maintaining the secret police and the death squads.
After the second world war, Liccio Gelli was shrewd enough to start an escape route for Nazi war criminals, getting them to South America for a fee, giving them new identities, and complete cover. He kept in touch with them as they found jobs as organizers of the death squads, doing the same sort of things they did in the ’40s, only now they’re doing it for Ronald Reagan and the money is going into the Vatican Bank. Obviously you can’t run a church on just Hail Marys.
The only reason cocaine is illegal is because there’s so much money to be made out of it while it’s illegal. If it were legal, the prices would go way down.
So Nancy Reagan’s whole JUST SAY NO campaign is just a ploy to keep the prices up?
Or sheer stupidity. There’s so much money in the cocaine business that a lot of Latin American governments depend on it for their survival. The CIA has been in the cocaine business for 20 or 30 years now, and it’s very useful for them to keep it illegal. That way they can use it as a form of currency that doesn’t leave any records. When you hear about big cocaine busts, those are just renegades, the entrepreneurs who were trying to work outside of the system.
You’ve painted a rather bleak picture of a conspiratorial world. Are there any positive actions we can take to change things?
In my books, I’m trying to show people how to free their own minds. I think that’s the first step. People have got to become less mechanical and more aware. My books are all constructed as mindfucks, to get the readers to open their brains up, receive new signals, and come out of their conditioned patterns of thought and perceptions.
There are a lot of Utopian ideas in my books that I don’t think are impractical at all. I call them Utopian because they’re beyond anything the human race has achieved in the past, but we’re moving incredibly fast. I think there are changes right ahead of us that are even bigger than the industrial revolution. The human life span will be doubled by the year 2000 and quadrupled by 2010. One man flew the Atlantic in 1928, 200 million flew the Atlantic in 1978. Taking that fifty year time span as a model, people started going into space in the 1960s so by 2010 we should have 200 million going into space every year.
Are there any existing political systems you admire?
Scandinavian socialism. I found the Scandinavians to be about the most admirable people in Europe – clean streets, a low crime rate, a general air of high civilization – luxuries for all and a total absence of slums, poverty, and ugliness. They seem very happy and productive, with one of the most way out futurist movements in the world. They’re the California of Europe.
I hate to sound like a Marxist, which I’m not, but the reason you haven’t heard about Scandinavian Socialism is because the media of this country is controlled by rich people who are scared shitless of socialism. They want Americans to think there’s only one type of socialism, Soviet Communism, which is the kind of place where dissident scientists get thrown in lunatic asylums, all of which is true. Americans are paranoid about Russians but Scandinavians regard them with amusement; they’re those backwards people who think that you can only have socialism by putting all the poets and painters in jail. The Scandinavians reward their poets and they don’t put anyone in jail for dissident political opinions.
Aren’t you scared of getting in trouble, of finally saying the one thing you shouldn’t have said?
We’re all living in a world in which one cannot apply one’s highest ideals without getting into a lot of trouble. I’ve gotten in trouble, but I haven’t gone to jail, which shows I may have more common sense than Tim Leary. I certainly don’t claim to be more intelligent than him. He’s the most intelligent human being I’ve ever encountered.
Do you share his conclusions about LSD?
LSD breaks up habitual circuits of the brain. It opens new circuits, breaks down old circuits, and there’s no evidence whatsoever that it destroys brain cells. LSD is very much a metaprogramming device, it changes the basic programs, that’s why it’s dangerous. It creates acute paranoid states in bureaucrats who’ve never used it.
To get the best out of it needs a scientific or religious approach, one or the other. People who are just tripping for the fun of it are more likely to imprint a whole new reality tunnel or personality on themselves that they weren’t looking for. If you’re going to do LSD, you should decide the changes you’re aiming at and structure the trip to lead to that kind of change.
There’s no doubt that you can change every part of your personality with LSD, that’s why Leary calls it a re-imprinting drug. It changes basic imprints which are much more rigid than conditioning. There’s no doubt that I am a different person than I am before I took it.
I was a statistical materialist before I started experimenting with LSD, that is I didn’t believe the laws of the universe were absolutely deterministic because I knew enough quantum mechanics to know that it broke them down. But I was still a statistical materialist, everything could be explained by the accidental permutations of little hunks of energy that solidify into matter. I was perfectly satisfied with that explanation of the universe, and I never realized that I was as dogmatic about it as any Catholic was about their faith. After LSD impacted on me, I became a total agnostic, and I’m not dogmatic about anything anymore. I know that every system I make up is my own brain making up a system. None of the systems is big enough to include the whole universe, so all of my beliefs are only relatively true. Some are undoubtedly wrong because I’m not that brilliant that I never make a mistake.
There are a lot of people who don’t realize how conceited they are. By asserting with such certitude the things they believe in, they don’t realize that they’re saying “I’m the smartest person in the world, I can answer all the questions.” People like Carl Sagan. I just don’t know how he can be so sure of everything when, by and large, the more intelligent you get, the more you realize you can’t be sure of anything.
Since Newtonian physics don’t apply to sub-atomic particles, how can you apply logic on the quantum level to objective reality?
There’s a lot of disagreement among quantum physicists on that subject, but I am very interested in, and almost believe, the school that includes David Bohm, who was driven out of the United States during the McCarthy era, and considered the most brilliant pupil of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
There is a non-locality principal in quantum mechanics, which means that things are correlated even if they’re not connected mechanically or by energy transmissions. Up until this was discovered, everything in physics could be explained by energy transfers. You hear me because sound waves move from my voice to your ear, and so on.
Then they discovered that there were things that were moving in harmony with each other, and that there was no way that energy could be getting between them. Energy can’t move faster than speed of light, and yet these actions were instantaneously correlated. There are several approaches towards understanding non-locality, but, as Schroedinger put it, the sum total of all minds is one. The appearance of separate egos is only a hallucination, like that of the flatness of the earth or the movement of the sun around the earth. These ideas have all been corrected, and the idea that we’re different from the animals has created mass hysteria. The appearance of separate egos is a hallucination. We are all facets of one mind.
But it’s a necessary hallucination. You can’t play chess with yourself.
It’s necessary for the game on this planet that every organism have a sense of self and a sense of the hive, the pack, it’s us against the rest of them out there. Antland Uber Alles is the song the ants sing in T.H. White’s Merlin stories, and every gene pool has that basic philosophy, just as every individual has it’s “self”. You can go through consciousness alterations by means of yoga, certain types of shamanic magic, and various drugs that teach you how to identify with the gene pool instead of your private ego. You can get beyond that and identify with the whole biosphere.
Can you actually affect your own genetic structure so that these structural changes can be passed on to other generations?
I tend to believe in Sheldrake’s morpho-genetic field, in which he proposes that there’s a non-local connection in biology too. Biologists are denouncing him as a nut and a heretic. Though the first two experiments to check Sheldrake have tended to very strongly support him, they’ve been ruthlessly criticized.
It makes sense that if you’ve got non-local connections in physics that you could have them in biology too. Freud and Jung and Leary have all tried to account for racial memory or our ability to remember past lives. They’ve had to posit that somehow genes are carrying information from one organism to it’s descendants, but this part of modern psychology has always been rejected by biologists because there’s lots of evidence that genes can’t do that. Freud had racial memory, Jung had the collective unconscious, Leary has the neuro-genetic circuit, but there’s no way any of it can work mechanically, and that’s why biologists reject it. The only way it can work is with Sheldrake’s non-local morpho-genetic field, which, if it exists, would let me send signals that will be able to effect the genes of future generations, and not just those directly descended from me. I can control the direction of evolution through thought forms I’m putting out, and so can everybody else.
People can’t stay in their old reality tunnels any longer, they’ve got to start accelerating their brain activity. Very specifically, a world full of Islamic fundamentalists, Protestant fundamentalists, dogmatic Marxists, and Reaganite chauvinist Americans is moving us closer and closer to World War III, and the only thing that’s going to head that off is if people stop being Midwestern Methodist bankers or Shuto computer executives or Muslim heroin smugglers and develop a bigger identity. They’ve got to get out of these narrow little trips. Buckminster Fuller used to say that one of the consequences of the traditional game is nationalism. Planet earth is a spaceship with 150 independent and sovereign admirals all steering in different directions.
What is the next stage in evolution?
The model I use is adapted from Leary. The oral-bio-survival circuit is what the amoebas operate on – taste everything. Babies operate on that too. That’s the circuit we go back to whenever we’re in danger, and depending on what we imprinted there, we will either attack or run away.
Then there’s Freud’s anal circuit, which has to do with claiming territory and status within it. That’s when we go through the mammalian rituals concerning who runs the family, outsmarting our brothers and sisters and trying to run the whole show, imprinting our domination and submission reflexes. It’s why people can hold jobs; their boss becomes a father substitute and they attach all their reflexes to him.
Next there’s the rational circuit in which we do our abstract reasoning with words and mathematics, and the socio-sexual circuit where we imprint the pattern of how we relate to people; with what degree of amity or sexuality. Everybody has a different imprint, and society has only one general set of rules, so everybody is a heretic as far as that circuit is concerned. Those four circuits are the natural child, the adoptive child, the adult, and the parent in Berne’s system.
Beyond that is the neuro-somatic circuit, where, through yoga or drugs or body work like Rolfing, one gimmick or another, you are able to turn on to your own body in a new way, and instead of just reacting to the conditioned and imprinted programs on the first four circuits, you are able to relax and go with the flow and enjoy life.
The sixth circuit is the neuro-genetic circuit, which has to do with morpho-genetic resonances, coming in contact with the experience and religious symbols of your ancestors, learning that they’ve been controlling you below the level of consciousness all your life. This is what Shamanism traditionally deals with. Jungian psychology was the first attempt to deal with it scientifically, now we’ve got dozens of others trying to bring people into harmony with archetypes of the collective unconscious or genetic heritage.
The next is the metaprogramming circuit, which is learning how the brain can work on the brain, how you can imprint different identities and reality tunnels as you go along. Before you get to that circuit, you have no idea what true freedom really is, you’re being manipulated all the time whether you know it or not. It’s the circuit where you develop true choice.
If you do a lot of work on the 5th and 6th circuits, the 7th tends to click on. First you get a lot of synchronicities, meaningful coincidences, accidental reinforcement from your environment, like someone coming by to loan you a book that’s exactly the one you were looking for. Jung found that his patient’s dreams had more and more symbols out of Greek and Egyptian and Hindu mythology as they progressed into that circuit, even without studying them consciously. They pulled them out of the collective unconscious, which I think is actually the morphogenetic field.
Above that there’s the non-local quantum circuit, which is the circuit in which we get true out of body experiences, cosmic identification with the whole of existence.
We’re learning so much about the latter four circuits, which Leary calls the extraterrestrial circuits, that we’re moving into a new stage of evolution. More people are on the fifth circuit than ever before in history, and there are growing sixth and seventh circuit minorities. It’s not an accident. We’re changing just as we have to change. These circuits were there, ready to be used, when we got to this point in evolution. Earlier, mankind could just coast along on the first four circuits, and only visionaries and mystics and poets ever turned on the higher circuits. Now everyone does it.
How to you teach people to turn on their higher circuits?
You’ve got to teach with humor to make the pill palatable. Besides, humor is the essence of realizing our true situation in space and time. We are these tiny fallible beings crawling around on a relatively small planet, and anybody who pontificates dogmatically about anything is giving evidence that they are an idiot, even if you agree with them. They shouldn’t sound that certain. We think we’re so damn smart and we know so fucking little.
Notes from the Pop Underground
Posted on January 1, 1985 by quackenbush | Leave a comment
Interview from Notes from the Pop Underground
edited by Peter Belsito, 1985
How would you describe yourself politically and how did you become that way?
RAW: I was born in Brooklyn in 1932, the worst year of the Great Depression. Until World War II, my father was several times unemployed and my childhood memories are of poverty and anxiety. I think this marked me permanently; although my temperament is individualistic in the extreme, I’ve always been a Left Libertarian rather than a Right Libertarian. I loathe Marxism because it is a religion and I detest religions and dogmas, but I find nothing pernicious in democratic socialism, even though I would prefer a syndicalist or anarchist or guild socialist system. If I were forced to choose between democratic Fabian socialism and capitalism (which thank Gott I am not) I would choose the democratic socialist system.
Why do you detest religions so much? Has that loathing led to anything particular about your style of writing?
RAW: I was educated in grammar school by nuns, who filled me with religious horror stories. I think this led directly to (a) my loathing for all religions and (b) my emphasis on horror in my fiction. I think I use horror, not to scare the reader (like Stephen King, for instance) but to transcend horror, by resolving it into satire and crazy humor. My books are never simply journeys into terror but journeys beyond terror, back to sunlight, a good laugh, and renewed optimism. To say it otherwise, I cannot leave the horrors out because they were imprinted on me when I was so young, but I am always looking beyond them. I agree with Sean O’Casey’s great line, “Life contains terrible things but life itself is not terrible.”
How much influence did your parents have on your development as a writer?
RAW: Parental influence? My mother was off her head part of the time during my childhood and I was what is now called a battered child. She gradually recovered after World War II came along and my father became full-time employed at a good salary again, but angry women still make me more nervous than angry men. I always feel I can handle an angry man, but I want to leave the room when a woman starts shrieking. This is probably why, although sympathetic to Feminism, I flee the scene when a Women’s Libber approaches. What about your father’s influence?
RAW: My father’s principle influence on me was saying many, many times, “Ah, God, the union is not what it used to be, but I’d never do without it. When there were no unions, the working man didn’t have a chance, not a chance, he got screwed every way.”
What were your primary interests as a teenager?
RAW: Teenage interests? My main interest was in getting laid, and I was not successful until I got out of my teens, partly because that was in the 1950s and partly because I was still myself recovering from Roman Catholic brainwashing.
When and how did you become interested in scientific theory?
RAW: As soon as motion was autarchic, I got out of the Catholic Church (aged fourteen) and majored in sciences, at Brooklyn Tech and later Brooklyn Polytech. Although I have worked mostly as an editor until age forty and have been a full-time freelance writer since then, I remain fascinated by the hard sciences and especially by Futurism–the attempt to forecast future technology and its effects on social behavior. Everything I write, whether published as fiction or not, is in a sense Science Fiction, an attempt to imagine vividly what science is doing and will be doing to our lives, our minds, our relationships. I feel that this is the most interesting field for a writer today, just as theology was for Dante circa 1300. We are living willy-nilly in a world science has made, and I keep trying to understand science better so I can understand that world better.
What did your parents think of your leaving the church?
RAW: My parents never objected to my leaving the RC Church; they were fairly lapsed Catholics themselves and sent me to a Catholic school only because they thought “it was good for chiddren.” [sic] What were your literary influences as an adolescent?
RAW: Major intellectual influences on my adolescence were Darwin, H.L. Mencken, Frazer’s Golden Bough, Clarence Darrow, Tom Paine, and Marx and Trotsky for a short while only.
What have been the continuing influences in your life?
RAW: Major continuing influences on my thought: Alfred Korzybski’s General Semantics, R. Buckminster Fuller, and quantum mechanics, all of which impacted on me in my early twenties and continue to mold my way of seeing the world. Timothy Leary has been a major influence almost as long, since 1964. Much of what you write in your books seems to make light of culture and history. With that in mind what do you think the future will be like?
RAW: Although a lot of the ideas in my books are jokes, satires, provocations etc., I am serious about the idea that history is accelerating and I do expect more changes before 2000 A.D. than in ALL previous history. I think we will have life extension by then, and I think we will evade nuclear war but only at the cost of another major depression, more massive unemployment and some kind of gizmo close to world government or closer to world government than the present United Nations. That is, I think governments cannot borrow enough from the international banks to keep on Welfare the growing numbers of the unemployed, so the system will crack somewhere and a new system will emerge out of the chaos.
What is your association with the O.T.O., Golden Dawn and other occult orders?
RAW: Those are only two of the occult orders into which I have been initiated. For a while in the early ’70s I was going around to occult conventions the way some people go to every science-fiction con, and frequently members of one occult order would initiate the members of another order _en masse_. If I listed all my mystical titles, the catalog would be quite impressive (to those who are impressed by titles). Chiefly what I learned from all this hocus-pocus was that ritual can be a very effective method of brain-change or neurological reprogramming, but only if it contains a high element of symbolic drama and a certain carefully calculated shock. That is, the reason most church rituals accomplish nothing and are so bloody *dull* is that the drama and shock are missing. The real reason for the secrecy of occult orders (including the Freemasons) is that the drama and shock are most powerful if the candidate literally does not know what is about to happen next.
A true ritual, containing a neurological shock, can be as effective as many years of meditation or other yogic practices. Of course, it doesn’t always work; amateurs often botch their rituals and the effect then is like a syrupy Disney film that’s supposed to make you cry but just makes you squirm, or a comedy that doesn’t make you laugh, or a horror film that doesn’t scare you. But when a ritual is performed correctly, everybody feels the energy and knows they have entered a new level of reality.
The principal methods of altering consciousness are drugs, meditation, special breathing techniques like pranayama, and a heightening of shock or confusion. A good ritual creates that shock and confusion in which you begin to see with new clarity and hear what is being said. It opens you to experiences that your cultural conditioning has previously armored you against.
After a while, however, all ritual becomes vain repetition. There is no more to learn from it. I dropped out of all occult orders, with no hard feelings on any side, many years ago. My work on consciousness these days is involved only with meditation and yogic breathing. In my experience, those techniques never become repetitious or redundant. You learn more from them every year.
You had an article published in Science Digest in 1982 called “Mere Coincidence?”, which seemed to me to be stretching the limits of science to suit your own ends. At the same time, once I had read the article my interest in “coincidence” was so aroused that I began noticing several per day. Was your article on coincidence one of your jokes or do you defend this theory?
RAW: I’ve been studying this subject for over twenty years now, and still haven’t come to any final conclusions . . . except that it was worthy of further study. The basic question raised by synchronicities, or seeming synchronicities, is: how much of what we experience is created by our own minds? I think that is really the most important question in modern science. It is naive to think our minds are like typing paper and just register experience passively; this has been thoroughly refuted by cultural anthropology, psychoanalysis, perception experiments, and dozens of other bits of clinical data. We do create part, maybe a great deal, of our experience. On the other hand, those who claim we create all our experience are asking us to believe an astonishing doctrine and I see no reason to go that far. So, we create a great deal of our experience, not necessarily all (did you create the universe?), and the Big Question (or the Wig Question) is: how much are you creating right now? Every synchronicity is like a Zen koan, forcing you to ask that question again and think about it deeply.
Freud noticed strange coincidences happening in psychotherapy long before Jung, although he never called them synchronicities. The reason these coincidences make us feel uncanny, Freud said, is because they are isomorphic to things in our unconscious. That is, a coincidence gets our attention, and makes us feel eerie (and nowadays gets called a synchronicity) only if it corresponds to something our unconscious is “trying to tell us” and we are trying to repress. Jung’s theory is that such congruencies indicate a connection across space-time between our minds and other minds, and between mind and matter, this does not seem at all implausible to me. There are very similar ideas in quantum mechanics-non-local connections, they are called, which act as if space-time were unreal. Physicists such as Dr. David Bohm, Dr. E. H. Walker, Dr. Jack Sarfatti, Dr. Fritjof Capra, and many others, have written extensively about such non-local connections, which seem to be mathematically necessary if quantum mechanics is valid. The question still remains when you notice a coincidence that moves you: Is this case an example of that non-local connectedness in nature, or is this case just the result of chance and is the meaning all in your own head? I can’t answer that question, but I think it is worth investigating the subject more and thinking about it.
Someone pointed out to me that your current home (Sandycove, Dublin, Ireland) was also the home of James Joyce, whom you use as a character in Masks of the Illuminati. Why did you move to Ireland, and why Sandycove in particular?
RAW: I always said that if Ronald Reagan were elected President, I would get the hell out of the country. He was elected, so I got the hell out of the country. As W.C. Fields said, “You must take the bull by the tail and look the facts in the face.”
Of all the places in Europe I could have settled, I picked Sandycove on the Dublin shore, because of its associations with James Joyce, my favorite writer. He was as fascinated by synchronicities as I am. In Finnegans Wake, he calls it the “coincidance” – the dance of coincidences that make life possible. Coincidentally enough, he was born on the same day as my mother, February 2, 1882. Eamon de Valera, the most influential man in Irish politics in this century, was born on that day too: February 2, 1882. Is that enough coincidences to make a synchronicity?
Are you aware of the Church of the SubGenius? Do you think the Church of the SubGenius was somewhat based upon your writing?
RAW: There’s a rumor going around that the Head of the Church, Bob Dobbs, is really me under an assumed name. I don’t think I should dignify such wild and irresponsible stories by commenting on them at all; but it is true, you know, that if you say “There’s no prob with Bob” a thousand times you’ll get exactly the same effect as if you had said “Hare Krishna” or “Twas brillig and the slithey toves” a thousand times. Really. You get the same effect from fifty “Our Fathers” and twenty-five “Hail Marys,” too. It’s called boredom.
A while ago I got a record to review in the mail by a group from the Boston area called Magic Mose and His Royal Rockers, featuring Blind Sam. One of the songs on the record, titled “Dating a Witch Beats Dating a Nun,” had your name in it. Did you ever hear it? I think they mention Aleister Crowley, the Bavarian Illuminati and a few other occult figures in the same song.
RAW: Never heard of it, but I’m delighted that somebody has put my name in a song. There was also a group a few years ago, called the Bavarian Illuminati, who had a picture of me on the jacket of one of their records, along with Crowley and George Washington and somebody who looked like King Lear. (Maybe that was Nostradamus?)
How would you describe your style of writing?
RAW: I change my style and perspective from book to book, or even from paragraph to paragraph–as Joyce did–because I am engaged in what I call guerrilla ontology. What e.e. cummings said about Ezra Pound is true of me, also: “The damned sadist is trying to force his readers to THINK!” Ramming dogmas into the reader’s head until the reader starts regurgitating some of them out of his or her mouth-the kind of thing that is called teaching in schools, or conversion in religious cults–doesn’t interest me at all. I try to present a phalanx of urgently exciting puzzles and possibilities, and offer two or three ways of organizing them into a pattern. Or a dozen ways of organizing them, or two dozen. Then the readers can either start thinking for themselves, or be left with all these annoying puzzles to haunt them forever. One of the reviews that pleased me most was by Jay Kinney; he said my books were deliberately annoying. Well, they are – for people who hate to think and want somebody else to do their thinking for them, That’s not my job. Why the hell should I do anybody else’s thinking; when it’s hard work already to do my own thinking? Besides, those who really can’t or won’t think just have to look around – there are hundreds of Perfectly Enlightened Masters who will be glad to do their thinking for them. A Perfectly Enlightened Master is ideal, if you want to become a Perfectly Benighted Slave.
I have a few disciples, despite the fact that I keep telling them I don’t want no bloody disciples. Some of them in Providence, the Providence Random Assembly, have a letterhead that says “Purveyors of Doubt and Choice Since 1976.” I like that. That’s what my books are doing – purveying doubt and choice.
Of course, that’s only the philosophical reason for my style; the real, pragmatic, gut reason that I don’t reveal the final answers is that I haven’t found any final answers yet. Every time I think I have a final answer, I turn it over and find another annoying question underneath it. I think this keeps me young, or at least curious. If I ever do find any final answers, however, I will gladly share them with the world, and they can elect me Pope or Ayatollah or whatever is fitting for a case like mine, but in the meanwhile all I’ve got to offer is–doubt and choice. As God said to Moses (at least in Illuminatus!), “Think for yourself, schmuck!”
Since Illuminatus! deals with anarchy, rock-‘n-‘roll, and youth culture, and predates Punk rock, do you think that your writing may have had an influence on the Punk scene?
RAW: I never thought of myself as an influence on Punk, but you may be right. I used to be an anarchist and a nihilist, but I had to drop out of that because the anarchists and nihilists had too many rules. I guess I’m still allied to anarchy and nihilism in that I don’t believe in any Authority that wants to tell me what’s true or false or what’s right or wrong; I want to decide for myself. In general – I could be wrong – I have the impression that there’s a lot of anger in Punk, and that’s not my bag at all. As some great philosopher of the ’60s said, “I used to be disgusted, but now I’m just amused.” When a nation of two hundred million allegedly sane people elects Ronald Reagan as President, the only choices are despair or just sitting down and laughing your head off. I prefer to sit down and laugh my head off. Why couldn’t they have picked the fat guy who played the police chief in Plan 9 From Outer Space? He’s just as funny as Reagan and maybe he can count past ten without taking his shoes off.
Is this idea Punk? My basic opinion, after more than fifty years on the planet, is that there is very little difference between wild primates in the jungle and the average domesticated primate in a large city. We are literally living on the Planet of the Apes. Once you realize that, there’s no point in being angry about it anymore. We’re in a zoo, and the biggest, ugliest, meanest baboons are always picked to lead the herd. If you look at the news and think that the incredible stupidities and brutalities you hear have been done by human beings (who are rational beings according to Aristotle) you can only despair or take to heroin, I guess. But if you realize these things are being done by primates–by apes dressed up in funny “customes” [sic], like chimps who drive motorcycles in circuses – then it all makes sense, and it’s quite astounding that the apes can handle the machinery and walk upright and so on. There have been damned few human beings; the human being is something that is evolving and about to happen, but has not happened yet.
Earlier you mentioned Futurism. The only Futurists that I’m aware of were the turn-of-the-century Italians who called their art movement Futurism. Could you explain further what you mean by Futurism?
RAW: Futurism, as I use the word, has nothing to do with the Italian art movement of 1909. Futurism, also called Future Studies or Futuremics, is a branch of sociology and social psychology that studies the effects of technology on society and attempts to project trajectories of where present trends are taking us. My Ph.D. was in psychology only because the university where I got it, Hawthorne, had no department of Futurism or Future Studies; my dissertation was pure Futurism actually. I’ve been studying that field since I was in high school, back in the 1940s. The books that opened me up were Manhood of Humanity and Science and Sanity, both by Alfred Korzybski, a mathematician who was obsessed with social problems. He had two great ideas, and a lot of others too of course, but his main ideas were, one, that information is increasing faster every generation, which leads to more and more rapid technological change, and two, that traditional education and religion both train us to assume certainty prematurely. That is, we are trained to be, or pretend to be, certain about things which just are not certain. The result of this, Korzybski said, is that the world is changing faster and faster, but our ideas aren’t changing and we are growing more and more disoriented. Now, a lot of people have noticed that since then, and many want to stop the acceleration of technology, but Korzybski thought this was impossible. He said language itself creates information–it I tell you a fact, and you tell me a fact, the very telling makes us suddenly discover a relationship between the two facts, which is a third fact. Korzybski also thought language creates a compulsion to communicate – people are in prisons, in fascist and Marxist states all over the world, because they just would not shut up, even when they knew talking would get them in trouble. In a sense, you could almost say Korzybski’s thesis was that we are transmitters created by language to spread information around the world faster and faster. We can’t stop this, he said, so we have to adjust to it, and we can only adjust to it by changing our brains – by taking out all the rigid reflexes that create false certainty, and by learning to think in a more flexible, agnostic way. Since this proposal goes directly against traditional education and religion, not to mention advertising and politics, it’s no surprise that few people have ever heard of Korzybski.
Another major Futurist who impacted on me in my youth was R. Buckminster Fuller. I first met him in 1954 and I interviewed him for Science Digest just shortly before his death in 1983. For over thirty years his ideas have been running around in my head, and meanwhile the world has changed rapidly, always in the ways Fuller had predicted. He has more successful predictions on record than any other Futurist. I believe in the argument of his last two books, Critical Path and Grunch of Giants, that we now have the technology and resources to abolish starvation and poverty world-wide and even to give everybody a living standard equal to that of the Rockefellers, and that the only thing preventing this is greed at the top level of society and stupidity at all levels. I think a lot of the rage and fury around these days-terrorism and revolution and coup d’etats and maybe even Punk in a way–is registering the fact that people, without knowing the specific facts about our planetary resources etc. are still able to intuit the general picture. They realize that most of the misery that’s going on is totally unnecessary and is not caused by lack of food to feed people or a lack of transportation to get the food delivered or any kind of real lack; it’s caused only by the greed and stupidity I just mentioned. Spaceship Earth, as Fuller called this planet, could now be a paradise, and instead the Giants (the multi-nationals and governments) are rapidly turning it into a hell. The world situation today is quite like two gangs of lunatics who are fighting and trying to murder each other over possession of a glass of water, in the middle of a rainstorm. To continue the metaphor, if they came out of their hypnotic hate state for even a second, they would wake up and notice that there is enough water falling for everybody to take thousands of gallons of it.
The big question in Future Studies is: will the peoples of the world wake up and see the rainstorm, the potential technological abundance around them, or will they remain fixated on the tiny glass of water (the visible energy) they started fighting over 6,000 years ago? Can they look critically, even momentarily, at their false dogmatic certainties, and see the statistical possibilities and probabilities? All the rage and alienation around us these days is caused by the hopeless feeling that the stupidities and brutalities on the news (every night will continue until they blow us away entirely. Future Studies gives one more hope, eventually, because the pattern emerging does show that information is getting around faster everywhere, so there must be some mental activity occurring behind the melodramatic facade of the two gangs of rival apes throwing sticks and stones at each other.
Gurdjieff said, “Fairness? Decency? How can you expect fairness or decency on a planet of sleeping people?” What he meant by the metaphor of sleeping is what I mean when I say there are many more apes among us than there are human beings. Most people are still controlled by the mammalian emotional-territorial circuits in the old back-brain. I think as the planetary emergency worsens, we as a species will mutate and begin to use the more human frontal lobe circuits. We are being drenched in information and information itself excites and provokes thought. It is even possible that by 1987 something remotely like the idea or a thought might penetrate even the skull of a clergyman or a high school principle.
Other Futurists who’ve influenced me include Marshall McLuhan, Alvin Toffler and Timothy Leary. McLuhan stressed how communication media create the tunnel-reality we perceive, and showed that the information explosion is accelerating even faster than Korzybski realized. Toffler points out that every major social change has happened, on the average, ten times faster than the major change before it. Leary keeps insisting, correctly I think, that if we survive until 2000 A.D., we will have a lot more space and time than humans ever had before – that is, space colonization and life extension are coming much faster than most people realize.
Nietzsche is a major influence, too. Every year I see more meaning in his famous lines, “What is Man? A bridge between the ape and the Superman – a bridge over an abyss.” The possibility of superhumanity is quite real now: we can live thousands of years, and roam among the stars, and become smarter as a species than we have ever been. But the abyss is quite real, too: we can use our technology and our old ape-psychology of territorial squabling to blow this planet right out of space-time. Despite the evening news, I am an optimist. I think intelligence of the species is greater than the intelligence of the individual; and the intelligence of the earth itself, the living biosphere, is greater than that of any species; and there are hierarchies of intelligence quite invisible to those who think that the abominations of politics are the important things happening on this planet.
(posted across UseNet by Dan Clore)
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Tuesday Weld, Where Have You Gone?
Play It As It Lays – dir. Frank Perry – 1972 – USA
When Sony Pictures Classics re-released Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger in theatres back in October of 2005, Los Angeles Times writer Carina Chocano remarked that its release was “a stark indictment of what film culture has become.” Stating that The Passenger was “a night at the movies, in 1975,” the film stood as a sad reminder of the last great period of Hollywood cinema. Technically, The Passenger wasn’t a Hollywood movie (it was co-produced by Italy, France and Spain), but for all intensive purposes, it at least recalled the period when Hollywood made challenging films for adults. Frank Perry’s adaptation of Joan Didion’s Play It As It Lays wasn’t a rousing success for audiences or critics when it came out in 1972, but watching it now, it wasn’t just a case of missed connections but of a sad elegy of what used to be.
It would seem fitting that Play It As It Lays was, on the surface, an exposé of glamorous disillusionment through the story of Maria Wyeth (the wonderful Tuesday Weld), an actress with an existential crisis. My friend Bradford described the certain shock of going into a film like Play It As It Lays with contemporary Hollywood on the mind. “’They expect me to discern?!’ you catch yourself thinking, and then chide yourself for doing so.” Perry never allows for easiness in his vision just as Didion never allows for it in her material. The elliptical editing, reminiscent of some of Nicolas Roeg’s finer work, feels so alarming and so fresh, transporting the viewer into situations in medias res.
Universal, notorious for either holding onto films or unaware of their holding of rights, has yet to release Play It As It Lays on DVD, and I wouldn’t expect it any time soon. If it’s hard to imagine a film like this being financed and released by Hollywood today, it’s probably harder for the studios to understand why a film like this is so important and so tragically missed in the hearts of true film lovers.
Posted by reassurance at 7:51 PM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Anthony Perkins, Film Review, Frank Perry, Joan Didion, MIA on DVD, Michelangelo Antonioni, Tuesday Weld
La ronde - dir. Max Ophüls - 1950 - France
Yikes. All excitement I had for Criterion's recent release of Max Ophüls' La ronde came to a screeching hault within the first five minutes. Having seen Roger Vadim's 1964 remake prior, I hadn't expected the Barbarella director to almost mirror Ophüls' film, or perhaps more accurately Arthur Schnitzler's play. So when things played out nearly identically, I think I'd done myself a disservice by seeing Jane Fonda/Anna Karina version before this one. But that wouldn't be as self-punishing as if I hadn't realized what Vadim did right that Ophüls' didn't. Yikes indeed.
La ronde, thus, becomes hindered by the presence of Anton Walbrook as the "Raconteur," the guide through the film's circular structure, grimacing slyly through the sequences and addressing the audience in delicate mannerisms and the occasional lousy song. I found my skin crawling up my arms every time he winked-and-nudged onscreen, conjuring up more of the theatrical apparatus than the cinematic realm. For what purpose does he serve the film? His entire character is thankfully wiped clear of Vadim's version, allowing for the action to flow in more of a sweeping action, keeping the action swift... and if Vadim succeeded over Ophüls in any way, it would have to be here. And "here" is crucial.
I feel a tad reluctant to admit that the fascinating structural examination of bedfellows worked better in Dean Howell's liberty-taking Nine Lives, from 2004. It uses the same approach, following one character through their "romantic" coupling and then following that person's partner as they move to the next person. Nine Lives uses the format in most devestating manners, achieving everything that it should from the lay-out, crafting a haunting, mysterious glimpse into these nine lives. Of course, I'll take Richard Linklater's brilliant Slacker over all three, but it's strange that a little-seen queer film from four years ago proved a better exploration than the works of two respected French auteurs. Yikes.
Posted by reassurance at 4:47 AM 2 comments: Links to this post
Labels: Film Review, Max Ophüls, Queer, Remakes, Richard Linklater, Roger Vadim
On connaît la chanson
New Yorker has just announced the DVD for Alain Resnais' musical/comedy Same Old Song [On connaît la chanson], for 9 December. The film stars André Dussollier, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Sabine Azéma, Agnès Jaoui, Lambert Wilson and Jane Birkin; it also walked away with about a hundred Césars when it was released in 1997.
Posted by reassurance at 2:33 AM 1 comment: Links to this post
Labels: Alain Resnais, DVD New Releases, Jane Birkin
Previous 10: 24 September - Sex and Shitty
In defense of my inclusion of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and Young@Heart on the top list, I have this to say. For Miss Pettigrew, I found myself charmed beyond the film's shortcomings; for Young, the film was too entertaining and endearing for me to judge it any other way. Yeah, some critic I am defending movies for being "charming," "entertaining" and "endearing." Fuck. Derek is not astounding by any means, and I've heard a lot of people left the film disappointed, but it worked as a nice time capsule for Jarman's work and provided a nice outlet to hear Tilda Swinton speak. And, really, I have nothing to say about Sex & the City, so don't ask. And, yes, Another Gay Sequel may be well on its way to being the worst film of 2008, sliding just past Drillbit Taylor and What We Do Is Secret in my book.
Derek - dir. Isaac Julien - UK - Kino - with Tilda Swinton, Derek Jarman
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - dir. Bharat Nalluri - UK - Focus Features - with Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Lee Pace, Shirley Henderson, Ciarán Hinds, Mark Strong, Tom Payne
Yella - dir. Christian Petzold - Germany - Cinema Guild - with Nina Hoss, Devid Striesow, Hinnerk Schönemann
Young@Heart - dir. Stephen Walker - USA/UK - Fox Searchlight
Alexandra [Aleksandra] - dir. Alexandr Sokurov - Russia/France - Cinema Guild - with Galina Vishnevskaya, Vasily Shevtsov
Doomsday - dir. Neil Marshall - UK/USA/South Africa/Germany - Rogue Pictures - with Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Malcolm McDowell, Craig Conway, Adrian Lester, Lee-Anne Liebenberg, Alexander Siddig, Sean Pertwee, Nathalie Boltt
The Plans of Man - dir. Rachael BernSousa - UK/USA - Cinequest - with Dean Loxton, Adriane Denia, Will Edenzor, Oneshin Aiken, Amanda Fullerton
Sex and the City - dir. Michael Patrick King - USA - New Line - with Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Chris Noth, Jennifer Hudson, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Jason Lewis, Willie Garson, Mario Cantone, Candice Bergen
Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild! - dir. Todd Stephens - USA - TLA Releasing - with Jonah Blechman, Jake Mosser, Jimmy Clabots, Aaron Michael Davies, Euriamis Losada, Perez Hilton, RuPaul, The Lady Bunny, Stephanie McVay, Will Wikle, Amanda Lepore
Polar Opposites - dir. Fred Olen Ray - USA - here! Films - with Charles Shaughnessy, Beth Grant, Tracy Nelson, Ken Barnett, Kieren Hutchison
Labels: 2008, Alexsandr Sokurov, Christian Petzold, Derek Jarman, Film List, Queer, Tilda Swinton
Severin in the UK is set to release Roman Polanski's elusive What?, or Diary of Forbidden Dreams as it is sometimes known. The film stars Marcello Mastroianni and Sydne Rome. The disc streets on 20 October.
Posted by reassurance at 8:49 PM 4 comments: Links to this post
Labels: DVD New Releases, Marcello Mastroianni, Region 2, Roman Polanski
Facets, New Yorker, Weinstein, IFC in Dec
The Weinstein Company has announced a release of the British horror film Eden Lake from director James Watkins, who just wrote the script for the upcoming sequel to The Descent, for 30 December. IFC has also announced that Christopher Zalla's Sangre de mi sangre will be out on 16 December.
New Yorker has announced three short documentaries by Werner Herzog for 9 December. The films include The Dark Glow of the Mountains [Gasherbrum - Der leuchtende Berg] (1985), Ballad of the Little Solider [Ballade vom kleinen Soldaten] (1984) and Precautions Against Fanatics [Massnahmen gegen Fanatiker] (1969).
Facets will release another film from both Alexander Kluge and Helma Sanders-Brahms. Artists in the Big Top: Perplexed [Die Artisten in der Zirkuskuppel: Ratlos] will join Facet's releases of Part-Time Work of a Domestic Slave and Yesterday Girl for Kluge, just as My Heart Is Mine Alone [Mein Herz - Niemandem!] will join The Future of Emily, Germany Pale Mother, No Mercy No Future and Under the Pavement Lies the Strand for Sanders-Brahms. Facets will also be releasing Jean-Claude Brisseau's Céline on 23 December.
And I've heard from the grapevine that Criterion will release The Exterminating Angel this February. Could be a rumor, but that's all I got.
Labels: DVD New Releases, IFC Films, Jean-Claude Brisseau, Luis Buñuel, Rumors, Werner Herzog
Girlfriend Is Better
With BFI's Region 2 release of Michelangelo Antonioni's The Red Desert set for 20 October, could this mean that a US release is on its way? It's been an eternity since the Image disc went out of print, and it's not like that disc was pristine by any means. And while we're speaking Antonioni, why not throw Zabriskie Point, Identification of a Woman (which was released by Mr. Bongo Films in the UK this summer) and a re-release of Beyond the Clouds and La notte in the mix? I'll be happy with just Red Desert though. Does Criterion own the rights?
Labels: Michelangelo Antonioni, Region 2
Tattoos of Ships, Tattoos of Tears
Alexandra [Aleksandra] – dir. Alexandr Sokurov – 2007 – Russia/France
Maybe I’ve watched too many films, but I often can get a whiff of what a director’s steppin’ in early into a film, which is why when a director deviates from these expectations, I overexcite myself. Unfortunately, Alexandra is rather easy to decipher. Throughout the film, I kept thinking, “this film would probably make a good music video for CocoRosie’s ‘Beautiful Boyz.’” Yeah, Alexandra has a paint-drying pace and most of its color is washed away, but there are some illuminating sequences, particularly when Sokurov cuts from grouchy Alexandra’s (Galina Vishnevskaya) wandering around the military base to the faces of the young Russian soldiers. When Alexandra sticks to being an enigmatic portrayal of war pawns, it’s a whole lot more fascinating than Alexandra’s pleases for her grandson to find a wife and leave the army. To many, Alexandra was all about its star, opera singer Vishnevskaya, but for me, her presence did little other than irritate, which maybe was the point. Maybe.
Posted by reassurance at 7:02 AM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Alexsandr Sokurov, Film Review: Short Cuts
Forgive Them, Father, for They Are Gay
Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild – dir. Todd Stephens – 2008 – USA
Why is it that when gay cinema rears its ugly head, it’s always so much more blinding to the eye than heterosexual cinema? I could probably cite a number of “straight” films more inept than Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild, but it seems that when gay films fail, they’re more likely to be seeped in venom and puss. Another Gay Sequel is as bitchy as you’d imagine it to be, so bitchy in fact that writer/producer/director Todd Stephens eclipses his finer attempts at satire with a sassy huff that’s more akin to a gum-chewing Valley bimbo (do those still exist?) than the sting it so wishes to create. For starters, only one of the original quartet of homos returned for the second outing, allowing for the character’s mother to make a jab about how “some actors’ agents think that doing two gay movies in a row might make people actually think that they’re gay.” This would be all fine-and-dandy if it didn’t seem so cross, or if it weren’t followed with the nelly fag Nico (Jonah Blechman) remarking, “they’re much cuter than I remember.” And, shockingly, even more hollow of caricatures than I remember. The jock, the hot nerd, the all-American college boy and the queen are all there, at least in sketches.
What makes Another Gay Sequel even more appalling than its last outing is not its weird sexual agenda in which only attractive, hairless young boys are allowed to have sex and out-of-the-ordinary sexuality is treated as bottom-of-the-barrel comedy; it’s the rampant racism and sexism that makes Another Gay Sequel so irredeemable. If one is to accept the terms of this gay fantasia in which gay is attributed as the inverse of heterosexuality and the roles are reversed to the point where heterosexuality is nonexistent, it’s still a tough pill to swallow when you look at the whitewashing of the whole endeavor. One line, which would have worked in a sharper movie, has RuPaul, the emcee of the Gays Gone Wild Competition, defending one of the prizes, a trip to some rundown city in New Jersey, as having wonderful potential “if the gays can finally get rid of the blacks.” But wait! RuPaul is the only black person in the whole movie. And if we’re staying on the equal opportunity wagon, how come only two characters, Nico’s mom and the high school bull dyke, are actually played by women, and how come they only make an appearance in the opening scene?
For a film that relies so heavily on a strange history of iconic female figures in cinema, it’s terribly condescending to wipe your film clean of any… vagina. I’m sure if the female anatomy were ever mentioned in the film, it’d make the quartet squeal. With references as broad as Heathers, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion, 10, Splash and Mommie Dearest, the film bites the hand that feeds it, in the same vain of the original which finds much of its humor looking down on 90s gay cinema. Replacing the room for females or blacks instead are the likes of gay porn stars, reality TV personalities and the despicable Perez Hilton, who’s about as funny as a dirty sock. Either Another Gay Sequel is one of the nastiest (in all the ways it doesn’t try to be) films I’ve ever seen, or it’s the most scarily accurate depiction of the racist, sexist, ageist state of young gay America. Either way, there’s no cause for celebration here.
Labels: Bad Movies, Film Review, Queer
From Cannes, With Love
Have you been wondering what’s become of all those films you were reading about back in May when the Cannes Film Festival was underway? Since neither you nor I could attend, it can tend to be a bit disappointing discovering films that we probably won’t be able to see for months or, as is sometimes the case, even in over a year. For both of our benefits, I’ve done my research and found out where all of the In Competition titles stand in their post-festival limbo. I hope this provides helpful, and I intend to do the same for this year’s Venice and Toronto, even though they contain a bunch of duplicates and even though neither fest seemed to impress much of anyone. I will also take a look at some of the more notable out-of-competition films from Cannes.
Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness, the opening film of the festival, was only one of two In Competition films that had a distributor going in (Miramax). The film, which stars Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael García Bernal, Alice Braga and Danny Glover, will be released on 6 October in a cut different from the one that premiered to some pretty lousy reviews at Cannes. The new version received a similarly mixed reaction at Toronto.
Atom Egoyan’s Adoration, which stars Arsinée Khanjian, Scott Speedman and Rachel Blanchard, was the other, getting picked up by Sony Pictures Classics a few weeks before the festival began. I had initially read that Sony was planning a fall release for the film, but their website now states that the date is to be announced. No doubt the film’s negative reception didn’t help, though I have to believe it’s better than Egoyan’s last film, Where the Truth Lies.
Clint Eastwood’s Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich and Amy Ryan, was produced by Universal and will begin its limited run on 24 October.
Laurent Cantet’s Entre les murs, the Palme d’Or winner this year at Cannes, was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics with the bland title The Class. It opens on 12 December in New York and on Christmas in Los Angeles, so if you don’t live in either city, you’ll probably have to wait until January.
IFC Films picked up Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah (Gomorra), winner of the Grand Prix, just after the festival wrapped, though no date has been set. You may notice with the way the market has been lately Sony Pictures Classics and IFC Films pretty much have first dibs on all the notable international titles (which, in my book, makes it all-the-more disappointing when they do occasionally release pedestrian films).
New Yorker purchased Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Three Monkeys, which took home the Best Director Prize. No date has been set, but I wouldn’t expect them to get the film out there until sometime next year.
Paolo Sorrentino’s biopic of Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti Il divo, winner of the Jury Prize, is still without a distributor, although there’s still a chance that it may get one soon as it also played at Toronto this year. Il divo played in Italian theatres just a few days after its premiere and will be released theatrically in France and the UK around January through Studio Canal and Artificial Eye, respectively.
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s Le silence de Lorna (Lorna’s Silence), which won the Best Screenplay award, should be out this winter from Sony Pictures Classics. The film, which stars Jérémie Renier, was released in August in France through Diaphana Films and will hit theatres in the UK in November through New Wave. Keep in mind though, as there is no firm date set, that we may have to wait until 2009, as SPC took just as long to put out the brothers’ L’enfant, which won the Palme d’Or in 2005.
Steven Soderbergh’s epic four-plus-hour-long two-parter Che finally found a home, after leaving Cannes with no takers, in IFC after its North American premiere in Toronto. Che won the Best Actor prize for Benicio del Toro.
Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas’ Linha de Passe, which won the Best Actress prize for Sandra Corveloni, is also still without US distributor. It will, however, hit theatres in the UK on Friday through Pathé.
Kornél Mundruczó’s Delta appears to be without a distributor just about everywhere. It was one of the least popular films at this year’s festival and may simply remain one of the ever-unpopular “festival movies.”
Jia Zhang-ke’s 24 City, which stars Joan Chen, was picked up by The Cinema Guild recently. They will be releasing it sometime in the first part of 2009.
Philippe Garrel’s La frontière de l’aube, which stars his son Louis, is also without distribution outside of its native France, where it will hit theatres on 6 October through Les Films du Losange.
Pablo Trapero’s Leonera, or Lion’s Den, has no US buyers, though it has a December release date in France from Ad Vitam and an UK distributor through Halcyon Pictures; no date is set for the UK.
Lucrecia Martel’s La mujer sin cabeza (The Headless Woman) is still without any takers in the US, although it has a March 2009 date set in France through Ad Vitam. The film will also screen at this year’s New York Film Festival.
Eric Khoo’s My Magic will be in French cinemas this November, but no buyers from the UK or the US have been secured.
Wim Wenders’ The Palermo Shooting, another low-rated entry this year, has a November date set for Wenders’ native Germany, but nothing has been set for the US. The German theatrical release may be a different version than the one that screened at the fest, but I couldn’t find any further details. The Palermo Shooting stars musician Camino, Dennis Hopper, Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Sebastian Blomberg, as well as Milla Jovovich and Lou Reed as themselves.
Regent Releasing and here Films acquired Brillante Mendoza’s Serbis and plan to release the film sometime this year.
After numerous months without a distributor, Sony Pictures Classics finally took hold of Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut Synecdoche, New York, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest and Hope Davis. The film opens in New York and LA on 24 October. No dates have been set for either the UK or France.
As a result of lack of outside interest, James Gray’s Two Lovers is going to be released through Magnolia in early January. The film, which stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Isabella Rossellini and Elias Koteas, will be released by Wild Bunch in France in November.
Arnaud Desplechin’s A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël) was one of the first acquisitions of the festival, finding its home with IFC, who will have it out in time for Christmas on 14 November. BAC Films released in the film in France just days after the festival. Among many others, A Christmas Tale stars Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Devos, Chiara Mastroianni, Hippolyte Giradot and Melvil Poupaud.
And finally, Ari Folman’s animated Waltz with Bashir will open in the US the day after Christmas through Sony Pictures Classics.
Labels: Acquisitions, Arnaud Desplechin, Atom Egoyan, Cannes, Dardenne Brothers, Jia Zhang-ke, Laurent Cantet, Lucrecia Martel, Matteo Garrone, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Philippe Garrel, Steven Soderbergh
Criterion, Griffith, Maggie Cheung and Patti Smith
Criterion has announced their titles for December, which is their slow month of the year: Lars von Trier's Europa (aka Zentropa) and Samuel Fuller's White Dog. Europa will return to its original title, after Miramax was forced to retitled the film as it bared to similar to Agnieszka Holland's Europa Europa, which was made just a year prior. Europa stars Barbara Sukowa, Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier, Eddie Constantine and Max von Sydow as the narrator. White Dog showcases your dream team of Sam Fuller directing Kristy McNicol.
Kino has announced a series of D.W. Griffith films set for 18 November. The set includes Abraham Lincoln (1930), The Struggle (1931), The Avenging Conscience (1914), Sally of the Sawdust (1925), and Way Down East (1920), as well as the short film Edgar Allan Poe (1909) and a documentary from 1993 entitled D.W. Griffith: Father of Film.
In other news, Zeitgeist is releasing one of my favorite films of all time, Olivier Assayas' Irma Vep, on 9 December. The film was previously available in a shitty transfer from the early days of Fox Lorber; Maggie Cheung stars as herself, along with Jean-Pierre Léaud, Nathalie Richard, Arsinée Khanjian, Alex Descas, Bulle Ogier and Lou Castel. Palm will have the documentary Patti Smith: Dream of Life available on 13 January. And finally, HBO will release a box-set of The Wire, arguably one of the finest television programs ever, on 9 December.
Labels: Criterion, D.W. Griffith, DVD New Releases, Lars Von Trier, Olivier Assayas, Sam Fuller, Television, Zeitgeist Films
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Home 2017 Elections Opinion: Endorsements in Suffolk County races
Opinion: Endorsements in Suffolk County races
Times of Middle Country
Times of Smithtown
Town of Brookhaven
Suffolk County district attorney candidate Tim Sini and sheriff candidate Larry Zacarese during recent visits to the TBR News Media office. Photos by Kevin Redding
Suffolk County District Attorney
A fresh start for DA’s office
It’s no secret that Suffolk County’s District Attorney office is in desperate need of a culture change. The allegations-turned charges against Thomas Spota (D), who held the position since 2001, have created public distrust in a position that requires it. The district attorney decides who gets charged with crimes, and a lack of confidence in the integrity of the person leading that position creates a tangled web of problems Suffolk County residents shouldn’t have to worry about.
To that end, Tim Sini (D) has dealt with a startlingly analogous situation as police commissioner, which ironically features many of the same players, and he’s handled it as well as anyone could have asked. Real progress is being made on the gang front, and we think his experience in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, coupled with his time as police commissioner are more than enough to put to bed concerns from people like his challenger about his age and relative inexperience.
On Ray Perini (R), we were mostly satisfied with his defenses of two scandals from his past brought to light during this campaign. However, at a time like this, the mere hint of possible wrongdoing in the position of district attorney is enough to continue damaging public perception of a position in need of a fresh start.
With all that being said, we’re endorsing Sini for Suffolk County district attorney.
Suffolk County Sheriff
A new sheriff in the county
With two new candidates boasting impressive work backgrounds running for Suffolk County sheriff, Republican Larry Zacarese and Democrat Errol Toulon, it was difficult deciding who to endorse. After much deliberation Zacarese gets our endorsement.
We believe Zacarese has done his homework when it comes to the job as sheriff and his experience at Stony Brook University as assistant chief of police and director of the Office of Emergency Management will be an asset. His position there is a well-rounded one. He is involved in operations, planning, mitigation, response and recovery and working with the installation of and maintenance of the electronic security system for more than 250 buildings.
He has also met with those on task forces dealing with the gang problems on Long Island to ensure that they are well staffed and good relationships between federal and local agencies are intact.
We hope that Toulon will continue to pursue a career in politics. With a great deal of experience in law enforcement including at Rikers Island, we can see him serving the county in the future, perhaps in a role such as police commissioner.
Suffolk County Legislator District 5
Hahn handles county business
Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) has the experience to take care of business in the 5th Legislative District of Suffolk County, and we endorse her in her run for a fourth term as a county legislator.
Approachable and accessible, Hahn listens to the needs of her constituents.
The chairwoman of both the Environment, Planning & Agriculture Committee and Parks & Recreation Committee, she supports the county’s program to update septic systems, which will reduce nitrogen in our waters. In the past she has sponsored initiatives authorizing appraisal of lands under the Suffolk County Drinking Water Protection Program.
She has been a steward for our local parks by tackling illegal dumping by increasing county penalties and creating programs for children to explore local public lands with her Parks Passport program.
We were impressed with her challenger Republican Edward Flood, and we hope he will continue to pursue a political career. A lawyer who is the chief of staff for state Assemblyman Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue), we believe Flood has the potential to serve in office, and as a supporter of the group Long Island Needs a Drag Strip, he has good ideas when it comes to bringing in more tax revenues while creating minimal disruption to residents.
Safe in Sarah Anker’s hands
Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) is focused on local issues.
Although legislative issues may reach further than that of the town, we appreciate the incumbent’s care and concern for her district’s constituents and the challenges they face, not just the ones that the county does.
We think she works diligently and closely with her constituents, making her the best candidate in this race. We commend her track record on issues like parks creation; protecting drinking water by prohibiting the acceptance of wastewater produced by hydraulic fracturing; and her work with Father Frank Pizzarelli and Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson to try to quell opioid addiction.
Some of the points her Democratic opponent Gary Pollakusky made about the county’s lower bond rating, $2.1 billion debt and $200 million structural deficit are all causes for concern, but Anker is just one member of a larger group, and should not be held accountable for all of its ills or credited with all of its successes.
Pollakusky’s campaign style tends to be rough, even bullying. We are also concerned about the merits of his business ventures and nonprofit organization based on the odd mechanics of the website and social media.
Anker has shown leadership, being able to see the problem, recognizing who can solve the problem, getting in touch with the right people, putting them all together in a room and stepping back and letting the solution evolve. She listens to people and sees if she can help. We’re all for that.
Suffolk County Legislator District 12
Kennedy should keep at it
As her first full term in the Suffolk County Legislature comes to a close, we feel that Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset) has proven to be a passionate, effective and caring leader for the 12th District.
Kennedy, a longtime nurse, is not afraid to go toe-to-toe with her colleagues from both sides of the aisle, whether it’s regarding hikes in county fees or public safety projects, and seems to have the residents’ needs in mind with every decision she makes. It’s very clear she is rattled by the county’s current financial situation and is doing everything in her power to make sure families and constituents have the opportunity to grow and thrive. She has also done plenty of research on a wide variety of issues not only in her district but Suffolk County as a whole, and seeks to find a pragmatic solution to every one of them.
Trotta tackles Suffolk’s issues
It’s important, and rare, in politics to have a watchdog in the ranks — a whistle-blower who’s not afraid to call out colleagues and issues for the greater good. And there’s perhaps nobody on the local level with a louder bark than Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga).
Trotta, a former county police officer, has for the last four years consistently fought in favor of making Suffolk County an easier and cheaper place to live for residents of all ages even at the expense of making enemies. He’s become the face of exposing corruption in the county, whether it’s egregious hikes in fees or the connection between campaign contributors and elected officials. He’s also on the front line of the debate against the Suffolk County Red Light Safety Program, which has been proven to increase accidents at busy intersections and seems to serve no other purpose than to collect more fees from residents.
His Democratic opponent Colleen Maher doesn’t appear to show any interest in campaigning and, as far as we know, is just a name to put on the ballot.
Trotta is brutally honest, a statistics and facts-based whiz and the very definition of a realist. He tells it like it is and actually backs up his accusations with ways to fix the problems.
As cynical as he is about the way the county runs, it’s apparent that Trotta still very much cares about the region and is rooting for it to turn around, especially for the sake of young people. He wants them to have an opportunity to grow and thrive here. And, with him serving more terms as legislator, there’s a chance they will one day.
Bring Berland to the county
When it comes to Suffolk County’s 16th Legislative District, we believe that Democratic hopeful Susan Berland has the experience and community knowledge needed fill the seat of termed-out Legislator Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills).
Berland has shown her devotion to the Town of Huntington’s residents by working full time as a councilwoman for the last 16 years, despite it being only a part-time position. She demonstrates a fine-tuned understanding of the taxpayers needs on multiple issues: sticking to a tight budget while maintaining town services and supporting affordable housing projects while promising to fight for preservation of open space.
Her prior work experience as a state assistant attorney general will give her insight into tackling the area’s challenges of combating gang violence and drug addiction. Public safety remains another big task.
While we applaud the efforts of Republican candidate Hector Gavilla in his first run for political office, he needs to gain a better grasp of a county legislator’s role and how national issues translate the local level first. It’s difficult to understand his position on some issues. Gavilla said he was strongly in favor of cutting back on Suffolk police officers’ salaries while simultaneously stating that the government should spare no expense in protecting the public’s safety, also noting that he would increase police patrols.
The next individual elected to the county legislature will need a nuanced, detailed understanding of budgets, contracts and smart growth, and we think Berland fits the bill.
Doc Spencer can fix Suffolk
Suffolk County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D) has served admirably in his role representing the northern portion of Huntington township in the county’s 18th Legislative District for the last six years.
Spencer’s background as a licensed physician has given him the insight and experience to successfully tackle several serious health issues. Spencer’s résumé includes raising the age to purchase tobacco to 21; banning the marketing of energy drinks to youth; prohibiting the sale of powdered caffeine to minors and more. In our conversation with him, Spencer demonstrated a nuanced understanding of the different challenges the county faces in addressing the opioid and heroin problem.
While his Republican challenger Dom Spada raises legitimate concerns regarding Suffolk County’s fiscal situation, it is a crisis that every elected official is aware of and has spoken about at length. No one is arguing against cutting costs, but the bigger challenge is reaching a consensus on where to make cutbacks and trim programs.
We believe that Spencer is an overall stronger candidate to address the county’s pressing health needs and build the consensus in the Legislature needed to fix the county’s budget woes.
Doc Spencer
Kara Hahn
Larry Zacarese
Leslie Kennedy
Rob Trotta
Sarah Anker
Suffolk County elections
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini
Susan Berland
Ward Melville field hockey makes third trip to state semis
Opinion: Smithtown selectees this Election Day
TBR Staff
TBR News Media covers everything happening on the North Shore of Suffolk County from Cold Spring Harbor to Wading River.
Huntington revising accessory apartment rules
Stony Brook University Huntington Station Suffolk County Rita J. Egan Kings Park Miller Place Bill Landon Mount Sinai Northport Daniel Dunaief Rocky Point Centereach Stony Brook Port Jefferson Station Huntington Desiree Keegan Ward Melville Port Jefferson Village Kevin Redding Lacrosse Setauket Police Suffolk County Police Department Smithtown Port Jefferson
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US Supreme Court Center > Volume 321 > ANDERSON NAT'L BANK V. LUCKETT, 321 U. S. 233 (1944) > Full Text
ANDERSON NAT'L BANK V. LUCKETT, 321 U. S. 233 (1944)
Anderson Nat'l Bank v. Luckett, 321 U.S. 233 (1944)
Anderson National Bank v. Luckett
Argued February 2, 1944
Decided February 28, 1944
APPEAL FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS OF KENTUCKY
A statute of Kentucky sets up a comprehensive scheme for the administration of abandoned bank deposits. Upon a report by the bank and notice to the depositor, and with an opportunity for either to be heard, the State takes into its protective custody bank accounts which, having been inactive for at least ten years if demand accounts or for at least twenty-five years if nondemand, the statute declares to be presumptively abandoned. The bank is relieved of its liability to the depositor, who receives instead a claim against the State, enforceable at any time until the deposit is judicially found to be abandoned and for five years thereafter. Refusal by the designated state officer to make payment is reviewable by the state courts. In an action by a national bank to enjoin the enforcement of the statute, held:
1. In requiring payment of the deposit accounts to the State on the prescribed notice, without recourse to judicial proceedings or any court order or judgment, the statute does not deprive the depositor or the bank of property without due process of law. Pp. 321 U. S. 240, 321 U. S. 247.
(a) Apart from questions which may arise under the national banking laws in the case of national banks, a State, by a procedure satisfying constitutional requirements, may compel surrender to it of deposit balances when there is substantial ground for belief that they have been abandoned or forgotten, especially where the State acquires them subject to all lawful demands of depositors. P. 321 U. S. 240.
(b) The statutory rebuttable presumption of abandonment of demand deposits after inactivity of ten years, and of nondemand deposits after inactivity of twenty-five years, is sustained. P. 321 U. S. 241.
(c) Subject to the requirements of procedural due process, the
depositors, prior to a judicial decree of actual abandonment, will not be deprived of their property by the surrender of their presumptively abandoned bank accounts into the custody of the State. P. 321 U. S. 241.
(d) The requirement that a depositor without actual notice of a proceeding for the judicial determination of abandonment must make claim within five years after the decree does not infringe constitutional rights. P. 321 U. S. 241.
(e) Notice to the depositors of the statutory proceedings, by the sheriff's posting on the courthouse door or bulletin board, for a period of six weeks, a copy of the bank's report of deposits presumed abandoned, in conjunction with the notice provided by the statute itself and by the taking of possession of the bank balances by the State, is sufficient notice to the depositors to satisfy the requirements of due process. P. 321 U. S. 243.
(f) The fundamental requirement of due process is an opportunity to be heard upon such notice and proceedings as are adequate to safeguard the right for which the constitutional protection is invoked. P. 321 U. S. 246.
(g) It is not an indispensable requirement of due process that every procedure affecting the ownership or disposition of property be exclusively by judicial proceeding. Statutory proceedings affecting property rights which, by later resort to the courts, secure to adverse parties an opportunity to be heard suitable to the occasion do not deny due process. P. 321 U. S. 246.
(h) The mere fact that the State or its authorities acquire possession or control of property as a preliminary step to the judicial determination of asserted rights in the property is not a denial of due process. P. 247.
2. The statute does not infringe the national banking laws, and does not unconstitutionally interfere with a national bank as an instrumentality of the federal government. Pp. 321 U. S. 247, 321 U. S. 252.
(a) The statute does not discriminate against national banks in directing payment to the State, pursuant to the statute, of presumptively abandoned accounts by state and national banks. P. 321 U. S. 247.
(b) The statute is not in conflict with any provision of the national banking laws. P. 321 U. S. 247.
(c) First National Bank v. California, 262 U. S. 366, distinguished. P. 321 U. S. 250.
3. As an appropriate incident to the exercise of its owner to require the surrender to it of presumptively abandoned accounts in national as well as state banks, the State may require the bank to file reports of inactive account. P. 321 U. S. 252.
294 Ky. 674, 172 S.W.2d 575, affirmed.
Appeal from the affirmance of a judgment which, upon a remand (293 Ky. 735, 170 S.W.2d 350), dismissed the bill in a suit to enjoin the enforcement of a state statute.
MR. CHIEF JUSTICE STONE delivered the opinion of the court.
Under Kentucky Revised Statutes of 1942, ch. 393, § 393.060 et seq., every bank or trust company in the state is required to turn over to the state deposits which have remained inactive and unclaimed for specified periods. The questions for decision are: (1) whether the statute under which the state purports to acquire the right to demand custody of the deposits affords due process of law, even though the depositors may not receive personal notice of the pending transfer and there may be no prior judicial proceedings, and (2) whether the statute, as applied to deposits in a national bank, conflicts with the national banking laws or is an unconstitutional interference by the state with appellant's operations as a banking instrumentality of the United States.
So far as here relevant, the provisions of the statute may be summarily stated as follows. Demand deposits held by a bank, with accrued interest, are presumed abandoned unless the owner has, within ten years preceding the date for making the report required by § 393.110, negotiated in writing with the bank, or been credited with interest on his passbook at his request, or had a transaction noted upon the books of the bank, or increased or decreased the amount of his deposit (§ 393.060). Non-demand deposits, with accrued interest, are likewise presumed abandoned unless the owner, within the twenty-five years preceding the report, has taken one or more of such enumerated actions (§ 393.070).
The holder of property presumed abandoned, including any national bank, is required to file with the state Department of Revenue, annually before September 1, a report in duplicate of such property as of the preceding July 1; the copy is sent to the sheriff of the county in which the property is located, and he is under the statutory duty of posting the copy on the courthouse door or bulletin board, before the following October 1 (§ 393.110(1)). The holder is required to turn over to the Department of Revenue, before November 15, the property so reported unless the holder or owner certifies facts to rebut the presumption of abandonment or unless the statute of limitations has run as between the owner and the holder. In neither such case need the holder turn over the property except upon an order of court. If a claimant has filed an action with respect to any such property, the holder is required to notify the Department of the pendency of the action, but is not required to turn over the property during its pendency. (§ 393.110(2)). In any case, the holder of such property is entitled to a judicial determination of his rights, under § 393.160, providing for appeals from the decisions of the Commissioner of Revenue, or under § 393.230, providing for an equitable action by the Commissioner to compel the surrender of such property (§ 393.110(3)).
A person refusing to turn over property under this statute is subject to a penalty of 10% of its amount, but not to exceed $500; he is subject to no penalty, however, if he posts a compliance bond (§ 393.290). Any person who transfers property to the State under this statute is relieved of liability to the owner, and the State is required to reimburse the holder for any such liability (§ 393.130).
The Commissioner may institute judicial proceedings to establish conclusively that property in his hands because
presumed abandoned is actually abandoned, or that the owner of the property has died and that there is no person entitled to it (§ 393.230(2)). In such an action, the procedure is governed by the Kentucky Civil Code of Practice (§ 393.240(2)).
A claim to property surrendered to the state may be made at any time, unless the property has been judicially determined, under § 393.230, to have been actually abandoned, in which case any claim to the property by a person not actually served with notice and who did not appear and whose claim was not considered during the proceeding must be made within five years of the judicial determination (§ 393.140(1) and (2), and see Anderson National Bank v. Reeves, 293 Ky. 735, 738, 741, 170 S.W.2d 350). The claimant is required to make publication of his claim in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or, if there is none, he is required to post his claim at the courthouse door and at three other conspicuous places in the county (§ 393.140(3)). The Commissioner of Revenue is directed to consider and determine the validity of any claim and any defense; if he approves the claim, he must authorize its payment (§ 393.150). Judicial review of his determination in the appropriate state courts is provided (§ 393.160).
The statute thus sets up a comprehensive scheme for the administration of abandoned bank deposits. Upon a report by the bank and notice to the depositors, and with an opportunity to be heard, if either wish it, the state takes into its protective custody bank accounts which, having been inactive for at least ten years if demand accounts or at least twenty-five years if nondemand, the statute declares to be presumptively abandoned. The bank is relieved of its liability to the depositors, who receive instead a claim against the state, enforceable at any time until the deposits are judicially found to be abandoned in fact and
for five years thereafter. Refusal by the designated state officer to make payment is reviewable by the state courts.
Appellant, a national banking association organized under the laws of the United States, brought the present suit in the Circuit Court of Kentucky for Franklin County. The bill of complaint, filed by appellant on behalf of itself and all others similarly situated, sought to enjoin appellees, the state Commissioner of Revenue and other state officers, from enforcing the statute here in question. The Circuit Court held invalid so much of the challenged statute as requires the payment of deposits to the state merely on the prescribed notice, and without the order or judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction. It gave judgment perpetually enjoining appellees from enforcing such parts of the statute. The Kentucky Court of Appeals sustained the Act in its entirety, holding that it affords due process and that it neither infringes the national banking laws nor is a prohibited interference with a banking instrumentality of the United States. It accordingly reversed the judgment of the Circuit Court and instructed it to deny an injunction. 293 Ky. 735, 170 S.W.2d 350. On remand, the Circuit Court entered its judgment dismissing the bill. The Court of Appeals affirmed. 294 Ky. 674, 172 S.W.2d 575. The case comes here on appeal under § 237(a) of the Judicial Code, 28 U.S.C. § 344(a).
Appellant contends here: (1) that the statute, in requiring payment of the deposit accounts to the state on the prescribed notice, without recourse to judicial proceedings or any court order or judgment, deprives the depositors and appellant of property without due process of law, and (2) that such withdrawal of accounts from a national bank infringes the national banking laws, particularly R.S. § 5136, 12 U.S.C. § 24, which authorize national banks to accept deposits and to do a banking business, and is an unconstitutional interference with the
federally authorized function of national banks as instrumentalities of the Federal Government.
Appellant argues that the statute deprives both the bank and the depositors of their property rights in the bank accounts, and contends that the procedure by which the state acquires its asserted right to demand payment of the accounts is so lacking in notice to depositors and in an opportunity for them to be heard as to deny the state the right to assert the depositors' claims and afford to the bank no protection if it responds to the state's demand for payment of the accounts.
While the Kentucky statute is entitled "Escheats," its provisions, so far as applicable to bank deposits, are concerned only with personal property deemed abandoned. At common law, abandoned personal property was not the subject of escheat, but was subject only to the right of appropriation by the sovereign as bona vacantia. See 7 Holdsworth, A History of English Law (2d Ed.) 495, 496. Like rights of appropriation, except so far as limited by state law and the Fourteenth Amendment, exist in the several states of the United States. Hamilton v. Brown, 161 U. S. 256; Christianson v. King County, 239 U. S. 356; Security Bank v. California, 263 U. S. 282; United States v. Klein, 303 U. S. 276.
Apart from questions which may arise under the national banking laws in the case of national banks, it is no longer open to doubt that a state, by a procedure satisfying constitutional requirements, may compel surrender to it of deposit balances when there is substantial ground for belief that they have been abandoned or forgotten, Security Bank v. California, supra, certainly when the state acquires them subject to all lawful demands of the depositors. Provident Savings Institution v. Malone, 221 U. S. 660.
The deposits are debtor obligations of the bank, incurred and to be performed in the state where the bank is located, and hence are subject to the state's dominion. See Security Bank v. California, supra, 263 U. S. 285 and cases cited; Irving Trust Co. v. Day, 314 U. S. 556, 314 U. S. 562. And it is within the constitutional power of the state to protect the interests of depositors from the risks which attend long neglected accounts, by taking them into custody when they have been inactive so long as to be presumptively abandoned, see Provident Savings Institution v. Malone, supra, 664, just as it may provide for the administration of the property of a missing person. Cunnius v. Reading School Dist., 198 U. S. 458; Blinn v. Nelson, 222 U. S. 1.
With respect to the statutory rebuttable presumption of abandonment of demand deposits after inactivity of ten years and of nondemand deposits after inactivity of twenty-five years, we are unable to say that the legislative determination is without support in experience. We have sustained like statutory presumptions that shorter periods of inactivity furnish the basis for state administration of unasserted claims or demands. See Security Bank v. California, supra; Cunnius v. Reading School Dist., supra; Blinn v. Nelson, supra; cf. Provident Savings Institution v. Malone, supra.
In the present posture of the case, we conclude, subject to the requirements of procedural due process, that, prior to a judicial decree of actual abandonment, the depositors will not be deprived of their property by the surrender of their bank accounts to the state. We need not decide whether the procedure for determining abandonment in fact conforms to due process, for appellant has not attacked this procedure here, and no such proceeding is before us. Prior to such a decree, the present statute merely compels the summary substitution of the state for the bank, as the debtor of the depositors. It deprives
the depositors of none of their rights as creditors, preserving their right to demand from the state payment of the deposits, and their right to resort to the courts if payment is refused. True, payment over of the deposits to the state may be the precursor of a decree of abandonment and the shortening of the period within which a claimant may demand payment of his deposit. But, if the notice to depositors is adequate, we cannot say that the period of five years allowed for that purpose after the decree is an infringement of constitutional rights. Terry v. Anderson, 95 U. S. 628, 95 U. S. 632-633, and cases cited; United States v. Morena, 245 U. S. 392, 245 U. S. 397.
Appellant and the Comptroller of the Currency, as amicus curiae, point to the formalities with which the depositors must comply before they will be able to recover their deposits, and argue that the state may be less solvent or less willing to pay than the bank. In the absence of some persuasive showing, which is lacking here, that these formalities will be more onerous than those which would or could be properly required by the bank, or that the state will in fact be less able or less willing to pay, it cannot be assumed that the mere substitution of the state as the debtor will deprive the depositors of their property, or impose on them an unconstitutional burden. See Dohany v. Rogers, 281 U. S. 362, 281 U. S. 366-368; cf. Blinn v. Nelson, supra, 222 U. S. 7; Corn Exchange Bank v. Coler, 280 U. S. 218, 280 U. S. 223. In the absence of a showing of injury, actual or threatened, there can be no constitutional argument. In re 620 Church Street Corp., 299 U. S. 24, 299 U. S. 27, and cases cited.
Since the bank is a debtor to its depositors, it can interpose no due process or contract clause objection to payment of the claimed deposits to the state if the state is lawfully entitled to demand payment, for, in that case, payment of the debt to the state, under the statute, relieves the bank of its liability to the depositors. Security Bank v. California, supra, 263 U. S. 285-286. But if the statute
is deficient in its provisions for notice and opportunity for hearing, so that the depositors would not be bound by any proceedings taken under it, the bank would be entitled to raise the question whether its obligation to the depositors would be discharged by payment of the deposits to the state. Hence, our inquiry must be directed to the question whether the procedure by which the state undertakes to acquire the depositors' right to demand payment of the deposits was upon adequate notice to them and opportunity for them to be heard.
As we have said, the statute provides for notice to the depositors by requiring the sheriff to post on the courthouse door or bulletin board a copy of the bank's report of deposits presumed abandoned. We think that this, in conjunction with the notice provided by the statute itself and by the taking of possession of the bank balances by the state, is sufficient notice to the depositors to satisfy all requirements of due process.
The statute itself is notice to all depositors of banks within the state of the conditions on which the balances of inactive accounts will be deemed presumptively abandoned, and their surrender to the state compelled. All persons having property located within a state and subject to its dominion must take note of its statutes affecting the control or disposition of such property and of the procedure which they set up for those purposes. Reetz v. Michigan, 188 U. S. 505, 188 U. S. 509; North Laramie Land Co. v. Hoffman, 268 U. S. 276, 268 U. S. 283. Proceedings for the assessment of taxes, the condemnation of land, the establishment of highways and public improvements affecting landowners, are familiar examples. Huling v. Kaw Valley R. & Imp. Co., 130 U. S. 559, 130 U. S. 563-564; Ballard v. Hunter, 204 U. S. 241, 204 U. S. 254-257, 204 U. S. 262.
The report of the bank required to be posted on the courthouse door or bulletin board lists the abandoned accounts as defined by the statute, and thus gives notice
to the owners of all those accounts which, because of their inactivity for the periods and in the ways specified by the statute, are deemed abandoned and required to be paid to the state. This notice, when read in the light of the knowledge of the statute, with which all persons having such bank accounts within the state are chargeable, is sufficient to advise that the listed accounts are deemed presumptively abandoned and will, at the end of six weeks from the date of filing, be paid over to the state, and that, both before and after that event, the depositors will be afforded opportunity to present their claims and to have them judicially determined, if rejected.
Posting on the courthouse door as a method of giving notice of proceedings affecting property within the county is an ancient one, and is time-honored in Kentucky. The Act of the Kentucky legislature of December 19, 1796, provided in § 2 for the use of this method of warning absent defendants in equity proceedings that a decree would be entered against them if they did not appear. This means of giving notice was employed in the escheat statutes of Kentucky at least as early as 1852. Kentucky Revised Statutes of 1852, p. 308, c. 34, Art. IV, § 3(1). The fact that a procedure is so old as to have become customary and well known in the community is of great weight in determining whether it conforms to due process, for "Not lightly vacated is the verdict of quiescent years." Coler v. Corn Exchange Bank, 250 N.Y. 136, 141, 164 N.E. 882, 884, aff'd sub nom. Corn Exchange Bank v. Coler, supra. To that effect, see Otis Co. v. Ludlow Mfg. Co., 201 U. S. 140, 201 U. S. 154; Ownbey v. Morgan, 256 U. S. 94, 256 U. S. 108-109, 256 U. S. 112; Jackman v. Rosenbaum Co., 260 U. S. 22, 260 U. S. 31; Corn Exchange Bank v. Coler, supra, 280 U. S. 222-223; Snyder v. Massachusetts, 291 U. S. 97, 291 U. S. 110-111.
We cannot say that the posting of a notice on the door of the courthouse in a Kentucky county is a less efficacious method of giving notice to depositors in banks of the
county than publication in a local newspaper, or that, in the circumstances of this case, it is an inadequate means of giving notice of the summary taking into custody of the designated bank accounts by the state. This is the more so because, in this case, the notice is the immediate prelude to and accompanies the compulsory surrender of the bank balances to the state, unless the depositors in the meantime intervene as claimants. The statutory procedure, so far as it affects depositors, is in the nature of a proceeding in rem, in the course of which property, against which a claim is asserted, is seized or sequestered, and held subject to the appearance and presentation of claims by all those who assert an adverse interest in it. In all such proceedings, the seizure of the property is, in itself, a form of notice of the claim asserted, to those who may claim an interest in the property. See Corn Exchange Bank v. Coler, supra, holding constitutional a statute providing for no notice to the owner of a bank deposit other than its seizure.
Security Bank v. California, supra, was a proceeding to compel the bank to pay over to the state inactive bank accounts as the first step in their sequestration, and, if unclaimed, their possible ultimate escheat. The Court held, 263 U.S. at 263 U. S. 289-290, that publication of notice of the proceeding in a newspaper at the state capital was sufficient notice to absent depositors to meet due process requirements. It supported this conclusion by reference to the proceeding against the bank by which it was required to pay over the deposits to the state "as in personam, so far as concerns the bank; as quasi in rem, so far as concerns the depositors," 263 U.S. at 263 U. S. 287. Since the service of process on the bank personally was equivalent to a seizure of the accounts, it was deemed to supplement the publication as an independent notice, in itself, to the depositors of the seizure, and of their opportunity given by the statute to appear and assert their claims against the state.
Like procedure, begun by the seizure or acquisition of control of a res, including, in some cases, choses in actions, has been sustained as affording adequate notice to absent claimants in escheat proceedings, Hamilton v. Brown, supra; Christianson v. King County, supra, 239 U. S. 373; in garnishment proceedings, Harris v. Balk, 198 U. S. 215, 198 U. S. 223; in proceedings for the administration of a debt due an absentee, Cunnius v. Reading School District, supra; in proceedings begun by attachment, Cooper v. Reynolds, 10 Wall. 308, and in admiralty proceedings, The Mary, 9 Cranch 126, 13 U. S. 144.
We cannot say, nor does appellant seriously urge, that the length of notice by posting -- six weeks -- is inadequate. Three weeks' notice by publication of the condemnation of the land for a public highway was held sufficient by this Court in North Laramie Land Co. v. Hoffman, supra, and thirty days was deemed sufficient in a like proceeding in Huling v. Kaw Valley R. & Imp. Co., supra.
What is due process in a procedure affecting property interests must be determined by taking into account the purposes of the procedure and its effect upon the rights asserted and all other circumstances which may render the proceeding appropriate to the nature of the case. Davidson v. New Orleans, 96 U. S. 97, 96 U. S. 107-108; Ballard v. Hunter, supra, 204 U. S. 255; North Laramie Land Co. v. Hoffman, supra, 268 U. S. 282-283; Dohany v. Rogers, supra, 281 U. S. 369, and cases cited. The fundamental requirement of due process is an opportunity to be heard upon such notice and proceedings as are adequate to safeguard the right for which the constitutional protection is invoked. If that is preserved, the demands of due process are fulfilled. Measured by this standard, we cannot say that the present notice is insufficient.
For this reason also, it is not an indispensable requirement of due process that every procedure affecting the ownership or disposition of property be exclusively by judicial proceeding. Statutory proceedings affecting
property rights, which, by later resort to the courts, secure to adverse parties an opportunity to be heard suitable to the occasion, do not deny due process. Familiar examples are the decisions and orders of administrative agencies which determine rights subject to a subsequent judicial review. And such is obviously the case here, where there is full opportunity to the depositors to be heard by the State Commissioner, whose decision is subject to court review. It is difficult to see what right here asserted would have been better preserved by a court procedure whose end was the compulsory surrender of the deposit balances by the bank to the state, which takes subject to the claims of the depositors.
The mere fact that the state or its authorities acquire possession or control of property as a preliminary step to the judicial determination of asserted rights in the property is not a denial of due process. Samuels v. McCurdy, 267 U. S. 188, 267 U. S. 200; North Laramie Land Co. v. Hoffman, supra; Corn Exchange Bank v. Coler, supra; Phillips v. Commissioner, 283 U. S. 589, 283 U. S. 593-601.
We conclude that the procedural provisions of the Kentucky statute are adequate to meet all constitutional requirements, and that it does not deprive appellant or its depositors of property without due process of law.
We come now to appellant's second contention -- that the Kentucky statute infringes the national banking laws and unconstitutionally interferes with appellant as an instrumentality of the federal government. But the statute does not discriminate against national banks, cf. 17 U. S. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316, by directing payment to the state by state and national banks alike of presumptively abandoned accounts. Nor do we find any word in the national banking laws which expressly or by implication conflicts with the provisions of the Kentucky
statutes. Cf. Davis v. Elmira Sav. Bank, 161 U. S. 275.
This Court has often pointed out that national banks are subject to state laws unless those laws infringe the national banking laws or impose an undue burden on the performance of the banks' functions. Waite v. Dowley, 94 U. S. 527, 94 U. S. 533; First National Bank v. Missouri, 263 U. S. 640, 263 U. S. 656; Lewis v. Fidelity & Deposit Co., 292 U. S. 559, 292 U. S. 566; Jennings v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 294 U. S. 216, 294 U. S. 219. Thus, the mere fact that the depositor's account is in a national bank does not render it immune to attachment by the creditors of the depositor, as authorized by state law. Compare Earle v. Pennsylvania, 178 U. S. 449, with Van Reed v. People's National Bank, 198 U. S. 554.
As we have seen, a bank account is a chose in action of the depositor against the bank, which the latter is obligated to pay in accordance with the terms of the deposit. It is a part of the mass of property within the state whose transfer and devolution is subject to state control. Security Bank v. California, supra, 263 U. S. 285-286, and cases cited; Irving Trust Co. v. Day, supra, 314 U. S. 562. It has never been suggested that nondiscriminatory laws of this type are so burdensome as to be inapplicable to the accounts of depositors in national banks.
The statute here attacked does not purport to do more than does any other regulation of the devolution of bank accounts of missing persons, a function which is, as we have seen, within the competence of the state. Under the statute, the state merely acquires the right to demand payment of the accounts in the place of the depositors. Upon payment of the deposits to the state, the bank's obligation is discharged. Something more than this is required to render the statute obnoxious to the federal banking laws. For an inseparable incident of a national bank's privilege of receiving deposits is its obligation to pay them to the persons entitled to demand payment according
to the law of the state where it does business. A demand for payment of an account by one entitled to make the demand does not infringe or interfere with any authorized function of the bank. In fact, inability to comply with such demands is made a basis in the national banking laws for closing the doors of the bank and winding up its affairs.
Appellant argues that, if the present act is sustained, it will open the door to the exertion of unlimited state discretionary power over the deposits in national banks, and that the act imposes a burden on appellants such as was held to be inadmissible in First National Bank v. California, 262 U. S. 366, which was followed in National City Bank v. Philippine Islands, 302 U.S. 651. As we have seen, the only power sought to be exerted by the state over the depositors' accounts is the assertion of its lawfully acquired right to collect them, in accordance with the obligation, which was both assumed by appellant and is to be performed in conformity with the banking laws of the United States. In this respect, the state's power to make such a demand cannot extend beyond its power under state law and the Federal Constitution to acquire control of deposit accounts from their owners. So long as it is thus limited, and the power is exercised only to demand payment of the accounts in the same way and to the same extent that the depositors could, we can perceive no danger of unlimited control by the state over the operations of national banking institutions. We need not decide whether, within this limit, the state's power over deposits in national banks is as simple as its like power over deposits in state banks. Compare First National Bank v. California, supra, with Security Bank v. California, supra. We are concerned only with the question whether the particular power here asserted is a forbidden encroachment upon the privileges of a national bank.
The decision of this Court in First National Bank v. California, supra, did not rest on any want of power of a state to demand of a national bank payment of deposits which the state was lawfully entitled to receive. Decision there turned, rather, on the effect of the state statute in altering the contracts of deposit in a manner considered so unusual and so harsh in its application to depositors as to deter them from placing or keeping their funds in national banks. In that case, the state brought a statutory proceeding in its courts to compel a national bank to pay over to it an inactive deposit account. The statute required "escheat to the state" of all balances in deposit accounts remaining unclaimed and inactive for more than twenty years, where neither the depositor nor any claimant had filed any notice with the bank showing his present address. It authorized suit in behalf of the state to recover such amounts, and directed that judgment should be given for the state "if it be determined that the moneys deposited in any defendant bank or banks are unclaimed" for the period and in the manner specified by the statute. It will be noted that the statute required no proof that the forfeited accounts had been, in fact, abandoned, or that their owners were unknown or had died without heirs or surviving kin. Upon mere proof of dormancy for the prescribed period, the statute declared the accounts to be escheated to the state.
After pointing out that the state Supreme Court, in sustaining the judgment in the state's favor, had declined, as unnecessary to its decision, to express an opinion whether the absent depositors could reclaim their forfeited deposits from the state, this Court declared that the statute
"attempts to qualify in an unusual way agreements between national banks and their customers long understood to arise when the former receive deposits under their plainly granted powers."
262 U.S. at 262 U. S. 370.
And since it was thought that such alterations might be made by that and other states "and, instead of 20 years, varying limitations may be prescribed -- 3 years, perhaps, or 5, or 10, or 15" -- the Court declared that the effect on the national banking system would be incompatible with the statutory purposes of establishing a system of national banks acting as federal instrumentalities. That effect it specifically described as follows (p. 262 U. S. 370):
"The depositors of a national bank often live in many different states and countries, and certainly it would not be an immaterial thing if the deposits of all were subject to seizure by the state where the bank happened to be located. The success of almost all commercial banks depends upon their ability to obtain loans from depositors, and these might well hesitate to subject their funds to possible confiscation."
The unusual alteration of depositors' accounts to which the Court referred was plainly the statutory declaration of escheat of depositors' accounts merely because of their dormancy for the specified period, without any determination of abandonment in fact. This is treated as, in effect, "confiscation" of depositors' accounts, operating as an effective deterrent to depositors' placing their funds in national banks doing business within the state.
We have no occasion to reconsider this decision, as appellees urge, for the grounds assigned for it are wholly wanting here. While the seizure and escheat or forfeiture for mere dormancy of a national bank account are unusual, the escheat or appropriation by the state of property in fact abandoned or without an owner is, as we have seen, as old as the common law itself. Here there is no escheat or forfeiture by reason of dormancy. Dormancy, without more, is made the statutory ground for the state's taking inactive bank accounts into its custody, the state assuming the bank's obligation to the depositors. And the deposits
need not be surrendered if the depositors or the bank make it appear that abandonment has not occurred. This is not confiscation, or even an attempted deprivation of property. Escheat or forfeiture to the state may follow, but only on proof of abandonment in fact. We cannot say that the protective custody of long inactive bank accounts, for which the Kentucky statute provides, and which in many circumstances may operate for the benefit and security of depositors, see Provident Savings Institution v. Malone, supra, 221 U. S. 664, will deter them from placing their funds in national banks in that state. It cannot be said that it would have that effect more than would the tax laws, the attachment laws, or the laws for the administration of estates of decedents or of missing or unknown persons, which a state may maintain and apply to depositors in national banks.
Nor are we able to discern any greater or different effect, so far as prospective depositors in national banks are concerned, from the application of the ancient law of escheat or forfeiture of goods as bona vacantia, to bank accounts found to be without an owner, or to have been in fact abandoned by their owners. Compare United States v. Klein, supra. True, under the Kentucky statute, as in the case of an attachment or the administration of the estate of a deceased depositor, a change in the dominion over the accounts will ensue, to which the bank must respond by payment of them on lawful demand. But this, as we have said, is nothing more than performance of a duty by the bank imposed by the federal banking laws, and not a denial of its privileges as a federal instrumentality. In all this, we can perceive no denial of constitutional right, and no unlawful encroachment on the rights and privileges of national banks.
Since Kentucky may enforce its statute requiring the surrender to it of presumptively abandoned accounts in national, as well as state, banks, it may, as an appropriate
incident to this exercise of authority, require the banks to file reports of inactive accounts, as the statute directs. Waite v. Dowley, supra; Colorado Bank v. Bedford, 310 U. S. 41, 310 U. S. 53.
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You are here: Home » Next Gen » Young professionals find faith, fellowship at vespers event
Young professionals find faith, fellowship at vespers event
The Catholic Spirit | Jennifer Janikula | October 24, 2013 | 0 Comments
For most young adults, life is noisy. They are bombarded by text messages, phone calls, e-mails, bosses, professors, parents, friends, traffic, Twitter and Instagram.
The input never slows, and to find silence they need to forcefully disconnect. But even the most faithful often struggle to make time for prayer and reflection.
At the same time, the transition to adulthood generates many spiritual questions: What does it mean to be a Catholic in this busy, crazy, media-filled world? How can I be a saint if I am not called to religious life? How can I serve my Church as a young adult?
More than a dozen alumni from the growing Catholic Studies program at the University of St. Thomas found themselves regularly discussing these issues and questions. After several months, their discussions turned into action, and Vespers at Lourdes was born.
It takes place every second Thursday at Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis (see box). The program includes vespers — chanted evening prayer — a brief lecture about seeking holiness in today’s world and fellowship with other young professionals. Seventy to 100 young adults attend each month.
Alessandro Marchetti, who works in the Catholic Studies department and is a spokesperson for the founders of Vespers at Lourdes, described the monthly event as an opportunity for young men and women to gather for prayer, a “substantial” talk and fellowship.
“Young adults want to continue feeding their life — spiritually, intellectually and socially,” Marchetti said. “It’s not a glorified Bible study; we want to understand the role of the laity in sanctifying the world, what it means to be Catholic and how to build Catholic culture.”
If you’ve never been to vespers or eucharistic adoration, Marchetti doesn’t want you to be intimidated. He said that when participants enter the church they will find pamphlets that include the words of the psalm being used for prayer. Participants can choose to pray vocally, but many just listen to the “divine rhythm” of the chanted psalms. Then, participants pray in silence for 15-20 minutes in the presence of the Eucharist.
Marchetti savors the silence.
“After more than 40 hours of work per week . . . and business travel, the opportunity to sit down in quiet and pray is awesome,” Marchetti said. “It’s the most beautiful thing. It clarifies the mind and strengthens the will.”
Mike Truso, who manages the technology components of the Vespers events, said Vespers at Lourdes helps him quiet the noisy world and reconnect with Jesus.
“I am so busy with work and graduate classes that it’s hard to find personal prayer time,” Truso said. “It’s a blessing to pray the psalms during Vespers.”
Truso also explained that one event speaker, John Boyle, a professor of Catholic Studies at UST, helped him understand how to find meaning in his secular career.
“Me and so many of my friends, we see the religious life and the holiness that is there. We want that. I want to be a saint, but I know I am not being called to religious life — so how do I get that?” Truso asked. “Dr. Boyle reminded me that I can bring God into my work and offer my work as a spiritual sacrifice.”
Another vespers co-organizer, Jacob Rhein, hopes the monthly event strengthens the local Catholic community.
“With so many young professionals moving into the neighborhood apartments and condos, Northeast Minneapolis is the perfect place for this apostolic work,” Rhein explained. “We get to worship the Lord in a beautiful French Provincial church, we chant the psalms together and we have time for fellowship. Who knows what could come from this. I am excited for it to develop as the Holy Spirit leads us.”
Vespers at Lourdes offers an evening of spiritual and intellectual formation for young adults. The event takes place at Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis at 7:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. Participants are encouraged to wear business casual attire.
Evening schedule:
7:30 p.m. Chanted evening prayer, exposition of Blessed Sacrament and Benediction
8:15 p.m. Beverages, hors d’oeuvres
8:30 p.m. Speaker
9 p.m. Social time
For more information about the event, contact vespersatlourdes@gmail.com or “Like” Vespers at Lourdes on Facebook.
Tags: Prayer, Vespers, young adults
Category: Next Gen
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Trina's Kitchen
DoD says it can't talk about Iraq in an open session
Ava here, taking over Trina's Kitchen to report on the House Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations.
You might have missed the reports on how difficult it was to get information from the US State Dept about the Iraq mission and what they have planned -- how difficult for the Congress and the GAO. If so, the State Dept's Patrick Kennedy gave a non-stop visual of that today.
How many places will the US State Dept will be in Iraq. He answers four.
And that's that. Except prompted to explain where, he notes:
1) Erbil ("where there will be two closely linked sites")
2) at the embassy in Baghdad and "2 other compounds literally right across the street, a police training compound on the other side of the river and a logistics hub at Baghdad Airport"
3) Kirkuk
4) Basra
There are four sights in Baghdad alone. Add in the rest and you have 8 total sites.
And it went that way the whole damn hearing.
But that's not all. They'll also station State Dept employees out of the country in Kuwait and fly them as needed. They will use "long wing" and helicopters. Kennedy meant airplanes and helicopters. That will be a good portion of the convoys. Asked if they would all be air, Kennedy had to allow that, no, some would be by road.
It was like pulling teeth. Pulling teeth from an 50-year-old who knows they will never grow back.
I haven't had time to talk to C.I. about the hearing. My niece wanted to tag along this week (which is great) and after the hearing, we went around the Congressional buildings because this was her first time in DC where she was around the Congress. I met up with the gang (my niece and I) in the afternoon when we were speaking to a group and did three groups in fact but then broke away to show her some of DC night life. I read the snapshot -- C.I. does a great job in it, be sure you read it -- and I think the other key section -- I hope this is what she was talking about because I'd love to spare her having to go into the hearing again in tomorrow's snapshot -- was when the Chair, Jason Chaffetz, was asking a second series of questions. (C.I. cover the first series of questions in the snapshot.)
Chair Jason Chaffetz: Ambassador Vershbos, let's talk about the number of US troops, what the Iraqis are requesting or authorizing. How many is the president authorizing?
Ambassador Alexander Vershbos: Mr. Chairman, no decisions have been made, uh. Discussions are still ongoing, uh. On the nature of the relationship from which would be derived any --
Chair Jason Chaffetz: So the number of 3,000 to 4,000 troops that we here, is that accurate or inaccurate?
Ambassador Alexander Vershbos: As I said, there's a lot of things going on in these discussions which predate the announcement of October 4 when the Iraqi leaders took the position they're taking regarding no immunities so obviously the discussions now have taken on a different dimension so beyond-beyond that I really can't say because nothing's been decided. The shape of the relationship will be determined in part by how this issue of status protection is-is addressed. So it's a work in progress. Even as we speak discussions are taking place between our ambassador [James Jeffrey], uh, the commander General Austin, and Iraqi leaders. So it's really difficult to give you more than that today.
Chair Jason Chaffetz: Now there was a report that General Austin had asked for between fourteen and eighteen thousand troops. Is that true?
Ambassador Alexander Vershbos: Again, I-I can't comment on internal deliberations. A lot of different ideas have been
Chair Jason Chaffetz: Wait a second, wait a second --
Ambassador Alexander Vershbos: --tossed around in the last few
Chair Jason Chaffetz: -- do you know what the actual request was?
Ambassador Alexander Vershbos: Uh -- the military leadership was asked to provide a range of options and they've done that and that was the basis on which we engaged the Iraqis and now the discu --
Chair Jason Chaffetz: Do you know what General Austin requested?
Ambassador Alexander Vershbos: I can't talk about that in an open session, Mr. Chairman. It's classified.
The number that Lloyd Austin, the top US commander in Iraq, wanted is classified? Classified is supposed to be something that would endanger national security.
This is classified only because it would embarrass US Princess Barack Obama.
I hope that was the section C.I. was thinking of. I know she avoided it in the snapshot because she wanted to cover the nuts and bolts (and she did) and thought this topic could sensationalize and suck the air out of the room on the nuts and bolts issues. So I'm thinking that was the one she was going to hold off on until tomorrow unless one of us grabbed it tonight.
Okay, here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Wednesday, October 12, 2011. Chaos and violence continue, US House Rep Jason Chaffetz declares, "When President Obama tells the American people that forces will be out of Iraq, I'm not sure the average American understands that the troops will be replaced with a private army of security contractors," State Dept testimony today may mean State Dept employees refuse to go to Iraq, Baghdad is slammed with bombings, Turkey thinks they have a say in disputed Kirkuk, and more.
"I'd like to begin this hearing by stating the Oversight Committee's mission statement," declared US House Rep Jason Chaffetz this morning. "We exist to secure two fundamental principles. 'First, Americans have the right to know that the money Washington takes from them is well spent. And second, Americans deserve an efficient and effective government that works for them. Our duty on the Oversight and Governmental Reform Committee is to respect these rights'." Chaffetz is the Chair of the
Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations which heard from the State Dept's Patrick F. Kennedy and DoD's Alexander Vershbow and Alan F. Estevez this morning on the topic of Iraq and the US presence beyond 2011.
Chair Jason Chaffetz: To fill the void left by the Defense Department, the State Department will hire thousands of private contractors to complete the mission. In all, the State Department's footprint will balloon to approximately 17,000 personnel. And, according to the Government Accountability Office, the GAO, nearly 14,000 will be private contractors. These contractors will perform a wide range of tasks including life support services and logistics. They will also recover downed aircraft and personnel, dispose of ordnance and tranport personnel. State Department will also hire a private army of nearly 7500 security contractors to do everything from guarding the walls and gates to guarding VIP convoys and flying UAVs [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles]. While they will have the abilities of sense and warn of incoming ordnance, they will not have the ability to shoot it down. I find this puzzling. I'd like to discuss this further. So as the Defense Department winds down, the State Department is ramping up in what may be more of a political shell game than a drawdown of forces. When President Obama tells the American people that forces will be out of Iraq, I'm not sure the average American understands that the troops will be replaced with a private army of security contractors.
That was some of Chaffetz' opening remarks regarding the State Dept and now will note some of his comments with regards to the Defense Dept.
Chair Jason Chaffetz: On a related manner, I'd appreciate it if the Defense Department would clear up some of the confusion surrounding it's drawdown. There have been numerous reports that President Obama may order thousands of combat troops to remain in Iraq at the Iraq government's request to conduct training of Iraqi military. While I understand negotiations are ongoing with the Iraqi government, I believe the American people have the right to additional clarity on how many troops will remain and what their mission and legal status will be?
John Tierney is the Ranking Member and a public embarrassment. Wally's covering Tierney's nonsense at Rebecca's site tonight. Wait. Kat's grabbing it at her sight. Wally's going to rank Chaffetz as a chair in his post at Rebecca's site. Opening (prepared remarks) by the witnesses aren't worth noting. And Kennedy's remarks sounded exactly like they did in February when he was appearing before the Senate. There were two key exchanges in the hearing. I'll note one and if Ava doesn't grab the other at Trina's tonight, I'll note it here tomorrow.
Chair Jason Chaffetz: Mr. Ambassador, first of all, I'd like to start with you. McClatchy Newspapers in an article that came out yesterday [Sahar Issa's article] in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the headline is "US Military Trainers Can Stay, Leaders Say." But I'm troubled by what President [Jalal] Talabani said. "We have agreed to retain more than 5,000 trainers without giving them immunity. We have sent them our agreement to retain this number and are awaiting their response: Yes or no." I find it deeply troubling that there's the prospect of our troops being in Iraq without immunity. I think this is totally unacceptable Can you please give us an update on the situation?
Ambassador Alexander Vershbow: Yes, Mr. Chairman, I'd be happy to, uh, to respond. Uh, indeed there's some important issues raised by that article. First of all, Iraq's political leadership has indicated that they are interested in a training relationship with the United States after 2011 and we very much want to have an enduring partnership with the Iraqi government and people and a relationship with the Iraqi security forces would be a very important part of that relationship. I think, as you know, we have long been planning to have the Office of Security Cooperation Iraq -- OSCI -- which would be under chief admission authority -- serve as the cornerstone of a chief security partnership and it would be the hub for a range of security assistance and security cooperation activities. So that, of course, is the baseline. We've been reviewing the official statement issued by Iraqi leaders on training assistance on October 4th and discussing with them how this fits into the principle of security cooperation under the 2008 Strategic Framework Agreement. Uh, I should add that we appreciate the democratic spirit represented by Iraqi leaders in debating this important subject and we will continue our discussions with our Iraqi counterparts in the days ahead. So these negotiations are ongoing and it's, uh, premature to discuss what any --
Chair Jason Chaffetz: What --
Ambassador Alexander Vershbow: -- potential training relationship will look like --
Chair Jason Chaffetz: Well will our troops have immunity, yes or no?
Ambassador Alexander Vershbow: Yeah, well I'll get to that issue, Mr. Chairman. As we work to define the parameters of what it will look like uh-uh the issues raised yet again in this article regarding status protections will of course be important issue. And again I don't want to get into the specifics of the negotiations but we will always ensure that our forces have the appropriate protections that they need when they're deployed overseas. There's a number of different --
Chair Jason Chaffetz: When you say appropriate protections is that -- is that immunity?
Ambassador Alexander Vershbow: [Long intake of breath] I think there's different terminology.
Chair Jason Chaffetz: That's why I'm seeking a little clarification here. I'm not feeling too comfortable at the moment. Will our troops have immunity?
Ambassador Alexander Vershbow: They will -- we-we --They will have status protection which has been defined under the Strategic Framework -- under the security agreement, excuse me, the Status Of Forces Agreement that now applies as indicating that our forces would be subject to US law rather than Iraqi law. So we'll be looking for something going forward that provides the comparable level of protection. Exactly how that will be achieved again is a subject of ongoing negotiations. Some of the personnel as I mentioned under the OSCI will be covered under chief admission authority. The question that's still being asked whether any additional personnel would be involved and how they would -- how they would be protected. We certainly take very seriously the concerns that you have expressed.
Chair Jason Chaffetz: Let me move on. I think that this is the major, major point of concern. It's obviously a major point of difference. It's something that obviously must be resolved. And it's totally unacceptable to think that our troops would be there without immunity as they've enjoyed currently. Ambassdor Kennedy, let me go back to these loss functionalities. Last time we gathered together, we were referred to this July 12, 2010 Commission on Wartime Contracting special report. It talked about the loss functionalities. This is on page four of that report. There were fourteen specific security-related tasks now performed by Department of Defense that State must provide as the military draws down. I know there's been progress on at least seven of those but could you give me an update as to those fourteen specific ones, what are you not prepared to take care of? [Kennedy's speaking. Microphone's not on.] If you could hit that [button].
Ambassador Patrick Kennedy: My apologies. Mr. Chairman, as we outline in my -- in my June 8th letter, to, uh, to the Committee, we believe that we have covered the functions that are absolutely essential to our operations there. We will have the abilitiy through the --
Chair Jason Chaffetz: Would that be all fourteen of these?
Ambassador Patrick Kennedy: I think -- I think you can say we will have the ability to do everything except, for example, the recovery of downed aircraft. Should an aircraft go down, we will be able to move to recover the personnel from those aircraft but but whether -- because we don't have quite the heavy lift as the Department of Defense, we might not be able to recover the airframe itself.
Chair Jason Chaffetz: So of the fourteen, that's the only one that you're concerned about?
Ambassador Patrick Kennedy: I am concerned about everything possibly go wrong.
Chair Jason Chaffetz: Right.
Ambassador Patrick Kennedy: I cannot -- I cannot --
Chair Jason Cahffetz: But functionality?
Ambassador Patrick Kennedy: But functionality, going if I could, Mr. Chairman, to your earlier, in your opening statement, you asked about counter-battery neutralization. We will have the-the ability thanks to my colleagues in the Pent -- the Defense Department with the system that is called GIRAFFE [Radar] which is an [air defense] early warning system that tracks incoming rockets or mortars, give us sufficient warning to deal with that, we'll be able to sound the alarm. And in the construction activities that we are undertaking and all the sites that our personnel will both work and live. We are constructing overhead cover that means should one of the, uh -- those missiles or mortars strike our facilities -- and this has happened in Baghdad and the construction techniques we've been using in Baghdad have proven very, very effective -- There is no penetration of the building itself. The, uh, the --
Chair Jason Chaffetz: But can we or will we fire back?
Ambassador Patrick Kennedy: We will not -- Sir, the State Dept has no howitzers and no counter-rocket fire. We will not fire back. That is not a diplomatic activity. We're not of a diplomatic mission in Iraq, not a military mission but -- if I might add -- we are partnered extensively with the Iraqi military and the Iraqi police who have been assisting us during the last few months. We have been without such a -- such a counter-battery fire ability and the Iraqi police and the Iraqi military have been great assistants of disrupting the attempts of uh, uh, forces to attack our, uh, our, uh, facilities via rockets and mortars.
Chair Jason Chaffetz: Well God bless the men and women who are going to be there because if it's the policy of the United States not to fire back I have -- I have deep concerns.
Again, that was one of the two key exchanges. In addition to possibly noting another exchange here tomorrow (if Ava doesn't grab it -- she's welcome to it, by the way), I've also got to talk late tonight to a friend who attended the hearing and I'll check with him to see if something different stood out. If so, we'll note that.
As for Kennedy's testimony? I think a lot of people are going to feel what the Chair did and I wonder if it will be a repeat of the second Bush term when Condi Rice had trouble repeatedly as she attempted to fill diplomatic slots in Iraq? In addition, to Kennedy's testimony about GIRAFFE, unless it's changed, that's a bit like connecting to the internet via a mobile attenna -- it'll work but if you're planning to use the internet consistently and from the same spot, why not just get DSL as opposed to something that's really designed as a temporary measure? GIRAFFE gets its name from the fact that the radar equipment is on the end of this long arm that rises in the air when in use and folds down when you don't feel the need to use the radar system. So where I'm confused is, GIRAFFE is really designed for temporary use. Why is the State Dept staking lives on the use of a temporary device as opposed to monitoring equipment that would sense incoming rockets or mortars? A wealth of military equipment is being handed over to the Iraqi military -- that's fine, it's really not worth the financial cost to carry it back to the US and it will soon be out of date. This was known and factored in long ago. But was there not better equipment protecting US military bases in Iraq -- radar equipment -- that could have been handed over to State at a time when the US military -- as planned -- is discarding equipment like crazy in anticipation of the re-ordering of equipment which was always planned? Seems there should be something better than GIRAFFE especially when you consider how long the State Dept intends to stay in Iraq.
Again, Chair Jason Chaffetz' concerns are going to be concerns a lot of people will have though, granted, some may not have them unless something horribly wrong takes place and a State Dept worker is injured or killed under this new program.
Injured or killed? Baghdad was slammed with bombings today. Muhaimen Mohammed and CNN report, "A string of six explosions killed at least 22 people and wounded more than 70 in Baghdad on Wednesday, Iraq's interior ministry said." Other reports count five bombings. However, Reuters gives a detailed rundown of each Baghdad bombing today and they also count six. Rebecca Santana and Sameer N. Yacoub (AP) noted this morning that officials state the death toll has risen to 25 and that's the number most outlets run with this afternoon; however, AGI noted the death toll this morning had risen to 28. Global Post states officials are saying eighty-three were injured. BBC News notes their correspondent Rami Ruhayem says "The resurgence of suicide attacks inside the capital is a worrying development even by Iraqi standards." Mu Xuequan (Xinhua) notes that the dead and wounded include police officers and Iraqi soldiers. Michael S. Schmidt (New York Times) adds, "Children at a school close to one of the police stations were injured by shattered glass." Reuters quotes police Lt Nadeer Adel stating, "A car approached... the driver smashed through the checkpoint and exploded the car when he hit a concrete barrier. Smoke was everywhere, we all took cover. Minutes later we found a crater and some of our police were dead."
Dan Zak and Asaad Majeed (Washington Post) state, "It was the bloodiest day in Baghdad since Aug. 28, when a suicide bomber killed 28 and injured 30 at the city's largest Sunni mosque." KUNA explains, "An Iraqi police source told KUNA here that the explosions targeted police stations in the towns of Al-Watheq Square, at the entrance of the Ministry of Interior's building, Al-Hurriya, and Al-Baya'a ." Mu Xuequan (Xinhua) adds, "Major General Adel Dahham, the spokesman of the Iraqi Interior Ministry, told reporters that guards of the attacked police stations had opened fire on the suicide car bombers and managed to blow up the car bombs at the concrete barricades and prevented them from entering the buildings of the police stations." EuroNews (link is video) states, "The police are a vulnerable taget for militants because they lack the sophisticated weaponry that the Iraqi army has. " Salam Faraj and Ammar Karim (AFP) report of the Alwiay station bombings, "Human remains and shrapnel from the bomb were scattered for about 100 metres (yards), and security forces cordoned off the scene, an AFP correspondent said. Parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi condemned the attacks in a statement released by his office." The Washington Post has compiled several photos for an essay here.
Besides bombings in Baghdad, Reuters notes a Mosul roadside bombing left two people injured, a Kerbala drive-by claimed the life of Shiek Muhanned al-Meaamar and his driver (the Shiek was "a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani), an attack on a Mosul checkpoint which claimed the lives of 2 Iraqi soldiers, an attack on a Mosul real estate office in which 2 people died, an attack on a Baghdad police checkpoint (shooting attack) that left two police officers injured, 1 Diwaniyya city employee shot outside his home, and, dropping back to Tuesday night for all that follows, 1 Iraqi military colonel shot dead in Baghdad and a Daquq roadside bombing injured two Iraqi soldiers.
On Antiwar Radio, Scott Horton speaks to David Enders who probably wishes most people weren't streaming it on a day when Iraq was slammed with violence. Brief excerpt.
David Enders: The situation In Iraq at the moment is that the Americans appear to be indeed withdrawing combat troops. I think that's a fact. It does not appear that there is anyway that the Iraqi government will approve a presence of combat troops following the end of the year. Obviously there will still be uh a military presence and a CIA presence. I mean the Americans are still very much involved in counter-terrorism on the ground here and that will probably continue to be the case. Uh we'll also be heavily involved in training uhm and supporting the Iraqi military which -- which is essentially, you know, become a client of the US. Uh the situation on the ground for the average Iraqi I think has changed very little. The government still remains essentially a dictatorship. Iraq still is a police state. I was arrested uh this afternoon or this morning rather for filming on the highway. I was actually filming a convoy of Americans sort of, you know, packing up to go. And I got arrested for filming on the highway. Uhm, I was detained for a few hours. Nothing-nothing serious. And let go. But that gives you an idea the amount of personal freedom one-one perhaps has in Iraq. Uh, electricity is still on 12 hours a day at best. Right now uh it's October. This is a -- This is a time where electricity demand is the lowest. It's before it gets cold and people turn on their heaters, it's after the, you know, super-hot summer months so people aren't running the ACs quite as much and I'm living a stone's throw from the presidential compound and this neighborhood has 12 hours of national power a day. Uh, so I think that gives an idea of-of how the quality of life has improved for the average Iraqi. Security is much better than it was. I-I haven't been here since 2009. Uhm, but that comes with-with a-a-a soldier-to-person ratio of -- that-that must be one of the highest in the world. I mean the-the number of check points, the number of -- Security presence on the streets is just kind of incredible. Uhm and that still does not mean that there's not violence. Uh but compared to 2007, 2008, it's considerably reduced. So that's the situation in Iraq.
Is it? It's certainly all the nonsense I can endure from David Enders who has to be the Baghdad correspondent we've noted least in all the time since 2004. (And noted him little for good reason. KPFA friends warned me off his reporting early in the war.)
"The situation In Iraq at the moment is that the Americans appear to be indeed withdrawing combat troops." Where does it seem that way? From the public baths?
US President Barack Obama claims combat troops were removed by August 31, 2010. September 1st, when the combat is over, according to Barack, the war is renamed "Operation New Dawn." Now the plan is for US soldiers to be called "trainers." Back before Thomas E. Ricks went nuts and became a counter-insurgency addict, he was fond of making the point that US soldiers are trained for combat. That is what they're trained for. Let's drop back to the March 10, 2009 snapshot to note Ricks and NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro on the day prior's Talk of the Nation (NPR).
Thomas E. Ricks: I think that Obama and the people around him are repeating the optimisim of the Bush administration. It's not a departure from Bush to say you want to get out of Iraq. George Bush didn't invade Iraq saying, "I have a great idea. Let's go get stuck in a quagmire for ten years." The original war plan had us down to 30,000 troops by September 2003. Well here we are seven years later. We have more than four times that number of troops and the new president is saying "I want to get us out of Iraq, out of fighting in Iraq by August of next year." Well just because you hang a "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" banner doesn't mean the war ends, just because you say it's a non-combat mission doesn't mean the war ends. The war ends when American troops stop dying. And I was over at the White House the day of the president's speech [Feb. 27th] and I said, "Does this mean American troops will stop dying in August of 2010?" And a military official there said, "No, it does not mean that."
Lourdes Garcia-Navarro: I'd just like to speak to something that Thomas Ricks just said. Um, it's kind of interesting, the war ends when no US soldiers are killed here. You know, it's -- through all of this, you tend to forget the Iraqi narrative. We're talking about the Obama administration, what they think, what they believe. Of course there is a sovereign, now, Iraqi government who also has a say in what happens here and what kinds of, you know, US forces remain here and what the war will look like for them. It's not only US soldiers who die but of course Iraqi civilians, Iraqi army, Iraqi police and that also has a -- that characterizes what will happen here in the coming years and months.
Thomas E. Ricks: That's a good point. I should have said "our war ends when US troops stop dying." I think the war goes on for decades.
Lourdes Garcia-Navarro: It's just -- possibly. And it's certainly a sobering thought for the Iraqis I speak to here. I do spend -- you know, when you're living in Baghdad and covering it -- I've been covering this since 2002 actually -- we have to deal with the US military and, of course, the Iraqis as well. And we -- you know, it's a balancing act. And our staff monitors six [Iraqi] papers a day, three Iraqi channels, and, of course, we go out. Now the security situation is better, I travel all over the country. Tomorrow I'm going into Anbar Province, up near Haditha. I've been pretty much everywhere now days in Iraq and that, of course, allows you to do reporting as you would in any other country, which means getting on the ground, talking to people and seeing exactly what's going on for yourself. Before we had to rely on the US military. They're the ones that had to take us places, we had to embed, we had to see things through their prism. Now that has changed dramatically and we can really go out in a way that we've never been able to since the early days of the war to see for ourselves exactly what's going on.
Neal Conan: And let me quickly follow up again on something Tom Ricks said, decades, Tom?
Thomas E. Ricks: Yeah, I think there will be people fighting and dying in Iraq for decades.
Neal Conan: And Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, do you agree with that?
Lourdes Garcia-Navarro: Well, I think that may possibly be true. As I try and point out in many of my reports, I think the -- for many Americans, they believe that the war is over. I mean there's a lack of interest now that President Obama has said they will be withdrawing US forces in great numbers in the coming year -- not this year, but next year. I think people have sort of thought, 'Well, the war is over in Iraq.' But people die here every single day. There are many simmering conflicts. It might not look like the conflicts that we saw before during the sectarian violence but there are other things that are going on here that could presage many bad days to come. I don' t know, I'm not a prognosticator but certainly Iraq is not stable yet.
Thomas E. Ricks: I think it's a good point that the war has changed several times. It started as a blitzkrieg invasion, then it was a botched occupation, then it was a slow rising but durable insurgency, then it was an American counter-offensive. The war is changing again. It kind of feels like a lull right now. But just because it's changed doesn't mean it's ended and a lot of Americans have stopped paying attention because I think they wrongly think that it's over.
I would argue that David Enders comments also stripped Iraqis out of the equation. The war has not ended -- not for the Iraqis and not for the US. Just yesterday the most recent US soldier to die in combat in Iraq (Spc Adrian Mills) was buried. And for an Iraqi take on Enders claims regarding no more combat soldiers, let's go to the Great Iraqi Revolution commenting on an Al Jazeera article, "Extending the American occupation in Iraq under a new name i.e (NATO Trainers), and the "Trainers" have full immunidty despite all the untrue statements of the Green Zone Government!"
The Al Jazeera article (in Arabic) states Iraqi MPs are willing to consider allowing "trainers" to conduct their mission under NATO which would not only allow US soldiers to stay beyond 2011 but also provide "the legal protection Washington is seeking." Being under NATO, the article notes, would allow the US government to have jurisidiction over any crimes US soldiers committed in Iraq. State of Law (Nouri's political slate) pops up in the article via Sami al-Askari (State of Law MP) who says that option is being debated and that there is another one (getting trainers from other countries) but al-Askari says that it's better and more practical to rely on NATO due to the fact that there's already an agreement in place. That's what someone from Nouri's own political slate is stating publicly and on the record.
"I think that's a fact," Enders insists. Generally speaking, a fact is or isn't a fact. Opinion really doesn't have a lot to do with whether or not something's a fact. "It does not appear that there is anyway that the Iraqi government will approve a presence of combat troops following the end of the year." Really? Did you get the SOFA right? Was your analysis correct on that, David Enders? If he's too 'modest,' I'll answer for him: No, he was wrong on that. But we're supposed to believe his judgment now?
David Enders is not speaking to Nouri al-Maliki and, were he to do so tomorrow, he'd still be an American journalist and not anyone in Nouri's inner-circle. Nouri -- as with the UN mandate, as with the SOFA -- will make the decision on the Iraqi side. He may or may not toss any decision before Parliament. But he will be the one -- barring his being removed from the post -- who will make the decision.
Now maybe David Enders is sleeping with Nouri and privy to pillow talk? Were that the case then I would trust his unsourced and unreliable opinion a little more. Unless or until I learn that's the case, I'll continue to take him about as seriously as KPFA friends do. (In other words, not real much.)
"Obviously there will still be uh a military presence and a CIA presence." Special-Ops have never left Iraq and are not counted in the estimated 45,000 troops still in Iraq. (I believe that 47,000 is still tossed around by some outlets -- not all -- we're going with 45,000 because that's the number a friend at the State Dept was using when we spoke yesterday.) It would be interesting to know the plan for them. (It would be interesting for the press to explore what has legally allowed them to continue operating in Iraq since the end of 2008. Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen.)
"I mean the Americans are still very much involved in counter-terrorism on the ground here and that will probably continue to be the case." That may be Enders acknowledging Special-Ops. "I mean the Americans are still very much involved in counter-terrorism on the ground here and that will probably continue to be the case." Really? Americans on the ground in Iraq "very much involved in counter-terrorism" would sound to me like combat. I think it would strike many as combat. "Uh we'll also be heavily involved in training uhm and supporting the Iraqi military which -- which is essentially, you know, become a client of the US." Training and supporting the Iraqi military? Sounds again a lot like combat. We'll stop there to pick up from yesterday's snapshot. Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) wrote, "The statement, which appeared in most Iraqi newspapers Tuesday, is the first by any American or Iraqi official to detail the size of the U.S. training contingent that the Iraqis have requested. It seemed to make clear that there were no further discussions likely on the thorny issue of immunity, something U.S. officials have always said was a non-negotiable condition of leaving American troops in Iraq."
For those who objected to Sahar being critiqued, first, if you missed it, that article was raised in today's Congressional hearing. It matters if it was reported incorrectly. Second, search the archives, she's never been critiqued before. Even if a co-writer on a story that got critiqued. I don't critique Laith Hammoudi or any of them. I applaud their work and all it takes is a call from a McClatchy friend to say, "___ has a story" that they wrote or co-wrote to get a link. If I disagree, I usually bite my tongue and have done that for how many years now? I have called out Leila Fadel (no longer with McClatchy), I've called out Roy Gutman and any number of others who were raised in the US and are Americans. I have walled off Issa, Hammoudi and the other Iraqi correspondents from criticism.
Yesterday was different. I'd already seen three of those articles on Jalal Talabani that morning -- over eight hours before I got the call about Sahar's piece -- and linked to one here. The articles I saw were in Arabic. There's probably some in Kurdish. I don't read Kurdish (nor do I speak it). A lot of people in the US can't read Arabic.
The Arabic article I linked to (like the other two I read) reviewed Jalal meeting with editorial boards and holding court -- holding court. Jalal's not only saying that it will be 5,000 US soldiers, he's declaring that the decision was arrived at after he, as High Commander of the Iraqi military, reviewed the situation and their capabilities and blah, blah, blah.
I don't like Nouri al-Maliki. He's a thug and he's a danger to the Iraqi people -- based upon his repeated use of secret prisons alone but it's so much more than that. And that is the opinion of the bulk of the Democrats in the Senate though they bite their tongues publicly now that a Democrats in the White House. It's also the opinion of several NGOs and if you've missed it, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has not been biting its tongue about Nouri this year.
But while I don't care for Nouri, I'm not going to lie about him. He's prime minister. I wish he wasn't. I think it slapped Iraqi people in the face after they turned out to vote in 2010 and, despite Nouri getting 'new votes' after the voting and despite his abuse of office during the elections, they voted for something other than Nouri. And yet their voices were ignored and the US government supported ignoring the voice of the Iraqi people. I think that decision did more than just harm for the next four years, I think it was a huge setback for Iraq's future.
Having said all of that, Nouri, as prime minister, is the commander of the military. Why would I deny that? Why I would pretend otherwise? And, as reported over and over in the Iraqi media (and we noted it in real time), the political blocs gave the negotiations over to Nouri (on US staying or going) and members of the Parliament repeatedly noted that they were waiting on Nouri's appraisal of the military which he was conducting as commander-in-chief. It is not Jalal Talabani's job or role. He has nothing to do beyond parade work and awards ceremonies. That's why I made a point to quote the Iraqi Constitution on the role of the president of Iraq with regards to the military, Chapter 2, Article 70, Section I, "Perform the duty of the Higher Command of the armed forces for ceremonial and honorary purposes."
So, as he entertained editorial boards, Jalal declared not only that 5,000 was the number but that, as the High Commander of the Iraqi military, he had conducted an extensive review of force strength and -- No, he hadn't. He was being a braggart yet again. Once again, he was inflating his role and purpose. Since he was doing that as he held court, that really made everything he said suspect including the 5,000 figure. Someone who feels the need to lie about their role to the press, someone who needs to paint themselves as having more power than they do, is generally someone who tends to inflate all their statements. Translation, everything he said while entertaining the press was worthy of skepticism.
Most US readers are not going to be able to read Iraqi media in Arabic. So when Sahar Issa reports that, in these reports, it 'seems' one way, yeah, I will slap it down. I'll do it again, I'll do it every day if necessary. Sahar Issa did not include Jalal's false claims about that military review he'd conducted (he conducted no review; Nouri al-Maliki conducted that review and did so due to his being the commander in chief of the Iraqi military). If that or any other fantastical claim Jalal had made had been included in Sahar Issa's report, I wouldn't have criticized it. But they didn't make the report. What made the report implied that Jalal Talabani was just talking and in the process -- No, he was bragging and on a mission to improve his own standing.
Also not in Sahar Issa's report -- though I don't believe any US outlet has covered it -- Jalal's facing strong criticism from Iraqis. That trip to the US last month cost the Iraqi government $2 million dollars. When The Great Iraqi Revolution got ahold of those documents and released them to the press, there was (and remains) real outrage. And since he returned, he's twice attempted to address the issue with the press and both times made it worse. So it's not at all surprising that someone prone to bragging in the best of circumstances would really go to town inflating their image at a time when they're under fire. We've noted that $2 million repeatedly (including in yesteray's snapshot) but let's turn to the Great Iraqi Revolution to get a take (not "the" take, a take) from Iraqis, "Now this is hilarious! Talabani confirms that he returned 500 thousand dollars of the cost of his trip to New York to Iraq budget, explaining that the plane fare to New York was one million dollars, while the delegation housing and transportation and gifts cost half a million dollars. Talabani added: The amount that was taken ONLY two million dollars. OMG! Is he serious? or does he think that we are naive? Or did Musailema the Liar i.e Maliki taught him this lie?" Is that really the same way Talabani was portrayed by Sahar Issa? No, not at all. Jalal's being publicly mocked for good reason and that's a detail that should have made the report. (And for an amusing illustration the Great Iraqi Revolution did of Nouri al-Maliki, click here. They don't have one of Allawi but they're not fond of him either.)
Moving on to Iraq and one of its neighbors, Aswat al-Iraq noted yesterday, "Turkish artillery resumed its bombing of Kurdish border areas in Seedkan, east Arbil, border control sources said today. [. . .] Kurdistan border areas are under periodical Turkish and Iranian shelling under the pretext of chasing PJAK and PKK parties member, which led to a number of killings and material damages."
The PKK is one of many Kurdish groups which supports and fights for a Kurdish homeland. Aaron Hess (International Socialist Review) described them in 2008, "The PKK emerged in 1984 as a major force in response to Turkey's oppression of its Kurdish population. Since the late 1970s, Turkey has waged a relentless war of attrition that has killed tens of thousands of Kurds and driven millions from their homes. The Kurds are the world's largest stateless population -- whose main population concentration straddles Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria -- and have been the victims of imperialist wars and manipulation since the colonial period. While Turkey has granted limited rights to the Kurds in recent years in order to accommodate the European Union, which it seeks to join, even these are now at risk." The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has been a concern to Turkey because they fear that if it ever moves from semi-autonomous to fully independent -- such as if Iraq was to break up into three regions -- then that would encourage the Kurdish population in Turkey. For that reason, Turkey is overly interested in all things Iraq. So much so that they signed an agreement with the US government in 2007 to share intelligence which the Turkish military has been using when launching bomb raids. However, this has not prevented the loss of civilian life in northern Iraq. Aaron Hess noted, "The Turkish establishment sees growing Kurdish power in Iraq as one step down the road to a mass separatist movement of Kurds within Turkey itself, fighting to unify a greater Kurdistan. In late October 2007, Turkey's daily newspaper Hurriyet accused the prime minister of the KRG, Massoud Barzani, of turning the 'Kurdish dream' into a 'Turkish nightmare'."
And if you doubt the presumptions Turkey believes it can make regarding the KRG, Dar Addustour reports Turkish officials met in Baghdad with US officials (meet-up took place at the Turkish Embassy) to declare that they would not allow -- they would not allow -- Kirkuk to become part of Kurdistan and that they are alarmed by talk of implementing Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution (Article 140 outlines how the disputed area of Kirkuk will be resolved -- a census will be held, followed by a referendum, leaving the issue up to the inhabitants of Kirkuk). Trend News Agency reports Nouri announced yesterday that Iraq's forces should be used "in northern areas of Iraq." The Journal of Turkisk Weekly notes, "Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday that Turkey and Iran had extensive cooperation in combting terrorism." He is quoted stating of Nouri's announcement to send Iraqi troops to northern Iraq, "We have already demanded it. When Iraq preserves its own territories and borders, there is no need for Turkey to stage cross-border operation." AFP notes Iraq's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hoshyar Zebari, is in Turkey today for discussions with Turkish officials. Today's Zaman adds, "Turkey and Iraq have agreed to open two new gates along their common border to boost trade and accommodate increasing traffic between the two neighbors, Today's Zaman has learned. The issue was discussed during a two-day visit by Iraqi Foreign Affairs Minister Hoshyar Zebari in Ankara on Wednesday. According to the information obtained by Today's Zaman from Customs and Trade Ministry officials, the formal agreement for the opening of the first border gate will be signed towards the end of the year, and the gate is expected to be in operation by the end of 2012." Hurriyet adds that "Zebari held meetings with President Abdullah Gül and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu" and they note Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister Labeed "Abbawi said they would take extra measures against the alleged PKK presence at the Makhmour refugee camp, a United Nations-camp in northern Iraq that Ankara claims is a prime recruiting ground for the Kurdish militants."
muhaimen mohammed
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mu xuequan
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michael s. schmidt
al mada
al rafidayn
adam youssef
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mcclatchy newspapers
sahar issa
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John-John
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Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Mikey Likes It!
Subway screws us over again
Ann's Mega Dub
Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)
He was planning to flee
Episode 139: The Corporate Sneak Attack Against Workers In The States; Amazon’s Tax Dodging Culture.
Thomas Friedman is a Great Man
Nancy Pelosi and her problem with women of color
SICKOFITRADLZ
Bye, William Little, just bye
Third Estate Sunday Review
TV: R-e-s-p-o-n-s-i-b-i-l-i-t-y
Cedric's Big Mix
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The Daily Jot
THIS JUST IN! SHE REALLY IS THAT STUPID!
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I'm not a "blogger." Just a woman trying to share some recipes and some thoughts. There are a lot of serious bloggers and they deserve praise for their work.
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Warren and OWS
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Mad Hatter Salad in the Kitchen
UAW works to erode workers rights
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Dems try to take over
Frosted Mini Wheats
Occupy Wall Street continues
The occupation of Wall Street and elsewhere
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Rio de Janeiro carnival
Where: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
When: 4 Mar - 8 Mar 2017
Website: http://www.ipanema.com/carnival/allaboutcarnival.htm
Carnival is Rio's main event. It happens at the peak of summer, when Cariocas are at their best. Festivities attract thousands of people from all corners of the world. Carnaval, as spelled in Portuguese, is a 4-day celebration. It starts on Saturday, and ends on Fat Tuesday, or Mardi-Gras. Carnival Sunday is seven weeks before Easter Sunday. Dates change every year. in 2010 it happens from February 13 through 16.
The origins of Carnival are unclear, but most agree that it started as a pagan celebration in ancient Rome or Greece. Carnival balls were imported to Rio from Italy in the late nineteenth century, and had their golden era in the 1930 through 50's, with legendary balls at the Copacabana Palace and the Municipal Theater.
The Samba Parade began in the 30's - first timidly at Praça Onze, and later on Av. Presidente Vargas. It found a permanent home in 1984 at the Sambodrome, a structure in the downtown area. Today the Samba Parade is broadcast to dozens of countries, and all Brazilian states. Many people think of it as the greatest show on earth.
Rio Carnival 2011 dates: March 4th until March 8th
Rio Carnival 2012 dates: February 17th until February 21st
Rio Carnival 2013 dates: February 8th until February 12th
Rio Carnival 2014 dates: February 28th until March 4th
Rio Carnival 2015 dates: February 13th until February 17th
Rio Carnival 2016 dates: February 5th until February 9th
Rio Carnival 2019 dates: March 1rd until March 5th
Rio Carnival 2020 dates: February 21st until February 25th
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A Tale to Tell
People love to tell stories. It's something that I think is fundamentally built into the human psyche. Having others' attention and entertaining them with a good story is as strong a rush as there is. I've heard that the vast majority of criminals, when arrested, will simply confess because the urge to tell their story to a captive audience is just too strong.
This tendency manifests itself even when there is, quite literally, no story to tell. The clustering illusion denotes the human impulse to see significance in random patterns. Suppose a series of ten coin flips goes as follows: T, H, H, H, T, T, T, T, T, T. A lot of people (but hopefully not too many of my own readers) would see the coin as streaky, though how they would react to that perception might vary: Some might conclude that the coin was "due" for heads and bet that way, while others might conclude that it was on a "tails" streak and bet that way. (For what it's worth, I flipped a quarter ten times and that's exactly the way they came out.)
This has major implications for how we watch and remember sporting events. Maybe the most obvious example of this is the so-called "hot hand" in basketball: the idea that a shooter is "in the zone," and more likely than normal to hit any given shot. Various studies have looked for and failed to find evidence for the hot hand. It's entirely possible that the hot hand is wholly illusory, that it's just the clustering illusion in play. However, as Carl Sagan was wont to say, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Except for free throws, in which shot selection and defense have no play, shooting accuracy is highly contextual. Some shots are wide open, while others are tightly contested. They are shot from all over the field. Some are shot on the run, others are shot on the step back, while still others are spot up shots. What's more, players are intensely aware that they're hot, and as a result may shoot any hot hand they have in the foot (as it were). All these factors conspire to make the hot hand difficult indeed to discern. (For free throws, there is apparently a moderate hot hand; see this paper (or at least its abstract) by Jeremy Arkes.)
But a more basic example is in how we all remember and talk about the game afterward. We talk about the shooting struggles of such and such a player, and how (if our team won) he overcame that adversity and pushed through to get the win. We look back in our memory and find events that, although they seemed minor at the time, turned out to have momentous impact on the outcome of the game. Consider this account of Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals:
With 8:24 left in the third quarter, Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo picked up a loose rebound off Paul Pierce's miss from 19 feet, and pushed it back in to put the Celtics up 49-36. And through 28 minutes of play, Kobe Bryant had had an abysmally poor night on the offensive end. He had shot three of 17 from the field and one of three from the free throw line for seven points and a true shooting percentage of only 19 percent. Largely as a result of his terrible performance, the Lakers found themselves down by 13. To be sure, Bryant had eight rebounds (four of them on the offensive end), but that hardly put a dent in his overall play.
On the play, however, Pierce injured his shoulder and had to sit out for a spell. Bryant thought he saw something that he could exploit as a result, and went to work. On the very next play, he drove into the lane and drew a shooting foul on forward Rasheed Wallace. He only made one of his two free throws, but from then on his performance surged abruptly upward. Starting with that play and for the rest of the game, Bryant gathered seven more rebounds and shot three of seven from the field and 10 of 12 from the free throw line for 16 points and a true shooting percentage of 65 percent, leading his team to a 83-79 win for the title.
Sounds pretty interesting, doesn't it? Makes you wonder what it was that Kobe saw that he could take advantage of. I would wonder, too, except that I just now made it up. Everything else is true, but the sentence in bold is conjured out of whole cloth. Actually, Kobe simply tossed his hands in frustration for a second before taking the inbounds pass and dribbling it upcourt. In trying this narrative out on a couple of folks, though, I found that it was compelling because once people see the remarkable contrast between Kobe's play before that moment and his play after it, they assume that something equally remarkable must have happened to precipitate it. We will latch onto any little thing as an explanation, even if it had no more to do in fact with the game than any other little thing. Right place, right time.
As far as I can tell, though, there was nothing in that game that happened to Kobe. Aside from a trio of truly horrible shots that he took with the shot clock running down, his shot selection was not noticeably worse while the Lakers were falling behind than it was during their comeback. Sometimes, you know, a cigar really is just a cigar.
Posted by Brian Tung at 3:07 PM
Labels: basketball, coins, Kobe Bryant, statistics
K July 18, 2010 at 7:11 AM
Human performance is such a mystery, though -- surely there is statistical evidence for having an "off" day? I can understand limited evidence for the "hot hand", but presumably people have good and bad games, and there is evidence in the statistics that breaks down the better and worse performance, right?
I'm reluctant to trust my intuition, based on cycling and other sports (and programming?), and I do presume that professional sports provides better evidence for this kind of thing because of both consistent motivation and elaborate stats keeping.
Brian Tung July 18, 2010 at 10:58 AM
@K: Yes, people do have good games and bad games, and yes, there are lots of statistics that examine such things. The problem is to figure out when such variation is due to just random chance, and when it's due to something else. It's a very difficult task.
For what it's worth, I do think there is such a thing as a hot hand. However, it's a difficult thing to substantiate beyond a sort of plausibility argument: Shooting a basketball accurately requires lots of body parts to be in proper working order, so any injury detracts from that. It requires a smooth shooting motion (for the most part), so that any uncertainty or hesitation, again, detracts from that.
Given that health and confidence do swing up and down, it would be surprising if there weren't SOMETHING like a hot hand. But of course that doesn't prove that there is.
Likewise, though, it's difficult to prove that there ISN'T such a thing as a hot hand. Some people think it has been proven, but what they've really proven is that there isn't the specific kind of hot hand they've been looking for. There are kinds of hot hands--as a statistician, I would say "models"--that do not lend themselves to being identified by the kinds of tests that people have done so far.
For instance, suppose that Ray Allen had the following kind of hot hand: Each game, there is a probability p that he will hit any three-pointer he takes. Some games, p is high, and some games, p is low, but for any single game, p is constant throughout.
If p varies like a bell curve (that is, most of the times, p is near, let's say, 40 percent, but occasionally it's closer to 30 percent, or closer to 50 percent), it would be very difficult indeed to discern that kind of hot hand. It would not be possible to do, using the kinds of tests that people have done to date (that I'm aware of). And yet it would, in some platonic sense, be entirely distinct from a simple model in which Allen simply makes any three-pointer with probability 40 percent.
Even if you chose a specific model, shooting is so contextual (intensity of defense, shot selection, exhaustion) that determining what it is you've actually detected is still tremendously difficult, using the statistics we have right now. Someday, when basketball is better instrumented, perhaps...but not yet.
Thanks for the keen comment.
Points on the Board
harmolodics
John DeFrancis
non-transitivity
Qian Zhongshu
questionable sanity
queueing theory
recreational mathematics
Robert Ramsey
Ron Artest
travelling salesman problem
Brian Tung
I'm a probability and statistics weenie with an interest in sports, music, poetry, astronomy, people, and other picture postcards.
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CASTELLI MOVES TO NEW FACILITY
The new Sparks, Nevada-based headquarters more than doubles the company’s square footage.
RENO, NEVADA (June 2, 2010) – Castelli North America has moved its headquarters office and manufacturing operations to a new 35,000 square-foot facility, more than doubling the size of it’s previous 10,000 square-foot building. The new address is:
Castelli North America
2080 Brierley Way, Suite 102
Sparks, Nevada 89434
Phone (888-645-2628) and fax (888-443-6433) numbers remain the same.
The facility features a large sales office with room for expansion and a designated production area to enhance productivity and efficiency for customers’ orders. The warehouse area has seven dock doors for increased shipping and receiving capacity plus more than 1,000 pallet locations to house inventory.
“The new space allows us to continue growing our business while becoming more efficient and faster on production times,” said Missy Kilpatrick, CAS, Castelli North America executive vice president. “And with the increased pallet spaces for holding inventory, we have even more flexibility.”
For more than 10 years, Castelli North America, Inc. has been manufacturing sophisticated and stylish appointment books, planners, journals, notebooks, padfolios and related accessories for the North American promotional products and retail marketplaces. Its 40,000 square-foot Reno, Nevada-based facility houses sales and sales service, warehousing, distribution, customization and fulfillment.
Castelli North America, Inc. is a privately held corporation and division of Bergamo, Italy-based Lediberg S.p.A., which was founded in 1965 by Lindo and Maria Castelli. Today, the Lediberg Group’s subsidiaries produce more than 100 million diaries per year worldwide.
For more information, visit the newly redesigned www.castellinorthamerica.com.
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Tag Archives: Curtis Chen
Time Loops and the Paradoxes of Continuum’s Time Travel Physics
The season finale to Continuum leaves the viewer with lots of surprises and questions that are sure to keep them engaged until Season Three begins in 2014. While Season Two doesn’t specifically answer questions regarding the rules to time travel used in the show, it does provide some hints and insights on what might be happening. If anything we can be certain that the rules are going to be as complex and interesting as the plot so far. To get up to speed you should read my first article, “The Wibbly-Wobbly of Continuum“.
Future Alec sends everyone back
We learn at the end of Season One and the start of Season Two that the future Alec (William B. Davis) is responsible for sending everyone back in time. It also turns out that there is a specific reason for sending Kiera back – to either prevent the future from happening or to prevent him from going down a certain path. It is apparent that future Alec regrets many of the things that have taken place when he tells his son, Jason (Ian Tracey), “Liber8 wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for me. Perhaps they are just a manifestation of my conscience.”
But Kiera’s presence isn’t without problems. Escher/Marc Sadler (Hugh Dillon) berates Kiera when he tells her
“You carry destruction in your wake, you’re the time bomb.”
Given that Escher is a former Freelancer, he may have some insight from his former occupation. Warren (Adrian Holmes), one of the enigmatic “Freelancers”, also hints that Kiera’s presence is an “anomaly” and a “glitch in the continuum” and it appears that Warren was ready to kill Kiera to “fix” things.
This raises several questions. If Kiera is a problem, why was she sent back in the first place? Did future Alec know of the trouble she would cause when he sent her back? In Season One, we witness the the “first” meeting between the future Alec and Kiera and it seems that he knew who she was. So while this was a first time meeting for Kiera, it certainly isn’t for Alec.
We Know Things can change
Kiera meets with fellow time traveler Jason, who informs her that he’s being followed by other time travelers from the future he calls “Freelancers.”
One of the mysteries behind the show’s time travel physics is whether there is a single timeline or multiple ones. If there is a single timeline, for events to happen as they are supposed to, they must follow the Novikov self-consistency principle. This principle asserts if an event exists that would give rise to a paradox, or to any “change” to the past whatsoever, then the probability of that event is zero.
This means that for the events that leads up to Liber8’s trip back in time, then all the events in the past need to lead up to that one event. Alec can’t decide not to send Liber8 back in time as doing so ironically creates the corporate run future. In short, this makes it impossible to create time paradoxes which is different from a multiple timeline scenario where anything can happen. In this case, when Kiera and Liber8 arrive in 2012, they create a new timeline that has no impact on the timeline they came from.
In “Second Thoughts” (Season 2, Episode 3), Jason tells Kiera about the Freelancers and that Escher is also one of them. It’s not clear if Jason knows that Escher is his grand-father but it is likely. He seems to think that Escher is dangerous and not a person to be trusted. Jason also tells Kiera that:
“You know, you won’t be the same person when you left”.
This is one of the clues that might be telling us that we are dealing with a single timeline. If a person was to return to the 2077, they might take the place of their “double” and that person’s memories will eventually be replaced by new memories of the new timeline as if the old one never happened.
This gives credibility to the “time loop” theory of a single timeline. But the implication of a single timeline has always been that for the events that lead Liber8 to arrive in 2012, then everything must lead up to them being sent back in time in 2077. Jason could be saying this doesn’t have to be the case; everyone doesn’t have to follow a particular script.
The fact that things can be changed becomes all the more clear in “Second Truths” (Season 2, Episode 6). Kiera solves and stops a serial killer whose case file was unsolved in 2077 in future. Using information gleaned from the future is an example of the Bootstrap Paradox where information sent back from the future becomes the very information that was brought back in the first place.
The Bootstrap Paradox is problematic as it implies that the information was never created. It exists specifically because the loop occurs. This episode is important because it establishes one thing — paradoxes are possible in the Continuum Universe. This means that we don’t have to stick to Novikov even if we are dealing with a single timeline.
As her memories remain unchanged upon solving the case, then according to Jason, she won’t experience any changes to her memories until she returns to 2077. The events of her examining the unsolved cold case in the future have been wiped out and no longer exist. We don’t know what events have replaced of that day. All we know is that it didn’t happen. This has some profound repercussion for Kellog.
What this means if or when she returns, remains to be seen. The multiple timeline scenario posed one problem. If 2077 Alec sends Liber8 back in time, he can never achieve his plan to stop the dark path the world has taken as he will only change the history of an alternate Universe.
The time loop scenario poses a similar problem. If all the events must happen in a way that must lead up to Liber8’s “execution”, then there is no way Alec can change the past. Allowing paradoxes to be a part of the show’s time travel physics solves that problem and allows Alec to hatch the plan he needs to save the world.
Garza kidnaps a young Alec
In “Second Wave” (Season 2, Episode 10), Jasmine Garza(Luvia Petersen) kidnaps young Alec on the orders of his future self. It seems this was future Alec’s contingency plan in case the corporate controlled future appears imminent. Unfortunately, it seems that in an act of desperation and frustration, Garza jumped the gun and acted prematurely.
In 2077, the older Alec tells his son Jason of his plans to send Liber8 back in time to stop the corporate controlled future.
It seems that this isn’t the only plan the future Alec has put in motion. In the season finale, “Second Time”, we learn that Jason is his son and not his father as previously believed. In this scene, future Alec says:
“Because you will inherit my failure if I don’t succeed and I don’t wish that on anyone”
Could it be that he means that if he fails and is killed, Jason will be wiped out of existence when he returns to the future?
It also seems that a time traveler won’t feel the effects of his actions until he returns to the future timeline. Jason tells Kiera that:
One day, you’re going to wake up and wonder if any of it really happened.
This may mean that once they return to the future, they not only replace their future selves but eventually take on the experiences and memories of that time line as if they never went back in time.
This provides some insights to the “A Test of Time” (Season 1, Episode 5) episode when the young girl believed to be Kellog’s (Stephen Lobo) grandmother is killed by Travis. Whether this girl is really Kellog’s grandmother or not is never answered but we always assumed that as Kellog didn’t pop out of existence then Kellog was mistaken. It turns out that if Maddie (Olivia Ryan Stern) really is Kellog’s grandmother, he may pop out of existence upon his return to the future.
This also has some repercussions for Kiera herself. In the last few episodes of Season 2, Kiera has become almost obsessed with returning to 2077 and to be with her family despite Alec explaining that so many changes have happened that the future she knows may not even exist. Her best bet at ensuring the existence of her family is to stay in 2013 and see her predicament through.
What happens in the future doesn’t stay there
It would seem that whether there is one universal time-line or multiple ones lies somewhere in the middle. Escher calling Kiera the “time bomb” and Warren referring to her as a “glitch” indicates this. It seems that Kiera’s very presence is problematic.
Kiera’s presence also makes you wonder who the Freelancers are and their true goals and mission. According to Jason, humanity’s history has been guided by this enigmatic group as they seed the past with the technology that enables mankind to make the next leap froward; another example of the Bootstrap Paradox. When Warren describes his mission to Jason, we are lead to believe that the Freelancers might be the good guys — the equivalent of time cops.
But Jason believes this group is bad and might comprise individuals who manipulate history for their own benefit. It’s not clear whether Jason knew of the Freelancers before his meeting with Warren in 2077 or he picked up information about the group when he arrived in 1990. We were lead to believe that Jason’s arrival in 1990 was accidental but could his father have sent him back to investigate the circumstances of his birth and find out more about the Freelancers? Could he have discovered the existence of rogue Freelancers like Escher in the process and hence the reason why he believes his grand-father is dangerous?
As future Alec knows of the Freelancers, this could mean that this isn’t the first time any of this is happening. Not only does he know of the Freelancers from past experience but it may have happened several times in the space-time continuum — he just doesn’t “remember” it. Escher may have gone back in time to start Pyron, thereby creating the catalyst that will lead to the eventual creating of Sadtech and the dystopian corporate controlled future. This also leads young Alec to create the time-travel device and start the “family business”.
As the Freelancers are known to “interfere” in humanity’s development, it could mean that the Freelancers meant for the corporate controlled future to happen. This isn’t without consequences. Alec, realizing the horrible mistake he has made, sends Liber8 back in time to prevent this. But if the future is changed by events in the past, how would he know he has succeeded or that he even made an attempt in the future? The best way is to send a message in a bottle and this is where Kiera come in. He uses Kiera’s Mark 4 polymeric nano-composite body armor to save that message and this is where the time loop theory becomes intriguing. If this has happened before then he can send the information he needs to change the future. He can send his past and future selves the information they need, telling them what worked and what didn’t.
Time Travel in Continuum
In an unknown location and time, Kiera is held prisoner by the Freelancers with her fellow time travelers, their fates uncertain.
It seems that Contonuum’s time travel physics utilizes a single timeline. Travel back in time creates a new timeline that wipes out the old one. In several episodes, we see Kiera being dragged to a futuristic holding cell. At first, we are lead to believe that this might be a hallucinatory effect of future Alec uploading a file into Kiera’s memory but it seems that these hallucinations are very real and might be a Freelancer controlled prison.
We are never told where or even when this prison cell is. All we know is that the Freelancers are kidnapping other time-travelers. What they do with them after they are captured is anyone’s guess. If they return them to their proper place in the time line, could Kiera’s nightmares be a result of her remembering her traumatic capture from a previous time line? Or maybe she is remembering some event that is supposed to happen. The revived Curtis Chen (Terry Chen) offers no clues.
In the season’s finale, Warren and Curtis talk about “this timeline”. This indicates that the events with Liber8 and Kiera have happened several times. Exactly what the Freelancers do with their prisoners is unanswered. Do they “reinsert” them or do they keep them captive? Can we expect several prison cells all holding different versions of everyone? Are these doppelgangers connected in any way?
Fans of the show know that there is nothing easy when it comes to understanding the show. The seemingly basic premise of the “evil” Liber8 fighting to stop the distopian future hides a much deeper plot. By allowing paradoxes to be a part of the show’s physics, it appears that a much deeper plot exists — a battle between Alec and the Freelancers and where their battle is a game of chess played across space and time. The question is, are everyone just pawns or is there a bigger eventual battle where everyone plays a part to come?
Posted in The Wibbly Wobbly
Tagged Adrian Holmes, Alec Sadler, bootstrap paradox, continuum, Curtis Chen, Escher, Hugh Dillon, Ian Tracey, Jasmine Garza, Jason Sadler, Kiera Cameron, Luvia Peterson, Maddie, Marc Sadler, Matthew Kellog, Olivia Ryan Stern, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lobo, Terrt Chen, time travel, time travel paradox, Warren, William B. Davis
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English 1A, Handmaid's Tale Contest
Dire Satire
Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel about social conformity and the oppression of women, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” has been a controversial...
Written by randapanda126
Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel about social conformity and the oppression of women, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” has been a controversial subject for many people who see it as a near prophecy of what society is heading for if certain precautions are not taken. While she does make light of many issues facing the modern position of women in society today, there is no denying the blatant, apparent similarities of the story and the events women face. Perhaps, not to the same extremities, but on a surface level. Atwood reveals one possible universe that America, or perhaps all women, will face with time. The argument of abortion, to misuse of religion to suppress rights and assault the LGBT(Q), and the expectations of women to bear children, be subservient and voiceless to men of power. These are all issues that mirror real world controversies and Atwood’s novel may just be attempting to show this dire warning.
“There have been more than 600 rallies in 60 countries around the world expressing concern that women’s rights will be eroded under Mr. Trump,” writes ABC news, showing just one of the events with an uncanny likeness to the opening flashbacks in Atwood’s novel (ABC News). The rights and equalities of women in the United States, though some will argue are better than most of the rest of the world, still have much room for growth. Furthermore, the placing of a man such as Trump in political office whom, “more people attended the march than came for Mr. Trump’s inauguration,” bears an ominous mirror. These are the things that some would consider obvious human rights, an example being abortion and controlling birth/birth rates. In the novel, fertile women were appointed to men of power whom which they were ordered to bear their offspring. This type of birth control mirrors President Trump’s reinstatement of, “a law that bans US-funded aid groups around the world from discussing abortion” (McCormack). While this law is not the same level of extremity that Atwood portrays in her novel, it could very well be the beginnings down a similar path. The marches and protests, according to ABC news, were not just attended by women from the states, but women across all seven continents. It is described, “…as a “warning” to women in America about their ‘precarious’ rights” (McCormack).
While being hung over the Harvard wall in Gilead as punishment for being a so-called “Sex Traitor” seems like it could not be something that happens in society today, the truth reveals a different story. The Human Rights Campaign reports at least 23 deaths of transgender people in 2017. In addition, most Americans are no stranger to the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, killing 50 people at Club Pulse in Orlando. Though these were not directly women’s rights issues, the LGBT(Q) community and its supporters continue to fight for rights and are targeted all the same. Around the world, identifying as gay is still punishable by death in the same way Sex Traitors are in the novel. It is also important to acknowledge that transgender women are masked with a cloth of invisibility. They are often denied equal rights, and are subjected to sexual harassment, bullying, and assault at higher rates according to the Human Rights Campaign. The Campaign “estimates trans women face 4.3 times more the risk of being murdered compared to cis women in the U.S., and at least 87% of trans people murdered from 2013 to 2015 were people of color” (Holter).
The warning the novel gives gets personal and all too real when we look at the slowly fading voice of the women in the United States. In the novel, none of the Handmaids, or any of the women at all for that matter, are really able to voice their opinions in their situations. They had lost their jobs, their positions, their freedoms and were no longer even allowed to read. Offred, we find, had to leave behind her story on cassette tapes and this is a nod at how the stories of Anne Frank, and Romeo Dallaire are told. “Education is as close to a silver bullet as we have in terms of increasing women’s and girl’s status,” Atwood herself stated in an interview with The New York Times (Atwood). Women, though slowly breaking the glass ceiling, still lack an equal voice in a great number of things, from politics to their own bodies. What we have witnessed over a millennia is the fact that women must prove their worth. Time after time, they must go above and beyond to convince society that they are worthy of respect, regardless of their gender expression. What is even more startling is the way women are attacked when they are viewed as a threat to one’s patriarchal views. They are threatened by daily acts of violence, rape, and even death. Our President of the United States, for example, is an embodiment of this hatred. He has been the subject of many controversies and legal court cases. How could a man that openly objectifies and premises the abuse of women get so far? I believe this is a reflection of the establishment of Gilead: Under the justification of religion.
When asked, Atwood did not entirely deny that the story was a premonition. While she did state that it was impossible to tell the future and in that right the book was not a prediction, she did, instead, call it an, “anti-prediction: If this future can be described in detail, maybe it won’t happen” (Atwood). Unfortunately, in the very same New York Times article, Atwood mentions that she never uses events that have not, or could not happen in her pieces. This clever use of her resources adds the realness of her masterpiece. It really brings into account the thoughtfulness and in depth analysis we must make about our society. Every line, every page of this book is filled with disturbing, yet intriguing scenes. To realize that these are all events that Atwood based on real life events is frightening. At the end of her book, she writes a very authentic university research report by an acclaimed anthropologist, Piexoto, where he warns his students not to judge Gilead too harshly. The incredible commitment to making this story seem like a real life account parallels a satire by the name A Modest Proposal. In this work, it promotes very controversial and unethical ways to solving the poverty and hunger problem. The Handmaid’s Tale works in the same effect in that it has a carefully thought out plot and intertwining storylines.
Offred is the embodiment of a society of women. She is a of symbol strength. She is someone who wants to stand up for what she believes in, regardless of the immense risks. Even at the end of the story, we do not know of what her fate was as she is dragged into uncertainty, just like the women in our society today. We are faced with a cloud of obscurity. The fight for equal rights for all women, regardless of race, color, gender expression, or creed has only begun. The Handmaid’s Tale serves as an amazing work of satire as well as a dire warning. It is calling out to us. This, the society the United States is becoming, is exactly what Margaret Atwood feared. I believe we must take into account every possibility, speak up for ourselves, and heed the dire warning.
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Up Next: Tale As Old As Time
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You are viewing: > Home > News & Events > Events > U of T Entrepreneurship Seminar: Oct 23
U of T Entrepreneurship Seminar: Oct 23
Event date: Monday, October 23, 2017, from 12:00 PM to 1:45 PM
Location: ONRamp, Suite 150 in the Banting Building, 100 College Street
“The exponential world, the start-up nation and when will we be replaced by robots” with Mooly Eden, former Senior Vice President in Intel Corporation and the president of Intel Israel.
In the talk, Eden will discuss the “exponential behaviour” of the world, and touch on the implications on the way we should develop new technologies and manage our businesses' R&D. He will review the 4th industrial revolution, and, based on his 33 years of experience in microprocessor design, he will try to predict when we’ll be able to design a computer with comparable power to a human brain.
In the US, Eden headed several positions including Intel’s biggest business unit, The Notebook and desk top group, seeing revenue of $32B/year. He was responsible for the design of Pentium MMX™ and the core processor, Centrino, that led to the worldwide mobile revolution. In 2012, he returned to Israel where he served as the President of Intel Israel as well as the General Manager of the Perceptual Computing organization (Man Machine Interface) which he established in 2011. Today, he is the Chairman of the Executive Committee of Haifa University, and invests his time in STEM education, promoting innovation and excellence in IDF and Government ministries, and coaching and promoting startups. In 2010, Eden was voted by Fast Company magazine as one the 26 most creative people in the world. In 2012, he was voted by Forbes magazine as one of the top 10 most brilliant technological minds in the world alongside Amazon CEO and Apple chief designer.
We are very excited to host this exciting seminar in our new U of T ONRamp space, our new collaboration and community space that will connect start-ups across U of T’s incubator/accelerator programs and our partner organizations.
Please RSVP at events.vpresearch@utoronto.ca.
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« Teething gains
Coverage of blog advertising »
Buffett and the Washington Post
Warren Buffett owns 20% of the Washington Post, currently valued at $1.7 billion dollars. It’s interesting to review Buffett’s steadily declining attitude towards the publishing industry and wonder: at what point does Buffett bail on WPO? Obviously, selling even 10% of WPO would be tough in the open market and destroy confidence in WPO’s business model. So what is a billionaire to do?
Charlie Munger, Buffett’s partner, said in 1986:
‘Newspapers are a marvelous business. It’s one of the few businesses that tend toward a natural, limited monopoly. Obviously, it competes with other advertising forms, but not with anything exactly like itself. Show me another business like that ‘ there isn’t one.’
Asked about selling shares, Warren Buffett in 2002:
“It’s not our natural inclination to sell. We’ve never sold a share of the Washington Post, Berkshire Hathaway (since we began acquiring it in 1962), Coke or Gillette.”
“We would sell if we needed the money for something else, but that hasn’t been a problem in the past 10-15 years. Earlier in my career, I had more ideas than money, but now it’s the reverse.”
“Now, we typically sell when we reevaluate the economic characteristics of a business; when we had one view of the long-term competitive advantage, but are modifying it. That’s not to say it’s become a bad business — just that the competitive advantages are not as strong as
we initially thought.”
“A classic case is the newspaper business. Decades ago [when Berkshire bought The Buffalo News and The Washington Post], it was impregnable. We still think it’s quite a business, but it’s not the same as in the 1970s. There are so many other sources of information now. Incidentally, the same thing has been happening to network television.”
And in 2004:
Buffett and Munger were surprisingly bearish on newspapers, a major investment for Berkshire through its large stake in the Washington Post Co. and its outright ownership of the Buffalo News.
After saying that he and Munger are “newspaper addicts” and that “it’s still an unusually good business,” Buffett struck a somber note.
“The economics of newspapers are very, very close to certain to deteriorate over the next 10-20 years,” he warned. “I see nothing that will turn around the erosion from both the circulation and advertising standpoints.”
Here’s a 15 year perspective on WPO.
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BUFFINGTON FAMILY, QUAKERS FROM CHESTER CO., PA
Richard Buffington b. ca. 1654 England m. Ann
William Buffington, b. ca. 1687, Chester, PA m. unknown
John Buffington b. ca. 1712 m. Sarah Young
Phebe Buffington, b. ca. 1768 m. James Sheward
From the HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PA, by Futhey and Cope, 1881, the following was learned regarding Richard Buffington, the immigrant. "Richd. Bobbington was among the list of tydables at Upland in 1677. In 1679, Richard Buffington and John Grubb purchased a tract of land west of Chester Creek, above Chester, which they called "Hopewell of Kent."
"Richard Buffington had a wife, Ann, living in 1695; a wife, Frances (widow of John Grubb), living in 1712; and his widow, Alice (Palmer), survived him. He purchased land in East Bradford (in conjunction with William Vestall) in 1696, and removed to that neighborhood within a few years after. Feb. 25, 1720-1, he conveyed his lands to two of his sons, Thomas and William, reserving a life interest therein, and this was probably on the eve of his last marriage. He appears to have settled at a later period on 200 acres immediately in the forks of Brandywine, but never owned the land, which, however, his son Joseph afterwards purchased from the heirs of Isaac Norris, of Philadelphia. Richard died in January or February, 1747-8, probably about ninety-four years of age. View his will here.
The Pennsylvania Gazette for June 28 to July 5, 1739, contains the following:
'Philadelphia.--On the 30th of May past the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of Richard Buffinton, Senior, to the number of one hundred and fifteen, met together at his house in Chester County, as also his nine sons-and daughers-in-law, and twelve great-grandchildren-in-law. The old man is from Great Marle, upon the Thames, in Buckinghamshire, in Old England, aged about 85, and is still hearty, active and of perfect memory. His eldest son, now in the sixtieth year of his age, was the first-born of English descent in this province."
The children of Richard Buffington, the immigrant were:
Ann Buffington m. Benjamin Hickman at Concord MM on 4/9/1701. They settled on his farm in Westown and had Mary, Elizabeth, John Francis, Benjamin, Ann and Hannah.
Ruth Buffington m. Ezekiel Harlan at Concord MM 3/13/1706. They had children: Ezekiel, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, Ruth and Benjamin. Ezekiel Harlan Jr. was married at Concord MM 10/23/1724 to Hannah Oborn
Richard Buffington Jr. d. 1741, m. Phebe Grubb, d/o John and Frances Grubb, and settled in West Bradford. Phebe was a minister among Friends, and after his death, she married Simon Hadly by 1761, and lived in the edge of New Castle County. She died 3, 4, 1769, and was buried at Bradford Meeting on the 6th. The children of Richard and Phebe were John (m. Elizabeth Way 1738 at Kennett MM, and 2nd Jane Thatcher), Frances (m. to Samuel Osbourne), Phebe (m. 1740 John Wall), Richard b. 1715-6 m. Mary Bates and Ann (Pyle) Woodward, Samuel (d. unmarried), Henry (possibly m. Cahterine), Catharine, Peter (m. Hannah Waite, 1750), Nathaniel, Jeremiah, Isaac and Joseph Buffington (m. Content Babb and Mary Few). Of these, Richard Buffington (3) had Curtis, Mary and Phebe, by his first wife and Richard, Jesse, Ann and Esther by his second. John Buffington, son of Richard and Phebe died 1774. His sons were Robert, Richard, Jacob and Joshua. Peter and Joseph Buffington, sons of Richard and Phebe, left for North Carolina in the 1760s. There is no evidence that Nathaniel, Jeremiah or Isaac married.
Thomas Buffington, d. December, 1739, m. Ruth Cope and Ann Matthews. He aquired his first land in 1702. In Concord MM is the record of Ann Buffington, a widow, received into membership, 8/4/1742. On 9/10/1742 Ann married at Concord MM, Moses Gilpin s/o Joseph & Hannah of Chester County. Thomas Buffington's son, William, by his wife, Ruth, was a school boy in 1739 at his father's death. In Hampshire County, West Virginia there exists the will of William Buffington s/o Thomas dated 8-10-1781, wife Mary, and children: Thomas (m. Ann Cline), William (1765-1824), Joel (m. Elizabeth Logan), David (m. Margaret), Jonathan, Richard, Ruth (m. Thomas Collins), Susanna (m. William Sullivan) and Mary Black. Inventory was taken 7-11-1784. I have a note that his wife was Magdalena Ferree. Mr. Gentzler has a genealogy web page that outlines the descendants of William Buffington, s/o Thomas. Ruth Buffington, d/o Thomas of Chester County married 4/16/1736, John Feree of Lancaster County, Pa. at Kennett MM. The Ferree family is then granted a certificate to New Garden MM. In Goshen MM is the mention of the family of Evan Jones. Evan Jones went to Bradford MM. to marry Susanna Buffington, d/o Thomas & Ruth in 1744. Evan Jones was the son of Cadwalader & Elenor Jones. Their children were Agnes, Rebecca, Ruth, Mary, Hannah and Aquilla. Thomas Buffington, Jr. was born about 1704, his first wife is unknown. In 1740, Thomas Buffington Jr. married for his second wife, Mary Harlan, his cousin, the d/o Ezekiel Harlan, Jr. and Hannah Oborn. On 4/27/1754 Mary Buffington (formerly Harlan) was disowned for marrying out of unity at Concord MM. The children of Thomas Buffington Jr. and Mary were Ezekiel, Oborn, Thomas III, and Jonathan. Thomas Buffington Jr. died in April 1768 on Turkey Creek, Edgefield County, South Carolina. Mary Harlan Buffington married James Greer prior to the final estate settlement in 1770. Thomas Buffington had a son, Richard Buffington, who began paying taxes in 1734 in East Caln Township, and married Ann Morgan. Other children include: Rebecca Buffington, married Samuel James, Betty Buffington, Rachel Buffington and Ann Buffington, who married Samuel James.
William Buffington was born about 1687. His father conveyed to him 185 acres of land in Est Bradford, February 25th 1720/1, which he in turn conveyed to Robert Jefferis, August 4, 1721. In a legal document drawn up by the father dated 1721, the water rights on a stream separating the properties of Thomas Buffington and his brother, William, was necessary "as their families were quarreling over use of water from this stream." This was the land that Richard Buffington Senior had given them. He appears to have ownd land subsequently in West Bradford. In 1734 300 acres of land was obtained by William Buffinton and was still being taxed as the land of William Buffington in 1785. William Buffington survived his father, being given a bequest of his father's wearing apparel in 1747-8. William Buffington was a tailor. It is thought that the following third generation Buffingtons were children of William and wife, possibly Alice Rupp: William II, Benjamin, James, Jonathan and John, a tailor in Washington County, PA. Of these James removed to Louisa County, Virginia, John went to Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1784 and Benjamin left for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1771. (from the BUFFINGTON PEDIGREE, by Ralph M. Buffington of Houston, TX)
John Buffington, m. Sarah Eavenson, d/o Thomas and Elizabeth Woodward Eavenson, of Thornbury. John Buffington died in 1736, leaving four children, John, Thomas, Mary and Sarah. His widow married Anthony Arnold on 9, 30, 1737 at Bradford MM, later Sarah & children were granted certificate to Concord MM. Also mentioned in the Concord minutes was Thomas Buffington, who was granted a certificate to Newark MM to marry Sarah Heald on 8/3/1747; John Buffington who was granted a certificate to Bradford MM 1742; Mary Buffington, who married contrary to discipline a Mr. Morgan, 4/1/1741; and Sarah Buffington, who was disowned on 9/2/1754. These may have been the children of John Buffington and Sarah Eavenson. Anthony Arnold died in Sept, 1746, in East Bradford, leaving one child, Hannah, who became the wife of Col. Isaac Taylor. John Buffington Jr. may have had the following children: Richard, Robert, Joshua, Jacob and Caleb Buffington.
Hannah Buffington, m. Jeremiah Dean 5/2/1720 at Kennett MM. On 2/5/1718 Hannah was received by certificate from Philadelphia MM. They had four children, James, Nehemiah, John and Mary.
Mary Buffington was married first to William Baldwin, who died in 1722. She later married Charles Turner, of Birmingham.
Elizabeth Buffington, d. 1748-9, m. Peter Collins and in 1734/5, she married again to John Freeman
Lydia Buffington m. George Martin. They had children: Joseph, John, James, Rachel, Lydia, Mary Elizabeth and Ann. Her husband married a second wife, Mary Nichols in 1757.
Abigail Buffington, b. September, 1721, d. April, 1813 m. Edward Seed, of East Bradford on 1/1/1741. He died in 1754, leaving six children: Abigail, Adam, Richard, George, James and Mary. Abigail married a second time to David Fling, a weaver, and by him had these children, Alice, John, Phebe, Hannah and David.
Joseph Buffington, d. Nov. 17, 1785, unmarried, in his will he left legacies to his brothers and sisters.
Alice Buffington, d. July 19, 1775, married at the Old Swedes' Church Wilmington, January 3, 1745 to Robert McArthur, who left one son, John. Alice married again, about 1749 to James Hance. By him she had children, Joseph, mary, Hannah, Ann, James, Richard and Ruth. Her husband Hance died 30 October 1785, aged 63 years
Charlotte's Family Trees has information on the ancestry of Richard Buffington Sr. and the Buffington-Harlan conncection through Richard's daughter, Ruth.
3rd Generation John Buffington left Chester County, Pa, about the year 1773-1784. He settled in Pike Run Township, Washington County, PA in 1784. John Buffington is thought to be the son of William Buffington. His wife is given as Sarah Young, supposed to be from a prominent Quaker family. I have no information on Sarah Young, or if Young was her name. A descendant of Sethica Buffington states that family tradition is that Sarah Young was born 1735 in Chester County, PA and died in Pike Run Township in her 90th year, 1825. Lynn Brosy submitted a copy of a page from "The Examiner, Washington County, Pa, dated Saturday, December 24, 1825. It states: "Obituary: Died, on sunday morning last at an early hour, Mrs. Sarah Buffinton of Pike Run Township, in the 90th year of her age." A Samuel Young warranted a large tract of land in Pike Run Township situated only a mile or two from John and Sarah's home. This Mr. Young conveyed his interest in this tract to a Robert Jackman in 1776. In 1796, John Buffington sold land to James Millison, Jr. also from Chester County, PA, and died in 1804 leaving a will. You may view the will of John Buffington here. His children were Joseph (m. Mahala Peters); Mary (m. Grimes); Phebe (m. James Sheward); Asa reportedly settled in Ohio, not in his father's will; Alice (m. Turner); Sethecia b. 4/4/1777, m. Sarah Millison;
Family documents cause us to wonder whether the assumption that John Buffington was, as Ralph Buffington speculated, a son of William Buffington, s/o Richard. Click here to view the Administrator Bond recorded in Vol. 1, p. 429 of Washington County, PA. This indicates some additional relatives of Seth Buffington, s/o John and Sarah Young Buffington. Additionally, Harry M. Shaposka sent me a family history sketch written by Andrew J. Buffington, grandson of Seth.
These are the children of John Buffington 1732-1804
Joseph Buffington was born about 1763 and married Mahala Peters. In 1790 he is listed in Pike Run Twp, Washington County, PA with his father. The 1800 census finds that he his gone fro that area and may have gone into Virginia. Joseph Buffington predeceased his father and his widow married David Butler and came to Dearborn County,Indiana in the late 1790s or 1800s. In a history by Adam Flake, "in 1798 Ebeneezer Foote (step father of Mahala Butler and the Peterses), David Butler and stepsons John, Jonathan, and Jehiel Buffington" came to the area. Of these, John Buffington 1784-1852 married Nancy Cheek; Jonathan Buffington born about 1790, married Jane Moore, and Jehiel Buffington born about 1792, married Elizabeth.
Mary Buffington was born about 1765 and married a Mr. Grimes. She had at least two sons: Isaac Grimes b. 1797 who married Sarah and had three children, William, Mary and Joshua. Robert Grimes b. 1800 and married Jane and had a daughter Susanna.
Phebe Buffington married James Sheward and settled in Ohio, where James Sheward died. Their daughter Sarah married Daniel Weese, and is my ancestor.
Of Asa Buffington, born about 1770, there is no further information.
Alice Buffington was born about 1773 amd married a Mr. Turnon or Turner. She had at least one son, Joseph, born 1817, who married Eleanor and had children, William, 1842, Amanda, 1844, and James, 1846.
Sethecia Buffington, called Seth was born 4 April 1777. He spent most of his life in Washington County, PA and went to Iowa due to financial difficulties. He died at Pilot Grove, Lee County, Iowa in 1851. He married Sarah Millison, daughter of James Millison Jr. and Abigail Hayes. There children were Orpha Buffington who was born about 1798 and married Robert Lilly; John Buffington, born about 1800 and married Pauline Reynolds; Polly Buffington born about 1802 and married John Ashmead; James Buffington, b. about 1804 and married Rachael Jones (his widow Rachel appears in ght 1850 census for Henry County, Iowa with three children: Caroline 18, John 16, Sarah 11); Seth Buffington was born about 1805 and may have gone to Dearborn County, Ind, when in 1850 he lived with wife Hester Ann (possibly Hester Ann Hallowell m. 14 Nov 1847 Dearborn County) and daughter Martha in Harrison Twp; Joseph Buffington, born 2 Mar 1806 married Mary Thompson, daughter of John, with children John Davis, Andrew Jackson, Ruth, Mary Eliza, Sarah Frances and Emma Cecelia; Jesse Buffington b. 7 Apr 1811 md. 1834 Mary Evans, and 2nd Miss Jones; William Bartley Buffington, b 1813 married Elizabeth Goodrich and lived in Henry County, Iowa; Robert Buffington, b. 1815; Sarah Buffington, b. about 1818 married Joseph Wright; Abbie Buffington, b. abt 1821 married John Deems and lived in Missouri in 1890. MORE
If you have comments, contact Pat Walker
Go to Pat's Genealogy Page to see more surnames.
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In Paris, a young American who works as a Michael Jackson lookalike meets Marilyn Monroe, who invites him to her commune in Scotland, where she lives with Charlie Chaplin and her daughter, Shirley Temple.
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Georgy has resigned herself to being one of life's accidents. She disapproves somewhat of her father's butlering James Leamington. She's tall, plump, sloppy and wistfully envious of what she conceives to be the life led by her beautiful, but icy roommate. Where her roommate, Meredith, is cool and calculating, Georgy gets so involved with the people around her she behaves like an affectionate puppy. Most of all she burns to be a mother. But it is Meredith that is in the hospital having an unwanted child.
The Candidate (1972)
Bill McKay is a candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. He has no hope of winning, so he is willing to tweak the establishment.
Why Did I Get Married? (2007)
The film is about the difficulty of maintaining a solid relationship in modern times. Eight married college friends plus one other non-friend (all of whom have achieved middle to upper class economic status) go to Colorado for their annual week-long reunion, but the mood shifts when one couple's infidelity comes to light. Secrets are revealed and each couple begins to question their own marriage
Cheaters (2000)
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High recruits seven students for an academic decathlon team. They work long hours, preparing for the February regional event, won for ten straight years by a privileged, preppy school. Steinmetz finishes just well enough to be invited to the state meet.
Miss World Virginity, who is nearly mute, endures a horrifically kinky honeymoon but soon escapes to a scatalogically inclined commune in Vienna. Meanwhile, a madwoman pilots a candy-stuffed boat down a river. Yugoslavian director Dusan Makavajev intercuts these two wild tales with shocking footage of the discovery of mass graves from the Katyn Massacre.
Salvation Boulevard (2011)
Set in the world of mega-churches in which a former Deadhead-turned-born again-Christian finds himself on the run from fundamentalist members of his mega-church who will do anything to protect their larger-than-life pastor.
Kolya (1996)
The Czech Republic Director Jan Sverák tells in this Oscar winning film the story of the disillusioned Prague man named Cellisten Louka, who after a fictitious marriage with a Russian emigrant must suddenly take responsibility for her son. However its not long before the communication barrier is broken between the two new family members.
Meet John Doe (1941)
As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement.
To Be Twenty (1978)
Lia and Tina are two beautiful girls who meet and realize that they have a lot in common. They are both young, beautiful and pissed off, so they decide to hitchhike their way to Rome to find Nazariota's commune, a place to stay for free and have all the sex they want... or so they think. Things don't go as they have planned though, and soon they become involved in prostitution, the police and an aggressive gang.
Another 9 1/2 Weeks (1997)
John flies over to Paris to find out his girlfriend Elizabeth. He finds a mysterious fashion designer named Lea and her assistant Claire, and it turns out that Lea was Elizabeth's friend in Paris. Lea says to John that Elizabeth married and moved away. The passion starts to appear between John and Lea, when Lea's business partner Vittorio tells John another version of Elizabeth's fate.
Reach for Me (2009)
Old and bitter, Alvin just wants some peace and quiet in his last days. His wish, however, is not granted when a young, vibrant and ironically full of life Kevin becomes Alvin's hospice roommate. Through this "odd couple" relationship, Alvin learns that its not the minutes in our life, its the moments in your life that matter.
Festival in Cannes (2001)
Cannes, 1999. Alice, an actress, wants to direct an indie picture. Kaz, a talkative (and maybe bogus) deal maker, promises $3 million if she'll use Millie, an aging French star. But, Rick, a big producer, needs Millie for a small part in a fall movie or he loses his star, Tom Hanks. Is Kaz for real? Can Rick sweet-talk Alice and sabotage Kaz to keep Millie from taking that deal? Millie consults with Victor, her ex, about which picture to make, Rick needs money, an ingenue named Blue is discovered, Kaz hits on Victor's new love, and Rick's factotum connects with Blue. Knives go in various backs. Wheels spin. Which deals - and pairings - will be consummated?
Lovelife (1997)
Lovelife is a 1997 romantic comedy film written and directed by Jon Harmon Feldman. The ensemble cast includes Matt Letscher, Sherilyn Fenn, Saffron Burrows, Carla Gugino, Bruce Davison, Jon Tenney and Peter Krause. Lovelife was nominated for a Feature Film Award at the 1997 Austin Film Festival, and won an Audience Award at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. The film was winner of the screenplay award at the L.A. Indie fest.
Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces (1990)
Twelve-year-old Noura dangles uncertainly in that difficult netherworld between childhood and adulthood. His growing libido has gotten him banned from the women's baths, where his mother took him when he was younger, but he's not yet old enough to participate in grown-up discussions with the men of his Tunisian village. Noura's only real friend is a troublemaker named Salih -- the village political outcast.
The Joke (1969)
In the 1950s, Ludvik Jahn was expelled from the Communist Party and the University by his fellow students, because of a politically incorrect note he sent to his girlfriend. Fifteen years later, he tries to get his revenge by seducing Helena, the wife of one of his accusers.
The Age of Beauty (1992)
In 1931, a young soldier deserts from the army and falls into a country farm, where he is welcomed by the owner due to his political ideas. Manolo has four daughters, Fernando likes all of them and they like him, so he has to decide which one to love.
Little Indian, Big City (1994)
Stephen, an international trader, tracks down his ex-wife Patricia in some Amazonian backwater. He needs her consent to a divorce so that he can marry Charlotte. Unfortunately, he discovers a son he didnt know he had Mimi-Siku. The young jungle boy yearns to see Paris so Stephen reluctantly agrees to take him back home with him for a few days. How will Mimi-Siku react to life in the great metropolis?
Red Dog (2011)
Based on the legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long lost master.
La Ronde (1950)
An all-knowing interlocutor guides us through a series of affairs in Vienna, 1900. A soldier meets an eager young lady of the evening. Later he has an affair with a young lady, who becomes a maid and does similarly with the young man of the house. The young man seduces a married woman. On and on, spinning on the gay carousel of life.
Wonderful World (2009)
Ben Singer (Matthew Broderick) is a failed childrens folk singer, a career proofreader, a less-than-extraordinary weekend dad, and perhaps the most negative man alive. Floundering in all aspects of his life, Ben's only comfort comes from regular chess games and friendly debates on game theory with his Senegalese roommate Ibou (Michael Kenneth Williams). When Ibou is suddenly struck ill, Ben's pessimistic worldview seems unequivocally confirmed. It takes an extended visit from Ibou's sister Khadi (Sanaa Lathan) for Ben to realize that cynicism may be all a matter of perspective.
Under the Roofs of Paris (1930)
Albert is smitten for Pola but ends up wrongly committed in jail, in the meantime her affections are sought after by his friend, and on his release both love and friendship must be tested.
Shopgirl Betty Lou Spence is in love with her handsome employer, Cyrus Waltham, Jr. However, he is already romantically linked to socialite Adela Van Norman. Cyrus's friend Monty notices Betty and she uses him to get closer to Cyrus. She finally gets Cyrus's attention and convinces him to take her on a date at an amusement park. Later, Betty Lou proclaims herself as a mother to protect her roommate Molly from having her baby taken away. Cyrus hears of Betty Lou's supposed motherhood and offers to pay for her living expenses, but doesn't offer marriage. Betty Lou is insulted and refuses. When Cyrus hosts a yachting trip, Betty Lou makes Monty take her along. Cyrus gives in to her charms and proposes, only to be rejected. He then learns the truth about the baby and they reconcile at the end of the film.
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Resolution : 14 GA 8
Global Strategy for a representative, balanced and credible World Heritage List
The General Assembly,
Welcomes the adoption by the 26th session of the World Heritage Committee of new Strategic Objectives that include the strengthening of the Credibility of the World Heritage List and the development of effective Capacity-building measures;
Notes the progress report on the implementation of the Global Strategy for a credible, representative and balanced World Heritage List presented in documents WHC-03/14.GA/8 and WHC-03/27.COM/13;
Also notes that the 28th session of the World Heritage Committee (Suzhou, China, June-July 2004) will evaluate the 1994 Global Strategy for a representative, balanced and credible World Heritage List;
Recommends that additional financial resources be allocated to the World Heritage Centre for programmes to strengthen capacity in the States Parties and regions under-represented on the World Heritage List. In addition, an allocation of part of the carry-over of unobligated funds of the regular budget for 2002-2003 could be considered for this purpose by the Executive Board during one of its forthcoming sessions;
Requests that the World Heritage Centre include in its evaluation of the Global Strategy to be submitted to the 28th session of the World Heritage Committee, draft proposals so as to enable the Committee to develop appropriate action plans.
Context of Resolution
WHC-03/14.GA/08
WHC-03/14.GA/INF.8
WHC-03/27.COM/13
Progress Report on the Implementation of the Global Strategy for a Credible, Representative and Balanced World Heritage List
Resolution Code: 14 GA 8
Themes: Credibility of the World Heritage List, Reports
Session: 14th session of the General Assembly of States Parties (14 GA)
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Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 6
The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, ENGLAND AND WALES
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, NORTHERN IRELAND
Made 9th January 2006
Laid before Parliament 9th January 2006
Coming into force 31st January 2006
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
1. Citation, commencement and extent
3. Utilities
4. Economic operators
6. General exclusions
7. Exclusion of contracts awarded to affiliated undertakings or joint ventures
8. Exemption in respect of certain utilities operating in the energy sector
9. Exemption of contracts where activity is directly exposed to competition
10. Reserved Contracts
11. Thresholds
12. Technical specifications in contract documents
13. Variants
PROCEDURES LEADING TO THE AWARD OF A CONTRACT
14. The open, restricted and negotiated procedures
15. Periodic indicative notices
16. Call for competition
17. Award without a call for competition
18. Framework agreements
19. Dynamic purchasing systems
20. Electronic auctions
21. Central purchasing bodies
22. Time limits
QUALIFICATION AND SELECTION OF ECONOMIC OPERATORS
24. Mutual recognition concerning administrative, technical or financial conditions
25. Qualification system
26. Criteria for rejection of economic operators
27. Criteria for selection of economic operators
28. Consortia
29. Corporations
THE AWARD OF A CONTRACT
30. Criteria for the award of a contract
31. Rejection of third country tenders – supply contracts
32. Contract award notices
33. Information about contract award procedures
SPECIALISED CONTRACTS
34. Design contests
MATTERS RELATING TO A CONTRACT
35. Obligations relating to taxes, environmental protection, employment protection and working conditions
36. Conditions for performance of contracts
37. Preservation of records
38. Statistical and other reports
39. Provision of reports
40. Publication of notices
41. Confidentiality of information
42. Means of communication
43. Sub-contracting
44. Attestation
APPLICATIONS TO THE COURT
45. Enforcement of obligations
46. Conciliation
REVOCATION, SAVINGS AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
47. Revocation
48. Savings and transitional provisions
SCHEDULE 1— UTILITIES
SCHEDULE 2— ACTIVITIES CONSTITUTING WORKS
SCHEDULE 3— CATEGORIES OF SERVICES
SCHEDULE 4— EXTENSION TO NON-MEMBER STATES
The Treasury, being designated[1] for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972[2] in relation to public procurement, in exercise of the powers conferred upon them by the said section 2(2), make the following Regulations—
Citation, commencement and extent
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006 and come into force on 31st January 2006.
(2) These Regulations do not extend to Scotland.
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
"attestation system" means a system under which a utility may have its contract award procedures and practices within the scope of the Utilities Directive examined periodically by an independent person or body with a view to obtaining an attestation that at the time of examination those procedures and practices are in conformity with these Regulations and the Community law to which they give effect;
"to award" means to accept an offer made in relation to a proposed contract;
"buyer profile" means a page on the internet set up by a utility containing one or more of the following: periodic indicative notices, information on ongoing invitations to tender, prospective and concluded contracts, cancelled procedures and useful general information, such as a contact point, a telephone number, a facsimile number, a postal address or an e-mail address;
"carrying out" in relation to a work or works means the construction or the design and construction of that work or those works;
"central purchasing body" means a utility which is a contracting authority and which—
(a) acquires goods or services intended for one or more utilities;
(b) awards contracts intended for one or more utilities; or
(c) concludes framework agreements for work, works, goods or services intended for one or more utilities;
"the Commission" means the European Commission;
"Commission Regulation (EC) No 1564/2005" means Commission Regulation (EC) No 1564/2005 of 7 September 2005[3];
"Common Procurement Vocabulary" means the reference nomenclature applicable to contracts as adopted by Regulation (EC) No 2195/2002 of 5 November 2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Common Procurement Vocabulary[4];
"contract" means any services contract, supply contract or works contract;
"contract documents" means the invitation to tender for or to negotiate the contract, the proposed conditions of contract, the specifications or descriptions of the goods, services, work or works required by the utility and of the materials or goods to be used in or for such work or works, and all documents supplementary thereto;
"contract notice" means, except in regulation 48, a contract notice sent to the Official Journal in accordance with regulation 16(2)(b);
"contracting authority" has the meaning given to it by regulation 3 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006[5];
"contractor" means a person who offers on the market work or works and—
(a) who sought, who seeks, or would have wished, to be the person to whom a works contract is awarded; and
(b) who is a national of and established in a relevant State;
"CPC" means Central Product Classification of the United Nations[6];
"CPV" means Common Procurement Vocabulary;
"design contest" means a competition, particularly in the fields of planning, architecture, civil engineering and data processing—
(a) which is conducted by or on behalf of a utility and in which that utility invites the entry by economic operators of plans and designs;
(b) under the rules of which the plans or designs entered will be judged by a jury;
(c) under which prizes may or may not be awarded; and
(d) which enables the utility to acquire the use or ownership of plans or designs selected by the jury;
"disabled person" means any person recognised as disabled within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995[7] and "disabled persons" shall be interpreted accordingly;
"disability" has the same meaning as in that Act;
"dynamic purchasing system" means a completely electronic system of limited duration which is—
(a) established by a utility to purchase commonly used goods, work, works or services; and
(b) open throughout its duration for the admission of economic operators which—
(i) satisfy the selection criteria specified by the utility; and
(ii) submit an indicative tender to the utility or person operating the system on its behalf which complies with the specification required by that utility or person;
"EC Treaty" means the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, signed at Rome on 25 March 1957 as amended by the Community Treaties;
"economic operator" has the meaning given to it by regulation 4;
"electronic auction" means a repetitive electronic process for the presentation of prices to be revised downwards or of new and improved values of quantifiable elements of tenders, including price, which—
(a) takes place after the initial evaluation of tenders; and
(b) enables tenders to be ranked using automatic evaluation methods;
"electronic means" means using electronic equipment for the processing (including digital compression) and storage of data which is transmitted, conveyed and received by wire, by radio, by optical means or by other electromagnetic means;
"established" has the same meaning as in the Community Treaties;
"European standard" has the meaning given to it by regulation 12(1);
"financial year" means, except where the context otherwise requires, the period of 12 months ending on the date in any year in respect of which the accounts of a utility are prepared;
"framework agreement" means an agreement or other arrangement, which is not in itself a supply contract, a works contract or a services contract, between one or more utilities and one or more economic operators which establishes the terms (in particular the terms as to price and, where appropriate, quantity) under which the economic operator will enter into one or more contracts with a utility in the period during which the framework agreement applies;
"goods" includes electricity, substances, growing crops and things attached to or forming part of the land which are agreed to be severed before the purchase or hire under a supply contract and any ship, aircraft or vehicle;
"Government Procurement Agreement" means the Agreement on Government Procurement between certain parties to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) signed in Marrakesh on 15th April 1994[8];
"GPA" means the Government Procurement Agreement;
"indicative tender" means a tender prepared by an economic operator seeking admission to a dynamic purchasing system which sets out the terms on which it would be prepared to enter into a contract with a utility should that utility propose to award a contract under the system;
"international standard" has the meaning given to it by regulation 12(1);
"Minister" has the meaning given to it by regulation 39;
"Minister of the Crown" means the holder of an office in Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, and includes the Treasury;
"national of a relevant State" means, in the case of a person who is not an individual, a person formed in accordance with the laws of a relevant State and which has its registered office, central administration or principal place of business in a relevant State;
"negotiated procedure" means a procedure leading to the award of a contract whereby the utility negotiates the terms of the contract with one or more economic operators selected by it;
"Office of Government Commerce" means the office of the Treasury having that title[9];
"Official Journal" means the Official Journal of the European Union;
"open procedure" means a procedure leading to the award of a contract whereby all interested economic operators may tender for the contract;
"periodic indicative notice" means a notice sent to the Official Journal in accordance with regulation 15;
"Public Sector Directive" means Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004[10];
"relevant State" has the meaning given to it by regulation 4(4);
"restricted procedure" means a procedure leading to the award of a contract whereby only economic operators selected by the utility may submit tenders for the contract;
"services contract" means a contract, in writing, for consideration (whatever the nature of the consideration) under which a utility engages a person to provide services but does not include—
(a) a works contract; or
(b) a supply contract;
but a contract for both goods and services shall be considered to be a services contract if the value of the consideration attributable to those services exceeds that of the goods covered by the contract and a contract for services which includes activities specified in Schedule 2 that are only incidental to the principal object of the contract shall be considered to be a services contract;
"services concession contract" means a services contract under which the consideration given by the utility consists of or includes the right to exploit the service or services to be provided under the contract;
"services provider" means a person who offers on the market services and—
(a) who sought, who seeks, or who would have wished—
(i) to be the person to whom a services contract is awarded; or
(ii) to participate in a design contest; and
"ship" includes any boat and other description of a vessel used in navigation;
"substance" means any natural or artificial substance, whether in solid, liquid or gaseous form or in the form of vapour;
"supplier" means a person who offers on the market goods for purchase or hire and—
(a) who sought, who seeks, or who would have wished, to be the person to whom a supply contract is awarded; and
"supply contract" means a contract, in writing, for consideration (whatever the nature of the consideration)—
(a) for the purchase of goods by a utility (whether or not the consideration is given in instalments and whether or not the purchase is conditional upon the occurrence of a particular event); or
(b) for the hire of goods by a utility (both where the utility becomes the owner of the goods after the end of the period of hire and where it does not);
and for any siting and installation of those goods, but where, under such a contract, services are also to be provided, the contract shall only be a supply contract where the value of the consideration attributable to the goods and any siting or installation of the goods, is equal to or greater than the value attributable to the services;
"Utilities Directive" means Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004[11];
"Utilities Remedies Directive" means Council Directive 92/13/EC of 25 February 1992 coordinating the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of Community rules on the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors[12];
"utility" has the meaning given to it by regulation 3;
"work" means the outcome of any works which is sufficient of itself to fulfil an economic and technical function;
"working day" means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or Bank Holiday within the meaning of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971[13];
"works" means any of the activities specified in Schedule 2;
"works concession contract" means a works contract under which the consideration given by a utility consists of or includes the grant of a right to exploit the work or works to be carried out under the contract;
"works contract" means a contract, in writing, for consideration (whatever the nature of the consideration)—
(a) for the carrying out of a work or works for a utility; or
(b) under which a utility engages a person to procure by any means the carrying out for the utility of a work corresponding to specified requirements;
"written" or "in writing" means any expression consisting of words or figures that can be read, reproduced and subsequently communicated and may include information transmitted and stored by electronic means; and
"year" means a calendar year.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), in these Regulations—
(a) "a Part A services contract" is a contract under which services specified in Part A of Schedule 3 are to be provided;
(b) "a Part B services contract" is a contract under which services specified in Part B of Schedule 3 are to be provided.
(3) Where services specified in both Parts A and B of Schedule 3 are to be provided under a single contract, then the contract shall be treated as—
(a) a Part A services contract if the value of the consideration attributable to the services specified in Part A is greater than that attributable to those specified in Part B; and
(b) a Part B services contract if the value of the consideration attributable to the services specified in Part B is equal to or greater than that attributable to those specified in Part A.
(4) Where a thing is required to be done under these Regulations—
(a) within a certain period after an action is taken, the day on which that action is taken shall not be counted in the calculation of that period;
(b) within a certain period, that period must include at least 2 working days; and
(c) except for regulation 33(3), within a certain period and the last day of that period is not a working day, the period shall be extended to include the next working day.
3.—(1) In these Regulations a utility is a relevant person specified in one of the Parts of Schedule 1 carrying out an activity in that Part.
(2) In this regulation and in Schedule 1—
"local authority" means—
(a) in relation to a local authority in England, an authority referred to in regulation 3(2) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006;
(b) in relation to a local authority in Wales, an authority referred to in regulation 3(3) of those Regulations;
(c) in relation to a local authority in Scotland, an authority referred to in regulation 3(4) of those Regulations; and
(d) in relation to a local authority in Northern Ireland, an authority referred to in regulation 3(5) of those Regulations;
"network" in relation to a service in the field of transport, means a system operated in accordance with conditions laid down by or under the law in any part of England, Wales or Northern Ireland including such conditions as the routes to be served, the capacity to be made available and the frequency of the service;
"public undertaking" means a person over whom one or more contracting authorities are able to exercise directly or indirectly a dominant influence by virtue of—
(a) their ownership of that person;
(b) their financial participation in that person; or
(c) the rights accorded to them by the rules which govern that person;
"relevant person" means a person who is—
(a) a contracting authority;
(b) a public undertaking; or
(c) not a contracting authority or a public undertaking, but whose activities include an activity specified in the second column of Schedule 1 and who carries out that activity on the basis of a special or exclusive right; and
"special or exclusive rights" means rights granted by a competent authority by way of any legislative, regulatory or administrative provision, the effect of which is to limit the exercise of activities specified in the second column of Schedule 1 to one or more entities, and which substantially affects the ability of other entities to carry out such activities.
(3) For the purposes of the definition of "public undertaking" a contracting authority is considered to be able to exercise a dominant influence over a person when it directly or indirectly—
(a) possesses the majority of the issued share capital of that person or controls the majority of the voting power attached to the issued share capital of that person; or
(b) may appoint—
(i) more than half of the individuals who are ultimately responsible for managing that person's affairs;
(ii) more than half of its members; or
(iii) in the case of a group of individuals, more than half of those individuals.
4.—(1) In these Regulations, an "economic operator" means a contractor, a supplier or a services provider.
(2) When these Regulations apply, a utility shall not treat a person who is not a national of a relevant state and established in a relevant State more favourably than one who is.
(3) A utility shall (in accordance with Article 10 of the Utilities Directive)—
(a) treat economic operators equally and in a non-discriminatory way; and
(b) act in a transparent way.
(4) In these Regulations a relevant State is a member State or a State listed in column 1 of Schedule 4; the agreements with the European Union by which the provisions in relation to public procurement are extended to those States are specified in column 2 of that Schedule and the statutory provision designating them as European Treaties under section 1(3) of the European Communities Act 1972[14] is specified in column 3 of that Schedule.
5.—(1) These Regulations apply whenever a utility seeks offers in relation to a proposed supply contract, works contract or Part A services contract or a dynamic purchasing system other than a contract or dynamic purchasing system excluded from the operation of these Regulations by regulations 6, 7, 8, 9 or 11.
(2) Whenever a utility seeks offers in relation to a proposed Part B services contract other than one excluded from the operation of these Regulations by regulations 6, 7, 8, 9 or 11—
(a) Part 1 and Parts 9 and 10 of these Regulations apply; and
(b) the following provisions in Parts 2 to 8 apply—
(i) regulation 12 (technical specifications in contract documents);
(ii) regulation 32 (contract award notices);
(iii) regulation 38 (statistical and other reports);
(iv) regulation 39 (provision of reports); and
(v) regulation 40 (publication of notices).
(3) A utility shall not enter into separate contracts with the intention of avoiding the application of these Regulations or the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, where applicable.
(4) Where a utility seeks offers in relation to a contract for the purpose of carrying out—
(a) one or more activities specified in the second column of Schedule 1; and
(b) one or more activities not specified in the second column of Schedule 1 but to which the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 apply;
and it is impossible, on objective grounds, to determine the activity for which the contract is principally intended, the utility shall award the contract in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2006.
(b) one or more activities not specified in the second column of Schedule 1 nor subject to the Public Contracts Regulations 2006;
and it is impossible, on objective grounds, to determine the activity for which the contract is principally intended, the utility shall award the contract in accordance with these Regulations.
6.These Regulations do not apply to the seeking of offers in relation to a proposed contract or dynamic purchasing system—
(a) other than for the purpose of carrying out an activity specified in the Part of Schedule 1 in which the utility is specified or in respect of a proposed contract referred to in regulation 5(5);
(b) for the purpose of carrying out any activity outside the territory of the Communities but only if the carrying out of that activity does not involve the physical use of a network or geographical area within the Communities;
(c) for the purpose of acquiring goods, works or services in order to sell, hire or provide them to another person unless the utility has a special or exclusive right to sell, hire or provide such goods, works or services or other persons are not free to sell, hire or provide them under the same conditions;
(d) which is classified as secret or where the performance of the contract must be accompanied by special security measures in accordance with the laws, regulations or administrative provisions of any part of the United Kingdom or when the protection of the essential interests of the security of the United Kingdom requires it;
(e) where different rules govern the procedures leading to the award of the contract and it is to be entered into in accordance with—
(i) an international agreement concluded in conformity with the EC Treaty to which the United Kingdom and a State which is not a relevant State are parties and it relates to goods or the carrying out of a work or works or the provision of services intended for the joint implementation or exploitation of a project related to that agreement;
(ii) an international agreement relating to the stationing of troops; or
(iii) the contract award procedures of an organisation of which only States are members (an "international organisation") or of which only States or international organisations are members;
(f) by a utility which engages in an activity specified in Category 1 of Schedule 1 for the purchase of water;
(g) by a utility which engages in an activity specified in Categories 2 to 6 of Schedule 1 for the purchase of energy or of fuel for the production of energy;
(h) by a utility specified in column 1 of Part S of Schedule 1 for the purpose of engaging in an activity specified in column 2 of that Part of that Schedule where that activity is provided in a geographical area in which other persons are free to provide the service under the same conditions as the utility;
(i) under which services are to be provided by a contracting authority, or by a person which is a contracting authority in another relevant State because that contracting authority or person has an exclusive right—
(i) to provide the services; or
(ii) which is necessary for the provision of the services;
in accordance with any published law, regulation or administrative provision which is compatible with the EC Treaty;
(j) for the acquisition of land, including existing buildings and other structures, land covered with water, and any estate, interest, easement, servitude or right in or over land;
(k) for arbitration or conciliation services;
(l) for financial services in connection with the issue, purchase, sale or transfer of securities or other financial instruments, in particular transactions by the utility to raise money or capital;
(m) for employment and other contracts of service;
(n) for research and development services unless—
(i) the benefits are to accrue exclusively to the utility for its use in the conduct of its own affairs; and
(ii) the services are to be wholly paid for by the utility; or
(o) which is a works concession contract or a services concession contract which is awarded by a utility carrying out an activity specified in the second column of Schedule 1, where the concession contract is awarded for carrying out or providing that activity.
Exclusion of contracts awarded to affiliated undertakings or joint ventures
7.—(1) For the purposes of this regulation—
"affiliated undertaking" means—
(a) in respect of a utility which is subject to the seventh Council Directive 83/349/EC on consolidated accounts[15] as last amended by Directive 2003/51/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2003[16], any undertaking the accounts of which are consolidated with those of that utility; or
(b) in any other case, any undertaking which is either a parent undertaking, a subsidiary undertaking or a fellow subsidiary undertaking of the utility and—
(i) an undertaking is a parent undertaking of a utility if it exercises a dominant influence over it, directly or indirectly, and for these purposes an undertaking exercises a dominant influence over another if—
(aa) it possesses the greater part of the issued share capital of that undertaking or controls the majority of the voting power attached to the issued share capital of that undertaking; or
(bb) it may appoint more than half of the individuals who are ultimately responsible for managing the affairs of that company;
and an undertaking is a subsidiary of a utility if the utility exercises such dominant influence over it; or
(ii) an undertaking is a fellow undertaking of a utility if both are subsidiary undertakings of the same parent undertaking; and
"joint venture" means an association formed exclusively by a number of utilities for the purpose of carrying out any of the activities specified in the second column of Schedule 1.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), these Regulations do not apply to the seeking of offers in relation to contracts which—
(a) a utility proposes to award to an affiliated undertaking; or
(b) a joint venture proposes to award to an affiliated undertaking of one of its members.
(3) Paragraph (2) applies—
(a) in relation to services contracts, provided that at least 80% of the average turnover of the affiliated undertaking in respect of services for the preceding 3 years derives from the provision of such services to one or more of its affiliated undertakings;
(b) in relation to supplies contracts, provided that at least 80% of the average turnover of the affiliated undertaking in respect of supplies for the preceding 3 years derives from the provision of such supplies to one or more of its affiliated undertakings; and
(c) in relation to works contracts, provided that at least 80% of the average turnover of the affiliated undertaking in respect of works for the preceding 3 years derives from the provision of such works to one or more of its affiliated undertakings.
(4) Where more than one of its affiliated undertakings provides the same or similar services, supplies or works, a utility may calculate the percentages referred to in paragraph (3) by taking into account the total turnover deriving respectively from the provision of services, supplies or works by those affiliated undertakings.
(5) For the purposes of paragraph (3), when turnover amounts are not available for the preceding three years because of the date upon which a relevant affiliated undertaking was created or commenced activities, it is sufficient for that affiliated undertaking to show, particularly by means of business projections, that the turnover in respect of the provision of services, supplies or works is credible.
(6) These Regulations do not apply to the seeking of offers in relation to contracts which—
(a) a joint venture proposes to award to one of its members; or
(b) a utility proposes to award to a joint venture of which it is a member provided that—
(i) the joint venture has been set up in order to carry out the activity for which the contract is being sought over a period of at least 3 years; and
(ii) the instrument setting up the joint venture stipulates that its members will be part of the joint venture for at least the same period.
(7) A utility which relies on the exclusions in paragraphs (2) or (6) shall, if the Commission requests it, send to the Minister—
(a) the names of the undertakings or joint ventures concerned;
(b) the value of the consideration and the type of—
(i) services to be provided under any services contract;
(ii) goods to be purchased or hired under any supply contract; or
(iii) work or works to be carried out under any works contracts;
excluded in accordance with paragraphs (2) or (6); and
(c) any information which is necessary to justify the use of the exclusion.
Exemption in respect of certain utilities operating in the energy sector
8.—(1) A utility carrying out one or more of the activities referred to in Commission Decision 97/367/EC[17] is excluded from having to comply with Parts 2 to 5 of these Regulations and regulations 34, 35, 37, 38 other than paragraphs (2)(a), 40 and 43 in seeking offers in relation to a contract to be awarded for the purpose of carrying out one or more such activities.
(2) A utility which relies on the exemption in paragraph (1) shall observe the principles of non-discrimination and competitive procurement, and in particular shall—
(a) hold a competition unless it can objectively justify not doing so; and
(b) in—
(i) making information about its procurement intentions available to economic operators;
(ii) specifying its requirements to them;
(iii) establishing and using a qualification system;
(iv) selecting economic operators to tender for or to negotiate the contract;
(v) holding any design contest; and
(vi) awarding the contract;
make decisions objectively on the basis of relevant criteria.
(3) A utility which relies on the exemption in paragraph (1) shall—
(a) in respect of a contract awarded by it the value of which, calculated in accordance with regulation 11, exceeds 5,000,000 euro, send to the Commission not later than 48 days after the award the following information—
(i) the name and address of the utility;
(ii) the nature of the contract, namely whether it is a supply contract, a services contract or a works contract and whether it is a framework agreement;
(iii) a clear indication of the nature (for example, by using the Classification of Products by Activity[18] of—
(aa) the goods to be purchased or hired under the contract;
(bb) the work or works to be carried out under the contract; or
(cc) the services to be provided under the contract;
(iv) whether the contract was advertised and, if so, in which publication and, if not, the procedure or method used to decide to whom the contract should be awarded;
(v) the number of offers received;
(vi) the date of the award of the contract;
(vii) the name and address of the person to whom the contract was awarded;
(viii) the value of the contract, calculated in accordance with regulation 11;
(ix) the expected duration of the contract;
(x) any share of the contract which has been, or may be, sub-contracted, to which over 10% of the value of the consideration to be given under the contract is attributable;
(xi) in the case of a supply contract, the country of origin of the goods and in the case of a works contract or a services contract, the principal country from which the contract is to be performed;
(xii) where the contract was awarded on the basis of the offer which was the most economically advantageous, the main criteria on which the decision was based; and
(xiii) whether the contract was awarded to an economic operator which offered a variant on the requirements specified in the contract documents; and
(b) in respect of a supply contract or a services contract awarded by it the value of which, calculated in accordance with regulation 11, equals or exceeds 400,000 euro but does not exceed 5,000,000 euro—
(i) retain the information specified in sub-paragraphs (a)(i) to (ix) for not less than 4 years after the award; and
(ii) either—
(aa) if the Commission requests that information in relation to any such contract, forthwith send it to the Minister; or
(bb) where no such request has been made, send that information to the Commission not later than 48 days after the end of the period of 3 months ending on the last day of March, June, September or December in which the contract was awarded.
Exemption of contracts where activity is directly exposed to competition
9.—(1) These Regulations do not apply to the seeking of offers in relation to a contract awarded by a utility for the purpose of carrying out an activity specified in Column 2 of Schedule 1 where that activity is directly exposed to competition on markets to which access is unrestricted and this will be the case if one of the following conditions is satisfied—
(a) the Office of Government Commerce has notified the Commission in accordance with Article 30 of the Utilities Directive of all the relevant facts and—
(i) the Commission has adopted a decision that an exemption should apply in response to such a notification; or
(ii) the Commission has not adopted a decision in relation to such a notification within the time limits specified in Article 30(6) of the Utilities Directive;
(b) the Commission has, on the application of a utility—
(i) adopted a decision that an exemption should apply to the activity concerned; or
(ii) has not adopted such a decision within the time limit specified in Article 30(6) of the Utilities Directive; or
(c) the Commission has, of its own initiative—
(ii) has not adopted such a decision within the time limit specified in Article 30(6) of the Utilities Directive and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph that time limit commences on the date that the Commission has informed the Office of Government Commerce in accordance with that Article that the matter was under consideration.
(2) A utility may make an application to the Commission in accordance with Article 30 of the Utilities Directive for a decision that an activity that utility carries out or is proposing to carry out which is specified in the second column of Schedule 1 is directly exposed to competition on markets to which access is not restricted.
(3) An application made by a utility in accordance with paragraph (2) shall be in writing and shall specify—
(a) the activity in respect of which the notification or application is made;
(b) the relevant facts and in particular, any law, regulation, administrative provision or agreement concerning compliance with the conditions that the activity is not directly exposed to competition on markets to which access is not restricted; and
(c) whether the activity concerned is subject to any of the Community legislation referred to in Annex XI to the Utilities Directive and where it is, the relevant implementing legislation in the UK.
Reserved Contracts
10.—(1) In this regulation—
"supported business" means a service where more than 50% of the workers are disabled persons who by reason of the nature or severity of their disability are unable to take up work in the open labour market and "supported businesses" shall be interpreted accordingly;
"supported employment programme" means a scheme under which work is provided for disabled persons and where more than 50% of the workers so supported are disabled persons who by reason of the nature or severity of their disability are unable to take up work in the open labour market and "supported employment programmes" shall be interpreted accordingly; and
"supported factory" means an establishment where more than 50% of the workers are disabled persons who by reason of the nature or severity of their disability are unable to take up work in the open labour market and "supported factories" shall be interpreted accordingly.
(2) A utility may reserve the right to participate in a contract award procedure or dynamic purchasing system to economic operators which operate supported factories, supported businesses or supported employment programmes.
(3) Where a utility has reserved the right to participate in a contract or dynamic purchasing system in accordance with paragraph (2), it shall follow the contract award procedures set out in these Regulations.
(4) When seeking offers in relation to a contract, or dynamic purchasing system, a utility shall specify in the contract notice if it is using the approach referred to in paragraph (2).
11.—(1) These Regulations do not apply to the seeking of offers in relation to a proposed contract, dynamic purchasing system or framework agreement where the estimated value of the contract, dynamic purchasing system or framework agreement (net of value added tax) at the relevant time is less than the relevant threshold.
(2) Except where paragraph (17) applies, for the purposes of paragraph (1), the relevant threshold is—
(a) 422,000 euro for a supply contract or a services contract; and
(b) 5,278,000 euro for a works contract.
(3) The value in pounds sterling of any amount expressed in these Regulations in euro is calculated by reference to the rate for the time being applying for the purposes of the Utilities Directive as published from time to time in the Official Journal.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph (1) the estimated value of a contract is the value of the total consideration payable, net of value added tax (calculated in accordance with this regulation), which the utility expects to be payable under the contract.
(5) In determining the value of the total consideration which the utility expects to be payable under a contract it shall, where appropriate, take account of—
(a) any form of option;
(b) any renewal of the contract;
(c) any prize or payment awarded by the utility to the economic operator;
(d) the premium payable and other forms of remuneration for insurance services;
(e) fees, commissions, interest or other forms of remuneration payable for banking and other financial services; or
(f) fees, commissions or other forms of remuneration payable for design services.
(6) For the purposes of paragraph (1) the estimated value of a supply contract for the hire of goods is—
(a) the value of the consideration which the utility expects to be payable under the contract if the term of the contract is fixed for 12 months or less;
(b) the value of the consideration which the utility expects to be payable under the contract if the term of the contract is fixed for more than 12 months; or
(c) the value of the monthly consideration payable under the contract multiplied by 48 if the term of the contract is indefinite or uncertain at the time the contract is entered into.
(7) For the purposes of paragraph (1) the estimated value of a services contract which does not indicate a total price, is—
(a) the aggregate of the value of the consideration which the utility expects to be payable under the contract if the term of the contract is fixed for 48 months or less; or
(b) the value of the consideration which the utility expects to be payable in respect of each month of the period multiplied by 48 if the term of the contract is fixed for more than 48 months, or over an indefinite period.
(8) Subject to paragraphs (9) and (12), where a utility has a single requirement for goods or services or for the carrying out of a work or works and a number of contracts have been entered into or are to be entered into to fulfil that requirement, the estimated value for the purposes of paragraph (1) of each of those contracts is the aggregate of the value of the consideration which the utility expects to be payable under each of those contracts.
(9) Paragraph (8) does not apply to any contract (unless the utility chooses to apply that paragraph to a contract) if the contract has an estimated value of less than—
(a) 80,000 euro for a services contract or a supply contract; or
(b) 1,000,000 euro for a works contract;
and the aggregate value of that contract and any other such contract is less than 20% of the aggregate of the value of the consideration which the utility has given or expects to be payable under all the contracts entered into or to be entered into to fulfil the single requirement for goods, services or for the carrying out of a work or works.
(10) Subject to paragraph (12), where a utility has a requirement over a period for goods or services and for that purpose enters into—
(a) a series of contracts; or
(b) a contract which under its terms is renewable;
the estimated value for the purposes of paragraph (1) of the contract shall be the amount calculated in accordance with paragraph (11).
(11) The utility shall calculate the amount referred to in paragraph (10) either—
(a) by taking the aggregate of the value of the consideration payable under contracts which—
(i) have similar characteristics; and
(ii) are for the same type of goods or services;
during the last financial year of the utility ending before, or the period of 12 months ending immediately before, the relevant time, and by adjusting that amount to take account of any expected changes in quantity and cost of the goods to be purchased or hired or services to be provided in the period of 12 months commencing with the relevant time; or
(b) by estimating the aggregate of the value of the consideration which the utility expects to be payable under contracts which have similar characteristics, and which are for the same type of goods or services during—
(i) in the case of supply contracts, the period of 12 months from the first date of the delivery of the goods to be purchased or hired, or in the case of services contracts, from the first date on which the services will be performed; or
(ii) the financial year if that is longer than 12 months.
(12) Notwithstanding paragraphs (8) and (10), in relation to a supply contract or a services contract, when the goods or services are required for the sole purposes of a discrete operational unit within the organisation of a utility and—
(a) the decision whether to procure those goods or services has been devolved to such a unit; and
(b) that decision is taken independently of any other part of the utility;
the valuation methods described in paragraphs (8) and (11) shall be adapted by aggregating only the value of the consideration which was payable or the utility expects to be payable, as the case may be, under a supply contract or a services contract which was or is required for the sole purpose of that unit.
(13) Where a utility intends to provide any goods or services to the economic operator awarded a works contract for the purpose of carrying out that contract, the value of the consideration of the works contract for the purposes of paragraphs (2) and (8) shall be taken to include the estimated value at the relevant time of those goods and services.
(14) Where the estimated value of a works contract is less than the threshold and where goods or services which are not necessary for its execution are to be purchased, hired or provided under it, the estimated value of the contract for the purposes of paragraph (1) shall be the value of the consideration which the utility expects to give for the goods and services and the relevant contract shall be treated as a supply or services contract, as appropriate.
(15) Where under a contract both goods are to be purchased or hired and services are to be provided, the estimated value of the contract is the aggregate of the values of the consideration attributable to the purchase or hire of the goods including any siting and installation of the goods and of the consideration attributable to the provision of the services, regardless of whether the estimated value of either the goods or services is less than the threshold specified in paragraph (2).
(16) The estimated value of a dynamic purchasing system or of a framework agreement is the aggregate of the values estimated in accordance with this regulation of all the contracts which could be entered into under the framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system.
(17) The relevant threshold for the purposes of paragraph (1) for a dynamic purchasing system or a framework agreement is the threshold for—
(a) a works contract, where that framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system relates to the carrying out of work or works;
(b) a services contract where that framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system relates to the provision of services; or
(c) a supply contract where that framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system relates to the purchase or hire of goods.
(18) A utility shall not enter into separate contracts nor exercise a choice under a valuation method with the intention of avoiding the application of these Regulations to those contracts.
(19) The relevant time for the purposes of paragraphs (1), (11) and (13) means—
(a) if the utility selects economic operators to tender for or to negotiate the contract in accordance with a qualification system established in accordance with regulation 25, the date on which the selection commences;
(b) if the utility satisfies the requirement that there be a call for competition by indicating the intention to award the contract in a periodic indicative notice in accordance with regulation 16(2)(a)(i), the date on which the notice is sent to the Official Journal; or
(c) in any other case, the date on which a contract notice would be sent to the Official Journal if the requirement that there be a call for competition applied and the utility decided to satisfy that requirement by sending such a notice.
Technical specifications in contract documents
"common technical specification" means a technical specification drawn up in accordance with a procedure recognised by the member States with a view to uniform application in all member States and which has been published in the Official Journal;
"European standard" means a standard adopted by a European standards organisation and made available to the general public;
"European technical approval" means an approval of the fitness for use of a product, issued by an approval body designated for the purpose by a member State, following a technical assessment of whether the product fulfils the essential requirements for building works, having regard to the inherent characteristics of the product and the defined conditions of application and use;
"international standard" means a standard adopted by an international standards organisation and made available to the general public;
"British standard" means a standard adopted by a British standards organisation and made available to the general public;
"recognised bodies" means test and calibration laboratories and certification and inspection bodies which comply with applicable European standards and "recognised body" shall be interpreted accordingly;
"standard" means a technical specification approved by a recognised standardisation body for repeated and continuous application, compliance with which is not compulsory and which is an international standard, a European Standard or a British standard;
"technical reference" means any product produced by European standardisation bodies, other than official standards, according to procedures adopted for the development of market needs; and
"technical specifications" means—
(a) in the case of a services contract or a supply contract, a specification in a document defining the required characteristics of materials, goods or services, such as quality levels, environmental performance levels, design for all requirements (including accessibility for disabled persons) and conformity assessment, performance, use of a product, safety or dimensions, including requirements relevant to the product as regards the name under which the product is sold, terminology, symbols, testing and test methods, packaging, marking and labelling, user instructions, production processes and methods and conformity assessment procedures; and
(b) in the case of a works contract, the totality of the technical prescriptions contained, in particular, in the contract documents, defining the characteristics required of the work, works, materials or goods, which permits the work, works, materials or goods to be described in a manner such that it fulfils the use for which it is intended by the utility and these characteristics shall include—
(i) levels of environmental performance, design for all requirements (including accessibility for disabled persons) and conformity assessment, performance, safety or dimensions, including the procedures concerning quality assurance, terminology, symbols, testing and test methods, packaging, marking and labelling, user instructions and production processes and methods;
(ii) rules relating to design and costing, the test, inspection and acceptance conditions for work or works and methods or techniques of construction; and
(iii) all other technical conditions which the utility is in a position to prescribe, under general or specific regulations, in relation to the finished work or works and to the materials or parts which they involve.
(2) Where a utility wishes to lay down technical specifications which must be met by—
(a) the services to be provided under a services contract and the materials and goods used in or for it;
(b) the goods to be purchased or hired under a supply contract; or
(c) the work or works to be carried out under a works contract and the materials and goods used in or for it;
it shall specify those technical specifications in the contract documents.
(3) When laying down technical specifications in accordance with paragraph (2), a utility shall wherever possible take into account accessibility criteria for disabled persons or the suitability of the design for all users.
(4) A utility shall ensure that technical specifications afford equal access to economic operators and do not have the effect of creating unjustified obstacles to the opening up of public procurement to competition.
(5) Subject to technical requirements which are mandatory in the United Kingdom and to the extent that those requirements are compatible with Community obligations, a utility shall define the technical specifications required for a contract in accordance with paragraphs (6), (7), (8) or (9).
(6) A utility may define the technical specifications referred to in paragraph (5)—
(a) by reference to technical specifications in the following order of preference—
(i) British standards transposing European standards;
(ii) European technical approvals;
(iii) common technical specifications;
(iv) international standards; or
(v) other technical reference systems established by the European standardisation bodies; or
(b) in the absence of the technical specifications referred to in sub-paragraph (a), by reference to the following technical specifications—
(i) British standards;
(ii) British technical approvals; or
(iii) British technical specifications relating to the design, calculation and execution of the work or works and use of the products;
and each reference to a technical specification made in accordance with this paragraph shall be accompanied by the words "or equivalent".
(7) A utility may define the technical specifications referred to in paragraph (5) in terms of performance or functional requirements (which may include environmental characteristics) provided that the requirements are sufficiently precise to allow an economic operator to determine the subject of the contract and a utility to award the contract.
(8) A utility may define the technical specifications referred to in paragraph (5) by defining performance and functional requirements as referred to in paragraph (7) with reference to the technical specifications referred to in paragraph (6) as a means of presuming conformity with such performance or functional requirements.
(9) A utility may define the technical specifications referred to in paragraph (5) by reference to technical specifications referred to in paragraph (6) for certain characteristics and by reference to performance or functional requirements referred to in paragraph (7) for other characteristics.
(10) Where a utility defines technical specifications as referred to in paragraph (6), it shall not reject an offer on the basis that the materials, goods or services offered do not comply with those technical specifications if an economic operator proves to the satisfaction of the utility by any appropriate means that the one or more solutions that economic operator proposes in its tender satisfy the requirements of the technical specifications in an equivalent manner.
(11) Where a utility defines technical specifications in terms of performance or functional requirements as referred to in paragraph (7), it shall not reject an offer for materials, goods, services, work or works which complies with—
(a) a British standard transposing a European standard;
(b) a European technical approval;
(c) a common technical specification;
(d) an international standard; or
(e) a technical reference system established by a European standardisation body;
if those technical specifications address the performance or functional requirements referred to by the utility and the economic operator proves in its tender to the satisfaction of the utility by any appropriate means that the work, works, materials, goods or services meet the performance or functional requirements of the utility.
(12) Where a utility lays down environmental characteristics in terms of performance or functional requirements as referred to in paragraph (7), it may use the detailed technical specifications, or if necessary, parts thereof, as defined by European, national or multi-national eco-labels or by any other eco-label, provided that—
(a) those technical specifications are appropriate to define the characteristics of the materials, goods or services that are the object of the contract;
(b) the eco-label requirements are drawn up on the basis of scientific information;
(c) the eco-label is adopted using a procedure in which all stakeholders, such as government bodies, consumers, manufacturers, distributors and environmental organisations, are able to participate; and
(d) the technical specifications are accessible to any party interested.
(13) A utility may indicate in the contract documents that the materials, goods or services bearing the eco-label are presumed to comply with the technical specifications laid down in the contract documents and shall accept any other appropriate means of proof that the materials, goods or services comply with those technical specifications.
(14) The term "appropriate means" referred to in paragraphs (10), (11) and (13) includes a technical dossier of a manufacturer or a test report from a recognised body.
(15) A utility shall accept certificates from recognised bodies established in other member States when considering whether a tender for a contract conforms with the technical specifications laid down by the utility in accordance with paragraph (2).
(16) Subject to paragraph (17), a utility shall not lay down technical specifications in the contract documents which refer to—
(a) materials or goods of a specific make or source or to a particular process; or
(b) trademarks, patents, types, origin or means of production;
which have the effect of favouring or eliminating particular economic operators.
(17) Notwithstanding paragraph (16), exceptionally, a utility may incorporate the references referred to in paragraph (16) into the technical specifications in the contract documents, provided that the references are accompanied by the words "or equivalent", where—
(a) the subject of the contract makes the use of such references indispensable; or
(b) the subject of the contract cannot otherwise be described by reference to technical specifications which are sufficiently precise and intelligible to all economic operators.
(18) Subject to paragraph (19), a utility shall provide to any economic operator which is interested in obtaining a contract and which makes a request, a copy of the technical specifications which are regularly laid down as terms of the contracts which that utility awards or which it intends to lay down as terms of a contract which has been indicated in a periodic indicative notice sent to the Official Journal in accordance with regulation 15.
(19) Where the technical specifications referred to in paragraph (18) are based on documents which are separately available to economic operators, the obligation in paragraph (18) shall be satisfied by informing any economic operator which makes a request, of the documents which include those technical specifications.
13.—(1) Where a utility intends to award a contract on the basis of the offer which is the most economically advantageous in accordance with regulation 30(1)(a), it shall indicate in the contract notice whether or not it authorises economic operators to submit offers which contain variants on the requirements specified in the contract documents and a utility shall not accept an offer which contains a variant without that indication.
(2) Where a utility authorises a variation in accordance with paragraph (1), it shall state in the contract notice the minimum requirements to be met by the variants and any specific requirements for the presentation of an offer which contains variants.
(3) A utility shall only consider variants which meet its minimum requirements as stated in the contract documents in accordance with paragraph (2).
(4) A utility shall not reject an offer which contains variants on the requirements specified in the contract documents on the ground that—
(a) where it intends to award a services contract, the offer would lead to the award of a supply contract; or
(b) where it intends to award a supply contract, the offer would lead to the award of a services contract.
The open, restricted and negotiated procedures
14.For the purposes of seeking offers in relation to a proposed contract a utility shall use the open procedure, the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure.
Periodic indicative notices
15.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (4), (6) and (7), a utility shall, at least once every 12 months, send a notice in the form of the periodic indicative notice in Annex IV to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1564/2005 and containing the information therein specified to the Commission or publish it on that utility's buyer profile as soon as possible after—
(a) the beginning of the financial year in the case of supply contracts, services contracts or framework agreements for the purchase or hire of goods or for the provision of services; or
(b) the decision authorising the programme of works contracts or framework agreements for the carrying out of work or works, in the case of works contracts or framework agreements for the carrying out of work or works.
(2) The notice referred to in paragraph (1) shall contain information in respect of—
(a) the supply contracts, the services contracts or the framework agreements referred to in paragraph (1)(a) which the utility expects to award during the period of 12 months beginning with the date of the notice; and
(b) the works contracts or the framework agreements referred to in paragraph (1)(b) which the utility expects to award during the period of 12 months beginning with the date of the notice;
and that notice shall be sub-divided to give that information separately for each product area of goods by reference to the CPV nomenclature of each category of works or services as specified in Schedules 2 and 3.
(3) Where a utility publishes a notice on its buyer profile in accordance with paragraph (1), it shall also send a notice informing of such publication to the Commission by electronic means in accordance with the format and procedure for sending notices specified in paragraph (3) of Annex XX to the Utilities Directive[19].
(4) The obligation to publish a periodic indicative notice in accordance with paragraph (1) applies only to proposed contracts or framework agreements which are not excluded from the application of these Regulations by regulations 6, 7, 8, 9 or 11 and where, at the date of despatch of the notice—
(a) the total consideration which the utility expects to be payable under—
(i) supply contracts or framework agreements for the purchase or hire of goods falling within the same product area; or
(ii) Part A services contracts or framework agreements for the provision of services falling within the same category specified in Part A of Schedule 3;
is equal to or exceeds 750,000 euro; or
(b) the total consideration which the utility expects to be payable under works contracts or framework agreements for the carrying out of work or works is equal to or exceeds 5,278,000 euro.
(5) A notice sent to the Commission or published on the utility's buyer profile in accordance with paragraph (1) need not repeat information about contracts included in a previous periodic indicative notice, provided that the notice clearly states that it is an additional notice.
(6) The obligation to publish a periodic indicative notice applies only where the utility takes the option of shortening time limits for the receipt of tenders in accordance with regulation 22(3).
(7) This regulation does not apply to a proposed contract or framework agreement where the procedure for the award or conclusion of the framework agreement is a contract award procedure without a call for competition in accordance with regulation 17.
Call for competition
16.—(1) Subject to regulation 17, for the purposes of seeking offers in relation to a proposed contract a utility shall make a call for competition.
(2) The requirement under paragraph (1) to make a call for competition is satisfied—
(a) in the case of a contract to be awarded using the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure—
(i) if the intention to award the contract has been indicated in a periodic indicative notice and the requirements referred to in paragraph (3) are satisfied in relation to the contract; or
(ii) if a notice indicating the existence of a qualification system for economic operators has been sent to the Official Journal in accordance with regulation 25(17) and the requirement referred to in paragraph (5) is satisfied; or
(b) in any case by sending to the Official Journal a contract notice in the form of Annex V to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1564/2005 and containing the information therein specified in respect of the contract.
(3) The requirements referred to in paragraph (2)(a)(i) are that—
(a) the periodic indicative notice refers specifically to the goods, works or services which are to be the subject of the proposed contract;
(b) the notice states that offers are to be sought using the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure without further publication of a notice calling for competition and invites economic operators to express their interest in writing;
(c) the utility sends to all economic operators which express an interest, detailed information, including the information described in paragraph (4), on the contract concerned and before beginning the selection of economic operators invites them to confirm their wish to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract; and
(d) the notice referred to in sub-paragraph (b) was published not more than 12 months before the date on which the invitation is sent out in accordance with sub-paragraph (b).
(4) The information referred to in paragraph (3)(b) shall include—
(a) the nature and quantity or extent of the goods, work, works or services to be supplied under the contract;
(b) any options for further supplies, work, works or services and, if known, an estimate of the timing when such options may be exercised;
(c) in the case of recurring contracts for goods, work, works or services, their nature and quantity or extent, and, if known, the estimated date of the subsequent calls for competition for the goods to be supplied, the work or works to be carried out or the services to be provided;
(d) a statement of whether the contract is to be awarded using the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure;
(e) any date for beginning or completing the delivery of goods or for the carrying out of work or works or for providing services;
(f) the address to which and the date by which an application to be invited to tender must be submitted and the one or more languages in which it must be submitted;
(g) the address of the utility and any information needed to obtain specifications and other documents relating to the proposed contract;
(h) any economic and technical requirements, financial guarantees and information required from economic operators;
(i) the amount to be paid for and the terms of payment in respect of the documents relating to the proposed contract;
(j) a statement of whether the utility is inviting offers for purchase, lease, rental or hire-purchase or involving more than one of these methods; and
(k) the contract award criteria and their weighting in accordance with regulation 30(3) and 30(4) or the descending order of importance of such criteria in accordance with regulation 30(5), if this information is not specified in the periodic indicative notice or the contract documents.
(5) The requirement referred to in paragraph (2)(a)(ii) is that the economic operators selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract are selected from the candidates which qualify in accordance with the system.
Award without a call for competition
17.—(1) A utility may seek offers in relation to a proposed contract without a call for competition in the following circumstances—
(a) in the absence of tenders, suitable tenders or applications in response to a procedure with a call for competition but only if the original terms of the proposed contract offered in the discontinued procedure have not been substantially altered;
(b) when the contract is to be awarded purely for the purposes of research, experiment, study or development but not where it has the purpose of securing profit or of recovering research and development costs and insofar as its award will not prejudice the competitive award of subsequent contracts which are, in particular, for the same purposes;
(c) when, for technical or artistic reasons, or for reasons connected with the protection of exclusive rights, the contract may only be performed by a particular economic operator;
(d) when (but only if it is strictly necessary) for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the utility the time limits specified in regulation 22(2) to (11) cannot be met;
(e) when the contract to be awarded is a supply contract and the goods to be purchased or hired under the contract are required by the utility as a partial replacement for, or in addition to, existing goods or an installation and when to obtain the goods from a supplier other than the supplier which supplied the existing goods or the installation would oblige the utility to acquire goods having different technical characteristics which would result in—
(i) incompatibility between the existing goods or the installation and the goods to be purchased or hired under the contract; or
(ii) disproportionate technical difficulties in the operation and maintenance of the goods or the installation;
(f) when a utility wants an economic operator which has entered into a works contract or a services contract with that utility to carry out additional work or works or provide additional services which were not included in the project initially considered or in the original works contract or services contract but which through unforeseen circumstances have become necessary, and such work, works or services—
(i) cannot for technical or economic reasons be carried out or provided separately from those under the original contract without major inconvenience to the utility; or
(ii) can be carried out or provided separately from those under the original contract but are strictly necessary to the later stages of the performance of that contract;
(g) subject to paragraph (2), when the utility wants an economic operator which has entered into a works contract with that utility following a call for competition which satisfies the requirement of regulation 16(1) to carry out new work or works which are a repetition of the work or works carried out under the original contract and which are in accordance with the project for the purpose of which the first contract was entered into;
(h) in respect of a supply contract for the purchase or hire of goods quoted and purchased on a commodity market;
(i) when the contract to be awarded is to be awarded under a framework agreement which has been concluded in accordance with these Regulations and to which the provisions of regulation 18 apply;
(j) when the contract to be awarded is a supply contract, to take advantage of a particularly advantageous bargain available for a very short period of time at a price considerably lower than normal market prices;
(k) when the contract to be awarded is a supply contract, to take advantage of particularly advantageous conditions for the purchase of goods in a closing down sale or in a sale brought about because a supplier is subject to a procedure referred to in regulation 26(5)(a), (b) and (c); and
(l) in the case of services contracts, when the rules of a design contest require the contract to be awarded to the successful contestant or to one of the successful contestants, provided that all successful contestants are invited to negotiate the contract.
(2) A utility shall not seek offers without a call for competition in accordance with paragraph (1)(g) unless—
(a) the original contract was awarded after a call for competition;
(b) when the utility invited contractors to tender for or negotiate the contract it gave notice that a works contract for new work or works which would be a repetition of the work or works carried out under the original contract may be awarded without a call for competition in accordance with paragraph (1)(g); and
(c) in determining the estimated value of the original contract for the purposes of regulation 11 the utility took into account the value of the consideration which it expected to be payable for the new works.
18.—(1) A utility may regard a framework agreement as a contract within the meaning of these Regulations and award it in accordance with these Regulations and in such a case a reference in these Regulations to a contract includes a framework agreement, except where the context otherwise requires.
(2) A utility which has entered into a framework agreement awarded in accordance with these Regulations may rely on regulation 17(1)(i) when awarding a contract under a framework agreement.
(3) A utility which has not entered into a framework agreement awarded in accordance with these Regulations shall not rely on regulation 17(1)(i) when awarding a contract under a framework agreement.
(4) A utility may not misuse a framework agreement in order to prevent, restrict or distort competition.
Dynamic purchasing systems
19.—(1) A utility using a dynamic purchasing system shall comply with this regulation.
(2) The utility which seeks to establish a dynamic purchasing system shall comply with the requirements of regulation 42(2) to (7) and shall use only electronic means to—
(a) establish that system; and
(b) award contracts under it.
(3) The utility shall use the open procedure in accordance with these Regulations to establish a dynamic purchasing system up to the beginning of the procedure for the award of contracts under the system set out in this regulation.
(4) When establishing a dynamic purchasing system, the utility shall—
(a) send to the Official Journal as soon as possible after forming the intention a notice, in the form of the contract notice in Annex V to Commission Regulation No. 1564/2005 stating that a dynamic purchasing system is to be established; and
(b) produce a specification which indicates—
(i) the nature of the goods, work, works or services intended to be purchased under that system; and
(ii) information concerning the purchasing system, the electronic equipment to be used in its operation, the arrangements for technical connection to the system, the rules governing its operation and any other necessary information relating to the system.
(5) When establishing a dynamic purchasing system the utility may also produce additional documents relating to the operation of the system.
(6) Where the utility establishes a dynamic purchasing system it shall—
(a) offer unrestricted, direct and full access to the specification and to any additional documents by electronic means from the date of publication of the contract notice to the date when the system ceases to be operated; and
(b) indicate in the contract notice the internet address at which such documents may be examined.
(7) Throughout the duration of the dynamic purchasing system, the utility shall—
(a) give any economic operator the opportunity to—
(i) submit an indicative tender; and
(ii) be admitted to that system under the conditions referred to in paragraph (8); and
(b) complete the evaluation of an indicative tender within 15 days from the date of its submission or such longer period as that utility may determine if no invitation to tender is issued under the system as provided in paragraph (13) within the 15 day period.
(8) The utility shall admit to the dynamic purchasing system each economic operator which satisfies the selection criteria and has submitted an indicative tender which complies with the specification and any additional documents produced in accordance with paragraph (5) by the utility when establishing the system.
(9) The utility shall as soon as possible notify an economic operator of its admission to a dynamic purchasing system or of the rejection of its indicative tender.
(10) An economic operator which is admitted to a dynamic purchasing system may improve its indicative tender at any time provided that the improved tender complies with the specification described in paragraph (4)(b).
(11) Where the utility proposes to award a contract under a dynamic purchasing system, it shall send to the Official Journal as soon as possible after forming the intention a notice, in the form of a simplified contract notice on a dynamic purchasing system in Annex IX to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1564/2005, inviting economic operators to submit an indicative tender in accordance with paragraph (7)(a)(i) not less than 15 days from the date of the despatch of the simplified contract notice.
(12) The indicative tenders received within the period specified in paragraph (11) shall be evaluated by the utility for admittance to the dynamic purchasing system before it proceeds with the issue of invitations to submit tenders in relation to any contract to be awarded under the dynamic purchasing system to an economic operator admitted to the system.
(13) The utility shall invite all economic operators admitted to the dynamic purchasing system to submit a tender for each contract within a time limit specified by the utility.
(14) For each contract to be awarded under the dynamic purchasing system the utility—
(a) shall award the contract to the economic operator which submits the tender which best meets the award criteria specified in the contract notice for the establishment of the dynamic purchasing system; and
(b) may if appropriate, formulate those award criteria more precisely in the invitation to submit tenders.
(15) The utility shall not charge any economic operator seeking admission to a dynamic purchasing system or which has been admitted to such a system in relation to any aspect of that system.
(16) A dynamic purchasing system established by the utility shall not be operated for more than 4 years, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
(17) The utility shall not use a dynamic purchasing system improperly or in such a way as to prevent, restrict or distort competition.
Electronic auctions
20.—(1) A utility which holds an electronic auction shall comply with this regulation.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the utility may hold an electronic auction when using—
(a) the open procedure;
(b) the restricted procedure;
(c) the negotiated procedure with a prior call for competition; or
(d) the procedure set out in regulation 19 on the opening of competition for contracts to be awarded under a dynamic purchasing system.
(3) The utility shall not hold an electronic auction to precede the award of a services contract or a works contract having as its subject matter intellectual performance, such as the design of works.
(4) The utility may only hold an electronic auction to precede the award of a contract when the contract specification can be established with precision.
(5) The utility shall base an electronic auction on—
(a) price alone where the contract is to be awarded on the basis of the lowest price; or
(b) price or the values of quantifiable elements of tenders indicated in the contract specification, where the contract is to be awarded on the basis of the offer which is the most economically advantageous in accordance with regulation 30(1)(a).
(6) Where the utility intends to hold an electronic auction it shall state this in the contract notice.
(7) A contract specification prepared by the utility in relation to a contract the award of which is to be preceded by an electronic auction shall include—
(a) the quantifiable elements of tenders capable of expression in figures or percentages which will be the subject of the electronic auction;
(b) any limitations on the values for the quantifiable elements of tenders (resulting from the contract specification) which may be submitted in the electronic auction;
(c) the information to be made available to economic operators during the electronic auction and, where appropriate, an indication of when it will be made available to them;
(d) a description of the electronic auction process;
(e) the conditions under which economic operators will be able to bid and, in particular, the minimum differences which may be required when bidding; and
(f) all relevant information concerning—
(i) the electronic system to be used in the electronic auction; and
(ii) the arrangements for and technical specifications relevant to connection to the electronic system to be used.
(8) Before proceeding with an electronic auction, the utility shall—
(a) make an initial evaluation of the tenders in accordance with the award criteria specified and with any weighting fixed for them; and
(b) by electronic means simultaneously invite all the economic operators which have submitted admissible tenders to submit new prices or new values in the electronic auction.
(9) Where the utility is to award a contract on the basis of the offer which is most economically advantageous to it in accordance with regulation 30(1)(a), each invitation referred to in paragraph (8)(b) shall include the outcome of the evaluation of the tender submitted by the economic operator to which the invitation is sent, carried out in accordance with the weighting described in regulation 30(3).
(10) The utility shall include in the invitation referred to in paragraph (8)(b)—
(a) all relevant information concerning individual connection to the electronic system to be used in the electronic auction;
(b) the date and time of the start of the electronic auction;
(c) the number of phases in the electronic auction;
(d) the mathematical formula to be used in the electronic auction to determine automatic re-ranking of tenders on the basis of the new prices or new values to be submitted by economic operators and incorporating the weighting of all the criteria set to determine the most economically advantageous tender;
(e) where variant bids are authorised by the utility, a separate mathematical formula for each variant; and
(f) the basis on which the electronic auction is to be closed and the appropriate additional information specified in paragraph (16).
(11) In relation to the formula referred to in paragraph (10)(d), any ranges used in the weighting of criteria shall be set at a specified value before the invitation is sent to economic operators.
(12) At least two working days must elapse between the date on which the invitation referred to in paragraph (8)(b) is sent and the date of the electronic auction.
(13) During each phase of an electronic auction, the utility—
(a) shall instantaneously communicate to all economic operators participating in the auction at least sufficient information to enable them to ascertain their relative rankings in the auction at any time;
(b) may communicate to each economic operator other information concerning prices or values submitted by other economic operators provided that this has been stated in the contract specification; and
(c) may disclose the number of economic operators participating in that phase of the auction.
(14) During any phase of an electronic auction the utility shall not disclose the identity of any economic operator participating in the auction.
(15) The utility shall close an electronic auction—
(a) at the date and time fixed for closure in the invitation referred to in paragraph (8)(b);
(b) when it receives no further new prices or new values which meet the requirements concerning minimum differences; or
(c) when the number of phases in the electronic auction specified in the invitation referred to in paragraph (8)(b) has been completed.
(16) Where the utility intends to close an electronic auction—
(a) as described in paragraph (15)(b), it shall state in the invitation referred to in paragraph (8)(b) the period which it intends to allow to elapse before it closes the auction after receiving a submission from an economic operator participating in the auction; or
(b) as described in paragraph (15)(c), it shall state in the invitation referred to in paragraph (8)(b) the timetable for each phase in the auction.
(17) After closing an electronic auction a utility shall award the contract in accordance with regulation 30 on the basis of the results of the electronic auction.
(18) The utility shall not use an electronic auction improperly or in such a way as to prevent, restrict or distort competition or to change the subject matter of the contract as referred to in the contract notice and defined in the specification.
(19) The references to values in paragraphs (5)(b), (8)(b), (10)(d), (13)(b) and (15)(b) shall be interpreted as including price.
Central purchasing bodies
21.—(1) A utility may purchase work, works, goods or services from or through a central purchasing body.
(2) Where a utility makes purchases in accordance with paragraph (1), it shall be deemed to have complied with these Regulations, or where appropriate the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, to the extent that the central purchasing body has complied with them.
22.—(1) Subject to the minimum time limits specified in this regulation, a utility shall take account of all the circumstances, in particular, the complexity of the contract and the time required for drawing up tenders when fixing time limits for receipt by it of requests to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract and for the receipt by it of tenders.
(2) Subject to paragraphs (3), (6) and (7), the date which a utility using the open procedure fixes as the last date for the receipt by it of tenders made in response to the contract notice shall be specified in the notice and shall be not less than 52 days from the date of despatch of the notice.
(3) Where—
(a) the utility has published a periodic indicative notice in accordance with regulation 15;
(b) the periodic indicative notice contained as much of the information specified in the form of periodic indicative notice used to call for competition in Annex IV to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1564/2005 as was available at the time of publication; and
(c) the periodic indicative notice was sent to the Official Journal at least 52 days and not more than 12 months before the date on which the contract notice was despatched;
a utility using the open procedure may substitute for the period of not less than 52 days specified in paragraph (2) a shorter period of generally not less than 36 days and in any event not less than 22 days.
(4) The date which a utility using the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure with a call for competition fixes as the last date for the receipt by it of requests to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract shall be specified in the contract notice or, where the call for competition is made by means of a periodic indicative notice, in the invitation to economic operators made in accordance with regulation 16(3)(b), and shall in general be at least 37 days from the date of the despatch of the notice or invitation and shall in any case be not less than 22 days from that date, apart from when the notice is transmitted by electronic means in accordance with paragraph (6) or facsimile in which case it shall be not less than 15 days.
(5) The date which is the last date for the receipt of tenders made in response to an invitation to tender by a utility using the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure with a call for competition may be agreed between the utility and the economic operators invited to tender and shall be the same date for all economic operators or, in the absence of agreement as to the date, shall be fixed by the utility and shall be as a general rule at least 24 days and in any event not less than 10 days from the despatch of the invitation to tender.
(6) Where a contract notice is transmitted by electronic means in accordance with the format and procedures referred to in paragraph (3) of Annex XX to the Utilities Directive a utility may reduce the time limits by 7 days for—
(a) the receipt by it of requests to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract; and
(b) the receipt by it of tenders when using the open procedure.
(7) Subject to paragraph (5), a utility using the open procedure, the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure may reduce the time limits for the receipt by it of tenders by 5 days provided that—
(a) the utility offers unrestricted and full direct access by electronic means to the contract documents from the date of publication of the contract notice; and
(b) the contract notice specifies the internet address at which the documents referred to in sub-paragraph (a) are available.
(8) When using the reductions specified in paragraphs (3), (6) and (7), the date which a utility using the open procedure fixes as the last date for the receipt by it of tenders, shall be not less than 15 days from the date of despatch of the contract notice.
(9) Where the contract notice is not transmitted by facsimile or electronic means and when using the reductions specified in paragraphs (3), (6) and (7), the date which a utility using the open procedure fixes as the last date for the receipt by it of tenders, shall be not less than 22 days from the date of despatch of the contract notice.
(10) When using the reductions specified in paragraphs (3), (6) and (7) the date which a utility using the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure with a call for competition fixes as the last date for the receipt by it of requests to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract, shall be not less than 15 days from the date of despatch of the notice or invitation.
(11) Subject to paragraph (5) and when using the reductions specified in paragraphs (3), (6) and (7), the date which a utility using the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure with a call for competition fixes as the last date for the receipt by it of tenders, shall be not less than 10 days from the date of despatch of the invitation to tender.
(12) Subject to paragraph (5), a utility shall extend the time limit for receipt by it of tenders in order that all the information necessary for the preparation of a tender is available to all economic operators where—
(a) an economic operator requests the contract documents in sufficient time to allow a utility to respond in accordance with paragraphs (13) and (14) and, for whatever reason, the contract documents are not supplied in accordance with those paragraphs; or
(b) it is necessary that the economic operators be given the opportunity to inspect the site or premises or documents relating to the contract documents.
(13) Where a utility using the open procedure does not offer unrestricted and full direct access by electronic means to the contract documents in accordance with paragraph (7), the utility shall send the contract documents to an economic operator within 6 days of the receipt of a request from that economic operator, provided that the documents are requested in good time before the date specified in the contract notice as the final date for the receipt by it of tenders.
(14) A utility using the open procedure, the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure shall supply to an economic operator such further information relating to the contract documents as may be reasonably requested by that economic operator provided that the request is received in sufficient time to enable the utility to supply the information not later than 6 days before the date specified in the contract notice as the final date for the receipt by it of tenders.
(15) A utility using the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure with or without a call for competition shall send invitations in writing simultaneously to each of the economic operators selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract and the invitation shall—
(a) be accompanied by the contract documents;
(b) specify the internet address which offers unrestricted and full direct access by electronic means to the contract documents in accordance with paragraph (7); or
(c) where the contract documents are held by an entity other than the utility, specify the address to which requests for contract documents should be sent including any final date for making such requests and the amount and any method of payment of any fee which may be charged for supplying that information.
(16) Where the contract documents are held by an entity other than the utility, the utility shall ensure that the contract documents are sent to economic operators by the most rapid means of communication practicable.
(17) The utility shall include the following information in the invitation—
(a) the final date for making requests for further information and the amount and method of payment of any fee which may be charged for supplying that information;
(b) the final date for receipt by it of tenders, the address to which they must be sent and the one or more languages in which they must be drawn up;
(c) a reference to any contract notice;
(d) an indication of the information to be included with the tender;
(e) the criteria for the award of the contract if this information was not specified in the contract notice, the notice on the existence of a qualification system used as a means of calling for competition published in accordance with regulation 16(2)(a)(ii) or the contract documents; and
(f) the relative weighting of the contract award criteria or, where appropriate, the descending order of importance of such criteria if this information was not specified in the contract notice, the notice on the existence of a qualification system or the contract documents.
23.—(1) Where a utility establishes criteria for the rejection of economic operators in accordance with regulations 26(1), 26(3), 27(1) or 27(2), it shall exclude any economic operator which meets those criteria when making its selection of the economic operators to be awarded a contract, to be invited to tender for, or to negotiate the contract.
(2) A utility shall make its selection of the economic operators to be awarded a contract, to be invited to tender for, or to negotiate the contract in accordance with the selection criteria established by it in accordance with regulations 26 and 27.
(3) A utility using the restricted or negotiated procedure with a call for competition shall reduce, where appropriate and in accordance with regulation 27, the number of economic operators selected in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of this regulation.
(4) Where a utility makes a call for competition in respect of a contract by publishing a notice on the existence of a qualification system, when making its selection of the economic operators to be invited to tender for or to negotiate that contract, the utility shall—
(a) qualify economic operators in accordance with regulation 25; and
(b) apply the provisions of paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) which are relevant to the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure to such qualified economic operators.
(5) A utility shall verify that the tenders submitted by the economic operators which have been selected by the utility comply with the rules and requirements applicable to tenders and shall award the contract on the basis of the criteria referred to in regulation 30.
Mutual recognition concerning administrative, technical or financial conditions
24.—(1) When using the negotiated procedure or the restricted procedure and in determining what rules and criteria are to be met by economic operators to be invited to tender for or to negotiate a contract or to qualify under a qualification system, a utility shall not—
(a) impose conditions of an administrative, technical or financial nature on some economic operators which are not imposed on others; or
(b) require tests or the submission of evidence which duplicates objective evidence already available.
(2) For the purpose of assessing an economic operator's technical ability, a utility may request that economic operator to provide—
(a) a certificate—
(i) attesting its conformity to quality assurance standards based on the relevant European standard; and
(ii) from an independent body established in any relevant State conforming to the European standard concerning certification; or
(b) any other evidence of its conformity to quality assurance measures which are equivalent to the standards referred to in sub-paragraph (a)(i).
(3) Where the contract to be awarded is a works contract or a services contract, for the purposes of verifying the economic operator's technical abilities, a utility may, where appropriate, request an indication of the environmental management measures which the economic operator will apply when performing the contract and a utility may request that economic operator to provide—
(i) attesting its conformity to environmental management standards based on—
(aa) the Community Eco-Management and Audit Scheme[20]; or
(bb) the relevant European standard or international standard; and
(ii) from an independent body established in any relevant State conforming to Community law or the relevant European standard or international standard concerning certification; or
(b) any other evidence of its conformity to environmental management measures which are equivalent to the standards referred to in sub-paragraph (a)(i).
25.—(1) A utility may establish and operate a system of qualification of economic operators if that system complies with this regulation.
(2) The utility shall permit economic operators to apply for qualification under the system at any time during its operation.
(3) The system may involve different stages of qualification and shall be based on objective rules and criteria as determined from time to time by the utility and those criteria and rules may include technical specifications in which case the provisions of regulation 12 apply.
(4) The rules and criteria referred to in paragraph (3) may include the rejection criteria referred to in regulation 26(3) and (5).
(5) Where the utility is a contracting authority, the rules and criteria referred to in paragraph (3) shall include the rejection criteria referred to in regulation 26(1).
(6) Where the criteria referred to in paragraph (3) includes requirements relating to the economic and financial capacity or the technical or professional abilities of an economic operator—
(a) the economic operator, or a group of economic operators as referred to in regulation 28, may rely on the capacity or abilities of other entities or members in the group, whatever the legal nature of the link between the economic operator or the group of economic operators and the other entities; and
(b) the economic operator or the group of economic operators shall prove to the utility that the necessary resources will be available to it, and such proof may in particular include an undertaking from those entities to that effect.
(7) In determining what rules and criteria are to be met by applicants to qualify under the system a utility shall comply with regulation 24.
(8) Where the utility makes a call for competition in respect of a contract by publishing a notice on the existence of a qualification system, it shall comply with regulation 23(4).
(9) The rules of and criteria applying to the system shall be made available on request to economic operators and any amendment of those rules and criteria shall be sent to them as the amendment is incorporated into the system.
(10) The utility may establish a system of qualification where an economic operator may qualify under the system of, or be certified by, another person, and in those circumstances the utility shall inform economic operators which apply to qualify the name of that other person.
(11) The utility shall inform applicants for qualification of the success or failure of their application within 6 months from the date of presentation of an application and, if the decision will take longer than 4 months, the utility shall inform the applicant, within 2 months of the date of presentation of the application of—
(a) the reasons justifying a longer period; and
(b) the date by which its application will be accepted or refused.
(12) The utility shall inform any applicant whose application to qualify is refused of the decision and the reasons for refusal as soon as possible and under no circumstances later than 15 days after the date of the decision.
(13) An application may only be refused if the applicant fails to meet the requirements for qualification laid down in accordance with paragraph (3).
(14) The utility shall keep a written record of qualified economic operators which may be divided into categories according to the type of contract for which the qualification is valid.
(15) The utility may cancel the qualification of an economic operator which has qualified under the qualification system only if it does not continue to meet the rules and criteria laid down in accordance with paragraph (3).
(16) The utility may not cancel a qualification unless it notifies the economic operator in writing at least 15 days before the qualification is due to be cancelled of the reasons for the proposed cancellation.
(17) The utility shall send a notice in the form of the qualification system notice in Annex VII to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1564/2005 and containing the information relating to the qualification system therein specified to the Official Journal when the system is first established.
(18) If the utility expects to operate the system for more than 3 years, or if it has operated the system for more than 3 years, it shall send a notice as referred to in paragraph (17) on an annual basis after the year in which the system is first established.
Criteria for rejection of economic operators
26.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), where a utility is a contracting authority, it shall treat as ineligible and shall not select an economic operator in accordance with these Regulations if the utility has actual knowledge that the economic operator or its directors or any other person who has powers of representation, decision or control of the economic operator has been convicted of any of the following offences—
(a) conspiracy within the meaning of section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977[21] where that conviction relates to participation in a criminal organisation as defined in Article 2(1) of Council Joint Action 98/733/JHA[22];
(b) corruption within the meaning of section 1 of the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889[23] or section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906[24];
(c) the offence of bribery;
(d) fraud, where the offence relates to fraud affecting the financial interests of the European Communities as defined by Article 1 of the Convention relating to the protection of the financial interests of the European Union[25], within the meaning of—
(i) the offence of cheating the Revenue;
(ii) the offence of conspiracy to defraud;
(iii) fraud or theft within the meaning of the Theft Act 1968[26] and the Theft Act 1978[27];
(iv) fraudulent trading within the meaning of section 458 of the Companies Act 1985[28];
(v) defrauding the Customs within the meaning of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979[29] and the Value Added Tax Act 1994[30];
(vi) an offence in connection with taxation in the European Community within the meaning of section 71 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993[31]; or
(vii) destroying, defacing or concealing of documents or procuring the extension of a valuable security within the meaning of section 20 of the Theft Act 1968;
(e) money laundering within the meaning of the Money Laundering Regulations 2003[32]; or
(f) any other offence within the meaning of Article 45(1) of the Public Sector Directive as defined by the national law of any relevant State.
(2) In any case where an economic operator or its directors or any other person who has powers of representation, decision or control has been convicted of an offence described in paragraph (1), a utility may disregard the prohibition described there if it is satisfied that there are overriding requirements in the general interest which justify doing so in relation to that economic operator.
(3) Where a utility is not a contracting authority, the criteria which the utility uses for deciding not to select an economic operator may include the fact that the economic operator or its directors or any other person who has powers of representation, decision or control of the economic operator has been convicted of any of the offences in paragraph (1).
(4) A utility may apply to the relevant competent authority to obtain further information regarding the economic operator and in particular details of convictions of the offences listed in paragraph (1) if it considers it needs such information to decide on any exclusion referred to in paragraphs (1) and (3).
(5) A utility may treat an economic operator as ineligible or decide not to select an economic operator in accordance with these Regulations on one or more of the following grounds, namely that the economic operator—
(a) being an individual is bankrupt or has had a receiving order or administration order or bankruptcy restrictions order made against him or has made any composition or arrangement with or for the benefit of his creditors or has made any conveyance or assignment for the benefit of his creditors or appears unable to pay, or to have no reasonable prospect of being able to pay, a debt within the meaning of section 268 of the Insolvency Act 1986[33], or article 242 of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989[34], or in Scotland has granted a trust deed for creditors or become otherwise apparently insolvent, or is the subject of a petition presented for sequestration of his estate, or is the subject of any similar procedure under the law of any other state;
(b) being a partnership constituted under Scots law has granted a trust deed or become otherwise apparently insolvent, or is the subject of a petition presented for sequestration of its estate;
(c) being a company or any other entity within the meaning of section 255 of the Enterprise Act 2002[35] has passed a resolution or is the subject of an order by the court for the company's winding up otherwise than for the purpose of bona fide reconstruction or amalgamation, or has had a receiver, manager or administrator on behalf of a creditor appointed in respect of the company's business or any part thereof or is the subject of the above procedures or is the subject of similar procedures under the law of any other state;
(d) has been convicted of a criminal offence relating to the conduct of his business or profession;
(e) has committed an act of grave misconduct in the course of his business or profession;
(f) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions under the law of any part of the United Kingdom or of the relevant State in which the economic operator is established;
(g) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of taxes under the law of any part of the United Kingdom or of the relevant State in which the economic operator is established; or
(h) is guilty of serious misrepresentation in providing any information required of him under this regulation.
(6) A utility may require an economic operator to provide such information as it considers it needs to make the evaluation in accordance with paragraphs (1), (3) and (5) except that it shall accept as conclusive evidence that an economic operator does not fall within the grounds specified in paragraphs (1), (3), (5)(a), (b), (c), (d), (f) or (g) if that economic operator provides to the utility—
(a) in relation to the grounds specified in paragraphs (1), (3), (5)(a), (b), (c) or (d)—
(i) an extract from the judicial record; or
(ii) in a relevant State which does not maintain such a judicial record, a document issued by the relevant judicial or administrative authority;
(b) in relation to the grounds specified in paragraphs (5)(f) or (g), a certificate issued by the relevant competent authority; and
(c) in a relevant State where the documentary evidence specified in paragraphs (6)(a) and (b) is not issued in relation to one of the grounds specified in paragraphs (1), (3), (5)(a), (b), (c), (d), (f) or (g), a declaration on oath made by the economic operator before the relevant judicial, administrative or competent authority or a relevant notary public or Commissioner for oaths.
(7) In this regulation, "relevant" in relation to a judicial, administrative or competent authority, notary public or Commissioner for oaths means an authority nominated by, or a notary public or Commissioner for oaths in, the relevant State in which the economic operator is established.
Criteria for selection of economic operators
27.—(1) A utility using the open procedure shall establish selection criteria on the basis of objective criteria and rules which it determines and which it makes available to economic operators which request them.
(2) A utility using the restricted procedure or the negotiated procedure, with or without a call for competition, shall make the selection of the economic operators to be invited to tender for or to negotiate the contract on the basis of objective criteria and rules which it determines and which it makes available to economic operators which request them.
(3) Where the criteria referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) include requirements relating to the economic and financial capacity or the technical or professional abilities of the economic operator—
(a) the economic operator, or a group of economic operators as referred to in regulation 28 may rely on the capacity or abilities of other entities or members in the group, regardless of the legal nature of the link between the economic operator or the group of economic operators and the other entities; and
(b) the economic operator, or the group of economic operators shall prove to the utility that the resources necessary to perform the contract will be available to it, and such proof may in particular include an undertaking from those entities to that effect.
(4) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (2), the criteria may be based on the need of the utility to reduce the number of economic operators selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract to a level which is justified by the characteristics of the award procedure and the resources required to complete it.
(5) The utility shall take account of the need to ensure adequate competition in determining the number of economic operators selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract.
28.—(1) In this regulation a "consortium" means two or more persons, at least one of whom is an economic operator, acting jointly for the purpose of being awarded a contract.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), a utility shall not treat the tender of a consortium as ineligible nor decide not to include a consortium amongst those economic operators from which it will make the selection of economic operators to be invited to tender for or to negotiate a contract or to be admitted to a dynamic purchasing system on the grounds that the consortium has not formed a legal entity for the purpose of tendering for or negotiating the contract or being admitted to a dynamic purchasing system.
(3) Where a utility awards a contract to a consortium it may, if it is justified for the satisfactory performance of the contract, require the consortium to form a legal entity before entering into, or as a term of, the contract.
(4) In these Regulations references to an economic operator where the economic operator is a consortium include a reference to each person who is a member of that consortium.
29.—(1) A utility shall not treat the tender of a services provider as ineligible nor decide not to include a services provider amongst those services providers from which it will make the selection of services providers to be invited to tender for or to negotiate a contract or to be admitted to a dynamic purchasing system on the ground that under the law of any part of the United Kingdom the services provider is required to be an individual, a corporation or other type of body, if under the law of the relevant State in which the services provider is established, that services provider is authorised to provide such services.
(2) In the case of—
(a) a services contract;
(b) a works contract; or
(c) a supply contract which includes services or siting and installation of operations;
a utility may require an economic operator which is not an individual to indicate in the tender, the indicative tender or in the request to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract, the names and relevant professional qualifications of the staff who will be responsible for the performance of the contract.
Criteria for the award of a contract
30.—(1) Subject to regulation 31 and paragraphs (6) and (9) of this regulation, a utility shall award a contract on the basis of the offer which—
(a) is the most economically advantageous from the point of view of the utility; or
(b) offers the lowest price.
(2) A utility shall use criteria linked to the subject matter of the contract to determine that an offer is the most economically advantageous including delivery date or period for completion, running costs, cost-effectiveness, quality, aesthetic and functional characteristics, environmental characteristics, technical merit, after sales service and technical assistance, commitments with regard to parts, security of supply and price or otherwise.
(3) Where a utility intends to award a contract on the basis of the offer which is the most economically advantageous, it shall state the weighting which it gives to each of the criteria chosen in the contract notice or in the contract documents.
(4) When stating the weightings referred to in paragraph (3), a utility may give the weighting a range and specify a minimum and maximum weighting where it considers it appropriate in view of the subject matter of the contract.
(5) Where, in the opinion of the utility, it is not possible to provide weightings for the criteria referred to in paragraph (3) on objective grounds, the utility shall indicate the criteria in descending order of importance in the contract notice or contract documents.
(6) If an offer for a contract is abnormally low, the utility may reject that offer but only if it has—
(a) requested in writing an explanation of the offer or of those parts which it considers contribute to the offer being abnormally low;
(b) taken account of any evidence provided in response to a request in writing; and
(c) subsequently verified the offer or parts of the offer being abnormally low with the economic operator.
(7) Where a utility requests an explanation in accordance with paragraph (6), the information requested may, in particular, include—
(a) the economics of the method of construction, the manufacturing process or the services provided;
(b) the technical solutions suggested by the economic operator or the exceptionally favourable conditions available to the economic operator for the execution of the work or works, for the supply of goods or for the provision of the services;
(c) the originality of the work, works, goods or services proposed by the economic operator;
(d) compliance with the provisions relating to employment protection and working conditions in force at the place where the contract is to be performed; or
(e) the possibility of the economic operator obtaining State aid.
(8) Where a utility establishes that a tender is abnormally low because the economic operator has obtained State aid, the offer may be rejected on that ground alone only after—
(a) consultation with the economic operator; and
(b) the economic operator is unable to prove within a reasonable time limit fixed by the utility, that the aid has been granted in a way which is compatible with the EC Treaty.
(9) Where a utility rejects an abnormally low offer in accordance with paragraph (8), it shall send a report justifying the rejection to the Minister for onward transmission to the Commission.
(10) In this regulation "offer" includes a bid by one part of a utility to provide services, to carry out work or works or to make goods available to another part of the utility when the former part is invited by the latter part to compete with the offers sought from other persons.
Rejection of third country tenders - supply contracts
"an offer of third country origin" means an offer to enter a supply contract under which more than 50% of the total value of the goods offered originate in States with which the Communities have not concluded, multilaterally or bilaterally, an agreement ensuring comparable and effective access for undertakings in member States to the markets of those States or in States to which the benefit of the provisions of the Utilities Directive has not been extended; and
"goods" includes software used in telecommunications network equipment.
(2) The origin of the goods shall be determined in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code[36].
(3) Notwithstanding regulation 30, a utility need not accept an offer of third country origin.
(4) Notwithstanding regulation 30, where an offer of third country origin is equivalent to an offer which is not of third country origin a utility shall not accept the offer of third country origin unless not to accept that offer would oblige the utility to acquire—
(a) goods having technical characteristics different from those of existing goods; or
(b) an installation resulting in incompatibility, technical difficulties in operation and maintenance or disproportionate costs.
(5) In the case of a supply contract to be awarded on the basis of the offer which offers the lowest price, offers are equivalent for the purposes of paragraph (4) if their prices are to be treated as equivalent in accordance with paragraph (7).
(6) In the case of a supply contract to be awarded on the basis of the offer which is the most economically advantageous to the utility, offers are equivalent for the purposes of paragraph (4) if—
(a) their prices are to be treated as equivalent in accordance with paragraph (7); and
(b) disregarding any difference in price the offer which is not of third country origin is at least as economically advantageous to the utility as the offer of third country origin.
(7) The prices of offers are to be treated as equivalent for the purposes of paragraphs (5) and (6) if the price of the offer which is not of third country origin is the same as or is not more than 3% greater than the offer of third country origin.
Contract award notices
32.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a utility which has awarded a contract or concluded a framework agreement shall, not later than 2 months after the award or conclusion, send to the Official Journal a notice, in the form of the contract award notice in Annex VI to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1564/2005 including the information therein specified.
(2) When sending the contract award notice to the Official Journal, a utility may indicate that information regarding—
(a) the number of tenders received;
(b) the identity of the economic operator; or
(c) prices;
is of a sensitive commercial nature, and require that it not be published.
(3) A utility shall not be required to send a contract award notice in accordance with paragraph (1) where it awards a contract under a framework agreement.
(4) A utility which has awarded a contract under a dynamic purchasing system in accordance with regulation 19 may—
(a) send the contract award notice in accordance with paragraph (1); or
(b) retain any notice it is proposing to send to the Official Journal in accordance with paragraph (1) for a period of 3 months commencing on the date that the first notice was retained.
(5) Where a utility retains contract award notices in accordance with paragraph (4)(b), it shall send those contract award notices to the Official Journal not later than 48 days after the end of each period of 3 months.
(6) A utility which has awarded a Part B services contract shall state in the contract award notice whether or not it agrees to its publication.
(7) Where a utility has awarded a research and development services contract it may, if the contract was awarded without a call for competition in accordance with regulation 17(1)(b), insert in section II.1.4 of the form of contract award notice in Annex VI to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1564/2005 only the title of the category of services.
(8) Where the services contract referred to in paragraph (7) was not awarded in accordance with regulation 17(1)(b), the utility may provide limited information at section II.1.4 of the form of contract award notice in Annex VI to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1564/2005 if the information which would otherwise be given is of a commercially sensitive nature, provided that the information given is no less detailed than that already provided in either its call for competition in accordance with regulation 16(2), or where a qualification system is used, than that recorded in accordance with regulation 25(14).
Information about contract award procedures
33.—(1) Subject to paragraph (13), a utility shall as soon as possible after the decision has been made, inform any economic operator which submitted an offer or applied to be included amongst the economic operators to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract, or applied to be a party to a framework agreement, of its decision in relation to—
(a) the award of the contract; or
(b) the conclusion of the framework agreement;
and shall do so by notice in writing by the most rapid means of communication practicable.
(2) The notice referred to in paragraph (1) shall include—
(a) the criteria for the award of the contract;
(b) where practicable, the score obtained by—
(i) the economic operator which is to receive the notice; and
(ii) the economic operator—
(aa) to be awarded the contract; or
(bb) to become a party to the framework agreement; and
(c) the name of the economic operator—
(i) to be awarded the contract; or
(ii) to become a party to the framework agreement.
(3) A utility shall allow a period of at least 10 days to elapse between the date of despatch of the notice under paragraph (1) and the date on which that utility proposes to enter into the contract or to conclude the framework agreement.
(4) Subject to paragraph (13) if by midnight at the end of the second working day of the period referred to in paragraph (3) a utility receives a request in writing, from an economic operator which was sent a notice under paragraph (1), for the reasons why that economic operator was unsuccessful, the utility shall inform that economic operator of the characteristics and relative advantages of the successful tender.
(5) A utility shall give the information set out in paragraph (4) at least 3 working days before the end of the period referred to in paragraph (3), or where that is not possible, the period referred to in paragraph (3) shall be extended to allow at least 3 working days between the provision of the information set out in paragraph (4) and the date the utility proposes to enter into the contract or conclude the framework agreement.
(6) Where a utility is seeking offers without a call for competition in accordance with regulation 17(1)(d) and there is only one tender for the contract, that utility need not comply with paragraphs (1) to (5).
(7) Where a utility awards a contract under a framework agreement, that utility need not comply with paragraphs (1) to (5).
(8) Where a utility is seeking to establish a dynamic purchasing system in accordance with regulation 19 that utility need not comply with paragraphs (1) to (5) but, subject to paragraph (13), shall as soon as possible after a decision has been made, inform any economic operator which applied to be admitted to the dynamic purchasing system of its decision in relation to admittance to that system and shall do so in writing if requested by the economic operator.
(9) Except for a request made in accordance with paragraph (4) which shall be dealt with in accordance with paragraphs (4) to (5) and subject to paragraph (13), a utility shall within 15 days of the date on which it receives a request in writing from any economic operator which was unsuccessful—
(a) inform that economic operator of the reasons why it was unsuccessful; and
(b) if the economic operator submitted an admissible tender, the utility shall inform that economic operator of the characteristics and relative advantages of the successful tender and—
(i) the name of the economic operator to be awarded the contract,
(ii) the names of the parties to the framework agreement; or
(iii) the names of the economic operators admitted to the dynamic purchasing system.
(10) The reasons referred to in paragraph (9)(a) shall include any reason for the utility's decision that the economic operator did not meet the technical specifications—
(a) as specified in regulation 12(6) by an equivalent means; or
(b) in terms of the performance or functional requirements in regulation 12(7) by an equivalent means.
(11) Subject to paragraph (13), a utility shall as soon as possible after the decision has been made, inform any economic operator which submitted an offer, which applied to be included amongst the economic operators to be selected to tender for, to negotiate the contract or to be admitted to a dynamic purchasing system, of its decision to abandon or to recommence a contract award procedure in respect of which a contract notice has been published, in relation to—
(a) the award of a contract;
(b) the conclusion of a framework agreement; or
(c) admittance to a dynamic purchasing system.
(12) A utility which informs an economic operator of its decision in accordance with paragraph (11) shall—
(a) include the reasons for the decision; and
(b) provide the decision and reasons in writing if requested by the economic operator.
(13) A utility may withhold any information to be provided in accordance with paragraph (1), (2), (4), (8), (9), (11), or (12) where the disclosure of such information—
(a) would impede law enforcement;
(b) would otherwise be contrary to the public interest;
(c) would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of any economic operator; or
(d) might prejudice fair competition between economic operators.
34.—(1) A utility which organises a design contest—
(a) shall establish the rules for that design contest in accordance with the provisions of this regulation; and
(b) shall not limit the admission of any economic operator to the design contest by reference to the territory or part of the territory of a relevant State.
(2) This regulation applies to a design contest if it is organised as part of a procedure leading to the award of a services contract whose estimated value (net of value added tax and including the value of any prizes or payments) is not less than the relevant threshold described in paragraph (4).
(3) This regulation applies to a design contest whether or not it is organised as part of a procedure leading to the award of a services contract if—
(a) the contest is conducted for the purpose of carrying out an activity specified in any Part of Schedule 1 in which the utility is specified; and
(b) the aggregate value of the prizes or payments for the contest, including the estimated value (net of value added tax) of the contract which might subsequently be awarded in accordance with regulation 17(1)(l) provided that the utility does not exclude such an award in the contest notice, is not less than the relevant threshold described in paragraph (4).
(4) For the purpose of paragraphs (2) and (3) the relevant threshold is 422 000 euro.
(5) This regulation does not apply to a design contest—
(a) which is organised by the utility other than for the purpose of carrying out an activity specified in the Part of Schedule 1 in which the utility is specified;
(b) which is organised by the utility for the purpose of carrying out any activity outside the territory of the Communities but only if the carrying out of that activity does not involve the physical use of a network or geographical area within the Communities;
(c) which is classified as secret or where it must be accompanied by special security measures in accordance with the laws, regulations or administrative provisions of any part of the United Kingdom or when the protection of the essential interests of the security of the United Kingdom requires it;
(d) where different rules govern the procedures of the design contest and it is to be entered into in accordance with—
(i) an international agreement to which the United Kingdom and a State which is not a relevant State are parties and it relates to a design contest intended for the joint implementation or exploitation of a project related to that agreement;
(iii) the design contest procedures of an organisation of which only States are members (an "international organisation") or of which only States or international organisations are members; or
(e) organised by the utility for the purpose of carrying out an activity specified in Column 2 of Schedule 1 where that activity is directly exposed to competition on markets to which access is unrestricted and this will be the case if one of the following conditions is satisfied—
(i) the Office of Government Commerce has notified the Commission in accordance with Article 30 of the Utilities Directive that the activity concerned is directly exposed to competition on markets to which access is not restricted and—
(aa) the Commission has adopted a decision that an exemption should apply in response to such a notification; or
(bb) the Commission has not adopted a decision in relation to such a notification within the time limits specified in Article 30(6) of the Utilities Directive;
(ii) the Commission has, on the application of the utility—
(aa) adopted a decision that an exemption should apply to the activity concerned; or
(bb) has not adopted such a decision within the time limit specified in Article 30(6) of the Utilities Directive; or
(iii) the Commission has, of its own initiative—
(aa) adopted a decision that an exemption should apply to the activity concerned and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph that time limit commences on the date that the Commission has informed the Office of Government Commerce in accordance with Article 30 that the matter is under consideration.
(6) The utility shall publicise its intention to hold a design contest by sending to the Official Journal a notice in the form of the design contest notice in Annex XII to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1564/2005 and containing the information therein specified.
(7) The utility shall make the rules of the design contest available to economic operators which wish to participate in the contest.
(8) Regulations 28(2) and 29 apply to design contests as they apply to the seeking of offers in relation to a proposed contract.
(9) Regulation 40(1)(b) to (7) applies to notices relating to design contests as it applies to notices in relation to a proposed contract.
(10) Regulation 42(1), (2) and (4) applies to all communications relating to design contests as it applies to a proposed contract.
(11) The utility shall ensure that the specified means of communication and the storage of information enables—
(a) the integrity and confidentiality of information provided by those economic operators participating in the design contest to be maintained; and
(b) the jury to ascertain the contents of proposals only after the time limit for their submission has expired.
(12) Where the utility requires that proposals are to be transmitted by electronic means, it shall ensure that—
(a) details of the equipment which is necessary for the electronic receipt of proposals, including encryption, are available to all economic operators which wish to participate in the design contest; and
(b) the equipment for the electronic receipt of proposals complies with the requirements of regulation 42(6).
(13) Where the utility restricts the number of economic operators in the design contest, it shall—
(a) establish clear and non-discriminatory criteria to select those economic operators; and
(b) ensure that the number of economic operators selected is sufficient to ensure adequate competition.
(14) The utility shall ensure that—
(a) the members of the jury are all individuals who are independent of those economic operators participating in the design contest;
(b) where the economic operators are required to possess a particular professional qualification, that at least one third of the members of the jury also possess that qualification or an equivalent qualification;
(c) the proposals of the economic operators are submitted to the jury without any indication as to the authorship of each proposal;
(d) the jury makes its decisions or opinions independently and solely on the basis of the criteria specified in the notice referred to in paragraph (6);
(e) the jury is not informed of the authorship of any proposal until after it has reached its decision or opinion;
(f) the jury prepares minutes signed by its members in which it records—
(i) its ranking of the proposals based upon its assessment of each proposal's merits; and
(ii) its observations or details of any issues upon which clarification is required in relation to each proposal; and
(g) the jury may invite the economic operators to answer any questions to clarify issues noted in the minutes referred to in sub-paragraph (f) and shall record complete minutes of any such communications with economic operators.
(15) The utility shall, not later than 2 months after the date the jury makes its selection, publicise the results of the design contest by sending to the Official Journal a notice in the form of the notice of the results of a design contest in Annex XIII to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1564/2005 and including the information therein specified.
(16) When sending the notice of the results of a design contest to the Official Journal in accordance with paragraph (15), the utility may indicate that information regarding—
(a) the number of proposals received;
(b) the identity of the economic operators; or
Obligations relating to taxes, environmental protection, employment protection and working conditions
35.—(1) A utility may include in the contract documents relating to a works contract or a services contract information as to where a contractor or services provider may obtain information about the obligations relating to taxes, environmental protection, employment protection and working conditions which will apply to—
(a) the work or works to be carried out under the works contract; or
(b) the services to be provided under the services contract.
(2) A utility which provides the information referred to in paragraph (1) shall request contractors or services providers to indicate that they have taken account of the obligations relating to those employment protection provisions and those working conditions in preparing their tender or in negotiating the contract.
Conditions for performance of contracts
36.—(1) A utility may stipulate conditions relating to the performance of a contract, provided that those conditions are compatible with Community law and are indicated in—
(a) the notice used as a means of calling for competition and the contract documents; or
(b) the contract documents.
(2) The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) may, in particular, include social or environmental considerations.
Preservation of records
37.—(1) When these Regulations apply to the seeking of offers in relation to a contract, a utility shall keep appropriate information on each contract sufficient to justify decisions taken in connection with—
(a) the qualification and selection of economic operators and the award of contracts; and
(b) the use of a procedure without a prior call for competition by virtue of regulation 17.
(2) When a utility decides not to apply these Regulations to the seeking of offers in relation to a contract in accordance with regulation 6, 7, 8, 9 or 11, it shall keep appropriate information on such a contract sufficient to justify that decision.
(3) A utility shall take appropriate steps to document the progress of contract award procedures conducted by electronic means.
(4) The information referred to in paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) shall be preserved for at least 4 years from the date of the award of the contract.
Statistical and other reports
38.—(1) A utility shall each year, by the date notified to it by the Minister, send to the Minister a report specifying—
(a) the aggregate value (estimated if necessary) of the consideration payable under contracts awarded in the previous year which have been excluded from the operation of these Regulations by regulation 11 for the purpose of carrying out the activities in each Part of Schedule 1 in which the utility is specified; and
(b) the type of activities for which those contracts were awarded.
(2) A utility when requested shall for the purpose of informing the Commission send to the Minister a report—
(a) containing such information as the Minister may from time to time require in respect of a particular contract (including contracts excluded or exempted from the application of all or some of these Regulations by regulations 6, 7, 8, 9 or 11 );
(b) specifying which of its activities it considers are not activities specified in the Part of Schedule 1 in which the utility is specified, or are activities outside the territory of the Communities not involving the physical use of a network or geographical area within the Communities; and
(c) specifying the categories of goods, work, works or services it considers comprise the goods, work, works or services which it acquires in order to sell, hire or provide them to another person, but which it does not have a special or exclusive right to sell, hire or provide and which other persons are free to sell, hire or provide under the same conditions.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), a utility specified in Parts A to F, O, P, R or S of Schedule 1 shall, not later than 31st July in each year, send to the Minister a report specifying in relation to each contract awarded by it in the previous year (including contracts excluded or exempted from the application of some or all of these Regulations by regulations 6, 7, 8, 9 or 11)—
(a) the value (estimated if necessary) of the consideration payable under the contract;
(b) the principal category of works or services carried out or to be carried out under the contract according to the nomenclature used in Schedule 2 or 3 or the type of goods purchased or hired under the contract; and
(c) the nationality of the economic operator to which the contract was awarded and the relevant State in which that economic operator is established.
(4) The report referred to in paragraph (3) need not include information concerning contracts for—
(a) research and development services specified in category 8 of Part A of Schedule 3;
(b) telecommunications services specified under CPV references 64200000-8 to 64228200-2, 72318000-7, and from 72530000-9 to 72532000-3 within category 5 of Part A of Schedule 3; or
(c) the services specified in Part B of Schedule 3.
(5) A utility may indicate that any of the information in a report sent to the Minister in accordance with paragraph (2)(c) is of a sensitive commercial nature, and require that it not be published.
Provision of reports
39.—(1) Any reference to the Minister in these Regulations shall be deemed to be a reference to the Minister responsible for that utility.
(2) The Minister responsible for a utility shall be the Minister of the Crown whose areas of responsibility are most closely connected with the functions of the utility.
(3) Any question as to which Minister of the Crown's areas of responsibility are most closely connected with the functions of a utility shall be determined by the Office of Government Commerce whose determination is final.
(4) The requirement on a utility to send any report in accordance with regulations 7(7), 8(3)(b)(ii)(aa), 30(9) or 38 to the Minister shall be enforceable, on the application of the Minister responsible to the High Court, by mandatory order.
(5) In the application of this regulation to Northern Ireland references to the Minister includes references to the head of a Northern Ireland Department.
(6) The Minister to whom a report is sent in accordance with regulations 7(7), 8(3)(b)(ii)(aa), 30(9) or 38 shall send the report to the Office of Government Commerce for onward transmission to the Commission.
Publication of notices
40.—(1) Any notice required by these Regulations to be sent to the Official Journal shall be—
(a) in the correct format and contain the necessary information specified by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1564/2005 and contain any other information which the utility considers useful; and
(b) sent to the Office for Official Publications of the European Union by electronic means in the format and in accordance with the procedures specified in paragraph (3) of Annex XX to the Utilities Directive or by other means.
(2) Where a notice is not sent by electronic means in accordance with paragraph (1)(b), the utility may in exceptional cases request the Official Journal to publish a contract notice within 5 days of the date of despatch, provided that the notice is sent to the Official Journal by facsimile.
(3) The utility shall not place a notice in any publication—
(a) before the date on which the notice is despatched in accordance with paragraph (1)(b); or
(b) which contains any additional information to that contained in the notice despatched in accordance with paragraph (1)(b) or published on the utility's buyer profile in accordance with regulation 15.
(4) The utility shall refer in the notice to the date of despatch of that notice to the Official Journal or the date of its publication on its buyer profile where it publishes a notice in the circumstances referred to in paragraph (3).
(5) A utility shall not publish a periodic indicative notice on its buyer profile before the date on which notice of its publication in that form is despatched to the Commission in accordance with regulation 15(3) and the utility shall refer to the date of that despatch on its buyer profile.
(6) A utility shall retain evidence of the date of despatch to the Official Journal of each notice.
(7) Where a utility is not required to publish a contract notice in respect of a particular contract, it may nevertheless publish such a notice in accordance with the provisions of this regulation.
Confidentiality of information
41.—(1) A utility which makes information available to an economic operator in accordance with these Regulations may impose requirements on that operator for the purpose of protecting the confidentiality of that information.
(2) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations the utility shall not disclose information forwarded to it by an economic operator which the economic operator has reasonably designated as confidential.
(3) In this regulation, confidential information includes technical or trade secrets and the confidential aspects of tenders.
Means of communication
42.—(1) A utility may specify that any communications referred to in these Regulations may be made—
(a) by post;
(b) by facsimile;
(c) by electronic means in accordance with paragraphs (4) and (5);
(d) by telephone in the circumstances referred to in paragraph (8); or
(e) by any combination of those means of communication.
(2) The means of communication specified by a utility shall be generally available and shall not restrict economic operators' access to the contract award procedures specified in these Regulations.
(3) A utility shall ensure that the specified means of communication and the storage of information enables—
(a) the integrity of data provided by economic operators and the confidentiality of tenders and requests to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract to be maintained; and
(b) tenders and requests to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract to be opened only after the time limit for their submission has expired.
(4) The equipment used for communications made by electronic means shall be—
(a) non-discriminatory;
(b) generally available; and
(c) interoperable with information and communication technology products in general use.
(5) Where a utility requires that tenders and requests to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract are to be transmitted by electronic means, it shall ensure that—
(a) details of the equipment including any software which is necessary for the electronic receipt of tenders and requests to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract, including encryption, are available to all interested economic operators; and
(b) the equipment for the electronic receipt of tenders and requests to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract complies with the requirements of paragraph (6).
(6) The requirements referred to in paragraph (5)(b) are—
(a) electronic signatures relating to tenders and requests to participate comply with national provisions adopted in accordance with Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on a Community framework for electronic signatures[37];
(b) the exact time and date of the receipt of tenders and requests to participate are capable of being determined precisely;
(c) it may reasonably be considered that—
(i) data is not capable of being accessed before the time limits specified by the utility; and
(ii) any such unauthorised access is clearly detectable;
(d) only authorised persons shall set or change the dates for opening data received from economic operators;
(e) access to any data is possible only through simultaneous action by authorised persons and only after the prescribed date; and
(f) data received and opened in accordance with these requirements must remain accessible only to authorised persons.
(7) A utility may require any documents, certificates and declarations referred to in regulation 24(2), (3), 25, 26 and 27 which do not exist in electronic format to be submitted before the time limit has expired for the receipt by it of tenders or requests to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract.
(8) Requests to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract may be made—
(a) in writing; or
(b) by telephone.
(9) Where a request to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract is made by telephone, an economic operator shall confirm the request in writing before the deadline for receipt of such requests has expired.
(10) Where a request to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract is made by facsimile, a utility—
(a) may require that the request be confirmed by post or by electronic means where this is necessary for the purposes of legal proof; and
(b) shall specify any requirement for such confirmation and the time limit for sending it in the notice used as a means of calling for competition or in the invitation referred to in regulation 16(3)(b).
Sub-contracting
43.A utility may require an economic operator to indicate in its tender—
(a) any part of the contract that the economic operator intends to sub-contract to another person; and
(b) the identity of any person to whom that economic operator proposes to sub-contract any part of the contract.
44.—(1) A utility which has recourse to an attestation system and obtains an attestation in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of the Utilities Remedies Directive from an independent person or body accredited in a relevant State for the purpose of attestation in accordance with Article 6 of that Directive may include the following statement in a notice sent to the Official Journal for publication in accordance with regulations 15, 16(2)(b), 25(17) and 32(1)—
"The contracting entity has obtained an attestation in accordance with Council Directive 92/13/EC that, on…, its contract award procedures and practices were in conformity with Community law and the national rules implementing that law.".
(2) An attestation system established in a relevant State in accordance with the European Attestation Standard[38] is presumed to be in accordance with Articles 4 to 6 of the Utilities Remedies Directive.
Enforcement of obligations
45.—(1) The obligation on a utility to comply with the provisions of these Regulations other than regulations 30(9) and 38, and with any enforceable Community obligation in respect of a contract or design contest (other than one excluded from the application of these Regulations by regulations 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 or 34) is a duty owed to an economic operator.
(2) The duty owed to an economic operator in accordance with paragraph (1), except in relation to—
(a) a Part B services contract; and
(b) a contract for research and development services specified in category 8 of Part A of Schedule 3;
is a duty owed also to a GPA economic operator.
(3) References to an "economic operator" in paragraphs (4), (5), (8) and (9) shall be construed as including a reference to a GPA economic operator.
(4) A breach of the duty owed in accordance with paragraphs (1) or (2) is actionable by any economic operator which, in consequence suffers, or risks suffering, loss or damage and those proceedings shall be in the High Court.
(5) Proceedings under this regulation may not be brought unless—
(a) the economic operator bringing the proceedings has informed the utility of the breach or apprehended breach of the duty owed to it in accordance with paragraphs (1) or (2) by that utility and of its intention to bring proceedings under this regulation in respect of it; and
(b) those proceedings are brought promptly and in any event within 3 months from the date when grounds for the bringing of the proceedings first arose unless the Court considers that there is good reason for extending the period within which proceedings may be brought.
(6) Subject to paragraph (7), but otherwise without prejudice to any other powers of the Court in proceedings brought under this regulation, the Court may—
(a) by interim order suspend the procedure leading to the award of the contract or the procedure leading to the determination of a design contest in relation to the award of the contract of which the breach of the duty owed in accordance with paragraphs (1) or (2) is alleged, or suspend the implementation of any decision or action taken by the utility in the course of following such a procedure; and
(b) if satisfied that a decision or action taken by a utility was in breach of the duty owed in accordance with paragraphs (1) or (2)—
(i) order the setting aside of that decision or action or order the utility to amend any document;
(ii) award damages to an economic operator which has suffered loss or damage as a consequence of the breach; or
(iii) do both of those things.
(7) In proceedings under this regulation the Court does not have power to order any remedy other than an award of damages in respect of a breach of the duty owed in accordance with paragraphs (1) or (2) if the contract in relation to which the breach occurred has been entered into.
(8) Where, in proceedings under this regulation, the Court is satisfied that an economic operator would have had a real chance of being awarded a contract or winning a design contest if that chance had not been adversely affected by a breach of the duty owed to it by the utility in accordance with paragraphs (1) or (2) the economic operator shall be entitled to damages amounting to its costs in preparing its tender and in participating in the procedure leading to the award of the contract or its costs of participating in the procedure leading to the determination of the design contest.
(9) Paragraph (8) does not affect a claim by an economic operator that it has suffered other loss or damage or that it is entitled to relief other than damages and is without prejudice to the matters on which an economic operator may be required to satisfy the Court in respect of any other such claim.
(10) Notwithstanding sections 21 and 42 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947[39], in proceedings brought under this regulation against the Crown the Court has power to grant an injunction.
(11) In this regulation—
"GPA economic operator" means a person from a GPA State who sought, who seeks, or would have wished, to be the person to whom the contract is awarded;
"GPA State" means any country other than a relevant State which at the relevant time is a signatory to the GPA and has agreed with the European Community that the GPA shall apply to a contract of the type to be awarded[40]; and
"relevant time" means—
(c) in any other case, the date on which a contract notice or design contest notice would be sent to the Official Journal if the requirement that there be a call for competition applied and the utility decided to satisfy that requirement by sending such a notice.
46.—(1) An economic operator which considers that—
(a) a utility has breached or may breach the duty referred to in regulation 45(1) and (2); and
(b) in consequence that economic operator has suffered, or risks suffering, loss or damage;
and which wishes to use the conciliation procedure provided for in Articles 10 and 11 of the Utilities Remedies Directive shall send a request for the application of the procedure to the Minister for onward transmission as soon as possible to the Commission.
(2) Neither the request for nor any action taken in accordance with the conciliation procedure referred to in paragraph (1) shall affect the rights or liabilities of—
(a) the economic operator requesting it;
(b) the utility in respect of which the request is made; or
(c) any other person.
47.This regulation revokes the Utilities Contracts Regulations 1996[41] and the Utilities Contracts (Amendment) Regulations 2001[42].
Savings and transitional provisions
48.—(1) Where a utility has commenced a contract award procedure or a design contest before 31st January 2006, the Regulations referred to in regulation 47 shall continue to have effect on and after 31st January 2006 in relation to that contract award procedure or design contest, as if those Regulations had not been revoked in accordance with regulation 47.
(2) A utility has commenced a contract award procedure or design contest as referred to in paragraph (1) where before 31st January 2006, in relation to that procedure—
(a) that utility has sent a contract notice to the Official Journal in order to invite tenders, requests to be selected to tender for or to negotiate in respect of a proposed contract;
(b) in any case where there is no requirement to send a contract notice to the Official Journal in accordance with the Regulations referred to in regulation 47, that utility has despatched any form of advertisement seeking offers or expressions of interest in a proposed contract;
(c) where there is no advertising as referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) or (b), that utility has contacted any economic operator in order to seek expressions of interest or offers in respect of a proposed contract; or
(d) that utility has sent a notice to the Official Journal in accordance with the Regulations referred to in regulation 47 in order to publicise its intention to hold a design contest.
(3) Where a framework agreement has been concluded before 31st January 2006, these Regulations do not apply to the award of any specific contract under that framework agreement.
(4) "contract notice" in this regulation means a contract notice within the meaning of the Utilities Contracts Regulations 1996.
Vernon Coaker
Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury
SCHEDULE 1Regulation 3
Relevant Person Activity
CATEGORY 1 - WATER
A company holding an appointment as a water undertaker or a sewerage undertaker under the Water Industry Act 1991[43].
The Department for Regional Development (Northern Ireland).
The Water Services Agency (Northern Ireland).
1.The provision or operation of a fixed network which provides or will provide a service to the public in connection with the production, transport or distribution of drinking water.
2.Hydraulic engineering, irrigation or land drainage, but only if more than 20% of the total volume of water made available by such activity is intended for the supply of drinking water.
3.The disposal or treatment of sewage.
A relevant person not specified in Part C.
4.The supply of drinking water to a network referred to in paragraph 1.
PART C
A relevant person other than a contracting authority who produces drinking water because its consumption is necessary for the purpose of carrying out an activity not specified in the second column of this Schedule and who supplies only the excess to a network which is referred to in paragraph 1. 5.The supply of drinking water to a network referred to in paragraph 1 but only if the drinking water supplied in the period of 36 months ending at the relevant time as defined in regulation 11(19) has exceeded 30% of the total produced by the utility in that period.
CATEGORY 2 - ELECTRICITY
A person licensed under section 6 of the Electricity Act 1989[44].
A person licensed under article 10(1) of the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992[45].
6.The provision or operation of a fixed network which provides or will provide a service to the public in connection with the production, transport or distribution of electricity.
PART E
A relevant person not specified in Part F. 7.The supply of electricity to a network referred to in paragraph 6.
PART F
A relevant person other than a contracting authority who produces electricity because its use is necessary for the purpose of carrying out an activity not specified in the second column of this Schedule and who supplies only the excess to a network referred to in paragraph 6. 8.The supply of electricity to a network referred to in paragraph 6 but only if the electricity supplied in the period of 36 months ending at the relevant time as defined in regulation 11(19) has exceeded 30% of the total produced by the utility in that period.
CATEGORY 3 - GAS
PART G
A gas transporter as defined in section 7(1) of the Gas Act 1986[46].
A person declared to be an undertaker for the supply of gas under article 8 of the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996[47].
9.The provision or operation of a fixed network which provides or will provide a service to the public in connection with the production, transport or distribution of gas.
PART H
A relevant person not specified in Part I.
10.The supply of gas to a network referred to in paragraph 9.
A relevant person other than a contracting authority who produces gas only as the unavoidable consequence of carrying out an activity not specified in the second column of this Schedule and who supplies gas for the sole purpose of the economic exploitation of the production to a network referred to in paragraph 9. 11.The supply of gas to a network referred to in paragraph 9 but only if the total consideration payable in the period of 36 months ending at the relevant time as defined in regulation 11(19) on account of such supply has exceeded 20% of the total turnover of the utility in that period.
CATEGORY 4 - HEAT
PART J
A local authority.
A person licensed under section 6(1)(a) of the Electricity Act 1989 whose licence includes the provisions referred to in section 10(3) of that Act.
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
12.The provision or operation of a fixed network which provides or will provide a service to the public in connection with the production, transport or distribution of heat.
PART K
A relevant person not specified in Part L. 13.The supply of heat to a network referred to in paragraph 12.
PART L
A relevant person other than a contracting authority who produces heat as the unavoidable consequence of carrying out an activity not specified in the second column of this Schedule and who supplies heat for the sole purpose of the economic exploitation of the production to a network referred to in paragraph 12. 14.The supply of heat to a network referred to in paragraph 12 but only if the total consideration payable in the 36 months ending at the relevant time as defined in regulation 11(19) on account of such supply has exceeded 20% of the total turnover of the utility in that period.
CATEGORY 5 – EXPLORATION AND EXTRACTION OF OIL AND GAS
A person operating by virtue of a licence granted or having effect as if granted under the Petroleum Act 1998[48].
A person licensed under the Petroleum (Production) Act (Northern Ireland) 1964[49].
15.The exploitation of a geographical area for the purpose of exploring for or extracting oil or gas.
CATEGORY 6 – COAL AND OTHER SOLID FUEL
PART N
Any licensed operator within the meaning of the Coal Industry Act 1994[50].
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Northern Ireland).
A person operating by virtue of a prospecting licence, a mining lease, a mining licence or a mining permission as defined by section 57(1) of the Mineral Development Act (Northern Ireland) 1969[51].
16.The exploitation of a geographical area for the purposes of exploring for or extracting coal or other solid fuel.
CATEGORY 7 – TRANSPORT
PART O
An airport operator within the meaning of the Airports Act 1986[52] who has the management of an airport subject to economic regulation under Part IV of that Act.
Highlands and Islands Airports Limited.
An airport operator within the meaning of the Airports (Northern Ireland) Order 1994[53].
Any other relevant person.
17.The exploitation of a geographical area for the purpose of providing airport or other terminal facilities to carriers by air.
PART P
A harbour authority within the meaning of section 57 of the Harbours Act 1964[54].
British Waterways Board.
A harbour authority as defined by section 38(1) of the Harbours Act (Northern Ireland) 1970[55].
18.The exploitation of a geographical area for the purpose of providing maritime or inland port or other terminal facilities to carriers by sea or inland waterway.
PART Q
Network Rail.
Eurotunnel plc.
Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company.
Northern Ireland Railways.
London Underground Limited.
Transport for London.
A subsidiary of Transport for London within the meaning of section 424(1) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999[56].
Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive.
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive.
Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive.
Brighton Borough Council.
South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive.
West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive.
A local transport authority or passenger authority within the meaning of section 124 of the Transport Act 2000[57] which has made a quality contracts scheme under section 124 of that Act.
A person awarded a quality contract within the meaning of section 124 of the Transport Act 2000.
19.The provision or operation of a network providing a service to the public in the field of transport by railway.
PART R
A subsidiary of Transport for London within the meaning of section 424(1) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999.
Blackpool Transport Services Limited.
Conwy County Borough Council.
20.The provision or operation of a network providing a service to the public in the field of transport by automated systems, tramway, trolleybus, or cable.
PART S
A local transport authority or Passenger Transport Authority within the meaning of section 124 of the Transport Act 2000 which has made a quality contracts scheme under section124 of that Act.
A person who holds a road service licence under section 4(1) of the Transport Act (Northern Ireland) 1967[58] which authorises him to provide a regular service within the meaning of that licence.
21.The provision or operation of a network providing a service to the public in the field of transport by bus.
SCHEDULE 2Regulation 2(1)
ACTIVITIES CONSTITUTING WORKS
Section F Construction
Divi-sion Group Class Subject Notes CPV Code
45 Construction Construction of new buildings and works, restoring and common repairs 45000000
45.1 Site preparation 45100000
45.11 Demolition and wrecking of buildings; earth moving Demolition of buildings and other structures
Clearing of building sites
Earth moving: excavation, landfill, levelling and grading of construction sites, trench digging, rock removal, blasting, etc.
Site preparation for mining:
overburden removal and other development and preparation of mineral properties and sites
Building site drainage
Drainage of agricultural or forestry land
45.12 Test drilling and boring Test drilling, test boring and core sampling for construction, geophysical, geological or similar purposes 45120000
45.2 Building of complete constructions or parts thereof; civil engineering 45200000
45.21 General construction of buildings and civil engineering works Construction of all types of buildings
Construction of civil engineering constructions
Bridges, including those for elevated highways, viaducts, tunnels and subways
Long-distance pipelines, communication and power lines
Urban pipelines, urban communication and power lines;
Ancillary urban works
Assembly and erection of prefabricated constructions on the site
45.22 Erection of roof covering and frames Erection of roofs
45.23 Construction of highways, roads, airfields and sport facilities Construction of highways, streets, roads, other vehicular and pedestrian ways
Construction of railways
Construction of airfield runways
Construction work, other than buildings, for stadiums, swimming pools, gymnasiums, tennis courts, golf courses and other sports installations
Painting of markings on road surfaces and car parks
45.24 Construction of water projects Construction of:
waterways, harbour and river works, pleasure ports (marinas), locks, etc.
dams and dykes dredging
subsurface work
45.25 Other construction work involving special trades Construction activities specialising in one aspect common to different kinds of structures, requiring specialised skill or equipment:
Construction of foundations, including pile driving
Water well drilling and construction, shaft sinking
Erection of non-self-manufactured steel elements
Steel bending
Bricklaying and stone setting
Scaffolds and work platform erecting and dismantling, including renting of scaffolds and work platforms;
Erection of chimneys and industrial ovens
45.3 Building installation 45300000
45.31 Installation of electrical wiring and fittings Installation in buildings or other construction projects of:
electrical wiring and fittings
telecommunications systems
electrical heating systems
residential antennas and aerials
lifts and escalators
lightning conductors, etc.
45.32 Insulation work activities Installation in buildings or other construction projects of thermal, sound or vibration insulation 45320000
45.33 Plumbing Installation in buildings or other construction projects of:
plumbing and sanitary equipment
heating, ventilation, refrigeration or air conditioning equipment and ducts
45.34 Other building installation Installation of illumination and signalling systems for roads, railways, airports and harbours
Installation in buildings or other construction projects of fittings and fixtures n.e.c.
45.4 Building completion 45400000
45.41 Plastering Application in buildings or other construction projects of interior and exterior plaster or stucco, including related lathing materials 45410000
45.42 Joinery installation Installation of non self-manufactured doors, windows, door and window frames, fitted kitchens, staircases, shop fittings and the like, of wood or other materials
Interior completion such as ceilings, wooden wall coverings, movable partitions, etc.
45.43 Floor and wall covering Laying, tiling, hanging or fitting in buildings or other construction projects of:
ceramic, concrete or cut stone wall or floor tiles
parquet and other wood floor coverings carpets and linoleum floor coverings, including of rubber or plastic, terrazzo, marble, granite
or slate floor or wall coverings
45.44 Painting and glazing Interior and exterior painting of buildings
Painting of civil engineering structures
Installation of glass, mirrors etc
45.45 Other building completion Installation of private swimming pools, steam cleaning, sand blasting and similar activities for building exteriors
Other building completion and finishing work n.e.c.
45.5 Renting of construction or demolition equipment with operator 45500000
45.50 Renting of construction or demolition equipment with operator 45500000
CATEGORIES OF SERVICES
Category Services CPC Reference No CPV Code
1 Maintenance and repair of vehicles and equipment 6112, 6122, 633, 886 from 50100000 to 50982000 (except for 50310000 to 50324200 and 50116510-9, 50190000-3, 50229000-6, 50243000-0)
2 Transport by land, including armoured car services and courier services but not including transport of mail and transport by rail 712 (except 71235), 7512, 87304 from 60112000-6 to 60129300-1 (except 60121000 to 60121600, 60122200-1, 60122230-0), and from 64120000-3 to 64121200-2
3 Transport by air but not transport of mail 73 (except 7321) from 62100000-3 to 62300000-5 (except 62121000-6, 62221000-7)
4 Transport of mail by land, other than by rail, and by air 71235, 7321 60122200-1, 60122230-0
62121000-6, 62221000-7
5 Telecommunications services 752 from 64200000-8 to 64228200-2, 72318000-7, and
from 72530000-9 to 72532000-3
6 Financial services:
(a) Insurance services
(b) Banking and investment services other than financial services in connection with the issue, sale, purchase or transfer of securities or other financial instruments and central bank services
Ex 81, 812, 814 from 66100000-1 to 66430000-3 and
7 Computer and related services 84 from 50300000-8 to 50324200-4,
from 72100000-6 to 72591000-4 (except 72318000-7 and from 72530000-9 to 72532000-3)
8 Research and development services where the benefits accrue exclusively to the utility for its use in the conduct of its own affairs and the services are to be wholly paid for by the utility 85 from 73000000-2 to 73300000-5
(except 73200000-4, 73210000-7, 7322000-0)
9 Accounting, auditing and book-keeping services 862 from 74121000-3 to 74121250-0
10 Market research and public opinion polling services 864 from 74130000-9 to 74133000-0, and 74423100-1, 74423110-4
11 Management consultancy services and related services, but not arbitration and conciliation services 865, 866 from 73200000-4 to 73220000-0,
from 74140000-2 to 74150000-5 (except 74142200-8), and 74420000-9, 74421000-6, 74423000-0, 74423200-2, 74423210-5, 74871000-5, 93620000-0
12 Architectural services; engineering services and integrated engineering services; urban planning and landscape architectural services: related scientific and technical consulting services: technical testing and analysis services 867 from 74200000-1 to 74276400-8, and
from 74310000-5 to 74323100-0, and 74874000-6
13 Advertising services 871 from 74400000-3 to 74422000-3 (except 74420000-9 and 74421000-6)
14 Building-cleaning services and property management services 874, 82201 to 82206 from 70300000-4 to 70340000-6, and 74710000-9 to 74760000-4
15 Publishing and printing services on a fee or contract basis 88442 from 78000000-7 to 78400000-1
16 Sewage and refuse disposal service: sanitation and similar services 94 from 90100000-8 to 90320000-6, and 50190000-3, 50229000-6, 50243000-0
Category Services CPC Reference No. CPV Code
17 Hotel and restaurant services 64 from 55000000-0 to 55524000-9, and from 93400000-2 to 93411000-2
18 Transport by rail 711 60111000-9, and
19 Transport by water 72 from 61000000-5 to 61530000-9, and from 63370000-3 to 63372000-7
20 Supporting and auxiliary transport services 74 62400000-6, 62440000-8, 62441000-5, 62450000-1,
from 63000000-9 to 63600000-5 (except 63370000-3, 63371000-0, 63372000-7), and 74322000-2, 93610000-7
21 Legal services 861 from 74110000-3 to 74114000-1
22 Personnel placement and supply services 872 from 74500000-4 to 74540000-6 (except 74511000-4), and from 95000000-2 to 95140000-5
23 Investigation and security services, other than armoured car services 873 (except 87304) from 74600000-5 to 74620000-1
24 Education and vocational education services 92 from 80100000-5 to 80430000-7
25 Health and social services 93 74511000-4, and
from 85000000-9 to 85323000-9 (except 85321000-5 and 85322000-2)
26 Recreational, cultural and sporting services 96 from 74875000-3 to 74875200-5, and from 92000000-1 to 92622000-7 (except 92230000-2)
SCHEDULE 4Regulation 2(1) and 4(4)
EXTENSION TO NON-MEMBER STATES
Relevant States Agreement with the European Union which extends the provisions relating to public procurement to the relevant State Statutory provisions designating the agreements as European Treaties
Bulgaria Europe Agreement[59] SI 1994/758.
Iceland European Economic Area Agreement[60] European Economic Area Act 1993[61], section 1.
Liechtenstein European Economic Area Agreement European Economic Area Act 1993, section 1.
Norway European Economic Area Agreement European Economic Area Act 1993, section 1.
Romania Europe Agreement[62] SI 1994/760.
These Regulations implement, for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and Council of 31st March 2004 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors (OJ No L 134, 30.4.2004, p.1).
These Regulations specify the procedures to be followed in relation to the award of supply contracts, works contracts and services contracts by utilities for the purpose of carrying out activities in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors.
The Regulations also provide remedies for breaches of these Regulations, in order to implement Council Directive 92/13/EEC of 25 February 1992 (OJ No L 76, 23.3.1992, p.14) which requires member States to provide effective remedies at national level for breaches of the Regulations relating to procurement in the utilities sector.
A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business has been prepared and placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Copies may be obtained from the Office of Government Commerce's website at www.ogc.gov.uk.
[1]S.I. 1991/755.back
[2]1972 c.68. There are amendments to this Act which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[3]OJ L 257, 1.10.2005, p.1. The standard forms set out in the Annex to this Regulation are available at http://simap.eu.int.back
[4]OJ L 340, 16.12.2002, p.1.back
[5]S.I. 2006/5back
[6]CPC (provisional version). Further information may be obtained from the United Nations website http://unstats.un.org.back
[7]1995 c.50; section 1 was amended by S.I. 2005/1117 in relation to Northern Ireland. Sections 2 and 3 were amended by sections 18 and 19 of, and Schedule 1 to the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (c.13.) There are other amendments which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[8]Cm 2575. As at 1st January 2000, parties to the Government Procurement Agreement other than member States were Aruba, Canada, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States of America.back
[9]The address of the Office of Government Commerce is 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.back
[10]OJ No L 134, 30.4.2004, p.114.back
[11]OJ No L 134, 30.4.2004, p.1.back
[12]OJ No L 76, 23..3.1992, p.14.back
[13]1971 c.80. There are amendments to this Act which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[14]1972 c.68.back
[16]OJ No L 178, 17.7.2003, p.16.back
[18]The Classification of Products by Activity is the official product classification by activity which is used by the European Union for statistical purposes.back
[19]The format and procedures for sending notices by electronic means are accessible at http://simap.eu.int.back
[20]The Community Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a management tool for companies and other organisations to evaluate, report and improve their environmental performance; for more information, see www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/emas/index_en.htm.back
[21]1977, c.45; section 1 was amended by section 5(1) of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 (c.47), section 9(1) and (2) of, and paragraph 4 of Part II of Schedule 1 and Part II of Schedule 2 to, the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act 1998 (c.40) and section 300(1) of, and Schedule 1 to, the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (c.52).back
[22]OJ No L 351, 29.12.1998, p.1.back
[24]1906 c.34; section 1 was amended by section 47(2) and (3) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c.33) and section 108(2) of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (c.24).back
[25]OJ No C 316, 27.11.1995, p.49.back
[26]1968 c.60; section 9 was amended by s26(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (c.53) and sections 139, 140 of, and Part 17 of Schedule 6 and Schedule 7 to, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c.42). Section 14 was amended by S.I. 2003/2908. Sections 15A and 15B were inserted by sections 1(1) of the Theft (Amendment) Act 1996 (c. 62) and section 15B was amended by S.I. 2001/3649. Section 16 was amended by section 5(5) of the Theft Act 1978 (c.31). Section 24A was inserted by section 2(1) of the Theft (Amendment) Act 1996(c.62). Section 33 was amended by S.I. 2001/1149. Section 34 was amended by 2003/2908. Section 36 was amended by section 41(1) of, and Part I of Schedule 6 to, the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 (c.36). There are other amendments which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[27]1978 c.31; section 1 was amended by s4(1) of the Theft (Amendment) Act 1996. Section 5 was amended by section 37(1) of and Schedule 2 to, the Extradition Act 1989 (c.33). There are other amendments which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[28]1985 c 6. There are amendments to this Act which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[29]1979 c.2. There are amendments to this Act which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[30]1994 c.23; section 72 was amended by section 17 of the Finance Act 2003 (c.14). There are other amendments to this Act which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[32]S.I. 2003/3075.back
[34]S.I. 1989/2405 (N.I.19). There are amendments to this Order which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[36]OJ No L 302, 19.10.92, p.1; Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 648/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 April 2005 (OJ No L 117, 04.05.2005, p.13).back
[37]OJ No L 13, 19.1.2000, p.12.back
[38]The European Attestation Standard EN 45503: 1996D for the assessment of contract award procedures and practices of entities operating in the water, energy and transport sectors was prepared under the mandate of the Commission of the European Communities and of the European Free Trade Association.back
[40]Information on the detailed application of the GPA under bilateral agreements between the EU and other signatories is maintained in the Annexes and general notes in Appendix 1 to the GPA. Access to this information is available through the World Trade Organisation website at www.wto.org.back
[43]1991 c.56; section 6 (appointment of relevant undertakers) was amended by section 101 of, and Schedule 8 to, the Water Act 2003 (c. 37). By virtue of S.I. 1999/672 as amended by S.I. 2000/253 the functions of the Minister of the Crown with respect to both water and sewerage undertakers under section 6 are now exercisable by the National Assembly for Wales for any undertaking whose area is wholly or mainly in Wales. There are other amendments to this Act which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[44]1989 c.29; section 6 was amended by section 30 of the Utilities Act 2000 (c.27) and sections 89, 136, 143, 145, and 197 of, and Schedules 9 and 23 to the Energy Act 2004 (c.20). There are other amendments to this Act which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[45]S.I. 1992/231 (N.I.1); article 10(1) was amended by article 28 and the changes applied to existing licences by article 29 of S.I. 2003/419 (N.I.6). There are other amendments to this Order which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[46]1986 c.44; section 7(1) was amended by section 5 of the Gas Act 1995 (c.45), section 76 of the Utilities Act 2000 (c.27), section 197 of and Schedule 23 to the Energy Act 2004. There are other amendments to this Act which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[47]S.I. 1996/275 (N.I.2); article 8 was amended by articles 30 and the changes applied to existing licences by article 31 of S.I. 2003/419 (N.I.6). There are other amendments to this Order which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[49]1964 c.28 (N.I); section 2 was amended by Schedule 3 to the Mineral Development Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 (c.35 NI). There are other amendments to this Act which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[51]1969 c.35 (N.I). There are amendments to this Act which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[53]S.I.1994/426 (N.I.1). There are amendments to this Order which are not relevant to these Regulationsback
[55]1970 c.1 (N.I.). There are amendments to this Act which are not relevant to these Regulations.back
[57]2000 c.38; section 124 was amended by section 39 of the Railway Act 2005 (c.14)back
[58]1967 c.37 (N.I.); section 4 was amended by S.I. 1990/994 (N.I. 7) and S.I. 1984/703 (N.I.3).back
[59]OJ No L 358, 31.12.94, p..3.back
[60]OJ No L 1, 3.1.94, p. 3 as adjusted by the Protocol signed in Brussels on 17th March 1993 OJ No L 1, 3.1.94, p. 572.back
[62]OJ No L 357, 31.12.94, p.2.back
ISBN0 11 073886 1
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Gift Aid is a way for Up Holland and District U3A to increase income for our Group. As a registered charity, our U3A can claim back from HM Revenue & Customs the basic rate of tax paid by eligible members (currently 20% of the members' subscriptions).
Gift Aid income is a valuable source of funding, and any member paying tax can register. There is no cost or expense to the member. The funds come directly from HM Revenue & Customs to the U3A.
Lynn Kerfoot is currently reviewing the Gift Aid process to ensure that the group is maximising income and complying with government regulations.
As such, if in doubt, please contact Lynn to ensure that you are registered (if appropriate). If your financial circumstances have recently changed, resulting in you becoming a person who no longer pays tax, please advise her accordingly. See newsletter for Lynn's phone number.
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The company secretary
The position of company secretary in a private company is optional, thus a company can operate with a sole director.
A sole director may not be the secretary. You must give notice of the appointment of a company secretary to the Registrar of Companies online on form AP03 - appointment of a company secretary or form AP04 for the appointment of a corporate secretary.
You must also give notice of appointment of a new company secretary online on either form AP01 or AP02 within 14 days of the change. Notice of resignation of the outgoing secretary has to be made online on form TM02. Changes of any particulars are made online on form CH03 for a company secretary or form CH04 to register a change of corporate secretary's details.
A register containing the secretary's name and address must be kept at the company's registered office.
The company secretary should maintain the company's statutory books:
Register of directors and secretary
Register of application and allotments and return of allotments
Registers of transfer of shares, debenture holders, and charges
Register of material share interests
The company secretary should keep the company seal, share certificates, letters of allotment, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and the Certificate of Incorporation. He or she should also arrange and provide notice for company meetings, the Annual General Meeting, and directors' meetings.
The company secretary, as an officer of the company, is liable, together with the directors, for default fines and other penalties provided by the Companies Act.
Contractual liability
Where the company secretary enters into a contract on behalf of the company, he or she should make it clear that he or she does so as the company's agent, thereby avoiding personal liability.
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News and Rumors 12/24/12 - 12/30/12
News and Rumors are gathered from various different sources. All rumors are rumors and are to be taken as such.
The Mad Tea Party will be closed from Jan. 7th - Feb. 18th.
Star Wars Weekends dates are May 17th through June 9th. The event takes place on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Kali River Rapids will have a refurb from Jan. 6th - Feb. 15th.
General WDW News
The first Limited Time Magic promotion is Bling in the New Year Dance Party, where guests will get to dance and celebrate, plus they'll get to ring in New Year's every hour at the Rockettower Stage in Tomorrowland. This will last until Jan. 5th.
Starbucks at the Magic Kingdom is rumored to open May 18th.
Tiana's Showboat Jubilee may be returning for Limited Time Magic
Download the BEST guide to Disney Food!
Labels: Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Kali River Rapids, Limited Time Magic, Mad Tea Party, Magic Kingdom, News, Princess Tiana's Showboat Jubilee, Rumors, Star Wars Weekends, Starbucks at Disney
Year In Review: The Good and The Bad at Walt Disney World 2012
New Fantasyland: So, this one is kind of a give in that it would be a win. But for me, it’s not a win for why you’d think. Yes, they brought in new attractions with Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid and Enchanted Tales With Belle. Plus, add in two great dining establishments with Be Our Guest Restaurant and Gaston’s Tavern. What really does it for me though is the theming. Disney hit a homerun here. These two new areas (I include Storybook Circus too because it was part of the expansion) are so richly detailed. This is really what wows me. Disney is doing an amazing job with the details which is something that I’d felt had been lacking a bit in recent past.
Test Track: Ok…I’m going to admit. I haven’t seen this yet. I’ve been attempting to avoid spoilers because I want to see it and judge it in person. However, from what I can tell from the brief glimpses I’ve gotten, the Imagineers did a great job updating a relatively tired attraction.
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort: This is another area where Disney did an amazing job with theming. This resort is hands down the best Value resort I’ve visited. It isn’t garish the way the other values are. (Well, not quite as garish anyway). I really enjoy what they’ve done with things like the food court, which serves unique food on real silverware. I also appreciate the fact that they added family suites. That is an area where Disney had been lacking. Overall, this new addition to the Resort has been quite a welcome one.
WiFi: Joining the 21st Century, Disney has officially added Free WiFi to the entire property. Now you can access it in the parks, at the resorts, and at Downtown Disney. This is huge because now, people have easier access in different places, plus, this means that hopefully my phone battery won’t drain so fast! I know this is just a step so that Disney can implement NextGen stuff, which I’m not really thrilled with, but this is one change I can get behind.
Starbucks Announced: Ok…people have been clamoring for good coffee at Walt Disney World for years. Now we’re getting it. This is a major win to me. I know that many are scared that it is going to ruin the ambience of the Magic Kingdom, but honestly, I view this as a sponsorship (something that has been a staple of the Disney parks since they opened in 1955), and not a take-over of the areas the company will be located. It will still look and feel like a Disney area. Just have better coffee choices.
Country Bear Jamboree: This attraction went down for refurb this year, like many attractions before it. But unlike other attractions which came out better, this one came out worse. Much worse. This show, whether you agree with it’s fun or not, is a classic attraction. Unfortunately, Disney decided to butcher this classic attraction cutting about 5 minutes out of the show. (The reason is to increase throughput, or so I’m told. Really? Were that many people clamoring to get into this show?) While it may not seem like a huge deal, to me, it changed the show enough that I am saddened by it. Plush, while they did do a decent job on updating most of the bear’s furs, a few got quite questionable wardrobe and style updates that seemed quite unnecessary.
Evening Extra Magic Hours Shortened: This is one of those where I understand why they did it, doesn’t mean I like it. Disney announced in 2013 that it’s evening Extra Magic Hours will be shortened to two hours, from three. While I understand that most people don’t get to take advantage of this third hour, I was one of the people who actually did. It was so nice having the parks be MUCH less crowded. (The first two hours were always slammed). Plus, for those who did visit in the off season, these later hours added up to regular hours when Disney cut park hours drastically. While this doesn’t affect a lot of people, it is just another instance where Disney is cutting something without offering an additional benefit. (I mean, they don’t seem to be increasing park hours to make up for the times they are cutting.)
Legend of Jack Sparrow: This new attraction opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and while it is a welcome addition for the space and the visuals are incredible, the actual storyline of the attraction is a tiny bit lacking. It would have been better if the story wasn’t just guests doing a different version of Simon Says basically. But the video…spectacular.
Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom: This game, which uses video screen technology hasn’t really ever taken off the way I’d expected. It’s been plagued with issues, like not being able to make the game have harder levels and long lines, which makes it so that you can see what is going to happen before you get your chance to play. However, it seems semi-popular and the whole card thing has spurred quite the frenzy for a new collectable. I guess this game is just proof that there is really something for everyone in the parks. But it didn’t really ever seem to have the punch that Disney was looking for once the initial excitement died down.
Alcohol at the Magic Kingdom: In a move that was a complete shock, Disney is now serving alcohol at the Be Our Guest Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. This is the first time that alcohol has ever been served in the park. It is only being served at dinner and cannot be taken out of the restaurant. I can understand why people are so upset. Yes, this goes against Walt’s view of things. However, part of me also realizes that Walt was a visionary and times do change and Walt has unfortunately passed. Alcohol is allowed at all the other parks, and with the exception of Epcot, which boasts it’s own drink around the world game, the other parks seem to have no problem with alcohol in it’s gates. Because of that, maybe it isn’t the end of the world that it is being introduced into the Magic Kingdom now.
Fastpass Return Window Enforced: While I understand that this was always something that was technically the rule, it was nice to know that if you wanted to ride an attraction later than when your Fastpass time was up, you could. If I could make it when the window was up, great. If I couldn’t that was fine too. It made life less structured. I mean, you are on vacation. However, Disney seems to be moving away from the whole less structured vacation model it seems, what with Fastpass+ being tested now, so therefore, Fastpass return times had to be regulated again. Stinks, but what are you gonna do?
So these are just some of the more major events that happened this year at the Walt Disney World Resort. Of course, there are some that I'm sure I missed and that's where you come in, make sure to let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree with where I've placed the year's happenings on my list and also if there's something that you think I should have added.
And with that, I wish you all a Very Happy New Year!!!! See you all in 2013!
Labels: Country Bear Jamboree, Disney's Art of Animation Resort, Fastpass, New Fantasyland, Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, Starbucks at Disney, Test Track, The Legend of Jack Sparrow, WiFi, Year in Review
The line up for the Night of Joy event has been announced:
Friday, September 6:
Steven Curtis Chapman & Michael W. Smith
Mercy Me
Mandisa
Moriah Peters
City Harbor
Saturday, September 7:
Francesca Batistelli
Group 1 Crew
A new exhibit is set to open in the American Adventure Pavilion called The Kinsey Collection. This exhibit will feature personal treasures of African American history and art. It will open March 9th.
New characters will be added to Disney Junior - Live on Stage when it emerges from it's refurb this winter. (The refurb is scheduled from Jan. 14th - Feb. 14th.) New to the line up will be Doc McStuffins and Sophia the First.
Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage will have a refurb from Jan. 7th - Jan. 11th.
The Premium and Premier Annual Pass discount will be reduced from 20% to 10% starting on January 1st.
It is being thrown around that a new waterside restaurant will be coming to the Morocco Pavilion at Epcot. Tapaz Restaurant is expected to break ground in Jan. 2013.
Pinocchio may be returning to meet guests at the Magic Kingdom soon.
SpectroMagic may not be coming back now, as it had been rumored to before. The rumor is the floats needed extensive work, so Disney may just create a new parade instead.
Festival of the Lion King is staying until at least September now.
Download the best new Holiday ebook out there from TouringPlans!
Labels: American Adventure, Annual Passes, Disney Junior-Live On Stage, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Festival of the Lion King, Magic Kingdom, Morocco Pavilion, News, Night of Joy, Rumors, SpectroMagic
Walt Disney World Phase Closures Guide
It's that time of year again. The Holiday season is upon us and that means that the WDW parks are in jeopardy of closing to guests. While it does stink when you are down there and the parks close to capacity, being prepared is the best course of action to deal with the potential disappointment.
The park that is most likely to close is the Magic Kingdom. Year after year, it seems to close during the Holidays. It closes most frequently because the crowds mostly want to visit here on special days. Least likely to close is Epcot because the park is so large and can hold crowds the best. Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom lie somewhere in the middle. They close sometimes, but most of the time remain open.
A majority of the time, if the parks do close, they will reopen to all guests a few hours later. Very rarely are they closed the entire day. This is due to fact that guests have left the park and it allows additional guests to enter the park.
There are four different Phases for closures. Here is what the different closures mean:
Those allowed:
Multi-day tickets
Guests staying at Disney Resorts
Annual Passholders
Guests re-entering the park from the day
Guests Park-Hopping from another park
Guests with in park reservations
Guests who arrive using Disney transportation
Those who are not allowed:
People without park tickets
One day, single park tickets
Those using Cast Member passes
Guests staying at a Disney Resort
Guests Park Hopping from another park
Phase 3.5 (only for the Magic Kingdom):
One day, single park tickets that have been pre-purchased to the Magic Kingdom only - must visit another park and exchange their tickets at guest relations found at the entrance to the other parks.
Park is closed to all guests
No matter what, if you visit during the holidays, the best piece of advice I can give you is to enter the parks early. It may be hard to do, but you will optimize your chances of seeing everything you want to see. Lastly, just have fun, people watch, and enjoy the Disney Anarchy!
Labels: Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4, Phases, Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Closures, Walt Disney World Phase Closures
Year In Review: The Good and The Bad at Walt Disn...
News and Rumors 12/3/12 - 12/9/12
Review: Walt Disney World: Holiday Season Touring...
News and Rumors 11/26/12 - 12/2/12
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Tag Archives: Colorado
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Protects Gunnison Sage-Grouse as Threatened Under Endangered Species Act
By admin November 12, 2014 Colorado, Endangered Species Act, ESA
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has determined that the Gunnison sage-grouse, a ground-dwelling bird found only in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah, requires the protection of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a threatened species. The Service originally proposed to list the species as ‘endangered’ under the ESA in January 2013, but efforts
Western Yellow-Billed Cuckoo Receives Federal Protection under the Endangered Species Act
By admin October 2, 2014 Colorado, Endangered Species Act, ESA, New Mexico
The western population of the yellow-billed cuckoo will be protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today. The Service determined that listing a distinct population segment (DPS) of the bird in portions of 12 western states, Canada and Mexico is warranted. In the U.S.,
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